Berkeley and the SZMC.

At a 7 pm meeting tonight of the Berkeley City Council that'll be touching on subjects ranging from zoning districts for medical marijuana dispensaries, the sixth annual Peace Lantern Ceremony and opposition to the Reliable Replacement Warhead Program (keep Berkeley nuclear free!) as well as to Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts in education and transportation budgets, another item will be added to the agenda as representatives of a 22-year-old community of independent filmmakers request that Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and the City Council intervene on their behalf.

Wareham Properties, the new owner of the Saul Zaentz Media Center is demanding rent increases ranging from 40 to 100 percent. Pay up or face immediate eviction.

In a piece that appeared in the Berkeley Daily Planet a couple of weeks ago, Judith Scherr sketched the back story leading up to tonight's request that the Mayor honor his "promise to create and maintain a strong arts community in Berkeley," as a press release puts it, adding a reminder of the stakes: "For over 22 years The Saul Zaentz Media Center has housed a community whose members have produced over fourteen Academy Award nominated documentaries."

Posted by dwhudson at March 20, 2007 11:06 AM