The Berkeley Pier faces some major issues of structural deterioration which may be costly to fix, City of Berkeley staff told the Berkeley Parks and Waterfront Commission Wednesday night, July 8, 2015. -more-

A judge has ruled that prosecutors produced sufficient evidence to have three men stand trial on murder charges for the shooting death of a Pinole man in Berkeley in December during a marijuana deal that went wrong. -more-

Members of the Sustainable Berkeley Coalition were rebuffed at Berkeley City Hall on Wednesday, July 8, when they attempted to file an appeal at the Berkeley City Clerk's office on a portion of the controversial 2211 Harold Way project in Downtown Berkeley.

Kelly Hammargren and Tree Fitzpatrick sought to present the Clerk with a detailed appeal letter over Hammargren's signature, as well as a petition signed by more than 30 Berkeley residents living 300 feet or less from the Harold Way site asking that the Zoning Adjustments Board's(ZAB) certification of the project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) be appealed to the City Council as provided in California law. -more-

The residents of Redwood Gardens continue to get increasingly frustrated in their efforts to get help from government and community agencies in the struggles with their management. Now they are learning that their situation is far from unique. There are issues of concern to tenants in HUD housing projects countrywide. -more-

The death of a 30-year-old woman who was found floating in the water near Richmond last Thursday is now considered suspicious, an East Bay Regional Park District police lieutenant said today. -more-

It is surprising that the FBI and its British counterpart, GCHQ, should be demanding greater access to encrypted data on the heels of one of the most egregious data breaches in US history when more than 21 million Social Security numbers were compromised.

It is heartening to read that fourteen of the world’s pre-eminent cryptographers, computer scientists and security specialists have collectively opposed the FBI and GCHQ’s demand for access to encrypted communications. Such access would endanger all such confidential data, as well as the broader communications infrastructure. Surely, with repeated data breaches of sensitive data we should be demanding more encryption not less. -more-

Our city has accepted $2 million in Cal Recycle grants for recycling thousands of old (toxic) tires into our asphalt mix. This asphalt would be used to pave streets and sidewalks and for crumb rubber (tiny pellets) used to rejuvenate artificial turf fields. -more-

Tomorrow night's meeting, July 14th, is the last one before summer break. Council will reconvene on September 15th. Here are a few items of interest on the agenda.

Initiating a Plan for San Pablo Avenue

Councilmember Darryl Moore and I are requesting that a Plan be developed for San Pablo Avenue to guide development and map out improvements for the corridor. Item #37 [PDF]. -more-

TO: Mayor Tom Bates, City of Berkeley Zack Cowan, City Attorney, City of Berkeley

FROM: Anna de Leon

RE: Agenda Item #54 Berkeley City Council Meeting of July 14, 2015 Establish a System for New Downtown Projects Over 75 Feet to Provide Significant Community Benefits -- Necessity for Adoption by Ordinance instead of Resolution

Dear Mayor Bates and City Attorney Cowan,

Given the scope and substantive changes to the existing ordinance guiding significant community benefits contained in the above agenda item, its adoption at the Council’s July 14th meeting by resolution, rather than by ordinance, would be in violation of the Berkeley City Charter. Accordingly, I request that this item be removed from the agenda and correctly re-submitted at a later Council meeting as a proposed ordinance.

Notice of the above concern was previously provided to you on June 25, 2015 in a letter from Ellen Widess and Rick Warren when the above Resolution was first introduced on the Council agenda as a discussion item. While your response at that time was that the Council could discuss the item, since it was only being referred to the City Manager without any formal action being taken at that meeting, the Council is now poised to take formal, and I believe legally incorrect, action. -more-

Concerned citizens wish to know who in the city government is tallying the ever-growing number of large new buildings and their cumulative impact on city resources and services such as streets and transportation, water, electricity, sewer, and fire and police protection. Given the fatal consequences of the collapse of the Library Gardens balcony, now we must ask if the city employs enough building inspectors to assess rigorously the quality of construction and adherence to code and the safe maintenance of these many new large buildings going up simultaneously, a phenomenon probably unprecedented in Berkeley's history. Someone needs to investigate the history of the contractors for large buildings to make sure they haven't been sued for shoddy work on previous projects, as is the case with the Library Gardens firm. We need to know the cost to city residents and taxpayers of this radical increase in construction in the city, in terms of infrastructure stress, increased traffic, and increase in greenhouse gases? Has an emergency preparedness plan been established to account for the special needs of emergencies in large buildings? This significant increase in housing units strains both physical, natural, and human resources, already aging, overburdened, or inadequate. -more-

Millions of dollars of downtown hi-rise developer fee reductions are on the July 14^th Council agenda. Multiple professional consultant reports suggest higher fairer fees. Nonetheless, the City Council has instructed staff to prepare three proposals to reduce millions of dollars in fees for wealthy corporations. Ironically these millions of dollars of corporate giveaways are being discussed within one month of the City cutting social service groups funding, and increasing homeowner fees. -more-

How can one person represent all Mexican-Americans? Francisco Lopez-Sanchez is accused in the shooting death of 32 year-old Kathryn Steinle at Pier 14 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco last week. The other day I was listening to a Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. I was amazed to hear the candidate say, he will close the borders so immigrants will stop killing American citizens. It seems to be a blame game. Because of one or two we cannot blame all the Mexican-Americans here. There are all kinds of good and bad people in the U.S. including descendants of those who came over on the Mayflower. The immigrants from families that have been in the U.S. for many generations also shoot and kill people. Why are there no heated debates about immigrants from England or Scotland? -more-

This is my rebuttal to an opinion piece posted this week.

This email is intended to answer questions about weeding at the Berkeley Public Library. I will provide a full presentation similar to this at the September 9th BOLT Meeting.

This process was originally queried in January 2015 by Berkeley City Council. At that meeting, I provided an Annual Report on the progress of Berkeley Public Library and answered questions about our weeding process. In particular, I pointed out a test case of the 500s, the section dealing with Earthquakes.

After a review by librarians it was determined 25% of the collection to be weeded was already missing (hence why it wasn't circulating). Of the remaining collection all but three books were questioned as a maybe to keep. Those that were pulled were decades old (some of the sampling included topics on earthquakes that go back to 1990 which seems is irresponsible to keep). -more-

The Central Berkeley Public Library, once a destination library, is now becoming a decimated library.

Hundreds and hundreds of books are being dumped from the collection without input from librarian selectors, and pulped. All “weeding” is being handled by two managers - with partial input from four other librarians. The entire rest of the librarian staff is locked out of the ordering and weeding process, and has no access to the book budget.

This new policy requires that books are discarded, based solely on their circulation records. The new library director has stated that all books on the shelves that haven’t circulated in the last three years must go. (Ten years for Art & Music books.) It’s being done clandestinely and quickly. All these titles are being "deleted" instead of cancelled so that all catalog records are destroyed. No count is being kept.

Senior retired library staff and current library staff have urgently approached members of the Board of Library Trustees to stop this process. Mr. Scott, the library director, reassures the Board that these complaints are exaggerated.

The staff, retired and current, is not exaggerating. -more-

When I bought a new laptop (generic--I couldn't pay for an HP) I was disappointed with the poor performance of the machine, and I was angered by the stupidity of the new version of Windows.

I do not use computers for entertainment. I am not impressed by the television commercials that are supposed to wow people with the fact that the new Microsoft product has a keyboard that can be taken off and put back on.

If I could have afforded a professional grade laptop, I would have bought one. I bought my previous laptop used from a friend. It had Windows XP, which I still believe is the best operating system Microsoft has produced.

The previous laptop, for which I had paid $75, was unusable at first because someone had a bunch of extraneous software on it, which included games, music, and about five antimalware programs that were working all at once. Once I cleaned it up, it became a great computer--almost a friend.

Then, Microsoft ended support for Windows XP, and this forced me to get a newer machine. I bought a generic laptop from Acer, which has turned out to be barely usable. -more-

The issue of affordable housing in Berkeley (and elsewhere) has become a battlefield, one that will affect all neighborhoods in Berkeley. Because the need is great, and housing is a human right (by international standards), many social movements, local and citywide, have arisen to get that need fulfilled. But if housing is a human right, why are political movements needed to obtain that right? After all, doesn’t capitalism function best (and profit most) by producing for extant social needs? Why is there a battlefield? Because indeed diametric interests confront each other – humans needing housing we can afford, and corporations whose needs are for economic control over markets. -more-

Rikers Island, our very own ‘Guantanamo Bay prison’, has a long dark history of incarcerating and destroying young lives. One of the most egregious examples is the recent tragic death of a 16-year-old high school sophomore, Kalief Browder, who was detained on suspicion of stealing a backpack. -more-

In the Bay Area and beyond, Eucalyptus trees are coming under attack, with many calling for their removal based on false claims about the flammability and invasiveness of this non-native species. There are a number of misconceptions about this beautiful tree, ranging from dubious allegations that their presence has a negative impact on native plants, birds, and bees, to the popular notion that they are more prone to wildfires than other species of tree. -more-

On July 30 this year throughout the country the nation will be celebrating the 50th birthday of Medicare, which, as you know, serves mainly senior citizens. An important component in this celebration is demanding Medicare for All. A major celebration will take place in Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland beginning 11am.

But 50 years ago President Johnson on the same date signed not only the Medicare bill. He signed into law Medicaid, which is a much larger program. Moreover, Medicaid provides services that are not available to Medicare recipients, including the availability of long term care facilities. Yet Medicaid is being ignored by senior organizations, labor unions, faith based and community organizations They act as if the program does not exist. -more-

The proposed Iran Nuclear Deal should go forward notwithstanding opposition from Israel and Saudi Arabia. -more-

Editor's Note: The latest issue of the Pepper Spray Times is now available.

You can view it absolutely free of charge by clicking here . You can print it out to give to your friends.

Grace Underpressure has been producing it for many years now, even before the Berkeley Daily Planet started distributing it, most of the time without being paid, and now we'd like you to show your appreciation by using the button below to send her money. -more-

Some have wondered what the Berkeley City Council did last night regarding the Baksheesh for Big Buildings law (AKA the "significant community benefits" resolution.) I was there, and I wonder myself. Here's a guess, subject to verification when there's time to get attorneys to review the transcript and the video: -more-

D'Army Bailey, Civil Rights Leader and Renaissance Man, Dies at 73

18-story Berkeley high-rise project faces disapproval at Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates criticized for encouraging landlords to form PAC

Recently, New York Times columnist David Brooks lamented that conservative Christians are losing the culture war. Brooks suggested that conservative Christians shift focus and “nurture stable families.” But Brooks is wrong; the culture war isn’t over. Conservatives are stuck in a war they can’t win. -more-

The Congressional harrying of former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over emails concerning the 2012 death of an American Ambassador and three staff members in Benghazi, Libya, has become a sort of running joke, with Republicans claiming “cover-up” and Democrats dismissing the whole matter as nothing more than election year politics. But there is indeed a story embedded in the emails, one that is deeply damning of American and French actions in the Libyan civil war, from secretly funding the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi, to the willingness to use journalism as a cover for covert action. -more-

Taking antipsychotic medication can be miserable in the short-term. This is due to the side effects, which typically include depression, body stiffness, a drugged out feeling, and a suppression of consciousness. (Some people also get other, worse side effects.) -more-

Everyone has now heard the news that Dylann Storm Roof, a 21-year old white supremacist, is accused of murdering nine worshippers at the historic Emanuel AME church in Charleston, S.C. The Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, the church pastor, was among the dead. -more-

Reeling from the Obergefell v Hodges Supreme Court decision making same-sex marriages legal in all 50 states, Republicans pushed back, claiming same-sex couples can be denied service whenever the provider believes this is consistent with their religious beliefs. Another form of LGBT discrimination. -more-

Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos is about as weird as opera gets; and opera can get pretty weird. In its original incarnation, this was a one act opera designed to follow a condensed version of Molière’s play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (translated into German by Hugo von Hofmannstahl), for which Strauss provided incidental music. This version was given in Stuttgart in 1912, and again in Berlin in 1913. It pleased no one. Subsequently, Strauss and von Hofmannstahl dropped the Molière play and wrote a lengthy Prologue to be performed before the one act opera. This new version successfully premiered in Vienna in 1916. -more-

Valiant Festival Opera, who in the past staged some of the finest opera productions in recent years in the Bay Area--are producing Richard Strauss' heady combo of comic and grand opera--"an opera within an opera"--this weekend at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, shows at 8 tonight and 2 on Sunday, conducted and stage directed by artistic director Michael Morgan (also of the Oakland East Bay Symphony), with a cast including soprano Othalie Graham, tenor Robert Breault, soprano Shawnette Sulker and bass-baritone Kirk Eichelberger. A must-see in a summer bursting with opera! -more-

"I saw them putting up the big tent on the headlands in Mendocino, while driving up Highway One," an old friend up north emailed me the other day. "Looks good from across the Big River estuary and the bay. I guess it's time for the Music Festival!" -more-

The SF Mime Troupe's 2015 Summer show, FREEDOMLAND, deals with police violence in America. The show is written by and stars long SFMT collective member Michael Gene Sullivan. -more-

The first of three extraordinary Mozart and Da Ponte collaborations, Le Nozze di Figaro premiered at Vienna’s Burgtheater on May 1, 1786, with Mozart himself conducting. Based on the 1778 drama Le Mariage de Figaro by French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, Mozart’s opera was politically suspect from the start. Emperor Joseph considered it “a bad play,” and he bemoaned the fact that his own sister, Marie Antoinette, was “beginning to be afraid of her own people.” Nonetheless, Joseph gave permission for the opera to be staged. We should note that Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, set to a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, fore-shadows the French Revolution of 1789 by dramatizing a revolution already taking place in the household of a fictitious aristocratic, Count Almaviva. In the course of this opera, Count Almaviva’s servants – Figaro and Susanna – repeatedly get the better of him, outwitting him at every turn, while achieving the moral high ground over the Count’s insidious intrigues. -more-

It seems absurd that our Congress debates sending our tax dollars to save other nations. We need to help our international communities, but at what cost? I hear that we should send our money to ensure safety and growth for other nations. Why are we forgetting our own? It is strange that first we attack other nations and destroy their resources, and then we start sending them aid. It is high time we focus on ensuring safety and growth for our own nation. -more-