Cowan, described as “an amazing public servant,” said he only once had to defend Berkeley on something with which he disagreed.
Zach Cowan
Posted inCity
Berkeley officials split over impacts of new zoning code proposals
Council voted Tuesday to embark on an intensive project to develop extensive new development standards to preserve the city’s discretion over land use decisions.
Posted inCity
Federal judge upholds Berkeley cellphone warning
Berkeley will soon start to require cellphone retailers to warn customers about potential radiation dangers, following a federal judge’s rejection of an industry supported campaign to put a stay on the city’s cellphone right-to-know ordinance. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen had ruled in September that Berkeley’s ordinance was valid because it was based on Federal […]
Posted inCommunity
Partying at UC Berkeley may have just gotten harder
Citing a riot on Halloween and three alcohol-related deaths near the UC Berkeley campus in recent years, Berkeley officials approved new rules Tuesday night to address rowdy parties and other problems associated with group housing widely used by students. About 15 Cal students, including representatives from governance group the Associated Students of the University of California, asked the […]
Posted inCrime
Berkeley medical cannabis commissioner faces fraud and extortion charges
The former chair of Berkeley’s Medical Cannabis Commission (MCC) is scheduled to appear in federal court today, Sept. 23, to face extortion, fraud and money laundering charges connected to his dealings with cannabis dispensaries in Berkeley, Oakland and Las Vegas. Daniel Rush, who used to serve as the executive director of the cannabis division of […]
Posted inCity
Wireless carriers sue Berkeley over phone radiation law
A wireless trade association filed suit against Berkeley on Monday, claiming that the city’s new law requiring notification of possible radiation from cellphones is a violation of the First Amendment. CTIA The Wireless Association filed the federal suit in the Northern District of California court. “Berkeley’s Ordinance violates the First Amendment because it will require CTIA’s […]
Posted inCity
Nonprofit accuses city of Berkeley of ‘unethical contracting practices’ for new homeless center
The city of Berkeley says it will change its commission recommendation process after a community agency brought allegations of serious conflicts of interest during a recent bid for municipal funding. Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) raised these concerns in an April 16 letter to city officials after bidding to run a new one-stop homelessness services center for […]
Posted inCity
Forty Acres’ new cannabis site is illegal says Berkeley
Three months after the city council ordered the Forty Acres Medical Marijuana Growers Collective to shut its doors at 1820-1828 San Pablo Ave. because it was a public nuisance, the medical marijuana organization has relocated to 1510 Ashby Ave. – and is once again operating illegally, according to city officials. Chris Smith, the co-founder of Forty […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley preps new cellphone radiation safety law
The city of Berkeley is investigating whether to require retailers to hand out radiation-related safety sheets to customers who buy cellphones in town. Last week, a Berkeley City Council majority — with seven in favor and two opposed — voted to have staff prepare language for the new cellphone law. But whether council ultimately will vote to adopt that law is […]
Posted inCity
Zoning Board says cannabis collective a public nuisance
Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board voted unanimously Nov. 6 to declare the Forty Acres Medical Marijuana Growers’ Collective a public nuisance – the latest step in Berkeley’s three-year odyssey to shut the place down. ZAB officials listened to two and a half hours of testimony at the hearing, including impassioned pleas from neighbors who said the area […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley councilman says city mishandled legal fees in Measure S redistricting lawsuit; city disagrees
Less than a week before Berkeley voters will decide whether to adopt new council district boundaries, a local official has criticized the city for how it handled legal fees for a lawsuit over the proposed council lines that are on the Nov. 4 ballot with Measure S. It’s the latest rebuke in a prolonged public battle over district lines that began in […]
Posted inCity
EPA settlement calls for repairs to East Bay’s faulty sewage lines; Berkeley to pay $133,500 civil penalty
The recent settlement of a lawsuit between the Environmental Protection Agency and several cities, including Berkeley, will lead to major repairs of the East Bay’s deteriorating sewage system — and less wastewater discharge into the bay. The federal government had sued Berkeley, Oakland, and the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), among others, to stop sewage overflows that […]