David Loeb, publisher and editor of Bay Nature Magazine which is based in Berkeley. Photo: Diane Poslosky David Loeb, publisher and editor of Bay Nature Magazine which is based in Berkeley. Photo: Diane Poslosky No matter how grand the “internet of things” becomes, all the digital wizardry in the world will never rival the unsurpassable majesty of […]
Nonprofits
Posted inArts
Berkeley honors Eleanor Shapiro during final year of Jewish Music Festival
Eleanor Shapiro, the director of the Jewish Music Festival, was honored by the Berkeley City Council on Feb. 24, 2015 Eleanor Shapiro still remembers the first time Klezmer music struck her soul. It was 1996 and Shapiro was auditioning for a part in a dance troupe that planned to perform to a Klezmer piece. Shapiro […]
Posted inCommunity
Neighbors petition to rename South Branch Library after civil-rights leader
The South Branch of the Berkeley Public Library: a group of neighbors would like to see it named after Tarea Hall Pittman, a civil-rights leader who lived in South Berkeley. Photo: Richard Friedman Update, April 23: The Board of Trustees of the Berkeley Public Library voted against renaming the South Branch after civil-rights leader Tarea […]
Posted inArts
Shotgun Players to create studio at old Serendipity Books
Shotgun Players is transforming the old Serendipity Books store on University Avenue into a rehearsal space. Photo: Google Images Shotgun Players is transforming the old Serendipity Books store on University Avenue into a rehearsal space. Photo: Google Images Berkeley’s Shotgun Players has purchased the building on University Avenue that once housed Serendipity Books and will turn it into […]
Posted inArts
YMTC ‘Fiddler’ cast learns lessons from Holocaust survivor
Sam Genirberg, a Holocaust survivor, with Aya Nakashima, Rachel Cornejo, Laurel Schweidel, and Alana Goldberg, all cast members of Fiddler on the Roof. Photo: YMTC By James Corr What is Fiddler on the Roof? A charming love story (several love stories, really)? A family drama? A tale of religious/ethnic persecution? To Jennifer Boesing, the director of […]
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Pioneering needle exchange program reduces health risks
Two NEED volunteers wait for participants at the Long Haul community center on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. Photo: Naomi Nishihara By Noelia González Every week, at three different sites in Berkeley, volunteers set up a table with a few boxes of intravenous needles, some cotton and some disposal containers, and wait for people to drop by. […]
Posted inCommunity, Schools
Emma Goldman: Still too hot to handle? UC Berkeley set to pull plug on anarchist’s archive
Emma Goldman in a mug shot taken in 1901. Photo: Wikimedia Commons By Rebecca Spence / J Weekly As UC Berkeley celebrates the 50th anniversary of the free speech movement this month, a long-simmering feud over funding for the Emma Goldman Papers — an archival project dedicated to the life and work of the iconic Jewish […]
Posted inCommunity, Events, Housing & Development
4 Berkeley buildings to get upgrades after library lawsuit
Ashkenaz will use a $27,000 grant it received from the Berkeley Preservation Trust to seismically upgrade its building and help fund a new roof. Photo: Joe Balestreri A bell tower constructed in 1878. A nursery school built in 1927. An import-export warehouse converted into a music venue. A prefabricated panel cottage put together in 1887. […]
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In Berkeley program, teens learn the law, leadership
Mock trials presided over by an Alameda County Superior Court judge turn teenagers into attorneys and defendants for the day. Photo: Nancy Schiff Jay-Z and Beyoncé are working out their relationship problems. The celebrities — impersonated uncannily by two 17-year-olds — are pretty angry at each other. But eventually they restore their romance, thanks to […]
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Berkeley High junior brings code to Cambodia
A meeting at Future Light Orphanage of Worldmate (FLOW). Ming Horn will be teaching code at the orphanage. Photo: KhodeUp A meeting at Future Light Orphanage of Worldmate (FLOW). Ming Horn will be teaching code at the orphanage. Photo: KhodeUp By Jasper Burget Ming Horn is as excited about her summer plans as anyone. Over the next few […]
Posted inEvents
New Pints for Paws fest will benefit Berkeley Humane
100% of the revenue from Pints for Paws will benefit Berkeley Humane, which is located at Ninth and Carleton. Photo: Jasper Burget By Jasper Burget Cats, dogs, and beer don’t often come up in the same sentence, but that could soon change thanks to a unique fundraising event for Berkeley Humane. The Pints for Paws beer festival on […]
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At the Write Home Project, the young homeless are heard
A participant at The Write Home Project in Berkeley, which provides writing workshops, and the occasional open mic, to a community that doesn’t regularly receive these opportunities. Photo: courtesy The Write Home Project By Victor Casillas Valle Nestled behind St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, on Bancroft Way in Berkeley, is one huge set of steel steps covered […]