Get your bike on with two important events coming up in Berkeley in the next week. Photo: Bikes in Berkeley Berkeley cycling aficionados have two big events coming up in the next week: the city’s third annual Bikes in Berkeley Festival on Sunday, followed by an open house Monday focused on a major update to […]
Green
Posted inCity, Nature
Berkeley residents complain about ‘horrible’ water taste
Pardee Reservoir. Photo: EBMUD The drinking water for 1 million customers of East Bay Municipal Utilities District had an “off” odor and taste over the weekend and, while EBMUD is fixing the issue, customers might have to get used to it. The culprit? The drought. EBMUD usually draws the drinking water for the majority of its […]
Posted inNature
Hills group sues FEMA over plan to cut down trees
Thousands of Berkeley hills eucalyptus trees may be removed with funding from FEMA. Photo: Tracey Taylor A neighborhood group has sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) following its decision to fund fire mitigation efforts in the East Bay hills. Earlier this month, FEMA announced its decision to grant $5.67 million to the California Office […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley council adopts new building sustainability law; small properties exempt for now
Berkeley is not moving fast enough toward its Climate Action Plan goals, says city staff. Image: City of Berkeley The Berkeley City Council unanimously adopted a new law Tuesday night aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making local buildings more sustainable, but included carve-outs — at least initially — for properties with up to four […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley council to decide if cannabis collective must go
Chris Smith talked to a community group Saturday about why Forty Acres should not be shut down by the city. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel Chris Smith talked to a community group Saturday about why Forty Acres should not be shut down by the city. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel Almost four years after Berkeley first informed the Forty Acres Medical […]
Posted inCity
Drivers say goBerkeley program made it easier to park
New parking meters with credit card payment options were part of the goBerkeley program. Photo: Steer Davies Gleave/goBerkeley New parking meters with credit card payment options were part of the goBerkeley program. Photo: Steer Davies Gleave/goBerkeley Community members will have the chance next week to weigh in about changes to paid parking in three of Berkeley’s busiest commercial districts. The changes […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley competes for $5M energy efficiency prize
Fifty cities and counties, including Berkeley, have been named semifinalists in the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize. Berkeley is one of 50 communities across the country selected as a semifinalist for the Georgetown University Energy Prize, a national competition to reduce energy use with a $5 million prize for the winning community. Berkeley is one […]
Posted inObituaries
The man behind the Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival: Mark Baldridge, 1948-2014
Mark Baldridge, who has died. Photo: Baldridge family By Sharon Coleman For decades, Berkeley has been enriched by a vibrant literary community with poetry at its heart, as we see in downtown Berkeley’s Addison Street Poetry Walk. At the heart of the poetry community since 1972 has been Poetry Flash, a hub for reviews, articles, […]
Posted inNosh
Local Greens: A water-smart farm in urban Berkeley
Meet Local Greens: an urban farm in northwest Berkeley growing delicious, organic produce and microgreens with barely any water.
Posted inCity, Crime & Safety, Nature
Floods, outages keep Berkeley busy as storm hits
Flooding closed Ashby Avenue early Thursday evening. Authorities say it may be open by midnight. Photo: Jennifer Lazo Berkeley city workers handled more than 100 requests related to flooding, and more than 30 calls for tree-related issues, Thursday during a large storm that has been sweeping the Bay Area, authorities said. City spokesman Matthai Chakko said […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley property owners to pony up for energy audits
The Ed Roberts Campus is a high efficiency building already, thus likely to be exempt from the new laws, said city staff. Photo: Emilie Raguso The Ed Roberts Campus is a high efficiency building already, thus likely to be exempt from the new laws, said city staff. Photo: Emilie Raguso Later this month, the Berkeley City Council […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: The League of Women Voters urges a Yes vote on Measure F
The League of Women Voters urges a YES vote on Berkeley’s Measure F, the Parks Tax. Measure F proposes a modest increase of 2.1 cents per square foot in the current parcel tax that funds maintenance and repair of 52 parks as well as trails, medians, and 35,000 street trees. The current tax and its […]