State

CALIFORNIA—On Thursday, June 18, the California Senate passed a bill by a vote of 30 to 5 that would make ethnic studies a graduation requirement for all students at the 23 Cal State University (CSU) campuses. The bill has been in the Senate chamber for over a year, but the discussion regarding ethnic studies in schools started in 2014 when...

BERKELEY—On Tuesday, July 28, Berkeley Public Health announced the creation of a free COVID-19 testing kiosk in San Pablo Park. It will be open Wednesday, July 29, and Thursday, July 30. Curative Medical Inc. provides the test kits, which are simple oral fluid swab tests that allow for individualized testing. This self-testing method has been used extensively in Los Angeles,...

SAN FRANCISCO—Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi indicated the company is likely to shut down temporarily for a few months in California if a new court ruling stating they must classify all of their drivers as full-time employees is not overruled. On Monday, August 10, Uber and Lyft were ordered by a California judge to brand all of their drivers as full-time...

BERKELEY—On August 26, UC Berkeley students chained themselves to the Sather Gate on campus for nearly 3 hours. In their laps were bodies of dead piglets found by students in the barn of a meat supplier. The supplier, Seaboard Foods, is a major source of meat at UC Berkeley. The protest was organized by 18-year-old freshman Zoe Rosenberg, and...

BERKELEY — On Monday, September 14, the University of California Berkeley released the news that they will launch the new UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics after receiving $1.25 million from an anonymous donor. According to the news release, the center “will conduct research using psychedelics to investigate cognition, perception and emotion and their biological bases in the...

CALIFORNIA — The state of California issued travel advisories on Friday, November 13 as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. California Governor Gavin Newsom, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced a joint travel advisory.  They urge visitors who travel to their states or are "returning home from travel outside these states to self-quarantine" for 14 days, according to...

CALIFORNIA—Kevin Faulconer, the former mayor of San Diego, announced on Monday, February 1 that he will run for governor of California as Governor Gavin Newsom faces recall attempts against him. In a video, Faulconer announced his gubernatorial campaign saying "it's time for a California comeback" and added that "the world used to look to California for a brighter future," but...

CALIFORNIA — On Thursday, March 18, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that Google will invest $1 billion in California as part of a $7 billion commitment to form new data centers and offices across the nation. Pichai, who is also CEO of Alphabet, stated in a news release that the technology company plans on investing "over $7 billion in office...

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO—On Monday, May 24 the South San Francisco Police Department responded to a call about a relative needing assistance at a home located on the 800 block of Tennis Drive in South San Francisco. Officers on the scene found what is being declared a possible murder-suicide.  The officers arrived at the home at 10:22 a.m., where they found...

BERKELEY—Officials from the Berkeley Police Department are investigating a sexual assault by two men against a University of California, Berkeley student at a fraternity house. BPD Spokesman Officer Byron White indicated in an interview with the Associated Press that the student reported being assaulted after midnight on Sunday, April 26 at an off-campus fraternity house. White would not release the...