Neighbors, join Halcyon Neighborhood Association’s Facebook group!

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Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-News 6/1/13

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Items appearing in the HNA E-News are deemed to be of general interest to neighbors but do not necessarily reflect the views of Halcyon Neighborhood Association (HNA), its Steering Committee, or the Editor. The Editor’s introductory comments express her personal viewpoint.

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Contents

1. HNA Steering Committee Meeting Thursday 6/13, 7-8 p.m.

2. Halcyon Neighborhood Association’s Guiding Principles

3. Crime-Watch Updates

4. Local Honey Available from Prince Street Neighbor

5. Deadline Approaching for Comments on Removal of Trees in the East Bay Hills

6. Whole Foods Market: Community Meeting on June 5, 9:15-9:45

7. Alameda County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Event, June 19, 10-2

Editor’s Introductory Note:

Thanks to those who helped out with our work party in Halcyon Commons and the surrounding neighborhood on May 11 — your efforts made a big difference, and thanks too for the coffee from Mokka Café and treats from Whole Foods Market!

As often seems to happen as UC students leave town and the warmer weather arrives, it appears that there’s been an upswing in crime in our neighborhood (see item 3 for reports). I encourage everyone to be proactive (call the Police if you notice suspicious behavior) and stay safe!

—Nancy Carleton, HNA Co-Chair and E-News Editor, halcyon92@gmail.com

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1. HNA Steering Committee Meeting Thursday 6/13, 7-8 p.m.

Editor’s note: Midyear, the HNA Steering Committee meets to track our progress to date and to plan for the rest of the year. We welcome new neighbors getting involved! The HNA Steering Committee uses a Yahoo listserv group for most of its planning to spare us from too many meetings in our already commitment-full lives (we’ll likely have just two or three meetings in all of 2013). If you’re interested in getting involved, especially in helping with neighborhood crime watch, please email halcyon92@gmail.com. All neighbors willing to work in the spirit of HNA’s Guiding Principles (see item 2 below) are welcome to join the Steering Committee. We’re very much open to new projects (for example, a couple of neighbors came forward to organize play dates for neighborhood children; another organized a neighborhood singalong, etc.). So if you have an aspect of the neighborhood you’d like to see addressed, please step up! For a modest investment of time, you can make a big difference right here where you live!

HNA Planning Meeting for Second Half of 2013

Thursday, June 13, 7-8 p.m.

Will take place at a home on Webster Street. Email halcyon92@gmail.com and you’ll receive details a couple of days before.

This meeting is open to Steering Committee members plus interested members of our Crime Watch and Disaster Preparedness groups, and others who are willing to work together in the spirit of HNA’s Guiding Principles.

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2. Halcyon Neighborhood Association’s Guiding Principles

Editor’s note: Given our upcoming Planning Meeting for the second half of 2013 (see item 1) and many new neighbors, this seems like a good time to highlight HNA’s Guiding Principles (which can always be found on our website).

HNA is a community group dedicated to stewardship of the Halcyon Neighborhood in South Berkeley (bounded by Telegraph, Ashby, Adeline, and Woolsey). We encourage positive, proactive, partnership-oriented approaches to improving the well-being of our neighborhood, with an emphasis on the following goals:

* Community building (such as regular potlucks, special events in the park, mutual support among neighbors, and multiblock yard sales);

* Ongoing care of Halcyon Commons (a park conceived of and created by the neighbors who founded HNA) under the nonprofit umbrella provided by Berkeley Partners for Parks and in partnership with the City of Berkeley;

* Continued greening and care of the neighborhood (planting trees, cleaning litter off streets, graffiti removal, and helping maintain public landscaped features);

* Strengthening neighborhood watch (crime watch, community safety walks, emergency preparedness, and disaster supply cache);

* Networking with the larger Berkeley community (nearby neighborhood groups, neighborhood businesses, City staff, and elected officials);

* Sharing information and empowering residents to become proactive in addressing neighborhood needs and in expressing individual viewpoints regarding civic affairs (spreading news through meetings, flyers, and the HNA E-News, and providing contact information).

To fulfill these goals, HNA provides a sanctuary from partisan politics so that neighbors with diverse viewpoints feel welcome to participate. Thus, HNA only takes stands on larger issues when there is near-unanimity among neighbors. By focusing on immediate local concerns, we find we can have a greater impact and get better results from the time we invest. Guided by these principles, HNA invites neighbors who are willing to work together in a spirit of partnership to participate at whatever level makes sense for them. Opportunities for serving on our volunteer Steering Committee and project-oriented committees are available to neighbors who are willing to roll up their sleeves and work together in a nonpartisan spirit. Neighbors are invited to step forward into leadership positions defined by the work they do in accordance with HNA’s primary goals and guiding principles.

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3. Crime-Watch Updates

Editor’s note: Please note that over the years we have noticed that there is sometimes an upswing in crime in the early summer as UC lets out, and then again when students return to town. So please take extra care, and report suspicious behavior to the Police! Our HNA Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=292160762499 often shares breaking crime reports in between E-News editions. If you’re a neighbor who isn’t yet part of this closed Facebook group, you’re missing out! Remember, we rely on neighbors to fill in the details of crimes in our neighborhood, so, in addition to being sure to file a Police report, please email halcyon92@gmail.com to pass the word on to your neighbors, or share it on our Facebook page, so we can all stay aware and vigilant!

HNA Steering Committee member Mikel Delgado submitted the following summary of recent crimes in or near the neighborhood. Thank you, Mikel!

Recent crimes in the neighborhood:

4/8 brandishing a weapon Webster & Telegraph

4/9 burglary Prince & Halcyon

4/9 vehicle break-in Halcyon

4/10 burglary Prince & Halcyon

4/11 burglary Prince & Halcyon

4/11 larceny theft Ashby & Telegraph

4/15 larceny theft Ashby & Telegraph

4/18 vehicle break-in Prince & Telegraph

5/4 vehicle break-in Dowling & Telegraph

5/6 robbery Webster & Telegraph

5/6 larceny theft Prince & Shattuck

5/7 vehicle break-in Dowling & Telegraph5/11 - burglary Emerson & Wheeler

5/13 - car break-in Telegraph & Ashby

robbery - Webster & Dana

also robberies outside the neighborhood 5/13 Shattuck & 60th and Colby & Webster

5/14 - burglary Essex & Wheeler

5/14 - robbery Prince & Shattuck

5/15 - theft from person Telegraph & Ashby

robbery Prince & Fulton

motor vehicle theft Prince & Shattuck

5/17 - felony theft Telegraph & Ashby

5/21 - theft Telegraph & Ashby

theft Telegraph & Woolsey

5/23 - burglary Essex & Tremont

Mikel also passed on the following link:

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/05/16/berkeley-crime-analysis-robberies-up-25-in-2013/

An Essex Street neighbor reported on Facebook:

“FYI We had a burglary at our home on Essex & Tremont at 11:30 today [May 23]. Someone came to the door and rang the doorbell repeatedly (our housemate did not answer as she was studying and thought it was a marketer), then 20 minutes later, he threw a large rock through the downstairs window (front of house) and grabbed a laptop that was in reach, and ran away.”

Editor’s note: This experience illustrates why the Police recommend not opening the door to those who knock/ring if you don’t know them, but letting them know someone is home (through lights or sounds or a deep voice demanding to know who's there). Often burglars ring or knock first to check if anyone is home.

A Prince Street neighbor reported on Facebook:

“FYI a locked bike was stolen from our fenced-in back yard last night [May 29-30], they cut through a cable to do so.”

A Prince Street neighbor reported on Facebook:

“Everyone, at 2:50 pm today [May 15] at Prince and Fulton, I was attacked by a man who was trying to rob me for my iPhone 5 and my purse [. . . BTW the reason I mention the model of my phone is because the police mentioned that robbers are specifically looking for the 5]. HE WAS VERY AGGRESSIVE. [Description:]

- Black male, about 28, dark skinned, about 5'11," fit (so about 175 lbs), baggy jeans falling down, bright blue t-shirt.
- He was with an accomplice who was further down the block, baggy jeans, forest-green sweatshirt.

. . . If any of you were among the 11 people or so who came out to help me, thank you very much!!!! Good neighbors!”

A Prince Street neighbor reported on Facebook:

“This morning [May 6], a bike was stolen from our multi-unit front yard. I happened to spot the guy taking it and, since he didn't look at all familiar, I contacted the non-emergency Berkeley Police number: 510-981-5900. Amazingly, within half an hour, the Police had found the guy and the bike nearby, and the bike was returned. Thank you, BPD!”

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4. Local Honey Available from Prince Street Neighbor

Editor’s note: Received from Prince Street neighbor Douglas James.

“The spring harvest of Baja Berkeley Honey is available. It is from bees that reside in my backyard on Prince Street. The honey is light and floral. Its taste comes from the flowers in our neighborhood garden. I am selling the honey for $12 per 1 pint jar ~ 1.3 lbs. Please contact me at 510-849-1772 or djames@microprop.com. Thanks!”

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5. Deadline Approaching for Comments on Removal of Trees in the East Bay Hills

Editor’s note: A number of neighbors asked that I pass on information on plans to remove tens of thousands of trees in the East Bay hills, including in Claremont and Strawberry Canyons for the purposes of fire mitigation. Many are opposed to what they call “clear cutting.” Others feel that preventing another catastrophic fire, and restoring natives, should be the priority. Since this is definitely not an issue on which HNA will be taking a position (I already know there’s a range of opinions among neighbors from the discussion on our Facebook page), I’ll simply pass on the link to this article in the Berkeley Daily Planet, which outlines the issue and passes on links to opinions and information on all sides of this issue! If you feel strongly, please pass your opinions on to relevant decision makers before the deadline in mid-June!

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2013-05-24/article/41086?headline=Berkeley-is-Burned-Up-About-the-Big-Tree-Brouhaha--By-Becky-O-Malley

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6. Whole Foods Market: Community Meeting on June 5, 9:15-9:45

Drop-In Progress Meeting, Wednesday, June 5, 9:15-9:45 a.m.

(community meetings are typically held on the first or second Wednesday of each month)

Whole Foods Market (check in at Customer Service)

“These meetings are held at the Community Table at the front of the store, and the purpose is to share our plans for ongoing changes in the store, street litter control, and progress on any of the ongoing issues we discuss [with HNA reps and nearby neighbors]. The Store Team Leader is usually present, and anyone is welcome to join us. Of course there will be complimentary coffee, tea, and snacks. Our goal is to follow up immediately on any issues that we hear about, and to hear how the store can be a better neighbor.”

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7. Alameda County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Event, June 19, 10-2

*Alameda County Public Health Department*

*Public Health Emergency Preparedness*

*Date: **June 19th, 2013 10:00am -- 2:00pm*

*Location: **Oakland Coliseum East Side Club, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland*

Come join us at our annual event and learn how you can become more independent! Participate in preparedness activities and free trainings. Everyone is welcome! There will be a special focus on seniors, persons with disabilities, individuals with access and functional needs and the organizations that serve these groups.

Trainings and classes are for suitable for everyone with a special focus on seniors, persons with disabilities, homebound nonambulatory individuals and underserved populations. Some classes will be available in Spanish and for the Hearing Impaired/Deaf.

Please visit our website for more information: http://www.acphd.org/phep/upcoming-events.aspx

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