In sweltering heat, about four dozen high school athletes are doing drills while coaches bark instructions at them. These players won’t actually play a game for another four months, but they know that starting jobs can be on the line even today. -more-
In this area few men’s mere presence has impacted the public image of African American lawyers, as did the late State Appellate Court Justice Clinton White. An Oakland resident, and native of Sacramento, he was the voice of the African American legal community, long before he became first an Alameda County Superior Court Judge in 1977 and later a State Appellate Court Justice. Although, others were fighting aggressively for racial equality within the judicial system, no one fought for African Americans like he did. In the tradition of national civil rights lawyers, like Charles Houston, Thurgood Marshall and William Hastie, Clint White, as he was known before becoming a judge, viewed the law as an instrument to achieve social justice. In the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, he was the consummate lonely warrior representing African Americans in courtrooms where the odds were perpetually stacked against them. -more-
Monday, May 21, came as a rude awakening to fire department personnel throughout Northern California. -more-
First-ever event unlike usual State of City talk -more-
The School Board wanted to do things right. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — MarketWatch.com Inc. announced Wednesday it is laying off about 15 percent of its work force, making the popular online business news site the latest media outlet to shrivel in the face of an advertising slump. -more-
After a four-month, nationwide search that yielded 22 candidates, the Berkeley Board of Education announced Tuesday it has found its new superintendent. -more-
The Daily Planet omitted the letter writer’s name when it published “Playing that density song” on May 29. We are reprinting it with the author’s name – ed. -more-
A man undergoes brain surgery and experiences a transformation of his life in the quirky and well-performed, but otherwise surprisingly bland 1998 opera “A New Brain,” which Shotgun Players opened Saturday as its latest show at Julian Morgan Theater in Berkeley. -more-
The 86-year-old Claremont Hotel Resort and Spa, among the most majestic buildings in the Bay Area, was nominated for historical landmarking this month, causing surprise among many who automatically assumed it was already a landmark. -more-
OAKLAND – House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Missouri, joined congressional representatives from the Bay Area Tuesday at the Ron Dellums Federal Building to take a hard look at the energy crisis in a forum not lacking in commentary on the president’s arrival in California the same day. -more-
Pat Graef of Acton Street in Berkeley won $250 last week in the Cash for Trash Contest. She was very pleased to win but admittedly would have preferred the previous week’s prize of $2,700. -more-
OAKLAND – The debate over the last medical waste incinerator in California, the Integrated Environmental Systems plant in Oakland goes on, as high school students from a Catholic high school in Hayward march and rally at the site Tuesday afternoon. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — A gay psychiatrist owes the U.S. Air Force more than $71,000 for his top-notch education because he failed to fulfill his active duty obligation, a judge has ruled. -more-
LOS ANGELES — The white abalone, a tasty Southern California mollusk whose numbers have dropped from the millions in the 1970s to perhaps a few thousand, officially became an endangered species Tuesday. -more-
A federal appeals court declined Tuesday to order federal energy regulators to cap wholesale electricity prices. -more-
SACRAMENTO — The state Senate voted Tuesday to require health officials to set drinking water limits for chromium-6, the substance that gained notoriety in the Julia Roberts film “Erin Brockovich.” -more-
SUSANVILLE— A raging 4,100-acre forest fire forced evacuations of 60 homes and a hospital, coating the town of Susanville with dark soot and giving firefighters an unwelcome taste of what could be ahead this summer. -more-
PALO ALTO — After nearly a decade of development and two years of delays, Intel Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. on Tuesday launched the first in a new generation of microprocessors they hope will dominate the next era of computing. -more-
NEW YORK — Merger talks between French telecommunications giant Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. were called off Tuesday after intense negotiations over the long holiday weekend failed to produce an agreement. -more-
NEW YORK — Technology stocks fell for a second straight session Tuesday as investors, unconvinced that the sector will recover by year’s end, cashed in profits from the market’s big spring rally. -more-
Although he professes to love his job, Berkeley High School Principal Frank Lynch happens to be something of an expert on why one should never become a high school principal. -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-
Architecture is life, or at least it is life itself taking form and therefore it is the truest record of life as it was lived in the world yesterday, as it is lived today or ever will be lived. -more-
As Berkeley’s Vista Community College prepares to break ground on a state-of-the-art building this year, the Peralta Community College District has announced the appointment of a new president for the school. -more-
Annie Quan Lee, who will celebrate her 100th birthday June 5 reminisced recently with visitors at the Berkeley rest home where she lives. Lee was born in 1901 in San Francisco. She said she was the oldest of 14 children born to her parents, who had immigrated from Canton province in China. “They called me Sister One,” she recalled. After the 1906 earthquake, Lee’s family moved temporarily to Oakland, where she said she saw the first black person she had ever seen. The family later moved back to San Francisco’s Chinatown, where Lee attended elementary and middle school and later worked as a bank teller. She has a lifelong love of music: “I love to sing,” she said. “I was a soprano in school.” She then sang the first verse of “Jesus Loves Me.” -more-
The Berkeley Fire Department announced last week that it is gearing up for an early fire season and recommends property owners establish a 30-foot safety zone around their homes and structures by doing the following: -more-
“P Is for Peril” in Sue Grafton’s latest alphabet mystery, but “P” plays a pivotal part in other new mysteries, too. -more-
PLEASANTON – Not every high-tech company is filled with anguish and anxiety these days. -more-
Berkeley’s summer personality takes over this week after dormitories have shut down, “fraternity row” parties have ceased, and thousands of students have returned home — many of them, for the last time. -more-
Girls finish 2nd; BHS’s Brooks pulls big upset in 400 dash -more-
Megan Black performs a Kathak dance accompanied by Ross Kent and Paul Sihon during the Himalayan Fair yesterday at Live Oak Park. The performance was part of the two-day festival, now in its 18th year. The fair usually takes place the weekend before Memorial Day, but dance organizer Katherine Kunhiraman said it was delayed because of the Dalai Lama’s recent visit. “We offered a thing to do on Memorial Day weekend rather than just a beer party,” -more-
Cal’s run through the NCAA Regionals came to an end Saturday night as the Bears were defeated by VCU, 11-2. The loss eliminated the Bears from the Southeast Regional at Alex Box Stadium. -more-
Last week, the State Water Resources Control Board awarded a $200,000 grant to the Urban Creeks Council to restore fish habitat in Codornices Creek — described by many as one of Berkeley’s most precious natural treasures. -more-
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Hours after eliminating the Michigan Wolverines from the Women’s College World Series, 5-2, the California Golden Bears were themselves eliminated by their Pac-10 rival the Stanford Cardinal, 1-0, at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium Saturday night. -more-
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Eternal flames honoring veterans across California are burning through money these days as the price of natural gas soars during the state’s energy crisis. -more-
WASHINGTON – Presidential candidate George W. Bush prided himself on visiting California at least once a month in the heat of last year’s campaign. As president he has waited more than four months to visit the largest state. -more-
EL CERRITO – Hers weighs 650 pounds, his weighs 1,300 pounds, but when it comes to a competition between two giant balls of bras, does size really matter? -more-
SAN DIEGO – Joan Conrad wasn’t going to let blackouts stop her and 13 high school seniors in her charge from seeing California. -more-
NEWPORT BEACH – State Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Saturday he favors making public the details of power contracts the state has negotiated in secret with generators. -more-
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-
LAFAYETTE – Contra Costa County health officials are completed a second day of clinic care and education Tuesday after an adult chaperone on a weekend camping trip was hospitalized with meningitis. -more-
Gearing up for rolling blackouts, people are trying to save power by shutting down appliances -more-
BELL GARDENS — Hundreds of people gathered Saturday for the unveiling of a new veterans memorial — a statue honoring 39 Hispanic Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. -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-
