Randy Shaw is promoting his new book called "Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America?" Recently, he was interviewed on Berkeleyside.com. In a Nov. 26 interview by Frances Dinkelspiel, With zoning and neighbor veto power, Berkeley is pricing out the non-rich, says author of new book, Shaw reveals his thinking about housing policy in Berkeley. [Quotes in boldface are from that interview.]

I care quite a bit about housing policy in Berkeley. I even asked to be appointed to the Housing Advisory Commission where I try to work hard on these issues. (I represent District 2 and was appointed by Council member Cheryl Davila.) I read the interview with keen interest.

Frankly, Shaw's reported opinions disappoint and anger me. We have some very serious housing crises. In my opinion, we need less, not more, of the junk economics and false narratives Shaw is pushing. Just about everything he is says or is quoted as saying in this interview is wrong: -more-

A man entered a home in South Berkeley and sexually battered a female resident early this morning, police reported. -more-

A spokeswoman for an East Bay refugee rights group that sued President Donald Trump over a partial asylum ban said today the group is thrilled with a temporary restraining order granted by a federal judge.

The ban "would have had a huge impact" on the work of the Berkeley-based East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, said spokeswoman Lisa Hoffman.

Hoffman said 80 percent of the refugees served by the covenant group crossed the southern U.S. border illegally and would have been barred from applying for asylum by the ban announced by Trump on Friday.

The ban issued in a proclamation by Trump would have allowed asylum applications only from immigrants who crossed the border at designated entry points. Those entering illegally would have been barred from applying.

U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of San Francisco temporarily blocked the ban in an order Monday evening, acting in a lawsuit filed against Trump and other officials by the covenant and three other immigrant aid groups.

Tigar said the ban violated a "clear command" of Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act, which permits asylum applications from people physically present or arriving in the United States "whether or not at a designated port of arrival." -more-

Confidence has increased that a storm front set to arrive late Tuesday or early Wednesday will bring much-needed relief to parched Northern California and improve poor air quality in the Bay Area caused by the Camp Fire in Butte County, according to the National Weather Service. -more-

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters has finished its count of ballots cast in the November 6 election. A majority of those votes, 56%, were counted after election day, but, in Berkeley, votes counted after election day were similar to those that had been reported when counting ended at 2 a.m. on election night.

None of the local Berkeley races were close and votes counted after election night did not alter the outcome of any local races. The final percentage for the winning candidate in each of the four City Council races was within 3% of their percentage of the vote count as of the end of election night counting. Kate Harrison was at 52.7% at 2 a.m. on election night and finished with 52.9%. The biggest change, 2.2%, still not large, was in District 7 where Rigel Robinson was at 54.4% on election night but ended up at 56.6% when all the votes were counted. (Percentages were calculated without factoring in a very small number of write-ins.) -more-

In 1973, when David Nadel founded the Ashkenaz music hall on Sacramento Avenue, he had a vision of fostering intercultural understanding through music and dance. This past September 15, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley's famous independent filmmaking ("One Flew Over the Coco's Nest") and recording studio (Credence Clearwater), closed its doors as a place where the magic of musician friendships created at Ashkenaz Community Center regularly came to life.

Karen Lile, a producer at both Ashkenaz and Fantasy Studios, joined with filmmaker Michael J Kofford to create a documentary tribute to the musicians who enlivened Ashkenaz and Fantasy Studios over the years. The resulting film brought together more than 60 musicians for 20 recording sessions inside Studio D, between September 17 to 29th. Kofford has turned these recording sessions into a 38-minute documentary called "Two Weeks in Studio B: Berkeley."

The film features interviews and music from recording sessions with Grammy-winner Jamie Dubberly (Dharma Brass Band), Rob Dehlinger (Alpha Rhythm Kings), Erik Jekabson, Kenny Washington & the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, Tammy L. Hall, Mimi Fox, George Winston, Allison Miller, Kendall Ross Bean and Taylor Eigsti. More information is available at http://comteams.com/studioDsept2018.htm"> this link. -more-

Getting Money Out of Politics Could Start with This

The Blue Wave has erased the Red Tide in the House of Representatives. A new Congress means a new chance for change. It's time to clean House but, as The Intercept reveals: "Weapons makers are moving last-minute money to the Democratic congressman in line to chair the defense industry’s key House committee."

There's no defense for accepting money from companies that make a killing off killing. But now we have a chance to stop the weapons lobby from lobbing any more weapons. No more alms for arms.

World BEYOND War (WBW) has just launched an online petition demanding that the new House leaders (1) accept no further funding from the Weapons Lobby and (2) refund any donations they have already pocketed. The demand is especially urgent for congressmembers who may be chairing committees overseeing military spending and foreign policy. -more-

Smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County, which has cast a pall over the entire Bay Area for more than a week, isn't expected to dissipate significantly until at least Wednesday, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. -more-

Yes, the midterm elections are ALMOST in the bag, so it’s time for the punditocracy to sharpen its teeth for the feast.

Almost the day after the election, I was amused to see that some of the nationally-oriented blogs posted by my fellow lefties were eager, as always, to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Their handwringing started with “Not enough Dems were elected to make a difference.” As more and more districts came into the Blue fold this week, that lament seems to be dying.

So they went on to “ Anyway, Democrats in Congress won’t accelerate the Second Coming by more than a half decade.” Okay, I made that one up, but you get the drift.

Here’s a real example: Friday’s NY Times had the predictable letter from a Green Party functionary:

“Voting for the less terrible to prevent the more terrible when you really wanted to vote for someone else is like taking the slow route on the highway to hell. It will take longer, but you will end up at the same place either way.”

No. Poor analogy. The slower you go on the pathway to oblivion, the more time you have to find a better way to proceed. -more-