News

They had prayed and protested, gone to jail and gone to the media. On Tuesday, death-penalty foes celebrated a partial victory: the life of Michael Morales, the man who had stabbed, raped and bludgeoned to death 17-year-old Terri Winchell in 1981, would be spared—for a few months at least. -more-

Keith Stephens was “a good kid, very kind-hearted and giving,” said Latisha Stephens, his oldest sister. -more-

A controversial trustee on the Alameda County Medical Center Board of Directors has been removed by the president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors because of complaints from fellow board members, but there is question whether Supervisor Keith Carson has the legal authority to do so. -more-

Lucky for diners at Le Bateau Ivre, there’s ample parking available right out front. For motorcycles, that is. -more-

Berkeley City Councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to order the closure of Dwight Way Liquors, ending a decade-long and often confusing regulatory battle. -more-

Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) and UC Berkeley’s representation on the panel helping formulate a new downtown plan were among the issues confronted by the City Council Tuesday. -more-

Members of four city panels filed into the North Berkeley Senior Center Wednesday night to hear the university’s first formal presentation of its plans for the Memorial Stadium area. -more-

Planning commissioners Wednesday voted to delay extending a provision of the city’s condominium ordinance setting cost levels for mandated “inclusionary” units. -more-

Less than a month after Director Sharon Jackson hastily departed from the Berkeley Housing Authority, a new chief has stepped in to lead the agency through tough times. -more-

It was one of those beautiful sunny days in Berkeley that makes you want to take the longest route to the Saturday morning farmers’ market. -more-

One of the important functions of the Police Review Commission is to recommend policy changes, based on the complaints the commission sees, according to Deputy City Attorney Sarah Reynoso. -more-

Table tennis is coming of age in America, according to players and coaches who descended on Berkeley from around the world last weekend. -more-

Help Sought -more-

“A Portrait of Mills: Photographs by Imogen Cunningham,” like other significant art exhibitions, instructs while it gives pleasure. Visitors will find in it, to their satisfaction, some of the iconic images for which the artist has long been famous as well as images with which they are unfamiliar. -more-

Berkeley students who don’t pass the high school exit exam may still walk with their peers on graduation day, the school board ruled Wednesday. -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education approved an environmental impact report (EIR) of the East Campus/Derby Street field Wednesday, re-igniting debate over whether a baseball diamond will be built there. -more-

Berkeley’s city councilmembers face an array of business tonight (Tuesday), starting with a workshop on condo ordinance changes, then moving on to a regular meeting that will feature landmarks, a liquor store and ADUs. -more-

Two Richmond quarries are a threat to public safety, a Richmond councilmember and a state agency both say. -more-

UC Berkeley officials will give the public and three city commissions a brief presentation of their plans for development at and around Memorial Stadium on Wednesday evening. -more-

The Peralta Community College District brought out the big guns to the district Board of Trustees meeting last week, with presentations by Chancellor Elihu Harris, two vice chancellors, and the chief financial officer to try to end the continuing controversy over the district’s office of International Affairs. -more-

With a possible teachers strike looming over stalled contract talks, the state-run Oakland Unified School District received a blow this week when the Service Employees International Union backed out of a tentative contract agreement that would have run through 2008. -more-

In the past week, Berkeley High School (BHS) student leadership has made changes to the school’s controversial attendance policy. -more-

Belated report -more-