Bookworms, that is.

Last month, I left work completely overwhelmed. The 49 wasn’t coming, so I walked home on the hottest afternoon, ever. I’m pretty sure parts of my skin melted off in protest of the high temperature — I have yet to discover the patches they left behind. On the corner of Ashby and College, I wished I could ditch my rock of a bag and the huge Amazon box in my arms without any regret. By the time I got to Telegraph Avenue, I was secretly wishing Cal had lost its game against Portland so the jubilant crowds sporting Cal gear would stop being so damn chipper and happy.

But somehow, by the time I reached Adeline, I had a wide smile on my face and an even bigger stack in my arms.

On the block between Shattuck and Adeline stands a small white house with a slanted, bridgelike white porch. And that porch was exploding with books. I could almost hear it grunting as it tried to support all the books it carried. A tiny handmade cardboard sign quietly announced that the books scattered on the porch cost 50 cents to $2, which made me wonder where the rest of the Berkeleyans were and why they weren’t there fighting over Dickens and Camus.

I have serious issues when it comes to buying books: I don’t know when to stop. Growing up in an Arab country, where the average a person reads was about half a page a year, limited the variety and quantity of books available. So I buy books like I’ll never have the chance to again. I had to smuggle in small piles last year and hide them in my bedroom because my sister swore she would fight me if I brought one more book inside our already cramped apartment. Having moved to a bigger place, I saw this as my chance to decorate.

I step inside, and suddenly I’m in paradise, where piles and piles and piles of books cover every inch of furniture. Excluding bookstores and libraries, I have never seen so many books in one place. I didn’t know where to start.

A tanned Armenian man in his late 40s walks into my newly discovered wonderland, wiping his hands on his apron as he informs me about his plans to cook for 40 friends that night. He then notices the book I’m holding, “Asterix et Obelix,” shouts its name in French and then expresses his deepest apologies: He cannot sell that book, as it has too much sentimental value.

I spent about 40 minutes with him, talking about a wide range of topics, from the Israeli treatment of olive trees — prompted by my interest in a book called “Cooking with Olive Oil” — to the library scene in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” all the while my ADHD kicking in and drawing my attention to that stack of “Harry Potter” hardcovers perched precariously on the edge of the table, the worn-out Hemingway book on the ground, the discolored French children’s book on the old TV set.

I left his house promising I would stay for dinner next time and wobbled along with my new 17 books that I got for 40 bucks, plus an elementary Arabic book he gave me for free to give to my friend. As I skipped happily — and fell repeatedly — down Ashby, I remembered my trip across the border from Jordan to Syria a few years back. The soldier searching my bag nudged a book with the butt of his gun and asked me what that was doing in my suitcase. I didn’t know how to answer him. The person driving me hastened to answer, “Mu’allem, she studies in America: They make them read books there.”

No, I wanted to say, I read because when I was a kid, I fell deeply in love with reading. My father would stuff duffel bags with books and travel with overflowing suitcases halfway around the world, all so my heart would break with Fred Weasley’s death, so I would go through the war on Tara with Scarlett, so I would live every emotion that colors Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s beautiful stories.

But I held my tongue. I felt a wave of gratitude toward my father wash over me. He’s the one who introduced me to the world of reading, which in itself has millions of different ports to other universes, some filled with black holes that suck us in once we get too close and others we must avoid at all costs because they are too alien and put our brain cells at risk, such as “Twilight.”

College = zero times the number of minutes spent on external reading. But, I am positive my love for books will emerge as a survivor after I graduate. “Harry Potter” DeCals and random Armenian men will help me make sure that happens.

And a special shout-out to my dad: Thanks for all the books and all the love. I hope your backaches will not go to waste.

Sarah Dadouch writes the Friday column on global perspectives of Berkeley. You can contact her at sdadouch@dailycal.org or follow her on Twitter: @SarahDadouch.

The post Berkeley is crawling with worms appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Nathaniel Solley/Staff

In an effort to improve access to key business districts, the city of Berkeley will implement changes to its parking policies Tuesday.

The changes include varying meter rates based on the demand for parking in particular areas and raising time limits for street spots. The city seeks to address frustration over congestion and businesses’ concerns that customers don’t have enough time to shop.

Parking meters Downtown, in the Telegraph area and in the Elmwood district will use a demand-based pricing model, said Matthai Chakko, a spokesperson for the city.

“By increasing the price in the high-demand areas and then lowering (it) in places where parking is more ample, you hope to encourage people to be parking in different places and to not have as much congestion in one spot,” Chakko said.

Parking in popular areas near shopping destinations on Southside and Downtown will cost $2.25 per hour, while parking in less frequently used areas will cost $1.25 per hour, said Matt Nichols, principal transportation planner for the city.

Current parking rates across the city are $1.75 per hour Downtown and $1.50 per hour elsewhere, according to Nichols.

Elizabeth Deakin, a UC Berkeley professor of city and regional planning and urban design who appeared before the City Council as long ago as 2006 to discuss demand-based pricing, emphasized the importance of promulgating information about the new prices and time limits. It could take several months for shoppers and visitors to adjust to the new system, she said.

“If it works well, it will be a little easier to find a parking space if you really want one and you’re willing to pay a little more,” Deakin said.

In the Elmwood district, near College and Ashby, one-hour street-parking limits will increase to three hours, with an increasing hourly rate.

That came as a relief to Melissa Hatheway, the director of marketing and communications for Rialto Cinemas, which operates a theater in Elmwood. Patrons often struggled to find sufficient parking for two- or two-and-a-half-hour films, she said.

“We’re delighted,” Hatheway said. “We’re hoping this parking solution takes off a layer of anxiety and stress from everybody so they (can) come and spend money.”

UC Berkeley senior Max Jason said he would pay more for parking if it resulted in longer time limits and better availability.

“When I’m going and driving around the city, it’s been pretty difficult (to find parking),” he said.

The new rates are the latest in a series of projects in a three-year transportation pilot program funded by federal and regional grants called goBerkeley, Chakko said.

Nichols said it is unclear how the program will affect city parking revenue, but officials will present a detailed revenue report to the City Council in March.

Contact Connor Grubaugh at cgrubaugh@dailycal.org.

The post Berkeley to vary parking meter rates in Telegraph area, Downtown, Elmwood appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Kira Walker/Staff

The city of Berkeley needs new student trailblazers. The two competing proposals for a new student district both have passionate advocates. At this week’s meeting, the City Council voted to do a staff analysis of the United Student District Amendment, an alternative district map submitted a few months ago. That was good news for the co-ops which do not want to be kicked out of the current student district. It was good news for the dorm residents who want a majority of the dorms in the student district. It was good news for the many nonstudent residents of District 7 who have expressed strong support for keeping the co-ops in the district. Now we need student trailblazers to put together a town hall meeting aimed at bringing all residents together for a fair and inclusive plan.

The Berkeley Student Cooperative board, CalDems board, East Bay Young Dems, ASUC president and two Daily Cal editorials have all expressed strong support for including the majority of co-ops, dorms and Northside residents in the new student district. This objective could be the guiding point for us to take a fresh look at structuring a student district and help us create a new map that incorporates the best of both proposals. With this new perspective, we may even be able to make adjustments to other districts’ borders that have been requested by the coalition of neighborhood associations.

As the current District 7 City Council member, I have helped many students smash stereotypes, stand up to prejudice and discrimination, and take student ideas and translate them into city policies and community action. On multiple occasions, we have successfully challenged racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and ageism. But all of those forces still exist, and we must continue exposing them and find proactive ways to overcome them

A majority of my commission appointments have been students.  When I first appointed students to the most powerful commissions, such as Zoning, Planning and Police Review, I was yelled at, laughed at and cursed at. But many of these students have gone on to do great things. For example, when Andy Katz  served on the Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board while completing his undergraduate degree and served as Board President from appointment by members who were two to three times his age. Katz has since gone on to be elected to the East Bay Municipal Utility Board and is now the Sierra Club-endorsed candidate for the California State Assembly for the 15th District. Likewise, student Jesse Arreguin did such great work on the Housing Advisory Commission and the Rent Stabilization Board  that community members asked him to run and elected him to be the first Latino and youngest City Council member. Student Police Review commissioner Claire Zellman wrote groundbreaking legislation on LGBT sensitivity training and went on to become a nationally recognized rabbi.

When I first brought numerous interns into City Hall, there were jokes about being overrun by teenyboppers. It was argued that council items were too important for high school and college interns to write them. But time and time again, students have proven they can do the research, do the community organizing, do the coalition building and translate their visionary ideas into practical policy. This summer, our office had 17 interns who wrote dozens of policies addressing important issues, including housing, environment, labor, health, disability, public safety, economic development and sexual assault awareness. In fact, at the last City Council meeting, 15 different student written City Council items were considered, and almost all were adopted.

Numerous student commissioners and student interns have proven that they can make significant contributions to the city of Berkeley and truly make the world a better place. We have made a lot of progress at getting student voices heard and getting student ideas implemented. It would be tragic to let personal or political agendas get in the way of an inclusive student district now.

Thanks to the summer research of Stefen Elgstrand and other students, it has been proven that it is mathematically possible to keep the co-ops in the student district and to include a majority of dorms. Many nonstudent longtime residents of District 7 have also expressed strong support for keeping the co-ops in the district. The Northside co-ops  must not be kicked out and made to wait 10 years to get back into a student district. The hollow promise that a second student district might be created somehow and sometime in the future is no substitute for creating a fair district map now.

I invite supporters of both plans and anyone interested to come together for a town hall meeting aimed at bringing the student community and current District 7 residents together for a fair and inclusive plan. I believe we can craft a compromise that treats all major student housing groups fairly.  If interested, students can attend our town hall meeting Friday, Sept. 20, at noon and work together to create a consensus proposal.

Andy Katz, Jesse Arreguin, Claire Zellman and Queen Nefertiti Shabazz are just a few examples of students who were trailblazers. We need students this year to apply to be interns and commissioners. We need students to help create a consensus plan that makes a student district a reality. Perhaps this opportunity is your chance to be a trailblazer!

Kriss Worthington is a Berkeley City Council member.

The post Where are the leaders? appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Nathaniel Solley/Staff

About a dozen protesters continue to occupy the steps and facade of the Berkeley post office despite ongoing requests from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to move off of the post office’s property.

Protesters have been occupying the space for nearly two weeks in a last-ditch effort to prevent the sale of the post office to private developers. The investigators, federal agents dedicated to enforcing Postal Service regulation, warned protesters verbally and provided them with the service’s rules governing conduct on Postal Service property on Friday. Agents have not attempted to forcefully remove the protesters but continue to monitor the scene.

Currently, the protest is being held by four or five activists handing out pamphlets and talking to passers-by as well as a few loiterers who say they will remain despite the threat of law enforcement.

“They’ve threatened to remove us, but we’re still holding our positions and staying there around the clock,” said Mike Wilson of Strike Debt Bay Area, an advocacy group that is organizing the protest.

Augustine Ruiz, a regional Postal Service spokesperson, said that he was concerned that the protest was impeding customers from entering and exiting the facility safely and expressed further concern regarding reported vandalism. Ruiz said that the Postal Service would enforce safety regulation but not stop the protest itself.

“There’s nothing wrong with public congregation, and there’s nothing wrong with what they’re doing, as long as they’re doing it peacefully,” Ruiz said. “We’re not arguing the fact that they have a right to do what they’re doing — we’re saying there’s a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it.”

William Rogers, acting city manager for the city of Berkeley, wrote in a memo on Saturday that Berkeley Police Department will not intervene unless a threat to public safety arises during enforcement action by Postal Service police.

A rally is planned for Saturday, when protesters will march between FedEx, UPS and UC Berkeley’s Blum Center, demonstrating against companies and individuals who are involved in the sale. Protesters cite FedEx and UPS as prospective buyers and allege that Richard Blum — who is chair of the board of CBRE, the corporate real estate company brokering the sale — could make a personal profit if the post office is sold.

Contact Simon Greenhill at sgreenhill@dailycal.org and follow him on Twitter @simondgreenhill.

The post Protests continue despite warnings from US Postal Service appeared first on The Daily Californian.

AC Transit provided 1,000 free one-year EasyPasses on Thursday for employees of small businesses in the Elmwood, Telegraph and Downtown areas to encourage them to take advantage of free public transit in order to increase the number of available on-street parking spaces for visitors and reduce Berkeley’s carbon footprint.

Until 2015, goBerkeley will test out a combination of carsharing, free transit passes and its new supply-and-demand pricing system for parking in efforts to alleviate traffic congestion and limited parking in business districts. The city received funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Climate Initiatives Program, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Federal Highway Administration to test its plans.

“We want to free up the spots to visitors in these commercial districts to bring in higher sales revenue,” said Councilmember Jesse Arreguin.

Part of the problem is that employees of businesses in select areas occupy a great number of on-street parking spots, leaving limited visitor parking, Arreguin said.

The program will partner with the city of Berkeley, MTC, UC Berkeley, AC Transit and public transit nonprofit organization TransForm, among others.

Ann Cheng, a program director at TransForm, says its goal is to get outside employers and employees to take advantage of Berkeley’s public transit options. With the dynamic pricing policy, parking rates will vary by time of day and location so that people can quickly find parking spaces in busier districts.

“The businesses are very supportive,” Cheng said. “I think it’s a really good sign when businesses understand the importance of helping visitors find parking.”

According to Cheng, TransForm’s goal is to increase street parking availability by 16 percent.

City CarShare, a Bay Area nonprofit car-sharing service, was also invited by the city to partner with goBerkeley and help provide more eco-friendly methods of transportation.

“The city of Berkeley is such a forward-thinking city in that it looks at the problem of car congestion and for other ways to get around while looking at sustainability,” said Anita Daley, marketing director of City CarShare.

Some community members have expressed concern surrounding specific aspects of the goBerkeley program. One controversial proposal involves extending metered parking time. Arreguin said that extending meter time would have a negative impact on businesses.

“Oakland did that a few years and there was a huge backlash from businesses and residents, and I think we will see that from the Berkeley community,” Arreguin said.

Contact Lydia Tuan at ltuan@dailycal.org.

The post goBerkeley program aims to increase parking availability in Berkeley appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Andrew Kuo/Senior Staff

According to findings released last Monday from an annual independent survey, many “soft-story” buildings in Berkeley continue to not meet seismic safety standards designated by city ordinance.

The results were gathered by a group of concerned locals and students led by Igor Tregub, a commissioner on the Berkeley Rent Board. For the past three years, independently of the city, Tregub and his team have been investigating more than 200 buildings in Berkeley that are classified as soft-story buildings — wooden-frame structures with five or more units featuring unequal levels of earthquake resistance on certain floors.

Many of these soft-story buildings house students while also providing spaces for ground-floor businesses and parking garages. Unless retrofitted, soft-story buildings are usually more vulnerable to earthquakes and prone to collapse.

“We’re seeing more instances of compliance now than we did in the past two years, but only 10 of 20 buildings we inspected followed regulations, which is very troubling,” Tregub said. The results from the Seismic Compliance survey also revealed that none of the tenants living in the 20 buildings surveyed knew of their home’s inherent instability.

While some soft-story building owners have retrofitted their property, many others need financial assistance to do so, and some landlords are unaware of the need for earthquake retrofitting in their own buildings.

“Very few students actually know about the seismic dangers in Berkeley,” said Denim Ohmit, a former local affairs intern in the ASUC External Affairs Vice President’s office who helped rally participants and survey buildings. “A lot of the tenants we were notifying were unknowing students.”

Students and concerned citizens gathered for a Seismic Day of Action on March 20 to conduct inspections of soft-story buildings and determine whether building owners had cooperated with the Berkeley Soft Story Ordinance of 2005. Phase I of the ordinance requires owners of certain seismically unstable buildings to inform their tenants of inherent risks and to place informative signs within five feet of all major entrances.

But according to both Tregub’s seismic compliance report and the Berkeley Property Owners Association, the responsibility to effectively enforce the Soft Story Ordinance ultimately falls on the city of Berkeley.

“Since the ordinance was passed, the city has always had the legal standing to enforce these laws, but they’ve decided to prioritize and budget themselves towards other interests,” said Asa Dodsworth, a commissioner for the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board.

Sid Lakireddy, president of the BPOA, attributes a lack of awareness of both tenants and landlords to poor communication between the city of Berkeley and building owners.

“There’s definitely a lack of personalized outreach to landlords,” Lakireddy said, noting that significant language and age barriers exist between tenants, city officials and many owners of the soft-story buildings in question. “But the ordinance is completely fair — it’s how we’re eventually going to raise awareness and get people to seismically retrofit these properties.”

Phase II of the Soft Story Ordinance will attempt to acquire funding from the city to seismically retrofit soft-story buildings, but according to Tregub’s report, progress toward this phase has been at a standstill for the past seven years.

“The city has the necessary equipment and expertise to do this, but due to the lack of priority and budgeting, seismic retrofitting has been long delayed,” Tregub said.

Contact Andrew Dickey at adickey@dailycal.org.

The post Survey finds some Berkeley buildings do not meet earthquake safety requirements appeared first on The Daily Californian.

On Tuesday, the city notified the food trucks Dojo Dog, Healthy Heavenly Foods and Kettle Corn Star that they had three days to move off the property in order to allow for upcoming construction on Lower Sproul.

Ann Vu, owner of Healthy Heavenly Foods, said that this was the first notification she and the other food truck owners had received and that the trucks will have to stay off the site for at least two years.

“It was too short notice — I have no plan,” Vu said. “It’s very horrible for my business. I need the income for my family.”

The construction — a part of the Lower Sproul Redevelopment Project — is scheduled to begin next week, and the sidewalks, as well as part of the street, will be closed off, said Christine Shaff, communications director of the campus Facilities Services Department.

Even though the construction will be managed by the university, the property on which the food trucks operate remains under the purview of the city, according to Shaff.

“Food trucks are regulated by the city of Berkeley — they are there via whatever permissions the city gives,” Shaff said. “We’ve done our best to let local business owners know when construction is coming up … as far as having any authority to talk them about their location — that’s the city.”

Vu said that the city officials she spoke with encouraged her to scout the area surrounding the campus to look for potential relocation sites. But the odds of finding a location that belongs to the city and attracts as much foot traffic as Sproul Plaza are low, she said.

“There’s a lot on the line — I’ve invested a lot of time and money in this … these trucks don’t come cheap,” said Michael Koh, owner of Dojo Dog and a UC Berkeley senior. “We were expecting a four-year plan and have only been here for eight or nine months.”

Koh said that he and the other owners are scheduled to meet with city officials to negotiate on Friday to work towards some sort of resolution.

“It’s very tough having finals and dealing with things like this,” Koh said. “I’m supposed to be studying, but I just can’t when my business is getting screwed.”

Sara Khan covers academics and administration. Contact her at skhan@dailycal.org.

The post City asks food trucks near campus to leave appeared first on The Daily Californian.

According to a 2011 city auditor’s report, 12 percent of Berkeley’s streets need full reconstruction because they are considered “failed streets.” At the end of five years, this number is estimated to grow to 21 percent. Less visible is the 100-mile-network of storm sewer pipes designed to convey rain runoff to the bay and prevent flooding. This system, nearly 80 years old, has passed its useful design life, increasing the risk of flooding in our community during major storms. In addition, the system does nothing to remove pollutants picked up in stormwater as it flows over our streets and yards.
Measure M can alleviate these infrastructure problems in two ways. First, this ballot initiative raises $30 million for infrastructure investments the city cannot fund otherwise. The annual budget for streets and storm sewers are $3.6 million and $2.8 million, respectively. These budgets are consumed by the system’s current maintenance requirements, and they pale in comparison to the unmet capital needs for our streets, which are $46 million, and storm sewers, which are $207.5 million.

Furthermore, without funds to repair the most deficient parts of the current infrastructure, our costs will grow substantially. Streets cost an estimated three to 30 times more per mile to rebuild than to repair. In five years, more streets will require reconstruction, increasing our unmet needs to an estimated $71 million. Broken storm sewers will continue to flood and damage our neighborhoods, releasing 11 million gallons in West Berkeley during a major storm. Pollutants will continue to run off lawns and streets during storm events, contaminating the San Francisco Bay with pollutants. Delaying action can only make these problems worse.

Second, Measure M offers our community an opportunity to incorporate green design solutions in our street and storm sewer systems. An estimated 20 percent of Berkeley’s land is paved with impermeable concrete or asphalt. These surfaces increase stormwater flow — and flooding — and remove few toxic pollutants from runoff. Green infrastructure can combat these problems by reproducing natural water patterns. During a storm, this new approach to street design combines permeable pavement and rain gardens to absorb rain water where it falls and then gradually discharge it to storm sewers, lowering the risk of flooding. In addition, the storm water is filtered before it reaches the storm sewers, reducing pollutant levels. Measure M can raise funds to start our transition to this holistic design, benefiting our community and environment.

Opponents of Measure M argue the initiative is an inadequate, piecemeal approach authorizing the use of unproven technology. While our infrastructure problems are large, the $30 million from Measure M is an important first step to solve them. These complex problems did not develop overnight, and we cannot solve them by replacing 20th-century designs. Measure M will allow our community to act now to begin the smart redesign of our infrastructure with an approach that reduces flooding, improves urban design and prevents pollutant transfer to the bay. Green infrastructure projects are not unproven technology. One only need look at comparable solutions that already work, like green streets in Portland, rain gardens in El Cerrito or permeable pavement in the Port of Oakland to find examples of projects making a positive impact. Berkeley too must become a progressive leader in applying this technology.

Crumbling infrastructure is a daunting challenge, but we personally believe it offers us an historic opportunity to redefine the urban landscape in a green vision. Quick action is needed to avoid larger costs in the future. Vote YES on Measure M on Nov. 6 and start building the green streets of the 21st century. Let’s change the conversation from destructive flash floods and potholes to beneficial rain gardens and permeable pavement.

Andrew Torkelson and Brian McDonald are graduate students in the environmental engineering department at UC Berkeley.

Contact the opinion desk at opinion@dailycal.org.

The post Protect the infrastructure in the city from further damage appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Berkeley City Council unanimously adopted the recommendation by Councilmember Kriss Worthington at the Tuesday meeting in hopes of making Sept. 23 a date for the city to support a community that has historically been marginalized.

“Bisexuals are glad to be lumped with the larger LGBT community but also seem to want a little bit of specific affirmation,” Worthington said.

Although June has traditionally been celebrated as Pride Month for the LGBT community, Worthington said he hopes to give bisexuals their own distinct day of honor.

Since the resolution was adopted, there has been considerable positive feedback, he said.

“Somehow, this has really hit a chord and resonated with the public,” Worthington said. “Both those who are straight and gay have come up to me and said that it was about time to recognize bisexuals.”

However, after national media covered the declaration, the city received several calls of  opposition Wednesday. Two individuals called to emphasize their feeling that the city’s proclamation was “disgusting,” Worthington said. One agreed that they understood Worthington’s world is different, but said he would “never agree.”

Worthington said he suspects the calls were not from community members, but from out-of-state individuals.

Such misunderstanding of bisexuals, along with other groups who are often criticized for their differences, is one of the main issues the  proclamation hopes to overcome.

Nancy Carleton, a former Berkeley zoning board chair who also identifies with the bisexual community, said by adopting an official day of recognition, the city hopes to increase awareness of the bisexual community.

“Its a wonderful thing to increase awareness,” Carleton said. “When you increase awareness, you increase people’s tolerance of diversity, and that changes how people treat each other on a day-to-day basis.”

CalSERVE Senator Nolan Pack said he commends the city for its actions in support of this marginalized group.

“It’s important we don’t categorize according to our own expectations, and let people self-identify,” Pack said.

Although the city does not expect any large plans for the first official Bisexual Pride Day next week, they hope in the future to organize a committee around the day’s celebrations.

Contact Alex Berryhill at aberryhill@dailycal.org

The post City of Berkeley takes historic steps in supporting the bisexual community appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Watch a video interview with Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates. Read his full feature here.

The post Video: Mayor Tom Bates, Faces of Berkeley appeared first on The Daily Californian.