Downtown Berkeley

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.

New Berkeley anti-homeless law aims to clear sidewalks

By Darwin BondGraham and Daniel Lempres on
News
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.”