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

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

Giants' Schmidt making pitch for Chicago.
July 1, 2003

For thousands of Muslim men, complying with the law could lead to deportation.
July 1, 2003

Calif. judge rejects motion for mistrial in `Riders' case.
July 1, 2003

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July 2, 2003

Giants shut down Cardinals again.
July 2, 2003

Patience could be the solution to Beane's puzzle.
July 3, 2003

Lilly roughed up again.
July 3, 2003

Giants stay on top of Cards.
July 3, 2003

Calif. religious groups join together to create aid kits for Iraqis.
July 3, 2003

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July 3, 2003

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July 3, 2003

Overseer Appointed to San Francisco-Area Charity Service as Firm Dissolves.
July 3, 2003

Danville, Calif., Group Uses Volunteers to Help Beautify Homes.
July 4, 2003... Byline: Linda Davis Jul. 4--DANVILLE, Calif. -- The angel with the paint brush was at it again this weekend, transforming a careworn room into a decorator's delight -- for free. Ileana Evans does not do this for money, but rather for...

Oracle Extends Deadline for Takeover Offer.
July 4, 2003... Byline: Ellen Lee Jul. 4--Oracle Corp., which is facing renewed pressure to raise its $6.3 billion bid for rival PeopleSoft Inc., pushed back the deadline for investors to decide about its hostile takeover offer. Oracle said Thursday...

California Cities to Repeal Unconstitutional Taxes.
July 4, 2003... Byline: Alan Lopez Jul. 4--As California faces the worst fiscal crisis in its history and cities cut programs and issue layoff notices, El Cerrito and possibly Hercules are eliminating taxes they continued to collect two years after the...

California Officials Say Unemployment Fund Could Lurch into Insolvency.
July 4, 2003... Byline: George Avalos Jul. 4--California officials disclosed Thursday evening that the state's $3 billion fund to pay unemployment benefits could lurch into insolvency by the end of this year without hefty new taxes or a federal government...

Non-Tenured Lecturers Get Offer of Pact at University of California.
July 4, 2003... Byline: Carrie Sturrock Jul. 4--Non-tenure track lecturers, who teach a good share of the University of California's undergraduate classes, recently won more job security and better pay. Last fall, the lecturers held a one-day strike...

Giants ward off Padres _ again.
July 5, 2003

Giants ward off Padres _ again.
July 5, 2003

Baker, Manuel renewing old rivalry in Chicago.
July 5, 2003

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July 6, 2003

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July 6, 2003

A's struggling with `Other Two' pitchers.
July 6, 2003

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Business Listing Column.
July 6, 2003... Jul. 6--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 in...

Benicia, Calif.-Based Environmental Consulting Firm Sets Global Goals.
July 6, 2003... Byline: David Whelan Jul. 6--On March 8, two weeks before the United States invaded Iraq, Nick Patz sat down at his computer and banged out an e-mail to Riley Bechtel, the billionaire boss of the fourth-generation family-owned construction...

Danville, Calif., Pastor Creates Partnership with South African Community.
July 6, 2003... Byline: Randy Myers Jul. 6--On the surface, the coiffed 'burbs of Danville share little if anything in common with the far less tidy farming village of Lwamondo, tucked in the northern region of South Africa. One community struggles...

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Retirement Planner Column.
July 6, 2003... Byline: Steve Butler Jul. 6--For owners and key employees of small companies, the opportunities to shelter money in retirement plans have never been greater. To many who have suffered a depletion of retirement assets over the past three...

Wal-Mart Claims Names to Force Vote on Contra Costa, Calif., Grocery Ordinance.
July 6, 2003... Byline: Sandy Kleffman Jul. 6--Wal-Mart officials say they have turned in enough signatures to force a public vote on a Contra Costa County ordinance that restricts their ability to sell groceries. Wal-Mart submitted 40,735 signatures...

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July 7, 2003

A's, Foulke get lucky late.
July 7, 2003

Bonds talks about ending career in American League.
July 7, 2003

Snow delivers against a lefty.
July 7, 2003

Concord, Calif., Non-Profit Operation Takes Care of Children Temporarily.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Randy Myers Jul. 7--For 22 years, stressed-out parents in dire need of an emergency time-out from their children have found help at the Bay Area Crisis Nursery. No matter the hour, the modest but attractive house in Concord has...

Walnut Creek, Calif., Mexican Eatery Sees Passage of Wisdom to New Immigrants.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Jack Chang Jul. 7--WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--As owner Ernie Guerrero sees it, three generations of Mexican Americans keep La Tapatia restaurant running. There's Guerrero, a third-generation immigrant who was born in Southern...

Troubled Concord, Calif., Art Pavilion Cancels Programming.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Denis Cuff Jul. 7--CONCORD, Calif.--This city elevated culture in the suburbs in 1975 by carving an outdoor pavilion out of the hills to stage the Concord jazz festival, other popular music concerts and community events like a July...

California Officials Consider Ways to Keep Students Healthier.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Eric Louie Jul. 7--PLEASANTON, Calif.--Comedian Chris Rock once pointed out that only in American do people die from eating too much. So while children go hungry across the world, California legislators, food companies and...

Refinery Worker Strike Shuts Down Crockett, Calif., Sugar Plant.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Mike Taugher Jul. 7--CROCKETT, Calif.--Nearly 400 sugar refinery workers went on strike Sunday, forcing managers to shut down an historic plant that produces hundreds of millions of tons of cane sugar each year. It is the only...

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July 8, 2003

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July 8, 2003

Giants rookie Williams has veteran effort.
July 8, 2003

Forever cool.
July 8, 2003

California Football Team Owner Says He Never Read Reports of Shortfalls.
July 8, 2003... Byline: Guy Ashley Jul. 8--SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A blizzard of bad press about disappointing ticket sales marred the weeks after the Oakland Raiders finalized their decision to return to the Bay Area in 1995. But Al Davis says he was...

Travelers to Hong Kong Can Find Deep Discounts Post-SARS.
July 8, 2003... Byline: John Simerman Jul. 8--Airlines are stepping up flights to Asia and tour agents are hawking ridiculously low Hong Kong discounts, scrambling to restore a travel trade mutilated by fears of a mysterious illness. Nowhere has SARS,...

Contra Costa, Calif., Health Officials Fear Travelers Are Neglecting Vaccines.
July 8, 2003

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July 9, 2003

Hard-to-make cookies worth it.
July 9, 2003

Zito, A's stung by Devil Rays.
July 9, 2003

Sheep's milk: For ricotta, it's the whey to go.
July 9, 2003

Practice makes patience: Learn to relax.
July 9, 2003

Now you can enjoy TV's best _ on a silver platter.
July 9, 2003

McDonald's Pilots Wireless High-Speed Internet Service in California.
July 9, 2003... Byline: Ellen Lee Jul. 9--McDonald's Corp. launched a super-sized offering of wireless high-speed Internet service in the Bay Area on Tuesday, the largest and most extensive of the restaurant chain's deployments so far. The world's...

Three Generations of Mexican Americans Run Northern California Eatery.
July 9, 2003... Byline: Jack Chang Jul. 9--As owner Ernie Guerrero sees it, three generations of Mexican Americans keep La Tapatia restaurant running. There's Guerrero, a third-generation immigrant who was born in Southern California and speaks little...

Agency Says Nuclear Lab's Security Breaches Do Not Warrant Takeover.
July 9, 2003... Byline: Andrea Widener Jul. 9--Lawrence Livermore Laboratory's problems with lost keys and electronic keycards do not warrant a federal takeover of the nuclear site's security operation, the lab's overseer said Tuesday. A high-level...

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July 10, 2003

McCarty feels litany of sensations in win.
July 10, 2003

Struggling Foppert proves flop at Coors.
July 10, 2003

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July 10, 2003

Environmentalists in California Say that Governor Recall Could Be 'Disastrous'.
July 10, 2003... Byline: Mike Taugher Jul. 10--Fewer than one in seven Californians say it would be bad for the environment if voters recall Gov. Gray Davis, who made protecting natural resources one of his campaign themes, a new poll shows. Poor...

California Board of Education Delays High School Exit-Exam Requirement.
July 10, 2003... Byline: Kara Shire Jul. 10--SACRAMENTO, Calif.--The State Board of Education on Wednesday delayed for two years the high school exit exam's high-stakes consequences, excusing next year's juniors and seniors from passing it to earn a...

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July 11, 2003

True Believers, Truly Curious Trek to Solano County, Calif., Crop Circle.
July 11, 2003... Byline: John Simerman Jul. 11--ROCKVILLE, Calif.--Extraterrestrial calling card, super-magnetic power force, or elaborate student agriprank? Inquiring minds -- some donning tinfoil hats with wings -- want to know so badly that they...

San Francisco-Area Public Television, Radio Broadcaster Tackles Money Woes.
July 11, 2003... Byline: Judy Silber Jul. 11--Hard times have finally caught up to KQED, the Bay Area's public television and radio stations. Reductions in corporate donations this year will force KQED to cut operating expenses by about 10 percent, or...

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July 12, 2003

Bay Area refineries buck trend on toxic pollution.
July 12, 2003

Plenty to relish but no sausage, please.
July 12, 2003

San Francisco Bay Area Sees Big Job Losses.
July 12, 2003... Byline: George Avalos Jul. 12--The pain has yet to end for Bay Area job seekers. In the latest reading on the reeling region's economy, state officials Friday reported a big increase in the jobless rates in the Bay Area's three major...

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Business Listing Column.
July 13, 2003... Jul. 13--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., Tapan Munroe Column.
July 13, 2003... Byline: Tapan Munroe Jul. 13--Since the collapse of the technology boom nearly 2 1/2 years ago, the Federal Reserve System has worked valiantly to bail out the American economy by lowering short-term interest rates 13 times. A key Fed rate...

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Retirement Planner Column.
July 13, 2003... Byline: Steve Butler Jul. 13--The amount of money in money market funds today tops $2.2 trillion with $40 billion more having come in over just the past month. That statistic reminded me of Norman G. Fosbach, the founder of the newsletter...

Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Bankruptcies Column.
July 13, 2003

A's are all smiles entering the break.
July 14, 2003

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July 15, 2003

IBM to Help California Streamline Child-Support Collection System.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Peter Felsenfeld Jul. 15--The state signed an eight-year, $801 million deal with IBM on Monday for a statewide computer system to streamline the child support collection process. The powerful technology will enable officials to...

Two Former U.S. Wireless Executives Are Indicted on Securities Fraud Charges.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Ellen Lee Jul. 15--Two former executives from San Ramon's now-defunct U.S. Wireless Corp. were indicted Monday, charged with looting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and several million in stock and stock options from the...

Livermore, Calif., National Laboratory's Security Managers Issue New Key Rules.
July 15, 2003

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July 16, 2003

An excerpt from `My Not-So-Terrible Time at the Hippie Hotel,' by Rosemary Graham.
July 16, 2003

Rosemary Graham's first novel is a coming-of-age story with a twist.
July 16, 2003

Garofalo rides tide of criticism.
July 16, 2003

Magazine spinoffs we'd like to see.
July 16, 2003

Between the pages of teen magazines.
July 16, 2003

Security Officers Keep Losing Keys to Livermore, Calif., Laboratory.
July 16, 2003... Byline: Andrea Widener Jul. 16--LIVERMORE, Calif.--For the third time in four months, a Lawrence Livermore Laboratory security officer has lost a set of keys to lab gates and offices. This time, an intensive search, which included...

PeopleSoft Takeover Bid Grows Difficult for Oracle.
July 16, 2003... Jul. 16--PeopleSoft Inc. has pulled out all the stops in its high-stakes contest of wills with Oracle Corp. Can Oracle break through PeopleSoft's defenses? Since Oracle launched a hostile takeover bid last month, PeopleSoft has thrown up a...

PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards Merger Might Happen Any Day.
July 16, 2003... Jul. 16--J.D. Edwards & Co. could become part of PeopleSoft Inc. as early as tonight, creating the largest business software company in the United States and strengthening the "brick wall" the two companies have built to fend off Oracle Corp.'s...