The April 24 letter to Hahn

Speaking at the council’s May 10 meeting, Monterey Fish owner Paul Johnson concluded by stating that the merchants are “pretty much on the same side as the Hopkins residents.” He was referring to people living on or near Hopkins who had organized a protest over the bike lanes.

On April 24, Hahn received an open letter signed by neighbors, merchants, and customers of the shops in the area. Cc’d to the entire council and posted on the Planet, the letter was also included in the packet sent to the council on May 6. Johnson is the second of the letter’s 118 signatories. (A longtime resident of north Berkeley and patron of the Hopkins-Monterey businesses, I also signed.)

The letter argues that “[t]he two-way bike track should be flatly rejected as way too dangerous for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike,” citing the same factors as the ones noted by the dissident cyclists, most of whom also signed the letter. The letter, too, recommends repaving the street, “which by itself improves conditions for cyclists.” -more-

Are we insane? Has America fallen into a downward spiral of moral decay? Has excessive greed and lust for power replaced our basic sense of decency? Do we need terrifying assault weapons swung over our shoulders to bolster our collective insecurity? I write this letter with my hands shaking with anger and tears running down my face.

I write this scathing attack on lawmakers who remain unmoved while 10 beautiful African-American kids were gunned down in Buffalo New York? And an additional 19 beautiful children and two of their teachers were murdered at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas by a teenager filled with uncontrollable rage. Why did the social media company that witnessed the gunman’s death threats not alert law enforcement?

Why did law enforcement officers who were fully trained for a hostage situation not take immediate action but waited 78 minutes before a police officer defied orders, entered the classroom and shot the killer? Law enforcement had all the equipment to neutralize the assassin much sooner.

Did they really have to wait for a janitor to open the door of the classroom? Why were they paralyzed with fear? Many of the trapped 10-year-olds were feverishly calling 911 for help but were greeted by the police dispatcher who dismissed the grave urgency. Precious seconds passed while the gunman satisfied his insatiable lust for killing and another beautiful child breathed no more.

There is a special place in hell for manufacturers of weapons of war and their enablers in state legislators and Congress who put their careers and NRA profits over the lives of America’s most vulnerable school children.

What happened to local swat teams who are fully trained to rapidly neutralize such threats? There must be full accountability for this gross dereliction of duty. The police chief should be fired and the people of Texas must demand the immediate resignation of Governor Greg Abbot. He is an absolute disgrace to society.

The only hero in this horrific saga was a Border Patrol Tactical Unit officer who disregarded orders from local police not to engage, entered the classroom, and shot the gunman.

Colonel Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, must resign. 50-plus extra state troopers waited in vain to engage but were ordered to desist.

Governor Greg Abbott, who’s undergone seven or eight mass shootings in his tenure, has done nothing but give greater access to militarized weaponry. His seminal attempt to fix things in 2019 was to provide greater access to AR-15’s in Texas than it is to buy baby formula. -more-

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

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

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

This is a Very Good Deal. Go for it! -more-

Don't miss this: an excellent article analyzing the "grow, grow,grow" theory::

California loses population: Communities push back against growth mandate madness

The horrific Uvalde massacre, and the Republican non-response, confirms what many of us have thought: the U.S. political process is broken. Not "strained" or "damaged" but rather "rent asunder." America's political process can't be repaired by applying duct tape. It needs reconstructive surgery. -more-

People with psychiatric issues have a harder time adapting to changes in life compared to the neuro typical. I have heard this said by a professional who worked with mentally ill people, and I've seen it in myself and in neuro atypical peers. Sometimes when we face a major life challenge, it is enough to bring back severe symptoms to the extent that we could wind up hospitalized again. One example of this is when we must deal with a death in the family. -more-

Worth Noting:

Monday morning at 10:30 am the Public Safety Committee will hear the City Manager’s request on Police Equipment. There are no documents attached revealing the content of the request. The entire nature of a request from the City Manager to a policy committee is highly unusual and has never happened previously at any council committee. This bears watching. P&J Commission meets at 7 pm.

Tuesday no meetings so we can finish turning in our ballots by 8 pm.

Wednesday evening all three meetings Homeless Commission, Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission and Police Accountability Board start at 7 pm. Homeless Commission will have Q &A on moving homeless to the Roadway Inn and shutting down homeless trailers/vehicles at 701 Harrison. The PAB will receive an update from the BPD on the mass shooting plot.

Thursday morning at 10 am the biennial budget for years 2023 & 2024 planning continues at the Budget Committee. The BART Board meeting starts at 9 am with Item 9.B. on agenda Authorize the Executive Decision Documents for the Ashby and North Berkeley BART developments.

Saturday the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council meets at 10 am.



Sunday at 5 pm is the production of ROE at the Brower Center by the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. The staged reading of ROE is free (thanks to donations), seating is limited, reservations are highly recommended. A second final reading of ROE is at the Marsh, June 16th at 7 pm.



The June 14th City Council regular 6 pm meeting agenda is posted on the city website and included after the list of city meetings with key items highlighted and underlined.

Roe at The Marsh

Check https://berkeleyca.gov/ for late/short notice postings of city meetings -more-

On Sunday afternoon June 12, from 2:30-3:30, Berkeley residents will have the rare opportunity to hear the music and poetry of Ukrainian culture voiced by some of the Bay Area's best choral singers and most celebrated actors: Peter Callender, Joy Carlin, and Patrick Russell. They will also be joined by the beloved vielle-player Shira Kammen. -more-

The Piano Concerto by Mason Bates was co-commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony, and it was written specifically for pianist Daniil Trifonov. It premiered with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin in January, 202. Currently, it is receiving its West Coast premiere in four performances at Davies Hall, Thursday through Sunday, June 2-5. Ruth Reinhardt, a highly touted young German conductor, is making her San Francisco Symphony debut in these programs. -more-

The operatic collaboration of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte brought into the world three immensely vital, dynamic works — Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte. These three amazing operas have continued to grace the world’s operatic stages ever since their creation in the 1780s. Recently — let us say, in the past twenty to thirty years — many new productions have set these operas in periods other than their original settings. Often, as in Peter Sellars’ adventuresome Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy staged at SUNY Purchase in 1987-88, the settings chosen were contemporary ones. Peter Sellars set Le Nozze di Figaro in New York’s Trump Tower, Don Giovanni in a New York City ghetto like the South Bronx or Spanish Harlem, and Così fan tutte in a chrome-lined diner. Of these three Sellars productions, his Don Giovanni was boldly harrowing and magnificent, while his other two Mozart-Da Ponte operas were often gimmicky, though endlessly inventive. -more-