Like many of you, I was infuriated and heartbroken at the news that up to 5,100 students who would have otherwise qualified for admission to UC Berkeley this fall might lose their spots because of a lawsuit brought by a small group of Berkeley residents who don’t want students as their neighbors.

The lawsuit was brought under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and it in effect made the argument that students enrolled at Berkeley should be treated as pollutants–all because a small group of residents don’t want more students in Berkeley. This is the same group that simultaneously fights any new attempts by UC Berkeley to build new housing for students. -more-

State lawmakers and the governor have approved a legislative fix they say will get UC Berkeley out of its enrollment jam and limit a judge’s ability to slap public colleges with similar orders to cap their enrollment if they blow past their student population targets. -more-

SB 118, passed today by California State Legislature, is poorly drafted and confusing, hurts students rather than helping them, allows admission of a small number of additional students to the UC Berkeley campus in 2022, and does nothing to solve the dire situation that UC has created for students in California. -more-

[Editor''s Note: This bill was passed. The governor has not yet signed it.]

Please rethink your support for the effort to allow unlimited enrollment at UC campuses. The Los Angeles Times' March 6th editorial illustrated how easily UC could use under-enrolled state campuses, such as Humboldt State and Santa Rosa's Sonoma State, as additional university sites rather than this horrifying new policy of park and landmark destruction. This one is easy.

The Los Angeles Times is as conservative as they come. Even they see the point of using existing facilities, rather than building entirely new ones, which every sentient being knows comports with climate change best practices.

Pull yourself out of the myopia of allowing wealthy donors to determine every decision governing those of us who remember what an education was supposed to be and are paying the price for what it has become. We can restore our university system. Monetizing every public amenity that exists is unsustainable policy. -more-

Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods says SB 118 is poorly drafted and confusing, and wouldn’t solve the dire situation that UC has created for students in California.

SB 118, introduced today in the California State Legislature, is poorly drafted and confusing, attempts to admit a small number of additional students to the UC Berkeley campus in 2022, but does nothing to solve the dire situation that UC has created for students in California.

Despite overwhelming evidence that UC has failed to house and support students, and increased campus crowding to the point that many students can’t graduate in four years, the bill would allow UC to continue rapid enrollment growth with no mitigation for least for 18 months after a court finds that UC has failed to analyze or mitigate growth impacts.

“We are very disappointed to see that the legislature is reacting in such an ill-considered way to UC Berkeley’s cynical use of students as pawns,” said Phil Bokovoy, President of Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods. “Instead the legislature should be focusing on the dire situation of students who face often insurmountable problems with housing, crowded classrooms and the inability to graduate in 4 years. Low income students have suffered the most from UC Berkeley’s 50% enrollment growth since the early 2000s.”

The bill attempts to allow UC to continue to increase enrollment far beyond current levels, even if that enrollment has severe impacts on the local community. For example, in the last 18 months, UC Berkeley increased enrollment by over 2700 students. Those 2700 students have likely displaced additional low income households in Berkeley. Further increases for the Fall of 2022 will only accelerate the local housing crisis. -more-

Daniel Dean, known simply as Dan, of Berkeley, passed away at the age of 93 on February 17, 2022 from COVID related pneumonia.

While born in Oakland, he lived 86 years of his life in Berkeley during which he was deeply involved in improving the lives of children and their families through counseling and education. For 56 years he was the beloved husband of former Berkeley City Council Member and Mayor, Shirley Dean, loving father of Daniel and John, and grandfather of two.

Dan had a life-long commitment to education and counseling. He attended Hillside Elementary School where he was a member of the fledging Junior Traffic Control, attended then called Garfield Jr. High and Berkeley High School and on to UC-Berkeley where he was a member of Theta Xi fraternity. As his life goals began to become more focused, he went to work as a counselor in the California Youth Authority facility, Fricot Ranch School in San Andreas, California. At that time, Fricot housed boys as young as eight years who had been committed to the CYA for crimes as serious as murder. He worked there for about two years when he decided he wanted to do more to prevent children from entering a life of crime, so he enrolled at San Francisco State University where he obtained a Master’s Degree and met the requirements that enabled him to work as a teacher and as a State Certified Guidance Counselor. -more-

On Tuesday March 15, consultants working on Berkeley’s Zoning Ordinance Revision Project (ZORP) will be making a presentation to the Berkeley City Council about their proposals for upzoning Berkeley’s residential neighborhoods. Unfortunately, they are ignoring the impact that proposed zoning changes allowing for bigger and taller buildings could have on neighboring homes’ solar access and rooftop solar panels.

I would encourage people who think solar panels are worth protecting from shadowing by new development to e-mail the City Council (or call them) and tell them that you support objective solar access standards and protections for rooftop solar panels. Send e-mail by noon Monday if possible to council@cityofberkeley.info

No residential neighborhood upzoning without objective solar access standards and protections for solar panels!

Background -more-

Weird Is the Word

On a recent visit to Urban Ore—the sprawling recover-and-reuse complex at the intersection of Seventh and Murray in West Berkeley—I discovered a stack of wooden doors on display in the outer yard. One door stood out. It was decorated with a multi-colored jumble of words and art. Herewith is a transcription of the door's odd and rambling message (Note: Each line was rendered in a separate color):

Hence, the Moose! What the CRAP, Paul?
Merry Cheetah Day! Give me that BOY.
I'm so fly I soar, so sore it HURTS.
I'm the werewolf of lust. HOWLWILING for your LOVE.
Poland? Broken jar of Emma on the dirt Sandy floor.
You're just a load of BANNANAS! Stay off me ties!

Wombology—the Study of WOMBO. Oh, that's DEVASTATING.
White Devil. Young L. WOAH! Said the Cow.
Trippy's what I do When I fall down the Stairs.

What kind of bonds are THESE?? And guess what?
I [heart sign] Pa/nCakes!

Borderline Insanity

The headline in the London Guardian paid a proper salute to Donald Trump's Loser Legacy. It read: "Trump's Border Wall Breached by Smugglers Over 3,000 Times." Echoing similar revelations in the Washington Post, the article noted that "smugglers" on both sides of the US-Mexico border had chopped their way through Trump's Big-ass Barricade "at least 3,272 times, mostly with common power tools found at hardware stores." -more-

I hope that our city council majority will not acquiesce to lobbying from developers and the construction industry instead of serving the real needs of current Berkeley residents. We need the council to support our efforts to reduce our own and Berkeley's carbon footprint and to make sure our low-income neighbors aren’t pushed out by new highrise developments. We know that the vast majority of new residential units being built in Berkeley are rented or sold at market rate, and the market rate is steadily rising.

Thus new residential developments in Berkeley go primarily to wealthy buyers from elsewhere, many of whom are buying units as investments, not to provide housing for below-median income renters. We now suffer wind tunnels in downtown Berkeley, but this has not provided housing for low-income residents.

The council has an obligation to acknowledge and act on the contributors to the climate crisis. Berkeley residents are investing in providing clean energy from rooftop solar at a higher than average rate. We're replacing gas-guzzling cars with electric vehicles, often fueled by our rooftop solar arrays. We have endlessly urged the city council to require new construction to be as energy efficient as possible and to include 50% low income units, but these demands seem to go unheard when developers make conflicting demands to be free of local environmental or affordability requirements. -more-

emember, Vidlum Quisling, the despicable World War II Norwegian political leader. "Quisling" entered the English language because of him. His name is now a noun meaning "traitor" and "collaborator" in English. Trump is our American Quisling or let’s call him and his ardent followers “Trumplings,” a new word in English for Trump and those who still ardently support Trump after all he has said and done.

Consider that Trump bragged that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if he were in office. But why would he when Putin saw an American president moving in a direction Moscow liked; Putin was just waiting for Trump to finish the job. -more-

When I feel as though I'm struggling to survive, happiness is not part of the short-term picture. And, in fact, I have been in situations in which keeping alive was up to me. In the early nineteen eighties, I was incarcerated for a short time, and was concurrently psychotic. This was one of two big tests that I faced when I was young.

The other test was this: in 1983, I worked as a night janitor, and I mopped and polished floors at "Flair" supermarkets, and one night a week at a local K-Mart. At a Flair market, in the early part of my shift, I discovered that I was not alone in the store. I was locked in the store along with two men with guns who wanted to rob the store. I had to stay there overnight and wait for the managers and other staff to show up. It was at that point when the two gunmen managed to obtain the contents of the safe and drive off with it. I had no certainty at the time that I would not be killed. The armed robbers were very serious that they did not want to be identified, because if I could identify them, they would probably be jailed. They wore ski hats over their faces with holes cut out for their eyes and mouths. They decided to spare my life. A lot of the reason that I'm alive and writing this is that I acted correctly in that situation.

Since then, I've had to redirect my career--no more night shifts. -more-

The February 24th Russian invasion of Ukraine has ushered in a dangerous new world order. In response to Vladimir Putin's intent to obliterate Ukraine, the US has formed a global coalition to isolate Russia. Crippling economic sanctions have been levied on Russia. This has impacted the price of oil.

Russia: Two weeks into the invasion, it's clear that Putin made two miscalculations: he underestimated Ukrainian resistance and the strength of the NATO coalition. Now Russia is suffering from severe sanctions: their participation in the global banking system has been curtailed; Internet connectivity has been throttled; assets of Russian oligarchs have been seized; and sales of fossil fuel have been restricted. In this article, I discuss the oil-related sanctions.

Russia has the 11th ranked economy in the world. (In 2021, $1.70 trillion GDP.) The US economy is number one ($22.99 trillion in 2021); by the way, California's economy is number five ($3.35 trillion in 2021). Compared to the United States, Russia's economy is unsophisticated. It is unusually dependent upon fossil fuel exports. ("Crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas comprise roughly 58% of total exports... Sales to Europe represent over 60% of total exports while Asia has an export share of roughly 30%. Russian exports to the United States, Africa and Latin America combined represent less than 5% of total shipments.")

While Russia is the third largest oil-producing country -- behind the United States and Saudi Arabia -- it is the number one oil exporter. According to the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/03/08/russia-oil-imports-ban/) "[Russia] consumes about 3.45 million barrels a day while exporting more than 7 million barrels of crude oil and other petroleum products a day." 4.8 million barrels go to the West; that is, countries that are supporting sanctions. Of the remaining 2.3 million barrels, by far the most, 1.6 million barrels, goes to China. -more-

People's Park advocates spent over a year providing information to the East Bay Sierra Club appealing for their support for People's Park remaining public open space in the densest, most under-parked area in town. One of the sympathetic members prepared a letter of support to present at their meeting, but pulled it from the March 1, 2022, agenda when "advocates" objected that they might look like NIMBYs, or "not in my backyard" people.

In the meantime, the University of California's Capital Strategies just unveiled a new plan not just to demolish a public park, an underground creek, and a community garden (People's Park) in favor of 12 stories of high-end, student-only housing --- they plan to demolish a twelve-story building on campus and replace it with open space.

The Sierra Club Executive Committee is not unaware that People's Park is full of redwoods and sequoia, pollinators and native plants. They are not unaware that retrofit and re-use is the greener alternative to demolition, or that demolishing parks is abhorrent. They include Berkeley City Council member Sophie Hahn and former Rent Board Commissioner Igor Tregub, neither of whom offered any objection to the default position the Sierra Club's Executive Committee is now taking: having nothing to say about sacrificing parks for housing when alternatives exist. -more-

The February 24th invasion of Ukraine has ushered in a new world order. Remarkably, it's like that predicted by George Orwell in his book, 1984: three perpetually warring superstates. (In 1984, these states were "Oceania," the english-speaking world and South America, "Eurasia," Europe and Russia, and "Eastasia," China and southern Asia.) Putin's act of war has created a wall between Russia and most of the western world, with Ukraine, Moldava, and Georgia as disputed territory. -more-

Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods offers partial relief to UC Berkeley from enrollment pause; 1,000 more deserving California high school students could attend UC Berkeley in person -more-

Honorable Mayor Jesse Arreguín –

We are writing to you, as we have received no response from the city thus far concerning the traumatic event that took place a month ago, on February 2, 2022. First to our representative, Honorable Ben Barlett, who joined us via Zoom to offer his sympathies. We also contacted Dr. Lisa Warhuus, Director of Health, Housing, and Human Services, who we are currently negotiating the Specialized Care Unit Bridge Services contract (Specification No. 22-11472- C) to provide Peer-Run non-police crisis response.

We request an immediate meeting with you, Mr. Mayor, Madam City Manager, Police Chief Jennifer Louis, and Dr. Lisa Wuurhus. The reason for our request is that on February 2nd, 2022 Jorge, Program Manager of the Berkeley Drop-In Center, a young Black father, was detained at gunpoint by Berkeley police officers. He recounts the incident as, “brutalizing, shaming, traumatizing and completely unnecessary” He says it “felt like they wanted to kill me.” -more-

It was a very full week and the survival of Ukraine and the Ukrainians hangs over _everything changing minute by minute and hour by hour. It looks like Putin has decided that since the Ukrainians didn’t lie down and welcome the invasion, he will rain down massive destruction until there is nothing left to save. The “Z” on everything Russian presumably representing Zelensky is chilling. -more-

The insanity and humiliation of Vladimir Putin, the former K.G.B. officer, has been festering ever since the collapse of the former Soviet empire. Buoyed by the sweeping success of Crimea where hardly a shot was fired, the messianic Putin made the tragic mistake of invading Ukraine shocking the world by its utter brutality but encountering a fierce opposition. Putin, 67, has run Russia, as president and prime minister, for 21 years, a feat surpassed only by Joseph Stalin. He is surrounded by highly corrupt political cronies who have used their enormous wealth and privilege to enjoy high-end European perks with massive real-estate investments. On the home front, Putin has repressed free speech with utter brutality. To quell any form of opposition the ex-KGB spy has amassed a terrifying array of assassination tools. Unfortunately, Putin has grossly mismanaged the economy which is in terrible shape suffering from chronic capital light. One eye-popping investment of $390bn was a major failure. -more-

The brains and minds of people are limited, and following sustained exertion, they need recovery time and rest. If you overextend the mind, in any way, shape or form, it can sometimes cause damage from which it is hard to recover. This is a type of damage that many people, including mental health professionals, would have a hard time understanding and/or measuring.

When I push too far beyond what I know to be my natural limits, I seem to incur damage to the operating systems that make my personality work. I was in such a situation in 2018, and it affected how I behaved; it also made me far less tolerant of any kind of demanding situation. The reversal to such damage took me a long time to do, despite my knowing some types of self-training that I utilized, that eventually fixed it.

So many people treat their minds as though machines that should always work for anything. This may be okay for some, but it doesn't work for me. When I am not at a hundred percent, I might refuse to do things that other people expect me to do. I will also postpone some tasks until such time as I am ready to do them.

People have not been pleased when I've refused to do as they expect. Often, I will refuse a task or series of tasks because I know my limitations and I know that based on those limitations, trying to do the thing(s) will be beyond what I can reasonably do. I don't ascribe to "no pain, no gain." Pain is an excellent signal provided by the body, giving us information that we must back off from whatever it is we're trying to do. -more-

Running a Marathon — by Chance

There are just too many things to worry about these days. Climate change is worse than we thought. The Bay Area's overdue earthquake is still overdue. Ukrainian cities and civilians are being bombarded. Russia and Washington are making references to the "nuclear option." The Golden State Warriors squandered a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter....

I needed a distraction, so I took a break by running in the Berkeley Half-Marathon.

Actually, I couldn't avoid it. Part of the Marathon's course overlaps with my much-shorter Sunday jog—from the Monterey Market up to the Berkeley Rose Garden and back.

If anyone were to ask, I could honestly boast that I "easily passed hundreds of other runners."

If anyone were to cast a doubtful look, I would have to confess: while the half-marathoners were all running west, I was heading east, uphill to the Marin Circle Fountain. Once there, I reversed direction and joined the flood of marathoners for the downhill trot back to Hopkins Street.

It was a kick, running past the residents gathered along the curb, banging bells, clapping hands, and shouting words of encouragement: "Looking good!" "Way to go!" "You're gonna make it!" "Suck it up, slowpoke!"

I figure I only ran a half-of-a-half-of-a-half-of-a-Half Marathon but my legs are still sore. -more-

Bill Schrader
The Austin Group
164 Gale Road
Alamo,
CA 94507

Dear Mr. Schrader,
When I first learned of this proposal I was concerned about its effect on the Shattuck Cinemas, but then I heard that you had expressed the intent to keep the theaters intact. However, when I examined the sketch on the City of Berkeley Planning Department poster on the side of the building, I could find no indication of the presence of the theaters. This could simply be due to the fact that the entrance to the Shattuck Cinemas is on Shattuck Avenue. However, I write for confirmation that you appreciate the cultural and economic importance of the 10-screen Shattuck Cinemas and have no intention of harming them. -more-

Worth Noting:

EBMUD an early contributor to Wastewater Epidemiology in measuring SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Wastewater is giving a public presentation “Searching for the Sewage Signal” Wednesday at 6 pm. If this peaks your curiosity check out SARS-CoV-2 RNA Levels in Wastewater charts and maps from the CD. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#wastewater-surveillance



Housing is the subject of the 3x3 meeting Monday at 5 pm, the special City Council meeting at 6 pm Tuesday and the Rent Board on Wednesday at 5:15 pm. The Tuesday special council meeting at 6 pm with the singular item of the Housing Element and Residential Objective Standards should capture your attention as this is the developing plan for adding 8934 housing units to Berkeley.



The last planned meeting of the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) is Wednesday at 6 pm and covers the final map Amber 2 and the final report. Approval by the city council in April is merely a formality as the IRC has the final word/decision on the District map.



The last meeting on the Hopkins Corridor redesign is Monday at 6 pm. The last section is McGee to Gilman and includes the Monterey Market.



You will need to check after Monday for the agenda of the Transportation Commission and if the Design Review Committee and Human Welfare & Community Action Commissions will meet on their regular schedule.



The City Council March 22 regular meeting is available for review and comment. The ALPR and Surveillance report it is item 40 at the end of the agenda. Per Agenda Committee discussion the report will be rescheduled, but we shall see. Council Spring Recess is March 23 through April 11, 2022.



You have until Friday, March 18 to complete the City’s Parking survey:

Residents - https://bit.ly/ss-resident
Merchants - https://bit.ly/ss-merchant
Employee of a local business - https://bit.ly/berk-employee
Website for the project - https://smartspace.goberkeley.info.



Sunday, March 13, 2022 – DAYLIGHT SAVINGS – Spring Forward



Monday, March 14, 2022 -more-

Worth Noting:

A packed week ahead that closes with daylight savings time.

Policing in Berkeley starts Monday with a policing proposal, followed with an ordinance to prohibit discriminatory reporting to law enforcement at the Public Safety Committee at 10:30 am. Monday afternoon at 2:30 pm the Agenda Committee will review the draft agenda for March 22 which contains item 40 undoing protections from no cause search and seizure of persons on parole/probation. Monday afternoon at 4 pm is the Press Conference following Berkeley Police holding the Program Manager of the Berkeley Drop-in Center at gunpoint, handcuffed and on the ground who was at work doing his job completing decorations in observation of Black History month. Monday evening at 7 pm the Personnel Board will review a revised job description/classification for the investigator of police misconduct. Tuesday evening at City Council is the report of the implementation of Fair and Impartial Policing in Berkeley and the Crime and Collision report. Wednesday is the Police Accountability Board at 7 pm. Thursday morning at 9 am the Budget Committee will take up the report from the auditor citing improvements needed in managing police overtime and the absence of contracts with outside entities. Thursday evening is a special council meeting to receive the reports on the Reimagining Policing work at 6 pm. If all three reports are read the total is 754 pages.

BART Parking, Parking enforcement and reconfiguring Hopkins starts Monday morning at 10:30 am the Public Safety Committee will review the recommendation from the Disaster and Fire Safety Commission to enforce existing parking code in high fire zones. The Hopkins Traffic Corridor study and recommendations is Monday evening at 6 pm. The BART meeting on parking at the BART stations is Wednesday at 6 pm. The BART housing developments will be built on the Ashby and North Berkeley BART parking lots.

Toxic Contamination, groundwater and sea level rise (SLR) presentation by Kristina Hill is Tuesday at 3 pm. The impact on groundwater and toxic sites is the piece of SLR that never gets attention. This is important as it changes the assumptions of SLR impacts.

Saturday March 12^th the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council will take up Berkeley issues, the agenda isn’t posted yet, but the above makes it look like a full plate. -more-

Perennial favorite Jordi Savall returned to Berkeley on Friday evening, March 4, 2022, under the auspices once again of Cal Performances. This time, Jordi Savall was joined by the ensemble he and his late wife, Montserrat Figueras, founded many years ago, Le Concert des Nations. For this concert the music offered came from the 1992 film by Alain Corneau Tous les Matins du Monde. This beautiful film, with an imaginative scenario by Pascal Quignard, dealt with the relations between the reclusive master viola da gambist Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (ca. 1640-ca.1701) and the young Marin Marais (1656-1728), whom Sainte-Colombe reluctantly agreed to tutor. So gifted was the pupil that Marin Marais quickly rose to become principal violist in the court orchestra of Louis XIV at Versailles, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Lully. For this film, Jordi Savall directed and performed the music of Sainte-Colombe, Marais, Lully, Couperin, and others. Quite remarkably, the film Tous les Matins du Monde enjoyed huge international success. Moreover, a recording of the original sound track of this film became a hit among music buffs, thus expanding interest in early classical music. For the March 4 concert at Berkeley’s First Congregational Church, Le Concert des Nations was comprised of director Jordi Savall on seven-string viola da gamba; Manfredo Kraemer on violin; Charles Zebley on flute; Marco Vitale on harpsichord; Lucas Harris on theorbo and guitar; and Philippe Pierlot on seven-string viola da gamba. Opening the concert the musicians performed a Suite from the opera Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Jean-Baptiste Lully, composed for the play by Molière. Featured was ceremonial music for the Turks, and for this music, Lucas Harris played guitar, and Philippe Pierlot offered frequent pizzicato accompaniment to the ensemble. Next came the work entitled Le Retour, from the Concert XLI for two violes by Sainte-Colombe. The burnished tones of the two violas da gamba melded beautifully as they exchanged musical motifs in lively interaction. -more-