Monthly Archives: May 2011

News

The Berkeley Wire: 05.31.11

May 31, 2011 4:55 pm by Tracey Taylor

Berkeley’s San Pablo Park: rated for its kid-friendliness [510 Families]
Lorrain Midanik retires after 27 years on UC Berkeley faculty [UCB]
Birdland Jazz Club remakes itself as private club [Bay Citizen]
Berkeley activist Gina Sasso dies [Berkeley Daily Planet]
Patrol program leads to less loitering on Telegraph [Daily Cal]

Behind the scenes at the Farmers Market, by sisterfish3/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.

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Berkeleyside

Last chance: Support local journalism, get free T-shirt!

May 31, 2011 4:50 pm by Tracey Taylor
T-Shirt

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Today is the last day of Berkeleyside’s special offer of a free T-shirt if you become a Berkeleyside supporter, which costs as little as $5.00 a month

So go on, champion independent local journalism and wear the T-shirt with pride (unlike the slouchy teenager in the photo). We defy you to resist!

Berkeleyside breaks news and provides unmatched investigative journalism on the issues that matter for Berkeley every day. Residents, both high- and low-profile, appreciate what we do. Here’s what Michael … Continue reading »

Verdict reached in murder trial with Berkeley High victim

May 31, 2011 4:00 pm by Guest contributor
Yonas Mehari, a Berkeley High senior, who was murdered in 2006 along with his mother, Regbe Bahrengasi, and sister, Winta Mehari (right)

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By Brenda Kahn

Four and a half years after he was brutally murdered by gunfire in his family’s Oakland apartment, a jury today announced guilty verdicts in the case of former Berkeley High School student Yonas Mehari.

The complex, five-month murder trial concerned three victims — Yonas, age 17 at the time; his mother Regbe Bahrengasi, age 50 at the time; and Yonas’ sister, Winta Mehari, age 28 at the time — who were all gunned down on Thanksgiving Day 2006.

Yonas Mehari was a senior at Berkeley High at the time of his death, which occurred in his family’s Oakland apartment during the course of their Thanksgiving celebration. The jury found two brothers, Asmerom and Tewodros Gebreselassie, guilty of first-degree murder in the triple-murder case. They were also found guilty of associated charges, including kidnapping of Yonas’ nephew and Winta’s son Isaac, who was 2 years old at the time of the shootings.

The verdicts were reached last Thursday following several days of deliberation, but the announcement was delayed until this morning, leaving a sense of suspense over the three-day Memorial Day weekend. … Continue reading »

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Berkeley students want better stores, fewer street people

May 31, 2011 2:52 pm by Frances Dinkelspiel
People hanging out on Telegraph on Memorial Day Photo: Nancy Rubin

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While UC Berkeley students eat regularly downtown and on Telegraph Avenue, they generally go elsewhere to shop for clothes, get their hair cut, buy sundries, or go out on the town, according to a new survey of 1,800 graduate and undergraduate students.

While 40.3% of the respondents say they eat weekly on Telegraph Avenue, at least half said they visit the street less than once a month to shop, work, or get personal or professional services. Instead, they go to Emeryville or San Francisco. The numbers were similar for downtown.

But the students said they would frequent Berkeley’s shops more frequently if the selection was better, the streets were cleaner, and they felt safer walking around. … Continue reading »

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More local food trucks join Berkeley’s first Off The Grid

May 31, 2011 11:00 am by Tracey Taylor
An Off The Grid street-food gathering at Fort Mason, San Francisco. Photo: Off The Grid

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A total of eight food trucks will be working Berkeley’s inaugural Off The Grid street-food event tomorrow night in the Gourmet Ghetto, and four of them are East Bay based vendors.

Joining the four who signed up early — Cupkates, Liba Falafel, Hapa SF and The Taco Guys – will be Skylite Snowballs, 510 Burger, Fins on the Hoof and Brass Knuckle.

Berkeley’s Skylite Snowballs launched in September last year, the brainchild of Katie Baum who pined for the Baltimore-style snowballs of her childhood. Her powder-blue truck can often be seen around the East Bay, including in front of Star Grocery on Claremont Avenue.

As its name implies, Oakland-based 510 Burger turns out artisan burgers and sandwiches, and, like most Off The Grid vendors, favors locally sourced ingredients. … Continue reading »

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Road closure adds more woes for UC Berkeley neighbors

May 31, 2011 9:00 am by Guest contributor
Construction vehicles near Memorial Stadium

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By Niclas Ericsson

The east side of Piedmont Avenue – one of the main routes across the top of the UC Berkeley campus – was shut down May 23 for the summer, leading some nearby residents to complain about the continuing disruption caused by construction projects in the area.

James McClury, an architecture student, said getting around the east side of campus has been difficult this year with all the construction vehicles clogging the roads, and he expected the traffic situation to grow worse with the closure of Piedmont Avenue.

“But it’s impossible to stop it,” said McClury.  “The university is like the guerrilla gorilla of Berkeley, they can do whatever they want.”

Jack Chang, who was packing up to leave for his summer holidays, said he not happy about the closing down of one lane of Piedmont Avenue.

“That’s going to be a mess,” he said. … Continue reading »

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Big Screen Berkeley: Blank City

May 31, 2011 6:00 am by John Seal
minus-zero-r

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I’ve spent the past quarter century being vaguely embarrassed about my brief but passionate interest in the films of Richard Kern and Nick Zedd. Friends still tease me about it. Now, however, my predilection has been validated: the new documentary Blank City, opening this Friday June 3rd at the Landmark Shattuck Cinemas, shines the spotlight on Kern, Zedd, and their fellow late 20th-century New York-based indie filmmakers, and suggests their work actually might have some artistic merit.

Late 70s New York City was a mess. Parts of the near-bankrupt city were decaying and lawless no-go zones, including notorious Alphabet City, the Lower East Side neighborhood best known for its burned out apartment buildings, vacant lots, and shooting galleries. Rents were low, but paying rent wasn’t always necessary: there were plenty of abandoned buildings in which to squat. … Continue reading »

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News

Best of Berkeleyside: This week’s most popular posts

May 28, 2011 7:48 am by Frances Dinkelspiel

Landscape architect Robert Trachtenberg wrote about the beauty of all-white gardens on Wednesday

Andronico’s, which has four outlets in Berkeley, is facing financial troubles. This story generated a huge number of comments about the quality of local grocery stores.
Mark Moulitsas has run the hugely popular Daily Kos website from his Berkeley home but is moving into actual offices. He enjoys his Berkeley address because it makes conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly “cry.”
Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse keeps on spinning out talented graduates who go off to open their own amazing food enterprises. The latest is chef Aaron Rocchino and his wife Monica who are starting an artisan butcher shop.
Berkeley is facing a $12 million budget deficit and it’s a head scratcher as to why the City Council hasn’t yet convened a new medical marijuana commission that can start drawing up rules for a fourth, money-making dispensary.
Amazon declares Berkeley the nation’s third best-read city. Sure, we are happy people read, but does this mean residents buy more books online than at local independent bookstores?
Rivoli and Corso are two of Berkeley’s best restaurants and the culinary/management team (and separated husband and wife) of Wendy Brucker and Roscoe Skipper have a fascinating partnership.

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In the past week, Berkeleyside has published stories on subjects as varied as how various council members are using Twitter, the accordion player Peter Ralchev,  street art popping up around town, and more.

We have literally dozens of stories on our to-do list every week — stories on education, crime, development and culture that directly impact all of us who live in Berkeley.

We can’t research and write these stories without your support. Please help us continue to break news and give the community a voice by becoming a Berkeleyside supporter — for as little as $5 a month. If you sign up as a supporter at any level before May 31 we will send you a free Berkeleyside T-shirt. Seriously, how can you resist?

Berkeleyside will be taking Monday off for the Memorial Day holiday. See you on Tuesday.

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News

The Berkeley Wire: 05.27.11

May 27, 2011 4:55 pm by Tracey Taylor

Tempers flare over Berkeley High gun reforms at board meeting [Berkeley Voice]
Major Transbay Tube delays on two weekends in May and June [BART]
Berkeley homeless program yields mixed results [Berkeley Voice]
Historians from around the state flock together to Berkeley [Inside Bay Area]

Photo: Hearst Memorial Building, by TheRealMichaelMoore/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.

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A Banksy sighting in Berkeley? We think not

May 27, 2011 3:00 pm by Tracey Taylor
Fake Banksy 1

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It isn’t the first time we have been sent photos of an image on a wall with the claim that it was done by celebrity British street artist Banksy — and it probably won’t be the last.

We are skeptical this piece — which is in the empty lot at the cornor of University and McGee Avenues – has anything to do with Banksy, not least because it lacks his original sense of wit.

Nevertheless we would like to be proved … Continue reading »

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