Vanessa Arredondo

1 month ago | berkeleyside.org | Vanessa Arredondo

Two months after announcing the possibility of major staff reductions to help balance a nearly $8 million budget deficit, the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) has rescinded nearly all of the potential layoff notices it sent to employees, following weeks of strong community opposition at school board meetings. More than 370 district employees, including 191 certified and 182 classified union and non-union workers, were notified in March of either a possible layoff or reassignment.

1 month ago | berkeleyside.org | Vanessa Arredondo

Ron arrived in the United States from the Philippines in 2005. It was his second time in the U.S., but this time he was staying for good. Back home, his life had been threatened and he’d experienced harassment and sexual abuse due to being gay.

1 month ago | berkeleyside.org | Vanessa Arredondo

It was 7 a.m. on a weekday in April when Hally, a longtime resident of Berkeley, heard banging on her door. She was not expecting company so early in the morning. When she opened the door, two men in plain clothing asked if a certain man lived there. They were officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and were conducting a child welfare check and wanted to speak with the father, an immigrant from Central America connected to the address, Hally said the officers told her.

1 month ago | berkeleyside.org | Vanessa Arredondo

Facing a $7 million budget deficit, Berkeley Unified officials are looking for new ways to create savings and generate revenue, including out-of-the-ordinary solutions such as charging elementary students for transportation. Other suggestions to help balance the budget include reductions to BUSD’s Office of Family Engagement and its college readiness and after-school programs. The school board will discuss these ideas and others at its meeting this Wednesday.

1 month ago | berkeleyside.org | Vanessa Arredondo

Older Berkeley residents are urging city and county leaders to hold off on reductions to transportation benefits offered through the Berkeley Rides for Seniors and the Disabled (BRSD) program after cuts were announced in a memo to the City Council in early April.