News

When Harvey Smith went away on vacation, he had no idea that when he came back to his quiet north Berkeley neighborhood, he would find that a modest cottage a half block from his house had disappeared. -more-

Friday, Oct. 27

The Berkeley High girls’ volleyball team gave up just four points in three games against the Pinole Valley Spartans. They haven’t lost a match in league play. So they must be playing very well, right? Wrong, according to their coach. -more-

Elect knowledgeable bus rider to AC board -more-

-more-

Attorneys for Skates by the Bay have sued the city, saying the amended Living Wage Ordinance that covers Marina properties unfairly discriminates against them and will cause them and their employees irreparable harm. -more-

-more-

RICHMOND — An explosion and fire rocked a plastics recycling center Thursday morning, killing one worker, injuring several others and forcing 12 nearby schools to cancel classes. -more-

SAN JOSE— Bill Peacock, the leading opponent of Democrat Mike Honda in the March primary, is crossing party lines to endorse Republican Jim Cunneen in the hotly contested 15th Congressional District race. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Volunteers spread out across the city Thursday night to tally how many homeless people call San Francisco home. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Board of Education has voted to drop tough graduation requirements for the high school class of 2001 after learning that 30 percent of the city’s seniors failed to meet the requirements. -more-

Legally troubled Napster, Inc. set its sites on Apple computer users, making its popular music swapping software available for Macintosh operating systems. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A poisonous puffer fish, considered a dining delicacy in Japan, may hold the key to sequencing the human genome. -more-

The Associated Press -more-

SACRAMENTO — School districts that have been complaining for 20 years that the state has shortchanged them for special education will get $520 million for past costs and $100 million more a year, Gov. Gray Davis announced Thursday. -more-

By James and Morris Carey -more-

Stairs leading directly from a living room or central hallway look more attractive and inviting when carpeted. And, a carpeted stairway will quiet your home by softening footsteps and absorbing sound waves. Carpeted stairs are safer, too, lessening your chances of slipping. -more-

SACRAMENTO — A Web site offering to sell 21,000 votes for president to the highest bidder has changed its domain name and switched its registrar to a company based in Germany. -more-

LOS ANGELES — It’s a dirty-air puzzle that befuddles scientists: When other pollutants punch out for the week, smog-causing ozone starts working overtime in some parts of the state. -more-

SACRAMENTO — With California up for grabs, George W. Bush doubled his advertising effort and announced a campaign swing with one-time rival John McCain, while Gov. Gray Davis packed his bags for a week of barnstorming for Al Gore and other Democrats. -more-

LOS ANGELES — The Internet has revolutionized the way Americans talk, study, work, play and spend money. -more-

AUBURN — It’s no coincidence that Court Commissioner Colleen Nichols holds her weekly drug court inside the Placer County Jail. -more-

SAN DIEGO — Border Patrol agents reported hearing shots fired when 10 uniformed men bearing rifles came onto U.S. soil in a canyon east of San Diego. -more-

-more-

The City Council soundly rejected the mayor’s civic center parking plan at Tuesday’s meeting in favor of a more comprehensive plan that includes education, housing and a strong emphasis on alternative modes of transportation. -more-

Thursday, Oct. 26

Measure R is -more-

Berkeley passes last major test in league play; Encinal up next -more-

More than 200 people turned out in the Wednesday morning downpour in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Way studios of KPFA chanting, as they did during the summer of 1999, “Who’s station? Our station!” -more-

Alameda deals Berkeley second loss of season -more-

The U.S. Attorney released new specific charges Wednesday against Berkeley’s largest landlord and four members of his family charged with fraudulently bringing foreign workers to the country for cheap labor and sex. -more-

Despite much protest among its members late Tuesday night, the City Council narrowly passed a design concept for the Aquatic Park Sound Barrier, which was described by one Councilmember as a “rusty steel wall with flowers on it.” -more-

Thousands of hospital workers are striking today, affecting services at eight hospitals in Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano and Lake counties. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Of the 337 car and pedestrian collisions this year where the driver was likely at fault, only one in 10 drivers received a citation, the San Francisco Examiner reported Monday. -more-

Three Berkeley residents and two Berkeley organizations will be honored tonight at the Berkeley Community Fund’s Seventh annual Awards Dinner. -more-

SACRAMENTO — The nation’s drug czar has weighed in against a proposal on California’s Nov. 7 ballot that would require treatment instead of incarceration for nonviolent drug users. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A state court upheld assault and alcohol convictions against a former Pelican Bay State Prison guard on Wednesday. -more-

SANTA CRUZ — The city council of this fervently-liberal seaside city voted unanimously Tuesday to pass the nation’s highest living wage – $11 dollars an hour, or $12 without benefits. -more-

SANTA MONICA — The celebrity-filled Malibu shore is known for more than swaying palms, sun-roasted sands and bronzed surfers: The lapping waves also contain some of Southern California’s filthiest ocean water. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Booming state budget reserves will force a $1.1 billion, quarter-cent cut in California’s sales tax next year, saving the typical family of four $120, Gov. Gray Davis said Wednesday. -more-

SAN DIEGO — A growing number of people diagnosed with AIDS in San Diego have used intravenous drugs or had sex with people who injected drugs, according to the county’s health department. -more-

CBS Inc. agreed to settle a class-action sex discrimination lawsuit involving some 200 women technicians for $8 million, attorneys said Wednesday. -more-

LOS ANGELES — A panel of scientists urged state officials to toughen standards for chromium 6 in water, stating there is compelling evidence that it causes cancer. -more-

LOS ANGELES — Voters in California favor Vice President Al Gore over Texas Gov. George Bush by 7 percentage points in the race for president, according to a statewide poll published Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times. -more-

What does a renter do when the toilet doesn’t work, the roof leaks and the landlord refuses to return the security deposit? -more-

Wednesday, Oct. 25

Good food is better than supplements -more-

In an unexpected development in a criminal investigation that began last fall with the death of an Indian immigrant, prosecutors say Berkeley’s wealthiest landlord and four family members will plead guilty next week to federal charges arising from their alleged importation of teenage girls from India for sex and cheap labor. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — An Internet startup backed by six major airlines launched a cheap-seat service Tuesday that promises to undercut the prices of other online discounters who helped put the concept on the map. -more-

CHP officials reported today that a Berkeley woman was killed Monday afternoon when her car collided head-on with another vehicle on U.S. Highway 101 in southern Mendocino County. -more-

PETALUMA — Trey Atkin was an active, gregarious 11-year-old, just the kind of boy you’d expect to spend a buddy’s birthday party leading the charge through the nearby bushes. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A 20-year former FBI agent settled her sex discrimination claims against the government Tuesday in a case setting new precedent. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Richard and Millie Hoagland had a “very sick truck,” a smoke-belching big rig they knew would not pass a smog inspection. -more-

LOS ANGELES — These are real Star-bucks. -more-

A 440-square-mile sweep of jagged mountains and desert in Southern California became the country’s latest national monument under a law President Clinton signed Tuesday to protect the land from encroaching development. -more-

SACRAMENTO — A Sacramento man charged with a 1994 rape might be the first person in the nation arrested using a DNA warrant, prosecutors say. -more-

SACRAMENTO — A California ballot measure that would put thousands of drug offenders into treatment rather than behind bars wouldn’t solve the state’s prison crowding problem, Corrections Director Cal Terhune said Tuesday. -more-

FRESNO — To the golden trout of the Sierra Nevada: This Bud’s for you. -more-

The City Council tonight will again broach the touchy topic of city employee parking near Civic Center. -more-

Tuesday, Oct. 24

Breland corrects the record -more-

The City Council will consider an ordinance tonight that would ban stores from displaying tobacco products in a manner that encourages minors to attempt to purchase or steal cigarettes. -more-

Ben Weintraub and Michael Liu became poster guys for the Measure Y campaign Monday afternoon. -more-

A yellow school bus that carried those who will defy the United States embargo against Cuba stopped Sunday at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. -more-

SAN DIEGO — A coalition of environmental groups have settled a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management after the agency agreed to limit the amount of land that could be used by off-road vehicle owners in an Imperial County wilderness area. -more-

MIDDLETOWN — Firefighters who worked through the night proclaimed victory over a Lake County fire that had charred nearly 4,000 acres, but said it would take until Thursday to fully extinguish the blaze. -more-

SACRAMENTO — California’s minimum wage will rise $1 an hour to $6.75, one of the highest in the nation, under a decision Monday by the state Industrial Welfare Commission. -more-

SANTA CRUZ — The fervently liberal seaside city hopes to set an example Tuesday night by passing the nation’s highest “living wage” – $11 an hour, or $12 without benefits. -more-

There were speeches, cheers and a symbolic breaking of ground in an area of Berkeley often neglected by city officialdom – the 3200 block of Adeline Street. -more-

OAKLAND – When Ralph Nadar took the stage Saturday night at Oakland’s Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium, the more than 7,000 people who filled the seats and sat in the aisles jumped to their feet. -more-

Monday, Oct. 23

LOS ANGELES — For decades, Los Angeles’ bus drivers and riders have looked at each other across the fare box with suspicion and distrust. -more-

After a first half characterized by dropped passes and sloppy tackling, the tenacious play of unheralded St. Mary’s senior fullback Danny Wheeler sparked the Panthers to a 34-0 rout of Albany High (1-4) Saturday afternoon. -more-

Underground youth activist Jia Ching Chen has rappelled off buildings, been tear-gassed, and led throngs of multiracial youth in the first “hip-hop sit-in” at the San Francisco Hilton. -more-

Daily Planet Wire Services -more-

Ever since Martyn Smith, professor of toxicology at UC Berkeley and graduate student Christine F. Skibola, published their findings in the “Free Radical Biology and Medicine” journal, they’ve been inundated with phone calls and e-mails from very worried people. -more-

Sabo, Mueller score as Cal gets third straight shutout -more-

California scored six unanswered goals to top Davidson, 6-1, on Sunday at Kleeberger Field to finish the conference schedule undefeated at 5-0. -more-

OAKLAND — Green Party Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader rejected calls from a dozen of his longtime fellow activists that he rethink his campaign because he could cost Democrat Al Gore the election. -more-

OAKLAND – Oakland Fire Department Chief Gerald Simon credited hard lessons learned in the 1991 East Bay hills wild fire for today's quick and effective response to new fire threats. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers say they’ve discovered what’s draining 10 percent of the electricity in homes in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the world. -more-

Trees around school playgrounds do more than shade kids after a fast-round of keep-away. If enough playgrounds and parking lots are shaded, the whole city will stay cooler. -more-

OAKLAND — Oakland police have arrested an administrator with the city’s Office of Parks and Recreation on suspicion of embezzling more than $12,000 to pay for school supplies and a trip to the Virgin Islands. -more-

LOS ANGELES — Southern California’s booming economy has pushed rents up so high that most apartments are far out of reach for lower-income families. -more-

Carl’s Jr. and Shell Oil team up to develop complex in area where few services are available -more-

Saturday, Oct. 21

What was really said -more-

Striker scores two more goals, leads Pac-10 -more-

Berkeley High is both a microcosm of, and a model for, America. It is through this one simple sentence that Meredith Maran explains the premise of her book “Class Dismissed: A Year in the Life of an American High School, a Glimpse into the Heart of a Nation,” recently released by St. Martin’s Press. -more-

Home is where the wins are for the Cal men’s soccer team this season. Playing at Edwards Stadium for the first time in more than a month, the struggling Bears upset No. 7 UCLA 1-0 Friday. -more-

Nearly 200 students, health care activists and professionals lit candles Thursday evening at Sproul Plaza on the university campus and spoke out against the widespread lack of health insurance . -more-

Bone crushing tackles? Check. Bruising runs? Check. Showstopping plays? Check, check, check. When the dust had settled on Berkeley High’s 40-14 domination of the Richmond Oilers, the Yellowjackets ran off more checks than Bill Gates on a shopping spree. Berkeley won its third straight game to remain undefeated league play (3-4, 3-0 ACCAL) before a showdown next week with Pinole Valley that will, according to senior running back Ramone Reed, “test how really good we are.” -more-

SANTA ROSA – Correctional officers who responded when an inmate became ill at the Sonoma County Jail last month are not talking to Santa Rosa police investigating the man’s subsequent death. -more-

Prosecution, defense agree that Peter Bradley had a rare reaction to encephalitis, are working on settlement -more-

Proposal could help avoid price spikes seen in San Diego following industry deregulation -more-

Two deaths in two days at Fresno County Jail -more-

Former provost announces billion-dollar fundraising campaign for undergrads -more-

PHOENIX – Arizona legislators, meeting in a one-day special session Friday, imposed an immediate one-year moratorium on the state’s runaway subsidy program for vehicles burning alternative clean fuels, a program now projected to cost at least 140 times what was first expected. -more-

OAKLAND – Saturday marks the nine-year anniversary of the 1991 fire storm that swept through the Oakland hills, caused almost $1.7 billion in damage and killed nearly two dozen people. -more-

Company will hold graffiti contest despite mayor’s protest -more-

LOS ANGELES – The inside story of the 1974 Symbionese Liberation Army shootout is not relevant to the defense of former SLA fugitive Sara Jane Olson, a judge ruled Friday in denying her access to 25-year-old files. -more-

‘West Wing’ actor Martin Sheen speaks out against California’s Proposition 36 -more-