Berkeley City Council passed the “healthy by default” bill in July that prevents soda from being included in children’s fast food meals.
Berkeley vs Big Soda
Posted inNosh
2 weeks before election, soda tax debate intensifies
Voters in Albany and Oakland will decide if they will join Berkeley by enacting a penny-per-ounce tax on distributors of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Posted inCity
Berkeley’s new soda tax panel begins its work
A new Berkeley “panel of experts” charged with allocating money collected from the city’s new soda tax met for the first time Tuesday night.
Posted inCity
Soda tax raises $116,000 of revenue in first month
Berkeley’s soda tax generated $116,000 in revenue in its first month of operation, city officials and advocates said Monday.
Posted inCity
Soda distributors frustrated at city of Berkeley’s lack of guidance on soda tax
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group in Walnut Creek is one of multiple distributors frustrated by the lack of guidance from the city of Berkeley over the soda tax. Photo: Eric Lynch As the co-owner of the San Francisco-based Waterloo Beverages company, Camilo Malaver enjoyed doing business in Berkeley. But he did not want anything to do […]
Posted inBusiness
Dollar Tree pulls soda off shelves after soda tax
Dollar Tree stores in Berkeley have stopped selling soda because of the city’s new tax on sugar-sweetened drinks.
Posted inCity, Community
Berkeley seeks experts for ‘soda tax’ advisory panel
Vicki Alexander, co-chair of the Yes on D campaign, at a pro-soda-tax demonstration in July. Photo: Berkeley vs Big Soda The city of Berkeley has put out a call for experts interested in joining a new advisory panel to set spending priorities for “soda tax” dollars approved by voters in November. Four Berkeley City Council members […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Berkeley love: Laying our Measure D vote on the cogs of the beverage industry machine
Fifty years ago Berkeley birthed the Free Speech Movement when Mario Savio stood atop a police car in the middle of Sproul plaza on the UC Berkeley campus and called for moral action. He shouted out: “There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious — makes you so sick at heart — […]
Posted inCity
Why Berkeley passed a soda tax while other cities failed
Sara Soka, chair of the Yes on D campaign, talks at a press conference Wednesday morning after Berkeley voted overwhelmingly for a soda tax in Tuesday’s election. On the left is political advisor Larry Tramutola, with Berkeley Councilman Laurie Capitelli and Kad Smith of the Ecology Center on the right. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel Sara Soka, chair of the Yes on D […]
Posted inCity
A record $3.6 million spent in Berkeley campaigns
During Sunday Streets, the Yes on Measure R and the No on Measure R campaigns crossed paths. The race over the future of Berkeley’s downtown has drawn record donations from developers. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel During Sunday Streets, the Yes on Measure R and the No on Measure R campaigns crossed paths. The race over the […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: My personal journey to becoming a fierce supporter of Measure D
In February, 1999 my first grandson was born in Berkeley. He arrived early and underweight, and came home from the hospital 6 weeks after birth. That same year, coincidently, the City of Berkeley issued a Health Status Report, which included the fact that my grandson had a 40% less chance of living to the age […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Measure D levels the health playing field
You are a busy person taking time to be informed and I respect that. So I’m going to let you in on my line of reasoning here: corporations impact what we drink, what we drink impacts our health, “our health” includes “your health”, you can vote, therefore vote “Yes” on D! Why am I writing […]