On Monday, April 28, 2025, at 5 pm, the Berkeley City Council will consider the Ceasefire Resolution. passed by Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission last year on September 30 in an 8 to 7 vote. -more-

On a recent Saturday at the North Berkeley BART station I thought of these lines from the prologue to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales:

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote . .

Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages. . .

The good-humored, almost jovial gathering there, which looked to number in the thousands, was pitched as an angry rebuke to the atrocious transgressions of Co-Presidents Trump and Musk. It was all of that, but it was more than that.

Those of us who were there have survived (quoting a later poet) the winter of our discontent and the drought of March, so now that April’s showers have awakened our roots we’re ready to go. Many of the assembled folks were remembering that they’d been there, done that, sometimes with success, sometimes not so much. They seemed indeed to be longing to go on another the pilgrimage to set the world straight, as they had done in the past. -more-

The City Council and the Mayor want to make drastic zoning changes in Berkeley’s neighborhoods. They have named the proposed change "Missing Middle Housing," but this name is deceptive: "Missing Middle” does not refer to middle income, but a deceptive description of the intended size of the building they want to be built in single-family neighborhoods. -more-

The public hearing scheduled for the April 29^th meeting should be continued to a special meeting to be held a later date. The Council should take no action on proposed residential upzoning on April 29.

The proposed changes will affect thousands of Berkeley residents and property owners in the flatlands of Berkeley. This is by far the biggest change in residential zoning to come before the Council since 1963. In 1963, the Council rezoned the flatlands, and much of what can be found in current residential zoning came out of that rezoning process.

Before the Council voted on zoning changes in 1963, every property owner in five areas of the flatlands where the changes were proposed received written notification from the City about the changes being proposed. The City staff conducted five public meetings to inform residents and to solicit comments. Then there were hearings before the Planning Commission and the City Council for each of the five areas. The City also did postcard surveys to determine whether residents supported the proposed changes. In all five areas, majorities favored the proposed changes. Based on input received from the residents in the areas affected, the Council made some changes to what was originally proposed.

Continue the Public Hearing: The April 29^th public hearing should be continued and before the continued hearing takes place, every property owner in the areas that would be rezoned should receive written notification about the proposed changes and the continued public hearing. Most Berkeley residents do not check City Council agendas each week and have no idea that the Council is going to be discussing these major changes. It’s also crazy to put this important item on a regular meeting schedule and have the public hearing be the third of three public hearings that night. You’re having a special meeting to discuss a resolution on a foreign policy issue, but something that directly affects thousands of residents does not merit a special meeting? Also our General Plan’s Citizen Participation Element mandates maximizing citizen participation in land use changes. Acting on April 29 would clearly be inconsistent with General Plan policies. -more-

Have you ever wondered what your California electeds, State Senator Jesse Arreguin and State Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, [yes, that’s her real name] are up to in Sacto? Well, luckily, both of them are well funded by developer dollars, so they boast a generous PR budget which can be used to inform the voters..

Last week Buffy’s PR person put out a lengthy document which fully disclosed her plans to de-fang almost all of California’s development regulations, including the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Commission. It’s an attack plan that Co-President Musk would be proud of.

Here’s the pitch, from her staff’s press release::

“California Legislature Releases Sweeping Bill Package to Fast Track Housing Production

Thursday, March 27, 2025

SACRAMENTO – In a unified effort to tackle California’s housing crisis, a bipartisan and bicameral group of legislators today unveiled the Fast Track Housing package — a suite of more than 20 bills aimed at making housing more affordable by slashing red tape, removing uncertainty, and drastically diminishing the time it takes to get new housing approved and built.

And the ‘nut graf’::

… {L]awmakers are zeroing in on the systemic delays that continue to stall progress on housing development. The Fast Track Housing package focuses on streamlining the processes that have made it so difficult to build housing at the scale and speed California needs.

The package targets the five key bottlenecks that delay housing development: application, CEQA compliance, entitlement, post-entitlement, and enforcement. By addressing inefficiencies at every step, lawmakers aim to reduce project timelines, cut costs, and get shovels in the ground faster.

The package also introduces significant reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), aiming to exempt environmentally friendly housing projects from lengthy reviews. This move, backed by environmental and housing advocates alike, is central to Assemblymember Wicks’ AB 609.

No surprise, this scheme has gotten a lot of Republican support, and why shouldn’t it? It’s a veritable Neo-Liberal manifesto, YIMBY-speak to the core. And because you can’t tell the players without a scorecard, the press release provides a handy list of all its supporters, not just Buff and Jess but the whole bipartisan bicameral gang of legislators. Some data-driven journalism student should now plot the correlation between developer campaign contributions and this packet’s sponsors.

By now there’s a host of academic studies pointing out that building lots of market rate housing does nothing for those who need affordable housing: people like families, mobility challenged people, old folks, the working poor and other under-served groups. Trickle-down just doesn’t work to provide affordable housing, pure and simple.

Tim Redmond on San Francisco’s excellent 48hills.org spotlighted a typical analysis, a new study of housing pricing from the Federal Reserve Bank:

“New study by Fed economists directly contradicts Yimby narrative on housing prices

The study, also connected to the National Bureau of Economic Research, directly contradicts the fundamental economic thesis that has driven housing policy in the state for years: that development constraints have created high housing prices.”

Redmond’s article provides a good short summary of the lengthy NBER report, which would be worth a full read if you’re able to understand economicese.

The Mission Local site provides a good review of where all this is going by Joe Rivanno Barros:

‘Abundance,’ darling agenda of centrist Democrats, comes home to San Francisco

The piece is a comprehensive report on a City Arts and Lectures appearance last week by columnist Ezra Klein and his collaborator Derek Thompson, discussing with Michael Pollan the trendy cult’s origin story, a new book called, like the movement’s founding principle, “Abundance”:

“Michael Pollan wasted no time cutting to the heart of the matter: The top-selling recently released book “Abundance,” a 288-page manifesto on creating a “liberalism that builds,” may no longer be relevant.

“It’s almost like a sick parody of your book,” Pollan said of President Trump’s actions in D.C. — cutting a trail through the federal bureaucracy, firing tens of thousands of workers, cancelling the kinds of research grants the book seeks to reform.

“Abundance,” by journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, critiques inefficient bureaucracy and seeks a deregulatory scalpel; Trump and his pit bull Elon Musk have opted for a red-and-chrome chainsaw.”

My own longtime observation of and participation in leftish politics tends to see two camps of progressives. One can roughly be described as “you need more and I’ll help you get it”. The other can be rephrased as “I want more for me and I’ll do anything to get it.” That’s the Abundance doctrine espoused by Scott Weiner, Buffy Wicks and Jesse Arreguin as well as authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson,.

The Internet is currently rife with reviews of the book by that name and others which preach the gospel of abundance, a clickable list of sources which taken together provide a good picture of the theory behind Buffy Wick’s package of proposals. The many deregulation proposals are no surprise coming from Republicans, but Democrats should think twice before jumping on the abundance bandwagon. The law of unintended consequences could lead to irreparable environmental damage and further wealth disparity. -more-

When I was four years old my parents would sneak me into Shelley's Manhole to hear Milt Jackson's quintet or guitarist Bill Evans. Musicians were welcome at our house the next afternoon, Sunday, for a loose day of barbecue and low-key jamming where I learned my first chords and my first stories of Los Angeles' racism. More than one band lost a player driving through the wrong community trying to get to a gig while touring. A joint would typically be "found" in a clean car pulled over for no reason. The band would be forced to spend money bailing out a player, or finding a pick-up player to complete a date, and some of them, including Herb and Lorraine Geller, moved to Europe to find someplace receptive to jazz culture and respectful of musicians. -more-

Assassination Nation

How do we know that America is one of the world's leading gun-loving nations? Consider: four of our sitting presidents (nearly one-in-ten) have been killed by gun-wielding assassins. Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963) all died from an assassin's bullet. Ronald Reagan (1981) is the only president to survive an assassination attempt. -more-

Amid tariff chaos, Donald Trump assured us: “I know what the hell I’m doing.” -more-

Outrage is mounting after 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers were executed by Israeli forces in northern Rafah on March 23. Despite Israel’s initial claim that the convoy approached without warning lights, cellphone video—recorded by a now-dead paramedic—shows the ambulances had their lights on when troops opened fire. Bodies were later found in an unmarked mass grave alongside the ambulances, some with hands and feet bound, and gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Human rights attorney Diana Buttu called the massacre “the height of dehumanization.” This attack brings the death toll of medics killed by Israeli forces to over 400. The Israeli military, facing undeniable video evidence, now claims the grave was dug to protect bodies from wild animals—an explanation met with disbelief. -more-

The ongoing genocide in Gaza—and the escalating brutality in the West Bank—defies words. Each day brings new horrors: airstrikes, starvation, and the massacre of a trapped civilian population. And yet, no global power appears willing—or able—to stop it. A few nations raise their voices, but they lack the influence to make a difference. The powerful remain deaf, blind, and mute. -more-

Insider Trading by Traitorous Insiders?
In the wild week of Wall Street's stock-market mayhem, the question haunts me: Did Donald Trump tip off his kids and colleagues that he was about to suspend his imposition of global tariffs? He would have had advance knowledge of the likelihood this action would trigger a potentially historic reversal of Wall Street stocks. This insider knowledge could generate massive fortunes when the bottom-heading stocks were liberated. -more-

Jewish students at Columbia University took a bold stand on Wednesday, chaining themselves to campus gates in protest of the university’s role in the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a former student now held by ICE in Louisiana. Khalil, a legal permanent U.S. resident, was arrested on March 8 at his university-owned apartment, and his green card was revoked. Protesters demanded transparency from Columbia’s administration, suspecting university trustees—possibly new President Claire Shipman—of providing Khalil’s information to the Department of Homeland Security.

Student protesters, including members of Jewish Voice for Peace, emphasized that their actions challenge the false narrative that anti-Zionist protests are antisemitic. As one Jewish student noted, “You cannot weaponize antisemitism to harm our friends and peers.” The protest also underscored a broader concern: Columbia’s crackdown on dissent, which has disproportionately targeted Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students.

Despite the rain and the threat of arrest, students continued their demonstration overnight. Columbia security and New York police forcibly removed them, cutting their chains. Yet their message remains clear: Columbia must be held accountable for endangering students and collaborating with government repression. The fight for Khalil’s release is not just about one student—it is about standing against the silencing of political activism on campus. -more-

One of the most frustrating moments in sports is when a star player folds under pressure. In football this happens when a famous QB throws an interception at the end of the game, or an ace running back fumbles on what would have been the winning play. In baseball this happens when the star pitcher walks in the winning run. In basketball this happens when the team captain insists calls for the ball and then misses what would have been the winning shot. -more-

Most of the American public probably equates mentally ill people with homeless people, with prisoners in orange jumpsuits, or with "deranged" people getting into and out of a van and living in an institution. That is a stereotype, and it usually lacks factual basis. Mentally ill people often live troubled lives, but this doesn't mean we are less than regular people.

I am 60 years old, and I have lived with a psychiatric condition my entire adult life. To begin with, it is probably better than average that a man diagnosed with schizophrenia (and that's my initial diagnosis) can even make it to this age and not suffer from dementia or be on his last legs of living. According to some sources, life expectancy for a schizophrenic man is age 59.

Over the years of living within the outpatient mental health treatment systems, I have seen many people with similar disorders to mine drop like flies before they reach this point. I have not heard of schizophrenic men being able to live independently at this age, in some cases at any age. I have subsidized housing, and I collect Social Security and some SSI. Beyond that, it is up to me to fend for myself. I maintain contact with mental health vendors, who keep me medicated and who provide emotional support. I have some family, and they are loyal and caring.

I am married. However, I moved out of the home I shared with my wife of twenty-seven years, because at the time my judgment was badly impaired and I was following a set of delusional thoughts, AKA, a "delusional system". My prescriber didn't believe it was safe to raise my antipsychotics to the level I wanted. Yet, if I make dumb decisions that impact my life circumstances because I'm delusional, that's really not safe. The prescriber seemed to dismiss or not think of the concept that I could make poor decisions that could impact on the course of my life.

I am a semiprofessional writer. And I believe this means I have been published, and I can make a little bit of money at it, yet I can't do this for a living. Writing is a very, very competitive field, and everyone wants to be a writer. Yet, I am a writer, and I've had a good degree of success.

My credibility in the writing field may not be acknowledged beyond the local street papers for which I write almost every month. The editors of the street papers are familiar with me and know who I am. However, it could be hard to convince many editors that I create this material on my own. The presumption could be that someone is fixing up the writing or perhaps doing all of it and putting my name on it.

Not so.

I can't read minds and I can't be a fly on someone else's wall. Thus, I don't know whether the above notion is merely my imagination or whether there is some truth to it. I can tell you that becoming a writer has been quite therapeutic and has yielded a lot of mental clarity to me, and I've needed that clarity. When dealing with newspaper editors, you would think you're dealing with some of the most intelligent and most grounded people. And they are. And it has rubbed off on me.

As a 60-year-old "mentally ill" man, I note with much unhappiness, the disrespect is everywhere. Those who work in the treatment systems frequently don't regard us as equals. Medical doctors don't give the same level of care. In retail situations, such as picking up medications at a pharmacy, some pharmacy workers are not sure I can pay the copay, and they behave accordingly. Other pharmacy workers are sharp and are aware that I have intelligence.

I was a patient of a circulatory specialist, and I was being sold a pair of compression socks. The physician's assistant flipped out when I pulled a Mastercard out of my wallet.

In a previous living situation, a recent one, I would go out to my car to smoke, and a few of the many people driving by would hurl insults out the window of their pickup trucks, directed at me. Years ago, in a group therapy setting, the task at hand was to bake a cake for members to eat. The counselor did not give me credit for being able to bake a cake from a cake mix without supervision.

Society's agenda for mentally ill people is to keep us maintained and to prevent us from being a nuisance to the greater society. The "powers that be" don't want to see mentally ill people have money and power because they are afraid of the consequences of misuse.

But we deserve to have good things in our lives as does anyone. And we don't have that. We live in supervised and institutionalized situations. This is no fun.

In short, mentally ill people are an unacknowledged minority. Yet we lack the stance of self-righteous anger when disrespected. And we haven't organized nearly as much as other groups. I attribute this to the impairment of psychiatric conditions and the disabling effect of medications. -more-

Worth Noting:

Council returns from recess with Special Council meeting at 4 pm on Adoption of Cal Fire Map, Adoption of Fire code Amendments followed with regular meeting scheduled to start at 6 pm. -more-

Worth Noting: -more-