From microscopes to mosquitos
UC scientist spends spare time trying to stop outbreaks -more-
UC scientist spends spare time trying to stop outbreaks -more-
Editor: -more-
African celebration now in 35th year -more-
Ami Forney is the brightest light in what has been an up-and-down season for the California women’s basketball team. -more-
North Berkeley residents continue to march during holiday season -more-
“Black Hawk Down” – Producer Jerry Bruckheimer redeems himself for this year’s drippy debacle “Pearl Harbor.” And he can thank director Ridley Scott for that. The gritty, in-your-face film, based on the botched U.S. military mission in Mogadishu, Somalia, in October 1993, has all the scope and enormity of Bruckheimer’s earlier war extravaganza, but it plays like a documentary of disaster. Scott is relentless here; 90 minutes of the nearly 2 1/2-hour movie are nonstop gunfire. But the movie’s action is so compelling, it’s impossible not to be drawn in and emotionally drained. Josh Hartnett, Tom Sizemore, Ewan McGregor, William Fichtner and Sam Shepard lead the ensemble cast. R for intense, realistic, graphic war violence, and for language. 143 min. -more-
On April 6, when the city is scheduled to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated, 70-year-old Central Library, the project will be 17 months late and an estimated $5 million over budget. -more-
The California Coastal Commission has announced its fourth annual Amateur Photography Competition for 2002. -more-
Editor: -more-
SAN JOSE – Doctors scrambled to stabilize about a dozen patients after power went off Thursday evening at a San Jose hospital. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – In California, where the car is king, the roads are hardly fit for royalty. -more-
Some groups overlap in duties as coordination forms slowly -more-
CATIC: California Anti-Terrorism Information Center. Set up by Attorney General Bill Lockyer Sept. 25. Intelligence gathering and threat assessment. -more-
Good lighting for your home: Let it shineL -more-
This do-it-yourself project is pretty easy to do and can actually make your home safer a lot safer. We were once paid $55,000 to partially rebuild a fire-damaged condominium that had exploded into flames when a short circuit occurred in a frayed lamp cord. Fortunately, the owner was away at the time and was not injured. But, she lost just about everything she owned, family photos, personal records, memorabilia, her wardrobe, furniture, clothing everything. -more-
ALBANY, Ga. – Poinsettias, the traditional Christmas plants, are changing to meet designer tastes. -more-
Stone gardens inspire meditation, evoke nostalgia, and can be aesthetically pleasing -more-
SACRAMENTO – The Bush administration announced support Thursday for a Clinton-era management plan that gives a new environmental tilt to managing 11.5 million acres of national forests in the Sierra Nevada. -more-
LOS ANGELES – Insurance policy holders who were victims of the 1994 Northridge earthquake have until Dec. 31 to reopen claims. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – A California judicial watchdog agency is charging a Fresno County judge with misconduct in connection with his alleged link to a fraudulent investment scandal. -more-
‘People’s Republic’ in Santa Monica considering code -more-
PASADENA – A San Marino family is suing Northwest Airlines for Grinch-like behavior, charging that the company destroyed Christmas last year by holding it prisoner on the tarmac at a Southern California airport. -more-
SANTA ANA – A man was arrested Thursday for allegedly trying to break his girlfriend’s neck and then pushing her off a cliff, police said. -more-
At least 537 Internet companies out of business or bankrupt -more-
SACRAMENTO – California shoppers will start paying more at the register when a quarter-cent sales tax increase kicks in Tuesday. -more-
It was three days after the Sept. 11 attacks, and Angela Porter, a Berkeley grantwriter, was on her way to a candlelight vigil in Petaluma. -more-
The Berkeley High boys’ basketball team mounted a dramatic comeback Wednesday night only to come up short in the final seconds, falling 58-55 to the Acalanes Dons in their opening-round game of the Leo LaRocca Sand Dunes Classic at Saint Ignatius Prep in San Francisco. -more-
City officials are keeping a close eye on a local medical marijuana club that has been robbed at gunpoint twice during the last two months. -more-
Editor: -more-
Three weeks ago, when a janitorial company’s supervisor called Adalberto Mendoza, it wasn’t to extend the best wishes of the season to the janitor’s wife and four children. -more-
Arms are an instrument of evil, -more-
PETALUMA — An unmanned aircraft somehow broke from its moorings as its owner worked on the engine and took to the air Wednesday afternoon in rural Sonoma County. -more-
Editor: -more-
SACRAMENTO — One of the state’s most notorious serial killers, serving a life sentence for the murders he said he committed at the command of voices in his head, is set to come up for parole for the ninth time on Thursday. -more-
STOCKTON — A Stockton man accused of going on a shooting spree on Christmas, shooting his father, the mother of his 7-month-old son and then fatally shooting her mother was booked Wednesday on murder charges, officials said. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Grapes and wine from Chile. Tomatoes, carrots and broccoli from Mexico. Apple juice from Hungary. Orange juice from Brazil. -more-
PASADENA — A judge says next week’s Rose Bowl game isn’t a judicial emergency and the courthouse will stay open, despite predictions that a crush of fans will clog city streets during the first-ever non-holiday football contest. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — A man died and his wife was rescued from the San Francisco Bay after their Jeep Cherokee careened into the chilly waters Tuesday afternoon. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Prompted by rolling blackouts and some of the nation’s highest energy bills, California residents and businesses used rebates to buy record numbers of energy-efficient appliances and solar panels in 2001. -more-
WASHINGTON — No suspects. No telltale clues. Not even a trace of Chandra Levy has surfaced in the baffling case of the missing federal intern. -more-
NEWPORT, Ore. — Christian Longo, the father of the boy and girl found dead in Waldport last week, has a history of fraud and was recently charged with theft in Lincoln County. -more-
CARSON CITY, Nev.— A drive into the Sierra Nevada can seem like a retreat from time, a return to landscapes unmolested by the 20th century. -more-
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Looking through an office window across the expansive grasslands of his family’s South African ranch, Craig Knight could spot kudu, impala and warthogs foraging across the range land his family used to raise beefmaster cattle. -more-
EUGENE, Ore. — Think of a city known for coffee experts and Seattle, perhaps Portland, come to mind. But Eugene also is home to people who know a few things about whipping up a perfect double skinny latte. -more-
LOS ANGELES — El Salvador’s savage civil war drove Roberto and Margarita Herrador north to the United States in search of a safe haven for their family. They found it in a country that, after 15 years, still won’t accept them. -more-
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — In what may be among the most intense, well-funded investigations ever undertaken into a single species, scientists launched more than 150 studies this year to find out why the Steller sea lion population crashed and remains low. -more-
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico cotton farmers have declared war on a small pest that can wipe out an entire crop. -more-
Jake Fuchs has recently published his second mystery novel in the Nursery School Murders series: “The Death of a Prof.” -more-
The Daily Planet received a copy of the following statement delivered to the Board of Education Dec. 19. -more-
It was a meeting of the minds. And these days, the minds tend to meet on the sticky question of small schools. -more-
For residents who can’t get enough of watching city politics in action, Berkeley Community Media is expanding its cable access service to Channel 78 beginning Jan. 1. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Travelers shuffling through airport security lines during this busy travel time are being serenaded by mariachi bands and wowed by magicians as airports attempt to ease impatience and stress. -more-
LAS VEGAS — The story of American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh has stirred memories for a Las Vegas man who earned a Bronze Star investigating a treason case during the Korean War. -more-
NEW YORK — The American who was captured fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan once met with Osama bin Laden while living in a terrorist training camp near Kandahar, a published report said. -more-
WALDPORT, Ore. — The two children found dead here in recent days were probably brother and sister, and their deaths were not accidental, authorities said Sunday. -more-
TAHOE CITY— Feet and feet of early season snow are helping to boost the winter ski season in Tahoe, which had gotten off to a slow start. -more-
FORT ORD — A dispute over air pollution and endangered species has left the U.S. Army unable to continue cleaning up this decommissioned military base, where rockets, grenades, mortars, bullets and other potentially lethal scrap lie unexploded in the brush. -more-
It’s taken four and a half years of dogged activism, but Beebo Turman is finally “cautiously optimistic” about the state of recycling in Berkeley’s public schools. -more-
Going into Saturday night’s game against highly-ranked Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco), the ’Jackets knew the Crusaders had two big weapons, forwards Marquis Kately and John Tofi. But Riordan showed that it is more than the big duo, as two of the supporting cast had big nights to help their team to a 58-39 win in Berkeley. -more-
Berkeley is in the midst of an unusual crime wave and city officials have so far been helpless to stop the culprits who are robbing $1 million from city coffers one coin at a time. -more-
TEMPE, Ariz. – Senior center Ami Forney posted 20 points and 11 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to prevent Cal from losing to Arizona State 63-49 Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena. -more-
Editor: -more-
Pity the person who must find a way to make a 2000-year-old story sing. One would think that every approach, every once-novel spin on the tale, had been tried and abandoned centuries ago. -more-
Editor: -more-
The graduate school of journalism of the University of California at Berkeley has announced that Jay T. Harris, former chairman and publisher of the San Jose Mercury News, has been appointed as the Robert C. Maynard Fellow. -more-
Editor: -more-
Emeryville police are seeking the public’s help in tracking down a suspect who they say shot a man at about midnight Saturday on the 5500 block of Shellmound Street. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – The green, circular kiosk-style restrooms that sit on San Francisco’s streets cost only a quarter to use, but officials have recently found many toilets may be getting more than just a flush. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – In crisp December, the Golden Gate Bridge soars above a sun-spangled San Francisco Bay, sinewy metal shoulders holding up a cerulean sky. -more-
SACRAMENTO – Just as Californians make their New Year’s resolutions, they will start seeing a barrage of television advertisements featuring candidates making pledges of their own. -more-
SANTA ANA – Orange County officials will make a controversial step by becoming the first in the state to use global positioning satellites to track released sex offenders. -more-
LOS ANGELES – Police on Saturday identified a motorist killed by the plunging body of a suicidal killer. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – While other merchants cash in on the busiest shopping season of the year, the Gap Inc. is trying to dig itself out of a hole. -more-
LOS ANGELES – California farmers say they are struggling with the after-effects of September’s terrorists attacks as major customers in the travel, hospitality and leisure industries cut their orders. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO – The explosion of the Hispanic and Chinese populations in the United States during the past decade has been a boon for ethnic media that cater to people with limited English. -more-