Hungry deer, shrinking ponds, speeding golf balls: the drought’s toll around Berkeley
Strawberry Creek and the city’s trees are doing OK, but Lake Anza is unswimmable, turtles are getting run over by cars and wild pigs may be moving in.
John Metcalfe
John Metcalfe is an Oakland-based freelance reporter who's written for Berkeleyside, The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Atlantic. He enjoys covering science, climate and weather, and urban mysteries like what makes the perfect public toilet or where pigeons go to die.
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Articles by John
Local food pantries start to worry as support dips
Berkeley and Alameda County food providers are worried about donations and volunteering shriveling as more people view the pandemic as having ended.
16-story Residence Inn to open this October in downtown Berkeley
The Marriott-branded hotel will become the third-tallest building in Berkeley and include 331 extended-stay suites, 15,000 square feet of meeting space and a rooftop bar and restaurant.
Lizards and lounge chairs: How Fourth Street survived the pandemic
West Berkeley’s commercial vacancy rate was actually lower in 2020 than it was pre-pandemic. A reptile shop is thriving, a plant store has opened and Fourth is turning into a furniture shopping mecca.
Cyclists worry about being jacked on Grizzly Peak
A series of armed robberies has unnerved bike riders along popular scenic East Bay roads.
‘Next-generation’ Kaiser medical center to open in West Berkeley in May
Berkeley has about 58,000 Kaiser members but, until now, has never had a medical center in the city. Ahead of its opening, we look at what it will offer.
New map shows which neighborhoods have the most, and the fewest, trees
Wealthier neighborhoods are leafier and hence healthier, but a new tree-planting program is on the way.
Berkeley may get rid of single-family zoning as a way to correct the arc of its ugly housing history
Berkeley in 1916 was the first city to enact single-family zoning, which had the effect of pushing nonwhite people to more impoverished neighborhoods in the south and west.
UC Berkeley removes hundreds of trees to ensure fire evacuation route
After years of opposition and lawsuits, Cal has succeeded in cutting down eucalyptus trees near campus.
The vaccine ‘will not mean back to normal.’ How 3 businesses rose to the challenge of COVID-19
These business owners switched from building phone booths to sneeze guards, designed a user-friendly testing kiosk and created a “cleanroom” for customers.
Want to see who pays less property tax than you? New neighborhood map has the details
Because of Proposition 13, one house on a block might pay $28,000 in property taxes while a similar home only pays $6,000.
‘I’ve never had a month like this; this is the worst I’ve seen.’ Berkeley businesses struggle with few Cal students around
Six months into the pandemic, businesses set up to serve UC Berkeley see little business. Property owners who usually rent to students have lots of vacancies.
How risky is riding BART during the pandemic?
It’s probably safer than you think, according to medical professionals — and could become safer in the future, if technologies the transit agency is testing now pan out.
Berkeley has put $580K behind the arts. The caveat: no one can congregate to enjoy them
Although the pandemic has brought many cultural events to a grinding halt, the arts in Berkeley are not kaput. The city is moving forward with plans for new public art. Here’s what to look forward to in coming months.
Bayer Berkeley plans to double workforce, significantly grow campus, over next 30 years
Bayer HealthCare’s proposal would add more than 1 million square feet of work space to its West Berkeley campus, erect taller buildings and eventually hire 1,000 more employees.
Despite raising thousands of dollars through GoFundMe, some businesses can’t access the money
GoFundMe promises to get funds out relatively quickly, but businesses and nonprofits contacted by Berkeleyside say they have had to wait weeks for money. Others are still waiting.
