Arts & Events

The meetings worth attention are:

Tuesday is the Council worksession at 6 pm on Homeless and Mental Health Systems and Services in Berkeley. As noted the report prepared by the city fills 16 pages. A chart listing the services, funding sources, gaps and limitations would have been more useful.

Wednesday the Berkeley Rent Board Outreach Committee at 5:15 pm will have a presentation on “the right to return” aka people qualifying for affordable housing with history of living in Berkeley given preference. The Zoning Ordinance Revision Project (ZORP) at 7 pm will be reviewing proposed standards for 2 to 4-unit buildings. Berkeley is required to add 8,934 residential units in the next 8-year housing cycle “Housing Elements.” This meeting is important. You should really look at the size of individual units proposed 1950 sq ft to 3900 sq ft. and space between buildings and lot line. The merged Parks, Recreation and Waterfront will have its first meeting at 7 pm.

Thursday the Independent Redistricting Commission at 6 pm will be taking comment on the two new maps Amber-2 and Violet to redraw council district borders. The final decision will be made on February 28. The Rent Board meets at 7 pm and will have a presentation on Race and Housing. This meeting is recorded. The Design Review Committee at 7 pm will be previewing a new R&D Project and 415 car parking lot at Bancroft and Fourth.

Saturday, February 19 at 10 am there will be a second opportunity to comment at the Independent Redistricting Commission on the Amber -2 and Violet maps.

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On Saturday evening, February 12, Cal Performances presented the West Coast premiere of the opera Iphigenia, with music by Wayne Shorter and libretto by esperanza spalding. Shorter, a major force in jazz since his work in the 1950s with Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, then with the Miles Davis Quintet, before he went on to found the group Weather Report and later to form his own quartet, had always wanted to compose an opera. Now, at age 88 and no longer able to perform on saxophone due to frail health, Wayne Shorter has realised his dream by writing the music for the opera Iphigenia. He also found in bassist and vocalist esperanza spalding the perfect collaborator, who helped Shorter develop this opera loosely based on the play Iphigenia at Aulis, the last tragedy written by Euripides. In spalding’s libretto, Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon who is sacrificed to assuage the goddess Artemis and allow the Greek fleet to sail against Troy, becomes multiple Iphigenias. Indeed, she becomes the embodiment of all women, caught up in a world where men wage war and sacrifice women to their ambitions. -more-