Education
Gabriel De Jesus is bent over a laptop, eyes moving back and forth between the screen and the stack of forms on the desk next to him, jotting occasional notes. An older man knocks on the door and says he’s there to pick something up; De Jesus has him sign in on the sheet outside while he looks for his file. The phone rings; he answers, “Citizens for Education, this is Gabriel.” De Jesus works four days a week here…
During a recession, many people return to school. Check out the video Career: Take 2 from Gaelle Faure/Special to Oakland North on Vimeo.
Tamara Arroyo, a young woman with her hair in a ponytail, pulled up the corners of the two cards she’d been dealt, an ace and a jack, and then looked at her dwindling pile of chips. With a gleam in her eyes and a slight smile, she obviously did not know the meaning of a poker face. On the table lay two jacks, a queen, and a king. The dealer dealt the final card-an ace. She cleaned up.
In this audio slide by Anna Bloom, local classroom teachers and their students reflect on the classroom promise and challenges of this extraordinary election. Click here to play.
Let eight artists loose on a very tight deadline (eight minutes!) for a very good cause–and OK, there’s some mess to clean up afterward. Click here for the story.
There’s only one store in Oakland that might carry embalming fluid, doll parts, and toilet paper rolls–and economic hard times have landed here, too. Click here for the story and audio slides.
video by CLARE MAJOR Oct. 14 — Scary was fun at Children’s Hospital Oakland this afternoon. At a costume party, sponsored by national retailer Spirit Halloween, the kids decorated pumpkins and played games. Donations collected at Spirit Halloween stores will be presented to hospitals around the country, including Children’s Hospital Oakland, in early December.
Video by MARTIN RICARD Every week, young adults and the young at heart gather at the Rockridge BART station to play one of the most hallowed of playground games: four-square. With cars and trains zooming by above, the group — known as 4 Square of the East Bay — takes over a row of parking spaces, sharing the lot with medieval sword fighters and bike polo players, to compete for fun and for camaraderie.