BerkeleyMonitor

In 2023, a @berkeleypolice lieutenant raked in $686k with overtime and benefits. 16 others cleared $400K+. This is overtime abuse, a department gaming the system, and a City Hall asleep at the wheel — all while running a budget deficit. Time for accountability. @CityofBerkeley

@BerkeleyScanner They live in neighborhoods with the highest tax subsidies, while new residents foot the bill for their low property taxes yet they oppose having new neighbors.

A draft plan to allow denser development in three of Berkeley's "highest-resource and highest-income" neighborhoods has already met with skepticism in at least some quarters. MORE: berkeleyscanner.com/2025/09/13/com…

2/2 Yet our councilors spend their time grandstanding on international politics and picking fights with the federal government. @adenaishii, @RashiKesarwani @bencbartlett, @okeefe4council, @brentblackaby @CeciliaforBerk, @MarkHumbert focus on Berkeley or resign now!

1/2 This has to be one of the most ridiculous governing bodies anywhere. The city is running a deficit, streets are riddled with potholes, and downtown is falling apart… berkeleyside.org/2025/09/10/ber…

@eb4everyone Over-regulation makes building new homes risky and expensive—condo insurance alone runs 3–4x higher in CA, wiping out moderate-income projects. And Prop 13 makes things worse, locking in tax breaks for incumbents while shifting the burden to new buyers.

Incredibly important report detailing why condos - for-sale apartments, instead of rental apartments - are so rare and hard to build in California, largely because of California-specific rules. ternercenter.berkeley.edu/blog/the-finan…

@RashiKesarwani @berkeleyside If the city council had any sense at all—and wasn’t constantly distracted by pseudo-progressive theatrics like passing resolutions on international politics—Berkeley could actually unlock its real potential for population and economic growth.

New Berkeley apartment buildings are generally filled, according to new data that debunks a commonly-held myth that new buildings are vacant. 👇🏽 New data busts a common claim about Berkeley's housing crisis share.google/1vCp55YezNCCoW… via @berkeleyside

@BerkeleyScanner Nonsense. Go home, morons. The council’s stance on international conflicts is irrelevant. Don’t make this already completely dysfunctional body even worse.

Protest demonstration outside #berkmtg — with a sanctuary city ordinance on tonight’s agenda. As council kicks off, audience member shouts, “What about Palestine?” in response to the city’s opening land acknowledgment for the Chochenyo Ohlone people.

@JesseArreguin Yet your county is getting dirtier and smellier, and more businesses are shutting down every month. Your politics have failed us miserably.

Happy Birthday California! 175 years since our state joined the Union, California has played a pivotal role in our nation's history, culture, and economy. Today, our state is known throughout the world for its innovation, nature, and opportunity. #CA175

2/2 The permit center is a choke point, the Rent Board is bloated and dysfunctional, and basic governance has collapsed.

1/2 While every downtown in the Bay is finding its footing again, downtown Berkeley is falling further behind—dirtier, smellier, and with more stores closing every month. Our nonsensical progressive politics simply aren’t working.

@70ms @JasminPing1 @d2wuzup @vonk1970 @FoxNews @wolfofwallst @GavinNewsom @JesseBWatters The number of poor and working class people actively harmed by prop13 subsidized is 100x the number of people that benefit. Count your lucky stars Meghan that you’re in the “in group”. You’re not segregated into the “ I have to pay full freight on my taxes” group

@SoliAlpert It may be impossible to undo the damage you and your predecessor have done to @CityofBerkeley. Reform @510981RENT now and stop wasting public funds. We can’t afford the bloated bureaucracy you’ve built.

3/3 @adenaishii @RashiKesarwani @bencbartlett @okeefe4council @brentblackaby @CeciliaforBerk @MarkHumbert Berkeley residents need action. Reform this wasteful bureaucracy now and free small mom-and-pop owners from its grip. Rental housing quality is a matter of safety.

2/3 Time to free small property owners with fewer than 5 units from this bloated bureaucracy. The Rent Board is nothing more than an expensive burden on tenants and residents of @CityofBerkeley.

1/3 The Berkeley Rent Board @510981RENT is a key contributor to the city’s crumbling rental housing stock. It burns millions in salaries and benefits to provide services almost no one uses.

@CollinRugg Private, for-profit healthcare is one of America’s biggest problems. Homelessness, addiction, and untreated mental illness all grow from lack of free care. Public, universal healthcare would save lives and cost less to run.

Mother left with a ~$70,000 bill for a 15-minute trip to the emergency room for her 6-month-old son. Absolutely insane. CA woman Jessica Farwell says she was forced by doctors to put her son in a helicopter, which ended up costing $90,000. The insanity doesn't end there. After the 15-minute helicopter ride, which was deemed necessary by the doctors because the hospital Farwell went to didn't have a burn unit, she was forced to put her son in an ambulance to get him from the helipad to the hospital. This was a 0.3-mile ride that they charged $10,200 for. The son, Brody, was treated with second-degree burns and was discharged the next day. The entire ordeal came to over $100,000. "You look at the bills, and it's absolutely enraging. We got hit for a $600 waiting fee... there's a fee for it being a nighttime service... there's just every single fee you can think of!" the mother said to ABC 7. Farwell said she was promised by doctors that her insurance would cover the costs. They didn't initially. At first, her insurance wouldn't even cover half of the bill, meaning she would owe nearly $70,000. "I've called the hospital, ambulance company, my insurance numerous times. It's been three years and then they wouldn't listen to me or talk to me. They just kept giving me the runaround..." she said. It wasn't until Farwell went public with ABC 7 that the insurance company finally gave in and waived the fees. Video: ABC 7.

@510981RENT is paying for Facebook posts no one reads. Berkeley has the most expensive rent board in the nation — and it’s bloated and overstaffed. Chairman @SoliAlpert, clean this up. What you’re running borders on theft of public funds. @BerkeleyScanner please investigate!

@MeghanMcCain @grok how many wars has Israel won?

Israel is the only country that is not allowed to win a war. Jews are the only people on the planet who are not allowed to defend themselves after attack.

The @CityofBerkeley is spending $35 million on services for fewer than 1,000 homeless residents; that’s over $35,000 per person. Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability on where this money is actually going.