In contrast to the usual mayoral State of the City address, a group of elected officials, city commissioners and activists will present the first ever “People’s State of the City” on Tuesday. -more-
Political vacuum at center – Jim Jeffords’ defection portends birth of new party -more-
Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins. $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day) Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org -more-
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – After a month of progression, Cal picked the worst time to visit its past. The Bears stranded 13 runners in a frustrating 9-7 loss to Virginia Commonwealth University last night at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. -more-
Responding to claims made Wednesday that Berkeley is among the municipalities using arsenic-treated playground equipment, the city’s parks department is working over the holiday weekend to seal a number of wood play structures. -more-
Defensive lapses hurt St. Mary’s against Moreau -more-
A new after-school program at the City of Franklin Elementary School is working to boost students’ interest in science, math and technology. -more-
A year-long investigation into a suspected East Bay heroin smuggling and distribution ring has come to an end with 10 arrests and the Alameda County Narcotics Task Force’s largest heroin bust, said Lt. Paul Wallace. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — A data network failure knocked out automatic teller machines, cut high-speed Internet lines and disabled some features of 911 service in California on Friday. -more-
OAKLAND — Students at Castlemont High School voted twice to have a videotaped speech by a controversial death row inmate played at their graduation, but the principal vetoed that and chose a respected preacher instead. -more-
BERKELEY — More black and Hispanic students are expected to enroll at the University of California this fall. However, the rate at which those students accepted offers of admission is at its lowest point in years. -more-
LOS ANGELES — More than $3 million has been raised for the June 5 runoff by two mayoral candidates in the nation’s second-largest city, finance reports show. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — In the gray glimmer of pre-dawn, engineer Martin Wuest gets into his trusty Volkswagen and drives 82 miles to his job in Silicon Valley. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Lawyers for former Symbionese Liberation Army fugitive Sara Jane Olson are being distracted because they must defend themselves against criminal charges, their attorneys said Friday after a court hearing on the case. -more-
SACRAMENTO — The state Assembly approved a $102 billion draft budget proposal Friday, an early step in what is expected to be a difficult budget process. -more-
SACRAMENTO — California renewed demands Friday for tough federal electricity price caps and singled out two generators for immediate rate rollbacks. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis and President Bush have pledged respect during their first face-to-face meeting since their administrations began trading attacks over the California energy crisis. -more-
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gray Davis’ public approval rating has slipped to the lowest point since he took office in 1999, according to a Field Poll released Friday. -more-
WASHINGTON — Fifty years after losing her father to war on the Korean peninsula, Pat Dunton can finally do more than just imagine his fate. She can bury him. -more-
WASHINGTON — House and Senate negotiators reached a final agreement Friday night on a 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut package that would give individual taxpayers a $300 refund this year and married couples $600. -more-
NEW YORK — The Rev. Al Sharpton, handcuffed and escorted by police, arrived from Puerto Rico on Friday and was immediately taken to a detention facility to serve a 90-day sentence for trespassing on Navy land on Vieques island. -more-
YUMA, Ariz. — Fourteen illegal immigrants who died in the Arizona desert this week are just the latest victims of a trek that promises prosperity but often ends in tragedy. -more-
When you add up all the economic woes, fears and worries that are being dramatized daily you can understand how American consumers might be getting into a psychological funk. -more-
SAN JOSE — Features of eBay and Half.com, an eBay-owned Web site that offers products at set prices, will be combined over the next year, executives said at the company’s annual meeting Friday. -more-
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — When the “Tour de Sol” started in 1989, its message of fuel efficiency fell largely on deaf ears. -more-
EUGENE, Ore. — What started out as a favor for a friend may turn into a major business for Scott Koffler. Three months ago, the 40-year-old millwright received a patent for the Shoot Tube, designed to safely handle test firings of handguns. -more-
Poetry slammer Nico Cary, a Berkeley High sophomore, kicked off a discussion on school reform Wednesday with a poem that explores the connection between economic inequality and racial inequality. -more-
Friday, May 25
For the first time since opening its new Roda Theater in March, the Berkeley Rep has two plays running simultaneously in its two performance spaces. -more-
Everyone loves an underdog, right? Sorry, Cal fans, not this weekend. -more-
Many people call them “retarded.” In Russia, developmentally disabled people are “invalids.” -more-
The eighth-seeded Cal softball team lost the opening game of the Women’s College World Series on Thursday, falling 3-2 to top-seeded Arizona in Oklahoma City, Okla. -more-
To the applause of a contingent of seniors, the City Council adopted a new and improved taxi subsidy program Tuesday that guarantees cab drivers full and timely payment for transporting seniors and the disabled. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco vehicle exhaust may soon smell like french fries with the opening of the first public pumping station for biodiesel, a vegetable oil-based fuel, in a major city. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — California’s deaf and disabled telephone customers will continue to receive their specialized phone service through MCI Worldcom until October 2002, state regulators announced after a 3-2 vote Thursday. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Rolling blackouts could hit some California businesses and residents more frequently this summer as the number of customers exempted from the outages continues to grow. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Sen. James Jeffords’ defection from the Republican party could boost California’s clout in Washington and help the state’s quest for price caps on wholesale electricity. -more-
SAN RAFAEL — The first release of a sexually violent predator in California was delayed Thursday when a judge said he didn’t know enough to be sure the serial rapist wouldn’t commit more crimes. -more-
PASADENA — Nearly 25 years after an orbiting spacecraft caught the Red Planet “mugging” for the camera, NASA released the highest-resolution image yet of the so-called “Face on Mars.” -more-
LOS ANGELES — About seven of every 10 California voters believe the government allows pollution to disproportionately affect poor people and minorities, according to a poll released Thursday by an environmental group. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Californians are tossing more beer bottles and soda cans into the trash than they did a decade ago, instead of recycling them, according to a new state study. -more-
WASHINGTON — On a day of upheaval beneath the Capitol dome, Democrats snared control of the Senate on the strength of a party defection Thursday and pledged to temper President Bush’s agenda while advancing their own. “I can no longer” remain a Republican, said Vermont Sen. James Jeffords in a personal declaration of independence. -more-
WASHINGTON — As many as nine middle school students were strip-searched at a city jail during a visit arranged by a teacher and a school aide as a warning to misbehaving children, school officials said Thursday. -more-
POUND RIDGE, N.Y. — Some hydrangeas beguile us with color changes that keep us guessing. Others awe us by climbing 60 feet and more to consort with squirrels and orioles in the trees. -more-
NEW YORK — Stocks ended an uneven session with moderate gains Thursday as investors vacillated between optimism and fear about the economy. The market also was trying to determine the likely impact of the change in leadership in the Senate. -more-
SANTA CLARA — Three years before co-founding Intel Corp. in 1968, Gordon Moore predicted the number of transistors on a silicon chip would double every 18 months. -more-
The Berkeley High baseball team lost its last four regular season games, dropping from a tie for first place in the ACCAL to a tie for third. They barely scraped into the North Coast Section 3A East Bay playoffs, getting the 16th and last seed. And on Tuesday, they paid dearly for that slide. -more-
Climbing structures are great for kids’ motor coordination, but wood structures preserved with arsenic may present a hidden danger. -more-
Panthers beat up on Swett -more-
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Two California Golden Bears were named to the 2001 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA)/Louisville Slugger All-American team that was announced Wednesday at the annual Women’s College World Series banquet in Oklahoma City, Okla. Sophomore first baseman Veronica Nelson was awarded first-team at-large (first base) honors while junior pitcher Jocelyn Forest was named to the second team. -more-
A class action lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court Wednesday alleges that more than 800 UC Berkeley students may have been exposed to harmful levels of airborne mold in their university housing units. -more-
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – No. 26 California is in a tie for 14th place (610) with Michigan State after the second round Wednesday of the NCAA Championship at the par 72, 6106 El Campeon Golf Course. After carding a 302 Tuesday, the Golden Bears followed that up with a 308 Wednesday to fall slightly from a tie for 11th after the opening round. -more-
There is a lot of pride and a lot of history involved in the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge said Wednesday the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision barring medical marijuana prompted him to order that an ounce of cannabis seized from a California man be forfeited. -more-
A surprising 59 percent of Californians now support building more nuclear plants, according to a poll released Wednesday. -more-
WASHINGTON — Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont stepped to the brink of a historic party switch Wednesday, triggering an intense effort by Republicans to keep him in the GOP fold and preserve their ability to advance President Bush’s legislative agenda. -more-
A young woman in her mid-20s looking for sex and love in all the wrong places is the central character in Seattle playwright Bret Fetzer’s 1997 play “Planet Janet,” which Berkeley’s Impact Theater is currently running in an engaging production Fridays and Saturdays at LaVal’s Subterranean on the Northside. -more-
There are few American businesses more aggressive than the credit-card industry, though you might think they wouldn’t have to seek out customers for what they’re selling, which is money. -more-
The city toxics division issued the city Corporation Yard its second notice in two years for stormwater violations and Department of Public Works officials say they are taking steps to permanently correct the errors. -more-
“Boys will be boys” – an innocuous enough phrase when it comes to pulling cats tails and diving into coffee tables – assumes boys are naturally inclined to be rambunctious and mischievous. -more-
Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins. $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day) Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org -more-
Shirley Richardson-Brower, executive director of the Berkeley YMCA South Branch, had just finished thanking a group of elementary school children for accompanying her to the Berkeley Farmers'’ Market Tuesday when she thought to add one last gentle reminder. -more-
“Boycott Taco Bell, shut it down/Berkeley is a union town,” Sara Smith called from her bullhorn, as about a dozen UC Berkeley students tried to get the noontime Taco Bell crowd to eat elsewhere on Tuesday. -more-
A UC Berkeley student was sexually assaulted by a man she had been walking with on the campus Friday morning between 1:30 and 2 a.m., University of California Police said Tuesday. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis’ energy advisers said Monday that the state is meeting its energy goals, despite doubts raised by Controller Kathleen Connell and other critics. -more-
MODESTO — The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department has stepped up its search for a missing woman, Washington, D.C,. intern Chandra Ann Levy, and has sent investigators out of the state to follow up on at least one tip as to her whereabouts. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Mel Hurok remembers watching his wife Barbara suffer in a nursing home, then suffer more each time she was transferred to a hospital. -more-
UKIAH — A judge Monday blocked two disputed logging operations in Jackson State Demonstration Forest, ruling that management practices for the projects needed updating. -more-
Census shows families becoming more traditional as state grows older -more-
SACRAMENTO — In 1996 Theresa Azhocar was sure her daughter, who was convicted of planning to shoot her abusive boyfriend, would finally be released from prison. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Record heat and unusually dry winds have prompted fire officials to declare the start of fire season Tuesday throughout California. -more-
WASHINGTON — Emboldened by comments from the Bush administration, lawmakers who tried last year to launch a nationwide study of racial profiling are now moving for the first time to outlaw the disputed law enforcement practice. -more-
WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney, answering environmentalists and other critics of his energy report, said Tuesday anyone who argues it neglects conservation “simply hasn’t read the report.” -more-
WASHINGTON — More than 20 million children will reach high school age in four years, posing daunting challenges for school districts already coping with classroom crowding and teacher shortages. -more-
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban said Tuesday they will require Hindus to wear identity labels on their clothing to distinguish them from Muslims, a proposal sharply denounced by India and the United States. -more-
NEW YORK — While the Federal Reserve is receiving high marks for steering the economy through the shoals, barely averting recession, there is no assurance an obstacle might not stray into its path. -more-
DENVER — A speedier Internet connection could be coming to a neighborhood near you. -more-
NEW YORK — Investors gravitated toward technology stocks again Tuesday, sending the Nasdaq composite index higher – albeit modestly – for a sixth straight session, its longest winning streak since February 2000. -more-
All the Bush administration proposals for meeting the nation’s rising energy needs have just one thought in mind – to increase the amount of oil, gas, and electricity available to the public. -more-
On Sunday – three days after Israel used U.S.-supplied, F-16 fighter jets to attack Palestinians in the West Bank (the deadliest day of violence in the conflict so far this year) – well over 100 people, most of whom were Jews and Palestinians, gathered at Cedar Rose Park in north Berkeley, calling for an end to Israeli oppression in Palestine. -more-
After months of bad news and gloomy predictions, the Berkeley Housing Authority received some good news – the Section 8 program didn’t hemorrhage units in April. -more-
The budget battle raging between Alameda County Office of Education Superintendent Sheila Jordan and members of her board hasn’t exactly spilled over into the streets of East Bay cities. -more-
At its meeting tonight, the City Council will consider a recommendation to transfer funding for the First Source Employment Program from the Sewer Fund to allocations from a variety of capital projects. -more-
CARRIZO PLAIN NATIONAL MONUMENT — For a thousand years, American Indians have made Painted Rock their canvas. -more-
Not since the mid-’90s have more Californians believed the state is headed in the wrong direction. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors told a state appeals court Monday they believe the Sara Jane Olson defense team is trying to delay her attempted-murder trial until “years from now when the witnesses have all died.” -more-
LOS ANGELES — Sixteen members of a Congressional reform committee invoked a 1928 rule in a federal lawsuit filed Monday to gain the release of adjusted Census data they say will show minorities were undercounted. -more-
SAN JOSE — Apple Computer Inc. is ready to make bulky cathode ray tube displays things of the past. -more-
On a brutally hot day in Stockton, several members of the St. Mary’s track & field team didn’t have a chance to take a break at the Bayshore Regional championships. With qualifying spots for the Northern California Meet of Champions next week on the line, the Panthers’ top performers had to be at their bests. -more-
As Berkeley school administrators decide what to do with more than $500,000 awarded to the district for improved standardized test scores, a growing core of frustrated Berkeley teachers are studying ways to protest the test. -more-
A plan to install permanent lighting inside UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium has Panoramic Hill residents worried that glaring, unsightly lighting towers will be visible from all over the city. -more-
There were at least as many questions as there were people at the Berkeley Alternative High School on Saturday. Yes, that’s right — on Saturday. -more-
The University of California at Berkeley is offering summer courses at a discounted price for teachers from the Berkeley, Oakland, West Contra Costa and San Francisco unified school districts. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Complaints against some of the state’s largest telephone companies are on the rise, according to an analysis of 47,000 complaints filed with state utility regulators over the past two years, a newspaper reported. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Higher power costs zapped restauranteur Marino Sandoval and his customers even before California regulators decided this week how to allocate a $5.7 billion electricity rate hike — the highest in the state’s history. -more-
LOS ANGELES – The head of the California Public Utilities Commission provided a state Senate committee with evidence showing three power generators reduced electricity production and then benefited from the resulting high prices. -more-
By Ron Harris -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Two runners from Kenya won San Francisco’s most popular race Sunday, the 12K Bay to Breakers. -more-
BERKELEY — Knowledge is power; information technology is power savings, say University of California scientists who are responding to the state’s energy crisis by teaching buildings to be smarter consumers. -more-
SACRAMENTO — State lawmakers are wondering if those book-laden backpacks that many kids must lug to school are hurting their backs. -more-
WASHINGTON — Two environmental groups asked the government Wednesday to ban a common wood preservative containing 22 percent arsenic from all playground equipment and to study whether it is safe for other consumer uses. -more-
PASADENA — After years of garnering less attention than its sexier Jovian sisters, the crater-covered moon Callisto is getting closer attention than ever this week from NASA. -more-
S.F. World Music Festival -more-
The glassy-winged sharpshooter and the Pierce's Disease that it spreads are seen as a major threat to the state's wine industry. -more-
The glassy-winged sharpshooter and the Pierce's Disease that it spreads are seen as a major threat to the state's wine industry. -more-
