UC Police, Berkeley @UCPD_Cal · 20m UC Berkeley WarnMe: A Campus-wide Emergency alert has been issued. Campus police are investigating a credible campus-wide threat. Please go inside and move away from doors and windows. If you are not on campus, please stay away from the area.

I've been out of town, on a road trip to Los Angeles for a family memorial, so I haven't been able to post the excellent pieces that have been submitted in my absence. This is a one-woman shop here, so when I'm gone nothing appears. Watch this space for new material.

“I’m also proud to report that Gov. Newsom recently signed SB 118, my Budget Committee bill that safeguards student enrollment at UC Berkeley and ensures that CA’s environmental law doesn’t treat student enrollment differently than any other campus activity.” - Senator Nancy Skinner

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It's an odd moment for pride, Senator Skinner. Some of us remember a Nancy Skinner who would have displayed modest embarrassment over the destruction of redwood trees, community gardens, rent-controlled housing, state historic resources, and national landmarks. Some of your electors thought you were that person, not the person who just erased court decisions crafted by grassroots community groups in expensive court battles just to protect our community's sleep, our health, our community resources, and our history.

As the Berkeley City Council considers the long overdue issue of reparations, it might take a moment, hopefully at Senator Skinner's request, to suggest additions the court is currently requesting to any agreement Berkeley currently has with the University of California using grassroots efforts known as Measures L and N from the 1980's as inspiration.

Measure L didn't just protect parks and open space from commercial intrusion and mandate their maintenance, it required the city to expand and create more park and open space in a city so dense it was remarked upon by planners over 100 years ago before the teensy, unwalkable balconies and roof spaces on high-rises were counted as "open space" by planners.

Measure N was equally crucial. The people of Berkeley, by a comfortable margin, voted to require the University of California to honor local restrictions and requirements so that its expansion didn't hollow out the city's historic landmarks, park space, height and zoning requirements, all the things that hang in the balance when UC decides to use capital it could use to lower tuition to buy land instead and thwart local guidelines with its exemptions.

The land it buys is California wide. The University of California is California's largest landowner. If your local media is going along with the idea that UC needs your local park to convert to housing, it's only because your local media is stupid, was just hired, or is on UC's payroll. And is absent a map.

If the Berkeley City Council cared about making sure it represented an informed electorate, it would require that UC identify and regularly post what it owns already and what it is currently bidding on in town, so that the impression UC likes to leave of a shortage of sites on which to build housing is adequately countered by the frank reality of your UC donation going nowhere near lowering tuition or addressing the maintenance of landmarked buildings currently it is letting go to ruin, buildings which are a legacy of California's architectural and cultural history which UC has a long legacy of destroying, ignoring, or in the case of 1921 Walnut, bulldozing before anybody really catches on.

The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board noted in its editorial of March 6, 2022, that the state Supreme Court's ruling agreed that UC's expanded enrollment "would have an outsize effect on traffic, noise, rental prices and the environment."

Then came Senator Skinner, whose Berkeley origins enabled legislators all over the state to fall prey to the idea that without her help qualified students wouldn't be able to attend school! Clothing was rent. Tears were shed. Headlines were everywhere. But the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board added some crucial information which did not make headlines or affect the poorly written, confusing legislative fix Skinner put into play:

"The state missed a golden opportunity to take pressure off the UC system when it let California State University open a polytechnic school at what had been severely under-enrolled Humboldt State. The school’s future is now set, at least until there’s time to see if this experiment works to boost enrollment at the Northern California campus. The school could have been converted to a UC campus much more quickly than building a new one. There’s still a chance to try converting a Cal State campus to a UC at Sonoma State, which also is experiencing declining enrollment. It makes little sense that some of the state’s institutions of higher education have to advertise to attract applicants while others are overfilled.

The state’s two public university systems will need to direct more applicants to campuses that can handle additional students. Not everyone can attend UC Irvine, UC Berkeley and UCLA. UC Merced still has capacity for more students, and obviously, so do some Cal State campuses. Dream schools may not be a dream if a student is crammed into a crowded lecture hall and sleeps in a car because there’s no housing available..." Los Angeles Times Editorial Board *

The University of California’s destructive enrollment expansion beyond its agreed-upon limits with host cities got a thumbs-up with California Senator Nancy Skinner's help, who, although she came up from Berkeley, apparently hasn’t met the students living down at the underpass. "UC gets what it wants,” in the words of one of my neighbors. "And we get the CS gas.”

Senator Skinner shoveled cake into the overfed mouth of UC ignoring the deaths of James Rector, Rosebud DeNovo, David Nadel, Eli Yates, and many more. While Berkeley is considering the long-overdue issue of reparations more generally, reparations from the University of California are overdue. Recognizing the importance of parks and open space is a simple public health measure which in a more sane world would fit into Covid-19 public health requirements. And given the wealth of options the university has upon which to situate housing, it would cost nothing and generate untold amounts of goodwill to ensure that our parks remain parks, where people otherwise trapped in their apartments could see a leaf, a bird, or a tree.

Let's hope the Nobel and Pulitzer prizewinners nestled away in the Berkeley hills who are capable of entering this discussion are good at writing letters. Because whatever stereotypes you seem to enjoy about rural and mountain communities seem pretty true of them right now; that they just sit there and let things happen which should not happen. No redwood or park should be unnecessarily destroyed, not in the era of climate change, if you know anything about the remarkable qualities of Sequoia sempervirens, the only extant species of the genus in the Northern California coastal forests. If you are, please write to Senators Nancy Skinner and Buffy Wicks, who, if they know anything about basic politics, should be looking for the settlement the judges in Superior Court are unanimously pushing for right about now. 

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* https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-03-06/editorial-the-state-needs-a-different-approach-to-solving-uc-crowding

Greetings. I write as a longtime devotee of the Shattuck Cinemas, where one can see independent and foreign films as well as blockbuster movies and great documentaries. Check out ¡Vive Maestro! on Gustavo Dudamel, the founder of the great El Sistema in Venezuela that provides music education and instruments to poor children and creates orchestras in towns all over the country.

So, after your very appropriate selection of the Shattuck Cinemas as the Best Movie Theater, it was discouraging to see a photo of the UA Theatre.

It is especially concerning because, as in 2015-2020, the Shattuck Cinemas—eight screens, hand-painted murals in some of the screening rooms—is in the sights of another for-profit developer. I met him a couple of weeks ago, after having written him to ask his intentions towards the Cinemas (he did not reply to my letter), and when I asked him in person, he informed me that movie theaters were now obsolete and of course he planned to demolish them.

Berkeley will be greatly damaged should our fine multi-screen theater be sacrificed to the profits of a developer and real estate investors.

These developers do not serve our great need for low-income housing. They produce cheaply-built structures, built to the bare minimum of energy-efficiency standards, and bring them on the market at the highest rates they can achieve. They effectively displace long-time residents by lifting the average rents with their very high rents.

The proposal by Alamo developer Bill Schrader to replace the Shattuck Cinemas with an 8-story speculative housing development will be discussed by the Berkeley Design Review Committee this Thursday, for advisory comments on the new building portion of the project. I do hope the Daily Cal will have a reporter attend the meeting and let students know about this threat. Film at its best is an art form. We’re very fortunate to have the Shattuck Cinemas, as well as the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley and to be able to see the great films, as well as those that are primarily made for entertainment. But PFA complements the Shattuck Cinemas; it would not fill the huge void that would result from their demolition. 

I plan to put together an information sheet and ask moviegoers to contact the city council if they want the theaters protected. Of course there's a low-attendance problem now thanks to COVID, but the Shattuck Cinemas required proof of vaccination and masking as they reopened and they added early afternoon screenings, so it was quite safe to attend, as I've been doing for months 

The DRC agenda and agenda materials are available online at the link below: 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Planning_and_Development/Level_3_-_Commissions/Design_Review_Committee/April_2022_Linked_Final.pdf

Jack Bragen explains and details concerns regarding unfavorable attitudes toward people in recovery from mental illness. He complains about the bigoted stereotypes most people have toward them, likening it to crass racists. 

Jack, I get it. I really do. What's more, I've dealt with a variety and combos of the kind of dynamics you describe, in many different situations. But I gotta' say, it's every bit as important to not negatively stereotype "most people" in that way, either. TWO way streets offer the most. And, yeah, someone's also gotta' go first (or be willing to) and, at best, fairly consistent and genuinely so. Even if not reciprocated or matched, eh? 

When riding motorcycles there's a thing: "Where you look is where you'll go". So it's one of those double-edged swords. On the one hand, knowing that, even at a lively pace and a complex circumstance it can keep you looking for/at the "successful" way through it all. On the other hand, it gives an important warning against any temptations to look too long for/at where you don't want to end up going. 

Ride on, bro'.

As the war in Ukraine drags on, it becomes increasingly apparent that one of the major parameters is disinformation. For example, the attitude inside Russia seems to be that Vladimir Putin's military operations are justified because Putin is protecting "the fatherland" from neo-Nazis. Pro-Putin propaganda has been disseminated throughout the world; It has infected Republican legislators. 

Russia: In the United States, a narrative has circulated suggesting the war will end when Russians rise up and depose Putin. Nonetheless, Russian opinion polls suggest that Putin is very popular because the average Russian believes that Putin is protecting "the fatherland." A recent Levada poll discussed in Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/vladimir-putin-approval-rating-increase-russia-1693521 ) "Showed that approval of Putin's actions increased from 69 percent in January to 83 percent in March." (Statista (https://www.statista.com/statistics/896181/putin-approval-rating-russia/) confirms that within Russia, Putin has strong approval ratings.) Nonetheless, a recent academic study discussed in the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/13/putin-public-opinion-propaganda-levada-center/ ) indicates that Putin's ratings are fragile: "These findings suggest that much of Putin’s support is based on perceptions that he is popular. Without that perception, Putin’s popularity fades." 

The Russian media has a consistent message: "Ukraine is a threat to 'the fatherland' and Vladimir Putin is a strong president who is protecting Russia." The monolithic Russia media is also dismissing reports that the initial Russian effort was unsuccessful or that Russian troops have committed war crimes. 

If this seems familiar, it is similar to the situation in Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II. Hitler was very popular in Germany and disliked in most of the rest of the world. One of Hitler's lieutenants, Joseph Goebbels, ran the ministry of propaganda. He succeeded in convincing most Germans that Adolph Hitler was the right person to protect their country. 

Europe: Russia's distorted view of Putin isn't an isolated phenomenon. Throughout the world, there are many countries where the Russian actions in Ukraine are viewed more sympathetically than US citizens would believe. For example, "In polls on several Chinese websites, generally about 40 percent of Chinese people remain neutral, about 30 percent support Russia, and about 20 percent support Ukraine." (https://thediplomat.com/2022/03/why-do-many-chinese-sympathize-with-russia-in-the-ukraine-conflict/) 

While most of the NATO countries have strong support for Ukraine in the war, and equally strong dislike of Putin, there is a different attitude among Europe's far-right parties. This is seen in Hungary with the government of Viktor Orban. It is also a feature of the current French election which pits centrist Emmanuel Macron against right-wing Marine Le Pen. 

Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/4/4/forbidden-love-putin-and-the-french-european) recently observed: "French opposition leader Marine Le Pen, the de facto spokesperson of the European far right, has been rising in the polls despite her ongoing support and admiration for [Putin] .... In 2014, Le Pen endorsed the Kremlin’s referendum in the Russian-annexed Crimea as legitimate and has been accused of being a Putin stooge. In 2015, reports in the French press based on hacked Kremlin records showed that Le Pen may have lent her support to Putin’s annexation in return for a nine million euro ($9.9m) loan from a Russian bank – although the allegations of a quid pro quo have never been proved." 

On April 24, Macron and Le Pen will vie for the French presidency. Le Pen is close despite her long-time support for Putin. The Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/11/french-election-runoff-marine-le-pen-putin/) noted: "A National Rally campaign leaflet distributed this year depicted her shaking hands with the Russian president, and the party funded itself with a 9 million euro loan from a Russian bank in 2014. Ms. Le Pen’s long-standing hostility to NATO is well-known; she is promising to withdraw the French military from the alliance’s command structure." 

United States: Donald Trump's admiration for Vladimir Putin is well known. On February 27, Trump said: "Yesterday, I was asked by reporters if I thought President Putin was smart. I said, 'of course he's smart... The problem is not that Putin is smart, which of course he is smart, but the real problem is that our leaders are dumb." 

But Trump wasn't the only Republican leader to admire Putin. "Putin's high-profile admirers include alt-right agitator Steve Bannon and former White House communications director and presidential candidate Pat Buchanan. Prominent television host Tucker Carlson spoke out in support of Putin just one day before Russia invaded Ukraine, questioning whether Putin was the enemy liberals painted him to be: 'Why do Democrats want you to hate Putin? Has Putin shipped every middle class job in your town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked your business? Is he teaching your kids to embrace racial discrimination?'" (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-02/putin-s-supporters-in-united-states-europe/100944412) 

Late in January, a Yahoo/YouGov poll (https://news.yahoo.com/poll-as-ukraine-tensions-escalate-62-percent-of-republicans-say-putin-is-a-stronger-leader-than-biden-192437439.html ) found "more than 6 in 10 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (62 percent) now say Russian President Vladimir Putin is “a stronger leader” than Joe Biden." 

50 days into the war, most Republicans have changed their tune. According to the latest Pew Research Poll (https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2022/04/06/seven-in-ten-americans-now-see-russia-as-an-enemy/ ) "69% of Republicans [describe] Russia as an enemy." (Only 6 percent express confidence in Putin.) Nonetheless, there are huge partisan divide on the conduct of the war; for example, like Marine Le Pen, most conservative Republicans do not have confidence in NATO. 

The latest Pew Research poll indicates that Americans are divided on the Biden Administration's handling of Russia's invasion of Ukraine: 47 percent strongly approve and 39 percent strongly disapprove. Opinion is divided along partisan lines: 69 percent of Democrats strongly approve and 67 percent of Republicans strongly disapprove. 

Analysis: Note that since Russia invaded Ukraine, most Republicans have become negative on Putin and Russia, but have not rallied around President Biden. We're at war with Russia but unlike the situation in previous wars, Republicans have not rallied around the commander-in-chief. 

There are two connected explanations for this. One is that many Republicans like Putin because he reflects their world view. Putin is a racist misogynistic bully. Many conservatives see him as a rugged individual guided by the philosophy of self-interest popularized by Ayn Rand (BTW: She was born Alisha Rosenbaum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.) In other words, Vladimir Putin is not woke. He has a very simple moral philosophy; the ends always justify the means. Writing in the New Statesman ( https://www.newstatesman.com/world/americas/north-america/us/2022/03/why-parts-of-the-us-right-cant-quit-putin) Emily Tamkin opined: "The far right – or at least the Trump-aligned far right – is already too deep into conspiracy theories to break with Russia, or at least to side cleanly with Ukraine..." 

The other explanation for the undue influence that Putin has had on US politics is that we have allowed Russian money to have undue influence in US politics. Since Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign, there have been indications that Russia funneled money to the Republican Party. The Mueller investigation reported that Russia "interfered" in the 2016 election and there were troubling links between the Trump campaign and Russian actors including Russian Oligarchs; see for example, this article by professor Ruth May (https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/how-putin-s-oligarchs-funneled-millions-into-gop-campaigns/ ) 

Summary: Recently, CNN host Jim Acosta (https://www.politicususa.com/2022/04/10/jim-acosta-nails-tucker-carlson-for-using-russian-talking-points.html ) pointed out that Tucker Carlson (Fox News) was repeating Russian talking points about Ukraine: " Last week Tucker Carlson tried to imply that some of what you are seeing [about Russian atrocities] has been fabricated and amplified by news organizations. That sounds a lot like what we heard from Putin’s spokesman who said bodies lining the streets were, quote, a forgery, aimed at denigrating the Russian army.” Prominent Republican members of Congress like Marjorie Taylor Green and Josh Hawley are also repeating Russian talking points. 

It's time to call out the ongoing Russian-sponsored disinformation campaign for what it is: a national security threat. 

It's time to call out Republicans, who praise Putin and denigrate Biden, for what they really are: traitors. It's time to brand Tucker Carlson as a traitor. 

We are at war with Russia. We don't have to put up with Republican craziness any longer.  

Bob Burnett is a Bay Area writer and activist. He can be reached at bburnett@sonic.net 

According to the April 2022 report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc), the window for limiting global warming to relatively safe levels is rapidly closing. Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. Any further delay in international action will result in an unlivable and unsustainable future for us all.

In order to meet the goals of The Paris Agreement to limit the average global temperature rise to 1.5°C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels—and failing that, to below 2°C—will take immediate and unprecedented action from every country.

In response to the climate crisis, at least 200 countries met at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow from October 31, 2021 to November 12, 2021. Notably China and Russia were not represented at the summit. The largest delegation was fossil fuel lobbyists who like the world the way it is. The delegates reached a consensus that all nations must do much more, immediately, to reach decarbonisation to limit future global temperature rise to 2°C, but ideally to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels by 2030.  

The lofty rhetoric of world leaders at the summit did not include an agreement on concrete action. Lots of talk, too little concrete action. Or as environmental activist Greta Thunberg put it, the COP26 climate summit was a failure; it was “blah, blah, blah.” 

The next climate summit will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on 7-18 November 2022. Unfortunately, the next summit will probably end like the last with much talk and too little progress. And the United States, the second largest carbon polluter after China, will probably again be unable to show by example much progress as the $1.75 trillion Budget Reconciliation bill, which includes the Build Back Better Act with all its climate provisions intact. This would have been a $555 billion framework to combat the climate crisis. 

We have the knowledge, money, technology and affordable clean energy that we need to cut our carbon emissions in half by 2030. That’s the good news from the IPCC. What needs to be done is dramatically reduce the use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, and cut methane emissions by one-third. According to the report, what’s standing in the way of reaching this goal is the lack of political will and sufficient funding.  

The U.S. has a toxic partisan government primarily concerned with the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. If the GOP wins a majority in either the House or the Senate or both in the midterm elections, then it is unlikely any significant action on climate change will happen during the remainder of Joe Biden’ s presidency and possible beyond. We can then look to the consequences of too little too late on climate change. 

Name the Bird

After Grinnell, a locally famous peregrine falcon, tragically died in a collision with an automobile, his equally famous mate, Annie, found a new feathered suitor to help her care for a collection of eggs in her nest atop UC Berkeley's Campanile.

The new bird on the block was dubbed "the New Guy." Recently, a bird-ogling consortium called Cal Falcons staged a contest to officially name Annie's new nest-mate. The winning name is set to be announced soon. The final picks include: 

Ned, for Ned Johnson, a world-renowned Berkeley ornithologist and professor of integrative biology. 

Morgan, for UC alumna Julia Morgan, the pioneering female architect who designed more than 700 buildings—including UC's Hearst Gymnasium (now threatened with demolition).  

Lou, for Louise Kellogg, a Berkeley alumna and longtime partner of explorer and naturalist Annie Alexander, founder of the UC Museum of Paleontology and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. 

Ed, for Ed Roberts, the unstoppable, wheelchair-ambulating Berkeley alumnus who lead the disability rights movement on campus and nationwide. 

Savio, for Mario Savio, the galvanizing UC student who became the voice of the 1964 Free Speech Movement. 

Calvin, for Melvin Calvin, a Berkeley chemistry professor who won the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. 

Archie, for Archie Williams, a Berkeley alumnus who won gold in the 400-meter run at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. He was a flying instructor at the Tuskegee Army Flying School and an Air Force combat pilot during World War II and the Korean War. 

Takaki, for Ronald Takaki, a UCB grad who became a Berkeley ethnic studies professor and established the nation’s first Ph.D. program in ethnic studies. 

Alden, for Alden Miller, a Berkeley alumnus who succeeded Joseph Grinnell (the deceased falcon's namesake) as director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. (This was the winner.) 

As a veteran of the FSM, I received notice of this contest from other FSMers—along with an urgent, partisan request: "Hey everyone. Vote for Savio! Pass it around!"  

I signed on for "Savio"—but emailed that I would have preferred dubbing the new guy, "Mario." 

One prominent FSM vet concurred: "I agree," she wrote, "but I wasn’t consulted…. I suspect Takaki will win; it’s a funnier name." 

Speaking of Free Speech: Putin Prohibits "Two Words" 

The Canadian anti-war group, Project Save the World, not only publishes Peace Magazine, it also hosts "Global Town Halls" —video conversations about current affairs. A recent episode featured Andre Kamenshikov, a Russian-American living in Kiev, Ukraine. Also featured was Alexey Prokhorenko, who lives in Moscow. Prokhorenko revealed that, while his hardships are minor compare to folks in Ukraine, Russian citizens are scrambling to gather stockpiles of "buckwheat and other staples." Another stressor, Prokhorenko noted, was the arrest of some 10,000 fellow Russians who dared to demonstrate against Putin's war and now face jail terms of 15 years. In Russia, you are no longer free to shout (or even hold a sign with the words) "No War!" Some protesters who responded to the censorship by holding up signs simply reading "Two Words" have also been arrested and jailed. Here's a link to the video of the conversation with Prokhorenko and Kamenshikov. 

A Taxing Time 

Public Citizen is outraged that (1) "this year’s Pentagon budget is $782 billion, (2) "President Biden just requested an additional $31 billion for next year," (3) "some members of Congress are pressing for even more" and (4) "Meanwhile, we’re constantly getting told we can’t afford investments that would actually improve life for ordinary people." This list would include: (1) Medicare for All. (2) A Green New Deal. (3) Help for the homeless. (4) Universal childcare. (5) Free community college. (6) Raising the minimum wage. (7) More money to fight COVID-19. 

PC concludes: "It feels like Congress cares more about their buddies working for the military-industrial complex than they do about people like us." 

If your fists are clenched in frustration, relax and point just one of your fingers in the direction of the following link: Email your members of Congress. 

Karmic Strips 

Pearls Before Swine, a syndicated comic strip created by lawyer-turned-cartoonist Stephan Pastis, appears daily in the San Francisco Chronicle. Pearls features an anti-social character name Rat (who is a rodent) and a mellow under-achiever named Pig. 

Pastis frequently uses the longer Sunday strips to set up excruciating puns, built on what's been said in the previous boxes. 

A while back, I sent Pastis a proposed script for a Sunday punathon and he responded with a kind note. 

So here's the set up: In the first box, Pig declares he's going to get more exercise — with the aid of a Swedish Laplander named Sami, who happens to be a runner. 

Pig explains that Sami has offered to put Pig in a pouch strapped around his waist so Pig can enjoy running around the local track without over-stressing himself. In the next-to-last box, Pig returns, looking rumpled and dirty. Rat asks what happened. Turn's out, Sami's body couldn't handle Pig's extra weight. 

Or, as Pig explained in the final panel: "My Lap's lap collapsed before my laps elapsed." 

NBC Says "No Can See" 

In what may be a first, YouTube has censored the posting of a national TV network newscast. The April 14 broadcast of NBC Nightly News remains blocked by an alert that reads: "The following content has been identified by the YouTube community as inappropriate or offensive to some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised." 

After clicking to gain access, it became clear that this particular broadcast was blocked because it contained surveillance footage that showed a white Michigan police officer stop, confront, grab, manhandle, tase, and murder an unarmed black motorist. 

While anchor Lester Holt warned that "the video is disturbing," the video was frozen the moment before Patrick Lyoya was pinned to the ground and shot in the back of the head. (In a gratuitous act of "half-censorship," NBC's editors stopped the film but continued to broadcast the soundtrack of the fatal round being fired—by an officer whose identity was being concealed.) 

A question: Since the actual moment of death was not shown, why was the video deemed not suitable for broadcast? The lesson: Regardless of the confrontation's tragic end, simply showing a white officer abusing his authority now apparently qualifies as "inappropriate" for public viewing. 

Blockade Lockheed's Warhawk Blockheads 

If you don't like war, you can't like Lockheed Martin. LM is the world's largest arms maker and war profiteer. As the Global Mobilization to #StopLockheedMartin notes: "From Ukraine to Yemen, from Palestine to Colombia, from Somalia to Syria, from Afghanistan to Ethiopia, no one profits more from war and bloodshed than Lockheed Martin." 

The Mobilization is staging a week of global protests starting on April 21 (the day that Lockheed Martin holds its Annual General Meeting in Maryland) and running through April 28. 

On April 15, a half-dozen local peace groups (including CodePink, Pacific Life Community, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, San Jose Peace and Justice Center, Environmentalists Against War, and the Raging Grannies) got a jump on the global gatherings when they marched a mile to Lockheed's Palo Alto offices and presented a World BEYOND War (WBW) petition to Lockheed officials. The petition read:
By far, the world's biggest weapons dealer, Lockheed Martin brags about arming over 50 countries. These include many of the most oppressive governments and dictatorships around the world. Lockheed Martin is also involved in the production of nuclear weapons, as well as being the producer of the horrific and disastrous F-35, and the THAAD missile systems used to escalate tensions around the globe. Apart from the crimes its products are manufactured for, Lockheed Martin is frequently found guilty of fraud and other misconduct. 

Therefore, we urge Lockheed Martin to immediately initiate a plan for conversion from weapons manufacture to peaceful industries with a just transition for arms industry workers that secures the livelihoods of workers and includes the participation of unions.
You can click here to sign on. 

WBW Executive Director David Swanson adds this footnote: 

"The risk of nuclear apocalypse is very high. There’s nothing more important than avoiding destroying all life on earth. We can’t picture a planet devoid of life and happily think 'Well, at least we stood up to Putin' or 'Well, at least we stood up to NATO' .... Quite apart from where this war goes or where it came from, the US and Russia should be talking right now about taking nuclear weapons out of the calculations, disarming, and dismantling them, as well as protecting nuclear power plants." 

Mixed Media for a More Peaceful World 

World BEYOND War, a global grassroots network advocating for the abolition of war, just published its Annual Report for 2021. The 34-page overview kicks off with something I've never encountered before. On the Table of Contents page, readers are invited to click on a nearby photo that links to a two-minute "highlights reel" video. 

"Wondering what we’ve been up to in 2021?" the video's YouTube page reads: "Here’s our top 10 victories and highlights of the year." 

And, speaking of videos: WBW has just posted its first music video: "Not to War" by Blaze Weka. 

(Full disclosure: I currently serve on the WBW Board.) 

The Fine Art of Consumer Manipulation 

Publishers Clearing House (PCH) is a master of over-the-top tricks to encourage people to spend loose change on an endless parade of loony kitsch. There are the blandishments: "You will be the only person who could win the doubled $10,000 A Week For Life prize." And there are the threats: "Don't risk someone else from Berkeley winning… with your SuperPrize Number!!" 

There are the competitive nudges, including a printout with two street maps—one showing the location of my PO Box in downtown Berkeley and one showing my nearest competitor, identified as "M.W.", located near the Oakland Coliseum DMV office. 

The boosts take a turn towards paranoia when PCH's pitch declares: "Someone who lives near you wants your Prize Number and is hoping you don't respond!!" The main goal is to prompt the reader to place an order. Each mailing contains a line of legalese that states "Placing an order will not increase your chances of winning" but accompanying fliers include good-cop-bad-cop lines like "You're such a loyal friend…" and "We hope you'll change your mind…." 

And if you don't place an order, watch out for grim threats like these: "Your status is in danger of being declared inactive. Won't you please try something this time?" and "Failure to order from this bulletin will result in forfeiture of our highest level of rewards for any product you may order." 

Meanwhile, to keep the loot-lust alive, the other side of the same sheet that makes that threat offers "Immediate transfer of money" ("$5,000 a week for life plus $1 million at once and a Ford Explorer!") and salutes moi as "a VIP Elite entrant" who has "reached our highest level of entry recognition!" 

But PCH's "tough-love" approach ended with a doom-drenched note that I'd better go online and enter a special "Activation Code" or prepare to face the "risk of automatic consequences." 

Save Your Leaves! 

Winds have been blowing these past months and that means lotsa leaves on the ground. But don't curse the clean-up, let's celebrate the cure—as proposed by some urban farmsteaders in Penn State. 

Germantown Kitchen Garden ("our little farm in Philadelphia") looks at leftover leaves as a gardener's treasure and recently posted a public notice that they are "seeking your leaves for our beds and compost piles!" noting that "leaf litter is one of the best soil amendments and mulch that there is, and we never have enough."  

GKG's members are in love with leaves. GKG's younger farmers are even known to celebrate leaf-time with this chant: 

Winter winds blow all around / The leaves begin to fall.
And Cindy, with a leap and bound / Tries hard to catch them all. 

According to GKG's PR person, Amanda: "I encourage all of you to leave your leaves, mow them or shred them and use them as the perfectly nutritious thermal blanket that they are, but, if you do not wish to do this, then please consider dropping your raked leaves off at the farm. You can drop them right over the big farm stand gate and I will come and grab them daily." 

But first, "some very important caveats":
• Only yard leaves—we cannot accept leaves raked from the street and sidewalk. Put those on your ornamental beds, or leave them for the city to pick up.
• We cannot accept leaves from lawns treated with herbicide or insecticide.
• Leaves must be as free as possible of sticks and brush. I understand little twigs just get in there, but please don't rake up a whole brush pile and put it into a bag and give it to me. I'll be so sad.
• Leaves must be bagged. They don't have to be brown paper lawn bags, but they have to be bags.
• Finally, if you feel weird driving up to the garden gate and dumping a bunch of trash over it, give me a call first to see if I'm home and I'll meet you. 

Thank you for your help — next year's garlic thanks you!  

Since my column is often about the human mind, I can get away with writing a lot of thought pieces. This is one of them--very much so. Please indulge...

If your mind is operating from one of more false assumptions to guide you in your speech and actions, you are on thin ice.

I've been stabilized on medication since the latter half of 1996. And no one can deny this is an accomplishment for someone with my psychiatric condition. Although my prognosis was wrong, I was not misdiagnosed. Any time in my past that I've tried to do without medication, disaster ensued--I became severely psychotic.

However, becoming stabilized doesn't mean that everything is resolved. I've dealt with a substantial number of "delusions" that meds do not eradicate. Yet, I've also learned that you do not need to have a mental illness diagnosis to have delusions.

Antipsychotics do not fully do away with delusions and other symptoms. The medications must be supplemented with therapy, partly to "reality check," and with what I'll term "mental hygiene." 

If you go into psychosis enough, your mind will "split off" from reality. This causes speech and actions that are counterproductive to living, at the least, and at the worst, a threat to safety. 

Those who don't struggle with this, especially those who do not have a mental illness, are lacking something important. Even a person considered "normal" can benefit from mental hygiene. While a "neuro-typical" or non-afflicted person may not be fending off severe delusions, they can try to make the thinking more accurate, and they can work to maintain this accuracy. This is not a waste of time and effort. If you improve the mind, it follows that most other things that you do will be done better. 

If you look at ultra-smart people, geniuses and so on, at my best guess, many of them have good mental habits to keep their minds on track. However, I don't know this firsthand, because although I know people who are smarter than I, those I do know don't seem to hone (the technical term is "calibrate") their thinking very much. 

Your picture of the world, whether you suffer from a mind-altering condition or not, is subject to distortions. The human mind makes a map of the world, but it is only a map. Any map isn't the actual territory, it is only a map of that, and as such, it is subject to inaccuracies. Most people don't understand this basic thing about themselves. And this is a very important thing to understand. People project their perceived realities on the world, and this leads to misdirection. Those in positions of power who do this, project a false version of the world, are at the very least, nuisances. 

An example of a "bad assumption" could be where you think something is true merely because you think it. This could seem to many readers like an absurd thing to believe. Yet, if you are becoming increasingly psychotic, this is an assumption that could arise. And if it does, it functions like a "trojan" (analogy refers to computer malware) in which any thought you have is accepted into your version of reality. It then can cause a flood of erroneous thoughts, ultimately causing complete chaos in the mind, and resultantly, harming the brain. 

(Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? That's a good question to which psychiatry's answer is, psychosis starts in the brain, and you need to medicate the brain. Yet, there is a need for mental hygiene, nonetheless. And I agree with psychiatry that you can't "think away" psychosis. The cause of it is mostly biological. And if it goes unchecked, the brain damages itself.) 

Another example, which is similar, is that you are "psychic." Now, I don't want to insult or invalidate those who seem to have a genuine gift. Yet, if you suffer from psychosis, the assumption that you can know something without any sensory evidence of it, that you know it because you're psychic, as bad as the example in the paragraph above. Both have a deep effect on how information is processed. 

The belief that other people can read your mind or that you can read theirs is a seriously bad assumption. You are much better off if you realize that you may often need to explain yourself and that it is not obvious to people who you are and what you're doing. The belief that you can read someone's mind will cause poorly chosen actions, and it is yet another "infection" that can plague the thinking. 

A similar erroneous assumption is where you assume others will understand you, without the need for you to spell everything out. In fact, people must be filled in, and they will not, as a rule, make an effort to figure you out. They will proceed on their own assumptions. When you are trying to accomplish something, it is likely you need to explain what you are doing and why. 

Or, if you assume that Friday the 13th causes bad luck, then you're going to have a rough time on that date. If you ascribe to the idea that you have bad luck or good luck, it discounts the actual causes of life events. It can also lead to false expectations, whether favorable or unfavorable, within the thinking. 

Today we have false assumptions being spread by politicians and by fake news. This misleads the public. The public as a result, in the not-so-distant future, will be led to a rude awakening. Think of the story of the Pied Piper... 

But I've been fighting off a specific paranoid assumption. This affects how I act, and it may prevent me from making correct decisions. Any incorrect assumption skews the entirety of thinking and gets you disconnected from reality, at least to an extent. When you can correct the assumption, the mind has a chance to recalibrate. 

When conclusions become assumptions, you are on a slippery slope. I know many individuals who pass judgment on me without knowing what they're talking about. If this is an example of how they think, they're fortunate their thinking hasn't caused them even more problems. As it stands, when people misjudge me (and this is based on outward appearances or maybe on what others have said about me) it has bad effects on me. 

Most people assume too much. 

We can teach ourselves to have better cognitive habits. A part of this is where we question ourselves. On the other hand, if we are in contact with a predatory person, such person could exploit this habit and use it against us. A person who questions oneself is less vulnerable to internal causes of problems, but more vulnerable to another person's "gaslighting." 

A mentally ill person can do an exercise on oneself that resembles the function of an antivirus application on a computer. This is where, one at a time, the beliefs are evaluated. In doing this, you look for characteristics of a thought or belief that resemble those that in the past turned out to be delusions. This is like an antivirus on a computer which identifies viruses through their "signatures." 

Where do most people get their belief systems? Many seem to get this from church. Others get their versions of the world from television commercials. And others get it from peers and supervisors at work. In other words, most people obtain their belief systems from external sources. If you decide to think on your own, believing that you could be another Leonardo da Vinci, you could expose yourself to your own unique errors. If you get delusions and other assumptions from external sources, you are subject to collective inaccuracies. 

And if you let your television set or an internet website do your thinking for you, then you deserve what you get. 

City meetings were light this week and two were cancelled and rescheduled. The Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission will be April 27 and the Council Worksession of the City Manager’s response to Reimagining Public Safety is supposed to happen April 21 though it is not posted. 

April 14^th , the evening we were supposed to hear the response to the presentations on reimagining public safety, Chris Hayes started off his MSNBC evening show with the questions, “What is policing for? What do we want policing to do? What does safety in this country look like?” 

Those questions are the framing that was missing from a year of community meetings with the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force and the consultants from the National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR), though they picked at them in pieces. The consultants gave the City a final report filled with acronyms, EPIC (Ethical Policing is Courageous), ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement), HALO (Highly Accountable Learning Organization), intended to “fix” policing in Berkeley under the banner of “Reduce, Improve, Reinvest.” 

It always felt at the community meetings that the consultants never broke through the defensive protective shell around the police department, and meeting agendas were controlled to produce predetermined results. Whether that was the limit of what the consultants had to offer, or whether micromanagement flowing from the City Manager’s office stalled a deep dive, is unknown to members of the public like me. However, I sense it is the latter. 

When the yearlong process was rolling to the end, the Reimaging Public Safety Task Force was told in absolute direct terms in full view of the public that they were to format their report as a response to the consultants, not an independent assessment. The task force did their real work in their subcommittee meetings, and that is what we saw in their blistering response to the NICJR Report at the March 10^th special council meeting. The task force’s final 149 page report and four and a half hour meeting gives this warning in the letter to the community, “…if this process focuses too narrowly on internal police policies and protocols… [and] neglects to address the multi-dimensional inequity that creates patterns of crime, violence, poverty and social disconnection – then it will fail.” Revised material (Supp 2) 

As we await the City Manager’s response to Reimagining Public Safety, policing issues before council Tuesday evening began with Councilmember Taplin’s Community Policing: Flex Team for Problem-Oriented Policing Under the Scanning, Analysis, Response and Assessment (SARA) Model and other applicable community engagement models. Several residents from District 2 spoke in support, with anxious voices, of gunfire in their neighborhood and their fear for themselves and their children. Others expressed opposition, with concern that this policing model will be a return to saturation policing: a throwback to the long ugly history of the war on drugs and looking at every person of color as a criminal. Others said in support the Berkeley Police were doing a fine job. The flex team proposal passed on consent without debate. 

Council moved on to the City Auditor’s report on the use of overtime in the Berkeley Police Department and the lack of contracts with outside entities. An example of both problems, overtime and lack of contracts, is the practice of staffing uniformed officers outside the Fourth Street Apple store. There is no contract with Apple, not terms, not conditions, not even a set billing rate. According to Police Chief Louis, who extolled the benefit of providing security for Apple, the company’s Corporate Headquarters simply calls in a request. And according to the audit, officers choose and signup for overtime from postings hanging on a cork board, a process which only gains importance as there is no apparent control over the number of overtime shifts for any one officer or which overtime opportunities get picked off first. Parking a police vehicle in front of Apple and standing nearby watching shoppers certainly has the appearance of cushy overtime versus being in the bicycle patrol or patrolling a neighborhood. 

There were lots of questions and comments from councilmembers regarding the auditor’s report. Harrison, as did others, commented on the toll on officers of working endless overtime shifts. Kesarwani stated that all work for outside entities like Apple should cease immediately until there were contracts in place and then backed off of that reasonable request. Harrison asked about bike patrols, with the obvious question: Are uniformed Berkeley police acting as a security officers for Apple instead of being in the bike patrol for the downtown? The Mayor asked about the timing to have contracts in place and the content of the contracts coming before council. The City Manager said that the content and the conditions of contracts was completely within her purview, not council’s. 

The current billing for security services, according to Chief Louis, is for the officer assigned at that officer’s overtime pay rate. It does not include overhead, equipment, vehicle costs or the cost of replacement for other assignments. When payment is made by outside entities it is credited to the City general fund and not tied to the police overtime account. This maneuver makes for slushy accounting and at the same time sets up the Police Department to demand a bigger budget. And because the Police Chief neglects to include the total cost of staffing outside entities, the City is not properly reimbursed. 

The council voted to accept the auditor’s report and requested the City Manager to report back on the status of recommendations by September 29, 2022 and every six months thereafter, and set a goal of September for the City Attorney, City Manager and Police Department to have contracts in place. Goals have a habit of sliding, as do requests for reports, and the basic question of “ What do we want Berkeley police to do?“ remains unanswered. 

In Chris Hayes’ segment on policing, Hayes showed a chart of declining success in solving cases of the crime of murder as now being down to 54 percent nationwide. 

Over the years in all the crime reports from the Berkeley Police Chief to City Council, I never heard the success rate for solving those crimes. And, for all the bluster around the importance of surveillance to deter and solve crime that also isn’t included, something we might want to ask on April 26^th when the surveillance report is presented to council. 

The Facilities, Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment & Sustainability Committee (FITES) addressed one topic Wednesday afternoon: regulating plastic bags. There was good attendance with representatives from the Berkeley Bowl and Monterey Market and enthusiastic UCB students supporting Beyond Plastics, but Martin Bourque from the Ecology Center had the most telling comment. He said they eliminated plastic bags at the Farmers’ Markets years ago. When Councilmember Harrison asked about the process, Bourque said they provided notices well in advance, but found it wasn’t until implementation that people pay attention. 

At the Disaster and Fire Safety Commission, when Nancy Radar saw she didn’t have the votes, she pulled her proposal to use Measure FF funds for vegetation management and the removal of eucalyptus trees on private property. Commissioner Paul Degenkolb had expressed his feeling that the property owner is responsible and said, “Every time something comes up as a property owner I have to pay.” He went on to say Monterey Pines are native trees and he saw the Monterey Pine go up like a torch and the Eucalyptus next to it didn’t burn. Commissioner Weldon Bradstreet was concerned that using Measure FF funds on private property would “poison the well for future city funding.” 

One phrase you may have heard me say over and over is people age at different rates. Some people are old at 50 and others young at 90. There are so many factors that go into aging, genetics, lifestyle, environment, exercise and what we put into our bodies. Bob Williams made the front page of the Chronicle sports section, still golfing and mentally sharp at age 100. Then there is yet another report that Dianne Feinstein, who turns 89 in June, is no longer mentally fit to serve. 

Some of you reading this like me have seen someone we know deteriorating mentally. I remember joining friends who told me their mother was suffering from Alzheimer’s. For the first minutes of greetings and exchanges she was able to pull off a perfectly normal, engaging, coherent interaction, but as the afternoon wore on the decline was obvious. Even people who are in deep mental decline will have a brief moment when the synapses connect and glimmers of their former selves shines through. 

Feinstein’s response to the latest article was that she is fine with no plans to step down. As mental decline progresses, the ability of the person to recognize it also slips away. This is difficult. Her term doesn’t end until January 2025 and as the saying goes in a 50/50 Senate we need all hands on deck fully capable of doing the job. 

Last Saturday afternoon as my walk partner and I were crossing Center Street the group marching toward us was chanting, “Abortion on demand without apology.” It is the same chant I heard in 2013 from another group that was traveling around the country where access to abortion was threatened. 2013 was the 40^th anniversary of Roe v Wade and the year I had t-shirts printed for volunteers of the national juried art exhibition Choice with “Make 2013 the last year women lose more rights than we gain.” It was a burst of optimism and a call to action that never happened. It was a time when young women couldn’t imagine losing access to a right they always had and being shamed for using it. In these nine years later, women are being trampled with a wave of anti-abortion laws. 

When I turn on the television and see women leading in so many fields that were out of reach when I was a child, it brings a sense of pride and joy. There was no access to reliable birth control when I was young and it will be again if the most extreme have their way. Thirty-nine is the average number of child-bearing years between onset of menstruation and menopause. As a teenager I saw friends’ dreams crushed by pregnancy, lives almost lost with illegal abortions and in my own life on edge worrying that each late period would be an unwanted pregnancy. 

With Roe v Wade hanging by a thread and likely to die this June, I picked up the audiobook The Family Roe: An American Story by Joshua Prager. Prager said in the author’s note that he spent eleven years researching and writing the book he wanted to write. 

The Family Roe tells the story of Roe v. Wade through the lives of Norma McCorvey, her three daughters, McCorvey’s partners, family, friends, the attorneys, and the pro-life activists who exploited Norma to bolster their cause and condemned her life as a lesbian. There is good reason why The Family Roe is listed as the 2021 finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, one of NPR's Best Books of 2021, a New York Times Notable Book of 2021, one of TIME's 100. 

My walk partner’s newly married nephew sent her a text a few weeks ago: he had his vasectomy. Not everyone wants or needs to be a parent. Losing access to abortion has real consequences for women. Women who live in states / areas where birth control and abortion are easily accessible are in better health, have higher earnings and face less discrimination. 

No matter what happens in June it is not the end. The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service by Laura Kaplan published by the University of Chicago Press in 1995 is in my reading stack. When I finish it, I have to track down the woman who loaned it to me. 

Worth Noting:

Once more we heard from the Mayor this week that the City Manager’s response to the Reimagining Public Safety will occur. Mayor Arreguin said it will be April 21. There is no posting of the meeting. Posting at the last minute has become all too common, check later https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Agenda_Index.aspx The Rent Board, Design Review Committee and the Transportation Commission are all scheduled for Thursday evening, April 21^st. The April 26^th Council agenda is available for comment. Items of note are the Surveillance Report, the Homeless Commission referral for a crisis stabilization center and storm shelters. Use the same link or scroll down to find the agenda list between the list of meetings and Land Use Calendar.



In the long list of meetings, these are picked as key where your attendance/comment may make a difference. There are other meetings in the list that also deserve your attention. Local actions matter!

Monday at 10:30 am the Public Safety Committee takes up warrantless searches and prohibition of discriminatory reports.

Tuesday 9 am the Budget Committee will continue the unfinished items from Thursday on paving, budgeting, and electrification. At 6 pm the presentation and discussion of the planning for the housing developments at the Ashby and North Berkeley BART stations follows a presentation by the Fire Department.

Wednesday at 7 pm is the last community meeting on Vision 2050. There will be a ballot measure in November. There is so much on Wednesday that you could be attending meetings from noon through the evening with barely a break from 3:30 – 5:30 pm. I have never attended a PG&E webinar so I cannot tell you whether that 5:30 pm meeting on wildfire safety is worth your time – it does look like it will be recorded.

Thursday at 7 pm Design review includes three interesting projects and the Transportation Commission includes BerkDOT, Hopkins Corridor and Adeline Plaza and possibly reimagining policing.

Saturday is Earth Day and I leave you to find and decide on your own activity. There are plenty to choose from. The City sponsored event for the waterfront which is listed.



Sunday, April 17, 2022 – Easter, Passover, Ramadan 

Monday, April 18, 2022 

City Council Public Safety Committee at 10:30 am (members Taplin, Kesawani, Wengraf) 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84938614551 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 849 3861 4551 

AGENDA: 2. Droste co-sponsor Taplin - Revisions to Section 311.6 Warrantless Searches of Individuals on Supervised Release Search Conditions of Berkeley Police Department Law, 3. Harrison, co-sponsor Hahn - Add Chapter 13.09 to BMC Prohibiting Discriminatory Reports to Law Enforcement, 4. Disaster and Fire Safety Commission – Parking Enforcement of Existing Parking Code in Fire Zones 2 & 3. 

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

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

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81166286812?pwd=SmM3Uk94L2dKTHA0T21IVWFBQTVPUT09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 ID: 811 6628 6812 Passcode: 458408 

AGENDA Discussion and possible action: 6. Revisions to the Demolition Ordinance, 7. Memorandum regarding the potential for adding more rent controlled units under CA Civil Code Section 1954.52(b), 8. Relocation Ordinance and suggested additions from previous discussion regarding Tenant Habitability Plan Ordinance, 9. Various amendments to the Rent Stabilization and Eviction for Good Cause Ordinance. 

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

Homeless Services Panel of Experts Special Meeting at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/92491365323 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 ID: 924 9136 5323 

AGENDA: 6. Discussion and possible action towards recommendation of allocation of Measure P monies in current budget cycle. 

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

Tuesday, April 19, 2022 

City Council Budget & Finance Committee at 9 am 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87174090877 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID:871 7409 0877 

AGENDA: 1. Kesarwani, co-sponsors Taplin, Wengraf, Droste - Budget Referral: Street Maintenance Funding – 3 yr street paving financing plan to bring total annual budget to $51.1 million. 2. Harrison – Budget Referral for Capital Improvements, Street, Sidewalk, Micromobility and Transit, 3. CM- FY 22 AAO #2 Update, 4. CM- Discussion Budget Engagement Strategies. 

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

City Council CLOSED SESSION at 4 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87106067473 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 871 0606 7473 

AGENDA: 1. Conference with legal counsel – existing litigation Worthy v. City of Berkeley, et.al 

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

CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87841008933 

Teleconference: 1-699-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 878 4100 8933 

AGENDA: 1. Fire Department Standards of Coverage and Community Risk Assessment Study, 2. Ashby and North Berkeley BART Transit-Oriented Development. 

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

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 

City/UC/Student Relations Committee Special Meeting at 12 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82268262581 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 ID: 822 6826 2581 

AGENDA: 2. Public Comment, 3. Minutes, 4. Introductions to new ASUC leadership, 5. Seamless Bay Area – mission to transform fragmented public transportation into unified system 6. Strategies to support unhoused community members in People’s Park and Telegraph Neighborhood, 7. Priorities for spending future allocations of UC/CoB settlement agreement payments, 8. GLA (group living ordinance update. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Home/City/UC/Student_Relations_Committee.aspx 

City Council Facilities, Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment & Sustainability Committee (FITES) at 2:30 pm, 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83191415939 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) ID: 831 9141 5939 

AGENDA: 2. Harrison, co-sponsor Hahn – Consider Strategies and Make Recommendations to Council and Staff to Ensure Potential Infrastructure Bond Expenditure is Consistent with Climate Action Goals and Other Environmental Policies, 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Home/Policy_Committee__Facilities,_Infrastructure,_Transportation,_Environment,___Sustainability.aspx 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Outreach Committee at 5:15 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89090202321?pwd=cGxPa0IxSllvVi95dmZQcWhWTVBOQT09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 ID: 890 9020 2321 Passcode: 140743 

AGENDA: 6. Staff update regarding social media 7. Staff update on website revamp and new 3Di Case Management/Public Platform, 8. Discussion/possible action regarding 2022 Tenant Survey, 9. Fair Chance Ordinance a. Promotion Video for the new law https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp8CVZdKUV0, May 9 5pm Webinar hosted by Berkeley Property Owners and co-presenters JustCities and Berkeley Rent Board, 10. Staff report on status of Eviction Moratorium/Ellis Act. 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/ 

Commission on Aging at 1:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87859343194 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 ID: post lists 726 7423 9145  

However, telephone link is usually the same as zoom 878 5934 3194 

AGENDA: 4. Workplan, 5. Commission liaisons – reports and updates, 6. Older adult community forum, 7. Systemic Ageism, 8. Public Safety crosswalks at major intersections, city sidewalks, 9. Commissioner recruitment, 10. Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act. 

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

Commission on the Status of Women at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81443013997?pwd=aXR0Yjl0ZVhqYUZtWXlQejRMcm5zUT09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 ID: 814 4301 3997 

AGENDA: 5. Workplan, 6. Update on domestic violence, gender-based violence transitional housing/shelter recommendation, 7. Update on Roe v. Wade event, 8. Letter to Council, City Manager requesting contractor gender equity under Mason-Tillman, 9. Recommendation to sign on support of sexual assault victims at FCI in Dublin, 10 Proclamation in honor of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. 

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

Vision 2050 Community meeting at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83637304228 

Teleconference & ID: teleconference option not provided 

AGENDA: Presentation of infrastructure needs and potential methods of financing with Q&A session. This session is assigned to Districts 1 & 2, but if you missed your neighborhood session, attend this one as it is the last in the series. 

https://www.berkeleyvision2050.org/ 

Community for a Cultural Civic Center at 12 pm 

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

Teleconference: ID:  

AGENDA: Liam Garland and Elmar Kapfer will talk about Phase 2 of the Civic Center Vision Project. 

https://berkeleycccc.org/latest-updates 

PG&E Wildfire Safety Webinar at 5:30 pm 

Link to webinar schedule: 

https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/emergency-preparedness/natural-disaster/wildfires/community-wildfire-safety-open-house-meetings.page?cid=em_PSPS_20220412-PSPS-AllCustomerWebinarInvite-c4789_20220412_firesafetywebinars_email_na_na 

Thursday, April 21, 2022 

City Council Land Use, Housing & Economic Development Committee at 10:30 am 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83907679586 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) ID: 839 0767 9568 

AGENDA: 2. Election of chair, 3. Small business listening session. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Home/Policy_Committee__Land_Use,_Housing___Economic_Development.aspx 

Announced but not posted City Council Special Meeting  

AGENDA: City Manager/Staff response to reimagining public safety presentations - this meeting has already been postponed once, Mayor Arreguin announced as occurring 4/21/2022 but is not posted, check later. 

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

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board at 7 pm 

Videoconference, Teleconference: ID: check after Monday for links 

AGENDA: agenda not posted check after Monday 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/ 

Design Review Committee at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81450123842 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 ID: 814 5012 3842 

AGENDA: 2000 University (at Milvia) – final design review – demolish two existing commercial structures and construction of a new 8-story mixed-use building with 81 dwelling units and ground floor commercial 

2440 Shattuck (at Haste)– preliminary design review – demolish existing commercial building and construct an 8-story, mixed use building with 40 dwelling units and 2700 sq ft of ground floor commercial space 

2065 Kittredge (at Harold adjacent to Shattuck Hotel) – advisory comments – demolish existing commercial building and construct 8-story mixed-use with 188 residential units (including 4 live-work) and 43 underground parking spaces, 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/designreview/ 

Transportation Commission at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82459281281 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 or 1-669-900-9128 ID: 824 5928 1281 

AGENDA Discussion/Action: 1. Vision 2050, 2. BerkDOT, 3. Hopkins Corridor, 4. Adeline Right-of Way and Plaza Options, 5. TNC Tax Allocation Priorities, 

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

Friday, April 22, 2022 

2x2 Committee at 8:30 am 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83637501564 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 ID: 836 3750 1564 

AGENDA: not posted check later 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Home/2x2_Committee_Homepage.aspx 

Saturday, April 23, 2022 – Passover ends 

EARTH DAY – Berkeley waterfront Day Cleanup Event at 9 am – 12 pm 

Shorebird Park Nature Center at 160 University 

Supply of gloves and buckets will be limited so bring your own if you can 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/CalendarEventMain.aspx?calendarEventID=17811 

Sunday, April 24, 2022 – no events or city meetings found 

++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

April 26 REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83685329120 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 836 8532 9120 

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

CONSENT: 1. Amend Contract add $151,000 total $200,000 with Rebecca Burnside for Personnel Investigations, 2. 2^nd reading Collection of Parking Space Rental Tax for City Owned Parking Lots, 3. Minutes, 4. Acceptance of $2,200,000 donation from UCB to support 6 months of operations at Rodeway in for sheltering homeless at People’s Park, 5. Contract $3,993,397 with Abode Services to Operate Interim Housing at the Rodeway Inn from 5/1/2022-10/31/2023, 6. Urgency Ordinance for leasing 1461 University, 7. Contract $250,000 with Village of Love for Operation of Telegraph Neighborhood Sacred Rest Drop-in Center 6/1/2022 – 5/31/2023, 8. Endorsement of Alameda County Home Together 2026 Implementation Plan, 9. $10,914,400 Formal Bid Solicitations, 10. Contract add $60,000 total $160,000 Measure FF Funds with Fire Aside for Defensible Space Inspection Software 5/18/2022 – 5/17/2024 with option to extend 4 years for total $160,000, 11. Commission Reorganization of Community Health Commission to reduce membership to 9 and consolidate functions from 10 to 4, 12. Contract add $76,648 total $432,470 with Pacific Site Management for landscaping services and extend to 6/30/2023, 13. Amend contract add $19,350 total $82350 with Resource Development Associates for Crisis Assessment and Triage Line Evaluation, 14. Grant Application $60,000 with match $6,000 for Surrendered and Abandoned Vessel Exchange (SAVE), 15. Total all Contracts $600,000 for Climate Equity Fund Pilot Programs 5/1/2022-5/31/2024, 1) $83,334 Association for Energy Affordability, 2) $83,333 BlocPower, 3) $100,000 Ecology Center, 4) $83,333 Northern California Land Trust, 5) $250,000 Waterside Workshops, 16. Contract (numbers do not add up to listed total of $550,000) with Diablo Engineering Group for Preliminary Engineering and Final Design for the Ohlone Greenway Modernization and Safety project $220,000, plus $14,000 for as needed project related services, plus $234,000 6/1/2022 – 12/31/2024, 17. Contract $300,000 with ParkMobile, LLC for Mobile Parking Payment Services (mobile payment on-street meters and parking garage reservations 7/1/2022-6/30/2025, 18. Contract add $225,000 total $2,050,000 with Portable Computer systems dba PCS Mobile for Parking Permit and Citation Services extend to 6/30/2024, 19. Contract (no cost) with Chrisp Company for Roadway Thermoplastic Markings and extend to 6/30/2024 with option 3 one-year extensions, 20. Amend Contract add $1,000,000 total $3,500,000 with Pavement Engineering, Inc, for on-call civil engineering and construction management services, 21. Lease with Options Recovery for 1835 Allston Way, Old City Hall Annex1/1/202-12/31/2024 with 2 5-year renewal options, 22. Purchase order $1,731,000 with Western Truck Center for 4 Front Loaders, 23. Arreguin - Bay Area Book Festival Relinquishment $1068 from Mayor’s discretionary funds 24. Arreguin – Budget referral $1,00,000 from ARPA to Eviction Defense to supplement Housing Retention, 25. Kesarwani – Budget referral $50,000 to expand Downtown Streets services to Gilman commercial and industrial areas twice weekly, 26. Bartlett, co-sponsor Arreguin – Budget referral $300,000 convert 62^nd street between King and Adeline into a cul de sac with marked bicycle lane connecting Adeline to bicycle blvd on King, 27. Harrison - Support AB 2557 specifying that records of Civilian Law Enforcement Oversight Agencies are subject to the disclosure Requirements of the Public Records Act, 28. Hahn, so-sponsors Arreguin, Taplin, Harrison – Refer grant $150,000 for the benefit of Luna Dance Institute, 29. Hahn, co-sponsors Wengraf, Robinson - Budget referral $300,000 for bike, pedestrian and streetscape and re-paving Hopkins Corridor, 30. Hahn, co-sponsors Harrison, Wengraf – Budget referral $40,000 Solano Stroll September 11, 2022 and September 10, 2023, 31. Robinson – Support AB 2234 Postentitlement Permit Streamlining, ACTION: 32. CM – Accept Risk Analysis for Long-Term Debt (Bonding Capacity) provided by GFOA, 33. ZAB Appeal 1643-1647 California – to 1) create new lower basement level, 2) construct new 2^nd story, 3) modify exiting duplex layout resulting in 3,763 sq ft duplex on existing property, 34. CM – Zoning Ordinance Amendments that address technical edits and corrections, 35. CM – Submission of 2022 (FY2023) Annual Allocations of Federal HUD funds, 36. Resolution Accepting the Surveillance Technology Report for Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), GPS Trackers, Body Worn Camera and Street Level Imagery, 37. CM – Hopkins Corridor Project Conceptual design, 38. Homeless Commission – a. Refer to the CM to develop a crisis stabilization program based on the Bend, Oregon model, b. CM - Staff response – use Amber House which has empty beds, , CSU too expensive and MediCal billing too complex, 39. Homeless Commission – a. direct CM to expand Berkeley Emergency Storm Shelter (BESS) to emergencies not otherwise covered including outside the dates of the current contract with Dorothy Day b. CM – staff response - refer to the budget process. 

LAND USE CALENDAR: 

Public Hearings Scheduled – Land Use Appeals 

1205 Peralta – conversion of existing garage 5/10/2022 

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

1415 Fifth – Convert an existing 2,257 sq ft residence into a 2491 sq ft duplex, construct new 2621 single family residence, 4/28/2022 

1609 Kains – Raise existing home by 10 ft and construct new first floor, 4/27/2022 

1126 Keith – AUPfor installation in backyard at grade cedar hot tub (6’ wide, 4’ deep on concrete pad 6” thick sunk 20” into ground 4/27/2022 

1813 Parker - addition over 14’ in average height 4/27/2022 

27 Parnassus – Roof deck addition exceeding 14’ in height in hillside district 4/27/2022 

2908 Russell – addition of 2^nd floor bathroom addition of over 14’ 4/27/2022 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/planning_and_development/land_use_division/current_zoning_applications_in_appeal_period.aspx 

WORKSESSIONS: 

April 14 - Special Meeting – Reimagining Public Safety – rescheduled to April 21 

April 19 – Fire Department Standards of Coverage Study, BART Station Planning 

April 26 - Special Meeting – Berkeley Strategic Transportation Plan Update, Bond Capacity, 

June 21 – Ballot Measure Development/Discussion (tentative) 

July 19 - open 

Unscheduled Workshops/Presentations 

Cannabis Health Considerations 

Alameda County LAFCO Presentation 

Civic Arts Grantmaking Process & Capital Grant Program 

Mid-Year Budget Report FY 2022 

Kelly Hammargren’s take on what happened the preceding week can be found in the Berkeley Daily Planet www.berkeleydailyplanet.com under Activist’s Diary. This meeting list is also posted at https://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html on the Sustainable Berkeley Coalition website. 

If you would like to receive the Activist’s Calendar as soon as it is completed send an email to kellyhammargren@gmail.com. If you wish to stop receiving the weekly summary of city meetings please forward the weekly summary you received to kellyhammargren@gmail.com.