Berkeleyside

Renderings presented by the development group Adeline Alliance Partners show the planned designs for a new transit-oriented development atop the Ashby BART station’s parking lot. Credit: Adeline Alliance Partners The development team picked to build hundreds of apartments at the Ashby BART station presented the first images showing the design of the project to more than 150 participants from community and advocacy groups at a meeting Thursday.

Editor’s note: Nosh covers food and restaurant news across the East Bay, and each week we publish one article covering all the restaurant openings and one article covering closings. Have a tip for Nosh? Submit it here. Subscribing to the Nosh newsletter is the best way to stay up to date on all of the openings and closings, breaking news, deeper developments, and events in the East Bay food scene. A reader sent a tip that they stopped by Ace Seafood during regular hours and it was closed.

For many longtime East Bay homeowners, the case for downsizing is obvious. The house is too big, the maintenance is relentless, and the equity is extraordinary. What stops most people isn’t the decision, it’s knowing where to begin. Have you started to wonder whether your house still makes sense for a life that looks very different than it did 25 years ago? Across Berkeley, Oakland, Albany and El Cerrito, longtime homeowners are asking the same questions: Is now the right time to sell?

People sit on a curb with their drinks on May 8, 2025, on San Francisco’s Valencia Street, an entertainment zone in the city where walking through the streets with cocktails is legal every night. Credit: Masaki Omori Drinking booze outdoors during street festivals, night markets, performances and more could soon be legalized in some Berkeley commercial districts.

Maya Merhige, a marathon swimmer, smiles for a photo covered in sun-blocking diaper rash cream before a long swim in Lake Tahoe a few years ago. Courtesy: Merhige family Heads up: We sometimes link to sites that limit access to non-subscribers. Berkeley teen Maya Merhige swam 21.4 miles from Ireland to Scotland, completing five channel swims in the Oceans Seven marathon challenge.

ICE agents detained someone near Telegraph Avenue and Woolsey Street July 9, 2026, shown here four days later. Credit: Daniel Ekonde/Berkeleyside Editors’ note: This article was first published July 14 and updated July 16 with additional information. Federal agents detained a 30-year-old visa holder near Telegraph Avenue and Woolsey Street on July 9 and, by all appearances, did so without telling anyone in city leadership or law enforcement.

Each year, thousands and thousands of pounds of trash accumulate across Berkeley. Candy wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic bottles, old shoes, chairs, sofas, washing machines. Illegal dumping tends to spike during Cal Move Out, despite a popular furniture reuse program — but it’s a problem everywhere from the Berkeley Marina to homeless encampments (often from people living elsewhere) to empty lots in West Berkeley to Grizzly Peak in the hills.

The smoky, slightly sweet, deep-roasted garlicky aroma of the BBQ fried chicken cutlet floats through the restaurant — a smell that Good to Eat Taiwanese Cuisine executive chef and co-owner Tony Tung says is distinctive for those from Taiwan. 1298 65th St., Emeryville; wearegoodtoeat.com Hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 5-9:30 p.m. “If you’re Taiwanese and smell this, you will immediately feel like you’re going to the night market,” Tung said.

Berkeley’s City Council has made it easier for police to request air support from other agencies like the California Highway Patrol, which operates this helicopter. Credit: CHP Golden Gate Division Air Operations In a narrow vote Tuesday the City Council gave the Berkeley Police Department more latitude to ask other agencies to send dogs and helicopters into the city.

Central Works presents their final production, “The Prince Parts 1 and 2,” from July 18 to Sept. 6. Credit: Robbie Sweeny Never miss local events! Sign up for Berkeleyside’s arts and culture newsletter, The Scene. And check out our roundup of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley.