Weatherford construction

excavation for the new building

 

9/20/11

Brian Walker of Bryn Walker Clothing is in contract for purchase of the Siemons building, 5th and Bancroft.

The 18,000 square foot building is at 742 Bancroft.

 

Sgt Mary Kusmiss Berkeley PD, PIO emails

Second Year of Play Academy Grant Support Keeps it Alive.

Members of the City of Berkeley Police
Department (BPD), the University of California Police Department (UCPD) and the
Berkeley Boosters/Police Activities League (PAL) are pleased to announce that the PLAY
Academy was awarded a second grant in the amount of $20,000 for a second year.

The Police and Life Academy for Youth (PLAY) program got its start in September 2010
with the support of the University of California, Berkeley Chancellor's Partnership Fund
Grant in the amount of $25,000. The fund provides grants to community service
programs that enhance the economic, social or cultural well being of City of Berkeley
community members. PLAY is a partnership between the University of California Police
Department (UCPD), the City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD), the Berkeley
Boosters /Police Activities League and the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD).
PLAY connects law enforcement agencies with teenagers from the school district. The
fall session will begin on Wednesday evening, September 21, 2011. . . .

BPD Chief Michael K. Meehan says, "We are tremendously grateful for this grant without
which this valuable program would not be possible. It was very rewarding to be involved
in the first year of PLAY and experience the pride that these young people exuded
during the graduations. The importance of connecting with youth to contribute to their
success should never be underestimated."

 

 

My favorite BPD grant story is the officer who took it upon himself to learn how to get grants and then went and got over $400,000 for equipment. All of which is now in the city's possession.

Also, I like that many city union's members voted not to take raises this year.

 

And, Thursday, September 22nd from 5:30 to 7:30 pm our Councilman Kriss Worthington will receive the John George Club's Public Policy Leadersship award at the Washington Inn, Oakland.

 

 

 

 

On September 24-25 at the Berkeley showroom they're holding a "French Treat"-- a special feature of Food and Wine Posters. 

Click here for more information

END

 

 

 

 

 

POST FROM THE PAST

9/4/03

Geoff, fellow record and motorcycle collector, is a regular visitor to Potter Creek,

sometimes on his limited edition Ducati

 

END

 

 

 

 

 

 

9/21/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

"Tata Air Car Powered Entirely by Compressed Air. Blow Me Down!" at the Australian themotorreport.com.

"Tata Motors, once derided as the company with a name that sounds like it ought to be spread on a Fillet-o-Fish, has been making some serious forward movement in the past year or two.

Now, hot on the heels of its recent acquisition of Land Rover and Jaguar, and news of the impending assault on the European market with the Tata Nano, the Indian company is set to release a car powered entirely by air. But is it all hot air? (You see what I did there.)

Turns out it's very much a legitimate prospect. Sure, it looks bloody ordinary, but let's look beyond the styling for the moment. The MiniCAT (Compressed Air Technology), invented by French madman and ex-F1 engineer Guy Negre and his company Motor Development International (MDI), is a lightweight fibreglass urban car built around a tubular chassis which is glued together rather than welded. More importantly than that, and as you've no doubt gathered, it's powered entirely by compressed air."

 

An older report "Air Car by Guy Negre on The Science Channel" can be viewed on youtube.

 

Pete Hurney says "Think of it as a steam engine."

 

One of Wareham's new tenants is involved in the "new compressed air/energy technology."

 

END

 

 

POST FROM THE PAST

4/18/11

Mr. Peanut's New Planters Nutmobile

"As part of our sustainability journey, Planters is embarking on the 2011 'Naturally Remarkable' tour, encouraging Americans to grow stronger communities through service and conservation. The tour inspires people to become planters by volunteering with The Corps Network, the nation's service and conservation corps. As part of the tour, Mr. Peanut's new Planters Nutmobile, fueled by biodiesel and powered with solar energy, will travel to over 16 cities across the U.S. "

END

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9/22/11

The San Francisco Symphony is celebrating its 100th Birthday.

Scrambled Eggs and its parent Recollections Journal of Recorded Music have been celebrating our symphony and Maître for years.

Pierre Monteux, Maître

 

The Monteux Era by Thomas Simone

Honorary Fire Chief

Hancock Maine VFA

The Monteux School was, and is, in Hancock, his wife's hometown.

 

Monteux's San Fransico Years by Ronald Penndorf

 

 

 

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

"Zaika Opens Sleek, Stylish Eatery in Berkeley" Lisa Tsering, indiawest.com .

"This college town's bustling University Avenue welcomed a stylish new Indian eatery Sept. 9."

 

 

"Berkeley, in partnership with the World Mind Network, is becoming the nexus of a new movement" is a story release at citizenwire.com.

"The University of California at Berkeley, in partnership with the World Mind Network, is becoming the nexus of a new movement aiming to maximize the vast power embedded in commonly used Web and Smart phone technologies to effect useful change in the world."

 

 

 

"Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution" by Mary Gabriel, reviewed by Troy Jollimore at barnesandnoble.com.

"Karl Marx did not know what we know: he did not know that he was Karl Marx. Had this knowledge been available to him, it would have consoled him during the many moments when he wondered whether his life's work would matter to anyone, whether the sacrifices he and his family endured in the process of constructing the edifice of his thought would ultimately be justified by his role in history. Perhaps even we, with the benefit of hindsight, still cannot answer that question: whether the effects of his work have been good or bad, on the whole, is an impossible question to answer, given the impossibility of imagining a Marx-less twentieth century. It cannot be doubted, though, that Marx had a profound and radical impact on that century and will continue to matter for the foreseeable future. The man who sometimes expressed skepticism about the power of ideas to alter reality and who famously wrote, 'Philosophers have tried to describe the world -- the point is to change it,' could not possibly have known the extent to which his ideas would alter the course of world events."

 

 

"Class warfare" at politico.com.

"Our story today looks at the history of the term and the import of the current debate."

 

 

"Study Says Extending Unemployment Benefits Will Not Keep People Jobless Longer" citytowninfo.com.

"Application for Unemployment BenefitsA new study has found that contrary to popular belief, extending unemployment benefits has little effect on the unemployment rate."

 

"Negotiations at Bayer's bio-tech plant in Berkeley break down: Company refuses to protect jobs after taking taxpayer subsidies" is a press release from Craig Merrilees, ILWU at dailyplanet.com.

"Four hundred workers at the Bayer Pharmaceutical plant in Berkeley, California are asking the company to honor promises made two years ago when executives accepted taxpayer subsidies in exchange for providing good-paying jobs."

 

 

 

"African-American Graduation Rate in Berkeley Surpasses National Average" bet.com.

"New data from the California Department of Education shows that more minorities are completing high school in the city compared to the rest of the country.

The west side may be the 'best side' if you're talking about education. New data is showing that in Berkeley, California, high school students are completing high school at rates higher than the country average."

 

 

"Movement Empowering Older Americans to Age in their Communities Gets $1.3 Million to Expand in California' is a story release at marketwatch.com.

 

 

 

"Completely Off The Grid" by Jon Hurdle at aol.com.

"At his house in the woods of western New Jersey, the civil engineer turned green energy evangelist uses fuel cells to convert the power generated by about 150 solar panels so that it can be stored in 11 hydrogen tanks about 100 yards from the house."

 

END

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9/25/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

9th Street, Potter Creek

1920s/30s

 

 

 

" 'Heart of a Soldier' Opera Chronicles Heroism, Love Amid Tragedy of 9/11" is a video report by KQED's Spencer Michaels at pbs.org.

"Rick Rescorla saved lives during the Vietnam War, and again on 9/11, but he lost his life as a result. His story, told in the book 'Heart of a Soldier' by James Stewart, has been recast as an opera in San Francisco."

 

 

 

" What Makes the City of Berkeley Police Department Unique? asks berkeleypatch.com.

"Sgt. Mary Kusmiss details the many historical accomplishments of the Berkeley Police Department in this week's Q&A. 

   
Is there anything that makes BPD Unique or different from other police departments?
Answer by Sgt. Mary C. Kusmiss S-6 BPD Public Information Officer.
'The City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) has a rich history that contributed to the foundations of many departments across California, the United States and the field of law enforcement as a whole.
The first chief of police, August Vollmer, is considered by many to be the 'father of modern law enforcement.' "

 

 

"Berkeley News Page

Public Works Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question about lights, potholes, signs, water leaks? The answer might already be on our Public Works FAQ page!"

 

 

 

"UC Berkeley students protest tuition hikes, cuts" Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer at sfgate.com.

"At Financial Aid Offices, Business is Booming" by Jennifer Gollan, baycitizen.org.

"On what should have been a carefree day of reconnecting with friends and settling into new classes recently, more than two dozen students at the University of California, Berkeley, sat in uneasy silence outside the financial aid office.

The airy room on the second floor of Sproul Hall took on the desperate feeling of an unemployment office, with students waiting their turn to plead for emergency loans."

 

"Nurses at nearly three dozen hospitals in California hospitals strike" by Kristin J. Bender, Oakland Tribune.

"Nearly 23,000 registered nurses began a one-day strike Thursday at 34 Northern and Central California hospitals in what was one of the largest such labor actions in years. "

 

 

 

"Journey to the East Bay: Berkeley Patients Care Collective" by R.J. Villa is a detailed story at nugmag.com.

"The University of California Berkeley's blue and gold colors were flying proud up and down the college area. All my visits to the East Bay always remind me of my college days: good road trips up the coast, concerts at The Greek, the healthy and organic eats up and down Telegraph and College. My journeys are accentuated, of course, by the top shelf medication that is always available in the East Bay. Every trip to Berkeley, a fellow friend and patient would tell me to visit Berkeley Patients Care Collective and check out the quality. With school back in session this September, I thought I would take a trip to my friend's old stomping grounds. My walk down Telegraph to PCC reminded me a lot of Camden Town, London. I passed by a few cafés, glass shops, great record stores, pushy street vendors, trendy clothing shops, and busking musicians on every corner.

The Berkeley Patients Care Collective was established a decade ago to provide the highest quality medical cannabis, along with personalized service and information, in order to help patients get the most from their medicine."

 

END

 

 

 

 

 

 

POST FROM THE PAST

7/27/10

First Berkeley PD Chief

August Vollmer

Vollmer on drugs from wikipedia.org "Vollmer was against police involvement with the problem of drug addiction.Vollmer wrote that enforcement of moralistic vice laws leads to police corruption and 'engenders disrespect both for law and for the agents of law enforcement.' Vollmer supported the establishment of federal distribution, at cost, of habit forming drugs."

more at wikipedia.org

"[August }Vollmer was born in New Orleans to German immigrant parents, John and Philopine (Klundt) Vollmer. His father saw to it that he learned to box and swim, both of which he excelled at. Upon his father's death, his mother returned to Germany with her children for two years, after which she returned to New Orleans in 1886, but soon thereafter decided to move her family to San Francisco. In July 1890, the Vollmer family moved across the bay to Berkeley. . . .

Drawing on his military experience, and his own research, Vollmer reorganized the Berkeley police force. Vollmer had discovered that very little literature existed in the United States on the subject of police work, so he located and read a number of European works on the subject, in particular, Criminal Psychology, by Hans Gross, an Austrian criminologist, and Memoirs of Vidocq, by Eugène François Vidocq, head of the detective division of the French police in Paris. He then set out on a program of modernization. He established a bicycle patrol and created the first centralized police records system, designed to streamline and organize criminal investigations. He established a call box network. And he trained his deputies in marksmanship. . . .

Vollmer was also the first police chief to create a motorized force, placing officers on motorcycles, and in cars so that they could patrol a broader area with greater efficiency. Radios were included in patrol cars. He was also the first to use the lie detector, developed at the University of California, in police work. Vollmer supported programs to assist disadvantaged children, and was often criticized for his leniency towards petty offenders such as drunks and loiterers. He also encouraged the training and employment of female and African American police officers. . . .

In the ensuing years, Vollmer's reputation as the 'father of modern law enforcement' grew. He was the first chief to require that police officers attain college degrees, and persuaded the University of California to teach criminal justice. In 1916, UC Berkeley established a criminal justice program, headed by Vollmer. At Berkeley, he taught O.W. Wilson, who went on to become a professor and continued efforts to professionalize policing.[2] This is often seen as the start of criminal justice as an academic field. . . .

In 1921, Vollmer was elected president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Vollmer left the Berkeley Police Department for a brief stint as police chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1923-24, but returned upon being disillusioned by the extent of corruption and hostility towards leadership coming from outside the department. . . . "

The Vollmer Papers are at the Bancroft Library.

And Officer 444 is a 1920s movie with Vollmer playing himself.

 

END

 

 

 

 

"UC Berkeley scientists are working on movies produced from inside our minds" by Lisa M. Krieger at mercurynews.com.

 

 

"Future for military drones: Automated killing" at washingtonpost.com.

"Autonomous robotics could be the next step of the American way of war, with drones hunting, identifying and killing the enemy based on software calculations, not human decisions."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9/27/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

dawn

in Potter Creek

 

"UC needs dose of reality about holding the line on rising costs" is a down-to-earth Oakland Tribune editorial.

"The real world of fiscal austerity has come crashing down on the University of California, which has yet to figure out how to deal with it."

 

 

Private contractors are testing the pressure of the PG &E natural gas transmission line on 7th Street around Heinz--that's at the the big hole, and the men and equipment, and one lane traffic. Contracted by PG & E, the line is being filled with water to a pressure of 140 lbs. (The line into your house is around 4lbs.) Laid down in the mid-80s, the line is holding. Interesting, the testing is being done in a block of Wareham properties.

Further north on 7th, seems the "orange folks of the bus" on 7th are great tennis fans. They "all play" and religiously go to and watch matches.

 

 

"Man credited with creating Doritos dies in Dallas" is a story at sfgate.com.

"Arch West, a retired Frito-Lay marketing executive credited with creating Doritos as the first national tortilla chip brand, has died in Dallas at age 97."

END

 

 

 

 

"Slated Robotic Attack Aircraft X-47B" at darkgovernment.com.

"The U.S. Navy is building on the successful first flight of the stealthy, tailless Northrop Grumman X-47B demonstrator as a pivotal step toward the long-held goal of marrying persistent, autonomous unmanned intelligence and strike aircraft with the reach of its fleet of aircraft carriers."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9/28/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

From a little while ago on Amoeba Records blog.

"Really liked DBA Brown's in Piedmont. And then there's the great dragon, Ron Pendorf in his Recollections . . . , sitting on his hoard of Shaded Dogs over in East Berkeley.

Surprisingly Ron is still there, and still [an] activist in environmental local issues. . . ."

 

Yesterday, the last four blocks of my Potter Creek morning bike ride were spent talking and riding next to "Flash," Roger an African-American who I've know since the Buttercup--then a wild man but not so much any more. "I'm interested in world peace now " he said. "I'll settle for peace of mind" I replied. That's easy Roger said "Just keep it simple." I 'm working on that.

 

 

Milo's First Day of School

Milo drawings

 

 

I've just heard of three recent cancer cases in Potter Creek--all within a block and a half of here. Also a couple/few years ago a neighbor had successful chemo.

 

END

 

 

 

 

 

 

9/29/11

MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS

Mustard Seed Pre-School commencement last year

a Steve Smith photo

for Milo, Jack and Joe

 

In "Free Speech Day Is October 1! Two Unique Ways to Celebrate" Gar Smith of our dailyplanet.com recommends in order to celebrate free speech we go and hear two speakers--that is, consume. I suggest we speak freely and so, . . . produce.

 

 

For a bit of nostalgia read "Late considerations on Berkeley's People's Park Tree sit, 2011" by Darin Bauer  at indybay.org.

"Personal accounting of Berkeley's recent People's Park tree sit.

In response to a letter to the University of California, Berkeley by the Berkeley Telegraph Avenue Merchant's Association, in which the Merchant's blame People's Park for blight; a tree sit in Berkeley's People's Park lasted nine days and tried to address The People's frustration with the city, the university, and the Merchant's Association's refusal to address public social programs in Berkeley, and how this is the real reason for problems in Berkeley's People's Park. 

In the beginning of September, I found and was introduced to Penelope Clearwater and a second platform in the Cedar tree in the northeast of People's Park in Berkeley, California. A few days prior I had met Moonshadow. On the day I discovered that Moonshadow had company, two members of Clearwater's family were there with her bag of belongings. During the tree sit I brought carrots and food not bombs, and would come by the protest at least help to coordinate the effort, a few of us were involved with this. Treehorn was sleeping in the tree the day after I met Penelope and another platform was installed. The next day would see yet another platform had been installed. Whatever we were doing in this particular tree sit was more successful than the last. Ayr, Berkeley Oak Grove tree-sitter from a few years back is hanging out at time of writing and poses a question to Moonshadow. It seems we are fighting for the park and homeless advocacy. If Running Wolf was here he would remind us of the Ohlone and the importance of sacred spaces, and the disparity of genocide." 

 

 

"Transgender kids: Painful quest to be who they are" writes Madison Park, at cnn.com.

 

END

 

 

 

"Some clean-energy firms found U.S. loan-guarantee program a bad bet" write Steven Mufson and Carol D. Leonnig, at washingtonpost.com.

"Uwe T. Schmidt, chief executive of Solar Trust, says he is a fan of the Energy Department's loan-guarantee program. He met with Energy Secretary Steven Chu and the program's director, Jonathan Silver, when his company was seeking support for a 1,000-megawatt solar thermal plant it wanted to build in the California desert in Riverside County.
But when the department offered him a $2.1 billion loan guarantee, Schmidt turned it down. It would have been one of the largest stimulus-funded clean-tech?nol?ogy projects, and Solar Trust had been negotiating the deal for roughly a year. But Schmidt decided it was too risky."

 

 

 

 

from my log

9/20/11--7:51 PM--irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, mucus membrane irritation, Marsha similar.

9/22/11--11:46 AM--irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, mucus membrane irritation, headache, light head. Similar, hour or so earlier.

9/23/11--5:43 PM--rritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, mucus membrane irritation.

9/24/11--10:19 AM--SERIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, mucus membrane irritation, headache.

9/26/11--2:58 PM--irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, mucus membrane irritation. 3:10 PM--SERIOUS -irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, SERIOUS mucus membrane irritation. 3:59 PM--SERIOUS -irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, burning dry dirty air, mucus membrane irritation. 5:40 PM--VERY SERIOUS -irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, burning dry dirty air, mucus membrane irritation, over rides four HEPA filter, wear respirator. LEAVE. 6:35 PM--similar. 7:17 PM--similar. Only apparent surrounding activity Adams and Chittenden Scientific Glass. 8:36 PM--dirty dry air irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse.

9/27/11--7:57 AM--irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse, mucus membrane irritation. 8:27 AM--similar, "hot asbestos" odor. 11:08 AM--irritant in front room, dirty dry air. 11:18 AM--irritant in front room, dirty dry air, wear respirator.

9/28/11 4:16 PM--SERIOUS irritant in front room, mucus membrane irritation, wear respirator. Similar off-and-on all day.

9/29/11--2:10 PM--irritant in front room, dry dirty air. Similar, off-and-on all AM. 3:47 PM--VERY SRIOUS irritant in warehouse front and IMMEDIATELY in front of warehouse and in front room, short breath, burning-in-chest, light head, nausea, overrides 4 HEPA filters, wear 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, Berkeley PD - 981-5774.

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.