HNA E-News: Work Party Saturday; Potluck Sunday; Order Water Barrels NOW!; Forum on BRT; 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. Work Party in Halcyon Commons & Surrounding Neighborhood,  This Saturday, March 15, 9 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

2. Halcyon Community Potluck, This Sunday, March 16, 6-8 p.m., 3009 Wheeler

3. The 2008 Neighborhood Disaster Prep Water Barrel Order: Orders Due March 20!

4. Community Forum on BRT, Monday, March 17, St. John's Church, 7-9:30 p.m.

5. Monthly Labyrinth Walk, Sunday, March 16, 3 p.m., Willard Middle School

6. Crime Alert: Night-time Burglar Enters Through Pet Door in LeConte Neighborhood

7. Parking Issues Related to Deakin Street Repaving

8.  Whole Foods Volunteers to Pick Up Trash in the Surrounding Neighborhood

* 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:

We have a couple of great opportunities to get involved in nurturing our neighborhood this weekend: the work party in Halcyon Commons and the surrounding neighborhood this Saturday, March 15 (see item 1), and the potluck the next evening, Sunday, March 16 (see item 2). I hope many of you will take the opportunity to participate in these community-building events. Your showing up really makes a difference!

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

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1. Work Party in Halcyon Commons & Surrounding Neighborhood,  This Saturday, March 15, 9 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Halcyon Commons Work Party with help from Cal Students with the Berkeley Project

Meet at Halcyon Commons Park (Halcyon Court at Prince Street).

Refreshments courtesy of Whole Foods Market (Telegraph at Ashby)  and Mokka Café (3075 Telegraph).

Looks like we'll have nice weather! (Though we'll work in rain if we need to!)

Neighborhood volunteers are needed to weed, pick up trash, and remove graffiti in Halcyon Commons and the larger neighborhood alongside 20-25 Cal volunteers from the Berkeley Project. Please bring extra weeding tools if you have them (labeled with address!) and  recycle containers to help move weeds (we'll have extras if you don't).

Special thanks to Whole Foods Market for the donation of food and water, to Mokka Café for the donation of coffee, and to the Cal students of the Berkeley Project for volunteering their time to assist us! The more neighbors who show up, the more of the larger neighborhood we'll be able to cover with our cleanup!  We had a great time as neighbors working with student volunteers last October. Let's do it again!

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2. Halcyon Community Potluck, This Sunday, March 16, 6-8 p.m., 3009 Wheeler

Our host, Tory, has a beautiful garden blooming right now and invites you to enjoy looking out at it at this upcoming potluck.

What:   A chance to gather with neighbors over shared food

When:   Sunday, March 16, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Where:   Tory's house, 3009 Wheeler St. (near Ashby)

Who:   Neighbors who live in the Ashby-Telegraph-Woolsey-Adeline quadrant are welcome, including children.

Agenda:  We'll share food and socialize for the first hour and a half, then spend an informal last half hour announcing upcoming neighborhood events and chatting about neighborhood news

Bring:  Please bring a potluck item to share.

Potluck suggestions: Appetizer: G-K * Main Dish: S-Z * Salad: L-R * Dessert: A-F .

(If not obvious, kindly attach a label with ingredients for your dish to alert those with vegetarian and other diets.)

If so inspired, it's really helpful if you can also bring a beverage to share.

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3. The 2008 Neighborhood Disaster Prep Water Barrel Order: Orders Due March 20!

If you missed out on ordering a 55-gallon water barrel last year, or if you've realized you'd like to store even more water, here's your chance, at a great price (with a discount off last year's prices)!

FYI, here's a link to the purveyor of the water barrels:

http://www.southsummit.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=674

(As you can see, because of the bulk of the barrels, the shipping costs almost as much as the barrel when ordered individually, so an individual order would be $97.95 for the barrel, as opposed to the $50 we're paying because of the bulk order and the shipment to a central location)

Halcyon Neighborhood Association is coordinating this joint neighborhood order of water barrels to enable households to easily store 55 gallons of water for disaster preparedness. In the event of a major quake on the Hayward Fault, it will take time for government help to reach us. Even if the main water supply through the Caldecott Tunnel area escapes damage, EBMUD predicts at least 5,000 breaks in its system! And when government trucks finally arrive with water, there will be long lines and frustrating waits to get limited supplies. Water is essential for survival! The recommendation is to store a MINIMUM of 1 gallon per person per day (2 gallons per person per day preferable, to allow for cleaning and other needs), to last for at least 5 to 14 days.

By ordering at least 70 water barrels at a time, we can obtain a substantial discount of approximately 49% (the discount for the pumps and wrenches is more like 30%). Willard Neighborhood Association and LeConte Neighborhood Association are joining with HNA so we can place this minimum order and get more water stored in our South Berkeley neighborhoods! The water barrels cost $50; the manual pumps $10; and optional bung wrenches $10. (This is an all-volunteer effort; prices reflect actual costs.) Orders are due by 10 p.m. Thursday, March 20 (received, NOT postmarked!). To obtain a pdf of an order form for yourself or to copy and distribute to your neighbors, email HNA Co-Chair Nancy Carleton at <halcyon92@gmail.com>. Within the Halcyon neighborhood (bordered by Telegraph, Ashby, Adeline, and Woolsey), we have also passed out the order forms door to door. If you haven't received yours, please email <halcyon92@gmail.com> for the pdf version.

Note:  The barrel order will only be placed if we have reached the threshold of 70 barrels ordered. Otherwise, I'll sadly have to return your uncashed checks. Please help out by spreading the word, and place your order as soon as possible so we know where we stand!

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4. Community Forum on BRT, Monday, March 17, St. John's Church, 2727, College, 7-9:30 p.m.

[Editor's Note: In accordance with HNA's Guiding Principles (see the end of each E-News for a placeholder containing these), HNA does not take positions on controversial issues, but we do encourage neighbors to get informed and to express their individual viewpoints and so are happy to pass on word of meetings and seminars related to items that would affect our neighborhood.]

Bus Rapid Transit Forum,  Monday, March 17th, 7-9 p.m.

Fireside Room, St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave.

What's Coming to a Street Near You?

An open meeting

AC Transit has proposed a new type of public transit system that will change the way people get around Berkeley. Their proposal takes 2 lanes of traffic off Telegraph Ave. and dedicates them to the Bus Rapid Transit system - at a cost estimated to be $400 million. Proponents say that dedicated lanes, and high tech changes to the way the buses operate, will mean more on-time service and higher transit ridership. Opponents say that its possible to get 80% of the time savings at a fraction of the cost by implementing many of the features proposed for BRT but without permanently dedicating 2 lanes of traffic to buses that will run every 5 minutes.

Why does this matter now? Within the next two months, the City Council will take the first official steps to implement the system. People have an opportunity to weigh in on what they think is the right direction for Berkeley to follow.

Come to the Bus Rapid Transit Forum that's been organized by the Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Assoc. This community forum is being supported by many of the other local neighborhood associations. There will be speakers on both sides of the issue presenting their case and representatives from AC Transit who can answer questions. We look forward to seeing you there.

-Vincent Casalaina, Forum Moderator

Forum Agenda
7:00 Welcome Vincent
7:15 Overview of BRT George Beier, 5 min. presentation / 10 min. Q&A
7:30: General Opposition to BRT Michael Katz, 10 min. presentation / 10 min. Q&A
7:50 Support of BRT Len Conley, 10 min. presentation / 10 min. Q&A
8:10 Real World Testing of BRT Scott Tolmie, 5 min. presentation / 10 min. Q&A
8:25 Rapid Bus Plus Vincent Casalaina, 5 min. presentation / 10 min. Q&A
8:40 BRT status and discussion AC Transit representative, 5 min. presentation / 10 min. Q&A
8:55 Straw Vote

9:00 Adjourn

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5. Monthly Labyrinth Walk, Sunday, March 16, 3 p.m., Willard Middle School

Community Labyrinth Peace Walk at 3 p.m., Willard Middle School
(Telegraph Ave. between Derby & Stuart, Berkeley). Everyone welcome. Free.

Wheelchair accessible. Rain cancels. Contact  info@eastbaylabyrinthproject.org, 510-526-7377.

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6. Crime Alert: Night-time Burglar Enters Through Pet Door in LeConte Neighborhood

A LeConte neighbor reports:

"Unfortunately with the good weather, opportunistic crime has come again (if indeed if ever left). On the night of Monday, March 10, someone entered a house on the 2300 block of Russell Street (between Telegraph and Ellsworth), apparently by squeezing through a pet door. Owners, children, and pets were in the house, and were alerted only when the burglar exited through the front door, setting off the alarm not long before 3:00 a.m. The residents say a digital camera was stolen, apparently along with food from the refrigerator."

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7. Parking Issues Related to Deakin Street Repaving

A Deakin Street neighbor received the following email in response to expressing her concerns about parking during the repaving project:

Thank you for your e-mail regarding the street paving project on Deakin street.  We sincerely apologize for the> inconvenience the project may cause you and your neighbors.  We are continuing to explore ways to minimize the inconvenience, as such, the City will allow you and your neighbors on Deakin Street who may loose parking privileges to obtain a temporary parking permit.  The permit will enable you to park in area M  during the paving project.  There is no fee for the permit.  Residents may obtain the permit from the City of Berkeley, Finance Department located at 1947 Center Street, 1st floor after proof of residency on Deakin.  Please be advised that proof of residency on Deakin is a requirement. Please feel free to contact me at (510) 981-6444 if you  should have additional concerns.

Kenneth Emeziem <KEmeziem@ci.berkeley.ca.us>

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8.  Whole Foods Volunteers to Pick Up Trash in the Surrounding Neighborhood

Community Relations Rep Nick Heustis sent the following announcement to HNA Co-Chair John Steere, who is HNA's liaison with Whole Foods Market:

John,

I wanted to let you know that we are following up on being more responsible about trash pickup in the surrounding neighborhood. We are looking into working with the maintenance team to do sweeps, but also have a great new team member program. Every 2nd Monday we will have a group of volunteer team members out cleaning the surrounding neighborhood for an hour. The next one will be March 10th from 2-3 p.m.

 

I thought you would like to know.

 

Nick Heustis / Marketing and Community Relations

Whole Foods Market / 3000 Telegraph Ave. Berkeley CA 94705

(510)649-1333 ext 261

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For Your Calendar: HNA Dates Scheduled for 2008

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

March 15, 2008,  9  a.m.-2:00 p.m., Big Work Party in Halcyon Commons and surrounding neighborhood, Halcyon Commons (Halcyon at Prince) with Cal volunteers from the Berkeley Project

Sunday, March 16, 2008, 6-8 p.m., Community Potluck, 3009 Wheeler (near Ashby)

Thursday, March 20, 2008, 10 p.m., Deadline for ordering 55-gallon water barrels, drop off order forms and payment to HNA Co-Chair Nancy Carleton 3044 Halcyon Ct. (must be received by end of the day on March 20th; postmark not sufficient)

Early April (date TBD), 2008,4-6 p.m., Big Disaster Prep Planning Meeting, location TBD

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;  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 to reach Berkeley emergency from a cell)

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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