Stop cutting down our trees
By Ace Backwords on I counted about 18 trees left at the top of People’s Park after the University chopped down 42 trees in
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Lillian was jailed simply for sleeping outside
By Andy Pope on To say that there are not criminals roaming the streets at all hours of the day and night would do
Enlightenment is not the solution to poverty
By Jack Bragen on When basic necessities aren’t present, or when one’s living conditions are otherwise compromised, (such as if you live in a
Berkeley prioritizes partnership with tech company over homeless rights
By Carol Denney on It’s simple. Public sidewalks are too crowded for homeless people, but wide enough for waddling robots and monolithic, data-sucking electronic sidewalk billboards with 65-inch screens. Public sidewalks are dangerously over-filled with backpacks and bedrolls but have a sad aura of being deserted without unpermitted signboards, tables, chairs, and rolling racks of commercial merchandise.
What the UC doesn’t want you to know about People’s Park
By Carol Denney on People’s Park is a landmark. The university doesn’t like to mention it, but it became a city landmark in 1984 “for its historic and cultural importance to the City of Berkeley.” The landmark designation is not necessarily protective, but it’s worth noting in a community being trained to ignore its own significant moments in history.
Will Caltrans change it’s encampment-sweeping strategy after Martin v. Boise?
By Kheven LaGrone on Caltrans is perhaps the largest and most high-profile evictor of homeless encampments in California. According to The Mile Marker: A
Modern-day scammers prey upon the poor
By Jack Bragen on I am constantly astounded at the level of sophistication reached by modern day swindlers. If ordinary folks fail to be
Out of the closet and onto the street
By Anthony Hackett on In the eyes of sixteen-year-old Hunter McLaughlin*, “coming out” would be a gateway to a new life. It would give him the opportunity to live more honestly and with a renewed sense of authenticity to his true self. But when he told his parents that he was transgender, the “new life” that awaited him was one plagued by emotional abuse, threats of violence, and seemingly endless conflict.
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
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.
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?”
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.