Daily Archives: April 30, 2012
The Berkeley Wire: 04.30.12
Faculty members, researchers disagree on Occupy the Farm [Daily Cal]
Volunteers paint, plant, patch, on “Rebuilding Day” [Patch]
Berkeley’s “new” downtown: behind the brand [Beyond Chron]
“In Paris” with dialogue in Russian and French [Examiner]
Reviewed: “Holy Sisters” at the Berkeley Symphony [SFist]
UC Berkeley faculty, staff invited to host Japanese students [UCB]
How will UC Berkeley find its next chancellor? [SF Business Times]
Pet therapy dogs help relieve Cal students’ stress [Mercury News]
Photo: Rose on Portland Street, by seaangel/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.
Last week’s hit-and-run bike collision is rare, says expert
The dramatic hit-and-run collision last week between a car and two cyclists on Tunnel Road in Berkeley that was captured on video drew a widespread response — both from within and outside the cycling community. Writing in Berkeleyside’s Opinionator section, Renee Rivera, Executive Director of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, says that, while the video was scary, it is worth knowing that this is an extremely rare type of collision. Read her thoughts on bicycle safety.
Berkeleyside welcomes submissions of op-ed articles … Continue reading »
Safe cycling in wake of Berkeley’s hit-and-run collision
We at the East Bay Bicycle Coalition are glad to see that swift action has been taken by the Berkeley and Oakland police departments to catch the suspect in last Wedsnesday’s hit-and-run collision on Tunnel Road in Berkeley. We are also relieved that these two cyclists got away with only abrasions and damage to their bikes. This unusual collision could have been much worse.
The video of this collision has gone viral on YouTube. With tens of thousands of … Continue reading »
Comal: New restaurant takes a bet on downtown Berkeley
On Friday, John Paluska will throw open the heavy steel doors to his ambitious new restaurant, Comal, which he hopes will become a magnet for local residents and a cultural incubator. “I see it as a big tent that I hope will become the heart of the community,” he said last week as he stood in the expansive, airy space at 2020 Shattuck Avenue, overseeing a plethora of pre-launch preparations.
Comal will be cooking up Oaxaca-inspired Mexican food — masa-based dishes such as Tetelas, memelas, and tlayudas, whole grilled fish, chickens and fresh vegetables -- much of it cooked on an Italian wood-burning range and two “comals” — large round griddles which take center stage in the restaurant’s open kitchen and, says Paluska, also serve to evoke the “hearth as gathering place” ambiance he is seeking to create there.
Chef Matt Gandin, formerly of Delfina in San Francisco, says he wants to explore the complexities of a cuisine that he feels is “waiting to be discovered”.
Community rallies to get pool measure on ballot
About 75 people rallied on the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Derby Street in Berkeley Sunday afternoon to convince the City Council to put a pool bond measure on the November ballot.
Holding signs that read “Save Willard Pool,” and “Honk if you like to swim,” the group of students, parents, and community members yelled, chanted, and encouraged people to sign a petition that called for the reopening of Willard pool, which was closed and filled with dirt in 2010. (The petition is also posted at Change.org.)
“I would like to see Willard Pool open again,” said Amelie Melde Fontenay, a parent of a Willard School student. “My only son got here just in time to see the pool filled in with dirt. I don’t think it’s fair that the other two (middle) schools have pools and Willard doesn’t.” … Continue reading »
Occupy the Farm activists issue open letter to community
The Occupy the Farm activists who have taken over agricultural research land in Albany owned by UC Berkeley issued an open letter to Albany residents and the East Bay Community on Sunday April 29.
Here’s the full text of the open letter (phrases in bold included):
As you read this letter, East Bay families and farmers continue to seed, weed, and water at Occupy The Farm. Public events over this weekend have included workshops by members of the community and the opening of the “Ladybug Patch” children’s area. For most Albany residents this is the first time they have ever been invited onto, or set foot upon this land.
We are writing you to correct the misinformation circulated by the University Administration in their recent open letter. … Continue reading »
Is Berkeley High hacking incident a learning opportunity?
Earlier this month it was revealed that several students at Berkeley High School had hacked into the school’s computerized attendance system using a teacher’s password and made unauthorized adjustments to attendance records. Four students instigated the scam which involved, in some cases, selling absence clearances to around 50 students. Suspensions followed and talk of expulsion in two cases.
Education expert Lisa Petrides would like to know why the students did what they did, and suggests, in an Opionator column published on Berkeleyside, … Continue reading »
