• 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|

Gill Tract Occupiers Vow New Occupation Saturday

The Occupy the Farm activists who moved into the UC-owned Gill Tract a year ago are calling for a "Land Occupation" on Saturday. UC Berkeley officials said they aim to guard against "an illegal occupation" and ensure public safety.

Gill Tract Occupiers Vow New Occupation Saturday
Albany, CA|News|

Gill Tract Occupiers Vow New Occupation Saturday

The Occupy the Farm activists who moved into the UC-owned Gill Tract a year ago are calling for a "Land Occupation" on Saturday. UC Berkeley officials said they aim to guard against "an illegal occupation" and ensure public safety.

Gill Tract Occupiers Vow New Occupation Saturday
Berkeley|News|

CHP Asks No Tributes to Limo Victims on San Mateo Bridge

The California Highway Patrol is asking that no memorial items be placed on the San Mateo Bridge to honor the five women who perished in the limo fire Saturday night. Such items are unsafe and could cause further harm, the CHP said.

CHP Asks No Tributes to Limo Victims on San Mateo Bridge
Alameda, CA|News|

Experts Ponder What Trapped the Limo Victims

Auto safey experts say information released so far in the deaths of five women in the San Mateo Bridge limousine fire raises key questions about why the victims were unable to escape.

Experts Ponder What Trapped the Limo Victims
Berkeley|News|

Berkeley Eyes Anti-Tobacco Law in Multi-Unit Housing

Berkeley city staff is asking the City Council on May 7 to prohibit exposing neighbors to secondhand smoke in all multi-unit housing and to require all new leases in multi-unit housing to include a non-smoking clause.

Berkeley Eyes Anti-Tobacco Law in Multi-Unit Housing
Albany, CA|News|

2 Albany Boys Play Music for Food Bank at Plaza

Jared and Caleb Williams, age 12 and 10, decided in December to play clarinet and trumpet at Trader Joe's in El Cerrito Plaza to raise money for the Alameda County food bank. They raised $367 in three outings. Now they're trying it again Satur

2 Albany Boys Play Music for Food Bank at Plaza
El Cerrito, CA|News|

2 Boys Play Music for Food Bank at Plaza

Jared and Caleb Williams, age 12 and 10, decided in December to play clarinet and trumpet at Trader Joe's in El Cerrito Plaza to raise money for the food bank. They raised $367 in three outings. Now they're trying it again on Saturday, May 4.

2 Boys Play Music for Food Bank at Plaza
Rockridge, CA|News|

Councilman Kalb Addresses Crime Problem

In the wake of recent crime in Rockridge and surrounding areas, Oakland District 1 City Councilman Dan Kalb said he hopes to increase the police force, and he issued a special call for more trained civilian crime investigators.

Albany, CA|News|

Tentative Settlement of Strollers' Suit Announced

A provisional agreement has been announced that would settle a lawsuit by Albany Strollers & Rollers and Carbon Neutral Albany challenging the Albany City Council's approval of UC Berkeley's development plan for University Village.

Tentative Settlement of Strollers' Suit Announced
Piedmont, CA|News|

Police Arrest 5 at Gunpoint in Car Reported Stolen

Piedmont police arrested a 19-year-old Oakland woman and four teen juveniles in a Ford Crown Victoria that police said had been stolen in Oakland. The woman began resisting in a patrol car and had to be placed under extra restraint, police said.

Police Arrest 5 at Gunpoint in Car Reported Stolen
Berkeley|News|

Call to Prosecute Bush for Iraq War Goes to Council

On the Berkeley City Council agenda for April 30 is a Peace & Justice Commission measure for Berkeley to ask the Alameda County District Attorney to prosecute George Bush and "co-conspirators" for murder of local residents.

Call to Prosecute Bush for Iraq War Goes to Council
Albany, CA|News|

Rebuild of Safeway on Solano Canceled

The long debated and much revised plan to replace the existing Safeway on Solano Avenue in Albany with a bigger Safeway and some third-party retail is no longer in Safeway's plans, according to a Safeway spokeswoman.

Rebuild of Safeway on Solano Canceled
Piedmont, CA|News|

Celebration of Piedmont's Homemade Wines

You may not find them on the market, but you can sample them Friday night when the Piedmont Center for Arts hosts its first "Judgment of Piedmont" – a tasting and competition featuring wines produced by Piedmonters.

Celebration of Piedmont's Homemade Wines