Berkeley City Council decided on Tuesday night to uphold the Zoning Adjustments Board’s decision to allow the construction of a 100,000-sq ft lab building at 740 Heinz Avenue. The new plans call for the demolition of the old brick walls of the Copra Warehouse, which is on the site. Jesse Arreguín was the sole dissenting vote, although Kriss Worthington and Max Anderson abstained. The project had been approved in a different form in 2009. “It was a good project in 2009, and it’s a good project now,” said Councilmember Darryl Moore.
Berkeley High’s administration has focused in the last couple of years on improving attendance at the school. Daniel Roose, dean of attendance, told Berkeleyside about the latest plan to offer rewards for improved student attendance. “I’d like to be able to go up to a student in the corridor and shake their hand and give them a coupon for a free ice cream as a way of showing appreciation,” Roose said. Data from BHS shows significant improvement in attendance since 2010-11, although the gains have recently been leveling off.
Two notable nature stories made Berkeleyside this week. First, there was the sighting of mountain lion tracks near the popular Claremont Canyon trail. Less heartstopping, but certainly uplifting, was the account of how the Barn Owl became Berkeley’s official bird.
Berkeleyside readers can discover an extraordinary amount about the East Bay food scene through Nosh. This week’s Nosh coverage included a new Ethiopian coffee spot (see photo above), Paul Canales’ Duende Spanish restaurant, community and food at Café Raj, and Turkish coffee meringues.
Finally, Friday afternoon, Berkeleyside reported on an odd crime: an Oakland man arrested at Berkeley Bowl after he attempted to steal beer for the third time in one evening. Our readers’ comments to the story add the important dimension of speculation on what brand of beer was being stolen.
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