IN SUMMARY

A handful of activists represent the bulk of the state’s enforcement of the law. That could change as the state housing agency hires more staff.

Lea este artículo en español.

The passage of 2021’s Senate Bill 9 was supposed to herald the end of the single-family zoning that many point to as a culprit of California’s housing crisis. But four months into the new era, little has changed, and the scant enforcement of the law has come about largely because of pro-housing activists.

The new law, which allows duplexes and split lots on land previously marked as single-family only, has been met with stiff resistance by cities across the state that have passed ordinances effectively — but not directly — blocking the law in their area.

The state of California — with an annual budget north of $280 billion — is largely reliant on YIMBY, or “yes in my backyard” activists, to find out about law-breaking cities. -more-

We are cyclists who are residents in the Hopkins Street area who will be affected by the changes proposed by the Hopkins Corridor study. While we applaud efforts to make Berkeley streets in general and our neighborhood in particular safer for pedestrians and cyclists, there are several parts of this proposal that we think will decrease our safety. -more-

Chancellor Carol Christ sent this message to the campus community Thursday afternoon:

This morning, we learned of a credible threat of violence toward members of our campus community. We take threats of this nature very seriously and took necessary precautions as officers searched and secured the campus. In order to protect the integrity of the investigation and the safety of our community, we were unable to share real-time information.

We can now share that an individual threatened violence against specific members of our campus community. The University of California Police Department (UCPD) located the individual off-campus and the matter was resolved. An all-clear message was issued at approximately 2 p.m.

This was an unsettling day for our community. While we are fortunate that no one was injured in this incident, we recognize the alarm and the anxiety this caused. Our sense of safety and security was threatened; our academic and research pursuits were interrupted; and, for some, past experiences with violence may have resurfaced. We recognize that the incident was especially trying for those in buildings where there was police activity.

Campus resources are available to support you. -more-

The shelter in place has been lifted. Please leave the campus in a safe and orderly way via the closest route available. UCPD has determined based upon its investigation that it is appropriate to end the shelter in place. Buildings will remain locked. -more-

Community members should avoid the immediate UC Berkeley campus area, where campus police have implemented a shelter-in-place as they look for a person who “may want to harm specific people.”

Based on direct coordination on campus, this incident does not appear to require that community members take action beyond avoiding campus.

We are monitoring the situation closely. We will let you know if events should change.

For campus-related alerts, sign up for UC Berkeley’s WarnMe system, which sends out alerts. Berkeley Police alerts are sent via Twitter and Nixle.
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UC Berkeley WarnMe: A Campus-wide Emergency alert has been issued. Campus police are investigating a credible campus-wide threat. Please go inside and move away from doors and windows. If you are not on campus, please stay away from the area. Facilities Services are locking buildings on campus. -more-

UC Police, Berkeley @UCPD_Cal · 20m UC Berkeley WarnMe: A Campus-wide Emergency alert has been issued. Campus police are investigating a credible campus-wide threat. Please go inside and move away from doors and windows. If you are not on campus, please stay away from the area. -more-

I've been out of town, on a road trip to Los Angeles for a family memorial, so I haven't been able to post the excellent pieces that have been submitted in my absence. This is a one-woman shop here, so when I'm gone nothing appears. Watch this space for new material. -more-

The plight of Ukrainian refugees has brought new focus on other refuges attempting to escape mortal danger from their own countries. While Ukrainian refugees have been cursed to live close to “big bad wolf Putin” and his murderous Russian army, they have been blessed to have fair skins which gives them a passport to neighboring countries which have welcomed them with incredible kindness and warm hospitality. In sharp contrast, US ICE agents have abused non-white asylum seekers; many have been imprisoned and tortured. Ukrainians entering the US from the southern border have been blessed to receive ‘Polish” style hospitality. -more-

We are cyclists who are residents in the Hopkins Street area who will be affected by the changes proposed by the Hopkins Corridor study. While we applaud efforts to make Berkeley streets in general and our neighborhood in particular safer for pedestrians and cyclists, there are several parts of this proposal that we think will decrease our safety. -more-

Our recommendations:

• Let the street be repaved, which by itself improves conditions for cyclists.
• Do the non-controversial things (restriping, additional crosswalks and stop signs, etc.), and any safety measures that could be easily and cheaply reversed if, upon reflection, it becomes clear that something else would serve everyone better (painting sharrows, for instance).
• If possible, take care of the pedestrian safety concerns at Hopkins and Monterey, and then see whether that is enough.

-more-

Introduction

This series of articles began by introducing a concept of crime that was not based on law, but rather on an action’s existential effects. Traditionally, crime is understood as a violation of the law. Since this implies that a legal system determines what constitutes a crime, it facilitates a form of autocracy. Insofar as an administrative structure or organization determines whether something constitutes a crime or not, it is not the person suffering from that action who does so. Decisions are made for people rather than with them. To make policy without the participation of those who will be affected by the policy is to dispense with any pretension to democracy. For democracy to exist, those who will be affected by a policy are, and must be, the ones who conceive and institute the policy that will affect them.

We seek to approach crime in a democratic manner. In this vein, we would define a crime as any action that injures a person, or a person’s social standing, as seen by the person affected by the action. For instance, any action that deprives a person of their personal property or their access to their personal property, against their will, or which damages or interrupts their valued relations to other people, would constitute a crime against them. It would be considered a form of victimization. The Law sees it from outside the action, through an institutionality. From within the relation between an accused perpetrator and one charging injury, the jurisprudent dialogues that would provide an arena for the accused to deny and defend themselves would be quite different (de-institutionalized, and not based on conflict).

In sum, crime is an injurious relation between a perpetrator and a victim in which it is the victim who gets to say if (and how) an injury has been done to them. The focus of this perspective is that of the one injured, rather than the institutional interests of a judicial system. Slavery or segregation would never have been possible under this alternate perspective. -more-

I am amazed that the council seems focused on making it harder, not easier, for people to share together and help each other whether the focus is food, poetry, music or emergency supplies. California has the worst poverty rate of all states, running at about 15% of the population.

The Santa Cruz Municipal Code Chapter 10.65 ordinance regulating "Public Gathering and Expression Events" passed on April 14, 2022, are an embarrassment to sensible, public-serving legislation. They appear to be clearly targeted at specific events or groups, which is a definition of bad law.

Please sit down with any groups you feel are honestly presenting an issue and work out your differences. I know that people of good faith are capable of this, and that our government and police resources are better focused on other things. -more-

“I’m also proud to report that Gov. Newsom recently signed SB 118, my Budget Committee bill that safeguards student enrollment at UC Berkeley and ensures that CA’s environmental law doesn’t treat student enrollment differently than any other campus activity.” - Senator Nancy Skinner

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It's an odd moment for pride, Senator Skinner. Some of us remember a Nancy Skinner who would have displayed modest embarrassment over the destruction of redwood trees, community gardens, rent-controlled housing, state historic resources, and national landmarks. Some of your electors thought you were that person, not the person who just erased court decisions crafted by grassroots community groups in expensive court battles just to protect our community's sleep, our health, our community resources, and our history.

As the Berkeley City Council considers the long overdue issue of reparations, it might take a moment, hopefully at Senator Skinner's request, to suggest additions the court is currently requesting to any agreement Berkeley currently has with the University of California using grassroots efforts known as Measures L and N from the 1980's as inspiration.

Measure L didn't just protect parks and open space from commercial intrusion and mandate their maintenance, it required the city to expand and create more park and open space in a city so dense it was remarked upon by planners over 100 years ago before the teensy, unwalkable balconies and roof spaces on high-rises were counted as "open space" by planners.

Measure N was equally crucial. The people of Berkeley, by a comfortable margin, voted to require the University of California to honor local restrictions and requirements so that its expansion didn't hollow out the city's historic landmarks, park space, height and zoning requirements, all the things that hang in the balance when UC decides to use capital it could use to lower tuition to buy land instead and thwart local guidelines with its exemptions.

The land it buys is California wide. The University of California is California's largest landowner. If your local media is going along with the idea that UC needs your local park to convert to housing, it's only because your local media is stupid, was just hired, or is on UC's payroll. And is absent a map.

If the Berkeley City Council cared about making sure it represented an informed electorate, it would require that UC identify and regularly post what it owns already and what it is currently bidding on in town, so that the impression UC likes to leave of a shortage of sites on which to build housing is adequately countered by the frank reality of your UC donation going nowhere near lowering tuition or addressing the maintenance of landmarked buildings currently it is letting go to ruin, buildings which are a legacy of California's architectural and cultural history which UC has a long legacy of destroying, ignoring, or in the case of 1921 Walnut, bulldozing before anybody really catches on.

The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board noted in its editorial of March 6, 2022, that the state Supreme Court's ruling agreed that UC's expanded enrollment "would have an outsize effect on traffic, noise, rental prices and the environment."

Then came Senator Skinner, whose Berkeley origins enabled legislators all over the state to fall prey to the idea that without her help qualified students wouldn't be able to attend school! Clothing was rent. Tears were shed. Headlines were everywhere. But the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board added some crucial information which did not make headlines or affect the poorly written, confusing legislative fix Skinner put into play:

"The state missed a golden opportunity to take pressure off the UC system when it let California State University open a polytechnic school at what had been severely under-enrolled Humboldt State. The school’s future is now set, at least until there’s time to see if this experiment works to boost enrollment at the Northern California campus. The school could have been converted to a UC campus much more quickly than building a new one. There’s still a chance to try converting a Cal State campus to a UC at Sonoma State, which also is experiencing declining enrollment. It makes little sense that some of the state’s institutions of higher education have to advertise to attract applicants while others are overfilled.

The state’s two public university systems will need to direct more applicants to campuses that can handle additional students. Not everyone can attend UC Irvine, UC Berkeley and UCLA. UC Merced still has capacity for more students, and obviously, so do some Cal State campuses. Dream schools may not be a dream if a student is crammed into a crowded lecture hall and sleeps in a car because there’s no housing available..." Los Angeles Times Editorial Board *

The University of California’s destructive enrollment expansion beyond its agreed-upon limits with host cities got a thumbs-up with California Senator Nancy Skinner's help, who, although she came up from Berkeley, apparently hasn’t met the students living down at the underpass. "UC gets what it wants,” in the words of one of my neighbors. "And we get the CS gas.”

Senator Skinner shoveled cake into the overfed mouth of UC ignoring the deaths of James Rector, Rosebud DeNovo, David Nadel, Eli Yates, and many more. While Berkeley is considering the long-overdue issue of reparations more generally, reparations from the University of California are overdue. Recognizing the importance of parks and open space is a simple public health measure which in a more sane world would fit into Covid-19 public health requirements. And given the wealth of options the university has upon which to situate housing, it would cost nothing and generate untold amounts of goodwill to ensure that our parks remain parks, where people otherwise trapped in their apartments could see a leaf, a bird, or a tree.

Let's hope the Nobel and Pulitzer prizewinners nestled away in the Berkeley hills who are capable of entering this discussion are good at writing letters. Because whatever stereotypes you seem to enjoy about rural and mountain communities seem pretty true of them right now; that they just sit there and let things happen which should not happen. No redwood or park should be unnecessarily destroyed, not in the era of climate change, if you know anything about the remarkable qualities of Sequoia sempervirens, the only extant species of the genus in the Northern California coastal forests. If you are, please write to Senators Nancy Skinner and Buffy Wicks, who, if they know anything about basic politics, should be looking for the settlement the judges in Superior Court are unanimously pushing for right about now. -more-

Greetings. I write as a longtime devotee of the Shattuck Cinemas, where one can see independent and foreign films as well as blockbuster movies and great documentaries. Check out ¡Vive Maestro! on Gustavo Dudamel, the founder of the great El Sistema in Venezuela that provides music education and instruments to poor children and creates orchestras in towns all over the country.

So, after your very appropriate selection of the Shattuck Cinemas as the Best Movie Theater, it was discouraging to see a photo of the UA Theatre.

It is especially concerning because, as in 2015-2020, the Shattuck Cinemas—eight screens, hand-painted murals in some of the screening rooms—is in the sights of another for-profit developer. I met him a couple of weeks ago, after having written him to ask his intentions towards the Cinemas (he did not reply to my letter), and when I asked him in person, he informed me that movie theaters were now obsolete and of course he planned to demolish them.

Berkeley will be greatly damaged should our fine multi-screen theater be sacrificed to the profits of a developer and real estate investors.

These developers do not serve our great need for low-income housing. They produce cheaply-built structures, built to the bare minimum of energy-efficiency standards, and bring them on the market at the highest rates they can achieve. They effectively displace long-time residents by lifting the average rents with their very high rents.

The proposal by Alamo developer Bill Schrader to replace the Shattuck Cinemas with an 8-story speculative housing development will be discussed by the Berkeley Design Review Committee this Thursday, for advisory comments on the new building portion of the project. I do hope the Daily Cal will have a reporter attend the meeting and let students know about this threat. Film at its best is an art form. We’re very fortunate to have the Shattuck Cinemas, as well as the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley and to be able to see the great films, as well as those that are primarily made for entertainment. But PFA complements the Shattuck Cinemas; it would not fill the huge void that would result from their demolition. -more-

Jack Bragen explains and details concerns regarding unfavorable attitudes toward people in recovery from mental illness. He complains about the bigoted stereotypes most people have toward them, likening it to crass racists. -more-

My father passed away in 2012. He once said of people with my condition, "Judgment is the first thing to go." And I've discovered that to be a very astute observation, potentially a truism. I don't have him to help in a crisis anymore. Other family members continue to help a lot. They want me to rely on myself when possible. And this is for the best. If I'm able to survive with little or no help, it only helps me. -more-

When I picked up my iPhone this morning checking the news banners, NPR caught my attention, saying that birds in North America are in trouble. The article reminds us that if birds are in decline, the ecosystems are in decline and our own health is tied to this shared environment.

NPR lists eight actions:

1. reduce habitat loss and degradation, grow native plants (calscape.org will help you choose)
2. reduce pesticide use (better yet eliminate pesticides, birds need those bugs for food and buy plants that are not pretreated with neonicotinoids)
3. purchase bird friendly products (like bird friendly coffee)
4. advocate for bird-friendly environmental policies and expect the same from elected and appointed officials
5. reduce bird deaths, keep your cat indoors
6. make windows more visible to birds (install bird safe glass, or add window film with dots or lines https://abcbirds.org/glass-collisions/products-database/, use exterior screens)
7. turn off lights you are not using especially at night,
8. if you have a bird feeder clean it regularly to prevent spread of disease.

Bill Shrader, part of the Austin Group, introduced his apartment project at 2440 Shattuck, “The Lair”, to the City of Berkeley’s Design Review Committee and proudly showed off the planned green wall of plants on the exterior and interior at the lobby entry. Erin Diehm pointed out that the interior plants will attract birds who will crash into the wall of glass, and asked if bird safe glass will be used. Shrader answered that bird safe glass is new and he will check into it. He said he doesn’t want dead birds by the entrance to his building.

Bird safe glass is not new. San Francisco has had an ordinance in place for over a decade. It is just Berkeley that can’t get it together and has left the Bird Safe Ordinance languishing at the Planning Commission. -more-

As the war in Ukraine drags on, it becomes increasingly apparent that one of the major parameters is disinformation. For example, the attitude inside Russia seems to be that Vladimir Putin's military operations are justified because Putin is protecting "the fatherland" from neo-Nazis. Pro-Putin propaganda has been disseminated throughout the world; It has infected Republican legislators. -more-

According to the April 2022 report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc), the window for limiting global warming to relatively safe levels is rapidly closing. Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. Any further delay in international action will result in an unlivable and unsustainable future for us all.

In order to meet the goals of The Paris Agreement to limit the average global temperature rise to 1.5°C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels—and failing that, to below 2°C—will take immediate and unprecedented action from every country.

In response to the climate crisis, at least 200 countries met at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow from October 31, 2021 to November 12, 2021. Notably China and Russia were not represented at the summit. The largest delegation was fossil fuel lobbyists who like the world the way it is. The delegates reached a consensus that all nations must do much more, immediately, to reach decarbonisation to limit future global temperature rise to 2°C, but ideally to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels by 2030. -more-

Name the Bird

After Grinnell, a locally famous peregrine falcon, tragically died in a collision with an automobile, his equally famous mate, Annie, found a new feathered suitor to help her care for a collection of eggs in her nest atop UC Berkeley's Campanile.

The new bird on the block was dubbed "the New Guy." Recently, a bird-ogling consortium called Cal Falcons staged a contest to officially name Annie's new nest-mate. The winning name is set to be announced soon. The final picks include: -more-

Since my column is often about the human mind, I can get away with writing a lot of thought pieces. This is one of them--very much so. Please indulge...

If your mind is operating from one of more false assumptions to guide you in your speech and actions, you are on thin ice.

I've been stabilized on medication since the latter half of 1996. And no one can deny this is an accomplishment for someone with my psychiatric condition. Although my prognosis was wrong, I was not misdiagnosed. Any time in my past that I've tried to do without medication, disaster ensued--I became severely psychotic.

However, becoming stabilized doesn't mean that everything is resolved. I've dealt with a substantial number of "delusions" that meds do not eradicate. Yet, I've also learned that you do not need to have a mental illness diagnosis to have delusions.

Antipsychotics do not fully do away with delusions and other symptoms. The medications must be supplemented with therapy, partly to "reality check," and with what I'll term "mental hygiene." -more-

City meetings were light this week and two were cancelled and rescheduled. The Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission will be April 27 and the Council Worksession of the City Manager’s response to Reimagining Public Safety is supposed to happen April 21 though it is not posted. -more-

Worth Noting - There is a lot happening this week.

Besides the special and regular council meetings on Tuesday, the City Departments present to the Council Budget Committee on Wednesday 12 - 4 pm and Thursday and Friday from 9 am – 5 pm. The Surveillance Report will be heard Tuesday evening at the Council 6 pm meeting, plus the Hopkins Corridor Redesign and the Homeless Commission referral for the development of a 24/7 crisis stabilization center.

Monday Zero waste will hear an update on the plastic recycling market. We might learn how much is “wish cycling” rather than actual recycling.

The parking pilot projects SmartSpace are on Wednesday for Elmwood and Thursday for Southside at 6:30 pm.

Wednesday evening at 7 pm the Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission has a full schedule including Greg Brown Park and an outdoor fitness court at Cesar Chavez Park and the Disaster and Fire Safety Commission called a special meeting on budget recommendations for Measures GG and FF funds and to reconsider spending $500,000 of Measure FF funds on Eucalyptus Groves on unknown private property sites in the hills. The Police Accountability Board makes the third Wednesday evening 7 pm meeting. Health and Welfare is at 6:30 pm.

There is a series of city meetings on bicycling in Berkeley starting Thursday at 12 – 1:30 pm.

Thursday evening the Zoning Adjustment Board takes up the 6-story project at 1201 San Pablo and removing four more tenant spaces from media /film and the Mental Health Commission will get the latest update on the Special Care Unit and access to crisis care in Berkeley.

Housing Survey for tenants https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CABERKE/bulletins/314823c

BART Survey - https://bartberkeleyelcerritocap.participate.online/

Sunday, April 24, 2022 – no city meetings or events found -more-

Worth Noting:

Once more we heard from the Mayor this week that the City Manager’s response to the Reimagining Public Safety will occur. Mayor Arreguin said it will be April 21. There is no posting of the meeting. Posting at the last minute has become all too common, check later https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Agenda_Index.aspx The Rent Board, Design Review Committee and the Transportation Commission are all scheduled for Thursday evening, April 21^st. The April 26^th Council agenda is available for comment. Items of note are the Surveillance Report, the Homeless Commission referral for a crisis stabilization center and storm shelters. Use the same link or scroll down to find the agenda list between the list of meetings and Land Use Calendar.



In the long list of meetings, these are picked as key where your attendance/comment may make a difference. There are other meetings in the list that also deserve your attention. Local actions matter!

Monday at 10:30 am the Public Safety Committee takes up warrantless searches and prohibition of discriminatory reports.

Tuesday 9 am the Budget Committee will continue the unfinished items from Thursday on paving, budgeting, and electrification. At 6 pm the presentation and discussion of the planning for the housing developments at the Ashby and North Berkeley BART stations follows a presentation by the Fire Department.

Wednesday at 7 pm is the last community meeting on Vision 2050. There will be a ballot measure in November. There is so much on Wednesday that you could be attending meetings from noon through the evening with barely a break from 3:30 – 5:30 pm. I have never attended a PG&E webinar so I cannot tell you whether that 5:30 pm meeting on wildfire safety is worth your time – it does look like it will be recorded.

Thursday at 7 pm Design review includes three interesting projects and the Transportation Commission includes BerkDOT, Hopkins Corridor and Adeline Plaza and possibly reimagining policing.

Saturday is Earth Day and I leave you to find and decide on your own activity. There are plenty to choose from. The City sponsored event for the waterfront which is listed.



Sunday, April 17, 2022 – Easter, Passover, Ramadan -more-