The sky hasn’t fallen at Vista College in Berkeley. But the staff, contemplating rising enrollments and energy costs, are beginning to wonder what will happen to the quality of education if the state government does not restore the equipment and repair money it axed from this year’s community college budget. -more-

Monday, Sept. 10

Editor: -more-

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It’s been years since Brigham Young scored so much, won so easily and looked so good. -more-

The Berkeley and Oakland police departments are negotiating with therespective cities for a new pension benefit called 3 percent at 50, which has already been enacted in 147 other agencies statewide. -more-

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O’Down runs for 250 yards, wins season opener 27-6 -more-

The St. Mary’s football team got off to a slow start on Saturday, barely gaining 100 total yards and committing four turnovers in a 27-6 loss to rival Bishop O’Dowd. -more-

Children played and adults relaxed under the warm fall sun Saturday at the sixth annual Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival Saturday afternoon in Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Park. -more-

Editor: -more-

California (1-3-0) lost another heartbreaker at the tail end of a game Sunday afternoon against Loyola Marymount (1-3-0),1-0, in the finale of the fifth annual adidas-Legacy Classic tournament. -more-

The Edward Roberts Campus received a $400,000 grant Wednesday from the NEC Foundation of America that will allow the latest environmental, assistive and information technologies to be included in the construction of the nonprofit corporation’s home in the eastern parking lot of Ashby BART Station. -more-

Workshops can help create understanding -more-

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The city of Berkeley is asking residents to step out of their cars and get on the bus during “Try Transit Week” beginning today. -more-

SACRAMENTO – Assembly Democrats unveiled a revised plan for new districts Saturday, tweaking several key districts in response to last week’s hearings. -more-

SACRAMENTO – Police say a disgruntled former security guard accused of killing four people Saturday said in cell phone calls during his alleged rampage that he wanted to commit a crime even bloodier than the slayings of seven people here last month. -more-

Nanotechnology could change the world as we know it -more-

The Berkeley Public Library system and its friends and supporters marked the beginning of a new era Friday afternoon in an official reception to welcome its new Director of Library Services, Jackie Y. Griffin. -more-

Saturday, Sept. 8 -more-

In this era of conglomerate mergers and bottom-line obsessions, it’s easy to believe that the media industry requires yielding to expediency. Like most people, media employees want job security. Few are inclined to risk their livelihoods and careers for matters of principle. -more-

With tongues clicking and rumors circulating, words were picked up, repeated and echoed in whispers amongst the townspeople of Winesburg, Ohio, defining the conformity of small town life in rural America. -more-

For 109 minutes, the Cal men’s soccer team seemed in control of their match against CSU Fullerton on Friday. But one controversial mistake gave the game to the Titans, as a foul in the Cal box led to a Hector Orellana penalty kick in the second overtime period. -more-

An El Cerrito attorney has filed suit against a non-profit organization that provides legal assistance to low-income Berkeley residents, and promises a large campaign against what he claims is a conspiracy to defraud poor citizens by offering shoddy legal services. -more-

Editor, -more-

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The Berkeley High football team was hoping to avoid a slow start this season, as last year’s 0-4 pre-league results cost them a berth in the North Coast Section playoffs. But the Yellowjackets ran right into a disaster in their first game on Friday night, failing in nearly every phase of the game and losing, 37-0, to Foothill High. -more-

West Berkeley parks and large businesses may soon be required to use recycled water in an attempt to conserve northern California’s water supply, which is becoming increasingly strained by rapid population growth. -more-

Schott, Doubrava score for Bears -more-

The Kress building represents the almost vanished variety store which once dominated American main streets. Until the 1960s Shattuck Avenue had three five-and-dime stores: Kress, Woolworth’s, and National Dollar Stores, all within four blocks of one another. -more-

A police chase that began in San Francisco ended in gunfire Friday afternoon when a man suspected of car theft allegedly threatened CHP officers with gun after abandoning a truck in Berkeley. -more-

PALO ALTO, (AP) — Robert McAfee Brown, a Presbyterian theologian who bridged tensions between Protestants and Catholics and became one of the best-known advocates of the liberation theology movement, has died. He was 81. -more-

A fire that broke out in an apartment building at 10 p.m. Thursday, may have been the result of six youths playing with firecrackers, according to the Berkeley Fire Department. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Fifty years after Japan and the United States formally ended World War II, the peace that built Japan into an industrial powerhouse has eluded thousands of American POWs forced to labor for Japanese companies. -more-

Salvador waited Wednesday morning among a knot of mustachioed men, in a black Giants’ baseball hat and paint-spattered work boots. He waited for work, but his mind was on the summit between President Bush and the man he still considers his leader – Mexican President Vincente Fox. “We want to be paid better in the United States,” said Salvador, 30, who declined to give his last name. -more-

WASHINGTON — The only remaining barriers to Chevron Corp.’s $39 billion acquisition of fellow oil titan Texaco Inc. is a nod from shareholders — and a hefty sale of assets that federal regulators made a condition of their approval Friday. -more-

SACRAMENTO (AP) — A scientific panel convened by the University of California has found no link between swallowing chromium 6 and cancer, state officials said Friday. -more-

The Berkeley Public Library system and its friends and supporters marked the beginning of a new era Friday afternoon in an official reception to welcome its new Director of Library Services, Jackie Y. Griffin. -more-

Saturday, Sept. 8

The Kress building represents the almost vanished variety store which once dominated American main streets. Until the 1960s Shattuck Avenue had three five-and-dime stores: Kress, Woolworth’s, and National Dollar Stores, all within four blocks of one another. -more-

In this era of conglomerate mergers and bottom-line obsessions, it’s easy to believe that the media industry requires yielding to expediency. Like most people, media employees want job security. Few are inclined to risk their livelihoods and careers for matters of principle. -more-

With tongues clicking and rumors circulating, words were picked up, repeated and echoed in whispers amongst the townspeople of Winesburg, Ohio, defining the conformity of small town life in rural America. -more-

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Fullerton wins on penalty kick in 110th minute -more-

An El Cerrito attorney has filed suit against a non-profit organization that provides legal assistance to low-income Berkeley residents, and promises a large campaign against what he claims is a conspiracy to defraud poor citizens by offering shoddy legal services. -more-

Editor, -more-

The Berkeley High football team was hoping to avoid a slow start this season, as last year’s 0-4 pre-league results cost them a berth in the North Coast Section playoffs. But the Yellowjackets ran right into a disaster in their first game on Friday night, failing in nearly every phase of the game and losing, 37-0, to Foothill High. -more-

West Berkeley parks and large businesses may soon be required to use recycled water in an attempt to conserve northern California’s water supply, which is becoming increasingly strained by rapid population growth. -more-

Schott, Doubrava score for Bears -more-

A police chase that began in San Francisco ended in gunfire Friday afternoon when a man suspected of car theft allegedly threatened CHP officers with gun after abandoning a truck in Berkeley. -more-

PALO ALTO, (AP) — Robert McAfee Brown, a Presbyterian theologian who bridged tensions between Protestants and Catholics and became one of the best-known advocates of the liberation theology movement, has died. He was 81. -more-

-more-

Salvador waited Wednesday morning among a knot of mustachioed men, in a black Giants’ baseball hat and paint-spattered work boots. He waited for work, but his mind was on the summit between President Bush and the man he still considers his leader – Mexican President Vincente Fox. “We want to be paid better in the United States,” said Salvador, 30, who declined to give his last name. -more-

WASHINGTON — The only remaining barriers to Chevron Corp.’s $39 billion acquisition of fellow oil titan Texaco Inc. is a nod from shareholders — and a hefty sale of assets that federal regulators made a condition of their approval Friday. -more-

SACRAMENTO (AP) — A scientific panel convened by the University of California has found no link between swallowing chromium 6 and cancer, state officials said Friday. -more-

Last Saturday, the doors closed behind 88-year old Bea Geller, but the little elevator didn’t budge. And the doors wouldn’t open again. None of the buttons responded. -more-

Friday, Sept. 7

DURBAN, South Africa – I’m halfway around the globe, in the midst of an exhausting, inspiring culture shock. -more-

When speaking about the Holocaust there are many levels that might be difficult to fathom: the cunning political maneuverings, the cultural devastation, the cold ingenuity of the concentration camp’s engineering and the deep, almost inhuman hatred humans are capable of. -more-

924 Gilman Sept. 7: Carry On, Champion, Breaker Breaker, Saturday Supercade, Fields of Fire; Sept. 8: Lab Rats, Relative; Most shows $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless noted. 924 Gilman St. 525-9926

The Cal men’s soccer team will host the fifth-annual adidas-Legacy Classic this weekend, as Stanford, Loyola Marymount and CSU Fullerton visit Edwards Stadium. -more-

The Berkeley School Board on Wednesday adopted a new set of educational goals for Berkeley High, intended to buttress the school’s beleaguered accreditation standing – even as some board members and parents expressed disappointment and warned the new Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs) may still be insufficient. -more-

Editor: -more-

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Comedian Bob Hope was released Thursday from a hospital where he had been treated for pneumonia since late last month. -more-

New coach, QB hoping to get Berkeley off to a quick start -more-

EMERYVILLE – Prithviraj Singh said his 3-year-old son cannot understand what happened to the boy’s only sister, Eveneet Deol. The 5-year-old Deol, who was struck by her mother’s car last Friday morning after being dropped off for school at Anna Yates Elementary, died at Childrens’ Hospital Oakland Wednesday afternoon -more-

Downtown developer Patrick Kennedy submitted plans last month to develop a five-story, mixed-use building on Shattuck Avenue at the location of the Fine Arts Cinema. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Bobbie Webb considers himself a survivor of a seismic shift in San Francisco’s population. -more-

Two bank robberies over the past week have brought the Berkeley total since Aug. 27 to four, according to police Lt. Cynthia Harris. -more-

The Fine Arts Cinema may soon find itself without a home when the building it occupies is razed to make way for a five-story, mixed-use building. -more-

OAKLAND – Caltrans plans to equip all lanes of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge with Fastrak lanes this fall, a spokesman announced Thursday. -more-

CHICAGO — How does your garden grow? -more-

An Israeli historian known for being critical of Israeli policy surprised his audience Wednesday night by focusing on the “repeated blunders” that, he says, Palestinians have made in handling negotiations over land. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Setting up a possible showdown between a Democratic Legislature and governor who’s twice vetoed similar bills, the state Senate voted Thursday to boost benefits for injured workers in California. -more-

SACRAMENTO — A bill that would require California’s power-buying agency to hold public hearings on billions of dollars worth of long-term energy contracts passed a key Assembly committee Thursday. -more-

A San Francisco Superior Court judge extended a strike injunction on one of BART’s three unions Wednesday morning, easing the specter of a Bay Area transit crisis for at least another six weeks. -more-

The 2001 St. Mary’s varsity football team will have to cope with the loss of one of the best players in school history, along with the retirement of its coach of 16 years. The Panthers also lost a star they never really had this summer. But with some big weapons on offense and an infusion of new talent on defense, the Panthers should be back in the hunt for the Bay Shore Athletic League title this season. -more-

Thursday, Sept. 6

Is it possible that the Democrats are overlooking President Bush’s real game plan for Social Security? Not that they’re wrong in charging him with fiscal recklessness. -more-

A former Bay Area filmmaker has made a new documentary about a group of Vietnam War protesters who embodied a maxim deeply rooted in American free speech: “If we’re about bringing change through nonviolence,” says a lifelong activist in the film, “then we should think seriously about being free enough to go to jail.” -more-

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The final risk-assessment report for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s tritium facility was released last month and indicates the largest danger of exposure to radioactive material would be during a fire or other disaster. -more-

Cal forward Kyla Sabo was named to Soccer Buzz’s first-ever National Elite Team of the Week on Tuesday. -more-

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Unless the Legislature and governor restore health care funds Gov. Gray Davis slashed from the state budget in July, Berkeley will have to cut about $100,000 from its maternal and child health programs. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO – An activist, a weather anchor, a teen-ager, a car fleet manager and an electric vehicle enthusiast were all honored Wednesday as Bay Area Air Quality Management District's 2001 Clean Air “champions.” -more-

On Sunday morning, a preacher of a different sort took the podium at St. Joseph the Worker Church in central Berkeley. -more-

OAKLAND (AP) — A team of East Bay developers has been selected for a $500 million, 60-acre deal to transform an industrial neighborhood into a thriving waterfront district and a possible future home for the Oakland Athletics. -more-

PORTLAND, Ore. — Lawyers for an Oregon man who claims the Mormon church is responsible for sexual abuse he suffered as a child said Wednesday a $3 million settlement will open the way for other child-abuse lawsuits against the church. -more-

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An immigrant rights group urged Gov. Gray Davis on Wednesday to support a change in state law that restricts illegal immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses. -more-

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DURBAN, South Africa — Under threat of a devastating European walkout, the World Conference Against Racism held closed-door meetings Wednesday to try to find compromise language on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and reparations for slavery. -more-

NEW YORK — The reality is that nobody really knows when the economic slump will end and the upturn begin. Not Alan Greenspan, nor corporate chiefs, nor those oft-quoted “experts.” -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Oil giant Chevron Corp. announced Wednesday that it will end its 122-year history as a San Francisco company by moving its headquarters to a suburban campus in San Ramon, 40 miles east of its current home. -more-

SAN JOSE (AP) — Investors pounded the stocks of Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. to 52-week lows Wednesday, showing that Wall Street has yet to be convinced HP’s acquisition of Compaq is a good idea. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — More Californians think Japan should atone for atrocities its troops committed during World War II than believe the United States should apologize for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, according to a new survey. -more-

SACRAMENTO – California needs to try new ways to find and keep great teachers in public schools, such as creating a world-class teacher academy or a special credential for teachers who succeed in poor schools, says a new state commission report. -more-

SACRAMENTO (AP) — People who leave small children alone in cars could face $100 fines under a bill approved Wednesday by the state Assembly. -more-

Six female employees filed a grievance in late July with the director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory charging that female administrative specialists are underpaid and underpromoted, compared to their male counterparts. -more-

Wednesday, Sept. 5 -more-

The languishing farm economy in California has taken its toll on many family farmers. As California’s agricultural sector continues to struggle through a year plagued with energy crisis, low prices and water shortages, sustainable agriculture and organic farming offer realistic, viable solutions. -more-

From a land where time had more value than money and dreams were haunted by mysterious creatures called djinns came artist, philosopher and pacifist Khalil Bendib. -more-

The race to succeed state Assemblymember Dion Aroner in 2002 was thrown into chaos on Friday, when an Assembly committee released its statewide proposal for new district boundaries. -more-

Berkeley High, pixie dust and staggered lunch -more-

Elizabeth Rosner says she was “the child who asked a lot of questions, always trying to fill in the gaps and mystery” of her parents’ experiences during the Holocaust. -more-

By Jeffrey Obser -more-

FAIRFIELD (AP) — Teachers were back in class after a tentative two-year contract agreement was reached over the Labor Day weekend. -more-

A shooting near the corner of King and Harmon streets sent a 16-year-old male to Children’s Hospital in Oakland, according to Berkeley Police Lt. Cynthia Harris. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — The threat of a BART strike may not be over, as a third union awaits a court decision to either extend or revoke a restraining order that prevents it from striking. -more-

LOS ANGELES — A contract signed before anyone knew billions would be made selling bioengineered drugs is at the heart of a $400 million legal dispute between a pharmaceutical company and the research center whose work led to several key patents. -more-

SAN JOSE — The lyrical pop-song question “Do You Know the Way To San Jose,” may soon have a new answer — the Norman Y. Mineta Airport. -more-

WASHINGTON — Texas Republican Phil Gramm said Tuesday he will leave the Senate at the end of his third term next year, following fellow conservatives Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond into retirement and closing out a career as an unflinching advocate of lower taxes and less government. -more-

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Mint warned collectors of its new American buffalo commemorative silver dollars Tuesday to make sure they bought the real thing. -more-

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Claiming their civil rights were violated by a policeman warning of violence over shutting off water to farmers, two environmentalists filed claims Tuesday against the city for $100,000 each. -more-

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Breast-feeding mothers would get breaks and an appropriate room to express milk at work for their infants at home under a bill sent to the governor Tuesday. -more-

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Female inmates serving life sentences could get overnight visits with their children under a bill approved Tuesday by the California Assembly. -more-

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Law firms that work for the state would have to attempt to provide a certain amount of free legal services to the poor under a bill approved Tuesday by the Senate. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Nearly five years after California voters approved Proposition 209 banning affirmative action, a state appeals court Tuesday declared invalid a host of race- and gender-based government hiring programs. -more-

SAN JOSE — About 80 of the 6,000 employees Cisco Systems laid off in April have found a good reason to hold their heads high at a time when many suddenly unemployed tech workers are having a tough time coping. -more-

DURBAN, South Africa — Desperate to save the U.N. racism conference, the European Union and South Africa joined forces Tuesday to try resolving the language dispute that prompted a walkout by the United States and Israel. -more-

“Is this the home of the sordid and sundry poets?” asked Julian Waller upon arriving at the Bay Area Poets Coalition’s seventh annual Labor Day potluck picnic and reading. Held in Live Oak Park, the cozy gathering was a way for an eclectic group of local poets and poetry aficionados to bond over poetry, food and conversation. -more-

Tuesday, Sept. 4

Editor: -more-

It’s been common knowledge in the school district for years that certain students – a high percentage of them minority students – were not learning to read in the critical early grades of elementary school. -more-

ditor: -more-

OAKLAND — BART unions say they’re much closer to an agreement, but management says they’re still far apart, as negotiations continued through the Labor Day holiday. -more-

Editor: -more-

By Hank Sims -more-

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Right now there are at least two programs under which Californians can save a significant amount of money by being energy efficient: the Governor’s 20/20 Rebate Program, and the 1-2-3 Cashback Program through Pacific Gas & Electric for energy-efficient appliances and fixtures. With a little up-front expense, the long-term benefits can mean more money in your wallet at the end of every month. Start by asking, “How efficient is your refrigerator?” -more-

BOSTON — Two months after Patrick McCullough lost his $60,000-a-year job installing computer networks for law firms, he’s having a hard time getting work — even though he’s had job offers. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Eateries and vendors at San Francisco International Airport are watching their business slide along with the troubled high-tech economy. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Note to potential gubernatorial candidates in California: Those without tens of millions of dollars, or the ability to raise them, need not apply. -more-

Mayor Shirley Dean will announce today that the city is dedicating the day, Sept. 10, to Ted Rosenkranz, an 80-year-old terminally ill resident who has long supported the Berkeley public schools. -more-

By Kenyatte Davis -more-

WALNUT CREEK — Rangers at Mount Diablo State Park decided Thursday to close the entire area because of high fire danger. -more-

Doris Calloway, 78 -more-

OAKLAND — The tentative agreement that averted a possible BART strike will give the transit system’s workers wage and pension increases of more than 20.5 percent over four years, a union leader said Tuesday. -more-

WASHINGTON — Caught between setbacks and opportunity, union officials think aggressive politics on issues including immigration, trade, workers’ rights and the minimum wage could help build the resurgence they have sought unsuccessfully for years. -more-