Berkeleyside

2 days ago | berkeleyside.org | Nico Savidge

A plan to build an apartment tower in downtown Berkeley that would rise five feet taller than the Campanile can move forward after the City Council turned down one man’s attempt to block the project.

2 days ago | berkeleyside.org | Alex Gecan |Nico Savidge

Berkeley police and public works staff began removing tents and structures in the longstanding network of encampments around Eighth and Harrison streets Wednesday morning. Workers could be seen using heavy machinery to dismantle some of the larger makeshift shelters at the Northwest Berkeley camp. Police cordoned off roughly two blocks of Harrison Street and two blocks of Eighth Street during the operation. The city of Berkeley could not be reached immediately Wednesday morning.

3 days ago | berkeleyside.org | Iris Kwok |Nico Savidge

The DoubleTree by Hilton hotel at the Berkeley Marina owes the city nearly $700,000 in rent — a loss of revenue that has led officials to cut security staff and delay repairs of a crumbling dock, and could worsen the city’s budget deficit, Berkeleyside has learned. The hotel, which has been losing money since October 2024, stopped paying the city $82,000 in monthly rent in January, according to Berkeley Parks Director Scott Ferris. It also owes $190,000 in rent from 2024, he said.

4 days ago | berkeleyside.org | Nico Savidge

The Berkeley Flea Market is on the verge of shutting down, its managers say, after years of declining attendance from shoppers and sellers have left the half-century-old institution hemorrhaging money. Vendors were given a notice last week that the market, held on weekends in the parking lot of the Ashby BART station, will “cease all operations” on June 28.

4 days ago | berkeleyside.org | Alex Gecan

Police shut down sections of Gilman and Curtis streets in the Westbrae neighborhood Monday morning to investigate what they described as a “suspected bullet hole” in an apartment floor nearby. Someone first called police around 8:25 a.m., Berkeley police spokesperson Sgt. Kajahna Futch wrote in an email. “Officers attempted to make contact with the resident of the apartment believed to be the source of the suspected bullet hole, but were unable to get a response,” Futch said.