June 2009
after 6/9/09
here after 6/18/09 here after
6/24 here
West Berkeley Bowl Pre-Opening
5/30/09
from the Community room
more here
an earlier photo essay of
the west-Berkeley Bowl--with permisssion of the owners
the grocery
store and more
6/1/09
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.
Kubik emails
I bet you didn't know
"Sergey Prokofiev survived
Stalin's terror, comforted by his devout belief in Christian
Science. He had discovered the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy in
1924."
Bob
Aw Jeesh
Bowman emails
Hey Potter Creek folks -
think about coming out to the French School tomorrow for their
Place du Marché
Sunday May 31, 2009
11 AM - 4 PM
Free Admission
www.eb.org for details
They support us [ a Potter
Creek Neighborhood Association ] regularly by providing us space
for our meetings - we should return the favor.
(You'll get a good lunch there - if past years' offerings are
any prediction.)
see you there,
David Bowman
here's last year's
La Place
du Marché
my photo essay
Though admission was free
last year, food was not
and
11/30/07
École
Bilingue Halloween Parade
my photo essay
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
6/2/09
posts from the past
11/29/04
Café
Cacao Open House
We had brunch at Café
Cacao Sunday morning, Eggs Benedict with perfect dropped eggs,
toasted levain, slightly smokey ham and, of course, Hollandaise,
and with a side of lettuce-salad and lightly baked potatoes--delicious.
Perfect, except I'd prefer a slightly more creamy and lemony sauce.
It's also a definite food value at $10.75.
Check out Café Cacao
on
the Web and then check out, Cafe Cacao.
"Black Oak Books Moves Out" by Riya Bhattacharjee of our Planet.
"Shattuck Avenue lost
an icon Sunday. Owner Gary Cornell confirmed Monday morning that
Black Oak Books, one of Berkeley's best-loved bookstores, is moving
out. Cornell has been trying to negotiate a lease with landlord
Ruegg and Ellsworth for several months."
"When Rod Dunican, a
Berkeley, Californiabased executive coach, trainer, and speaker,
manages a project, he discusses his thoughts on risk management
with his client before work begins" writes Rick Passion in
"An
Ounce of Prevention" at astd.org.
"The Elders of California" is a story at nytimes.com.
"While out in California
recently I took part in a tasting of wonderful old California
cabernet sauvignons at a benefit for the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra.
The tasting, held on a breezy, transporting afternoon in the Berkeley
foothills, in the comfortable living room of Dwight M. Jaffee,
a finance professor at the University of California, Berkeley,
and Lynne LaMarca Heinrich, a fund-raising consultant, was another
confirmation of how well California cabernets can age."
"Goodbye, GM" writes Michael Moore on truthout.org
from MichaelMoore.com.
" I write this on the
morning of the end of the once-mighty General Motors. By high
noon, the President of the United States will have made it official:
General Motors, as we know it, has been totaled.
As I sit here in GM's birthplace,
Flint, Michigan, I am surrounded by friends and family who are
filled with anxiety about what will happen to them and to the
town. Forty percent of the homes and businesses in the city have
been abandoned. Imagine what it would be like if you lived in
a city where almost every other house is empty. What would be
your state of mind?"
6/3/09
posts from the past
6/04
If you'd
like to hear an MP3 of music played on one of neighbor, John Phillips'
French harpsichords, check out the Triemer Cello and Harpsichord
Sonatas performed by Ensemble Mirable of JungHae Kim and Joanna
Blendulf. It will be available soon at Magnatune.com
The Triemer
Sonatas are a favorite of mine, still.
"Mayor says Berkeley is in good financial
shape" is a story
by Kristin Bender, Oakland Tribune.
"While California,
facing a $24 billion deficit, is in a financial mess that will
require a transformation in state government, the fiscal picture
in Berkeley is much brighter, according to the 2009 State of the
City speech given by Mayor Tom Bates on Monday night.
'These are difficult economic
times like none we've experienced before. Things are in a free
fall. I hate to pick up the newspaper because you don't now what's
going to happen,' Bates told an audience of about 100 at the newly
opened David Brower Center in downtown Berkeley.
'The good news is the city
is in good financial shape. We are not laying off one person and
a lot of that has to do with (City Manager) Phil Kamlarz, who
has been with the city for 34 years,' Bates said."
"Cal Shakes captures epic heartbreak of
'Romeo and Juliet' "
is a review by Pat Craig of the West County Times.
"They are kids, impulsive
and driven by a circus of passions, most of which they don't understand
- Romeo and Juliet, poster children for young love.
We tend to remember the love
part first; only later do we recall the tragedy that befalls these
oh, so very young lovers. And that is what makes the characters,
played by Alex Morf and Sarah Nealis in the California Shakespeare
Theater production that opened Saturday, so achingly bittersweet."
"Privacy study shows Google's eyes are
everywhere" reports
Steven E.F. Brown in the San Francisco Business Times.
"A University of California
Berkeley report shows that most Internet users don't understand
Web site privacy policies, and that major online businesses such
as Google Inc. freely gather data and share it with affiliated
businesses via loopholes in those policies."
"Hold Your Head Up. A Blush Just Shows
You Care" by Benedict
Carey at nytimes.com.
"As if splitting a pair
of pants, telling a transparent lie or mispronouncing the word
'epitome' weren't humiliation enough, nature has provided humans,
especially the fair-skinned kind, with a built-in scarlet letter.
Jane Austen heroines may pink endearingly at a subtle breach in
manners; millions more glow like a lava lamp in what feels like
a public disrobing: the face, suddenly buck-naked."
"Texas 'Solar Session' Fizzled" is a story at SustainableBusiness.com.
"The Texas State legislature
ended its most recent session, passing only one of the numerous
solar-related bills under consideration, according to New York
Times reporter Kate Galbraith."
Kubik emails a link to "Lard:After decades
of trying, its moment is finally here" a story by Regina
Schrambling at slate.com.
"Wait long enough and
everything bad for you is good again. Sugar? Naturally better
than high-fructose corn syrup. Chocolate? A bar a day keeps the
doctor away. Caffeine? Bring it on.
Lard, however, has always
been a ridiculously hard sell. Over at least the last 15 years,
it's repeatedly been given a clean bill of health, and good cooks
regularly point out how superior this totally natural fat is for
frying and pastries. But that hasn't been enough to keep Americans
from recoiling-lard's negative connotations of flowing flesh and
vats of grease and epithets like lardass and tub of lard have
been absurd hurdles. But no longer. I'm convinced that the redemption
of lard is finally at hand because we live in a world where trendiness
is next to godliness. And lard hits all the right notes, especially
if you euphemize it as rendered pork fat-bacon butter.
Wet-rendered lard, from pork
fatback.Homemade lard has clearly won the health debate."
Kubik has long believed that
eggs fried in bacon-fat are the best.
6/4/09
posts from the past
6/1/07
Kate
and Sarah have a new book.
Find
out about it here.
And find
out more about Kate and Sarah here.
"Man jumps in front of train in Berkeley"
reports Henry K Lee of
the Chronicle.
"A man was struck and
killed by an Amtrak train today in Berkeley, authorities said.
The man jumped in front of
the train near Grayson Street at 10:50 a.m., said Amtrak spokeswoman
Vernaé Graham.
He was pronounced dead at
the scene. His name has not been released.
The train was headed from
Bakersfield to Oakland. The 26 passengers were taken by bus to
Oakland."
Berkeley Police Department
(BPD) PIO Incident Summary - Shooting Suspect Arrested after Lengthy
Search, 6/2/09
The following is
a brief public summary of the BPD incident in the City of Berkeley
today.
On Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at approximately 3:15 p.m., a City of
Berkeley Police Department (BPD) officer was on his beat, on patrol
in West Berkeley. The officer heard gunfire, then spotted a white
Infiniti sedan in the area of 8th Street and Bancroft Way. The
officer then saw the driver of the Infiniti shooting out of the
window of the car. The car immediately sped from the area. The
officer began pursuing the suspect vehicle out of West Berkeley,
through Central Berkeley, ultimately turning south onto Shattuck
Avenue, toward Ashby Avenue.
The suspect's vehicle
was slowed by heavy traffic on southbound Shattuck Avenue as it
approached Ashby Avenue. The suspect collided with a parked, unoccupied
car in the 2900 block of Shattuck Avenue. The suspect leapt out
of the car, ran southbound on Shattuck, then east on Ashby Avenue
before ducking into the block. BPD quickly created a two block
square perimeter consisting of Shattuck/Ashby/Russell/Fulton.
Members of the
Barricaded Subject Hostage Negotiation Team (BSHNT) who were training
locally were assembled to thoroughly search the block.
A City of Oakland Police Department (OPD) Canine Unit supported
BPD throughout the search.
At 6:02 p.m., BSHNT
members located a suspect hiding in a dumpster in the rear yard
of an apartment building in the 2100 block of Ashby Avenue. Involved
officers and witnesses positively identified the 18 year old Oakland
man as the suspect that had been pursued.
Officers found
a parked car at 8th Street and Bancroft Way that had been hit
several times by gunfire. Officers did not find any community
members who had been victim(s) of the shooting, and thus far,
none have come forward.
BPD is asking for
the community's help with this investigation. Anyone who may have
any information regarding this crime is urged to call the BPD
Homicide Detail at (510) 981-5741 (office) or (510) 981-5900 (non-emergency
dispatch line). If callers wish to remain anonymous they are asked
to call the Bay Area Crime Stoppers Tip Line (BACS) at 1-800-222-TIPS
(8477). BACS calls are completely confidential.
BPD/We will share additional details as they develop.
Thank You
Sgt. MC Kusmiss
Jarad forwards an email
As anyone who follows
the news knows, there is a deadly shooting
war between young men in . . . two areas.
--the first killing was on May 8, in the 5300 block of MLK Way.
--the second killing was on May 16 on Allston Way in West Berkeley.
The subsequent Berkeley Police chase of the vehicle carrying the
shooters led to a crash on MLK Way at Aileen St. that left two
innocent bystanders dead and two of the killers in custody. A
third
has been arrested in Florida, and the fourth is known, but still
at
large.
--on May 17, there was another shooting at 53rd St. and Dover
that
left 2 young men seriously injured.
Citizens in Beats 10X (San Pablo Corridor), 10Y (Market St.
Corridor), and 11X (Shattuck Corridor) responded by putting up
bright yellow-green posters warning residents about the war and
listing telephone numbers to call to report suspicious or ominous
activities in their neighborhoods.
On Thurs., June 4, 7 pm, there will be a meeting about this War
at
the North Oakland Senior Center (58th St. and MLK Way enter through
the parking lot in the middle of the block of 58th).
OPD and BPD will be at
the meeting to give background about the
War and to let citizens know what they can do to help bring the
War
to an end.
Jane Brunner and her Berkeley counterpart Max Anderson will also
be
there to share their thoughts on the War and what needs to be
done
The meeting is sponsored by the Neighborhood Crime Prevention
Councils for beats 10X, 10Y, and 11X.
We hope to see
concerned citizens there.
Susan Brooks emails
Please join Susan
Brooks at her studio.
http://www.susanbrooks.com
for PRO ARTS EAST
BAY OPEN STUDIOS
2 weekends, 11-6
p.m. June6-7, 13-14
Showing new painting
and drawings
earings, rings,
necklaces & bracelets
There are more
than 400 artists throughout the East Bay
participating IN THIS EVENT.
Plan on spending
the day exploring the historic Sawtooth Building
where 25 artists will be OPEN for this event.
2547 8th Street
Studio 24A
(between Dwight and Parker)
Hope to see you!
Susan Brooks
http://www.susanbrooks.com
2547 Eighth Street 24a
Berkeley, California 94710
510 845-2612
"Peggy Stinnett, former Tribune columnist,
dies at 87" is an
obituary by Angela Woodall, Oakland Tribune.
"Veteran journalist
and former Oakland Tribune columnist Peggy Stinnett died late
Tuesday morning. The news touched many across the city, who praised
her half-century of reporting about Oakland. She was 87.
The cause of death was aspiration
pneumonia, said Robert Stinnett, her husband of 57 years.
'She was the love of my life,'
he said Tuesday."
Robert Stinnett wrote Day
of Deceit, a revealing study of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
in the Wikipedia
article we find
"Stinnett's allegations
Opinion polls in the summer
of 1940 indicated that a majority of Americans did not want the
country involved in Europe's war. Yet FDR's military and State
Department leaders agreed that a victorious Nazi Germany would
threaten the national security of the United States. They felt
that Americans needed a call to action [] Roosevelt believed that
his countrymen would rally only to oppose an overt act of war
on the United States. The decision he made, in concert with his
advisors, was to provoke Japan through a series of actions into
an overt act: the Pearl Harbor attack.
Himself a Navy veteran of
the Pacific war drawn in by Pearl Harbor, Stinnett's overarching
message was that engineering the attack was, at least arguably,
a grim necessity. The American public was complacent in the face
of Nazi aggression in Europe, but Roosevelt saw the bigger picture
and felt that the United States had to get involved to save Britain
and the world from Nazi aggression. The provocation policy Roosevelt
adopted was based on an October 1940 memo written up by Arthur
McCollum at the Office of Naval Intelligence that promoted eight
actions to elicit a Japanese 'mistake'. One of these, point 'F'
recommended: 'keep the main strength of the US Fleet [] in the
vicinity of the Hawaiian islands'. Stinnett was assisted greatly
in his research by the Freedom of Information Act (explicitly
thanking the act's author, Rep. John Moss, D-CA) and by Oliver
Stone's film, JFK, which had put public pressure on President
Clinton to declassify sheaves of secret files in the mid-1990s.
McCollum's memo was apparently among those files."
"Gathering of storytellers:At this year's
Writers' Fest, great ideas in words and pictures" reports Steffen Silvis, Staff Writer at praguepost.com.
"The story begins with
my wife saying that we should bring writers together that no one
wants to see. And so I chose writers that represent three ancient
cultures: Arabia, China and Berkeley, California."
Berkeley California?
"LRG Capital Real Estate Partners I Fund
Purchases Berkeley, California Apartment Complex" is a press release at marketwire.com.
"LRG Capital Real Estate
Ventures, a subsidiary of LRG Capital Group, is pleased to announce
that the LRG Capital Real Estate Partners I Fund has acquired
a multifamily complex located at 1244-1246 Hearst Avenue in Berkeley,
California near the University of California campus."
In "The Future of Manufacturing,
GM and American Workers" Robert Reich concludes "The
only practical purpose I can imagine for the bail-out is to slow
the decline of GM to create enough time for its workers, suppliers,
dealers and communities to adjust to its eventual demise. "
The full story is here
at truthout.org with the original at Robert Reich's
Blog.
posts from the past
6/5/06
Girl Talk
"You put energy into
something and that's what you'll get " said Marsha Wacko
in an uncharacteristic Wu-Wu moment. "I really believe that"
she added. "So . . . ," I thought later "You worry
about Potter Creek's development and you'll get worrisome development?"
"I really believe that"
I heard in my mind's ear.
Maybe THE example of building
to surroundings can be found on 5th and Channing--Levitch not
only kept the project to scale but designed it in the style of
the immediately surrounding structures.
A Mensch
is that Levitch
our Claudia emails of our
Bowl
Hi Ron
I am proud to say that I was the first customer in the door today
[6/4], Diane kindly took photos of that "moment." Actually
it was a lot of fun, many happy people. Returned again for lunch,
a lot of foot traffic passing our house, so people are aflocking.
Do note that today [6/4]
they are giving out free recycled shopping bags to all their customers.
See you there one day.
Claudia
Kimar emails
Hi Ron
Finally, today [6/4] is the day I have been waiting for, for what
seems like ages--the opening of the new Berkeley Bowl. What a
stunningly beautiful store, good light, wide aisles and almost
any food you could want.
(I count on the quality and
good prices at the Bowl and am usually pretty sure they will have
any exotic ingredient I want for cooking.)
The display cases of fish
and meat are very impressive both in size and contents, and so
beautifully displayed--almost like a still life painting.
Congratulations to the Yasudas,
and wishing them much success. This is a Berkeley icon,
lucky us!
Kubik emails his Berkeley
Bowl report
Whole Foods with Berkeley
Bowl prices - what's not to like!
The organic fruit and vegetable section is 4 times larger than
the "old" bowl
as is the chocolate section! Most other sections are twice as
large and many
contain a broader selection. I'm finding things I couldn't get
at the "old" bowl.
Mellow staff - so far. I live three blocks away so parking doesn't
concern me,
but there is at least five times more parking - they will need
it at rush times.
18 checkout stations.
Bob
Merryll emails about our
Bowl trip yesterday.
Ron,
That was fun today. Personally, I might take my coffee breaks
there did you see the morning buns?
Restraint will be the order of the day. I kept thinking
I wanted to go back today but what did I need.
My petrale meuniere was fabulous tonight.
Merryll
Among those seen at the Bowl
yesterday were Kava, Regan, Denny Abrams, David and Margret, Steve
and Jackson, John Victor, the Goldin family. Snipper in an usually
ebullient moment said "A dream come true" and then added
"Now all we need is a barber shop."
Ok, so I went four times.
Eva Brook emails
Hi Ron:
Well, I thought I would see you at Berkeley Bowl yesterday
don't know how I missed you when you were there 4 times. Jarad
and I have been waiting for this moment for 2.5 years (since the
moment we moved to West Berkeley). So I went out and bought a
grocery cart and walked over to the new Bowl. Naturally
my grocery cart did not hook in any way onto the Berkeley Bowl
shopping cart and I just took my cart inside.
Definitely a beautiful store
and I love the enhanced organic section. I can of course
ride my bike over there in 5 minutes so exciting. And best
of all, there seemed a good amount of people but I did not have
to wait in line and got a free bag. All in all an awesome addition
to the neighborhood although I wondered how safe it is to walk
to it which was part of the whole excitement. (But I avoided gun
shots and was not run down by criminals being chased by the police
so far so good. )
One of the best moments was
when I walked by Ecole Bilingue with my full cart and kids were
at the fence looking towards Berkeley Bowl shouting "
is Berkeley open" and I said "yes, it is open"
and they started jumping up and down in excitement shouting "Berkeley
Bowl is open, Berkeley Bowl is open."
See you there (but now you have more space to hide out.)
Eva
Eva Brook
Regional Director of Operations
Latin America and Caribbean
Wheelchair Foundation
925-648-3844 Office
Please visit our website: www.wheelchairfoundation.org
3820 Blackhawk Road
Danville, CA 94506
Kubik reports of a police
action in Potter Creek today.
Four Berkeley police cars
were in front of CEID around 12:30 today.
There was a woman in an old car at the curb.
It was Berkeley PD Ladies
Day at 900 GRAYSON
this Noon. Sgt Ms. Mary Kusmiss
and several other female officers had lunch around 12.
"PayPal a bright spot in eBay's s limping
lineup" Verne Kopytoff,
Chronicle Staff Writer.
"When he can, Jonathan
Fleming uses PayPal instead of a credit card to shop online, whether
to buy a television from Amazon.com or tickets from Southwest
Airlines.
To pay contractors, the Oakland
real estate agent again relies on PayPal's online payment service.
He's even planning to use PayPal to collect money from people
who buy a real estate book that he hopes to self-publish.
Long the payment service
of choice on eBay, PayPal is quickly gaining momentum on the Internet
at large by adding new merchants and users. Highlighting its broader
appeal is this financial milestone reached last year: For the
first time, the majority of PayPal's revenue came from sources
other than eBay. "
6/6/09
posts from the past
6/08
Bob Kubik emails a quote
from Allen Lacy
"Gardening is not a
hobby, and only non-gardeners would describe it as such.
There is nothing wrong with having hobbies, but most hobbies are
intellectually limited and make no reference to the larger world.
By contrast, being wholeheartedly involved with gardens is involvement
with life itself in the deepest sense. Indeed. For
could it ever be said about, say, bridge that the way you play
a hand has implications for the environment, American cuisine,
biological diversity, drug policy, and national identity, not
to mention the nature of time and the meaning of place?
A garden, whether we know it or not connects us to the world in
many strange and wonderful ways"
Bob and Carol's
backyard
6/7/09
"Berkeley
Bowl West opens" is by Lynne Char Bennett of the Chronicle.
"After several years
in the planning, Berkeley Bowl West - sibling of Glenn and Diane
Yasuda's Berkeley Bowl on Oregon Street - opened on Thursday in
a 140,000-square foot facility close to Interstate 80.
Although the sales floor
is about the same size as the original store, the space has a
spacious, almost warehouse-like feel with open floor plan and
high industrial-looking ceilings. The building includes a cafe,
prep kitchen, modest wine tasting bar, warehouse and offices,
all of which will ultimately employ about 150 people.
The produce selection - which
75-year old Glenn Yasuda will still personally oversee - is as
wide-ranging as ever. For example, conventionally raised specialty
fruit like California red velvet apricots - one of the 25 bins
of stone fruit - shares space with green almonds and small green
sour grapes. About one-quarter of the produce section is organic,
with much of it coming from family farms."
Potter Creek's own Uncommond Grounds coffee is served at the Bowl
deli.
Acme's Steve Sullivan was
shopping at the Bowl yesterday , . . . didn't see any bread in
his cart. Also saw Margret Elliot and Michael Goldin--Michael
was shopping for dinner, Marget was picking up stuff after shopping
at OSH.
Marsha's Berkeley Bowl West
op-ed.
Oh my gosh, . . . oh my gosh,
oh my gosh, oh my gosh, . . . Oh my gosh, . . . Oh MY gosh.
Seems our Berkeley Bowl has
generated the excitement of a newborn. "All that people are
talking about is the new Berkeley Bowl" said a Potter Creek
Elder who regularly walks in the neighborhood.
Patti Siri walking past from
shopping at the Bowl with Jackson said "Very civilized. Not
at all like the other Bowl."
In the dozen or so trips
I've made to and around the Bowl in the last three days, I've
noticed a real increase in pedestrian traffic, a noticeable
bicycle traffic increase and only a moderate motor
vehicle increase--cars. And, I was more alert, biking.
The only real traffic problem
I observed, and one not related to the Bowl, was the "eighteen
wheeler" stopped on Grayson in front of Tracy and Morgan
and John and Susanna's and across the street from Rick Auerbach's.
It totally blocked the west-bound-lane for a good while--the street
is very narrow and getting passed west-bound was a challenge.
And there was the SUV parked
on the side-walk at the corner of 9th and Heinz, in front of the
French-School-office, while loading or unloading.
David Snipper said "I'll
wait for six months" when asked what his impressions of traffic
were.
Margret Elliott feels we'll
have a sense of the Bowl traffic in less time. "We'll know
in about three months" she said.
I'm told on one of the days,
a large truck also stopped west-bound on Heinz across from Café
Cacao hindered traffic flow. Truck deliveries have long been a
problem in Potter Creek, especially on the very narrow east -west
streets. In fact, one truck can stop all thru traffic on Pardee,
so narrow is the street with cars parked.
And a UPS driver has said
the worst street is 9th because of deliveries, even though this
is a wide boulevard.
When asked about the past
opposition to the Bowl by some Potter Creek residents and businesses,
a long time home-owner said in a tone reserved for conversations
about a family's "unusual" aunt or uncle "Oh, we
don't talk about that."
Merryll emailed yesterday
Ron,
What was that huge bang or explosion or earthquake this afternoon
around 3-4?
Tried knocking, shaking the door but can't rouse you. Or
maybe you weren't there.
Merryll
"Small quake shakes the East Bay" is a report at sfgate.com.
"A minor earthquake
centered in El Cerrito shook portions of the Bay Area at 3:30
p.m. today, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Authorities in El Cerrito
said they had no reports of injuries or damage from the 3.2 temblor.
The quake was centered 3.8
miles from the earth's surface, four miles from Berkeley and 10
miles from downtown Oakland. It could be felt as far as San Francisco."
"East Bay, Then and Now: James Pierce,
the Consummate Host of Ridge Road" is a wonderful story by Daniella Thompson in
our Planet.
"Kennedy
Bill Would Make Employers Provide Care" reports Erica Werner of the AP at truthout.org.
"Employers would be
required to offer health care to employees or pay a penalty -
and all Americans would be guaranteed health insurance - under
a draft bill circulated Friday by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's health
committee."
"Radio supernova discovered" reports upi.com. "U.S. scientists
say they've discovered a radio supernova -- an exploding star
seen only at radio wavelengths and undetectable by optical or
X-ray telescopes.
'This supernova is the nearest
supernova in five years, yet it is completely obscured in optical,
ultraviolet and X-rays due to the dense medium of the galaxy,'
said University of California-Berkeley Assistant Professor Geoffrey
Bower. 'This just popped out. In the future, we want to go from
discovery of radio supernovas by accident to specifically looking
for them.' "
6/8/09
"1st black female rabbi spent years searching" is a story by Lisa Cornell of the AP.
"Alysa Stanton began quenching her spiritual thirst early,
discovering Judaism after a search that began at age 9 and worried
her mother only when a man called the house one night asking for
her youngest child.
Turns out he was a priest
Stanton had contacted to ask questions about Catholicism, part
of a road that took her through charismatic Christian and Eastern
faiths and finally to a position that experts say makes her mainstream
Judaism's first ordained black female rabbi. "
Somewhere, Lenny
Bruce is smiling with satisfaction.
""USA Water Polo Men's National Team
and Serbia Battle To 8-8 Draw "
is a story at swimmingworldmagazine.com.
The USA Men's Senior National
Team rallied for two goals in the fourth quarter to force an 8-8
draw with Serbia in an exhibition match held at the Spieker Aquatics
Complex on the campus of the University of California-Berkeley.
After two games of the three game series Team USA is 0-1-1 against
visiting Serbia. "
our Angela Gallegos-Castillo emails Sunday morning
COMMUNITY CRIME ALERT
City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) Property Crimes detectives
are asking for the
community's help to identify a possible suspect in a series of
residential burglaries.
Following a burglary of a home on April 29, 2009 in the 1500 block
of Ward Street in
South Berkeley, a cell phone was discovered that BPD believes
may belong to the
suspect.
BPD believes that the suspect may have been involved in two other
burglaries, one on
the 1700 block of Derby Street on April 28th, the other on the
1700 block of Russell Street
on April 30th.
Bay Area Crime Stoppers (BACS) is offering a $2,000 reward for
information leading to
the arrest and conviction of the burglar(s).
Anyone who may have any information regarding the identity of
the individual in the
photographs or any information about these crimes is urged to
call the BPD Property
Crimes Detail at (510) 981-5737 (office) or (510) 981-5900 (non-emergency
dispatch line).
If callers wish to remain anonymous please call the BACS Tip Line
at 1-800-222-TIPS
(8477).
"Two children shot and wounded in Berkeley"
reports Matthew
B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer.
"Two young children
were shot and injured in Berkeley early today when the home they
were sleeping in came under fire, according to police.
The shooting happened shortly
before 5 a.m. , police said, on the 1500 block of Oregon Street.
Neighbors called police to report hearing gunshots, and responding
officers found a home on the block had been hit by multiple bullets.
Shortly afterward, staff
members at a local hospital called police and reported that two
children aged 3 and 6 had arrived in the emergency room suffering
from gunshot wounds. Police described the wounds as non-life threatening."
Steve Goldin emails
Unbelievable. Truly, we overuse
words at times but this is deeply disturbing and truly beyond
my sense of Berkeley.
Steven
"Two Men Killed by Trains In Unrelated
Incidents" is a
report in the Daily Cal.
"Two men have been struck
and killed by trains in West Berkeley since Thursday in unrelated
incidents, leading to increased concern by railway officials.
In the first incident, a
man was killed by an Amtrak train after reportedly jumping in
front of the train Thursday morning in West Berkeley, said Amtrak
spokesperson Vernae Graham.
The victim's identity has
not been released and Union Pacific Railroad Police are in the
process of investigating the incident.
In the second incident, a
Richmond resident was struck by Capitol Corridor train 147 near
Gilman Street in West Berkeley, according to Amtrak spokesperson
Karina Romero.
The Alameda County Coroner's
Bureau identified the man as 52-year-old Richard Collins."
Old friend Richard Adelman
feldenkrais
therapist emails from Vera Cruz, Mexico where he moved some
few years ago
Dear Clients and
Friends,
I hope this mail
finds you well and happy.
I will be back
in San Miguel to see patients privately and give a Biblioteca
talk the week starting Monday, June 15. Details are below:
Tuesday, June 16,
3-5PM-Talk and Movement Experience: Aging Gracefully-Flexibility
After 50. Sala Quetzal, Biblioteca, (50 peso donation):
The aging process itself is inevitable but how we age is up to
us. Body awareness education offers us a way to age with dignity
and grace. This practice can be safe, pleasurable, and rewarding.
In fact, it should be-it works better that way!
Joint stiffness brought on by aging can be annoying and painful.
It can interfere with the quality of daily life. The simplest
everyday movements like turning your head, getting up from a chair,
bending over, and walking can become difficult or even impossible.
Some people feel so restricted that it is as if they were in conflict
with their own selves, trapped in an uncooperative, alien body.
Yet, during my 35 years of experience in body awareness field,
I have learned that movement flexibility and bodily grace can
often be regained. To accomplish this I use movements from the
Feldenkrais Method, Rehabilitative Pilates, Osteopathy, and Somatic
Psychology. These approaches go beyond the traditional "no
pain, no gain" mechanical approach. Rather than straining
to perform uncomfortable stretches, you invite more flexibility
by reprogramming your nervous system through gentle movements.
With deepened body awareness you relearn to move all the parts
of your body together in harmony.
Anthropologist Margaret Mead recognized the Feldenkrais Method
as "the most sophisticated and effective method I have seen
for the prevention and reversal of deterioration of function.
We are condemning millions of people to a deteriorated old age
that´s not necessary."
This is a gentle way to work with yourself with interest, empathy,
and love. Developing a more flexible attitude toward your body
helps you to develop a more fluid and flexible physical body.
Perhaps best of all is this: having a practice to help yourself
can enhance your self-confidence and brighten your outlook for
the future. Optimism is a natural anti-depressant!
This event will include very gentle movements to increase your
ease and flexibility in turning your head (e. g., in your car).
You will discover how improving your stability can paradoxically
also help to increase your flexibility--and vice versa. We will
explore how to create more "living space" for yourself
inside your very own body. (Those who prefer not to participate
in the movements are most welcome to simply observe.)
In addition, there will be a brief demonstration of hands-on therapy
with an audience member. If you have any questions about this
event or my private sessions at LifePath Retreats (Recreo 80)
between Monday, June 15 and Sunday, June 21, please contact me
at 044.415.114.3069 or richard@lifepathretreats.com
Monday, June 15
to Sunday, June 21: Private Sessions with Richard Adelman:
After experiencing this work most people report feeling less stressed,
more grounded, more peaceful and more self-confident. Private
sessions deepen body awareness to give you a sense of being inside
your body, while helping you to recognize and alter self-defeating
habits of body use in daily life. You experience fully-clothed
subtle bodywork and learn slow, gentle movements to reduce or
eliminate pain and discomfort from both chronic and acute conditions.
Clients with a history or fear of falling receive very clear and
specific guidance to improve their stability and safety in walking.
This unique approach
has been developed over a 20-year period. It integrates Feldenkrais,
Pilates, Osteopathy, and Somatic Psychology. To fully benefit,
it is recommended to have two or three one-hour sessions during
the week. For more information or to schedule an appointment,
call Richard´s cell, 044.415.114.3069, or write richard@lifepath.com
It is always good
to schedule early-- you will have more choices of times. For former
patients no longer in treatment, having an occasional appointment
or going to the Talk is a great way to re-inspire yourself to
continue your home exercise program.
All the best,
Richard
6/9/09
"City of Berkeley- Assistant to the City
Manager" is a help-wanted
post at publicceo.com.
"The City of Berkeley,
California is seeking a dynamic and forward-thinking manager to
oversee its Office of Customer Service, with direct responsibility
for three operational areas: the 311 Call Center, the Customer
Service Counter, and the Online Service Center. The Customer Service
Manger is an Assistant to the City Manager that works under the
administrative direction of the Deputy City Manager. The 311 Call
Center is in its early stages, with a team of fifteen customer
service representatives and one Supervisor. "
pays $134K
"A journey from small village to Berkeley" is a story by Jason Peterson of the Porterville
Recorder. "Since her family moved to California when
she was 2 years old, Lindsay senior Juana Mendoza has never been
able to return to her hometown of Huacao, Mexico, a village of
some 400 people little more than 1,000 miles northwest of Mexico
City."
"Cal Camp Standouts" is a report at clemson.scout.com.
"Cal's one-day camp
on Sunday had a few big names, but the biggest might have been
sitting in the stands. Four-star Encinitas (Calif.) La Costa Canyon
WR Kenny Stills made a surprise unofficial visit to Berkeley on
Sunday to see the campus and meet with the coaches."
"Can Computer Nerds Save Journalism?" is a story at time.com by Matt Villano.
"Word to those who think
the Internet spells the end of traditional print media: 'hacker
journalists' have arrived to save the day.
A cadre of newly minted media
whiz kids, who mix high-tech savvy with hard-nosed reporting skills,
are taking a closer look at ways in which 21st century code-crunching
and old-fashioned reporting can not only coexist but also thrive.
And the first batch of them has just emerged from Northwestern
University's Medill School of Journalism."
"Calculating the real carbon footprint
of vehicles" is
a report at environmentalresearchweb.org.
"Examining the energy
requirements and greenhouse-gas emissions over the entire life
cycle of a vehicle, including processes such as manufacture rather
than simply operation, reveals that the new combined values increases
by 63% for cars and buses, 155% for rail and 31% for air transport.
So say researchers at the University of California at Berkeley,
US, who believe that their work will be critical in determining
the true environmental footprint of all vehicles because until
now only tailpipe analyses have been considered."
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.
6/4/09--11:00AM--SERIOUS
irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse
and STRONG "chlorine bleach" odor, leave.
6/5/09--3:46 PM--SERIOUS
irritant in front room, over rides HEPA filters.
6/9/09--1:47 PM--SERIOUS
irritant in front room, over rides HEPA filters, wear mansk, leave.
Eternally useful
links
Bay Area home prices from sfgate.com
Bay Area foreclosures from sfgate.com
Our City Council update is
here.
Our Planning Commision update
is here
You can find more information
about our current weather conditions than is good for you at www.wunderground.com
Want to see weather coming
in, going out, beautiful sunsets, and much, much more? Check out
http://sv.berkeley.edu/view/
This very hip site was in an email from reader and contributor,
Tony Almeida. Read Tony's Jimi Hendrix story on the only page that routinely gets
more hits than Scrambled Eggs.
Best gas prices in 94710,
as well as all of US and Canada, are here
at gasbuddy.com
Kimar finds Costco routinely
has the lowest price.
Richmond
Ramblers' motorcycle club member, Cliff Miller emails a very
useful link
If you ever need to get a
human being on the phone at a credit card company or bank, etc.,
this site tells you how to defeat their automated system and get
you to a human being within a few seconds.
http://gethuman.com/
Markets
is not just a reference for Berkeley-Hills radicals with 1.5 mil
homes and considerable portfolios.
Our City of Berkeley Boards
and Commissions page is here--redone
and friendly.
Berkeley
Police reports at insidebay area.com are here.
Our Berkeley
PD Site with crime statistics and more is here.
Crime Log for 94710 is
here
This site is NOT affiliated
with Berkeley PD.
Take time to report
crime!
All reports
of crime-in-progress should first go to Berkeley PD dispatch--911
or non-emergency, 981-5900. THEN make sure you notify EACH of
these City people.
The contacts
are below:
Our new Area
Coordinator is Officer Karen Buckheit, Berkeley PD - 981-5774
kbuckheit@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Angela Gallegos-Castillo,
City Mgr Off - 981-2491 agallegos-castillo@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Ryan Lau,
aid to Darryl Moore - 981-7120 rlau@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Darryl Moore,
City Councilman dmoore@ci.berkeley.ca.us
More
Scrambled Eggs & Lox, here
and
Stories about Berkeley and stories about recorded-music
are at
Journal of Recorded Music 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
ronpenndorf@earthlink.net
The original owner
of all posted material retains copyright. The material is used
only to illustrate.