A 76-year-old man died early Thursday as flames did more than $1 million in damage to his North Berkeley home. -more-

In two dramatic votes Wednesday, members of Berkeley’s Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC) adopted a preservation-oriented platform and called for transforming a block of Center Street into a pedestrian plaza. -more-

As the Berkeley Landmarks War heads for a second showdown at the ballot box, preservationists opened a second front in the courts Tuesday. -more-

Those who may have thought that Ron Dellums would alter his political positions before the business community now that he has entered Oakland’s City Hall, or that the business community would be less than favorable to Dellums’ previously announced positions, got a sense they may be wrong at the San Francisco Business Times’ Annual Mayors’ Economic Forecast breakfast at the San Francisco Hilton on Wednesday morning. -more-

The Berkeley school board voted unanimously on Wednesday to accept the Berkeley High School environmental impact report on the Berkeley High School South of Bancroft Master Plan and to approve the Master Plan project. -more-

Some called proposals the Berkeley City Council debated Tuesday evening on commission restrictions “good government,” but others said imposing limits on the number of years commissioners can serve on one commission and on the number of commissions they can serve on at one time was a political move aimed at squelching the voices of commissioners who question large development projects. -more-

Membership in the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce underscores the city’s desire to promote business, Chamber Executive Director Rachel Rupert told the council Tuesday, arguing against a resolution that would have the city cancel memberships in organizations that participate in electoral politics. -more-

While legislative term limits prematurely ended the assembly career of Oakland area representative Wilma Chan, it has helped to immediately boost her successor, Sandré Swanson, up the leadership ladder. -more-

One week after George W. Bush told the nation he would commit 20,000 additional troops to fight on the ground in Iraq, the Bay Area peace community got the bold response it wanted to hear. -more-

Over the years, anxious parents taking the first step toward admitting their children to school have found a guiding light in the Berkeley Unified School District’s Kindergarten Fair. -more-

A planned Saturday afternoon protest and celebration of the Memorial Stadium tree-in aims at recruiting returning UC Berkeley students to the cause of the six branch-sitters and their allies. -more-

As the Global Exchange tour bus makes its way out of Caracas, our Venezuelan guide explains that what we are passing—an extensive array of makeshift dwellings on both sides of the highway—is the largest shantytown in Latin America, rivaled only by the slums of Rio De Janeiro. -more-

More than 15,000 customers of Amazon.com have signed my online petition threatening to close their accounts and take their business elsewhere if the Internet shopping site continues to present a new book by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in an unusually negative light. -more-

‘UNIVERSAL’ MEANS SINGLE PAYER -more-

This is the season for taking stock of the year that has just passed and making resolutions about the one that has just begun. It is a time of ambitious lists. Under the heading “Civic Affairs,” here is mine. -more-

Much has been written in the past several months about Berkeley’s troubled Housing Authority. Much more devastating news is likely to emerge in the coming months. -more-

Is Israel, supported by the Bush administration, preparing to launch an atomic war against Iran? That is a question being asked in the wake of a Jan. 7 report by the London Sunday Times that claims the Israeli government is planning to attack Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons. -more-

It has been said that on the eve of the World War II-era allied D-Day invasion of France, allied commander Dwight Eisenhower put in his pocket two separate statements for possible dissemination at the conclusion of the next day’s battle—one announcing victory, the other defeat. -more-

By Jane Powell -more-

First of all, let’s get our terminology right. Pergo is one brand of laminate flooring and not, by any stretch, the onsly one. There are many brands of laminate flooring, Pergo was just the first. Actually, even that isn’t wholly accurate and why not be accurate? Pergo, a Swedish company, first applied laminate technology to flooring in 1994 and has, in an amazingly short while, completely changed the face of the flooring business. This stuff is everywhere. -more-

We’re still freezing and so are our gardens (My poor red–leaf banana!) and I’m telling you it’s time to think about irrigation? Yes indeed. -more-