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Police Accountability Board is short-handed | Is it time to rethink I-80? | Get The Scene, our new arts newsletter | We're hiring: Nosh Editor

Avatar photo

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.

katedarbyrauch@gmail.com
Posted inCrime & Safety

‘A whole new ballgame’: Berkeley’s aggressive new plan to prevent wildfire

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch May 18, 2023, 3:27 p.m.May 28, 2023

The city’s recently completed Community Wildfire Protection Plan guides a major expansion in strategies and resources to reduce fire risk.

Posted inCity

Kayaker caught a Skates on the Bay sewage leak into bay waters

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch May 03, 2023, 11:39 a.m.May 3, 2023

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

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch May 03, 2023, 11:35 a.m.May 4, 2023

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

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch April 14, 2023, 7:00 a.m.April 14, 2023

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

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch March 22, 2023, 4:04 p.m.March 23, 2023

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

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch March 02, 2023, 4:35 p.m.March 6, 2023

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

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch Feb. 17, 2023, 11:18 a.m.February 17, 2023

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

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch Feb. 14, 2023, 1:39 p.m.June 1, 2023

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

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch Feb. 05, 2023, 7:00 a.m.February 10, 2023

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

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch Jan. 11, 2023, 2:41 p.m.January 12, 2023

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

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch Dec. 26, 2022, 2:01 p.m.January 3, 2023

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

Avatar photo by Kate Darby Rauch Dec. 06, 2022, 2:28 p.m.March 28, 2023

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.

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