Daily Archives: January 7, 2011
The Berkeley Wire: 01.07.11
DA warning puts hold on Berkeley pot farm plans [Berkeley Voice]
How The New Yorker ate Berkeley Rep’s shorts [Berkeley Rep]
Lifelong learning thrives at UC Berkeley in Osher Institute [UCB NewsCenter]
Berkeley nuclear scientist Albert Ghiorso dies, aged 95 [Chronicle]
Photo: Tunnel by JAR/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake with its epicenter just southeast of San Jose was felt in Berkeley this afternoon. In the Elmwood, a house shook distinctly for three or four seconds. The earthquake struck at 4:10 p.m., and the US Geological Survey measured the epicenter at a depth of 4.4 miles.
Electrical outage blacks out more than 5,000 Berkeleyans
A series of electrical outages in North Berkeley at 12:56 12:25 p.m. today is affecting more than 5,000 houses and businesses. PG&E do not yet know the cause of the outage or the expected time to restore power.
Among the sites affected is Berkeley High School, with its 3,200 students. Principal Pasquale Scuderi activated the school’s automated phone tree to notify families that despite the outage, school would continue with normal hours. The school has put in some … Continue reading »
A city looks for big solutions in little – very little – houses
On Saturday, Mayor Tom Bates will cut the ribbon on a new home on Delaware Street in Berkeley. It’s not every day a city leader takes the time to welcome a new dwelling into his fold, and this home is not big, nor particularly special; in fact it’s positively diminutive at just 420 sq ft, and can rightfully be described as a backyard cottage. So one might wonder why it warrants an “opening party” with dignitaries in attendance, sponsors — even a salsa band.
The reason is that small secondary units like this one — also known as in-law units, studios, or accessory buildings — represent a solution to a key challenge facing many cities: how to house a swelling population affordably without resorting to creating unsustainable suburban sprawl. “Smart growth”, in other words.
And Berkeley has decided to focus on these little houses. “We favor increasing the number of secondary units. It’s the only goal we have added to the housing element part of our general plan this year,” says Debra Sanderson, Planning Manager at the City of Berkeley.
The cute, zero-energy cottage at 934 Delaware Street was built by Berkeley start-up New Avenue, a company conceived at UC Berkeley which is where the cottage’s owner, Karen Chapple, also works.
It was while taking Dr. Ashok Gadgil’s Design for Sustainable Communities course at the Haas School of Business that Kevin Casey began to explore the idea of building a business around secondary units. He was spurred on by legislation in a number of states which decrees that most homeowners have the right to build a secondary unit on their property –and also by his student team’s own research. … Continue reading »
Netta B on why she’s “Screamin” in Berkeley
In November, we wrote about the music video urban pop songstress Netta B was filming in South Berkeley. She said at the time that the video was in part a response to the violence in the neighborhood. … Continue reading »
June Taylor’s way with fruit: esoteric, steeped in history
June Taylor crafts the kind of conserves and fruit confections that make food writers swoon.
Case in point: Amanda Hesser’s description of Taylor’s preserves. “They are unlike any commercial preserves, not simply because she uses esoteric — virtually all organic — fruits like bergamots, kadota figs, and Santa Rosa plums, but also because she cooks them in such a way that underlines their essence,” wrote Hesser in a New York Times Magazine piece. “Sugar is used not as a crutch but a tool. Her silver-lime-and-ginger marmalade has a sting to it; her grapefruit-and-Meyer-lemon marmalade is bright, concentrated and vigorously bitter.”
Don’t just take a food scribe’s word for it. My son is partial to Taylor’s candied peels — Rangpur Lime, Oro Blanco grapefruit, and Citron — popped into porridge (oatmeal), granola, or directly in the mouth for a bittersweet treat. … Continue reading »
Annie’s plans move from Napa to Berkeley
“Berkeley has long been the home of the natural and organic food movement,” said Aimee Sands, marketing director for Annie’s. “It’s also close to a lot of good options for employees and it gives us access to a better talent pool.”
The company has 60 of its 70 employees at its Napa offices, and “hopes” that all will make the move to the new Berkeley location. “We’re putting a lot of effort into making it the right working environment for us,” Sands said. The company is planning to get LEED certification for the building and is transforming part of the parking lot into a green space with organic beds. … Continue reading »
