News

BART service through the Transbay Tube resumed late this afternoon after an early morning three-alarm fire near the West Oakland station closed the tracks between the East Bay and San Francisco, a BART spokesman said. -more-

BART service between the East Bay and San Francisco will resume later than originally estimated this afternoon, Assistant General Manager Paul Oversier told the transit agency's board shortly after 12:30 p.m. -more-

BART's Transbay Tube between Oakland and San Francisco has been shut down this morning due to a three-alarm fire at a construction site near the West Oakland BART station, officials said. -more-

After a lengthy debate, the Berkeley City Council voted 6-3 early Wednesday morning in favor of putting a measure on the November ballot that would prohibit sitting on sidewalks near businesses during daytime hours. -more-

A 19-year-old Berkeley man has been ordered to stand trial on a murder charge for the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Devin Lee Whitmire outside a Berkeley liquor store on March 29. -more-

A downtown worker noticed ten sleep-liers-in downtown Berkeley at 8:50 a.m. Monday on his way to work. Some were asleep in or beneath sleeping bags, the worker noted.

I photographed two liers-in at 4 p.m.

Lying is illegal; it's sitting that is being added to a new measure to be debated at City Council Tuesday.

Are police laying off on the eve of the council debate over sit-lie, which is the must attend political event of the year?

And what is going on downtown? -more-

An elderly pedestrian died after being struck by a bicyclist in El Cerrito on Wednesday, according to the Contra Costa County coroner's office.

Mary Smith, 92, of El Cerrito, died from head injuries she suffered in the collision, a deputy coroner said Thursday.

The collision occurred around 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of Arlington Boulevard and Brewster Drive in front of Arlington Park, El Cerrito Fire Battalion Chief Dave Gibson said yesterday. -more-

A murder charge against an 18-year-old Berkeley man for the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Devin Lee Whitmire in Berkeley in late March was dismissed this week after a dramatic courtroom moment in which the prosecution's key witness said the man wasn't involved in the shooting. -more-

Editor's Note: This letter from Berkeley City Councilmember Gordon Wozniak was received by a citizen who had asked councilmembers what they were doing about the city's pension obligations:

The City is attempting to reduce its pension obligations by negotiating with its employee unions. Because public pension rights are enshrined in the State Constitution, they are very difficult to modify. Basically, State law says that once you are hired, the public pension system in effect at that time applies. Retroactive changes to public pensions are not allowed, unless they increase benefits to employees. Retroactive decreases to public pensions are not allowed by state law, which is the result of a State Proposition that was voted in by the public. To change public pensions would require a new State Proposition. -more-

Over Memorial Day weekend, the Southside Berkeley Bowl got made-over to resemble its corporate big brother to the West. Anything Southsiders may have considered homey at the bowl now resembles the sterility of the bowl's mega-market in Berkeley's industrial area. -more-