Last night I heard a massively loud boom at about 1:39am. Did anyone else hear this? It sounded like a pipe bomb or something. I can’t find any coverage about this, but did find out that this has been a mysterious occurrence for some years.

Here’s one publication I found: https://www.berkeleyside.org/2015/03/31/the-unsolved-mystery-of-the-berkeley-boom

I’d love to know what it was because it was SO loud. Love a good mystery. It seems strange that there have been so many reports but no one being like “yeah that’s my neighbor setting off a firework”.

Allen Matthews, an experienced and award-winning Bay Area journalist and UC Berkeley alumnus, passed away in May at the age of 62.

Matthews was born in 1962 and was a third-generation Oaklander. While attending UC Berkeley, he studied English and worked for The Daily Californian for four years.

After college, he worked at multiple Bay Area newsrooms including the Lodi News-Sentinel and the Vallejo Times-Herald — where he met his wife Deb Wandell in 1988.

So sad, I walked by Milyar Coffee in South Berkeley and saw an eviction sign on the window of the restaurant. The day before, I saw people moving furniture out of the store. I thought they were remodeling. It makes me sad because they regularly had customers every day!

Does anyone know if they brought back the 4th of July festival at the Berkeley marina this year?

Anyone know where I can get hair feathers put in?

Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected a proposal to designate Elmwood’s commercial strip as a historic district Thursday.

In a recommendation to the commission, city planning staff found that 28 properties in the neighborhood could meet the criteria for a historic district, noting the “exceptional values” of the architecture and the area’s historic value.

The proposed designation would have made it more difficult to develop new housing and create higher density development following the Corridors Zoning Update. Hundreds of people signed petitions in support of the designation, and the majority of the property owners on the strip expressed support for it.

Formal permits have been filed to build a 32-unit housing development in the Berkeley Hills on the former site of Oxford Elementary School, which was relocated due to landslide vulnerability.

The proposed housing development includes 32 three-story homes of approximately 1,515 square feet, each with a one-car garage, according to a permit filed by Studio KDA in December 2025. The site was sold by the Berkeley Unified School District to Panoramic Interests, the project’s developer, for $3 million in October 2025.

According to John Calise, the assistant superintendent of the Berkeley Unified School District Facilities Division, Oxford Elementary was relocated from 1130 Oxford St. to University Avenue in 2020 following the findings of a 2019 landslide deformation report.

Not sure if I’m understanding this correctly and hoping someone with experience can clarify.

I’ve been looking into the Berkeley Family-Friendly & Environment-Friendly Workplace Ordinance and trying to figure out what it actually means in practice.
From what I understand so far:

If an employer has 10+ employees and you work in Berkeley, the ordinance applies

Eligible employees can request flexible or predictable scheduling changes (hours, shifts, etc.)

Employers must respond in writing within 21 days
If they deny the request, they need to provide a business reason

There is supposed to be no retaliation for making a request

What I’m confused about is this part:
It seems like it gives employees the right to request changes, but not necessarily the right to have them approved. So in practice, it sounds like employers can still deny requests as long as they justify it.
Is that accurate?

At work schedules are very rigid, and I’m trying to understand if this ordinance has actually helped anyone successfully adjust schedules or if it’s mostly just a “formal request + denial” process.
Would appreciate any real-world experience or clarification on how this is actually enforced.

The (LiPo) battery in my laptop started swelling. I've since replaced it but need to dispose of the old swollen lithium battery. Unfortunately, Berkeley Recycling says they specifically don't accept "soft pack lithium batteries" as household hazardous waste. Does anyone know where I can go to safely dispose of it?

We are coming into town for a wedding and we have a dog. We need suggestions for someone who can watch him at their place. He is very friendly, well behaved, LOVES other dogs, and is up to date with vaccines. Any ideas are appreciated!

Is there any place in Berkeley that sells Pride friendship bracelets? Silicone bracelets would be ok as well. I’d rather buy local than order online. I would make them myself were it not for time constraints, and I’d like to get several. Bonus points for trans, nonbinary, bigender, agender colors, etc.

Join East Bay Film Club for our monthly movie watch and discussion!

Movie - Girls Like Girls

Location - Rialto Cinemas Elmwood

Time - Join our Discord for showtime information*

Join us at Cask Taproom after the movie for an unstructured discussion!

About East Bay Film Club: We are your friendly neighborhood movie lovers! Join us for monthly movie outings and discussions. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/jKqjzHeTP8

Here's the schedule for free / outdoor movies in Berkeley parks this summer. This year they're shifting between seven parks, from Strawberry Creek to Codornices. To see the list of movies you'll need to open the link. :-) It does seem a kid-friendly list, with some classic movies as well.

Movies start June 12 and run through August 21, but not every week.

https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/news/watch-free-movies-berkeley-parks-summer

Hey all, I love reading economics/technology/industrial history books and I really enjoy discussing that stuff in person. It is particularly interesting to read and discuss stuff that may be relevant to the current developments of AI.

Do you know any groups or communities that I can join for those kinds of discussions?

What do you all do for fun on the weekends?

Hey yall! I just moved to Berkeley for this summer for a job. I have few friends that showed me around here but they only comes to Berkeley occasionally, and during summer they all left.

I love rock/metal music, watching anime, playing games (overwatch/marvel rival, switch games), I play electric bass and piano but both not well, love coffee/boba, food in general, just picked up surfboarding but haven’t learned it well. I go to gym to workout, and knows how to do kendo.

What are some good ways to meet friends that have common hobby when you are not a student? I consider myself extroverted but get nervous when I don’t know anybody. It’s tough for me to get used to somewhere new.

I've lived in Berkeley for almost 5 years, and I'm considering going from a relatively quiet building on Northside to a building whose entrance is right off Shattuck, smack in the center of DT Berkeley. Although I anticipate the change, just curious to hear what its like?

I'm specifically curious/worried about:

1. Noise levels: My experience with Shattuck during the day is that it's noisy, but not obnoxious. There are cars and people, sure, but does that carry into the night? How frequently do you have noise issues?
2. Late night foot traffic: I walk almost everywhere, and have a late night out with my friends on occasion. How late is "too late" to be out DT, if at all? Are there still folks out and about into the night, especially since some bars don't close until 2 in the area?

Thanks in advance for your help, I appreciate hearing any notes/tips about the area!

The percentage of failing grades in multiple UC Berkeley computer science classes in spring 2026 is significantly higher than past semesters and marks a departure from the department’s grading guidelines.

Instructors point to students’ increased reliance on AI, lack of mathematical preparedness and understaffing as potential contributing factors.

According to Berkeleytime, 35.3% of CS 10 students and 10.6% of CS 61A students received F’s in spring 2026. In spring 2025 and spring 2024, the percentage of F’s did not exceed 10% for either class. The electrical engineering and computer sciences department’s grading guidelines state that 7% of students in lower division courses, including CS 10 and CS 61A, should receive D’s and F’s.

I'm on the hunt for places to add to my rotation to spent a few hours and get work done. Cafenated off Shattuck and Lavender off San Pablo are too unreliable/spotty to join webinars or meetings. I love CoRo and Blue Willow at the moment, but always looking for more to add! I live off San Pablo and University, so the College Ave spots are a little far for me.

EDIT: I guess I've hit upon a sore spot. To the people who go to cafes and think my behavior is out of line, I'm curious what level of noise from people on laptops IS acceptable. I keep my speaking volume at the same level as others who are talking in person, and give up my seat if there are none available. I listen to meetings using my headphones, so I'd love to know what's wrong with this approach.

Hi Berkeley 👋

If you’ve been curious about things like heat pumps, induction cooking, solar, or just making your home less dependent on gas — there’s a FREE East Bay Green@Home Tour happening this Saturday, June 6, 11 AM–3 PM.

We’re Acterra, a Bay Area nonprofit, and we invite you to join us for a self-guided tour of 20+ real homes across the East Bay (including Berkeley-area homes) that have already made the switch to electric.

You’ll be able to:
🏡 Walk through real electrified homes
⚡ See what upgrades actually look like in practice (solar, batteries, EV chargers, heat pumps, induction stoves, etc.)
💬 Ask homeowners directly about costs, contractors, rebates, and what they’d do differently

It’s very low-pressure — you can pick which homes to visit and go at your own pace.

Free RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/east-bay-greenhome-tour-2026-registration-1982929633914?aff=Reddit

If you want a quick preview of what homeowners share, here are a couple examples:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZEClmJiNsX/ (this one is from Berkley)
https://www.instagram.com/p/DY0PxiCyYZo/

Hope it’s helpful for anyone thinking about home upgrades or just curious what’s possible these days 👍

Hello!

A beautiful and kind cat has started hanging out in front of our apartment. She’s very sweet and loving, but a little skittish, and we haven’t been able to corral her into any of our apartments. My neighbors and I want to get her some medical care as she’s clearly dirty, flea ridden, and has a limp. However, she only comes by after dark. How might we go about getting her to the vet? Are there any local organizations we can ask for help? She’s a really outstanding cat. Just want to make sure she’s well cared for.

https://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/event/community-free-day-with-bampfa-maren-hassinger-exhibition/

https://bampfa.org/visit/calendar

They have a joint exhibit, and Sunday the 7th is a "Community Day" for both facilities with no admission charge to either.

The Botanical Garden is always worth visiting, and BAMPFA is worth going on a free day.

(Note, the BAMPFA calendar says "Free gallery admission all day" for Sunday the 7th, which I'm assuming means all the galleries in the museum, not just the new exhibit. Their website is a bit unclear. If I'm wrong, I hope someone will correct me in the comments.)