Negotiations will continue tomorrow, but the possibility of another strike beginning Tuesday morning looms over the heads of Bay Area commuters. The postponement of a strike comes after Gov. Jerry Brown issued a 60-day cooling-off period, which ended Thursday night.

BART submitted its “last, best and final offer” at 4 p.m., an indication that no further negotiation is possible and a move that was rebuffed by some elected officials, including state Assemblymember Nancy Skinner.

“We want the trains to keep running, and we need both sides to keep talking to get there,” Skinner said. “So when BART management cut off negotiations today by putting forward a final offer at 4 p.m., we were disappointed, and we felt it did a lot of damage because it impeded progress.”

Gladys Rosario covers city news. Contact her at grosario@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @gladysrosario93.

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Pol Rebaque/File

In light of the Supreme Court’s decision allowing same-sex marriage in California, Berkeley City Council will consider closing the city’s Domestic Partnership Registry at its Oct. 1 meeting.

Darryl Moore, the council member proposing the closure, said the city’s registry is no longer needed because the services it offers can be provided through other avenues, such as going to the Office of the County Clerk in Oakland or mailing the registration to the secretary of state’s office in Sacramento.

The proposal comes in response to the Supreme Court’s June decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry, in which the court ruled 5-4 to effectively nullify Proposition 8, a 2008 California ballot initiative that added language to the state constitution defining marriage as valid only between a man and a woman.

In 1984, Berkeley City Council was the first city council to grant domestic partnership benefits to its employees. The city in 1991 established the Domestic Partnership Registry, which allowed the city to recognize domestic partnerships.

More than 1,000 domestic partners are registered in Berkeley, according to Councilmember Kriss Worthington. The last time a couple registered for a domestic partnership was Monday, according to the city clerk.

Before submitting the proposal, Moore said he sent it to local leaders, including the Pacific Center for Human Growth, an LGBT community organization, for review.

Worthington and Councilmember Jesse Arreguin, however, believe the community and affected couples should be further consulted before a decision is made.

“Whether they are heterosexual couples or same-sex couples, they may choose domestic partnerships over marriage,” Arreguin said. “We should continue to give them that option.”

According to the city clerk’s office, about 40 to 50 couples have registered for domestic partnerships for each of the past three years. Additionally, about 10 domestic partners per year chose to terminate their licenses.

“If people are using it and people want it, I don’t see why we would go out of our way to close it,” said Caitlin Quinn, an ASUC senator endorsed by groups in the campus queer community.

Other community members see a potential need to terminate Berkeley’s domestic registry. City policy on domestic partnerships does not require other employers, businesses or government agencies to recognize Berkeley’s domestic partnerships, according to the city’s website.

“(Closing the registry) could eliminate potential conflict between the city’s registry and the state of California’s marriage laws for same-sex couples,” said Ed Ness, co-chair of the Oakland/East Bay chapter of Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

The council will also consider establishing Oct. 11, the registry’s 22nd anniversary, as Marriage Equality Day in Berkeley as part of the proposal.

Contact Gladys Rosario and Michelaina Johnson at newsdesk@dailycal.org

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Nathaniel Solley/Staff

Berkeley City Council discussed changes to medical marijuana policies, including further investigation into the creation of new medical marijuana dispensaries, at its meeting Tuesday night.

After debating among themselves and listening to public comments and a presentation by the Medical Cannabis Commission, City Council members requested that the commission and city manager’s office amend dispensary rules and restrictions on collectives as well as address cannabis safety.

City staff members and the commission will revise ordinances to include a clearer definition of collectives, a limit on the number of people who can join collectives and a change in the closing time of collectives from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“I’m glad to say we’re moving forward on definitions, restrictions … because it’s like the Wild Wild West out there,” said Councilmember Linda Maio.

During the public comment session, Roger LaChance, operations manager at the Berkeley Patients Group dispensary, advocated allowing dispensaries to maintain digital records, removing overly technical parking lot light requirements and extending the dispensaries’ six-month grace period to 12 months to comply with the new ordinances. The council agreed to include these suggestions.

Although Measure T, passed in 2010, allows the council to approve the operation of a fourth dispensary, Berkeley only has three approved dispensaries. The commission supported adding two dispensaries, raising the total from four to six.

The council will also consider stricter testing regulations that would ensure the safety of the cannabis for patients.

“Product safety is critical when you’re talking about any herb as a medicine,” said Michael Backes, a consultant for the dispensary Los Angeles Patients & Caregivers Group. “You don’t want them to poison people.”

At the meeting, Backes showed the entire council a picture of a large piece of mold extracted from a cannabis user. He said his concern for product safety stemmed from knowledge about cannabis lab results in California.

According to Backes, four percent of cannabis samples tested positive for dangerous molds or bacteria, and 1 percent tested positive for pesticides.

He also said marijuana-associated deaths in the United States are usually caused by a mold called aspergillus, which needs testing to be detected.

“We should be testing for toxic stuff, and that information should be available,” said Councilmember Gordon Wozniak. “It should be safe.”

The council agreed to instruct the city manager to calculate the costs dispensaries would incur when conducting scientific testing on the cannabis they sell.

“I hope the city really looks hard at implementing testing so they get the cleanest, safest cannabis,” Backes said. “If there’s a clean place to go and get medicine, that’s great.”

Gladys Rosario covers city news. Contact her at grosario@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @gladysrosario93.

Correction(s):
A previous version of this article incorrectly referenced Michael Backes, a consultant for the dispensary Los Angeles Patients & Caregivers Group, as saying that 25 percent of cannabis samples tested positive for dangerous molds or bacteria. In fact, he said 4 percent.

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Alison Fu/Staff

After extensive discussion Tuesday night, the Berkeley City Council decided to postpone a historic vote on the ASUC-backed redistricting map that would create a student-majority district for the first time in Berkeley.

The City Council was originally slated to take its first formal vote to approve the Berkeley Student District Campaign map at its Tuesday meeting. However, the council decided to delay its decision after listening to almost 20 students voice their concerns about the omission of Northside student cooperatives and dorms on the east side of campus from the map’s proposed student-majority district.

This will provide the city with more time to analyze another proposed map — the United Student District Amendment — which would also create a student-majority district but suggests different boundaries.

“Nine co-ops and three dorms are currently excluded in the BSDC map,” said ASUC Executive Vice President Nolan Pack during the public comment session of the meeting. “The students would really appreciate more time to talk about a more inclusive student district.”

The BSDC map, proposed in 2011, includes the entire UC Berkeley campus as well as the majority of Southside but not the three residence hall complexes in the Foothill area or the Berkeley Student Cooperative on Northside.

USDA, an alternative map introduced in July, is an amended version of the BSDC that incorporates those areas in its student-majority district. The new map, however, does not include a large area where students commonly live south of Dwight Way and significantly shifts the boundaries of neighboring districts, noted Councilmember Susan Wengraf at the meeting.

“This is just trading one group of students for another,” Wengraf said.

Berkeley residents also voiced their concerns at the meeting, unhappy that the proposals could split their longstanding neighborhood communities apart.

“Neither of the student groups have attempted to collaborate with their neighbors,“ said Berkeley resident Jacquelyn McCormick during public comment. “Berkeley neighborhoods have not been considered as a community of interest in this process.”

However, Safeena Mecklai, ASUC external affairs vice president said she has attended public forums where community members spoke, and they have taken their concerns into account while creating the BSDC map.

The council most likely will not be able to adopt any map for a first reading until November, said Anthony Sanchez, legislative aide to Councilmember Jesse Arreguin.

The redistricting deadline is Dec. 31st. Because the final map must be adopted 30 days before the deadline, the council may need to call a special meeting in November.

The timeline of the map may change depending on how quickly city staff members can analyze the USDA map, according to Sanchez. He said the council’s decision last night would give the ASUC more time to discuss the issue at their senate meeting Wednesday night.

“This does a good job of allowing the city and community to weigh in,” Mecklai said. “I’m interested to see what happens next.”

Contact Alison Fu and Gladys Rosario at newsdesk@dailycal.org.

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After two years, Berkeley City Council is on the brink of making a historic decision Tuesday night regarding the creation of a student-majority district.

It has taken countless meetings, a ballot measure and a handful of maps, but the council soon may finally approve a new City Council district map that would create a student-majority district within the city of Berkeley. Many say such a district would be the first of its kind in the United States.

The council, at its Tuesday night meeting, will take its first vote of two to adopt an ordinance adjusting the City Council district boundaries to those suggested by an ASUC-backed map called the Berkeley Student District Campaign, which was proposed in 2011.

In the summer, controversy arose when some students recognized that three residence halls on the east side of campus, along with International House and the Berkeley Student Cooperatives on Northside, were not included in the student-majority district the map suggests.

In July, Stefan Elgstrand, a senior and an intern for Councilmember Kriss Worthington, submitted the United Student District Amendment, which included the previously omitted housing units.

Creating a student-majority district will pave the way for electing a council member who can advocate for the student population, which comprises 25 percent of the city’s total residents, according to ASUC External Affairs Vice President Safeena Mecklai.

“We need representatives on the council who walk amongst us and experience what we experience,” said Mecklai, whose office is overseeing the student-majority-district creation process.

According to Councilmember Jesse Arreguin, city officials intentionally created district lines in 1986 that divided the campus’ student voting bloc. Berkeley kept these controversial boundaries for decades, he said, despite the fact that they prevented the formation of a student-majority district.

Last year, the City Council voted to delay redistricting until after November 2012 so voters would have a chance to approve a ballot measure allowing district lines to be redrawn.

After the measure passed, campus and community members alike began the process of redrawing the boundary lines and debating over which map, including several that proposed the creation of a student-majority district, was best.

On Tuesday night, the City Council will consider two final maps. While the council is slated to do its first formal approval of the BSDC map, it is still possible for the council to put that process on hold to give further consideration to the USDA map.

“(The USDA map) still has the value of creating a student district,” said Michelle Nacouzi, president of the Berkeley Student Cooperative, which voted to support the USDA in July. “But it’s one step better than the original map because it includes Northside.”

Elgstrand, the creator of the USDA map, said he believes that one major amendment is necessary, although his map does not radically differ from BSDC’s, which he used as a template.

“We want to optimize the inclusivity of the student district to make sure the voices are heard,”  Elgstrand said.

Councilmember Max Anderson, with Arreguin and Worthington, favors the newer map.

Former ASUC external affairs vice president Joey Freeman, who oversaw the beginning phases of the student-district campaign, said the BSDC map creates a student-majority district that does a good job of representing as many students as possible while still following criteria in the city’s charter about redistricting.

Mecklai said the Northside cooperatives still would be adequately represented in the BSDC-created student-majority district because the elected official would be accountable to the concerns of the cooperative community.

“When you’re making a district of around 14,000 people to represent a community of 35,000, it’s impossible to make sure everyone is in the district,” she said. “That does not mean, however, that the needs of the community will go unheard.”

Gladys Rosario covers city news. Contact her at grosario@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @gladysrosario93.

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Brian Ly/Staff

In response to a construction worker’s death at a Berkeley middle school, a California agency for worker safety is investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Last Tuesday, Oscar Marquez was killed by a big rig while laying asphalt on the new track and field at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in North Berkeley. He was pronounced dead on site about 12:45 p.m.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s investigation of Marquez’s death could last up to six months, said Cal-OSHA spokesperson Peter Melton. Marquez had worked for Robert A. Bothman Construction Inc. for about 25 years.

“Inspections and investigations are very thorough, so they need time to make sure they get everything right,” Melton said.

He said the big rig that crushed Marquez may have been located on a slope, but the exact details of the case are still under investigation.

If found responsible for the accident, the company may be issued citations and forced to pay penalties.

Rosa Marquez, Marquez’s granddaughter, feels that closure will help her family move forward.

“I don’t want anyone to get blamed for it or anything — just to find out what happened,” she said.

During an investigation, Cal-OSHA safety inspectors look at records, go to the scene and interview employers, employees and eyewitnesses, Melton said. They also may inspect any machinery, such as the big rig that was involved in the incident.

Citing the ongoing investigation, the Berkeley Unified School District and the construction company declined to comment.

At the time of the incident, many people were on campus because a “Welcome Fair” was under way, said Christine Staples, the school’s PTA president.

“We’ve been so excited about having our new track,” Staples said. “It’s heartbreaking to have somebody lose his life in building it for us.”

Rosa Marquez remembered her grandfather as a religious, caring man and a loving father to his two children.

“(And now) I see how much people cared for him,” she said. “He was a really good person.”

Kristina Dodsworth-Heath, a mother of a sixth-grader at the middle school, said she hoped Marquez will be remembered. As a former construction worker, she empathized with manual laborers and called them the “backbone” of the community.

“I just know that the people on the campus are really sad for the family,” Dodsworth-Heath said. “I would want the family to know how aware the community is at the loss of his life.”

The construction company has established a fund for the Marquez family. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Livermore.

Gladys Rosario covers city news. Contact her at grosario@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @gladysrosario93.

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A construction worker died at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School last Tuesday, the day before the new school year began.

About 12:45 p.m., Oscar Marquez, 62, was reportedly run over by a big rig that rolled down an incline as employees were laying asphalt near the middle school’s new track and field, according to Berkeleyside.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Bureau confirmed the cause of death as extensive blunt trauma, which can include broken bones, internal bleeding and multiple other injuries to the body.

The report detailing the exact circumstances of his death is unavailable at the moment but will become public in a matter of weeks or months, the coroner’s office said.

California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an agency that enforces worker health and safety practices, began a six-month investigation last Tuesday, according to CBS.

Marquez worked for a company called Robert A. Bothman Construction. Established in 1978, the company has two branches — one in San Jose and another in Hawaii.

Since 2003, the company has had one “serious” safety violation that resulted in a $300 penalty, according to a database by Cal/OSHA.

Gladys Rosario covers city news. Contact her at grosario@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @gladysrosario93.

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Andrew Kuo/Staff

When Norma Loza woke in the hospital two years ago, she could no longer walk or converse with her friends and family.

Only four months before her graduation in 2010, Loza suffered a stroke that added physical and mental challenges to her everyday life. But her dream of receiving a UC Berkeley degree motivated her to prevail and graduate this past Saturday more than two years later.

“I decided I was going to do everything in my power to get back to Berkeley,” Loza said.

On the day of the stroke, Loza was scheduled to tutor a student in Oakland but called in sick when a headache overwhelmed her. The last memory Loza has is eating before her roommates rushed her to the hospital.

The stroke was a result of arteriovenous malformation, a tangle of vessels that developed in utero.

After doctors performed a surgery, Loza woke and realized her abilities to walk and hold conversations were gone. The doctors predicted that Loza would either return to her normal self or live in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.

“They would always tell me, ‘You’re not going to walk,’ and I said, ‘Why?’” Loza said.

Through physical therapy rehabilitation, Loza gradually gained the ability to hold conversations and, despite the opinion of medical professionals, walk. However, she still struggles with right hemiplegia, a partial paralysis of the body. She has limited movement of her arm and must wear a brace on her right foot, as her ankle and toes are also unable to move.

Jazzmin Adibi, a high-school and college friend, said one sacrifice Loza had to make was the choice to postpone her education in order to rehabilitate her mind and body.

“I think that was her biggest struggle,” Adibi said. “She had to take a step back from her dreams and recuperate.”

Janet Rodriguez, a close college friend, said she and Loza’s family were concerned over whether Loza would be able to obtain her degree.

Both Rodriguez and Adibi credited Loza’s personality traits, such as her determination and optimism, with giving her the strength to continue her recovery efforts and educational endeavors.

“Once she has something on her mind, that’s it,” Adibi said. “She refuses to imagine a life where she’s not going to live out her dreams, even with a stroke … She’s a warrior. She’s a survivor.”

Loza returned to UC Berkeley in the fall of 2012 to finish her bachelor’s degree in film studies.

Although she had a reduced course load, the work was still very challenging for Loza. Her short-term memory and ability to focus were affected by the stroke, making it difficult to take final exams and read large amounts of text.

Two of Loza’s biggest inspirations are her recently deceased high-school English teacher Toni Romero and her grandmother. Romero encouraged Loza to attend UC Berkeley, and Loza said she derives her stubbornness from her grandmother.

“I feel very proud of myself because it’s been difficult coming back to school,” Loza said.
Loza’s ankle movement has not returned, but she believes it will one day.

“It has to,” Loza said. “My toes will move one day.”

Contact Gladys Rosario at grosario@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @gladysrosario93.

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Moore, who died in Berkeley police custody on Feb. 12, became the focus of controversy during Tuesday’s council meeting. As the City Council attempted to move an item on mental health for further discussion later in the meeting, vocal protests erupted, eventually culminating in police officers forcibly removing one protester who refused to give up the floor.

Before the council meeting, protesters also held a rally in front of City Hall, holding signs stating, “We won’t forget Kayla!” and “Justice for Kayla (Xavier) Moore.”

Much of the anger in the room reflected protester frustrations about the scarcity of information regarding the case. Berkeley Police Department currently has a “press hold” on Moore’s autopsy report, and although the BPD has assured that the report will be released in the near future, the situation has resulted in strong criticism from members of the family as well as the community.

During the public comment session, two protesters ceded their speaking time to Arthur Moore, Kayla’s father, who directed most of his criticism toward Bates.

“I’m very, very disappointed that your chief of police put a hold on this case,” Arthur said to Bates. “We haven’t heard anything from your office stating that things are going to change … Nobody has said anything about my son. Nobody from your office. What I’m asking you to do is change your mind and give us some answers.”

Prior to the council meeting, much frustration was taken to the streets. On March 12, for example, about 70 protesters gathered at People’s Park and marched on Berkeley Police Department.

Though the protest was nonviolent, the anger was tangible as participants chanted slogans like “Vengeance for Kayla Moore.”

The march was soon followed by a birthday memorial for Moore, who would have turned 42 this year. The memorial also had a march with turnout similar to that of the march on Berkeley Police Department headquarters.

The council meeting, however, was not all emotional pleas and outbursts. Moore’s sister, Maria, proposed that the city have a mental health awareness month.

“What the city needs is more mental health services,” Maria said. “Let’s allocate those funds that would hire more cops to mental health services.”

The heated discussion on mental health and Moore’s death cooled down after the forced removal of one of the protesters. Councilmember Kriss Worthington emphasized that the council must focus on helping move the Berkeley community past this issue and toward a healing process.

Gladys Rosario covers academics and administration. Contact her at grosario@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @gladysrosario93.

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Kore Chan/Staff

After hearing numerous concerns from local restaurant owners at its meeting Tuesday night, the Berkeley City Council decided to defer voting on a contentious item that would expand the number of restaurants that can operate on Telegraph Avenue.

Restaurant owners voiced concerns that if the quota were relaxed, other restaurants would enter an already competitive environment, which would hurt their businesses. Multiple restaurant owners, including those of Gypsy’s Trattoria Italiana and Pappy’s Grill and Sports Bar, spoke at the meeting in opposition to removing the system.

“I strongly disagree with the proposal,” said Jahanshah Jowharchi, owner of Gypsy’s. “Our restaurant has suffered tremendously in the last two years … Many of us are going out of business due to overpopulation of restaurants.”

Currently, the city has quotas limiting the number of businesses, such as restaurants, barber shops and gift shops, that operate in the Telegraph commercial area. The proposal, if approved, would relax the restaurant quota system for the next three years.

Alex Popov, manager of Pappy’s, initiated a petition against removing the quota system. He also created the Telegraph Restaurant Association last week to voice the sentiments of local restaurant owners.

Thai Basil, CREAM and La Burrita are among 34 local restaurants that have signed the petition in favor of keeping the quotas.

“When I explained to (business owners) the issue, especially to those who are mom and pops, they said, ‘How are we going to survive if this passes?’” Popov said. “(Even) talking to nonfood businesses — they are concerned.”

Yet other business owners, such as Craig Becker of Caffe Mediterraneum — who is also president of the Telegraph Business Improvement District — think the quotas have done more harm than good.

“I think the government has a big role in making any commercial district successful, but I just don’t think that the quotas are the right way to go about it,” Becker said.

Due to time constraints, the council did not debate the restaurant quota matter and decided not to approve it at this time.

“If they would have taken a vote last night, we would have prevailed,” Popov said. “The fact that we didn’t get everything done in one meeting is not that big of a deal, but as long as we’re continuing to have Telegraph in the spotlight … It might take a long time, but as long as we’re looking at ways to improve the business district.”

The City Council voted, in one motion, to adopt of a number of the other items pertaining to Telegraph, such as looking into the financial impact of converting Bancroft Way and Durant Avenue into two-way streets and of creating parklets.

Gladys Rosario covers academics and administration. Contact her at grosario@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @gladysrosario93.

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