Adding fuel to a state agricultural department plan already under fire, spraying seven heavily populated northern California counties to eradicate the light brown apple moth (LBAM), a just-released report says the pest, present in New Zealand for 100 years, is controlled there by natural predators and that California should follow suit. -more-

A community meeting Saturday focused on recent allegations of racism at Cragmont Elementary School. Organized by the People’s Institute of Survival and Beyond at its Bancoft Way office, the meeting was one of a series planned to bring together local activists, parents and teachers to discuss racism in the city’s schools. -more-

For investors, biofuels and other green technology could be the Next Big Thing, Al Gore’s business partner told Berkeley faculty and students Friday. -more-

Want to build green? The best way isn’t to build at all, but to retrofit an existing building, says architect and green building expert Sandra Mendler. -more-

It could take some 20 years and $31 million for the city to fully implement the Pedestrian Master Plan, a draft of which the transportation division delivered to the City Council this week. -more-

A tree-sitter in Sproul Plaza was not arrested Monday, though supporters said they were concerned about him when some eight UC Berkeley Police including the chief and assistant chief surrounded the tree. -more-

Lawyers in the battle over the UC Berkeley Memorial Stadium-area projects will have their last courtroom say on Friday. -more-

The Oakland City Council At-Large race took an unexpected turn last week when incumbent Henry Chang opted not to file for re-election, and a major challenger, Oakland Unified School District Board member Kerry Hamill, delayed filing until this week. -more-

The Berkeley Planning Commission faces a single issue on its Wednesday night agenda: the ever-controversial density bonus. -more-

Berkeley Unified School District’s kindergarten enrollment is on the rise. -more-

The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate the Hezlett’s Silk Store building at 2277 Shattuck Ave. as a City of Berkeley landmark Thursday. -more-

On the shortest day of the year, a sunny day sandwiched between rainy ones enticed me out of the house. In spite of the arthritis pain gnawing my left hip, I decided to go to the Berkeley Marina for a few power laps around Cesar Chavez Park. With each step the joint grated like metal on metal, but I was determined to overwhelm it with exercise. -more-

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Last Thursday I gave water to a young man sitting in a tree on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. I was arrested for it. It took only a moment to make the decision to throw him water, and I was told by another student that I would likely be arrested, but I acted because I doubted the existence of a law in which a person could legally be denied water, a basic human need. I was cited for PC 148a(1), which is obstructing or disobeying the orders of a police officer. -more-

“City of Berkeley, the water is murky” has become the latest rap on the city’s crumbling storm drain infrastructure. For nearly two decades, Berkeley’s Clean Water efforts in controlling surface water pollution have amounted to little more than a “greenwash” of meaningless phrases such as “Save the Bay.” -more-

In the recent political battle around the Marine recruiting station in Berkeley there has been much confusion around the concept or slogan of “supporting the troops,” but opposing the unjust wars of the Bush regime. Many who oppose the Bush regime wars also say they “support the troops.” Let me say it straight out—I do not support the troops and neither should you. It is objectively impossible to support the troops of the imperialist military forces of the U.S. and at the same time oppose the wars in which they fight. -more-

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-

We were out at Lafayette Reservoir a couple of weeks ago, looking for the bald eagle that wasn’t there. But there was a fair amount of butterfly action: a probable echo blue, some small hyperactive orange jobs, and three or four mourning cloaks, sparring or courting—it’s hard to tell with butterflies. -more-