Ouch! Accident at Berkeley Apple Store construction site closes two businesses

There was "A very large bang" at about 9:50 AM on the morning of February 22, according to George Kiskaddon, a partner at the book store Builders Booksource (located next door to the new Apple store). "One wall has been left leaning and bowing into the next door building," he said.

Site workers were apparently digging new foundations on the site of the former Slater Marinoff building when two of the remaining free-standing walls suddenly sank about four feet into the ground. Fire officers evacuated the neighboring buildings as soon as they arrived as a precautionary measure. "There were no injuries," said Assistant Chief Sabina Imrie of the Berkely fire department, adding that the suspicion is that recent rain may have made the walls' foundations unstable.