Employees of Berkeley Bowl—still without a union contract to celebrate this Labor Day—rallied in front of the store Sunday as part of their four-month-long organizing drive. -more-

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 -more-

THINGS UNCHANGED -more-

Burning Man is the countercultural artfest held the week before Labor Day every summer on the floor of the Black Rock desert, about 120 miles north of Reno, NV. Launched in 1986 at San Francisco’s Baker Beach, the event and culminates in the burning of a wooden sculpture—which the SFPD banned four years later. Burning Man then moved to its present Black Rock desert location near the town of Gerlach, NV. Now, roughly 25,000 people attend from all over the world. Advance tickets for Burning Man are $225. If you just show up, it’s $300. Outside of portable toilets, not much is provided. You are expected to bring plenty of water, food, your own shelter (either camping equipment or an RV) and whatever else you think you might need for a week in the desert. Attendees are strongly urged to go as participants, i.e. to be part of a musical, dance, theater or art presentation. Showing up as simply a passive bystander is frowned upon. For one reason or another, this is the fourth consecutive year that Daily Planet correspondent Paul Kilduff has managed not to attend after first going in 1998. -more-

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 -more-

The newest snag in the running battle over the relocation of the Berkeley Adult School comes from the state, which had turned thumbs down on school district plans to keep traffic out of residential streets surrounding the old Franklin School. -more-

According to Berkeley labor contracts: -more-

When Lorna De Sosa turned 90 last month, she did something special for herself: She published her first book, a volume of poems she’s been working on for the last four years. -more-

Despite Cal football’s overwhelming defeat of SMU Saturday, several Cal fans—Janice Thomas among them—aren’t all that thrilled about the upcoming season. -more-

The assassination of Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim in Najaf on Aug. 28 is the opening volley in the coming Iraqi Civil War. The United States will reap the whirlwind. -more-

A leading venture capital firm ended its 22-year partnership with the University of California Wednesday, a move university officials fear could snowball, costing billions to the university endowment and employee pension funds. -more-

One of the first things that stand out about Jinsoo Terry is her smile: It’s constantly on the verge of an impish giggle or an outburst of laughter, always seeming to hint at the secret to happiness. -more-

The hearing that will determine the fate of a Berkeley psychiatrist who has prescribed medical marijuana for 7,000 in the last seven years commences in an Oakland hearing room Wednesday. -more-

Two pipe bombs exploded at Chiron Corp’s Emeryville headquarters causing minor damage at the biotech firm’s sprawling campus early last Thursday morning. No one was hurt in the two explosions that occurred an hour after one another in separate buildings a little before 3 a.m. -more-

The Berkeley YMCA is looking for volunteers to serve as both academic and social mentors to high school students who would become the first in their families to attend college, as well as volunteers to provide vocational training for students with learning disabilities. -more-

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of two articles on the history of Memorial Stadium. -more-

Spirits were high Monday at the fifth annual Berkeley Brunch—the city’s gay community gathering. Locals came to socialize and have a good time, but many who filled the upstairs ballroom of Hs Lordship’s Restaurant couldn’t help but reflect on a year of unprecedented legal triumphs. -more-