We at the Clog feel it is fairly safe to say students hate getting the flu. Although temporary sickness allows for catching up on “Homeland” or old “Breaking Bad” episodes, being immobile because of the flu is possibly the worst. When you have the flu, you can’t sit up to finish your reading, do your math homework, walk or function.

All UC Berkeley students should get flu shots immediately. It takes all of one minute for the nurse at a CVS pharmacy or Walgreens to give you the shot, and it is virtually painless. Be an adult, and get the vaccine — it is foolish to think that you will “beat” the flu season, because the flu season will beat you.

If you tell your roommate you refuse to get the flu shot because you are scared of needles, expect him or her to respond like this:

When you decide to get your flu shot, your roommates and floormates will be thrilled at the prospect that they have less of a chance of catching this nasty illness.

If you end up contracting the flu but refused to get the flu shot, never complain. It is your fault.

If you do not get your flu shot, you run the risk looking like this for an entire week:

Image Source:  Mark Turnaucka under Creative Commons, gifs for the masses, gifs for the masses, gifs of the masses and gifs for the masses.

Contact Ava Klein at avaklein@dailycal.org.

The post The process of deciding to get a flu shot in Berkeley appeared first on The Daily Californian.

“You guys, we have to get CREAM,” is what the Clog was told by some random girl we no longer remember, during the summer before our freshman year. We all know that CREAM is cheap and that it’s ice cream between two cookies. But like CalSO, could waiting for CREAM also be a huge waste of time?

We first began to suspect that CREAM was a waste of time during our sophomore year, after an incredibly boring (and yet somehow draining) day of classes. It was 4 p.m., and we just didn’t feel like waiting to buy ice cream. But we still wanted some anyway.

It was a problem rooted in economics: Was the pain of waiting for CREAM less than the pleasure of eating CREAM?

No, we decided, it was not.

So, seeing as CREAM had officially become our enemy, we decided to do a little common-sense investigation.

Despite all the folklore that surrounds CREAM (like that it’s better than the other places because they make their own cookies). it turns out that the formula is pretty simple. Double Rainbow ice cream + Otis Spunkmeyer cookies = $2 ice-cream sandwich. Do not be fooled by the ovens; they’re just for warming the cookies up.

The belief that the sandwiches at CREAM “taste so much better” than the ones at Michelle’s Yogurt and Sweets (they use the exact same cookies) is purely your mind trying to reconcile the fact that you spent 30 minutes waiting in line at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night. It’s called cognitive dissonance.

Why is CREAM actually a UC Berkeley tradition? Prime location near the Units and a streamlined business model that focuses on one product and one product alone: ice-cream sandwiches.

In conclusion, if you’re the kind of person who needs to get ice cream down your throat as quickly as possible (and aren’t we all?), don’t bother waiting for the Berkeley tradition.

Just go to Walgreens and buy some Ben and Jerry’s.

Infographic source: Lauren Glazer, The Daily Californian. 

Image source: Sharon Hahn Darlin under Creative Commons

Contact Lauren Glazer at lglazer@dailycal.org.

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Walgreens has recently introduced the Balance Rewards program. Go get it, and let me explain why. How fair is it for two branches of the same store just blocks apart to sell the same items at drastically different prices? This is a practice that the Walgreens on Telegraph Avenue is regularly engaging in — and you should know about it, as the surest way to get Walgreens to end this practice is to shop elsewhere until it does.

At the front entrance of the Walgreens on Telegraph, there’s a small sign that reads, “Because we are a smaller than average Walgreens, we are unable to offer all advertised items.” Sounds fair enough. In reality, however, what they mean is instead this: They won’t offer advertised prices, not items.

Here are but two examples from last week’s ad. If I were to purchase Tide laundry detergent that gives an estimated 24 to 32 loads at the Walgreens on Telegraph, it would cost me $9.99. At any other Walgreens, it’s on sale for only $5.99.

Two bottles of Softsoap Body Wash are not two for $6 at the Walgreens on Telegraph like they are at any other Walgreens, such as the one on Shattuck Avenue.

What gives?

Theoretically, you can get the sale prices at the Walgreens on Telegraph, but only if you get the Balance Rewards card or bring in the weekly ad yourself and show the clerk. And you’ll need a lot of luck, too, as many clerks don’t know how to adjust prices at the cash register.

This is nonsense. We shouldn’t have to bring in the weekly ad or ask a manager to give us the price being charged at other Walgreens locations, without the card. Until and unless this changes, I suggest you join me in shopping elsewhere.

— Tony H. Lin,
Doctoral candidate, UC Berkeley department of Slavic languages and
literatures

Contact the opinion desk at opinion@dailycal.org.

The post Letter to the editor: Week of Oct. 8 appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Carli Baker/Staff

The Walgreens in the Downtown Berkeley area has relocated directly across the street in an effort to utilize new amenities, better serve residents and be more expansive.

Upon entering the new store, customers are greeted by a fresh produce section, a kiosk to serve fresh-brewed coffee and a pharmacy section complete with an open waiting area.

Store manager Olufemi Oyemakinde said the additional space of the new store — located at 2190 Shattuck Ave. and Allston Way — allows for the expression of the pharmacy chain’s motto, which is to live well, be well and stay well.

According to Walgreens media relations specialist Robert Elfinger, the new space is 16,892 square feet — a nearly 5,000 square-foot addition compared to the old store.

According to Oyemakinde, the old store closed on Friday, and the new store opened its doors to the public Monday after taking only two weeks to be put together.

“It’s amazing,” Oyemakinde said. “Just today itself, I think probably 75 percent of our produce has been depleted by people who have been coming in. The store is doing well, and I am excited for its future.”

Walgreens now includes a college and apartment living section, offering items such as towels, cooking appliances and utensils.

One of the more significant additions to the store is a fresh produce section of fruits and vegetables as well as other fresh foods like sushi and chicken salads.

According to John Caner, CEO of the Downtown Berkeley Association, the produce section is significant because it is a much closer option for residents in the Downtown Berkeley area to buy fresh produce.

Caner added that the new location will positively improve the Downtown Berkeley area because it is right in the “cultural hub” of the area, since it is located next to the Downtown Berkeley BART station.

Elfinger said the store relocated directly across the street on Shattuck Avenue to evade the busier traffic patterns that were present on the side of the street where the old store was located. Moving to the other side of the street allows for easier access to the new location, he said.

According to Elfinger, the opening of the new Walgreens store has been planned for several years, and the decision to move was not influenced by its rivalry with CVS Pharmacy, which has a store location on Shattuck and Durant avenues near the new Walgreens store.

“We will effect a positive change by providing Downtown the options of various healthy foods,” Oyemakinde said. “There are not many places that offer what we have.”

Contact Pooja Mhatre at pmhatre@dailycal.org.

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The Tang Center announced Jan. 1 that SHIP-enrolled students can no longer receive in-network pricing on medical prescriptions filled at Walgreens.

However, Kim LaPean, communications manager at the Tang Center, estimated that the impact of the change on the approximately 22,000 SHIP-enrolled UC Berkeley students will be “pretty low.”

“We’re anticipating this to not have a lot of impact on our students simply because most students on UC SHIP are using the Tang Center pharmacy right on campus,” she said. “For students who used Walgreens, there are about as many CVS stores as Walgreens stores.”

According to Darrel Ng, PR director for Anthem Blue Cross, the Walgreens corporation could not conclude negotiations with third-party pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, leading to a national contract termination. Because Express Scripts contracts with Anthem Blue Cross, a provider contracted with UC SHIP, all students within the network were affected.

The Tang Center’s website noted that students can still receive in-network benefits at other chains such as CVS, Rite Aid, Kroger, Target and Walmart. It added that, on average, there is an in-network pharmacy within a half mile of each Walgreens store.

LaPean said Walgreens appears to be in the midst of working out a new contract with Anthem Blue Cross. In the meantime, however, she said she does not expect much of an impact.

For students who still wish to fill their prescriptions at the now out-of-network Walgreens stores, the Tang Center’s website notes that personal out-of-pocket costs will increase.

Correction(s):
A previous version of the article incorrectly stated that Walgreens and Anthem Blue Cross could not conclude negotiations. According to Darrel Ng, PR director of Anthem Blue Cross, it was in fact Walgreens and Express Scripts — a third-party pharmacy benefit manager group — that could not conclude negotiations.

The post SHIP-enrolled students no longer able to receive Walgreens pharmacy benefits appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Giana Tansman/Staff

The Toaster Oven became the newest choice in Southside eateries Monday morning, opening its doors on Telegraph Avenue.

Next to Chipotle Mexican Grill and across the street from Sam’s Market, the Telegraph shop is the first East Bay location of a Bay Area chain that sells sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts at multiple locations in San Francisco. According to Nicholas Davidson, the Telegraph location’s manager, The Toaster Oven boasts quality sandwiches at a good price.

Have a question for Davidson or other Berkeley business managers? Ask anyone a question via Your Direct Line.

Though the business is close to Subway, Smart Alec’s and multiple other sandwich-serving restaurants in the Southside area, Davidson said he does not consider the other businesses competitors.

“We haven’t tried to poach customers,” Davidson said. “We know there is so much offered around.”

But Jorge Mandoca, a manager at the Subway on Bancroft Way, said he does not understand why another sandwich shop opened in an area already populated with similar establishments.

However, according to Miguel Sanchez, general manager of Smart Alec’s — which is located near the corner of Telegraph and Durant Avenue —  there is always competition in the restaurant business.

“All you can do is keep your quality up (and) keep your service friendly,” Sanchez said.

According to Davidson, the shop has not done very much marketing other than fliers and word-of-mouth but has already seen many customers.

Soumya Karlamangla of The Daily Californian contributed to this report.

View The Toaster Oven in a larger map

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After the city’s Zoning Adjustments Board’s decision to grant the permit for the Walgreens located at 2801 Adeline St. was appealed by local resident Berry Gardner in May, the issue was brought before the council for discussion at Tuesday’s meeting. The council took only limited action on the matter, voting unanimously to set a public hearing for the issue.

Robert Nicholas, the attorney representing Walgreens, said at the meeting that the request for a permit stems from its business model of “one-stop-shopping.” Though Walgreens is commonly known as a drug store, it is increasingly competing with the likes of Safeway and Costco, which, according to Nicholas, provide shoppers with prescription and health services, as well as many other retail services.

Councilmember Max Anderson dismissed the business interests of Walgreens, saying at the meeting that the council’s “chief responsibility is to the health and safety of people in our community, and if we let corporate interests override that, we are playing a dangerous game.”

In a recommendation from City Manager Phil Kamlarz to council members, city staff expressed concern that the Zoning Adjustments Board’s April decision to grant the permit violates the Berkeley Municipal Code requiring that the applicant not have previous alcohol-related violations. According to the recommendation, Walgreens is the holder of 18 alcohol licenses with violations.

During the meeting, staff cited a section of the code that includes the five findings of “Public Necessity and Convenience” necessary to grant a permit for the sale of alcohol. The code specifies that the findings are only required when there is another establishment “other than a food service establishment with incidental service of beer and/or wine” within a 1,000 foot radius of the site in the same category of alcohol sales.

As a result, confusion arose during the meeting regarding the status of the Roxie Delicatessen — located about three blocks south of Walgreens — in light of this requirement.

“(The deli) is strictly a quick food deli, and as such, a food service establishment with the incidental service of beer and wine,” said Nicholas, adding that therefore Walgreens should not be subject to the special findings.

City Attorney Zach Cowan refuted this claim.

“The basis of (Walgreens’) argument that the finding (of Public Necessity and Convenience) is not required is that (Roxie Deli) is a legal food service establishment that sells beer and wine, and they aren’t. That’s not their status,” Cowan said at the meeting.

According to Cowan, the deli has a license that allows for the sale of beer and wine for off-site consumption, but it is not a legal food service establishment that can serve beer and wine.

“We have referred the Roxie Deli to the enforcement process because they, by all accounts, clearly appear to be serving alcohol when they’re not allowed by their ABC license or their permit,” he said.

City staff recommended that a public hearing be set to decide the Walgreens permit either by overturning the zoning board’s decision to grant a permit or by amending the relevant section of the Berkeley Municipal Code to allow for a permit for cases in which the applicant has previous alcohol violations.

The council voted to set a public hearing but did not specify when the hearing would be held.

The post City Council extends process for beer and wine permit at South Berkeley Walgreens appeared first on The Daily Californian.