When Biko Eisen-Martin spotted a woman giving birth to the first of triplets in the middle of downtown Berkeley, he didn’t hesitate to give her the shirt off his back. -more-

A recent California Appellate Court decision involving a City of Malibu zoning dispute could have a legal impact on litigation filed against Berkeley’s recent negotiated settlement with the University of California over the university’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). -more-

Christopher Hollis, 22, fired the shot that killed his friend and former Berkeley High School classmate Meleia Willis-Starbuck, his attorney acknowledged Wednesday. -more-

Gardeners at the UC Berkeley’s University Village in Albany are finding themselves with more on their minds than what to plant for the approaching winter season. -more-

The creators of one of Berkeley’s most venerable institutions will have their day Monday, thanks to a City Council resolution. -more-

The Berkeley High School baseball team’s long desired South Berkeley field of dreams came one step closer to reality Wednesday when the School Board voted in favor of closing a block of Derby Street. -more-

In the wake of a recommendation by the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), the California superintendent agreed this week to turn over what he is calling a “limited” measure of local control to the Board of Directors of the Oakland Unified School District. -more-

City officials are trying to figure out a way to keep Berkeley Iceland open past today (Friday) when the rink’s latest extension to install a temporary ice cooling system expires. -more-

Inspired by today’s (Friday) National Diversity Day, three Berkeley city councilmembers are doing a typical Berkeley thing next week: taking an introspective look. -more-

Opponents of the Alameda Theater Cineplex filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court this week seeking to force the City of Alameda to conduct a review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before moving forward with the movie theater project. -more-

The headline “Pacific Steel Reevaluates Response Policy After Gunpoint Robbery” in the Oct. 4-6 edition was incorrect. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, not Pacific Steel, reevaluated its policy. Also the Berkeley Police Department asked to clarify that the air district and not BPD spokesperson Joe Okies disclosed the name of the robbery victim. -more-

In ruling for Malibu citizens against their city council last week, the Los Angeles-based Court of Appeal set aside a secretly-negotiated and secretly-voted-on CEQA and land use settlement on two grounds: the Malibu City Council unlawfully contracted away its future police power over a specific project, and the council unlawfully committed to future governmental action that independently requires a public hearing. (Trancas Property Owners Assn. v. City of Malibu, No. B174674, Sept. 26, 2005.) -more-

To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit www.jfdefreitas.com To search for previous cartoons by date of publication, click on the Daily Planet Archive.

THE HORROR -more-

As the summer ended, the “tipping point” was reached on Iraq. Most Americans now believe that the war is unwinnable, that our troops should be brought home and the funds reallocated to pay for the recent hurricane damage and to bolster homeland security. The problem is that George W. Bush doesn’t agree; despite the change in public sentiment, and the fact that his approval ratings have plummeted, the president continues to insist we’re making progress and, therefore, the occupation should endure. It’s unlikely that Bush will change his mind. George’s carefully crafted image as America’s “CEO President” ignores the reality that he was a failure as an executive. He made dreadful mistakes, but never learned from them; now they have come back to haunt America, as the Iraq situation deteriorates. -more-

One of the problems about having an adult discussion about Bill Bennett’s recent race remarks is that we simply don’t have the words with which to conduct it. -more-

Gang of three -more-

Six months have passed since we started working with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to finalize any remaining cleanup at Campus Bay. We have some good news to share, with more updates expected in the coming months. -more-

If you read the headline in the Daily Planet (“West Berkeley Forum Challenges the Rezoning of Major Thoroughfares,” by Richard Brenneman), you’d think there was nothing but unanimous support for this completely orchestrated meeting against the rezoning of Ashby Avenue and Gilman Streets. That’s far from the truth. My comments were the first ones made after the presentation of the “so-called panel of experts” and Mr. Brenneman conveniently ignored them in the highly biased tradition of this glorious free speech publication. -more-

I returned from a wonderful trip to the Peruvian Amazon and the Camino Inca to hear of a commentary in the Daily Planet (Sept. 13) seriously disparaging my assessment of the KPFA situation. It was signed by the four union reps of the core paid staff at KPFA. They write with great authority, accusing me of “abandoning reason” and being “singularly misinformed about the facts.” But I infer that in aiming to make me look biased and uninformed they are targeting the views of hundreds if not thousands of actual listeners that are being also disparaged. If I read it well, the article by Ballard, Lilly, Mericle, and Maldari seems to imply that I am either a lone wolf crying in the night, a spokesperson for a small group of misguided disaffected listeners, and/or a shill for KPFA Station Manager Roy Campanella. Thoughtful reflection should lead to a different conclusion. -more-

The UC Berkeley Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies will present Marc Blitzstein’s celebrated musical about the labor movement, The Cradle Will Rock, originally staged by Orson Welles for the WPA’s Federal Theatre Project in 1937, openi ng tonight (Friday) at 8 p.m. with five more performances through Oct. 16. -more-

Dona Rosa, a blind fado singer from Portugal, and Azerbaijani Ashuq vocalists Gulare Azafli and Zulfiyye Ibadova will bring the San Francisco World Music Festival to Berkeley’s Ashkenaz, as part of Ashkenaz’s “Taproots & New Growth” series, Sunday at 8:15 p.m. -more-

FRIDAY, OCT. 7 -more-

Once a year the coastal town of Half Moon Bay shines in an orange-tinged light, the site of the famous Art and Pumpkin Festival. Fun-filled delights for all ages await those able to negotiate roads that resemble clogged arteries, allowing individual cars, like blood cells, access to town. -more-

FRIDAY, OCT. 7 -more-