Beast Blog

Berkeley Food Co-op

From the mailbag:

Bay Area Residents Launch a Food Co-op in Berkeley Fledgling Grocery Pledges Quality Goods at Affordable Prices

Berkeley, CA (August 1, 2006) - A group of local Berkeley and Oakland residents is launching a food cooperative, the Berkeley Cooperative Grocery (the CoG), in early 2007. The CoG's mission is to serve residents of the Bay Area by offering reasonably priced food and products that are sustainably sourced.

Quality and affordability are the two main tenets of the CoG. Its founding members state that "The CoG believes that every person has the right to affordable food and goods that are healthy and sustainably sourced." Further, they proclaim that such food and products "should not be the choice of a few, but an affordable standard for every individual."

The average for-profit grocery routinely marks up organic items as much as 100% above wholesale. As a nonprofit, the CoG plans to sell the same high-quality brands as other health- and environmentally minded stores at a much reduced markup (only enough to cover operating expenses).

How can it afford to do this? Traditional groceries spend about 70% of their revenue on labor. At the CoG, every member will be required to work approximately 2 1/2 hours a month in areas such as purchasing, stocking, child care, marketing, and Web maintenance. This keeps payroll expenses to a minimum and permits the co-op to offer products at a substantial savings. The goal is to have at least 75% of the co-op be run by members, with a staff comprising no more than 25%. The CoG also plans to accept food stamps and offer low-income membership investments once the store is up and running.

Requiring members to work not only keeps payroll expenses to a minimum, it also reflects a democratic system. In a true co-op each member gets one vote on every major decision, so it stands to reason that the workload be shared equally as well. In addition, says board member Shannon Kelly, "A sense of community and cooperation is gained from each member contributing to the co-op. Members take pride in the cleanliness of the co-op, get involved in suggesting new products, and feel as though their contributions are actually making a difference in their store and in their community."

Members must also pay a one-time $25 fee and make a $100 investment to the co-op, which is refundable if the member chooses to leave the co-op (the investment may be paid in monthly installments). These charges cover overhead, administrative costs, supplies, and facilities.

The model for the CoG is based loosely on the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn, NY, where several CoG founders were once members. One of the oldest co-ops in the U.S., it opened its doors in 1973 and today has more than 13,000 members. It is now the largest wholly member-owned co-op in the country.

The CoG is currently making contact with local suppliers, raising awareness in the community, and seeking at least 100 pioneering individuals to become founding members before September 1, in order to be eligible for a matching $10,000 grant through the Food Co-op 500 Program ( www.foodcoop500.coop). This program is designed specifically to help young co-ops get off the ground.

In its first year, the CoG intends to be open as an online shop, with at least two pickup times per week at a central location in Berkeley. Within the first few years, the co-op plans to open a full-service retail store.

The CoG welcomes interested community members at its weekly meetings and answers questions via e-mail. To contact the board or to join the Berkeley CoG, go to www.berkeleycog.org .

***
For more information, or to schedule an interview, contact Elisa Edwards at 510-684-8041 or info@berkeleycog.org.

Crimes in Berkeley? Where?

I'm a long-time devotee of Richard Brenneman of the Berkeley Daily Planet's controversial but always entertaining Police Blotter, and oft quoted Berkeley Police Department Public Information Officer Joe "just the facts" Okies, but I am often curious about exactly where the crimes reported upon took place. The city of Berkeley used to publish great crime maps, but gave up updating them in 2003, for reasons that aren't clear to me. Now all they publish is a daily list of "Police Bulletins", as individual PDF files, the least accessible format imaginable.

To the rescue come Scott Brodsky and Google. In a brilliant mashup, Scott has automated a process for getting the data from the Berkeley police bulletins, and used the Google Maps API to layer the locations of the reported crimes on a Google map of Berkeley on his site, Incidentlog.com.

Check out the screenshot I took. Looks to me like Ashby between 80 and Telegraph has had a bit of a crime problem in the last month. You can even click on a marker, and get details of the crime. RSS feeds to come, writes Scott. Check the site out, fellow police blotter junkies.

Cross-posted from the Berkeley Blog

Foodie Trip Report

On Chowhound, a poster provides a lengthy report of her eating over 8 days in the Bay Area, much of it in the East Bay.

A return to the Supper Club

What could be more fun than an evening out- seeing fabulous performers in all genres while enjoying a gourmet meal?

The Ghetto Gourmet does just that, several times a month in various locations.

Check them out to make a reservation!

Fun Night of Spoken Word for a good cause!

Jesse Townley for Berkeley City Council and daniland productions presents...

A Spoken Word Benefit for Jesse's Campaign Featuring:

Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys, Alternative Tentacles records)
Daphne Gottlieb (Award Winning Poet)
Meliza Bañales (Award Winning Poet)
many other speakers!

Friday, October 15th, 9:30 PM
$10, 21 and over
Starry Plough- 3101 Shattuck (@ Prince), Berkeley

Jesse Townley is a community-minded musician, KALX DJ, activist and volunteer running for Berkeley City Council (District 5).
Endorsed by progressive politicians, parties, & people, (Dona Spring: Berkeley City Councilmember, Matt Gonzalez: President, San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Paul Hogarth: Vice Chair, Berkeley Rent Board, John Selawsky: President, Berkeley School Board, Bands Against Bush, Bay Area, Do-It-Yourself Politics, Green Party of Alameda County are a few), Jesse needs your support in order to win! He does not have the deep pockets that other candidates do.

This great night of spoken word is a benefit for his campaign.

Jello Biafra: is former fronman for The Dead Kennedys, a former candidate for President of the United States, current head-man for Alternative Tentacles Records, and spoken word artist.

Daphne Gottlieb:This San Francisco-based Performance Poet stitches together the ivory tower and the gutter just using her tongue. She is the author of Final Girl , Why Things Burn, and Pelt. Why Things Burn was the winner of a 2001 Firecracker Alternative Book Award (Special Recognition - Spoken Word) and was also a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for 2001.  Recent press has praised her work as "fierce," "unapologetic," "scorching" and "deliriously gutsy." She has been widely published in journals and anthologies including nerve.com, Exquisite Corpse and the forthcoming Short Fuse: A Contemporary Anthology of Global Performance Poetry. She is the poetry editor of the online queer literary magazine Lodestar Quarterly , as well as Other Magazine and is a co-organizer of the all-girl spoken word festival debuting in September 2002, ForWord Girls.

Meliza Bañales: has been called, "The girl with the sense of humor of a jackknife." She originally hails from Los Angeles and is the youngest of four kids from working-poor parents. The first Latina to ever win a Bay Area slam championship, she has been a fixture in the poetry slam community for the past six years.  She has performed in just about everywhere--parks, bars, street corners, universities, restaurants, cross-country, internationally-- and with just about everyone from school children to Alice Walker, June Jordan, and Ana Castillo. Her work can be found in numerous anthologies and magazines, including Revolutionary Voices, Lodestar Quarterly, and Laundry Pen, and through her own publications, published on both Chula and Monkey Press.  Her work has often been called "edgy", "political", and "muy caliente". Always looking to fight the good fight, Meliza's work uses humor and personal stories to display larger truths and oppressions. Her first collection of poems, Say It With Your Whole Mouth, will be out in June, 2003 on Monkey Press. Her core belief, "The people are what make change. Look to each other, always, and you will have the power to change the world."  --Dolores Huerta.

Jesse Townley's campaign written up in the East Bay Express!

Thermometer Exchange Begins Tomorrow

UC and the City Of Berkeley begin the thermometer exchange tomorrow.

Berkeley PD's Shiny New Website

From the inbox:

Greetings,

Effective today, 4-21-04, the Berkeley Police Department has made a major
change to our website. We are now putting police bulletins on the website. These bulletins are generated daily for the officers to see all of the crimes reported in the city. The same bulletin, is then edited for public viewing and published onto the website.

By putting these bulletins on the website, we hope to give the public greater access to see all crimes reported to the Berkeley Police
Department.

The goal will be to update the website with these bulletins at least 3 days a week to allow for the most timely possible release of the
information.

Any questions about this can be emailed to police@ci.berkeley.ca.us or you can call the Community Services Bureau at 981-5806.

Thanks, Kevin Schofield

word up

I’m fascinated about books about place. I even teach a class called “Creating a Sense of History and Place in Your Fiction and Nonfiction." My favorite East Bay bookstores include Diesel, Cody’s (my very fave), and Walden Pond. I like the view from the B&N at Jack London Square, too. My own book takes place in Oakland. So does Nichelle Tramble’s. Jess Mowry’s Way Past Cool is great, and takes place in the East Bay, also. But I do like to get out and about. A Collection of Beauties at the Height of Their Popularity is a collection of interwoven short stories—they all take place in 1980s San Francisco. I love Whitney Otto’s work. If you haven’t read Joan Didion on California or on Miami, you should. You have to go to Paris with Hemingway. And to Cuba with Cristina Garcia. And for the great open spaces in the middle of our country, do try Russell Rowland’s book. He’s working on another, too. If you want to come to New York, read Jon Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn. And for another, more unsung NYC borough, try Victor LaValle’s The Ecstatic. This day has been extra fun. I’m waving to Oakland from Brooklyn. Click and see an amazing photo essay of my adopted home. There’s a lot of Oakland in Brooklyn. It’s why I’ve been able to stay so long.

See you soon.

Whoop! Whoop! What's That Sound?

From my email inbox:

Department of Fire and Emergency Services Office of Emergency Services William Greulich, Manager

Announcement of
Outdoor Warning and Notification System Testing

What it is:
City staff are conducting a study to provide suitable outdoor warning to the
Berkeley community. As part of this study, consultants will conduct sound
surveys at four locations. The sample locations were chosen to ensure
complete coverage of the City, taking into account background noise levels
and our complicated terrain.

The testing involves placing a mobile siren at each location. The test at
each location will involve four siren soundings lasting one minute, with
several minutes of silence in between.

Sirens could be used to alert the community in the event of emergencies,
such as a hazardous material spill or a fire in the hills.

When:
Thursday, April 22 and Thursday, April 29
9:00-4:00

Where:
Indian Rock and Oxford
Panoramic Way at the Oakland border
Bonar and Allston
Cragmont and Regal

For information, call the Office of Emergency Services at 510-981-5502.

Celebrate Berkeley's Architectural Heritage!

(and stick it to the developers!)

The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association launched the "baha blog", covering what's happening in my preservationist freakjob town.

Actually, they have some pretty nifty pointers. Check it out.

Berkeley High Uniform Hoax

This just came in over the wire:

"The Athletic Department received two complaints from community members, one from Berkeley and one from Oakland. Apparantly, young men claiming to be BHS football players are soliciting donations for new uniforms for a minimum amount of $15. After investigating this complaint, including speaking to individual players and to our football coach, we've determined that this is a complete hoax and is not in any way, shape, or form authorized by Berkeley High or the Athletics Department.

If you could let the community know that this is a hoax, I would appreciate it."

Berkeley Neighborhood Forums

Get active! Take part!

Here are two neighborhood forums to get your voice heard about civic issues:

CNA Forum with the City Manager and Fire Dept.
Wed. 1-21-04, 6:30-9 pm St. Johns. Pres.--Fireside Rm.
Earlier this year we had the chance to share with Weldon Rucker, than City Manger our concerns regarding the day-to-day operations of the City and make suggestion for improvements. This forum will allow us to express those same concerns to the new manger, Phil Kalmarz. The second half of the meeting will be a presentation from the BFD. We'll learn more about who they are and the public safety services that they provide to our City. If you would like a neighborhood presentation prior to this meeting please contact, Greg Louzao, Second Vice President, Berkeley Firefighters Association, Local 1227 atfiremang@pacbell.net or call 707-980-4876.

CNA and Berkeley Party Forum on Land Use
Wed. 1-28-04, 7-9pm St. John's Pres., Fireside Rm.
We will have the opportunity to speak w/ Dan Marks, Director of Planning, Steve Barton, Director Of Housing and various commissioners to discuss current land use issues and Berkeley's future as it relates to land use. Additional details to follow. There will be a budget presentation FAQ from Michelle Pelligren from 6:10-6:20 on 1/21 and 6:25-6:45 on 1/28. neighborhoods will be able to schedule future
budget presentations with Michelle.

Why Bother Getting Up To Look Out Your Window...

When you can click to the view from the Lawrence Hall of Science, showing Berkeley in all its (currently gloomy) glory. Also features neat-o weather charts.

APB

BERKELEY POLICE DEPARTMENT 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 981-5900, TDD: (510) 981-5799, police@ci.berkeley.ca.us Roy L. Meisner, Chief of Police

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***

Pedestrian Kidnapped and Robbed- Suspect Being Sought

Contact:
Officer KevinSchofield
Badge #91
BPD
Public Information Officer
(510) 981-5752

Berkeley, California (Tuesday, December 16, 2003) – On 10-14-03 at approximately 11:30p.m., a 76-year-old Berkeley resident was walking on Parker Street at Shattuck Avenue when a car slowed down as it neared him. Two suspects got out of the car, brandished the victim with a knife and gun forcing him into their car. The victim was repeatedly punched in the head as they drove.

They drove to an Oakland bank near Lake Merritt where they forced him to withdraw money from an ATM. After getting the money, they drove away leaving the victim stranded.

From the ATM, investigators have obtained a photograph of one of the armed suspects and hope that releasing this photo will help solve this case. BPD Robbery Detective Sergeant Ed Spiller says, “We are hoping anyone who may recognize this individual will contact us so we can solve this case and hopefully prevent this person from committing another violent crime.”

The three suspects are described as:
Black Male Adults, early to mid 20’s, 5’10” - 6’00” with medium builds. The suspect vehicle is described a green, late 80’s-early 90’s, full size American “low-rider” type car.

The Berkeley Police Department is asking for help from anyone who may have information about this incident or the picture above. You may remain anonymous. Please contact the BPD Robbery Detail at 510-981-5742 or email tips to police@ci.berkeley.ca.us

The Good Kind of Graffiti

Berkeley's bicyclists get a nice reworking of the abbreviation for boulevard...

Delightful Delivery in Berkeley

Last night, not interested in cooking nor going out, we ordered delivery from Thai Delight. They've got their menu posted online (in PDF), and seem to deliver throughout Berkeley.

And the food is good! We particularly enjoyed the Thai crepes, and the sweet and sour roast duck.

Bicycling in the Beast

Berkeley is definitely one of the best North American cities for bicycling, and its residents take advantage of this. Sometimes, though, folks get a little carried away.

The City of Berkeley has just launched its Walk Bikes on Sidewalks, Ride Bikes in Street program. The color poster is surprisingly tasteful for a work of civic graphic design.

Bicyclists should also visit the City's Bicycling page for more resources on getting around town utilizing gyroscopic forces.

(For what it's worth, I found out about the new Walk Bikes program thanks to my subscription to various City of Berkeley webpages. It's a service that keeps me up to date on all kinds of stuff. If you want to know what's happening in the city, check it out.)

While I'm at it, you should also check out the East Bay Bicycling Coalition. (Though you can ignore their mailing list unless you're a dyed-in-the-wool bicycle nut who thinks internal combustion is the work of pure unmitigated evil). And on that site, I'm a *big* fan of their East Bay bicycle maps.

Know Your Landmarks!

A list of every Berkeley landmark.

Berkeley's Hysterical Landmarks

A good read is the latest East Bay Express cover story on "Berkeley's Hysterical Landmarks", and how zealous and often unreasonable the Landmarks Preservation Commission can be.

Such opinions are familiar to anyone who reads the Berkeley Daily Planet, a normally decent newspaper that descends into scathing fury when the subject of development comes up.

As someone who recently moved to Berkeley, it's eye-opening and frustrating to witness thoughtless anti-development fervor. I mean, yes preserving landmarks is important, and yes, preventing runaway development and urban hideousness is important. But that doesn't mean the only other option is not to build. All that that does is lead to stagnation, a quality that a city as vibrant and dynamic as Berkeley cannot afford to embrace.

You Can't Beat the Price!

Phil writes in to remind us that the free performances of Mother Courage and Her Children, done by the East Bay's inestimable Shotgun Players, wraps up this weekend.

As a special treat, the Saturday show, originally scheduled for Live Oak Park, will take place at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts -- inside! No blankets required.

Berkeley News Scan

Want to keep tabs on what folks are writing about Berkeley? The City of Berkeley web site offers News Scan, featuring clips from various Bay Area newspapers every day.

Who Loves Maps? I do!

The City of Berkeley offers a treasure trove of online maps showing different aspects of the city. I love the Zoning Map and Bicycle Network maps.

A quick browse and Google of Oakland's and Albany's municipal sites suggests neither city offers a similar resource. Disappointing!

Historic East Bay Panoramic Photos

Got some time at work? Browse the Library of Congress' "Taking the Long View", an exhibition of panoramic photos.

Beast-ers will likely be interested in Berkeley and
Oakland. (They don't seem to have much else from the Beast.)

All The News That They Can Find

A few weeks ago, we wrote about how the Berkeley Daily Planet is coming back. Today, that became true. At the Ashby BART station this morning, a woman was giving away free copies of the new journal.

I suppose "daily" has a new meaning, because neither the Berkeley Daily Planet nor The Daily Californian publishes every day.

The first issue of the Planet has a certain scrappy sweetness. The layout is terrible--articles drift from page to page in a confusing manner, leaving paragraphs stranded throughout. The writing varies widely, from a homey and difficult-to-follow paean to Berkeley's diversity, to a cutting (and depressing) column by Henry Orr about being suspended from the SF Chronicle for anti-war activity. The main news focus deals with the massive layoffs in Berkeley's public schools, a well-written (and also depressing) piece.

Here's to the Planet finding its legs.

Berkeley, A City in History

The Berkeley Public Library has published on its website, Berkeley, A City in History. For a free book, it's remarkably thorough. The only noticeable lack are photos and illustrations.

One thing I'm fascinated by is how decisions made over 100 years ago resonate today. This is particularly clear in Chapter 3, "Enter the Octopus," about the laying of railroad in Berkeley. Among the passages is:

He was the major developer of the community of Lorin, which once boasted a train station located at Adeline Street and Alcatraz Avenue

It's a reminder that what we do today will often have an impact on what comes long after us.

Food? I like Food!

Another in the East Bay Hipster Media series.

Today's Chronicle features Karen Eng, the publisher of PekoPeko, a culinary zine that's straight outta Berkeley.

Welcome back, Berkeley Daily Planet

I remember being so sad about the demise of the Berkeley Daily Planet that I wrote an obituary for it. Well, when I was at the Digital Rights Management Conference at UC Berkeley last week, I saw a man wearing a Berkeley Daily Planet badge. I went up and introduced myself to him, and asked him what the story was with the badge. The man, who turned out to be Tom Hunt, the MIS guru and computer science teacher at Longfellow Middle School, and local Berkeley technical entrepreneur, told me that Becky and Mike O?Malley, who had retired after a successful career in the software business (i.e. they sold the company they had founded for a reasonable amount of money) had bought up the assets of the Berkeley Daily Planet and were going to try and restart it. I was delighted at the news, since I miss knowing what is happening in Berkeley, and I miss my daily ritual of picking up the paper and a pastry from the Cheeseboard and reading the paper on my one mile walk to the office. Today, while walking past the cheeseboard, I saw a sign in the otherwise empty BDP news-rack inviting people to check out the Berkeley Daily Planet website for the preview for the paper.

Well, the website is up and it looks good. The O'Malley's have hired at least one of the reporters back, they have more offers of help than they can use, and they hope to start publishing again in April.

Thank you, O'Malley's. Welcome back, Berkeley Daily Planet. We've missed you.

Geodog

Berkeley Partners for Parks meeting on parks budget

Friends of Berkeley's Parks are invited to come to an important Berkeley Partners for Parks meeting on Monday, March 17, about upcoming parks division priorities and work plan, and planning for the FY04, FY05 parks budgets and beyond. Budget cuts are coming and an informed citizenry is needed to help staff and City Council prioritize. Lisa Caronna, Director of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront, will give the presentation. There will be time for questions and answers and discussion, as well as adopt-a-park news.

3/17/2003, 7:30-9:00PM, City Corp. Yard Public Meeting Room, 1326 Allston Way.

More info at Berkeley Partners for Parks website

'Cause I'm the Wanderer...

This morning I discovered there is such a thing as the Berkeley Path Wandering Association, dedicated to enjoying the city's streets on foot. Click in to find all kinds of resources, maps, walking tours, and photos.

And also dig that they meet monthly. The next meeting is March 20th at the South Berkeley Branch Library (2 blocks from my house), with guest speaker Jason Patton, one of the people behind the nifty Walk Oakland! map.

Christopher Hitchens on the Free Speech Movement

(In)famous essayist Christopher Hitchens writes a pseudo-book review of The Free Speech Movement. It seems that Hitchens is doing a stint as a fellow at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, and he uses the book review as an excuse to discuss some matters of local political import.