City Councilmember Polly Armstrong, District 8, announced Tuesday that she will not run for re-election in November, ending months of speculation. -more-

The Berkeley High girls’ basketball team got started on the postseason road on Wednesday night with a 72-30 stomping of Mission (San Jose) in the first round of the North Coast Section Division I playoffs. -more-

Editor: -more-

Thursday, Feb. 28

A proposed shake-up of the Berkeley Unified School District’s Independent Study program, which serves about 200 students, is in flux. -more-

Squeezing into the bleachers during warm-ups for an early-season St. Mary’s High boys basketball game, a reporter latches onto the fan nearest him and begins peppering him with some preliminary questions about the team. The fan is more than happy to oblige and, indeed, seems to know all the Panther ins and outs: This is the league opener for St. Mary’s, playing without their injured point guard DaShawn Freeman, a key to their Division IV state championship last year. Over there, that’s the head coach, his name is Jose Caraballo - and right there, that’s the player to watch: shooting guard John Sharper, who is shouldering an increased burden while Freeman recovers. He’s also a great student, and he’ll “probably go Ivy League” at the end of this, his senior year. -more-

Editor: -more-

To the protesters rallying to improve transit at UC Berkeley Wednesday, trying to park around campus is a savage game of musical chairs. -more-

Editor: -more-

Today is Thursday, Feb. 28, the 59th day of 2002. There are 306 days left in the year. -more-

Is that a candy bar in your pocket? -more-

SACRAMENTO — Californians will decide Tuesday whether to spend some green — their tax money — on greenery. -more-

“The California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks and Coastal Protection Act.” -more-

With her strategy and possibly her job on the line, Hewlett-Packard Co. chief Carly Fiorina appealed directly to Wall Street analysts Wednesday for their support of the $21.5 billion purchase of Compaq Computer Corp., calling it vital to the company’s future. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — The stock of struggling retailer Gap Inc.’s stock fell by 8 percent Wednesday, driven down by another poor quarterly earnings report and worries the company’s plans to raise $1 billion will depress earnings even if sales rebound. -more-

HONOLULU — Warren Higa is prepared to walk away from the Shell station he has run in Makiki for the past 22 years. -more-

At about 1 p.m. a backhoe digging a drain on the corner of Sacramento Street and Blake Street broke a main high-pressure gas pipeline. -more-

Johnnie Bryant hit a jumper in the lane with no time left to give Bishop O’Dowd a thrilling 50-49 North Coast Section first-round playoff win over Berkeley High Tuesday night in Oakland. -more-

Dear Editor: -more-

Wednesday, Feb. 27

State Assemblywoman Dion Aroner (D-Berkeley) and student leaders rallied around a proposed $15 million bond for new student housing at a press conference at UC Berkeley Tuesday morning. -more-

The St. Mary’s High girls’ basketball team took a 20-point lead in the second half against McKinleyville on Tuesday night in Berkeley, then survived foul trouble and a late push by the visiting Panthers to hold on for a 56-48 win in the first round of the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs. -more-

It has become clear to me that a civic dialogue needs to be developed in Berkeley on the subject of residential density. The new General Plan harbors many assumptions, some of which may be more justified than others. -more-

WALNUT CREEK — Bob Teachout knows a thing or two about pigeons. He keeps about 400 of them at his Walnut Creek home and has been racing pigeons for 40 years. -more-

With two minutes gone in Tuesday’s North Coast Section first-round game between St. Mary’s High and Antioch High in Berkeley, the visiting Panthers were up 4-3. Then the home Panthers turned up the heat. -more-

Editor: -more-

In the minds of some, City Council will be taking a step back in the redistricting process, holding a special meeting at noon tomorrow to consider four proposals — not the original two agreed upon last week. -more-

Editor: -more-

Today’s Highlight in History: -more-

Editor: -more-

LOS ANGELES — After a litany of testimony from neighbors saying they were terrorized by two huge dogs, prosecutors showed jurors evidence that the dog owners claimed their presa canarios never scared anyone. -more-

I would like to compliment you and Peter Crimmins on your report on the Promises screening. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Two state senators have introduced legislation to deal with so-called “e-waste,” millions of obsolete computers and televisions that are banned from landfill sites because they contain lead and other toxins. -more-

Editor: -more-

SALINAS — The town that once labeled homegrown author John Steinbeck a “no-good” is hosting dinners and parties in his honor to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — After less than two months on the job, the western regional director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Monday he was fired. -more-

SAN JOSE – Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. have cleverly hidden that their chief executives would reap tens of millions of dollars if their $21.5 billion merger goes through, the deal’s leading opponent charged Tuesday. -more-

BEVERLY HILLS – A group of independent record labels and small businesses that serve the recording industry believes jobs will be lost if recording artists are allowed to break their contracts before labels recoup their investments. -more-

By Jia-Rui Chong -more-

Editor: -more-

Tuesday, Feb. 26

It was not exactly the way Reza Mokhtari-Fox had planned to spend the better part of his Friday night. Eighteen-year-old Fox and his two friends went up to the corner store on University and Sacramento for chips and sodas. Shortly after leaving, they were accosted by approximately 13 police officers, six cars and immediately shuttled off to jail. -more-

Editor: -more-

Tonight a packed City Council agenda includes the appeal of the proposed Library Gardens development and at least one councilmember is saying there’s a good chance the project will soon top its last hurdle towards breaking ground. -more-

Editor: -more-

Strong support on the Board of Education may save the music program from substantial cuts. -more-

Well, the other shoe just dropped. -more-

Language barriers, poor air quality and a lack of access to quality health care have contributed to an asthma crisis among California Latinos, according to a report released Monday by San Francisco-based Latino Issues Forum. -more-

Barefoot worms have it rough -more-

Yesterday afternoon the Academy Award –nominated film, “Promises,” up for Best Documentary Feature, screened at the Pacific Film Archive as part of the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. It was the first time the film by Berkeley-based filmmakers Carlos Bolado and Justine Shapiro, and San Francisco-based B.Z. Goldberg, had been screened in the Bay Area. -more-

BERKELEY — The Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice are holding four joint hearings at the University of California at Berkeley, which began on Monday, to field testimony on issues of patents and competition. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A former high tech executive was sentenced on Monday to two years and 10 months in prison for trying to have sex with someone he met on the Internet who pretended to be a 14-year-old girl. -more-

LAS VEGAS — Under fire by some black leaders, MGM Mirage Inc. reported Monday that it is putting more minorities in management and employing more minority vendors and contractors as part of its diversity efforts. -more-

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A federal judge has ordered handheld computer maker Palm Inc. and its former parent, 3Com Corp., to post a $50 million bond ina dispute with Xerox Corp. over a handwriting-recognition patent. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — To recover from its worst-ever recession, the high-tech industry needs to create better new products said Intel Corp. chief executive Craig Barrett Monday, while speaking at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. -more-

FORT WORTH, Texas — Thirteen Parker County families have filed a lawsuit against Chevron Pipe Line Co., alleging it dumped toxic and carcinogenic chemicals at its pipeline booster/pump station east of Brock. -more-

STANFORD — Stanford University faculty and students mourned the death and honored the life of fallen Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl Monday. -more-

Berkeley remembers famed attorney Robert Treuhaft -more-

Editor: -more-

Monday, Feb. 25

Dennis Gates scored a career-high 17 points as Cal completed a home sweep of the Los Angeles schools by routing USC, 83-64, Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. -more-

Seventy to eighty people gathered in tents outside Oakland airport Tuesday to protest a provision in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act that requires airport security screeners to be U.S. citizens. Organizers predicted that 4,500 workers will lose their jobs in the Bay Area, 400 of them at Oakland airport, and the majority of them Filipino. -more-

Editor: -more-

The St. Mary’s High boys basketball team executed its game plan perfectly Saturday night and defeated Salesian 69-56 in front of a packed house at Albany High. The win gave the Panthers their second straight Bay Shore Athletic League title and their fifth win the last two seasons over their league rival. -more-

California Public Utilities Commission officials announced they plan to file a complaint with federal authorities today asking them to abrogate or rewrite 44 long-term power contracts that it says are unfair by $21 billion. CPUC officials say commission lawyers will file the complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission tomorrow. -more-

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The St. Mary’s girls basketball team led by as many as 13 points against Kennedy Saturday night, but foul trouble in the backcourt cost the Panthers as the Eagles rallied in the second half to beat St. Mary’s 59-54 at Albany High in the BSAL championship game. -more-

Complaints about public sex at Aquatic Park may spark clearing overall changes at marina -more-

Editor: -more-

Saturday’s ACCAL championship game between Berkeley High and Encinal High wasn’t exactly high drama: the Lady ’Jackets stomped the Jets by 21 points two weeks ago in the regular season meeting, and there was no reason to think the rematch would be any different. Berkeley cruised out to a 21-9 lead after one quarter and never looked back, winning the league title with a 59-35 victory. -more-

On Feb. 25, 1793, the department heads of the U.S. government met with President Washington at his home for the first Cabinet meeting on record. -more-

The Cal men’s rugby team got their fourth win in seven days with a 47-13 drubbing of University of British Columbia on Saturday at Witter Field. The Bears took a home sweep of Canada’s top two collegiate teams with the victory. -more-

WASHINGTON — Larry Berman shows off his new building with all the enthusiasm of a real estate agent who thinks he’s about to seal a deal. -more-

Alameda County is using the $20 million a year it receives from the Proposition 10 tobacco tax approved by voters in 1998 to improve the quality of life for children and families through the Every Child Counts program, part of the Children and Families Commission. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Two months after the top official at the Presidio stepped down amid allegations of nepotism and spending abuses, redevelopment plans for the verdant national park are moving forward — slowly. -more-

BURLINGAME — Police arrested a Minnesota woman on suspicion of stabbing her 13-year-old son to death at his father’s house Sunday. -more-

SAN JOSE — Opponents of a proposed nuclear waste dump are trying to gather support from communities in California and 44 other states in the path of trucks and trains hauling radioactive materials to the site. -more-

SAN JOSE — What happened to that old computer after you sold it to a second-hand parts dealer? -more-

‘Telematics,’ or automotive electronics rev up marketplace -more-

SAN JOSE — Adobe Systems Inc., the second-largest PC software company, will announce Sunday a major upgrade to its photo editing program, Photoshop. -more-

In final weeks until the March 5th -more-