News
Grading out a disappointing Cal season
By Jared Green -more-
Calendar of Events & Activities
Council approves removal of contaminated water
Hagen out as offensive coordinator
Following a season of near misses and poor execution, Cal offensive coordinator Steve Hagen was officially let go Monday, head coach Tom Holmoe announced. -more-
Residents miffed with Allston Way Corporation yard
New event regulations include safety measures
A 50-year-old city ordinance that restricts obscene dancing and lewd behavior at indoor entertainment events has been replaced with one that addresses more pressing concerns: police security and fire safety. -more-
County stops recount in blow to Al Gore
In a dizzying turn of events, Florida’s largest county abruptly stopped recounting votes Wednesday, sending Al Gore’s lawyers scrambling back to court to keep a ballot-by-ballot fight for the White House grinding away. George W. Bush asked the Supreme Court to shut down all the recounts or risk a constitutional crisis. -more-
Judge questions jury foreman in LAPD case
LOS ANGELES — The foreman of the jury that convicted the first three officers to go to trial in the city’s police corruption scandal told a judge Wednesday that he did not engage in misconduct that could void the verdict. -more-
California election system changes proposed
SACRAMENTO — The state’s top election official on Wednesday proposed several election-system changes, including a proposal to give counties $230 million for better voting technology. -more-
Group fights to strengthen Proposition 34
SACRAMENTO — Political reform advocates who say Proposition 34’s campaign contribution limits are too weak are considering going to the ballot in 2002 or 2004 to try to strengthen the voter-approved measure. -more-
Tighter controls on electricity market proposed
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson proposed tighter price controls Wednesday on the California electricity market, to help combat skyrocketing rates that have plagued the San Diego area since summer. -more-
Burglarproofing locks can be a tricky business
I know from personal experience that burglars and vandals have a field day when they come across an exterior door unprotected by a dead bolt. -more-
Many possibilities for growing cranberries
For gardeners, Thanksgiving is a special holiday, a time to celebrate the harvest and put it on the table, just as the Pilgrims did hundreds of years ago. Most gardeners today grow some form of the traditional fare of corn, beans, or squash. But do you know anyone who grows cranberries? -more-
Heath family plants have special soil requirements
Plants of the heath family – azalea, rhododendron, mountain laurel, blueberry, heather and heath – grow wild in the soils having the unique combination of being very acidic, rich in humus yet infertile and moist and well-aerated. -more-
Storage alternatives for those who need more space
The one thing you always seem to need more of is storage. -more-
Regrouting tile can be important to your health
Grungy tile grout is considered by many people to be the scourge of mankind. It is ugly and a pain in the neck to clean. And, recent studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that certain types of mold can negatively affect one’s health. -more-
Tips on painting your woodwork
Painting woodwork can be a relaxing hobby. -more-
Aurora gives strong production of ‘The Weir’
By John Angell Grant -more-
District 5 may provide council pacifist
Those who work and know her are saying if anyone can promote civil discourse on Berkeley’s City Council, it’s District 5 Councilmember elect Miriam “Mim” Hawley. -more-
Students charged with sexual assault
Berkeley Daily Planet Staff Reports -more-
Rain causes paint runoff
The rainy weather on Tuesday washed several coats of paint off a building near University and Oxford streets and into nearby storm drains and gutters alarming nearby business owners and passersby. -more-
Volunteers, police hand out turkey baskets to needy families
Beating the rains Tuesday morning, volunteers and Berkeley police began at about 6 a.m. to distribute roughly 250 holiday food baskets to needy families and organizations. -more-
EMusic set to use technology against Napster
SAN FRANCISCO — Online music retailer EMusic.com is set to deploy a new technology to identify its songs that are being traded online by Napster users and demand that the free-for-all stop. -more-
Woman found guilty of murdering and impersonating sister
OAKLAND— A woman was found guilty Tuesday of murdering her sister to steal her identity and her money, then stuffing her dismembered body into a freezer. -more-
Illegal immigrants get help with citizenship from court
SAN FRANCISCO — Thousands of illegal immigrants won a step toward legal residency Tuesday when an appeals court reinstated a lawsuit contending that an illegal Immigration and Naturalization Service policy barred their applications for legal status. -more-
Council changes recipient for tobacco funds
SANTA ANA — Just two weeks after Orange County voters passed a measure directing that the county’s tobacco funds should go mostly for health care, the Board of Supervisors has decided to consider spending this year’s allotment to pay off government debt instead. -more-
Food donations at all-time low in Southern California
LOS ANGELES — Food bank officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties are preparing for Thanksgiving week with donation levels they say are at an all-time low. -more-
Disabled woman becomes citizen under new law
LOS ANGELES — When Vijai Rajan’s parents applied six years ago to have her become an American citizen, they believed it would just be a formality. -more-
Imperial, San Mateo counties on opposite ends of poverty
LOS ANGELES — Dot-com heavy San Mateo County recorded the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty level in 1997, while farming-dependent Imperial County had the worst poverty figures in the state, according to new U.S. Census Bureau figures. -more-
Deportee critically injured in escape attempt at airport
LOS ANGELES — A woman being deported to China jumped from a jetway at Los Angeles International Airport and was badly injured, authorities said. -more-
Satellites put into orbit to study the Earth’s atmosphere
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE — Two Earth-monitoring satellites blasted into orbit on a Boeing Delta II rocket Tuesday on missions to monitor the planet’s atmosphere, forests, urban centers and oceans. -more-
Grape boycott called off in time for Thanksgiving
FRESNO — In time for Thanksgiving, the United Farm Workers union ended its 16-year boycott of Californa table grapes Tuesday, saying the original goals of UFW co-founder Cesar Chavez had been largely met. -more-
LAPD settles lawsuit with man paralyzed by shooting
LOS ANGELES — The City Council approved a $15 million settlement Tuesday with a man shot in the back and paralyzed by police officers who then allegedly planted a gun next to him. -more-
Money needed for drug proposition
SACRAMENTO — The state may need to find more money to implement the sweeping drug treatment initiative adopted by voters this month, Senate President Pro Tem John Burton said in a letter made public Tuesday. -more-
Homeless advocates sue city of Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES — Advocates for the homeless have sued the city of Los Angeles, Police Chief Bernard C. Parks and the commander of the police department’s Central Division to stop the department’s recent practice of strictly enforcing loitering and other laws in the skid row area. -more-
Disputed dimpled ballots could become key
Al Gore’s ballot-by-ballot fight for the White House was given new life Tuesday night, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the “will of the people” demanded that manual recounts be added in the state’s election totals. Their work approved, weary election officials plowed through ballots into the night. -more-
Oakland airport still has parking spots available
One of the Bay area's most precious commodities – parking – is fast fading at Oakland International Airport this holiday season. -more-
Powerful brain scanner inaugurates new era of research
The most powerful magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner in the country to be devoted solely to basic research on the brain was unveiled Monday at the University of California, Berkeley. -more-
Little progress in KPFA, Pacifica dispute
Although KPFA did not participate in a recent nationwide boycott of parent company Pacifica News Network, workers there fully support the effort because they say the radio station’s quality is suffering. -more-
Students publish new newspaper
Free speech is alive and well at King Middle School – thanks to a civic minded seventh-grader who has taken on the task of creating the school’s first student-run newspaper. -more-
Berkeley Guides need bigger budget
The popular Berkeley Guides – a walking, talking resource for anyone who works, shops or hangs out on Shattuck Avenue – will be asking the City Council for more money tonight. -more-
ZAB members questioned on conflict of interest
The City Council will hold a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. to hear public comments regarding the city attorney’s opinion that four members of the Zoning Adjustments Board should disqualify themselves certain decisions because of the appearance of a conflict of interest. -more-
Groups give award to library fund-raisers
A Berkeley volunteer organization garnered national attention and was recently bestowed with the Daily Points of Light Award by the Knights of Columbus, the Corporation for National Service and the Points of Light Foundation. -more-
State mental health services said to be lacking
There are 1.5 million Californians who need mental health services, but aren’t getting treatment, mainly because the state lacks “a clear commitment to provide mental health services to people who need assistance,” according to a report released Monday by a state commission. -more-
Report: Working poor far from self sufficiency
SACRAMENTO — The income of a single parent earning minimum wage falls far short of what’s needed to be self-sufficient in California, according to a report released Monday. -more-
Council says youth rehab programs need help
LOS ANGELES — In order to rehabilitate thousands of juveniles in the state’s youth prison system, officials need to expand drug treatment, sex offender therapy and counseling programs. -more-
Judge moves from courtroom to mission to help homeless
LOS ANGELES — A judge, bailiffs, clerks and lawyers moved out of the courtroom and into a homeless shelter Monday to hold the county’s first “homeless court.” -more-
America waits for Gore, Bush lawyers
A transfixed nation turned its eyes to Florida’s Supreme Court, where an army of lawyers for Al Gore and George W. Bush battled Monday over whether the marathon election should drag on. Weary recount workers pecked through ballots in three Democratic-leaning counties, wondering if their labor would be for naught. -more-
Police investigate attempted murder
Berkeley police are looking for suspects today in an attempted murder case in which a man was shot twice while he waited for a red light to turn green. -more-
Psychologists warn against pointing fingers after rape case
Now that the TV news vans have left town, now that the shock of a tragic reoccurrence of rape has begun to recede, teachers, police and parents begin the struggle to understand how it happened. -more-
Mistakes cost Bears in first overtime Big Game
It was a fitting end to a disappointing season. -more-
Police’s explicit language angers parents
According to several parents at last week’s community forum held at Willard Middle School, a Berkeley police officer, whose job it was to explain to students the nature and consequences of the recent rape of a 12-year-old girl — used explicit, graphic and inappropriate language in describing the incident. -more-
Both thin and fat skewer Nobel Laureate
Students — thin, fat, or neither — found that their life experiences belied Nobel Prize winner James Watson's theories that the thin are unhappy and more ambitious while the fat have more active sexual lives and are generally more content. -more-
Bush, Gore gathering lawyers for coming battle
George W. Bush and Al Gore marshaled their legal forces Sunday for a climactic state Supreme Court showdown, with GOP lawyers saying it would be unjust “to keep the state and the nation on hold” during interminable recounts. Democrats said the truth can’t be rushed, as jangled nerves and protests punctuated another painstaking day of south Florida vote-counting. -more-
S.F. State students feeling the housing crunch
SAN FRANCISCO – Toxic mold, an unfinished apartment complex and the lure of dot-com dollars are all hampering enrollment efforts at San Francisco State University where students are struggling to find a place to live, college officials said. -more-
Some state electors fear system will push Bush
SACRAMENTO – Forty percent of California’s representatives to the Electoral College would alter or even eliminate the 213-year-old institution in which they will serve. -more-
Father speaks out on son’s behalf
A father of one of the boys who allegedly participated in the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl last month spoke out at a community forum held at Willard Middle School Thursday evening. -more-
Closing the technology gap
Resident ventures into philanthropy in Berkeley -more-
‘Dinner with Friends’ is enjoyable vanilla story
Berkeley Repertory Theater opened a strong production Wednesday of Donald Margulies’ odd and disturbing, and sometimes annoying, 2000 Pulitzer Prize winning play “Dinner with Friends.” -more-
Cal seniors don’t want to finish without the Axe
Carter, Harris among class without win over Stanford -more-
Victim, 12, advised to stay home from school
Berkeley police and school officials have confirmed they are investigating a second allegation of rape involving the same 12-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by nine boys at and around a junior high school. -more-
Pacific Film Archive presents French film maker
Among the luminaries of French Nouvelle Vague-era film makers that buffs can instantly recite – Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol – there were many less popular artists informing that heady time. -more-
Middle school is site for media frenzy
When Charles Heimler, father of two, dropped his kids off at Martin Luther King Middle School Friday at 8 a.m. he never expected to see what he described as “a total media feeding frenzy.” -more-
Berkeley celebrates Native American Heritage month
A Chinook blessing was given last Thursday at the dining commons of Berkeley’s International House in celebration of Native American Heritage month. -more-
Court slows presidential tally as Bush adds votes
On a topsy-turvy day of law and politics, the Florida Supreme Court froze the state’s presidential tally on Friday, forbidding the secretary of state from certifying results of the marathon vote count just as Republican George W. Bush was advancing his minuscule lead over Al Gore. -more-
LAPD convictions threatened by jury allegations
LOS ANGELES — The convictions of three officers in the Rampart police corruption trial were placed in jeopardy Friday when an alternate juror came forward to accuse the jury foreman of prejudging the defendants’ guilt before testimony was heard. -more-
UC seeks more graduate students
The University of California has announced it will add a total of 11,000 graduate students to its 10-campus system in an effort to grow the California economy. -more-
Berkeley students test human ‘sixth sense’
Students at the University of California at Berkeley are testing whether or not humans have the ability to navigate their surroundings without the use of senses like sight and hearing. -more-
Lawyers try to keep Yosemite murderer documents secret
Lawyers for confessed Yosemite murderer Cary Stayner are trying to keep sealed court records they say could prejudice his pending trial in connection to three murders. -more-
Clinton’s forest legacy could be complete
With President Clinton’s roadless plan nearly final, the administration has one more proposal that could forever leave his imprint on national forests – a rule making it tougher for foresters to add to the 380,000-mile road system in national forests. -more-
Mental patients at service told castration is answer
ATASCADERO — A nurse who told patients worshipping at a state mental hospital that castration would set them free is being investigated after one patient removed one of his testicles. -more-
‘Electricity in a box’ could bring power to many
A machine the size of an office copier could one day bring heat and light to thousands of homes in the West at locations so remote they’re out of reach of electrical transmission lines. -more-
Scientist identify beach bacteria suspects
HUNTINGTON BEACH — Scientists who spent more than a year studying the causes of the mysterious bacteria that shut down the beach here during the summer of 1999 have identified two prime suspects: bird waste from a nearby marsh and sewage flowing from a sanitation outfall. -more-