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Councilmember Susan Wengraf
Newsletter #61
January, 2018
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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
First, my best wishes to all of you for a healthy and satisfying new year. We are faced with many challenges here in Berkeley and I am hoping to work with you to try to find some creative solutions. Please feel free to call my office at 981-7160 if you have time and energy and want to discuss issues that you feel are important.
I am busy working with community members and staff, trying to create policy that will address increased neighborhood traffic, fire safety, disaster preparedness, financial accountability and transparency, undergrounding of overhead utilities, police reform, etc. I need to know that I have your support to accomplish some of these goals, so write to me or call and let me know your thoughts.
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Susan Wengraf
Included in this newsletter is information about:
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 Chat With Your Council Reps
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Stop by for an informal discussion
with Mayor Jesse Arreguin and me.
We will both be available to chat with you about city-related issues.
No RSVP required. For additional information: 981-7160
Where: Saul's on Shattuck Avenue between Rose and Vine
When: Friday, January 26th at 3:00 pm
Back to top
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Recent Scam Attempts
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The Berkeley Department is alerting community members about an ongoing telephone scam where crooks are attempting to extort money from unsuspecting victims. On January 16, 2018, the Berkeley Police Communication Center received over a dozen calls from community members regarding what they perceived to be a scam. A person or persons with a heavily accented voice called claiming to be Berkeley Police Officers and threatened to arrest them if they did not pay them. The Berkeley Police Department is not making these phone calls. They are part of a scam.
Members of the community are urged to avoid giving personal or financial information over the phone. If they receive an unanticipated call from the Police Department, they can always ask the officer for a call back number and then call the Berkeley Police Communication Center 510-981-5900 to verify the identity of the alleged caller. If you have become a victim as described above, you are encouraged to call the Berkeley Police Communication Center to report the crime at the number listed above.
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Forum On Closure of Alta Bates Hospital
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As you may already be aware, Sutter Health intends to close Alta Bates Hospital - Berkeley's only acute-care and birthing center hospital - as early as 2019. This is a corporate decision that would deprive our community of a facility which provides critical services to East Bay residents, including but not limited to: labor and delivery, emergency services, and intensive care services. Sutter Health's intention to close Alta Bates Medical Center will leave Berkeley and other cities along the I-80 corridor, and through the Caldecott Tunnel, without convenient access to a full service, acute-care hospital.
The Save Alta Bates Hospital Community Forum will be February 3rd, 2018 from 11:00-1:00pm- at the Ed Roberts Campus at 3075 Adeline St. in Berkeley.
This free and public event will be hosted by the California Nurses Association, the Berkeley Mayor's Office, East Bay Mayors, and numerous local community organizations.
We hope you can join us February 3rd at 11:00am at this event aimed at organizing a community effort to save our Alta Bates Hospital.
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Living With Coyotes
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Many residents have concerns about coyotes and how they interact with pets and people. On February 4th you have an opportunity to learn about coyotes, remarkably adaptable and resilient predators that pose both challenges and benefits to urban and rural communities.
The coyote, known as the Song Dog, has existed in North America since the Pleistocene and is the most persecuted native carnivore in North America. Coyotes have expanded their range across North America and are increasingly common in residential areas where their presence can cause alarm and fear, especially regarding pets.
Berkeley Animal Care Services, in conjunction with the nonprofit Project Coyote is presenting an educational workshop on Sunday, February 4th. Topics covered in the workshop will include:
- Common causes of negative encounters with coyotes
- Strategies for reducing negative encounters
- Keeping pets safe
- Approaches to successfully living with coyotes and other wildlife
Sunday, Feb. 4th
10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Please RSVP to confirm a seat 510-981-6603
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Wildland Fire Safety
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 At the Fire Safety Meeting that I hosted in November, many questions were asked regarding vegetation management and evacuation.
Too much information and too many instructions can be overwhelming, so I have consolidated and distilled what I think to be the most important actions to protect you and your loved ones in the event of wildfire. If you do these three things, you will be well on your way to being prepared in the event of a threatening wildfire.
2. Create defensible space around your home:
- Remove all dead plants, grass and weeds (vegetation) close to your house.
- Remove dead or dry leaves and pine needles from your roof and gutters.
- Trim trees regularly to keep branches a minimum of 10 feet from other trees.
- Remove branches that hang over your roof and keep dead branches 10 feet away from your chimney.
- Relocate wood piles as far away as possible.
- Remove or prune flammable plants and shrubs near windows.
- Remove vegetation and items that could catch fire from around and under decks.
- Create a separation between trees, shrubs and items that could catch fire, such as patio furniture, wood piles, swing sets, etc.
3. Be Ready to Evacuate
- FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS! If police or fire personnel tell you to leave, do not doubt them! Leave as quickly as possible.
- Have a a bag or backpack that includes essential items for each family member and don't forget food and water for your pets.
- The following items should be included:
- Papers, passports, important documents and phones and chargers
- Prescriptions, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and other medications
- Pictures, photos and irreplaceable memorabilia
- Plastic; credit cards, ATM cards and cash
- Personal computer hard-drive or other storage
- Change of clothes
- Personal hygiene items
- Water for 72 hours
- Flashlight
- Battery powered radio with extra batteries
In the course of my discussions and research about fire safety, I was sent this excellent piece about evacuation by Fire and Disaster Commissioner Victoria Legg. I am sorry that I cannot credit the person or organization that wrote it. I find it very valuable in understanding the complexities involved in trying to figure out evacuations. Read it here.
The Berkeley Fire Department in coordination with the Public Works Department is currently developing an Evacuation Plan for the City of Berkeley that will let you know the streets most appropriate for you to use to get to a safe area, depending on the threat. That plan may even include making some streets temporarily one-way to accommodate more people in the event of a disaster. It will also allow for emergency responders to reach their target locations without impeding egress.
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Sweep by ICE Threatens Berkeley
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We have received information that a major challenge to sanctuary cities in the Bay Area may happen soon. Federal immigration agents are preparing to conduct major sweeps against undocumented immigrants. San Francisco and the Bay Area are expected to be the center of this raid, because of the sanctuary city laws that we have in place
Many people have called our office with concerns about this news. Do you know what to do if you witness a raid? The information here will help you:
To report Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, you can call the Alameda County Immigration Legal & Education Partnership (ACILEP) Hotline at 510-241-4011
for rapid response to ICE and legal services. The Mayor's Office has also created a useful handout with additional information and resources.
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New Emergency Notification system
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Beginning July 1, 2017, B.E.N.S. (Berkeley Emergency Notification System)will no longer be active.
AC Alert will be Berkeley's primary emergency alerting system for the public. It is one of the tools the City of Berkeley uses to communicate emergency information and instructions to the community. AC Alert can send:
- Voice alerts to phones
- SMS text messages
- Email
- TTY/TDD messages
Listed AT&T "land lines" are automatically included to receive voice messages from AC Alert for emergency warnings. Community members must sign up to receive voice or text alerts on cell phones, landline phones, unlisted phones, TTY/TDDs or through email.
If you want to receive emergency alerts and updates, sign up for AC Alert.
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| 311 |
- Need a new refuse can?
- Have a favorite pothole you want filled?
- Want to report illegal dumping?
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Susan Wengraf
Berkeley City Council District 6
510-981-7160 |
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