Neighbors, join Halcyon Neighborhood AssociationÕs Facebook group!
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Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-News May 2016
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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 EditorÕs introductory comments express her personal viewpoint.
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Contents
1. HNA Steering
Committee Meeting, Tues., 5/10, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
2. Work Party in Halcyon Commons, Sat. 6/4, 9:30
a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
3. Free E-Waste Event at
Whole Foods Market This Saturday, 4/30, 10-4
4. Berkeley Emergency
Prep This Saturday, April 30, 10-2
5. Crime-Watch Update
6. Free Disaster First Aid Workshop, Thurs.
5/26/16, 6-7:30 p.m., South Berkeley Library
7. Request from Neighborhood Beekeeper
8. Whole Foods Market
News: Next Drop-in Progress Meeting Fri., 5/13, 8:15-9:00 a.m.
9.
Halcyon Neighborhood AssociationÕs Guiding Principles
EditorÕs Introductory Note:
Thanks to the neighbors and Cal volunteers with the Berkeley Project who helped out at our work party in the park in early March, which took place despite a downpour. We appreciated refreshments courtesy of Whole Foods Market and fresh coffee from Mokka Caf (sadly, the last coffee theyÕll be able to donate, as the caf is closing by early June; weÕll very much miss Mokka and its owners, Michael and Susan, whoÕve been so generous over the years!). We got a lot done and have a touch-up work party in early June (see item 2).
We have our midyear Steering Committee meeting coming up (see item 1) and welcome new participants as we plan the rest of the yearÕs events in the neighborhood. We hope more neighbors will consider joining the Steering Committee; even if you canÕt make the meeting, we also use a listserv to help plan in between meetings, and weÕd love to include you!
HereÕs to a great May in the neighborhood!
—Nancy Carleton, HNA Co-Chair and E-News Editor, halcyon92@gmail.com
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1. HNA Steering Committee Meeting, Tues., 5/10, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
EditorÕs note: This is the HNA Steering CommitteeÕs mid-year meeting to follow up on plans for neighborhood activities during the remainder of 2016, including work parties to maintain Halcyon Commons, disaster preparedness drills, crime-watch meetings, and social events, such as our popular neighborhood potlucks, celebrations in the park, Halloween parade, and more. This year weÕre also working on the installation of our halcyon bird sculpture project (permit recently received from the city) as well as doing some 20th anniversary spiffing up in the park and larger neighborhood. So much is possible in our neighborhood, but we depend on new neighbors getting involved to help keep us keep moving forward. 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 (weÕll likely have just two in all of 2016). We would very much welcome your participation!
Please email halcyon92@gmail.com if you want more information. All neighbors willing to work in the spirit of HNAÕs Guiding Principles (see item 9 below) are welcome to join the Steering Committee. WeÕre 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 some years back, etc.). So if you have an aspect of the neighborhood youÕd like to see addressed, please step up! And if you have a special interest in crime watch or disaster preparedness, we especially need your help. For a modest investment of time, you can make a big difference right here where you live.
HNA Steering
Committee Meeting
Tuesday, May 10, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Meeting will take place at a home on Webster Street. Email halcyon92@gmail.com for details.
This meeting is open to Steering Committee members plus
interested members of our Crime Watch and Disaster Preparedness groups, those
interested in helping with our 20th anniversary projects, and all who are
willing to work together in the spirit of HNAÕs
Guiding Principles.
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2. Work Party in Halcyon
Commons, Sat. 6/4, 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince) RAIN OR SHINE!
Time Frame: Come anytime between 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Sat. 6/4 (even twenty minutes helps!)
Goals: Weed in the park and nearby planted areas; enjoy the company of
neighbors
Fuel: Refreshments & lunch courtesy of Whole Foods Market
This work party
relies on neighbors (no student volunteers for this one, alas!). If you can
help, just show up at Halcyon Commons. Bring your own weeding tools, or weÕll
loan you some. Children welcome!
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3. Free E-Waste Event at Whole Foods Market This Saturday, 4/30, 10-4
EditorÕs note: Announcement received from
Telegraph Whole Foods Market Team Leader Melody Mestemacher.
WeÕre excited to announce our
first E-waste electronics collection event at Whole Foods Market @ Telegraph
Ave in partnership with Civicorps!
On Saturday, April 30th from 10
a.m. – 4
p.m., you can drive into the event held at Whole Foods Market,
Berkeley @ 3000 Telegraph Ave and drop off your Ewaste
free of charge! Please read the list of accepted items below.
Accepted items:
*TVs and CRT monitors
*Flat screen/LCD panels and
Plasma Screens
*Rear projection TVs
*Laptops
*PC/CPUs
*Cell phones, smartphones
*Tablets and e-reader
*Telephonic equipment and
walkie-talkies
*Digital cameras, video cameras,
projectors
*Printers, Scanners, digital
adding machines and calculators
*Networking/Servers equipment
*Mixed Electronic waste
(keyboards, mice, network cables, power cables, chargers, peripherals, digital
clocks etc)
*Stereo equipment, radios, tape
and CD players/recorders, phonographs – no standalone speakers)
*Small home or office appliances
(no refrigerators or air conditioners)
NOT ACCEPTED:
*Lightbulbs
of any type
*Batteries (except laptop or
cell phone batteries installed in the device)
*Large appliances of any type
like refrigerators and air conditioners
*Techno trash like CDs, VHS
tapes or DVDs
*Standalone speakers
Please note that as a
state-certified E-waste collector, Civicorps is
required to verify your ID as the owner of certain items sent to recycle.
Hope to see you here!
Melody Mestemacher, Store Team Leader at WFM Berkeley @ Telegraph Ave.
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4. Berkeley Emergency Prep This Saturday, April 30, 10-2
Kids growing up in earthquake country need a disaster-prepared household. Pet owners need to know how to keep pets safe in a disaster. At a free community-wide event on April 30, people of all levels of experience can improve emergency readiness for their whole family.
You'll find family-friendly activities, tips and information, on-site training,
and interactive demonstrations of safety resources. There will be
pet-preparedness demonstrations, hands-on first aid instruction, a showcase of
emergency vehicles, games, prizes, kids activities, and more.
Join families, kids, pets, schools, community organizations and businesses, and
people of all ages to have fun, celebrate our community's resilience and
protect those you love by getting ready together!
"We all need to be ready with the skills, plans, and supplies for all the
members of our households - including children and animals - to survive and
thrive in our next emergency," said Fire Chief Gil Dong.
Location: Civic Center Park-2151 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA
Date: April 30, 2016
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
To see hyperlinks and view more of this release, visit http://cityofberkeley.info/City_Manager/Press_Releases/2016/2016-04-21_Berkeley_Emergency_Prep_Fair.aspx
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5. Crime-Watch Update
EditorÕs note: Our HNA Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=292160762499 often shares breaking crime reports in between E-News editions (your home and email addresses plus phone are required to participate so we can be sure the group is kept safe for neighbors, and we require this information prior to accepting your request to join). Remember, we rely on neighbors to fill in the details of crimes in our neighborhood, so, in addition to filing a police report (which can now be done online through the City of Berkeley website for some kinds of crimes: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/onlinereport/), 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. We donÕt want to engage in profiling, so if you include a description, please make it as detailed as possible and avoid generalities.
From HNA Steering Committee member Mikel Delgado:
ItÕs been a LONG time since I posted a Ņlocal crimeÓ update! My apologies. Here are the area crimes since January to early March. There have also been a smattering of non-larceny thefts and a few assaults (including domestic violence) in the neighborhood, but for simplicityÕs sake, IÕm focusing on burglaries, robberies, weapons and vehicle break-in/thefts. You can always go to crimemapping.com to get a full report on crimes near any address!
1/13 Brandishing weapon Wheeler & Ashby
1/17 Robbery Ashby & Telegraph
1/25 Robbery Ashby & Shattuck
1/30 Burglary Woolsey & Shattuck
2/3 Robbery Ashby & Shattuck
2/10 Burglary Woolsey & Dana
2/16 Robbery Ashby & Telegraph
2/17 Burglary Prince & Shattuck
2/20 Brandishing weapon Prince & Fulton
2/26 Vehicle stolen Ashby & Colby
2/28 Vehicle Break-in Ashby & Telegraph
3/2 Burglary Prince & Shattuck
Berkeleyside article on Berkeley crime stats:
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2016/04/05/berkeley-neighbors-police-vow-new-push-on-crime-prevention/
Article on arrests following shooting on Tremont:
A Prince Street neighbor reported to our HNA Facebook group on April 24:
ŅHi everyone: FYI I had a package stolen from my porch yesterday morning. I saw it when I was leaving and I didn't have time to grab it and when I got back a few hours later it was gone. It was a small box labeled Sightglass. Pretty bummed that this happened.Ó
An incident on the western edge of our neighborhood:
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2016/04/17/man-assaulted-with-metal-bat-in-south-berkeley/
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6. Free Disaster First Aid
Workshop, Thurs. 5/26/16, 6-7:30 p.m., South Berkeley Library
EditorÕs note: Maryann Sargent of Deakin Street Neighbors sent along this invitation to an upcoming workshop.
Thursday May 26th
from 6 to 7:30
Disaster First Aid
Learn how to perform basic first aid that may be necessary after a disaster or emergency.
South Berkeley Branch Library Community Room
1901 Russell Street, Berkeley, CA 94703
Offered by the City of BerkeleyÕs Community Preparedness and Engagement Program of the Berkeley Public Health Division. The presenter will be Lincoln Casimere, Program Manager.
Call or email me (Maryann Sargent) to RSVP: msargent@lmi.net or 510-848-6737.
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7. Request from Neighborhood
Beekeeper
EditorÕs note: I
received the following announcement from Prince Street beekeeper Bruce Wicinas.
April is bee-swarm month, and our neighborhood seems to lie on the flight path of swarms on the move. If you spot a bee swarm settling in a tree or bush in our neighborhood and notify a local beekeeper, it will be promptly collected unless itÕs too high above the ground. Please call beekeeper Bruce Wicinas at 925-790-2312 M-F 10-6 or 510-848-1797 or other hours. Bruce has the numbers of other local beekeepers who may also be interested if heÕs unable to respond. (If bees are already residing inside a wall or a roof, a specialist or an exterminator is required.)
When you see a bee swarm, you are witnessing bee propagation — the natural way, without the aid of humans. In the spring, a vigorous hive produces a new queen. She leaves and takes about half the worker bees with her, leaving the old queen with the existing hive. Assuming the form of a cloud of airborne bees called a swarm, queen and workers seek a new home, settling in the late afternoons and evenings in a temporary bee ball made up of thousands of bees. Swarming bees are typically under the control of powerful pheromones, and will not attack humans or others unless they threaten the queen.
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8. Whole Foods Market
News: Next Drop-in Progress Meeting Fri., 5/13/16, 8:15-9:00 a.m.
EditorÕs note: News from Whole Foods Market courtesy of Store Team Leader Melody Mestermacher.
Next Drop-in Progress Meeting, Friday, May 13, 8:15-9:00 a.m.
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 or tea. 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.
As always, if there are ever any urgent issues, please call the store at 510-649-1333 and ask for the shift manager on duty. We have new shift leaders being trained, so please send an email to the group below so we can follow up appropriately. Always feel free to swing by too, if youÕd like to have a word with us.
Melody.Mestemacher@wholefoods.com
Carlisle.Crumley@wholefoods.com
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9. Halcyon Neighborhood AssociationÕs Guiding
Principles
EditorÕs note: Given our upcoming Steering Committee
meeting (see item 1), this E-News features HNAÕs
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 HNAÕs
primary goals and guiding principles.
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