before 900 GRAYSON
there were the good old days
so let's bring back them
good old fashioned manufacturing jobs and, . . . the "anthrax
experiments," the soap factory, the foundry, the . . .
7/22/09
Jan Malo writes in the Morris
Sun Tribune "I was reading an article in last month's
Reader's Digest about our garbage. This has become a real problem
throughout the world, what to do with it, nobody wants it, I don't
know for sure, but it seems there is a boat full of garbage floating
out in the ocean and no state wants to let it come into their
landfills and they can't dump it in the ocean. Something is wrong
with that picture, but garbage is nothing new, according to the
article, in 500 BC, the first dumps were mandated one mile outside
of Athens, Greece and in 1739, Benjamin Franklin petitions to
end commercial waste dumping in Philadelphia and in 1973, curbside
recycling begins in Berkeley, California." Read the full
story here.
"Budget Agreement Puts California Dream
on Hold" is an opinion
in nytimes.com.
"Even in the 1930s,
Woody Guthrie warned America in a Dust Bowl song that the California
dream could not be had on the cheap. Yet relative to other places,
the state has historically been a pretty good bargain, with a
low-cost, enviable higher education system, subsidized energy
and an abundance of services for those down on their luck.
But three decades of staggering
population growth - combined with three high-impact recessions,
budgeting by ballot box, federal mandates, an unusual tax structure
and the rising cost of social services - have finally combined
for disastrous results, and the ramifications are now reaching
across every aspect of life in this state. "
"San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has announced
that San Francisco will adopt municipal financing that helps building
owners add renewable power without the risk or the hassle of loans" reports cleantechnica.com.
"The program is based
on the Berkeley First program which allows homeowners to pay for
solar installations through a 20-year assessment on their property
taxes.
Newsom says 'We're going
to adopt Berkeley's program but take it to a whole 'nother level.'
"
6:36 PM. I have just reminded
myself that there is a planning meeting and so am provoked to
write to all involved. Stop what you are doing which is best characterized
by my favorite militarist, Leon Trotsky as "a race horse
designed by a committee, the camel."
Go get a grant or
finagle some of the Federal billions, higher an outside professional
consultant, tell 'em to make a west-Berkeley Plan, wait patiently
while they do so. Pay 'em. Follow it.
There isn't the money you
say. There's always the money. I'll tell you what there isn't.
There isn't the will!
7/23/09
"Berkeley Iranian-American helps organize
worldwide human rights rallies" by
Matt O'Brien Contra Costa Times.
"Firuzeh Mahmoudi was
supposed to take a quiet family vacation in the woods of upstate
New York this week. Instead, she is helping to organize a worldwide
protest from her Berkeley home."
"East Bay state senator reopens term-limit
reform debate" by
Josh Richman, Oakland Tribune.
"An East Bay state senator
is leading a bipartisan effort to revamp term limits for California
legislators.
State Sen. Loni Hancock,
D-Berkeley, introduced a state constitutional amendment that would
reduce the number of years one can serve in the Legislature from
14 years to 12 but extend the amount of time one can serve in
each chamber - that is, the 12 years total could be three four-year
state Senate terms, six two-year Assembly terms or any combination
thereof.
Lawmakers currently can serve
no more than two four-year terms in the state Senate and three
two-year terms in the Assembly; all current and former lawmakers
would still be bound by these limits set by Proposition 140 of
1990."
"Tough Time for California College Students" written by Andres Chavez San Fernado Sun
Staff Reporter.
"As part of the California
State University Trustee's effort to slash $584 million from the
2009-20010 budget, no students will be admitted to CSU campuses
for the 2010 spring term.Additionally, campuses on the quarter
system stopped accepting applications as of July 6 for the 2010
winter term.
The decision may make sense
on a balance sheet but to the people whose lives are being affected,
it creates anger, frustration and hardship. Mission College student
Brenda Zezatti is a 28 year old single mother of two children
ages 4 and 6. She is one of the many students who planned to transfer
to a CSU campus this spring but now she'll have to wait an extra
year before she can fulfill her goal of earning a BA in Criminal
Justice. She hopes to work in the probation field. The extra year
to take the classes to reach her goal nowmeans taking more time
from her children. The longer it takes her to get the full education
she needs, delays her ability to start a career."
"Oakland voters approve a tax on medical
marijuana. Shops selling pot in the cash-strapped city will pay
$18 on each $1,000 in sales. The city administrator estimates
that it could raise $300,000 in annual revenue" by Julie Strack at latimes.com.
"Oakland voters resoundingly
approved a tax increase on medical marijuana Tuesday evening,
the first such tax of its kind in the nation.
The measure will levy an
$18 tax for every $1,000 in gross marijuana sales. Firms in the
city now pay a $1.20 business tax on each $1,000 in sales. Other
cities may soon follow suit. Voters approved the measure by a
margin of 80%, according to preliminary results released by the
Alameda County Registrar of Voters."
"Drive
to make biofuels thrive" reports Janis Mara Mercury
News Staff Writer.
"Within the next decade,
drivers in the Bay Area and around the country may get around
powered by fuel made from pecan shells, switch grass or even poplar
trees, thanks to research at Bay Area universities funded by more
than $700 million in grants.
And researchers say the plant-based
fuels nurtured by these efforts could be widely available at the
pump at a cost comparable to gasoline, but better for the environment.
Of course, as the price of
gas hovers close to the $3 mark at local gas stations, that long
wait may seem interminable."
"Meyer Lemons Don't Suck" is a story at FOXNews.com.
"Some foods, like Wagyu
beef or toro tuna, are just so good to eat that when gourmands
wax rhapsodic about them the praise is justified.
More often then not, it seems,
such acclaim is more about showing how au courant a critic is
than about the actual appeal of the delicacy. Take fugu, the Japanese
puffer fish with a very acquired taste that can kill you if a
chef handles it improperly. Talk about being tragically hip.
But the gastronomic world
got it right when it elevated Meyer lemons to the foodie pantheon.
Even if you're indifferent to most fruit, you might just get a
jones on for this delectable citrus once you take a nibble."
posts from the past
7/23/09
Kruse guy, Kieron Yancy's
Corvette
with the sweetest V-8 sound in recent memory
Tracy likes it but the girls
aren't quite sure
7/25/09
900 Grayson makes it again. This time in the San Jose
Mercury News.
"900 Grayson
900 Grayson St., Berkeley.
510-704-9900.
Concealed in a little red
building is casual dining with an oasis of scrumptious breakfast
and lunch fare. Classic American fare meets pizazz (buttermilk
waffles topped with spicy fried chicken and cream gravy) and a
few sophisticated touches (salad with omelet). Exquisite soups
and salads blend fresh ingredients and new dimensions of texture.
Despite a laid-back vibe and harried service during rush periods,
the food shows a refined hand in the kitchen. $$." More food
reviews here.
excerpts from Mayor Bates
July update
June 26, 2009: The
East Bay Green Corridor held its second annual summit at the
Oakland Museum on Friday, June 26th. Serving as a model
for other regions across the nation, the unique partnership has
attracted more than $76 million in federal stimulus funds for
job training, research, weatherization and other green projects.
The summit was kicked off by a video introduction from Secretary
of Energy Steven Chu and closed with the introduction of seven
new Corridor partners (bringing the total to 13 members).
Most recently, the East Bay Green Corridor Partnership and Peralta
Community College was granted one of the 11 California Green Jobs
Corps grants. The $937,511 allotted for the East Bay Green
Corridor will fund bridge programs from low-income residents to
access training programs and community college courses to prepare
them for green building trades, energy efficiency and weatherization
jobs and green business careers.
Another Success for Project
BUILD
June 28, 2009
We created this program in 2004 to provide low-income children
with the opportunity to read, learn, and be active over the summer.
Here I am this summer at James Kenney Park where we handed out
over 300 books.
Berkeley Reduces Chronic Homelessness by Half
July 8, 2009: According to the US Interagency Council on Homelessness
Berkeley has the largest
reduction in chronic homeless reported in the entire state
of California. From 2003, the last time the count was done,
to January 2009, Berkeley's chronically homeless population was
nearly cut in half. Chronically homeless are single people who
have a mental or physical disability and/or an addiction to drugs
or alcohol and have a long history of homelessness. Only San Francisco
comes close - and that was 38% two years ago.
While we have much work to do - especially in the area of what
the Everyone Home calls "hidden homeless", we are on
the right track! Thanks to the staff, commissions, community
agencies, and those formerly homeless people who have worked so
hard to stabilize their lives.
Berkeley's Green Awards
July 20, 2009: Berkeley recently received awards for its commitment
to sustainable policies and practices.
Environment California awarded the City of Berkeley with a "2009
Solar Champion" award for having one of the largest numbers
of solar roofs in the state. According to Environment California,
Berkeley has more than 648 solar roofs totaling 2821 kilowatts
of solar power capacity.
The City of Berkeley was also honored by NorCal Solar at the 2009
Intersolar Conference. We received the 1st place award for the
number of solar systems installed/per capita in all of Northern
California. According to the
report we have 1.06 solar systems installed per 1000 people.
This is 3 times as many installations as in Oakland and almost
5 times more than in San Francisco.
Finally, San Francisco Business
Times awarded us the Green Municipality Award and Mother
Nature News Network awarded us the 7th greenest city in the U.S.
Mother Nature Network recognized Berkeley "as being a leader
in the incubation of clean technology for wind power, solar power,
biofuels and hydropower."
Biofuel Oasis Grand Opening
July 18, 2009: Dubbed the
"most sustainable filling station in the nation", the
Biofuel Oasis hosted its grand opening ceremony on Saturday, July
18th. The refurbished historic gas station located at 1441
Ashby St. (@ Sacramento), will be open from 7am to 8pm daily (in
6 months they will be open until midnight).
Their biodiesel is made from recycled vegetable oil, their pumps
are powered by solar panels, and their store sells urban farming
supplies. See the Biofuel
Oasis website for more information.
Oxford Parking Garage Open for Business
July 2009: Don't forget that the Oxford
Parking Garage is open for business. The 99-space lot is located
on the corner of Oxford and Kittredge, with the entrance on Kittredge.
The lot is open Mon-Sat from 8:00AM to 12:00AM, and Sun 8:00AM
to 8:00PM.
Berkeley Bowl West Opens
July 2009: The new 140,000 square foot Berkeley
Bowl West is now open. The building includes a cafe, prep
kitchen, wine tasting bar, warehouse and offices, all of which
will ultimately employ about 150 people. Berkeley Bowl West
is located at 920 Heinz Ave. (at Eighth Street, north of Ashby).
It is open 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.
"California's Budget Deal a Win for Conservatives.
After months of suspense, Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders
come to an agreement" is
a report by Queenie Wong at usnews.com.
"A deal struck between
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California legislative leaders
Monday evening to close the state's $26.3 billion budget deficit
would significantly cut government spending without tax increases.
The plan comes after months
of partisan bickering and nearly three weeks after the state began
issuing IOUs to thousands of state contractors and vendors.
The government would also
scale back on health insurance provided to low-income children
and welfare checks issued to the poor.
'This is a sober time; there
isn't a whole lot of good news in this budget,' said Darrell Steinberg,
president for tem of the California Senate. 'We've cut in many
areas that matter to real people, but we've done so responsibly.'
Schwarzenegger, who compared
the last few hours of Monday's negotiations to a 'suspense movie,'
called the budget agreement 'a great accomplishment.'
The deal is a huge win for
conservatives, who favor a smaller government, says John Ellwood,
a professor at UC-Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy.
Taking the state back to 2005 spending levels, the plan would
shrink general fund spending from $92 billion to $88 billion."
posts from the past
6/24/08
WOW!
I'm featured on Scrambled
Eggs!
son nikos, a steve smith
photo
Potter Creek definitions
of popular acronyms
WEBIAC: a small furry creature
of Bolivia.
WBBA: a web-footed animal
of South America, not unlike the platipus.
7/26/09
Berkeley is choosing a new
Chief of Police. The application period has ended and a new chief
will be chosen by September. It would be good to appoint a department
veteran, an officer of long experience in our department and with
our town. More important, in these times of turmoil, "time
and grade" are paramount. A veteran captain would be a timely,
perfect choice.
"Obama moves to dampen uproar over comment
on race" reports
Nancy Benac of the AP.
"President Barack Obama
concedes his words-that a white police officer 'acted stupidly'
when he arrested a black university scholar in his own home-were
ill-chosen. But, while he invited both men to visit him at the
White House, Obama stopped short of publicly apologizing for his
remark.
The president personally
telephoned the two men, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.
and Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley, in an effort
to end the rancorous back-and-forth over what had transpired and
what Obama had said about it. Trying to lighten the situation,
he even commiserated with Crowley about reporters on his lawn.
Hours earlier, a multiracial
group of police officers had stood with Crowley in Massachusetts
and called on Obama to say he's sorry."
posts from the past
from a Scrambled Eggs &
Lox in 2005
Attacks on Guardians are
worrisome
"A convicted felon shot
and wounded a Berkeley police officer early Tuesday during a foot
chase in West Berkeley, authorities said. The gunman shot Officer
Darren Kacalek, 29, once in the chest. The bullet pierced Kacalek's
badge, but his bullet-resistant vest protected him from major
injuries, authorities said. Kacalek, a three-year veteran of the
department, remained in fair condition Tuesday at Highland Hospital
in Oakland " reports Henry K Lee in "Felon shoots, wounds
officer during chase."
We wish Officer Kacalek a
speedy and full recovery
Uncle Don -- An Appreciation
In a time when tall men were
5'10" my Uncle Don was over six-feet. My Mom's oldest brother,
Uncle Don was a Milwaukee policeman. But not just any policeman,
he was a member of the Mounted Patrol--horse mounted police used
downtown for traffic control. (Uncle Don had learned how to handle
horses working for my Grandpa delivering ice and coal in horse-drawn
wagons.)
But that evening during the
Christmas rush, when my Mom took me shopping with her at Gimbel's,
I didn't know that he was in the Mounted Patrol. Gimbel's was
on the busiest corner Downtown, and that night, a corner so filled
with people that as a small boy all I could see were shoes, legs,
pants, and skirts. My Mom pulled me through the crowd as we crossed
the street, and as we reached the opposite curb, a dark figure
appeared towering above not only those shoes, legs, pants, and
skirts, but above all the people they belonged to. In a huge Great
Coat, there was a man who seemed to be a policeman sitting atop
a big brown horse. I stood there in awe. We stopped at the side
of the horse and its rider, and my Mom asked "Do you know
who this is"? Looking up not at all sure, I struggled for
an answer. Uncle Don was big and was a policeman. Yet at first,
no matter how hard I looked, all I saw was the big coat and the
dark horse. But slowly the face above the coat became familiar.
"It's Uncle Don" I said with some relief. I don't remember
if he said hello, but I know he said that it was all right to
touch his horse. After he and my Mom talked a little, we left
--a lot of other kids, moms and dads wanted to pet his horse,
too.
Uncle Don moved to California
some years later and I didn't see him for a long time. Then, one
Summer afternoon as my cousin MaryAnn and I were sitting on our
front steps, a tall man in a raincoat came up to the front of
our house and asked. "Do you know who I am?" "You're
my Uncle Don" I said.
7/2/07
In the last week, Potter
Creek and surrounding neighborhoods have experienced what can
best be described as maximum-enforcement by Berkeley PD, with
stops on San Pablo Avenue, use of Special Enforcement units and
a general increased police presence. The home, business and property
owners that I've talked to applaud it.
7/26/09
Among the guests at 900
for lunch Friday were Captain Gustafson and Lieutenant Greenwood
of Berkeley PD, and Councilman Darryl Moore, his new intern and
aid Ryan Lau.
chefs, Eric and James
a Bob Kubik photo
Also Friday, Bayer was "conducting
tours of Potter Creek" with a lot of suits and regular people,
some seemed tourists of a sort.
In "California winemakers
fall for Mourvedre" the Chronicle's Jon Bonné
writes "But there's still time to figure out what exactly
Mourvedre here should be - and perhaps more potential than for
Grenache, the perennial Next Big Thing. That's a view shared by
a Mourvedre loyalist like Jared Brandt of A Donkey and Goat Winery
in Berkeley, who found young head-trained vines in the Sierra
foothills. To Brandt, Mourvedre is in a similar spot to Cabernet
in the 1960s, 'which means that the next 10 years will be really
exciting.' " Read the full story here.
"Fading factories" by Patrick May is a story about the disappearing
manufacturing jobs in the Bay Area at contracostatimes.com.
"Sometimes the jobs
moved to Arizona. Sometimes they moved to China. And sometimes,
thanks to Silicon Valley's tech prowess and prolific workforce,
the jobs just went up in a puff of smoke.
'It was scary,' said Kiranjit
Banwait, let go in 2004 as an assembly-plant machine operator
for a computer maker.
'They closed our plant in
San Jose and outsourced like every other company to Singapore
and Mexico. Everyone was getting laid off in manufacturing so
there was no point in looking there anymore. The jobs had just
disappeared.'
Along with keen innovation,
intoxicating sunshine and world-class universities, one of the
Bay Area's trademarks has been its steady erosion of manufacturing
jobs. Decades of workplace detritus litter the region, from shipbuilding
to aerospace to computer chips."
oops forgot
We still have some of them
"good old fashioned manufacturing jobs" here in Potter
Creek and Adams & Chittenden Scientific Glass' are "green
certified,"
you can tell by the little
faded sticker in the window.
"Wall Street Reform and You" is this week's PBS NOW progam.
"This week, David Brancaccio
sits with Zanny Minton Beddoes, economics editor for The Economist
magazine, to review the proposal and its ramifications for America.
Beddoes encourages streamlining the regulatory system, leaving
fewer but more efficient overseers. But where powerful interests
are at stake, nothing is a sure bet."
Minton Beddoes offers a refreshing
view and analysis of our financial situation.
Also refreshing, and irreverent,
is the Sarah
Silverman Show. Of it one reviewer writes "The show features
Sarah Silverman performing comedic songs in between some scenes."
It's much more than that really. Check it out.
our West Berkeley Bowl produce
a Bob Kubik photo
"Barbara Lee Supports Transportation, HUD
Appropriations Bill" is
a release at tmcnet.com.
"Congresswoman Barbara
Lee (D-CA) voted to help spur our economic recovery and create
jobs with targeted investments in a modern transportation system
and housing assistance for all Americans. The Transportation,
Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act builds on the
work of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and our long-term
economic plan to provide short-term help in the form of housing
and jobs for those hurt most by the economic downturn and long-term
solutions like improved infrastructure to put our economy on sound
footing for the future."
"Thank You, Sarah Palin. Is Alaska's (soon-to-be
ex-)governor right about taxing polluters? A thought experiment" a story by Jonathan Rowe at slate.com.
"Sarah Palin.Sarah Palin
I think it's time to cut Sarah Palin a little slack. After all,
not many of us would forsake the bright lights for more winters
in Wasilla. Besides, with her opposition to a cap-and-trade policy
to slow climate change, the soon-to-be ex-governor of Alaska-her
last day in office is Sunday-has a point. Europe has tried this
approach, and it was a bust. And does anyone really think it wise
to entrust the fate of Earth's atmosphere to another Wall Street
circus of kinky new "investment vehicles"? (That's the
"trade" part of cap-and-trade.) "
7/27/09
On the ABC Sunday Morning
Roundtable, Arianna Huffington said that while 15% of African-American
men are drug users, 75% of the US prison population are African-American
men there on drug related convicitions. The Roundtable discussion
was about police profiling of men-of-color, a spin off of the
recent Cambridge black-professor-in-his-home-arrest.
For reasons best known to
my spiritual advisor read Tony Almeida's Jimi Hendrix story on the only page that routinely gets
more hits than the daily Scrambled Eggs.
Heard in passing while sitting
in front of the warehouse. A family going by on bikes on a morning
ride admired Merryll's house and studio and as they passed the
dad said "Look at the beautiful house behind." (Morgan
and Tracy's. ) A self-identified Republican stopping to ask directions,
left with "You know, it' looks pretty good down here."
And a neighbor walking by with two-Berkeley-Bowl-bags-full said
"Sure is convenient."
Steven Goldin emails 7/26
Ron,
Good afternoon. By
the way, I stopped by yesterday morning to drop off your movie
- thanks again - and as I parked across the street, I had to avoid
a used condom as I stepped out of the car . . . and another on
your side of the street . . .
the "rubber"
a Ron Penndorf photo
There must be something sexy
about your block . . .
Steven
Certainly not the City Hall's
lack of will.
Com' on Boz, this street
is one of those increasingly used as a pedestrian/bicycle path
to the Bowl. It's used more and more regularly by Potter Creekers
AND folks living north of Dwight. I'd say this traffic, especially
on weekends, has easily quintupled, or more.
Also perhaps our reactivists
could become active, spending more time on every-day matters.
RP
And what happened to the
street cleaning? MW [Masha Wacko]
Had a little Sunday brunch
at the Bowl's Café W before shopping. Ordering was a little
confusing--you order at the register though the menus are at the
food service area. After ordering and paying you get a number
and they bring the food to you. I had the grits with cheese and
ham--a lot, and delicious with a good cheddar and smokey ham at
$4.50. I'd do it again. And Marsha had the breakfast burrito--fresh
and a lot for $5.95. She'd definitely have it again. Both dishes
were tasty, ample, light and fresh.
the
Berkeley Bowl Café
Steven emails an only just
a slightly self-serving link to "Collaborating
for Profits in Nanotechnology" by J. Emilio Flores for
The New York Times.
"The economic news in
California has been pretty bleak lately. Its businesses, small
and large, are becalmed by the recession. The state has taken
to issuing i.o.u.'s in the wake of political wrangling over how
to resolve a $26 billion budget deficit. Most ominous, the state's
once-great public universities and its community colleges and
local schools face budget cuts that amount to critical surgery.
Yet in the midst of all that,
there is a promise for the future in the collaboration by California's
university research centers, small companies and venture finance
firms in an emerging area called nanotechnology. "
Still, I'm wondering why
after allowing, even encouraging the Bowl, an apparent instant
success and SERIOUS retail magnet, Planning is now excitied about
bio-tech and seems to have no interest in furthering retail in
Potter Creek--a natural, and so an easy progression. It doesn'
t take much other than a little nurturing.
And you know with all the
talk of promoting arts-use in Potter Creek, a just-only retail
art-gallery cannot be opened here. A gallery as an adjunct to
a studio could or you could finesse it.
Another reason the throw
out the out-of-date, now even mean-spirited Plan and start a fresh?
Probably.
Early in reporting on Scrambled
Eggs, I was told by one of the Plan originators that it was put
together largely as a counter-balance to Denny Abrams-like Fourth
Street change. This person is now involved in modifying the Plan.
RP
More of a hype than a straight-ahead
report is "Twitter
co-founder selling Berkeley cottage" by Tracey Taylor,
Special to The Chronicle.
"When Twitter co-founder
Biz Stone tweets, a million people listen. So it wasn't surprising
that when he recently posted a message about selling his home,
the broker's Web site he linked to was so overwhelmed that it
froze up.
'We loved our Wurster cottage
in Berkeley but it's time to move - if you're into architecture,
check it out,' read the tweet."
posts from the past
7/31/03
First blue-collar jobs, now
white-collar jobs?
Carrie Kirby, Chronicle Staff
Writer reports, More
and More Tech Jobs Moving Overseas:
consultant calls trend permanent, irreversible.
And this will leave us with
a service- and consumer-economy of fewer and fewer citizens with
the means to be served or consume?
Especially during week-days,
Berkeley Parking Enforcement is regularly patrolling Potter Creek.
Tickets are being issued on restricted-parking streets and generally
for infractions like blocking drives, improper use of yellow-zones,
etc.
Testing for solvents in deep
ground-water is now being done on Grayson Street between 9th and
7th.
The "old foundry building,"
in the what I believe to be the 2600 block of 7th street, has
been gutted. I hope before this site is rebuilt extensive environmental
testing is done.
Scharffen Berger has received
"permission" for its restaurant with outdoor seating.
Kava is applying to the City
for tree planting in front of his 8th Street property.
There is more and more commercial
space for lease in Potter Creek.
7/28/09
"The Breakdown (and Lowdown) on Spudware" by Andrea Hart at reuters.com.
That plastic fork you're
using to chow down your Chow Mein will be lasting longer than
the yummy noodles - much longer. Plastics are a petroleum based
product, which means not only are they not biodegradable, but
also they remain in the environment for hundreds to thousands
of years.
As a result, eventhough your
lunch will be gone in 20 minutes, that one-time-use fork will
see its 500th birthday.
Next time, avoid using plastic
forks and instead, use Spudware! Spudware is a new kind of 'plastic'
cutlery made from 80% potato starch and 20% soy oil that can biodegrade
in 180 days under the proper conditions."
Tak emails
Ron,
As I was walking my dog by
the corner of 10th Street and Carlton, I saw the Berkeley Police
loading somebody into a body bag at around 9:10 pm on Monday evening
(July 27, 2009).
I assume that there was no
indication of foul play as the scene was quiet and the police
presence was minimal.
I'm becoming very leery of
walking around here in West Berkeley at night. It was in January
that I heard gunshots and then saw somebody mortally wounded just
outside the BofA parking lot. It isn't that I feel unsafe, but
it sure doesn't lead to pleasant dreams when I come across these
scenes not long before I go to bed.
Tak Nakamoto
Viva Burrows is a young film=maker
Check out her
webpage.
Also check her out at 900 GRAYSON, she's
the compact food-server, works Monday and Tuesday right now.
"What is good for General
Motors is good for America" certainly is no longer true.
Is "What is good for
Norheim & Yost is good for west-Berkeley " still true?
Yes
No
Maybe
All of the above
Some of the above
None of the above
Don Yost lent me a New Yorker,
July 27, 2009, in which appears a review of Spies:
The Rise and Fall of the K.G.B in America. The book and the
reviewer reveal that Izzy Stone, "a mentor," was not
a K.G.B agent. My Aunt Hattie, who in the '50s gave me a subscription
to the I.F. Stone newsletter will be relieved--or not.
DEFINITELY check out Charlie Rose'
conversation with Ross Douthat who at 29 is the youngest New
York Times writer ever.
A conversation with Ross
Douthat of "The New York Times"
Ross Gregory Douthat is an American conservative author and blogger.He
was a senior editor at The Atlantic and author of Privilege: Harvard
and the Education of the Ruling Class (Hyperion, 2005) and, with
Reihan Salam, Grand New Party (Doubleday, 2008), which David Brooks
called the "best single roadmap of where the [Republican]
party should and is likely to head." He is a film critic
for National Review and has also contributed to The New York Times,
The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, the Claremont Review
of Books, GQ, Slate, and other publications."
When asked by Rose what he
learned at Harvard, Douthat replied "I learned how the ruling
elite think." Myself a working class kid from industrial
Milwaukee, I learned in the late '50s and 60s at Madison and Berkeley
how the middle class thinks. Not enamored of my discovery, I escaped
to bohemia where I have happily remained.
"Campus environmental record earns top
score in Princeton Review 'Green Ratings' " by Sarah Yang is a UC Berkely press
release.
"The University of California,
Berkeley, is one of only 15 colleges in the country to have earned
the top score for environmentally friendly policies in an evaluation
released today (Monday, July 27) by The Princeton Review, a provider
of education services to help students get into college."
"U.C. Berkeley plans open source software
for lecture distribution"
is a report in the San Francisco Business Times by Steven
E.F. Brown.
"The University of California,
Berkeley, plans to set up an open source software project for
widespread distribution of automatically made video and audio
recordings of lectures and other events on campus."
7/30/09
Seen at the Bowl yesterday
were Byron and Milo, Anthy Victor with Jerry Victor's beautiful
daughter, and Don Yost and unknown friend, and hundreds of other
people. I specially enjoyed the unreconstructed Hippie with pony-tail,
bib-overalls, bandana, and heft.
Guests at 900 GRAYSON yesterday included Lt Greenwood BPD and BPD Detectives,
Scott Robinson, Rick Auerbach, Kava's staff, and John Sharffenberger.
"Peet's Q2 profit beats Street" is a report at rueters.com. "Peet's
Coffee & Tea Inc reported a quarterly profit that beat market
estimates, boosted by tighter cost controls and higher sales at
its specialty business, and it raised the lower end of its full-year
earnings outlook range.
Peet's also said it entered
into a licensing agreement with privately held Godiva Chocolatier
Inc to sell and distribute Godiva brand coffees in supermarkets."
Just who is François
Génin? He's the co-founder and CEO of Berkeley
Advanced Biomaterials, Inc and he's well-ahead of the Potter
Creek curve. He's also a good upstairs-neighbor to the French
School and next door neighbor to a cooking school.
"Green Day's 'American Idiot' Musical Fills
Out Creative Team" is
a story at rollingstone.com.
"Green Day have rounded
out the creative team that will help turn the band's 2004 rock
opera American Idiot into a musical. Joining director Michael
Mayer, who also worked on the Tony Award-winning Spring Awakening,
are choreographer Steven Hoggett and music supervisor Tom Kitt.
American Idiot the musical will run from September 3rd to October
11th at California's Berkeley Rep. Tickets are available now with
a subscription to the Berkeley Rep's season, while remaining seats
are available to the public starting August 16th."
And another version is "Tony
Winner Tom Kitt Joins Team Behind New American Idiot" is
a story by the Broadway.com Staff at broadway.com.
"Recent Tony Award winner
Tom Kitt of Next to Normal is among the newly announced creative
team for punk trio Green Day's musical American Idiot. Kitt will
serve as music supervisor with Mayer helming the tuner, set to
debut at Berkeley Repertory Theatre's Roda Theater in California
beginning September 4. The limited engagement, directed by previously
announced Tony Award winner Michael Mayer, will play through October
11.
The original American Idiot
album was conceived as a rock opera centering around the life
of an anti-hero called Jesus of Suburbia. The recording sold 12
million copies worldwide and features hit singles like 'Boulevard
of Broken Dreams' and the title song. It also was honored with
a 2005 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album."
For a history of musical
theater on record thru the early the Rock Operas read my Musical
Theater on Record: a History of Recorded Music.
On the PBS Lehrer News
Hour you can hear about musician Elvis Costello. Jeffrey Brown
has a profile of singer Elvis Costello. Here's a preview
of their conversation.
7/31/09
Oakland City Council action
taken at 7/29/09 Council meeting. The Council approved
29 Subject: Enterprise Zone
- Expand Boundaries
From: Community and Economic Development Agency
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution Approving The Expansion Of
The Boundaries Of
The Oakland Enterprise Zone Into Portions Of Emeryville And West
Berkeley
City of Oakland Community
Economic and Development Agency information on their Enterprise
Zone.
Financial Incentives
Offering business
incentives is one way Oakland remains competitive in the regional
marketplace. The incentives range from Enterprise Zone tax credits
to assistance with locating space and identifying workforce needs.
Oakland takes full
advantage of state and federal programs to provide a full set
of incentives and has a municipal lending unit to assist businesses
looking for capital, technical assistance, and training. Incentives
are also provided for environmentally-friendly businesses.
Enterprise Zone
Tax Incentives
Industrial Development Bond Program
Manufacturers' Investment Credit
Retail and Entertainment Catalyst Tenant Improvement Program (TIP)
Enterprise Zone
Tax Incentives
California's enterprise
zone program is an innovative partnership comprised of state government,
local government and private businesses. The State of California
re-designated Oakland on January 31, 2008, for an additional 15
years. Oakland businesses in the Zone - from large manufacturing
companies to small neighborhood restaurants - can reduce their
state taxes by taking advantage of Enterprise Zone benefits.Tax
credits and benefits available to companies locating in enterprise
zones include:
Tax credits for
sales or use taxes paid on up to $20 million of qualified machinery
purchased per year;
A hiring credit of $37,440 or more for each qualified employee
hired;
A 15-year carryover of up to 100 percent of net operating losses
Expensing up to $40,000 of certain depreciable property;
Lender income deductions for loans made to zone businesses; and
Preference points on state contracts.
Unused tax credits can be applied to future tax years, stretching
out the benefit of the initial investment
For more information
and forms required for claiming the Enterprise Zone Hiring Tax
Credit visit our on line EZ Tax Credit Vouchering System at www.EZOakland.com
or call Susana Villarreal; Enterprise Zone Coordinator at 510-238-7794;
svillarreal@oaklandnet.com.
Industrial Development Bond Program
The program targets
small and medium-sized manufacturing companies that are normally
shut out of national credit markets and provides low-cost, long-term
financing for real estate and equipment projects that retain or
create employment in Oakland.
No public entity
assumes any of the risk of the financing. A highly-rated bank
relies on a Letter of Credit with the business for adequate collateral
and repayment ability.
Oakland's Industrial
Development Bond Program is administered by the Economic Development
Alliance for Business. To learn more about the bond program including
the eligibility criteria and application process, visit www.eastbayeda.org
or call 510.272.3885.
Manufacturers'
Investment Credit
The State of California
has created a tax incentive designed to encourage manufacturers
to stay and grow in the Golden State. Known as the Manufacturers'
Investment Credit (MIC), this legislation allows California manufacturers
to claim a six percent investment tax credit or a five percent
sales/use tax exemption (for new businesses) on qualified property
that is purchased, acquired, or leased for use in California.
These credits can greatly reduce the amount of State taxes a company
pays.
The principal categories
of qualifying activities include:
Fabricating
Manufacturing
Processing
Refining
Research and Development
For details on
the MIC, visit www.ftb.ca.gov or call 1.800.852.5711
Retail and Entertainment
Catalyst Tenant Improvement Program (TIP)
The City of Oakland's
Retail and Entertainment Catalyst Tenant Improvement Program (TIP)
provides incentives to attract key entertainment and retail businesses
to targeted locations in the downtown area. While downtown retail
market has improved in recent years, in many cases the available
spaces, buildings, or properties require tenant improvements to
meet the needs of existing retailers.
Under the TIP,
additional incentives are available to cover expenses such as
asbestos abatement, compliance with the Americans with Disability
Act (ADA), ventilation, off-site improvements, and other tenant
improvements including demolition, mechanical, plumbing, electrical
and interior historic restoration. The Tenant Improvement Program
can be used with the existing Downtown Façade Improvement
Program. Targeted areas include Uptown, the Downtown Historic
area, the Latham Square area, Old Oakland, Chinatown, and Lower
Broadway.
For further information,
call Redevelopment at 510.238.3699 or email.
The Berkeley City Council
has to approve the Enterprise Zone for it to be in Berkeley.
"Council Tables Measure Endorsing SCA 21" is by Rio Bauce Special to the Planet.
"Last Thursday, the
Berkeley City Council tabled a measure supporting a bill in the
state Legislature that would strip the University of California's
Board of Regents of a certain measure of autonomy.
The bill, SCA 21, authored
by state Senators Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and Roy Ashburn
(R-Bakersfield), would subject the UC system to laws and statutes
passed by the state Legislature. Current laws are already in effect
for the California State University system. "
"Berkeley's First Teen Center Planned for
Downtown" is a saavy
report by Riya Bhattacharjee in our Planet.
"Berkeley teenagers may finally have a solution to their
boredom.
Soon they may have a new
place to hang out after school, get help with homework, meet up
with friends or simply have some fun.
A building that formerly
housed a PG&E service center at 2109 Martin Luther King Jr.
Way is all set to become the Teen AMP (Aspirations Made Possible),
Berkeley's first center dedicated entirely to teenagers."
In talking to a west-Berkeley
"veteran gang member" about the difference in being
a teenage then and now, he said "We had places to go. The
City had centers for us and we had other places. They don't have
that now."RP
"Counting Crows Swoop Down On Berkeley's
Greek Theatre" is
a review by Jane Wang at dailycal.org.
"Nearly two decades
ago, two men, Adam Duritz and Dave Bryson, came together to form
an acoustic duo, gradually picking up more members and eventually
receiving national attention. Now, after having crisscrossed America's
highways many times over, last Sunday Counting Crows finally returned
to the place where they were born-Berkeley, California-to share
the stage with San Diego-based Augustana."
our Geralyn emails
Aloha Kakou!
I just wanted to remind you that the 15th San Francisco Aloha
Festival is happening this weekend. The halau I belong to, Hui
Hula O na Pu'u I Ka Noe, will be dancing on Sunday, August
2 at 10:30 am. Here's the link http://www.pica-org.org/AlohaFest/index.html I
hope to see you there!
You may have heard rumors that I will be going to Berlin and Prague,
along with my hula sisters and brother, to participate in a hula
competition and to do some exhibition dancing. Well, it is true
and we're all very excited about it, as you can imagine.
But, like the song goes, "money's too tight to mention",
so we're having a cookie sale to help subsudize our trip. Anthony
and Christopher of our neighborhood's renown fabulous ( or is
it fabulously renown?) cafe, 900 Grayson, have been very gracious
to offer to sell our
cookies at the front counter. These are the Hawaiian "School
Kine" cookies. Very "ono" and only $6.00 a bag!
The flavors are: shortbread, vanilla macadamia nut, chocolate
chip macadamia nut, and chocolate chip. Pop into 900 Grayson (
7th St and Grayson in West Berkeley, Mon- Sat 8am-3pm) have a
meal, and grab a bag of cookies for dessert. Or you can contact
me with your order.
If you'd like to watch the festivities in Berlin, look for the
link that will stream the action live on the internet at http://hula-festival.synthasite.com/.
I don't have much information on Prague except that we will be
dancing in the Old Town's square on August 21.
Mahalo again for all of your support. I and the halau appreciate
your "kokua".
A hui hou
Geralyn Keolani
I love shortbread and these
are the best. RP
Ryan Lau emails
National Night Out
Just a quick reminder, National Night Out is fast approaching,
Tuesday, August 4th. If you haven't already done so, today
is the last day to officially register your group's event with
the City so that Fire, Police, City Manager's staff and our office
can come around and meet the neighbors. You don't have to
be an official neighborhood watch group to register and it is
a great opportunity to meet your neighbors and City staff.
If you'd like to find out more about National Night Out or want
a copy of the application, please visit <http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=24228>.
If you are not able to send in the form today, try and get it
in as soon as possible, sometimes they allow late submissions.
Also, please let us know as well. If your event doesn't
make it onto the official list, we'd still like to try and stop
by.
Street Tree Planting
West Berkeley received some grant funding to mitigate some of
the impacts of the freeway, specifically by reducing pollution
by planting trees. We encourage people to submit tree-planting
applications so we can plant in the area.
This year the City is focusing on a mutltidepartmental effort
in a "Place Based Initiative" with a program called
"Heart to Heart" in the block around McGee, Russell,
Oregon and Dohr. It is a special effort to address the problem
of "premature death" from chronic diseases. The Parks
Dept's contribution will be to focus on tree-planting in the area.
If you are interested in having a tree in front of your home please
call 681-6660.
Ryan Lau
Council Aide
Councilmember Darryl Moore, District 2
Kubik emails Ryan
How about planting trees
between the freeway and Aquatic Park? Some thing was supposed
to have been done there years ago and so far NOTHING!
Ryan replies
Are you referring to the
"Living Wall" project? I'm not quite sure what
ever happened to that, but I think alot of it had to do with CalTrans
not liking the idea. Since the project required a CalTrans
encroachment permit, we were sort of stuck at an impasse.
I can check in about the project, but my understanding is that
CalTrans was adamant that they did not want anything to do with
it. In any case, how have you been, Bob? Pumpkin patch
time is just around the corner, huh?
Sincerely,Ryan
Bob replies
If Caltrans doesn't like
the idea of trees what do they propose? We need and have
needed some separation. Yes, would you check into it?
Carol and I are doing
fine - shopping at the new Berkeley Bowl every day. We were
totally wrong about traffic congestion - what we have seen is
many more folks walking and biking to get their groceries. That
has made a much more neighborhood feeling.
Bob
The only source that got
so-far-traffic right was Lipofsky. "Won't make much difference"
he said. "Supermarket traffic trickles in and out, not like
a school with traffic bunching up when kids are dropped off or
picked up." RP
Who so far got it wrong in
varing degrees? Rick, Sarah, John V, Ron P, Bob, Carol, etc, etc,
etc.
And, the neighbors almost
to a person figured the Yasudas hadn't learned anything from their
experience of the Downtown Bowl and so somehow would repeat it.
Go figure!
Also, the traffic consultants
hired by our city-workers got is right so far.
Ya know I' bin thinkn, maybe
I'll run for mayor.
. . . hell, it's the fumes.
I am a lttle light-headed.
I'll get back to you on this.
"SunRun Does Government-financed Solar
Panels" is a report
at solar.coolerplanet.com.
"In a move to avert
regional government solar incentives like Berkeley, California-based
Berkeley FIRST from capturing the solar panel financing market,
San Francisco-based SunRun is using a new round of financing to
capture a greater share of that market."
"Berkeley and the General Strike of 1934"
is a story by Steven
Finacom Special to the Planet.
"In spring and summer 1934 San Francisco experienced one
of the most dramatic labor confrontations in 20th century American
history. "
Robert Shiller was one of
Charlie Rose' guest last night. He talks about a new book
of his and more.
Robert Shiller is an American economist
and Yale professor. He is best known for his book "Irrational
Exuberance," a "New York Times" bestseller, which
predicted the burst of the stock market bubble in the late 1990s,
and warns about the emergence of a housing bubble after the dot-com
bubble burst in 2000.
He has organized a series
of seminars about behavioral finance, and is the author of "Macro
Markets", which won the first annual Paul A. Samuelson Award
of TIAA-CREF. In 2003, he published another book, "The New
Financial Order."
Check him out.
from my log
6/28/09--8:49 AM--irritant
in warehouse front and SERIOUS irritant IMMEDIATELY in front of
warehouse, nausea, light head. Off-and-on all day, irritant in
warehouse front.
7/3/09--5:15 PM--irritant
IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse.
7/6/09--6:54 AM--SERIOUS
irritant in IMMEDIATELY front of warehouse, cough, light head.
7/7/09--Off-and-on all morning
SERIOUS irritant in front room, light head, dry skin, wear mask,
over-rides two HEPA filters.
7/8/09--6:22 AM--SERIOUS
irrtant in front room, light head, eyes smart, over-rides two
HEPA filters.
7/10/09--3:21 PM--irritant
in front room.
7/13/09--6:02 AM--SERIOUS
irritant in front room, wear mask. 11:29 AM irritant IMMEDIATELY
in front of warehouse and in front room, wear mask.
post from the past
7/12/01--~8:45 AM--dizzy
with burning eyes and mouth.
7/14/09--8:31 AM--VERY SERIOUS
irritant in front room, headache, light head, burning eyes, wear
mask, overrides 2 HEPA filters. 8:49 AM, leave.
7/15/09--5:36 PM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, light
head, burning eyes, nausea, over-rides HEPA filter.
7/17/09--1:41 PM--irritant
in front room, light head, head ache, wear mask.
7/18/09--7:36 AM--SERIOUS
irritant in warehouse, air out.
7/19/09--6:45 AM-to-~8:00
AM--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse, light head, head ache, wear
mask, continous off-and-on all day in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY
in front of warehouse.
7/21/09--6:11 AM--irritant
in warehouse, air out. `10:45 AM--SERIOUS irritant in front room,
eyes, mouth burn, light head, headache, nausea, leave. 11:20
PM--"amonia bleach" odor IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse.
8:32 PM--irritant IMMEDAITELY in front of warehouse, lights flicker.
7/23/09--11:47 AM--irritant
in front room, leave.
7/24/09--7:50 AM--SERIOUS
irritant infront of warehouse and warehouse front, eyes, mouth
burn, light head, headache, nausea. Symptoms similar to those
experienced some years ago when neighbor, Adams & Chittenden
Scientific Glass used its "gold process" without "filters."
1:58 PM--irritant in front room.
(In the last seven-or-so
years, we have not experienced the level, or consistency, of irritation
and accompanying symptoms that we have in the last weeks.)
7/25/09--~7:30 PM--SERIOUS
irritant in warehouse, friend working, has headache, light head,
congestion, cough, leaves.
7/26/09--7:22 AM--irritant
IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse. 4:45 PM--irritant in warehouse
front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, similar symptoms
to 7/25.
7/27/09--1:29 PM--irritant
in front room, eyes, mouth burn, headache. And, off-and-on all
morning. 7:19 PM--irritant in front room and "chlorine bleach"
odor.
7/28/09--8:46 AM--SERIOUS
irritant in front room, light head, burning eyes, mouth, leave.
10:59 AM--irritant in front room, wear mask.
7/29/09==~8:35 AM--lights
flicker, irritant in front room, 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.