Berkeley police apprehended a homeless man just after 6 a.m. Sunday—after he had set at least six blazes in the Telegraph Avenue area south of the UC Berkeley campus. -more-

The second round of campaign filings reveals that the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce has outspent proponents of Measure J by nearly three to one. -more-

Besides the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce’s Business of Better Government Political Action Committee (PAC) and the backers of Measure J, the most active PAC to report contributions was the Berkeley Democratic Club’s PAC. -more-

A rally to protest what Councilmember Kriss Worthington is calling “hit piece distortions” in recent Berkeley Chamber of Commerce political action committee mailers will be held at noon, Wednesday, Nov. 1, on the steps of Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. -more-

If money talks in political campaigns, it’s roaring these days, at least in a couple of Berkeley campaigns. -more-

A panel discussion of the upcoming national election at UC’s Wheeler Auditorium last Thursday featured some familiar faces—Joan Blades of MoveOn.com, Prof. George Lakoff of “framing” fame, and the bloggers’ hero, Markos Moulitsas, “Daily Kos,” with political scientist Bruce Cain as moderator—articulating their now-familiar themes about what’s happened to progressive politics in the United States and what can be done about it. Cain joked that the panel was “fair and balanced” just like Fox News. A strongly partisan audience was obviously hoping that one of them had brought along a crystal ball showing a clear victory for Democrats nationally next week, but no one was confident enough to make such an optimistic prediction. The fourth panelist, political science professor Paul Pierson, was a new face, a last-minute replacement for Robert Reich, another familiar member of progressive pundit arrays. -more-