Ben Bartlett Berkeley Councilmember Sunday Stop Asian Hate Rally #StopAsianHate Rally, COVID-19 Update, Community Safety Town Hall, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Rent Relief
If you are available this Sunday, 3/28/2021 between 2-4 pm, please join this event organized by Berkeley’s AAPI Youth!
We will be there to stand in solidarity, and we’d love to see you! Please feel free to come and chat with us! Get your tickets HERE!
Vaccine Availability /Alert from Berkeley Public Health
Get notified directly about vaccination opportunities coordinated through Berkeley Public Health by signing up for our vaccine notification list.
Available Vaccines: 65+, public transit workers, janitors, people with certain underlying health conditions, workers at high-risk of infection in certain industries can now register for an appointment at Berkeley Public Health’s mass vaccination site at 1 Buchanan Street:
Make an appointment: March 30 & 31
Make an appointment: April 1-3
Visit City of Berkeley.info/covax for more information on COVID-19 vaccines, including other notification lists and links to other providers.
Vaccinations also available at the Oakland Coliseum and CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens pharmacies
Check availability and schedule appointments for the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum at myturn.ca.gov or by calling 1-833-422-4255. CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens pharmacies are also now scheduling COVID-19 vaccinations for all people under current state eligibility guidelines. Use the links below to schedule an appointment.
CVS COVID-19 vaccine appointments
Rite-Aid COVID-19 vaccine appointments
Walgreens COVID-19 vaccine appointments
COVID-19 Vaccine Volunteer & Outreach Event
To sign up to volunteer with the Berkeley Community Outreach Taskforce HERE
Other opportunities to volunteer: City of Berkeley – https://www.cityofberkeley.info/covid19-volunteer/ -//- State of California – https://myturnvolunteer.ca.gov/s/landing
Berkeley Community Safety Town Hall
Our office is co-hosting Councilmember Terry Taplin’s Community Safety Town Hall along with Mayor Jesse Arreguin and Interim Police Chief Jen Louis on March 31st at 7 pm PST.
Please come attend the Zoom meeting to use your voice to make a positive impact on our community. Please register to attend here.
We invite you to join us for The City of Berkeley’s 18th Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Program, honoring survivors and remembering all those who perished in the Holocaust.
This year we will hear from and honor Edith Levy Heine, a Survivor of the Holocaust who spent four years of her childhood hiding from Nazis in a damp cellar in Amsterdam. The program will include hearing from Sasha McQueen who is the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of two women who survived three different concentration camps. Poet and Councilmember Terry Taplin and musicians Cookie Segelstein and Josh Horowitz, Mike Perlmutter, with members of the Saul Goodman Klezmer Band will also participate. A candle-lighting ceremony in memory of loved ones who were murdered in the Holocaust is a central part of the program.
The free program will take Thursday, April 8th, at 2 PM. Reserve your tickets here.
Request for Proposal (RFP) for Microbond Financing Program
The City of Berkeley has released the RFP application for our office’s Microbond Financing Program.
Our first-in-the-nation Microbonds Blockchain Initiative is important because Blockchain technology can dramatically lower the cost to issue, obtain, and administer bonds. This is done by streamlining and automating transactional processes. Designed to be affordable and sold in small denominations, Microbonds also open doors to community-powered finance. The community can select and fund local scale projects, such as parks, public art, local clean energy, and affordable housing. Additionally, Microbonds can be the antidote to extreme wealth concentration by creating investment opportunities for historically marginalized populations. Funding for such City projects is usually dependent on institutions outside the community, but having Municipal Microbonds powered by blockchain can democratize finance and empower the community to reap the greater benefit.
You can access the application HERE!
The deadline has been extended to no later than 2 pm on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.
If the pandemic has hurt your ability to pay rent or utilities, apply!
Low-income tenants or small landlords in Berkeley struggling to pay rent or utilities because of the pandemic can apply online for assistance to cover both past and future costs. Tenants who can apply are those who make less than 80 percent of the area’s median income. Grants will be first given to those tenants who 1) live in subsidized affordable housing units OR 2) make less than 30 percent of the area median income
Qualifying landlords in this phase are those who have 5 units or less. See Alameda County’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program website and apply online for Tenant Assistance or Landlord Assistance. Low-income tenants in Berkeley needing more information or assistance with the online application can call the Eviction Defense Center at 510-452-4541. The City also provides financial assistance for those facing eviction for certain non-pandemic reasons, including domestic violence and unexpected medical or disability expenses. See our Housing Retention Program page for details.
Eligibility – If one or more individuals in your household meet all of the following, you are eligible to apply:
Tenant in Alameda County
Have qualified for unemployment benefits or experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due to COVID–19;
Demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability, which may include Past-due rent or utilities or unsafe or unhealthy living conditions
Have a household income that is not more than 80% of the area’s median income, ranging from a maximum income of $73K for a single person to $129K for a household of 7.
Applicants will not be asked about their citizenship, nor will they be required to show proof of citizenship. Please download this checklist for Documents you’ll need to gather before applying
March 18-31st! Berkeley Restaurant Week!
March Munch Madness returns with Berkeley’s Restaurant Week taking place March 18th through March 31st, 2021.
Visit Berkeley has taken the lead in promoting and supporting our local culinary community through various initiatives and platforms, including their “Outdoor Dining” and “We’re Open” pages on their site!
Here are the Four Tasty Tiers:
$ Layup Tier $10-$20
$$ Jump Shot Tier $20-$30
$$$ Three Pointer Tier $30-$40
$$$$ Full Court Press Tier $40+
For more information, click here.