Community Corner
🌱 Patch AM: 'Pinnacle Of Student Housing': New Apartments Open Near UC Berkeley
Happening soon: The Prediabetes Wake Up Call on the Berkeley Patch calendar

Hey hey Berkeley! Your one-stop source for local news is here. Continue reading for all the updates. ☀️
In today's newsletter:
- New Pique complex brings hundreds of student beds near UC Berkeley
- How will $850,000 reshape the Ashby BART area in South Berkeley?
- What will it take to restore Berkeley's defaced immigrant mural?
Also on today's calendar: The Prediabetes Wake Up Call and 9 more events.
Today's riddle: What did the tree say when Spring arrived? 🤔 (Answer below!)
- Friday: Breezy in the afternoon, with a high of 70 and low of 56 degrees.
- Saturday: Breezy in the afternoon, temps: high: 70, low: 57.
- Sunday: Areas of low clouds, then sun, with a high of 71 and low of 57 degrees.
📰 News we're reading
1. 'Pinnacle Of Student Housing': New Apartments Open Near UC Berkeley (patch.com) — Berkeley students looking for housing now have a major new option with the opening of Pique, an eight-story complex near UC Berkeley that can house nearly 500 students and offers extensive amenities and shared spaces. The project is part of a broader push to ease Berkeley's long-standing student housing shortage, alongside a 23-story campus building and the controversial People's Park development slated to add thousands more beds.
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2. Congresswoman Simon Secures Federal Funding to Create New Community Plaza Adjacent to Ashby BART and Expand Open Space in South Berkeley (house.gov) — South Berkeley is set to get a new community plaza and improved open space around Ashby BART, backed by $850,000 in newly secured federal funding. City leaders say the project will enhance pedestrian and ADA access, support affordable housing and commercial spaces along Adeline Street, and help transform the area into a more vibrant, transit-oriented neighborhood.
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3. After Berkeley mural depicting immigrants was vandalized, artist seeks support to restore it (berkeleyside.org) — A well-known immigrant-themed mural at Dwight Way and Sacramento Street in Berkeley was splashed with white paint, and artist Mokhtar Paki is now seeking community support to restore it. Berkeley police are investigating related vandalism nearby, while Councilmember Igor Tregub and the Civic Arts Commission explore funding and protection options so the mural can be repaired and better safeguarded.
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4. Newly Digitized Materials Paint a Fuller Picture of 19th Assyrians in Iran (aina.org) — UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library has digitized a rare collection on Assyrian history, including letters, journals, photos, and artifacts from late-19th and early-20th century Iran. The materials, part of a traveling exhibit, will be installed at Bancroft in late 2026, but Berkeley readers can already explore the newly available archive online from home.
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5. $20M NSF Renewal Supports New Frontiers in AI and Optimization (berkeley.edu) — UC Berkeley researchers will play a key role in a newly renewed $20 million National Science Foundation AI institute focused on optimization. Over the next five years, Berkeley faculty will help develop more efficient, trustworthy AI methods for real-world challenges in energy systems, supply chains, and manufacturing, strengthening the campus's national leadership in this field.
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📸 Around Berkeley
Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!
🗓 Upcoming Events in Berkeley
Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!
★ Featured events ★
- The Prediabetes Wake Up Call →
FREE LIVE WEBINAR on ZOOM,
10:00 am - Flipper Upper Properties Tour: Real Estate →
1653 Irving St, SF
10:00 am - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Free Shakespeare in the Park →
John Hinkel Park, 41 Somerset Pl, Berkeley
4:00 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Free Shakespeare in the Park →
John Hinkel Park, 41 Somerset Pl, Berkeley
4:00 pm
Saturday August 29
Sunday August 30
Want to see your event featured? Click here!
Other local events
- The California Native Garden →
University of California Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr, Berkeley, CA, 94720
1:30 pm - Summer Sunset Series at Chappellet Winery →
Chappellet Winery, 1581 Sage Canyon Rd, St Helena
6:00 pm - Off the Mat: A Yoga Book Club →
Book Society, 2945 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705, USA
10:30 am - SF Bay Brazilian Day & Lavagem Festival 2026 →
La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705
12:00 pm - Hands-On High Holiday Activities for Families →
St John's Episcopal Church, 1707 Gouldin Rd, Oakland
3:00 pm - Adult Tennis Classes in Berkeley →
Cedar Rose Tennis Court, 1300 Rose St, Berkeley
10:00 am - 3.0+ Tennis at Cedar Rose Park →
Cedar Rose Park Tennis Court, 1300 Rose St, Berkeley, CA, 94702
10:00 am - Intro to Tennis (True Beginner / No Experience Needed) →
Cedar Rose Park Tennis Court, 1300 Rose St, Berkeley, CA, 94702
6:00 pm
Saturday August 29
Sunday August 30
Tuesday September 1
Thursday September 3
📣 Berkeley Shout Outs!
Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!
Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.
Thank you 👏👏👏 to these businesses for making Berkeley PatchAM possible:
- Hangout Pizza & Pub — (510) 989-1067
- Accessibility in Practice — (510) 777-6330
- Cahoots Digital
- Looking Glass Photographic Outfitters — (510) 548-6888
Click here to show your appreciation! 💚
Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.
💬 Chatter
What your neighbors are talking about on social media
- LOST DOG.
Last seen ~2 days ago in his yard at Arch & Hilgard Moon is a sweet 90 lb. 7-year-old mixed boy dog—probably German shepherd, Doberman, and Great… (Nextdoor Le Conte) - ISO legos, games, & activities that can easily be set up and used during a 15-minute break at school for middle and high school students.
Pick up El Cerrito, Albany, Kensington, North Berkeley. Thank you in advance for taking a look to help out my students! (Nextdoor North Berkeley)
- TradeJobsWorkforce posted a job opening for American Airlines Baggage Handler in Berkeley. Apply here.
- University of California Berkeley posted a job opening for Assistant Professor- Indigeneities/Indigenous Feminisms From a Humanities Perspective – Department of Gender and Women's Studies in Berkeley. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Berkeley here.
Ok Berkeley! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: What a re-leaf! (Thank you Flo G. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!
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