EL CERRITO
The city of El Cerrito has announced its selection for the city’s 2024 poet laureate as Tess Taylor, an acclaimed poet who is passionate about championing the city’s young student writers, particularly at El Cerrito High School.
The city of El Cerrito has selected acclaimed writer and local resident Tess Taylor as its 2024 poet laureate. (photo courtesy of the city of El Cerrito)
As El Cerrito’s poet laureate this year, Taylor says she intends to use her position to enhance opportunities for El Cerrito students and the wider community by fostering creativity, building skills and establishing valuable connections.
“I’d like to connect local writers and editors of regional literary magazines like ‘Alta,’ ‘Zyzzyva’ and ’14 Hills’ with local high school students,” Taylor said. “I plan to pair student writers and editors with professional counterparts in the Bay Area community so that they can build connections and we can cultivate the next generation of writers.”
Born and raised in El Cerrito, Taylor has published five books of poetry, including “Work and Days,” which the New York Times named one of its 10 best 2016 poetry books. Also, the Boston Globe named her work “Rift Zone” one of the 50 best books of 2020. Finally, “Last West: Roadsongs for Dorothea Lange” was a part of the “Dorothea Lange: Words and Pictures exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art.”
Taylor received her master of fine arts degree in creative writing from Boston University and holds a master of arts degree in journalism from New York University and a bachelor of arts in English and urban studies from Amherst College.
Taylor has a long history in education and has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, St. Mary’s College, Whittier College and more. She serves as part of the creative writing faculty in Ashland (Ohio) University’s master of fine arts program.
As poet laureate, Taylor says she hopes to lead workshops for all levels of writers and help El Cerrito’s student body connect with the wider Bay Area literary community.
“Not only do I live in El Cerrito, but much of my work is about the landscape and stories of El Cerrito,” she said. “It is my mission as an artist to build the arts ecosystem, support emerging writers and encourage creativity.”
Taylor’s term as the city’s poet laureate will start April 1 and last through March 31, 2025.
— city of El Cerrito
BERKELEY
Egg, scavenger hunts happening at parks Friday, Saturday
Berkeleyans of all ages can hunt for eggs and more this Friday and Saturday in the city’s parks — using their keen eyes, flashlights or hidden clues — as part of a series of city-organized events this Easter weekend.
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The youngest ones — ages 1 through 10 — can race for eggs spread across the grass alongside kids of their exact age. Afterward, kids can make crafts, play games and pet bunnies. Kids in grades five through eight can scour the night using flashlights to find glow-in-the-dark eggs.
Children 11 and 12 can complete an activity card to earn a small prize. This year, the city will also have something for those 16 and older. Six-person teams will be given a set of clues and 90 minutes to find as many eggs as possible during a waterfront scavenger hunt. Prizes will be given afterward.
All of these activities will happening Friday and Saturday at Berkeley’s San Pablo and César Chávez parks. Save time and avoid hassle by preregistering on the city’s online recreation portal at bit.ly/3vtMUDW. For more online details, visit bit.ly/4anJphq.
City sets special election date for second council vacancy
Eligible voters in Berkeley’s District 4, which covers downtown and central Berkeley, have quick timelines to get on the ballot to run for Berkeley City Council or register to vote in a May 28 special election to replace Councilmember Kate Harrison.
Harrison announced in late January that she would resign her position while continuing her bid to be the city’s next mayor. Registered voters in District 4 who wish to represent the area on the City Council should review candidate information and file nomination papers by Friday of this week.
U.S. citizens in this district who are at least 18 years old should register to vote by May 13. Residents in District 7, which stretches from inside the UC Berkeley campus to five blocks south, will vote on April 16 in a separate special election to replace Councilmember Rigel Robinson, who also announced his resignation in January.
For more details online about candidate and voter registration, visit bit.ly/3VdvdTx.
— city of Berkeley
EL CERRITO
Recycling center artists in residence named, to create exhibit
El Cerrito’s Arts & Culture Commission has selected Zona Sage and Lisa Zimmer-Chu to serve as this year’s El Cerrito Creative ReUse artists in residence at the El Cerrito Recycling and Environmental Resource Center.
These artists will create artwork primarily using materials they find at the recycling center, conduct workshops and educational programs, and exhibit the work they produce for the community to enjoy.
Sage has explored various art media throughout her life, using her work to reflect her strong interest in social justice and her love of recycled materials. She has also used resources from the El Cerrito recycling center in her work for many years. Sage said she plans to use this residence to create pieces using book arts and textiles.
Zimmer-Chu is an artist and an activist who has always used her art to tell stories. She said she hopes to use her residence to tell a compelling story of the El Cerrito recycling center.
Sage and Zimmer-Chu will create artwork using materials found at the recycling center, conduct community workshops and other educational programs and provide an exhibit of artwork created during their residence, which will run from Monday of next week through Dec. 31 with a total stipend of $1,500 for each appointment.
For more information on the El Cerrito Creative ReUse program, visit el-cerrito.org/ECCRU online.
— city of El Cerrito
HERCULES
Council approves parks, recreation facilities master plan
At its recent meeting, the Hercules City Council approved a resolution adopting its Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan, which has been in development since late 2022. The adopted plan represents the culmination of years of effort and collaboration between the City Council, city staff, a steering committee, community leaders, stakeholders and residents.
“We are deeply grateful to our enthusiastic community for contributing their thoughtful input toward the future of Hercules’ Parks and Recreation facilities,” said Hercules Mayor Dan Romero. “This master plan will serve as an invaluable blueprint for years to come as we chart the future of our city parks system. We look forward to the work ahead to make our community’s vision come to life.”
Approved by a unanimous council vote, the Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan provides a framework to guide Hercules in setting priorities and making decisions about its parks, recreational facilities, trails, open spaces and natural areas over the next 10 or more years.
The goal of developing the master plan was to document the current condition of city park facilities; identify community needs and investment priorities; develop recommendations for 10 or more years of recommended projects; and devise a five-year action plan with priority projects.
Last summer, city officials applied community input toward the development of a park enhancement action plan to be implemented over the next 10 years. Public feedback largely indicated that the city should focus its enhancements on existing parks and facilities.
At the City Council’s meeting Feb. 27, discussion clarified that the master plan is a “living document” and that proposed projects for the coming years are not exhaustive. City officials plan to work with the community to address priority locations throughout five- and 10-year plans.
The city’s next steps are to develop funding strategies for priority projects, finalize and sequence projects, plan and design large projects and start construction. For more details online, visit bit.ly/3VrdtnT.
— Tripepi Smith (for the city of Hercules)
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