It’s been a week when Berkeley’s public safety officers have been in the spotlight. There were public promotion ceremonies for both the police and fire departments (we’ll publish the fire department promotions on Monday). But the demanding side of their jobs also was evident this week, with Berkeley’s third homicide of the year on Thursday night on the corner of Sacramento and Oregon. Berkeleyside followed up the story by talking to local residents about the crime and their neighborhood.
Police handling of the murder of Peter Cukor last month and the swirl of events around Chief Michael Meehan’s dispatch of a police sergeant to a reporter’s house late at night were back in the news this week. Berkeley officials released the transcript of Cukor’s call to the police on the night he was murdered on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, city officials released a raft of documents about the call on Oakland Tribune reporter Doug Oakley.
The killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida sparked two demonstrations in Berkeley this week. First, several hundred Berkeley High students held a protest on Thursday afternoon. On Friday, Longfellow Middle School held a “Hoodie Day” in honor of Martin.
Two basketball stories also made the news. First, Berkeley High’s Lady Yellowjackets lost to Southern California’s Mater Dei in the state championships. Berkeleyside followed that up with a profile of former BHS star Brittany Boyd, who has already in her freshman year at Cal emerged as a true star and role model.
Berkeleyside covered these stories and much more this week. We know many of you are deeply engaged with Berkeleyside — 33,440 unique visitors and 605 comments in the last seven days. If you want to help Berkeleyside thrive, please consider supporting us and local, independent journalism by becoming a subscriber.
