Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: Why North Berkeley BART’s 739 new homes are delayed again

And check out A Community Christmas Eve Service! on the Berkeley Patch calendar

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Wednesday December 24th Patch AM
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Hi there, Berkeley! We've got your morning read ready! Read on to stay connected. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • Why North Berkeley BART’s 739 new homes are delayed again
  • When is Berkeley Hat Company closing and what’s on sale now?
  • How a former Berkeley local turned saunas into frontline relief in Ukraine

Also on today's calendar: A Community Christmas Eve Service! and 9 more events.

Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: I used to work in a doughnut shop. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Wednesday: A few showers, with a high of 60 and low of 51 degrees.
  • Thursday: Windy with occasional rain, temps: high: 56, low: 48.
  • Friday: Windy with occasional rain, with a high of 53 and low of 44 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. North Berkeley BART housing won't start to rise until at least early 2027 (berkeleyside.org) — Construction of the long-awaited housing above North Berkeley BART is now unlikely to start before early 2027, pushing the project back yet another year. Developers have just applied for city building permits for several affordable buildings along Sacramento Street, but rising costs and a weak market are slowing the larger mix of 739 planned apartments that could reshape this part of Berkeley.
   

2. Hats off: Berkeley Hat Company says goodbye (eastbayexpress.com) — Berkeley Hat Company on Telegraph Avenue will close Jan. 31, 2026, ending a 50-year run just four blocks from campus. Owner Carol Lipnick is retiring and has marked down every hat, from Panamas to costume pieces, until closing. Longtime customers still have several weeks to visit, reminisce and snag a deal before remaining stock is donated or resold.
   

3. Ukrainian soldiers are relaxing in saunas set up by a former Berkeley resident (berkeleyside.org) — A former Berkeley resident, sauna advocate Mikkel Aaland, helped launch Sauna Aid, which now funds mobile saunas and recovery retreats for Ukrainian frontline medics. Backed by Bay Area spots like Albany Sauna, the project offers warmth, psychological relief and a sense of safety to soldiers and volunteers cycling off the front lines. Berkeley’s past and regional sauna culture quietly echo through this global effort.
   

4. Opposition mounts to UC Berkeley's suspension of lecturer for talking about Gaza in classroom (berkeleyside.org) — UC Berkeley is facing growing campus protests and a petition drive after computer science lecturer Peyrin Kao was suspended for comments about Gaza and his hunger strike, raising sharp questions about academic freedom. Faculty groups, students, and Kao’s union are challenging the use of a UC policy on classroom “misuse,” while administrators seek clearer guidelines amid political pressure and ongoing complaints about course content.
   

5. Early Release For Jailed Animal Rights Activist Zoe Rosenberg (patch.com) — A UC Berkeley student and animal rights activist is being released early from a 30-day Sonoma County jail sentence and will finish it on house arrest, according to Berkeley-based Direct Action Everywhere. The group, which recently organized marches and a campaign to the governor, says her serious medical conditions and treatment restrictions in jail made confinement especially risky.
   

📸 Around Berkeley

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • A small, very mangy coyote was just seen on Glen Avenue near Summer Street.
    I guess everyone knows there are coyotes around here just about all the time, maybe literally all the time, so you know to keep your cats and small… (Nextdoor Live Oak)
  • If anyone at all is still using rat poison (including hiring pest control companies who use it), please stop.
    I work with the wonderful Raptors Are The Solution (RATS) and there are numerous alternatives that don’t wreck the ecoystem or essentially harm and… (Nextdoor Live Oak)
  • HEI Hotels & Resorts posted a job opening for Bell/ Luggage Attendant in Berkeley. Apply here.
  • John Muir Health posted a job opening for Medical Receptionist - PN Specialty Suite-Berkeley - Full Time - 8 Hour - Days in Berkeley. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Berkeley here.

Ok Berkeley! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I got tired of the hole business.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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