Beneath its tranquil surface, the Berkeley Public Library is rife with tension. -more-

Freedom of information advocates got a boost this week when national media company Bloomberg Financial Markets joined the Berkeley Daily Planet’s action to unseal California Wal-Mart records filed in a class action lawsuit. -more-

A Berkeley High School student accused of inadvertently bringing a gun on campus in her backpack is entitled to an expulsion hearing before the school board which could limit her punishment, expel her for a full year, or find her innocent, according to a youth rights expert. -more-

Blocked from showing first-run art films by the collective clout of Berkeley’s two major theater operators, Allen Michaan has given up the Oaks Theater at 1875 Solano Ave. -more-

UC Berkeley Monday asked the Richmond City Council to derail a proposed council resolution that calls for stricter oversight of the ongoing toxic waste cleanup at the Richmond Field Station (RFS). -more-

Question: How can an election in which women are not allowed to run or vote, which is restricted to the municipal level and in which voters are allowed to elect only half of their city councils be vitally important? -more-

Small schools, diversity, and the achievement gap between white and minority students—issues that have been driving Berkeley public school policy for several years—will be highlighted Wednesday at the Berkeley Unified School District board meeting. -more-

The Berkeley City Council meets today (Tuesday) with a single-minded focus on how to deal with the city’s estimated $7.5 million deficit. -more-

A group of local environmentalists kicked off their bid Tuesday to pressure U.S. Congress and the Bush administration to ratify the Kyoto Protocol one city at a time. -more-

“Everything happened so quickly,” says Pradeep, a tall, trim real estate agent based in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area, recalling his first nervous meeting with Madhu, his bride-to-be, at a four-star hotel in New Delhi on Christmas 2002. -more-

NIGHT LIFE DISTRICT -more-

Click here to view the latest work by Justin DeFreitas -more-

Now that the movie Million Dollar Baby has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, and conservative groups and some members of the disabled community are openly criticizing the subject matter covered within the film, I think it’s safe to talk about its plot in this column. However, if you haven’t seen this flick and would like to be surprised by the ending, read no further. I’m about to disclose the final moments of the film and my reaction to it. -more-

Do you think Strom Thurmond loved his baby mama? Did he love her gentleness, her sense of humor, the look of her luscious brown skin or the feel of her soft, cottony hair? Or was she just a booty call? No, those are generally consensual. And how could a poor, black, teenaged maid consent to have sex with her wealthy, white, adult employer in the 1920s, and in South Carolina, no less? If it wasn’t statutory rape, perhaps it was just another case of American family values, Southern Christian style. -more-

In 1984 George Orwell described a Ministry of Truth, which operated a system of mind control, Newspeak, used to keep the citizens of Oceania under the thumb of a totalitarian regime headed by the ubiquitous Big Brother. The slogans of the Ministry were: “War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery” and “Ignorance is Strength.” -more-

Middle School Stoners -more-

MONTREAL— Before last year’s election, lots of blue-state Americans said they'd leave for Canada if Bush was re-elected. Then the unthinkable happened. But the word on the street is that few have left. -more-

Saturday, Jan. 22 marked the 32nd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which abortion rights supporters celebrated as necessary for women’s equality and well-being. Here in the Bay Area, a new Roe tradition began on that day—a first ever Walk for Life in honor of those whose lives were ended before birth, and in support of women and men who bear the scars of abortion. -more-

Gov. Schwarzenegger has broken his promise to protect schools and students from harmful budget cuts. His recent budget proposals undermine the education funding protections California voters supported through Proposition 98. We cannot allow this to happen. Just in the last several years, California schools have suffered more than $9.8 billion in cuts. This means that schools across the state have had to shut down, increase their class sizes, layoff many wonderful teachers and support staff They suffer from a shortage of needed librarians, counselors, nurses, custodians, and grounds keepers. Gov. Schwarzenegger is content with California’s ranking 43rd in the nation for per-pupil funding. By under funding our education he is forcing our schools to go without basic supplies and instructional materials, cut art and music programs, extracurricular activities and, after-school programs. -more-

When Rita Kimball became the principal of Washington Elementary School seven years ago, she says, it was an institution in crisis. Morale was low, test scores were down and teachers argued bitterly in staff meetings. -more-

The May Flower -more-

Fledgling theater troupe Ragged Wing Ensemble has plucked a triumph from a famous exercise in physical theater in their first production, Jean Claude Van Itallie’s The Serpent, originally created for The Open Theater (Joe Chaikin’s group) in New York, 1968. -more-

TUESDAY, FEB. 15 -more-

It’s still mid February, but by some measures it’s already spring. The wildflowers are popping up—half a dozen species on the coastal bluffs at Point Reyes last week, and fetid adder’s-tongues and trilliums among the redwoods. I’ve seen reports of returning swallows in the East Bay: not just the predictably early tree swallows, but a couple of barn and cliff swallows as well. And some birds are well into their nesting seasons, the calendar be damned. -more-

TUESDAY, FEB. 15 -more-

“This is the story of a thousand people drinking Shirley Temples and smoking candy cigarettes, and they all think they’re in a back room with their Scotch and cigars.” -more-