Tag Archives: Albany
Lawsuit to stop grocery store tentatively denied
After a preliminary ruling issued this week tentatively denied a lawsuit to block the development of a grocery store and senior housing project planned in Albany by the University of California, attorneys for both sides argued the matter further before a Superior Court judge in downtown Oakland on Thursday.
The lawsuit — which questions the environmental review process undertaken when local officials approved the project — was filed last summer by supporters of Occupy the Farm. Some of the urban farming activists have said they want to see existing open space — several pieces of land owned by the university that include two vacant weedy lots slated for development, and an agricultural research field — protected and turned into public community farm space in perpetuity. … Continue reading »
Occupy the Farm: ‘We’ll keep coming back’
Despite four arrests Monday and the destruction by UC Berkeley of seedlings they had planted in rows over the weekend, Occupy the Farm activists returned to a plot of land in Albany that’s slated for development and began their work again Monday night.
“We’re not leaving this land,” said an Occupy the Farm spokeswoman, Lesley Haddock. “We’re going to continue to contest this space. We’re not going away.” … Continue reading »
Burgers and beer duo debut Friday in Albany
This Friday evening, Albany will welcome two new businesses to town on a strip of San Pablo Avenue that has a reputation for its lively, historic nightspots.
Albany Taproom and Grazzy Burgers, adjoining storefronts at 745 and 747 San Pablo, will hold grand opening celebrations on March 8 from 5-11 p.m. (Nearby drinking establishments include the Hotsy Totsy Club, the newly renovated Ivy Room, Club Mallard and Tierney’s Sports Bar at the Albany Bowl.)
The Taproom has been described by owners as “a group of discerning beer drinkers who are obsessed with the craft and art of the brew. We came together to create a space that combines the comfort of a classic beer house, the expertise of micro-brewers, and the enthusiasm of the collector in the City of Albany and the greater Bay Area.” … Continue reading »
Contest: Name that nosh [02.18.13]
Think you know food in the East Bay? Prove it by naming the restaurant and dish in the comments section. Continue reading »
Op-Ed: Disappointed but still inspired at the Gill Tract
[On Friday November 16, 2012, the University of California (UC) razed all of the publicly planted crops on the Gill Tract.]
Occupy the Farm is disappointed that the UC has unneccessarily destroyed the hard work of the community and food that could have fed it. Over the course of the last month, members of the public sowed edible winter greens together with fava beans, a popular and effective cover crop. Had the UC left these in place, the … Continue reading »
Officials push UC Berkeley mixed-use project forward
Plans for a senior living complex, new retail shops and a grocery store in Cal’s University Village in Albany have cleared another hurdle despite a campaign by activists over the summer to stall the development.
The Albany City Council voted Monday night to rescind what some saw as a controversial contract between the city and the property owner, the University of California, rather than to delay further by putting project approval before the voters in a special election.
(Albany City Clerk Nicole Almaguer said an election could cost from about $52,000 to about $122,000, depending whether the city required polling stations or opted for mail-in ballots only.) … Continue reading »
Halloween champs: Albany-Berkeley Sting is scary good
By Mark Galbraith
The Albany-Berkeley Girls Softball League’s 12U team, Sting, continues its victorious streak. You may remember the team from the article Michael Lewis wrote for Berkeleyside last year. We’ve been following their progress. Here’s the latest installment:
The Under 12 Albany-Berkeley Sting completed their Fall season by winning this past weekend’s Monster Bash Classic tournament with a thrilling back-from-the grave finish.
Like all good nail-biters, this story starts on a bright, sunny day. On Saturday, Sting got into the Halloween spirit by taking the field in Crayola-inspired Technicolor uniforms, designed by Berkeley’s own budding activewear designer, Katie Kaneko. (At the time of this story’s submission, there was no confirmation if Ms. Kaneko intends to expand upon her Sting designs to create a complete Fall collection.)
Sting’s opener against the Salinas Storm was a well-played contest between two evenly matched teams. Pitcher Quinn Lewis and sharp Sting defense kept the Storm’s potent bats in check for much of the game. … Continue reading »
Valley sting: Albany-Berkeley 12U wins at Davis/Dixon
By Mark Galbraith
The Albany-Berkeley Girls Softball League’s 12U team, Sting, continues its victorious streak. You may remember the team from the article Michael Lewis wrote for Berkeleyside last year. We’ve been following their progress. Here’s the latest installment:
As a previous cub reporter on the Sting beat noted last year, dropping into the Central Valley used to be a daunting journey for Albany Berkeley Girls’ Softball League’s finest. Infernal heat, adobe-hard infields, and battle-hardened opponents often added up to disappointment: players dismayed at not having a chance to play for a tournament title and its accompanying trophies, and their parents downhearted at an early exit leaving them no legitimate excuse for blowing-off weekend errands.
However, this is a new trail-blazing Sting team. Coming off a championship run earlier in the month, they entered the Valley without fear, confident in their bats and gloves. Make no mistake: there would be no trips to Pastime Ace or Berkeley Bowl for the traveling Sting faithful this weekend. … Continue reading »
NorCal girls’ softball teams feel the sting in new season
By Mark Galbraith
The Albany-Berkeley Girls Softball League’s 12U team, Sting, continues to turn heads in 2012. You may remember the team from the article Michael Lewis wrote for Berkeleyside last year. We’ve been following their progress. Here’s the latest installment:
The Albany-Berkeley Girls’ Softball 12 & Under Sting team continues to turn heads in 2012. Their latest display of domination on the diamond was at last weekend’s Fall Brawl tournament in Fremont. After a slow start in the opening rounds, Sting got their game in gear, finishing with a victory in the Championship game over the hometown Fremont Flyers via the mercy rule.
While this result may have been similar to their summer performances, a few of the faces have changed for their fall campaign. New coaches, Jenna Best, Jolene Henderson, and Lori Saaf; and players Amelia Galbraith and Tara Steckler looked to join the strong core of returners to keep the good times rolling.
The weekend started when Sting and its swarm of supporters pulled into Fremont’s fogged-in Central Park well before sunrise on Saturday morning. … Continue reading »
ABGSL Sting 12U team wins final summer season tourney
By Kate Campbell
The Albany-Berkeley Girls Softball League’s 12U travel team, Sting, won the final 2012 summer season tournament. You may remember the team from the article Michael Lewis wrote for Berkeleyside last year. We’ve been following their progress. Here’s the latest installment:
Facing a field of eight other teams, none of whom they had yet played this season, the Sting team had strong pitching, was on fire with their hitting and solid in their fielding. Their batting lineup started slow on Saturday, narrowly losing their first game on Saturday to the San Bruno Storm 8-7. Despite 14-3 and 7-2 wins in their other games, they were seeded a dark horse fifth on Sunday. Ironically, in single elimination Sunday they again matched up against the San Bruno Storm, and this time they shut them out 2-0 in seven innings, with Robyn Wampler pitching a perfect game.
Sting was definitely one of the teams to beat on the B team softball circuit this summer. This was their third tournament win out of the five tournaments they played for the season. Beyond the wins, though, the team was known for the teamwork, camaraderie and positive attitude that characterized both practices and tournament competition. … Continue reading »
Berkeley-Albany softball team wins tournament
By Kate Campbell
Playing at the Big League Dream fields in Manteca, the Albany-Berkeley Sting team was once again undefeated in their three Saturday round robin games in a field of ten teams. Seeded second on Sunday, they went on to win the tournament in extra innings with international tie-breaker rules in the championship game, defeating the Brentwood Wildcats 9-7.
The Big League Dreams park includes six field modeled after major league stadiums. Sting played a game each at Tiger Stadium and Yankee Stadium, but played the remaining four games at Fenway Park. With turf infields and well-maintained grassy and spacious outfields, as well as goofy painted walls to simulate the unique architecture of the outfield stands, the “stadiums” were not only fun but conducive to clean fielding on infield grounders and successful base running on long hits to the outfield. … Continue reading »
Could UC and Occupy the Farm compromise on Gill Tract?
Stranger things have happened: Maybe six months down the track a crop of winter greens will occupy a stretch of land on San Pablo Avenue along the Berkeley-Albany border known as Gill Tract, site of a nearly two week standoff between the University of California, Berkeley and Occupy the Farm.
And everyone in this growing controversy might be happy. The saga over an often overlooked but special patch of earth began, aptly, on Earth Day. Now, both sides in this brouhaha in the normally quiet enclave of Albany appear to be making noises about having “meaningful dialogue” to facilitate a resolution that could include “shared custody” — though the situation resembles more of a spurned suitor (urban ag activists argue the university has repeatedly ignored requests to use this land for farming) than a marriage gone bad.
At stake: UC-owned land on the last parcel of Class 1 soil (considered the best for growing food) left in the East Bay that, except for a few months every summer when it’s used for corn research, lies largely vacant — aside from a proliferation of wild mustard, wind-carried trash, (often fast food wrappers), and, reportedly, the odd hypodermic needle.
Indeed, a private meeting between Cal representatives, Occupy the Farm advocates, and attorneys for both sides was slated for Thursday night at an undisclosed location to dig into their differences and come to a compromise over the 15-acre plot, the remaining remnant of a 104-acre area that UC Berkeley bought for $400,000 bequeathed to UC Berkeley in 1928. It is named for the family that once owned he land.(No settlement was reached, UC spokesman Dan Mogulof said at 9:20 am) … Continue reading »
Hits, put-outs and a Garbanzo tournament victory
By Bora Reed
Bora Reed, an Albany Berkeley Girls Softball League parent and the league’s reporter coordinator recently wrote to Berkeleyside wondering if we would publish game reports. “Why not?” was our reply. Here’s the first:
The Albany Berkeley Girls Softball League season is well under way, with girls grades 1-8 building skills, learning teamwork and having fun. Berkeleyside provided one perspective on the league from Moneyball author Michael Lewis in December. Below is a report of the Older Division’s mid-season tournament last Saturday, along with a few reports from games in the Middle and Younger Divisions. Special thanks to the team of embedded reporters for the game write-ups.
Zonta Garbanzos Win Mid-Season Tournament
Zonta Clubs’ Garbanzos girls softball squad jumped to an early commanding lead from the get-go in their first game on Saturday against the Friedman-Brueggemeyer Fantastic Flying Frying Pans with one run each scored by Zinnia Thewlis, Grace Rusin, Dylan Kurzgul and Anne Mugler. The four-run lead was held throughout the four-inning game thanks to sharp pitching from Zinnia and Grace and deft fielding skills of Claire McNally and Griffen Campbell. … Continue reading »
