Daily Archives: February 15, 2012

News

The Berkeley Wire: 02.15.12

February 15, 2012 4:55 pm by Berkeleyside Editors

Occupy Cal protesters move to Doe Library steps [Daily Cal]
Kitchen on Fire expands [Bay Area News Group]
UC Berkeley student wins prestigious Churchill Scholarship [UCB]
Traffic “flushing” and metering planned for I-80 freeway [Patch]
BART police department unveils new policing structure [Chronicle]

Photo: Sunlight through the leaves, by D.H. Parks/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.

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Truck hits fire hydrant, causing 60 ft geyser in Berkeley

February 15, 2012 3:49 pm by Tracey Taylor
Screen shot 2012-02-15 at 4.56.46 PM

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A big rig driving down Addison towards Fifth Street in west Berkeley made a very sharp turn and took out a water main on the corner of the two streets at around 2:40 pm today. The accident created a 60 ft-high geyser, says Berkeleysider Steven Donaldson who was on the scene and shot the video above.

The voices you hear on the video are Donaldson and the firefighter in charge of the truck. He’s saying  that the firefighter who wades into … Continue reading »

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News

Berkeley faces $5 million annual workers’ comp costs

February 15, 2012 2:45 pm by Lance Knobel
The fire department provides the largest number of workers comp claims

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Workers’ compensation costs the City of Berkeley between $5 and $6 million each year, according to a report presented at last night’s City Council meeting. The figures, although not new, seemed to startle councilmembers who said they were determined to bring the cost down.

“There needs to be a cultural change at the actual work level,” said Councilmember Linda Maio. “I was floored when I saw we are paying out $5 million a year in claims. We can’t do that.”

Other councilmembers pointed out the concentration of claims in a few departments. The most claims come from the fire department, where last year 28 of the 118 sworn employees filed indemnity claims. The police department accounts for the second highest number, with 24 of 157 sworn employees filing claims last year. … Continue reading »

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Police car chase ending at Berkeley Bowl leads to two arrests
A high-speed car chase ended near intersection of Shattuck and Ashby Tuesday night
February 15, 2012 2:00 pm by Tracey Taylor

A police car chase that ended in a collision at the intersection of Russell Street and Shattuck Avenue Tuesday night led to two arrests.

Two people are in custody and police are searching for a gun that was tossed from a speeding car being pursued by the Oakland police, according to a Berkeley police spokeswoman, reported in the Oakland Tribune.

Four cars were damaged when the fleeing vehicle crashed into them during the pursuit, at around 6:30 p.m. near Berkeley Bowl. A member of the community in one of the cars sustained minor injuries but did not require medical attention at the scene.

Several police cars and an ambulance were on the scene last night, and traffic was diverted on a section of Shattuck Avenue. BPD towed all four cars for moderate to major damage. Berkeleyside reader “greenwombat” posted on Twitter: “Nothing like finding yourself in the middle of a high-speed police car chase as you try to pull into Berkeley Bowl.”

Update, 4:25 pm: This article has been updated with new information from BPD.

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Long-gone Berkeley landmarks form novel’s backdrop

February 15, 2012 11:00 am by Frances Dinkelspiel
Meredith Maran

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Berkeley may not equal Paris as a city of love, but it is the place where a lot of loving happens in Meredith Maran’s first novel, a Theory of Small Earthquakes.

The book is the story of Alison and Zoe, who meet at Oberlin College in 1983, fall in love, and eventually move to Berkeley.

They sort of choose the city by random, as evidenced by this snippet of dialogue:

“I’ve never even been to Berkeley. Have you?” asks Alison.

“I’ve seen pictures. Blue sky. Cute houses. Sit-ins at Sproul Plaza. An artist in every garret. What more do we need to know?” … Continue reading »

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Berkeley passes police mutual aid agreements

February 15, 2012 9:00 am by Lance Knobel
Jesse Arreguín: budget reflects "our priorities as a community"

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At last night’s City Council meeting, five mutual aid memoranda regarding the Berkeley Police Department and other agencies passed by an 8-1 vote. The passage followed lengthy and at times impassioned public comment when dozens of people spoke, many arguing against the passage.

Mutual aid agreements set out the terms of cooperation between different agencies, such as when the UC Police Department requests aid from BPD.

“I believe we have one of the best police forces in the Bay Area, if not the country,” said Councilmember Jesse Arreguín, who proposed amendments to the staff recommendation on the memoranda. “The issue isn’t the police department. It’s these other agencies.”

The City Council had approved numerous mutual aid memoranda at its November 8th meeting last year. But five of the agreements were held for further review by the city manager and the Police Review Commission (PRC). The five agreements concerned the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC), the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), the UCPD, criminal intelligence, and jail operations. Last night’s vote was to approve the five, but to ask the city manager and the PRC to report back to the council on Arreguín’s amendments within 90 days. … Continue reading »

Where in Berkeley?

Where in Berkeley?

February 15, 2012 7:00 am by Tracey Taylor

Know where this is? Take a guess and let us know in the Comments.

Update, 10:50 am: NA Parish correctly identified this as being the exit from the north side of Kirala on Ward Street. Congratulations on being this week’s winner!

Photo: K. Lenihan.

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