Water leaks and subsequent mold contamination have cost the owners of Berkeley’s controversial Gaia building more than $10 million to repair, according to lawsuits filed in Alameda County Superior Court. -more-

A 25-year-old father of three became Berkeley’s first homicide victim of the year Sunday afternoon when he was felled by a hail of gunfire on the street outside his grandmother’s South Berkeley apartment, police report. Meanwhile, a Wednesday night shooting death is being attributed to the City of Albany. -more-

Relaxation isn’t just for the rich. That was the call from boycott-supporting protestors outside the Claremont Hotel Friday as the well-known health guru Deepak Chopra held a weekend seminar at the luxury resort and hotel. -more-

As Berkeley charts a course to meet its goal of recycling 75 percent of its waste by 2010, it is doubtful the 32-year-old recycling drop-off center at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Dwight Avenue will be part of the plan. -more-

The hunt for a replacement for Berkeley Fire Chief Reginald Garcia—who leaves Sept. 17—begins in earnest early next month, said City Manager Phil Kamlarz last week. -more-

For more than three decades, Charlie Frizzell was a cherished Homo sapiens Berkeley landmark. Whether it was shmoozing with Charlie at a party, joining him on an anti-war march, chatting with him at the Cheese Board, or just bumping into him around town, it was always a treat. His calm and gentle demeanor was contagious and even a brief encounter with Charlie would lower your blood pressure and brighten your mood. -more-

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-

High up in the North Berkeley Hills where crime is low, university encroachment distant, and a new out-of-scale high-rise apartment building inconceivable, one neighborhood is tackling a concern most Berkeley residents take for granted—power poles and their adjoining wires. -more-

UC Berkeley announced Monday the start of a new transit pass program designed to lure its 8,000 employees out of their cars and on to AC Transit buses. -more-

Stucco construction lawsuits have become a major growth industry in recent years, with water damage and mold being the two chief complaints. -more-

Firefighters were summoned to 1195 Grizzly Peak Road 17 minutes after midnight Monday, arriving four minutes later to find a neighbor with a hose battling the flames that had swept up the wall of wood-shingled garage. -more-

Rose held her iridescent purple knitting needles close to her eyes and peered between knit/purls at the Scrabble board. Something long, multi-colored, weird, and seemingly out-of-control hung from the needles and mysteriously disappeared underneath the table. -more-

GIRLIE-MEN -more-

To the Berkeley City Counci, the Planning Commission and the Zoning Adjustments Board: -more-

Medical cannabis patients like myself are simply not feeling too secure these days. The medical cannabis voter initiative—the Patients’ Access to Medical Cannabis Act (PAMCA)—seems to have provoked a great deal of critical response judging from articles in the last two issues of the Daily Planet. I’d like to remind the city manager, the BCC, and citizens of Berkeley that PAMCA is what I consider a responsible attempt by informed medical cannabis advocates to ensure legal, sanctioned, and efficient access for patients to their medicine. -more-

Roll out the sofas and living room rugs, but leave the red carpet behind. That was the theme at Bay Area houses as neighbors packed into living rooms to watch the nation-wide premier of Outfoxed—Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism, the newest in the deluge of groundbreaking and hard-hitting left wing political documentaries hitting the American scene this year. -more-

TUESDAY, JULY 20 -more-

Of the many things you can do with (and to) opera, there is “updating,” spoofing, and producing a work really well. Then, there is David Scott Marley. -more-

Tuliptrees, or tulip poplars, line the western half of University Avenue in Berkeley. They’re not universally popular poplars, mostly because they’re prone to aphid infestations and the aphids’ sticky excretions drip onto everything below, attract soot, and nourish sooty black molds. Too bad, because it’s a noble tree with roots in American history. -more-

TUESDAY, JULY 20 -more-