Lake Anza is expected to re-open for swimming in April, now that the algae is gone. Photo: Josh S. Jackson Recent rains have cleared toxic algae from several East Bay lakes, including Tilden’s Lake Anza, East Bay Regional Park District officials have announced. That means, unless the algae returns, some popular swimming spots will re-open come […]
East Bay Regional Park District
Posted inCrime, Crime & Safety
Police make arrest in 2014 Berkeley killing
The fatal shooting took place in the parking lot of Seabreeze Market in October 2014. Photo: Brian Costales The fatal shooting took place in the parking lot of Seabreeze Market in October 2014. Photo: Brian Costales An Oakland man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fatal shooting in 2014 of 21-year-old Damarco J. Thomas. On […]
Posted inCrime & Safety, Nature
How the California-wide drought is affecting Berkeley
Camphor trees line many streets in Berkeley, including Sonoma Avenue, here. Planted decades ago, many of the camphors are nearing the end of their natural lifespan, but the drought is dispatching them even more quickly. A camphor at the end of the right row here was removed this summer, as well as two more around […]
Posted inCrime & Safety, Nature
Fallen tree cuts power in Tilden, sends cyclist to hospital
Golf Course Road in Tilden: Scene of a series of accidents beginning with a fallen tree Sunday. Photo: Art Poskanzer A live oak tree that fell onto a power line on Golf Course Road in Tilden Sunday prompted a power outage across the park and caused a crash that sent a cyclist to the hospital. The tree […]
Posted inNature
Tilden Park exceeds goals in cutting its water usage
The lawns outside the Environmental Education Center, near Tilden Park’s LIttle Farm, have been left to turn brown to save water. Photo: Mary Flaherty The lawns outside the Environmental Education Center, near Tilden Park’s LIttle Farm, have been left to turn brown to save water. Photo: Mary Flaherty Berkeley’s Tilden Park reports that it reduced […]
Posted inCommunity, Nature
Lake Anza closed to swimming due to toxic algae
Toxic algae can be highly visible, or not visible at all. In the photo above, algae can be seen at Lake Anza on Sept. 17. Photo: Sunshine Townsend/East Bay Regional Park District The East Bay Regional Park District has just closed Lake Anza, in Tilden Regional Park, to swimming due to high levels of toxic […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: The Sierra Club’s eucalyptus management policy is the right approach for East Bay Hills
Eucalyptus trees are magnificent and picturesque, but they are inherently dangerous and invasive, depriving native plants of the chance to thrive wherever they grow. In some cases, exotic plants can co-exist with natives, but, in the case of blue gum eucalyptus, this is not the case. The species has evolved in the extraordinarily harsh, dry […]
Posted inFire
Crews extinguish 1-acre vegetation fire in Tilden Park
A one-acre vegetation fire west of the Tilden Steam Train, that was first reported at 5:45 a.m., was extinguished by several fire departments in under an hour on Sunday August 16, 2015. Image: Google Maps A one-acre vegetation fire west of the Tilden Steam Train, that was first reported at 5:45 a.m., was extinguished by several […]
Posted inCrime & Safety
Man commits suicide in Little Farm parking lot
Tilden’s Little Farm is a popular family destination for many East Bay residents. Photo: Mary Flaherty Tilden’s Little Farm is a popular family destination for many East Bay residents. Photo: Mary Flaherty A man in his late 60s killed himself in the Tilden Little Farm parking lot on Friday afternoon after leaving a note about […]
Posted inNature
In Berkeley, protesters get naked to try to save trees
Volunteers pose naked against eucalyptus trees at the Grinnell Natural Area of UC Berkeley on Saturday, July 18, 2015, to show opposition to a FEMA-funded tree-clearing proposal. Photo: Ted Friedman An estimated 50-75 people took part in a staged protest today at a eucalyptus grove on the UC Berkeley campus, many of them stripping naked in […]
Posted inCrime, Crime & Safety
Police investigate suspicious death of Berkeley woman
The body of a Berkeley woman was found last week at Point Isabel in Richmond. Photo: Kathy The death of a Berkeley woman whose body was found floating in the water near a Richmond park last week is now believed to be suspicious, and police are investigating. A park user at the Point Isabel Regional Shoreline […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Christmas Fantasy at Tilden Park is less spectacular, but 103-merry go round is in better shape
“They ruined Christmas!” starts Mike K. of Berkeley’s Yelp review of Tilden Regional Park Merry-Go-Round posted on Dec. 11. That is how I was feeling when my children and I headed up to see Christmas Fantasy this weekend. While my daughter warned me that her friends were whispering on the playground at school that it […]
