Education

Students prep for green-collar careers

Berkeley High is one of five California schools chosen to participate in a cutting-edge program designed to train students for environmentally friendly jobs and careers. State Senator Loni Hancock and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell attended a Wednesday morning assembly unveiling the new curriculum.

Weekend event: ArtEsteem turns local students into showcased artists

Shades of blue are swished across a white canvas. Bold red fish contrast against a painted sea while faint bubbles surround a mermaid with green hair, bright lips and golden sunglasses. The mermaid’s name is Jasmin Flower. She has special powers to make the world a safer place. And this afternoon, over 200 works of art like “Jasmin Flower” will be on sale at Studio One Art Center at 365 45th Street in North Oakland. Today’s event, which celebrates the…

Cal Protests

A helicopter whirs and circles overhead. The din of chants, shouts and screams echo all the way up Telegraph and, as I get nearer, I can see energy ripple through the gathering crowd like ripples in a bowl of water. Signs and banners wave and bob with the undulation of some 5000 people. Everything is in the Technicolor of the midday sun and accompanied by yelling, drums and occasional rounds of protest songs. Overhead the sky is a perfect blinding…

Slain student, a taunted outsider, was fighting hard to grow up

17-year old Desiree Davis had spent her childhood excluded and taunted for never quite fitting in. “They gave her a real hard time her whole life,” said her mother, Dru Ann Davis, in an interview at her home this weekend. A Hurricane Katrina survivor, born blind in one eye, Desiree was working to find new strength and identity in Oakland before she was killed last week in a drive-by shooting. Story by S. Howard Bransford/Oakland North.

Sparks, flames and dreams: A day at the Crucible

The Crucible, an industrial and creative arts center in the heart of West Oakland, opened its doors and welcomed the public to its open house demonstrations and workshops Saturday. Starting September 26, the Crucible will offer a wide variety of fall classes, covering everything from glassblowing to blacksmithing. The open house gave the curious a chance to sample the Crucible’s creative and educational offerings, and visit the booths of two dozen community groups, including People’s Grocery, Bay Area Classical Harmonies,…