APRIL 2010

after 4/6 here after 4/14 here after 4/21 here

 

Don't be meek!

Make John Coltrane Park

in Potter Creek

 

 

April is Jazz Appreciation Month

 

 

 

4/1/10

Today is Berkeley's 132th Birthday

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US

 

Seems it's also the 53th Anniversary of the Oakland Hell's Angels

 

 

Ken, Acme driver and foreman says they're establishing another route in SF to better serve those customers in the city's northwest.

 

The mayor held a Green Roundtable at Berkeley Mills two weeks ago. It was attended by over twenty invities.

 

 

There was a two-car accident on San Pablo around the Albatross about 10:30 yesterday morning. One car crashed into the store window of an adjacent shop the other spun around reports Alicia, sever at 900 GRAYSON.

 

 

 

Just who was that young lovely having lunch with our Rick at 900 yesterday?

 

 

 

Da Boz emails his March report (excerpts)

 

New Downtown Plan Highlighted in the New York Times

Daniel Weintraub of the New York Times interviewed me for a recent article about my Downtown Area Plan.  See the full article here and read more about my blueprint for revitalizing Berkeley's downtown: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/us/21sfpolitics.html

 

1st Annual Green Career Exploration Fair a Success

On March 19th my office in partnership with the East Bay Green Corridor hosted the first annual high school Green Career Exploration Fair. 
 
Students came from Berkeley High School, El Cerrito High School, Emery Secondary, Oakland Tech High School, Richmond High School, Skyline High School and San Lorenzo High School.  Each of these schools is developing a dynamic Green Career Academy that will prepare our young people for the jobs of today and tomorrow.  This Green Career Exploration Fair was an opportunity for local organizations to show-off their business to future employees, customers, and advocates.
 
Video Links: 
BHS Green Fair 2010 Part One: [ http://vimeo.com/10341836]
BHS Green Fair 2010 Part Two: [ http://vimeo.com/10342829]
 

 

Renewable Energy Reception

Last week I hosted a reception for Berkeley-based renewable energy companies.  Representatives from over 25 companies came to Berkeley Mills to tell me more about their product or service as well as discuss their experience doing business in Berkeley. 
 
Attendees also had a chance to hear about local (West Berkeley's Enterprise Zone) and statewide (Senate Bill 71) initiatives that may be beneficial to their operations.  Companies included bio fuel start ups, international solar companies and plug in hybrid electric vehicle integrators.
 

 

Berkeley FILM Foundation Grant Applications Available for 2010
 
The City of Berkeley, Wareham Development and The Saul Zaentz Company are pleased to announce the 2nd year of the Berkeley FILM Foundation grant-giving program for independent filmmakers.  The mission of the Foundation is to nurture, sustain and preserve the thriving Berkeley Film community. The Berkeley FILM Fund focuses on supporting the ideals reflected in Berkeley culture: social, historical and innovative documentary and dramatic works.
 
Click here for more information and the grant application: http://visitberkeley.com/film-office/berkeley-film-foundation
 

 

Center Street Art Walk Pilot Program Launched

We have launched the Center Street Art Walk (C-SAW!) - a pilot fine arts festival that will take place for eight consecutive Saturdays starting this summer.  The objective of the pilot project is to enliven the Downtown and expand the offerings of the Downtown Berkeley Arts District. 
 
This pilot program will also serve as an initial step in the proposed revitalization of Center Street.  In preparation for this pilot, organizers are looking for interested artists. 
 
Please visit: http://www.anotherbullwinkelshow.com/ for more information.
 

 

Attention Local Businesses and Artists - Downtown Art Project
 
There are 60 Utility Boxes within the Downtown Berkeley Area. All of them are grey. The 60 boxes project will work to transform these boxes into art. Using the theme Sustainability we will create 60 mini-murals on the boxes around town and create a walking tour website for the public.
Earth Island Institute has support from the Civic Arts Commission to produce this effort, secure funding, hire artists and begin painting.
 
Attend this workshop to get involved in this project:
What: Artist and business meet and greet with the 60 boxes project
When: Thursday,  April 1st at 6 p.m.
Where: Earth Island Institute, at the David Brower Center - 2150 Allston Way, Suite 460
Hosted by: Ariana Katovich and Julia Robertson
Contact: 510.859.9154

 

 

 

 

 

 

post from the past 4/1/06

the West Berkeley Bowl--a model

 

 

 

 

 

4/1/10 return

"The Chocolate Seder" by Erin Wade for the Bay Area News Group.

"The Passover crystal gleams, the silverware is polished, and the Seder plate is filled with ... chocolate?"

 

"Collapse, Inspired by a Minnesota Tragedy, Will Get World Premiere in California" by Kenneth Jones at playbill.com.

"Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley, CA, will present the world premiere of Allison Moore's Collapse, directed by Jessica Heidt, as part of the National New Play Network program."

 

 

 

"In the drug war, drugs are winning" Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune columnist at ocregister.com.

"When someone next door is coping with trouble, the neighborly thing to do is help. Mexico has a growing problem with extreme violence. And many people in California have a good idea of how to help.

Mexico has been wracked by murders connected to the drug trade. Last year, it suffered more than 6,500 drug-related killings, triple the number in 2007. And 2010 looks worse.

As of mid-March, more than 2,000 people have died in drug-related homicides ­ which puts Mexico on pace for more than 10,000 such deaths this year. That's more than one every hour.

This is not an epidemic of crazed meth addicts slaughtering people at random. It's the byproduct of a war involving narcotics traffickers, who sometimes kill each other, sometimes kill police and soldiers, sometimes kill journalists who report their crimes and sometimes kill innocent bystanders.

So what can the Golden State offer in the way of assistance? "

 

 

 

 

"Study Shows Effects of 1996 Immigration Law on Legal Immigrants" at washingtonindependent.com.

"Via Newswire, a study released today shows that immigration laws are not targeting the most dangerous illegal immigrants. The study, conducted by the law schools of the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Davis, reports that changes to immigration law in 1996 have led to large numbers of deportations of legal permanent residents (LPRs), or green card holders, over a 10-year period due to non-violent, minor crimes: They now make up nearly 10 percent of all immigrants deported from the country."

 

 

 

"Hyenas' laughter may encode distress signals" is a report at sify.com.

"Acoustic analysis of the 'giggle' sound emitted by spotted hyenas has revealed that their laughter may encode distress signals, besides information about age, dominance and identity.

Researchers recorded the calls of 26 hyenas in captivity and found that variations in the giggles' pitch and timbre may help hyenas establish social hierarchies. It might also signal calls for help in danger."

 

 

"Appeals court gives stray dogs an extra weekday" Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"Animal shelters must keep a stray dog for at least four weekdays, not three, before putting it to death, a state appeals court in San Francisco has ruled."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4/2/10

"Two [Berkeley] teens dead in Richmond Parkway collision" by Karl Fischer, Contra Costa Times.

"Two teenagers died Wednesday afternoon in a collision between a school bus and a pickup on Richmond Parkway."

 

 

"Berkeley hit and run driver injures one, destroys two cars" by Doug Oakley, Berkeley Voice.

"A hit-and-run driver who was being investigated by police for drug sales caused a head-on crash that sent a woman to the hospital and demolished two cars in Berkeley on Wednesday morning.

Berkeley police were standing outside their patrol cars when the driver sped off and ran a stop sign at Hearst Avenue and San Pablo Avenue.

The suspect, driving a champagne-colored Toyota van, smashed into the back of a car driven by 88-year-old Oscar Wimberly, of Berkeley, who was driving north on San Pablo Avenue."

 

 

"Man held in Berkeley rape and assault" Doug Oakley, Contra Costa Times.

"Berkeley police arrested a man after a brief foot chase Tuesday following a sexual assault on a female acquaintance and a physical assault on a second woman.

The attacks, on a 38-year-old and a 30-year-old, took place in a Burnett Street apartment at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, police said. The victims called authorities about 12 hours later.

When police arrived, the suspect, identified as 30-year-old Anthony Frazier, started running, jumping over backyard fences. Police caught up with him about four blocks away at Mabel and 67th streets."

 

 

"Police investigate card scam in California" by William Davis is a report at creditnet.com.

"A recent report said that police in Berkeley, California, are investigating a scam where thieves steal credit and debit card information."

 

 

"News Group Tackles Offending Newsracks in Berkeley" by Riya Bhattacharjee of our Planet.

"Berkeley may have finally found a way to regulate offending newsracks.

A newspaper conglomerate has stepped up to the plate and agreed to tackle the problem. Well at least some of it.

The Bay Area News Group, the local of the Media News corporation which publishes The Oakland Tribune, The Contra Costa Times and the San Jose Mercury News among others, has been sending out a crew to dismantle old broken ped-mounts (racks which hold boxes for multiple papers), fix them up and re-install them so that they are no longer considered a 'hazard' by the city. "

 

 

 

"Federal Law Could Derail Marijuana Legalization in California" at jointogether.com.

"The Obama administration has taken a hands-off approach to state medical-marijuana laws, but opinions differ on whether the federal government would allow a state like California to legalize non-medical possession of the drug, the Woodland (Calif.) Daily Democrat reported March 29."

 

"Marijuana, Dark Horse Savior of California Agriculture" by Sam Cornell at miller-mccune.com.

While a legalized marijuana crop wouldn't solve all of California's agricultural woes, it might still keep the state in the green.

The three-hour Northern California drive from San Francisco to Nevada County passes through some of the cream of the state's agriculture industry: dairy, alfalfa, rice, almonds, grapes. On both sides of the freeway stretch enormous crop rows, interrupted only by the state capital of Sacramento and a number of small towns.

Last fall, I made the trip north to visit a medical marijuana farm in the mountains above Grass Valley, a scenic town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. The area is well suited to marijuana cultivation: The land is cheap and sparsely populated; the climate is mild."

 

 

 

"Deportation of Lawful Immigrant Parents Harms U.S. Citizen Children" is a UC news release at newswise.com

"New report finds 88,000 U.S. citizen children lost lawful immigrant parent within ten year period

The U.S. has deported the lawful immigrant parents of nearly 88,000 citizen children in just a decade, according to a new report released today from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Davis law schools. The report, In the Child's Best Interest?, finds that forced removal of lawful permanent resident parents (or green card holders) convicted of relatively minor crimes can lead to psychological harm, behavioral changes, and disruptions in the health and education of tens of thousands of citizen children."

 

 

"UC Berkeley Professor Mixes Sound for Award-Winning Films" by Jawad Qadir Contributing Writer at dailycal.org.

" 'The Godfather Part II.' 'Amadeus.' 'The English Patient.' 'The Right Stuff.' What do these movies have in common? Besides the fact that they're all critically acclaimed best picture Oscar winners, they share another significant trait. UC Berkeley's very own adjunct film professor and professional film sound recording mixer, Mark Berger, had a huge hand in creating, mixing and editing the audio elements of each film. "

 

"Chekhov takes Long Island in 'Seagull In the Hamptons' " by Karen D'Souza, San Jose Mercury News.

"Anton Chekhov catches some rays in Emily Mann's breezy new adaptation of his first play, 'A Seagull in the Hamptons.'"

 

 

"Towel-folding robot won't do the dishes" by Tim Hornyak at CNET.com.

"If you hate folding laundry, you might like what you see in a recent video from researchers at the University of California at Berkeley. They programmed a robot to fold towels.

The researchers used Willow Garage's PR2."

 

 

"Lawrence Berkeley Lab gets $18M for biofuels research center" is a story in the San Francisco Business Times by Steven E.F. Brown.

 

 

 

"New NorCal Earthquake Warning System Unveiled" is a report at cbs5.com.

"Scientists from UC Berkeley's Seismology Lab have moved forward with a plan to install an earthquake early warning system in Northern California."

 

 

 

In what I believe to be the true Potter Creek spirit of mixed-use our David Snipper emails

Zonkey

 

 

 

And in the same spirit our Merryll is making Matzah Pralines for Easter

recipe to follow

 

 

 

"Protesters Want Ronald McDonald To Retire" is a story at wptz.com.

"Ronald McDonald is one of the most recognizable characters in the world. But some parents and watchdog groups say it's time for the McDonald's spokesman to retire."

 

 

 

our Geralyn emails

Aloha Kakou!
 
I hope this missive finds everyone in good spirits. It's spring and it's time for Hui Hula O Na Pu'u I Ka Noe's May Day Is Lei Day Lu'au.
 
It will be held on Sunday, May 2 at the Piedmont Veterans Hall from 2pm to 5pm. Our special guest artist is Patrick Landeza. And of course, there will be some hula for your entertainment.
 
The lu'au meal will be catered by Pu'unaue and you will have the choice of Salmon with white rice or Kalua Pig with Chicken Long Rice (Kalua pig is smoked roasted pork, very "ono"). The sides are: green salad, potato salad, macaroni salad and sweet potatoes. A pretty traditional lu'au plate. (Sorry, no poi). There will also be a no-host bar.
 
The tickets are $30 for adults, $15 for kids (3-10) and kids under 3 are free.
 
The caterer has asked us to give them a headcount of attendees a few weeks ahead of the event, so meals will need to be accounted for by April 15th.
 
If you're interested in attending (and I hope you will), please write me back as soon as possible indicating the number of tickets you need (adult, child) and which meals you'd like to have.
 
Or, to facilitate the process, just mail me a check made out to "Hui Hula" and write down the number and type of tickets you want (adult/child) and which meals you'd like, then I 'll mail the tickets to you before the event.
 
The lu'au will help fund our expenses for a hula competiton in Houston in September.
 
Here's a link to the poster. Feel free to post it on your neighborhood or workplace bulletin board: http://www.huihula.com/luauprint.pdf
 
There should also be some pictures from our competition in Berlin and exhibition dancing in Prague (August 2009) on the website.
 
Mahalo Nui Loa for your support!
 
Me Ke Aloha Pumehana,
 
Keolani (Geralyn) Hurney
510-845-5055

 

 

 

one of Pete Hurney's ukes

Pete's work is available for purchase--check out his website

 

 

 

 

 

4/3/10

Jim Marshall was also a car guy. See his car and other photos at autoweek.com.

Here's Nick Despotopoulos' official Jim Marshall website. Check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Marijuana Legalization Could Aid Local Shops" by Hannah Moulthropat at dailycal.org.

"In a city known for its marijuana culture, a statewide initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana use slated for the November ballot could potentially benefit businesses and dispensaries in Berkeley."

 

 

"Reversals of Fortune in the Tea Industry : Schemes and Complicity" a story at uptontea.com.

Opium warehouse in Patna India in the early 19th Century

 

"The history of tea is incomplete without a discussion of the British East India Company's opium monopoly, which was established by Warren Hastings and the Governing Council on November 23, 1773."

 

 

 

"Organic Consumers Association Pickets Chez Panisse" is a story at by Raymond Barglow at berkeleydaily.com.

"Picketers claiming that Alice Waters, known worldwide as an advocate of organic foods and gardens, supports 'growing food on toxic sewage sludge' appeared today at noon in front of her Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley. The protestors, from the Organic Consumers Association, say as well that the Executive Director of Alice Water's Chez Panisse Foundation, Francesca Vietor, is a Vice President of the PUC, which has been giving away the sludge 'compost' to gardeners in the Bay Area."

 

"She yanks their food chains" is a story at latimes.com

"Alice Waters, founder of Berkeley's Chez Panisse, is known worldwide for her unbending fidelity to locally grown food and organic agriculture. So why does she inspire such animosity?"

 

"Alice Waters Defends Herself from Critics. As Chez Panisse founder's profile is raised, so is controversy" by Jackson West at nbcbayarea.com.

"Alice Waters earnest approach to eating and cooking have earned her plenty of detractors as well as admirers.

Alice Waters, the beatific founder of legendary Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse, may have done more to change the way America thinks of food in the last 30 years than anyone else.

And it hasn't made everyone happy.

Television personality and former chef Anothony Bourdain has compared her uncompromising position on fresh, local and sustainably raised ingredients equivalent to the uncompromising moral dictates of the Khmer Rouge, the authoritarian nationalist movement in Cambodia."

 

 

 

 

"Globish: the worldwide dialect of the third millennium" is a story at guardian.com.

"More than a lingua franca, the rapid adoption of 'decaffeinated English', according to the man who coined the term 'Globish', makes it the world's most widely spoken language."

 

 

 

 

4/5/10

BFD firefighters

cleaning up Saturday morning after an apartment fire at the corner of 7th and Dwight.

No one was injured though the apartment suffered damage from a fire started by lighted gas burner left unattended.

 

 

"Police Arrest Westside Gang Suspects For Robbery" by Riya Bhattacharjee of our Planet.

"Berkeley police Saturday arrested alleged members of the city's notorious Westside gang after being alerted by witnesses who said gang members had committed a robbery."

 

 

 

"Pacific Steel Agrees to Release Some Odor Plan 'Trade Secrets' " is also by Riya Bhattacharjee of our Planet.

"Pacific Steel Casting has agreed to release certain parts of its Odor Management Plan, which it had previously declined to do, after arriving at a settlement agreement in February with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

A number of Public Records Act requests were filed by the City of Berkeley and community members for the Odor Management Plan which Pacific Steel submitted to the Air District in 2008 after being cited for multiple air quality violations."

 

 

 

"From California to Cambodia, Fighting for Women" Justin Mott for The New York Times.

"It was at Berkeley in the 1970s that Mu Sochua, a shy teenager fleeing a war in Cambodia, learned the thrill of speaking her mind."

 

 

"BHS Participates in Day of Action" by Chloe Holden at berkeleyhighschooljacket.com.

"Last Thursday, public education advocates throughout California spoke out against budget cuts through multiple rallies, marches, walk-outs, and other events in a statewide Day of Action.

Students and staff at institutions throughout the state came together to organize against the $17 billion in cuts that have already been made to California's education budget, and against the new cuts expected in the coming year. In Berkeley and the larger Bay Area, dissent was audible on most campuses. Berkeley community members and Berkeley Unified School District staff, including classified employees and teachers from all education levels, passed out fliers on Thursday morning to raise awareness of the budget crisis."

 

 

 

"Berkeley Radiation Expert Sells Laboratory-Grade Beer Steins" by Ryan Flinn at bloomberg.com.

"Ask Phil Broughton if he's ever dismantled a nuclear bomb, and he'll pause, clasp his hands around his thick red beard and give a couched answer.

'Not that I can talk too much about,' said Broughton, a radiation safety specialist at the University of California, Berkeley.

What he does want to discuss is beer: specifically, a stein crafted from lab equipment normally used to keep liquid nitrogen so cold it doesn't boil off into vapor. "

 

 

 

"Book Documents Giannini Foundation's Impact on California Agriculture" is a review at ucdavis.edu.

"A new book, 'A.P Giannini and the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics,' is now available to the public. . . .

In 1928, Amadeo Peter Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy, gave a very generous gift of $1.5 million to the University of California to construct Giannini Hall for the College of Agriculture on the Berkeley campus and to establish the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics. The majority of the gift created an endowment for programs in support of California agriculture and rural areas in a period of difficult economic times."

 

 

 

"Equipment movers in demand as factories shut" is a report by Tom Abate, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"While his forklift crews removed tons of chip-production machinery from a shuttered factory in Hayward, trucker George Lawson bemoaned the fact that his company has been ripping out a lot of industrial equipment these days and shipping it - and the associated jobs - out of California."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4/6/10

Merryll emails her Matzo Praline recipe from the Chron

Matzo Brittle

Serves 20 For variety, I sprinkle half of the brittle with roasted almonds, and the other half with Maldon sea salt (you can use any coarse salt) before breaking it into pieces. If you'd prefer to have all one kind, just double the amount of nuts or use more salt to your liking.

4-5 sheets Passover matzo
2 sticks butter or margarine
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped roasted salted almonds, or coarse sea salt to taste

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and grease the foil with non-stick cooking spray.

Arrange the matzo in one flat layer in the pan, breaking up and fitting the pieces as needed to cover the whole pan.

Combine the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over high heat, and bring to a boil, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Once it starts to boil, continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns into caramel.

Remove the caramel from the heat and pour it evenly over the matzo, using an offset or regular spatula to coat all the matzo. Bake for about 12 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let stand for 1 minute, until the topping is slightly solidified. Pour the chocolate chips evenly over the matzo, and return to the oven for 1 minute to soften the chips.

Remove from the oven and, using the spatula, spread the melted chocolate out over the matzo in one layer.

Sprinkle nuts over one half of the sheet, and salt over the other (or add toppings to your liking). Let rest at room temperature at least 30 minutes, then refrigerate at least 1 hour, uncovered.

Break into pieces and store between parchment or waxed paper in an airtight container for up to 1 week until ready to serve.

Per serving: 238 calories, 2 g protein, 27 g carbohydrate, 15 g fat (8 g saturated), 25 mg cholesterol, 24 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

 

This recipe is part of the story "Play with toppings, make matzo brittle your own" Amanda Gold, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"My first Passover in San Francisco resembled more of an all-night Vegas buffet than a traditional seder meal.

"About 30 people gathered in the rec room of a friend's apartment complex. We each had brought a dish to display on a table that ran the length of the room. There were several varieties of brisket, enough salads to feed an army, and side dishes both Passover-friendly and not."

 

our Jill Ellis, CEID director emails

Ron
 
. . . and I liked the Chocolate Passover story too!

J

 

 

 

"UC President Outlines Actions in Response to Campus Racism" by Riya Bhattacharjee of our Planet.

"University of California President Mark Yudof at a Board of Regents meeting last week outined a series of actions to address recent racist incidents on campus."

 

 

 

"Spray-On Solar in the Works at UC Berkeley Lab" is a report at getsolar.com.

"Berkeley, California has played host to a number of nation-shaping movements in recent decades, from civil rights protests, to tree sittings, to building takeovers. But is it possible that years from now, people will be looking at this nonconforming East Bay city as the epicenter of modern solar power?

A number of scientists at the University of California at Berkeley think so, as their work could one day allow farmers to include solar power among their field of crops.

The team has found a way to get tobacco plants to grow synthetic photovoltaic (PV) and photochemical cells. The cells could then be removed, dissolved in a solution and sprayed on glass or plastic to create a limitless potential of biodegradable, disposable solar panels."

 

 

 

"Bullet train plan under fire from local transit leaders" at latimes.com.

"Rather than expanding and sharing existing lines, the California High-Speed Rail Authority wants to build its own, dedicated track. L.A. and O.C. officials say that would be too costly and disruptive."

 

 

 

"Odd Bedfellows in the Pro-Pot Ballot Initiative:Organized Labor, the NAACP and Some Law Enforcement Officials Support Legalization, Taxation" is a story at abcnews.com.

"But in an interesting wrinkle, California's pro-pot proponents are gaining support from some unlikely allies.

'We're definitely getting more support every day from people who haven't supported us in the past,' says Richard Lee, the businessman and activist who led the effort that collected 690,000 signatures to get the initiative on the ballot.

A new nationwide poll by Pew Research Center suggests that opponents of legalized pot still comprise the majority (52 percent), and include the usual suspects: older Americans, conservatives and mothers of teenagers. In California, the state Republican party and the California Police Chiefs Association are just saying No to the ballot initiative."

 

after 4/6 here

 

 

from my log

3/31/10--3:02 AM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, wear respirator.3:27 AM--VERY SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, light head, STRONG "chlorine bleach" odor, LEAVE. 7:27 AM--irritant in front room, nasal congestion, dry eyes, dry skin. 10:53 AM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, burning eyes, dry skin, "bad catalytic converter" odor, over riders five HEAPA filters, wear respirator and eye protection. 11:30 AM--"chlorine bleach" odor in front room, leave.Off-and-on all afternoon, irritant, dry heavy air, "bad catalytic converter" odor. 5:17 PM--irritant in warehouse front and "chlorine bleach" odor.

 

4/1/10-10:25 AM--irritant in front room, "bad catalytic converter" odor, leave.

4/3/10--7:47 AM--irritant in front room, dry air, "bad catalytic converter" odor, nasal and ear congestion, Marsha reguiarly coughs hard. 9:23 PM--irritant in front room ,dry heavy air, light head, ears ring, leave.

4/5/10--7:00 PM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, dry heavy air, sinus congestion, ringing ears, head ache, light head, watery eyes. 10:53 AM--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse, nasal congestion, watery eyes, overides HEPA filter, Marsha has, light head, headache, nasal congestion, wear repirators. Off-and-on all afternoon usual symptoms with "chlorine bleach," "melting plastic," "bad catalytic converter" etc odor and heavy dry air, Marsha and I wear respirators. 7:41 PM-irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, "chlorine bleach odor."

4/6/10--5:49 AM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, dry heavy air, itchy skin, nasal congestion, ringing ears, wear respirator.

4/7/10--6:33 AM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, dry heavy air, watery eyes, nasal congestion, itchy skin, light head, wear respirator.

 

The irritants sometimes experienced cause coughing; dry/burning eyes, nose, mouth; light head; occasional short breath; occasional nausea.

Though the irritants we experience sometimes over ride as many as four HEPA filters, our SO Safety respirators with 8053-P100 Cartridges seem to filter "all" the irritant. These are filters for organic vapors, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride.

I am left to conclude that possibly (probably?) some of the irritants we regularly experience, those that our SO Safety 8053-P 100 cartridges successfully filter, are identifiable, ironically, by their absence when using the respirator. The HEPA filters don't remove them, the SO Safety filters do. So what they remove--chlorine, chlorine dioxide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride--must be some of the irritant.

Though the respirator-filters largely prevent inhalation of the irritant, it is clear from "health effects" that irritants can enter the body's system through the skin.

"I feel like ants are crawling on me" said Marsha.

 

I've noticed recently some neighbors have similar symptoms, some more severe--redness of the eyes, nasal congestion. And neighhors stopping-by in front to talk have experienced watery eyes and coughing.

 

 

 

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.