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Remembering Hateman; champion of ‘oppositional caring’

By Daniel McMullan on
Features   Uncategorized
Another milestone came and went on September 26, 2017. It would have been the 81st birth- day of Berkeley icon and People’s Park denizen Hateman, also known as Mark Hawthorn. A group of about 35 people showed up at People’s Park to remember him at his spot at the top of the Park, reminiscing on his lifelong philosophy of “oppositional caring.”

Bloody Thursday: how People’s Park became a battleground

By Benjamin Schneider on
Features   Uncategorized
At 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 15, 1969 250 California Highway Patrol officers arrived at newly constructed People’s Park, while a helicopter buzzed overhead. They cleared a few people who were sleeping on the fresh sod and put up a chain link fence. As the sun rose, Berkeley’s newest green space, a symbol of an alternative vision of society, was enclosed behind a perimeter of state police officers.

Cella Jones: Mother, sci-fi lover, Richmondite

By Kate Wolffe on
Features   Street Spirits
The first time I meet Cella Jones, she popped her head out of her tent at the 22nd Street Richmond encampment, the largest camp in Richmond. The camp, where about 60 people live, has been ‘posted’ for two weeks later, which means the residents have been scheduled to be evicted soon, and all their belongings will be cleared away.

In Dialogue with Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín

By Timothy Busby on
Features   In Dialogue
Jesse Arreguín has been the Mayor of Berkeley since 2016. He ran on a platform of building more affordable housing, raising the minimum wage, and changing the city’s approach to addressing the homeless crisis. In the years since, he has been met with both praise and criticism: while some have embraced his leadership, others have argued that he is not as progressive on the issue of homelessness as he led his constituency to believe—such as with his yes vote on the council’s recent overnight RV parking ban.

The history of The Village Movement

By Anita de Asis Miralle aka Needa Bee on
Commentary   Features
In January 2016, me and my daughter started feeding our unhoused neighbors in the streets. Little did we know that simple sharing would evolve into a crew of 70 people called Feed The People. Who knew that Feed The People would transform into a movement called The Village, which fights to decriminalize homelessness, builds emergency shelters, asserts that housing is a human right, and joins the call for another model of urban development that does not displace lifelong residents of The Town.

Tim Nishibori on addiction and optimism

By Julia Irwin on
Features   Street Spirits
Tim Nishibori disappears into the depths of his cramped but cavernous shack, which sits near the end of a strip of trailers and tents in West Oakland. His gray pit bull, Lady, plays hostess, entertaining me with enthusiastic kisses by the makeshift gate as Nishibori rummages around. Eventually, he emerges with two chairs, and invites me into his home. “Sorry about the mess,” he says