Just over a week ago UC Berkeley orchestrated a paramilitary-style invasion of the neighborhood surrounding People’s Park. Defenders of the park were removed by police, and now the park is surrounded by a 16-foot high border wall of double-stacked shipping containers. -more-
I don’t know Rigel Robinson, nor who harassed him into quitting a race for Mayor in Berkeley, but I know that Joe Garafoli’s article [in the San Francisco Chronicle] on the situation is a “whitewash”. Appropriately, Garafoli centers the housing crisis, but he misrepresents it, reinforcing stereotypes. -more-
They say that if you remember 1967 you weren’t there.
Trust me, I was there. I met my husband Tom there, had six kids with him – five of them adopted including three post-polio kids, two of whom came out of the Vietnam War. Thirteen years of me studying Indian music and dance with Balasaraswati, and an MA in South Asian Studies from Cal, before he left me behind. But before he did, we started a music venue called 1750 Arch Street and produced concerts and made records with some of the best Bay Area musicians, and we marched against the war and gave money to anti-war causes, which earned us the honor of being put on President Nixon’s enemies list. I half-toned the list, and used it as my personal stationery, on which I wrote my application to Boalt Law School, which I graduated from 12 years later with a JD degree to join my BA in Anthropology from Michigan, and my MA in Indian Studies and MPH in Maternal Child Health from Berkeley.
The years at Cal were memorable for, among other things, fire-bombings, bomb scares, helicopters circling overhead, and tear gas on the way to class. Ah! There is nothing like the smell of tear gas in the morning. We went from driving a drive-away car to San Francisco, wearing flowers in our hair, to planting flowers in People’s Park, and the Park became a symbol of peace and flowers and no war and music, free food, and kindness.
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Well, there’s plenty of blame to go around, that’s for sure. This publication and many more are filled with passionate denunciations of Hamas’s brutal invasion of Israel and Israel’s appalling war against the people of Gaza ( most of whom happen to be women, old folks or kids) by both sides. Some opinion writers choose one side to support, but many say a plague on both their houses. -more-
I made this Public Records Act request #24-31 to the city Berkeley as of January 5,2024:
"I ask to see the permits from the city that authorized the University of California and the law enforcement agencies assisting it in its closure of People's Park to close streets to parking, to cordon off city streets, and to tow cars from the closed area."
I received this response:
"The Berkeley Police Department has completed its search for responsive records and has found no responsive records exist. With this response, staff has completed their work to process and respond to your Public Records Act request."
Does this mean that the university carried out this action without the city of Berkeley's authorization? Is that legal?
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When Fred and Pat Cody built the former Cody's Bookstore location at the corner of Haste and Telegraph they deliberately built an inset designed as a space for people to congregate so that they could meet each other, talk about books, have poetry readings, even panhandle. They could have done what most retail store owners do, and built to the hilt of the sidewalk's footprint which is now common all over town. But they loved Telegraph Avenue and its lively pedestrian culture. They sacrificed retail space to benefit the people who love it, too. -more-
am writing to express my support for South Africa's recent contention that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza. As a concerned citizen, I believe it is essential to address the impact of our tax dollars, which have contributed to bombings resulting in the tragic deaths and injuries of children in what UNICEF identifies as the world's most dangerous place for children. -more-
The City of Berkeley Rent Board Environmental Sustainability Committee is meeting roughly monthly now. Here's what's up:
Today on the 10th of January 2024 the committee reviewed a Kate Harrison proposed ordinance to require housing operators to disclose to new tenants the past energy use of the unit. Committee members expressed concern that the requirement is at lease signing rather than at advertising time, and concern that the data could be highly inaccurate if the old and new tenants have differing energy habits (work from home, grow lamps, tenant froze but just wore a lot of jackets, etc). The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has published renter studies on this topic.
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Many of our worries could help us in making sure that we mind the many details in life. However, we know there are downsides to excessive worry. -more-
Worth Noting:
City Council returns from winter recess on Tuesday.
