Some stories are impossible to write as an objective reporter. -more-

Between Mayor Tom Bates’ State of the City address, a motion on the controversial Ashby BART housing project and a hearing on the city’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, Berkeley’s City Council will have its hands full tonight (Tuesday). -more-

Steve Barton, Berkeley’s housing director, said, “It’s probably the most complicated financial structure ever put together for a non-profit development in Berkeley, and quite possibly the most complicated for any Berkeley project.” -more-

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California is demanding information from the U.S. military about a report of spying on UC students who have protested the Iraq war. -more-

Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commissioners issued a scathing review of plans for the Prince Hall Arms, a four-story, 42-unit senior citizen residential and commercial building planned for 3132 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. -more-

Investigators seized more than 30,000 electronic child pornography images when they searched the locker last month of a Berkeley firefighter who is now being held in Santa Rita jail in lieu of $1 million in bail, said the prosecutor handling his case. -more-

Berkeley officers are investigating two different shooting reports that occurred during the predawn hours Sunday. -more-

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Hit, run, burn -more-

Planning commissioners will face a full agenda when they meet Wednesday night, while the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) faces a fairly light slate Thursday. -more-

A clean-air watchdog group is threatening to sue Pacific Steel Casting, if the West Berkeley foundry fails to permanently eradicate foul odor emissions within 30 days. -more-

In the wake of a U.S. Court of Appeals rejection of the City of Berkeley’s bid to regulate telecommunications companies inside the city’s borders, one of the leading proponents of that regulation says that the issue should be dropped for now. -more-

After a relatively quiet period at the end of 2005, the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees returned last week to the type of open-ended fiscal battles that marked the first of last year. If that continues, it would seem to dim the prospects of the passage of a new construction bond measure in the near future, which district leaders have repeatedly said is needed to repair and rebuild the district’s aging facilities. -more-

OAKLAND (BCN)—A University of California, Berkeley football player testified today that Dartmouth College student Meleia Willis-Starbuck was arguing with a group of men in Berkeley just before she was shot to death last July 17. -more-

Stew Albert, one of the creators of People’s Park, a former editor of the Berkeley Barb and a founder of the Youth International Party—the Yippies—died Monday at his home in Portland, Ore. -more-

The elephant before them was the groom in a shotgun wedding. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO—Turn a quiet corner of the U.S. health care system and bump into a medical niche unknown — and unavailable — to most patients. -more-

From where I sit on Thursdays in the Friends’ bookstore at the Central Library, I can watch parents and their children streaming into the elevator for the ride up to the Children’s Room on the fourth floor. I remember 50 years ago when my own children and I climbed the endless staircase up to what was then the library’s top floor. They loved hearing their voices and footsteps echoing in the tall space and the exhilarating—and scary—glimpses down the stairwell. -more-

Residents of Berkeley and surrounding communities with a connection to San Pablo Park during the years from the Depression through the 1960s have been invited by the city to come to the park this Saturday to share their memories. -more-

The headline is a quote from the father of a friend of mine, who knew whereof he spoke. The aptness of his cynical worldview has been apparent in the last week. -more-

Thanks, Cindy Sheehan, for giving us a nice hook for one of our periodic lectures on why everyone should love the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Here’s what it says: -more-

To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit -more-

TRIBUNE REPORTER -more-

Since I have had experience with redevelopment projects, I have been asked to discuss redevelopment and the current Ashby BART station proposal now before you. Frankly, this task is impossible because the Caltrans grant application which the City Council voted to support on Dec. 13, 2005 is in direct opposition to what the grant’s major proponents are saying it means. Let’s look at three areas as examples: -more-

I urge the City Council to vote against Mayor Bates’ proposal to alter the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, or LPO. (This is item 17 on their Feb. 7 agenda.) Among many good reasons to oppose the mayor’s proposal, let me emphasize two. -more-

There are a number of people in this community, who are taking a pretty hard line position regarding the Ashby BART planning proposal submitted to CalTrans by Max Anderson, Ed Church and the city, particularly Mayor Tom Bates. This group of hardliners includes, among others, the ad hoc steering committee, a group of people who volunteered to keep working on this issue following the large community meeting that many of you attended, and myself. -more-

To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit -more-

BLACK & WHITE -more-

I am a member of the Steering Committee of Neighbors on Urban Creeks and a member of the Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Board. I have spent considerable time attending meetings, studying this complex issue and speaking to people about it. Because I don’t live on or near an open or culverted creek that is regulated under the city’s current Creeks Ordinance, you might well ask why I spend my time this way. I do it because besides being a creeks issue, it’s also a people and neighborhood issue. -more-

District 3 representative Max Anderson has placed a resolution on the Tuesday, Feb. 7 City Council agenda specifically excluding declaration of a Transit Village Development District or a Redevelopment Area, or exercise of eminent domain, as part of Ashby BART development. That’s good. (That resolution, and the other documents mentioned below, can be found on nabart.com.) Anderson’s resolution also reaffirms support for the city’s Caltrans grant application. That’s bad. Here’s why: -more-

It is 1963. Americans across the South—white activists, black ministers and plenty of ordinary folks—are rising up against segregation, against the hypocrisy of separate but equal. They are sitting-in at lunch counters, fighting for the right to vote, the right to earn equal wages, the right to live in decent homes and send their children to good schools. -more-

Last week I went out to the Legion of Honor to see the show “After the Ruins, 1906 and 2006: Rephotographing the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.” The exhibit pairs archival pictures of a devastated San Francisco with shots of today’s city taken from the same viewpoints. As I contemplated the stunning contrasts between the ruined townscape and the reconstructed one, I began to think about the different ways we perceive radical urban change. -more-

Michele booked some friends and me into an all-inclusive Jamaican resort—one of those places where you can kill yourself doing activities, drink yourself to death, or eat until you can’t move. I chose the former, though I did some of the latter as well. -more-

I’ve spent lots of time, breath, and column inches here and elsewhere in the past telling people how not to kill their trees. Don’t top trees; don’t hack away most of their limbs; don’t leave stubs; don’t hire inept bozos who do any of the above. Don’t plant them in the wrong place, or too deeply. Don’t irrigate native live oaks. Don’t let the base of the trunk get smothered in soil or mulch. -more-

“Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and a Treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.” -more-

One of the widely-advertised benefits of a democracy is that it requires politicians and officeholders to periodically come before the public to explain themselves in events we call elections, a process which is supposed to allow citizens the opportunity to help set the future of our city, our state, or our nation. -more-

In the late 1800s, Berkeley was a favorite retirement spot for sea captains. A number of them built imposing Victorians overlooking the Golden Gate in the North Berkeley hills, but few people know that the Southside boasted its own enclave of sailors’ residences at the intersection of Fulton and Blake Streets. -more-

If you’re a weekday plant shopper, you have only a week to get on down to Magic Gardens on Heinz Street and grab some of those nifty Japanese red-twigged variegated willows or those ’lebenty-seven rose varieties all in a row. If you’ll stoop to rubbing elbows with the weekend crowd and want to keep the place open as a retail nursery, plan on spending time and bucks there some Saturdays. As of Feb. 11, Magic Gardens, sole location will be open for retail sales only on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to start. -more-

Little houses have their own heating issues and so I’d like to ask those of you who own ranchos grande to bear with me for a few minutes while I focus on the heating needs of the little houses. -more-

The address of Razan’s Organic Kitchen was printed incorrectly in Tuesday’s paper. The restaurant is located at 2119 Kittredge St..t -more-

TUESDAY, FEB. 7 -more-

The sparsely decorated set, designed by John Iacovelli at The Aurora, says something of the fin-de-siecle Norway in which Henrik Ibsen wrote The Master Builder—simple, functional wood furniture with little adornment. In the parlor, a nosegay of deep red carnations seems almost startling. -more-

Although there are many indicators of prestige among modern educational institutions—from Nobel prizes to faculty ratings to research dollars and private donations—university libraries remain one of the enduring benchmarks of excellence in higher education. -more-

I’ve spent lots of time, breath, and column inches here and elsewhere in the past telling people how not to kill their trees. Don’t top trees; don’t hack away most of their limbs; don’t leave stubs; don’t hire inept bozos who do any of the above. Don’t plant them in the wrong place, or too deeply. Don’t irrigate native live oaks. Don’t let the base of the trunk get smothered in soil or mulch. -more-

TUESDAY, FEB. 7 -more-

FRIDAY, FEB. 3 -more-

Celebrating 81 years of good fellowship among magicians, the Oakland Magic Circle marks the installation of a new board of directors with a banquet and gala magic show featuring a tribute to Charles Dickens, himself a conjurer. Open to the public, the fun starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, with strolling close-up magicians, at Bjornson Hall (home of The Sons of Norway) on MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland. -more-

In the late 1800s, Berkeley was a favorite retirement spot for sea captains. A number of them built imposing Victorians overlooking the Golden Gate in the North Berkeley hills, but few people know that the Southside boasted its own enclave of sailors’ residences at the intersection of Fulton and Blake Streets. -more-

If you’re a weekday plant shopper, you have only a week to get on down to Magic Gardens on Heinz Street and grab some of those nifty Japanese red-twigged variegated willows or those ’lebenty-seven rose varieties all in a row. If you’ll stoop to rubbing elbows with the weekend crowd and want to keep the place open as a retail nursery, plan on spending time and bucks there some Saturdays. As of Feb. 11, Magic Gardens, sole location will be open for retail sales only on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to start. -more-

Little houses have their own heating issues and so I’d like to ask those of you who own ranchos grande to bear with me for a few minutes while I focus on the heating needs of the little houses. -more-

The address of Razan’s Organic Kitchen was printed incorrectly in Tuesday’s paper. The restaurant is located at 2119 Kittredge St..t -more-

FRIDAY, FEB. 3 -more-