Homes of UC workers tied to project were vandalized

At least seven houses have been damaged, university says

“We deeply appreciate and share the concern so many of you have for unhoused people in our community, and that concern is at the heart of all that we currently do — and will continue to do — to meet the needs of unhoused people.” — Carol Christ, UC Berkeley chancellor

BERKELEY >> The homes of seven UC officials and employees were vandalized in what university police believe were targeted attacks related to the People’s Park development.

At least seven homes across Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco were vandalized the night of March 4 into the next morning, including one where a brick was thrown into the window of a dwelling, according to UC Berkeley. Other vandalism included broken car windows, slashed tires and what police say were “highly threatening, hateful graffiti.” Words such as “A murderer lives here,” and “If you’ll try it, we’ll riot” were written on the homes.

UC said there were no reported injuries, but employees were “rattled” from the attacks in the middle of the night, some when the employees’ children were home. The damage since has been repaired and cleaned.

UC police believe the homes targeted were of those UC employees connected to the proposed construction project at People’s Park, which includes a 1,200-student residence hall, as well as 75 to 125 affordable apartments for homeless people or low-income residents, complete with onsite services. The university maintains it is in dire need of more student housing; UC Berkeley houses fewer students than any other campus in the UC system.

But some people targeted were not directly related to the project itself — one was a neighbor of an employee, according to the university.

The controversial construction has caused a recent uptick in the resistance movement geared toward protecting homeless people who currently live at People’s Park and preserving the park as is. Some current UC Berkeley students recently organized an occupy movement at the park, along with rallies, protests and weekly meetings with longtime activists on how to beautify the park. The 2.8-acre People’s Park is located on Haste Street, blocks from the UC Berkeley campus but still on campus-owned property.

Some of the recent activism started after the university put up fencing as a safety measure while testing soil as part of the planning phases of the People’s Park development.

On Jan. 29, a group of 200 students and community activists gathered at the park, tore down fencing the university had put up and placed the pieces symbolically in front of an administration building on campus.

The attacks on UC employees’ homes last week come on the heels of the first report of vandalism to a home Feb. 23, in which an unidentified UC employee had a derogatory word written on his home, along with the anarchist symbol. That occurred one day after UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ made an announcement about the People’s Park project, calling the site a “unique opportunity for a win-win-win-win.” The site would provide housing for students, permanent housing for low-income members of the community, renewed open space and a commemoration honoring the park’s past, she said.

“We deeply appreciate and share the concern so many of you have for unhoused people in our community, and that concern is at the heart of all that we currently do — and will continue to do — to meet the needs of unhoused people,” Christ said in the update.

The public review period for the People’s Park environmental report opened Monday and runs through April 21. People can review and comment on the university’s Long Range Development Plan and Housing Project No. 1 and No. 2, online at capitalstrategies. berkeley.edu, which includes the proposed project for People’s Park.

People’s Park is a historic site for anti-war activism; several protests occurred there in the late 1960s and 1970s. Back then, the university similarly had plans to build student housing on the site, but protests caused them to retreat. A group called the People’s Park Committee has worked to protect the park ever since.

The committee is concerned about the preservation of People’s Park, and “its inherent environmental, expressive, cultural, community, social, historical, horticultural and botanical values,” according to a cease-and-desist letter it sent the chancellor last month.

The park has turned into a place of homeless encampments, drug dealing and crime. Most recently, UC police are investigating an attack at the park over the weekend.

Contra Costa County could move into California’s red COVID-19 tier — which allows for indoor dining, as well as movie theaters and gyms to reopen indoors — as soon as Sunday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, at an event in Los Angeles on Wednesday, said he expects the state to hit its goal of administering 2 million vaccines in low-income, hardhit communities by Friday. When that target is reached, state rules are relaxed, allowing counties to move from the more restrictive purple tier into the less restrictive red tier with a COVID-19 case rate of 10 per 100,000 people, rather than the current standard of 7 per 100,000.

In recent weeks, San Mateo, Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Napa, Solano and Alameda counties all have moved into the red tier based on steadily declining rates of COVID-19. The only two Bay Area counties that have not are Contra Costa and Sonoma, which have seen declines, but have come up just short of meeting the criteria for the red tier.

If the state hits the vaccine threshold Friday, Newsom said that would allow several counties in Southern California, particularly Los Angeles, to move into the red tier. He didn’t mention that other counties around the state have similar case rates and also could be moved.

Contra Costa County health officials said that counties can move into the red tier 48 hours after the state passes the vaccination target. The trend is good news, said Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, but people should remain vigilant and wear masks and social distance.

“While certain businesses will be able to legally expand once we enter the red tier,” he said, “I’d advise we exercise caution and not throw open the doors to partying. We could still lose ground, especially with the new spread of some of the variants.”

Among the specific changes that happen when counties move into the red tier:

• Restaurants can open for indoor service at 25% capacity.

• Fitness gyms can reopen at 10% capacity.

• Retail stores can expand from 25% to 50% capacity.

• Middle schools and high schools can reopen.

Newsom, speaking in Southgate, singled out L.A. County and nearby areas as on the cusp of moving into the red tier once the 2 millionth vaccine dose is given in the low-income areas.

“Southern California, you will be a beneficiary of this,” Newsom said during a visit to a vaccination clinic.

“Specifically, L.A. will be a big beneficiary of this new metric that likely will be met on Friday,” he added. “And moving through the weekend and into next week, you will see more activity, more loosening of the tiers. That’s encouraging, and I hope people will be enthusiastic.”

As case rates around the state continue to drop — down roughly 90% now compared with two months ago — Newsom hinted at another shake-up of the state’s four-colored tier system, which currently uses purple, red, orange and yellow. In the past, state health officials said they deliberately did not create a green tier because reopening everything in pre-pandemic fashion wasn’t feasible when COVID-19 was raging, killing hundreds a day.

But that may change. “We are working, quite literally, on a green tier,” Newsom said, “and have been now for a number of months, in anticipation of this bright light at the end of this tunnel. We’re working on that.”