Incumbent mayor Tom Bates has raised nearly 70% more than his two most prominent challengers combined, according to the latest campaign filings available through the City Clerk’s election portal. In the first three weeks of October, Bates raised $28,913 taking his total to $84,339. Councilman Kriss Worthington raised $8,459 in the period, bringing his total to […]
2012 Measure S
Posted inOpinion
Say yes on Measure S: help those living on the streets
Earlier this month I spent several afternoons walking along Telegraph and then Shattuck Avenues because I wanted to talk one-on-one with the people, particularly the young people, who are sitting and lying on the streets panhandling. I judged that almost all of them have serious alcohol and/or drug problems and many of them are also […]
Posted inOpinion
Five lies about Measure S — from both sides of the debate
According to Goebbels, you could establish a lie as true by repeating the lie often, and loudly. This worked until the collapse of the Third Reich. Berkeley is presently up to its eyeballs in an emotional debate over a proposed sitting ban in business districts — Measure “S.” To read the pros and cons on what […]
Posted inOpinion
Yes on Measure S mailer is full of falsehoods
Recently a mailer went out across Berkeley that puts a false ‘kinder, gentler’ spin on Measure S than actually lies at the heart of this ordinance. The language on the mailer sounds good, naturally. “Yes on S: Helps People. Saves Jobs.” A grand claim that warrants some fact-checking. “Helps People”. Moving homeless people away from […]
Posted inOpinion
Sunday Streets every day in Berkeley?
On Sunday Oct. 14, people experienced public space in a new way in Berkeley by strolling, cycling, and skating along a car-free Shattuck Avenue from Haste to Rose. I really had no idea what to expect with the first Sunday Streets Berkeley, but the experience was energizing and wonderful. Based on the attendance numbers from […]
Posted inOpinion
Measure S is a step backwards for Berkeley
When I told my five-year-old that it could soon be illegal to sit on a sidewalk in Berkeley, he said, “But we sit on the sidewalk!” I saw him imagining the police arresting him and his two-year-old sister and reassured him. “They’ll probably mostly give tickets to homeless people,” I said. “Why will they give […]
Posted inOpinion
How I learned to love Telegraph’s street kids
As the Lerner and Loewe song goes, “I have often walked on this street before,” and now as a Berkeley reporter. Often is 36,960 times, or up to three times a day for 35 years, and the street is Telegraph Avenue, above Dwight to Bancroft, in Berkeley’s scary south side. I live two blocks from […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed on Measure S: We can do better with civil sidewalks
Like most people I wear several hats. In my case that includes Telegraph Avenue small business owner, Berkeley resident, local shopper, member of the Telegraph Business Improvement District (TBID), and commissioner on the Berkeley Homeless Commission. The different roles can have different biases. However I feel confident endorsing Measure S from all of these perspectives. […]
Posted inCity
No and Yes on Measure S, Moore campaigns kick off
Under bright blue skies, an arc of orange balloons, and the sound of the Brass Liberation Band, the “No on S” campaign held its campaign kick-off rally in Constitution Square near the Berkeley BART station on Sunday. About three dozen people, ranging from City Council member Max Anderson to homeless advocates, from those living on […]
Posted inCity, Community
Mayor Bates defends his handling of raucous meeting
Mayor Tom Bates said Thursday that the vote the City Council took on Tuesday during a raucous and unruly meeting was legal, and that he has no intention of bringing the matter back to the council, despite critics’ complaint that the vote violated the Brown Act. Bates said that City Attorney Zach Cowan reviewed the […]
Posted inBusiness, Community
Downtown Berkeley ambassadors help, monitor homeless
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Carmen Francois was on a mission. “We’re supposed to say hi to 60 people in 60 minutes,” she said. Francois, one of Berkeley’s downtown “ambassadors,” didn’t have any trouble meeting the quota. She ducked into businesses and greeted employees by name, asking if they had any safety issues. She waved […]
Posted inBusiness, City, Community
Berkeley sitting ban progresses toward November ballot
In a contentious meeting that lasted until the wee hours of the morning and exposed deep divisions in Berkeley, the City Council voted early Wednesday to proceed with a measure that would put a sit-lie ordinance on the November ballot. In a 6 to 3 vote, with City councilmembers Kriss Worthington, Jesse Arreguín and Max […]