Richmond Mayor Tom Butt took matters into his own hands, and worked with a contractor to bury the creature Thursday.
Kate Darby Rauch
Freelancer Catherine "Kate" Rauch has been contributing to Berkeleyside for several years, and also happens to live in Berkeley, near downtown. 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
Berkeley’s tree removal aims to ‘set an example’ for wildfire management
The city has cut down nearly 300 trees, mostly eucalyptus and Monterey pine, since 2019 and is now ramping up defensible space inspections of private property in high-fire areas.
Posted inNature
Dead whale towed to waters northwest of Berkeley to decompose
A male gray whale found early last month has been anchored near Brooks Island and spotted by boaters coming into the Berkeley Marina.
Posted inCommunity
‘This land is coming back to us’: Berkeley community garden gifted to Ohlone land trust
An anonymous donor paid $435,000 to save part of the Ashby Community Garden in Southwest Berkeley and has given it to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.
Posted inBusiness
Berkeley yoga studio fires co-founder whose boyfriend made the antisemitic flyers dropped in the hills
The owner of Hella Yoga found that his business partner, Kelly Johnson, had used company computers to register a business for her boyfriend to spread hate.
Posted inCrime & Safety
Hundreds of antisemitic flyers dropped in Berkeley Hills driveways
The flyers have been tied to a fringe white supremacist group. Similar flyers have been distributed across the Bay Area.
Posted inCity
The ‘probabilities and uncertainties’ of forecasting tsunami damage in Berkeley
The odds of a worst-case tsunami hitting Berkeley in the next 50 years are 1 in 20, experts say. Such an event could cause up to 10-15 feet of flooding.
Posted inCity
Scarce rapid tests force Berkeley nursing homes to make agonizing choices
Most nursing homes don’t have enough rapid tests for managing omicron, leading to poignant decisions on who they can help.
Posted inCommunity
Group asks Cal to preserve century-old buildings, once home to historic girls school
The Anna Head School opened in 1892. Now a group of historians, architects and contractors wants to work with UC Berkeley to preserve some of the school’s decrepit buildings.
Posted inCity
No, genetically engineered mosquitoes aren’t about to be released in Berkeley
A confusing City Council item last month suggested Alameda County could soon see a release of genetically engineered mosquitoes as part of a state pilot. But the county never agreed to be included in the study.
Posted inCity
Berkeley ends its ‘Healthy Streets’ road barrier program
The city closed 4.2 miles of Berkeley roads to cars during the pandemic. The city manager says lessons from the program will inform a future bike plan.
Posted inCity
Berkeley’s only landmarked gas station gets a sorrowful goodbye
The 1930s era brick garage at 1952 Oxford St. is slated for demolition to make way for a 772-bed UC Berkeley student housing project.