John J. Parman
@j2parman.bsky.social
Writer-editor based in Berkeley
@aboutdave.bsky.social , here's the article that started our thread. I read it wrong - it's not specifically about prevailing wage, but other labor-related issues. www.berkeleyside.org/2025/11/18/b...
Developers have found way to bypass Berkeley’s labor standards for housing construction
Developers are using a powerful state housing law to get around Berkeley's labor standards. Construction unions want to block their projects.
www.berkeleyside.org
November 23, 2025 at 1:54 AM
@aboutdave.bsky.social , here's the article that started our thread. I read it wrong - it's not specifically about prevailing wage, but other labor-related issues. www.berkeleyside.org/2025/11/18/b...
So much for the course-correction.
sfist.com/2025/11/19/m...
sfist.com/2025/11/19/m...
Marc Benioff, Elon Musk Attend White House Dinner With Murderous Saudi Crown Prince
The billionaires were all back in their billionaire bubble alongside Trump Tuesday night, and even Elon Musk has been welcomed back into the fold after his teenage-style tiff with Trump.
sfist.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:00 AM
So much for the course-correction.
sfist.com/2025/11/19/m...
sfist.com/2025/11/19/m...
This is a real issue. To me, it violates rule of law.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
A green card holder returning from vacation. An asylum recipient at a “routine check-in.” A woman reapplying for her work visa. All of them were legally in the U.S. when they were suddenly arrested and detained by ICE. nyti.ms/4i5gsM5
A green card holder returning from vacation. An asylum recipient at a “routine check-in.” A woman reapplying for her work visa. All of them were legally in the U.S. when they were suddenly arrested and detained by ICE. nyti.ms/4i5gsM5
Opinion | We Immigrated Legally. ICE Detained Us Anyway.
The brutal detention of three people who came to the U.S. legally reveals a cruel system that operates with impunity.
nyti.ms
November 17, 2025 at 11:29 PM
This is a real issue. To me, it violates rule of law.
Wiener's black swan?
missionlocal.org/2025/11/scot...
missionlocal.org/2025/11/scot...
Voters seem to want something new. Does that look like Scott Wiener?
Sen. Wiener has spent years laying the groundwork for a congressional run. Why couldn't he have waited one more week?
missionlocal.org
November 3, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Wiener's black swan?
missionlocal.org/2025/11/scot...
missionlocal.org/2025/11/scot...
Not a good look. www.berkeleyside.org/2025/10/30/f...
A federal agent shot a pastor in the face with a chemical weapon. What can California do about it?
A violent response to an Oakland protest raises the same legal questions other states are grappling with as Trump’s immigration crackdown intensifies.
www.berkeleyside.org
October 31, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Not a good look. www.berkeleyside.org/2025/10/30/f...
Hamas should look to the IRA as its precedent.
October 16, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Hamas should look to the IRA as its precedent.
Urban dilemmas, episode 1,267,488.
Berkeley encampment fire puts the focus on Codornices Creek
Community members are concerned about impacts on businesses and protected steelhead trout. They say Berkeley must do more.
www.berkeleyscanner.com
October 7, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Urban dilemmas, episode 1,267,488.
"The Right to Bear Arms," episode 762,477,986 (and counting).
sc.mp/yzvy6?utm_so...
sc.mp/yzvy6?utm_so...
Gunmen kill 2, injure 12 in a shootout in Alabama’s capital Montgomery
Five of the wounded were in life-threatening condition, police said. No one has yet been arrested and police are appealing for information.
sc.mp
October 6, 2025 at 1:20 AM
"The Right to Bear Arms," episode 762,477,986 (and counting).
sc.mp/yzvy6?utm_so...
sc.mp/yzvy6?utm_so...
CA invades Oregon, apparently.
The Trump administration sent 300 federalized members of the California National Guard to Oregon early Sunday, after being blocked by a federal court from deploying the Oregon National Guard in that state, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom denounced the move and said California would sue.
Trump Sends California Guard Troops to Portland, Ore., Newsom Says
The move follows a judge’s order on Saturday that blocked the Oregon National Guard from deploying there. California’s governor said the state would sue.
nyti.ms
October 5, 2025 at 7:56 PM
CA invades Oregon, apparently.
My friend Peiting Li is teaching calligraphy at Teance in Berkeley, in case you live in these parts.
www.teance.com/calligraphy-...
www.teance.com/calligraphy-...
Calligraphy and Tea with Dr. Peiting C. Li
1st & 3rd Sundays 10am–12pm Join us at Teance for calligraphy & tea—a shared space for both seasoned practitioners and the calligraphy-curious. Cultivate se
www.teance.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:16 AM
My friend Peiting Li is teaching calligraphy at Teance in Berkeley, in case you live in these parts.
www.teance.com/calligraphy-...
www.teance.com/calligraphy-...
More from Seattle.
www.seattletimes.com/business/rea...
www.seattletimes.com/business/rea...
Renting in Seattle area to get harder
After a building boom since the pandemic, apartment construction is dying down in Seattle as costs rise and economic uncertainty mounts.
www.seattletimes.com
October 2, 2025 at 10:23 PM
More from Seattle.
www.seattletimes.com/business/rea...
www.seattletimes.com/business/rea...
Is inclusionary housing problematic?
www.forbes.com/sites/rogerv...
www.forbes.com/sites/rogerv...
Bad Housing Policy In Seattle Should Be A Warning To Other Cities
Affordability mandates and eviction bans are well intended, but they are harming the Seattle's non-profit housing sector.
www.forbes.com
October 2, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Is inclusionary housing problematic?
www.forbes.com/sites/rogerv...
www.forbes.com/sites/rogerv...
Greek Theater volume a tad too high.
September 25, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Greek Theater volume a tad too high.
James Rojas on the slow demise of his Rockridge neighborhood.
The Lost Soul of Oakland: Living Large in Lower Rockridge
Real estate speculation is eroding the beauty of a great urban neighborhood.
commonedge.org
September 24, 2025 at 4:16 PM
James Rojas on the slow demise of his Rockridge neighborhood.
"Round up the usual suspects."
September 18, 2025 at 7:12 AM
"Round up the usual suspects."
@idothethinking.bsky.social analysis of SB79 leads me to retract my wholesale opposition to it. It has more nuance than I realized. The way legislation is communicated divides between all-in and total rejection, I realize. Owens' approach cuts through that.
open.substack.com/pub/darrello...
open.substack.com/pub/darrello...
California Passes Mass Transit Upzoning
Senate Bill 79 is the third version of a transit-oriented upzoning law. After eight years of failed attempts, the proposal will soon be signed by Gavin Newsom and become law.
open.substack.com
September 16, 2025 at 3:20 AM
@idothethinking.bsky.social analysis of SB79 leads me to retract my wholesale opposition to it. It has more nuance than I realized. The way legislation is communicated divides between all-in and total rejection, I realize. Owens' approach cuts through that.
open.substack.com/pub/darrello...
open.substack.com/pub/darrello...
"Round up the usual suspects."
September 15, 2025 at 9:47 PM
"Round up the usual suspects."
My new sparring partner re: housing uses the name of a high king of Ireland as his nom de guerre, I just learned.
September 15, 2025 at 3:05 AM
My new sparring partner re: housing uses the name of a high king of Ireland as his nom de guerre, I just learned.
Sense of place has a long been an implicit goal of city-making, but it seems now to be seen by some as a Boomer plot to deprive others of housing. But sense of place is entirely possible at different scales, as can be seen in many cities.
September 14, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Sense of place has a long been an implicit goal of city-making, but it seems now to be seen by some as a Boomer plot to deprive others of housing. But sense of place is entirely possible at different scales, as can be seen in many cities.
The ancient regime had its uses.
on.ft.com/4psBZ4O
on.ft.com/4psBZ4O
The artist who befriended Marie Antoinette, and me
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, portraitist to the last queen of France, was wildly successful in her day, outstripping the earnings of any male peer
on.ft.com
September 14, 2025 at 6:20 AM
The ancient regime had its uses.
on.ft.com/4psBZ4O
on.ft.com/4psBZ4O
Amoebanality from Studio KDA. I assume it's the developer, because some of their work is first-rate.
www.berkeleyside.org/2025/08/28/a...
www.berkeleyside.org/2025/08/28/a...
Amoeba Music plans to build apartments above its Telegraph Avenue store
The record store would move into the ground floor of the new development and will preserve the People’s Park mural on its Haste Street wall.
www.berkeleyside.org
August 29, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Amoebanality from Studio KDA. I assume it's the developer, because some of their work is first-rate.
www.berkeleyside.org/2025/08/28/a...
www.berkeleyside.org/2025/08/28/a...
N: Anchorage
E: Manila
W: Hanalei Bay
S: Melbourne
E: Manila
W: Hanalei Bay
S: Melbourne
August 8, 2025 at 6:38 AM
N: Anchorage
E: Manila
W: Hanalei Bay
S: Melbourne
E: Manila
W: Hanalei Bay
S: Melbourne
Cuba still draws a crowd, I observe.
August 5, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Cuba still draws a crowd, I observe.
The new print issue of "ARCADE" in digital form. I co-edited it with Camila Szabo and it was designed by Finn Schneider.
www.arcadenw.org/all-magazine...
www.arcadenw.org/all-magazine...
Materiality
www.arcadenw.org
August 2, 2025 at 1:58 AM
The new print issue of "ARCADE" in digital form. I co-edited it with Camila Szabo and it was designed by Finn Schneider.
www.arcadenw.org/all-magazine...
www.arcadenw.org/all-magazine...
Mid-semester report on @jackiefielder.bsky.social, who I admire. Her persistence on behalf of homeless families paid off.
July 30, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Mid-semester report on @jackiefielder.bsky.social, who I admire. Her persistence on behalf of homeless families paid off.