BPD executes major drug crackdown
Special Enforcement Unit makes 20 arrest of alleged drug dealers in west and south Berkeley in one night; Chief says more are soon to follow -more-
Special Enforcement Unit makes 20 arrest of alleged drug dealers in west and south Berkeley in one night; Chief says more are soon to follow -more-
To the Editor: -more-
Dee Dee Bridgewater’s world tour comes to Yoshi’s -more-
Seniors looking for final highlights to cap stellar careers -more-
The Berkeley Unified School District still needs to cut $2.5 million to balance next year’s budget, according to new figures released at the Board of Education meeting Wednesday night. -more-
CONCORD — Hot, soulful jazz, pop and funk will heat up the hills of Contra Costa County on June 22, as one the Bay Area’s most prized up and coming vocal artists, Shana Morrison, joins California State University, Hayward’s Concert in the Hills series. -more-
Berkeley High -more-
Remembering a successful foray into labor relations at Berkeley’s Raddison Hotel two years ago, city leaders are now considering using their political clout to sever a dispute between management and employees of the Claremont Resort and Spa, at 41 Tunnel Rd. -more-
Dear Councilman Worthington: -more-
On May 31, 1962, World War II Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel for his role in the Nazi Holocaust. -more-
xA new kind of theater that thrusts real life movingly onto the stage will premier in Berkeley for the first time. -more-
WASHINGTON — Plant-eating dinosaurs of different species may have herded together, to escape meat-eaters nearby, according to an analysis of 163 million-year-old dino footprints on a muddy coastal plain in England. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — The California Highway Patrol today was criticized by civil rights groups demanding an investigation into the arrest of an 11-year-old Palestinian girl they allege was “brutally attacked” when an anti-war demonstration on the Golden Gate Bridge soured Saturday. -more-
Data track on European music discs prevents use on PCs, but simple defeat discovered by users -more-
SACRAMENTO – Oracle Corp. is defending its software deals with California and other states after being accused of misleading customers about the costly contracts, a newspaper reported. -more-
PALO ALTO – Still facing hard times, computing giants Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sun Microsystems Inc. will close shop during the week of Independence Day and require employees to go without pay or use up vacation time. -more-
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recently published statistics that illustrate the dangers of ladder accidents. -more-
LOS ANGELES – The nation’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese has hired a public relations firm to help deal with the ongoing priest abuse scandal. -more-
Church also encouraging public to report incindents of abuse to police -more-
RANCHO CORDOVA – Days after giving up her job as a stripper so her 5-year-old daughter could finish kindergarten at her Christian school, a Rancho Cordova mother pocketed an undisclosed sum to pose nude for Playboy’s Web site. -more-
Renovation will cost at least $100 million of state and federal money -more-
SACRAMENTO – Lawmakers broke an initial state budget deadlock Thursday after Senate Democrats agreed to remove $3.5 billion in tax increases from a preliminary budget plan. -more-
LOS ANGELES – The head of the nation’s largest sheriff’s department on Thursday delayed plans to release 400 jail prisoners to deal with a $100 million budget cut proposed by Los Angeles County supervisors. -more-
SACRAMENTO – The state’s energy traders and grid operators should be investigated by U.S. attorney’s office to determine if they manipulated California’s energy market, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon said Thursday. -more-
Prop 227 supporters get mandate for abolition of most bilingual education -more-
SACRAMENTO – An administrative law judge sided with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Thursday in a dispute with the state Department of Managed Health Care that tests the authority of the 3-year-old department. -more-
SACRAMENTO – School districts will be able to build schools faster under a bill that passed the state Assembly on Thursday, raising alarm among smaller districts that larger districts will get more school construction money. -more-
On May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, was burned at the stake in Rouen, France. -more-
A boatload of errors and a hot Clayton Valley High pitching staff ended the Berkeley Yellowjackets’ season on Wednesday in Concord, as the Eagles scored seven runs in the final two innings to blow open a close game for a 10-1 win in a North Coast Section 3A East Bay semifinal game. -more-
Teachers and administrators in the Berkeley Unified School District’s Independent Study program are concerned about proposals to alter its administration and reduce its classroom space, but Superintendent Michele Lawrence says the issues are still unsettled. -more-
The pool of applicants for the position of principal at Berkeley High School is not strong enough to warrant moving forward with the interview process, according to a selection committee composed of staff and community members. -more-
If you’ve lived in the Bay Area for even a short time, you’ve probably encountered Pink Man. He’s hard to miss, wearing a unitard the color of Pepto-Bismol and careening through the streets on a unicycle. Sometimes he sports a fluttering cape, or flaps his arms like a giant bird. -more-
In a place with more than its share of film buffs, aspiring amateurs and famous directors, the Bay Area seems to never tire of film festivals. -more-
FREMONT — State and federal officials have joined philanthropic groups in pledging $100 million to buy 16,500 acres of salt ponds ringing San Francisco Bay, launching the largest wetlands restoration project on the West Coast. -more-
DAVIS — A two-day walkout by lecturers shut down some classes Wednesday at the University of California’s Davis campus. -more-
SACRAMENTO — The Assembly approved a bill Wednesday night that could lead to a new low-level nuclear waste site in California. -more-
LOS ANGELES – Sequels and movie adaptations — that’s what the coming year promises from the video game industry. -more-
NEW YORK – Telephone-equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp. said Wednesday it will cut another 3,500 jobs, more than expected, and may sell its optical-components business as it revamps its operations to save money. -more-
REDWOOD CITY – Communications infrastructure software company Openwave Systems Inc. has agreed to acquire SignalSoft Corp. for about $59 million, or $2.26 a share. -more-
By Jennifer L. Brown -more-
NEW DELHI, India — If Pakistan wants peace, it must act urgently to stop Islamic militants from infiltrating Indian territory to carry out terror attacks in the dispute over Kashmir, India’s foreign minister said Wednesday. -more-
HOUSTON — Two Arthur Andersen accountants testified Wednesday that they didn’t consider an instruction to comply with the firm’s document policy as an order to shred Enron-related paperwork. -more-
SANTA ROSA — Federal agents raided a medical marijuana buyers club here Wednesday and arrested two people. -more-
SACRAMENTO – Another aide to Gov. Gray Davis resigned Wednesday as the administration continued its efforts to put to rest a continuing controversy surrounding a potentially costly computer contract. -more-
LOS ANGELES – When Bob Hope was named an “honorary veteran” in 1997 by an act of Congress and President Clinton’s signature, the comedian remarked: “To be numbered among the men and women I admire most is the greatest honor I have ever received.” -more-
UC Berkeley police have arrested an employee and an off-campus accomplice for allegedly stealing $250,000 in BART tickets from a university transportation office and reselling them on the street. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
The Berkeley High baseball team has faced a lot of challenges this season, and so far the Yellowjackets have passed each with flying colors. They beat top-ranked California High and its ace, Adam Brisentine. They dealt Pinole Valley’s Kurt Koehler his first loss in three seasons. They won the ACCAL title and beat Antioch and De La Salle to reach the North Coast Section semifinals. -more-
In a neighborhood battle that pitted the small-town values of south Berkeley against the city’s needs for affordable housing, city leaders carried the housing developers to victory. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
WALNUT CREEK – The Cal baseball team had two players, junior catcher John Baker and sophomore first baseman Conor Jackson, selected to the 2002 All-Pac-10 Baseball Team, Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen announced Tuesday. -more-
Berkeley Police Chief Dash Butler has endured a lot in his 31 years of service to the community— riots, numerous protests, a growing department and community and a prolific citizenry. As of July 13, Butler will retire, and the community must learn to endure without him. -more-
An early morning hiker in the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve was shaken Tuesday when he stumbled upon a human body hanging lifeless from the branch of a tree, according to East Bay Regional Park officials. -more-
Amy Chun, who has Down syndrome, often feels isolated at Albany Middle School. -more-
OAKLAND — Jurors may have reached a partial verdict in the federal case against police and FBI agents accused of framing two Earth First! activists. -more-
SANTA BARBARA — The father of a former college student on trial for running down four people with his car testified Tuesday that he couldn’t accept repeated diagnoses that his son was mentally ill. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Employees at the CBS television complex were safely evacuated Tuesday as police negotiated with a gunman threatening suicide. -more-
OAKLAND — Defense attorneys and Alameda County prosecutors today are scheduled to begin their search for a jury that will sit in what is believed to be the largest case of alleged criminal police misconduct in Oakland's history. -more-
xSAN FRANCISCO — City utility officials approved a proposal Tuesday that could put a $3.6 billion bond measure to upgrade the aging Hetch Hetchy water system on the November ballot. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Concerned that students who lug heavy backpacks will develop spinal problems, the state Assembly approved a bill Tuesday that would force school boards to figure out ways to reduce excess backpack weight. -more-
SACRAMENTO — A preliminary budget plan that restores some health care cuts proposed by Gov. Gray Davis but still leaves lawmakers the chore of filling a $1 billion gap stalled at least briefly Tuesday in the Senate. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Despite its claims of full compliance, the governor’s office apparently didn’t completely respond to a request for information from a committee investigating a potentially costly state contract, the panel’s chairman said Tuesday. -more-
LOS ANGELES — Existing single family homes sold at a sizzling pace and at record prices in April, according to the California Association of Realtors. -more-
HOUSTON – After prosecutors spent three weeks quizzing a witness list packed with Arthur Andersen LLP employees as the government tried to prove obstruction of justice against the accounting firm, the defense has fired back with one of its own. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — Bankrupt Excite@Home will auction off the last pieces of its defunct high-speed Internet access service Wednesday, putting the finishing touches on a fire sale that has extracted about $60 million from a business valued at $28 billion three years ago. -more-
WASHINGTON — Someone killed Chandra Levy, but there’s too little evidence to say how or who might have left her body on a rugged park hillside a year ago, Washington’s medical examiner said Tuesday. -more-
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Napoleon Beazley, whose death sentence for a murder committed at 17 stirred national debate over capital punishment for youths, was executed Tuesday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to spare his life. -more-
WEBBERS FALLS, Okla. — Rescuers hoisted two vehicles with four bodies inside from the murky Arkansas River on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from the collapse of an interstate bridge to 13. -more-
NEW DELHI, India — India sharply criticized a speech by Pakistan’s military leader as “disappointing and dangerous” on Tuesday and asserted that al-Qaida terrorists now are in disputed Kashmir. -more-
JERUSALEM — A gunman sneaked onto the grounds of an Orthodox Jewish high school in the West Bank late Tuesday and killed three teen-agers, even as Israeli troops continued their daily raids into Palestinian towns. -more-
ROME — President Bush, in a one-on-one meeting inside the Vatican, told Pope John Paul II he is concerned about the Roman Catholic church’s standing in America where the church has been rocked by sex-abuse scandal. -more-
WASHINGTON — Libya has offered to pay $10 million per family as compensation for the deaths of 270 people in the 1988 Pan Am 103 bombing, lawyers representing the family said Tuesday. -more-
ROME — NATO declared Russia a limited partner in the Western alliance Tuesday, embracing its former Cold War enemy as an ally in the battle against modern-day threats like terrorism. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Public schools will be allowed to keep American Indian team names and mascots after the Assembly defeated a bill Tuesday that would have forced schools to give up the names. -more-
SACRAMENTO — A bill that could give state government significant new power over how and where its cities grow has cleared the Senate. -more-
SACRAMENTO — Agreeing that California’s primary election is too early to attract many voters, the Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would move the primary for state and congressional candidates from March to August. -more-
Minority activists of numerous descents took to heart the idiom “strength in numbers” Monday and joined together on the steps of Old City Hall to speak out against the rising incidence of hate crime. -more-
There is no Memorial Day parade through downtown Berkeley, but one local resident made sure people remembered there was a holiday to commemorate. -more-
INDIANAPOLIS — Preening and playing to the cameras, Helio Castroneves enjoyed the spoils of winning the Indy 500. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
Don Nunes didn’t know where he was going to sleep last night. As a truck driver making a stop in the Bay Area, his choices are severely limited. -more-
SACRAMENTO — No matter what the Sacramento Kings believe, Kobe Bryant knows it’s more than luck keeping the Los Angeles Lakers on track for their third straight championship. -more-
To the Editor: -more-
RIVERSIDE — A University of California, Riverside student, who had been detained by Israel after trying to provide humanitarian aid to armed Palestinians during a church siege in Bethlehem, was back in the United States on Monday, his father said. -more-
BERKELEY — Officials at the University of California at Berkeley say they are -more-
ARCATA — Eric Striedieck’s team was making good time in the race when disaster struck — the 10-foot, human-powered sculpture they were piloting over Humboldt Bay sank, and they were overtaken by a 14-foot iguana. -more-
SACRAMENTO — After vetoing workers’ compensation reforms for three years, Gov. Gray Davis this year declared the legislation long overdue and signed the labor-friendly bill into law. -more-
LOS ANGELES — AIDS Healthcare Foundation, one of the largest providers of specialized care for HIV patients in the United States, said it will bar GlaxoSmithKline from marketing drugs at its outpatient sites to protest the company’s pricing policies. -more-
WASHINGTON — Broccoli and broccoli sprouts contain a chemical that kills the bacteria responsible for most stomach cancer, say researchers, confirming the dietary advice that moms have been handing out for years. -more-
REDDING — After five hours traveling at night, four paraplegic climbers have gained 1,200 feet on Mount Shasta by using special handcranked machines. -more-
A pastor and a retired airline pilot from Northern California, both experienced mountain climbers, were among the nine people who tumbled into a crevasse on Oregon’s Mount Hood on Thursday, the pastor’s wife told The Associated Press. -more-
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco's Civil Grand Jury yesterday released a detailed report on the city's response to homelessness, finding a serious lack of leadership and coordination as the problem has worsened over the years. -more-