Preservationists won a hard-fought battle Thursday when members of the Zoning Adjustment Board made clear that as far as they were concerned, any development at 2526 Durant Ave. would have to include the Blood House. -more-

OAKLAND—The leaders of California’s university and college towns took a step towards easing the financial burden caused by those educational institutions, meeting last Friday in Oakland to begin drawing up a long-range mitigation plan. -more-

A collection of 26 Berkeley residents, including Berkeley High PTA President Lee Berry, requested Friday that the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury investigate financial mismanagement at Berkeley Unified School District’s Food Services Department. -more-

With 2002 election figures showing that Berkeley candidates laid out roughly $720,000 on city campaigns—roughly one-third more than in 1998—the City Council Tuesday will debate a plan to make Berkeley the first city in the nation to fully finance municipal elections. -more-

TUESDAY, MARCH 16 -more-

BUSD Extends Superintendent’s Contract -more-

In the story “Gaia Building Criticized For Lack Of Arts Tenants” (Daily Planet, March 5-8), we reported that “12 of the 91 apartments [in the Gaia Building]... are reserved for tenants who earn 80 percent and less of the median area income.” The information was obtained from a website operated by the Berkeley city manager’s office. Panoramic Interests head Patrick Kennedy has informed us by letter that the Gaia Building currently has “19 units set aside for low-income residents at 50 percent” of the area median income. The 19 unit set-aside figure is confirmed in a newly-released document by the city manager’s office.› -more-

NEW DELHI, India—India’s pro-Hindu ruling party is feeling good. -more-

A Berkeley public transportation advocacy group has appealed to the City Council a use permit granted last month for the planned 176-unit Library Gardens project, slated to rise just west of the public library. -more-

A while back the Berkeley police chased someone over the Oakland border and into my neighborhood. I heard the sirens and screeching tires long before they arrived. When I looked out my front window, I could see cop cars on every corner and others cruising up and down Dover and its side streets. I left my 17-month-old nephew and my 13-year-old friend Jernae safely inside and went out to investigate. There was a police car parked in front of my house. -more-

Armed Robbery -more-

ON THE HOMEFRONT -more-

Dear Tom, -more-

It’s always awkward to find yourself challenging a sacred cow. So when a revered Bay Area theatre company produces a play by a genius of modern drama and loads it with justifiably respected actors, it’s rather uncomfortable if you think the whole thing is a bust. -more-

Standing on the deck off the third-story studio at his Berkeley home, Khalil Bendib tries to match his pose to that of the Statue of Liberty. Oversized pen in one hand and a fez on his head, he checks an old newspaper photo of the statue to make sure he is holding his head in the right place and stretching his arm up high enough. Like everything Bendib does, he is in the process of creating a spoof by re-imagining a well-known scene and making it his own. -more-

TUESDAY, MARCH 16 -more-

For the last few months a Bewick’s wren has been hanging out in my yard. We hear it much more often than we see it. Its song is one of those I can never seem to associate with the singer (not that my ear for birdsong is all that great; every spring I have to re-learn robin versus grosbeak versus tanager all over again). David Sibley transcribes it as “t-t zree drr-dree tututututututu,” which is supposed to represent a mix of trills and buzzes with a descending pitch. Peterson says it sounds like a song sparrow’s, but thinner. It doesn’t help that the song varies from region to region, and between individuals. Mostly I just wait for the wren—a small brown bird with grayish underparts and a white eyestripe—to show itself. -more-