In 1932 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis coined the metaphor describing state and local governments as ‘laboratories of democracy.’ Cities like Berkeley can be more responsive to the public than higher levels of government through introducing and considering innovative policy initiatives.

At tomorrow’s 4 p.m. (Tuesday, October 10) Council work session, the Council will be considering significantly curtailing the public’s legislative process by limiting Councilmember responsiveness to emerging issues. This proposal includes some important reforms (e.g., new drafting guidelines, a way for City staff to provide conceptual input upfront and an enhanced policy committee checklist to guide their analysis) but is overly bureaucratic and would place the following limits on Councilmember responsiveness to the public:

• Any new piece of “major” legislation (as determined by the Agenda Committee, without any set criteria) would be subject to a time consuming near 300-day bureaucratic process before it could go into effect. This doubles the current timeline of around 120-150 days or less.
• The Council’s policy committees would only be allowed to meet to consider major legislation during less than six months of the year (down from the current nine months). I have found the policy committees (introduced in 2018) effective in identifying budgetary and implementation impacts of initiatives, ensuring that legislation is more clearly drafted and allowing members of the public interested in a given topic to engage more fully in discussions. Legislation going forward to Council is much more ready for prime time. Weakening this effective system is not a good choice.
• Councilmembers, responding to members of the public with “major” policy ideas, could only submit legislation through one process per year to be eligible for the near 300-day timeline. For example, if Councilmembers submit legislation addressing a major community need after the deadline, and the legislation is deemed not urgent by the Agenda Committee, it could not even be considered by Council for another year, let alone potentially implemented 1.8 years later.
• The proposal does not apply the same requirements to initiatives submitted by City management.

I believe the proposal on the table would undercut the effective committee system, give too much power to the Agenda Committee to define “major items” and arguably violate the City Charter which invests Council representatives on behalf of the public “all powers of legislation in municipal affairs adequate to a complete system of local government.” I do not think we should replicate top-down processes in place in the State Legislature that create gridlock.

We can fix any deficiencies in our legislative process without stripping the people’s representatives of their Charter responsibility to respond to the public’s needs and of due process to propose, debate, and consider legislation. -more-

During a recent Sunday morning run, I trotted through Live Oak Park at the start of a major civic event celebrating the activation of a system of sirens meant to sound an alert in the event of a wildfire or tsunami threat. The date marked 100 years since the horrific fire that incinerated 584 Berkeley homes in 1923.

I'd received a mailer announcing the occasion so I knew the new system involved a series of "sirens" but most of the table-sitters were unable to tell me how many sirens were involved. Several folk assumed the Live Oak siren was the only one. One of the police officers manning a table thought there were as many as "eight." (According to a City webpage, 10 sirens have been installed "from the marina to the hills" with 5 more to be added in 2024.)

I spotted the ever-reliable Sophie Hahn and she surprised me by revealing the sirens might sound more like "chimes." (She proved to be right.) -more-

Last weekend in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota) where in October high temperatures are normally in the 60s, marathon officials looked at high humidity, cloudless skies, expected temperatures in the 90s and canceled the Sunday, October 1, 2023 marathon and 10-mile races. Later in the day, the temperature reached a record setting 92°. In the New York City Triathlon, a second run was substituted for the swim in the Hudson River over concerns of water contamination following flooding from Friday’s record-breaking rain of over 8 inches in one day. -more-

For a city of 119,000 that was once proud of its diversity and cultural riches, to allow all three of its downtown movie theaters to be demolished in favor of more high rise residential units priced beyond the means of most Berkeley residents seems to be short-sighted at best and a vote against the art of film and its future. I urge all who deplore the rapid changes being made to our city, with an abundance of market-rate housing displacing the historical fabric of Berkeley, to ask that our city government at least protect and preserve the great California Theatre. When its heirs elected to sell instead of accept the Landmark lease renewal offer, we still had the 10-screen Shattuck Cinemas and the United Artists multiplex theaters downtown. But now they too are to be demolished to make way for even more mostly above-median-income residential units. The California Theatre has long served the residents of Berkeley by bringing us movies on the big screen, some broadly entertaining, others works of art, and the best of them both.

Those with limited interest in film have concluded that the simultaneous advent of the covid pandemic and film streaming corporations has ended the viability of movie theaters as a venue to see films. But the art of film requires public venues with large screens. Great films cannot be appreciated on home screens, and the vitality of the medium thrives on public gatherings to enjoy and discuss its works. Where will we see Francis Ford Coppola’s forthcoming Megalopolis?

Any city that values culture and the arts has and will continue to have movie theaters for the benefit of its residents and visitors to the city. A city with a great university has cause to ensure that students can access the art of film and be able to see movies seen as they were made to be seen on a big screen. Film can benefit the emotional and social well-being of young people, when they can leave their dorm or apartment rooms to go see an entertaining, enlightening, emotionally involving film, discuss it with friends and professors, and participate in their community.

Movie theaters have been the economic engine of our downtown economy. Many cafes and restaurants and other businesses benefitted from the customers attracted to Berkeley's movie theaters. In the 2015-19 effort to save the Shattuck Cinemas from demolition, some 5000 or more signatures in support of the theater were gathered at its entrance, with 60% of the addresses from beyond Berkeley. That is to say, movie attendees were bringing their money into Berkeley to see a movie and enjoy a meal. They kept the streets enlivened and safe at night. Some 350,000 people bought tickets at the Shattuck Cinemas in 2015, according to records provided by the manager at the time.

The demolition of the California Theatre as a movie theater is not acceptable. If the demolition of the Shattuck Cinemas had not been approved, Berkeley would still be well-served by that excellent 10-screen theater replete with 1920s movie palace decor and hand-painted murals, an admirable example of spatial repurposing from department store to multi-screen movie theater. Berkeley has numerous performing arts spaces, from the UC Theatre, once a great venue for world cinema, to the several on Berkeley Way, the Back Room, and The Marsh for plays and musical performances. Replacing a great movie theater with a much smaller empty performance space will not compensate for the shameful loss of all of our downtown movie theaters. -more-

Recently, there has been wavering among some regarding continued support for Ukraine, including a number of presidential wannabes: Donald Trump, Ronald DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and of course John F. Kennedy, Jr.. A CNN poll conducted by SSRS shows that overall, 55% say the US Congress should not authorize additional funding to support Ukraine versus 45% who say Congress should authorize such funding. And 51% say that the US has already done enough to help Ukraine while 48% say it should do more. Republicans broadly say that Congress should not authorize new funding (71%) and that the US has done enough to assist Ukraine (59%). Among Democrats, most say the opposite, 62% favor additional funding and 61% say that the US should do more -more-

A crowd showed up at City Council on October 2, 2023. It was a new crowd, a young crowd, full of people who hadn’t been there before. And many of them appeared to be new to council’s procedures. There were also a few older activists, mostly to add local color, and to be reminders of a rich and energetic past. Energy was high for this one because the consternation, the outrage, was also high. Indeed, when a councilmember tried to placate the crowd by welcoming it as beautiful and joyful, he was boo’ed down for being patronizing. The crowd wasn’t joyful. It was incensed. -more-

I am writing to express both admiration for Senator Dianne Feinstein's remarkable career and concern about the need for cognitive testing for lawmakers, including members of the judiciary, as they reach advanced ages. While Senator Feinstein's accomplishments over the years are undeniably impressive, her insistence on staying in office, despite questions about her mental acuity, raises a critical issue that deserves attention. -more-

This is a quote from me, but I don't doubt someone else has said this long before I arrived at it: -more-

As we commemorate Indigenous Day and reflect on the history of oppression and resistance, it is essential to address the ongoing violence in Israel and its root causes. The violence that has erupted in recent days between Hamas and Israel, resulting in the loss of innocent lives, highlights the urgent need for a paradigm shift in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. -more-

Here’s a funny one. Stuck at home for a bit, I’ve been looking at campaign websites which local candidates have put up in anticipation of the 2024 spring primaries. At this stage of the game, endorsements are the currency. With local news holes shrinking every day, all the average East Bay voter for the state legislature offices knows is names of endorsing organizations, if that. For example Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin is heavily backed by the building trades, which is not surprising since he’s flipped to support downtown Berkeley’s Big Box building boom for “market rate luxury apartments” which are really nothing more than pricey dorms for well-off UC students. Of course this also garners UC administrators’ support.

With the collapse of the Republican party, it’s very hard for average Berkeley voters to know who they’re voting for. It used to be possible to hold your nose and pull the Democratic lever, but now the developer shills who used to be Republicans (and racist Republicans at that} are running in the primary formerly known as Democratic. These “Democrats” are doing their damndest to get rid of California environmental laws of all kinds, including the California Environmental Quality Act and the Coastal Commission. But they do endorse those regular Dems who vote the way they want, so you can’t tell the players without a scorecard, which they can pay someone to hang on your door on election day.. -more-

Worth Noting:

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

Go to meetings and events: The Bird Festival on Sunday is the highlight of the week. The 4 pm City Council meeting on legislation is a “should do.” If you miss the Budget and Finance AAO there will be more meetings before the council vote.

• Monday: Indigenous Peoples Day - The Youth Commission is listed with the date as October 10 with the day listed as Tuesday – expect this meeting to be Tuesday not on the holiday.
• Tuesday: City Council meets in the hybrid format starting at 3 pm with a closed session, followed with a special meeting at 4 pm on redesigning their legislative process, followed with the regular meeting a 6 pm with a light agenda.
• Wednesday:
  • At 5 pm the Disability Commission meets in person.
  • At 6:30 pm the Police Accountability Board meets in the hybrid format.
  • At 7 pm the Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission meets in person with the Waterfront Specific Plan and EIR on the agenda.
• Thursday:
  • At 10 am the Budget and Finance Committee meets in the hybrid format. The AAO (mid-year budget adjustment) is not posted with the agenda.
  • At 1 pm WETA meets in the hybrid format.
  • At 7 pm the Zoning adjustment Board meets in the hybrid format.
• Saturday: At 10 am the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council meets in person.

• Sunday: From 8 am to 5 pm there are Bird Festival activities all over Berkeley from birding field trips, to sidewalk chalk drawing to poetry, art and presentations at the Brower Center on plants for birds and making your home safe for birds.

Heart 2 Heart – Beginning October 12 from 4:30 – 6 pm an 8 week Public Health Advocate Program for South Berkeley to reduce heart disease and hypertension. Registration required. https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/heart-2-heart-advocate-program

The Berkeley Daily Planet is back in full swing https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/

Activist’s Diary for September 29, 2023 on Ready Festival, Planning and Fire Department Master Plan

https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2023-09-02/article/50416?headline=A-BERKELEY-ACTIVIST-S-DIARY-WEEK-ENDING-SEPTEMBER-29--Kelly-Hammargren

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