Make UC A Good Neighbor and the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group (PPHDAG) filed their joint opening brief to the appellate court this week against UC Berkeley under the California Environmental Quality Act challenging UC’s Long Range Development Plan and construction of housing on People’s Park.

The appeal is attached to this email. We've said it before, but this excellent legal work needs to be supported. Please refer any and all to our DONATE NOW! page at http://www.peoplesparkhxdist.org/donate-now/

The appeal focuses on UC’s failure to analyze in its Environmental Impact Report (EIR) a lower-enrollment alternative or any alternative locations for the housing proposed at People’s Park. The lower-enrollment issue is similar to that at UC Santa Barbara, where the City of Goleta and Santa Barbara County have both sued the university for not complying with an agreement to build enough housing to keep up with its expanding student population. With the alternative location issue, UC is required to adequately assess alternative sites for student housing, which it has not done. 

UC has twenty days to reply to our appeal brief. However, be assured UC Berkeley will continue its cynical and misleading public relations campaign on Housing Project #2 (People’s Park) belied by UC’s own planning documents. The goal is building 8,000 new student beds. However, UCB’s own Draft EIR includes a chart listing sixteen possible construction sites and proposed new beds provided by them. They total 13,566. The 1,100 hundred beds at the People’s Park site could easily be accommodated at these other sites. 

The prime alternative site is just over a block away at the UC-owned Ellsworth Parking Structure, which UC says can provide up to 2,980 beds. Preserve a parking lot over a park’s much-needed urban recreational space? Why in the midst of extreme climate change must the trees and birds be part of a sacrifice zone? Urban planners agree that overcrowded urban areas like the Southside require more urban parks, not less, to promote human health and wellness and are needed in a time of drought, wildfires, pandemics and pending earthquakes. 

Despite UCB's claims of support, its student survey has been negatively critiqued in the Daily Cal, which has also written many well-researched articles and editorials denouncing the destruction of the park. Students were the primary participants in the recent effort to stop the fencing off the park. The Berkeley Faculty Association is also a critic of the plan to build on People’s Park. 

UCB has described the housing crisis as “dire” and “acute.” We all realize that more affordable housing is needed, but most new housing is market rate and beyond the means of most students and the community. The crisis, however, can hardly be described as “acute” by UC Berkeley when it has known about its low ratio of housing per student for well over a half-century. 

Campus messages portraying People’s Park as an area of frequent crime on the Southside is quickly countered by facts. A review of data from the Crimemapping website over a six-month period from January through June, 2022 for a 20-block area surrounding the park revealed that 94% of crime occurred outside of People’s Park. Crimes do occur there, but at a lower rate than the surrounding neighborhood. Keep in mind that the promoter of the image of the park as “crime-ridden” is the same institution that was fined $2.35 million in 2020 for underreporting campus crime.  

The Chancellor’s message to the campus at the beginning of the semester was noteworthy in that it made absolutely no mention of People’s Park being added to the National Register of Historic Places. The value of the park as a cultural and historic site is beyond Berkeley, beyond California. It is nationally recognized and sought out by visitors from all over the world.  

Now is the time for UC Berkeley to stop the delay in student housing construction by moving Project #2 to an appropriate location and to work with the community to make People’s Park a park that all can be proud of. The world is watching. 

Appeal text here.

Governor Newsom is a politician, and he behaves like one. He wants your vote, and he wants to rise to successively higher political offices. He also makes photo ops and campaign promises. And, like a politician, some of the things he does are merely for the purpose of obtaining more votes. And all of the above is akin to birds behaving like birds, rocks behaving like rocks, and the constant rotation and orbit of Earth. I'm saying that if someone goes into politics, certain traits of behavior are inescapable.

The American public seems to be fed up with the predicament of so many people being homeless. Many blame the homeless person for their homelessness. This could be accurate some of the time. Yet, if you have a disability and can't work, there is not much insulation between oneself and becoming displaced. 

National Alliance on Mental Illness favors Newsom and his "care court" proposal. This is a major endorsement of a law before it was fully written. It involves putting a homeless person in front of a judge, with the presumption that if you are homeless, it is because you've refused mental health treatment. The assumption is flawed. And the proposed solution is flawed. Yet, it shows effort. 

Yet even use of the word "care" is far better than what Trump is saying and trying to do with mentally ill people. He is calling us "crazies" and he is blaming mental illness for the nationwide epidemic of gun violence. Trump's attitude is inexcusable, on nearly all issues. 

What strikes me as good about Newsom is the expression of empathy toward homeless and mentally ill. This is unusual in today's politics. Other politicians don't realize that many Americans would like to help the unhoused. Americans have empathy, at least some of us do. And Americans are tired of witnessing people going through such dire times. Additionally, some Americans view homeless encampments as a huge nuisance, and our mass media has crafted this perception. Nonetheless, what do you do about it? The simplest and most compassionate route is to provide housing. At a guess, this is also the most cost-effective. 

Americans are familiar with bigotry, and most of us believe it is a trait of the ignorant. Some are bigoted and dislike anyone who looks, acts, or believes differently than they do. However, most Americans strive not to be bigoted and to keep an open mind. And I am describing modern-day Americans--I am not describing Americans prior to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. In today's culture, most forms of prejudice and bigotry are not socially accepted. 

Newsom is not one hundred percent "genuine." Many of the things he does are for the purpose of a photo-op or a sound bite. Yet, most politicians are afraid to come out and say in public that they'd like to do something to help homeless and/or mentally ill people. This is because most politicians don't get it. They mistakenly think that Americans want help for the middle class only, and that Americans believe as the mass media would have us believe--mentally ill people and homeless people are worthless and nuisances. However, many Americans can think for themselves. And most of the likely voters have a modicum of compassion toward those less fortunate. 

Newsome's stance, for the forementioned reasons, is landmark. 

Gavin Newsome could beat Trump. Trump has a good chance of evading legal repercussions for his illegal activities because of the huge number of judges he appointed who will find him not guilty and will dismiss his cases. Thus, the threat to the American way of life ushered by Trump and his followers is far from over. This is not the time to get complacent. We are far from getting Trump locked up for his crimes. He has a very good chance at evading justice and then running for another term. 

Newsome is our best chance. And where Trump hates, Newsom is pro-human rights. Where Trump is pro-big oil, Newsom is pro-green. Where Trump lies, Newsom often tells the truth. And while they aren't complete opposites, Newsom will take the U.S. on a very different path than where Trump will lead us. Trump is fascist and Newsom is democratic--little "d". If Trump gets back into office, we can kiss our democracy goodbye. 

Newsom is one of the few politicians brave enough and wise enough to champion the rights of the homeless mentally disabled. His approach of putting a homeless person before a judge is far from perfect, and I disagree with it. Yet the mere mention of helping homeless and/or mentally disabled people is admirable, and readers should think about that. 

The Latest US Shortage: A Lack of Loos

The US may be the wealthiest nation on Earth but it's just not the best place to live if you're looking for (1) free healthcare, (2) affordable higher education, (3) a guaranteed living wage, (4) democratic elections, or … (5) public bathrooms.

That's right. While Donald "The Ocher Ogre" Trump's massive rump reportedly enjoys the 14-karat comforts of a solid gold commode, millions of his fellow Americans don't have access to a toilet they can call their own.

The Bay Area's streets may not be paved with gold but, in some poorer neighborhoods, the sidewalks are slick with pee land paved with poop.

The problem of the "un-housed" is compounded by the problem of the "un-outhoused." If you're looking for someone to blame, you could start with Starbucks. Back in 2018, the nationwide chain of 15,000 coffee-shops announced it was opening its bathroom doors to the public. No purchase needed. But earlier this year Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz reneged on the offer, and ordered the stalls off-limits to all non-paying citizens.

United Nations sanitation specialist Catarina De Albuquerque called this "a loss of critical infrastructure… in a country already facing a sever shortage of public restrooms."

The UN counts "access to safe sanitation" as "a fundamental human right," on the same level as "food, water and shelter." 

De Albuquerque recently conducted a UN survey to "assess water and sanitation services in the US." Her conclusion: One of the world's wealthiest nations had a "woefully inadequate" number of public restrooms—only eight per 100,000 people, which ranked the US 30^th on the UN's global scale (tied with Botswana). 

The best country for public toilets? Iceland, with 56 stalls per 100,000 citizens. 

Paying cops to ticket the homeless for public urination and defecation is a pretty shabby way of generating municipal revenue. Especially when the World Bank has concluded that every dollar invested in "urban sanitation" generates a $2.50 return in the form of reduced medical costs and increased productivity. 

Hellter Swelter. More Heat, Fewer Marches? 

One clue that your government may have autocratic, oligarchic, militaristic tendencies is the discovery that it's been caught spending millions to design and deploy electromagnetic weapons to discourage citizens from staging mass protests. 

In the USA, the Pentagon has taken the lead by creating Active Denial Systems that can scatter crowds by aiming invisible high-frequency beams that cause a painful burning sensation in human skin that immediately drives demonstrators to seek relief by running to hide inside the nearest buildings. 

Social unrest contained at the push of a button! 

(Some conspiracy theories have proposed that a Hidden Purpose of new 5G wireless transmission networks is to empower governments to repulse public protests against imminent economic hardships and suspension of civil rights. With the flick of a switch, no one would be able to remain in streets swathed by skin-burning electro-radiation.) 

But the Pentagon's crowd-busting sci-fi weaponry might not even be necessary—not on a planet experiencing historic episodes of climate chaos. 

Here's a chilling thought: Could Global Warming soon make it impossible to stage large, outdoor protest gatherings—not to mention marches? Our recent experience with triple-digit temperatures drove Americans from streets, workplaces, schools, and homes in a desperate search for air-conditioned shopping malls, theaters, and hospitals. The danger is real. Excessive heat is now recognized as the leading trigger for weather-caused deaths—deadlier than floods, droughts, or wildfires. 

According to Center for Disease Control figures, between 2004-2018, an annual average of 702 Americans died from heat exposure. The situation has only grown worse as temperatures have continued to climb. This summer, Public Citizen published a report warning that the annual deaths from rising temperatures in the US had increased to 2,000—nearly triple the CDC's earlier average over a span of just three years! Another 170,000 annual heat-related "workplace injuries" were recorded over the past three years. Public Citizen warns that rising temperatures are now seen as "among the highest-ranking causes of injuries and fatalities for American workers." The watchdog group has called on the government to issue new guidelines to protect workers—especially farmworkers and construction employees—from deadly overdoses of ambient heat. 

Fashion Plates 

Spotted on license plates around town: 

Black van: UC GRAD (A lot of competition for that one) 

Black Toyoto: LOTEK (Got to start somewhere, techies!) 

Black Lincoln: LBLKPRL ("El Black Pearl"?) 

Red Truck: GTALIFT ("Get a Lift") 

Blue Honda: MY 3LOVE (A carnal declaration?) 

Silver Minivan: BRGAMOT (A fan of Bergamot plant supplements?) 

Bumper Snickers 

Spotted on bumpers round and about: 

Sage Against the Machine 

Honk If Parts Fall Off! 

IF YOU CAN READ THIS: I'm not impressed. Most people can read. 

I'm So Gay I Can't Even Drive Straight! 

Alcohol and Calculus Don't Mix: Don't Drink and Derive 

DON"T TOUCH ME! I'm Not That Kind of Car 

If You Can Read This, You Are Probably Pulling Me Over 

A Peoples Park Update 

On September 9, historian and activist Harvey Smith issued the following update to the struggle over the future of Peoples Park:
"Make UC A Good Neighbor and the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group (PPHDAG) filed their joint opening brief to the appellate court this week against UC Berkeley under the California Environmental Quality Act challenging UC’s Long Range Development Plan and construction of housing on People’s Park.
"The appeal focuses on UC’s failure to analyze in its Environmental Impact Report (EIR) a lower-enrollment alternative or any alternative locations for the housing proposed at People’s Park…. With the alternative location issue, UC is required to adequately assess alternative sites for student housing, which it has not done.
"UC has twenty days to reply to our appeal brief….
"The appeal is attached…. We've said it before, but this excellent legal work needs to be supported. Please refer any and all to our DONATE NOW! page at http://www.peoplesparkhxdist.org/donate-now/" 

Disney's Big Lemming Lie 

Here's some good news: Lemmings don't really commit mass suicide. And here's some shocking news: the false narrative about suicidal lemmings was cooked up by Walt Disney! 

A1958 Disney nature documentary titled White Wilderness included a staged a mass-murder of these furry creatures. It turns out these lemmings were intentionally driven over a coastal cliff in the Arctic by a crew of Disney "True-Life Adventure" filmmakers. This explains how Disney's Academy Award-winning documentary was able to capture such close-up images of lemmings plunging to their doom—they had set up their cameras around the cliff in advance! 

The lemmings sent plunging over a seaside bluff in Albert, Canada were not even native. They were wild-caught victims purchased by the filmmakers. According to Snopes.com, the film crew "made no more than a few dozen lemmings look like a much larger number" by using camera angles and editing tricks. The script for the scene was somewhat equivocal, with the announcer intoning the following: 

"It is said of this tiny animal that it commits mass suicide by rushing into the sea in droves. The story is one of the persistent tales of the Arctic and, as often happens in Man’s nature lore, it is a story both true and false, as we shall see in a moment." 

Unfortunately, while lemmings are not inclined to commit mass suicide, it appears that humankind may be headed off a cliff owing to climate change and military conflicts. As for lemmings, The Petition Site notes that, today, "these adorable, short-tailed voles are threatened by climate change. Their tundra habitats are at great risk as the planet continues to warm." 

So there's a petition. It is demanding that Disney "not only set the record straight about the fact that lemmings do not commit mass suicide, but the multi-billion dollar corporation must also apologize for its actions and immediately donate funds to create Arctic refuges for lemmings and other cold-habitat mammals." Sign the petition if you agree! 

Detergent Alternatives: Why Lug a Jug When You Can Dip a Slip? 

Each year, an estimated 700,000,000 plastic laundry jugs are dumped into landfills across North America. This plastic can take more than 100 years to break down. And then it only "breaks down" into smaller bits of plastic that pose new environmental hazards. 

But now there's a whole new product-line of jug-less laundry soaps that resemble note-pad-sized paper sheets. These "soap slips" magically dissolve when they come in contact with water. No bottles to pour; just pull out s soap-slip and drop it into your washing machine. Works on dishes; works with clothes. 

Here's a run-down on some of these new products. 

• Earthwash Laundry Sheets are "nano-dehydrated detergent" sheets that dissolve in water in just a few seconds and remove tough stains "without the add-on ingredients that make liquid detergents so heavy and bulky." 

• Tru Earth Eco-Strips are described by their Canadian manufacturer as "ultra-concentrated, hypoallergenic, eco-friendly cleaning power. Every 32-load package eliminates 1 plastic jug from potentially ending up in landfills and oceans." A one-year supply will set you back $109. 

• Earthbreeze Ecosheets are desribed as: "Paraben Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free, Phthalate Free, Phosphate Free, Bleach & Dye Free, Hypoallergenic & Dermatologist Tested." In addition to lowering your carbon footprint, Earhbreeze claims that, for every purchase, the company donates "10 loads to those in need." 

• Earth Breeze soap-slips are sold in "earth friendly" cardboard packaging instead of "a wasteful single-use plastic jug" that can take up to 1000 years to decompose. 

• Clean People Laundry Detergent is "scientifically formulated [to] lift stains" and works with Top Loaders, Front Loaders, and High Efficiency washing machines.  

The Dirty Downside of Soap Slips 

I thought I'd try to locate some of these magical little cleaning sheets so I headed off to the Berkeley Ecology Center on San Pablo Avenue. That's when a helpful staff member alerted me to a critical fact not mentioned by the creators of these "soap slips." 

While the ad campaigns for these new products push the promise of reduce the plastic waste that winds up in the environment, It turns out that the cleaning tissues hold their shape due to (wait for it…) micro-plastics that are similar to the mini-pollutants used in cigarette filters. (These microplastic-packed filters are currently the target of a powerful media campaign hosted by UnDo.com, a pull-no-punches project of the California Department of Health). Here's one of their public service announcements: 

Fortunately, as the EcoCenter staffer explained, there are eco-friendly options. I was led over to a display-stand by the main window and introduced to a selection of natural-based cleaning options. These included a paper bag filled with "Organic Soap Nuts Laundry Detergent," a product self-described as "Non-GMO, Eco-Friendly, Cruelty Free, No Dyes, Low Suds." 

Made by Greener Things, these "soap nuts" really ARE nuts. These bags are filled with dried berries harvested from Sapindus Mukorrosi trees in Nepal where people have been using these real-life cleanser "pods" for generations. 

"When agitated in water," the packaging explains, "these berries produce Saponin, which acts as a natural cleanser." First, the nuts are placed inside a reusable cloth bag that is then tied shut. After the laundry cycle is complete, the nuts are retrieved from the sack and saved for reuse. A single bag of walnut-sized Sapindus nuts should be good for washing several months' worth of dirty duds.

On August 8, 2022, after months of DOJ’s unsuccessful attempts to retrieve presidential documents Trump was unauthorized to take with him after he left office, the FBI executed a court-approved search of former Trump’s Florida home and seized presidential documents including many classified documents. 

Shortly thereafter, Trump and a number of his MAGA loyalists called the search a politicized law enforcement act of doing the bidding of the Biden administration in targeting Trump; he called the search a Democratic “witch hunt,” “a weaponization of the Justice System” and “an attack by Radical Left Democrats:” This is Trump’s usual modus operandi: Get out in front, ignore inconvenient facts, distort and deflect, and represent himself as the victim of “prosecutorial misconduct” and “lawlessness.”.  

His MAGA loyalists joined in calling for the FBI — the United States’ principal federal law enforcement agency — to be defunded and FBI agents to be arrested. MAGA Congressman Paul Gosar (R-Arizona), for example, tweeted, “We must destroy the FBI. We must save America. I stand with Donald J. Trump.” And remember that Trump and the GOP vigorously opposed the House committee investigation of the January 6 insurrection calling it a “witch hunt”.  

Trump called these insurrectionist “patriots” and “peaceful people” even though two Capital policemen died and about 150 officers from the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department and local agencies were injured during the riot. To add insult to injury, Trump said if elected president he would issue full pardons and a government apology to rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Trump certainly doesn’t sound like a "law order” man. 

Clearly, the GOP has given up any claim to be the “law and order” and “tough on crime” party?

Contrary to their earlier statement claiming Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was likely shot by a Palestinian, Israel now admits Shireen was likely shot by an Israeli sniper during its raid in the Occupied West Bank. Shireen wore a helmet and was wearing a jacket marked “PRESS”. This flip-flopping by Israel comes after months of outrage by Akleh’s family and human rights activists around the world. To add insult to injury, Israel stated that the soldier who fired the fatal shot will not be held accountable. 

Akleh’s niece, Lina Abu Akleh, who was denied a meeting with Biden during his visit to Israel, exploded with anger at Israel’s dismissal of her aunt’s murder. 

It is outrageous that the United States by its silence condones the appalling injustice toward Palestinians under a draconian and illegal occupation. 

Investigations by The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post and other media outlets also challenge the official Israeli version of Akleh’s killing. The Times reported that contrary to the Israeli version of events, “there were no armed Palestinians near her when she was shot,”. In Ramallah, Al Jazeera’s West Bank bureau chief also rejected Israeli claims about the killing. Biden should break his silence and order an immediate investigation into Akleh’s killing. It is also time the US live up to its claim to be a “shining city” and halt all further aid to apartheid Israel.

Worth Noting:

City Council summer recess is officially over on Tuesday. The full agendas for the City Council regular meetings on September 13 and September 20 at the end of this announcement make this email extra long. You can, of course, go straight to the council link to see what is ahead https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas and email council@cityofberkeley.info your comments.



The Housing Element Draft Environmental Impact Report is a plan for adding 19,098 housing units not the RHNA 8,934. As stated at the Planning Commission in the presentation, the larger number is to push changing zoning in the City of Berkeley. The Comment Period ends October 17, 2022 at 5 pm. The document including appendices is over 500 pages.

https://berkeleyca.gov/construction-development/land-use-development/general-plan-and-area-plans/housing-element-update



Sunday the Solano Stroll returns at 10 am.

Monday the Agenda Committee meets at 2:30 to review a very light Thursday, September 29 draft agenda. The Youth Commission meets at 6:30 pm.

Tuesday City Council starts with a special meeting at 5 pm and the regular meeting at 6 pm. The HAC subcommittee is meeting at 3 pm to establish a habitability plan.

Wednesday the Parks Commission and Police Accountability Board both meet at 7 pm.

Thursday the Design Review Committee meets at 7 pm with three projects and Bird Safe Regulations on the agenda.

Friday CEMTF is presenting the 3rd Virtual Summit Series with speakers on Climate & Homefullness & Homelessness

Saturday is International Coastal Cleanup Day. BNC & BCA are sponsoring a Rent Board Election Forum



Don’t forget to check for meetings posted on short notice https://berkeleyca.gov/

 

Sunday, September 11, 2022  

SOLANO STROLL 10 am – 5 pm,  

A closed street event with booths, food, entertainment, crafters (the big event) 

https://www.solanoavenueassn.org/events/solano-avenue-stroll/ 

Monday, September 12, 2022 

AGENDA AND RULES COMMITTEE at 2:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83258806914 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) Meeting ID: 832 5880 6914 

AGENDA: Public Comment on non-agenda and items 1 – 7. 1. Minutes, 2. Review and Approve 9/29/2022 draft agenda – use link or read full draft agenda after list of city meetings, 3. Berkeley Considers, 4. Adjournment in Memory, 5. Council workssessions, 6. Referrals for scheduling, 7. Land Use Calendar, Referred Items for Review: 8. COVID, 9. Return to In-person meetings for legislative bodies, Unscheduled Items: 10. Discussion Regarding Design and Strengthening of Policy Committees, 11. Supporting Commissions, Guidance on Legislative Proposals. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/policy-committee-agenda-rules 

YOUTH COMMISSION at 6:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83795428506 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171 or 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 837 9542 8506 Passcode: 655790 

AGENDA: 10. Discussion: Mental Health Subcommittee, 11. Action: Dissolve Mental Health Subcommittee, 12: Entrance Wait Times at Berkeley High, 13. Discussion: School Safety 

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

Tuesday, September 13, 2022 

CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL Meeting at 5 pm 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611765730 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) Meeting ID: 161 176 5730 

AGENDA: 1. Modifying the 2022 City Council Meeting Schedule, 2. Appointment of Director of Information Technology annual salary of $205,000 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

CITY COUNCIL REGULAR Meeting at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611765730 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) Meeting ID: 161 176 5730 

AGENDA: check the full agenda at the bottom of this email or use link to access the agenda. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

Housing Advisory Commission Housing Code Subcommittee at 3 pm  

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89025136565 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 890 2513 6565 

AGENDA: 5. Discussion and Possible Action on Recommend Amendments to the City of Berkeley Housing Code and Adopt a Habitability Plan. 

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

Wednesday, September 14, 2022 

PARKS, RECREATION, and WATERFRONT COMMISSION at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89264197181 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 892 6419 7181 

AGENDA: 5. Public Comment, 6. Chair’s Report, 7. Director’s Report (Ferris), 8. Presentation: Civic Arts Overview, 9. Appoint PRW Commission Liason to Civic Art Commission, 10. Update on FY2023 PRW CIP (Capital Improvement Plan), 11. PRW Commission Roadmap: longterm action plan, 12. Update on Civic Center Park Planning. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/parks-recreation-and-waterfront-commission 

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD at 7 pm  

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82237902987 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 822 3790 2987 

AGENDA: 3. Public Comment on non-agenda and agenda items, 5. Election of Chair, 6. Board Member’s Reports, Chief Report, 8. Subcommittee Reports a. Renew Fair and Impartial Policing, b. Dissolve or renew Director Search Subcommittee, c. Regulations Subcommittee, d. Dissolve Controlled Equipment Subcommittee, 9. A. Finalize review of draft proposed permanent Regulations for Handling Investigations and Complaints, b. Review Annual Equipment Use Report, 10. Public comment made at July 27 meeting regarding Board member Calavita. 

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

Thursday, September 15, 2022 

DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88322518714 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 883 2251 8714 

AGENDA: 1. 747 (787) Bancroft at Fourth – Final Design Review – Demolish 6 existing buildings and construct a 159,143 sq ft 3-story building containing 124,539 sq ft of R&D and 34604 sq ft of light manufacturing space and surface parking lot containing 76 off-street parking spaces and 5 loading spaces, 

2. 2213 Fourth Street (between Allston and Bancroft) – Final Design Review – Demolish 3 existing non-residential buildings and one existing duplex and construct new 128,143 sq ft 4 and ½ story parking garage with 412 off-street auto parking spaces and 1 loading space, 

3. 1752 Shattuck at Francisco – Preliminary Design Review – Construct 7-Story mixed-use building with 68 residential apartments over 1210 sq ft commercial space, 6 commercial spaces and 28 bicycle spaces, 

V. Bird Safe Regulations, Presentation and Requested Feedback 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/design-review-committee 

Friday, September 16, 2022 

CLIMATE EMERGENCY MOBILIZATION TASK FORCE at 9 am – 12 pm 

Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-homefulness-registration-369224459297 

AGENDA: CEMTF 3rd Virtual Summit Series: Climate & Homefullness, Speaker Topics: Poor peoples led solutions to poverty & climate terror, Homelessness in the age of Climate Change & the History of Homelessness and Policing, Climate, Immigration & Refugees, The Path from Crisis to Care. ( 

https://www.cemtf.org 

Saturday, September 17, 2022 

INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEANUP DAY 9 am – 12 pm 

Go to webpage to register 

https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/news/register-coastal-cleanup-day-september-17 

BERKELEY NEIGHBORHOODS COUNCIL ELECTION FORUM - RENT BOARD at 9:30 am (start time changed from original post to 9:30 am) 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85935407339?pwd=S1VmYkhzOTkxVkJNaXNlOXpVK3dLQT09 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171 Meeting ID: 859 3540 7339 Passcode: 349962 

AGENDA: Election Forum – Rent Board, 

https://berkeleyneighborhoodscouncil.com/ 

COMMUNITY SUMMIT ON MENTAL HEALTH AND BERKELEY’S YOUTH at 3 – 5 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83194104918?pwd=MnFXZVZaVVJRc0h1SnZMQ3V0QzBTZz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171 Meeting ID: 831 9410 4918 Passcode: 307107 

AGENDA: Panelists include impacted youth, engaged therapists, dedicated school staff and administrators and experts on suicide, crisis and violence prevention. 

http://www.berkeleycommunitysafety.org/ 

++++++++++++++++++++ 

Monday, September 12, 2022 

AGENDA and RULES COMMITTEE at 2:30 pm 

CITY COUNCIL DRAFT AGENDA for Thursday, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83258806914 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) Meeting ID: 832 5880 6914 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/policy-committee-agenda-rules 

AGENDA CONSENT:  

1. Urgency Ordinance Extending the Lease for Real Property at 742 Grayson for additional month $26,379
2. Formal bid solicitations $15,891,000
3. Contract 47QSEA21D002V $375,000 through June 30, 2024 with Gaumard Scientific Company, Inc for High Fidelity Training Equipment

4. ZAB Appeal: 1201-1205 San Pablo Use Permit #ZP2021-0070 to construct 6-story mixed-use building on a vacant lot, 66 units (including 5 very low income units), 1680 sq ft of commercial space, 2614 sq ft of usable open space, and 17 to 28 ground-level parking spaces, staff recommends dismiss the appeal

5. City Auditor - Audit Recommendation status – Berkeley Police: Improvements Needed to Manage Overtime and Security Work Outside Entities
6. City Auditor – New Audit Recommendation Dashboard – Dashboard shows status of audit finding recommendations and progress toward resolving finding

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SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611765730 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) Meeting ID: 161 176 5730 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

AGENDA CONSENT:  

1. Amend Contract 084534-1 add $188,955 total $1,008,291.20 and extend from 9/30/2010 to 6/30/2024 with NextGen Helathcare Information Systems, Inc
2. Amend Contract 31900288 add $122,000 total $606,800 and extend to 6/30/2023 with Disability Access Consultants for ADA Transition Plan
3. Contract 32100194 add $260,000 total $4,556,733 with Bay Cities Paving & Grading, Inc for Street Rehabilitation FY 2021 Project
4. Minutes
5. Contract $87,675 with Municipal Resource Group for addressing impacts resulting from the Great Resignation
6. Amend Contract add $8000 total $228,000 and extend to 9/14/2023 with Orsolya Kuti, DVM for on-site veterinary services for Berkeley Animal Care Services,
7. Formal Bid Solicitation and RFP $440,000,
8. Request for Proposal for Project Homekey consider a reservation of up to $8.5 million in general funds collected pursuant to Measure P and/or other funding
9. Contract $120,000 for 10/1/2023 to 5/30/2023 with Tiana Sanchez International LLC for HHCS Equity Consulting services,
10. Amend Contract add $57,100 total $220,628 with Kings View Professional Services to provide mental health Financial reporting services thru 6/30/2024,
11. Submit grant agreements for $912,213 for Future of Public Health program for FY 2023,
12. Donation of Painting Services from MB Jessee Painting, Inc for interior areas of 1900 6th Street estimated value $8,994,
13. Amend Contract add 3 years 6/1/2022-6/30/2025 at decreased annual rate of $570,000 total $7,393,611 with Innovative Claim Solutions (ICS) for claims administration of the City’s Workers’ Compensation Program,
14. Contract $71,481 total $236,305 9/29/2022 – 9/28/2023 with AHEAD, Onc using California Department of General Services (CGS) for Varonis software licenses and professional services,
15. Lease Agreement 80 (North Building) 82/84 & 90 Bolivar Drive in Aquatic Park with Waterside Workshops for 11/1/2022 – 11/1/2031
16. Donation $3400 for Memorial Bench at Cesar Chavez Park in memory of Walt and Trudee Rowson,
17. Donation $3400 for Memorial Bench at Cesar Chavez Park in memory of Don Rothenberg,
18. Donation $3400 for Memorial Bench at Indian Rock Park in memory of Dave Altman,
19. Contract $480,000 with 14.58% contingency of $70,000 total $550,000 with Bellingham, Inc to replace and repair docks at the Berkeley Marina,
20. Revenue Grant $180,000 from California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for 2023 Selective Enforcement Program (STEP) for 10/1/2022 – 9/30/2023
21. 2022 Vision Zero Program (Berkeley Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans) Grant Applications authorizes CM to submit grant application to federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A),
22. Disaster and Fire Safety Commission –Red Curbs and Visible Signage, request for immediate remedial action to improve evacuation, replace signage as necessary and red curb fire hydrant areas and pinch points
23. Mental Health Commission – Appoint Judy Appel to Mental Health Commission,
24. Peace and Justice Commission – Adopt Resolution on Berkeley’s Commitment to Abortion Access
25. Arreguin, co-sponsors Robinson, Hahn - $1000 Expenditure Amount for Pacific Center for Human Growth,
26. Arreguin, co-sponsor Hahn - Correction to COVID-19 Emergency Response Ordinance BMC 13.110 Ordinance 7,762-N.S. relates to tenant protections
27. Taplin – Resolution in Support of High-Quality, Equitable Healthcare Services at UCSF,
28. Taplin - Berkeley Youth Alternative (BYA) Charity Golf Classic,
29. Taplin, co-sponsors Droste, Wengraf, Kesarwani – California Marriage Equality Resolution (repeal Prop 8)
30. Robinson, co-sponsors Taplin, Arreguin, Harrison – Keep Innovation in Berkeley refer to CM and Planning Commission to return to council Zoning Ordinance amendments, codified performance standards and other actions to encourage growth and retention of R & D,
31. Robinson & Bartlett – Relinquishment of up to $500 for Center for Independent Living’s 50th Anniversary,

32. Surveillance Technology Report, Surveillance Acquisition Report and Automatic License Plate Readers,
33. An Ordinance Repealing chapter BMC 12.76 and repealing ordinance 7643-N.S.– relates to campers, house cars, parking,
34. Taplin – Equitable Safe Streets and Climate Justice Resolution – Resolution committing to expenditure of City and state/federal matching/recurring funds on city-maintained roads, sidewalks and bike lanes to accelerate safety improvements,
35. Taplin, co-sponsor Robinson – Efficiency Unit Ordinance Reviewed by Land Use – Refer to City Manager and Planning Commission to adopt objective standards for Efficiency Unit Ordinance,

36. Council Shot Term Referral Process – Quarterly Update,
37. Federal Economic Relief Spending
38. Sanctuary City Contracting Compliance Report FY 2022
39. Environment and Climate Commission 2022 Work Plan
40. Planning Commission FY 2022-23 Work Plan

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2022 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1611765730 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) Meeting ID: 161 176 5730 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas 

AGENDA CONSENT: 

1. Resolution Local Emergency Due to COVID-19
2. City Legislative Bodies to continue to meet via videoconference
3. Establish the 2023 Council meeting schedule with starting time 6 pm
4. 2023 Tax Rate: Transportation Network Company User Tax (lyft, Uber, etc.) for trips originating in CoB $0.53885 single rider, $0.26249 per person pooled trip
5. Amend Contract No. 084349-1 add $45,000 total $261,282 with AMCS Inc for Zero Wste PC Software Maintenance and Professional Services and extend from 7/1/2022 thru 6/31/2025 (June has only 30 days),
6. Purchase Order using General Services Administration for $250,000 for IT Services to cover vacant position.
7. Amend Contract No. 105921-1 add $195,000 total $1,047,200 with TruPoint Solutions LLC for Accela professional services and extend 2 years 6/1/2015 to 6/30/2024,
8. Contract $714,022 with SCS Engineers to provide engineering, maintenance, and monitoring services for the landfill to meet mandatory compliance requirements at Cesar Chavez Park from 1/1/2023 – 6/30/2026
9. Contracts on-call arborist services $125,000 Davey Resource Group, Inc, HortScience Bartlett Consulting $125,000 11/1/2022 – 12/31/2025
10. Contracts on-call engineering services total $6,900,000, 1. CSW Stuber-Stroeh Engineering Group, Inc $750,000, 2. HDR Engineering, Inc. $750,000, 3. LCC Engineering & Surveying, Inc $1,500,000, 4. Mark Thomas & Company, Inc $750,000, 5. Park Engineering, Inc $1,500,000, 6. Pavement Engineering Inc $1,500,000, 7. SCI Consulting Group $150,000
11. Amend Contract No. 10350 (112199-1) add $100,000 total $250,000 with Technology, Engineering, and Construction, Inc for tank maintenance and certification services and extend to 6/30/2024,
12. Amend Contract No. 31900085 add $45,000 total $231,472 with Syntech Systems, Inc for service and support of infrastructure and software for City’s Fleet Fueling Program,
13. Contract $177,218.68 includes contingency $23,115 with Shaw Industries for Civic Center Building Replacement Project,
14. Arreguin co-sponsors Bartlett, Hahn, Taplin – refer to city attorney and CM to draft ordinance on apprenticeship training standards (HARD HAT ORDINANCE)

15. CM & Jordan Klein - Zoning Ordinance Amendments Making Technical Edits and Corrections includes, zoning districts, C-C, C-e, C-NS, C-DMU, Protected Uses, Setbacks, Usable Open Space, Required Parking Spaces, Design Review,
16. Hahn co-sponsors Taplin, Bartlett - Restoring and Improving Access to City of Berkeley Website and Archival Materials,
17. CM & Lisa Warhuus - Extending Community Agency for 1 year at existing levels and postponing RFP process until FY 2024,
18. Audit status Report Response: Code Enforcement Resources Significantly Constrained and Improvements Needed in Case Management and Oversight

19. Update on the Implementation of Fair and Impartial Policing Task Force Recommendations.

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LAND USE CALENDAR: 

Public Hearing to be scheduled 

1201 – 1205 San Pablo (construct mixed-use building) 9/29/2022 

2018 Blake (construct multi-family residential building) 10/11/2022 

1643-47 California (new basement and 2nd story) 11/3/2022 

Remanded to ZAB or LPC 

1205 Peralta – Conversion of an existing garage 

Notice of Decision (NOD) and Use Permits with the End of the Appeal Period 

Bad news on tracking approved projects in the appeal period. Samantha Updegrave, Zoning Officer, Principal Planner wrote the listing of projects in the appeal period can only be found by looking up each project individually through permits online by address or permit number https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-03/Online-Building-Permits-Guide.pdf 

The website with easy to find listing of projects in the appeal period was left on the “cutting room floor” another casualty of the conversion to the new City of Berkeley website.  

Please ask for it to be restored. 

WORKSESSIONS: 

September 20 Residential Objective Standards for Middle Housing at 4 pm 

October 11 Measure O Report and Update at 4 pm (If approved this meeting will be moved to October 11, 2022) 

Unscheduled Presentations 

Civic Arts Grantmaking Process & Capital Grant Program 

Fire Facilities Study Report 

African American Holistic Resource Center (November 15) 

Kelly Hammargren’s on what happened the preceding week can be found in the Berkeley Daily Planet www.berkeleydailyplanet.com under Activist’s Diary. This meeting list is also posted at https://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html on the Sustainable Berkeley Coalition website. 

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 wish to stop receiving the weekly summary of city meetings please forward the weekly summary you received to kellyhammargren@gmail.com 

In a star-studded concert on Friday, September 9, San Francisco Opera opened its CentennialSeason with a bang. From a podium on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House, General Director Matthew Shilvock paid tribute to Gaetano Merola, who in 1922 founded San Francisco Opera with the help of a dozen Italian-American families who banded together to finance this visionary venture. Shilvock was joined on stage by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade who also paid tribute to this company’s heritage by recalling singing in many Italian operas on this very stage. Then Matthew Shilvock introduced our current Artistic Director Eun Sun Kim and the music began with baritone Lucas Meachem singing the Prologue from Ruggero Leoncvallo’s Pagliacci. Meachem’s bravura performance was a perfect opener for this celebratory Centennial event. 

Next we heard Samoan-born tenor Pene Pati in a beautiful rendition of Che gelida manina from Puccini’s beloved La Bohème. Then came two selections from Vincenzo Bellini’s La Sonnambula beautifully sung by soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor Michael Fabiano. Following these offerings was Nessun dorma from Puccini’s Turandot stirringly sung by Michael Fabiano. Then we heard the introductory orchestral music to Act III of Richard Wagner’s Lohengren. In a concert mostly devoted to vocal excerpts from Italian operas, this brassy Wagnerian orchestral offering stuck out like a sore thumb, even though it was admirably led by conductor Eun Sun Kim. 

Great singing followed with an inspired performance by Nadine Sierra and Pene Pati of Vieni, vieni fra queste braccia from Bellini’s I Puritani. Next came Michael Fabiano and Lucas Meachem in the stirring duet E lui … desso … l’infante! … Dio, che nell’alma infondere from Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo. Then Pene Pati returned to sing Ah, mes amis from Gaetano Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment. In this notoriously difficult aria, Pene Pati delivered no less than nine consecutive high C’s, even holding the final one for what seemed an eternity! Following this we heard Nadine Sierra as Thaïs and Lucas Meachem as Athanèl in the bitterly ironic final scene from Jules Massenet’s Thaïs. Nadine Sierra beautifully rendered her character’s mystical conversion to faith in God while Lucas Meachem, her mentor in this conversion, could sing only of his physical desire for the beauiful Thaïs. Following this dramatic music came a decided anti-climax in a musical montage of orchestral allusions to many different operas put together for this Centennial celebration by Texu Kim under the silly title fffanfare!! When this gaudy but trivial montage was over, I left the Opera House thrilled by the splendid singing in this concert but regretting that such a cloying bit of musical montage such as fffanfare!! had been included. Oh well, I look forward to the future of San Francisco Opera as the company celebrates its Centennial and embarks on its next 100 years.