Berkeley's animal shelter under construction. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel

Berkeley’s long-awaited, much debated animal shelter is finally under construction on Bolivar Street in West Berkeley. It is scheduled to open in 2012, ten years after voters passed Measure I to sell bonds to finance the construction.

Frances Dinkelspiel, Berkeleyside and CItyside co-founder, is a journalist and author. Her first book, Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California, published in November...