Berkeley spent nearly $1 million in overtime in 2017 to staff 911 center

Berkeley’s 911 Communications Center spent nearly $1 million in overtime in 2017 to make up for continuing vacancies and under-budgeted positions according to a new report from the Berkeley City Auditor. Without sufficient staff, it is also taking longer for Berkeley dispatchers to answer 911 calls. The faster a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic can get to the scene, the better the chances of a good outcome.

“As Berkeley continues to grow as a city, more people will need access to city services,” said Berkeley City Auditor Jenny Wong. “The 911 center is the first line of responders for emergencies in Berkeley. With predicted population growth, Berkeley will soon need even more resources to ensure all emergency calls are answered and dispatched in a timely manner.” Understaffing and subsequent excessive overtime needed to maintain dispatch services has taken a toll on the morale of dispatchers. All dispatchers who were interviewed or surveyed during the audit felt that morale in the workplace was low, and a significant cause is related to under staffing. -more-

University of California at Berkeley is hosting a #BirddayParty Thursday after Annie and Grinnell, the peregrine falcons that have set up household atop the campus' iconic Campanile bell tower, welcomed three new chicks to their nest this week. -more-

An intense human drama is playing out in Washington at this very moment but the US media is paying scant attention. Undeterred by the embarrassing failure of its recent attempt to topple Venezuela's elected government, the Trump administration continues to plot "regime change" for the "illegitimate" government in Caracas. Only now, it's preparing to take action closer to home. -more-

UCB seeks 500% increase in student enrollment over 2020 plan

What’s in a name? Quite a bit sometimes, as readers of the University of California’s latest environmental document have learned. Fortunately for citizens and taxpayers in Berkeley, those careful readers have included City staff and elected officials.

In February the University issued a “Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report [SEIR]” for a project named “Upper Hearst Development for the Goldman School of Public Policy and Minor Amendments to the 2020 Long Range Development Plan [LRDP].”

The “Upper Hearst Development” as described in the SEIR, consists of the partial or complete demolition of the parking structure at the corner of Hearst and La Loma at the northeast corner of the campus and the construction of a new academic building and an apartment building. University staff and faculty concerned about already scarce workday parking have objected to the demolition of the parking structure. Neighbors have objected strenuously to the overbearing scale of the apartment house next to a quiet neighborhood of historic homes and the failure of the SEIR to analyze the impacts or even to acknowledge them.

However, it was left to the sharp-eyed readers in city hall to examine the rest of the SEIR title “…and Minor Amendments to the 2020 Long Range Development Plan.” In a 456-page comment letter City staff and consultants have essentially accused the University of attempting an end-run around previous environmental studies about University enrollments. The City notes that while the SEIR tries to say that “ the ‘Project’ is nothing more than the expansion of the Goldman School of Public Policy, which involves the demolition of two parking areas and the construction of an academic building and one housing structure…” it is clear the “University is also purporting to analyze the environmental impacts of dramatically increased enrollment—nearly five times the increase anticipated in the 2020 LRDP.” If you are going to do this, the City says, then you must consider these two distinct projects in separate documents and you must do a complete analysis of both. -more-

The Bay Area Book Festival—one of the world’s premier literary celebrations—will bring nearly 500 speakers and exhibitors to Downtown Berkeley for its fifth anniversary event, May 4 and 5, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 9:00 p.m each day. Using indoor theaters throughout downtown plus Martin Luther King, Jr. park, the Festival includes interviews, panels, performances, exhibits and a free Outdoor Fair.

Since 2015, the Festival has been widely recognized for the quality of its authors, its international scope and its commitment to social justice. “The festival presents a diverse array of authors, many of whom are exploring some of today’s most urgent, complex issues, including economic inequality, race, immigration, and climate change,” said founder and director Cherilyn Parsons. -more-

Manufacturing consent: It’s a great concept, so intuitively powerful that it figured in Walter Lippman’s seminal 1922 book Public Opinion and was recycled in Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, a 1988 book by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, and then was the title of a 1992 film about Chomsky. I might have read the Chomsky book, but if so I can’t remember it, but what’s stuck in my imagination is the title, which is easily capable of quick application in the never-ending quest for how to make government work for the people instead of for the powerful.

This week’s lesson offers a stellar example of how it’s done these days in the Berkeley context.

Exhibit A was proposed in early March by Berkeley councilmembers Droste, Bartlett, Robinson, and Kesarwani, starting with this agenda item: -more-

Recent City Council meetings have seen strong reactions from folks there. I know that the council would prefer that everyone behaves nicely, patiently waits his or her turn at the mike and does not speak out of turn. But I think the Mayor and the Council by their own actions have made this almost impossible.

The point of public comment is that the people who pay taxes and vote get a chance to try to influence council members before the council votes. What has happened in Berkeley is that public comment has become a joke. It started during the Bates administration and unfortunately has reappeared with the new “progressive” council majority. Time after time when a vote is taken on an important issue, what has been said in public comment plays no role in how the majority of the council votes – most of the time there is not even an acknowledgement that anyone said anything. This leads to anger and cynicism – and when people’s very lives are at stake – as in the case of the vote on the RV policy -- the public has no way to express its concern, anger, outrage except to become loud.

In the matter of the RV policy if the Mayor and the City Manager had spent a few days or even several hours meeting with and talking to the RV dwellers and those of us who consider ourselves to be homeless advocates and had shown some tiny amount of comprehension of our concerns, much of the stormy rhetoric at Council might have been avoided.

In the meeting itself the Mayor turned a deaf ear to what the people in the chamber wanted. What in the world was he thinking when he repeatedly insisted that Item 21 had to go after other things on the agenda? It made no sense.

Unfortunately it becomes clear day by day that the leadership of this city has little interest in dealing humanely with homelessnees and is focused rather on just making those who are unsheltered go away.

Orderly conversations start with those who have the most power, not the other way around. -more-

23 Years of Compliance and of No Inpatient Care

April Fool's Day marked my twenty third anniversary of being admitted to "I" Ward at Merrithew Memorial Hospital for acute psychosis. The hospital has long since been demolished except for a few small buildings that have been kept for extra medical offices. The replacement County Hospital is called "Contra Costa Regional Medical Center." -more-

At this point, I am not sympathetic about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's arrest in London after being evicted from the Ecuadoran Embassy after six years in exile. Assange allegedly collaborated with Russians to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. -more-

With Australian conductor Simone Young making her local debut, San Francisco Symphony presented concerts April 18-20 featuring works by Maurice Ravel and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. I attended the Friday evening performance at Davies Symphony Hall, where we heard Ravel’s lovely Pavane pour une infante défunte and his Piano Concerto in G Major with Louis Lortie as soloist, plus Rimsky-Korsakov’s dynamic Scheherazade. This program offered us ample opportunity to appraise Simone Young’s conducting style. -more-

Worth Noting:

Monday the Zero Waste Commission will be discussing changes in accepted plastics for recycling. Since only actions are being listed in meeting minutes, this discussion information is only available by attending the meeting,

Tuesday April 23 is City Council. City Council agenda for April 30 is available for comment.

Wednesday the Energy Commission meets at 5:15 pm on building electrification and the Le Conte Neighborhood meeting has the first public discussion of Vision 2050.

Thursday the City Council policy committees on Budget and Finance and Land Use meet.



Last week City staff notified the homeless they will be clearing homeless encampments this week and allow tents only between 10 pm – 7 am. The City Council Presentation on homelessness – the 1000 Person Plan is scheduled for April 30 at 4:30 pm after the evictions.



General information including the Land Use Calendar, tentative schedule of City Council work sessions, boards and commissions delinquent in posting meeting minutes and links to BUSD and regional meetings are posted at the bottom after the summary of next week’s meetings.



Sunday, April 21, 2019 - Easter

No city meetings or events found

Monday, April 22, 2019

Children, Youth and Recreation Commission, 7 – 9 pm at 2800 Park St, Frances Albrier Community Center at San Pablo Park, Agenda: 8. PRW fee increase, 9. CDBG Grant Presentation

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Children_Youth_and_Recreation_Commission/

Civic Arts Commission – Grants Subcommittee, 5:30 pm at at 2180 Milvia, Cypress Room, Agenda: 5. Selection review panelists

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/CivicArtsCommissionHomepage/

Mental Health Commission

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Commissions/Commissions__Mental_Health_Commission_Homepage.aspx

4 pm - Accountability Subcommittee, at 2180 Milvia, Ironwood Room, 2^nd Floor, Agenda: 2019 Workplan

7 pm - Site Visit Subcommittee, at 2939 Ellis, South Berkeley Senior Center, Agenda: Discuss sites

Youth Commission, 6:30 pm at 1730 Oregon St, Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Services Center, Agenda: 10. Gender Neutral Bathrooms, 12. BHS Green Bins, 15. & 16. Measure Y1 16 &17 year olds voting in School Board elections

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Commissions/Commissions__Youth_Commission_Homepage.aspx

Zero Waste Commission, 7 – 9 pm at 1326 Allston Way, Willow Room, City of Berkeley Corporation Yard, Agenda: 8. Deconstruction Subcommittee update, 9. Single Use Foodware and Litter, 10. Modification types of plastics accepted non-bottle #1-#7, 11. Mixed Waste processing

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Commissions/Commissions__Zero_Waste_Commission_Homepage.aspx

Tax the Rich Rally, with music by Occupella, 5 – 6 pm at the Top of Solano in front of the Closed Oaks Theater, Rain Cancels -more-