Berkeley has become a bit less livable with the permanently loss of a much needed and beloved community asset - Berkeley Iceland. The hearing and decision at the Berkeley City Council on September 11, 2012, was an encapsulation of the past five years. The decision to uphold the Zoning Adjustment Board's action approving Sports Basement's permits without further community input was a foregone conclusion. As I wrote at the time, it was not surprising but still disappointing. It was the result of the constant message by East Bay Iceland, Richard Zamboni, president, that a rink could not / should not be restored, the almost total lack of support by key City officials, principally Mayor Bates, and the fear that Sports Basement was the only chance to avoid further deterioration of Berkeley Iceland. As a result, there is no longer a special place where all of Berkeley can go and just have fun, meet new people, and enjoy the diversity of Berkeley.
   

 Last night the Berkeley City Council rejected SBI's appeal to Sports Basement's permit to open a big-box sporting goods store. For even our strongest supporter on the Council, Kriss Worthington, the opportunity to stop the degradation the owners had allowed for the past five years was too good to pass up. At least Kriss put the responsibility where it belonged, squarely on an owner who tied things up for over three years fighting landmark actions with the cooperation of some City leaders.

One month from today at the September 11 Council meeting, the Berkeley City Council will be making a decision which will say a lot about what they value in our city: whether to allow permits for Berkeley's first Big Box store at Berkeley Iceland or whether our community will have the option to restore our recreation and community center.