Daily Archives: September 21, 2011
The Berkeley Wire: 09.21.11
UC Berkeley applauds release of hikers by Iran [UCB News]
City Council discusses Safeway expansion [Daily Cal]
Berkeley will ask AT&T to let residents opt out of yellow pages [KCBS]
New York developer may buy Berkeley’s public housing [Indy Media]
Has Peet’s lost its soul as it has grown? [East Bay Express]
Ecology Center to host panel on “smart and just” growth [Ecology Center]
Award-winning chef at Corso is leaving [Inside Scoop]
Sea Salt restaurant needs more seasoning [East Bay Express]
Memories of “Miss Acty,” Berkeley’s first black teacher [The Root]
Renovo bids to bag Andronico’s and A.G. Ferrari’s [Oakland Tribune]
Photo by sisterfish3/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.
The City Council on Tuesday night voted to ask the city manager’s office to look into establishing vacancy fees on empty retail property.
The council voted unanimously to support a proposal put forward by City Councilman Jesse Arreguin to consider levying a fee when a storefront has been vacant for six months, and escalating the fee the longer the store is empty. (See full Berkeleyside story here.)
“Some Council members also raised several issues they wanted the staff to look at,” Arreguin wrote Berkeleyside in an email. “Such as why (so much) ground floor space is vacant? In addition to the vacancy fee are there other regulatory changes we could make such as amending the zoning to streamline the process, to shorten the cost and time to get permits, and are there incentives we could offer to owners to rent their spaces. They wanted the City Manager and staff to also take a broader look at the issue and see what package of proposals could we develop to fill vacant spaces.”
The council did not set a timeline for the city manager to return with a report.
Alert Berkeley neighbors help arrest man for burglary
Update, 11:10pm: This article has been updated following a correction by the Berkeley Police Department. The man arrested in the burglary case was from the city of Alameda, not Berkeley, and he is aged 19, not 47. The mistake was at least partly due to the speed which the police communicated information to Berkeleyside, for which we are grateful.
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A Berkeley man from the city of Alameda was arrested this afternoon and is facing burglary charges after … Continue reading »
Alta Bates nurses to go on one-day strike tomorrow
Nurses at the two Alta Bates Summit hospital campuses in Berkeley will hold a one-day strike tomorrow to protest what they term “sweeping demands for concessions” on contract terms by Sutter Health, which owns Alta Bates Summit. Alta Bates Summit is bringing in contract nurses to cover for the strikers, and says patient care will not be affected.
“The strike is because of Sutter’s scorched-earth policy against patients, the community and nurses,” said Charles Idelson, spokesperson for the California Nurses … Continue reading »
Swimmers cross Bay to raise funds for cancer research
About a year and a half ago, Steve Barbour, the CFO of Nestlé Dreyer’s Ice Cream, decided to take up swimming to get back in shape. While he had loved the water while growing up in southern California, he had stopped exercising regularly and his inactivity was beginning to show on his 52-year-old frame.
Barbour started swimming every day at 6:00 am at the pool at the Claremont Hotel. He got to know Susan Helmrich, a three-time cancer survivor and … Continue reading »
What’s the most Berkeley car ever? We have a winner
Last week, provoked by the discussion prompted by our story on the new Fiat dealership on Shattuck, we asked Berkeleysiders a simple question: what’s the most Berkeley car ever?
This wasn’t designed as a statistical exercise about current market share in Berkeley. It was more a playful dip into pop sociology.
A grand total of 379 readers voted, and, from the earliest moments, one car was in front: the Volvo station wagon. Not the modern Volvo, which is … Continue reading »
Breaking: Cal graduates are released from Iranian prison
The two UC Berkeley graduates who have been held in an Iranian prison since July 2009 accused of spying have been released, according to various media reports, including CBS News, and the Bay Citizen.
Iran’s official Press TV reported that the two U.S. hikers were released at around 4:30 a.m. PST.
The TV station’s website said in a statement released by Iran’s Judiciary, that an appeals court agreed to reduce the detention sentences of Shane Bauer and Josh … Continue reading »
New to Berkeley: Festival celebrates all things caffeine
Whether you’re partial to a cup of third-wave, single-origin, shade-grown espresso, a frothy decaf cappuccino, or a low-fat soy chai, it’s likely you enjoy coffee or tea in some form.
Cognizant of this, and of the fact that there are dozens of coffee and tea purveyors in our midst, the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce is holding the first Berkeley Coffee and Tea Festival on Saturday September 24th at the Hotel Shattuck Plaza in downtown Berkeley.
More than 30 … Continue reading »
Where in Berkeley?
Know where this is? Take a guess and let us know in the Comments.
Update, 9:00am: Peter Moore was this week’s winner. He identified this as the alleyway that runs from Virginia Street to Camelia Street; it’s located between 5th Street and 6th Street. Based on Google maps it appears that it is a City of Berkeley maintained public easement. This picture was taken from Virginia Street, between 6th Street and 5th Street, and the view is looking north. Congratulations, Peter, on being this week’s winner!
Photo: Neil Mishalov.
