Monthly Archives: November 2011
The Berkeley Wire: 11.30.11
Group sues UC Berkeley leaders over police beatings [Coco Times]
UC Berkeley gets grant for quake-warning study [Chronicle]
Tenants details problems at burned Berkeley building [Berkeley Voice]
Best practices for getting out of Berkeley Bowl alive [SFWeekly]
Street date: Little India on Berkeley’s University Avenue [Chronicle]
Photo: Fog, by kukkurovaca/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.
Center St downtown reopens to 2-ways after 3 years
Update, 6.10 pm: Make that seven years! The City of Berkeley checked again on the dates and reports in to us that Center Street was closed to one-way traffic when Berkeley City College was being constructed, in approximately March 2004. The Arpeggio project has had the street closed since June 2006 — first for the demolition of the previous building on the site in 2006, then for construction which began in 2008.
Original story: Those who drive regularly in downtown Berkeley will be relieved to find that the section of Center Street between Shattuck and Milvia is now open to two-way traffic, and a few more coveted parking spaces have opened up as a result.
The street has been limited to one-way traffic since construction began on the Arpeggio Building at 2055 Center in 2008.
The nine-story, 143-unit Arpeggio Building is now effectively complete and sales on its one- and two-bedroom apartments, including two-story penthouses, are now open. … Continue reading »
Sequoia fire accidental, started in elevator machinery
Investigators for the Berkeley Fire Department say the five-alarm fire that broke out on November 18th at 2441 Haste Street originated in and around the elevator machinery in the basement of the five-story building, and that the fire was accidental in nature.
The BFD issued a statement Wednesday afternoon to say the onsite investigation phase of the Sequoia Building at 2441 Haste Street is complete, and a final report will be finalized and available within the next several weeks.
Related:
… Continue reading »
Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz: The exit interview
Phil Kamlarz, city manager for eight years and a city employee for 36, retired this month. He first became a Berkeley city employee as a temporary associate accountant in the Berkeley Public Library in 1975, and a year later transferred to the city manager’s office. He became assistant city manager in 1987, and then acting city manager in 2003, before getting his full appointment the following year.
Two weeks ago, when the City Council marked Kamlarz’s retirement, the encomia from councilmembers were effusive. Mayor Tom Bates noted that Kamlarz “has provided Berkeley a platform of fiscal stability which is enviable”. He cited Kamlarz as a “calm, collected leader” with “compassion, foresight and a good nature”. … Continue reading »
Infusion of money should spiff up remaining Andronico’s
Starting in January, shoppers at Andronico’s Markets should start seeing upgrades in the chain’s remaining five stores, including new refrigeration cases, revamped displays, and shelves stocked with additional goods.
The revamp is part of Renovo Capital’s quest to capture a greater market share of the high-end grocery business, a sector Andronico’s competed well in until money troubles and a lack of capital forced the chain into bankruptcy.
“The specialty market segment is very competitive,” said Adam Alberti of Singer Associates, a firm hired by Andronico’s to talk to the press. “There is a whole host of upstart companies, as well as the more established ones like Whole Foods. Andronico’s has a strong brand and a significant loyal customer base and we think we can compete successfully in that environment.” … Continue reading »
Where in Berkeley?
Know where this is? Take a guess and let us know in the Comments.
Update, 8:56 am: Tony got it in one. This sculpture is on the 800 block of Spruce, near Halkin. Congratulations, Tony, on being this week’s winner.
Photo: Nina J. Hodgson.
The Berkeley Wire: 11.29.11
Oprah selects book by Bancroft curator as book of the week [Life Lift]
Tenants displaced by fire struggle to find housing [Daily Cal]
Opinion: Berkeley’s budget woes [Daily Cal]
Faculty senate criticizes response to Occupy Cal protest [UCB News]
Berkeley Art Studio to hold holiday pop-up shop [UCB News]
Berkeley mourns loss of Intermezzo and Raleigh’s [Patch]
Berkeley is one of the nation’s smartest cities [Business Journals]
Small fire in Cal’s Dwinelle Hall quickly contained [Coco Times]
Photo by Carol Serkes/Berkeleyside flickr pool.
Berkeley’s 95-year-old Sequoia building is brought down
Demolition began this morning on the Sequoia Building at 2441 Haste Street at the corner of Telegraph Avenue in order to make what remains of the fire-damaged structure safe.
Beginning at the top corner of the five-story building, the brick structure was slowly pulled apart, and bricks, window frames and metal balconies cascaded to the ground (see raw video, by Tracey Taylor, above).
The building, which was built in 1916, will be brought down to a height of 29.5 feet at which point the remaining structure will be reinforced. At that point fire investigators will be able to begin an inspection to try to determine the cause of the November 18th fire, and the currently closed intersection will be re-opened for vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The Berkeley fire marshall has committed the building’s owners, Kenneth and Gregory Ent, to leaving a 25-ft radius intact around the elevator mechanical room, which is where the fire is believed to have originated.
By Tuesday afternoon much of the top level of the building had been demolished — as the photo below shows. … Continue reading »
Shop Talk: The ins and outs of Berkeley businesses
DOWNWARD DOG Innerstellar Pilates & Yoga opened in mid-November across the street from Berkeley Bowl. It includes two movement studios, a wellness center and a retail boutique for yoga and pilates props and lifestyle clothing. Its website stresses that Innerstellar offers “only the most potent styles” of pilates and yoga.
THANK YOU AND GOODBYE Café Gratitude on Shattuck is likely to close in the next few months after its owners, Matthew and Terces Engelhart, announced they are dissolving the company and shutting down or selling all six of their Northern California locations. As well as Berkeley, this includes the Mission in San Francisco, Oakland, San Rafael, Healdsburg, Cupertino, and Santa Cruz. The reason, given by the owners in a letter posted on the company’s website, is a “series of aggressive lawsuits” surrounding wage and hour disputes which, they say, cost them too much money.
DIM SUM DELIGHT Shen Hua, an Elmwood fixture for 13 years, has a new repertoire on its menu: dim sum. Owner Edward Chu has been wanting to add the small plates for years, but finally introduced the service this summer. Lunch customers have a choice of 15 to 20 dim sum items but the dinner selection is more limited. Shen Hua serves standards such as ha gow and sui mai, but creates unique dishes every few weeks. The current specialty is vegetable dumplings. … Continue reading »
Les Waters to leave Berkeley Rep for Kentucky post
Les Waters, an Obie-winning Brit who has served as Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s assistant artistic director for eight years, is leaving the theater to take over as artistic director at The Actors Theater of Louisville, Kentucky.
Waters, 59, will assume the role in January, but will not take on fulltime duties until March, after he directs Berkeley Rep’s production of Red, the theater announced Tuesday.
“After eight years together, it is difficult to leave Berkeley – yet it is an honor and a privilege to take up the reins at Actors Theatre of Louisville, an organization I’ve long admired,” Waters said in a statement.
“I’ve had the opportunity to direct twice at Actors Theatre, and I was deeply impressed with the theatre, its staff, and the community at large. I am committed to making theatre there that is passionate and intelligent, funny and heartfelt, and look forward to leading Actors Theatre to new artistic endeavors.” … Continue reading »
