A Response to Laurie Capitelli
and his commentary in the Berkeley Daily Planet, April 18-21, 2008.
by Linda Trujillo Bargmeyer
Laurie Capitelli begins his commentary standing at Vine looking south “down a vibrant Shattuck Avenue thronging with pedestrians…spilling out across traffic to claim and use the grass median strip.” What he does not say, is that this thronging mass of pedestrians does not continue down Shattuck Avenue or continue into the real downtown of Berkeley.
When I disembark at the downtown Bart station and walk home via Shattuck Avenue to North Berkeley I see a more complete picture. Getting off the train, it is hard not to notice that downtown is shabby and worn and needs to be revitalized. The buildings that have recently been built downtown lack inspiration and have done little to reinvigorate the area with the positive energy we would like in a city center. As I cross University Avenue and walk north, I notice that blocks of new five- story buildings, painted artificially Tuscan to cover their inherent blandness and lack of character, stand like cloned soldiers on the east side of Shattuck Avenue. Apartments are apparently on the top floors of the buildings and offices on the ground floor. Many of these ground floor offices are empty or perhaps not even completed. There are few people walking the sidewalks in this area. As I cross Delaware, I walk into what I call my neighborhood. The one or two story buildings are more human scale, the architecture more interesting, and the area more friendly with people busily walking the streets. The shops and restaurants are busy because they are local businesses in tune with the local populace. I feel lucky to call this part of Berkeley my home.
It is predominately an area of owner -occupied homes. The area is dotted with parks to provide tranquility in an urban environment. There are walking paths that crisscross the area leading to other commercial areas or to other neighborhoods within the area. I like the sense of place, the personality and the community I have found in this part of Berkeley. I like the quality of life that the local, the small, and the individualistic produce. Apparently, others feel the same way, because even though there are some things that can be improved, the North Berkeley area essentially works.
Before any improvements in this area are planned, it would be wise to ponder what makes the “gourmet ghetto” one of the most vital parts of Berkeley, for it is very easy to kill what we love in North Berkeley. The Vision Committee, a subgroup of LOCCNA, set upon this task when we wrote our Vision Statement in response to David Stoloff’s plan. Although there was some disagreement within LOCCNA (as stated in the Fred Dodsworth article), we united around the concepts behind the Vision Statement. It was endorsed at a well attended meeting of LOCCNA members and it was endorsed by the Northside Neighborhood Association. It would be well for Laurie Capitelli to respond to the issues contained within that document and answer truthfully the fear of many North Berkeley residents: Is this movement to enhance North Berkeley with green and pedestrian space only a ruse or a prelude to building the dead architecture and high rise apartments that are now creeping up Shattuck Avenue? I question the sincerity of Capitelli’s statement that we should work together with a “shared commitment to bring improvement to our neighborhood.” When I am on Vine looking south on Shattuck, I like what I see up to Delaware, but looking further south on Shattuck I dread what might be coming north.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Long past time for improvements in the North Shattuck Commercial District
Northside neighbors,
It is past time for the city of Berkeley to complete its long-delayed civic improvements in the North Shattuck commercial district. Approximately eight years ago, after intensive community involvement, a program of modest, incremental, civic improvements was created and approved by the community and the city council. That program became stalled when Planning Commission member David Stoloff initiated his 'grand' North Shattuck Plaza plan. Mr. Stoloff's scheme is dead, but the problems remain. Among those is the necessary redesign of the intersection at Shattuck Avenue and Vine Street.
The current design of that intersection is murderously and poorly conceived. The city has planned pedestrian bulb-outs there, which will make walking across that intersection much safer. In the last 20 plus years, that intersection has been the site of least two pedestrian deaths. My youngest son saw one of those accidents, where a young pregnant woman was torn in half. There have been many more less horrific accidents, and many more near misses.
While it's just a hop across the crosswalk for the young and agile, for those moving more slowly it is a journey too dangerous and too far, with too many distracted motorists gunning desperately for that 'last' parking space. Like many elderly in our neighborhood, my 82-year-old mother-in-law refuses to attempt to cross Shattuck Avenue at Vine Street if she can't begin her journey immediately upon the light turning green. She’s not alone. I see elderly pedestrians standing out in traffic regularly at that intersection.
Complicating the problems is that Safeway has announced it plans to double its size in North Berkeley. Less than a block away, this will dramatically and dangerously increase both pedestrian and automotive traffic at the intersection of Vine and Shattuck.
Again returning to the plan already designed and approved eight years ago, the barren, useless and underutilized concrete peninsula in front of Coldwell Banker's realty firm is too small to be effectively re-purposed and too large to be wasted as no more than a plinth for newspaper stands. That wasteland is a perfect place to transition from the current, sad strip-mall aesthetics to something more environmentally friendly, more pedestrian friendly and more attractive for all of the users of this community. Make it greener, make it safer, make it better looking and more useful!!!
Any revitalization of North Berkeley's critically important shopping district must also address the disgraceful condition of the sidewalk fronting the shops along the eastern side of Shattuck Avenue between Vine and Rose streets. So many contractors have hacked into it over the decades that it more resembles a washboard than a place to stroll.
Additionally, now that Saul's Deli and Masse's Pastries offer outside seating, the width of the sidewalk is too narrow for both tables and pedestrians. Like hundreds of shoppers each day, I use the tables and chairs in front of Saul's Deli and Masse's Pastries. Every single time I sit there I see folks get blocked up and stuck between the seated diners and the storefronts – legs tangled in dog-leashes, wheelchair users forced to beg for passage, babes and their mothers playing bumper-cars with their strollers. Every time I have a cup of coffee out in front of Masse's Pastry I see vehicles bump into my fellow diners. It's a serious injury-accident waiting to happen. A great example of how that sidewalk should work can be found in front of the French Hotel where the city created a slightly widened sidewalk that allows both uses while also making it safer to cross the street from the post office.
By failing to address the concerns of merchants in the area the Stoloff 'Grand Plaza Plan' united much of the residential community against that proposal, but not against any improvements. At every meeting I attended, both public and private, the vast majority of those in attendance were in favor of modest, incremental, ecologically sound improvements. Unfortunately there also were always a few loudmouths who screeched out their complaints (out of turn) and made ridiculous inflammatory personal attacks. As a result each public meeting had fewer and fewer folks in attendance. One of the few neighborhood community meetings that actually accomplished its goals, and didn't dissolve in rancor, was the North Berkeley Vision Committee chaired by Linda Bargmeyer.
There were two key points developed by that group, both of which were endorsed by two of the area's neighborhood associations. The first point is called 'Goodness of Living':
“We want North Berkeley to remain a strong and cohesive neighborhood community, not a domain of anonymity. We do not want it transformed into a high-density city, like San Francisco. We want to increase opportunities to interact with neighbors, friends, and business owners and their employees, which includes protecting neighborhood streets from the incursion of high-volume traffic; and, promoting the needs of children, teenagers and seniors.”
'Goodness' is defined as a strong sense of community; close proximity to nature; the availability of quiet and environmentally safe public transportation; close proximity to intellectual, cultural, and outdoor activities; opportunities to participate in the democratic process and influence living conditions; opportunities to know and interact with neighbors; opportunities to savor good food and drink; access to vibrant and diversified local shops; an ability to preserve our connection to the past; the opportunity to understand diverse people; and the ability to afford living here.
The second key factor was protecting our small independent businesses:
“Businesses are an integral part of our community. Some of the local businesses are particularly excellent and are models for the kind of customer/business relationship that we desire and would like to foster. These businesses have excellent products as well as excellent customer interaction. We know many of the owners and their employees. We care whether they survive.
“We would like to support small, independent businesses by improving what we have, not by … increasing the financial burden of current proprietors. We are concerned about raising rents. We are also concerned that the construction process itself can drive current proprietors out of business. Therefore, if there is to be change, it should be incremental rather than massively disruptive.”
If the community and the city can work within those constraints, not only will we preserve and improve our contributions to the local sales tax base, we’ll improve our neighborhood as well.
-- Fred Dodsworth
It is past time for the city of Berkeley to complete its long-delayed civic improvements in the North Shattuck commercial district. Approximately eight years ago, after intensive community involvement, a program of modest, incremental, civic improvements was created and approved by the community and the city council. That program became stalled when Planning Commission member David Stoloff initiated his 'grand' North Shattuck Plaza plan. Mr. Stoloff's scheme is dead, but the problems remain. Among those is the necessary redesign of the intersection at Shattuck Avenue and Vine Street.
The current design of that intersection is murderously and poorly conceived. The city has planned pedestrian bulb-outs there, which will make walking across that intersection much safer. In the last 20 plus years, that intersection has been the site of least two pedestrian deaths. My youngest son saw one of those accidents, where a young pregnant woman was torn in half. There have been many more less horrific accidents, and many more near misses.
While it's just a hop across the crosswalk for the young and agile, for those moving more slowly it is a journey too dangerous and too far, with too many distracted motorists gunning desperately for that 'last' parking space. Like many elderly in our neighborhood, my 82-year-old mother-in-law refuses to attempt to cross Shattuck Avenue at Vine Street if she can't begin her journey immediately upon the light turning green. She’s not alone. I see elderly pedestrians standing out in traffic regularly at that intersection.
Complicating the problems is that Safeway has announced it plans to double its size in North Berkeley. Less than a block away, this will dramatically and dangerously increase both pedestrian and automotive traffic at the intersection of Vine and Shattuck.
Again returning to the plan already designed and approved eight years ago, the barren, useless and underutilized concrete peninsula in front of Coldwell Banker's realty firm is too small to be effectively re-purposed and too large to be wasted as no more than a plinth for newspaper stands. That wasteland is a perfect place to transition from the current, sad strip-mall aesthetics to something more environmentally friendly, more pedestrian friendly and more attractive for all of the users of this community. Make it greener, make it safer, make it better looking and more useful!!!
Any revitalization of North Berkeley's critically important shopping district must also address the disgraceful condition of the sidewalk fronting the shops along the eastern side of Shattuck Avenue between Vine and Rose streets. So many contractors have hacked into it over the decades that it more resembles a washboard than a place to stroll.
Additionally, now that Saul's Deli and Masse's Pastries offer outside seating, the width of the sidewalk is too narrow for both tables and pedestrians. Like hundreds of shoppers each day, I use the tables and chairs in front of Saul's Deli and Masse's Pastries. Every single time I sit there I see folks get blocked up and stuck between the seated diners and the storefronts – legs tangled in dog-leashes, wheelchair users forced to beg for passage, babes and their mothers playing bumper-cars with their strollers. Every time I have a cup of coffee out in front of Masse's Pastry I see vehicles bump into my fellow diners. It's a serious injury-accident waiting to happen. A great example of how that sidewalk should work can be found in front of the French Hotel where the city created a slightly widened sidewalk that allows both uses while also making it safer to cross the street from the post office.
By failing to address the concerns of merchants in the area the Stoloff 'Grand Plaza Plan' united much of the residential community against that proposal, but not against any improvements. At every meeting I attended, both public and private, the vast majority of those in attendance were in favor of modest, incremental, ecologically sound improvements. Unfortunately there also were always a few loudmouths who screeched out their complaints (out of turn) and made ridiculous inflammatory personal attacks. As a result each public meeting had fewer and fewer folks in attendance. One of the few neighborhood community meetings that actually accomplished its goals, and didn't dissolve in rancor, was the North Berkeley Vision Committee chaired by Linda Bargmeyer.
There were two key points developed by that group, both of which were endorsed by two of the area's neighborhood associations. The first point is called 'Goodness of Living':
“We want North Berkeley to remain a strong and cohesive neighborhood community, not a domain of anonymity. We do not want it transformed into a high-density city, like San Francisco. We want to increase opportunities to interact with neighbors, friends, and business owners and their employees, which includes protecting neighborhood streets from the incursion of high-volume traffic; and, promoting the needs of children, teenagers and seniors.”
'Goodness' is defined as a strong sense of community; close proximity to nature; the availability of quiet and environmentally safe public transportation; close proximity to intellectual, cultural, and outdoor activities; opportunities to participate in the democratic process and influence living conditions; opportunities to know and interact with neighbors; opportunities to savor good food and drink; access to vibrant and diversified local shops; an ability to preserve our connection to the past; the opportunity to understand diverse people; and the ability to afford living here.
The second key factor was protecting our small independent businesses:
“Businesses are an integral part of our community. Some of the local businesses are particularly excellent and are models for the kind of customer/business relationship that we desire and would like to foster. These businesses have excellent products as well as excellent customer interaction. We know many of the owners and their employees. We care whether they survive.
“We would like to support small, independent businesses by improving what we have, not by … increasing the financial burden of current proprietors. We are concerned about raising rents. We are also concerned that the construction process itself can drive current proprietors out of business. Therefore, if there is to be change, it should be incremental rather than massively disruptive.”
If the community and the city can work within those constraints, not only will we preserve and improve our contributions to the local sales tax base, we’ll improve our neighborhood as well.
-- Fred Dodsworth
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Has all the screaming killed LOCCNA?
I didn't go to last week's LOCCNA meeting (Sept. 18).
I have little stomach for the petty name calling that so many of LOCCNA's meetings devolve into thanks to the relentless rancor of Art Goldberg and Julie Ross.
Instead, I went to Palm Springs and suffered greatly, swimming and hiking in the sun.
Friends of mine did go to the meeting and reported back that there were as many as 25 people in attendance! I was also told that nothing of substance was decided.
Once upon a time, 150 to 200 folks would show up for these little get-togethers.
For this the LOCCNA representatives again delayed the tripartite meeting scheduled to be held in late August?
I have little stomach for the petty name calling that so many of LOCCNA's meetings devolve into thanks to the relentless rancor of Art Goldberg and Julie Ross.
Instead, I went to Palm Springs and suffered greatly, swimming and hiking in the sun.
Friends of mine did go to the meeting and reported back that there were as many as 25 people in attendance! I was also told that nothing of substance was decided.
Once upon a time, 150 to 200 folks would show up for these little get-togethers.
For this the LOCCNA representatives again delayed the tripartite meeting scheduled to be held in late August?
Friday, September 14, 2007
Faux Community
Last week Alan Gould's LOCCNA posted flyers around North Berkeley announcing yet another community meeting on September 18 to discuss the North Shattuck Plaza plan. This would be ironic if it weren't so dishonest. Neither Alan, nor the rest of the cabal of Do-Nothing Naysayers who shout down ever other opinion want to discuss any possible changes in the North Berkeley commercial corridor. They're adamantly opposed to any improvement.
At the same meeting they have announced their intention to discuss 'Kitchen Democracy,' a volunteer organization that uses the internet to afford local voters the opportunity to discuss and poll each other on local issues.
To read a good article that examines Kitchen Democracy and its founders see this story which ran in the Berkeley Daily Planet last year. If the link doesn't work paste the following URL into your browser. http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=06-13-06&storyID=24378.
Of course, after Kitchen Democracy recently featured the North Shattuck Plaza Plan, and the community input came back neatly divided equally for and against the plan, Steve Martinot, one the the cabal of Do-Nothing Naysayers, wrote a long-winded and typically inarticulate hatchet job on Kitchen Democracy which ran as an opinion piece in the Planet!
To see Mr Martinot's hit piece paste the following URL http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/text/article.cfm?archiveDate=08-31-07&storyID=27913 in your browser.
For those who aren't familiar, Mr. Martinot is the significant other to Maryann Brewin, who serves on the LOCCNA steering committee and is one of three elected representatives to the tri-partite committee of merchants, landlords and residents which is ostensibly charged with meeting to discuss possible improvements to the area. Mr. Martinot has loudly and belligerently stated on numerous public occasions that he is totally opposed to any possible changes in the area. So much for democracy, in the kitchen or out of it.
For those who aren't familiar, LOCCNA was founded to oppose the construction of Congregation Beth El's temple on Oxford Street, also in North Berkeley. After years of litigation and hundreds of rancorous public meetings, the religious edifice was built but the LOCCNA promised degradation and destruction of our community failed to materialize.
At the same meeting they have announced their intention to discuss 'Kitchen Democracy,' a volunteer organization that uses the internet to afford local voters the opportunity to discuss and poll each other on local issues.
To read a good article that examines Kitchen Democracy and its founders see this story which ran in the Berkeley Daily Planet last year. If the link doesn't work paste the following URL into your browser. http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=06-13-06&storyID=24378.
Of course, after Kitchen Democracy recently featured the North Shattuck Plaza Plan, and the community input came back neatly divided equally for and against the plan, Steve Martinot, one the the cabal of Do-Nothing Naysayers, wrote a long-winded and typically inarticulate hatchet job on Kitchen Democracy which ran as an opinion piece in the Planet!
To see Mr Martinot's hit piece paste the following URL http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/text/article.cfm?archiveDate=08-31-07&storyID=27913 in your browser.
For those who aren't familiar, Mr. Martinot is the significant other to Maryann Brewin, who serves on the LOCCNA steering committee and is one of three elected representatives to the tri-partite committee of merchants, landlords and residents which is ostensibly charged with meeting to discuss possible improvements to the area. Mr. Martinot has loudly and belligerently stated on numerous public occasions that he is totally opposed to any possible changes in the area. So much for democracy, in the kitchen or out of it.
For those who aren't familiar, LOCCNA was founded to oppose the construction of Congregation Beth El's temple on Oxford Street, also in North Berkeley. After years of litigation and hundreds of rancorous public meetings, the religious edifice was built but the LOCCNA promised degradation and destruction of our community failed to materialize.
Monday, September 3, 2007
A little birdy told me....
A little birdy happened to be sitting in a local cafe recently and overheard a large group of North Shattuck Plaza proponents and their enablers gathered together to discuss the most recent iteration of Dave Stoloff's Grand North Berkeley Plaza Plan.
It seems the septuagenarian city planner wants to bring the worst of all worlds to North Berkeley by creating a faux North Berkeley Plaza, which would simply eliminate the parking in the frontage road area with roadblocks and signage -- so we can all experience the grandness of his vision.
Of course, one retired city planning professor's vision is every other neighbor's nightmare.
The net result of this most recent proposal would be to inflict upon us all of the negatives (no parking, poor access to the stores, and a vast, ugly, neglected and unused space), and none of his plan's alleged positives (a sense of place, gracious and ecological landscaping, improved and expanded sidewalk living space).
According to my spies, while most of the assembled enablers were supportive, a few folks suggested that this would only exacerbate the antipathy of the already grossly irritated anti-plaza crowd.
Meanwhile another birdy told me (thank you, Mary Ann Brewin) that the cult of Do-Nothing Naysayers who've hijacked the email list known as LOCCNA --you know who you are-- are rumored to be planning a community meeting in September.
One might wish that such a meeting would be intended to better understand the community's concerns and desires, or to better inform the community about the options we have for improving our lot -- but if one imagined such a fantasy, one is bound to live a life filled with disappointment.
The sole intended result of this planned upcoming community meeting is to effect my removal as one of LOCCNA's three elected representative to the tripartite meetings of merchants, landlords and neighbors.
It seems I didn't get the memo that stated the members of LOCCNA were irresolvably and adamantly against any and every attempt to improve the appearance of our community.
Of course only one of these tripartite meeting has been held so far, and that one immediately devolved into hysterical legal threats from LOCCNA's unelected representative, Julie Ross. Her shrieking was immediately mated to insults and screams from Art 'Duplicitous Insect' Goldberg.
Poor little orphans, it is you who are rendering yourselves useless and redundant. If all you have to offer is shrieking and shouting soon no one will want to listen to you.
The reality is that the neighborhood is clearly divided.
Some folks (merchants, landlords and residents) want nothing changed. (We used to call such people reactionaries because they never came up with any proposals but could be counted upon to dump on anything anyone else suggested.)
Then again, Mr Stoloff's groupies want his ill-conceived, over-reaching, expensive and pompous plaza (several beloved local merchants have publicly stated this will lead to the death of their businesses).
But most folks just want something slightly more attractive and more useful than what is there now. Something that will improve the area without choking it to death, something that can be done inexpensively, incrementally, and sensitively.
Meanwhile LOCCNA's coven of Do-Nothing, Naysayers have unilaterally canceled two scheduled tripartite meetings to discuss these issues. (The first meeting LOCCNA's agents canceled was scheduled for April and the second for August 22). This group's obstructionist tactics have now delayed this process by more than six months.
It seems the septuagenarian city planner wants to bring the worst of all worlds to North Berkeley by creating a faux North Berkeley Plaza, which would simply eliminate the parking in the frontage road area with roadblocks and signage -- so we can all experience the grandness of his vision.
Of course, one retired city planning professor's vision is every other neighbor's nightmare.
The net result of this most recent proposal would be to inflict upon us all of the negatives (no parking, poor access to the stores, and a vast, ugly, neglected and unused space), and none of his plan's alleged positives (a sense of place, gracious and ecological landscaping, improved and expanded sidewalk living space).
According to my spies, while most of the assembled enablers were supportive, a few folks suggested that this would only exacerbate the antipathy of the already grossly irritated anti-plaza crowd.
Meanwhile another birdy told me (thank you, Mary Ann Brewin) that the cult of Do-Nothing Naysayers who've hijacked the email list known as LOCCNA --you know who you are-- are rumored to be planning a community meeting in September.
One might wish that such a meeting would be intended to better understand the community's concerns and desires, or to better inform the community about the options we have for improving our lot -- but if one imagined such a fantasy, one is bound to live a life filled with disappointment.
The sole intended result of this planned upcoming community meeting is to effect my removal as one of LOCCNA's three elected representative to the tripartite meetings of merchants, landlords and neighbors.
It seems I didn't get the memo that stated the members of LOCCNA were irresolvably and adamantly against any and every attempt to improve the appearance of our community.
Of course only one of these tripartite meeting has been held so far, and that one immediately devolved into hysterical legal threats from LOCCNA's unelected representative, Julie Ross. Her shrieking was immediately mated to insults and screams from Art 'Duplicitous Insect' Goldberg.
Poor little orphans, it is you who are rendering yourselves useless and redundant. If all you have to offer is shrieking and shouting soon no one will want to listen to you.
The reality is that the neighborhood is clearly divided.
Some folks (merchants, landlords and residents) want nothing changed. (We used to call such people reactionaries because they never came up with any proposals but could be counted upon to dump on anything anyone else suggested.)
Then again, Mr Stoloff's groupies want his ill-conceived, over-reaching, expensive and pompous plaza (several beloved local merchants have publicly stated this will lead to the death of their businesses).
But most folks just want something slightly more attractive and more useful than what is there now. Something that will improve the area without choking it to death, something that can be done inexpensively, incrementally, and sensitively.
Meanwhile LOCCNA's coven of Do-Nothing, Naysayers have unilaterally canceled two scheduled tripartite meetings to discuss these issues. (The first meeting LOCCNA's agents canceled was scheduled for April and the second for August 22). This group's obstructionist tactics have now delayed this process by more than six months.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
1505 Shattuck Ave.
When Allen Connolly applied to the Landmark Preservation Commission for permission to tear down the one-story building at 1505 Shattuck Avenue, the most important parts of the story were ignored.
I personally am not concerned about the historic providence of 1505 Shattuck, but I'm very concerned about Allen's plans for replacing that small, one-story building with a larger, two-story building that will also have at least one residential unit.
A few days ago Allen's aide-de-camp, John Coleman, told me Allen being 'forced' to build a residence atop his building by 'the city.' According to Mr Coleman, because Allen wanted to expand the size of the building, the city was forcing him to put in housing.
If this is actually the case, what can we reasonably expect Safeway's enormous redevelopment project to bring to our community?
Safeway's current store also on Shattuck Avenue, less than half a block away, is only 27,000 square feet Safeway's representative, Todd Paradis, told the community on Thursday, May 31. Todd also said Safeway isn't planning for any housing atop its new 40,000 to 60,000 square foot store.
These two stories, don't add up to one believable tale.
I've invited John to write up an explanation of Allen's predicament for the several local neighborhood web-forums, but he seemed reluctant to commit.
I don't know who to believe and I've been around developers too long to take them at face value.
In the 1970s we had both the Landmark Preservation Ordinance and the NPO, a Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, which was passed by vote of the people. The NPO allowed neighbors to have a voice in what was built in their community.
Unfortunately Berkeley's civic leaders allowed the NPO to be gutted and made non-responsive to community concerns by putting all of the NPO's tools into the purview of the planning department.
Because we no longer have an effective Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, we're left with using poor tools, such as the 'LPO' for controlling development.
Irrespective of the specific history of the building known as 1505 Shattuck, it appears that the entire group of lots known as the Squires Block has been landmarked by the city of Berkeley. The Squires Block includes the two-story building now housing the woman's fashion store called Earthly Goods, on the corner of Vine Street and Shattuck Avenue; the former home of North Berkeley Wines (1505 Shattuck Avenue); the one-story brick storefront on Vine Street; and the ancient brick buildings behind all of those buildings.
Welcome to North Berkeley
The world expands.
Evidently I'm a noisy, nosy, noxious fellow with too many opinions and too many questions.
Last week Alan Gould kicked me off his LOCCNA, the anti-North Berkeley Plaza email listserve, for the sin of 'posting too often.'
I've always believed the best way to confront an issue is to dive into it, so I've decided to expand the scope of my North Berkeley Plaza blog to cover everything north of Hearst, east of Euclid, and west of Shattuck.
Welcome to my logorrhea.
To see what came before, click here or go to http://northshattuckplaza.blogspot.com/
Evidently I'm a noisy, nosy, noxious fellow with too many opinions and too many questions.
Last week Alan Gould kicked me off his LOCCNA, the anti-North Berkeley Plaza email listserve, for the sin of 'posting too often.'
I've always believed the best way to confront an issue is to dive into it, so I've decided to expand the scope of my North Berkeley Plaza blog to cover everything north of Hearst, east of Euclid, and west of Shattuck.
Welcome to my logorrhea.
To see what came before, click here or go to http://northshattuckplaza.blogspot.com/
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