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Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-News 9/7/11

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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. Celebration & Potluck to Celebrate 15th Anniversary of Halcyon Commons, Sunday, September 25, 4:30-6:30 p.m. with Live Jazz Music

2. Last Chance to Sign Up for Multi-Household Yard Sale Planned for Saturday, September 17

3. Bay Area Foreclosure Prevention & Resources Workshop, Sat. 9/10, 11-5, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge

4. Halcyon Neighborhood Association Included in Small Press Coverage

5. Hidden Gems of Berkeley Bike Tour, Saturday 9/24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

6. Crime Report: Link to Article/Press Release on Decrease in Crime

7. Whole Foods Market Update: Progress Meeting, Weds. 9/21, 8:30-9 a.m., Plus Support Our Schools Event with Music, Sat. 9/10, 12-5 p.m.

8. Farewell from Neighbor Caleb Dardick

9. Poem Read at Gathering in Memory of John Leverick

10. Berkeley Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Volunteer Opportunities Meeting, Tues. 9/13, 7–9 p.m.

11. Link to Disaster Prep Tip on Social Media

12. Link to Article on Hawks and Rodenticides

 

 

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1. Celebration & Potluck to Celebrate 15th Anniversary of Halcyon Commons, Sunday, September 25, 4:30-6:30 p.m. with Live Jazz Music

 

Editor’s note: HNA Co-Chair John Steere submitted the following announcement of the 9/25 Celebration in Halcyon Commons. If you could help for 15 minutes with either set-up or wrap-up of the event, please call John Steere at 849-1969.

Neighbors and friends, come together for the 15th Anniversary Celebration of Halcyon Commons & Neighborhood Potluck with live music from Compared to What, a jazz-funk quintet*

Date: Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011, 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Place: Halcyon Commons (Halcyon Court at Prince Street)

Halcyon Commons, designed, built, and maintained by our neighborhood, is the heart and soul of our local community. Come out and celebrate with one another our park’s 15th birthday along with our one-of-a-kind neighborhood!

 

Delicious Mediterranean appetizers and cake courtesy of Whole Foods Market.

 

Please bring a dish to share for 8-10!

 

Potluck suggestions: Appetizer: A–C * Salad: M–T * Main Dish: D–L * Dessert: U–Z

(If not obvious, kindly attach a label with ingredients for your dish to alert those with vegetarian and other diets. It’s really helpful if some of you also bring a beverage to share. Children & guests welcome so long as you bring something to share!)

 

* Live music will be provided by Compared to What, a jazz-funk group including long-time neighbor Rob Lyons (on guitar), Colin Gleason (sax), Pete Muny (bass), and Josh Biller (drums). The band plays original music in a style that is at once urban, tuneful, funky, hip — just like our neighborhood.

 

Midway, there will be brief presentations by community members and Halcyon Neighborhood Association Co-Chairs John Steere & Nancy Carleton, and City officials, including Councilmember Kriss Worthington (to give a City Proclamation honoring HNA & Halcyon Commons) and possibly Mayor Tom Bates (invited). Please join us!

 

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2. Last Chance to Sign Up for Multi-Household Yard Sale Planned for Saturday, September 17

 

Editor’s note: Halcyon neighbor (and HNA Treasurer) Susan Hunter and a couple of interested neighbors have settled on the date of Saturday, September 17 for their next multi-household yard sale (see below). Whether it expands beyond the Webster/Halcyon/Prince triangle will depend on your interest. At least 10 households need to participate for the sale to be promoted as a multi-block HNA sale.

 

We’ve set a date for a fall multi-family sale: Saturday, September 17. I still have some valuable items to sell, and I’d welcome company. (We get bigger turnouts if we sell together.) If we get at least ten households to participate, it will be another HNA sale ($5 to cover costs from each participating household plus help posting flyers/signs). Or we’ll do it as a smaller group with households advertising separately. Please email halcyon92@gmail.com no later than the end of the day Friday September 9th to let me know if you’d like to be included, and I’ll let you know if we’re on as a group sale!

 

Susan Hunter

 

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3. Bay Area Foreclosure Prevention & Resources Workshop, Sat. 9/10, 11-5, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge

 

Editor’s Note: I received this announcement from several sources.

 

Bay Area Foreclosure Prevention and Resources Workshop
Saturday, September 10, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Berkeley Public Library Meeting Room, 2090 Kittredge St., Berkeley, CA 94704

The Bay Area Foreclosure Prevention and Resources Workshop will provide resources and information for homeowners, landlords, and tenants that is intended to combat the alarming trend of foreclosures around the East Bay. . . . The workshop will feature panelists, informational tables, and opportunities for one-on-one counseling with representatives from lending institutions and financial and foreclosure counseling organizations (including Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-certified counselors, who can serve as intermediaries between clients and their lending institutions); financial management and financial health community organizations; tenants’ rights advocacy groups; community organizing groups; and elected officials or staff members familiar with federal and state legislation on foreclosures and home ownership. It will seek to educate homeowners on refinancing and other strategies to avoid foreclosure, as well as what rights homeowners have at their disposal if a foreclosure action has begun. It will also feature workshops to educate tenants on their rights if they reside in a property that is being foreclosed upon.  A large atrium has been reserved for the event. Various subjects will be discussed, including foreclosure prevention and action strategies, federal, state, and regional foreclosure policies, and tenants’ rights. It will also include tables of invited organizations and elected officials. There will be opportunities to meet with representatives from lending institutions and HUD-certified counselors on a one-on-one basis. 

 

Please contact berkeleyforeclosureworkshop@gmail.com or 510-295-8798 for details. More information is available on our website (berkeleyforeclosure.wordpress.com).

 

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4. Halcyon Neighborhood Association Included in Small Press Coverage

 

Editor’s note: Two links to recent websites that featured Halcyon Commons and HNA (one an article on our National Night Out participation, based on an interview with HNA Co-Chair Nancy Carleton; the other including a photo of graduate student volunteers helping out in Halcyon Commons during our August work party).

 

http://berkeley.patch.com/articles/halcyon-neighborhood-association-fights-crime-with-community

 

http://sph.berkeley.edu/news/2011/volunteer_day.php

 

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5. Hidden Gems of Berkeley Bike Tour, Saturday 9/24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

Editor’s note: HNA Co-Chair John Steere founded this annual bike ride and will once again be leading a unique tour, this time focusing on treasures in West Berkeley.

 

Hidden Gems of Berkeley: A Magical Mystery Bike Tour of West Berkeley’s Vernacular Treasures and Grassroots’ Greening Efforts
Saturday September 24, 2011, 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Join us for the 9th annual tour of Berkeley’s eclectic fabric of gardens, paths, and strange and familiar cultural and natural features. This year we’ll explore the many inventive and artful hidden gems of West Berkeley — from wetland and creek restoration projects, to community gardens and Victorian historic districts.  Bring a lunch, water, and your curiosity! 

The bike tour begins San Pablo Park in the lawn area near at its southwest corner (by Russell and Mabel) and will end at Codornices Creek’s restoration or daylighting, near 9th Street and Albany Village.

 

This year’s ride is part of 350.org’s Moving Planet worldwide mobile rally to express solutions to the climate crisis. For more information, go to http://www.bpfp.org; or call John Steere at 510-849-1969.  En route you can purchase the Hidden Gems Map ($4), which depicts scores of these “gems” citywide, along with bike routes, community gardens, creeks, parks and the historic transit system. 

 

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6. Crime Report: Link to Article/Press Release on Decrease in Crime

 

Editor’s note: Good news seems worth passing on too!

 

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2011-08-31/article/38321?headline=Berkeley-Police-Cite-Decrease-in-Crime-for-First-Six-Months-of-2011

 

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7. Whole Foods Market Update: Progress Meeting, Weds. 9/21, 8:30-9 a.m., Plus Support Our Schools Event with Music, Sat. 9/10, 12-5 p.m.

 

Editor’s note: Marketing Team Leader Jim Hallock at Whole Foods Market let us know that Whole Foods Market will be holding one of its regular drop-in progress meeting open to the community on Wednesday 9/21 and forwarded the announcement about the store’s event on behalf of Berkeley’s schools.

 

Progress Meetings

These meetings are held at the Community Table at the front of the store, and the purpose is to share our plans for noise abatement, the store remodel project [now rescheduled for 2012], street litter control, and progress on any of the ongoing issues we discuss [with HNA reps and nearby neighbors] quarterly. Mel and I will meet, 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. This month’s meeting is scheduled from 8:30 to 9 a.m. on Wednesday 9/21.

Noise

Note that Mel has asked that anyone who had noise complaints to please call the store immediately, at 649-1333, and ask for the Shift Manager, so we can identify and stop the noise. Shift Managers are available from around 7:30 a.m. to midnight. If the noise is before 7:30 a.m., please ask for the Receiving Dock. If you can’t reach anyone, please make a note of the time and date, and call a Shift Manager after 7:30 a.m. You can also email me so we can follow up.

Announcements

 

Just a reminder that this Saturday is our big school carnival, and although Alta Bates is lending us their parking lot for overflow, the neighborhood parking situation may be impacted.

 

Support Our Schools Carnival, Saturday, September 10, noon-5 p.m.

 

Join us for our Support our Schools Event, Saturday, September 10, noon to 5 p.m. We’ll have live music for kids, a bouncy house, fire truck, vendor fair, and PTA carnival. Help us raise money for school gardens through the Whole Kids Foundation.

 

Jim Hallock
Marketing Team Leader

Whole Foods Market Berkeley

3000 Telegraph Ave.

Berkeley, CA 94705

510.649.1333 ext. 261

Jim.Hallock@wholefoods.com

 

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8. Farewell from Neighbor Caleb Dardick

 

Editor’s note: Halcyon neighbor Caleb Dardick has made a public announcement that he’s leaving town. We will miss him and hope he and Carolyn will return to the neighborhood in the not-too-distant future (they’ll be renting out their Halcyon Court home)!

 

Dear Cal Neighbors,

 

I wanted to let you know that I am leaving my position as UC Berkeley's Director of Local Government and Community Relations next month. It has been an honor for me to work with so many talented and dedicated people these past two years.

 

It has been a very difficult decision to leave, but I have decided to return to Nevada County where I was raised to be closer to my family. I will be taking an exciting new position as executive director of an environmental nonprofit focused on protecting our rivers that is based in Nevada City, CA (www.yubariver.org).  

 

I want to thank all of the elected officials and community leaders, campus and city staff, students and neighbors who have partnered with my office to support positive campus-community engagement and to seek solutions to so many important challenges and issues.  A search for my replacement will begin in September.

 

Best regards,

Caleb

 

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9. Poem Read at Gathering in Memory of John Leverick

 

Editor’s note: Last month a small but heartfelt gathering in memory of former long-time Deakin Street neighbor John Leverick took place in Halcyon Commons. His ex-partner Nikki Sachs, also a long-time former neighbor on Deakin Street, read the poem below as part of her sharing; it captures well the flavor and complexity of some aspects of John’s life.

 

Country Western Singer

by Alan Shapiro

 

I used to feel like a new man

After the days first brew.

But then the new man I became

Would need a tall one too.

 

As would the new man he became,

And the new one after him.

And so on and so for the till the new men made

The dizzy room go dim.

 

And each one said, I’ll be your muse,

I'll trade you song for beer:

He said, I’ll be your salt lick, honey,

If you will be my deer.

 

He said, I’ll be your happy hour,

And you, boy, you’ll be mine

And mine won't end at six or seven

Or even at closing time.

 

Yes, son, I’ll be your spirit guide:

I’ll lead you to Absolut,

To Dewer’s, Bushmills, and Jameson,

Then down to Old Tangle Foot.

 

And there I’ll drain the pretense from you

That propped you up so high;

I'll teach you salvation’s just

Salivation without the I.

 

To hear his sweet talk was to think

You’d gone from rags to riches,

Till going from drink to drink became

Like going from hags to bitches,

 

Like going from bed to barroom stool,

From stool to bathroom stall,

From stall to sink, from sink to stool,

From stool to hospital.

 

Now the monitors beep like pinball machines

And coldly the IV drips;

And a nurse runs a moistened washcloth over

My parched and bleeding lips,

 

And the blood I taste, the blood I swallow,

Is as far away from wine

As 5:10 is for the one who dies

At 5:09.

 

Originally published in the Virginia Quarterly Review

Anthologized in Best American Poetry, 2007

 

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10. Berkeley Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Volunteer Opportunities Meeting, Tues. 9/13, 7–9 p.m.

 

Editor’s note: Forwarded from the City’s Office of Emergency Services.

 

New Schedule of CERT classes on the web:

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=57314

Berkeley Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Volunteer Opportunities

Berkeley CERT Volunteer Monthly Meeting
When:  Tuesday, September 13, 7-9 p.m.
Where:  Berkeley Fire Department Division of Training, 997 Cedar St.

Passionate about Disaster Preparedness? Interested in helping to educate the community?

Berkeley CERT is looking for community members to fulfill key volunteer CERT positions.  Come to the first Berkeley CERT Volunteer Monthly Meeting in September to find out more about volunteer opportunities in the CERT program and how you can help in your community’s disaster preparedness.

CERT Volunteers will engage in:

·       Providing outreach and education at community events

·       Serving as a point of contact for CERT in Berkeley

·       Delivering neighborhood preparedness training

·       Assisting in and facilitating disaster drills and exercises for the community

·       CERT class instruction

·       Access to continued education training opportunities in specialized topic areas.

·       And many more opportunities where you can help!

CERT Volunteers will receive training by Berkeley Fire Department staff and core CERT Volunteer Instructors.

Contact and RSVP:
Khin Chin, Berkeley Fire Department, Office of Emergency Services
kchin@cityofberkeley.info
510-981-5506

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11. Link to Disaster Prep Tip on Social Media

 

Editor’s note: Worth considering.

 

http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/fema-chief-says-people-should-incorporate-social-media-into-emergency-communications.php?ref=fpblg

 

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12. Link to Article on Hawks and Rodenticides

 

Editor’s note: Last month there was a discussion on the Le Conte chat listserv concerning rat abatement strategies. Here’s a link to an article on the downside of using rodenticides. (Alternative strategies include making sure all small entryways into structures are sealed, encouraging natural predators, and eliminating sources of excess food for rats.)

 

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2011-08-10/article/38238?headline=Wild-Neighbors-Hawks-and-Rodenticides-Another-Berkeley-Poisoning

 

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