Mark Coplan

Berkeley Fire Department’s long-serving fire chief, Gil Dong, announced his retirement Sept. 12 at a Berkeley City Council meeting.

Berkeley has changed significantly in the past 28 years — the minimum wage has increased by about $10 and public health policies are more comprehensive, thanks in part to the work of former District 3 council member Max Anderson.

In contrast to an unexpected national election outcome, Berkeley’s local elections resulted in a victory for the progressive agenda.

Sleepless nights, door-to-door canvassing and relentless phone banking are common themes for Berkeley’s mayoral and City Council candidates as they vie for residents’ votes in the election season’s last days.

This election season, four candidates are running to fill the District 3 Berkeley City Council seat and represent a portion of the city that has recently faced a spell of gun violence as well as negative effects from the citywide affordable housing crisis.

On Friday afternoon, the Berkeley Police Department spoke with community members over coffee — sans donuts — in an effort to open communication between the police and the community.

A few dozen Berkeley citizens and property owners attended a candidates’ forum Saturday at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in South Berkeley to hear a group of largely pro-landlord candidates for mayor, City Council and rent board address development, rent control and housing affordability.

Chair of the Berkeley personnel board Al Murray filed to enter the Berkeley City Council race for the District 3 seat June 13.

Happy Skywalker, who filed to run for the Berkeley City Council District 3 seat June 9, is no longer participating in the election.

The Berkeley chapter of the NAACP sent a letter listing a series of complaints May 10 alleging discrimination against Black students and employees by the Berkeley Unified School District to the district’s Board of Directors.