Berkeley courts finally allowed cleanup of a disease-ridden homeless encampment after blocking it for 16 months — even as leptospirosis, a tropical bacterial disease spread by rats, threatened to contaminate a nearby creek. Meanwhile, Richmond reversed course on its Flock camera shutdown after car thefts surged 33%, with immigrant shopkeepers leading the push to bring the cameras back.
Leptospirosis, common in underdeveloped countries, spread through Berkeley's Harrison encampment—and courts continued to prevent cleanup efforts.
Car thefts jumped 33% after Richmond killed its Flock cameras. The people begging to bring them back were immigrant shopkeepers.
The city disabled its license plate readers to virtue signal national issues. Immigrant shopkeepers are paying the price.