BART Schedules Rockridge SweaterFest as Egg Palace Opens on Broadway

Transit festivities, culinary expansion on Broadway, and closely watched municipal elections headlined East Bay developments as BART announced SweaterFest 2026 at Rockridge Station Plaza, Oakland pop-up duo Egg Pals prepared to open their brick-and-mortar restaurant Egg Palace, and Berkeley tallied election night returns across four City Council districts and seven local ballot measures.

BART Announces SweaterFest 2026 and Station Announcement Contest at Rockridge

According to BART News, the transit agency will host its annual holiday celebration, SweaterFest 2026, on Saturday, December 5, from noon to 2 p.m. at Rockridge Station Plaza in Oakland. Attendees can shop for the 2026 BART holiday sweater and merchandise at a Railgoods pop-up shop, decorate holiday gift bags, listen to carolers, collect a new SweaterFest stamp for their BART Stamp Passport, and gather for a 2 p.m. group sweater photo. Riders who take BART to the plaza will receive a special sticker, with stamped stickers winning a holiday prize.

New for 2026, BART is hosting a station announcement competition inviting riders to write a holiday-themed station announcement under 15 seconds. Finalists will perform their entries live at 1:30 p.m. before special guests, and the winning announcement will be recorded and played across BART stations during the holidays.

Egg Pals Pop-Up Expands into Brick-and-Mortar Egg Palace at 4101 Broadway

Down Broadway in Oakland, chefs Brack DeFries (formerly of KronnerBurger and Fish & Bird Izakaya) and Chris Morgan (formerly of Starline Social Club) are converting their four-year weekend pop-up Egg Pals into a permanent restaurant called Egg Palace at 4101 Broadway, the former TrueBurger space, in mid-November or early December, according to the East Bay Express. Inspired after Morgan helped a friend open a New York breakfast cafe and moved temporarily to the Hudson Valley, the pair sold out of 60 sandwiches at their first pop-up at Ramen Shop in 2022 and now sell between 200 and 250 sandwiches every weekend.

Built on Starter Baker brioche buns, their menu features the $13 Egg Pal (two fried eggs, bacon, American cheese, pickled red onion, and herby mayo), the $12 Vegg Pal (with seasonal vegetables such as spinach and charred ramps), the $12 Pickle Pal with housemade mixed pickles, an occasional Spam Pal glazed with Huli Huli sauce, and a classic burger. At 4101 Broadway, Egg Palace will add evening bar snacks, salads, burgers, a fried-chicken sandwich, a full bar with cocktails, beer, and wine, and weekend brunch specials such as shrimp and grits and biscuits and gravy.

Laura Babitt Leads in Berkeley District 1 as Tregub, Humbert, and Micael Pace Council Races

In neighboring Berkeley, The Berkeley Scanner reported that Laura Babitt held a 52% to 48% ranked-choice lead over Daria Wrubel on Tuesday night to succeed outgoing District 1 Councilwoman Rashi Kesarwani in a five-candidate race that also includes Ross Bernet, Moni Gangopadhyay, and Steve Kromer. With about 3,800 ballots counted (compared with 6,625 in 2022), about 130 votes—less than 150 votes—separated first from third place as Wrubel's supporters gathered at Café Leila.

In District 8, incumbent Mark Humbert (who won with 64% in 2022) held 52% ahead of Michael Wallman's 33%, Mari Mendonca, and Fred Feller. In District 4—where 6,037 ballots were cast in 2018, 3,049 in 2022, and 2,335 in the May 2024 special election—incumbent Igor Tregub led Majdi Gaith 59% to 41%. In Southside's District 7 (which drew 691 votes in 2022, 490 on Election Day, and 488 when Cecilia Lunaparra won with 60% in April 2024), Syrak Micael led Aidan Hill 68% to 32%, while Hill campaign manager Josh Lavine noted outstanding mail-in and provisional ballots from volunteers at SoCo on Dwight Way. Meanwhile, six of seven Berkeley ballot measures led—highlighted by Measure U ($300 million infrastructure bond) at 70% and Measure V (half-cent sales tax) at 52% to 48%, while Measure Z (public bank parcel tax) trailed 42% yes to 58% no—and school board candidates Ka'dijah Brown, Jennifer Shanoski, and Sandy Park won the three seats ahead of write-in candidate Reichi Lee, with Alameda County updates scheduled for Nov. 6, 9, 13, and 16 after roughly 44,000 measure votes and 47,000 total ballots in 2022.