Throw those preseason predictions right out the window. The Pac-10 women’s basketball race is up for grabs, and no one can say who will end up in the winner’s circle. -more-
Suspicious fire heats up border labor dispute -more-
Police Chief Dash Butler has unofficially made it known around the department that he intends to retire by August pending the city’s adoption of a new retirement plan. -more-
When the Cal men’s basketball team tips off the Pac-10 season against Arizona Thursday evening, they face a team that has seen more trouble than anyone could have imagined. -more-
Community members and AC Transit administrators agree, the current complaint system is not working. -more-
On the heels of a successful union drive by restaurant workers at the Berkeley marina, another group of employees in the city has called for a union. -more-
When the downtown Berkeley YMCA reopens its Family Center later this month, it will provide new services for non-member families with disabled children, foster families, pregnant teens and teen mothers. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Boosting electricity bills for millions of homes an average of $5 a month, a plan floated Wednesday by state regulators, would give California’s strapped utilities a quick infusion of cash. -more-
SAN JOSE — The San Jose Mercury News has fired a reporting intern who had been suspended for plagiarism, after more evidence of copying work from other publications was discovered. -more-
NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve lit a match under the financial thermometer. -more-
A change in behavior is the key to quitting smoking, says Marcia Brown-Machen, director for the city’s Tobacco Prevention Program, which is sponsoring a free six-week smoking cessation class. -more-
About five years ago Eric Weaver, a Berkeley parent volunteering at his son’s school, discovered kids stealing the teachers’ snacks. -more-
City planners are reviewing designs for a housing project at Acton Street and University Avenue that the City Council awarded to developers Panoramic Interests and Jubilee Restoration over 19 months ago. -more-
While homicide rates for cities in the Bay Area are dropping, the number of murders in Berkeley was slightly higher this year then the past two years. Numbers are down significantly from 1996 and 1997. -more-
The identity of a 40-year-old male suicide victim discovered in a parking garage Saturday has not been released, pending notification of next of kin. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Representatives from Southern California Edison made it clear at Tuesday’s meeting of the state Public Utilities Commission that they expect customers, both residential and business, to carry the full weight of the utility’s huge debt. -more-
OAKLAND — A fire that gutted a controversial needle exchange program in Fruitvale has been ruled an arson, and directors of the center vowed today to continue their services despite the setback. -more-
PASO ROBLES — A 13-year-old boy and a school employee were killed Tuesday when a school bus tumbled down the side of U.S. 101 in San Luis Obispo County. -more-
SAN JOSE — Intel Corp. wants to bring music to your ears – and not just the five-chime logo that accompanies its television commercials. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – A state appeals court ruled late Friday that auto insurers can calculate premiums based on where a customer lives, setting the stage for a potential California Supreme Court showdown. -more-
NEW YORK — Wall Street started 2001 on a sour note Tuesday, unnerved by the same problems that sent the market plunging last year. -more-
NEW YORK — Yahoo! Inc. will stop carrying online auctions of Nazi artifacts and other hate-related materials after some users complained that such items promote hate and violence. -more-
Father Bill O’Donnell was arrested again. -more-
“Global wireless communication” appears to be the wave of the future, and the world’s corporate giants are racing for first place. Many observers are betting on the Japanese. Global wireless communication may involve very complex technology, but it simply means you can be at the North Pole with your laptop computer and I at the South Pole with my laptop, and we can communicate with each other as clearly as if we had telephone lines or cables strung between us. -more-
Having crossed the threshold into the (real) new millennium, we can look back at 2000 with a little perspective. In all it wasn’t a year of big changes. While there will be a new faces at the White House, Berkeley citizens voted in, pretty much, the status quo, keeping the balance of power on the council 4-5 in favor of the progressive coalition. -more-
A new state law that will allow mothers the opportunity to anonymously abandon newborns at hospital emergency rooms throughout the state without the threat of prosecution took effect Monday. -more-
The City of Berkeley is offering its environmentally-conscious citizens a way to get rid of those old holiday trees and trimmings with free composting and extra recycling services. -more-
SACRAMENTO – Parents can abandon their newborns in hospitals without facing prosecution and shoppers will pocket a little extra money from a decreased sales tax under two of the hundreds of laws that go into effect on Monday. -more-
A local activist will be in Italy next week to protest the Roman Catholic Church’s anti-gay positions. -more-
A group of property owners is suing the city claiming the landmarking of the West Berkeley Shellmound was “arbitrary and capricious.” -more-
All season, the Berkeley High boys’ basketball team has been able to overcome its shortcomings: lack of height and little inside game. Among the Yellowjackets’ victories this season were an opponent with a 6-foot-11 center and a 6-foot-9 center. But Friday against powerful Oakland Tech, a bigger team finally solved the Berkeley defensive system. -more-
Hepatitis threatens to become the next major epidemic in the United States. This dire warning comes from a source quite close to home, the 1999 Berkeley Health Status Report, authored by the city’s Health Department. -more-
It wasn’t easy, but California overcame a halftime deficit to beat Yale 76-62 in the first round of the Golden Bear Classic Friday night in Haas Pavilion. -more-
Esau Baxter got lucky this holiday period. His sister picked him up and took him to spend Christmas in Vallejo. For New Year’s luck has found him again – he’ll be spending Monday at the men’s shelter at the Veteran’s Memorial Building. -more-
Police officers and firefighters try to get to the bottom of a hit and run car accident at the notorious intersection of University Ave. and Shattuck Ave. The car pictured, a red 1988 Nissan DX, and the other car involved, described by police as an older model grey Ford Mustang, collided head-on in the intersection. The Mustang’s driver pulled over momentarily, then sped away from the scene. -more-
Berkeley’s Meals on Wheels representatives are thanking Bay Area volunteers for their help over the holidays, and reminding them that the elderly are in need of help all year. -more-
EL CENTRO – A veteran agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration has been sentenced to a year in jail for attempting to hire one of his informants to run over his wife with a car. -more-
SACRAMENTO – A 26-year-old Roseville woman accused of abandoning a newborn daughter in November also faces charges that she abandoned a newborn son nearly two years ago, officials said. -more-
SACRAMENTO – If it weren’t for Mrs. Rutherford and the sheep, Kerry Mazzoni probably wouldn’t be advising the governor of California about education. -more-
Utilities could exercise power of eminent domain, regulator says -more-
Utility companies shut down power for first time in years -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – California’s ban barring certain inmates from conjugal visits will stick, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. -more-
DUI cases thrown out, but prosecutors are still concerned -more-
Environmentalists worry as Norton proposes increased business access -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Arizona’s ban on fetal tissue research was ruled unconstitutional Friday by a federal appeals court, wiping out the nation’s last surviving ban on such practices. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Coming home for the holidays can mean high stress for college students, who often discover that their families won’t accept the new identities they’ve forged at school. -more-
LOS ANGELES – Hot Topic’s counterculture approach is evident at the industrial complex just east of Los Angeles where three stone gargoyles guard the entrance to the teen retailer’s headquarters. -more-
CLEVELAND – Troubled steel producer LTV Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection Friday but reached a stopgap financing deal that averted an outright shutdown. -more-
Three years in a row, the Washington (Fremont) boys’ soccer team has come to Berkeley with a perfect record. Three years in a row, they have gone home losers. -more-
Members of the AC Transit Alliance and the Bus Riders Union support and advocate for funding for AC Transit. They are also the bus system’s most severe critics. -more-
An independent lawyer has weighed in on a dispute between the city attorney and four members of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Now it appears the case may be going to court. -more-
A state Department of Health Services report that touts Berkeley’s high rate of pre-natal care is being greeted with cautious optimism by the city’s public health officials. -more-
Kwanzaa, a celebration of African American culture and community, will be observed at a storytelling event at the Berkeley Public Library’s south branch on Saturday. -more-
If you’re like many homeowners, the backyard deck is the focal point for warm-weather activities. But as with most parts of your home, a certain amount of routine maintenance is required to keep your deck structurally sound, safe and looking its best. -more-
Keep your lawn healthy and it will resist bugs and unwanted plant life on its own -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Acting on an anonymous tip, police early Thursday recovered two female koalas which had been stolen from their enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo. -more-
SACRAMENTO – Owners of assault weapons have only through Sunday to register their firearms. However, gun groups plan to sue to block a deadline they say is confusing and was poorly publicized. -more-
NAPA – A mental hospital patient is accused of beating and strangling a fellow patient during a late-night argument over tobacco, police said. -more-
CHICAGO – Montgomery Ward Inc., the department store chain that helped pioneer American retailing, said Thursday that it is shutting down after more than 125 years in business and will file for bankruptcy. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — The state’s third-largest health insurer violated patient confidentiality by accidentally e-mailing the names of 12,000 patients to the wrong doctors, company officials acknowledged. -more-
Henry James Vaux, Sr., a professor emeritus of forestry at the University of California, Berkeley, and former chairman of California's Board of Forestry, died on Dec. 22 in Berkeley after a brief illness. He was 88. -more-
Critics say money will just flow through different channels with same effect -more-
DENVER – A 25-year-old California man has died of head injuries sustained while snowboarding this week at Breckenridge Ski Resort. -more-
Joe L. Wallace will fight for bus money. The new director on the AC Transit Board said he wants to keep people who are transit dependent in the forefront of his mind, which, he said, means more money for bus services, the transportation that low-income urban residents depend on. -more-
