• 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

Berkeley|News|

UC Student Describes Being Robbed as Bystander Stood By

A senior at the University of California at Berkeley writes in a Berkeleyside op-ed column about being mugged by unarmed assailants a block from her home and asks why a bystander two yards away didn't "step in or speak up."

UC Student Describes Being Robbed as Bystander Stood By
Berkeley|News|

Was Shakespeare Amiss? Ice Cream by Any Other Name ...

Stanford linguist Dan Jurafsky, drawing in part on the theories of UC Berkeley emeritus professor of linguistics John Ohala, challenges the notion that a rose by any other name would smell be as sweet, saying names shape perception.

Was Shakespeare Amiss? Ice Cream by Any Other Name ...
Albany, CA|News|

Rescued Puppy Finds Home in North Berkeley – With Rescuers

No owner has stepped forward, so the large black puppy found swimming in the middle of San Francisco Bay a week ago and brought home by a Berkeley man in his inflatable commute boat seems to have found a new home – with the man's family.

Rescued Puppy Finds Home in North Berkeley – With Rescuers
Berkeley|News|

Rescued Puppy Finds Home in Berkeley – With Rescuers

No owner has stepped forward, so the large black puppy found swimming in the middle of San Francisco Bay a week ago and brought home by a Berkeley man in his inflatable commute boat seems to have found a new home – with the man's family.

Rescued Puppy Finds Home in Berkeley – With Rescuers
Albany, CA|News|

Cal Leapfrogs MIT to 3rd Place in World Ranking

The latest "Academic Ranking of World Universities" finds the University of California at Berkeley in third place, a notch higher than last year, behind Harvard in first and Stanford second. Eight of the top 10 are in the United States.

Cal Leapfrogs MIT to 3rd Place in World Ranking
Berkeley|News|

Cal Leapfrogs MIT to 3rd Place in World Ranking

The latest "Academic Ranking of World Universities" finds the University of California at Berkeley in third place, a notch higher than last year, behind Harvard in first and Stanford second. Eight of the top 10 are in the United States.

Cal Leapfrogs MIT to 3rd Place in World Ranking
Berkeley|News|

Shims Wedged into New Bay Bridge as Temporary Crutch

The new eastern span of the Bay Bridge was shimmed up this past weekend with temporary steel plates so that it can be ready for its scheduled Sept. 3 debut, bridge authorities said today, Monday.

Shims Wedged into New Bay Bridge as Temporary Crutch
Berkeley|News|

Fatal Limo Fire Blamed on Mechanical Failure – No Criminal Charges

A multi-agency investigation of the limousine fire that killed five women on the San Mateo Bridge on May 4, 2013 found that the blaze was caused by a failure of the suspension system causing friction between the drive shaft and floorboard.

Fatal Limo Fire Blamed on Mechanical Failure – No Criminal Charges
Albany, CA|News|

New Ranking: Berkeley Not in Top 7 U.S. Hippie Towns

Berkeley may still be the home of the hippies in the imagination of mainstream America, but it fell to 8th place in a recent ranking of "best U.S. cities for hippies," based on pot presence, tie-dye culture, hippie festivals and other factors.

New Ranking: Berkeley Not in Top 7 U.S. Hippie Towns
Berkeley|News|

New Ranking: Berkeley Not in Top 7 U.S. Hippie Towns

Berkeley may still be the home of the hippies in the imagination of mainstream America, but it fell to 8th place in a recent ranking of "best U.S. cities for hippies," based on pot presence, tie-dye culture, hippie festivals and other factors.

New Ranking: Berkeley Not in Top 7 U.S. Hippie Towns
Berkeley|News|

Upcoming: Big Reunion for All Berkeley High Alums

All graduates of Berkeley High are invited to the attend the school's All-Class Reunion this coming weekend, the second time that Berkeley High has held such a combined class gathering. One main event is a picnic Saturday at San Pablo Park.

Upcoming: Big Reunion for All Berkeley High Alums