Hundreds of demonstrators flocked to Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley Monday to protest proposed federal immigration reform and to shore up support for immigrant rights. -more-

With South Berkeley residents complaining of threats against their lives following an appeal hearing in their Small Claims Court “drug house” lawsuit last week, questions are again being raised as to whether such lawsuits should be handled by city officials rather than by neighbors. -more-

After two years of labor strife between employees and Library Director Jackie Griffin—and growing discontent with the director from a citizen’s group—Berkeley’s Board of Library Trustees met Saturday behind closed doors to discuss possible litigation threatened by the library director’s attorney, were she to be terminated. -more-

Proposed development on San Pablo Avenue described by one resident as resembling “someone who squeezed into a pair of pants two sizes too small and is bursting at the seams” was narrowly granted a use permit by the Zoning Adjustments Board Thursday. -more-

Cheryl Chinn received a special delivery Friday: a Tupperware filled to the brim with an oily, murky liquid, and an accompanying note handwritten in marker. -more-

The battle between a developer and neighborhood preservationists in the city’s Sisterna Tract Historic District continues, in part because city staff failed to date a key document. -more-

City landmarks commissioners took up matters concerning construction at UC Berkeley twice Thursday night—once as a pitch about a massive new project at and around Memorial Staduim and again to set a hearing on landmarking the Bevatron. -more-

A crowd gathered Thursday on Bancroft Way outside UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law to denounce the United States’ role in torture, the centralization of federal power in the executive branch and Boalt Hall Professor John Yoo, the man protesters condemn as the author of these policies. -more-

Responding to Mayor Tom Bates’s proposal to weaken the city’s landmarks ordinance, Berkeley preservationists say they’ll be taking the issue to the voters. -more-

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of interviews with local elected officials. -more-

Eye check-ups topped the list of “to-do things” for homeless kids attending Berkeley’s “Youth Connect” event at the Youth Emergency Assistance Hostel (YEAH!) on April 3. -more-

Carjacked -more-

BERKELEY BOWL WEST -more-

What a sad day. I returned my library book at my local branch, picked up the book I had reserved, and checked it out—all without speaking to a soul, much less a wise librarian. -more-

Steven Donaldson’s commentary piece in this paper (“West Berkeley Bowl: Community Needs vs. Power of the Wealthy”) has unfortunately lowered the discourse on an important community issue through unnecessary personal attack, name calling, and by portraying misinformation and innuendo as truth. We feel it is necessary to offer objective information so that Berkeley citizens are able to make an informed decision. Mr. Donaldson asserts that those expressing their opinions and concerns about the Bowl (which he terms opposition) are “a small cadre of political ideologues” who are “ignoring the needs of the neighborhood, do not care about the working families of the neighborhood,” and are “funded by someone living in the Berkeley hills.” -more-

Although I can appreciate James K. Sayre’s concern over avian mortality resulting from wind turbines, I feel compelled to clarify several assertions made in his recent commentary, “Wind Turbines Will Kill Birds and Bats” (Daily Planet April 4). -more-

April is National Poetry Month and I unintentionally celebrated it last week with a visit to Manhattan. -more-

The more scientists learn about non-human cognition, the blurrier the boundary between the human mind and various animal minds seems to become. And I’m not just talking about tool-making, intention-guessing, empathetic chimps. Some remarkable findings have emerged from the study of birds—and not necessarily the kinds of birds you’d expect. -more-