11/21/08

my thoughts

on a completely new Potter Creek Association

We don't need one?

Potter Creek is too diverse for one association?

One Potter Creek assocation is one too many?

Potter Creek needs an association not a political action group?

secret associations aren't transparent?

one member, one vote, democracy?

under the stake-holder system--a Berkeley concept de jour, those who have more atstake have more votes?

one member, one vote, democracy? oh, I asked that already.

more to follow

 

 

"UC is looking for alternate football site during retrofit work" is a story at CBS5.com.

"The University of California, Berkeley is looking at all possible local venues for its home games when it retrofits its football stadium sometime in the near future, campus spokesman Dan Mogulof said today.

However, Mogulof said he doesn't know if a UC Board of Regents committee discussed at a closed meeting today the possibility of having the Cal team play at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, which is where the San Francisco 49ers play."

 

 

"Stewartsville: George R. Stewart's Names on the Land" by Christine Smallwood appears in The Nation.

"In 1948, the year that Norman Mailer published The Naked and the Dead and Dawn Powell released The Locusts Have No King, an English professor at the University of California named George Rippey Stewart published a novel called Fire. The story of an imaginary blaze's path of destruction through Northern California and the men who coordinate an attack to put it out, it closely reworked a book he had written seven years earlier, Storm. It's not much of a fire--'any old-timer could recall a score of greater ones, and would only expect that the years to come would bring many more'--yet the charred trees, imagined as victims of a plague that spared adults and killed all the children, will have consequences for the land that 'could be reckoned ahead in centuries.' " 

 

 

 

my favorites from the "Fifty things you might not know about Barack Obama" now being circulated on the Internet

His name means 'one who is blessed' in Swahili
His favourite meal is wife Michelle's shrimp linguini
He is left-handed - the sixth post-war president to be left-handed
He can speak Spanish
His favourite book is Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
His favourite music includes Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees< /SPAN>
He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal
His favourite fictional television programmes are Mash and The Wire
He keeps on his desk a carving of a wooden hand holding an egg, a Kenyan symbol of the fragility of life

Merryll forwarded this.

 

 

"New Study Shows Time Spent Online Important for Teen Development" is a report from marketwatch.com.

"New research funded by the MacArthur Foundation is the most extensive U.S. study of teens' use of digital media
Results from the most extensive U.S. study on teens and their use of digital media show that America's youth are developing important social and technical skills online - often in ways adults do not understand or value." 


 

"Train exhibit a labor of love for Cal professor" is a story by Patricia Yollin, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"For his first Christmas, Chip Sullivan got a steam locomotive. He still has it. The Lionel classic, now part of a model railroad the 59-year-old UC Berkeley professor built in his loft, is the inspiration for something that combines his love of trains and art: a garden railway he designed for the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers' new holiday exhibit."

 

 

"Tree Huggers, Bible Thumpers Shed Tears, Crack Wise" is a S.F. stage review by Stephen West at bloomberg.com.

"'The Quality of Life,' Jane Anderson's play about a conservative couple from Ohio who visit their liberal relatives in Northern California, can't quite decide whether it wants to be a lightweight comedy or a touching drama.

In the staging at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater, Bill and Dinah are earnest, religious and still grieving over the recent death of their daughter when they travel west to visit Jeannette and Neil.

The California couple has their own problems: A forest fire burned down their house in a remote canyon, and they're living in a yurt and cooking their meals outdoors. Neil, a distinguished anthropologist, has terminal cancer.

The schematic framework -- two straight arrows fighting their own culture war with two tree-hugging free spirits -- seems worthy of a sitcom. Sometimes, the dialogue sounds that way, too. When Neil wants to smoke some pot to relieve his pain, Bill says he'll wait in the car.

'It's heirloom pot,' Jeannette wisecracks. 'He can trace it back to what came over on the Mayflower.' " 

 

 

"U.C. Berkeley Global Venture Lab Unveils Impact Analysis for Large-Scale Deployment of Electrical Vehicles in California" is a press release at prweb.com.

"The Global Venture Lab Technical Briefs are the preliminary results of a new category of research projects
Our approach is to identify and examine meaningful challenges -- with high social impact -- and the potential to not only create new companies, but to create new industries. The Better Place initiative, announced for California today, clearly fits these parameters.

With our world-class faculty and students and our focus on the innovative design and engineering of large and complex real world systems, the Industrial Engineering and Operations Research department is uniquely positioned to be the 'glue' that integrates multi-disciplinary expertise to address the critical issues facing society in the 21st century.

U.C. Berkeley's Global Venture Lab today unveiled early results of a study modeling the impact of large-scale electric vehicle deployment in the Bay Area. This announcement follows today's news from the California Governor's office, the mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, Better Place of Palo Alto, the Bay Area Council, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, announcing a public-private partnership for California to lead the nation in switching from carbon-based transportation to sustainable mobility based on clean electric vehicles." 

 

 

"Better Place to Charge Up California: The VC-backed Better Place plans to set up a network of electric-car charging stations in the SF Bay Area, a $1 billion project that can become reality by 2012" by is a report at greentechmedia.com by Ucilia Wang and Michael Kanellos.

"A mayoral trifecta from the San Francisco Bay Area said Thursday that Better Place will set up electric car charging stations throughout the region, making California its first market in the country.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup plans to set up stations in the next few years, readying them for electric cars to arrive starting in 2012, said Shai Agassi, founder of Better Place who has inked similar deals in Israel, Denmark and Australia. Agassi estimates that the project will cost about $1 billion.

Consumers will be able to stop by those stations and swap out batteries, a model that Agassi believes will make electric cars more appealing. Charging batteries can take hours."

 

 

 

"Cost Plus celebrates 50 years" is a story by Eve Mitchell of the Times.

"Rose Brady came in looking for a back scratcher at the Cost Plus World Market here, but left the store with items that included peppermint bark candy and chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.

'Sometimes I come here to browse and see what I can find. You can always find something,' said the Antioch resident of the pioneer retailer, which is known for its wide assortment of imported housewares, baskets, furniture, soaps, foods, wines and other merchandise.

Oakland-based Cost Plus Inc. is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year just months after rejecting an unsolicited bid to buy it in June from its much bigger Fort Worth, Texas-based rival Pier 1, which also has its roots in the Bay Area with the opening of its first store in San Mateo in 1962.

While Cost Plus has an inspiring retail story, the same can't be said for its more recent past. Its stock price has decreased more than 90 percent in the past three years, closing at $1.11 per share Friday. The celebration of the retailer's golden anniversary comes at a time when the company is getting back to its retail roots by selling more lower-priced merchandise and less furniture.

The first Cost Plus store opened on Oct. 23, 1958 on Taylor Street in the Fisherman's Wharf area of San Francisco. The flagship store, which is still in the original location, opened not long after company founder William Amthor, a San Francisco furniture store owner with a passion for traveling, started selling imported rattan furniture and baskets from a pier."

 

 

"Bay Area home prices dive, sales soar" writes Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"Against a background of economic turmoil, Bay Area home sales soared and the median price plummeted in October as buyers snapped up bargain foreclosures, according to a real estate report released today.

A total of 5,624 resale homes changed hands in the nine-county Bay Area in October, up 66.2 percent from a year ago, according to research firm MDA DataQuick of San Diego. The median price fell to $375,000, down 45.3 percent from $685,000 a year ago. Almost half of all existing homes sold - 44.8 percent - had previously been foreclosed upon, compared to just 8.2 percent a year ago." 

 

 

 

 

"US faces kosher meat shortage" reports BBC News, New York.

"The Orthodox Jewish community in the United States is facing a shortage of kosher meat after the country's biggest producer was forced to halt operations.

In some communities shops have been out of kosher beef for weeks.

LD Itzkowitz looks at his meat counter and grimaces in resignation. The shelves at the KRM grocery store in Brooklyn he manages are half empty, and prices have increased by as much as 25%.

'We're scrambling. I don't know how we're going to manage. There's a major shortage. Prices have gone up astronomically because we've lost a major supplier,' he said.

Early this month, Agriprocessor in Postville, Iowa, filed for bankruptcy."

 

 

More than is good for you about the US auto industry can by found archived on charlierose.com.

 

 

"US global dominance 'set to wane' " is a BBC story.

"US economic, military and political dominance is likely to decline over the next two decades, according to a new US intelligence report on global trends.

The National Intelligence Council (NIC) predicts China, India and Russia will increasingly challenge US influence.
It also says the dollar may no longer be the world's major currency, and food and water shortages will fuel conflict." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/22/08

Garad emails this NPR-story-link and comment

Bad economies don't drive people to become criminals. Max Anderson's commments (District 3) about the economy driving people to commit crime are not helpful and are distracting from the real issues behind crime that residents in Berkeley are struggling to cope with.

"Criminologists dismiss the myth that a bad economy leads people to commit more crime. However, cutting police budgets has been shown to lead to increases in crime" is a story by Laura Sullivan of NPR.

"Bad Economies Don't Cause Crime Waves.

There are few outlaws in the United States as famous as Bonnie and Clyde - a young couple, with no jobs or prospects, driving across the country robbing banks and killing police officers to make ends meet during the Great Depression.

It's an indelible image of what people will do during desperate times. For a while, Bonnie and Clyde were almost American heroes.

There's only one problem: The Depression years had very little crime.

With the economy's current troubles, many people assume a crime wave is just around the corner. But criminologists say that's just an American myth.

Just look at the 1920s, says David Kennedy, director of the Center for Crime Prevention at John Jay College of Criminal Studies.

'It was a period of booming economic prosperity, the roaring '20s, and very high crime,' he says. The 1950s and '60s were the same. The economy was great, but crime rates rose every single year." 

 

And Jarad emails another link and comment

This Economist Magazine article explains why graffiti is a gateway crime to to larger crimes that are affecting our neighborhoods and how feet dragging on the problem is making West Berkeley more attractive to criminals. It would be nice if the city would acknowledge the scientific facts and take a zero tolerance approach to crime down here. The idea that graffiti-spraying and other forms of low-level delinquency promote further bad behaviour has now been tested experimentally.
 

"There is now scientific proof behind the broken windows theory" reports the Economist.

"A place that is covered in graffiti and festooned with rubbish makes people feel uneasy. And with good reason, according to a group of researchers in the Netherlands. Kees Keizer and his colleagues at the University of Groningen deliberately created such settings as a part of a series of experiments designed to discover if signs of vandalism, litter and low-level lawbreaking could change the way people behave. They found that they could, by a lot: doubling the number who are prepared to litter and steal.

The idea that observing disorder can have a psychological effect on people has been around for a while. In the late 1980s George Kelling, a former probation officer who now works at Rutgers University, initiated what became a vigorous campaign to remove graffiti from New York City's subway system, which was followed by a reduction in petty crime. This idea also underpinned the 'zero tolerance' which Rudy Giuliani subsequently brought to the city's streets when he became mayor.

Many cities and communities around the world now try to get on top of anti-social behaviour as a way of deterring crime. But the idea remains a controversial one, not least because it is often difficult to account for other factors that could influence crime reduction, such as changes in poverty levels, housing conditions and sentencing policy-even, some people have argued, the removal of lead from petrol. An experimental test of the 'broken windows theory', as Dr Kelling and his colleague James Wilson later called the idea, is therefore long overdue. And that is what Dr Keizer and his colleagues have provided.

 

 

"Bay Area, Northern California" are reviews by Tom Sietsma, Washington Post Food Critic.

"The Bay Area in Northern California continues to produce some of the most interesting places to eat in the country, but visitors who limit themselves to dining in San Francisco should know what they're missing. Here's what impressed me most on a recent tour of the region: . . . "

 

Enrico's Invite, emails Mal Sharpe

The 50 Anniversary with Big Money in Leftovers
Bring a pocket full of  leftover turkey wings and cranberries---Big
Money in Jazz has been invited back to play for the big five-0ooooo
and it is on the night right  after Thanksgiving---Friday the 28th.
It's been 50 years since Enrico Banducci opened the joint and it's
still the best spot to hang out on Broadway. Although Encrico kicked
the bucket a few months ago, his spirit still wafts through the air.
One of SF's top Cabaret singers is joining us, Veronica Klaus.  On
guitar will  the most light headed musician to ever sprawl on the
sands of North Beach, the effervescent Ned Boynton. (Did you ever see
him when he effer-vasn't?) Ned was the musical director of Enrico's
for many years. Trumpet genius Jim Gammon will bring his duck call,
drummer Carmen Cansino will play without shoes and Bassist Paul Smith
will do his best to make the trombonist laugh---hey, that me!!!! Other
musicians may be sitting in for free drinks. Wear a Pilgrim suit and
get a 10%discount on selected salads..
General Motors stock may be down to 3 but your stock will always be
rising if you're standing on Enrico's patio downing a Mojito with
Walnut  stuffing. This may be The New Year's Eve of baked Yams. Make a
reservation right now.
www.enricossf.com

 

 

"The End" is a story by Michael Lewis from National Business News on portfolio.com.

"The era that defined Wall Street is finally, officially over. Michael Lewis, who chronicled its excess in Liar's Poker, returns to his old haunt to figure out what went wrong.

To this day, the willingness of a Wall Street investment bank to pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars to dispense investment advice to grownups remains a mystery to me. I was 24 years old, with no experience of, or particular interest in, guessing which stocks and bonds would rise and which would fall. The essential function of Wall Street is to allocate capital-to decide who should get it and who should not. Believe me when I tell you that I hadn't the first clue."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/23/08

"Best runs wild as defense ends Cardinal's season" reports Rusty Simmons, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"Cal's defense ended the first half Saturday in Strawberry Canyon by stopping Stanford power back Toby Gerhart on two runs from the 1-yard line."

 

"Berkeley Rep's 'Arabian Nights' a magical night of theater" by Pat Craig of our Times.

"There is a grand-slam, winning-the-World-Series sort of exhilaration to seeing top-notch theater performed by actors working at the peak of their game.

You could feel it Wednesday night in the intermission buzz at Berkeley Repertory Theatre company's production of Mary Zimmerman's 'The Arabian Nights,' a spectacular retelling of the old '1,001 nights' tales staged so wonderfully well that you feel somehow better off just to have been in the theater that night."

 

"Harvey Milk's story finally hits big screen" is a story by Charlie McCollum of the San Jose Mercury News.

"Veteran gay activist Cleve Jones speaks often to college students - and when he does, he brings up the name of Harvey Milk.

'Everywhere I go, I ask young people, "Do you know who Harvey Milk was?" ' said Jones, a former aide to the late San Francisco supervisor. If a few hands go up in the audience, I'm pleased. Unfortunately, those are usually the hands of the older professors in the room.

'Young people need to know that - in fact - ordinary people can change the world.' "

 

"Downey Financial could be next bank casualty:Mortgage losses have weakened the S & L to the point that there's little hope it can win government bailout funds, observers say" reports E. Scott Reckard of the LA Times.

"Reeling from mortgage loan losses, Downey Financial Corp. warned last week that its choices were stark: Raise capital or risk a government takeover."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/24/08

About 6:00 PM Saturday evening, over a dozen teenagers were running, biking down 8th and vandalized the driveway of this warehouse. When they saw me, some ran and biked through French School parking lot. I called Berkeley PD non-emergency.

 

About 1:30 Sunday afternoon someone stole some of our patio--more accurately driveway--furniture.

Ah, the Holidays approach in Potter Creek.

Be vigilant during the upcoming long Thanksgiving weekend.

 

 

Kubik emails

My wife and I went out for a walk about 6:00 pm Sunday evening.  As we neared the corner there was a prostitute there and I stopped to call the police dispatcher.  When she saw me with the phone and looking at her she said " I'm going to have someone beat your ass!"  She then walked away and disappeared up a side street.  My wife and I continued our walk toward Dwight and there she was walking toward us.  She recognized us and immediately repeated her threats saying there would be someone there in a minute to beat my ass!  I called the dispatcher again and an officer was there immediately.  We told him what had happened, but by then she had disappeared again.  I don't know what happened, if anything, after that.
     I assumed she called her pimp for protection.  It seems the prostitutes and pimps are raising the bar in our ongoing struggle to protect our neighborhood!

 

 

 Ofc Andrew Frankel emails

Cops Give Turkeys Not Tickets   
 
 
Berkeley, California (Monday, November 24, 2008) ­ On Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 
6:00am, members of the Berkeley Police Department (BPD), University of California 
Police Department and members of the community will gather in front of Old City hall to 
continue a 24 year tradition.   
 
This trifecta of civic-minded folks will assemble 250 food baskets for distribution by 
uniformed BPD and Parking Enforcement Officers.  Each basket will contain a turkey, 
fresh produce, and enough canned and packaged food to feed approximately 8 people.   
A second batch of 250 baskets will be given out just before the Christmas Holiday.   
 
BPD and UCPD officers raised the funds used to purchase the turkey baskets as part of 
their annual "Turkey Ride."  The Turkey Ride was conceived in 1983 when three BPD 
officers rode their bikes from Berkeley to South Lake Tahoe.  During the venture it was 
decided that the ride could be used in future years as a fund raising activity to help 
struggling families during the holiday season.   
 
2008 was a record fundraising year with almost $12,000 raised by the riders.  However, 
the goals of this program couldn't have been met without significant help from the 
community.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank Safeway for their donation 
of almost all of the turkeys and the Berkeley Rotary Club for once again making a 
generous donation. 
Media Contact: 
  
Ofc Andrew Frankel #25, Public Information Officer (PIO) , (510) 981-5881

 

 

Susan Brooks emails

Holiday Open Studio
Sawtooth Building 2547 Eighth Street, Studio 24a
(between Dwight & Parker) West Berkeley
http://www.susanbrooks.com
4 weekends
11-6 p.m.
November 29-30, December 6-7, 13-14, 20- 21

Also open 11-5 pm Thursdays (except Thanksgiving)
and by Appointment plus extra days during the week through the end of
the year.
(I will also be open Dec. 22-23 11-5 p.m. & Dec.24 11-2 p.m.)

New work Jewelry & Works on Paper
Earrings, Brooches, Rings, Necklaces, Drawings, Paintings
Please join me @ the studio During
Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios
A Free Self-Guided Tour of Artisan Workshops
100 handpicked artists & craftspeople open their
studios during this annual event, 30 in our building.
http://www.berkeleyartisans.com

Exciting News
On November 18, 2008 I was honored by the City of Berkeley,
recognizing me for my career as a working artisan,
my work as co-founder of Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios,
and my work on behalf of the artisan community.
(if you'd like to see the proclamation from Mayor Tom Bates,
go to my website and click on the news/show link)
http://www.susanbrooks.com
My work is included in the new book "Art Jewelry Today 2"
by Jeffery Snyder (Schiffer Publishing Ltd.)
Out now. Take a look when you're at the studio.
Hope this finds you doing well.
Susan

Susan Brooks
http://www.susanbrooks.com
2547 Eighth Street 24a
Berkeley, California 94710
510 845-2612 

 

 

"Wood burning banned as Spare the Air alert is issued" is a Chronicle Staff Report.

"Indoor and outdoor wood burning is banned in the Bay Area today and this evening because of a Spare the Air alert issued by local air quality officials."

 

 
 
 "Berkeley economist to head Obama economic council" is a report at politico.com.

"President-elect Obama plans to name Christina Romer, an expert on tax cuts and recessions who is an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, to chair his Council of Economic Advisers, aides said." 

 

 

"UC to review rehired but pensioned retirees" is a story by Tanya Schevitz, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"The University of California plans to review hundreds of double-dipping pensioners, many of whom were rehired for their old jobs - occasionally at a higher salary than before they retired.

The university's use of retirees drew attention in April after UC Berkeley Police Chief Victoria Harrison left with a lump sum $2.1 million retirement package and then was immediately rehired for her old job - with a pay raise." 

 

"Few women at top in Silicon Valley" is report by Andrew S. Ross at sfgate.com

"Women in the top rungs of California's major corporations are a rare breed. According to a UC Davis survey, women comprised just 11 percent of directors and senior executives in the state's 400 largest public companies. Guess which California county ranks the worst? Santa Clara, home to 'cutting edge' Silicon Valley."

 

"Bay Area tries to take lead on electric cars" is another sfgate.com story.

"For years, electric cars have lagged far down the list of driving choices. There were only a few clunky models, the driving range was too short for comfort, and recharging the heavy batteries was a hassle that took hours.

But within a few years, this picture could change and the Bay Area along with it. A private firm got a group-hug welcome from the mayors of Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose for plans to spend up to $1 billion to put up a service network to cater to a new generation of imports and Detroit-built electric vehicles." 

 

 

"Fireplace police on patrol; smoke can draw fine" reports Steve Rubenstein, Chronicle Staff Writer.

The fireplace police descended on the Bay Area on Wednesday."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/26/08

nobody's

in Kansas anymore, Dorothy

 

 

"Budget ax falls on Berkeley job-training program" is a report by Doug Oakley, Berkeley Voice.

"The state budget ax has fallen on a longtime Berkeley job-training and placement service at a time when unemployment is at 7.1 percent in Alameda County and 8 percent statewide.

After 34 years of providing job training and placement services in Berkeley, Asians for Job Opportunities in the Bay Area will close its doors at the end of the week.

Executive Director Tony Leong said his organization is a victim of state budget cuts."

 

 

"Bayer to pay $97.5M to settle kickback probe" reports Matthew Perrone of the AP.

German medical conglomerate Bayer will pay $97.5 million to settle U.S. government allegations that it paid kickbacks to medical suppliers to boost sales of its diabetes products.

The Justice Department said Tuesday that the settlement resolves an investigation into whether Bayer bribed 11 diabetic suppliers into switching patients to its products from competitors' offerings."

 

 

"Family comes first at Berkeley bistro" is a story by Dave Newhouse of the Oakland Tribune.

"There's something about discovery that makes you feel important. You find a favorite restaurant, resort or champagne, and it's exhilarating.

Nobody told you about it. It wasn't advertised on TV, and you hadn't read about it. You discovered it all by yourself, thereby making you feel like it's yours.

That's my attitude about Vanessa's Bistro in Berkeley. My wife and I were out for dinner one night, looking for a new place on Solano Avenue. We spotted a restaurant worth trying, but there wasn't a parking spot until one appeared two blocks later in front of Vanessa's Bistro."

 

 

"Studying Abroad: Don't Forget Passport or Purpose" is a story by Kristie Kang at newuniversity.org.

"When you think about what it means to study aboard, what comes to mind? Is it the historical sites? Is it the foreign people and their customs? Or is it something else entirely?" 

 

 

"Sudden oak death spreads to East Bay hills" report Ron Sullivan and Joe Eaton on sfgate.com.

"Two Octobers ago, Brice McPherson went to Tilden Regional Park for his daughter's school picnic.

At the edge of the grassy picnic area, he spotted coast live oaks that were exuding a dark, viscous fluid. McPherson, a researcher with UC Berkeley's department of environmental science, policy and management, had studied sudden oak death in Marin County wildlands, and recognized the symptoms. Testing confirmed that the oaks had indeed been infected by the pathogen Phytophtora ramorum, the organism that causes the disease.

SOD had established a beachhead in the Berkeley hills."

 

 

"A Berkeley Museum Wrapped in Honeycomb" is a story in the New York Times.

"I have no idea whether, in this dismal economic climate, the University of California will find the money to build its new art museum here. But if it fails, it will be a blow to those of us who champion provocative architecture in the United States.

Designed by the Japanese architect Toyo Ito, the three-story structure suggests an intoxicating architectural dance in which the push and pull between solitude and intimacy, stillness and motion, art and viewer never ends. Its contoured galleries, whose honeycomb pattern seems to be straining to contain an untamed world, would make it a magical place to view art."

 

 

"State high court opens door for prosecuting some medical pot suppliers" is a report by Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"Someone who supplies marijuana to a patient who has a doctor's approval for it can be prosecuted for drug-dealing, the state Supreme Court ruled today in a narrow interpretation of California's medical marijuana law."

Ofc Frankel emails

Berkeley Police Awarded Driving Under Influence Grant by State Office of Traffic Saftey.
 
The Berkeley Police Department (BPD) is set to 
begin a yearlong anti-Driving Under the Influence (DUI) program aimed at preventing 
deaths and injuries on Berkeley streets.  The program comes as the result of a recent 
$174,846 grant awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  
 
"The Berkeley Police Department is dedicated to keeping our streets safe through both 
traffic enforcement and education," said Chief Douglas Hambleton. "This grant will allow 
us to continue to focus extra energy and resources on impaired drivers."   
 
The grant will assist in efforts to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in 
alcohol and other drug related collisions.  The Department will use the grant to 
specifically target impaired drivers, as well as educate the public on the dangers of 
impaired driving. This will be done through the use of DUI/driver's license checkpoints, 
warrant searches and stakeouts for repeat DUI offenders, saturation patrols, and court 
stings where DUI offenders with suspended or revoked drivers licenses try to drive a car 
immediately after leaving court.   
 
"Impaired driving is a serious crime that kills and injures thousands every year in 
California," said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the Office of Traffic Safety.  "This 
grant will help get drunk drivers off the roadways of Berkeley making it safer for 
everyone." 
  
Officer Andrew Frankel, #25, Public Information 
Officer (PIO), (510) 981-5881

 

BPD officers have been stopping and questioning individuals several nights this week in Potter Creek on San Pablo Ave.

 

There was an injury vehicle accident Tuesday night around 6:00 PM in front of ActiveSpace. Both BPD and BFD responded. Injuries were not serious.
 

 

"Troubled Golden Gate Fields Owner Hires Leading Bankruptcy Lawyers" reports Richard Brenneman of our Planet.

"Magna Entertainment, the endangered parent of Albany's Golden Gate Fields, has hired a bankruptcy lawyer and is surviving on week-to-week loans." 

 

 

 

"Solar power gaining converts in Bay Area" is a story by George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"Solar power accounts for less than one percent of California's energy resources, but Bay Area residents are buying systems in increasing numbers, which is good news for the environment and the solar industry, advocates say.

Statewide, Californians have more than 60 percent of the nation's solar installations, and more than 66 percent of the state's solar applications are in Northern California, according to a report released today by the Northern California Solar Energy Association, a nonprofit advocacy group."

 

 

"Invention: Microscopic Bio-Robot Slaves:'Biobots' May Become Stripped-Down Versions of Bacteria" by Justin Mullins is a report on abcnews.com.
.
"Shrinking robots allows them to carry out ever more delicate tasks. But even the smallest built so far are too big to be able to, say, imprint microscopic, or even nanoscale, patterns onto microchips.

Potentially fatal to humans, contracted when contaminated meat is cooked inadequately.

E. Coli such as these could be engineered to perform certain tasks on a tiny scale.

Now Jan Liphardt, a physicist at the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues, say it may be possible to create new species of slave bacteria to do the job instead." 

 

 

 

"Romer Joins a Crowd of Strong Voices as Chair of Council of Economic Advisers" by Kelly Evans and Brenda Cronin is at online.ws.

"Christina Romer, the Berkeley economist named by President-elect Barack Obama to be chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, will face a tough challenge asserting influence amid the administration's forceful economic team."

 

 

"Penn's portrayal helps 'Milk' soar. A crowd-pleasing mix of humor and pathos, joy and sadness, Milk's story leaves you appreciating the man and his accomplishments - and feeling lucky to be living in the Bay Area" is a review by Barry Caine, Oakland Tribune.

"The past is never far away. Consider the 1970s, which seem like they happened only yesterday. Earlier this month, it was nearly impossible to escape the tragic memories of Jonestown. Now, "Milk" arrives in the wake of controversy over Proposition 8, reminding us yet again of San Francisco's history as a hub for social change.

Sensitively directed by Gus Van Sant, 'Milk' is a moving biopic about the late Harvey Milk, who, in 1977, became the first openly gay man elected to a major public office in the United States.

As the late gay activist, Sean Penn is the perfect actor in the perfect role. Revealing his tender side for the first time since 'I Am Sam,' he delivers an Oscar-caliber performance. Penn (wearing a prosthesis that elongates his nose) imbues the charismatic Milk with warmth, wit and vulnerability which, combined with the compassionate Van Sant at the helm, lends the film an intimacy lacking in other biopics. Given 'Milk's' personal, social and political complexities, that closeness comes as a surprise."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/27/08

copyright GCI INC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/28/08

I noticed yesterday morning that the sculpture is now up at the west-end of our bicycle bridge. Together with the one at the east-end they visually anchor the bridge-arch, a pleasure to the eye. But strangely, the sculpture are reminiscent of Socialist and National Socialist Realism, an art of melodrama, of workers and soldiers at the ready, filled with confidence, eager to do the work of The State.

I find it ironic that the style of the sculpture at the gateway of our "liberal" community is reminiscent of that of the two great Twentieth Century totalitarian regimes.

 

 

"Even if You Can't Buy It, Happiness Is Big Business" reports Heidi Schumann in The New York Times.

"The stock market has been on a roller coaster, banks are going under, unemployment is skyrocketing, and foreclosed homes pepper the landscape. What better time for a happiness conference?

In this dopamine-laden city, where the pursuit of well-being is something of a high art, a motley array of scientists, philosophers, doctors, psychologists, navel-gazing Googlers and Tibetan Buddhists addressed the latest findings on the science of human happiness - or eudaemonia, the classical Greek term for human flourishing.

Planned before the current crises, the first American 'Happiness and Its Causes' conference was equal parts Aristotle and Oprah. It brought together heavy hitters like Paul Ekman, the psychologist known for deciphering facial 'microexpressions' that reveal feelings, and Robert Sapolsky, the Stanford biologist. They considered topics
like 'Compassion and the Pursuit of Happiness' and 'Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers.' "

 

 

"Berkeley shop adapts bikes for any disability" is a story by Scott Ostler, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"Cast your memory back to the age of 5 or 6, when
your adult helper let go and you wobbled off on your first solo
bicycle ride.

What was that incredible feeling?

Freedom.

But what if that freedom was never available to you?

A woman named Meida recently contacted the Adaptive Cycling Center at Berkeley's Aquatic Park. The weathered wooden building is known to regulars as the BORP bike house, as in the Bay Area Outreach &
Recreation Program.

Meida explained that she was born without arms and wanted to ride a bike. She had ridden tandem but hoped to ride alone. She dreamed of someday riding across the Golden Gate Bridge.The problem: Cycles are factory-made for people with a wide variety of physical disabilities, but there is no solo bike made for a person with no use of her arms.

The problem with that problem: Greg Milano, BORP director of cycling and the man who dreamed up the concept of the Adaptive Cycling Center, doesn't see problems as problems.Milano and Martin Greiner, one of the bike house's 30 or so regular volunteers, went to work. They pondered, puttered and pounded, and pieced together a three-wheeled bike on which the rider performs all functions - pedaling, braking, turning, gear-shifting - with her legs.

Meida came to the Cycling Center and rode off down the trail with friends.

Alone.

Free."

 

 

 

"Berkelely's Laurie Lewis takes the Freight & Salvage stage for her annual holiday show" is a story by Derk Richardson, special to SF Gate.

"She wasn't a headliner like Alison Krauss and Robert Plant or Steve Earle or Emmylou Harris, but Laurie Lewis sure got her licks in at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 8 this past October. After playing a set as Laurie Lewis and Friends on the big Banjo Stage just before noon on Saturday, the Berkeley singer and multi-instrumentalist drifted over
to the Rooster Stage and, in the late afternoon sunlight, joined Dave Alvin and the Guilty Woman.

She returned to the Banjo Stage on Sunday afternoon to perform with bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley."

 

 

 

 

"How Berkeley's Bank could help fight climate change" is a report by Joel Hagan at the UK's telegraph.com.

"Berkeley in California is issuing loans to property-owners who install solar power systems. Paid off through taxes, the cost remains with the property so that whoever lives in it pays off the loan and receives the benefit"

 

 

 

"The worst-case scenario goes something like this: With banks unwilling to refinance, a shopping center goes into foreclosure" is an AP story at google.com.

Nobody can buy the mall because banks won't write mortgages as long as investors won't purchase them.

"Credit markets have seized up," corporate securities lawyer Michael Gambro said. 'People are not willing to take risks. They're not buying anything.'

That drives down investments already on the books. Insurance companies are seeing their stock prices fall on fears they are too invested in commercial mortgages.

'The system has never been tested for a deep recession,' said Ken Rosen, a real estate hedge fund manager and University of California at Berkeley professor of real estate economics."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/30/08

Last week our Ofc Andrew Frankel, PIO, BPD helped distribute holiday-food to the needy, a decades old Berkeley Police Department tradition--it was reported on TV.

"I saw that Officer Frankel on TV" a female reader said to me and then gushed "He's really cute!"

 

 

"Where the wild things were" is a story by Andrew Beahrs in the International Herald Tribune.

"In 1879, a homesick Mark Twain sat in an Italian hotel room and wrote a long fantasy menu of all his favorite
American foods. The menu began as a joke, with Twain describing the 80-dish spread as a "modest, private affair" that he wanted all to himself.

But it reads today as a window into a great change in American life - the gradual, widespread disappearance of wild foods from the nation's tables.

Twain listed cranberry sauce, "Thanksgiving style" roast turkey and the celery essential to poultry stuffing. But he surrounded these traditional holiday dishes with roast wild turkey, frogs and woodcock.

Along with hot biscuits, broiled chicken and stewed tomatoes, Twain wanted turtle soup, possum and canvasback ducks fattened by Chesapeake Bay wild celery. In Twain's day, New York City markets still sold raccoon, a profusion of wild ducks and bear. From Delmonico's restaurant to hunters' homes, the nation's tables held an
easy blend of wild and cultivated foods."

 

"S.F. food policy heading in a healthy direction" is a story by Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"San Francisco's food policy - proposed by the mayor earlier this year as a way to bring healthy, sustainable meals from regional farms to city residents - is morphing into what will likely be a series of proposals that could someday change the way the entire Bay Area eats.

The policy, which should be ready early next year, also could expand beyond food to include new rural-urban partnerships for alternative-energy production and water conservation.

The city's first formal food policy doesn't exist yet, but food experts from all over California have been meeting this month and last to brainstorm ideas for connecting the Bay Area to its regional 'foodshed' - which is the 100- to 200-mile radius of farmland around San Francisco."

 

 

"Experts offer tips to survive riding in the rain" is a report by Craig Hill of the Times.

"Whether riding for fitness or commuting, the bike doesn't have to stay in the garage during the cold and rainy seasons. But cyclists who hit the road need to prepare for the outdoor conditions during the fall and winter months.

Here are some tips for riding in the winter from cycling experts Carla Gramich, touring captain for the Tacoma, Wash., Wheelmen Bicycle Club, Chuck Ayers, executive director of Cascade Bicycle Club, Carol Davis, president of the Tacoma Wheelmen and cycling advocate Bob Myrick."

 

 

 

"Keeping alive California's Chinese legacy" is a story by Linda Davis at insiderbayarea.com.

"It wasn't enough to pen a book on Marysville's Chinatown, the last remaining active Chinatown from California's Gold Rush.

Piedmonter Brian Tom also realized a lifelong dream of establishing a Chinese-American Museum in Marysville, after years of collecting photos, memorabilia and research about the Chinese legacy in those
boom days.

The Chinese-American Museum of Northern California opened in March, 2007 and is open the first Saturday of each month from noon to 4 p.m. It contains over 500 items on display, including 200 photos gleaned from Tom's family, other pioneering Marysville Chinese families, the Yuba County Library and other sources.

'Marysville's Chinatown,' (Arcadia Publishing, $19.99) by Brian Tom and Lawrence Tom, was released last month as another in Arcadia's 'Images of America' series."

 

"Frances Dinkelspiel, author of 'Towers of Gold'" is a review and more by Jesse Hamlin, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"Frances Dinkelspiel grew up with the vague knowledge that her great-great-grandfather had something to do with Wells Fargo Bank. But she didn't learn how crucial Isaias Hellman had been to the growth of California - its banking, oil, transportation and wine industries, its universities and synagogues - until she began rummaging through his files at the California Historical Society eight years ago.

'What I discovered was a great untold story,' says Dinkelspiel, who tells that tale in her rich new book, 'Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California.' The subtitle sounds a bit hyperbolic until you read about the extraordinary achievements of the man who came to the dusty little pueblo of Los Angeles in 1859 at age 16 with nothing but dreams. A smart, conservative and hardworking gent, he made a fortune and became the Golden State's greatest financier in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."

 

"Leslie A. Margolin: Promoting healthier ways of reaching consensus" is an appreciation by Lisa Girion on latimes.com.

"The president of Anthem Blue Cross of California believes 'answers lie in trying to bring people with diverse backgrounds and diverse interests together and focus on what they have in common.' "

 

 

 

"You can qualify for mortgage, it's just tougher" reports Marni Leff Kottle at sfgate.com.

"There is something that mortgage lenders want Bay Area home buyers to know: They are open for business.

"While it is certainly harder to get a loan today than it was two years ago, lenders say it's far from impossible for would-be borrowers with the right credentials. In fact many in the industry praise the return to normal, where loan candidates are required to prove they can pay back the money they borrow."

A couple months ago, Don Yost while explaining the"credit crunch," said that if you wanted to buy a home for yourself you could still get a mortgage, though it is harder to qualify. Those who couldn't get financing are residential developers.

Our Morgan Smith observed of the apparently still healthy development in Potter Creek, the fifteen-or-so building projects just finished or on-going. "Let's see what happens in the next six months. Most of these projects were alreadty started."

 

 

 

 

"The Future of Trains in Solving California's Transportation Problems and the Larger Picture" writes David M. Greenwald at californiaprogressreport.com.

"There was an interesting note in the Davis Enterprise last week about the rising Capitol Corridor ridership. Ridership jumped by nearly 20% over this time last year. Truth is, it's the 10th consecutive year that ridership has increased."

 

 

 

"Harvard's loss becomes Obama administration's gain" in Campus Insider by Tracy Jan and Peter Schworm in the "Boston Globe.

"Harvard passed her over. Now six months later, Christina Romer is headed to the White House.

President-elect Obama tapped the University of California at Berkeley economist to head his Council of Economic Advisers last week. Some observers saw the appointment as a victory for Romer over those at Harvard - specifically President Drew Faust - who apparently had deemed her unworthy.

In a rare move, Faust denied Romer's bid for a tenured position last May despite approval from the economics department. Faust has declined to comment on the move, but the blogosphere is still buzzing about the mysterious,'inexplicable rejection.

"Harvard's first female president rejects female economist for department which has reputation for being anti-female,' Richard Bradley, adjunct professor of journalism at Columbia, writes on his blog, 'Shots in the Dark.' 'Economist is then chosen for important White House job, making Harvard look silly at best.' "

 

 

 

 

from my log

11/21/08--1:12 PM--VERY SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and front of warehouse, raw throat, cough, eyes smart, heavy air, "burning gas" and "chlorine/bleach" odor, specially bad IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, effects similar to swimming in pool with too much chlorine. Man standing in driveway a few minutes, with apparent frustration rubbing watery eyes. 11/23/08--3:00 PM--irritant IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse and in warehouse front, light head, dry eyes, mouth, slight "chlorine/bleach smell. Guest has dry eyes, lips, runny nose.11/23/08--8:05 AM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, use mask.11/24/08--7:00AM--irritant in warehouse, slight "chlorine/bleach" odor, air "dry." 8:32 AM--irritant in warehouse, short breath. 12:46 PM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, wear mask. 11/28/08--8:50 AM--SERIOUS irritant in front room and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, "heavy" air, dry eyes, dry mouth, light head. 11/30/08--9:21 AM--irritant in front room, light head, leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eternally useful links

 

Bay Area home prices from sfgate.com

 

Bay Area foreclosures from sfgate.com

Our City Council update is here.

 

Our Planning Commision update is here

 

 

You can find more information about our current weather conditions than is good for you at www.wunderground.com

Want to see weather coming in, going out, beautiful sunsets, and much, much more? Check out http://sv.berkeley.edu/view/ This very hip site was in an email from reader and contributor, Tony Almeida. Read Tony's Jimi Hendrix story on the only page that routinely gets more hits than Scrambled Eggs.

 

Best gas prices in 94710, as well as all of US and Canada, are here at gasbuddy.com

Kimar finds Costco routinely has the lowest price.

 

Richmond Ramblers' motorcycle club member, Cliff Miller emails a very

useful link

If you ever need to get a human being on the phone at a credit card company or bank, etc., this site tells you how to defeat their automated system and get you to a human being within a few seconds.

http://gethuman.com/

 

Markets is not just a reference for Berkeley-Hills radicals with 1.5 mil homes and considerable portfolios.

 

Our City of Berkeley Boards and Commissions page is here--redone and friendly.

 

 

Berkeley Police reports at insidebay area.com are here.

 

Our Berkeley PD Site with crime statistics and more is here.

Crime Log for 94710 is here

This site is NOT affiliated with Berkeley PD.
Take time to report crime!

 

All reports of crime-in-progress should first go to Berkeley PD dispatch--911 or non-emergency, 981-5900. THEN make sure you notify EACH of these City people.

The contacts are below:

Our new Area Coordinator is Officer Karen Buckheit, Berkeley PD - 981-5774 kbuckheit@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Angela Gallegos-Castillo, City Mgr Off - 981-2491 agallegos-castillo@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Ryan Lau, aid to Darryl Moore - 981-7120 rlau@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Darryl Moore, City Councilman dmoore@ci.berkeley.ca.us

 

More Scrambled Eggs & Lox, here

and

Stories about Berkeley and stories about recorded-music

are at

Journal of Recorded Music 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

 

ronpenndorf@earthlink.net

The original owner of all posted material retains copyright. The material is used only to illustrate