Featured events- 08/28/2013 - Free Outdoor Screening in the BAM/PFA Sculpture Garden
- 08/27/2013 - MARK EPSTEIN / The Trauma of Everyday Life
- 08/24/2013 - The goat Rodeo Sessions
- 08/03/2013 - Book Signing and Discussion with Dave Kehr, followed by The Lawless Breed
- 06/24/2013 - BERKELEY PRIDE 365! First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage…
Tag Archives: University Avenue
Berkeleyside Police Blotter: Crime in Berkeley, June 6-12
This is a partial list of recent crimes in Berkeley, compiled by Berkeleyside, and based on reports to the Berkeley Police Department unless otherwise noted. See past crime blotters here. (Note to readers: We always appreciate photographs and tips, about breaking news or neighborhood safety issues, via email at tips@berkeleyside.com.)
The following items represent just a sampling of calls, and times may be approximate. From June 6 to June 12, there were 19 burglary reports, 29 auto break-in or theft from a vehicle reports, and 14 stolen vehicle reports to the Berkeley Police Department, according to CrimeMapping.com. Seven robberies and eight assaults, domestic violence incidents or batteries were reported.
These numbers are subject to change. Click the previous links for the most current information. … Continue reading »
Bites: What’s new in East Bay food, XXVI
Openings…
OUTSTANDING IN THE FIELD Outstanding in the Field, the farm-dinner series that has inspired pop-up supper clubs across the country, is landing close by. It will do two dinners at East Bay Farms this year. On Saturday, June 15, Sibella Kraus, founder of the SF Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, will be hosting a dinner at one of her projects: the Sunol AgPark, an 18-acre farm managed by Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAGE). Guest chef will be Guillaume Bienaime of Portola Kitchen in Portola Valley. Start time: 4 p.m., $200 per person. The second OITF dinner will be on Sunday, June 30, at Knoll Farm, Brentwood, with guest chef Leif Hedendal, founder of the Dinner Discussion series. This is one of a few vegetarian events OITF does each year. Farmer Rick Knoll is a farming pioneer who has come up with some unusual and successful agricultural techniques that have gained recognition over the years, such as compost teas, minerals for the soil, and growing edible weeds. Start time: 4 p.m., $190 per person. Visit OITF for full information about the dinners. … Continue reading »
Berkeleyside Police Blotter: Crime in Berkeley, 5/30-6/5
This is a partial list of recent crimes in Berkeley, compiled by Berkeleyside, and based on reports to the Berkeley Police Department unless otherwise noted. See past crime blotters here. (Note to readers: We always appreciate photographs and tips, about breaking news or neighborhood safety issues, via email at tips@berkeleyside.com.)
The following items represent just a sampling of calls, and times may be approximate. From May 30 to June 5, there were 18 burglary reports, 32 auto break-in or theft from a vehicle reports, and 17 stolen vehicle reports to the Berkeley Police Department, according to CrimeMapping.com. Nine robberies and 15 assaults, domestic violence incidents or batteries were reported. These numbers are subject to change. Click the previous links for the most current information.
We have also included the Berkeley Police Department’s most recently released crime narratives, which cover May 26 to June 1. … Continue reading »
Zoning Board approves new 7-Eleven, but not 24-hours
Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board on Thursday approved 7-Eleven’s application to open a store at 2000 San Pablo Ave. (at University) with an ATM machine and some design changes, but said it did not want the store to be open 24 hours.
Before the motion was passed, 7-Eleven representatives at the ZAB meeting had emphasized that operating 24-hours is at the core of their business model. The convenience store chain now has the right to appeal ZAB’s decision to the Berkeley City Council.
The ZAB Board listened to comments from around 25 residents and merchants of the west Berkeley neighborhood whose nexus is the intersection of San Pablo and University where the store would be located. The majority were opposed to a 7-Eleven coming into the area. Their concerns, which were also raised at a community meeting at the proposed 7-Eleven site on Jan. 8, centered on the negative impact such a store might have on local crime and safety, in particular if it was open all night. … Continue reading »
Locals oppose 7-Eleven coming into ‘fragile’ neighborhood
Update, 01.22.13: The 7-Eleven hearing has been postponed and will not be heard at the Jan. 24 Zoning Adjustments Board meeting. We will report on the new date when it is set.
Original story: A group of west Berkeley neighbors is mounting a vocal opposition to 7-Eleven opening a 24-hour convenience store at 2000 San Pablo Ave. on the corner of University Avenue. Residents fear that a store open throughout the night would be a magnet for crime and anti-social behavior, and would threaten to reverse what many see as significant improvements to the neighborhood’s quality of life over the past few years.
Around 60 local residents and merchants gathered on the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 8, at the vacant corner store for which 7-Eleven submitted a use permit application to the city Planning Department in September. … Continue reading »
Future uncertain for Berkeley’s Serendipity Books
Peter B. Howard, the owner of Serendipity Books, has been collecting antique tomes for 47 years and the results of his diligence can be seen in the stacks and stacks of books at his store on University Avenue.
A world-renowned book collector who has rescued a number of valuable archives from the Berkeley city dump and gotten them preserved at university libraries, Howard estimates that he owns one million books. Half are crammed into his store, where the piles of books make it tough to move around, and half are stored in his warehouse.
But all that is about to change.
Howard was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year and he knows his time – and that of Serendipity Books — is short. He is trying to sell his massive collection, as well as his business, but does not think it will be easy. He predicts that the store will probably close upon his death.
“There’s nothing to say,” Howard said by telephone. “People die. We all die. Businesses end.”
Howard has long been famous for his blunt talk. That, and the quality of his collection, which contains many first editions and rare books.
Ian Jackson, an old friend and fellow antiquarian book dealer, has served as an unofficial interpreter of Howard to the world. He even wrote two books about the store and its owner, one titled, The Key to Serendipity: How to Buy Books in Spite of Peter Howard. (I think the double entendre is intended.)
In an epigraph to that book, Jackson repeats a conversation he overheard at Serendipity:
Puzzled Customer: “Is there any rhyme or reason to this place?”
Peter B. Howard: “Yes! My rhyme! My reason!”
Howard’s collection is huge and covers many areas, including California history and western Americana. He is known for his collection of first editions of American and British literature, and has holdings of Ernest Hemingway, Henry James, Shakespeare, North Point Press, and fiction from countries around the world, according to an interview Nicholas Basbanes published in his 2001 book, Patience and Fortitude: Wherein a Colorful Cast of Determined Book Collectors, Dealers, and Librarians Go About the Quixotic Task of Preserving a Legacy. Serendipity also has large collections of literary manuscripts, screenplays and little magazines. … Continue reading »
