When I learned last week from my social media and Internet connections that Gus Newport had died, I thought about a line I’d once heard sung by a gospel choir at St. Paul AME Church.

“After all I’ve seen, I still have joy.”

Gus approached everything in life with enormous enthusiasm, truly with joy: running for office, being in office, policy planning, academic endeavors, networking with the livelier parts of the left, and most of all, encouraging and mentoring his compañeros in the eternal struggle against evil .

On my laptop I have a sticker once handed out by The Nation, offering a quote from the late lamented Molly Ivins:

“We have to have fun while trying to stave off the forces of darkness because we hardly ever win, so it’s the only fun we get to have.”

Well, yes, but Gus was one of the few resolute progressives who did win, at least for a time, who actually won a couple of terms as mayor without sacrificing his principles, and still had fun.

He served seven years in the early 1980s. Many key progressive goals, notably effective rent control, were realized in Berkeley during his time in office. Ever afterwards he followed Berkeley politics with interest, even when he moved Back East for a spell.

While living in the Boston area, he taught at MIT and worked with community organizations. He was especially proud of a method he’d devised for exacting meaningful community benefits from developers who demanded lucrative zoning concessions. He also lectured at Yale, the University of Massachusetts and UC Santa Cruz. -more-

Daniel Ellsberg, Presente
I heard the announcement of Daniel Ellsberg's death on the car radio. The news about Dan's terminal illness was already known but the loss was still—and remains—deeply felt. Always ready to speak truth to power, Dan ended his days like he ended his letters:

With "love."

Resist in Peace, Dan.

Recalling Ellsberg's role in exposing the lies behind the US War on Vietnam ("The Pentagon Papers") and the decades of cover-ups behind suicidal US nuclear policy ("The Doomsday Machine"), I had a vision: A crowd of millions gathered outside the Pentagon in Ellsberg's name, holding photos of Ellsberg, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Daniel Hale. And all armed with ... whistles.

Ellsberg's Biggest Reveal
Dan Ellsberg's Big Leak exposed a salient fact about the US that has become increasingly relevant over the years: Despite all the talk about America being a land of "freedom and democracy," Ellsberg's act of moral defiance revealed a stark truth: The US government lies to the US public.

As H.R. Haldeman, Richard Nixon’s Chief of Staff, once told his boss, the Pentagon Papers leak could be Deep State America's undoing: “You can’t trust the government; you can’t believe what they say; and you can’t rely on their judgment. And the implicit infallibility of presidents, which has been an accepted thing in America, is badly hurt by this.”

One of Ellsberg's most chilling revelations came from his work with nuclear war strategists who had access to the Pentagon's darkest secrets. On October 24, 2016, Ellsberg shared the following Apocalyptic Truth:

"Most of our [nuclear] warheads, our counterforce, are for striking first, They are for preemption, they are for damage limiting, which, if you believe the studies (which I do), is totally infeasible. Everybody dies, whether you go first or second." -more-

In the past twenty-two years I've had the recurring privilege of being a published writer. However, I've also experienced a psychotic condition for my entire adult life. I'm in my late fifties, and I've been medicated for psychosis and mood changes for the past forty years.

When I was in my early twenties, I was still well enough to work at skilled and unskilled employment and support myself with the wages. As I got older, I've needed to obtain Social Security and SSI to survive.

Psychosis interferes with life the most when it goes untreated. When in treatment, we may function well enough that a psychiatric condition doesn't define us. For others, they/we may need to maintain a lot of treatment. This includes medication and counseling in my case. Some mentally ill people need supervision in life activities.

Because I'm still competent and can function at professional activities (before taking up writing, I owned and operated a home electronics repair sole proprietorship), I sometimes receive a level of respect that would normally not be afforded disabled people, although this is unfair. Also unfair is where a lot of people don't respect me and scoff when they see evidence of accomplishments. People see what they expect to see. When they look at me, they aren't looking at reality, they are looking at their own projections. -more-

I am a planning, landscape & parks professional of 5 decades' experience, so hope you will give my note your attention. I also happen to be disabled enough to need to use a high-quality walker.

The Stegman Marina circumference trail is a hazard to persons with disabilities. Its surface is eroded, cracked, altogether disintegrated in areas, and tree-root impacted. It is not just burdensome to negotiate with a wheelchair, walker or crutches; it is a harm and a potential lawsuit waiting to happen. -more-

I am appalled that our government is aiding terrorist attacks by Israeli settlers and the army on defenseless Palestinian civilians including young children. For decades the US government has donated $billions of aid and a blanket complete impunity to facilitate these terrorist attacks. -more-

Dear Councilmember Kesarwani,

I was very disappointed -- in fact, devastated -- to learn of the annihilation of the Savannah Sparrow's grassland habitat in Chavez Park that took place several weeks ago.

It strikes me as inconceivable, given the precarious state of our natural world, that a City of Berkeley employee (or contractor) would mow down an area of the park where not only the Savannah Sparrow, but the Song Sparrow and Western Meadowlark, are known to breed, nest, brood, and feed hatchlings from March through July.

As councilperson of the district which encompasses Chavez Park, I would like to know if any employees are being held to account for this incompetence? I would hope so.

As the Chavez Park Conservancy noted, "Having your nest destroyed by a mower may be similar to having your home with your babies blown away by a hurricane." -more-

June 25, 2013, ten years ago on Sunday, marks the day that the U.S. Supreme Court effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act, opening the opportunity for voter suppression to be reinstated. Since that date legislators across the states have introduced a record-breaking number of restrictive voting laws. The freedom to vote is connected to our ability to beat back regressive policies such as those targeting abortion access and LBGTQ rights. Voting rights protect all other rights. Without the VRA's full protections, and as the big lie fuels anti-voter laws, we must continue to call on our leaders to protect and strengthen our freedom to vote. And each of us can do our part by registering new voters, by speaking about the importance of the right to vote, and by urging action on the part of our legislators and public officials. -more-

Berkeley-born composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s first opera, El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, became both the first Spanish-language opera ever performed at SF Opera and the first opera by a woman composer ever done there. That’s heady stuff indeed! You’d think that in writing a review of this opera, critics would take note of these facts. However, Chronicle critic Joshua Kosman never once even mentions these remarkable facts in his June 21 review.

With a libretto by Cuban-born writer Nilo Cruz, El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego (The Last Dream of Frida and Diego) sets forth a fantasy around the tempestuous love affair of Mexican painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Interestingly, the opera takes place on November 2, 1957, on The Day of the Dead (El Dia de los Muertos), three years after Frida Kahlo has died. As this opera opens, Diego Rivera, now aged and seriously ill himself, is seen at a cemetery where Mexican villagers gather to honor their departed loved ones. Diego longingly intones his hope that Frida will return to him on this day when the Mexican dead are popularly thought to return to visit their loved ones. El Último Sueño is conducted by Mexican Roberto Kalb, who is debuting here. -more-

Worth Noting:

Summer is here with the community picnic, movies in the park and Pride on the Plaza with drag performances.

• Monday
  • At 2:30 pm the Agenda and Rules Committee meets in the hybrid format to finalize the July 11 City Council meeting and continue discussion on Council legislative process
• Tuesday
  • At 10 am the Solano BID meets in person.
  • At 6 pm City Council meets in the hybrid format and will vote to finalize the FY 2024 budget.
  • At 6 pm the Zero Waste Commission meets in person.
• Thursday
  • From 9 am – 4 pm is the Community Picnic at San Pablo Park,
  • From 4 pm – 7 pm is the Pride on Plaza event with music and drag show
• Friday
  • At 11 am the Civic Arts Grants Subcommittee meets.
  • From 8:40 – 10:30 pm is the movie Minions the rise of Gru at the Strawberry Creek Park.

KPFA – To vote for the local Board of Directors later this summer, if you have not already contributed $25 the deadline is June 30. The local board in turn will select four Directors to serve on the National Board.

The Land Use Calendar of appeals and Council Special Meetings and Worksessions are listed near the end of the Calendar.

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.

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