In the Assembly District 15 race, Dan Kalb has slightly widened his lead over Jovanka Beckles for second place. On Wednesday morning, Kalb had 14.9 percent of the vote versus Beckles’ 14.6 percent. As of this morning, however, Kalb now has 15.1 percent (or 9,336 votes) compared to Beckles, who has 14.6 percent (or 9,032 votes) — and votes are still being counted. Buffy Wicks is in first place, with 31.4 percent. The top two candidates will face off in November.
Berkeley officials may pull police from participating in this year’s Urban Shield, a law enforcement and first responders training exercise run by Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern. The Berkeley City Council is expected to vote on the issue July 24. (Berkeleyside)
[Read related: “Alameda County Supervisors Vote to End Urban Shield as ‘Currently Constituted’”]
The Berkeley Public Library is ending late fees for teen and adult books, DVDs, CDs, and magazines on July 1. The decision came after library administrators realized that the 11,000 people blocked from taking out books because of unpaid overdue fees came from the city’s lowest-income ZIP codes. (Berkeleyside)
Oakland’s largest modular housing project to date is taking shape near the Coliseum BART station. When completed early next year, Coliseum Connections will include 110 apartments and 44 townhomes. (San Francisco Business Times)
Alameda is considering a half-percent sales tax increase that would go into the city’s general fund and help cover rising medical and pension costs and other city services. On Tuesday, the city council voted to have city staffers begin work on putting the tax increase before Alameda voters in November. It would need a simple majority vote to pass. (East Bay Times)
The city of Berkeley shut down another homeless encampment in West Berkeley, this one at Second and Cedar streets. Last week, the city cleared out RVs at the Berkeley Marina. (Berkeleyside)
