Earth First! takes on FBI, Oakland police
After a long and arduous wait, Earth First!, the environmental action movement, will have its day in court to sue the FBI and the Oakland Police Department for alleged civil rights violations. -more-
After a long and arduous wait, Earth First!, the environmental action movement, will have its day in court to sue the FBI and the Oakland Police Department for alleged civil rights violations. -more-
Girls shine for St. Mary’s at OAL Invitional, while Panther boys continue to improve -more-
Berkeley celebrates grand re-opening of larger, renovated Central Library -more-
Israeli government officials have blocked approximately half of the messages originating from the Berkeley-based Web site www.progressiveportal.com, but founder Steve Freedkin is still looking for alternative avenues to get them through. -more-
Today is Monday, April 8, the 98th day of 2002. There are 267 days left in the year. -more-
For over a month, the City of Berkeley has posted barriers on the 2200 block of Derby Street reading “no parking” for a certain period in front of six of our houses. At the end of the period they added two weeks to the prohibition. They did this a third time. During this time no work was done. Now they have changed the signs to “no parking” until Dec. 2. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Escalating violence in the Middle East over the weekend spurred heated demonstrations throughout the state and across the country Sunday afternoon, with protesters screaming chants, torching flags and even scuffling over their beliefs. -more-
Fresno police investigating 51-year-old woman’s claim of 1969 incident -more-
SANTA CRUZ — A proposed peace park has spawned a heated battle among residents, prompting the city council to hire a professional facilitator to calm tensions. -more-
SACRAMENTO – Through complaints with the federal government and a mobilized cadre of lawyers, the state of California is trying to shed some of the long-term power contracts tying it to much higher than market rates. -more-
LOS ANGELES – Executives of Edison International were given bonuses in 2001 after the company, parent to troubled utility Southern California Edison, climbed out of debt and dodged bankruptcy. -more-
In a second straight day of protests, a small group of UC Berkeley students and Oakland school teachers picketed in front of the university’s California Hall Friday, objecting to a decline in the number of African-American, Latino and Native American students admitted to the university for the 2002-2003 school year. -more-
During World War II the population of the Bay Area increased dramatically. The Kaiser shipyards in Richmond for example employed thousands and claimed to produce a “ship-a-day.” -more-
On March 30, our local League of Women Voters published an open letter to the Council and the community entitled “Getting Beyond Fear of Change to a Thriving Community.” The article disagreed with the recent Council action to downzone an area around the 1100 block of Hearst. Since then, I have heard from the neighborhood and two members of the Planning Commission have published letters expressing their disagreement with the League’s letter. Now, I’d like to add my own two cents on this important subject. Our need for housing and where it ought to be built will have an enormous impact on Berkeley’s future. -more-
Cal starter goes 8 2/3 for the win, while closer gets one-pitch save -more-
Pacific Gas & Electric announced this week that its annual payment to the city for use of public roads to run gas and electric service is $842,000, a $175,000 increase over last year. -more-
‘I prefer stories about squalor,” said Esme to the narrator in J.D. Salinger’s short story, “To Esme – With Love And Squalor.” -more-
After a three-week break from competition, No. 20 California was tied for sixth after Friday’s opening round of the PING/ASU Invitational but was only two strokes out of first place. The Golden Bears carded a 294, their 12th round under 300 this season, to share sixth place with No. 3 Tulsa. -more-
As part of National Public Health Week, 25 members of the Berkeley community, involved in projects from domestic violence to mobile clinics, were honored Tuesday night by the city of Berkeley’s Division of Public Health. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Ray Bradbury, author of “The Martian Chronicles” and other science fiction classics, received a star Monday on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as the city kicked off a monthlong reading campaign. -more-
Today is Saturday, April 6, the 96th day of 2002. There are 269 days left in the year. A reminder: Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday at 2 a.m. local time. Clocks go forward one hour. -more-
The Public Health Institute today released a report analyzing soda contracts at the state’s 25 largest school districts to address how marketing practices to increase soda consumption ultimately contribute to California’s growing obesity epidemic. -more-
SANTA ROSA — Gardeners and compost producers worry that an herbicide used in landscaping and farming is finding its way into the compost, and could wind up hurting plants instead of helping them. -more-
ELK GROVE — Middle school principal Philip Moore knows Hispanic and black students typically have lower scores on standardized tests than white or Asian students, so he called segregated meetings for parents to discuss how to prepare for the tests. -more-
MOUNT ANGEL, Ore. — They say happy cows are more productive cows. Arie Jongeneel is hoping his herd of Holsteins, resplendent on their water beds, will bring forth a dairy deluge. -more-
DUBLIN, Ireland — Microchip maker Parthus Technologies PLC of Ireland said Friday it plans to merge with Ceva Inc., a division of an American-Israeli technology concern DSP Group. -more-
Setting matters straight about warranties -more-
VENTURA — A Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced a Santa Rosa Valley woman to death for killing three of her four sons. -more-
CUPERTINO — Three families wept and embraced while unveiling new state highway signs Friday memorializing their loved ones, victims of drunk drivers on California roads. -more-
SANTA ROSA — The Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese needs to abandon old practices of dealing with sexual abuse, and will begin turning over to police all credible cases of such abuse involving priests, Bishop Daniel Walsh said. -more-
SACRAMENTO — State’s poets honored/April devoted to verse/Governor’s order. -more-
SAN JOSE — John Robinson Pierce, an electrical engineer who pioneered satellite communications and coined the word “transistor,” has died. He was 92. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Examiner no longer will publish on Sundays in favor of expanding its Friday edition with more weekend sports and entertainment information. -more-
SANTA CLARA — Poems and paper flowers dotted the halls of the school where Elsa Schiefer was known as a bright, athletic, cheerful girl. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Child care providers must tell parents their workers’ criminal histories, but they aren’t allowed to reveal the nature of their crimes, troubling parents and providers alike. -more-
WASHINGTON — An industrial footprint covering 2,000 acres — or a spiderweb of roads, rigs and pipelines over an area of Alaska hundreds of times that size? -more-
LOS ANGELES — Amtrak officials warned Friday that California’s four long-distance routes remain at “high risk” despite signs of help from Congress as it seeks to secure $1.2 billion in federal funding. -more-
DENVER — A consultant for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said Friday an energy bill now before Congress probably won’t help landowners who have to allow oil and gas companies on their property. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Leaked e-mails sent by officials and attorneys with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paint a picture of an organization scrambling to defend its handling of sexual abuse by priests even as more allegations surface. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Through complaints with the federal government and a mobilized cadre of lawyers, the state of California is trying to shed some of the long-term power contracts tying it to much higher than market rates. -more-
RESERVE, N.M. — Firefighters dug fire lines to impede a fast-moving blaze that charred 37,000 acres of forest land, drawing within three miles of the main ranchhouse of a well known cattle ranch. -more-
Berkeley native Kenneth Cardwell and Oakland native Myron Collins, professors at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, are among the 12 Lasallian brothers, a group of Catholic priests, still surrounded by Israeli troops at Bethlehem University. -more-
The advent of DVD technology for home theaters has made the concept of “director’s cut” nearly obsolete. With so much “alternative” footage and running commentary for most movies packed onto those little discs, there is very little thunder left to merit a theatrical re-release of a film. -more-
Tully throws five-inning shutout, strikes out eight to end St. Mary’s losing streak -more-
Some students concerned with decline in minority admissions -more-
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The publisher almost pulled the plug on Michael Moore’s latest book, fearing a backlash because of its bare-knuckle attacks on President Bush. -more-
E-mails, faxes sent to -more-
Editor: -more-
LAS VEGAS — Nevada Power Co. said it will ask the state Public Utilities Commission to reconsider its order that rejected almost half of the $922 million rate increase the utility sought to recover the cost of buying power last year. -more-
On Thursday morning at 2 a.m. , two Orthodox Jews were reportedly attacked within one block of the Clark Kerr neighborhood. Witnesses say they believe the crime was just another bloody example of increased anti-Semitism. -more-
WASHINGTON — FBI agents and Director Louis Freeh denied imprisoned American Indian activist Leonard Peltier a fair chance at clemency and parole when they publicly protested against him in 2000, a lawsuit filed Thursday alleged. -more-
Today is Friday, April 5, the 95th day of 2002. There are 270 days left in the year. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — New HIV infections are on the rise in the San Francisco Bay area, in part, because a small proportion of gay men who are having unprotected sex, a new study shows. -more-
SANTA CLARA — Silicon Valley firms are worried about the increasing violence in Israel, a major hub of the world’s high-tech industry. -more-
Salmonella poisoning causes FDA warning on cheese -more-
SACRAMENTO — More than $25 billion in education bonds to help fix up deteriorating schools was approved by the state Senate Thursday, sending the issue to Gov. Gray Davis. -more-
SAN DIEGO — Scientists said Thursday they have discovered at least a half-dozen new species of insect in Southern California, some of them in the midst of the nation’s seventh-largest city. -more-
DENVER — Colorado rafting groups, battling a lawsuit aimed at restricting passage through private property, will try to put an initiative on the ballot guaranteeing access rights. -more-
Day-to-day maintenance isn’t gender-specific. Nowhere is it written that leaking faucets are a “guy thing” or wallpaper is “women’s work.” -more-
A truly ripe peach is one that makes you jut your head forward with each bite to keep yourself from being showered with juice. You rarely can buy such a fruit, but you can grow it. Get it off to a good start with correct planting. -more-
If you regularly read our column you know that we are third-generation contractors. You also might recall that we grew up in a home built by our grandfather at the turn of the 20th century. The home was Mediterranean-style construction, plaster in and out, with spacious rooms and high ceilings. Not only were the ceilings high, in some rooms they were coved at the perimeter and had decorative cornice or picture mold. Other rooms, such as the living room and dining room, had intricate plaster moldings that bordered the ceiling and ornate ceiling medallions used as foils for chandeliers. -more-
Questions and Answers -more-
LIVERMORE — The golf nut wants to go to Monterey. The wine lover lobbies for Napa. Yet, they agree on one thing: They want a magic carpet to drop them in the middle of some fun without having to wait behind lines of cars or people. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — It was April 5, 2001, and Gov. Gray Davis was assuring millions of Californians watching the evening news that the state was coming to grips with its energy crisis. -more-
It’s the holy grail of handheld computing: A technology that makes it just as easy to enter information into a mobile device as it is to type into a desktop personal computer. -more-
The building had been destroyed three times before. Each time, Palestinian refugees in the Dheisheh camp in the West Bank rebuilt it with the help of Berkeley’s Middle East Children’s Alliance. -more-
NOVATO - It’s called the San Marin Tournament, but they might want to rename it the ’Jacket Classic. -more-
Editor: -more-
Eric Clapton and Robbie Robertson challenging each other with progressively intense guitar licks. -more-
The Berkeley Unified School District administration has scaled back plans to cut the music program next year, recommending fewer teacher layoffs than it proposed earlier this year. But some teachers and parents still have concerns about the layoffs and the larger class sizes that will result. -more-
NOVATO – The St. Mary’s Panthers pulled off another huge comeback against El Cerrito on Wednesday, but this time they couldn’t hold on for the win as the Gauchos mounted a comeback of their own to win, 10-9, in extra innings at the San Marin Tournament. Jacob Lucas’s single scored Randy Minix in the bottom of the eighth inning to end the game and send the Panthers home winless in three tries in the tournament. -more-
Editor: -more-
Church is good for you, according to a new Bay Area study, which will be published in today’s edition of the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine. -more-
Editor: -more-
Today is Thursday, April 4, the 94th day of 2002. There are 271 days left in the year. -more-
Editor: -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Insurance costs for the Golden Gate Bridge will more than double as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks, and the new policy will not include any coverage in case of future terrorism. -more-
In a switch of votes after three role call votes were completed on Tuesday night, the Zoning Adjustments Board finally decided 5-3 to continue discussion of the renovation plans for the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Marking the end of a five-year lawsuit, Dow Chemical Co. announced plans Wednesday to contribute $3 million for San Francisco Bay protection while using new technology to clean up groundwater contamination at its nearby Pittsburg chemical facility. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — An elderly neighbor frantically called police as Diane Whipple was fatally mauled outside her apartment door, saying she was too afraid to intervene, according to a tape of her 911 calls. -more-
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — The first in a series of safety projects to improve the narrow canyon stretch of the Redwood Highway that winds above the Smith River in Northern California has been put out for bid, officials say. -more-
SACRAMENTO — The rate of teen births in California dropped 31.3 percent since 1990, Gov. Gray Davis announced Wednesday. -more-
SANTA ANA — Federal immigration officials say there is no evidence that hundreds of Afghan women and children, including orphans, have been brought to the United States. -more-
SEATTLE — The company that owns the tanker Exxon Valdez argued before a federal appeals court Wednesday that the ship should be allowed to return to Alaska’s Prince William Sound, where it spilled 11 million gallons of oil in 1989. -more-
BOISE, Idaho — Wide swaths of the Southwest and a patchwork of forests along the East Coast are at the highest risk for wildfire this summer, National Interagency Fire Center officials said Wednesday. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Legislation that would forever ban Ventura County from approving houses on 2,800 acres surrounding an old nuclear meltdown site suffered a temporary setback Wednesday. -more-
SAN JOSE — While most of the high-tech world perpetually focuses on the next new thing, a familiar device quietly has gotten so good as to be almost stunning: the printer. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Enron executives have been cooperating with a Senate committee investigating the state’s energy crisis, under threat of a Senate vote to find them in contempt of a legislative subpoena, the committee’s chairman said Wednesday. -more-
What began as a march for peace in Palestine on Tuesday at approximately 5:00 p.m. ended in an ugly standoff between protesters and the Berkeley Police Department at Fourth Street and University Ave some five hours later. -more-
Berkeley High continued its offensive barrage on Tuesday, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to beat El Cerrito 12-2 in five innings at the San Marin Tournament in Novato. -more-
The University of California has pulled the plug on its study abroad program in Israel, citing concerns about escalating violence in the Middle East. -more-
The Cal men’s basketball team, already hurting for size with the probable departure of freshman Jamal Sampson, got even smaller on Tuesday when sophomore center Gabriel Hughes received a release from his scholarship. -more-
Parking vandals, beware. -more-
The St. Mary’s High baseball team is taking their lumps in the San Marin Tournament, following a 4-2 loss to Windsor on Monday with a 13-0 thumping by BSAL rival Salesian on Tuesday. -more-
Dear Chancellor Berdahl, -more-
Today is Wednesday, April 3, the 93rd day of 2002. There are 272 days left in the year. -more-
A panel of experts dissected the Enron fiasco, and poked holes in the pension and accounting reform proposals that have emerged in the wake of the energy company’s scandal, at a UC Berkeley seminar Tuesday. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Police are investigating the death of a premature infant found discarded in a financial district building’s restroom. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Seven flights were diverted and others were delayed Tuesday after construction began on a major runway at San Jose’s international airport, one of three San Francisco Bay area airports renovating runways this summer. -more-
HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii — Park rangers on horseback found a California woman and her 3 year-old-daughter Tuesday morning near a cabin in the crater of a dormant volcano on Maui, where they had spent the night after losing their way while hiking the day before. -more-
OAKLAND — Paul McCartney has nothing left to prove. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Executives of Gemstar-TV Guide International tried to calm nervous investors Tuesday as worries over its accounting practices sent its shares tumbling more than 37 percent. -more-
WASHINGTON — Microsoft Corp. is using a potentially risky strategy to avoid tough antitrust penalties, legal experts say. The company is portraying states that want the penalties as tools of its competitors. -more-
NEW YORK — The stock of PeopleSoft Inc. dropped sharply Tuesday after the maker of business software warned that first-quarter revenue would be well below Wall Street’s expectations. -more-
Matt Toma is a home run king. Last spring as a junior, Toma led his Berkeley High School Yellowjackets squad in long balls. He is not without some measure of pride when he says this. -more-
Editor: -more-
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, the only hospital that provides emergency services in Berkeley, may finally get to work on renovating its emergency department, if the Zoning Adjustments Board approves its plan at tonight’s meeting. -more-
Editor: -more-
Community members and Berkeley High School administrators are questioning athletic cuts already approved by the Board of Education, and debating further cuts suggested by district administration. -more-
On Friday, 25-year-old Raymond Smith and 54-year-old Dwight Leeray both died at Highland Hospital from unrelated assaults, effectively doubling Berkeley’s homicide rate for the year. -more-
Today is Tuesday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2002. There are 273 days left in the year. -more-
A tardy note from the Department of Transportation -more-
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Prosecutors acknowledged Monday they do not have evidence that John Walker Lindh killed Americans in Afghanistan. But a federal judge said that would not be necessary to prove Lindh joined a conspiracy to murder Americans as a Taliban fighter. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Abalone season opened in Northern California on Monday, but divers used to bringing home 100 of the meaty mollusks a year will now be limited to 24, thanks to poachers, overfishing and potential disease. -more-
•Abalone season runs from April 1 to June 30 and Aug. 1 to Nov. 30 off the California coast north of San Francisco. Diving is restricted to 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset. -more-
DENVER — California authorities planned to visit Littleton this week to continue their investigation into Tuesday’s apparent double homicide-suicide near a Santa Cruz beach. -more-
OAKLAND — Take 40,000 baseball fans, add an ex-Beatle, a jazz crooner and a Latin pop sensation, then top it off with a dose of holiday airport traffic, and what do you get? -more-
SAN JOSE — Police are investigating a bizarre family disturbance that ended after an 11-hour standoff involving a woman found lying shot in the head on the family’s front lawn. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Vietnam veterans suffering from diabetes and prostate cancer after being exposed to Agent Orange won a round Monday in their battle against the federal government. -more-
VENTURA — Although their business is sweeter than that of out-of-state competitors, California’s beekeepers are worried they’re about to get financially stung. -more-
OLYMPIA — Less than four years ago, Washington state’s attorney general helped win billions of dollars from the tobacco industry for 46 states — money she saw as a bonanza for smoking-prevention programs and other health measures. -more-
IRVINE — A woman who claimed she was sexually abused by priests more than 20 years ago will receive a $1.2 million settlement from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the parties said Monday. -more-
BOSTON — With little to celebrate lately, businesses in the $25 billion data-storage industry are looking for some gains from the confusion over the planned merger between Compaq Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. -more-
SAN JOSE — Hewlett-Packard Co.’s board axed an olive branch to dissident director Walter Hewlett on Monday, reversing a plan to renominate him after he sued to try to stop the merger with Compaq Computer Corp. -more-
BOSTON — Silicon Valley still rules, but an annual survey of America’s most Internet-savvy cities found that Boston and Salt Lake City made huge strides over the past year. -more-
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE – A family has criticized a judge’s sentence for a man accused of a 2000 hit-and-run accident that killed a 66-year-old woman here. -more-
It’s Tuesday and I shouldn’t be here. I have research to do and income taxes to file. Instead, I’m eating popcorn in a movie theater and it’s not even noon. That would be fine if this were an arts theater with a limited run of a documentary. Instead, I’m watching “Death to Smoochy,” a movie that even Roger Ebert panned. I can still make something of this day if I leave now. -more-
Though Anne Brower was often overshadowed by her husband David, Berkeley will be honoring the woman who was a worthy environmentalist in her own right by dedicating a path in her name on Stevenson Avenue on Saturday. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO— In an effort to save the threatened red-legged frog, a group of environmentalists has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. -more-
SAN RAFAEL — The patriarch of a 13-child family, and three of the four women he lived with, pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges they let one young child starve to death and severely neglected the other 12 children. -more-
Easter egg hunters would have had to look 65 million years ago to find this prize. -more-