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Articles by Tom Dalzell
Should People’s Park Be Consigned to the Ash Heap of History?
Activism / Many argue that after five decades of resisting the University of California’s repeated attempts to reclaim the park, it’s time to let go of the past and move on. We disagree. Ad Policy Berkeley, Calif.—One of the last great battles of the 1960s—the struggle over the iconic People’s Park, founded in 1969—is now all but over.
Quirky Berkeley: Avram Gur Arye makes intricate landscapes with toy figurines
Avram Gur Arye at Redwood Gardens. Credit: John Storey Avram Gur Arye lives at Redwood Gardens, a 169-unit senior-designated apartment building, which was built on Derby Street in 1922 for the California School for the Deaf and Blind. Credit: John Storey He makes his assemblages/dioramas/art in his studio apartment.
A Joyous Frolic: On Bryan A. Garner’s “Taming the Tongue”
AUGUST 16, 2021 WITH GRAMMAR APPROACHING the status of anachronism, Bryan A. Garner’s Taming the Tongue is not a screed for the return of grammar, but rather a joyous review of 100 items in Garner’s personal collection of almost 2,000 grammars published during what he sees as the heyday of English grammar.
The Battle for People’s Park, Berkeley 1969
In eyewitness testimonies and hundreds of remarkable photographs, The Battle for People’s Park, Berkeley 1969 commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of one of the most searing conflicts that closed out the tumultuous 1960s: the Battle for People’s Park. In April 1969, a few Berkeley activists planted the first tree on a University of California-owned, abandoned city block on Telegraph Avenue. Hundreds of people from all over the city helped build the park as an expression of a politics of joy.
How Quirky is Berkeley? The Star Grocery block on Claremont Avenue
The 3000 block of Claremont Avenue. Photo: John Storey A few months ago, Mark Bulwinkle, the sculptor, praised the 3000 block of Claremont Avenue, home to Star Grocery, the Escapist, Afikomen, Jutta Flowers and more, as the quirkiest commercial block in Berkeley. What about it resonates with Bulwinkle? The grocery store, particularly the meat department, reminds me exactly of the old Triple A supermarket I worked in as a teenager after school and summers in Weston, Massachusetts about 55 years ago.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Berkeley rocks quirky
815 The Alameda. Photo: John Storey In 2007, Ten Speed Press published Jonathan Chester’s Berkeley Rocks: Building with Nature. It is a beautiful and insightful book about how we in Berkeley have built our homes and landscaped around the large rock formations that are part of our geological heritage. This post is not about that. Here, I present photographs of Berkeley yards that feature added rocks. They may be stacked or balanced, drilled or painted or arranged. We like rocks, we do. 1510 Henry.
Opinion: Stiffing California ratepayers won’t help us reach our climate goals Original
Breaking News San Jose: Two killed in quintuple shooting The topic of fairness among California electric customers seems to once again be up for debate. Recently, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl encouraged the state to relitigate a regulatory decision made to ensure equity among the state’s electric customers.
CALmatters Commentary: Sanders’ PG&E plan will make electricity problem worse
By Tom Dalzell, Special to CALmatters As Super Tuesday approaches, Democratic presidential candidates are turning their attention to California, where our 494 delegates make the Golden State the biggest prize. Many are rolling out policy proposals they think will win them votes. One in particular deserves our attention. Earlier this month, Sen.
Bernie Sanders plan to take over PG&E is bad.
By Guest Commentary published: February 24, 2020 Bernie Sanders’ $100 billion take-over of PG&E will make California’s electricity problem worse Sen. Bernie Sanders toured Paradise and made a campaign video with footage from that tour. He has called for a takeover of PG&E. He didn't consult the union representing PG&E workers. As Super Tuesday approaches, Democratic presidential candidates are turning their attention to California, where our 494 delegates make the Golden State the biggest prize.
Remembering Alice Schenker, whose Print Mint on Telegraph Avenue sparked the 1960s poster revolution
Alice Schenker in the New York years. Photo: Jenny Hurth Alice Schenker died at age 88 earlier this month. Alice and her late husband Don opened the Print Mint inside Moe’s Books on Telegraph in 1965, at a time where men with long hair or beards were not allowed in the Espresso Forum at Telegraph and Haste (now the home of Amoeba Records).
How Quirky was Berkeley: R. Crumb, the underground comix artist, was here
Mr. Natural, which is on the southeast corner of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue. Photo: John Storey This painting of Mr. Natural on a trash can near the Cal campus reminds us that for several years Robert Crumb (better known as R. Crumb) was a central figure in Berkeley’s underground comix cultural scene. Crumb and other underground comix artists redefined the comic genre while bringing it back to its roots. Their work was a central element in the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Ask Ophelia and Drac on Virginia Street
Ophelia and Drac, 1616 Virginia St. Photo: John Storey Ophelia and Drac live on the front porch at 1616 Virginia St. They have seasonal outfits and often have conversations that are shown in cartoon-type balloon messages on the wall. Ophelia wears a red, white, and blue bikini and “hands out” candy on election day.
Many more quirky things at Alan Cohen estate sale, Part 2
Estate of Alan Cohen. Photo: John Storey On July 25, Berkeleyside published my blog on the first part of the estate sale that Julie and Geneva Addison conducted at the home of the late Alan Cohen, “Quirky Berkeley: Large amounts of quirky things for sale.” The sale was a glorious Berkeley event, people who put the quirky in Berkeley walking through the museum of Cohen’s collections that the Addisons had assembled.
Quirky Berkeley: Large amounts of quirky things for sale
Home of Alan Cohen. Photo: John Storey Geneva Addison and her mother, Julie Addison, conduct estate sales. Geneva called a few weeks ago and told me that they had been engaged to sell the contents of the Berkeley home of the late Alan Cohen. She said it was as quirky a collection of objects as she had ever seen. She was right. Alan Cohen sale: July 26, 27, 28, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 1841 Vine St., Berkeley 94707.
CALIFORNIA COMMENTARY: As hedge funds’ fight for control of PG&E, here is how workers see it
As the elected leader of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, which represents approximately 12,000 frontline utility workers at Pacific Gas & Electric Co., I have paid careful attention both to legislative activity in Sacramento and to PG&E’s bankruptcy proceeding. Our members work around the clock to deliver clean, safe and reliable gas and electricity to PG&E’s customers.
How electrical workers view hedge fund fight for PG&E control
By Guest Commentary published: July 12, 2019 As hedge funds’ fight for control of PG&E, here is how workers see it A fight is on between hedge funds for control of PG&E. Photo by Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Anachronisms, part 2
Hopkins at Sacramento. Photo: John Storey In February, I posted about anachronisms – objects belonging or appropriate to a period other than today, especially an object that is conspicuously old-fashioned. It was a popular post, and one which led to many suggestions from readers on what might be added. I did my best with their suggestions, and present this second collection of photos of things belonging or appropriate to an earlier period. I start today with an example of 19th-century technology.
From garden to fenced-in lot to shots fired in Berkeley: People's Park on May 15, 1969
In the third excerpt of my book, The Battle for People’s Park, Berkeley 1969, which is published today by Heyday, I chronicle what took place in Berkeley 50 years ago today. See part one and part two. Tom Dalzell, Mayor Jesse Arreguín and others are holding a People’s Park at 50 teach-in today, May 15, at 7 p.m. Scroll down for more events.
People's Park on May 15, 1969
In the third excerpt of my book, The Battle for People’s Park, Berkeley 1969, which is published today by Heyday, I chronicle what took place in Berkeley 50 years ago today. See part one and part two. Tom Dalzell, Mayor Jesse Arreguín and others are holding a People’s Park at 50 teach-in today, May 15, at 7 p.m. Scroll down for more events.
11 years of radical thought and action in Berkeley led to creation of People's Park
It was 50 years ago that People’s Park was built and then subsequently seized — an important moment in the radical trajectory of Berkeley, the Bay Area, California and America in the 1960s. Berkeleyside is publishing excerpts of my recently published book, The Battle for People’s Park, Berkeley 1969 (Heyday).
Berkeley's People's Park was born 50 years today
Fifty years ago today People’s Park was born, an important moment in the radical trajectory of Berkeley, the Bay Area, California and America in the 1960s. The birth of the park on April 20 kick-started a tumultuous 25 days that culminated on Bloody Thursday (May 15) when the university retook the park with force.
How Quirky is Berkeley? General Wastemoreland
General Wastemoreland (1969-1970). Photo: Al Wasserman In 1969, a former Maryknoll seminarian from East Los Angeles named Tom Dunphy moved to Berkeley. Several years earlier he had been ordained “General Wastemoreland,” alluding to and mocking General William Westmoreland who commanded United States Army forces in South Vietnam.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Elephants!
2375 Cedar St. Photo: John Storey This is a brief exploration of the elephants of Berkeley, both three-dimensional and two-dimensional. The elephant at 2375 Cedar (above) was the senior sculpture project of Roxanne Urry at Sonoma State. Roxanne is the daughter of a friend of Mary Kate Morris and Dan Werthimer, owners of the home and creators of a majorly quirky home and garden. It is suggested in a Morris/Werthimer photo album that the elephant was at least once known as Penelope.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Anachronisms
1504 Bonita Ave. Photo: John Storey In this post I present photographs of anachronisms — objects belonging or appropriate to a period other than today, especially an object that is conspicuously old-fashioned. This hitching post on Bonita (above) is one of four that I know of in Berkeley, all more than 100 years old. 1823 University Ave. Photo: John Storey In the age of the computer and the handheld device, a typewriter is an anachronism. Even so, Berkeley has two typewriter stores.
The California Legislature must make hard choices to avert PG&E bankruptcy
Tom Dalzell, Special to CALmatters Commentary Published 7:00 p.m. PT Jan. 23, 2019 Camp Fire’s effect on respiratory health including coughing wheezing and tearing up could be seen for weeks and even longer. Veuer's Angeli Kakade has the story. Buzz60 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is readying itself to file for bankruptcy for the second time in less than 20 years. But unlike 2001, this new bankruptcy isn’t being driven by an energy crisis or rogue traders. This bankruptcy is a climate-driven crisis.
PG&E bankruptcy a step backwards for climate change efforts
By Tom Dalzell on January 20, 2019 1:00 am As has been reported in the news, PG&E is readying itself to file for bankruptcy — for the second time in less than twenty years. But unlike 2001, this bankruptcy isn’t being driven by an energy crisis or rogue traders — this is a climate-driven crisis. And it is the canary in the coal mine as our old institutions knock up against a changing climate and the challenges that come with it.
Opinion: PG&E has the safest gas system in the United States
As the business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, which represents 12,000 workers at PG&E (including thousands of gas workers), I am writing to offer a different perspective on the company’s safety culture than was described by the PUC’s Safety Enforcement Division. Last summer, state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, told his fellow Bay Area legislators that in his opinion PG&E has the safest gas system in the country. I agree.
Opinion: PG&E has the safest gas system in the United States
As the business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, which represents 12,000 workers at PG&E (including thousands of gas workers), I am writing to offer a different perspective on the company’s safety culture than was described by the PUC’s Safety Enforcement Division. Last summer, state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, told his fellow Bay Area legislators that in his opinion PG&E has the safest gas system in the country. I agree.
Opinion: PG&E has the safest gas system in the United States
As the business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, which represents 12,000 workers at PG&E (including thousands of gas workers), I am writing to offer a different perspective on the company’s safety culture than was described by the PUC’s Safety Enforcement Division. Last summer, state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, told his fellow Bay Area legislators that in his opinion PG&E has the safest gas system in the country. I agree.
How Quirky Is Berkeley? Second-time-around quirk at 2819 Prince
2819 Prince St. Photo: John Storey This photograph represents the second-time-around quirk produced by the family now living at 2819 Prince St. In 2013, I posted about the family’s “small world” installation at 2828 Russell St. These are two photos from that post: 2828 Russell St. Photo: Colleen Neff2828 Russell St. Photo: John Storey Nice plane! The children of 2828 Russell were the driving force behind the small world villages on the curb strip.
Opinion: UC Berkeley was devious when it had crews cut down 42 trees at People's Park
After crews cut down about 40 trees in People’s Park on Dec. 28, this is what this is what the southeast edge of the park, where Hate Man used to hang out, looked like. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel I have been immersed for the past year in the history of People’s Park in 1969 as I wrote a book for Heyday Press to be published in 2019 during the 50th anniversary of its creation. I feel that I know as much about the park’s early history as anyone.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Susan Brooks and her objects of desire and mirth
Susan Brooks in her studio. Photo: John Storey Susan Brooks grew up in the Bronx. Her father was Bert Brooks. Burt Brooks. Photo: Courtesy Susan Brooks In the photo above he is holding Lord Rumsey. Plastic toy designed by Burt Brooks. Photo: John Storey Brooks was a designer and molder of plastic toys. This is an example of his work. Susan grew up in her father’s shop, carving plaster, chasing on copper, and getting comfortable with his tools.
Julia Vinograd, the Berkeley poet known as 'The Bubble Lady' dies at 75
Julia Vinograd in her home. Photo: John Storey Julia Vinograd died last night. She was Berkeley’s poet laureate and she was the Bubble Lady. Born in 1943, Vinograd got her BA at Cal and then earned an MA at the University of Iowa at the Iowa Writers Workshop. Her studies focused on poetry. Literary and creative influences that she cited include William Butler Yeats, Elinor Wylie, Federico Garcia Lorca (in English), Leonard Cohen (as a poet), and Yehuda Amichai.
Diablo Canyon: A Just Transition for Workers and the Environment
Tom Dalzell | 30, Nov 2018 Governor Newsom and the new Legislature will face many hard challenges in meeting the state’s increasingly stringent goals for emissions reduction. Fortunately, most of their new steps are likely to create large numbers of new jobs, as climate policies to date have done. But it’s possible that some of these steps may cause a shakeout in fossil-fuel industries. If so, a fundamental premise should be that workers must not be made to pay the price.
Opinion: UC Berkeley is responsible for the neglected state of People's Park
Many blame the park’s founders and supporters and their counterculture values for the state of the park today. But they haven’t controlled it since 1969. The responsibility lies elsewhere. I have been immersed in the history of People’s Park in 1969 for the past year as part of a book I am doing for Heyday on the 50th anniversary of its creation. I feel that I know as much about the park’s early history as anyone.
Barbara Garson's 7 years in Berkeley: From Cuba to 'MacBird'
Barbara Garson came to Berkeley from New York in 1962. She was ours for seven years. She left with fame in her pocket as a result of the success of her satirical play, MacBird. This is an review of those seven years. Garson and her then-husband, Marvin, honeymooned in Cuba after the triumph of the revolution in January 1959. They supported the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, founded in 1960 by two CBS reporters, Robert Taber and Richard Gibson.
How Quirky is Berkeley? The rising star of muralist Angel Jesus Perez
Berkeley has enjoyed 45 years of murals since Stefen painted the Dutch Boy mural on the southeast corner of Milvia and University. Osha Newman, Eduardo Pineda, Juana Alicia, and many others have followed, giving us their murals to enjoy. Art is not eternal, and murals are lost to paint or the wrecking ball, but the parade of new muralists marches on.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Fairyland on Amador Avenue
In the summer of 2015, Colleen Neff of the Berkeley Path Wanderers, and a good friend of Quirky Berkeley, alerted me to the presence of a small village in a front yard on Amador Avenue in North Berkeley. I tried to contact the owner but had no luck, so I didn’t know the back story.
May 30, 1969: The final scene in the powerful first act of Berkeley's People’s Park
Memorial Day in 1969 was Friday, May 30. It was another two years before we started to celebrate Memorial Day on the final Monday of May. In 1969, it was the final scene in the powerful first act of People’s Park. Work began on People’s Park on April 20, 1969. One year earlier, UC Berkeley had demolished the houses that lay within the block formed by Telegraph, Haste, Bowditch and Dwight. For the intervening year the university had done nothing to develop the land.
How Quirky is Berkeley? The Federation Trading Post reunion
Cosplayers at the Federation Trading Post reunion. Photo: John Storey On Saturday, the owners of the long-closed Federation Trading Post hosted a reunion of their Star Trek-oriented store in The Village, 2566 Telegraph Avenue. Read more about The Village on Telegraph. This is a story with many layers of quirk. Layer one: people who love a television show that went off the air 49 years ago after three seasons and 79 episodes. They are quirky.
Opinion: UC Berkeley should not build housing at People's Park
Cal has treated the park with benign neglect, creating the conditions that it hopes will lead to public support of development. It should invest in improving the park instead. I am troubled by the university’s plans to building on People’s Park and by the strong embrace of this idea by some members of our city’s leadership. Before explaining why I should admit to two biases. I am writing a book about People’s Park in 1969 that will be published by Heyday Press in 2019.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Eugene Tssui's Fish House, Part 1
The “Fish House” at 2747 Mathews St. in Berkeley. Photo: John Storey The “Fish House” at 2747 Mathews St. in Berkeley, designed by Emeryville’s Eugene Tssui, is the least-expected and probably the most-photographed architectural design in Berkeley. 2747 Mathews St. Photo: John Storey 2747 Mathews St. Photo: John Storey2747 Mathews St. Photo: Joe Reifer The image above was photographed during the June 2008 full moon around midnight, with an exposure time of approximately 6 minutes.
How Quirky is Berkeley? A time capsule bulletin board
This is a lesson in the value of trusting your crazy ideas. An undisclosed follower of Quirky Berkeley found this bulletin board at an undisclosed location in Berkeley. And borrowed it. I have published posts before on Berkeley’s community bulletin boards, observing that they are largely a voice of the past. Not much action on them these days. Vestigial Berkeley of the Sixties. Even so, here was a bulletin board that seemingly hadn’t been touched for a Long Time.
Flashback: Allen Ginsberg's 'Strange New Cottage in Berkeley'
Allen Ginsberg lived in Berkeley from September 1955 until August 1956. I have written about his time here, but, until Labor Day weekend, I had not seen photographs of the cottage he rented behind 1624 Milvia. I now have five photos of the cottage, thanks to Dennis Starleaf, who rented the cottage a few years after Ginsberg.
Extreme wildfires are changing California. We need a special session on them – now
In the months since last year’s wildfires, gallons of ink have been spilled on these pages and others diagnosing what went wrong. But while we debate, our climate worsens, wilderness areas dry out from drought, bark beetles continue to turn many forests into graveyards, and our communities remain dangerously vulnerable thanks to inadequate early warning systems and infrastructure that isn’t designed to deal with a changing climate.
In Berkeley: The People's Park (1968) before People's Park (1969)
In researching People’s Park for a book to be published by Heyday next year, I learned that People’s Park of 1969 was not Berkeley’s first People’s Park. For three weeks in 1968, there was another people’s park at Telegraph Avenue and Dwight Way, named in honor of a local ecologist who died in a car accident. Chuck Herrick and Cliff Humphrey launched Ecology Action in Berkeley in 1968 to promote ecological life.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Tyler Hoare's sculpture and collage — Berkeleyside
For 40 years, Tyler Hoare (silent “H”) has been using the Bay as his gallery, gifting us with airplanes (most memorably Snoopy and the Red Baron), a pirate ship, a Viking ship and other sculpture. In 2014, Berkeleyside’s Emile Raguso wrote an informative article chronicling Hoare’s work. Things happen over three years, and so here is a brief update on our Bay-is-my-gallery sculptor in residence.
The history of the word ‘hip’ | OxfordWords blog
James Brown was famously introduced by Lucas ‘Fats’ Gonder at the Apollo Theater in the early 1960s as ‘The Hardest Working Man in Show Business’, an epithet that stuck with Brown for his entire life. It is a fitting term for the word hip – the hardest working word in the lexicon of American slang.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Mark Bulwinkle's tiles. — Berkeleyside
Let angels prostrate fall – another post about Mark Bulwinkle art. He is best known for his steel and metal work, but his artistic expression is not confined to his welder’s torch. He is a wicked good tile maker. The restrooms at the Old Cody’s, now the Mad Monk Center for Anachronistic Media, at Telegraph and Haste, showcase Bulwinkle’s tile work. Mike Dawoud’s Jumpin’ Java is just inside Oakland, meaning it is just outside Berkeley – but very close.
How Quirky is Berkeley? The murals of Cloyne Court — Berkeleyside
Just inside the front door of the Cloyne Court student housing coop is this lovely rendition of Gustav Klimt’s 1907-1908 “The Kiss,” oil and gold leaf on canvas. Who would not want to come home to this? BAHA’s Daniella Thompson has written about the history of Cloyne Court. It was designed by John Galen Howard as a hotel and built in 1904. The University Students Cooperative Association purchased the building in 1946, sold it to UC Berkeley in 1970 and has leased it back since then.
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