Noah Rollins hasn’t taken a sick day from work in ten years, but on Wednesday, he left his post as a cook in the dietary department at Alta Bates Hospital to stand with dozens of chanting protesters outside. Carrying a sign reading, “No subcontracting!” he simply said, “I want job security and a better pension plan.” -more-

Thursday, August 3

Bushed in California -more-

A new principal and tough safety measures, including security cameras, could be in place at Berkeley High School as early as Aug. 30 the Daily Planet has learned. -more-

Most of the two dozen or so people gathered at the Ecology Center Tuesday evening for the teach-in/stratedy session on genetically-engineered foods agreed: genetically altered foods may be unsafe. -more-

No more lugging those bikes down and up narrow stairs on University Avenue to get to the Marina – soon. -more-

Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Wilma Chan announced a proposed resolution supporting the Service Employee International Union Local 250 strike against Sutter Health. Presiding over a packed meeting hall, Chan and Supervisor Keith Carson, members of the board’s Health Committee, thanked the gathered health workers for their hard work, calling them “the front line of health care.” The nine point resolution will now be referred to the full board of supervisors for approval. -more-

College Avenue merchants, neighbors and the city are in a dogfight with threats of litigation over a diverter blocking Northbound traffic along Benvenue Avenue from Ashby Avenue set up to slow traffic down while College Avenue is being repaved. -more-

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Editor: -more-

Wednesday, August 2

There’s an idyllic piece of unoccupied land with a creek running through it, just across the way from Live Oak Park. -more-

Harry Pollack, former president of the board of Congregation Beth El says he is happy with the recently-published Environmental Impact Report, which addresses the move of the congregation to 1301 Oxford St. -more-

Summer campers from the YMCA showed their stuff Tuesday at the Y’s all-camp day at Lake Anza in Tilden Regional Park. Calling it their “Camp Olympics,” the Y events including Tugs of War, above, the change of clothes relay, a watermelon relay and more. -more-

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Tuesday, August 1

Patients first -more-

THEATER -more-

UC BERKELEY ART -more-

Marcella Williams wants her neighborhood to be “more like a family.” Ron Casimere wants to scare off criminals and beautify his stretch of Alcatraz Avenue. Tracy Washburn hopes her neighbors in the Berkeley hills will be prepared to help each other if a natural disaster strikes. -more-

A revival of John Fisher’s campy and sexual 1992 vaudeville drag revue “Cleopatra: the Musical” opened Friday at Zellerbach Playhouse on the Cal campus, presented by Cal’s Department of Dramatic Art/Center for Theater Arts. -more-

Voter approval of Proposition 10 means smokers have to cough up quarters to pay society for their unhealthy habit. -more-

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Monday, July 31

Consultant’s report: tritium levels OK -more-

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RICHMOND – This is earthquake country and there are few who do not worry about the lives that will be lost and the homes destroyed when the big one hits. -more-

Saturday, July 29

If music were the food of love, John Phillips would provide a banquet. -more-

Editor: -more-

Pastor Gordon Choyce says that his non-profit Jubilee Restoration and his partners at Panoramic Interests have done everything the city has asked to get the Jubilee Courtyard Apartments built at 2700 San Pablo Avenue – but two issues, he says, keep coming back. -more-

They passed the tests and beat the odds, and now Keith May and Samantha Eggers are enjoying their first weeks as two of the newest members of the Berkeley Fire Department. -more-

No hordes of citizens – in fact none at all – have jumped into the District 5 council race in response to Councilmember Diane Woolley’s surprise announcement that she’s not going to run again. -more-

Road construction usually creates some confusion and a few inconveniences, but hardly ever does it bring the problems that College Avenue residents and merchants are facing right now. -more-

Friday, July 28

Friday, July 28

Dear Editor: -more-

THEATER -more-

On top of a parking structure on the UC Berkeley campus, 24 skaters are hopping ramps, grinding rails and cruising two halfpipes under the watchful eyes of several experts. There isn’t a tattoo or piercing in sight as the skaters shred the park while a nearby radio plays some mellow tunes. -more-

UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy wants to grow. Its expansion plans – construction of a second building next to present historic site – does not sit well with neighbors who filled a conference room at the school for a Wednesday evening public hearing on the expansion. -more-

Joel Jacobs and his neighbors on Peralta Street know that if they want to make it to the superhighway, they need the big green, often graffiti-covered pedestals that house telecommunication lines. -more-

Sam Adkins was crossing the street at Berkeley’s most dangerous intersection Thursday afternoon, when he was struck by a car. -more-

The Environmental Impact Report on the Congregation Beth El Synagogue and School has been released by the city. The report concludes that there are significant impacts in terms of noise and traffic, but that the impacts can be mitigated. -more-