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Amy Smolens May 20, 2013 at 05:03 pm
@Alan - Yes, it was - Albany Strollers & Rollers' bicycle valets parked around 90 bikes, many of…Read More them longtail/with trailer or child seats/cargo bikes! Thanks to Bua Luang for sponsoring our Bicycle Valet Parking service again!
Street Level Cycles, in their 6th year providing free bike tuneups at the A&GF, tuned up 35 bicycles and showed people how to maintain their own bikes. Thanks to all of you who rode to the festival!! I'll try and get a few photos added to this article.
Alan Eckert May 20, 2013 at 09:31 am
It was a good showing at the festival! Although we missed out on the compost (apparently more than 2…Read More hours too late), we did find a 3rd vendor to compare solar panel pricing and options against the larger companies. The bike corral looked like a well-used option, too.
Winifred Owen May 21, 2013 at 03:16 pm
Charles, breaking hard ground in the hot sun with a pick and shovel is one thing; illegally…Read More trespassing on property to further a misguided political agenda is quite another. As far as casting "an unflattering light on some behavior by occupiers," well, the whole thing is pretty much colored by the irrefutable fact that the ENTIRETY of what they are doing is illegal - as well as not being supported by the vast majority of Albany residents. Case in point: In the last election, they put forth two candidates for city council. However, they greatly overestimated their popularity, because both candidates received a humiliatingly minuscule number of votes. These former candidates have both apparently - at least visibly - receded into the woodwork. Also, this year's invasion was quite a ho-hum affair that has fizzled rather quickly in comparison to that of last year. While your efforts at journalistic objectivity are appreciated, your comment that you "may not agree with the two comments above" raises the question that you may be supportive of these interlopers. One would hope that support, which is certainly your personal prerogative, is not unduly coloring your journalistic objectivity - unless you are writing an opinion piece where such objectivity is not required.
Jane Timberlake May 21, 2013 at 02:38 pm
The ocupiers appear to have embraced a version of local-organic-small-scale agriculture advocated by…Read More Professor Altieri, which has now beem implemented to some degree in Venezuela. So far, not so good for the population, which is experiencing food shortages. Check out article below.
http://www.thebraiser.com/hugo-chavez-and-food-sovereignty-how-his-programs-and-failures-can-help-inform-american-efforts-to-fight-hunger/
Bart Grossman May 21, 2013 at 12:52 pm
What I'm seeing at the site is some people working really hard while others are dancing, making…Read More music and having a great time at the taxpayers expense. When you say past stories showed the occupiers in an unflattering light are you alleging that the stories were false? You invite us to call you on the carpet but you dismiss the comments out of hand.
Montymarket, what is that the occupiers are on the front lines of, preventing senior housing and a grocery store? I can't wait to see the movie.
Amy Smolens May 20, 2013 at 09:03 pm
Way to go, Cat!
I work in sports television production and if you are interested in talking to me…Read More and coming with me to a job at any time, please let me know. This is a fairly slow period for me for local work, but you're a junior so have plenty of of time! If you would like to connect, you can get my contact info from Charles.
Good luck!
Peggy McQuaid May 20, 2013 at 02:27 pm
Both Jamba Juice and Fat Daddy's BBQ have decided not to attend this event. We know you will still…Read More enjoy the concert.
David Sanger May 20, 2013 at 12:22 pm
That's what happened this morning. There were about 15 police, one tractor-driver, and no…Read More protestors.
Mel Content May 19, 2013 at 11:59 am
Has anyone ever noticed how the Occutards re-appear whenever our current administration is faced…Read More with any type of negative media publicity?
Sarah Oldershaw May 21, 2013 at 09:48 am
Thank you Gordon for sharing these developments at the city council meeting. I can see how you would…Read More have been completely shocked by these actions. I agree that a comprehensive approach (including the feedback from your former task force) is needed to address this issue in a fair and balanced way. Keep up the good work and thanks so much caring about this population. I hope you'll post on-going developments including how Albany residents can help you with this endeavor going forward.
best bookkeeper May 21, 2013 at 08:34 am
"Enforce the law" doesn't seem controversial to me. The park should be for everyone, not…Read More only for the dregs and their dogs.
lubov mazur May 20, 2013 at 06:20 pm
I'm dying of not surprise to see CESP and CAS behind the Council's unexpected decision. If anyone…Read More can recall the attempt to place a measure on the ballot several years ago by those two organizations, also please remember it was their failure at that time to properly post public notice of their intent that cost them their chance on the ballot.
Winifred Owen May 18, 2013 at 09:50 am
The new site has a very nice appearance. I notice a few minuses, though, which are:
1. Inability to…Read More reply to a specific post. It's a major hassle to have to scroll through all the posts to see replies, and it is often not clear which post is being replied to, etc. In fact, the ability to reply to a specific post is a key feature to making comments of any value. 2. A major plus is the "recommend" feature. However, it should also include a "thumbs-down" feature to truly be of use - such as the (shudder) Chron uses, "thumbs-up" and "thumbs-down" symbols. 3. I also miss the home page column showing the recent posts, which quickly linked to a given article. Thanks!
Charles Burress (Editor) May 17, 2013 at 11:52 pm
David, thanks for that clear explanation. Now I can file a more detailed report about what appears…Read More to be two separate, though related issues.
David Sanger May 17, 2013 at 09:48 pm
there were two things you could do that I cannot see now. One is subscribe to updates on a post, ie.…Read More if it was edited etc. The second was to follow the comments so that you'd get an email notification every to a comment was made. You didn't have to have made a comment to follow comments.
Currently all I see is that you can set a profile option to get email notifications on all threads where you make a comment. That's not the same as the above.
Janna Katz May 20, 2013 at 08:07 am
Sorry to miss the Albany Relay this year due to our trip to France. Congrats to the volunteeers and…Read More thanks to those teams and donors. To more birthdays!
Charles Burress (Editor) May 19, 2013 at 03:35 pm
Many thanks, Allen, for the kind words. I appreciate any help and support from readers to make Patch…Read More a better, more informative resource for all of us.
Allen Cain May 19, 2013 at 10:58 am
I know you didn't (and i am soooo sorry to misspell your name, I blame my iphone / Mr. Burress)!…Read More Also imagine how long a story would be if you acknowledged everyone by name. You are a doing a great job covering the multiplex of subjects and events and I agree being able to fill in blanks by posting comments is helpful - yay Patch
Francesco Papalia May 19, 2013 at 08:57 am
@Lin, Javier, Faith, Concerned Educator, et al:
We Say No to Occupy made Saturday night's KTVU…Read More News! Watch this well balanced report by Debora Villalon. Check out this this segment: http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/albany-occupy-the-farm-protests-at-gill-tract/v3Pk3/
PLEASE join us at the next "No to Occupy" action. We'd appreciate your support - thanks!
David Sanger May 18, 2013 at 03:52 pm
A much smaller crowd showed up again today and planted but it was all fairly slow..
Kathryn Javandel May 15, 2013 at 01:39 pm
@montymarket - I agree that the same laws apply to everyone. The counter-protesters did not put any…Read More tables, chairs, BBQs, ice chests, sunshades, camping equipment or other personal belongings on the sidewalk (or anyplace else.) I daresay humans have a superior right to be standing on a sidewalk than inanimate objects.
D. Mehrten May 18, 2013 at 09:04 am
Mmm. I'm a member of the public also, and it's probably a good thing I won't get my hands on them,…Read More as I might have to "express myself" too.
Muriel Strand May 18, 2013 at 09:16 am
fyi, it would be good if gas were expensive enough for people to be able to compete with it. and…Read More since it takes a healthy adult a good 100 hours to generate thru physical work the amount of energy that is available from a gallon of gasoline, a cost of about $800/gallon would be about right.
Muriel Strand, P.E.
Ross Stapleton-Gray May 17, 2013 at 05:17 pm
No, all taxes are not for a specific purpose... a tax could, say, deposit monies in the general…Read More fund, to be used for various discretionary actions. Again, I think that we've arranged to price gasoline below its real cost (e.g., those aircraft carriers protecting foreign oil shipping aren't free, and the effects of air pollution are spread out in many areas), so I'm happy to see the state increase the tax, and would recommend that it happen on the federal level as well. We could then spend some of the new revenue on mass transit, to lessen the impact of the taxes on the poor.
Libi Uremovic May 17, 2013 at 05:01 pm
they're wasting the money tax revenue they get now - what's the point in handing them more....?…Read More
'..I have no strong opinions as to what to spend those revenues on...'
the gas tax is specifically for road maintenance....all taxes are for a specific purpose, not just to hand the government money money.
montymarket May 20, 2013 at 08:49 am
Response to Jack Osborne. The $200k expected revenue was confirmed by Alan Riffer with citations…Read More in an earlier posting on Patch. Also heard it this morning on KPFA News by Eileen Elfenderry. "City of Albany seeking $200K revenue from the development."
A little house on 1000 Stannage block recently sold for more than $650K (way over the up-bidded asking price). Apparently the housing bubble is back. This time around, the City should be getting a greater piece of that action (as in the transfer tax that polled just shy of the 2/3 required to pass).
The Chronicle recently (May 13th) ran an article on UC Administrator pay skyrocketing while the students are bearing major tuition increases. Two UC finance administrators -- who are responsible for privatizing our great public university -- recently wrote the letter against the occupation. Each earns well in excess of $200K. (The first was in the top ten UC Berkeley salary range.)
Meanwhile, the property is an eyesore. When's the last time UC mowed the grass in the abandoned fields? The weeds are 6 feet tall there. And what's with the bunch of rusty storage containers stacking up? Likewise, does UC have a plan to clean up the tritium where the tritium house once stood (across Village Creek)?
Francesco Papalia May 19, 2013 at 08:51 am
@Ross, Alan, Jack, et al:
We Say No to Occupy made Saturday night's KTVU News! Watch this well…Read More balanced report by Debora Villalon. Check out this this segment:
http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/albany-occupy-the-farm-protests-at-gill-tract/v3Pk3/
PLEASE join us at our next "No to Occupy" action - we'd appreciate your show of support!
Charles Burress (Editor) May 19, 2013 at 01:11 am
Ross, Alan, Kirsten, yes, the helpful feature that put comments made in response to other comments…Read More directly below the comment being responded to seems to have been omitted in the Patch makeover. The new Patch remains a work in progress, and I am recommending that this feature be restored. Also, in response to David's good point, I'm recommending that the ability to include active links in the URLs in comments be restored.
Francesco Papalia May 13, 2013 at 09:20 pm
Javier, Peter, Mr Eous and other Albany citizens AGAINST OTF:
Come to the counter-protest tonight,…Read More Monday. We meet at City Hall at 5:30 and will proceed to Monroe St. and be there at least until 6:30. Please come, even if you're working and will be late.
We want to show that "Albany Residents Say No to Occupy!"
Cville Eye May 13, 2013 at 06:22 pm
These people do not believe tin individual property rights and hat any vacant land should be made…Read More available to the public (themselves). Of course someone else should pay the real estate taxes. The naive are still wondering what happened to the communists in this country.
concerned educator May 13, 2013 at 11:56 am
Note to the Occupiers:
Have you done anything this past year to earn your "green…Read More credentials"?
Did you walk more, drive less, recycle, contribute to a worthy cause?
Did you harvest rainwater, did you compost? did you help students plant an organic garden at a school?
Did you come here only when it was convenient, highly visible, or warm and not uncomfortable?
Did you consider the future consequences of your actions?
Did you realize that you are pre-emptively speaking for a whole community that really does not want you?
Did you realize that you could have helped raise money to keep the edible garden project in the Berkeley public schools? They are needing money to stay afloat! They feed and educate students all over Berkeley about healthy eating!!!
Go get your head straight and think!
(By the way I work full time, teaching on weekends and running a school and I even managed to do all the above in my spare time.) There are a lot of people who do even more than me who live in this town, care for it all year round, and put their money where their mouth is. They have a right to speak for themselves!!!
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