scrmbld811b.html

Picasso

from Peter Hurney

Citroen 2cv6

8/18/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

I've long followed Wendy Tokuda's CBS5 series "Students Rising Above" about young people excelling often against great odds. A week or so ago CBS 5 aired an episode about a young woman, Shanita who while enrolled at Cal is raising her four sisters and brothers. With Wendy's permission here is a link to this touching, inspiring, even heroic story.

And here is a link to Students Rising Above.

"Checking Out of Berkeley's Hilton to the Homeless" by Ted Friedman in Our Planet.

"I was in People's Park Saturday, researching a piece on informal Berkeley street communities, when a teenager named Hilton told me her aunt had driven her all the way to Berkeley from Southern California to 'dump' her in People's Park.

Okay, so Berkeley is a Hilton to Homeless street tramps and other vagabonds. . . . But what if you were dumped in People's Park--lobby to the Hilton--and wanted to work your way out. How good is Berkeley at that?"

2815 9th Street

circa 1930s

These 9th Street residents are Finnish Americans. I'm told the Finns lived on the east side of 9th, the Italians on the west.

August early morning

in Potter Creek

"Independent bookstores add a new chapter" by Neely Tucker,washingtonpost.com.

"The brick-and-mortar bookstore is, like most of the economy, dead or close to it. See: Amazon, growth of. See: Borders, tanking of.

Everybody knows this.

So here's Eileen McGervey, owner of One More Page bookstore in Arlington. . . and she . . . opened in January of this year? "

Our new BPD Area Coordinator is Ofc Cesar Melero- 981-5774, CMelero@ci.berkeley.ca.us.

"Joint campus-city police safety patrol resumes tonight" is a story release by Caleb Dardick, UC Community Relations.

"Last year's successful launch of a new joint police patrol by the University of California Police Department and the Berkeley Police Department to improve public safety at night in the city's Southside neighborhoods will resume tonight ."

"Predictive Policing: The Future of Law Enforcement?" by Beth Pearsall at nij.gov.

"Law enforcement explores ways to anticipate and prevent crime.

For years, businesses have used data analysis to anticipate market conditions or industry trends and drive sales strategies.
Walmart, for example, learned through analysis that when a major weather event is in the forecast, demand for three items rises: duct tape, bottled water and strawberry Pop-Tarts. Armed with this information, stores in the affected areas can ensure their shelves are fully stocked to meet customer needs.

Police can use a similar data analysis to help make their work more efficient. The idea is being called 'predictive policing,"'and some in the field believe it has the potential to transform law enforcement by enabling police to anticipate and prevent crime instead of simply responding to it.
In November 2009, the National Institute of Justice, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Los Angeles Police Department, held a Predictive Policing Symposium to discuss this emerging idea and its impact on the future of policing. Researchers, law enforcement officers, crime analysts and scientists gathered in Los Angeles for three days to explore the policy implications, privacy issues and technology of predictive policing.

What Is Predictive Policing?

Predictive policing, in essence, is taking data from disparate sources, analyzing them and then using the results to anticipate, prevent and respond more effectively to future crime.

Predictive policing entails becoming less reactive. 'The predictive vision moves law enforcement from focusing on what happened to focusing on what will happen and how to effectively deploy resources in front of crime, thereby changing outcomes,' writes Charlie Beck, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department."

Santa Cruz PD is on the predictive policing cutting edge--my memory is that their mayor is a Socialist.

Margret and Ginko

and stroller

END

POSTS FROM THE PAST

8/21/05

Pete's back in town.

Berkeley PD ticketed a junker on the corner of 8th and Heinz this morning and Huestead's "towed" it into their lot with a fork-lift.

Yesterday, Ben got a model airplane kit of the Travel Air Mystery Ship.

Also yesterday, a lot of folks cleaned up the 2600 block of San Pablo and Morgan and Regan cleaned up their part of Grayson.

(I think the end of Grayson Street at the RR tracks would be a good place to photograph Doc's Jaguar.)

(I also think that scale is important in real-estate development. You don't put a three-story, multi-unit in a block of workers' bungalows.)

And, I'd like to thank Buster's Dad for the hi-fi equipment stand. He had it out in front of his house marked "Free." We took it and put it to good use. And there were some free chairs out in front of Nexus yesterday.

Zydeco accordian player, André Thierry will be playing at Nexus Gallery next Saturday, August 28 from 8:00 PM until Midnight--a Zydeco Party. There is an $8.00 cover charge. Nexus is at the corner of 8th and Carleton. Check out Thierry's Web site.

The City of Berkeley 1990 Creeks Map shows Potter Creek entering the proposed Berkeley Bowl lot in an underground culvert at the corner of 9th and Heinz and moving increasingly south-west under their lot--it then proceeds under Scharffen Berger.

On Thursday, August 11 a man attempted unsuccessfully to rob a 33-year-old woman in the area of Tenth and Grayson streets around 9 a.m. by pretending to have a weapon, according to police reports.

I've alway thought of Our Town as really diversified--check out Campus at noon or any Berkeley business district and you'll see many different kinds of people. But check out IKEA on a Saturday or Sunday and you'll see all different kinds of people.

END

"UC takes first steps into online education" by Lisa M. Krieger at mercurynews.com.

"Going online to get a college degree has been championed as a cost-effective way to educate the masses and challenged as a cheapening of academia. Now, the online classroom is coming to the vaunted UC system, making it the nation's first top-tier university to offer undergraduate credit for cyberstudies."

"Highly Evolved, We Act Like Slime Mold" by Nathan Myhrvold at bloomberg.com.

"As we lurch from one high-stakes political drama to another, it is natural to wonder why societies aren't better at avoiding self-inflicted crises. Here in the U.S. earlier this month, the government barely dodged default, even though economists reached consensus months ago on when the debt limit would need to be raised.

Meanwhile in Europe, one inadequate government response after another has all but assured that anxiety over the solvency of Greeceand the creditworthiness of Italy and Spain will continue to fester, roiling global markets and pushing the European Union to the brink of ruin.

Pundits have been referring to these spectacles as 'train wrecks,' as if they happen at high speed. Hardly. These trains are moving at inches an hour; for years, we've seen the potential accident ahead. So why do we end up with the tangled mess?"

"Latest in Web Tracking: Stealthy 'Supercookies'" Julia Angwin at wsj.com.

"Major websites such as MSN.com and Hulu.com have been tracking people's online activities using powerful new methods that are almost impossible for computer users to detect, new research shows."

8/19/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

"Leon Schipper, Physicist and Iconoclast, Dies at 64" at nytimes.com.

"Leon J. Schipper, a physicist whose passion for data led him to question the value of popular energy policies, like government subsidies for ethanol and for electric cars and the "cash for clunkers" program, died Tuesday in Berkeley, Calif. He was 64.

Lee Schipper

The cause was pancreatic cancer, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he had worked for more than 20 years.

Dr. Schipper, who was known as Lee, held a bachelor's degree in music and a Ph.D. in astrophysics, both from Berkeley, but he specialized in energy efficiency and transportation energy and was often a critic of the conventional wisdom."

I worked with Lee at Moe's. He was one of the first "record guys" and a passionate jazz and classical music lover. A friend to many jazz players of "The Day" and the founder of the American Wilhelm Furtwangler Society, he was always his own man. Though an endearing quality, it was one of the reasons he left when I became manager.

He was a mensch.

our Weatherford BMW rebuild

clearing the site

beginning the shop upgrade

at Weatherford

"Out of the ashes" by David Morrill, Contra Costa Times.

"In the world of comics, spinoffs are the norm.

In Berkeley, it's hit the real world, too, with two new comic bookstores opening this year. Both have ties to longtime fixture Comic Relief, which closed its doors on Valentine's Day.

Brothers Uel and Jeff Carter took over Comic Relief's space at 2026 Shattuck Ave. with comic book creator Erik Larsen and started Fantastic Comics in May.

About three miles away, at 3090 Claremont Ave., Jack Rems purchased the entire inventory of Comic Relief and opened The Escapist Comic Bookstore in March next door to his Dark Carnival Bookstore, which he also owns."

"Following Miranda July into 'The Future'" by Barry Caine, Oakland Tribune.

"You're Miranda July and you're on the run.

Seems like you've always been running.

You wrote your first play at 16, evolved into a performance artist, played in a rock band, made sculptures. In your early 30s, you wrote, directed and starred in your first movie, 2005's 'You Me 'nd Everyone We Know,' which won a slew of awards at Sundance -- where you also met your husband, 'Beginners" filmmaker Mike Mills, like you, a former Berkeley resident."

"Sending the Police Before There's a Crime" is a story about predictive policing in Santa Cruz by Erica Goode at nytimes.com.

"The arrests were routine. Two women were taken into custody after they were discovered peering into cars in a downtown parking garage in Santa Cruz, Calif. One woman was found to have outstanding warrants; the other was carrying illegal drugs.

Zach Friend, the department's crime analyst, said the hope was that the model helped police deploy resources more effectively.
But the presence of the police officers in the garage that Friday afternoon in July was anything but ordinary: They were directed to the parking structure by a computer program that had predicted that car burglaries were especially likely there that day."

END

8/20/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

Potter Creek's new Mint Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant's

website is here and their yelp page is here.

Birthday Party, 9th Street

circa 1940s

END

POSTS FROM THE PAST

a picasso record jacket

Bell Records American Society Concerts-in-the-Home AS1001 (c1959)

In the '50s Eleanore and Daniel Saidenberg owned The Saidenberg Gallery on East 77th Street in New York City, were trusted friends of Pablo Picasso, leading collectors of his work and in 1954 became his American representatives. In 1955 they held the exhibit A Selection of 55 Drawings by Pablo Picasso. In 1959 Daniel's The Saidenberg Little Orchestra made the recordings sleeved in jackets of prints of these drawings.

A description of this series of records can be found on Journal of Recorded Music5

END

"Americans Facing More Inequality, More Debt and Now More Trouble?" at pbsnews.org.

"Did America's record-high level of economic inequality in 2007 help cause the financial crisis of 2008? With Americans' borrowing back on the rise and signs that economic inequality is growing, could there be another financial crisis in the near f

8/21/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

Yesterday's Fourth Street Apple Store opening early-on had a line three abreast, blocks long, waiting to get in. Later, there were about 200 people in store most of the time reported Don Yost.

Harvey, our ex-mailman dropped by for a visit and dropped off some peaches fresh from his cousin's valley farm--they're all eaten now.

Bob Kubik dropped off fresh picked tomatoes and green beans, a surplus from his neighbor MIke. They're also all eaten now.

"Caltopia IX to Draw Thousands Today" at nbcbayarea.com.

"An estimated 30,000 students and supporters of the University of California at Berkeley are expected to attend Caltopia IX, one of the nation's largest experiential college lifestyle festivals, starting this morning.

More than 100 local and national sponsors and exhibitors will offer free services, products or programs at the two-day festival that is taking place at the UC-Berkeley Recreational Sports Facility. Among this year's exhibitors are the American Institute for Foreign Study, BART, Contiki Vacations, Groove Yoga, Peace Corps, Skull Candy, Slurpee, T-Mobile and Wells."

The times they are a changin'.

"24-yr-old Indian origin man eyes US House seat" by Chidanand Rajghatta, Tmes of India.

"Sachin Pilot was 27 and Milind Deora and Agatha Sangma were 28 when they were elected to the Lok Sabha. Lakshadweep's Mohd Sayeed trumped them all by making it at 26.

In a demographically green nation infamous for its geriatric leadership, where Madhavrao Scindia and P Chidambaram were considered 'youthful leaders' even after becoming grandpas, 'Young Turks' are considered exceptions. But the fact is it is easier to make the cut in the LS than in the House of Representatives, both of which have 25 as the qualifying age.

Dynastic succession and political pedigree give a leg-up to MP aspirants in India, while financial heft and constituency manipulation give aging incumbents an advantage in the US House, where the youngest member is Aaron Schlock, 30.

Typically, 90% of US lawmakers are re-elected term after term. A young Indian-American is now challenging established norms in an audacious bid to win a seat in the US House of Representatives.Ranjit Gill, a law student at the University of California in Berkeley is just 24 (he'd have crossed the qualifying age by election day), but he's drummed up a war chest of nearly $500,000, the third-highest in the country for a Republican challenger, forcing the party leadership and political pundits to take notice."

Aw jeez, Ms May does it again with "Judo master makes 10th degree black belt" at sfgate.com.

sfgate photo

"Sensei Keiko Fukuda of San Francisco became the first woman to be promoted to judo's highest level: 10th degree black belt.
Only three people in the world, all men living in Japan, have ever reached that mark."

END

POST FROM THE PAST

1/8/03

Harvey my Mailman loves to fish: Here he is catching a rainbow trout in Lake Chabot. Netting the trout is Harv's fishing buddy, Myland Fong, and the young girl with crossed fingers is Maya Wong. The photo was taken by her Dad.

Harvey my Mailman and his friends

END

8/22/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

"Oscar's founder, Robert Malin passes" contracostatimes.com.

"Robert Malin Resident of Walnut Creek Robert Oscar Malin peacefully passed away on August 13, 2011, at the age of 89. Born on October 28, 1921 in Salt Lake City, Utah, he attended school and graduated from East High School, where he lettered in Football and Basketball. He attended the University of Utah for 2 years before enlisting in theArmy Air Corp. Bob served as a First Lieutenant and Co-Pilot flying 13 B-17 Bomber missions over France and Germany."

The original Oscar's was across from campus on Bancroft. The surviving one is on Shattuck and Hearst.

Here's Oscar's yelp.

(Excerpt)

"Surly employees, yummy food, plastic chairs. I know it's grungy and no frills, but there is something so appealing about Oscar's. Maybe it's the perverse proximity to places like Chez Pannise.

Anways, . . . "

"Contemporary classical: a primer" by Anne Midgette, washingtonpost.com

" 'I'm writing to ask for advice," the e-mail began. 'I want to know more about contemporary music. Where should I start?'

I get letters like this every few months, and I am often puzzled about how to answer. Gone are the days when there was a fixed canon of 'good' composers (or, worse, 'approved' ones), and a critic told you what you were supposed to like. Today, musical taste has blown wide open. If you love music, chances are that you like lots of different things: Ornette Coleman and Bruce Springsteen and Dmitri Shostakovich and Sufjan Stevens. If you're a longtime orchestra subscriber, you may be passionate about Brahms but leery of the unfamiliar names and sounds that occasionally emerge onto concert programs. And chances are, whatever you like, you are equally passionate about what you don't like - even more passionate, in fact, to judge from some of the rest of my mail.

So here, O fictive reader, are answers to some of the questions that, over the years, I've heard you ask. These answers are the equivalent of a one-day tour of a major metropolis, pointing out a few highlights to give you a general sense of the landscape of living composers, hoping that you'll return to visit, in depth, whatever grabs your interest."

Video: The Washington Post's classical music critic, Anne Midgette, discusses three contemporary classical music selections that are a good place to start for those wanting to know more about the genre.

END

"Anna Hazare inspires young, middle-class awakening in India" by Simon Denyer and Rama Lakshmi at washingtonpost.com.

"As he waited in the rain for India's veteran anti-corruption crusader to emerge from jail, call-center employee Amit Bhardwaj was still troubled by the bribe he was forced to pay three months ago to get a birth certificate for his firstborn son."

8/23/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

Another friend passes, Harold Lawrence

Stokowski and Harold Lawrence

more photos

Mostly Mary Morris 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

stories about and by him

Journal of Recorded Music 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

"Dear Mr. Penndorf,
Harold Lawrence died peacefully last night. I am the Lawrence's God-daughter and am working on drafting an obituary worthy of this great man. I've enjoyed reading your website over the years, including many excellent articles by Harold himself. If you feel there is any critical information I should include in the obituary or considerations for a memorial service, I'd appreciate your insights, as you understood that particular aspect of his life so well.
Best,
Libby Schaaf"

Harold was an icon of classical music . . . and a friend

"Wall Street Aristocracy Got $1.2T in Secret Loans" bloomberg.com.

"Citigroup Inc. (C) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC) were the reigning champions of finance in 2006 as home prices peaked, leading the 10 biggest U.S. banks and brokerage firms to their best year ever with $104 billion of profits.

By 2008, the housing market's collapse forced those companies to take more than six times as much, $669 billion, in emergency loans from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The loans dwarfed the $160 billion in public bailouts the top 10 got from the U.S. Treasury, yet until now the full amounts have remained secret.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's unprecedented effort to keep the economy from plunging into depression included lending banks and other companies as much as $1.2 trillion of public money, about the same amount U.S. homeowners currently owe on 6.5 million delinquent and foreclosed mortgages. The largest borrower, Morgan Stanley (MS), got as much as $107.3 billion, while Citigroup took $99.5 billion and Bank of America $91.4 billion, according to a Bloomberg News compilation of data obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, months of litigation and an act of Congress. "

link courtesy Bob Kubik

"City unemployment experiences increase" Stephanie Baer, dailycal.org.

"The city of Berkeley's unemployment rate increased to 10.5 percent in July, a 0.2 increase from the June rate, according to preliminary figures released Friday by the California Employment Development Department."

"Andronico's Markets Negotiating with Investor Group" at eon.businesswire.com. "One of the Bay Area's best known family-owned specialty supermarkets today announced it is in discussions with a private investor group to preserve jobs for 400 employees and to ensure its historic markets continue to serve future generations of shoppers. . . .

Founded by Greek immigrant Frank Andronico in 1929, the family began with a vision of providing the best quality products with the excellent customer service of a neighborhood grocer. In fact, Andronico even let his neighborhood customers name the store 'Park and Shop"' which remained as the name of the markets until 1986.

Today, the Andronico's name is synonymous with freshness, extensive and unique product offerings, and friendly, helpful customer service. Its continued innovations with specialty products and presentation have made the markets stand out in a highly competitive business. "

Friends with the Victors, Andronico hired John Victor for one of his first jobs.

END

8/25/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

Grayson down from 900

is sprucing up

For all the national angst, there's only a little "doom and gloom" here in Potter Creek . . . and west-Berkeley.

For, just a few week ago the tea room Far Leaves Tea opened at 2626 San Pablo, followed last week by mintleaf, a new Vietnamese restaurant on 7th and Heinz. Just down 7th from mintleaf is Warham's new QB3 and their new 2929 7th Street small-start-up facility. And behind mintleaf is the "mysterious research facility." Our Westside continues to do dinner with a full bar and has a Happy Hour.

Happily 900 Grayson's volume steadily increases with the same good service, prices and menu--a week ago they had their best Saturday ever.

On 9th just north of the West Berkeley Bowl is a soon-to-be-available 8000 foot office facility with more than ample parking--Kava now has a new and newly remodeled office on 8th and Grayson. Another Potter Creek architect, Andrew Fischer has just moved into a new and large office in the Heinz Building. And on 9th just south of the new large office facility, Gene Agress is installing the final array of solar panels on his roof--he believes these will make his home energy self-sufficient.

Weatherford BMW is in the midst of a major up grade and close-by, Wareham is taking over a 32,000 square foot warehouse building. Both French School campuses are being upgraded and "Roda Building" on 8th and Parker has just been repainted.

Oh yah, . . . and a new Apple Store has just opened on Fourth Street.

"Berkeley [High] grad rates compare well to rest of state," Contra Costa Times.

"Berkeley High School has more students graduating and fewer dropping out compared with schools statewide and in Alameda County, recent data from the state Department of Education show."

"Fall classes begin this week at UC Berkeley" berkeley.edu.

"The 2011-12 academic year begins this week at the University of California, Berkeley, with what promises to be a record number of freshmen, financial aid for some 70 percent of undergraduates, more lower-division and foreign language courses, the opening of a law school addition, and the Cal Bears football team playing home games at AT&T Park while Memorial Stadium is under renovation."

"East Bay papers to consolidate, cut 8% of staff,"Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"Starting Nov. 2, the Contra Costa Times will be rebranded as The Times and the Oakland Tribune will appear under the name East Bay Tribune. The moves will mean the end of the 137-year-old Oakland Tribune name.

As newspapers nationwide struggle to evolve viable business models, Bay Area News Group said Tuesday it will consolidate 11 local newspapers in the East Bay into two regional newspapers and lay off 8 percent of the staff. "

"Bill separates protesters from military funerals" at mercurynews.com.

"Families of slain military personnel are one step closer to gaining a measure of privacy during funeral services after a bill designed to keep protesters away was passed overwhelmingly Monday by the state Senate.

SB888 by Democratic Sen. Ted Lieu of Torrance was approved 36-1 after unanimously passing the Assembly last week.

The legislation makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail or a fine of up to $1,000, to stage a protest within 1,000 feet of a funeral for one hour before or after the ceremony. It passed 36-1 in the Senate and now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown.

Democratic Sen. Loni Hancock of Berkeley opposed the measure, saying it brought up constitutional issues concerning free speech. "

END

"Robots and the end of war as we know it" Dominic Basul, washingtonpost.com.

"Rapid advances in robotics technology, combined with the need for innovative new technologies to combat insurgents on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, are turning robots and unmanned drones into the next hot area of military innovation. The most sophisticated of the new military bots weigh less than five pounds. Then there are others thatcan fit into your pocket, and be connected via a mesh network. That network gives them the ability to coordinate activities, such as detonating improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or scouting out locations, in real-time as part of a robot swarm."

"UC Berkeley robotics expert named among world's top young innovators" by Sarah Yang, Media Relations, berkeley.ed.

"Pieter Abbeel, a University of California, Berkeley, professor known for his novel work in the field of machine learning in robotics including robots that can fold laundry has been named to a prestigious list of 35 of the world's top young innovators by Technology Review magazine."

8/26/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

our Councilman Darryl Moore emails (excerpts)

Community Meeting to introduce our new BPD Area 4 Coordinator and to discuss the PG&E pipeline in Berkeley

September 13th, 2011, 6pm - 8pm, Rosa Parks Elementary Multipurpose Room, 920 Allston Way

You may have recently received a notice in the mail from PG&E notifying you that you live within 2000 ft of a PG&E natural gas pipeline. You may have questions or concerns regarding the pipeline and the City's ability to respond in the event of a pipeline failure. We are holding a community meeting to address some of these issues and have invited a representative from PG&E, the Fire Chief and City Manager to discuss safety precautions, the City's disaster response capabilities, and any other questions or concerns that residents might have.

At our community meeting, we will also be introducing our new Area 4 Coordinator for the Berkeley Police Department, Officer Cesar Melero. Officer Melero was selected by the Berkeley Police command staff to replace Officer Karen Buckheit who has completed her 3 plus years in the Community Services Bureau and rotated back to patrol. It has been a real pleasure working with Officer Buckheit for the past few years, but Officer Melero has alot to bring to the position of Area 4 Coordinator as well.

Officer Melero is a 15 year veteran of the Berkeley Police Department. He has extensive experience working patrol in west Berkeley. During his tenure with BPD he has held positions in the Special Enforcement Unit, the Investigations Division and is both a Field Training Officer and a member of the SWAT Team. Additionally Officer Melero is a fluent Spanish speaker. Officer Melero is very excited about this new opportunity to assist the Department and the City with problem solving on a larger scale. He brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the job.

Community Open House for the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA)

Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 5:30 to 7:30 P.M. , BAM/PFA - 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley

Diller Scofidio Renfro, the award-winning firm to design the new Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA)
The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) is working with world-renowned architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro on a design for our future home in downtown Berkeley. BAM/PFA Director Lawrence Rinder cordially invites you to review our progress and hear Charles Renfro discuss the plan.

Light refreshments will be served.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Lifelong Medical West Berkeley Family Practice expansion project, October 20th, 2011, 5pm - 7pm, West Berkeley Family Practice

At LifeLong, we're embarking on an urgent project to enlarge and modernize our West Berkeley Family Practice, which serves the health care needs of a growing underserved population in West Berkeley. Increasing the capacity of West Berkeley Family Practice will provide access to high-quality primary care for current and future patients, including newly insured patients (in 2014) under health care reform. Clinic capacity will increase from 7,000 to 10,300 patients, in 47,000 visits annually. This upgrade, which is a $13.2 million project, is critically needed. With everyone's help, we can make this a reality.

The goals of this project are to:
Increase clinic capacity to provide high-quality care for current and new patients.
Better serve our clients by improving efficiency.
Create work areas designed for family-focused health care.
Promote a collaborative, person centered approach to physical and mental health that leads to positive outcomes and improved quality of life.
Preserve the historic elements of the landmark 1927 building.
Increase energy efficiency and reduce negative environmental impact.

West Berkeley Family Practice

full email here

"Ah ma gosh Ms Loni"

"Senator to Amazon: Drop dead" Wyatt Buchanan, sfgate.com.

"Well, here's a bit of a bombshell.

Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, just told us that she will make a move today to completely undercut Amazon's referendum effort on the Internet sales tax."

"New online sales tax bill could negate referendum" is an AP report.

"Calif. death penalty bill stalls until next year" is an AP report.

"A legislative committee on Thursday shelved a bill that would have asked voters to close California's death row and replace capital punishment with life prison terms.

State Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, said she agreed to turn her SB490 into a two-year bill when she realized she didn't have the nine votes she needed to get her bill out of the 17-member Assembly Appropriations Committee to a vote by the full Assembly.

'This is going to be a process. This is a tough vote for a lot of people,' Hancock said in a telephone interview. 'The issue is not going away. There have been people across the state who are rallying to support it.' "

"More UC Berkeley classes, thanks to big reserve" Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"Classes Begin with Tighter Belts at UC Berkeley " at berkeleypatch.com.

"US dominates Chinese university rankings" google.com.

"US colleges dominated a 2011 ranking of world universities issued by Shanghai's Jiaotong University on Sunday, with Harvard topping the influential list for a ninth year.

American institutions took 17 of the top 20 places on a list issued since 2003 and heavily focused on scientific research, but subject to criticism in Europe where officials say the criteria are biased against European schools.

Stanford University retook the second-place slot from the University of California, Berkeley, which fell to fourth place behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)."

"'Candida' at California Shakespeare Theater" Robert Hurwitt, Chronicle Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle.

"The laughter rolls freely through the Berkeley hills as the suspense builds incrementally from each of the three acts to the next.

Yes, suspense. Though candor about love and marriage is the essence of George Bernard Shaw's great comedy, a large part of the triumph of Jonathan Moscone's staging of "Candida" is the immediacy he and his cast bring to it. Will Candida have to choose between her smug, progressive minister husband and her adoring young poet? Which will it be?

Even if you know "Candida" well - and the remarkably timely 1895 comedy of marital manners has long been one of Shaw's most popular - it's impossible not to feel involved in the characters' fate in the production that opened Saturday at California Shakespeare Theater."

Tyne Daly plays Maria Callas in the the Terance McNally play Master Class

Tyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey and as Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy. She is also known for her role as Alice Henderson in television series Christy. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, and the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical in Gypsy: A Musical Fable in 1989.

She and McNally are guests of Charlie Rose, here.

Not only is she a fine actor but here is revealed as a perceptive and particularly literate woman.

END

POST FROM THE PAST

recording the Mercury Cherubini Medea with Callas

Erik Smith, Harold Lawrence, Maria Callas, and Giuseppe di Stefano

END

8/27/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

our Cameron Woo emails

Great neighborhood food special

Ron,

We recently discovered a great deal from Zut!, the restaurant on 4th St. - they are calling Thursdays "Neighborhood Night" and offering $10 pizzas and $3 pints - their pizzas are excellent with fresh, inventive toppings. Haven't tried their $20 "Family-Style" prix fix meals on Tuesdays, but they look promising.

"Suit doesn't stain; won't wrinkle. Honest:Water-resistant Naked Suits fit work-play image" by Nellie Bowles, San Francisco Chronicle in the Nova Scotia Chroniicle Herald.

"In his tightly tailored wool suit on a sunny summer afternoon in Berkeley, Ming Chang looks like any other upwardly mobile young professional.

That is, until he grabs a glass of water and, before anyone can stop him, pours it all over himself.

The water beads and rolls off. The suit looks untouched, completely dry."

our Viva Barrows emails

Graze is so close to meeting its goal of $15,000! It only has three days left on Kickstarter and only $1,000 to go so please don't delay in making a donation any longer and consider making another if you have already! And thank you to all of you who have gotten it to this point. I am forever grateful!

with much excitement,
Viva

Da Silva, one of the two Potter Creek ukulele makers is moving to Hawaii in the next few months. The other, Pete Hurney is doing well here, working hard to keep up with increasing orders.

During their remodel and expansion, Weatherford BMW is leasing the 32,000 sq ft building just north of them on Potter for some of their operation. This building was recently purchased by Wareham.

And in the near future the city is going to resurface and expand Potter Street, from 7th west to its end.

"Panasonic Supports Solar Vehicle Teams From Berkeley and Stanford With Lithium Ion Batteries for 2011 World Solar Challenge" is a story release at marketwatch.com.

"Will California Super-Amazon Tax Bill Thwart Voters?" asks and answers forbes.com.

"If you thought the Amazon tax debate was hot already, get ready for an even hotter one. As I noted here, the Amazonian response to tax is a grassroots take-it-to-the-voters campaign. What's California's counterpunch? A bill in California's legislature would trump the referendum vote and make the tax stick no matter what the voters say!

In the limelight is California Senator Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, who added the tax-trumps-vote provision. Hancock's measure would actually repeal the original Amazon tax in favor of a new super-tax-bill that would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. That supermajority would mean that no referendum could undo it. And that would be, well, like clear-cutting the Amazon. "

Patrick Kennedy called yesterday and we talked for an hour or so during which I explained that I'd grown up in the prospering and democratic-socialist city, Milwaukee Wisconsin and he explained capitalism's superiority. We had a frank and friendly exchange. He's still my favorite Irish builder.

END

POST FROM THE PAST

6/22/03

Last month, Pete Hurney took a 5 week trip through the USA and Canada

Nash Metropolitan is one of the many photos he took

END

"Brightest Supernova Seen in Generations Spotted by Scientists" by Ivana Kvesic, Christian Post Contributor.

"Scientists have spotted a new supernova which has grabbed widespread attention among the astronomical community.

The supernova, which was discovered by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, is garnering much attention due to its proximity and because scientists are arguing that it is the youngest supernova ever detected."

8/28/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

Potter Creek's "John Phillips: Bringing Harpsichords Back to Life" by Jonathan Rhodes Lee at sfcv.org.

the rosette

on a John Phillips harpsichord

"To chat with John Phillips about harpsichords is to tap into two histories at the same time - one local, recent, and personal; the other a rich, old, international tradition. This duality is inherent in the place where Phillips spends most of his days: a state-of-the art harpsichord workshop on Grayson Street in Berkeley. There, you are likely to find an instrument that has been playable for 350 years standing next to one that has been operational for less than 350 hours. And the longer you sit there, the more likely it is that some early music luminary who has known Phillips for the last three decades will wander through the door. I recently had the opportunity to talk with Phillips about his career, the history of harpsichord making in the Bay Area, and Phillips' latest projects. To say that he floats on a stream of historical consciousness is something of an understatement."

Another of Potter Creek's architects was the architect-of-record for the construction of the BFD warehouse building just south of Ashby and Morgan is invovled in a residential remodel just off San Pablo.

9th Street residents

circa 1940s

Concorso D'Eleganza Villa D'Este 2011
Historic Motorcycles

1934 Ardie RBK

503 Meran

Note the "Best of Show " is an unrestored 1910 Pierce Four. Definitely check it out!

Unusual, though more and more, the trend among motorcycle collectors is to value authenticity above "over-restored better-than-new."

And, definitely check out the autos!

END

POST FROM THE PAST

4/1/04

I wrote this some time ago about a favorite LP set of the J.S. Bach Well Tempered Clavier--it is played by Ralph Kirkpatrick on the clavichord. The set was released in 1963 as Archive 198311/12. Originally, I thought only neighbor, harpsichord builder, and train lover, John Philips might enjoy it. But after almost no thought what-so-ever, I concluded that many would. "In the great American folk art model railroading, the locomotive that runs the most slowly and quietly is the one that is the most sought after. The severe test of locomotive performance is just how slowly and quietly it can move, for slow and quiet running are thought of as qualities of excellence. Running a noisy engine around the track at breakneck speed is thought of as child's play. The mature model railroader spends much time and effort making his favorite locomotive creep along silently. The mechanically minded may even disassemble and fine tune the locomotive, and upon successful re-assembly and test running, boast that their engine runs so slowly that its movement cannot be seen. The like test for stereo equipment is to play quiet music, and value the hardware that renders it most accurately. These records of the Well-Tempered Clavier are of music, a performance, and a recording that lend themselves to such a test: a test of quiet excellence. This set of records sold well in the Berkeley of the 1960s, a time and place of some sensitivity. When I worked at Campus Records, I would often hear of their otherworldly beauty from those who apparently had spent all night listening to them. However, on casual listening in the shop they seemed boring; its playing there did not convince. But time has revealed these records to be music of subtle color and soft richness, and of a performance and recording of quiet excellence. The recording, above all, beautifully captures the clavichord's quiet rainbow hue and bell-like tone. The performance too is beautiful."

END

"Food Truck Mafia muscling into gourmet customer base" by Robert Jordan, Contra Costa Times.

"Some Bay Area chambers of commerce are getting an edible economic boost from the mafia.

A family of gourmet food trucks, known as the Food Truck Mafia, rolled into Fremont, Newark, Pleasanton and Union City this summer, giving East Bay foodies an eclectic weekly fix of cuisines and providing much-needed cash for the local chambers of commerce."

"Amazon Spends Millions to Fight Internet Sales Tax" Aaron Glantz, nytimes.com.

"When it comes to avoiding the requirement of collecting sales tax from its consumers, Amazon is not afraid to open its wallet.

A nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization providing local coverage of the San Francisco Bay Area for The New York Times. To join the conversation about this article, go to baycitizen.org.

More than nine months before a proposed June 2012 referendum asking that California's new Internet sales tax law be overturned, Amazon, the Seattle-based online retailer, has already spent $5.25 million, state records show, more than any company has spent in California this far from a vote in at least a decade.

'The initiative and referendum process have been hijacked,' said Loni Hancock, a state senator from Berkeley, who wrote the law Amazon is trying to overturn and who is now pushing legislation that could block Amazon's referendum effort.

Even by California's expensive campaign standards, the company's early contributions are causing observers to take note."

8/29/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

One of the cars at the Concorso D'Eleganza Villa D'Este 2011 was restored by a west-Berkeley firm--it is the fifth car down the page. The 1953 Siata 208 S Motto Spider was restored by a world-famous shop in northwest-Berkeley. Our Berkeley shop owner says that in the Concorso D'Eleganza it came in second in its class. The website gives it "Mention of Honor" and further comments, "Another car, using the V8-2.0-liter engine from the Fiat 8V. Only 35 of the Motto-bodied Spider were built, and most of them were delivered to owners in the USA." Before the concorso it ran the Mille Miglia.

Another shop restoration, the 1955 Siata 208S Motto Spyder, appeared at Pebble Beach and a third, a red spyder entered in auction at Pebble, broke all Siata auction records at USD 1.6 million.

"Edible Education 101 promises a critical look at the food movement" at oaklandlocal.com.

People's Grocery Executive Director Nikki Henderson

"Tickets for the first Edible Education 101 lecture were snatched up in minutes.

The free tickets, available through TicketWeb, will grant nearly 300 non-students admission to the Aug. 30 lecture held in University of California, Berkeley's, sprawling Wheeler Auditorium.

There will be 400 Cal students sharing space in the class with the general public ticket holders and members of the press.

But don't worry ... the community still has the opportunity to attend future classes, which are held every Tuesday evening.
The 13-week course, subtitled 'The Rise and Future of the Food Movement,' was organized and funded by the Chez Panisse Foundation. Oakland's People's Grocery Executive Director Nikki Henderson is co-teaching with UC Berkeley Journalism professor and 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' author, Michael Pollan.

According to Henderson, the class will cover topics of crucial importance to the food movement."

Worthy of viewing for the joyous music alone, Lesley Stahl's 60 Minutes production "Gospel for Teens" is more special for it's enthusiasm and its humanity. It is inspiring.

"Lesley Stahl spends a year following the inspirational leader of a gospel music program for teenagers in Harlem and her students as they learn to sing this original American art form and build the confidence and character it inspires."

Episode 1 video is here and Episode 2 video is here.

END

" 'The Social Atom: Why the Rich Get Richer, Cheaters Get Caught, and Your Neighbor Usually Looks Like You by Mark Buchanan' "reviewed by David Hales, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands.

"The first chapter of the book states:
"This book is about wealth, power and politics, class hatred, and racial segregation. It is about fads, fashions, and riots, spontaneous outbreaks of goodwill and trust within communities, and moods of dejection or buoyancy that sweep over financial markets. Mostly, it is about social surprises -- events and changes that arise up out of nowhere to alter out lives -- and why we seem so inept at perceiving their causes." [p. 20]

The book comprises about 250 pages structured into nine concise chapters, a comprehensive index and around 20 pages of notes which expand on the main text and give relevant references and pointers. It is written in an easy to read non-academic style and assumes no prior knowledge of either physics or social science.

The basic idea of the book is that to understand social phenomena one needs to consider the patterns of interaction rather than the atoms (individuals) themselves. It is argued that complex social outcomes can result from potentially simple rules of behaviour practised by individuals. The emphasis is on modelling agents as simple adaptive learners, imitators, heuristic followers and then observing the social patterns that emerge.

The basic claim in the book is that through the construction of simple models we can understand deep truths about social phenomena in general. The argument is that it has worked in physics so why not here? The idea is that good models often throw out lots of details that are not important to the fundamental process of interest and that through such abstraction one can find great generality. On the other hand, the book is careful to state that models need to be informed by reality. General empirical findings must be taken into account. Simplicity and abstraction does not mean empirical reality takes a back seat."

link courtesy Bob Kubik.

8/31/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

BPD, PIO, Sgt Mary Kusmiss emails

Property Crime Down 16% in the First Six Months of 2011!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 The City of Berkeley Police Department
(BPD) Crime Analysis and Records Units have completed work on crime statistics for the
first six (6) months of 2011.

Based on preliminary FBI Uniform Crime Statistics (UCR), for the first six months of
2011, Part One Violent Crime in Berkeley declined by 4% while Part One Property Crime
declined by 16%. Part One Crime includes Homicide, Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault,
Burglary, Theft, Auto Theft and Arson. Based on preliminary data for 2010 and the first
few months of 2011, decreases in Part One Property Crime appear to be ahead of both
state and national trends.

Sgt. Kusmiss S6
Public Information
Officer (PIO)
(510) 981-5780

"No Detail Too Small for Apple Stores" by Margaret Rock, mobiledia.com.

'A new Apple store in California demonstrates the painstakingly careful design of the iPhone maker's retail outlets, in another example of the company's dedication to detail.

Apple's designers for the Berkeley, Calif.-based store ensured that both outward-facing glass panes and the edges of the sidewalk were lined up with the floor tiles laid inside the store -- ensuring a symmetrical design that is in perfect alignment, according to a report from ifoAppleStore."

"California's fight over direct democracy" latimes.com.

"Reformers argue that corporations and political bosses have co-opted the process for their own purposes. Opponents say initiative reform is a bid by Democrats and their union allies to put Sacramento back in charge."

"Initiative could replace death penalty with life in prison without parole" by Sarah Burns, dailycal.org.

"A coalition of law enforcement personnel, crime victim advocates and exonerated ex-criminals announced a ballot initiative Friday that would replace the California death penalty with life in prison without parole.

After the death penalty bill proposed by State Senator Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, was withdrawn Thursday because it did not have enough support in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations to move forward, supporters of the SAFE California Act are trying to put it on the November 2012 popular ballot."

"UC schools dominate list of universities that contribute to the public good" Mark Lacter, laobserved.

"It's encouraging to see so many California universities judged by Washington Monthly to be good not just for students, but society at large. UC San Diego is in the top spot, followed by UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford, and UC Riverside. The magazine explains how it assembled its list."

Charlie Rosetalks with Zhang Xin, this woman's one SMART cookie.

"Zhang Xin, CEO of SOHO China, the largest real estate developer in Beijing."

END

POST FROM THE PAST

9/1/09

"Hancock and Bates -- political marriage" by Dave Newhouse, Oakland Tribune columnist.

"What do the mayor of Berkeley and the state senator from California's 9th District have in common? Well, besides being married to each other, Tom Bates and Loni Hancock have walked the same paths politically, nearly tripping over each other."

END

from my log

8/17/11--10:22 PM irritant in warehouse front and front of warehousea, burning dry air.

8/18/11--Off-and-on all AM irritant in front room, wear respirator. 12:16 PM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, stinging dry air, watery eyes, like "too much chlorine in the pool," nausea, light head, leave, strongest and longest lasting irritant in recent memory.

8/19/11--8:49 AM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, stinging dry air, watery eyes, nausea, light head, leave. 3:28 PM--similar. 3:57 PM--similar.

8/20/11==12:11 PM--irritant IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, dry air, "asbestos odor""chlorine odor" mucus membrane irritation, Marsha similar. Odor VERY STRONG IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse north-corner. 12:30 PM--light head, nausea, cough attack, Marsha, dry mouth, cough. 4:03 PM-- irritant in front room, dry air, watery eyes. 4:15 PM--light head, nausea, leave. 8:23 PM--- SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, usual symptoms.

8/21/11--1:46 AM--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, usual symptoms. 9:00 AM--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, dry dirty air, usual symptoms. 4:04 PM--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, dry dirty air, usual symptoms. ~5:11 PM similar, MORE SERIOUS symptoms.

8/22/11--2:18 PM irritant in front room, dirty dry air, mucus membrane irritation, light head. 3:37 PM-- irritant in front room "asbestos odor" could be over loaded catalytic converter, dirty dry air, mucus membrane irritation, light head.

8/24/11==5:46 PM--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, usual symptoms.7:41 PM--irritant in front room, stinging dry air.

8/26/11--6:04 AM--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, dry dirty air, light head, head ache, nausea, Marsha headache, dizzy. Similar off-and-on all AM and 8/25/11 late PM, usual symptoms. 8:33 AM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, light head, nausea. 3:43 PM--irritant irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, dry dirty air, "asbestos" odor. 8:56 PM--VERY SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, dry dirty air, light head, head ache, nausea, Marsha headache, dizzy. 9:08 PM--Similar, burning eyes, burning chest, LEAVE.

8/27/11--11:02--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, dry dirty air, light head, head ache. Marsha headache, dizzy. Off-and-on all afternoon, usual symptoms, Marsha, headache, dizzy, has to stop pruning vine after losing balance on ladder.

8/28/11--7:01 AM--irritant in front of warehouse and warehouse front, dry dirty air. 7:36 AM--VERY SERIOUS irritant in front of warehouse and warehouse front, dry dirty air, nausea, light head, wear respirator. 3:06 PM--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front, "asbestos" odor, SERIOUS mucus membrane irritation, Marsha same, LEAVE. 3:41 PM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, drty dry air, "asbestos" odor.

8/29/11-- 12:27 PM--irritant in front room, sry dirty air, "asbestos" odor. 2:13 PM---irritant in front room, sry dirty air, "asbestos" odor. 5:27 PM--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, dry dirty air, mucus membrane irritation.

8/30/11--5:02 PM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, dirty dry air, "asbestos" odor, severe nausea. 5:28 PM-burning dry air In front room, mucus membrane irritation, severe nausea, overrides four HEPA filters and respirator, 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 Area Coordinator, Cesar Melero, Berkeley PD - 981-5774, CMelero@ci.berkeley.ca.us.

AND check out BPD feature "Who are these Suspects."

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.