Certainly the most worrisome and dramatic news this week is the Rim Fire, which has spread to 125,000 acres and has entered Yosemite National Park. The fire prompted the evacuation of Berkeley Family Camp, as well as Camp Tawonga and Cal’s Lair of the Bear. (See Nancy Rubin’s photos of the Lair). Firefighters have been brought in from around the state – including the city of Berkeley – to battle the fire. They dropped fire retardant on Berkeley Family Camp on Friday morning. Residents evacuated parts of the town of Groveland Friday night, according to to the Los Angeles Times. The fire is only about 5% contained.
Vivian Ho of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted this morning that the Berkeley Family Camp is untouched.
The history of the Dona Spring Animal Shelter is long and complicated, and news that the city did not require public art to be installed will only add to that saga.
Neighbors are fighting the construction of a five story building on Shattuck and Derby that will have 70 micro-units.
And in the good news category, a manager from the Berkeley Downtown Association spotted a mentally-disabled San Jose man who had been missing since mid-August at a BART station. The man, who has the mental capacity of a two-year old, had been preparing to board a train to Fremont. The man may have spent a few days at the encampment at the main post office on Allston Way because he asked the manager “Why are they going to tear down our post office?”
In the editor’s choice category, Berkeleyside sat down for a long interview with the new UC Berkeley chancelor, Nicholas Dirks. Fun fact: He likes the food at Vik’s Chaat House. We do, too. Welcome to Berkeley.
Chancellor Nicholas Dirks will be speaking at Uncharted: The Berkeley Festival of Ideas. Uncharted is two days of provocative thinking, inspiring speakers, workshops, and a big party — all in downtown Berkeley in October. Read all about it, be part of it. Register on the Uncharted website.
