Berkeleyside’s Opinionator section continues to draw passionate, well-articulated argument on a number of topical issues.
In case you missed them, here’s a recap of six recent op-eds:
BERKELEY TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY After Berkeleyside published a lengthy investigative story on the troubled Berkeley Technology Academy, the city’s second high school, John Fike, a teacher on special assignment there, advocated for a positive response. “Rather than cast blame, point fingers and re-count unfortunate anecdotes of past and current students in crisis situations, I’d like to take this opportunity to provide additional context about the challenge of our school, and how some of us think and hope we might become better and more effective at serving our students, who are indeed — as our Principal Quintana accurately states — simultaneously “brilliant kids” and “traumatized,” he writes.
RENTALS Also responding to another much-discussed Berkeleyside article, about how short-term rentals such as those offered by Airbnb are affecting the rental market generally, Berkeley resident Jenny Lederer argues that home sharing in the city is a vital income source that serves the entire community.
ADELINE CORRIDOR Charles Siegel, a proponent of Measure Q on the 2014 Berkeley ballot, has a proposal on how to mend the urban fabric of South Berkeley’s Adeline Street which, as he says, everyone seems to agree is too wide.
FOSSIL FUELS Erica Etelson, who graduated from Berkeley Law in 1993, argues that the University of California should re-invest its fossil-fuel portfolio in renewable energy. “Clean energy investments are sound on two levels — they offer competitive yields in a sector that can only grow, and they promote a safer, healthier future for our students,” she writes.
FIGHT FOR 15 Zharia Harper, 19, a Laney College student who has worked at a McDonald’s for two years, makes the case for a $15 minimum wage for fast-food workers. “…my mom earns $13 an hour at a big-box retail store, and between us, we often take home just $1,000 every pay period. Imagine paying Bay Area rent on that!” she says.
HAROLD WAY PROJECT Finally, Edward C. Moore, a retired lawyer, a 49-year resident of California and a West Berkeley homeowner, is just one of hundreds who have expressed their opinions on the proposed Harold Way project in downtown Berkeley. “Developers should permanently share with the Berkeley community the wealth created by tall buildings,” he says in an op-ed published June 9.
What do you think? Share your views in the comments sections on the individual op-eds.
Berkeleyside welcomes submissions of op-ed articles. We ask that we are given first refusal to publish. Topics should be Berkeley-related, local authors are preferred, and we don’t publish anonymous pieces. Email submissions, as Word documents or embedded in the email, to editors@berkeleyside.com. The recommended length is 500-800 words. Please include your name and a one-line bio that includes full, relevant disclosures. Berkeleyside will publish op-ed pieces at its discretion.
