Despite the holidays being almost upon us, it was far from being a slow news week.
Several crime-related stories caught people’s attention. There was the revelation that the shooting of Pam Mullins, while she was riding her bike on Sacramento Street on Dec. 4, was not random; the news that Berkeley had in fact had five homicides this year when a coroner’s report on Mark Stannard, known as Cowboy, revealed he had been the victim of a murder in October. On Wednesday, a man provoked a night-long standoff with police in Albany after threatening to shoot some of his neighbors; and north Berkeley residents expressed their concern about local crime at a neighborhood meeting on Thursday, prompted by a recent spate of robberies.
The obituary of Cal PhD student Steve Jarjisian, who died in a motorcycle accident on Dec. 12 in north Berkeley, which we published on Wednesday, was very well read. As was the news we broke on Friday that proposals were afoot for the city’s first high-rise in 40 years.
But by far the most viewed and discussed story this week was the one we published on Thursday with the news that Berkeley had pulled the plug, after 19 months, on food truck market Off The Grid in the Gourmet Ghetto. Many readers expressed frustration that such a popular event was being discontinued with no consultation or notice.
Do you like staying informed about Berkeley news? Then please consider becoming a Berkeleyside Member and supporting us. Members get invited to special parties, get first dibs and discounts on tickets to events, a behind-the-scenes newsletter, and the knowledge that a contribution will keep local news reporting flowing.
