Daily Archives: August 22, 2011
The Berkeley Wire: 08.22.11
Nick’s Lounge on Adeline home to Berkeley’s newest reading series [SF Weekly]
Alice Waters: 40 years of sustainable food [NPR]
Elaine Tennant, medieval specialist, named director of Bancroft Library [UCB News]
Thousands moving into dorms prior to Cal’s start on Thursday [CBS]
Berkeley BusLab: where the Volkswagen bus is king [Patch]
Eating for Education Brunch at Summer Kitchen Bake Shop [SKBS]
Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse built on simple success [SF Chronicle]
Berkeley winners in Parents Press Awards [Parents Press]
Photo: August by A Ess Bee/Berkeleyside Flickr pool
Andronico’s files for bankruptcy
Andronico’s Markets, the 82-year old supermarket chain founded in Berkeley, filed today for bankruptcy in Oakland. Four of the seven existing Andronico’s stores are in Berkeley: on Telegraph, Shattuck, University and Solano (the original store, founded in 1929).
Berkeleyside reported on the financial difficulties of the chain in May, and on a short-lived recapitalization plan.
The company’s announcement quotes CEO Bill Andronico today: “This is a bittersweet moment in our history. We have struggled mightily to keep … Continue reading »
More than 30 years of “thinking sound” in Berkeley
Sound is life at the Meyer Sound facility on San Pablo. The 32-year-old Berkeley business continues to churn out professional sound products for concert halls, churches and traveling bands from around the world.
“We’re a family-run company, privately owned still,” said Helen Meyer, executive vice president of Meyer Sound. “We’re still private to this day. That’s kind of a unique feature of our company.”
I sat down with the Meyers to discuss sound, local lifestyles and new technologies.
CEO John Meyer founded the company in 1979 after he and Helen attended an inaudible Donovan concert at the Oakland Coliseum. When they sat down to take in the performance from one of their favorite folk singers, the couple soon realized they couldn’t hear a thing.
“It was barely louder than if someone was just there without anything,” John said. “Everyone in the audience was dead quiet and we still couldn’t hear. We said, ‘there’s got to be a better way.’ ” … Continue reading »
Thousands of Cal students, staff flock to Caltopia
UC Berkeley freshmen, some looking dazed, others excited, as well as more blasé seniors, turned out in their thousands on Sunday for Day One of Caltopia, the self-described “two greatest days on the planet”.
The event, held at the UC Berkeley Recreational Sports Facility at 2301 Bancroft Way, sees more than 100 exhibitors showcasing their wares and services to the Cal community, including the university’s staff and faculty.
It’s a combination of freebie-fest — with giveaways galore, be it bites of Clif Bars, T-shirts, pens and mouse pads and the chance to win covetable prizes like Kindles from big brand names like Pepsi – and social mixer.
Berkeleyside made its debut at Calopia yesterday and we will be there again today. Find us at booth E104.
Look who’s on Hillcrest
Berkeleysider Lee Aurich sent in some vivid photos of a family of barn owls roosting in a palm tree on Hillcrest Road in the Claremont Uplands neighborhood.
(We thought “Hoo’s on Hillcrest?” would be a great headline, but birders know that barn owls don’t hoot, they shriek.)
Do other Berkeleysiders have families of owls in their yards? Let us know.
