A male victim was fatally shot in Berkeley this evening after a verbal exchange led to gunfire, according to police. -more-

Berkeley police Chief Michael Meehan announced his resignation today and will be leaving his post next month, according to city officials.

Meehan's resignation was accepted by City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley, who sent out an announcement to city staff this morning.

Capt. Andrew Greenwood will take over as acting chief after Meehan departs on Oct. 14.

No reason for the resignation was given and Meehan said only that he decided "the time is now" after talking to his family, according to a letter he sent out via Twitter.

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates suggested that, while Meehan made some admirable changes to the department, it was his inability to get along well with rank-and-file officers that led to his departure. -more-

A suspicious package that was brought to the Berkeley Public Safety Building at 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way this afternoon - temporarily forcing police and fire employees to shelter in place - was determined not to be dangerous, a fire official said. -more-

In Berkeley nine candidates are running for mayor to replace Tom Bates, who is retiring. The two top contenders, who are on the Berkeley City Council, are politically worlds apart. Laurie Capitelli tilts in a conservative direction, and Jesse Arreguin is among the most progressive council members. Because Capitelli is an ardent supporter of development projects, he receives substantial contributions from real estate interests. In fact, his habit of favoring developers and landlords as well explains why he raises more money than any other member of the Council. Also, despite Capitelli's recent support for a minimum wage law,-- elections are around the corner -- he has for a long while obstructed efforts to increase the minimum wage. -more-

Police are investigating another possible rape at the University of California at Berkeley that is the latest in a string of attacks reported recently, according to UC Berkeley police. -more-

Berkeley police Chief Michael Meehan announced his resignation today and will be leaving his post next month, according to city officials. -more-

More than three years after a transgender woman died in a struggle with Berkeley police, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the woman's family is set to go to trial and protesters are planning a march this evening to draw attention to the case. -more-

A report on the September 18 edition of CBS Evening News contained a singularly disturbing image.

Reporting on the extensive efforts taken to protect the president, CBS's Margaret Brennan explained how members of the Secret Service's elite counter-sniper team "are trained to hit targets dead on and, in the worst case scenario, put themselves in the line of fire."

In Brenna's report—titled "Inside the Secret Service sniper team"—government snipers were shown polishing their skills at a private government shooting range.

Instead of aiming their powerful long-range rifles at a generic black silhouette, however, the snipers in the CBS report were shown shooting at an identifiable human face—in this case, a photo of a white, blond-haired male.

I caught a screen grab of the critical moment (at left). -more-

A dispute between a mother and her 34-year-old son resulted in a three-hour standoff situation outside a Berkeley apartment Monday, police said. -more-

Firefighters managed to keep a fire in a small space enclosed between several downtown Berkeley buildings from seriously damaging either of two storefronts on Saturday afternoon, a deputy fire chief said. -more-

Smoke pillared above Downtown Berkeley this afternoon as a two alarm fire damaged the rear of a partially vacant historic commercial building on University Avenue near Shattuck. -more-

[Editor's note: Based on statements on the Hill Conservation Network website yesterday, it appears that plans for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund extensive tree removal in the East Bay hills has been cancelled per a settlement of an ongoing legal challenge to the project. The Hills conservation network issued this press release:]

FEMA case is settled!

We are pleased to announce that FEMA and the Department of Justice have signed off the settlement agreement between HCN and FEMA to resolve the HCN lawsuit challenging the adequacy of the FEMA EIS for vegetation management projects in the east bay hills.

HCN is pleased with this agreement in that it rescinds funding for the portions of the project targeted at removing large trees but maintains funding for essential brush clearing work. In practical terms the effect of this agreement is to rescind funding to UC and the City of Oakland while maintaining funding for EBRPD.

This has been a very long and hard fight, a fight that could have been avoided had UC been willing to adopt accepted wildland fire risk mitigation methodologies rather than insisting on removing 3 species of tall trees. The City of Oakland is an unfortunate casualty in this conflict largely because what began as a well intentioned public safety initiative was hijacked by the same faction that has made reasonable dialog and compromise impossible. -more-

So today I opened my email to the usual flood of pleas from candidates and causes, most of which I support. It’s annoying, but I guess they need our money to keep on keeping on with whatever it is that they do.

However. On almost a daily basis I’ve been getting a begging letter from or on behalf of one Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, better known as Daily Kos. He and his staff are asking for contributions to fund a new site focused on elections, a spin-off from their very popular aggregation of mostly pseudonymous rants from self-identified progressives. Like the main Daily Kos site, this new one seems to be ad-heavy (“3 Ways To Stop Dementia--Learn the 3 simple habits that can stop dementia dead in its tracks…).

With a claimed 10 million unique hits the Kos enterprise is big business. Today he’s asking each reader to give him a dollar, which would be a cool $10 million if they do.

All of this is fine. The Daily Kos founder, like Tom Lehrer’s Old Dope Peddler, is “doing well by doing good.” And why shouldn’t he?

But when national figures like Markos wrap themselves in the progressive banner, it’s a good idea to check out who they really are when they’re at home.

So when I saw Kos’s recent comments on local news site Berkeleyside, deriding neighbors who spoke up at Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board opposing expansion of a Honda repair shop into a historic retail building in a residential area, I was, shall we say, “shocked”. (Actually, not so much, because he’s done this before.) -more-

Lawyer running for Berkeley council accused of dishonesty by court

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Another one of our sharp-eyed readers has been saving screenshots of some of the worst postings by the notorious Kos, here presented with sarcastic captions by the editor for your outraged amusement. It looks like he and the Donald might have the same speechwriter. -more-

Some thought on Ben Gould and his attack on Jesse Arreguin.

I’ve been wondering what inspired a grad student to run for mayor ever since I met the guy earlier this year. Why would Ben Gould run for mayor when: 1) he had no name recognition, 2) he apparently had no city government experience 3) he seemed clueless about most issues important to the city, 4) he seemed unmotivated since he rarely, if ever, showed up for any city council meetings (or any other city meetings for the past two years when I started attending), 5) he showed no passion about any issues, and 6) he had no chance of winning. Did he just like to wear suits and be on stage? Was grad school so easy that he had time for this? (I remember working 70-80 hours a week when I was a grad student). I had pretty much forgotten about the guy until he wrote an editorial in Berkeleyside that posted on September 12.

What is now clear is that Ben Gould joined the mayoral race to play the role of Capitelli’s attack dog -- or the developers’ attack dog since Capitelli is the developers’ candidate. Ben’s job is to attack Jesse Arreguin on non-issues and be the conduit of developer propaganda. Ben’s job is to distort Jesse’s record in order to keep Jesse distracted and on the defensive. Running for mayor gives Ben Gould the perfect platform he needed to play that role -- libertarian attack dog. -more-

In 2006 Berkeley voters overwhelmingly (by 82%) passed Measure G, with a goal to drastically reduce Berkeley's greenhouse gas emissions. In 2007 a comprehensive Climate Action Plan was adopted by the city after a lengthy community input process. Emissions from diesel and gasoline transportation make up nearly half of Berkeley's emissions according to the Climate Action Plan, and therefore transportation reform was greatly emphasized in this plan.

The South Shattuck Strategic Plan, which numerous South Berkeley neighbors worked tirelessly to develop, plus numerous other city plans (including the Climate Action Plan), call for drastic reduction of private auto use. These community-supported plans implore the city to adopt strategies such as promoting small retail storefronts, modern public transportation infrastructure, bike lanes, and discouraging auto dealerships in South Berkeley, among other strategies.

Unfortunately, on Thursday night, the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) voted in favor of the fossil fuel economy.

The ZAB voted to grant an unprecedented use permit for a Honda repair shop and car dealership to move into a South Berkeley neighborhood, at 2777 Shattuck, with display of their wares on the triangle lot where Adeline and Shattuck merge, forming a gateway to downtown Berkeley. This is unprecedented because for the last quarter century our city's policy has been not to allow any new car dealerships, even relocated ones, in this area. At the request of Berkeley Honda in 2013 the city council quietly rezoned our neighborhood. Berkeley Honda's use permit, if upheld, would be the first such permit granted under this new scheme.

Neighbors believe that Honda’s repair service appears to be the primary use of the building based on detrimental impacts from the actual activities taking place inside the building, from repair service-generated traffic, and other factors. The 2013 zoning code revision clearly prohibits repair service as the primary use of a building in the new auto sales zone. Repair services may only be an "ancillary" use. The service component of the business will result in pedestrian and cyclist safety threats and excessive noise, among many other problems.

A group of neighbors near the proposed site of Berkeley Honda - some of whom live just two arms' lengths away from the site - are considering appealing the ZAB decision to the City Council. -more-

The media’s faux attempt to appear fair and balanced has led them to egregiously equate the ravings of a lunatic presidential candidate with the performance of a flawed but stable politician who has received plaudits as well as criticism for her public service of three decades. The media has abetted Donald Trump’s flooding of the truth with so many lies that anything looking like a fact is washed away. His surrogates are allowed to spout all kinds of falsehoods often with gross impunity and very little push back. -more-

The recent public disclosure of the provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership has galvanized some of the most highly respected economists in the country. More than 200 of these economists and legal scholars have written a letter urging Congress to reject the 12-nation trade pact, citing its controversial investor-state dispute settlement. Critics say the so-called ISDS regime creates a parallel legal system granting multinational corporations undue power.The letter states, "Foreign corporations can succeed in lawsuits before ISDS tribunals even when domestic law would have clearly led to the rejection of those companies’ claims." Among the letter’s signatories is Obama’s Harvard Law School mentor, professor Laurence Tribe. Senator Elizabeth Warren, an early opponent of the deal, said of ISDS, "This provision empowers companies to challenge laws and regulations they don’t like, with friendly corporate lawyers instead of judges deciding their disputes. Congress should not approve a TPP agreement that includes ISDS." Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, stated “this is an agreement so repugnant that members of Congress do not want to vote for it.” -more-

The well known writer, Upton Sinclair, developed a proposal during the 1930s depression that would encourage the establishment of worker cooperatives via substantial government investment to reduce unemployment and poverty. Sinclair ran for governor in 1934 as the Democratic Party candidate in California for the purpose of implementing his program, which he called End Poverty In California (EPIC). Business interests and their allies, including the leadership of the Democratic Party defeated his candidacy with a campaign filled with deception, dirty tricks, and voter fraud. In one San Francisco district, for example, just three votes were counted for Sinclair although 40 registered voters in the same district claimed they voted for him. Sounds familiar? -more-

The New York Attorney General has launched an investigation into the Trump Foundation. -more-

Money power has taken over our democracy. -more-

Last Friday, a dozen animal rights activists made headlines all around the Bay Area and the national food scene by disrupting dinner at Berkeley golden child Chez Panisse. If commentators and participants disagreed about the details, they all agreed about one thing: the event was classic Berkeley. -more-

In 1968, I was writing a huge piece of software — part of an inventory management system — and I got a cold. I was under pressure to get my work done, so I ignored my cough. And, I ignored the fact that I was working in a terrible environment — a highly air-conditioned computer room — and smoking cigarettes.

My cough got worse. I said to myself, “I’ll work through this and then, when my project is complete, I’ll take time off.” My cough deteriorated to the point that I had prolonged hacking episodes. Then I started running a fever.

Finally, I went to the doctor, who determined I had pneumonia and sent me directly to the hospital. As I was being admitted, I passed out. I woke up in a hospital bed under an oxygen tent.

After a few days, I went home and back to work. I learned two things: to stop smoking and to take better care of myself.

From the press reports about Hillary Clinton’s pneumonia, it sounds like she made the same mistake I did: when she experienced the first symptoms of pneumonia , she tried to work through it. Then she had an episode at the 9/11 memorial and was forced to take better care of herself. -more-

Ideally, if someone is afflicted with a psychotic illness, once medicated, she or he will gain insight into their condition--and into how their consciousness was or continues to be fooled by delusions and possibly hallucinations. Having insight into one's illness is the only way I know that someone can achieve a lasting and effective recovery from a psychotic condition. -more-

On September 5, 2016, the Albanian Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, known worldwide as Mother Teresa, joined about 10,000 other saints in the Roman Catholic heaven. -more-

The title role in 'Othello'' has been performed by black actors since Ira Aldridge--son of a freeman minister, born in New York City in 1807, with a career onstage there by the 1820s, though it was only after moving to London that he played Othello, where he was praised by Edmund Kean, first in selected scenes, then the play in 1833; later touring Europe and Russia, fathering opera singers and dying in Poland, where he's buried. Perhaps the most famous black performer who took the role--and took it around the world--was the great Paul Robeson, whose Broadway version ran from 1943-45. Studio and radio recordings with photographs of Robeson as Othello as well as commenting on it are on YouTube. -more-

Shinichi Iova-Koga and Edward Schocker--both associated with Mills College, Iova-Koga teaching dance composition and alumnus Schocker, founder of the Music for People & Thingamajigs Festival there--will perform collaboratively for the first time in their original show, 'Drowning Man,' 8 p. m. Friday the 16th and saturday the 17th only at NohSpace, 2840 Mariposa Street at Florida (between Harrison & Bryant) in Project Artaud, Mission-Potrero District, San Francisco. -more-

Next weekend's Bay Area screenings of 'Samuel Fuller: A Fuller Life,' a new documentary by his daughter on the Hollywood maverick filmmaker admired by a gamut of younger peers--from Godard to Wim Wenders, Scorsese to Jim Jarmusch to Tarantino--have become the occasion for a kind of mini-fest of 10 of Fuller's films, including a newly-discovered and restored director's cut of 'Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street,' shot in Germany and scarcely shown in America when released in a shorter form in 1973, a German documentary on the making of 'Dead Pigeon' ('Return to Beethoven Street') released last year, as well as a few classics and rarities--and the personal appearances of Fuller's widow and collaborator, actress and writer Christa Lang-Fuller and their daughter Samantha, author of the documentary on her father.

The screenings and appearances will take place over three days, Friday, September 23 through Sunday the 25th, at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco's Mission District and at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael. -more-