TBS Today, Dec. 31

It was a busy day in Scanner land.

After picking up our 2025 press credential from OPD at 8 a.m., we hunkered down in the criminal clerk's office to review hundreds of pages of court records from cases we'll be telling you about soon.

There's been a bit of a (much-needed) lull this month, with council on winter break and the Board of Supervisors not quite ready to pick Alameda County's next DA.

That said, we expect January to be very busy, between court hearings, council meetings and the DA decision, which we'll be reporting on closely.

Don’t forget to park 20 feet from crosswalks starting Jan. 1

Parking in that zone on the “approaching side” of a crosswalk risks a $64 ticket — even if there’s no red curb. There’s a grace period until April 1.

The Berkeley ScannerCity of Berkeley

In the meantime, we're working to wrap up year-end admin tasks and take a bit of a breath as we head into 2025.

Speaking of admin tasks, if you happen to know a good small business tax attorney, we'd love your help to connect. Just reply to this email if you have a lead!

We may also be putting out the call for freelance writers and editors in the near future. Stay tuned.

In case you missed it: The year in Berkeley crime

2024 Berkeley crime snapshot: Most crimes saw steep drops

In 2023, Berkeley saw a significant spike in serious crime reports, but nearly all the numbers plummeted in 2024.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

If Scanner coverage has helped you, the time to act is NOW

If you've been on the fence about whether to become a monthly Scanner member or give a year-end gift — we hope you'll take the leap today and help us hit the new year running! (And after this, we promise to stop banging this drum for awhile!)

Last chance! Help The Scanner plan for 2025

Today is your last chance to become a monthly member or give a one-time gift to support our end-of-year fundraising campaign.

The Berkeley ScannerEditor’s desk

There's a lot coming down the pike in 2025, from a new reader survey to more TBS member events of different stripes.

In recent weeks, we invited founding members (our deepest supporters) and some other Scanner friends and local VIPs to come out to meet and mingle while supporting Berkeley Humane. In the end, we helped raise more than $2,000 for one of Berkeley's most beloved nonprofits.

We look forward to doing so much more to build community as we grow.

In other news

We updated our gunfire map Friday with the latest details about all of this year's shootings in Berkeley. We confirmed today that our map remains complete, accurate and up to date.

Even on nights and weekends, we do our very best to keep tabs on significant public safety news so you can get critical updates fast. (Paying members get access to exclusive breaking news alerts.)

Berkeley shootings in 2024: The definitive gunfire map

As of Dec. 27, Berkeley has had 30 shootings leaving three dead and seven wounded. There had been 35 shootings at this time last year.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

Thank you all for continuing to make this the best journalism job I can fathom! Onward.

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