The city’s recently completed Community Wildfire Protection Plan guides a major expansion in strategies and resources to reduce fire risk.
Kate Darby Rauch
Freelancer Catherine "Kate" Rauch has been contributing to Berkeleyside for several years. Her work as a journalist has encompassed everything from 10 years as a daily news reporter for the East Bay Times, based in Richmond, to freelancing for a range of news sources including the Washington Post, Newsday, the Seattle Times, SF Chronicle and Oakland Magazine. Kate likes general assignment work and jumping into a variety of topics and stories, but has a background as a health writer, which includes writing for WebMD, Babycenter.com, Caring.com, UC San Francisco Medical Center, Kaiser and Sutter Health. Her awards include a first place in health and science writing from the Washington State Press Association, a first place in spot news from the Peninsula Press Club, and a second place in feature writing from the California Association of Newspaper Publishers. She's also worked as an anthropologist in rural Alaska. She has an MS degree from the Columbia School of Journalism and a BS from UC Berkeley in cultural geography.
Posted inCity
Kayaker caught a Skates on the Bay sewage leak into bay waters
A leaky pipe, first noticed by an alert paddler, was plugged on April 13. It’s not clear how long raw sewage had been flowing into the bay.
Posted inCity
Winter storms test East Bay’s progress in stopping sewage from entering the bay
In response to a lawsuit, Berkeley, Oakland, EBMUD and others agreed to rehab wastewater systems so less sewage lands in the bay. Tested by heavy rains and pipe-clogging pandemic wipes, leaks continue but work is on track.
Posted inCommunity
Ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, meet the 101-year-old survivor who speaks up against hate
Ben Stern has survived nine concentration camps and two death marches and led protests against American Nazis. He told his story in a 2022 memoir.
Posted inCity
Berkeley Hills neighborhood undergrounding its utility lines could be the last of its kind
It’s been a 30-year wait to bury a mile of wires near Tilden. With an eye to public safety, the city wants to underground more utility lines, but it’s complex and costly, and rules are changing.
Posted inCity
No changes yet to parking in Berkeley Hills despite city’s bright-red curb-painting mixup
But ramped up parking restrictions aimed at keeping roads clear during disasters could still come to the hills.
Posted inBerkeleyside
Behind the story: Meeting Berkeley’s 101-year-old Holocaust survivor
Berkeleyside reporter Kate Rauch shares what it meant to her to profile Holocaust survivor Ben Stern and why she felt the need to touch him with her hands.
Posted inNature
Leopard sharks and bat rays are dying in Berkeley’s Aquatic Park
Shark and ray die-offs tend to happen after heavy rains, though experts aren’t sure exactly why.
Posted inCommunity
101-year-old Berkeley Holocaust survivor feels ‘profound obligation’ to speak against hate
Ben Stern has survived nine concentration camps and two death marches and led protests against American Nazis. He tells his story in a new memoir.
Posted inCity
West Berkeley maintenance hole overflowed with sewage on New Year’s Eve
The East Bay Municipal Utility District tested the site at Page and Second streets the following day, and found no public health hazard.
Posted inCity
Berkeley’s sidewalk repair backlog is shrinking
The city has helped fund over 2,800 sidewalk repair jobs since 2019 in a popular cost-share program, but the end of the waitlist is years away.
Posted inNature
Berkeley gets serious about defensible space
With its new community wildfire plan, the city is tightening fire risk vegetation requirements, exploring ways to help homeowners fund the work, and taking steps toward restricting parking on narrow streets in the hills.
