Oakland Tribune back issues from September 2007:
Judge orders water cutbacks to help fish
Sep 01, 2007; ... California's water supply suffered a historic blow Friday when afederal judge ordered a series of cutbacks and other measures meantto protect a tiny Delta fish from going extinct. The order is expected to force water agencies up and down thestate to consider water rationing next ...
Peace activist returns to 'scene of crime' where legs lost
Sep 01, 2007; ... CLYDE -- S. Brian Willson's shin bone sits in a medicine baghanging on his living room wall. That's next to the boots and St.Louis Cardinals cap he wore during a protest when a military trainran over his legs Sept. 1, 1987, on tracks at the Concord NavalWeapons Station. They are ...
Save some money at the gas pump
Sep 01, 2007; ... If it's not your brother-in-law, it's the local news or your chatgroup -- everybody has tips for saving gas, but how well do theyreally work? Here's the scoop from the experts to save you fromgoing out of your way for little return. Of course, everybody wants to save gas if ...
Bank robbers suspected in other heists
Sep 01, 2007 ... OAKLAND -- Three men who robbed a Temescal district bank Tuesdayafternoon are suspected of other bank heists, including at least onein San Francisco, investigators said Friday. In an effort to gain leads to their identities, police released surveillance photos of one of the ...
Bush addresses mortgage mess Bay Area residents, market analysts express skepticism
Sep 01, 2007; ... While President Bush outlined ways the federal government canhelp troubled borrowers keep their homes Friday, many expresseddoubt at what they felt was a token effort to address risingforeclosures fueled by the mortgage crisis. Bob Cooley, mortgage broker and owner of Elite ...
Sideshow bill heads to Senate
Sep 01, 2007; ... SACRAMENTO -- A bill reinstating a law police used to curbdangerous "sideshow" car antics and races statewide is a quick votefrom heading to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. The state Assembly late Thursday approved the measure 71-0,sending it to the Senate for consideration of ...
Founder of Peet's Coffee & Tea dies in Oregon at age 87
Sep 01, 2007; ... There was a time when most people were content drinking mediocrecoffee. Cup by cup, Alfred Peet helped change that. Peet, 87, who founded Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. and is considereda forefather of specialty coffee, died Wednesday at his home inAshland, Ore. Peet, born in the ...
Cost Plus losses up
Sep 01, 2007 ... Oakland-based Cost Plus World Market reported flat second-quarter sales and a larger loss compared with the year before due tohefty sales discounts to clear stores of old goods. Barry Feld, the company's chief executive, said that despite theloss, the imported home goods and food ...
Woman files suit against dioceses
Sep 01, 2007; ... OAKLAND -- The Archdiocese of San Francisco, the Roman CatholicDiocese of Oakland and a Catholic parish in Fremont are all beingsued by a 42-year-old woman who said she was a victim of molestationin the early 1970s. The lawsuit, filed July 26 by San Diego-based law firm ...
Juvenile prison bill moves closer to passage
Sep 01, 2007; ... California's juvenile criminals would have better access to theirfamilies under a bill passed by the state Senate almost exactly twoyears after the suicide that inspired it. The Senate voted 39-0 Thursday to pass AB1300, The FamilyConnection and Young Offender Rehabilitation Act ...
Small schools found not making the grade
Sep 01, 2007; ... OAKLAND -- They opened with hopeful names, idealistic staff,foundation money and a vision for transforming education in parts ofthe city that had failed many children in the past. But now, many of Oakland's new small schools, especially in theupper grades, have found themselves on ...
Bridge becomes lonely road Transbay span 'like a ghost town'; part of it being replaced
Sep 01, 2007; ... For the first time since the Bay Bridge was damaged by the LomaPrieta earthquake in 1989, Bay Area motorists were prohibited Fridaynight from using the entire span for the next 31/2 days to allowCaltrans to replace a 350-foot section on Yerba Buena Island. At 8:07 p.m., Caltrans ...
Peet's founder dies at age 87
Sep 01, 2007; ... There was a time when most people were content drinking mediocrecoffee. Cup by cup, Alfred Peet helped change that. Peet, who founded Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. and is considered aforefather of specialty coffee, died Wednesday at his home inAshland, Ore. He was 87. Peet, born ...
Judge says Cal can keep fence around tree sitters
Sep 01, 2007; ... BERKELEY -- The 8-foot chain link fence surrounding a Universityof California, Berkeley grove of oak trees occupied by a band ofprotesters can stay in place, an Alameda County Superior Court judgehas ruled. In a decision released late Thursday, Judge Barbara Lee said thefence ...
Juvenile prison act advances
Sep 01, 2007; ... California's juvenile criminals would have better access to theirfamilies under a bill passed by the state Senate almost exactly twoyears after the suicide that inspired it. The Senate voted 39-0 Thursday to pass Assembly Bill 1300, TheFamily Connection and Young Offender ...
Students see red over dress code
Sep 01, 2007; ... NEWARK -- Yury Serrano wore her red jacket on Friday to NewarkMemorial High School. The 12th-grader has sported the garment foryears but said she got an unusual reaction to it earlier this week. Serrano, 17, said an administrator grilled her about her outfitbecause the school ...
C.V., San Leandro nurses OK strike
Sep 01, 2007 ... Nurses in Castro Valley and San Leandro this week authorized astrike if their labor union and Sutter Health hospital affiliatescan't agree on terms for new contracts. Castro Valley's Eden Medical Center nurses voted Tuesday and SanLeandro Hospital nurses voted Wednesday to join ...
Fundraising fugitive surrenders in Bay Area
Sep 01, 2007; ... REDWOOD CITY -- Fifteen years after skipping out on a prisonsentence in an obscure fraud case, a former Bay Area businessmanreturned to a Redwood City courtroom on Friday -- now transformedinto a nationally recognized political pariah. Norman Hsu, a fugitive to state prosecutors ...
Oakland trustee apologizes, says actions not criminal
Sep 01, 2007; ... OAKLAND -- The school board member who at least twice drove a 17-year-old former student to secluded areas late at night and sent hersuggestive e-mails apologized Wednesday to the student and herfamily, to his colleagues and to the Oakland school community forhis actions. "I ...
Lawsuit filed against Bay Area clergy
Sep 01, 2007; ... OAKLAND -- The Archdiocese of San Francisco, the Roman CatholicDiocese of Oakland and a Catholic parish in Fremont are all beingsued by a 42-year-old woman who said she was a victim of molestationin the early 1970s. The lawsuit, filed July 26 by San Diego-based law firm Zalkin ...
Centers serve meals at great prices
Sep 01, 2007; ... CASTRO VALLEY -- What's the most popular lunchtime item out ofthe Kenneth Aitken Community and Senior Center kitchen? That's easy, answers volunteer food preparer and server RichardNoble. "Me," he says to chuckles from four other kitchen workers busilyassembling Tuesday's ...
Local teens offered free job training
Sep 01, 2007; ... SAN LEANDRO -- If you're a teenager living in one of AlamedaCounty's unincorporated areas and you're looking for a job, chancesare the pickings are pretty slim. That's because there aren't a lot of job openings available toyouths in the Eden area and most of the employers willing ...
Postal carrier receives lavish farewell
Sep 01, 2007; ... PLEASANTON -- Friday was Irene Marquez's last day on the job. Asshe rounded the corner and rode into Castlewood Country Club for thefinal time, the postal carrier couldn't believe her eyes. Along the street were bundles of balloons and letters spellingout happy retirement wishes ....
State report shows local schools' gains
Sep 01, 2007; ... The state Department of Education has handed out its version ofreport cards to let schools know whether they've made the grade. A combination of state and federal standards known asAccountability Progress Reports were released Friday. Although somearea schools showed improvements, ...
Judge orders water supply cuts to help save Delta smelt
Sep 01, 2007; ... Californias water supply suffered a historic blow Friday when afederal judge ordered a series of cutbacks and other measures meantto protect a tiny Delta fish from going extinct. The order is expected to force water agencies up and down thestate to consider water rationing next ...
Nocturnal cereus flowery star of the night
Sep 01, 2007; ... AT FIRST BLUSH, the clumsy, unremarkable-looking plants on thefront porch of Doug and Skip Salmon's pristine Fremont home looklike horticultural charity cases. Aside from their height and girth --about 3 feet tall and 4 feetwide -- there isn't much to appreciate. They look rather ...
Its like a ghost town Bay Bridge closure complete; contractor assures Tuesday reopening
Sep 01, 2007; ... For the first time since the Bay Bridge was damaged by the LomaPrieta earthquake in 1989, Bay Area motorists were prohibited Fridaynight from using the entire bridge for the next 31/2 days to allowCaltrans to replace a 350-foot section on Yerba Buena Island. At 8:07 p.m., Caltrans ...
Delgado returns to custody after judge raises bail
Sep 01, 2007; ... REDWOOD CITY -- There was good and bad news Friday for EdithDelgado, the 19-year-old Redwood City woman convicted of misdemeanorvehicular manslaughter in connection with the deaths of a Tonganroyal couple and their driver in a vehicle collision last summer onHighway 101. Moments ...
Berkeley can keep fence, says judge
Sep 01, 2007; ... BERKELEY -- The 8-foot chain link fence surrounding a Universityof California, Berkeley, grove of oak trees occupied by a band ofprotesters can stay in place, an Alameda County Superior Court judgehas ruled. In a decision released late Thursday, Judge Barbara Lee said thefence ...
Wet winter spawns Sudden Oak Death
Sep 01, 2007; ... Q:I HAVE dead and dying oak trees on my property. How can I tellif the oaks have Sudden Oak Death? A: The disease called Sudden Oak Death has been showing up inneighborhoods in the western side of Contra Costa, with identifiedtrees dying in Canyon, Moraga, Orinda and El Sobrante ....
Each rose's name means more than just the tag on the trunk
Sep 01, 2007; ... A ROSE friend once told me that she received an amusing remarkwhile introducing her roses to a visitor. "Oh, you name your roses," her guest exclaimed. "How quaint." My friend explained that all roses have names -- hers werelabeled Dolly Parton and Betty Boop when she ...
Sideshow law near reinstatement
Sep 01, 2007; ... SACRAMENTO -- A bill reinstating a law police used to curbdangerous sideshow car antics and races statewide is a quick votefrom heading to Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggers desk. The state Assembly late Thursday approved the measure 71-0,sending it to the Senate for consideration of ...
War vet, peace activist returns to site of train injury
Sep 01, 2007; ... CLYDE -- S. Brian Willson's shin bone sits in a medicine baghanging on his living room wall. That's next to the boots and St.Louis Cardinals cap he wore during a protest when a military trainran over his legs Sept. 1, 1987, on tracks at the Concord NavalWeapons Station. They are ...
Her secret's a best seller
Sep 01, 2007; ... CHARLOTTE, N.C. IT WAS a November night and her two kids were in bed. The single,30-something mom was bored. At her home in Kannapolis, N.C., the computer beckoned. On animpulse, she started typing and let her imagination run wild. She called the steamy story "First ...
Her naughty secret's on best-seller list
Sep 01, 2007; ... CHARLOTTE, N.C. IT WAS a November night and her two kids were in bed. The single,30-something mom was bored. At her home in Kannapolis, N.C., the computer beckoned. On animpulse, she started typing and let her imagination run wild. She called the steamy story "First ...
Copper-clad Stainless steel gets the brushoff in favor of warmer look
Sep 01, 2007; ... ONCE OUR KITCHENS gleamed with stainless steel appliances,brushed nickel accents and gleaming chrome fixtures. But the cool,professional kitchen -- as well as the ambiance in our living rooms,bedrooms and baths -- is giving way to the warm tones of copper, oil-rubbed bronze and earthy ...
War vet, peace activist returns to 'scene of crime'
Sep 01, 2007; ... CLYDE -- S. Brian Willson's shin bone sits in a medicine baghanging on his living room wall. That's next to the boots and St.Louis Cardinals cap he wore during a protest when a military trainran over his legs Sept. 1, 1987, on tracks at the Concord NavalWeapons Station. They are ...
Peet's Coffee founder dies in Oregon home at 87
Sep 01, 2007; ... There was a time when most people were content drinking mediocrecoffee. Cup by cup, Alfred Peet helped change that. Peet, who founded Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. and is considered aforefather of specialty coffee, died Wednesday at his home inAshland, Ore. He was 87. Peet, born ...
University can keep fence, says judge
Sep 01, 2007; ... BERKELEY -- The 8-foot chain link fence surrounding a Universityof California, Berkeley grove of oak trees occupied by a band ofprotesters can stay in place, an Alameda County Superior Court judgehas ruled. In a decision released late Thursday, Judge Barbara Lee said thefence ...
Judge orders water supply cuts
Sep 01, 2007; ... California's water supply suffered a historic blow Friday when afederal judge ordered a series of cutbacks and other measures meantto protect a tiny Delta fish from going extinct. The order is expected to force water agencies up and down thestate to consider water rationing next ...
More red marks for San Mateo County schools
Sep 01, 2007; ... College Park Elementary boasted the second-largest gain amongregular-sized San Mateo County schools in a federal scoring system,according to statewide results released Friday. But the San Mateo school is also in its fifth year being labeledas a campus needing to improve under a ...
Belmont narrows scope of proposed smoking ban ordinance
Sep 01, 2007; ... Belmont's proposed smoking ordinance has been scaled back to bemuch less stringent than a previous version, which some called thenation's most sweeping ban. But when members of the City Council consider approving therevised ordinance Sept. 11, they will still be voting on a ...
Boulder Creek dog to compete against 13 in national race
Sep 01, 2007; ... Clarabelle the Chihuahua was born to run. The little 31/2-year-old Boulder Creek speedster has been intraining for months in her quest to claim a national title: FastestChihuahua in America. She sped past 240 other mini-sprinters in Mayto win the Bay Area regional championship and ...
City calls for pot shop regulation
Sep 01, 2007; ... SAN MATEO -- The many battles raging in California over medicalmarijuana are fueled by a basic disagreement between federal law,which prohibits the possession of cannabis altogether, and statelaw, which has allowed the selective use of medical marijuana formore than a decade ....
Ground broken for South City cancer center Ground broken for new San Francisco cancer center
Sep 01, 2007; ... SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO ELEVEN DOCTORS, politicians and others local leaders donned bluehard hats and lifted shovelfuls of dirt before a small crowd Fridaymorning in a symbolic groundbreaking for Kaiser Permanente's newestcancer-treatment center. When the 20,000-square-foot ...
Nurses approve option to strike
Sep 01, 2007; ... Registered nurses may strike at two San Mateo County health carefacilities if a contract agreement is not reached soon, CaliforniaNurses Association officials said Friday. Some 620 nurses at Mills Health Center in San Mateo and PeninsulaMedical Center in Burlingame have authorized ...
Bay Bridge closed: 'It's like a ghost town'
Sep 01, 2007; ... For the first time since the Bay Bridge was damaged by the LomaPrieta earthquake in 1989, Bay Area motorists were prohibited Fridaynight from using the entire bridge for the next 31/2 days to allowCaltrans to replace a 350-foot section on Yerba Buena Island. At 8:07 p.m., Caltrans ...
Fugitive Democratic contributor surrenders
Sep 01, 2007; ... REDWOOD CITY -- Fifteen years after skipping out on a prisonsentence in an obscure fraud case, a former Bay Area businessmanreturned to a Redwood City courtroom on Friday -- now transformedinto a nationally recognized political pariah. Norman Hsu, a fugitive to state prosecutors ...
Judge stays teen's sentence, but raises bail to $100K
Sep 01, 2007; ... REDWOOD CITY -- There was good and bad news Friday for EdithDelgado, the 19-year-old Redwood City woman convicted of misdemeanorvehicular manslaughter in connection with the deaths of a Tonganroyal couple and their driver in a vehicle collision last summer onHighway 101. Moments ...
Judge rules fence can stay
Sep 01, 2007; ... BERKELEY -- The 8-foot chain-link fence surrounding a Universityof California, Berkeley, grove of oak trees occupied by a band ofprotesters can stay in place, an Alameda County Superior Court judgehas ruled. In a decision released late Thursday, Judge Barbara Lee said thefence ...
Tight-knit group lends cancer patients comfortable headwear
Sep 01, 2007; ... LIVERMORE -- Call them Springtown Needlework, SpringtownStitchers or don't call them anything at all. When it comes to knitting, all Betty Miles and her tight-knitgroup of ladies care about is getting together every Wednesday to dowhat they love -- knit, stitch and pitch new ...
DUI checkpoint planned this weekend
Sep 01, 2007 ... MANTECA -- The Manteca Police Department, in cooperation with theRipon and Lathrop police, will be conducting a checkpoint fordrunken drivers from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. tonight. The checkpoint may rotate to several different locationsthroughout the communities where drunken driving ...
Peet's Coffee founder dead at 87
Sep 01, 2007; ... There was a time when most people were content drinking mediocrecoffee. Cup by cup, Alfred Peet helped change that. Peet, who founded Peet's Coffee and Tea Inc. and is considered aforefather of specialty coffee, died Wednesday at his home inAshland, Ore. He was 87. Peet, ...
Electrical overload leaves some Lathrop residents powerless
Sep 01, 2007 ... LATHROP -- About 50 residents went without power on Thursday,when temperatures hit the sticky three digits. A Pacific Gas & Electric transformer blew out, causing a loss ofelectricity from 7:15 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Nicole Tam, spokeswomanfor the company. An electrical ...
War vet, peace activist returns to 'scene of crime'
Sep 01, 2007; ... CLYDE -- S. Brian Willson's shin bone sits in a medicine baghanging on his living room wall. That's next to the boots and St.Louis Cardinals cap he wore during a protest when a military trainran over his legs Sept. 1, 1987, on tracks at the Concord NavalWeapons Station. They are ...
Dublin to select names for parks
Sep 01, 2007; ... "Green Acres" could be the place to be if the Dublin City Councilchooses. Or, perhaps the council will go nuts over "Squirrel Park,"or hit a pot of gold with "Leprechaun Isle." Those were three of the 92 names suggested last month for threeunnamed parks in east Dublin in 69 ...
Retiring postal carrier receives lavish farewell
Sep 01, 2007; ... PLEASANTON -- Friday was Irene Marquez's last day on the job. Asshe rounded the corner and drove into Castlewood Country Club forthe final time, the postal carrier couldn't believe her eyes. Along the street were bundles of balloons and letters spellingout happy retirement wishes ....
Tri-Valley schools do well on tests
Sep 01, 2007; ... Overall Tri-Valley school standardized test scores remained highfor 2006-07, though there were significant ups and downs at specificschools, according to state Academic Performance Index rankingsreleased Friday. Meanwhile, a handful of Tri-Valley schools failed to reachfederal ...
Networks sneaking premieres onto Web first "K-Ville" Now on 200 Internet portals including fox.com 9 p.m. Sept. 17 on Fox-Channel 2
Sep 01, 2007; ... AIRDATE, SCHMARE-DATE. That means nothing in today's Web-first environment. Back when Istarted as a TV critic, when the lava was cooling and dinosaursdisappearing, viewers eagerly awaited the new fall season when theycould finally get a peek at the network shows. Meanwhile, ...
Judge orders water cuts to help smelt
Sep 01, 2007; ... California's water supply suffered a historic blow Friday when afederal judge ordered a series of cutbacks and other measures meantto protect a tiny Delta fish from going extinct. The order is expected to force water agencies up and down thestate to consider water rationing next ...
Bay Bridge closes: 'It's like a ghost town'
Sep 01, 2007; ... For the first time since the Bay Bridge was damaged by the LomaPrieta earthquake in 1989, Bay Area motorists were prohibited Fridaynight from using the entire bridge for the next 31/2 days to allowCaltrans to replace a 350-foot section on Yerba Buena Island. At 8:07 p.m., Caltrans ...
Johnson bails out Street A'S NOTES
Sep 01, 2007; ... OAKLAND -- Trying to sacrifice the winning run to third didn'twork out, so Dan Johnson simply drove in J.J. Furmaniak himself inthe bottom of the 10th to lift the A's to a 5-4 victory Friday nightover the Detroit Tigers. Furmaniak was pinch-running for Mike Piazza, who doubled off ...
Marleau gets 2-year extension
Sep 01, 2007; ... SAN JOSE -- The captain isn't going anywhere. San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson signed center PatrickMarleau to a two-year contract extension Friday that will keep himin San Jose until 2010. Marleau's salary, $4.5 million for thecoming season, will be $6.3 million each ...
Johnson bails out Street with game-winning hit
Sep 01, 2007; ... OAKLAND -- Dan Johnson's single to right field scored pinchrunner J.J. Furmaniak in the bottom of the 10th inning Friday nightas the A's beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4 at McAfee Coliseum. It was a tougher victory than anticipated after closer HustonStreet allowed two runs in the top ...
New York loves its hustlers on court
Sep 01, 2007; ... NEW YORK -- It's the game that doesn't stop in the city thatnever sleeps, tennis after midnight, tennis at midday, tennis thatisn't beholden to a clock, to a subway schedule, to a newspaperdeadline. Tennis of cramped legs, frayed nerves and heroic shots. The U.S. Open. A perfect ...