Supriya Yelimeli

Jul 22, 2024 | berkeleyside.org | Supriya Yelimeli

Max Anderson, a Berkeley councilmember for 12 years and lifelong civil rights activist, died of natural causes on July 5 in his South Berkeley home. He was 79. Born in Decatur, Illinois, on Dec. 12, 1944, Anderson’s life spanned a wide range of careers and foundational experiences before he arrived in Berkeley with his wife, Linda Olivenbaum, and daughter, Marisha, in the summer of 1985. Anderson was sent to the Vietnam War when he was 18 years old after enlisting as a U.S. Marine.

Jul 17, 2024 | berkeleyside.org | Supriya Yelimeli

After five years of negotiation and planning, the Berkeley City Council has tightened the rules for anyone who tears down residential buildings, requiring that all rental units, affordable and otherwise, be replaced with the same number of dwellings when a new structure is erected. Changes to the city’s demolition ordinance, approved last week, are meant to bring the city into compliance with a state law aimed at forcing cities to preserve housing stock, while also encouraging new development.

Jul 11, 2024 | berkeleyside.org | Supriya Yelimeli

Berkeley’s homelessness team says the city will need $750 million over the next ten years to ensure that the number of people who are unhoused does not increase locally — and make more permanent housing available for people who need support. The team, led by Deputy City Manager Peter Radu, presented the report on Berkeley’s future needs and the effectiveness of existing services to the City Council on Tuesday.

Jul 5, 2024 | berkeleyside.org | Supriya Yelimeli

Stefano Marchesini, a North Berkeley resident, received a surprising bill from the Rent Stablization Board this year indicating he owed $746 in rent registry payments. But he says his home has never been rented out, and he currently lives at the property. The Berkeley Property Owner’s Association said it received dozens of phone calls this year from property owners like Marchesini who were billed incorrectly.

Jul 2, 2024 | berkeleyside.org | Supriya Yelimeli |Zac Farber

Update, Tuesday, July 2: A Red Flag Warning of wildfire danger issued Monday for the top of the Berkeley Hills has been extended through 5 a.m. on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Tilden Regional Park and other parts of the Berkeley and Oakland Hills are included in the warning, though the warning does not reach down into the city limits of Berkeley, NWS meteorologist Nicole Sarment said Tuesday.