Author: Lee Trampleasure

Posted on

Run for Peace at Berkeley Marina, September 20

The Run For Peace, an annual 5K/10K run in Berkeley’s Cesar Chavez Park and along the idyllic Berkeley Marina, is a fun community run that draws participants from all over the Bay Area. If you can’t run for Peace, walk for Peace! Everyone is welcome – athletes, amateurs, persons with disabilities, children, dogs, even groups. Feel free to wear a costume…or none! There will be music, food, drinks, and much information about peace and justice activities in the Bay Area. We assure you that Cesar Chavez Park will be THE place to be on September 20 – so please sign up Sign up today.

Sponsored by the East BayChapter of the United Nations Association-USA. Complete details and online registration here: www.run4peace.org

Posted on

Tilden Park Carousel Grand Re-Opening

Please join East Bay Regional Park District Board Member Nancy Skinner and the Regional Parks Foundation Board of Directors in celebrating the grand re-opening of the newly refurbished Tilden Carousel on Saturday, October 4, from 10 a.m. ­to 12:30 p.m. This free event is open to the public. Enjoy a free ride, ice cream and cookies.

The Tilden Carousel is re-opening after a six-month closure to restore the outer building structure, install new doors, renovate the carousel floor, and repair the North Tonawanda organ. Funding for this project was provided by voter-approved Measure CC, the Regional Parks Foundation, and a Partners in Preservation grant from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Each year 150,000 visitors enjoy this 1911 Herscell-Spillman "Menagerie Edition" Carousel, one of only two still operating in the U.S. Since it was relocated from Southern California in 1948, the Tilden Park Carousel has delighted visitors with the opportunity to ride on and view its 59 hand-carved and hand-painted animals. This National Register-listed Carousel has provided generations the chance to live and re-live the joys of childhood.

Note: The Tilden Carousel is open now on weekends (I went there last weekend with my granddaughter), October 4th is just the celebration.
Posted on

Young Artists Workspace 2008-09

YOUNG ARTIST WORKSPACE
CLASS SCHEDULE 2008/2009

Art for Two’s, Three’s and Four’s
 Thursday 10-10:45 am or 11:15 – 12:00pm

Fine Art for Kids
5 to 6 year-olds
Tuesday or Thursday 3:45-4:30

7 to 9 year-olds
Wednesday 4:00 – 5:15pm

9 to 11 year-olds
Tuesday 4:45 – 6:00pm

Young Artists Studio
 12 to 16 year-olds
Monday 4:00 – 6:00pm

CLASS FEES

YAWS classes are now offered in three sessions: fall, winter, and spring. The breakdown of each session varies in number of classes and tuition costs due to vacation and holiday schedules. The schedule showing session dates and costs – per session and for the year – is described in the following 2008/9 Tuition and Session Schedule.

Parents who want to enroll their child for the year may do so by September 20th for a savings of $45.

Parents who want to enroll their children in six-class sessions may do so if there is room after seasonal enrollment is complete on a first come, first served basis. The start dates for six-class sessions is also listed in the 2008/9 Tuition and Session Schedule.

Tuition and Session Schedule
2008/2009

Fall Session
September 15th to December 18th
13 classes
Art for 2,3,4’s – $160
Fine Art for Kids
5 & 6’s – 195
7 to 11’s – $220
Young Artists Studio
12 to 16’s – $235

No classes on Nov. 24 to 27.

Winter Session
January 5th to March 26th
11 classes
Art for 2,3,4’s – $120
Fine Art for Kids
5 & 6’s – 165
7 to 11’s – $190
Young Artists Studio
12 to 16’s – $200

No classes on February 23 to 27th.

Spring Session
March 30th TO May 28th
9 classes
Art for 2,3,4’s – $100
Fine Art for Kids
5 & 6’s – 135
7 to 11’s – $155
Young Artists Studio
12 to 16’s – $160

Please keep this information as a reminder of vacation days. Although your child’s school may honor a particular holiday, YAWS may still be holding classes. If you are ever unsure of the schedule, you may call Jen at (510) 220-8408 or email her at jennyaws@yahoo.com.

TUITION SAVINGS FOR ALL YEAR ENROLLMENT

Payment must be made by September 20th to receive savings

33 classes
Art for 2,3,4’s – $350 ($40 savings)

Fine Art for Kids
5 & 6’s – $450 ($45 savings)
7 to 11’s – $520 ($45 savings)

Young Artists Studio
12 to 16’s – $550 ($45 savings)

SIX-CLASS SESSIONS

These sessions will be offered during the times listed below. Drop-in classes are difficult to accommodate due to way YAWS classes are structured. If you have questions about drop-in possibilities, please call Jen at (510) 220-8408.

September 15 – October 23
November 3 – December 18
January 5 – February 12
March 30 – May 7

TUITION for SIX CLASSES:
Art for 2,3,4’s – $75
Fine Art for Kids
5 & 6’s – $100
7 to 11’s – $115
Young Artists Studio
12 to 16’s – $120

Use the registration form to enroll your child – one child per form. Be sure to list the class name and time you are requesting. A confirmation email will come to you once enrollment is processed. If the class is full, your check will be mailed back to you.

Class fees must be turned in with this form to insure enrollment. Scholarships are available; no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Posted on

Help stop flooding and habitat damage to Aquatic Park

The City of Berkeley plans to use $2 million in Clean Water Bond money from the State Coastal Conservancy to open discharge outlets from the City’s primary storm drains into the tidal bay ponds of Aquatic Park. Discharge of contaminated storm water into the enclosed ponds has been prohibited by the State since 1971, but the City hopes to overturn that restriction and replace it with a permit allowing such toxic discharges in perpetuity. The use of high-pressure pumps can increase the capacity of the City’s drains and avoid violations of the Water Board’s prohibition. Improving circulation within the lagoon system must begin with regular maintenance of the existing culverts, the option selected by Council in 1994 when staff first proposed the project in an earlier version. Additional water circulation can be safely engineered with a one-way flow out of the lagoons, thus prohibiting the introductions of toxic storm runoff. Such one-way outbound options have been recommended for consideration by the State Water Board regulator in his project analysis, but they have not yet been modeled.

This item is on the City Council agenda at their June 24 meeting. For more information, visit Aquatic Park EGRET’s web site: www.egretpark.org

Posted on

Blackberry Creek Daylighting Project, Berkeley: Ten-Year Post-Project Appraisal

Stephanie K. Gerson, Jane Wardani, and Shiva Niazi conducted a study of the Blackberry Creek Daylighting Project ten years after completion of the project. The results can be found here:

//www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=7&url=http%3A%2F%2Frepositories.cdlib.org%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1056%26context%3Dwrca&ei=S6ReSIeyGImMsAPDhIT5Cw&usg=AFQjCNE6ffL0Fjo-Ce8eoR6ysCQQwbgvEg&sig2=IF8IExp33SZ58epunXGnHQ

From the Abstract:

Blackberry Creek drains a 0.3-square-mile watershed, flowing from the northeastern hills of Berkeley, California into the Marin Creek culvert and then to the San Francisco Bay. A 200-foot reach running under Thousand Oaks Elementary School was daylighted in 1995 by Wolfe Mason Associates in collaboration with the Urban Creeks Council. The goals were to provide an outdoor science lab for the school and an alternative to a culvert with a history of flooding.

Post-project appraisals conducted in 1996 and 2000 focused on geomorphic and biological aspects, and found sufficient flood control capacity and greater density of riparian vegetation than envisioned in project design. We conducted a PPA ten years after project completion, surveying the longitudinal profile and two
cross sections of the creek. We also looked at historical rainfall data and identified a 10-year event in 2002. Comparing our data to previous PPAs, channel flood capacity and gradient appear stable although the channel itself may have migrated within the high bankfull. Bank vegetation has become even denser,
reflecting a lack of maintenance.

Previous PPAs documented tension relating to perceived use and design among diverse groups such as the School, the Neighborhood Association, and a Tai Chi group that used the park and tot lot. To get a sense of community perception and use ten years post-project, we interviewed the Thousand Oaks science
teacher, past and current presidents of the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association, and the chair of the Urban Creeks Council at the time of daylighting. Today, the school is using the site as a regular science lab and the initial tension seems to have dissipated into general public acceptance.