It was 10 years ago when 25 lives were lost and over 3,000 homes, businesses and buildings were demolished by the devastating fire that swept through the East Bay hills region. -more-
Editor: -more-
By Jared Green -more-
Just as the dust was settling after the City Council brouhaha over the redrawing the lines of the city’s eight districts, a councilmember is calling for a charter amendment that would create a student-dominated district. -more-
QB Murphy passes for two TDs, runs one in for Panthers -more-
Before the celebration began, before Saturday’s heat began to oppress, an elder Native American man sat in the shade of his booth playing along on a set of pan pipes. -more-
CORVALLIS, Ore. - No. 12 California swept the opening weekend of Pac-10 play with a 2-0 shutout of Oregon State Sunday afternoon. With the Bears’ second shutout of the weekend, they improved to 10-2-1 overall. The Beavers fell to 7-4-1 and 0-2 in league play. -more-
The Berkeley Unified School District is shrinking the number of non-credentialed teachers in its classrooms, thanks partly to state programs that improve retention rates by enabling more on-the-job training. -more-
An open letter to President George W. Bush: -more-
LOS ANGELES – The University of California women’s volleyball team lost to No. 3 ranked USC, 3-0 (30-25, 30-26, 30-19), Saturday night at the Lyon Center on USC’s campus. -more-
Adolfo Perez Esquivel, an Argentine who won the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize urged students and others who gathered to hear his lecture Wednesday afternoon at Stephens Hall in UC Berkeley to be active in seeking alternatives to war. -more-
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The California men’s cross country team finished second at the Cal Poly Invitational with 93 points. Host Cal Poly won the competition with 48 points. -more-
OAKLAND – A BART strike starting Tuesday is very possible, according to an official with one of three unions representing BART employees who says it’s likely that workers will vote to turn down BART’s “best and final offer’’ Monday after months of contract negotiations. -more-
About 150 people attended a workshop Thursday intended to gather community input on two development plans for the Eastshore State Park, an eight and a half mile piece of land that stretches from the Richmond Bay Marina to the Bay Bridge. -more-
Shell Mound, UC Berkeley buildings among subjects -more-
LOS ANGELES – The economic impact of the terrorist attacks is beginning to take a toll in California, which had held steady before Sept. 11 amid a national downturn in consumer and business spending. -more-
SAN JOSE – Eighty passengers and five crew members were held aboard a United Airlines jet for three hours after a man reportedly stood up in mid-flight and spilled a substance that later turned out to be confetti from a greeting card. -more-
HAYWARD – Federal Aviation Administration rules restricting flights near the Golden Gate Bridge have grounded some who scatter the ashes of people’s loved ones. -more-
REDWOOD CITY – Redwood City’s waterfront is one of the last large parcels in town, and developers are eyeing it. -more-
A Berkeley woman, a member of Women in Black, contacted by the FBI in connection to the Sept. 11 attacks, compared looking to her organization for clues to the attackers, with looking for alligators in Montana. -more-
The name Claremont did not originate with the development of the hotel or the early subdivisions, but appears on an 1888 map with its present name. In an Oakland Times article from July 20, 1882, the area is already referred to as Claremont: “Here is a beautiful spot lying east of Telegraph Avenue beyond Temescal called Claremont.... (The) elegant homes in this pleasant retreat are standing in the center of flower beds surrounded by shade trees.” -more-
We killed 4 U.N. land mine workers in our night raids. We bombed them. They were staying in a building they had rented. It used to be a communications center. -more-
Last Sunday the Crowden School presented the second of its chamber music concert series called “Sundays at Four.” -more-
The Berkeley Yellowjackets ran roughshod over Alameda on Friday night, racking up 482 rushing yards on the way to a 48-14 home victory. -more-
The City Council narrowly approved a controversial redistricting plan Tuesday that has moderate councilmembers accusing progressives of manipulating a census undercount to add an extra 4,500 students to District 8. -more-
The Cal women’s soccer team got back to their winning ways on Friday, beating Oregon 3-0 in the Pac-10 opener for each team at Pape Field in Eugene. -more-
Early on Oct. 20, 1991, John Traugott was finishing up a morning run in the Berkeley hills. The UC Berkeley English professor was rounding a curve a few blocks from his house when he noticed the eastern sky turning orange. -more-
The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to Councilmember Dona Spring regarding a statement on terrorism. -more-
KENT, Ohio - No. 14 Kent State broke a 1-1 deadlock with two second-half goals to defeat No. 20 California, 3-1, Oct. 11 at Dix Stadium. Junior Megan Spurling scored two goals to lift the Golden Flashes to their fourth straight victory. -more-
The Library Gardens development, a five-building, 176-unit residential complex to be built behind the Berkeley Public Library, was approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board Thursday night. -more-
LOS ANGELES, CA - The University of California women’s volleyball team (5-8, 1-5) lost to No. 5 ranked UCLA (10-3, 5-3), 3-0 (31-29, 30-12, 30-21), Friday evening at Pauley Pavilion. The Bears, who have never defeated the Bruins in women’s volleyball (0-41), were led by freshman Mia Jerkov’s 12 kills, while sophomore Gabrielle Abernathy added 11 kills and a .300 hitting percentage, and junior Reena Pardiwala had a team-high 14 digs. -more-
Editor: -more-
One month after the September 11 attacks, Berkeley businesses are still reeling from the economic impacts of a tragedy that made people afraid to fly, reluctant to spend money and sometimes too depressed to enjoy restaurant meals or theater shows. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Unable to rally support for a strike, the union representing 27,000 workers at Northern California’s two largest grocery chains on Friday reluctantly accepted a contract that labor leaders described as a setback for employees struggling to afford the region’s high housing costs. -more-
SACRAMENTO — A traditional family coalition, claiming to represent a majority of the state’s opinion, rallied at the Capitol on Friday, asking the governor to veto a domestic partners bill. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Legislation to give California’s worst public schools an extra $200 million to try to boost student test scores was signed into law Friday by Gov. Gray Davis. -more-
SACRAMENTO — California Highway Patrol officials briefed state mailroom workers Friday on how to handle increasing fears about the spread of the anthrax. -more-
WASHINGTON — The tourism industry came to Capitol Hill, looking for help to deal with big losses after the terrorist attacks. -more-
WASHINGTON — The House on Friday quickly approved anti-terrorist legislation pushed by the Senate and White House to increase the government’s power to spy on, detain and punish suspected terrorists. -more-
SEATTLE — A federal prosecutor who headed a prominent gun control group in his spare time was shot in his home and died early Friday. -more-
BOSTON — In a ruling aimed at bringing the law in line with advances in science, Massachusetts’ highest court unanimously declared Friday that a couple whose twins were born to a surrogate mother were the children’s legal parents from the moment of birth. -more-
WASHINGTON — Ford Motor Co. and the Environmental Protection Agency are joining in a decade-long project to develop a high-mileage hybrid vehicle, probably an SUV, that runs off hydraulic fluid, officials announced Friday. -more-
GREER, S.C. — Small businesses are trying to balance patriotism with capitalism as they look for the edge necessary to make it through rough economic times. -more-
Dear Tom and Ray: -more-
Stocks reacted to the first batch of third-quarter earnings results this past week with surprising strength despite the expected dismal news. -more-
LOS ANGELES — The economic impact of the terrorist attacks is beginning to take a toll in California, which had held steady before Sept. 11 amid a national downturn in consumer and business spending. -more-
UNITED NATIONS — In an era of spreading global terrorism and widening conflict, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United Nations and Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday for their roles at the “forefront of efforts to achieve peace and security in the world.” -more-
A Berkeley woman, a member of Women in Black, contacted by the FBI in connection to the Sept. 11 attacks, compared looking to her organization for clues to the attackers, with looking for alligators in Montana. -more-
The Berkeley Yellowjackets ran roughshod over Alameda on Friday night, racking up 482 rushing yards on the way to a 48-14 home victory. -more-
The City Council narrowly approved a controversial redistricting plan Tuesday that has moderate councilmembers accusing progressives of manipulating a census undercount to add an extra 4,500 students to District 8. -more-
Early on Oct. 20, 1991, John Traugott was finishing up a morning run in the Berkeley hills. The UC Berkeley English professor was rounding a curve a few blocks from his house when he noticed the eastern sky turning orange. -more-
The Library Gardens development, a five-building, 176-unit residential complex to be built behind the Berkeley Public Library, was approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board Thursday night. -more-
An apparent misquote thrust Berkeley – once again – into the national spotlight on Wednesday when the a Wall Street Journal Web site columnist attacked Councilmember Dona Spring for anti-war comments that she says were falsely attributed to her. -more-
Editor: -more-
Coming off of their toughest league match of the season, the Berkeley Yellowjackets resumed their demolishing of the ACCAL with a 15-6, 15-12, 15-3 win over El Cerrito. -more-
Berkeley High School Principal Frank Lynch will leave Berkeley to become superintendent of the Del Norte County Unified School District, perhaps as soon as Nov. 1. -more-
Officials from Berkeley High and De Anza High have agreed that the school’s football teams will make up their cancelled game if the North Coast Section pushes back the beginning of the playoffs. -more-
West Berkeley artists and artisans who fear the effects of office development in their neighborhood took a stand at the regular meeting of the Planning Commission on Wednesday. -more-
John H. Mitchell, who taught in the Oakland public schools for 34 years, is one of California’s luckier retired teachers: the longtime Berkeley resident doesn’t have to sell his house and move somewhere cheap. -more-
On George A. Akerlof’s first day as an assistant professor at UC Berkeley 35 years ago, a colleague asked him to name 10 economic ideas he was interested in pursuing. -more-
Take a walk around downtown at lunchtime and you’ll see many of Berkeley High School’s 3,400 or so students. -more-
Millie Ketcheshawno, a Native American filmmaker who died last year, will be remembered during the 10th annual Indigenous Peoples Day Pow Wow and Indian Market to be held Saturday at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. -more-
Marcelle Ching’s fourth and fifth graders were forming a line according to birthdays, from January to December. One student wanted to place a reporter in the lineup. -more-
Approximately four out of 10 people who took advantage of National Depression Screening Day in Berkeley Thursday showed indications of post-traumatic stress disorder. Counselors say the high rate may be a result of anxiety about the Sept. 11 attacks and the possibility of others. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Extending San Francisco International Airport’s runways by filling in part of the bay could be consistent with smart growth depending on the increase in air travel during the next few decades. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Citing a slowing economy and fiscal fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Gov. Gray Davis on Thursday ordered state agency heads to prepare to cut their budgets by 15 percent next fiscal year. -more-
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A few weeks ago, online access to federal criminal filings suddenly stopped. Though court records remain publicly available on paper at courthouses, they were deemed too public when it came to the Internet. -more-
The anthrax that killed a Florida man was not stolen from a Department of Energy laboratory. It most certainly was not manufactured from scratch by terrorists. -more-
WASHINGTON — In a stark warning, the FBI said Thursday it has received information there may be additional terrorist attacks inside the United States or abroad in the next several days. -more-
NEW YORK — City officials rejected a $10 million relief check from a Saudi prince Thursday after he suggested U.S. policies in the Middle East were partly to blame for the World Trade Center attacks. -more-
BOSTON — His gray hair pulled back in a ponytail, a 52-year-old pacifist clutched an anti-war sign in a city square this week, again mobilized to decry an American war. -more-
Q: Recently my daughter visited – with her puppy, who promptly gnawed off an area around the corner of two wooden windowsills in the bedroom. How can I repair these without replacing the whole sill? They are wood with a stain finish. Thanks! -more-
STOCKHOLM, Sweden — V.S. Naipaul, a writer of aching humor and grim reality, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for his “incorruptible scrutiny” of postcolonial society and his critical assessments of Muslim fundamentalism. -more-
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea lacks food, electricity and other basic necessities, but the impoverished country has no shortage of propaganda-inspired heroes, from a mother of eight to a pneumatic hammer that was honored for its role in a rail project. -more-
NEW YORK — Boosted by some healthier-than-expected earnings reports, Wall Street surged higher Thursday, carrying the Dow Jones industrials and other market indexes to levels last seen before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. -more-
SEAL BEACH — The Boeing Co. will stake near-term growth on its space, communications and missile operations instead of commercial aircraft, which has long been the core of the company, Boeing executives said Thursday. -more-
LOS ANGELES — An attorney told a jury Thursday that biotech giant Genentech Inc. tried to avoid paying more than $400 million in royalties to City of Hope Medical Center involving drugs developed by the hospital over the past 25 years. -more-
ZURICH, Switzerland — Swissair has been granted protection from creditors in the United States and Canada, allowing it to obtain fuel for its North Atlantic flights, the airline said Thursday. -more-
MURMANSK, Russia— The docking of the gutted wreck of the Kursk nuclear submarine was postponed until next week because of the need to more thoroughly prepare for the delicate process, the Russian navy said Thursday. -more-
JERUSALEM — A Palestinian militant from the Hamas group blew himself up while trying to plant a bomb along a road used frequently by Israelis in the West Bank, Israel said Thursday. Hamas said he died under “heroic” circumstances. -more-
Economist George Akerlof took used cars and came up with a new model demonstrating how buyers and sellers interact, becoming one of three Californians to win a Nobel Prize Wednesday. -more-
There is a certain madness that strikes the human species from time to time, and its presence has been strongly evident since Sept. 11. -more-
At a Tuesday evening question-and-answer session on the Common Ground school’s ill-fated Yosemite trip of last week, parents, teachers and students of the program soundly rejected blame and finger-pointing as responses to the alleged misbehavior that cut short a planned two-day series of classes out in nature. -more-
When Bette’s Oceanview Diner considered opening a “Bette’s To Go” branch in the sleepy neighborhood of Northbrae, many people who live in the community rose up against the plan. -more-
When Bette’s Oceanview Diner considered opening a “Bette’s To Go” branch in the sleepy neighborhood of Northbrae, many people who live in the community rose up against the plan. -more-
Editor: -more-
The Domestic Violence Oversight Committee credited a 17 percent decline in domestic violence with a partnership between the police department and a victims’ advocacy organization. -more-
SACRAMENTO — State officials summoned two commissions Wednesday to review California’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks. -more-
SACRAMENTO —Downtown areas will be preferred sites for state office buildings across California under an executive “smart growth” order signed Wednesday by Gov. Gray Davis. -more-
WASHINGTON — California Rep. Nancy Pelosi won the race Wednesday for the No. 2 House Democratic leader and will become the top-ranking woman ever in Congress. Her election sparked debate over whether she will help or hinder her party. -more-
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices used the case of a kitchen worker, fired after a seizure on the job, to argue with each other Wednesday about the government’s role in combating discrimination when workers sign away their right to sue. -more-
SKOPJE, Macedonia — A Western envoy in Macedonia raised doubts Wednesday about a government-declared amnesty for ethnic Albanian rebels, saying it was not in line with a Western-brokered peace accord. -more-
STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Americans William S. Knowles and K. Barry Sharpless won the Nobel Prize in chemistry with Ryoji Noyori of Japan on Wednesday for molecular research used in making medicines. -more-
How timely the award of the Nobel prize in economics for research on how information and the lack of it can affect markets. In stocks, for example, the lack is almost unprecedented. -more-
SAN JOSE — Yahoo! Inc. met Wall Street expectations for its third-quarter earnings Wednesday and only slightly reduced its targets for the current quarter, leading investors to send its shares up more than 3 percent in after-hours trading. -more-
Officials from Berkeley High and De Anza High will meet today to sort out the ramifications of Friday’s cancelled football game between the two schools. -more-
Cal is 0-4 and are ranked 113th out of 116 Division IA teams for scoring defense. Oregon is 5-0 and are ninth in scoring offense. But if you listen to the teams’ head coaches, they make it sound as if the Ducks have been lucky, and the Bears simply the victims of plenty of bad breaks. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Barry Bonds hit it and Alex Popov may have caught it, but Patrick Hayashi emerged from a scrum of Giants fans to become the happy owner of the ball the San Francisco slugger smacked Sunday for his 73rd homer. -more-
Berkeley police are reporting several cases where phony $100 bills were passed. -more-
Berkeley High School held its breath Tuesday over the prospect of losing its latest principal – after only 13 months on the job. -more-
By Walter Geist -more-
Neighbors of a proposed fire station in the north Berkeley hills are charging that the city is inappropriately using money earmarked to build the station for a multi-jurisdictional wildfire “command center.” -more-
Friday, the Arts Access Network held a preview exhibition of a festival set for next year that will present work by disabled artists as well as offer opportunities for the disabled to be creative. -more-
A City Council super-majority refused to hear a motion Tuesday that would have placed the city on record, asking their representatives in Congress to “cease the bombing of Afghanistan (and) seek a legal, nonmilitary resolution” to the conflict there. It also called for the council meeting to be “closed in memory of the innocent civilians in Afghanistan being harmed and made refugees due to the bombing.” -more-
As more than 400 anti-war protesters faced off with a smaller group of war-supporters on UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza Monday, the professors and students who study peace and conflict at the university were divided about which group to join. -more-
SACRAMENTO — A teacher who burned a flag in front of his sixth-graders and referred to the nation as “United Snakes” in what he called an example of “revolutionary teaching” could lose his job. -more-
The Associated Press -more-
OAKLAND – The political tug-of-war over the size of a juvenile detention facility in Alameda County shifted Tuesday once again in favor of those who advocate the construction of a larger facility in Dublin. -more-
SAN DIEGO — A school board president who sent an e-mail suggesting two colleagues be shot for prolonging meetings with debate stepped down from the presidency but rejected demands that she resign from the board. -more-
With prayers and flickering candles, to the sound of bagpipes and police sirens and patriotic hymns, Americans by the millions will break from their routines Thursday to mark the passage of one month since the Sept. 11 terror attacks. -more-
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Embarrassed by anti-U.S. protests, Yasser Arafat’s government took two unprecedented steps Tuesday: it closed Gaza City’s universities to silence Islamic militants and barred foreign reporters from the Gaza Strip to prevent coverage of the events. -more-
WASHINGTON — The United States hit Afghanistan with a third day of airstrikes, crushing Taliban air defenses, radars and airports to the extent that American warplanes can fly virtually unchallenged night and day, the Pentagon said Tuesday. “The skies are now free,” President Bush said. -more-
STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Three U.S.-based scientists shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for creating a new state of matter: an ultra-cold gas that could aid in developing smaller and faster electronics. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — California’s largest utility is finding that the state Public Utilities Commission remains among the tallest of obstacles standing between it and a speedy resolution of its bankruptcy woes. -more-
WASHINGTON — A 2001 Pontiac Aztek got four of five stars in the government’s rating of rollover risk, the best score given yet to a sport utility vehicle. -more-
HOUSTON — Texaco Inc. is selling its interests in two gas stations and refinery joint ventures to Shell Oil Co. and another partner for about $2.1 billion, paving the way for completion of Texaco’s $38.6 billion sale to Chevron Corp. -more-
WASHINGTON — Microsoft Corp. lost a longshot appeal to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, and all sides said they will focus on settling the government’s long-running antitrust case against the software company. -more-
WASHINGTON — Less than 6 percent of the 2002 model cars and trucks arriving in showrooms get better than 30 miles per gallon, and new cars on average get slightly less gas mileage than the 2001 models. -more-
Berkeley High football coaches call him “Mr. Everything.” It’s hard to argue with them. -more-
Aurora Levins Morales’ cousin died in the World Trade Center attacks, but the poet told a crowd of about 500 people outside the downtown BART station late Monday afternoon that she refused to vent her rage on the Afghani people. -more-
School Superintendent Michele Lawrence told parents and community advocates of Latino students that she opposes the breakup of Berkeley High School into small schools within the 3,400-student school. -more-
One day after Afghanistan became the first military theater of the Bush Administration’s “war on terrorism,” hundreds of UC Berkeley students took to Sproul Plaza to denounce the American and British bombing campaign, while a few dozen dissenters held -more-
The City Council will consider taking advantage of a new state law that allows sharing information between the Franchise Tax Board and city to make sure that local businesses are paying their full share of taxes. -more-
WASHINGTON — There were problems with address lists and some people were counted without proof they were there, but last year’s national census was “well executed in many respects,” the National Research Council said Monday. -more-
BOCA RATON, Fla. — The FBI on Monday took over the investigation into the anthrax death of a Florida man after the germ was found in the nose of a co-worker and on a computer keyboard in their office. Hundreds of people who worked near the men lined up to get medical tests. -more-
BERLIN — European nations threw their support behind U.S.-British attacks on Osama bin Laden and the Afghan rulers who protect him, but the military strikes sparked protests and sharp criticism across the Muslim world. -more-
JERUSALEM — Islamic militant leaders said Monday they were summoned by the Palestinian Authority over the weekend and warned there would be a tough response if they did not stop attacks on Israelis. -more-
NEW YORK — The stock market greeted news of U.S. military attacks on the Taliban in Afghanistan quietly Monday, with prices falling moderately as investors tried to discern what the action would mean for the country and the economy. -more-
STAMFORD, Conn. — A federal court has reinstated a suit by Xerox Corp. charging that Palm Inc. infringed its patent in the development of the handwriting recognition system for the Palm handheld computer. -more-
SAN JOSE — Intel Corp.’s chief executive urged chip-makers Monday to continue innovating and competing despite the sour economy and pressure to fall back on industrywide standards. -more-
Local organizations losing funds to national groups -more-
COLUMBUS, Ohio - After dropping its first conference game in over two years and in danger of losing its third consecutive game for the first time since 1998, No. 20 California needed something big to stop the mini-tailspin and gain momentum for the stretch run of conference play. -more-
Democrats will face challenges protecting their agenda in the political climate that has followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, political science professor Bruce Cain told about 50 people during a forum Thursday hosted by the Berkeley Democratic Club at Northbrae Community Church. -more-
Riders at BART’s three Berkeley stations had mixed reactions Thursday to the system’s new efforts to strengthen security. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Airports around the country are halting or revamping billions of dollars worth of expansion plans because of fewer fliers and greater security concerns after the Sept. 11 hijacker attacks. -more-
A large Texas energy company did not illegally drive up the price of natural gas in California during the height of the state’s energy crisis last year, a federal regulatory judge ruled Tuesday. -more-
As lazy autumn days fade into chilly winter nights, one can almost hear the clicking of thermostats around the Bay. Last winter’s dearth of electricity and skyrocketing gas prices sent many consumers into shock when they opened their utility bills to find that their bills may have doubled, or even tripled. -more-
