Join Halcyon Neighborhood Association’s new Facebook group!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-News 9/8/10

* * * * * * * * * * * *

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 and notes express her personal viewpoint.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Contents

1. Save the Date & Help Needed: Sun. 10/3, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Celebration in the Park with Live Music

2. Crime Watch Update: Burglary at Deakin & Prince Plus Car Break-in on Halcyon

3. Feedback Sought for Meeting with Whole Foods Market Next Week

4. Neighbor Organizing Halloween Puzzle Hunt for Adults, Sun. Oct. 31, 5-9 p.m.

5. Link to Article on Wild Salmon and Habitat Restoration by a Neighbor

6. Election 2010: First Time for Ranked Choice Voting in Berkeley

7. Election 2010: Candidate Nights in September & October Plus City of Berkeley Links

8. Prince Street Neighbor Seeking Cottage Rental in Our Neighborhood

9. Local Honey from Neighborhood Bees Available!

10. Free Monthly Tai Chi Practice in the Park, Sunday, September 26, 11 a.m.

Editor’s Introductory Note:

Labor Day has come and gone, students are back in school both at Cal and in our school district, and election season is here — for better or sometimes worse. And in addition to all that, there are a couple of fun events coming up for connecting with your neighbors (see items 1, 4, and 10).

In this Introductory Note, I also wanted to put in a special thank-you to the Cal student volunteers from the School of Public Health who spent three hours on the hottest afternoon of the summer helping us weed and mulch in Halcyon Commons and nearby planted features. We even managed to give some TLC in the form of mulch to some of the ornamental pears on Halcyon that underwent such severe pruning in an attempt to control the fire blight. Check out the park — it’s looking good!

The next regular E-News will be coming out October 1. If you have news to share, email it to me before then. In the meantime, here’s wishing you a great start to Fall!

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

* * * * * * * * * * * *

1. Save the Date & Help Needed: Sun. 10/3, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Celebration in the Park with Live Music

HNA Co-Chair John Steere is once again leading the effort to put on what’s turning out to be an annual Celebration in the Park with live music and potluck. Please save the date for this year’s celebration on your calendar — Sunday, October 3 — and if you’re willing to help with pre-event organizing (to identify musicians and help with publicity) or to help with setup, cleanup, or other logistics on the day of the event, please email halcyon92@gmail.com. This is turning out to be a lovely annual event and another great chance to get to know your neighbors and listen to some talented local musicians. Please lend a hand!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

2. Crime Watch Update: Burglary at Deakin & Prince Plus Car Break-in on Halcyon

Editor’s note: A Deakin Street neighbor passed on the following report:

“Our garage was broken into sometime between 9 p.m. on August 25 and noon on August 26th. Some stuff was stolen; I haven't yet made an itemized list. Called the police. Also, not sure if you already knew about the white BMW with a shattered driver’s side window at 2300 Prince from last weekend. [Editor’s note: This was one of the car break-ins mentioned in the last E-News Update] Ugh!”

The same neighbor later contributed the following update:

“An update [this has also been reported to the Police]: An African-American man, appearing to be in his late 40s, identifying himself as Doug, came to my door to say that he had witnessed the break-in to my garage, approached the burglars (whom he knew), and negotiated with them to get my stuff back if I was willing to pay $45. He did me this favor because I and my co-owner had hired him about a year ago to do some weeding around our front yards. I didn't buy his story, and I was not willing to buy back my own stuff. I suggest being wary of “Doug.” He is in the neighborhood of 6 feet (maybe a little shorter), about 160-180 lbs., is missing several front teeth, and has yellowed eyes. He said that he works at the White Horse, cleaning up the place after closing, but who knows what, if anything, that he says is true. Thanks for spreading the word!”

A Halcyon neighbor reported a car break-in last night (9/7-9/8) on Halcyon Court, with entry through the passenger window on the driver’s side (no report of what was taken).

* * * * * * * * * * *

3. Feedback Sought for Meeting with Whole Foods Market Next Week

Editor’s note: Several times a year HNA Co-Chairs John Steere and Nancy Carleton — along with a few neighbors close to Whole Foods — meet with representatives of Whole Foods Market to share concerns and work together to mitigate impacts of the store on the surrounding community. Our next meeting is the middle of next week. This is your chance to email back your concerns and/or praise for us to pass on to the Whole Foods team. Please email your comments to halcyon92@gmail.com by Tuesday, September 15 (and let us know whether it’s okay to share your name/address or whether you’d prefer to remain anonymous). Since there are some recurrent issues that seem to take time to resolve, it’s fine to let us know if something still hasn’t been resolved; that way, we can keep tracking progress (or lack thereof) with Whole Foods Market. And if you’ve noticed improvements in an issue you’ve brought up in the past, it’s always nice to be able to pass that on too!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

4. Neighbor Organizing Halloween Puzzle Hunt for Adults, Sun. Oct. 31, 5-9 p.m.

Editor’s note: A neighbor, David Medenhall, is helping to organize what sounds like a fun community-building event focused in our neighborhood and possibly the next neighborhood to the north for this Halloween night. David has indicated that the puzzles are designed to be fairly challenging for adults, though some teenagers may also be interested; younger children are welcome if accompanied by their parents but would “be along for the ride.” Note that a couple of our Steering Committee members are also talking about holding another parade for costumed toddles and pre-schoolers around the park late afternoon on Halloween. We’ll keep you posted!

Halloween Puzzle Hunt, Sunday Oct. 31st, 5-9 p.m.

There’s something strange in your neighborhood . . .

We will be running a Bay Area Night Game (see http://www.bayareanightgame.com/index.php?title=BANG:About for general info) in the Halcyon neighborhood this Halloween. This a puzzle hunt where teams of 4 walk from place to place picking up “clues” — puzzles that need to be solved to find a hidden message. The theme of this hunt is that a ghost is roaming our neighborhood, and some houses are handing out haunted treats. Our teams of paranormal investigators will go undercover as trick-or-treaters to collect these clues and bust the ghost. In plain language, a bunch of nerdy grown-ups are going to be walking around our neighborhood from 5 to 9 p.m., probably in costumes. (People can bring their children along if they want. Parents can pick up puzzles while their kids trick-or-treat.)

We’d like your help! We need a few more locations to hand out clues. All this would mean for you is that when a group of grown-ups comes to your house, you give them a puzzle instead of candy. We will tell the teams which houses are participating, so no need to worry about them knocking on random doors. If you can help us out, or are interested in playing in the hunt, email us at inspector@ghost-patrol.com. Thanks!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

5. Link to Article on Wild Salmon and Habitat Restoration by a Neighbor

Editor’s note: It’s important to remember that along with the bad news (i.e., crime-watch updates), there are many good things happening in our neighborhood; for this reason, I love posting links to articles and commentaries written by neighbors, so we can all witness the talent we have living within several square blocks! This time, I’m linking to an article by neighbor Jon Rosenfield, which is beautifully written and well worth checking out.

http://www.onearth.org/community-blog/wild-salmon-weaving-worlds-together

* * * * * * * * * * * *

6. Election 2010: First Time for Ranked Choice Voting in Berkeley

Editor’s note: Mark Numainville, Deputy City Clerk, has asked me to run this item in the September and October E-Newsletters to help spread the word about the new way we’ll be voting in several local races this November:

Berkeley voters will use Ranked Choice Voting for the first time this November. This method allows the voter to rank candidates in order of preference, and eliminates the need for run-off elections.

In 2010, RCV will only be used in races City Council and Auditor. In these races, voters can (but aren't required to) indicate their first, second, and third choice for an office. The use of Ranked Choice Voting will not change any other part of your voting experience. You may continue to vote-by-mail or at the polls just as you have done in the past.

RCV is as easy as ranking your top three choices — 1, 2, 3. For more information on how Ranked-Choice Voting works, please visit http://www.acgov.org/rov/rcv. For any questions, please contact the City Clerk Department at 981-6900 or elections@cityofberkeley.info.

If you are a member of officer in a community organization, and you would like to participate in the Voter Education Campaign for RCV, call 981-6900 or e-mail elections@cityofberkeley.info. We can do a presentation to your group or provide you with printed materials to distribute to your members. We can all help get the word out about RCV!

Mark Numainville, CMC

Deputy City Clerk, City of Berkeley

510-981-6909

* * * * * * * * * * * *

7. Election 2010: Candidate Nights in September & October Plus City of Berkeley Links

Editor’s note: By now most of you know that in accordance with our Guiding Principles, HNA doesn’t take position on elections, candidates, and measures, or other issues of potential disagreement — or likely wide range of viewpoints — among neighbors (except in rare cases of near unanimity), although as individuals many of us have strong feelings and clear positions. This fall, in addition to important races at the State level, there are a range of local offices up for election, including School Board, Rent Board, and, in our neighborhood, the District 7 City Council seat currently held by Kriss Worthington (note that Max Anderson, the other councilmember who represents our neighborhood, isn’t up for reelection until 2012), along with a number of local measures on schools, downtown planning, and medical cannabis. While HNA won’t be making endorsements in any of these races, we encourage neighbors to become informed, vote, and make your voices heard! To this end, we’ll be sharing information about candidate nights, two of which are being sponsored by neighborhoods nearby. For those of you unclear on boundaries in our neighborhood, District 7 includes the east side of Wheeler (but not the west side) all of Woolsey, both north and south, from Telegraph to Shattuck, and the remaining blocks of Prince, Fulton, Deakin, Webster, Halcyon, Ashby, and Telegraph east of Wheeler (outside our neighborhood, District 7 also includes much of Le Conte, Bateman, and Willard neighborhoods, along with Southside dorms and residences, and a sliver of Northside).

Le Conte Neighborhood Association Candidates’ Night

(part of the regular Le Conte Neighborhood Association Meeting, starting at 7:30 p.m.)

Thursday, September 16, District 7 candidates (Councilmember Kriss Worthington, George Beier, and Ces Rosales), 7:45-8:45 p.m.

2905 Shattuck Avenue

For more information, contact Karl Reeh at KarlReeh@aol.com.

Willard Neighborhood Association Candidates’ Forum

Thursday, October 14, 6:30–9:00 p.m.

Willard Middle School Cafetorium

Featuring both District 7 candidates (District 7 includes the eastern two-thirds of Halcyon Neighborhood) and District 8 candidates (District 8 is mostly from east of College Avenue into the hills); District 7 candidates (Councilmember Kriss Worthington, Ces Rosales, and George Beier) tentatively scheduled for 7:00-7:45 p.m.

For more information, contact Vincent Casalaina at ProBerk@aol.com.

Editor’s note: There’s a wealth of information about the candidates running in Berkeley this fall for all the offices up for election, as well as ballot statements pro and con on the various measures, at the City of Berkeley’s website, but it can take a little searching on the site to find it. The first link below will take you to the master list of candidates, and the second will take you to arguments on the measures.

Candidates:

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=58046

Measures:

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=57014

* * * * * * * * * * * *

8. Prince Street Neighbor Seeking Cottage Rental in Our Neighborhood

Editor’s note: A neighbor who has been renting an apartment on Prince Street is looking for a cottage to rent in our neighborhood or nearby. Please contact Denise if you can help her find one!

“I’m looking for a cottage in Berkeley. I would love to stay in the neighborhood. My contact info is: denise@zdfilms.com and cell number (415) 378-7436.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

9. Local Honey from Neighborhood Bees Available!

Editor’s note: Another neighbor (besides Bruce & Noriko of Halcyon Hives) has been keeping bees on Prince Street and submitted the following announcement. Isn’t it great that we have bees in our neighborhood keeping our flowering trees and shrubs well pollinated? And many say that local honey is one of the best foods to eat if you have seasonal allergies.

“I’ve been keeping bees on Prince Street for the past three years. I just harvested about 48 lbs. of honey from the hives and would be interested in making it available to my Halcyon Neighbors who are interested in having truly local honey. I suspect my bees have been visiting many of their gardens!!! Anyway, I'm offering 1-pint jars for $10 each. A pint of honey weighs about 1.4 lbs. 849-1772 or djames@microprop.com for more info. Thanks, Doug James”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

10. Free Monthly Tai Chi Practice in the Park, Sunday, September 26, 11 a.m.

Free monthly Tai Chi Chih Practice (fourth Sundays at 11 a.m.)

Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

Facilitated by Prince Street neighbor Judith Schwartz, 510-843-2062;

http://www.judithschwartz.com/

[Editor’s Note: Judith also offers ongoing classes to teach the Tai Chi forms in her peaceful Prince Street gardens; you can contact her for more information.]

* * * * * * * * * * * *