A group of former students of Lincoln Elementary School in southwest Berkeley returned last week to find a school that was significantly larger, better-landscaped, and more ethnically diverse than the one they left some 60 years ago. Oh, and yes, of course, the name has been changed, to Malcolm X Arts and Academics Magnet Elementary. -more-

If the big one hits, Frank Morris fears that he, and more than 2,000 Berkeley residents like him, might not be allowed to build anew. -more-

On a quiet cul-de-sac in central Berkeley, the neighbors will chat about nearly anything except the tangle of lawsuits they have filed against each other and the city. -more-

For the 20 years Maudelle Shirek has sat on the City Council she could always count on the support of Berkeley’s foremost progressive political organization. -more-

Three seats on the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees in the Daily Planet’s coverage area will be filled by newcomers. -more-

An unexpected increase in Berkeley High School student attendance has caused the addition of 10 new classes at the school, the creation of the equivalent of two new full-time teaching positions, and the reshuffling of some student schedules. -more-

When heavy construction equipment moved in to the meadow on Aug. 18, a lot of Berkeley residents were angered at the sudden closure of the 72-acre site between the I-80 frontage road and the Berkeley Marina. -more-

Controversy over the high density Campus Bay waterfront residential development on a toxic waste site in Richmond continues to mount as eager-to-build developers are pitted against anxious residents. -more-

Richmond City Council members are scheduled to decide the fate of the Point Molate Casino proposal when they meet Tuesday night, Sept. 28, in their chambers at the Marina City Hall, 1401 Marina Way South. -more-

Members of the University of California community gathered at midday last week at the spreading lawn below California Hall to remember and mourn the loss of friends and colleagues during the past year. -more-

Lorie Harnden, whose daughter is a first grader at Fairmount Elementary School, is just one of several anxious El Cerrito parents awaiting the arrival of a service signed into law Friday by Gov. Schwarzenegger that allows the Department of Justice to post information about registered sex offenders on line. -more-

ELECTION 2004 -more-

“I didn’t think that guy was queer, but now that I give it some thought, I guess I did think he acted a little funny, and yeah, it makes sense that he’s a homo.” -more-

The U.S. governmental system sets forth rights of all peoples under U.S. jurisdiction (described in previous columns in 11 sections), and duties of the U.S. Administration (starting in this column.) -more-

Those of us who watched the GOP convention, or have recently had conversations with Republicans, have been struck by their emotional fervor, their passion for George Bush and their hatred for liberals. Who are these true believers? -more-

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-

LIMA, Peru—“Vamos! Do you have that heart rate at 80 percent?” -more-

“An apocalypse can be a funny thing.” -more-

Writer, activist, and Oakland resident Evelyn C. White settles into a comfortable leather chair at a Piedmont Avenue café and talks about her ten year project, researching and penning the biography of author Alice Walker (Alice Walker: A Life; W.W. Norton; September 2004; 496 pages; $29.95). -more-

TUESDAY, SEPT. 28 -more-

A couple of Fridays ago, a letter from Michael Farrell appeared in the Planet regarding my recent rant about bad pruning. I thank Mr. Farrell for his kind remarks, and I’m taking another column here to endorse his accurate and perceptive pointers about choosing and siting trees in city yards. -more-

TUESDAY, SEPT. 28 -more-

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-

We’re going to start the Planet’s discussion of ballot choices for the November election with the easiest one to understand. Proposition 66 is a balanced, moderate reform of California’s badly drafted “Three Strikes and You’re In Jail for Life” law. -more-

Amid all the discussion of which casino should go where, who has which tribe backing their proposal, which proposal is best wired in Sacramento or Washington, and attendant topics, the central issue in the situation has been largely overlooked. Is gambling the right way to finance government, or to compensate Native Americans for past injustices? Legislators have been tip-toeing around that question, proposing partial solutions which might just end up favoring one player over another. Diane Feinstein, for example, has proposed revoking the special legislation sponsored by the usually estimable Rep. George Miller on behalf of the crowd running Casino San Pablo, which positioned them to cut a recent exclusive deal with Governor Schwartzenegger. Feinstein’s solution seems at first glance like a good one, but it won’t be if it simply clears the way for the politically connected Upstream project at Point Molate, which has undesirable environmental consequences and poses a major liability risk for the adjacent Chevron plant. -more-