News

Although former Berkeley Police Sgt. Cary Kent, who pleaded guilty to felony charges of grand theft and possession of heroin and methamphetamine was sentenced Friday to one year in county jail, he’ll do no time behind bars. Friday, Judge Don Clay offered the now-retired officer an “alternative” to jail. -more-

Zoning Adjustments Board members ruled on three controversial projects Thursday night, approving the environmental impact report and the permit that will enable construction of a new Berkeley Bowl at 920 Heinz Ave., denying a permit for a new Quizno’s sandwich shop and approving installation of a new odor-control system for Pacific Steel Casting, 1421 Second St. -more-

A string of arson and suspicious fires has plagued a normally quiet South Berkeley neighborhood since Monday, causing jitters among residents in the area around Shattuck Avenue and the Ashby BART Station. -more-

In 1956 Pat and Fred Cody borrowed $5,000 and gave birth to the original Cody’s Books in an 18-by-29-foot shop on Euclid Ave. -more-

On Wednesday afternoon a sea lion at the Berkeley Marina did more than just catch a ball on its nose and clap. -more-

It finally happened. -more-

The 91,060-square-foot project that promises to supply residents of West Berkeley with fresh, organic food won a victory Wednesday. -more-

Planning Commissioners voted to recommend changes to the city’s contentious Creeks Ordinance on Wednesday as devised by the ad-hoc Creeks Task Force. Or did they? -more-

“While some mothers will be receiving flowers on Mother’s Day, there will be those who will be in tears.” -more-

High school seniors who have not passed the exit exam could score a reprieve today. -more-

Oakland teachers approved a tentative contract agreement Wednesday, but union officials aren’t celebrating. -more-

Political luminaries are refusing to cross a picket line at UC Berkeley graduation ceremonies this week. -more-

Gay ice skaters Alan Lessik and John Manzon-Santos praised Wednesday’s mediated settlement of a lawsuit in which they charged a Berkeley Iceland employee with discrimination. -more-

The Alameda County Medical Center moved this week to stop the budget bleeding at the county’s financially troubled hospital system, with trustees voting unanimously to approve more than $23 million in immediate budget reductions. -more-

The Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees has joined the list of educational organizations calling for a change in the accreditation process for California community colleges. -more-

Editor’s Note: This is a first-person account, written at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, of the fire that broke out Monday night at 3045 Shattuck Ave. The structure has been known by the nickname “the Flying Cottage” ever since the owner raised a one-story house above two additional stories nearly three years ago. The city shut down the project mid-construction because the owner had not received the necessary permits for such a project and the property has sat vacant and boarded up since. -more-

Blaming big chain and Internet booksellers, as well as a lack of help from the city, Andy Ross, owner and president of Cody’s Books, Inc., has announced he’s shutting down Cody’s oldest store on Telegraph Avenue in July. -more-

Neighbors of a new building on Telegraph Avenue will be raising concerns about a proposed 44-seat Quiznos restaurant at 3095 Telegraph Ave. at the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) meeting on Thursday. -more-

The half-billion-dollar set of projects planned around California Memorial Stadium carry “unavoidable significant impacts” in at least 14 areas, according to a draft environmental impact report (EIR) released Monday. -more-

Aurelia River has worked six years at the Shattuck Cinema in downtown Berkeley, with a 50-cent increase in salary during that time, going from $6.75 to $7.25 an hour for almost full-time work. She earns no benefits. -more-

On the heels of multiple protests—some clothing-optional—UC has agreed to revise its sweatshop policy, UC Berkeley student activists announced Tuesday. -more-

A meeting last week on development in downtown Berkeley was closed to the public. -more-

The dense, five-story project at University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way that Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) member Bob Allen dubbed “the Trader Joe’s Building” is back on ZAB’s agenda Thursday night. -more-

There are two days to go before the Zoning Adjustments Board is scheduled to render a verdict on use permits for the West Berkeley Bowl project, but at a special meeting late last week, board members indicated they still have a number of concerns. -more-

A statewide education revolt is growing against the agency that accredits California community colleges in part because of recent actions the agency has taken against the Peralta and the Compton Community College Districts. -more-

A former Berkeley resident alleges in a lawsuit filed in federal court two weeks ago that a Union City police detective chased him, tackled him, then punched him repeatedly after he broke the mirror of the officer’s personal vehicle, while dodging the vehicle that was about to hit him. -more-

A 12-member board will outline the plans for a major development at the Ashby BART parking lot, according to an announcement released late Friday. -more-

The American Kennel Club is howling about a law some members of the Citizens Humane Commission are proposing that would mandate the spaying and neutering of most Berkeley pit bulls, a breed overrepresented in the city’s animal shelter. -more-

Landmarks Preservation Commissioners looked at the latest draft of Mayor Tom Bates’ revision of the city’s landmarks ordinance and scheduled a special May 25 meeting to address their concerns. -more-

LOS ANGELES — Immigrant rights leaders have repeatedly and with great pride compared the movement for humane immigration reform to the great civil rights battles of the 1960s. They have cited the Poor Peoples March in 1968, the high esteem that Cesar Chavez held for Dr. Martin Luther King, and the unequivocal support that top civil rights leaders and the Congressional Black Caucus has given to immigrant rights as solid models of black and brown cooperation. Yet, despite these public pronouncements, there has been no sustained movement to build any real coalitions with blacks on the immigration issue. -more-