Thursday, May 17, 2012
List compiled by Amazon finds city sandwiched between Cambridge and Ann Arbor. At the top: Alexandria, Va.
Berkeley: city of intellectuals. But premier city of readers? Apparently not. More bookworms live in Alexandria, Va., according to a new list compiled by Amazon. The Seattle-based online retailer has drawn up a list of the 20 most literate cities with populations of more than 100,000 using sales data on books, magazine and newspaper and eBooks, the Christian Science Monitor reports. If Alexandria is a city of romantics, and Cambridge a city of entrepreneurs who favor books on business and investing, Berkeley is the land of wanderlust: Residents here bought more travel books than readers in other cities. At No. 3, Berkeley ranked higher than Ann Arbor, Mich. but was edged out by Cambridge, Mass., two other university towns. What was the …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Ag Institute invites the community to visit seven area farms June 9.
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Wednesday, May 16
When we started the Institute of Urban Homesteading in 2008, urban agriculture was a marginal activity practiced by a handful of intrepid individuals. Now stories of urban chickens and bees abound, average citizens boast front yard vegetable gardens, urban sustainability projects and glossy urban farming magazines are popping up at every turn. Urban agriculture has been in the news as cities around the Bay Area create new policy to reflect the need and desire to “grow your own.” Nobody cares about a couple tomato plants, but what about livestock in the city? Should people be allowed to sell the food they grow? What about eggs and meat? Isn’t all that a health hazard? San Francisco very quickly offered a comprehensive and generous go-ahead…
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Transit agency asks riders to weigh in on 10-year plan.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit's new bike plan reflects a 10-year cultural shift among commuters and those who shape transit for them, said a cycling advocate who helped craft the document. "It's encouraging to see BART making a commitment to and an investment in bike ridership," said Renee Rivera, executive director of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. "They really see the potential in having many more people bike to BART." The transit agency has charted a bicycle plan for the coming decade, with the goal of doubling the number of passengers who ride to BART stations on two wheels. The BART of the future could include bike sharing, expanded parking, and more seamless access to other transportation systems -- and housing where acres of auto …
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Nurses walk off the job at 10 hospitals; Sutter Health denies the charge that standards in patient care are eroding.
Striking nurses enjoyed a nearly nonstop cacophony of support today as motorists passing by Alta Bates hospital honked their sympathy. At 7 a.m., nurses at 10 Sutter Health hospitals including Alta Bates and Summit Medical Center walked off the job, protesting cuts in benefits and what they describe as eroding patient services. "It's a good day," said 30-year veteran nurse and Albany City Council member Robert Leider. State Sen. Loni Hancock and Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner sent representatives. In bright red T-shirts and touting signs that read “No cuts in patients services” and “Scabs are worse than bed sores,” the nurses handed out flyers listing the hourly earnings of Sutter Health executives (At the top: Sutter West Bay President …
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The university said tonight's discussion of the development agreement related to a Whole Foods and senior housing project at the Village has been tabled indefinitely.
A much-anticipated discussion of one was removed from the April 24 planning commission agenda. Earlier this afternoon, the University of California's property development director and project manager for the Whole Foods and senior housing project at University Village, Kevin Hufferd, sent this notice to the city of Albany: The University is asking the City of Albany to remove the University Village Senior Living and Marketplace project from tonight’s Planning and Zoning Commission agenda. The University would like to ensure that misinformation about the project’s impact on the agricultural lands is corrected and that the project, which has been planned with considerable community input and support over four years, is given an opportunity …
Plans for Occupy the Farm began in late 2011.
On Monday afternoon at Gill Tract, more than an acre of land had been weeded, and planted, with more work underway by a group of activists who took over the University of California-owned land Sunday. One activist said the university had shut off water to the fields, and urged supporters to contact the chancellor's office to protest the decision. Earlier in the day, farmers on the Gill Tract said they're making plans to cultivate parts of the 15-acre lot for the long haul. "This land has been underutilized and doesn't stand to benefit the people in our community," said Lesley Haddock, 20, a media liaison for the group Take Back the Tract. "We want it to serve as a model for urban agriculture, in a time when people feel insecure about …
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Unemployment rate ticks up while the region adds 6,200 jobs. Oakland has the highest jobless rate in the county.
The number jobless rose last month in the East Bay. The unemployment rate for the region in March increased to 9.8 percent, up from 9.6 percent in February. However, the region also added 6,200 jobs. The biggest gains came in education and health services, which saw an increase of 2,700 jobs, and leisure and hospitality, which rose by 2,400. Decreases were seen in the construction industry with a loss of 500 jobs and professional business services, which dropped by 300 jobs. Cindy Sugrue, a labor market consultant with the state Employment Development Department, said the main reason the unemployment rate ticked up while jobs increased is more people re-entered the labor market. The unemployment rate in Contra Costa County was 9.9 percent …
Monday, April 23, 2012
Interview with chef Soleil Banguid and his wife TJ about their new venue The Frog and Fiddle in neighboring Alameda.
When did you start at The Frog and Fiddle? We started last December on the 7th. How did you get connected with The Frog and Fiddle? We used to do the Alameda Farmers Market on Tuesdays. At that time, we became friends with Miguel and Monica at Wescafe. A while after we stopped doing the Farmers Market, we bumped into them and we met Peter [Barnato] and Chuck [Carlise], who run the bar here. It was a good match. You describe your cuisine as “Pan African.” What does that mean? Soleil: Our dishes come from north and south, east and west — from Morocco to South Africa. We cannot offer every dish on the menu. But if there is a dish you want — say you are from Ghana and you want a particular Ghanaian dish — just call ahead -- give me half an …
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Several dozen people attended an "Occupy Earth Day" protest against the Chevron refinery in Richmond on Friday.
Demonstrators gathered at the Richmond BART station late Friday afternoon for an "Occupy Earth Day" protest against the Chevron refinery in Richmond. Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin was among the speakers at the protest, included a march from the BART station to Richmond's Civic Center Plaza. The Richmond Confidential Web site put the turn-out at about 200, while a woman who attended told Patch she estimated about 75 protestors. The event listing for the protest on local Patch sites drew un an unusual number of reader comments, pro and con. An announcement about the event on the Occupy Oakland Web site says Chevron "is a perfect example of how the 1% destroys the health and well-being of the 99%." The protestors accused the oil giant of …
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Lil B Lecture at NYU satiated his fans, but was it anything more than hype?
Lil B’s lecture at NYU Wednesday night was rumored to be on social networking, as near as anyone could tell. It’s never clear with Lil B just what he’s going to say or do. And in keeping with his carefully crafted persona of inscrutability and mystery, he left the unscripted night open. Reading what’s been written about the NYU talk, it doesn't seem like a lecture on social networking took place. But whatever it was that actually happened Wednesday night, fans seemed to feel it lived up to the hype. Pitchfork wrote about the event: "It felt like something positive and rare and totally bizarre was happening." And after weeks leading up to the talk, with Lil B’s voracious stream of Tweets, and a new mixed tape, (The Basedprint 2), “the …
skaar
5:09 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
a good limited goal that only serves bike riders, who are no doubt an important part of BART users. To the extent that it adds more bikes on the trains, pay attention to the fact that they are large and loose and hazardous to everyone. Get them away from people in areas of their own where they can be locked down. Secure bike parking at the stations, like the person said above, is a good thing … more ›