By Michael Liedtke, August 25, 2022
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Berkeley, an eclectic California city renowned for tie-dyed hippies and high-brow intellectuals, is experiencing a 1960s flashback triggered by People’s Park, a landmark that has served as a counterculture touchstone, political stepping stone and refuge for homeless people.
The 3-acre (1.2-hectare) site’s colorful history, forged from the University of California, Berkeley’s seizure of the land in 1968, has been thrust back into the spotlight as the school renews efforts to pave over People’s Park, this time for a $312 million project that includes sorely needed housing for about 1,000 students.
After a judge sided with the university in a legal scrum over the project, construction finally began Aug. 3 only to abruptly stop a few hours later after a swarm of defiant protesters, who had been sparring with police, toppled fences surrounding the park.
