News

In many ways, Rivka Mason is like any other elementary school gardener who likes to teach students how to grow a green thumb. -more-

Health staff and public information officers were upbeat last week when they called out the press to a Tuesday morning briefing in which they emphasized the city’s overall good health. -more-

The only hearts and minds Bus Rapid Transit seemed to have captured during an emotional public meeting in Berkeley Thursday were those it already possessed. -more-

A long delayed study of fairness in purchasing and contracts by the City of Oakland has shown that minority- and women-owned firms are being discriminated against by city agencies, but contractors will now have to wait another few months to find out what, if anything, Oakland City Council will do about it. -more-

Berkeley Planning Commissioners got their first look last week at the university’s plans for a $130 million retrofit of the Clark Kerr Campus, the 500-acre, 20-building Spanish Colonial Revival complex on the corner of Derby and Warring streets. -more-

Twenty-one-year-old Sam Thompson hasn’t stopped walking since he was released from prison a few weeks ago. Born to homeless parents in Berkeley, Thompson was recently arrested for peddling drugs and is out on felony probation. -more-

Though Berkeley planning commissioners last week rejected a proposal to designate the city center a state Priority Development Area as a first step to winning bond funds, the topic is back on the table at the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC). -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education delayed a vote Wednesday on a proposal to install solar panels on the roof of Washington Elementary School. -more-

Berkeley Police Friday announced a $15,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer who claimed the life of Berkeley’s first murder victim of 2007. -more-

Assault -more-

Rosa Parks Elementary School went solar for a couple of days earlier this month. -more-

Berkeley High School administrators informed students this week about a change in board policy that requires all juniors and seniors who do not want their names and addresses released to the U.S. military for recruitment purposes to sign an “opt-out” form. -more-

Skewered in a city attorney’s report for incompetencies such as housing dead people in low-income apartments and obstructing investigations, Berkeley Housing Authority workers fought back at Tuesday’s BHA meeting, where the City Council approved the city manager’s recommendation to eliminate the positions of all BHA workers except the manager. -more-

A bid to designate downtown Berkeley as a priority development area (PDA) targeted for state-funded high-density development failed by a single vote Wednesday night. -more-

The City Council meeting ended in a complete meltdown just before midnight Tuesday with Councilmember Betty Olds walking out of the meeting followed by Councilmembers Max Anderson and Kriss Worthington. -more-

On Wednesday evening, the Police Review Commission (PRC) approved 3-1 new rules that will govern hearings involving complaints against police officers and set June 7 as its first hearing date since September—an action commissioners say is likely to get the city back in court facing off against the Berkeley Police Association. -more-

UC Berkeley custodians have won their equity raises, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 announced in a press release Tuesday. -more-

A last-minute lawsuit filed this week alleges the Richmond City Council violated state environmental law by signing a $310.4 million contract to provide services for a North Richmond casino. -more-

Tod Mikuriya, M.D., died Sunday at his home in the Berkeley Hills. He was 73. The cause was complications of cancer. In the final days he’d been in the care of his sisters, Beverly, an M.D. from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Mary Jane of San Francisco, and his longtime assistant, John Trapp. -more-