Carmen Francois, a downtown Berkeley Ambassador, talks to someone on Shattuck Avenue. Photo: Natalie Orenstein On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Carmen Francois was on a mission. “We’re supposed to say hi to 60 people in 60 minutes,” she said. Francois, one of Berkeley’s downtown “ambassadors,” didn’t have any trouble meeting the quota. She ducked into […]
Measure S
Posted inCity
Berkeley sitting ban progresses toward November ballot
A group of young adults wakes up after spending the night on Telegraph Avenue recently. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel In a contentious meeting that lasted until the wee hours of the morning and exposed deep divisions in Berkeley, the City Council voted early Wednesday to proceed with a measure that would put a sit-lie ordinance on […]
Posted inCity
Proposed sidewalk sitting ban prompts debate, protest
Councilmember Kriss Worthington addressed a small group of homeless advocates outside City Hall Monday, calling the proposed ban on sidewalk sitting “outrageous” and “rushed”. Photo: Tracey Taylor Councilmember Kriss Worthington addressed a small group of homeless advocates outside City Hall Monday, calling the proposed ban on sidewalk sitting “outrageous” and “rushed”. Photo: Tracey Taylor Update, […]
Posted inCity
Mayor seeks to put sit-lie ordinance on November ballot
A group of people on Telegraph Avenue, long a destination for travelers and transient people. Photo: Nancy Rubin Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates is asking that the City Council consider putting a sit-lie ordinance on the November ballot and the issue will be discussed at the council’s June 12 meeting. “We’ve been making substantial progress making […]
Posted inCrime
Police step up patrols on Telegraph to clear sidewalks
Berkeley and UC Police have started regular patrols of Telegraph to discourage young adults from loitering on sidewalks. Photo: Sgt. Mary Kusmiss In response to complaints from merchants and shoppers about the increase in the number of people loitering on the sidewalks, the Berkeley Police Department and UC Police have started a new patrol around […]
Posted inBusiness, City
Newly cleaned up downtown hopes to attract more retail
New landscaping is part of an ongoing major clean-up campaign in downtown Berkeley. Photo: Nancy Rubin On Tuesday, downtown Berkeley was born anew. Billed as a fresh start, the heart of the city was relaunched to a capacity crowd in the ballroom of the Hotel Shattuck Plaza on Allston Way. For the past three months, […]
Posted inCity
City defers redistricting, plans charter amendment
One of two redistricting proposals presented by Eric Panzer. It deviates from the 1986 boundaries, but was accepted as compliant by city staff. Redistricting in Berkeley will be deferred to 2013 after a 7-2 vote by the City Council last night. In the same vote, the Council agreed to draft an amendment to the City […]
Posted inCity
Students submit first 2011 city redistricting proposal
Stephanie Phonvongsa explains the redistricting proposal to a gathering audience. Photos: Robert Mills By Robert Mills Nine students met on the steps of Old City Hall Tuesday to submit their redistricting proposal to Berkeley City Council. Their pitch came early in the game – with the deadline for initial submissions agreed at last night’s council meeting […]
Posted inCity
Cal leaders push to put student on Berkeley City Council
Will a student ever sit on Berkeley City Council again? In the 15 years since Berkeley adopted City Council districts, no student has been elected to the post even though they make up a quarter of the population. Now a coalition of UC Berkeley student leaders is aiming to change that. The group hopes to […]
Posted inBusiness
Berkeley students want better stores, fewer street people
People hanging out on Telegraph Avenue on Memorial Day. Photo: Nancy Rubin While UC Berkeley students eat regularly downtown and on Telegraph Avenue, they generally go elsewhere to shop for clothes, get their hair cut, buy sundries, or go out on the town, according to a new survey of 1,800 graduate and undergraduate students. While […]
Posted inCity
Anti sit-lie campaigners take protest to City Hall
A protester sits outside the City Council Chambers making plain her views about a mooted sit-lie ordinance. Photo: Tracey Taylor A group of about 70 people marched to the City Council Chambers Tuesday evening, after meeting on Telegraph Avenue, to protest a possible sit-lie ordinance in the city. Although the item was not on last night’s […]
