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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After the city of Berkeley ordered the clearing of RV encampments on Second Street, the city began offering cash to people living in their RVs in addition to a room at a motel shelter. Most accepted the offer, and city leaders are hopeful that this approach can expand.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC7936715503&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This transcript is computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:42] Your story focused on this concentration of RVs on Second Street in Berkeley. Tell me a little bit more about this area and why it was such an area of interest for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:01:55] Yeah, this is an industrial area on the western edge of the city. It attracted people living in RVs over the past few years, but eventually got to the point where there were RVs, cars, broken down busses, tents and structures that people built just for blocks and blocks along Second Street and some of the cross streets there. Trash started piling up. There were problems with rats. There was rotting food. There was feces. The data I saw was that in 2023, police were called to the area about 250 times. And there were 20 fires reported to the fire department. Eventually city officials declared this area an imminent health hazard and the city council actually directed staff to focus on cleaning up this area and another large RV encampment nearby that’s on Harrison Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:06] I know you met some people who were living on Second Street before the city decided that they wanted to clear it. Who did you meet and how did they describe life on Second street?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:03:19] I met Fannie Hall when I was down there early this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fannie Hall \u003c/strong>[00:03:24] Yeah, all these little guys. Plus I got my daughter’s dog. He’s a little smaller. So I got 11, really.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:03:31] She was poking her head out of this vintage blue and white RV that she has. She shares it with her adult daughter and granddaughter and so many Chihuahuas, nine puppies and two adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:45] Oh, my goodness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:03:47] Her son was also living across the street in another camper that she has. She said that she’d been there about six years and the family ended up there. After this house they were renting in San Pablo got red tagged for code violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fannie Hall \u003c/strong>[00:04:04] My landlord was one of those landlords that tried to do everything cheaply and it cost me my home and I had to move out with them. They came on a Monday, I had to be out by Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:04:18] She claims that they were some of the first people down on Second Street, that it was quiet at first, and she tried to keep the area where she was clean and keep a low profile. She works three days a week as a home health aide, and she has a car, so she said she would use that to haul garbage to a dumpster down the street. But over time, more and more people moved in, trash started piling up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fannie Hall \u003c/strong>[00:04:47] Rats became a problem. I’ve had my camper chewed on and I’ve killed multiple rats up in my camper and I keep a clean camper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:04:54] So it became increasingly difficult, but she seemed to like the independence and she’d been there for quite some time, you know, so while it was certainly not ideal and she talked about wanting housing, I think she had figured out a fairly manageable life for herself and her family under really hard circumstances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:05:22] Yeah, and I imagine her family unit, it’s very important for her to keep them all together and that they were, it sounds like they were really able to do that. And then I know you met someone who moved to Second Street a little bit more recently. Tell me about Elvia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:05:38] Elvia Guzman told me that she and her husband ended up on Second Street last year after bouncing around a couple different RV encampments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:05:48] Second Street was a place where there was a lot of RVs and a little community there, so we just came down here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:05:56] Briefly been around Harrison Street in that big encampment in Berkeley, recently got swept. Before that, they were in Richmond, where she had lived for a long time. And they ended up in an RV there until the area, the encampments they were living in there got cleared. Then she came to Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:06:19] Police wasn’t moving us as much and they weren’t really bothering us over here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:06:30] In general, she made it sound like she never felt fully safe or comfortable living in an RV. She talked about how they always had to park in sort of sketchy areas. She also talked about ways in which life was just hard in an RV.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:06:49] Everything is like ten times harder. Sometimes you don’t have water. Sometimes, you know, it’s too cold or too hot not enough space and I Think it’s frustrating a little bit for like it was frustrating a lot a little it for me because I get anxiety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:07:06] She seemed much less comfortable than Fannie living in an RV, although she was really grateful for the shelter it provided and the security, you know? To the extent that it provided security, she was very grateful for that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:07:28] How long was Elvia living in an RV on Second Street?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:07:32] Elvia and her husband moved to 2nd Street around six months before the city started moving in earnest to close down this encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:07:45] I want to talk more about the city’s effort to close down this encampment. Tell me about what the city began offering to people living in these RVs on Second Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:07:59] So what they did is offer people cash for their RVs. So if participants agreed to move indoors into this motel shelter they were offering, they would get $175 per linear foot of RV. That pencils out to about $6,000 for a 35-foot RV. And the way it would work is that people would get some of that money when they first moved into the motel. Then they do this trial period. To see if they felt comfortable at the shelter, if they wanted to stay. And if they decided they wanted to stay, they’d get their RV towed. And at that point, they got the rest of the money. If they decided to leave, they would keep the initial 15% of the payout that they’d already gotten, and they got to keep their RV. RV encampments are hard to deal with because people are reluctant to leave their RV for shelter. And that had been the case on Second Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Peter Radu \u003c/strong>[00:09:00] And so, we’re just giving folks another choice in their choice set, right? About how to navigate this reality that we had to close this encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:09:08] Peter Radu, who oversees the city’s homeless response team, told me that he saw it as a way to build trust with people and overcome some of that reluctance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Peter Radu \u003c/strong>[00:09:24] Anything interim or anything time-limited, I think they were very rationally and rightly afraid that if they moved in and that didn’t work out, they would be back out on the street, but this time without their largest remaining asset, which is their vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:09:38] They were out there for about three months, hearing them out about their concerns and trying to find ways to accommodate their individual needs, right? So some people, initially, I was told the motel was gonna only accept one dog per room. It quickly became clear that that wasn’t gonna work because so many people had. Dogs. So they found ways to accommodate more dogs. They found ways to place people together in rooms, not just couples, but friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:10:16] And I mean, that’s pretty unique, Vanessa, I feel like you don’t often hear of efforts like this that feel and sound very individual. Usually it feels like a one-size-fit-all sort of solution, just throw folks into shelters, but it seems like there was a real effort here to accommodate people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:10:36] That’s right, but I think Peter Radu would say that they’ve known for a long time that a low barrier model, right, which is what they would call this shelter, is crucial. But what really made the difference in this case was really the buyback program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Peter Radu \u003c/strong>[00:10:57] The hypothesis, I suppose, in wanting to pilot this is what if we could liquefy that asset for them? What if we can buy it for them, would that change their decision-making, and would that changed their willingness to engage with us in the homeless system?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:11:15] I think it’s more than just an incentive, I think that it’s building trust by promising these people a bit of a safety net. People are very distrustful that they will actually end up getting permanent housing. So if they give up their RV but they at least have a few thousand dollars in their pocket, that’s a big difference, right? I mean, I talked to multiple people who told me that. That gave them a bit of reassurance and made them feel more comfortable taking the city up on this shelter offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:12:01] It sounds like a really big decision to make for many of the folks living on Second Street. How many people were offered this buyout program and how many took it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:12:21] So Radu told me that outreach workers encountered 32 vehicles out there during the closure process. In all, 36 people and 26 dogs ended up moving into this motel. Of those 32 vehicles they encountered, only three of them are still on the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:12:51] The housing market is not great. That’s the reason why I’m still where I’m at, because who can afford the high cost of living?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:12:58] Fannie’s two RVs, hers and her sons, are among those three.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:13:03] I’m one of the people that can go in, but I don’t want to go in. I’d rather stay where I’m safe and I’m familiar with, and I want to do the RV buyback, but I think they could come up with a little bit better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:13:18] Fannie told me she was worried about the unknowns at the shelter, so would she feel safe there? Who would be there? She worried about restrictions, not being able to cook in her motel room, not be able to have guests. She knew that however accommodating they were going to be, she was never going to to take 11 dogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:13:41] You know, there were criteria that they require for you to move in. They want to get into too much in your personal business. You know that doesn’t require them to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:13:49] They ultimately did not take the offer and they ended up moving to the Oakland-Emeryville border. She’s working with outreach workers and says she is in the process of trying to get housing. It sounds like if that doesn’t happen in the next couple of years, she’s seriously considering moving out of state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:14:12] So it sounds like Fannie Hall decided not to take the offer because there was a sense of stability in her current situation, and giving up her RV felt like a huge risk. But the vast majority of people did actually take the offer to sell their RVs, including Elvia Guzman. What did she tell you?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:14:38] Elvia, though she was really ready to get out of an RV and into permanent housing, she was so scared to give up this shelter and security that had caught her when she’d lost everything else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:14:56] The RV was like our everything, like I was just nervous about the whole thing because that’s where we lived and that’s all we had. I want to say we almost got about $3,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:15:07] And I did not seem like it would work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:15:10] It seemed, I think it was more than enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:15:15] When I met her, she was at the motel shelter on a busy street in Berkeley, and she said that it was going pretty well so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:15:25] It’s safer here and it’s just way better to be in a real place, like have a real roof over your head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:15:35] Said she was working with staff there to get all of her paperwork in order so that she could apply for housing. She seemed to be feeling, you know, at least somewhat optimistic and just reiterated how ready she was to be off the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:15:58] Hoping to just you know end up with our housing like we’ve been wanting for so many years now and be stable. I just want an boring normal regular life, you know? That’s all. I’ll be happy with that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:16:17] Right, because this is ultimately not a permanent living situation, being in these motels. So I’m curious for Peter and the city, was this a success?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:16:33] He sees this as a resounding success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Peter Radu \u003c/strong>[00:16:37] We had almost four in five, I believe 79% of the people that we encountered moved in indoors. And we didn’t have to do a big enforcement operation at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:16:50] Like I said, of those 32 vehicles, there are just three that are still on the streets. None of them are on Second Street. Compared to past efforts to close encampments like this, Radu said that they had a much higher success rate. And so this is something that he says they’d like to try to build upon going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:17:13] And also, we’re just talking about people who are living in RVs, but what do you think there is to learn from this when it comes to addressing all forms of homelessness in the Bay Area?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:17:27] Well, we don’t know what the ultimate outcome will be, right? Some of these folks at the motel are already getting housing placements. Other folks are probably going to be there for many months. And some of those folks could end up getting kicked out of the shelter, leaving the shelter by choice. Before they get permanent housing, they could end up getting permanent housing and losing it for whatever reason and ending up on the streets. So we don’t know what the ultimate outcome is going to be. By all accounts, approaching this encampment resolution so intentionally showed some early successes. When you put the resources and the thought and the time into closing encampments intentionally, you’ve got a much better shot of really resolving them and permanently ending those folks’ homelessness than if you’re simply sweeping people and dispersing them to other parts of the city.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After the city of Berkeley ordered the clearing of RV encampments on Second Street, the city began offering cash to people living in their RVs in addition to a room at a motel shelter. Most accepted the offer, and city leaders are hopeful that this approach can expand.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC7936715503&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This transcript is computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:42] Your story focused on this concentration of RVs on Second Street in Berkeley. Tell me a little bit more about this area and why it was such an area of interest for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:01:55] Yeah, this is an industrial area on the western edge of the city. It attracted people living in RVs over the past few years, but eventually got to the point where there were RVs, cars, broken down busses, tents and structures that people built just for blocks and blocks along Second Street and some of the cross streets there. Trash started piling up. There were problems with rats. There was rotting food. There was feces. The data I saw was that in 2023, police were called to the area about 250 times. And there were 20 fires reported to the fire department. Eventually city officials declared this area an imminent health hazard and the city council actually directed staff to focus on cleaning up this area and another large RV encampment nearby that’s on Harrison Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:06] I know you met some people who were living on Second Street before the city decided that they wanted to clear it. Who did you meet and how did they describe life on Second street?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:03:19] I met Fannie Hall when I was down there early this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fannie Hall \u003c/strong>[00:03:24] Yeah, all these little guys. Plus I got my daughter’s dog. He’s a little smaller. So I got 11, really.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:03:31] She was poking her head out of this vintage blue and white RV that she has. She shares it with her adult daughter and granddaughter and so many Chihuahuas, nine puppies and two adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:45] Oh, my goodness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:03:47] Her son was also living across the street in another camper that she has. She said that she’d been there about six years and the family ended up there. After this house they were renting in San Pablo got red tagged for code violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fannie Hall \u003c/strong>[00:04:04] My landlord was one of those landlords that tried to do everything cheaply and it cost me my home and I had to move out with them. They came on a Monday, I had to be out by Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:04:18] She claims that they were some of the first people down on Second Street, that it was quiet at first, and she tried to keep the area where she was clean and keep a low profile. She works three days a week as a home health aide, and she has a car, so she said she would use that to haul garbage to a dumpster down the street. But over time, more and more people moved in, trash started piling up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fannie Hall \u003c/strong>[00:04:47] Rats became a problem. I’ve had my camper chewed on and I’ve killed multiple rats up in my camper and I keep a clean camper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:04:54] So it became increasingly difficult, but she seemed to like the independence and she’d been there for quite some time, you know, so while it was certainly not ideal and she talked about wanting housing, I think she had figured out a fairly manageable life for herself and her family under really hard circumstances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:05:22] Yeah, and I imagine her family unit, it’s very important for her to keep them all together and that they were, it sounds like they were really able to do that. And then I know you met someone who moved to Second Street a little bit more recently. Tell me about Elvia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:05:38] Elvia Guzman told me that she and her husband ended up on Second Street last year after bouncing around a couple different RV encampments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:05:48] Second Street was a place where there was a lot of RVs and a little community there, so we just came down here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:05:56] Briefly been around Harrison Street in that big encampment in Berkeley, recently got swept. Before that, they were in Richmond, where she had lived for a long time. And they ended up in an RV there until the area, the encampments they were living in there got cleared. Then she came to Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:06:19] Police wasn’t moving us as much and they weren’t really bothering us over here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:06:30] In general, she made it sound like she never felt fully safe or comfortable living in an RV. She talked about how they always had to park in sort of sketchy areas. She also talked about ways in which life was just hard in an RV.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:06:49] Everything is like ten times harder. Sometimes you don’t have water. Sometimes, you know, it’s too cold or too hot not enough space and I Think it’s frustrating a little bit for like it was frustrating a lot a little it for me because I get anxiety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:07:06] She seemed much less comfortable than Fannie living in an RV, although she was really grateful for the shelter it provided and the security, you know? To the extent that it provided security, she was very grateful for that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:07:28] How long was Elvia living in an RV on Second Street?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:07:32] Elvia and her husband moved to 2nd Street around six months before the city started moving in earnest to close down this encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:07:45] I want to talk more about the city’s effort to close down this encampment. Tell me about what the city began offering to people living in these RVs on Second Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:07:59] So what they did is offer people cash for their RVs. So if participants agreed to move indoors into this motel shelter they were offering, they would get $175 per linear foot of RV. That pencils out to about $6,000 for a 35-foot RV. And the way it would work is that people would get some of that money when they first moved into the motel. Then they do this trial period. To see if they felt comfortable at the shelter, if they wanted to stay. And if they decided they wanted to stay, they’d get their RV towed. And at that point, they got the rest of the money. If they decided to leave, they would keep the initial 15% of the payout that they’d already gotten, and they got to keep their RV. RV encampments are hard to deal with because people are reluctant to leave their RV for shelter. And that had been the case on Second Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Peter Radu \u003c/strong>[00:09:00] And so, we’re just giving folks another choice in their choice set, right? About how to navigate this reality that we had to close this encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:09:08] Peter Radu, who oversees the city’s homeless response team, told me that he saw it as a way to build trust with people and overcome some of that reluctance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Peter Radu \u003c/strong>[00:09:24] Anything interim or anything time-limited, I think they were very rationally and rightly afraid that if they moved in and that didn’t work out, they would be back out on the street, but this time without their largest remaining asset, which is their vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:09:38] They were out there for about three months, hearing them out about their concerns and trying to find ways to accommodate their individual needs, right? So some people, initially, I was told the motel was gonna only accept one dog per room. It quickly became clear that that wasn’t gonna work because so many people had. Dogs. So they found ways to accommodate more dogs. They found ways to place people together in rooms, not just couples, but friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:10:16] And I mean, that’s pretty unique, Vanessa, I feel like you don’t often hear of efforts like this that feel and sound very individual. Usually it feels like a one-size-fit-all sort of solution, just throw folks into shelters, but it seems like there was a real effort here to accommodate people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:10:36] That’s right, but I think Peter Radu would say that they’ve known for a long time that a low barrier model, right, which is what they would call this shelter, is crucial. But what really made the difference in this case was really the buyback program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Peter Radu \u003c/strong>[00:10:57] The hypothesis, I suppose, in wanting to pilot this is what if we could liquefy that asset for them? What if we can buy it for them, would that change their decision-making, and would that changed their willingness to engage with us in the homeless system?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:11:15] I think it’s more than just an incentive, I think that it’s building trust by promising these people a bit of a safety net. People are very distrustful that they will actually end up getting permanent housing. So if they give up their RV but they at least have a few thousand dollars in their pocket, that’s a big difference, right? I mean, I talked to multiple people who told me that. That gave them a bit of reassurance and made them feel more comfortable taking the city up on this shelter offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:12:01] It sounds like a really big decision to make for many of the folks living on Second Street. How many people were offered this buyout program and how many took it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:12:21] So Radu told me that outreach workers encountered 32 vehicles out there during the closure process. In all, 36 people and 26 dogs ended up moving into this motel. Of those 32 vehicles they encountered, only three of them are still on the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:12:51] The housing market is not great. That’s the reason why I’m still where I’m at, because who can afford the high cost of living?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:12:58] Fannie’s two RVs, hers and her sons, are among those three.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:13:03] I’m one of the people that can go in, but I don’t want to go in. I’d rather stay where I’m safe and I’m familiar with, and I want to do the RV buyback, but I think they could come up with a little bit better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:13:18] Fannie told me she was worried about the unknowns at the shelter, so would she feel safe there? Who would be there? She worried about restrictions, not being able to cook in her motel room, not be able to have guests. She knew that however accommodating they were going to be, she was never going to to take 11 dogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:13:41] You know, there were criteria that they require for you to move in. They want to get into too much in your personal business. You know that doesn’t require them to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:13:49] They ultimately did not take the offer and they ended up moving to the Oakland-Emeryville border. She’s working with outreach workers and says she is in the process of trying to get housing. It sounds like if that doesn’t happen in the next couple of years, she’s seriously considering moving out of state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:14:12] So it sounds like Fannie Hall decided not to take the offer because there was a sense of stability in her current situation, and giving up her RV felt like a huge risk. But the vast majority of people did actually take the offer to sell their RVs, including Elvia Guzman. What did she tell you?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:14:38] Elvia, though she was really ready to get out of an RV and into permanent housing, she was so scared to give up this shelter and security that had caught her when she’d lost everything else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:14:56] The RV was like our everything, like I was just nervous about the whole thing because that’s where we lived and that’s all we had. I want to say we almost got about $3,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:15:07] And I did not seem like it would work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:15:10] It seemed, I think it was more than enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:15:15] When I met her, she was at the motel shelter on a busy street in Berkeley, and she said that it was going pretty well so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:15:25] It’s safer here and it’s just way better to be in a real place, like have a real roof over your head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:15:35] Said she was working with staff there to get all of her paperwork in order so that she could apply for housing. She seemed to be feeling, you know, at least somewhat optimistic and just reiterated how ready she was to be off the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elvia Guzman \u003c/strong>[00:15:58] Hoping to just you know end up with our housing like we’ve been wanting for so many years now and be stable. I just want an boring normal regular life, you know? That’s all. I’ll be happy with that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:16:17] Right, because this is ultimately not a permanent living situation, being in these motels. So I’m curious for Peter and the city, was this a success?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:16:33] He sees this as a resounding success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Peter Radu \u003c/strong>[00:16:37] We had almost four in five, I believe 79% of the people that we encountered moved in indoors. And we didn’t have to do a big enforcement operation at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:16:50] Like I said, of those 32 vehicles, there are just three that are still on the streets. None of them are on Second Street. Compared to past efforts to close encampments like this, Radu said that they had a much higher success rate. And so this is something that he says they’d like to try to build upon going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:17:13] And also, we’re just talking about people who are living in RVs, but what do you think there is to learn from this when it comes to addressing all forms of homelessness in the Bay Area?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vanessa Rancaño \u003c/strong>[00:17:27] Well, we don’t know what the ultimate outcome will be, right? Some of these folks at the motel are already getting housing placements. Other folks are probably going to be there for many months. And some of those folks could end up getting kicked out of the shelter, leaving the shelter by choice. Before they get permanent housing, they could end up getting permanent housing and losing it for whatever reason and ending up on the streets. So we don’t know what the ultimate outcome is going to be. By all accounts, approaching this encampment resolution so intentionally showed some early successes. When you put the resources and the thought and the time into closing encampments intentionally, you’ve got a much better shot of really resolving them and permanently ending those folks’ homelessness than if you’re simply sweeping people and dispersing them to other parts of the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Berkeley’s Strategy for RV Encampments Could Be a Model for California",
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"headTitle": "Berkeley’s Strategy for RV Encampments Could Be a Model for California | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>In January, three generations of the Hall family were living in a pair of RVs, tucked into an industrial corner of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a>. Fannie Hall shared her blue and white 29-footer with her adult daughter and granddaughter, plus a pack of yapping Chihuahuas — Hall’s beloved Tutti, her daughter’s Blu, and nine puppies. Across the street, Hall’s son lived in a second camper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m letting him stay in the cottage — I call it the cottage,” Hall, 64, said with a laugh, motioning toward a red and white RV she likened to a vacation home. “We all got homeless about the same time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was roughly six years ago, after the house they rented in San Pablo was red-tagged for code violations. They were forced to move out with a week’s notice, Hall said, and eventually all ended up on Berkeley’s Second Street — a stretch of wrecked asphalt at the city’s western edge lined with barbed wire-ringed recycling and construction businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around the corner, another family shared their own set of RVs. Patrick, 58, and his wife had moved into the area around the same time as the Halls, after Patrick’s wife had a heart attack, lost her job as an administrative assistant and the couple got evicted from their San Pablo home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We haven’t been able to afford anywhere around here,” said Patrick, who asked to be identified only by his first name because he doesn’t want his employers to know his living situation. “So this is kind of where we just landed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041257\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041257\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stretch of Harrison Street in northwest Berkeley on May 20, 2025, is home to an unhoused population. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Both families were working — Hall as a home health aide three days a week and Patrick as a security guard — and they tried to keep their areas tidy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by the time Elvia Guzman, 42, and her husband moved there in 2024, the area had become a well-established encampment with dozens of people living in motorhomes, broken down buses, cars and tents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Second Street was a place where there was a lot of RVs and a little community there,” she said, explaining authorities had broken up a similar site where the couple was living in Richmond. “They weren’t really bothering us over here, so it felt more comfortable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over time, the area grew increasingly chaotic. Hall watched in frustration as garbage piles swelled to mini mountains and fires broke out. The mess eventually became her problem, attracting pests — “I’ve had my camper chewed on and killed multiple rats up in my camper,” she said — and the authorities.[aside postID=news_12043568 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/240130-HomelessCount-46-BL_qed.jpg']In 2023, police were called to the area around 250 times, and there were 20 reported fires, according to \u003ca href=\"https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-09-10%20Item%2037%20Encampment%20Policy%20Resolution.pdf\">city documents\u003c/a>. Neighbors complained to the city council that there were “human feces just about anywhere you dare to look,” “a stabbing,” and fights resulting in “retaliatory arson.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city provided porta potties, dumpsters, mobile showers and laundry facilities, and cleared nearly 40 tons of debris over the years. Still, by early 2024, officials deemed the area an imminent health hazard, citing used hypodermic needles, rotting food, a rat infestation and waste-contaminated storm drains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few months later, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12014227/progressive-berkeley-new-tough-stance-homeless-encampments\">even famously liberal Berkeley had had enough\u003c/a> and city leaders directed staff to focus on cleaning up the area. They started laying plans to close the encampment for good and, ideally, house its inhabitants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peter Radu, who oversees Berkeley’s Homeless Response Team, knew they would need to try something different. Past outreach efforts offering shelter to the residents had largely failed. A staff report noted engagement wasn’t successful because many of the RV dwellers did not consider themselves homeless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hall explained it this way: With an apartment out of reach, her RV offered a degree of privacy, security and independence, not to mention a valuable asset that could be traded for cash. Accepting temporary shelter risked all that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Horizon Community Village at the Capri Motel on University Avenue in Berkeley on May 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They can’t guarantee you housing once you get in there,” she said, expressing concern that she might be forced to move out of the shelter before a permanent home opened up. Her family could land back on the streets and worse off if they gave up their campers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, Radu and his colleagues decided to test a new strategy: cash for RVs. If the participants agreed to move indoors, they would get $175 per linear foot of RV, or about $6,000 for a 35-foot vehicle. They’d receive 15% of the payout when they moved into a motel shelter and the rest after they tried out the shelter and their RV was towed. If residents decided not to stick with the program during the trial period, they’d still pocket the initial payment and keep their vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The approach was modeled after a pilot in \u003ca href=\"https://www.marincounty.gov/news-releases/new-initiatives-approved-binford-road-encampment?language=es\">Marin County that was \u003c/a>itself inspired by a cash incentive meant to get \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sausalito-homeless-encampment-17531723.php\">boat dwellers out of Richardson Bay\u003c/a>. It had a lot of promise, said UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative Director Margot Kushel, who has \u003ca href=\"https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/resources/long-road-home-housing-and-service-needs-people-who-inhabit-oversized-vehicles\">studied the needs of people living in large vehicles. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The city designed this to really gain people’s trust and to make sure that people were not left worse off than they were when they started,” she said. \u003ca href=\"https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/resources/long-road-home-housing-and-service-needs-people-who-inhabit-oversized-vehicles\">She called Berkeley’s program \u003c/a>“quite innovative” and said it could prove valuable in the future as the state contends with RV homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041249\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041249\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teahana Roman, program manager, speaks with a resident at Horizon Community Village at the Capri Motel on University Avenue in Berkeley on May 20, 2025. The site, operated by Dorothy Day House, provides transitional housing and supportive services for unhoused individuals in Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As cities work to clean up homeless encampments under increasing pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom and housed residents, RV communities present a distinct — and notoriously difficult — challenge, especially with \u003ca href=\"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10511482.2022.2117990?src=#abstract\">more\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://usich.gov/sites/default/files/document/How_Communities_Are_Responding_to_Vehicular_Homelessness.pdf\">and more\u003c/a> Californians taking up residence in them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over half of Alameda County’s unsheltered homeless population \u003ca href=\"https://homelessness.acgov.org/data_point_in_time.page?\">now lives in some kind of car or RV\u003c/a>, but strategies for managing and resolving this unique form of homelessness are lagging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, attempts to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11999643/unhoused-san-francisco-rv-families-forced-to-move-yet-again-with-nowhere-to-go\">clear RV encampments\u003c/a> have led to widespread public outcry, and after moving to ban overnight RV parking, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017544/sf-supes-reverse-citys-controversial-rv-parking-ban\">city reversed course\u003c/a> under pressure from advocates. Now, Mayor Daniel Lurie is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043568/san-francisco-mayor-proposes-to-ban-rvs-from-long-term-street-parking\">again proposing to ban the vehicles\u003c/a>, this time with a similar offer to Berkeley’s, as part of a broader plan to get motorhomes off the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kushel’s \u003ca href=\"https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/resources/long-road-home-housing-and-service-needs-people-who-inhabit-oversized-vehicles\">research\u003c/a> found that people living in RVs are reluctant to give them up for anything short of permanent housing — a dilemma when there’s little to offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley officials designed their strategy with that in mind, but residents still had reservations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041248\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041248\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An empty stretch of Second Street in northwest Berkeley on May 20, 2025, was once home to a large unhoused population. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It sounds good,” Patrick said, “but that’s what makes me a little leery — maybe it just sounds too good to be true.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hall was wary, too. What she didn’t know about the motel program gave her pause. “[You] don’t know if it’s going to be safe,” she said. “You’re going in with strangers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But so did what she knew. “You can’t have anybody visiting you,” Hall said, “You can’t cook in the room.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Guzman, though RV living never felt truly safe, the possibility of ending up on the streets in a tent, even less protected from the elements, was even more terrifying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To get the program to work, city staff and nonprofit outreach workers spent roughly three months coaxing residents, explaining their offer, listening to concerns and making accommodations to the shelter policies where possible. A one-dog-per-person rule stretched to allow four dogs in one room; friends were allowed to bunk together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041252\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041252\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Resident Letty Guzman looks out of the window in her room at Horizon Community Village at the Capri Motel on University Avenue in Berkeley on May 20, 2025. The site, operated by Dorothy Day House, provides transitional housing and supportive services for unhoused individuals in Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“All of that really matters,” Radu said. But ultimately, it was the city’s cash offer that overcame many of the residents’ reservations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guzman and her husband ended up accepting roughly $3,000 for their vehicle, which they promptly put into savings. That gives them some reassurance, she said, in case they get kicked out or the program ends. “We don’t have another RV to go to or a Plan B, so we gotta have something put aside for that, just in case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrick and his wife also took the city up on its offer. For them, it solved a logistical problem: What to do with their motorhomes if they moved into a shelter? They have two cars and two RVs and stand to get about $4,900 for just one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The buy-back program kind of makes everything sort of doable because it gives me a little money in my pocket, and I don’t have to worry about my stuff getting towed because it’s not my stuff anymore,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Halls, on the other hand, opted out because, as Fannie Hall said, “I’d rather stay where I’m safe and I’m familiar with.” But they were among the exceptions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041247\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041247\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An empty stretch of Second Street in northwest Berkeley on May 20, 2025, was once home to a large unhoused population. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A total of 36 people and 26 dogs moved from the encampment into a city-leased motel in central Berkeley beginning in January. Of the 32 vehicles workers encountered on Second Street during the closure process, just three remain on the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By that metric, it was a resounding success and something that we’re looking to expand upon hopefully in other encampments,” Radu said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kushel and her team are now evaluating the program’s success at Berkeley’s request — a highly unusual step. The city built the research plan into its application for $5.4 million in state \u003ca href=\"https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-and-funding/programs-active/encampment-resolution-funding-program\">Encampment Resolution Funding\u003c/a> last year.[aside postID=news_11999643 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/SFZooRVs-1020x683.jpg'] While California has put \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5007\">$1 billion toward the grants\u003c/a> since 2021, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11982237/california-audit-questions-state-homelessness-spending-san-jose\">there’s little quality research on what works\u003c/a> when it comes to successfully closing encampments. Radu and Kushel want to change that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope that we are leaning into this crisis with both a sense of urgency and also a sense of moving beyond rhetoric to actually explore what does work, what doesn’t work and to try to get as many win-wins as we possibly can,” Kushel said. “The story is just beginning, but I think we’ve already learned a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of the research, Kushel will be looking closely at the holdouts, like Hall and her family, to understand why they refused to accept the city’s offer. The answer might influence how they design future programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Halls left Second Street in late April with help from the city of Berkeley to get their RVs running. Rats had gnawed through some wiring, Hall said, and the motorhomes needed new batteries, which the city sprang for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re now adjusting to life behind a Target on the Oakland-Emeryville border. “We’re all kind of watching out for each other like we did over on Second Street,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hall is applying for housing and still works three days a week as a home health aide, she said. “I’m just trying to keep the faith and then hopefully something gives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041251\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041251\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Resident Letty Guzman holds a cat pillow in her room at Horizon Community Village at the Capri Motel on University Avenue in Berkeley on May 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>About a mile away, Guzman sat inside the Capri Motel, a two-story terracotta-roofed building on a busy street in Berkeley. It was a weekday in May, and a group of formerly homeless residents were playing cornhole in the courtyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guzman said she’s working with program staff to replace her ID, birth certificate and other documents that were stolen when she lived in the RV so she can apply for apartments. Like most of the residents there, it’ll take her several months, even a year or more, to get into a permanent home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just hoping to end up with our housing like we’ve been wanting for so many years now and be stable,” she said. “I just want a boring, normal, regular life, that’s all. I’ll be happy with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Second Street, there’s little trace of the encampment she and the Halls left behind. The heaps of garbage and barking dogs are gone. Dozens of new street signs line the road, threatening would-be lodgers with arrest. There’s not an RV in sight, just crumbling pavement, weeds and graffiti.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "As Gov. Gavin Newsom ups pressure to clean encampments across California, Berkeley is finding success with a novel approach to helping move people off the streets. ",
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"title": "Berkeley’s Strategy for RV Encampments Could Be a Model for California | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In January, three generations of the Hall family were living in a pair of RVs, tucked into an industrial corner of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a>. Fannie Hall shared her blue and white 29-footer with her adult daughter and granddaughter, plus a pack of yapping Chihuahuas — Hall’s beloved Tutti, her daughter’s Blu, and nine puppies. Across the street, Hall’s son lived in a second camper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m letting him stay in the cottage — I call it the cottage,” Hall, 64, said with a laugh, motioning toward a red and white RV she likened to a vacation home. “We all got homeless about the same time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was roughly six years ago, after the house they rented in San Pablo was red-tagged for code violations. They were forced to move out with a week’s notice, Hall said, and eventually all ended up on Berkeley’s Second Street — a stretch of wrecked asphalt at the city’s western edge lined with barbed wire-ringed recycling and construction businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around the corner, another family shared their own set of RVs. Patrick, 58, and his wife had moved into the area around the same time as the Halls, after Patrick’s wife had a heart attack, lost her job as an administrative assistant and the couple got evicted from their San Pablo home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We haven’t been able to afford anywhere around here,” said Patrick, who asked to be identified only by his first name because he doesn’t want his employers to know his living situation. “So this is kind of where we just landed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041257\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041257\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-43-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stretch of Harrison Street in northwest Berkeley on May 20, 2025, is home to an unhoused population. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Both families were working — Hall as a home health aide three days a week and Patrick as a security guard — and they tried to keep their areas tidy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by the time Elvia Guzman, 42, and her husband moved there in 2024, the area had become a well-established encampment with dozens of people living in motorhomes, broken down buses, cars and tents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Second Street was a place where there was a lot of RVs and a little community there,” she said, explaining authorities had broken up a similar site where the couple was living in Richmond. “They weren’t really bothering us over here, so it felt more comfortable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over time, the area grew increasingly chaotic. Hall watched in frustration as garbage piles swelled to mini mountains and fires broke out. The mess eventually became her problem, attracting pests — “I’ve had my camper chewed on and killed multiple rats up in my camper,” she said — and the authorities.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In 2023, police were called to the area around 250 times, and there were 20 reported fires, according to \u003ca href=\"https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-09-10%20Item%2037%20Encampment%20Policy%20Resolution.pdf\">city documents\u003c/a>. Neighbors complained to the city council that there were “human feces just about anywhere you dare to look,” “a stabbing,” and fights resulting in “retaliatory arson.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city provided porta potties, dumpsters, mobile showers and laundry facilities, and cleared nearly 40 tons of debris over the years. Still, by early 2024, officials deemed the area an imminent health hazard, citing used hypodermic needles, rotting food, a rat infestation and waste-contaminated storm drains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few months later, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12014227/progressive-berkeley-new-tough-stance-homeless-encampments\">even famously liberal Berkeley had had enough\u003c/a> and city leaders directed staff to focus on cleaning up the area. They started laying plans to close the encampment for good and, ideally, house its inhabitants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peter Radu, who oversees Berkeley’s Homeless Response Team, knew they would need to try something different. Past outreach efforts offering shelter to the residents had largely failed. A staff report noted engagement wasn’t successful because many of the RV dwellers did not consider themselves homeless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hall explained it this way: With an apartment out of reach, her RV offered a degree of privacy, security and independence, not to mention a valuable asset that could be traded for cash. Accepting temporary shelter risked all that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-17-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Horizon Community Village at the Capri Motel on University Avenue in Berkeley on May 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They can’t guarantee you housing once you get in there,” she said, expressing concern that she might be forced to move out of the shelter before a permanent home opened up. Her family could land back on the streets and worse off if they gave up their campers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, Radu and his colleagues decided to test a new strategy: cash for RVs. If the participants agreed to move indoors, they would get $175 per linear foot of RV, or about $6,000 for a 35-foot vehicle. They’d receive 15% of the payout when they moved into a motel shelter and the rest after they tried out the shelter and their RV was towed. If residents decided not to stick with the program during the trial period, they’d still pocket the initial payment and keep their vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The approach was modeled after a pilot in \u003ca href=\"https://www.marincounty.gov/news-releases/new-initiatives-approved-binford-road-encampment?language=es\">Marin County that was \u003c/a>itself inspired by a cash incentive meant to get \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sausalito-homeless-encampment-17531723.php\">boat dwellers out of Richardson Bay\u003c/a>. It had a lot of promise, said UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative Director Margot Kushel, who has \u003ca href=\"https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/resources/long-road-home-housing-and-service-needs-people-who-inhabit-oversized-vehicles\">studied the needs of people living in large vehicles. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The city designed this to really gain people’s trust and to make sure that people were not left worse off than they were when they started,” she said. \u003ca href=\"https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/resources/long-road-home-housing-and-service-needs-people-who-inhabit-oversized-vehicles\">She called Berkeley’s program \u003c/a>“quite innovative” and said it could prove valuable in the future as the state contends with RV homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041249\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041249\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-10-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teahana Roman, program manager, speaks with a resident at Horizon Community Village at the Capri Motel on University Avenue in Berkeley on May 20, 2025. The site, operated by Dorothy Day House, provides transitional housing and supportive services for unhoused individuals in Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As cities work to clean up homeless encampments under increasing pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom and housed residents, RV communities present a distinct — and notoriously difficult — challenge, especially with \u003ca href=\"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10511482.2022.2117990?src=#abstract\">more\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://usich.gov/sites/default/files/document/How_Communities_Are_Responding_to_Vehicular_Homelessness.pdf\">and more\u003c/a> Californians taking up residence in them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over half of Alameda County’s unsheltered homeless population \u003ca href=\"https://homelessness.acgov.org/data_point_in_time.page?\">now lives in some kind of car or RV\u003c/a>, but strategies for managing and resolving this unique form of homelessness are lagging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, attempts to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11999643/unhoused-san-francisco-rv-families-forced-to-move-yet-again-with-nowhere-to-go\">clear RV encampments\u003c/a> have led to widespread public outcry, and after moving to ban overnight RV parking, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017544/sf-supes-reverse-citys-controversial-rv-parking-ban\">city reversed course\u003c/a> under pressure from advocates. Now, Mayor Daniel Lurie is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043568/san-francisco-mayor-proposes-to-ban-rvs-from-long-term-street-parking\">again proposing to ban the vehicles\u003c/a>, this time with a similar offer to Berkeley’s, as part of a broader plan to get motorhomes off the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kushel’s \u003ca href=\"https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/resources/long-road-home-housing-and-service-needs-people-who-inhabit-oversized-vehicles\">research\u003c/a> found that people living in RVs are reluctant to give them up for anything short of permanent housing — a dilemma when there’s little to offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley officials designed their strategy with that in mind, but residents still had reservations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041248\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041248\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-05-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An empty stretch of Second Street in northwest Berkeley on May 20, 2025, was once home to a large unhoused population. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It sounds good,” Patrick said, “but that’s what makes me a little leery — maybe it just sounds too good to be true.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hall was wary, too. What she didn’t know about the motel program gave her pause. “[You] don’t know if it’s going to be safe,” she said. “You’re going in with strangers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But so did what she knew. “You can’t have anybody visiting you,” Hall said, “You can’t cook in the room.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Guzman, though RV living never felt truly safe, the possibility of ending up on the streets in a tent, even less protected from the elements, was even more terrifying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To get the program to work, city staff and nonprofit outreach workers spent roughly three months coaxing residents, explaining their offer, listening to concerns and making accommodations to the shelter policies where possible. A one-dog-per-person rule stretched to allow four dogs in one room; friends were allowed to bunk together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041252\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041252\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Resident Letty Guzman looks out of the window in her room at Horizon Community Village at the Capri Motel on University Avenue in Berkeley on May 20, 2025. The site, operated by Dorothy Day House, provides transitional housing and supportive services for unhoused individuals in Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“All of that really matters,” Radu said. But ultimately, it was the city’s cash offer that overcame many of the residents’ reservations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guzman and her husband ended up accepting roughly $3,000 for their vehicle, which they promptly put into savings. That gives them some reassurance, she said, in case they get kicked out or the program ends. “We don’t have another RV to go to or a Plan B, so we gotta have something put aside for that, just in case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrick and his wife also took the city up on its offer. For them, it solved a logistical problem: What to do with their motorhomes if they moved into a shelter? They have two cars and two RVs and stand to get about $4,900 for just one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The buy-back program kind of makes everything sort of doable because it gives me a little money in my pocket, and I don’t have to worry about my stuff getting towed because it’s not my stuff anymore,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Halls, on the other hand, opted out because, as Fannie Hall said, “I’d rather stay where I’m safe and I’m familiar with.” But they were among the exceptions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041247\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041247\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-03-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An empty stretch of Second Street in northwest Berkeley on May 20, 2025, was once home to a large unhoused population. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A total of 36 people and 26 dogs moved from the encampment into a city-leased motel in central Berkeley beginning in January. Of the 32 vehicles workers encountered on Second Street during the closure process, just three remain on the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By that metric, it was a resounding success and something that we’re looking to expand upon hopefully in other encampments,” Radu said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kushel and her team are now evaluating the program’s success at Berkeley’s request — a highly unusual step. The city built the research plan into its application for $5.4 million in state \u003ca href=\"https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-and-funding/programs-active/encampment-resolution-funding-program\">Encampment Resolution Funding\u003c/a> last year.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> While California has put \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5007\">$1 billion toward the grants\u003c/a> since 2021, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11982237/california-audit-questions-state-homelessness-spending-san-jose\">there’s little quality research on what works\u003c/a> when it comes to successfully closing encampments. Radu and Kushel want to change that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope that we are leaning into this crisis with both a sense of urgency and also a sense of moving beyond rhetoric to actually explore what does work, what doesn’t work and to try to get as many win-wins as we possibly can,” Kushel said. “The story is just beginning, but I think we’ve already learned a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of the research, Kushel will be looking closely at the holdouts, like Hall and her family, to understand why they refused to accept the city’s offer. The answer might influence how they design future programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Halls left Second Street in late April with help from the city of Berkeley to get their RVs running. Rats had gnawed through some wiring, Hall said, and the motorhomes needed new batteries, which the city sprang for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re now adjusting to life behind a Target on the Oakland-Emeryville border. “We’re all kind of watching out for each other like we did over on Second Street,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hall is applying for housing and still works three days a week as a home health aide, she said. “I’m just trying to keep the faith and then hopefully something gives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041251\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041251\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250520-BERKELEYRVBUYBACK-19-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Resident Letty Guzman holds a cat pillow in her room at Horizon Community Village at the Capri Motel on University Avenue in Berkeley on May 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>About a mile away, Guzman sat inside the Capri Motel, a two-story terracotta-roofed building on a busy street in Berkeley. It was a weekday in May, and a group of formerly homeless residents were playing cornhole in the courtyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guzman said she’s working with program staff to replace her ID, birth certificate and other documents that were stolen when she lived in the RV so she can apply for apartments. Like most of the residents there, it’ll take her several months, even a year or more, to get into a permanent home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just hoping to end up with our housing like we’ve been wanting for so many years now and be stable,” she said. “I just want a boring, normal, regular life, that’s all. I’ll be happy with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Second Street, there’s little trace of the encampment she and the Halls left behind. The heaps of garbage and barking dogs are gone. Dozens of new street signs line the road, threatening would-be lodgers with arrest. There’s not an RV in sight, just crumbling pavement, weeds and graffiti.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "berkeley-police-threaten-homeless-residents-with-less-lethal-weapons-at-encampment-cleanup",
"title": "Berkeley Police Threaten Homeless Residents With Less-Lethal Weapons at Encampment Cleanup",
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"headTitle": "Berkeley Police Threaten Homeless Residents With Less-Lethal Weapons at Encampment Cleanup | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Witnesses say \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley-police\">Berkeley police\u003c/a> threatened residents with less lethal weapons during a cleanup on Wednesday of an encampment that has been the source of conflict for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The encampment at Harrison and Eighth streets, which is home to roughly 40 people, is the subject of multiple lawsuits. Business owners \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12004348/berkeley-moves-to-expand-homeless-encampment-sweeps-in-more-aggressive-approach\">sued last year\u003c/a> to force the city to clean it up, while camp residents have multiple suits pending against the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DKfUK7aSel5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MXJqY213amMxcXY2Zg%3D%3D\">Video of the sweep\u003c/a> posted by the publication \u003ca href=\"https://thestreetspirit.org/\">Street Spirit\u003c/a> shows an officer pointing a less lethal rifle at a tent and saying, “Get out now. You’re going to be shot with less lethal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yesica Prado, who took the video and has been living at the encampment for seven years, said the incident happened shortly after officers showed up around 6 a.m. She said police officers were dropping smoke-emitting devices into the areas where people were sleeping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One man was “really, really scared and worked up, and he was just trying to stay inside,” Prado said. “And I think that’s when a bunch of cops just started swarming around his tent and telling him that he needed to get out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042928\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042928\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stretch of Harrison Street in northwest Berkeley on May 20, 2025, home to an unhoused population. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prado, who is also a representative with the Berkeley Homeless Union, said the officers threw one of the smoke devices into the man’s living area, and he threw it back at them. At that point, an officer pointed a non-lethal weapon at him, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the first sweep that I’ve seen them come with such force,” Prado said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another video, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKglqBmOwwe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=cnQzbWM4b29zb3Ns\">posted by Berkeley Copwatch\u003c/a>, shows the same man pushed to the ground and pinned by officers after crossing a police line, seemingly inadvertently, during an altercation later that morning. “I did nothing wrong, you backed me into here,” the man said, while the police pleaded with him to cooperate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“More and more cops came. We counted 10 on top of him at one point,” said Andrea Prichett of Copwatch, who shot the video. “He was saying he couldn’t breathe.”[aside postID=news_12041026 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250513-HUD-FUNDS-MD-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg']A spokesperson for the police department confirmed one person was arrested during the sweep, but directed all questions about use of force to the city, which did not respond to multiple requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Mayor Adena Ishii said, though the details are still emerging, “the video circulating on social media is upsetting, particularly during such a traumatic moment for people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added that she is “committed to ensuring that our city approaches clearings of encampments with as much care and empathy as possible while ensuring everyone’s safety and well-being.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city had moved to close the encampment earlier this year, citing health hazards and public nuisance, including rodents, loose syringes, rotting food and human waste, but the Berkeley Homeless Union and residents sued and won a temporary restraining order. That order expired on May 23, after an attorney for the union missed a filing deadline for a preliminary injunction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, several hours after the city started dismantling the camp, Senior District Judge Edward Chen ordered the city to stop, citing due process concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11970748\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11970748\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1502059460.jpg\" alt=\"tents along a street\" width=\"1024\" height=\"698\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1502059460.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1502059460-800x545.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1502059460-1020x695.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1502059460-160x109.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tents on Eighth Street at a homeless encampment near Harrison Street in Berkeley in June 2023. \u003ccite>(Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, whose district includes Harrison Street, expressed support for the city’s action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Berkeley Homeless Union is exploiting the legal system to keep the dangerous, unsafe encampment on Harrison Street open, which is a known magnet for criminal activity and open illicit drug use,” she wrote in an email to KQED. ”I applaud our city staff who conducted vital, difficult work on Wednesday to close the Harrison encampment after we were legally cleared to do so and had issued notice for closure in January before litigation delayed the closure process. The city will now follow the restraining order issued by Judge Chen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brigitte Nicoletti, an attorney with the East Bay Community Law Center who represents some camp residents, said residents had been caught off guard. The city did not provide advance notice of the sweep and gave people less than 30 minutes to retrieve their belongings before heavy machinery moved in to crush and remove what remained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They wouldn’t even let me cross the lines to talk to clients,” Nicoletti added, referring to a large area cordoned off by the police. “It’s very, very concerning and a real escalation in tactics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042929\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042929\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stretch of Harrison Street in northwest Berkeley on May 20, 2025, home to an unhoused population. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t take all that,” said Shareef Muwwakkil, who’d been living in a tent in the area for a couple of years. “Most people out here are malnutritioned; they don’t even have the energy to put up significant resistance. It’s just overkill. It’s showboating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates at the scene were handing out new tents and sleeping bags to residents who’d lost theirs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just knocks the wind out of me,” Muwwakkil said of losing books, audio equipment, clothes and other belongings. “This is not OK for me to go through anymore. It’s wearing me out.”[aside postID=news_12042370 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250529-SJARRESTSHELTERVOTE-06-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg']At an emergency hearing on Wednesday, Chen asked lawyers for the city why they hadn’t provided notice ahead of the sweep. “What was the problem with giving reasonable notice?” he said. “Was it to avoid any possible intervention by this court?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The city has consistently stated it intends to proceed with this abatement,” Deputy City Attorney Laura Iris Mattes said. “We’ve given them five months’ worth of notice … folks have the opportunity to leave at any time …They have had since the city posted this notice in January to move.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chen didn’t buy that. “Anybody would have expected there would be some notice … It just seems like, as a matter of fairness and due process, there’d be notice,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In asking the judge to halt the sweep, Anthony Prince, the attorney representing the Berkeley Homeless Union, acknowledged the harm was already done. “The toothpaste is out of the tube,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All I can do is halt this now,” Chen said. “I’m not in a position to put the toothpaste back in the tube.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chen ordered the city to pause abatement until further notice. The next hearing in the case is set for June 10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The city moved in without giving residents advanced notice, leading a judge to order the city to stop the sweep, citing due process concerns.",
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"title": "Berkeley Police Threaten Homeless Residents With Less-Lethal Weapons at Encampment Cleanup | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Witnesses say \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley-police\">Berkeley police\u003c/a> threatened residents with less lethal weapons during a cleanup on Wednesday of an encampment that has been the source of conflict for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The encampment at Harrison and Eighth streets, which is home to roughly 40 people, is the subject of multiple lawsuits. Business owners \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12004348/berkeley-moves-to-expand-homeless-encampment-sweeps-in-more-aggressive-approach\">sued last year\u003c/a> to force the city to clean it up, while camp residents have multiple suits pending against the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DKfUK7aSel5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MXJqY213amMxcXY2Zg%3D%3D\">Video of the sweep\u003c/a> posted by the publication \u003ca href=\"https://thestreetspirit.org/\">Street Spirit\u003c/a> shows an officer pointing a less lethal rifle at a tent and saying, “Get out now. You’re going to be shot with less lethal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yesica Prado, who took the video and has been living at the encampment for seven years, said the incident happened shortly after officers showed up around 6 a.m. She said police officers were dropping smoke-emitting devices into the areas where people were sleeping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One man was “really, really scared and worked up, and he was just trying to stay inside,” Prado said. “And I think that’s when a bunch of cops just started swarming around his tent and telling him that he needed to get out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042928\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042928\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-43-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stretch of Harrison Street in northwest Berkeley on May 20, 2025, home to an unhoused population. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prado, who is also a representative with the Berkeley Homeless Union, said the officers threw one of the smoke devices into the man’s living area, and he threw it back at them. At that point, an officer pointed a non-lethal weapon at him, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the first sweep that I’ve seen them come with such force,” Prado said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another video, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKglqBmOwwe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=cnQzbWM4b29zb3Ns\">posted by Berkeley Copwatch\u003c/a>, shows the same man pushed to the ground and pinned by officers after crossing a police line, seemingly inadvertently, during an altercation later that morning. “I did nothing wrong, you backed me into here,” the man said, while the police pleaded with him to cooperate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“More and more cops came. We counted 10 on top of him at one point,” said Andrea Prichett of Copwatch, who shot the video. “He was saying he couldn’t breathe.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A spokesperson for the police department confirmed one person was arrested during the sweep, but directed all questions about use of force to the city, which did not respond to multiple requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Mayor Adena Ishii said, though the details are still emerging, “the video circulating on social media is upsetting, particularly during such a traumatic moment for people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added that she is “committed to ensuring that our city approaches clearings of encampments with as much care and empathy as possible while ensuring everyone’s safety and well-being.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city had moved to close the encampment earlier this year, citing health hazards and public nuisance, including rodents, loose syringes, rotting food and human waste, but the Berkeley Homeless Union and residents sued and won a temporary restraining order. That order expired on May 23, after an attorney for the union missed a filing deadline for a preliminary injunction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, several hours after the city started dismantling the camp, Senior District Judge Edward Chen ordered the city to stop, citing due process concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11970748\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11970748\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1502059460.jpg\" alt=\"tents along a street\" width=\"1024\" height=\"698\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1502059460.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1502059460-800x545.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1502059460-1020x695.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1502059460-160x109.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tents on Eighth Street at a homeless encampment near Harrison Street in Berkeley in June 2023. \u003ccite>(Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, whose district includes Harrison Street, expressed support for the city’s action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Berkeley Homeless Union is exploiting the legal system to keep the dangerous, unsafe encampment on Harrison Street open, which is a known magnet for criminal activity and open illicit drug use,” she wrote in an email to KQED. ”I applaud our city staff who conducted vital, difficult work on Wednesday to close the Harrison encampment after we were legally cleared to do so and had issued notice for closure in January before litigation delayed the closure process. The city will now follow the restraining order issued by Judge Chen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brigitte Nicoletti, an attorney with the East Bay Community Law Center who represents some camp residents, said residents had been caught off guard. The city did not provide advance notice of the sweep and gave people less than 30 minutes to retrieve their belongings before heavy machinery moved in to crush and remove what remained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They wouldn’t even let me cross the lines to talk to clients,” Nicoletti added, referring to a large area cordoned off by the police. “It’s very, very concerning and a real escalation in tactics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042929\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042929\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250520-BerkeleyRVBuyBack-40-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stretch of Harrison Street in northwest Berkeley on May 20, 2025, home to an unhoused population. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t take all that,” said Shareef Muwwakkil, who’d been living in a tent in the area for a couple of years. “Most people out here are malnutritioned; they don’t even have the energy to put up significant resistance. It’s just overkill. It’s showboating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates at the scene were handing out new tents and sleeping bags to residents who’d lost theirs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just knocks the wind out of me,” Muwwakkil said of losing books, audio equipment, clothes and other belongings. “This is not OK for me to go through anymore. It’s wearing me out.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At an emergency hearing on Wednesday, Chen asked lawyers for the city why they hadn’t provided notice ahead of the sweep. “What was the problem with giving reasonable notice?” he said. “Was it to avoid any possible intervention by this court?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The city has consistently stated it intends to proceed with this abatement,” Deputy City Attorney Laura Iris Mattes said. “We’ve given them five months’ worth of notice … folks have the opportunity to leave at any time …They have had since the city posted this notice in January to move.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chen didn’t buy that. “Anybody would have expected there would be some notice … It just seems like, as a matter of fairness and due process, there’d be notice,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In asking the judge to halt the sweep, Anthony Prince, the attorney representing the Berkeley Homeless Union, acknowledged the harm was already done. “The toothpaste is out of the tube,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All I can do is halt this now,” Chen said. “I’m not in a position to put the toothpaste back in the tube.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chen ordered the city to pause abatement until further notice. The next hearing in the case is set for June 10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "berkeley-residents-homeless-advocates-battle-over-fate-of-ohlone-park-encampment",
"title": "Berkeley Residents, Homeless Advocates Battle Over Fate of Ohlone Park Encampment",
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"headTitle": "Berkeley Residents, Homeless Advocates Battle Over Fate of Ohlone Park Encampment | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Clutching his morning coffee, Jeremy Wren walked across the grassy field at Ohlone Park toward the tent he’s been living in for the last two months, his large Siberian husky, Jeremiah, in tow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were supposed to be out yesterday, but they came and told us that they had to wait for the court to be done,” said Wren, one of about 40 residents at the encampment located on a stretch of greenway near downtown Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The site on Hearst Avenue, which emerged some six months ago as a protest over the city’s new encampment policy, has become the latest flashpoint in the progressive city’s perennial struggle to manage its intractable homelessness crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid a concerted campaign by neighbors to remove the encampment, which some have called a \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/05/22/community/guest-essay-ohlone-park-encampment-public-health-public-safety-emergency/\">public health and safety disaster\u003c/a>, the city pledged to begin the process of sweeping the site this week. But that plan was postponed at the 11th hour, after the Berkeley Homeless Union, a group representing encampment residents, sued the city on Tuesday. A federal judge who had previously denied the group’s effort to block the sweep agreed to another hearing, set for June 6, over its latest request for a restraining order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So for at least another week, the tents will remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Wren, 53, who has gotten used to the site and the sense of community that has developed around it, this latest reprieve offers at least a temporary source of relief. He came to Berkeley from the Central Valley about five months ago, first staying for months at an encampment at Civic Center Park, and then moving here, along with most other residents from that encampment, \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/04/11/civic-center-park-camp-cleared\">after the city fenced off the site\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042052\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042052\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The homeless encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But he said he’s sympathetic to the concerns of people who live in houses near the park that don’t want to see a homeless encampment outside their windows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got a few of the bad apples. But everything’s pretty much OK,” Wren said. “We try to police ourselves and keep things cordial for the neighbors, because they have issues with people going on their front lawns and taking their lights and stuff like that,” he added. “We try to nip that in a bud.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12004348 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/026_Berkeley_PeoplesPark_02192021_qed-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many people who live near the encampment, which borders a dog park and is just a stone’s throw from several playgrounds, see things quite differently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A group called Save Ohlone Park has demanded that Berkeley immediately remove the encampment. It recently submitted a petition with hundreds of signatures and threatened to pursue its own legal challenge against the city if it doesn’t take action soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been coming to this park almost every day, multiple times a day, for about a year now, and it was a beautiful community. I felt welcomed and included,” said Nicholas Alexander, an active member of that group, who lives a few blocks from the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the encampment ballooned in size a few months ago, following the closure of the Civic Center site, it dramatically changed the dynamic of the park and the surrounding neighborhood, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are people I haven’t seen for months now,” said Alexander, as he stood in the neighboring dog park, watching his German shepherd frolic with a cluster of smaller mutts. “They refuse to come here because of the drama, because of fights, because of open drug use, because of public defecation and urination, because they’re finding needles in the public playgrounds, in the children’s sandboxes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042050\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042050\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dishawnte Willis looks at lottery scratchers by his tent at the homeless encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a formerly unhoused resident who spent years living and working in various encampments throughout the city, including the longstanding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/peoples-park\">controversial site at People’s Park\u003c/a>, Alexander said he is intimately familiar with the pain and uncertainty of not having a place to call one’s own. But he said encampments like this, which exist for months without any concrete rules or organization, and largely consist of people from outside the community, can quickly turn toxic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m part of a generation of homeless street kids in Berkeley,” said Alexander, 38, who exited homelessness more than a year ago after receiving one of the 32 Section 8 vouchers that were offered as part of a lottery involving about 5,000 applicants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know the eventual outcome of this kind of space. It’s unmanageable,” he said. “You get so many people that there’s no mitigating the harms, and it just becomes an overflow of negativity until you have to clear it. And we have been at that overflow for weeks now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alexander was among the more than 100 residents who last week packed into North Berkeley Senior Center, across the street from the encampment, for \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/05/28/community/berkeley-ohlone-park-homeless-camp-closure-planned/\">a heated community meeting\u003c/a> about the site. During one particularly emotional moment, a man who lives near the park recounted holding his infant child as someone wearing a Spiderman mask appeared outside his house and began smoking meth. Police later apprehended the person, confiscating multiple knives, the man said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is just one of the many stories, and why I feel so strongly about this,” Alexander said. “Because it has changed the entire fabric of this community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, whose district includes the part of the park where the encampment is located, convened the meeting after fielding a fusillade of complaints in recent months from her constituents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042051\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042051\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A public notice of an encampment closure is posted on Dishawnte Willis’ tent at the homeless encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I have always said, and I want to continue to reiterate, that I believe that our parks need to be safe and welcoming recreational spaces for all, from seniors to toddlers,” she told KQED. “And the protest encampment that was established at Ohlone Park has always been in violation of park rules that ban overnight camping.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That protest effort, Kesarwani said, is led by a group called Where Do We Go Berkeley, which began directing unhoused people to this and other encampments after the city approved its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12004348/berkeley-moves-to-expand-homeless-encampment-sweeps-in-more-aggressive-approach\">updated encampment policy\u003c/a> last year. The policy, which Kesarwani authored, was passed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983492/how-a-pivotal-case-on-homelessness-could-redefine-policies-in-california-and-the-nation\">landmark Grant’s Pass ruling\u003c/a>, giving cities the authority to sweep encampments and arrest people living in them, regardless of whether any shelter options are available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kesarwani said her policy simply clarifies that Berkeley can and should remove encampments that pose acute public health or safety hazards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I thought it was important to be clear that we will offer shelter whenever practicable, but in specific instances, when an encampment poses a life, safety or health risk, then we will close that encampment in an effort to protect the life of the individual who is sheltering there, as well as neighboring employees and residents,” she said, citing the longstanding encampment in West Berkeley along Harrison Street that the city has tried to close down for years amid an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12004348/berkeley-moves-to-expand-homeless-encampment-sweeps-in-more-aggressive-approach\">ongoing court battle\u003c/a> with the same group now representing Ohlone Park residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042049\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042049\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You have makeshift wooden structures with propane tanks inside. You have used syringes. You have open feces and urine. You have rotting food. You have rodents and rodent-harboring conditions,” Kesarwani said. “You have police and fire that are called to that encampment about every three days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That said, she added, every time the city has closed an encampment, it always offers shelter beds or hotel rooms and an array of social services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want the public to know that whenever the city closes an encampment, we do so with the utmost care,” she said. “We offer shelter. We offer motel rooms. We also store people’s belongings so that they can retrieve items that are important to them at a later time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wren has experienced the city’s outreach firsthand and appreciates the effort. He said he recently spent 28 days in a motel on the city’s dime, and frequently gets his meals and showers at Dorothy Day House, a nearby shelter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think Berkeley’s trying, I really do,” he said. “It’s hard to deal with this, you know? So I understand [the mayor’s] situation, but I thank her for what she has done for me, because there’s a lot of resources around here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite all that, Wren said he still prefers living outside and intends to move to another encampment in the city if this one gets closed down. The shelters he’s stayed in, while helpful, have still kind of felt like “jail,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just don’t like the confinement, you know? I’d rather be living in the open,” he said, motioning to his tent in a shady area against a fence, next to a cardboard red Snoopy dog house with a garbage bag stuffed inside it. “I don’t wanna say I’m used to being homeless, but I kind of am.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The site near downtown Berkeley has become the latest flashpoint in this progressive city’s perennial struggle to manage its intractable homelessness crisis. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Clutching his morning coffee, Jeremy Wren walked across the grassy field at Ohlone Park toward the tent he’s been living in for the last two months, his large Siberian husky, Jeremiah, in tow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were supposed to be out yesterday, but they came and told us that they had to wait for the court to be done,” said Wren, one of about 40 residents at the encampment located on a stretch of greenway near downtown Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The site on Hearst Avenue, which emerged some six months ago as a protest over the city’s new encampment policy, has become the latest flashpoint in the progressive city’s perennial struggle to manage its intractable homelessness crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid a concerted campaign by neighbors to remove the encampment, which some have called a \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/05/22/community/guest-essay-ohlone-park-encampment-public-health-public-safety-emergency/\">public health and safety disaster\u003c/a>, the city pledged to begin the process of sweeping the site this week. But that plan was postponed at the 11th hour, after the Berkeley Homeless Union, a group representing encampment residents, sued the city on Tuesday. A federal judge who had previously denied the group’s effort to block the sweep agreed to another hearing, set for June 6, over its latest request for a restraining order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So for at least another week, the tents will remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Wren, 53, who has gotten used to the site and the sense of community that has developed around it, this latest reprieve offers at least a temporary source of relief. He came to Berkeley from the Central Valley about five months ago, first staying for months at an encampment at Civic Center Park, and then moving here, along with most other residents from that encampment, \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/04/11/civic-center-park-camp-cleared\">after the city fenced off the site\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042052\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042052\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-22-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The homeless encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But he said he’s sympathetic to the concerns of people who live in houses near the park that don’t want to see a homeless encampment outside their windows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got a few of the bad apples. But everything’s pretty much OK,” Wren said. “We try to police ourselves and keep things cordial for the neighbors, because they have issues with people going on their front lawns and taking their lights and stuff like that,” he added. “We try to nip that in a bud.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many people who live near the encampment, which borders a dog park and is just a stone’s throw from several playgrounds, see things quite differently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A group called Save Ohlone Park has demanded that Berkeley immediately remove the encampment. It recently submitted a petition with hundreds of signatures and threatened to pursue its own legal challenge against the city if it doesn’t take action soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been coming to this park almost every day, multiple times a day, for about a year now, and it was a beautiful community. I felt welcomed and included,” said Nicholas Alexander, an active member of that group, who lives a few blocks from the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the encampment ballooned in size a few months ago, following the closure of the Civic Center site, it dramatically changed the dynamic of the park and the surrounding neighborhood, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are people I haven’t seen for months now,” said Alexander, as he stood in the neighboring dog park, watching his German shepherd frolic with a cluster of smaller mutts. “They refuse to come here because of the drama, because of fights, because of open drug use, because of public defecation and urination, because they’re finding needles in the public playgrounds, in the children’s sandboxes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042050\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042050\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-9-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dishawnte Willis looks at lottery scratchers by his tent at the homeless encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a formerly unhoused resident who spent years living and working in various encampments throughout the city, including the longstanding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/peoples-park\">controversial site at People’s Park\u003c/a>, Alexander said he is intimately familiar with the pain and uncertainty of not having a place to call one’s own. But he said encampments like this, which exist for months without any concrete rules or organization, and largely consist of people from outside the community, can quickly turn toxic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m part of a generation of homeless street kids in Berkeley,” said Alexander, 38, who exited homelessness more than a year ago after receiving one of the 32 Section 8 vouchers that were offered as part of a lottery involving about 5,000 applicants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know the eventual outcome of this kind of space. It’s unmanageable,” he said. “You get so many people that there’s no mitigating the harms, and it just becomes an overflow of negativity until you have to clear it. And we have been at that overflow for weeks now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alexander was among the more than 100 residents who last week packed into North Berkeley Senior Center, across the street from the encampment, for \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/05/28/community/berkeley-ohlone-park-homeless-camp-closure-planned/\">a heated community meeting\u003c/a> about the site. During one particularly emotional moment, a man who lives near the park recounted holding his infant child as someone wearing a Spiderman mask appeared outside his house and began smoking meth. Police later apprehended the person, confiscating multiple knives, the man said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is just one of the many stories, and why I feel so strongly about this,” Alexander said. “Because it has changed the entire fabric of this community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, whose district includes the part of the park where the encampment is located, convened the meeting after fielding a fusillade of complaints in recent months from her constituents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042051\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042051\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-12-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A public notice of an encampment closure is posted on Dishawnte Willis’ tent at the homeless encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I have always said, and I want to continue to reiterate, that I believe that our parks need to be safe and welcoming recreational spaces for all, from seniors to toddlers,” she told KQED. “And the protest encampment that was established at Ohlone Park has always been in violation of park rules that ban overnight camping.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That protest effort, Kesarwani said, is led by a group called Where Do We Go Berkeley, which began directing unhoused people to this and other encampments after the city approved its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12004348/berkeley-moves-to-expand-homeless-encampment-sweeps-in-more-aggressive-approach\">updated encampment policy\u003c/a> last year. The policy, which Kesarwani authored, was passed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983492/how-a-pivotal-case-on-homelessness-could-redefine-policies-in-california-and-the-nation\">landmark Grant’s Pass ruling\u003c/a>, giving cities the authority to sweep encampments and arrest people living in them, regardless of whether any shelter options are available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kesarwani said her policy simply clarifies that Berkeley can and should remove encampments that pose acute public health or safety hazards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I thought it was important to be clear that we will offer shelter whenever practicable, but in specific instances, when an encampment poses a life, safety or health risk, then we will close that encampment in an effort to protect the life of the individual who is sheltering there, as well as neighboring employees and residents,” she said, citing the longstanding encampment in West Berkeley along Harrison Street that the city has tried to close down for years amid an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12004348/berkeley-moves-to-expand-homeless-encampment-sweeps-in-more-aggressive-approach\">ongoing court battle\u003c/a> with the same group now representing Ohlone Park residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042049\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042049\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250529_OHLONEPARKENCAMPMENT_GC-6-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You have makeshift wooden structures with propane tanks inside. You have used syringes. You have open feces and urine. You have rotting food. You have rodents and rodent-harboring conditions,” Kesarwani said. “You have police and fire that are called to that encampment about every three days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That said, she added, every time the city has closed an encampment, it always offers shelter beds or hotel rooms and an array of social services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want the public to know that whenever the city closes an encampment, we do so with the utmost care,” she said. “We offer shelter. We offer motel rooms. We also store people’s belongings so that they can retrieve items that are important to them at a later time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wren has experienced the city’s outreach firsthand and appreciates the effort. He said he recently spent 28 days in a motel on the city’s dime, and frequently gets his meals and showers at Dorothy Day House, a nearby shelter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think Berkeley’s trying, I really do,” he said. “It’s hard to deal with this, you know? So I understand [the mayor’s] situation, but I thank her for what she has done for me, because there’s a lot of resources around here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite all that, Wren said he still prefers living outside and intends to move to another encampment in the city if this one gets closed down. The shelters he’s stayed in, while helpful, have still kind of felt like “jail,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just don’t like the confinement, you know? I’d rather be living in the open,” he said, motioning to his tent in a shady area against a fence, next to a cardboard red Snoopy dog house with a garbage bag stuffed inside it. “I don’t wanna say I’m used to being homeless, but I kind of am.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "whats-a-dentist-to-do-when-theres-not-much-to-smile-about-ask-dr-j",
"title": "Berkeley Dentist Known for Her Sneakers and Smiles Connects Through Compassionate Care",
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"headTitle": "Berkeley Dentist Known for Her Sneakers and Smiles Connects Through Compassionate Care | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>The three-way syringe hisses — a dry \u003cem>pssst\u003c/em> followed by the rhythmic \u003cem>chik-chik-chik\u003c/em> of the metal dental scaler on enamel, as hardened tartar is scraped from my teeth, a sound I can almost feel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It had been four years since I last saw my dentist, Dr. Jessica Ngo, and a lot had happened since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through the safety glasses I wore to shield my eyes from splashes and debris, I caught sight of her dark eyes and the mole on the skin fold below her left eye. She wore Orascoptic dental loupes — high-powered lenses designed for spotting what eludes the naked eye. I hummed along with Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” as I followed the stray wisps of black hair slipping from beneath the satin headgear she wore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Are you really wearing a bonnet?” I asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ngo — or Dr. J, as I call her — laughed behind her surgical mask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I told her I also wear a bonnet to protect my locs while sleeping. It’s a hair thing. I \u003cem>get\u003c/em> it. We laughed together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe you could use some more laughter these days. National Smile Month, an annual campaign to promote \u003ca href=\"https://www.dentalhealth.org/national-smile-month\">oral health\u003c/a>, began Tuesday, but in 2025, there hasn’t been much to smile about for the people I care for. The ripple effects of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034478/federal-workers-fired-thousands-california-wants-hire-them\">mass layoffs\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037889/trump-administration-considers-immigration-detention-bay-area-military-base-records-show\">detentions\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030273/if-trump-revokes-ukrainian-refugees-legal-status-many-in-california-fear-deportation\">deportations\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034742/california-students-visa-cancellations-sue-trump-administration\">visa cancellations\u003c/a>, trade threats, and the volatility of the stock market and retirement accounts leave many people stressed, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Author-finds-happiness-not-misery-loves-company-9961102.php\">anxious\u003c/a> — and kissing their teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039305\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039305\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Jessica Ngo, a dentist at Total Health Dental Care, talks with patient Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the Berkeley offices on May 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I returned to Dr. J’s office at \u003ca href=\"https://totalhealthdentalcare.com/jessica-ngo\">Total Health Dental Care\u003c/a> on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley because I’ve been grinding my teeth. And eating too many Skittles. And I missed the care she offers — the kind of sensitivity I haven’t found elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Poor oral health is closely linked to chronic diseases such as stroke, heart disease and diabetes. Proper oral hygiene can extend life expectancy. However, for people without dental insurance to reduce out-of-pocket expenses, preventative care is inaccessible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I actually had terrible teeth growing up,” Dr. J, a San Francisco native and one of five children raised by Chinese immigrants, told me. “I probably have over 20 fillings, and I have a root canal, a few crowns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wait, what?[aside postID=news_12039102 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/072820-Doctor-Pediatrician-Kid-GETTY-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg']“They were working all the time,” she said of her parents. “I don’t think we had very much supervision. They didn’t double-check if we were brushing properly. They didn’t really restrict us on what we were eating, so we ate a lot of junk food and had a lot of candy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. J, who is married with two young daughters, told me she doesn’t recall her family having insurance when she was a child growing up in the Ingleside neighborhood. If she did go to the dentist, it was an emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a result of that, I had a lot of cavities that probably went untreated for a period of time before I saw dentists in my teenage years, and that’s when I needed all of that dental work,” she said. “I actually enjoyed going to the dentist, because it was something that wasn’t always available to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is why she does what she does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is why I go to see her: My mother, who once dug through the garbage for a baby tooth I wanted to put under my pillow for the tooth fairy, has always stressed the importance of a healthy mouth. Going to the dentist wasn’t always available to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I balked at braces, because I didn’t want to get teased, even though my misaligned central incisors — buck teeth — were clowned. Braces gave me a straighter smile — and made me less prone to gum disease, which slowly erodes the bone and tissue that anchor your teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039309\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039309\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chusang Nhasang talks with patient Otis Taylor at the front desk of the Total Health Dental Care Berkeley offices on May 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If left untreated, gum disease can lead to tooth loss and lingering bad breath. The problems can go far beyond your mouth. The bacteria behind gum disease can enter the bloodstream, traveling to organs like the heart, lungs and kidneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Gum issues, if you’re not taking care of it, become a lot more complicated to treat as time goes on, so your mom was definitely right in that regard,” Dr. J, 36, said. “It’s rare to have that prevention or preventative care if there is a financial barrier or the patient isn’t covered, and so lower-income individuals have a harder time with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republicans in Congress are debating how to cut billions from Medicaid over the next decade — known as Medi-Cal in California — the safety-net program that covers health care for low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities. In California, roughly 15 million people rely on it.[aside postID=news_12039390 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/IMG_1018-1020x765.jpg']According to one IGS poll, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12039465/medicaid-cuts-divide-california-house-members-as-budget-deadline-looms\">more than half — 56% — of California voters\u003c/a> believe the state will be negatively impacted by proposed changes to Medi-Cal, which offers preventative and restorative dental benefits to children and adults. More than two-thirds of Medi-Cal recipients express concern about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12039102/californians-worried-about-medi-cal-congressional-republicans-consider-cuts\">their own health insurance coverage\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And get this: The prevalence of periodontal disease is higher among Black and Mexican American adults age 30 and older, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/oralhealthinamerica\">Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges\u003c/a> — a report from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/reparations\">California Reparations Task Force\u003c/a>, the first statewide body to study reparations for Black people, released a report with 115 policy recommendations, including a section on \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/ch29-ca-reparations.pdf\">remedying disparities\u003c/a> in oral health care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What kept me away from Dr. J’s office was insurance — Total Health didn’t take KQED’s plan. That changed this year when KQED switched providers. With age, I’ve come to value doctors I can truly connect with — where care feels human, not just clinical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. J’s office has been renovated with slat wood paneling and wood floors, but the energy remains the same. I crack jokes with Chusang Nhasang, the financial manager. The music is from personal playlists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039306\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039306\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Jessica Ngo, a dentist at Total Health Dental Care, holds her Orascoptic dental loupes in Berkeley on May 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s the kind of place where dental anxiety melts away like butter on a pancake fresh off the griddle, a dental office where talk of sneaker collecting feels just as natural as a cleaning. Dental hygienists and dental assistants move around the office on lightweight performance shoes, such as On or Hoka. Dr. J said Adidas Ultraboosts are her go-to, but the last time I saw her, she was rocking the orange-accented Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Beluga Reflective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At some point, I was a major collector,” she said as she peeled off her gloves and pulled out her phone to play Jubel’s electronic dance cover of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYwBRlgeK9Q\">Dancing in the Moonlight\u003c/a>,” a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5JqPxmYhlo\">1972 hit by King Harvest\u003c/a>. “I had shoe boxes — a line of them. I actually have a ton of shoes I’ve never opened, and so I became more practical. I don’t buy them just to store them anymore. I buy them to wear them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s going to give the shoes to her daughters, who, like me, love going to the dentist. Dr. J pointed out my Air Max 1 Dirty Denim. I clean my sneakers with a toothbrush.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. J guided a pen-like intraoral scanner over my molars, its soft, mechanical hum rising as it created 3D images of my teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to show you — that crack is dangerous,” she said, pointing to a monitor. “We’re hoping that we put the crown over and it stops the crack, but sometimes when they’re too deep, it can still propagate. So we shall see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I floss after every snack and meal. Sometimes I walk around the newsroom handing out chocolate after lunch. I have a devastating sweet tooth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Otherwise, your teeth are beautiful,” she said, swiveling to take off her gloves. “You’re taking good care of them. The gum looks really healthy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she peeled the plastic from her wrist, a soft, suctioned \u003cem>shffft\u003c/em> gave way to a crisp \u003cem>snap\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The three-way syringe hisses — a dry \u003cem>pssst\u003c/em> followed by the rhythmic \u003cem>chik-chik-chik\u003c/em> of the metal dental scaler on enamel, as hardened tartar is scraped from my teeth, a sound I can almost feel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It had been four years since I last saw my dentist, Dr. Jessica Ngo, and a lot had happened since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through the safety glasses I wore to shield my eyes from splashes and debris, I caught sight of her dark eyes and the mole on the skin fold below her left eye. She wore Orascoptic dental loupes — high-powered lenses designed for spotting what eludes the naked eye. I hummed along with Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” as I followed the stray wisps of black hair slipping from beneath the satin headgear she wore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Are you really wearing a bonnet?” I asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ngo — or Dr. J, as I call her — laughed behind her surgical mask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I told her I also wear a bonnet to protect my locs while sleeping. It’s a hair thing. I \u003cem>get\u003c/em> it. We laughed together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe you could use some more laughter these days. National Smile Month, an annual campaign to promote \u003ca href=\"https://www.dentalhealth.org/national-smile-month\">oral health\u003c/a>, began Tuesday, but in 2025, there hasn’t been much to smile about for the people I care for. The ripple effects of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034478/federal-workers-fired-thousands-california-wants-hire-them\">mass layoffs\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037889/trump-administration-considers-immigration-detention-bay-area-military-base-records-show\">detentions\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030273/if-trump-revokes-ukrainian-refugees-legal-status-many-in-california-fear-deportation\">deportations\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034742/california-students-visa-cancellations-sue-trump-administration\">visa cancellations\u003c/a>, trade threats, and the volatility of the stock market and retirement accounts leave many people stressed, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Author-finds-happiness-not-misery-loves-company-9961102.php\">anxious\u003c/a> — and kissing their teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039305\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039305\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-07-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Jessica Ngo, a dentist at Total Health Dental Care, talks with patient Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the Berkeley offices on May 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I returned to Dr. J’s office at \u003ca href=\"https://totalhealthdentalcare.com/jessica-ngo\">Total Health Dental Care\u003c/a> on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley because I’ve been grinding my teeth. And eating too many Skittles. And I missed the care she offers — the kind of sensitivity I haven’t found elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Poor oral health is closely linked to chronic diseases such as stroke, heart disease and diabetes. Proper oral hygiene can extend life expectancy. However, for people without dental insurance to reduce out-of-pocket expenses, preventative care is inaccessible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I actually had terrible teeth growing up,” Dr. J, a San Francisco native and one of five children raised by Chinese immigrants, told me. “I probably have over 20 fillings, and I have a root canal, a few crowns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wait, what?\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“They were working all the time,” she said of her parents. “I don’t think we had very much supervision. They didn’t double-check if we were brushing properly. They didn’t really restrict us on what we were eating, so we ate a lot of junk food and had a lot of candy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. J, who is married with two young daughters, told me she doesn’t recall her family having insurance when she was a child growing up in the Ingleside neighborhood. If she did go to the dentist, it was an emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a result of that, I had a lot of cavities that probably went untreated for a period of time before I saw dentists in my teenage years, and that’s when I needed all of that dental work,” she said. “I actually enjoyed going to the dentist, because it was something that wasn’t always available to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is why she does what she does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is why I go to see her: My mother, who once dug through the garbage for a baby tooth I wanted to put under my pillow for the tooth fairy, has always stressed the importance of a healthy mouth. Going to the dentist wasn’t always available to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I balked at braces, because I didn’t want to get teased, even though my misaligned central incisors — buck teeth — were clowned. Braces gave me a straighter smile — and made me less prone to gum disease, which slowly erodes the bone and tissue that anchor your teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039309\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039309\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-35-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chusang Nhasang talks with patient Otis Taylor at the front desk of the Total Health Dental Care Berkeley offices on May 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If left untreated, gum disease can lead to tooth loss and lingering bad breath. The problems can go far beyond your mouth. The bacteria behind gum disease can enter the bloodstream, traveling to organs like the heart, lungs and kidneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Gum issues, if you’re not taking care of it, become a lot more complicated to treat as time goes on, so your mom was definitely right in that regard,” Dr. J, 36, said. “It’s rare to have that prevention or preventative care if there is a financial barrier or the patient isn’t covered, and so lower-income individuals have a harder time with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republicans in Congress are debating how to cut billions from Medicaid over the next decade — known as Medi-Cal in California — the safety-net program that covers health care for low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities. In California, roughly 15 million people rely on it.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>According to one IGS poll, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12039465/medicaid-cuts-divide-california-house-members-as-budget-deadline-looms\">more than half — 56% — of California voters\u003c/a> believe the state will be negatively impacted by proposed changes to Medi-Cal, which offers preventative and restorative dental benefits to children and adults. More than two-thirds of Medi-Cal recipients express concern about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12039102/californians-worried-about-medi-cal-congressional-republicans-consider-cuts\">their own health insurance coverage\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And get this: The prevalence of periodontal disease is higher among Black and Mexican American adults age 30 and older, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/oralhealthinamerica\">Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges\u003c/a> — a report from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/reparations\">California Reparations Task Force\u003c/a>, the first statewide body to study reparations for Black people, released a report with 115 policy recommendations, including a section on \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/ch29-ca-reparations.pdf\">remedying disparities\u003c/a> in oral health care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What kept me away from Dr. J’s office was insurance — Total Health didn’t take KQED’s plan. That changed this year when KQED switched providers. With age, I’ve come to value doctors I can truly connect with — where care feels human, not just clinical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. J’s office has been renovated with slat wood paneling and wood floors, but the energy remains the same. I crack jokes with Chusang Nhasang, the financial manager. The music is from personal playlists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039306\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039306\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250505-NATIONALSMILESMONTH-25-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Jessica Ngo, a dentist at Total Health Dental Care, holds her Orascoptic dental loupes in Berkeley on May 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s the kind of place where dental anxiety melts away like butter on a pancake fresh off the griddle, a dental office where talk of sneaker collecting feels just as natural as a cleaning. Dental hygienists and dental assistants move around the office on lightweight performance shoes, such as On or Hoka. Dr. J said Adidas Ultraboosts are her go-to, but the last time I saw her, she was rocking the orange-accented Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Beluga Reflective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At some point, I was a major collector,” she said as she peeled off her gloves and pulled out her phone to play Jubel’s electronic dance cover of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYwBRlgeK9Q\">Dancing in the Moonlight\u003c/a>,” a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5JqPxmYhlo\">1972 hit by King Harvest\u003c/a>. “I had shoe boxes — a line of them. I actually have a ton of shoes I’ve never opened, and so I became more practical. I don’t buy them just to store them anymore. I buy them to wear them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s going to give the shoes to her daughters, who, like me, love going to the dentist. Dr. J pointed out my Air Max 1 Dirty Denim. I clean my sneakers with a toothbrush.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. J guided a pen-like intraoral scanner over my molars, its soft, mechanical hum rising as it created 3D images of my teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to show you — that crack is dangerous,” she said, pointing to a monitor. “We’re hoping that we put the crown over and it stops the crack, but sometimes when they’re too deep, it can still propagate. So we shall see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I floss after every snack and meal. Sometimes I walk around the newsroom handing out chocolate after lunch. I have a devastating sweet tooth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Otherwise, your teeth are beautiful,” she said, swiveling to take off her gloves. “You’re taking good care of them. The gum looks really healthy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she peeled the plastic from her wrist, a soft, suctioned \u003cem>shffft\u003c/em> gave way to a crisp \u003cem>snap\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In this edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, we unpack the razor-thin \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037469/after-recount-tordillos-advances-to-runoff-election-for-san-jose-council-seat\">election results in San José’s District 3\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036939/san-francisco-chinatown-businesses-survival-mode-trade-war\">the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs in San Francisco’s Chinatown\u003c/a>. Plus, we learn more about how roughly 900 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12035866/berkeley-considers-controversial-plan-require-vegetation-removal-near-homes-fire-zones\">Berkeley homeowners will need to clear vegetation in order to protect their houses against wildfire damage\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC6806377143&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:06] I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara, and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. And welcome to our April news roundup, where we talk about some of the other stories that we, the Bay team, have been following this month. I’m joined by our senior editor, Alan Montecillo. and producer, Jessica Kariisa. I was just saying earlier in the office, I can’t believe we’re already approaching May, but I’ve just been looking back also at some of the things that we’ve been covering this month, quite the range. We’ve covered the potential closure of the Valero refinery in Benicia, Barbara Lee’s mayoral win in Oakland, and we also celebrated Youth Takeover week here at KQED. It’s this KQED-wide initiative to basically uplift the voices of young people around the Bay Area. And we did this really fun episode with four young people from across the Bay area. Jessica, I wonder if you can talk a little bit more about that one. It was a really fun one that we got to produce with Bay Curious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:01:17] Yeah, Youth Takeover was a super fun project that we did with high school students who are part of the Youth Advisory Board at KQED. And basically what happened was they sent us some audio diaries over the past few months, and we listened to them and we cut them down into an episode basically about what it’s like to be a high schooler in the Bay Area. We had two juniors and two seniors who live all across the Bay Area, sharing their stories about everything from dreams of designing a web comic to picking colleges, to what it’s gonna mean to not have their parents around or their teachers around when they go off to school. It’s just crazy to see some of the same concerns, even though so much has changed in the over decade that I’ve been in high school, but I could definitely relate to a lot of the things that they were going through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:02:16] I think one thing I appreciated about this process was how open-ended it was compared to the ways that high school students, college students, younger people are often in the news, or even in our stories, you know, usually they are talked about or quoted directly in reference to some news story, maybe it’s about education policy, maybe its about, you know student protests. But I think that one thing that was both really cool and honestly a big contrast from how we usually do things is that this played out over a long period of time. And we didn’t say, hey, we really want to hear your opinion on this thing that is happening. It really was about just tell us what’s going on in your life. So I mean, it was really impressed with the four students, Abby, Oumou, Olivia, and Riya. I’m glad that we made the time to do it, and we’ll do it again. Can I ask a question? As you listened back to the episode, which, I guess, teenage anxiety or emotion did you resonate with the most?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:17] Definitely Oumou’s angst and the way that she uses music to process her feelings was very, very relatable to me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:03:32] I think for me, there’s a moment where Abby talks about having some FOMO around missing school events because of sports and those particular commitments in her life and I definitely felt that. It just sort of took me back to like school dances and things that other kids were doing that I wasn’t able to attend sometimes and just like the angst and just the worry of like, no, I’m gonna regress socially.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:04:01] Still relatable, unfortunately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:04:04] Maybe even more so relatable now. Oh gosh. What about you, Alan?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:04:09] If I had to pick one, I mean, it was present for everybody, but particularly for Riya, is just the anxiety around college admissions. I remember being so excited, so ready to get out of high school and experience college. And it felt like that, at that point, that was the most important decision I’d ever made in my entire life. And in some respects, you could say that it was, but knowing intellectually that like, it’s probably bad that I’m comparing myself to my peers and where I get in is not a measure of how smart I am, how valuable I am but you almost can’t help it and so just that anxiety and around the waiting, waiting too, what’s challenging then is still challenging now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:04:48] Well, if you haven’t listened to this episode already, make sure to go back and listen to it. It’s a really fun listen. When we come back, we’ll dig into some of the other stories from around the Bay Area that we have been watching this month. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:05:15] And welcome back to The Bay’s Monthly News Roundup, where we discuss some of the other stories that we have been following this month. Jessica, let’s have you kick us off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:05:24] So for listeners of The Bay, we have talked a few times about the special election in San Jose D3, which encompasses downtown and Japantown and is actually where I live. So just a quick little recap. The former council member for D3 Omar Torres resigned after he was charged with sexual abuse and an interim council member was appointed. And there was a special election held earlier this month, and we just got the results. You know, this city council race for District 3 was really important, and we did an episode on this, actually, with politics reporter, Guy Marzorati, because it really makes a difference as to whether or not Mayor Matt Mahan is able to really pushed through a lot of things on his agenda faster, specifically around permanently moving funds towards short-term interim housing, as opposed to permanent affordable housing, and also around homelessness. You know, there have been some controversial proposals around arresting people who refuse shelter three times within 18 months. And so this race and who ends up in this seat is a really big deal as to how far Mayor Mahan can go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:06:46] Gabby Chavez Lopez, the executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, ended up getting about 30% of the vote. That was not enough to declare an outright victory, and so it’s going to be a runoff. But what was really interesting was second place was up for grabs because it was really, really close between Anthony Tordillos, who is the head of San Jose’s planning commission and also works at YouTube. Matthew Quevedo, who is Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff. Earlier this week, Santa Clara County election officials have officially said that Anthony Tordillos got second place with a six vote lead over Matthew Quevedo. And so he is gonna be going into the runoff with Gabby Chavez Lopez on June 24th.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:07:36] What does it mean that Tordillos has made it to the runoff and not Matthew Quevedo?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:07:43] So, Matthew Quevedo being Mayhan’s deputy chief of staff, if he ended up in this seat, it was expected to be validation of the mayor’s agenda. You know, Quevedo talked about being the sixth vote on the council to help push Mayhan’s plan specifically around short-term interim housing and shifting funds from permanent affordable housing to short- term interim housing. But with Tordillos and Chavez-Lopez advancing, they’re more on the progressive side. They’ve also pushed more for permanent affordable housing. So it’s not a total rejection of Mahan, but it does signal that it might be a bit harder for him moving forward to streamline his agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:08:30] I’m still not over the six vote difference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:08:33] I know, it’s crazy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:08:36] Vote people, it matters. So this is going to a runoff. Jessica, what happens next?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:08:43] So starting end of May, ballots are gonna be sent out for the runoff, which is officially on June 24th between Chavez-Lopez and Tordillos. We’ll see who comes out on top. Is Tordillos going to collect the more conservative votes that were distributed between Quevedo and the rest of the people who were running? Or will something else happen? It’s unclear, but we’ll have to wait and see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:13] Jessica, thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:14] Thank you so much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:22] And next, we’re going to talk about the story that I’ve been following this month. I’ve be thinking a lot about the impact of Trump’s tariffs on certain communities here in the Bay Area. I’ve thinking about Little Saigon in San Jose and Chinatown in San Francisco, where right now many businesses have sort of entered survival mode. Our colleague Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman has been talking with business owners in San Francisco Chinatown specifically, who are really, really struggling right now. They’re dealing with declining sales and really an uncertain future as the U.S.-China trade war drags on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:10:08] Yeah, I mean, tariffs have dominated the news cycle, and it’s definitely made me wonder about local businesses here as well. Do you know, like, what exactly business owners are experiencing at their shops? Like, have prices already gone up? Like, what’s going on?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:10:24] Yeah, our colleague Azul talked with business owners in Chinatown, including the owner of Mei’s Groceries on Stockton Street, Mei Zhu. She’s been the owner there for the past 11 years. And 90% of her goods at the store are imported. We’re talking about like dry noodles, candies, cookies. And now these items are subject to tariffs as high as 245%, she told Azul, which has meant that she’s had to raise her prices for some of her items by 50%. Some items cost 145% more, so she just stopped stocking them entirely. And for the remaining stock, she says that higher prices are really just driving customers away. I mean, if you can imagine, we’ve been talking about the high cost of groceries. For a long time now, this as sort of an added bonus has really affected her business. She told Azul that sales are down 30%. And I mean, when Azul talked with other business owners, in Chinatown that’s really kind of reflected across the board, a lot of these businesses are just really having a hard time right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:11:45] It’s hard for me not to think about specifically what San Francisco’s Chinatown has been through in the last five years or so, particularly with COVID, you know, anti-Asian hate. This is a neighborhood that’s just been through a lot, even before the tariffs. I wonder how much of that, if at all, was present in some of the conversations that Azul was having with people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:12:05] Yeah, totally. Azul talked with Malcolm Young, who’s the executive director of the Chinatown Community Development Center. And, you know, he says Chinatown is really built around trade. Many business owners have basically been able to create an opportunity for upward mobility using their relationships home back in China. And these are the same businesses who’ve really gone through hard times before. And he does see this as just kind of another hump that the community has to go through and that Chinatown has overcome a lot, but it also really needs our help right now. Zhu from Mei’s Groceries said that if things continue like this for another month or two, the only option for her is to close her business and to stop operating. And other owners really echoed this. And customers who Azul also talked with say that they’re not really encouraged to shop at these stores with these prices. So the end result is kind of obvious, but there’s sort of this feeling of like wanting to remain hopeful and that the community’s already been through so much and we can get to go through this again, but really it needs our help right now. Well, that is it for my story and I want to pivot to our last story here from senior editor Alan Montecillo. What have you been following this month?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:13:40] Well, this story takes place in Berkeley, specifically around the Berkeley Hills. There’s a story on KQED’s website that was reported by Matthew Green and Samantha Kennedy. Earlier this month, the city approved rules that would require about 900 homes around Tilden Park to essentially remove vegetation and flammable materials around their homes to reduce fire risk. They are among some of the most stringent in the state. They are amongst some of, the first of their kind in the state as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:14:10] So how exactly would this work? Is the total responsibility on the homeowners, is the city gonna offer any resources or guides to help people figure out even what exactly they need to get rid of?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:14:24] So the proposal is pretty clear that what we’re talking about is any vegetation or flammable material within a five feet perimeter of one’s home, and that needs to be removed by January. So there is time. The reason that it’s these 900 homes specifically around Tilden Park is that these are homes that are sort of deemed to have the highest wildfire risk. There is funding to help. The city said that they have about a million dollar grant from CAL FIRE, and they’re trying to get other funds from the state, like Prop 4, which last November, it has to do with climate funds. So the city is saying that there will be resources, but obviously a lot of the responsibility and time will be on the homeowners to actually clear out all this vegetation. I think anyone who’s been in the Berkeley Hills knows that a lot these homes are very beautiful and Berkeley residents love their vegetation and foliage and growing things, etc. So it is going to be some amount of work. But the folks who were really pushing this, I mean this proposal was drafted by the department. Are saying that this is really, really important to try and prevent tragedies like what we saw in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:15:32] 900 homes, it’s a lot of people, I imagine, who are gonna be affected, who are going to have to do some work on their homes. Was this a controversial idea or proposal, or yeah, what were the vibes, I guess, at the city council meeting?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:15:48] Well, I think one might expect the city council meeting to be pretty contentious, pretty controversial. But while there was some opposition, I think overall, most residents who spoke were in favor of these rules, who said that these were really necessary to protect the safety of the neighborhood, of the community. This actually passed the council unanimously early this month. There’s a second reading in early May, and it’s essentially a sure thing at this point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:16:15] What happens if you don’t clear the vegetation around your home?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:16:20] There could be fines if you don’t comply with this. I think that the hope from city officials is that it doesn’t get to that point. Council member Brent Blackaby who sort of lives in this area, and I should say also voted for this, I think really sums up the feeling among a lot of people, which is this can be frustrating for a lot of homeowners, but most people understand the risk, people understand the threat of climate change and that doing this kind of proactive work really matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brent Blackaby \u003c/strong>[00:16:48] We’re only making the big ask because it’s a big threat. You know, I’ve lived in the same home for 20 years. I’m in this zone, so I’ll have to be doing the same kind of defensible space work around my home. And sometimes change is hard.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In this edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, we unpack the razor-thin \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037469/after-recount-tordillos-advances-to-runoff-election-for-san-jose-council-seat\">election results in San José’s District 3\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036939/san-francisco-chinatown-businesses-survival-mode-trade-war\">the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs in San Francisco’s Chinatown\u003c/a>. Plus, we learn more about how roughly 900 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12035866/berkeley-considers-controversial-plan-require-vegetation-removal-near-homes-fire-zones\">Berkeley homeowners will need to clear vegetation in order to protect their houses against wildfire damage\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC6806377143&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:06] I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara, and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. And welcome to our April news roundup, where we talk about some of the other stories that we, the Bay team, have been following this month. I’m joined by our senior editor, Alan Montecillo. and producer, Jessica Kariisa. I was just saying earlier in the office, I can’t believe we’re already approaching May, but I’ve just been looking back also at some of the things that we’ve been covering this month, quite the range. We’ve covered the potential closure of the Valero refinery in Benicia, Barbara Lee’s mayoral win in Oakland, and we also celebrated Youth Takeover week here at KQED. It’s this KQED-wide initiative to basically uplift the voices of young people around the Bay Area. And we did this really fun episode with four young people from across the Bay area. Jessica, I wonder if you can talk a little bit more about that one. It was a really fun one that we got to produce with Bay Curious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:01:17] Yeah, Youth Takeover was a super fun project that we did with high school students who are part of the Youth Advisory Board at KQED. And basically what happened was they sent us some audio diaries over the past few months, and we listened to them and we cut them down into an episode basically about what it’s like to be a high schooler in the Bay Area. We had two juniors and two seniors who live all across the Bay Area, sharing their stories about everything from dreams of designing a web comic to picking colleges, to what it’s gonna mean to not have their parents around or their teachers around when they go off to school. It’s just crazy to see some of the same concerns, even though so much has changed in the over decade that I’ve been in high school, but I could definitely relate to a lot of the things that they were going through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:02:16] I think one thing I appreciated about this process was how open-ended it was compared to the ways that high school students, college students, younger people are often in the news, or even in our stories, you know, usually they are talked about or quoted directly in reference to some news story, maybe it’s about education policy, maybe its about, you know student protests. But I think that one thing that was both really cool and honestly a big contrast from how we usually do things is that this played out over a long period of time. And we didn’t say, hey, we really want to hear your opinion on this thing that is happening. It really was about just tell us what’s going on in your life. So I mean, it was really impressed with the four students, Abby, Oumou, Olivia, and Riya. I’m glad that we made the time to do it, and we’ll do it again. Can I ask a question? As you listened back to the episode, which, I guess, teenage anxiety or emotion did you resonate with the most?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:17] Definitely Oumou’s angst and the way that she uses music to process her feelings was very, very relatable to me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:03:32] I think for me, there’s a moment where Abby talks about having some FOMO around missing school events because of sports and those particular commitments in her life and I definitely felt that. It just sort of took me back to like school dances and things that other kids were doing that I wasn’t able to attend sometimes and just like the angst and just the worry of like, no, I’m gonna regress socially.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:04:01] Still relatable, unfortunately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:04:04] Maybe even more so relatable now. Oh gosh. What about you, Alan?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:04:09] If I had to pick one, I mean, it was present for everybody, but particularly for Riya, is just the anxiety around college admissions. I remember being so excited, so ready to get out of high school and experience college. And it felt like that, at that point, that was the most important decision I’d ever made in my entire life. And in some respects, you could say that it was, but knowing intellectually that like, it’s probably bad that I’m comparing myself to my peers and where I get in is not a measure of how smart I am, how valuable I am but you almost can’t help it and so just that anxiety and around the waiting, waiting too, what’s challenging then is still challenging now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:04:48] Well, if you haven’t listened to this episode already, make sure to go back and listen to it. It’s a really fun listen. When we come back, we’ll dig into some of the other stories from around the Bay Area that we have been watching this month. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:05:15] And welcome back to The Bay’s Monthly News Roundup, where we discuss some of the other stories that we have been following this month. Jessica, let’s have you kick us off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:05:24] So for listeners of The Bay, we have talked a few times about the special election in San Jose D3, which encompasses downtown and Japantown and is actually where I live. So just a quick little recap. The former council member for D3 Omar Torres resigned after he was charged with sexual abuse and an interim council member was appointed. And there was a special election held earlier this month, and we just got the results. You know, this city council race for District 3 was really important, and we did an episode on this, actually, with politics reporter, Guy Marzorati, because it really makes a difference as to whether or not Mayor Matt Mahan is able to really pushed through a lot of things on his agenda faster, specifically around permanently moving funds towards short-term interim housing, as opposed to permanent affordable housing, and also around homelessness. You know, there have been some controversial proposals around arresting people who refuse shelter three times within 18 months. And so this race and who ends up in this seat is a really big deal as to how far Mayor Mahan can go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:06:46] Gabby Chavez Lopez, the executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, ended up getting about 30% of the vote. That was not enough to declare an outright victory, and so it’s going to be a runoff. But what was really interesting was second place was up for grabs because it was really, really close between Anthony Tordillos, who is the head of San Jose’s planning commission and also works at YouTube. Matthew Quevedo, who is Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff. Earlier this week, Santa Clara County election officials have officially said that Anthony Tordillos got second place with a six vote lead over Matthew Quevedo. And so he is gonna be going into the runoff with Gabby Chavez Lopez on June 24th.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:07:36] What does it mean that Tordillos has made it to the runoff and not Matthew Quevedo?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:07:43] So, Matthew Quevedo being Mayhan’s deputy chief of staff, if he ended up in this seat, it was expected to be validation of the mayor’s agenda. You know, Quevedo talked about being the sixth vote on the council to help push Mayhan’s plan specifically around short-term interim housing and shifting funds from permanent affordable housing to short- term interim housing. But with Tordillos and Chavez-Lopez advancing, they’re more on the progressive side. They’ve also pushed more for permanent affordable housing. So it’s not a total rejection of Mahan, but it does signal that it might be a bit harder for him moving forward to streamline his agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:08:30] I’m still not over the six vote difference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:08:33] I know, it’s crazy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:08:36] Vote people, it matters. So this is going to a runoff. Jessica, what happens next?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:08:43] So starting end of May, ballots are gonna be sent out for the runoff, which is officially on June 24th between Chavez-Lopez and Tordillos. We’ll see who comes out on top. Is Tordillos going to collect the more conservative votes that were distributed between Quevedo and the rest of the people who were running? Or will something else happen? It’s unclear, but we’ll have to wait and see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:13] Jessica, thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:14] Thank you so much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:22] And next, we’re going to talk about the story that I’ve been following this month. I’ve be thinking a lot about the impact of Trump’s tariffs on certain communities here in the Bay Area. I’ve thinking about Little Saigon in San Jose and Chinatown in San Francisco, where right now many businesses have sort of entered survival mode. Our colleague Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman has been talking with business owners in San Francisco Chinatown specifically, who are really, really struggling right now. They’re dealing with declining sales and really an uncertain future as the U.S.-China trade war drags on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:10:08] Yeah, I mean, tariffs have dominated the news cycle, and it’s definitely made me wonder about local businesses here as well. Do you know, like, what exactly business owners are experiencing at their shops? Like, have prices already gone up? Like, what’s going on?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:10:24] Yeah, our colleague Azul talked with business owners in Chinatown, including the owner of Mei’s Groceries on Stockton Street, Mei Zhu. She’s been the owner there for the past 11 years. And 90% of her goods at the store are imported. We’re talking about like dry noodles, candies, cookies. And now these items are subject to tariffs as high as 245%, she told Azul, which has meant that she’s had to raise her prices for some of her items by 50%. Some items cost 145% more, so she just stopped stocking them entirely. And for the remaining stock, she says that higher prices are really just driving customers away. I mean, if you can imagine, we’ve been talking about the high cost of groceries. For a long time now, this as sort of an added bonus has really affected her business. She told Azul that sales are down 30%. And I mean, when Azul talked with other business owners, in Chinatown that’s really kind of reflected across the board, a lot of these businesses are just really having a hard time right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:11:45] It’s hard for me not to think about specifically what San Francisco’s Chinatown has been through in the last five years or so, particularly with COVID, you know, anti-Asian hate. This is a neighborhood that’s just been through a lot, even before the tariffs. I wonder how much of that, if at all, was present in some of the conversations that Azul was having with people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:12:05] Yeah, totally. Azul talked with Malcolm Young, who’s the executive director of the Chinatown Community Development Center. And, you know, he says Chinatown is really built around trade. Many business owners have basically been able to create an opportunity for upward mobility using their relationships home back in China. And these are the same businesses who’ve really gone through hard times before. And he does see this as just kind of another hump that the community has to go through and that Chinatown has overcome a lot, but it also really needs our help right now. Zhu from Mei’s Groceries said that if things continue like this for another month or two, the only option for her is to close her business and to stop operating. And other owners really echoed this. And customers who Azul also talked with say that they’re not really encouraged to shop at these stores with these prices. So the end result is kind of obvious, but there’s sort of this feeling of like wanting to remain hopeful and that the community’s already been through so much and we can get to go through this again, but really it needs our help right now. Well, that is it for my story and I want to pivot to our last story here from senior editor Alan Montecillo. What have you been following this month?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:13:40] Well, this story takes place in Berkeley, specifically around the Berkeley Hills. There’s a story on KQED’s website that was reported by Matthew Green and Samantha Kennedy. Earlier this month, the city approved rules that would require about 900 homes around Tilden Park to essentially remove vegetation and flammable materials around their homes to reduce fire risk. They are among some of the most stringent in the state. They are amongst some of, the first of their kind in the state as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Kariisa \u003c/strong>[00:14:10] So how exactly would this work? Is the total responsibility on the homeowners, is the city gonna offer any resources or guides to help people figure out even what exactly they need to get rid of?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:14:24] So the proposal is pretty clear that what we’re talking about is any vegetation or flammable material within a five feet perimeter of one’s home, and that needs to be removed by January. So there is time. The reason that it’s these 900 homes specifically around Tilden Park is that these are homes that are sort of deemed to have the highest wildfire risk. There is funding to help. The city said that they have about a million dollar grant from CAL FIRE, and they’re trying to get other funds from the state, like Prop 4, which last November, it has to do with climate funds. So the city is saying that there will be resources, but obviously a lot of the responsibility and time will be on the homeowners to actually clear out all this vegetation. I think anyone who’s been in the Berkeley Hills knows that a lot these homes are very beautiful and Berkeley residents love their vegetation and foliage and growing things, etc. So it is going to be some amount of work. But the folks who were really pushing this, I mean this proposal was drafted by the department. Are saying that this is really, really important to try and prevent tragedies like what we saw in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:15:32] 900 homes, it’s a lot of people, I imagine, who are gonna be affected, who are going to have to do some work on their homes. Was this a controversial idea or proposal, or yeah, what were the vibes, I guess, at the city council meeting?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:15:48] Well, I think one might expect the city council meeting to be pretty contentious, pretty controversial. But while there was some opposition, I think overall, most residents who spoke were in favor of these rules, who said that these were really necessary to protect the safety of the neighborhood, of the community. This actually passed the council unanimously early this month. There’s a second reading in early May, and it’s essentially a sure thing at this point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:16:15] What happens if you don’t clear the vegetation around your home?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:16:20] There could be fines if you don’t comply with this. I think that the hope from city officials is that it doesn’t get to that point. Council member Brent Blackaby who sort of lives in this area, and I should say also voted for this, I think really sums up the feeling among a lot of people, which is this can be frustrating for a lot of homeowners, but most people understand the risk, people understand the threat of climate change and that doing this kind of proactive work really matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "frustrated-berkeley-rei-workers-accuse-co-op-union-busting-straying-from-values",
"title": "Frustrated Berkeley REI Workers Accuse Co-Op of Union Busting, Straying From Values",
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"headTitle": "Frustrated Berkeley REI Workers Accuse Co-Op of Union Busting, Straying From Values | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>When the REI store in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> voted to unionize in 2022, Michael Robin envisioned the company hammering out solutions during negotiations over top employee priorities, such as more consistent scheduling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The avid hiker knew that bargaining a first contract often took longer than a year, but he expected the two sides to reach an agreement on how to reduce turnover and improve jobs, he said. After all, many outdoor enthusiasts like him applied to work at REI because of its progressive values.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost three years later, Robin and other frustrated employees say the company has stalled efforts to reach a contract and harmed unionized workers by excluding them from bonuses and pay raises to erode union support, a claim the company denies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It definitely feels like retribution, like punishment,” said Robin, who has helped customers select footwear at the Berkeley store for nearly four years. “REI is not living up to its values, not treating us with the respect we deserve. It’s really sad why a company that has a deep history of doing the right thing isn’t doing that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outdoor specialty retailer has yet to sign a legally binding agreement with any of its 11 stores that have voted to unionize over the past three years. A federal labor board is reviewing dozens of claims that the company violated labor laws, including by illegally terminating and intimidating workers. Growing dissatisfaction has also led some employees at the Berkeley store and another location to take steps to decertify the United Food and Commercial Workers as their union representative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033589\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033589\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Robin sits outside his home in Oakland on March 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>National Labor Relations Board investigators have issued at least four complaints against REI, finding sufficient evidence to pursue charges that the consumer cooperative failed to bargain in good faith. Agency attorneys \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032259/rei-punished-unionized-workers-in-berkeley-by-holding-back-raises-labor-board-alleges\">allege that the consumer cooperative unlawfully discontinued\u003c/a> annual merit pay increases and Summit Pay bonuses for hundreds of unionized store workers nationwide, while continuing to give the benefits to non-union employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. private-sector workers have the right to use their collective voice to improve job conditions without retaliation, while employers are required to bargain in good faith. However, labor experts said weaknesses in these federal protections, which do not financially penalize violations, allow anti-union employers to undermine workers’ rights, often with little or no accountability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mary Beth Laughton, who recently became REI’s CEO after leading the activewear retailer Athleta, and Chris Carr, who chairs the company’s board of directors, declined an interview with KQED through the company’s press office. Another REI board member, Michael McAfee, who directs PolicyLink, an Oakland-based nonprofit research institute that aims to advance an equitable economy, also declined to comment.[aside postID=news_12032259 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/REIDublinGetty-1020x680.jpg'] In a statement, an REI spokesperson said negotiating a first contract is a complex process that takes time, but the company is fully engaged and has presented new proposals on merit and Summit pay. Union representatives counter that, while a first contract is negotiated, REI was required to continue providing the same benefits to workers as before they unionized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“REI remains committed to the bargaining process and to negotiating in good faith with stores that have chosen union representation,” the statement read. “Reaching a contract requires both parties to come to a mutual agreement. It’s a two-way process — not something REI can decide or finalize on its own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robin and other Berkeley workers, who have attended many of the 36 bargaining sessions, believe the company is intentionally delaying a deal. REI doesn’t send bargaining representatives who are authorized to decide on proposals to make significant progress at meetings, the workers said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, outside attorneys hired by the company discuss issues for a fraction of the day before leaving, the employees added. They note that the firm hired by REI for bargaining and to defend against unfair labor practice charges, Morgan Lewis, also represents SpaceX in a case challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB, a 90-year-old agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The longer negotiations take, the less likely workers will achieve a first deal, as many get discouraged or move on, said Patricia Campos-Medina, who directs the Worker Institute at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033582\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033582\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The REI store in Berkeley on March 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Employer \u003ca href=\"https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/news/research/bronfenbrenner-outlines-employer-anti-union-efforts-congress\">opposition\u003c/a> and unfair labor practices make it difficult for some workers to ever win a collective bargaining agreement, according to researchers. In a 2009 study, data from 1,000 organized units certified by the NLRB (meaning employers did not voluntarily recognize them) found that \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/publication/union-first-contract-fact-sheet/\">52% failed to reach a contract\u003c/a> within a year, and 30% still had no deal after three years. Research published in 2023 suggests an even smaller proportion is successful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Delaying actually getting to a collective bargaining agreement is a strategy by corporations to kill the will of workers to stay as members of the union,” Campos-Medina said. “That’s what Starbucks has done in their campaign, that’s what Amazon has done with the Amazon labor union. They won that election years ago, and they still don’t have a contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amazon signed \u003ca href=\"https://www.americanprogressaction.org/article/lessons-from-italian-unions-historic-agreement-with-amazon/\">contract deals\u003c/a> with unions in other countries, such as Italy, where labor laws are stronger, she pointed out. Proposed \u003ca href=\"https://democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/imo/media/doc/protecting_the_right_to_organize_act_of_2025_fact_sheet.pdf\">reforms\u003c/a> to the U.S. National Labor Relations Act, such as mandating mediation or arbitration if disputes are not settled within a reasonable time, are unlikely to pass in the current Republican-controlled Congress, Campos-Medina said. [aside postID=news_12034860 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-1020x680.jpg']At the Berkeley REI store, some employees petitioned the NLRB on April 16 to hold an election to decertify UFCW Local 5 as their representative. A store in Indianapolis made a similar request in February. The agency temporarily blocked the Indianapolis petition and is expected to do so in Berkeley until it resolves unfair labor practice charges at both locations, according to union and company representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>REI has asked the NLRB to let the Indianapolis decertification to proceed, arguing the union filed an unfair labor practice charge days after the workers’ petition solely to delay the election and remain as their representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We stand by our firm belief that our employees should always have a voice — whether that’s in choosing to be represented by a union or choosing to no longer be,” an REI spokesperson said. “Our focus remains on supporting every employee and building a workplace where people are heard, valued, and proud to be part of the co-op.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The labor conflict comes as President Donald Trump left the five-member NLRB without a quorum to issue final decisions on cases where employers and unions are accused of illegal labor practices by removing a Democratic board member and failing to fill two other board vacancies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034478/federal-workers-fired-thousands-california-wants-hire-them\">moved to mass fire federal employees\u003c/a> and invalidate labor contracts covering about a million government workers. Sharon Block, a former NLRB member during the Obama and Biden administrations, said that a growing culture in corporate America that determines it makes business sense to flout labor laws is reinforced by the president’s actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033581\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033581\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hiking and camping books in Michael Robin’s home in Oakland on March 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s an incredibly hard time for working people,” said Block, who directs Harvard Law School’s Center for Labor and a Just Economy. “We’re seeing these assaults, not just on their collective bargaining rights, but some of the basic labor standards that sort of undergird decent work in this country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>REI was founded in 1938 as a consumer cooperative by mountaineering friends in Seattle to purchase quality outdoor gear at better prices. The company has since grown to employ more than 15,000 people at 185 stores in the U.S., generating \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-co-op-releases-2023-impact-report-and-financials-reporting-3-76-billion-in-revenue\">$3.76 billion\u003c/a> in net sales in 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>REI issues discounts and other perks to its 24 million members, who pay $30 for a lifetime membership. The co-op has been beloved for its mission to expand access to the outdoors, \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-cooperative-action-fund-announces-fall-grantees\">funneling\u003c/a> millions of dollars per year to nonprofits, and its reputation as a \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-co-op-makes-fortune-100-best-companies-to-work-for-list-for-21st-consecutive-year\">great place to work\u003c/a>. However, observers said that, as a business, it must also navigate intense pressures from Amazon and big-box competitors such as Walmart and Target. In recent years, the company has laid off \u003ca href=\"https://www.king5.com/article/money/business/rei-layoffs-over-400-employees/281-d8ade65f-a005-4341-9603-8888bffec215\">hundreds of employees\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The co-op is a really special place, one that is focused on serving not just our employees, members and customers, but on supporting the outdoor community and organizations that foster outdoor equity,” Carr, REI’s board chair and a former Starbucks and ExxonMobil executive, said in \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/about-rei/board-of-directors\">a video\u003c/a>. “I’m eager to help evolve our products and services to help us reach more future members.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employees like Jules Geritz, who has worked at the Berkeley store for nearly 12 years, said the company’s fierce pushback to the union and delays to a first contract have been stressful for workers, making some afraid of retaliation if they speak up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033590\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033590\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Robin’s hiking poles and backpack in his home in Oakland on March 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s something that is frankly gross about proselytizing those sorts of values while restricting and doing everything you can to stand against employees who truly mean well and care about the company,” said Geritz, 41, a senior sales specialist. “It was definitely a rude awakening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Berkeley store, 76 non-management employees make an average of $24.25 an hour, slightly higher than at other retailers. Wage increases are important, but workers’ top demands focus on having enough available hours to qualify for company benefits, according to union representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many employees juggle two jobs or go to school, making a more regular work schedule a priority to help them plan ahead. Others are calling for improvements to ensure fair discipline and promotions, and a greater voice in safety issues, such as warehouse shoe boxes that employees said have fallen from stacks on several coworkers’ heads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are not asking for anything crazy,” Robin, 67, said at his one-story home in Oakland, where shelves display hiking guidebooks along with Joni Mitchell and jazz CDs. Stacks of posters with green letters reading “Fair Contract Now” lay on top of boxes near his dining table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Holding REI to its own values is one of the things people are asking for, helping us grow and helping us get outdoors,” said Robin, who shopped at REI for decades before working for the company. “When I don’t have either enough vacation time or can’t afford to go spend a week at a national park, it’s like, ‘Well, how can I go and live the life outdoors if I’m selling all this stuff, but I can’t go do it?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033579\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033579\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Robin handles a stack of pro-union posters in his home in Oakland on March 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Robin said that he has lost more than $3,000 in income from missed REI bonuses and wage increases, at a time when he’s working to save for retirement. His wife is currently unemployed, and the couple dipped into savings to pay for necessary home repairs, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Down to one income, and a not very large income working in retail, is a strain,” he said. “I need my savings. I need retirement income.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robin and Geritz said they feel hopeful after the company recently withdrew its endorsement of Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior this month, following member protests. CEO Laughton said the co-op erred by signing onto an outdoor-recreation industry group \u003ca href=\"https://recreationroundtable.org/news/outdoor-recreation-roundtable-supports-nomination-of-governor-doug-burgum-for-secretary-of-the-interior/\">letter\u003c/a> backing former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum in January. Burgum has since fired more than 1,000 park rangers and other employees and moved to open federally managed lands to oil drilling and coal mining.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many of you shared your disappointment and your frustration with that decision, and I hear you. Let me be clear, signing that letter was a mistake,” Laughton, who began her term on March 31, said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIO150OpLsE/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">video\u003c/a>. “I’m here today to apologize to our members on behalf of REI, to retract our endorsement of Doug Burgum and to take full accountability for how we move forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union workers are intensifying their efforts to engage customers and the public to pressure the co-op to change course. They are urging REI members, who can elect the company’s board of directors, to reject all candidates by voting “withhold” in elections that end on May 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley store workers are also organizing a community hearing, highlighting workers’ testimony, on Saturday, which East Bay Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-CA-12, is planning to attend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to see that follow-through at REI,” Simon, one of dozens of congressional members who signed \u003ca href=\"https://budzinski.house.gov/posts/budzinski-calls-on-rei-to-bargain-in-good-faith-with-workers\">a letter \u003c/a>calling on the outdoor retailer to negotiate in good faith, said in a statement. “I am committed to ensuring workers at the Berkeley REI and across California’s 12th Congressional District are supported and have the right to unionize.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "REI’s Berkeley employees claim the company has stalled contract negotiations and harmed unionized workers by excluding them from bonuses and pay raises.",
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"title": "Frustrated Berkeley REI Workers Accuse Co-Op of Union Busting, Straying From Values | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When the REI store in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> voted to unionize in 2022, Michael Robin envisioned the company hammering out solutions during negotiations over top employee priorities, such as more consistent scheduling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The avid hiker knew that bargaining a first contract often took longer than a year, but he expected the two sides to reach an agreement on how to reduce turnover and improve jobs, he said. After all, many outdoor enthusiasts like him applied to work at REI because of its progressive values.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost three years later, Robin and other frustrated employees say the company has stalled efforts to reach a contract and harmed unionized workers by excluding them from bonuses and pay raises to erode union support, a claim the company denies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It definitely feels like retribution, like punishment,” said Robin, who has helped customers select footwear at the Berkeley store for nearly four years. “REI is not living up to its values, not treating us with the respect we deserve. It’s really sad why a company that has a deep history of doing the right thing isn’t doing that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outdoor specialty retailer has yet to sign a legally binding agreement with any of its 11 stores that have voted to unionize over the past three years. A federal labor board is reviewing dozens of claims that the company violated labor laws, including by illegally terminating and intimidating workers. Growing dissatisfaction has also led some employees at the Berkeley store and another location to take steps to decertify the United Food and Commercial Workers as their union representative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033589\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033589\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-04-KQED-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Robin sits outside his home in Oakland on March 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>National Labor Relations Board investigators have issued at least four complaints against REI, finding sufficient evidence to pursue charges that the consumer cooperative failed to bargain in good faith. Agency attorneys \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032259/rei-punished-unionized-workers-in-berkeley-by-holding-back-raises-labor-board-alleges\">allege that the consumer cooperative unlawfully discontinued\u003c/a> annual merit pay increases and Summit Pay bonuses for hundreds of unionized store workers nationwide, while continuing to give the benefits to non-union employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. private-sector workers have the right to use their collective voice to improve job conditions without retaliation, while employers are required to bargain in good faith. However, labor experts said weaknesses in these federal protections, which do not financially penalize violations, allow anti-union employers to undermine workers’ rights, often with little or no accountability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mary Beth Laughton, who recently became REI’s CEO after leading the activewear retailer Athleta, and Chris Carr, who chairs the company’s board of directors, declined an interview with KQED through the company’s press office. Another REI board member, Michael McAfee, who directs PolicyLink, an Oakland-based nonprofit research institute that aims to advance an equitable economy, also declined to comment.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> In a statement, an REI spokesperson said negotiating a first contract is a complex process that takes time, but the company is fully engaged and has presented new proposals on merit and Summit pay. Union representatives counter that, while a first contract is negotiated, REI was required to continue providing the same benefits to workers as before they unionized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“REI remains committed to the bargaining process and to negotiating in good faith with stores that have chosen union representation,” the statement read. “Reaching a contract requires both parties to come to a mutual agreement. It’s a two-way process — not something REI can decide or finalize on its own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robin and other Berkeley workers, who have attended many of the 36 bargaining sessions, believe the company is intentionally delaying a deal. REI doesn’t send bargaining representatives who are authorized to decide on proposals to make significant progress at meetings, the workers said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, outside attorneys hired by the company discuss issues for a fraction of the day before leaving, the employees added. They note that the firm hired by REI for bargaining and to defend against unfair labor practice charges, Morgan Lewis, also represents SpaceX in a case challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB, a 90-year-old agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The longer negotiations take, the less likely workers will achieve a first deal, as many get discouraged or move on, said Patricia Campos-Medina, who directs the Worker Institute at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033582\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033582\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-09-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The REI store in Berkeley on March 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Employer \u003ca href=\"https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/news/research/bronfenbrenner-outlines-employer-anti-union-efforts-congress\">opposition\u003c/a> and unfair labor practices make it difficult for some workers to ever win a collective bargaining agreement, according to researchers. In a 2009 study, data from 1,000 organized units certified by the NLRB (meaning employers did not voluntarily recognize them) found that \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/publication/union-first-contract-fact-sheet/\">52% failed to reach a contract\u003c/a> within a year, and 30% still had no deal after three years. Research published in 2023 suggests an even smaller proportion is successful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Delaying actually getting to a collective bargaining agreement is a strategy by corporations to kill the will of workers to stay as members of the union,” Campos-Medina said. “That’s what Starbucks has done in their campaign, that’s what Amazon has done with the Amazon labor union. They won that election years ago, and they still don’t have a contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amazon signed \u003ca href=\"https://www.americanprogressaction.org/article/lessons-from-italian-unions-historic-agreement-with-amazon/\">contract deals\u003c/a> with unions in other countries, such as Italy, where labor laws are stronger, she pointed out. Proposed \u003ca href=\"https://democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/imo/media/doc/protecting_the_right_to_organize_act_of_2025_fact_sheet.pdf\">reforms\u003c/a> to the U.S. National Labor Relations Act, such as mandating mediation or arbitration if disputes are not settled within a reasonable time, are unlikely to pass in the current Republican-controlled Congress, Campos-Medina said. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At the Berkeley REI store, some employees petitioned the NLRB on April 16 to hold an election to decertify UFCW Local 5 as their representative. A store in Indianapolis made a similar request in February. The agency temporarily blocked the Indianapolis petition and is expected to do so in Berkeley until it resolves unfair labor practice charges at both locations, according to union and company representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>REI has asked the NLRB to let the Indianapolis decertification to proceed, arguing the union filed an unfair labor practice charge days after the workers’ petition solely to delay the election and remain as their representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We stand by our firm belief that our employees should always have a voice — whether that’s in choosing to be represented by a union or choosing to no longer be,” an REI spokesperson said. “Our focus remains on supporting every employee and building a workplace where people are heard, valued, and proud to be part of the co-op.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The labor conflict comes as President Donald Trump left the five-member NLRB without a quorum to issue final decisions on cases where employers and unions are accused of illegal labor practices by removing a Democratic board member and failing to fill two other board vacancies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034478/federal-workers-fired-thousands-california-wants-hire-them\">moved to mass fire federal employees\u003c/a> and invalidate labor contracts covering about a million government workers. Sharon Block, a former NLRB member during the Obama and Biden administrations, said that a growing culture in corporate America that determines it makes business sense to flout labor laws is reinforced by the president’s actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033581\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033581\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-08-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hiking and camping books in Michael Robin’s home in Oakland on March 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s an incredibly hard time for working people,” said Block, who directs Harvard Law School’s Center for Labor and a Just Economy. “We’re seeing these assaults, not just on their collective bargaining rights, but some of the basic labor standards that sort of undergird decent work in this country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>REI was founded in 1938 as a consumer cooperative by mountaineering friends in Seattle to purchase quality outdoor gear at better prices. The company has since grown to employ more than 15,000 people at 185 stores in the U.S., generating \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-co-op-releases-2023-impact-report-and-financials-reporting-3-76-billion-in-revenue\">$3.76 billion\u003c/a> in net sales in 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>REI issues discounts and other perks to its 24 million members, who pay $30 for a lifetime membership. The co-op has been beloved for its mission to expand access to the outdoors, \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-cooperative-action-fund-announces-fall-grantees\">funneling\u003c/a> millions of dollars per year to nonprofits, and its reputation as a \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-co-op-makes-fortune-100-best-companies-to-work-for-list-for-21st-consecutive-year\">great place to work\u003c/a>. However, observers said that, as a business, it must also navigate intense pressures from Amazon and big-box competitors such as Walmart and Target. In recent years, the company has laid off \u003ca href=\"https://www.king5.com/article/money/business/rei-layoffs-over-400-employees/281-d8ade65f-a005-4341-9603-8888bffec215\">hundreds of employees\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The co-op is a really special place, one that is focused on serving not just our employees, members and customers, but on supporting the outdoor community and organizations that foster outdoor equity,” Carr, REI’s board chair and a former Starbucks and ExxonMobil executive, said in \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/about-rei/board-of-directors\">a video\u003c/a>. “I’m eager to help evolve our products and services to help us reach more future members.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employees like Jules Geritz, who has worked at the Berkeley store for nearly 12 years, said the company’s fierce pushback to the union and delays to a first contract have been stressful for workers, making some afraid of retaliation if they speak up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033590\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033590\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-07-KQED-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Robin’s hiking poles and backpack in his home in Oakland on March 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s something that is frankly gross about proselytizing those sorts of values while restricting and doing everything you can to stand against employees who truly mean well and care about the company,” said Geritz, 41, a senior sales specialist. “It was definitely a rude awakening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Berkeley store, 76 non-management employees make an average of $24.25 an hour, slightly higher than at other retailers. Wage increases are important, but workers’ top demands focus on having enough available hours to qualify for company benefits, according to union representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many employees juggle two jobs or go to school, making a more regular work schedule a priority to help them plan ahead. Others are calling for improvements to ensure fair discipline and promotions, and a greater voice in safety issues, such as warehouse shoe boxes that employees said have fallen from stacks on several coworkers’ heads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are not asking for anything crazy,” Robin, 67, said at his one-story home in Oakland, where shelves display hiking guidebooks along with Joni Mitchell and jazz CDs. Stacks of posters with green letters reading “Fair Contract Now” lay on top of boxes near his dining table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Holding REI to its own values is one of the things people are asking for, helping us grow and helping us get outdoors,” said Robin, who shopped at REI for decades before working for the company. “When I don’t have either enough vacation time or can’t afford to go spend a week at a national park, it’s like, ‘Well, how can I go and live the life outdoors if I’m selling all this stuff, but I can’t go do it?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033579\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033579\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250328-REI-LABOR-DISPUTE-MD-06-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Robin handles a stack of pro-union posters in his home in Oakland on March 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Robin said that he has lost more than $3,000 in income from missed REI bonuses and wage increases, at a time when he’s working to save for retirement. His wife is currently unemployed, and the couple dipped into savings to pay for necessary home repairs, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Down to one income, and a not very large income working in retail, is a strain,” he said. “I need my savings. I need retirement income.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robin and Geritz said they feel hopeful after the company recently withdrew its endorsement of Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior this month, following member protests. CEO Laughton said the co-op erred by signing onto an outdoor-recreation industry group \u003ca href=\"https://recreationroundtable.org/news/outdoor-recreation-roundtable-supports-nomination-of-governor-doug-burgum-for-secretary-of-the-interior/\">letter\u003c/a> backing former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum in January. Burgum has since fired more than 1,000 park rangers and other employees and moved to open federally managed lands to oil drilling and coal mining.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many of you shared your disappointment and your frustration with that decision, and I hear you. Let me be clear, signing that letter was a mistake,” Laughton, who began her term on March 31, said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIO150OpLsE/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">video\u003c/a>. “I’m here today to apologize to our members on behalf of REI, to retract our endorsement of Doug Burgum and to take full accountability for how we move forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union workers are intensifying their efforts to engage customers and the public to pressure the co-op to change course. They are urging REI members, who can elect the company’s board of directors, to reject all candidates by voting “withhold” in elections that end on May 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley store workers are also organizing a community hearing, highlighting workers’ testimony, on Saturday, which East Bay Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-CA-12, is planning to attend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to see that follow-through at REI,” Simon, one of dozens of congressional members who signed \u003ca href=\"https://budzinski.house.gov/posts/budzinski-calls-on-rei-to-bargain-in-good-faith-with-workers\">a letter \u003c/a>calling on the outdoor retailer to negotiate in good faith, said in a statement. “I am committed to ensuring workers at the Berkeley REI and across California’s 12th Congressional District are supported and have the right to unionize.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Student Visa Cancellations From UC Berkeley and Beyond Could Hurt US Innovation",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/04/21/student-visa-cancellations-could-hurt-future-innovation\">\u003cem>originally aired on Marketplace\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> on April 21.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/international-student-f1-visa-revoked-college-f12320b435b6bf9cf723f1e8eb8c67ae\">According to the Associated Press\u003c/a>, over the past few weeks, the Donald Trump administration has revoked the visas or legal status of more than 1,000 international students, both undergraduate and graduate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some were involved in protests over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The rationale for canceling the visas of many others remains unclear. Colleges across the country say that they often receive no warning from the federal government before a visa is revoked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over 1 million international students studied in the U.S. last year. After earning their degree, many international students \u003ca href=\"https://www.marketplace.org/story/2024/11/19/international-students-contribute-record-amount-to-u-s-economy\">enter the U.S. labor force\u003c/a>, filling high-demand jobs in technology, business and engineering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside International House, the dormitory for international students at the University of California, Berkeley, you could feel some of the anxiety. At least 23 of the university’s international students \u003ca href=\"https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/live-visa-termination-count-continues-to-rise-at-uc-berkeley/article_111b0f5a-3aee-4189-97c7-23bd10002b64.html\">have had their legal status revoked\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was hard to get anyone to talk. An American stranger asking foreign students where they’re from and what they’re studying — nowadays, that raises eyebrows. One Chinese student asked if I was actually an undercover agent from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12030408\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12030408\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A march through the UC Berkeley campus in association with the national Stand Up for Science day of action in Berkeley on March 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One current international student agreed to an interview. We’re not using his real name or where he’s from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>”You know, with all of these people disappearing and all of that jazz, like, if I say something bad, it feels like, in this country, like if you criticize the government, you disappear as a guest,” he said. “So I wouldn’t want my name to be on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s getting his Ph.D. in chemistry. And because Berkeley has \u003ca href=\"https://chemistry.berkeley.edu/rankings\">the No. 1 chemistry graduate program in the country\u003c/a>, once he’s done, he’ll likely get plenty of lucrative offers from big American biotech companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he’s not sure he wants to stay in the U.S. That’s partly because he just prefers home, but also because he’s not sure how welcome he is here.[aside postID=news_12036406 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250417-HIGHEREDPROTESTS-08-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg']”When you see an administration doing what they’re doing, and it’s like, yeah, then it’s like I’m not interested. If you don’t want me here, then I don’t want to be here,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hany Farid, a UC Berkeley computer science and School of Information professor, worries about the chilling effect the visa cancellations may have on future international enrollment, especially in science and engineering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we are doing in this country now is going to be a generational-long impact,” Farid said. “You are creating a multi-multi-multi-year impact on science and discovery and innovation that will cripple the U.S. 10 years, 20 years, 30 years down the line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20223/international-s-e-higher-education\">According to the National Science Board\u003c/a>, student visa holders earn more than half of the Ph.D.s in computer science, engineering, math and statistics at U.S. universities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farid specializes in digital forensics. His graduate students work on technology to tell whether an image or video has been manipulated with artificial intelligence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said most of the graduate students he’s worked with come from abroad, and after completing the program, most work in the U.S. In the past, they would commonly be hired by the U.S. government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So now, under this administration, why would anybody go look at the government? I certainly wouldn’t recommend it,” Farid said. “The appetite will be zero.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has said it is targeting international students who have disrupted universities during protests or engaged in illegal activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037133\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12037133 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Faculty, students and supporters gather in Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley, on March 19, 2025, to protest the Trump administration’s scrutiny of campus protests and curriculum nationwide. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“No one’s entitled to a student visa,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this month at a press briefing after a Cabinet meeting. “The press covers student visas like they’re some sort of birthright. No. A student visa’s like me inviting you into my home. If you come into my home and put all types of crap on my couch, I’m going to kick you out of my house.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the administration on behalf of affected international students, citing a lack of due process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back at UC Berkeley’s International House, that Ph.D. chemistry student said that beyond the visa cancellations, the U.S. just makes it tough for high-skilled immigrants to stay here and work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very funny, right?” he said. “Because inherently, America is built on migration. A lot of the people who have come here and changed the game weren’t American beforehand. So why are we making it difficult for people to stay?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the money he might make in the U.S. will be hard to turn down. But he’s interested in how much Canadian companies would offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/04/21/student-visa-cancellations-could-hurt-future-innovation\">\u003cem>originally aired on Marketplace\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> on April 21.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/international-student-f1-visa-revoked-college-f12320b435b6bf9cf723f1e8eb8c67ae\">According to the Associated Press\u003c/a>, over the past few weeks, the Donald Trump administration has revoked the visas or legal status of more than 1,000 international students, both undergraduate and graduate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some were involved in protests over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The rationale for canceling the visas of many others remains unclear. Colleges across the country say that they often receive no warning from the federal government before a visa is revoked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over 1 million international students studied in the U.S. last year. After earning their degree, many international students \u003ca href=\"https://www.marketplace.org/story/2024/11/19/international-students-contribute-record-amount-to-u-s-economy\">enter the U.S. labor force\u003c/a>, filling high-demand jobs in technology, business and engineering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside International House, the dormitory for international students at the University of California, Berkeley, you could feel some of the anxiety. At least 23 of the university’s international students \u003ca href=\"https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/live-visa-termination-count-continues-to-rise-at-uc-berkeley/article_111b0f5a-3aee-4189-97c7-23bd10002b64.html\">have had their legal status revoked\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was hard to get anyone to talk. An American stranger asking foreign students where they’re from and what they’re studying — nowadays, that raises eyebrows. One Chinese student asked if I was actually an undercover agent from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12030408\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12030408\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-08-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A march through the UC Berkeley campus in association with the national Stand Up for Science day of action in Berkeley on March 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One current international student agreed to an interview. We’re not using his real name or where he’s from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>”You know, with all of these people disappearing and all of that jazz, like, if I say something bad, it feels like, in this country, like if you criticize the government, you disappear as a guest,” he said. “So I wouldn’t want my name to be on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s getting his Ph.D. in chemistry. And because Berkeley has \u003ca href=\"https://chemistry.berkeley.edu/rankings\">the No. 1 chemistry graduate program in the country\u003c/a>, once he’s done, he’ll likely get plenty of lucrative offers from big American biotech companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he’s not sure he wants to stay in the U.S. That’s partly because he just prefers home, but also because he’s not sure how welcome he is here.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>”When you see an administration doing what they’re doing, and it’s like, yeah, then it’s like I’m not interested. If you don’t want me here, then I don’t want to be here,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hany Farid, a UC Berkeley computer science and School of Information professor, worries about the chilling effect the visa cancellations may have on future international enrollment, especially in science and engineering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we are doing in this country now is going to be a generational-long impact,” Farid said. “You are creating a multi-multi-multi-year impact on science and discovery and innovation that will cripple the U.S. 10 years, 20 years, 30 years down the line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20223/international-s-e-higher-education\">According to the National Science Board\u003c/a>, student visa holders earn more than half of the Ph.D.s in computer science, engineering, math and statistics at U.S. universities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farid specializes in digital forensics. His graduate students work on technology to tell whether an image or video has been manipulated with artificial intelligence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said most of the graduate students he’s worked with come from abroad, and after completing the program, most work in the U.S. In the past, they would commonly be hired by the U.S. government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So now, under this administration, why would anybody go look at the government? I certainly wouldn’t recommend it,” Farid said. “The appetite will be zero.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has said it is targeting international students who have disrupted universities during protests or engaged in illegal activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037133\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12037133 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250319-UCBerkeleyProtest-03-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Faculty, students and supporters gather in Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley, on March 19, 2025, to protest the Trump administration’s scrutiny of campus protests and curriculum nationwide. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“No one’s entitled to a student visa,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this month at a press briefing after a Cabinet meeting. “The press covers student visas like they’re some sort of birthright. No. A student visa’s like me inviting you into my home. If you come into my home and put all types of crap on my couch, I’m going to kick you out of my house.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the administration on behalf of affected international students, citing a lack of due process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back at UC Berkeley’s International House, that Ph.D. chemistry student said that beyond the visa cancellations, the U.S. just makes it tough for high-skilled immigrants to stay here and work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very funny, right?” he said. “Because inherently, America is built on migration. A lot of the people who have come here and changed the game weren’t American beforehand. So why are we making it difficult for people to stay?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the money he might make in the U.S. will be hard to turn down. But he’s interested in how much Canadian companies would offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Berkeley’s City Council approved updates to a policy this week intended to slash planet-warming pollution that comes from buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If homes do not meet certain efficiency requirements at the time of sale, outgoing and incoming homeowners put money toward upgrades like swapping out a gas furnace for an electric heat pump, adding insulation, or installing solar panels. The buyer is then tasked with completing upgrades and will be reimbursed for those funds once complete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just really proud of our city council for being able to make this decision,” Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii said. “The goal at the end of the day is that people are able to make the changes to their homes that will make them more climate-friendly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ordinance is intended not only to reduce gases that heat the climate, but also those that pollute indoor spaces. A move toward greater efficiency can also reduce energy bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The policy will apply to one- to four-unit homes, of which there are roughly 29,000 in Berkeley, according to the city. City representatives said about 700 are sold each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No one’s done something quite like this before,” said Ammon Reagan, sustainability program coordinator for the city of Berkeley. Reagan, along with others in the building efficiency space, called the policy a “first-of-its-kind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The time of sale is a great trigger point because many homes complete upgrades when a home sells,” Reagan, who manages the building emission savings ordinance, said. “And we want to ensure that those renovations include resilience measures and electric systems because those systems will be in their home for another 15–20 years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen the effects of climate change, and our homes need to be more resilient in order to weather future climate events,” Reagan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The policy amends the current Building Emissions Saving \u003ca href=\"https://berkeleyca.gov/construction-development/green-building/building-emissions-saving-ordinance-beso\">Ordinance\u003c/a>, which asked homeowners to make energy-efficiency upgrades on a voluntary basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12035866 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-04-KQED-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-04-15%20Item%2001%20Proposed%20Amendments%20to%20the%20Building%20Emissions.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new code (PDF)\u003c/a> requires upgrades, which can be done up to five years prior to a sale. Homeowners can choose from a variety of upgrades to a home, or instead make a $2,500 deposit that will be held in escrow. If that happens, the buyer must match that $2,500 deposit and then use those funds to improve their building’s efficiency. If they fail to do so within two years, the money will be used by the city for low-income electrification programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cheapest, simplest way to comply would be to install a heat pump water heater, according to the city, which estimated the average cost to do so in Alameda County is $6,700–$7,900. There are also tax credits and rebates to bring down this price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are exemptions for first-time homebuyers that meet certain income qualifications, condominiums and accessory dwelling units, and homes that already show high energy efficiency, like if the home already has a heat pump system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City representatives said the measure is intended to help Berkeley homeowners prepare for new requirements from the Bay Area Air District, which will prohibit the sale and installation of gas-powered water heaters and furnaces starting in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rules will begin on Jan. 1, 2026, for one- and two-unit residential buildings and in 2028 for three- and four-unit buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Berkeley’s City Council approved updates to a policy this week intended to slash planet-warming pollution that comes from buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If homes do not meet certain efficiency requirements at the time of sale, outgoing and incoming homeowners put money toward upgrades like swapping out a gas furnace for an electric heat pump, adding insulation, or installing solar panels. The buyer is then tasked with completing upgrades and will be reimbursed for those funds once complete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just really proud of our city council for being able to make this decision,” Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii said. “The goal at the end of the day is that people are able to make the changes to their homes that will make them more climate-friendly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ordinance is intended not only to reduce gases that heat the climate, but also those that pollute indoor spaces. A move toward greater efficiency can also reduce energy bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The policy will apply to one- to four-unit homes, of which there are roughly 29,000 in Berkeley, according to the city. City representatives said about 700 are sold each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No one’s done something quite like this before,” said Ammon Reagan, sustainability program coordinator for the city of Berkeley. Reagan, along with others in the building efficiency space, called the policy a “first-of-its-kind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The time of sale is a great trigger point because many homes complete upgrades when a home sells,” Reagan, who manages the building emission savings ordinance, said. “And we want to ensure that those renovations include resilience measures and electric systems because those systems will be in their home for another 15–20 years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen the effects of climate change, and our homes need to be more resilient in order to weather future climate events,” Reagan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The policy amends the current Building Emissions Saving \u003ca href=\"https://berkeleyca.gov/construction-development/green-building/building-emissions-saving-ordinance-beso\">Ordinance\u003c/a>, which asked homeowners to make energy-efficiency upgrades on a voluntary basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-04-15%20Item%2001%20Proposed%20Amendments%20to%20the%20Building%20Emissions.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new code (PDF)\u003c/a> requires upgrades, which can be done up to five years prior to a sale. Homeowners can choose from a variety of upgrades to a home, or instead make a $2,500 deposit that will be held in escrow. If that happens, the buyer must match that $2,500 deposit and then use those funds to improve their building’s efficiency. If they fail to do so within two years, the money will be used by the city for low-income electrification programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cheapest, simplest way to comply would be to install a heat pump water heater, according to the city, which estimated the average cost to do so in Alameda County is $6,700–$7,900. There are also tax credits and rebates to bring down this price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are exemptions for first-time homebuyers that meet certain income qualifications, condominiums and accessory dwelling units, and homes that already show high energy efficiency, like if the home already has a heat pump system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City representatives said the measure is intended to help Berkeley homeowners prepare for new requirements from the Bay Area Air District, which will prohibit the sale and installation of gas-powered water heaters and furnaces starting in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rules will begin on Jan. 1, 2026, for one- and two-unit residential buildings and in 2028 for three- and four-unit buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated at 4:15 p.m. April 16\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> City Council unanimously approved a proposal Tuesday night to require a 5-foot buffer zone around houses, decks and outbuildings in a section of the Berkeley Hills with the highest wildfire risk — making it one of the first cities in the state to adopt such stringent landscaping rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the council signs off on the second and final reading of the ordinance next month, which is all be assured, some 900 hundred homes in neighborhoods bordering Tilden Regional Park will have to remove nearly all vegetation and other flammable materials from their immediate perimeters by January, when the new rules take effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contrary to the expectations of many observers — this reporter included — the meeting remained largely positive and non-confrontational, with most public commenters voicing support for the proposed rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under what’s known as the \u003ca href=\"https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/city-council-meetings/2025-04-15%20Special%20Agenda%20Packet%20-%20Council%20-%20WEB.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EMBER proposal\u003c/a>, drafted by the city’s fire department, Berkeley would change its fire code to require residents living in areas with the highest fire risk to remove most vegetation within 5 feet of their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed rules, prompted by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eaton-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">catastrophic fires\u003c/a> in Los Angeles in January, would initially apply to homes mostly between Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Wildcat Canyon Road, as well as the Panoramic Hill neighborhood. The rules would also likely extend in the coming year to adjacent neighborhoods a bit further down the hill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters argue the 5-foot buffer zone — referred to as “zone zero” — is essential to help prevent embers from igniting homes during the kind of wind-driven wildfires that incinerated LA’s Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to prevent the embers that fly out in these ember storms from igniting anything near your house that will then catch the house on fire and create a structure-to-structure fire,” said Brent Blackaby, a Berkeley City Council member who worked closely with the city’s fire department on the ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He noted that wildfire danger in the area has grown dramatically in recent decades amid a longer, hotter dry season and the rapid accumulation of fuels in the neighboring forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12036096\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12036096 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley City Councilmember Brent Blackaby in front of Berkeley City Hall on April 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The reality has changed,” Blackaby told KQED. “The facts of where we are in terms of climate change are not going to change. The only thing that can change is our response and our preparedness to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest version of the proposal, introduced last week, would also require homeowners in the area to remove all combustible materials within zone zero, including wood or vinyl fences, playsets, trellises, trash bins and attached window boxes. Trees in the zone would also have to be torn out unless they are taller than the house and their lowest branches are at least 10 feet above the roof.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Fire Chief David Sprague called the proposal a science-based, “holistic community” approach to reducing the risk of wind-blown embers igniting combustible material.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When those receptive fuel beds have connectivity to a structure, the structure is far more likely to burn,” he said in a statement to KQED, citing separate \u003ca href=\"https://ibhs.org/wildfire/near-building-noncombustible-zone/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wildfire-mitigation studies.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12036033\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12036033\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2-800x554.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2-1020x707.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2-160x111.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2-1536x1064.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2-1920x1331.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Under proposed fire safety rules, about 900 homes in Berkeley Hills’ highest fire risk zone (shown in red) would be required to clear most vegetation within 5 feet of their structures. The regulations are set to take effect in January, with similar measures expected for adjacent zones in the future. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the city of Berkeley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-02-11%20Special%20Item%2001a%20Effective%20Mitigations%20for%20Berkeley%E2%80%99s%20Ember%20-%20Fire%20Code.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">previous draft \u003c/a>(PDF) of the proposal, Sprague said the city had “a moral imperative to shift our focus away from only the response,” noting that the hills around Berkeley experience a “significant wildfire” about once every 20 years — and are well past due for another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is time to voraciously engage with what we know will save homes and lives,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed new rules would go into effect next January, with the city offering some financial and physical assistance to help lower-income residents comply, Blackaby added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The great part is if we pass this here, we’ve got at least six months of preparation time and ramp-up time until the new standards officially go into place. I think of this more about providing lots of carrots as opposed to sticks,” he said. “Yes, there will be enforcement … yes, there will be fines. But my hope is that we don’t get to that point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that comes as cold comfort to some residents in the high-risk zone, many of whom have lived there for decades and lovingly nurtured the bougainvillea vines, camellia trees and other foliage that fringe the homes of their leafy, affluent neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12036044\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12036044\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Homes in the Berkeley Hills on April 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ruth Langridge was among the slew of residents who wrote letters to the City Council opposing the proposal. The focus, she argued, should be on “not letting the fire happen in the first place” through better fire management in Tilden and more brush removal near power lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If my wonderful pear tree remains in zone 0 and next to a stucco wall (a tree that I have nurtured for over 20 years and supplies me with abundant delicious pears each year), it will not be the cause of my house burning down in a fire,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Janice Thomas, vice president of the Panoramic Hill Association, said the proposal was developed without adequate public input and goes well beyond what’s required in the state fire code.[aside postID=news_12035344 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250408-CAL-TECH-TESTING-113-ZS-KQED-1020x680.jpg']“This is really extreme,” she told KQED, arguing that stripping out vegetation in the 5-foot zone would also create serious drainage issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a hillside neighborhood. And if you have no vegetation 5 feet from the house, there’s a real concern about where that water will go and how it flows and what you have to do to capture it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, Cindy Rosenthal, who lives in nearby Park Hills and is president of its neighborhood association, said she supports the proposal because the situation calls for collective action, no matter how unpleasant that may be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality is that we can do everything possible to try to protect our homes, but if our neighbors are not also doing the things that they need to do to mitigate risk, then no one is safe,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Henry DeNero, president of the Berkeley FireSafe Council, whose group has agreed to help some residents remove their plants, said the proposed rules are essential first steps in a longer series of actions to manage vegetation and harden homes in the highest-risk neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12036042\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12036042 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A home in the Berkeley Hills on April 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“One of the number one causes of a structure igniting is vegetation burning right next to the structure that eventually ignites the structure,” said DeNero, who lives in the hills just below the targeted zone. “It’s the most important element to prevent houses from igniting in an ember storm, which is what happened in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And regardless, DeNero added, insurance companies may soon insist that homeowners do it anyway if they want to keep their policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s highly likely that these measures will be required in order to maintain your insurance in the near future,” he said. “That’s one of the things I think people aren’t thinking about. The Berkeley Fire Department’s trying to get out ahead of this, and I applaud them for that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackaby is hardly surprised by the opposition the proposal has generated, particularly in a city where many residents are \u003ca href=\"https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/08/08/yimby-bay-area-housing-regulations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">passionate about their flora\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, look, this is a hard ask. I get it,” he said. “I’ve lived in the same home for 20 years. I’m in this zone, so I’ll have to be doing the same kind of defensible space work around my home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes, change is hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/skennedy?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACreV8g5aIxmhJvUk7AZMatAGIv0X&gclid=Cj0KCQjwh_i_BhCzARIsANimeoHs2shckqVFGJjLR4jomGmlKiW5KGyHTMdNCkarfqkuvYswkpL5UcsaAvLBEALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Samantha Kennedy\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The proposal, prompted by January’s catastrophic fires in Los Angeles, won unanimous support Tuesday night and will initially apply to about 900 homes near Tilden Regional Park — pending final approval next month.",
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"title": "Berkeley Moves to Require Vegetation Removal Near Homes in Fire Zones | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated at 4:15 p.m. April 16\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> City Council unanimously approved a proposal Tuesday night to require a 5-foot buffer zone around houses, decks and outbuildings in a section of the Berkeley Hills with the highest wildfire risk — making it one of the first cities in the state to adopt such stringent landscaping rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the council signs off on the second and final reading of the ordinance next month, which is all be assured, some 900 hundred homes in neighborhoods bordering Tilden Regional Park will have to remove nearly all vegetation and other flammable materials from their immediate perimeters by January, when the new rules take effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contrary to the expectations of many observers — this reporter included — the meeting remained largely positive and non-confrontational, with most public commenters voicing support for the proposed rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under what’s known as the \u003ca href=\"https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/city-council-meetings/2025-04-15%20Special%20Agenda%20Packet%20-%20Council%20-%20WEB.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EMBER proposal\u003c/a>, drafted by the city’s fire department, Berkeley would change its fire code to require residents living in areas with the highest fire risk to remove most vegetation within 5 feet of their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed rules, prompted by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eaton-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">catastrophic fires\u003c/a> in Los Angeles in January, would initially apply to homes mostly between Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Wildcat Canyon Road, as well as the Panoramic Hill neighborhood. The rules would also likely extend in the coming year to adjacent neighborhoods a bit further down the hill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters argue the 5-foot buffer zone — referred to as “zone zero” — is essential to help prevent embers from igniting homes during the kind of wind-driven wildfires that incinerated LA’s Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to prevent the embers that fly out in these ember storms from igniting anything near your house that will then catch the house on fire and create a structure-to-structure fire,” said Brent Blackaby, a Berkeley City Council member who worked closely with the city’s fire department on the ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He noted that wildfire danger in the area has grown dramatically in recent decades amid a longer, hotter dry season and the rapid accumulation of fuels in the neighboring forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12036096\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12036096 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-01-KQED-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley City Councilmember Brent Blackaby in front of Berkeley City Hall on April 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The reality has changed,” Blackaby told KQED. “The facts of where we are in terms of climate change are not going to change. The only thing that can change is our response and our preparedness to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest version of the proposal, introduced last week, would also require homeowners in the area to remove all combustible materials within zone zero, including wood or vinyl fences, playsets, trellises, trash bins and attached window boxes. Trees in the zone would also have to be torn out unless they are taller than the house and their lowest branches are at least 10 feet above the roof.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Fire Chief David Sprague called the proposal a science-based, “holistic community” approach to reducing the risk of wind-blown embers igniting combustible material.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When those receptive fuel beds have connectivity to a structure, the structure is far more likely to burn,” he said in a statement to KQED, citing separate \u003ca href=\"https://ibhs.org/wildfire/near-building-noncombustible-zone/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wildfire-mitigation studies.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12036033\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12036033\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2-800x554.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2-1020x707.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2-160x111.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2-1536x1064.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Fire-map-2-1920x1331.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Under proposed fire safety rules, about 900 homes in Berkeley Hills’ highest fire risk zone (shown in red) would be required to clear most vegetation within 5 feet of their structures. The regulations are set to take effect in January, with similar measures expected for adjacent zones in the future. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the city of Berkeley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-02-11%20Special%20Item%2001a%20Effective%20Mitigations%20for%20Berkeley%E2%80%99s%20Ember%20-%20Fire%20Code.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">previous draft \u003c/a>(PDF) of the proposal, Sprague said the city had “a moral imperative to shift our focus away from only the response,” noting that the hills around Berkeley experience a “significant wildfire” about once every 20 years — and are well past due for another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is time to voraciously engage with what we know will save homes and lives,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed new rules would go into effect next January, with the city offering some financial and physical assistance to help lower-income residents comply, Blackaby added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The great part is if we pass this here, we’ve got at least six months of preparation time and ramp-up time until the new standards officially go into place. I think of this more about providing lots of carrots as opposed to sticks,” he said. “Yes, there will be enforcement … yes, there will be fines. But my hope is that we don’t get to that point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that comes as cold comfort to some residents in the high-risk zone, many of whom have lived there for decades and lovingly nurtured the bougainvillea vines, camellia trees and other foliage that fringe the homes of their leafy, affluent neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12036044\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12036044\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-05-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Homes in the Berkeley Hills on April 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ruth Langridge was among the slew of residents who wrote letters to the City Council opposing the proposal. The focus, she argued, should be on “not letting the fire happen in the first place” through better fire management in Tilden and more brush removal near power lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If my wonderful pear tree remains in zone 0 and next to a stucco wall (a tree that I have nurtured for over 20 years and supplies me with abundant delicious pears each year), it will not be the cause of my house burning down in a fire,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Janice Thomas, vice president of the Panoramic Hill Association, said the proposal was developed without adequate public input and goes well beyond what’s required in the state fire code.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“This is really extreme,” she told KQED, arguing that stripping out vegetation in the 5-foot zone would also create serious drainage issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a hillside neighborhood. And if you have no vegetation 5 feet from the house, there’s a real concern about where that water will go and how it flows and what you have to do to capture it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, Cindy Rosenthal, who lives in nearby Park Hills and is president of its neighborhood association, said she supports the proposal because the situation calls for collective action, no matter how unpleasant that may be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality is that we can do everything possible to try to protect our homes, but if our neighbors are not also doing the things that they need to do to mitigate risk, then no one is safe,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Henry DeNero, president of the Berkeley FireSafe Council, whose group has agreed to help some residents remove their plants, said the proposed rules are essential first steps in a longer series of actions to manage vegetation and harden homes in the highest-risk neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12036042\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12036042 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250415-BERKELEY-PLANTS-MD-03-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A home in the Berkeley Hills on April 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“One of the number one causes of a structure igniting is vegetation burning right next to the structure that eventually ignites the structure,” said DeNero, who lives in the hills just below the targeted zone. “It’s the most important element to prevent houses from igniting in an ember storm, which is what happened in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And regardless, DeNero added, insurance companies may soon insist that homeowners do it anyway if they want to keep their policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s highly likely that these measures will be required in order to maintain your insurance in the near future,” he said. “That’s one of the things I think people aren’t thinking about. The Berkeley Fire Department’s trying to get out ahead of this, and I applaud them for that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackaby is hardly surprised by the opposition the proposal has generated, particularly in a city where many residents are \u003ca href=\"https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/08/08/yimby-bay-area-housing-regulations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">passionate about their flora\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, look, this is a hard ask. I get it,” he said. “I’ve lived in the same home for 20 years. I’m in this zone, so I’ll have to be doing the same kind of defensible space work around my home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes, change is hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/skennedy?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACreV8g5aIxmhJvUk7AZMatAGIv0X&gclid=Cj0KCQjwh_i_BhCzARIsANimeoHs2shckqVFGJjLR4jomGmlKiW5KGyHTMdNCkarfqkuvYswkpL5UcsaAvLBEALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Samantha Kennedy\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "As Trump Targets Schools for Deportation Sweeps, Undocumented UC Berkeley Students Call For More Support",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the top stories this morning for Friday, April 11th, 2025:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>President Trump says he will not limit the scope of his deportation efforts, going so far as to say \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-ice-raids-school-2d899678264f44fe1021847ee385fd15\">schools across the country will also be targeted\u003c/a> in sweeps and raids by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. That looming threat has undocumented students attending UC Berkeley calling on the university to issue a strong statement of support for them.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Santa Clara County’s District Attorney is moving forward with pressing charges against a dozen students that took part in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11984203/pro-palestinian-protests-sweep-california-college-campuses-amid-israel-hamas-war\">last year’s on-campus pro-Palestinian protests,\u003c/a> where demonstrators occupied the office of the campus resident. The Santa Clara DA alleges that the students are responsible for thousands of dollars in damages, and are facing felony vandalism and trespassing related charges.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The Trump Administration’s trade war with China is heating up, and that may not bode well for California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/11/trump-china-tariffs-california-farms\">agriculture businesses\u003c/a> in the Central Valley.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Undocumented UC Berkeley Students Want Same Support The School Showed in First Trump Term \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When President Trump was expressing his aspirations to deport undocumented immigrants from the US en masse \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11341338/how-trump-could-detain-more-immigrants-in-california\">during his first term\u003c/a>, UC Berkeley did not mince words about \u003ca href=\"https://news.berkeley.edu/2016/11/23/chancellors-message-support-for-undocumented-students/\">supporting its undocumented student\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the university has taken a \u003ca href=\"https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/frequently-asked-questions-university-employees-about-possible-federal-immigration-enforcement\">less conspicuous approach\u003c/a> to voicing its concern for potential raids on its campus. This comes as the Trump Administration has threatened to pull funding from UC Berkeley and other California universities over any policies it deems promotes DEI, as well as claims that school officials allowed antisemitism to run rampant because of last year’s pro-Palestinian protests. The threats sparked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032030/uc-berkeley-faculty-rally-to-defend-free-speech-and-protest-cuts\">faculty and student protests\u003c/a> against in February against the funding cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the new administration aims to ramp up immigration sweeps and target spaces that were once deemed sanctuaries for the undocumented, those students at UC Berkeley are asking university officials to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12024593/uc-berkeley-students-march-for-undocumented-classmates-say-school-isnt-doing-enough\">match the same energy it had in 2017\u003c/a> and take a stronger stance against the Trump Administration’s deportation policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>California’s Central Valley Could Become Collateral Damage in China-US Trade War Escalation\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>China has placed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/04/11/nx-s1-5361056/china-us-trade-war-tariffs-escalation\">125 percent tariff\u003c/a> on all US imports. It was a direct response to the Trump Administration calling for a 145 percent tariff to be placed on all Chinese imports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tit-for-tat has already shaken up some of California’s biggest industries, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034730/trump-tariffs-shake-world-economy-rattling-silicon-valley\">Silicon Valley\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/beijing-bites-back-us-tariffs-by-curbing-hollywood-imports-2025-04-10/\">Hollywood\u003c/a>, but the state’s agriculture sector is in flux over the tariff battle. \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-admin/post.php?post=12035610&action=edit&classic-editor\">Ag businesses in the Central Valley\u003c/a> are already lamenting how these tariffs will impact revenues.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "As Trump Targets Schools for Deportation Sweeps, Undocumented UC Berkeley Students Call For More Support | KQED",
"description": "Here are the top stories this morning for Friday, April 11th, 2025: President Trump says he will not limit the scope of his deportation efforts, going so far as to say schools across the country will also be targeted in sweeps and raids by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. That looming threat has undocumented students attending UC Berkeley calling on the university to issue a strong statement of support for them. Santa Clara County's District Attorney is moving forward with pressing charges against a dozen students that took part in last year's on-campus pro-Palestinian protests, where demonstrators occupied the office",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the top stories this morning for Friday, April 11th, 2025:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>President Trump says he will not limit the scope of his deportation efforts, going so far as to say \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-ice-raids-school-2d899678264f44fe1021847ee385fd15\">schools across the country will also be targeted\u003c/a> in sweeps and raids by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. That looming threat has undocumented students attending UC Berkeley calling on the university to issue a strong statement of support for them.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Santa Clara County’s District Attorney is moving forward with pressing charges against a dozen students that took part in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11984203/pro-palestinian-protests-sweep-california-college-campuses-amid-israel-hamas-war\">last year’s on-campus pro-Palestinian protests,\u003c/a> where demonstrators occupied the office of the campus resident. The Santa Clara DA alleges that the students are responsible for thousands of dollars in damages, and are facing felony vandalism and trespassing related charges.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The Trump Administration’s trade war with China is heating up, and that may not bode well for California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/11/trump-china-tariffs-california-farms\">agriculture businesses\u003c/a> in the Central Valley.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Undocumented UC Berkeley Students Want Same Support The School Showed in First Trump Term \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When President Trump was expressing his aspirations to deport undocumented immigrants from the US en masse \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11341338/how-trump-could-detain-more-immigrants-in-california\">during his first term\u003c/a>, UC Berkeley did not mince words about \u003ca href=\"https://news.berkeley.edu/2016/11/23/chancellors-message-support-for-undocumented-students/\">supporting its undocumented student\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the university has taken a \u003ca href=\"https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/frequently-asked-questions-university-employees-about-possible-federal-immigration-enforcement\">less conspicuous approach\u003c/a> to voicing its concern for potential raids on its campus. This comes as the Trump Administration has threatened to pull funding from UC Berkeley and other California universities over any policies it deems promotes DEI, as well as claims that school officials allowed antisemitism to run rampant because of last year’s pro-Palestinian protests. The threats sparked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032030/uc-berkeley-faculty-rally-to-defend-free-speech-and-protest-cuts\">faculty and student protests\u003c/a> against in February against the funding cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the new administration aims to ramp up immigration sweeps and target spaces that were once deemed sanctuaries for the undocumented, those students at UC Berkeley are asking university officials to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12024593/uc-berkeley-students-march-for-undocumented-classmates-say-school-isnt-doing-enough\">match the same energy it had in 2017\u003c/a> and take a stronger stance against the Trump Administration’s deportation policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>California’s Central Valley Could Become Collateral Damage in China-US Trade War Escalation\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>China has placed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/04/11/nx-s1-5361056/china-us-trade-war-tariffs-escalation\">125 percent tariff\u003c/a> on all US imports. It was a direct response to the Trump Administration calling for a 145 percent tariff to be placed on all Chinese imports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tit-for-tat has already shaken up some of California’s biggest industries, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034730/trump-tariffs-shake-world-economy-rattling-silicon-valley\">Silicon Valley\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/beijing-bites-back-us-tariffs-by-curbing-hollywood-imports-2025-04-10/\">Hollywood\u003c/a>, but the state’s agriculture sector is in flux over the tariff battle. \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-admin/post.php?post=12035610&action=edit&classic-editor\">Ag businesses in the Central Valley\u003c/a> are already lamenting how these tariffs will impact revenues.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "the-trashy-history-of-berkeleys-cesar-chavez-park",
"title": "The 'Trashy' History of Berkeley’s César Chávez Park",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#A\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious listener Tom Rauch grew up in Berkeley in the 1960s. Some of his most vivid memories from that time are of the old Berkeley dump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really was just this big, giant pit where you backed up your car, opened up your trunk and just shoveled whatever you had into this open pit,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousbug]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dump was located on Berkeley’s waterfront. Rauch remembers it as the Wild West. It smelled rank and was loud, with big bulldozers constantly shifting and compacting the garbage. Seagulls were ever-present, squawking above the roar of the machinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a little kid, of course, I was fascinated by this because there were all manner of things,” Rauch said. “There [were] refrigerators and lumber and whatever people didn’t want. It was just sitting right there, and the bulldozers would come and push it over.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fast forward to today, and the dump is long gone. In its place is César Chávez Park, a big grassy expanse with sweeping views of the entire bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rauch visits the park from time to time, and he recently started to wonder about the old dump. How did it go from a squalid mass of junk to a beautiful shoreline park where people go to walk their dogs, fly kites and have picnics?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Transition from dump to park\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The city of Berkeley operated the 90-acre landfill site from the mid-1950s until 1983, when it stopped receiving waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The site, like much of the bay’s shoreline, was \u003ca href=\"https://baynature.org/article/east-bay-shoreline-became-park-people/\">saved from development\u003c/a> thanks in large part to environmental activists like Sylvia McLaughlin, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991017/transcript-how-environmental-activism-that-saved-the-bay\">co-founder of what’s now known as Save the Bay.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City officials decided to turn the spit of land into a park. But to do that, they had to seal off the garbage to ensure nothing would leak out and contaminate the environment. They capped the landfill with soil and clay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12034169\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-800x1035.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12034169\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-800x1035.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1035\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-800x1035.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-1020x1320.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-160x207.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-1187x1536.jpg 1187w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-1583x2048.jpg 1583w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08.jpg 1700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley Landfill on May 3, 1979. \u003ccite>(Berkeley Landfill Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If you take a cross section of the park’s underground, you’d see a layer cake of soil and garbage: starting from the bottom, about four feet of garbage, two feet of clean soil, two feet of compacted clay and about a foot of topsoil on top of that, all capped with grass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means the garbage remains to this day. Those grassy, green hills you see when you visit the park? It’s just grass-covered garbage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that wasn’t always the plan for the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After it capped the dump, city officials started to think about how to landscape and develop the open space. Should it have tennis courts, a redwood tree grove, a playground?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They decided to solicit design proposals from landscape architects and eventually settled on a local designer named John Roberts. Roberts studied landscape architecture at UC Berkeley, where he graduated in 1974. \u003ca href=\"https://johnnorthmoreroberts.com/\">His firm focuses\u003c/a> on ecological and socially conscious landscape design. And he had all kinds of ideas for the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was collaborating with another consultant based in Seattle \u003ca href=\"https://www.tclf.org/pioneer/richard-haag\">named Richard Haag\u003c/a>, who had worked on landfill conversions before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What was revelatory to me was what Rich Haag had done in Seattle, which was to treat the landfill as a giant compost pile,” Roberts said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, instead of capping and forgetting about the garbage, they proposed digging it up, cleaning it up and encouraging it to break down naturally, with the help of the already-existing bacteria and microbes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027171\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027171\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Roberts, a landscape architect, walks through César Chávez Park on Feb. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The garbage is being cleaned up by the bugs that are here, and we could use that to our advantage,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roberts and his collaborators wanted to return the land to as close to its original form as they could before it was inundated with garbage. Their proposal included things like cultivating native plant species, dedicating space to wetland habitat and even building a beach where humans and animals could access the bay more easily.[aside postID=news_11799297 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/01/GettyImages-1583045-1020x687.jpg']Roberts spent seven years on the project. However, when it came time for approval, the city decided not to move forward with the proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They had a 57-word phrase that said how much they liked the plan and how it reflected all their values, but they couldn’t approve it,” Roberts said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal was bold and broke a lot of norms for landfill restoration. Roberts suspects it was too much of a hassle for the city and that money was probably a factor, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was extremely disappointed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t come out here for 15 years,” he said. “I could see what it could have been. It could have been something so much different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027173\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027173\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People walk through César Chávez Park on Feb. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Bumps in the road\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Leaving all that trash underground has led to some complications for the city of Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it breaks down, the garbage produces methane, which is a combustible gas. Leaving it there is dangerous, so instead, the city installed a series of underground pipes to collect the gas and send it to a flaring station, where it burns off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flaring station is located on the east side of the park, near the dog area. It’s a bit of an eyesore — and it can also be dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District has issued numerous notices of violation to the city of Berkeley over its management of the landfill flaring. Violations include missing gas collection wells, severe methane leaks and failure to continuously operate the system during power outages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027175\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027175\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Information about the former landfill at what is now César Chávez Park on Feb. 11, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last year, the air district \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/04/04/cesar-chavez-park-methane-gas-bay-area-air-quality-management-district\">fined the city $130,000\u003c/a> for air quality violations at César Chávez Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley city officials declined a request for an interview for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to air regulators, water regulators have also kept close tabs on the park. That’s after \u003ca href=\"https://documents.geotracker.waterboards.ca.gov/regulators/deliverable_documents/9874448478/Berkeley%20Landfill%2013267%20Letter%201-18-2024.pdf\">archival documents emerged (PDF)\u003c/a> showing that more than 11,000 tons of industrial waste believed to contain radioactive material was disposed of at the Berkeley dump in the 1960s and ’70s.[aside postID=news_11868474 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/04/Recology-bins-1020x574.jpg']It all started in May 2023, when Keith Roberson, who oversees landfills for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, was talking on the phone with a colleague at the EPA’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), which oversees hazardous waste sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My counterpart at DTSC mentioned, you know, ‘By the way, I have run across a document that I want to share with you that indicates that the Berkeley landfill apparently had accepted some material from a chemical plant in Richmond that was known as Stauffer Chemical,’” Roberson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water board immediately sent a letter to the city of Berkeley asking them to conduct radiation testing at the park, \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/09/11/radiation-testing-to-start-this-month-at-cesar-chavez-park\">which they did late last year\u003c/a>. With the help of UC Berkeley experts, the city attached a highly sensitive radiation sensor to a drone and flew it over the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s really no indication from the Gamma survey that there are any places on the surface of the Berkeley landfill that pose a threat to human health,” Roberson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the city also collected water samples during its survey, and those results showed elevated concentrations of radium-226 — a radioactive compound.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether or not that poses any threat to humans above the surface, we don’t think so,” Roberson said. “Does it pose a threat to water quality in the bay? We don’t think so. But we’re still in the process of analyzing that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027174\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A dog walker gives treats to a group of dogs at César Chávez Park on Feb. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Alternate uses for shuttered landfills\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>César Chávez Park isn’t the only former landfill-turned-beautiful park in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Albany Bulb, for example, used to be a dumping ground for construction debris. The Bulb was also recently tested for radiation, and levels there were also not dangerous to human health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.petaluma360.com/article/news/where-the-tails-are-wagging/\">Petaluma dog park\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Public-Works/Engineering-Services/Engineering-Projects/Byxbee-Park\">Byxbee Park\u003c/a> in Palo Alto, are also former dumps!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From the water board’s perspective, that’s probably our preferred usage,” Roberson said.[aside postID=news_11991017 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/GettyImages-492064784_qut-1020x665.jpg']Turning former landfills into open space is generally a low-risk use, said Roberson, especially compared to something like commercial development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, due to the high cost of land in the Bay Area, some cities are doing just that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city of Santa Clara, for example, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12016083/santa-clara-approves-major-housing-and-office-development-could-take-25-years-to-build\">approved a plan late last year\u003c/a> to put a shopping center, office space and even condominiums on a former landfill site near Levi’s Stadium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s more concerning, Roberson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Landfills contain organic material that’s decomposing,” he said. “So the landfill surface is subsiding, and it doesn’t subside evenly. Some parts may drop four feet, some parts may drop 12 feet. So you get this very uneven hummocky surface.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It takes a lot of additional planning to safely put a building on top of a former landfill, and even then, it’s risky — especially for the groundwater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not to mention, many former landfill sites in the Bay Area are located directly on the water line, which poses a risk as the climate changes and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12027540/land-sinking-fast-around-bay-area-worsening-effects-sea-level-rise\">sea levels rise\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027172\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027172\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A flare station in César Chávez Park on Feb. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A nostalgic place\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Tom Rauch, our question-asker, went on a walk at César Chávez Park recently. He wanted to refresh his memory of the place. It was a cold, rainy day. He said he was struck by how beautiful it looked and at the outstanding views of the San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there was something tugging at him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know we shouldn’t have this, but it would be so much fun if you could still drive your car to the mouth of this pit and just shovel away and have the seagulls and the bulldozers keeping you company.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A landfill right on the water isn’t a great idea these days, he gets that. But Rauch said he’s glad his memories remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of us who grew up in that Berkeley experience that are starting to remember fondly those kinds of Berkeley days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"A\">\u003c/a>Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Tom Rauch grew up in Berkeley in the 1960s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He has vivid memories of that time. His mom worked at UC Berkeley and his dad was a grad student there, so he and his brother spent many days riding their bikes around campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another memory he still thinks about to this day… one of his most vivid… is going to the Berkeley dump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tom Rauch: \u003c/strong>It really was just this big, giant pit where you backed up your car. You know, you turned around, you backed up your car, opened up your trunk and just shoveled whatever you had into this open pit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>It was on the west side of Berkeley, right on the water. It was like the Wild West. It smelled rank. It was loud, with big bull dozers shifting and compacting the garbage. And then there were the birds! Hundreds of sea gulls squawking above the roar of the machinery…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tom says back then, it seemed like the dump stretched for miles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tom Rauch: \u003c/strong>And as a little kid, of course, I was fascinated by this because there was all manner of things. You know, there’s refrigerators and lumber and whatever people didn’t want. It was just sitting right there and the bulldozers would come and, of course, you know, push it over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Now… fast forward to today… and the dump is long gone. In its place is Cesar Chavez park… a big grassy expanse with sweeping views of the entire bay. And Tom still visits! He goes once a month or so with his family… to walk around and take in the views. But he recently started to wonder about the old dump. Was it really the way he remembers it? How could it go from a squalid mass of junk… to this beautiful shoreline park, where people go to walk their dogs, fly kites and have picnics? So, he did some research. Or, he tried.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tom Rauch: \u003c/strong>There is a surprisingly almost nonexistent amount of information about it there. Really. I couldn’t, maybe there are, but I couldn’t find any images of it. I couldn’t find any kind of recollections of it, any historical documents associated with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>So, he did what any Bay Area resident does when they have questions they can’t find the answers to: He reached out to Bay Curious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Theme music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>I’m Olivia Allen-Price and on today’s episode of Bay Curious… how did Berkeley’s former landfill site become one of its most popular public parks? And what are some of the challenges of turning a big pile of trash into a recreational space? All that, after this break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor message\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>To uncover the mystery of the Berkeley dump we asked reporter Dana Cronin to see what she could dig up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> As a frequent visitor to Cesar Chavez park… I was excited about this one. I love taking my dog there to run the perimeter of the park. On a clear day, I don’t think there’s a better view of the Golden Gate Bridge. But… I was not around in the 1960s, and had no idea about the park’s former life as a landfill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, I called someone who does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> It was pretty thrilling to come down and just dump stuff out. And I don’t. You didn’t do it. I guess you were it before your time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana\u003c/strong> \u003cstrong>(laughing)\u003c/strong>: Yes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> This is John Roberts. He’s a landscape architect here in Berkeley. I meet him … surprise surprise… at Cesar Chavez park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Park sounds\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> It’s a slightly cool and breezy morning, and we’re sitting on a park bench overlooking the bay. Ground squirrels dart around us, birds fly overhead, and a sea lion pops its head out of the water. It’s beautiful out here. But, as John likes to remind me…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> This is garbage. We’re on our garbage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> And let me just say, talking with John has totally changed how I think about this park. Before I met him, I thought of it as a beautiful green park with great views. But John still sees it as a big pile of trash, covered in grass. He says it could have been so much more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Music\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> The Berkeley dump stopped receiving waste in the mid-80’s, and the city decided to landscape it and turn it into a park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To do that, they had to seal off the garbage… to prevent leakage and contamination. So, they trucked in a whole lot of soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> There’s a four foot cross section of garbage. Then there’s two feet of clean soil and two feet of compacted clay and a foot of a foot of topsoil on top of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> This layer cake of garbage and soil was capped with grass. And that’s pretty much how it looks to this day. Those rolling, green grassy hills? It’s all just grass-covered garbage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this wasn’t always the plan. After it capped the pile of trash, the city started to think about how to develop the space. Should it have tennis courts, a redwood tree grove, a playground?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city put out a call to landscape architects for design proposals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s where John comes in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> 1986 or ’87, something like that, there was a call for proposals and I was selected as the prime consultant\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> He had all kinds of ideas. He was working with another consultant based in Seattle, who had worked on landfills before. And he had the idea to treat this site like a big compost pile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, instead of capping and forgetting about the garbage… they would dig it up, clean it up, and encourage it to break down naturally… with the help of the already-existing bacteria and microbes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> The garbage is being cleaned up by the bugs that are here. And we could use that to our advantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Ultimately, John wanted to return this spit of land to its original form — before all the garbage. Or at least, as close as he could get.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The area used to be all marsh so John wanted to cultivate native plant species… dedicate space to wetland habitat… maybe even build a beach where humans and animals could access the bay more easily.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But… as you may have guessed by now… none of that stuff happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After spending about seven years on this project, the city of Berkeley decided NOT to move forward with John’s proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> They found a 57-word phrase that said how much they liked the plan and how it reflected all their values, but they couldn’t approve it.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> The proposal was bold and broke a lot of norms for landfill restoration. John says he thinks it was just too complicated and too much of a hassle for the city. He says money was probably a factor too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (to John in tape):\u003c/strong> How did it feel at that final vote when they endorsed but, you know, chose not to move forward with the project. How did you feel after having worked on it for so long?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> Disappointed. I didn’t come out here for 15 years, I could see what it could have been. It could have been something so much different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Had the city moved forward with John’s proposal, the park would look much different than it does today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also potentially could have saved the city of Berkeley from a lot of maintenance issues that have cropped up over the last several years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because, as it turns out, that decision to keep the garbage underground has led to some complications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First of all as it breaks down the garbage is producing methane. Methane is a combustible gas, so they can’t just leave it there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, they’ve put in a series of pipes underground to collect it. If you visit and look for them, you can see white access pipes sticking out of the ground every 200 feet or so throughout the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> So here we are. There’s a white pipe there. You see another white pipe over there, the white pipe sticking up all over the place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>All that methane is sent to a flaring station on the east side of the park, near the dog area, where it burns off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Flaring station ambi\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>The flaring station is a bit of an eyesore. And it can also be dangerous. Air regulators have issued numerous notices of violation to the city of Berkeley over its management of the landfill flaring. Violations include missing gas collection wells, severe methane leaks, and failure to continuously operate the system during power outages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year the air district fined the city 130-thousand dollars for air quality violations. I did reach out to Berkeley city officials for this story. They declined my request for an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Now, it’s not just air regulators that have been keeping a close eye on the park. Water regulators are too. Specifically this guy…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>Hi, my name is Keith Roberson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Keith works for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. He’s responsible for overseeing landfills — both active and closed — to ensure they’re not contaminating the bay. Two years ago, he started to worry about the old Berkeley dump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>In May of 2023, I was having a phone conversation with one of my colleagues at the DTSC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>DTSC is the Department of Toxic Substances Control. It’s a part of the EPA, and it’s in charge of landfills that house hazardous waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>My counterpart at DTSC mentioned, you know, by the way, I have run across a document that I want to share with you that indicates that the Berkeley landfill and the Albany landfill as well apparently had accepted some material from a chemical plant in Richmond that was known as Stauffer Chemical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Hazardous material, that is. This letter was from the 1980’s, from the Stauffer Chemical company… and indicated that waste from one of their pesticide manufacturing facilities had likely ended up at the Berkeley landfill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>That’s when we first learned that, you know, there was a possibility or a likelihood that the Berkeley and Albany landfills had accepted some radioactive material\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Stauffer processed aluminum ore in their pesticide production, and the type of ore they used contains some naturally occurring radioactive elements. And this changed everything. Prior to this letter, there hadn’t been any indication that the Berkeley landfill contained any hazardous material. This was a matter of public safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, Keith sent letters to both cities, asking them to do some radiation testing at their respective parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And late last year, Berkeley did just that. With the help of UC Berkeley experts, the city attached a highly sensitive radiation sensor to a drone, and flew it over the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, the results were in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>They did not find any spectral variation in the gamma signal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>In other words…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>There’s really no indication from the Gamma survey that there are any places on the surface of the Berkeley landfill that pose a threat to human health.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>So, that’s obviously a relief. But, the city also took some water samples during this survey. And Keith says, those results were a bit more concerning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>They did find elevated concentrations of radium 226 in their water samples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Radium 226 is a radioactive compound, which, with enough exposure, can cause cancer and even death in humans. But Keith says they didn’t detect concentrations that high at the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>Now, whether or not that poses any threat to humans above the surface, we don’t think so. Does it pose a threat to water quality in the bay? We don’t think so. But we’re still in the process of analyzing that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>But, Keith says, clearly there’s something buried in that pile of trash that’s starting to leak out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Now, Cesar Chavez park isn’t the only former landfill site-turned beautiful park in the Bay Area. The Albany Bulb — for example — used to be a landfill for construction debris. And, as Keith mentioned earlier, the Bulb was also tested for radiation. Luckily, levels there were also not dangerous to human health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Petaluma dog park… Byxbee Park in Palo Alto… all former dumps!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keith says yes, there are risks with turning a landfill into open space, but…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>From the water board’s perspective, that’s probably our preferred usage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>What’s more risky, he says, is trying to convert a former landfill site into, say, a commercial space. But, given the high value of land here in the Bay Area, some cities are doing just that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city of Santa Clara, for example, recently decided to move forward with a proposal to put a shopping center, office space and even condominiums on a former landfill site, near Levi’s Stadium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s a little more concerning, Keith says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>Landfills contain organic material that’s decomposing. So the landfill surface is subsiding and it doesn’t subside evenly. You know, some parts may drop four feet, some parts may drop 12ft. So you get this very uneven hummocky surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>He says it takes a lot of planning to put a building on top of a former landfill and, even then, it’s risky — especially for the groundwater. Also, a lot of these former landfill sites lie right on the water line, which poses a real risk with climate change and sea level rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Tom, our question-asker, went on a walk in Cesar Chavez park recently. He says he wanted to refresh his memory of the place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a cold and rainy day. He says he was struck by how beautiful it looked… and at the outstanding views of the San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tom Rauch:\u003c/strong> And at the same time, there was that little tug about, well, you know, I know we shouldn’t have this, but it would be so much fun if you could still drive your car to the mouth of this pit and just shovel away and have the seagulls and the bulldozers keeping you company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Tom says he gets that these days a landfill right on the water isn’t a great idea. And even though the Berkeley dump is long gone… his vivid memories of the smells, the sounds, the whole experience of the place… remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was KQED’s Dana Cronin. Thanks to Tom Rauch for asking this week’s question. You can check out what the old Berkeley dump used to look like by heading over to Baycurious.org. We’ve got archival photos and new ones too! And while you’re there, why not sign up for the Bay Curious newsletter? We answer even more of your questions there and it only comes once a month, so it won’t clog your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and me, Olivia Allen-Price. Extra support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Alana Walker, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED Family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Have a great week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Sitting on Berkeley’s beautiful waterfront, César Chávez Park offers visitors sweeping vistas and rolling green hills. The site used to be the city’s dumping ground.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#A\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious listener Tom Rauch grew up in Berkeley in the 1960s. Some of his most vivid memories from that time are of the old Berkeley dump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really was just this big, giant pit where you backed up your car, opened up your trunk and just shoveled whatever you had into this open pit,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n What do you wonder about the Bay Area, its culture or people that you want KQED to investigate?\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Ask Bay Curious.\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dump was located on Berkeley’s waterfront. Rauch remembers it as the Wild West. It smelled rank and was loud, with big bulldozers constantly shifting and compacting the garbage. Seagulls were ever-present, squawking above the roar of the machinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a little kid, of course, I was fascinated by this because there were all manner of things,” Rauch said. “There [were] refrigerators and lumber and whatever people didn’t want. It was just sitting right there, and the bulldozers would come and push it over.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fast forward to today, and the dump is long gone. In its place is César Chávez Park, a big grassy expanse with sweeping views of the entire bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rauch visits the park from time to time, and he recently started to wonder about the old dump. How did it go from a squalid mass of junk to a beautiful shoreline park where people go to walk their dogs, fly kites and have picnics?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Transition from dump to park\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The city of Berkeley operated the 90-acre landfill site from the mid-1950s until 1983, when it stopped receiving waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The site, like much of the bay’s shoreline, was \u003ca href=\"https://baynature.org/article/east-bay-shoreline-became-park-people/\">saved from development\u003c/a> thanks in large part to environmental activists like Sylvia McLaughlin, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11991017/transcript-how-environmental-activism-that-saved-the-bay\">co-founder of what’s now known as Save the Bay.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City officials decided to turn the spit of land into a park. But to do that, they had to seal off the garbage to ensure nothing would leak out and contaminate the environment. They capped the landfill with soil and clay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12034169\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-800x1035.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12034169\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-800x1035.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1035\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-800x1035.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-1020x1320.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-160x207.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-1187x1536.jpg 1187w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08-1583x2048.jpg 1583w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/1975-1988-Berkeley-Landfill-Records_Page_08.jpg 1700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley Landfill on May 3, 1979. \u003ccite>(Berkeley Landfill Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If you take a cross section of the park’s underground, you’d see a layer cake of soil and garbage: starting from the bottom, about four feet of garbage, two feet of clean soil, two feet of compacted clay and about a foot of topsoil on top of that, all capped with grass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means the garbage remains to this day. Those grassy, green hills you see when you visit the park? It’s just grass-covered garbage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that wasn’t always the plan for the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After it capped the dump, city officials started to think about how to landscape and develop the open space. Should it have tennis courts, a redwood tree grove, a playground?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They decided to solicit design proposals from landscape architects and eventually settled on a local designer named John Roberts. Roberts studied landscape architecture at UC Berkeley, where he graduated in 1974. \u003ca href=\"https://johnnorthmoreroberts.com/\">His firm focuses\u003c/a> on ecological and socially conscious landscape design. And he had all kinds of ideas for the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was collaborating with another consultant based in Seattle \u003ca href=\"https://www.tclf.org/pioneer/richard-haag\">named Richard Haag\u003c/a>, who had worked on landfill conversions before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What was revelatory to me was what Rich Haag had done in Seattle, which was to treat the landfill as a giant compost pile,” Roberts said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, instead of capping and forgetting about the garbage, they proposed digging it up, cleaning it up and encouraging it to break down naturally, with the help of the already-existing bacteria and microbes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027171\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027171\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-06-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Roberts, a landscape architect, walks through César Chávez Park on Feb. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The garbage is being cleaned up by the bugs that are here, and we could use that to our advantage,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roberts and his collaborators wanted to return the land to as close to its original form as they could before it was inundated with garbage. Their proposal included things like cultivating native plant species, dedicating space to wetland habitat and even building a beach where humans and animals could access the bay more easily.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Roberts spent seven years on the project. However, when it came time for approval, the city decided not to move forward with the proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They had a 57-word phrase that said how much they liked the plan and how it reflected all their values, but they couldn’t approve it,” Roberts said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal was bold and broke a lot of norms for landfill restoration. Roberts suspects it was too much of a hassle for the city and that money was probably a factor, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was extremely disappointed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t come out here for 15 years,” he said. “I could see what it could have been. It could have been something so much different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027173\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027173\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-11-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People walk through César Chávez Park on Feb. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Bumps in the road\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Leaving all that trash underground has led to some complications for the city of Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it breaks down, the garbage produces methane, which is a combustible gas. Leaving it there is dangerous, so instead, the city installed a series of underground pipes to collect the gas and send it to a flaring station, where it burns off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flaring station is located on the east side of the park, near the dog area. It’s a bit of an eyesore — and it can also be dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District has issued numerous notices of violation to the city of Berkeley over its management of the landfill flaring. Violations include missing gas collection wells, severe methane leaks and failure to continuously operate the system during power outages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027175\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027175\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-16-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Information about the former landfill at what is now César Chávez Park on Feb. 11, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last year, the air district \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/04/04/cesar-chavez-park-methane-gas-bay-area-air-quality-management-district\">fined the city $130,000\u003c/a> for air quality violations at César Chávez Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley city officials declined a request for an interview for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to air regulators, water regulators have also kept close tabs on the park. That’s after \u003ca href=\"https://documents.geotracker.waterboards.ca.gov/regulators/deliverable_documents/9874448478/Berkeley%20Landfill%2013267%20Letter%201-18-2024.pdf\">archival documents emerged (PDF)\u003c/a> showing that more than 11,000 tons of industrial waste believed to contain radioactive material was disposed of at the Berkeley dump in the 1960s and ’70s.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>It all started in May 2023, when Keith Roberson, who oversees landfills for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, was talking on the phone with a colleague at the EPA’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), which oversees hazardous waste sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My counterpart at DTSC mentioned, you know, ‘By the way, I have run across a document that I want to share with you that indicates that the Berkeley landfill apparently had accepted some material from a chemical plant in Richmond that was known as Stauffer Chemical,’” Roberson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water board immediately sent a letter to the city of Berkeley asking them to conduct radiation testing at the park, \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/09/11/radiation-testing-to-start-this-month-at-cesar-chavez-park\">which they did late last year\u003c/a>. With the help of UC Berkeley experts, the city attached a highly sensitive radiation sensor to a drone and flew it over the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s really no indication from the Gamma survey that there are any places on the surface of the Berkeley landfill that pose a threat to human health,” Roberson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the city also collected water samples during its survey, and those results showed elevated concentrations of radium-226 — a radioactive compound.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether or not that poses any threat to humans above the surface, we don’t think so,” Roberson said. “Does it pose a threat to water quality in the bay? We don’t think so. But we’re still in the process of analyzing that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027174\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-13-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A dog walker gives treats to a group of dogs at César Chávez Park on Feb. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Alternate uses for shuttered landfills\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>César Chávez Park isn’t the only former landfill-turned-beautiful park in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Albany Bulb, for example, used to be a dumping ground for construction debris. The Bulb was also recently tested for radiation, and levels there were also not dangerous to human health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.petaluma360.com/article/news/where-the-tails-are-wagging/\">Petaluma dog park\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Public-Works/Engineering-Services/Engineering-Projects/Byxbee-Park\">Byxbee Park\u003c/a> in Palo Alto, are also former dumps!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From the water board’s perspective, that’s probably our preferred usage,” Roberson said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Turning former landfills into open space is generally a low-risk use, said Roberson, especially compared to something like commercial development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, due to the high cost of land in the Bay Area, some cities are doing just that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city of Santa Clara, for example, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12016083/santa-clara-approves-major-housing-and-office-development-could-take-25-years-to-build\">approved a plan late last year\u003c/a> to put a shopping center, office space and even condominiums on a former landfill site near Levi’s Stadium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s more concerning, Roberson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Landfills contain organic material that’s decomposing,” he said. “So the landfill surface is subsiding, and it doesn’t subside evenly. Some parts may drop four feet, some parts may drop 12 feet. So you get this very uneven hummocky surface.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It takes a lot of additional planning to safely put a building on top of a former landfill, and even then, it’s risky — especially for the groundwater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not to mention, many former landfill sites in the Bay Area are located directly on the water line, which poses a risk as the climate changes and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12027540/land-sinking-fast-around-bay-area-worsening-effects-sea-level-rise\">sea levels rise\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12027172\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12027172\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250211-BERKELEYDUMP-07-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A flare station in César Chávez Park on Feb. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A nostalgic place\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Tom Rauch, our question-asker, went on a walk at César Chávez Park recently. He wanted to refresh his memory of the place. It was a cold, rainy day. He said he was struck by how beautiful it looked and at the outstanding views of the San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there was something tugging at him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know we shouldn’t have this, but it would be so much fun if you could still drive your car to the mouth of this pit and just shovel away and have the seagulls and the bulldozers keeping you company.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A landfill right on the water isn’t a great idea these days, he gets that. But Rauch said he’s glad his memories remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of us who grew up in that Berkeley experience that are starting to remember fondly those kinds of Berkeley days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"A\">\u003c/a>Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Tom Rauch grew up in Berkeley in the 1960s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He has vivid memories of that time. His mom worked at UC Berkeley and his dad was a grad student there, so he and his brother spent many days riding their bikes around campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another memory he still thinks about to this day… one of his most vivid… is going to the Berkeley dump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tom Rauch: \u003c/strong>It really was just this big, giant pit where you backed up your car. You know, you turned around, you backed up your car, opened up your trunk and just shoveled whatever you had into this open pit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>It was on the west side of Berkeley, right on the water. It was like the Wild West. It smelled rank. It was loud, with big bull dozers shifting and compacting the garbage. And then there were the birds! Hundreds of sea gulls squawking above the roar of the machinery…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tom says back then, it seemed like the dump stretched for miles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tom Rauch: \u003c/strong>And as a little kid, of course, I was fascinated by this because there was all manner of things. You know, there’s refrigerators and lumber and whatever people didn’t want. It was just sitting right there and the bulldozers would come and, of course, you know, push it over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Now… fast forward to today… and the dump is long gone. In its place is Cesar Chavez park… a big grassy expanse with sweeping views of the entire bay. And Tom still visits! He goes once a month or so with his family… to walk around and take in the views. But he recently started to wonder about the old dump. Was it really the way he remembers it? How could it go from a squalid mass of junk… to this beautiful shoreline park, where people go to walk their dogs, fly kites and have picnics? So, he did some research. Or, he tried.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tom Rauch: \u003c/strong>There is a surprisingly almost nonexistent amount of information about it there. Really. I couldn’t, maybe there are, but I couldn’t find any images of it. I couldn’t find any kind of recollections of it, any historical documents associated with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>So, he did what any Bay Area resident does when they have questions they can’t find the answers to: He reached out to Bay Curious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Theme music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>I’m Olivia Allen-Price and on today’s episode of Bay Curious… how did Berkeley’s former landfill site become one of its most popular public parks? And what are some of the challenges of turning a big pile of trash into a recreational space? All that, after this break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor message\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>To uncover the mystery of the Berkeley dump we asked reporter Dana Cronin to see what she could dig up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> As a frequent visitor to Cesar Chavez park… I was excited about this one. I love taking my dog there to run the perimeter of the park. On a clear day, I don’t think there’s a better view of the Golden Gate Bridge. But… I was not around in the 1960s, and had no idea about the park’s former life as a landfill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, I called someone who does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> It was pretty thrilling to come down and just dump stuff out. And I don’t. You didn’t do it. I guess you were it before your time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana\u003c/strong> \u003cstrong>(laughing)\u003c/strong>: Yes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> This is John Roberts. He’s a landscape architect here in Berkeley. I meet him … surprise surprise… at Cesar Chavez park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Park sounds\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> It’s a slightly cool and breezy morning, and we’re sitting on a park bench overlooking the bay. Ground squirrels dart around us, birds fly overhead, and a sea lion pops its head out of the water. It’s beautiful out here. But, as John likes to remind me…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> This is garbage. We’re on our garbage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> And let me just say, talking with John has totally changed how I think about this park. Before I met him, I thought of it as a beautiful green park with great views. But John still sees it as a big pile of trash, covered in grass. He says it could have been so much more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Music\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> The Berkeley dump stopped receiving waste in the mid-80’s, and the city decided to landscape it and turn it into a park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To do that, they had to seal off the garbage… to prevent leakage and contamination. So, they trucked in a whole lot of soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> There’s a four foot cross section of garbage. Then there’s two feet of clean soil and two feet of compacted clay and a foot of a foot of topsoil on top of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> This layer cake of garbage and soil was capped with grass. And that’s pretty much how it looks to this day. Those rolling, green grassy hills? It’s all just grass-covered garbage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this wasn’t always the plan. After it capped the pile of trash, the city started to think about how to develop the space. Should it have tennis courts, a redwood tree grove, a playground?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city put out a call to landscape architects for design proposals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s where John comes in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> 1986 or ’87, something like that, there was a call for proposals and I was selected as the prime consultant\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> He had all kinds of ideas. He was working with another consultant based in Seattle, who had worked on landfills before. And he had the idea to treat this site like a big compost pile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, instead of capping and forgetting about the garbage… they would dig it up, clean it up, and encourage it to break down naturally… with the help of the already-existing bacteria and microbes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> The garbage is being cleaned up by the bugs that are here. And we could use that to our advantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Ultimately, John wanted to return this spit of land to its original form — before all the garbage. Or at least, as close as he could get.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The area used to be all marsh so John wanted to cultivate native plant species… dedicate space to wetland habitat… maybe even build a beach where humans and animals could access the bay more easily.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But… as you may have guessed by now… none of that stuff happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After spending about seven years on this project, the city of Berkeley decided NOT to move forward with John’s proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> They found a 57-word phrase that said how much they liked the plan and how it reflected all their values, but they couldn’t approve it.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> The proposal was bold and broke a lot of norms for landfill restoration. John says he thinks it was just too complicated and too much of a hassle for the city. He says money was probably a factor too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (to John in tape):\u003c/strong> How did it feel at that final vote when they endorsed but, you know, chose not to move forward with the project. How did you feel after having worked on it for so long?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> Disappointed. I didn’t come out here for 15 years, I could see what it could have been. It could have been something so much different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Had the city moved forward with John’s proposal, the park would look much different than it does today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also potentially could have saved the city of Berkeley from a lot of maintenance issues that have cropped up over the last several years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because, as it turns out, that decision to keep the garbage underground has led to some complications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First of all as it breaks down the garbage is producing methane. Methane is a combustible gas, so they can’t just leave it there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, they’ve put in a series of pipes underground to collect it. If you visit and look for them, you can see white access pipes sticking out of the ground every 200 feet or so throughout the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Roberts:\u003c/strong> So here we are. There’s a white pipe there. You see another white pipe over there, the white pipe sticking up all over the place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>All that methane is sent to a flaring station on the east side of the park, near the dog area, where it burns off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Flaring station ambi\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>The flaring station is a bit of an eyesore. And it can also be dangerous. Air regulators have issued numerous notices of violation to the city of Berkeley over its management of the landfill flaring. Violations include missing gas collection wells, severe methane leaks, and failure to continuously operate the system during power outages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year the air district fined the city 130-thousand dollars for air quality violations. I did reach out to Berkeley city officials for this story. They declined my request for an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Now, it’s not just air regulators that have been keeping a close eye on the park. Water regulators are too. Specifically this guy…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>Hi, my name is Keith Roberson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Keith works for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. He’s responsible for overseeing landfills — both active and closed — to ensure they’re not contaminating the bay. Two years ago, he started to worry about the old Berkeley dump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>In May of 2023, I was having a phone conversation with one of my colleagues at the DTSC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>DTSC is the Department of Toxic Substances Control. It’s a part of the EPA, and it’s in charge of landfills that house hazardous waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>My counterpart at DTSC mentioned, you know, by the way, I have run across a document that I want to share with you that indicates that the Berkeley landfill and the Albany landfill as well apparently had accepted some material from a chemical plant in Richmond that was known as Stauffer Chemical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Hazardous material, that is. This letter was from the 1980’s, from the Stauffer Chemical company… and indicated that waste from one of their pesticide manufacturing facilities had likely ended up at the Berkeley landfill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>That’s when we first learned that, you know, there was a possibility or a likelihood that the Berkeley and Albany landfills had accepted some radioactive material\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Stauffer processed aluminum ore in their pesticide production, and the type of ore they used contains some naturally occurring radioactive elements. And this changed everything. Prior to this letter, there hadn’t been any indication that the Berkeley landfill contained any hazardous material. This was a matter of public safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, Keith sent letters to both cities, asking them to do some radiation testing at their respective parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And late last year, Berkeley did just that. With the help of UC Berkeley experts, the city attached a highly sensitive radiation sensor to a drone, and flew it over the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, the results were in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>They did not find any spectral variation in the gamma signal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>In other words…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>There’s really no indication from the Gamma survey that there are any places on the surface of the Berkeley landfill that pose a threat to human health.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>So, that’s obviously a relief. But, the city also took some water samples during this survey. And Keith says, those results were a bit more concerning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>They did find elevated concentrations of radium 226 in their water samples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Radium 226 is a radioactive compound, which, with enough exposure, can cause cancer and even death in humans. But Keith says they didn’t detect concentrations that high at the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>Now, whether or not that poses any threat to humans above the surface, we don’t think so. Does it pose a threat to water quality in the bay? We don’t think so. But we’re still in the process of analyzing that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>But, Keith says, clearly there’s something buried in that pile of trash that’s starting to leak out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Now, Cesar Chavez park isn’t the only former landfill site-turned beautiful park in the Bay Area. The Albany Bulb — for example — used to be a landfill for construction debris. And, as Keith mentioned earlier, the Bulb was also tested for radiation. Luckily, levels there were also not dangerous to human health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Petaluma dog park… Byxbee Park in Palo Alto… all former dumps!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keith says yes, there are risks with turning a landfill into open space, but…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>From the water board’s perspective, that’s probably our preferred usage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>What’s more risky, he says, is trying to convert a former landfill site into, say, a commercial space. But, given the high value of land here in the Bay Area, some cities are doing just that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city of Santa Clara, for example, recently decided to move forward with a proposal to put a shopping center, office space and even condominiums on a former landfill site, near Levi’s Stadium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s a little more concerning, Keith says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keith Roberson: \u003c/strong>Landfills contain organic material that’s decomposing. So the landfill surface is subsiding and it doesn’t subside evenly. You know, some parts may drop four feet, some parts may drop 12ft. So you get this very uneven hummocky surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>He says it takes a lot of planning to put a building on top of a former landfill and, even then, it’s risky — especially for the groundwater. Also, a lot of these former landfill sites lie right on the water line, which poses a real risk with climate change and sea level rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Tom, our question-asker, went on a walk in Cesar Chavez park recently. He says he wanted to refresh his memory of the place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a cold and rainy day. He says he was struck by how beautiful it looked… and at the outstanding views of the San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tom Rauch:\u003c/strong> And at the same time, there was that little tug about, well, you know, I know we shouldn’t have this, but it would be so much fun if you could still drive your car to the mouth of this pit and just shovel away and have the seagulls and the bulldozers keeping you company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Tom says he gets that these days a landfill right on the water isn’t a great idea. And even though the Berkeley dump is long gone… his vivid memories of the smells, the sounds, the whole experience of the place… remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was KQED’s Dana Cronin. Thanks to Tom Rauch for asking this week’s question. You can check out what the old Berkeley dump used to look like by heading over to Baycurious.org. We’ve got archival photos and new ones too! And while you’re there, why not sign up for the Bay Curious newsletter? We answer even more of your questions there and it only comes once a month, so it won’t clog your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and me, Olivia Allen-Price. Extra support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Alana Walker, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED Family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Have a great week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"id": "here-and-now",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
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},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
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