For anyone who has driven through it, it’s unsurprising that the most viewed post on Berkeleyside this week was the story on the city’s plans for the Gilman Street interchange. Plans for the dog’s breakfast of roads are currently in limbo because of the failure of Measure B-1 to pass last November. What’s clear from the comments to the story is that everyone hates the current arrangement, but plenty of people are skeptical that planned roundabouts will make safety and traffic flow much better.
Analyzing and understanding the city’s unfunded liabilities is something that everyone acknowledges is important, but it doesn’t get hearts racing like Gilman Street traffic or the closure of the Main Post Office. But this week the city released its first biennial report on liabilities, showing the scale of the problem, particularly for pensions and infrastructure.
The shooting death earlier this month of Zontee Jones has provoked concerns and ideas about safety in west Berkeley. Although the amount of most violent crimes has diminished in recent years in Berkeley, Berkeley police said they understand community concerns. BPD Lt Dave Frankel said at a community meeting that people can have a false impression of increased violence because of the greater availability of information and data about crime than in the past.
Finally, Berkeley’s burrowing owls. Do you want to see more of them? Of course you do.
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