Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods offers partial relief to UC Berkeley from enrollment pause; 1,000 more deserving California high school students could attend UC Berkeley in person  

Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods takes to heart California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu’s admonition to SBN and the University of California to immediately engage in settlement talks to mitigate harm to California high school seniors. While SBN has documented that UC Berkeley has exceeded the City of Berkeley’s housing capacity and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, in the spirit of moving forward SBN makes this offer to UC President Michael Drake:.  

SBN would agree to provide partial relief to UC Berkeley from the enrollment pause imposed by the Superior Court and agree to a temporary, partial, stay of the enrollment pause to allow enrollment at UC Berkeley during the 2022-23 academic year to increase from the current court ordered level of 42,347 to 43,347, approximately the Fall 2019 pre-pandemic level, provided that at least 90% of new undergraduate students matriculating at UC Berkeley in the 2022-23 academic year are California residents, and providing that UC does not attempt to exceed total enrollment of 43,347 for the 2022-23 academic year by further legal action in the courts or state legislature.  

According to the enrollment numbers provided in UC Berkeley’s public statement on Friday, our offer ensures that virtually all of the deserving California high school students that UC Berkeley would like to admit could attend during the 2022 school year, and no transfer students that UC Berkeley wants to admit would have their enrollment deferred.  

As we’ve stated many times in both our offers to UC and to the public, we are willing to enter into settlement talks based on the principle that enrollment growth can only take place with no further pressure on the City of Berkeley’s housing market. UC Berkeley’s own data show that Berkeley is losing large numbers of low-income households due to displacement by the increased number of students and UC Berkeley’s most recent long range enrollment plan admits that even by the year 2036-37, UC Berkeley will fail to provide housing for 46,574 students, faculty, and staff, with unaccommodated students making up 20,045 of that total. There are many ways to balance enrollment with housing capacity that would be consistent with the mission of UC Berkeley to educate our deserving California high school students and with the community’s goals of protecting the diversity that we all prize. 

Honorable Mayor Jesse Arreguín –

We are writing to you, as we have received no response from the city thus far concerning the traumatic event that took place a month ago, on February 2, 2022. First to our representative, Honorable Ben Barlett, who joined us via Zoom to offer his sympathies. We also contacted Dr. Lisa Warhuus, Director of Health, Housing, and Human Services, who we are currently negotiating the Specialized Care Unit Bridge Services contract (Specification No. 22-11472- C) to provide Peer-Run non-police crisis response.

We request an immediate meeting with you, Mr. Mayor, Madam City Manager, Police Chief Jennifer Louis, and Dr. Lisa Wuurhus. The reason for our request is that on February 2nd, 2022 Jorge, Program Manager of the Berkeley Drop-In Center, a young Black father, was detained at gunpoint by Berkeley police officers. He recounts the incident as, “brutalizing, shaming, traumatizing and completely unnecessary” He says it “felt like they wanted to kill me.”  

The Berkeley Drop-In Center (BDIC), is the longest-running program of the Alameda County Network of Mental Health Clients (ACNMHC), and the building itself has been a hub of community service for more than 40 years. ACNMHC is one of the oldest Peer-run agencies in the nation, founded more than 30 years ago, and we are 100% staffed by folx with lived experience with mental health challenges, and experiences with substance use experience, homelessness, incarceration, and the child welfare system. We serve thousands of people each year and are on the ground supporting the folx who have been pushed at the margins, primarily BIMPOC adults.  

He was finishing putting up the last of Black History Month decorations when more than four police officers “approached [him] from behind with their guns out, they did not announce they were the police.” He was extremely terrified saying “because I had my black phone in my hand and knew if I made one move too quickly – I was just visualizing myself getting shot if I made the wrong move.” 

“I announced myself as the Berkeley Drop-In Center Program Manager, and they patted me down and it was evident I did not have a gun. By this time the Staff and the community came out saying that I worked here and was not doing anything wrong. Still, more officers continued to arrive and they kept me on the ground, handcuffed, for more than 15 minutes, knowing I had no gun, knowing that I was the Program Manager. I’m so confused that why after knowing I had no gun, they kept me detained, in handcuffs, and on the ground, and why more police officers continued to arrive” Following the incident, the Center had to close for several days to recuperate and ACNMHC had to hire trauma healers to support them moving forward. The Center contacted city officials, with no response.  

We are also calling for a Press Conference on Monday, March 7th, 2022 at 4:00 pm PT via Zoom (link to join) to inform the community and our allies of the continued actions of the Berkeley Police Department in matters of how it treats Black and other Folx of Color in our community.  

There have been continued efforts in the community emphasizing the ongoing need to reimagine and reform the Berkeley police department for higher public safety, including ending racial profiling, creating the Berkeley Police Accountability Board, Berkeley Reimagining Task Force for Public Saftey and Police. While this work is ongoing and the Berkeley police department is aware of the efforts being made to make it the best police department in the nation, the behaviors of our officers have not changed.  

We are very concerned for the safety of the staff members of the organizations who have been and continue to work on these efforts directly tied to community safety. We stand in solidarity with Jorge Colon, his family, and all marginalized people who continue to fear for their lives every day, just while doing their jobs.  

We are all committed to The Berkeley Drop-In Center located in South Berkeley and all efforts to make our community safer. Please make the effort to immediately schedule this meeting with us, at which I will be joined by Jorge Colon (Program Manager BDIC), Janavi Dhyani (Director of Operations), boona cheema (Vice-Chair, Reimaging Task Force and ACNMHC Board Member), and Gigi Crowder (Executive Director of NAMI, and ACNMHC Consultant). 

In solidarity with you in search of equity and justice,

It was a very full week and the survival of Ukraine and the Ukrainians hangs over _everything changing minute by minute and hour by hour. It looks like Putin has decided that since the Ukrainians didn’t lie down and welcome the invasion, he will rain down massive destruction until there is nothing left to save. The “Z” on everything Russian presumably representing Zelensky is chilling. 

Locally a lot happened. I heard at the Community for a Cultural Civic Center on Monday that my accidental misreading of a meeting date and publishing that the Civic Arts Commission Visioning Subcommittee was meeting again generated a barrage of pushback from City staff. That clears up where the pressure to stop community planning is generated. The seismic cost estimates are in with $24 million for the Maudelle Shirek (Old City Hall) Building and $20 million for the Veterans Memorial Building. These estimates include finishing only for the seismic retrofits and not finishing, painting, etc for the rest of the buildings. We did not receive the water intrusion cost report. The presentation to council is scheduled for March 22. 

As probably many already heard, the Independent Redistricting Commission voted unanimously in support of the Amber 2 map. Seventeen members of the public attended the zoom meeting and nine spoke. No one opposed the Amber 2 map. There are a few more formalities to step through and the subcommittee is busy finishing their report. The meeting ended at 7:20 pm, early enough to catch the Zero Waste Commission. 

Zero Waste is actually a laudable goal, but attending meetings doesn’t give me any sense that the commission’s current leadership will get us there. This week I picked up an article which said that the world is on track to fill the oceans with so much plastic it will outweigh marine life by 2050. I commented that the commission update on plastic recycling was not helpful to me as a resident. We need direction on what to do. 

We need more ordinary people appointees to the Zero Waste Commission to offset the two who dominate and shut down input from others. Steven Sherman, District 1 appointee, insisted he shouldn’t have to pay for weekly garbage pick-up, because he doesn’t generate enough garbage for weekly pickup. Rather than turning the laborers who do refuse collection into policing who does and doesn’t put out their garbage can for pickup, this could have turned into a teachable moment in how to inform the community on waste reduction, especially since we are doing rather poorly in getting to that zero waste target. Maybe this call-out by name will change the focus from self to community. We can hope. 

The Facilities, Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment and Sustainability (FITES) Commission took back action on plastic bags from the Zero Waste Commission. That is a good thing. Councilmember Kate Harrison is the FITES Chair and at the Wednesday meeting she spoke about working with Berkeley Bowl to bring ideas forward. 

Number eleven in the Planning Commission agenda was the Approach to Bird Safe Berkeley Requirements. The presentation by Zoe Covello, Assistant Planner, as described last week centered around problematic local ordinances. It was obvious that most (not all – several had been following the issue) of the commissioners did not read the letters from the public nor did it appear they looked independently at the declining bird populations or the American Bird Conservancy website. Commissioners did ask for the science. When Glenn Phillips, the Executive Director of Golden Gate Audubon gave his credentials as a science expert and then proceeded to comment, he was cut off.  

This should be a lesson: As important as letters are as documentation of an issue, don’t expect them to be read. Showing up still matters, even when experts are stymied from presenting facts and science. 

Ben Gould, who was the Community Environmental Advisory Commission (CEAC) Chair when the proposed CEAC Bird Safe Ordinance was sent to Council, reminded everyone that it was written over 3 years ago. Then he stated that the American Bird Conservancy model ordinance should be used. 

We think of skyscrapers of being the killer of birds, but the threat of reflective glass and surfaces starts from the ground up. And, that is exactly what we heard from Erin Diehm, who has been following the issue of bird safe glass, bird safe features and dark skies on multiple fronts. 

Those of us who attended and spoke hope we made an impact and the “Approach to Bird Safe Requirements” will come back with the American Bird Conservancy model as the base, with a citywide requirement for 100% of the buildings from the ground up. Even with several commissioners supportive, we can’t expect that action without public pressure. The Planning Commission staff made it very clear that it is the City Manager who determines what is a priority and when staff will return with a finalized version. 

If the City Manager ever comes out pushing for aggressive climate and environmental action, I will need a cupboard full of smelling salts to bring me back from fainting. 

Erin Diehm regularly attends the Design Review Committee, informing committee members on the importance of native plants and habitat and highlighting problem landscape plans that fall below the needed minimum of 70%. In addition, in meeting after meeting, she points to choosing plants that support the leaf chewing insects that become food for birds and complete ecosystems. 

I missed the ceremony for the Urban Forestry Tree Planting Grant at James Kenny Park. There hasn’t been any noticeable success in gaining support from Forestry to plant native trees. As I once heard Erin explain, planting non-native trees and plants can be compared to taking away food from children and replacing it with kerosene. 

On the same day as the tree planting ceremony, the New York Times published https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/03/03/climate/biodiversity-map.html an article with a map of the places in the “…lower 48 states most likely to have plants and animals at high risk of global extinction…California has the most imperiled biodiversity of any state in the contiguous United States.” When we fill our land with non-native plants, as is happening with most of the trees put into the ground by the City of Berkeley, we are contributing to the problem. The same is true when we take home non-natives for our yards and gardens. Calscape https://calscape.org/ gives us an easy guide to choose wisely. 

Here is the link to check out SARS-CoV-1 RNA Levels in Wastewater in the United States from the CDC. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#wastewater-surveillance Whether the presence and amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater is increasing or decreasing is a leading indicator of the direction COVID-19 will take in the community. If you go to the map you will see big gaps in where SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is being measured. Fortunately for us, there are lots of sites in and around the Bay area, and our dots are blue, indicating declining presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater. 

The coming week is filled with proposals, reports, meetings and a press conference on policing. One of the recommendations from the National Institute for Criminal Justice (NICJR) is guaranteed income or universal basic income for families living in poverty. The report is using pre-pandemic statistics as that is all that is available, but it is still alarming that in this highly educated rich city, where the median “sold” home price is now $1.6 million, so many are living in poverty, 19.1%. The rate of poverty for Alameda County is 14.1%. 

I finished the book Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival and Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliot, 2021. It is a hard read and very much worth your time. I wanted so much for Dasani, the homeless eleven-year-old whose life we follow until she is nineteen to break the cycle of poverty, but the story of Dasani is real life. The ties to family even a very dysfunctional one are strong much stronger than opportunity which comes with the price of leaving a known identity, siblings and life behind. One of the reviews I read after I finished by Erika Taylor said of the book “… [it] is sure to linger after the last page is turned.” And, that is so true. 

What do we do differently as a society? We see the homeless in the street, the parks, their tents and want to turn away, but rarely do most of us see homelessness, poverty, hunger, through the eyes of a child. 

Giving cash with no strings attached to low-income mothers with newborns was the last segment featured on Saturday’s PBS Newshour. The New York City guaranteed income program is “The Bridge Project”. Referenced in the segment though not by name was the just published “Baby’s First Years”, the study to understand how poverty reduction affects child development by giving a low-income mother $333 a month versus $20 per month https://www.babysfirstyears.com/ 

The Planning Commission held a public hearing on amendments to Citywide Affordable Housing Requirements on Wednesday evening followed with the same material at the Housing Advisory Commission on Thursday evening. Both commissions listened and responded as if there were ample open land to build affordable housing in this 10 ½ square miles of ground called Berkeley. Not all of that 10 ½ square miles is buildable. 

There is the Hayward fault, hillside slide areas and high fire zones on the east, and liquefaction and a future of rising sea level and groundwater on the west. 

While the law has changed and cities can now require including units for low income households in market rate housing developments(inclusionary housing) rather than allowing payment of fees in-lieu of including units, neither commission endorsed this. That should leave one wondering just exactly how Berkeley will meet the state requirement for 43% (3854) of the 8934 units required to be built between 2023 and 2031 to be for extremely low and low-income households. Both commissions accepted the staff-recommended in-lieu fee structure by square foot instead of per unit and the recommended fee amount, despite a healthy showing of housing developers insisting on lower fees and exceptions at the Planning Commission. 

I have yet to see plans for six, seven and eight story multi-use projects pop up in District 5 along Berkeley commercial corridors like Solano from Curtis to The Alameda. There is, of course, the price of land and current zoning, but spreading moderate density housing with inclusionary units throughout the entire city, not just the formerly redlined areas, would be an interesting move. Maybe that is a better approach to changing the face of Berkeley and biased policing than surveillance and programs hinting at “stop and frisk” for South and West Berkeley. Which brings us to the February 2 incident at the Berkeley Drop-in Center. 

The attached letter describing what happened on February 2, 2022 to the Program Manager at the Berkeley Drop-in Center was forwarded to me. There is a Press Conference scheduled for 4 pm Monday and you can bet I will be tuned into zoom to watch it. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82998271252?pwd=TW5pUFVYNHorLzYwZXlwTUJTeDRWZz09 

The insanity and humiliation of Vladimir Putin, the former K.G.B. officer, has been festering ever since the collapse of the former Soviet empire. Buoyed by the sweeping success of Crimea where hardly a shot was fired, the messianic Putin made the tragic mistake of invading Ukraine shocking the world by its utter brutality but encountering a fierce opposition. Putin, 67, has run Russia, as president and prime minister, for 21 years, a feat surpassed only by Joseph Stalin. He is surrounded by highly corrupt political cronies who have used their enormous wealth and privilege to enjoy high-end European perks with massive real-estate investments. On the home front, Putin has repressed free speech with utter brutality. To quell any form of opposition the ex-KGB spy has amassed a terrifying array of assassination tools. Unfortunately, Putin has grossly mismanaged the economy which is in terrible shape suffering from chronic capital light. One eye-popping investment of $390bn was a major failure. 

Trapped and cornered, Putin spun a nuclear nightmare threatening the nuclear option which would devastate Europe and much of the world. Ukraine is also vulnerable to a nuclear meltdown from one or more of its four nuclear reactors which delivers 55% of its energy. Let us hope the incredible courageous people of Ukraine to defend their country will not be in vain.

The brains and minds of people are limited, and following sustained exertion, they need recovery time and rest. If you overextend the mind, in any way, shape or form, it can sometimes cause damage from which it is hard to recover. This is a type of damage that many people, including mental health professionals, would have a hard time understanding and/or measuring.

When I push too far beyond what I know to be my natural limits, I seem to incur damage to the operating systems that make my personality work. I was in such a situation in 2018, and it affected how I behaved; it also made me far less tolerant of any kind of demanding situation. The reversal to such damage took me a long time to do, despite my knowing some types of self-training that I utilized, that eventually fixed it.

So many people treat their minds as though machines that should always work for anything. This may be okay for some, but it doesn't work for me. When I am not at a hundred percent, I might refuse to do things that other people expect me to do. I will also postpone some tasks until such time as I am ready to do them.

People have not been pleased when I've refused to do as they expect. Often, I will refuse a task or series of tasks because I know my limitations and I know that based on those limitations, trying to do the thing(s) will be beyond what I can reasonably do. I don't ascribe to "no pain, no gain." Pain is an excellent signal provided by the body, giving us information that we must back off from whatever it is we're trying to do. 

People sustain damage when they are growing up. Those who had messed up childhoods and teen years, once we reach adulthood, may have to do a lot of work on ourselves to get to a place of clarity and of being well. 

When you get tired, you deserve rest. If you don't get rest, it is bad for you. The human mind and body were designed to let you know when you need such rest. If you try to override those messages, it doesn't mean you've reached new heights in stamina. 

(If you are subject to any kind of mental illness, you need to avoid energy drinks, such as "5-Hour Energy." I've drank Red Bull without a problem, but I'm tolerant of caffeine, and maybe Red Bull isn't the strongest of the lot.) 

This is another reason that I could not do full-time work. Everyone has their own levels of what they can do and what they can't. If something isn't working for you, you should find a way to stop doing that. 

Mental illnesses can be worsened through overexertion of the brain. A severe manic or depressive episode can overextend the brain. This is where the illness is creating damage to the parts of the brain that were working for you. That's why it matters a lot that you keep symptoms in check. In the case of psychosis, a fully blown episode of nonmedicated psychosis, in a week's time, according to one psychiatrist, can create enough damage that it can take ten years to get back to square one. Another psychiatrist said that it takes three days to recover from stress--normal levels of stress. 

The time it takes to mentally recover from a relapse of psychosis--that's why I'm in my fifties and haven't made it very far in my "writing career." If I compare myself to the really successful writers, very few of them suffered from schizophrenia of the type I have. 

Being medicated seems to impact the capacity to endure exertion. Before I was medicated, I could do a lot more without undue strain. But it is hard to know for certain because this is also before I got ill with schizophrenia. The condition seems to sensitize me to stress. I get stressed out from driving in the Bay Area, and I don't drive very much. My insurance agent recently told me the low mileage per year will lower my auto insurance bill soon. 

Self-care includes necessarily getting the rest we need. Sometimes rest means playing--doing something fun. And sometimes it means plopping one's behind on the sofa and taking a nap. Doing something we perceive as hard, really is hard because that's the only way it can be defined. If you are doing something hard, you probably need rest from it at some point. Yet this could have exceptions. I have a picture in my mind that maybe a genius physicist or mathematician could get rest through solving a puzzle like Rubik's Cube. But that's just conjecture. I don't know very many genius-mathematicians or physicists so I couldn't tell you. 

Yet I do know we're all of us made of soft stuff, stuff that can be injured through overwork or through hard environments. We differ in how much we can handle and in how much rest we need, but all of us can only handle so much, and all of us need to take it easy some of the time. 

Jack Bragen currently publishes four books on lulu.com, and they can be viewed by clicking here.

Running a Marathon — by Chance

There are just too many things to worry about these days. Climate change is worse than we thought. The Bay Area's overdue earthquake is still overdue. Ukrainian cities and civilians are being bombarded. Russia and Washington are making references to the "nuclear option." The Golden State Warriors squandered a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter....

I needed a distraction, so I took a break by running in the Berkeley Half-Marathon.

Actually, I couldn't avoid it. Part of the Marathon's course overlaps with my much-shorter Sunday jog—from the Monterey Market up to the Berkeley Rose Garden and back.

If anyone were to ask, I could honestly boast that I "easily passed hundreds of other runners."

If anyone were to cast a doubtful look, I would have to confess: while the half-marathoners were all running west, I was heading east, uphill to the Marin Circle Fountain. Once there, I reversed direction and joined the flood of marathoners for the downhill trot back to Hopkins Street.

It was a kick, running past the residents gathered along the curb, banging bells, clapping hands, and shouting words of encouragement: "Looking good!" "Way to go!" "You're gonna make it!" "Suck it up, slowpoke!"

I figure I only ran a half-of-a-half-of-a-half-of-a-Half Marathon but my legs are still sore. 

Is Calling for a Coup a Big Whoop-de-doo? 

Last week's column noted the appearance of a new message being promoted by TrumpleThinSkin and his supporters. Alongside banners reading "SAVE AMERICA," there were other professionally printed placards that bore the chilling threat: "TRUMP 24: OR BEFORE." 

Here's a question for legal scholars: Does this display constitute a crime under 18 US Code, Chapter 115, Article 2385, which reads:
"Whoever, with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of any such government, prints, publishes, edits, issues, circulates, sells, distributes, or publicly displays any written or printed matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence…. Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both." 

I vote for "both." 

Social Insecurity 

The Progressive Turnout Project (PTP) recently emailed a petition calling on Congress to increase monthly Social Security payments. According to the PTP, the Cost of Living adjustment for 2022 increased SS payments by 5.9 percent. Unfortunately, the Consumer Price Index increased by 7.5 percent, which wiped out the SS "increase." 

As the PTP noted, over the past 21 years, housing costs have soared 118 percent while healthcare costs have skyrocketed 145 percent. Over the same 21 years, Social Security checks have only increased 55 percent, which translates to a major loss of purchasing power. 

Senator Elizabeth Warren is pushing a bill to increase SS payments to seniors by another $200 per month. Naturally, Mitch McConnell is working to block it. 

Finally, The Tot Trap Gets Re-tagged 

Several months ago, this column raised concerns about the removal of a warning sign that had been affixed to a new climbing structure at the King Park playground on Hopkins. The sign posted an age-limit for climbers (5-to-12 years), warned kids not to wear necklaces or scarves for fear of strangulation, cautioned that sunny days could leave the tower's tiers hot enough to cause burns, and stipulated that children should be under adult supervision. 

The cautionary note was peeled off by parties unknown. Berkeley's Parks Department was alerted and promised to respond. 

During a visit to the park a few weeks ago, the warning sign was still missing and a group of three four-year-olds and a boy of six were seen swinging and swaying in the middle of the tower. (These structures, manufactured by Berliner Seilfabrik, are officially called "DNA Towers" because of their signature double-helix shape.) 

There were no adults to be seen as the kids scrambled into the third level of the Tot Tower where a protective net was wrapped around the outer supports to prevent children from toppling through the tower's bars and tumbling to the ground. The designers apparently didn't road-test the design sufficiently to assure maximum safety. I watched aghast as the oldest climber swung outside the protective net and began struggling to reach the top level—by clinging to the outside of the no-longer-protective green web. 

Finally, some good news. Last week, a new sign appeared affixed to the tower. As before, it restricted climbers to children from 5-12 playing under "adult supervision." 

Now, the bad news. The new sticker is less than half the size of the original warning and the font is much smaller, making it harder to read. In addition to being too small to draw much attention, the warning sign was placed five feet off the ground, so it cannot be seen—much less read—by children attracted by the bright green-and-yellow "climbing castle." 

The new label warns that children falling from the tower face the possibility of injury or death but then warns climbers not to wear helmets for fear the chin-straps could get caught in the architecture and cause asphyxiation. 

Finally, this update ends with more bad news: someone has already tried to peel back and remove the new warning. 

Give a Bit, You Selfish Bums! 

If you have email, you're familiar with political fund-raising pitches disguised as "urgent surveys." They typically begin by asking a half-dozen leading questions bursting with built-in partisan bias and they always end with an "ask" for a donation. 

In what may be a case of "big-ask burn-out," a recent fundraising survey from action.chuckschumer.com ended with five response bars, each one asking for a larger cash donation. But the final bar reeked a bit of testy resignation: It offered a single, dismissive response: "No. Protecting the Senate Majority is no big deal." 

Spam and Phish with a Continental Dessert 

I got a piece of spam-mail addressed to "Dear Customer" that suggested: "please reset your account immediately." The "Service Team" behind the faux alert pretended to be from "Amazon. All rights reserved." There were a couple of tell-tale tip-offs that the urgent request was not legit. First, the sender was an entity with an awkward url, ctxj@nezzart.com. And then there was the improbable mailing address: 35 Rue Saint Sufran, 13006, Marseille 06, El Salvador. 

The address was real (sort of). There is a five-star restaurant named Le Kikar at this location, but it's in France, not El Salvador. 

The Comforting Lingo of War 

In response to Russia's (long-awaited and strategically provoked) invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon has offered to supply "Lethal Aid" to its NATO partners in Europe. 

Lethal aid? That's a verbal discontinuity, a nonsensical non sequitur, a contradiction in terms. Just another sign that there's too much Toxic Masculinity being spilled about the planet these dire days. Maybe it's time to apply a bit of Therapeutic Femininity. 

Up-Armored Language 

The Climate activist group 350.org recently reposted an ominous news report that was titled: "An Extraordinary Iceberg Is Gone…." Followed by the comment: "Are you sick of headlines like these?" 

Well, yup. Any reminder of a crumbling Antarctic Doomsday Glacier whose collapse could bury most coastal cities under several feet of saltwater is daunting news. But it was another headline that set my teeth on edge—the one that appeared in the subject line of 350.org's email. It referenced "Our best weapon in the fight against climate change." 

I'm weary and wary of progressive activists—including antiwar stalwarts—who continue to employ militarized language. As long as we perpetuate the idea that problems can be solved with "fighting" and "weapons" we're going to keep "losing ground in the campaign to win the struggle to gain hard-won security." 

Militarized Minds; Weaponized Words 

Thanks to a network of corporate-controlled media, Americans are constantly awash in a flood of gushing grammar-bombs, a literal war of words that target and infiltrate our language en route to conquering our minds. 

Even long-established environmental champions are not immune. The Natural Resources Defense Committee recently sent out a four-page fund-raising letter that underscores the problem. 

The letter begins by referring to the NRDC as "A Force for Nature" that unleashes "legal firepower" in support of "campaigns that will drive … winning bold climate action" by "defending" wildlife "in our fight to avert climate catastrophe." The letter invites readers "to strike back against the fossil fuel lobby" as "we wage a fierce campaign to counter Big Oil" while "fighting on a number of other urgent fronts." 

"We're battling to save bees," the NRDC explains, by providing "frontline communities" with "tools they need to fight environmental injustice" on each of "these major fronts." In a "do-or-die moment for the Earth's future," the NRDC vows to "wage an urgent fight for even bolder climate action" by "mobilizing a grassroots army." 

Meanwhile, the NRDC "is on the frontlines of the battle to stop the onslaught of 'neonic' pesticides" that harm insects and "fighting alongside local residents" as they employ "hard-hitting legal action" in their "battle for equal access to safe, lead-free drinking water." 

In response to the previous administration's "all-out assault on the Endangered Species Act," the "NRDC and out allies scored a big win" when Joe Biden rolled back Trump's anti-eco policies. 

"But the fight goes on," the NRDC goes on. "We're also battling in court to reverse" laws that would target endangered grey wolves by "mobilizing… support" to protect the solves from "being targeted with vicious hunts." 

The NRDC also cites its support for Indigenous communities "battling to save the natural treasures that sustain them" while "waging a fierce campaign" to keep a Texas oil company from "ripping apart" Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve. 

The NRDC "fights both in and out of court" to "advance the fight for environmental justice." (Yes, they used "fights" and "fight" in the same sentence.) And "the only way we can wage—and win—so many urgent campaigns on so many fronts" and "move swiftly to defend our environment" is by raising a Natural Resources defense budget of donations to assure "we keep fighting on your behalf" in the relentless struggle "to wrest control of our future away from the fossil fuel giants." Bottom line: Cash-flow is "essential as we fight to heal our planet." 

VETO NATO 

We Say NATO's Got to Go! By Ben Grosscup

Zoom Call Alert: Russia's Ukraine War and the Imperative for Peace 

Date: Sunday, March 6, 11am Pacific. Register Here. 

The organizers write: "In addition to our deep concern for the victims of this unjust war, we think there is an important opening for greater cooperation between peace forces in Europe (East and West) and North America. What can we do to end this war and prevent the next one? Join us on the Global Day of Action for Peace in Ukraine. Speakers will include:
Sevim Dağdelen has been a member of the Bundestag in Germany since 2017. A member of the Die Linke (Left) Party, she is a member of the German Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Daniel Ellsberg is a former US military analyst who caused a national uproar in 1971 when he provided the New York Times with the Pentagon Papers, a 7,000-page trove that exposed the government's deceptions during the Vietnam War. His latest book is “The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.”
Bill Fletcher Jr. is former president of TransAfrica Forum and a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies. He is the author of several books, a syndicated columnist, and a regular media commentator on television, radio and the Web.
Nadezhda Azhgihina is a Russian journalist, director of PEN Moscow, board member of Article 19, member of Russian Chamber for Media Complaints, co-founder of Association of Women Journalists (Russia). She lives in Moscow.
You can find the latest news and actions on the Ukraine crisis at NoWarInUkraine.org.
Nonviolent demonstrations are being organized all over the world on March 6th at PeaceInUkraine.org.
Watch an amazing and informative webinar from Monday night. 

Watch a 30-minute video exploring the role of regional oil resources in the Russia/Ukraine conflict
Send an urgent email to Congress and the White House.
Sign up for a March 8th webinar on the damage created by military spending.

Bill Schrader
The Austin Group
164 Gale Road
Alamo,
CA 94507

Dear Mr. Schrader,
When I first learned of this proposal I was concerned about its effect on the Shattuck Cinemas, but then I heard that you had expressed the intent to keep the theaters intact. However, when I examined the sketch on the City of Berkeley Planning Department poster on the side of the building, I could find no indication of the presence of the theaters. This could simply be due to the fact that the entrance to the Shattuck Cinemas is on Shattuck Avenue. However, I write for confirmation that you appreciate the cultural and economic importance of the 10-screen Shattuck Cinemas and have no intention of harming them. 

I write as one of the many thousands of Berkeley and East Bay residents who value the Shattuck Cinemas very highly. As you doubtless know, we demonstrated our opposition over several years when a previous private developer, Joseph Penner, proposed to demolish the Cinemas for his high rise project. More than four thousand film attendees signed our petition to the city to protect this great film venue from demolition. The developer responded by proposing to include new theaters in his project, but the new theaters would have been fewer, would have been mostly underground, and would not duplicate the hand-painted murals and Egyptian and Moorish Revival decor inspired by the movie palaces of the 1920s. 

These theaters are a great treasure both for the general public and for anyone who loves film as an art form. They draw people to downtown Berkeley from all over the East Bay, so they are an economic driver of our downtown as well. Before the pandemic, they were drawing 275,000 to 300,000 movie viewers a year to downtown Berkeley, and those numbers are building again as we begin to return to normalcy. 

I look forward to learning more about your plans. 

Sincerely, Charlene M. Woodcock 

cc: Berkeley Mayor and City Council, Planning Commission, The Daily Planet

Worth Noting:

A packed week ahead that closes with daylight savings time.

Policing in Berkeley starts Monday with a policing proposal, followed with an ordinance to prohibit discriminatory reporting to law enforcement at the Public Safety Committee at 10:30 am. Monday afternoon at 2:30 pm the Agenda Committee will review the draft agenda for March 22 which contains item 40 undoing protections from no cause search and seizure of persons on parole/probation. Monday afternoon at 4 pm is the Press Conference following Berkeley Police holding the Program Manager of the Berkeley Drop-in Center at gunpoint, handcuffed and on the ground who was at work doing his job completing decorations in observation of Black History month. Monday evening at 7 pm the Personnel Board will review a revised job description/classification for the investigator of police misconduct. Tuesday evening at City Council is the report of the implementation of Fair and Impartial Policing in Berkeley and the Crime and Collision report. Wednesday is the Police Accountability Board at 7 pm. Thursday morning at 9 am the Budget Committee will take up the report from the auditor citing improvements needed in managing police overtime and the absence of contracts with outside entities. Thursday evening is a special council meeting to receive the reports on the Reimagining Policing work at 6 pm. If all three reports are read the total is 754 pages.

BART Parking, Parking enforcement and reconfiguring Hopkins starts Monday morning at 10:30 am the Public Safety Committee will review the recommendation from the Disaster and Fire Safety Commission to enforce existing parking code in high fire zones. The Hopkins Traffic Corridor study and recommendations is Monday evening at 6 pm. The BART meeting on parking at the BART stations is Wednesday at 6 pm. The BART housing developments will be built on the Ashby and North Berkeley BART parking lots.

Toxic Contamination, groundwater and sea level rise (SLR) presentation by Kristina Hill is Tuesday at 3 pm. The impact on groundwater and toxic sites is the piece of SLR that never gets attention. This is important as it changes the assumptions of SLR impacts.

Saturday March 12^th the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council will take up Berkeley issues, the agenda isn’t posted yet, but the above makes it look like a full plate. 

Sunday, March 6, 2022 – no city meetings or events found 

Monday, March 7, 2022 

City Council Public Safety Committee at 10:30 am (members Taplin, Kesawani, Wengraf) 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82439596866 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 824 3959 6866 

AGENDA: 2. Taplin co-sponsor Wengraf - Community Policing: Flex Team for Problem-Oriented Policing Under the Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment (SARA) Model and Other Applicable Community Engagement Models, 3. Harrison co-sponsor – Adopt ordinance adding BMC 13.09 Prohibiting Discriminatory Reports to Law Enforcement, 4. Disaster and Fire Safety Commission - Recommends Parking Enforcement of Existing Parking Code in fire Zones 2 & 3. 

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

Agenda and Rules Committee at 2:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86832943195 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 868 3294 3195 

AGENDA: Public Comment on non-agenda and items 1 – 7. 1. Minutes, 2. Review and Approve 3/22/2022 draft agenda – use link or read full draft agenda after list of city meetings, 3. Berkeley Considers, 4. Adjournment in Memory, 7. Land Use Calendar, Referred Items for Review: 8. COVID, 9. Return to In-person meetings, Unscheduled Items: 10. Discussion Regarding Design and Strengthening of Policy Committees, 11. Supporting Commissions, Guidance on Legislative Proposals. 

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

Civic Arts Commission Policy committee at 3 pm  

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87995975058?pwd=NjFxZGZuWEJ1cXpXNXVuUFZHUmgzZz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 879 9597 5058 

AGENDA: 4. Civic arts Commission Work Plan 

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

Press Conference at 4 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82998271252?pwd=TW5pUFVYNHorLzYwZXlwTUJTeDRWZz09 

Agenda: Press Conference - Regarding Feb 2 incident of racist policing by Berkeley Police, the Program Manager for the Berkeley Drop-in Center was finishing decorating the Berkeley Drop-in Center in celebration of Black History month, when more than four Berkeley Police Officers approached the Program Manager with guns pulled and detained him at gunpoint, handcuffed and on the ground even after staff and community came out saying he this was his place of work and he was doing nothing wrong. 

Katrina Killian, Executive Director, Alameda County Network of Mental Health Clients, 3238 Adeline, Berkeley, 

Peace and Justice Commission at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85300527394 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 853 0052 7394 

AGENDA: Discussion/action 7. Elections, 8. 2022 Work Plan, 9. Climate Change education Bill, 10. Action to Approve letter to BUSD: Integrate climate change into change into California education. 

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

Personnel Board at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88374176663?pwd=c3VyTkFGVURTWENVNmJHZm1CajZ5UT09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 875 8489 2793 Passcode: 152599 

AGENDA: VII. Recommendation to Rename and Revise the Police Review Commission Investigator Classification. 

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

Hopkins Corridor Traffic and Placemaking Study at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GvsbjX4uSR6BjeCzxTDEpw 

Teleconference: not given as an option 

AGENDA: Hopkins from The Alameda to McGee. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Hopkins/ 

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 

Presentation by Kristina Hill on Groundwater, Sea Level Rise and Toxic Contamination at 3 pm  

Videoconference: register (Register on Zoom Presentation is free) 

Presentation is Sponsored/Organized by Richmond Shoreline Alliance  

https://richmondshorelinealliance.org/ 

City Council CLOSED Session at 4 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85665732041 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 856 6573 2041 

AGENDA: 1. Conference with Legal Counsel – existing litigation a. Mauck v. City of Berkeley Alameda Superior Court RG20060952, b. Frieson v. City of Berkeley Alameda Superior Court RG20064683 

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/82967064417 

Teleconference: 1-699-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 829 6706 4417 

AGENDA: For full agenda use link or go to full agenda following list of city meetings and draft agenda for 3/22/2022 council meeting.  

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

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Budget and Personal Committee Meeting at 5 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83997610665?pwd=M3E0OUFRd0ZrNXEzUWxlTWxWNUEzUT09 

Teleconference: 1-408-638-0968 Meeting ID: 839 9761 0667 Passcode: 967661 

AGENDA: Discussion and Possible Action: 8. Budget review possible changes to staffing model, 9. Regarding Hiring of Consultants for Racial Equity Work and Personnel Evaluations. 

Wednesday, March 9, 2022 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Legislation / IRA / AGA at 5 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89888378508?pwd=d05CMXJUZFptMFN3NkdoQW05SU92QT09 

Teleconference: 1-408-638-0968 Meeting ID: 898 8837 8508 Passcode: 109179 

AGENDA: 7. Discussion and possible action regarding potential 2022 ballot initiatives to amend Berkeley Rent Ordinance 

Commission on Labor at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4863098496 

Teleconference: not given try 1-669-900-6833 and Meeting ID: 486 3098 496 

AGENDA: 4. Elections, 5. Fair Work Week Policy, 6. Discussion and Possible action regarding role of commission on Labor to receive disputes and provide technical assistance to the community. 

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

Homeless Commission at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/96645301465 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 966 4530 1465 

AGENDA: 6. Options presentation with two components how Options System works and how the programs are coordinated and second Options presenter directly working with the homeless on the street, 7. Coordination of homeless services in Berkeley, 8. Discussion and possible action on need for a senior shelter and special needs, 9. Discussion and possible action of screening and intake procedures for persons with disabilities entering into homeless programs. 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Commissions/Commissions__Homeless_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: 9. Update Outside Funding, Grants, Donations for PRW projects, 10. Update Trees Make Life Better Program, 11. Spring and Summer 2022 special events calendar, 12. Proposed FY 2023-2024 PRW capital projects, 13. Upcoming Marina Fund Budget, 14. Update/Discussion Commission Referrals to City Council, TOT, Refuse Policy, Adopt-a-Spot, South Sailing Basin Dredging and State Funding Request for Marina. 

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

Police Accountability Board at 7 pm 

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

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

AGENDA: 3. Public comment on non-agenda and agenda items, 9. A. Review Policy 319 Hate Crimes, 10. a. Consider requests from Fair & Impartial Policing Implementation, b. Review Police Equipment & Community Safety Ordinance Impact Statements, c. Consider Request from Mental Health Commission to collaborate on using local crisis stabilization as an alternative to sending individuals with mental health concerns to Santa Rita or John George, d. BPD response to anti-Semitic hate flyers in Berkeley, e. Discuss continuation of meetings held via teleconference and videoconference, CLOSED SESSION. 

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

BART Ashby and North Berkeley Stations Advisory Committee and Community Meeting at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrcuivqjgpH93uk0pgEuZoey9RbWR15CYa 

Teleconference: Meeting ID: 

AGENDA: BART rider parking spaces 

https://www.bart.gov/about/planning/station-access/berkeley-elcerrito-corridor-plan/outreach 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/BARTplanning/ 

Thursday, March 10, 2022 

City Council Budget & Finance Committee at 9 am 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89216051955 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID:892 1605 1955 

AGENDA: 2. Legislative update Governor’s FY 22-23 Proposed Budget, 3. Auditor - Berkeley Police: Improvements Needed to Manage Overtime and Security Work for Outside Entities (54 pages), 4. Measure P Overview and Fund Forecast, 5. Five-Year Capital Improvement Program and Proposed Projects 

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

City Council 6 pm – Special Meeting  

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81553706914 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 815 5370 6914 

AGENDA: 1. Consideration of the Reimagining Public safety Task force’s Response to the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR)recommendations, (Report 150 pages) 2. Presentation and Discussion of Reports Submitted by Reimagining Public Safety Task Force and National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, Part 1 Specialized Care Unit – Crisis Response Models Report (212 pages). Part 2. NICJR Report (292 pages) 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/2022/03_Mar/City_Council__03-10-2022_Special_Meeting_Agenda.aspx 

Friday, March 11, 2022 

Reduced Service Day 

Saturday, March 12, 2022 

Berkeley Neighborhoods Council at 10 am 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81913698863?pwd=NFJjWlh2aDhtSjh1eG4yQUFkMzNmQT09 

Teleconference: 1-253-215-8782 Meeting ID: 819 1369 8863 Passcode: 377919 

AGENDA: not posted, check later in the week 

https://berkeleyneighborhoodscouncil.com/ 

Sunday, March 13, 2022 – DAYLIGHT SAVINGS – Spring Forward 

March 7, AGENDA AND RULES COMMITTEE at 2:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86832943195 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (toll free) Meeting ID: 868 3294 3195 

DRAFT AGENDA for MARCH 22, 2022 City Council Regular 6 pm Meeting 

CONSENT: 1. Resolution to meet via videoconference, 2. Resolution ratifying COVID emergency, 3. Minutes, 4. Contract $60,000 (ARPA Funds) Amendment to Berkeley Revolving Loan Fund to contract with Working Solutions to provide technical assistance to small businesses participating in Revolving Loan Program (RLP), 5. $12,952,000 Formal bid solicitations, 6. Donate surplus fire truck and equipment to Livermore Pleasanton Department, 7. Contract $325,000/fiscal year with Pinnacle for Occupational Physicals replacing current contract 3/23/2022 – 3/22/2022 with option to extend to total 10 years, 8. Contract $100,000 with Interior Motions for HHCS Public Health Division Furniture 1/1/2022 – 12/30/2022, 9. Amend Contract add $140,800 total $541,715 with Help@Hand Participation Agreement with CA Mental Health Services thru 6/30/2024, 10. Revenue Contract Alameda Co Behavioral Health Care Services, 11. Increase Taxi Scrip Window daily cash redemption limit from $800 to $1000 one day per week, 12. Amend BMC 12.70 to align state and local laws on smoking and cannabis, 13. Add $900,000 to each contract with ELS Architecture and Urban Design, Siegel & Strain and Noll & Tam Architects 6/30/2022 – 3/31/2023, 14. Purchase Order $765,000 Nicholas K Corp dba the Ford Store San Leandro for 15 Ford Interceptor Utility Hybrid Vehicles, 15. Purchase Order $135,000 Nicholas K Corp dba the Ford Store San Leandro for3 EV Ford Pickup Trucks, 16. Amend contract add $100,000 total $400,000 with Du-All Safety, LLC for Safety Consulting and Training Services thru 12/31/2025, 17. Amend contract add $85,000 total $277,947 with Silao General Engineering for site improvements (parking lot) at 125/127 University, 18. Amend contract add $500,000 total $1,400,000 with Coastland Civil Engineering for on-call civil engineering services for sanitary sewer program and extend 6/30/2023, 19. Amend contract add $500,000 total $1,200,000 with West Yost for on-call civil engineering services for sanitary sewer program and extend 6/30/2023, 20. Amend contract add $2,805,612 total $45,545780 with Waste Management of Alameda County for Landfill Disposal Services thru 12/31/2026, 21. FY 2023 Street Lighting Assessments – initiate proceedings, 22. Commission on Disability – Recommendation appoint new members to fill commission vacancies Districts 3,4,5,6,7 and Mayor, 23. Parks and Waterfront Commission – Letter of support for South Sailing Basin Dredging, 24. Letter of Support to State Senate Budget Chair Skinner and Assembly Budget Chair Ting for Waterfront Infrastructure Improvement Projects, 25 Auditor’s Report Berkeley Police: Improvements Needed to Manage Overtime and Security Work for Outside Entities, 26. Taplin – Support for AB-2053 (Social Housing Act), 27. Taplin – Support for AB-2336 (Speed Safety Pilot Program – cameras to catch speeders), 28. Taplin - Support for AB-2713 (Rent caps –limits annual rent increase to 5% + CPI or 10% whichever is lower), 29. Taplin – Budget referral $300,000 to hire consultant to draft West Berkeley Transportation Plan, 30. Bartlett, co-sponsors Hahn, Taplin, Arreguin – Budget referral $350,000 to fund consultant to design and implement a local reparations plan to address economic injury and intergenerational trauma experienced by Berkeley’s decendents of slavery and ongoing harm caused to all African Americans by systems that uphold the legacy of segregation, 31. Wengraf – Support for AB 1755 (wildfire home hardening, wildfire mitigation improvements), 32. Wengraf co-sponsors Taplin, Barlett – Support AB-1594 Fire Arms Civil Suits, 33. Wengraf,Hahn – approving expenditure council office budget funds for 2022 Virtual Holocaust Remembrance Day Program, 34. Robinson co-sponsor Hahn – Budget Referral $3,600,000 Telegraph-Channing Garage elevator repairs, ACTION: 35. Research and Development (R&D) definition, 36. Accept the Surveillance Technology Report for Automatic License Plate Readers, GPS Trackers, Body Worn Camera and the Street Level Imagery Project, 37. Disaster and Fire Safety Commission – Recommendation to Identify High Risk Safety Areas that are exempt from State Imposed Housing Increases Due to Public safety Considerations 1. Fire Zones with narrow (26 feet or less) winding streets, 2. Locations Alquist-Priolo (Hayward Fault) and 3. Locations within Liquefaction and Landslide Zones, 38. Harrison – Budget referral to Consider General Fund strategies and related fiscal policies for funding capital improvements in particular strret, sidewalk, micromobility and transit infrastructure, 39. Referral to FITES Committee to consider strategies and make recommendations to ensure potential infrastructure bond is consistent with climate action goals and other environmental policies, 40. Droste, Taplin - Revisions to Section 311.6 Warrantless Searches of Individuals on Supervised release searches of individuals on supervised release search conditions of the Berkeley Police Department ( BPD) Law Enforcement Service Manual - undoes protections to individuals on parole/probation allowing BPD to conduct detentions and warrantless searches on persons on parole/probation, INFORMATION REPORTS: 41. Berkeley Economic Dashboards Update, 42. FY 2022 First Quarter Investment Report ended 9/30/2021. 

March 8, CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82967064417 

Teleconference: 1-699-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 829 6706 4417 

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

AGENDA CONSENT: 1. 2^nd reading Supplementary Retirement and Income Plan II Berkeley Fire Fighters Assoc Local 1227 IAFF. 2. 2^nd reading Amendment to contract between City and CalPers to effectuate cost sharing agreement between City and PEPRA, 3. Continuation Videoconference and Teleconference, 4. $7,470,316 Formal bid solicitations, 5. Contract add $50,000 total $100,000 end 6/30/2023 with Anjanette Scott LLC Housing Consultant, 6. Contract add $60,000 total $245,000 with Resource Development Associates (RDA) to add grant writing services for the Specialized Care Unit (SCU – crisis intervention mentally ill alternative to policing) 1/1/2021 – 6/30/2023, 7. Contract add $10,000 total $569,300 with Rolling Orange, Inc for Website redesign 3/1/2019 – 6/30/2024, 8. Contract $1,010,000 (includes 10% contingency $20,551) with Western Water Features, Inc. for King Pool Plaster and Tile and West Campus Pool Plaster, Tile, Filter, 9. Contract add $42,00 total $188,400 (includes $4,200 contingency) with Lind Marine for Removal of Derelict and Abandoned Vessels at the Berkeley Marina, 10. 10-year lease with two 5-year extensions with NFS Unlimited, LLC for Skates-on-the-Bay, 11. Updates to Measure T1 Phase 1 Project List, 12. Donation $3,400 memorial bench at Berkeley Marina in memory of Roger Garfinkle, 13. Ratification of Police accountability Board’s Standing Rules, 14. Arreguin Co-sponsors Taplin, Bartlett, Robinson – Support SB 922 (Weiner) permanently exempt transportation related projects from CEQA (pedestrian, bicycle, new bus rapid transit, light rail, EV charging stations, shore-side charging stations for ferries), 15. Arreguin, co-sponsor Harrison – Oppose CA 2/3 Legislative Vote and Voter Approval for Fee and Charge increases Initiative, 16. Kesarwani, Taplin, co-sponsorss Robinson, Wengraf - Referral to Implement State Law AB 43 for Reduced Speed Limits on High Injury Commercial Corridors, 17. Harrison, co-sponsors Arreguin, Taplin, Wengraf – Resolution expenditure office budgets supporting Status of Women Commission to cover membership in Association of CA Commissions for Women, 18. Harrison – Resolution to reduce Park fees for non-profits and support SF Mime Troupe, 19. Hahn, Bartlett, co-sponsor Harrison - Budget Referral $300,000 Grant Writing services, 20. Robinson – Support for AB 1713 Idaho Stop – allowing adult bicyclists to proceed through stop signs without stop after yielding right-of-way to immediate hazards, ACTION: 21. Update on Implementation of Fair and Impartial Policing Task Force Recommendations from BPD, 22. 2021 Year End Crime and Collision Data, 23. CM – Exception to 180-Day waiting period to hire a CalPERS Retired Annuitant. 

LAND USE CALENDAR: 

Public Hearings Scheduled – Land Use Appeals 

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

Remanded to ZAB or LPC 

1205 Peralta – Conversion of an existing garage 

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

1409 California - Construct a 96 sq ft addition over 14 ft in ave ht within a non-conforming rear yard setback 3/24/2022 

1412 Derby – Residential addition of 431 sq ft to an existing 1,250 sq ft single family dwelling 3/24/2022 

1233 Dwight – Create 430 sq ft 2^nd story addition and 20 sq ft 1^st floor addition to existing single-family dwelling 3/14/2022 

3233 Ellis – Demolish existing single-family dwelling and construct 3 detached single-family dwellings 

760 Hearst – Establish 3,366 sq ft veterinary clinic in an existing tenant space 3/16/2022 

1915 Milvia – Residential addition of 578 sq ft to existing 1-story single family dwelling. Project includes demolition of a portion of the rear home 3/24/2022 

2500 MLK Jr Way – Change of use from retail books to medical office in one commercial space 3/14/2022 

1341-1343 Parker – Addition of 5^th bedroom, relocation of exterior stairs to single-family dwelling, project includes demolition of a portion of the structure 3/24/2022 

1641 Stuart – Residential addition on 2^nd floor of single family dwelling 3/14/2022 

2305 Telegraph – Change of use from retail to food establishment in existing vacant commercial space 3/14/2022 

2315 Telegraph – Change of use from retail food establishment in an existing vacant commercial space, no exterior work 3/14/2022 

1201 The Alameda – Establish new uncovered off-street parking space within required yard 3/14/12022 

3022 Shattuck – Remodel existing duplex, replacement existing deck and stairs, addition at shade structure at rear of house, scope of work includes kitchens and bathrooms, roof at rear of house to be extended, no proposed change to existing footprint or façade facing right of way, 2 electric charging stations, 2 on demand water heaters 3/14/2022 

1499 University – Add mural to South façade 

1695 Ward – Construct 105 sq ft 2^nd story addition and roof deck, construct porch in existing non-conforming frontsetback, add off-street parking space to rear yard, on non-conforming for lot coverage and occupied by existing 2-story 2,058 sq ft single family dwelling 3/16/2022 

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/planning_and_development/land_use_division/current_zoning_applications_in_appeal_period.aspx 

WORKSESSIONS: 

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 on what happened the preceding week can be found in the Berkeley Daily Planet www.berkeleydailyplanet.com under Activist’s Diary. This meeting list is also posted at https://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html on the Sustainable Berkeley Coalition website. 

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Perennial favorite Jordi Savall returned to Berkeley on Friday evening, March 4, 2022, under the auspices once again of Cal Performances. This time, Jordi Savall was joined by the ensemble he and his late wife, Montserrat Figueras, founded many years ago, Le Concert des Nations. For this concert the music offered came from the 1992 film by Alain Corneau Tous les Matins du Monde. This beautiful film, with an imaginative scenario by Pascal Quignard, dealt with the relations between the reclusive master viola da gambist Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (ca. 1640-ca.1701) and the young Marin Marais (1656-1728), whom Sainte-Colombe reluctantly agreed to tutor. So gifted was the pupil that Marin Marais quickly rose to become principal violist in the court orchestra of Louis XIV at Versailles, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Lully. For this film, Jordi Savall directed and performed the music of Sainte-Colombe, Marais, Lully, Couperin, and others. Quite remarkably, the film Tous les Matins du Monde enjoyed huge international success. Moreover, a recording of the original sound track of this film became a hit among music buffs, thus expanding interest in early classical music. For the March 4 concert at Berkeley’s First Congregational Church, Le Concert des Nations was comprised of director Jordi Savall on seven-string viola da gamba; Manfredo Kraemer on violin; Charles Zebley on flute; Marco Vitale on harpsichord; Lucas Harris on theorbo and guitar; and Philippe Pierlot on seven-string viola da gamba. Opening the concert the musicians performed a Suite from the opera Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Jean-Baptiste Lully, composed for the play by Molière. Featured was ceremonial music for the Turks, and for this music, Lucas Harris played guitar, and Philippe Pierlot offered frequent pizzicato accompaniment to the ensemble. Next came the work entitled Le Retour, from the Concert XLI for two violes by Sainte-Colombe. The burnished tones of the two violas da gamba melded beautifully as they exchanged musical motifs in lively interaction.  

The third piece performed was a selection from Marin Marais’s 3rd and 4th books for Viola da gamba. Accompanied by harpsichord and theorbo, Jordi Savall and Philippe Pierlot offered delicate filigrees on violas da gamba and capped the selection with a vigourous finale entitled La Sautillante. Following this selection the full ensemble offered works by François Couperin from royal concerts at Versailles of 1722 and 1724. Especially noteworthy were the slow, dolorous Plaintes pour les Violes, exquisitely performed here by Jordi Savall and Philippe Pierlot. Then we heard excerpts from Marin Marais’s 2nd book of Pièces de Viole, accompanied by harpsichord and theorbo. For the conclusion of these selections, Lucas Harris switched from theorbo to guitar. Next came a work entitled Les Regrets by Sainte-Colombe. Here tears and joy alternated.The final work on the printed program was the immensely popular Sonnerie de Sainte-Genevieve du Mont-de-Paris by Marin Marais. In this beautiful work, the instruments pay homage to the ringing of the church bells at Église Sainte-Geneviève in Paris’s Latin Quarter. Included in this work is a lively interchange between violin and flute, admirably performed here by Manfredo Kraemer and Charles Zebley, over a repeated basso continuo motif from the two violas da gamba.  

For encores, Jordi Savall introduced a celebratory piece by 18th century French composer Philidor in honor of a noble childbirth, which featured Charles Zebley playing piccolo. Further, Savall introduced a lively second encore of two dances by iRameau.