Telegraph Avenue is completely open to business once again, but the story of the Sequoia Building fire rumbles on. The elevator system where the fire started had been out of permit since August. Former tenants are organizing to ensure their rights are met and the owners adhere to their legal responsibilities.
Councilmember Jesse Arreguín’s proposal to tackle the noise from news helicopters hovering over Berkeley attracted some brickbats from commenters, but more plaudits. When it came up for debate at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, it passed. But whether Berkeley can really restrain the noisy eyes in the sky remains to be seen.
After the series of small quakes in October, seismic safety looms large for many Berkeleyans. But the city’s soft story ordinance seems to be going largely unheeded by landlords, according to a walking survey done this week.
Plenty of readers were understandably amused that someone at Cal didn’t know how to spell Nobel. Since Berkeley professor Saul Perlmutter is collecting his prize today in Stockholm, we also looked at the history of the famous NL parking permit this week.
Tom Mueller uncovered the deception behind much of the olive oil we consume. As he told Berkeleyside, “It’s a big hoax. What’s written on the bottle does not guarantee what’s inside.”
Last week Berkeleyside made a special limited offer: a beautiful 24 x 16 picture of Berkeley by Daniel Parks (shown below) in exchange for a $300 donation or $25 a month subscription. Thank you to all our readers who decided to help support local journalism by signing up. There is still one more print available, which makes the perfect gift for a dedicated Berkeleyan. Berkeleyside welcomes all support and will list everyone who helped out in 2011 in an end-of-year thank you. Please consider subscribing or donating.
