Caltrans issued the following announcement about upcoming work on Interstate 80

Alameda and Contra Costa Counties –Caltrans has scheduled ramp closures on eastbound and westbound Interstate 80 for construction activities for the Interstate 80 Integrated Corridor Mobility Project.

· The eastbound I-80 Central Avenue on-ramp will be closed Monday night, May 13, and Tuesday night, May 14, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

· The eastbound I-80 Powell Street on-ramp will be closed Monday night, May 20, and Tuesday night, May 21, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

· The westbound I-80 Carlson On-ramp will be closed Monday night, May 20, and Tuesday night, May 21, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

· The eastbound I-80 Ashby Avenue on-ramp will be closed Wednesday, May 22 and Thursday, May 23, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

This work is weather dependent, and if delayed due to weather conditions will be rescheduled. Please drive cautiously through the construction zone and leave a safe traveling distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you. Please remember to “Slow for the Cone Zone.”

The I-80 Integrated Corridor Mobility project will provide safety improvements for the traveling public; mobility and efficiency during commute hours; automated, integrated technology to manage traffic efficiently; real-time traffic information for travelers; with tax dollars funding SMART solutions.

Follow us on Twitter @CaltransD4. Follow the project at #80ICM. For more information, please visit the webpage at http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/projects/80icm/

A Key System car on Arlington at Amherst in Kensington, 1947.

Rail service was once available to hillside residents of Berkeley and Kensington, as seen in this 1947 photo provided by El Cerrito train and history fanatic John Stashik shows.
The electric-powered trains ran from Kensington to Berkeley until service was replaced by a bus line a year later.

Judging from the comments made last week at the meeting on El Cerrito’s Climate Action Plan, there are folks who would love to see something similar in the hills today.

The city is offering a basket of youth summer programs at recreation centers all over the city for low prices.

Check the flier attached to see if the programs and services are a good fit for you:

Richmond Recreation Summer Camp

For Immediate Release

Fuel Your School Program Benefits 111,925 Students in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties

Chevron-DonorsChoose.org program funded $958,739 for 960 classroom projects

based on 8+ gallon fuel purchases and online project postings

san ramon, Calif., Jan. 16, 2013 – Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and DonorsChoose.org today announced that its 2012 Fuel Your School program funded $958,739, benefitting 960 local public school classroom projects and impacting 111,925 students in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

Through Chevron’s 2012 Fuel Your School program, teachers at 344 public schools in Alameda and Contra Costa counties received critical classroom resources. Linda Townsend Bryson, a first-grade teacher at Peres Elementary School in Richmond, received hands-on science materials, including a Big Screen Microscope and slides, as well as books on forces and motion, to help increase her students’ scientific awareness.

“Despite coming from economically challenging environments, my students can shine when given the right opportunities,” Townsend Bryson said. “With the tools received through Fuel Your School, my students have better and more exciting opportunities to learn about the world around them.”

Through the Fuel Your School program, Chevron contributed $1 for purchases of eight or more gallons, up to $1 million, from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31 at participating Chevron and Texaco stations in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, adding up to a total contribution of $958,739 to benefit public school classroom projects posted on DonorsChoose.org.

“We’re proud to give back to our local communities through working with specialized and innovative nonprofits, such as DonorsChoose.org,” said Andrea Bailey, community engagement manager at Chevron. “The Fuel Your School program exemplifies Chevron’s commitment to supporting teachers, students and schools by helping them receive the resources and tools they need in their classrooms.”

The purpose of the Fuel Your School program is to help support and improve critical education programming and resources, particularly in the STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and math – to help prepare students for the growing number of technical jobs in the modern economy, including possible engineering positions at Chevron.

“Teachers spend on average more than $350 of their own money every year on materials for their students,” said Charles Best, CEO of DonorsChoose.org. “This incredible demand explains why the Fuel Your School program with Chevron has grown to impact nearly 112,000 students this year in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.”

In 2012, the Fuel Your School program expanded from two markets, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and Salt Lake and Davis counties, Utah, to seven additional markets, including Sacramento County, Kern County and Orange County in Calif.; Multnomah County, Ore.; Harris County, Texas; St. Tammany, Orleans and Plaquemines parishes, La.; and Jackson County, Miss. A total of $4.49 million was generated at participating Chevron and Texaco stations in October 2012, benefitting 5,673 classroom projects at 1,733 K-12 public schools in the nine U.S. markets. Since its inception in 2010, Fuel Your School has benefitted a total of 8,915 classroom projects.

An infographic showing the impact of the 2012 Fuel Your School program and top most requested STEM resources for classrooms is available at http://www.fuelyourschool.com. Portions of projects were funded by other third-party donations.

About Chevron

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.

About DonorsChoose.org

                Founded in 2000, DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America post requests, and individuals can give directly to the ones that inspire them. To date, 250,000 public and charter school teachers have used DonorsChoose.org to secure $165 million in books, art supplies, technology, and other resources that their students need to learn.

# # #

Contact: Brent Tippen, Chevron Corporation

Brent.Tippen@Chevron.com,  

Brent Tippen
Media & External Communications

Chevron Spokesman

Policy, Government and Public Affairs 
Chevron Corporation

An illustration in the Sept. 29, 1920 Oakland Tribune of the proposed Key System ferry pier extension to Yerba Buena Island. I'm guessing this drawing was done by famed cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo early in his career (he started at the Trib doing auto section cartoons.)

Any idea of linking the East Bay to San Francisco was still just a pipe dream in the first quarter of the 20th century, when the only way to get to the city was by ferry. But there were ideas to ease the commute, including a proposal floated in 1920 that would have extended the Key System pier all the way to Goat Island (the popular name of the day for Yerba Buena Island).

The Key Route pier was once hailed as "the longest in the world."

The Key Route pier already extended fairly close to Yerbe Buena Island, as seen in this 1935 aerial view of the construction of the Bay Bridge.

The pier was already touted as the longest in the world at the time, and an extension would have closed the relatively short remaining distance to Yerba Buena.
Years before the design of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge came up with a similar idea, the pier extension plan called for a tunnel through the island, this one bored at a different angle and connecting train service with a new ferry pier on Yerba Buena’s western side.
From there it would be a mere 1.25-mile ride to the Ferry Building on the San Francisco waterfront.
The plan was hailed by Oakland business and elected officials, particularly for what the idea of making the daily commute not only easier, but safer.

“(Oakland) Mayor Davie, Mayor Bartlett of Berkeley, Joseph E. Came secretary of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, Rutus Jennings, head of the large project for the Berkeley waterfront and others today expressed themselves in favor of the plan as one that would bring the two great cities of San Francisco bay closer together and one that would eliminate duplication of certain public services as well as the danger of fog to transbay traffic.” the Tribune reported.

Ferries and competing rail systems were king as far as commuting at the time. There were thousands of East Bay riders making the train-ferry connection to San Francisco each weekday via both the Key System and the competing Southern Pacific rail and ferry lines. East Bay officials “strenuously” opposed an alternative plan that would have instead extended the pier of the rival SP.
In fact, the conservative officials of the time seemed to be calling for a consolidation of the two rail lines — not a coincidence as establishment of the state’s original highway system was well under way to accommodate all the new motor vehicles being purchased.
The golden age of public transit was ending, the rail operations (the Key System was the locally owned operator) lost money and interest, and just 17 years later the Bay Bridge opened.

This 1933 road map shows how many ferry lines criss-crossed the Bay in the days before the bridges.

Epworth United Methodist Church in North Berkeley will hold a candlelight vigil from 6-7 p.m. today, Dec. 20, for the victims in the Newtown, Conn. shooting tragedy.
All are welcome to attend the event at the church at 1953 Hopkins St. in Berkeley.

The announcement from the church:

We will be holding a community vigil for the children of Newtown this
evening at 6pm followed by a community meeting with Susan Jardin, the Director of Family Ministries at Epworth United Methodist Church in North Berkeley.

THURSDAY 6:00pm – 7:00pm
CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR THE CHILDREN
Please come, light a candle for this hour of prayer and meditation.
Free Childcare during meditation and meeting.

7:00pm to 8:pm
CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY
Our Director of Children and Family Ministries, Susan Jardin will
lead a discussion for parents and concerned adults on how these
events affect us and our families and offer resources on ways to
comfort children in troubling times.

Bring your questions and concerns as we support each other in community.

Refreshments will be served.
Free Childcare available

EPWORTH UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
1953 Hopkins Street (cross street: The Alameda)
Berkeley, CA 94707 ALL ARE WELCOME

Take you kids out today for Christmas celebration and giveaway:

Detail from the 1931 Big Game program cover.

The original 1868 University of California seal and the new logo recently adopted by UC.

A story that went online Friday and in print on Monday about the new University of California logo has drawn a lot of response, most of it not very complimentary.

We don’t choose to enter the debate here (you can vote for yourself via our online poll , where the original seal is preferred by 95 percent of those responding), but want to offer a few looks at how the original logo has been creatively and colorfully used in the past.

The seals of Cal and Stanford were used as a sort of coat-of-arms on the cover of the 1931 Big Game program played at The Farm.

The 1868 seal was also used on the cover of the 1967 Big Game program.

The star and "Let There Be Light" slogan from the seal were altered by a cartoonist for Cal campus humor magazine The Pelican for a 1914 panel commenting on women's suffrage.

Interesting news from Friends of 5 Creeks in their latest email newsletter about a salmon sighting at Codornices Creek in Berkeley:

Salmonids in Codornices – Hooray!
Last week’s storms are an exciting part of our Mediterranean climate’s “springtime.” They flush seedlings to life and recharge the water stored in our fractured hills, the source of our creeks. Where creeks are not artificially walled in, high flows topple trees into the current and undercut banks, creating pools and refuges vital to fish and other water creatures. Silt nourishes the Bay’s mudflats and helps keep Bay water cloudy, important in preventing toxic algae blooms.

The high storm flows also draw big ocean-going fish that fight their way upstream to build nests and spawn where they find gravel -– itself cleaned and deposited by strong flows. Steelhead trout have been seen in Codornices Creek for years, and on Monday, as water cleared fter the storm, Codornices neighbor Dan Dole photographed what appears to be a chinook salmon — as far as we know, the first reported ever. It’s an exciting part of our natural round and start of a new year.

In Friends of Five Creeks’ area, Codornices is the only creek with an ongoing population of these adventurous explorers. This is not an ago-old run: before European settlement, the creek petered out in a wet grassland with no open channel to the Bay. Steelhead probably began exploring upstream almost as soon as settlers ditched the creek through for drainage, in the 1800s, but we have no records. Perhaps they began spawning successfully in Codornices Creek in the 1980s, as environmental laws and loss of industry cleaned up the creek.

Children and neighbors were reporting trout by the 1990s; F5C volunteers photographed and identified them in 1999, convincing reluctant experts. This had led to millions of dollars in efforts to make the creek more welcoming, along with improving flood control.

On Tuesday, Dec. 4, our Weed Warriors removed invasives in these projects, joined by Japanese students from English Studies International. The task is daunting; grants for these projects don’t pay for maintaining them. We didn’t see the big fish, but knowing they are there helps keep us going!

Codornices’ steelhead are rare and best left undisturbed. To experience the awe of steelhead and salmon spawning, take a guided walk with Marin’s SPAWN, which works to preserve endangered Coho salmon. This year, some tours are by bike or include kayaking!

The opening 75 years ago of what we now know as the original Caldecott Tunnel was a gala affair complete with riders on horseback reenacting the Spanish settlement of California and a mock blowing up of blocks covering the west portal to mark the opening as men in uniform saluted.
The west portal also had large loudspeakers atop the portal for the crowd at the highly attended event to hear the remarks of dignitaries.
This week’s “Berkeley: A Look Back” column describes the festivities and the hazards of taking the old route:

The big news in Berkeley 75 years ago this week was the official opening of the Broadway Low Level Tunnel (now the Caldecott) on Sunday, Dec. 5, 1937. The two-bore tunnel cost some $4,500,000 paid for with Federal grants, and state and county funds.
An 800-person “civic breakfast” began the festivities at the Claremont Hotel, followed by an opening ceremony at the West Portal at 12:30, with the Berkeley Municipal Band playing. Gov. Frank Merriam cut the ribbon, drove through the tunnel with a ceremonial escort, and officiated at ceremonies on the east side.
Spectators parked on the highway and walked 500 feet to the west portal; traffic wasn’t allowed through until both ceremonies were complete, at 3:10 that afternoon.
An estimated 4,692 cars an hour passed through at an average speed of about 20 miles an hour that evening and “heavy traffic continued up until 11 o’clock” at night.
It should be remembered that the tunnel did not connect with the wide, and often congested, freeways of today. Instead, traffic descended on the west side to Ashby Avenue or Broadway in Oakland.
“A tunnel pierces the hills and a barrier which has long been a hindrance to the free flow of commerce and the mingling of the people of two great California Counties is removed” a full page ad by the City and Chamber of Commerce in the December 4 Gazette read.
Businesspeople on both sides of the tunnel had aspirations. Berkeley merchants hoped and expected that Contra Costa residents would travel into Berkeley to shop. Contra Costa realtors hoped that Berkeley residents would be enticed to homes and new subdivisions beyond the hills.
The tunnel was celebrated as a quick and convenient route to cross the hills, and a safer alternative to the steep, winding, two lane roads over the hills.
In fact, the Friday night before the tunnel opened a woman died in a car crash on the Fish Ranch Road.

The new tunnel was a major upgrade over its predecessor up the hill, built in 1903 to handle horse-drawn traffic and later enlarged for motor-driven trucks. The original tunnel was about 300 feet above the new tunnel and 1,000 feet to the north and was long overdue for replacement..

The Broadway Low Level Tunnel under construction, from the 1936 Oakland Tribune Yearbook.

The interchange of what is now Highway 13 and Highway 24 in 1940, with the tracks of the Sacramento-Northern railroad to the right.