Colorful graphics welcomed swimmers to Willard Pool when it was open. Photo: Protographer 23 After two failures to secure a pools bond measure, advocates for the reopening of Willard Pool turned out in force at Tuesday night’s Berkeley City Council meeting. Pool supporters called for including Willard in a likely parks bond measure on the […]
Berkeley Pools Campaign
Posted inCity
Pools campaign holds mock swimathon for Measures N, O
Fourth grader Angel Jaramillo said he hoped by 7th grade he would be swimming in a reopened Willard pool, with his snorkel. Photo: Tracey Taylor Angel Jaramillo, a 4th grader at John Muir Elementary School, has never swum at Berkeley’s Willard pool. His family sometimes take him to the Richmond Plunge. But, he said, he […]
Posted inCommunity
More than $100M needed for parks, rec and waterfront
Some of the parks and recreation issues shown on Tuesday night: closed stairs at Remillard Park, drainage problems at Ohlone dog park, inaccessible restrooms at the Marina, and deteriorating basketball courts at San Pablo Park At a special session of the Berkeley City Council Tuesday night, the Parks, Recreation and Waterfront department presented $100.5 million […]
Posted inCity
Pools majority falls short: Closures expected
Measure C, the ballot proposition that would have funded rehabilitation of Berkeley’s four pools, won just over 60% of the vote, falling short of the required two-thirds. Robert Collier, co-chair of the Berkeley Pools Campaign, said in an email exchange shortly after the votes were counted last night, “Measure C lost only because of the […]
Posted inCity
What’s on today’s ballot?
According to the Field Poll, a record-low turnout of voters is expected in today’s election — perhaps as little as one-third. Berkeley, which is more politically oriented than many places, should do better. There’s only one Berkeley-specific item on the ballot today, Measure C, which would issue bonds to fund renovation of Berkeley’s pools and […]
Posted inCity, Community
Comment: When Tom met Shirley in support of pools
Robert Collier, co-chair of the Berkeley Pools Campaign, writes about this week’s press conference for Measure C, which is on the ballot in next Tuesday’s election. At a press conference late Tuesday, Mayor Tom Bates and former Mayor Shirley Dean temporarily set aside their longtime rivalry to join forces in denouncing the anti-Measure C campaign. “We’ve […]
Posted inCity, Community
Comment: Measure C creates a legacy
Robert Collier lives in North Berkeley and is co-chair of the Berkeley Pools Campaign. He writes about the intensifying campaign for Measure C: In Berkeley, local folk know it’s election season when the city’s streets begin to be garlanded with election signs supporting one or another candidate or ballot measure. By that standard, this weekend […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-Ed: The truth about the pools bond
Yesterday, Berkeleyside published an anti-pools bond comment by Marie Bowman. Robert Collier, co-chair of the Berkeley Pools Campaign, writes that there were numerous errors of fact in Bowman’s comment and he feels he’s in a “closed loop” where every statement requires immediate correction: In Washington, D.C. and around the country, conservatives are hoping they can […]
Posted inCity, Schools
Comment: What’s wrong with the June pool bond
A couple of months ago, Robert Collier, co-chair of the Berkeley Pools Campaign, explained why he thought a yes vote on the June ballot measure was important for Berkeley. Marie Bowman supports swimming in Berkeley, but is against the ballot measure. She explains why: Willard Pool, circa 2009. Photo: protographer23 Berkeley’s pool bond will be […]
Posted inCity, Schools
A bigger splash: Save the pools
Robert Collier lives in North Berkeley and is co-chair of the Berkeley Pools Campaign. Following Tuesday’s City Council decision to approve a June ballot measure on pools, he wrote this commentary for Berkeleyside: As the worsening California fiscal crisis finally starts to hit home in Berkeley, city voters will have the chance to defend our […]