News

The Berkeley City Council did not take any action in a closed-session discussion Monday regarding a cannabis clinic's proposal to move into the former Scharffen Berger chocolate factory. -more-

A Berkeley High School student has been suspended for handing out marijuana-laced cookies to his friends. -more-

UC Berkeley police are asking people to be on the lookout for “Potty Pirates”—thieves who are removing brass flushing hardware from toilets and urinals on the UC Berkeley campus. -more-

Although the Berkeley Board of Education was scheduled to vote on Berkeley’s first public charter school proposal Wednesday, Feb. 3, the petition was withdrawn at the last minute. -more-

Five years after taking over Solano Avenue’s Oaks Theater, Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Theaters has decided not to renew its lease when it expires at the end of February. -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education asked for more information from Berkeley High School Wednesday before weighing in on whether it should re-direct parcel tax funds from science labs toward equity grants. -more-

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has ruled out Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s suggestion that three American hikers detained by his country be swapped for Iranian citizens held in the United States. -more-

The Berkeley Daily Planet has discovered that the company that has prepared its payroll for eight years vanished from its Oakland office shortly after the first of this year, leaving behind a trail of unpaid taxes and embezzlement charges. The Planet is not the only victim of what looks like a major fraud and a possible Ponzi scheme worthy of Bernie Madoff—the company claimed that it had more than 100 clients. Most of them are small businesses or nonprofits, and it seems likely that most of them have been stung. The total take could be in the millions of dollars. -more-

After abandoning plans to construct a new museum, Berkeley Art Musem/Pacific Film Archive announced Wednesday that it is examining the possibility of moving into the former UC Printing Plant at 2120 Oxford St. -more-

The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board sided with Southside Lofts residents Thursday when it unanimously denied a use permit for a laundromat at 3095 Telegraph Ave., citing health and safety concerns. -more-

Last week Newsweek broke the story that the Justice Department will finally release its long-awaited report on the lawyers who justified the Bush administration’s torture and wiretapping policies. But according to what’s been leaked, the report’s findings aren’t what they used to be. The previous charge of professional misconduct against Office of Legal Council lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee has been replaced by a simple accusation of “poor judgment.” While the report in its original form would have triggered referral to state bar associations for possible disbarment, the new report looks to be about as strong as a slap on the wrist. -more-

If the Berkeley City Council signs off on a recommendation made by the Planning Commission last week, then some quick-service restaurants may soon be able to avoid a cumbersome alcohol permitting process. -more-

Reuters reported Tuesday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told state television that the three UC Berkeley graduates detained in Iran on espionage charges may be exchanged for Iranians jailed in the United States. -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education was scheduled to hear the controversial plan to eliminate before- and after-school science labs at Berkeley High School at its Wednesday night meeting, too late for the Daily Planet’s deadline. -more-

Two powerful documentaries—one profiling Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and the other celebrating dolphin-trainer-turned-activist Ric O’Barry—are among the five finalists in the 2010 Academy Awards race for best documentary. Both have ties to Berkeley. -more-

A recording of the San Francisco Symphony featuring local youth choirs won three Grammy awards, including Best Classical Album, on Sunday. -more-

The body of a 37-year-old Berkeley woman was found south of a pier on Sharp Park Beach in Pacifica this weekend after she was swept into the ocean by a strong current, according to police. -more-

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The zoning board approved the construction of a two-story, 6,478-square-foot, 10-car garage house on a 30,000-square-foot parcel at 2707 Rose St. for philanthropists Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein despite last-minute neighborhood resistance. -more-

More than 100 Berkeley Adult School employees showed up at a Jan. 20 School Board meeting to protest the governor’s most recent round of budget cuts to education, a move they fear might affect them greatly. -more-

The U.S. Department of Transportation will award $15 million to AC Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit project, which proposes to develop an express bus system along a 17-mile route through Berkeley, Oakland and San Leandro. -more-

Alameda voters on Tuesday appeared to have decisively voted down a proposal to redevelop the site of the former Alameda Naval Air Station at Alameda Point. -more-

A Berkeley police motorcycle officer was injured in a motorcycle collision with a car at the intersection of Ashby and Benvenue avenues at 4:21 p.m. Tuesday. -more-

Tom Condit, a lifelong Socialist and longtime resident of Berkeley, died Jan. 9 at Kaiser Oakland after battling prostate cancer. -more-

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