Michael Drummond/Senior Staff

More than 40,000 Bay Area residents took to Shattuck Avenue on Sunday in celebration of Berkeley’s second Sunday Streets event.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Shattuck Avenue closed to cars and welcomed pedestrians and cyclists instead. Between Haste and Rose streets, participants could engage in a variety of activities, including live art and salsa dancing, as well as watch various performance groups.

“It’s about getting people to experience their urban environment in a totally different way and appreciate Berkeley in a new way,” said Sunday Streets Berkeley director Emunah Hauser.

The event is organized by Livable Berkeley, a coalition which strives to make Berkeley a more sustainable place, and a few partner organizations. According to Hauser, more than 150 organizations and activity leaders, including several UC Berkeley clubs and organizations, participated in Sunday Streets.

Sunday Streets drew people not only from Berkeley but from surrounding cities as well.

“It’s a really special feeling to have so much of a main street shut down,” said Oakland resident Tina Marie. “People look at each other differently. You’re taking people in.”

Because the street was closed off, several bus lines scheduled detours and added temporary stops near University Avenue and Oxford Street.

For Berkeley resident Michael Marchant, the absence of cars created a safer environment for his children.

“We look forward to any of these events where they block off streets to cars,” he said. “It makes it easier as a parent if you don’t have to worry about traffic.”

Hauser said this year’s Sunday Streets had a larger focus on transportation outreach than last year’s. Bay Area Bike Share allowed people to test bikes, and goBerkeley, a pilot program aiming to improve transportation in the city, asked for feedback from residents about public amenities.

To focus on physical activity and active transportation, Livable Berkeley does not invite street vendors to set up booths. Instead, many stores along Shattuck set up tables themselves, providing free samples or selling smaller store items.

Belli Osteria, a restaurant which does not normally open on Sundays, set up a pasta-making demonstration. Its co-owner Damien Morrison said Sunday Streets increased the restaurant’s exposure.

While some businesses had lines out the door, others saw a decrease in customers.

“There are plenty of distractions, so probably not as many people want to hang out in the comic book store,” said Mike Courtright, an employee at Fantastic Comics. While Courtright saw some new faces in the store, he saw fewer of his regular customers.

Sunday Streets, however, does not come without cost for the event’s organizers. Hauser estimates the event cost about $65,000 this year.

Although fundraising and private sponsorship cover a large part of this cost, Berkeley City Council pledged in January to provide Sunday Streets about $59,000 to split between 2013 and 2014.

Councilmember Kriss Worthington predicts the council will continue funding the event for subsequent years. Still, he feels the city’s contribution is a little high.

“It’s unfortunate that the other longtime community events don’t get more funding,” Worthington said. “This event gets as much as 20 other city events, so there’s a degree of unfairness.”

But for Councilmember Laurie Capitelli, Sunday Streets is “money well spent.”

“Everything shouldn’t be business,” Capitelli said. “Sometimes we should just celebrate as a community, and that’s important.”

Contact Tahmina Achekzai at tachekzai@dailycal.org.

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Sunday Streets will be held on a nearly two-mile stretch of Shattuck, spanning from Haste Street to Rose Street. A number of organizations are hosting activities, which range from chess games to yoga sessions, and several bands and dance groups are scheduled to perform in the area.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Because the street will be closed off, a number of bus lines have scheduled detours and added temporary stops.

The event will be the second Sunday Streets to be held in Berkeley and aims to draw residents from their homes to connect with the community. Originally inspired by Sunday Streets San Francisco, the event was initiated by an organization called Livable Berkeley.

Livable Berkeley worked in conjunction with other organizations to schedule companion events for the day. The North Shattuck Association is hosting a Vine Street Block Party in the Gourmet Ghetto, and the Downtown Berkeley Association will be hosting an event on Center Street called Downtown Eats, Beats and Brews.

According to Livable Berkeley chair Eric Panzer, last year’s Sunday Streets drew a crowd of about 42,000. This year, he hopes to exceed that.

“We encourage anyone and everyone who wants to be involved to get in contact with us, and hopefully we can find a place for them in our event,” he said.

Contact Tahmina Achekzai at tachekzai@dailycal.org.

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Alex Turney/Staff

Christopher Smith, co-founder of 40 Acres Medical Marijuana Growers’ Collective, filed a lawsuit Sept. 24 against the city of Berkeley and some of its departments, alleging the city discriminated against the collective.

The lawsuit, filed at Alameda County Superior Court, alleges the city of Berkeley, the city’s Medical Cannabis Commission and a number of other departments and officials denied Smith the permits needed to ensure 40 Acres’ continued legality without due process.

The lawsuit also alleges the defendants violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by discriminating against Smith in favor of medical marijuana organizations run by white people.

“We think the lawsuit lacks merit and will defend against it,” said City Attorney Zach Cowan in an email. Cowan declined to comment further due to the pending litigation.

Although 40 Acres was established as a legal collective in 2009, Measure T, which was passed by voters in 2010, set new guidelines for marijuana dispensaries and collectives. Under Measure T, collectives are prohibited from functioning in commercial or manufacturing districts, unlike dispensaries, and are allowed only in residential areas.

Smith originally operated his business in a commercial district at 1820 to 1828 San Pablo Ave. As of January 2012, 40 Acres had closed and moved out of the location, although Smith still resides there. According to the lawsuit, Smith was not aware his work was illegal under the city’s zoning ordinance.

On Tuesday, Berkeley city inspectors and police officers conducted a surprise visit to the building for a code enforcement inspection.

The property had previously been inspected in early September. At the time, Smith did not allow Berkeley Code Enforcement Unit supervisor Gregory Daniel to inspect Units 1 through 3 and 11, which he rents. Supervising building inspector Patrick Emmons, however, found a number of safety violations in Units 4 through 10, which prompted the second inspection this week.

Lee Hepner, Smith’s attorney, said he believes the inspection was a violation of state and local laws, perhaps even the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure.

According to a search warrant, Cowan received permission from Alameda County Superior Court to forgo the usual 24-hour notice inspectors are usually required to issue. The court also allowed inspectors to enter by force, if necessary.

Smith’s attorneys noted that 40 Acres would like to become a dispensary, but the Berkeley Medical Cannabis Ordinance limits the city to three dispensaries. A fourth dispensary will be allowed once Berkeley adopts a licensing ordinance.

City spokesperson Matthai Chakko said there are a number of reasons the city has not adopted a licensing ordinance yet.

“City Council processes in general can take a while, and sometimes it’s just a matter of time,” Chakko said.

Contact Tahmina Achekzai at tachekzai@dailycal.org.

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Sophia Elia/File

In one week, thousands of BART employees could go on strike for the second time this year.

The 60-day “cooling-off” period requested by Gov. Jerry Brown in early August, which prohibited BART labor unions from going on strike, will come to a close before midnight on Oct. 10. If no agreement is reached between BART management and the labor unions by then, the unions have the option of going on strike Oct. 11.

A strike may leave approximately 400,000 Bay Area commuters without transportation for an undetermined amount of time.

Although the cooling-off period was meant to allow more time for negotiations between BART management and labor unions, Service Employees International Union Local 1021 negotiator Leah Berlanga said little progress has been made.

According to Berlanga, BART management has not made any further proposals since the cooling-off period started. BART management’s current proposal suggests a 10 percent wage increase over four years.

SEIU Local 1021 and the Amalgamated Transit Union released their newest proposal on Wednesday. The proposal reflects a drop in the workers’ original wage requests, and they are now asking for a 3.75 percent increase in wages each year for the first two years and a 4 percent raise in the third year, 2016.

“We’re hoping that by taking the higher road here and taking the initiative to move things forward, management will take our lead,” Berlanga said. “The unions certainly want to reach an agreement. We’re trying to think of any which way to move this process along, but it’s been very, very difficult.”

SEIU Local 1021 met with BART management representatives Thursday afternoon to discuss the new proposal. BART spokesperson Jim Allison said that BART’s financial team spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning going over the new proposal and that they appreciated the labor unions’ offer because “it does indicate some movement on their part.”

The only agreement the two parties have come to so far is a pension swap. For every $1 that employees contribute to pensions, they will be reimbursed 72 cents. Employees currently do not contribute to pensions. Allison, however, said that because there is no contract yet, the agreement is not official — they’ve only agreed on the concept.

In the case that the strike does occur, BART has a contingency plan prepared. BART administration hopes to provide charter buses and to open its lots for free parking. AC Transit spokesperson Clarence Johnson said the AC Transit system will also try to help by increasing its transbay service as much as possible.

Allison understands the BART system cannot rely on the contingency plan, however.

“That plan is not going to make a huge dent in the traffic nightmare,” he said.

While he believes there is enough time to find a “middle ground” and reach an agreement before the injunction ends, there is one more possibility that may help prevent a strike.

SB 423, if passed in the California Legislature and signed by Brown, will force BART employees to abide by a no-strike clause in their expired contracts. Under state law, labor unions must honor expired contracts with the state government until a new contract is established. Because BART is a local agency, however, BART unions are not required to follow expired contracts.

Under SB 423, this loophole would close, and the BART unions would be required to follow the same rules as unions working with state agencies. In that case, the employees would not be able to strike.

“The only thing that bill would do would be tie our hands,” Berlanga said. “It doesn’t do anything to make things move more quickly or get things resolved at the table.”

Although Allison said the BART administration is not involved in lawmakers’ decisions, he acknowledged the right to strike is a part of the collective bargaining process.

“Our unions are a large part of what makes BART strong,” he said.

Contact Tahmina Achekzai at tachekzai@dailycal.org.

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The bill, AB 10, will raise the state’s minimum wage from the current level of $8 an hour to $9 an hour by July 1, 2014. The next increase will be implemented Jan. 1, 2016, bumping up the minimum wage to $10.

Brown signed the bill at a ceremony in Los Angeles, where he was accompanied by members of the California State Assembly and dozens of workers.

“It’s my goal and it’s my moral responsibility to do what I can to make our society more harmonious, to make our social fabric tighter and closer and to work toward a solidarity that every day appears to become more distant,” Brown said in a press release.

The Public Policy Institute of California reports that more than 6 million California residents were living under the federal poverty line in 2011. At the same time, the cost of living in many cities in California is well above the national average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Because of the state’s high cost of living, Berkeley City Councilmember Jesse Arreguin strongly supported the bill.

“This bill provides a long overdue increase to help working families and working people in the state,” he said. “I think it’s a huge step forward.”

The city of Berkeley does not have a minimum wage. Since May, however, Berkeley City Council has been considering a proposal to implement a citywide minimum wage of $10.55 an hour.

After the state bill’s approval, Arreguin met with a representative of Berkeley’s Commission on Labor to discuss the relationship between AB 10 and the city proposal.

A 2013 report by the city’s economic development manager, Michael Caplan, suggests that many people may not be able to afford living in Berkeley. According to the study, only 17.1 percent of those who work in Berkeley are city residents.

“Whatever minimum wage we adopt should exceed the state minimum wage,” he said. “It is much more expensive to live in Berkeley than in other areas of the state.”

Contact Tahmina Achekzai at tachekzai@dailycal.org.

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La’akea Sky Smith was known as a brother to more than just his family. A practicing Buddhist, the UC Berkeley junior wrote poetry, practiced traditional Tibetan dance and would get “stoked” about the mundane things in life, according to his best friend, Grant Harrison.

Two weeks ago, the recent transfer into the College of Natural Resources died from injuries sustained in a vehicular accident on the night of Sept. 8. Smith had attended classes for just one week when he was hit by an SUV while riding his motorcycle in Oakland and died early the next morning. He was 23.

Many friends and family members described him as passionate and goofy with a wide variety of interests — an intellectual who enjoyed surfing, meditating and playing guitar.

“Sky was excited about everything he was involved with — he didn’t have his identity rooted in just one thing,” said Harrison, a UC Berkeley junior. “He made life light and joked about everything.”

Harrison said that as a friend, Smith made an effort to be inclusive and had a sense of humor that made “others feel funny.”

“People were immediately drawn to his brilliance, his love and compassion,” said his mother, Janet Graves. “After his passing, what was revealed to me was just how many communities he had been a part of and how many people he had impacted.”

Smith was born in Hawaii and moved to Idaho in 2003. Four years later, he moved to Santa Cruz, where he lived in a Buddhist center with his mother and younger brother. Though he graduated from high school as a National Merit Scholar, he declined a full scholarship to the University of Idaho at Moscow and instead stayed home to improve his health. He enrolled in Cabrillo College in Aptos, Calif., in 2008.

While attending community college, Smith was part of the college’s honors program and founded a sustainability initiative on campus. He entered UC Berkeley this fall as a conservation and resource studies major, intending to focus on ecology and sustainability issues.

Michael Mangin, a history professor from Cabrillo College, described Smith as a good combination of a writer and a thinker, always willing to go for the more difficult analyses in his papers.

“In community college, you meet people with all sorts of experiences. Sky was very young, but he had already absorbed a lot of life and was very open and passionate,” Mangin said. “He needs to be recognized for the jewel that he was.”

Graves said she remembers her son for his sense of humor — she said Smith used to wink at everyone he knew. His colleagues at the bistro he worked at joked about having a jar for money every time someone had been “winked at by Sky.”

In his first week on campus, Smith met with the College of Natural Resources academic adviser Eva Wong to plan out his time at UC Berkeley.

“He was really excited to be here and get started with the next chapter in his life,” Wong said. “From my brief interactions with Sky, I could tell he was going to be a special student.”

Since his passing, friends and family have expressed their condolences through social media and have also held memorials for Smith. Additionally, the honors program at Cabrillo College is considering establishing a scholarship in his name for future students transferring to UC Berkeley, said program adviser Carolyn Jackson.

He is survived by his parents, two brothers and two sisters.

“After he passed, his friends assured me that he was 100 percent happy with his life,” Graves said. “His last post on his Facebook was, ‘My life turns me on.’ He was so grateful to be here.”

Contact Sophie Ho and Tahmina Achekzai at newsdesk@dailycal.org.

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