Christopher Connelly

Leaders in education and research talk compassion and big ideas at TED conference

Big ideas about education and emotion flowed through the Craneway Pavillion at the TEDxGoldenGateED conference over the weekend. The ideas found a receptive audience in the roughly 700 in attendance at the Saturday conference that attracted teachers, parents, therapists and others from throughout the Bay Area. The day included a packed schedule of speakers, performers and workshops that revolved around the central theme of compassion.

Children’s Hospital nurses begin five-day strike

Children’s Hospital nurses went on strike today after year-long contract negotiations broke down over health benefits. On the first day of a five-day strike, nurses on the picket line say spirits are high and representatives from a half-dozen other unions were on site to show support. Approximately forty nurses stood in clumps in front of the hospital on the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and 52nd Street, waving signs at passing cars. Dozens of cars and even a passing BART train honked to show support for the nurses

Five-day walkout at Children’s Hospital Oakland planned for May 5

After nearly a year of contract negotiations, Children’s Hospital Oakland nurses and administrators are at an impasse over benefits and the nurses now poised for a strike. They will go back to the bargaining table early next week, but if they don’t come closer to a compromise, they will stage a five-day walkout starting May 5. The strike would be their second in the same contract negotiation cycle; Children’s nurses staged a three-day strike last October.

Glenview Elementary Odyssey of the Mind group to compete in world finals

Don Quixote, Sherlock Holmes and the Wicked Witch of the West find themselves transported to a mysterious cave studded with stalactites and stalagmites.  Quixote is convinced he is inside the mouth of a dragon he’s battled through Pamplona and Paris, and the Wicked Witch is his beloved Dulcenea. But Holmes argues convincingly that the stalactites and stalagmites are not the teeth of a dragon and the Witch melts away, a victim of water dripping from the cave’s ceiling. This is…

Demonstrators rally in support of Wisconsin workers

Dozens gathered in Oakland on Tuesday to show solidarity with protesters in Wisconsin who are protesting plans to limit public unions’ ability to bargain for health and pension benefits for their members. Their signs bore messages challenging Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to respect workers rights and calling for California Governor Jerry Brown not to cut public workers’ benefits.

Mac-and-cheese joint opens in time for winter’s late arrival

If the week’s sudden turn to winter has you hankering for some comfort food, you’re in luck. Homeroom, Oakland’s newest restaurant, specializes in everyone’s favorite comfort food: macaroni and cheese. After a scrape with McDonalds, and a couple years of planning, building and recipe-testing, Allison Arevalo and Erin Wade opened the doors to cheesy goodness on Tuesday.