Last week’s flap over red, white and blue ribbons had critics calling UC Berkeley unpatriotic. This week, however, university administrators and students put the name-calling behind them and hoped Wednesday’s commemoration of the Sept. 11 attacks would be free of politics. -more-

Amidst the solemn recital of names remembering the people killed on Sept. 11, I feel our grieving is incomplete. Can we truly honor the humanity of our loss if we do not also honor the four thousand civilians that we killed, albeit accidentally, during our retaliation in Afghanistan? Those people were not “collateral damage.” They had names. They had families. They, too, had hopes for the future. -more-

Thursday, September 12 -more-

Thursday, September 12 -more-

By Jennifer Dix -more-

Despite an encouraging start to the season, the Cal football team played to a tiny crowd of 24,619 fans at Memorial Stadium on Saturday against New Mexico State, a fact that surprised several Bears players. -more-

Budget shortfalls threatening to close two Berkeley swimming pools have already cost 50 seniors their four-year-old water aerobics class. -more-

As everyone is well aware, Sept. 11 was the one-year anniversary of tragic events. The fire service lost over 340 firefighters as a result of that tragedy. An event we as firefighters and a nation hope never to witness again. Shortly after Sept. 11 the Berkeley Firefighters Association set out to do whatever we could to assist our brothers and sisters of the fire department of New York City. As a membership, we went out to the community of Berkeley and began a campaign called, “Fill the Boot for the FDNY.” Firefighters from Berkeley were on street corners to raise donations for the families of the fallen firefighters of the FDNY. As a result of our efforts from the Fill the Boot campaign, the Berkeley Firefighters Association was able to raise $80,000. This money was donated to the Widows and Orphans Fund of the FDNY last December. -more-

Lady Jackets start with loss -more-

Jay Kelekian, who in 1994 helped lead the city’s fight against the end of statewide rent control, was named executive director of the city’s rent board last week. -more-

(Note: The letter’s author proposed a development for 1155 Hearst St.) -more-

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As a Berkeley pedestrian and advocate for persons with disabilities, I am moved to thank the Berkeley Police Department for their work protecting pedestrians in the crosswalk. Red flags didn't work. There have to be real consequences for unsafe drivers before more pedestrians are killed. Thank you, Berkeley police. -more-

This week, four women from Costa Rica’s budding disability rights movement are visiting a city that plays host to some of the world’s foremost political experts: Berkeley. -more-

It saddens and angers me that the air quality issue is impacting the expansion of the Harrison House Homeless Shelter. The shelter is located on the outskirts of Berkeley in an industrial neighborhood because most of the citizens of Berkeley don't want “those kind of people” in their neighborhood. Now these same Berkeley people are telling us they are so concerned about the impact of the air quality on the well-being of the people they sent to this neighborhood that their facilities shouldn't be expanded. Boona cheema, the person who has devoted much of her life to working with homeless people said it best. “What do you think the answer is going to be when you ask a homeless mother with two kids if she would rather live on the streets or in safe, warm housing in West Berkeley?” -more-

RICHMOND – State officials have announced the completion of two waste cleanups in Richmond, laying the foundation for future development. -more-