HNA E-News: Work Party Saturday; Neighborhood Watch Meeting Sunday; 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 personal viewpoint.

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1 Big Neighborhood Work Party, Saturday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Volunteers Needed!!!

2. Fall Neighborhood Watch Meeting, Sunday, Oct. 28, 6:30 to 8 p.m., Chochmat HaLev (Prince at Fulton)

3. Zoning Ordinance Amendments Related to Alcohol Sales Outlets, Weds. Nov. 14, 7:00 p.m.

4. Reward Offered in Homicide Cases at 63rd and King Streets & at University Avenue

* For Your Calendar: HNA Dates Scheduled for 2007/Early 2008

* Disaster Prep Supply Cache Wish List

* City of Berkeley: Useful Contact Information

* Halcyon Neighborhood Association's Guiding Principles

Editor's Introductory Note:

This is a big neighborhood weekend!

We're all set for a successful work party tomorrow with the help of student volunteers organized through Cal's Berkeley Project and delicious food donated by Whole Foods and coffee from Mokka cafe. If you can possibly join us, either before or after the anti-war rally in SF, or in between  soccer games and your other Saturday activities, please come by and lend a hand in this peaceful, community-building effort to enhance our shared surroundings (item 1). Even half an hour of your time can really make a difference, and it's satisfying for the students to see us neighbors caring enough to pitch in alongside them!

And no matter what your plans on Saturday, please do your best to come to our semi-annual Neighborhood Watch meeting Sunday (item 2). Having a big turnout sends a strong message to our elected officials and the City staff about our willingness to act as full partners in  improving neighborhood safety.

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

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1. Big Neighborhood Work Party, Saturday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Volunteers Needed!!!

Saturday, October 27, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Meet at Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

We'll weed, mulch, and plant rain or shine (but paint only if dry)

Refreshments courtesy of Whole Foods Market

Coffee courtesy of Mokka (cafe at Telegraph and Dowling)

Flyers courtesy of Chochmat HaLev

* Weeding, Mulching, and Planting in Halcyon Commons and nearby landscaped barriers

* Painting Addresses on the Sidewalk to help make our neighborhood easier to navigate by police and emergency personnel

* Picking up Litter from Streets

* Removing Graffiti from as wide an area of our neighborhood as we can reach

Please come out for as long as you can spare (even half an hour makes a difference) to help with our big annual fall work party! Around 30 student volunteers (UC students plus some of their Willard Middle Shcool mentees) will be helping us out as part of Cal's Berkeley Project day, but in order to accomplish the most we can with this much-appreciated assistance from the Cal volunteers, we need plenty of neighbors present to provide guidance and lend a hand. Your help will make this day as successful as it can possibly be. THANK YOU!

We also need wheelbarrows and shovels for moving mulch. If you can loan yours for the day and deliver it to Halcyon Court prior to 9 a.m. Saturday morning, please reply to <halcyon92@gmail.com> (and be sure to label it with your address on masking tape so we can return it promptly when we're done).

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2. Fall Neighborhood Watch Meeting, Sunday, Oct. 28, 6:30 to 8 p.m., Chochmat HaLev (Prince at Fulton)

Please join your neighbors at our semi-annual neighborhood watch meeting (the spring meeting emphasizes emergency preparedness; the fall meeting emphasizes crime watch, though both are included each time). This is our big chance to network with our beat officers and city representatives and share our concerns about neighborhood safety. And the evening is especially timely given the recent upsurge in crime along the Berkeley-Oakland border.

The meeting will start promptly and be run tightly. You're welcome to come as early as 6 to help set up and to schmooze, and please plan on arriving at least a few minutes early to check in and get seated. The meeting proper will start promptly at 6:30 and end at 8, with time for individual follow-up with speakers from 8 to 8:30 while we clean up.

NOTE: Mayor Tom Bates and District 7 Councilmember Kriss Worthington have committed to showing up by 6:15 for 15 fifteen minutes to chat informally before the meeting starts promptly at 6:15. There will also be representatives from the Police Department and the City Manager's Office at the meeting itself, and District 3 Councilmember Max Anderson has also been invited.

The agenda includes:

        * Introduction of HNA leaders, City Councilmembers, and City Staff

        * Emergency Preparedness Update

        * Neighborhood Announcements & interest Polls

           (Potlucks, Safety Walks, Peace Gardens, Self-Defense Class in Park, Book Club, etc.)

        * Police Presentation

           (prevention, reporting, dispatch, possibly coordination with Oakland/BART, etc.)

        * Brainstorm/capture neighborhood concerns

 If you can help HNA Neighborhood Watch Coordinator Dawn Trygstad Rubin set up at 6 p.m. the evening of the 28th, please contact her at <familyrubin@comcast.net>.

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3. Zoning Ordinance Amendments Related to Alcohol Sales Outlets, Weds. Nov. 14, 7:00 p.m.

The City of Berkeley forwarded the following announcement:

Zoning Ordinance Amendments Related to Alcohol Sales Outlets

Zoning Ordinance Chapters 23C.04, 23B.68 (new), and 23E.16  The Planning Commission of the City of Berkeley will hold a public hearing on the above matter,  pursuant to Zoning Ordinance Section 23A.20.030, on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at the  North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. (at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way), Berkeley  (wheelchair accessible).  The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The proposed zoning amendments address three issues related  to alcohol uses:  (1) Abandonment of lawful non-conforming off-sale alcohol beverage sales outlets after  90 days of closure;   (2) Allowing private right of action against nuisances, including nuisance alcohol outlets;  and  (3) Providing the Zoning Adjustments Board greater flexibility when issuing a use permit  for a new alcohol sales use when there has been only one prior violation or complaint.   

LOCATION: Citywide. 

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW STATUS: Exempt, CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). 

PUBLIC COMMENT & FURTHER INFORMATION  Comments may be made verbally at the public hearing and in writing before the hearing. Those  wishing to speak at the hearing must submit a speaker card. Written comments or questions  concerning this project should be directed to:  Planning Commission   Fax: (510) 981-7490  Jordan Harrison, Secretary  E-mail: jharrison@ci.berkeley.ca.us  Land Use Planning Division  (510) 981-7410  2120 Milvia Street    Berkeley, CA 94704  To assure distribution to Commission members prior to the meeting, correspondence must be  received by 12:00 noon, seven (7) days before the meeting.  15 copies must be submitted of  any correspondence with more than ten (10) pages or any item submitted less than seven days  before the meeting. 

COMMUNICATION ACCESS  2120 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA  94704    Tel: 510.981.7410    TDD: 510.981.7474    Fax: 510.981.7490  E-mail: planning@ci.berkeley.ca.us  To request a meeting agenda in large print, Braille, or on audiocassette, or to request a sign  language interpreter for the meeting, call (510) 981-7410 (voice) or 981-6903 (TDD). Notice of at  least five (5) business days will ensure availability. Agendas are also available on the Internet at:  www.ci.berkeley.ca.us.  Filename: G:\LANDUSE\Boards & Commissions\PC\Public Hearing Notices\20071114 Alcohol.doc

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4. Reward Offered in Homicide Cases at 63rd and King Streets & at University Avenue

The Berkeley Police Department forwarded the following announcement:

Reward Offered in Homicide Case, 63rd and King Streets
  Berkeley, California (Thursday, October 25, 2007) - The City of Berkeley is offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect or suspects responsible for the murder of Dwayne Murphy, 27, of Berkeley.

        On Saturday, September 22, 2007, at 3:30 p.m., the City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) got 911 calls from several community members reporting shots being fired and a possible gunshot victim at 63rd and King Streets in south Berkeley. Officers found Murphy lying in the roadway suffering from numerous gunshot wounds. Berkeley Fire Department paramedics who transported Murphy from the scene pronounced him dead a short time later.

        BPD Homicide detectives are currently working on this investigation. The shooting death of Dwayne Murphy marked the fourth homicide of the year in the City of Berkeley.Detectives have closed three of the five homicides investigations in 2007, but are asking the community's help with the closure of the two remaining open investigations.

       

        June 8, 2007 12:30 p.m.: An employee of 1040 University Avenue, UA Homes, requested that BPD check the welfare of a tenant. Officers found Terrence Marlow Broadnax, 47, of Berkeley the victim of a homicide inside his apartment. Broadnax sustained blunt force trauma injuries and died as a result. A $15,000 reward is still being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Broadnax's killer.

        Anyone who has any information on either of these cases is urged to call the BPD Homicide Detail at (510) 981-5741 (office) or (510) 981-5900. (Non-emergency 24-hour dispatch line).

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For Your Calendar: HNA Dates Scheduled for 2007/Early 2008

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

Saturday, October 27, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Fall Mulching in Park & Neighborhood Work Party (including painting addresses on sidewalks) with help from Cal volunteers of Berkeley Project

Sunday, October 28,  6:30-8:00 p.m., Big Neighborhood Watch Community Meeting, Chochmat HaLev (Prince at Fulton)

December 2,  4:00-5:30 p.m., HNA Steering Committee Meeting (email <halcyon92@gmail.com> for location)

Sunday, January 13, 2008, 5:00-8:30 p.m., 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):

Duct Tape (this is a versatile supply that allows us to improvise with common household items in the event of a disaster: lots needed!); Batteries (AA, C, D), regular & rechargeable; Battery Recharger for AA (LOTS of these needed!), C, D; Quality Walkie-Talkies with 8-mile range, 22 channels (i.e., Motorola Talkabout T5500 two-way radios); Axes; Crow Bars, Hard Hats; Other Tools for Search & Rescue; Head Lamps; Heavy-duty Flashlights; Bullhorn; Laptop Computer with rechargeable power supply & USB port; 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; Two-Foot Lengths of 2x4s and 4x4s (good for cribbing and creating fulcrums for removing heavy objects during search & rescue operations).

Contact HNA Co-Chair and Cache Coordinator Nancy Carleton at <halcyon92@gmail.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.

Link to crime stats:

Berkeley:  www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/police

Link to police bulletins:

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/police/crimestats/policebulletins.html

Other City Departments:

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

Public Works Customer Service:  981-6620 (streets, sidewalks, graffiti, sewers, litter, storm drains, street lights)

Tree Trimming/Planting (Forestry)/Parks: 981-6660

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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* Halcyon Neighborhood Association's Guiding Principles

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-Newsletter, 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 HNA's primary goals and guiding principles.

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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 <halcyon92@gmail.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 <halcyon92@gmail.com>. Crime-watch reports and news about neighbors (births, new jobs, announcements re home businesses) 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 Halcyon Safety Walk Listserve:  For those who'd like to participate in night-time and daytime safety "dog" walks (dogs not required) to build community and serve as eyes on the street, please reply  to Halcyon Neighborhood Association <halcyon92@gmail.com> indicating your interest, and you will receive an invitation to join. For everyone's safety, be sure to include your full name, address, email, and phone.

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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