city council

The city of Berkeley’s Community Environmental Advisory Commission heard updates on the city’s climate mobilization plan and efforts to make Berkeley more “bee-friendly” at its regular meeting Thursday.

Rashi Kesarwani has won the race for Berkeley City Council District 1, defeating Igor Tregub, Margo Schueler and Mary Behm-Steinberg with 55.82 percent of the vote as of press time at 9 p.m.

Berkeley residents had a chance to vote on seven local measures — three Alameda County measures, four city of Berkeley measures — on their November ballots. All passed as of press time about 2 a.m.

The city of Berkeley will crack down and regulate the types of objects allowed on city sidewalks — restricting the kind of property homeless residents can keep on the streets — through an ordinance passed at Tuesday’s regular council meeting.

Berkeley City Council will focus on issues surrounding housing and the homeless, discussing particular policies concerning the homelessness crisis, sidewalk regulation enforcement and home sharing, during its regular Tuesday meeting.

Twenty people have found permanent housing through Berkeley’s Pathways STAIR Navigation Center since its opening in June, according to a presentation heard by the Berkeley City Council in its special meeting Tuesday.

Instead of rainbows, I received tuition hikes, unaffordable housing and the threat of losing health coverage, which keeps me undetectable and alive. The university didn’t save me.

Our Campaign for Police Accountability citizens group drafted an amendment at about the same time, to replace the appointed PRC with an elected Police Accountability Board. This board would have full authority over the Berkeley Police Department: discipline, training, weapons, procedures and policies.

The Urban Shield program does not reflect our needs. In the past decade, rather than confronting terrorist threats, the police department has trended toward facing high-risk searches, arrest warrant services, patrol support and crowd management. The tactical exercises at Urban Shield do not focus on these activities but instead on politically motivated mass violence, obscuring the principle of de-escalation in community crime encounters.

Berkeley likes to tout itself as a forward-thinking haven. Its politicians and public figures pay lip service to progressive ideals. So let’s take a quick look at the city’s track record on adequate police oversight.