This week, readers were focused, understandably, on the terrible murder of Peter Cukor, 67, a Berkeley resident who was bludgeoned to death outside his home on the evening of Feb. 18. The suspect, Daniel Jordan DeWitt, a paranoid schizophrenic, is due in court on March 22.
Also this week, we reported on the worrying shooting of a Berkeley High senior who was riding his bike near the Oakland-border Berkeley, most likely on his way to school. His identity has yet to be revealed and the police had no suspect as of yesterday. The student is recovering in hospital from a non-life threatening wound.
On Wednesday, we broke the story that the city had ordered two medical cannabis collectives to be shut down, leading one to close its doors. Berkeleyside wrote about the situation in September 2011 and the coverage prompted the Medical Cannabis Commission to take up the matter, but officials did not take any action until councilmembers requested the issue be looked at in December.
On Friday, it emerged that Berkeley High School’s safety officer, Billy Keys, had been arrested, accused of identity theft. Principal Scuderi wrote to the school community, commenting: “BHS will continue to hold the highest expectations for all of its staff and students and place no one above consequences if and when their actions jeopardize the integrity or security of our school.”
If you think Berkeleyside has made your life a little richer, and enhanced your knowledge of this vibrant city, please consider helping up sustain the site by becoming a subscriber. And, don’t forget, you can be first on the news by following us on Twitter and becoming a fan on Facebook.
