7/3     Not sure if everyone here already agrees Berkeley is a pretty
        fucked up city with Mayor Jackass Shirley Dean running the show,
        but now Berkeley wants to make sure you only drink fair-trade, shade
        grown, organically grown coffee and will have a task force roving the
        cafes, making sure no one is selling "the bad coffee", and putting
        cafe owners a possible 0.6 months in jail + fine.
                            \_ Jailterm shrunken by the motd jailterm shrinker.
        \_ Don't get involved.  Leave.  They'are all insane.  -John
        \_ most of us are alums, and you should post a url explaining
           what the hell you're talking about.
           \_ This was in the news a few weeks ago.
              http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/3491892.htm
        \_ I was at the meeting where this was brought to the table (I was
           there for another issue). You may want to get your facts straight.
           I'm no fan of Mayor Dean but she didn't have anything to do with
           that initiative petition.
           It was presented by a "member of the general public" - in this case
           an individual freshly out of law school.
           If you care that much, CM Breland had the matter postponed for
           consent discussion until next week. You can have your 3 minutes next
           Tues, 7/2 at 7PM in the Old City Hall.
           Please do show up, actually. I'll be out of town and somebody needs
           to be a voice of sanity in this town from time-to-time. -- ulysses
           \_ Uhm, next Tues, 7/9, or yesterday, Tue 7/2?
           \_ Hmm, sounds tempting, but the fact that they are even taking
              this seriously, is just so disturbing, Im not quite sure
              if they are even reasonable... I mean, this is the same
              council that wants to make the speed limit 15mph(?or was it 20)
              and put flowerpots and posts that make all neighborhoods
              ridiculously tricky to get through. I posted the article
              my friend sent to me @ http://csua.org/u/57
           the place would be a complete shithole.
              \_ Ever driven south side?  They already have those cement
                 blockers there specifically to fuck up traffic.
        \_ Berkeley residents should realize, if not for the University
           the place would be a complete shithole.  Wait, it still is
           one.
           \_ Actually, it'd be a nameless boring lower-middle-class suburb
              on the outskirts of Oakland. Which, by the way, would also not
              be a particularly happenning place, having not had as much reason
              historically to detract activity away from SF.
              \_ I always figured it would have never actually become a city in
                 the first place since the university was there before anything
                 that looked like a city was.  It'd just be called "North
                 Oakland" or something like that.  There'd be no Berkeley.
              \_ it'd just be a boring non-city like albany or elcerrito.
        \_ Good for Berkeley. Someone has to lead the way.