Jim Smith, 81, also worked as a mail handler and served as vice president of the Berkeley Property Owners Association.
Berkeley Youth Alternatives
Posted inCommunity
Berkeley club partners with youth group for bowling fun
By James Corr Lawn bowling is often (mistakenly) seen as a sport of ‘the older set.’ This summer, the Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club (BLBC) set out to counter that myth, joining forces with Berkeley Youth Alternatives (BYA) to offer coaching on the basics of lawn bowling as a summer camp activity for BYA participants. BYA is […]
Posted inCommunity, Schools
Elisha Davis: Determined to be great, on and off the court
For a college student athlete, there is no season more important than your senior year. It’s the year when everything could soon be coming to an end: the long practices, the extra work on weekends, the countless hours in the library. For many, it is a bittersweet reality. For Arizona State Sun Devil and Berkeley […]
Posted inCrime
Berkeley teen, recent grad, shot to death in Oakland
Ayana Dominguez, an aspiring hairstylist and 18-year-old recent graduate of Berkeley Technical Academy, was gunned down last week in a Wendy’s restaurant parking lot in Oakland, according to police. Officers responded Thursday, July 10, to reports of gunshots in the Fruitvale district of East Oakland at 8:45 p.m. When they got to Wendy’s, at 3111 International Blvd., they found […]
Posted inCommunity
BOSS to honor Berkeley’s ‘Rising Stars’ on Thursday
A year ago, Kyle Evans and his family were sleeping in motel rooms and, at times, their car. Despite his circumstances, Evans focused on keeping his grades up and being a role model for his younger sister. He had to forgo various activities enjoyed by his peers, as his family didn’t have the money to pay for them. He managed […]
Posted inCommunity
Berkeley offers free summer lunches, snacks for youth
Berkeley is facilitating free lunches and snacks for under-18-year-olds this summer at locations across the city. In the Berkeley Unified School District, 42 percent of students receive free or reduced lunch during the school year, which is easily accessible when school is in session but can become difficult to find during the summer. City Councilwoman […]
Posted inCommunity
Berkeley Youth Alternatives attracts statewide attention
When Kevin D. Williams first found himself at Berkeley Youth Alternatives, it was, he says, a “naked building.” His mother, Niculia Williams, now executive director of the nonprofit, which supports underserved youth, had joined the staff in 1988 and brought her family along to help. Though still a student at UC Berkeley, Williams “fit in where […]
Posted inCrime
Berkeley residents tackle safety issues after shootings
Two weeks after two multiple shootings rattled southwest Berkeley residents, more than a hundred neighbors gathered in the gym at Berkeley Youth Alternatives on Bonar Street on Monday evening, just a few yards away from the first shooting, to discuss possible causes, as well as preventive measures. According to the police, none of the men […]
Posted inNosh
Field trip highlights programs in food-forward Berkeley
Berkeley’s alternative food programs and businesses in the spotlight on a food soverignty tour co-hosted by Bay Area Green Tours Saturday.
Posted inCity
Youth program to close after 18 years for lack of funds
Update, 6:34pm: An earlier version of this story erroneously reported that the city had withdrawn funding this year for the garden program which is closing. The funding was in fact for the BYA’s landscaping program. In addition, Calworks funded BYA’s Steps to Success Program in 2010, not the garden program as reported. We apologize for the […]
Posted inCity, Community
Berkeley youth program gets temporary reprieve
A city-funded youth employment program which is facing the axe has had a temporary reprieve and will continue to operate over the summer. Berkeley Youth Alternatives provides minimum-wage positions for roughly 15 young people, aged 14-18, who work during the school year and over the summer maintaining two city parks: Strawberry Creek Park and Grove […]
Posted inNosh
Made in Berkeley: Dirt Dinners celebrate local food
It doesn’t get more locavore than this. On Sunday February 20, Berkeley restaurant eVe is partnering with the Berkeley Youth Alternatives garden to serve the first in a series of family-style “dirt dinners”. All the ingredients for the dirt dinners will be sourced straight from Berkeley soil, many from the Youth Alternative garden itself. As Berkeleyside’s […]