Oakland Unified School District trustees dramatically changed the debate over the district’s downtown properties this week, introducing a proposal to build a “new, permanent, state of the art education center” on the 8.25-acre property currently occupied by the district’s administration building and five educational facilities. Under a resolution drafted by veteran school board trustee Noel Gallo, the new facilities would house a kindergarten through high school program, the two early childhood development centers currently on the property, and the district administrative offices. -more-

State regulators have sued Berkeley’s Pacific Steel Casting Company (PSC), demanding either an accurate, up-to-date emissions list or a $10,000-a-day fine. -more-

Neighbors of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley are irked by very loud construction noise at the hospital site, which they say has been going on for the last two weeks or more. -more-

The Nov. 7 local office elections will see five candidates competing for three open seats on the five-member Berkeley Board of Education. -more-

While the fate of Berkeley’s existing landmarks law remains an open question, a joint committee made it clear Tuesday night that they want to follow its criteria in the new downtown plan. -more-

Sunday morning we enjoyed a visit to the DMV offices on Claremont Avenue in Oakland. That’s a first—when has anyone ever enjoyed a DMV trip? The reason it was a pleasure is that we weren’t actually visiting the DMV, but were taking advantage of Oakland’s newest urban amenity, the Sunday farmers’ market which has set up shop in the parking lot there, just blocks from our home on the Berkeley border. It’s a tasty mixture of organic produce, booths for specialty cooking and a rotating roster of craftspeople and selected musicians. -more-