TBS Today, July 10

The case of a Berkeley man charged with killing Curtis Marsh, an Oakland stylist, singer and drag performer, will now proceed to trial, an Alameda County judge has ruled.

The case grabbed headlines last year when UC Berkeley custodian Sweven Waterman, a felon with a long list of convictions, was arrested at Cal and charged with fatally stabbing Marsh at his home near Lake Merritt.

Questions remain, but our in-depth story reveals many details that have never been published before. Don't miss it.

Former UC Berkeley janitor to stand trial in gay murder case

Sweven Waterman and Curtis Marsh “exchanged” six phone calls shortly before the fatal stabbing, OPD said. No motive in the case has been released.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

Water main break: still under investigation

As we reported earlier this week, water service west of the freeway, which had been out since Sunday, was restored Tuesday by about 2 a.m.

EBMUD confirmed that the pipe that broke was a 12-inch asbestos cement pipe.

"A second area on the same pipe broke at this location near the original repaired break, and that was repaired," EBMUD told us. "Staff is looking more deeply at this pipe re: cause."

A reader (who asked to remain anonymous) shared a photo of the broken pipe, noting that he saw the "sections that were replaced … sitting on the ground next to the work area."

"One section is burst and you can see the pipe thickness has been eroded to a thin shell, the white grey color is typical of asbestos cement," he said.

If we learn more, we'll let you know.

Award gala this weekend

We'll have more stories for you this week but just a heads up: On Friday, we're heading to LA for the California Journalism Awards gala.

We're up for five awards Saturday night and will let you know if we prevail.

Berkeley Scanner a finalist for 5 California Journalism Awards

The judges recognized The Scanner’s coverage of the killings of brothers Angel and Jazy, Oakland crime concerns and a fatal police shooting.

The Berkeley ScannerEditor’s desk

Before the gala, we'll be part of a panel focused on "novel approaches to ensuring the financial sustainability of news organizations." That means you! Very excited to share some of what we've learned.

Update from the First Amendment Coalition

You may recall last year when DA Price refused us entry to her press conference.

The First Amendment Coalition, which helped us at the time, wrote a short story describing what happened. It just went live this week.

Government Doesn’t Decide Who Is (and Isn’t) a Journalist - FIRST AMENDMENT COALITION

The government can’t question a reporter’s status based on the nature of the publication.

FIRST AMENDMENT COALITIONdonal brown

You can see our related First Amendment coverage on TBS.

Beat the heat

High temperatures are coming back, with a new heat advisory in effect from 11 a.m. today until 8 p.m. Friday.

"Those sensitive to heat, such as the homeless, elderly, children, and pets will be at risk for heat-related illnesses," the National Weather Service said. "The long duration of this heat wave will cause cumulative effects and this situation remains dangerous."

The city of Berkeley shared the following tips last week.

Here’s how to get ready for extreme heat in Berkeley

In the days ahead, check on people living alone and watch for signs of heat illness.

The Berkeley ScannerCity of Berkeley

In case you missed it

Armed robbery crew hits jewelry shop, takes $500K in goods

The crew “used sledgehammers to break display cases and brandished firearms to threaten and control the staff and customers,” BPD said.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

See all our recent stories. Learn more about our work.

In other news: Berkeley restaurant inspections fall short

The Berkeley auditor's office has just published its latest report, which found that the city's Environmental Health Division is "chronically understaffed" and did not meet its targets for restaurant inspections or complaints about alleged foodborne illness.

You can read it online and learn more on the auditor's website.

On our reading list from around the web

UC Berkeley firebomb suspect was star pitcher, family threw huge July 4 parties

Casey Goonan was a standout athlete whose parents threw huge July 4 parties. Now Goonan—who has described America as a “fascist hellhole”—could face federal charges for allegedly torching UC Berkeley in a pro-Palestinian protest. How’d he get here?

The San Francisco Standardtchiensfstandard.com

Sam Bankman-Fried funded a group with racist ties. FTX wants its $5m back

The Guardian reveals FTX trustees, in charge after the CEO’s downfall, allege payments were made with looted funds

The GuardianJason Wilson

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