Santa Cruz city officials said they feel "deceived" and "outraged" that the Department of Homeland Security detained 10 people based on their immigration status during a joint operation with Santa Cruz police targeting gang members last week.

Santa Cruz police were part of the Feb. 13 operation to arrest the alleged gang members but claim that they were repeatedly told by DHS officials that day that an immigration operation was not taking place.

At the Feb. 14 meeting of the Oakland City Council, outraged residents insisted that this was not the case, despite efforts of some councilmembers to prevent them from speaking, and their claims prompted Deputy Chief Dan Flippo to undertake an independent investigation,

Today, DHS spokesman James Schwab said, "The whole thing is one investigation," when asked about the immigration enforcement operation.

A total of 22 people were arrested or detained as part of the operation, including 12 that are facing criminal charges.

Homeland Security officers arrested or detained 10 people for their immigration status, police said. All ten have been released; five people have been given a summons to appear in immigration court and five are wearing a GPS monitor, police said.

"I'm outraged," Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Chase said about the immigration enforcement. "There's no question that this action has torn families apart."

Police Chief Kevin Vogel said police are revising their policy on immigration actions and will present that policy to the City Council on Tuesday.

He said the Police Department has been "deceived" by Homeland Security and vowed the department will not collaborate with law enforcement agencies it doesn't trust. -more-

A female staff member at a private school in West Berkeley who allegedly was stabbed by a 20-year-old student on Tuesday afternoon has been treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital and released, a police spokesman said today. -more-

Berkeley City Council candidate explains plan to preserve, develop new affordable housing for a diverse community

Calling for regional solutions for new housing and to reduce homelessness, Berkeley City Council Kate Harrison, at a recent debate forum hosted by the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, said focusing only on market rate housing development in Berkeley won’t solve Berkeley’s affordability challenge.

“The real need is moderate and low-income housing,” said Harrison. “ ... building only market rate here in a local, hyper-active real estate market will not result in a reduction in prices. We have met 300% of the regional standard for market rate housing without an apparent impact on prices.” -more-

Berkeley: Yiannopoulos woes strip planned pro-Trump march of major theme >

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Police have arrested a 20-year-old man accused of stabbing a staff member at a private Berkeley school this afternoon. -more-

On 2/21/17 at approximately 1:46pm, the Berkeley Police Communications Center received a report of stabbing which had just occurred at a school on the 2100 block of 6th Street. The single adult stabbing victim (a staff member of the school) has been transported to a local hospital for treatment of their injuries.

The suspect has been identified as Angel Juarez 20, who has been described as a Hispanic Male Adult, brown hair, brown eyes, 5’0” and 100lbs. He was last seen wearing a long sleeve burgundy shirt, black sneakers, black pants, and carrying a large knife. Juarez was last seen running westbound on University Avenue over the Highway 80 overpass. Juarez is considered armed and dangerous. Officers are currently searching the Marina, Aquatic Park, and areas of west Berkeley for Juarez.

Community members in the affected area are encouraged shelter in place and report any person matching Juarez’s description. -more-

Oakland police have "disarmed and detained" an active shooter in East Oakland this morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. -more-

Twenty U.S. cities and counties led by Santa Clara County and including Alameda County have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that immigrants held in prolonged detention during deportation proceedings are entitled to certain constitutional protections. However, the city of Berkeley was not among them. -more-

Police arrested used less-lethal weapons to subdue a homeless man who was allegedly slashing tents with a sword in Berkeley on Thursday afternoon. -more-

Something must be done about having a lunatic for president, that’s a no-brainer. But what?

Many of my best friends are attorneys, from my own law school days and beyond. Actually, many of us are lapsed lawyers: retired, inactive or just former, since we’ve discovered that simply passing the Bar does not set our hands on the levers of power as we might have hoped when young.

Nevertheless, of the three branches of government we learned about in high school civics classes, the judiciary still seems to offer the most hope of eventually curbing the worst excesses of the person a creative rapper has been calling “Agent Orange”. Some among us are trying to learn what we might do to defend the migrants among us, but the short answer seems to be not too much, or at least not too soon.

Demonstrations are still needed to focus public attention on the worst outrages, which can pop up anywhere at any time. The spontaneous crowds who assembled at SFO and other airports when travellers were detained were very effective in highlighting the problem in a hurry, though it was the judges in the end who stopped the worst excesses created by the rogue executive’s illegitimate order.

The SFO action was a triumph of its kind. An opera singer of my acquaintance (a soprano) jumped on BART to join the action. On the train she ran into three singer friends, also headed for the airport to protest. When they got there, they decided that shouting slogans might be harmful to their voices, so they formed a spontaneous quartet and improvised harmonically on the words of the protest chants, to great (and even louder) effect. When they paused for a moment, a little girl of perhaps ten came up to the soprano, saying excitedly, “Did you know you just sang a high B flat?” “You must have perfect pitch,” the singer replied. And indeed the little girl said she does have perfect pitch.

You never know who’s watching your demonstration, do you? And eventually the detained travellers were released.

I thought of this story as I was wondering what could be done about the self-indulgent bullies who think they’re influencing public policy by breaking windows during other people’s peaceful demonstrations. Yes, boys just like to have fun, but this makes things worse.

I stand with my peers from the Free Speech Movement: I believe that we need to hear all ideas, no matter how hateful, so that we can combat them the best way, with Justice Brandeis’ classic antidote to speech we dislike, more speech.

Watching the live stream of the Black Bloc boobies in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of how Ann Arbor’s African-American community handled the threat of a similar eruption of testosterone-fueled violence. -more-

The residents at HUD multifamily Redwood Gardens have been issued a potentially life threatening decision by the Corporate owners and management of Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St. Berkeley, a HUD 197 apartment building. -more-

As the NYT opinioned “leaks are common currency — and, depending what side you’re on, either sinister or patriotic”. -more-

“Lock the doors!” “Lock the gates to feel safe”. I hear this comment from friends all the times. I wonder if someone can advise, how one can stop the invasion of fearful thoughts in one’s brain. They steal our rejuvenating sleep patterns and invade our relaxation time. They fear the executive orders and its impact on them and their families. -more-

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On February 11, 2017, demonstrations were held at least 225 Planned Parenthood clinics across the country in support of, and against, the organization. -more-

A psychiatrist said (I don't remember which one, or under what circumstances) that some amount of anxiety is useful because it keeps you on your toes. -more-

Kunqu--or just Kun or Wu--opera is one of the oldest forms of Chinese Opera, a great influence on the more famous Jingju or "Peking" Opera, famous for its melodic form ... -more-

Led by their Music Director Jeffrey Thomas, American Bach Soloists gave a series of concerts featuring French Baroque music throughout the Bay Area February 10-13, 2017. I attended their Saturday, February 11 performance at Berkeley’s First Presbyterian Church. In the 17^th and early 18^th century, French music was centered at the royal courts of King Louis XIII and Louis XIV. Under Louis XIII, an ensemble of the finest string players was created in 1626, called Les vingt-quatre Violons du Roi (The 24 Violins of the King). Occasionally, this group of violins, violas, and cellos combined forces with the royal wind and brass ensemble, La Grande Écurie, so-named because wind and brass music was mostly played for the hunt and dressage, thus emanating from the royal stables. Later, Louis XIV added more string players to the initial 24 strings, and this larger group was called La grande bande. -more-

There is tremendous hubris at work in John Adams. He reaches for the heavens, yet inevitably remains earthbound. In The Gospel According to the Other Mary, which was performed in a semi-staged setting by San Francisco Symphony February 16-18, a musical passage here or there may momentarily soar, yet vast stretches of music never get off the ground. -more-