News

A man was found dead from an apparent fall in the Berkeley Hills on Wednesday evening, a University of California at Berkeley police captain said. -more-

THURSDAY UPDATE: Figures posted today were the same as those posted yesterday. So far there's no explanation of why this might be. -more-

Measure T continues to lose, now by close to 500 votes. : -more-

The Oakland City Council tonight agreed to postpone until December 18 their final decision on Safeway's proposed expansion of their store at College and Claremont on the Oakland-Berkeley border.

It was announced this afternoon that Safeway had reached a settlement agreement with a trio of neighborhood organizations who have appealed the Oakland planning commission's decision to grant Safeway the permits they sought in their initial proposal.

The settlement reduces the size of the new building to 45,500 gross square feet, puts parking on the roof and provides up to an hour of free parking for shoppers at other nearby stores.

At tonight's meeting, all councilmembers praised Councilmember Jane Brunner for mediating the agreement. Some stressed points in the deal that they wanted planning staff to examine carefully. The staff will work with Safeway to create a revised proposal that reflects the terms of the agreement, which Brunner's office has made public. -more-

The No votes continue to lead on Berkeley Measure C, a proposal to rezone several large West Berkeley land holdings. -more-

Safeway has released this statement about the settlement with College/Claremont neighbors: -more-

The Rockridge Community Planning Council and Berkeleyans for Pedestrian-Oriented Development (BPOD), the two groups who appealed the Planning Commission's approval of the College Avenue Safeway Project, along with FANS (who was not an appellant) have reached a tentative settlement with Safeway.

The settlement reduces the size of the project by 8,000 sq. ft. It also moves the Safeway store down to ground level, with screened rooftop parking, and opens up a pedestrian plaza east of 63rd St. between College & Claremont. Safeway has agreed to eliminate the project’s parking deficit, as well as to pay for residential permit parking within the surrounding two-block area. There are numerous other benefits included in the settlement. They will be spelled out at tonight’s hearing. The settlement was reached as a result of a mediation effort undertaken by District One Council Member Jane Brunner. -more-

A settlement between Safeway and neighbors who were opposed to the chain's planned expansion on College and Claremont has been reached, according to a report published on berkeleyside.com and attributed to a Safeway press release. The Berkeley Daily Planet has been aware of the settlement since yesterday, when we received a copy of an email detailing its terms, but we have honored the request of settlement participants from FANS, the neighborhood organizers, and the Rockridge Planning Council to hold the story until after the Oakland City Council meets tonight at 5:30 at the Oakland City Hall. More details will be published later this evening after the meeting. -more-

Tuesday update: Measure T still lags; has little chance of passing

About 2400-2500 more votes were counted today by the Registrar in Oakland. Measure T picked up only 5 votes, reducing its vote deficit from 472 to 467. But with the count expected to be largely over tomorrow, there is little likelihood that the measure will pass.

Measure T is the only undecided race in Berkeley. Measure S, the anti-sitting measure, is now losing by over 2000 votes, a 52% to 48% margin. Measure N, the pools bond measure, has 62.3%, well short of the required two-thirds. Rent board candidates Judy Shelton, Asa Dodsworth and Alejandro Soto-Vigil from the Progressive Affordable Housing slate, and Judy Hunt from the landlord-financed TUFF slate appear to have been elected. There is a small chance that Igor Tregub, the fourth member of the progressive slate will catch up with Soto-Vigil, who leads him by 155 votes for fourth place. At one point in the count, Tregub was only 13 votes behind Soto-Vigil. -more-

The one Nobel Prize you won’t hear announced is for Mathematics―because, in contrast to Chemistry, Physics, and Literature, there is no Nobelity in Math. Rumor has it that it’s because of a sex scandal: Alfred Nobel’s wife had an affair with a mathematician. -more-