Berkeleyan
News briefs
04 May 2005
May 19 is Bike to Work Day
Campus commuters are invited to bike to work or transit on Thursday, May 19, Bike to Work Day. Those who register on the official website (www.btwd.org) will be eligible to win prizes, including a $750 gift certificate to a local bike shop.
Bike to Work Day is an annual celebration of bicycling as an alternative to driving, with fun events planned for the days leading up to May 19, and "energizer stations" where bicyclists are provided with refreshments and encouragement on the morning of the event.
The UC-sponsored energizer station will be located on Sproul Plaza from 7:30 to 11 a.m. There, participants can get free California bicycle licenses, as well as special offers and discounts (show a campus ID for these). Other local energizer stations will be found at the downtown Berkeley BART station (6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.), The Missing Link (1988 Shattuck Ave., 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.), and North Gate (Hearst and Euclid, 7 to 9 a.m.).
Meter running for online parking renewals
Berkeley staff and faculty can renew their parking permits online via e-Parking now through Tuesday, May 31, or in person at the Parking and Transportation office throughout the permit year.
Parking and Transportation offers an array of cost- and time-saving transportation programs. Faculty and staff who don't hold a daytime parking permit are eligible for transit discounts and incentives through the New Directions program. The Bear Pass provides unlimited AC Transit rides for just $20 per month, and carpooling saves members 75 percent or more in monthly parking fees. Visit pt.berkeley.edu/transportation_alternatives for program details. Learn more about permit renewals online at pt.berkeley.edu/Permits/Renewals, or visit the P&T website at pt.berkeley.edu for information on current parking-permit rates and money-saving transportation alternatives.
Campus landscape site wins Webby award
The website showcasing the UC Berkeley Landscape Heritage Plan has been awarded a "People's Voice" Webby award, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday. The Webbies honor excellence in Web design, creativity, usability, and functionality. Members of the online community choose the winners of The People's Voice Awards from among sites nominated by the academy. This year the nominees generated more than 175,000 unique votes during the 30-day voting period.
Development of the landscape-heritage website - which won its award in the People's Voice "school" category - was managed by Campus Landscape Architect Jim Horner and senior planner Julia Monteith (who now works at the University of Virginia).
The LHP website is found at www.cp.berkeley.edu/lhp/guidelines/planning.html; the Webby Awards are at webbyawards.com. Winners will be honored at a June 6 celebration at Gotham Hall in New York City.
Campus rates for commuter benefits
The Berkeley campus has again been named one of the nation's 1,100 "Best Workplaces for Commuters." Established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation, the program recognizes employers whose commuter benefits reach the National Standard of Excellence by offering a comprehensive package of transportation alternative programs and incentives to their employees. (The Berkeley campus far exceeds the minimum standard requirements for this designation.) The full list of winners and information on the program is found online at www.bwc.gov/index.htm.
Summer housing services from Cal Rentals
Members of the campus community who plan to be away from the area for all or part of the summer are invited to advertise their homes, apartments, and rooms through a pair of specialty housing services for campus visitors and newcomers offered by Cal Rentals.
The Sabbatical Rental Program advertises the homes of campus faculty to an exclusive list of visiting academics who plan to teach or conduct research for a semester or the academic year, usually at the invitation of a campus department. The Summer Sublet Program offers two separate listing services - one targeted to student visitors who attend summer session or work in internships throughout the Bay Area, the other for visiting scholars and other professionals.
Cal Rentals is located on the second floor of the Residential and Student Services Building, 2610 Channing Way; its office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. To list a long-term rental, a sabbatical rental, or a sublet, call
642-3644. For information, e-mail homeinfo@berkeley.edu or visit www.calrentals.housing.berkeley.edu.
CAL PACT offers free online software classes
The campus computer-training program CAL PACT is offering free online computer training for staff and faculty, provided by the e-learning company ElementK. The one-year pilot program (now at its half-way mark) provides instruction in office productivity and design and media software: the entire Microsoft Office suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access), a number of Adobe programs (Illustrator, InDesign, PageMaker, and Photoshop), and Macromedia software (Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, and Freehand). Basic introductory courses on computer use and the Internet are also available.
Interested individuals must attend a half-hour introduction course to obtain an account, after which they may access the training from any computer with Internet access. The next session is Wednesday, May 18, with more scheduled throughout the summer. Those without Internet access may use on-campus computer facilities to take advantage of this opportunity.
For information, see calpact.berkeley.edu/info/elementk.html, call 642-0559, or e-mail calpact@berkeley.edu.
Lunch Poems hosts final spring reading May 5
The Lunch Poems reading series will present its annual student reading on Thursday, May 5. The reading takes place in the Morrison Library in Doe Library and will be hosted by Professor Robert Hass.
Admission is free. For information, call 642-0137 or see lunchpoems.berkeley.edu.