Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin seems to be running for California State Senate, District Seven, in the 2024 Democratic Primary. He has filed a Statement of Intention with the California Secretary of State's office, a step which must be taken before raising any campaign funds. Potential candidates at this stage may file for more than one office, so Arreguin could have alternative plans as yet to be revealed. The district is overwhelmingly Democratic, so the winner of this primary is just about guaranteed to win in the November General election. The Senate seat is now occupied by former Berkeley councilmember and state representative Nancy Skinner, who will be termed out in 2024. -more-

In another time, pre-pandemic, I would be standing in line at the Shattuck Cinemas to see “All That Breathes” , the Academy Award nominated documentary film of two brothers in New Delhi who rescue black kite birds.

The ten theatres with the murals so many of us love are closed and on the demolition block to make way for 2065 Kittredge. In place of the Shattuck Cinemas, once the economic engine of the downtown with over 300,000 patrons annually from the entire Bay Area and beyond, will stand student housing. It is a development many will applaud, with 187 units (including four live/work and nine very low income units) stacked into eight stories, with 4,993 square feet of commercial space at street level and 43 parking spaces underground. The nine very low income units qualify the project for a density bonus and added height and California Senate Bill 330 limits review to five meetings including the appeal on January 31 to City Council.

The appeal to City Council was not brought by unhappy neighbors protesting the planting of an oversize tower lording over their little houses. This appeal was brought by Adams, Broadwell, Joseph and Cardozo on behalf of East Bay Residents for Responsible Development. East Bay Residents for Responsible Development are our local skilled and trained workforce, union workers like plumbers, electricians, and sheet metal workers and local residents seeking to complete apprenticeship training. They were not trying to stop the project, they were asking for the hiring of local union trade workers, healthcare, apprenticeships and safe working conditions. -more-

A recent article and editorial in the Los Angeles Times, as well as statements from the University of California, conveniently neglect to mention that People’s Park is on the National Register of Historic Places. This listing takes the issue beyond being merely a Berkeley struggle, after deserved recognition by the State Historical Resources Commission and by the National Park Service.

With little focus on the core issues of the legal case challenging the proposed destruction of the park, recent press has instead focused on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The key issue in the case is UC did not analyze alternative sites in their Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Having to choose either a park/open space or more student housing is a false choice. UC maintains the park is the only adequate site for Housing Project #2 when their own planning documents show they get many more student beds from another site a block and a half away. Choosing the most controversial site as their second housing project is also very poor planning on UC’s part.

Some politicians and media want to describe park defenders as being NIMBYs, which hardly explains the essence of the opposition to destroying the park. Defenders of the park want more student housing, but CEQA (a 1970 law signed by Governor Ronald Reagan) is the only legal tool available to defend People’s Park. The community is up against an institution that seemingly has an endless budget enabling the hiring of lawyers and PR flacks who earn six figure salaries. The People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group (PPHDAG) board members get zero income to fight UC and must raise money from park supporters. Hundreds have donated to the legal challenge with anything from crumpled dollars to at most four figure sums sent from all over the country. Supporters are multicultural, young and old, some with means and others just surviving. This is grassroots, David vs. Goliath. -more-

Only a few weeks are left to see Berkeley’s beloved burrowing owl before it departs from its winter home at the water’s edge of Cesar Chavez Park. Whether this rare and beautiful creature will return next fall, is anyone’s guess. Much is riding on securing a functional fence for its refuge. -more-

It is common for working adults to decompress and desensitize by consuming alcohol on weekends or when they get off work. I drank beer for a short while when I was in my twenties. At best, it numbed me out so badly that I yearned for the hour when I would return to normal, as I know it to be. I take psych meds and mixing alcohol with them utterly shuts everything down, and worse.

Alcohol doesn't mix with antipsychotics. But if taken in combination with many other psych meds (It is hard to be sure of which ones), you can die from it. Many celebrities and countless others have died because of this. You don't mix alcohol with medication. Don't try it. And since you'd better not stop medication, you should stay entirely away from alcohol.

But the abovementioned is not the main thrust of this week's column...

People need to relax. Even people with mental illness must relax. I recall going swimming with a friend and getting a back massage. This type of experience is a thousand times better than drinking a beer or smoking a joint. Physical contact, play, rest, are things human beings must have. If we don't get that, we will die an early, miserable death. -more-

The police officers responsible for the death of Tyre Nichols death belonged to a rogue unit called the “scorpion” which was closed immediately following his death. The last few minutes of his life was similar to the death of George Floyd. So, who are the guilty? -more-

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken recently returned from a two-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank with the initial purpose of coordinating how the U.S. would work with the newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During his visit, Blinken made the obligatory call for a two-states for two peoples solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an unpopular notion for Israel’s new right-wing government who oppose concessions to the Palestinians and rule out an independent Palestinian state in the land Israel has occupied since the1967 Mideast War.

Consider that in December 2022, incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu published his coalition’s principles and agenda, promising construction of settlements throughout the country including in the West Bank. One of the guidelines include the following: "The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop the settlement of all parts of the Land of Israel — in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan and Judea and Samaria.”

As of January 2023, according to Wikipedia, there are 144 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including 12 in East Jerusalem. In addition, there are over 100 Israeli illegal outposts in the West Bank. In total, over 450,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem, with an additional 220,000 Jewish settlers residing in East Jerusalem. Israel is slowly squeezing the Palestinians from their lands. The international community considers Israeli settlements to be illegal under international law, although Israel disagrees. -more-

In the midst of ongoing protests against the regime in the Islamic Republic of Iran, several new developments have taken place in the last days as Iran takes notice of the 44th anniversary of the 1979 revolution than brought the mullahs’ regime to power. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, issued a “limited pardon” to perhaps tens of thousands of Iranian citizens who have been arrested for protesting the killing of 22 year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s notorious morality police. The so-called pardon is full of conditions too numerous and vague to enumerate here. All that can be said is that this token gesture by the Supreme Leader seems to demonstrate the regime’s awareness of how unpopular its rule has become, especially in the wake of its brutal crackdown on widespread popular and peaceful protests. -more-

How to Play ‘War Lies Bingo’ on February 7

Back in 1928, a leftwing British peace activist named Arthur Ponsonby published a book called Falsehood in War-Time. Ponsonby's book included a 10-point list of falsehoods that had been used by Britain (and every other participant in World War I) to justify the slaughter.

No matter which side of the battlefield you looked at, Ponsonby found national leaders invoking the same ten lies. They were: -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-

Worth Noting:

Check the City website for late announcements and meetings posted on short notice at: https://berkeleyca.gov/



Directions with links to ZOOM support for activating Closed Captioning and Save Transcript are at the bottom of this calendar.

• Monday: At 9:30 am CCCC is getting an update on Civic Center Vision progress prior to the meeting for the commissions’ super subcommittee. The City/UC/Student Committee aka 4 x 6 meets at 1 pm on Southside streets, lighting, blue phones. The Peace and Justice Commission and Personnel Board meet at 7 pm. The Peace and Justice Commission usually activates closed captioning and save live transcription.
• Tuesday: No city meetings listed. President Biden’s State of the Union is at 6 pm.
• Wednesday: The Police Accountability Board (PAB) meets at 6:30 pm. The PAB is recorded and has CC and save transcript. The Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission meets at 7 pm. Parks Commission is never recorded and staff have declined to turn on closed captioning when requested.
• Thursday: The Budget & Finance Committee meets at 10 am. This meeting has audio recording, closed captioning and save live transcription. The Civic Center Visioning commissions’ super subcommittee meets at 11:30 am. Recording and closed captioning status is unknown. The community meeting on the Special Care Unit is at 6 pm. Recording and closed captioning status is unknown. The Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB) meets at 7 pm with one project listed under action. ZAB is recorded and has closed captioning and save transcript.
• Saturday: The Berkeley Neighborhoods Council (BNC) meets at 10 am. These meetings are recorded and posted on the BNC website.

City Council February 14 regular meeting agenda is available for review and comment. Use the link and then choose the Html option or see the agenda listed at the end of the calendar.

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas



Survey: Bay Ferry 2050 Public Survey https://www.bayferry2050.org/survey



BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND SPECIAL EVENTS



Sunday, February 5, 2023 – No city meetings listed -more-