City of Berkeley Mayor's Office

This is the Mayor's monthly email update. If you would like to be added to the email distribution for this update, please send an email to mayor@ci.berkeley.ca.us or give the office a call at (510) 981-7100.

There has been a lot in the news over the past couple weeks about the University’s proposal to build a large new underground sports facility and office complex adjacent to Memorial Stadium. The City has created a website with basic information on the City’s lawsuit regarding the Stadium, including links to the various legal filings that have been made. Earlier this week, I also issued a statement discussing the possibility of negotiations with the University to resolve our lawsuit. I also made a statement on my displeasure with the University for their attempt to deny the oak grove protesters with food and water. You can also check out our “news scan” service to read recent media reports on this.

On Thursday, September 13^th I will be helping to host a celebration of the 25^th anniversary of a bill I authored while in the State Legislature that allowed for a restaurant to brew and sell beer. The law, AB 3610, was the first in the country to legalize brewpubs. It was soon replicated by many other states and ushered in brewpubs across the country. Join us at Triple Rock (the third brew pub in California) on Shattuck Avenue (near Hearst) at 5 p.m. on Sept. 13^th. We’ll have brewers from around the Bay Area, a special brew just for the occasion, and lots of other fun stuff.

You can read about the history of brewpubs and the role my law played on in an article on the Edible East Bay website.

3. Join the Berkeley Climate Action Group for the Solano Stroll Parade on Sept. 9^th.

It’s time once again to Stroll! This year, the Solano Stroll’s theme is “Going Green – It’s Easy.” In honor of the occasion, I will be joining the Berkeley Climate Action contingent to raise awareness about our local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and implement Berkeley Measure G. We’ll have lots of goodies to give away, information on how to reduce household emissions, and an electric car or two. Please join us on Sunday, Sept. 9^th for the parade. We get started around 10 am, but please RSVP to Timothy Burroughs, the City’s Climate Action Coordinator for details. You can reach Timothy at tburroughs@ci.berkeley.ca.us or 510-981-5437.

There are lots of other great reasons to go to the Stroll, including an opportunity to swap out your old mercury thermometers for new digital ones and dispose of old medicine safely at the Save the Bay and East Bay MUD booth. You can learn more about that by contacting Athena at athena@saveSFbay.org or (510) 452-9261 x118.

4. Don’t Miss Josh Kornbluth’s New Show at the Berkeley Rep this Weekend
Are you looking for something fun to do this long Labor Day weekend? Try catching Berkeley’s own Josh Kornbluth in his acclaimed “Citizen Josh” at the Berkeley Rep through Sunday, Sept. 2^nd. Josh, who is my appointee to the City’s Energy Commission, has made Berkeley Climate Action handouts available at all of his shows. You can learn more and read the amazing reviews at the Berkeley Rep website. (I’ll be joining Josh on stage after his final performance on Sunday for a “talk back.”)

After passage of the $54.9 million budget by the State Senate and Assembly, the Governor made line item vetoes of a number of health programs, including funding for services and housing for severely mentally ill individuals. One program we make great use of is AB 2034, which provides comprehensive services to adults who are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless, recently released from jail, and other severely at risk populations. With the cuts to that program, the services and housing to 102 formerly homeless mentally ill adults are immediately at risk for elimination or reduction. Berkeley and many other local governments are now looking for alternative funding sources, but this is a potentially very serious problem for the City. We’ll know more in a couple of weeks.

The Bates Update

News From Mayor Tom Bates

August 2007

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