Smokers who light up outside public buildings would be subject to $100 fines if City Council passes a tough, new anti-smoking ordinance. -more-
OAKLAND – The Oakland Athletics were supposed to put it all together this October. Instead, everything fell apart in six days — and now one of baseball’s sweetest success stories has turned sour. -more-
Tony Award-winning producer Jonathan Reinis is weighing a full-scale performing arts center at the unoccupied UC Theatre on the 2000 block of University Avenue in downtown Berkeley. -more-
ALAMEDA – The Oakland Raiders are piling up points, as if they’re simply daring other teams to try to keep up. -more-
Green Party candidate for governor Peter Camejo was barred from attending a gubernatorial debate Monday at the insistence of Gov. Gray Davis, Camejo’s campaign manager Tyler Snortum-Phelps said. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
Pro-Palestinian activists criticized UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl for signing his name to a full-page advertisement in the New York Times Monday that called for an end to intimidation of Jewish students on college campuses. The ad made no specific reference to the protection of Arabs or Muslims. -more-
Berkeley police say they are responding to neighborhood complaints of rampant prostitution on San Pablo Avenue. But merchants say police efforts have made no impact. -more-
CINCINNATI – President Bush, seeking support for war against Iraq, called Saddam Hussein a “murderous tyrant” Monday night and said he may be plotting to attack the United States with biological and chemical weapons. -more-
OAKLAND – Federal Transportation Security Administration security screeners will be deployed at Oakland International Airport this week following a similar move last week when the federally-trained workers took over security in a Mineta San Jose International Airport terminal and Los Angeles International Airport. -more-
A gay and lesbian community center was the victim of a hate crime Sunday night, when a vandal wrote the word “fag” and drew a swastika on its outdoor bulletin board. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – As the U.S. Congress wrestles with the president’s bid for military authority to strike Iraq, San Francisco supervisors Monday voted to say no to such action at this time. -more-
Recently a Berkeley resident expressed concern to us that the compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) that she wanted to install to save energy had mercury in it, and this mercury would do more to harm the environment than the incandescent lamp she would replace. (Mercury is used in all fluorescent lamps to start them.) -more-
LOS ANGELES – The family of one of the women who died in the crash of Greyhound bus after its driver was stabbed by a passenger has sued the transit company. -more-
WASHINGTON – President Bush moved Monday toward reopening crippled West Coast ports, creating a special board of inquiry to determine the impact of a labor dispute that has brought shipping trade there to a virtual halt and is costing the economy up to $2 billion a day. -more-
SAN JOSE – A jury that will soon decide the fate of Yosemite killer Cary Stayner was told Monday the former handyman deserves the same fate as his three victims. -more-
CLEARLAKE – Lake Konocti is nestled in the center of the rolling, golden Konocti Hills north of Napa, renowned around the world for its fishing, wineries, entertainment and the cleanest air in the state. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sunday fined a former Petaluma optical company almost $35,000 for hazardous waste storage and record keeping violations. -more-
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – An American and two Britons won this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for discoveries about how genes regulate organ growth and a process of programmed cell suicide. Their findings shed light on the development of many illnesses, including AIDS and strokes. -more-
LOS ANGELES – The first retail zero-emissions car available in the United States will be delivered to the city by the end of the year by Honda, officials said Monday. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – The American Civil Liberties Union charged Monday that San Francisco’s police department has done little to follow up on statistics showing that racial profiling may be a problem in the city. -more-
Emeryville’s steady climb from dumping ground to consumer paradise is set to take a giant leap forward next month. -more-
SEATTLE – Kyle Boller waited his whole life to play such a great game. The way he saw it, the Washington Huskies just happened to be the team on the other side of the line. -more-
Chanting against the impending war in Iraq as they marched to the rhythms of drums and tambourines, about 350 mostly students made their way from People’s Park to the downtown BART station to a Sunday afternoon rally in San Francisco’s Union Square. Organizers estimated the San Francisco crowd at more than 5,000. -more-
St. Mary’s High junior Fred Hives ran back the opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown against McClymonds High on Saturday, giving the banged-up Panthers a ray of hope. But that was the last highlight for St. Mary’s, which was simply run over by the Warriors in a 42-6 drubbing. -more-
After state regulators in August rejected Berkeley’s plan for producing its mandated share of affordable housing – a decision that could cost the city valuable state funds – city planners are insisting the state ruled incorrectly. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
OAKLAND – Not only are the Minnesota Twins here to stay, now they’re going home – to open a most unlikely AL championship series. -more-
Forgive Board of Education candidate Lance Montauk if he is less than intimidated by the Berkeley Unified School District’s $3.9 million budget shortfall. -more-
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Phillip Buchanon helped Drew Bledsoe and the Buffalo Bills run out of late-game drama. -more-
Governor Gray Davis may pull out of a televised gubernatorial debate scheduled for tonight if Green Party candidate Peter Camejo is permitted to be a spectator, Camejo told supporters at a rally in Richmond Sunday. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
Two Sunday morning grass fires kept the Berkeley fire department busy at the cusp of high fire season. -more-
SAN LEANDRO – A San Leandro man was listed in serious condition Sunday after impaling his head on an iron gate spike in his front yard, a spokeswoman for Eden Medical Center said. -more-
NOVATO – A priest who was on leave from the seminary where he has taught since 1997 was arrested for allegedly molesting a boy Marin County in 1984. -more-
OCCIDENTAL – Despite overall population growth in this pastoral, wealthy Sonoma County community, the number of school-age children is dwindling, and its schools are going broke. -more-
LOS ANGELES – Starting at midnight Monday passengers in two Los Angeles International Airport terminals will navigate security checkpoints manned by federally trained screeners. -more-
SACRAMENTO – During the past four years, California has screamed along a fiscal rollercoaster – enjoying record surpluses before taking a gut-wrenching plunge deeper into the red than ever before. -more-
By Andres Cediel -more-
The Studio Building, located at the corner of Shattuck and Allston Way was built in 1905, and was the tallest building in downtown until the Shattuck Hotel was completed in 1909. Both are five stories tall, while the majority of downtown’s early 20th Century masonry buildings are between three and four stories. In 1925 the Chamber of Commerce Building (now Wells Fargo Bank) was constructed at 11 stories and became Berkeley’s only “skyscraper” until 1970 when the Great Western Building was completed. The Chamber of Commerce had its offices on the top floor of the building, a perfect place to tout the charms of Berkeley’s location directly opposite the Golden Gate. -more-
ST. LOUIS – Author Salman Rushdie says his trips through airport security lines are slow again. -more-
The Berkeley High football team continued to steamroll its opposition on Friday night, demolishing De Anza High 33-6 in the league opener for both teams. -more-
Most movies bend over backward to explain everything to the audience; not so with “Bloody Sunday,” Paul Greengrass’ uncompromising recreation of Derry, Northern Ireland, on Jan. 30, 1972 — the day British soldiers shot 27 unarmed protesters, killing 13. -more-
MINNEAPOLIS – The Oakland Athletics found a great way to quiet that noisy Metrodome – hitting home runs, both in and out of the park. -more-
A November ballot measure to limit the height of Berkeley developments will lead to more traffic, dirtier air and less affordable housing, opponents of the initiative said at a televised debate Thursday. -more-
San Francisco Opera projects $7.7 million deficit -more-
When Cal has the ball -more-
Bites, attempted bites and legal skirmishes over evidence were at the heart of the second day of student conduct hearings for UC Berkeley pro-Palestinian protester Roberto Hernandez. -more-
Parent activist Cynthia Papermaster has bowed out of the Board of Education race, narrowing the field to six candidates for three open spots on the five-member panel. -more-
NEW DELHI, India — Pakistan and India, nuclear-armed rivals who came to the brink of war only four months ago, staged tit-for-tat missile tests Friday, increasing tensions and raising fears of a renewed arms race. -more-
ALAMEDA — The Blue & Gold Fleet has filed paperwork with the California Public Utilities Commission to end ferry service between Alameda, Oakland and several San Francisco piers starting in January. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Tempers cooled a bit as the dockworkers union and shipping companies returned to negotiations under the careful watch of a federal mediator, even as the port shutdown threatened to further hamper industries across the nation. -more-
LOS ANGELES – Even if the West Coast dock shutdown ends soon, many U.S. factories may have to shut down anyway because the parts they need will be caught in a huge backlog of cargo, business leaders said Friday. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Spectrum Organic Products Inc. works so hard to ensure the food it sells is free from genetically modified organisms that it sends employees as far as France to purchase corn oil guaranteed to be untainted by biotechnology. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Gap Inc. on Thursday disclosed that Silicon Valley pioneer Steve Jobs resigned from its board of directors, just days after the struggling retailer switched chief executive officers. -more-
SACRAMENTO — The newest thing to hit the underground club scene in California is a sweet, colorful little pill that can keep someone dancing all night long. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Saying California grows by one new person every minute, a major land developer association is recommending significant state government reforms to prevent California from becoming unlivable within 20 to 40 years. -more-
OAKLAND — After almost a one-year hiatus, a $1.4 billion plan to expand the Oakland International Airport is getting back on track with an agreement to be signed Tuesday by community groups, city officials and the Port of Oakland. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Environmentalists embroiled in a lawsuit against Pacific Lumber Co. asked a Humboldt County Superior Court judge on Friday to enforce two of his previous orders concerning the company’s logging. -more-
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – John Walker Lindh, whose discovery as a U.S.-born Taliban fighter startled the nation, received a 20-year sentence Friday after condemning Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network during a sobbing, halting plea for forgiveness. -more-
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Police linked a sixth death to the sniper killings of five Maryland residents and said Friday the same high-powered rifle was used to kill at least four of the victims. -more-
HONOLULU – Scientists have found the first evidence of coral bleaching in the Hawaiian Islands, providing a worrisome sign of more potential environmental damage from global warming. -more-
This weekend, Berkeley residents will get a rare glimpse into the mysterious fortress on a hill – Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. -more-
A research center in the hills overlooking Berkeley and the UC campus is where lots of lofty mathematics is pondered. On Sunday the thinkers from the Mathematical Science Research Institute will come down the hill to a theater near you. -more-
Berkeley High quarterback Dessalines Gant will start tonight’s league opener against De Anza, head coach Matt Bissell said Thursday. -more-
Mayor Shirley Dean’s proposal to replace the earthquake-prone Center Street garage with a new state-of-the-art automated one has raised some eyebrows here – and in Hoboken, N.J. -more-
A wrong turn couldn’t stop Gabriela Rios-Sotelo from winning the first Bay Shore Athletic League cross country meet on Thursday, as the St. Mary’s High sophomore blew away the field and won by nearly a full minute at Crab Cove in Alameda. -more-
Home movies aren’t supposed to be this cool: footage of Bob Dylan goofing around at Hamlet’s castle. The Beatles taking the stage in 1964. -more-
A last minute effort by swimmers at the city’s Willard Pool to recruit more users will likely save it from a planned winter closure, city officials said Thursday. -more-
NEW YORK — As a ferry filled with brunchers and skyline-gazers cruised along the East River on a crystal-clear September Sunday, architecture critic Paul Goldberger drew his audience’s attention to a fire boat, spouting graceful arcs of spray. -more-
The Berkeley High girls volleyball team rolled through yet another league opponent on Thursday, demolishing Pinole Valley in straight games, 15-1, 15-4, 15-0. -more-
Berkeley High School administrators equated this week’s rash of false fire alarms with terrorism, in a student bulletin. -more-
OAKLAND – The U.S. District Court is considering reducing the prison term of wealthy Berkeley landlord Lakireddy Bali Reddy. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — A computerized system that will allow homeless people in San Francisco to reserve beds was launched Wednesday. -more-
NEW YORK — The San Francisco Giants can remove a scoreboard sign featuring Enron Corp.’s tilted “E” logo from Pacific Bell Park, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday. -more-
SACRAMENTO — California officials began selling nearly $12 billion in municipal bonds Thursday, by far the largest such issue in U.S. history. -more-
SAN JOSE — The mother of Yosemite killer Cary Stayner pleaded for his life Thursday, saying that he isn’t a monster and that his execution would not change anything. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco officials said Thursday they will work with a wireless telephone company to raise both awareness and cash for domestic violence victims, as well as hundreds of cell phones for their use. -more-
ALBANY – Community gardeners and a local architect are staging a last ditch effort to save a plot of Albany farm land from being toppled by a development. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
By Brian Kluepfel -more-
Twenty-six years. That’s how long it’s been since the Cal football team beat the Washington Huskies. -more-
California does a poor job of preparing students for college but provides young people with an affordable higher education, according to a national study released Wednesday. -more-
Poet Brenda Hillman is scheduled to speak today at UC Berkeley’s Morrison Library. The author of six books, including “Loose Sugar” and “Cascadia,” Morrison uses language to explore the edges of consciousness, and examines the fine line between the sensual and the spiritual. -more-
OAKLAND – Mark Mulder didn’t see panic in his teammates’ eyes after the Oakland Athletics’ playoff run got off to a rough start. -more-
Both Mayor Shirley Dean and her chief rival in the November election former state Assemblyman Tom Bates declared support for putting cameras on traffic lights to catch speeders and red light runners. -more-
NEW YORK — Is CNN Headline News down with it? -more-
Bay Area Rapid Transit was the way to go for the Twins. Most of the players and coaches opted for public transportation Tuesday, and it was a good thing. -more-
For years day laborers like Victor Guevara have stood on the corner of Fourth and Hearst streets in west Berkeley hoping to get a days work in exchange for a day’s wages. But as the economy flattened and their numbers increased, so did complaints about their presence. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
With all due respect to Anthony Hopkins, the world did not need to see him play Hannibal Lecter a third time. -more-
TRENTON, N.J. – Giving hope to Democrats scrambling to retain control of the Senate, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that the party can replace Sen. Robert Torricelli on the November ballot. -more-
First-grader Tanyonika Scott and third-grader Andrea Smith of Malcolm X School were among brigades of students, parents, teachers and a few local politicians who set out on foot and bike from several meeting points in town to take part in the city’s second annual Walk to School Day Wednesday. -more-
A proposed fire station in the Berkeley hills won the support of the East Bay Regional Park District Tuesday. -more-
FRESNO — A county judge gave the University of California approval Tuesday to begin construction on its new Merced campus, rejecting a suit by environmental groups. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Former New York City police commissioner William Bratton has been selected as the new chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, city officials said Wednesday. -more-
On Oct. 1, 1964, former student and Congress of Racial Equality worker Jack Weinberg was passing out flyers at Sproul Plaza after the college had forbidden the distribution of literature for non-university causes. Police arrived and put Weinberg in a squad car. But they couldn’t take him away. A group of students had surrounded it, and they held the car captive until the college agreed to lift the distribution ban. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
OAKLAND— In the first two postseason innings of their lives, the young Minnesota Twins made three errors, allowed four unearned runs and reached their boiling point. -more-
UC Berkeley pro-Palestinian protester Roberto Hernandez and his legal team didn’t show up on the second day of the activist’s student conduct hearing Tuesday, drawing the ire of the university panel hearing the case, now postponed until Friday. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
African-American and Latino students at Berkeley High School failed the 2002 California High School Exit Exam in large numbers, mirroring statewide trends and renewing local concerns about the “achievement gap” separating white and Asian students from African-Americans and Latinos. -more-
To the Editor, -more-
VIENNA, Austria — Iraq agreed Tuesday to a plan for the return of U.N. weapons inspectors for the first time in nearly four years, but the deal ignores U.S. demands for access to Saddam Hussein’s palaces and other contested sites. -more-
To the Editor, -more-
As the heat of fire season approaches, UC Berkeley police is warning people not to dump wood chips, which provide dangerous fuel to wildfires, on campus wildlands. -more-
Santa Clara judge sentences man for planned massacre -more-
SACRAMENTO — California’s tough education standards are a bragging point for many state officials, but the nation’s new education law could force the state to lower the bar or risk falling short of federal requirements. -more-
Mapping and reading J. Craig Venter’s genome took 15 years, $5 billion and some of the most sophisticated computers available. -more-
SAN JOSE — The U.S. Commerce Department accused Sun Microsystems Inc. of violating export rules in sales it made to Egypt and, through a reseller, to China. -more-
SACRAMENTO — The fallout from Gov. Gray Davis’ decision to sign or veto hundreds of bills in the last week continued to settle Tuesday, as some groups celebrated and others prepared for lawsuits or new legislation. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Half of the state’s 18 million patients in health maintenance organizations can’t leave their HMO because their employers only offer one insurance plan, but they may be able to find a better medical group within that HMO. -more-
FRESNO — Passengers on a Greyhound bus were dozing off after a food stop when a man armed with scissors charged the bus driver and slashed his throat. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis vetoed a bill Monday that would have allowed pharmacies to sell hypodermic needles to adults without a doctor’s prescription. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Moviemakers will be reimbursed for hiring local law enforcement to guard film productions on public property under a bill signed into law Tuesday by California Gov. Gray Davis. -more-
LOS ANGELES — The dock shutdown on the West Coast tightened the squeeze on businesses across the country Tuesday, holding up Christmas toys and worrying automakers that rely on just-in-time delivery of parts. -more-
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — A 66-year-old Arizona man has been missing from the park for the past 11 days, and rangers are asking for help in finding him. -more-
LOS ANGELES – Trailing in the polls a month before Election Day, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon accused Gov. Gray Davis of auctioning his office for campaign contributions as the two faced off in their first debate Monday. -more-
CAIRO, Egypt – The Arab satellite station al-Jazeera broadcast an audiotape Sunday in which a male voice attributed to Osama bin Laden said the “youths of God” are planning more attacks against the United States. -more-
PORTLAND, Ore. — Hailing a “defining day” in the fight against terrorism, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the arrests of four people in Oregon and Michigan on Friday on charges of conspiring to wage war on the United States and support al-Qaida. Two other suspects were being sought overseas. -more-
WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans in Congress began closing ranks Wednesday behind a resolution giving President Bush broad authority to use military force against Iraq. -more-
A second suspect has been arrested in the Sept. 15 armed robbery of a Berkeley electronics store, according to Police Information Officer Mary Kusmiss. -more-
