Daily Archives: January 30, 2012
The Berkeley Wire: 01.30.12
Feb. 25 memorial for Terry Doran, educator [Caring Bridge]
UC campuses shifting to be smoke-free [Daily Cal]
Campus announces new student conduct policy [UC Berkeley NewsCenter]
Cal students cling to mystical murals [SF Chronicle]
Designer Erica Tanov gets inspired by Bay Area [SF Chronicle]
Berkeley Art Museum displays Abstract Expressionists [Daily Cal]
Recycled car parts used to build unique home [KSDK]
Heinz building reminder of Berkeley’s industrial history [Patch]
Photo: Peering at the rest of the pier, by beckcowles/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.
City council to consider switch from Wells Fargo
Update, 01.31.12: Wells Fargo spokesperson Ruben Pulido sent us the following statement at 4:30 pm today:
“Wells Fargo is committed to the city of Berkeley. We are working with local leaders to support the community and help people who are facing financial challenges. Over the past three years, Wells Fargo has donated more than $3 million to 89 nonprofits in Berkeley. Wells Fargo works diligently with customers to find solutions that prevent foreclosures. Over the past year, less than 2% of homeowner-occupied loans in our servicing portfolio have proceeded to foreclosure sale. Wells Fargo currently owns less than 10 properties in the Berkeley market.”
Original story: The City of Berkeley might switch its banking from Wells Fargo, seen as one of the major banks at the heart of the financial crisis and mortgage meltdown.
At tomorrow night’s City Council meeting, a proposal by Jesse Arreguín and Darryl Moore asks staff to evaluate shifting the city’s banking relationship from Wells Fargo when the current contract expires at the end of 2012.
“We have a responsibility to show we are investing the taxpayers’ money not only in a fiscally responsible way, but in a socially responsible way,” said Arreguín. “We want to do business with someone who invests in our community.” … Continue reading »
$250,000 for Berkeley schools thanks to Lonely Island
The largest-ever single donation to Berkeley Unified School District will be made thanks to a Super Bowl contest for Doritos. Doritos, part of the Frito-Lay division of Pepsico, is working with The Lonely Island on its Crash the Super Bowl competition. The three members of comedy music and video group The Lonely Island, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, have been friends since Willard Middle School.
For Crash the Super Bowl, Doritos invites consumer-made ads, one of which airs in a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl. The Lonely Island were originally going to create their own Doritos ad, but decided instead to give their air time to a second consumer-created ad. By doing so, they gave up the chance for a $1 million prize to charity if their Doritos ad took the number one spot on the USA Today Ad Meter. In return, Doritos has announced it will give $250,000 to The Lonely Island’s choice of charity — Berkeley Unified. … Continue reading »
Love books? Help give away 1 million of them
Book lovers around the world are planning to give away millions of books on April 23 – and they are looking for Berkeley readers to help them.
The event is called World Book Night and its inaugural event in Great Britain in March of 2011 was phenomenally successful. Tens of thousands of people handed out a million free books to those who might not necessarily have ready access to them. The idea was for people to share their love of reading and ignite a similar passion in others.
Now World Book Night has expanded around the world to Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and the United States. The goal is for one million books to be distributed in each country. … Continue reading »
Codornices Creek: Happy ducks in place of concrete
Update, 01.31.12: Susan Schwartz, President, Friends of Five Creeks, provides an informative clarification on the history of this section of Codornices Creek. (This is why we love the Berkeleyside community so much — our expert readers always bring the latest intelligence to the table!):
We’re always delighted to see articles about nature, but the Codornices Creek reach between 6th and 8th referred to was not in a pipe, nor were the reaches downstream.
Since 2000, three projects have carved new channels … Continue reading »
