The Editor's Back Fence

We've just learned via a well-researched story on berkeleyside.com that Hill Street Realty is asking the CIty of Berkeley for its third extension on the so-called "Berkeley Plaza" development that they proposed for the corner of Harold Way and Shattuck, in the space originally Hink's Department store and more recently Shattuck Cinemas. They've been trying unsuccessfully to flip the project, which depended for its approval on an obviously undeliverable list of supposed community benefits. The current progressive council majority was elected partly because of community outrage over this project, so their supporters expect that they will stop the staff from granting another free pass to Hill and its fixer Mark Rhoades, even though he's the former city planning director.