August Vollmer has long been lauded for the innovations he brought to policing. But revelations about some of his beliefs are making people reexamine his legacy.
Tony Hicks
Tony Hicks is an East Bay native who spent 22 years working for Bay Area News Group, covering crime, education and the city of Berkeley. He also worked in the features department of the Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune and San Jose Mercury News as a columnist, music and film critic, and pop culture writer. He has four daughters and writes a parenting column for Parents Press magazine.
Posted inCity
City hits pause on removal of Berkeley Big People sculptures
The artist, Scott Donahue, has asked for a halt so he can search for a third-party buyer. He still believes Berkeley mishandled the process.
Posted inCity
Berkeley wants input on its public restrooms
The city is conducting a study and holding public meetings to evaluate current conditions and future needs.
Posted inCity
Mobile showers come to Berkeley, providing the homeless with a new place to get clean
Lava Mae has been offering showers in West and South Berkeley since May, but the service has been slow to catch on. That may be changing.
Posted inCommunity
Tiny houses for low-income youth popping up in Oakland, thanks to Berkeley’s Youth Spirit Artworks
More than 120 people volunteered time on Saturday to help build the tiny homes.
Posted inCity
Berkeley arts commission votes to remove controversial sculptures on I-80 bridge
While the artistic merit of Scott Donahue’s Berkeley Big People artworks remains a point of debate, the commission says its decision to “deaccession” was based on the cost of maintaining the work.
Posted inCommunity
East Bay Regional Park District bans use of controversial herbicide glyphosate
The use of the active ingredient in Roundup is immediately banned around picnic and play areas and will be totally banned from district parks by the end of 2020.
Posted inCommunity
18-month-old boy who drowned gets a gravestone 96 years later
Nearly a century after his death, a little Berkeley boy who likely drowned in Strawberry Creek got a proper farewell from his family.
Posted inCity
Planning moves forward on I-80-Ashby Avenue interchange
The Alameda County Transportation Commission and Caltrans are working with officials from Berkeley and Emeryville to improve safety and traffic flow where Interstate 80 meets Ashby Avenue.
Posted inCommunity
Berkeley Tuolumne Camp resurrection aims at construction start next spring
Destroyed in the 2013 Rim Fire, plans for the reconstruction of the camp near Yosemite are reaching fruition
Posted inCity
Berkeley considers installing city-wide wildfire and earthquake siren system
Unlike San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond and UC Berkeley, the city of Berkeley does not have a warning siren. Its Disaster and Fire Safety Commission believes it’s time that it did.
Posted inCommunity
East Bay congressional reps Barbara Lee and Mark DeSaulnier talk race in Berkeley
In a discussion that spanned the impact of zoning laws and climate change on communities of color, the panel agreed it was important for the East Bay to lead the nation in having frank conversations about race.