There was no competition. From the moment we posted a story about a group of activists protesting outside the Berkeley home of a Google engineer because of the company’s “evil surveillance techniques,” readers were mostly outraged. Many called the protests out of line and said the activists went too far by personalizing complaints about the impact of high tech companies on the Bay Area. A few people defended the actions of “Counterforce,” which included ringing the engineer’s doorbell at 7 a.m. while his wife and two young children were also at home.
Readers were enchanted by the discovery of a time capsule in the cornerstone of a Berkeley community church on Durant. It was left there in 1948 and was found when construction started on a new apartment complex. When the capsule was opened Wednesday, church leaders found a a carefully wrapped 1875 family bible from one of the church’s founding members, newspaper articles about the church groundbreaking in 1948, and several other related records, such as a church history and roster, published sermons related to the founding pastor, and an architectural flier about the building.
One of the most disturbing articles of the week was the story behind the murder of Zontee Jones in 2013. Witnesses at a preliminary hearing for one of the men charged with the killing said a dispute about a woman was the genesis of the violence.
Berkeleyside had many more stories last week. To get a quick view of them, check out our “All the News” grid.
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