In what may be viewed as sad irony Charlotte Ortega, the special education teacher found dead in the bay, had hoped to build a homeless shelter in Lagos, Nigeria to be called the Lazarous House. On Wednesday, the Alameda County District Attorney charged Lazarus Ortega with the murder of Charlotte Ortega, his adoptive mother. -more-

On Friday night, the Cal Bears stopped Stanford’s two main scorers, Casey Jacobsen and Curtis Borchardt, but still lost by 20 points. Sunday night, the Bears stopped just about everyone the Cardinal threw at them, breaking a 10-game losing streak to their rivals with a 68-54 win at Haas Pavilion. -more-

Monday, Jan. 7

Just a week ago an editorial by Iris Starr (Dec. 22, 23) stated that there are “educational inequities between whites and people of color.” She claims that many adults “deny the students - needs, life experiences and cultural and racial identities are ignored;” and that “the Board of Education and the Superintendent have only acknowledged an achievement gap with no action taken, year after miserable year.” -more-

As of January 1, anyone buying a firearm also has to buy a trigger lock thanks to a first-of-its-kind state gun control law, which advocates say will prevent accidental gun deaths, especially among children. -more-

NASSAU, Bahamas - The California women’s basketball team did not have an answer for junior guard Molly Creamer - last year’s Patriot League Player of the Year - as it lost to Bucknell, 59-56, in the championship game of the Nassau Knockout Saturday night at the National Gymnasium. -more-

While traveling through Europe recently, my wife and I stopped for two days in Montpellier, in the south of France. Hardly for the first time, I was awed by the way Europeans make things work—things like transportation systems and cities, for example. The implications for Berkeley are profound. -more-

These days, Terry Doran is the lone ranger on Berkeley’s Board of Education. He stepped down as board president last month to make way for Shirley Issel, but has been the sole voice on the committee in support of the hotly-debated small schools policy put forth by the Coalition for Excellence and Equity. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco supervisors have scheduled a last-minute committee meeting for Monday to consider what the board should do officially. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A stolen vehicle believed to have been driven by a man suspected of killing his wife and three children in Oregon was found this morning at San Francisco International Airport. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO – Not all doctors who are ordered to pay damages to patients end up paying the price on their records, according to a newspaper investigation that found only some cases ever make it into the Medical Board of California’s records. -more-

SANTA ANA – Nearly 350 injury reports were filed last year under a new law regulating California theme parks, and they offer a rare glimpse into the secretive ride industry. -more-

SACRAMENTO – A $1.2 million state program launched this week has the California Highway Patrol working overtime to ticket speeding truckers. -more-

LAS VEGAS – Amid the latest in high-tech – from wearable gadgetry to automobile accoutrements – the loudest buzz at the 2002 International Consumer Electronics Show will likely center on entertainment devices for the living room. -more-

SAN JOSE – Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Monday are launching the fastest models yet of their flagship processors, the electronic brains of personal computers. -more-

It’s the other race. And it’s a doozy. -more-

Cal opens its Pac-10 basketball season with a tough test. The 9-1 Golden Bears take on rival and No. 12-ranked Stanford twice in three days in an unusual bit of scheduling this weekend. -more-

Friday, Jan. 4

They attack the human spirit -more-

North Berkeley. 1975. A bunch of poetic, jazz-lovin’, co-op-minded, espresso-drinking beatniks want to start a place to get delicious food in a comfortable setting. -more-

A 21-year-old Berkeley man was charged on Tuesday with the murder of his mother, Charlotte Ortega, also of Berkeley. -more-

Editor: -more-

With the Central Library remodeling project coming in late and over budget and the same contractor being awarded another lucrative public contract, some are questioning the City Charter’s requirement to accept the “lowest responsible bid” for capital projects. -more-

Editor: -more-

Tatia Malika Oden French, Ph.D., died in childbirth Dec. 28. She was married to Joseph Blaine French, teacher at Berkeley High School, the daughter of Madeline Oden, longtime city employee, and Stan Oden, a Sacramento State University instructor. -more-

Editor: -more-

Berkeley officials are crowing over three new state tobacco-control laws, saying they extend at least some of the protection the city already offers to Californians all over the state. -more-

City will help homeless according to survey -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A Eureka man was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury after allegedly sending a letter to the FBI in San Francisco claiming the letter was laced with anthrax, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. -more-

SACRAMENTO — A series of winter storms has left the Sierra Nevada mountains packed with plenty of snow, easing state hydrologists’ concerns the state could be headed for a drought. -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-

Of all the flowers that linger this late in the season, Johnny-jump-ups are among the best. -more-

SACRAMENTO — The state should temporarily increase personal income taxes on the richest Californians to help offset an expected $12 billion budget shortfall, Senate President John Burton said Thursday. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Providian Financial Corp. said Thursday it is firing 800 workers in California and Kentucky and warned even more layoffs loom as the hobbled credit card issuer struggles to recover from mounting loan losses. -more-

CALIENTE — Seventy-seven vehicles collided in fog on Highway 58 Thursday, killing one motorist and injuring 15. Two other chain-reaction collisions in Kern County crunched 13 more vehicles on foggy Interstate 5. -more-

SANTA CRUZ— Great white sharks don’t just troll the cold waters off a select few coasts — they head to warm waters, sometimes hundreds of miles away, and dive deeper than researchers thought, according to a study published Thursday. -more-

SEQUIM, Wash. — A male killer whale repeatedly beached himself Thursday despite efforts by wildlife workers to move him to deeper water off Dungeness Spit, where another whale was found dead the day before. -more-

Berkeley’s 14 creeks could be the next casualty of the economic downturn. -more-

The Saint Mary’s Panthers boys basketball team destroyed Saint Joseph Wednesday night, 90-63, in the Bay Shore Athletic League opener. -more-

Thursday, Jan. 3

-more-

The owners of Golden Gate Fields in Albany stand to make large profits off a new state law that will permit them to take bets over the telephone and the Internet. -more-

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer couldn’t explain her team’s season-low shooting percentage. -more-

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Despite community concerns, the California Department of Toxic Substance Control has given Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory the green light to treat radioactive hazardous waste in Berkeley. -more-

Editor: -more-

FREMONT — In the kitchen, the chef wields his wok over a fiery stove, preparing the day’s lunch. Two rice cookers — one with a softer batch of rice for those without teeth — simmer quietly in a corner. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Three environmental organizations filed suit Wednesday alleging the Bush administration is violating a Gulf War-era alternative fuels law signed by President Bush’s father. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A National Guardsman accidentally shot himself at San Francisco International Airport Friday night. -more-

LOS ANGELES — A man accused of blowing apart a dog’s jaw with a big firecracker pleaded innocent Wednesday to animal cruelty and other charges. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Steady rains in the Bay Area caused minor mudslides and flooded roads Wednesday, and the wet weather may have led to a 70-foot tree falling on a bus near the Golden Gate Bridge. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — The alternative high school John Walker Lindh attended three years before joining up with the Taliban has been the subject of withering rhetoric in America’s opinion pages, on talk radio and on the Internet. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — More than 100,000 San Francisco Bay area households will lose the chance to watch NBC unless they get cable or a satellite dish because the network’s new local affiliate has a transmitter that is out of range of their antennas. -more-

Hospitals vary their menus -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — As he enters a tough re-election campaign, Gov. Gray Davis is assuming unprecedented powers that have landed him in court with key legislators and civil libertarians. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Two college buddies quit their jobs and began hiking across America Tuesday to memorialize the victims of the recent terrorist attacks. -more-

OLOWALU, Hawaii — Olowalu beaches reopened Wednesday after a one-day closure following a shark attack on a California man about 100 yards offshore, authorities said. -more-

PASADENA — Revelers at the nation’s premiere New Year’s Day parade decided to let the “Good Times” roll with a patriotic burst of red, white and blue flowers, floats and fireworks that could have easily been mistaken for a Fourth of July celebration. -more-

GARDEN GROVE — Cyber cafes in this Orange County city are attracting an unruly crowd and city officials are worried about the safety of children after a murder over the weekend. -more-

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada, after more than a decade of trying, will adopt a nationally standardized program this week for testing and certifying courtroom interpreters in foreign languages. -more-

LOS ANGELES — An abundance of snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and reserves in underground storage basins means the city will not have a water shortage in 2002, officials say. -more-

The first Sierra storm of the new year pushed across the mountains Wednesday but failed to live up to expectations after losing much of its punch. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Thousands of California’s hotel, restaurant and store employees will see a little more money in their first paycheck of the New Year, with an 8 percent increase in the minimum wage. -more-

LOS ANGELES — The battle between The Walt Disney Co. and EchoStar Communications started in the courtroom, but may eventually be settled by federal regulators weighing EchoStar’s proposed merger with rival DirecTV. -more-

LOS ALTOS — The deflated tech bubble and troubles at home are forcing Pakistan to close a 6-month-old Silicon Valley office. -more-

LAS VEGAS — A research firm is projecting that Nevada will rank fourth among states with the fastest-growing rate of women-owned businesses in a 1997-to-2002 study. -more-

Adoption was not as joyous as it might have been for Pamela Springer and Terri Giamartino, a lesbian couple in Berkeley who adopted each other’s biological children in the mid-1990s. -more-

First there was a “big boom.” -more-

City’s mural may go on tour -more-

Berkeley police are investigating what could be the first homicide in the city for 2001. -more-

The holidays are over, and the bills are rolling in. While gas prices are currently lower than last year, there is no guarantee that they will remain that way. Unlike electricity, gas prices are unregulated, and as we experienced a year ago, prices can swing wildly out of control. -more-

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Domestic partners, the unemployed, nursing mothers, janitors, hat-loving students — even sheepherders — will have something extra to celebrate on New Year’s Day. -more-

ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) — A body found floating in the Delta on Sunday afternoon was identified as Mark Osborn, a 17-year-old Oakley youth who apparently drowned in an accident while duck hunting with his father and a friend. -more-

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A group of wealthy Republicans in Orange County has created the state’s largest GOP political action committee in an attempt to broaden the party’s appeal. -more-

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — An Oakland businessman is part of a pioneering extreme sports group that plans to run a marathon around the South Pole next month. -more-

MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) — With thick kelp forests and exotic wildlife, Monterey Bay has been described more than once as an underwater Yosemite. Now, the ocean expanse will get one of the true trappings of a national park, a visitor center. -more-

LOS ANGELES — A power crisis that cost the state billions. A dot-com bust that was far worse than expected. Finally, the devastating economic impact of a terrorist attack no one could have anticipated. -more-

SACRAMENTO (AP) — California’s 89,000 farm owners enter 2002 with 50,000 fewer acres to farm, thanks to urban growth. But they’re also finding more money than ever to save their farms for future generations. -more-

SACRAMENTO – A California Indian tribe has received the permission it needed to construct a $100 million Nevada-style casino outside Sacramento, where it is expected to draw gamblers who now head for Reno, Nev. -more-

FAIRFIELD — One person was killed Thursday following a crash that involved a transit bus, a car and a big rig on Interstate 80 in Fairfield, police said. -more-

LOS ANGELES — Jakks Pacific Inc. is taking “The Rock” to Europe. -more-

The interim Pacifica National Board held its first meeting by telephone Saturday and elected three officers. -more-