Claiming the University of California has not fairly negotiated a new labor contract, laboratory technicians and firefighters staged a one-day strike at the entrance to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Wednesday. -more-
924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for a year membership March 16: The P.A.W.N.S., Kill the Messenger, Phoenix Thunderstone, Lesser of Two, Dory Tourette & The Skirtheads; March 17: The Hoods, Benumb, Above The World, Chrome Disorder, Eulogy; March 23: 18 Visions, Walls of Jericho, Time In Malta, Undying, Betray the Species; March 24: Workin’ Stiffs, The Bodies, Strychnine, East Bay Chasers, For the Alliance; March 30: Deathreat, Ahimsa, F*** God In the Face, The Black, Creation Is Crucifixion 525-9926 -more-
The St. Mary’s baseball team finally got on track Wednesday, beating Redwood Christian 11-0 in just five innings. The Panthers (2-5) open league play Friday, visting St. Joseph’s to kick off BSAL play. -more-
Malcolm X arts magnet school teachers Marilyn Hiratzka and Jennifer Adcock have directed enough student theatrical productions to know what’s doable and what’s dream. -more-
In a game that took only two hours to complete, Andrew Sproul pitched five solid innings and Brian Horwitz had three hits and drove in a run to lead California past Columbia, 5-2, this afternoon at Evans Diamond. The win was the third in a row for the Bears, and improves their record to 13-9 on the season. -more-
The California Highway Patrol’s high-speed pursuit of a suspect alleged to be driving erratically ended at San Pablo and Ashby avenues in the death of a 33-year-old man from San Francisco, police said. -more-
Cal senior Sean Lampley continued to add to his pile of awards on Wednesday, picking up an Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention. The award comes on the heels of Lampley being named the Pac-10 Player of the Year on Monday. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – At 9 p.m. on a quiet night 20 to 30 people moved trance-like around the stage of a small park in the Potrero Hill neighborhood, waving their arms in large circles while weaving amongst each other. In each of their hands they carried a flaming torch. -more-
NEW YORK — The prospect of the economic slowdown spreading around the globe shook Wall Street Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones industrials below 10,000 and setting the blue chip index up for its worst week in more than 11 years. The drop followed a nosedive in prices overseas as investors simply had no reason to buy. -more-
Debate on a new bankruptcy law isn’t just about credit card abuses, as it sometimes seems, but over a much larger issue, that of the power of professional marketers over amateur consumers. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Napster Inc. told a federal judge it is complying with her order to police its system for unauthorized songs, but the company gave the recording industry low marks for allegedly failing to share the workload and provide required information. -more-
NEW YORK — With corporate America unable to quiet its drumbeat of earnings and revenue warnings, economists and analysts say a dramatic rate cut by the Federal Reserve is needed to jolt sagging financial markets and restore investor confidence. -more-
The 18-year-old cat complains mildly as veterinarian Bruce Max Feldmann inserts a needle in his neck and prepares to give him a fluid infusion. -more-
At a time when the Berkeley School Board is struggling to come up with money to protect programs from cuts, music education advocates say the district’s music programs are in sore need of additional support. -more-
In a dining room turned art gallery, an antique wooden bowl bears a mark distinguishing it from other antiques. It cracked and was then wired back into use by an owner who had come to depend on it. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Two environmental groups sued state and local regulators Tuesday for increasing the amount of dioxin an oil refinery is allowed to release into San Francisco Bay. -more-
FRESNO — Rural crime fighters in the state’s agricultural heartland are hunting for a gang of thieves who for the last year have absconded with thousands of immature orange, almond and cherry trees. -more-
LOS ANGELES — A subsidiary of Texaco Inc. has pleaded guilty to two felony counts of dumping waste into Southern California waterways and has been ordered to pay $4 million in fines, federal prosecutors said Monday. -more-
The Associated Press -more-
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Opposition leaders said they would urge the president to invoke a state of emergency to give South Africans with HIV access to cheaper generic drugs. -more-
If the City Council and its staff had its way, Berkeley would build all the affordable housing it needs, every house would be linked to the Internet, 126 new folks would join the city bureaucracy, funds would be available for more traffic police and there would be a place available for daily showers for the homeless. -more-
Olds’ first duty is to stand up for her constituents -more-
A handful of employees from the city’s Public Health Department and volunteers gather at YMCA on Allston Way Monday to put together safe sex packages that include condoms and information on HIV and AIDS. On Friday evening, they will be handing out the -more-
With less than a month left before 73 Berkeley High students leave for Cuba, the race is on to prepare the students for what could be a once in a lifetime experience. -more-
“History is written by winners... and the bad witch is old.” -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Napster Inc. said Monday it is doing its best to block all those copyright songs that once flowed freely on the company’s service, including tunes by the heavy metal band Metallica. -more-
Union workers of the University of California's research labs and other facilities are striking in San Francisco today to protest wages they say fall far below the “living wage.” -more-
SACRAMENTO — A Republican lawmaker said Monday he’s prepared to sue Gov. Gray Davis if he doesn’t release records showing how much power the state has purchased and how much it paid. -more-
LOS ANGELES — An Algerian national accused of conspiring to bomb Seattle and other cities during millennium celebrations went on trial in federal court Monday and most prospective jurors said they already knew about the case from media reports. -more-
SACRAMENTO — A quarter-century after his mother was shot to death in a Carmichael bank, Jon Opsahl wants a former fugitive and others charged with the killing. -more-
NEW YORK — Investors alarmed by a series of warnings from high-tech companies pummeled stocks Monday, sending the Nasdaq composite index skidding below 2000 for the first time in 27 months and slicing more than 400 points from the Dow Jones industrial average. -more-
MOUNTAIN VIEW — Hand-to-hand combat in the booming market of personal digital assistants escalated a notch Monday. -more-
WASHINGTON — Hispanics now rival non-Hispanic blacks as the country’s leading minority group, a phenomenon suggested by population forecasts and confirmed Monday in the first nationwide race data release from Census 2000. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Hospital nurses would have to care for at most five patients under staffing ratios suggested Monday by the state’s largest registered nurses’ union. -more-
Solidarity with exiles in sixth annual event -more-
The Berkeley Lady ’Jackets have proved they don’t always have to play well to win. They won a record sixth CIF Northern Region Division I championship on Saturday, beating Oakland 55-40 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento despite suffering through one of their worst shooting efforts of the season. -more-
District votes to reduce solid waste and promote recycling -more-
The St. Mary’s boys’ basketball team won the school’s first CIF Northern Region championship Saturday night, beating Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville) 79-63 at Delta College in Stockton. -more-
High school students have received their fair share of bad press recently, but in Berkeley, it is teens like Lamille Perry who represent what young people can accomplish. -more-
Cal to face Fresno St. -more-
Using a form of genetic hitchhiking, researchers have developed a method of placing genes in barley and other cereals in a way that eases safety concerns and minimizes the problem of “gene-silencing.” -more-
TUCSON, Ariz. – California fought a hard battle but closed out the regular season with a 75-62 loss to Arizona Saturday at the McKale Center. With the loss, the Golden Bears close out the year with a 12-16 record and an 8-9 Pac-10 mark. Arizona, which will likely earn a bid to the NIT tomorrow, ends the regular season with a 19-11 record and a 9-9 league mark. -more-
A California Highway Patrol spokesman says an officer and a man suspected of driving under the influence were injured when another DUI driver hit a patrol car on Interstate Highway 80 in Berkeley today. -more-
It was very nearly a storybook ending. -more-
SAN JOSE – With gifts of flashlights, batteries and glow-in-the-dark mousepads, economic development officials across the country are poking fun at California’s power crisis in hopes of luring high-tech businesses away. -more-
After three and one-half hours of debate the Zoning Adjustments Board approved the use permit for a controversial, 33,000-square-foot synagogue and school at 1301 Oxford St. -more-
Don’t need fox’s advice to save Pacifica chicken coop -more-
“Isn’t that a Clinton thing?” “Didn’t the Republicans de-fund that?” -more-
By Jared Green -more-
With bike horns honking, hundreds of pink balloons pushing skyward on their strings and one pink contraption on wheels filled with balloons described as a “velorutionary pink bloc,” some 200 riders took off through the streets of Berkeley Friday evening, celebrating the eighth anniversary of Critical Mass, an organization that aims to take streets back for cyclists. “I don’t believe in cars for use in an urban area,” said Brendan Casey, who rides with Critical Mass in New York City and was in town visiting a friend. Casey said another friend, a bike messenger in the Big Apple, was knocked to the ground by a fire truck and broke his leg. “(Critical Mass) makes the public aware of bicyclers,” he said. -more-
SUNNYVALE – The No. 4 Cal Bears squeaked past the Southern Illinois Salukis, 2-0 in game one of pool play at the National Invitational Softball Tournament and followed that win with a 7-2 victory over the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in game two. -more-
Faced with an estimated $5 million budget shortfall next year, Berkeley School Board representatives have intensified a 14-month campaign to escape a $1.16 million state penalty for missing a bureaucratic deadline. -more-
California field hockey coach Shellie Onstead has been selected as head coach of the Under-16 U.S. Men’s National Team for this spring. This is the third stint for Onstead as head coach. In 1999 and 2000, she was also appointed the same position en route to becoming the first woman in U.S. field hockey to be named head coach of a men’s team at any age level. -more-
The state Court of Appeal denied a lawsuit on Wednesday filed by three Landmarks Preservation Commissioners over an opinion by the city attorney that said they had a conflict of interest with a proposed development project. -more-
Berkeley Observed -more-
SAN JOSE — A program to use tobacco settlement money to provide every child in Santa Clara County with health care has garnered an overwhelming response – especially from other cities wishing to do the same, proponents say. -more-
SAN JOSE — The recording industry said Friday it planned to send a list of 135,000 copyright songs to Napster Inc., giving the file-swapping company until Wednesday to block their free exchange on the online service. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — A law firm sued Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison on Friday, alleging the world’s second-richest man engaged in insider trading when he dumped a large amount of company stock prior to a dismal earnings report. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Excerpts of 911 calls from the Santana High School shooting were released Friday, the family of the teen-ager accused in the fatal attack said they were horror-stricken and the governor called on teachers to spend more time talking to students. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Mexican President Vicente Fox is scheduled to tour California this month to discuss trade, technology and immigration issues with government and business leaders. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Federal regulators ordered power wholesalers Friday to refund $69 million in excessive charges to California utilities, hundreds of millions less than state officials are seeking. -more-
LOS ANGELES — In a move union leaders say bodes well for farm laborers nationwide, the United Farm Workers signed a contract Thursday with the nation’s largest strawberry employer, ending a five-year struggle to unionize the company’s pickers. -more-
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A boy who says he was imitating body-slamming pro wrestlers when he killed a little girl at age 12 was sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday after a judge refused to reduce his first-degree murder conviction. -more-
Housing sales are viewed by economists as an indicator of the economy’s good or poor health, so when a real estate group reported a big sales decline in January, it deepened an already gloomy outlook. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Caught in a technology downdraft, Loudcloud Inc. barely made a peep in its stock market debut Friday. -more-
NEW YORK — For a few hours this past week, Wall Street got a mild reminder of the euphoria that sent stocks roaring last year to some of their highest levels ever. -more-
St. Mary’s beats up on Buffaloes, will face Monte Vista in Stockton for shot at state championship -more-
TEMPE, Ariz. – Senior guard Courtney Johnson did all she could to extend California’s season into the postseason for the first time since 1993, but she didn’t get enough support from her teammates as the Bears fell to Arizona State, 70-58, Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena. -more-
WASHINGTON — A colorful but complex demographic portrait of America emerged Thursday from the first official release of Census 2000 data as hundreds of thousands of people took advantage of the opportunity to identify themselves as members of more than one race. -more-
The Associated Press -more-
WASHINGTON — NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume and House Majority Leader Dick Armey said Thursday it was time to start discussing differences rather than using them to accuse the other side of racism. -more-
SAN JOSE — Shares of Yahoo! Inc. plunged nearly 19 percent Thursday after the former dot-com darling warned that it is struggling to turn a profit and is looking for a new chief executive. -more-
WASHINGTON — Meeting with a group of pivotal Senate moderates Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill stressed the importance that President Bush is giving across-the-board income tax cuts as a tonic for the flagging economy. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — An analysis of a Northern California watershed gives mostly positive findings on the state of water creatures and their habitats on the land owned by a logging company, but some environmental groups question the report’s credibility. -more-
SAN JOSE – Although millions of airport dollars have been tossed toward retrofitting buildings and disaster planning since the 1989 Bay area earthquake, airports here are in no better shape than Seattle was during the major shaker there last month. -more-
After two years of planning and community discussion, the City of Berkeley and the University of California, Berkeley have released a co-sponsored Transportation Demand Management Study. The City and Campus will host a community meeting to present the Study on Monday, March 19 at 7 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church at 2362 Bancroft Way, -more-
Daily Planet wire services -more-
