What Is Berkeleyside?

Berkeleyside is a local news site covering Berkeley, California, from breaking news and public safety to politics, food, real estate, development, and education. It is useful if you want Berkeley-specific reporting rather than regional or national coverage — for example, following a City Council race, a restaurant closure, or a hit-and-run investigation in your neighborhood.

What it covers

The homepage organizes coverage into a few recurring areas:

• Breaking news and public safety — for example, a sentencing in the Berkeley animal shelter arson case, or a West Berkeley hit-and-run that injured two pedestrians.
• Politics and elections — candidate guides for City Council, school board, and the rent board, plus coverage of local ballot measures.
• Food and business — restaurant openings and closings, such as Seniore's Pizza shuttering its Berkeley branch.
• Real estate and development — land-use stories like a private ranch near Tilden Park eyed for purchase by a land trust.
• Community and culture — street style features, event roundups, and local history.

How it is structured

Berkeleyside mixes original reporting with clearly labeled sponsored content. On the homepage, items such as a StopWaste piece on "best by" and "sell by" date labels carry a "Sponsored" tag, while staff-reported stories list a byline and timestamp. Election coverage is grouped into a dedicated guide section.

The site also runs recurring formats worth knowing about:

When it is the right source

Use Berkeleyside when your question is specifically about Berkeley — city government, local schools, neighborhood development, or the restaurant scene. For broader Bay Area or California coverage, you would typically pair it with regional outlets; Berkeleyside's value is depth on one city rather than breadth.

If you are new to Berkeley, moving there, or trying to follow a local issue, its election guides and topic feeds are the most direct starting points.