Features

by Isabel Alter & Abby Chaver
The much-anticipated final book of The Hunger Games Triology, “Mockingjay,” does not end happily, or rather ends as happily as one might expect from the violent and wildly popular young adult fiction book.

The book, by Suzanne Collins, was recently released on August 24. Reaction was overwhelmingly postive, readers’ love reaffirmed by the abundance of Collins’ famous violence and supsense. 

“Mockingjay” is set in a post-apopalytic North America, the tattered remains of Mexico, America and Canada have come together to form “Panem.” 

A new Berkeley event has many residents excitedly searching their neighborhoods for public art. The Berkeley Mural Contest, created by Brett Weinstein of Reality Advocates in conjunction with the City of Berkeley’s Civic Arts Commission, is in full swing. The contest is organized much like a city–wide mural treasure hunt. Participants visit the Berkeley Mural Contest web site where they can view photos of 143 Berkeley murals. The goal of the contest is to locate as many of the murals on the website as possible.

Urban farm animals have become an increasingly frequent sight around Berkeley. Whether it’s a brood of chickens or a few goats, animals living in the city are gaining popularity. The growing slow food movement has encouraged home gardening, and some residents have taken the trend to the next level by raising animals that produce eggs, honey, meat, and milk. The lure of free, fresh eggs in such close proximity to homes has led to an incredible number of chicken coops in backyards. Some urban farmers even raise goats for milk or keep beehives.

On Thursday, May 14, thousands of Bay Area residents mounted their bicycles for the sixteenth annual Bike to Work Day. The San Francisco Chronicle called the day “the most successful one in the event’s sixteen–year history.” Over two-hundred “energizer stations” were set up where cyclists stopped to rest and enjoy free refreshments, bike repairs and encouragement. The energizer stations included one at the University of California, Berkeley, one at Missing Link bike shop on Shattuck Avenue and one at the North Berkeley BART station.