A leptospirosis outbreak at Berkeley's Harrison Street encampment—a tropical disease rarely seen in developed nations—exposed how court-enforced injunctions left the city powerless to address a public health crisis for over a year. The case has intensified debate over homeless encampment policy statewide. Meanwhile, Berkeley figures are at the center of two other major controversies: a UC Regents cover-up over the SAT ban, and a proposed wealth tax championed by a Berkeley professor earning nearly $400,000 a year to teach one class per semester.
Leptospirosis, common in underdeveloped countries, spread through Berkeley's Harrison encampment—and courts continued to prevent cleanup efforts.
Robert Reich earns $13,000/hour to denounce capitalism while blocking affordable housing in his own backyard. Now he's pushing a tech-killing wealth tax.
Archival footage reveals the 2020 board meeting where Regents admitted they were ignoring faculty data to appease one woman.