SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis has announced that he will not take a position on Proposition 45, the ballot measure that would ease term limits in the state Legislature. -more-

LOS ANGELES — In less than two years, Northrop Grumman Corp. has catapulted from a distant fourth among defense contractors to a strong third. If its proposed acquisition of TRW Inc. goes through, it could soon hit No. 1. -more-

World’s second largest software firm’s shortfall dashes hopes of a high-tech comeback -more-

LOS ANGELES — One of the major creditors lining up to salvage some of its investment in Global Crossing is trying to stop the $750 million buyout proposal put forward by the telecom firm. -more-

District and union to enter delicate negotiation -more-

For more than 25 years national, state and local preservation groups have given annual awards to the owners, architects and contractors of buildings that have been restored, stabilized or adaptively reused in ways that are sensitive to the original building. The awards serve to demonstrate that old buildings can be reused, rehabilitated and given a new life and to encourage the preservation of older buildings. All types of buildings are eligible for these awards: from once common 1920s gas stations to warehouses, hotels, or single-family homes. -more-

Editor: -more-

NEW YORK — Is there life beyond Earth? A new computer-generated show at the American Museum of Natural History probes the question by taking viewers from the blackest depths of the ocean to the cosmos outside the Milky Way galaxy. -more-

Saturday, March 2

Panthers lead wire-to-wire as center Knight shines -more-

A sixth-grade student brought a clip with several bullets to Longfellow Middle School earlier this week, according to school and police officials. -more-

Editor: -more-

NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in five years, no black reporter was among the top 25 on the network evening news programs in 2001, as measured by the amount of stories they reported, according to a study released Thursday. -more-

EUGENE, Ore. – Cal had a chance to extend its season on a long Jackie Lord 3-point shot, but UCLA held on to eliminate the Golden Bears, 46-42, in the first round of the Pac-10 Women’s Basketball Tournament. -more-

Union reps want city to come back to the bargaining table -more-

Editor: -more-

LOS ANGELES — Two former strategists for President Clinton were hired as consultants for the Screen Actors Guild during negotiations with the Association of Talent Agents. -more-

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With Election Day approaching, California Secretary of State Bill Jones is predicting that only about 36 percent of eligible voters will bother to cast ballots on Tuesday. -more-

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ANAHEIM — Responding to residents’ complaints that fireworks shows at the Disneyland Resort are polluting their neighborhood, a regional agency will test air particles to collect any residue. -more-

Urban agriculture, freedom of the press and nationalized health care. -more-

Philly lures fugitives with phony mail, cash promises -more-

LOS ANGELES — Richard Riordan lashed out at Bill Simon as a “sanctimonious hypocrite” Friday, harshly criticizing the former friend who has overtaken him with just days to go before the GOP gubernatorial primary. -more-

Sex offender info to be made available in 13 languages -more-

KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. warplanes and helicopter gunships bombarded suspected al-Qaida hide-outs in Afghanistan’s eastern mountains Saturday, opening a new offensive against Taliban and al-Qaida believed regrouping there, Afghan officials said. -more-

HAVANA — Cuban police in black berets entered the Mexican embassy early Friday and detained 21 young men who had crashed a stolen bus through the gates two days earlier and asked to be taken out of Cuba. -more-

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — A hunger strike by prisoners at this remote U.S. naval base seemed to lose momentum after the U.S. military agreed to allow the Taliban and al-Qaeda captives to wear turbans, as long as guards could inspect them at any time. -more-

AHMADABAD, India — Hindu attackers stalked Muslims in the streets and set fire to their homes and shops Friday, pushing the death toll in India’s worst religious violence in a decade past 300. -more-

You have to hand it to Michael Moore for bravery. At a time in which dissent has been sent to the back of the bus, Moore is insisting on his front-row seat. -more-

The Associated Press -more-

The Associated Press -more-

SACRAMENTO — An autopsy has confirmed a Ukrainian immigrant accused of killing six family members died by hanging in his jail cell, officials said Friday. -more-

At the Crossroads Trading Company, Nika Thomas fingers a pair of black leather boots and explains her recent job lay-off. Until last fall, she worked at IKON, an office-supply shop. Then the economy went south, and she was let go. She gave up her frequent shopping haunts. -more-

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SAN FRANCISCO — As they head toward Tuesday’s primary, the three major Democratic candidates for insurance commissioner are running TV ads that are triggering more sniping in one of the fiercely contested statewide races. -more-

Judge expects cases to be settled as lawyers start gathering millions of documents -more-

RENO, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management formally withdrew its approval of a proposed cat litter mine on BLM land north of Reno Friday, but said the Oil-Dri Corp. could submit a revised plan. -more-

Embattled accounting firm settles Arizona cases without admitting wrongdoing -more-

Dealer disappears without delivering $300,000 worth of merchandise -more-

Troubled utility expected to pay off more than $5 billion in past due bills to avoid bankruptcy -more-

Closure for City of Franklin delayed -more-

Editor: -more-

Watch out for avalanches, which sound like bombs bursting. Beware of 100-foot crevasses – seemingly bottomless holes that are covered with a light dusting of snow, so you can’t tell they are there. Imagine being surrounded by below-freezing temperatures, winds that can flatten you in an instant, and infinite vistas of ice. -more-

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Friday, March 1

St. Mary’s girls fall to Eagles for third time this season in NCS quarterfinal -more-

TEMPE, Ariz. – Shantay Legans expected to have a chance to make a big play for California. He got it and made it. -more-

Older plan revamped and ready for council approval -more-

Editor: -more-

LOS ANGELES — Country radio stations might want to consider changing their playlists after Grammy night. -more-

Liquor store declared public nuisance, owners decide to close down -more-

Editor: -more-

NEW YORK — Tonya and Amy are getting ready to rumble. -more-

Women face UCLA in first round of Pac-10 Tournament -more-

Traditionally the city of Berkeley has a midyear fiscal surplus, this year there’s a $1.8 million shortfall, and the finance department’s looking closely at ways to tighten its belt. -more-

Friday -more-

Today is Friday, March 1, the 60th day of 2002. There are 305 days left in the year. -more-

Andy Katz, city affairs director for the Associated Students of the University of California, said he is considering a November run for City Council in the wake of Councilmember Polly Armstrong’s retirement announcement this week. -more-

FRESNO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told the state Thursday that a plan is due in 18 months to clean up the San Joaquin Valley’s chronically polluted air. -more-

Tony Wise, the owner of Granter Jewelry and Loan Company in El Cerrito, considers the pawn industry the economy’s divining rod. -more-

The temporary Berkeley Public Library at 2121 Allston Way will be closing for good this evening, as library staffers begin to move back into -more-

What if you were ready to plant your garden and had nowhere to buy seeds? In many parts of the world, each growing season is not heralded in with garden catalogs in mailboxes and seedpackets lined up on racks in stores. Rather, gardeners not only grow vegetables and flowers, but also the seeds for them. Here, you might want to grow some seeds to ensure a supply of a particular variety of vegetable or flower not readily, perhaps not always, available. -more-

NAPA — Voters in this valley of wine likely will approve new dormitories for hundreds of migrant farmworkers who have been sleeping in cars or under the stars, a blight on the conspicuous prosperity of the region and its $4 billion showcase industry. -more-

LOS ANGELES — A proposed agreement between the Screen Actors Guild and talent agents would hold agents accountable for enforcing union contracts outside the United States, union officials said Thursday. -more-

NEW YORK — A brief surge of enthusiasm evaporated on Wall Street Thursday, gradually pulling stock prices lower in what turned out to be another lackluster session. Blue chips fell into losing ground in the last half hour of trading, while technology issues stumbled earlier on a profit warning from Gateway. -more-

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-

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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-

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Today’s Highlight in History: -more-

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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-

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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-

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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-

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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-

BURLINGAME — The father of a 13-year-old boy believed to have been killed by his mother described his son as gentle, giving and intelligent. -more-

Editor: -more-

Today’s Highlight in History: -more-

She may have fries coming out of her ears someday -more-

Two employees called in sick. As if that wasn’t enough, the payroll had to be done. No matter. Juanita McMullen, program manager of YouthWorks and a community- service veteran with 29 years of experience in this field, took it in stride. -more-

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Good grief, Elizabeth Taylor is 70! -more-

Editor: -more-

Today’s Highlight in History: -more-