The going was tough in the late 1990s when a passionate and diverse group of Berkeley citizen-activists wrote the first school food policy in the nation. Through conflict and compromise, they worked long and hard to get the policy passed and supported by the Board of Education. Yet, nothing much changed until a middle schooler […]
Berkeley vs Big Soda
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Measure D: D is for distraction
Children in Berkeley are at risk for diabetes due to the lack of clean air in our allegedly “green” city. In West Berkeley, the most diverse and low-income area in town, children have an alarming rate of asthma. Once the lungs are affected, it is a challenge to then exercise. Obesity, according to the Center […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: How Big Soda tried to buy my political soul
I am a strong supporter of Measure D, the sugary beverage tax, but recently I was recruited to help the No on D campaign. In exchange for my participation, I received $100 and a behind-the-scenes look at what the single largest political contribution in Berkeley’s history is paying for. This is how it happened: at […]
Posted inCity
Campaign donations reach record levels in Berkeley; beverage companies donate $1.4M to defeat soda tax
Dustan Batton (left) and Josh Daniels (right) argue the merits of Measure D, a proposed tax on sugary beverages, at an election event Oct. 6. Batton is a lobbyist for the No on D campaign, and Daniels is co-chair of the Yes on D campaign. Photo: Mark Coplan The beverage industry in recent days contributed […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: We trust officials to spend soda tax money wisely
In “Beverage companies donate $800,000 to fight soda tax,” an article published on Berkeleyside on Sept. 22, 2014, I laughed when I read ‘No on D’ spokesperson Roger Salazar’s explanation as to why an unprecedented $800,000 from the Washington, D.C.-based American Beverage Association (ABA) is required to fight a local Berkeley political campaign. His reasoning? […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Why a liberal mother of 2 is voting no on Measure D
I begin with this confession: I don’t drink soda and I never have. My boys, ages 9 and 12, don’t drink soda, either. In fact, I’ve never even let them try it, because I didn’t want them to like it. If either of them has tried it, he didn’t tell me about it, or there […]
Posted inCity, Nosh
Beverage companies donate $800K to fight soda tax
The political arm of the American Beverage Association donated $500,000 on Sept. 16 to fight a proposed tax on sugary beverages in Berkeley.
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: All of us in Berkeley should say yes to Measure D
I am writing to thank Erica Etelson for her op-ed in Berkeleyside on Sept. 8 in support of Measure D, titled “Soda kills – we need to vote ‘yes’ on Measure D.” It was well-written, passionate, timely, and on point. We face an urgent and preventable health crisis and action is needed now! Nationally, one […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Robert Reich: ‘If a soda tax can’t pass in the most progressive city in America, it can’t pass anywhere’
I was phoned the other night in middle of dinner by an earnest young man named Spencer, who said he was doing a survey. Rather than hang up I agreed to answer his questions. He asked me if I knew a soda tax would be on the ballot in Berkeley in November. When I said […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Soda kills — we need to vote ‘yes’ on Measure D
In two months, Berkeley voters will decide whether ours will be the first U.S. city to enact a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (or tie with San Francisco which has a similar measure on the ballot). When I heard about the soda tax, “Measure D,” I immediately cast aside most of my to-do list (cleaning the […]
Posted inCity, Nosh
Lawsuit filed over Berkeley ‘soda tax’ ballot
No city has yet been successful in passing a sugar-sweetened beverages tax. Will Berkeley be first? Photo: Mike Mozart Two men have filed a lawsuit against the city of Berkeley and the Berkeley City Council asking for changes to adopted ballot language related to the so-called “soda tax” set to come before voters in November. […]
Posted inCity
Soda tax, school board race, open council seat bring campaign cash to Berkeley
The future of growth in downtown Berkeley is uncertain, with zoning changes on the November ballot. Photo: Louie Kablooie The future of growth in downtown Berkeley is uncertain, with zoning changes on the November ballot. Photo: Louie Kablooie The lure of an open Berkeley City Council seat has turned the race to replace Gordon Wozniak in November into a big bucks […]
