Firms owned by people of color and women lost out on millions as contracts flowed disproportionately to white men, a report found.
Ben Bartlett
Posted inCity
Plans for new Willard Park clubhouse are in the works
No, there won’t be any “corporate-style office park,” as flyers posted in the neighborhood and on social media falsely claimed.
Posted inCity
Police should track mental health, homeless calls better, new audit says
The 80-page analysis — the first known assessment of its kind — was published Thursday by city auditor Jenny Wong.
Posted inCity
FAA abandons plans to reroute flight patterns over Berkeley
The announcement came during a public meeting about Oakland and San Francisco airport noise.
Posted inCrime & Safety
‘Alarming’ crime uptick brings local leaders together for Zoom town hall
“We must employ a variety of tactics to deter, intervene and investigate crimes,” West Berkeley Councilmember Terry Taplin said during Wednesday’s Zoom.
Posted inCity
‘State of Black Berkeley’ points to challenges, new and old, for Black residents
Activists gathered to discuss economic and racial inequality, reparations, police violence – and to celebrate accomplishments.
Posted inCity
Berkeley hopes new Ceasefire program will curb violence
Citing an “alarming rise in shootings” this year, officials pledged Tuesday night to work to create a new Ceasefire program designed to “address gun violence” in Berkeley.
Posted inCity
Berkeley police will track, share more use-of-force data under new rules
Berkeley officials voted early Friday morning to adopt an updated use-of-force policy for police that will expand what types of force officers track and report, and how they make this information available to the public.
Posted inCity
Berkeley council approves ‘omnibus motion’ on police reform
The city will work to create a new transportation department with a “racial justice lens” and a Specialized Care Unit staffed by a “network of crisis responders” to respond to non-criminal calls, among other changes.
Posted inCity
Berkeley pares $9.3M from police budget amid clamor for reform
The Berkeley City Council shifted more than $9 million out of the police department budget Tuesday night to help pay for a range of reforms called for by community members and city officials alike in recent weeks.
Posted inCity
Council may require developers to build low-income units in ‘opportunity zones’
Council was set to vote on whether to require developers to include affordable housing units in their projects downtown and in parts of South and West Berkeley. The item was postponed.
Posted inBusiness
Habitot Children’s Museum is ready to move, but fundraising poses a challenge
Now that the 18-story complex at 2211 Harold Way has fallen through, Habitot no longer faces immediate eviction. But it must still raise millions to move to its new site in South Berkeley
