Point Molate was sold on August 29, 2022 for the sum of $400 (yes, four hundred dollars) to the Guidiville Rancheria, a Tribe of the Pomo Native Americans, and Upsteam Inc., the development partners with the Guidiville Rancheria. This sale was required under a settlement of a lawsuit brought by the developers of a former casino proposal at Point Molate (now-defunct) against the City of Richmond that owns Point Molate. According to Richmond's City Attorney David Aleshire, what was sold was not the entire site of Point Molate, but what are referred to as the four developable parcels which were outlined in the Settlement of the lawsuit: Guidiville v. City of Richmond in federal court. The remainder of Point Molate, consisting of the beach and the steep hills, stayed as property of the City of Richmond, and comprises what has controversially been described as about 70% of the upland property. In their lawsuit against Richmond, the Guidiville/Upstream group sued for repayment of the money they paid the City for development rights at Point Molate, plus potential lost profits. This was after the City of Richmond turned down the group's casino proposal. That lawsuit was settled in 2018 when Mayor Butt wanted to develop luxury housing at Point Molate. Mr. Butt's settlement deal specified that Point Molate would be sold to a developer and the profits would be split 50/50 between the City and the Guidiville/Upstream group. But there were three time conditions. -more-
Two-thirds of the way through 2022, the political situation is quite different than it appeared to be on January 1st. Then, Democrats viewed the midterm elections with trepidation; now, they see them as an opportunity. Here are ten reasons why the situation has changed. 1.Trump is on the ballot: The midterms are no longer a referendum on Joe Biden; now they are a referendum on Donald Trump. Say what you will about Trump, he has a unique way of making himself the center of attention. The first eight months of 2022 have seen the political focus shift from Biden to Trump. Trump's retention of classified material, and the FBI raid on Mar-al-Lago, has made his personality the center of political attention. In many congressional contests, there's a Trump proxy on the ballot: voters aren't being asked to simply vote for Republican John Doe; they are being asked, "Do you want Trumpism to continue?" In many instances, the answer is "No." -more-
Make UC A Good Neighbor and the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group (PPHDAG) filed their joint opening brief to the appellate court this week against UC Berkeley under the California Environmental Quality Act challenging UC’s Long Range Development Plan and construction of housing on People’s Park. The appeal is attached to this email. We've said it before, but this excellent legal work needs to be supported. Please refer any and all to our DONATE NOW! page at http://www.peoplesparkhxdist.org/donate-now/ The appeal focuses on UC’s failure to analyze in its Environmental Impact Report (EIR) a lower-enrollment alternative or any alternative locations for the housing proposed at People’s Park. The lower-enrollment issue is similar to that at UC Santa Barbara, where the City of Goleta and Santa Barbara County have both sued the university for not complying with an agreement to build enough housing to keep up with its expanding student population. With the alternative location issue, UC is required to adequately assess alternative sites for student housing, which it has not done. -more-
Governor Newsom is a politician, and he behaves like one. He wants your vote, and he wants to rise to successively higher political offices. He also makes photo ops and campaign promises. And, like a politician, some of the things he does are merely for the purpose of obtaining more votes. And all of the above is akin to birds behaving like birds, rocks behaving like rocks, and the constant rotation and orbit of Earth. I'm saying that if someone goes into politics, certain traits of behavior are inescapable. The American public seems to be fed up with the predicament of so many people being homeless. Many blame the homeless person for their homelessness. This could be accurate some of the time. Yet, if you have a disability and can't work, there is not much insulation between oneself and becoming displaced. -more-
The Latest US Shortage: A Lack of Loos The US may be the wealthiest nation on Earth but it's just not the best place to live if you're looking for (1) free healthcare, (2) affordable higher education, (3) a guaranteed living wage, (4) democratic elections, or … (5) public bathrooms. That's right. While Donald "The Ocher Ogre" Trump's massive rump reportedly enjoys the 14-karat comforts of a solid gold commode, millions of his fellow Americans don't have access to a toilet they can call their own. The Bay Area's streets may not be paved with gold but, in some poorer neighborhoods, the sidewalks are slick with pee land paved with poop. The problem of the "un-housed" is compounded by the problem of the "un-outhoused." If you're looking for someone to blame, you could start with Starbucks. Back in 2018, the nationwide chain of 15,000 coffee-shops announced it was opening its bathroom doors to the public. No purchase needed. But earlier this year Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz reneged on the offer, and ordered the stalls off-limits to all non-paying citizens. United Nations sanitation specialist Catarina De Albuquerque called this "a loss of critical infrastructure… in a country already facing a sever shortage of public restrooms." The UN counts "access to safe sanitation" as "a fundamental human right," on the same level as "food, water and shelter." -more-
Contrary to their earlier statement claiming Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was likely shot by a Palestinian, Israel now admits Shireen was likely shot by an Israeli sniper during its raid in the Occupied West Bank. Shireen wore a helmet and was wearing a jacket marked “PRESS”. This flip-flopping by Israel comes after months of outrage by Akleh’s family and human rights activists around the world. To add insult to injury, Israel stated that the soldier who fired the fatal shot will not be held accountable. -more-
“Iacta alea est.” That’s what Julius Caesar is supposed to have said when he led his army across the Rubicon river in his bid to take over Rome. “The die is cast.” We’ve gone over and we can’t go back. The deadline for becoming a candidate for the Berkeley City Council was last Friday, August 12, and now not only have the dice been thrown, the hats are in the ring, Well, District 8 candidates got an extension to August 17 since incumbent Lori Droste isn’t running, but now their time is up too. And it turns out that hats in Berkeley are in short supply this time around. You can see the spreadsheet listing those who filed the required paperwork here: Lucky you. Finding it cost me three phone calls to city staff plus seven clicks guided by a pleasant fellow in the City Clerk’s office, the last of which produced a chart obscurely entitled “Roster of Candidate Activity.” Yes, the COB’s new web interface is as bad as they say it is, but when you get there this is an informative document. What can we learn from it? Well, we already knew that four council seats will be on the November ballot. It seems that no one has the nerve to challenge Kate Harrison, the darling of the progressive planning wonks who care about District 4, the downtown center of the city. That’s the one which has been most adversely impacted by the BUB Boom, aka the Big Ugly Box Boom, even though Councilmember Harrison has valiantly tried to control it. Next, we have the other heavily BUB impacted district, District 7. That’s the one that was set up by former councilmember Kriss Worthington and now-mayor Jesse Arreguin as a sinecure for ASUC leftovers who want to move slowly into the adult world. It’s the “student district”. What that means is that it has the lowest registration rate as compared to population, and the smallest turnout among registered voters in any council district. Apportionment is based on population, not numbers of actual voters. It turns out that most students don’t care much about voting in Berkeley. If you believe that, short of malfeasance in office, incumbency provides a massive advantage in any election, and I do, Rigel Robinson (former or perhaps current Association of Students of the University of California External Affairs Vice President) looks like a shoo-in, though his undergraduate days are behind him. He admits to liking tall buildings, and gets support, financial and otherwise, accordingly. Nobody is running against him either. Few students want to commit to staying in Berkeley for a four-year term as a councilmember, and there are few non-students in District 7, so Robinson attracted only one potential opponent, recent UCB graduate Aidan Hill. -more-
Worth Noting: City Council summer recess is officially over on Tuesday Sunday the Solano Stroll returns at 10 am. Monday the Agenda Committee meets at 2:30 to review a very light Thursday, September 29 draft agenda. The Youth Commission meets at 6:30 pm. Tuesday City Council starts with a special meeting at 5 pm and the regular meeting at 6 pm. The HAC subcommittee is meeting at 3 pm to establish a habitability plan. Wednesday the Parks Commission and Police Accountability Board both meet at 7 pm. Thursday the Design Review Committee meets at 7 pm with three projects and Bird Safe Regulations on the agenda. Friday CEMTF is presenting the 3rd Virtual Summit Series with speakers on Climate & Homefullness & Homelessness Saturday is International Coastal Cleanup Day. BNC & BCA are sponsoring a Rent Board Election Forum The City Council agenda for September 20th is available for comment and posted at the end of this email. Housing Element Draft Environmental Impact Report Comment Period ends October 17, 2022 at 5 pm on the plan for where to put 19,098 new housing units in Berkeley https://berkeleyca.gov/construction-development/land-use-development/general-plan-and-area-plans/housing-element-update Don’t forget to check for meetings posted on short notice https://berkeleyca.gov/ -more-
In a star-studded concert on Friday, September 9, San Francisco Opera opened its CentennialSeason with a bang. From a podium on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House, General Director Matthew Shilvock paid tribute to Gaetano Merola, who in 1922 founded San Francisco Opera with the help of a dozen Italian-American families who banded together to finance this visionary venture. Shilvock was joined on stage by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade who also paid tribute to this company’s heritage by recalling singing in many Italian operas on this very stage. Then Matthew Shilvock introduced our current Artistic Director Eun Sun Kim and the music began with baritone Lucas Meachem singing the Prologue from Ruggero Leoncvallo’s Pagliacci. Meachem’s bravura performance was a perfect opener for this celebratory Centennial event. -more-
THE PUBLIC EYE:2022 Midterms: 10 Observations Bob Burnett 09-10-2022
People's Park Appeal Brief Filed Harvey Smith 09-10-2022
ON MENTAL WELLNESS: Governor Newsom: One Of The Few Politicians Expressing Empathy For Mentally Ill People Jack Bragen 09-10-2022
SMITHEREENS: Reflections on Bits & Pieces: SmitherRiddles&Diddles Gar Smith 09-10-2022
Israel flips, Biden is silent Jagjit Singh 09-10-2022
Point Molate Sold to Tribe and Developer to Settle Suit Robert Cheasty 09-09-2022
The Berkeley Activist's Calendar, September 11-17 Kelly Hammargren, Sustainable Berkeley Alliace 09-10-2022
San Francisco Opera Celebrates Its First 100 Years Reviewed by James Roy MacBean 09-10-2022
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