Public Comment

After the death of the six young people in Berkeley it is painful to hear explanations for why it was nobody's fault. We are told the department did not have experienced staff, and the department head did not have funds for new hire of appropriately trained personnel. There is some talk of investigating whether there was water damage to the balcony beams because of the builder's carelessness. But the main thing surely is the quality of the safety inspection. The Building Department must have declared the building safe. That's where the buck stops. The Building Department must review its own practices to ensure that sloppy construction doesn't rate a pass. It's a shame lost young lives wake us to the need for absolutely trustworthy inspections of building safety.