Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA) articles from August 2003

Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA) archives from August 2003

Despite recent lapses, lab on the right track.
August 1, 2003

California Elections Officials Fear Meltdown with Too Many Governor Hopefuls.
August 1, 2003... Aug. 1--Elections officials across the state face a possible meltdown if too many candidates jump on the Oct. 7 recall ballot to replace Gov. Gray Davis. "Counties are not ready to handle this," said Contra Costa County voter registrar...

Money talks, so traded Reds players take walk.
August 2, 2003

California courts could halt recall effort.
August 2, 2003

Chevron to Bolster California Refineries.
August 2, 2003

Zito has lost his Cy Young touch.
August 3, 2003

Giants damaged again by mishaps.
August 3, 2003

HEADLINE HERE.
August 4, 2003

Privacy at issue in Bryant's case.
August 5, 2003

Biotech Company Genzyme to Buy Fremont, Calif.-Based SangStat Medical.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Judy Silber Aug. 5--Fremont-based SangStat Medical Corp. will be bought by Genzyme Corp., one of the world's most successful biotechnology companies, in a $600 million deal that will earn SangStat investors a healthy return. ...

Walnut Creek, Calif.-Based PMI to Buy GE Insurance Unit for $2.2 Billion.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Rick Jurgens Aug. 5--PMI Group Inc., facing hard times in its core business insuring home mortgage lenders against defaults, closed a deal Monday that will give it a big stake in a company that protects municipal bond holders. ...

California Republicans Play Musical Chairs for Spot on Recall Ballot.
August 5, 2003... Byline: John Simerman Aug. 5--If Arnold runs, Dick won't. If Arnold doesn't, Dick probably will. If Dick changes his mind, Bill just might. With just four days before candidates must file for the Oct. 7 recall election for governor,...

Colorado Politicians Pay Visit to CEO of PeopleSoft.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Jessica Guynn Aug. 5--The Rocky Mountain state has come to PeopleSoft Inc. Bill Owens, the second-term governor of Colorado, and John Hickenlooper, the newly elected mayor of Denver, are in the Bay Area on a 48-hour tour to...

New University of California President Rallies Skill at Forging Consensus.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Carrie Sturrock Aug. 5--LA JOLLA, Calif.-- Robert Dynes is about to assume one of academia's most powerful positions. Some, including his wife, express surprise that the internationally renowned scientist and chancellor of UC...

Oh my! Galette is easier than pie.
August 6, 2003

Miggy magic ignites A's bats.
August 6, 2003

Injuries force Alou into keystone combination shuffle.
August 6, 2003

Festival unwraps glory of cheese.
August 6, 2003

Record Cheese Festival Unwraps California Glory at San Francisco Ferry Plaza.
August 6, 2003... Aug. 6--The Mice could have had a field day. Fortunately, they weren't given tickets to the Festival of Cheeses held Saturday night at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza. There, 616 cheeses spilled out over five amoeba-shaped tables in the...

Rules for California Governor Recall May Change by Week's End.
August 6, 2003... Byline: Dogen Hannah Aug. 6--With a Saturday candidate filing deadline looming, challenges to untested laws raise questions about how radically the gubernatorial recall might be altered by week's end. The state Supreme Court might...

Federal Forest Official Attacks Plan to End Timber Crisis in Pacific Northwest.
August 6, 2003... Byline: Mike Taugher Aug. 6--California's top federal forester said Tuesday that a landmark plan to end a timber crisis in the Pacific Northwest is deeply flawed and its environmental provisions have been carried too far. So much...

Metrosexual for a day: A manly man takes a chance on a manicure, a facial and moisturizer.
August 7, 2003

Makeover TV sells us dreams.
August 7, 2003

Pleasanton, Calif.-Based PeopleSoft Sees New Jobs from J.D. Edwards Merger.
August 7, 2003... Aug. 7--PeopleSoft Inc. CEO Craig Conway told Colorado officials Wednesday that his company's $1.8 billion acquisition of Denver-based J.D. Edwards & Co. will eventually create new jobs in both California and Colorado. Bill Owens, the...

Jury Starts Deliberations in Oakland, Calif., Raiders' Fraud Case.
August 7, 2003... Byline: Guy Ashley Aug. 7--SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders' fraud case is at last in the hands of a jury, five years after the football team filed a lawsuit claiming East Bay officials knowingly lied in order to lock them into a...

Yahoo Plans Tracking for Health Care.
August 7, 2003... Byline: Judy Silber Aug. 7--Yahoo has added a new health care service to its popular search engine site, a link that offers diabetics a new way to track and manage their disease. The idea is that by paying $4.95 a month and $79 for an...

Immigration Officials Arrest Lawrence Berkeley, Calif., Laboratory Workers.
August 7, 2003

Giants find an unlikely hero to beat Pirates.
August 8, 2003

Bill May Force University to Bid on Lawrence Livermore, Calif. Laboratory.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Andrea Widener Aug. 8--A provision buried deep within a Congressional funding bill may do what years of pressure and numerous scandals could not -- force the University of California to compete to run Lawrence Livermore Laboratory....

Pixar Animation Studios' Earnings Soar on Movie Hit 'Finding Nemo'.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Ellen Lee Aug. 8--Summer box office hit "Finding Nemo" helped boost earnings for Pixar Animation Studios 87.5 percent, the Emeryville-based studio said Thursday. Pixar, which released in May the film about a clown fish that...

A's, Byrnes come up empty-handed.
August 9, 2003

Comfy Giants roll on, drop Phils.
August 9, 2003

Candidates vie for popularity among California voters.
August 9, 2003

Raiders newcomers impressive in preseason opener.
August 9, 2003

Gay-rights advocates, opponents see this summer as `watershed'.
August 9, 2003

California's Job Slump Worsens in July.
August 9, 2003... Byline: George Avalos Aug. 9--The job slump in California -- which accounted for half of the jobs lost in the country during July -- shows no signs of easing its grip on the Bay Area's fading economy. In a bleak assessment of the...

More HMOs Are Employing Call Centers.
August 9, 2003... Byline: Judy Silber Aug. 9--Health plans across the country have adopted call centers as a convenient and cost-saving option. Call centers are a trend that started in the late 1980s and early 1990s when health plans -- including...

Super-Conducting Magnet Will Aid Medical, Pharmaceutical Research.
August 9, 2003... Byline: Sophia Kazmi Aug. 9--BERKELEY, Calif. -- Hoping to better understand the landscape and complexity of biomolecules, researchers at major universities in the Bay Area will receive the most powerful magnet available. Knowing the...

Contra Costa County, Calif., May Ban Sale of Controversial Gun.
August 9, 2003... Byline: Peter Felsenfeld Aug. 9--All it would take is a willing mind and a powerful explosive to turn Contra Costa's hulking oil refineries into giant chemical bombs. In an age of terrorism and readily available weapons, neither...

49ers quarterbacks pass initial test.
August 10, 2003

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Bankruptcies Column.
August 10, 2003... Aug. 10--The following businesses filed for legal protection from creditors in the federal bankruptcy court in Oakland. Companies most commonly file for protection under three chapters of the bankruptcy code: Chapter 7, which involves...

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Business Listing Column.
August 10, 2003... Aug. 10--The following individuals or corporations filed fictitious-business-name statements in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The Times makes every effort to ensure accuracy but cannot be held responsible if there are errors or omissions...

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., People in Motion Column.
August 10, 2003... Aug. 10--Mark B. Puckett has been appointed president at ChevronTexaco Energy Technology Co., which has offices in San Ramon and Richmond. --Gary M. Masada has been appointed president and chief information officer of ChevronTexaco's...

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Tapan Munroe Column.
August 10, 2003... Byline: Tapan Munroe Aug. 10--For the past several weeks, we have seen signs of life in the "jobless" economic recovery that officially started at the end of 2001. The good news indicating a possible acceleration in the economy has several...

Contra Costa, Calif.-Area Office Space Market Depressed, But Better Than Some.
August 10, 2003... Byline: Rick Jurgens Aug. 10--Jeffrey Weil, a Colliers International broker who puts out an industry newsletter, has this observation to buck up participants in the depressed East Bay market for office space: "I'd rather be doing real...

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Business Leader Profile.
August 10, 2003... Aug. 10--QRS CHIEF'S TOUGH LOVE YIELDS RESULTS: Name: Elizabeth Fetter Title: President and CEO of QRS Corp. Location: Richmond Career: Fetter was hired as president and CEO of QRS Corp. in late 2001. She had previously been...

Venture Captalists Stay Optimistic about Future of Tech Industry, Survey Says.
August 10, 2003... Byline: George Avalos Aug. 10--High-tech might not be kicking, but for venture capitalists, it sure is alive. Despite the technology industry's three-year debacle of layoffs, failed companies and plummeting stock prices, venture...

California voters facing long, confusing ballot in recall election.
August 11, 2003

Environmentalists offer support to Gray Davis campaign.
August 11, 2003

Love of math, computers propels puzzle creator.
August 11, 2003

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Retirement Planner Column.
August 11, 2003... Byline: Steve Butler Aug. 11--I don't know what these government economists have been smoking, but from where I sit it looks as though we are in a deflationary economy. A statistic that caught my eye recently was that automobile prices had...

HEADLINE HERE.
August 12, 2003

HEADLINE HERE.
August 12, 2003

Cool Hudson stuffs Red Sox with shutout.
August 12, 2003

Giants are putting lots of stock in pen.
August 12, 2003

Stagedoor to screen: Todd Graff bases first movie on theater camp.
August 12, 2003

New General Manager Named for Valero Energy's Benicia, Calif., Refinery.
August 12, 2003

Zito must zero in if the A's are to succeed.
August 13, 2003

Bonds can't do it alone in loss.
August 13, 2003

Iverson a good fit for U.S.
August 13, 2003

Some U.S. Representatives Seek Independent Probe of Bush Call for Iraq War.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Danielle McNamara Aug. 13--OAKLAND, Calif.--Two Democratic members of the Bay Area congressional delegation said an independent investigation into the intelligence behind President Bush's call for a war with Iraq would give the...

Richmond, Calif., Homeless Center Sees Rise in Paroled Felons.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Jack Chang Aug. 13--For Edwin Herold, remembering the day he stepped out of prison two years ago fills him with memories of joy and heartache. Of course, the now-42-year-old man was thrilled at leaving behind a life of...

Northern California Gas Prices Fall, Despite Summer-Driving Demand.
August 13, 2003... Byline: David Whelan Aug. 13--So much for the so-called summer driving effect. Gas prices in Northern California fell by a nickel on average between July and August, according to the latest numbers released by the California State...

Livermore, Calif., Independent Film Festival to Honor Cloris Leachman.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Sophia Kazmi Aug. 13--PLEASANTON, Calif.--Cloris Leachman may be a celebrity, but she has a no-frills interview style. The 77-year-old Academy Award winner lay comfortably in her hotel bed and cracked a joke at the reporter's...

PeopleSoft Expands Oracle Corp. Suit.
August 13, 2003... Aug. 13--PeopleSoft Inc. on Tuesday expanded its lawsuit to block Oracle Corp.'s $7.3 billion hostile takeover bid, alleging it has "extensive new facts" about Oracle's efforts to scuttle PeopleSoft's merger with J.D. Edwards & Co., mislead and...

Contra Costa County, Calif., Moves to Ban Sale of Sniper Rifles.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Peter Felsenfeld Aug. 13--Over the objection of gun advocates, Contra Costa supervisors concerned about a terrorism threat took the first step Tuesday toward banning the sale of powerful .50-caliber sniper rifles in the county's...

California Democrats Try to Block Tripling of Vehicle-License Fees.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Andrew LaMar Aug. 13--SACRAMENTO, Calif.--Democrats are moving to block vehicle license fees from tripling on Oct. 1 and instead raise other taxes to make up the revenue. If successful, the maneuver could undercut a leading...

HEADLINE HERE.
August 14, 2003

A's missing pieces to puzzle again.
August 14, 2003

Bonds leaves team to be with father.
August 14, 2003

Candidates vie for popularity among California voters.
August 14, 2003

Movement afoot to improve conditions for college athletes.
August 14, 2003

Raiders backups looking to shine.
August 14, 2003

California Lawmakers Plan Nation's Toughest Financial Privacy Law.
August 14, 2003... Byline: Andrew LaMar Aug. 14--SACRAMENTO, Calif.--California lawmakers Thursday will announce a deal that paves the way for the toughest financial privacy law in the nation. The measure will require banks and other financial...

PG&E Corp. Delays Financial Results, Waits for Its National Energy Group Unit.
August 14, 2003... Byline: Rick Jurgens Aug. 14--With a deadline looming today, PG&E Corp. announced Wednesday afternoon that it would seek an extension for filing its quarterly report with federal securities regulators because its bankrupt National Energy...

Contra Costa County, Calif., Criticized for Late Sirens on Chevron Gas Release.
August 14, 2003... Byline: Tom Lochner Aug. 14--County health officials, facing criticism they reacted slowly and indecisively on Saturday's noxious release from the Chevron Richmond refinery, are defending their decision to sound community warning sirens...

Judge Rules against California Students on Fee Increase.
August 14, 2003... Byline: Claire Booth Aug. 14--SAN FRANCISCO--A judge refused Wednesday to stop the University of California regents from collecting increased fees from certain students. A handful of students have sued the university system, saying...

HEADLINE HERE.
August 15, 2003

Stagedoor to screen: Todd Graff bases first movie on theater camp.
August 15, 2003

Ignore outcome, Raiders in far better shape than 49ers.
August 15, 2003

Robbins' return crowds center position.
August 15, 2003

HEADLINE HERE.
August 15, 2003

CORRECTION: Internet Business Seek to Make Quick Buck Selling California.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Jessica Guynn Aug. 15--The Contra Costa Times has filed a new version of the story slugged CC-ONLINE-MERCH, moved by Knight Ridder-Tribune Business News for Aug. 15. The new version corrects the breakout at the end of the story....

California May Close Last Commercial Fishery on San Francisco Bay.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Mike Taugher Aug. 15--WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--State regulators are thinking about closing the last commercial fishery in San Francisco Bay. In bay waters that once were plied by commercial anglers for salmon, shark, Dungeness...