Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association is mourning the passing, on 30 November 2021, of our old friend and stalwart supporter John English. A retired Oakland city planner, John was the ultimate authority on land-use matters in Berkeley.

Born in Washington, DC and raised in Sacramento, John lived in Berkeley since his student days in the late 1950s. Although he never worked for the City of Berkeley, his opinion was sought by Planning staff, city commissioners, building professionals, and preservationists alike.

John was an invaluable resource for preservation. He wrote numerous landmark applications and National Register nominations, including those for California Memorial Stadium; Mario Ciampi’s University Art Museum on Durant Ave-Bancroft Way; the Claremont Hotel; and Berkeley Iceland.

He was a constant presence in Landmarks Preservation Commission and Zoning Adjustment Board meetings, as well as at BAHA, where his deep knowledge, dedication, and attention to detail were relied on again and again.

John was a quiet, unassuming man who gave his all to the causes he embraced. The fight for preservation will not be the same without him.

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

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

Friday night Susan arrived by rented car. She’s driven from Ashland Oregon and wanted to walk. I’m game for it. Weather-warm. Crowds-thin. Students-absent. We could no doubt have our pick of seats from a half dozen very good restaurants on Shattuck. 

A downhill stroll from Euclid is an architecture geek treat. It’s like a garden of buildings where the featured theme is variety. Like flowers, each house represents or tugs at a specific set of emotions. To me at least they are physical expressions of feelings. They entered this world through the heads and hands of local architects and craftsmen-most long gone and in the ground. These people left us a suburban bouquet of remarkable redwood, brick and stucco structures. What I like most is how the shapes and selection of material in each place is unique. It's one characteristic that distinguishes Berkeley from other American towns. After decades here my gawking gland is still stimulated. 

We wind up at Corso’s, a solid Italian restaurant with outdoor seating. Other couples seem to be celebrating a family-free Friday night. Thanksgiving was the night before and we’ve all survived. Over drinks we experience another typical event, interaction with a passing street dweller. He stops to deliver a comment to Susan. It’s actually something we’ve heard twice before from a store clerk and a waiter. “ You look just like….the actress who plays Beth in “Yellowstone.” He goes on in clear, educated tones, to list movies, films, screenwriters and directors tying into the themes the show embraces and suggests we Google his sources. Then pushes his high piled shopping cart past, leaving a wake of rotting rags and stale body fluids.  

The couple next to us caught my eye, “Thank you so much for moving him on”. To which I crack “ There goes the fruit of a liberal arts education” or something like that. This immediately launches us into conversation. The guy admits his degrees are all in the sciences and asks me of mine. “Liberal arts of course” Soon the four of us are off into a warm and engaged discussion. Education in general. Specifically, the benefits of a public institution like UC Berkeley. We all agree that a university fertilizes thought, and it’s a positive thing. I’m able to express a long held opinion: that if curiosity is a type of hunger, and discovery and knowledge its food, then this is where the true gourmets can gather. Or I at least think I have. To me this confluence of ideas and shared perspective between us strangers is itself what makes me cherish where I live. Then his table mate comments that they’re out celebrating his recent award of a Nobel Prize. The momentum of chatter carries me along a few yards. Then the news makes it to my mouth’s control room. “Nobel Prize?” 

For some reason it doesn’t overwhelm the initial innocent bonds we’ve established. But now I really want to know my fellow diner’s inner life. I’ve often referred to a single fact when asked why I think this town is so great: UC Berkeley has a rather large number of parking spaces reserved for Nobel Laureates. Our new acquaintance admits it’s among the things he’s thankful for. But he does insist-I believed this- that what he has always done since he was 19 years old is work. The recognition the prize confers is welcomed, but unnecessary as a motivator. 

The work itself animates and propels his actions. By this time I’ve dialed myself from yappi to n to listening mode. The guy tells a good story, ranging from an influx of fan letters from Germans to how they handled pandemic life (kept going to the lab every day). There is one thing he said, and it was as much the way he said it, that stamps it in high relief. There was a moment,he explained, in the hours after midnight, after years of toil and experiment, where he saw something and understood that it was new. It was without precedent and that he was the only person on this earth that was aware of it. We listeners offered a wealth of silence. After a pause he added “ Maybe”. Which made me like him even more than admire him. 

If there’s an instance where the pot is worth more than the jack it contains, I had it firsthand from this couple. I’ll accept that as yet another perk along with the public schools and parks our taxes support. Around this place even the sidewalk serves as a classroom.

Where will the money come from? While City Council dismissed public concerns, they fell all over themselves last Tuesday evening, December 7^, in their enthusiasm over the prospect of the Berkeley Pier and Ferry. The idea of a ferry and new pier sounds so absolutely wonderful and WETA (Water Emergency Transportation Authority) and City staff are full of inventions of success. 

Where will the money come from? Will Berkeley have its own version of “build the wall”: build the pier and WETA will pay for it? That has been how the Pier-Ferry has been sold to us and maybe WETA will pick up the tab and Mayor Arreguin will turn out to be the hero. I think that is his plan, but attending the WETA meetings as I did again this last Thursday there is an undercurrent of a different picture. 

Thursday afternoon, I didn’t see any familiar names at the WETA (Water Emergency Transport Authority) meeting other than the WETA staff who presented the “feasibility study” at the Tuesday evening Berkeley council meeting when the question, “Where will the money come from?” was asked. 

WETA survives on substantial subsidies. Monique Moyer, WETA Board Member Director, noted that a tech survey showed no plans to return workers to offices any time soon. Also noted, in the future WETA won’t have control over fares. Funding was brought up over and over with one reference to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio funding the gap for NYC ferry service to continue. Stable funding and subsidies is an ongoing issue. 

The assumption seems to be that WETA has the funds. Maybe WETA will find a way to cobble together the financing for their strategic vision--they are putting their lobbyist on it, but reading the strategic plan and the WETA 2050 Business Plan Phase One Summary the pieces don’t quite fit together. https://weta.sanfranciscobayferry.com/sites/weta/files/weta-public/publications/Service_Visions_Business_Plan_Phase_1_Report.pdf 

The WETA 2050 Business Plan Phase One Summary suggests smaller more nimble vessels and a long list of problems like “ferries are one of the most polluting systems there is…” cost may be an obstacle to eco-friendly vessels, “…most facilities are inaccessible, hard to get to and don’t have good transit connections or transit services...” There were other issues, especially around the premise of ferry service and equity, like the high cost of ferry service versus social equity, current terminal locations and transit connections versus where low-income people are actually coming and going. 

I think of the state of disrepair of the street in front of my house and so many in Berkeley as Berkeley’s answer to permeable paving. The Director of Public Works has different plans and he has been making the rounds to the commissions for a ballot initiative to restore and replace Berkeley’s aging failing infrastructure. The question is, if we agree to open our pockets and pay for infrastructure, where will that money go? To streets, sustainable infrastructure or vanity projects? 

The agreement between WETA and Berkeley is targeted for closed session. Hope is not a solution, but that is all we have when it comes to Arreguin’s negotiating skills and that is where I don’t have much confidence. 

There were a few other meetings on my list this week. I tuned into the final Ashby and North Berkeley BART Community Advisory Group meeting on Monday. It felt like so much in Berkeley: Thank you for your hours of volunteering, now we will do what we planned. From June 8, 2020 to December 6, 2021 the BART Community Advisory Group (CAG) website has 29 meetings listed. Willie Philips summed it up best, “this process has been disappointing, it has not reached those people who are most likely to be affected…” 

Wednesday, there were too many meetings scheduled simultaneously and I am sorry to have missed Jim McGrath’s Parks and Waterfront Commission meeting resignation statement. I hope someone recorded it or better yet maybe Jim will share it. 

The meeting I did attend was the Le Conte, BNC, CENA meeting on goBerkeley Smart Space. https://smartspace.goberkeley.info/ This is a parking management program which received a $950,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission that would end 2-hour “free” parking for non-residents in Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) select areas and charge all non-permitted parkers a parking fee. Gordon Hansen, City of Berkeley Transportation Planner, said that charging an hourly fee for parking from 8 am to 7 pm and allowing paid parking for up to eight hours would drive down greenhouse gases (GHG) by preventing drivers from moving their cars every two hours. He claimed that cold starts use more fuel and said that mass transit (buses) are the answer. One responder informed Hansen that a cold start occurs when a car has been sitting for at least 12 hours, not 2 hours, and to measure the supposed GHG saving requires very sophisticated equipment. Another attendee complained that our bus mass transit agencies’ answer to such suggestions has been to remove neighborhood bus stops, including recently two on Telegraph. 

There are two meetings on SmartSpace this coming week, on Wednesday and Thursday, you might just want to go to the website to register with Eventbrite for the links. 

The Budget and Finance meeting was Thursday morning. No decisions were made and one can easily see on the proposed list that fixed cameras won out ($1,330,000, with ongoing costs not included) over the pilot electrification project $1,500,000. Policing wins, response to climate change loses. The final Budget meeting before the council vote is Monday morning at 9 am. 

This coming Tuesday afternoon, December 14^, at 4 is the special council meeting with agenda item 7 Resolution to Accept the Surveillance Technology Report for Automatic License Plate Readers, GPS Tackers, Body worn Cameras and the Street Level Imagery Project. The problem with the report is that there is no information as to how successful surveillance technology was in preventing crime, solving crimes or changing behavior. Wouldn’t we want to know if all this investment worked? 

Thursday evening was the Housing Element Update for council. This is the State mandated process to plan for Berkeley to add 8,934 units in the next eight-year cycle starting in 2023. The division is quite apparent between the desire to protect solar and the opposition, with the underlying message that rooftop solar is a tactic to stop density. Mayor Arreguin gave a rather testy response to protecting older rent controlled housing. Councilmember Bartlett had the best comment, “no rich people commute to work.” 

Objective Standards for multi-unit and mixed-use residential projects will be the subject of Planning Commission Zoning Ordinance Revision Project (ZORP) Wednesday evening December 15th. It will be one of the diminishing opportunities to provide input. 

Of the whole week of meetings, I was looking forward to the non-city two-day event, Sea Level Rise and Shoreline Contamination Regional Workshop with Kristina Hill, associate professor at UC Berkeley. Hill focused on the impact of sea level rise (SLR) on groundwater. As sea level rises so does groundwater. When rising groundwater is added to the picture the impact of rising sea level is considerably greater. With “capping” as the cheapest, easiest solution to toxic land contamination, rising groundwater underneath the “cap” is a serious public threat, leeching toxins from the site and vapor intrusion. 

Astra Zeneca in Richmond is one such toxic site where up to 4000 housing units are planned to sit on top of it. There are other sites around the bay where housing exists or is planned. Ms. Terrie Green from Marin City Climate Resilience & Health Justice was very vocal regarding the contamination and suffering in Marin City for decades. 

When Hill suggested there should be a local moratorium on building housing on top of these sites, one attendee suggested this just amounted to NIMBYISM. The build-everywhere promoters seem to show up everywhere. Grant Cope from DTSC (Department of Toxic Substances Control), when pushed on how DTSC would respond to the new information on rising groundwater and intrusion into contaminated sites, side-stepped answers and did not respond with the desired solution: that maybe decisions need to be reconsidered. 

Each week as I write the Activist Diary I include whatever book I’ve just finished. This week it was Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe. The City of Berkeley voted in closed session on November 30 to opt into the nationwide settlement agreements to remediate and abate the impacts of the opioid crisis. Not listed in that settlement is payout by the Sackler’s family privately held pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma. Purdue Pharma was tightly managed by the Sackler family, the drug company that started the opioid crisis through aggressive marketing of chronic pain as the undertreated medical diagnosis and extolling oxycontin as the non-addictive answer. The Sacklers declared the “addicted” in derogatory terms as having personality disorders and being habitual drug abusers and slipped billions into their greedy pockets and declared bankruptcy. Empire of Pain is a very interesting read especially the marketing of oxycontin. but you might need an extra dose of blood pressure medicine to get through it. The part I liked best is the direct actions by Nan Goldin and the group she formed P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addition Intervention Now). 

Purdue Pharma was dissolved in September 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/health/purdue-sacklers-opioids-settlement.html 

The book that I reviewed on November 20^, 2021 After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made by Ben Rhodes keeps coming back into view. Number 5 on the list of how Viktor Orban transformed Hungary from a democracy to autocracy in the span of ten years is: “Pack the courts with right-wing judges and erode the independence of the rule of law.” 

Ruth Marcus wrote on November 28^th the opinion essay in the Washington Post, “The Rule of Six: A newly radicalized Supreme Court is poised to reshape the nation.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/28/supreme-court-decisions-abortion-guns-religious-freedom-loom/ 

Was it just Friday, December 10^th that the Supreme Court decision on Texas Senate Bill 8 – the Texas Heartbeat Act was announced? I had to check three times it feels like weeks ago. The radicalization has started and as Ruth Marcus wrote with six conservative Supreme Court Justices, compromise is off the table, so too is apparently stare decisis. 

Where will the money come from? While City Council dismissed public concerns, they fell all over themselves last Tuesday evening, December 7^, in their enthusiasm over the prospect of the Berkeley Pier and Ferry. The idea of a ferry and new pier sounds so absolutely wonderful and WETA (Water Emergency Transportation Authority) and City staff are full of inventions of success. 

Where will the money come from? Will Berkeley have its own version of “build the wall”: build the pier and WETA will pay for it? That has been how the Pier-Ferry has been sold to us and maybe WETA will pick up the tab and Mayor Arreguin will turn out to be the hero. I think that is his plan, but attending the WETA meetings as I did again this last Thursday there is an undercurrent of a different picture. 

Thursday afternoon, I didn’t see any familiar names at the WETA (Water Emergency Transport Authority) meeting other than the WETA staff who presented the “feasibility study” at the Tuesday evening Berkeley council meeting when the question, “Where will the money come from?” was asked. 

WETA survives on substantial subsidies. Monique Moyer, WETA Board Member Director, noted that a tech survey showed no plans to return workers to offices any time soon. Also noted, in the future WETA won’t have control over fares. Funding was brought up over and over with one reference to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio funding the gap for NYC ferry service to continue. Stable funding and subsidies is an ongoing issue. 

The assumption seems to be that WETA has the funds. Maybe WETA will find a way to cobble together the financing for their strategic vision--they are putting their lobbyist on it, but reading the strategic plan and the WETA 2050 Business Plan Phase One Summary the pieces don’t quite fit together. https://weta.sanfranciscobayferry.com/sites/weta/files/weta-public/publications/Service_Visions_Business_Plan_Phase_1_Report.pdf 

The WETA 2050 Business Plan Phase One Summary suggests smaller more nimble vessels and a long list of problems like “ferries are one of the most polluting systems there is…” cost may be an obstacle to eco-friendly vessels, “…most facilities are inaccessible, hard to get to and don’t have good transit connections or transit services...” There were other issues, especially around the premise of ferry service and equity, like the high cost of ferry service versus social equity, current terminal locations and transit connections versus where low-income people are actually coming and going. 

I think of the state of disrepair of the street in front of my house and so many in Berkeley as Berkeley’s answer to permeable paving. The Director of Public Works has different plans and he has been making the rounds to the commissions for a ballot initiative to restore and replace Berkeley’s aging failing infrastructure. The question is, if we agree to open our pockets and pay for infrastructure, where will that money go? To streets, sustainable infrastructure or vanity projects? 

The agreement between WETA and Berkeley is targeted for closed session. Hope is not a solution, but that is all we have when it comes to Arreguin’s negotiating skills and that is where I don’t have much confidence. 

There were a few other meetings on my list this week. I tuned into the final Ashby and North Berkeley BART Community Advisory Group meeting on Monday. It felt like so much in Berkeley: Thank you for your hours of volunteering, now we will do what we planned. From June 8, 2020 to December 6, 2021 the BART Community Advisory Group (CAG) website has 29 meetings listed. Willie Philips summed it up best, “this process has been disappointing, it has not reached those people who are most likely to be affected…” 

Wednesday, there were too many meetings scheduled simultaneously and I am sorry to have missed Jim McGrath’s Parks and Waterfront Commission meeting resignation statement. I hope someone recorded it or better yet maybe Jim will share it. 

The meeting I did attend was the Le Conte, BNC, CENA meeting on goBerkeley Smart Space. https://smartspace.goberkeley.info/ This is a parking management program which received a $950,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission that would end 2-hour “free” parking for non-residents in Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) select areas and charge all non-permitted parkers a parking fee. Gordon Hansen, City of Berkeley Transportation Planner, said that charging an hourly fee for parking from 8 am to 7 pm and allowing paid parking for up to eight hours would drive down greenhouse gases (GHG) by preventing drivers from moving their cars every two hours. He claimed that cold starts use more fuel and said that mass transit (buses) are the answer. One responder informed Hansen that a cold start occurs when a car has been sitting for at least 12 hours, not 2 hours, and to measure the supposed GHG saving requires very sophisticated equipment. Another attendee complained that our bus mass transit agencies’ answer to such suggestions has been to remove neighborhood bus stops, including recently two on Telegraph. 

There are two meetings on SmartSpace this coming week, on Wednesday and Thursday, you might just want to go to the website to register with Eventbrite for the links. 

The Budget and Finance meeting was Thursday morning. No decisions were made and one can easily see on the proposed list that fixed cameras won out ($1,330,000, with ongoing costs not included) over the pilot electrification project $1,500,000. Policing wins, response to climate change loses. The final Budget meeting before the council vote is Monday morning at 9 am. 

This coming Tuesday afternoon, December 14^, at 4 is the special council meeting with agenda item 7 Resolution to Accept the Surveillance Technology Report for Automatic License Plate Readers, GPS Tackers, Body worn Cameras and the Street Level Imagery Project. The problem with the report is that there is no information as to how successful surveillance technology was in preventing crime, solving crimes or changing behavior. Wouldn’t we want to know if all this investment worked? 

Thursday evening was the Housing Element Update for council. This is the State mandated process to plan for Berkeley to add 8,934 units in the next eight-year cycle starting in 2023. The division is quite apparent between the desire to protect solar and the opposition, with the underlying message that rooftop solar is a tactic to stop density. Mayor Arreguin gave a rather testy response to protecting older rent controlled housing. Councilmember Bartlett had the best comment, “no rich people commute to work.” 

Objective Standards for multi-unit and mixed-use residential projects will be the subject of Planning Commission Zoning Ordinance Revision Project (ZORP) Wednesday evening December 15th. It will be one of the diminishing opportunities to provide input. 

Of the whole week of meetings, I was looking forward to the non-city two-day event, Sea Level Rise and Shoreline Contamination Regional Workshop with Kristina Hill, associate professor at UC Berkeley. Hill focused on the impact of sea level rise (SLR) on groundwater. As sea level rises so does groundwater. When rising groundwater is added to the picture the impact of rising sea level is considerably greater. With “capping” as the cheapest, easiest solution to toxic land contamination, rising groundwater underneath the “cap” is a serious public threat, leeching toxins from the site and vapor intrusion. 

Astra Zeneca in Richmond is one such toxic site where up to 4000 housing units are planned to sit on top of it. There are other sites around the bay where housing exists or is planned. Ms. Terrie Green from Marin City Climate Resilience & Health Justice was very vocal regarding the contamination and suffering in Marin City for decades. 

When Hill suggested there should be a local moratorium on building housing on top of these sites, one attendee suggested this just amounted to NIMBYISM. The build-everywhere promoters seem to show up everywhere. Grant Cope from DTSC (Department of Toxic Substances Control), when pushed on how DTSC would respond to the new information on rising groundwater and intrusion into contaminated sites, side-stepped answers and did not respond with the desired solution: that maybe decisions need to be reconsidered. 

Each week as I write the Activist Diary I include whatever book I’ve just finished. This week it was Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe. The City of Berkeley voted in closed session on November 30 to opt into the nationwide settlement agreements to remediate and abate the impacts of the opioid crisis. Not listed in that settlement is payout by the Sackler’s family privately held pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma. Purdue Pharma was tightly managed by the Sackler family, the drug company that started the opioid crisis through aggressive marketing of chronic pain as the undertreated medical diagnosis and extolling oxycontin as the non-addictive answer. The Sacklers declared the “addicted” in derogatory terms as having personality disorders and being habitual drug abusers and slipped billions into their greedy pockets and declared bankruptcy. Empire of Pain is a very interesting read especially the marketing of oxycontin. but you might need an extra dose of blood pressure medicine to get through it. The part I liked best is the direct actions by Nan Goldin and the group she formed P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addition Intervention Now). 

Purdue Pharma was dissolved in September 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/health/purdue-sacklers-opioids-settlement.html 

The book that I reviewed on November 20^, 2021 After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made by Ben Rhodes keeps coming back into view. Number 5 on the list of how Viktor Orban transformed Hungary from a democracy to autocracy in the span of ten years is: “Pack the courts with right-wing judges and erode the independence of the rule of law.” 

Ruth Marcus wrote on November 28^th the opinion essay in the Washington Post, “The Rule of Six: A newly radicalized Supreme Court is poised to reshape the nation.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/28/supreme-court-decisions-abortion-guns-religious-freedom-loom/ 

Was it just Friday, December 10^th that the Supreme Court decision on Texas Senate Bill 8 – the Texas Heartbeat Act was announced? I had to check three times it feels like weeks ago. The radicalization has started and as Ruth Marcus wrote with six conservative Supreme Court Justices, compromise is off the table, so too is apparently stare decisis. 

It is time to take a serious look at what living in a surveillance state does to us. We can leave aside the usual question of what it looks like. Surveillance is by nature clandestine. It is a ruse. When caught in the act, it pretends to be unofficial, or even accidental. It wears a mask of many rationalizations, each of which presents itself as “evidence of the unseen.” Thus, it demands that we take it on faith. Does that mean that those who accept a state of surveillance, of being watched, have simply enlisted in another faith-based community? Does surveillance belong to a competition of "faiths." Who do we become when, politically and technologically, we are forced into such a "community"? 

Surveillance and crime prevention 

At the present time, in the US, the focus of surveillance has become the “crime problem.” On the lookout for the incipient evil-doer, surveillance rationalizes itself through technological silence, while depending on sociological explanations. It is supposed to help prevent crime. But that just makes it more mysterious. Does it stop corporate crime? Does it rescue us from administrative corruption? These crimes reside in the domain of brave investigative journalism. When nine different people observed a woman being sexually assaulted on a train (Philadelphia, 10/13/21), all they could think of to do was record the event on their nine separate cellphones – thinking, perhaps, that that act of surveillance would stop the crime they were witnessing. Remaining in the hands of the police, will the technology of surveillance stop the crimes committed by the police? 

Even the judicial system finds itself unable to prosecute crimes unless caught on viral video. It refused to charge the cop who shot Jacob Blake seven times point blank in the back; it couldn’t even bring itself to charge him with cowardice on the job, let alone attempted murder. You’ve got to be either a craven coward or a dedicated murderer to shoot someone in the back. 

The alleged act of crime prevention gives surveillance an aura of social value. Yet even then, its social acceptance must be rationalized in turn. Typically, one says: “I have nothing to fear from it. I’m not doing anything wrong.” But what reveals itself in such a disclaimer is a very complicated structure of fear. It is addressed to a primordial fear (of the state), for which it substitutes a postulated and fearful threat (a crime problem), with respect to which it takes sides (“I’m not part of the threat”), as if afraid to be confused with those who are. In other words, surveillance strategies carefully brand themselves as protection against crime in order to assuage the more basic fear of surveillance. 

A society that lives by hiding one fear under another is a paranoid society. And a paranoid society can be led around by the nose, by anyone who shouts "threat" loud enough to be unquestionable. 

That which fear defines 

Fear of crime is a tautology. Fear is the very means by which crime is defined. To establish the criminality of an act, one must make commission of that act fearful. Law by itself will not do that. It requires a certain kind of administrative terrorism. Throughout the 17th century in England, the sanctity of property was established by hanging anyone, even children, for stealing anything – a handkerchief or a piece of string. Very few people fear white collar crime, so it is rarely investigated. When fear defines criminality, it is bottom-feeding. Though a call for assistance is not itself criminal, the arriving police will assume criminality, and then escalate that innocent request to a need for law enforcement. Whatever the call, the assumption of criminality becomes the real content of police response. This is said openly in the recent docu-drama video, “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain.” [cf. Martinot, “A Film for Our Time,” Counterpunch, 11/28/21] If the person is black, the cops approach with guns drawn, ready to shoot – an essential ingredient in criminalizing the black body. 

This basic element of our social environment (police behavior) cannot help but skew our typical attitudes toward crime. Imagined potential criminalities get conflated with real life itself. The presence of an eight year old black girl selling lemonade on the street becomes a reason to call the police. The interlinking of fear and surveillance becomes manic. 

We can see just how skewed the concept of justice can be in the vastness of the plea bargaining system. A huge number of people, estimated to be between 50% and 90% of all US prisoners, are locked up owing to plea bargaining. In the plea bargain process, a person is charged with a serious crime on questionable evidence in order to extort a confession to a lesser crime for which there is no evidence, in order to imprison while avoiding the expense of a trial. The actual number of victims of this extortion is unknowable since conviction records only contain the elicited confession, and not the bargain. It is simply an easy way of filling prisons. In its drive for mass incarceration, the US has become world renown, and has broken all records. 

Some people do commit crimes, but once the process of criminalization transcends the principle of justice, the notion of punishment becomes primary over the idea of crime itself. It is a criminalization process that creates injustice in the desire to absolve paranoia. 

And there is a real irony. If I claim that all prisoners jailed in the US today through plea bargaining are themselves innocent, that statement is irrefutable. It may not be true, but it cannot be disproved since plea bargains leave no record of trial or certification of evidence or witness testimony; nothing at all to signify a judicial process. Only confessions exist, forced under the pressure of blackmail. Judicial condemnation is reduced to pure existential event. 

The use of suspicion linked to camera evidence, or other surveillance, will play a similar circumstantial (non-evidentiary) role. One can expect the results to involve a plea bargain, or police harassment, or outright criminalization. (A judiciary deserves harsh judgment to the extent it reconciles itself with its own commission of injustice.) 

The Environment of Super Surveillance 

The driveness of fear has succeeded in producing a system of surveillance that is already ubiquitous. In the name of security, the government has built a system that goes by the name of "Echelon." Echelon is a worldwide surveillance project whose purpose is to listen to and record all electronic communications in the world. (In the world!) [cf. Wikipedia: Echelon] It uses antennas, “vortex” satellites, wire taps, cable taps, fiber-optic cable taps, etc. It has enormous data storage capacity, and filters its info-extractions into categories using key-words. Most of its collected data may be useless at the moment, but nothing is discarded as unusable. That which pertains to current government projects or schemes gets forwarded to the relevant agencies. And the rest sits waiting for future projects that may find some of that stored data relevant. 

The local reflection of Echelon’s existence appears in urban police demands for their own means of surveillance. Five years ago, the Berkeley police department asked to have Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) provided and installed. Carried by police cars, the readers would record all license plates parked on the street the car would pass. The plate’s numbers would be read and compiled with time and place of reading, and later combined with owner’s name, address, warrants, etc. obtained from the DMV. Stationary readers (on buildings or lampposts) would record passing car plates and include their identification in the database. 

At the time of the police demand, the police were accused of participating in federal surveillance. They demurred, and promised that the data collected would remain only with the department and not be given to any federal bureau or a fusion center [e.g. NCRIC: Northern California Research and Intelligence Center]. But that was an empty and mendacious promise. Since the data was to be radioed from the "reader" to a collector at the police station, it would be recorded automatically by Echelon while in transmission. Thus, the information would not have been literally "given" to the federal government, but there was nothing anyone could do to stop it from being "taken." Police pretense that data could be withheld is only a form of deception. 

The same holds true for any additional surveillance projects or use of police cameras. 

The Panopticon 

The intimate connection between social control and surveillance has been extensively analyzed through a concept of prison architecture called a Panopticon. It was a 19th century idea developed by Jeremy Bentham, a plan to make the control of prisoners direct and efficient through the use of surveillance. 

The Panopticon consisted of a multi-tiered structure of cells, each tier arranged in a semi-circle around a central tower. The outer walls of the semi-circular tiers were solid and windowless, as were the walls between cells. The inner wall, facing the tower, was composed of bars, through which everything the prisoner did in the cell could be seen. None of the prisoners could see each other, but all could be seen by a guard from his vantage point at the circle’s center in the tower. Each prisoner’s activities could be watched without the individual prisoner knowing neither his watcher nor the fact that he was being watched. Any violation of the rules would be instantly observed, however, and subsequently punishment. 

The expected effect of this setup was two-fold. Each person became their own constant disciplinarian and source of regimentation. And each lived his own life in the awareness of being an object for another unseen consciousness. In effect, each became a dual consciousness, his own and that of the unseen other, resulting in a loss of identity through that doubling of consciousness. Who one thinks one is will drain away under the pressure of what the one watching may think. Suspended between solitary confinement, alone in one’s cell, and under the inescapable gaze of a guard, the psychological effect would be a slow process of self-dislocation, and eventually dementia. 

A related form of dual consciousness was theorized by W.E.B. DuBois as the condition of the African American in the US, insofar as black people were watched as subjects of white attention all the time. In large part, this semi-Panopticon character of black life in white supremacist society has been mediated by the black construction of alternate cultural communities. They provide some insulation from the psychological incarceration imposed by white culture and its systemic discrimination. By turning toward each other, these communities enabled the seizure and reconstruction of black identity. For many, they provide the peace of being out of reach of white malign attentions (even those that begin with “we just want to help.”). This sense of community was the environment for the efflorescence of art and letters in the Harlem Renaissance during the 1930s. In the 1960s, it gave rise to black arts movements in many cities. It was just such a black cultural environment on which Chokwe Lumumba’s program of community development and cooperative administration relied in Jackson, MS. 

Having begun as defense against white hostility, these communities have attempted to remain as protection against subsequent attempts to destroy them. “Urban renewal” programs, gentrification, mass incarceration, police terror, gerrymandering, the destruction of black-identity political organizations, and the displacement of entire urban neighborhoods by rent gouging and economic inflation have all been expressions of a white need to eliminate the limited autonomy engendered by these black communities. . 

In the bay area, serious damage and disruption to the black community in Berkeley and Oakland occurred at the hands of BART construction (Bay Area Rapid Transit) during the 1970s. The 7th St. center of black life in West Oakland was laid waste, and in South Berkeley, the area where MLK and Adeline streets came together, as a similar center of black life, succumbed to the sprawl of a BART parking lot. 

On the other hand, the psycho-cultural effect of the US racial Panopticon was somewhat mitigated by the fact that black people know the generalizations and narratives by which white people tell themselves who black people are. For black people, the character of the "watchers" is not unknown. 

It should be clear by now that the use of surveillance technology as a dimension of governing (even under the pretense of a limited form of crime control) reveals deep historical and cultural links to white supremacy and its systemic racism. Only resistance against it keeps modern society as a whole from simply devolving to a form of prison. 

The original fear 

The original fear underlying our topic here – police and the surveillance state – which skews our typical attitudes toward crime, criminality, and thus justice, emerged from the first founding of a police agency in the North American colonies. As soon as chattel slavery was established (1682), a fear of the enslaved, of the exploited and oppressed, was inculcated by the elite as a foreseen rising in rebellion against the elite, against the landowners with their straw bosses, and against government bureaucrats with their tax collectors (think of Daniel Shay and his 1786 rebellion in Massachusetts). 

To fear the possibility of rebellion, however, is to accept the injustice against which real rebellion will eventually hurl itself. 

In the pre-US colonies, the original police agency guarding enslavement was the slave patrols, founded in 1710. They consisted of poor white farmers and workers (those from whom social standing in the colony had been withheld), enlisted by the landed elite to stop runaways and suppress all indications of organization among the enslaved. It was the original surveillance mechanism. When the patrols treated any of the enslaved with unbridled brutality, they simply said they had discovered a rebellion in progress and smashed it. For that, they received effusive gratitude, and eventually membership in colonial society. In short, the slave system gave the white disfranchised (because poor) a chance to get membership and standing in the colony through policing and the exercise of social control. That is, policing in US society originated in abuse and the criminality of enslavement; and violence against people of color became the ticket to legitimacy for the disfranchised. 

Today’s attempt to protect against criminality with technology rather than social re-humanization is the twin brother of the slave patrols; they share the same heart. 

##### 

Part 2 will address the psychological effects of surveillance on everyone, its availability for abuse, its misplacement of our political thinking, and its relation to current structures of racialization.

There is a lot to cover.

Monday was the first Agenda Committee meeting that I can recall Councilmember Wengraf missing in all the years I have attended. Wengraf certainly deserved a day off for post- Thanksgiving travel especially since she planned well in advance so the meeting could be covered by the committee alternate. I just hope Wengraf never misses another.

Wengraf had one request; that amendments to the ADU Ordinance be given priority. What slipped off the radar was the reason for the request; ensuring Berkeley’s ADU Ordinance is in place when the new State laws go into effect on January 1, 2022. Councilmember Hahn did manage to stave off postponement but the reason was never uttered and the ADU amendments sunk to positions 46 and 47 on the final agenda. Councilmember Droste,who covered for Wengraf, kept reminding everyone she didn’t know the Agenda Committee process, which made me wonder how she escaped that lesson in her seven years on council. 

Scott Ferris’s “companion” submission to the Parks and Waterfront Commission Adopt-a-Spot proposal successfully pushed that out of the mid-year budget consideration, placing all the coordination work back on the backs of the community volunteers. 

Tuesday night at City Council proved to be most interesting. Barely into the public comment on Councilmember Taplin’s Budget Referral, with co-sponsors Droste and Wengraf, for automated license plate readers (ALPRs) as a community safety improvement, someone mentioned a study which concluded that the City of Piedmont’s $600,000 purchase of 39 license plate readers was useless. https://www.cehrp.org/piedmont-license-plate-reader-analysis-shows-99-97-of-data-collected-is-useless/ plus another, “Automated License Plate Readers: A Study in Failure” https://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=13893 

Setting aside all the potential issues around collecting and saving recordings of personal habits, the ALPRs don’t even catch criminals. This should be a concern to the constituents of District 2 who so desperately want an end to gunfire in their neighborhood. ALPRs are an expensive investment in a technology that doesn’t work, which is a takeaway from programs that can work. All this information didn’t stop council from approving ALPRs in a 7 to 2 vote to be considered in the December budget process. Harrison voted no and Hahn abstained. 

The budget referral for a pilot project of Existing Building Electrification by Councilmember Harrison with co-sponsor Councilmember Bartlett is the competing big-ticket item for the mid-year (AAO) budget allocations. The Building Electrification was item 21 on the consent calendar. Councilmembers Taplin, Droste, and Kesarwani all asked to pull it to action and proceeded to try and sink it. In the end, the pilot project was passed into the budget process with a 7 to 2 vote with Kesarwani and Droste abstaining. 

As I observed the comments, discussion and final vote and read for the first time the review of the failure of ALPRS, it made me think of all the useless Pentagon expenditures, approved by senators and representatives too afraid of being called weak on defense to vote no. Here in Berkeley there is another dimension to voting no on the ALPRs, the power of the Berkeley Police Association. I also wondered why ALPRs were even on the agenda in the first place when Berkeley has a task force of experts and community representatives devoting hours of work in the commission on Reimagining Public Safety. 

We will get a view of the council direction and city pressures for ALPRs Thursday morning, December 9 at the Budget and Finance Committee meeting. 

The Reimagining Public Safety Task Force met Thursday evening with Nikki Jones PhD in Sociology and Criminology from UC Berkeley as the speaker for the evening. Jones presented findings from “ride alongs” (riding along with a police officer through a shift) and the discussions with officers that followed. The finding was that officers believed certain neighborhoods and certain people needed more aggressive policing. This more aggressive handling was viewed as being a “good” officer. Finally, I thought we are getting to the heart of the matter of biased policing. I was so impressed with Jones’ presentation on policing behavior, that I ordered one of her books. 

After the presentation, the task force took up the National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) Report (analysis and recommendations). Task force members gave a stinging rebuke of the report and revision, describing NICJR as just inserting Berkeley into their standard report. Members said their comments and responses were not included in the revised version, concluding the task force must submit a completely separate response of findings and recommendations. 

There were six attendees at Thursday’s meeting. Only two of us commented, Carol Morasavic and me. Without seeing the other attendees, we don’t know who was there: staff, BPD, and/or interested residents? Regardless, it is disappointing to have such poor attendance and gives a reason why the City Manager can give such a rosy report on the task force meetings when watching is something very different. 

Despite the mayor’s strong stand on climate Tuesday evening, item 7 on the December 14^th council agenda, the City of Berkeley’s 2022 Legislative Platform, doesn’t list climate as a priority – it is buried in the Sustainability and Environment Section. 

In the legislative platform, we can also see where Dr. Eleanor Ramsey’s November 16, 2021 presentation on Study to Achieve Equity in City Contracting with the conclusion of “Evidence of Intentional Discrimination Systemic Practices” landed. Equity is completely absent from the egislative platform section of Economic Development. 

Following city council and commission meetings as I do, it is a relief to see a meeting cancelled, but there is more to December 2^nd than just a chance cancellation. The Land Use Committee had just one agenda item and it was from Councilmember Taplin. The information I have gleaned is that Taplin cancelled at the last minute causing the meeting cancellation, and this is a pattern. Taplin stiffed the Facilities, Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment and Sustainability Committee (FITES) on Wednesday, when his item, the Native Plant Ordinance, was on the agenda. 

When the Berkeley voters approved raising the mayor and council salaries to a level that would resemble a living wage, did we not expect that they would fulfill their council responsibilities? The City Council Policy Committees are a council responsibility and the mayor and councilmembers all have committee assignments. As a member of FITES, Councilmember Taplin has a show rate of 50%. Taplin failed to attend six of the twelve FITES meetings and at least one more meeting was cancelled when Taplin wouldn’t be present for his agenda item. 

The discussion and questioning that I have come to expect from watching FITES is often absent in other committees and items slip by without in-depth review and ordinance development. That supposedly was the purpose for creating the policy committees in the first place. 

Taplin has been turning out an inordinate number of council items and referrals for ordinances; more than what I would expect of a new councilmember learning the ropes. When items come up, Taplin frequently appears to be tightly scripted. It’s hard to know sitting on the outside what exactly is going on, but it bears watching. 

There is another item that bears watching. The pier-ferry feasibility study is on the Tuesday, December 7^th council special meeting agenda. It should be interesting how council sees making the numbers match the decision they have already made to cover the cost of $93 million plus $32 million for electric ferries if Berkeley is actually committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  

On to books: When I ordered Absolute Convictions, My Father, a City and the Conflict That Divided America by Eyal Press it was because, I was so taken with Press’s book Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America. I was not thinking I would be finishing a book written in 2006 about the anti-abortion movement, abortion providers Drs. Barnett Slepian and Shalom Press (Eyal’s father) in Buffalo, New York and the assassin of Dr. Slepian, the day before the Supreme Court would hear arguments in Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The case that is asking the justices to overturn Roe vs Wade and Planned Parenthood vs. Casey. 

I know exactly where I stand on abortion. I was the exhibitions chair for NCWCA (Northern California Women’s Caucus for Art) in 2013 when NCWCA celebrated forty years of Roe vs. Wade with the national juried exhibition, “Choice, An Art Exhibition of Women’s Reproductive Rights.” Through that experience I learned to speak publicly and write about my own abortion. And, I learned something else. I learned of women who had always had access to birth control and always had the right to make whatever choice they wished about pregnancy and how they could not conceive of never not having that right. A life dominated with access only to illegal abortions was so far out of their frame of reference, they couldn’t imagine it. 

Eyal Press is thorough with much of the book focused on what he learned from meeting and interviewing leaders in Operation Rescue and the anti-abortion movement. Press was so nonjudgmental in his descriptions, that I was never sure what direction Press would take as the book progressed. A particularly interesting section referenced Kathleen Puckett Ph.D. in clinical psychology whose area of expertise is “lone wolf terrorists.” Slepian’s assassin fit this mold. 

Absolute Convictions is out of print and not in our libraries. If anyone wants to borrow my copy with its yellowed pages send me an email. 

I tried to get through the print edition of A Very Stable Genius by Phillip Rucker and Carol Leonnig without much success and switched to the audiobook which I finished in a couple of days. As I listened to the descriptions of Trump’s behavior, the tantrums, the rages I wondered have we forgotten how bad it was? 

It certainly seems like too much of the public has forgotten the chaos four years of Trump wrought and the mess President Biden was left to clean up looking at Biden’s approval rating and the sycophants lapping at Trump’s door. Take a hard look at the steps to autocracy listed in the November 20^th review of After the Fall. We all have work to do. 

At last Tuesday’s agenda (Nov. 30, 2021) council passed a budget referral to establish and implement a pilot program of public assistance for electrification of existing buildings. To make a long story short, the item is too small in scope and scale, and too slow-paced, to meaningfully reduce Berkeley emissions. It is simply not relevant to the climate emergency we face. (I may write about it in more detail later.) 

What horrified me at this meeting, and still today causes me dread, are some apparently off the cuff remarks by Mayor Jesse Arreguín on the item. I have transcribed his words which I’ll intersperse with commentary on them. The Mayor: 

“In closing, you know, cop26 happened.” 

“All the while, you know, while were supposed to try to achieve 1.5 degrees Celsius, we know we’re not going to get there.” 

The problem already is that, no, we do not know that we will fail to limit humanity’s emissions sufficiently to meet or come very close to the 1.5°C warming limit. 

One of the major obstacles poised to prevent us: the climate emergency and climate science denialism among our politicians. The science denialism and political power abdication right there in view of us all the minute the Mayor announces that, if realistic, we don’t actually believe in the goal of 1.5°C. I suppose his earlier bragging about that goal was just so much self-promotion, not a sincere commitment to work towards that goal. 

The Mayor goes on to describe the vague, shallow understanding he has of what 2°C warming means (2°C being the absolute worst case tolerable under the Paris agreement): 

“If we can even get below 2 degrees, that would be a huge, huge benefit…” 

It’s not just “huge”, my goodness it’s “huge, huge”. 

[ Suggestion to the Mayor and to readers: NASA summarized the 2018 IPCC report on expected impacts of 1.5°C compared to 2°C here. Don’t let your eyes glaze over at the numbers – read ’em and weep. https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2865/a-degree-of-concern-why-global-temperatures-matter/ ] 

The Mayor continued: 

“… but we’re already seeing the catastrophic, cataclysmic impact of climate change not just throughout the world but here in Berkeley.” 

“We have climate refugees globally and in order for us to, you know, address this climate emergency and to actually fulfill the mission of the climate emergency it is going to require that we take bold action.” 

And, there’s the game: the Mayor gives us some word soup and the inevitable call for “bold action”. 

The Mayor then attempts to placate some fiduciary concerns raised by Councilmember Wengraf: 

“It is going to require that we try new approaches and certainly appropriate scrutiny and oversight of programs is appropriate …” 

(Personally, I’d be surprised if “appropriate scrutiny and oversight of programs” were somehow not “appropriate” but I suppose the Mayor has at least said something to which most people will agree: appropriate things are appropriate.) 

And, inevitably: 

“… but I just ask that we be bold and visionary in how we are addressing this climate crisis and do things that benefit everyone: those that have the resource to make the changes to electrify their properties, and those that don’t, because those that haven’t the resources, as we know, have been the most disproportionately impacted by climate change … and climate change justice, economic justice, racial justice is all equally important.” 

With injustice, and empty promises, and climate emergency denial for all. 

Future topics

1. The emergency problem of building electrification.
2. The emergency problem of economic contraction caused by limiting fossil fuel use severely.
3. So what can we do?

“The appropriate response to an exponentially growing problem will seem disproportionate to the state of the problem at the moment.” – Dr. Elizabeth Sawin

It’s very easy to get depressed when studying the climate emergency.

I woke up this morning to social media posts from scientists showing the debris plume from one of the massive tornadoes that struck at least six states last night. Some of the detritus of people’s blown-apart lives was sent 30,000 feet into the air.

Imagine flying over in a passenger jet, looking out the window, and seeing someone’s grandfather’s love letters flutter by. And, say, doesn’t that look like the new insulation Mary installed last year. At 30,000 feet in the air.

And imagine knowing, unambiguously, that this isn’t the new normal because it is only getting worse with each new day of fossil-fuel-burning-as-usual.

And imagine knowing that even if all fossil fuel use stops tomorrow, it’ll be centuries before any of this damage starts to fade, and some of the damage can never be undone. 

And imagine knowing that on this path, we start counting the directly predictable deaths in hundreds of millions, but note that these projections ignore deaths from war and intra-state violence and economic collapse within the lifetimes of people now living. 

But what really puts the cherry on top of the dread and misery is when people you might have otherwise believed were serious, and capable of treating an emergency seriously, turn out to be batty lunatics. 

On Tuesday’s agenda, District 2 Councilmember Terry Taplin has put forth some noteworthy battiness: his redundant and incompetent call for a Just Transition. (I’m not sure why he capitalizes this common phrase but, sure, let’s give it some Emphasis I Suppose.) Mainly this item seems to be about ensuring “good paying jobs” for Black people as the economy collapses for want of fossil fuel. 

Such a measure may be rightly criticized for its emphasis on jobs – some might call it an empasis on a wage slave role in capital accumulation – rather than emphasizing prosperity directly. After all, the kind of rapid cut-off of fossil fuels now required implies a vast economic disaster resulting from supply shocks in energy and transport. 

The hard but perhaps inspiring reality of our time is that here in 2021, we must look well beyond jobs for security and prosperity, concepts whose very meaning we are compelled now to take a long hard look at to examine what is important to human well-being and what is not. Jobs? Surely not – better not be – or things are even worse than we think. 

But why even go there? The memo Taplin submitted for the item is a stunning display both of total ignorance about the climate emergency, and a lack of competence to examine the published scientific and other academic literature on the topic. 

For example, Taplin relies on extremely outdated 20-year-old estimates of the amount of heating in 2100. He displays zero awareness that without drastic change, we will lock in 1.5 degrees of warming in the blink of an eye – likely in what remains of this decade and no later than the next. Call it 8 or 16 years before the first major failure of our global response becomes official. 

Per Taplin, we might not even hit 1.5°C warming by 2100. In reality, today we know with certainty that without massive shut-offs of fossil fuel supply starting immediately (think, “tomorrow morning”), the only chance of 1.4°C in 2100 involves inventing miraculous technology that can be deployed at extremely large scale starting immediately to suck carbon from the atmosphere and convert it into a vast physical storage problem for billions of tons of carbon. The existing technology along these lines can, so far, remove a grand total of no more than 3 seconds worth of global emissions per year. 

There are other big blunders in the memo – Taplin calling one estimate of quite small amounts of GDP loss over a long period of time evidence of major economic disasters is one example. 

We can mock Taplin’s extensive footnoting of all the sources he has so badly misrepresented. 

But it gets worse. 

First, Taplin’s notions of climate justice somehow don’t extend to the rest of the world. Billions of lives are at stake in the global south and many millions are today under imminent threat of death (with many already actually dying). Climate justice is a vast global problem, not merely a local one, and if the United States – including Berkeley – does not radically curtail fossil fuel use immediately, we are contributing to an already underway genocide by the rich against the global poor. 

That’d probably deserve a mention, Councilmember Taplin. 

All of this would be a depressing account of the complete lunacy of one council member if that’s all there were to it. 

But it gets worse. 

The item sits on the Consent Calendar for December 14, 2021. 

The council will not allow much time for comment on it. 

And all nine of our esteemed leaders will endorse this crap. 

There is nothing on Tuesday’s agenda that shows council is even aware of what the climate emergency really is, and plenty to show they intend to bluff and bluster until the problem magically goes away. 

Again.

There is an effort afoot launched by Berkeley’s Traffic Engineering Department to implement many changes to the existing parking rules in many areas of Berkeley. It's called: “goBerkeley Smart Space Project" and is being marketed as a pilot project. One of the areas which would be greatly impacted by this project is the Elmwood. The project is being marketed as an experiment, and proponents claim that it would be temporary, but over the years we’ve seen that this kind of promise often is not kept, i.e. whatever allegedly short-term changes are implemented generally become permanent, even when the promoters of the changes had claimed they were temporary. Now we’re hearing that the online presentation given by the City is being postponed. No postponement will make these plans any more acceptable. The experimental proposals are unacceptable now and will always be unacceptable. 

The project schedule was going to take public comments in Fall 2021 (now), then go to the City Council next Spring 2022, and potentially launch next June 2022. In December 2022, the Department would (allegedly) collect data and conduct outreach on possible revisions/changes. In Spring 2023, a final report for the City Council and grant funder would be developed. Then, finally, in July 2023 the projects would ‘sunset’, unless the City Council decides to make the program permanent. 

Social scientists have often said that Berkeley is the perfect-sized City for social experimentation to take hold. This experiment exemplifies this sad truth. These proposals are a major, unsolicited intrusion on the impacted residential neighborhoods. 

Several major questions arise: 

(1) Where would the revenue generated by these changes go? Is revenue enhancement to the City the underlying goal? Probably. 

(2) Were these changes/proposals launched by public demand from the local businesses and/or residents? The answer: NO 

(3) What are the criteria to evaluate whether this experiment succeeds or fails? 

(4) RPP (Residential Parking Permit) Area ‘L’ would no longer allow all day free parking on Saturdays; this by definition would have negative impact on shoppers in the Elmwood as well as employees of the shops/restaurants. Eliminating the current allowance of two-hour parking without the risk of a parking ticket is punitive to the hard-working hourly workers who are the sustenance of our businesses in the Elmwood; the change burdens the workers and the employers with the proposed hourly or daily fees being required. 

(5) This public policy experiment doesn’t consider the public’s opinion at all. The promoters of these policy changes say they’d like input, but there’s no promise that the public’s input would be considered in their final design planning details. 

(6) The whole set of change proposals doesn’t take into account the local residents’ or merchants’ opinions; the merchants depend on shoppers enjoying College Avenue offerings. We should encourage as many people as possible to enjoy patronizing the Elmwood shops without having to pay to park on our neighborhood streets. 

(7) This set of proposals is being forced upon us. It’s deeply flawed, unfair public policy. I join many other residents of the Elmwood and strong supporters of our valued merchants in feeling like we're unwitting test subjects of this deeply flawed lab experiment. The ideas are ill-conceived, punitive and unfair to the businesses and the residents. 

Editor's Note: The latest issue of the Pepper Spray Times is now available.

You can view it absolutely free of charge by clicking here . You can print it out to give to your friends.

Grace Underpressure has been producing it for many years now, even before the Berkeley Daily Planet started distributing it, most of the time without being paid, and now we'd like you to show your appreciation by using the button below to send her money.

This is a Very Good Deal. Go for it! 

Is the MLK Playground's New Tower a Tot-trap? 

At the center of the new children's playground on Hopkins Street, adjacent to the MLK Middle School, is a glittering four-tiered Emerald Tower of intertwined green and yellow ribs. It's an alluring temptation to kids looking for a climbing challenge. Already, it's not unusual to find adventurous four-year-olds dangling from the tippy-top of the tower. 

But are there safety issues with this new structure? The safety netting designed to keep tykes from tumbling out into thin air is only installed on the top two tiers. 

On a recent visit, I was surprised to find a warning sticker affixed to one of the structure's curving vertical spires. I hadn't noticed it before and what I read was alarming. It warned of falling hazards, the possibility of sustaining serious burns by touching the tower surface on particularly hot, sunny days. And it cautioned against wearing necklaces for fear of experiencing "strangulation" incidents. 

I hoped to photograph the warning to underscore the structure's potentially overlooked risks but, when I returned to the playground, I discovered that the caution sign had been peeled off, leaving visitors in the dark about of the inherent risks of exploring the potentially dangerous attraction. 

A call to the City Parks Department was answered by a robot that advised the call would be "transcribed" and forwarded to the proper authorities. That did not sound like a recipe for quick action so I sent an email as well. I was surprised when, within minutes, I received an email from the head of the department expressing concern and promising to remedy the problem. 

That was promising but two weeks have now gone by and the Tower still lacks its Warning Label. So, if you've got friends with kids who are planning to visit the playground, share the warning. 

The Way Things Get Done These Days 

A recent dispatch from Reader Supported News began with the colloquial quote: "If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done." This was followed by an observation: "Doesn't that explain the situation in Washington, DC?" 

Fashion Plates 

Kudos to the driver of a blue Honda with the license plate that reads: "VROOHM." (Go easy on that gas pedal.) 

And the owner of a Honda Civic is letting us know he's a local guy because his license plate reads EVIL EMP and the frame declares: "I'd rather be gaming…. Games of Berkeley." 

A blue Scion is being driven by a scrappy lady sporting a plate that reads: "HEXKITN." 

A gray Toyota from Washington state leaves a puzzle in its wake as it tools around the East Bay sporting a plate that reads: "10NEWON". Possible translations: Ten New On, One Owe Anyone, One One Won, and One One One. 

UC Santa Barbara and the War Machine 

CODEPINK activists are seeing red with the discovery that "Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are crawling all over the College of Engineering and now UCSB is partnering with the DOD to fund STEM science programs, K-12, in the SB School District." And they've got a petition to address the matter: UCSB, Sever Ties with the War Machine. Click on the link to sign the petition and read more about UCSB's military-related contracts. 

And don't get me started on UC Berkeley and it's ties to nuclear weapons. UCB Prof. John Goffman (who became a respected anti-war/anti-nuclear voice) helped to discover an isotope of plutonium and reportedly kept a container on a shelf in his campus office. Over the years, at least one contaminated room in a campus building (not Dr. Goffman's) had to be sealed off to prevent radioactive exposure to visitors. And, worst of all, Berkeley's Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Labs has spent decades designing nuclear weapons for the Pentagon. 

Fiat Lux, Yes! Fiat Nukes, Nay! WTF, UCB? 

The Solar-electric Revolution May Be Going to Pot 

In a major scientific breakthrough, researchers claim to have proven that "hemp batteries are eight times more powerful than lithium," the costly, rare mineral that currently powers our battery-dependent toys and tools. 

According to news reports: "A team of American and Canadian researchers [has] developed a battery [for] cars and power tools using hemp bast fiber—the inner bark of the plant that usually ends up in landfill." The "cooked" woody pulp can be processed into carbon nanosheets, which are then used to build supercapacitors "on a par with or better than graphene—the industry gold standard" for today's next-generation batteries. 

But don't get your hopes up. As one Facebooker observed: "The Lithium People will buy the patent and bury the f— out of this. See Ford's 100% hemp vehicle for reference." Done! You can see Henry Ford's Hempmobile in action below. 

Barbara Lee Backs Bill to Account for Pentagon Pollution  

Veterans for Peace's Climate Crisis and Militarism Project (CCMP) has been in the trenches on The Hill engaging in a political battle to win legislative backing for HR 767: Recognizing the Duty of the Department of Defense to Annually Report All Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Progress on Reduction Targets. 

HR 767 was introduced in conjunction with the COP 26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow and now has 31 co-sponsors—including the support of my organization, Environmentalists Against War. The Pentagon—which has been identified as the world's latest consumer of oil and one of the greatest sources of planet-cooking CO2—is currently exempt from having to report (let alone reduce) its Greenhouse Gas emissions. HR 767 would "hold the Department of Defense accountable to accurately report ALL of its emissions" and "reduce the overall environmental impact of all military activities and missions, and for other purposes." 

The goal is to expand the list of legislative co-sponsors and co-signers in order to bring the resolution before the House Armed Services Committee. 

If you would like to help propel this proposal to the floor of Congress, you can click on this portal https://bit.ly/REDUCEDODEMISSIONS to send an email to your Congressperson. 

It's even easier if you are an East Bay resident since Barbara Lee, our esteemed Representative in Washington, is the sponsor of HR 767 so, instead of sending an appeal, you can just send a message of thanks. 

To see the list of members of Congress who have already co-sponsored click this link: 

Cosponsors - H.Res.767 - 117th Congress (2021-2022).  

CCMP expects Elizabeth Warren soon will take the lead on this in the Senate where California's two Democratic senators—Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla—are expected to back the Senate version of the bill. 

Weary of Politics? Hop a Cab! 

Sometimes being a political commentator gets to be such a burden that you just need a nice juicy jolt of jive. Hence this video from a reader, offered along with a short note: 

"A real treat that Paul Krugman added at the end of an editorial on evils of Rand Paul et al to lighten the mood. Just because." 

Cede the Berkeley Marina to the Ohlone? 

In the wake of spirited protests against the City's decision to allow developers to build a high-rise on the sacred Ohlone Shellmound (currently a paved-over parking lot across from Spenger's), the following message arrived from a disgruntled denizen of the Berkeley Marina: 

"I’m concentrating on Berkeley ceding the Marina to the Indigenous Ohlone people. The city is having trouble keeping the Marina and it really needs to be in the hands of the First Peoples instead of the corporation that is negotiating behind the scenes. The Harbor Master is a control freak who has an agenda. She needs to go. Please write [US Secretary of the Interior] Deb Halland about this… and hopefully this idea of many can work." 

The idea of returning control of the land and water to the Ohlone is appealing, although it's not clear if overseeing a Marina populated by hundreds of boat owners would be attractive to the Ohlone community. (Ohlone leaders have been apprised of the Marina-residents' proposal.) 

Another possible problem: the actual land constituting the current Marina did not exist until the late 1920s when Berkeley officials began tossing refuse and construction debris into the offshore waters of the historic Ohlone settlement. The city's offshore dump has grown over time, first evolving into an open space dubbed the North Waterfront Park and later renamed "Cesar Chavez Park" in 1996. The Berkeley Yacht Harbor (now known as the Marina) didn't exist until the late 1930s. 

Remembering the Christmas Truce of WW 1 

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All. In these desperate times, let's pause and marvel at how music and shared humanity once put an end to war. 

David Swanson, Executive Director of World BEYOND War, recently collected more than a dozen online links to celebrate the little-known Christmas Truce of 1914. 

Here are some links relating to the Christmas Truce: 

• A Christmas truce letter is here. 

• And here’s a script that turns the above letter into a play that can be performed on Christmas by anyone who likes: PDF. 

• Here’s an account from someone who was there: Bullets and Billets. 

• Eyewitness account from Frank Richards. 

• Here’s Belleau Wood lyrics by Joe Henry and Garth Brooks. 

• Here’s Christmas in the Trenches lyrics by John McCutcheon, and videos below. 

• There’s a movie too: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyeux_No%C3%ABl 

• The last known survivor of the 1914 no-man’s-land football died on July 22nd, 2001, aged 106: Bertie Felstead. 

• There were also Christmas truces in 1915 and 1916. 

• A poem: The Christmas Truce of 1914 Seen from 2014. 

• How to sing Silent Night in various languages. 

• Imagine. 

• Snoopy’s Christmas lyrics. 

• The Open Christmas Letter. 

• What Christmas Owes to Abolitionists. 

• Lots of Christmas Truce resources from Veterans for Peace. 

1989 was the year in which I had my most recent decay related work on my teeth, in which I received my most recent speeding citation (by a local motorcycle cop) and is the beginning year of my federal disability claim. At the time I received the speeding ticket, I was working, and I was driving a Plymouth Horizon owned by Rocket Pizza, where I made a modest living as a delivery driver. The tooth decay was fixed with ceramic fillings. In modern times, I haven't seen any dentists say they are willing to provide them. I was still in my twenties, and many things took place that cumulatively derailed me from continuing to do work for a living. But life is easier if you just can work, rather than trying to do all of the stuff involved in the life of a disabled person. 

I recall that I was driving well above the speed limit on a road in Concord, and I spotted the motorcycle cop on a side road visibly holding a stopwatch above his head while looking at me. As soon as I saw him follow in the rearview mirror, I pulled over without the need for him to turn on any lights. It was a situation in which I was caught, and it was as simple as that. 

The motorcycle cop who gave me the speeding ticket was polite and he suggested traffic school as a way of preventing my auto insurance from being raised and preventing a mark on my driving record. So, I went to traffic school. 

At traffic school, the instructor emphasized the statement: "Stress Will Kill You." If you are too stressed, many bad results can follow, including but not limited to getting into a very bad car wreck. According to the traffic school instructor, a great number of car accidents took place when drivers had distracting, stressed out thoughts running through their minds. 

But the idea: "Stress Will Kill You" is applicable to numerous other things in life. I personally suffer from hypertension, and it is a lot worse when I feel stressed out. One of the main reasons that my psychiatric disorder is disabling rather than it being an unrelated issue, is that I get massively stressed out in job environments. Stress can worsen paranoid symptoms. (Additionally, lack of adequate medication can cause excessive stress that feeds on the stress itself.) 

I recently blew out my left knee while moving furniture, and now I need to sometimes walk with a cane so that I can give the left side some relief. But before that happened, I seriously considered working for Doordash to make some extra money. I'm fortunate in retrospect that I can't do Doordash. The level of stress inherent in that job could've easily given me a stroke. 

I am being evaluated by the State because they want information about me to consider whether I should stop getting Social Security. The only good that came out of it so far is the urgency with which I need to address the blood pressure issue. (If I get knocked off Social Security, I don't know what I'm going to do, since I can't make a professional job materialize out of nowhere.) 

I'm planning to devote a future manuscript to the reevaluations that the Social Security Administration is doing to disabled people in large numbers. It is draconian. And the distress that it causes us can have some very bad effects. 

For people with mental illness, stress should be kept at a minimum. However, you can't get though a day without some amount of stress. 

It is fine to say people should try harder and people should just push themselves through the stress and then it will get easier. But this is not so in all instances. Sometimes, a thing is just too hard. And when mentally ill, we may have well-intentioned family, friends, or people in the mental health system who believe we can take the punishment if we just try. Yet, the fact is, sometimes we need to ease up, for the sake of our own well-being, and to prevent catastrophic effects. 

And when we get older, we aren't as resilient, and we cannot keep trying to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. It has to end at some point, and one hopes the challenges we face do not end in tragedy. 

Thirty years ago, people could see that I periodically became psychotic, and they were aware that sometimes I had behavior issues. I was on antipsychotics (which, by the way, I still take to this day). When I had ideas of going off antipsychotics, there were numerous people who would sound the alarm bells and would tell me that I had to keep taking meds. The behavior issues weren't considered a flaw in character because it was clear to people that I had a neurobiological disorder, schizophrenia. Few people attributed a lot of brains and did not see me as the greatest of minds. 

Back then, housing wasn't hard to find. And you could live tolerably on SSDI and/or SSI. Disabled people were not in a quandary, of lack of sufficient income and difficulty being housed, like the one we face today. Instead, the biggest concern was that we comply with doctor's orders and take our medication. I didn't always do this. Thus, people understood I had a disability, needed medication, and probably could not work at a job. 

In modern times, the level of personal freedom is far less than it was. If you want to survive and not be locked up, you must follow the rules. 

Society has become repressive. In the name of protecting people, we are continually subject to the presence of security cameras. You can't relight a cigarette on your front patio at 2 A.M. when you think no one is around, without the cops showing up. You can't get away with looking at people. You can't have a facial expression. What happened to your Botox? Did it wear off? 

Meanwhile, the survivability for mentally ill people in recovery has been decreasing, such that we have a very slender margin in which we can survive. It is miserable when we are uncertain of our future. The medications have not improved in terms of their health effects. The newer medications are probably worse compared to the older ones in terms of creating medical complications. It is not common for a mentally ill person to live to a ripe old age. I only know of one or two mentally ill people who might have made it to seventy. 

I'm in the same boat. And I find that the mental health treatment system doesn't really have the same ideas for me that I have. This has always been so. Success in life is not on the map of mental health organizations. They want success for them, the caregivers. They want to become great, well known, well compensated mental health professionals. 

As it stands, I am not seen as severely mentally ill, but I am guessing that some individuals in charge of the mental health system see me as a nuisance--because I won't keep my mouth shut. 

Without medications, most likely the withdrawal would kill me. If that didn't happen, at the very least, my brain would be wrecked because of the backlash of stopping meds--this in combination with the original psychotic issue that hasn't gone away. 

To their credit, psychiatrists have provided me with the medication I need, to prevent a complete relapse. Beyond that, I don't get much help. I seem to be barking up the wrong tree. The system isn't here to provide a mental health consumer with a stellar career. Their goal is to save taxpayer dollars and at the same time to prevent mentally ill people from being nuisances. There are people whose job it is to supervise the lives of mentally ill people, to make sure that the basic details are met; medication, housing, food--and to keep restrictions in place. 

If we want to be successful, we must achieve this on our own. No one is providing a roadmap for this. Those who know how to do it aren't sharing their hard-fought knowledge. And when we are making progress, difficulties come out of the woodwork. This could be a karmic thing as much as anything else. We do not need to conclude that there is a conspiracy. 

In my writing, my progress has been hampered by thoughts of ulterior agendas or maybe conspiracies. I've come out of this mode of thought. I realize that it is very simple; if the writing isn't good enough, a piece will be rejected. This realization is exceedingly helpful. When you are laboring under a delusion like the one that I described, the work of making the writing up to snuff is hampered. 

I should also realize there is no conspiracy to ruin my life. Some individuals don't like me and would rather see me become defunct. They may wonder why I am not defunct by now. However, I've decided I'd rather not be defunct, and I'd rather keep trying. Wish me luck. 

MLK Middle School: Dead and Alive

aThe students at MLK Jr. Middle School have totally transformed their block on Rose Street and it's worth a drive—or a walk—to swing by and appreciate the changes.

In October, on the Day of the Dead, scores of students tip-toed over the wide steps at the school building's entrance and laid down a carpet of colorful paint to celebrate the occasion.

In November, the students returned to swarm over the campus' recently uprooted lawn and hand-planted a variety of saplings—hundreds of them —to create a dense, ecological, carbon-capturing Miyawaki Forest. 

The Economy in Three Sentences 

On Monday I got a federal notice that my Social Security checks for 2022 were being increased 5.9% to reflect the Cost of Living (Note: the actual 2021 COLA was 6.8%). 

On Wednesday, I found that the price of every item in the Dollar Store had increased from $1 to $1.25—a 25% hike (meanwhile, the price of gas has risen 58%) 

Time to apply for food stamps. 

Cleaning Up at the Laundromat 

The Central Launderette, which has been in the same spot on Shattuck since the 1940s, recently surprised me with an unexpected gift. 

While I was moving a load of wet laundry from my bags to the nearest empty driers, one of the laundry staff emerged from behind her counter, tip-toed in my direction, executed a perfect bow and extended her hands with an offering of two shiny quarters. 

They came with a receipt that indicated the gift had been registered as a "Senior Discount." 

I happily plunked the unexpected change into the drier slots. But then, as I watched my sheets and undies tumbling, I started to wonder: "Hey! I'm wearing a mask and a hat. How did she determine that I was eligible for special 'senior' status? Are my ears starting to sag? Are the bags under my eyes starting to look more like satchels?" 

That will be a question for my next visit. 

Watch Those Double Negatives 

Carve this one in stone! Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45^th President of the USA:
"Anybody that doesn't think there wasn't massive Election Fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election is either very stupid or very corrupt." 

Blinken and Nod 

Trump has his Big Lie (that the 2020 US election was rigged and stolen) and Joe Biden has his own Big Lie that claims that Venezuela's recent election was neither free nor fair. Biden's Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Venezuela's election "flawed" and "grossly skewed." 

In fact, unlike some previous elections, Venezuela's latest ballot included opposition parties (they actually won some of the contests). The election drew 8 million peaceful voters and was overseen by more than 130 election observers from 55 countries and inspectors from the UN, EU, and the Latin-American Council of Electoral Experts—all of whom pronounced the voting and ballot-counting to have be transparent and fair. 

Meahwhile, Biden announced a Summit of Democracy and invited Juan Guaido, the discredited leader of a Trump-backed coup that attempted—and failed —to seize power during Venezuela's 2019 election. Guaido, the "self-declared president" of Venezuela, failed to oust leftist leader Nicolás Maduro—even though Guaido had the personal endorsement of then-VP Mike Pence. 

To democracy's shame, when Biden introduced Guaido at his Democracy Summit, members of both the Republican and Democratic parties gave Trump's failed usurper a standing ovation. 

Biden and Blinken criticized the "low turnout" for the Venezuela election in which 42% of Venezuelans voted. Fun fact: the average turnout for US elections only runs around 55%. (The 2020 election had the biggest turnout in the 21^st century—66.8%.) 

A Post-Halloween Capitalism Quote 

A few words from the pen of British scholar Mark Fisher who, reflecting on the topic of Capitalist Realism, wrote: "Capital is an abstract parasite, an insatiable vampire and zombie maker; but the living flesh it converts into dead labor is ours, and the zombies it makes are us." 

"Renewal Creep" 

That's the term for a common billing practice wherein publications and member organizations mail renewal statements months before the memberships actually expire. Some renewals come two months before a membership ends; some arrive three-to-eight months early. The result is that subscribers and supporters can wind up paying earlier each year while the magazines and organizations derive major dividends. 

I've been tracking this phenomenon since 2015 and have seen the practice invoked across the board. Some of the worst offenders include: AARP, Brady Campaign, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Committee, and Greenpeace. 

A few weeks ago, I received a subscription reminder from Consumer Reports that included the offer of a free subscription for a friend along with payment of my yearly renewal. I sent off a check along with the name of a family member. Two weeks later, I received an "Urgent Note" from CR stating that I needed to send in a $30 renewal check ("Reply by 12/06/21"). It was only with this second billing that I noticed the expiration date on my CR membership invoice—January 2023! 

That's what "Renewal Creep" looks like. 

Weather or Not? 

How accurate are TV weathercasts? Do TV forecasters ever apologize when they get their predictions totally wrong? Case in point: On December 6, one of our local weatherfolk stood in front of an animated satellite map and waved his hand over a moving carpet of clouds that were predicted to stream over the Bay Area on December 7. The forecast was for more fog, little sunshine, and the likelihood of sprinkles. 

But weathercasters' "satellite images" are not reality: they are fictitious extrapolations of what was predicted to happen. And the bleak weather didn't happen. Instead, the day began with clear skies and remained cloudless and sunny all day long. 

So did the weatherwonk address the miscasting? Instead of confessing "We blew it!" he offered an oblique reference—"Well, we did manage some sun today"—that he attributed to "weather whiplashes." My favorite weather prediction for the week cam from the same weather pundits, who projected that the overnight temps would drop so low that it could "cause the fog to freeze." 

US A-bombs in Germany 

During a recent webinar on the topic of "NATO and War," a panel of global strategists reviewed the status of Washington's nuclear capability on European soil. One of the participants mentioned that the US currently has 160 nuclear weapons stored on the ground in fice European nations—Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and Turkey. 

In 2020, a national poll in Germany found 83% of the public wanted the weapons removed. While the outgoing Merkel government remained steadfast in its support of US nukes on German soil, members of the incoming coalition government—the Social Democrats and the Greens—had openly called for the removal of the weapons and for Germany to join 50 other nations that have ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. 

The new government was close to passing legislation insisting on the removal of Washington's nuclear weapons. Under NATO guidelines, however, member countries cannot compel the Pentagon to pack up its nukes and leave. Challenged by Berlin's new left-leaning leadership, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reportedly made an offer: NATO would agree to remove the bombs from Germany only with the understanding that the weapons would be moved to a new location closer to the Russian border. 

In order to avoid a major provocation with Russia, the German reformers withdrew the call to denuclearize their country. 

New Book Celebrates Berkeley's Free Speech Movement 

A newly published book by Ellen Shrecker, The Lost Promise: American Universities in the 1960s, includes a chapter on Berkeley's Free Speech Movement (Chapter 4: "The Berkeley Invention"). 

New York University (NYU) history prof Noam Chomsky (who taught at UCB during the Sixties) has called Schrecker's book a "careful and enlightening account." NYU history professor Robert Cohen calls the book "by far the best yet on the national campus political scene, which is not surprising since Ellen is the author of the classic work, No Ivory Tower, on academic McCarthyism." Cohen (whose books include the classic FSM account, Freedoms' Orator: Mario Savio and the Radical Legacy of the 1960s) notes that, unlike many books on the 60s that are "condescending to the student movement," Schrecker's work is "empathetic, fair-minded, and even deconstructs the twisted logic of movement detractors who caricatured student protest as irrational." In addition to revisiting the history of the FSM, Shrecker's book assesses the student movement nationally and cites its faculty supporters and critics. 

The National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions will be Zooming a panel discussion on the book at noon on Wednesday, December 15. Speakers will include both Schrecker and Cohen, You can click on this link for a University of Chicago Press flyer that offers Shrecker's book at a 25% discount.  

A Neat Lit Hit Notes Milton's Tomes 

The December 9 selection of online offerings from The New Yorker included a salute to Paradise Lost poet John Milton, who was born in December 1608. Noting that Milton "has been accused in some quarters over the years of being boring" the Yorker's editors offered the following observation:
“Never mind,” as Jonathan Rosen has written, “that he survived imprisonment, the threat of execution and assassination, the plague and the Great Fire of London, and, blind and disillusioned, dictated the greatest long poem in the English language.” 

Milton, bless him, was also a Free Speecher. As he wrote in Areopagitica (1644): "Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God’s image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself." 

Chavez/Huerta Solar Calendar Update 

Weather permitting, there will be a Winter Solstice ceremony at the Berkeley Marina's Solar Memorial on Tuesday, December 21. 

Santiago Casal (the driving force behind the creation and maintenance of the Cesar Chavez/Dolores Huerta Memorial Solar Calendar (which sits high atop a hill at the Marina) has partnered with Ecology & Culture Stop to create a mobile tour for visitors to the site. 

The new online walking tour will cover the history and ecology of the park and its Solar Calendar. With Spinnaker Way and the Turnaround currently closed for construction, the tour is set to start after the work wraps up in January/February—just in time for the Chavez/Huerta Commemorative Period (March 21 to April 10) which includes the Spring Equinox, the start of the 2022 planting season, and the birthdays of Chavez (March 31) and Huerta (April 10). 

The Global Food Metaverse 

I was just enjoying a sip of apple juice from a store-bought bottle that I chose because the label boasted the drink contained no "additives"—"only juice." 

But then I noticed the back of the label stated the ingredients contained "juices from Brazil, Chile, China, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine and US." 

I can't imagine how/why so many disparate nations could-have/should-have contributed their local juices to the contents of a single 12-ounce bottle for sale in Berkeley. 

That got me wondering if anyone has written a book about the profit-driven world of multinational food-mongers. I was imagining an investigative tour de force titled "The Global Gobble" but Google quickly informed me that name's already been claimed—by a food and beverage company in Maharashtra, India. 

Well, it turns out the book does exist. Thanks to Greta Zarro, the Organizing Director at World BEYOND War, for recommending Wenonah Hauter's excellent exposé of capitalism's calculated corporate consolidation of crops in her perfectly titled tome, Foodopoly. (In addition to being a good exposé, the book is replete with dozens of meme-worthy graphs and charts.) 

A 2024 GOP Coup in the Making? 

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has spelled out a dire scenario if the Dems lose their slim House and Senate majorities in the 2022 mid-term elections. Where that to happen—and 33 GOP voter-suppression laws have been passed in 19 states (so far) to assure a Republican sweep—the new Speaker of the House would be Kevin McCarthy. The Trumpublicans have already demonstrated they are willing to ignore the popular vote and overturn the outcome of the Electoral College in order to reinstate the twice-impeached TrumPOTUS. TrumpleThinSkin has signaled that a GOP takeover in 2022 would seal the deal for his return in 2024 because—as the DCCC predicts—he would then have "a puppet [McCarthy] in place to deliver him the presidency on a silver planner… even if he loses the 2024 election in the popular vote and the Electoral College." 

SMITHEREENS: Reflections on Bits & Pieces 

By Gar Smith 

MLK Middle School: Dead and Alive 

aThe students at MLK Jr. Middle School have totally transformed their block on Rose Street and it's worth a drive—or a walk—to swing by and appreciate the changes. 

In October, on the Day of the Dead, scores of students tip-toed over the wide steps at the school building's entrance and laid down a carpet of colorful paint to celebrate the occasion. 

In November, the students returned to swarm over the campus' recently uprooted lawn and hand-planted a variety of saplings—hundreds of them —to create a dense, ecological, carbon-capturing Miyawaki Forest. 

The Economy in Three Sentences 

On Monday I got a federal notice that my Social Security checks for 2022 were being increased 5.9% to reflect the Cost of Living (Note: the actual 2021 COLA was 6.8%). 

On Wednesday, I found that the price of every item in the Dollar Store had increased from $1 to $1.25—a 25% hike (meanwhile, the price of gas has risen 58%) 

Time to apply for food stamps. 

Cleaning Up at the Laundromat 

The Central Launderette, which has been in the same spot on Shattuck since the 1940s, recently surprised me with an unexpected gift. 

While I was moving a load of wet laundry from my bags to the nearest empty driers, one of the laundry staff emerged from behind her counter, tip-toed in my direction, executed a perfect bow and extended her hands with an offering of two shiny quarters. 

They came with a receipt that indicated the gift had been registered as a "Senior Discount." 

I happily plunked the unexpected change into the drier slots. But then, as I watched my sheets and undies tumbling, I started to wonder: "Hey! I'm wearing a mask and a hat. How did she determine that I was eligible for special 'senior' status? Are my ears starting to sag? Are the bags under my eyes starting to look more like satchels?" 

That will be a question for my next visit. 

Watch Those Double Negatives 

Carve this one in stone! Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45^th President of the USA:
"Anybody that doesn't think there wasn't massive Election Fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election is either very stupid or very corrupt." 

Blinken and Nod 

Trump has his Big Lie (that the 2020 US election was rigged and stolen) and Joe Biden has his own Big Lie that claims that Venezuela's recent election was neither free nor fair. Biden's Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Venezuela's election "flawed" and "grossly skewed." 

In fact, unlike some previous elections, Venezuela's latest ballot included opposition parties (they actually won some of the contests). The election drew 8 million peaceful voters and was overseen by more than 130 election observers from 55 countries and inspectors from the UN, EU, and the Latin-American Council of Electoral Experts—all of whom pronounced the voting and ballot-counting to have be transparent and fair. 

Meahwhile, Biden announced a Summit of Democracy and invited Juan Guaido, the discredited leader of a Trump-backed coup that attempted—and failed —to seize power during Venezuela's 2019 election. Guaido, the "self-declared president" of Venezuela, failed to oust leftist leader Nicolás Maduro—even though Guaido had the personal endorsement of then-VP Mike Pence. 

To democracy's shame, when Biden introduced Guaido at his Democracy Summit, members of both the Republican and Democratic parties gave Trump's failed usurper a standing ovation. 

Biden and Blinken criticized the "low turnout" for the Venezuela election in which 42% of Venezuelans voted. Fun fact: the average turnout for US elections only runs around 55%. (The 2020 election had the biggest turnout in the 21^st century—66.8%.) 

A Post-Halloween Capitalism Quote 

A few words from the pen of British scholar Mark Fisher who, reflecting on the topic of Capitalist Realism, wrote: "Capital is an abstract parasite, an insatiable vampire and zombie maker; but the living flesh it converts into dead labor is ours, and the zombies it makes are us." 

"Renewal Creep" 

That's the term for a common billing practice wherein publications and member organizations mail renewal statements months before the memberships actually expire. Some renewals come two months before a membership ends; some arrive three-to-eight months early. The result is that subscribers and supporters can wind up paying earlier each year while the magazines and organizations derive major dividends. 

I've been tracking this phenomenon since 2015 and have seen the practice invoked across the board. Some of the worst offenders include: AARP, Brady Campaign, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Committee, and Greenpeace. 

A few weeks ago, I received a subscription reminder from Consumer Reports that included the offer of a free subscription for a friend along with payment of my yearly renewal. I sent off a check along with the name of a family member. Two weeks later, I received an "Urgent Note" from CR stating that I needed to send in a $30 renewal check ("Reply by 12/06/21"). It was only with this second billing that I noticed the expiration date on my CR membership invoice—January 2023! 

That's what "Renewal Creep" looks like. 

Weather or Not? 

How accurate are TV weathercasts? Do TV forecasters ever apologize when they get their predictions totally wrong? Case in point: On December 6, one of our local weatherfolk stood in front of an animated satellite map and waved his hand over a moving carpet of clouds that were predicted to stream over the Bay Area on December 7. The forecast was for more fog, little sunshine, and the likelihood of sprinkles. 

But weathercasters' "satellite images" are not reality: they are fictitious extrapolations of what was predicted to happen. And the bleak weather didn't happen. Instead, the day began with clear skies and remained cloudless and sunny all day long. 

So did the weatherwonk address the miscasting? Instead of confessing "We blew it!" he offered an oblique reference—"Well, we did manage some sun today"—that he attributed to "weather whiplashes." My favorite weather prediction for the week cam from the same weather pundits, who projected that the overnight temps would drop so low that it could "cause the fog to freeze." 

US A-bombs in Germany 

During a recent webinar on the topic of "NATO and War," a panel of global strategists reviewed the status of Washington's nuclear capability on European soil. One of the participants mentioned that the US currently has 160 nuclear weapons stored on the ground in fice European nations—Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and Turkey. 

In 2020, a national poll in Germany found 83% of the public wanted the weapons removed. While the outgoing Merkel government remained steadfast in its support of US nukes on German soil, members of the incoming coalition government—the Social Democrats and the Greens—had openly called for the removal of the weapons and for Germany to join 50 other nations that have ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. 

The new government was close to passing legislation insisting on the removal of Washington's nuclear weapons. Under NATO guidelines, however, member countries cannot compel the Pentagon to pack up its nukes and leave. Challenged by Berlin's new left-leaning leadership, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reportedly made an offer: NATO would agree to remove the bombs from Germany only with the understanding that the weapons would be moved to a new location closer to the Russian border. 

In order to avoid a major provocation with Russia, the German reformers withdrew the call to denuclearize their country. 

New Book Celebrates Berkeley's Free Speech Movement 

A newly published book by Ellen Shrecker, The Lost Promise: American Universities in the 1960s, includes a chapter on Berkeley's Free Speech Movement (Chapter 4: "The Berkeley Invention"). 

New York University (NYU) history prof Noam Chomsky (who taught at UCB during the Sixties) has called Schrecker's book a "careful and enlightening account." NYU history professor Robert Cohen calls the book "by far the best yet on the national campus political scene, which is not surprising since Ellen is the author of the classic work, No Ivory Tower, on academic McCarthyism." Cohen (whose books include the classic FSM account, Freedoms' Orator: Mario Savio and the Radical Legacy of the 1960s) notes that, unlike many books on the 60s that are "condescending to the student movement," Schrecker's work is "empathetic, fair-minded, and even deconstructs the twisted logic of movement detractors who caricatured student protest as irrational." In addition to revisiting the history of the FSM, Shrecker's book assesses the student movement nationally and cites its faculty supporters and critics. 

The National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions will be Zooming a panel discussion on the book at noon on Wednesday, December 15. Speakers will include both Schrecker and Cohen, You can click on this link for a University of Chicago Press flyer that offers Shrecker's book at a 25% discount.  

A Neat Lit Hit Notes Milton's Tomes 

The December 9 selection of online offerings from The New Yorker included a salute to Paradise Lost poet John Milton, who was born in December 1608. Noting that Milton "has been accused in some quarters over the years of being boring" the Yorker's editors offered the following observation:
“Never mind,” as Jonathan Rosen has written, “that he survived imprisonment, the threat of execution and assassination, the plague and the Great Fire of London, and, blind and disillusioned, dictated the greatest long poem in the English language.” 

Milton, bless him, was also a Free Speecher. As he wrote in Areopagitica (1644): "Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God’s image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself." 

Chavez/Huerta Solar Calendar Update 

Weather permitting, there will be a Winter Solstice ceremony at the Berkeley Marina's Solar Memorial on Tuesday, December 21. 

Santiago Casal (the driving force behind the creation and maintenance of the Cesar Chavez/Dolores Huerta Memorial Solar Calendar (which sits high atop a hill at the Marina) has partnered with Ecology & Culture Stop to create a mobile tour for visitors to the site. 

The new online walking tour will cover the history and ecology of the park and its Solar Calendar. With Spinnaker Way and the Turnaround currently closed for construction, the tour is set to start after the work wraps up in January/February—just in time for the Chavez/Huerta Commemorative Period (March 21 to April 10) which includes the Spring Equinox, the start of the 2022 planting season, and the birthdays of Chavez (March 31) and Huerta (April 10). 

The Global Food Metaverse 

I was just enjoying a sip of apple juice from a store-bought bottle that I chose because the label boasted the drink contained no "additives"—"only juice." 

But then I noticed the back of the label stated the ingredients contained "juices from Brazil, Chile, China, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine and US." 

I can't imagine how/why so many disparate nations could-have/should-have contributed their local juices to the contents of a single 12-ounce bottle for sale in Berkeley. 

That got me wondering if anyone has written a book about the profit-driven world of multinational food-mongers. I was imagining an investigative tour de force titled "The Global Gobble" but Google quickly informed me that name's already been claimed—by a food and beverage company in Maharashtra, India. 

Well, it turns out the book does exist. Thanks to Greta Zarro, the Organizing Director at World BEYOND War, for recommending Wenonah Hauter's excellent exposé of capitalism's calculated corporate consolidation of crops in her perfectly titled tome, Foodopoly. (In addition to being a good exposé, the book is replete with dozens of meme-worthy graphs and charts.) 

A 2024 GOP Coup in the Making? 

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has spelled out a dire scenario if the Dems lose their slim House and Senate majorities in the 2022 mid-term elections. Where that to happen—and 33 GOP voter-suppression laws have been passed in 19 states (so far) to assure a Republican sweep—the new Speaker of the House would be Kevin McCarthy. The Trumpublicans have already demonstrated they are willing to ignore the popular vote and overturn the outcome of the Electoral College in order to reinstate the twice-impeached TrumPOTUS. TrumpleThinSkin has signaled that a GOP takeover in 2022 would seal the deal for his return in 2024 because—as the DCCC predicts—he would then have "a puppet [McCarthy] in place to deliver him the presidency on a silver planner… even if he loses the 2024 election in the popular vote and the Electoral College." 

When I first became severely psychotic in 1982, apparently my father realized he was in over his head in trying to deal with me alone, and believed I needed professional help. He first took me to an inpatient psychiatric ward at Kaiser. However, when I was there, despite not threatening anyone or assaulting anyone, I was physically wild, such that the staff at the hospital wouldn't let me into their psych ward and said that I needed a locked ward. They referred me to Gladman in Oakland. At the time, Gladman may have been very different from how it now is. I'm not sure about this, as I haven't kept up on changes in Gladman. 

In Gladman, I was seen as out of hand, and staff decided to strap me down to physical restraints. This is inhumane treatment, but staff believed it was necessary. I'm very mixed on putting people in restraints. For a lot of patients, there are alternatives that do not create nearly as much suffering or as much risk to life. 

I'd been given a big shot of Haldol, with a big needle in the buttocks, and by the next day I was feeling the side effects of that. I was out of restraints, but I couldn't focus my eyes or carry on a conversation. 

That was how my first episode of severe psychosis began, but I was in store for worse. I don't have space or inclination here to share more of that. 

Medicating a person for a psychiatric illness, if we were to make enough advances, could seem like treatment straight out of the Stone Age. Advances in treatment of mental illnesses will necessitate funding. Even the invention of better medications would be welcome. 

NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness, is probably a major source of this funding. That organization is composed primarily of parents and other relatives of psychiatric consumers, and it is well organized and well-funded. If I'm not mistaken, NAMI funds research. However, E. Fuller Torrey, a famous psychiatrist and author--who is controversial among consumers and disliked by many of us, in an essay I read, complained that there is not enough funding toward research. 

Torrey claimed there had been no significant advances since the invention of Clozaril, more than twenty years previous. (I don't know enough about Torrey to be aligned with him or against. Most psychiatrists whom I've seen have been a big help, and so have many nonpsychiatric doctors. But there have also been some rotten ones.) 

Many people in favor of alternative medicine might think schizophrenia would respond to exercise and purifying the body. However, the net result is a person in great physical condition, who has severe, ongoing psychosis and resultant brain damage. 

How do you cure mental illness with herbal remedies, with acupuncture, with chiropractic, with mindfulness? You don't. None of this works. For mindfulness or for any of the above to help, you need to begin with a calm, receptive person. If you are severely psychotic, you are not calm or receptive. Once you've reached a state of severe psychosis, you will not respond to reasoning. You will not respond to many things that neurotypical people assume are universal. Herbs will be useless. 

If you are depressed, St. John's Wort sometimes works, and it is also possibly a Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor, or MAOI, which, coincidentally, some pharmaceutical antidepressants are. I bring this up because MAOIs adversely interact with some foods and with some other medications. 

I'm not going to be bogus and say that no herbal medicines do anything to help with ailments. Marijuana helps many cancer patients with pain and other problems. Yet, try giving pot to a schizophrenic person in treatment--you'll get instant "decompensation" because most of today's marijuana is more potent than it ever was, and it doesn't mix well at all with antipsychotics. In the nineteen eighties, my first outpatient psychiatrist gave me kind words of advice--he advised against smoking pot. Marijuana is a very dangerous substance for someone who leans toward psychosis. 

Alcohol may have a mild antipsychotic effect, but then you're creating an alcohol dependent person who might have slightly milder psychosis. It is not advisable to try alcohol to treat mental illness, under any circumstances. Doing such a thing makes a bad problem into a dire problem. Alcohol doesn't mix with numerous medications that psychiatric consumers are prescribed. 

Naturally occurring substances do affect people, and in some instances might help some mentally ill people a little. But if you want a person to get well, don't expect it to come from alternative medicine. That is an opinion, and anyone who wants to conduct a scientific study refuting that will get my attention. 

By my experience, mindfulness helps with managing a psychotic disorder--when it is used as an adjunct to conventional treatment. Anything you can do to increase your arsenal of useful strategies is going to help. 

Mindfulness allows me to cope with the absurd life circumstances that I have to face, which have partly come about from people's perceptions. When a person is diagnosed with schizophrenia or anything major, the package deal is that life circumstances become crazy, due to government and due to how people behave toward a person with a diagnosis. Mindfulness, in that case, is essential. It can help you do the mental gymnastics needed to deal with having the life of a mentally ill person. 

Additionally, mindfulness helps me not be quite so stuck on delusional thoughts, even while they still arise and can potentially take over if I'm not careful. Mindfulness helps me not hate myself, but instead to accept myself and not identify with having a brain defect. It is not how good your brain is that counts, it is how well you use it. 

Mindfulness can do a lot of good for mentally ill people, but it does not cure a condition. I've tried that path and won't try it again. 

Some have believed their illness is caused by a food allergy. I can't say this has never happened because I don't have access to the facts in those cases. If scientists want to study food toxins affecting the brain and causing mental illness, that would not be a waste of time. 

Psych meds at best do only part of the job of getting a patient to get well. The rest is up to the patient, who has to find all manner of strategies to make life better for oneself. Psychotherapy at best, creates more emotional comfort and more self-affinity for a consumer. It doesn't directly treat symptoms. At its worst, psychotherapy can adversely affect a patient, in ways that are not readily measured. 

If there was a natural cure to schizophrenia, it would be packaged and sold, and the inventor of it would be a billionaire. We know that a different disease, diabetes, can be managed through diet if you don't let it progress too far. 

Some people in mental health believe in taking measures early in a person's life, to prevent full-scale psychosis if it appears to be developing. But then you've got someone who might have bad effects on their life due to being on medication and in counseling at too young an age. If you start with a young person who is having it rough but hanging in there, and then institutionalize them, you could be making a hard life into a hopeless life. I'm not saying this is true all the time, but it could be so some of the time. 

I benefited from going a year without medication following the first episode of the psychiatric condition. I was able to work a demanding physical job and I was able to learn my own variety of meditation. Then I became ill again, and I needed more help. I would not repeat going off medication, because the condition would keep recurring and it would ruin my life if it didn't kill me, or someone else. There is no dogma or belief system that is always correct.

Stop Making Sense

Sometimes a mishearing still makes sense. Last week, I thought I heard a friend say: "Depression is a bad way to start the day." It turned out the speaker (who was perusing the morning Chronicle) actually said: "The press is a bad way to start the day."

Reads true either way. 

The Name's the Game 

The Progressive Populist has a new columnist and, from his name alone, you would assume this is a journalist you can trust. 

What's his name? Frank Lingo. And isn't the phrase "frank lingo" is just another way of saying "straight talk." 

I wonder how many other people might have names that match their calling. Is there a soup-kitchen cook named "Phil Bowles"? A repeat criminal named "Rob Banks"? A horticulturalist named "Rose Gardener"? Hmmmm, maybe I could get a gig as a social media pontificator if I changed my name to "Max Kred." 

A Short List of Deadpan Comments 

A friend of mine—a retired Army officer-turned-peace activist—recently responded to a joke in one of my emails by replying: "You slay me!" Her comment was meant to be light-hearted but it stopped me like a slap to the jaw. And it got me thinking. 

Our culture seems to have become too comfortable with phrases that equate murder with success and achievement. Other examples: The stand-up comic who sums up his command of the audience by crowing: "I was killin' 'em!" Or the Wall Street investor who proclaims: "I made a killing on the market." Or the sports fan who hoots a delighted cry of: "We murdered the other team!" I've also heard delighted cries of: "We annihilated them!" Fortunately, I have yet to hear anyone boast: "We assassinated the competition." 

House for Sale: Brother Can You Spare a Million? 

The Sexton Group, a real estate company in North Berkeley, recently mailed an oversized postcard to Berkeley homeowners announcing that a 1,233 square-foot, two-bedroom home in the 1600 block of Hopkins Street had been sold for $1,625,000. (It had been listed at $1,095,000.) The Sexton realtors didn't have to go out of their way to seal the deal, either. Their office (at 1624 Hopkins) was located right across the street from the million-dollar domicile. 

Karmic Strips 

With the exception of Sundays, Garry Trudeau's daily Doonesbury strip is in reruns, so reading these old panels can sometimes cause some jarring disconnects. A recent offering, however, showed that progress can be made with the passage of time. 

In the reprinted strip from August 1996, pot-head entrepreneur Zonker Harris asks a colleague named Cornell why he's sounding stressed. 

Cornell replies: "I cant get hold of any pot for our AIDS patients. Our regular sources have been spooked ever since the Cannabis Buyers Club in San Francisco got raided." Zonker is shocked: "You mean, where all the elderly cancer patients go to puff?" Yes, Cornell replies: "100 heavily armed narcs stormed it with a battering ram." 

The official who ordered the raid, California Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren, was not amused. Within hours, the New York Times reported, Lungren called a press conference to denounce Trudeau's strip. ''No one should be laughing,'' said Lungren. Then, as the New York Times reported, Lungren "ask[ed] newspapers in the state to censor the rest of the week's cartoons as a public service." 

It's good to see there's been some progress in the past 25 years. 

Jimmy Kimmel Strips Emperor Trump 

Doonesbury's Gary Trudeau has also made a public pledge that, henceforth, whenever Donald Trump makes an appearance in his strip, the Twice-impeached Loser will be depicted with blood on his hands. Late Show host Stephen Colbert has similarly vowed never to utter Trump's name on air. And now, in his November 23 opening monologue, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has solemnly announced: "if I'm forced to show a video clip of Donald Trump blabbering about this or that, from now on, the 'emperor' will appear with no clothes." 

Go to minute 1:35 in the following video, if you dare. Viewers' Discretion Advised: Once seen, the obscene scene cannot be "unseen." 

Shoot to Kyle (But Never Say Die) 

The judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial revealed a shocking streak of bias when he instructed the jurors that the two men shot and killed by the teen-age militia-boy were not to be called "victims" but were to be referred to as "looters" and "arsonists." 

This partisan tendency to pamper certain practitioners of violence also cropped up in Britain recently, when a BBC anchor reporting on violence in Gaza was caught telling viewers that a number of Israelis had been "killed" in the conflict while some Palestinians had simply "died." 

White-Wing-of-the-Rightwing Courts Killer Kyle 

Meanwhile, a White Sovereignty scrimmage erupted as rival members of the GOP Right raced to claim the jury-acquitted Kenosha Killer as their own. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) immediately went on Instagram to offer Rittenhouse a job. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) announced plans to offer Rittenhouse a post as a Congressional intern. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) vowed he would "arm wrestle Matt Gaetz to get dibs for Kyle as an intern." TrumpleThinSkin" even invited the sobbing slayer over for a visit at Mar-a-Lago. 

Be forewarned, America. If Der Trumpf re-seizes power in 2024, he might well appoint Rittenhouse to head his Department of Homeland Security. 

'Pentagon Roulette' Is 'Russian Roulette with Nukes' 

On October 19, the Pentagon and its NATO allies began a major military exercise along the Russian border. It lasted through November and was called "Global Thunder." On November 23, Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called a press conference to complain that the US had carried out a "simulated nuclear strike" against Russia by launching 30 flights of "10 strategic bombers… employing nuclear weapons … from the western and eastern directions" and coming "within 12.4 miles" of Russia's borders. 

Who was the Pentagon strategist who came up with the idea of naming a simulated atomic first-strike air attack on Russia "Global Thunder"? That title sounds like (A) the next Avengers movie or (B), the last thing humans will hear as the planet explodes around us. 

A Peace Hero's Reflection on Thanksgiving 

What a disconnect we're living in. The calendar tells us it's holiday time — "so take your mind off those daily worries and go stuff yourself" — meanwhile our over-baked planet is going to pot roast. 

US Army vet, author ("Blood on the Tracks"), and international peace activist S. Brian Willson recently emailed some thoughts about the holiday known as "Thanksgiving Day." Worth sharing, I thought. So here's some perspective from a courageous Vietnam War soldier-turned-protester who lost his legs when a munitions train ran him over at the Port Chicago Naval Weapons Station: 

"The Viet Nam War was one of many ugly, barbaric wars waged by our nation in the Twentieth Century justified with espousal of the outrageous “domino theory,” concocted during the Cold War. Violent wars to fight the Communist bogeyman, however, is merely a modern version of the historical genocidal violence driven by dread of the pan-Indian movements that date from before the Pequots and Narragansetts of New England. 

"If one group of 'natives' is allowed to exist free of Western market control, what is to stop others from liberating themselves—from rising up, one after another, to throw off their 'association of the philanthropic, the pious and the profitable' called colonialism? No alliances for cooperation and protection are allowed that are deemed threatening to the European investor/exploiter invasion of the New World. And that philosophy tries to rule today, despite millions of people resisting this imperial cruel control." 

Given the murderous blades/swords/knives/bayonets history surrounding the holiday, maybe the holiday could be renamed "Shanksgiving." 

Brian's Commentary on the Recent Election in Nicaragua 

On November 26, following the recent controversial presidential election in Nicaragua, S. Brian Willson was moved to share this personal account of his encounter with Nicaragua's new First Lady: 

"Within a couple of days after I was nearly assassinated—by an accelerating US Navy munitions train in Concord, CA, on September 1, 1987, barely escaping death—I was visited by the First Lady of Nicaragua, the beautiful 36-year-old Rosario Murillo, wife of President Daniel Ortega, accompanied by several of her children.  

"She went to the scene of the crime at the railroad tracks where my blood was still visible, and then came to my bedside with her children as I was just beginning to recover from multiple traumatic injuries at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek. 

"At a press conference in San Francisco, she held up a photo taken 5 months earlier in March of me shaking hands with a young Sandinista soldier amputee. Never could I have imagined I would soon become an amputee myself …. 

"The US government claimed I was a 'domestic terrorist,' which helps explain why the train crew on that day was ordered not to stop, but to barrel through. 

"The munitions train was carrying death weapons destined to murder campesinos in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Fortunately, I did survive, absent two legs below my knees, a serious skull fracture and many broken bones, but I remain committed as ever to actively oppose cruel, criminal, and insane US imperialism, in Central America, including Nicaragua, and elsewhere around the world. 

"Ms. Murillo remains a tireless defender of Nicaragua's Sandinista revolution, once again serving as First Lady to President Daniel Ortega, as well as having been elected once again to be Vice-President of the country. 

"I will always appreciate her caring visit when I was just barely alive." 

Yip! Yip! Hooray 

This just in: Three Rooms Press has just revealed the first galleys of Berkeley resident Judy Gumbo's autobiography, Yippie Girl: Exploits in Protest and Defeating the FBI. The book is due to hit the bookstore shelves in May 2022. 

With word this week that director and deadhead Martin Scorsese has hired Jason Hill to star as Jerry Garcia in a new film about the Grateful Dead, I'm wondering if Hollywood might consider a screen adaptation of Yippie Girl? If so, who would be cast in the staring role? Zendaya as a Lefty teen action hero with Lady Gaga as the grown-up Gumbo? 

Divest Is Best: Who Will Fail the Test? 

CODEPINK and Divest from the War Machine have invited denizens of the House and Senate to sign the following pledge. Let's watch and see who signs on. 

I commit to refusing campaign contributions over $200 from PACs, executives or organizations representing the top five weapons manufacturers: Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Boeing and General Dynamics. I also commit to refusing campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association.  

For more information, see http://www.divestfromwarmachine.org 

Getting More Bank for Your Buck — While the Planet Buckles 

While CODEPINK is focusing its attention on the behavior of solo solons in the capital, the Daily Kos Liberation League (DKLL) has launched a petition challenging major US banks to stop funding "climate-wrecking oil/coal/gas operations." 

The banking industry has made obligatory promises to clean-up/close-down their Pollution Portfolios but words are not deeds. As DKLL notes: 

"Since the Paris Agreement, top Wall Street banks (Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo) have pledged their commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Yet, they are still investing trillions into projects that have devastating impacts on the environment and contribute to appalling human rights violations of Indigenous people.  

"JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, CITI, and Bank of America all lead in bank financing for 2,300 companies across the fossil-fuel life-cycle, with JP Morgan Chase consistently deemed the world's worst fossil banker. CITI Banks is known for its commitment to funding the 100 companies with the most harmful expansion plans (like Exxon and Enbridge). Wells Fargo is the world's top fracking funder, and Bank of America had the highest financing of Liquified Natural Gas of any bank in 2020. 

It's high time the Big Banks end the charade and start seriously investing in universal survival instead of any individual's gross profits. "Big Oil's business model is about to render our homes, towns, and villages uninhabitable thanks to pollution-fueled climate collapse," Kos castigates, "Don't bank on oil. There's no honor in promoting Carbonalism 

An Antidote to Holiday Santa Claustrophobia 

Tired of the same tried-and-truly boring medley of holiday sing-alongs? Rejoice! Nancy Schimmel has come up with an alternative to "Silent Night," "Joy to the World" and "The Little Drummer Boy." As Schimmel explains: "I wrote the words to 'Mrs. Claus' driving home from a visit to Inverness at this time of the year back in the last century…. Several local cabaret singers have taken up the song but, of course, we would like it to be world famous, so, if you enjoy it, please pass it on!" 

Voices of Music, a chamber ensemble headed by Hanneke van Proosdij and David Tayler,offered a fine program of Baroque concertos at venues in Palo Alto, Berkeley, and San Francisco on December 17-19. I attended the Berkeley concert on December 18 at First Congregational Church. Opening the program was the Don Quixote Suite by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). 

This endearing suite is a “concerto” in all but name, being an ensemble without designated soloists. Inspired by Cervantes’ comic novel, Telemann’s Don Quixote Suite begins with an overture that starts out with stately rhythms that suggest the chivalric bent of Don Quixote’s imagination. Quickly, however, the music becomes mercurial, suggesting all the twists and turns of Don Quixote’s adventures and misadventures. Lively segments portray episodes such as the battle with windmills, the knight’s amorous sighs for his Dulcinea, the squire Sancho Panza being wrapped in a blanket and tossed in the air, the galloping of the hero’s horse Rocinante and of Sancho Panza’s donkey, and, finally, Don Quixote’s dreams. Throughout this suite, the string ensemble was accompanied by Hanneke van Proosdij on harpsichord and Katherine Heater on baroque organ. Noteworthy were elements of interplay between violins and cellos. 

Telemann’s Don Quixote Suite is an affectionate tribute to the much-loved tale of the follies of Cervantes’ hero and his squire. 

Next on the program was the Violin Concerto in A Major by Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770). Though Tartini’s parents wanted him to become a priest, as a law student in Padua Giuseppe Tartini perfected his fencing skills and at age 18 incurred the wrath of Cardinal Cornaro, archbishop of Padua, by marrying the Cardinal’s 20 year-old protégée, Elisabetta Primavore. The enraged Cardinal charged Tartini with abduction, causing him to flee Padua and take refuge anonymously in a Franciscan monastery in Assisi., where Tartini devoted himself to mastering the violin. In 1715, Cardinal Cornaro forgave Tartini and invited him to return to Padua where he was reunited with his wife. They remained married for 59 years but had no children. 

Legend has it that when Tartini heard Florentine violinist Francesco Maria Veracini play, he became unsatisfied with his own self-taught technique. So he sequestered himself in Ancona to work out an entirely new bowing and fingering technique modeled on that of Veracini. By age 28, Giuseppe Tartini was a noted violinist who soon took up the post of Concertmaster at St. Anthony’s Basilica in Padua, a position he held for 44 years. He founded a school for violinists at Padua and became known as a great teacher of violin playing. However, in 1740 Tartini suffered an arm injury that obliged him to explore a different bowing technique. He wrote several treatises on violin playing and on acoustic theory. 

Tartini’s Violin Concerto in A Major, D 91, one of several he wrote in that key, begins with an Allegro movement in which the ensemble offers three striking chords in quarter notes. Then the violin soloist, here Elizabeth Blumenstock, embellishes the opening motif with many virtuosic elements, including florid ornaments, perky trills, arpeggios modulating through a challenging series of harmonies, and scales in double-stopped thirds. This concerto’s second movement is a lovely, lyrical Adagio, beautifully rendered here by Elizabeth Blumenstock. A very lively Presto in triple meter closes this concerto with more virtuosic display from the soloist. 

After intermission, Voices of Music opened the concert’s second half with the Concerto in G Major or “Christmas” Concerto of Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713). First performed on Christmas Eve of 1690 in Rome, this charming concerto offers musical tableaux of the Nativity. It opens with a brief introduction marked Vivace, then offers a meditative movement marked Grave sostenuto. With the first of two Allegros, the trio of soloists takes over, here featuring Elizabeth Blumenstock and Kati Kyme on baroque violins and Willima Skeen on cello. A running motif suggests the shepherds hurrying to view the babe in the manger. Then a sweet Adagio offers a gently rocking motif that suggests a cradle being rocked. An Allegro briefly interrupts the gentle rocking, which soon, however, resumes with a calming effect. In the final Pastorale, the ensemble imitates the drones of shepherds’ bagpipes to accompany the gentle lullaby played by the trio of soloists. 

Next on the program was the Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). In this concerto the violin soloist was Rachell Ellen Wong, a rising young performer on both baroque violin and the modern violin. Here she performs on baroque violin. Bach is credited with developing a more unified concerto form in which soloist and ripieno ensemble work together harmoniously rather than in competition with each other. In the A minoir Concerto, the ensemble opens with striking chords that will repeat throughout this Allegro movement, with the soloist taking up these chords and ornamenting them in lively fashion. The Andante in the key of C Major features a recurring ostinato from the cellos and delightful roulades from the solo violinist. The final movement, a lively Allegro assai, features difficult passage work from the solo violinist, here masterfully performed by Rachel Ellen Wong. 

Closing out this concert was La Follia by Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762). Having studied with Arcangelo Corelli, Francesco Geminiani here takes up a Corelli set of variations written for a single violin and basso continuo and adds a second violin and a cello. This trio of instruments was here played by Elizabeth Blumenstock and Kati Kyme on violins and Willian Skeen on cello. For this piece by Geminiani, David Tayler switched from archlute to baroque guitar, thus providing a refreshingly new sound. Especially noteworthy was Elizabeth Blumenstock’s virtuosic 

perfomance on violin. This delightful and constantly surprising set of variations brought this lovely concert to a glorious close. Throughout the concert Hanneke van Proosdij conducted from the harpsichord. 

Worth Noting:

City Council winter recess begins December 15. Tuesday will be the last council meetings until January 18, 2022 unless some emergency dictates another.



Monday morning the Budget & Finance Committee meets at 9 am to review the final AAO (Annual Appropriations Ordinance – the mid-year budget allocations) – recommend reviewing the agenda document and priority list before the meeting. The evening Town Hall at 6 pm with the Mayor will be recorded if you can’t watch it at 6 pm.

Tuesday is a marathon day for City Council starting with a closed session at 3 pm, followed with special session at 4 pm and the regular meeting at 6 pm with a very long agenda.

Wednesday the Independent Redistricting meets at 6 pm. The goBerkeley SmartSpace Pilot for Elmwood that ends 2-hour free parking in RPP – in select areas of the Elmwood neighborhood meets at 6:30 pm – sign-up with Eventbrite. The Zoning Ordinance Revision Project (ZORP) meets at 7 pm.

Thursday the goBerkeley SmartSpace for the Southside/Telegraph neighborhood meets at 6:30 pm – sign-up with Eventbrite. The Design Review Committee and the Mental Health Commission both meet at 7 pm. The Rent Stabilization Board also meets at 7 pm, but the agenda and links are not posted.

 

Sunday, December 12, 2021 - No City meetings or events found 

Monday, December 13, 2021 

City Council Budget & Finance Committee at 9 am 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82563730990 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 825 6373 0990 

AGENDA: 2. FY 2021year-end and FY 2022 1^st qtr update, 3. FY 2022 Annual Appropriations Ordinance (AAO) #1, 4. Measure U1 & Measure P Update, 5. Vacancy Report, 6. Police Overtime, 7. American Rescue Plan Update, 8. UC Berkeley Settlement Agreement Overview/Fire Department Recommendations. 

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

Mayor Jesse Arreguin’s Virtual Town Hall at 6 pm (Town Halls are recorded) 

Submit your questions here by 3 pm on 12/13 

Videoconference: jessearreguin.com 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 856 0738 7304 Passcode: 455238 

AGENDA: Development Agreement with Bayer, COVID-19, Holiday Updates, and News $5 million for new park – Santa Fe Right of Way, Future of Ashby and North Berkeley BART Stations, 

Peace and Justice Commission at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us)2web.zoom.us/j/85439259369 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 854 3925 9369 

AGENDA: 3. Public Comment, 8. Normalize Relations with Cuba, 9. Recognizing the Japanese American Day of Remembrance. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=13054 

Youth Commission at 5 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85925075321? 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 134 6248 7799 Passcode: 621930 

AGENDA: 12. Update on Council recommendations. 

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

Tuesday, December 14, 2021 

City Council CLOSED Session at 3 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86173794003 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 861 7379 4003 

AGENDA: 1. Public Employee Appointment – Position Director of Police Accountability. 

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

City Council SPECIAL Meeting at 4 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83481524655 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 834 8152 4655 

AGENDA CONSENT: 1. 2021 Educator Housing Notice of Funding Availability Funding Reservation – reserve $24,500,000 in Measure O affordable housing bond funds for BUSD at 1701 San Pablo, Waive Trust Fund guidelines to serve up to 120% of AMI, 2. 2021 Housing Trust Fund RFP Funding Reservations up to $17,000,000 in Measure O anticipated in 2025 and up to $2,500,000 FY2023 Measure U1 for Ashby Losts, Ephesians Legacy Court, MLK House, St. Paul Terrace, Supportive Housing People’s Park, 3. $8,463,535 - Funding recommendation and Joint Homekey Application for Golden Bear Inn at 1620 San Pablo, 4. Apply for State of CA No Place Like Home funds for supportive housing at People’s Park, ACTION: 5. Amend PY21 (Program Year) Annual Action Plan to accept HOME-ARP Funds and amend Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) 5-year plan to support a Homekey Project, 6. Public Hearing and Resolution for issuance of bonds by CA Municipal Finance Authority (CMFA) ofr 2001 Ashby rental housing project, 7. Resolution Accept the Surveillance Technology Report for Automatic License Plate Readers, GPS Tackers, Body worn Cameras and the Street Level Imagery Project. 

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

City Council REGULAR Meeting at 6 pm, 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83481524655 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 834 8152 4655 

AGENDA: Full Agenda for Regular meeting follows list of meetings by day of the week or use link. 

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

Mental Health Commission DOJ Santa Rita Jail Subcommittee at 4 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82605719862 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 826 0571 9862 

AGENDA: 2. Public comment, 3. CPRA responses, 4. Current litigation involving mentally disturbed inmates held at Santa Rita Jail, 5. Alternatives to Santa Rita and psychiatric facilities, 6. Presentation and discussion on crisis stabilization in Oakland and Bend, OR. 

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

Wednesday, December 15, 2021 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Outreach Committee at 5 pm 

Videoconference: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87457803466?pwd=SmcrUFRxS2N5Z0VwdHpWQjhmOGRIdz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 874 5780 3466 Passcode: 991321 

AGENDA: 4. Public Comment, 5. Tenant Survey, 6. City Website, 7. Fair Chance Ordinance, 8. Eviction/COVID-19 Relief 9. Upcoming Webinars, Workshops. 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/ 

Independent Redistricting Commission at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89840594390 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 896 4059 4390 

AGENDA: 1. Presentation on Redistricting Criteria in City and State Law, 3. Map Review and Development Process, 4. Review and Modifications to Map Matrix, 5. Discussion and Definition of Themes Identified in Public Maps, Subcommittee Reports: 6. Appointment of Final Report Drafting Subcommittee, 7. Changes to subcommittee membership, 8. Report from Map and COI Committee, 9. Outreach Committee. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/irc/ 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/redistricting/ 

Planning Commission Zoning Ordinance Revision Project (ZORP) at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82110048002 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 821 1004 8002 

AGENDA: 2. Objective Standards for Multi-unit and Mixed-Use Residential Projects,  

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

goBerkeley SmartSpace – Elmwood Community Meeting #2 at 6:30 pm 

Register for zoom links: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/215792219337 

AGENDA: Parking management program that ends the 2-hour “free” parking in Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) areas and charges a parking fee. See maps on goBerkeley SmartSpace website for affected/selected areas. 

https://smartspace.goberkeley.info/ 

Thursday, December 16, 2021 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board at 7 pm 

Virtual Meeting links and agenda not posted, check after Monday. 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/ 

Design Review Committee at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83972411712 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 839 7241 1712 

AGENDA: 1. 600 Addison – Final Design Review – demolish buildings and structures on an industrial site and construct a research and development campus containing two buildings totaling 461,822 sq ft and 944 parking spaces. 

2. 130 – 134 Berkeley Square (between Center and Addition) – Preview – demolish two existing single-story structures and construct a 50-unit 77’6” tall 6-story mixed used building with ground floor retail, residential lobby and rooftop deck, advisory comments. 

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

Mental Health Commission at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/96361748103 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 963 6174 8103 

AGENDA: 2. Public comment, 3. Presentation Behavioral Health Crisis & 24-Hour Crisis Stabilization Programs, 4. Discussion re: Next Steps on Behavioral Health Crisis Services and Possible Action, 5. 2022 Calendar, 6. Specialized Care Unit Steering Committee, 7. Re-Imagining Public safety Task Force Update, 8. Santa Rita Jail Subcommittee Report, 9. Mental Health Manager’s Report and Caseload Statistics, 10. MHSA INN Homeless Encampment Wellness Project Update, 11. Whole Person Care, 12. Substance Use/Harm Reduction – Services, Supports, Diversion from Criminal Legal System, 13. Policing Complaint. 

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

goBerkeley SmartSpace – Southside/Telegraph Community Meeting #2 at 6:30 pm 

Register for zoom links: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/215797665627 

AGENDA: Parking management program that ends the 2-hour “free” parking in Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) areas and charges a parking fee. See maps on goBerkeley SmartSpace website for affected/selected areas. 

https://smartspace.goberkeley.info/ 

Friday, December 17, 2021 & Saturday, December 18, 2021 & Sunday, December 19, 2021 

No City meetings or events found 

_____________________ 

FULL AGENDA for Dec 14^th City Council Regular Meeting at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83481524655 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 834 8154 4655 

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

CONSENT: 1. Bayer Development Agreement 2^nd reading, 2. Berkeley Election Reform 2^nd reading, 3. Commission Reorganization merging Animal Care Commission into Parks and Waterfront 2^nd reading, 4. Continue to meet via videoconference, 5, Ratify Local COVID emergency, 6. Minutes, 7. CoB 2022 State and Federal Legislative Platform – establishes priorities as homelessness, housing, economic development, infrastructure, public safety, sustainability and the environment and health – climate did not reach priority level and equity did not rate a mention, 8. Extension of Interim Director of Police Accountability Board, 9. PO $70,000 with Protiviti Government Services: Using GSA for vehicle no. GS-35F-0280X. 10. Formal bid solicitations $960,000, 11. Contract $150,000 with RLH & Associates, initial contract for 2 years, for Providing Temporary Governmental Financial Consulting Services for the Finance Department, 12. Contract $150,000 with Valdes and Moreno for Professional Services for the Microbond Financing Pilot Program, 13. Contract $300,000 from 9/13/2021 – 8/31/20211 with Gainey Scientific for Project Management & Consulting for the Fire Dept with an option to extend for an additional 2 years for total contract amount not to exceed $900,000, 14. Revenue $80,000 FY2022 Federal COVID-19 Funding from HHS CARES Act Provider Relief Fund, 15. Revenue Contract $250,000 with Positas College for Instructional Service Agreement to support Fire Dept Training 7/20/021 – 7/19/2024, 16. Contract $65,956 Participation Agreement and any amendments with CA Mental Health Services Authority for Statewide Prevention and Early Intervention Project thru 6/30/2022, 17. Contract to accept $274,202 Community Services Block Grant, 18. Authorize Amendment to CalPers Contract to effect changes to cost sharing agreement between City and Unrepresented PEPRA members in Unrepresented Employees Group, 19. Contract add $381,137 total $996,117 from 12/15/2021 – 6/30/2024 with Digital Hands for Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Monitoring, 20. Contract $300,000 with Alcor Solutions, Inc. for Managed Services and Upgrade for ServiceNow Application 7/1/2022-6/30/2024, 21. Contract add $133,420 total $2,192,611 from 12/12/2021-6/30/2023, 22. Contract add $733,720 total $2,288,950 and extend term to 6/30/2024 with Tyler technologies, Inc for Professional Services and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software, 23. Cash Donation $26,566 to install fencing for a dog park at Aquatic Park, 24. Contract $900,000 from 1/3/2021-6/30/2025 with Cumming Management Group, Inc for Project Management Services for the African American Holistic Resource Center, 25. Contract $100,000 includes contingency $8,251.33 with Get IT Tech for new electronic gate system at the waterfront, 26. Contract $326,723 with Best Contracting Services, Inc for Fire Station No. 3 Re-Roofing Project at 2710 Russell, 27. PO $345,000 with Arata Equipment Company for one 18-year rear loader, 28. Authorization for Additional Public Works Commission in 2021, 29. Arreguin, co-sponsors Taplin, Robinson, Bartlett – Allocating Remainder of Berkeley Relief Fund, 30. Arreguin, co-sponsors Taplin, Bartlett, Hahn – Relinquishment of up to $500 to 11^th Annual MLK Jr Celebration, 31. Arreguin, co-so-sponsor Hahn – Resolution support Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for Rising Bay, 32. Kesarwani, co-sponsors Wengraf, Droste, Bartlett – Referral to CM to Streamline ADU Permit Review and Approval, 33. Taplin – Budget Referral Pedestrian Crossing Improvements at Ashby and Action, 34. Taplin – Russell Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements, $50,000-Traffic Circle at Russell & King, $60,000-Cycle Track Crossing at Russell & San Pablo, $250,000-Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons at Russell & Sacramento, 35. Taplin, co-sponsors Bartlett, Hahn, Arreguin – Just Transition from Fossil Fuel Economy, 36. Taplin – Reaffirm City Endorsement of a Carbon Fee and Dividend letter to Barbara Lee, Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, 37. Bartlett – Refer to CM and Community Health Commission Health Care Facility Oversight, 38. Hahn – Consideration of Expansion of Paid Parking to 7 days per week to Support Parking Meter Fund and Improved Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities, 39. Robinson – Letter to UC President Michael Drake in Support of Student Researchers United-UAW, 40. Robinson, co-sponsor Hahn – Letter of Support for H.R. 4194 Peoples Response Act which would create Division of Community Safety and provide grants to local governments, state governments and community based organizations to support non-carceral approaches to public safety, ACTION: 41. CM – Amending paragraph NN of BMC Section 19.48.020, 42. CM – Public Hearing Residential Preferential Parking Program on 1600 block of Lincoln, 43. Fees: Vital Records, 44. FY 2021 Year End and FY 2022 1^st qtr Budget Update, 45. YF 2022 Annual Appropriations Ordinance – mid-year budget adjustment and allocations - Appropriations Ordinance $177, 309,914 (gross) and $163,076,585 (net), 46. CM – Response to Council - Amendments to ADU Ordinance, 47. CM-Response to Council Amendments to ADU Ordinance Public Safety Concerns, 48. Ratification of Police Accountability Board’s Standing Rules, INFORMATION REPORTS: 49. Tobacco Prevention Program. 

Public Hearings Scheduled – Land Use Appeals 

1527 Sacramento – 2^nd story addition date 2-22-2021 

2956 Hillegass - addition to nonconforming structure date 2-8-2021 

Remanded to ZAB or LPC 

1205 Peralta – Conversion of an existing garage 

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

SFD = Single Family Dwelling 

1259 Cornell – Raise existing 1-story SFD to become 2-story and increase height from 13’8” to 22’ 10.5” and add 716 sq ft, 12-22-2021 

2246 Fifth – new sign plan at 2222 Fifth, 2229 Fourth, 2233 Fourth, 2246 Fifth, 12-23-2021 

2740 Prince – 1^st and 2^nd floor addition at rear of existing SFD, 12-22-2021 

2129 Install signs for Bank of America – 12-23-2021 

925 University – Food establishment with sale of beer and wine, 12-22-2021 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Planning_and_Development/Land_Use_Division/Current_Zoning_Applications_in_Appeal_Period.aspx 

LINK to Current Zoning Applications https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Planning_and_Development/Land_Use_Division/Current_Zoning_Applications.aspx 

___________________ 

WORKSESSIONS 

December 7 –1. WETA/Ferry Service at the Marina, 2. Presentation by Bay Restoration Authority, 3. Update Zero Waste Rates and Priorities, 

January 20 (Thursday) – Update on City’s COVID-19 Response and 

Public Works/Infrastructure Presentation 

February 15 – Homeless and Mental Health Services 

March 15 – Housing Element Update 

April 19 – Fire Department Standards of Coverage Study 

Unscheduled Workshops/Presentations 

Cannabis Health Considerations 

Alameda County LAFCO Presentation 

Civic Arts Grantmaking Process & Capital Grant Program 

Civic Center – Old City Hall and Veterans Memorial Building 

Mid-Year Budget Report FY 2022 

Kelly Hammargren’s comments on what happened the preceding week can be found in the Berkeley Daily Planet www.berkeleydailyplanet.com under Activist’s Diary. 

If you have a meeting you would like included in the summary of meetings, please send a notice to kellyhammargren@gmail.com by noon on the Friday of the preceding week. 

This meeting list is also posted on the Sustainable Berkeley Coalition website. 

http://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html and in the Berkeley Daily Planet under activist’s calendar http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com 

If you or someone you know wishes to receive the weekly summary as soon as it is completed, email kellyhammargren@gmail.com to be added to the early email list. If you wish to stop receiving the Weekly Summary of City Meetings please forward the weekly summary you received to kellyhammargren@gmail.com 

On Thursday, December 2, the venerable Kronos Quartet returned to Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall with a program of new works the group commissioned from various composers as part of their ongoing Fifty for the Future project. This project is dedicated to making new works for string quartet available online with the goal of training students and emerging musicians in contemporary approaches to string quartet music. The Kronos Quartet consists of David Harrington and John Sherba on violins, Hank Dutt on viola, and Sunny Yang on cello. The first half of their Zellerbach concert featured short works by various contemporary composers, while the second half featured guest artist Mahsa Vahdat on vocals in songs of her own composition set to poems by Iranian writers. 

Opening the concert was Maduswara by Indonesian musician Peni Candra Bini, arranged by Jacob Garchik. Daughter of an Indonesian master puppeteer, Peni Candra Bini is one of the few female musicians perfoming in Indonesia. Maduswara was an ethereal piece featuring pizzicato plucking by violist Hank Dutt. Two-thirds into this piece, cellist Sunny Yang laid down her cello and began striking a gong. Next came the first of two short pieces for string quartet by current Cal Performances artist in residence Angélique Kidjo. Entitled YanYanKliYan Senamido I & II, these works were here receiving their world premiere performances. The second piece by Angélique Kidjo, which closed the first half of this program, was especially ingratiating for its lively, exuberant writing. 

In between the Kidjo works we heard Terry Riley’s This Assortment of Atoms III, which included a lovely cello solo played by Sunny Yang, and Missy Mazzoli’s Enthusiasm Strategies. In the latter piece it was notable that the second violin, here played by John Sherba, often took the melodic lead. 

With no intermission, David Harrington introduced Iranaian vocalist Mahsa Vahdat. Possessed of a remarkable, bell-like voice of penetrating clarity, Mahsa Vahdat launched first into a song she composed, The Sun Rises, set to a poem by Forough Farrokhzad. Next came a song she set to a poem, Vanishing Lines, by Persian poet Hafez. Mahsa Vahdat’s third song was set to a poem, My Ruthless Companion, by Rumi. Where the first two songs were plaintive, the Rumi song was lively and playful. Next Mahsa Vahdat performed a song she set to one of her poems, Vaya, Vaya. She closed with two more songs set to poems by Rumi, Placeless and I was Dead.  

Throughout her performance she was beautifully accompanied by the Kronos Quartet. For the sole encore, Mahsa Vahdat chose to sing a lively Kurdish song, ending this intriguing concert on an exuberant note.

On Friday, December 10, the Future was Once Again Now, as the 2021 Adler Fellows Concert brought fresh young voices to the stage of Herbst Theatre. San Francisco Opera’s Music Directer Eun Sun Kim conducted the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, leading off the program with the Overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila by Mikhail Glinka. The first vocal offering featured baritone Timothy Murray as Figaro singing “Largo al factotum” from Gioachino Rossini’s Il rbiere di Siviglia. Murray, a second year Adler Fellow, delivered this chestnut in rich tones, even breaking into falsetto at one point. It was a totally convincing performance and won huge applause from the appreciative audience. 

Next on the program was bass Stefan Egerstrom as Captain Daland singing “Migst du, mein Kind” from Der Fliegende Hollānder by Richard Wagner. Egerstrom’s deep, dark bass was impressive here. Then we heard Canadian soprano Anne-Marie MacIntosh in Anne Trulove’s aria “No word from Tom…Quietly night… I go to him” from Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. Anne-Marie MacIntosh, who was recently heard as Marzelline in San Francisco Opera’s newproduction of Beethoven’s Fidelio, gave a heartfelt rendition of this aria full of anguished longing for the errant Tom Rakewell. Following this aria came tenor Christopher Colmenero singing the famous “Cielo e mar” from Amilcare Ponchielli’s La Gioconda. Colmenero’s tenor voice has a baritonal ring to it though he adroitly polished off this aria with a ravishing final high note, which won him thunderous applause. Next we heard Romanian-American soprano Esther Tonea as Donna Anna and tenor Christopher Oglesby as Ottavio in the duet “Ma qual mai s’offre, oh Dei… Fuggi, crudele, fuggi” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Esther Tonea, who previously was heard in San Francisco Opera as Diana in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You, has a sumptuous voice, rich in tonality, and she was here well partnered by tenor Christopher Oglesby. 

Closing out the first half of this concert was an ensemble featuring Canadian mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh as the composer in the number “Ich weiss nicht, wo mir der Kopf steht” from Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss. Simone McIntosh previously gave a stunning 2020 Schwabacher Recital performance of Olivier Messiaen’s rarely heard song-cycle Harawi. (See my review of that performance in the March 6 Berkeley Daily Planet and my follow-up interview with Simone McIntosh in the March 27 issue.) Simone McIntosh has a magnificent voice, full of burnished tone, astonishing range and ample power. Though slight of build, Simone McIntosh probably generates more vocal power per pound than any other singer! She absolutely stole the show in this concert, producing the true highlight of the entire evening! In her effort, she was joined by bass Stefan Egerstrom as the Music Teacher, tenor Zhengyi Bai as The Dancing Master, soprano Elisa Sunshine as a superb Zerbinetta, Esther Tonea as the Prima Donna, and Christopher Colmenero as The Tenor. Andrew King accompanied the singers on piano and Ksenia Polstiankina Barrad was heard on celeste. The composer’s final words are in praise of the power of music, the holiest of the arts, beautifully sung here by Simone McIntosh! The appreciative audience gave Simone McIntosh a thunderous ovation. 

After intermission, the concert resumed with Simone McIntosh singing the role of Idamante in Mozart’s opera Idomeneo. The Greek princess Ilia was sung by soprano Anne-Marie MacIntosh, Esther Tonea was Elletra, and tenor Christopher Colmenero rounded out the cast as Idomeneo, King of Crete, in this moving ensemble. Next we heard tenor Christopher Oglesby as Rodolfo in the aria “Che gelida manina” from Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème. Oglesby gave a fine rendition of this aria, his baritonal tenor rising to the high notes of this well-loved aria. Following this we heard soprano Elisa Sunshine as Lucia and mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh as her maid in “Regnava nel silenzio… Quando rapito in estasi” from Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Elisa Sunshine, who in 2019 created the role of Selena in Jake Heggie’s If I Were You, has a bright, sparkling soprano which was in ample display here in this aria as Lucia recalls seeing a ghost but then exults in her love for Edgardo. Simone McIntosh offered cautionary warnings as Lucia’s faithful maid and friend.  

Next we heard Chinese-born tenor Zhengyi Bai in the overly excited “Aria of the Worm” from John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles. This music is not to my taste, though I must applaud Zhengyi Bai for giving it a rousing performance. He was accompanied by Ksenia Polstiankina Barrad on synthesiser. Following this came soprano Anne-Marie MacIntosh as Norina and baritone Timothy Murray as Malatesta in the duet “E il dottor non si vede…Pronta io son!” from Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti. This delightful duet was admirably performed here by the two singers. Closing out the evening we heard soprano Esther Tonea in the aria “Col sorriso d’innocenza… Sole! Ti veda di tenebre oscure” from the opera Il Pirata by Vincenzo Bellini. Esther Tonea’s dramatic soprano voice gave an impassioned rendition of this aria, as she was joined briefly by all the other singers from this impressive group of 2021 Adler Fellows.

At San Francisco Opera, Canadian director Michael Cavanaugh has mounted Così fan tutte as the second of his planned trilogy of the Mozart-Da Ponte operas. Cavanaugh sets Le Nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, and Don Giovanni in three different time-frames of American history. Le Nozze di Figaro, which was performed here in Cavanaugh’s staging in 2019, he sets in the late 18th century, in other words, in a new nation under construction after the American Revolution. For Così fan tutte, Cavanaugh chooses the 1930s, that is, in a nation emerging from the Depression but with prospects of a war looming ominously just over the horizon. Cavanaugh also chooses to set each opera of his Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy as taking place in the same building. In Le Nozze di Figaro, it was a house newly built. In Così fan tutte, Cavanaugh arbitrarily has transformed this house into an opulent country club. 

This is a strange choice. Emerging from the Depression in the 1930s, America was hardly enjoying an opulent country-club lifestyle. Further, why in the world does Cavanaugh have the characters of his Così fan tutte play racquetball and badminton? Country-club life in America, even in the 1930s, revolved around the game of golf, not racquetball or badminton! Moreover, at one point in Cavanaugh’s Così fan tutte, images of fancy cars are projected. Included, I think, were images of high-end, luxury Duesenberg cars. Maybe the rich could afford such cars, but not the vast majority of working-class and middle-class Americans. In another arbitrary move, 

Cavanaugh depicts the fancy cars moving in reverse. Why? What’s the point of all this? Finally, the clothes designed here by Constance Hoffman were all wrong for the 1930s. 

I criticised Cavanaugh’s Le Nozze di Figaro as a wishy-washy staging full of half-measures. I now criticise his Così fan tutte as simply full of wrongheaded measures! One cannot help but wonder how Cavanaugh will treat/mistreat America in the forthcoming Don Giovanni he sets in a futuristic world of decline and dissolution, in a house now in ruins! 

Enough on Cavanaugh’s shaky stagings! Mozart’s music and Da Ponte’s witty librettos can survive even the rudest, most wrongheaded stagings! In Così fan tutte, the plot revolves around the question of women’s fidelity in matters of love. The male protagonists Guglielmo and Ferrando 

are so convinced of the sincerity of their fiancées that they are willing to bet money on it. So when Don Alfonso challenges them on this question, the guys agree to go along with Don Alfonso’s plot, which has Guglielmo and Ferrando suddenly pretend to be called up to go to war, bid their fiancées a moving farewell, then return disguised as visiting Albanians who put the make on the two sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Don Alfonso was here sung by veteran bass Ferruccio Furlanetto, Guglielmo was sung by baritone John Brancy, Ferrando was sung by tenor Ben Bliss, Fiordiligi was sung by soprano Nicole Cabell, and Dorabella was sung by mezzo-soprano Irene Roberts. The cast was rounded out by the maid Despina, sung here by soprano Nicole Heaston. The conductor was Henrik Nánási, who also conducted Cavanaugh’s 2019 production here of Le Nozze di Figaro. 

At the performance I attended on December 3, the four principal singers were all excellent, with soprano Nicole Cabell’s Fiordiligi standing out for the richness and purity of her tone. Tenor Ben Bliss made his company debut as Ferrando, and his lyric tenor voice was both tender and ample in power. Soprano Nicole Heaston’s Despina was vigorous and amusing. Conductor Henrik Nánási led a brisk rendition of the score. 

Sets were designed by Erhard Rom, costumes were by Constance Hoffman, lighting was by Jane Cox, and the San Francisco Opera Chorus was led by Ian Robertson, who will retire at the end of this season after a 35-season career. 

Mozart’s music in Così fan tutte is endlessly inventive. The lovers’ initial sighs and vows of eternal love are set to highly conventional musical styles, thus underlining the conventionality of these young characters’ notions of love. Yet when the men go off ostensibly to war then return disguised as Albanians, the plot thickens. Ferrando and Guglielmo go back and forth wooing both their own fiancée and that of the other, while the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella exhibit stark differences in their attitudes towards the disguised suitors. Dorabella is the first to admit she is intrigued and her choice, interestingly, falls not for her fiancé Ferrando but for Guglielmo. By contrast, Fiordiligi is adamant in her refusal to give in to the wooing of the Albanians. As Fiordiligi, Nicole Cabell’s aria “Come scoglio” was a thing of sheer beauty and rock-hard conviction. But, eventually, Fiordiligi too gives in to the fervent wooing of Ferrando. 

Regarding the sincerity of Ferrando’s wooing of Fiordiligi, it is a complicated issue. Is he truly in love with Fiordiligi, or is he mainly seeking revenge for Dorabella’s betrayal of him when she gives in to Guglielmo? And is Ferrando also seeking revenge on Guglielmo for seducing Dorabella and then bragging about it? Finally, is Ferrando’s ardent wooing of Fiordiligi a desperate attempt to prove his own manhood as a seducer? These are all open questions. In what is perhaps the one move I applaud by director Michael Cavanaugh, it is his decision to end Così fan tutte not with either a reconciliation of the original lovers nor a new pairing off of the lovers. Instead, Cavanaugh has the sisters enbrace each other as Guglielmo and Ferrando rush off in different directions, seemingly confused by all that has happened. 

Così fan tutte Americanized, But What’s the Point? 

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean 

At San Francisco Opera, Canadian director Michael Cavanaugh has mounted Così fan tutte as the second of his planned trilogy of the Mozart-Da Ponte operas. Cavanaugh sets Le Nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, and Don Giovanni in three different time-frames of American history. Le Nozze di Figaro, which was performed here in Cavanaugh’s staging in 2019, he sets in the late 18th century, in other words, in a new nation under construction after the American Revolution. For Così fan tutte, Cavanaugh chooses the 1930s, that is, in a nation emerging from the Depression but with prospects of a war looming ominously just over the horizon. Cavanaugh also chooses to set each opera of his Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy as taking place in the same building. In Le Nozze di Figaro, it was a house newly built. In Così fan tutte, Cavanaugh arbitrarily has transformed this house into an opulent country club. 

This is a strange choice. Emerging from the Depression in the 1930s, America was hardly enjoying an opulent country-club lifestyle. Further, why in the world does Cavanaugh have the characters of his Così fan tutte play racquetball and badminton? Country-club life in America, even in the 1930s, revolved around the game of golf, not racquetball or badminton! Moreover, at one point in Cavanaugh’s Così fan tutte, images of fancy cars are projected. Included, I think, were images of high-end, luxury Duesenberg cars. Maybe the rich could afford such cars, but not the vast majority of working-class and middle-class Americans. In another arbitrary move, 

Cavanaugh depicts the fancy cars moving in reverse. Why? What’s the point of all this? Finally, the clothes designed here by Constance Hoffman were all wrong for the 1930s. 

I criticised Cavanaugh’s Le Nozze di Figaro as a wishy-washy staging full of half-measures. I now criticise his Così fan tutte as simply full of wrongheaded measures! One cannot help but wonder how Cavanaugh will treat/mistreat America in the forthcoming Don Giovanni he sets in a futuristic world of decline and dissolution, in a house now in ruins! 

Enough on Cavanaugh’s shaky stagings! Mozart’s music and Da Ponte’s witty librettos can survive even the rudest, most wrongheaded stagings! In Così fan tutte, the plot revolves around the question of women’s fidelity in matters of love. The male protagonists Guglielmo and Ferrando 

are so convinced of the sincerity of their fiancées that they are willing to bet money on it. So when Don Alfonso challenges them on this question, the guys agree to go along with Don Alfonso’s plot, which has Guglielmo and Ferrando suddenly pretend to be called up to go to war, bid their fiancées a moving farewell, then return disguised as visiting Albanians who put the make on the two sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Don Alfonso was here sung by veteran bass Ferruccio Furlanetto, Guglielmo was sung by baritone John Brancy, Ferrando was sung by tenor Ben Bliss, Fiordiligi was sung by soprano Nicole Cabell, and Dorabella was sung by mezzo-soprano Irene Roberts. The cast was rounded out by the maid Despina, sung here by soprano Nicole Heaston. The conductor was Henrik Nánási, who also conducted Cavanaugh’s 2019 production here of Le Nozze di Figaro. 

At the performance I attended on December 3, the four principal singers were all excellent, with soprano Nicole Cabell’s Fiordiligi standing out for the richness and purity of her tone. Tenor Ben Bliss made his company debut as Ferrando, and his lyric tenor voice was both tender and ample in power. Soprano Nicole Heaston’s Despina was vigorous and amusing. Conductor Henrik Nánási led a brisk rendition of the score. 

Sets were designed by Erhard Rom, costumes were by Constance Hoffman, lighting was by Jane Cox, and the San Francisco Opera Chorus was led by Ian Robertson, who will retire at the end of this season after a 35-season career. 

Mozart’s music in Così fan tutte is endlessly inventive. The lovers’ initial sighs and vows of eternal love are set to highly conventional musical styles, thus underlining the conventionality of these young characters’ notions of love. Yet when the men go off ostensibly to war then return disguised as Albanians, the plot thickens. Ferrando and Guglielmo go back and forth wooing both their own fiancée and that of the other, while the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella exhibit stark differences in their attitudes towards the disguised suitors. Dorabella is the first to admit she is intrigued and her choice, interestingly, falls not for her fiancé Ferrando but for Guglielmo. By contrast, Fiordiligi is adamant in her refusal to give in to the wooing of the Albanians. As Fiordiligi, Nicole Cabell’s aria “Come scoglio” was a thing of sheer beauty and rock-hard conviction. But, eventually, Fiordiligi too gives in to the fervent wooing of Ferrando. 

Regarding the sincerity of Ferrando’s wooing of Fiordiligi, it is a complicated issue. Is he truly in love with Fiordiligi, or is he mainly seeking revenge for Dorabella’s betrayal of him when she gives in to Guglielmo? And is Ferrando also seeking revenge on Guglielmo for seducing Dorabella and then bragging about it? Finally, is Ferrando’s ardent wooing of Fiordiligi a desperate attempt to prove his own manhood as a seducer? These are all open questions. In what is perhaps the one move I applaud by director Michael Cavanaugh, it is his decision to end Così fan tutte not with either a reconciliation of the original lovers nor a new pairing off of the lovers. Instead, Cavanaugh has the sisters enbrace each other as Guglielmo and Ferrando rush off in different directions, seemingly confused by all that has happened. 

v

Worth Noting:

We are in the push to pack in year-end meetings and this coming week is very full. Please take a scan of all the meetings. What looks to be the most significant will be listed in the quick summary. The December 14^th Council meeting agenda is available for comment. When December 14th arrives, Council will vote on mid-year budget allocations.

Tuesday evening at 6 pm item 2 on the City Council agenda is the Pier-Ferry feasibility study. The cost of the pier-ferry project is $93 million without $32 million for two electric ferries. (the studies I have read it is less polluting per person to drive across the bridge alone than to ride an ordinary ferry) WETA Directors have been promised the Berkeley pier-ferry project will not impact the WETA budget of which only approximately 30% is covered by fares. The Dec 7 council special meeting is HYBRID – choice of attending in person, zoom or teleconference.

Wednesday evening at 5 pm CEAC will hear the Bee City recommendations. At 7 pm the Le Conte Neighborhood, BNC and CENA will sponsor together a HYBRID meeting (in-person or zoom) on Berkeley’s pilot project to charge parking in residential neighborhoods. Protection of Burrowing Owls is item 9 on the agenda of the 7 pm Parks and Waterfront Commission meeting. The Police accountability Board meets at 7 pm with a full agenda.

Thursday morning at 10 am the council Budget and Finance Committee will review the mid-year budget referrals and set priorities for the Dec 14^th full council vote. Thursday evening council will hear an update on the housing element and process toward planning for adding 8934 residential units in Berkeley. 

Sunday, December 5, 2021 - No City meetings or events found 

Monday, December 6, 2021 

Civic Arts Commission - Public Art Committee at 2:30 pm pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86089984060 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 860 8998 4060 

AGENDA: 4.a. Measure T1 Phase 2 Project Sites, b. Approval purchase of artwork by Susan Duhan Felix from current Civic Center Exhibit for $500. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/CivicArtsCommissionHomepage/ 

Personnel Board at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87851487853?pwd=cDF5dHR5V2Y5UEtReHFNcVBqd0VFZz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 878 5148 7853 Passcode: 621891 

AGENDA: III. Public comment, V. Recommendation to Re-establish the Classification and Salary Range of Senior Engineering Inspector, VI. Recommendation to Revise the Minimum Qualification for Mechanic, VII. Recommendation to Establish the Classifications Limited Term EMT and Single Function Paramedic, VIII. Recommendation to Revise the Assistant Fire Chief Classification. 

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

Police Accountability Board - Director Search at 12:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81733332670 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 817 3333 2670 

AGENDA: 4. Discussion with Brett Byers of Byers Group regarding Director of Police Accountability Board candidate profile. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=162752 

Ashby and North Berkeley BART Community Advisory Group at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83300022104? 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 833 0002 2104 Passcode: 058030 

AGENDA: 2. Recognition CAG work – Mayor Arreguin and BART Board, 3. Process going forward, 4. CAG questions, 5. Public Comment. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/bartplanning/ 

Tuesday, December 7, 2021 

City Council Special Meeting at 6 pm,  

HYBRID: In-Person, Zoom and Teleconference 

In-person at 1231 Addison  

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86272802670 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 862 7280 2670 

AGENDA: CONSENT: 1. Presentation by the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, 2. Large Scale Ferry Feasibility Study – A Preferred Concept, 3. Zero Waste Fund Proposed Five Year (FY 2023-2027) Rate Schedules, 

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

Police Accountability Board Special Meeting at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82318238840 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 823 1823 8840 

AGENDA: 3. Public Comment, 4.a. Training: Meet and Confer; Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, Presentation by Timothy Davis, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP, 5/ Public Comment. Closed Session: 6. Conference with Labor Negotiators: Designated representatives; Jon Holtzman Labor Negotiator: Katherine Lee(employee organization Berkeley Police Association) 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=162752 

Wednesday, December 8, 2021 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board - IRA/AGA Registration Committee at 5 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83526663329?pwd=ZkdCRVhkNmt5TnZRQkFQTXU5c0twdz09 

Teleconference: 1-408-638-0968 Meeting ID: 835 2666 3329 Passcode: 938658 

AGENDA: 4. Public Comment, 5. Possible action regarding amending Regulations 801 and 1311 to make clear landlords may not evict tenants from rental proptery until all current registration information has been filled out with the BOARD, 6. City’s General Plan, 7. Potential 2022 ballot initiatives. 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/ 

Board of Library Trustees at 6:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86042306505 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 860 4230 6505 

AGENDA: IV. 1^st qtr Budget Report. 

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

Civic Arts Commission at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84636357745 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 846 3635 7745 

AGENDA: 4. Presentation Affordable Housing for Artists and Cultural Workers, Presentation of Survey Findings and Recommendations, 7.a. Measure T1 Phase 2 Project Sites, b. Alternate Civic Arts Commission representative to DRC for February 2022, c. Approval of purchase of Susan Duhan Felix art for Civic center Exhibition for $500. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/CivicArtsCommissionHomepage/ 

Commission on Disability at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89243500746?pwd=NGQ3d0NQVnkzUG01QVIvUVhoQUlDUT09 

Teleconference: Meeting ID: 

AGENDA: No agenda posted – posting the community calendar looks to be an error 

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

Community Environmental Advisory Commission (CEAC) at 5 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85755206504 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 857 5520 6504 

AGENDA: 2. Public Comment, 5. Report from Chair, 6. Report from Toxics Management Division, 8. Discussion/Action Recommendation from Bee City USA. 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/Community_Environmental_Advisory_Commission/ 

Parks and Waterfront Commission at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/96974512296 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 969 7451 2296 

AGENDA: 5. Public comment, 6. Chair report, 7. Director Report, 8. Vision 2050 / Measure T1 Mailer Update 9. Protection for the burrowing owls at Cesar Chavez Park, 10. Wind and Solar Power at the Marina, 11. Parks and Waterfront Commission accomplishments/review and closure. 

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

Police Accountability Board Regular Meeting at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82237902987 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 822 3790 2987 

AGENDA: 3. Public Comment, 5. Chair - Update Reimagining Public Safety Task Force, 6. Director – Update status complaints, update training, 7. Chief Report - crime/cases, 8. Subcommittee reports a. Fair & Impartial Policing, b. director Search, c. Regulations, d. Mental Health Response, 9.a. City attorney Conflict of interest issues, b. Revision Body worn camera Policies, c. Update regarding Oct 15 incident involving a gun at Berkeley High, d. Appoint additional members to Mental Health Response Subcommittee, 10.a. Update from Interim Chief regarding progress on implementing Council directives regarding Fair & Impartial Policing, b. PAB Standing Rules on Dec 14 Council agenda, c. Vaccination status BPD employee, Closed Session: 12. Complaint #3 13. Complaint #1, 14. Complaint #2. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=162752 

Le Conte Neighborhood Assn with Berkeley Neighborhoods Council and CENA at 7 pm 

HYBRID: In-Person and zoom  

In-person at 2236 Parker – Life Adventist Church 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89955792318?pwd=TU95SHdUd0RwK1lJV2dwenRWcDEzQT09 

Teleconference: Meeting ID: 

AGENDA: Forum on Berkeley’s “Smart Space” pilot project to add hourly rates to residential parking, Presentation by Gordon Hansen, Berkeley Transportation Planner. 

Meeting will be recorded 

Thursday, December 9, 2021 

City Council Budget & Finance Committee at 10 am 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88503305300 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 885 0330 5300 

AGENDA: 1. Arreguin - Criteria and Timing for AAO Process, 2. CM - Council Fiscal Policies, 4. CM - Budget Referrals and AAO 5. Parks and Waterfront Commission – Rebuild Fund and Stabilize Finances, 6. FY 2021 4^th qtr Investment Report. 

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

City Council Special Meeting at 6 pm, - Zoom and Teleconference 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82263821024 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 822 6382 1024 

AGENDA: 1. Housing Element Update Workshop Work Session – Berkeley assigned to add 8934 residential units – with the sites inventory to accommodate between 9750 and 10,500 units (a new twist).  

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

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board - Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee at 5:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88546126766?pwd=SHFQb0IzV2Y2bZVZRndyV0ErQU11Zz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 885 4612 6766 Passcode: 147959 

AGENDA: 4. Public Comment, 5. Presentation/Discussion from Eviction Defense Center and East Bay Community Law Center, 6. Presentation/Discussion Owner Move-in Evictions/Measure AA Report. 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/ 

Zoning Adjustment Board at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89676870151 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 896 7687 0151 

AGENDA: 3. 1151 Grizzly Peak – recommend continue to January 13, 2022  

4. 2345 Channing – on consent – eliminate dwelling unit previously located at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley 

5. 1634 and 1640 San Pablo – on consent - permit modification – increase height, gross floor area and accessory structure (approved by ZAB 6/1-/2021, 

6. 1837 Berkeley Way – recommend approve - demolish rear SFD and construct a new 3-story 3-unit residential building with a rear setback of approximately 3 – 6 feet on 6,250 sq ft lot with two SFD 

7. 1643 and 1647 California – recommend approve – create new lower basement level construct new, 2^nd story and modify existing duplex layout resulting in 3,763 sq ft duplex 

8. 1201 – 1205 San Pablo – new public hearing provide advisory comments – construct 6-story, mixed-use building on vacant lot, with 66 units (including 5 Very-low income units) 1,720 sq ft of commercial space, 2514 sq ft of usable open space and 17-28 ground-level parking spaces. 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/zoningadjustmentsboard/ 

Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) at 1 pm 

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

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 897 1821 7408 Passcode: 33779 

AGENDA: 5. Staff reports: Fare Integration Study, PEPRA (Public Employees Pension Reform Act), Treasure Island CPUC filing, SSF Pilot Service, Financials, ridership, 

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

Friday, December 10, 2021 - REDUCED SERVICE DAY 

Saturday, December 11, 2021 

Berkeley Neighborhoods Council (BNC) meeting cancelled, BNC will join the LeConte Neighborhood meeting Wednesday evening. 

Sunday, December 12, 2021 - No City meetings or events found 

__________________ 

FULL AGENDA for Dec 14^th City Council Regular Meeting at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83481524655 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 834 8154 4655 

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

CONSENT: 1. Bayer Development Agreement 2^nd reading, 2. Berkeley Election Reform 2^nd reading, 3. Commission Reorganization merging Animal Care Commission into Parks and Waterfront 2^nd reading, 4. Continue to meet via videoconference, 5, Ratify Local Covid emergency, 6. Minutes, 7. CoB 2022 State and Federal Legislative Platform – establishes priorities as homelessness, housing, economic development, infrastructure, public safety, sustainability and the environment and health – climate did not reach priority level and equity did not rate a mention, 8. Extension of Interim Director of Police Accountability Board, 9. PO $70,000 with Protiviti Government Services: Using GSA for vehicle no. GS-35F-0280X. 10. Formal bid solicitations $960,000, 11. Contract $150,000 with RLH & Associates, initial contract for 2 years, for Providing Temporary Governmental Financial Consulting Services for the Finance Department, 12. Contract $150,000 with Valdes and Moreno for Professional Services for the Microbond Financing Pilot Program, 13. Contract $300,000 from 9/13/2021 – 8/31/20211 with Gainey Scientific for Project Management & Consulting for the Fire Dept with an option to extend for an additional 2 years for total contract amount not to exceed $900,000, 14. Revenue $80,000 FY2022 Federal COVID-19 Funding from HHS CARES Act Provider Relief Fund, 15. Revenue Contract $250,000 with Positas College for Instructional Service Agreement to support Fire Dept Training 7/20/021 – 7/19/2024, 16. Contract $65,956 Participation Agreement and any amendments with CA Mental Health Services Authority for Statewide Prevention and Early Intervention Project thru 6/30/2022, 17. Contract to accept $274,202 Community Services Block Grant, 18. Authorize Amendment to CalPers Contract to effect changes to cost sharing agreement between City and Unrepresented PEPRA members in Unrepresented Employees Group, 19. Contract add $381,137 total $996,117 from 12/15/2021 – 6/30/2024 with Digital Hands for Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Monitoring, 20. Contract $300,000 with Alcor Solutions, Inc. for Managed Services and Upgrade for ServiceNow Application 7/1/2022-6/30/2024, 21. Contract add $133,420 total $2,192,611 from 12/12/2021-6/30/2023, 22. Contract add $733,720 total $2,288,950 and extend term to 6/30/2024 with Tyler technologies, Inc for Professional Services and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software, 23. Cash Donation $26,566 to install fencing for a dog park at Aquatic Park, 24. Contract $900,000 from 1/3/2021-6/30/2025 with Cumming Management Group, Inc for Project Management Services for the African American Holistic Resource Center, 25. Contract $100,000 includes contingency $8,251.33 with Get IT Tech for new electronic gate system at the waterfront, 26. Contract $326,723 with Best Contracting Services, Inc for Fire Station No. 3 Re-Roofing Project at 2710 Russell, 27. PO $345,000 with Arata Equipment Company for one 18-year rear loader, 28. Authorization for Additional Public Works Commission in 2021, 29. Arreguin, co-sponsors Taplin, Robinson, Bartlett – Allocating Remainder of Berkeley Relief Fund, 30. Arreguin, co-sponsors Taplin, Bartlett, Hahn – Relinquishment of up to $500 to 11^th Annual MLK Jr Celebration, 31. Arreguin, co-so-sponsor Hahn – Resolution support Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for Rising Bay, 32. Kesarwani, co-sponsors Wengraf, Droste, Bartlett – Referral to CM to Streamline ADU Permit Review and Approval, 33. Taplin – Budget Referral Pedestrian Crossing Improvements at Ashby and Action, 34. Taplin – Russell Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements, $50,000-Traffic Circle at Russell & King, $60,000-Cycle Track Crossing at Russell & San Pablo, $250,000-Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons at Russell & Sacramento, 35. Taplin, co-sponsors Bartlett, Hahn, Arreguin – Just Transition from Fossil Fuel Economy, 36. Taplin – Reaffirm City Endorsement of a Carbon Fee and Dividend letter to Barbara Lee, Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, 37. Bartlett – Refer to CM and Community Health Commission Health Care Facility Oversight, 38. Hahn – Consideration of Expansion of Paid Parking to 7 days per week to Support Parking Meter Fund and Improved Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities, 39. Robinson – Letter to UC President Michael Drake in Support of Student Researchers United-UAW, 40. Robinson, co-sponsor Hahn – Letter of Support for H.R. 4194 Peoples Response Act which would create Division of Community Safety and provide grants to local governments, state governments and community based organizations to support non-carceral approaches to public safety, ACTION: 41. CM – Amending paragraph NN of BMC Section 19.48.020, 42. CM – Public Hearing Residential Preferential Parking Program on 1600 block of Lincoln, 43. Fees: Vital Records, 44. FY 2021 Year End and FY 2022 1^st qtr Budget Update, 45. YF 2022 Annual Appropriations Ordinance – mid-year budget adjustment and allocations - Appropriations Ordinance $177, 309,914 (gross) and $163,076,585 (net), 46. CM – Response to Council - Amendments to ADU Ordinance, 47. CM-Response to Council Amendments to ADU Ordinance Public Safety Concerns, 48. Ratification of Police Accountability Board’s Standing Rules, INFORMATION REPORTS: 49. Tobacco Prevention Program. 

Public Hearings Scheduled – Land Use Appeals 

1527 Sacramento – 2^nd story addition date 2-22-2021 

2956 Hillegass - addition to nonconforming structure date 2-8-2021 

Remanded to ZAB or LPC 

1205 Peralta – Conversion of an existing garage 

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

SFD = Single Family Dwelling 

1860 Capistrano – Alterations in the non-conforming left side yard and addition over 14 ft in average height to enclose the 15 sq ft balcony and the 43 sq ft rear balcony to add 58 sq ft, 12-7-2021 

1259 Cornell – Raise existing 1-story SFD to become 2-story and increase height from 13’8” to 22’ 10.5” and add 716 sq ft, 12-22-2021 

725 Folger – Add business support service use to an existing office building 12-7-2021 

1488 Grizzly Peak – Major Residential addition over 14 ft and over 20 ft in Hillside Overly 12-7-2021 

2717 Marin – Install an unenclosed hot tub in a side yard of a SFD 12-7-2021 

2740 Prince – 1^st and 2^nd floor addition at rear of existing SFD, 12-22-2021 

628 San Miguel – Unenclosed hot tub to rear of SFD 12-7-2021 

1634 San Pablo – Demolition of existing commercial building and construction of 1768 sq ft addition including food establishment and incidental wholesale and retail of baked goods, incidental beer and wine for seated on-site consumption, 12-7-2021 

1812 Virginia – 2-story residential addition to existing SFD including partial demolition of a portion of the rear of the house 12-7-2021 

925 University – Food establishment with sale of beer and wine, 12-22-2021 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Planning_and_Development/Land_Use_Division/Current_Zoning_Applications_in_Appeal_Period.aspx 

LINK to Current Zoning Applications https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Planning_and_Development/Land_Use_Division/Current_Zoning_Applications.aspx 

___________________ 

WORKSESSIONS 

December 7 –1. WETA/Ferry Service at the Marina, 2. Presentation by Bay Restoration Authority, 3. Update Zero Waste Rates and Priorities, 

January 20 (Thursday) – Update on City’s COVID-19 Response and 

Public Works/Infrastructure Presentation 

February 15 – Homeless and Mental Health Services 

March 15 – Housing Element Update 

April 19 – Fire Department Standards of Coverage Study 

Unscheduled Workshops/Presentations 

Cannabis Health Considerations 

Alameda County LAFCO Presentation 

Civic Arts Grantmaking Process & Capital Grant Program 

Civic Center – Old City Hall and Veterans Memorial Building 

Mid-Year Budget Report FY 2022 

Kelly Hammargren’s comments on what happened the preceding week can be found in the Berkeley Daily Planet www.berkeleydailyplanet.com under Activist’s Diary. 

If you have a meeting you would like included in the summary of meetings, please send a notice to kellyhammargren@gmail.com by noon on the Friday of the preceding week. 

This meeting list is also posted on the Sustainable Berkeley Coalition website. 

http://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html and in the Berkeley Daily Planet under activist’s calendar http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com 

If you or someone you know wishes to receive the weekly summary as soon as it is completed, email kellyhammargren@gmail.com to be added to the early email list. If you wish to stop receiving the Weekly Summary of City Meetings please forward the weekly summary you received to kellyhammargren@gmail.com