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The Robin Hood Committee needs your help gathering signatures to place two initiatives on the November ballot. The initiatives will create $4.5 million for affordable housing and other city services in Berkeley by taxing the windfall profits of large landlords. Right now, Berkeley tenants are paying more than $100 million a year in excess rent, wealth that is taken out of our community. We can recapture a fraction of that by putting these measures to a vote of the people.

Join us this Sunday to pick up petitions and a partner for signature gathering.

Cant make it Sunday or want petitions earlier? Call us at 1-510-548-FAH-1. The Robin Hood Committee is supported by the Green Party of Alameda County, Councilmembers Worthington and Arreguin, Rent Board members Stephens, Harr, Soto-Vigil and Townley, the Berkeley Tenants Union and many others.
The Windfall Profits Tax on High Rents Initiative will raise the business license tax on residential rental units by 1.9%, but exempts small live-in and low-income landlords with less than 10 units. It also reduces the tax for units occupied by long-term tenants with moderate rents. In order not to discourage new construction, it allows a 20 year exemption from the increase starting with initial occupancy of the building. This is expected to raise $4.5 million annually for the City’s general fund to start with, rising as units occupied by long-term tenants turn over, as 20 year exemptions expire and as rents continue to rise. The tax cannot be passed on to tenants, since current tenants are protected by the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance.
The Affordable Housing Initiative will require the City Council to set aside at least $3 million annually for the Housing Trust Fund, which is used to develop affordable housing for low-income people either through new construction or acquisition and rehabilitation of existing housing by non-profit organizations. Once passed by the voters, Council will have 120 days to do a fiscal analysis and determine whether to accept the measure or to reduce or veto the allocation. The $3 million set-aside is expected to derive from the windfall profits tax revenue described above. Activists consider passage of the tax measure to be the best means of ensuring that the City can invest in affordable housing without reducing other needed services.
Background: Rents in Berkeley are rising to record highs, bringing windfall profits to most landlords while tenant incomes remain stagnant. Rents are going up because Berkeley is a very desirable place to live, not because landlords have so greatly improved the buildings they own. A strong Bay Area economy and public investments in the University, transit, parks and other public services all make Berkeley an attractive place to live. When public activities increase the value of private property it is only fair that the public recapture a small fraction of the value we the people create and use it for public benefit rather than allowing it all to be taken for private profit.
Before 1999 Berkeley had a strong rent control system that only allowed landlords to raise rents enough to provide a constitutionally required fair return on their investment but did not allow windfall profits at the expense of tenants. In 1999 the State legislature imposed �vacancy decontrol�, which now allows landlords to raise rents without limit whenever a new tenant moves in.
As a result, 85% of Berkeley’s older rentals have had vacancy increases. Tenants are now paying more than $100 million annually in additional rent, over and above what is needed to provide landlords with a fair return on their investment. Real, inflation-adjusted rents have gone up by more than 50% yet Berkeley’s landlords are taking out permits for building renovations equal in value to less than 3% of their massive annual rent increases. This transfer of wealth from Berkeley tenants to landlords, the majority of whom live outside of Berkeley, drains money from the community and increases demands for public services of all kinds, from social services to subsidized housing to public safety.

P.S. We only have until May 10 � we need you today!

STOP STAPLES SCABS. STOP THE PRIVATIZATION OF THE POST OFFICE!

Join American Postal Worker Union members protesting against Post Office counters in Staples stores staffed by low wage Staples employees instead of living wage Postal Union members.

This is a blantant attack on the Bulb Comunity.Three days before her arrest she was a guest Speaker at the occupysf.org Monday nite forum
she is one of the main people and spokes person for the bulb residents She has lived there over 6 years scrool down for my leter to the to the court for O R.
WE need you to be at dept 112 2pm april 14 mon for this brave fighter ,for her arraingmnet we want her and her friend released on o. r. you can send letters of recomendation for her O R to her Lawyers email via ohohorion99@gmail.com Thanks for making the world amore peaceful and joyful Palace orion 510 541 3835
youtube.com/orionorion99
heres my letter to court

“I have knowed Kc for over 6 years she is a very nice person .I lived in bay area 40 years 30 in albany and now I live at the Water gate in Emery ville .I’m a professiional Jazz Musician and teach Drums at Acme Music oakland .
Residents and Bulb Lovers (people who love the bulb ) all Love her warmness and friendlilness just last week I met a man at the builb looking for his missing son and Asked if He had talked to KC He said “yes she was very kind and help ful”
The first time I met her she invited me into her home to have coffee I ended up talking to her for over an hour. the next time I saw her she had organized people to put out a fire .She has tremendous leadership abilities.She cooks and helps every body unsefishley ,both dog owners and residents at the bulb.
She should not be made to pay abail of 32,000 she should be realeased on her own recognisence .”

Monday, April 14th the parents of Alejandro Nieto will file a Claim against the City and County of San Francisco for the egregious and wrongful death of their son (28 years old), shot dead by San Francisco Police officers on March 21st, 2014 on Bernal Hill Park.

After the filing, on the front steps of City Hall at 3:00 p.m, a representative of the Nieto Family will make a brief statement to the press. Please support the family’s claim for justice by joining us at City Hall.

The Postal Service has put the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!

The Postal Service has started to outsource Post Office services to Staples, replacing union jobs with low-paying, low benefit work.

And we’re fighting against both!

Come help us plan our next steps.

The American Postal Workers Union is planning more actions against Staples; we need to support them. There is a protest rally on Saturday, two days before this meeting, at the Berkeley Staples at 11:00 AM. We’ve started a “Don’t Shop at Staples” campaign with some awesome… what else? … postcards to send to Staples management!  Here’s the front of the postcard.

The Berkeley City Council is on a path to pass some sort of Zoning Overlay which may protect the Post Office against various commercial uses, or be totally ineffective. We need to stay on top of it.

And we need to be prepared if the Post Office announces a sale! The Office of Inspector General’s report on the sale of Post Offices was supposed to come out before the end of March – anything could happen after it comes out. Come help us plan our response.

Encouraging articles have come out recently about using Post Offices as banking facilities for the unbanked. We held a forum on postal and public banking on March 29th on the Post Office steps.

THINGS ARE HAPPENING!

AND CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE.

The Fight to Wake up the City,

Stop Displacement,

and Take Back Control of Our Communities

There will be a screening of the workers’ cooperative documentary Shift Change

The film was premiered at Grand Lake last October. Here’s the site for the film if you are interested:

http://shiftchange.org/

Before the showing here will be a pizza and pastry pop-up at 6:00 PM!

After the film there will be a presentation by the filmmakers and a Q&A with members of local cooperatives, including Arizmendi.

Our next Politics of Debt class will be in one week, Wednesday April 16th.  Here is the node on the public school website: http://thepublicschool.org/node/37127

We’ll continue our reading of Michael Hudson and the Public Banking Workbook.  Bear in mind we didn’t get to discuss ch.1-3 of the Public Banking workbook, so read up on all that you can on the new chapters.

Here are the chapter readings from Hudson for the meeting: 11, 15 and 18.

HudsonCh11-15-18

and chapters from the Public Banking Workbook.

Ch1-3

PublicBankWorkbookCh4-7

To the naked eye, Local’s Corner looks like any other overpriced restaurant that’s popped up in the Mission in recent years. But it’s even worse. It has denied service–at least twice–to groups of Mission residents of color who tried to order food. Its owner, Yaron Milgrom, owns three other businesses in the neighborhood: Local’s Eatery, Local’s Market and Local’s Cellar. A server at Local’s Eatery has filed suit for sexual harassment. Join us as we tell Milgrom to respect civil rights, issue a public apology, and give back to the community through local hire, affirmative action and community benefits agreements.

At a time of massive displacement, and at a time when Alex Nieto, an unarmed man, can be killed by police at the top of Bernal hill while eating a burrito, it’s time to send a message that long-time residents and people of color have a right to live, eat and enjoy life in their own communities!

Sponsored by Mission/Bernal ACCE and Our Mission No Eviction

Facebook event.

“Oscar Grant was murdered for the first time on January 1, 2009; he would be murdered by the courts and the media soon thereafter.”

Join the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, ONYX, and Davey D in a discussion with award winning journalist and author, Thandisizwe Chimurenga on her recently released book, “No Doubt: The Murder of Oscar Grant”. Watch the book trailer.

Chimurenga uses her writing as political activism. In ‘No Doubt: The Murder(s) of Oscar Grant,’ she connects the systematic state-sanctioned violence against young Black males through the case of Oscar Grant’s murder by police on January 1, 2009 in California’s Bay Area.

Thandisizwe is a founding member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (1990) and is currently a member of Black August Los Angeles. She has received awards from New America Media for “Outstanding Reporting on Health and Health Care” (2013 Ethnic Media Awards), the All African Women’s Revolutionary Union as a “Grassroots Media Advocate” (2010 Mawina Kouyate Daughters of Africa Award), and she was recognized by the African Community Centers for Unity and Self-­Determination as a “Pioneer for African Unity and Victory” (Atlanta, 2009). She came to journalism through activism and sees her writing as a form of activism.

Food will be provided. Books will be available for purchase.

Facebook.

New Deal Film Festival presented by the Save the Berkeley Post Office Committee. Films from the 30’s. Two evenings of double features: April 18th & April 25th.

SATURDAY, April 19, 10 am-1pm: SAVE THIS DATE for our big Friends of Knowland Park Earth Day Rally at the Oakland Zoo entrance!

SPECIAL GUESTS: COUNTRY JOE MCDONALD and the duo of Hali Hammer and Randy Berge! If you can only come out to help with one thing, this is it! Our goal is to turn out even more people than our last successful rally, so please come and bring your friends!

SHOWING UP MATTERS. Homemade signs are great—we will have a bunch, but bring your own if you can (or organize your own sign-making party and we’ll contribute materials!) We’ll have music, fun, some surprises and inspiration! The great places that have been saved, from Yosemite down to small bayside parcels, have been saved because lots of ordinary people took a stand and fought to protect them. This is ours – time to take to the street and stand up for what you believe in! Watch our new video!

Oakland Zoo is at the intersection of Golf Links Road and Mountain Blvd. Allow time for parking on nearby streets and walking to zoo entrance; please carpool, if possible. Let us know if you have something special you could contribute to make it a fun and fruitful rally. Bring water, sunscreen, lunch and plan a picnic in Knowland Park after the rally! Please RSVP to info@friendsofknowlandpark.org so we have a rough head count for planning purposes.

The Earth Day Action Parade

is Sat. April 19th, in conjunction with The Earth Day San Francisco Festival (EDSF). The March/Parade will be from Justin Herman Plaza at 11:30 to the main EDSF Festival at the UN Plaza, with a short Rally at the Main Stage, at 1pm. Pre-events (rallies, marches) as feed-ins from local groups across the Bay Area are being planned.

Impact – Bringing Political Action Back to Earth Day

Earth Day is the single largest day of environmental action. This year, the SF theme is “Action”. Last year 8,000 attended EDSF, aiming for 10,000 this year. Climate and environmental activism is front and central this year.

Your Message, Artistic

Not your “standard” march, The Earth Day Action Parade will be in sections that emphasize themes/messages with artistic visuals or small floats, including:  Why/Morality: Children’s Brigade and faith groups  Environmental Justice: Impacted Communities, Health impacts of Fossil Fuels,  Problems/Dangers: Keystone XL, Fracking, Big Oil refinery expansions, Extreme Weather, and  Solutions: Solar, Wind, Mass Transit, Bicycles, Electric Vehicles (EV’s), Resilient Communities…

See www.350bayarea.org/earthday-sf (under Events):
 For more information
 To Endorse or become a Sponsor
 To RSVP
 To post your organization’s Demands
 To Volunteer (many roles are available) Make The Earth Day Action Parade a significant statement and spread the word about your organization!
Organizations Contact: Rand Wrobel (rand.wrobel@gmail.com, 510.914-2349) Volunteers Contact: John Anderson (p8ton.anderson@gmail.com).

Music.

Food.

Live Art.

The Oakland Privacy Working Group will show the movie Terms & Conditions May Apply at the sudoroom on Sunday, April 20th at 6 PM.  There will be some food and drink, as well.

The movie will be shown after the sudoroom Cryptoparty, where you can learn how to protect your digital privacy.  Make a day of it!

The Postal Service has put the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!

The Postal Service has started to outsource Post Office services to Staples, replacing union jobs with low-paying, low benefit work.

And we’re fighting against both!

Come help us plan our next steps.

We’ve started a “Don’t Shop at Staples” campaign with some awesome… what else? … postcards to send to Staples management!  Here’s the front of the postcard.

All four Postal Unions have joined together to support maintaining full service, public Post Offices in every community, with expansion to include postal banking, and to oppose subcontracting and privaztization of services. We need to support them in these endeavors!

The Berkeley City Council is on a path to pass some sort of Zoning Overlay which may protect the Post Office against various commercial uses, or be totally ineffective. We need to stay on top of it.

And we need to be prepared if the Post Office announces a sale! The Office of Inspector General’s report on the sale of Post Offices was supposed to come out before the end of March – anything could happen after it comes out. Come help us plan our response.

Encouraging articles have come out recently about using Post Offices as banking facilities for the unbanked. We held a forum on postal and public banking on March 29th on the Post Office steps.

THINGS ARE HAPPENING!

AND CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE.

“On Friday, April 11th, Albany Police raided a camp on the Albany Bulb, arresting two Bulb residents at one of their longtime homes. One of those arrested is currently dealing with serious medical issues and missed an extremely important surgery while locked down.

Not content to merely criminalize the homeless, the city used their arrests as a pretext to exclude the two targeted Bulb residents (who happen to be two of the most tenured) from the monetary settlement that was offered to some of those living on the Albany Bulb as part of their recent lawsuit against the City of Albany.

A conviction on the charges alleged would also result in a lifelong ban on receiving housing or financial assistance from the City of Albany.

These arrests have occurred in the context of increasing harassment and repression against all the current and former residents of the Bulb. For the last several weeks, Albany police, as well as East Bay Regional Parks rangers, have posted at the entrance to the Bulb every night, issuing tickets to any Bulb residents who try to enter or leave after 10:00pm for curfew violation.

Once a resident has received 3 curfew citations, upon receiving the 4th citation, the infraction of curfew violation becomes a misdemeanor and a stay-away order can be issued to the individual, effectively barring them entrance (even during daylight hours) to the place that many have called home for years.

All of this serves to further fragment and attack the community on the Bulb in the hopes of wearing down residents to force them from their home.

The Bulb residents who did choose to accept the monetary offer from the City ($3,000 per person), are deemed ineligible for assistance from Albany’s Housing Subsidy Program; must have their homes cleared out by this coming Friday April 25th; and are each required to sign an agreement that forbids them from returning to the Albany Bulb and bars them from visiting any and all of Albany’s open space areas for a period of 12 months (even during the daytime), in order to receive their part of the settlement. Thereby rendering them helpless to support their former neighbors in their darkest moments.

The few Bulb residents who have moved off of the Bulb have been told by Albany Police Officers, on numerous occasions, that they had better not go back to the Bulb. Some have even been told not to come back to Albany!

Film Screening of Where do You Go When it Rains? and Bulb Lovers testimony ps:) Before films GG and Orion will be leading a short sing along of Orions songs Every body must get droned
and They never change they shoot us down without shame it’s the same ol’ dirty rotten capitalist game
ALSO GG will sing Woody Guthrie’s I ain’t got no home

When: Tuesday April 22, 7:30pm

Where: 924 Gilamn St

What: Come hear updates on the Bulb and more about our latest efforts