Daily Archives: April 26, 2012
The Berkeley Wire: 04.26.12
Divino review: family Italian place in Berkeley [SFGate]
Five Berkeley faculty honored for exceptional teaching [UCB]
“Ecotopia” author Callenbach, 83, dies in Berkeley [Boston.com]
Daily Cal VOICE campaign heads back to trial [Daily Cal]
Canyon contrast blanket, by 2812 photography/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.
Berkeley owl chick will soon branch out, says expert
The owl chick that has been drawing crowds of fascinated adults and children to Berkeley’s Claremont Canyon trail, where its parents made a nest in a Eucalyptus tree some weeks ago, will soon began to “branch out” and explore its surroundings before making its first flight, says Doug Bell, Wildlife Progam Manager at East Bay Regional Parks.
Great Horned Owls are unusual among raptors in that they go through this development phase which involves “branching”, namely scrambling around nearby branches using a particular legs and wings action. The explorations can get the chicks into trouble, said Bell, as they might get clumsy and fall out of the tree.
Bell urges people who are visiting the Claremont trail to keep their distance and be respectful of the owls and their chick. “We would encourage people to give them space and to keep their dogs on leash,” he said. … Continue reading »
Reminder: Berkeleyside Open Office, today, 5-7pm
Join Berkeleyside this evening for an “Open Office” at which we hope to say hello, sip coffee, munch Pane Italiano Qualita (more commonly known as PIQ) in downtown Berkeley.
We held our inaugural Open Office on May 11 2011 and had a great time. We drank coffee, ate delicious slices of pizza and talked. Ideas were thrown around, suggestions made, concepts discussed. Several of the people who showed up to chat and chow have since become regular Berkeleyside contributors. Others are valuable tipsters for stories. Still others became sponsors and advertisers. We answered questions and heard about what you wanted to see more of from Berkeleyside.
Most importantly, we got to know one another. Berkeleyside is a communtity endeavor above all, fueled by collaboration.
So join us, for 10 minutes or an hour. Let us know you can make on the Berkeleyside Open Office Facebook events page. … Continue reading »
Berkeley’s Mayor Bates announces his re-election bid
Mayor Tom Bates, who has held office since 2002, announced his widely anticipated bid for re-election today. Bates, 74, has served one two-year term and two four-year terms.
Berkeley’s mayor used his recently activated Twitter account to break the news at 11:28 am today. He wrote: “Announcing today that I’m running for Mayor of Berkeley to continue the progress we’ve made over the last 10 years,” and followed up with a tweet directing people to his website, TomBates.org.
Speaking to Berkeleyside, he said: “I’m going to be seeking another term. I’d be delighted to continue the work I’ve been doing.”
This year’s mayoral race will be the first decided by ranked-choice voting. As yet, however, no challenger has emerged to Bates.
Bates said the five main goals he had when he started as Mayor of Berkeley 10 years ago were: 1) making Berkeley a leader in tackling global warming and climate change, 2) finding ways so that people who work in Berkeley can live in Berkeley, 3) tackling the achievement gap and health disparities for children, 4) providing excellent services for our citizens, 5) revitalizing the downtown. … Continue reading »
Play is vital: finding more play and toys in Berkeley
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw
Play is alive and well in Berkeley! But not everyone realizes how important playtime is to improving well being, reducing stress, and increasing joyfulness.
We know children and adults need plenty of time to play, using all the senses, stretching the imagination, and making time to be creative. Everyone benefits from varied outdoor play that expands activity, increases use of large muscles, … Continue reading »
Berkeley parkers may get five-minute grace period
In a measure that will be considered by the City Council Tuesday night, Capitelli is suggesting that parking enforcement officers give people a five-minute grace period after their meters expire.
“We hear that parking enforcement officers have been seen waiting at targeted cars for the exact minute the receipt has expired,” Capitelli wrote in the measure. “This has created tremendous ill will and frustration, ultimately discouraging people from patronizing our local businesses.”
Sometimes there is a discrepancy between the time on the watch of a patron and the time on the parking meter, Capitelli noted. This “friendlier” policy will ease that distinction.
The five-minute grace period would only apply to cars using a pay and display meter that produces a time-stamped receipt that can be displayed on a dashboard.
Any ease in parking restrictions would help attract customers because shoppers always have the option of going to a mall or going to Albany, where is parking is free, instead of coming to Berkeley, said Allen Cain, the director of the Solano Avenue Association. … Continue reading »
It takes three to tango: Trio Garufa play Berkeley Friday
When Guillermo Garcia moved to the Bay Area in the mid-90s, he was an accomplished tango guitarist whose career path had left little time for performing. Born and raised in Argentina and trained as a sound engineer in Paris at the Pompidou Center’s cutting edge research arm IRCAM, he relocated to Berkeley in 1996 to take a job developing audio technology at the Gibson Guitar facility on 9th Street (a location that Gibson closed years ago).
On his first day on the job, Garcia surveyed the industrial-looking West Berkeley block and thought to himself, “I guess I’m not going to do any tango here.” On his way downstairs, however, he immediately discovered The Beat, a dance studio where Bay Area Tango Association founder and esteemed teacher Nora Dinzelbacher regularly offered classes. Garcia had stumbled upon the East Bay’s avid and active tango scene, and he’s been at the center of it ever since.
Trio Garufa, his ensemble with bassist Sascha Jacobsen and Swiss-born bandoneon player Adrian Jost, also a sound engineer, celebrates the release of its third album “El Rumor de tus Tangos” Friday at Ashkenaz, with an array of special guests. … Continue reading »
