The City Council decided Tuesday to approve three sections of the Draft General Plan by Dec. 18. -more-
It’s Nutcracker season – that time of year when the classically timeless story is performed throughout in the Bay Area in many different forms. It doesn’t matter that it’s Russian in origin, or that companies have taken creative liberties with the setting, period or choreography since the San Francisco Ballet introduced this work to Americans years ago. Everyone loves the Nutcracker story. -more-
Ousseynou Kouyate sings quietly to himself, waiting for his performance to start. The venue is Keur Samba, a West African restaurant on Telegraph Avenue. Kouyate is part of tonight’s attraction, Djialy Kunda Kouyate – a Wolof (Senegalese) band recently brought in by owner Jegan Loum to play at the restaurant every Friday and Saturday night. -more-
Joe Shipp scored a career-high 24 points and led California to a 88-63 victory over Saint Louis on Thursday night. -more-
A few olive branches, and a lot of angry words were the offerings at a contentious Board of Education meeting Wednesday night, which featured a couple of overtures for collaboration and several sharp exchanges between board members and leaders of the small schools movement, or Coalition for Excellence and Equity in the Schools. -more-
Wednesday evening, the Board of Education unanimously named Shirley Issel its new president. Issel moved up from the post of vice president, replacing outgoing chief Terry Doran. The board named Joaquin Rivera its new vice president. -more-
As a public service, the Berkeley Daily Planet will list BERKELEY-BASED nonprofit agencies soliciting donations and/or volunteers. Please use the following format and e-mail by today to news@berkeleydailyplanet.net. -more-
MARIPOSA — Prosecutors want the triple-murder trial of Yosemite killer Cary Stayner held in Sacramento because it is convenient for witnesses and family members of the victims and defendant. -more-
D.A.’s employee pleads innocent to assault charge -more-
SACRAMENTO — For weeks, Secretary of State Bill Jones’ struggle to raise large amounts of money has led to speculation he’ll drop out of the Republican race for governor. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of Mexican nationals have been lining up around the block outside their consulate to get identification cards after the city became the first in the nation to officially accept the consular IDs as legal documents. -more-
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday convicted the first of 10 defendants facing trials on charges of trespassing at Vandenberg Air Force Base during an October 2000 protest against militarization of space. -more-
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — Kunio Iwashita, a Zero fighter pilot during World War II, says it was only on Sept. 11 — six decades after the attack on Pearl Harbor — that he realized how Americans must have felt back then. -more-
FRAZIER PARK — Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser dreamed of serving in the Special Forces. Long before he shipped out to Afghanistan, one friend said it seemed as if he “wanted to save the Middle East.” -more-
HENDERSON, Nev. — When the Bingo Palace opened off the Las Vegas Strip in 1977, the casino industry didn’t give it much of a chance. But building away from the action led Station Casinos into a lucrative new market — neighborhood casinos. -more-
SEATTLE — For most of his adult life, Gary Leon Ridgway walked a tightrope. -more-
CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court refused Thursday to reinstate a money-laundering case against Las Vegas golf course developer and professional gambler Billy Walters and three other men. -more-
LAS VEGAS — Fifty years after Frank Sinatra’s debut at the Desert Inn resort, the Chairman of the Board will be honored with his own day. -more-
TUCSON, Ariz. — With a landmark court victory in hand, a Southwest environmental group wants to raise $1 million so it can kick cattle off tens of thousands of acres of Arizona and New Mexico. -more-
JUNEAU, Alaska — A Juneau man who was mauled by a grizzly bear Wednesday was reported in satisfactory condition after surgery at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. -more-
SAN JOSE — Computer server maker Sun Microsystems Inc. said Thursday it is on track to meet sales targets this quarter but stopped short of giving specific guidance to Wall Street. -more-
SAN JOSE — In another sign the semiconductor industry may be recovering, Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices said Thursday their fourth-quarter revenues are expected to exceed earlier forecasts. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Once-hip retailer Gap Inc. remained an unfashionable place to shop in November, with comparable store sales plunging 25 percent from the same time last year — the steepest drop yet during the clothier’s 19-month slide. -more-
NEW YORK — Hearst Corp. chief executive and president Frank A. Bennack Jr. will retire at the end of next May. Chief operating officer Victor F. Ganzi, 54, was tapped to replace him. -more-
HARRISBURG, Pa. — About 800 former customers of an electricity supplier that served Pennsylvanians over the Internet before going out of business will receive refunds, the state’s consumer advocate said Thursday. -more-
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Biotechnology company Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. is acquiring South San Francisco, Calif.-based COR Therapeutics Inc. for $2 billion in stock, the company announced Thursday. -more-
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The teen-ager accused of plotting a Columbine-style massacre at his school returned to his mother’s home Thursday, prompting a student protest and concern among his neighbors. -more-
There is a story that has been floating around the city’s Planning and Development Department for some time. -more-
Sitting atop a 14-point lead with less than seven minutes to play Wednesday night versus the University of San Francisco, it appeared as if the Cal women’s basketball team could relax and cruise to an easy victory. The problem is they tried to do just that, and the Dons had other plans. -more-
924 Gilman Dec. 7: Har Mar Superstar, The Pattern, The Blast Rocks, Your Enemies’ Friends, Hate Mail Express; Dec. 8: Scurvy Dogs, Nigel Peppercock, Shut The Fuck Up, Offering To The Sun, Voetsek; Dec. 9: Poison The Well, Unearth, Sworn Enemy, Spark Lights The Friction; Dec. 14: Hot Water Music, American Steel, F-Minus, Trial By Fire; Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 -more-
About 75 people celebrated the launching of the Eco Pass Program in Civic Center Wednesday. City officials hope the free AC Transit bus passes will lure some of Berkeley’s 1,600 employees from their cars and ease downtown parking and traffic problems. -more-
OAKLAND – Doctors, activists and politicians called for a wholesale reform of California’s child healthcare system at a state hearing Wednesday morning at Children’s Hospital, convened by Assemblymember Wilma Chan (D-Oakland) and Virginia Strom-Martin (D-Duncans Mills). -more-
Editor: -more-
Two Berkeley Police Department officers were injured early Wednesday morning when a suspect tried to evade a routine traffic stop, according to Lt. Cynthia Harris. -more-
Editor: -more-
NEW YORK — Nearly 50 years after convicted Soviet spy Ethel Rosenberg was executed, her brother admits he lied under oath to save himself and says he’s unconcerned that his perjury may have sent her to the electric chair, along with her husband. -more-
A rumor that the National Endowment for the Arts has delayed a Berkeley Repertory Theatre grant request, possibly for political reasons, has sent a chill through the Bay Area arts community. -more-
The St. Mary’s Panthers were facing a five-point deficit at halftime of Tuesday’s game against Berkeley High, but there was no panic in the locker room, no doubting of whether they could come back to win the game. -more-
MUSIC
OAKLAND – About 20 activists, many from Berkeley, gathered outside the Federal Building Tuesday afternoon to protest an Oct. 9 ruling by the federal government’s Drug Enforcement Agency that declared all foods made with hemp illegal. -more-
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More and more Alameda County children are going hungry and more working people are unable to make ends meet, according to a report released Tuesday by the Alameda County Community Food Bank. -more-
Students at Berkeley High during World War II busied themselves setting up Morse code clubs and selling enough war bonds to purchase two P-39 fighter planes. Across the Bay, Palo Alto High School students raised funds for a bomber with their school’s “Li’l Viking” mascot painted on the fuselage. -more-
As a public service, the Berkeley Daily Planet will list BERKELEY-BASED nonprofit agencies soliciting donations and/or volunteers. Please use the following format and e-mail by Dec. 7 to news@berkeleydailyplanet.net. -more-
WASHINGTON – The U.S. government will decide in good time what to do with an American believed to have been fighting alongside the Taliban, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday. -more-
PHOENIX – Arizona avoided millions of dollars in prison costs through a voter-approved 1996 law that requires that some drug offenders be placed on probation and provided treatment rather than locked up, a new study concludes. -more-
CARSON CITY, Nev. – A new Nevada law has enabled 57 people with serious illnesses to get licenses to use medical marijuana. Nine others have been licensed as caregivers. -more-
FAIRFAX – Word that a handful of Americans had fought alongside the Taliban came as a particular shock in Fairfax: One of them apparently spent his teen-age years in this wooded, hilly town north of San Francisco. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — A new $2.6 billion eastern span for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge received its last piece of financing Tuesday when the federal government provided $450 million, Gov. Gray Davis said. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Despite calls from some of its member doctors, the American Medical Association on Tuesday declined to endorse smallpox vaccinations for all Americans. -more-
LOS ANGELES – California will climb out of the recession with the rest of the country next spring but the pain caused by the current downturn will linger well into the year, according to a new economic forecast. -more-
SACRAMENTO – California power officials refused last week to help Enron Corp. line up power for their customers, citing credit concerns. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Critics of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s plan for emerging from bankruptcy have filed about 70 complaints at federal bankruptcy court. -more-
Construction on the Harrison Skate Park is underway again more than a year after the project was abruptly halted when the carcinogen Chromium 6 was discovered in groundwater on the site. -more-
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Music
It’s the underwear, stupid! -more-
Gerta Farber of Oakland (11/29) muses how easily Osama bin Laden could sneak anywhere under a burka. Maybe that's why everyone's keeping an eye out for a 6-foot 5-inch Pashtun woman...... -more-
The holidays are rapidly approaching and Harry Potter toys are disappearing like magic. But all hope is not lost. Stevanne Auerbach, PhD., better known as “Dr. Toy,” can recommend 100 safe, creative and educational alternatives. -more-
The Daily Planet received a copy of the following letter written to the mayor and council: -more-
You’ve read up on how solar panels work, and now you’re considering installing them on your building to reduce your monthly electrical bill, or perhaps to have power during an emergency. But what do you do first? -more-
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Police in Berkeley say that a domestic disturbance led to the arrest of two people on suspicion of assault in what is being considered a minor standoff situation. -more-
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MENLO PARK — Ten years ago, a Stanford University physicist created the first U.S. Web site — three lines of text, with one link to e-mail and another link to a huge scientific database. -more-
SAN JOSE — Bankrupt Excite@Home reached a tentative deal to keep its fast Internet service up and running for many of its subscribers but not those with AT&T Broadband, which scrambled Monday to restore access for 520,000 accounts. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — MedImmune Inc. said Monday it will pay more than $1 billion in stock to acquire Aviron, the maker of a promising nasal-spray flu vaccine now awaiting government approval. -more-
OAKLAND — Oakland police have arrested the estranged husband of a San Jose Mercury News photographer found dead on Nov. 25. -more-
Fifty-seven of Berkeley’s public school teachers, or 9.5 percent of the 599 on staff, are not fully credentialed, according to preliminary school district figures obtained by the Daily Planet. -more-
When a team commits 32 turnovers and shoots 17 fewer free throws than its opponent, one wouldn’t expect a victory. But that’s just what the Georgia Bulldogs got on Sunday against Cal in the championship game of the Oakland Tribune Classic at Haas Pavilion. -more-
By Hank Sims -more-
South Florida’s two stars - forward B.B. Waldon and guard Altron Jackson - combined for 41 points and 25 rebounds, leading the Bulls to a 79-59 rout of Cal Saturday night. -more-
The City’s energy officer presented the City Council with an overview of a developing plan that will initiate dramatic changes in the city’s energy sources, building materials and energy education programs. -more-
Coughlin sets NCAA mark in 100 backstroke -more-
The city of Berkeley and AC Transit officials have announced that Berkeley will become the first East Bay city to launch a bus pass program for its employees. -more-
The California Highway Patrol reported a collision between two trucks that left loaves of bread strewn across the freeway in Berkeley early Saturday morning. -more-
Study: Hispanics segregated from rest of the city -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Long before Sept. 11 brought terrorism to the top of every federal prosecutor’s agenda, U.S. attorneys and FBI agents in California were going after terrorists at one of the highest rates in the country. -more-
LOS ANGELES – Last year, hundreds of immigrant janitors marched through the streets with raised fists chanting “si se puede!” – yes, it can be done – after winning raises from employers. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – At least 16 percent of customers on ExciteAtHome’s high-speed Internet service were without access Sunday, after the bankrupt company cut off service to AT&T Broadband subscribers. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – When San Francisco Examiner Publisher Ted Fang was fired by his own mother just before Halloween, it punctuated a year of humbling setbacks in a local newspaper industry that once mirrored the Silicon Valley’s exuberance. -more-
About 100 activists gathered in West Berkeley Friday to condemn the economic policies of the pharmaceutical industry and to demand a new system for the manufacturing and distribution of essential medicines. -more-
Nestled above the south bank of Strawberry Creek, and somewhat hidden behind Barrows Hall on the UC Berkeley campus, is a small, one-story residentially scaled building with a bronze sculpture of a Pelican standing in front. Two readers have recently inquired about this quiet, but intriguing building. -more-
Though he was part of pop music’s most storied group, George Harrison formed significant and memorable partnerships with other musicians, including Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. -more-
Three games into the season, the Berkeley High girls’ soccer team scored its first goal of the year on Friday against Livermore, then proceeded to score three more on its way to a 4-1 victory. -more-
Leaders of the Berkeley Small Schools movement looked to middle school parents and teachers to help strengthen their base of support during a meeting at Longfellow Middle School Thursday where they geared up for a possible political battle with the Board of Education. -more-
• Feb. 25, 1943 – Harrison is born in Liverpool, England, to Harold and Louise Harrison. -more-
At its last meeting the City Council postponed a decision on whether to approve the Draft General Plan before or after its Christmas break. -more-
NEW YORK — It’s a touching tale of hope and goodwill, of believing in something overwhelmingly good. It takes place in New York 54 years ago, but it’s as meaningful today as it was then. -more-
MIAMI — John Knowles leaves behind a legacy that included nearly a half-century of writings and nine novels, but none matched the success of “A Separate Peace” — considered an enduring study of an adolescent’s inner conflict. -more-
Q. Cindy asks: Could you please tell me what is the best way to get cat urine stains out of a wooden floor? -more-
“Texas Rangers” isn’t exactly storming into theaters with guns blazing. -more-
Got a door that was trimmed off and rehung without getting repainted? Wood doors must be painted on all six sides (front, back, top, bottom and on both edges) because unpainted tops and bottoms – especially on exterior doors – allow moisture to be absorbed, which causes cracking, warping and paint failure. Bottom edges commonly are left exposed when new carpeting is installed or when a new threshold is put in place, and the door is trimmed for greater clearance. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Californians these days are seeing dreamy, romantic TV commercials inviting them to visit ... California. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — A judge cleared the way for bankrupt ExciteAtHome to turn off its high-speed Internet cable network as early as Friday night, which could affect more than 4 million subscribers around the country. -more-
Mcki Weinberg, of the Israel Action Committee, was quoted out of context in Friday’s Daily Planet. His chant, “We don’t want you anyway,” was not in response to the Students for Justice in Palestine’s chant asking Ariel Sharon “how many kids have you killed today.” The full text of the IAC chant is: “Suicide bomber go away/We don’t want you anyway.” -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Tom Souza has stopped traveling, and even driving, as much as he used to. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — One of the two men accused of killing a state senator’s son in November demanded a speedy trial, while the other did not appear for the scheduled hearing in San Francisco Superior Court Tuesday. -more-
LOS ANGELES — A judge refused Monday to allow Sara Jane Olson to withdraw her guilty plea in a Symbionese Liberation Army bomb plot. -more-
SACRAMENTO – Check state tax board member Dean Andal’s campaign finance reports and you’ll find a $50,000 contribution from the Taxpayers Political Action Committee. -more-
Shopping for children’s furniture can be an atypical adventure -more-
FREEHOLD, N.J. — History teacher Barbara Guenther hasn’t missed a day of class in 37 years. Now, she is spending her days in a 9-by-9 jail cell, locked up along with scores of other striking teachers in a bitter lesson in civil disobedience. -more-
