News

Prosecutors: Insufficient Evidence to Charge Foster Father in Hasanni Campbell Case

Bay City News
Monday August 31, 2009 - 02:59:00 PM

An Alameda County assistant district attorney said today that there is insufficient evidence to file murder charges against the foster father of missing 5-year-old boy Hasanni Campbell. -more-


Hassani Campbell’s Foster Mother Will Not Face Charges

Bay City News
Friday August 28, 2009 - 05:27:00 PM

An attorney who has consulted with the foster parents of 5-year-old Hasanni Campbell, who was reported missing three weeks ago and is now believed to have been murdered, said today that he’s “glad” that no charges are being filed against the foster mother. -more-


UC Police Officers Describe Events That Led to Kidnapping Suspect's Arrest

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 28, 2009 - 07:00:00 PM
UC Berkeley police officers Lisa Campbell and Ally Jacobs describe their meeting with Phillip Garrido, the Antioch man suspected of kidnapping 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard in South Lake Tahoe in 1991.

UC Berkeley police officers Friday gave a detailed account of their encounter with Phillip Garrido, the Antioch man accused of holding 29-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard captive for 18 years on his property. -more-


Swanson's Office Denies Charges of 'Watering Down' BART Police Oversight Bill

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday August 28, 2009 - 05:50:00 PM

The attempt to pass state legislation authorizing a civilian oversight of the BART Police Department—which had already featured a political disagreement between BART Board member Lynette Sweet and Assembly Public Safety Committee Chair Tom Ammiano—took another turn this week when Oakland Assemblymember Sandré Swanson came under criticism for "watering down" provisions in the proposed BART police oversight bill at the request of police lobbyists. -more-


Kidnap Victim Lived in Antioch Backyard for 18 Years

Bay City News
Friday August 28, 2009 - 04:32:00 PM
Phillip Craig Garrido, 58, and Nancy Garrido, 55.

Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was kidnapped from South Lake Tahoe at age 11 in 1991, spent 18 years living in the backyard of an Antioch home, raising two daughters fathered by the man who kidnapped her, investigators said today. -more-


Foster Parents of Hasanni Campbell Arrested for Murder

Bay City News
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 01:51:00 PM

The foster parents of 5-year-old Hasanni Campbell have been arrested for murder, police Officer Jeff Thomason said. -more-


Man Gets 50 Years to Life for Shooting Near UC Campus

Bay City News
Friday August 28, 2009 - 04:30:00 PM

A Richmond man was sentenced today to 50 years to life in state prison for the shooting death of 23-year-old Wayne Drummond of Oakland near the University of California, Berkeley campus three years ago. -more-


Downtown Plan Referendum Qualifies for Ballot

By Richard Brenneman
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 12:47:00 PM

Mayor Hints at Possible Compromise -more-


Berkeley Schools Will Not Offer In-House Clinics For Swine Flu

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 12:49:00 PM

Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Bill Huyett said Wednesday that the district will not be holding in-house H1N1 immunization camps at schools, contrary to reports that have been circulating in the press in the last few weeks. -more-


A Drought-Resistant Garden at LeConte

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 12:50:00 PM

When LeConte Elementary School students come back to school Sept. 2, they will have a brand new garden—one that is drought resistant, saves water and attracts plenty of butterflies. -more-


Homeowners’ Possessions Hamper Firefighters

By Richard Brenneman
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 12:51:00 PM

Firefighters waged a two-hour battle against heavy flames in the predawn hours Wednesday, battling to save a South Berkeley home after a neighbor had rescued one of its two occupants. -more-


Passion for Community Revealed in Curl’s History of Co-ops

By Richard Brenneman
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 12:55:00 PM
Author and woodworker John Curl in his West Berkeley shop.

Though his hair has turned white, John Curl’s passion burns undiminished by the passage of nearly seven decades. -more-


Citizen Oversight of BART Police Stalled by Conflict Between SF Legistlators

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 12:51:00 PM

The fate of civilian oversight of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Department is being decided—for this year, at least—in a contest of wills and purpose between two San Francisco officeholders with longtime credentials in progressive politics. -more-


AC Transit to Begin Public Outreach On Proposed Bus Line Cuts

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 12:52:00 PM

AC Transit will begin its community outreach in Berkeley to publicize and explain the bus district’s planned December line cuts and adjustments, but long-promised maps outlining the extent of the changes have yet to be released to the public. -more-


UC Starts Year With 8 Percent Course Cut, Layoffs

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 12:53:00 PM

Budget cuts, furloughs, layoffs and course reductions dominated the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Back-to-School briefing Wednesday, as students trooped back to school for the first day of fall classes. -more-


Police Blotter

By Richard Brenneman
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 12:54:00 PM

Daylight snatch -more-


First Person: Chocoholics Anonymous

By Dorothy Snodgrass
Thursday August 27, 2009 - 12:56:00 PM

Hopelessly addicted to chocolate since early childhood, I take comfort in the knowledge that I’m not alone in this addiction. Au contraire! There are millions and millions of people out there afflicted with the same—shall we say, neurotic—obsession. Recognizing this as a serious mental health problem, I’ve come up with what I consider to be a brilliant proposal: that there be a Chocoholics Anonymous organization, similar to the effective and time honored Alcoholics Anonymous program. -more-