ZAZOU'S CAFE
2309
San Pablo 510-649-1824
4/22/10
Zazou's
menu
Potter Creek's Uncommon Café
is hidden behind V&W
Windows, 2813 Seventh Street 510-845-5264
Cold and hot sandwiches are
served with freshly roasted coffee
(A truly superior coffee,
it is also served in the deli-section of The Bowl RP)
A favorite is Italianova-two
eggs, black forest ham, gruyere cheese and basil pesto on a sweet
french panini
Open Mon-Thurs 10AM-5:30
PM, Friday 10AM-3PM, closed weekends
(FREE coffee on Tuesdays!)
Potter Creek's Mario Assadi
is featured in"SGP
is Poised for Growth" by Peter Nowack at whattheythink.com.
"The Sustainable Green
Printing Partnership (SGP) is celebrating the certification of
its 20th company. It's certainly a milestone for the SGP, which,
at 20 months of age, appears to have found its legs and a path
forward.
Up until now, printers have
been buying-in to SGP certification because it can save them money
(through process improvements), for market differentiation and,
simply, because it is the 'right thing to do.'
For example, Mario Assadi,
CEO of Berkeley, California based Greenerprinter, reports that
his shop opted for SGP because it provided the only industry-specific
green credentials, not because any customer had asked for SGP
certification."
"Berkeley Art Museum/PFA seeks proposals" by John King at sfgate.com.
"Here's a surprise:
SFMOMA isn't the only local cultural institution seeking an out-of-town
architect to design its new home.
There's also a 'help wanted'
sign at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, which
is planning a move to the old University of California printing
plant at Center and Oxford streets in downtown Berkeley. Letters
went to 10 architectural firms early this month and all 10 have
responded with initial proposals. The institution hopes to narrow
the list to three and name its designer in June.
The surprise is that BAM/PFA
already traveled this path - in 2006, when it selected Toyo Ito
to design a new home. The Japanese architect's response was seductive
- an abstract egg crate with thin steel walls - but also prohibitively
expensive. Ito and Cal parted ways last fall, and the institution
decided to revive the printing plant, making the most of such
features as the enormous redwood-floored shop beneath saw-toothed
skylights.
'We decided the best approach
is to repurpose what's there and build an additional 50,000 square
feet,' said Larry Rinder, the museum director. 'This requires
a combination of two design skill sets, integrating old and new
to create a functional and exciting whole.' "
"Intimate memoir revealed as fans honour
Mark Twain centenary" is
a story at guardian.co.uk.
"Handwritten 'Family
Sketch', written soon after the death of his daughter, goes on
display as part of celebrations marking 100 years since the author's
death.
Mark Twain fans across the
world are ignoring the American writer's 1896 dictum that 'What
ought to be done to the man who invented the celebrating of anniversaries?
Mere killing would be too light' and are marking the 100th anniversary
of his death.
One of the highlights is
an exhibition by Sotheby's auction house in New York of an unpublished
family sketch by Mark Twain that has gone on display as part of
a collection of 200 personal letters, manuscripts and photographs
going under the hammer on June 17. The 64-page, handwritten personal
account, A Family Sketch, written shortly after Twain's eldest
daughter died of meningitis in 1896, is expected to sell for $120,000
to $180,000 (£78,000 to £116,000)'
'A Family Sketch is certainly
one of the gems of the Sotheby's sale," David Hirst, general
editor of the Mark Twain Papers & Projects at the University
of California at Berkeley, which has the largest repository of
Twain material, told Associated Press. 'Any Mark Twain archive
or collector would be willing to go hungry for two or three years
just in order to be able to buy it.' "
"We knew how to invest in education 50
years ago" by Doug
Henton, Special to the Mercury News.
"The front-page stories
in the April 18 Mercury News on record profits for Silicon Valley
companies and the crisis in California higher education suggest
that it is time to explore the historic relationship between investment
in higher education and our region's leadership in innovation
- and what is now at risk.
As a graduate student at
UC Berkeley, I had the opportunity to meet Clark Kerr, the former
president of the University of California and architect of the
Master Plan for Higher Education. Later, I conducted an in-depth
interview with Kerr for a chapter on the California economy for
a book on the states' role in economic development.
I learned that Kerr was a
noted economist who understood the importance of preparing the
next generation of knowledge workers and promoting world-class
research to generate long-term economic benefits for the California
economy.
In fact, that is how he sold
the Master Plan to the California Legislature in 1960: California
needed to invest in a public university system that delivered
both research excellence and access to all."
"California leads in borrowing for jobless
benefits" is a report
ar reuters.com.
"Berkeley Jobless Rate Hits 11.3 Percent" is a story at dailycal.org.
"Bill to prohibit carrying guns in public
moves through Legislature" by
Samantha Young, Associated Press.
"Siding with law enforcement
authorities, California lawmakers today advanced legislation that
would make it illegal to openly carry a gun in public, even if
it's unloaded.
The bill cleared its first
committee after an emotional debate that pitted public safety
concerns against Second Amendment rights cited by gun owners.
'I think it puts all of us
at such great risk,' said Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley,
one of four Democrats who voted for the ban."
4/23/10
I just found-out that our
Laurie
Bright passed this January.
"Laurie was raised in
Sacramento, graduated El Camino High School in 1960, and attended
Chapman University and CSUS. Laurie married Judy Selby of Sacramento
in 1965 and was blessed with two daughters Kathryn and Karolyn.
As a young adult in Sacramento, he was active in Church youth,
serving as president of Northern California Christian Youth Counsel.
He was a founding member of the Arden Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ). Laurie was Past President of Southeast Sacramento
Kiwanis. Laurie moved to Berkeley in 1974, married Tamlyn in 1981
and blended his daughters, a son Forest and new daughter Jennifer
into a strong loving family. He started his own auto and engine
repair business on Heinz Avenue in Berkeley, later becoming a
25 year fixture on San Pablo Avenue. During his last 30 years,
he became passionate about and participated in community zoning
and planning issues. He served many years on Berkeley's Landmarks
Preservation Commission, was a board member of the Berkeley Architectural
Heritage Association, and at the time of his death was President
of the Council of Neighborhood Associations, contributing thousands
of hours addressing basic quality of life issues in Berkeley.
His hobbies included collecting and restoring clocks and watches,
motorized bicycles, and making wooden furniture firm recycled
materials".
"California Weekend Getaways:Rooms with
a view" by Cary
Ordway at lacanadaonline.com.
"Sometimes a modern,
big-city hotel just isn't enough - you want that spectacular old-world
hotel on a hill drenched in charm, promising something way out
of the ordinary for your escape from everyday life. The Claremont
Hotel, Club & Spa in San Francisco is one of those places.
The Claremont has held its
commanding view of the San Francisco Bay since 1915 and in fact
caught the attention of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who
referred to it as 'one of the few hotels in the world with warmth,
character and charm.' The hotel, in fact, looks almost like a
castle on a hill, a stately manor that seems more European in
flavor and completely dominating the surrounding real estate.
For those who visit a luxury hotel simply to be pampered, the
Claremont offers Spa Claremont, named by Elle Magazine as one
of the top 20 spas in the country. This is not your run-of-the-mill
spa - you'll find a 20,000-square-foot facility with 32 treatment
rooms including separate facilities for men and women."
"Food Activist Alice Waters Takes to Web,
Mulls TV" is an
AP report.
" The California-based
food activist says she's exploring new ways of spreading her message
about the importance of fresh, local food and supporting the farmers
who grow it, including a possible TV show, though talks for that
still are in the early stages.
Alice Waters is unlikely
to become the next Food Network Iron Chef. But with sustainable
eating hot fodder for celebrity chefs, the woman many credit with
planting the seeds of the movement may make the jump to her own
television program."
"University of California at Berkeley gets
high marks in latest US News graduate school report" at examiner.com.
"Little Green Men and Flying Saucers Are
So Passé: New Ideas About Aliens" is a book review at nytimes.com.
"The scientific project
known as SETI - the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence -
began in earnest 50 years ago, when an astronomer named Frank
Drake pointed a radio telescope toward a few nearby stars and
began to sift through the aural static. A half-century later SETI
has matured and remains a bustling enterprise, even though it
no longer receives government financing and even though E. T.,
if he's out there, does not appear to have Earth on his speed
dial. "
a frustrated Jarad emails
Berkeley voters approved
a bond measure 8 years ago to improve the animal shelter (I'm
for that). And in 2010, the shelter still isn't built and as a
result the costs have increased by $5.4MM (that's the WTF part).
What is the hell has the
city been doing for the past 8 years? It doesn't take that long
to build a shelter and how has the city been using that money
(or interest earned from that money) over the past 8 years? Where
is the fiduciary responsibility to the tax payers of Berkeley
that have to repay this bond money and the additional $5.4MM that
the shelter will cost because the city sat on it's ass for 8 years?
Seriously, WTF?
Is there no shame on the
part of the city and sense of responsibility to the tax payers
in Berkeley? I thought Washington DC was hopelessly gridlocked,
but I can see that Berkeley is doing its best to compete for the
Blue Ribbon of inaction, budget busting, tax dollar wasting, dysfunction.
With examples like this piling
up, what person in his right mind would vote for any future bond
measures? I ask the question, but the answer is obvious -- students
who are transients can vote to burden all of us with tax liabilities
and then they graduate and move away, leaving us with their s@#t-poor
voter mandates.
If the city wants to sit
on things so that it negatively impacts the city budget then they
need to do what corporate America did throughout 2009 -- institute
pay cuts for everyone in the city across the board. Many people
I know that remained employed have suffered through pay cuts --
It's time for Berkeley to step up to the plate of fiscal responsibility
and do the right thing.
Ryan Lau emails
Come and take part in Painting
a Participatory Mural for the South Berkeley Santa Fe Right
of Way
You are warmly invited to help paint a vision for the revitalization
of the South Berkley Santa Fe Right of Way (ROW) as a multi-purpose
greenway and linear commons. For Earth Day, for a
greener community, and for yourself -- come to our third
Mural Workshop, for as little or as long as you like -- on April
24, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. You will have the chance to collaboratively
create one of two murals that will be hung on the Santa Fe ROW
fences when done. Choose between: 1) painting in the outlines
of a vision of the past and future for one mural; or 2) creating
a mixed media mural with collage and painted dimensions you can
contribute to!
BRING: Your enthusiasm and open mind; and if
you can, photographs (or photocopies of photos), drawings, and
other mementos of the people, places, or objects that conjure
up feelings and memories of your neighborhood and contribute to
your sense of community. These can be incorporated into
the mural directly, or can be used as inspiration for on-the-spot
drawings to be incorporated in the mural.
Lunch and snacks will be provided.
Please R.S.V.P. to Beebo Turman at beebot@pacbell.net or
527-3773, as we need to know how many are coming to plan for paints
and food.
This will be a Creative Day for all, please come!
Sincerely,
Ryan Lau
Council Aide
4/24/10
"Three Richmond men arrested in Berkeley
robbery spree" Angela
Woodall, Oakland Tribune.
"Berkeley Police have
arrested three men suspected in a rash of armed robberies that
began in early April and ended Monday night.
Rashad Bailey, 18, Adam Doty,
18, and Harvey Coulter Jr. 20, all of Richmond, were arrested
Monday night. They were taken into custody just minutes after
police said they carried out three holdups beginning about 9:15
p.m. on the south side of the UC Berkeley campus. In each of the
robberies, the suspects confronted their victims with a handgun,
searched their pockets and demanded they turn over all their belongings,
according to police.
Working together, the men
started Monday night in the 2700 block of Haste Street, Officer
Jamie Perkins said. The second robbery at Parker and Warring streets
was reported at 9:45 p.m. Police said the suspects struck again
at Benvenue Avenue and Derby Street. That robbery was reported
at 9:48 p.m., Perkins said.
Minutes later, a University
of California Police Department officer spotted a vehicle traveling
in the area of Ellsworth Street and Dwight Way, near to where
the robberies happened.
The vehicle matched the description
broadcast by the Berkeley Police Department.
Officers stopped the car
and took the three men into custody at 9:56 p.m., Perkins said.
The men were booked in the
Berkeley Police Department jail on three counts of robbery and
three counts of possession of stolen property, Perkins said. Police
said they believe the three men also are
Advertisement
responsible for five other robberies that happened in early April
in North Berkeley. The charges are being reviewed by the Alameda
County District Attorney's Office.
The Berkeley Police Department
is asking any victims of robberies in Berkeley to come forward
if they have not done so before by calling 510-981-5742 or 510-981-5900;
dial 510-981-5911 from cell phones. If callers wish to remain
anonymous they are asked to call the Bay Area Crime Stoppers Tip
Line at 800-222-8477 (TIPS)."
"Berkeley's Casa Vino wine bar favorite
of novices and experts"
by Angela Woodall, Oakland Tribune.
"Anyone who grew up
in Wine Country in the '70s would appreciate the movie "Bottle
Shock," which captures the early days before the swirl, sniff
and spit crowd began the great migration to Sonoma and Napa Valley.
The same can be said of Casa
Vino. The wine bar and restaurant in South Berkeley embodies the
pre-Wine Rush days when pickup trucks were more common than BMWs.
The owners, brothers Jim
and Chris O'Meally, like to boast that they have more wines by
the glass than any other wine bar in the Bay Area. But they pour
them without pretentiousness. 'Wine doesn't need to be that way,'
Chris O'Meally said while standing behind Casa Vino's handmade
redwood bar Wednesday evening.
'I think there's enough good
wine out there that you can afford to drink it every day,' Jim
O'Meally said.
"Berkeley scholar in dock over HIV-Aids
article" by Zoë
Corbyn at timeshighereducation.co.uk.
"Anonymous complainants
accuse Peter Duesberg of 'ethical breach' and making 'false claims'.
Zoë Corbyn reports
A scholar who has questioned
the link between HIV and Aids is being investigated by his university
following allegations of 'unacceptable conduct'.
It has emerged that the University
of California, Berkeley launched an investigation last November
into whether Peter Duesberg, a professor of molecular and cell
biology who is well known for denying the link between HIV and
Aids, had violated its policies when submitting an article on
the theme to the journal Medical Hypotheses."
Ah, Mercury the planet of
communication is
retrograde.* Time for another Potter Creek home owners et
al meeting.
*At
04:06 UT (Universal Time) Sunday, April 18th, 2010, Mercury the
wise communicator-and universal trickster-turns retrograde at
12°37' Taurus, in the sign of the Bull, sending communications,
travel, appointments, mail and the www into a general snarlup!
The retro period begins some days before the actual turning point
(as Mercury slows) and lasts for three weeks or so, until May
11, 2010, when the Winged Messenger reaches his direct station.
Another reason to aggressively
develop our mixed use is found in "Region
begins new drive to curb greenhouse gases" by Denis Cuff,
Contra Costa Times.
"Four regional agencies
have launched a major drive to rein in greenhouse gas pollution
by reducing vehicle use, increasing public transit use and promoting
compact development in the Bay Area's nine counties.
Cities and counties will
be asked to designate areas for developing compact housing and
businesses in established areas with good access to rail lines,
buses and ferries."
And while we bicker about,
Emeryville kicks our tushie in "Artfful
living - and working" by Jennifer Modenessi, bayareanewsgroup.
"Artist Ann Weber's
studio is full of creative surprises. The large cardboard-and-bronze
sculptures that she exhibits in museums and galleries around the
country fill the downstairs area. Those made during a February
residency at San Francisco's de Young Museum dangle from the ceiling.
And the antique wooden bed ... a work-in-progress, perhaps?
'It's my guest room,' Weber
says with a laugh about the dreamy, romantic alcove that houses
her heirloom bed. 'My daughter sleeps here when she visits.'
Weber's studio, you see,
is also her home, one of 56 live/work spaces inside two buildings
of the Emeryville Artists' Co-op. Once labs and repair shops owned
by Shell Oil, the spaces were transformed by artists into studios
and established by the city of Emeryville as nonprofit, affordable
housing in the 1980s. Similar artist communities exist in San
Jose, at the Art Ark; at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga;
and at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz."
our Tak emails
Ron,
Just how many cafe's and
coffee shops have opened along San Pablo Avenue and to the west
in the past couple of years?
I moved to 10th Street about
12 years ago. As I was sweating out making the basic repairs to
make our house habitable, I often wished that there was a place
to get coffee after 3pm when the Westside Bakery closed. I hadn't
yet built a kitchen back then. There was nothing open around here
after 3pm. I drank a lot of instant coffee late in the afternoon.
Now we're surrounded by cafes that I can walk to.
I hope it isn't too much
of a good thing.
Tak
Proally not. RP
4/26/10
Sunday morning finds
the scooter club at the Westside
Bakery Cafe
Monday April 26 from 6:30
PM 'till 8:30 PM at the 9th Street campus of the French School,
there will be a meeting of the PCNA.
On the agenda is the election
of officers and a presentation by Alex Amoroso about the possible
effects of the West Berkeley Project on our neighborhood.
Last year, when those of
us on the PCNA mailing list were asked for agenda suggestions
I volunteered "Get someone from Planning to explain the proposed
changes for our district."
So they did, and I'll take
credit for it.
I'd now suggest continuing
the policy in other areas, rather than depending for information
solely on The Rickster, The Dorf, Etc, Etc, Etc.
And so, about change.
I'm a big fan of organic change.
But, is organic change always
gradual? Not necessarily. Birth, a defining event in Nature is
sudden, traumatic, and like revolution, often violent.
And what now might be the
natural pace of change in west-Berkeley?
Well, it's been said the
West-Berkeley Plan was made in 1992 to preserve 1972. If that's
even a little true, change here has been artificially arrested
for decades and so, consider the possibility that sudden, even
dramatic change, might be most natural.
And, consider the
"Re-imagined
Oakland Museum" by Jennifer Modenessi, Contra Costa
Times.
"From the outside, the
newly remodeled Oakland Museum of California feels strikingly
familiar. Its exterior remains intact, as do the lush gardens.
But step inside the revamped galleries of California art and history,
and it's clear things have changed dramatically. "
4/27/10
Resist change?
I'm reminded of the '60s
"What we resist, persists."
"California
company markets enviromentally friendly underwear" is
a story at News2WCBD-TV Charleston.
"Going green is a popular
trend these days and with more and more companies focusing on
creating products for sustainability, it's getting easier to join
the movement.
Now there's a company in
Berkeley, Calif. taking the green movement under ... literally,
and proving you don't have to wear your environmental principles
on your sleeve to make a statement about being Earth-friendly.
There are plenty people who believe that a green lifestyle begins
in the heart and mind but at PACT, they have an artsy, fashionable
approach and they're helping to cause by starting with the most
brief item of clothing.
'Our motto is: Change starts
with your underwear.' Explains Jason Kibbey, cofounder of PACT
Underwear."
" 'Parenthood' Renewed -- Let's Rate The
Parents!" by Amy
Keyishian at thestir.cafemom.com.
"The one-hour drama
Parenthood (Tuesdays, NBC) has already been invited back for a
second season -- so we can continue to follow the adventures of
the Braverman family, four grown kids negotiating family life
in Berkeley, California. Since last week was the best episode
so far, next season should really be gangbusters."
"Green Day's 'American Idiot' Tops Broadway
Box Office" is a
report at mtv.com. "Show brought in nearly $800,000
in its opening week."
"Alan Rich, classical music critic and
champion, dies at 85"
is an obituary at latimes.com.
"Over a long career,
he wrote for many newspapers and magazines, including the New
York Times and Newsweek. He helped promote several young composers
and championed conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen."
"UC
Berkeley shutting down 136-year-old printing service"
by Matt Krupnick, Contra Costa Times.
"The posters are everywhere
at UC Berkeley's printing plant: 'Work like the tortoise, not
the hare' and 'Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand
the situation.'
Taken from Toyota's 'Lean'
concepts for improving productivity, the philosophies were introduced
in 2005 to try to turn around the printing operation's declining
revenues. They did not work.
Within weeks, the university
will shut down its 136-year-old printing service, which printed
the original United Nations charter in 1945 but fell on hard times
as the Internet started eating away at its business. The printing
plant - which for generations has churned out university projects
ranging from magazines to human resources pamphlets - is running
a $736,000 deficit so far this fiscal year."
"Heyday Books was a welcome sight at the
L.A. Times Festival of Books" is
a story at latimes.com by Laura Frazin Steele.
"The Berkeley, California
based publisher, Heyday Books, was an especially welcome sight
this weekend at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Heyday
Books provides income from the sale of their books to the Heyday
Institute, a nonprofit organization that deepens awareness of
the cultural, natural, literary, and historic resources of California.
It is truly a pleasure to
browse through books that approach California's rich heritage
with meaning and elegance. Since 1974, Heyday Books has gathered
well-deserved awards while developing a sense of community among
their authors."
"Farm forces fabricate fun" is at visaliatinesdelata.com.
"Farmers and their friends
are frequently fond of flaunting their production of food, fiber,
floral products, fish, fodder, fur and even fuel. Now a University
of California study suggests adding fun to the formula.
The study by a professor
and associate professor from Clemson University in South Carolina,
in cooperation with an agriculture and resource economics professor
at the University of California, Berkeley, concludes that golf
courses produce a high-value agricultural crop. That translates
to fun for many, frustration for some.
Only high-value agricultural
crops such as strawberries, flowers, nursery crops or fresh market
tomatoes and truck crops compared favorably in the study's analysis
to the revenue per acre produced by golf enterprises. Included
were full-length courses, nine-hole layouts, par-three short courses
and practice facilities.
Part of the agricultural
production surrounding golf enterprises includes landscaping on
and near the courses and the buildings and other facilities operated
in connection with the golf layouts."
"Japanese
American heroes, bereft of bitterness" by George F. Will
at washingtonpost.com.
"Hearing about a shortage
of farm laborers in California, the couple who would become Susumu
Ito's parents moved from Hiroshima to become sharecroppers near
Stockton. Thus began a saga that recently brought Ito, 91, to
the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, where he and 119
former comrades in arms were honored, during the annual Days of
Remembrance, as liberators of Nazi concentration camps. While
his Japanese American Army unit was succoring survivors of Dachau,
near Munich, his parents and two sisters were interned in a camp
in Arkansas."
4/28/10
Co-Chair, David Snipper emails
of the PCNA Monday meeting
Greetings Ron.
Officers were voted into office for another year.
Alex Amorosa gave a very brief description of the current status
of the West Berkeley Project with short descriptions of various
parts. Members then fired questions which he (Alex) answered
as best he could. His co-worker Claudine was stuck in air traffic
on her way home and did not attend.
Some questions were overtly hostile, Alex tried to provide
answers and to clarify misconceptions withourt getting overly
technical. He managed to remain calm. He did however
threaten to walk out at one point if the personal attacks
continued. One member back tracked when Alex said he was
close to his limit.
I think most folks fail to realilze that it's the City Council
that makes policy which staff is then directed to implement. People
doing their jobs however mundane are not appropriate targets for
spleen venting unless there is some evidence of incompetance
or graft, etc. As chair for the evening, I did fail to jump in
on time to stop the attacks but will try to tighten the ship in
the future.
The "stake holders" plan to continue to meet and
will descend on future Planning Commission meetings with their
concerns which makes much more sense than gang-banging staff.
Best,
David Snipper
PCNA CoChair
"Investigative reporting center wins $440K
grant for community health coverage" San Francisco Business Times, Chris
Rauber.
"Nine UC Berkeley faculty members elected
to American Academy of Arts & Sciences" is a press release at ucberkeley.edu.
"Nine University of
California, Berkeley, faculty members have been elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation's oldest
and most prestigious honorary societies."
"Cal's
non-resident policy rankles educators, alumni" opines
Kerry Benefield in the Press Democrat.
"North Coast educators
are calling a University of California policy to increase out
of state student admission rates while reducing seats for California
students a breach of trust with taxpayers."
"More than 12,900 offered admission after
competitive application period"
is a press release at ucberkeley.edu.
"More than 12,900 high
school students who applied to the University of California, Berkeley,
during a highly competitive application period, have learned the
exceptional news that they have been offered admission."
"Why China is right on the yuan" by Barry Eichengreen at taipeitimes.com.
"After a period of tension
between the US and China, culminating earlier this month in rumblings
of an all-out trade war, it is now evident that a change in Chinese
exchange-rate policy is coming. China is finally prepared to let
the yuan resume its slow but steady upward march. We can now expect
the yuan to begin appreciating again, very gradually, against
the US dollar, as it did between 2005 and 2007."
"The mobile phone that breathes" is a report at scitech.cnn.
"Researchers at Intel
Labs in Berkeley, California, have designed a prototype mobile
phone that slurps up air and spits out pollution measurements.
The researchers eventually
hope to make everyone who carries a phone into a mobile air quality
monitor, to supplement the 4,000 stationary monitors used by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state partners.
It's the idea of 'citizen
science' taken to a new extreme."
"Hundreds of parolees targeted in Alameda
Co. sweep" is a
report at abc7news.
"Hundreds of parolees
are being targeted in a sweep that is under way in Alameda County
this [4/27/10] morning.
The sweep is focusing on
about 200 parolees in cities including Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward
and San Leandro, said Fredrick Bridgewater, a spokesman for the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division
of Adult Parole Operations.
'Periodically we do multi-agency
compliance sweeps and checks to make sure that parolees are abiding
by their conditions of parole,' Bridgewater said."
4/29/10
from our Sarah through Ms
Merryll
"No Bones About It: Bones are Unsafe for
Your Dog" is a report
at fda.gov.
"The idea that it's
natural for dogs to chew on bones is a popular one. However, it's
a dangerous practice and can cause serious injury to your pet."
"Natural wines: Character, not chemicals" by Jessica Yadegaran, Contra Costa Times.
"Under the frescos of
a centuries-old villa in Sarego, Italy, Tracey and Jared Brandt
of Berkeley's Donkey & Goat Winery were overcome with giddiness.
The Brandts, who have been
making natural, Rhone-style wines for a decade, were the first
and only Americans invited to pour at VinNatur, an annual European
gathering of natural winemakers that took place on April 12 and
13. Most of those who attend have followed the principles of minimal
intervention winemaking for generations.
'To be in the club among
such amazing winemakers,' Tracey says. 'We were on cloud nine.'
There's no exact definition
for natural winemaking."
"Emerson Murray never stopped believing
that despite adversity, he would find his silver lining"
is a story at the province.com.
"On Monday, when the
good news finally arrived, he discovered it was golden.
The 6-foot-3 combo guard
with Vancouver's St. George's Saints verbally agreed to a full
basketball scholarship offer from the Pac 10's California Golden
Bears, the happy ending that might have seemed unlikely after
suffering a broken ankle in August and having his team miss the
B.C. championships in March.
'They kind of showed up out
of the blue,' Murray explained Tuesday morning of the Golden Bears.
"California Gears Up for Reform Provisions
Taking Effect This Year"
by Kate Ackerman, California Healthline Senior Editor, californiahealthline.org.
"It's been more than
a month since President Obama signed health care reform legislation
into law. The debate over health care overhaul hasn't stopped
since the passage of reform, but the conversation has quickly
shifted to implementation.
Many of the most-publicized
health reform provisions -- such as the creation of health insurance
exchanges and the requirement that most U.S. residents purchase
health insurance -- won't take effect for several years. However,
there are a slew of provisions slated to go into effect this year
that likely will have an immediate impact in California. Here's
a rundown. . . . "
Bill Moyers discussion with
Bill Black"Will
Lawmakers Avert The Next Financial Collapse?" is defintely
worth watching.
our Darryl Moore emails (excerpts)
You're Invited
To A Party
You are invited
to a party Sunday May 2, 12-4 PM
At the 10th Street Park
Between Allston & Addison
Pot luck, & bring musical instruments
We are going to talk about co-operative Garden Work Parties
in Rosa Parks neighborhood & West Berkeley
So that we'll all be able to walk to our neighbors' yards to help
grow fresh food.
If you need help in your garden, We can arrange a volunteer
Garden Work Party
Expert advice and perhaps a steady helper
Would YOU like to be the first person this year to host a garden
work party in your yard?
As food prices rise,
We can grow our own good food,
With our skills, land and labor.
Whether or not you have a yard,
We can garden together
Summer Program Kickoff & Bike Rodeo (all ages)
Saturday, May 8
San Pablo Park, 2800 Park St
11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Free
Get a taste of
the amazing programs kids and adults can enjoy this summer through
the City of Berkeley Recreation Division. Play, eat, dance,
and learn. The Public Health Division encourages you to
bring your bike, skateboard, scooter and helmet to cruise in the
'Mock City' and 'Slow Races'. Get bicycle maintenance tips
too. Free helmets and event t-shirts for children while
supplies last. Enjoy youth arts and entertainment.
Learn about summer literacy programs. Enrollment materials
and scholarship applications will be available on site, and program
representatives will be able to answer individual questions.
Who Are These Crooks?
Berkeley Police Department presents a new web feature to showcase
recent crimes where community members can assist our Detectives
with information. During some BPD investigations,
we are able to get surveillance or other photographs of crime
suspects, but we do not know who they are. If you're interested
in helping out the Berkeley Police Department, click here or visit
their new page at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=30632
I really appreciate you taking the time to learn about news that
affect the District, and the City, and I hope to keep providing
you with useful/interesting information. If you have any
information you'd like to share with the community, please forward
it on over. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Darryl Moore
Berkeley City Council, District 2
from my log
4/20/10--3:22 PM--SERIOUS
irritant in warehouse, wear respirator. 7:10 PM--SERIOUS irritant
in front room, wear respirator. 9:30 PM--SERIOUS irritant in front
room with "chlorine bleach" odor, wear respirator.
4/22/10--last two days SERIOUS
irritant in warehouse, wear respirator.* 7:34--SERIOUS irritant
in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse. 11:27
AM---SERIOUS irritant in front room, dry eyes, itchy skin, guest
has similar symptoms. 1:03 PM--iritant in warehouse with "chlorine"
odor.* 1:44 PM--strong "chlorine" odor IMMEDIATELY in
front of warehouse.
4/24/10--8:10 AM--VERY, VERY
SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of
warehouse, sinus congestion, light head, headache, nausea. Marsha
has similar symptoms, leave. 9:19 AM irritant still present. 9:54
AM--"chlorine" odor IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse.
4/25/10--8:43 PM--irritant
in front room and "bad catalytic converter" odor.
4/26/10--11:34 AM--irritant
in front room, dry eyes, itchy skin, wear respirator.
4/27/10-5:34 AM--SERIOUS
irritant in warehouse. 7:38 AM--VERY VERY SERIOUS irritant in
front room, heavy dry air, SERIOUS sinus irritation, headache,
light head, burning eyes, mouth. Marsha similar. 10:36 AM--irritant
in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse with
"bad catalytic converter" odor, 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 Area
Coordinator is Officer Karen Buckheit, Berkeley PD - 981-5774
kbuckheit@ci.berkeley.ca.us
AND check out BPD feature
"Who
are these Crooks."
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.