On Ashby Avenue, one woman is paying tribute to the value of every human life by recording every death in Iraq. -more-

Armed with a report that calls for slashing the city’s workforce by up to 35 percent, a team of Berkeley budget hawks launched its campaign Tuesday against a proposed $8 million in new taxes on the November ballot. -more-

Developers of a proposed North Richmond casino filed a billion-dollar federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Berkeley developer of the Point Molate casino project and the world’s largest gambling empire, alleging that they illegally interfered with a pre-existing contract. -more-

Though four decades have passed since the Free Speech Movement (FSM) rocked the world, many of the same threats that galvanized the movement then have returned full force, say participants organizing the upcoming 40th anniversary commemoration. -more-

Anna Singthonghack hates mopping up spilled soda. It takes too much time. Like the other night janitors in UC Berkeley’s Barrows Hall, Singthonghack has to keep on schedule so she can finish cleaning four auditorium-sized classrooms, 15 offices and three bathrooms between 5 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. -more-

Berkeley is California’s most “teen healthy” city, according to a study released Wednesday by advocates of student health services and contraception. -more-

After weeks of speculation Councilmember Maudelle Shirek officially entered the City Council race in District 3. -more-

Berkeley non-profit developer Affordable Housing Associates (AHA) is one step away from breaking ground on a long-delayed senior-housing project after the city won its latest court battle against a group of neighbors. -more-

The University of California Board of Regents voted overwhelmingly this week to raise the grade point average requirement for incoming freshmen from 2.8 to 3.0 beginning in 2007. -more-

The East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) reported Thursday that there is no “public health risk” despite complaints of strange-smelling and bad-tasting water. -more-

A divided City Council Tuesday followed through on a plan to save the city $40,000 by putting a civilian in one of the Fire Department’s top jobs. -more-

A second-year UC Berkeley undergraduate took his seat Wednesday night as Berkeley’s youngest-ever planning commissioner. -more-

Berkeley’s Public Art Committee gave a weak thumbs up to the 175-ton, 20-feet-high quartzite and bronze memorial to the late Berkeley-born environmentalist David Brower. -more-

An Afghan shepherd stands in the countryside strumming a homemade guitar, an instrument he’s cobbled together out of a rusted oil can and some wire. The tune he plays is simple but full. -more-

My grandfather, before he died, told me his own repertoire of stories about the Che Guevara he knew, when Che was even younger than the twenty-something traveler portrayed in the new film The Motorcycle Diaries. -more-

Sometimes, getting the whole story out of the daily newspapers is like reading a book after one of your children has gotten to it and torn out half of the pages. You’ve got some gathering and pasting-together to do, if you want to make some real sense out of it. -more-

7. Right Of The Media To Report Facts, And Not Be Killed -more-

Speaks Loudly with Big Stick -more-

MEASURE H -more-

The recent commentary on the Albany Waterfront constitutes a tsunami of disinformation (”Magna Plans Imperil Eastshore Park,” Daily Planet, Sept. 14-26) The commentator accuses environmentalists and their allies of striking an unholy deal with Magna, owner of Golden Gate Fields. Nothing could be further from the truth. -more-

Over the last four years the Berkeley School Board and Berkeley Unified School District have made cuts and adjustments to the district’s budget amounting to about $12 million. These cuts were made necessary by a variety of factors, including past mismanagement, declining enrollment, double-digit increases in healthcare, retirement benefits, and workers comp, and, most significantly, reduced state funding of our public schools. Every part of our school community has made sacrifices in order to get our financial house in order, and as a result the Alameda County Office of Education has just recently given BUSD a positive budget certification after a successful three-year recovery plan. -more-

Recently some letters were sent to the editors of the Daily Planet regarding the construction work that is currently underway at the Berkeley Meadow. We would like to respond to those letters and provide some information about this restoration project. -more-

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-

“Heidi, will you marry me?” -more-

Thirty-six years ago the first occurence of what is today called the Annual Berkeley Old Time Music Convention filled downtown Berkeley’s Provo Park (Civic Center Park) with drunken judges, mad fiddlers, demented banjo artistes and old time music lovers. It was called the 35th Annual Stringband Contest. -more-

FRIDAY, SEPT. 24 -more-

At the top of Hopkins just before the North branch of Berkeley’s public library is a point where several streets (Sonoma, Fresno, Josephine) meet. -more-

FRIDAY, SEPT. 24 -more-