“Feminist theory has generally been on the side of non-violence, yet few would contest the idea that self-defense sometimes does require force.” That claim begins the premise for “Violence \ Non-Violence,” a public conversation between seminal theorists Jacqueline Rose and Judith Butler on October 16, from 4–6 p.m. at UC Berkeley. Butler is a Maxine Elliot Professor in Comparative Literature and Critical Theory at Cal, and is recognized for her influential writing on gender. Rose is a professor at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, and is known for her writing on feminism, psychoanalysis, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Together, they will attempt to parse the ethical and political distinctions of aggression, force, and violence and outline a relationship between physical and psychological violence. Then, they will begin to situate those questions within the feminist and psychoanalytic discourse. On October 15 from 5–7 p.m., in the same location, Rose will also give a lecture called “Feminism and the Abomination of Violence,” which will, in part, explore the ways in which Hannah Arendt and Melanie Klein placed violence at the core of their work.
The time has come to ride the giant, glowing Ferris wheel that shows up in San Francisco every year: Treasure Island Music Festival is here once again. While this year’s headliners — indie rockers The National and EDM producer deadmau5 — might seem unremarkable to frequent festivalgoers (deadmau5 played TIMF in 2010 and The National, Outside Lands in 2013), the lineup features many up-and-coming artists and innovative acts worth getting excited about. On Saturday, British singer-songwriter FKA Twigs — whose recent EP and extended music video, M3LL155X, skillfully interrogated gender stereotypes through its disquieting lyrics and visuals — is one of the event’s must-see artists. As is Big Grams, the new pop-rap collaboration between Big Boi from OutKast and electropop duo Phantogram. On Big Grams’ self-titled debut album, Big Boi and Phantogram’s Sarah Barthel interweave twangy rhymes and syrupy hooks over effervescent, shoegaze-influenced production. Their set should make for a playful, genre-defying live show. Also, TIMF features a lineup of comedians in its stand-up tent, The Blah Blah Blah, which online comedy platform Funny or Die curated. Tim Heidecker of the infamously grotesque, surrealist comedy duo Tim & Eric (of Adult Swim fame) will perform there, along with many other humorists.
The Oakland hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics has been a major player in the East Bay’s underground rap scene for more than twenty years, and its members have enjoyed long and prolific careers. Many of their tracks — such as Souls of Mischief’s iconic hit “’93 til Infinity” — defined the Nineties conscious hip-hop movement on a national level and remain hugely influential today. The crew continues to bolster local hip-hop culture with its annual music festival, Hiero Day — which takes place during Labor Day weekend and features several generations of underground artists — and its DJ night, Wax Poetics, at Legionnaire Saloon. During Wax Poetics, rotating DJs spin sets that feature new, obscure hip-hop, Afrobeat, and funk. Don’t come to Wax Poetics expecting to hear Nineties nostalgia or current radio hits: “No Top Forty. No Golden Era,” the night’s flier proclaims.
“Feminist theory has generally been on the side of non-violence, yet few would contest the idea that self-defense sometimes does require force.” That claim begins the premise for “Violence \ Non-Violence,” a public conversation between seminal theorists Jacqueline Rose and Judith Butler on October 16, from 4–6 p.m. at UC Berkeley. Butler is a Maxine Elliot Professor in Comparative Literature and Critical Theory at Cal, and is recognized for her influential writing on gender. Rose is a professor at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, and is known for her writing on feminism, psychoanalysis, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Together, they will attempt to parse the ethical and political distinctions of aggression, force, and violence and outline a relationship between physical and psychological violence. Then, they will begin to situate those questions within the feminist and psychoanalytic discourse. On October 15 from 5–7 p.m., in the same location, Rose will also give a lecture called “Feminism and the Abomination of Violence,” which will, in part, explore the ways in which Hannah Arendt and Melanie Klein placed violence at the core of their work.
Central Works in Berkeley (2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley) will be hosting yet another world premiere with Ada and the Memory Engine, a play that honors women’s achievements in math and science. The story follows a young Ada Lovelace — the real-life daughter of famed poet Lord Byron — just as the industrial revolution is coming to a close. After becoming inspired by longtime friend Charles Babbage, who is credited with inventing the computer, Ada begins to fantasize about a new reality in which the boundaries between art and science converge. She seeks out to create a machine that will solve difficult algorithms — the first ever memory engine — but it’s not an easy task. Lauren Gunderson, who has written several plays about women’s roles in male-dominated academic disciplines, authored the play, and Central Works’ Gary Graves takes the helm in the director’s chair. If you’re a fan of both romance and technology, this one’s for you: The play’s promoters are likening it to a meeting between Steve Jobs and Jane Austen.
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is set to vote Tuesday on whether to explore the possibility of replacing PG&E as the provider of electric power to residents. After a yearlong campaign by a coalition of community organizations, two Contra Costa County cities, Walnut Creek and Lafayette, are taking active steps toward joining a “community choice energy” program. Three cities, Richmond, El Cerrito, and San Pablo, are already getting electricity from a Bay Area agency, Marin Clean Energy, instead of PG&E.
Advocates promote local community choice energy (CCE) systems as a way to increase the use of clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power, that don’t contribute to climate change. In Marin and Sonoma counties, community choice energy agencies have also been able to lower rates to consumers.
Carol Weed, a leader in the push for community choice energy in Contra Costa County, said the campaign was inspired by Alameda County’s decision to create its own CCE agency. Contra Costa County supporters began speaking at city council meetings and lobbying individual city and county officials about a year ago, as well as holding public meetings around the county.
[jump]
Weed said a local CCE system would have important benefits besides clean energy. Advocates say the system should promote local generation of wind, solar, and other clean energy as an economic development strategy that would provide jobs for residents. “We’ve had developers speak up about these advantages,” she said.
In a prepared statement for the supervisors’ meeting, Weed elaborated: “Contra Costa is the perfect place to benefit from the greening of the economy — we have more sun, more wind, more underemployed workers, more undeveloped land AND more Brownfield sites (which I wouldn’t normally brag about — but many are perfect for solar farms). When our county ha[s] its own CCA, renewable energy developers will find it more than twice as profitable to build here than at present.”
The Contra Costa Clean Energy Alliance specifies that it wants local energy developers to create “family-sustaining, high-quality jobs” and prioritize “union jobs” and “overcoming barriers to employment in … disadvantaged communities.”
County Supervisor Candace Anderson, who said she is “very committed to exploring” the possibility of a Contra Costa CCE, also mentioned the economic benefits of local energy generation. She said community choice energy “sounds like it can be very positive,” but she wants to know more before making a decision. “We need to reduce our carbon footprint,” she added.
Anderson, however, was skeptical about writing labor standards into a CCE plan. She said she would prefer to “let the market determine” these issues, to allow “business to create a model that works for them.”
In addition to Anderson, supervisors Karen Mitchoff and John Gioia support the move to investigate the CCE idea. Gioia is a strong supporter of community choice energy and first introduced the proposal to the supervisors’ Internal Operations Committee.
So far, no direct opposition to CCE has emerged in Contra Costa County. Anderson said she has talked with PG&E about the proposal and wants to “ask the staff to demonstrate what PG&E can offer” as an alternative. PG&E is barred by law from campaigning against CCE.
R.I.P.
Credits: Bert Johnson / file photo
Sad news for East Bay lovers of smoked brisket: Perdition Smokehouse (2050 University Ave.), perhaps Berkeley’s preeminent purveyor of Texas-style barbecue, has closed suddenly.
Details are scarce at this point, but owner Chuck Stilphen — who also runs The Trappist’s two Oakland locations and Mikkeller Bar in San Francisco — confirmed via email that yesterday was Perdition’s last day of business. The closure is permanent, he said.
[jump]
I gave the ‘cue at Perdition a somewhat mixed review last August, but the restaurant had emerged as my go-to spot for thick-sliced smoked brisket (which was especially good if you requested the fatty end) — and, of course, for the best craft beer selection of any barbecue spot in the East Bay. It was also one of a handful of restaurants in downtown Berkeley that was open late every night.
Stilphen didn’t elaborate on the reason for his decision to close, but it seems likely that it was at least somewhat connected to chef Mike O’Brien’s recently-announced decision to leave the company. O’Brien had been the chef at both Perdition and Mikkeller Bar.
Add this news to the shuttering of Tanya Holland’s B-Side BBQ in West Oakland earlier this year, and it appears that the upscale barbecue business in the East Bay just hasn’t taken off the way its proponents would like.
As advocates of Senate Bill 350 were celebrating the signing of the state’s new renewable energy law by Jerry Brown last week, a major appointment to a regulatory post in the governor’s administration went largely unnoticed. In a classic example of how Big Oil has captured the regulatory apparatus in California, Brown announced the appointment of Bill Bartling of Bakersfield, a Republican who has worked as an oil industry executive and consultant, as district deputy in the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, which regulates the state’s oil industry.
What are Bartling’s qualifications? According to a statement from the Governor’s Office on October 9:
[jump]
Bartling has been president at Aspectus Energy Consulting since 2015, where he was president from 2005 to 2008. He was general manager at OptaSense Borehole Imaging Services from 2014 to 2015, president and chief executive officer at SR2020 Inc. from 2008 to 2014 and founder and chief technology officer at Ambrose Oil and Gas from 2007 to 2010.
Bartling was senior director of market strategy at Silicon Graphics Inc. from 2000 to 2005, manager of technical computing at the Occidental Petroleum Corporation from 1998 to 2000 and senior vice president of software engineering at CogniSeis Development from 1996 to 1998.
He held several positions at the Chevron Corporation from 1981 to 1996, including supervisor for exploration, supervisor for production and research, geologist and geophysicist.
Bartling earned a Master of Science degree in geology from San Diego State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $180,000. Bartling is a Republican.
The Center for Biological Diversity’s Hollin Kretzmann criticized the appointment, stating, “Governor Brown’s administration has shown a blatant disregard for the law, and time after time it has sacrificed California’s water and public health in favor of oil industry profits. Hiring an oil executive to run one of the state’s most captured agencies is completely inappropriate and only adds insult to injury.”
As was the case on October 7, when the governor signed Senate Bill 350 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, Brown often attempts to depict himself as a “climate leader” and “green governor” at environmental conferences and photo opportunities across the globe.
However, court documents obtained by the Associated Press this summer in a RICO lawsuit filed by Central Valley farmers against the Brown administration document the claims by anti-fracking activists that the governor is collaborating with Big Oil on the expansion of extreme oil extraction techniques in California.
In these documents, two former senior level officials, Derek Chernow and Elena Miller, in the Department of Conservation in Governor Brown’s administration revealed that they were fired on November 3, 2011 after repeatedly warning the governor that the injection of wastewater into the earth from oil drilling would imperil the state’s groundwater.
Conflicts of interest abound in California politics; the appointment of an oil industry executive on October 9 and the dismissal of two key regulators by Jerry Brown in November 2011 because they failed to serve the oil industry’s wishes are just just a few examples of how Big Oil, agribusiness and other corporate interests have captured the regulatory apparatus in California.
1. Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation making California the first state in the nation to ban the routine use of antibiotics in livestock, the Bay Area News Group$ reports. The new law is designed to stem the proliferation of so-called “super-bugs,” antibiotic resistant bacteria that thrive on factory farms and kill an estimated 23,000 Americans a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Starting in 2018, agribusinesses in California will be prohibited from routinely injecting healthy livestock with antibiotics.
3. Brown signed legislation banning the use of the term “Redskins” as a school mascot or team name in California, the SacBee$ reports. Indigenous people have long sought to outlaw the racist term. The governor, however, vetoed a bill that would have banned the naming of public buildings and roads in California after Confederate leaders.
[jump]
4. Anyone who obtains a California driver’s license or state-issued identification will automatically be registered to vote in the state, under a new law signed by the governor, the SacBee$ reports. Residents who do not want to be registered to vote will have to opt out at the DMV.
5. The governor signed ethics legislation that requires nonprofits that pay for political junkets to reveal their donors, the SacBee$ reports. However, Brown vetoed a bill that would have increased the amount of personal financial information that politicians and public officials must disclose.
Kevin Skipper of the Bay Property Group.
Credits: Screenshot from Bay Property Group VideoUpdate 10/10: 8:50 a.m.:
Mayor Libby Schaaf has withdrawn her nomination to the Oakland rent board an associate of a landlords’ attorney who specializes in evicting tenants throughout the Bay Area. Schaaf spokesperson Erica Derryck wrote in a statement this morning:
“Mayor Schaaf has decided to withdraw Mr. Skipper’s nomination in light of the information uncovered by the East Bay Express.”
Derryck added that the Mayor’s Office had failed to fully vet Kevin Skipper for the position. The Express found that Skipper was not legally eligible to serve in the position that the mayor nominated him for on the Oakland rent board because he’s not a tenant. The rent board post is reserved under city law for tenants, and Skipper is not a tenant.
“The review of Mr. Skipper’s application was not as thorough as it should have been because of the pressing need to fill the tenant seat vacancy which has been preventing the board from reaching a quorum,” Derryck said.
“Making sure that the interests of Oaklanders are well represented on this important body requires that the process not be rushed.”
Schaaf, who has said that preventing residents from being displaced from their homes is one of her top priorities, had nominated Skipper, a real estate broker who is a senior associate of real estate services for the Bay Property Group, an Oakland-based brokerage and property management company owned by Daniel Bornstein. Bornstein is a well-known attorney who also operates the law offices of Bornstein & Bornstein, which represents landlords in their disputes with tenants. To landlords, Bornstein is known as one of the best real estate attorneys in the Bay Area. To tenants, Bornstein is known for the seminars he organizes, which his critics call “eviction boot camps,” and the numerous eviction proceedings he brings against renters.
[jump]
On his resume, Skipper states that his current job at Bornstein’s property management company involves, “sales and marketing of residential income properties in San Francisco,” and “placement of tenants through our management services division on behalf of property owners.”
On his Linkedin page Skipper describes his role at Bornstein’s real estate company as working with investors to buy small residential buildings in the East Bay.
“As a member of the Bay Property Group Team, I will be focusing on 2-4 unit properties for residential investment opportunities. I am excited to assist my clients in gaining the best advantage during this extremely unique time in the investment real estate market.”
In a Youtube video, Skipper states that he will help landlords “take advantage of market trends,” and that he “offers tools to help unlock hidden potentials” in real estate.
Schaaf had nominated Skipper to serve as one of the tenant alternates on Oakland’s Residential Rent and Relocation Board. Skipper would have filled in for the one of the two tenant advocates on the rent board if he or she was absent. The seven-member rent board is also made up of two landlord advocates and three members who are supposed to be independent.
The Oakland Residential Rent and Relocation Board has the authority to hear disputes between tenants and landlords over rent increases and other issues. The rent board also oversees Ellis Act filings. Skipper’s appointment is subject to approval by the full city council.
Bornstein, who has been profiled in the San Francisco Chronicle, runs a “rent control boot camp” where he schools landlords on strategies used to maximally increase rents and remove low-income or problem tenants from investment properties. One of Bornstein’s boot camps was disrupted by tenant activists last year. Bornstein’s law firm most recently made the news for helping a landlord use the Ellis Act to evict a 78-year-old tenant in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood.
In an interview before the mayor withdrew his nomination, Skipper said he felt he could adequately represent tenants on the rent board. “I’m not a landlord and I don’t own any property,” said Skipper. “I believe that I’m doing what my heart compels me to do.”
Skipper said his personal experiences qualified him to look out for renters’ interests, even though his day job is representing investors and landlords. “I have three kids and two grandkids who can’t afford to live in Oakland,” he said. “I’ve personally been evicted myself.”
“At face value it might be, ‘Oh, this dude is here to represent owners,’” said Skipper, “but I know how hard it is.”
But Skipper also revealed that he isn’t a renter, and has no lease with a landlord, calling into question his eligibility for the open alternate tenant seat on the rent board.
“I’m in a relationship, where I have a place to live,” said Skipper. “If I had to buy or even rent in this market, I couldn’t stay here.”
The ordinance establishing the rent board states that “the Board shall also have three alternate members, one residential rental property owner, one tenant and one person who is neither a tenant nor residential rental property owner.” A tenant is defined in the ordinance as “a person entitled, by written or oral agreement to the use or occupancy of any covered unit.”
“Feminist theory has generally been on the side of non-violence, yet few would contest the idea that self-defense sometimes does require force.” That claim begins the premise for “Violence Non-Violence,” a public conversation between seminal theorists Jacqueline Rose and Judith Butler on October 16, from 4–6 p.m. at UC Berkeley. Butler is a Maxine Elliot Professor in Comparative...
The time has come to ride the giant, glowing Ferris wheel that shows up in San Francisco every year: Treasure Island Music Festival is here once again. While this year’s headliners — indie rockers The National and EDM producer deadmau5 — might seem unremarkable to frequent festivalgoers (deadmau5 played TIMF in 2010 and The National, Outside Lands in 2013),...
The Oakland hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics has been a major player in the East Bay’s underground rap scene for more than twenty years, and its members have enjoyed long and prolific careers. Many of their tracks — such as Souls of Mischief’s iconic hit “’93 til Infinity” — defined the Nineties conscious hip-hop movement on a national level and remain...
“Feminist theory has generally been on the side of non-violence, yet few would contest the idea that self-defense sometimes does require force.” That claim begins the premise for “Violence Non-Violence,” a public conversation between seminal theorists Jacqueline Rose and Judith Butler on October 16, from 4–6 p.m. at UC Berkeley. Butler is a Maxine Elliot Professor in Comparative...
Central Works in Berkeley (2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley) will be hosting yet another world premiere with Ada and the Memory Engine, a play that honors women’s achievements in math and science. The story follows a young Ada Lovelace — the real-life daughter of famed poet Lord Byron — just as the industrial revolution is coming to a close. After...
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is set to vote Tuesday on whether to explore the possibility of replacing PG&E as the provider of electric power to residents. After a yearlong campaign by a coalition of community organizations, two Contra Costa County cities, Walnut Creek and Lafayette, are taking active steps toward joining a “community choice energy” program....
R.I.P.
Credits: Bert Johnson / file photo
Sad news for East Bay lovers of smoked brisket: Perdition Smokehouse (2050 University Ave.), perhaps Berkeley's preeminent purveyor of Texas-style barbecue, has closed suddenly.
Details are scarce at this point, but owner Chuck Stilphen — who also runs The Trappist's two Oakland locations and Mikkeller Bar in San Francisco — confirmed via...
As advocates of Senate Bill 350 were celebrating the signing of the state’s new renewable energy law by Jerry Brown last week, a major appointment to a regulatory post in the governor’s administration went largely unnoticed. In a classic example of how Big Oil has captured the regulatory apparatus in California, Brown announced the appointment of Bill Bartling of...
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation making California the first state in the nation to ban the routine use of antibiotics in livestock, the Bay Area News Group$ reports. The new law is designed to stem the proliferation of so-called “super-bugs,” antibiotic resistant bacteria that thrive on factory farms and kill an estimated 23,000 Americans a year,...
Kevin Skipper of the Bay Property Group.
Credits: Screenshot from Bay Property Group Video
Update 10/10: 8:50 a.m.:
Mayor Libby Schaaf has withdrawn her nomination to the Oakland rent board an associate of a landlords' attorney who specializes in evicting tenants throughout the Bay Area. Schaaf spokesperson Erica Derryck wrote in a statement this morning:
"Mayor Schaaf has decided...
