g Worth Noting:

Another busy week. What looks like the most important meetings highligghted covering things like DEI, Gaza, racist text scandal, block grants, and when building projects require a public hearing or counter approval by staff and what projects can be appealed.

On Tuesday at 6 pm as if we haven’t already had enough in this city that votes about 97% for Democrats is the Trump address to congress. No matter what our tolerance, we should be watching it.  

• Monday, March 3, 2025:
  • At 2:30 pm the Agenda Committee meets in the hybrid format.
  • At 7 pm the Peace and Justice Commission meets in person with opposition to American occupation of Gaza on the Agenda.
  • At 7 pm the Personnel Board meets in person.
• Tuesday, March 4, 2025: There is no council meeting.
  • At 6 pm Trump will address the Joint Session of Congress. The speech will be carried by PBS, major stations and online.
  • At 3:30 pm the Civic Arts Public Art subcommittee meets on Zoom.
• Wednesday, March 5, 2025:
  • At 2 pm the council FITES Committee meets in the hybrid format with Measure FF and Telegraph on the agenda.
  • At 6 pm the Planning Commission meets in person with a public hearing on Standard Conditions of Approval which means when does a building project require a public hearing/review and when is it an approval by staff with no public hearing.
  • At 6:30 pm the PAB meets in person with police texts and council Public Safety Committee response on the agenda.
  • At 6:30 pm BOLT meets in person.
  • At 7 pm the Homeless Services Panel of Experts meets in person at 7 pm with access to vaccines on the agenda.
• Thursday, March 6, 2025:
  • At 6:30 pm the Landmarks Preservation Commission meets in person.
  • At 7 pm the Housing Advisory Commission meets in person with DEI and block grants on the agenda.
• Saturday, March 8, 2025:
  • At 10 am is a bicycle tour of the marina cost $10/person.
  • At 10:30 am is Fatherhood Initiative Spring Cohort.

Check City website for meetings posted on short notice https://berkeleyca.gov

If you are unable to attend a meeting in person and/or it is not offered in the hybrid or an accessible format, TO REQUEST A DISABILITY RELATED ACCOMMODATION(S) TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING, including auxiliary aids or services, please contact the Disability Services specialist at 510-981-6418 (V) or 510-981-6347 at least 3 days before the meeting (the sooner the better). Thomas Gregory is the ADA Program Coordinator.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND CIVIC EVENTS  

Sunday, March 2, 2025 – no meetings found 

 

Monday, March 3, 2025 

 

AGENDA and RULES COMMITTEE at 2:30 pm  

Members: Ishii, Taplin, Humbert alternate Bartlett 

Hybrid Meeting: 

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

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1614776340 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free)  

Meeting ID: 161 477 6340 

Public Comment on non-agenda and items 1 – 7. 1. Minutes, 2. Review and Approve - 3/11/2025 -- draft agenda – use link or read full draft agenda below at the end of the list of city meetings, 3. Berkeley Considers, 4. Adjournment in Memory, 5. Council Worksessions, 6. Referrals for scheduling, 7. Land Use Calendar, Referred Items for Review: none Unscheduled Items: 8. City Council Legislative Redesign 

Old Items Determined by Committee to Remove: 

• Discussion Regarding Design and Strengthening of Policy Committees Process and Structure (Including Budget Referrals),
• Discussion and Recommendations on the Continued Use of Berkeley Considers Online Engagement Portal,
• Discussion and Possible Action on City Council Rules of Decorum, Procedural Rules, and Remote Public Comments
• Modifications or Improvements to City Council Meeting Procedures,
• Strengthening and Supporting City Commission: Guidance on Development of Legislative Proposals
• Consideration of Changes to Supplemental Material Timelines

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/policy-committee-agenda-rules 

 

PERSONNEL BOARD at 7 pm 

In-Person: at 1301 Shattuck, Live Oak Community Center 

AGENDA: IV. Recommendation to extend temporary position Manager of Aging Services, V. Recommendation to extend project based appointment Landscape Gardener, VI. Request from the Office of Director of Police Accountability, VII. Report by Interim Director of HR, VIII. Copy of Berkeley Matters. 

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

 

PEACE and JUSTICE COMMISSION at 7 pm 

In-Person: at 2939 Ellis, South Berkeley Senior Center 

AGENDA Discussion/Action Items: 1. Presentation on ensuring and Protecting Trans Sex Equality, 2. Progress Flag at 1231 Addison, 3. Resolution Opposing an American Occupation of Gaza, 4. Preliminary Discussion on Elements for a Recommendation to Council on Protecting Transgender Rights in Berkeley, 5. Training on Proper Procedure to Submit a Commission Recommendation to Council, 6. Sanctuary City for LGBTQIA2S+ People, 7. Federal Actions Targeting the LBGTQ Community. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/peace-and-justice-commission 

 

Tuesday, March 4, 2025 

 

CIVIC ARTS COMMISSION Public Art Subcommittee at 3:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1616125937 

AGENDA: Check later 

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

 

Wednesday, March 5, 2025 

 

FACILITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORTATION, ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY (FITES) at 2 pm 

Hybrid Meeting: 

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

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1607619923 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free)  

Meeting ID: 160 761 9923 

AGENDA: 2. Taplin - Measure FF Next Steps, 3. Humbert - Restarting the Complete Streets Process on Telegraph. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/policy-committee-facilities-infrastructure-transportation-environment-sustainability 

 

BOARD of LIBRARY TRUSTEES (BOLT) at 6:30 pm 

In-Person: at 1901 Russell, Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch 

AGENDA: II. B. On Consent Amend Contract No, 32000087 add $51,733.57 total $169,217.57 with Comprise Technologies, Inc for the provision of a PC Time and Print Management System, III. Action A. Unclaimed Property and Lost & Found Policy Update, B. Serving with a Purpose Conference. 

 

HOMELESS SERVICES PANEL of EXPERTS (HSPE) at 7 pm 

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

AGENDA: 6. Development of HSPE bylaws, 7. Identifying sites and planning for site visits in 2025, 8. Discussion on health care and vaccine access for unsheltered, uninsured or underinsured residents since sunset of the Bridge Access Program, 9. Discussion on the existing barriers to expand operational hours for health and social services. 

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

 

PLANNING COMMISSION at 6 pm 

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

AGENDA: 11. A. Public Hearing: Standard Conditions of Approval which means when does a building project require a public hearing/review and when is it an approval by staff with no public hearing, B. Accessory dwelling Unit (ADU) Discussion, (packet 157 pages) 

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

 

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD (PAB) at 6:30 pm  

Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1900 Addison, 3^rd Floor 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89174589069 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833  

Meeting ID: 891 7458 9069 

AGENDA: 3. Public Comment on agenda and non-agenda items, 5. ODPA Staff Report a. ODPA Recap “Honoring Black Voices, Advancing Justice” Community visioning session, b. Police Accountability Newsletter 6. Board member reports, 7. Chief Report, 9. Discussion/Action Items a. Review BPD Mutual Aid Agreements, b. Restructuring subcommittees, c. Recognizing former PAB members, d. April 17 Police Accountability Day, e. Police Equipment and Community Safety Report, f. Recap, discussion and action on next steps after PAB’s presentation to the council Public Safety Committee on texting offenses and fair and impartial policing, 10. Public Comment, 11. Closed Session. 

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

 

Thursday, March 6, 2025 

 

HOUSING ADVISORY COMMISSION (HAC) at 7 pm 

In-Person: at 2939 Ellis, South Berkeley Senior Center 

AGENDA: 6. Overview of Berkeley’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Discussion and Action on Options Recovery Services Application for the City of Berkeley’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Public Policy. 

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

 

LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION (LPC) at 6:30 pm 

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

AGENDA: 6. 2033-2035 Francisco Street – #LMIN2024-0003 - Landmark or Structure of Merit Designation 

7. 2231 McKinley – #LMIN2024-0005 - Landmark or Structure of Merit – Residential property 

8. 2138 Cedar – #LMSAP2024-0008 - Structural Alteration Permit (#LMSAP2024-0008) for Grace North Church – request to install new landscape features 

9. 21 Mosswood Road - #LMIN2024-0007 - Landmark or Structure of Merit – residential property listed on the National Register of Historic Places 

10. 2425 Durant - #LIMSAP2025-0002 - Structural Alteration Permit 

11. 2113-2115 Kittredge - #LMSAP2024-0002 - Structural Alteration Permit 

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

 

Friday, March 7, 2025 - no meetings found 

 

Saturday, March 8, 2025 

 

BICYCLE TOUR of the MARINA at 10 am  

Location Start Point: at 160 University 

Use link for details and to register: registration required, cost $10 per person. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/bicycle-tour-berkeley-marina 

 

FATHERHOOD INITIATIVE SPRING COHORT at 10:30 am  

Location: at 2090 Kittredge, Berkeley Central Library, 3^rd floor, Community Meeting Room 

Use link for details and to register, event is free, child friendly, lunch provided 

https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/fatherhood-initiative-spring-cohort 

 

Sunday, March 9, 2025 – no meetings found 

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

 

++++++ AGENDA & RULES COMMITTEE, Monday, March 3, 2025 +++++++++++ 

 

AGENDA and RULES COMMITTEE at 2:30 pm on March 3, 2025 

Members: Ishii, Taplin, Humbert 

Hybrid Meeting 

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

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1608705681 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free)  

Meeting ID: 160 870 5681 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/policy-committee-agenda-rules 

 

DRAFT AGENDA for City Council Regular 6 pm Meeting on March 25, 2025 

 

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

CEREMONIAL MATTERS: PLEDGE of ALLEGIANCE 

CITY MANAGER COMMENTS 

PUBLIC COMMENTS on NON-AGENDA MATTERS 

 

AGENDA on CONSENT: 

1. Fong, It – Amend Contract No. 31900122-1 add $120,000 total $794,300 with Rolling Orange, Inc for website maintenance and support 3/1/2019 – 6/30/2027
2. Davis, Public Works – Contract $5,500,000 with Pride Industries for Citywide Custodial Services at 21 locations in total for 4/1/2025 – 3/31/2028 with an option for two 1 year extensions for maximum 5 years
3. Davis, Public works – Contract $8,962,808 which includes 10% contingency of $814,800 with SubTerra Constructions, Inc. for sewer rehabilitation project and reimbursement contracts with UC $210,000, Addison Labs Foundation $120,000 and Core Services $120,000.
4. Davis, Public Works – Amend Contract No. 32400141 add $100,000 total $225,000 with Mercury Associates, Inc. for fleet consulting services 12/1/2023 – 12/30/2026
5. Davis, Public Works Contract $470,910 which includes a 10% contingency of $42,810 for urgent sewer repair FY 2025 Project
6. Davis, Public Works – Initiate FY 2026 Street Lighting Assessments
7. Davis, Public Works – Establish Measure FF Safe Streets Citizen Oversight Committee
8. Lunaparra – Relinquishments of Office Budget funds for California Triathion club

AGENDA on ACTION: 

9. Sprague, Fire – 2024 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP)
10. Louis, Police – Revised External Fixed Surveillance Camera Locations away from areas covered by ALPR to high pedestrian traffic and Vendor Transition from Edgeworth Integration, LLC to Flock Safety Center/MLK, College Ashby, Milvia/Allston, 9^th/Gilman, Center/Shattuck, Adeline/Fairview, Durant/Telegraph, Shattuck/Ashby, 4^th/Virginia, 62^nd/King, University/MLK
11. Commission on the status of Women – Formation of a Sex Trafficking Task Force to Address Current Sex Trafficking

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

 

+++ FINAL AGENDA for March 11, 2025 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR Meeting at 6 pm +++ 

 

CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting at 6 pm on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 

Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison, BUSD Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1618265658 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free)  

Meeting ID: 161 826 5658 

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

 

To comment: email council@berkeleyca.gov 

 

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

CEREMONIAL MATTERS: Adjourn in Memory of Polly Armstrong former District 8 City Councilmember and Marty Shiffenbauer, Community Activist 

CITY MANAGER COMMENTS 

PUBLIC COMMENTS on NON-AGENDA MATTERS 

PUBLIC COMMENT by EMPLOYEE UNIONS 

 

AGENDA on CONSENT: 

1. Budenhagen, City Manager – 2^nd reading – Inclusionary Housing Ordinance In-Lieu fee
2. Klein, Planning – 2^nd reading – Zoning Ordinance Amendments to State Law related to EV Charging and Technical edits
3. Numainville, City Clerk –Police Accountability Board – Appointment by Humbert of New Member
4. Numainville, City Clerk – 2025 Updated Commissioners’ and Board Members’ Manuel
5. Radu, City Manager’s Office – Contract $57,908.08 with Edgeworth Integration LLC to Purchase and Provide Installation of New Security System Server at Berkeley Animal Care Services
6. Oyekanmi, Finance – Formal Bid Solicitations, total $4,775,000, Plan Checking Services and City of Berkeley Billboard Relocation Agreement $4,500,000, Generator Maintenance Services Building M $275,000
7. Sprague, Fire – Annual Purchase Orders for L.N. Curtis and Sons, PO for FY 2026 shall not exceed $330,000 with an annual increase no more than 5% each year through 3/27/2028. A 20% contingency is added, total amount $1,040,324
8. Gilman, HHCS – Amend Contract No. 32400177 add $60,000 total $180,000 with Dr. Lisa B. Hernandez for Health Officer Coverage
9. Gilman, HHCS – Joint Homekey Application for MLK House at 2942-44 MLK Jr Way
10. Gilman, HHCS – Authorize Integration of BUSD Preferences with the City of Berkeley’s Housing Preference Policy for BUSD Workforce Housing Project (1701 San Pablo
11. Walker, HR – Salary Adjustments – Deputy Director of Public Works increase to $110.9807 per hour (annual $230,839.86) and Deputy Director of HHCS increase to $107.0460 per hour (annual $222,65568)
12. Walker, HR – Berkeley Fire Fighter Association – Side Letters Pertaining to Probationary Periods, Pre-Promotional Academies and Vacation Slots
13. Walker, HR – Berkeley Chief Fire Officers Associations Side Letter – Battalion Coverage
14. Tregub, co-sponsors Bartlett, O’Keefe – Referral to the City Manager to make a recommendation for further Council action: Transfer Tax Exemption for 100% Affordable Housing Projects
15. Tregub, co-sponsor Taplin – Referral to 4 x 4 Committee: Removing On-Site Manager Exemption Loophole for Certain Multi-Family Properties that are Adjacent and/or Share the Same Common Area
16. Hahn – First Year Free – Fill Empty Storefronts – reviewed by Land Use Committee and forwarded to council with a negative recommendation to take no action

AGENDA on ACTION: 

17. Klein, Planning – Public Hearing - Appeal of Special Assessment Tax Lien – 1806 Walnut – Staff recommend to reject the appeal
18. Housing Advisory Commission – Adopt an Ordinance to Prohibit the Sale or Use of Algorithmic Devices to Set Rents or Manage Occupancy Levels for Residential Dwelling Units – Policy Committee qualified positive recommendation

INFORMATION REPORTS: 

19. Oyekanmi, Finance –FY 2025 First Quarter Investment Report: Ended 9/30/2024

 

+++++++++++++++++++ Land Use - Work Sessions - Special Meetings +++++++++++++++ 

 

LAND USE CALENDAR 

• 3000 Shattuck (construct 10-story mixed-use building) 3/25/2025
• 2274 Shattuck (UA theater Project) 4/22/2025
• 1048 Keith (single family house) 5/6/2025
• 2500-2512 San Pablo / 1094-1098 Dwight 5/20/2025

WORK SESSIONS & SPECIAL MEETINGS: 

• March 11 (start at 5 pm) City Council Referral Prioritization
• March 18 (4 pm) Berkeley Police Department Annual Update
• March 25 (4 pm) Pavement Management Program Development
• April 22 (6 pm) City Council ZAB Appeal Hearing for UA Theater Project
• April 29 (4 pm) Presentation on City’s Unfunded Liabilities
• May 13 (new date) (6 pm) Evacuation Study and Response Times

UNSCHEDULED WORK SESSIONS & SPECIAL MEETINGS 

Council Referral: Mixed-Income Housing 

FUTURE INFORMATION REPORTS 

1. Reimagining Public Safety Update
2. Affordable Housing Fee Feasibility Study
3. Berkeley Fire Department Annual Report
4. Greenhouse Gas Inventory / Climate Action Plan Update

PREVIOUSLY LISTED WORKSESSIONS and SPECIAL MEETINGS REMOVED FROM LIST 

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

Feasibility Study Follow Up Session 

 

++++ How to get on or off the Activist’s Calendar and Activist’s Diary email list ++++++++ 

 

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. 

 

What do you do when you ask your daughter if your granddaughter is vaccinated against measles and she won’t answer?

That may be a question asked in many places not just by a friend to her daughter.

Just a day ago the Texas Department of State Health Services announced an unvaccinated child died from measles in the ongoing outbreak in the Texas South Plains and Panhandle regions. https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/texas-announces-first-death-measles-outbreak

This is so tragic. A child died from a wholly preventable disease, because of the failure to be vaccinated against measles. 

The first Measles vaccine was released in 1963. In 1971 the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) was licensed. The MMRV which added the varicella vaccine to the MMR was approved in 2005. 

Measles was declared eliminated in the United states in 2000 thanks to a very high percentage of people receiving the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. And then the anti-vaccine movement took hold. 

Texas with a high rate of unvaccinated children is the center of the current measles outbreak and the location of the unvaccinated child that died from measles. The CDC reported as of February 20, 2025 measles cases in eight jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island, and Texas. 

If you read the CDC report, note that a child is not fully vaccinated until after two doses of the MMR. The first does is recommended to start at age 12 to 15 months though during an epidemic or with travel the first dose of MMR can be given to an infant as young as 6 months. The second dose is at age 4 years to 6 years. Older children, teenagers and adults who have not been vaccinated at all still need two doses of the MMR or MMRV (varicella-chicken pox added) vaccine with at least 28 days between the first dose and the second dose. An extra dose during an epidemic is not harmful. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html 

In 1989, California had a measles outbreak that lasted through 1990 with more than 16,400 reported cases, 3,390 hospital admissions and 75 deaths. 

I remember it well. I was a relatively new manager in the pediatric clinic at Kaiser Oakland and one of my areas of responsibility was the pediatric injection clinic where vaccines were given. 

Measles is the most contagious disease we know of. It is airborne and so contagious that just being in a room after someone infected with measles has left is enough for a susceptible person to become infected from the virus still floating in the air. Roughly 9 out of 10 unvaccinated children exposed to measles will become infected. 

When someone is exposed to measles, the protective action to prevent infection or to modify the clinical course of disease is to give the MMR (measles vaccine) within 72 hours of exposure.  

At Kaiser we were contacting every family of a child that had been registered one hour before the sick child with measles to two hours after. During the peak of the epidemic, in the Oakland pediatric vaccine clinic we were vaccinating more than 350 children a day. 

As noted by the Texas Health Department and various other sources, people who are infected with measles will begin to have symptoms within a week or two and are contagious from about four days before the rash appears to four days after. 

To quote from Dr. Peter Hotez, who was interviewed on several shows after the news of a child dying from measles, said this: 

“[M]easles is a serious illness. In the 1980s, 3 million kids died every year from measles. It was the single leading killer of children globally. Now through GAVI, the Global Alliance of Vaccines and Immunizations, we’ve brought it down to 100,000 deaths – still a lot of deaths…The minute you stop vaccinating and maintaining that vigilance of 90-95% vaccine coverage, the measles comes roaring back… 

What happens [when you get infected] is you get a prodrome [early symptom] of what we used to call the three Cs – cough, coryza, which means upper respiratory involvement and congestion, conjunctivitis – followed by the rash. And the rash is occurring because the virus is getting into the bloodstream and disseminating to the skin and all parts of the body. And unfortunately, that includes what we call hematogenous spread to the lungs, and it causes a very damaging pneumonitis [inflammation of the lungs] and pneumonia, and then can also result in encephalitis [swelling and inflammation of the brain] and other involvement.” 

Back in 2015 when the Berkeley City Council was taking a vote to support California SB 277 the immunization requirement bill for children entering child care or school, Councilmember Wengraf related that she moved to California to take a job as a teacher of deaf children who because of measles had lost their hearing. (Governor Brown signed SB 277 on June 30, 2015.) 

My next door childhood playmate was deaf from a measles infection. When we reached school age the family moved to Faribault, Minnesota where there was a school for deaf and blind children. 

As a retired RN who still maintains a Registered Nurse license and Public Health Nurse Certificate, there are not words suitable for print describing the frustration I feel toward anti-science and anti-vaccine movements like Health Freedom and the Health Freedom Defense Fund. 

I temper that frustration with understanding; the problem with public health is that when it is working we don’t notice it. 

The problem with childhood vaccinations is that most adults today have no memory or experience with the complications, disabilities and deaths vaccines prevent. This week the first childhood death from measles in over a decade might put a wedge into the anti-vaccine mantra that vaccines are more dangerous than the disease. 

The constant sewage of rage, disinformation, misinformation that flows across social media is spread by charismatic influencers who place themselves as the ones to be trusted, not physicians and scientistsm, feeds into conspiracies and fears. “Snake oil salesmen” (and women) have been around since the beginning of time. 

Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr (RFKjr) professed during the U.S. Senate hearings on his appointment by Trump to be Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) that he was all in on supporting vaccinations, even convincing Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy (Republican – former Democrat) whose life’s work as a physician has been to advocate for vaccines including running large-scale vaccine programs. Cassidy didn’t just vote for RFKjr, he gave a speech in the Senate in support of RFKjr after being convinced by-him that as Secretary of HHS he would support vaccines. 

RFKJr as Secretary of HHS will oversee the CDC, NIH, FDA, Indian Health Services, Medicare and Medicaid. See the full HHS Organizational Chart here: https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/orgchart/index.html 

Now on the job, RFKjr put the vaccine schedule in his crosshairs on day one. Cassidy should have known better than to trust RFKjr. There is plenty of recent history on RFKjr’s anti-vax stance. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/17/health/robert-f-kennedy-jr-polio-vaccines.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tU4.uG9l.ZJ9Irv4jPRuZ&smid=url-share 

There is a sordid underbelly to RFKjr’s use of his father’s legacy and the recognition of the Robert Kennedy name to peddle the repeatedly studied and debunked theory that the measles vaccine (MMR – Measles, Mumps, Rubella) causes autism. 

Yesterday at a Trump cabinet meeting, RFKjr said there were only two measles deaths and claimed there was nothing unusual with the outbreak and that the reason 20 children were hospitalized was for quarantine. 

Anyone hearing this should know better.  

Dr. Lara Johnson, chief medical officer for Covenant Health Hospital in Lubbock, Texas where eighteen children are hospitalized with measles complications said they do not hospitalize to quarantine a child, that measles is a serious illness with a mortality rate of about a 3%. They hospitalize to manage symptoms with supportive care like supplemental high-flow oxygen and escalating support as needed. 

I’ve read the original 1998 article by Wakefield in The Lancet, where Wakefield hinted of a newly discovered syndrome linking the MMR vaccine and autism. It took over a decade before Wakefield’s scientifically and ethically flawed paper was withdrawn and his license revoked. By that time serious damage was done and the anti-vaccine movement surged. 

I also read Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism: My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician and Autism Dad by Peter J. Hotez. The book is the very personal story of science and coping with a child with autism. 

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of genetic origins, in plain language, everything known to cause autism occurs during early brain development in the fetus. Autism is not caused by vaccines and a child can’t be made autistic. Two important identified factors are the age of the parents particularly the father and the health of the mother during pregnancy. Age 34 and older is associated with increased risk of autism. Maternal Health during pregnancy is important throughout a pregnancy and it is especially important in early pregnancy when the brain of the fetus is developing. 

Back to RFKjr 

It should be noted that the anti-vaccine nonprofit Children’s Health Defense (CHD) was founded by Eric Gladen under the name of World Mercury Project. The income of the World Mercury Project jumped from $13,000 in 2014 to $470,000 in 2015 when RFKJr joined the board and the name was changed to Children’s Health Defense. Income (rounded) in 2020 was $6,800,000, in 2021 $16,000,000 and $23,500,000 in 2022. 

RFKJr’s income from Children’s Health Defense is found in ProPublica Nonprofit explorer. Note that in 2023 while RFKJr was “chairman on leave” he was still paid $326,056 in compensation. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/260388604 

RFKjr also reaps income through anti-vaccine lawsuits. 

One of the early theories on the MMR vaccine and autism pointed to the tiny amount of the mercury based preservative Thimerosal used in vaccines. Though there was never any finding of any association between Thimerosal and autism, it was removed from childhood vaccines in the United Sates in 2001. 

Thimerosal is still used for some formulations of inactivated influenza vaccines in multi-dose vials, however, flu vaccine in single dose vials (one person one dose), pre-filled syringes and nasal spray do not normally contain thimerosal. (You can always ask if that is your fixation.) 

Only one Republican, Mitch McConnell a survivor of polio voted with the Democrats against the confirmation of RFKjr with the final count of 52 to confirm and 48 noes. 

RFKjr has said no vaccines are safe. Polio is another vaccine under his attack. 

Polio has existed since prehistoric times. FDR contracted polio at age 39 in 1921. 

The Berkeley Times (in print only) devoted two full pages to Zona Roberts (1920 – 2025) and her activism for persons with disabilities describing her as a pioneer in the disability rights movement. Her son Ed Roberts for whom the Ed Roberts Campus is named contracted polio at 14 in 1953 and came home as a quadriplegic in an iron lung. 

As a little kid, I remember my dad wanting to stop in Chicago during a family road trip and my mother absolutely refusing saying, “there is polio in Chicago.” I didn’t know what polio was, but I understood it was something terrible from my mother’s response. 

Polio the scourge of the 1940s and 1950s ended with the polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk in 1955. Dr. Albert B. Sabin developed a second polio vaccine in 1961. 

RFK Jr was born in 1954. He would not have gone to kindergarten with children in wheelchairs from contracting polio as I did. He would have no memory of ambulance after ambulance rushing children with polio to the Sister Kenny Institute as my brother-in-law did. 

Sister Elizabeth Kenny opened the Sister Kenny Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1942. The Sister Kenny Institute still exists as the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute but with the polio vaccine effectively eliminating paralysis and death from polio the focus has shifted to serious injuries like brain injury, spinal cord injury or stroke. 

If you are paying attention, polio is making a comeback with the anti-vax movements and war in Gaza. 

In June 2022 a young unvaccinated man in his 20s from the Jewish Orthodox community in Rockland County, New York showed up in the emergency room with weakness and paralysis creating a public health emergency with the diagnosis of polio. According to news reporting some took quick advantage of free public vaccination clinics while others in the community called it a hoax and declined. 

With the bombing and destruction of infrastructure, hospitals, loss of clean water, and loss of sanitation facilities in Gaza a 10-month old Palestinian baby in Gaza contracted polio in July 2024. To stop the spread of polio two humanitarian ceasefires were called for the two dose administration of the polio vaccine with the required four week wait between the first and second dose. The funding for the critical polio vaccination drive (2 doses) in Gaza for over 640,000 Gazan children under the age of 10 came from His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. 

The vaccinations were delivered in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) (January 20, 2025 Trump EO to withdraw from WHO), UNICEF and UNRWA (the U.S. stopped funding UNWRA in March 2024 until March 25, 2025 and Israel currently bans UNRWA from access to Gaza and the West Bank). 

Polio outbreaks are also reported in Pakistan and French Guiana. 

Keeping track of disease trends is what health professionals look for in the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) from the CDC. The banner on the CDC website stating “CDC’s website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders” is gone now, but not being stepped the content I can’t tell you what was removed or modified. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index.html 

The MMWR is shared worldwide. Shutting down communication from the CDC has worldwide impact not just within the U.S. 

Right now, there is a Tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas City, Kansas with 67 confirmed cases. 

Over 900 dairy herds in California are infected with Bird Flu (H5N1), the virus has been found in 16 states. Bird flu is not just in birds and dairy, it has also infected seals, bears, foxes, skunks, opossums, racoons, bobcats, goats, alpacas, otters, lynxes, polecats, badgers, racoons, farmed mink, stray and domestic cats and dogs and zoo animals such as tigers and leopards. So far people infected with bird flu is around 70. 

If you are following the price of eggs, depending on what source you check over 20 million egg laying hens have been culled. 

Infectious disease isn’t going away. 

MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) is a noble endeavor, however, RFKJr’s approach to take an eight-year hiatus from the study of infectious disease to devote research to chronic disease is definitely wrong-headed. 

These days everything is on the chopping block, federal funding, grants and of course the people with no thought or understanding to the massive impact of the firing of federal employees like the scientists and food inspectors who protect our health, the IRS employees who process our taxes, the USAID workers who provided assistance worldwide while at the same time monitored the spread of contagious disease and watched for brewing epidemics. 

I am probably being too generous describing the destruction of government and government services unfolding before our eyes as being done out of ignorance, when what we see can only be explained as relishing in the impact to maximize the shock value of gutting the government to make way for harvesting the spoils. 

Show up if you can, call often and email telling our senators, representatives, elected to stand up and stand firm. If we still had John Lewis, we wouldn’t have to tell him to stand up, he would stand firm until he was arrested and carried away.  

The NIH is one of my go to sources when I am looking for research studies. Given the current scrubbing of government websites to remove any words, references that don’t align with the beliefs of the Trump administration, I signed up for the Center for Infectious Disease, Research and Policy (CIDRAP) daily newsletter from the University of Minnesota. It is free and CIDRAP covers the cost of removing the paywalls from references. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu 

"It was a truly disturbing moment: a former president, who tried to undermine democracy, bullying a man who is fighting to preserve it. The scene was set in the Oval Office, where President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, both TV stars-turned-politicians, engaged in a disgraceful confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump, whose draft-dodging past contrasts sharply with Zelensky's wartime bravery, took the opportunity to berate him for not being grateful enough to America. He accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War III” and demanded more gratitude, despite Zelensky’s repeated thanks for American support. To further insult Zelensky, a member of Trump’s handpicked press pool mocked him for not wearing a suit, echoing Trump’s earlier remarks about his attire.

The most shocking part of this spectacle was Trump’s alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a tyrant bent on swallowing Ukraine. Trump claimed that Putin had suffered alongside him during the "Russia, Russia, Russia" witch hunt and seemed baffled by Zelensky’s justified hatred of Putin’s brutal invasion.

Zelensky’s steadfastness and leadership are the qualities we need in these trying times. Trump, however, remains consumed by his delusions of grandeur, unable to see the truth of the situation or to act in the best interests of Ukraine and the free world.

Gar Smith

Antisocial Media

Xfinity is currently running radio ads promoting their 5G systems as tools of social enrichment—when the truth is that they are actually pushing a high-tech world of social isolation.

The ad begins with a frantic call from a panicked dad who phones Xfinity with the following question: "My daughter just invited her entire class to her birthday party! Will my WiFi handle it?"

The Xfinity operator assures him that its 5G system can simultaneously handle "hundreds of calls". He replies with relief: "So the kids can watch stuff on their phones while the parents share movies online!"

If this was a TV ad, it could close with a panoramic shot of multiple dozens of kids and adults sprawled across chairs, sofas, beds and carpets with their eyes fixed on little glowing screens.

This is not "social media." It is "anti-social media"—applied in the form of a self-administered techo-overdose. 

Immigration Criminalization  

With millions of working Americans struggling to stay housed and fed, Trump continues to monetize—by upwards of $88 billion—his vengeful plan to un-house and deport hundreds of thousands of "illegal immigrants." (All in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids the use of Pentagon troops to enforce domestic military functions. 

While American families pay escalating costs to the corporate suppliers of food and housing, Trump plans to arrest and jail 30,000 immigrants in Guantanamo, the Pentagon's Cuban prison. 

And how will the arrestees be shunted to this notorious military jail? According to Win Without War: "The cost to operate a C-17 military transport aircraft is $28,500 per hour. A flight back and forth to Guatemala, only counting time spent in the air, takes about 10½ hours, ticking up a bill of $300,000 per flight." 

Meanwhile, Der Trump maintains a contradictory stance on the question: "migrants: good or bad." Trump plans to offer "Gold Cards" to rich foreigners willing to pay $5 million to become official US immigrants. While cash-strapped "immigrant hoards" remain intolerable in Trump's America, our Ocher Ogre is all for adding to the immigrant tides by driving 2 million Palestinians from their homes to face a bleak and uncertain future. 

Win WIthout War has a petition with a simple statement you can sign to protest the criminalization of migrants. Servicemembers should be safeguarding and protecting people, not hunting down families seeking refuge. 

 

  As Phony As a Two-dollar Bill

  The Grifter-in-Chief likes to conjure self-celebrating "personality totems" bearing his name and/or likeness and offered to his mega-MAGA fans for real money. We've seen it all: Trump University, Trump AI-generated Superhero cards (featuring a lean Trump outfitted as a cowboy, auto racer, and astronaut), Trump Bibles (made cheap in China and selling for $60 over the counter in the US.

When I harvested my weekly load of postal mail I found it included a huge envelop from the Bradford Exchange Mint offering an "Urgent Notice" of a "risk-free opportunity" for "preferred clients" to score a "2025 Presidential tribute" to Donald Trump. 

 

The contents of the envelop were devoted to soliciting "privately-enhanced US Mint $2 Bills saluting Donald Trump's victory" in the 2024 election. The bills are nothing more than regular "legal tender" paper bills "privately enhanced" with two laminated, full-color images of Trump on either side of a quizzical-looking Thomas Jefferson. 

The bills come wrapped inside a "custom-designed tamper-proof holder" and one of these tacky artifacts can be yours for only $39.99, plus $6.99 for "shipping and service." Just don't try folding and stuffing it in your wallet while it's still packed inside its Deluxe Display Case ("a $70 value"). 

But wait, there's more! "Due to Donald Trump's enduring popularity," a set of new and different Trump bills are set to be issued on a monthly basis. And there's an unexpected offer: Bradford promises to send the first Trump Bill for a free inspection "so you can see it up close, in your home, without sending a penny. You pay for it only if you want to keep it. Otherwise, just send it back." 

That's a pretty cavalier way to treat something with a combined value nearing $117. So what are they going to do if you should happen to "forget" it? Send out a bill collector? 

The Bradford's large 4-page "Collector's Notice" includes this odd disclaimer: "The presentation of this collectible for sale does not indicate an endorsement of any political candidate or opinion by the Bradford Exchange or its affiliates." 

(You can peruse the Trump Bill online at: Bradforexchange.com/trump2pres.) 

Fashion Plates
Here's the latest collection of personalized license plates spotted around town:
SOCCER2
JN4GIRL
BEAN SNX
YOOM
AIRFAN
SAY YEAH
LADY KO
CYLUS
EUTONY2
4BURSA
2UPNDWN (Two Up and Down)
Bumpersnickers 

A bevy of political bumperstickers is cropping up in the wake of the anti-woke whackos in and out of the White House. Here's a sampler: 

Are We Great Yet? 'Cause I Just Feel Embarrassed
Keep the Immigrants. Deport the Racists
No One Elected The Trump Puppet Master
F-ELON
One Day We'll Wake Up to His Obituary
Elect a Clown Expect a Circus
No Kings In America
Unwilling Participant in an Idiocracy
I Think, Therefore I Am… Not a Trump Supporter
Two Paths and America Chose the Psychopath 

 

'America the Battleful' 

 

The following digitized political ditty was created by Donald A. Smith, PhD., a prolific and political professor who knows how to put AI to good use. He writes the lyrics, uses AI to create powerful images and taps into Udio.com to provide the music. Feel free to sing along.

Here's the link: https://progressivememes.org/war/America-the-Battleful.html 

 

And here are some of the lyrics:
O beautiful, for endless wars
For searing waves of pain
For vicious bombing travesties
Above the ravaged plain!
America, America,
God shed his tears on thee
And crown falsehood with orphanhood
From sea to blood-drenched sea!