Extra

New: Revised Pro Forma Proves that Harold Way Project Profits Will Be $89-145 Million--Berkeley's Benefits Should Reflect This

James Hendry
Wednesday September 30, 2015 - 12:16:00 PM

Developer profits from the Harold Way project will be $89-$145 million even after the cost of the project labor agreeement (PLA) and the rebuilt theaters are met. The only "out of pocket" cost imposed by the Zoning Adjustments Board on the developer is a proposed $350,000 payment to the displaced tenant Habitot. This does not meet the "significant community benefit" standard required in Berkeley's Downtown Plan.

To download a revised Pro Forma which accurately analyses this project, click here.

In order to determine that the amount of “significant community benefits” that the Harold Way Project should provide it is necessary to conduct a thorough independent analysis of its potential profits in order that such profits can be fairly shared with the community. The Berkeley City Council’s guidance in Resolution 67,172 was that all applicants, even those predating June 25, 2015, must show that “the total value of benefits must bear a reasonable relationship to the value generated by the project” and that ZAB “will independently evaluate ”whether the benefits package is adequate in proportion to the value in height.”

To date, despite repeated requests throughout the process, ZAB has not developed an independent pro forma of potential profits for the Harold Way Project. Compounding this problem has been the developer’s lack of clarity in the project’s financials which continually appear to overstate costs and understate revenues. This includes, for example, overstating land costs, using higher rental rates to calculate claimed benefits while providing lower rates to calculate profits, and completely omitting various project revenue sources (such as parking) from their analyses.

To remedy this shortfall, and to better inform both the public and ZAB, a revised Pro Forma for Harold Way has been developed. It takes as its starting point the same format used by the Rhoades Planning Group, representing the project developer, in its July 28, 2015 Pro Forma, but then revises it to more accurately reflect actual costs and revenues. These revisions use numbers provided by the Rhoades Group itself in previous submittals to the City of Berkeley, or from economic studies prepared for the Berkeley City Council, primarily by the City’s consultants, AECOM that are also part of ZAB’s September 30th agenda package. -more-


Berkeley Unified School District Letters to ZAB Raise Serious Concerns Regarding the 2211 Harold Way Project

Wednesday September 30, 2015 - 12:23:00 PM

Two letters sent yesterday by groups connected with the Berkeley Unified School District to Berkeley's Zoning Adjustments Board urge the ZAB to postpone any vote to approve the project's permits unless and until the district's concerns about the project have been dealt with. -more-


New: Calculation of 2211 Harold Project Benefits is Not Complete: Berkeley ZAB Should Not Approve the Project Tonight (Letter to ZAB)

Kathryn Harrison
Wednesday September 30, 2015 - 10:03:00 AM

I am writing in opposition to approving the above project at the ZAB meeting of September 30, 2015 as critical and Council-mandated work associated with assessing the community benefits of the project has not been completed. If a more complete independent analysis not available at the time of ZAB’s meeting, I urge that consideration of the project be delayed. -more-


New: Berkeley: New Police Data Indicates Racial Profiling in Vehicle Stops and Searches

Scott Morris (BCN)
Wednesday September 30, 2015 - 09:45:00 AM

Newly released data from the Berkeley Police Department shows significant racial disparities in who is pulled over by police and targeted for searches, local civil rights leaders announced this morning. -more-


Press Release: Berkeley Police Department Data Reveals Stark Racial Disparities

From Berkeley NAACP; UCB Black Student Union; Berkeley Copwatch: ACLU Berkeley/ NorthEastBay Chapter: National Lawyers Guild, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
Tuesday September 29, 2015 - 09:35:00 AM

Newly released data on police stops confirms local activists' and communities' of color charges of racial profiling in Berkeley. Data on police stops in Berkeley from January 18, 2015 to August 12, 2015, collected by the Berkeley Police Department and disclosed in response to a Public Records Act (PRA) request, reveals a pattern of discriminatory conduct against African American and Latino civilians. -more-


Updated: Person Dies under Train at Ashby BART Station in Berkeley

Rachel Matsuoka (BCN)
Monday September 28, 2015 - 02:35:00 PM

A person found under a train at the Ashby BART station in Berkeley died this afternoon, BART officials said. -more-



Page One

Press Release: Berkeley Zoning Board to Hold Hearing on Berkeley Skyscraper September 30th

Margot Smith, Sustainable Berkeley
Sunday September 27, 2015 - 11:38:00 PM

The Berkeley Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB) is holding a special hearing on the 18 story apartment building proposed for 2211 Harold Way on Wednesday, September 30th at 7:00 pm, Berkeley City Council Chambers, 2134 MLK Jr Way - 2nd floor. It is very important for Berkeley residents to express their views at this ZAB meeting. -more-



UC Berkeley Police Arrest Man on Suspicion of Invasion of Privacy

Keith Burbank (BCN)
Sunday September 27, 2015 - 11:35:00 PM

University police detectives arrested a former University of California at Berkeley employee Thursday on suspicion of more than 24 counts of invasion of privacy, police said. -more-



Woman Sexually Assaulted on Berkeley Campus

Keith Burbank (BCN)
Sunday September 27, 2015 - 11:33:00 PM

Two men sexually assaulted a female victim early Thursday morning on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley, police said. -more-



Berkeley North Branch Library Closed for Bedbug Infestation

Sara Gaiser/Brett Johnson (BCN)
Friday September 25, 2015 - 09:54:00 PM

The North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library was closed this morning after bedbugs were discovered in several areas, library officials said today. -more-



Suspect in Berkeley Hammer Attack Arrested

Sara Gaiser (BCN)
Thursday September 24, 2015 - 11:59:00 AM

Berkeley police today said they have arrested an Oakland man in a hammer attack that occurred during a series of protests in December. -more-



Features

September 25 is Stanislov Petrov Day. Who's He? Simply, the Man Who Saved the World

Gar Smith
Friday September 25, 2015 - 11:54:00 AM

It's time (long past time, actually( for a planet-wide shout-out to Stanislav Petrov.

September 26 should be recognized globally as Petrov Day.

If it hadn't been for Stanislav Petrov, you and I -- and billions of other people -- would not be alive today.

Petrov was the Russian officer whose finger was on the nuclear button on September 26, 1983, the fateful day that Russian radar mistakenly reported an incoming flight of US ballistic missiles. -more-


Public Comment

New: Open Letter To Chairperson Pinto and Members of the Zoning Adjustments Board Re 2211 Harold Way

Shirley Dean
Tuesday September 29, 2015 - 03:56:00 PM

Having served on the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB), Planning Commission, City Council and in the office of Mayor, I have some understanding of the problems you are facing when you are considering action on a highly controversial subject such as 2211 Harold Way. When the voters approved the construction of two new residential buildings in the Core Downtown, no specific site was ever mentioned. The voters did not grant an entitlement to construct the proposed building at 2211 Harold Way and none was ever inferred, as this site is not listed as one of the 33 residential opportunity sites in the Core Downtown in the General Plan. These new buildings were to considered through the Use Permit process which specifically gives you authority to approve or to deny depending upon the particular circumstances of the site.

In considering those circumstances, you may feel so overwhelmed by the many details that are hearing about, that you just want to vote and move on. I urge you to avoid doing that. You are the gatekeepers for the direction that Berkeley will take. If built on the Harold Way site, this proposed building will not only be the most prominent building in Berkeley, it will be the dominant building for all the land on the Bay shore that stretches north of the Bay Bridge. This project is that important. Please, think about your responsibility to the future, and ensure you have a complete understanding of the project before you take action. And, there is much unfinished business in the application before you at this time. -more-


Bay Area Government Leaders Reap Sweetheart Housing Deals at Taxpayers' Expense--Even in Berkeley!

Fred Dodsworth
Monday September 28, 2015 - 10:51:00 AM

There are certain levels of corruption that folks get away with because the linkage is too tenuous… but in this case, the connection doesn’t seem to be all that tenuous. Laurie Capitelli, broker at Red Oak Realty and Berkeley City Council member (and our Tom Bates-anointed next mayor) claims to be retired, but apparently that didn’t stop him from pushing a deal through the city council that appears to have benefited himself personally.

Last time I looked council folk were supposed to recuse themselves from any legislation that personally benefited themselves. Usually they themselves don’t vote while getting all their pals to vote in their interest, but it seems Councilmember Capitelli didn’t think he needed a fig leaf to hide his nakedness on this transaction. When Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan needed a loan for his new home, he turned to our city council to pick up the bill and Councilmember Capitelli was only too willing to lead the charge… apparently Capitelli listed the property that Meehan wanted to purchase at the same time he voted in favor of the council subsidizing the chief’s loan!

That, of course, garnered Councilmember Capitelli (or at least the realty firm in which he’s a partner) a hefty fee, and guaranteed the deal would close. -more-


OPEN LETTER TO: Zoning Adjustment Board members, Berkeley City Council, Landmarks Preservation Commission
RE: Shattuck Cinemas

Charlene M. Woodcock
Friday September 25, 2015 - 11:49:00 AM

I write to urge that, as elected and appointed City of Berkeley officials, you conceptualize the consequences of allowing this huge project to go forward and that before your vote you take the time, as a matter of personal and civic responsibility, to visit the Shattuck Cinemas, especially noting the hand-painted murals and other decorative elements that enhance the four larger theaters. Tours of the site and theater interiors are scheduled for Sunday Oct 11 at 11:00 am, when the artist Ed Monroe and Architect William Simpson will be present, and Oct 25 at 11:00 am. Information: 510 325-1218.

The developer who wants to demolish the theaters and Habitot has recently proposed replacement of these ten theaters with ten mostly smaller theaters with fewer seats, most of them underground, without the beautiful aesthetic embellishments, and in advance of any rigorous testing of the soils under this landmarked block. This is at best a very poor mitigation of an incredible detriment to the interests of the residents of Berkeley and the East Bay, who patronize and place a high value on the existing cinemas. At the least, replacement theaters would not be available for two or three years. And there is no guarantee that the present very successful management, which has seen a 25% increase in patronage since 2008 to annual ticket sales of 275,000 to 300,000 per year, would be in place and able to continue the kind of programming with that has achieved this success and invigorated downtown Berkeley in recent years.

Another aspect of due diligence regarding this project is to consider deeply its many destructive effects on downtown Berkeley commerce beyond the demolition of the Shattuck Cinemas and Habitot. For two to three years the most vital area of our downtown would be turned into a dangerous construction zone with gridlocked traffic. Since there is no open space for a staging area, streets as well as sidewalks would have to be closed, hindering access to our main library, to our Post Office, to the YMCA, and to Berkeley High School. For these obvious reasons, this is not a site identified in the Berkeley Housing Element as among the Downtown Area Opportunity Sites. Rather, according to the Downtown Plan, as a landmarked block it should be protected, not targeted as a demolition site. -more-


Minimum Wage Laws: Real or Fictitious

Harry Brill
Friday September 25, 2015 - 11:45:00 AM

Good news! Minimum wage Berkeley employees receive on October 1 a one dollar increase in wages, which comes to $11 an hour. And the increase applies to tipped employees as well. Wage victories are being won in many cities in the Bay Area. These achievements represent not only moral gains. They are essential to building a sound economy. Consumer spending, which is mainly worker spending, makes up 70 percent of the domestic economy. Without boosting the income of working people, the economy will continue to languish. -more-


Editorial

Is Contrition Sweeping the Nation with the Pope's Visit?

Becky O'Malley
Sunday September 27, 2015 - 09:16:00 PM

Do you feel that lately it’s been All Pope All the Time?

If you do, you’re not alone. And it’s not news.

To someone raised in Catholic schools as I was, Pope Francis is just not a big surprise. The minute that former insiders like me heard that they’d elected a Jesuit as Pope, we knew that a change gon’ come, yes it will. Though as Sam Cooke also said, it’s been a long time coming. -more-


The Editor's Back Fence

Unfinished Business for the ZAB Tomorrow

Tuesday September 29, 2015 - 03:54:00 PM

A letter to the Zoning Adjustments Board regarding its special hearing tomorrow evening on the proposed 18-story development at 2211 Harold Way (behind the landmark Shattuck Hotel):

Dear Commissioners,

Your analysis of what might constitute significant community benefits for the project proposed for 2211 Harold Way continues to be woefully inadequate.

I know this because I stayed to the bitter end of your last meeting, and the commissioners were in complete disarray as to what dollar amount was being discussed, how it is supposed to be calculated, and how much purview the Zoning Adjustment Board has over how any benefits are to be allocated.

Please finish this conversation before approving any permits. -more-


More to Come in this issue

Friday September 25, 2015 - 12:02:00 PM

Again we're trying a rolling roll-out of today's issue. Keep checking: more to come, probably including a new editorial. -more-


Columns

THE PUBLIC EYE: Democrats Must Go On Offense

Bob Burnett
Friday September 25, 2015 - 11:41:00 AM

This summer Republicans have garnered a huge amount of media attention. That was true at the September 16th Republican presidential debate where they spewed lie after lie. Now, Democrats must go on offense and counter the deluge of GOP falsehoods and misstatements.

Unfortunately, in modern politics, it’s an accepted tactic to repeat a lie over and over until it is accepted as the truth. By now, the notion that Barack Obama is a Muslim should have been discredited; nonetheless, a recent poll found that 43 percent of Republicans believe this untruth. On September 17th, Donald Trump had an opportunity to set the record straight when he took questions from his audience and a participant began, “We know our current president is [a Muslim].” Trump didn’t respond. Two days later he tweeted, “Am I morally obligated to defend the president every time somebody says something bad or controversial about him? I don't think so!” Trump’s evasiveness is self-serving as 66 percent of Trump supporters believe Obama is a Muslim.

During the Republican debate the candidates spewed a torrent of misinformation. A record 23.1 million viewers watched the September 16 program and certain falsehoods were repeated over and over. Because there was no direct Democratic response, the possibility exists that some lies were accepted as truth. Here are some egregious examples: -more-


ECLECTIC RANT: Swiftboating Planned Parenthood

Ralph E. Stone
Friday September 25, 2015 - 11:51:00 AM

Remember the organization “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” and its smear campaign against 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry? Named after the group, the discredited, Republican-funded campaign against Kerry became known pejoratively as “swiftboating.” -more-


ON MENTAL ILLNESS: "Social Darwinism" and Bigotry Toward Mentally Ill People

Jack Bragen
Friday September 25, 2015 - 11:42:00 AM

Darwin's "survival of the fittest" has been twisted into a cultural monstrosity. Social Darwinism as a scientific philosophy, although discredited a very long time ago, has remnants in mainstream culture that shape most people's attitudes. -more-


Arts & Events

New: Gustavo Dudamel & the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela in Berkeley

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean
Sunday September 27, 2015 - 10:05:00 PM

Gustavo Dudamel, 34 years old, is the latest super-star among conductors. Much in demand internationally, Dudamel is Music Director of both the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. This week he brings his Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela to Berkeley for an ambitious and ground-breaking series of concerts, classroom visits, open rehearsals, and master classes. Dudamel himself is a product of Venezuela’s El Sistema, the ambitious and hugely successful national system founded by conductor José Antonio Abreu in 1975 to enhance music education and social change in that country. To date, over 2 million Venezuelan children have received musical instruction, and the Simón Bolívar Orchestra’s 180 members are all graduates of El Sistema. -more-


Mozart Live and Local from Berkeley Chamber Opera on October 9 and 11

Friday September 25, 2015 - 11:18:00 AM
Eliza O'Malley will sing the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro.

Locally-sourced food has been all the rage for a while now, but locally-sourced opera?

Berkeley Chamber Opera is attempting to provide just that—productions which showcase the work of the Bay Area’s wealth of resident professional talent in accessible settings, at a price which is affordable for a wide range of opera fans.

Many who have been introduced to opera through the popular Metropolitan Opera films haven’t yet experienced the unique excitement of live performance.

Berkeley Chamber Opera hopes to change that. Next on its schedule is Mozart's beloved Marriage of Figaro, to be staged at Berkeley's Hillside Club on October 9 and 11. -more-


A Monumental Exhibition of Ancient Bronzes at The Getty Center in Los Angeles

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean
Sunday September 27, 2015 - 10:12:00 PM

This remarkable show, which runs from July 28 to November 1 at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, brings together 50 or so ancient bronzes from 34 museums in 13 countries on 4 continents. It is a traveling exhibition which opened March 14 at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, then moved to Los Angeles, and will proceed in November to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Entitled “Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World,” this show is perhaps misnamed, for although it focuses primarily on Greek and Roman works of the Hellenistic period – from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC to the 2nd century AD – it also includes significant works from the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the so-called Classical period of ancient Greece. It offers, as one journalist noted, “the Murderer’s Row of Greek Bronzes.” -more-


Beethoven’s Immortal 9th Symphony at the Greek Theatre

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean
Sunday September 27, 2015 - 10:10:00 PM

On Friday evening, September 25, Gustavo Dudamel led the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre. Under Dudamel’s direction, the Simón Bolívar Orchestra has taken its place as one of the world’s leading orchestras. They just returned from performing several concerts and the opera La Bohème at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, with Dudamel conducting. Last week they opened the 2015-16 season in Los Angeles by uniting with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies. Beethoven, of course, was also the orchestra’s focus in their visit to Berkeley, and this visit was capped off in memorable fashion by an illuminating performance of Beethoven’s immortal 9th Symphony in D minor, Op. 125. -more-


Around & About--Theater: James Keller's Solo Show 'Who's Afraid of Marcel Proust?' ... and a Free Yakshagana Performance

Ken Bullock
Friday September 25, 2015 - 11:19:00 AM

James Keller was longtime resident playwright at the Magic Theatre some years back, his plays and adaptations familiar to Bay Area audiences, and they've been performed in London and New York as well. For the past twenty-some years, he's also been a popular teacher at Berkeley Adult School and other East Bay venues, well-known for teaching literature, film and other cultural subjects with great vigor. Keller's still writing (both plays and poetry) and directing his own scripts for the occasional show by his troupe, Poor Players ( poorplayers.org ). His dialogue and characters engage the audience, dancing in the spectators' minds' eye. -more-


Music: Berkeley Symphony & Friends--Chamber Music in Piedmont

Ken Bullock
Friday September 25, 2015 - 11:46:00 AM

The Piedmont Center for the Arts was packed early evening last Sunday, the crowd spilling through the open doors into the warm, still air outside the hall where violinist Stuart Canin, pianist Janet Guggenheim--later joined by cellist Jonah Kim--played the opening program of the third season of Berkeley Symphony & Friends chamber concert series with brilliant acuity, particularly apt for a concert dedicated to the memory of Robert Commanday, dean of Bay Area music critics, who died at his nearby home September 3, age 93. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Is Contrition Sweeping the Nation with the Pope's Visit? 09-27-2015

The Editor's Back Fence

Unfinished Business for the ZAB Tomorrow 09-29-2015

More to Come in this issue 09-25-2015

Public Comment

New: Open Letter To Chairperson Pinto and Members of the Zoning Adjustments Board Re 2211 Harold Way Shirley Dean 09-29-2015

Bay Area Government Leaders Reap Sweetheart Housing Deals at Taxpayers' Expense--Even in Berkeley! Fred Dodsworth 09-28-2015

OPEN LETTER TO: Zoning Adjustment Board members, Berkeley City Council, Landmarks Preservation Commission
RE: Shattuck Cinemas
Charlene M. Woodcock 09-25-2015

Minimum Wage Laws: Real or Fictitious Harry Brill 09-25-2015

News

New: Revised Pro Forma Proves that Harold Way Project Profits Will Be $89-145 Million--Berkeley's Benefits Should Reflect This James Hendry 09-30-2015

Berkeley Unified School District Letters to ZAB Raise Serious Concerns Regarding the 2211 Harold Way Project 09-30-2015

New: Calculation of 2211 Harold Project Benefits is Not Complete: Berkeley ZAB Should Not Approve the Project Tonight (Letter to ZAB) Kathryn Harrison 09-30-2015

New: Berkeley: New Police Data Indicates Racial Profiling in Vehicle Stops and Searches Scott Morris (BCN) 09-30-2015

Press Release: Berkeley Police Department Data Reveals Stark Racial Disparities From Berkeley NAACP; UCB Black Student Union; Berkeley Copwatch: ACLU Berkeley/ NorthEastBay Chapter: National Lawyers Guild, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter 09-29-2015

Updated: Person Dies under Train at Ashby BART Station in Berkeley Rachel Matsuoka (BCN) 09-28-2015

Press Release: Berkeley Zoning Board to Hold Hearing on Berkeley Skyscraper September 30th Margot Smith, Sustainable Berkeley 09-27-2015

UC Berkeley Police Arrest Man on Suspicion of Invasion of Privacy Keith Burbank (BCN) 09-27-2015

Woman Sexually Assaulted on Berkeley Campus Keith Burbank (BCN) 09-27-2015

Berkeley North Branch Library Closed for Bedbug Infestation Sara Gaiser/Brett Johnson (BCN) 09-25-2015

Suspect in Berkeley Hammer Attack Arrested Sara Gaiser (BCN) 09-24-2015

September 25 is Stanislov Petrov Day. Who's He? Simply, the Man Who Saved the World Gar Smith 09-25-2015

Columns

THE PUBLIC EYE: Democrats Must Go On Offense Bob Burnett 09-25-2015

ECLECTIC RANT: Swiftboating Planned Parenthood Ralph E. Stone 09-25-2015

ON MENTAL ILLNESS: "Social Darwinism" and Bigotry Toward Mentally Ill People Jack Bragen 09-25-2015

Arts & Events

New: Gustavo Dudamel & the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela in Berkeley Reviewed by James Roy MacBean 09-27-2015

Mozart Live and Local from Berkeley Chamber Opera on October 9 and 11 09-25-2015

A Monumental Exhibition of Ancient Bronzes at The Getty Center in Los Angeles Reviewed by James Roy MacBean 09-27-2015

Beethoven’s Immortal 9th Symphony at the Greek Theatre Reviewed by James Roy MacBean 09-27-2015

Around & About--Theater: James Keller's Solo Show 'Who's Afraid of Marcel Proust?' ... and a Free Yakshagana Performance Ken Bullock 09-25-2015

Music: Berkeley Symphony & Friends--Chamber Music in Piedmont Ken Bullock 09-25-2015