Death on the street: remembering Michelle Marie Larson
By Timothy Busby on I would like to tell you about a friend I met while living on the streets of Berkeley, approximately three
Alastair Boone
Oakland opens third Tuff Shed camp
By Lulu Orozco on The city of Oakland opened its third Tuff Shed site at Lake Merritt in early October. The new site, which is located in the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center parking lot, has 20 insulated cabins, approximately 8-by-15 feet each, designed to house two residents for up to six months. Together, they can accommodate 40 residents. As of late October, there are 14 open spaces remaining.
New Berkeley anti-homeless law aims to clear sidewalks
By Darwin BondGraham and Daniel Lempres on Last Thursday, city of Berkeley and BART officials heralded the opening of downtown Berkeley’s new BART plaza. Mayor Jesse Arreguin cut a ribbon to ceremonially inaugurate the space, which was reconstructed out of shining stone, and features sparkling glass and metal. From the BART station’s wave-shaped entranceway, the Berkeley Symphony emerged trumpeting the culmination of years of planning, while new public artworks were unveiled, including a massive metal globe sculpture by Michael Christian titled, “Home.”
No more encampment evictions?
By Kheven LaGrone on On September 4, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that cities may not punish homeless people for sleeping outside in public spaces if they do not have access to shelter elsewhere. The case—Martin v. Boise—started way back in 2009, when six current and formerly homeless residents of Boise, Idaho sued the city for giving citations to people who were sleeping outside. The lawsuit rested on the notion that these citations violated the Eighth Amendment rights of Boise’s homeless residents, amounting to cruel and unusual punishment.
Birds of a Feather (in homage to homeless)
By Claire J. Baker on Some sparrows preferdowntown streets to parksor neighborhood yards. They peck at grit trodden byrich & poor, bankers & poets,professors &
Footsteps in the Rain
By Claire J. Baker on We’ve hurried pastthe huddled homeless heaped like potato sacks along city sidewalks. We never envisioned a saintor savior might sleep under plastic over
Berkeley’s business improvement districts are not working
By Carol Denney on Dr. Phil, the affable problem-solving TV host, has a catch phrase he uses when defensive participants exhaust themselves telling him and the TV audience why they do things the way they do. He listens patiently. And then he says, “How’s that working for you?”
Twisted Image
By Ace Backwords onNo Stars in the Sky
By Perry Terrell on We can lay down on our backsin the grassand look for starsto wish uponwe can wish for world peaceto abolishhatredprejudicepovertyhomelessnesschild
San Francisco’s safe injection sites: down but not out
By Robert Stanford on Assembly Bill 186 would have provided safe injection sites for the intravenous drug-using population of San Francisco. It began its uphill battle three years ago. After years of trial and error, the bill finally passed the State Assembly and Senate in August, this time allowing just San Francisco to run three pilot safe injection sites for a trial period of three years.
In Dialogue with Boots Riley
By Alejandro Ramos on Boots Riley is a veteran of Oakland’s political scene. Frontman of hip hop group “The Coup,” Riley has lived in the area ever since his family moved there when he was young. As he grew up, he became interested in activism at an early age.
How to vote without a traditional address
By Kate Wolffe on Missing votes from lower-income people leads to a gap between what the average person wants, and what is decided on Election Day.