College — a time when penny-pinching means eating Chipotle only four days a week instead of five. We know the saving methods instilled by your parents tend to go by the wayside after you leave home. But seriously, remembering some of these lessons could save you some serious burrito money.

1. Collect napkins … from Peet’s, from Crossroads, from every place that thinks it’s important you learn to wipe your mouth. You never think about how much you would miss the comfort of Costco packs of paper products until you’re living on your own.

1. 

   Even more valuable than the burritos, if that’s possible.

2. Reuse containers from groceries so you don’t have to buy more Tupperware. Now it looks like you’re stockpiling yogurt, because you’ve saved all those plastic tubs to put away leftovers. Maybe they’re not the sturdiest, but we suppose they get the job done.
   

   Stock up on probiotics.

3. Take home whatever food is left from club meetings. Remember when it was “embarrassing” for your parents’ friends to heap leftovers on you after parties? That attitude is no more. You have no shame and will proudly tote home the leftover pizza, sandwich rolls and Diet Coke if no one else wants to walk down Telegraph with such a bounty.
   

   Dinner for tomorrow … and the next day … and the next.

4. Learn what coupons are, and you’ll learn to love them. Fifty cents off almond milk? Ten percent off that brand of frozen dinners you never buy? You used to roll your eyes when your mom riffled through coupons in the checkout line, but now, those babies are gold. Go ahead and nickel-and-dime it. Obviously, you’ve got a good deal on your hands.
   

   The spirit animal of thriftiness?

5. Buy store brands. When you were a kid, you might have whined to your mom because couldn’t have the brand-name cereal with the toucan on it. Now you probably realize it was a total ploy to get your money for a colorful advertisement. So whether it’s Market Pantry at Target or “Trader Joe San” (from — guess where? — Trader Joe’s), you’re willing to save those few cents.
   

   The spiders had better not be thrown in there for free.

6. And finally, you’ve become a thrifter. It was sort of destined to happen, with so many thrift stores near student housing. Sure, Urban Outfitters and American Apparel are positioned strategically across from campus, but how many times have you really had enough money to go in there? You used to hate hand-me-downs, but now, it’s (kind of) cool to think that you’re recycling someone else’s gently used clothes and shoes. Plus, you know you love the discounts.
   

   Remember, you’ll be ‘unique’ if you shop here.

Image sources: Caitlin Regan, Denise Allen, Christina Kessler, Michael Saechang, Julie & Heidi, theimpulsivebuy and Fan of Retail under Creative Commons

Contact Jessica Rogness at jrogness@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @jessarogness.

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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.

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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.

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About 11:37 p.m., Caffe Mediterraneum owner Craig Becker confronted a man he saw reaching into the cafe’s tip jar. Becker followed him toward the exit, and a physical confrontation ensued. Becker was kicked by three men and threatened with a handgun.

“We ended up getting into a fistfight,” Becker said. “Some of the customers were helping, and (the suspect) had some friends, and they tipped over a table and stuff, broke some of the marble, broke some dishes and then ran off. Basically, that was it.”

The perpetrators fled south on Telegraph, and moments later, witnesses heard gunshots, according to police. Officers later located a discarded firearm on the 2600 block of Regent Street.

Police were on the scene within minutes. Berkeley Police Department and UCPD detained two of the suspects as they attempted to flee, and officers found the third suspect after searching the area. BPD identified the suspects as Jeremiah Lee, 19, Willie Smith, 18, and Markeise Prince, 19.

“I think the police did a great job,” Becker said. “I was surprised how fast they came.”

Becker suffered a swollen lip and scrapes on his face but sustained no major injuries as a result of the confrontation. He said no one else suffered any major injuries.

Chris Yoder covers crime. Contact him at cyoder@dailycal.org and follow him on Twitter @christiancyoder.

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This is the beginning of a series highlighting independent bookstores located near the Berkeley campus. 

Berkeley — hometown of hippies, foodies, counterculturalists and revolutionaries — has become one of the last gleaming centers of independent bookstores in the Bay Area.

In recent years, independent bookstores have transitioned from warehouses of writing to experimental laboratories of learning. And the stakes could not be higher. In the digital era, online monoliths such as Amazon have pushed brick-and-mortar bookstores, chain and independent alike, to the brink. For the vast majority, an unwillingness to respond to changing times has led to Darwinian consequences: extinction. But for the mighty minority, that tenacious species still clinging to survival, evolution has necessitated rethinking what it means to sell books.

Today, bookstores no longer can exist simply as a means of crossing off items on a shopping list when two-minute buyers can click “add to cart.”

The solution? Bookstores must become commodities. Visiting a bookstore must become akin to making a trip to the theater, meandering among the cages of a zoo or venturing to an open mic on a Tuesday night. And independent bookstores — unlike chains — have the flexibility to do so. They must become places to encounter books as never before.

Four blocks south of Bancroft and Telegraph stands Shakespeare & Company, a hole-in-the-wall draped with a brightly plumed phoenix mural.

The wall mural outside Shakespeare & Company depicts a colorful phoenix. A small sailboat rides its feathers like a wave, leading to a collection of open-faced books.

“The walls used to be a mess,” scoffs Stephanie Vela, rolling up her sleeves to reveal tattoo-printed arms. Vela, burrito in hand, is wrapping up a long day of work. Recently hired as Shakespeare & Company’s business manager, she has worked at the book scene since 1978.

Her latest project, an embattled effort to update the shop’s facade, resulted in a mural that has everyone on Telegraph talking. The mural — funded by the nonprofit telegraphberkeley.org — is one of Vela’s many moves to keep Shakespeare & Company afloat.

“It wasn’t just for us,” Vela explains, motioning toward the mural. “It was for the entire community.”

So who comes here? College students, yes. But mainly autodidacts. Berkeley is a city in many ways shaped by a world-class university. “Even street people have Ph.D.s,” Vela chuckles.

Casual conversation at the cashier’s desk is to be witnessed with caution. Spirited debate — primarily about metaphysics, to Vela’s surprise — has come to characterize Shakespeare’s as a hub of free thinking. And as a result, Vela’s staff has grown to become more than just archivists. They have become vital cogs in the great conversations that echo amid the aisles.

“When I hire people, I look for artistic skills,” she says emphatically, “I want people to work with me.” Together, this hand-picked team forms a sort of literary Avengers, on a mission to satisfy Berkeley’s bookish desires. “I couldn’t care less what’s on Amazon or the New York Times bestseller list,” Vela laughs as she carefully shelves a signed first edition of Vonnegut’s “Jailbird.” “This is Berkeley. I want to know what people are talking about here.”

Vela sits atop a small army of book scouts trained to scour Northern California for the best deals for her customers. From exclusive private collections to weekend-only garage sales, the relentless efforts on behalf of Shakespeare’s scouts have translated into a curious collection of rare books.

A selection of rare books at Shakespeare & Company

Behind two sliding glass doors, a 150-year-old copy of “Through the Looking Glass” sits next to a pair of Kerouac originals. Underneath overhead shelves flooded with Ansel Adams and children’s books arranged between crisscrossing cabinets, for a brief moment it seems as if the walls are challenging visitors to uncover their secrets. “This is as strange a maze as e’er men trod,” they seem to whisper, echoing “The Tempest.”

And so Shakespeare & Company treads, navigating through the storm of an industry in transition, a maze that, once solved, will transform bookstores from just an errand to an experience.

Photos courtesy of Michael Burton. 

Contact Alex Mabanta and Sabrina Werts at blog@dailycal.org.

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takingshotsdc/Courtesy

While for some it’s never welcome and for others it’s embraced wholeheartedly, the end of summer vacation is here. It’s time to take out your bucket list and start from the top. Or maybe it’s time to make a bucket list and cross out all the epic things you did, places you saw, people you loved, food you ate and trails you trailblazed to get back to Berkeley. To welcome you back, we at The Daily Clog compiled a list of things to say goodbye to and a few to say hello to.

Contact Josh Escobar at jescobar@dailycal.org.

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Sureya Melkonian/Staff

High school students, teachers and administrators from eight cities gathered at UC Berkeley’s Alumni House last week for a three-day national summit for Y-PLAN, an initiative that invites youth to engage in city planning for struggling neighborhoods.

Participants from high schools in areas ranging from Richmond, Calif., to Tohoku, Japan shared their community projects with each other before working on the redevelopment of Telegraph Avenue. The event culminated in participants presenting their ideas to a panel of judges, including a representative from Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates’ office, UC Berkeley professor emeritus David Stern and Moe’s Bookstore owner Doris Moskowitz.

Deborah McKoy, director of the UC Berkeley Center for Cities and Schools, first created Y-PLAN as part of her dissertation when she completed her doctorate in educational policy at UC Berkeley. Y-PLAN stands for “Youth – Plan, Learn, Act, Now!” and is a five-step program that gives youth the opportunity to collaborate with each other and educators to present ideas for change to city officials.

“I was frustrated because we do so many school reforms that are great for adults but don’t make learning particularly relevant for kids,” McKoy said. “Y-PLAN is really about getting young people at the planning and policymaking table.”

Recent Richmond High School graduates Melissa Avalos and Jose Castillo presented ideas to integrate the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory campus into the Richmond Bay neighborhood as part of their high school senior project. Avalos introduced a farmers market to help diversify the community around the new Berkeley Lab campus, and Castillo worked on ways to make transportation efficient around the campus.

On Friday’s summit meeting, participants used Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue as a case study of an area that could benefit from redevelopment.

After a 45-minute visit to Telegraph and a 15-minute brainstorming session, small groups presented their findings to a panel of judges.

Some ideas that came out from the workshop included replacing the street’s uneven pavement with cobblestones, closing it to traffic during the weekends for festivities and replacing empty storefronts with artwork representative of Berkeley’s history.

Moskowitz said she was excited to see some of the ideas applied to Telegraph, which, in recent years has seen some of its businesses struggle financially.

“If teenagers really cared about this street, it could come back in a minute,” Moskowitz said.

Moskowitz said the ideas were judged not solely on their feasibility but also on the innovation and dedication behind them. All suggestions for Telegraph Avenue redevelopment will be sent to the mayor’s office for consideration.

“We’re incredibly grateful for all of the ideas and the time that the youths have provided to us,” said Sbeydeh Viveros-Banderas, senior aide to the mayor.

Contact Lydia Tuan at ltuan@dailycal.org.

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June 29 to 30: San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration and Parade
SF Pride has beginnings that date back to 1972, with a few name changes over the years, and is the largest gathering of LGBT people and allies in the nation. Celebrating its 42nd anniversary with the theme “Embrace, Encourage, Empower,” the two-day celebration will take place at Civic Center Plaza in downtown San Francisco. The Pride Parade is open to all ages with a donation entrance fee of $5; proceeds support over 40 local nonprofit organizations. SF Pride’s mission is “to educate the World, celebrate our culture, commemorate our heritage, and liberate our people.”

Aug. 24 to 25: First City Festival
First City Festival is a reincarnation, so to speak, of the Monterey Pop Festival, a three-day concert held June 1967, which featured artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Janis Joplin. At this year’s inaugural festival, First City is set to feature a taut lineup of artists, including headliners Passion Pit, Modest Mouse, Neko Case, MGMT, Toro y Moi and Beach House. Other standout acts are Devendra Banhart, Purity Ring, Tennis and Generationals. The festival’s location at the Monterey County fairgrounds also provides a carnival atmosphere, with rides and games to accompany the music.

First Fridays: Oakland Art Murmur
As it has been since 2006, First Friday of the Oakland Art Murmur takes place the first Friday of every month. If you haven’t had the chance to venture into the neighboring city on a first Friday during the school year — what with all the frat parties, co-op functions, excess study sessions and what have you — summer provides a good chance to do so. First Friday is an eight-block festival with live music and food trucks as well as 25 art vendors that open to the local East Bay community. First Friday’s hours are 5 to 9 p.m.

Sundays on Telegraph
Stay close to home, and get your street fair fix right here in Berkeley. Telegraph Avenue closes for three blocks between Dwight Way and Durant Avenue every Sunday in the summer for the weekly street fair from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., displaying all that Berkeley locals have to offer, including street vendors, food and live music. Vendors sell jewelry and other handmade wares while jazz, blues, Hawaiian and even Indonesian musicians are invited to perform. While the campus is relatively barren during the summer months, Sunday street fairs on Telegraph bring some life back to Berkeley.

Summer Concerts at the Greek Theatre
Built in 1903, the William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, better known simply as the Greek Theatre, has set the stage for graduations, public speakers and shows. Its beautiful outdoor setting makes it an ideal venue for summer concerts. Located right on campus, the Greek Theatre will host a number of notable shows this summer, including Los Angeles-based indie groups She & Him and The Postal Service. Cal Performances is also scheduled to present the Great Rodeo Sessions, featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma, fiddler Stuart Duncan, bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolin player Chris Thile.

Aug. 9 to 11 Outside Lands Festival
Set in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, Outside Lands boasts music, food, wine, beer and art and has seen the likes of headlining acts such as Radiohead, Beastie Boys, The Black Keys and Stevie Wonder since it began in 2008. This year’s headliners are Paul McCartney, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails and Phoenix. Other acts will include Vampire Weekend, Zedd, Daughter, Jessie Ware and Young the Giant. There will also be a supplementary DJ dome, featuring the Plump DJs and Whitenoize, among others. Tickets for the three-day festival go for about $250 a pop.

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To all incoming freshmen,

I will first say that CalSO is terrible, and if you walk away with nothing but a sweaty Cal ID photo and an unbearable desire to transfer before August, you’re in good company. If you’re enjoying yourself, kudos. If not, hang in there. The school year is so, so much better.

I recently packed up my dorm room to prepare for a journey home to Los Angeles, commemorating my first year of college by stripping away my life in the square box I had occupied since August piece by piece. My unused shower caddy occupied the same bag I had packed it in. I shoved photos, new and old, into a thin manila envelope, stuffed comforters and sheets into the back of my mom’s car, and that was it. 613 Davidson Hall looked just as it had more than nine months ago.

My roommate and I often talk about how we’d gladly remain freshmen forever.  After move-in day, you’ll quickly realize that Crossroads, the main dining hall, cycles the same inedible delights through the menu every couple of weeks, and the beef goulash will begin looking like dog food, not a luxury. Your favorite fraternity will become riddled with faces that you vaguely recognize from English R1B or Math 16A, and you’ll spend 90 percent of your time exclusively with people who live on your floor. But that’s the beauty of being a freshman. At times, it will feel like you have two friends in the entire school, and at others, you’ll realize you actually know your way around. Either way, you’ll familiarize yourself little by little, and each day will bring something new. And that’s exciting.

I could tell you about smart scheduling or the different types of homeless people and absurd professors you may encounter in the coming months, but that’s a task better left for you to experience. What I can address are the fears that plagued me, leaving CalSO and preparing to leave home, and why you’re going to be okay.

Senior year of high school, for me at least, was the culmination of many amazing things. I spent a final year with friends I had known since preschool; classes were easy; life seemed simple and exciting. Getting into college was an invigorating and nerve-wracking process, and committing to Cal was equally thrilling. I continually told people I couldn’t wait for college, couldn’t wait to leave. But the last summer was strange. As the days crept by, it was hard to imagine that everything I had known would change permanently in the coming months. Home would always be there, but what is home once the people who define it have left?

Turns out that my fears were founded. Each journey home will be different as you grow out of your childhood self. If you’re the type to visit your high school campus over Thanksgiving break, embrace this. The desire to return will be fleeting.

But returning to Berkeley gets better each time. Coming back, you’ll be excited to see your new friends and enjoy the freedom of living on your own. When my family first dropped me off, my brother had to physically force me to go socialize with my floormates. When I return this fall, I’ll be living in a house with those same people I begrudgingly introduced myself to. You will find and forge a community here, whether you expect to or not.

Leaving will come to somewhat feel like returning home.

To finish, a few quick pieces of advice. Eat at Qualcomm Cyber Cafe or Pat Brown’s, not the Golden Bear Cafe, better known as GBC. Hike the Clark Kerr fire trails. Talk to people in the elevator (you’ll be seeing them all year). Bring a vacuum to the dorms. Don’t wait in line for CREAM if the line is around the block. Don’t live in Foothill.

And finally, believe that this place is your home. Telegraph Avenue may not look like your small town, and your floormates may not look like your siblings, but give Berkeley some time. It’ll make all the difference in the world.

See you this fall.

Contact Libby Rainey at rainey@dailycal.org

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Mary Zheng/Staff

Berkeley City Council remained divided on a proposal to consider temporarily relaxing the quota system on Telegraph Avenue at its meeting Tuesday night.

The city currently has numerical and size limitations on businesses such as restaurants, gift shops and barber shops in the Telegraph Avenue commercial district. A proposal brought before the council on April 30 proposed that the city planning commission consider temporarily relaxing the quotas for three years. Tuesday’s meeting reconsidered the proposal, and council members voted to table the item for a later date.

Much of the debate focused on restaurant restrictions. The current quota system allows 19 quick-serve restaurants and 30 service restaurants to operate, and although there is still room for more service restaurants, the quota for quick-serve restaurants has been met.

But some council members, including Gordon Wozniak, support the proposal to relax quotas, saying that the current system is outdated and does not allow the area to adapt to changes in consumer spending.

According to a May 21 report by the city’s Office of Economic Development, retail sales on Telegraph have decreased by 56 percent since 1990, while food service sales have increased by 19 percent.

“The problem with setting quotas is that business changes, and retail is a much different business now with the Internet,” Wozniak said. “Keeping the quotas now will keep Telegraph the way it is now — a state that is slowly dying.”

Others, including Councilmembers Kriss Worthington and Jesse Arreguin, oppose the proposal, saying that relaxing the quotas will harm the retail stores that currently occupy space on the street. According to Worthington, Telegraph Avenue will become a “food court” if the quotas are relaxed, and landlords will favor renting their properties to restaurants because they can charge higher rents.

Owners of quick-serve restaurants are also concerned. They fear the relaxation of quotas will create a competitive environment that would be destructive for their businesses.

“If the quotas are relaxed, the number of restaurants will increase, and no one will really make a lot of money, because there will be so much competition,” said Jahanshah Jowharchi, owner of Gypsy’s Trattoria Italiana.

Owners of Gypsy’s, along with 33 other restaurants, including Thai Basil and CREAM, signed a petition against removing the quota system prior to the April 30 meeting.

However, not all restaurant owners are opposed to the proposal. Craig Becker, owner of Caffe Mediterraneum and president of the Telegraph Business Improvement District, agrees that the quotas are not beneficial for Telegraph.

“My business is one that will supposedly be protected by the quotas, but even I don’t support the quotas,” Becker said. “I think they restrict business.”

Contact Jane Nho at newsdesk@dailycal.org.

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