Tag Archives: North Berkeley
South Berkeley fire displaces Deakin Street residents
Berkeley Fire crews responded to two fires on Sunday afternoon, which caused more than $200,000 in damage to homes in North and South Berkeley and displaced two people, authorities said Monday. The causes of both fires remain under investigation.
At 3 p.m. Sunday, officials received word of a structure fire in the 800 block of Shattuck Avenue in North Berkeley, said Avery Webb, acting deputy fire chief. … Continue reading »
Police, Fire conduct ‘shooter’ drill at Berkeley school
Authorities converged on a North Berkeley school campus Tuesday morning to practice how to respond to a scenario involving injured and deceased victims, as well as a barricaded gunman.
Victims, played by volunteers, wore stage make-up to mimic injuries. Police and fire teams, who began responding to the “call” around 9 a.m., had to come up with a safe strategy to care for the injured, who were scattered throughout the school, and locate the hidden shooter. First responders included several police officers, who found an injured “victim” in the grass outside the school; as they communicated suspect information and other details from the victim back to dispatchers, more and more crews arrived.
The operation culminated around 11 a.m. when a police team found and “killed” a volunteer playing the role of the shooter. Photos from the drill, by Emilie Raguso, appear here. … Continue reading »
Shattuck Avenue police action ties up traffic in Berkeley
Update, 7:40 p.m. KGO-TV reported just before 7 p.m. that police had “stormed the building” where the suspect or suspects were believed to be barricaded, but no one was inside. According to several people on Twitter who identified themselves as local residents, police set off a flash-bang grenade at about 6:30 p.m. as they moved in on the apartment building. As of about 6:49 p.m., police were “dispersing somewhat” from the area, according to a user named BehemothBullTerrier. At around 6:55 p.m. “Behemoth” wrote: “It’s over. No one was in the apt unit. That’s a cop w/ the bomb robot.”
Original post, 5:22 p.m. A police action on the south Berkeley border at Shattuck Avenue has been tying up traffic for hours and may not be resolved for many more.
According to the Oakland Police Department, at least one suspect in a shooting earlier in the day is barricaded inside an apartment on Shattuck. Thus far, police have been unable to establish communication.
Officer Johnna Watson, Oakland Police spokeswoman, said the incident began Friday afternoon at 12:26 p.m. when dispatchers started getting calls about a shooting at MacArthur Boulevard and Broadway. … Continue reading »
Man with gun robs Solano Avenue bank in Berkeley
A man with a handgun robbed a Solano Avenue bank Wednesday morning shortly after it opened, authorities said.
Police are investigating a robbery at Mechanics Bank, 1801 Solano Ave., said officer Jennifer Coats of the Berkeley Police Department, via email.
A bank staffer said the Mechanics Bank branch manager on Solano Avenue could not comment on the incident.
Coats said the robbery was reported just before 9:30 a.m. There were no reported injuries. … Continue reading »
Police arrest parolee linked to North Berkeley burglaries
The Berkeley Police Department has arrested a local man they say appears to be linked to several North Berkeley burglaries, officials said Thursday. Police found the man, a felon, in possession of weapons and ammunition after a car chase from south Berkeley into Emeryville in late December.
On Dec. 22, 2012, Berkeley Police officers near Harmon and California streets in south Berkeley spotted a sedan matching the description of a car reported to be involved in several burglaries and possibly a robbery in Berkeley, said officer Jennifer Coats, police spokeswoman, via email.
Officers tried to stop the driver, who fled from police “at a high rate of speed,” said Coats. … Continue reading »
Gallery: Photowalk along Solano Avenue
Local artist Priscilla de Mesa shared these photographs with Berkeleyside via our Flickr group after taking a photowalk on Solano Avenue. (The Berkeleyside Flickr group is a great way to share your great shots with us — we invite you to try it out.) See more from Priscilla here on Flickr. If you have Berkeley photographs you’d like to share with us, and are not on Flickr, you can do so via email (mail to tips@berkeleyside.com) or … Continue reading »
City of Berkeley offers reward to find ‘Cowboy’ killer
Authorities have announced Berkeley’s fifth homicide of the year, a longtime homeless community member who lived in northwest Berkeley and went by the name “Cowboy.”
On Thursday morning, the Berkeley Police Department reported the death of Mark Stannard, 64. His body was found in early October, but the case was not immediately determined to be a homicide.
Stannard was a familiar face around the neighborhood, said officer Jennifer Coats, police spokeswoman. Coats recalled seeing him on the streets of northwest Berkeley since the 90s, always walking with a white pitbull dog.
“He was homeless but he has been in Berkeley for years,” she said.
The city of Berkeley is offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed Stannard. Another $2,000 may also be available to tipsters, via Bay Area Crime Stoppers. (Scroll down for details.) … Continue reading »
After Newtown: Lockdown drill Wednesday, vigil Thursday
As the community continues to try to come to terms with Friday’s school tragedy in Newtown, CT, at least two Berkeley events this week respond to the deadly shooting.
A vigil to remember the victims took place over the weekend in Berkeley, and messages from school leaders and staff members have been going out daily to members of many Berkeley schools.
First Chinook salmon reported in Codornices Creek
The discovery of a 24-inch fish, believed to be a Chinook salmon, in a creek along Berkeley’s northern border with Albany, has inspired a ripple of excitement in the community.
The large fish was seen at least twice this week in Codornices Creek, which runs from the North Berkeley hills, through the city and down along the southern border of University Village, north of Harrison Street. A creek restoration project has been going on since the 1990s in the area, west of Ninth Street, to help with flood control, form a more meandering bed, and improve habitat for fish and other wildlife.
(Fishing is forbidden in the creek throughout the year.)
Seeing a fish this size in such a small creek, said fisheries biologist Jeff Hagar, is “pretty rare” and “very unusual.” … Continue reading »
Andronico’s unveils new-look Gourmet Ghetto store
On Saturday, Andronico’s Community Markets held a day of celebration to reveal to the public the results of seven months of work that have gone into making over its Shattuck Avenue store.
The BHS jazz band and the Cal “Straw Hat” Marching Band were both whipping up lively tunes near the store’s entrance, there were numerous tasting opportunities, and a raffle to benefit Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (BOSS) was giving out prizes on the hour. Otherwise it was business as usual, as customers arrived in droves to shop for groceries and take in the new-look grocery store. … Continue reading »
AT&T antennas likely to go on Oaks Theatre despite glitch
Update, Dec. 26: The decision has been appealed and appears to be scheduled for the March 5, 2013, meeting of the City Council.
Original story, posted Nov. 9: AT&T wireless customers near Solano Avenue may be one step closer to better cell reception with the approval Thursday night of plans for 12 new antennas to be mounted on the Oaks Theatre.
The Zoning Adjustments Board approved the plans, which city staff said were in compliance with all relevant federal and municipal codes.
According to the project description prepared by city staff, AT&T would install 12 antennas and nine cabinets on a steel platform 12 feet above an existing walkway. (The Oaks Theatre closed in January 2011 after its last owner, Rama Sagiraji, was unable to cover his running costs, and the lease has been up for grabs since then.)
Eight of the antennas would be installed at the southeast corner of the building “behind new Radio Frequency Transparent screening” that would be painted to match the building. Four of the antennas would be installed behind a similar screen at the west façade. … Continue reading »
Capitelli, Hahn go head to head in Berkeley’s District 5
Incumbent Laurie Capitelli and challenger Sophie Hahn will face off in November for the second time in a pitched battle for Berkeley’s District 5 City Council seat, in a race that has been tinged with allegations of distortion and ill will.
In 2008, Capitelli won District 5 re-election by defeating Hahn 4,299 to 3,898. But Hahn said Wednesday she believes her past four years of service and experience will help her come out on top in the polls on Nov. 6.
“I have a strong record of getting things done,” she said. “I do believe one person can make a difference. With hard work, collaboration, and really listening to and involving the community, you get good results for the community. And I think people recognize that. I think people have been waiting for a long time for change in Berkeley.”
So far, both candidates have raised about $30,000 for their campaigns. Each had $14,000 to $15,000 left in their coffers as of the most recent filing. The amount of money raised is second only to the mayor’s race on the ballot in Berkeley. … Continue reading »
North Berkeley merchants want parklets for the people
Businesses in the Gourmet Ghetto are keen to jump on the parklet bandwagon — bringing outdoor seating to the streets for espresso sippers, pizza eaters, and world watchers in lieu of parking spots — but must first wait for the city to come up with a process for making the spaces available.
So-called parklets — slivers of open space sprouting in cities around the globe — are a big trend in urban design, with San Francisco’s Pavement to Parks leading the way locally, and Oakland following suit (a pilot program is under review there.) Berkeley is a little late to the take-back-the-public-space movement but eager to come up with its own ideas to beautify public areas where community members can congregate. Leading the charge is the North Shattuck Association, which is helping businesses in its café- and restaurant-heavy district organize around the concept.
“The parklets pilot project was conceived by the association based on our experience with hosting temporary parklets during past years on Park(ing) Day and the Spice of Life Festival,” said Heather Hensley, executive director of the association.
Park(ing) Day is an international movement conceived to help city residents around the world reimagine the humble parking space. One day each fall, D.I.Y., creative urbanistas are encouraged to transform parking spots into parks, playgrounds, pop-up cafés — anything other than a lowly (though coveted) place for cars. Park(ing) Day parklets have sprouted in Berkeley in past years in front of the Cheese Board Collective and the late Amanda’s Feel Good Fresh Food. … Continue reading »
