Police have noted a rise in the number of compact discs stolen from apartments and houses in recent burglaries. -more-

Wednesday, May 10 -more-

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program was established in 1974, providing project-based and tenant-based housing assistance to low-income persons who rent. When both tenant and landlord qualify under Section 8, tenant pays one third of her/his income for rent, with the balance subsidized. It has been one of the best possible uses of federal funds, because it countermands need for costly welfare-type expenditures associated with sheltering persons with small incomes who are willing, able, and eager to live independently. And yet when conservatives’ attempts to eliminate HUD failed, they were able to focus on the Section 8 program and its various components. Seniors currently receiving Section 8 rent subsidies in project-based buildings, for example, have been receiving annual notices of possible loss of their status. -more-

THEATER -more-

The “belly-itcher” in the well-known ballyard chant was nowhere to be found on Tuesday afternoon – just two great pitchers – as the Berkeley High softball team took on league powerhouse Livermore at James Kenney Park. -more-

In a surprising twist, a state mediator issued a “total press and information blackout” Tuesday in connection with the contract negotiations between the Berkeley Unified School District and the Berkeley Federation of Teachers. -more-

St. Mary’s High 1998 graduate Jerriod Mack, who helped establish the Panthers as a boys track and field powerhouse before moving on to Cal, was recognized by the Pac-10 conference on Tuesday as the Men’s Field Athlete of the Week. -more-

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With four days remaining in the 2000 boys volleyball season, there’s still a chance that somebody in the East Bay Athletic League will beat league leader Foothill. But it won’t be Berkeley High. -more-

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, one of the most prominent women in American public life and the outspoken advocate of President Clinton’s foreign policy, is the lead speaker at the UC Berkeley commencement today. -more-

Berkeley Schools Superintendent Jack McLaughlin has kept his word – in a manner of speaking. -more-

The usefulness – of utter lack thereof – of tracking the nation’s average wage was demonstrated in a big way Tuesday night by a little guy – former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. -more-