On 5/23/2018 11:56 AM, Ken Norton wrote:
Some of us are still in Berzerkeley
Self Identified Moose
Well, there is that.
Honestly, it's pretty hard to compete with Berkeley when it comes to weird.
Actually, Berkeley is nothing like it was "back in the day".
The State is putting a lot of pressure on urban areas to increase density, in order to slow the rate at which suburban
development has been devouring agricultural land. I like that idea. Our unique situation with Prop 13 puts a lot of
economic power over local jurisdictions in the hands of the State.
For that and other local reasons, Berkeley has been for years on an accelerating course of allowing mid-rise apartment
development downtown and along the corridors that lead out of it. That has changed the character of the center of the
city a great deal, not for the better, from a personal perspective.
One of the things that's never made sense to me is the liberal/progressive/tenant's advocacy argument that not enough
affordable housing is being built. Logically, this means most housing being built is un-affordable. The fact that it all
fills up and developers keep building more indicates that this is not so.
Yes, I know, "affordable" is a code word for a political position that fat cat developers and the City should pay to
house those who could not otherwise afford to live there. I just don't like logically inane arguments. Why don't they
just say that homeless encampments under freeways and such are growing, spreading and looking more and more permanent
and that they think our cities have an obligation, if only moral, to do something about taking care of these people
living in them.
No, these aren't young people like those in People's Park long ago, these are down and out folks, including way too many
families with children. Yes, I've met and chatted with some. Those have been ordinary folks who've just had things go
wrong. And no, I don't have any ideas for a solution that's politically possible these days.
I see articles saying that the country as a whole is close to full employment, with stories of employers giving raises
without being asked, to retain trained and experienced employees. Something's out of whack in a way I don't understand.
Although, Austin Texas does come close.
There seem to be enclaves of those who escaped and the like-minded scattered about. What fascinates me it the
juxtaposition of later hippie ethic/lifestyle and old fashioned Western rural town ethic/lifestyle in apparent harmony
in a number of towns we've been in around the west.
Color Me Bemused Moose
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What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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