UPDATE: After Councilmember Susan Wengraf insisted, Berkeley City Councilmembers got a hasty glance at the pre-drafted amicus letter supporting aspects of UCB Berkeley's appeal of Superior Court Brad Seligman's ruling that the university, just like any large for-profit corporation, must research the environmental impacts of its proposed expansion. The letter seems to be narrowly drafted, covering just the remedy of using the low 2020 COVID-19 enrollment as the basis for stopping added enrollment unti the enviromental review is complete. Only Councilmembers Hahn, Harrison and Wengraf appeared to understand this. However, the vote to authorize the letter was unanimous.
Read it here. 

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[Thursday night] This just in: Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin and his captive city councilmembers are meeting tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. to vote to expend City of Berkeley funds to suck up to the University of California.He and his cronies dropped the city's suit against the University for a paltry $80-some millions, an amount which doesn't come close to compensating for the school's reliance on our streets, sidewalks, water pipes, police and, and, and.... Presumably this is connected to Arreguin's rumored plan to run for State Senator Nancy Skinner's seat (Like Jesse, she's a former UCB Student Government product, now termed out) and Droste's parallel plan to replace him. 

As you've seen in the news, the Court of Appeal rejected UC's attempt to remove the enrollment cap imposed due to their failure to analyze the impacts and propose mitigations for their huge enrollment increases. They have now petitioned the California Supreme Court to remove the enrollment cap. The Berkeley City Council will discuss whether to file an amicus brief in support of UC on Friday morning at 9 AM and I've attached the public notice. There will be public comment before the closed session, so if you would like to comment please tell our Mayor and City Council that they should not file an amicus brief favoring the University.

Here is the information for making your comments: To access the meeting remotely: Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Android device: Please use this https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84490821888 . If you do not wish for your name to appear on the screen, then use the drop down menu and click on "rename" to rename yourself to be anonymous. To request to speak, use the “raise hand” icon by rolling over the bottom of the screen. To join by phone: Dial 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (Toll Free); enter Meeting ID: 844 9082 1888. If you wish to comment during the public comment portion of the agenda, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the Chair. Please be mindful that the teleconference will be recorded as any Council meeting is recorded, and all other rules of procedure and decorum will apply for Council meetings conducted by teleconference or videoconference. To submit a written communication for the City Council’s consideration and inclusion in the public record, email council@cityofberkeley.info.

Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods opposes UC Berkeley’s Appeal of Enrollment Cap; adding 3,050 students with no additional housing will create Santa Barbara-style housing crisis

Last Thursday, February 10, 2022, the California Court of Appeal rejected UC Berkeley’s request to stay the effect of the enrollment cap for 2022-23 that the Alameda County Superior Court imposed due to UC Berkeley’s failure to comply with laws requiring that it analyze and mitigate the housing impacts of its enrollment increases. In denying the stay, the Court of Appeal noted “… that the judgment in this case was entered August 23, 2021. The Regents filed an appeal from that judgment on October 18, 2021, yet they waited more than three months before seeking a stay or supersedeas.” 

Today, UC Berkeley filed a petition with the California Supreme Court again requesting to stay the enrollment cap. Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods will oppose this request. 

“UC Berkeley has repeatedly rebuffed SBN’s offers to reach a reasonable settlement concerning UC’s failure to house its additional students,’ said Phil Bokovoy, President of Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods. “In addition, UC Berkeley students themselves have repeatedly said that UC should stop increasing enrollment until it can provide housing for its students. We are all very concerned that UC Berkeley will create a housing crisis next fall similar to last fall’s crisis in Santa Barbara.” 

UCB wants to admit 3,050 additional students with no provision for them to be housed. In SBN’s suit against UC under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Judge Brad Seligman of the Alameda County Superior Court agreed with SBN’s position that UC must stop increasing enrollment in Berkeley until it complies with laws requiring that it analyze and mitigate the housing impacts of its enrollment increases. Berkeley residents don’t want a repeat of the housing crisis in Santa Barbara during the current school year, where students were living in cars and the university had to put them up in hotels due to over enrollment. 

UC’s own data show that California residents know how bad the housing situation is in Berkeley because Berkeley came in 5th place for resident student applications for the 2021-22 school year, after UCLA, UCSD, UC Irvine, and Santa Barbara 

UC’s own data show that UC can easily accommodate the court-ordered enrollment cap without harming in-state student prospects by limiting offers to out of state, international, and certificate program students. In 2021, UCB enrolled 3,429 additional students for whom UC has no obligation to serve under the California Master Plan for Higher Education. 

Between 2005 and 2018, UCB increased student enrollment by 9,155, from 31,800 to 40,955. In the 2019-20 academic year, UCB increased student enrollment to 43,185. In the 2020-21 academic year, UCB student enrollment to fell by 858 students to 42,347, or a 1.9% decrease. In the 2021-22 academic year, UCB increased student enrollment to 45,036 or an increase over pre pandemic levels of 1,851 or 4.2%.  

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Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods is a non-profit organized to provide education and advocacy to improve the quality of life, protect the environment and implement best planning practices for Berkeley citizens.

(see “WHEN YOUR CITY BECOMES THE CAMPUS” Presentation By Professor Davarian Baldwin, February 17, 2022 http://berkeleyheritage.com/calendar.html)

Operating a university is Big Business these days. In our own back door UC Berkeley rents huge amounts of space to Google, the American Automobile Association, and other non-educational businesses, yet pays no property taxes or other fees to the City of Berkeley (CoB). As it expands West into our downtown, UC is removing ever more taxable property from the City’s rent rolls as well as rent-controlled apartments that we desperately need.

So, what is the optimal solution? Clearly it is not, as we have previously written the cents-on-the-dollar deal our one-foot-out-the-door mayor Jesse Arreguin cut with his friend Chancellor Carol Christ last year:

https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2021-09-03/article/49375?headline=The-Settlement-Agreement-between-City-of-Berkeley-and-UCB-br-An-Open-Letter-to-the-Berkeley-City-Council--Leila-H.-Moncharsh-attorney-for-BC4BP.

On the other end of the country, city residents facing the same problem of no-tax universities consuming a disproportionate amount of unreimbursed city services revolted and got results. After years of protests with citizens taking to the streets, Yale finally agreed to pay City of New Haven $136 Million. (https://www.ctpublic.org/education-news/2021-11-17/yale-announces-historic-135-million-payment-to-new-haven.) 

New Haven’s Mayor commented about the deal: “Those [New Haven] residents finally, finally have an opportunity to see that Yale actually heard what they were saying.” Commenting on the deal, Yale reportedly “is daring others to follow its lead to help uplift residents of college towns.” 

So how can Berkeley residents figure out how to obtain a fairer result? One man may have the answers: Davarian Baldwin will be speaking to interested Berkeley residents on February 17th and I for one urge Berkeley citizens to attend this webinar, which promises to be eye-opening, and buy his latest book. (http://berkeleyheritage.com/calendar.html. $15 for tickets; $22 for the book.) 

A leading urbanist, historian, and cultural critic, Davarian L. Baldwin is Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies and founding director of the Smart Cities Lab at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. He recently published In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities (2021) a pointed commentary on the difficult financial relations between universities and their host cities across the country. His research gives clarity and context to the vexed relations between large-scale tax-free academic institutions and the cities that support them including Berkeley. 

I first met Baldwin when he interviewed me about a lawsuit against the UC Regents that I had filed for my client, Berkeley Citizens for a Better Plan (BC4BP). When we spoke, Baldwin clarified for me that our local problems with UC are not isolated to Berkeley – they are national issues about how large universities including UCB damage their host cities despite the good that they also provide. Professor Baldwin opened my eyes to how citizens of other towns are taking on their local universities and creating a win-win situation for the university as well as their host towns. I urge every citizen of Berkeley to listen to what Prof. Baldwin has to say. 

First, he has an extraordinary grasp on how we got here, namely the pressures on universities that has led them to become what can only be described as grasping, semi-commercial behemoths that exploit their tax-exempt status to make up for lost government subsidies. He can also speak to the problem of lack of housing in thriving urban centers alongside expanded student enrollments, which is certainly an acute problem in Berkeley. 

Second, he will identify how the modern university has become an advantaged commercial landlord to the detriment of local business owners. Here in Berkeley, that has translated into lost municipal revenues and disadvantaged local businesses. UC rents space on Shattuck to Google and AAA among others. Based on public information act requests, it appears CoB has not required these huge corporations to pay the city business license fees. So, not only does UC have an advantage over local landlords that must pay city property taxes, its big business tenants have a leg up on our local businesses! 

Third, Baldwin can address how the expansion efforts of modern universities endanger a city’s unique and historic identity. Here in Berkeley, we need to look no further than Oxford and University to see the results of UC’s latest expansion efforts, namely the loss of one handsome and whimsical landmark --Walter Ratcliff’s 1920s gas station, the last of its kind in downtown – and an adjacent rent-controlled older apartment building that housed several families. If there are no changes in how the Regents grow the footprint of UCB soon, we stand to lose even more landmarks. 

So how can we turn the tide, and move towards better town/gown relations here in Berkeley? Well, while there are no cookie-cutter solutions, Davarian Baldwin can offer us some good places to start. Knowing your adversary is one key to success. Public activism is another, after all that is what got New Haven its money. Oh, yes, and public activism is something Berkeley used to be known for. Perhaps we need to go back to the good old days, and make some noise. Let’s find out by tuning into what Baldwin has to say on February 17th. 

Way to go Woodside! Whatever the merits of announcing itself exempt from recently enacted Senate Bill 9 by claiming to be habitat for endangered cougars, the attempt by this small town of 5,500 was nixed by CA Attorney General Rob Bonta who declared it illegal with swift action for non-compliance.

SB9 is one of the many recently enacted housing bills signed into law by Governor Newsom. It is widely considered the most controversial since it eliminates single-family zoning. There are some exceptions written into the bill but cougars are not among them.

Where there is currently a single house on a single-family zoned lot, SB9 allows a subdivision of that lot for a total of four houses, with no discretionary review by the local council or planning department. None of the new houses is required to be affordable. All will be market rate. This, despite AP headlines on the Woodside case stating: CA town not exempt from affordable state housing law. If you swallow that misinformation you probably will also tut-tut at the fact that Woodside is wealthy and white. Senator Tony Atkins was the force behind SB9 along with Senator Scott Wiener. Atkins Fact Sheet repeats the claim that the new houses will be affordable. Even a million dollar house is affordable to someone but Atkins statement that such new houses will be affordable to low and moderate-income families is unfounded unless limited to areas such as Barstow. If you believe the extra 3 houses will sell for well below market rate since additional land does not need to be bought, you are forgetting about profit, speculation and equity…not social equity but investment equity.

This legislation was spurred by the success of past legislation encouraging the building of ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units) in single-family neighborhoods. It would help if data were gathered to show whether such housing has achieved affordability goals. Without that data we are left with anecdotal evidence such as from senior city planning staff who said at a recent council hearing on housing issues: “I can’t believe what rents people are asking for ADU’s!” Not an encouraging revelation.

At least Woodside tried to fight back against this real estate-developer-speculator- backed law. At least Gilroy and many other cities have objective standards in place, the sole discretion left in local hands. The city of Santa Cruz has done neither.

If you live in a single-family home with a single family home on either side of your property and at back you are surrounded by three houses. If you are lucky they are all single story so you have some privacy and sunlight. Now imagine being surrounded by twelve houses on the same square footage of land, which is allowed under SB9 without any input from you. If you are unlucky they are all two-story. Of course you can also jump on the bandwagon since the value of your piece of dirt in Santa Cruz with one house will quadruple with four houses, each selling for over a million dollars.

The Turner Center at UC Berkeley did a study on the potential impacts of SB9 and concluded that the impact will be minimal since most current owners of single-family homes will not want to add three extra houses on their property. However, 54% of single-family homes in Santa Cruz are non-owner occupied, which means they are largely rentals, generating profit for the owner who might live in town or LA or China. While I may balk at three extra houses on my piece of dirt, if I lived elsewhere and this was investment property, adding an additional three houses would be a lucrative proposition. There is a clause in SB9 for the applicant to sign an affidavit that they will live onsite for 3 years but enforcement is not mentioned and 3 years is not long. Chances are high that in a town with similar demographics to Santa Cruz, the density impacts of this bill will be significant. If you are into density you might ask yourself whether this will make housing more or less affordable and whose interests it serves.

Back to the cougar. I recently attended a zoom presentation from the UCSC Puma Project. Our increasing human intrusion into their territory, crisscrossed by our roads and rail corridors is significantly impacting their breeding viability due to the reduced territorial range and reduced gene pool for offspring success. Even our human voices impact their ease of movement driving them into smaller and smaller territories. Yes we are planning a tunnel on Highway 17 but is it enough?

So far, Newsom’s housing bills have done little more than appease the real estate, developer and building trades’ interests. We cannot build our way into affordability, that much is clear. Only massive state and federal subsidies will lead to affordable housing without the attached market rate add-ons that raise the AMI making real affordability ever more out of reach. Or, as was enacted by New Zealand decades ago, a moratorium on housing as a speculative commodity. The latter would prevent the overbuilding of market rate housing to fill investment portfolios, preserving what’s left of a town’s character and leaving a little breathing room and territory for the cougars.
 

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Gillian Greensite is a long time local activist in Santa Cruz, a member of Save Our Big Trees and the Santa Cruz chapter of IDA, International Dark Sky Association http://darksky.org Plus she’s an avid ocean swimmer, hiker and lover of all things wild. This article originally appeared in brattononline.com. 

We are now in our second round of maps and presented with a choice between Amber 2 and Violet. https://redistricting-commission-berkeley.hub.arcgis.com/ You can also view the maps in the meeting packets for February 17 and 19. https://www.cityofberkeley.info/IRC/ 

 

In response to public comment at the January 27 public meeting, both the Amber 2 and Violet maps reunite the Ashby BART station with the Ed Roberts Campus, and move the St. Paul A.M.E. Church and the Black Repertory Group Theater into District 3. 

 

The Amber 2 map with South Berkeley reunited is the closest to current council districts with changes to adjust for population shifts, to straighten boundaries, and to reunite neighborhoods/communities of interest. 

 

The Violet map is in response to the request for an alternative with two student districts, creating a renter/student dominant District 4. While one vocal speaker at the January 27 meeting insisted that District 4 was homeowner dominated in the Amber map. The chart shows this is not only false, it is grossly false as District 4 is 79% (78.63% to be exact if not rounded) renter dominated. In fact, all the rearranging in Districts 4 and 7 to create a second student/renter district out of District 4 in the Violet map only moved the percent of renters to 79.01% a miniscule change of 0.38%. Most importantly creating the second student/renter district doesn’t stop with downtown and campus southside, it has significant impacts to the boundaries of Districts 5 and 6 and moves the northern boundary on District 3. 

 

AMBER 2 Map
One Student District with International House, Neighborhoods United, Four High Fire Districts 5,6,7, and 8, United South Berkeley by adjusting the border between Districts 3 and District 8,
	District 1	District 2	District 3	District 4	District 5	District 6	District 7	District 8
White	51%	43%	46%	42%	69%	62%	32%	59%
Black	10%	18%	15%	8%	2%	3%	3%	3%
Hispanic	15%	17%	15%	12%	7%	9%	24%	11%
Asian	15%	13%	14%	31%	13%	18%	36%	19%
Renter	54%	62%	66%	79%	28%	36%	94%	59%
Owner	46%	38%	34%	21%	72%	64%	6%	41%
Four Majority White Districts, Six Majority Renter Districts, All percentages are rounded to nearest whole number
VIOLET Map
Two Student Districts with cascading impact on District borders in Districts 3,4,5,6 and 7 Four Districts in High Fire Zones 5,6,7 and 8. Districts, United South Berkeley by adjusting the border between Districts 3 and District 8
	District 1	District 2	District 3	District 4	District 5	District 6	District 7	District 8
White	51%	43%	45%	41%	64%	66%	34%	59%
Black	10%	18%	15%	7%	3%	2%	3%	3%
Hispanic	15%	17%	15%	13%	7%	7%	25%	11%
Asian	15%	13%	14%	32%	17%	16%	33%	19%
Renter	54%	62%	67%	79%	42%	30%	90%	59%
Owner	46%	38%	33%	21%	58%	70%	10%	41%
Four majority white districts, Six majority renter districts, All percentages are rounded to nearest whole number.
Before rounding to the nearest whole number, the difference in renters between the Amber 2 Map 78.63% and Violet Map 79.01% is only 0.38%. The difference between owners in the Amber 2 Map 21.27% and the Violet Map 20.9% is 0.37%. Changing the boundaries on Districts 4 and 7 to create a second student district in the violet map has a cascading impact on Districts 3, 5 and 6. Only the four largest racial groups from the 2020 census are listed.

 

Boundary changes to create the Violet map do the following: 

District 3 - The northern boundary is shifted south from Blake to Parker between Sacramento and Shattuck and added to District 4. 

District 4 – The north boundary is moved south from Cedar to Hearst between MLK and Oxford, the eastern boundary is moved to Dana between Blake and Bancroft, the southern boundary is Parker between Sacramento and Shattuck. 

District 5 – The southern boundary which ran continuously along Cedar is extended to Hearst between MLK and Oxford, the eastern boundary which had been Spruce up to the Summit Reservoir (the same as in the current District map), instead ends at Spruce and Marin and shifts to Arlington at the Marin Circle. 

District 6 – The southern boundary which ran along Hearst, Gayley Rd, Stadium Rim Way and Centennial Dr (the same as the current District map) shifts to Hearst to LeConte, Ridge Rd, and then winding up along the edge of UCB to what would be a straight extension of Cedar although there is no actual road which would keep the residences backed up against UCB in District 6. 

District 7 – The northern boundary moves to Ridge Rd and adds the housing between UCB and bordered by LeConte and Ridge Rd. The Graduate Theological Union Hewlett Library which contains Administration, Women’s studies in Religion, Black Church/Africana Religion Studies and the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences is moved into District 7 while the remainder of the Graduate Theological Union Campus remains in District 6. Berkeley Lab is moved to District 7, The boundary between Bancroft and Blake is moved east to Dana. 

 

My vote is for as little disruption as possible. I will be sending my support for Amber 2. I know from doing door to door election canvassing across the entire city, that while the greatest concentration of UCB students is in the blocks on the southside of UCB campus, students live throughout Berkeley. Making the changes required for the Violet map is of no benefit to renters and disrupts established boundaries in surrounding districts. 

 

The Redistricting commission needs to hear from you. You can email redistricting@cityofberkeley.info and/or attend one or both of the upcoming public hearings. 

 

The Public Hearings on the two new maps the Amber 2 and Violet are: 

Thursday, February 17 at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81072988964 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 810 7298 8964  

 

Saturday, February 19 at 10 am. 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87810843440 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 878 1084 3440 

 

The Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) is scheduled to decide on the final map for Berkeley City Council Districts on February 28, 2022 and begin writing their report. I wouldn’t wait to participate. If there is overwhelming support for one map over the other and no further tweaks, this could end on February 19. 

For the past several months, the US corporate media has gone out of its way to demonized Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin—trumpeting the warning that Russia is planning to storm across its borders and into Ukraine. For months, we have been warned an "invasion" was "imminent."

Russia has steadfastly denied this charge, denying any intent to invade as it massed troops on its own Crimea-facing soil and engaged in regional military maneuvers in Belarus. Russia's denials are generally ignored or downplayed as the US media pushes the "Russian Threat" meme.

This particular example of MisinformationGate news-spin has been going on for a long while. Some examples:

On November 22, 2021, Bloomberg posted the chilling headline: "U.S. Intel Believes Russian Invasion of Ukraine ‘Imminent’." Further down in the body of the report was the following tidbit: "President Vladimir Putin last week accused the West of 'escalating' the Ukraine conflict with Black Sea drills and bomber flights near Russian borders." (At least this much was true.)

On January 25, Jason Brooks, moderator of the CBS MoneyWatch radio broadcast glibly misinformed listeners by citing Putin's "threat to invade Ukraine." 

The relentless clamor for confrontation that drives much of the corporate Mainstream Media became so alarming that Ukraine's president, Voldymyr Zelensky, had to call for a "time out." 

On February 5, Agence France-Presse headlined the news that Zelensky "plays down Russian invasion fears as US sounds alarm." According to the AFG report:
"Ukraine on Sunday pushed back at 'apocalyptic predictions' over a potential Russian invasion after US officials sounded dire warnings that Moscow had stepped up its preparations for a major incursion. US officials said the Kremlin had assembled 110,000 troops along the border with its pro-Western neighbor…." 

The AFG report included a rare caveat, noting that US "intelligence assessments have not determined whether President Vladimir Putin has actually decided to invade." 

On February 5, Reuters and other platforms ran series of faux-alarmist headlines that claimed Russia had marshaled "70% of the forces it would need to stage an invasion." 

But, wait a minute! So, after months of headlines about the threat of an "imminent" invasion, suddenly we're told that Russia hasn't been even close to massing enough ground forces to mount a serious threat of invasion!? 

So all those satellite images were actually evidence that Russia was not prepared to storm across any borders? 

So all of the Denial "denial" and "invasion envisioning" was just a barrel of … malarkey? 

Meanwhile, several of the media's recent scare-fest news reports have contained some notable qualifiers, as in this AP summation: "US: Russia has assembled at least 70% of the military firepower it likely intends to have in place … to give President Vladimir Putin the option of launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine." [Emphasis emphatically added]. 

The latest forecast: On February 12, Bloomburg announced a date for the invasion, proclaiming that Russia would invade Ukraine on February 16 following a pending motion in the Russian Duma (parliament) on February 14, to recognize Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. 

Diplomacy and De-escalation in Ukraine 

Congress has introduce a destabilizing new piece of legislation, the Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act (H.R.6470), which proposes sending $500 million in new "security assistance" to Ukraine and threatens new economic sanctions on Russia. As Massachusetts Peace Action petition notes: "More militarism will not solve this problem. We can and must avoid war with Russia. Take a step back from the brink before it's too late." 

US "Unseizing" Frozen Funds Won't Help Afghan Suffering 

As millions of Afghan citizens are facing privation and hunger, President Biden has announced the US would unfreeze S7 billion in seized Afghanistan funds. But it turns out that this "good news" is not so good. 

Biden went on to announce that the US would be re-seizing half of Afghanistan's unfrozen funds in order to give $3.5 billion to American survivors of the September 11 terror attacks. 

It's worth noting that Afghanistan was not responsible for the 2001 attacks, which were attributed to Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden—a citizen of Saudi Arabia whose millionaire family did business (as the Binladen Group) with US millionaires and their companies (including the Carlyle Group, a politically powerful US company where George H. W. Bush served as senior vice president and specialized in profiting from military and aerospace investments). 

 

True, Bin Laden had been living in Afghanistan prior to the 9/11 attacks. But 15 of the19 highjackers behind the 9/11 attack were Saudi citizens and several had been living in Canada and the US in the months leading up to the attack. 

So far, Biden (like Bush, Obama and Trump) continues to sell weapons to Saudi honcho Mohammed bin Salam, despite MBS' role in the "bone-saw murder" of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

Biden made a point of noting that no money would be going to the Afghan government's Taliban leaders. Meanwhile, little-to-nothing will go to prevent a "looming humanitarian disaster" in Afghanistan—owing to ongoing legal issues involving resolution of claims by the 9/11 survivors. As the Christian Science Monitor explains: "[B]ecause victims have ongoing legal claims on the $7 billion in the US banking system, the courts would have to sign off before the money for humanitarian assistance could be released to Afghanistan." A resolution of the legal challenges could take years. Meanwhile, the lives of 20 million impoverished Afghan civilians remain at risk. 

Are Berkeley Public Health’s policy decisions rooted in magical thinking?

In theatrical productions of Peter Pan, the character Tinker Bell (typically represented on stage as a prop or spot-light effect, with off-stage voicing) takes poison and begins to die. 

Breaking the fourth wall, the young audience is told that if they all believe Tinker Bell is real, she will in fact live. Children are told to clap to signal their belief. When the performers judge that the children have clapped enough, Tinker Bell returns to life on stage. 

Tinker Bell Theory is a theory that life threatening peril ends because enough people believe that it has ended. 

On stage, Tinker Bell Theory works because, after all, both Tinker Bell and the poison are, in the end, imaginary. In real life, belief alone won’t rescue someone suffering from poisoning. 

Is Berkeley’s Public Health Officer relying on Tinker Bell Theory when lifting indoor mask mandates? It certainly seems possible: Berkeley’s rates of proved transmission and hospitalization are quite high. In earlier times, rates this high justified strong masking requirements. Today, they justify (per our official) ending almost all masking requirements. 

All of this is against a background of recent clinical studies that raise grave concerns that infections, even among vaccinated and boosted people, and children, may be setting up the whole population for an explosion of grave long-term outcomes such as early onset dementia and (other) autoimmune diseases, and premature death. 

In other words, the short term fall in the mortality of infections is not a reliable measure of the seriousness or consequences of even infections that initially appear mild or asymptomatic. 

There are reasons to hope that being vaccinated and boosted may make such grave longer-term outcomes less likely, but nothing close to scientific certainty of that. The only evidence is empirical but speculatively interpreted – it is at the stage of a hypothesis, not a well tested theory. 

Berkeley and all Bay Area counties except Santa Clara County will lift nearly all indoor mask requirements, encouraging people to gather in indoor environments where transmission is extremely common and occurs easily. You might think Santa Clara County is a more dangerous environment for COVID than Berkeley but you would be wrong. 

Let’s contrast the decision of the Santa Clara Public Health Officer with that of Berkeley, using the three statistical measures of danger on the basis of which the Santa Clara officer based her choice: the rate of vaccination in the population, the current proportion of the population in the hospital, and the rate of infection in the population: 

Vaccination Rate

Santa Clara County: 88% Berkeley: 92% 

Current portion of population in the hospital 

Santa Clara County: 0.02% Berkeley: 0.14% 

Rate of infection

Santa Clara County: 88 per 100,000 people per day Berkeley: 92 per 100,000 people per day 

On this basis, Berkeley currently appears to be a a significantly more dangerous place than Santa Clara County, yet the Santa Clara County officer is alarmed enough by the situation there to hold mask mandates in place, while in Berkeley they are being all but eliminated. 

Nationwide advocacy to remove masks as reported in the press seem to rest on economic concerns, and alleged but far from scientific assessments of the public mental health consequences of masking. 

Pressure to unmask in Berkeley seems to also come from concerns about the City of Berkeley’s revenue, and the net income of commercial landlords and businesses. 

I asked the City Public Health officer and the Mayor for comment on why this decision is being made. Neither offered comment. I am surprised that Dr. Hernandez demurred when offered a chance to explain her medical judgement. 

Conclusion

We live in a society in which multiple system on which we rely have failed, and have failed so badly as to threaten the near term future of our society. We are in a collapsing state by all evidence. 

While the press scarcely informs people about “long COVID”, prominent scientists are now finding evidence that we face a pandemic of long COVID systems including quite a few that are permanently debilitating or cause premature death. COVID appears to lead in many to permanent heart damage and heart attacks, to brain changes that suggest early onset dementia will result, to a wide range of systems caused by autoimmune disease, including acute organ damage and joint damage. Long COVID symptoms are observed to effect people who have even asymptomatic breakthrough cases. How frequently? It is simply too soon to have any sense but clinical reports of early COVID patients reporting very long term symptoms are not encouraging. 

The city kicked off the pandemic by asking people to go out to dinner and join Mayor Arreguin and Councilmember Hahn at a posh restaurant. The city’s efforts at spreading public health information are little more than a cheesy, information-free souvenir poster and sporadic, poorly attended webinars that spend an inordinate amount of time with the city officials praising one another for the hard work. 

The City has done useful work organizing testing and vaccination sites but fallen so short in other ways. 

But, back to systems failure: 

The City demonstrably lacks the competence to do (and contract out) road planning and restoration well. Nationwide, capacity to fix infrastructure no matter how much money is budgeted Just Isn’t There. 

Neither our City or country are taking the climate emergency seriously nor do either even acknowledge what extremely well established science is telling us. Young people today are in for a world of hurt much worse than the current one if things don’t change. A super-majority of the City Council can’t talk knowledgeably for 5 minutes about the climate emergency, never mind take sane action. Do they therefore try to learn about what science is telling us? Apparently not. 

What are the people to do when all those institutions and systems become, as they have, seemingly beyond repair, while the world burns around us? 

I’m pretty sure clapping for Tinker Bell won’t cut it.

Many disabled people have issues that do not shorten life expectancy and often live as many years as those without a disability. On the other hand, many, including those of us with mental illness, have shorter life expectancies. If you have a mental illness, especially schizophrenia, lifespan is often shorter. But this is not always so. To live into our seventies, eighties or nineties, something I haven't done yet as I haven't reached sixty, we probably must take extra good care of our bodies and minds to overcome the life-shortening factors of mental illness. We probably also must have a chosen purpose in life.

The role of purpose must not be underestimated as a factor of how long we live. If we have a good reason that we want to be here, it is a motivator toward taking better care of ourselves, it provides hope of a better life, and it gives us more tenacity to hang on. All the aforesaid contribute to lifespan.

Disabled people with meaningful careers often live longer than they otherwise would. People with family ties live longer. People with enjoyment of a volunteer job may live longer. Merely having a reason to get out of bed every morning contributes to lifespan. 

Finding purpose is very individual and very personal. I believe it is up to us to do that, and it is not handed to us from a "higher self," or from any god we choose to believe in. When we process what we want to do, it is a decision, and it is not a "mission." Of course, since this is very personal, I cannot say what works for every reader in finding purpose. To me, finding life purpose for me was not mysticism, it was a decision. 

When we express that we have an ambition, many people will scoff and will find ways to ridicule our efforts. Some might even do things to make it harder for us. I've been told by several mental health professionals that I couldn't succeed as a writer. When one of them said this to me, my reaction was I went home, and I got back on the computer. 

When I was in my twenties, people were impressed at my career in electronic repair. When I became self-employed at that, it impressed psychiatrists. 

I don't do electronics anymore because the level of technology has soared at a speed to which I can't keep pace. If you choose electronics, it can be lucrative and it can get you respect. Yet it will require that you live and breathe electronics--otherwise you'll fall behind. 

I know that when I was young, my life was awful. And this motivates me to live longer and do something to make up for it, and to have something better when I get older. If I lacked any prospects of anything, I could create prospects. 

If you decide it is hopeless, then so goes your destiny. If you live merely for the purpose of enjoying sensations, to me that seems to lack any real purpose. On the other hand, if purpose is strong enough to get us through a rough set of circumstances, it paves the way to a better and longer life. 

A "seer" or at least an insightful person, made a comment on what they saw in me. They used the phrase "what you're trying to do..." The person did not specify what that was. It didn't matter. It got me to think, "What am I trying to do?" From there arose a whole set of thought processes of what I want to accomplish while I'm here. 

You can focus on increasing your lifespan. But do you have a reason that you want to live a long time? If you focus on creating hope for yourself, then it begs the question, hope of what and for what? 

Compliance with treatment for a mentally ill person is comparable to sobriety for an addict. Yet if you do not have a purpose, there isn't as much of a reason to pursue compliance or sobriety. My purpose at this age is to create better living conditions for myself, but it is also to be a happy person. But additionally, I've found it worthwhile to participate in writing. It keeps me going. I'm creating something that might continue to exist a hundred or two hundred years from now. 

Mental illnesses and many other disabilities are overcome not through curing the diseases, but through having something valid to focus on other than being ill. If your life is too focused on the disease, then you've become a professional patient. A lot of exposure to doctors can do this to you. A doctor might have all manner of things they want you to do, and many are very time-consuming. Your existence becomes that of treating an illness. 

If you are disabled and aging there is hope. But it is up to you to create something with it. You can't focus just on being sick; there must be something more. 

Even gaining wealth is a purpose. Anything you choose that appeals to you can be a purpose. For example, politicians have many reasons that they went into politics, perhaps they want to be the most powerful person or maybe they want to reshape the world or save the world. 

Some find purpose in raising their children. A chronically homeless person could have their lifetime purpose be to have and maintain comfortable and safe housing. When it is achieved, it could make sense to shift to something new, even while being glad of a mission accomplished. 

(I'm not speaking right now of the rightness or wrongfulness of anyone's purpose. This essay strictly focuses on finding purpose and how it creates hope.) 

If you want hope in your life, it probably must be for a reason. It doesn't matter so much what the reason is, so long as it makes sense to you.

The Power of Nonviolent Resistance

In what may be the largest and most effective action of nonviolent civil disobedience in human history, thousands of men and women have shut down streets in major cities and thoroughfares, bringing a halt to large movements of international commercial shipments and disrupting trade in everything from food supplies to construction and machinery parts.

And what triggered this act of rebellion?
Anger over inflation?
Wealth inequality?
The soaring costs of healthcare?
The lack of affordable housing?
Racial discrimination?
Outbreaks of armed killings?
Out-of-control military spending?

Sorry, it was none of the above. The correct answer is:

Face-masks! 

Let 'er RIP: Litter Letters Later 

In the coarse course of his presidency, D. Trump allegedly destroyed countless documents, potentially violating the Presidential Records Act. The Former Guy also (allegedly) flushed documents down the Oval Orifice of his White House toilet. As a result, TrumpleThinSkin could face fines or imprisonment and criminal charges that could disqualify him from ever holding public office again. 

In celebration of this turn of events, Common Cause has posted a petition suggesting the Department of Justice investigate Trump's "apparent evidence-destroying crimes," including routinely ripping documents to shreds with his bare hands. Trump's cover-ups go well beyond the ochre hues of his faux-tanned face. His extended and well-documented political crimes should lead to a criminal trial. Here's wishing that the Ocher Ogre's political career ends with the same three letters that he appears to have loved so much—R.I.P. 

Google Glitches 

This will come as no surprise but …You can't trust everything you see on Google. 

Recently, we needed to replace a button-sized lithium battery for a TV remote and turned to Google to locate some local electronic shops. After checking the website of a store on University Avenue, we headed over for a visit—only to find the building dark and empty. The dilapidated storefront was apparently abandoned many months before—even though their website assured us the facility was "currently open." Disappointed, we headed for our second option, Batteries Plus in El Cerrito. Once again, the store was dark and the doors bolted (even though their Google-posted website assured us the facility was "now open"). 

Two "false positives" in one afternoon? Not a good record. In the future, we'll try calling the phone number listed on the webpage and wait to see if anyone answers. 

Hot Off the Presses 

A recent email from The Climate Reality Project begins with a chillingly memorable lightning-bolt sentence: "2021 was one of the hottest years on record—and yet, it could be one of the coldest years we’ll see again."  

The stark message continues: "July of last year was the hottest month ever recorded; Death Valley, California broke the record for hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth; and the US Pacific Northwest experienced the 'most anomalous' extreme heat event that scientists have ever seen. On top of that, climate-change-fueled disasters, including historic wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and droughts, made headlines year-round and in countries across the planet." 

Mushrooms Could Save Us! 

We've known for decades that greenhouse gasses cause global warming (and Big Oil has known about the problem since 1959). The latest data shows that the last seven years have been the hottest on record. One recent report warns that Earth's global temperatures are now "73% of the way to the horrific 1.5 degree threshold" that could spell an end to most living species. But here's a note of hope. We may have a new carbon-cutting tool—mushrooms!  

Researchers suggest that—like planting vast swaths of new forests—planting mushrooms and mycelium (a component of fungi) may offer a risk-free means of sopping up oil spills and dialing back climate change. Mycelium's ability to absorb CO2, makes it a perfect means to capture excess carbon from the air and sequester it underground. The Petition Site invites one and all to knock on the EPA's door on behalf of the mighty mushroom. 

No War with Russia 

On February 5, CODEPINK held one of more than 70 nation-wide "Peace with Russia" demonstrations to protest the Biden administration's threats against Russia and Biden's abiding affection for "warshopping"—i.e., the practice of worshiping at the feet of the US Arms Industry. 

As one of the invited speakers (representing Environmentalists Against War and World BEYOND War) I was happy to have a public occasion to vent. Here are some out-takes: 

• "As if the world weren't scary enough, now we've got Joe Biden squinting away like he's Clint Eastwood playing Dirty Harry and boasting about 'taking out; an ISIS leader in Syria. ["Taking out"? Like a political assassination is on par with a dinner date?"] Biden's acting like a rogue cop, stalking the world, looking for people to kill. But, to be fair, Joe is just acting like every other US president in the 21^st Century." 

• "Breaking News: The geopolitical tussle over Ukraine is partly a battle over control of oil and the pipelines needed to move it. NATO—like the Pentagon—is an oil-fueled, carbon-spewing, climate-cooking creation of Washington's rogue empire." 

• "If you think about it, NATO's core principle of 'collective defense' resembles the playbook of a Mafia drug cartel. 'An attack on one is an attack on all' is a policy based on threats, enforced by fear, and intended to protect regional control over economic power and geopolitical control." 

• "The International Military Council on Climate and Security confirms that the world's armies are the 'single largest consumer of hydrocarbons.' The Pentagon's slogan could be: 'We fight Wars for Oil so we can fight wars for oil.' But the Pentagon is exempt from reporting its greenhouse gas emissions. If the Pentagon were a country, it would rank 47^th among the world's national polluters. Even NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg admits: 'There is no way to reach Net Zero without also including emissions from the military.'" 

In their call for a House resolution for a New 21^st Century Foreign Policy, Reps. Barbara Lee and Pramila Jayapal write 'War is never the answer—unless the question is how to turn a profit for the arms industry.' They point out that 'nearly half of the $14 trillion spent on the Pentagon since 2001 went directly to private contractors—and about a third of all contracts to just five corporations,' Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon." 

Barbara Lee and Pramila Jayapal Challenge US Foreign Policy 

Two Congressional activists—our own Barbara Lee and Pramila Jayapal—have joined forces to introduce a resolution calling for a "Foreign Policy for the 21st Century" that envisions "a more peaceful US foreign policy." 

In a column posted on the Foreign Affairs website, Lee and Jayapal made their case with a radical honesty rarely heard in the halls of governance. 

"For the past two decades," they wrote, "the US foreign-policy establishment has led the country down a path of militarism that has caused global devastation and left the nation woefully unprepared to confront the true security needs of the modern world, all while enriching a select few. 

"The greatest threats to America’s security — pandemics, climate change, economic inequality, authoritarianism — cannot be defeated at the barrel of a gun. It’s time to stop relying on the same old playbook and instead forge a foreign policy that works for everyday people. 

"The climate crisis cannot be addressed by a war machine that emits more greenhouse gases than most countries. Inequality, poverty, authoritarianism, white supremacy, nuclear weapons—these are the real threats facing everyday people in the United States and abroad and not one can be eradicated by a Cruise missile." 

In response to the "old, failed strategy," the congresswomen are calling for the following reforms:
"slashing the bloated Pentagon budget; taking war-making powers out of the hands of the executive branch and giving them back to Congress; limiting arms sales and security assistance to human-rights-abusing regimes; and holding the United States accountable to international law — to name a few." 

For a link to the complete resolution, now before Congress, click here. 

Valentines for Peace and Justice 

On February 14, Win Without War activists hand-delivered Valentines to the following Reps who have co-sponsored the resolution: Jamaal Bowman [NY-16], Andre Carson [IN-7], James P. McGovern [MA-2], Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [NY-14], Ilhan Omar [MN-5], Donald M. Payne Jr. [NJ-10], Ayanna Pressley [MA-7], and Eleanor Holmes Norton [DC-At Large], Raúl M. Grijalva [AZ-3], Sara Jacobs [CA-53], Henry C. "Hank" Johnson Jr. [GA-4], Alan S. Lowenthal [CA-47], Jan D. Schakowsky [IL-9], Mark Takano [CA-41], Rashida Tlaib [MI-13], Nydia M. Velazquez [NY-7], Bonnie Watson Coleman [NJ-12], Judy Chu [CA-27], and Eleanor Holmes Norton [DC-At Large]. 

I’ve been wanting to see the film Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, directed by Emily and Sarah Kunstler. Who We Are wasn’t showing at the Shattuck, the California is closed, so I made my way over to AMC in Emeryville for the Monday matinee. There were only three of us in the theater. The film was outstanding and I will watch it again when it’s available for home viewing. No one checked my vaccine card, but then so few of us were in the building it was hardly going to be a super-spreader event.

Pre-pandemic, I used to love going to the documentary films at the Shattuck Cinemas. And, I wasn’t the only one. When we were petitioning to save the Shattuck Cinemas, much to our surprise 60% of the 275,000 – 300,000 patrons came from out of town, with regular movie goers from Vallejo, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Orinda and closer in Oakland, Emeryville, El Cerrito. The Shattuck Cinemas with its ten theaters used to be the economic engine of the downtown. The future looks to be student housing, coffee shops and eyes fixated on the device in hand. 

District 4 with the downtown is already heavily renters, 79% or 78.63% to be more exact, before rounding. It will be even more student dense in the years ahead with all the construction, including 2065 Kittredge, a student housing project tiptoeing into the city planning cycle for the Shattuck Cinemas site. Of course, redistricting is based on the 2020 Census, not the apartments under construction and yet to be filled. 

The Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) will be holding public hearings on the two maps, Amber 2 and Violet, this coming Thursday, February 17, at 6 pm and Saturday, February 19, at 10 am. It is a real nail-biter for those of us living in District 4, and it should be for the entire city. It is District 4 that is being carved up to create the alternative Violet map with two student districts. Of course, carving up and realigning District 4 doesn’t end there. In my lengthy separate description, you can see how the Violet two-student district map forces new boundaries in Districts 3, 5 and 6. The boundaries on District 7, the current student district, also move. 

It is interesting that Ben Gould, the most vocal attendee at the last meeting pushing for two student districts, which would gerrymander Kate Harrison out of District 4, ran against and lost resoundingly to Kate Harrison in 2016 and 2018. The IRC is mandated by Regulation, “Districts shall not be drawn for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate or political party.” In the discussion of the new maps and the independence and responsiveness of the IRC at the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council meeting on Saturday former Mayor Shirley Dean said, “Redistricting is never not political.” 

There are others who demand that one solid UCB student district is not representative enough. There is no perfect map that can fit everyone’s desires and still fit in the constraints dictated by equalizing the population across the council districts. I expect the two student district proponents and those with a more nefarious goal will corral speakers to show up. I just hope the rest of us can prevail with the selection of Amber 2. 

At the Agenda and Rules Committee on Tuesday, Councilmember Wengraf commented on all the transportation items coming from Councilmember Taplin and asked how these were being reviewed in total, not one by one. Another catching attention was Councilmember Kesarwani’s submission on paving, when the council just approved a city-wide paving plan. Hahn asked, what the process should be. Should every councilmember be submitting paving requests? City Manager Williams-Ridley didn’t have an answer, and said she would look in to it. Most of us don’t need to be told of the poor condition of Berkeley streets—we are surrounded by it. 

March 31 is the anticipated date to resume in-person commission meetings, though after that announcement discussion has moved to examining the possibilities for hybrid commission meetings, not just for City Council. 

Tuesday evening was the regular City Council meeting, and it started off with city employees calling (zooming) in to inform the public and put the issue before the council that the City of Berkeley is failing to fulfill the employee agreements on pay and benefits. This relates to the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) which changes the way CalPERS retirement and health benefits are applied. The contracts were signed back in July 2021 with SEIU Local 1021 Community Services and Part-Time Recreation Activity Leaders and Maintenance and Clerical Chapters. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Human_Resources/Home/Union_Agreements_and_Employee_Manuals.aspx 

Something is really wrong with this picture. It is almost seven months and the city administration still can’t get it together to pay city employees according to signed contracts. I wonder if Dee Williams-Ridley, who as City Manager is responsible, is having as much trouble receiving her $84,732 / 28.11% raise, or did her raise start on time on November 14, 2021, retroactive to two days before the November 16, 2021, council vote. 

It seems the City Manager was expecting to hear from employees, since La Tanya Bellow was paraded out with a chart to display (that was not published) to declare how hard the city is working to resolve these problems. 

There have been increasing problems with getting meeting announcements, agendas and documents posted in time for commission meetings and discussions. The Reimagining Public Safety Task Force could not review the report they are preparing for the March 10 council worksession, because the revised document that the Vice-Chair Boona Chema wanted to share for discussion wasn’t posted in time for the public, therefore the task force was prevented from discussing it. What a mess for the task force to land in, with a looming deadline and a pile of work to complete. 

Other meetings have been cancelled and rescheduled because announcements weren’t made public in the required time frame. Commission mergers add to the problem with new webpages. The Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission had to be cancelled last week and rescheduled this week. 

There is probably a certain amount of bliss in being unengaged in city politics until it all comes crashing down. The failing streets, city frontline staff not being paid according to contract, meetings not being properly publicly posted on time should be warning signs. 

I’ve been reading Jamie Raskin’s book Unthinkable. Jamie Raskin writes about his start in politics in 2006 and one of his early campaign rallies. A woman came up to him after his speech and said that gay marriage was never going to happen and he shouldn’t talk about it, it made him sound extreme and not in the political center. He writes that he said to her: “Thank you so much for saying that to me, because it makes me realize that it is not my ambition to be in the political center, which blows around with the wind. It is my ambition to be in the moral center and to bring the political center to us…” 

Raskin said so well what I think about when I watch our city council. One person stands out as having that moral center, my councilmember Kate Harrison. For many of the rest (not all), that center is empty until it is filled with ambition that shifts in the wind. 

Looking at the drought map for California, climate and weather, it looks like we are going to be praying for the water to come. The book The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities and the Remaking of the Civilized World by Jeff Goodall, 2017, isn’t about rain. The book is about sea level rise, and we just keep building like it will never happen, even though with each passing year the evidence is harder to ignore. Some of us remember the architects for 600 Addison (adjacent to Acquatic Park), when asked about sea level rise and their building, said they just couldn’t imagine it. 

Shirley Dean has said in her own words how the requirement to add 8,934 dwelling units in Berkeley defies common sense. Berkeley is a city of 10.5 square miles of land with liquefaction and sea level rise on the west side and the fault line, slide area and fire zones on the east side. 

It is interesting how rarely these hazards enter the discussion at the Design Review Committee and Zoning Adjustment Board. Pre-pandemic when I used to occasionally drop in on for sale open houses, I don’t remember seeing any warning of which or how many hazard zones the house sat in. If you have never looked at the City of Berkeley Fire Zone map, the time is overdue. Here is the link: https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Planning_(new_site_map_walk-through)/Level_3_-_General/Berkeley%20Fire%20Zone%20Map.pdf Leave to Berkeley to get the colors expressing risk mixed up. Zones 2 and 3 are the very high fire hazard zones with 3 being the absolute worst are outlined in blue and amber. The area outlined in red is the lowest risk, although if fire actual starts in the hills and the wind is blowing hard from the east those of us in the flats need to be ready to leave. 

Here is the real picture, I went to the website in the map Bryce Nesbit displayed at City Council during the ADU discussion and vote on January 25, 2022, Earthquake Zones of Required Investigation, https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/EQZApp/app/ When it comes up you get the whole state and then zoom in. Yellow is the fault zone, blue is the slide zone and green is the area of liquefaction. Just to make it easy, attached is the screen shot.

After two months high case counts, Covid-19 cases may have finally peaked in many parts of the United States. In response to the decline, many states and cities are easing restrictions. For example,

On February 16, California will ease similar restrictions on large events and mostly ditch the statewide indoor face mask mandate. However, for the state’s 6 million school children California’s requirement that they wear masks inside classrooms and other school buildings remains in place for now.

The pandemic, however, is not over. Consider that on December 11, 2020, the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. And on December 18, 2020, the FDA issued an EUA for the use of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. Yet, as of January 28, 2022, only 64% of the U.S. population have been fully vaccinated, and as of January 25, 2022, only 40.3% of those fully vaccinated population have a booster shot, And only 18.8% of children in the 5-to-11 age group are now fully vaccinated.  

The U.S. has surpassed 900,000 deaths and is forecasted to reach 1 million by Spring. Americans who have received a COVID-19 booster shot are 97 times less likely to die from the coronavirus than those who aren’t vaccinated, 

On February 1, Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, asked the FDA to authorize two doses of their coronavirus vaccine for children younger than five while the companies continue to research whether three doses would be more effective for that age group. However, a decision on the vaccine has been postponed for at least two months after the FDA said it needed more data. 

Although the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is on the wane, what’s left is largely an epidemic among the unvaccinated. Now it is the unvaccinated who fill Intensive Care Units. According to a CDC study released on February 1, 2022, unvaccinated adults were 23 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 during the Omicron wave than adults who were vaccinated and boosted.  

Why do so many remain unvaccinated? Because Republicans are resisting President Biden’s efforts to end the pandemic, and in many instances actually impeding his efforts. Republican governors slow-walked vaccination efforts and lifted mask mandates too early. Now, they are arguing that Biden’s plan is a big-government attack on states’ rights, private business and personal choice, and promise swift legal action to challenge it, setting up a high-stakes constitutional showdown over the president’s powers to curb the pandemic.  

Misinformation, disinformation and malformation spread by right-wing media outlets like Fox News, Newsmax, Breitbart along with social media platforms like Facebook deserve a large share of the blame for sowing mistrust of the vaccines and Biden’s efforts to distribute them. 

The U.S. Supreme Court in National Federation of Independent Business v. OSHA struck down a Biden administration mandate that large businesses require their employees to either be vaccinated or tested once a week for the coronavirus. In a 6-3 order — with the three Trump appointees in the majority — the justices blocked an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) emergency rule for businesses with more than 100 employees — one that would have impacted more than 80 million workers. The joint dissenting opinion of Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan summed up the majority’s misguided opinion succinctly, 

"Who decides how much protection, and of what kind, American workers need from COVID-19? An agency with expertise in workplace health and safety, acting as Congress and the President authorized? Or a court, lacking any knowledge of how to safeguard workplaces, and insulated from responsibility for any damage it causes?" 

 

Scotus in Biden v. Missouri did, however, allow a vaccination mandate by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for health-care workers at some 76,000 federally funded facilities to stand. 

As long as the coronavirus spreads through the population, mutations will continue to happen; the delta and omicron variant families will continue to evolve. Thus, there will be no pre-pandemic normal anytime soon. The best we can hope for in the short term is that the new normal for Covid-19 will be like seasonal flu. 

With apologies to the late Yogi Berra: The pandemic ain’t over till it’s over. 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

The agenda for the City Council regular meeting on February 22 at 6 pm is available for review and comment. 

 

Sunday, February 13, 2022 - No City meetings or events found 

 

Monday, February 14, 2022 

City Council Health, Life Enrichment, Equity & Community Committee at 10 am, 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89780196624 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 897 8019 6624 

AGENDA: 1. Minutes, no action items, UNSCHEDULED: Presentation on Public Health Tobacco Prevention Program 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Home/Policy_Committee__Health,_Life_Enrichment,_Equity___Community.aspx 

 

Youth Commission at 5 pm 

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

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 859 2507 5321 Passcode: 621930 

AGENDA: 11. Election of new chair, 

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

 

Tuesday, February 15, 2022 

City Council CLOSED Session at 4 pm  

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87687340786 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 876 8734 0786 

AGENDA: 1. Existing Litigation Secure Justice v. City of Berkeley, Case # 21CV003630, 2. Conference with legal counsel – anticipated litigation pursuant to gov code section 54956.9(d)(2), 3. Conference with Labor Negotiators Employee Organizations Berkeley Fire Fighters Local 1227, Berkeley Fire Fighters Association Local 1227 I.A.F.F. / Berkeley Chief Fire Fighters Association, IBEW, Local 1245, SEIU 1021 Coummunity Services and Part-time Recreation Activity Leaders, SEIU 1021 Maintenance and Clerical, Public Employees Union Local 1, Unrepresented Employees, Berkeley Police Association. 

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

 

City Council SPECIAL Meeting at 6 pm, 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84461712280 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 844 6171 2280 

AGENDA: 1. Homeless and Mental Health Systems and Services in Berkeley (16 page report contains no chart decipherable description of what services are offered by what program/agency). 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/2022/02_Feb/City_Council__02-15-2022_-_Special_(WS)_Meeting_Agenda.aspx 

 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Budget and Personnel Committee Meeting at 5:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84178974472?pwd=NnhkdFVvakJSZy84NDI0RS8zakpCUT09 

Teleconference: 1-408-638-0968 Meeting ID: 841 7897 4472 Passcode: 097105 

AGENDA: 5. Election of Committee Chair 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/ 

 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission (CEAC) at 5 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81464105089 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 814 6410 5089 

AGENDA: 2. Public Comment 3-minute limit, 7. Report from Toxics Management, 9. Transition from CEAC to Environment and Climate Commission (ECC) 

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

 

Wednesday, February 16, 2022 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Outreach Committee Meeting at 5:15 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81188408386?pwd=TS9tSGVXYzJWaGczcHl3OE54RmlPZz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 811 8840 8386 Passcode: 415442 

AGENDA: 6. Presentation by Healthy Black Families, Inc Right to Stay-Right to Return Tenant Survey/Affordable Housing Preference Policy, Discussion and Possible Action items 7 -10. 7. Tenant Survey, 8. Fair Chance Ordinance, Eviction Moratorium, 10 COVID Impacts. 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/ 

 

Zoning Ordinance Revision Project (ZORP) Subcommittee at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87506470747 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 875 0647 0747 

AGENDA: Objective Standards for Multi-Unit and Mixed-Use Residential Projects , receive presentation and provide feedback on proposed 2-4 unit land us and development standards in the R-1, R-1A, R-2, R-2A and MU-R zoning districts outside the Hillside Overlay. 

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

 

Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83911723812 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 839 1172 3812 

AGENDA: 3. Election, 7. Public comment, 8. Chair’s Report, 9. Director’s Report, 10. Update Changes to Measure T1 Phase 1 Project List, 11. PWR Capital Projects, 12. 2050 Revenue Measure, 13. Wind Storm Tree Damage, 14. Summer Registration dates and information, 15. Letter to state reps 2022 Budget Request from CoB related to infrastructure Improvements at the Berkeley Marina and Pier, 16. Dredging South Sailing Basin, 17. Update Budget Process, Transient Occupancy Tax to Marina Fund, Adopt-a-Spot, City Refuse Policy. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Commissions/Parks,_Recreation,_and_Waterfront_Commission.aspx 

 

Thursday, February 17, 2022 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83737919904?pwd=TlNmeTVrc0gvRFJ5ay9KQ1ZrVlg3Zz09 

Teleconference: 1-408-638-0968 Meeting ID: 837 3791 9904 Passcode: 919836 

AGENDA: 5. Special Presentation: “what Does Housing Have To Do With Race” by Wilhelmenia Wilson, Executive Director, Healthy Black Families, Inc, 8. a. Special Presentation on state housing legislation, b. Staff recommendations on requests for waivers of late registration penalties, 9. Appeal 2226 Durant, Unit 104. 

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/ 

 

Design Review Committee at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84988766567 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 849 8876 6567 

AGENDA: 747 (787) Bancroft Way at 4^th – Preview – Demolish six existing buildings and construct a 162,375 sq ft 3-story building containing 133,028 sq ft of R&D space and 29,347 sq ft of light manufacturing space and a surface lot containing 75 off-street parking spaces and 5 loading spaces. 

2213 Fourth St (between Allston and Bancroft) – Preview – Demolish 3 existing non-residential buildings and one existing duplex and construct 124,667 sq ft 5-story parking garage containing 415 off-street auto parking spaces and one loading space to serve uses in the vicinity of the project site. 

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

 

Independent Redistricting Commission at 6 pm  

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81072988964 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 810 7298 8964  

AGENDA: Public Comment non-agenda items, Public Hearing 1. Discussion, Review and Direction on Draft City Council District Maps, 2. Review and Approval of Table of Contents for Final Report. 

https://redistricting-commission-berkeley.hub.arcgis.com/ 

 

Friday, February 18, 2022 

REDUCED SERVICE DAY 

 

Saturday, February 19, 2022 &  

Independent Redistricting Commission at 10 am  

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87810843440 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 878 1084 3440 

AGENDA: Public Hearing 1. Discussion, Review and Direction on Draft City Council District Maps, 2. Review and Approval of Table of Contents for Final Report. 

https://redistricting-commission-berkeley.hub.arcgis.com/ 

 

Sunday, February 20, 2022 & Monday, February 21, 2022 

Presidents’ Day Holiday Long Weekendi 

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CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting at 6 pm, February 22, 2022 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89664206619 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 896 6420 6619 

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

 

AGENDA CONSENT: 1. Minutes, 2. Formal Bid Solicitations$234,000, 3. Contract $625,000 3/1/2022-4/30/2024 with Berkeley Youth Alternative for Proposition 64 Grant-Proposed Work and Services, 4. Amend Contract add $355,000 total $992,778 with BUSD to provide Mental Health Services in local schools thru 6/30/2022, 5. Revenue contract accept $1,000,000 from CA Dept of Health Care Services for Crisis Care Mobile Units and any resultant revenue agreements to augment Specialized Care Unit through 6/30/2025, 6. Accept $25,000 donation for Meals on Wheels, 7. Amend BMC 4.38, Supplementary Retirement and Income Plan II to Permit Participation of Berkeley Fire Fighters Assoc Local 1227 I.A.F.F., 8. Grant Application up to $600,000: Clean CA Local Grant Program for Civic Center Plaza Turtle Garden Beautification Project, Memorial Benches donation $3,400 items 9, 10, 11, 13: 9. In memory of Susan P. Kwong at Cesar Chavez Park, 10. In memory of Asia Blau Feese at Berkeley Rose Garden, 11. In memory of Anne Rogin Blau at Cesar Chavez Park, 13. In memory of Key Slay at Shorebird Park, 12. Donation $16,720 from Rorick Family Trust for Strawberry Creek Park for tree planting, 14. Three Contracts with 3-year terms totaling $4,000,000 for Plan Checking Services: Telesis Engineers $1,500,000, West Coast Code Consultants $1,500,000 and TRB and Associates $1,000,000, 15. Contract $1,260,000 including 15% - $171,525 Contingency with Cratus Inc for Storm Drain Improvements Projects at Marin, Virginia, Grizzly Peak & High Court. 16. Contract $2,590,468 including 10% - $235,497 contingency with Cratus, Inc, for Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation at various locations, 17. Contract $3,873,843 including 10% - $352,167 contingency with Cratus, Inc, for Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation at various locations on Shattuck Ave, 18. Contract $391,872 includes 10% - $35,624 contingency with Kolos Engineering, Inc for Urgent Sewer Repair FY2022 Project, 19. Contract add $1,891,415 total $8,924,872 with IPS Group, Inc for Parking Meter thru 6/30/2024, 20. Arreguin Co-sponsors Taplin, Harrison – Resolution supporting Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Choice Act, 21. Taplin - Budget Referral: 1. $200,000 for four (4) Traffic Circles at Seventh St, Ninth St, Browning St, & Bonar St, 2. $50,000 one (1) Traffic Diverter at Tenth St, 3. $500,000 for two (2) Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons at San Pablo and Sacramento, 4. $70,000 for Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacons and median refuge island at Sixth and Channing, 22. Taplin, co-sponsors Hahn, Bartlett, Arreguin - Streamlining Toxic Remediation in Manufacturing Districts Referral to City Manager, (the dormant Pacific Steel Casting site is at the center of this), 23. Harrison - Resolution in Support of State of CA Legislature Introducing a CA Resident-Designated Support Person Act, 24 Authors - Robinson, Taplin, Kesarwani, Arreguin – Budget Referral: $350,000 for Dredging South Sailing Basin, 25. Robinson Co-sponsors Wengraf, Bartlett, Harrison - Support AB 1602 Student Revolving Loan Fund, ACTION: 26. CM - ZAB Appeal 1527 Sacramento, 27. Southside Complete Streets Project, 27. Taplin – Amend BMC Chapter 13.84 to Expand Relocation Assistance and Conflict Resolution for Tenants, 28. Resolution Adopting the Resolution of Intention of Amendment to the Miscellaneous CalPers Contract Pursuant to Californinia Gov Code 20516 to effectuate changes to the cost sharing agreement between the City and PEPRA members of SEIU, Local 1021 Maintenance and Clerical (SEIU MC), Public Employees Union Local 1, Community Services & Part-Time Recreation Leaders Associations Local 1021 (SEIU CSU/PTRLA) and Unrepresented Employees Group. INFORMATION REPORTS: 29. City Council Short Term Referral Process Quarterly Update, 30. Age-Friendly Berkeley Update, 31. LPO NOD 3125 Arch, 32. Update on the Implementation of Fair and Impartial Policing Task Force Recommendations, 33. 2021 Year End Crime and Collision Data. 

 

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Public Hearings Scheduled – Land Use Appeals 

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

1643-47 California – new basement level and 2^nd story date 4/26/2022 

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 

2427 Browning – Major residential addition over 14’ in average height 2/23/2022 

1228 Carleton – Add a hot tub to the rear yard 3/4/2022 

1833 Sixty-Third – 388 sq. ft. addition including extending the non-conforming rt side setback at 1^st floor 191 sq. ft. addition, 197 sq ft addition above 14’ in ave. height at 2^nd floor for shed dormers, add 5^th bedroom at front of dwelling on 4,725 sq. ft. lot that contains 2 dwellings 2/23/2022 

185 The Uplands – Demolish existing garage, add new attached garage with 2-story addition above 14’ ave. ht. and legalize existing retaining walls, fences and hedges over 6’ in height on 10,011 sq. ft. lot 2/23/2022. 

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 

 

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WORKSESSIONS 

February 15 – Homeless and Mental Health Services 

March 10 – Reimagining Public Safety 

March 15 – Housing Element Update 

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

June 21 – open 

July 19 - open 

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 (Tentative: Action Item) 

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 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. 

Cal Performances was one of several co-commissioners of this opera, which received its world premiere in Boston on November 12, 2021, then had two performances in December at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. For its West Coast premiere at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, Iphigenia was performed by the original soloists plus the Berkeley Symphony conducted by Clark Rundell. Liliana Blain-Cruz directed, and sets were by noted architect Frank Geary. Montana Levi-Blanen designed the costumes. 

The cast of singers featured esperanze spalding, soprano as the lead Iphigenia; Samuel White, tenor, as Agamemnon; Brad Walker, baritone, as Menelaus; and Tyler Bouquet, tenor, as the priest Kalchas. The multiple Iphigenias were sung by soprano Eliza Bagg, soprano Nivi Ravi, soprano Alexandra Smither, mezzo-soprano Kelly Guerra, and contralto Sharmay Musacchio. All these singers were excellent in their respective roles. Brenda Pressley performed the speaking role of Artemis disguised as the Usher. Artemis’s most important line is her admonition to all the Iphigenias that they “remember who you are.” 

Wayne Shorter’s music is basically of two sorts: swaggering, bombastic orchestral music for the Greek warriors champing at the bit to go to war, and more refined trio jazz performed by Shorter’s rhythm section from his quartet, featuring Danilo Pérez on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Brian Blade on drums. The bombastic warrior music dominated Act One, and as Act Two began, a scrim fell away and we saw and heard the jazz trio offer more delicately nuanced musical fare throughout Act Two. Memorable moments of staging included one where an Iphigenia in Act One was forced to dance with first one then another and another of the Greek warriors before she willingly went to her death. One memorable line in the libretto offered the assertion by an Iphigenia that men wage war for dominance not knowing they are earth. Another thought-provoking line came in Act Two when an Iphigenia recounts how her lover sought to capture her essence and make it permanent by bottling her essence as a perfume, not realising that she embodied permanence all along, as all women do. 

In Act Three, we find ourselves embroiled once more in the myth, and now esperanze spalding as Iphigenia mouthes the words expected of her, namely, that she willingly goes to her death for the glory of Greece. Meanwhile, Agamemnon, Iphigenia’s father, has second thoughts about sacrificing his daughter, and he gets into a fight, a veritable brawl, with Menelaus, his brother. It is not clear whether in the end Iphigenia is sacrificed, as esperanze spalding sings a hauntingly wordless song and is joined in solidarity by all the other Iphigenias. The ending is, as esperanza spalding wanted it to be, open-ended, ripe with possibilities.