Extra

SF Mime Troupe Might Need to Skip Berkeley This Summer

Michael Gene Sullivan

Monday February 07, 2022 - 10:24:00 PM

The San Francisco Mime Troupe is planning on returning to performing in the parks this summer! Unfortunately there is a strong likelihood we will not be able to perform in Berkeley, as that city has raised its park fees by several thousand dollars. We are trying to find a sympathetic City Council-member to get the fees waived or reduced, or find a Berkekeyite with the dough to subsidize our performances, but right now it looks like for the first time in several decades Berkeley may not be on our schedule. -more-

Where’s the Data? The Missing Link in the U.S. Response to Covid-19

Carol Polsgrove

Tuesday February 01, 2022 - 03:18:00 PM

I’ve been tuning in regularly to the Covid Grand Rounds from the University of California San Francisco Department of Medicine – a public program aired every couple of weeks on YouTube. I’ve come to trust the moderator and the guests—experts all, from different corners of the medical world.

Thus, when this week’s guest--a leading researcher in molecular medicine had sharp words for the Biden administration’s failure to collect critical data on Covid cases, I paid attention.

Appearing in a January 13 presentation, Eric Topol, editor-in-chief of Medscape and holder of an endowed chair at Scripps Research, said, “We have pathetic data systems...For example, right now we want to know if these Omicron boosters-- how well they’re working to prevent hospitalization and deaths. And when do they wane? Those people who are getting hospitalized who had a third shot—what’s going on there?

“We were promised by the CDC in May that they would track every breakthrough hospitalization and death. Never happened. And so we don’t have critical data. We have 150,000 plus people in the hospital, and I have BEGGED at the HHS level that we have granular data on each of those people—their vaccination status, which vaccine, when they got it, their age, their co-existing conditions, and all the basal stuff, and they say, ‘We’re going to look into it.’ Even though it can be mandated by HHS authority. -more-

An Activist's Diary, Week Ending Jan. 30

Kelly Hammargren

Tuesday February 01, 2022 - 01:56:00 PM

What a week! There is so much to write about I will have trouble keeping this down to a readable length. And, I can’t even cover all of the hot meetings as there were too many running at the same time. The recordings aren’t up yet on the Thursday Council TOPA meeting and then there are the meetings where the record button is never touched. Plus, you will have to read my response to the mayor who wasn’t too happy with what I wrote about him last week. -more-

SMITHEREENS: Reflections on Bits & Pieces

Gar Smith

Tuesday February 01, 2022 - 01:47:00 PM

Karmic Strips

Darrin Bell made a good point in a recent edition of his Candorville strip when one of his characters cited the recent case of a couple of Los Angeles cops "who didn't respond to a robbery 'cause they was playin' Pokemon." As a result, they were "fired on the spot."

Bell's cartoon alter-ego, journalist Lemont Brown, replies aghast: "You mean they didn't put them on paid leave? They didn't have to 'investigatei it for months? And nobody in America called those cops 'heroes'?"

"Well," Lemont's sidekick replies, "Ain't as if they beat or shot a non-violent Black man. They did something that ALL Americans could agree was wrong."

And on January 29, Lemont revealed his nerdish leanings when a friend asked what "caused the Big Bang" and Lemont explains: "Some speculate that the inflation field phase-transitioned toward a vacuum state, where it then propagated outward from the nucleation point."

Turns out his friend was simply asking whether a loud noise he'd just heard was "a gunshot or a car back-firing."

In the course of the same week, the strip also dealt withSection 3 of the Constitution's 14^th Amendment and assessed how comics in the 1920s dealt with the Spanish Flu, -more-

Dollar Tree Abandons "EVERYTHING'S A DOLLAR'

Jack Bragen

Monday January 31, 2022 - 05:33:00 PM

The chain, "Dollar Tree" has abandoned the everything's a buck policy and has begun to roll out higher prices, selling some items for 1.25 and some at even 1.50. Faithful shoppers are affected by this, but not in all instances in a bad way. -more-

The Berkeley Activists' Calendar,
Jan. 30-February 6

Kelly Hammargren, Sustainable Berkeley Coalition

Monday January 31, 2022 - 05:27:00 PM

Worth Noting:

Very light week ahead – Chinese New Year is Tuesday, February 1^st and given as the reason for not scheduling any “council” or council policy committee meetings all week. -more-

Page One

The Berkeley Activists' Calendar, Jan. 23-30

Kelly Hammargren

Sunday January 23, 2022 - 08:35:00 PM

Worth Noting:

The week starts with a virtual Breakfast at 9 am Monday to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.

Tuesday at 6 pm City Council returns from recess for the first regular council meeting of 2022.

Wednesday is filled with 11 city meetings. FITES at 2:30 reviews update to Landscape policy to include native plants. Planning Commission at 7 pm agendized hearing is a condo conversion. The Civic Arts Commission and Commission on the Status of Women meet at 6 pm. The Health, Welfare & Community Action meets at 6:30 pm. The Commission on Labor meets at 7 pm.

Thursday is filled with 7 city meetings. The Land Use Committee meets at 10:30 am on streamlining toxic remediation in the manufacturing district. At 6 pm Council has a special meeting on infrastructure while NICJR conducts a Community Public Safety meeting for Districts 3 & 4. The Transportation Commission meets at 7 pm on Southside Streets and BerkDOT. The Rent Board and DRC also meet at 7 pm. -more-

A Berkeley Activist's Diary, Week Ending Jan.22

Kelly Hammargren

Sunday January 23, 2022 - 08:48:00 PM

This was an ugly week in so many ways, with occasional bright spots. It finished with the flickering of lights, howling wind and then nothing but darkness at midnight Friday. -more-

Comments on Berkeley Redistricting Map Drafts

Kelly Hammargren

Sunday January 23, 2022 - 09:50:00 PM

Points on Redistricting

California Elections Code, Division 21, Chapter 9, 23002.

(j) The commission shall publish a map of the proposed new district boundaries and make that map available to the public for at least seven days before that map may be adopted. The commission shall hold at least three public hearings preceding the hearing at which the new boundaries are adopted.

(k) The commission shall not draw districts for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against a political party or an incumbent or political candidate.

The percentage is rounded to the nearest whole number. White, Black, Hispanic and Asian are listed as those are the largest census groups. 12% of Berkeley residents are multi-racial. -more-

Public Comment

Reparations for Barbados

Jagjit Singh

Monday January 24, 2022 - 03:51:00 PM

Recently, Barbados became the world’s newest republic breaking ties with Queen Elizabeth 55 years after it became an independent nation. There are also loud voices calling for the United Kingdom to pay reparations for the enslavement of the people of Barbados. Reparations come “55 years overdue” and should have happened when Barbados won its independence in 1966. -more-

February Pepper Spray Times

By Grace Underpressure

Thursday February 03, 2022 - 07:36:00 PM

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.

This is a Very Good Deal. Go for it! -more-

Editorial

Time for Time Off

Becky O'Malley

Wednesday December 22, 2021 - 11:20:00 AM

The time has come for me to say Happy Holidays to All in this space, and then to take off for a couple of weeks. One of the many annoyances of the pandemic is too much screen time—because that’s the substitute for seeing friends. We’re lucky to have that, but some of us do get weary of small screen life. I have a couple of late submissions to post from faithful correspondents, and then we will all be on pause until the new year. Don’t forget, the days are getting longer from now on, enough of a reason to celebrate!

Update : Thanks to regular contributors for getting back to work. I'm still off. Back soon! -more-

Columns

ECLECTIC RANT: Two Democrats and 50 Republicans Doom Voting Rights Legislation

Ralph E. Stone

Monday January 24, 2022 - 02:36:00 PM

On a party line vote, the House of Representatives on January 13 passed ‘‘Freedom to Vote: John 3 R. Lewis Act’’ that combines the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment Act. However, the democrats in the Senate did not have the votes to change the filibuster rule to allow passage by a simple majority. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) voted against changing the filibuster rule. However, Manchin and Sinema are not solely to blame for the failure to pass the voting rights legislation; they share the blame with the 50 Republican senators who voted against the legislation. -more-

ON MENTAL ILLNESS: Symptoms Versus Obligations

Jack Bragen

Monday January 24, 2022 - 02:31:00 PM

When you feel too depressed to do anything, is that a good enough reason not to clean your house? When you feel too scattered with psychotic thoughts, is that a good enough reason not to go to school or work? When your mind is in the clouds with mania, does that justify not doing the dishes, or does it justify not preparing a meal? When your psychotic anger is brimming up to your ears, is that enough of a reason to remain locked in your room, against the wishes of others?

Do symptoms of mental illness justify not doing what is expected and/or necessary?

For a guide to answering this question, look to the idea of cause and effect. What will be the projected scenario of delaying something or not doing it? What will you get if you overcome the hesitancy? There is no right or wrong answer to either of these questions. -more-

Arts & Events

Oakland Symphony’s Revised Program for January 21

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean

Monday January 24, 2022 - 09:38:00 PM

The Oakland Symphony originally scheduled its Friday, January 21st concert to offer two works by American composers, the Gaelic Symphony by Amy Beach (1867-1944), and the oratorio sanctuary road by contemporary composer Paul Moravec. The latter work is based on the book The Underground Railroad Records by abolitionist William Still, who helped 800 escaped slaves travel safely from the south and avoid arrest. I was eagerly looking forward to hearing both of these works, especially since I had recently heard Amy Beach’s Piano Concerto as well as her Gaelic Symphony on KDFC, the Bay Area’s classical music station. On first hearing, these two works by Amy Beach struck me as endlessly inventive and full of virtuosity and musical surprises. Having never heard any of Amy Beach’s music performed live, I was full of eager anticipation as I approached Oakland’s Paramount Theatre on Friday evening, January 21. -more-