“When I started development at Berkeley 35 years ago, I would go to public meetings and be compared to Hitler, Attila the Hun — I’m not exaggerating,” says Patrick Kennedy, a longtime local developer. “The local paper called [an eight-story building I built] a Stalinist monstrosity and monument to civic corruption.” 

California city officials say the surprise immigration sweeps that started earlier this year have eroded public trust, strained local economies, and revived old fears. And although there are limited ways to respond, they are determined to take care of their residents.

“The painful truth is that it’s less of a contradiction than just the system functioning the way it’s been designed. That sounds bleak, but in fact, it points to the possibility of different choices: If systems are designed, they can be redesigned.”

According to State Librarian Greg Lucas, no other government-paid-for entity is as nimble or flexible as libraries. That makes them pillars of their community and well-positioned to tackle some of our biggest challenges — if they have the funding.  

Even with the nation’s most effective gun laws, Californians experienced a mass shooting every six days in 2023. “It is a sad state of affairs for our country and our community that we’ve had so many mass shootings that a set of best practices have emerged,” said one expert.

Experts are warning that artificial intelligence (AI) could undermine this year’s elections. But just what does that mean? Here’s what AI can do, the threats it poses to election security, and how local officials can help their communities prepare.

At 27, Rigel Robinson’s political future was bright. His election to the Berkeley city council had broken barriers and his campaign for mayor won the endorsement of California Attorney General Rob Bonta. But earlier this year, he resigned, citing burnout and a long-running harassment campaign.

It’s easy to think of anti-Asian hate as a red or purple state problem. But most incidents occur here in California. Even though anti-Asian hate decreased in 2022, experts are warning this could be an aberration. Here’s what cities can do to mitigate the next wave of hate.

Theorycrafting has changed our relationship with video games. Our collective pursuit of the meta – that is, the mathematical study of game mechanics – has pushed us to the point where, as Dan Olson declared, “It’s rude to suck at Warcraft.” Even single-player communities aren’t immune. It’s so pervasive that much of the games media ecosystem depends on an unseen legion of guide writers.