A new Berkeley “panel of experts” charged with allocating money collected from the city’s new soda tax met for the first time Tuesday night.
Soda tax
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 inOpinion
Op-ed: The Berkeley tax may have passed, but the campaign has not ended for Big Soda
For us in Berkeley, the historic campaign to pass Measure D (the soda tax) ended on Nov. 4, 2014, when over 76% of Berkeley overwhelmingly voted yes. Yet the campaign has not ended for Big Soda. Having spent over $2 million (almost $50 per voter!) during the campaign, Big Soda has embarked on a campaign […]
Posted inCity
Soda distributors frustrated at city of Berkeley’s lack of guidance on soda tax
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group in Walnut Creek is one of multiple distributors frustrated by the lack of guidance from the city of Berkeley over the soda tax. Photo: Eric Lynch As the co-owner of the San Francisco-based Waterloo Beverages company, Camilo Malaver enjoyed doing business in Berkeley. But he did not want anything to do […]
Posted inCity
Around $3.4M spent on Berkeley soda tax campaign
Despite an ad blitz, in which the No on Measure D campaign covered the Ashby BART station with signs – on the floor, on the walls, and next to the ticket machines, the measure to tax sugary drinks passed. Photo: Marian Mabel Despite an ad blitz, in which the No on Measure D campaign covered […]
Posted inBusiness
Dollar Tree pulls soda off shelves after soda tax
Dollar Tree stores in Berkeley have stopped selling soda because of the city’s new tax on sugar-sweetened drinks.
Posted inCity, Community
Berkeley seeks experts for ‘soda tax’ advisory panel
Vicki Alexander, co-chair of the Yes on D campaign, at a pro-soda-tax demonstration in July. Photo: Berkeley vs Big Soda 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 […]
Posted inSchools
Berkeley School Board primer: Soda tax panel, new personnel commissioner, recess restriction
The Berkeley School Board at an August 2014 meeting. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD The Berkeley School Board at an August 2014 meeting. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD The Berkeley schools Board of Education meets tonight (Wednesday, Nov. 19) for a closed session at 6 p.m., followed by its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Follow along via the Nov. 19 agenda packet. The board will […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Berkeley love: Laying our Measure D vote on the cogs of the beverage industry machine
Fifty years ago Berkeley birthed the Free Speech Movement when Mario Savio stood atop a police car in the middle of Sproul plaza on the UC Berkeley campus and called for moral action. He shouted out: “There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious — makes you so sick at heart — […]
Posted inCity
Why Berkeley passed a soda tax while other cities failed
Sara Soka, chair of the Yes on D campaign, talks at a press conference Wednesday morning after Berkeley voted overwhelmingly for a soda tax in Tuesday’s election. On the left is political advisor Larry Tramutola, with Berkeley Councilman Laurie Capitelli and Kad Smith of the Ecology Center on the right. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel Sara Soka, chair of the Yes on D […]
Posted inCity
A record $3.6 million spent in Berkeley campaigns
During Sunday Streets, the Yes on Measure R and the No on Measure R campaigns crossed paths. The race over the future of Berkeley’s downtown has drawn record donations from developers. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel During Sunday Streets, the Yes on Measure R and the No on Measure R campaigns crossed paths. The race over the […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: My personal journey to becoming a fierce supporter of Measure D
In February, 1999 my first grandson was born in Berkeley. He arrived early and underweight, and came home from the hospital 6 weeks after birth. That same year, coincidently, the City of Berkeley issued a Health Status Report, which included the fact that my grandson had a 40% less chance of living to the age […]
