The two daily newspapers I look at regularly, the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, are full these days of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Why? Because the downtown areas that they used to rely on for advertising revenue are looking more and more like ghost towns. Reporters are using those clever new software packages that can generate multi-color bar graphs and pie charts to fill up lots of column inches to show what percentage of office and retail space has already been abandoned.

Yes, times are tough in the big city.

With online access at home so easy, many workers who used to flock to downtown offices and patronize restaurants and shops on their lunch hours just don’t need to be there.

But surely San Francisco is still an exciting destination? Well, not really. The Chron’s erstwhile architecture critic (now on an“urban design” beat) has fallen back on making lists of the old standby tourist attractions since show-off structures like Sales Force’s Phallus Building aren’t being built because no one wants to work in them.

But people have always been willing to work downtown. Why not now?

It’s the Manhattanization, stupid. In San Francisco’s chilly climate, sunshine matters year-round, and the windy concrete canyons which have been constructed in the last four decades are not appealing.

Poet George Sterling’s “cool, gray city of love” has become the cold, dark city of greed. It’s not, of course, that greed hasn’t always been a driving force in San Franciso: first the gold rush, next the robber barons and then the Hearsts, who now own the Chronicle brand, and their ilk.

Now the high tech companies are getting the blame, but the twist is that in today’s tech world you can be just as greedy in the comfort of your own country home. That's what’s always driven up house prices in the sunny suburbs which ring the city and county of San Francisco in Northern California. It’s just gotten even more intense during the pandemic.

And the business section of the NYT has started playing another variant on the same tune. Much of Manhattan’s housing is now just pricey pieds à terre for people who live most of the time in The Hamptons or Connecticut or Hunterdon County or The Hudson River Valley. That’s always been somewhat true, but the contemporary twist is that the cognoscenti almost never need to come into New York City any more. Office vacancies in Manhattan are lamented in the Times with the same anguish as they are in what we’ve always called The City around here, and the cause is somewhat the same.

In both cities hopeful electeds suggest daily that excess office space might be converted to dwellings, but that turns out to be technically difficult and therefore expensive. It’s likely that the bubble in demand for pricey “ market rate” apartments is about to burst as today’s techies age a bit and think about having kids and wanting backyards. It will be interesting to see how the neo-liberal fauxgressive promoters of unregulated for-profit development will react if and when that happens.

The city of Berkeley is a special case because the presence of the University of California, with its ability to gin up demand simply by increasing enrollment, continues to guarantee a very generous return to speculative developers of fancy private dorms. The big ugly boxes which are Manhattanizing the streets of what used to be called Downtown Berkeley are from the Stack’em and Pack’em school of design. They’re getting taller and taller.

These three-bedroom apartment complexes are pitched to pods of six or more undergraduates with bunk beds. They are not attractive to families with children who can afford to move to the suburbs, and they are too expensive for low-paid UCB employees who must accept long commutes to find affordable suburban rentals. Better paid UC administrators and faculty members don’t need to live here, and they often don’t. Teaching is most often left to poorly paid academic grad student temps while tech researchers count on corporate funding.

The school is increasingly dominated by what might be called an Edifice Complex. Building more stuff creates some jobs, which gets support from the building trades, plus generating big profits for contractors. What’s not to like? Well…

Example: The crazy expensive expansion of Cal’s Memorial Stadium with accompanying fancy gym for elite athletes. It will be a burden for California taxpayers for decades into the future, though the builders made out like bandits, as they always do. Reports that the Pac 12 is disintegrating suggest that the anticipated fantastic profits from ticket sales were just that, fantasy.

The Berkeley Daily Planet extensively covered UC’s foolish project of creating this football temple and the lengthy protests which tried to stop it, but there it stands today, with a gigantic debt, a losing team and declining attendance—all predicted.

Planet reporters and citizen commenters repeatedly told our readers that the stadium was doomed to fail, but they were ignored by the powers that be, who built it anyway. Something similar is now happening with Carol Christ’s cockamamie plan to pave People’s Park for more luxury dorms, this time with the collusion of our assemblymember, Buffy Wicks.

More examples: Bruce Brugmann’s SF Bay Guardian gets the credit for warning about the consequences of Manhattanizing San Francisco in the early 70s, but in the end his cautionary admonitions didn’t work and now the city is paying the price.. And remember when everyone made fun of the SFBG for harping on PG&E’s faults? The Guardian was not only right, at first it only had half the story of PG&E’s transgressions, with the rest now coming to light.

I did a story for the Guardian in the mid-seventies predicting the many problems with the proposed demolition and re-building of the Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco, to which no one in power in SF paid the slightest attention. Now, forty years later, it has all happened, and worse, and there’s nothing on the site but the “temporary” terminal. There are calls for it to be demolished.

It’s increasingly annoying to continue in the news media because the mantra for the publications I’ve been associated with in last three or four decades seems to be “I told you so, but so what?”.

We’ve been told that the truth will make us free, which might occasionally be true, but there’s little satisfaction in truth-telling if it makes very little difference in outcomes. Just sayin’. 

g

The recent indictment of former President Donald Trump has evoked a complex array of emotions among Americans, myself included. This development has brought to the surface my apprehensions and fears, rooted in concerns about accountability and the potential for setting unfavorable precedents. The possibility of Trump eluding consequences and even seeking re-election in 2024 with the specter of self-pardon is deeply unsettling. 

While this indictment provides a measure of relief, it also underscores the disconcerting reality of continued strong support for Trump, despite substantial evidence against him. The alarming influence of right-wing propaganda and the possibility of violence is deeply unsettling. 

Special counsel Jack Smith's indictment outlines four charges—conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction—related to the January 6th events, though the absence of a sedition charge, applied to other insurrection participants, raises queries about its implications. Conviction on sedition charges would prevent Trump's future presidential bids, potentially prompting him to run while dealing with legal consequences. 

Trump's legal challenges extend beyond this case, with potential charges in Georgia compounding his situation. The irony of his legal battles juxtaposed with a presidential campaign is evident, underscoring unprecedented circumstances. Our democracy is on a knife edge, demanding accountability resisting propaganda's sway.

The Earth is in the midst of the Sixth Extinction crisis. A huge proportion of the Earth's species are in danger of extinction, caused mostly by loss of habitat. A large part of that habitat loss is caused by invasive non-native plants, such as French broom, Italian thistle, and poison hemlock. They crowd out the native plants,destroying the habitat of our native wildlife. 

Most of these plants are listed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (see https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/IPC/encycloweedia/weedinfo/winfo_table-sciname.html ), because they are harmful to agriculture or the environment, and they are designated a "public nuisance". Like trash, another public nuisdance, the state wants to eliminate these plants, and, like trash, no one needs permission to remove them. 

In a park like the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve, already about a third of the habitat has already been destroyed by these invasive plants. There are so many that park employees cannot control them. Only volunteers have that capacity. But where are they? 

The East Bay Regional Park District and other public agencies have recently been doing everything they can to attract more people to the parks. And they have been very successful. But, unfortunately, they haven't made the same effort to protect wildlife and habitat. When I do habitat restoration (remove invasive non-native plants), I see dozens of people hiking by, but not one offers to help! Everyone claims that recreation causes people to love the parks and hence support conservation. But it's obviously not true! Recreation only leads to more recreation, which leads to more trail-building, mountain biking, and other habitat destruction. 

Please help publicize this critical issue!

Former president Donald Trump is under indictment in two federal matters with an election just around the corner, while Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under indictment for felony-corruption for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu's game plan for overcoming his legal problems echoes that of Donald Trump.

If re-elected, Trump will probably pardon himself and/or have his newly appointed attorney general move to dismiss the case or cases against him.

While Trump packed the U.S. Supreme Court with ultra-conservative judges, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin’s far-right governing coalition went a step further by voting to strip the court’s power to override “unreasonable” government actions.

This legislation would reduce the power of the court and upset the balance of power between the legislature and the Supreme Court. As Netanyahu's far-right coalition controls the legislature, the legislation gives Netanyahu control of the Israeli government.  

In addition, Likud, Netanyahu’s party, introduced a draft law that would strip the attorney general of the authority to oversee the prosecution of government ministers — including the prime minister. If passed, the law could affect Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, transferring supervision of the prosecution to a different official, the state attorney, who could decide to reassess the decision to pursue charges. 

Unlike the United States, Israel does not have a constitution establishing three co-equal branches of government — Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. The best-known power is the power of judicial review, or the ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution. Although this authority is not found within the text of the U.S. Constitution itself, the Court established this doctrine in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803). 

Israel’s Supreme Court, however, said that it would review this new law that reduces its powers and gives the legislative branch too much power. This review sets the stage for a constitutional crisis if the Court ends up overturning this legislation that allows the legislature to overrule government decisions that it finds lack “reasonableness,” a term never defined in a Israeli statute. 

Netanyahu like Trump hopes he can overcome his legal problems regardless of such obstacles as democracy, rule of law and societal norms. The democracies in both countries are at peril. 

 

 

 

This piece was inspired by my niece, mother of two, incredible worker, and amazing person.

Do you convince yourself you are 'disabled' and then you are? When something is too hard are you using 'the disability card' so you can evade the responsibility? Some know-it-alls who don't have a problem with keeping a job, would say so. People lack understanding and/or insight of the many difficulties in keeping work if you are a mentally ill person.

Yet sometimes the opposite is true. A relative or caregiver could underestimate their client or relative and could undercut the disabled person's true ability and talent, which could ruin our confidence by their naysaying. Being underestimated is detrimental. 

It is as though we are a human ping-pong ball, and we continually get knocked one way or the other between those who believe we can do more and aren't trying hard enough, versus those who disbelieve we can do anything, and assume we lack any capabilities whatsoever. I'm not sure which is worse. 

In the U.S. and probably in most countries, the work ethic runs strong, and people don't respect excuses. I have family members who, when they see me avoid some things, believe that my excuses are 'lame'. 

There is no shortage of mental health professionals who work to reinforce our perceptions of ourselves as incapable. But are we truly that limited? I think it varies. I know I have real limitations. And I know that when I try to push too hard to overcome those limitations, it can be damaging. Yet that can't get me out of all things that require effort. 

Many people of my age are beginning to phase into retirement. They have worked hard for decades, have made their money, and have wisely invested it; and now they are getting ready to enjoy the golden years. I've missed the boat. I'm getting old, and financially speaking, I've got nothing. In terms of making friends, I'm completely lacking. Where does that leave me? If I live long enough, I have catching up to do. 

I'm at a point, however, where I'm questioning the disability that I thought I had for all this time. I'm speaking of forty or so years, and for most of that time, I have received mental health treatment. There has been no shortage of mental health professionals instilling doubt. Family members were disappointed when I would get a job, it would turn out to be too difficult (or so I thought) and I'd end up leaving the job. There was no shortage of criticism for my supposed failures. 

Could things have gone differently? Yes, they could have. If I had been in a frame of mind where I believed I didn't have a choice such as: succeed in this job or I'd be out on the street, dead, or in some other horrible situation -- it would have brought about much more stick-to-itiveness. The reality: I badly wanted to succeed, but my survival didn't usually depend on success. I had other choices. Stack up all of those together and it is as though, twenty strikes you're out. Or maybe fifty strikes. You lose basic confidence after enough failures. And potential employers won't consider you. 

It is very hard for someone with my diagnosis, prognosis, and genuine problems, to succeed at a high level in a job. (This is aside from what a doctor prognosticates.) But if I could have done this, I would be much happier for it today. Yet, I could not see into the future. I had no concept of what things might be like when I was to reach this age. I didn't envision I would even make it this far. I had no concept of myself as a man above fifty. 

To have reached age fifty-eight, to me, is beyond what I projected when younger. I couldn't conceive of the future. It is not so much that I believed I would die. It is more as though I couldn't think that far ahead. If I could have, and the phrase goes "If I'd known then what I know now," I might be in a far better position in life. 

"If I'd known then what I know now," I probably would have attended an online university. At this point it is a bit late. Even if I did attend a four-year school, get a bachelor's degree, and so on and so forth, I probably still wouldn't be hirable. I've met people with psych disabilities who have bachelor's degrees, and although the degree increases one's chances, the disability is a substantial mark against them. If you can remain closeted about it, you are better off. 

"HIPAA" is a federal act that protects people's sensitive medical information. This is a law or set of laws that should make it possible to be closeted about a medical condition including a psychiatric condition--also considered medical. But to effectively be closeted, you must start early, and your work history, including any gaps, must not bring up too many questions. 

The term "disability card" is a falsehood to put people down. Prognosticating that we can't do anything is another put down. Neither need be applied to someone with a psychiatric divergence. 

---

Jack Bragen lives and writes in Martinez, California.

A Brush with Destiny
The last place I expected to find a life-enhancing, motivational spiel was on a toothbrush. But there it was—on the packaging of a cheap Reach-brand, tooth-scrubber I picked up at a Dollar Store.

Printed on the backside was the following:
"We believe that the Hard to REACH Places are worth reaching for. No matter what your dreams are, REACH gives you the confidence to reach for them."

My bicuspids are tingling in anticipation.

Meet This Out-standin' Author on August 9
In addition to being the proprietor of the Rebound Bookstore in San Rafael, Joel D. Eis is also the author of a snappy new 426-page autobiography. Standin' in a Hard Rain: The Making of a Revolutionary Life borrows a line from Bob Dylan as an umbrella to cover several decades of stormy left-wing agitation that ranged from voter registration work in the deadly days of the Jim Crow South, to draft resistance across America, and the months-long student strike that placed San Francisco State under police occupation.

And because Eis was a theater major, his adventures also included romps with some of the most radical theatrical groups of the era—including the SF Mime Troupe and El Teatro Campesino.

In a record-breaking 48 chapters (lavishly decorated with photographs), Eis revisits his encounters with the Fresno Draft Resistance Movement and the days of tear-gas and buckshot that became known as "the Battle for Peoples' Park." 

Eis seems to have popped up in the midst of every ripple in the waves of revolution that washed across the country in the Simmering Sixties. There was a closing line I was going to use but I see that iconic comic Will Durst beat me to it. "Joel Eis' memoire," Durst wrote, "reads like Forest Gump for the 1960's, only it's real!" 

Eldridge Cleaver's Great Escape
Having started to read Eis' book, I'm marveling at a number of times when our paths almost crossed. 

One example: Eis' offers a personal account of Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver's Great Escape: 

In the summer of 1968, the one-time Peace and Freedom Party candidate for US President managed to evade a police stake-out in San Francisco before escaping to exile in Algeria. I was part of a small crowd that had gathered around a Panther safe-house in hopes of preventing a police shoot-out that would likely lead to Cleaver's assassination. 

Turns out, Eis was on the scene, too. In his book, Eis' recalls how the Panthers had recruited him to stand watch a block away and serve as a sentry. If he saw any signs of a gathering police presence, he had been instructed to light a cigarette to send a warning to another lookout. 

Fortunately there was no armed confrontation. At one point, after talking with ABC reporter Sander Vanocur. I seem to remember a group of women loudly exiting the building and driving off in a packed car. But it wasn't until I read Eis' book that I discovered one of the "ladies" was Cleaver—disguised in a gown and wearing veiled hat—making a clever get-away. 

I'm sure other surprises await when I can finish the read! 

You can catch up with Eis and learn more when his Bay Area book tour comes to Berkeley at 7PM on August 9^th at Books Inc. (1491 Shattuck Avenue). 

https://www.booksinc.net/event/joel-eis-books-inc-berkeley 

Fashion Plates
RAFELA
XBEEEEE: (No longer bumbling?) 

PICKUP1: (Need a lift? Room for one)
PCNLUV: Peace and Love 

PAWFUND: Fund for Animals?
LRDA MCY: Lord-a-Mercy 

Bumper Snickers
"I'm Not Old. I'm Vintage"
"Drive Like You Passed the Test"
"Anyone Who Supports The As Moving to Vegas Is a Cop"
"If You Cut Off My Reproductive Choice, Can I Cut Off Yours?" 

Succession or Suck Session?
Presidential succession has become a hot issue. It's not just a Trump debate anymore. Extremist partisan politics have now given rise to impeachment moves targeting Joe Biden. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been threatening to open impeachment hearings for Biden (related, in part, to his son Hunter's alleged misdeeds). But this poses a challenge for the MAGA tribe. If Bidengate were to succeed, it would give the US its first female leader—President Kamala Harris. 

With this in mind, McCarthy and other GOP strategists are likely also arranging plots to impeach Harris as well. But that leads to a unique and unprecedented conflict-of-interest situation owing to the Constitutional article that would see Harris's Oval Office vacated to make room for the next candidate in the line of succession. That would be the Speaker of the House. Who happens to be… Kevin McCarthy. 

If this conflict-of-interest resulted in McCarthy's inability to assume the office, the Constitution calls for the next seat-filler to be the Senate President Pro Tem, Patty Murray, a democrat. And should the GOP succeed in impeaching Murray, the new "leader of the free world" would the US Secretary of State—currently Democrat warhawk Antony Blinken. 

And if President Blinken were to commit wars of aggression that got him indicted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, we would have a Constitutional crisis because the Founding Fathers failed to name a fifth successor. 

NYT on Exculpating Trump's Crimes
In an August 1 New York Times article, David French explains that the successful prosecution of Donald Trump "depends on Trump’s state of mind." 

One of Trump's legal defenses involves the argument that his actions—now confirmed as illegal—were based on the bad advice of his lawyers. 

Because Trump clearly conspired to "obstruct the transfer of power after the 2020 election," Trump's new team of lawyers is insisting that the Justice Department must to prove that Trump knowingly made false statements. "In other words," the Times explained, "if you were to urge a government official to overturn election results based on a good faith belief that serious fraud had altered the results, you would not be violating the law." 

Forgive that old line about "Ignorance of the law is no excuse." 

In the third paragraph of the Trump's indictment, the Justice Department states that the twice-impeached president “had a right, like every American, to speak publicly about the election and even to claim, falsely, that there had been outcome-determinative fraud during the election and that he had won.” 

Trump had a Constitutional right to "claim falsely"? That's good news for a leader who, by some accounts, was guilty of uttering at least 40,000 certifiable lies during his four years in the Oval Office. 

The 48-page indictment cites numerous occasions when Trump's closest advisors pointedly advised him that there was no "outcome-determinative fraud" in the 2020 election. But, Trump's new legal team argues, if Trump still believed he had been cheated, that could absolve him of guilt. 

Remember the heavily armed extremist who stormed a Washington, DC, pizza parlor and opened fire after reading a QAnon dispatch that falsely claimed the pizzeria was a front for a child-sex operation being run by Hillary Clinton? 

Under the standards being set for Trump's defense, this dangerously impressionable loony, could have claimed immunity from prosecution on the basis of a "firmly held belief." Instead, he was compelled to admit that "the intel on this wasn't 100 percent" and was sentenced to serve four-years behind bars. 

In essence, this batty defense would grant "mental impairment" a greater legal sway than "serious criminal intent." 

Trump Threatens US Justice System
Just one day after standing before a judge and acknowledging his third indictment, DJTrump publicly threatened his prosecutors with retaliation. 

 

Warning: This video may begin with a fund-raising pitch for Joe Biden's presidential campaign featuring Barack Obama. While it's nice seeing Barack again (looking older but still sounding cool), the ad ends on a creepy note with a quick closing shot of Biden crouched over a podium, leaning-and-leering toward the camera with an over-the-top grin that's reminiscent of The Joker. And, without moving from his weird, frozen pose, Biden croaks out a borderline scary salutation: "Thanks, Obama!" (I thought these two would be on a first-name basis by now.) 

CannaBliss  

Someone shared this on Facebook so it must be true, right? Let's hope so: the world needs some good news. Herewith, some "interesting facts" about cannabis. 

1. One hectare of cannabis releases as much oxygen as 25 hectares of forest.
2. From one hectare of cannabis you can get as much paper as from 4 hectares of wood.
3. Whereas hemp can be recycled into paper 8 times, wood can be recycled to paper only three times. Hemp paper is stronger.
4. Hemp grows to maturity in 4 months while a tree grows in 20-50 years.
5. Hemp flowers in cannabis plantations purify the air.
6. Hemp can be cultivated anywhere in the world and needs very little water.
7. Hemp can protect itself from pests, it does not need pesticides.
8. Hemp textiles can surpass the quality of linen products.
9. Hemp is an ideal plant for making ropes, cords, bags, shoes, clothing, headwear.
10. Cannabis is banned in many countries but technical cannabis is drug-free.
11. The protein value of cannabis seeds is very high, and the two fatty acids in it are no longer found anywhere else in nature.
12. It is much cheaper to produce hemp than soybeans. 

13. Animals fed with cannabis do not need hormonal support. 

14. Plastic products made from hemp are eco-friendly and fully biodegradable. 

15. A car body made of cannabis-based composites can be 10 times stronger. 

16. Hemp can also be used to insulate buildings. It is durable, cheap and flexible.
17. The production and use of concrete is a major source of greenhouse gases but "hemp-crete" made from the hemp plant may be an alternative. TheRomans constructed buildings using hemp-crete and many of those buildings are still standing. 

Tell Ukraine to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist  

[Full disclosure: I am a member of the WBW board.] Yurii Sheliazhenko, executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement and a boardmember of World BEYOND War (WBW), has been falsely charged by the Ukrainian government with the crime of "justifying Russian aggression." His home-office was broken into by state agents who seized Yurii's computer, cellphone, and various documents. WBW is asking people to sign this petition on Yurii's behalf: 

To: The Ukrainian Government 

We call on you to drop any legal proceedings against Yurii Sheliazhenko, and to respect human rights, the right to conscientious objection, and the right to freedom of speech. The absurdity of prosecuting someone for justifying Russian war-making on the basis of a statement in which he has explicitly condemned Russian war-making, is matched by the absurdity of waging war in the name of freedom and democracy while engaging in this sort of harassment of citizens. We urge you to do better.
Add Your Name Here! 

Three Japanese Films on the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Bombings 

On August 6, 2023 the Bangladesh publication Dhaka Review marked the 76^th anniversary of the US bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by noting several Japanese films "that have effectively portrayed the devastation of the bombings." The two US attacks resulted in the immediate deaths of 226,000 innocent civilians. Clearly, a historic war crime. 

Black Rain (1989)
The aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing, based on Masuji Ibuse's novel and directed by Shohei Imamura. Click here to play. 

Hiroshima (1951)
Directed by Hideo Sekigawa, “Hiroshima” delivers a realistic retelling of the day the Hiroshima bomb dropped. Click here to play. 

Children of Hiroshima (1952)
Four years after the destruction of her hometown, Takako faces the bomb's after-effects as she travels visits some survivors. Click here to play.

On a Friday morning this July, I heard a metallic scraping and clunking outside my house that seemed to come from the direction of the corner. I walked outside and could see the back end of a stake bed truck with the U.S.P.S. logo that was loaded with blue postal mailboxes. At first I thought our box was being removed again, and the neighborhood would have to fight another time for its re-installation.

However, as I rounded the corner I saw the old box had been removed, and a postal worker was bent over preparing a new shiny box for installation. Another guy was standing nearby. I commented that the old one was really old. The standing guy said, “Yes, 1936. It’s rusted out; too bad they didn’t paint it more often.”

I replied, “Franklin D. Roosevelt was president when this box was originally installed.” “Really?” was his reply. This must have jogged family memories because the guy working on the box replied, “My mom was born in 1934. She’s retired and relaxing in the Philippines.” The other guy said his grandfather was born in 1914 and added, “Wasn’t Roosevelt the one who created all the national parks?”

“No, that was Teddy. FDR was the one that started the New Deal, but he also created a lot of new national parks. He started the CCC that built out the parks. Frances Perkins, the first woman cabinet member and his Secretary of Labor, we must thank for Social Security and the National Labor Relations Act that allowed unions to organize.” I was warming up to my mini New Deal lecture.

The standing guy kind of rolled his eyes saying, “Oh, the union.” “Well, think of what it would be like without unions,” was my response. He quickly said, “You’re right about that!”

Worth Noting:

City Council is on summer recess through September 11, 2023 and most boards and commissions do not meet in August.

Hybrid format means a meeting can be attended in person or online via zoom or by phone through teleconference.

• Monday:
  • At 3 pm the Police Accountability Board meets in the hybrid format.
  • At 7 pm the Personnel Board meets in person.
• Wednesday: At 5 pm the Commission on Disability meets in person.
• Thursday: At 7 pm the Zoning Adjustment Board meets in the hybrid format on 3 projects.
• Friday: At 8:15 pm the movie Turning Red will be shown in Cedar Rose Park.

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.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND CIVIC EVENTS 

 

Sunday, August 6, 2023 - no city meetings or events listed 

 

Monday, August 7, 2023 

 

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD Fair & Impartial Policing Subcommittee at 3 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1947 Center, Tupelo Room 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89727052820 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 897 2705 2820 

AGENDA: 2, Public Comment, 3. a. Review of BPD 3-pronged approach to traffic enforcement, b. Continued discussion on the preparation of a “Fair & Impartial Policing Assessment” report to City Council, 4. a. Discussion regarding the methods for monitoring and reporting on the process regarding the implementation of fair & Impartial Policing policies and procedures. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/police-accountability-board 

 

PERSONNEL BOARD at 7 pm 

In-Person: 1301 Shattuck, Live Oak Community Center, Fireside Room 

AGENDA: V. Request for Extension of Temporary Appointments in HHCS (Senior Development Project Coordinator Jenny Wyant, Assistant Management Analyst Tahira Warner Senior, Management Analyst Rhianna Babka, Community Service specialist III Joshua Oehler, and Community Development Project Coordinator Emily Rose, VI. Recommendation amend Health Educator Job Class Specification, VII. Recommendation to Amend Senior Field Representative Job Class Specification, VIII. Recommendation to Amend Paramedic Salary range. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/personnel-board 

 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - no city meetings or events listed 

 

Wednesday, August 9, 2023 

 

COMMISSION on DISABILITY at 5 pm 

In-Person: at 1901 Hearst, North Berkeley Senior Center 

AGENDA: Staff Updates 1. 2023 Log of access complaints, 2. Willard Clubhouse, 3. Berkeley Art Center, Commission Reports on CA Commission on Disability Access (CCDA) on 8/31, Discussion/Action 1. Hybrid meetings, 2. Workplan. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/commission-disability 

 

Thursday, August 10, 2023 

 

ZONING ADJUSTMENT BOARD at 7 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: 1231 Addison, BUSD Board Room 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85166886349 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 of 1-669-444-9171 Meeting ID: 851 6688 6349 

AGENDA: 2. 2147 San Pablo – on consent – to demolish a 1-story automotive commercial building and construct a new 6-story (70 feet) mixed-sue building, 1873 sq ft commercial area and 128 group living accommodation (GLA) units including 12 very low income units and 23 ground floor parking spaces, utilizing state density bonus 

3. 2813 Eighth Street – on consent – an addition to an existing 1-story sq ft laboratory building to convert it to a 2-story 3,111 sq ft warehouse with 2-spaced parking garage 

4. 1515 Derby – on action – to demolish a 2-car garage and construct an 1850 sq ft 3-story single family residence behind the current single family home. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/zoning-adjustments-board 

 

Friday, August 11, 2023 - City Reduced Service Day 

 

MOVIES in the PARK – Turning Red from 8:15 pm – 10 pm 

In-Person: at 1300 Rose, Cedar Rose Park 

Bring blankets, sleeping bags and/or low-back beach chairs with maximum height of 9 inches off the ground. A flashlight or headlamp makes walking out at the end of the night easier. This is an alcohol-free event. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/movies-park-turning-red 

 

Saturday, August 12, 2023 - no city meetings or events listed 

Sunday, August 13, 2023 - no city meetings or events listed 

 

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LAND USE CALENDAR PUBLIC HEARINGS: 

• 705 Euclid Avenue (new single family dwelling) 9/26/2023
• 3000 Shattuck Avenue (Construct 10-story mixed-use building) – 9/26/2023
• 1598 University Avenue (Construct 8-story mixed-use building) 10/3/2023

 

WORK SESSIONS & SPECIAL MEETINGS: 

• Fire Department Standards of Coverage & Community Risk Assessment to be scheduled
• Dispatch Needs Assessment Presentation to be rescheduled
• Draft Waterfront Specific Plan – rescheduled to fall

 

PAST MEETINGS with reports worth reading: 

• May 16 - Fire Facilities Study Report, Wildfire Prevention Plan https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas
• June 20 (WS) - Climate Action Plan & Resilience Update, Berkeley Economic Dashboards Update reports available https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas

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Kelly Hammargren’s summary on what happened the preceding week can be found in the Berkeley Daily Planet under Activist’s Diary at: www.berkeleydailyplanet.com 

 

This meeting list is also posted at: https://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html 

 

If you would like to receive the Activist’s Calendar as soon as it is completed send an email to: kellyhammargren@gmail.com. 

 

If you want to receive the Activist’s Diary send an email to kellyhammargren@gmail.com. 

 

If you wish to stop receiving the weekly calendar of city meetings please forward the email you received to- kellyhammargren@gmail.com -with the request to be removed from the email list. 

 

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For Online Public Meetings 

CLOSED CAPTIONING, SAVE TRANSCRIPT OVERVIEW, DIRECTIONS and ZOOM SUPPORT LINKS:
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ZOOM has as part of the program -(for no extra cost)- Closed Captioning (CC). It turns computer voice recognition into a text transcript. Accuracy of the Closed Captioning is affected by background noise and other factors, The CC transcript will not be perfect, but most of the time reading through it the few odd words, can be deciphered--for example "Shattuck" was transcribed as Shadow in one recent transcript. 

 

For the us, the online attendee, the full transcript is only available from the time the attendee activates Closed Captioning. But if Closed Captioning is activated and you sit through a meeting and then remember 10 minutes before it is over to click on CC then go to the arrow/carrot next to CC for the menu and click on Show Full Transcript you will only get the last 10 minutes, not the full transcript – So click often on both Save Transcript and on Save to Folder during the meeting for best results. 

 

When you click on Show Full Transcript it will allow you to scroll up and down, so if want to go back and see what was said earlier you can do that during the meeting while the transcript is running. 

 

At the bottom of the transcript when we as attendees are allowed to save there will be a button for, "Save Transcript," you can click on the button repeatedly throughout the meeting and it will just overwrite and update the full transcript. Clicking on the Save Transcript repeatedly as the meeting is coming to an end is important because once the host ends the meeting, the transcript is gone if you didn't save it. 

 

Near the end of the meeting, after you click on "Save Transcript," click on "Save to Folder." The meeting transcript will show up (as a download to your desktop) in a separate box as a text file. (These text files are not large.) After you have done your last Save Transcript and Save to Folder (after the meeting is over) you can rename the new transcript folder on your computer, and save it (re-read or send or share it). 

 

Remember, allowing us attendees to save the meeting transcript does not require the public meeting host to save the transcript (for public record.) 

 

Here is the link to ZOOM Support for how to set up Closed Captioning for a meeting or webinar:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/8158738379917#h_01GHWATNVPW5FR304S2SVGXN2X 

 

Here is the link to ZOOM Support for attendees in how to save Closed Captions: 

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360060958752-Using-save-captions#h_01F5XW3BGWJAKJFWCHPPZGBD70