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.
West Berkeley
Posted inBusiness
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.
Posted inCity
West Berkeley 99 Cents store to close, housing planned
A seven-story mixed-use complex with about 270 homes has been proposed for the site. The store is inside the 100-year-old Rivoli Theatre, which operated until the late 1950s.
Posted inCommunity
Fate of historic Berkeley building (and family home) hangs in the balance as tax debt looms
A new roof on Finnish Hall, owned by a defunct nonprofit and mired in property tax debt, should shore up the structure. But the future of the landmarked building, also the home for 30 years to a family of caretakers, is anything but certain.
Posted inCity
Housing: Council approves plan for 66 apartments on San Pablo Avenue
The project faced stiff resistance from many of its neighbors, but benefited from a state law meant to overcome local opposition to new housing.
Posted inObituaries
Remembering Blaine Brende, arborist, activist, reader, historian
Blaine Brende worked as an arborist in Berkeley for nearly 40 years as a partner in the company Brende and Lamb.
Posted inCity
‘I hope they don’t call this place a failure’: West Berkeley shelter prepares to close
The future of the Grayson shelter is still undecided, but residents say it helped them get back on their feet.
Posted inSchools
Meet the 4 new principals chosen to lead Berkeley schools this year
Longfellow Middle School and John Muir, Sylvia Mendez and Rosa Parks elementary schools all have new leaders at the helm for the 2022-23 school year.
Posted inCity
City secures $15M state earmark to improve Berkeley Marina
The Berkeley Marina is slated to receive an influx of cash following a successful lobbying campaign for a $15 million earmark from the state.
Posted inCommunity
Shop Talk: Hot tub maker opens Berkeley store; used T-shirts printed with fresh designs to cut waste
Robert’s son has taken over at Robert’s Hot Tubs, new to Fourth Street. Catch up on this and other Berkeley retail and small business news.
Posted inArts
Famed welder creates menagerie of metal instruments in his West Berkeley workshop
Pete Engelhart has been crafting bells, bangers and clangers with distinct personalities since the mid-’70s. You’ve heard them in the music of the Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin and in the soundtracks of ‘Wall-E’ and ‘Tenet.’
Posted inCommunity
6 intimate stories give glimpse of life on San Pablo Avenue
Following in a mother’s footsteps. Love at the jewelry store. A poignant yellow balloon. We present six very personal audio stories behind the small businesses on a short stretch of San Pablo.
