A remarkable cross section of Berkeley gathered beneath a gingko tree Saturday morning to mourn the death of Carla-Helen Toth and celebrate her remarkable life. -more-

Father George Crespin abruptly retired from his post as pastor of Berkeley’s St. Joseph The Worker parish last week amid an accusation that he sexually abused a parishioner 30 years ago. -more-

A former employee at the Oakland Animal Shelter has detailed what she says are systemic abuses by shelter management. The list of wrongdoings include euthanizing dogs that were cleared for adoption, euthanizing dogs without sedatives and in one case mistakenly leaving a live dog in a freezer in a barrel with dead dogs. -more-

North Oakland and South Berkeley residents got their first glimpse Saturday of a little-known tribe’s plans to build a major casino next to an environmentally sensitive stretch of shoreline near Oakland International Airport. -more-

An early windfall courtesy of Sacramento and Wall Street could erase a chunk of the city’s looming budget deficit. -more-

A memorial service for Karl Linn is planned for March 20 at Northbrae Community Church on The Alameda in Berkeley from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. -more-

The City Council Monday named Sara Cox as Berkeley’s new city clerk. -more-

There were few dry handkerchiefs Friday evening as Berkeley firefighters said their final goodbyes to their loyal partner and best friend. -more-

A controversial proposal to develop Laney College properties and the Peralta Colleges Administration Building land ran into a significant setback last week when a meeting designed to win over Laney College support instead appeared to stiffen opposition. -more-

Planning commissioners will conduct their third hearing Wednesday on plans to build a second Berkeley Bowl near the heavily traveled intersection of Ashby Avenue and Ninth Street. -more-

Following approvals by the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, marsh excavations have resumed at the waterfront edge of Richmond’s Campus Bay. -more-

MONSTROSITIES -more-

Click here to view the latest work by Justin DeFreitas -more-

Three days before Christmas I had to fire the two people who helped me with my husband’s care. I broke out in hives the moment I asked them to leave. It was not a good sign. -more-

Door-Buster -more-

Blaze Erupts During Concert -more-

The Berkeley Daily Planet, in the Feb. 1-3 edition, ran two lengthy opinion pieces critical of the attempts to close Derby Street by the School Board and city in order to accommodate a full size baseball field. -more-

With regard to closing Derby Street, it doesn’t serve the community to have the Berkeley Daily Planet highlighting letters (such as Dorothy Bryant’s and Peter Schorer’s) which give the illusion of informed knowledge but in truth are factually inaccurate. Given that the Daily Planet is used by many of us to become educated about local issues, letters like these do us all a disservice. -more-

What’s so impossibly sad about the vitriolic editorial comments in the Daily Planet about the East Campus/Derby Street project, attacking the city, the School Board, and the writers’ fellow Berkeley citizens, is not just that their listed objections have almost no basis in reality. In fact, there is no intended “commercial” use of the proposed facilities, other than of course the use for a commercial “Farmers Market” by a private business, the Ecology Center (which everyone agrees should stay on site); t here are no planned night games or night field lighting; there is no plan for any amplified sound system (other than the Farmer’s Market request for an “entertainment” space to host music); any field, of any size, will need to be fenced for safety reasons; any field, of any size (including a regulation baseball diamond that includes a multi-purpose field) will be available for all of the dozens of sports that boys and girls play in this city; any field, of any size, will bring according to the city’s Envi ronmental Impact Report only a minimal increase in traffic; replacing the dilapidated, vermin infested portables on site now with a field of any size can only increase, not decrease, property values. -more-

The February-March issue of Nick Jr., the national educators’ magazine operated by Nickelodeon children’s channel, lists Berkeley’s LeConte School as operating one of the 10 best elementary school cafeterias in America. -more-

In Mary Shogren’s kindergarten class at LeConte Elementary School, some students can’t understand a single word she says. Sitting on the floor with wide-eyed gazes, they stare at her as she reads a children’s book aloud. Some seem to understand everything, while others look puzzled. -more-

The title for this piece is taken from the Fêtes de la Nuit that I saw in the gardens at Versailles several years ago—fetes that were supposed to recall the sorts of entertainments that Louis XIV staged for his own pleasure ... full of huntsman, hunting dogs, courtiers, ballet dancers, and fireworks. Needless to say, my Fêtes are very different: they are the modern world, the democratic world, the world as seen, not through the eyes of a king, but through the eyes of a citizen. -more-

TUESDAY, FEB. 8 -more-

The San Pablo City Council meets Wednesday at noon to consider building plans from the Lytton Band of Pomos for the 2,500-slot machine casino they plan to build at the site of the current Casino San Pablo card room. -more-

I’m interrupting the trees-of-Berkeley series for a short rant. Nice words about our city’s trees will resume in two weeks. -more-

TUESDAY, FEB. 8 -more-