December 2009

after 12/6 here after 12/14 here after 12/24 here

 

12/1/09

"Ronald Reagan and the RITE way to plan" is opinion by Craig Galbraith at starnews.com.

"Reagan-inspired Town Economics (RITE) is well grounded in sophisticated economic thought. . . . I argue that RITE is based upon five basic principles. . . .

First, people are a diverse lot. They have different needs and desires. And people have the freedom to choose where they live. . . .

Second, under RITE, communities need to have a clear vision of what they want to be. . . . You can have bedroom communities, high technology communities, beach communities, farming communities, artist communities, industrial communities, and yes, even liberal communities like Berkeley. But what they all share in common is a clear commitment to a well understood local vision. People then choose what community suits them the best, and are happier for it. And for larger cities, this means villages within the city, each run by empowered local advisory councils charged with implementing the particular vision of that community.

The third principle is small government. . . .

Property rights are the fourth principle of RITE. But property rights don't mean that people can do whatever they want. Property rights also means that everybody is protected from the negative impacts of other people's action. . . .

Finally, RITE is based upon trust, openness, and honesty, and ultimately the high ethical standards of local politicians. Reagan was fond of quoting a Russian proverb, 'Trust, but Verify' ".

Well, ok then.

 

 

 

"UC students' anger over fees misdirected" is opinion at fresnobee.com.

"Protesters chanted, marched and even took over buildings at University of California campuses last week. And, no, these weren't "tea party" protests against "Obamacare." They were students protesting yet another UC Board of Regents vote to increase fees.

California has been in a boom-and-bust cycle with UC fees for 45 years -- increasing fees during economic downturns and decreasing them during economic good times. That's the opposite of what should occur -- the state hits students with new costs just when their families face job losses and uncertainty, and college savings have been decimated in market meltdowns."

Some pretty commanding stats here. RP

 

 

 

"In a Home to Free Speech, a Paper is Accused of Anti-Semitism" is a story by Jesse McKinley at nytimes.com.

"For the last six years, The Berkeley Daily Planet has published a freewheeling assortment of submissions from readers, who offer sharp-elbowed views on everything from raucous college parties (generally bad) to the war in Iraq (ditto).

Becky O'Malley, front, is the editor of The Berkeley Daily Planet, a California weekly that critics accuse of publishing too many letters and other commentary critical of Israel. Ms. O'Malley, 69, denies any personal or editorial bias. 'I have the old-fashioned basic liberal thing of believing that the remedy for speech you don't like is more speech,' she said.

John Gertz, editor of dpwatchdog.com, a site containing what it calls anti-Semitic writings published in The Planet. He says his goal is not to close the paper.

But since March, that running commentary has been under attack by a small but vociferous group of critics who accuse the paper's editor, Becky O'Malley, of publishing too many letters and other commentary pieces critical of Israel. Those accusations are the basis of a campaign to drive away the paper's advertisers and a Web site that strongly suggests The Planet and its editor are anti-Semitic."

 

Seems pretty clear to me that criticism of Jews, Jewish-culture, Judaism, and/or Zionism is NOT NECESSARILY anti-Semitism, but simply criticism.

On the other hand . . . RP

 

 

 

 

"Celebrating Miles Davis in Sight and Sound" is a reivew and more by Yasmine Ryan at nytimes.com.

"Examining music in a museum space is no simple task; exhibitions about musicians tend to downplay the music itself. But 'We Want Miles,' an ambitious show about the life and music of the jazz great Miles Davis, at Cité de la Musique through Jan. 17, is a remarkable exception. In this exhibition, the music is central.

The flow and form of the exhibition at Cité de la Musique (221, Avenue Jean-Jaurès; 33-1-44-84-44-84; www.citedelamusique.fr; Métro: Porte de Pantin), in the Parc de La Villette, is infused with the spontaneous and elegant nature of the man and his music: cool and understated in all the right places. Broken into a chronological series of eras, the constant evolutions and revolutions that characterized Davis's work are central themes.

The exhibition itself takes a hands-on approach: plug into various listening stations to experience Davis's tunes. Or sit and lose yourself in a series of 'mutes' - acoustically designed rooms, shaped like the trumpet device that Davis used to great effect, with music piped in. There's also film of 'live' concerts, some projected onto big screens."

 

 

 

David Snipper emails

Ron,
 
You recently wrote:

"A couple of Sundays ago, during Lipofsky and my outlining the development plan which bears our names, I noticed Marvin had on one of those nifty baseball caps with the beak in the front. I've been looking for one of the old-fashion caps but all I see are those with beaks in the back. Can anyone let me know where to get the older caps?"
 
Look no further, just turn around quickly while holding the beak!
 

 David Snipper

 

 

 

 

 

"Telegraph Avenue Merchants Say BRT Threatens Business" by Riya Bhattacharjee of our Planet.

Moe's daughter

Doris

a Daily Planet photo

"Like the majority of businesses on Telegraph Avenue, Moe's Books is against the city's Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for Bus Rapid Transit, a bus route city officials say is designed to have many of the advantages of a rail line without the disruption that comes with laying tracks.

The plan would keep Telegraph Avenue one-way northbound for cars but create a dedicated southbound lane between Durant Avenue and Dwight Way for buses, delivery and emergency vehicles and bikes.

Already struggling in today's challenging economy, Moe's, which has been around for half a century and employs 27 people, feels that two-way traffic on Telegraph would give rise to gridlock and prevent customers from coming to the store.

Standing in front of the store her father founded 50 years ago, Doris Moskowitz watched customers load and unload stacks of books from their cars."

 

 

 

"Berkeley artists ready to open their studios" by Doug Oakley, Berkeley Voice.

"Jim Rosenau makes furniture and sculpture out of found books, pieces that tell a story using the titles on the covers and spines.

Susan Brooks makes paintings and jewelry and Erin McGuiness molds clay into high-end pottery.

The artists in Berkeley's Sawtooth building at Dwight Way and Eighth Street and about 30 others around the city, 100 in all, are getting ready for the annual open studios tour scheduled over four successive weekends

starting [last] Saturday.

Studio hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m."

 

Others are also holding open house. Among them are ActivSpace and independents like Merryll Saylan et al. RP

 

 

 

NOW, much more parking

across from the Bowl, snapped thru a food-service window

 

 

"Berkeley's renaissance: Culture, cuisine and more" by Patrick May of the Mercury News is a slightly over the top appreciation of Our Town.

"Dusk drapes itself over the storied streetscape of Shattuck Avenue, and the thriving conversation that is downtown Berkeley these days begins to unwind.

The air brakes on an AC Transit bus hiss. A religious group chants prayers at the mouth of the BART station. A jazz riff floats from a street musician's trumpet.

Weaving through all this urban chatter are clusters of theatergoers, jazz lovers and folk-music fans, all converging on the city's thriving and nationally recognized arts district two blocks over. As if being home to a world-renowned university and the cradle of California cuisine weren't enough of a draw, Berkeley in the past few years has become a red-hot cultural destination.

For those lucky enough to live a short drive or BART ticket away, it's a no-brainer destination.

'Between the Berkeley Rep, Anna's Jazz Island, the Jazzschool, and the new Freight & Salvage, and talk of a new art museum, you've got a real renaissance going on,' says Scott Slocum, director of sales and marketing for Hotel Shattuck Plaza, the recently renovated 99-year-old landmark.

Nowhere is that renaissance more obvious than in the Downtown Berkeley Arts District along Addison and neighboring streets, where culture vultures can feast at the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the smaller Aurora Theatre Company and the Gaia Arts Center, or hear folk and traditional music at the newly transplanted Freight & Salvage Coffee."

 

 

 

"Relatively Few International Students Enroll At UC Berkeley" by Chris Carassi, Contributing Writer at daiylycal.

"While efforts are under way within the UC system to increase non-resident student enrollment, UC Berkeley will need a significant increase in the size of its international student population to match other American institutions, according to a recent survey.

The campus ranked 26th among American university campuses with 3,506 international students-9.9 percent of its student body-in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, according to The Institute of International Education, which based the survey off 2008-09 academic year data."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12/2/09

Quote of the week

"I'm much too young to be this old" Milo Farcy

Milo

for Mayor

 

"Man loses job after searching too hard for aliens" by Chris Matyszczyk at newscnet.com.

"I can understand why people are so keen to find alien life. It isn't so much a scientific fascination with what might be out there. It's more a pained hope that what is out there might be more enjoyable than what is down here.

So I am wrestled to the ground by a certain sympathy for Brad Niesluchowski.

According to the Arizona Republic, Niesluchowski was asked to resign after allegedly using his position at the Higley Unified School District to exercise his own (and our) need for an alien encounter.

This was not a case of uploading pictures of potential lady friends from Eastern Europe. No, this was a rather more imaginative downloading of software that searches for extra-terrestrial life.

The Republic's sleuths got their hands on documents that suggest Niesluchowski was encouraged to resign after he downloaded free University of California (the terribly forward-thinking Berkeley branch) software that uses idle computers to examine information collected by radio telescopes."

 

 

 

 

In his It Came From Berkeley, Dave Weinstein writes "Berkeley had become the all American boomtown [ in 1905 ]. But Berkeley's boom had something unique about it--something that clearly forecast the kind of town it would soon become. The developers who filled the town's hillsides and flats with homes were canny. They knew how to attract rail service and how to trumpet their wares. But they were aesthetic as well, some of them pro-environmentalists, filled with love of nature and an interest in smart planning. Like Berkeley's Bohemians, the best of them shared a high-minded image of the good life."

"The more things change, the more they stay the same" Milo Farcy.

 

 

"Activists Try to Block Green Tech in Berkeley:West Berkeley activists are dead set against the mayor's 'green corridor' vision, saying it will cause gentrification, too much density, and high rents" by Robert Gammon in the Express.

"Fifty years from now, after the polar ice caps melt and West Berkeley is under water, people might look back on 2009 and say, 'What the hell were they thinking?' Why were old hippies in what could be the most liberal city in America working overtime to block the widespread proliferation of green-tech businesses and dense urban development in West Berkeley?

Indeed, the scene at a four-hour-long Berkeley Planning Commission meeting last week was striking - a gaggle of fifty- and sixty-something activists railing against Mayor Tom Bates' vision to turn West Berkeley into a green-tech corridor. It was as if they were stuck in a time warp, convinced that all developers and corporations are just greedy bastards who must be stopped - even if those very same developers and businesses might actually help ward off the greatest environmental disaster ever known.

The hypocrisy was equally startling. "

 

 

better-late-than-never

"Berkeley Officials Say Zoning Must Change to Attract High-Tech Firms" reports Debra Levi Holtz, Chronicle Staff Writer on 9/27/99.

"Berkeley business and government leaders say zoning laws governing the city's industrial area ignore the realities of today's economy and prevent the city, home of a world-famous research university, from attracting high-tech companies.

The laws, prompted by a proposal in the early 1980s to convert the Durkee Foods factory into offices and laboratories, were designed to prevent an exodus of blue-collar jobs by protecting traditional manufacturers. Instead, large tracts of industrial sites surrounding Interstate 80 have remained vacant with nothing to replace them.

Even the staunchest supporters of the laws are now joining critics who say Berkeley is being left behind while neighboring East Bay cities are reaping the benefits of the high-tech revolution.

'Berkeley is still looking at the blue-collar world of the 1940s and waiting for the liberty ship to come in,' said Darrell de Tienne, an industrial designer who has worked on numerous projects in Berkeley's Aquatic Park business area. 'It's not going to happen. The world has changed.''

Last week, City Councilwoman Linda Maio, who has been a leading proponent of West Berkeley zoning policies, said she is beginning to realize that times have changed and Berkeley must catch up.

'I waited around for this industrial thing to happen and it didn't happen,' Maio said."

 

 

 

"Going solar pros and cons" by Dana Hull of mercurynews.com.

"With the sun setting before 5 p.m., solar power may be the last thing on your mind these days. But declining panel prices, a federal tax credit and a state rebate make this a good time to investigate whether solar power might make sense for your home - and your budget. "If you're thinking that you'd like to go solar within the next few years, right now is the time to do it," said Lynn Jurich, president and co-founder of SunRun, a San Francisco-based startup that provides solar financing for consumers who can't afford the upfront costs of buying their own solar systems. "Panels are on sale right now. There's a sweet spot where the state rebates are still relatively high, but the costs have come down." And winter is a good season to research solar options, experts say. It's generally a slower time for the industry, which means companies may be willing to give you a better deal. "

 

 

our Angela fowards an email

Waterside Workshops Holiday Event and Toy-Making Workshop

Waterside Workshops' Holiday Event and Toy-Making Workshop is on Sunday,
December 13th from 1-5pm!! Come on down to our workshop for an
afternoon of hands-on activities, live local music, food, and fun for
people of all ages. Kids can make their own wooden toy from scratch and
enter a $2 raffle to win one of 25 kid's bikes that will be given away
at the end of the day!! All bicycle winners and their friends can
participate in a free "Street Smarts Bike Safety Class" that will take
place right after the raffle. All of our toy-making
materials are from sustainable sources, and non-toxic. This is a
free event due to the generous support of the City of Berkeley, the San
Francisco Foundation, and Grocery Outlet. There is a suggested $5
donation to support our organization. 84 Bolivar Dr. in Berkeley's
Aquatic Park 510-644-2577 www.watersideworkshops.org

 

 

"Barnes & Noble closing shop at Jack London Square" by Kelly Rayburn, Oakland Tribune.

"The Barnes & Noble bookstore at Jack London Square will close its doors Jan. 31, the Ellis Partners development company said in a statement Monday."

 

 

 

"Broadcom Buys Dune Networks" is a report at socaltech.com.

"Irvine-based semiconductor giant Broadcom is making another acquisition, saying Monday afternoon that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquired Dune Networks, a developer of switching fabric products for the data center networking market. Broadcom said it will pay approximately $178M net of cash for Dune, in an all-cash deal. Dune Networks has operations in Sunnyvale, California, and Yakum, Israel. Dune Networks is venture backed by such firms as Alta Berkeley Venture Partners, Aurum-SBC Ventures, Elwin Capital Partners, Evergreen Venture Partners, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Pitango Venture Capital, Siemens Venture Capital, and US Venture Partners."

 

 

 

"State seeking conventional wisdom on constitution" is a story by Mike Aldax at sfexaminer.com.

"A soaring state budget deficit blamed on legislative gridlock has frustrated a coalition of business and civic groups who have rallied together to kick-start the process of rewriting the California Constitution. . . .

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, said a widespread public relations campaign that would encourage dialogue among Californians may be the best way toward realizing a convention.

At this point, she said, launching a convention might be premature since there hasn't been enough dialogue to build a majority consensus on why we need a convention, and what direction to take should one occur.

'The public hasn't engaged in that enough yet,' Skinner said. 'If we launch into it right now, I'm afraid it might be doomed for failure.' "

 

 

 

Today is Pete Hurney's Birthday!

Pete's on KALX today from Noon til 3, live. Check him out.

 

 

 

 

posts from the past

12/6/03

"An original manuscript of a movement from one of Ludwig van Beethoven's last compositions sold Friday for more than $2 million" writes Robert Barr in "Opus 127 Sells for Opulent Price" in today's West County Times. My favorite CD performance of this Opus 127 String Quartet is by the Kodály Quartet on Naxos 8550563. Its list price is $6.98.

 

Not Beethoven, but also "longhair" and also gaaaronteed to make you feel good is Big Easy Strut by Professor Longhair. It lists at $11.98. And, for years a favorite LP of mine has been his New Orleans Piano. It is now on CD also listing at $11.98.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12/3/09

November 30th this site had 846 visitors, 3,728 hits and an average browsing time of 46 minutes 14 seconds.

 

in the new parking lot, Kava will be paving

10,000 square feet at a time with a new surrounding fence going up now

Well, Ok then

 

 

 

"Exciting news for music lovers today" is a press release at ehomeupgrade.com.

"A new service from a Berkeley, California based company called MOG has launched a $5/mo All Access plan that gives users unlimited access to millions of 320Kbps bitrate music tracks from four major American music labels (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, EMI Music) and thousands of independent labels."

 

 

"Champ status keeps Ana Julaton in the ring" by Carl Steward, Contra Costa Times.

"Ana Julaton had planned to stop boxing by her 30th birthday. That's become unrealistic now because she's a world champion, but she sees a short shelf life for her burgeoning pro career."

 

 

 

Our Heddy Riss and her International Institutions and Governance Program at UC Berkeley
hosted a panel discussion last week on, 

Business and Ethics - Lessons from the Global Economic Crises

A notable Quote "Business ethics is to ethics as Military music is to music".

A general consensus was that the crises was due to SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS not individual ethical failings--problems that are built into capitalism.  Though, more regulation would help for a while but we will go through this cycle again after regulations fail through being played and then through abuse.

 

 

"Concierge Auctions to Host Lender-Owned Luxury Auction of a Custom Home in Berkeley, California on December 19" is a press release at prnewswire.com.

"Concierge Auctions will host a lender-owned luxury auction of 6946 Bristol Drive in Berkeley, California on December 19, the company announced. Previously offered to $1.36 million, the property is listed by Patricia Duran of Red Crown Realty in cooperation with East Bay Sotheby's International Realty."

 

 

"Thank the rich for higher ed fiscal crisis" opines the Bemidji, Minnesota Pioneer.

"Police are arresting and attacking student protesters on University of California campuses again. 'Why did he beat me? I wasn't doing anything,' screams a young Cal Berkeley student over KPFA radio.

Students are protesting the 32 percent increase in tuition imposed by the UC regents in a time of severe state deficits. The Board of Regents claims there's no choice. Students will now have to pay over $10,000 in tuition annually for a public university education that was free only a few decades ago.

The corporate media spin the tuition protests as if we were all suffering during the recession. For example, the San Diego Union-Tribune writes, "These students need a course in Reality 101. And the reality is that there is virtually no segment of American society that is not straining with the economic recession. With UC facing a $535 million budget gap due to state cuts, the regents have to confront reality and make tough choices. So should students."

Yet here's the reality that needs confronting: Our current budget crisis in California and the rest of the country resulted from tax cuts. U.S. elites, the top 1 percent of whom own close to half the wealth, along with our richest corporations are the beneficiaries of massive tax cuts that began in the Reagan administration. At the same time, working people are suffering the brunt of increased sales taxes and skyrocketing tuition costs at public colleges."

 

Matt Krupnick of the Contra Costa Times, in his report "Calling UC Berkeley's 1960s turmoil 'a dead movement,' protesters on Wednesday knocked a tribute to the Free Speech Movement off the steps of Sproul Hall " calls into question the relevance of our Old Hippies, among other things.

 

 

"Lawsuit seeks information on use of social networking sites by government agencies" reports Amandeep Dhaliwal at topnewsus.com.

"As many as six governmental agencies have been sued, over their use of social networks for investigation purposes, by two legal advocacy organizations ­ the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Samuelson Law, Technology, and Public Policy Clinic of the University of California, Berkeley."

 

 

 

"Biggest Star Explosion Seen; Was Rare, 'Clean' Death" is a story by Ker Than for National Geographic News.

"The biggest star explosion yet seen may be the best known example of a rare type of star death that leaves no "body" behind, astronomers say.

The unusual blast, dubbed SN 2007bi, appears to be a textbook example of a pair-instability supernova, a theoretical type of explosion proposed for very massive stars-those more than 140 times the mass of the sun.

Although most supernovae leave behind black holes or dense stellar corpses called neutron stars, pair-instability explosions would be so intense that the whole star would be obliterated.

Pair-instability supernovae have been hard to spot, however, because stars more than a hundred times the sun's mass are extremely rare.

Spied in images of a distant dwarf galaxy taken by an automated telescope, SN 2007bi was about 40 times brighter than a typical supernova, and it took about three times longer to reach its maximum brightness.

'Anything that takes that long to rise and is that bright has to have a lot of mass,' said study co-author Peter Nugent, an astrophysicist at the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory in California."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12/4/09

Tracy emails

Hi Ron,
So good to see Doris' photo.  Did you know that her son Eli is one of Ben's best friends? 

Take care,
Tracy

 

this is

the Avon Lady here from Walnut Creek

the mayor of Potter Creek

a biker chick

part of the support staff at one of the nation's largest law firms

Marsha Wacko

 

 

Da Boz emails his report (excerpts)

Our Berkeley FIRST program is highlighted in the most recent Scientific American as one of 20 "World Changing Ideas".

More info here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=world-changing-ideas

 

New California Graywater Code Is Here
It just became a lot easier to install a basic home graywater system.  Under the new California Plumbing Code, graywater systems using recycled water from clothes washers may be installed without a permit as long as they comply with specific requirements.  Larger and more complex graywater systems or systems that use pumps or holding tanks will still require a permit. The new code was passed as an emergency measure due to the drought and water shortages faced in the state.
 
The City of Berkeley's Planning Department is currently preparing new guidelines to assist residents who are interested in installing graywater systems.  Please check the website: www.cityofoberkeley.info/sustainable for updates and more information about graywater systems, as it becomes available.

 
City Plans To Use Stimulus Funds To Create Jobs
As federal stimulus funds make their way to local governments and statewide unemployment hovers at a record high, the city of Berkeley has modest plans to use stimulus funds for job creation and retention.
 
Berkeley is the recipient of more than $3.6 million in county, state and federal grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This funding is designed to encourage economic stability and doubles funding for included community programs. City programs that expanded due to stimulus funding also bring opportunities for employment. Such programs include the repaving of University Avenue and the funding of a program in which low-income families' homes are retrofitted to save energy.  
 
For more info read the Daily Cal Article: http://www.dailycal.org/article/107631/city_plans_to_use_stimulus_funds_to_create_jobs

 

 
Stimulus Funding Flips the Solar Switch On
The City of Berkeley is one of sixteen cities nationwide to be granted the Solar America Cities Special Project Award for the purpose of spurring the adoption of solar installations.  The economic stimulus funding from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) allows the City of Berkeley to support and enhance two existing programs--SmartSolar and the online Berkeley Solar Map -- to provide education and technical assistance directly to residents interested in implementing solar at their homes and businesses.
 

 

Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp Summer 2010 Registration

Yes it's true - after only three weeks of registration being open, Berkeley Tuolumne Camp is already getting full for the summer 2010 season! The following nights are currently at capacity and the Camps Office will not accept any more registrations for these nights: July 10, July 13 -17, July 24 - August 7, August 10 - 11 and August 14. If you're interested in coming to Berkeley Tuolumne Camp this summer you might want to head over to the Camps Office, at 1947 Center St., 1st Floor, and submit a registration form soon. For more information about Berkeley Tuolumne Camp, or to download a registration form, please visit www.cityofberkeley.info/camps.
 
If you have any further questions please contact the Camps Office via email at
camps@cityofberkeley.info or call (510) 981-5140. 

 
The 311 Call Center 
 
Berkeley residents, businesses, and visitors now have two faster, easier ways to access City services: a new 311 Call Center and an updated online service center at www.CityOfBerkeley.info/onlineservice.
 
311 is not a City switchboard - calls are answered by customer service representatives who can help most callers complete routine City business without being transferred. The most frequently requested transactions include:
·Reporting graffiti, potholes, and broken parking meters;
Paying refuse bills and parking tickets;
·Requesting general information (City business hours, office locations, etc.);
Changing residential refuse services; and
Reporting a residential or commercial missed garbage pick-up.
 

 

Fighting Flood Season in Berkeley
Residents can keep flooded storm drains from damaging their neighborhoods and property by participating in the City's Adopt-A-Drain program.
 
Visit that web page or www.CityofBerkeley.info/publicworks for more information.
 

 

 

 

"Judge orders Berkeley problem house boarded up" by Doug Oakley, Berkeley Voice.

"Neighbors on Berkeley's Oregon Street won a decades long fight against a drug house Wednesday when a judge ruled the city can evict the occupants and board it up for one year.

The order by Judge Winifred Smith of the Alameda County Superior Court, will be carried out during the first week of January, said City Attorney Zach Cowan. The house will remain sealed for one year at which time it can be reoccupied.

The city sought the order using a state law that allows them to board up houses that are declared a nuisance to the city. Lenora Moore, a grandmother who owns the house at 1610 Oregon St., had signed an agreement with the city last spring allowing the city to seek a board-up order if any more drug activity occurred on the property.

In October, police visited the house with a search warrant looking for a suspect in an armed robbery who lived there. They did not find the suspect because he was already in custody on another case, but they did find heroin and cocaine and arrested three people, police said."

 

 

 

"NACD elects 2 new members to Board of Directors" is a press release at news.thomasnet.com.

"Dominic J. Stull, President, Pacific Coast Chemicals Co. in Berkeley, CA, has been elected Director-at-Large on NACD Board of Directors for 3-year term. In separate action, Joel Hopper, President, Brenntag Mid-South, Inc. in Henderson, KY was re-elected as Director-at-Large for second term. According to NACD Chairman, Bruce Schechinger, the Executive Committee, Board members, and NACD membership will benefit from their knowledge of industry and leadership skills. "

 

 

 

 

"Bay Area artist 'shopdrops' at IKEA" by Laura Casey, Contra Costa Times.

"On Black Friday, Michele Pred joined the throngs at the Emeryville IKEA, but she wasn't exactly shopping.

Instead, the Berkeley artist slipped into the wall-art section and covertly placed copies of signed prints she had designed into the racks. By the time the store closed Saturday, all 10 prints had been picked up either by IKEA shoppers or a few happy fans of her work who learned about the opportunity on Pred's Facebook page.

Pred, 44, was 'shopdropping,' a practice that has a storied history with artists in the Bay Area and beyond. Sort of the opposite of shoplifting, shopdropping involves leaving goods in unsuspecting stores to sell to unsuspecting customers to make a statement in the name of art. "

 

"California Shakespeare Theater's Jonathan Moscone wins first Fichandler Award" is a story at latimes.com.

 

 

 

"Whose University? California Students Fight for Access to Education" at blog.aflcio.org.

"Marcy Rein, a retired member of Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) Local 29, gives us an in-depth report on the struggle by students at the University of California to oppose draconian cuts that endanger jobs and quality education.

From a block away on Telegraph Avenue, you could sense the muffled rumble of the crowd on the University of California's Berkeley campus Nov. 18. Getting closer, you heard the call-and-response of 'Whose university? Our university!' from students, faculty and members of five campus unions gathered in Sproul Plaza. They had walked off the job and out of their classes to protest UC's move to slash staff, salaries and services and send student fees soaring.

Members of University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE/CWA Local 9119) kicked off the day's action with unfair labor practice pickets at 5 a.m. They joined forces with other members of the campus community for the 1,000-strong rally at noon. Three busloads of people headed straight from the rally to Los Angeles, where the UC Regents were set to meet the next day. They joined some 2,000 students and unionists from around the state to denounce the Regents' plan to raise student fees another 32 percent."

 

 

 

"Exposure to Secondhand Cigarette Smoke Over a Lifetime Increased Breast Cancer Risk Later in Life" is a report a sciencedaily.com.

"Exposure to secondhand smoke for a prolonged period of time and in high quantity may increase the risk of breast cancer, even in women who never smoked cigarettes themselves."

 

 

"Some ignore Thanksgiving burning ban" by Denis Cuff, Contra Costa Times.

"Ahh, Thanksgiving. Pass the drumstick and gravy. Light up the fireplace logs. Get ready for the ticket in the mailbox, you scofflaws.

In a regulatory twist of an old holiday custom, Bay Area Air Quality Management District pollution inspectors detected 22 violations of its no-wood-fire rule on Thanksgiving Day, the first Spare the Air day of this cold season. Burners get a warning letter for a first offense and a $400 ticket for the second.

Air quality officials denied this week that they tried to snuff out holiday cheer. They were just doing their job when Thanksgiving happened to fall on a day last week when a temperature inversion trapped smoke near the ground and created unhealthy air - triggering the 24-hour burn ban, they said."

 

 

 

"California Jobs Summit Thinks Green" New America Media News Report, Seth Sandronsky.

"The California economy is hurting. The state jobless rate was 12.5 percent in October, a record high since World War II. The state's job crisis was the driving force of an economic recovery summit held in Sacramento on Dec. 2 on the eve of President Obama's jobs summit at the White House.

The California Labor Federation, which represents 2.1 million workers in 1,200 unions statewide, sponsored the Sacramento summit, the first event of its kind according to spokesman Steve Smith. National and state experts spoke out for more jobs and social services, a better infrastructure and improved workers' skills.

Nearly 23 percent of California workers are either out of work, under-employed (reluctantly part-time) or so discouraged they have stopped looking for work, according to Maurice Emsellem, policy co-director for the National Employment Law Project.

Meanwhile, unemployment is hitting ethnic and racial minorities hardest. "

 

 

"Feds tout clean tech as job maker" by George Avalos, Oakland Tribune.

"On the heels of a report that the economy is improved but still leaking jobs, a U.S. official appeared here Friday to tout clean tech and exports as two patches for the nation's economic woes.

'Our nation's economy needs export-driven demand to continue to grow and create jobs,' Ro Khanna, a deputy assistant secretary for the federal Department of Commerce said Friday.

Khanna's remarks were part of a speech he gave at the Hayward campus of California State University East Bay. Khanna was appearing at a conference at the university on clean technology export opportunities.

This region, with its veteran high-tech industry, robust biotech sector and fledgling solar business, could be poised to harvest plenty of commerce and create jobs from exports."

 

 

 

"California's First Gay Assembly Speaker" is story at express.com.

"Democratic Assemblyman John Perez of Los Angeles is about to become the state's first openly gay speaker of the Assembly. The position will make Perez the highest-ranking gay politician in California history. The speaker is generally considered the second or third most powerful position in state politics, after the governor and the Senate president pro tem.

Current Speaker Karen Bass, also of the LA area, said Perez has her support and the backing of a majority of Assembly members. Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner of Berkeley and Mary Hayashi of Hayward also are backing Perez, according to Capitol Weekly. Bass has said she plans to step down from the position early next year. "

 

 

 

"UCLA­UC Berkeley study shows how to increase local renewable energy, slow climate change:Report recommends harnessing energy potential of rooftops, roads, aqueducts" by Lauri Gavel uclanewsroom.org.

"As world leaders prepare for climate change talks in Copenhagen, innovative programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are finding promise in California. Yet, as global leaders struggle to find consensus, energy innovators are similarly blocked by a lack of state financing and political support."

 

 

 

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.