With the intent to walk every street in Berkeley, Jen in 510 uses her excursions to better understand the community she lives in. Her new blog documents her walks with commentary and photos. Read a more indepth description here, or better yet vist the site www.walkingberkeley.wordpress.com.
*Some books related to this topic: Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust: A History of Walking and West Berkeley resident Barbara Gate’s book Already Home.
Read David Landon’s letter to the editor in today’s Daily Planet. He urges people who have been affected to come together and take a stand. If you’d like to become more involved in the issue, some places to start are the West Berkeley Alliance and the Clean Air Coalition. Or the simply call the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (1-800-334-ODOR) to file a complaint when the smell is present.
Read what Zelda has to say in the second commentary she’s submitted to the Planet to date. For more info on Zelda, you can also visit her website, www.zeldaformayor.org.
*Read all the commentaries submitted to the Planet from 3 of the 5 candidates right here.
Draft budgets, train whistles, & Pacific Steel Castings’ carbon filter permit- were some of the items discussed at last week’s City Council meeting. Read a short summary in the Daily Planet. Or if you’re motivated, a really long eSummary from the City of Berkeley’s website.
*Mayor Bates made it official that he has dropped funding for train whistle abatement. There has not been enough of an uproar over the increased noise of late to require funding. *Click here to read past posts on this topic.
*The draft budget sets aside a salary for a new Senior Planner.
*The City Council voted to approve the permit for Pacific Steel’s new carbon filter. Read City Manager Phil Karlmas recommendation to the Council here.
*The City Council voted to take no action on the Nexus eviction.
* A refuse collection rate hike of %8 was approved.
Read Patrick Traynor’s letter titled “Spare the Air” in today’s Daily Planet Letters to the Editor section. *You’ll need to scroll down about half way to view the letter.
The definition of space for artists and crafts people in West Berkeley may be revised by the Arts Commission. Some residents feel this may nudge West Berkeley artists even closer to extinction. Read John Curl’s commentary about it in today’s Daily Planet.
By 2010, the Water Transit Authority hopes to have ferries running between Berkeley and San Francisco. Read more about it in the Contra Costa Times.
The proposed mixed use development at 700 University will be one of 3 projects on University Ave. up for review. Projects at 1865 and 1885 University will also be discussed. Read more about them all in Tuesday’s Daily Planet article.
* Time and Place for ZAB: Thursday at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers, at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
..in today’s Daily Planet.
One of the most arduous and drawn out battles over development in Berkeley’s history has supposedly come to an end. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Berkeley City Council voted 6-0 to approve the development’s use permit. Read more about it in today’s Oakland Tribune and the Contra Costa Times.
Read more about Zachary RunningWolf’s run in with the law in today’s East Bay Express.
While some west Berkeley residents are happy about the projects looming demise, others are very upset. Steve Donaldson is one of the latter. Read his commentary in today’s Daily Planet.
Dave Blake of ZAB fame has also written a piece on the topic for the Daily Planet.
Click here to read another article on this new Berkeley blog in today’s Daily Planet.
It’s called www.kitchendemocracy.org. Started this past March by Berkeley residents Simona Carini and Robert Vogel, it intends to expand and increase the lines of communication between Berkeley citizens and the city government. Click here to read more about this blog in the Berkeley Voice.
Per the Daily Planet and the Berkeley Voice, Berkeley Bowl owner Glen Yasuda is contemplating withdrawing the the proposal for the market, citing rising construction costs and union issues. The Bowl will be up for discussion at this Tuesday’s (June 13) City Council meeting, 7pm at Old City Hall, 2134 MLK. *If the application is indeed withdrawn, it will likely only be for the market portion of the project, the warehouse is still viable.
Read Robert Brokl’s article in the Daily Planet to learn more.
But the fate of the tenants at the Nexus Institute, located at 2702 Eighth Street in west Berkeley, is still unknown. Read about the latest developements here.
Click here to read all about it in today’s Daily Planet.
Word has it that Magna/Caruso will be (or may already have) filed a lawsuit against the city of Albany. The company allegedly issued an warning to the City Attorney on May 25th stating that they would file suit if the City did not drop the Shoreline Protection Initiative by noon on May 31st. To find out more about this, and to voice your opinion, attend this Monday’s City Council Meeting at 8pm. For more info on the history of this matter click here for past posts or visit www.albanyshoreline.org.
This Wednesday June 7, 7pm -8:30pm at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. Items to be discussed: Storm Drains, Disaster Preparedness, Crime, Etc.For more info, or to suggest other issues you’d like to discuss, contact Brad Smith 510.981.7110 or bsmith@ci.berkeley.ca.us.
Comments(1)