Early plans to build two large roundabouts at Interstate 80 and Gilman Street in Berkeley were on display for the public Wednesday night at the North Berkeley Senior Center. The project — with an estimated $24 million construction cost — is slated to be complete in 2022, a representative told the dozens of attendees who perused information […]
Election 2014
Posted inCity, Community, Nosh, Schools
Council approves $1.5M to fight soda consumption
Officials voted Tuesday night to step up the fight against sugary drinks in Berkeley.
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
Around $3.4M spent on Berkeley soda tax campaign
The tally is in: the campaign surrounding Measure D, the one cent per ounce tax on sugary beverages, cost $3,374,155, according to recently filed campaign statements. The soda industry spent $2,445,107 to unsuccessfully battle Measure D in the November election, with most of the funds going to campaign consultants and media companies, according to the campaign statements. […]
Posted inCity, Community
Berkeley seeks experts for ‘soda tax’ advisory panel
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 who make up a subcommittee focused on Measure D, the sugar-sweetened beverage tax, released the application to the community in late December. […]
Posted inCity
Lori Droste takes District 8 council seat by 16 votes
Final tallies released Wednesday night make Lori Droste the narrow winner in what became a tense and protracted race for Berkeley City Council District 8. Alameda County will certify the results by Monday, but all votes have been counted, leaving Droste with 2,072 votes, or 50.19%, compared to opponent George Beier’s 2,056 votes, or 49.81%. […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Berkeley overrules Citizens United!
The biggest vote-getter on the Nov. 4 ballot in Berkeley was not the tax on sugary soda, which got 75% of the vote and national attention. Nor was it a candidate for any office. It was Proposition P, which called for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision. Prop P […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley election 2014: Voters pass historic soda tax, reject downtown initiative; Droste takes District 8
Berkeleyside covered the local 2014 election results live from 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, through 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5. See the live blog below, with continuing coverage through Tuesday, Nov. 11. See complete Berkeleyside election 2014 coverage. Nov. 12, 6:39 p.m. And the votes are in! The final tallies have just been posted on the Alameda […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: No on Measure R isn’t nearly enough
I am thrilled that we voted 3 to 1 to defeat Measure R, and that the building of new housing in downtown Berkeley will continue. Let’s build on this momentum, and get serious about addressing the massive housing shortage in our community that is hitting working families hard. Downtown is great, but we have to […]
Posted inCity, Schools
Berkeley elections: Kriss Worthington retains District 7; nail-biting race continues in District 8
Election day may be nearly a week behind us, but votes are still being counted and the results of some Berkeley races are still being determined, including District 8 where Lori Droste is currently very narrowly ahead for that council seat. Absentee ballots are still being processed and will likely continue through the week. The latest counts are posted to the Alameda County […]
Posted inHousing & Development
New hotel project is a go again after defeat of Measure R
Now that Measure R, the initiative that aimed to impose stricter standards on tall buildings, has been defeated, the project to build a hotel downtown is back on track. Developer Jim Didion of Center Street Partners LLC had stopped all design work on the hotel planned for the intersection of Shattuck Avenue and Center Street pending […]
Posted inCity
Tony Thurmond victorious in 15th District Assembly race
Tony Thurmond, a former Richmond city councilman, is driving up to Sacramento today to start his orientation as one of the state’s newest Assemblymen. Thurmond won a resounding victory Tuesday in the race for the District 15 Assembly seat. He garnered 54.3% of the vote while his opponent, Elizabeth Echols, got 45.7% of the vote. […]