5/26/09
"Mural adorns wall in west Berkeley" is a story by Doug Oakley at berkeleyvoice.com.
"Sixteen-year-old Alejandra
Avalos is learning to paint a mural.
It's something she never
thought she could do, but she gave it a try anyway.
Now she's proud to tell friends
and family that she's part of a team that's making a Berkeley
street corner come alive with a painting that tells a story of
the city's Latino culture.
The 60-foot long mural in
vivid colors at the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Addison Street
is called Living without Borders, and is overseen by internationally
known muralist Juana Alicia, also a resident of west Berkeley.
The project was started to
inspire young people in the neighborhood and offer them an alternative
to criminal temptation."
"Berkeley Police Identify Homicide Suspects"
Bay City News, Special
to the Planet
"Two gang members who remain at large following a triple
homicide in the East Bay last weekend have been identified, the
Berkeley Police Department announced today.
Arrest warrants were issued
for 27-year-old Rafael Campbell and Samuel Flowers, 21, on Friday.
Police say they are wanted for three counts of murder and are
considered armed and dangerous. "
Rafael Campbell
Samuel Flowers
Henry K Lee of the Chronicle
elaborates with
"Stephon Anthony, 22,
of San Leandro and Anthony Price, 26, of Oakland were each charged
Tuesday with murder, weapons and gang enhancements and a special
circumstance accusing them of committing multiple murders. That
allegation could make them eligible for lethal injection if convicted,
although Alameda County prosecutors say they have not decided
whether to seek the death penalty or life imprisonment without
parole.
Police said the four men
used assault rifles to kill Charles Davis, 25, near the corner
of 10th Street and Allston Way in west Berkeley at about 6:35
p.m. May 16. Prosecutors said Davis' slaying was a retaliatory
strike by members of a North Oakland gang.
Frankel would not say which
role each suspect allegedly played. But authorities said a Berkeley
officer who heard the gunfire began chasing a Cadillac that fled
the scene and was driven by Anthony." The full story
here.
Jarad emails
excerpt from SF Chronicle
this weekend
Police said the four men used assault rifles to kill Charles Davis,
25, near the corner of 10th Street and Allston Way in west Berkeley
at about 6:35 p.m. May 16. Prosecutors said Davis' slaying was
a retaliatory strike by members of a North Oakland gang.*
*This is information that has been privately discussed between
active members of the City of Berkeley neighborhood watch network,
but has not been posted here because it wasn't officially released
by BPD. As we've implied previously, someone isn't randomly shot
in the street with AK-47's if they aren't involved with a gang...in
this case the H20 Waterfront gang.
I respect the opinions of people in my neighborhood, but I have
to say that all of the talk over the past week about the victim
being an innocent person doesn't hold water.
Jarad Carleton
"Berkeley needle exchange program comes
out of the shadows"
reports Doug Oakley, Berkeley Voice.
"After nearly 20 years
of quietly handing out free, clean needles to drug users on Berkeley's
streets, the city's needle exchange is coming out of the shadows.
In April, a year ahead of
its 20th birthday, the Needle Exchange Emergency Distribution
became a registered charity, a certified nonprofit group and last
year was able to get a state grant that increased its yearly budget
to more than $100,000."
"Longer
carpool lane hours suggested for I-80" by Denis Cuff,
at sjmercurynews.com
"Traffic congestion
on Interstate 80 from Oakland to Hercules is so bad so often that
the Bay Area's transportation commission is going to study whether
to expand the hours for carpool-only lanes on weekdays and begin
weekend hours, as well.
Ranked for years as the region's
most congested freeway section, the major commute route between
the central Bay Area and the North Bay and Sacramento Valley currently
has a carpool restriction on one lane in each direction from 5
to 10 a.m. and from 3 to 7 p.m. on weekdays.
The Metropolitan Transportation
Commission is going to investigate whether adding more hours would
help the flow.
'We're going to look into
it along with our partner, Caltrans,' said Randy Rentschler, a
spokesman for the nine-county transportation commission.
Two commissioners - Berkeley
Mayor Tom Bates and Napa County Supervisor Bill Dodd - called
last week for the look into expanded hours. Dodd suggested carpool
lanes might be appropriate seven days a week because of traffic
congestion on Saturdays and Sundays."
It's been suggested that
Berkeley city services are minimal on weekends. However my own
experience is that our Angela
Gallegos-Castillo has been, more-than-not, responsive over
weekends.
Well, Ok then.
"Raiders' star finds strength in Berkeley
High coach" reports
Scott Ostler, Chronicle Staff Writer.
"Hinder chooses California:Local football
player verbally commits to west coast university" by Luke Graham atsteamboatpilot.com.
"Steamboat Springs High
School junior quarterback Austin Hinder verbally committed to
the University of California-Berkeley on Monday."
5/27/09
posts from the past
5/8/03
"Virtually every encyclopedia or textbook etymology of the
word 'robot' mentions the play R.U.R [Rossum's Universal
Robots. Prague, 1920.]
Although
the immediate worldwide success of the play immediately popularized
the word (supplanting the earlier 'automaton'), it was actually
not Karel Capek but his brother Josef, also a respected Czech
writer, who coined the word. The
Czech word robota means 'drudgery' or 'servitude'; a robotnik
is a peasant or serf. Although the term today conjures up
images of clanking metal contraptions, Capek's Robots (always
capitalized) are more accurately the product of what we would
now call genetic engineering. The play describes of 'kneading
troughs' and 'vats' for processing a chemical substitute for protoplasm,
and a 'stamping mill' for forming Robot bodies."
Swerve's
Ziggy
" 'Turn off your computer': Google CEO
speaks to Penn grads"reports
Kathy Matheson, Associated Press Writer in the Salisbury
Post.com
"The head of the world's
most popular search engine urged college graduates on Monday to
step away from the virtual world and make human connections".
"Nanotech Memory Could Hold Data For 1
Billion Years" is
a story at slashdot.org.
"Shotgun Players pull no punches with 'Faust,
Part I" is a review
by Pat Craig, Contra Costa Times.
"There is plenty of
good ol' Teutonic Sturm und Drang here for everyone.
It is Goethe's 'Faust, Part
I,' after all. That is, Goethe's tale filtered poetically through
an adaptation by Mark Jackson, who also plays the title role in
the Shotgun Players production that opened Friday in Berkeley."
"Fogerty rocks ACC crowd" is a concert review by Jane Stevenson at torontosun.com.
"John Fogerty may have
been born in Berkeley, California, but on Saturday night at the
Air Canada Centre Theatre, he was definitely Born On The Bayou.
Over the course of two-hours,
the 63-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist and his six-piece
band effectively shook up a small crowd with some of the best
known songs from his legendary late '60s, early '70s rock band,
Creedence Clearwater Revival, plus his own solo work."
Creedence recorded for Potter
Creek's Fanasy Records. In fact, the word was that "They
made Fantasy."
"Californians face up to grim future as
deficit spirals" by
Rob Woollard, AFP.
As a Hollywood action hero,
Arnold Schwarzenegger forged a career playing tough guys used
to prevailing against impossible odds.
But the Austrian-born former
Mr. Universe, who was elected California governor in 2003 on a
platform of fiscal reform, has failed to impose his will on the
state's seemingly eternal budget problems.
The Republican governor suffered
a crushing special election defeat this week over a package of
measures he argued were essential to help plug a projected 21-billion-dollar
budget deficit.
Schwarzenegger said the result
had left California facing 'fiscal disaster' and the state --
which would have the world's eighth largest economy if it were
a country -- is now preparing for severe spending cuts.
Former governor Gray Davis
-- ousted by Schwarzenegger in 2003's historic recall election
-- said his successor is discovering that Californians held unrealistic
expectations of lower taxes and higher spending.
"California budget crisis could bring lasting
economic harm:The short-term pain of budget cuts could pale next
to a long-term loss of companies and academic talent" is a story by Martin Zimmerman, Marc Lifsher
and Andrea Chang at latimes.com.
"As bad as California's budget crisis is for the state's
$1.8-trillion economy, just wait. It could get worse.
The spectacle that played
out in the national media this week of a state unable to get its
fiscal act together is reinforcing the notion that the Golden
State is a rotten place to do business, experts say."
"Recession suddenly humbles high-tech sector"
is a report by Martha
Mendoza, AP National Writer.
"World Economy Stabilizing, Says Krugman" is a Reuters story at truthout.org.
" The world economy
has avoided 'utter catastrophe' and industrialised countries could
register growth this year, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul
Krugman said on Monday."
"Suspect in Berkeley's Third Homicide Arrested
in Florida" reports Zach
A. Williams of the Daily Cal.
"An Oakland man suspected
to have been involved with Berkeley's third homicide of the year
and a car collision that killed two people on May 16 was arrested
in Florida, Berkeley police announced Tuesday. "
"Cuban Tango" is a story at sfgate.com.
"Dancers from the Edmundo
Tango dance company apply makeup as they stand by a painting of
Argentina's Carlos Gardel in preparation for the inauguration
of the second tango festival in Havana, Tuesday, May 26, 2009.
Gardel is considered world's most famous tango singer and composer."
5/28/09
posts from the past
5/07
One of Potter Creek's Elders,
and business men, is John Phillips,
harpsichord builder. John not only builds harpsichords but
seems also to love them. Though, perhaps not as much as he loves
trains. John is a quiet, reserved fellow though has recently displayed
cahones of iron. So, here for him is something I wrote once-upon-a-time
about trains and claviers. (It's ostensibly a review of Ralph
Kirkpatrick's clavichord performance of J.S. Bach's Well Tempered
Clavier recorded in 1963, Archiv 198311/12.)
In the great American folk art model railroading,
the locomotive that runs the most slowly and quietly is the one
that is the most sought after. The severe test of locomotive
performance is just how slowly and quietly it can move, for slow
and quiet running are thought of as qualities of excellence. Running
a noisy engine around the track at breakneck speed is thought
of as child's play. The mature model railroader spends much time
and effort making his favorite locomotive creep along silently.
The mechanically minded may even disassemble and fine tune the
locomotive, and upon successful re-assembly and test running,
boast that their engine runs so slowly that its movement cannot
be seen. The like test for stereo equipment is to play quiet music,
and value the hardware that renders it most accurately. These
records of the Well-Tempered Clavier are of music, a performance,
and a recording that lend themselves to such a test: a test of
quiet excellence. This set of records sold well in the Berkeley
of the 1960s, a time and place of some sensitivity. When I worked
at Campus Records, I would often hear of their otherworldly beauty
from those who apparently had spent all night listening to them.
However, on casual listening in the shop they seemed boring; its
playing there did not convince. But time has revealed these records
to be music of subtle color and soft richness, and of a performance
and recording of quiet excellence. The recording, above all, beautifully
captures the clavichord's quiet rainbow hue and bell-like tone.
The performance too is beautiful, and deeply felt.
Kruse' yard is no longer
regularly vandalized. Perhaps, because as part of their last-year's
redo they moved everything inside. The yard is now used only for
parking. My memory is that just before the redo someone broke
in and stole a fork-lift.
Perhaps we have crime and
vandalism in Potter Creek because, almost unconsciously, it is
WE who tolerate it--not the city or the police. Recently, I've
heard from a few longer-time residents "I really like it
just the way it is down here."
"Neighborhood girds for Berkeley Bowl West" is by Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff
Writer.
" Finally, after
seven years of planning, there might be enough heirloom tomatoes
in Berkeley for everyone.
Berkeley Bowl, the landmark
grocery famed for its fresh produce and gourmet fare, is slated
to open its sprawling sister store next week. Berkeley Bowl West
will be a larger, more spacious version of the original, offering
everything from organic soybeans to 24-ounce cans of Pabst Blue
Ribbon.
The $30 million store is
located at Ninth and Anthony streets, a block off Ashby Avenue
and just west of San Pablo Avenue on the site of a former roofing
company. 'In a way it's really gratifying to see it finally open,
but it's sad, too,' said architect Kava Massih. 'We've all been
working on this for so long; it's like seeing your kid go off
to college. You just can't believe it's over.' "
the Potter Creek
Berkeley Bowl
"the
grocery store and more"
a photo essay of the beginning
with permission of the owners
"Oakland's Fentons Creamery in Pixar film
'Up' " Peter Hartlaub,
Chronicle Pop Culture Critic.
"The latest 'Night at
the Museum' movie has an advertisement for the Smithsonian Institution
in the film's title. 'Angels and Demons' places Tom Hanks behind
the wheel of a new Fiat. Capt. Kirk from 'Star Trek' uses his
Nokia phone while speeding down a 23rd century road, and drinks
Jack Daniels at the local bar.
The product placement included
within 'Up' has a more local flavor.
Oakland residents will do
a double take when they see that Fentons Creamery - the 114-year-old
ice cream parlor and restaurant - not only gets name-dropped by
the Pixar movie's over-eager Wilderness Explorer character Russell,
but later figures into the plot."
"Mindfuse Opens Beta Registration for Gatheryn:
Interested participants can sign up at the newly redesigned community
website" is a story
at pc.ign.com.
"Mindfuse, a leading
independent developer of online virtual worlds, today unveiled
the completely redesigned community website for Gatheryn, a casual
virtual world set to launch later this year. With the unveiling
of the new community website, Mindfuse also officially opened
registration for Gatheryn's beta phase."
"State lawmakers seek to rein in UC system" Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer.
"State lawmakers expect
to introduce legislation today for a constitutional amendment
that would strip the University of California of its immunity
from regulation by the state Legislature."
5/29/09
posts from the past
5/16/07
"A group of parade participants-who
said they were out publicizing bicycling and oil-dependency reduction
accused a Berkeley couple in their 70s of trying to run them over"
writes Riya Bhattacharjee in our Planet. The full story
is here.
"A Berkeley, California, burglar engineered
his own arrest, and that of his girlfriend, when he stole a laptop
and used it as his personal computer" is a post at slashdot.org.
"Pudgy
Eunuchs, Big Cleavage Get Laughs in 'You, Nero' is a review
by Stephen West at bloomberg.com.
"Who says a pathological
murderer can't be funny? At Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California,
Amy Freed's 'You, Nero' takes the bloody goings-on of Rome's imperial
family after 'I, Claudius' and turns them into a series of clever
one-liners that aim for a Mel Brooksian level of silliness."
"First evidence of entanglement in photosynthesis" is a story at technologyreview.com.
"Room temperature entanglement seems to be a by-product of
the process of harvesting light.
5/30/09
posts from the past
2003
David Snipper, a long time
Potter Creek resident, observes of "Scrambled Eggs and Lox."
"We frequently take our own surrounding for granted. We often
go to work outside the neighborhood and only see it at night or
on weekends. This morning for the first time, I took the time
to go through and review your site. What an amazing collection
of neighborhood history and information. Your long local residency
plus your curiosity about what's going on in the Potter Creek
area are very unique. What you've collected so far is not only
valuable to those of us living here but is also a permanent record
for future residents and a model for others living in their own
distinct and unique neighborhoods. "
My friend Nick Despotopoulos
stopped by yesterday afternoon. He brought some sandwiches from
Fanny's and a bottle of French wine from Kermit Lynch. We ate,
drank, and talked politics and business. I've known Nikos for
over fifteen years and regularly buy stereo equipment from him
-- he's provided me the best at reasonable prices. Just how good
a salesman is Nick? I thank him for taking my money.
Sarah emails
Hi,
I am writing a paper for
my environmental studies class on Alternative Fuels. I did some
research and found some great sites including your page: http://ronpenndorf.com/srmbema.html
which has a link on it http://www.afdc.doe.gov/ that is not working.
I have found a very resourceful site about Alternative Fuels: http://www.truckchamp.com/alternative-fuels.html
you might want to consider this as a replacement. it looks
like a great site, and I'm sure it will help me with my paper.
I hope you have a wonderful
day!
Sarah
"Biofuels Oasis Opens in South Berkeley" reports Riya Bhattacharjee of our Planet.
"It's not a gas station,
yet more than 2,000 people swear by it when it comes to refueling
their cars in the East Bay.
Some do it because they are
against the Iraq War. Others because they despise Dick Cheney.
But the overwhelming majority of customers filling up their tanks
with leftover recycled cooking oil at Berkeley's BioFuels Oasis
do it because of their love for the environment. Even if it means
paying a buck or two extra.
BioFuels Oasis, an all-women
cooperative, moved from their old location at Fourth Street and
Dwight Way to 1441 Ashby Ave. on May 1, taking over what was once
Kandy's Carwash, an African-American-owned business that had been
a fixture in the South Berkeley neighborhood for years.
our Ryan Lau forwards an
email from our Traffic Department
(excerpt)
Based on the data collected
for a total duration of 48-hours on April 7, 8, 29, & 30,
2009, and a collision analysis for the period of July 1, 2003
to June 30, 2008, a 4-Way Stop is not warranted at the intersection
of 8th and Pardee. Currently 2-Way Stop signs are installed at
the eastbound/westbound approaches of Pardee. However, to further
enhance the traffic condition at this intersection our Department
will do the following:
· 1. Replace old sub-standard " Cross Traffic
Does Not Stop" sign panels with two new standard signs on
EB/WB approaches of Pardee.
· 2. Install new cross walks on all approaches.
· 3. Refresh all the existing red curbs at the intersection.
· No further actions will be taken in this matter.
and a ps
I'll ask the Transportation
Dept to take another look at this intersection after the [Bowl]
opening.
-Ryan
"Plan to Double West Berkeley Rail Lines
Fades With Economy"
is a story by Richard Brenneman of our Planet.
"A plan to double the
number of rail lines through West Berkeley has joined banks and
car makers as a casualty of the economic crash.
Carolyn Clevenger, planner
for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), said that
'with the current economy, the volume of rail traffic is down
significantly, both nationally and in the East Bay. There is less
urgency in expansion.' "
"Nokia Research Center's Newest Lab Opens
in Berkeley, California"
is a report at prnewswire.com.
" Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced an expansion of its global
research laboratories with the opening of Nokia Research Center,
Berkeley. Located in close proximity to the University of California,
Berkeley (UC Berkeley) campus, the new Lab is under the direction
of Dr. John Shen who also heads Nokia Research Center, Palo Alto,
California."
"Sales-tax scheme bill sent to governor's
desk" is a report
by Josh Richman, Oakland Tribune.
"Inspired in part by
Livermore's hardship, the Assembly voted unanimously Thursday
for a bill aimed at keeping California's cities from getting soaked
for millions of dollars in a kind of sales-tax relocation scheme.
The Assembly voted 71-0 for
Senate Bill 27 by state Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley; the state
Senate passed it March 12 on a 33-0 vote, and so now it's headed
for the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - who vetoed a similar
bill without explanation last year during the legislation freeze
he imposed during the budget deadlock."
"Wisconsin's woes are part of grand scheme
of fiscal irresponsibility:From bad to worse to worser still" Rick Berg on isthmus.com.
"Madison has often been
called the 'Berkeley of the Midwest.' But these days, our state
capital has more in common with Sacramento.
California politicians in
Sacramento have run up a $21.3 billion hole in their state's budget,
while their counterparts in Madison have managed to dig a $6.6
billion grave for Wisconsin.
It's tempting to think that
when it comes to profligate spending, Wisconsin can'
t hold a candle to California.
Think again. "
Check out Charlie Rose
with Kate
Kelly and Willaim Cohan for insights into the Wall Street
debacle.
And read the New Yorker's
"The
Death of Kings:Stories from the end of a financial era"
by Nick Paumgarten, even if you have to subscribe.
from my log
5/15/09--3:35 PM--VERY SERIOUS
irritant in front room, over rides HEPA filter, wear mask.
5/16/09--5:54 AM--SERIOUS
irritant in front room, over rides HEPA filter, wear mask, leave.
All AM SERIOUS irritant IMMEDITATELY in front of warehouse and
in warehouse front.
5/17/09--6:49 PM--irritant
IMMEDITAELY in front of warehouse plus "chlorine" odor.
5/20/09--5:55 AM--irritant
in warehouse plus "chlorine" odor, air out.
5/21/09--4:48 PM--irritant
in front room.
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.