Early Friday morning, Berkeley police dismantled an encampment that had been set up on Adeline Street to protest the way the city provides homeless services. A contingent of police officers came to the intersection of Adeline and Fairview around 5 a.m. and forced the 30 or so people sleeping on the pavement to get up and out. […]
Mike Lee
Posted inCity
In Berkeley mayoral race, Arreguín accelerates fundraising, Capitelli maintains monetary lead
See update below. Berkeley mayoral candidate Jesse Arreguín raised almost three times as much money in the last month as his fiercest rival, Laurie Capitelli. Arreguín raised $33,434 from Sept. 25 to Oct. 22. In that same period, Capitelli raised $11,550. That is a reverse of the previous campaign finance reporting cycle that stretched from July […]
Posted inCity
Real-estate interests spend $92K to help elect candidates
The political action committee of the National Association of Realtors has poured $92,486 into the Berkeley election in recent weeks, with almost two-thirds of that going to support Laurie Capitelli in his race for mayor. The realtors spent $60,382 to send out flyers in support of Capitelli, whose main challengers are fellow City Councilmen Jesse […]
Posted inCity
Election 2016 Berkeley: Spotlight on the mayor’s race
Berkeleyside wants to help you get to know your 2016 candidates for Berkeley mayor, City Council, School Board and Rent Board. This week, we are publishing questionnaires with the candidates daily at 11 a.m. We’ll also have stories on all the key Berkeley races and initiatives on the ballot, and hope to help readers make informed decisions about […]
Posted inCity
Election 2016: Who is Guy ‘Mike’ Lee?
Name: Guy “Mike” Lee Age: 61 Job: Retired building trades What office are you are running for? Mayor What is the main reason you are running? The City is seriously out of control. It is non-responsive to the needs of the community. Finding it acceptable not to answer e-mails or phone calls. Words and no action. It is fiscally […]
Posted inCity
With 28 days to the election, fundraising gap between mayoral candidates widens
See update at bottom. With 28 days until the Nov. 8 election, Berkeley mayoral candidate, and city councilman, Laurie Capitelli has more than twice the amount of cash to spend on the race than his fellow candidate, City Councilman Jesse Arreguín. And he has 15 times as much to spend as City Councilman Kriss Worthington, who […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley mayoral candidates square off about budget, homelessness and more
Five of the eight mayoral candidates gathered Monday night to air their views on how to lead Berkeley. The Bateman Neighborhood Association and the Claremont-Elmwood Neighborhood Association sponsored the mayoral forum, which drew about 150 people to St. John’s Presbyterian Church on College Avenue. Each candidate got to make a three-minute opening statement (The candidates’ […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley candidates outline their positions on the arts
Five Berkeley mayoral candidates and a slew of contenders for City Council gathered Wednesday evening at the Freight & Salvage to discuss their commitment to funding the arts. The Berkeley Cultural Trust, a consortium of individuals from various arts organizations in Berkeley, put on the candidates’ debate. Its setting could not have been more appropriate: […]
Posted inCommunity
Vigil held where Berkeley homeless man died in street
On Sunday, Berkeley police got a call about a dead body near the doorway of what used to be the U-Haul building on San Pablo Avenue and Addison Street. When they arrived they found a homeless man who appeared to have died of natural causes. Six days later, a group of Berkeley residents gathered at the […]
Posted inCity
The mayor’s race is off and running: Where do campaign coffers stand?
In the last six months, mayoral candidate Laurie Capitelli has raised $67,135 in donations, according to recently filed campaign finance statements. That’s almost 35% more than one of his strongest rivals and fellow city council member, Jesse Arreguín, who raised $24,858 in that same period for a total raised of $47,326. (Prior to Jan. 1, […]
Posted inCommunity
Would a homeless mayor in Berkeley make a difference for the homeless?
Guy “Mike” Lee sat at a wooden table in the back of Au Coquelet restaurant on University Avenue. His laptop computer was open in front of him, its cord stretching behind to an electrical outlet on the wall. Lee’s cell phone was also charging. This spot serves as an office of sorts for Lee, 60, […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley mayoral hopefuls weigh in on homelessness
With longtime Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates completing what he says will be his last term, six people have expressed interest in running for his seat come November 2016. Berkeleyside asked each of them to share their views, in 200 words, about what they see as potential solutions to ending homelessness. Read their ideas below. See full coverage on Berkeleyside of […]