To: Mayor Arreguín and Councilmembers:

I write on behalf of Berkeley Citizens for a Better Plan (BC4BP) to ask that the City slow down any settlement of the proposed new UCB LRDP, first obtain UCB’s final Environmental Impact Report, and includeall of the necessary terms of any settlement in a legally enforceable document. BC4BP is sponsored by BAHA and many other organizations and individuals concerned about UCB’s proposed LRDP with its astonishingly damaging impacts on the City of Berkeley and its residents.¹

Between April 2019, the start of UCB’s 2021 LRDP preparation and April 7, 2020 when UCB held a scoping session for preparing an EIR², it engaged in forums, surveys, and other public relations events, but failed to comply with Public Records Act requests for documents and architect plans related to the draft LRDP.³ Concerned about UCB’s suspicious withholding of information and documents, BAHA began extensive online research and on August 26, 2020, wrote to the Mayor and then met with him, the Vice Mayor, and staff to explain that UCB’s plan for a huge increase in enrollment was likely to harm Berkeleyans by: “(1) imposing enormous added pressure on already strained city services with their attendant costs; (2) substantially increasing demand for housing while reducing the number of rent-controlled units available to city residents; and (3) destroying key cultural and historic structures, and negatively impacting other historic structures located near UCB’s new development project sites.”  

The first time UCB provided the draft LRDP to the public was on February 23, 2021 and on March 8, 2021 it issued the Draft EIR (DEIR). Prior to the close of the comment period on April 26, 2021, less than two months ago, BAHA submitted over 5,000 pages of documents—a 160-page comment letter and appendices of the research documents it had collected. The City submitted a 65-page letter from its planning director. The next step in the CEQA process requires UCB to respond to the allegations, facts, and questions contained in these letters and any others submitted by the public.  

The LRDP is shocking, not only in its negative impacts for all Berkeleyans, but in the arrogance of the Chancellor pursuing these development plans. For example, the LRDP combined with the research completed by BAHA and BC4BP demonstrates that the so-called student housing in the gateway planned luxury high-rise building (Anchor) is full of luxury suites and amenities consistent with a $750-1,500 per night hotel stay, including each student having a private bathroom and each apartment for up to four students having a full kitchen and laundry equipment, and throughout the building, multiple lounges with full-size televisions, billiard rooms, cafes, private gyms, and substantial commercial space to compete with downtown Berkeley’s business district. Tens of thousands of square feet that should be used for student beds has instead been squandered away in this lavish development. It also requires evicting rent controlled tenants of a building UCB intends to demolish just to enable the luxurious lifestyle of wealthy students residing in this building.  

Another deplorable example is the requirement for pile driving the foundation for a (no doubt second luxury) 17-story building on the People’s Park location. The pile driving would last 22 days, and the EIR admits it will damage the nationally landmarked Anna Head School building and Bernard Maybeck’s masterpiece First Church of Christ Scientist. The EIR flicks away the problem by stating that UCB will pay some money for the damage after construction, without explaining how the church will use that money to find to buy irreplaceable art objects and special windows, once destroyed.  

BC4BP has prepared an extensive website using lay terms, that also includes the supporting research documents. It goes live next week.⁴ Before the City settles around the 2021 LRDP, the public needs an opportunity to review it and the Final EIR which will include the legally required public comment letters and UCB’s detailed responses. The City should not settle until after the Regents rule on the project, which still leaves plenty of time under CEQA for settlement discussions, and may resolve at least some of the impacts short of litigation.  

As an experienced and old land use attorney, I agree that settlement of lawsuits is always advisable if it means obtaining enforceable and beneficial results, rather than just another EIR report. However, the timing matters—settlements without all of the information or that represent “cutting and running” with no real benefit are not better than CEQA litigation, especially here where a court is likely to force UCB to include feasible and enforceable mitigations almost everywhere in the DEIR where it is claiming inability to mitigate negative impacts because of alleged “overriding considerations.”  

While UC has legal control over its properties under the California Constitution, and not the City, California courts have become fed up with the UC Regents’ arrogance and noncompliance with CEQA. Regents have lost many recent cases as a result, forcing them to either scale back, substantially delay, or abandon altogether their planned development projects. The Legislature also has come to the end of its patience with UCB’s financial waste, scandals, and depravity, resulting in large reductions of public funding over recent years. The latest state auditor report is highly damning, and includes despicable behavior related to UCB’s admissions practices. Most of the problems have been laid squarely at the current Chancellor’s feet and yet the Regents have done nothing to replace her. For all of these reasons, the City has strong leverage in these negotiations about an incredibly cruel, financially irresponsible, and environmentally damaging LRDP.  

UCB, as one of the world’s premier learning institutions, should be able to manage its growth in a way that does not negatively impact its host city. In its communications with City of Berkeley Mayor Arreguín, BAHA made the following specific requests prior to release of the draft LRDP: Seven Principles  

1. Ensure that the UC Regents pay the City fairly and fully for all lost tax revenues and increased service costs associated with the planned massive enrollment increase. We urge Your Honor to use all means possible to obtain those payments, including seeking assistance from Governor Newsom and Berkeley’s representatives in the state legislature, who have discretion over the state budget that UCB relies upon for a portion of its funding;  

2. Demand that UCB reduce the total projected UCB enrollment of 48,200 students through competent management, including reassignments to other campuses, a new campus, online education, or other means; or provide a complete, transparent, and realistic plan for student and faculty housing to accommodate the new projected enrollment, rather than relying on Berkeley’s already strained housing market and City services to absorb (magically) more students and staff;  

3. Request UCB substantially expand the geographic area of the proposed “new student housing” projects as the current plan reflects all new construction within one mile of the center of the main campus, which is already densely developed and which contains a disproportionate number of important historic and cultural resources including numerous landmarked structures. UCB owns and/or leases many more acres both within the City of Berkeley and outside it. Therefore, there is no need to pursue a plan that will result in eviction of non-student tenants, demolition of rent-controlled housing, and the use of master leases for most new housing to pit students against non-students for affordable housing. The LRDP also would produce large high-rise developments in current low-rise residential neighborhoods, thus destroying much of the character and fabric of the City. Expecting students to commute to campus from more than one mile is realistic and will not substantially diminish the campus experience particularly for graduate students and even seniors and juniors who have already formed solid relationships with faculty and their fellow students and may be more focused on their academic studies;  

4. Ask UCB to prioritize construction of new housing on non-landmarked properties including, but not limited to 1995 University Avenue (previously Golden Bear Ford dealership— this site has a surface parking lot which covers one-half of the block on the north side);  

5. Negotiate a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with UCB to preserve and maintain the Anna Head School building, the Clark Kerr Campus, UC Garage, and Smyth House, including their grounds, for the next 50 years, thereby preserving these historic structures and sites for future generations of students and citizens alike and removing the current uncertainty as to the plans regarding these iconic sites;  

6. Request that UCB substantially revise plans for the 17-story student housing behemoth on People’s Park that is inconsistent with the low-rise surrounding neighborhood and will overshadow all neighboring structures including the national landmark gem First Church of Christ Scientist by Bernard Maybeck and its facade wisteria; and  

7. Request that UCB provide more information and more transparency about its current enrollment and development plans. The information supplied by UCB to date, regarding its proposed LRDP is inadequate to understand all of the potential negative impacts. UCB should arrange for several public meetings (rather than the public relations presentations given to date) to explain exactly what it intends to do with the 13 properties that it describes tersely as “Housing Opportunities”; disclose on its website existing agreements with donors and developers concerning future student housing sites; and provide details on how it intends to acquire additional property and negotiate arrangements with private owners to accommodate the large number of additional student housing units proposed that cannot be built on current UC sites.  

Thank you for considering our comments. 

² Required under the California Environmental Impact Act (CEQA).  

³ See, https://lrdp.berkeley.edu/recent-updates?field_openberkeley_news_type_tid_op=or& 

⁴It was completed two weeks ago but a technical issue prevented its release at that time. 

Berkeley city offices will be closed on Monday in observance of Juneteenth.

Federal recognition of the holiday was approved by Congress and signed into law on Thursday by President Joe Biden. Berkeley city officials made the announcement on Friday.

City officials said most city services will close, but others including garbage, compost and recycling services will continue as scheduled.

The closures will also include all city recreation programs and facilities including pools, youth programs and camps.

Juneteenth falls on June 19 but may be observed on a different day.

On May 16, my ears nearly melted in disbelief when I heard KCBS broadcast an ad for Mammoth Nation over my car radio.

In the ad, Mammoth Nation presents itself as a buyer's coop for savings-seeking average Americans—i.e., "Stay informed on hot discounts, new products, and membership perks." But what startled me was the part of the ad that attacked "liberals."

Mein Gott! As if there's not enough partisan division in the country these days! I was flummoxed. I didn't expect to hear such a derisive slam popping out in the middle of a radio ad for cut-rate online shopping.

I went online in search of more information on Mammoth Nation. Here's what I found.  

Mammoth Nation's website is unashamedly overt in openly challenging liberals and leftists. Visitors are directed to a resource called the Institute of Anti-Liberal Facts (IALF): A Resource Center to Help Educate Liberal Democrats.  

The IALF's "resources" amount to a grab-bag of 15 far-right memes that attack the utility of COVID-19 face masks, the futility of Joe Biden's "socialism," and the validity of Biden's election victory.  

Other IALF memes attacked Andrew "Killer' Cuomo, Hunter Biden, and National Public Radio ("We will gladly spend 4 years helping Democrats spread fake allegations.")  

Mammoth Nation (whose logo is an angry-looking prehistoric elephant with an eerie resemblance to Donald Trump) calls "Sleepy Joe" Biden a racist, a fear-monger, and a presidential-election-loser.  

Trump, on the other hand, is portrayed as a great leader, an anti-racist, and the genius behind the success of the COVID vaccination program.  

MN's online spokesperson, Drew Berquist (identified as a former counter-terrorism officer), warns: "What the Liberal Democrats have planned for this country—and your family—would be devastating." He then pledges his allegiance to "conservative candidates… police, military veterans, the Second Amendment."  

Apparently, this allegiance works both ways. In the About Us section of the MN homepage, we read: "We are backed by Conservative candidates and lawmakers who share our goals."  

Echoing the Trump campaign, MN proclaims its goal is to "Keep America Great." The common enemy is Liberal Democrats who are "running wild with impeachment hoaxes and quarantines; K-12 schools and colleges are brainwashing our young; and never before has the media been so devoted to misleading the American public."  

Mammoth Nation appears to stake out a position that aligns with the January 6 Insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol Building. "[W]e will wrangle for We the People," MN decrees: "We stand strong to right the wrongs done during the 2020 elections and will not be deterred from our mission."  

Mammoth Nation's blog page (all entries authored by "Staff Writer") focuses on police rights, the immigrant threat, gun rights, and liberal "trigger" words.  

Some of the rhetoric is simply baffling. Like the meme that declares: "If you want to stop drunk drivers from killing sober drivers, all you have to do is ban sober drivers from driving. There. Now you know how gun control works."  

Mammoth Nation promotes the odd inconsistency that no one should be required to show an ID to buy a gun but everyone should be required to show an ID to cast a vote.  

A linked essay (all 340 words of it) cites "the rise in mass shootings lately" and suggests that a conspiracy of "liberal members of congress" may be "creating a crisis just to take advantage of it." (That's a pretty wild case of innuendo-on-steroids: suggesting that Democrats pare behind the spike in mass-shootings) 

Staff Writer concludes his argument as follows: "Intelligent people understand that gun laws only take guns out of law abiding citizens hands. If they want to pass a gun law that will actually save people’s lives, they should pass a Mandatory Carry Law. If everyone was properly trained and carried a gun when they're in public, how many shots would this lunatic have gotten off before a good guy with a gun put him down? I’d imagine that you’re going to think twice about trying to rob a convenient [sic] store, if you knew everybody else in there was packing." 

MN concludes: "Again, this is the big difference between Us and the Left. We have and use logic and common sense, the Left doesn’t care about either. They just want to destroy America." 

Postscript: When I contacted KCBS with my concerns and discoveries, a staffer asked for the time and date of the ad's broadcast and inquired if I had heard it on the local news or on the national CBS newscast. She searched her records but claimed that she could not find a posting for any ads place by Mammoth Nation. She promised to send my questions along to KCBS's Press/Media department. I have yet to hear back from KCBS.

The sordid secret is out. While most Americans “pay taxes as they earn” the ultra-rich have successfully gamed the system paying little or no taxes for the rest of their lives. The scam is easy to understand – never sell your enormous stock holdings which will trigger huge capital gains. Far better to borrow against your stock holdings at relative low interest rates to finance your lavish lifestyle, trips to faraway places or even a yacht to serve as a landing pad for your other yacht standing by. 

Towards the end of their lives, they transfer all their stock holdings and capital assets to their next of kin and the wicked game continues - until lawmakers stiffen their spines and pass a WEALTH TAX TO HELP PAY FOR THE CRUMBLING ROADS AND BRIDGES. 

Jesse Eisinger and his team at ProPublica have unearthed the numbers to back their findings. In “The Secret I.R.S. Files,” they combed through more than 15 years of federal income tax records, revealing that Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, George Soros and many others have paid as little as $0 in recent years. These billionaires live outside the tax system perfectly legally. Eisinger explains that the rich have built their power base and, their power on this scheme.  

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has proposed a worthless miniscule increase in the marginal tax rate from 37 percent to 39.6 percent.We have learned little from history. 

The colonists broke with England when the super wealthy of the budding British Empire efficiently controlled Parliament ensuring their assets were not taxed and the cost of empire were laid upon those without the money and connections. "Citizens United" has greatly facilitated the practice of legalized bribery. 

The shining beacon on the hill has been lost to the fog of corruption. Only the teaming masses desperate to enter the “promised land” still believe in the American dream.

₌It was back in 2014 when it all started, a small group of DSA members asked to help canvass for Tony Thurmond. I would meet them for coffee. “The sanity café” would socialize, talk politics and discuss canvassing.

How I ended up as a campaign canvass lead with not one drop of political campaign experience is a much longer story. One day I floated the idea of starting a political book club. I realized I wasn’t reading and thought starting a book club would give me the push I neededl plus this was a group that had been politically engaged for decades. Little did I know how starting this book club would change my life in so many ways.

I was listening to The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee, February 2021 as I cleaned up the kitchen before sitting back down at the computer to reflect on the last week and finish this column. Chapter 4 was playing on the 1933 Home Owners Loan Corporation, redlining, FHA loans facilitating White home ownership while preventing Blacks from the same privileges and subprime mortgages. I kept hitting the pause as I stopped to make notes in my reading journal to record quotes like, “What is racism without greed?” I mention this as it is the lead into what happened this last week.

When the mail arrived on Tuesday there were two “I want to buy your house” postcards promising no commission, no costs, AS-IS, and cash offer. Later the book Dry Spring the Coming Water Crisis of North America by Chris Wood arrived. This was all before the back to back special and regular city council meetings.

The supposed value of the house my nephew called “two bedroom no bath” (the bathroom is 5’3” by 9’) and the neighborhood my sister called “funky,” is off the charts ridiculous. My house sits in the formerly redlined district of Berkeley. I didn’t know this when I bought the house in 1990, but when I called the agent who had handled my car insurance and the house I sold in Sacramento, he told me Farmers didn’t insure this zip code, 94703. I was so naïve that it was years before I put this all together. 

Months on zoom and pandemic restrictions have demonstrated how little being in a particular location matters. I’ve lived in nine different cities, northern and southern California and the Midwest. What drew me to this city is on the block to disappear, but it isn’t just Berkeley, it is all across the State as the real estate investor industry has captured the legislature, the governor, staff and six members of our local city council. The lure of financing campaigns and lobbyists using the deceptive frame of eliminating racist exclusionary zoning moves into justifying trickle-down economics and destroying neighborhoods with densification. 

At the Berkeley City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, Alfred Twu ( CouncilmemberTerry Taplin’s appointee to the Landmarks Commission) stated that Republicans opposed SB 9, implying that anyone who opposed SB 9 should be horrified to be associated with Republicans or is otherwise a deep seated racist. SB 9 is one of several bills on housing floating through the State Senate and Assembly that removes local control and densify cities with no regard to the environmental impacts. 

Front buyers and flippers are scouring neighborhoods for sellers while these bills are probably giving developers wet dreams. 

Not long ago I was on a statewide call listening to a Black home owner from Altadena lamenting that the homes Black families had worked so hard to purchase and the neighborhoods they had built were now all on the chopping block if SB 9 and like bills passed. Anyone who is paying attention should be able to grasp the difficulties Black families have had trying to create intergenerational wealth through home ownership, and how their neighborhoods are now the target of speculators. The Whiteness of Wealth by Dorothy A. Brown drives the point home. 

Mayor Arreguin and five council members( Droste, Kesarwani, Robinson, Taplin and Bartlett) all declared their allegiance to SB 9’s unfettered development. Bartlett should know better. 

I doubt any of them have read Sick City: Disease, Race, Inequality and Urban Land by Patrick Condon (free download - https://justicelandandthecity.blogspot.com/p/download-sick-city-pdf.html) 

or watched his presentation, https://www.livablecalifornia.org/vancouver-smartest-planner-prof-patrick-condon-calls-california-upzoning-a-costly-mistake-2-6-21/, but then why would they? 

These days the response to any challenge is to dismiss it and run to your corner for reinforcement. It reminds me of denying climate change. If you look hard enough, you can always find a crackpot denier with fancy degrees. 

As for being on the same side as Republican legislators, I remember volunteering to help Hollister activists gather ballot signatures in 2014 to block fracking in San Benito County. Republicans signed the ballot initiative because blocking fracking would put an end to lateral drilling under their farm land, which would remove all control from land owners. The left, all of us knee jerk environmentalists, opposed fracking because of the pollution of ground water and impact on climate change. We were all going in the same direction, just starting from different points. 

SB 9 removes local control over zoning and piles on multiple small unit housing projects, the kind that often escape affordable housing requirements. SB 10 prohibits future council members from reversing zoning changes regardless of what impacts are identified. The target is the neighborhoods where land is the cheapest and profit the easiest. If you guessed poorer neighborhoods and neighborhoods with higher percentages of home owners and occupants who are people of color you hit BINGO. 

There are also restrictions on requiring parking for buildings within a half mile of transit, which is fine if you are young, healthy with no children, but not good for older Americans. The May 2021 issue of Nutrition Action quoted from JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) that one in four women over the age of 65 is unable to walk just two to three blocks at a stretch. That certainly is far less than a half mile. 

I oppose SB 9 for a whole host of reasons described better by others https://berkeleyneighborhoodscouncil.com/, but mostly because of the environmental impacts. All these bills and even the Sierra club ignore the importance of cities as creating a refuge, urban habitat, a reservoir for biodiversity. Covering our urban land from lot line to lot line with buildings and hardscape has a terrible devastating impact on water, climate and biodiversity. If rain ever comes, all this hardscape will just result in runoff rather than recharging the ground. 

I had a conversation earlier today with a leader in the Sierra Club, a fighter on environmental issues who admitted to never thinking about urban habitat. I’m not letting it drop there. We look at the larger picture and stop the silo that comes from “smart growth,” “infill,” and “single family homes as racist and exclusionary.” All these terms and phrases are meant to close down exploring the larger impacts of actions. 

As for the rest of the meetings of the week, I missed most of them. Too many were scheduled at the same time. I did make the 4 pm Tuesday council meeting where the vote was unanimous to merge commissions. Animal Care will be folded into the Parks Commission. Public Works and Transportation will be combined. Zero waste will be broken apart with the transfer station component going to Public Works/Transportation and the recycling going to the merged CEAC (Community Environmental Advisory Commission) and Energy Commission. They also voted to explore merging the Aging and Disability Commissions as they decided that the issues of aging are really disabilities. 

The Transportation Commission did meet Thursday evening and they pointed out problems with the BerkDOT (Berkeley Department of Transportation) planning. 

The one positive outcome of the entire week was at BCDC (the San Francisco Conservation and Development Commission) 

Despite pressure from the chair, Zachary Wasserman, an attorney, who makes his living from real estate deals and commissioner Tom Butts, Mayor of Richmond, the commission postponed for four months consideration of the Proposed Bay Map Amendment to allow a dense housing development at Point Molate. https://bcdc.ca.gov/cm/2021/06-17-Meeting-Summary.html 

In closing, I finished West of Kabul, East of New York by Tamim Ansary. When Ansary, an American who grew up in Afghanistan, heard talk show callers the day after 911 declaring how Afghanistan should be bombed into the stone age, Ansary wrote an anguished email to friends that was forwarded so many times, it circulated the world. The book includes the email and his personal memoir. This is not an author or book I would have found on my own and am so grateful for book club. Twenty years of war and the US occupation of Afghanistan are coming to a close, but closure for the Afghans is a long way off. West of Kubal, East of New York published in 2002 is still relevant. Ansary gave me an appreciation of a culture that is so distant from my own. 

In 1859 Charles Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Hmm. Dickens was writing about the French Revolution but his words are relevant today.

The United States is teetering on the edge of revolution. 

1.We've lost a governing consensus. Perhaps I was naive, but after the election -- particularly after the January 6th insurrection -- I expected the American people to put aside their political differences and come together to support law and order and the Biden Administration. This did not happen. While most Independents, and a few Republicans, joined Democrats in an effort to try to move our democracy forward, the bulk of Republicans hardened their resistance. 

The consequence is that in Washington, and most of the United States, there's not agreement on basic issues. 

2.The United States has become two nations, featuring two very different realities. One reality -- the reality I represent -- believes that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election. We believe that the January 6th insurrection was deplorable and that it was probably planned by Donald Trump and his co-conspirators; we believe they all should be charged with crimes. ("Lock them up!") 

It's not sufficient to say that those of us in "Biden land" -- for lack of a better term -- disagree with those in "Trump land." We are immersed in a different reality. In our reality COVID-19 was a terrible public-health threat and the correct way to deal with this was to wear masks, socially distance, and be vaccinated. We believe that Blacks lives truly do matter and that serious steps must be taken to provide racial justice -- and we do not equate the "Black Lives Matter" demonstrations, following the death of George Floyd, and the January 6th insurrection. (By the way, we do not trust the police to act properly in all circumstances.) 

Suffice it to say, the denizens of Trump land have a different perspective. There are very few things we agree on. 

3. Republicans no longer believe in Democracy. It's one thing to believe in an alternate universe, where Donald Trump tells the truth, but a much more serious problem when that universe no longer believes in democracy. That's what has happened; The majority of Republicans no longer believe in the basic tenets of democracy. 

A recent 2020 Kansas University election study ( https://news.ku.edu/2018/04/17/study-prejudiced-attitudes-not-economic-concern-drove-most-voters-trump) observed: "[T]he [2020] vote was a complex reality in which many factors played a part, above all, attitudes. And one of the attitudes that stood out statistically was a wish for a domineering leader who would 'crush evil' and 'get rid of the rotten apples' who disturb the status quo." [Emphasis added] Trump played "the dictator card" and it captured the fancy of a majority of Republican voters. 

Usually when we accuse a large group of people of being anti-democratic, we characterize them as fascists -- or communists. Trump supporters aren't coherent enough to be characterized as fascists, let alone communists. They are united by white grievance. They believe that "non-whites" are getting ahead at their expense. 

4. Conceptually, we are seeing a reprise of the issues that produced the American Civil War: racism and state's rights. Overt slavery is no longer an issue, but the life circumstances of most people-of-color remain unjust. The majority of Republicans don't see it this way. They subscribe to "replacement theory:" the idea that Democrats are trying to replace white folks with "non-whites" -- people of color, immigrants, Jews, and those with a non-traditional gender. 

And, the dominant political sentiment of Trump World is to give states the power to make more decisions about civil rights and social programs. While Republicans want some Federal services, such as Social Security and a strong military, the predominant sentiment is to "blow up" Washington and return power to the states. 

5. Hassles over slavery created the electoral college system and continue to plague us. As part of a compromise to reconcile "slave" states and "free" states, in 1787, the Constitution framers created the electoral college system. This specifies that the results of a presidential election are determined by state electors, not the popular vote. In 2000 and 2016, Republican candidates won the presidency even though they lost the popular vote. 

Republicans recognize that -- because of demographic trends -- they may never again win the popular vote in a Presidential contest -- therefore their strategy is to strengthen their hand in the electoral college. That's why there are new Republican measures, in Republican-dominated states, to suppress voting and to make the legislature the ultimate determiner of who gets the electoral votes. 

The 2024 Republican strategy is to win the presidency by taking advantage of the archaic electoral college system. 

6. Expect violence. Writing in the New York Review of Books (https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2021/07/01/reality-rebellion/? ), Mark Danner observed “'January 6 was not an isolated event,' FBI director Christopher Wray told Congress on March 2. 'The problem of domestic terrorism has been metastasizing across the country for a long time now and it’s not going away anytime soon.' After the Trump presidency, such domestic terrorism should be conceived not as a separable 'problem' but rather as the leading edge of a broader movement intended to delegitimize American institutions." 

Danner continued: "Trump is in the style of our moment: a man from nowhere, with no stake in the system, ignorant of history, incurious about our political habits and traditions, but happy to bash and to break old and precious things in exchange for a little attention." [emphasis added] 

7. Disinformation plays a big role. Brookings researcher, Darrell West (https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/01/11/the-role-of-misinformation-in-trumps-insurrection/ ), recently wrote: "Misinformation is a big part of our current polarization because it is hard to bring the country together when each side has its own facts and attributions of responsibility. It helps that some leading social media platforms have limited or banned Trump's posting privileges, but that will not stop the spread of misinformation as Trump likely will move to other sites that have few limits on what he can post. His followers will share falsehoods on their own sites, and misinformation will continue to divide Americans and poison our political environment." 

Summary: I'm alarmed by the current situation, but believe that with hard work, we can yet save our precious democracy. Briefly here are 5 suggested actions:
a. Get involved. Join your local political organization and support progressive candidates.
b. Support the John Lewis Voting Rights Act -- called HR 1 in the House version.
c. Do your part to get out the progressive vote.
c, Support lawsuits against state-level Republican voter suppression. (consider supporting Protect Democracy (https://protectdemocracy.org )).
d. Penalize sponsors of Republican disinformation -- for example, major Fox News sponsors such as General Motors and Procter & Gamble. 

Above all, pay attention! We're sliding towards civil war. 

Necessarily, a person who perpetrates a mass shooting is mentally disturbed. Those with a known history of psychiatric issues are not permitted into law enforcement jobs. 

Dan White, in the 1978, was the assassin of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, and when brought to trial used a bogus "Twinkie Defense." (This argument entailed that eating sugary foods had impacted White's mental capacity.) The actions of murder perpetrated by Mr. White had no defense, psychiatric or other. 

However, the scenario of the Dan White murders completely differs from what we've been seeing in the news in modern times. Dan White was latently mentally ill and was disgruntled at not being rehired by the Mayor of San Francisco. However, what we see today, across the U.S., are individuals without the same stature, and who appear to be - I'll say it: sick. In the modern-day mass shootings, it seems that perpetrators have lost the capacity for rational thought, except being able to carry out those actions. 

Mentally ill people should not be allowed to obtain guns. I'm mentally ill and I don't want one. 

I've been threatened at gunpoint by others. I'm not kidding. I was in one of the supermarkets where I worked as a janitor (the location was East Oakland, and the year was 1983) the store was robbed by two gunmen and I was the only one in the store with them overnight (while they waited for the morning crew to arrive so they could access the safe). 

It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced. I would never subject another person to that. 

People may think everyone should have access to weapons to defend ourselves. Is dying in a shootout defending yourself? There are other ways to preserve life. NRA people argue that more people should have guns so that the mass murderers could be shot by someone present. Has this ever happened? I know of no instance in which someone present with a weapon has saved everyone by shooting a gunman. What about people who are disturbed, in the first place, not having those weapons? That would prevent many of these tragedies. 

We currently already have an environment in the U.S. in which surveillance is commonplace and it is accepted. What about utilizing some of this to screen for disturbed people inclined to do violence? What about making it illegal for a person with a history of being mentally compromised to own a weapon? This might necessitate a Constitutional Amendment, a modification of the right to bear arms. Or perhaps a legal patch could be created that accomplishes this objective. You could reclassify persons with mental conditions unfit to exercise their Second Amendment rights. And, while you're at it, reclassify sociopaths unfit to serve in politics. 

The above, admittedly, are slippery slopes because you begin to take rights away from people who haven't necessarily done anything wrong. This goes against the U.S. Constitution, and it could put more power into the hands of mental health authorities, and this power could be misused. Additionally, with the current Supreme Court, anything of this kind would be struck down without hesitation. 

Yet, mentally ill people don't need guns and shouldn't have weapons. Other methods can be learned for self-defense. At one time, the NRA president was Charlton Heston, and the NRA was about responsible gun ownership and gun safety, and it was an organization run with rational thought. Now, we have extremists. Heston said something to the effect that assault rifles made him nervous, and he received some flak for that. 

Let's find consensus. Don't change the Constitution and don't send all the mentally ill people back to state hospitals. Take smaller, achievable measures that meet with less vehement opposition, such as background checks and restricting the weapons that are suited for these horrible shootings we're seeing. 

If someone walked into a Kentucky Fried Chicken establishment and carried a longsword in a scabbard, you'd have police and SWAT teams all over the place. Thus, right to bear arms is not absolute. It is partly a matter of perception. 

A final idea is to reclassify assault firearms as weapons of mass destruction. I am pessimistic about any of this because the Trump Administration has installed an enormous number of conservative and reactionary judges. For now, the American people must focus on the midterm elections (and a pushback on the horrible voter suppression laws) so that Biden and Harris can get more legislation and executive orders enacted. 

******************************************************************************** 

People on Antipsychotics Should Avoid Outdoor Activities in Hot Weather

Antipsychotic medications affect the cooling of the human body and make those taking these drugs more susceptible to heat caused illness. This poses a danger. While we may be urged by friends, family, and ourselves to participate in fun barbeques and picnics now that we've made some progress with the coronavirus, people who take antipsychotics, including young, fit individuals, are better off remaining indoors. I believe air conditioning should be considered a basic need for mentally ill people. If you don't have that, putting a damp washcloth around your neck, taking cold or lukewarm showers, or going to a cooling center, are ways that mentally ill people can be safe in high temperature weather. 

Say "Hello" to Mr. Mopps

At the beginning of June, the display windows of the Mr. Mopp's store on MLK debuted a new selection of books with titles reflecting the seeming return of post-pandemic normalcy. The array of books had one thing in common—the word "hello" in their titles. The ranks of welcoming titles included: Hello Farm, Hello Bear, Hello Lighthouse, Hello Rain!, Hello Moon, Hello World, Hello Universe, Hello Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Say Hello, and Hola Cangrejito (that's "Hello Crab" in English).

With the store's doors reopened in accordance with gubernatorial decree, it was finally possible to casually walk into the longtime-and-still-standing landmark and meet the book-lover in charge of choosing which books to put on display. The window wizard is Mopps' staffer Clare Doornbos and she has already rolled out a new selection of titles to engage the eyes of passing pedestrians. The current theme celebrates the world of "young artists." Trot on over with your junior Picassos and Kahlos and give it a look. 

Is This Breaking-News-App Broken? 

The Chronicle is offering a new phone app for subscribers who want quicker access to breaking news. The ad for the online offer pictures a smartphone with a headline about the "Global Climate Change Fight." 

Well and good? No so much! On closer inspection, it turns out the story refers to the US pullout from the global climate treaty—following orders from "President Trump…." In 2020. 

Not a stellar choice for demonstrating "up-to-the-minute" news. 

Fashion Plates 

Some personalized license plates spotted around town: OOOOF (on a sports car brandishing several decals of dogs—and one "Hello, Kitty"), EEKACAT, BLQ OPL (on a black Mercedes Benz), IBETUDO (I bet you do, too), and BSRKLY (on the backside of a Toyota RAV4). Interested in seeing some of the Vanity Plate requests that the DMV's censors nixed? Here's a short sample: 

DC Statehood: A Challenge for Flag Designers 

This upcoming week, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold its first hearing on the issue of granting statehood to the District of Columbia. [Note: This might be a good time to also consider granting statehood to the residents of Puerto Rico since adding two stars might make it easier to redesign the flag.] 

Last year, members of the House passed the Washington, DC Admission Act with overwhelming support. DC statehood also is winning support in the Senate. Granting statehood would transform DC's 700,000 tax-paying residents into citizens with full voting rights and representation in the Congress and Senate. 

But there is a "branding problem" that needs to be addressed. The District is named after Cristobal Colombo, a privateer in the service of the Spanish Empire who introduced disease and ethnocide to the "New World" (aka "Turtle Island"). 

In cities across the US, from San Francisco to Syracuse, crowds of aggrieved Americans have been taunting and toppling statues of Columbus. What is our message to the world when our capital is located in a state named for a foreign invader and an imperial colonizer? (Well, if you think about the USA's own historical record of invading resource-rich foreign lands and murdering the locals, calling the new state "Columbia" might be grimly fitting.)  

So we need a new name. The DC Admission Act proposed naming the new entity "the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth" in honor of Frederick Douglass. But that would give the US two Washington States—one on each coast. Maybe just "Douglass State" would do. 

Or we could put it up for a Name-Our-Capitol-State vote-of-the-people: "Freedom State"? "Green State"? "Blessed State"? "Founders' State"? "Piscataway State"? "State of Emergency"? 

Greenhouse Gas-lighting  

Louie Gohmert a Trump-loving Congress-critter from Texas will tell you that climate change is a hoax and there's no reason to make lynching a federal hate crime. While Gohmert didn't storm the Capitol building armed with a can of bear-mace, he is the only member of Congress to sue then-VP Mike Pence for failing to flip the 2020 election and grant Trump a second term. 

During a recent congressional hearing on dealing with extreme weather, Rep. Gohmert went on record to propose the following "cure" for climate change:
“We know there’s been significant solar flare activities. Um ... and so is there anything that the National Forest Service or [Bureau of Land Management] can do to, uh, change the course of the Moon’s orbit or the Earth’s orbit around the Sun? Obviously that would have profound effects on our climate.”  

It appears that well-oiled politicians like Gohmert are "willing to move heaven and earth" to protect the pollution profiteers who are destroying the planet. Why ban fracking and oil pipelines when we can just ask NASA to tinker with orbits of the Earth and Moon? 

The High Costs of Home Care 

The local activist community recently received a flurry of emails concerning the long illness and declining health of a local and beloved Berkeley scholar and teacher. A GoFundMe account had been set up in his name. First-time visitors to GoFundMe were surprised to discover that the fund-raising site imposed "a 3% platform fee and an industry-standard payment processing fee of 2.2% + $0.30 per donation." One friend who made a $100 donation was startled to find GoFundMe requesting an additional $12.50 in service fees. 

In response, one member of my activist circle wrote: "Home care costs for that last year are a need that's only going to grow among [our group] and the rest of our cohort. If we could turn home care for us elderly into a well-paid, subsidized occupation, we'd go a long way toward job creation." 

This provoked the following observation from another member of our activist cohort: "Good observation. Creating a national cadre of caregivers for the growing-older population would be a good way to create new jobs for younger Americans. Maybe we could call it the 'Rest in Peace Corps.'" 

Punjabbed by Spammers 

Some spammers are better than others. I recently received an email designed to look like it came from my email provider, but it was addressed to "Dear EarthLink" and it read [sic all]: 

"Due to this, Some of your incoming messages were pending until you upgrade your Earthlink homepage. Earthlink is proud to announce this major changes to Webmail earthlink.net. In order to assist you, We have UPGRADE our Earthlink Mail System for new features and easy navigation. Click on MyAccount and verify your account email to upgrade your Earthlink homepage." 

Sampling the "My Account" live link revealed the surprising news that the actual source of the message was "https://www.armedpolice.punjab.gov.in/wellness"—a branch of the Indian government devoted to the "State Armed Police in Punjab, Jalandhar." 

My guess is the Punjabi government must not be paying its police officers a decent wage. 

Remembering Ramsey Clark 

As the former Attorney General during the Lyndon Johnson Administration, Ramsey Clark developed an impressive resume of progressive accomplishments. But unlike other powerful political figures, Clark didn't parlay his political connections to become a highly-paid corporate lobbyist. Instead, Clark dedicated his life and skills to defending the victims of corporate, political, social, and military crimes. 

He spoke out against the Vietnam War. He condemned the US bombing of Hanoi. He defended the Chicago 7. He spoke out for Palestine. He represented political prisoners. He condemned the blockade of Cuba. He decried the US-NATO assault on Yugoslavia. He spoke out about the Pentagon's arrest and kidnapping of Haiti's popular elected leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide. 

And for his outspokenness, he paid the same price that the US exacts on anyone who dares call out the oligarchs and billionaires who control the mainstream news empires—enforced oblivion. 

Clark became a "non-person." His progressive campaigns and radical criticisms were ignored by the Mainstream News Media. His opinions were never sought out by the MNM. He was not to be seen on Meet the Press. He was not to be heard on NBC Nightly News. His words were not posted on the opinion pages of The New York Times. Instead, he was routinely censored—another victim of the Media-Military-Industrial Blacklist. 

Clark was plain-spoken and forthright, sparking his speeches and essays with incendiary truisms. Two examples: "A right is not what someone gives you; it's what no one can take from you" and "The greatest crime since World War II has been US foreign policy." 

Ramsey Clark died on April 9 at the age of 93. His brave and uncompromising life was celebrated in a June 12 webcast hosted by the International Action Center, an organization that Clark founded. The program included more that 50 recorded and written tributes, more than 100 photos and recordings of Clark speaking at meetings and during humanitarian trips around the world. You can watch the video of the memorial at iacenter.org/ramseyclarktribute/. And here is a salute to Clark that recently aired on Democracy Now! 

Ellsberg's Moving Tribute 

June 13 marked the 50th anniversary of The New York Times' publication of the Pentagon Papers. (See samples of media coverage of the anniversary here. Also, The Ground Truth Project and UMass Amherst have created The Whistleblower, a podcast that celebrates Ellsberg's mega-leak.)  

UMass Amherst (which now oversees Daniel's archive) recently held a 3-day virtual conference on the Papers' legacy that included an exchange between Ellsberg and Edward Snowden. (Recordings of the conference are here.)  

At the age of 90, Ellsberg has again made history with the unauthorized disclosure of a still-classified top-secret review of proposed US nuclear plots against China. During his online intro, Ellsberg confided that he had offered the documents to Tom Wicker of the New York Times 40 years ago but received no response. Four decades later, The New York Times reported the leak and the shocking disclosures have generated international headlines. 

On June 13, Daniel Ellsberg was joined on a live webinar with former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, and journalist Barbara Myers. Noam Chomsky was to have participated but had to cancel owing to a family emergency.  

At one point, I was thrown into a panic when I heard the moderator announce: "And now we'll have a few thoughts from Gar…." 

I was scrambling desperately for a notepad when I remembered that the fourth featured guest was Gar Alperovitz. 

Here is a video of the webinar: 

Blacksmith, Woodsmith, Garsmith?  

I recently got a surprise while reading about the Battle of Hastings (as commemorated on the Bayeux Tapestry). I discovered that the favored weapons of the Norman and Anglo-Saxon soldiers who engaged in that ancient conflict were not the sword or the cudgel but two "long-hafted" spears—the "Ash" and the "Gar." 

The shape of the Gar is still referenced in our modern vocabulary, which calls a certain spear-shaped plant, "garlic" (from "spear-leek"). 

And that means that (despite my pacifist resume) my moniker night lead an 11^th century Anglo-Saxon to mistake me for a "spear-monger." 

Notable Quotes 

"The top people in the Pentagon… want to do nothing but fight wars so all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy." 

• Donald J. Trump, September 7, 2020

"We cannot allow the filibuster to stand in the way of progress or imperil the health of our democracy. The US Senate is the only institution in the world where a vote of 59-41 can be considered a defeat instead of a huge victory."
— Sen. Bernie Sanders. 

"We would love to have a ban on nuclear weapons but, in this day and time, we cannot honestly say that we can protect our people by allowing the bad actors to have them and those of us who are good trying to keep the peace and safety not to have them." 

• Nikki Haley, Trump's UN Ambassador, March 2017

"The concept of 'mental health' in our society is defined largely by the extent to which an individual behaves in accord with the needs of the system and does so without showing signs of stress."
— Ted Kaczynski, aka "The Unabomber" 

Who Are You?
The Founders' Sing 

Worth Noting:

The week starts on Sunday evening with a roundtable on TOPA (Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act at 7 pm and ends with the Community Advisory Group meeting on BART housing projects from 2 – 5 pm on Saturday. In between, the evenings are filled with multiple commission meetings running simultaneously and council budget meetings Tuesday and Thursday morning. As usual key agenda items are listed.

The June 29^th council meeting is available for comment. It follows the daily list of meetings and precedes the list of zoning applications with the end of the appeal period. Council agenda items from councilmembers and commissions are listed with the author(s) first followed with co-sponsors. The vote on the FY2022 Budget is June 29.

Sunday, June 20, 2021 - Summer Solstice – Father’s Day

Berkeley Equity Summit Series 4: The Truth about TOPA, The Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86773287678?pwd=N05XYXBIeWI5QkczaXRyQjlpeGFDZz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 867 7328 7678 Passcode 549572 

AGENDA: Online Roundtable in collaboration with Friends of Adeline Neighborhood Group 

https://berkeleyneighborhoodscouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Equity-Summit-TOPA-flyer_2-_final1.pdf 

The posting in the community calendar on June 20 for a 6:30 pm – 8 pm meeting on the Pier/Ferry looks like an error as Parks Pier website lists community meeting #2 as July 20^th  

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/CalendarEventMain.aspx?calendarEventID=17421 

Monday, June 21 2021 - Berkeley City Offices Closed to honor Juneteenth 

Board of Library Trustees at 5:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J0Ke5R_wQwy2Xk97F4v5VA 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 829 2723 1561 

AGENDA: II.A. Trustee interviews B. Trustee Selection Criteria and the Evaluation Process to be used July 7 BOLT meeting to select candidate to recommend to city council. 

https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/about/board-library-trustees 

Ashby and North Berkeley BART Community Advisory Group (CAG) at 6 – 9 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/96546856997 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 965 4685 6997 

AGENDA: CAG Meeting #7, 3. Draft City/BART Joint Vision and Priorities Document, 4. Draft Zoning Ordinance, 5. State Housing and Streamlining Laws Related to Development, 6. Objective Design Standards. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/bartplanning/ 

Alameda County Update event on COVID-19 Reopening and Recovery for employers and business owners at 6 - 7:30 pm pre-registration required to receive meeting links.  

https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07ei1i3wgtfb6ea37a&oseq=&c=&ch= 

Alameda County Health Care Services Resource page Workplace Guidance 

https://covid-19.acgov.org/recovery 

Tuesday, June 22, 2021 

Council Budget & Finance Committee at 10 am 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83296160673 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 832 9616 0673 

AGENDA: 1. Discussion Proposed FY 2022 Budget, 2. Discussion Referrals to Budget Process, 3. Droste - Potential Measure P Allocations, 4. Parks & Waterfront Commission - Proposal to allocate revenues generated by the transient occupancy tax (hotel taxes) in the waterfront to the Marina Fund to avoid insolvency, 5. Harrison, Arreguin co-sponsors Robinson, Taplin - Establish A Pilot Equity Action Fund to assist low-income residents with transition to zero-carbon transportation and buildings. 6. Harrison co-sponsor Bartlett – Establish a Pilot Existing Building Electrification Incentive Program to assist new homeowners, renters and existing homeowners with transition to zero-carbon buildings. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Home/Policy_Committee__Budget___Finance.aspx 

Community for a Cultural Civic Center (CCCC) at 12:15 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88153954875?pwd=WGxqRndONmE1N0FCOTdMd2FBMHhhUT09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 881 5395 4875 

AGENDA: Water intrusion study and f/u Seismic report. 

Wednesday, June 23, 2021 

4x4 Joint Task Force Committee on Housing: Rent Board/City Council at 3 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/91835838630?pwd=eWcrNXp0WlZ3aEl6VGN0MkxwNEZOQT09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 918 3583 8630 

AGENDA: 1. Assessment of Effectiveness of Berkeley’s COVID-19 Rental Forgiveness Program and Planning for Future Reopening, 6. Discuss Eviction Moratorium, 7. Discuss Practice around rental Lease co-signers for Cal Students, 8. Updates to Measure MM and Demolition Ordinance. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Home/4x4_Committee_Homepage.aspx 

Civic Arts Commission, 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86147520326 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 861 4752 0326 

AGENDA: 7. Action items a) Letter to council regarding budget allocation, b) Approval of Berkeley Art Works Projects Grants, c) FY2022 Budget Fund 150 Public Art Fund, Budget Fund 148 Cultural Trust Fund – Private Percent for Art 

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

Disaster and Fire Safety Commission at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/94374433899 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 943 7443 3899 

AGENDA: Action items: 3. Fire Department Raising More Funding, 4. Senate Bill 12, Discussion Items: 5. Measure GG and FF, 6. Home Page Resource List, 7. MOU on Grizzly Peak, 8. Outdoor Warning System, 9. Venue for Commission Meetings, OES Plans for CERT, 11. Update on Cerritos Canyon, 12. Recommendation on Financial Reporting and Process, 13. Parking Restrictions and Emergency Vehicle Access. 

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

Energy Commission, 5 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/93127067802 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 931 2706 7802 

AGENDA: 6. Update BESO, EV Roadmap, Discussion and Action Items: 7. Fleet Replacement Fund Short, Recommendations on Fleet Replacement, 8. Reorganization, 9. Updates Commission Subcommittees Building Energy, Transportation, Climate Action Oversight. 

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

Independent Redistricting Commission at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84417667021 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 844 1766 7021 

AGENDA: 2. Review and Approval of Presentation for July 10 Public Hearing, 3. Advertising Plan for July 10 Public Hearing, 4. July 10 Public Hearing Prep Items, 5. Report from Community Outreach Subcommittee, Information Reports: 6. Map of New Housing Units, 7. Redistricting Budget, 8. Status of In-Person Meetings. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/redistricting/ 

Police Review Commission at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87070468124 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 870 7046 8124 

AGENDA: 9. Old Business: a. Recommendations to new Police Accountability board, b. Whether Commissioners may be allowed to observe police officers being trained, c. Update on transition to new Police Accountability board, d. Commendation of BPD officers capture of fleeing suspect 4/30/2021, 10. New Business: a. Review of survey about PRC, b.Thoughts on BPD accounts of implementing use of force policy, 11. Closing Remarks on end of PRC. 

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

Grove Park Community Meeting at 6:30 – 8 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/97507373586 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 975 0737 3586 Passcode: 619973 

AGENDA: Field renovation project proposed improvements to Ages 2-5 and 5-12 Play Areas and Picnic Area 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/CalendarEventMain.aspx?calendarEventID=17420 

Thursday, June 24, 2021 

Council Budget & Finance Committee at 10 am 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88664084154 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 886 6408 4154 

AGENDA: 2. Discussion Proposed FY 2022 Budget, 3. Discussion Referrals to Budget Process, 4. Droste - Potential Measure P Allocations, 5. Parks & Waterfront Commission - Proposal to allocate revenues generated by the transient occupancy tax (hotel taxes) in the waterfront to the Marina Fund to avoid insolvency, 6. Harrison, Arreguin co-sponsors Robinson, Taplin - Establish A Pilot Equity Action Fund to assist low-income residents with transition to zero-carbon transportation and buildings. 7. Harrison co-sponsor Bartlett – Establish a Pilot Existing Building Electrification Incentive Program to assist new homeowners, renters and existing homeowners with transition to zero-carbon buildings. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Home/Policy_Committee__Budget___Finance.aspx 

Mental Health Commission at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/96361748103 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 963 6174 8103 

AGENDA: 3. Whole Person Care Presentation, 4. Special Care Unit Update, 6. Mental Health Manager’s Report and Caseload Statistics, a. Crisis and ACCESS Service Statistics, b. Clients Housing Status, c. Division of Mental Health Organization Chart, b. Division of Mental Health Budget by Funding Source. 

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

Zoning Adjustment Board at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/96680140014 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 966 8014 0014 

AGENDA: 2. 2000 University / 2001 Milvia – on consent – demolish one existing commercial and mixed-use building containing two dwelling units and construct 8-story mixed-use with 82 units and 1,415 sq ft ground floor, 

3. 0 Cragmont – new staff recommend approve – construct new single-family residence with an attached 2-car garage 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/zoningadjustmentsboard/ 

Friday, June 25, 2021 

City Council Closed Session at 2:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85365395565 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 853 6539 4465 

AGENDA: 1. Conference with Labor Negotiators; employee organizations: IBEWm Local 1245 SEIU 1021 Community Services and Part-time Recreation Activity Leaders, Berkeley Fire Fighters Association Local 1227, Berkeley Police Association, SEIU Local 1021 Maintenance and Clerical Chapters, Berkeley Fire Fighters Association, Local 1227 I.A.F.F./Berkeley Chief Fire Officers Association, Public Employees Union Local 1, Unrepresented Employees. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/2021/06_June/City_Council__06-25-2021_Special_Closed_Agenda.aspx 

Saturday, June 26, 2021 

San Pablo Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 12 – 1 pm 

Location: San Pablo Park Outdoor Courts, 2800 Park St.  

Ashby and North Berkeley BART Community Advisory Group (CAG) at 2 – 5 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/98633441617 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 986 3344 1617 

AGENDA: Community Meeting #3 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/bartplanning/ 

Sunday, June 27, 2021 

No City meetings or events found 

_____________________ 

June 29, 2021 - City Council Regular Meeting at 6 pm 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Agenda_Index.aspx 

email comments to council@cityofberkeley.info 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83147858591 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 831 4785 8591 

AGENDA CONSENT: Items 1-12 Tax Rates 2^nd reading: 1. Library Improvements General Obligation Bonds FF, 2. General Obligation Bonds Measures G,S & I, 3. Affordable Housing General Obligation Bonds Measure O, 4. Business License Tax on Large Non-Profits, 5. Firefighting, Emergency Medical Response and Wildfire Prevention Measure FF, 6. Maintenance Parks, City Trees and Landscaping, 7. Provision of Library Services, 8. Emergency Services for Severely Disabled Measure E, 9. Infrastructure and Facilities General Obligation Bonds Measure T1, 10. Street and Watershed Improvements General Obligation Bonds Measure M, 11. Fire Protection and Emergency Response and Preparedness Measure GG, 12. Provision of Emergency Medical Services Paramedic Tax, 13. Outdoor Dining - Parkletts 2^nd reading, 14. Minutes, 15. Contract add $40,000 total $139,000 and extend 12/21/2024 with Code Publishing Company for BMC Publishing Services for online and print BMC, 16. Appointment of Katherine as Interim Director of Police Accountability, 17. Formal Bid Solicitations, 18. Appropriations limit for FY2022 $311,493,168, 19. FY 2022 Revision to Investment Policy and Designation of Investment Authority Director of Finance, 20. Project Homekey Request for Proposals (RFP) 21. FY2022 Block Grant Facility Improvement Program for West Berkeley Service Center $1,145,251 and allocate any additional FY2021 CDBG program income to West Berkeley Service Center renovation, 22. Contract $1,432,011 using Measure E funds with Easy Does It for Disability Services and Audit Recommendation for FY2022 & FY2023, 23. Contract FY2022 & FY2023 with Eviction Defense Center (EDC) for Housing Retention Program, 24. Energy Commission - Resolution to Upgrade Residential and Commercial Customers to EBCE Renewable 100, 25. Auditor – Berkeley’s Fleet Replacement Fund Short by Millions with report back by January 2022, 26. Taplin – Resolution supporting freedom for Nasrin Sotoudeh and all other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Islamic Republic of Iran, 27. Harrison – Resolution Urging MTC to Program and Prioritize American Rescue Plan Act Funds to support Bay Area Transit riders. ACTION: 28. Appointment Police Accountability Board, 29. City Manager – Adoption FY2022 Budget, 30. FY2022 Annual Appropriations, 31. Borrow $45,000,000 and sale and issuance of FY2021-2022 Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes, INFORMATION REPORTS: 32. Voluntary Time off program for FY2022, 33. FY2022 Civic Arts Grant Awards, 34. FY2021 2^nd quarter Investment Report ended 12/31/2020, 35. FY2021 3^rd quarter Investment Report ended 3/31/2021, 36. Commission on Aging Work Plan. 

______________________ 

Public Hearings Scheduled – Land Use Appeals 

2943 Pine (construct a 2^nd story) 9/28/2021 

1205 Peralta (conversion of garage) 10/12/2021 

770 Page TBD 

Notice of Decision (NOD) and Use Permits with End of Appeal Period 

1182 Euclid 6/29/2021 

1380 Gilman 7/1/2021 

1201 Hopkins 7/6/2021 

2526 MLK Jr Way 7/6/2021 

1527 Sacramento 7/6/2021 

1634 San Pablo 6/29/2021 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Planning_and_Development/Land_Use_Division/Current_Zoning_Applications_in_Appeal_Period.aspx 

LINK to Current Zoning Applications https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Planning_and_Development/Land_Use_Division/Current_Zoning_Applications.aspx 

___________________ 

WORKSESSIONS 

July 20 – 1. Bayer Development Agreement (tentative), 2. Measure FF/Fire Prevention 

September 21 – 1. Housing Element (RHNA) 

October 19 – 1. Update Zero Waste Rates and Priorities, 2. Berkeley Police Department Hiring Practices (referred by Public Safety Committee), 3. Crime Report 

December 7 – 1. Review and Update on City’s COVID-19 Response, 2. WETA/Ferry Service at the Marina, 3. Presentation by Bay Restoration Authority 

Unscheduled Workshops/Presentations 

Cannabis Health Considerations 

Civic Arts Grantmaking Process & Capital Grant Program 

If you have a meeting you would like included in the summary of meetings, please send a notice to kellyhammargren@gmail.com by noon on the Friday of the preceding week. 

This meeting list is also posted on the Sustainable Berkeley Coalition website. 

http://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html and in the Berkeley Daily Planet under activist’s calendar http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com 

If you or someone you know wishes to receive the weekly summary as soon as it is completed, email kellyhammargren@gmail.com to be added to the early email list. 

If you wish to stop receiving the Weekly Summary of City Meetings please 

forward the weekly summary you received to kellyhammargren@gmail.com