After months of negotiations, Berkeley has reached a tentative six-year contract with its four municipal labor unions representing 60 percent of the city’s work force, city and union leaders said Monday. -more-

Recently the City Council heard a request from members of the community to place a charter amendment on the November ballot requiring the school district to conduct performance audits. The city attorney responded by asking an attorney with experience in this area for an opinion as to whether the city has the power to do this. The reply was that the district is already required to provide a “yearly audit of its books and performance,” and that there was no evidence that the current audit structure needed to be fixed or that the request to require a performance audit was workable. As a consequence, the proposal was derailed and sent to the Joint City-School District “2x2” Committee and the superintendent of schools. The council also directed staff to seek a further opinion from the Attorney General. -more-

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Teachers and community leaders are fuming about a cost-cutting move to fold Berkeley High School’s historic African-American studies department into one or several other departments. -more-

LOS ANGELES — Citing jury misconduct, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Monday ordered a new trial in the Oakland Raiders’ $1.2 billion conspiracy lawsuit against the National Football League. -more-

City Councilmember Linda Maio continues to explore the possibility of spaying and neutering Berkeley raccoons, considered a nuisance by many, despite a public outcry over the proposal. -more-

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Frank and Veronica Thomas stood in disbelief on the blood-stained Berkeley street where their 7-year-old granddaughter was struck on her bike by a police car while visiting a relative Saturday. -more-

SAN FRANCISCO — Al Gore harshly criticized President Bush’s push for war against Iraq, saying it has hurt the United States’ standing and could dangerously undermine the rule of law around the world. -more-

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is seriously considering lowering the nationwide terror alert back to code yellow because of disruptions in the al-Qaida terrorist network, including the arrest of a suspected Sept. 11 plotter, government officials said Monday. -more-