People living in their vehicles at the Berkeley Marina left Marina Boulevard when ordered to do so by police this morning, one of the vehicle dwellers said this afternoon. -more-
One of Richmond's most beloved restaurants, Salute E Vita, run by a black woman immigrant known for her charitable activities, is closing because of a landlord-tenant dispute.
The waterfront restaurant, which has been open 25 years, is slated to close July 6. On July 5 and 6, proprietor Menbere Aklilu is offering a free meal at Salute in exchange for donations to benefit the 40 employees left jobless by the closure.
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From a long-time reader and contributor: “Voter Guide? Will the Planet offer one for June 5?”
Yes. Pertinent question. It seems to be June 1, with election day on Tuesday. Undoubtedly our most opinionated and confident readers have already returned their ballots, the written kind that used to be called absentees. But for the rest of us, the game is still in play.
The reader in question is someone I’d happily consult before making up my own mind. That’s how I do it myself—just asking around among people whose opinion I respect, and using the rough consensus of their opinions. I also look at the candidate’s claimed endorsements and try to avoid those candidates endorsed by people I don’t respect.
What I don’t do: Watch television. Watch ads on social media. Follow endorsements of the corporate press: San Francisco Chronicle, East Bay Times, East Bay Express (The Voice of the Cannabis Industry). I do look at what’s now called the San Francisco Bay Guardian endorsements, still orchestrated by my friend Tim Redmond, who was once the print Guardian editor and now edits 48hills.org. But I don’t follow even those slavishly.
Really, it’s a crap shoot, particularly for these June under-the-radar pseudo-primaries. I’m slowly realizing that this top-two system, which has been around since 2010, is a godsend to the big money neo-liberal crowd. The profile of such donors is broadmindedness on social issues coupled with a touching belief in the efficacy of markets on economic topics like for-profit charter schools and market rate housing development.
Even establishment Democratic party endorsements have a better record of producing effective candidates than top-two, though the two systems all too often echo each other. We have a great example of how the “top-two + DCCC” method works right here in California Assembly District 15, where one candidate (enough of her name already!) has both big-name big-Dem endorsers from out of town and “dark money” from a state PAC funded by the corporate finance crowd.
But we’ve complained about all this before, so on to the work at hand. Which candidate would give the corporate candidate a run for her money in the fall, and how about the other races?
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New issues will now be published on Saturdays and will be online until the next Saturday. If you'd like a preview of what's being posted, use the Next Issue button. Articles submitted mid-week can be added to the current issue if they're time-sensitive, but will be held for the next new issue if not. New editorials will be added mid-week and will run until the middle of the next week. If you don't want to miss anything, become a a subscriber by emailing subscribe@berkeleydailyplanet.com, which will put you on the list to get an email with new links as articles are added. -more-
Over a five-week period (so far) the Israeli army, in full sight of a world viewership, has killed more than 100 and injured more than 13,000 unarmed demonstrators positioned behind a security fence and mostly several football fields away from the firing line (although some approached the fence). How can Israel do this and suffer no repercussions whatsoever? Perhaps to ask this is to ask how Israel can do what it does in Gaza all the time. -more-
Voters find few challenges in using ranked choice voting ballot; more voters are ranking multiple candidates, while voter errors decline; new machines to allow improvements
SAN FRANCISCO – Ahead of San Francisco’s June 5 mayoral election, a report released today by FairVote California reveals that city voters interact effectively with ranked choice voting (RCV) ballots. Findings indicate that voters are increasingly ranking multiple candidates and that voter errors like skipped rankings and overvotes (when voters rank more than one candidate for each choice) are rare.
The report, which draws on data from elections that took place in San Francisco between 2004 – 2016, finds that city voters have used RCV ballots well from the start and more effectively each year. The report divides the elections into categories based on how competitive they were and analyzes the rates at which voters ranked candidates, the rates at which they skipped the election entirely, and voting errors.
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In the wake of yet another mass shooting in Texas, many Americans are asking, what will it take for Congress to restrict access to guns? The inconvenient truth is most lawmakers have a pervasive fear of the NRA and wish to maintain their charmed life style uninterrupted, a generous salary, Cadillac health care and virtually no accountability especially if they live in “safe” Congressional districts. -more-
It is shameful that federal labor law does not include any provision that curtails the right of an employer to impose last minute changes on work schedules. So the lives of a substantial number of workers, particularly in food service and retail business, can become problematic because they do not receive sufficient notice. This neglect in the labor laws is particularly burdensome for women, who need a stable work schedule to plan how their children will be taken care of in their absence. Generally speaking, unpredictable schedules in low wage jobs interferes considerably with the ability of working woman, especially single parents, to care for their families.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 41 percent of hourly workers (ages 26-32) find out about their upcoming shifts a week or less in advance.
Working people need consistency in their lives. Many obligations and activities that working people engage in depends on knowing well in advance what their work schedule will be. They should not have to cancel an appointment with their doctor, for example, because the employer on very short notice changes their hours of work. And parents should not be shocked when they learn that their child sitter would be on vacation just when the new schedule takes effect. The Economic Policy Institute found that haphazard scheduling not only reduces job satisfaction. It increases work-family conflict.
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The question is: has the Trump administration already made a decision to go to war with Iran, similar to the determination of the Bush administration to invade Iraq in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington? -more-
The Trump Administration is so dreadful they've made the George W. Bush Administration seem almost acceptable in comparison. Dubya surrounded himself with qualified staff. As awful as Bush Vice President Dick Cheney was, he had notable Washington experience: he'd served as White House Chief of Staff and as Secretary of Defense. In contrast, Mike Pence went from conservative talk-show host to Ineffective congressman (and governor) to Trump's Vice President. -more-
Like two alley cats facing off, Trump and Kim Jong-un have hissed at each other for quite some time. By pulling out of the summit, Trump has slinked off in defeat. Perhaps, Trump realized that his diplomacy by a 140 character Tweet was not going to be good enough to reach a satisfactory deal with the wily Kim. Rather than be embarrassed at the summit, Trump canceled it. -more-
There are many stories of recovery from mental illness. No one should presume that a person is hopeless, either based on statistical data, or on observing someone for a day or for a couple of weeks. There is nothing written in stone that says a particular person has a bad prognosis, just because a doctor or clinician has made that evaluation. -more-
Opera singing Divas Kathleen Moss Miller and Eliza O’Malley light up the hall with arias and duets from celebrated operas of Puccini, Verdi, Bellini, Bizet, Delibes and more with special guests Maestro Jonathan Khuner at the piano and his daughter, soprano Charlotte Khuner. Indulge yourself in a dazzling evening of opera's top hits with these San Francisco Bay Area favorites!
The Dazzling Divas,
Over the weekend of May 17-20, veteran violinist Itzhak Perlman returned to Davies Hall to do double-duty as violin soloist and conductor with the San Francisco Symphony. The program featured Perlman with oboist Eugene Izotov in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto in C minor for Oboe and Violin, Piotr Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, and Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Thus we heard music from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. -more-
Worth Noting:
After Tuesday City Council regular meeting the rest of the week is quiet with only two subcommittee meetings
May 29, ballots on Street Light Assessment and Stormwater fee will be counted. Ballots may be delivered at beginning of City Council meeting to be counted if not already in the mail.
City Council Agenda for May 29 includes initiating the Police Review Commission Charter Amendment. This is the first step. There is a timeline to get the Charter amendment on the ballot. June 29 item 32. Is to start the process. June 12 will be the vote on the Charter Amendment (content).
Want to help get out the vote - there are critical elections in California check out Indivisible Berkeley and volunteer to phonebank, District 10 Tracy/Modesto needs help, https://www.indivisibleberkeley.org/actions
The meeting list is also posted on the Sustainable Berkeley Coalition website.
http://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html
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