At Monsen Silversmiths, Gary Reopelle is busy polishing and repairing metalware for the holidays. Catch up on this and other Berkeley retail and small business news.

Joanne Furio
Shop Talk: Bouldering gym opens in converted North Berkeley Walgreens; martial arts school closes after 42 years
All you need is some chalk and climbing shoes to scale heights of around 15 feet at Benchmark Climbing. Catch up on this and other Berkeley retail and small business news.
Berkeley’s Center for Independent Living, which launched the disability rights movement, turns 50
Famous for pushing Berkeley to install the country’s first curb cut, the center has also broken ground with its peer counseling program and now helps around 1,000 people per year.
Shop Talk: Pamana Plantas, family-run plant shop, opens on Solano; Myth & Scissors is dispelled
At Dom Morales’ plant shop, mom and pop help with the displays — and almost everything else. Catch up on this and other Berkeley retail and small business news.
From positive pregnancy test to baby’s first birthday, a new Berkeley maternity clinic promises to be there
Millie, a new clinic near Alta Bates, offers OB-GYN-midwifery care, mental health support, doula coaching and educational resources — all under one roof.
At Berkeley’s new game space for grownups, you can be a treasure-hunting, rope-swinging mole
Gamers have to cooperate to succeed at Game On, a Gilman District venture formed by three Berkeley childhood buddies.
Critic John King: Architectural nostalgia shouldn’t stop change in Berkeley
The SF Chronicle’s urban design critic — and a longtime Berkeley resident — calls for more open minds and less divisiveness during Berkeley’s current building boom.
What makes Berkeley a hotbed of worker co-ops?
With its roots in 1970s counterculture, Berkeley has more worker co-ops per capita than any other city in the state.
Every worker-owned company in Berkeley
Berkeley’s many worker-owned companies can fix your bike, sell you biodiesel or furnish the glassware for your laboratory. Here’s a list of where to find them.
2 groundbreaking Berkeley mental health institutes celebrate 50 years
The Berkeley Therapy Institute is known for its sex therapy work and its forensic evaluations of cults. The Psychotherapy Institute, a low-to-moderate fee clinic, has trained hundreds of clinicians.
Shop Talk: Stolen Levi’s sign returned; antiques shop closes in South Berkeley after three decades
A merchant who loved shopping for antiques as much as selling them leaves a neighborhood of antique shops. Catch up on this and other Berkeley retail and small business news.
Shop Talk: Where to go to ‘dress like your parents’; Berkeley YWCA’s new leader is gone already
Two brothers from Concord turn their hobby into a business at Paisley Vintage. Catch up on this and other Berkeley retail and small business news.