A friend asked if we'd gotten an email announcing Jesse Arreguin's candidacy for state Senate. No, I haven't, not at any of the Planet addresses, nor at my personal email. But, it turns out, my husband got an email from jesse@jesse.vote, so he forwarded it to me. (He'd already trashed it.)

In a era where fully half of my emails are fund raising appeals from eager Democrats, it had a familiar theme. Here's the nut 'graf, boldface sic:

"I hope you’ll help get our campaign off to a strong start by donating today.
And please save Wednesday, March 22nd, 5:30 to 7pm for our kick-off event. More details to come!"

The Planet has gotten no formal announcement from the Arreguin campaign yet. Maybe at the "kick-off"?

But never mind, Kelly Hammargren broke the news that he's entering the race ten days ago in the Planet.

Why did my spouse get this email and the Planet didn't? He happened to write a check for one of Arreguin's previous campaigns, which got him on the "A" List, and I didn't.

It's the money, honey. -more-

As the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock has ticked closer to midnight, a new organization has taken shape to sound the alarm: the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction.

More than 1,000 scientists signed onto a January 17 Coalition statement condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine War. The statement laid out the devastating consequences if Putin were to carry out his threat:

“The use of a nuclear weapon for the first time in more than 77 years would risk global catastrophe. If Russia were to use any nuclear weapons in its war on Ukraine, the risk of nuclear escalation would be extremely serious. Once nuclear weapons are used in a conflict, particularly between nuclear-armed adversaries, there is a risk that it could lead to an all-out nuclear conflagration….

“Today, it is widely understood that there can be no adequate humanitarian response following the use of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons kill and injure people immediately and indiscriminately, destroy cities, and contaminate the soil, water, and atmosphere with radioactivity. The smoke from burning cities in a nuclear war could darken and cool Earth’s surface for years, devastating global food production and ecosystems and causing worldwide starvation. For these reasons, 145 nations at the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference on August 22, 2022, endorsed the demand that ‘nuclear weapons are never used again, under any circumstances.’”

And yet, the statement goes on, “all nine nuclear-armed states are investing in sustaining and modernizing their nuclear arsenals and have plans to use them to wage nuclear war if they choose.”

I had barely started college in 1962 when the Cuban Missile Crisis set off alarms. The shadow of nuclear war has hovered ever since. Movements to banish it have come and gone. Now, following in the steps of other scientists who have tried to put the nuclear genie back in the bottle, the Physicists Coalition is pressing governments and civil society to— as their website asks in bold white on black letters— “Help Us Shrink the Global Risk from Nuclear Weapons.”

How did this new venture ­­­take shape? -more-

I'm prefacing this essay with an admission that what I'm alleging is speculative. I don't have any direct evidence of algorithms being used in directing my treatment. But if they were used, I would never be told about it, and thus having direct evidence is not reasonably possible. -more-

I've called and emailed numerous people in the Park District, and no one will return a phone call or reply to an email. What are you afraid of? This is not appropriate. You are all public employees - you work for me!

Meanwhile, the parks are rapidly degrading, due to too much visitation by people, habitat fragmentation due to trail-building, mountain biking, grazing by non-native cattle, rapid habitat destruction due to the spread of invasive non-native plants, etc. When I visit a park, other than a few birds, I see no wild animals at all! Your primary duty is the preservation of native wildlife. But you aren't doing it. In real life, bicycles aren't allowed on sidewalks, and yet you think it's quite all right to allow them on narrow trails with hikers and horses! And now, even though hikers have paid for all of the trails, your "pilot project" will ban hikers from some bike-only trails! Since when have mountain bikers - who regularly break the law and destroy habitat by building illegal trails - been granted special privileges?

Isn't anybody there capable of thinking? -more-

The 40th day after a death is an important occasion for mourning in Iran. February 16 marked the 40th day after the death of the first two young Iranians executed by the regime for their protest demonstrations. To honour their deaths, mass protests took place all over Iran on Thursday, February 16. Protesters shouted “Death to the Dictator,” “Death to Khamenei,” and “Death to the Islamic Republic” in Tehran, Arak, Isfahan, Mashad, Samandaj, Qazvin, Rasht, and Karaj.

Presumably, there were other such protests in the southeastern province of Iranian Baluchistan, where many prior demonstrations have taken place.

Meanwhile, amid many calls for unity among the protesters, there is in fact scarce unity, with some dissidents refusing to have anything to do with prominent reformist politicians who formerly worked for the regime such as ex-president Khatami or ex-prime minister Moussavi, in spite of their having recently denounced the regime and called for a total change of government. Other protesters want nothing to do with exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah who was deposed in 1979. Iranian women, who have been in the forefront of the protest movement, have called for women to be leaders of a new government once the regime of the mullahs is overthrown. Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient for her work defending the rights of Iranian women and children in Iran, is perhaps the one individual nearly every Iranian citizen, woman or man, young or old, seems to agree on as a possible future leader. Although Shirin Ebadi is outspoken in calling for an end to the present regime, it is not clear that she would accept any position in a new government. -more-

Worth Noting:

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

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• Tuesday: The 6 pm City Council worksession has only two agenda items, 1) a report on the COVID-19 response and 2) consideration of a policy to establish what conditions give a household preference for the limited number of below market rate/affordable units.
• Tuesday: From 7 – 8:30 pm the North Berkeley Housing Partners will hold in-person office hours (open meeting with no agenda) to answer questions and accept feedback on the North Berkeley BART Station housing project.
• Wednesday: Start the day with tree planting at Indian Rock at 8 am. The Civic Arts Commission and Environment and Climate Commission meet at 6 pm. At 6:30 pm the Police Accountability Board meets with policy agenda items on the Downtown Task Force and Bike Unit and on the use of drones by BPD. The Disaster and Fire Safety Commission meets at 7 pm.
• Thursday: At 10 am the Budget and Finance Committee reviews the Sugar Sweetened Beverage Panel of Experts recommendation for allocation of funds and the City Manager’s companion report (opposing recommendations). The Zoning Adjustment Board meets at 7 pm. All projects are listed on consent with the mid-size 7-story project on Durant to be continued.
• Thursday: At 7 pm The Mental Health Commission receives an update on the SCU planning and a presentation on non-police responder programs.
• Sunday, February 26: At 2 pm the North Berkeley (BART) Housing Partners will hold a public “site walk” meeting starting at the station building.

Beginning March 1, 2023 all commission meetings return to in-person attendance.



Directions for CC (Closed Captioning) and saving transcripts at ZOOM meetings are at the bottom of this calendar. Directions include the links to the ZOOM support webpages.

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BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND CIVIC EVENTS

Sunday, February 19, 2023 - Presidents’ Day Holiday weekend

Monday, February 20, 2023 – Presidents’ Day Holiday

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

CITY COUNCIL Worksession at 6 pm -more-