Winter storms are expected to bring heavy rain and damaging winds to the East Bay, including Berkeley, with forecasts of up to 2 inches of rain and wind gusts over 50 mph, increasing flood risks and tree damage, while offering a brief respite over the weekend.
Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA event in Berkeley was disrupted and marred by chaos, highlighting tensions around the event and its political implications.
A 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck near Berkeley in the San Francisco Bay Area early Monday, causing shaking felt across San Francisco and the East Bay, with no immediate reports of injuries or significant damage.
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake centered in Berkeley shook the San Francisco Bay Area early Monday morning, causing light tremors felt across the region with no immediate damage reported. The earthquake, near the Hayward fault, has a low chance of aftershocks or another quake of similar magnitude in the next week, but highlights the area's seismic risk, especially along the fault known for its potential for a larger quake.
The U.S. Energy Department is developing a new supercomputer named Doudna at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, set to arrive in 2026, which will integrate commercial AI technologies, notably Nvidia chips, to significantly boost computational speed and versatility for scientific research and AI model training.
Pro-Palestinian supporters disrupted a dinner for law students at the dean of Berkeley's law school's home, leading to a tussle over a microphone and conflicting claims of harm. The incident has sparked a debate about free speech rights in private settings and has highlighted the complexities of discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict on university campuses.
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law expresses profound sadness over the disruption of a dinner event for graduating students by a group of students with a political agenda, involving antisemitic posters and a speech about the plight of Palestinians. Despite the disruption, the dean asserts that the dinners will continue with security present and any student who disrupts will be reported for violating the student conduct code.
In this philosophical discussion, Paul Franks argues that Kant's perspectivism aligns better with our everyday experience and Einstein's physics than Berkeley's immaterialist view. While Berkeley's approach suggests that what we perceive is always mind-dependent, Kant's transcendental idealism maintains that human cognition is perspectival but does not negate the mind-independence of the underlying material causes of sensation. Franks suggests that Kant's combination of transcendental idealism and empirical realism offers a more coherent understanding of our experience of the world and natural science than Berkeley's phenomenalism and instrumentalism.
The city of Berkeley has voted to return a 2.2-acre parking lot, the only undeveloped portion of a shellmound in West Berkeley, to the Ohlone people through the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, marking a historic restoration of sacred native land dating back thousands of years. The site will be used for education, prayer, preservation, and as a place for native medicines and foods, wildlife, and youth to learn about their heritage. The agreement follows a six-year legal battle and involves the trust contributing $25.5 million and Berkeley paying $1.5 million to create a commemorative park with a new shellmound and cultural center.
Berkeley voters are participating in the primary election for Alameda County Supervisor, State Senate District 7, and various ballot measures. Preliminary results will be available shortly after the polls close, with mail-in ballots potentially impacting close races. Voter turnout is predicted to be historically low, and key races include the state Senate, U.S. House District 12, U.S. Senate, and the presidential election.
Three individuals were arrested after stealing approximately 75 iPhones from the Berkeley Apple Store, with police suspecting them of being involved in several organized retail theft crimes. The store has been repeatedly targeted by thieves this year, with previous incidents involving multiple thefts of Apple devices.
Alice "Alyx" Kamakaokalani Herrmann, a woman with Hawaii ties, was found dead in Berkeley, California, leading to a homicide investigation. Her boyfriend, Theobald Lengyel, a former member of the rock band Mr. Bungle, has been arrested on suspicion of her murder. Herrmann, who was last seen alive on December 3, was supposed to travel to Maui for the holidays but never made her flight. Her death has deeply affected her loved ones, who are now creating a memorial in her honor.
Residents near People's Park in Berkeley have been unexpectedly confined to their neighborhood by police barricades set up to restrict access during a construction operation. Lou Cornum, a subletting resident and assistant professor, found themselves unable to leave for fear of not being able to return due to lack of proof of residency. UC Berkeley has established a temporary phone line to assist residents like Cornum, but the lack of prior notice and the heavy police presence have caused distress among locals. The university's actions, including towing cars without prior warning, have been criticized as an overreach, particularly as they aim to prevent protests against the construction of student housing on the park grounds.
In an effort to move forward with a $312 million student housing project at People’s Park, owned by the University of California, Berkeley, police cleared the park of protesters and homeless individuals in an overnight operation. The park has been a historic site of demonstrations, and the university's plan to build housing there has faced legal challenges and opposition from activists. Despite a pending appeal to the California Supreme Court regarding environmental reviews, the university proceeded to secure the site, resulting in the arrest of seven activists and the relocation of homeless individuals. The university aims to prevent new encampments and crime resurgence while awaiting legal clearance to resume construction.
Theobald "Theo" Lengyel, a 54-year-old former member of the rock band "Mr. Bungle," was arrested on homicide charges after his girlfriend, Alice "Alyx" Kamakaokalani Herrmann, was found dead in Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley. Herrmann had been missing since December 3, and her body was discovered following a missing person investigation. Lengyel, who was uncooperative with the police, is currently held without bail on a first-degree murder charge. The motive for the killing has not been disclosed, and the case is being prepared for the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office.