It has been over almost two weeks since Berkeley Copwatch publicly released disturbing footage of an African American man kneeling before five Berkeley police officers with his empty hands in the air. The man was shown talking to the officers just before they shot him with what BPD identified as a “less-lethal foam baton round”. This concerning encounter raises important questions about what constitutes “de-escalation” and under what conditions Berkeley Police Officers should be allowed to discharge their less lethal (potentially lethal) weapons.
It is important to understand what a “less lethal” weapon can do. Generally, these weapons are used in riot situations to prevent individuals from engaging in violent acts. Increasingly, Berkeley officers are using these weapons in routine encounters. For example, Copwatch recently observed BPD officers using them when investigating a bike theft at a homeless encampment and they have become commonplace at protests regardless of the presence of violence. However, these munitions can also seriously injure people. They are intended to incapacitate a suspect through the infliction of significant, blunt trauma. Injuries sustained from these weapons can be long lasting and, according to the product specs from one distributor of foam baton rounds, “Shots to the head, neck, thorax, heart or spine can result in fatal or serious injury.”
This is why we prefer to call them, “potentially lethal “ weapons and we do not take the use of such munitions lightly, although it seems that BPD increasingly does. When should such weapons be discharged? BPD has some guidance on this question from their own General Order U-2. While most of the related sections instruct officers to employ less-lethal munitions to prevent some greater physical harm, one section authorizes its use for failure to comply in a timely fashion:
“Less-than-lethal force shall only be used in the following situations, and, where feasible, after some warning has been given:
(b) To overcome the resistance of a physically combative person, or to gain compliance from a non-compliant person reasonably believed to be armed;”
When is it right to shoot a man who has already partially complied with officer demands by kneeling on the ground? The subject of the video, William Brown, was talking with officers when he was shot. He made no aggressive movement, but was hesitant to lay down on the sidewalk. Although it was later revealed that he wore a legally sanctioned knife on his belt, he had nothing in his hands. Officers brought less lethal weapons to the scene and within six minutes of the initial call to dispatch, an officer called in to report less lethal weapons had been deployed and requested wound care. How much time was actually spent employing “de-escalation” tactics? Does the Chief believe that the tactics worked or is the deployment of less lethal weapons considered to be “de-escalation”?
Chief Greenwood defends the officer’s use of these extreme measures because he claims that the man dared officers to shoot him if he stood up and cited this as an indicator of a potential “suicide by cop” situation. If Chief Greenwood truly believes that this is the situation the officers were facing, then their conduct contradicts the recommendations of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a national research organization that establishes best practices for officers.
According to PERF, the best way to deal with a person who is a potential suicide is as follows:
“Pointing a firearm elevates the subject’s level of anxiety and can make it impossible to communicate with the person. “If an officer says, ‘I’m here to help you,' but is pointing a firearm at the suicidal person, it’s conflicting messages. And people will always believe the nonverbal message,” said police psychologist Dr. John Nicoletti."
It is further recommended that officers be aware of their verbal cues.
Do not bark orders. Make small requests, one at a time.
· For example, if the subject has his hands behind his back, do not yell “Show me your hands!” That can raise the subject’s anxiety level, which is counter-productive.
Instead, make a request rather than issuing an order. Say, “Can you do me a favor and show me your hands? I want to make sure you don’t have a weapon, so we can take some time and talk. I want to talk to you about what’s going on with you today, but first I need to know you’re unarmed.”
Perhaps the 8-hour CIT training is not enough to provide officers with the skills they need to minimize injury and find alternatives to the use of potentially lethal weapons. Copwatch continues to believe that the increasing use of these munitions is a matter of urgent concern and this incident must be examined by an independent group of experts.
We continue to request access to the police report, jail logs, CAD report, Use of Force reports and any other documents (including body camera footage) that can help to shed light on why officers made the decision to shoot a man on his knees with a potentially lethal weapon.
We do not consider a BPD press release to be the final word in this matter or a suitable substitute for a genuine inquiry complete with source documents and community involved evaluation of officers’ actions.
This incident has broader implications for how officers respond to calls involving people with mental health disabilities, addiction disorders or other factors that can impair their ability to respond to officers. We hope that BPD will be transparent and comply with the California Records Act Request that was submitted by Copwatch on March 17, 2020. We believe that our community is humane enough to seek violence only as a last resort and creative and educated enough to avail ourselves of current alternatives and approaches that seek to keep our whole community as safe as possible.
A large homeless encampment tent on Haste Street West of Bowditch was consumed by flames this afternoon, beginning around 4:20 pm.
The big tent, covered with blue polyester tarps, has been visible to people going West on Haste for some weeks . The exact cause of the fire is unknown at this time, but plentiful fuel was surely available for any open flame or spark. The resulting smoke was dense black, probably because the majority of flammable materials were plastic or other synthetic materials.
Berkeley Fire Department and City and U.C. Police departments quickly arrived on the scene. The fire was extinguished within a few minutes. In that length of time the people who had been living in the tent lost everything they owned.
A falcon takes off with its prey, possibly a pigeon wing.
The peregrine falcon pair that nests atop UC Berkeley’s Sather Tower (the Campanile) have received a lot of press and public attention in recent years, including this spring.
But Berkeley has many communities and neighborhoods. Have falcons taken up residence in the southwest portion of town as well?
This weekend (April 18/19) we made a quick trip to Outdoor Supply Hardware on Ashby Avenue to get a part for a home repair. The OSH store is located in part of the historic and landmark Heinz Plant, that occupies a square block bordered by Ashby, San Pablo, and Heinz Street.
The plant is a U-shaped complex with a large central parking lot and a huge, freestanding, water tower. In recent decades the water tower has mainly served as a perch for cell phone antennae.
When we came out of the store there was a strong bird call—“kee! kee! kee!”—in the air. What certainly appeared to be a falcon was perched atop a lamp post in the parking lot. After a minute, he or she took off, flying heavily, carrying what looked like the wing of a dead pigeon (the water tower is also quite near Aquatic Park, which has a large number of other bird species that might serve as falcon prey).
The falcon circled the building complex a couple of times, then landed on the catwalk surrounding the water tank. I did not get a picture, but others in the parking lot did. Two are shown here.
Note that the falcon doesn’t seem to have a leg band, implying it’s not one of the progeny of the falcon pair from the Campanile.
Was there a nest up there on the water tower? A pair of peregrines? Or was this one just on a hunting trip, passing through on its way to home elsewhere? I leave it to the falcon experts to figure out, from ground based observation.
You can see the water tower from the parking lot, the public street, and also from the parking lot of West Berkeley Bowl across the street. If you're making a trip to Berkeley Bowl or OSH for essential goods or taking an exercise walk through the neighborhood you can bird-watch as well. Keep your appropriate social distance from two-legs and don't disturb the avians!
On April 13, with little fanfare, and in an offhanded way, Vice President Michael Richard Pence remarked to the press that at this time, and in any national emergency, the President's powers are "plenary": absolute and supreme.
Minutes later, President Donald John Trump reaffirmed this, describing his authority over the nation as "absolute", and telling a reporter that the rights of states (and by extension, other Constitutional rights as well), are henceforth enjoyed only at the President's discretion.
Both remarks came at the White House daily briefing. At this meeting, the administration speaking through Secretary of the Treasury Steven Terner Mnuchin, announced the formation of a presidential advisory commission comprising a cross-sector and "vertical" selection of capitalists nominally in charge of the national capital. These advisors are said to be there to formulate a detailed plan for "re-opening" the nation: attempting to restore the circulation of capital and accumulation of profit which are currently suspended in response to the global public health crisis.
Medical experts can give no firm guidance as to when on the calendar it will be safe to human life to relax social distancing rules and return fully to public life and work. From their perspective, it is easily foreseeable that the shut-down must continue well into June, at the least. Realistically, there is no good reason to assume it will be safe to reopen schools, churches, marketplaces and so forth anytime this year.
Though accurate unemployment numbers are increasingly more difficult to report, official figures already have unemployment of 25% in Michigan, and well over 10% nationally. The St. Louis Federal Reserve has estimated in by the end of June, national unemployment will top 30%, a figure greater than unemployment during the Great Depression. GDP is anticipated to fall this year by a similar quantity - perhaps one third.
Similar figures apply across the entirety of the developed world. In the developing world, the economy is no less grim with millions and soon some billions of workers tossed aside in the catharsis of a halt to capitalist social relations.
The circulation and accumulation of capital, the social process that has defined our social lives in living memory and beyond, has ground to a halt, for the most part. Payment of wages and purchases of most consumer goods has simply stopped. Entire segments of the economy are not merely suspended: they are ruined and unlikely to return even when the public health crisis abates.
Capitalism, in short, is dead. It lies flat-lined and blue-lipped on the table and the embers of its carcass will no doubt soon be replacing recently curtailed auto emissions with a fetid stench of a new sort. This is why the White House has convened the mob bosses of capital - the cross-sector and "vertical" representation of the entire national capital - to meet with capo di tutti cap Trump and ask, "What is to be done?"
The President's - indeed, the unified administration's - assertion of absolute power over the nation should not be dismissed as Presidential puffery. It is not vacuous. Rather, it is the culmination of decades of careful work by the right wing establishment. We can trace its origins to the Nixon administration, and the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. In the views of many on the right, Nixon did nothing wrong. Nixon got a bum rap.
Trump's claim of absolute authority rests on the notion that, especially in times of national emergency, the full authority of the state becomes vested in the personage of the Presidency: the theory of the Unitary Executive. This interpretation of the Constitution is perfectly defensible, from a scholarly perspective. It is grounded in ample historic precedent: The suspension of Habes Corpus and other Constitutional guarantees by Abraham Lincoln in the face of civil war. The suspension of Congress' sole authority to determine whether and when the U.S. goes to war by President Dwight David Eisenhower. The fiat nationalization of industry by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The internment of Japanese Americans and the state seizure of their property. The suspension of the Breton Woods agreement by President Richard Milhous Nixon. Indeed, the Unitary Executive theory can be traced back to the founders attempt to overcome certain military incapacities of the nation under the Articles of Confederation -- the right wing can quote the Federalist Papers and similar founding documents extensively on this topic.
The Constitution has been suspended.
It is firmly established in U.S. law that, outside of some theoretically possible impeachment trials, "It's not illegal if the President does it." At least it is a version of such theory, dressed in quasi-academic pomposity, that has animated decades of recent work by far right think tanks, and informed all GOP appointments to federal courts, including the Supreme Court.
Inundated by a virtual tsunami of largely redundant and repeat emails /notifications from City Hall and City Council offices, it becomes ever more difficult to discern what has actually been done to alleviate our crisis vs merely talking about it.
Here are, therefore, some of the actions we expected to be well on their way by now:
(1) Emergency appropriation – or nominal fee, temporary lease – of the former post office from Alston Way to Kittredge St, and its repurposing for homeless shelter-in-place and isolation housing, including services.
Given the urgency, yet our city's demonstrated lack of the experience, expertise and decisive leadership required to handling such task expeditiously, it would have to be contracted out as a turn-key project. (Ideally, COVID-19 or not, this task should have already been implemented well before winter season - instead of spending scarce financial resources on police overtime, chasing the homeless from place to place without providing any meaningful alternatives.)
(2) Request from and coordination with the University to provide shelter-in-place and physical distance housing including basic services. Keep in place for at least 4 more months using existing empty dorms and other forms of student housing for:
(a) students that have no home, and
(b) students that for various reasons cannot go home, but are still on the street, or in co-ops and other group housing that don’t provide for physical distancing. After all, it's the University that invited these students with implied promises as to the availability of housing in Berkeley.
And finally, for:
(c) homeless but otherwise self-sufficient persons were it not for the lack of a roof over their head and a bed with some basic services. As it stands, they can't even wash their hands as they are being told to do.’
Such housing would be in addition to the living quarters as quarantine facilities the University set up for 42 students.
(3) Request and get in line for field hospital(s) to increase the number of ER and ICU beds in our local hospitals by moving patients with milder COVD-19 symptoms, as well as patients with relatively minor ailments into field hospitals set-up by either the state or federal agencies, the National Guard, or the US Army. Such requests should be put forth for the following:
(a) jointly with the university for a field hospital on Edwards Field, with auxiliary facilities under the stadium's bleachers;
(b) jointly with Alta Bates and the School Board for a field hospital on the Willard School baseball field, in light of the close proximity to the hospital, with some auxiliary services at the school.
(4) Renting, at discounted rates, of empty hotel rooms and market rate housing for temporary quarantining and as shelter-in-place, physical distancing housing, again for the homeless and unrelated residents in crowded GLA's and co-ops. Financing would come from housing fees supposedly collected from market rate housing developments. Though not planned for this purpose, we are now facing a crisis that requires extraordinary means to fight the spreading of a fast moving virus.
If you did all this, without telling us, great - except for the latter part.
If not, put your mere talk and oratories aside, rise to the challenge and quickly move forward with the kind of concerted action this crisis requires.
After all, a city whose commitment to endless process of how to plan and build anything is greater than its commitment to decisive action, and whose mayor and too many of its council members seem to surround themselves with people who agree with them, and no one else, who can't sit down with anyone who holds a differing opinion – which is both shortsighted and limiting - is no match for an extremely efficient and fast moving virus.
What we need, and should thus expect, are clear Directions, quick Decisions, and a real Plan: The longer we wait, the more people we will put at risk!
Jurgen Aust, AICP is a Berkeley resident and has recognized expertise and experience in land use, transportation planning, urban design, and real estate development,
I have spoken to the residents at the encampments and it our understanding that there are confirmed cases (yes plural) of COVID-19 at Harrison House. We are all very concerned.
We understand that individuals at Harrison House were showing symptoms early in this crisis. Yet we have not heard about this in the news or from the City of Berkeley or from Berkeley Public Health. Many residents at Harrison House walk down Harrison Street past the RVs, Skate Park, businesses, etc. They are surrounded by unsheltered friends in the community. This past week I had a person in a tent on 9th and Harrison develop symptoms. She was placed in a hotel.
If this claim false, then let the City and BOSS confirm. If these claims are true, then we must demand answers for our Harrison House residents in Berkeley from the City and BOSS. We must demand answers for the unsheltered, the businesses and residents that live in that area.
We need to know: How many confirmed cases? When were these symptoms reported? What was done for the individuals? We’re they immediately placed in hotels or quarantined on-site? How were the other individuals at Harrison House protected? We’re the unsheltered, businesses, and residents in surrounding area contacted by public health or homeless outreach? Will masks be handed out to the unhoused in the surrounding areas? We need answers.
First They Came For The Homeless has been acting as an advocate for Phil Woodruff (aka. James Wood) for over a year. He was placed into a group housing situation in Oakland by BACS from their Berkeley Stairway Navigation Center. He currently resides in a house that is not up to code (2326 Myrtle St., Oakland, 94607.) It is a group congregate situation with from 10 to 15 residents and a house manager living or working in it.
We are very concerned about his health and safety at this place. Two weeks ago he was told to leave the house and not come back. He was essentially evicted in the COVID-19 quarantine by the house manager who raged at him that he had "white privilege". He endured at least 5 days living outside and sleeping on the pavement because of this. He did not have his medicine, clothing or even a charger for his phone since he was so abruptly tossed out. He was told to return to the house by BACS, but when he got there, they locked the door on him, would not let him in and the landlady shouted from her car in front of the house at him. He left feeling isolated, in physical pain from falls while he was on the street, in fear and sick from not having his medication. Evicted in the time of the Corona Virus.
Berkeley Councilmember Cheryl Davila's office tried many times to get the city to respond to his needs and shelter him, but they never did. I called Friends of Adeline and talked to Margy Wilkinson and she made sure to get a blanket, tarp and other objects that he would need as he slept on Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley.
He finally was readmitted to the house with a new house manager and has been living there since then. BACS has provided a small refrigerator to him in his room, so that his dietary needs due to medical conditions would be helped. He was also told to eat at the group meals.
The house's bathroom that he uses is not clean and is used by multiple tenants. The meals sometimes are not served and, when they are, people sit at a goup table next to each other, reaching over each other's plates as they try to get things from the table. Some of the residents cough loudly at the table and there is no attempt to shield them or the other tenants from germs. BACS and Berkeley have been informed about the lack of COVID 19 protocol, but no change has occurred. People living in the house and visitors come and go with no social distancing, masks, gloves or anything.
Phil Woodruff (aka. James Wood) has started to feel his health deteriorate and is fearful, as a 65 disabled man forced into close proximity to others at the group house.
First They Came For The Homeless requests that attention be paid to this resident and his complaints and that an inspection be carried out as soon as possible. We are also concerned about the health and well being of the other residents and staff and find this unacceptable. We request that he and other at risk residents be placed in a hotel. His status was homeless in Berkeley and Berkeley and BACS put him into dangerous circumstances to be housed. His currently living in this house in Oakland does not negate his status of a homeless, disabled senior.
Lisa Bullwinkel, Hoopla CEO, Another Bullwinkel Show
Monday April 20, 2020 - 04:10:00 PM
For the past month, neighbors have been singing together on Wednesdays at noon from windows and porches around the world. For a few moments each week, a little bit of joy fills the air. The Berkeley Music Circus was originally set up with a final performance of “Celebration” at the end of April. However, with COVID-19 still in play, we are holding off on that song for a while and have added a few more to get us through the end of May. If we have to stay home longer and need more tunes, we’ll post them online at AnotherBullwinkelShow.com. Meanwhile, keep your hearts and lungs open by singing. Be safe – sing with social distancing.
Wednesday, April 22 THREE LITTLE BIRDS (Bob Marley)
A group of Bay Area teens has recently founded a charitable organization called QuaranTunes, which connects experienced and qualified teen musicians with children ages 4-14 to give virtual music lessons in piano, drums, guitar, bass, songwriting, music production, voice, violin, viola, and much more to keep them occupied while they are stuck in quarantine. Payment for the lessons is donation-based, and 100% of their proceeds go directly to the CDP COVID-19 Response Fund. Just in the past few weeks, they have already assembled a team of over 40 volunteer teachers, all of whom are accomplished musicians, some already in top colleges (UC Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA, UCSB, Cal Poly, etc) pursuing careers in music. They are currently giving on average 15 lessons a day to clients living as close as the Bay Area and as far as the UK. If you or someone you know would be interested in getting involved by either teaching or signing up for music lessons, you can get in contact with them by visiting their website (www.quarantunes.site), emailing them at quarantunes.info@gmail.com, or calling them anytime at (650) 924-5660. You can also donate directly to their cause at paypal.me/quarantunesmusic (any amount is greatly appreciated).
Lisa B. Hernandez, MD, MPH City of Berkeley Health Officer
Friday April 17, 2020 - 12:32:00 PM
Today, I issued an Order mandating the use of face coverings for everyone especially customers and workers in essential businesses so that infected people without symptoms don’t unintentionally spread COVID-19.
While we have seen many people cover their faces in public since the CDC and Bay Area Health Officers first recommended face coverings two weeks ago, it has not been enough.
While people should follow this mandate immediately, we are providing a grace period on enforcement until 8am on Wednesday, April 22.
Face coverings are not a substitute for staying home, staying 6 feet apart, and washing your hands regularly. A covering over mouth and nose is an additional tool in our arsenal of weapons to fight COVID-19. No end date has been set for when this requirement will end, so prepare accordingly.
This order applies to everyone in the City of Berkeley. Health Officers in Contra Costa, San Francisco, Marin and Sonoma counties as well as the rest of Alameda County have also issued similar orders this week.
Why cover your face
Masks play an important role in combatting COVID-19, which spreads easily among people less than 6 feet from each other. This new coronavirus travels through the air by sneezing, coughing or just talking near another person. You can be infected even if you have no symptoms. Additionally, those who do become visibly ill can be contagious as early as 48 hours before they show symptoms.
When you’re required to wear a mask
Everyone must cover their face when out in public such as visiting an essential business, seeking healthcare, or while using shared transportation, including buses, BART, taxis, rideshare, or paratransit.
Workers at essential businesses must cover their face most of the time while at work, including:
when interacting with the public
in any space visited by the public
anywhere food is prepared
in common areas
in any room where other people are present
Drivers of public transit, ride share or taxis must wear a mask the entire time they are in the vehicle, regardless of whether or not passengers are present.
You don’t need to cover your face when home alone or when around people you live with.
Very few are exempt
There are some very specific people who do not have to wear a face covering:
Anyone who has trouble breathing, is incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance.
Anyone who has been advised by a medical professional not to wear a face covering.
Any worker to the extent wearing a face covering creates a safety hazard at work under established health and safety guidelines.
Children
Face coverings are optional for children 3-12 years old.
Children 2 years or younger should not wear masks, as they may create a risk of suffocation.
Parents and caregivers must supervise use of face coverings by children to avoid misuse.
Outdoor exercise
You’re not required wear a mask while exercising outdoors, but you should carry one with you and put it on when it is not possible to stay 6 feet apart from others.
When exercising, take extra precautions to stay away from others around you, such as crossing the street to avoid sidewalks with pedestrians. Running and bicycling causes people to expel airborne particles more forcefully, which makes the usual minimum 6 feet distance less adequate.
Selecting and caring for your mask
Your mask should be made from cloth, fabric, or other soft material and cover the lower part of your face only, including your nose and mouth. Don’t use surgical masks or N-95s – medical grade masks are needed for health care workers and first responders.
Simple do-it-yourself face coverings are fine. You can improvise a face covering using a scarf, bandana, neck gaiter, t-shirt, or towel. The CDC has created tutorials on how to make a mask at home:
Your mask should be comfortable and allow you to breathe normally through your nose. Make sure it fits well – you should avoid touching your face or adjusting your mask once you’ve put it on.
Wash face coverings after each use.
Efforts to slow the spread are working
As of today, Berkeley residents have been under a stay home order for one month. I’m grateful to everyone making sacrifices to protect our community. I know how hard it is to see our daily lives disrupted, to not be able to enjoy favorite activities, and to be separated from friends and family.
Data shows that our collective action is working. We are slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the Bay Area. We need to take extra steps to protect ourselves and especially our essential workers who risk exposure day in and day out.
The formula for keeping our community safe is simple. Stay home. Cover your face. Wash your hands. Keep your distance.
Thank you to all who have been, and continue to practice these measures.
Berkeley Public Health Officer Dr. Lisa Hernandez issued an order on Thursday mandating masks, temperature screenings and symptom checks for workers and visitors at skilled nursing and residential care facilities to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Hernandez said the close contact of people living and working in congregate living settings makes them more susceptible to COVID-19 infections, which she said can spread easily even when people are talking in close proximity.
She said the age or underlying health conditions of residents at nursing and residential care facilities further increases their risk of serious illness or death.
"While we have not yet had a lab-confirmed COVID-19 positive case in a skilled nursing facility or other residential facility, the nature of this virus makes such a case inevitable," Hernandez said in a statement.
She said, "Outbreaks across the nation increase urgency for decisive action. These steps will reduce risk to residents in facilities where the virus can spread rapidly and with severe consequences."
Hernandez's order requires such facilities to perform temperature screenings and symptom checks on staff contractors and visitors before they enter. She said anyone with a temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit or who says they experienced COVID-19 symptoms in the past seven days shouldn't be allowed inside.
The order also requires that surgical masks be worn by staff and visitors while they're inside facilities and by residents when they're outside their rooms. Clean, dry cloth masks may be used only if surgical masks aren't available and should be laundered before reuse.
In addition, Hernandez's order calls for canceling all group activities and communal dining. She said when residents must leave their rooms they should remain at least six feet apart from one another.
The order also includes limiting staff working at multiple facilities.
Similar orders for licensed health care facilities were issued by the health officers of Alameda and Contra Costa counties on Monday. Similar orders for congregate care facilities were issued by officials in San Mateo County and Sonoma County on Wednesday and Thursday.
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin and City Manager, Dee Williams-Ridley, and Health Officer, Dr Lisa Hernandez will appear at an online town hall tomorrow, Saturday, April 18 at noon. You can submit questions using this form. Watch the live stream at www.jessearreguin.com
Byron White, Berkeley Police Public Information Officer
Thursday April 16, 2020 - 06:25:00 PM
On April 11th at 8:23 am, officers responded to the Panoramic Hill neighborhood on a report of a package theft. The alert person in the neighborhood noticed one of the suspects stealing a package from their neighbor and immediately called the police. When officers arrived, they learned that the suspects were last seen driving up the Panoramic Way hill in a full-size SUV and had not returned yet.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Panoramic Way neighborhood, there is only one way in and one way out of the Panoramic Hill neighborhood….
As you might imagine, officers caught up with the suspects soon after. When officers approached the suspect’s SUV, they couldn’t help but notice that the back seat was full of packages. The suspects were subsequently arrested on suspicion of several theft-and drug-related charges.
In total, officers located a dozen stolen packages and nearly two dozen pieces of stolen US Mail—belonging to 17 different people from the cities of Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland.
On April 13th, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged the suspects (Ieisha Griffin, Female, 47 years old, Oakland, CA and Stephen McCorry, Male, 29 years old, Oakland, CA) with 484(a) PC—Theft, 496(a) PC—Possession of Stolen Property and 530.5(e) PC—Mail Theft.
The Berkeley Police Department takes great pride in keeping our community safe. We appreciate the public’s support and are pleased that we were able to bring justice to those who wish to do harm to our community.
First They Came For The Homeless has been acting as an advocate for Phil Woodruff (aka. James Wood) for over a year. He was placed into a group housing situation in Oakland by BACS from their Berkeley Stairway Navigation Center. He currently resides in a house that is not up to code (2326 Myrtle St., Oakland, 94607.) It is a group congregate situation with from 10 to 15 residents and a house manager living or working in it.
We are very concerned about his health and safety at this place. Two weeks ago he was told to leave the house and not come back. He was essentially evicted in the COVID-19 quarantine by the house manager who raged at him that he had "white privilege". He endured at least 5 days living outside and sleeping on the pavement because of this. He did not have his medicine, clothing or even a charger for his phone since he was so abruptly tossed out. He was told to return to the house by BACS, but when he got there, they locked the door on him, would not let him in and the landlady shouted from her car in front of the house at him. He left feeling isolated, in physical pain from falls while he was on the street, in fear and sick from not having his medication. Evicted in the time of the Corona Virus.
Berkeley Councilmember Cheryl Davila's office tried many times to get the city to respond to his needs and shelter him, but they never did. I called Friends of Adeline and talked to Margy Wilkinson and she made sure to get a blanket, tarp and other objects that he would need as he slept on Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley.
He finally was readmitted to the house with a new house manager and has been living there since then. BACS has provided a small refrigerator to him in his room, so that his dietary needs due to medical conditions would be helped. He was also told to eat at the group meals.
The house's bathroom that he uses is not clean and is used by multiple tenants. The meals sometimes are not served and, when they are, people sit at a goup table next to each other, reaching over each other's plates as they try to get things from the table. Some of the residents cough loudly at the table and there is no attempt to shield them or the other tenants from germs. BACS and Berkeley have been informed about the lack of COVID 19 protocol, but no change has occurred. People living in the house and visitors come and go with no social distancing, masks, gloves or anything.
Phil Woodruff (aka. James Wood) has started to feel his health deteriorate and is fearful, as a 65 disabled man forced into close proximity to others at the group house.
First They Came For The Homeless requests that attention be paid to this resident and his complaints and that an inspection be carried out as soon as possible. We are also concerned about the health and well being of the other residents and staff and find this unacceptable. We request that he and other at risk residents be placed in a hotel. His status was homeless in Berkeley and Berkeley and BACS put him into dangerous circumstances to be housed. His currently living in this house in Oakland does not negate his status of a homeless, disabled senior.
There can be no good that comes from a global pandemic, leaving lives and economies in ruins, except hopefully the none-too-soon Trump exit. You would think this period of hording, uncertainty, and paranoia, extending to and including formerly banal activities like food shopping, might have a small silver lining with renewed appreciation for outdoor food shopping at farmers’ markets. Fresh air, disinfecting sunlight, farmers hurting from restaurant shutdowns but more seasonal offerings like asparagus and strawberries, more people cooking at home, with time on their hands and families around. And a renewed appreciation for fresh, local produce and other staples—farm-to-table made real, not just a cliche. Meet the people who grow the food.
We may be in a new moment. Alice Waters and Michael Pollan are getting renewed attention, advocating for sustainable agriculture and victory gardens, people planting home gardens in their back yards. "Yes, in my backyard” may mean a garden, not a dense, market-rate, sunlight-blocking apartment monolith, or nanny-unit.
And when, cross fingers, we get a different government in D.C., farmers’ markets will likely get the funding and support sustainable agriculture deserves.
Unfortunately, the Ecology Center, which manages the three Berkeley farmers' markets, is applying even more restrictive social distancing procedures than local supermarkets, their main competition, and perhaps driving shoppers away, hurting the vendors in the process. Although arguably their measures are well-intentioned, albeit nanny-state, their herding compulsion, pushing vendors and shoppers into bottlenecks and kettling pens, adding to exposure at close quarters, may be worrisome to already rattlled shoppers.
The Ecology Center now requires patrons to line up outside their markets, in addition to lines for individual vendors inside. The lines outside the Tuesday market on Adeline were prohibitively long. At the Downtown Saturday market, with the sidewalks blocked off with caution tape and only two exits and entrances, the line at Avalos Farms bent around into the main central walkway.
These lines are mimicking lines outside Berkeley Bowl but once inside the store, you wander freely, there are no more lines except for check-out.
There is a lack of science involved here by the Ecology Center. The outdoor markets are located, with fresh air and sunlight (often), in large open areas. We estimate the city block the Saturday market occupies is one tenth of a mile long, approximately 30,000 s.f., abutted by open space and sidewalks. Open-air markets are far safer, by definition, than indoor markets like the Berkeley Bowl, Safeway, or Trader Joe's. The Oregon St. Bowl, which occupies a former early Safeway, was expanded somewhat, but it’s approximately 5,000 s.f. The aisles were never designed with pandemics in mind, and can’t be accommodated now.
Two week ago, the Ecology Center posted a sign outside their stall at the Berkeley Market: "Remember, this is essential, not social, activity." Their attitude is anhedonic—the sign sums up their practice. Their website repeats the “essential” slogan, and further suggests you “limit your visit time” and “send only one family member if you can.”
Not exactly Retail 101.
Having been habitués of the Berkeley farmers’ markets for several years, we’ve seen how insular and controlling the Ecology Center people can be, including purging vendors who don't conform to their rules. One vendor was banished for weeks for selling scallions from a neighbor’s farm. Another popular stall, Latino vendors with good produce and homemade salsa, was banished permanently. Some years ago, the venerable African-American vendor selling potatoes from his garden was forbidden from selling the fruitcakes his wife baked—the corn syrup ingredient was verboten.
Two years ago, during the Paradise Fire, the Ecology Center closed the Saturday market because of smoke without consulting with vendors beforehand. It was the market before Thanksgiving, the most lucrative market of the year for vendors. Safeway and the Bowl did not close for a nano-second over smoke from the fires, even though customers walk outside to and from.
But where the Ecology Center might use their heft, with City of Berkeley officials, they’re wimps. They allowed the parking lot behind Old City Hall to be put off limits even on Sat., despite the fact that is was so convenient for seniors and people with mobility issues, or just in a rush. It’s now breathtakingly empty on Sat.--we often must park blocks away.
Is this the problem of the tail wagging the dog? The farmers and the shoppers are the market—the Ecology Center is the facilitator, except they’re falling down on the job. At a minimum, if the Ecology Center is to maintain ownership of farmers’ markets, using our public, taxpayer-funded streets, a process should be set up for community and vendor input.
We have been shopping every week at the Berkeley Farmers’ Markets for years, supplementing what we grow in our backyard garden, after being inspired by Michael Pollan’s writing and our environmental concerns.
Brokl knows first-hand the difficulties of trying to make a living from farming--he lived for the first years of his childhood on a farm in northerly Park Falls, Wis. Hand-pump outside for water, outhouse, wood stove for heat, one dairy cow, fields for potatoes and whatever else his parents could grow in the few frost-free months.
They failed at this, selling the farm I was often told for a “dollar an acre” and moving to the city.
Robert Brokl and Alfred Crofts have been shopping every week at the Berkely Farmers’ Markets for years, supplementing what they grow in their backyard garden, after being inspired by Michael Pollan’s writing and their environmental concerns.
Brokl knows first-hand the difficulties of trying to make a living from farming--he lived for the first years of his childhood on a farm in northerly Park Falls, Wis. Hand-pump outside for water, outhouse, wood stove for heat, one dairy cow, fields for potatoes and whatever else his parents could grow in the few frost-free months.
They failed at this, selling the farm I was often told for a “dollar an acre” and moving to the city.
This has been an especially bad week for Donald Trump. Multiple media reports have carefully cataloged his conflicting statements in response to the Coronavirus. He initially praised China’s and later charged them with withholding critical information. Twisting his Rubik’s Cube of blame he now blames the World Health Organization (WHO) of being too China-centric. Halting American funding of WHO during a raging pandemic is like torching a fire department’s trucks in the middle of an inferno. WHO rang the alarm as early as January 4 and declared the Coronavirus an international emergency at the end of the month. Tragically, the Trump administration ignored their warnings and rejected their diagnostic testing kit which has been used in dozens of countries.Trump repeatedly downplayed the severity of the Coronavirus dismissing it as a Democrat hoax claiming the number of infections would quickly disappear. His passivity has caused the death of thousands of Americans and left large numbers of doctors and nurses unprotected.
No amount of bobbing and weaving, screaming and insulting reporters detracts from Trump’s gross incompetence. He likened the virus to the flu which encouraged large gathering in churches and young people to frolic on Florida beaches. According to recent statistics, the U.S. had 80 deaths per million compared to four in South Korea and less than one in Taiwan. Meanwhile, Dr Strangelove Trump continues to promote Hydroxychloroquine as a cure. Yes, he does have a personal stake in the sales of the malaria drug. For more go to, http://callforsocialjustice.blogspot.com/
The Gulf has always been a mecca for poor migrant workers. The local Gulf “Brahmin” inhabitants have always eschewed blue collar jobs importing migrants to do the heavy lifting. Many migrants amassed substantial debts to recruiters and middlemen before arriving. Many are desperately short of food and money and are bitter their host countries treat them as an expendable underclass. Gulf States like Qatar and Saudi Arabia have fired tens of thousands of migrants and ordered a lockdown in overcrowded facilities raising fears of the widespread of the coronavirus. If the migrants are lucky enough to escape the virus they will certainly die of starvation. According to recent statistics released by the CIA, migrants make up more than 30% of Saudi Arabia’s 34 million citizens; more than 50% in Bahrain and Oman and in Kuwait foreigners outnumber citizens by two-thirds. In Qatar the number is a staggering nine to one. It is extremely short sighted to deny them support. A hasty exit would surely cause many of the Gulf States economies to collapse. Equally guilty are their countries of origin who have failed to airlift the migrants back home. In a show of contempt for poor migrants, a prominent Kuwaiti actress said on TV that they should be thrown out “into the desert.” It is appalling that the US,Britain and other western counties who have amassed $billions in arms sales to the Gulf States but show little concern for the welfare of migrant communities.
Janet Bridgers, President & Cofounder,Earth Alert,www.earthalert.org
Friday April 17, 2020 - 12:14:00 PM
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day. How ironic that this spring marks a big decrease in carbon emissions, due not to a great switch to renewable energy and energy efficiency, but to the global pandemic’s effect on reduced air traffic and other transportation.
Well, as a friend of mine once said, “they should have named this planet ‘Irony’.”
I’ve been banging the “Save the Earth” drum for 50 years and as a baby boomer, I had millions of contemporaries who marked the day. It was one of the general themes among the Woodstock Nation…save the planet, save the whales, wear tie-dye and buy organic at the co-op.
Those early years were a time of great environmental progress. The 70s saw enactment of the U.S.’s most significant environmental legislation—the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)—passed with bipartisan Congressional support and signed by Republican President Richard Nixon.
Of course, one hoped then that the movement would continue to grow. But progress reversed when President Reagan took office in 1980. With moves that symbolized his Administration’s attitudes, Reagan removed President Jimmy Carter’s solar panels from the White House roof and appointed James Watt as Secretary of the Interior, still considered to be the country’s most anti-environment Interior secretary ever.
Under Reagan, after an initial recession, the 80s became a decade of economic growth when the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased to 3.6% compared to 2.7% during the previous eight years. Released in 1987, the movie Wall Street— with its mantra “Greed is good”—summarized the one percent’s attitude.
Since then the rich have gotten richer and the U.S. middle class has eroded. And what has happened to the environmental movement? It’s facing some daunting odds. Yes, there’s been a great increase in implementation of renewable energy, now clearly more cost-effective than fossil-fuel generated energy. But the accompanying graph, as of 2017, doesn’t yet show any leveling of energy use.
Though bluer skies have been reported worldwide this spring, there is no victory in what is widely acknowledged to be a temporary result, just the sadness and worry to see so many affected so quickly and dramatically by a catastrophe of inexpressible breadth. But perhaps the effort to flatten the pandemic’s curve can also teach us to flatten the curve of carbon emissions. Perhaps the emphasis on staying home, and the time to enjoy the beauty of spring with family allows us to hit the “pause” button and reconsider our priorities. Perhaps we can then infect one another with a virus of greater consciousness and hope. Is there still room for hope? It was the only thing left at the bottom of Pandora’s box. There is always room for hope. The new normal that follows this pandemic could include an awareness of the health of our planet.
It is my hope that our pause will allow a rejuvenation for the action required to confront climate change. The time available to avert climate catastrophe is limited and experiencing one calamity might persuade us to avert another one.
I am strongly and unequivocally opposed to any dredging of the San Francisco Bay for oil companies or for any other reason. Dredging destroys the ecosystem that is dredged and stirs up toxic pollutants that had not been causing harm when they were underneath the bottom of the water. Dredging to allow more and larger oil tankers is especially egregious, as we should be moving away from polluting fossil fuels like oil for multiple reasons including human-caused climate change, not accommodating even more of them. We have already done a lot of environmental and ecological harm to the Bay with landfills, pollution, and other dredging. This proposed dredging would do even more harm and should not be approved!
The Army Corps of Engineers' proposal to dredge the Bay should not be allowed. The Corps is working hand-in-glove with Phillips 66, which has a refinery in Rodeo. The dredging would make it easier for the oil company to bring in deeper (thus larger) ships containing tar sands crude, an extremely heavy and dirty oil that requires additional fossil fuel use to break down into a usable state. In the likelihood of a spill, tar sands crude goes directly to the bottom of the Bay. The fact that it is almost entirely irretrievable is proven by its location at the bottom of the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, where a major leak occurred several years ago. We already have a huge problem on our hands with COVID-19, let's not set ourselves up for more heartbreak.
I am really outraged that interests from outside of our community would put us and our environment at risk for profit. The proposal to dredge our beautiful bay, majorly disrupting its fragile ecosystem, churning up mercury and lead from the bottom is bad enough. But to then create an endless parade of massive tar sands oil tankers, each one carrying a potential spill is absolutely unacceptable! The Bay Area should be leading in the move away from fossil fuels and plastic, not participating in its expansion. And we certainly should not be jeopardized the amazing San Francisco Bay which is central to our shared history and way of life! I call on everyone to join in fighting oil companies and the federal government who would steal our this iconic asset from us!
While the corona virus has focused much of the world on Europe and the United States, India promises to be the greatest victim of the disease. But other than a slick public relations campaign, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done little to confront the crisis. Indeed, a number of policy moves by Delhi have likely fed the spread of the dangerous virus.
When Modi announced a 21-day nationwide shutdown on March 24, he did so without any warning. Almost before the Prime Minister had finished talking, panicked city residents—mostly middle class—poured into the streets to stock up on food and medicines, almost certainly accelerating the spread of COVID-19.
The shutdown instantly made tens of millions of people jobless, setting many of them in motion toward their home villages. Since public transportation has been shut down, that involved journeys of over 300 miles. And because many villages are blocking outsiders, where migrants will get food and water is anyone’s guess.
Except for a few independent news sources, much of the chaos set off by the March 24 orders has gone unreported. Using a combination of financial pressure and outright censorship, Modi and his rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have silenced much of the media. Newspapers and broadcast outlets are finding that criticism of Modi or the BJP results in the loss of government advertising, a major source of revenue. Modi has also filed expensive and difficult to fight tax cases against opposition media outlets.
In the case of the corona virus, the government got the Supreme Court to order all media to “publish the official version” of the health crisis, which, in practice, has meant feel-good stories.
The success that the BJP has had in corralling India’s 17,000 newspapers, 100,000 magazines, and 178 television news channels has been sharply condemned by media organizations. Reporters Without Borders rates India a lowly 140 out of 180 countries on its freedom index.
Modi has led a high-profile campaign to create a regional response to the COVID-19 crisis. On March 15, Modi convened a teleconference of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to create a corona virus emergency fund and exchange medical information. On March 26, Modi expanded the effort to draw in the G-20, an international forum of wealthy governments and banks that includes the European Union.
But there is suspicion that Modi’s regional and international efforts have more to do with repairing his government’s reputation than confronting the health crisis.
Modi’s unilateral seizure of Jammu and Kashmir in violation of the Indian constitution—and subsequent crackdown on any and all opposition to the takeover—was widely condemned internationally. The recent move by the Modi government to redefine “citizenship” in a way that excludes Muslims has also been wide criticized. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Eights, Michelle Bachelet, called the law a violation of several international agreements that India is a party to.
There has been scant follow through with the SAARC or the G-20, and the government has done little at home. India’s public health system is fragile at the best of times, with only 0.5 hospital beds for every 1,000 people. In contrast, Italy has almost seven times that figure.
One important independent outlet reporting on the Covid-19 crisis has been Rural India Online, part of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a network of reporters and photojournalists who report on India’s rural dwellers who make up 70 percent of the population.
P.Sainath, PARI’s founder and editor—a winner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award and Amnesty International’s Global Award for Human Rights—is sharply critical of the Modi government’s actions, and PARI’s reporters have covered what the mainstream media has been intimidated from reporting: the massive number of poor who have taken to the roads to return home, cancer patients sleeping outside of hospitals in the hope of getting treatment, and day laborers who cannot afford to miss any work. One told PARI reporter Shraddha Agarwal, “Soap won’t save us if we die of hunger first.”
PARI reporters have also done a number of stories on India’s sanitation workers, few of whom have been provided with gloves or masks. “The government is saying clean hands constantly,” Mumbai sanitation worker Archana Chabuskwan told PARI reporter Ivoti Shinoli. “How do we do that?” Hand sanitizers are too expensive—Chabuskwan makes $2.63 cents a day—water supplies are iffy and social distancing is impossible. “We have to share a public toilet with hundreds of people.”
If sanitation workers do get sick—or, for that matter, any of Mumbai’s 20 million residents—they are in trouble. Government hospitals currently have 400 ventilators and 1,000 intensive care beds available for the entire city.
India’s health crisis is longstanding, and while the actions of the Modi government will almost certainly worsen the current crisis, for the past 30 years Indian governments—right and center—have cut back on health care and privatized much of the system. “We have one of the lowest health expenditures—barely 1.2 percent (as a share of the GDP) in the world,” writes Sainath. Almost a quarter of a million Indians die each year of tuberculosis and 100,000 children from diarrhea.
The US spends about 17 percent of its GDP on health.
According to Sainath, “Health expenditures across India today are possibly the fastest growing component of rural family debt.” A study by the Public Health Foundation of India found that in 2011-12 some 55 million people had been impoverished by health costs, 38 million by the cost of medicine alone.
That is what a substantial part of India’s 1.3 billion people face as COVID-19 ramps up, and they are unlikely to get much help from the BJP or Modi. When China finally went public with the dangers posed by the corona virus, India was convulsed with sectarian riots touched off by some of Modi’s cabinet members. Over 50 people were killed in New Delhi and hundreds injured as rightwing mobs organized by the Rashtyria Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) rampaged through the streets.
The RSS—an organization that philosopher and political commentator Aijaz Ahmad describes as the “oldest, largest and most successful far-right group in the world today”—is the real power behind Modi. The BJP is largely a front for the RSS, a Hindu fundamentalist organization that is “profoundly hierarchical and secretive,” according to Ahmed.
The top-down, no warning decree on the corona virus is typical of the way the RSS functions. In 2016—again, with no warning—Modi unilaterally canceled all 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, throwing the country into currency chaos and further impoverishing large numbers of poor Indians.
The RSS’s major goal is the creation of a Hindu-centered state, and it is not shy about using violence to do that, either of the mob variety, or by assassination. Gunmen have killed several prominent opponents of the RSS over the past several years, killings that have never been solved.
The focus on religion has skewed the government’s priorities. The chief minister of India’s most populous state, Utter Pradesh, spent $91 million to build a huge statue of the god Ram, while short changing emergency medical facilities.
With much of India’s mainstream press either co-opted or cowed, it is alternative sources like the People’s Archive of Rural India that has picked up the slack and reported what is happening to the vast majority of Indians that live outside the huge metropolises, as well as what slum dwellers and city sanitation workers are facing.
So far, Modi and the RSS have avoided having to answer for the increase in violence and the social priorities that have widened the gap between rich and poor. But COVID-19 may change that.
The PARI has put forth a series of demands to address the current crisis, including the immediate distribution of surplus grains, a shift from cash crops to food crops, and the nationalization of private medical facilities nationwide.
The COVID-19 crisis is the third disease to go pandemic since the great 1918-20 flu, which may have killed up to 100 million people. But climate change is producing conditions that favor the growth of diseases like the corona virus and vector-driven pathogens like dengue and malaria. The next pandemic is just around the corner, and unless there is a concentrated effort to make health care a human right, it is only a matter to time before the next mega-killer strikes.
Conn Hallinan can be read at dispatchesfromtheedgeblog.wordpress.com and middleempireseries.wordpress.com
On April 14, California Governor Gavin Newsom detailed what will be required before the Golden State can begin to open up, shake off the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Newsom's grim assessment stands in marked contrast to the position of Donald Trump.
Newsom presented a six-part plan that will enable California's leaders to determine when to begin to "dial back" the current stay-at-home order:
The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating, and supporting those who are positive or exposed;
The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19;
The ability of the hospital and health systems to handle surges;
The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the demand;
The ability for businesses, schools, and child care facilities to support physical distancing; and
The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures, such as the stay-at-home orders, if necessary.
1.Testing: Throughout the United States, approximately 1 percent of the population has been tested -- 3.4 million. California has only tested 227,600 -- .5 percent. Newsom points out the obvious: we need to do more testing. Two questions need to be examined: "How prepared is California to test everyone who is symptomatic?" and, "Does California have the ability to identify contacts of those who are positive to reduce further transmission?" (Of the 28,156 California COVID-19 cases, 10,146 are in Los Angeles County; where, so far, testing has been inadequate.)
2. Protecting the most vulnerable: In California, the coronavirus has struck all sectors of the community. Seniors and "special circumstances" populations are particularly vulnerable. Newsom pointed out two obvious questions that need to be examined before we modify the stay-at-home order: "Are older Californians and the medically vulnerable living in their own homes supported so they can continue appropriate physical distancing? and, Has California developed a plan to quickly identify and contain outbreaks in facilities housing older Californians, those living with disabilities, those currently incarcerated, and those with co-morbidities? " Obviously adequate testing is a pre-requisite. But so is additional financial support for older Californians.
3. Strengthening hospitals and health systems: California's hospitals/health systems are barely covering our current caseload -- 25,833 active cases; there's a statewide shortage of masks and PPE (personal protective equipment). Newsom wants to address these shortages to make sure California has the capacity to deal with a sudden influx of coronavirus cases. "Do we have adequate bed capacity, staff and supplies such as ventilators and masks? Can our healthcare system adequately address COVID- 19 and other critical healthcare needs?" It's estimated that California is short several hundred million masks. Recently Newsom signed a deal to procure millions of masks each month. (https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2020/04/california-coronavirus-mask-shortage-solution-deal-newsom/ )
4. Developing Therapeutics: "Have we built a coalition of private, public, and academic partners to accelerate the development of therapeutics? Have we identified potential therapeutics that have shown promise?" When Governor Newsom speaks of therapeutics he means not only a COVID-19 vaccine but also the related antibody-blood test.
5. Strengthening the ability for businesses, schools, and child care facilities to support physical distancing: Newsom mentioned that the new California normal will likely include substantial social-distancing measures. "Have we worked with businesses to support physical distancing practices and introduced guidelines to provide health checks when employees or the general public enter the premises? Do we have supplies and equipment to keep the workforce and customers safe?" Once again, an important element of this is fast reliable testing.
6. Developing the ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures, such as the stay-at-home orders, if necessary: "Are we tracking the right data to provide us an early warning system? Do we have the ability to quickly communicate the need to reinstate these measures?"
Several things jump out from Newsom's presentation. The first is that we won't be ready to start reopening California until we have substantially more tests -- we've only tested 227,600. Newsom talked about ramping up testing to a level of "tens of thousands per day." In two weeks, he plans to report back on our progress reaching this goal. By May 1, the Golden State should have at least tested 1 million (2.5 percent).
By May 15, California should have received it's first big delivery of masks and PPE. If this happens, and testing has expanded -- to perhaps 10 million residents, this might be the time to begin reopening the Golden State.
The second thing Governor Newsom made clear, is that when California reopens things will look different as. For example, when we go to our favorite restaurant we'll be wearing masks and be tested at the door; the restaurant is likely to configure fewer tables and have disposable menus.
The third thing that Gavin Newsom made clear is that he is an authentic leader. Watching the April 14th Newsom speech was to be reminded how inadequate Donald Trump is. Newsom was calmly informative -- he spoke for about 30 minutes and then handed the microphone to the state's public health officer, Sonia Angell. It was impossible to imagine Trump giving a similar presentation.
Postscript: On April 17, Donald Trump presented his recovery "plan" (https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6840739/Guidelines-PDF.pdf ) and punted to the states: "You’re going to call your own shots,” Trump told U.S. governors, according to an audio recording provided to the New York Times. Trump acknowledged the importance of comprehensive testing but did not propose a national plan for rapid testing. In California, we'r fortunate to have a governor who has stepped into this leadership breach and prepared a real plan for recovery.
Bob Burnett is a Bay Area writer and activist. He can be reached at bburnett@sonic.net
April Fool's Day of 2020 marked 24 years since my most recent inpatient psychiatric hospital admission. The release was about two weeks after. When I got out, I had the nerve to solicit a marriage proposal from my girlfriend, Joanna Freeman. We moved in together, and I needed to have someone (my fiancé) help me, because I was not yet normal upon release. It was to take several months for me to find my way back to reality--following being reinstated on antipsychotics.
That's right, I have a schizophrenic diagnosis and have been out of the hospital and in recovery for twenty-four years. Some would think this is a great achievement. Even being schizophrenic and surviving to my age, alive and intact, considering the common early morbidity of mentally ill people, and the dangers of the other things I've been through, would be seen by many as a good accomplishment.
This achievement was reached in large part through medication compliance. It is not pleasant to take antipsychotics, but if you need them, not taking them is more unpleasant. (Antipsychotics have nasty side effects and should not be taken unless it has been determined you need them.)
I owe my wife, Joanna Bragen, a tremendous debt of gratitude for helping me to keep out of the hospital. Age is another factor. When a person with schizophrenia gets to later middle age (if they survive that long), it is believed by many that the illness often gets less severe.
Since being released, I've learned that life seems harder in some respects when I live within reality rather than being insulated by a layer of semi-delusion. Life is not easy. If life is easy for you, something is probably wrong with you. Sometimes there is a use for gallows humor.
In my past, I've been in life-threatening situations, in which I did not know that I would survive. I've lost some types of fear, and some types have become worse. And, I've been in ego threatening situations. In some instances, they were agonizing and/or humiliating. This is very different than a threat to your life. Fortunately, things in my life have stabilized since 1996. There have been fewer risky situations, and the ones there have been were caused by other people, not me.
Employment is too hard and that's why I've thrown in the towel on holding a regular job. Relationships are hard. Trying to make it as an author is hard, that is, if you have hopes of making any kind of money at it. I would be happy and consider it a mission accomplished if I could make 40K a year at it. I currently make less than 1K at it. These are tiny amounts of money.
When I am not insulated by a layer of delusion, many things become possible that were not possible when I was not tracking reality. Success is often a product of knowing what is required to meet a goal, and then producing it. How do you do that? Not easily.
My level of success includes that I've successfully kept a major mental illness in remission, I've stayed married for twenty-three years to the same person, and I am a widely published author--additionally, that I haven't allowed my psychiatric condition to cause my premature death, so far.
And now, I'm dealing with harder challenges, in which the expectations of others, or maybe the things needed to make my situation work, aren't reasonable to expect of a disabled person.
It is vital to maintain the body. If I am in a rough patch, I'm learning that if I pile on too much, regardless of whether I or someone else believe I should fulfill that, I have to protect my well-being, or I will reap dire consequences. In some instances, things may not get done. Yet, if I allow excessive stress, my well-being could snap like a twig.
Trump claims that he, not the state governors, have the ultimate authority to reopen the American economy. Actually, he is wrong. The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Here we have a president who ignored warnings by prominent health care officials and scientists that a COVID-19 epidemic/pandemic was likely. Finally, Trump did issue a Declaration of National Emergency but refused to issue a nationwide shelter-in-place order, saying that it was up to the 50 individual states to deal with the pandemic.
Trump took no leadership role in ensuring nationwide testing, and did not take charge of securing and distributing masks, personal protective equipment, or other necessary equipment. Instead, he holds daily briefing full of disinformation and misinformation. How many lives were needlessly lost by Trump’s failure of leadership?
States like California stepped in with quick, decisive action, while others were very slow to act. Eight states still do not have statewide shelter-in-place orders.
Now with the economy in shambles, he blames others, including China and the World Health Organization for his own shortcomings.
Now Trump wants to look presidential by taking charge by reopening the economy. The danger is that he will make a political decision, rather than a scientifically-based one, which could lead to a resurgence of the epidemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said on April 15 that the U.S. does not yet have the critical testing and tracing procedures needed to begin reopening the nation’s economy, adding a cautionary note to Trump’s optimistic projections.
In short, we are experiencing a colossal failure of leadership.
One wonders how a Bible-thumping, Hetero-Christian evangelist would react to this news: Scientists have discovered that the Creator has created a thriving community of animals that are bilateral gynandromorphs. Or, in layman's terms: bisexual!
From Texas to Pennsylvania, birdwatchers have been bewitched by sightings of Northern Cardinals whose feathered forms are, as LiveScience describes them, "divided down the middle like a winged black-and-white-cookie"—but, in this case, a manly scarlet on one side and a lady-like taupe on the other.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology researchers assured the National Geographicthat these "half-siders" are not just a cardinal rule: they exist in many species of birds, crustaceans and butterflies. (Yes, there are bisexual crabs in Chesapeake Bay.)
Gynandromophism is not just a superficial divide. As Virginia Institute of Marine Science geneticist Kimberly Reese explained to the New York Times, the bird's brain would also be "half male" and "half female." These birds have been seen to court but, with only a half-brain, the birds lack the male's ability to sing. On the other hand, the bisexual budgies could still produce an egg, as long as the bird's "left ovary" remains functional.
More Weird Bird News
The previous item came my way courtesy of NPR's Bird Note broadcasts. Here are two more.
Pigeons: Pigeons live in a different time zone! Evolution has helped pigeons avoid predators and spot tasty insects by endowing them with brains that move several times faster than a mammal's brain. As a Bird Note broadcast explains: a Big Screen car chase that would leave a human audience overwhelmed, would bore a bird. To a pigeon, the famous chase scene from Bullitt would look "more like a slideshow or a PowerPoint."
If you think standing in line outside Trader Joe's tries your patience, be thankful you're not a pigeon. For you, it's a ten-minute wait. For a pigeon, it could seem like an hour.
Seagulls: Seagulls slake their thirst with seawater and excrete the salt through their eyes! Like other oceanic birdlife, seagulls don't enjoy the luxury of fresh lake water, so their skulls have evolved to include "a pair of grooves" that channel their highly salinated blood to "salt glands" located above their eyes. The glands cleanse the blood and the concentrated salt is then excreted through the nostrils and runs back down the bird's beak.
The next time you see a seagull, watch when it shakes its beak and look for the droplets of saltwater being flung back into the ocean.
Contretemps at the Checkout Counter
An exchange overheard at the Walgreens in North Berkeley. A customer who had picked up a bottle of White-out was disputing the $2.99 price that was appeared on the cash register.
"The sign said '50% off'!" he protested. "I was expecting to pay $1.50."
"No," said the clerk. "Fifty percent off means if you buy two you get one free!"
"You mean, if I go back and pick up a second bottle, I get the second bottle free? That would be 50% off!"
"No,' said the clerk. "If you pay for two bottles, you get a third one free!"
"But that would only be 33% off!" the customer objected.
"Well, I don't set the prices," the clerk shrugged.
"Look, this is a seven-ounce bottle! That's 43 cents an ounce!" the customer bristled. "This is white-out, not cologne!"
"That will be $3.37 with tax," said the clerk.
Why Do Pandemic-Emptied Streets Lead to More High-Speed Crashes?
Police have been reporting increasing numbers of road accidents caused by speeding. Why so? Here's a two-part theory. (1) With fewer cars on the road, the remaining vehicles simply move faster (2) the mere sight of an open road expanding up ahead with no cars in sight incites a subconscious desire to hit the gas.
And what is the source for this seemingly irresistible desire?
Theory 3: subliminal reinforcement caused by watching endless car ads on TV. Have you noticed? These all involve scenes of a single automobile racing at high speeds down a traffic-free desert highway or curling around a mountain road with nary another vehicle in sight.
A good way to discover a nation's shortcomings is to see what imagery crops up in its mass-advertising campaigns. Cars used to be marketed using sexual messaging appealing mainly to men. Today, the subliminal message is: "cars grant freedom and independence." And that explains why we have a vehicle known as the Ford Escape.
Department of Lame Spam Mail
"You're account is unpaid. Your service is about to be shut off." That's the universal template for a common spam attack. Usually these spans are easy to spot. Sometimes, it's just too easy.
Case in point: I recently noticed an email message from "Warning ." The subject line read: "CONGRATULATIONS: Your Earthlink Account Has Been Disabled." (That was a sure sign that the note was contrived by a non-English speaker.)
The flawed flim-flam proceeded to make various threats of dire consequences if I failed to pay "Our Last And Final Notice." That was the second tip-off in this failed fleece: Every word in the seven-paragraph letter was uppercased—not just the nouns and verbs but every conjunction and participle as well. In the world of spaming, that counts as a capital offense.
Conned by Condescension?
Another email annoyance: uninvited political solicitations that rely on overblown "lures" and "hooks" in subject lines. Examples: "URGENT," "SHOCKING," "HORRIBLE NEWS," and "We need you to sign this."
And increasingly, desperate online solicitors appear to be resorting to personal shaming to gain attention. A group called Stop Republicans, recently fired off a message from "LISTEN TO PRESIDENT OBAMA" with this finger-pointing, judgmental Subject Line: "Barack Obama is so disappointed in you, Gar."
What had I done to distress Barack? I'd failed to sign Stop Republican's petition in support of mail-in ballots for the November election.
At least Stop Republicans had some good talking points: "Three states (Oregon, Washington, and Colorado) conduct EVERY election by mail!" and "Voting by mail brings an END to long lines, crowded polling places, and chaotic election-day issues. Republican voter suppression can’t affect the mail!"
If you'd like to sign a Vote-by-Mail petition that doesn't require that you make a financial donation, here's a link to an Action Network petition that asks state governments to authorize vote-by-mail ballots for the November election.
A Unifying, All-American Campaign: Don't Let Trump Destroy the Post Office
With Elizabeth Warren out of the presidential race and Bernie Sanders endorsing Joe Biden—but gamely soldiering on in hopes of winning at least 25% of the primary votes and thereby improving his leverage on "greening" the Democrats 2020 campaign platform—it's time to look for new avenues to secure popular support. Clearly, the pandemic has exposed the failure of America's employer-based, privatized healthcare system (prompting loud cries of "Medicare For All!") but there's another campaign that could really rally and galvanize both the progressive electorate and conservative voters alike. The slogan for this new boundary-breaching campaign is simple: Save The Post Office!
There is only one institution in this nation that enjoys levels of affection and loyalty that's on par with the military and that's the US Post Office. Actually, given the growing calls to end "forever wars" and curtail wasteful, unaudited, and constantly increasing Pentagon spending, it could be argued that the Post Office outranks the Military as America's most beloved governmental institution. Not everyone likes the Military Industrial Complex but everybody loves the Post Office.
And yet, Donald Trump is determined to destroy it.
Republicans have worked for years to cripple the USPS—in hopes of privatizing the Constitutionally enshrined services of America's postal carriers. Unlike any other government service, the USPS has been required to "pre-pay" its employees retirement funds decades into the future. And now, the Covid-19 pandemic has cut further into USPS revenues.
But the biggest threat is Trump. Resident Trump (not a typo) has ordered cuts in the USPS budget. He opposed granting additional support to the USPS in the multi-trillion-dollar Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
It's no mystery why Trump wants to kill the USPS. With the Democrats calling for national voting-by-mail, Trump has openly confessed (on Fox News, no less) that allowing more people to vote in November's presidential election would virtually assure that "You'd never have a Republican elected in this country again.”
So, Joe? Let's make this a keynote campaign issue: "Save the Post Office! Vote by Mail! Protect Democracy!"
But we've got no time to lose. If the Dems fail to get funding for the USPS into the next bailout bill—or, if Trump and his GOP enablers block it in the Senate—many are predicting that this cherished 228-year-old institution could run out of money by this June. If this happens, even if every state in the Union approved Vote-by-Mail legislation, there wouldn't be an army of "trusted couriers" to deliver the ballots.
Do it for Ben Franklin; Do it for John Prine, "The Singing Mailman"; Do it for Mr. McFeely.
Did You Hear This One?
While Democratic congressmembers were busy trying to include an "independent oversight" provision in the massive pandemic relief bill, a last-minute addition to the 880-page bill was mysteriously inserted to ensure what the Daily Kos called "another end-run around oversight and accountability." The stealth amendment applied to the Federal Reserve's $450 corporate bailout bill and allowed the Fed to craft it's billion-dollar bailouts in secret, exempting the Fed from "its long-standing rule that it has to give at least one day's notice before it meets to decide who's getting billions in taxpayer dollars and from having to keep records about these decisions."
Politico noted that it was unclear who was behind the last-minute change that exempted the Fed from oversight but suggested the culprits might have been "sympathetic senators" working to advance Trump's agenda. The Daily Kos went a bit further, suggesting that the interlopers were most likely the same "McConnell Republicans who tried to railroad through $500 billion in giveaways to corporations while tossing $1,200 in one-time cash payments to the plebes."
AOC Is AOK!
Mess with Miss Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at your own risk. That's a lesson Fox News henchwoman and commentator Laura Ingraham was offered after she attacked AOC for linking disproportionate COVID-19 deaths of low-income Americans to racial injustice and social inequality. Ingraham, brandishing a weapon from Trump's toolbox, tossed an insult at the Democrat Congressmember, dismissing the former working-class bartender as "The Doctor of Mixology."
Instead of responding with a slur, AOC responded with historical fact, tweeting:
"Didn't you just put a doctor on your show who faked their employment at Lenox Hill hospital and touted a COVID 'treatment' that you tweeted & Twitter had to remove because a many may have died trying to self-administer it?
I'm sorry, why are you on TV again?"
Save the Appalachian Trail
Ever since the 2,200 mile-long Appalachian Trail was completed in the 1930s, it has become a landmark, a national treasure, and a bucket-list item for American hikers. But now the pro-oil/pollution-for-profit Trump administration wants to bisect the trail with an oil pipeline. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would constitute a monumental environmental insult and the Democratic Conservation Alliance is one of the groups trying to stop it. Here's a link to the DCA's petition.
Bowled Over by Bold Assertions
On April 15, a political committee called Bold Democrats sent out an alarming message that stated: "House Republicans just tried to CONDEMN House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff. All because Schiff led the fight to impeach Trump! They’re terrified of him! But if Democrats ABANDON Adam, Trump could force him to resign! So we need 3O,OOO strong Democrats to sign on by tomorrow to stand with Adam Schiff! If you’re a good Democrat, you’ll sign now."
If you're a good Democrat, you might want to do a little research. Fact: A president cannot "force" a member of Congress to resign. In addition, I could find no evidence that Schiff is in any imminent danger. Trump has called for the Schiff to resign for "lying to Congress," but that was way back in September 2019 when the California Democrat was chairing the House hearings that lead to Trump's impeachment. As a good Democrat might put it, Bold Democrats are guilty of spreading a Bold-faced fib.
Press Tiring of Trump's Not-so-brief Briefings
The Daily Kos and more than a dozen activist organizations have endorsed a petition calling on America's news networks to stop live broadcasts of Donald Trump’s so-called "coronavirus press briefings." Several network television hosts (including MSNBC’s Chris Hayes and CNN’s Don Lemon) have joined the call to cease live-streaming of Trump’s self-promotional grandstanding.
In addition to his bluster and boasting, Trump often contradicts himself in the course of the event and, even worse, proffers misinformation that is not only wrong but potentially life-threatening. Trump’s dangerous falsehoods include claims that chloroquine—a drug used to treat malaria—had been approved by the FDA to treat COVID-19 (which was untrue and reportedly resulted in several deaths. Trump also suggested that shortages of protective gear was the result of hospital employees stealing medical supplies. And he continues to deny there were any advance warnings about the rising dangers of a spreading pandemic.
Trump Battles Reporters, Not the Pandemic
The release of a series of "Red Dawn" emails that circulated in the White House, reveal how determined Trump was to ignore the warning signs of imminent disaster.
CNN's Jake Tapper delivered an editorial in which he noted: "Trump is taking questions from reporters nearly every day, but that does not mean he's answering them."
Trump Now Attacking Fox News?
Fox & Friends has been Trump’s go-to place for ego-stroking since before the beginning. If he’s lost them, he’s really lost it. Well, guess what . . . .
Trump recently took offense at some criticism from Fox New's Chris Wallace, calling the son of famed TV newsman Mike Wallace, a "Mike Wallace wannabe" who was "even worse than Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Meet the Press . . . or the people over at Deface the Nation."
This prompted Jedediah Bila, weekend host of Fox & Friends to reply: "Enough with the 3rd grade name-calling. . . . Seriously. Enough."
As Daily Kos commentator Dan K put it: "When Fox starts admitting what everyone has always known, the bovine byproduct is definitely on a fanward trajectory."
Midnight in Washington
This short but powerful video from Eleven Films is close to scoring 10 million views.
Saturday, April 18 - Virtual Town Hall, 12 – 1 pm, Live stream onjessearreguin.com
submit questions ahead of time using this form by 9am on Saturday.
Tuesday, April 21 – City Council Regular meeting is at 6 pm,
Thursday, April 23 – Fair Campaign Practices Commission meets at 7 pm via teleconference
The agenda for the April 28 City Council meeting is available for comment and follows the daily list of meetings. The agenda includes 7. opting up residential and commercial customers to Brilliant 100 and Municipal accounts to Renewable 100.
Dashboards for Tracking the Incidence and Trends of COVID-19
The Worldometer dashboard gives totals for “today” and “yesterday” and includes incidence by population making comparisons by country and states possible. The dashboard clock is set to GMT+0, which translates to 5 pm California Time. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
COVID-19 Compiler provides a map of the US with every county outlined. To view the incidence of COVID-19 by county just click on the county. https://covid19.topos.com
Sunday, April 19, 2020
No City meetings or events found
Monday, April 20, 2020
No City meetings or events found
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
LATE ENTRY – Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board, 3:15 pm, meeting announced, but no agenda available teleconference/videoconference information to be posted Monday, April 20, 2020, go to website for details
http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/
Berkeley City Council, Note there are different teleconference and videoconference numbers for the closed session and the regular session. Videoconference: If you do not wish for your name to appear on the screen, use the drop down menu and click on “rename” and rename yourself to be anonymous use the “raise your hand” and wait to be recognized to comment Teleconference: to comment press *9 and wait to be recognized, you will hear your phone number when recognized
LIVE AUDIO: KPFB 89.3, LIVE CAPTIONED BROADCAST: Cable B-TV (Channel 33) for the full agenda use the link
Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID 964 5002 9566, Agenda: 1. 295 University Negotiating Parties City of Berkeley (Dee Williams-Ridley, Paul Buddenhagen, Scott Ferris) and YOONACO dba Hana Japan, 2. Conference with Legal Council – Pending Litigation, Harris v. City of Berkeley, RG HG19025563
Teleconference: 1-669-9009128 Meeting ID 257 156 624
Agenda: CONSENT: 1. Adopt Resolution Ratifying COVID-19 Local Emergency, 2. Bid Solicitations and RFP, 3. On-Call Landscape Architectural Services for Capital Improvement Projects, 4. FY 2021 Street Lighting Assessments, 5. Letter to Assemblymember Wicks supporting AB 1851eliminating parking requirements on faith-based properties for density bonus qualifying housing development projects, ACTION: 6. Public Hearing to grant Franchise Agreement Amendment for Electric Bike Share Program with Bay Area Motivate, LLC, a subsidiary of Lyft, A. Resolution Oppose Alameda County Sheriff Proposal for additional $85,000,000 for Santa Rita Jail, B. Establish Moratorium on Enforcements of BMC 14.48 Ordinance 3x3 regulation, Encampment Evictions, Sweeps, RV Parking and towing/ticketing/impounding of vehicles used for shelter during COVID-19 Pandemic, 7. Adopt Resolution to upgrade residential and commercial customers to a 100% GHG-Free Electricity Plan (Brilliant 100) and to upgrade Municipal accounts to 100% Renewable (Renewable 100), 8. Urgency Ordinance 1. Limit Commercial Rent Increases to 10% thru and 6 months after emergency declaration, 2. Send Correspondence to District DA and authorize City Attorney to take action against any violator who seeks rent increase that has the effect to evict any commercial tenant.
Open Government & Fair Campaign Practices Commission, 7 pm, Teleconference: 213-279-1690 Meeting ID 783454379, Agenda: 3. Public Comment non-agenda items, 7. Negotiated stipulation with Lacey for 2018, Amendments to Election Reform Act, 9. Officeholder accounts, 10. Presentation 2020 Census, 11. FCPC 2020-2021 Work Plan, 13. Lobbying registration and reporting, 14. D-13 accounts and nonprofit donations, 15. Open Government 2020-2021 Work Plan
April 28 Agenda: CONSENT: 1. 2nd reading Amendment to FY 2020 Annual Appropriations Ordinance $28,565,263 (gross) $15,378,568, 2. 2nd reading lease agreement with 200 Marina Blvd LLC, Doubletree Hotel 60-year term 5/14/2020 – 12/31/2080, capital contribution from 200 Marina LLC to Marina Street improvements, 3. Zoning Ordinance Amendment for Family Daycare Homes to comply with Senate Bill 234, 4. 2nd reading Amend Tenant Screening to prohibit fees to existing tenants and lease terminations, 5. Approve 5/10/2020 minutes, 6. Ordinance to establish Citizen Redistricting Commission rules and procedures will convene in Fall in response to 2020 Census results, 7. Formal Bid solicitations, RFP Sanitary Sewer Rehab Project, 8. Contract $32,160/yr for FY21 with City Data Services and authorization to extend for additional 3 years (FY21+FY22+FY23+FY24=$128,640), 9. Amend and extend Contract add $117,000 total $217,000with Youth Spirit Artworks for Transition Age Youth Case Management, Linkage Services and Tiny House Case Management, 10. Contract $500,000 with ENGEO for testing and inspection services for Tuolumne Camp Construction project 5/1/2020 – 7/1/2022, 11. Contract $556,292 (includes 10% contingency) with Andres Construction for Sanitary Sewer Rehab at West Frontage Road, 12. Contracts 1. Add $1,000,000 total $1,500,000 and extend to 6/30/2022 with LCC Engineering & Surveying Inc for on-call civil engineering, 2. Add $1,000,000 total $2,500,000 and extend to 6/30/2022 with Pavement Engineering In for on-call engineering services, 13. Approve Proposed Projects anticipated to be paid for by State Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) for FY 2021, 14. Fill Vacancy with appointment of Mr. Carlos Hill (District 1) on Human Welfare and Community Action Commission,
ACTION: 15. Public Hearing Redesign and Rezone of Rose Garden Inn at 2740 and 2744 Telegraph and 2348 Ward, 16. Public Hearing Submission of 2020-2025 Consolidated Plan Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME), allocate 85% of Program Year (PY20) to Housing Trust Fund, 5% to Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) and 10% Program Administration and authorize City Manager to submit Plan to HUD, 17. Discussion and Direction to City Manager regarding community survey for Nov 3, 2020 Ballot Measures,
18. Charter Amendment on Nov 3, 2020 Ballot changing Mayor and Councilmembers to full-time status with salary increase, 19. Prepare City Ballot Measure to Create a Climate Action Fund to become fossil free – response to Climate Action Plan and Climate Emergency, 20. Ballot Measure to introduce Term Limits 3 – 4 year terms or twelve years with required 2-year hiatus in order to serve additional terms for Mayor and City Councilmembers, INFORMATION REPORTS: 15. Mid-Year Budget Update, 16. Eight Previous Referrals to Planning Dept Which Can Be Tracked as Fulfilled,
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Public Hearings Scheduled – Land Use Appeals
1533 Beverly (single family dwelling) 6/2/2020
0 Euclid – Berryman Reservoir TBD
Remanded to ZAB or LPC With 90-Day Deadline
1155-73 Hearst (develop 2 parcels) – referred back to City Council – to be scheduled
Notice of Decision (NOD) With End of Appeal Period
