What Matters About Occupy Berkeley (News Analysis)
In October, we reported that Occupy Berkeley was on a collision course with city officials ("Is Occupy Berkeley on a Collision Course With Berkeley?" Planet, Oct. 28). -more-
In October, we reported that Occupy Berkeley was on a collision course with city officials ("Is Occupy Berkeley on a Collision Course With Berkeley?" Planet, Oct. 28). -more-
To: Christine Daniel, Interim City Manager
Michael Meehan, Chief of Police
From: Councilmember Jesse Arreguín
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider the proposed strategies to develop an Occupy Berkeley Health and Safety Plan for immediate implementation.
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Berkeley City Councilmember Jesse Arreguín submitted to Interim Berkeley City Manager Christine Daniel and Berkeley Chief of Police Michael Meehan this morning a Health and Safety Plan to address growing crime and public health issues at the ongoing Occupy Berkeley encampment. -more-
During the 2011 Alameda County Sheriff's Office Urban Shield training exercise, SWAT and Tactical Response teams will participate in 29 individual events ranging from Search Warrant Service to Active Shooter/Immediate Action Team scenarios. Teams will arrive on Friday October 14, 2011, and will receive mission and safety briefings as well and an introduction to the latest technology to be used in the training scenarios. In addition, each team member is subjected to a medical assessment and firearms qualification at the Alameda County Regional Training Center Range Facility. -more-
I don't know about you, but I'm getting fed up with these self-important gangs of masked, black-clad agitators running roughshod over our city streets. They've occupied parks, shut down roadways, vandalized private property, assaulted law-abiding citizens and left entire communities afraid to venture into financially struggling downtown business districts. They've wielded spray cans and left behind eyesores that have incensed the community.
I am speaking, of course, about the police.
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Legislators, university officials and civil rights leaders at a hearing in Sacramento today seemed in agreement that campus police in protest situations needed stricter standards of conduct, and potentially a statewide crowd control policy. -more-
Reacting to rising tuition costs and the state's high cost of living, University of California at Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced a new program today to make his campus more affordable for middle-class families. -more-
Sunny skies and sparkling gifts are available this weekend and next at the Telegraph Avenue Holiday Fair. The 28th annual edition of the arts and crafts event runs from 11 am to 6 pm Saturday and Sunday, and next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 22 through 24th. -more-
"The Berkeley Almanac" (1976) by Alfred Meyer provides additional data points to David Wilson's "Whistling in the Dark". Page 17 provides a percentage-wise breakdown of Berkeley's bicentennial year's expenses. Although there is no total budget provided, some multiplication suggests it may have been around $8.6m. (If 8.8% Community Agencies was $758k, see Pg 19.) -more-
I have become very bothered, concerned and, well, torn in two directions lately because of the fact that my friendly neighborhood Walgreens store right across the street from me on Oregon and Adeline here in South Berkeley has apparently declared war on Bill Bahou, the kind-hearted owner of Roxie Deli, located at the corner of Shattuck and Ashby. -more-
It’s becoming clear to most of us that the helium is slowly seeping out of the Occupy Berkeley balloon, which rose with great enthusiasm not that long ago. The movement has had enormous results, succeeding completely in the obvious goal of calling attention to the huge disparities between the super-rich and everyone else which are growing throughout the world. Now, however, it’s time to—sorry to use an overused slogan—move on to something else.
Berkeley Councilmember Jesse Arreguin has issued a lucid and intelligent summary of where Occupy Berkeley has been, along with an analyis of how the city of Berkeley should manage the settlement in Martin Luther King Civic Center Park in the near future. His document could serve as a model for other places which still have lingering Occupy encampments, but it probably won’t.
A quick crib sheet, for those who can’t be bothered to read three or four pages of print: As long as campers don’t break any other laws, the city will treat camping out as a form of protected speech, but that doesn’t mean campers can let their dogs run wild. (Arreguin’s use of the police-speak tag “zero tolerance” seems to have confused some commenters: it’s zero tolerance for repeat infractions of the stated rules, not zero tolerance for behavior explicitly defined as tolerable, i.e. camping.)
But he, correctly, doesn’t get into the question of whether camping out per se is still the best form of political expression. To understand that, supporters need to unwind the history of the Occupy actions to see what the next step should be.
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Thanks to Marty Schiffenbauer for passing along this jolly seasonal ditty, Hallelujah Corporations! A musical tribute to corporate excess: -more-
For eighty years, Americans have feared robots, worrying they might one day rule the world. In 2011 we realized our real enemies are not robots, but multinational corporations, who have declared war on democracy. -more-
It’s been a long time coming, but the Alameda County Breeding Bird Atlas is finally available from Golden Gate Audubon. Based on intensive fieldwork in the 1990s, this book is a splendid addition to the shelf of Bay Area atlases. So far we have Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and now Alameda. I believe a Solano project is in the works. A San Francisco atlas would be slender, but perhaps surprising. How about it, Audubon? -more-
Fluoride is the name given to a group of compounds that are composed of the naturally occurring element fluorine and one or more other elements. In the early 1940s, scientists discovered that people who lived where drinking water supplies had naturally occurring fluoride levels of approximately 1.0 part fluoride per million parts water (ppm) had fewer dental caries (cavities). More recent studies have supported this finding. Fluoride can prevent and even reverse tooth decay by enhancing remineralization, the process by which fluoride “rebuilds” tooth enamel that is beginning to decay. In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan adjusted the fluoride content of its water supply to 1 ppm and thus became the first city to implement community water fluoridation in a public water system. -more-
He who despairs because of the news is a coward, but he who sees hope in the human condition is mad. Albert Camus, 1943, occupied France -more-
As one ages, one wonders Whatever became of… -more-
Under a slouch hat, the eyes of the guitarist shift; he grimaces as he sings Robert Johnson's Delta blues "Crossroads" under a tree with a mirror in its splayed branches, but no shade. -more-
If you wanted to tell a fairy tale on stage, what would you dream of? I’d want a bunch of actors all of whom could sing and dance and play instruments with expressive flexibility and astonishing appearances. -more-
Occu-Puncture in Berkeley: Time to Occupy Everywhere 12-16-2011
Hallelujah, Corporations 12-15-2011
Odd Bodkins: PoutingKitten By Dan O'Neill 12-16-2011
(More) Whistling in the Dark By John Vinopal 12-15-2011
Wine License Causes conflicted Loyalties in South Berkeley By Jane Stillwater 12-15-2011
Occupy Berkeley Beer Committees from the OccupyBerkeley website: http://occupyberkeley.org/occupy-berkeley-beer-committees/ 12-14-2011
Oil Spill Shows that U.C. Berkeley's Disaster Plans Are Inadequate By Linda Franklin 12-12-2011
Republican Affect for 2012 By Jack Bragen 12-12-2011
What Matters About Occupy Berkeley (News Analysis) By Ted Friedman 12-16-2011
Occupy Berkeley Health and Safety Plan By Councilmember Jesse Arreguin 12-15-2011
Press Release: City Councilmember Arreguin Proposes Plan to Improve Health and Safety of Occupy Berkeley Encampment From Anthony Sanchez 12-15-2011
Training the Police: SWAT US 2011 (Sidebar) From the Urban Shield web site 12-15-2011
I've Had It with These Masked Thugs (News Analysis) By Gar Smith 12-15-2011
University Officials, Legislators Call for Clearer Police Procedures During Protests in Berkeley and Elsewhere By Scott Morris (BCN) 12-14-2011
U.C. Berkeley Announces New Aid Program for Middle Class By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 12-14-2011
Visit Telegraph for Holiday Gifts By Steven Finacom 12-17-2011
LOST DOG ON OREGON STREET! (Letter) By John Herbert 12-14-2011
Ceremony Tonight Will Mourn Closing of Berkeley's Warm Pool (Event) By Gary Marquard 12-14-2011
Two Pedestrians Struck by a Car Near the Berkeley Bowl Market By Steven Finacom 12-13-2011
Updated: Port Protesters Vote to Continue Blockade--Mayor Quan Says It's "Economic Violence" By Zack Farmer(BCN) 12-12-2011
Oakland Port Blockaded by 1000 Tonight By Zach Farmer (BCN) 12-12-2011
Death of a Berkeley Deli (and More) By Ted Friedman 12-12-2011
THE PUBLIC EYE:2011: The Year Corporations Attacked Democracy By Bob Burnett 12-17-2011
WILD NEIGHBORS: Alameda’s Turn (and Terns) By Joe Eaton 12-15-2011
ECLECTIC RANT: Is Water Fluoridation Safe? By Ralph E. Stone 12-17-2011
MY COMMONPLACE BOOK: (a diary of excerpts copied from printed books, with comments added by the reader.) by Dorothy Bryant 12-17-2011
SENIOR POWER… Whatever became of By Helen Rippier Wheeler 12-15-2011
AGAINST FORGETTING: Occupy: You Can't Evict an Idea By Ruth Rosen 12-12-2011
AROUND AND ABOUT: Theater Review: 'The Wild Bride'--Kneehigh Theatre at Berkeley Rep By Ken Bullock 12-15-2011
EYE FROM THE AISLE: Give yourself a Holiday Present with THE WILD BRIDE at REP By John A. McMullen II 12-15-2011
Defend Your Bill of Rights: Candlelight Vigil Thursday 12-15-2011- a public response to S 1867 aka the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)(Event) By Carol Denney 12-14-2011
New: AROUND AND ABOUT: Theater Review: 'Adoration of the Magi'--Inferno Theatre at South Berkeley Community Church By Ken Bullock 12-13-2011
EYE FROM THE AISLE: Theater Review: GOD’S PLOT at Shotgun Players By John A. McMullen II 12-13-2011
Get Ready for the Oakland Museum's White Elephant Sale By Dorothy Snodgrass 12-13-2011