Archives: News
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Statement: Allegations of Police Misconduct Must be Promptly Investigated
I was stunned to learn at the same time as the public of allegations that an off-duty Berkeley Police Officer used violence and racism to harm and intimidate a community member in Antioch earlier this year. City Management appears to have been informed about the alleged incident as early as February, 2023. Now an audio…
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Statement: City Manager’s Office Response to Independent Investigation of the Berkeley Police Department re: Arrest Quotas and Racial Bias
I am extremely troubled that the City Manager’s Office, who is in charge of the very police department under scrutiny, is releasing details from the independent investigation by telling the media that there were no arrest quotas nor departmental practices of racial bias. The City’s public information officer, who works for the City Manager, told…
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Statement on the Closing of Golden Gate Fields
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 20, 2023 Golden Gate Fields is Closing BERKELEY, CA. – After 80 years of operation, Golden Gate Fields racetrack is closing. Golden Gate Fields, one of the Bay Area’s last remaining horse racing tracks, has been a contentious site amongst Berkeley residents since its inception because of its exploitative business practices. Animal…
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2024 Budget Update: Building a Better City Amidst Economic Uncertainty
Dear Neighbors, Budgets are both a statement of our values and require difficult tradeoffs. This budget cycle is of necessity more conservative compared to previous years. The Council agreed to defer scores of important programs to November when revenues and the economic situation are more certain. Despite the tight budget times we find ourselves in,…
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City of Berkeley Files Petition for Rehearing of Circuit Court’s Sweeping and Radical Anti-electrification Ruling
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 City of Berkeley files petition for rehearing of circuit court’s sweeping and radical anti-electrification ruling Wrong and consequential opinion by three-judge panel threatens to undo much more than Berkeley’s historic electrification ordinance BERKELEY, CA. – In response to a fundamentally flawed and sweeping opinion from a three-judge panel…
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Statement: Berkeley Police Accountability and Chief Appointment
Thank you all for your robust and passionate public comment at this week’s Council meeting on police accountability and, in particular, the role of the Police Accountability Board (PAB). Our PAB, whose independence from the City Manager is enshrined in our Charter, asked in November, 2022 and again this April that we delay the appointment…
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Statement: Ninth Circuit Decision in CRA v. City of Berkeley re: Ordinance Prohibiting Natural Gas In New Buildings
In a time when the habitability of the planet hangs in the balance, I’m disappointed that a panel of the Ninth Circuit endorsed such a radical theory. I intend to ask our City Attorney to continue fighting this case, including asking for a rehearing en banc before a larger panel of Ninth Circuit judges. The…