HNA E-News: Post-Holiday Potluck 1/13; Stray Cat on Halcyon; Crime Watch reports, 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. Fabulous Post-Holiday Progressive Potluck, Sunday, January 13, 5-8:45 p.m.

2. Animal Cutout Archway Coming Soon to North End of Halcyon Commons

3. Stray Cat on Halcyon Court: Respond by Friday Morning if You Know Where It Belongs!

4. Crime Watch Report: Burglary on Woolsey

5. Crime Watch Report: Roundup of Reports from Surrounding Areas

 

* For Your Calendar: HNA Dates Scheduled for 2008

* Disaster Prep Supply Cache Wish List

* City of Berkeley: Useful Contact Information

* Halcyon Neighborhood Association's Guiding Principles

Editor's Introductory Note:

Happy New Year to everyone! Please be sure to make participating in some of HNA's events one of your intentions for the coming year. By getting involved  where we live, we can actively create a safer, healthier, and friendlier neighborhood. The E-News will continue to inform you of neighborhood potlucks, work parties, neighborhood watch meetings, disaster preparedness drills, crime watch reports, and more. Remember to send news to <halcyon92@gmail.com>! Please note that good news is welcome along with the sadly likely crime watch reports! So feel free to send birth announcements, information about new jobs or services you (or your teenager) are offering, and news or links about community events you are directly involved in (while as a volunteer editor I can't open the floodgate to listing every interesting happening in Berkeley, the E-News gladly includes information on events that reflect the hard work of our neighbors).

An HNA flyer will be be ready to go out this weekend and next week, and we could use a few more folks willing to take half an hour to distribute them for one of the stretches in the neighborhood. Please email <halcyon92@gmail.com> if you can help out in this way. Distributing flyers six times a year helps us reach people who haven't yet subscribed to the E-News and those who lack Internet access. It's an important part of our ongoing outreach and our intention to include everyone.

Here's to a prosperous, healthy, and safe new year to all! I hope to see many of you for HNA's Post-Holiday Progressive Potluck on Sunday, January 13th (see item 1)!

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

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1. Fabulous Post-Holiday Progressive Potluck, Sunday, January 13, 5:30-8:45 p.m.

Make sure your new year's gotten off to a good start by joining your neighbors for this fabulous post-holiday feast where we progress from house to house and sample a range of delicious courses. This is our most popular community potluck event of the year, so don't miss out! Feel free to join us for all four courses, or just for one or two (substitute a dish if your name doesn't match the course you're attending). And don't forget to bring something especially tasty to start the New Year right!

5:30-6:15 Appetizers at Sonya's, 2114 Emerson

6:20-6:55 Salads at  Ted  & Claudia's, 3048 Deakin (will include kid-friendly main dishes)

7:00-7:45 Main Dishes at Susan's, 3044-A Halcyon

7:50-8:45 Desserts at John & Michelle's, 2329 Webster

Potluck suggestions:

* M-R:  Dessert * A-F:  Salad *  G-L  Appetizer *  S-Z:  Main Dish

Please bring a festive dish to share, and, if so inspired, a beverage to share as well (it really helps if enough folks bring beverages too). Children welcome (some main dish fare for kids will be available at Ted and Claudia's for those who may not hold out for the later households). (If not obvious, kindly attach a label with ingredients for your dish to alert those with vegetarian and other diets.)

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2. Animal Cutout Archway Coming Soon to North End of Halcyon Commons

Remember the grant HNA (through fiscal agent Berkeley Partners for Parks) received for the Halcyon Commons Rejuventation Project from the UC Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund in 2006? After community design charrettes in late 2006 and a lengthy public process, the project has at last received the necessary sign-off from the City's Permit Office (after receiving the unanimous support of the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Civic Arts Commission, and the City Council in the spring of last year), and will be moving ahead over the coming months.

We already planted many new plants in our November work party (with the help of Cal students from the Berkeley Project). When spring arrives, many of the lilies will be blooming. In the meantime, sometime this January, with the cooperation of the weather, neighborhood landscape contractor Scott Parker will be installing the metalwork archway designed and build by artist Amy Blackstone, with cutouts of animals that live in the neighborhood and are associated with park history. Keep an eye out for this exciting new addition at the north end of Halcyon Commons! And watch as the year goes on for more work on the south end of the park as well as the halcyon bird sculpture that will be installed in the oval near the Father Sun bench in the summer.

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3. Stray Cat on Halcyon Court: Respond by Friday Morning if You Know Where It Belongs!

Neighbors Will and Amy of Halcyon Court sent in the following notice, which was included in the mid-December HNA E-News [Editor's Note: A photo of the cat has been posted in the bulletin board at Halcyon Commons]:

"A cat  has been living in our backyard at 3048 Halcyon Ct. It is cream colored, with grey-brown ears, grey-brown shading on the back, blue eyes, and a striped tail. The way it moves suggests it is an older cat. We are concerned that this cat does not have a home. If this is your cat, please contact Amy at 684-0327. The cat sneaks into our house several times a day (and night), and cries for food. We have seen it outside on cold, rainy nights, huddled on our picnic table under the canvas umbrella. Most cats stay inside on nights like that. If we determine that this cat doesn't have a home, we'll take it to the SPCA. If you know anything about this cat, please contact us."

UPDATE January 2: "We have not heard from anyone yet about this animal or its caretakers. If we do not hear from anyone before the end of the week, we will take it to the SPCA. Please call right away if you know anything about this cat!"

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4. Crime Watch Report: Burglary on 2100 Block of Woolsey

A neighbor on Woolsey reports:

"I am sorry to report that during the night of Friday the 21st, our home was burglarized. Somebody got into the basement through an unlocked window in the backyard. They managed to get away with some old camera equipment, a drill, and a tool box. We've taken steps to secure our basement, and reported this incident to the police.

As an aside, the house next door to us, 2139 Woolsey, is boarded up and empty until the spring when the house will get a facelift.  We have heard reports of squatters in the backyard and underneath/basement of the house - although we have not witnessed anything ourselves. The contractor who purchased the house is aware of this and has been doing what he can to secure his property. Because this house is empty, it provides good cover for people wishing to access our yard - as well as the yard to its east. If anybody in the neighborhood happens to see any unusual activity during the day or ANY activity at night in the house next door to us (2139), please call the police. Nobody should be there at night."

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5. Crime Watch Report: Roundup of Reports from Surrounding Areas

 

Editor's Note: Ian Martin, who's active in North Oakland crime watch efforts, compiled the following list highlighting crimes that have taken place along the Shattuck corridor in North Oakland and surrounding neighborhoods (including Halcyon incidents as reported previously in the E-News). His list gives a sense of the series of crimes happening within close range of us, with he area near Nomad Cafe especially hard hit. Shattuck Corridor merchants have organized a Merchant Watch meeting with the Oakland Police Department on January 23, 5:30-7:00 p.m. p.m., at 6525 Shattuck (full announcement to follow in an upcoming E-News).

Recent Crime along the Shattuck Corridor

compiled by Ian Martin <ianmartin@earthlink.net>

last updated: 1/1/08

This is a partial list of crimes committed between mid-July and December 2007 along the Shattuck Corridor and immediately adjacent areas between Alcatraz and Ashby. These crimes all occurred within a quarter-mile of each other. There are 13 muggings, armed robberies, or assaults listed here in addition to burglaries, car thefts, and other crimes. December has been the worst month for crime by far. The incidents on this list are gathered from the OPD Yahoo group, the OPD crime mapping web site, the Halcyon Neighborhood Association newsletter, the North Oakland Neighborhood (noak)

Yahoo group, and firsthand accounts of victimized neighbors. This concentration of crime underscores the need for the police departments of Oakland, Berkeley and BART to all work together to quell this criminal activity and return our neighborhood to the relative safety it has recently enjoyed.

1/1/08 Nomad Cafe burglarized 6 a.m.

12/29/07 Car broken into on 65th Street across from Nomad Café.

12/29 Don Perata car-jacked at gunpoint 51st and Shattuck. (Not north of Alcatraz, but it's certainly not far away. Because of then seriousness of the crime, it goes on the list. It'd go on the list even if the victim weren't a State Senator.)

[Editor's Note: see http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/29/BANLU6QS3.DTL and note that this crime apparently originated with Senator Perata's car being specifically targeted as a souped-up SUV with 22-inch rims, with perpetrators following him from a gas station at Broadway Terrace.]

12/27 Car burglarized 600 block of 65th St. Interior defaced and Xmas gifts and other belongings stolen from trunk.

12/25 Two cars' windows smashed in Nomad Café bldg parking lot.
12/23 Burglary at 6429 Shattuck apartment bldg

[addition: 12/21 Burglary 2100 block of Woolsey]

12/21 Mugging on 6500 block of Shattuck near Nomad
12/18 Mugging on Shattuck in front of Nomad
12/18(?) Window broken on house at the corner of Raymond and 66th
12/16 Roving kids break window on Raymond Street home
12/13 Rock breaks window on Tremont home
12/11 Roving kids break window on 65th Street home
12/10 Kids throw rock at two 66th Street residents when confronted
12/10 Roving kids break window on 65th Street home
12/10(?) Roving kids break window on 66th Street Home
12/10 Roving kids break window on 66th Street home
12/09 Mugging on 6600 block of Shattuck
12/06 Mugging on Tremont near Ashby BART

12/05 Mugging on Prince near Wheeler

11/27 Mugging at Tremont and Woolsey near BART
11/20 Vehicle theft on Tremont
11/19 Vehicle theft on Fairview
11/08 Aggravated assault Alcatraz and Shattuck
10/30 Vehicle theft on 65th Street east of Shattuck
10/16 Home burglarized Tremont and 65th Street
09/19 Assault at the Ashby BART Station
09/16 Mugging at Tremont and Prince near BART
08/30 Mugging on 65th in front of Nomad
08/30 Mugging on 6500 block of Shattuck near Nomad
08/28 Mugging on 2100 block of Prince near Starry Plough
08/20 Home burglarized on Tremont
08/13 Attempted break-in at Ron's Muffler at Shattuck and 65th
07/19 Robbery at Jump'n Java
Recent Laptop Jackings
03/15/07 Laptop jacking at the Nomad
11/21/06 Laptop jacking at the Nomad
07/11/06 Laptop jacking at Jump'n Java

06/18/06 Laptop jacking at the Nomad

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For Your Calendar: HNA Dates Scheduled for 2008

Dates set as of  January 2008 (verify a couple weeks before event by checking HNA E-Newsletter):

Sunday, January 13, 2008, 5:30-8:45 p.m., Post-Holiday Progressive Potluck, four locations (see flyers and E-News)

Sunday, January 27, 2008,  4-6 p.m., Disaster Preparedness Committee meeting  (4-5 p.m. plan spring disaster prep drill;  5-6 p.m., discuss supply cache for west of Shattuck), Wheeler St.

Saturday, February 23, 2008, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (heavy rain reschedules), Work Party, Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

Sunday, March 16, 2008,  6-8 p.m., Community Potluck, location TBD

Late March/Early April, date to be announced by Cal's Berkeley Project, Big Work Party in Halcyon Commons and surrounding neighborhood, Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

Sunday, March 30, 2008,  4-6 p.m., Big Disaster Prep Planning Meeting, location TBD

Sunday, March 30, 2008, 8 p.m., Deadline for ordering 55-gallon water barrels, drop off order forms and payment to HNA Co-Chair Nancy Carleton 3044 Halcyon Ct.

Sunday, May 18, 3-5:30 p.m. (setup 2-3 p.m.), Outdoors Neighborhood Watch event with BIG Neighborhood Disaster Prep Drill, Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

Saturday, May 31, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Work Party, Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

Sunday, June 1 (tentative date), afternoon, Neighborhood Watch Self-Defense Training, Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

Sunday, June 22, 6-8 p.m., Summer Community Potluck, location TBD (someone's backyard/patio)

Saturday, July 26, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.,  Work Party, Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

Tuesday, August 5, 6-8:30 p.m., National Night Out Against Crime (Potluck 6-7:30; Safety Walk, 7:30-8:30), Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince) and surrounding neighborhood

Saturday, September 20, 9:30 a.m.-12 noon, Work Party, Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

Sunday, September 28, 4-7 p.m., Party in the Park to Celebrate Completion of Halcyon Commons Rejuvenation Project (with potluck and live music), Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

Late October/Early November, date to be announced by Cal's Berkeley Project, Big Work Party in Halcyon Commons and surrounding neighborhood, Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince)

Sunday, October 12, 4-5:30, Big Neighborhood Watch meeting, location TBD

Sunday, November 9, 6-8 p.m. Fall Community Potluck, location TBD

November/December, Sunday afternoon, 4-5:30 p.m., Planning meeting, 2009 dates, date TBD, location TBD

Sunday, January 11, 2009, 5:30-8:45 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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