On January 4, 2023, long-standing Berkeley resident Mel Martynn died unexpectedly after suffering a stroke. Not only was Mel an outstanding resident of Berkeley, he was also an outstanding resident of Savo Island Cooperatives Homes, Inc. and I had the pleasure of living next door to him for several decades.  

Mel’s professional achievements were many. For instance as a teacher here, taught thousands of both children and adults while employed by the Berkeley Unified School District – working there right up until his dying day. It is his personal achievements, however, that will cause all of us who knew him to miss him so very much. Mel was a kind, giving and idealistic man. 

Everyone here at Savo Island remembers him as our board President for over two decades, conducting board meetings with fairness and patience. In addition, every month, rain or shine, he would deliver meeting notices to each of our doors -- and he always had a kind word to say for each and every resident. 

I first met Mel when I moved in next door to him back in 1979. He was the perfect neighbor! Kind, considerate and always helpful, he took his two sons, Dan and Erik, my children (and all of Savo’s other children too) ice skating at what is now the wonderful Sports Basement, and he also took them on field trips to parks, swimming pools and baseball games. Even my cranky cat liked Mel! Almost everyone here at Savo loved and respected him. Good grief, we will miss Mel Martynn. 

Something else that many people didn’t know about Mel was that he was also a journalist. “Hey, Jane,” he would say, “Here’s my latest column in the Berkeley Times.” In his column for the Times, Mel reviewed books, movies, symphony performances and any other media events that caught his eye.  

Todd Kerr, editor of the Berkeley Times, has this to say about Mel: “From 2014 until his death, Mel Martynn was a regular contributor to Berkeley Times. His column was titled Mel on Media. His articles examined all sorts of media and his laser focus was on how each bit related to some current event. Each column was an opportunity for Mel to reflect on recent history, especially politics and union organizing, and display his amazing knowledge of our times and compassion for the common person.” Mel also wrote for the Berkeley Daily Planet. 

Councilman Ben Bartlett and Rent Stabilization Board member James Chang are now working on issuing a Proclamation in honor of Mel’s life of service. So far, here are just some of the professional achievements that were his: 

Area Vice President for the Berkeley Federation of Teachers 

Adult Education Committee representing the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers. "The Adult Education Committee advocates for those CFT members involved in adult education, participates in state, federal, and organizational initiatives advancing their status and promotes access to high-quality adult education." 

ESL teacher at the Berkeley Adult School 

President of Savo Island Cooperative Homes, Inc. for over two decades including supervision of the apartment complex's 2012 total re-hab project. 

Represented the Berkeley Unified School District on the César Chávez Dolores Huerta Commemorative Committee 

Columnist, Berkeley Daily Planet 

Columnist, Berkeley Times 

Represented south Berkeley residents on the City of Berkeley's South Shattuck Strategic Plan committee 

Member, California Federation of Teachers’ Labor in the Schools Committee 

World traveler, visiting countries all over the globe 

Teacher, Emerson School, Berkeley Unified School District 

Staff member of the Public Affairs Department, Radio Station KPFA 

Attended St. Josephs College High School in Philadelphia PA 

Member, Berkeley Citizens Action 

It has begun. The race for the California State Senate seat is on. Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin will be filling out his dance card in his run for State Senate. Nancy Skinner is termed out. https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Candidates/list.aspx?view=intention&electNav=124

Some rumors have State Senator Nancy Skinner coming back to Berkeley to run for mayor with the rumored reason being her retirement income isn’t enough. The other rumor is that Skinner and Arreguin will be endorsing each other to change places. I hear second hand Berkeley Councilmember Sophie Hahn also has her eyes on running for mayor.

Barbara Lee seems to be falling for the lure of running for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat; we can expect a feeding frenzy for Lee’s House seat. I hope Lee comes to her senses and finishes out her career in the House rather than going down with a loss in a statewide race and leaving us with a list of unsatisfactory choices to fill her shoes in Congress. Nancy Pelosi endorsed Adam Schiff, but I am hearing from friends that they are supporting Katie Porter. Even my out-of-state sister wanted to talk this week about how great Katie Porter would be as a California Senator.

Age keeps coming into the picture with President Biden, who is now 80. (I do support a second Biden term, though after reading Amy Klobucher’s book Antitrust I wish she was VP). Barbara Lee is 76. Adam Schiff is 62. Katie Porter is 49.

This is going to be an interesting year of musical chairs as we move to the March 2024 California primary.

I have long speculated that Arreguin’s actions revolved around his next career move. Since the holders of the money to fill the dance card weigh heavily in the real estate industry (including developers/builders/construction), should we expect more compromising sounding language from the dais that does nothing in order not to offend those campaign contributors? 

There was a lot of writing from the dais by Arreguin on the appeal of 2065 Kittredge by the union workers at the last City Council meeting. In the end all that language, all those flowery sounding amendments for working and hiring conditions got them nothing. The project developer, Bill Shrader, with owners incorporated as CA Student Living Berkeley, LLC of the international Student-Living – CA Ventures, walked away with the only requirement of turning in an affidavit of how many union workers and local workers within 10 miles actually worked at the job site when the building is finished. 

Arreguin’s Hard Hat ordinance about conditions and protections for workers, the center of the worker appeal, ended up as a referral to the city manager. A lot of what happens at the Berkeley City Council are referrals that leave the public believing something was actually accomplished, when it is just another line on someone’s or some commission’s referral list. 

The first test for Arreguin, now that his intent to run for State Senate is in the open, will be tomorrow, Tuesday evening, February 14k at the regular City Council meeting, as Agenda Item-13, Citywide Affordable Housing Requirements. The vote from January 17 on affordable housing has to be redone to correct the language. Will Arreguin go for the Taplin-Humbert proposal that gives even bigger discounts through expanded exemptions to the developers than the first round on the affordable housing in-lieu mitigation fee, or will Arreguin stand with Councilmember Harrison’s 13b. Revised Material and look out for Berkeley’s best interests, eliminating discounts and limiting exemptions? 

If you missed or forgot what happened with the first go around on changing the in-lieu fee to being calculated by square feet instead of counted by units, that was summarized in the January 22 Activist’s Diary https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2023-01-22/article/50158?headline=A-BERKELEY-ACTIVIST-S-DIARY-week-ending-Jan.-22-2023--Kelly-Hammargren 

In case you need a brush up on housing terms, “Housing Buzz Words Explained” can be found here: https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2023-01-22/article/50157?headline=Housing-Buzz-Words-Explained--Kelly-Hammargren 

At the Monday Community for a Cultural Civic Center (CCCC) meeting, Councilmember Kate Harrison informed the group that the results of the Civic Center survey were that the three top priorities for the Civic Center Park are biodiversity, daylighting the creek (restoring the creek to its natural state) and seating in the park. 

Thursday was the Civic Center update to the super commission subcommittee (Arts, Parks, Landmarks and Infrastructure). As all too usual for city meetings, the presentation and slides were not available to the commissioners in advance of the meeting, but they are posted now. https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Berkeley-Civic-Center-presentation-design-concepts-Feb2023_0.pdf 

The consultants have given up the promenade through the center of the park, but they are still holding on to bulb outs and other narrowing alterations to MLK Jr Way at the Civic Center. So far, they are ignoring that MLK Jr Way is an emergency evacuation route. The consultants were weakly open to daylighting the creek, and said they would save existing trees and develop a tree succession plan. 

Landmarks Commissioner Finacom’s long list of comments on the Maudelle Shirek Building included the comment that a new single use council chamber was deadly to gaining public support. Instead it should be a flexible multi-purpose room used by council and for other purposes. And, that with so many city and community activities needing meeting space, creating a public policy center as a new program with space should be a flat no. He also suggested adding a kitchen to make the building usable for events. 

Parks Commissioner Diehm supported Finacom’s comments and added that she understood that an application for a grant on exploring daylighting the creek had already been submitted. Commissioner Cox nixed the consultants’ suggestion of food trucks and said the city should be supporting local merchants. And while he liked the idea of an amphitheater, the topography is the opposite of a natural grade for an amphitheater. 

John Caner pushed a performance center with stage in the park. Wyndy KnoxCarr had questioned how the buildings would be managed. She was also glad to see that the playgrounds for children for younger and older children were together, no longer separated. 

When it came to my turn, I expressed my disappointment that there is not more about connecting the Civic Center to the downtown and expanding the potential for festival space into the downtown. I also commented that so often consultants have a misconception of biodiversity and think that bringing in plants from China and the Mediterranean make it a diverse setting, when what is needed to create and restore intact ecosystems is at least 70% native plants. I was surprised by the number of commenters who followed me on native plants. 

Lawrence Abbott challenged the consultants to reach out to the California Native Plant Society, stating that everything starts with the plants and if non-native plants are used they might as well be plastic, because insects can’t eat the nonnative plants and the entire ecosystem collapses. 

At the Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission on Wednesday, Planning Director Scott Ferris reported that the T1 funds were short $7 million to $8 million to complete the already approved projects. I asked what happened in the intervening eight days, when Ferris reported to City Council at the special 4 pm meeting on January 31, that the T1 funding gap was $3.2 million to $4.5 million. Ferris said rebuilding the African American Holistic Center made the difference. At the Council meeting Ferris reported that the cost of rebuilding, said to be needed because the proposed existing building is in such bad shape, would be maybe $1 million more than a remodel. 

There were many comments at the T1 special Council meeting that the City was not engaging with the African American community. It certainly appears that with a plan to tear down and rebuild this should be revisited. With this major change in the cost estimate of constructing rather than reuse remodeling, the African American Holistic Center faces more postponements. 

How the 2018 ballots Measure P’s funds for homeless services are being used was the subject of questioning at the Budget and Finance Committee by Councilmember Harrison. She started with asking how a sprinkler system in Old City Hall (Maudelle Shirek Building) fits into Measure P funds when the homeless are sheltered there for a very limited time of the year. Councilmember Kesarwani asked if there was a strategic plan (there isn’t) and what it costs to shelter a person and get a person into permanent housing. 

Everyone can feel better now that the Here/There homeless encampment on Adeline is closed. We don’t have to face the failures of our society as we drive by, and it looks better for the musical chairs mentioned earlier, but the real problem, exposed at the Budget and Finance Committee, is that no one representing the City of Berkeley administration who was present at the Budget meeting (including Dee Williams-Ridley, City Manager, Peter Radu, Assistant City Manager, Lisa Warhuus, Director of Health Housing and Community Services and Joshua Jacobs from Health, Housing and Community Services) seemed to have any idea of how many people are served with Measure P funds. 

The projected expenditures for FY 2023 Measure P funds are $25,482,864. As I called around to check if I was on the right track that there were no reports of persons placed and for how long, I learned that one of the first things approved by the Homeless Services Panel of Experts and approved by Council was spending P funds for housing families and children, but that the program was never implemented. 

The other piece missing is when homeless people are housed, how many end up back on the street without shelter and how soon that happens. 

Reading meeting agendas as I do for the Activist’s Calendar and attending as many city meetings as I can to report back to you, the Homeless Services Panel of Experts, which was supposed to oversee Measure P funds, seems to be a pass through for however the city administration has decided to allocate the funds. What I think we should all know is how many individuals were helped by the various programs, how many were moved off the street, how many were placed in housing and how many of those placed are still in housing at six months, one year, two years and five years. And when it comes to children, being homeless as a child is the path to being homeless as an adult. 

The Zoning Adjustment Board had only three items on the agenda, no big projects. They all passed on consent and the meeting ended at 7:41 pm. The big multi-unit projects including 2190 Shattuck, the 25 story project at the current Walgreens site, come this week to the Design Review Committee. 

The book finished this week was The Complete Guide to MEMORY: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind by Richard Restak, MD. It was filled with memory exercises and the recitation of brain science that didn’t strike my interest. I almost sent it back to the library unfinished, but kept reading in the hope that the book would get better and it did. 

In the last two chapters Restak veered off course from memory exercises into politics and the use of disinformation, misinformation and the corrosive effects of falsifications on individual and collective memory, even quoting George Orwell, “Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past.” 

Restak followed Orwell with comments on Russia and China and the drive to create a common vision of the past and future, to suppress alternative points of view and then moved on to the U.S. South, how history taught in school, then reported in the media, and how this embeds as true in memory.  

This brings us to what is going on right now in Florida to shutter access to books and classes on Black history. 

Sarah Huckabee Sanders dipped into the buzz words to stoke right/conservative fears and anxieties in her rebuttal to President Biden’s State of the Union address. She infused her speech with “critical race theory,” “WOKE fantasies,” “indoctrination,” “radical left,” and references to transgender persons with Democrats “can’t define a woman is” all while touting Republicans stand for freedom and normalcy against crazy. Crazy seemed to be a better definition of her own views and speech. Banning books, censuring classes, and taking away the right of women to control their own bodies doesn’t sound like freedom to me. 

My father used to quote Tip O’Neil: always tell the truth, then you don’t have to remember what you said yesterday. Telling the truth doesn’t seem to matter much anymore as new lies replace the old ones. The memory from yesterday is erased and filled with a new version today. 

Restak did not get into how the constant lying and replacing one story with another from “the former guy” fits into memory, but for improving memory he likened it to exercise. Stop depending on our devices and focus. His advice on alcohol is if you are still imbibing at 65, stop, which he followed with citing studies on the impact of alcohol on heart rate, irregular heart rhythms and blood pressure and finished with alcohol is toxic to the brain. 

RE: February 14, 2023, City Council Meeting Item 13

Dear Mayor Arreguin and City Council Members:


The Berkeley Neighborhoods Council is writing to support Item 13a, “updating the citywide Affordable
Housing Requirements in the Zoning Ordinance,” with the changes proposed by Councilmember Harrison
(Item 13b).

We are opposed to the changes proposed by Councilmembers Taplin and Humbert (Item 13c).
Offering developers the option to “fee-out” has led to us far exceeding our RHNA goals for market rate housing while sorely missing the mark on BMR units. We believe that the AHMF must be used to incentivize building BMR units into every project proposed in our city for us to maintain socioeconomic diversity in our city and to meet the high goals set by ABAG. Giving discounts to developers only encourages them to pay a fee that (even when leveraged with federal and state money) does not cover the cost of actually building BMR units.

The proposed Square Foot Ordinance is a start to closing loopholes that developers have used for decades to reduce the fees they pay, but still gives large discounts to developers. The Taplin-Humbert Supplemental only increases those discounts. Proponents of the Tamplin-Humpert amendment believe that it will create more missing middle housing. Unfortunately, what they fail to understand is that missing middle sized housing does not equal missing middle income. Just because the size of the project is between single family and a large apartment building doesn't mean it will be affordable to middle class
families. 

The Harrison Supplemental reduces the discounts given to developers, thus incentivizing them to build BMR units on site which builds more inclusive communities and minimizes the risks that solely low-income housing has incurred in the past. It also uses the findings of the study conducted by Street Level Advisors to prove it is a feasible plan. 

Please support the Harrison Supplemental which moves the needle in the right direction and reject the
Taplin-Humbert Supplemental which does the opposite. 

Sincerely, 

The BNC Executive Committee: 

Dean Metzger
Shirley Dean
Janis Ching
Meryl Siegal
David Ushijima
Paola Laverde
Willie Phillips

On Friday, February 10, eight prominent Iranian dissidents participated in a panel discussion organized in Washington DC at Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security. All eight joined in a call for unity, both in Iran and internationally, against the theocratic regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Nobel laureate and women’s rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, actress-activist Golshiftah Farahi, Iranian soccer-star Ali Karini, and Kurdish activist Abdullah Mohtadi all spoke via video from Iran; while present at Georgetown University were Canade-based activist Hamed Esmaellion, exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi, US-based author & women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad, and actress-activist Nazarin Bonladia. 

The group announced that that they are preparing a charter they hope to have ready by the end of February in which they lay out the principles of a nationwide referendum in Iran calling for an end to the Islamic Republic and the writing of a new, secular constitution. On Saturday, February 11, the regime marked the 44th anniversary of Iran’s 1979 revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeni to power. Current president Ebrahim Raisi addressed a crowd on Saturday in Tehran’s Azadi Square, though his televised speech was hacked on the internet by a group of protesters. 

Meanwhile, as I reported last week in these pages, prominent opposition figures such as ex-president Khatami and ex-prime minister Moussavi have denounced the regime. Likewise, many Iranians have denounced the token gesture of a “limited pardon” for arrested protesters issued by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This so-called pardon also came with a warning that if those pardoned were re-arrested they would face “dire consequences.” The regime has already executed at least four protesters; and it is reported that 537 protesters have been killed by security forces during the demonstrations. 

In spite of the regime’s brutal crackdown, plans are being made for continued protests. There are calls for mass demonstrations nationwide against the regime on Thursday, February 16.

It is widely known that if you receive Social Security and/or SSI, you are not allowed to earn much money before your benefits, essential for survival, are jeopardized. You can make up to eighty dollars in a month without any penalties, and without the requirement to report. Beyond that, you must report money you earn. Additionally, a history of working jeopardizes the criteria that, to government, proves disability. 

If you do what is expected of you, which often includes taking medication as prescribed, participating in therapy, and doing the hard work in your life to get well and get more mentally healthy, and if you show effort that you want to work and make something of yourself, you are not rewarded for this; you are the subject of scrutiny. In the government's viewpoint, if you are disabled, success is a crime. 

Doing what is overtly expected has consequences. The true expectation is very different, and it is absorbed through social osmosis. If you read between the lines, the script foisted on you is that you can and should do nothing constructive, that you should relapse periodically, and that your lifespan will be short. Additionally, drug activities are anticipated. All kinds of problems are expected, and they automatically go into your chart. If you don't fit the model of "good for nothing," it causes you to stand out. Success at something is not in the list of expectations. 

At age twenty-four, I was earning my living doing skilled and unskilled work. And I lived on my wages. I didn't collect SSI. And as a result, I was targeted. 

I was the victim of a premeditated assault. I was young and was not accustomed to the idea that men must be able to physically defend ourselves. It didn't matter to me that most men could "best" me in a fight--I just wasn't into that. If a situation called for it, I stood up to big men who could've easily made quick work of me--and I didn't care. 

The assault incident was very violent and left me injured and disrupted. Ultimately, the disruption was enough to derail me from working. My hold on working had been fragile enough that a physical attack like that could send me over the edge. 

It is a major feat to work if you are on medication and disabled. You can't pull it off without enough supports. And to have someone, apparently a drug dealer (I don't know--I haven't bought illicit drugs). He was probably hired by someone to do this, and it was enough to pull the rug out from under. 

I had been through worse when younger. I won't go into detail here, but I can tell you I've been in several life-threatening and terrifying situations. Those situations had often resulted later in full relapses into psychosis. Each time this happened, my resilience was chipped away to a little bit less. 

Many people who are severely mentally ill people can't hold a job and this is part of how mental illness, and a related disability are defined. That's why Social Security exists. 

Successful people are not admired--they are disliked. And the social services systems are set up to reward people for not trying. They want people to be passive consumers of medication, food, and television. They want to drive us around in a van and take us to all our various appointments. They want to feed us pizza, hot dogs, and baked beans, and give us a standard state-funded burial when we live to a ripe old age of 50. 

If you stand out as a success story, people come out of the woodwork who make attempts to shoot down your ideas of becoming something. In some instances, this merely consists of verbal harangues from counselors. In other instances, you invoke being singled out by government officials. Things in your chart that you have not been told of may be completely inaccurate and criminalizing. And if you honestly report what you earn rather than doing things "under the table" people use it against you. Whereas if they know you're keeping your efforts undocumented--I can't prove it--but it is likely they will look the other way. 

If I look at what fate has done to disabled people who've successfully worked and made a living, it is not promising. So, good luck to you, and always read between the lines. There is enough to look at that isn't being directly stated. 

---

 

Jack Bragen is a writer who lives in Martinez.

Don't Look Up: A Close Encounter

On January 26, a small near-Earth asteroid, called 2023 BU, zipped over the southern tip of South America about 2,200 miles above Earth's surface. While concerned scientists noted this distance was well within the high-Earth-orbit of many global satellites, NASA offered the reassuring news that there was no risk of the asteroid striking Earth. Still, it was a close call. I just checked my wall map and found the distance between 2023 BU and Earth's surface was less than the miles covered by a flight from San Francisco to Honolulu (2,394.72 miles).

General Mills "Loves" Nature

It's no secret that the processed snack conglomerate known as General Mills doses its treats with unhealthy amounts of sugar (typically the second-most-listed ingredient). But these days the processed-food giant wants to be seen as a "Green-ish" business. Hence, the improbable note on its "crunchy bars" that proclaims the snack bars' flimsy wraps are "recyclable" at various "store drop-off" locations.

Click on their "Recycle4Nature.com" website and Mills proclaims recycling its snack wrappers is "our first step toward making all of our packaging fully recyclable by 2025."

Mills' goes on to state: "Believe it or not, recycling polyethylene film is more than a sustainable, eco-friendly way to minimize our environmental footprint. That same material can also be turned into some pretty amazing things. Your contributions to store drop-off recycling can be turned into playground sets, decking, fencing, and furniture." (Note: Most city-run recycling operations don't accept plastic bags, film or wraps.)

The website's list of participating chains includes Safeway, Lucky, Sprouts, and Trader Joe's. According to the Recycle4Nature.com website, the closest drop-off-eco-depot is more than a mile's drive from our front porch; most drop-off destinations require driving 6-13 miles. The Safeway in the 1400 block of Shattuck is touted as having a "green bin in front by entrance" but a quick drive-by reveals there is no bin at this location. A Safeway in Lafayette invites participants to drop off "Product wrap on cases of water/soda bottles, paper towels, napkins, disposable cups, bathroom tissue, diapers, and female sanitary products" and follows up with a "Do Not Drop" list that specifically excludes "candy bar wrappers."

In the end, Gen. Mills' "4Nature" claim is undermined by a single statement at the bottom of the snack-wrapper that reads: "Contains Bioengineered Food Ingredients." 

Fashion Plates 

Personalized license plates spotted around town: 

Red Toyota: GLP1RAG (Gulp One Rag?) 

White Subaru Outback: MOMS7ER (Momster?) 

Blue Lexus: N8FURY7 (Nate Fury's Evan?) 

AI Is Taking Over and It's Got the Robots Dancing

ChatGPT can churn out original jokes and college-level essays in an instant. Say goodbye to journalists, poets, and novelists? DALL-E 2, WOMBO, and Craylon can generate mind-bendingly original graphics within seconds. Goodbye to painters, cartoonists, and photographers? 

It looks like the Dawn of a New Error. Humans are not only being laid off from manufacturers' inhuman assembly lines but living-breathing "creatives" now face a future that no longer needs them. At least this troubling news has got the robots dancing. 

Here's a video that had me tapping my toes — and scratching my head…. 

Watch as two Boston Dynamics’ research robots celebrate the Decline of Humanity by doing the Twist while joined by a robo-dog and a wheeled robot built to replace Amazon workers. 

Hard Rocker Roger Waters' Addresses the UNgg

On February 8, legendary Pink Floyd rock star Roger Waters took a lead position on a new stage. Decked out in suit-and-tie, Waters delivered a live-broadcast address before the United Nations and issued this moving plea for global peace. 

 

Here's a vision: Imagine if Roger Waters were to join forces with CODEPINK's Medea Benjamin and both announced a world tour of an anti-war rock opera. Naturally, they would appear as a new musical band performing under the name: CODEPINK Floyd. 

Renewal Creep 

Have you noticed how a good number of membership and subscription renewal requests that come in the mail seem to arrive earlier every year? It's called "renewal creep." The beginning of a new year is a good time to check on those nagging reminders to re-up your remittance to charities, nonprofits, educational enterprises, activist organizations, and a slew of newsletters and (monthly or quarterly) magazines that invite attention. 

Having recently compared a pile of renewal notices with a year's worth of personal checks, I've noted a number of worthy groups that are leading the creepy pack. The current winners are: MoveOn.org (whose renewal request arrived in January 2023 while the last renewal check mailed October 12, 2022), Sierra Club (New Member Activation Form sent in January 2023: Last membership check mailed May 12, 2022), Friends of the Earth (renewal note for 2023: Last renewal check mailed April 8, 2022), Friends of the Smithsonian (January renewal reminder: last renewal check mailed April 18, 2022). The Friends of the Smithsonian solicited a renewal check for their fine magazine for $15. At the same time, another Smithsonian department was sending out a separate offer to begin a new subscription for just $10. 

Slavery? It's Still Legal in California 

Yep, according to the 13^th Amendment to the US Constitution slavery remains legal—so long as it's applied as punishment for a crime. This makes it possible for Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas to force prisoners to work for no pay while many states profit off barely-paid (90 cents to $4 a day) prison labor. 

California remains one of 18 states whose constitutions still condone the use of slave labor. Among the corporations profiting off the labor of prisoners: McDonalds, Wendy's, Walmart, Starbucks, Sprint, Verizon, American Airlines, and Victoria's Secret. 

RootsAction has created a page that contains an email link to demand elected representatives finally put an end to legal slavery in "the Land of the Free." To send a strong message to Sacramento, click here. 

¡Presente! Victor Navasky  

In January, when journalist/editor Victor Navasky died at the age of 90, the magazine he headed for more than four decades saluted him as "The Man Who Saved The Nation" and a rabble-rouser who "Tried to Save the World."gg 

Among the many offering tributes, was Pacifica radio's Larry Bensky who penned a memoire titled "Victor Navasky, R.I.P." 

I also have a Navasky memory to share. When I was embedded at Friends of the Earth, working on David Brower's eco-magazine, I wrote an investigative article about the environmental impacts of US weapons used in El Salvador—including napalm bombs. (Some of my info came from a delegation of US activists that included former Berkeley mayor Gus Newport who, at one point came under fire when visiting a local village targeted for an aerial bombardment.) 

To my surprise, I received a letter from Navasky praising the disclosures in my article. I was amazed to discover that the editor of The Nation even knew about—let alone had time to read—something published in a small magazine based in San Francisco.g 

 

Workers Can't Vote If Election Day Is on a Work Day. Coincidence? 

VoteAmerica raises a good question: Why Must Americans Vote on Tuesdays—a work day? "Imagine if you didn’t have to wake up extra early on a Tuesday morning in November and wait in line at a polling place before you head to work." Why not follow the lead of countries like France and Germany and hold elections on weekends? Or, even better, declare Election Day a National Holiday.  

Click here if you think the US should move Election Day to the weekend. 

America's Waiters Have Been Waiting 32 Years for a Raise 

Bernie Sanders' Our Revolution political action group recently slammed the National Restaurant Association (aka "the other NRA") after the New York Times revealed that the ONRA had expropriated $25 million of their workers’ potential earnings to lobby against addressing ONRA's poverty-level wages!  

As Ro Khanna and other progressives have complained, the ‘Other NRA’ has wielded its lobbying power to freeze the federal minimum wage at $7.25/hr since 2009 and has kept the "federal tipped wage" locked down at $2.13/hr since 1991!  

Defend the IRS or Defund the IRS? 

Republicans are trying to cut $80 billion in recent Inflation Reduction Act investments designed to strengthen the IRS and its ability to crack down on millionaire, billionaire, and corporate tax cheats. In other words: As per usual, the GOPsters want to increase handouts to their wealthy sponsors while leaving struggling working families in the lurch. According to MoveOn.org: "In 2019 alone, the richest 1% of households evaded $163 billion of the total of unpaid or underpaid taxes that year." MoveOn has posted a petition to keep the IRS on the lookout for billion-dollar tax cheats and scofflaw corporations. 

Ro Khanna and Rashida Tlaib Speak for Me 

A recent email from Hon. Ro Khanna note that last year, "Congress increased Pentagon spending by 8 percent—more than $40 billion above President Biden’s request. This brings the Pentagon's total budget to a staggering $858 billion. 

"A bloated Pentagon budget won't bolster our safety and well-being. But access to life-saving healthcare, tuition-free community college, and paid family leave will. If we cut Pentagon spending, we can provide better opportunities for everyday Americans to not only survive but succeed…. 

"We need to push Congress to cut waste from the Pentagon budget that rewards legacy defense contractors and start investing in programs that benefit the American people. 

Sign the Petition: Tell Congress to prioritize the needs of its constituents by curbing Pentagon spending. 

When JFK Tried to Put the Cold War on Ice 

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy announced plans for a dramatic policy shift toward world peace as part of an attempt to put an end to the Cold War. In a 27-minute speech at American University on June 10, 1963—Kennedy pledged to pursue a foreign policy that placed peace before military might and took the occasion to announce plans to sign a pact with Russia to end the nuclear arms race and begin the abolition of nuclear stockpiles. Kennedy was assassinated four months later. 

Here is a short clip from the speech: 

 

Jamie Raskin Raps the MAGAnauts 

 

One of the Great Radio Bloopers

On February 12, 2023, a KCBS reporter's weather update went awry causing her to dissolve into a pot of on-air giggles. "Sorry," she said. "I meant to say we can expect good weather for hiking and cycling. Did I really say 'Good weather for hikeling and psyching'?" Yes, she did!

Nation-wide Anti-war Protests on Sunday, February 19

Upset by the huge bite the Military-Industrial-Political Complex takes out of the national budget? Alarmed by the risk of a world-ending nuclear conflict? Concerned about the persistent problems of child hunger, unmet housing needs, inadequate medical care and underfunded education in the US?

If you want to take steps to improve the future for the citizens of our Divided States of Warmerica, why not put on your walking shoes and head off for San Francisco this Sunday for one of more than a dozen Rage Against the War Machine demos happening across the country—from the main event in Washington, DC, to "sister rallies" inSan Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Ann Arbor and elsewhere. 

Rage Against the War Machine 

Sharing (with permission) an email note from tireless peace activist Cynthia Papermaster's emotionally wrenching personal note to volunteers preparing for the big Sunday February 19 "Rage Against the War Machine" march and demo in SF: 

Thank you for showing up, meeting, making props, volunteering for tasks, being supportive.  

I can barely handle the fear that keeps breaking through my consciousness. Are these moments our last? I don't know what to feel. Are we going to have a future? That must be why everything looks so beautiful to me now, why I feel so much love, and at the same time why I feel as if I'm inside Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower. People are being philosophical about the end of the world, some saying we deserve it, that there's nothing to be done except hope not to survive so as not to experience the devastation. This is what it's like for all the people and places in the world that the war machine is sacrificing for profits. There's nowhere to go. It's monstrous, beyond belief. 

Open the Gaetz! 

I never expected to see this kind of initiative coming from the MAGA-righters in Congress but I'll be urging my representative to sign on to the Ukraine Fatigue Resolution.  

The resolution calls for major cuts to the Pentagon and ending the Ukraine conflict with diplomacy and a peace agreement. It's signed by 11 members of Congress, including (take a deep breath) Matt Gaetz, Lauren Bobert, Paul Gosar, and Marjorie Taylor Greene! 

This link to "GOP Calls for End to US Military Support for Ukraine" includes the complete text of the Ukraine Fatigue Resolution and contains a list (with price-tags) of hundreds of varied weapons the Pentagon has promised to supply to Ukraine to prolong the war. The extensive and detailed inventory of funds and weaponry intended to prolong this dangerously escalating war is appalling. 

How Left and Right Could Hedge Their Bets

In a recent essay titled,"There Are No Permanent Allies, Only Permanent Power," Chris Hedges calls for a left-right alliance as the only strategy to effect radical political change in the US: "If we do not build left-right coalitions on issues such as militarism, health care, a living wage and union organizing," Hedges warns, "we will be impotent in the face of corporate power and the war machine." 

In response to this galvanizing strategy I wrote the following comment: 

"So how do we align with the only 11 congressmembers who have called for ending shipments of US arms to Ukraine, a cease-fire, and negotiations?
I'm pondering a tattoo of Matt Gaetz on my right arm, a tattoo of Ralph Nader on my left, and a tattoo of Marjorie Taylor Greene (on the bottom of my foot)." 

The next time I checked my email, I was rewarded by a response from Medea Benjamin, who sent three "love-it" heart emojis. 

Just in time for Valentine's Day! 

Fashion Plates 

Personalized license plates spotted around town. 

Honda: JAZZTIN (Beat those cymbals, jazz-man) 

Honda: I AM OK 2 (Nice to get some good news) 

Tesla: FAB FIVE (A happy couple with three kids?) 

Family van: N 2 84 (A clue in the plate frame reads: "Niner Gang") 

Bumper Snickers 

I Brake for Worms 

Dirt-hugging Tree-Worshipper 

Please Forgive Me I Was Raised by Wolves 

Balloon Baloney 

Could it be that the political kerfuffle surrounding the shoot-down of the alleged "Chinese Spy Balloon" was concocted to draw attention away from a much larger and troubling news report—i.e., Sy Hersh's exposé about the US role in the attack on Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines. 

While it remains to be seen (while awaiting the remains of the "Spy Balloon" to be recovered and seen) if China's wayward aircraft was on an actual spy mission, the Pentagon has busied itself shooting down a host of smaller unidentified aircraft. In one case, at an estimated cost of $2 million. In retrospect, President Biden confessed, nearly all of the odd floaters appeared to be "benign"—aircraft release by researchers or hobbyists. 

So the Pentagon's warplanes operate under the same rules as America's "rogue cops": Even if a suspect (human or mechanical) is unarmed and poses no threat, they can be shot in the back while "in flight." 

In the Classroom with Bettina Aptheker 

Berkeley grad and FSM ringleader Bettina Aptheker once made local news in the 1960's when she revealed her membership in the US Communist Party. The next day's edition of the Hearst-owned Examiner carried a headline that read: "Aptheker Admits She's a Red!" 

Aptheker, now a Distinguished Professor at UC Santa Cruz, returned to the UCB campus on February 15, at the invitation of Brooke Lorber who teaches in Gender and Women’s Studies. Aptheker is the author of a scintillating new book titled "Communists in the Closet: Queering the History 1930s-1990s"—a history of US activists who were banned from the party for decades owing to their "non-conforming" sexual identities. 

"The instructor is doing a class on interpreting queer history and so invited me to give a talk," Aptheker texted friends, "and she opened it up to anyone who wants to come." 

The invitation was well received: Room 126 in the Social Sciences building was packed with 70-75 people listening and applauding Aptheker's colorful observations. 

At one point, Aptheker mentioned discovering that her politics had gifted her with "my own personal FBI agent." The agent was named Don Jones and he spent a good part of his time shadowing and harassing Aptheker. 

On one occasion, when she was addressing a crowd of students in front of Sproul Hall, a fellow activist spotted Jones in the back of the crowd and whispered the news to Aptheker who interrupted her speech to announce: "We have a special guest in the audience. I'd like to introduce my own personal FBI agent, Don Jones." The fellow activist (who had by now taken up a position next to Jones) raised his hand and pointed to the flummoxed Fed, who left in a huff and a hurry. 

Worth Noting:

Directions with links to ZOOM support for activating Closed Captioning and Save Transcript are at the bottom of this calendar.

The GO to MEETINGS are the Agenda Committee at 2:30 and City Council at 6 pm on Tuesday and the North Berkeley BART housing project meeting. The BART housing meeting is offered twice at 7 pm, in-person on Wednesday and as a virtual meeting on Thursday.

• Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 pm: The Agenda Committee meets to review the City Council draft agenda for February 28. Council Draft agenda Item-12 City Manager is a request for 3 staff for HR and $450,000 for marketing and social media to enhance City of Berkeley as an employer, The Droste proposal to limit legislation will be discussed after draft agenda review.
• Tuesday evening at 6 pm: City Council meeting. Item-13 under action is the in lieu fee charged to developers for affordable housing. City Council and the Agenda Committee are recorded, use closed captioning (CC) and allow save transcript. The Youth Commission meets at 6:30 pm.
• Wednesday: The Commission on Aging meets at 1:30 pm. The 4 x 4 Committee meets at 3 pm on rent increases, demolition ordinance and evictions. The Human Welfare Commission meets at 7 pm. The in-person meeting on the North Berkeley BART Housing Project is in the BUSD Board Room at 7 pm.
• Thursday: FCPC/OGC, DRC, TIC all use CC and allow save transcript. The FCPC/OGC meets at 6 pm. All other meetings start at 7 pm. The North Berkeley BART Community meeting (same agenda as in-person meeting on Wednesday) is offered as a virtual/zoom meeting. The Design Review Committee (DRC) will review two multi-story mixed-use projects: a 6-story with 127 units on Telegraph at Webster and the 25-storywith 326 units on Shattuck at Allston. T1 is on the Transportation and Infrastructure Commission (TIC). The Rent Board also all meets.

A public request was sent to record one of the BART meetings and to allow Closed Captioning and Save Transcript at the virtual meeting on Thursday.

Check the City website for late announcements and meetings posted on short notice at: https://berkeleyca.gov/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

Sunday, February 12, 2023 – Super Bowl 3:30 pm

Monday, February 13, 2023 – Lincoln’s Birthday, A Berkeley City Holiday,

Tuesday, February 14, 2023 

AGENDA AND RULES COMMITTEE Meeting at 2:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1615510345 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free) Meeting ID: 161 551 0345 

AGENDA: Public Comment on non-agenda and items 1 – 7. 1. Minutes, 2. Review and Approve 2/28/2023 draft agenda – use link or read full draft agenda after meeting calendar, 3. Berkeley Considers, 4. Adjournment in Memory, 5. Council Work Sessions, 6. Referrals to Agenda Committee for scheduling, 7. Land Use Calendar, REFERRED ITEMS FOR REVIEW: 8. COVID, 9. Droste – Bureaucratic Effectiveness and Referral Improvement and Prioritization Effort (BE RIPE) – measure which limits council members to one (1) legislative proposal per year and the mayor to (2) legislative proposals per year, UNSCHEDULED ITEMS: 11. Supporting Commissions, Guidance on Legislative Proposals, 12. Discussion Regarding Design and Strengthening of Policy Committees (including Budget Referrals) 

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

CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting at 6 pm 

Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison, School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1617057994 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) Meeting ID: 161 705 7994 

AGENDA: Use the link and choose the html option or see the agenda listed after the calendar of meetings. 

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

YOUTH COMMISSION at 6:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87640969306?  

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171 or 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 876 4096 9306 Passcode: 228517 

AGENDA: 9. Work Plan – Mental Health Resources at BHS 

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

Wednesday, February 15, 2023 

COMMISSION on AGING at 1:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1614800144 

Teleconference: 1669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 161 480 0144 Passcode: 825132 

AGENDA: Discussion/Action Items: 4. Election Chair/Vice-Chair, 5. Commissioner Reports, 6. Preservation and/or development of community environment in subsidized senior housing facilities, 7. Increase of Aging Services funding proportional to increase in senior residents in Berkeley, 8. Letter to Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Commission for possible senior center outdoor spaces reserved for senior center classes specifically Ohlone Park on Bonita Way, 10. Future options for senior housing, 10. Update Hopkins Corridor. 

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

4x4 JOINT TASK FORCE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING: Rent Board/City Council at 3pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83758415401?pwd=TVdxY2xwUkRnVHFzTllXK21Yb3JPZz09 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 837 5841 5401 Passcode: 702926 

AGENDA: Discussion and possible action: 6. Arreguin - Expiration of the Eviction Moratorium and amendments to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Ordinance, 7. Simon-Weisberg – Moratorium on rent increases, 8. Buckley Planning – Amendments to the Demolition Ordinance. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/4x4-joint-task-force-committee-housing 

HUMAN WELFARE AND COMMUNITY ACTION COMMISSION at 6:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://zoom.us/j/4863098496 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 486 309 8496 

AGENDA: 5. Approve 2023 Community Block Grants, 6. Review Financial Reports Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program, 7. Update mechanism for City employees and service providers to communicate, 8. Requirements for contracted non-profit service providers and transparency of grant reports, 9. Eligibility for service as representative of the poor, 10. Accessibility and availability of materials on city website, 11. Accessibility quality assessment program to handle non-conforming public facilities and complaints from seniors and disabled people over substandard services. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/human-welfare-and-community-action-commission 

NORTH BERKELEY BART COMMUNITY MEETING from 7 – 8:30 pm 

In-Person at 1231 Addison, BUSD Board Room 

AGENDA: 1. Welcome, 2. Review of Objective Design Standards (ODS) Process and Timeline, 3. Development Team Presentation: Introduction of Development Team - BRIDGE Housing, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) Berkeley Food & Housing Project and AvalonBay Communities, Presentation of North Berkeley Housing Partners Development Concept, 4. Small group Breakout Sessions, 5. Next Steps. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/n-berkeley-bart-community-meeting-person 

Thursday, February 16, 2023 

 

LAND USE, HOUSING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT at 10:30 am 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1605017520 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 Meeting ID: 160 501 7520 

AGENDA: 3. Discussion and possible action on changing meeting to first Monday of the month at 10 am. (no other scheduled items). 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/policy-committee-land-use-housing-economic-development 

NORTH BERKELEY BART COMMUNITY MEETING from 7 – 8:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84090881838 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171 ID: 840 9088 1838 

AGENDA: 1. Welcome, 2. Review of Objective Design Standards (ODS) Process and Timeline, 3. Development Team Presentation: Introduction of Development Team - BRIDGE Housing, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) Berkeley Food & Housing Project and AvalonBay Communities, Presentation of North Berkeley Housing Partners Development Concept, 4. Small group Breakout Sessions, 5. Next Steps. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/n-berkeley-bart-community-meeting-person 

DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83912228659 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 839 1222 8659 

AGENDA: 1. 3031 Telegraph at Webster – review modification – To demolish existing commercial building and construct a 6-story 100,992 sq ft mixed-use building with 127 units (including 9 very low income units), 1921 sq ft commercial space, 7622 sq ft usable open space, 64 bicycle parking spaces, 19 vehicular parking spaces 

2. 2190 Shattuck at Allston – To redevelop 19,967 sq ft site (demolish Walgreens) with proposed 25-story building with 326 units residential units, 7500 sq ft retail space, 51 parking spaces in single level subterranean garage 

3. 2996 Telegraph at Ashby – To construct new 960 sq ft self-service, single bay, roll-over automated car wash with 2 EV charging stalls, new landscaping, revisions to parking stripping. 

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

FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES COMMITTEE (FCPC) / OPEN GOVERNMENT COMMISSION (OGC) at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88456418606 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 884 5641 8606 

AGENDA: 6. Biennial adjustment of Berkeley Election Reform Act (BERA) dollar amounts for cost of living adjustment BMC 2.12.545, 7. Report from subcommittee on contribution limits, 8. OGC reports, 9. Letter to council regarding commission posting of meeting minutes, 10. Use of Live Transcription for teleconferenced meetings, discussion and possible action, 11. Possible changes to public commenting practices for City Council meetings. 12. Election of chair, vice-chair. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/fair-campaign-practices-commission 

TRANSPORTATION and INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89656106619 

Teleconference: 1-888-788-0099 Meeting ID: 896 5610 6619 

AGENDA: 5. Update, B. Discussion/Action: 1. T1 Update, 2. Election of chair, vice-chair, 3. Mission statement and work plan 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/transportation-and-infrastructure-commission 

RENT BOARD MEETINGS at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84493074093?pwd=czBIeVhaekhOcllwZHo2cThBdGRGZz09 

Teleconference: 1-408-638-0968 Meeting ID: 844 9307 4093 Passcode: 791964 

AGENDA: 8. Appeal not heard before 7:30 pm, case no. T-5991 (2705 Ridge Road #14), 9. Action: a. Housing Element rejection by HCD, b. Eviction Moratorium. 

https://rentboard.berkeleyca.gov/elected-rent-board/rent-board-meetings 

Friday, February 17, 2023 – No city meetings listed 

Saturday, February 18, 2023 - Beginning of 3 Day Presidents’ Day Holiday Weekend 

Sunday, February 19, 2023 - Presidents’ Day Holiday Weekend 

Monday, February 20, 2023 - Presidents’ Day Holiday 

++++++++++++++++ 

 

AGENDA AND RULES COMMITTEE Meeting at 2:30 pm 

Draft City Council agenda for 2/28/2023 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1615510345 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free) Meeting ID: 161 551 0345 

AGENDA on CONSENT: 

1. Minutes
2. Donation $5000 to Animal Shelter from Stephen and May Birch Foundation
3. Oyekanmi, Finance - Formal bid solicitations $2,220,000
4. Warhuus, HHCS – Contract $60,055 with Street Level Advisors and Strategic Economics for Housing to provide Fair Housing Analysis services 4/1/2023 – 4/1/2023
5. Garland, Public Works – Final map of Tract 8573: 2628 Shattuck for 81-unit condominium project consisting of 78 residential units and 3 commercial units
6. Garland, Public Works – Final map of Tract 8626: 2023 – 2025 Kala Bagal Way for 49-unit condominium project consisting of 48 residential units and 1 commercial unit
7. Garland, Public Works – Final map of Tract 8490: 739 Channing Way for 15-unit condominium project consisting of 10 residential units, 4 live/work units and 1 commercial unit and merge 2 existing parels at 739 Channing
8. Garland, Public Works – Bauman Lease Termination with Bauman Wellness and Settlement of Balance Due at 1007 University
9. Taplin - Support for AB-309 Social Housing update version of AB 2053
10. Harrison – Support for HR 8040: People Over the Pentagon Act – calls for reducing bloated military budget by $100 billion and just transition for workers in militarized industries

AGENDA on CONSENT: 

11. ZAB Appeal 1262 Francisco, Use Permit #ZP2021-0006 and ZP#2020-0122 to add 40 sq ft on first floor and balcony on 2nd floor to an exisiting single family dwelling unit
12. Williams-Ridley, City Manager – Making Berkeley an Employer of Choice with 1) hire two Associate HR Analysts and one Assistant Analyst (cost of new staff not listed), 2) contract $250,000 with branding and marketing agency, 3) $200,000 to enhance communications and social media content including department communications
13. a. Youth Commission – Add a Youth Member to the Environment and Climate Commission. b. Billi Romain, Commission Secretary – Add a Youth member appointed and confirmed by BUSD with a referral to the City Manager to evaluate the feasibility and prepare draft language, c. Harrison – Adopt an Ordinance Amending BMC 3.82 to add two youth members recommended by BUSD and appointed by the full council.
14. Droste – Reforms to Public Comment Procedures at City Council meetings (limiting public comment). The Agenda and Rules Committee sends the measure to council with a negative recommendation to take no action.
15. Taplin, co-sponsors Bartlett, Kesarwani – Resolution Condemning a pattern of attacks targeting Black political leaders
16. Robinson, co-sponsor Humbert – Creation of an intersection daylighting policy, referral to the city manager to increase lighting at high-injury streets, intersections and seek input from the Transportation and Infrastructure Commission
17. Robinson - Approval of Public Bank East Bay Visibility Study

INFORMATION REPORTS: 

18. FY 2023 First Quarter Investment Report (ended 9/30/2023)

+++++++++++++++++++ 

CITY COUNCIL Meeting at 6 pm 

February 14, 2023  

Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison, School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1617057994 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) Meeting ID: 161 705 7994 

AGENDA on CONSENT:  

1. 2nd reading – Parking/Towing Fines & Fees Reform
2. Finance – Formal bid solicitations $2,124,000 ($75,000 Consultant Mental Health Medi-Cal Billing and CalAIM transition, $150,000 Target Case Management Consultant, $399,000 Bus transportation for summer camps, $1,500,000 Just Transition Pilot Program)
3. Sprague – Contract 47QTCA20D004Y for $200,000 3/1/2023 – 1/22/2025 not to exceed $300,000 in total with one 2 yr extension to 1/22/2027 with Public Consulting group for Professional Services related to ground emergency transport (GEMT), QAF, IGT, PP-GEMT
4. Sprague – Contract $700,000 5/1/2023 – 4/30/2025 with Forster & Kroeger Landscape Maintenance for chipping services
5. Warhuus – Revenue contract $293,705 2023 Community Services Block Grant 1/1/2023 – 5/31/2024
6. Warhuus – Contract add $228,850 from Measure P total $348,850 with Dorothy Day House for the inclement weather shelter program and amend contract 31900284 add $190,260 to operate inclement weather shelter for up to 127 nights from 12/3/2022 – 4/15/2023 for a total amount not to exceed $4,211,173
7. Warhuus – Contract $107,890 with Resources for Community Development (RCD) for MLK Jr House – Mental Health Services Act Operating Support to monitor 12-room, transition Single-Room Occupancy housing development
8. Mills Act Contract – 2523 Piedmont
9. Mills Act Contract – 2119 Marin
10. Garland – Authorize funding agreement $648,000 with AC Transit to supplement quick-build Durant Transit Lane Project
11. Arreguin – Berkeley Rotary Endowment
12. Robinson – Refer $250,000 to FY 2023 budget process for Southside Impact Nexus Study

AGENDA on ACTION 

13. a. Klein – Citywide Affordable Housing Requirements (clean-up of January 17 rereading ordinance with corrections),

b. Harrison – Apply standard $45 per square foot fee on projects between 3000 and 12,000 residential square feet, exempt smaller projects of 3000 square feet or less (equivalent to 4 to 5 units) and expediate a new in lieu fee study. 

INFORMATION REPORTS 

14. City Manager – Referral Response: Home Share Program
15. LPO NOD 1767-1771 Alcatraz appeal expires February 14, 2023

+++++++++++++++++++ 

LAND USE CALENDAR: 

 

Notices of Decision with End of Appeal Date 

573 Santa Rosa (residential addition) 2/14/2023 

1329 Albina (single family dwelling) 2/14/2023 

1752 Shattuck (mixed use) 2/14/2023 

1773 Oxford (multi-family building) 2/14/2023 

1820 (1822-1828) San Pablo (mixed used building) 2/14/2023 

Public Hearings 

1262 Francisco (add 40 sq ft and 2nd story balcony) 2/28/2023 

469 Kentucky (single family dwelling 

Remanded to ZAB or LPC 

1205 Peralta – Conversion of an existing garage 

 

WORK SESSIONS & SPECIAL MEETINGS: 

February 21 - Local Pandemic/Endemic Update Report, Housing Preference Policy 

February 28 – Zero Waste 5-Year Rate Schedule at 4 pm 

March 7 - Berkeley Marina Area Specific Plan 

March 14 – Annual Crime Report at 4 pm 

March 21 - Civic Arts Grantmaking Process & Capital Grant Program at 4 pm, Civic Center Vision Project at 4 pm 

April 18 – Hopkins Corridor Plan 

May 16 - Fire Facilities Study Report 5/16/2023 

Unscheduled Presentations: 

Climate Action Plan and Resilience Update – regular agenda March 14 

City Policies for Managing Parking Around BART Stations – check with Garland 

+++++++++++++ 

Kelly Hammargren’s summary on what happened the preceding week can be found in the Berkeley Daily Planet under Activist’s Diary at: www.berkeleydailyplanet.com. 

This meeting list is also posted at: https://www.sustainableberkeleycoalition.com/whats-ahead.html 

If you would like to receive the Activist’s Calendar as soon as it is completed send an email to kellyhammargren@gmail.com. 

If you wish to stop receiving the weekly calendar of city meetings please forward the email you received to kellyhammargren@gmail.com with the request to be removed from the email list. 

________ 

 

For Online Public Meetings 

CLOSED CAPTIONING, SAVE TRANSCRIPT OVERVIEW, DIRECTIONS and ZOOM SUPPORT LINKS: 

ZOOM has as part of the program - (for no extra cost) Closed Captioning (CC). It turns computer voice recognition into a transcript. Accuracy of the Closed Captioning is affected by background noise, the volume and clarity of the speaker, lexicons/wordbook and dialect of the speaker. The transcript will not be perfect, but most of the time reading through it the few words that don't fit, can be deciphered, like Shattuck was transcribed as Shadow in one recent transcript. 

One advantage of ZOOM live transcription over the Captioner’s Record for City Council meetings, is that Zoom grabs the speaker’s log-in name. The City Captioner recorder (liver person typing) uses the public comment speaker’s name from the person or someone else stating the name. The person speaking is frequently not identified. The advantage of the CC Captioner’s record is familiar with Berkeley specific terms. 

For the online attendee the full transcript is only available from the time the attendee activates Closed Captioning. If Closed Captioning is activated and you sit through a meeting and then remember 10 minutes before it is over to click on CC then go to the arrow/carrot next to CC for the menu and click on Show Full Transcript you will only get the last 10 minutes, not the full transcript 

When you click on Show Full Transcript it will allow you to scroll up and down, so if want to go back and see what was said earlier you can do that during the meeting while the transcript is running. 

At the bottom of the transcript when we as attendees are allowed to save there will be a button for, "Save Transcript," you can click on the button repeatedly throughout the meeting and it will just overwrite with the updated full transcript. Clicking on the Save Transcript repeatedly as the meeting is coming to an end is important because once the host ends the meeting, the transcript is gone if you didn't save it. 

After you click on "save transcript," click on "Show In Finder." The meeting transcript will show up (as a download to your desktop) in a separate box as a text file. (These text files are not large.) After you have done your last Save Transcript and Show In Finder, after the meeting is over you can rename it the downloaded transcript and save it.  

Also a meeting does not have to be recorded to allow Closed Captioning and allow to Save Transcript. Saving the transcript saves it to our own computers. Closed Captioning is completely separate from recording a meeting, therefore recording a meeting does not activate closed captioning. The meeting host can activate closed captioning and block attendees from saving the transcript. When this is done there will be no “Save Transcript” button. And, allowing attendees to save the transcript does not require the meeting host to save the transcript. 

Here is the link to ZOOM Support for how to set up Closed Captioning for a meeting or webinar: G 

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/8158738379917#h_01GHWATNVPW5FR304S2SVGXN2X 

Here is the link to ZOOM Support for attendees in how to save Closed Captions: 

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360060958752-Using-save-captions#h_01F5XW3BGWJAKJFWCHPPZGBD70G