Phil Matier: Repealing The Nuclear Free Berkeley Act

BERKELEY (KCBS) – The city of Berkeley has investments in some of the nation's leading Wall Street firms, but it has a rule barring it from investing in U.S. Treasury bonds.

KCBS and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier said Berkeley City Councilman Gordon Wozniak is now looking to repeal key portions of that rule, known as the Nuclear Free Berkeley Act.

KCBS and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier:

"I think we're going to see a split on this. Some are saying this law, passed in 1986, was pretty much a political statement against nuclear weapons, energy and transport," Matier said. "But times have changed and Wozniak is arguing that, if we want to take a look at some of the new social villains, it's Wall Street."

Wozniak is mainly looking to overturn the portion regarding U.S. Treasury bonds, although ideally, he said he would move to eliminate the entire wide-ranging legislation.

Matier said that social activism in Berkeley has been around for a long time but the ideas are very difficult to take care of in the long run.

You can hear Phil Matier's comments Monday through Friday at 7:50am and 5:50pm on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

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