Measure U1

Berkeley City Councilmembers discussed COVID-19 and the Ronald V. Dellums Fair Chance Access to Housing Ordinance at their regular Tuesday meeting.

Berkeley City Council unanimously approved a $895 million budget at its meeting Tuesday night to allocate money for different purposes, organizations and ventures for the next two fiscal years.

From raising the minimum wage to divesting from banks with ties to apartheid in South Africa, Berkeley has been ahead of the curve on certain issues.

Fourteen months into a unanimously declared homeless shelter crisis by Berkeley City Council, Mayor Jesse Arreguin and District 5 Councilmember Sophie Hahn announced an ambitious plan Thursday morning to address Berkeley’s homeless population.

City Council candidates Kate Harrison and Ben Gould discussed development and affordable housing at a sparsely populated District 4 election forum Thursday evening hosted by the League of Women Voters Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville.

Less than 24 hours after Arreguin swore in as mayor, city officials disbanded a homeless encampment without his prior knowledge. Arreguin was surprised and upset.

On Wednesday, the morning before Mayor-elect Jesse Arreguin is to be sworn into office, he kicked off a campaign event for Kate Harrison, who is one of the three candidates running for his former District 4 City Council seat.

All city measures passed except for landlord-backed Measure DD, and the minimum wage ballots Measure BB and Measure CC, which had both been running joint "no-no" campaigns.

Encapsulating a long battle between the interests of property owners and those of the city, the city-backed Measure U1 was approved by about 75 percent of Berkeley voters Tuesday night.

California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, or FPPC, is currently investigating the Yes on Measure DD campaign on suspicion of violating the Political Reform Act’s campaign disclosure requirements.