HNA News: Magical Mystery Bike Tour Sunday, denise brown Celebration, Etc.

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Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-Newsletter*

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Items appearing in the HNA E-Newsletter 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 own personal viewpoint.

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Items in This E-Newsletter

1. Hidden Gems of Berkeley Bike Tour This Sunday, May 20, 10 a.m. (starting at Halcyon Commons)

2. Field Trip Planned to Mike Vaughn's Play, "Sergeant Musgrave's Dance,"  Thursday, May 24th Evening Show

3. Meeting on 3100 Shattuck Proposed Development, Tuesday, May 29, 7-8:30 p.m.

4. Celebration of the Life of denise brown, Friday, June 1, 6:30 p.m., LeConte School

5. LeConte Neighborhood Association Meeting Tonight, Thursday, May 17, 7:30-9:00 p.m.

6. Link to Draft EIR on Bus Rapid Transit Proposed for Telegraph Ave. (and Elsewhere)

* For Your Calendar: HNA Dates Scheduled for 2007

* Disaster Prep Supply Cache Wish List

* City of Berkeley: Useful Contact Information

Editor's Introductory Note:

On my way out of town until the middle of next week, but wanted to pass on these messages before I hit the road!

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

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1. Hidden Gems of Berkeley Bike Tour This Sunday, May 20, 10 a.m. (starting at Halcyon Commons)

Hidden Gems of Berkeley
A Magical Mystery Bike Tour of South Berkeley's Vernacular Treasures
 

Sunday May 20, 2007

10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Starting at Halcyon Commons Park (Halcyon Court at Prince Street)

This is the fifth year of an inspiring tour of Berkeley's eclectic fabric of gardens, paths, strange and familiar cultural and natural features. . . . This year we'll explore the many and marvelous hidden gems of South Berkeley and the Elmwood: from hidden paths to a stream running through a house, from a butterfly garden to the topiary squirrel, from the fish house to the alligator bench, and many more.  We'll encounter a vernacular side of Berkeley that most people never notice and reveal traces of the former streetcar system that shaped Berkeley's form. 

John Steere and guest historians/guides will conduct this 3-4 mile ride, which will be mostly level and include only minor inclines.  Bring a lunch, snack and water.  The ride will begin at a hidden gem - Halcyon Commons, a small neighborhood-built park - on Halcyon Court, beside Prince Street, one block west of Telegraph.   

A bioregional map of Berkeley depicting scores of these "gems" along with the City's community gardens, parks, creeks, and historic transit system will be available for sale. Historical photos and vignettes will also be included

This Ride is co-sponsored by the Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition (http://www.BFBC.org)  as a part of Berkeley Bike Month and by Berkeley Partners for Parks  (http://www.BPFP.org) and by Livable Berkeley (http://www.livableberkeley.org/).

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2. Field Trip Planned to Mike Vaughn's Play, "Sergeant Musgrave's Dance,"  Thursday, May 24th Evening Show

Halcyon neighbors Nancy Carleton and Susan Hunter would like to invite interested neighbors to join us in attending "Sergeant Musgrave's Dance," which Webster Street neighbor Mike Vaughn is appearing in at TheatreFIRST. We plan to go to the Thursday, May 24th evening show, taking BART to downtown Oakland (box office opens for will-call pick ups at 7:15). If you're interested in ordering tickets to join us, please call the box office at 436-5085 at your earliest convenience (it's the final Thursday show, so tickets may sell out if you wait too long). Thursday tickets are $21, with a $3 discount for students, seniors, and TBA members;  there's no service charge. It's open seating, so we plan to get there a little after 7 to pick up tickets, and get in line for the doors opening at 7:30 p.m. Let us know if you'd like to join us at BART to attend together as a neighborhood contingent. Contact Nancy at <ngc2@mindspring.com> if so (you'll hear back next Wednesday night, May 23rd, re meet-up plans).

The play was recently reviewed in:

The Berkeley Daily Planet: "TheatreFIRST Presents Bold Sergeant Musgrave"

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=05-08-07&storyID=27023

The Chronicle "Ardin's anti-war 'Musgrave' well worth reviving"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/08/DDG1FPLSNM1.DTL&hw=Robert+Hurwitt&sn=001&sc=1000

(with nice photo of Mike!) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2007/05/08/DDG1FPLSNM1.DTL&o=0

From the announcement:

SERJEANT MUSGRAVE's DANCE

John Arden's anti-war masterpiece is a modern classic. Four soldiers arrive in a mining town in the grip of a strike, and in the dead of winter. Their apparent mission - to recruit more soldiers for an unpopular foreign war - masks their actual intent: to confront its people with the realities of warfare. This is powerful theatre, laced with wit and passion.

SERJEANT MUSGRAVE's DANCE

TheatreFIRST

May 3 - May 27

Thursday - Saturday at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 3 p.m.

Preview Thursday, May 3

Opening Friday, May 4

Pay-what-you-can Thursday, May 10

at the Old Oakland Theatre, 481 Ninth Street (at Broadway)

Box Office and Information: 510 436-5085 or http://www.theatrefirst.com

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3. Meeting on 3100 Shattuck Proposed Development, Tuesday, May 29, 7-8:30 p.m.

We received the following announcement:

Dear Halcyon Neighbors,

You are welcome to an informational meeting for neighbors of 3100 Shattuck Avenue to learn about the co-owners plans for a building with three small, environmentally friendly residences and a small commercial space on the corner of Prince and Shattuck.

The meeting will be held on the evening of Tuesday, May 29th from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. The discussion will begin at 7:15 p.m. with a presentation of the project plans that is expected to take 30 minutes. Community conversation will begin at 7:45 p.m.

The meeting will be held at the Ashby Stage at 1901 Ashby Avenue at the corner of Ashby and Martin Luther King. The MLK entrance to the theatre is handicap-accessible.

Please note that this is a City-required but not a City-sponsored meeting. The City of Berkeley has its own process for gathering neighbor comments after the project application is submitted. We plan to submit the application soon after this meeting.

To ensure that as many voices are heard and as many questions are answered as possible, the meeting will be facilitated by Sabrina Klein, http://www.creativeeducationconsulting.com. If large forums are not useful or pleasant for you to participate in, or if this meeting time is not good for you, please feel free to contact me by email at brian42@lingerhere.org to arrange a time to view and discuss the plans privately.

Finally, to make reviewing the plans more convenient, shortly after the meeting, scans of the current version of the building plans will be placed on-line at http://picasaweb.google.com/brhill/3100ShattuckPlans.

Best wishes,

Brian Hill

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4. Celebration of the Life of denise brown, Friday, June 1, 6:30 p.m., LeConte School

We received the following announcement from a neighbor:

denise brown a community member, neighbor, playwright,teacher at Leconte, most recently a vice principal at BHS, and dear friend will be remembered in a celebration of her life at Leconte Elementary school, Friday June 1st at 6:30 p.m. There will be exerpts from her plays performed by her former students,dancers, music,food and a plaque dedication on the doors of the auditorium. All are welcome. LeConte School is at 2241 Russell St.

 Thanks, Deborah

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5. LeConte Neighborhood Association Meeting Tonight, Thursday, May 17, 7:30-9:00 p.m.

This Thursday, May 17 at LeConte School from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. LeConte Neighborhood Association will meet:

Agenda items will include:
A. The proposed five story building at Shattuck and Derby.
(Negotiations currently underway to reduce to four stories.)

B. The proposed expansion of what had been a 903 sq ft single family dwelling into a nearly 4,000 sq ft consisting of 10 to 12 bedrooms at 2516 Ellsworth. An appeal has been made for the Administrative Use Permit and a hearing will be held soon.

C. The proposed 11 to 18 cell phone microwave emitters proposed for the UC Storage building at Shattuck and Ward. The City Council recently pproved a public hearing for later this year.

D. The current "Student Move-Out" debris collection and recycling effort jointly sponsored by UC and the City of Berkeley. This will continue through the weekend of May 26/27. (Volunteers are still needed for distribution of door hangers from Ward through Parker on the 2200 thru 2400 blocks.)

E. The proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system for Telegraph is now ready for study since the Draft EIR has just been released. There will be several meetings and hearings in regard to this with special attention to be given as mitigation for possible "spill over" traffic onto neighborhood streets. Below is the address for the complete report.

F. Other items and announcements.

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6. Link to Draft EIR on Bus Rapid Transit Proposed for Telegraph Ave. (and Elsewhere)

Now is the time to get informed and get involved if you want to know what's happening with (and/or have strong opinions regarding) the proposals for major changes on Telegraph Avenue to improve bus transit. Comments on the draft EIR are due by July 3, and an AC Transit Public Hearing will be held  June 14 at the North Berkeley Sr. Center.

http://www.actransit.org/news/articledetail.wu?articleid=42622c20&PHPSESSID=943e42ff8d0d244657dfa99b6571e9c1#online

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* For Your Calendar: HNA Dates Scheduled for 2007

Dates set as of May 2007 (verify a few weeks before event by checking HNA E-Newsletter):

Sunday, June 3, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Work Party in Halcyon Commons Park

Saturday, June 9, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Giant Multi-Block Yard Sale, throughout the neighborhood

Sunday, June 24, 6-8 p.m., Halcyon Community Potluck, location TBD

Saturday, August 4, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Work Party in Halcyon Commons Park

Tuesday, August 7, 6-8:30 p.m., National Night Out Against Crime, Potluck in Park 6-7:30 p.m., walk through larger neighborhood 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Sunday, September 30, 4:00-5:55 p.m., Disaster Supply Cache Drill, including Fire Drill, driveway of 3044-B Halcyon and Halcyon Commons Park

Sunday, September 30, 6-8 p.m., Halcyon Community Potluck, location TBD

Saturday, October 27, Fall Mulching in Park with help from Cal volunteers of Berkeley Project

Sunday, October 28, 4-6 p.m., Big Neighborhood Watch Community Meeting, Chochmat HaLev (location to be confirmed)

Sunday, January 13, 2008, 5-8:30, Post-Holiday Progressive Potluck, four locations TBD

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* Disaster Prep Supply Cache Wish List

HNA's Disaster Prep Supply Cache contains items intended to benefit the entire neighborhood in the event of disaster. You can help us have what we need on hand in two ways: (1) Make a tax-deductible financial contribution to Berkeley Partners for Parks (BPFP, our nonprofit fiscal sponsor), earmarked Halcyon Disaster Prep, which will go toward purchasing additional supplies, and mail or drop off to HNA Treasurer Susan Hunter, 3044 Halcyon Court, Berkeley, CA 94705. (2) Contribute any of the following items in-kind (supplies MUST be new or in GOOD condition):

Batteries (AA, D), regular & rechargeable; Battery Recharger for AA, D; Quality Walkie-Talkies with 8-mile range, 22 channels (i.e., Motorola Talkabout T5500 two-way radios); Axes; Crow Bars, Hard Hats; Head Lamps; Heavy-duty Flashlights; Bullhorn; Laptop Computer with rechargeable power supply & USB port; Basic Printer (for producing flyers) with Ink Cartridges; Flashcard (for storing neighborhood database to transfer to laptop);  Sheets (freshly laundered or new; good for first aid); Blankets; First Aid Supplies; Gas Siphon (for extracting gas from cars to run generator); 5-Gallon Drums for long-term gas storage; Work Gloves; Large Camping Tents (with all parts!); Coleman or similar Gas or Propane Stove; Shelving for Shed.

Contact HNA Co-Chair and Cache Coordinator Nancy Carleton at <ngc2@mindspring.com> or 644-0172 to contribute supplies.

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* City of Berkeley: Useful Contact Information

Police

Police Emergency Number:  911 (from landline); 981-5911(from cell; preprogram with this number)

Police Nonemergency Number: 981-5900

Link to beat maps and a list of beat officers:

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/police/department/beatinfo/beatlineup.html

In Halcyon neighborhood, west of Fulton is Beat 10, east of Fulton is Beat 9.

Other City Departments:

Neighborhood Services Liaison Jim Hynes <jhynes@ci.berkeley.ca.us> 981-2493

Public Works Customer Service: 644-6620 (streets, sidewalks, graffiti, sewers, litter, storm drains, street lights)

Tree Trimming/Planting (Forestry): 644-6566

Written Communication with City Council:

To comment to City Council, cut and paste the following email addresses:

City Clerk <clerk@ci.berkeley.ca.us>,

Mayor Tom Bates <Mayor@ci.berkeley.ca.us>,

Councilmember Linda Maio <LMaio@ci.berkeley.ca.us>,

Councilmember Darryl Moore <DMoore@ci.berkeley.ca.us>,

Councilmember Max Anderson <MAnderson@ci.berkeley.ca.us>,

Councilmember Dona Spring <DSpring@ci.berkeley.ca.us>,

Councilmember Laurie Capitelli <LCapitelli@ci.berkeley.ca.us>,

Councilmember Betty Olds <BOlds@ci.berkeley.ca.us>,

Councilmember Kriss Worthington <KWorthington@ci.berkeley.ca.us>,

Councilmember Gordon Wozniak <GWozniak@ci.berkeley.ca.us>

Representatives for Our Neighborhood:

Councilmember Max Anderson (District 3) 981-7130

West side of Wheeler Street to west (except for Woolsey between Wheeler and Shattuck)

Councilmember Kriss Worthington (District 7) 981-7170

East side of Wheeler to east (includes block of Woolsey from Wheeler to Shattuck)

Mayor Tom Bates 981-7100

Zoning Adjustments Board:

To comment to the Zoning Adjustments Board regarding projects on their calendar, email:

Zoning Adjustments Board <zab@ci.berkeley.ca.us>

(best to submit your comments 10 days prior to meeting for inclusion in the advance packet to board members, but late submissions will be distributed the evening of the meeting)

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The Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-Newsletter:  The HNA E-Newsletter forwards occasional crime-watch notices as well as items of general interest to neighbors in the Ashby/Telegraph/Woolsey/Adeline area of south Berkeley (HNA's borders), including announcements about community-building potlucks, greening projects, disaster preparedness meetings, and work parties in Halcyon Commons Park. If you're receiving this email, you probably either signed up at a neighborhood event or a neighbor 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>. Feel free to pass the HNA E-Newsletter on to other neighbors you think might be interested.

To submit items for the newsletter:   Email unformatted content or links (no graphics or attachments) to HNA E-Newsletter Editor Nancy Carleton <ngc2@mindspring.com>. Crime-watch reports and news about neighbors is especially welcome. Please note that due to the volunteer nature of the endeavor, the E-Newsletter does not typically include "letters to the editor" or "commentary," but will gladly include links to such items written by neighbors in the Ashby/Telegraph/Woolsey/Adeline area and published elsewhere (the Berkeley Daily Planet has a large section devoted to opinion).

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. [The HNA Listserve is currently inactive but can be revived if enough neighbors show interest.]

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

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