OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement in response to Assembly Bill 1485 (AB 1485), a bill that he sponsored, being signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. Effective January 1, 2024, AB 1485 will permit the Attorney General to automatically intervene without court permission in lawsuits brought by third parties for alleged violations of state housing laws. Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) authored the legislation, and Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) was the principal coauthor.

“When it comes to addressing our housing crisis, there’s not a moment to waste. Time is of the essence,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “AB 1485 recognizes that urgency. It will allow my office to represent the state’s interests more easily in lawsuits filed by third parties to enforce our housing laws. I am grateful to Assemblymember Haney and Senator Wiener for AB 1485.”

“The housing crisis is only getting worse as anti-housing local governments are brazenly breaking the law and stopping new housing developments from being built,” said Assemblymember Matt Haney. “We need every tool available to hold these local governments accountable when they break the law.

”“State officials can no longer turn a blind eye to obstructionist local governments attempting to block progress on California’s housing crisis,” said Senator Scott Wiener. “Progress depends on accountability, and with the strong leadership of Attorney General Bonta, we’re about to make a lot of progress to address the housing crisis.” 

At present, third parties, such as housing advocacy organizations and housing developers, are generally allowed to take legal action against cities or counties that violate state housing laws. The office of the Attorney General can only become involved in the third party’s litigation by filing a motion to intervene and asking the court for permission to represent the state’s interests. Courts can take months to decide whether to grant such a request. 

The office of the Attorney General will no longer have to ask courts for permission to become involved in those lawsuits filed by third parties. Instead, pursuant to AB 1485, the office of the Attorney General will have “the unconditional right to intervene” whether intervening in an independent capacity or due to a referral from the California Department of Housing and Community Development. 

The text of the legislation can be found here.

I am still experiencing profound grief in the face of the brutal terror attack by Hamas and the immense and ongoing loss of life and trauma of bombings in Gaza. Last weekend, I attended a wedding back east of a dear friend from International House with a guest list that included Muslims and Jews from around the world. As a unified international community, we must condemn both the terror attack and hostage taking by Hamas against Israelis and the unrelenting bombardment, siege, and blockade against civilians in Gaza. Tragically, thousands of humans are dead and traumatized, and there is now unconscionable talk about a broader regional, or even global war. 

I am also deeply concerned by and condemn the Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents occurring in the United States as a result of this conflict, including the murder of a Palestinian-American boy in Chicago and threats against Jewish institutions. 

This is the effect of terror. This is the effect of eye-for-eye thinking which, as Mahatma Gandhi reminds us, leaves everyone blind. I am calling for all of the bombings to stop, now. I am profoundly grateful that our Congresswoman Barbara Lee has put forward a statement with other members of the House calling for an immediate ceasefire. 

In these times of crisis, I have faith that the Berkeley community can come together to call for peace, an end to bloodshed, the release of hostages, and justice for all. The Superintendent of Berkeley Schools offered the following resources to help in your communication with children regarding the current state of events: 

How to Talk to Kids About Violence, Crime, and War (Common Sense Media) Resilience in a time of war: Tips for parents and teachers of elementary school children: (American Psychological Association) Resilience in a time of war: Tips for parents and teachers of middle school children: (American Psychological Association) Talking to Children About War (National Child Traumatic Stress Network) Please reach out to my office if you have concerns about the impacts of this conflict on our community or need assistance in any way. We are here to help each other.

Dear Jagjit Singh:

You have brought up an interesting point and a valid concern in your call for a cognitive test for lawmakers and judges. And I have given thought to the subject in the past. It is important that we have leaders who are fit to lead. However, I believe implementation of cognitive tests would undermine democracy and not shore it up.

A mental fitness test would convert a selected group of psychologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists into a political body. If some of them believed Trump is too extremist, it might cause those panelists to disqualify him. But extremism and the extreme effort to remain in power probably would not rule out Trump, because it doesn't show up on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. (I'm guessing that; write to me if I'm wrong about that.)

But who will select these mental health professionals who are to sit in judgment of our future leaders? Would the voters choose them? Would they need to run for elections themselves? Would they be appointed by someone or some part of the government? 

Selection of examiners is important, because we need to have adequate checks and balances within the subsystem that we're creating which is intended to decide whether a candidate is neurologically fit to lead. 

Selection of panelists might need to be done in similar manner to selection for jury duty. Any person receiving a mental health or neurology related license would need to be in the pool of persons who would need to be chosen randomly. And Mr. Singh, there are more bugs than that to work out of the system. 

If we look at California, there must be several million doctors, and hundreds of thousands of neurologists. But there are also many thousands running for public offices and running to be elected judges. 

Whatever way you slice it (or in this case, perform surgery) we are spawning a new branch of government. A large percentage of licensed practitioners (neurologists, psychologists) would serve on fitness committees, and this would cause the collective of them to have considerable political power. 

When you do psychological and neurological testing to potentially disqualify politicians, it is dangerous for democracy. Instead, it has to be entirely up to the voters. The voters need to decide whether a politician is fit to lead, and not a psychologist, neurologist, or psychiatrist. 

Additionally, the mental health field is badly flawed. That's why Patients' Rights came into existence--to give some pushback against psychiatric cruelty and abuse. Mental health professionals can be some of the most abusive persons that exist. 

Mental health professionals will give "a professional opinion." Don't count on that being unbiased or objective. Mental health professionals are constantly getting it wrong. 

Mr. Singh, it seems as though your opinion piece is an indirect endorsement to put Trump back into office. Trump is a few years younger and comes off as much more energetic. Biden doesn't speak in a loud, in-your-face tone. Biden comes off as older, and this is a cause of concern. Trump could potentially beat Biden easily, just by calling Biden too old, and doing so in every speech Trump makes. 

Biden's campaign would be well advised to adopt a counter strategy. 

Mr. Singh, thank you for bringing this up, and I hope that the Biden campaign gets a look at this essay. 

 

Jack Bragen writes and lives in Martinez, California.

The local heat wave officially ended Saturday at 11 pm. Nearly 9000 lost power in San Francisco Friday evening. The power wasn’t out for long, hours not days, but it left me wondering how the UC Berkeley students will fair in the future when the power goes out in their new rooms, now under construction with no windows. 

Cities and buildings in warm climates used to be designed around air flow and breezes to moderate temperatures, but with air conditioning that design and planning ended. Power failures in heat waves turn buildings with few options for ventilation into furnaces. 

I pay a lot more attention to these things after reading Jeff Goodell’s book The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet. The book starts with rather startling statistics,too many to list here, but there were several things that stuck. The recorded high temperature in Portland, Oregon during that June 2021 heat dome was 116°, but Vivek Shandas who studies urban heat islands drove around Portland measuring air temperature. In the poorest areas with few trees and lots of concrete the temperature was 124°. That is called urban heat island effect. 

Over 650 people in Oregon, Washington and Canada died from the June 2021 Northwest heat wave. 

We actually change the micro climate when we cut down trees and cover the land with buildings, concrete and asphalt. And that is exactly what we are doing in this endless pursuit of adding housing without thought to building cities for a heating future, and making space and place for nature to survive, and cooling trees with large canopies. 

Nearly every mixed-use housing tower being approved in Berkeley is a state-enabled density project, with 90% of the units intended to rent at market rate (luxury priced), when what is needed is for around 40% of the units to be affordable to lower income renters. 

Declining population in California and erasure of the earlier projections of explosive population growth hasn’t swayed Berkeley’s Mayor Jesse Arreguin. He declared again in his State of the City speech that his intention is still to meet the goal of adding 15,000 new units across all districts in Berkeley. “All districts” sounds like we can see more housing in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, Landslide Zones, on the Fault Line and liquefaction zones. 

If all those units fill, which is questionable, Berkeley could count on somewhere between 30,000 to 40,000 new residents, most of whom would be opting for those apartments, which are designed for students, and needing to earn above the area medium income to pay the rent. 

I’m not sure it matters much whether the units are filled, since it is the high-rise building and the land on which it stands which is being bought and sold as the investment, not the income. 

Be assured that the state of the city is fine. You can watch the State of the City speech, including the removal of empty chairs for the crowd that didn’t appear, on Arreguin’s YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlQWFe-CUr4 

Wednesday evening, I opted to attend the Homeless Services Panel of Experts (HSPE) instead of the Planning Commission which usually grabs my attention. 

The meeting was held in the Berkeley Repertory Theater Mercer-Golden Rehearsal Hall at 999 Harrison. The building number wasn’t obvious, so I made a couple of trips past the encampments (they are so depressing) on Harrison before seeing the number and landing at the building parking lot. I learned when I got inside that the location was chosen to enable the homeless to attend. 

Peter Radu, Assistant to the City Manager, introduced the main topic of the evening, item 6 on the agenda, Development of Good Neighbor Guidelines and Encampment Policy, by saying “unsheltered homelessness is our new normal.” That was quite a statement. 

Radu went through his presentation, labeled as a draft, with guidelines consisting of Please throw away trash and old food; Keep belongings out of the road; Do not build structures that can create a fire hazard or injury risk; Stay to one sidewalk side of the street; and Be fire safe. The policy that followed defined what made an encampment the lowest priority, medium priority or highest priority for interventions and actions. You can read the policy and accompanying letters for the October 4, 2023 HSPE meeting at: https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/homeless-services-panel-experts 

Radu was asking the HSPE to forward the draft policy to the full council to be turned over to a council policy committee to finish. His suggestion was the Health, Life Enrichment, Equity & Community Policy Committee. 

The recent meetings of the Council Agenda and Rules Committee have been about a process to make council committees more effective and the process to get major legislation through city council and on to implementation. The word process is repeated deliberately, because the “process” for improving council function is spelled out complete with presentation documents, explanations, a matrix table, check lists, flow charts, rules, forms and a timeline in the 138 page packet for the October 10 City Council 4 pm special meeting. 

Mayor Arreguin made it plain at the September 26 Agenda and Rules Committee (members Arreguin, Wengraf and Hahn) in the discussion that the process Councilmember Hahn has been instrumental in developing with the city manager, city clerk and others did not have his blessing. The process is the “Systems Alignment Proposal.” 

The included documents in the proposal point to redesigning council work dating back several years. Some of us may recall it was former councilmember Droste who dropped the BERIPE (Bureaucratic Effectiveness and Referral Improvement and Prioritization Effort) on limiting major legislation as her parting gesture in the last days before leaving office in December 2022. https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2023-01-08/article/50141?headline=A-BERKELEY-ACTIVIST-S-DIARY-week-ending-January-8--Kelly-Hammargren 

Since I regularly attend these meetings, I was asked to submit my opinion which I did. It amounted to “I don’t think charts, checklists and rules will make the desired change.” 

I have often called the council policy committees a detour on the way to getting things done, and I said as much when my turn arrived to speak to the members of HSPE and city staff. 

I suggested that the HSPE should do the work, not a council committee. There were quite a few other speakers who spoke to lack of trust, destruction of property, the need for bathrooms and trash pickup. Osha Neumann commented that conditions do not correspond to the reality, and Sabyl Landrum from the East Bay Community Law Center stated that there was no commitment to services. Jacquie McCormick from the Mayor’s office, who said she was speaking as an individual, praised Radu for his empathy and caring. 

The members of the HSPE after a long discussion, voted to establish a subcommittee to work with the homeless on guidelines and policies. They set the target to complete their work to bring it back to the full HSPE for a vote in January. The HSPE rejected Radu’s request to approve the draft guidelines and policy that evening as written and send them on to council with a referral to a policy committee to finish.  

While the HSPE should have the greatest potential for working with the homeless, I continue to worry what council will do once this reaches their hands. Council’s actions show little respect for commission work, except when it seems to fit something the city manager, mayor and councilmembers have already decided. 

… 

Night lights and lots of glass at the McCormick Place Lakeside Center in Chicago drew migrating birds off course into deadly bird-glass collisions Wednesday night. Volunteers and scientists found the bodies of 961 migrating birds Thursday morning October 5, 2023. It is a truly shocking number of birds dying in one night at one building. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/08/us/birds-dead-chicago-building.html 

In the chapter on big data in the book A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds, Scott Weidensaul writes about how tiny GPS devices on the backs of migrating birds document how night lights pull birds off their migration course into cities. Berkeley is in the Pacific flyway and like Chicago we have thousands of birds flying over us in the fall and spring migration. 

Had Berkeley City Council passed the Bird Safe Ordinance last June without change as brought to them by the Planning Commission and Councilmember Harrison, Berkeley would have the best Bird Safe Ordinance in the nation. But, Council dismissed the scientists’ letters of support, community experts, and the teenagers who spoke passionately about their future and instead chose to gut it filling in exemptions so there is little to share with other cities. 

A Dark Skies Initiative accompanied the Bird Safe Ordinance in the March 2, 2022 Planning Department Staff presentation to the Planning Commission, but then it disappeared as the months moved on and the Bird Safe Ordinance moved forward. 

Andy Katz revived the Dark Skies Initiative at the Community Health Commission as a health initiative and it passed. Artificial light pollution at night is hazardous to our own health disrupting sleep and with links to breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Maybe this time looking out for our own health “Dark Skies” will spillover to benefit nocturnal wildlife and biodiversity. 

City Council heard the appeals from neighbors on 705 Euclid and 1598 University at a special meeting on September 26. 

The neighbors appealed the Zoning Adjustment Board approval of 705 Euclid a 4,528 square foot 3-story single family dwelling with two parking spaces and associated retaining walls. The appeal was based on the excessive height of the project, impact on views, light and air. Between the time the appeal was filed and the council hearing, the architect modified the plan and lowered the height. 

At the appeal hearing the property owners for the proposed house described themselves as civil engineers. That is probably a good thing since this house in the benign sounding Hillside Overly is in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone 2 and the site is a designated landslide area according to the Earthquake Zones of Required Investigation map https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/EQZApp/app/  

If this project had been across the street at 700 Euclid or 708 Euclid, a search of the Earthquake Zones of Required Investigation map would have come with the warning “All or a portion of this parcel LIES WITHIN an Earthquake Fault Zone.” 

There was no mention of the warning that I could find in the staff reports that noted in the same Earthquake Zones of Required Investigation map the property site came with this warning “All or a portion of this parcel LIES WITHIN a Landslide Zone.” In fact, the Geotechnical report by California Engineering Co. included in the administrative record for the appeal on page 13 states, “The site is stable, has very low liquefaction susceptibility, is not in a slide area, has no recent history of seismic activity and outside the Alquist-Priolo Special Studies Zone.” 

No one seems to be calling for a moratorium or asking if there should be more housing in these hazardous zones except the Fire Chief. I found suggested locations for building ADUs right on top of the Hayward Fault in the Housing Element Update. 

Council approved the 8-story state density project at 1598 University. There were a few gains by the neighbors over the months before the appeal in creating more of a stepdown into the neighborhood and three small gains the night of the appeal. The applicant/developer shall relocate the utility box at the corner with approvals from the city and utility providers, the loading zone will be moved further away from the corner and the landscape must be maintained for the life of the building. Nothing changes that this will be a big building for the neighbors backed up next to the project. This is the future. 

We are going to see more high-rise buildings along main traffic corridors. We should just hope the Fire Department Master Plan is approved so we have the services to support the residents in these buildings.  

I still feeling guilty about not attending the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) Thursday evening with the California movie theater at 2113 Kittredge on the agenda. In its place will be an 18-story tower with a live performance stage on the commercial ground floor. I usually attend every possible public City meeting on projects, but I decided to skip the last meeting of the week on my list. 

Friends are fighting to save the last film theater in the downtown. Over the recent years Berkeley lost 20 film theaters, Shattuck Cinemas, United Artists and the California. All that remains is the Elmwood and the Pacific Film Archive. 

I miss going to film on the big screen and the incredible independent and foreign films that were offered at the Shattuck Cinemas, the California and Landmark Theaters throughout the area. The pandemic really killed movie theaters. Barbie and Oppenheimer might offer new life, but holding on to one theater in a shrinking chain doesn’t look like enough to save it. 

In the drive I took to check out the condition of Keeler the subject of a number of speakers at the Transportation Commission, Keeler wasn’t any worse than many of the streets in the flats including in my own neighborhood. When it came my turn to speak that evening, on the five-year paving plan, I said I didn’t expect to be the contrarian, but rough streets slowed down traffic. The street in front of my house near the high school feels less like a speedway now that the condition is deteriorating. 

I heard my comment repeated by commissioner Liza Lutzker. Even as she spoke movingly about her child suffering an injury on her bicycle from a deteriorating street she said she was more afraid of speeding traffic on repaved streets. 

 

 

I write as a former Board member of the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board who has participated in the long-stalled planning process for Berkeley's transfer station. While I am sure the current proposal on your agenda is meant to be constructive and innovative, it unfortunately ignores the recent history of the transfer station, and the plan which began in about 2014 and has not proceeded to adoption or even completion. There are two urgent issues with the transfer station--it is prone to flooding from Codornices Creek, and runoff from the site carries fine particles with very high levels of PCB's into the Bay. Despite the requirements of the city's stormwater permit, there are no solutions in place for these problems. 

A number of years ago, when water quality monitoring by Alameda County required under Berkeley's municipal stormwater permit began, the contaminant levels discharged from the storm drain at the base of Gilman had the highest levels of PCB's of any point sampled in the Alameda County stormwater sampling program. I spoke with one of the city engineers--long gone--who surmised that the discharge of contaminants was associated with back-flooding from Codornices Creek. I documented this concern, and the background materials that established that the undersized culverts at the freeway and railroad caused water to flow backwards along the railroad berm and frontage road towards the transfer station and the Gilman stormwater outlet. I testified to that effect in a workshop on the reconstruction of the transfer station in, I believe, May of 2014 at the library on University, and followed it up with an e-mail to Zero Waste staff. Unfortunately, the new city web site no longer has links to the original planning efforts for redesign of the transfer station--the best site for the history of this planning effort is now Berkeleyside. 

Nothing has been done to my knowledge about the flood and runoff hazards at the transfer station. Last winter, Second street had minor flooding but fortunately the transfer station was not flooded.  

Last week Berkeleyside included a story on the poor maintenance of the existing transfer station. But it did not include coverage of previous flooding and discharge of hazardous materials.  

PCB's were commonly used as an additive to the sealing caulks that were used in the buildings now being demolished. There may also be local sources of PCB's and other contaminants for the industrial areas south of Gilman and west of San Pablo identified as a new area for a specific plan. 

I would urge the city to make a priority of reducing the risk of contaminant discharge. Proceeding to recycling of building materials without a program to identify the presence of contaminants in those materials seems to me to be irresponsible. Ignoring the flood risk, and associated discharge of contaminants at high levels, also seems to be irresponsible.

In 1932 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis coined the metaphor describing state and local governments as ‘laboratories of democracy.’ Cities like Berkeley can be more responsive to the public than higher levels of government through introducing and considering innovative policy initiatives.

At tomorrow’s 4 p.m. (Tuesday, October 10) Council work session, the Council will be considering significantly curtailing the public’s legislative process by limiting Councilmember responsiveness to emerging issues. This proposal includes some important reforms (e.g., new drafting guidelines, a way for City staff to provide conceptual input upfront and an enhanced policy committee checklist to guide their analysis) but is overly bureaucratic and would place the following limits on Councilmember responsiveness to the public:

• Any new piece of “major” legislation (as determined by the Agenda Committee, without any set criteria) would be subject to a time consuming near 300-day bureaucratic process before it could go into effect. This doubles the current timeline of around 120-150 days or less.
• The Council’s policy committees would only be allowed to meet to consider major legislation during less than six months of the year (down from the current nine months). I have found the policy committees (introduced in 2018) effective in identifying budgetary and implementation impacts of initiatives, ensuring that legislation is more clearly drafted and allowing members of the public interested in a given topic to engage more fully in discussions. Legislation going forward to Council is much more ready for prime time. Weakening this effective system is not a good choice.
• Councilmembers, responding to members of the public with “major” policy ideas, could only submit legislation through one process per year to be eligible for the near 300-day timeline. For example, if Councilmembers submit legislation addressing a major community need after the deadline, and the legislation is deemed not urgent by the Agenda Committee, it could not even be considered by Council for another year, let alone potentially implemented 1.8 years later.
• The proposal does not apply the same requirements to initiatives submitted by City management.

I believe the proposal on the table would undercut the effective committee system, give too much power to the Agenda Committee to define “major items” and arguably violate the City Charter which invests Council representatives on behalf of the public “all powers of legislation in municipal affairs adequate to a complete system of local government.” I do not think we should replicate top-down processes in place in the State Legislature that create gridlock.

We can fix any deficiencies in our legislative process without stripping the people’s representatives of their Charter responsibility to respond to the public’s needs and of due process to propose, debate, and consider legislation. 

I along with two colleagues, submitted an alternative legislative proposal to ensure that items now skipping the committee process are referred there and providing more definitive requirements for what Council items must include before moving forward. The policy committees are where—before passing out an item—significant budgetary impacts and feasibility, in addition to the proposal’s merits, ought to be determined. My item builds upon the alternative proposal I submitted in 2021, which better aligns the legislative process to the budget and staff implementation process without sacrificing Berkeley’s democratic process, and directly deals with referrals and budget requests submitted without sufficient budget and implementation analysis. Our proposal would also apply the same enhanced legislative process to major city management policy proposals, referrals to management by Councilmembers, and budgetary requests (which often are quite sizeable and lack needed detail and burden City management with ill-defined proposals). All of these should be incorporated in the policy committee process ahead of the respective budget process. 

Please make your voice heard on this important issue: 

Write to Council or Speak at Hybrid Council Meeting

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 - 4:00 PM

SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD ROOM - 1231 ADDISON STREET, BERKELEY, CA 94702

To submit a written communication for the City Council’s consideration and inclusion in the public record, email council@berkeleyca.gov.

Zoom Link: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611670896

To request to speak, use the “raise hand” icon by rolling over the bottom of the screen. 

To join by phone: Dial 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free) and enter Meeting ID: 161 167 0896. If you wish to comment during the public comment portion of the agenda, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the Chair. 

Sincerely, 

Kate Harrison
Berkeley City Council, District 4 

During a recent Sunday morning run, I trotted through Live Oak Park at the start of a major civic event celebrating the activation of a system of sirens meant to sound an alert in the event of a wildfire or tsunami threat. The date marked 100 years since the horrific fire that incinerated 584 Berkeley homes in 1923.

I'd received a mailer announcing the occasion so I knew the new system involved a series of "sirens" but most of the table-sitters were unable to tell me how many sirens were involved. Several folk assumed the Live Oak siren was the only one. One of the police officers manning a table thought there were as many as "eight." (According to a City webpage, 10 sirens have been installed "from the marina to the hills" with 5 more to be added in 2024.)

I spotted the ever-reliable Sophie Hahn and she surprised me by revealing the sirens might sound more like "chimes." (She proved to be right.) 

A few hours later, as the noon hour approached, I walked out on the back deck and pointed my ears in the direction of the park. Sure enough, in the distance I heard the sound of a single chime ringing followed by silence and an indistinct verbal announcement. 

If this was a test of a potentially life-saving installation, it seemed to fall short. 

For one thing, the sound of a chime registered as soothing, not alarming. Everyone knows that a siren signals danger but this musical interlude was anything but galvanizing. To my ears, this New Noise in the Neighborhood sounded more like a Snooze Alarm. (And, unlike the long sustained wail of a siren, the broken notes of the chime would be harder to notice inside a building.) 

Berkeley's Neighborhoods: Covered with Nature's Gunpowder 

What was truly alarming was what I discovered during the remainder of my run up to the Rose Garden. The hillside neighborhood that was scorched to extinction in 1923 appears ready to ignite in another major fire in 2023. 

As I trotted uphill, I passed numerous homes where lawns were buried under carpets of fallen leaves, where broken and sawed-off tree limbs were piled in yards, where entire slopes of vegetation were saturated with dead, dry leaves, where crisp, fallen leaves had gathered in the gutters along streets and now resembled long trails of gunpowder awaiting ignition. 

Also spotted on my trot through the foothills: (1) large (city provided?) paper bags stuffed with dead leaves and yard debris left by curbs for days while awaiting pick up; (2) Several hundred pounds of woodchips gathered in a mound next to the wooden fence surrounding a multi-story wood-shingled home at Euclid and Bay View. (This apparently flammable mound at the sourtheast corner of the Rose Garden, is covered with a canvas sheet with a message that reads: "Do not remove tarp. City Project.") 

In many places, this wet year's over-abundance of foliage has left behind a vast, combustible powder covering many streets—the same streets that would be needed to evacuate in the face of a firestorm. 

According to a City webpage: "When you hear Berkeley’s new outdoor warning system, use AC Alert and Berkeley’s Emergency Map to gather critical information to help you take action." In addition, residents are encouraged to: "Practice searching for your home on the Emergency Map, which first responders use to give neighborhood-specific protective actions in real time." 

Let's Be Proactive, Not Reactive 

For the sake of the city and its citizens, let's not wait for a siren (or a chime) to sound. Let's consider a City-wide Prevention Program headed by the Fire Department that checks every block (and especially those in the hillside) for accumulations of dry, dead leaves and other combustibles in yards and roadways. Encourage neighbors to look for ignition hazards and employ the Fire Department to assist homeowners in removing debris. Consider neighborhood "Clean Sweep Days" where dead leaves can be raked from yards to roadways prior to monthly cleaning by city street sweepers. 

Worth remembering: It's easier to pick up a dry leaf than to put down a roaring fire.

Last weekend in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota) where in October high temperatures are normally in the 60s, marathon officials looked at high humidity, cloudless skies, expected temperatures in the 90s and canceled the Sunday, October 1, 2023 marathon and 10-mile races. Later in the day, the temperature reached a record setting 92°. In the New York City Triathlon, a second run was substituted for the swim in the Hudson River over concerns of water contamination following flooding from Friday’s record-breaking rain of over 8 inches in one day. 

Berkeley is entering its own mini-heat wave, but it doesn’t look like we’ll dip deep into fire weather or any local records will be set even with Bay Area temperatures averaging 14° above normal. Berkeley should coast with ease through this little autumn heat dome weather event that is predicted to last only a few days. But, the bigger message is the same. 2023 looks to be the hottest year ever recorded and the planet is heating faster than expected. 

Monday night I received a “how-could-I-support-parking-in-the-hills” call. Didn’t I know that would increase the value of the property and just make traffic in an evacuation worse? I signed off to join the Sierra Club Conservation Committee meeting, but not before I said Council hasn’t studied the Fire Department Master Plan, the Dispatch Center Report and the Fire Department Evacuation Study won’t be complete until next year. There should be a moratorium on adding any density to the hills. Of course, that isn’t what happened Tuesday evening. 

I’ve been a Sierra Club member for thirty years, but until I attended the Conservation Committee with Glenn Philips, Director Golden Gate Bird Alliance (formerly Golden Gate Audubon), Erin Diehm and Alfred Twu to request the Sierra Club to support the Berkeley Bird Safe Ordinance, I had always left the committee work to others. The Sierra Club endorsed the Bird Safe Ordinance.  

I stayed on for the rest of the meeting listening to the discussions for over two hours until finally I couldn’t stay quiet any longer and asked, “[T]his is supposed to be conservation, and where do we fit in ecosystems and nature and habitat, and how do we fit that in with housing, because if we only look at climate change that’s not going to save the planet and that’s not going to save us? We also have to figure out how to fit in that [ecosystems, nature] with what we’re doing. Urban habitat is really important.” 

The Sierra Club Conservation Committee is now on my already long list of meetings to attend. 

If you want to vote in the fall election on who decides what the Sierra Club does or doesn’t support, join or renew your membership now. https://tinyurl.com/4mzmjhpz 

The tongue-in-cheek editorial by Robert M. Smith in the October 4, 2023 Chronicle of the Department of Public Works doggedly pursuing the removal of a small bookcase for a free book exchange in front of a pet store in San Francisco’s Cole Valley seems like the perfect introduction to the October 3 Berkeley city council meeting. 

At least in the removal of the small bookcase no one suffered physical injury in contrast to what was described as the punishing end to the Berkeley Chess Club on Telegraph Avenue. 

Eighteen speakers stepped to the podium in the non-agenda comment period to describe their amazing experience of meeting people whose paths they would never cross without the cultural hub of the Chess Club. They spoke about Chess Club welcoming beginners to International Masters in a “beautiful mix of cultures that encapsulates Berkeley,” with the founder Jesse Sheehan keeping the Club running from dawn to dusk. 

As more speakers stepped forward, they filled out the story with a business owner that had given permission for the club to meet on the plaza of the closed bookstore (originally the famous Cody’s Books) to a business owner fined $79,000 by the City of Berkeley for code violations. Their description of the torturous manhandling of Jesse Sheehan, founder of the Chess Club, being handcuffed with his arms behind his back and lifted by his wrists into a Berkeley Police vehicle, then being disappeared for hours and then dumped at an area hospital was backed up by the 12 second video of the arrest posted on the Cop Watch website. https://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/single-post/video-brutal-arrest-of-chess-club-organizer 

It would take more time than I have now to find the city council meeting when councilmember Hahn extolled the culture of other cities like Paris and New York City with parks being the center of gatherings like playing chess. I commented that evening that people played chess on Telegraph. 

The Chess Club pointed to Councilmember Rigel Robinson and gentrification as being at the center of this. 

City Administration responded that the location of the Chess Club was the subject of code violations, and the property owner came into compliance with the terms of use by removing the items at 2454 Telegraph (Telegraph and Haste). There were no incidents and Berkeley Police were on standby. 

Robinson followed by saying that there was a misunderstanding, that the arrest of the Jesse Sheehan the founder which happened later (after the clearing of the plaza) was unrelated. The Chess Club needed to coexist with neighbors and find better locations than with this property owner. Hahn suggested parklets, Harrison offered District 4 and Bartlett offered to help them form a nonprofit. 

All this “oh-we-care-so-much” was punctuated by Hahn’s “…I whole heartedly share your vision for enlivened street for community gathering…” 

It seems it was the make-up of the people playing chess not being preppy enough that was at the core of the take down. 

Not being a chess player myself, I never stopped to linger when I’ve walked up to Telegraph, but I loved seeing the pairs of people seated at the tables out on the plaza in front of a closed storefront concentrating on their next chess move. It was so Berkeley. 

Council moved on to the consent calendar which included approving the appointment by Robinson to fill a vacant seat on the Police Accountability Board (PAB). More speakers stepped forward, this time representing the ASUC AAVP (Associated Students of the University of California Academic Affairs Vice President) and the Cal Berkeley Democrats asking the PAB to investigate the police brutality caught on video and reminding council of the leaked racist texts from Berkeley Police officers. Chess Club was a diverse mix of people. 

It was after 8 pm when council moved on to the ADU Ordinance. Councilmember Kesarwani could be seen grinning on zoom as Mayor Arreguin began forming a final motion around Kesarwani’s Supplemental (draft conditions). 

Council brushed aside the comments from Wengraf that even on a normal day without fire and evacuations, delivery trucks and parked cars on the narrow winding roads block access. In Wengraf’s moving plea, she said this is a problem now stating “We have lost lives by emergency vehicles not being able to get through. People have died because first responders can’t get through. The focus on evacuation modeling is a mistake…” 

Councilmember Humbert, District 8 had little to say during the entire evening except to praise city staff and Kesarwani and to suggest removing excess vegetation, figure out red curbing and consider building separation. It is not surprising, but should be, that he had so little to say when Panoramic Hill, Fire Zone 3, the Highest Risk Fire Hazard Severity Zone in the entire city, is in his district. 

At the September 27, 2023, meeting of the Disaster and Fire Safety Commission, Janice Thomas brought copies of the Panoramic Patter from July 1952, showing that discussion with the City of Berkeley for a secondary access road to Panoramic Hill has been going off and on (mostly off) for over seventy years. 

It was commissioner Harrison Raine (appointed by Robinson District 7) who placed the State Fire Marshall’s June 2023 report, again a recommendation for a secondary access road to Panoramic Hill, on the August 2, 2023, commission meeting agenda for discussion. 

At the September meeting, it was former mayor and Fire Safety commissioner Shirley Dean who introduced the agenda item recommending that the commission forward Thomas’s letter with a cover letter to council. Unable to reach agreement on the content of a cover letter, the commission postponed action to the next meeting. 

During the lengthy Panoramic Hill discussion that ensued, Raine said he thought there should be a focus on home hardening and sheltering in place, not evacuation. 

When I heard sheltering in place, all I could think of was my drive to Hiller-Highlands after the Oakland - Berkeley Hills fire in 1991. The reality of it sunk in as I looked over the devastation with little left other than foundations and chimneys. 

Of course, no one knows whether their home hardening actually works until a fire reaches them. 

In pictures from the August Lahaina fire, the recently remodeled Millikin home with a commercial grade steel roof and five feet of river stones around the house stood as the only surviving intact house surrounded by burned to the ground structures. Fire experts credit the river rock as giving the landing embers nothing to burn. 

Even a casual look at Berkeley shows a city of wildfire fuel, wood fences, decks and balconies, patio furniture, invasive vegetation and buildings closely packed in next to each other. Whether rain gutters are free from debris, vents are protected against floating embers and roofs are rated for fire zones is another question. 

When past fires show flying embers driven by wind jumping six lanes of freeway into Coffey Park in the Tubbs fire, and eight lanes in the Oakland – Berkeley Hills Fire, no part of Berkeley is safe from a rapidly moving wind-driven fire starting in the hills. 

Councilmember Harrison’s issues revolved around her opinion that off-street parking should not be required and accessory buildings (garages, garden sheds, etc.) need to have the same Structure Separation Distance (SSD) setbacks and standards as ADUs. She urged the council to pushback against the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s rulings where they conflict with safety. Harrison referred to the fire in the town of Paradise as the example of more cars making it more difficult to evacuate and for fire trucks to get in. In her assessment, off-street parking would just add more cars in an evacuation. 

The investigative reporting in the Los Angeles Times by Paige St. John, Joseph Serna and Rong-Gong Lin II contradicts with the notion that it was too many cars. https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-camp-fire-deathtrap-20181230-story.html 

Their December 30, 2018 “Must Reads: Here’s how Paradise ignored warnings and became a deathtrap” tells the story of a city council ignoring warnings and choosing to reduce pedestrian car injuries by narrowing the road: 

“Paradise officials repeatedly told The Times they never envisioned a firestorm reaching the town. But the 2005 state fire management plan for the ridge, developed in consultation with some of those same Paradise planners, warned that canyon winds posed a ‘serious threat’ to Paradise. 

The ‘greatest risk’ was an ‘east wind’ fire, the document said, ‘the same type of fire that impacted the Oakland Berkeley Hills during the Oct. 20, 1991 firestorm’ that killed 25 people. [emphasis added] 

The plan also warned of ‘a high potential for large damaging fires and loss of life and property’ in the Concow Basin beside Paradise. Heavy fuel loads, steep terrain, poor access and light flashy fuels create sever fire hazards. The increased population in this area creates a high potential for catastrophic life and property loss…’ 

Town recordings show a lone voice of concern at the 2014 council meeting giving final approval to the road narrowing. ‘The main thing is fire danger,’ said Mildred Eselin, 88. ‘If the council is searching for a way to diminish the population of Paradise, this would be the way to do it.’” [emphasis added] https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-camp-fire-deathtrap-20181230-story.html 

Former Berkeley Mayor and current Disaster and Fire Safety Commissioner Shirley Dean,who is in her eighties but not yet as old as not as old as Mildred Eselin was in 2014, was finally allowed to speak at 10:31 pm and said this to Berkeley’s council and current mayor Jesse Arreguin, who is now running for statewide office: 

“Tonight, I am speaking as an individual. I am deeply disappointed in many of the comments that I heard tonight from various councilmembers. I suggest that Berkeley should challenge HCD’s ill-founded contention that Berkeley allow both an ADU and a JADU on each parcel in high fire risk zones 2 and 3. Of the 51 largest California cities, Berkeley ranks #2. We are denser than Los Angeles and San Diego. and within our little land area we uniquely have an Earthquake fault Zone and officially designated landslide and liquefaction areas. You can’t escape the fact that we already have a huge fire safety and evacuation problem. 

“You are also being asked to consider what to do about parking within a half mile of public transportation,, but remember that much of the public transportation in the hills lies within the designated Earthquake Fault. Even though for years cars in the hills park on our narrow winding streets and today those streets can’t function for both firefighting going up and residents fleeing going down,the Disaster and Fire Safety Commission has asked time and time again for enforcement of existing parking restrictions and have been ignored. You need to enact a moratorium on all new detached structures in Fire Zones 2 and 3 at least until the Evacuation Study is completed and it is determined what the appropriate separation distance should be between structures. Building separation is a key factor in reducing the spread of a fire and will improve fire safety and evacuation for everyone. 

“Please listen to your Fire Department who are your staff that understands the issues and what to do about them for the greatest safety for all of us.” 

Standards for accessory buildings turned into a referral to the City Manager “to consider changes to development standards with specific consideration for setbacks, height, and building separation for accessory buildings and structures to promote fire safety citywide.” 

I wouldn’t hold my breath while waiting for the City to come up with any requirements for accessory structures, which can at any time be converted to an ADU by right without regard to building separation, setbacks or height as long as the same footprint is used. 

When someone brags about how much they’ve done or how this or that was passed by council, check if that action was a referral to the City Manager. If it was a referral, you may be waiting a very very long time or never see it again. It took almost five years from start to finish to get the Bird Safe Ordinance passed. 

On October 10 we’ll see if Hahn and Wengraf stand their ground and abstain while the other seven vote yes again at the second reading of the ADU ordinance. 

The City of Oakland took a different path with a very strong stand against HCD.

The cover of a recent New Yorker was a cleverish Barry Blitt caricature of four old folks running a race while pushing the kind of aluminum walkers used by mobility challenged people of all ages. Since I’m currently one of them (having been in bed with a broken ankle for a month) I sympathize. Apparently we’re supposed to snicker at these runners because they’re still involved in electoral races even though they’re kinda sorta (OMG) old.

Otherwise, they’re not that much alike.

From left to right:, visually, not politically:

Donald Trump. No need to say more about him—we know too much already.

Mitch McConnell: A canny political operator, wrong on most issues by my standards, but clever.

Nancy Pelosi: Another super clever politician, but good on most important questions.

Joe Biden: In his current incarnation, quite adept at identifying and promoting effective policies. He hasn’t always been so great, but he’s learned a lot on his journey.

A diverse set, but the common denominator is that they’re all now, well, old.

Luckily, Dianne Feinstein was not part of the group, which could have proved embarrassing.

New Yorker Editor David Remnick’s Talk of the Town comments in the same issue are headed “This Old Man” in print, “The Washington Gerontocracy” online. Pretty clearly, Remnick (b.1958) views with alarm some data he’s selected from assorted polls. He worries that “more than seventy per cent of respondents suggested that Biden is too old to be effective in a second term”.

The New Yorker, even before Remnick, has traditionally hoped that it caters to the youngster market, but I doubt that’s true. I only have anecdotes to support my opinion, but these are sometimes better than the data-lite often featured in glossy magazines like The New Yorker.

Harold Ross, its original editor, is often quoted in an urban legend as saying that his brainchild was “not for the little old lady in Dubuque.”

Well, maybe, but I learned to read it from my mother, born 1914 in St.Louis, which is probably more sophisticated than Dubuque ever was, but is not Manhattan, She missed out on college because of the Depression, but made up for it by being a voracious reader of the kind of snappy prose that the New Yorker has always favored. She claimed that the main advantage to not being employed outside home most of her married life was having first crack at the latest issue when it came in the mail, before my father got home from his office. She read every one of them until she died, finally a little old lady at almost 99,

I (b.1940) was rumored to have taught myself to read when I was about 5 with New Yorker cartoons, in those days funnier than the dreary self-centered ones in the current issues. I’d moved on to the heavier stuff by 1958, which was the year I started college and Remnick was born.

New York City has always been populated by the impecunious young and the rich old, and the magazine has reflected that, especially its ads. I would not be in the least surprised to learn that a stunningly high percentage of the New Yorker’s readers,young and old, poor and rich, have voted for Biden and will do so again.

John Lanchester in the latest London Review of Books in a great piece about how numbers are weaponized in politics says this:: 

“ The best short book about the use and misuse of statistics is Darrell Huff’s How to Lie with Statistics, first published in 1954, a devil’s-advocate guide to the multiple ways in which numbers are misused in advertising, commerce and politics. (Single best tip: ‘up to’ is always a fib. It means somebody did a range of tests and has artfully chosen the most flattering number.)

“More than seventy percent” is in a similar category, especially as employed by the trendy press to diss the powerful.

It’s easy to attribute Biden’s lack of “an inspiring fluency at the microphone” to his age, as Remnick does. He seems to have forgotten that Biden’s a former stutterer who has displayed occasional speech hesitancy from childhood. It’s nothing to do with age, and it hasn’t ruined his career.

Perhaps the good editor, now at the awkward age of 64, is contemplating with dread his own eligibility for Social Security. No doubt he has already started getting that smarmy junk mail from the AARP, reminding him that none of us is eternal. When he raises the age issue in pigeonholing these four very different candidates, he might be indulging in some personal anxiety.

What Remnick and his contemporaries forget is that old people have been young, but young people have never been old. Like many my age, I’ve made my share of political mistakes, but I think I’ve learned from them. Right now, right here in Berkeley, I have all too often been represented or misrepresented by people I supported as candidates who have turned out badly. After about my 70^th year I got better at avoiding these duplicitous people.

If anyone’s tempted to believe that younger always means better, they might be reassured by looking at Berkeley’s own Margot Smith. She’s the former chair of the Gray Panthers, among many achievements, as well as the mother of four. Now she’s running for the California District 14 Assembly Seat, against the current incumbent, a sweet young mama and career politician who’s widely criticized for being in thrall to the development industry, which threatens to obliterate Berkeley with unrentable “market rate” “luxury” apartment boxes. Margot would never be suckered by those smooth-talking developers.

And yes, she’s 93. What that means is that she’s been around long enough to know where all the bodies are buried, and she’s got a lifelong habit of speaking truth to power. She intends to run a full-fledged campaign for the two-year term, albeit on a tight budget, as the best way of informing the public about the indignities being perpetuated in their names.

Margot is from a generation familiar with the literature of the Bible, so she’s probably heard this:

“the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

Time and chance finally caught up with Dianne Feinstein, but statistically speaking Joe Biden likely still has some useful miles on him This is hard for the sixtyish commentariat to accept, but as those of us who have lived a couple of decades longer can testify, old folks know a lot and can get a lot done. If Margot goes to Sacramento, she'll teach them a thing or two.

An admirer has suggested a slogan: “I may be old, but I’m not stupid.

Here’s a funny one. Stuck at home for a bit, I’ve been looking at campaign websites which local candidates have put up in anticipation of the 2024 spring primaries. At this stage of the game, endorsements are the currency. With local news holes shrinking every day, all the average East Bay voter for the state legislature offices knows is names of endorsing organizations, if that. For example Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin is heavily backed by the building trades, which is not surprising since he’s flipped to support downtown Berkeley’s Big Box building boom for “market rate luxury apartments” which are really nothing more than pricey dorms for well-off UC students. Of course this also garners UC administrators’ support.

With the collapse of the Republican party, it’s very hard for average Berkeley voters to know who they’re voting for. It used to be possible to hold your nose and pull the Democratic lever, but now the developer shills who used to be Republicans (and racist Republicans at that} are running in the primary formerly known as Democratic. These “Democrats” are doing their damndest to get rid of California environmental laws of all kinds, including the California Environmental Quality Act and the Coastal Commission. But they do endorse those regular Dems who vote the way they want, so you can’t tell the players without a scorecard, which they can pay someone to hang on your door on election day.. 

And here’s the really funny part: google Jesse Arreguin Endorsements and you come out here. There’s a union section and a politician section, but scroll down and you end up at

COMMUNITY LEADERS, FRIENDS, AND NEIGHBORS

Out of curiosity I scrolled on down the very long list of these folks who were listed as endorsing Jesse Arreguin for State Senator, and was astounded to discover the name of a somewhat irascible strong-minded friend who had been active in Berkeley politics for many years. I emailed him to ask why he was endorsing Arreguin, and his response was not printable in a family newspaper, or even in the Daily Planet. NO, he does not endorse Jesse, he said, not since the Box Boom started in 2016.

“I’m only endorsing Dan Kalb (and Margot Smith for State Legislature)” he said.

So I picked out a couple of the more suspect names and contacted them too. And then there were friends of mine who are now dead on the list. When I got up to four faux endorsers and two deceased I was bored and stopped counting.

Is your name there? Readers might enjoy checking out the rest of the "Friends" list themselves, and maybe the other categories too. And no,l don’t think anyone’s exactly trying to steal the election, but I do think it’s pretty funny. Will Atteguin be asked to run a correction?

Or would the page just disappear when the news gets out? Don't worry, I've got a copy of the list. 

UPDATE: Since this was first published I've been contacted by even more outraged voters who are, as they say, NOT supporting Jesse for, well, anything, anymore.

For a city of 119,000 that was once proud of its diversity and cultural riches, to allow all three of its downtown movie theaters to be demolished in favor of more high rise residential units priced beyond the means of most Berkeley residents seems to be short-sighted at best and a vote against the art of film and its future. I urge all who deplore the rapid changes being made to our city, with an abundance of market-rate housing displacing the historical fabric of Berkeley, to ask that our city government at least protect and preserve the great California Theatre. When its heirs elected to sell instead of accept the Landmark lease renewal offer, we still had the 10-screen Shattuck Cinemas and the United Artists multiplex theaters downtown. But now they too are to be demolished to make way for even more mostly above-median-income residential units. The California Theatre has long served the residents of Berkeley by bringing us movies on the big screen, some broadly entertaining, others works of art, and the best of them both.

Those with limited interest in film have concluded that the simultaneous advent of the covid pandemic and film streaming corporations has ended the viability of movie theaters as a venue to see films. But the art of film requires public venues with large screens. Great films cannot be appreciated on home screens, and the vitality of the medium thrives on public gatherings to enjoy and discuss its works. Where will we see Francis Ford Coppola’s forthcoming Megalopolis?

Any city that values culture and the arts has and will continue to have movie theaters for the benefit of its residents and visitors to the city. A city with a great university has cause to ensure that students can access the art of film and be able to see movies seen as they were made to be seen on a big screen. Film can benefit the emotional and social well-being of young people, when they can leave their dorm or apartment rooms to go see an entertaining, enlightening, emotionally involving film, discuss it with friends and professors, and participate in their community.

Movie theaters have been the economic engine of our downtown economy. Many cafes and restaurants and other businesses benefitted from the customers attracted to Berkeley's movie theaters. In the 2015-19 effort to save the Shattuck Cinemas from demolition, some 5000 or more signatures in support of the theater were gathered at its entrance, with 60% of the addresses from beyond Berkeley. That is to say, movie attendees were bringing their money into Berkeley to see a movie and enjoy a meal. They kept the streets enlivened and safe at night. Some 350,000 people bought tickets at the Shattuck Cinemas in 2015, according to records provided by the manager at the time.

The demolition of the California Theatre as a movie theater is not acceptable. If the demolition of the Shattuck Cinemas had not been approved, Berkeley would still be well-served by that excellent 10-screen theater replete with 1920s movie palace decor and hand-painted murals, an admirable example of spatial repurposing from department store to multi-screen movie theater. Berkeley has numerous performing arts spaces, from the UC Theatre, once a great venue for world cinema, to the several on Berkeley Way, the Back Room, and The Marsh for plays and musical performances. Replacing a great movie theater with a much smaller empty performance space will not compensate for the shameful loss of all of our downtown movie theaters.

Recently, there has been wavering among some regarding continued support for Ukraine, including a number of presidential wannabes: Donald Trump, Ronald DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and of course John F. Kennedy, Jr.. A CNN poll conducted by SSRS shows that overall, 55% say the US Congress should not authorize additional funding to support Ukraine versus 45% who say Congress should authorize such funding. And 51% say that the US has already done enough to help Ukraine while 48% say it should do more. Republicans broadly say that Congress should not authorize new funding (71%) and that the US has done enough to assist Ukraine (59%). Among Democrats, most say the opposite, 62% favor additional funding and 61% say that the US should do more 

Despite intense Pentagon lobbying, it is notable that the House stripped all Ukraine aid from the 45-day stopgap spending bill. While there is bipartisan support for more Ukrainian aid, it was either the Senate go along with no aid or a government shutdown. Hopefully Congress can find a later path for Ukrainian funding. Needless to say, alarm bells went off in Ukraine and among our NATO allies 

I, however, fully support President Biden's response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine and its fight for survival.  

Why should Americans care about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the war is so far away and is not a threat to our national security or to Western Europe? This view seems strange as the GOP is traditionally a hawkish foreign policy party. In fact, at the beginning of the invasion, a handful of Republicans criticized the Biden White House for not doing more to help Ukraine defend itself. 

True, the U.S. has a long history of meddling on the world stage, which Putin has used as cover for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War to secure peace in Europe, to promote cooperation among its members and to guard their freedom. While Ukraine is not a NATO member, it shares a border with Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, all NATO members. If Russia prevails in Ukraine, then it becomes a greater threat to these neighboring NATO countries. If all NATO countries do not continue their support then what’s the purpose of NATO in the first place? If Putin is allowed to invade a sovereign country in violation of international law and threatens its sovereignty, it would signal to others to do the same, which in turn, will affect us. 

The U.S. is part of a global world interdependent economically, socially, and politically. If Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he won’t stop there. He didn’t stop after seizing Crimea in 2014. President Biden has made it clear that helping Ukraine will not include boots on the ground. The U.S., Canada, the EU, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, and the UK have already imposed severe sanctions against Russia and the U.S..has deployed or repositioned U.S.forces to Germany, Poland, Moldova and Romania near those countries’ with borders with Ukraine for defensive purposes only. President Joe Biden should be commended for rallying the NATO’s members in support of Ukraine in defense of democracy. 

Ukraine is fighting for its very survival and to leave them to inevitable defeat would be irresponsible?  

 

 

A crowd showed up at City Council on October 2, 2023. It was a new crowd, a young crowd, full of people who hadn’t been there before. And many of them appeared to be new to council’s procedures. There were also a few older activists, mostly to add local color, and to be reminders of a rich and energetic past. Energy was high for this one because the consternation, the outrage, was also high. Indeed, when a councilmember tried to placate the crowd by welcoming it as beautiful and joyful, he was boo’ed down for being patronizing. The crowd wasn’t joyful. It was incensed. 

What had happened? These days, only an abuse of police power will draw that kind of crowd to this alleged apex of local city politics. After all, the murder of George Floyd and Bryonna Taylor shut down cities across the nation for four months. What was the issue? 

Was it the closing of a “Chess Club” that had been in existence on a broad open unused corner of the city for two years? Was that the issue? That corner, some four hundred square feet of unused space, had once been the apron to the front door of a bookstore, right there on Telegraph Ave. It was a famous bookstore, host to some of the more popular readings on the Berkeley scene. It had been driven out by the owner of the bookstore himself. He made the fatal mistake of accusing the homeless who hung around that block of being fascist because they were obstructing business 

Given the number of businesses closed down by the government’s policy over Covid, that name would be reasonable in the government’s case as well. Gone were the main café hangouts of the people. Gone. 

But this chess club, which met in the open, under blue summer skies, a simple testimony to the inspiration of chess lovers, had had maybe ten chess tables set up on the corner of Telegraph and Haste St., with sets all ready for those sportive enough to take their own combativity with a grain of salt, and try a new opening. You can always tell the young oficionados by their insouciance at inventing the most impressive and imaginative experimental openings. With nothing to lose and nothing to gain but a reputation, those guys pull out all the stops. It is not only acceptable; it is valued and respected. Chess is a game of respect. To close this Chess Club is to close down respect for people and for community. That was something a number of speakers at the City Council said, loud and clear. 

“What were we supposed to do with the Chess Club,” a councilperson asked naively. Among the hoots that the question elicited, someone said, “Just leave it alone.” 

So what was the issue? Was it police abuse? There was plenty of question about that. The owner of the building shut the Club down Saturday night, all by himself (with some friends.). Why all of a sudden did he decide to shut the Club down, after honoring it with passivity for two years? No warning, no due process. He just did it. It wasn’t even the cops who shut it down. They stepped in after it was down and brutalized the guy who was the Club’s chair – put him in the hospital, gave him a concussion, twisted his arms enough to get the attention of the press, with videos going viral. He was arrested without due process, and brutalized. 

Those two aspects are inseparable; shutting down the Club and brutalizing its chairman. A hundred people showed up at City Council because shutting down the Chess Club was associated with police brutality. And it happened again on Thursday, Oct. 5, five days after the first incidence of brutality. A guy at the club (which had been set up again) was called by name from a passing car. He ran to his own car, got in it, and found himself being dragged from the car by three cops who had converged on him, as if waiting. Within seconds, 7 more cop cars appeared on the scene, stopping traffic and harassing people gathered at the Club. The cops didn’t try to talk to this guy, they gave him an order. When he refused, they punished him right there on the street for his “refusal of a direct order,” as if he was a grunt in the infantry being given orders by a sargeant. 

Why did the owner of the building, whose front door apron had been used as a place to play chess and to convene a chess community, suddenly decide, after two years, to close it down. It was the city. And they did it without due process. 

The City Council of Berkeley, or the City Manager of Berkeley, or the two of them patting each other on the back and working together, decided they were going to close down the Club. But you can’t just do that on Telegraph Ave. And you can’t just do that one block from People’s Park. You have to get someone else to do the dirty work for you, a proxy to stand in and make it look legit (like the US had done, using NATO and the Ukraine as its proxy for attacking Russia). The government of Berkeley, the City Council and the City Manager, decided they wanted that Chess Club out of there. So they put pressure on the building’s owner. The city fined him $500 a day as long as the Chess Club was there. And that went on for 100 days. You do the math. 

So the owner got sick and tired of that, and evicted the Club (without due process) from the veranda of his unused building. 

Why did the city suddenly decide it didn’t want the Club to stay in existence? They have their formulaic reason: people complained, sidewalks were blocked, there were drugs on the scene, there were people just hanging out (vagrants), and … (and in a whisper) many of them were black. Oh yeah! 

When the cops say they get complaints, it is just hype. The cops know what they want to do, but looks for an excuse to just go to the City Manager, who can then make her own decision as to how to put the onus on the City Council. The whole thing is the workings of a sick piece of machinery. The council and the manager are a sodden group of people who love to play cop. They’re the ones who did it. 

They did it in a way that allowed them to say “we didn’t do anything, the owner did it.” The cops can say, “we didn’t do anything, the chess players did it.” And so on. And now, there’s a rumor that the city wanted the chess club closed because it expressed support for People’s Park. If that’s true, then it is cause for impeachment, for suppressing a political position, for acting in an overtly anti-democratic fashion. If that is true, it means that this city has definitely become a police state, with the City Council playing the role of police command, and squelching whatever holds a different opinion. 

But we all know what is missing from those excuses and rationalizations. It is the concept of autonomy. The cops, the "elected" officials, the political managers, none of them can stand the idea of the people being autonomous, or doing something on their own. It violates their corporate souls to their utmost depth. Corporations can’t stand autonomy; they have to be in control. That is what the US has against Cuba. It has been uncompromising about its sovereignty. It’s not a dictatorship; one of the first things the revolution did in 1960 was arm the people. You can’t dictate to an armed people; they will shoot you. That was what defeated the Bay of Pigs invasion. And now, the City Council of Berkeley wants to get in on the corporate act by suppressing the autonomy of a bunch of chess players. It’s what they have had against People’s Park all along. 

And that was another theme the crowd focused on, the term "community" as it was done by people rather than to them. Again and again, speakers squeezing their outraged meanings into their minute of "input," that the city of Berkeley had committed the cardinal sin of demolishing an autonomous and organized (from the bottom, not the top) and intelligent community of people. 

Do you think the cops or the councilmembers can live with that kind of sovereignty? Why do you think they put up all those surveillance cameras around town? Do you think that is to curtail crime? Don’t buy the hype. It’s you they are interested in. Why do you think the city has contracted to get Automated License Plate Readers to put on trees and cop cars? Do you think that is going to curtail crime? Read a few of the BPD crime reports, and then try to convince yourself that what shows up on arrest records in Berkeley is anything but PTSD or economic stress or emotional loneliness. The next time you see a crowd of cops handcuffing a black person (young or old, employed or homeless), ask yourself about that crime wave they keep talking about. 

Well, the federal government also talks about a crime wave (at the national level???). They do it for the same reason as the local cops, to distract from the outrage at cop killings that led to months of city-stopping demonstrations during the summer of 2020. 

And when the city closed down the homeless encampments, they used provocateurs and planted garbage (like the cops plant drugs on people in order to arrest them). It is finally coming out in public disquisitions that the homeless are better off in encampments that can give them democratic care for each other rather than living alone in a room somewhere (pace: Liza Doolittle). 

And chess is a meeting of minds, something for which the city can only express contempt. So it gives someone (a proxy) an excuse to trash the boards and “clean up” the mess made by people hanging out. n 

The police claim they received complaints, and then they violate the law and their oath of office by withholding due process (handcuffing, beating, etc.). Who would believe them? Some of them kill – the national average is now 1000 a year, killed by the police in the US, mostly people of color. Nothing happens to them, meaning the entire industry is in on it. The cop who killed Sean Monterrosa in 2020 in Vallejo just got his job back, with back pay, even though the coroner’s report says Monterrosa was shot in the back of the head. 

The democratic way to handle this stuff is to be out in the open. Let the complaints that the cops say they get be made public, so that they can be discussed by people from both sides, pro and contra. A communal or dialogical resolution could then be made to it. And that way, we would know that those complaints were real, and not the latest form of planting evidence on people. That way, we could all come up with ideas and resolutions to problems that don’t involve men with guns. Chess players, for instance, would have much better ideas about how to navigate out of a situation than a cop trained to impose their military “obedience paradigm” on people, with all the despotics that go with it.

I am writing to express both admiration for Senator Dianne Feinstein's remarkable career and concern about the need for cognitive testing for lawmakers, including members of the judiciary, as they reach advanced ages. While Senator Feinstein's accomplishments over the years are undeniably impressive, her insistence on staying in office, despite questions about her mental acuity, raises a critical issue that deserves attention. 

Senator Feinstein has had a long and distinguished career in public service. Her accomplishments, spanning decades, include championing important causes such as gun control, environmental protection, and healthcare reform. Her dedication to the people of California and the United States is unquestionable, and her influence on shaping policy has been significant. 

However, it is essential to acknowledge that cognitive abilities can diminish with age, just as physical health can deteriorate. This brings to mind the question of whether there should be a standardized cognitive testing requirement for lawmakers, including members of the judiciary, once they reach a certain age, such as 75. In various aspects of life, we have regulations in place that require individuals to demonstrate their fitness for certain responsibilities as they age. For instance, rental car companies often refuse to rent vehicles to individuals over a certain age, recognizing the potential risks associated with older drivers. Physicians are required to stay up-to-date with their knowledge through ongoing testing and certification. Even members of the military are mandated to prove their physical fitness regularly. 

Why, then, should we not consider implementing a similar requirement for lawmakers, whose decisions can have far-reaching consequences for our nation? Cognitive testing for elected officials would not be an act of discrimination but rather a way to ensure that those entrusted with making critical decisions for our country remain mentally sharp and capable of fulfilling their roles effectively. It is crucial to emphasize that this is not about targeting any specific individual, including Senator Feinstein, but about establishing a fair and consistent standard that applies to all lawmakers as they age. This measure would protect both the individuals involved and the integrity of our democracy.

This is a quote from me, but I don't doubt someone else has said this long before I arrived at it: 

The wish in life is to do something, or be something or someone, you fill that, or you don't, you experience it, and it is or isn't what you wanted or thought it would be, but then it is finite - you experience it, and it is gone... 

Here is another one: 

Life: fairness has nothing to do with it; things happen and that is the nature of living in the physical world... 

I arrived at both, but I have no doubt that many, many others have said those things long before I came along. 

A break to the bone like the one Becky had to her ankle, doubtless, is the kind of pain you might have, one hopes, only a couple times in your life. I had surgery to remove four impacted wisdom teeth at age 30, and I was brought home in a van. It was the end of the month, and my debit card was declined at the grocery store. I had no food, I could not get my prescriptions for pain medicine filled because it was the weekend, so there was nothing I could do about the incredible post-surgery pain. The surgeons had been rushing it. I was under local anesthesia only, which was at my insistence. I am surprised I even survived the surgery--the two surgeons were awful, and it was a Medi-Cal funded surgery. 

I called the hospital and asked to be taken into psych emergency. My thinking was I needed food and I needed Motrin and Tylenol, and this would be the method of getting those things. I claimed I was suicidal because of the intense physical pain. 

The passing of Senator Feinstein is another mark of time, and someone other than me should write about it. But it is a reminder that we are all mortal. The psychotic person may get worse when we attempt to face ugly facts of life. The brain doesn't want to deal with it and comes up with illusions in the vain attempt to protect us from facts. 

I've been a frequent contributor in recent months to the Street Sheet - not to be confused with the Street Spirit, which is on hiatus until it raises the cash it needs to get going again. The stories involve a lot of hard work, and the act of writing well is usually hard work. But I've been putting off a lot of things I have to deal with. I've become a procrastinator. Procrastinating probably doesn't show up in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual that clinicians use to determine a person's diagnosis. 

If I take a bit of time off, you won't be aware of it because I can crank out a couple of good essays and store them to be used as needed. Nine out of ten or more of my essays in the Planet are not time sensitive, and they relate to anything that occurs to me at the time I'm sitting down to write. Or I might get a random idea--and if I'm able to, I will store it in my phone for later retrieval, to use as subject matter. 

We should be thankful to Becky and Michael for bringing us the Berkeley Daily Planet for all of these years - time and energy spent for which it may be hard to define the reward. Becky has told me that my writings are a help to a lot of people. If my goal in life was to make a fortune, I'm in the worst possible area of endeavor. 

My writings in the Planet demonstrate that a person with a psychiatric condition can use his or her mind and can compete in arenas in which you might not expect. I have a body of work which is searchable on the internet. I am a successful writer. The big money hasn't come and possibly never will. Yet these writings will possibly outlive me, and they might in the future be studied by historians as well as psychology and psychiatry students. I would hope. 

I keep pulling my books for sale off the shelf because I might believe for a moment that a book isn't selling well enough, or I might think that I'm not being compensated enough, for possible sales that aren't being recorded or renumerated by the various vendors. But currently there are books available. The three I left for sale consist of two short fiction collections, and a book I published in 2012, "Instructions for Dealing with Schizophrenia..." which over the years has consistently sold and has brought bits of money. I'm hoping to come out with a new short story collection, and this time around I might do a lot more to encourage people to buy copies. 

The way that I go about self-publishing only costs me the sixty-five-dollar fee to register it with the Copyright Office plus the cost of a proof copy from the publisher. I don't pay any intermediary to do any of it. There's no way that I'm going to pay someone to make my work readable; I will do that myself. 

Currently the publishing field is in a fight to the death against use of AI, which can now write a book or other manuscript better than most aspiring authors can--and can do this dirt cheap. AI is ruining the publishing industry and it its users are breaking a bunch of laws including infringement and worse. I was selling writing twenty years before AI became prevalent, and I'm now including this fact in my cover letters when I submit to a publication. Anyway, I've gone on long enough for this week, I conclude this with a big THANK YOU! to Becky and Michael for producing the Planet all these years, when it might seem like there could be easier and more fun things to do. 

---

Jack Bragen lives and writes in Martinez, California.

As we commemorate Indigenous Day and reflect on the history of oppression and resistance, it is essential to address the ongoing violence in Israel and its root causes. The violence that has erupted in recent days between Hamas and Israel, resulting in the loss of innocent lives, highlights the urgent need for a paradigm shift in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

The roots of this conflict trace back to 1948, preceding the birth of Israel, fueled by decades of unconditional U.S. support in terms of money and weapons. This support has led to seething Palestinian resentment of apartheid policies and brutal occupation. The culmination of this resentment has resulted in the current dire situation, with Gaza under siege and the continued oppression of the Palestinian people. 

Historian Rashid Khalidi aptly describes the situation as Palestinians living under incredible oppression, stating that it was bound to explode. The blockade of Gaza has been a pressure cooker, and it was only a matter of time before it erupted. Khalidi rightly points out that the U.S. has played a significant role in financing this occupation and violence. 

The recent pledge of more military aid and munitions to Israel, coupled with the movement of U.S. warships towards the region, is a deeply troubling response. Sending more arms to Israel will only add fuel to an already raging inferno. Instead, the United States should prioritize defusing the situation and seeking a just and lasting peace in the region. The outpouring of support for Palestinians across the Middle East in response to the recent violence underscores the fact that the Palestinian cause remains a deeply felt rallying cry in the region. Diplomatic normalization agreements between Israel and Arab governments, such as the Abraham Accords, will do little to change this reality. As long as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains unresolved, stability in the Middle East will remain elusive. 

It is crucial that the international community, led by the United States, takes immediate action to address the root causes of the violence. The first step must be to lift the siege of Gaza and end the brutal occupation. Accountability for militant settler violence should also be demanded. 

As we remember the Indigenous peoples who have suffered throughout history, let us also stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and work towards a future where peace, justice, and equality prevail.

Worth Noting:

Check the City website for late announcements and meetings posted on short notice at: https://berkeleyca.gov/

Go to meetings and events: The Bird Festival on Sunday is the highlight of the week. The 4 pm City Council meeting on legislation is a “should do.” If you miss the Budget and Finance AAO there will be more meetings before the council vote.

• Monday: Indigenous Peoples Day - The Youth Commission is listed with the date as October 10 with the day listed as Tuesday – expect this meeting to be Tuesday not on the holiday.
• Tuesday: City Council meets in the hybrid format starting at 3 pm with a closed session, followed with a special meeting at 4 pm on redesigning their legislative process, followed with the regular meeting a 6 pm with a light agenda.
• Wednesday:
  • At 5 pm the Disability Commission meets in person.
  • At 6:30 pm the Police Accountability Board meets in the hybrid format.
  • At 7 pm the Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission meets in person with the Waterfront Specific Plan and EIR on the agenda.
• Thursday:
  • At 10 am the Budget and Finance Committee meets in the hybrid format. The AAO (mid-year budget adjustment) is not posted with the agenda.
  • At 1 pm WETA meets in the hybrid format.
  • At 7 pm the Zoning adjustment Board meets in the hybrid format.
• Saturday: At 10 am the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council meets in person.

• Sunday: From 8 am to 5 pm there are Bird Festival activities all over Berkeley from birding field trips, to sidewalk chalk drawing to poetry, art and presentations at the Brower Center on plants for birds and making your home safe for birds.

Heart 2 Heart – Beginning October 12 from 4:30 – 6 pm an 8 week Public Health Advocate Program for South Berkeley to reduce heart disease and hypertension. Registration required. https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/heart-2-heart-advocate-program

The Berkeley Daily Planet is back in full swing https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/

Activist’s Diary for September 29, 2023 on Ready Festival, Planning and Fire Department Master Plan

https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2023-09-02/article/50416?headline=A-BERKELEY-ACTIVIST-S-DIARY-WEEK-ENDING-SEPTEMBER-29--Kelly-Hammargren

Directions with links to ZOOM support for activating Closed Captioning and Save Transcript are at the bottom of this calendar. 

 

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BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND CIVIC EVENTS 

 

Sunday, October 8, 2023 - No City meetings found 

 

Monday, October 9, 2023 – Indigenous People’s Day Holiday 

 

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 

 

YOUTH COMMISSION at 6:30 pm 

The Youth Commission is listed as October 10 which is Monday with the day listed as Tuesday – expect this meeting to be Tuesday not on Monday the holiday. 

 

In-Person: at 1730 Oregon, Youth Services Center / YAP 

AGENDA: 9. Discussion Berkeley High School Restroom 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/youth-commission 

 

CITY COUNCIL Closed Session at 3 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1606556704 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) 

Meeting ID: 160 655 6704 

AGENDA: 1. Conference with labor negotiators, employee organizations Berkeley Firefighters Association, Local 1227 I.A.F.F. / Berkeley Fire Chief Fire Officers Association; Berkeley Police Association; SEIU 1021 Community Services and Part-time Recreation Activity Leaders, SEIU 1021 Maintenance and Clerical, Public Employee Union Local 1, Unrepresented Employees. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

CITY COUNCIL Special Meeting at 3 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611670896 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 167 0896 

AGENDA: City Council Legislative System Redesign (packet 138 pages) this is the evolution of the proposals that started with former councilmember Droste to establish rules for how council policy committees function and how major legislation submitted by councilmembers needs to be prepared including checklists to be completed and processed with time frames for submission. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting at 6 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611670896 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 167 0896 

AGENDA: Use the link and choose the html option or see the agenda listed at the end of the calendar. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023 

 

COMMISSION on DISABILITY at 5 pm 

In-Person: at 1901 Hearst, North Berkeley Senior Center, Aspen Room 

AGENDA: Staff Updates 7. 2023 Log of Access Complaints, 8. Email and voicemail sent to commission, 9. Sept meeting follow-up, Discussion/Action Items: 10. 2024 calendar, 11. CoD membership, 12. Workplan, Carried Over & Items for future meetings a. Civic Center Subcommittee, b. Safer Pathways. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/commission-disability 

 

PARKS, RECREATION & WATERFRONT COMMISSION at 7 pm 

In-Person: at 2800 Park, Frances Albrier Community Center 

AGENDA: 8. Director’s Report (Ferris), 9. Aquatic Park update on public arts project, Discussion/Action: 10. Possible parks tax increase ballot measure, 11. Proposed Ohlone Greenway Improvement Project, 12. Feedback on draft Waterfront Specific Plan and EIR process. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/parks-recreation-and-waterfront-commission 

 

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD at 6:30 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1901 Hearst, North Berkeley Senior Center 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82653396072 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 

Meeting ID: 826 5339 6072 

AGENDA: 3. Public comment on agenda and non-agenda items, 6. ODPA Staff Report 8. Chief’s Report9. Subcommittee reports,10. Policy complaint 2023-PR-000511. Policy complaints 2023-PR-0006, 2023-PR-0007, 2023-PR-0008 12. Public comment, 13. Closed Session 14 complaints 2-23-Cl-0001 – 2023-Cl-0014 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/police-accountability-board 

 

Thursday, October 12, 2023 

 

BUDGET & FINANCE Committee at 10 am 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 2180 Mivia, 6th Floor, Redwood Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611557693 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 155 7693 

AGENDA: 2. Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Appropriations Ordinance (AAO), 3. Accept the Risk Analysis for Long-Term Debt, 4. Investment Report Update – Investment Policies of other jurisdictions, 5. Audit recommendations status – Berkeley Police Improvements Needed to Manage Overtime and Security Work for Outside Entities, 6. Audit status report – Fleet replacement & Rocky Road Berkeley Streets at risk and significantly underfunded. (packet 92 pages – no documents on AAO) 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/policy-committee-budget-finance 

 

ZONING ADJUSTMENT BOARD at 7 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84781420938 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171  

Meeting ID: 847 8142 0938 

AGENDA: 2712 Telegraph – on consent – Use Permit #ZP2022-0179 – to demolish two non-residential structures and construct a 41,065 sq ft 6-story (70 ft) mixed-use residential building containing 40 dwelling units (4-very-low income), 590 sq ft commercial space, 2 auto parking spaces and 46 bicycle spaces, utilizing State Density Bonus. 

2411 Sixth Street – on consent – Use Permit #ZP2023-0101 – to legalize the demolition of a non-conforming single-family dwelling and construct a 2,058 sq ft 2-story (22 ft) conforming single family dwelling 

2924 Russell - on action – Appeal of Zoning Officer’s decision to approve Administrative Use Permit #ZP2023-0081 to install an unenclosed hot tub in rear yard. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/zoning-adjustments-board 

 

WATER EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (WETA) at 1 pm 

Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at Port of San Francisco Pier 1 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89718217408 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 

Meeting ID: 897 1821 7408 Password: 33779 

AGENDA: 5. Staff reports – (peak hour utilization is not available, farebox recovery is listed as 21% - without a cut of Bridge Tolls and Federal & State funding WETA could not stay afloat), 7. Agreement with UBER for Alameda Mainstreet Terminal Rideshare program, 8. Adopt Fares between Mission Bay and South San Francisco, 9. Filing for an application with MTC for $700,000 in Regional Measure 3 Capital Funds. 

https://weta.sanfranciscobayferry.com/next-board-meeting 

 

Friday, October 13, 2023 – Reduced Service Day 

 

Saturday, October 14, 2023 

 

BERKELEY NEIGHBORHOODS COUNCIL at 10 am 

Videoconference:  

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4223188307?pwd=dFlNMVlVZ2d6b0FnSHh3ZlFwV2NMdz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171 Meeting ID: 422 318 8307 Passcode: 521161 

AGENDA: Check later in the week 

https://berkeleyneighborhoodscouncil.com/ 

 

Sunday, October 15, 2023  

 

BERKELEY BIRD FESTIVAL from 8 am – 5 pm 

Check the website there is something for everyone: field trips, bird watching, sidewalk chalk drawing, tours of the UC Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, poetry, stories, children’s art and presentations at the Brower Center on birding, bird safe home plants for birds 

https://berkeleybirdfestival.org/ 

 

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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA for Regular 6 pm Meeting on October 10, 2023 

Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611670896 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 167 0896 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

AGENDA on CONSENT: 

1. 2nd reading of the ADU Ordinance No. 7,888-N.S. passed on Oct 3 to read ordinance go to https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2023-10-10%20Item%20A%20Ordinance%207888.pdf

1. Numainville, City Clerk – City Council Rules of Procedure and Order Revisions – Removed by City Manager
2. Hollander, Economic Development – Write-off of a delinquent revolving loan fund (RLF) Balance of $25,000 oved by Kidventurez, Inc.
3. Oyekanmi, Finance – Formal Bid Solicitation and requests for RFP, Hazardous Fire Fuel Treatment $4,000,000
4. Warhuus, HHCS – Revenue Contracts: Aging Services Programs, FY 2024-2026, a. Congregate Meals $213,000, b. Home Delivered Meals $440,000, Family Caregiver Support Program $126,500, d. Senior Center Activities $136,000, e. Information and assistance Services $460,000
5. Warhuus, HHCS – Amend Contract add $10,760 total $139,400 with City Data Services to Develop and maintain Homelessness Prevention reporting module in online data management utilized by HHCS
6. Kouyoumdjian, HR – Establish classification and salary range for Graphic Designer hourly $39.5233 - $48.5000 annually $82,208.4870 - $100,880.0000
7. Klein, Planning – Contract $128,375 from 12/1/2023 – 11/31/2028 with EdgeSoft for Data Automation Services and Support for Toxics Management Division
8. Louis, Police – Contract (appears to be amendment though not listed as such) for $344,500 total not to exceed $425,000 with Flock Safety to provide ALPR Cameras Services and extend term to two years from date of implementations,
9. Garland, Public Works – Amend Contract #32300191 add $150,000 total $260,000 with Pacific Site Management for Landscaping Services for Public works and HHCS
10. Garland, Public works – Amend Contract #108037-1 add $350,000 total $480,000 with MSR Mechanical, LLC for on-call heating, ventilation and air conditioning services
11. Garland, Public Works – Grant Application to BART for $3,000,000 from the Safe Routes to BART (SR2B) Grant Program to help close the funding gap for construction of safety-related improvements to the Ohlone Greenway
12. Garland, Public Works – Purchase Order: $2,050,000 for four Front Loaders with Western Truck Center
13. Elmwood BID Advisory Board – Renewal of the Elmwood Ave. BID (Business Improvement District for 2024 Calendar Year
14. Solano Avenue BID Advisory Board - Renewal of the Solano Ave. BID for 2024 Calendar Year

AGENDA on ACTION: 

2. Friedrichsen, Budget Manager – Berkeley’s Financial Condition (FY 2012 – FY 2021) Pension Liabilities and Infrastructure Needs Attention (continued from Oct 3)

INFORMATION REPORTS: 

15. Hollander, Economic Development - FY 2024 Civic Arts Grants Awards

 

++++++++++++++++++++++ 

 

LAND USE CALENDAR PUBLIC HEARINGS: 

• 3000 Shattuck Avenue (Construct 10-story mixed-use building) – TBD

WORK SESSIONS & SPECIAL MEETINGS: 

• October 10 at 4 pm Potential Changes & Enhancements to the City Council Legislative Process
• November 2, 2023 - Draft Waterfront Specific Plan
• Proposed December 5, 2023 – Re-Imagining Public Safety Update and Ceasefire– (to be the only action item of the evening, Wengraf and Arreguin will be absent on December 5)

UNSCHEDULED WORK SESSIONS & SPECIAL MEETINGS 

• Fire Department Standards of Coverage & Community Risk Assessment
• Dispatch Needs Assessment Presentation
• Presentation on Homelessness/Re-Housing/Thousand-Person Plan

PAST MEETINGS with reports worth reading: 

• May 16 - Fire Facilities Study Report, Wildfire Prevention Plan https://berkeleyca.gov/city-council-special-meeting-eagenda-may-16-2023-6-pm
• June 20 (WS) - Climate Action Plan & Resilience Update, Berkeley Economic Dashboards Update reports available https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas/city-council-2023-06-20

. 

* * * * * 

Kelly Hammargren’s summary on what happened the preceding week is posted on the What Happened page at: https://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/what-happened.html and in the Berkeley Daily Planet https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/ 

 

The Activist’s Calendar of meetings is posted on the What’s Ahead page at: https://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html 

 

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 want to receive the Activist’s Diary send an email to kellyhammargren@gmail.com. If you wish to stop receiving the weekly calendar of city meetings please forward the email you received to- kellyhammargren@gmail.com -with the request to be removed from the email list. 

______________ 

For Online Public Meetings 

CLOSED CAPTIONING, SAVE TRANSCRIPT OVERVIEW, DIRECTIONS and ZOOM SUPPORT LINKS:
.
ZOOM has as part of the program -(for no extra cost)- Closed Captioning (CC). It turns computer voice recognition into a text transcript. Closed Captioning and show full transcript and the save option are only available when the person setting up the ZOOM meeting has activated these options. If you don’t see CC ask for it. If it can’t be activated for the current meeting ask for it for future meetings. 

 

The accuracy of the Closed Captioning is affected by background noise and other factors, The CC and transcript will not be perfect, but most of the time reading through it the few odd words, can be deciphered--for example "Shattuck" was transcribed as Shadow in one recent transcript. 

 

For the online attendee, the full transcript is only available from the time the attendee activates Show Full Transcript. But if you sit through a meeting and then remember 10 minutes before it is over to click on Show Full Transcript you will only get the last 10 minutes, not the full transcript – So click often on both Save Transcript and on Save to Folder during the meeting for best results. 

 

When you click on Show Full Transcript it will allow you to scroll up and down, so if want to go back and see what was said earlier you can do that during the meeting while the transcript is running. 

 

At the bottom of the transcript when we as attendees are allowed to save there will be a button for, "Save Transcript," you can click on the button repeatedly throughout the meeting and it will just overwrite and update the full transcript. Clicking on the Save Transcript repeatedly as the meeting is coming to an end is important because once the host ends the meeting, the transcript is gone if you didn't save it. 

 

Near the end of the meeting, after you click on "Save Transcript," click on "Save to Folder." The meeting transcript will show up (as a download to your desktop) in a separate box as a text file. (These text files are not large.) After you have done your last Save Transcript and Save to Folder (after the meeting is over) you can rename the new transcript folder on your computer, and save it (re-read or send or share it). 

 

Remember, allowing us attendees to save the meeting transcript does not require the public meeting host to save the transcript (for public record.) 

 

Here is the link to ZOOM Support for how to set up Closed Captioning for a meeting or webinar:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/8158738379917#h_01GHWATNVPW5FR304S2SVGXN2X 

 

Here is the link to ZOOM Support for attendees in how to save Closed Captions: 

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360060958752-Using-save-captions#h_01F5XW3BGWJAKJFWCHPPZGBD70 

Worth Noting:  

Check the City website for late announcements and meetings posted on short notice at: https://berkeleyca.gov/ 

Go to meetings and events: The Bird Festival on Sunday is the highlight of the week. The 4 pm City Council meeting on legislation is a “should do.” If you miss the Budget and Finance AAO there will be more meetings before the council vote. 

• Monday: Indigenous Peoples Day - The Youth Commission is listed with the date as October 10 with the day listed as Tuesday – expect this meeting to be Tuesday not on the holiday.
• Tuesday: City Council meets in the hybrid format starting at 3 pm with a closed session, followed with a special meeting at 4 pm on redesigning their legislative process, followed with the regular meeting a 6 pm with a light agenda.
• Wednesday:
  • At 5 pm the Disability Commission meets in person.
  • At 6:30 pm the Police Accountability Board meets in the hybrid format.
  • At 7 pm the Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission meets in person with the Waterfront Specific Plan and EIR on the agenda.
• Thursday:
  • At 10 am the Budget and Finance Committee meets in the hybrid format. The AAO (mid-year budget adjustment) is not posted with the agenda.
  • At 1 pm WETA meets in the hybrid format.
  • At 7 pm the Zoning adjustment Board meets in the hybrid format.
• Saturday: At 10 am the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council meets in person.

• Sunday: From 8 am to 5 pm there are Bird Festival activities all over Berkeley from birding field trips, to sidewalk chalk drawing to poetry, art and presentations at the Brower Center on plants for birds and making your home safe for birds.

Heart 2 Heart – Beginning October 12 from 4:30 – 6 pm an 8 week Public Health Advocate Program for South Berkeley to reduce heart disease and hypertension. Registration required. https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/heart-2-heart-advocate-program 

The Berkeley Daily Planet is back in full swing https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/ 

Activist’s Diary for September 29, 2023 on Ready Festival, Planning and Fire Department Master Plan 

https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2023-09-02/article/50416?headline=A-BERKELEY-ACTIVIST-S-DIARY-WEEK-ENDING-SEPTEMBER-29--Kelly-Hammargren 

Directions with links to ZOOM support for activating Closed Captioning and Save Transcript are at the bottom of this calendar. 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

 

BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND CIVIC EVENTS 

 

Sunday, October 8, 2023 - No City meetings found 

 

Monday, October 9, 2023 – Indigenous People’s Day Holiday 

 

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 

 

YOUTH COMMISSION at 6:30 pm 

The Youth Commission is listed as October 10 which is Monday with the day listed as Tuesday – expect this meeting to be Tuesday not on Monday the holiday. 

 

In-Person: at 1730 Oregon, Youth Services Center / YAP 

AGENDA: 9. Discussion Berkeley High School Restroom 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/youth-commission 

 

CITY COUNCIL Closed Session at 3 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1606556704 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) 

Meeting ID: 160 655 6704 

AGENDA: 1. Conference with labor negotiators, employee organizations Berkeley Firefighters Association, Local 1227 I.A.F.F. / Berkeley Fire Chief Fire Officers Association; Berkeley Police Association; SEIU 1021 Community Services and Part-time Recreation Activity Leaders, SEIU 1021 Maintenance and Clerical, Public Employee Union Local 1, Unrepresented Employees. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

CITY COUNCIL Special Meeting at 3 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611670896 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 167 0896 

AGENDA: City Council Legislative System Redesign (packet 138 pages) this is the evolution of the proposals that started with former councilmember Droste to establish rules for how council policy committees function and how major legislation submitted by councilmembers needs to be prepared including checklists to be completed and processed with time frames for submission. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting at 6 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611670896 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 167 0896 

AGENDA: Use the link and choose the html option or see the agenda listed at the end of the calendar. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023 

 

COMMISSION on DISABILITY at 5 pm 

In-Person: at 1901 Hearst, North Berkeley Senior Center, Aspen Room 

AGENDA: Staff Updates 7. 2023 Log of Access Complaints, 8. Email and voicemail sent to commission, 9. Sept meeting follow-up, Discussion/Action Items: 10. 2024 calendar, 11. CoD membership, 12. Workplan, Carried Over & Items for future meetings a. Civic Center Subcommittee, b. Safer Pathways. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/commission-disability 

 

PARKS, RECREATION & WATERFRONT COMMISSION at 7 pm 

In-Person: at 2800 Park, Frances Albrier Community Center 

AGENDA: 8. Director’s Report (Ferris), 9. Aquatic Park update on public arts project, Discussion/Action: 10. Possible parks tax increase ballot measure, 11. Proposed Ohlone Greenway Improvement Project, 12. Feedback on draft Waterfront Specific Plan and EIR process. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/parks-recreation-and-waterfront-commission 

 

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD at 6:30 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1901 Hearst, North Berkeley Senior Center 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82653396072 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 

Meeting ID: 826 5339 6072 

AGENDA: 3. Public comment on agenda and non-agenda items, 6. ODPA Staff Report 8. Chief’s Report9. Subcommittee reports,10. Policy complaint 2023-PR-000511. Policy complaints 2023-PR-0006, 2023-PR-0007, 2023-PR-0008 12. Public comment, 13. Closed Session 14 complaints 2-23-Cl-0001 – 2023-Cl-0014 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/police-accountability-board 

 

Thursday, October 12, 2023 

 

BUDGET & FINANCE Committee at 10 am 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 2180 Mivia, 6th Floor, Redwood Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611557693 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 155 7693 

AGENDA: 2. Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Appropriations Ordinance (AAO), 3. Accept the Risk Analysis for Long-Term Debt, 4. Investment Report Update – Investment Policies of other jurisdictions, 5. Audit recommendations status – Berkeley Police Improvements Needed to Manage Overtime and Security Work for Outside Entities, 6. Audit status report – Fleet replacement & Rocky Road Berkeley Streets at risk and significantly underfunded. (packet 92 pages – no documents on AAO) 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/policy-committee-budget-finance 

 

ZONING ADJUSTMENT BOARD at 7 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84781420938 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171  

Meeting ID: 847 8142 0938 

AGENDA: 2712 Telegraph – on consent – Use Permit #ZP2022-0179 – to demolish two non-residential structures and construct a 41,065 sq ft 6-story (70 ft) mixed-use residential building containing 40 dwelling units (4-very-low income), 590 sq ft commercial space, 2 auto parking spaces and 46 bicycle spaces, utilizing State Density Bonus. 

2411 Sixth Street – on consent – Use Permit #ZP2023-0101 – to legalize the demolition of a non-conforming single-family dwelling and construct a 2,058 sq ft 2-story (22 ft) conforming single family dwelling 

2924 Russell - on action – Appeal of Zoning Officer’s decision to approve Administrative Use Permit #ZP2023-0081 to install an unenclosed hot tub in rear yard. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/zoning-adjustments-board 

 

WATER EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (WETA) at 1 pm 

Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at Port of San Francisco Pier 1 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89718217408 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 

Meeting ID: 897 1821 7408 Password: 33779 

AGENDA: 5. Staff reports – (peak hour utilization is not available, farebox recovery is listed as 21% - without a cut of Bridge Tolls and Federal & State funding WETA could not stay afloat), 7. Agreement with UBER for Alameda Mainstreet Terminal Rideshare program, 8. Adopt Fares between Mission Bay and South San Francisco, 9. Filing for an application with MTC for $700,000 in Regional Measure 3 Capital Funds. 

https://weta.sanfranciscobayferry.com/next-board-meeting 

 

Friday, October 13, 2023 – Reduced Service Day 

 

Saturday, October 14, 2023 

 

BERKELEY NEIGHBORHOODS COUNCIL at 10 am 

Videoconference:  

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4223188307?pwd=dFlNMVlVZ2d6b0FnSHh3ZlFwV2NMdz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171 Meeting ID: 422 318 8307 Passcode: 521161 

AGENDA: Check later in the week 

https://berkeleyneighborhoodscouncil.com/ 

 

Sunday, October 15, 2023  

 

BERKELEY BIRD FESTIVAL from 8 am – 5 pm 

Check the website there is something for everyone: field trips, bird watching, sidewalk chalk drawing, tours of the UC Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, poetry, stories, children’s art and presentations at the Brower Center on birding, bird safe home plants for birds 

https://berkeleybirdfestival.org/ 

 

+++++++++++++++++++ 

 

CITY COUNCIL AGENDA for Regular 6 pm Meeting on October 10, 2023 

Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611670896 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 167 0896 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

AGENDA on CONSENT: 

1. 2nd reading of the ADU Ordinance No. 7,888-N.S. passed on Oct 3 to read ordinance go to https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2023-10-10%20Item%20A%20Ordinance%207888.pdf

1. Numainville, City Clerk – City Council Rules of Procedure and Order Revisions – Removed by City Manager
2. Hollander, Economic Development – Write-off of a delinquent revolving loan fund (RLF) Balance of $25,000 oved by Kidventurez, Inc.
3. Oyekanmi, Finance – Formal Bid Solicitation and requests for RFP, Hazardous Fire Fuel Treatment $4,000,000
4. Warhuus, HHCS – Revenue Contracts: Aging Services Programs, FY 2024-2026, a. Congregate Meals $213,000, b. Home Delivered Meals $440,000, Family Caregiver Support Program $126,500, d. Senior Center Activities $136,000, e. Information and assistance Services $460,000
5. Warhuus, HHCS – Amend Contract add $10,760 total $139,400 with City Data Services to Develop and maintain Homelessness Prevention reporting module in online data management utilized by HHCS
6. Kouyoumdjian, HR – Establish classification and salary range for Graphic Designer hourly $39.5233 - $48.5000 annually $82,208.4870 - $100,880.0000
7. Klein, Planning – Contract $128,375 from 12/1/2023 – 11/31/2028 with EdgeSoft for Data Automation Services and Support for Toxics Management Division
8. Louis, Police – Contract (appears to be amendment though not listed as such) for $344,500 total not to exceed $425,000 with Flock Safety to provide ALPR Cameras Services and extend term to two years from date of implementations,
9. Garland, Public Works – Amend Contract #32300191 add $150,000 total $260,000 with Pacific Site Management for Landscaping Services for Public works and HHCS
10. Garland, Public works – Amend Contract #108037-1 add $350,000 total $480,000 with MSR Mechanical, LLC for on-call heating, ventilation and air conditioning services
11. Garland, Public Works – Grant Application to BART for $3,000,000 from the Safe Routes to BART (SR2B) Grant Program to help close the funding gap for construction of safety-related improvements to the Ohlone Greenway
12. Garland, Public Works – Purchase Order: $2,050,000 for four Front Loaders with Western Truck Center
13. Elmwood BID Advisory Board – Renewal of the Elmwood Ave. BID (Business Improvement District for 2024 Calendar Year
14. Solano Avenue BID Advisory Board - Renewal of the Solano Ave. BID for 2024 Calendar Year

AGENDA on ACTION: 

2. Friedrichsen, Budget Manager – Berkeley’s Financial Condition (FY 2012 – FY 2021) Pension Liabilities and Infrastructure Needs Attention (continued from Oct 3)

INFORMATION REPORTS: 

15. Hollander, Economic Development - FY 2024 Civic Arts Grants Awards

 

++++++++++++++++++++++ 

 

LAND USE CALENDAR PUBLIC HEARINGS: 

• 3000 Shattuck Avenue (Construct 10-story mixed-use building) – TBD

WORK SESSIONS & SPECIAL MEETINGS: 

• October 10 at 4 pm Potential Changes & Enhancements to the City Council Legislative Process
• November 2, 2023 - Draft Waterfront Specific Plan
• Proposed December 5, 2023 – Re-Imagining Public Safety Update and Ceasefire– (to be the only action item of the evening, Wengraf and Arreguin will be absent on December 5)

UNSCHEDULED WORK SESSIONS & SPECIAL MEETINGS 

• Fire Department Standards of Coverage & Community Risk Assessment
• Dispatch Needs Assessment Presentation
• Presentation on Homelessness/Re-Housing/Thousand-Person Plan

PAST MEETINGS with reports worth reading: 

• May 16 - Fire Facilities Study Report, Wildfire Prevention Plan https://berkeleyca.gov/city-council-special-meeting-eagenda-may-16-2023-6-pm
• June 20 (WS) - Climate Action Plan & Resilience Update, Berkeley Economic Dashboards Update reports available https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas/city-council-2023-06-20

. 

* * * * * 

Kelly Hammargren’s summary on what happened the preceding week is posted on the What Happened page at: https://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/what-happened.html and in the Berkeley Daily Planet https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/ 

 

The Activist’s Calendar of meetings is posted on the What’s Ahead page at: https://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html 

 

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 want to receive the Activist’s Diary send an email to kellyhammargren@gmail.com. If you wish to stop receiving the weekly calendar of city meetings please forward the email you received to- kellyhammargren@gmail.com -with the request to be removed from the email list. 

______________ 

For Online Public Meetings 

CLOSED CAPTIONING, SAVE TRANSCRIPT OVERVIEW, DIRECTIONS and ZOOM SUPPORT LINKS:
.
ZOOM has as part of the program -(for no extra cost)- Closed Captioning (CC). It turns computer voice recognition into a text transcript. Closed Captioning and show full transcript and the save option are only available when the person setting up the ZOOM meeting has activated these options. If you don’t see CC ask for it. If it can’t be activated for the current meeting ask for it for future meetings. 

 

The accuracy of the Closed Captioning is affected by background noise and other factors, The CC and transcript will not be perfect, but most of the time reading through it the few odd words, can be deciphered--for example "Shattuck" was transcribed as Shadow in one recent transcript. 

 

For the online attendee, the full transcript is only available from the time the attendee activates Show Full Transcript. But if you sit through a meeting and then remember 10 minutes before it is over to click on Show Full Transcript you will only get the last 10 minutes, not the full transcript – So click often on both Save Transcript and on Save to Folder during the meeting for best results. 

 

When you click on Show Full Transcript it will allow you to scroll up and down, so if want to go back and see what was said earlier you can do that during the meeting while the transcript is running. 

 

At the bottom of the transcript when we as attendees are allowed to save there will be a button for, "Save Transcript," you can click on the button repeatedly throughout the meeting and it will just overwrite and update the full transcript. Clicking on the Save Transcript repeatedly as the meeting is coming to an end is important because once the host ends the meeting, the transcript is gone if you didn't save it. 

 

Near the end of the meeting, after you click on "Save Transcript," click on "Save to Folder." The meeting transcript will show up (as a download to your desktop) in a separate box as a text file. (These text files are not large.) After you have done your last Save Transcript and Save to Folder (after the meeting is over) you can rename the new transcript folder on your computer, and save it (re-read or send or share it). 

 

Remember, allowing us attendees to save the meeting transcript does not require the public meeting host to save the transcript (for public record.) 

 

Here is the link to ZOOM Support for how to set up Closed Captioning for a meeting or webinar:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/8158738379917#h_01GHWATNVPW5FR304S2SVGXN2X 

 

Here is the link to ZOOM Support for attendees in how to save Closed Captions: 

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360060958752-Using-save-captions#h_01F5XW3BGWJAKJFWCHPPZGBD70 

Worth Noting:  

Check the City website for late announcements and meetings posted on short notice at: https://berkeleyca.gov/ 

Go to meetings and events: The Bird Festival on Sunday is the highlight of the week. The 4 pm City Council meeting on legislation is a “should do.” If you miss the Budget and Finance AAO there will be more meetings before the council vote. 

• Monday: Indigenous Peoples Day - The Youth Commission is listed with the date as October 10 with the day listed as Tuesday – expect this meeting to be Tuesday not on the holiday.
• Tuesday: City Council meets in the hybrid format starting at 3 pm with a closed session, followed with a special meeting at 4 pm on redesigning their legislative process, followed with the regular meeting a 6 pm with a light agenda.
• Wednesday:
  • At 5 pm the Disability Commission meets in person.
  • At 6:30 pm the Police Accountability Board meets in the hybrid format.
  • At 7 pm the Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission meets in person with the Waterfront Specific Plan and EIR on the agenda.
• Thursday:
  • At 10 am the Budget and Finance Committee meets in the hybrid format. The AAO (mid-year budget adjustment) is not posted with the agenda.
  • At 1 pm WETA meets in the hybrid format.
  • At 7 pm the Zoning adjustment Board meets in the hybrid format.
• Saturday: At 10 am the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council meets in person.

• Sunday: From 8 am to 5 pm there are Bird Festival activities all over Berkeley from birding field trips, to sidewalk chalk drawing to poetry, art and presentations at the Brower Center on plants for birds and making your home safe for birds.

Heart 2 Heart – Beginning October 12 from 4:30 – 6 pm an 8 week Public Health Advocate Program for South Berkeley to reduce heart disease and hypertension. Registration required. https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/heart-2-heart-advocate-program 

The Berkeley Daily Planet is back in full swing https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/ 

Activist’s Diary for September 29, 2023 on Ready Festival, Planning and Fire Department Master Plan 

https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2023-09-02/article/50416?headline=A-BERKELEY-ACTIVIST-S-DIARY-WEEK-ENDING-SEPTEMBER-29--Kelly-Hammargren 

Directions with links to ZOOM support for activating Closed Captioning and Save Transcript are at the bottom of this calendar. 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

 

BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND CIVIC EVENTS 

 

Sunday, October 8, 2023 - No City meetings found 

 

Monday, October 9, 2023 – Indigenous People’s Day Holiday 

 

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 

 

YOUTH COMMISSION at 6:30 pm 

The Youth Commission is listed as October 10 which is Monday with the day listed as Tuesday – expect this meeting to be Tuesday not on Monday the holiday. 

 

In-Person: at 1730 Oregon, Youth Services Center / YAP 

AGENDA: 9. Discussion Berkeley High School Restroom 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/youth-commission 

 

CITY COUNCIL Closed Session at 3 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1606556704 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) 

Meeting ID: 160 655 6704 

AGENDA: 1. Conference with labor negotiators, employee organizations Berkeley Firefighters Association, Local 1227 I.A.F.F. / Berkeley Fire Chief Fire Officers Association; Berkeley Police Association; SEIU 1021 Community Services and Part-time Recreation Activity Leaders, SEIU 1021 Maintenance and Clerical, Public Employee Union Local 1, Unrepresented Employees. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

CITY COUNCIL Special Meeting at 3 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611670896 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 167 0896 

AGENDA: City Council Legislative System Redesign (packet 138 pages) this is the evolution of the proposals that started with former councilmember Droste to establish rules for how council policy committees function and how major legislation submitted by councilmembers needs to be prepared including checklists to be completed and processed with time frames for submission. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting at 6 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611670896 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 167 0896 

AGENDA: Use the link and choose the html option or see the agenda listed at the end of the calendar. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023 

 

COMMISSION on DISABILITY at 5 pm 

In-Person: at 1901 Hearst, North Berkeley Senior Center, Aspen Room 

AGENDA: Staff Updates 7. 2023 Log of Access Complaints, 8. Email and voicemail sent to commission, 9. Sept meeting follow-up, Discussion/Action Items: 10. 2024 calendar, 11. CoD membership, 12. Workplan, Carried Over & Items for future meetings a. Civic Center Subcommittee, b. Safer Pathways. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/commission-disability 

 

PARKS, RECREATION & WATERFRONT COMMISSION at 7 pm 

In-Person: at 2800 Park, Frances Albrier Community Center 

AGENDA: 8. Director’s Report (Ferris), 9. Aquatic Park update on public arts project, Discussion/Action: 10. Possible parks tax increase ballot measure, 11. Proposed Ohlone Greenway Improvement Project, 12. Feedback on draft Waterfront Specific Plan and EIR process. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/parks-recreation-and-waterfront-commission 

 

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD at 6:30 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1901 Hearst, North Berkeley Senior Center 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82653396072 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 

Meeting ID: 826 5339 6072 

AGENDA: 3. Public comment on agenda and non-agenda items, 6. ODPA Staff Report 8. Chief’s Report9. Subcommittee reports,10. Policy complaint 2023-PR-000511. Policy complaints 2023-PR-0006, 2023-PR-0007, 2023-PR-0008 12. Public comment, 13. Closed Session 14 complaints 2-23-Cl-0001 – 2023-Cl-0014 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/police-accountability-board 

 

Thursday, October 12, 2023 

 

BUDGET & FINANCE Committee at 10 am 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 2180 Mivia, 6th Floor, Redwood Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611557693 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 155 7693 

AGENDA: 2. Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Appropriations Ordinance (AAO), 3. Accept the Risk Analysis for Long-Term Debt, 4. Investment Report Update – Investment Policies of other jurisdictions, 5. Audit recommendations status – Berkeley Police Improvements Needed to Manage Overtime and Security Work for Outside Entities, 6. Audit status report – Fleet replacement & Rocky Road Berkeley Streets at risk and significantly underfunded. (packet 92 pages – no documents on AAO) 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/policy-committee-budget-finance 

 

ZONING ADJUSTMENT BOARD at 7 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84781420938 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171  

Meeting ID: 847 8142 0938 

AGENDA: 2712 Telegraph – on consent – Use Permit #ZP2022-0179 – to demolish two non-residential structures and construct a 41,065 sq ft 6-story (70 ft) mixed-use residential building containing 40 dwelling units (4-very-low income), 590 sq ft commercial space, 2 auto parking spaces and 46 bicycle spaces, utilizing State Density Bonus. 

2411 Sixth Street – on consent – Use Permit #ZP2023-0101 – to legalize the demolition of a non-conforming single-family dwelling and construct a 2,058 sq ft 2-story (22 ft) conforming single family dwelling 

2924 Russell - on action – Appeal of Zoning Officer’s decision to approve Administrative Use Permit #ZP2023-0081 to install an unenclosed hot tub in rear yard. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/zoning-adjustments-board 

 

WATER EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (WETA) at 1 pm 

Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at Port of San Francisco Pier 1 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89718217408 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 

Meeting ID: 897 1821 7408 Password: 33779 

AGENDA: 5. Staff reports – (peak hour utilization is not available, farebox recovery is listed as 21% - without a cut of Bridge Tolls and Federal & State funding WETA could not stay afloat), 7. Agreement with UBER for Alameda Mainstreet Terminal Rideshare program, 8. Adopt Fares between Mission Bay and South San Francisco, 9. Filing for an application with MTC for $700,000 in Regional Measure 3 Capital Funds. 

https://weta.sanfranciscobayferry.com/next-board-meeting 

 

Friday, October 13, 2023 – Reduced Service Day 

 

Saturday, October 14, 2023 

 

BERKELEY NEIGHBORHOODS COUNCIL at 10 am 

Videoconference:  

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4223188307?pwd=dFlNMVlVZ2d6b0FnSHh3ZlFwV2NMdz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171 Meeting ID: 422 318 8307 Passcode: 521161 

AGENDA: Check later in the week 

https://berkeleyneighborhoodscouncil.com/ 

 

Sunday, October 15, 2023  

 

BERKELEY BIRD FESTIVAL from 8 am – 5 pm 

Check the website there is something for everyone: field trips, bird watching, sidewalk chalk drawing, tours of the UC Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, poetry, stories, children’s art and presentations at the Brower Center on birding, bird safe home plants for birds 

https://berkeleybirdfestival.org/ 

 

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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA for Regular 6 pm Meeting on October 10, 2023 

Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611670896 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free)  

Meeting ID: 161 167 0896 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

 

AGENDA on CONSENT: 

1. 2nd reading of the ADU Ordinance No. 7,888-N.S. passed on Oct 3 to read ordinance go to https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2023-10-10%20Item%20A%20Ordinance%207888.pdf

1. Numainville, City Clerk – City Council Rules of Procedure and Order Revisions – Removed by City Manager
2. Hollander, Economic Development – Write-off of a delinquent revolving loan fund (RLF) Balance of $25,000 oved by Kidventurez, Inc.
3. Oyekanmi, Finance – Formal Bid Solicitation and requests for RFP, Hazardous Fire Fuel Treatment $4,000,000
4. Warhuus, HHCS – Revenue Contracts: Aging Services Programs, FY 2024-2026, a. Congregate Meals $213,000, b. Home Delivered Meals $440,000, Family Caregiver Support Program $126,500, d. Senior Center Activities $136,000, e. Information and assistance Services $460,000
5. Warhuus, HHCS – Amend Contract add $10,760 total $139,400 with City Data Services to Develop and maintain Homelessness Prevention reporting module in online data management utilized by HHCS
6. Kouyoumdjian, HR – Establish classification and salary range for Graphic Designer hourly $39.5233 - $48.5000 annually $82,208.4870 - $100,880.0000
7. Klein, Planning – Contract $128,375 from 12/1/2023 – 11/31/2028 with EdgeSoft for Data Automation Services and Support for Toxics Management Division
8. Louis, Police – Contract (appears to be amendment though not listed as such) for $344,500 total not to exceed $425,000 with Flock Safety to provide ALPR Cameras Services and extend term to two years from date of implementations,
9. Garland, Public Works – Amend Contract #32300191 add $150,000 total $260,000 with Pacific Site Management for Landscaping Services for Public works and HHCS
10. Garland, Public works – Amend Contract #108037-1 add $350,000 total $480,000 with MSR Mechanical, LLC for on-call heating, ventilation and air conditioning services
11. Garland, Public Works – Grant Application to BART for $3,000,000 from the Safe Routes to BART (SR2B) Grant Program to help close the funding gap for construction of safet