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Thursday, Dec. 13

Don’t abandon what makes U.S. truly best

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Hoping to wash away the painful memories of the recently completed 1-10 disaster of a season, Cal introduced a new head football coach on Wednesday morning. University of Oregon offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Tedford will be the man to replace Tom Holmoe on the Cal sideline, agreeing to a reported five-year contract late Tuesday night. -more-

“It’s a new day.” -more-

When Cal chancellor Robert Berdahl made crew rowing coach Steve Gladstone his surprise pick as athletic director earlier this year, he knew he was hiring an unusual candidate, one who would do things a bit differently than your average administrator. The hiring process for Cal’s new head football coach, Jeff Tedford, shows just how independent Gladstone is. -more-

After a yearlong moratorium, the City Council adopted “workable” amendments to Berkeley’s Zoning Ordinance, which will govern the placement of cell phone antennae around town. -more-

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Four years in the making, the Southside Plan came one step closer to completion on Wednesday, as a new draft was released to the public and members of the Planning Commission. -more-

As the City Council meeting closed in on midnight and two councilmembers had already gone home, the council voted to supply workers who answer the city’s general information phones with material about the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors. -more-

Wednesday’s Planning Commission meeting had to be canceled because of an administrative error by city staff. -more-

Longtime Berkeley Police Department employee Desmond Griffen died Tuesday as a result of a brain aneurysm suffered Saturday. He was 46 years old. -more-

RICHMOND — A reinforced apartment building shook, rattled, but did not fall as engineers put it to the earthquake test Wednesday. -more-

SAN ANSELMO — Even in a community where personal growth is prized above all and wealthy ex-hippies groom their children to be independent thinkers, the spiritual journey of John Walker Lindh is a shocker. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — The state Supreme Court decided unanimously Wednesday to keep a serial rapist locked up at a state mental hospital until at least February while it considers his case. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s largest utility wants to investigate and settle claims from its creditors who are owed less than $100,000 without review by a bankruptcy court or other creditors. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Bryan Woodbury may have a solution for motorists who are tired of urban gridlock: A car that can zip through traffic like a motorcycle and squeeze into the smallest parking spaces. -more-

LOS ANGELES — Soto Elementary School’s next-door neighbor is a spaghetti network of concrete connecting four of Los Angeles’ busiest freeways. -more-

PALO ALTO — Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon said Wednesday that big school districts like the one in Los Angeles should be broken up, and he suggested offering some form of vouchers to students at underperforming schools. -more-

SACRAMENTO — The number of anti-Arab hate crimes in California has dropped to about one a day from the nearly 10 a day reported immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the state attorney general said Tuesday. -more-

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Immigration authorities arrested 10 people in the San Diego area Wednesday in a first-of-its-kind crackdown on Middle Eastern students suspected of violating the terms of their visas by not being in school. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis ordered five state agencies to increase their terrorism preparedness Wednesday at the recommendation of his terrorism task force. -more-

LOS ANGELES — The chairman of the Jewish Defense League was charged Wednesday with plotting to blow up a Los Angeles-area mosque and the office of an Arab-American congressman. -more-

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Fewer people than expected have signed up for the state’s medical-marijuana program. -more-

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Demonstration urges state to better staff-to-patient ratios -more-

Wednesday, Dec. 12

Sabrina Keys remembered receiving her first three form letters from college basketball programs when she was in the eighth grade. Her first hand-written letter came as the Berkeley High basketball standout started her sophomore season. Since then it’s been a steady stream of letters, visits to college campuses and, as Keys estimated, conversations with more than 50 schools. -more-

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OAKLAND – The Alameda County Board of Supervisors relied on faulty data earlier this year when it voted to build a 420-bed juvenile hall in Dublin, according to a new report by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, an Oakland-based nonprofit with a national reputation on juvenile justice issues. -more-

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Six housing projects for low-income and disabled people will vie for city funding at a special meeting of the Housing Advisory Commission Thursday night. -more-

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Josh Daniels selected as head resident at Wesleyan University -more-

Conscientious objectors will have to wait a while to pass on their information via city wires after the City Council delayed its decision Tuesday on whether or not Berkeley will lend a hand to the group’s cause. -more-

SACRAMENTO — California had the largest Death Row population of any state, but just nine executions since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday. -more-

SACRAMENTO — California will face a growing shortage of qualified teachers in this decade as older instructors retire in record numbers and schools hire more teachers without preliminary credentials, a study says. -more-

Presidio Trust director resigns -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — The Bar Association of San Francisco announced Tuesday the establishment of a three-year law school scholarship at Golden Gate University to be awarded to an Afghan woman. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A serial rapist locked up at a state mental hospital nearly two weeks after a judge said he had no legal grounds to keep him in custody may be released Wednesday if the state Supreme Court refuses to hear the case. -more-

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers and state officials proposed a spate of new laws Tuesday to counter terrorism, including new wiretap rules and the death penalty for terror attacks. -more-

PICO RIVERA — Visitors to Lyon Christmas Tree Farm come with saws in hand during the holiday season, looking for the perfect tree among rows of molded pines and cypresses growing under massive electric towers. -more-

MOUNTAIN VIEW — That epicenter of holiday shopping, the enclosed suburban mall that came to symbolize 1980s culture, is becoming a powerful engine for redeveloping California. Malls where millions of teen-agers had their first kiss and suburban families roamed the food courts are being razed and reborn as entirely new visions for life, work and shopping, architects say. -more-

HOUSTON — The head of Compaq Computer Corp. told employees that the company is exploring the company’s future prospects should its $24 billion merger with Hewlett-Packard Co. fall through. -more-

SAN JOSE — Internet search engine Google Inc. announced Tuesday that it now offers direct access to more than 3 billion Web documents, including newsgroup postings back to 1981. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Excite@Home received court approval Tuesday to continue high-speed Internet service for about 2.1 million subscribers through February under a series of deals that will generate $355 million for the bankrupt company while preserving the right to sue its cable partners for alleged abuses. -more-

SANTA ANA — The fight between Playboy pinup Anna Nicole Smith and her stepson over the fortune left by her late husband went to federal court Tuesday with lawyers arguing over whether the Texas oilman intended to leave her an inheritance worth $474 million. -more-

WASHINGTON — Wild horses put up for adoption by the Bureau of Land Management continue to be slaughtered, in some cases within weeks of the owner gaining title of the animal, according to the latest BLM records. -more-

WASHINGTON — The government is spending $7 billion to decontaminate a former nuclear weapons plant in Colorado and turn it into a wildlife refuge. But critics said Tuesday that the cleanup will still leave the soil too polluted. -more-

TUCSON, Ariz. — U.S. Customs Service special agents Tuesday found a sophisticated drug tunnel running directly under the border between a wash in Mexico and a Nogales home facing the international fence. -more-

Several dozen student and community activists converged on the UC Berkeley campus and the surrounding area Monday to call for an end to U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and to advocate for the protection of human rights at home and abroad. -more-

Tuesday, Dec. 11

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The City Council will have to step gingerly through a thicket of potential lawsuits tonight as it considers regulating the location of wireless communication antennae, which make cell phone use possible. -more-

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Among the issues the City Council will consider tonight are councilmembers’ recommendations for amendments to three elements of the Draft General Plan. -more-

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A magnitude 2.6 “micro earthquake” that apparently did little more than rattle a few Berkeley windows at 2:54 a.m. Monday was preceded by two even smaller quakes, one measuring a magnitude of .9 at 2:44 a.m. and another measuring 2.3 at 2:42 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park. -more-

OAKLAND — Video games offer little racial and gender diversity, and most contain some level of violence, even those developed for the youngest gamers, a children’s research group said Monday. -more-

SOUTHERN AFGHAN-ISTAN — An American who fought with the Taliban was gaunt and dehydrated but in good condition Sunday as he recovered from a gunshot wound to his leg, a Marines spokesman said at the southern Afghan base where the man is being held. -more-

Just as Americans opened their wallets for Sept. 11 victims, charity officials say some are now giving to help civilian Afghans who have been uprooted by the war on the Taliban. -more-

SAN JOSE — Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. both fell Monday, their first day of trading after HP’s largest shareholder said it would vote against the proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of Compaq. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Calpine Corp.’s shares plunged 17 percent Monday amid investor fears the rapidly expanding power generator is headed down the same perilous path that ruined one of its biggest business partners, bankrupt Enron Corp. -more-

SAN JOSE — JDS Uniphase Corp., a leading maker of optical networking components, reaffirmed its gloomy second-quarter sales outlook Monday and predicted more bad news to come. -more-

PASADENA — A flood of legal briefs to the nation’s largest federal appeals court predicts the trashing of some deeply held American ideals no matter the case’s outcome. -more-

OSLO, Norway — Saying “humanity is indivisible,” U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for global cooperation in fighting poverty, ignorance and disease as he and the United Nations accepted the centennial Nobel Peace Prize on Monday. -more-

On a chilly December evening, Manuel Oliver, 68, his small frame encased in layers of warm clothing, turns the dials of his small electric stove to “high” and waits anxiously for the burners to glow a warm red. -more-

Monday, Dec. 10

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924 Gilman Dec. 14: Hot Water Music, American Steel, F-Minus, Trial By Fire; Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic, Breaker Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 -more-

Cal loses third straight as St. Mary’s takes over in game’s final minutes -more-

OAKLAND – “It’s nice to be home,” said 9th District Rep. Barbara Lee, as she entered a town hall meeting to a standing ovation. -more-

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Construction of the new “Milvia buildings” on the Berkeley High School campus is running two months behind schedule, school officials said, pushing back the expected completion date to June 2003. -more-

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SAN FRANCISCO – Family and friends gathered Sunday in the Santa Cruz mountains to remember 7-year-old Xiana Fairchild, abducted on her way to school two years ago. -more-

FILLMORE – An Italian dinner house is doing brisk business on the showroom floor at William L. Morris Chevrolet, where car shoppers are tempted with chicken parmigiana as they kick the tires of new cars. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO – ExciteAtHome made plenty of dumb decisions on its way to the dot-com graveyard, but what ultimately killed the company may have been its greatest accomplishment – the high-speed cable network that provided fast Internet connections to more than 4 million North American customers. -more-

LOS ANGELES – Criticism is mounting among school officials over a new test designed to track students who are not fluent in English – one-fifth of the state’s public school population. -more-

SANTA CRUZ – A homeless encampment known as Camp Paradise, which fought off city officials’ requests to leave over the past year, finally cleared out after a rainstorm caused the San Lorenzo River to spill into their Eden. -more-

Silicon Valley pioneer’s organization makes one of biggest donations in history -more-

When architect Kava Massih took his drawings for a new downtown hotel to the Zoning Adjustments Board a few months ago, the board he encountered was quite different than the board he expected. -more-

Saturday, Dec. 8

The house in the 1992 photograph was built around 1876 for Joseph Clapp, a farmer who arrived in Berkeley in the mid-1870s from Norwood, Mass. -more-

The Daily Planet received a copy of these comments read to the Board of Education at a recent meeting: -more-

The town of Berkeley’s got quite a rep. In “The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s,” produced by the Berkeley Arts Center, a brilliant and brilliantly disturbing collection of photographs and essays by mostly local writers and photographers document the many movements for social justice that coalesced and grew strong in Berkeley and elsewhere in California. -more-

924 Gilman Dec. 8: Scurvy Dogs, Nigel Peppercock, Shut The Fuck Up, Offering To The Sun, Voetsek; Dec. 9: Poison The Well, Unearth, Sworn Enemy, Spark Lights The Friction; Dec. 14: Hot Water Music, American Steel, F-Minus, Trial By Fire; Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic, Breaker Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 -more-

Moore’s 23 leads Panthers to second win over BHS this week -more-

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has charged the owner of Jetco Motors, which burned down 17 months ago, with eight felonies related to the transportation and disposal of hazardous debris. -more-

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LONDON — George Harrison’s 1971 hit, “My Sweet Lord,” is reportedly going to be rereleased as a tribute to the former Beatle, who died last week. -more-

Leaks and floods result in a wave of questioning

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Lennon’s b-day today

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EAST PALO ALTO — A SamTrans bus driver was still missing early Friday after finishing his route two days earlier and failing to return with the bus. -more-

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SAN JOSE — For years, anonymous e-mail has been a choice tool for whistle-blowers, human rights activists and undercover sources looking to protect themselves while imparting vital information. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Labor unions and an attorneys’ group are pushing an initiative that would raise benefits for California workers who suffer job-related injuries. -more-

LOS ANGELES — “Are you (Osama) bin Laden?” -more-

MODESTO — Rep. Gary Condit, dogged by scandal since the May disappearance of a Washington, D.C., intern, said Friday he will seek re-election to Congress. -more-

LONG BEACH — State Fish and Game commissioners on Friday rejected a request by environmentalists and biologists to make the California tiger salamander an endangered species candidate, saying they needed more information. -more-

Actor Martin Sheen and four others guilty -more-

SACRAMENTO — Rep. Gary Condit ended months of speculation over his political future Friday by declaring he will seek re-election, while his son abandoned his plans to jump into politics. -more-

LOS ANGELES — Two Pakistani men picked up for questioning following the Sept. 11 attacks were charged Friday by federal prosecutors with falsely representing their legal status a day after an immigration judge granted them permission to leave the country. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — The parents of the California man found holed up with Taliban troops in Afghanistan said Friday that, nearly a week after his capture, the U.S. government has not given them any word about his condition or whereabouts. -more-

RENO, Nev. — FBI agents and Reno police arrested a California man and a 16-year-old youth Friday wanted as suspects in the robbery and murder last week of the owner of a 99-cent store in Rubidoux, Calif. -more-

LAS VEGAS — University of Nevada regents on Friday voted to raise grade point requirements for entrance to the state’s two universities. -more-

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — With the nation in the throes of another war started by a sneak attack, Americans marked Friday’s 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor with appeals to their countrymen to fight terrorism with the same valor shown by the World War II generation. -more-

SPOKANE, Wash. — The nation’s mining industry can expect a more favorable working climate, Bush administration officials told a receptive audience at the Northwest Mining Association’s annual convention Friday. -more-

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — With no clear signals whether the Bush administration would make it easier to build ski areas on federal land, Jeld-Wen Inc. has formally given up its $4 million effort to develop Pelican Butte ski resort on the Winema National Forest. -more-

WASHINGTON — The Senate could consider a proposal from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., as early as next week to provide $175 million in aid for the drought-stricken Klamath region. -more-

GOSHEN, Ind. — The suicidal factory worker who gunned down a co-worker and wounded six others was involved in a “love triangle” at work, co-workers and police said Friday. -more-

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Eighteen more people have been indicted on conspiracy charges in the $20 million scam of McDonald’s promotional games bringing the total to 51, the U.S. attorney’s office said Friday. -more-

LOS ANGELES — Once a model of good management, the LA Dodgers lost more money than any other team in Major League Baseball last season, according to financial information released by team owners. -more-

ATLANTA — EarthLink Inc. said Friday it has agreed to buy the assets of bankrupt OmniSky Corp. for $5 million, making the wireless services provider the latest to fold under the pressure of heavy debt and a scant customer base. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — The Packard family’s charitable foundation plans to vote its 10.4 percent stake in Hewlett-Packard Co. against the $25 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp., a severe blow for the deal and HP leader Carly Fiorina. -more-

SACRAMENTO — The state has paid the first installment on the $955 million it owes the managers of California’s power grid for electricity bought between Jan. 17 and July 31. -more-

The ‘check engine’ light -more-

The City Council decided Tuesday to approve three sections of the Draft General Plan by Dec. 18. -more-

Friday, Dec. 7

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It’s Nutcracker season – that time of year when the classically timeless story is performed throughout in the Bay Area in many different forms. It doesn’t matter that it’s Russian in origin, or that companies have taken creative liberties with the setting, period or choreography since the San Francisco Ballet introduced this work to Americans years ago. Everyone loves the Nutcracker story. -more-

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Panthers lose to Oakland in final seconds

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Ousseynou Kouyate sings quietly to himself, waiting for his performance to start. The venue is Keur Samba, a West African restaurant on Telegraph Avenue. Kouyate is part of tonight’s attraction, Djialy Kunda Kouyate – a Wolof (Senegalese) band recently brought in by owner Jegan Loum to play at the restaurant every Friday and Saturday night. -more-

Joe Shipp scored a career-high 24 points and led California to a 88-63 victory over Saint Louis on Thursday night. -more-

A few olive branches, and a lot of angry words were the offerings at a contentious Board of Education meeting Wednesday night, which featured a couple of overtures for collaboration and several sharp exchanges between board members and leaders of the small schools movement, or Coalition for Excellence and Equity in the Schools. -more-

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Wednesday evening, the Board of Education unanimously named Shirley Issel its new president. Issel moved up from the post of vice president, replacing outgoing chief Terry Doran. The board named Joaquin Rivera its new vice president. -more-

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As a public service, the Berkeley Daily Planet will list BERKELEY-BASED nonprofit agencies soliciting donations and/or volunteers. Please use the following format and e-mail by today to news@berkeleydailyplanet.net. -more-

MARIPOSA — Prosecutors want the triple-murder trial of Yosemite killer Cary Stayner held in Sacramento because it is convenient for witnesses and family members of the victims and defendant. -more-

D.A.’s employee pleads innocent to assault charge -more-

SACRAMENTO — For weeks, Secretary of State Bill Jones’ struggle to raise large amounts of money has led to speculation he’ll drop out of the Republican race for governor. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of Mexican nationals have been lining up around the block outside their consulate to get identification cards after the city became the first in the nation to officially accept the consular IDs as legal documents. -more-

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday convicted the first of 10 defendants facing trials on charges of trespassing at Vandenberg Air Force Base during an October 2000 protest against militarization of space. -more-

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — Kunio Iwashita, a Zero fighter pilot during World War II, says it was only on Sept. 11 — six decades after the attack on Pearl Harbor — that he realized how Americans must have felt back then. -more-

FRAZIER PARK — Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser dreamed of serving in the Special Forces. Long before he shipped out to Afghanistan, one friend said it seemed as if he “wanted to save the Middle East.” -more-

HENDERSON, Nev. — When the Bingo Palace opened off the Las Vegas Strip in 1977, the casino industry didn’t give it much of a chance. But building away from the action led Station Casinos into a lucrative new market — neighborhood casinos. -more-

SEATTLE — For most of his adult life, Gary Leon Ridgway walked a tightrope. -more-

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court refused Thursday to reinstate a money-laundering case against Las Vegas golf course developer and professional gambler Billy Walters and three other men. -more-

LAS VEGAS — Fifty years after Frank Sinatra’s debut at the Desert Inn resort, the Chairman of the Board will be honored with his own day. -more-

TUCSON, Ariz. — With a landmark court victory in hand, a Southwest environmental group wants to raise $1 million so it can kick cattle off tens of thousands of acres of Arizona and New Mexico. -more-

JUNEAU, Alaska — A Juneau man who was mauled by a grizzly bear Wednesday was reported in satisfactory condition after surgery at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. -more-

SAN JOSE — Computer server maker Sun Microsystems Inc. said Thursday it is on track to meet sales targets this quarter but stopped short of giving specific guidance to Wall Street. -more-

SAN JOSE — In another sign the semiconductor industry may be recovering, Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices said Thursday their fourth-quarter revenues are expected to exceed earlier forecasts. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Once-hip retailer Gap Inc. remained an unfashionable place to shop in November, with comparable store sales plunging 25 percent from the same time last year — the steepest drop yet during the clothier’s 19-month slide. -more-

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NEW YORK — Hearst Corp. chief executive and president Frank A. Bennack Jr. will retire at the end of next May. Chief operating officer Victor F. Ganzi, 54, was tapped to replace him. -more-

HARRISBURG, Pa. — About 800 former customers of an electricity supplier that served Pennsylvanians over the Internet before going out of business will receive refunds, the state’s consumer advocate said Thursday. -more-

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Biotechnology company Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. is acquiring South San Francisco, Calif.-based COR Therapeutics Inc. for $2 billion in stock, the company announced Thursday. -more-

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The teen-ager accused of plotting a Columbine-style massacre at his school returned to his mother’s home Thursday, prompting a student protest and concern among his neighbors. -more-

SHAFTER — Seven people were killed when a minivan collided with an Amtrak train on Wednesday near Bakersfield, authorities said. -more-

A woman thwarted an armed, would-be robber simply by walking away from him Monday evening, according to Lt. Cynthia Harris of the Berkeley Police Department.

SAN FRANCISCO — Several weeks after the November election, the Coast Guard fished eight ballot-box lids out of San Francisco Bay and 240 uncounted ballots were found stuck in voting machines — the latest embarrassments in the city’s sorry electoral history. -more-

SAN JOSE – For years, anonymous e-mail has been a choice tool for whistle-blowers, human rights activists and undercover sources looking to protect themselves while imparting vital information. -more-

SAN DIEGO — An executive with an investment fund accused of bilking investors has agreed to forfeit nearly $47 million in cash and assets in an agreement with regulators. -more-

Union proposes to transform the old Hall of Justice into temporary shelter

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FREEHOLD, N.J. — History teacher Barbara Guenther hasn’t missed a day of class in 37 years. Now, she is spending her days in a 9-by-9 jail cell, locked up along with scores of other striking teachers in a bitter lesson in civil disobedience. -more-