A resolution on tonight’s (Tuesday) City Council agenda, calling on the House of Representatives to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney, is not just another feel-good Berkeley measure. -more-

After decades of wrangling, neighbors of Alta Bates Hospital gathered at the Alta Bates auditorium last week to express their outrage at the city’s decision to install a road across the hard-won grassy mall next to the hospital. -more-

A Berkeley assemblymember’s bill scheduled for debate this week in the assembly Education Committee would not end military recruitment on California’s high school campuses, but it would make it easier for parents to exempt their children from the recruitment process. -more-

The chairperson of the UC Board of Regents said this week that there may be disciplinary action taken in the wake of the university’s employee compensation scandal, but what those disciplinary actions might be will not be revealed until the regents’ May meeting. -more-

Small class sizes, school libraries and music and arts education are just a few of the programs the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) will ask local voters to support this November. -more-

The Berkeley City Council will begin its meeting tonight (Tuesday) with a Disaster Training Workshop at 5 p.m. An executive session meeting on the threat of a lawsuit be developer Patrick Kennedy will by held at 6 p.m. The council will begin its regular meeting at 7 p.m. -more-

The Transportation Commission last week weighed in on a traffic report for mixed-use development at University Avenue at Martin Luther King Jr. Way, moved forward with a solution to parking losses on Telegraph Avenue and introduced design options for the downtown Berkeley BART station. -more-

Time is running out for the Planning Commission to officially weigh in on the city’s much-debated Creeks Ordinance, but a viable recommendation is still weeks away. -more-

Although Hispanic media helped to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people in last month’s immigration protests, they are split when it comes to the economic boycott planned for May 1. -more-

The controversial proposal to build a massive five-story high-rise at the corner of University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way comes before ZAB Thursday. -more-

It’s over. The Italian superior court has declared that Silvio Berlusconi is out and that Romano Prodi has won. But more than voting out Berlusconi’s center-right alliance or approving Prodi’s center-left coalition, Italians have chosen to go back to the splintered governments preceding the early 1990s. -more-

I was in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at my aunt’s 95th birthday party. Her name was Pricilla, but everyone called her Aunt Gussie. She had outlived all of her friends and contemporaries and was the matriarch and Griot (oral historian) of our family. -more-

STRAWBERRY CREEK -more-

Much has been written in these pages about the prospect of a regulation baseball diamond for the Berkeley High baseball team. Reams of articles and opinions have been written as a matter of fact. Others have been written as a matter of fancy. Few articles or commentaries have, however, addressed the perspective of what results from not building such a field. What happens, of course, is that things stay the way they are. With San Pablo Park being the practice and game field for the team. So what’s that like? -more-

On April 25 the Berkeley City Council will vote to consider a comprehensive Alcoholic Beverage Sales Commercial Activities Regulation plan. One aspect of this proposal is mandatory Responsible Beverage Service training (RBS) for licensees, managers, servers and clerks prior to selling alcoholic beverages. -more-

Graham called me a hypocrite for urging Berkeley’s City Council and Peace and Justice Commission (P&J) to pass anti-Palestinian resolutions, when I derided the same bodies for passing a pro-Palestinian resolution. I never said, nor did mean, any such thing. I do not believe that Berkeley city government has any constructive role to play in the locally divisive issue of the Palestine/Israel conflict. I merely said that Berkeley’s Palestinian supporters like Graham, should have a good heart-to-heart with their Palestinian friends and let them know that their election of Hamas won’t wash even here in Berkeley. If Graham and her buddies want to stand by Hamas, fine. At least I tried to talk some sense into them. -more-

I take JetBlue when I fly back East because it offers multiple, non-stop flights from Oakland to JFK at a price I can almost afford. I like flying from Oakland Airport because I can walk out my front door and get to the departure gate fast and easily by public transportation. -more-

Hunger calls as the sun rises or, in some cases, long after it’s crossed the sky. Hundreds of cafes are ready to entice your taste buds. From the happy trio of eggs, potatoes and breakfast meat to sweeter yummies like pancakes, waffles, French toast or crepes. Steaming hot lattes, fresh orange juice. Smells and flavors reminding us of home or favorite friends. -more-

It’s official! Last Tuesday night the Berkeley City Council approved a resolution sponsored by councilmembers Betty Olds and Dona Spring, designating the barn owl as our city bird. I was at Old City Hall for the event but did not make it into the council chamber, which was packed with young jocks lobbying for the Derby Street baseball field. -more-