HNA News: 3095 Telegraph 5/11 ZAB hearing, Upcoming Dates, Bus Rapid Transit, Etc.

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Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-Newsletter*

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In This Newsletter

1. ZAB Hearing 5/11 on Fast-Food Application for 3095 Telegraph/Email Comments by Noon 5/4

2. Educational Forum on Bus Rapid Transit Hosted by Willard Neighborhood Assn. Thurs., 5/11

3. Neighborhood Application for UC Grant, Subcommittee Meeting Sat., May 6, 4-5:30 p.m.

4. Reminder: Get Ready Berkeley Day, Sat. May 6, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

5. Disaster Prep Notes: Provisional Earthquake Preparation List

6. Free Disaster Preparedness Classes in May/June

7. Crime Watch Report: Car Break-in Halcyon at Webster

8.  Upcoming HNA Dates for Your Calendar

9. Hidden Gems Bicycle Tour Starting at Halcyon Commons Park, Sun. May 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

HNA is addressing a wide range of important issues and hoping to take advantage of some great opportunities over the next few months, and there will plenty of time for fun and socializing along the way. So open up your calendar and jot down some of the upcoming dates to make sure you don't miss out!

-Nancy Carleton, HNA Co-Chair and E-Newsletter Editor

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1. ZAB Hearing 5/11 on Fast-Food Application for 3095 Telegraph/Email Comments by Noon 5/4

On Thursday, May 11, the  Zoning Adjustments Board is holding a hearing on the application for a use permit for a fast-food restaurant (Quizno's) at 3095 Telegraph (in the new building at 3075-3095 Telegraph where the laundromat/liquor store burnt down). If you're concerned about the impact this business would have on our neighborhood, please email your comments to <zab@ci.berkeley.ca.us> by noon tomorrow (Thursday, May 4th) to be sure they're included in the packet going out to ZAB members. And consider showing up at the ZAB meeting May 11 at 7 p.m. at Old City Hall on MLK. Please contact Henry Sobel <dowlingtract@yahoo.com> to be included on the listserve related to 3075-3095 Telegraph or for further information about the ZAB hearing. HNA's Steering Committee voted to send a letter opposing the use permit:

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2. Educational Forum on Bus Rapid Transit Hosted by Willard Neighborhood Assn. Thurs., 5/11

7-9 p.m., Willard Middle School (Stuart, between Regent and Telegraph)

Willard Neighborhood Association forwards an invitation to this educational forum on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) proposal for Telegraph Avenue:

BRT is a proposal from AC Transit that includes removing car lanes and adding dedicated bus lanes on Telegraph Avenue to improve services along a corridor from San Leandro to downtown Berkeley. It may also involve aving a bus-only "transit mall" on Telegraph north of Dwight. The BRT is planned for Telegraph in 2008.

Come to an Educational Forum on AC Transit's Bus Rapid Transit

Learn from the experts!

What exactly is BRT? Jim Cunradi, AC Transit

What are the Environmental Impact and City of Berkeley review processes? Shirley Dean, Former Mayor of Berkeley

How do I advocate for or against the BRT? Marie Bowman, Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations

Now is the time to get smart and have a voice on this important project.

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3. Neighborhood Application for UC Grant, Subcommittee Meeting Sat., May 6, 4-5:30 p.m.

John Steere's House, 2329 Webster

HNA is planning on applying for a grant for projects in Halcyon Commons Park and possibly the surrounding neighborhood. If you're interested in helping with the application process or have ideas about a project HNA could sponsor, please attend this subcommittee meeting on May 6th. If you're a UC student, professor, or staff member willing to serve as HNA's partner in the grant application process, please reply to Nancy Carleton/HNA at <ngc2@mindspring.com> and let us know!

For more information about the Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund

Telephone: 510/643-5299; Fax: 510/642-7289
E-mail: calpartnershipfund@berkeley.edu

Web: http://communityrelations.berkeley.edu/ccpf

From the grant application cover:

Funding Priorities: The Fund awards grants for projects in one of two general categories:
1. Neighborhood Improvement Projects:  Projects that enhance the physical environment of Berkeley neighborhoods or facilities that serve the community, including planning activities, feasibility studies, and needs assessments that would lead to such projects.

Examples:   Landscape improvement projects; "tot lot" enhancements; community center improvements; façade  improvements in business districts; public kiosks and signage.

2. Community Support and Service Projects:  Projects that enhance the economic, social, and cultural wellbeing of Berkeley residents, including projects that assist the community and community-based organizations to maximize resources and develop their capacity.

Examples: Health needs assessment survey; seniors oral history project; development of family resource guide; literacy programs, collaborative approach to health outreach services.

Grant Amounts: Generally, up to 75% of the annual allocation will be earmarked for neighborhood improvement projects and 25% for community support and service projects.  The minimum grant award will be $5,000.  Projects may be for up to two years duration.

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4. Reminder: Get Ready Berkeley Day, Sat. May 6, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Help distribute disaster prep information. Meet at San Pablo Park.

You don't have to have preregistered to show up! Everyone's help is needed:

Saturday, May 6 is "Get Ready Berkeley Day," and we need hundreds of volunteers to distribute life-saving information to thousands of Berkeley residents' doors. Volunteers will meet May 6th at 10 a.m. sharp at the Frances Albrier Community Center in San Pablo Park (2800 Park Street, four blocks east of San Pablo Avenue, between Ward and Russell)

RSVP your participation today. Please help recruit more volunteers by forwarding this email, and please let us know how many others you can bring to help. To RSVP, please contact Get Ready Berkeley Program Coordinators Carol Lopes at 981-5576 or <clopes@ci.berkeley.ca.us>, or Elinor Buchen at 981-5584.

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5. Disaster Prep Notes: Provisional Earthquake Preparation List

Wheeler Street Neighbor Brice McPherson prepared the following working draft for our Disaster Prep Subcommittee meeting, with good reminders for all of us:

This is essentially the same list you have seen many places. The recommended storage is a wheeled trash can with a secure lid. Storage may not be so obvious for many people who do not have convenient sheds, garages, etc. Such items as cash, credit cards, and medicines should be kept in theft-proof sites, I suspect.

*Denotes need for periodic replacement/replenishment/updating.

BOLD denotes possibly more critical issues, but while it is unclear to me that a top ten can really be justified, these relate more to immediate survival.

Gas/water valve shutoff wrench
Basic tools; crowbar, hammer, screwdrivers, wrench
*Flashlights and batteries
*Radio and batteries

*Water: > 1 gallon/person/day x 3-7 days. Probably best in discrete containers, such as gallon jugs

Fire extinguisher
*Food + can opener: canned food (what types?), dry foods (types?), juices?, tea, sugar, other foods. Also, utensils and dishes
First aid kit: aspirin, ibuprofen, bandaids, gauze bandages, tape, disinfectant,
*Cash (how much?) and credit card. This needs to be secure enough to prevent unauthorized withdrawals
*Keys: auto, home, other sites? Needs to be secured, somehow

*Medicines. Prescriptions appear to be a problem for storage
Sleeping bags: for each person, blankets also?
Sanitation supplies: toilet paper, tissues, soap, dish detergent, basic toiletries
Pet food
Clothing: boots, extra clothes, work gloves
*Contact information: relatives, schools, etc.
Reading and/or prescription glasses, extra
Ground cloth, tarps?
Camp stove and fuel? Cooking pot. Matches, lighters

Copies of irreplaceable documents, such asŠ

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6. Free Disaster Preparedness Classes in May/June

Basic Personal Preparedness, Sat., May 13, 10:00-12:00, 997 Cedar Street

Fire Suppression, Saturday, May 20, 9:00-12:00, Berkeley Marina, 201 University Ave.

Disaster First Aid, Saturday, June 3, 9:00-12:00, 997 Cedar Street

Light Search & Rescue, Saturday, June 10, 9:00-1:00, 997 Cedar Street

For more information, contact Dory Ehrlich at 510 981-5506 or visit http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes.html

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7. Crime Watch Report: Car Break-in Halcyon at Webster

A Webster Street neighbor reports:

"A neighbor at Webster/Halycon said someone broke into a car in front of his house last week in broad daylight. The break-in involved a bag. Apparently the owner saw the car being broken into from a distance."

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8.  Upcoming HNA Dates for Your Calendar

Sat. May 6, 4-5:30 .m., HNA UC Grant Subcommittee meeting at 2329 Webster

Sat. May 20, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Cleanup & Weeding in Halcyon Commons Park, Halcyon at Prince

Sun. May 21, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Hidden Gems of Berkeley, Bicycle Tour led by HNA Co-Chair John Steere, meet at Halcyon Commons 10 a.m.

Sun. June 4, 4-6 p.m. Neighborhood Watch meeting (focus on burglary prevention & disaster prep), Location TBA

Sun. June 4, 6-7 p.m. HNA Steering Committee meeting immediately following Neighborhood Watch meeting

Sat. July 8, 4:30-6:00 p.m., HNA Disaster Prep Subcommittee meeting, 3049 Wheeler

Tues, Aug. 1, 6-8:30 p.m., National Night Out Against Crime (potluck in Halcyon Commons Park, 6-7:30, followed by walking tour of neighborhood bounded by Adeline, Ashby, Telegraph, and Woolsey, 7:30-8:30)

Sat. Aug. 5, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Cleanup & Weeding in Halcyon Commons Park, Halcyon at Prince

Sun. Sept. 24, 2-5:30 p.m. Tenth Anniversary Celebration of Halcyon Commons Park with music, potluck, fun for kids . . .

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9. Hidden Gems Bicycle Tour Starting at Halcyon Commons Park, Sun. May 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Hidden Gems of Berkeley Bicycle Tour: Come out to sample a treasure-trove of unusual natural and domestic places, including public and private sites throughout Berkeley.  Riders will discover hidden gardens filled with fanciful sculpture, see a creek daylighted in a schoolyard, observe unique domestic architecture, find shaded paths, and observe murals painted by young children.  We'll encounter a vernacular side of Berkeley that most people never notice and reveal traces of the many historic streetcar lines that have shaped Berkeley's form.

This is the fourth year of this popular ride and will feature a new route and a revised "Hidden Gems" map (that will be available for $1). This is a bioregional map of Berkeley -- depicting scores of "gems," along with the City's creeks, bike routes, and historic transit system lines.  The ride is co-sponsored by Berkeley Partners for Parks. For information and updates, or to join the tour after it begins, call John Steere at 510-847-0575.

HNA Co-Chair John Steere will guide this tour with Judith Reich and provide vivid interpretation during the course of this 8-10 mile easy bike route without hills.  The ride will begin at 10 a.m. at Halcyon Commons, a small neighborhood-built park on Halcyon Court, besides Prince Street, one block west of Telegraph.  Bring a lunch, snack and water.

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The Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-Newsletter:  The HNA E-Newsletter forwards occasional crime watch notices as well as announcements about events of interest to neighbors in the Ashby/Telegraph/Woolsey/Adeline area of south Berkeley, including community-building potlucks, greening projects, disaster preparedness meetings, and work parties in Halcyon Commons Park. If you're receiving this email, either you signed up at a neighborhood event or a neighbor may have forwarded it to you. Please note that to prevent spam, HNA always uses bcc and does not share your email address with third parties. If you wish to be removed from this list, please reply to HNA Co-Chair Nancy Carleton/Halcyon Neighborhood Association <ngc2@mindspring.com>. Please feel free to pass the HNA E-Newsletter on to other neighbors you think might be interested.

HNA Listserve:  If you would like to receive messages (and participate in discussions) on the HNA Listserve, please reply to Halcyon Neighborhood Association <ngc2@mindspring.com> indicating your interest, and you will receive an invitation to join.

HNA Blog:  If you would like to view previous newsletters online (and comment via a blog format), please visit http://halcyoncourt.blogspot.com/

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