A vehicle collision seriously injured a pedestrian in Berkeley this afternoon, according to police. -more-

The Berkeley City Council has voted to impose a one-year moratorium on the use of drones by the city's Police Department but authorized the fire department to use them for disaster response purposes. -more-

The Berkeley City Council tonight will consider a proposal by the city's Peace and Justice Commission to impose a two-year moratorium on drones. -more-

Two suspects have been arrested in the December shooting death of a wheelchair-bound man in Berkeley, police said. -more-

Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on about the future of downtown Berkeley. For those who have preferred to tune out (and that would include me, for years), here’s the Cliff Notes version (no connection to Clif Bar, which I think had a short period of being headquartered downtown, unless I’m thinking of PowerBar.)

Go way back, ten years ago. Start with the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC), in this story from the December 6, 2005 Planet: Touring Downtown With DAPAC, by Richard Brenneman.

Money quote: “The plan is mandated by the settlement agreement of the city’s suit against UC Berkeley over the university’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) for 2020.”

Name to note: “…Matt Taecker, the planner hired specifically for the plan.”

Now: fast-forward to February 2015. In the “Real Estate” section of berkeleyside:com: Developer of downtown Berkeley hotel offers ‘tapered’ tower; hopes for quick design review, by Frances Dinkelspiel.

Name to note: “The plans that the developers are showing the Design Review Committee on Thursday, Feb. 19, are preliminary and will probably change with time, according to Matt Taecker, whose Taecker Planning and Design is helping with the entitlement process. The idea is to ask Design Review for early input, he said.”

In ten years, the guy’s gone from planner to fixer (or as they’re called in San Francisco, where it’s been a big industry for decades, “expediter”.) You get the idea. -more-

Rob Wrenn commendably advocates that a proposed high-rise project in downtown Berkeley should offer quite substantial, rather than quite pathetic community benefits in exchange for the exceptional zoning permissions it seeks.

Upzoning greatly increases the economic value of effected real property. Berkeley, like many cities, offers limited upzoning options on the condition that a substantial portion of the added value is turned over the public in the form of "public benefits". This is called "value recapture" zoning.

The developers proposing a luxury housing high rise at 2211 Harold way have openly mocked the city's rules. They've offered such community "benefits" as hiring union workers (they have little choice anyway); opening the roof top as "public space" (a joke that has utterly failed in San Francisco); and even buying a cheap sign to project public transit arrival times on to the sidewalk (for some reason).

In short the developers propose that the city should settle for nothing more than very slight mediations of the project's overall hostility to the public interest.

In my opinion Rob has the right idea by demanding more from these developers but he errs by emphasizing direct cash transfers to the so-called affordable housing fund and to theoretical city projects like converting Center Street to a plaza.

There are two problems: One problem concerns the disposition of the physical structure proposed by developers; the other is the inefficiency and corruptability of cash transfers. -more-

Until just a few years ago, I was coasting along in my own world thinking that if I just voted I had done my civic duty and that was enough. I, of course, learned like others that voting important as it is, is hardly enough. And, that without continuing engagement officials will do what they do best, lose track of their responsibilities to the public and ethics and cater to the hands that feed them, developers and money. Oh, there are a few who retain personal integrity and a few who never had it.

This brings me to the proposed 2211 Harold Way project. If that project were called the 2230 Shattuck (address for the Landmark Shattuck Cinemas) instead of 2211 Harold Way it would have gotten a lot more attention. After attending the ZAB (Zoning Adjustment Board) meeting on November 13, 2014, I joined other volunteers in opposing this project. I was appalled by the height of the building and the impact this building would have on the view from Campanile Way and Shattuck. At one point, I thought that if we could just get the height reduced to 10 stories and replace the Shattuck Cinemas that would be a win for the citizens of Berkeley. That was before I started gathering petition signatures and speaking to people about the building. -more-

I am writing to suggest significant community benefits that should be included as conditions of approval for the proposed development a 2211 Harold Way. Since the developers have not yet released a pro forma for the project, it is difficult to know precisely what the developer can be reasonably asked to pay. ZAB should request a pro forma. The consultants hired to do an economic analysis of proposed community benefits will obviously need financial information from the developers to do their job and ZAB, the City Council and the public should have that information as well.

When the City up-zoned Downtown and allowed three 180’ buildings to be built where the previous height limit was 7 stories/87’, it greatly increased the value of the 2211 Harold Way site and what could be developed on it. The community benefits requirement allows the City to capture the increased value in the form of additional community benefits beyond those otherwise required as mitigations for the project’s impacts. The up-zoning by the City, called for in the Downtown Area Plan, was not done to provide windfall profits for developers and land owners.

I am suggesting additional significant community benefits in three of the areas suggested in the Downtown Area Plan policy on additional community benefits (Policy LU-2.2): affordable housing, green building and open space. -more-

The Berkeley Neighborhoods Council (BNC) has been following the discussions concerning the "Significant Community Benefits" required for the high-rise buildings that will be built in downtown Berkeley. BNC attended the initial ZAB meeting where the public heard the developers’ version of what those benefits should be.

It is important that the community establish what "Significant Community Benefits" means to avoid prolonged discussions and disagreements as projects like these come before the City. 2211 Harold Way is the first, so let us get the ground rules established now. -more-

It is no accident that the Titans of high technology chose to shun President Obama’s visit to Stanford University. It seems that Obama’s plea to have private industry become partners in thwarting future cyber-attacks ignores the CIA and the NSA’s dark history. In his book, ‘Lords of Security Lords of Secrecy: America’s Stealth Foreign Policy’, author Scott Horton argues that the security agencies have grossly abused their power to enhance their own position in Washington and have thereby subverted the democratic process. Outgoing Democratic Senator Udall called for a purge of top CIA officials implicated in the abuses, including the firing of the current director, John Brennan. According to Kaspersky Lab the NSA has embedded spying devices deep inside hard drives in computers around the world targeting government institutions, oil and gas firms and the media. -more-

Let me make a factual correction to Russ Tilleman's opinion piece "Greenwashing in Berkeley--again." Tilleman writes: -more-

From Mary McAllister:

The author of the article and associated petition about monarch butterflies does not seem to be aware of the fact that monarchs in California do not migrate to Mexico. In fact, they spend their winter diapause here in California. All monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains come to the coast of California for their winter roost. Seventy-five percent of the monarchs in the California migration roost in eucalyptus. Eucalyptus is particularly valuable for their winter roost because it also provides nectar in the winter when little else is in flower. The California monarch migration has dwindled, just as the migration to Mexico has, but the eradication of eucalyptus along the California coast is just as important a factor as the availability of milkweed. The prejudice against eucalyptus is so strong that this is never mentioned by organizations such as The Center for Biological Diversity. Unfortunately their misguided advocacy is therefore contributing to the demise of monarchs in California. Nativism is killing wildlife. Wildlife does not care if plants are native.

Response from Gar Smith: -more-

While I was privileged to be in class, three innocent lives were taken on Tuesday, February 10th. This isn’t hidden news. Rather news headlines depicted the murder of three Muslim students, execution style, in Chapel Hill near the University of North Carolina.

Being a student myself, I and my fellow students are well aware that now no place is safe anymore from terrorists whether be it homes, universities, or elementary schools. It used to be that parents would send their children to school without any worries, knowing that they will be safe but today things are different. Horrific incidents such as the Sandy Hook elementary shooting, Peshawar school shooting, and now Chapel Hill shooting have brutalized students across the world.

The disappointment is that initially the Chapel Hill shooting incident has had very little coverage by the media which caused an outcry on social media. In my opinion Craig Hicks, the killer, of the three students, who were very active members of their community, was clearly a terrorist then why has the media not given any attention to it? He took the lives of three innocent students then why has the media forgotten about these them? The Holy Quran states, “Whoever killed a person...it shall be as if he killed all humanity” (5:33). -more-

Twenty-four states have enacted right-to-work laws.

Much has been made about the shrinking middle class in the United States where the wealthiest 160,000 families own as much as the poorest 145 million families. Income inequality is the gap in how much individuals earn from the work they do and the investments they make. Wealth inequality measures the difference in how much money and other assets individuals have accumulated. One of the contributing causes of wealth inequality is the labor movement’s diminished economic and political clout, as seen in the movement by states to enact right-to-work laws.

Thanks to collective bargaining, union members have higher wages and better benefits. In addition, union membership actually raises living and working standards for all working men and women, union and non-union. When union membership rates are high, so is the share of income that goes to the middle class. When those rates fall, income inequality grows and the middle class shrinks. -more-

Those who suffer from paranoid-type schizophrenia are subject to imagining elaborate plots to do harm to them, may incorrectly believe they are under surveillance and are constantly being watched, and may be fearful of the government--believing that it has an agenda of "getting" them. People with paranoid schizophrenia may inflate their importance and may believe that numerous people are malevolently monitoring and plotting against them--when in fact, they may not be noticed nearly as much as they think. -more-

Consider walking as exercise. Brisk walking can be an effective aerobic exercise. Walking provides the same benefits as jogging without the stress on joints.

“Unwind with a relaxing walk” advises the current issue of Senior Update…The Eyes and Ears of Alameda County Seniors. Chronic stress can produce too much cortisol, a hormone that can ramp up appetite and lead to overeating. A simple exercise like walking, just 30 minutes a day helps to incorporate a great way to minimize gaining weight and stress reduction all in one. (Get on the free mailing list by contacting the Alameda County Area Agency on Aging.) -more-

On Sunday, February 15, 2015, Chamber Music San Francisco presented French violinist Renaud Capuçon and Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili in a concert at the Marines Memorial Theatre. Individually, these young artists – Capuçon is 39 and Buniatishvili is 28 – have carved out careers in major music venues around the world. Together, they have also carved out a wonderful chemistry in chamber music, beginning with their mutual love for César Franck’s immortal Sonata for Violin and Piano in A-Major. This was one of the works they played in San Francisco. -more-

Tours start at 10:00 am and end at approximately 12:00 noon EXCEPT APRIL 25. Sometimes they are slightly longer, so some extra time should be allowed in case the walk meets an informative passerby or dwells at an interesting site. Tours are limited to 30 paying participants unless noted otherwise. Prepaid reservations are required and tickets are not refundable. Tours are conducted in rain, shine or Berkeley fog and are wheel chair accessible unless otherwise noted. -more-

Artist Ai Weiwei is a political prisoner under house arrest in Beijing. Because he is not permitted to travel outside China, he helped install this extraordinary exhibit from there. He says, “When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.” In this case it landed on our windowsill at Alcatraz. The exhibit is installed in parts of the former prison that have never before been open to visitors. The show runs through April 26, 2015. -more-

French pianist Hélène Grimaud joined the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin in two performances, Sunday-Monday, February 15-16, at Davies Symphony Hall. Monday evening’s concert, which I attended, featured two works by Maurice Ravel, Ma Mère l’Oye/ (Mother Goose) Suite and the Piano Concerto in G-Major, as well as Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major. -more-