The Coalition of University Employees Local 3 rallied in front of California Hall on the UC Berkeley campus Wednesday to protest what union representatives called unfair negotiating practices. -more-
Albatross Pub Sept. 1: David Widelock Jazz Trio; Sept. 5: Whiskey Brothers; Sept. 6: Kenji “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Sept. 11: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; Sept. 13: Kenji “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Sept. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Sept. 20: Kenji “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Sept. 22: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; Sept. 27: Kenji “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Free. All shows begin at 9 p.m. 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 albatrosspub@mindspring.com -more-
Five offensive starters sit out in Turlock; Echema ruled ineligible -more-
A new state law requiring school districts to notify parents in writing of pesticide use at school sites probably won’t have a dramatic impact in Berkeley, where the school district has had a policy severely limiting pesticide use for more than 10 years. -more-
The University of California women’s swim program, besides being represented by former Cal standout Haley Cope and junior breaststroker Staciana Stitts, will have another Golden Bear involved with the United States’ Goodwill Games team, as head coach Teri McKeever has been selected as one of USA’s assistant coaches. -more-
Last May, when the 48 rose bushes she planted in her back yard were blooming, Berkeley resident Anne Fitzmaurice decided it was time to become part of the farmers’ market. She would wake up at dawn every Saturday, prepare about 20 bouquets, head to the market, and sell them. -more-
Corey Goodman, a leading neuroscientist at the University of California, Berkeley, announced Tuesday he is leaving academia for the private sector. -more-
We sent half the refund to the Alameda County Community Food Bank and the second half to the Children’s Hospital Foundation. -more-
SAN JOSE — Prosecutors and defense attorneys for the Russian computer programmer charged with circumventing electronic book copyright protections are negotiating a possible plea bargain and have agreed to delay an arraignment scheduled for Thursday. -more-
The 86-year-old Claremont Hotel came one step closer to achieving landmark status last month when the Oakland Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board voted unanimously to send the proposal on to the Planning Commission. -more-
When the 900 students of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School return to campus next week, they’ll find the main building wrapped with a chain link fence and looking forlorn. -more-
As the United Nations World Conference Against Racism approaches, a group of Bay Area activists is getting ready to travel to the city that will host it: Durban, South Africa. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Children heading back to California public schools this fall will be bringing home something new in their backpacks – a list of all the pesticides likely to be used at the schools during the new school year. -more-
SACRAMENTO — You get them, even politicians get them – those annoying telemarketing calls selling anything from long distance to siding, right when you sit down to dinner. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Labor leaders and an attorneys’ group Tuesday launched another attempt to raise benefits for workers who suffer on-the-job injuries. -more-
RALEIGH, N.C. — Sen. Jesse Helms, the former newspaper editor and TV commentator who has been one of the most fiercely conservative voices on Capitol Hill for three decades, has decided not to run for re-election next year, sources said Tuesday. -more-
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve, still trying to keep the U.S. economy out of a recession, cut a key interest rate Tuesday for the seventh time this year, lowering the federal funds rate by a quarter-point to 3.50 percent. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Businesses were offered a powerful incentive Tuesday to allow workers to telecommute – pollution credits that can be used to reduce taxes or sold to other companies for cash. -more-
NEW YORK — Stock prices tumbled yet again Tuesday, carrying the Dow Jones industrials down 145 points after the Federal Reserve made its seventh interest rate cut of 2001 but failed to predict that a business recovery will occur soon. -more-
JERUSALEM — Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Tuesday proposed truce talks in Germany, and Israel’s Foreign Minister Shimon Peres appeared likely to accept. Israel said the talks would focus on a plan for a gradual cease-fire to end 11 months of violence. -more-
SKOPJE, Macedonia — With his miniature spy planes at 16,000 feet and guided by remote control, U.S. Army Capt. Daniel Dittenber’s pilots camped on the ground aren’t exactly in any danger. -more-
Ashkenaz Aug. 21: 9 p.m. Slavonkian Traveling Band. 8 p.m. dance lesson w/ Joyce Clyde. $10; Aug. 22: 9 p.m. Badenya Les Freres Coulibaly, $10; Aug. 23: 10 p.m. - 2 a.m. Dead DJ Night with Digital Dave. $5; Aug. 24: 9:30 p.m. Caribbean All Stars $11; Aug. 25: 9 p.m. California Brazil Camp Benefit, $10; Aug. 26: 1 p.m. - 6 p.m. Middle Eastern Dance Workshops with Ma Shuga Mira Murijan and Nanna Candeleria. $45. 8 p.m. Harmonia, $10; Aug. 28: 9 p.m. Gerard Landry and the Lariats, $8; Aug. 29: 8 p.m. Earl White Oldtime Band, Bluegrass Intentions, plus clogging lessons. $10, Kids under 12 Free; Aug. 30: 9 p.m. Samite, Forward Kwenda, $10; Aug. 31: 9:30 p.m. Wawa and the Oneness Kingdom, The Calypsonians, $10; 1317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 www.ashkenaz.com -more-
Vista Community College is only two short blocks from the UC Berkeley campus but in the minds of many Vista students it might as well be in another dimension. -more-
East Bay Pride, an Oakland-based organization advocating for gay, lesbian and transgender rights, was not alone expressing outrage at an Aug. 14 Oakland Tribune editorial calling Councilmember Kriss Worthington despicable and a coward and calling the gay council member a single-issue politician. -more-
Don Arreola Burl’s ingenuity created Playground Rats, a competitive summer sports program that’s part of the Berkeley-Albany YMCA offerings. -more-
Far from collapsing in exhaustion, 17 Berkeley High students ended their 600-mile cycling trip to San Diego County’s Santana High School Monday with a burst of spontaneous dancing. -more-
Berkeley environmentalist Jami Caseber will receive one of the five 2001 Clean Air Champion Awards from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District at its board meeting on Sept. 5. -more-
OAKLAND — Seniors, the disabled and caregivers in Alameda County can now turn to the Internet to find information about health care services in an attempt to make in-home care easier. -more-
SAN JOSE — Agilent Technologies Inc., a maker of test and measurement equipment, reported a third-quarter loss that was narrower than Wall Street had expected but said Monday it is slashing 4,000 jobs because business is expected to stay sluggish for quite some time. -more-
NEW YORK — A key gauge of future U.S. economic activity crept higher for the fourth straight month in July, suggesting that some improvement may lie ahead for the economy. -more-
A judge signed an agreement Monday forcing five major oil companies to clean up sites they own that have been contaminated with the gasoline additive MTBE, as part of a settlement with a San Francisco Bay area environmental group. -more-
Judging from the sounds of fiddles, accordions and washboards, Civic Center Park was temporarily transported to the prairies and bayous of southern Louisiana Saturday afternoon during the Ecology Center’s 12th annual Cajun Festival. -more-
The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to councilmember Maudelle Shirek: -more-
Ashkenaz Aug. 21: 9 p.m. Slavonkian Traveling Band. 8 p.m. dance lesson w/ Joyce Clyde. $10; Aug. 22: 9 p.m. Badenya Les Freres Coulibaly, $10; Aug. 23: 10 p.m. - 2 a.m. Dead DJ Night with Digital Dave. $5; Aug. 24: 9:30 p.m. Caribbean All Stars $11; Aug. 25: 9 p.m. California Brazil Camp Benefit, $10; Aug. 26: 1 p.m. - 6 p.m. Middle Eastern Dance Workshops with Ma Shuga Mira Murijan and Nanna Candeleria. $45. 8 p.m. Harmonia, $10; Aug. 28: 9 p.m. Gerard Landry and the Lariats, $8; Aug. 29: 8 p.m. Earl White Oldtime Band, Bluegrass Intentions, plus clogging lessons. $10, Kids under 12 Free; Aug. 30: 9 p.m. Samite, Forward Kwenda, $10; Aug. 31: 9:30 p.m. Wawa and the Oneness Kingdom, The Calypsonians, $10; 1317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 www.ashkenaz.com -more-
Members of the disabled community discussed ways to improve KPFA’s coverage of disability issues at a special meeting organized by the public radio station on Saturday afternoon. -more-
Editor: -more-
When Jonah Most told his mother that he was looking for something to do this summer, she suggested that he get a special project going – something like creating a solar-powered skateboard. -more-
Editor: -more-
The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to President Bush: -more-
EMERYVILLE — Ten years ago, this sliver of a town was a blighted urban joke of the Bay Area, a smokestack hamlet that became an apparition of tattered warehouses and dead industrial buildings. Below ground was worse. -more-
UC Berkeley has announced that it will extend its period for public comment on a draft document that details potential environmental impacts of proposed campus construction. -more-
California governor wants to help power company avoid bankruptcy; some senators are unconvinced -more-
LOS ANGELES – The agency that buys and sells electricity on behalf of the California government will pull traders from a power grid control room. -more-
TRENTON, N.J. – When the European Union blocked Honeywell Inc.’s merger with General Electric last month, throwing Honeywell in limbo, its board of directors knew they needed a new leader fast to reassure skittish shareholders and stabilize the company. -more-
TRENTON, N.J. – When the European Union blocked Honeywell Inc.’s merger with General Electric last month, throwing Honeywell in limbo, its board of directors knew they needed a new leader fast to reassure skittish shareholders and stabilize the company. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – While Ford Motor Co. maintains that alleged defects in its ignition system in 20 million cars don’t cause stalling or endanger passengers, a series of lawsuits nationwide blame stalling in various models for crashes in which at least 11 people died and 31 were injured. -more-
The Crucible’s barren Ashby street facade belies the fires burning inside the brick warehouse. -more-
Craig’s removal unjust -more-
Kenny Mostern’s committed to writing poems about every day issues. -more-
924 Gilman St. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Aug. 18: Dr. Know, The Sick, Society of Friends, Manchurian Candidates, Shut the F*ck Up; $5. 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. -more-
The youth from the Cal Adventures rock climbing camp celebrated five days of hard work Friday by picnicking with their families and camp advisors in the shadows of Pinnacle Rock at Remillard Park, at Keeler Avenue and Poppy Lane in the north Berkeley hills. -more-
Despite a nationwide controversy surrounding the safety of arsenic-treated wooden play structures,the Berkeley Unified School District has not taken any steps to reassure concerned parents. -more-
The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to Councilmember Linda Maio: -more-
Some die on the streets, some in crack houses, some with a bullet to their heads. Their deaths might get a quick mention on the back pages of a newspaper. The stories of their lives, however – even at their funerals – are overshadowed with the dark clouds that surrounds what bluesman Masallah calls the “dubious circumstances” of their deaths. -more-
Switching speaking personas between streetwise youth, motivational speaker and drill sergeant, Jessy Gonzalez captivated the attention of 28 high school students on the last day of a summer computer course. -more-
A Berkeley Observed article published a few weeks ago sparked the interest of a reader. Richard Dinkelspiel, who celebrated his 88th birthday this year, looked at the photograph of Center Street and exclaimed, “Ennors Restaurant was right there! Mom and Dad always had dinner there when they visited Berkeley from Suisun where the Ennors had their first restaurant.” -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Jose Police Department has relegated its disabled officers to “unsatisfactory jobs” in which they have “little or no possibility for promotion,” violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, an appeals court ruled Friday. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Lawmakers, corporations and special interest groups have poured more than $800,000 into a drive to change California’s term limit laws to let some lawmakers stay longer in office. -more-
Dear Tom and Ray: -more-
Hopes for a tech turnaround suffered another blow this past week when Ciena Inc. and Dell Computer Corp. became the latest sector bellwethers to report weak results and pessimistic forecasts. -more-
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. plans to slash between 4,000 and 5,000 white-collar jobs in North America by the end of the year, a high-ranking Ford executive told The Associated Press on Friday. -more-
JERUSALEM — Israeli tanks rolled into a Palestinian area in the southern Gaza Strip early Saturday and exchanged fire with militants, leaving one dead and 10 injured, Palestinian officials said. -more-
KINGSTON, Jamaica — In the heart of Kingston, about a dozen men stand in an open-air emporium stacking long buds of marijuana even though the crop is illegal in Jamaica. -more-
The Bay Cruisers proved they were worthy of their name when they flew through the National Junior Wheelchair Track and Field Championships, capturing over a dozen medals, breaking nine national records and receiving the award for the best large team in the country. -more-
The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter written by Councilmember Kriss Worthington to The Oakland Tribune responding to an Aug. 14 editorial in which the author called Worthington a “coward” and accused him of “advancing what seems to be a single agenda in a city widely known for its diversity.” -more-
By Wednesday at closing time, the City Clerk’s Office had received four proposals to redraw the boundary lines of the eight council districts in order to distribute the city’s population equally within each. -more-
The honeymoon is almost over for new Athletic Director Stephen Gladstone. Just two months on the job, he's been busy preparing the department for the coming year. -more-
Initial analysis of the 2001 Stanford 9 test scores, released this week, revealed little change from last year’s scores among Berkeley students. -more-
In the four years she has been working at Project Underground, a Berkeley-based nonprofit organization that fights against abusive gold mine and oil exploitation, Catherine Baldi has seen the organization grow. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Higher electricity rates and state-funded rebates on energy efficient appliances have helped Californians conserve power this summer. But the main reason for that may be due more to the weather than Gov. Gray Davis. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Two major grocery chains have pulled a type of imported jelly candy from thousands of supermarkets nationwide after public health officials here warned they were linked to the choking deaths of two children. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Firefighters battling the largest fire in Northern California contained it Thursday morning, while residents living near another fire were allowed to return to their homes as that blaze also wound down by evening, officials said. -more-
VALLEJO — The death of a woman who suffered bleeding in the brain after riding a spinning teacup-style ride at Six Flags Marine World has officials wondering if such rides should be more closely studied. -more-
WASHINGTON — Federal officials routinely discriminate against religious groups when handing out grant money, taking constitutional concerns about the separation of church and state too far, the White House contended in a report Thursday. -more-
WASHINGTON — People could log onto their home computers instead of going to the federal courthouse to get information on many cases under a plan to put records on the Internet. -more-
WASHINGTON — More people are being killed by pollution from cars, trucks and other sources than by traffic crashes, researchers estimate in a report that says cleaning up would prolong the lives of thousands of people. -more-
AUSTIN — The successful last-minute attempt to spare the life of convicted killer Napoleon Beazley included two unusual twists: the judge who presided over Beazley’s trial asked the governor to stop the execution, and one of his own appeals lawyers admitted doing a poor job. -more-
DETROIT — A study released Thursday said hands-free devices for cell phones do not appreciably reduce driver distraction, suggesting laws mandating the use of such devices may be ineffective. -more-
Grinding a slug under the heel of your boot and then selecting flora to tenderly cultivate. Methodically exterminating generations of snails and then constructing your very own greenhouse. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Sinking along with the Internet economy that it covered, the Industry Standard will suspend publication next week and file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to an internal company memo obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. -more-
WASHINGTON — A sharp drop in the cost of gasoline and other energy products helped drive down consumer prices in July by the largest amount in 15 years. -more-
DALLAS — Nosebleeds can be a nuisance. Or something more serious. -more-
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Make a few changes in your life, and you could reduce or even eliminate the need for blood pressure medicine, advises the Mayo Clinic Health Letter. -more-
NEW YORK — The big issue in Social Security reform isn’t limited to just strengthening the system. It’s bigger than that. As big, perhaps, as saving the entire economy. -more-
SACRAMENTO — A 3-year-old boy’s body was found in a cardboard TV box in a grassy field just a few miles from where his father, Nikolay Soltys, is suspected of also killing his wife, aunt, uncle and two young cousins. -more-
According to a 1996 Department of Energy report on residential lighting, in the average U.S. home, lighting accounts for about 1,800 kilowatt-hours a year of the total electricity bill, more than $200 annually at current energy rates. -more-
YUBA CITY – Everyone was ecstatic a year ago when test scores soared at April Lane Elementary, one of 430 schools in the first group going through Gov. Gray Davis’ three-year improvement program. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — A video obtained by a Bay Area television station shows Department of Public Works employees dumping shopping carts full of the personal belongings of homeless people into the back of a garbage truck. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Law enforcement officers are required to use “reasonable care” when making traffic stops, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday. -more-
