News

New: Man Found Dead at Berkeley Marina Identified

By Bay City News
Sunday March 18, 2012 - 03:41:00 PM

The Alameda County coroner's bureau has identified a man who washed ashore at the Berkeley Marina on Saturday as 31-year-old Douglas Jones. -more-


Berkeley Hires Law Firm to Conduct Independent Probe of Police Chief's Actions

By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN)
Friday March 16, 2012 - 11:15:00 PM

Berkeley City Manager Christine Daniel said today that the city has hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation of Police Chief Michael Meehan's decision to send an officer to a reporter's home in the middle of the night to demand a correction to a story. -more-


More than a Dozen Berkeley Occupy Cal Protesters to be Arraigned

By Sara Gaiser (BCN)
Friday March 16, 2012 - 11:12:00 PM

More than a dozen people charged in connection with Occupy Cal protests are set to be arraigned in Alameda County Superior Court this week and next. -more-


Berkeley Library Branch Van Vanishes

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Friday March 16, 2012 - 04:37:00 PM

Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't. Mark Twain

It’s Friday morning, March 16, 2012. The Berkeley Public Library branch van is scheduled for 3 hours at the Live Oak curb on this cold and rainy day. Nothing on my BPL website account advises differently, so I plan to proceed uphill to pick up my requested books and other media and to return others, all with deadlines. -more-


Press Release: Police Union Calls for a Formal Investigation of Chief Meehan “Error in Judgment” in 12:45 a.m. Visit to Reporter’s Home

From Officer Tim Kaplan, Rocky Lucia, Mary Jo Rossi
Friday March 16, 2012 - 08:40:00 AM

Citing the lack of review of Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan’s self-subscribed error in judgment as a double standard and serious disregard for Department policy, the Berkeley Police Association (BPA) today called for a formal investigation of the incidents that culminated in Meehan’s order to have a police sergeant make a 12:45 a.m. visit to the home of Oakland Tribune reporter Doug Oakley to demand that he change a newspaper story. -more-


Press Release: Statement from Berkeley Interim City Manager Christine Daniel

From Mary Kay Clunies-Ross, City of Berkeley Public Information Officer
Thursday March 15, 2012 - 09:34:00 PM

“On Monday of this week, the City retained the firm of Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai to conduct an investigation into the events of March 8th and 9th involving Chief of Police Michael K. Meehan. That process will be conducted to its conclusion.” -more-


Press Release: Berkeley Patients Group to Remain Open -- Medical Cannabis Dispensary Plans to Relocate in Berkeley

From Sean Luse, Chief Operating Officer, Berkeley Patients' Group
Thursday March 15, 2012 - 09:25:00 PM

[Editor's note: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." – Mark Twain]

Recent media reports have erroneously stated that Berkeley Patients Group, one of the oldest and well-respected medical cannabis dispensaries in California, is closing its doors. The following statement provides accurate information on BPG’s status:

Berkeley Patients Group remains dedicated to providing safe and affordable access to its patient-members, while working to preserve the jobs of its 70+ employees. BPG is not closing. We have been looking to relocate for several years and look forward to announcing our new site, soon. We are grateful for the level of support we have received from the Berkeley community over the years. -more-


New: Body Found at Berkeley Marina

By Bay Area News Service
Saturday March 17, 2012 - 03:47:00 PM

The Alameda County coroner's bureau is working to identify the body of a man that washed ashore at the Berkeley Marina this morning, a police sergeant said. -more-


AC Transit Will Buy New Buses in Hayward

By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN)
Friday March 16, 2012 - 08:33:00 AM

Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District directors have agreed to spend $16.4 million to buy up to 40 new buses from a bus manufacturing firm in Hayward, the Gillig Corp. -more-


Berkeley Chancellor Birgenau to Step Down at End of Year

By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN)
Tuesday March 13, 2012 - 01:40:00 PM

University of California at Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced today that he will step down at the end of the year after more than eight years of heading the campus. -more-


The Santorum Strategy (News Analysis)

By George Lakoff, Reader Supported News
Monday March 12, 2012 - 10:29:00 PM

The Santorum Strategy is not just about Santorum. It is about pounding the most radical conservative ideas into the public mind by constant repetition during the Republican presidential campaign, whether by Santorum himself, by Gingrich or Ron Paul, by an intimidated Romney, or by the Republican House majority. The Republican presidential campaign is about a lot more than the campaign for the presidency. It is about guaranteeing a radical conservative future for America. I am old enough to remember how liberals (me included) made fun of Ronald Reagan as a not-too-bright mediocre actor who could not possibly be elected president. I remember liberals making fun of George W.Bush as so ignorant and ill-spoken that Americans couldn't possibly take him seriously. Both turned out to be clever politicians who changed America much for the worse. And among the things they and their fellow conservatives managed to do was change public discourse, and with it, change how a great many Americans thought. -more-


Berkeley Police Officers Express Concern About Chief's Action

By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN)
Monday March 12, 2012 - 10:26:00 PM

Berkeley police officers are expressing concern about Police Chief Michael Meehan's decision to send an officer to a reporter's home early Friday morning to demand a correction to a story about a community meeting on a recent high-profile crime.

Members of the Berkeley Police Association, which represents the city's officers, said in a statement that they "stand with our community and share in their concerns about the appearance and correctness of the chief's orders."

They also said they "are gravely concerned about the impact his actions will have on our ability to maintain the vital trust of the community we serve."

Police union members said, "We are committed to providing the best possible service to the community, and protecting the constitutional rights of the citizens of Berkeley to whom we ultimately answer."

They said, "We do not believe that the actions tak en by Chief Meehan represent the will, spirit, or sentiment of the membership of the Berkeley Police Association." -more-


Press Release: Statement on Recent Incident Involving Chief of Police and a Member of the Press

From Anthony Sanchez for Councilmember Jesse Arreguin
Wednesday March 14, 2012 - 09:58:00 AM

Sending a police officer in the middle of the night to a reporter’s house to ask for changes to a story is flat-out inappropriate and just plain wrong. It is a serious trespass that treads dangerously close to State censorship of the Press. Chief Meehan has taken full responsibility for the incident, apologizing for his grave error and assuring the City, the Public, and the Press that it will never happen again. -more-