A friend asked if we'd gotten an email announcing Jesse Arreguin's candidacy for state Senate. No, I haven't, not at any of the Planet addresses, nor at my personal email. But, it turns out, my husband got an email from jesse@jesse.vote, so he forwarded it to me. (He'd already trashed it.)

In a era where fully half of my emails are fund raising appeals from eager Democrats, it had a familiar theme. Here's the nut 'graf, boldface sic:

"I hope you’ll help get our campaign off to a strong start by donating today.
And please save Wednesday, March 22nd, 5:30 to 7pm for our kick-off event. More details to come!"

The Planet has gotten no formal announcement from the Arreguin campaign yet. Maybe at the "kick-off"?

But never mind, Kelly Hammargren broke the news that he's entering the race ten days ago in the Planet.

Why did my spouse get this email and the Planet didn't? He happened to write a check for one of Arreguin's previous campaigns, which got him on the "A" List, and I didn't.

It's the money, honey. 

 

 

 

As the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock has ticked closer to midnight, a new organization has taken shape to sound the alarm: the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction.

More than 1,000 scientists signed onto a January 17 Coalition statement condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine War. The statement laid out the devastating consequences if Putin were to carry out his threat:

“The use of a nuclear weapon for the first time in more than 77 years would risk global catastrophe. If Russia were to use any nuclear weapons in its war on Ukraine, the risk of nuclear escalation would be extremely serious. Once nuclear weapons are used in a conflict, particularly between nuclear-armed adversaries, there is a risk that it could lead to an all-out nuclear conflagration….

“Today, it is widely understood that there can be no adequate humanitarian response following the use of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons kill and injure people immediately and indiscriminately, destroy cities, and contaminate the soil, water, and atmosphere with radioactivity. The smoke from burning cities in a nuclear war could darken and cool Earth’s surface for years, devastating global food production and ecosystems and causing worldwide starvation. For these reasons, 145 nations at the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference on August 22, 2022, endorsed the demand that ‘nuclear weapons are never used again, under any circumstances.’”

And yet, the statement goes on, “all nine nuclear-armed states are investing in sustaining and modernizing their nuclear arsenals and have plans to use them to wage nuclear war if they choose.”

I had barely started college in 1962 when the Cuban Missile Crisis set off alarms. The shadow of nuclear war has hovered ever since. Movements to banish it have come and gone. Now, following in the steps of other scientists who have tried to put the nuclear genie back in the bottle, the Physicists Coalition is pressing governments and civil society to— as their website asks in bold white on black letters— “Help Us Shrink the Global Risk from Nuclear Weapons.”

How did this new venture ­­­take shape? 

I reached out to Frank N. von Hippel, a founding member and now on the Coalition’s steering committee, for an account of how the Coalition began, and in an email he replied: 

“In April 2018, two colleagues and I, representing three generations of physicists who have been involved in nuclear arms control, published in Physics Today an article, ‘Nuclear weapons dangers and policy options,’ calling on our fellow physicists to become engaged again in educating Congress about the dangers from nuclear weapons and that there are opportunities to reduce those dangers. 

“There was very little response but one of my Princeton colleagues, Stewart Prager, came to me and asked, ‘why don’t we do something about it?’ We brainstormed with Zia Mian, my successor as co-chair of Princeton’s Program on Science and Global Security, and wrote the funding proposal to the American Physical Society.” 

Their proposal was funded, Prager became chairman of the Physicists Coalition and Mian and von Hippel, along with four others, joined him as the initial members of the Coalition Steering Committee. 

Since then, they have organized colloquia at about 130 universities across the country—presenting the urgency of reining nuclear weapons in. They have recruited about 900 members to the cause—not only physicists but other physical scientists and engineers as well. 

The Coalition is now, von Hippel said, “ramping up our efforts to educate Congress and to encourage the formation of counterpart organizations in other nuclear-armed states and in the approximately 30 non-nuclear-armed countries in NATO plus Australia, Japan and South Korea under the US nuclear ‘umbrella’.” 

I asked steering committee member Laura Grego (research director of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists) to describe those who attend university colloquia and their level of concern. Usually, she said, those who attend are physicists: students, postdocs, and faculty—several generations of scientists. 

“I have given about a dozen of these talks,” she said, and “in every one we have had a thoughtful and engaged discussion afterwards. Older scientists who have lived through the Cold War have shared their perspectives gained during that era and sometimes their experiences as activists, when it was more common among physicists. And a good number of earlier career scientists have had really insightful questions and comments. I have almost always come away having felt there were at least a few people who might make working on these issues a personal or professional priority. I frame my talk really deliberately, explaining that I want them to get involved in these very urgent issues and intend to use the talk to persuade them to! I’m very direct about that.” 

Although the Physicists Coalition has so far focused on recruiting American members who will interact with their Congressional delegations, it is now (as Stewart Prager explained to me in an email) “beginning special efforts to reach out to our international colleagues. We are interested in initiating dialogue, or spawning efforts analogous to the Coalition in other nations, or in expanding the scope of the Coalition more deliberately beyond the US.” 

The stakes are high. Speaking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on December 3, 2021, Prager showed how many would die at various distances from the blast. An explosion in New York City would leave one million dead, one million injured. And then there would be indirect effects: fallout but also famine, as widespread smoke disrupts climate. Infrastructure would be destroyed. Financial and political systems would fail. 

“The nuclear arms threat is as extreme as it ever has been,” he said. “A couple of guys can decide to kill everyone in the world by pushing a couple of buttons.” 

Members of the Physicists Coalition have every reason to understand the nuclear peril. Among them are faculty members at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security who also serve on the International Panel on Fissile Materials—von Hippel, Mian, and Alexander Glaser —who, along with Harold A. Feiveson, wrote Unmaking the Bomb: A Fissile Material Approach to Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation. 

Glaser and Mian, along with Tatsujiro Suzuki of Nagasaki University, co-chaired the panel that produced the massive Global Fissile Material Report 2022: Fifty Years of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: Nuclear Weapons, Fissile Materials, and Nuclear Energy. 

They are, in short, heavy hitters on the nuclear weapons scene, and they are joined by many more, physicists and non-physicists, who have signed on to the coalition’s mission, declared on its homepage: 

“We, the physics community, helped create these weapons seventy-five years ago and quickly became a voice for caution and restraint in their use. Today, this history positions us uniquely to return the nation’s gaze to the immense threat of nuclear weapons, and to provide a guide for how we can remedy it. Recent actions by nations that possess nuclear weapons have heightened our risk of nuclear catastrophe. The withdrawal from arms control treaties, new threats to nuclear weapons by cyber-attack, the increasingly complex web of relations and hostilities between nuclear weapons states, and the massive modernization of nuclear forces in the US and Russia, as well as China, are igniting a deadly new arms race. Together we can reverse this trend.” 

Their goal is to “be a powerful voice to inform Congress and other key stakeholders in policy making, including the public.” Steering members have given expert testimony before congressional committees, and the Coalition plans to push for negotiations with Russia for a successor to the nuclear arms control framework provided by the New START treaty, which expires in early 2026. 

In October 2022, the Coalition extended its reach by forming a partnership with an older powerful player — the Arms Control Association, and, together, the partners offer a Next Generation Fellowship to enlist younger scientists in the cause. 

Meanwhile, those of us who are not scientists can watch the Coalition’s past presentations —for example, the November 14, 2022 session on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, in which panelists discussed international efforts to build safeguards through the treaty system like those that govern the use of other weapons of mass destruction. 

We can even sign on to the Coalition for access to the webinars —the next one, March 21 at Illinois State University, will present “A Case Study in Nuclear Proliferation: The Iran Nuclear Deal and the Responsibility of Physicist.” 

And we can spread the word of their work in the communities of which we are a part. 

 

 

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Published first on the counterpunch.org website. /https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/02/17/physicists-form-a-coalition-to-rein-in-the-nuclear-threat/ 

 

I'm prefacing this essay with an admission that what I'm alleging is speculative. I don't have any direct evidence of algorithms being used in directing my treatment. But if they were used, I would never be told about it, and thus having direct evidence is not reasonably possible. 

It is increasingly popular for government and other agencies to use algorithms when dispensing medical treatment and numerous other services. Algorithms in this case are an attempt to use computer models to predict people's outcomes. And if you are being deprived of help for unknown reasons, it is possible that algorithm usage could be a factor. 

Healthcare is known to use algorithms, and in a basic search quite a few articles have shown up that indicate algorithm use is racist. But other than racism, ageism and disablism are factors fed into the algorithm software. At age 58, it is likely I won't get the kind of help that would be given to a younger, more promising mental health consumer. At my age, and with my history and diagnosis, algorithms probably predict that I'm on the verge of going defunct. 

Classism and not having significant college are other marks against me. These, too, are factors that could go into the prediction software. This could produce reduced effort exerted by doctors to treat major health concerns. If the prediction by a computer is that I'm about finished, why do an expensive coronary bypass? Why get a good surgeon for it? Why not use a beginner, or someone not as good at keeping patients alive? 

An algorithm is a mathematical, artificial intelligence entity, a beast to which you feed in numerous variables, and it spits out likely outcomes. It is a statistical thing, and based on that, it could be accurate when we are speaking of large numbers of individuals. But for one individual, it should be much harder to draw a conclusion. 

Algorithms are racist because minorities aren't given a fair chance at life, and thus it is harder to predict a good outcome. If the playing field was remotely level, race could not be used as a predictor. Yet, because society is so unequal, and even due to people's racist attitudes, being black is a mathematical mark against you. 

In mental health treatment, algorithms deprive some people of much needed help therefore could have devastating effects on our lives. 

Clinicians are sometimes faced with dilemmas of where and to whom their limited resources should go. And when something seems to work to produce a better outcome, they may not continue doing more of the same, as common sense would lead you to expect. They may decide that a mental health consumer has received the benefit and can be transitioned to a more independent phase. This sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I know that whenever I've received a service that helped me, removal of that has caused me not to do as well. In some areas of mental health, there may be no such thing as: "you're cured, and you don't need this anymore." 

This is conjecture: Mental health organizations, from a corporate standpoint seek good statistics for their companies. When they have good numbers, it looks like the company is doing its job and is a great performer--worthy of more investment. Anything that will produce better numbers for a mental health corporation is going to be done. Because of that, algorithms are perceived as valuable. 

I need to add here that at the venue where I obtain most of my mental health treatment, I have received a huge amount of help. Regardless of algorithms, decision makers have decided that I'm worth an investment of time and resources. This is to the credit of the individuals and the company where I receive treatment. 

But when algorithms have become a heavy steel door locking us out of help, the feeling is indescribably sad. 

---

Jack Bragen is a writer who lives in Martinez, California. 

 

I've called and emailed numerous people in the Park District, and no one will return a phone call or reply to an email. What are you afraid of? This is not appropriate. You are all public employees - you work for me!

Meanwhile, the parks are rapidly degrading, due to too much visitation by people, habitat fragmentation due to trail-building, mountain biking, grazing by non-native cattle, rapid habitat destruction due to the spread of invasive non-native plants, etc. When I visit a park, other than a few birds, I see no wild animals at all! Your primary duty is the preservation of native wildlife. But you aren't doing it. In real life, bicycles aren't allowed on sidewalks, and yet you think it's quite all right to allow them on narrow trails with hikers and horses! And now, even though hikers have paid for all of the trails, your "pilot project" will ban hikers from some bike-only trails! Since when have mountain bikers - who regularly break the law and destroy habitat by building illegal trails - been granted special privileges?

Isn't anybody there capable of thinking?

The 40th day after a death is an important occasion for mourning in Iran. February 16 marked the 40th day after the death of the first two young Iranians executed by the regime for their protest demonstrations. To honour their deaths, mass protests took place all over Iran on Thursday, February 16. Protesters shouted “Death to the Dictator,” “Death to Khamenei,” and “Death to the Islamic Republic” in Tehran, Arak, Isfahan, Mashad, Samandaj, Qazvin, Rasht, and Karaj.

Presumably, there were other such protests in the southeastern province of Iranian Baluchistan, where many prior demonstrations have taken place.

Meanwhile, amid many calls for unity among the protesters, there is in fact scarce unity, with some dissidents refusing to have anything to do with prominent reformist politicians who formerly worked for the regime such as ex-president Khatami or ex-prime minister Moussavi, in spite of their having recently denounced the regime and called for a total change of government. Other protesters want nothing to do with exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah who was deposed in 1979. Iranian women, who have been in the forefront of the protest movement, have called for women to be leaders of a new government once the regime of the mullahs is overthrown. Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient for her work defending the rights of Iranian women and children in Iran, is perhaps the one individual nearly every Iranian citizen, woman or man, young or old, seems to agree on as a possible future leader. Although Shirin Ebadi is outspoken in calling for an end to the present regime, it is not clear that she would accept any position in a new government. 

Meanwhile, on February 14 about twenty labor unions, student organisations, and civil society groups in Iran published a joint charter proclaiming their vision for a “new, modern, and humane society.” Their vision called for unconditional release of all political prisoners, equal rights for women and men, and a democratic government. Also, on February 11 THE INTERCEPT published an article exposing the brutal cult-like organisation-in-exile known as the Mojahedin e- Kalkh or MEK, led by Maryam Rajavi, wife of MEK’s former leader Massoud Rajavi, who mysteriously disappeared many years ago. Historian Arash Azizii has written that “It is no exaggeration to say that perhaps nothing unites Iranians of today more than opposition to the MEK,” which he calls “a brutal cult.” Nonetheless, the bizarre, cult-like conduct of MEK has not dissuaded many naive American congressmen of both political parties from espousing the MEK as a viable Iranian opposition group in exile. How out of touch can our American congressmen be?!? 

---

ERRATA: 

In last week’s article on “A Call for Iranian Unity,” a typo left out several letters of the family name of actress-activist Golshiftah Farahani, misidentifying her last name as Farahi. Likewise, the name of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Khomeini was misspelled as Khomeni. I apologise for these errors.

Worth Noting:

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

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• Tuesday: The 6 pm City Council worksession has only two agenda items, 1) a report on the COVID-19 response and 2) consideration of a policy to establish what conditions give a household preference for the limited number of below market rate/affordable units.
• Tuesday: From 7 – 8:30 pm the North Berkeley Housing Partners will hold in-person office hours (open meeting with no agenda) to answer questions and accept feedback on the North Berkeley BART Station housing project.
• Wednesday: Start the day with tree planting at Indian Rock at 8 am. The Civic Arts Commission and Environment and Climate Commission meet at 6 pm. At 6:30 pm the Police Accountability Board meets with policy agenda items on the Downtown Task Force and Bike Unit and on the use of drones by BPD. The Disaster and Fire Safety Commission meets at 7 pm.
• Thursday: At 10 am the Budget and Finance Committee reviews the Sugar Sweetened Beverage Panel of Experts recommendation for allocation of funds and the City Manager’s companion report (opposing recommendations). The Zoning Adjustment Board meets at 7 pm. All projects are listed on consent with the mid-size 7-story project on Durant to be continued.
• Thursday: At 7 pm The Mental Health Commission receives an update on the SCU planning and a presentation on non-police responder programs.
• Sunday, February 26: At 2 pm the North Berkeley (BART) Housing Partners will hold a public “site walk” meeting starting at the station building.

Beginning March 1, 2023 all commission meetings return to in-person attendance.



Directions for CC (Closed Captioning) and saving transcripts at ZOOM meetings are at the bottom of this calendar. Directions include the links to the ZOOM support webpages.

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BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND CIVIC EVENTS

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

Monday, February 20, 2023 – Presidents’ Day Holiday

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

CITY COUNCIL Worksession at 6 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1618510002 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free) Meeting ID: 161 851 0002 

AGENDA: 1. COVID-19 Response 2022 Summary Report, 2. Referral Response: Affordable Housing Preference Policy for Rental Housing Created Through the Below Market Rate and Housing Trust Fund Programs. 

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

NORTH BERKELEY HOUSING PARTNERS Office Hours from 7 pm – 8:30 pm 

In-Person only attendance at 2012 Berkeley Way at the Hope Center 

AGENDA: Office Hours to ask questions and share feedback on the BART housing project. 

https://www.northberkeleyhousingpartners.com/ 

Wednesday, February 22, 2023 

CIVIC ARTS COMMISSION at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1605902821 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 Meeting ID: 160 590 2821 

AGENDA: 7. Presentations, Discussion & Action Items: a. Introduction of Civic Arts Intern, b. Approval of revised design for mural at James Kenney Park, c. Election of chair and vice chair 

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

DISASTER and FIRE SAFETY COMMISSION at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1619573531 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 161 957 3531 

AGENDA: 3. Annual election of chair and vice chair, 4. Form Ad Hoc Subcommittee to Review Hopkins Corridor, 5. Additional commission meeting to hear presentations on Standards of Coverage and Facilities Master Plan, 6. Quarterly budget report, 7. Formulate working group to develop summary document on Safe Passages Initiatives. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/disaster-and-fire-safety-commission 

ENVIRONMENT and CLIMATE COMMISSION at 6 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87698907626 

Teleconference: 1-669-444-9171 Meeting ID: 876 9890 7626 

AGENDA: 6.b. Berkeley e-Bike Equity Project (BEEP) (free e-bikes for 50 low income residents), 7. Presentation & Discussion: Building Emissions Saving Ordinance (BESO) Developing Single Family Energy Standards, 8. Election of chair, vice-chair, 11. 2023 Workplan, 12. Consideration of Action: Hopkins Bike Lanes Off Agenda Communication to Council. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/environment-and-climate-commission 

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD at 6:30 pm 

Videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82653396072 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 826 5359 6072 

AGENDA: 5. ODPA Staff report, 5. Chair and board reports, 7. Police Chief’s report, 8. Subcommittee report on Policy and Practices relating to the Downtown Task Force and Bike Unit, 9.a. In-person meetings, b. PAB recommendations regarding BPD proposed drone policies, c. Appointment of subcommittee members for review of external fixed video surveillance camera policies, d. consideration of Policy Complaint #2023-PR-0001 as amended, e. Berkeley Law Police Review Project regarding regulations pertaining to timelines for complaints, 11. Closed Session. 

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

INDIAN ROCK TREE PLANTING from 8 am – 10 am 

Native tree planting at 950 Indian Rock 

To join the team, wear closed toe shoes and comfortable clothing that is okay to get dirty. The city will supply all the tools. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/indian-rock-park-tree-planting 

Thursday, February 23, 2023 

 

BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE at 10 am 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1612304851 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free) Meeting ID: 161 230 4851 

AGENDA: 2.a. Sugar Sweetened Beverage Panel of Experts – Allocation of $3 million over 2 years FY 2024 & FY 2025, 2.b. City Manager Companion Report – Allocation of $2 million over 2 years FY 2024 & FY 2025, 3. Receive FY 2023 mid-year budget update, 4. Unfunded Liability Obligations and Unfunded Infrastructure Needs, 5. Robinson & Arreguin – Approval of Public Bank Visibility Study. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/policy-committee-budget-finance 

MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85337202554 

Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 Meeting ID: 853 3720 2554 

AGENDA: 3. Bridge to SCU and SCU update, 4. Community First Presentation on current community-based alternative non-police first responder program in Oakland and Sacramento, 5. Election chair, 6. Election vice-chair, 9. Mental Health Manager’s Report and Caseload Statistics, 10. Update law enforcement arrests regarding people with dementia, 11. Update access to 988 for Berkeley people. 

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

ZONING ADJUSTMENT BOARD at 7 pm 

Videoconference: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83676641171 

Teleconference: 1-699-900-6833 or 1-669-444-9171 Meeting ID: 836 7664 1171 

AGENDA: 2439 Durant – on consent to continue – UP #ZP2021-0192 - demolish 2-story commercial building and construct 36,529 sq ft 7-story mixed-use building with 22 units, roofdeck and establish entertainment use with the service of distilled spirits, 

1337-1339 Hearst – on consent – UP #ZP2021-0160 – Construct a major residential addition by lifting up existing duplex at 1337-1339 on a lot that exceeds residential density, 

2930 College – on consent – UP ZP2022-0139 – Add the service of distilled spirits under a new Type 47 ABC license, expand the existing outdoor seating area by 239 sq ft on private property and allow indoor unamplified live music at an existing full-service restaurant. 

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/boards-commissions/zoning-adjustments-board 

COMMUNITY HEALTH COMMISSION at 6:30 pm 

This Commission usually meets the 4 Thursday of the month. There is no meeting posting as of Friday, February 17 at 8 pm. Check after Monday for a meeting announcement. 

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

Friday, February 24, 2023 – No city meetings listed. 

Saturday, February 25, 2023 - No city meetings listed. 

Sunday, February 26, 2023  

NORTH BERLELEY BART HOUSING SITE WALK at 2 pm 

Meet at the station building to begin the public walk tour. 

https://www.northberkeleyhousingpartners.com/ 

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February 28, 2023 Agenda for CITY COUNCIL Meeting at 6 pm 

A Hybrid Meeting 

In-Person: at 1231 Addison St. in the School District Board Room 

Videoconference: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1610465939 

Teleconference: 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (toll free) Meeting ID: 161 046 5939 

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

AGENDA on CONSENT: 

 

1. 2nd Reading of Citywide Affordable Housing Requirements
2. Minutes
3. Donation $5000 to Animal Shelter from Stephen and May Birch Foundation
4. Oyekanmi, Finance - Formal bid solicitations $2,220,000 ($290,000 to Aquatic Park, $1,500,000 to Tree Removal and Pruning Services, $330,000 to Echo Lake Camp accessibility Upgrades, $100,000 to Harriet Tubman Terrace Tenant Support)
5. 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
6. Kouyoumdjian – Increase Wage Ranges of Seasonal Camp Staff Classifications
7. Garland, Public Works – Final map of Tract 8573: 2628 Shattuck for 81-unit condominium project consisting of 78 residential units and 3 commercial units
8. 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
9. 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
10. Garland, Public Works – Bauman Lease Termination with Bauman Wellness and Settlement of Balance Due at 1007 University
11. Taplin co-sponsor Hahn - Support for AB-309 Social Housing update version of AB 2053
12. Taplin, co-sponsors Bartlett, Kesarwani, Arreguin – Resolution Condemning a pattern of attacks targeting Black political leaders
13. 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
14. Robinson, co-sponsor Humbert, Hahn, Harrison – 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

AGENDA on ACTION: 

 

 

15. 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 existing single family dwelling unit
16. 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
17. Resolution terminating the COVID-19 Emergency
18. 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.
19. 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.

INFORMATION REPORTS: 

 

 

20. Oyekanmi - FY 2023 First Quarter Investment Report (ended 9/30/2023)

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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) TBD 

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 

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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 (a live 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 the captioner 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 – So click often on both Save Transcript and on Save to Folder during the meeting for best results. 

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 and update the 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 (or send and share 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. Also, 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: 

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_01F5XW3BGWJAKJFWCHPPZGBD70