Few glitches on
first day of class -more-

To the Editor: -more-

LOS ANGELES — Harry Potter at Hogwarts, Frodo Baggins bound for Mordor, Hannibal Lecter in his nuthouse cell, Jean-Luc Picard on the bridge of the Enterprise, and James Bond in bed with Halle Berry. -more-

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Thursday, August 29

The Mersey Hot Shots, a Berkeley club soccer team, recently made the journey to Europe to take part in two of the world’s biggest soccer tournaments. The players kept a diary of their travels and experiences. Part 1 of the diary: -more-

UC Berkeley’s three-day strike took its greatest toll Wednesday as numerous classes were canceled after lecturers marched alongside clerical workers on the final day of their strike. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

There is no relief in sight for patients like Dee Strandvold who will lose an important resource when the Alta Bates Summit pain management clinic in Berkeley closes this year. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

When environmental activist Darryl Cherney returned home from vacation this week, he was delighted to hear that his legal victory over the FBI and Oakland Police Department had been confirmed by a federal judge. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

$1 saves at least $20 million -more-

BERKELEY – A risk analysis by a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researcher and a University of Michigan physicist has turned up some unexpected results about the comparative safety of big and bulky SUVs. -more-

The Oakland Police Department reports that three shootings on Tuesday night within one hour have left one man dead and two in stable condition. -more-

The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority has won two court rulings in the past two days in disputes with the Golden State Warriors that could net the coliseum $23.5 million in back revenues – if the rulings stand up on appeal. -more-

SAN JOSE – The developers of San Jose's Santana Row residential and retail complex have announced a new grand opening date for the mixed-use development that was devastated by fire earlier this month. -more-

Gov. congratulates school district
for raising credentials -more-

SACRAMENTO — California will face a “perfect storm” if the lawmakers can’t pass a state spending plan by the end of the month, state Controller Kathleen Connell said. -more-

LOS ANGELES — Bill Simon, who signed a pledge during the gubernatorial primary stating “domestic partnership” benefits belong exclusively to marriage, told a gay Republican group he supports domestic partnership laws if they’re not based on sexual orientation. -more-

Senate passes bill banning
imports of genetically
altered salmon -more-

They were allegedly
aware that the company
booked false revenues -more-

REDWOOD CITY— Bankrupt Napster Inc. on Thursday plans to seek a Delaware court’s approval of its proposed sale to Bertelsmann AG, which hopes to revive the silenced Internet music-sharing service. -more-

Microsoft must respond to
Sun injunction request by Oct. 4 -more-

University officials claim that at least 600 of the 1,800 striking UC Berkeley clerical workers crossed the picket line and went to work Monday, despite the start of a three-day strike. -more-

Creating playing fields in Berkeley has proven to be a drama with no end in sight. As the issue unfolds, everyone in our community loses over our inability to fulfill the simple, basic need for more playing fields for our young people. Our city is dense and small, but people, young and old alike, have a real need for stretching their bodies in the joy of an informal game of touch football, for girls breaking from old stereotypes by functioning as a soccer team, or for having a hard-fought competition between high school baseball teams. After years of studies and meetings, people are still saying in public hearings that playing fields are needed, but put them somewhere else. Berkeley clearly does not have fields of dreams, but rather can only offer inadequate dreams of fields. -more-

If the Cal football team is going to have success this season, the Bears will need a big contribution from senior cornerback Jemeel Powell. And if the Bears do show marked improvement, no one will better symbolize the ups and downs of the last four years than Powell. -more-

While regional planners move forward with a strategy to accommodate 1 million new residents expected in the Bay Area 20 years from now, skeptics, including a handful of Berkeley residents, are saying to slow down instead. -more-

SACRAMENTO – A bill that could help find out whether women’s athletic programs in California are meeting national requirements passed the Senate Tuesday. -more-

The Bay Area received some good news Tuesday when the U.S. Olympic Committee announced that San Francisco is one of two U.S. cities competing to host the 2012 Olympic games. -more-

HOUSTON – UC, which is the lead plaintiff in the shareholder class action lawsuit against the Enron Corp. and Arthur Andersen, announced Tuesday that it has reached a tentative agreement with the international division of the accounting firm. -more-

East Bay lawmakers gathered in Oakland Tuesday to kick off a new program designed to take students in Alameda and Contra Costa counties to and from school for free or at a discounted price. -more-

SACRAMENTO — The state Senate approved a bill Tuesday to require Bay Area drivers to participate in the more costly Smog Check II program, which supporters said would cut pollution that migrates to the Central Valley. -more-

SAN JOSE — In the first financial results since closing its merger with Compaq Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. said third-quarter sales fell short of expectations though the integration of the companies remains on track. -more-

THREE RIVERS — Authorities confiscated more than 20,000 plants from several marijuana gardens growing in Tulare County and Sequoia National Park. -more-

Six hundred striking clerical workers could not keep hoards of UC Berkeley students from attending their first day of class Monday. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

Tuesday, August 27

NEW YORK— Just four days before baseball players were scheduled to strike, the sides weighed their next moves Monday in the drawn-out negotiations for a new labor contract. -more-

On Monday 34-year-old Joe Spears stood among a group of UC Berkeley clerical workers protesting the school’s handling of labor negotiations. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cory Lidle managed to regroup in time after his scoreless inning streak was snapped after 32 innings because of an unearned run. -more-

A two-alarm fire early Monday has left at least 60 residents, many of them seniors and disabled, without homes. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

Collins to have knee surgery -more-

A bullet for a wedgie -more-

To the Editor: -more-

Players poised and fans hushed, the jersey-clad teams from across the globe waited, motionless, for the signal to begin. -more-

Today’s Highlight in History: -more-

Lawyers to present Stayner as
insane to avoid death penalty -more-

SF leaders unveil new
anti-hate poster campaign -more-

SAN MATEO – Paul Wayne King, found guilty in March of a hate killing for sending a black man crumpling to the sidewalk with a blow to the head outside a Redwood City bar, was sentenced Monday to spend the rest of his life in prison. -more-

Calif. must reduce its use
of water from Colo. River -more-

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis’ administration has shelved legislation designed to shape California’s future growth though financial rewards to cities that followed its vision. -more-

Students shrug off latest
survey by Princeton Review -more-

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The thieves who stole Amy Jo Sutterluety’s identity spent $70,000 in her name. They also took her time: a month to close 15 fraudulent accounts. -more-

Sony’s PlayStation 2 launches
online video game service -more-

State Legislature enters last week of session -more-

Assembly members disagree on how
to handle $23.6 billion deficit -more-

Gov. Bush says he will talk with
Muslim groups about threats -more-

The gulf between rich and poor widened in California during the 1990s. -more-

RENO, Nev. — Thousands of techies, old hippies, trippers and artists from around the world are on their way to the northern Nevada desert for the annual Burning Man counterculture festival. -more-

UC students returning to class today are in for a raucous welcome. -more-

To The Editor: -more-

With a new air of confidence in Strawberry Canyon, Golden Bear football fans young and old attended Saturday’s Fan Appreciation Day, meeting players and coaches on the re-energized Cal football squad. -more-

Pastor and African-American studies teacher Robert McKnight told the Daily Planet Friday that a long-planned, two-week tour of churches in the South prevented him from meeting the city’s Aug. 14 deadline to file as a candidate for the Board of Education. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

DETROIT – The Oakland Athletics won their 12th straight game, with John Mabry hitting a go-ahead double during a five-run rally in the eighth inning for a 10-7 victory Sunday over the Detroit Tigers. -more-

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To the Editor: -more-

SACRAMENTO – Berkeley resident Ellen Gold, 52, was appointed by Gov. Gray Davis to the state Carcinogen Identification Committee last week. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

A young Oakland man was shot to death early Saturday outside a restaurant in west Oakland, the city's 72nd murder this year, police report. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Some airport screeners who are part of a team that moves from airport to airport serving as models for the federal takeover of aviation security got as little as 15 minutes of training on how to screen baggage for bombs. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Juicier chops, thicker steaks and other food produced by cloned animals could be in grocery stores by next year. Atlantic salmon fattened with genes spliced from other fish, though, remain years away from the American dinner table. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO – Discount-brokerage mogul Charles Schwab is selling his ranch, and all the duck hunting that goes with it. -more-

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To the Editor: -more-

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Berkeley is home to many aspiring musicians and provides opportunity for the amateur performer to get onstage nearly every night of the week. Here’s what the Daily Planet found in a typical week of talent-spotting. -more-

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State education consultants said the Berkeley Unified School District’s transition to a new data processing system has been “very smooth,” despite a pair of high-profile payroll problems in late July. Errors are unavoidable in a transition, they said. -more-

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Gov. Gray Davis announced approval of more than $20 million by the California Transportation Commission to upgrade service on BART. -more-

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SACRAMENTO — California’s budget impasse is on course to break records as it heads into the ninth week and the Legislature prepares for the final marathon week of its 2002 session. -more-

LOS ANGELES — Low interest rates, strong demand and tight supply kept California’s real estate market red hot in July, with home prices soaring 16.5 percent over the same period last year. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — A former business executive was sentenced to 30 months in prison Friday for insider trading. -more-

Computer hackers used the Berkeley Unified School District’s network to transmit pornographic images last year, according state and district officials. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

Here’s a conundrum for you. When watching local theater productions, do you look past the rough parts that plague most plays and give the company a break? Or do you hope for a higher level of performance that can be found in other small theater productions? -more-

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In a preview of what should be an explosive offense, the Cal women’s soccer team got goals from four different players to win 4-0 against USF in an exhibition game on Thursday. -more-

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl said the state’s fiscal crisis will prevent the university from boosting its wage offer to clerical workers, who are set to strike Monday, -more-

To the Editor: -more-

OAKLAND – BART officials adopted a fare schedule Thursday in preparation of January’s opening of the five-station extension to the San Francisco International Airport. -more-

To the Editor: -more-

What’s in a name? A heck of a lot, according to members of Citizens for an Eastshore State Park, who have worked since 1985 for the preservation of a stretch of coast from the Bay Bridge to Richmond. -more-

The Oakland Police Department says that homicide detectives are investigating the shooting death of a man on Wednesday night in the city's 71st killing of the year. -more-

The Federal Highway Administration will investigate allegations by two Bay Area construction firms that Caltrans violated federal regulations by not meeting goals for minority-owned business participation during the bidding process of the Bay Bridge's east span replacement project. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Creditors of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. have teamed with California power regulators to promote a plan to settle PG&E’s debts that could require millions of customers to keep paying among the nation’s highest electricity rates for an unknown number of years. -more-

SACRAMENTO — For the second time this year, the Assembly advanced legislation Wednesday that would make California the only state to ban smoking by anyone under age 21. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Gone are the good old days of distracted driving, when motorists merely juggled coffee, shaved, read a map, drove with a pet dog in the lap and lit cigarettes for the miles still ahead. -more-

If you’re like most folks, your home is the single biggest investment that you will make in a lifetime. Therefore, it makes good sense to do everything that you can to take good care of it. -more-

OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. — Elizabeth Tashjian has spent most of her 89 years trying to prove that nuts are at the very core of human existence. -more-

CLEVELAND – Sitting on the dugout steps before the game, Oakland manager Art Howe glanced at the threatening clouds above Jacobs Field and worried about a postponement. -more-

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Today’s Highlight in History: -more-

The foreign-born population in the nine Bay Area counties rose significantly in the 1990s, from about 20 percent in 1990 to almost 27.5 percent in 2000, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released today. -more-

OAKLAND – Homicide investigators said today that they have little to go on as they try to solve the city's 73rd homicide, which occurred at an apartment complex in the western side of the city Sunday night. -more-

SAN MATEO – A Florida salvage company hopes to complete by the end of September the removal of thousands of gallons of fuel oil from the S.S. Jacob Luckenbach that lies in 175 feet of water 17 miles southeast of San Francisco. -more-

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis unveiled a new statewide advertising campaign Thursday to encourage consumers to purchase California-grown produce to help boost the state’s largest industry. -more-

Seven minor injuries in -more-