Few surprises await them -more-

To the Editor: -more-

Tuesday, August 20

A's on the way -more-

Berkeley counts record number
of hate crimes since Sept. 11 -more-

To the Editor: -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A hip injury forced Jay Williams to sit out practice for a second straight day Monday, leaving him contemplating whether to withdraw from the U.S. national team. -more-

Union says the administration wrongly laid off teachers -more-

LOS ANGELES — Skipper Torben Grael and crew member Marcelo Ferreira from Brazil won the second race in the Star Class world championships Monday to take the overall lead. -more-

The 13 houseboat residents at the city-owned marina are hoping a compromise struck with the Waterfront Commission will end years of monthly fees that they say were as unpredictable as the bay winds. -more-

It’s alive -more-

A woman was choked and robbed early Sunday evening on the 500 block of Gilman Street by a homeless man she had hired to help her move, police said. -more-

Foggy weather but no sharks -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Bay Area officials are looking closely, yet skeptically, at a Los Angeles County program that provides free preschool using proceeds from state cigarette taxes. -more-

SAN JOSE — A six-alarm fire gutted a six-acre section of Santana Row, an expansive $500 million retail, commercial and residential development designed to become an upscale destination for people from all over Silicon Valley. -more-

The proposed legislation
would curb speed shows
and reckless driving -more-

SAN FRANCISCO – A lawyer for an environmental advocacy group said today that she expects a judge to uphold their legal challenge to a Richmond refinery pollution permit as he did a similar one against a Martinez facility. -more-

SAN JOSE — Testimony concluded Monday in the first phase of Yosemite killer Cary Stayner’s triple-murder trial, setting the stage for closing arguments and jury deliberations. -more-

SACRAMENTO — A measure that would require utilities to have 20 percent of their electricity produced from renewable sources passed a key legislative committee Monday. -more-

PGP Corp. acquires encryption product lines from Network Associates -more-

LUSBY, Md.— On the shore of one of the country’s most bountiful waterways, the Chesapeake Bay, two reactors have produced electricity for nearly a quarter century — and accumulated 950 tons of radioactive waste. -more-

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.— Indiana University was crowned the nation’s No. 1 “party school” Monday in an annual Princeton Review survey that school leaders and medical experts derided as irresponsible and unscientific. -more-

SANTA ANA — A reputed gang member jailed on an attempted murder charge was bailed out when someone posted $500,000 in counterfeit cashier’s checks, sheriff’s officials said Monday. -more-

SACRAMENTO — The nation’s largest pension fund adopted procedures Monday designed to root out conflicts of interest among its money managers and investment bankers. -more-

Khaled Almaghafi came to the United States from Yemen in 1986 and studied business administration at UC Davis. He now uses his business acumen to run an international honey exporting firm from his south Berkeley home near the Ashby BART station. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

Monday, August 19 -more-

OAKLAND – Terrence Long kept to his usual routine, and for one day it worked. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Commuters in the San Francisco Bay area are spending less time sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, according to a state Department of Transportation study. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

CHASKA, Minn. – Playing as if he had nothing to lose, Rich Beem buried Tiger Woods and captured a PGA Championship even though he thought he had no business winning. -more-

Daily Planet Staff -more-

To the Editor: -more-

LOS ANGELES — A group of California legislators urged the Bush administration Friday to stay out of stalled negotiations between shippers and West Coast dockworkers. -more-

Pesky raccoons in your neighborhood? City Councilmember Linda Maio may have a solution: sterilization. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

Alta Bates, Julia Morgan and Anna Head are among the remarkable women who lived in the Bay Area during the late 19th and early 20th century. Alta Bates was a nurse who founded a hospital, Julia Morgan an architect who designed Hearst Castle, and Anna Head was a teacher, founded a school. -more-

The Berkeley Art Museum is showing the photography of longtime Berkeley resident Richard Misrach, an artist perhaps best known for his images of bomb testing sites in deserts in the American West. The BAM show includes only some of those sometimes gruesome pictures of irradiated livestock corpses – via open books under tabletop glass – while emphasizing the chronological ends of Misrach’s career. -more-

-more-

Saturday, August 17 -more-

NEW YORK — Baseball’s union set an Aug. 30 strike date Friday, moving the sport closer to its ninth work stoppage in three decades and angering fans sick of money squabbles between players and team owners. -more-

A small claims court judge has ruled against activist Barbara George in her $5,000 personal injury lawsuit against City Council candidate Gordon Wozniak, according to court documents. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

OAKLAND— Everything about the Oakland Athletics’ 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox was quick — except for one ill-fated changeup by Mark Buehrle. -more-

East Bay travelers heading to San Francisco International Airport on the new BART extension may be pleased with the cost of the trip. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

With two political veterans vying for mayor this November, it will take something special to compete with front-runners Mayor Shirley Dean and Tom Bates. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

OAKLAND— A Sacramento judge has upheld an East Bay water agency’s three-decade battle to draw extra water from Delta tributaries. -more-

SAN JOSE – The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office announced today that a former employee of Adobe Systems has been arrested for allegedly embezzling more than $150,000 from the software company. -more-

Computers, like people, last longer with some care and common sense. Some tips: -more-

Berkeley is considering suing the company responsible for the groundwater contamination that has delayed the opening of the Harrison Skateboard Park and has cost the city more than $250,000 to clean up. -more-

To the Editors: -more-

Photographer Andy Stewart first fell in love with photography at Berkeley High School in the 1960s then went on to further study the art at the UC Berkeley Extension program. This month his work graduates from the cafes of the East Bay to his first major solo show, “Ballroom,” at Scott Nichols Gallery in downtown San Francisco. -more-

-more-

Lorenzo Alexander never left Berkeley, but he went from one of the best football teams in Northern California to one of the worst in the nation in less than a year. The short trip from St. Mary’s College High to Cal took Alexander from the CIF playoffs to a 1-10 season that couldn’t end soon enough for players, coaches and everyone involved with the Golden Bear program. -more-

In a surprising development Robert McKnight, an African American studies teacher at Berkeley High School, did not file papers to run for the Board of Education by the city’s Wednesday deadline. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

NEW YORK – Baseball’s labor talks hit a snag when negotiators delved deeper into the key economic issues, leaving the union’s executive board on track to set a strike date Friday. -more-

State regulators, who earlier this month rejected Berkeley’s affordable housing plan – a verdict that could cost the city valuable state funds, received encouragement from an unlikely source: Berkeley residents. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

A 29-year old employee of the Hotel Durant was stabbed repeatedly with a butcher’s knife in the hotel parking lot Wednesday by a co-worker who had an unrequited attraction to the victim, according to the Berkeley Police Department. -more-

A string of five armed robberies of pedestrians early Wednesday morning – three that happened between midnight and 12:30 a.m. – could be related, police said. -more-

SAN RAFAEL — Signs are posted at four popular Marin County swimming holes, warning bathers to stay on dry land because of contaminated water. -more-

OAKLAND – While Berkeley leaders are pushing for a new tax to fund pedestrian safety measures this November, Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, D-Oakland, announced Wednesday the kick-off of an effort in neighboring Oakland to make streets safer for pedestrians. -more-

UNION CITY – When a class of third-graders asked state Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, to make a law to ban homework, she said no. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Two California state senators filed a formal complaint against the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers on Thursday, saying the two groups are stalling arbitration claims of California investors. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A former Genentech Inc. computer programmer agreed to pay $76,000 to settle charges she profited from inside information about a pivotal drug experiment, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday. -more-

NEW YORK — The bonds of jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. plummeted more than 20 points into distressed territory Thursday following a downgrade of the San Francisco company’s debt into highly speculative territory. -more-

When we were younger, we took it for granted that if one lived in an apartment, condo, town house or duplex — any multifamily dwelling, for that matter — sharing secrets with your neighbor was the norm. We later discovered that sound can be substantially deadened between homes — without spending a fortune. -more-

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark publication of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.” With its jazzy rhythms and unadulterated views of racism, the 581-page opus won the 1953 National Book Award, and today it continues to challenge readers to enter the dark corners of the American psyche. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

Theater -more-

-more-

Thursday, August 15

Three seniors are competing for final
spot alongside Klotsche and Nixon -more-

The city is prepared to take control of a student boarding house owned by a landlord notorious for substandard housing. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

OAKLAND – Billy Koch needed just 12 pitches to redeem himself after a shaky outing. -more-

New Department of Conservation maps show that a significant portion of Alameda County could experience landslides and unstable ground conditions during a major earthquake. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

“When I’m in the air on a clear day, I don’t want it to end. When I’m on the ground I can’t wait to be back up in the sky,” wrote Barbara Cushman Rowell for her forthcoming memoir, “Flying South: A Pilot’s Inner Journey,” from Berkeley-based Ten Speed Press. “The cascading sensations of feeling vulnerable and exhilarated at the same time are much like falling in love.” -more-

Slowest police pursuit ever -more-

UC Berkeley’s student-run newspaper, which was recently faced with the threat of eviction, will retain its campus office. However, the Daily Californian may be forced to cede some of its space to other student groups. -more-

The virus is not known to exist in California -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Just outside San Francisco Bay, about 17 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge, teams of divers are braving frigid, murky water to pump thick oil from a ship that sank nearly 50 years ago. -more-

Shark sighting prompts
closing of Stinson Beach -more-

ANGELS CAMP — An animal rights group has declared the famed Calaveras County Jumping Frog Jubilee and similar contests around the country cruel and inhumane, saying frogs should not be taken from their native habitat for human entertainment. -more-

SANTA ANA — Lawmakers called for repairs to California’s sweeping school performance system after a newspaper reported it was so flawed that one in five students aren’t tested and millions of dollars were awarded based on unreliable scores. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO – The Federal Transit Administration's top official was in San Francisco on Wednesday to welcome about 100 transportation and security officials to a two-day forum on terrorism response coordination. -more-

Suit says U.S. Justice Dept.
official hid information -more-

A year late and $280,000 over budget, the city plans to debut it’s 18,000 square-foot Harrison Skateboard Park – the biggest in the Bay Area – in west Berkeley next month. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

Wednesday, August 14 -more-

In the high-flying Pac-10, one of the most important things a team needs for success is a pair of good cornerbacks, sometimes even three or four. But thanks to some classroom troubles, the Cal Bears find themselves facing a season with just two experienced cornerbacks. -more-

Former Alameda County Board of Education member Jerome Wiggins said he will file suit next week against County Superintendent Sheila Jordan, her husband Larry Cooperman and her campaign committee, alleging slander. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Cal junior Natalie Coughlin broke the world record in the 100-meter backstroke at the U.S. National Championships and became the first woman to swim the race in under one minute. Her record time of 59.58 broke China’s Cihong He’s 1994 mark of 1:00.16. -more-

Despite two fatalities this year resulting from vehicles striking people, a report released Tuesday by Washington D.C.-based Surface Transportation Policy Project says Berkeley is the second safest pedestrian city in California. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

OAKLAND – Chris Mullin, a five-time All-Star and the Golden State Warriors’ fourth-leading career scorer, rejoined the Warriors as a special assistant Tuesday. -more-

UC Berkeley visiting professor Pedro Sanchez, the recently-announced winner of the prestigious World Food Prize, said his interest in agriculture and hunger issues began on his family’s farm in Cuba, where his father ran a soil business. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

ALBANY – Elvis might have left the building for good 25 years ago this week, but the “King” is helping two Albany police officers convey a message of traffic safety to teens throughout the state. -more-

Today’s Highlight in History: -more-

SACRAMENTO — Each bill cleared one house of the Legislature, then triggered searing soul-searching sessions about how to house struggling lower-wage workers and ease financial disparities between older cities and newer suburbs. -more-

AC Transit is consolidating its bus stops at the downtown Berkeley BART station on Sunday. -more-

Today’s Highlight in History: -more-

Four cloned calves genetically engineered with human DNA and currently grazing in Iowa could hold the key to creating herds of identical cows that produce medicines in their milk and blood. -more-