• Charles BurressPatch Staff Verified Patch Staff Badge

  • Berkeley, CA

Email: (See my email address at the bottom of the Albany Patch or Berkeley Patch homepage.)

Phone: 510-435-4127

Now in my fourth year with Patch.com, I'm the editor of and Albany Patch and Berkeley Patch.

I worked many years as a staff writer and editor at the San Francisco Chronicle until April of 2009, when I switched to freelancing. I then wrote for the Los Angeles Times and other publications, and I also took on editing assignments for UC Berkeley and the United Nations.

Being an East Bay reporter for Patch brings my career full circle in the East Bay. My first bylines appeared in the East Bay Review of the Performing Arts. I next worked as a reporter and editor at the Daily Californian while studying at UC Berkeley, where I obtained a master's in journalism. I was a reporter at the Contra Costa Independent, Berkeley Gazette and San Francisco Examiner before moving to the Chronicle, where I worked several years in the Berkeley bureau and in the main East Bay bureau in Oakland.

Posting Activity

El Cerrito, CA|News|

3 Thieves Slap Worker, Steal Razors from CVS

The El Cerrito Police Blotter for Nov. 13-15 includes a man arrested for allegedly beating a woman and two children in a Lincoln Town Car, four auto burglaries, and three shoplifting cases with a foot chase and a CVS employee assaulted.

3 Thieves Slap Worker, Steal Razors from CVS
El Cerrito, CA|News|

Teen Pleads Guilty in Richmond High Gang Rape

A 19-year-old San Pablo man Friday became the second defendant to plead guilty in the brutal gang rape of a 16-year-old Richmond High girl in 2009. He's expected to receive a 27-year prison sentence. Four other defendants are due in court Dec. 13.

Teen Pleads Guilty in Richmond High Gang Rape
El Cerrito, CA|News|

Low Ratings for Streets in Most Bay Area Localities

Streets in more than half of the Bay Area's cities and counties received ratings below "good" in the latest roads report card from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Road quality didn't seem to correspond to community afflue

Low Ratings for Streets in Most Bay Area Localities
Lamorinda, CA|News|

Trains That Split? BART Visions For 2025

Facing a significant jump in expected ridership by 2025, BART staff presented a blueprint for the future that projects more frequent transbay service, express trains, faster speeds, more timed transfers and trains that split to go separate ways.

Trains That Split? BART Visions For 2025
Berkeley|News|

Mountain Lion Reported at Berkeley Lab

UC Berkeley responded to a report of a mountain lion sighting at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Thursday but did not see the animal or any traces of its being there, police said today, Friday.

Mountain Lion Reported at Berkeley Lab
El Cerrito, CA|News|

Mountain Lion Reported at Berkeley Lab

UC Berkeley responded to a report of a mountain lion sighting at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Thursday but did see the animal or any traces of its being there, police said Friday.

Mountain Lion Reported at Berkeley Lab
Union City, CA|News|

Weekend BART Delays for Rest of 2012

BART announced that seismic safety and track maintenance work will cause weekend delays in train service in four areas, including the Transbay Tube, for the rest of this year.

Weekend BART Delays for Rest of 2012
El Cerrito, CA|News|

Big Prius Recall in the U.S.

Toyota is recalling 670,000 Prius cars from the model years 2004-2009 because of steering column problems. Some of the vehicles also need their water pumps replaced. You can check with your dealer to see if your vehicle is affected.

Big Prius Recall in the U.S.
El Cerrito, CA|News|

New Praise for El Cerrito Streets

El Cerrito's refurbished streets have been heralded again by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as an example of a local community's willingness to pay extra to repair and improve substandard roadways.

New Praise for El Cerrito Streets
Berkeley|News|

UC Students 'Sleep-Out' Against Fee Increases

A group of UC students said they will hold a "sleep-out" tonight in San Francisco, where the UC regents are meeting for three days, to protest proposed increases in student fees.

UC Students 'Sleep-Out' Against Fee Increases