East Bay teens talk pandemic, protests and the people in their lives
Eight teenagers in Oakland and Berkeley talk about how they’ve had to adapt after the shutdown upended their social lives and support systems.
Natalie Orenstein
Natalie Orenstein reports on housing and homelessness for The Oaklandside. Natalie was a Berkeleyside staff reporter from early 2017 to May 2020. She had previously contributed to the site since 2012, when she started as an intern. Orenstein covered a range of beats for Berkeleyside, focusing primarily on education. Her 2018 three-part series "Beyond the Buses" explored the legacy of Berkeley’s historic voluntary school integration, earning her the Society of Professional Journalists NorCal’s long-form storytelling award and a finalist position in the Education Writers Association National Awards for Education Reporting. Orenstein's reporting has also appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the J Weekly, the San Francisco Bay Guardian and elsewhere. Natalie is a proud Berkeley native and only strayed from the Bay Area once, to attend Pomona College.
Articles by Natalie
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Community leaders, including some doctors, say Alameda County might be reopening too fast
“We’re watching a future disparity in the making,” said one doctor pushing for more transparency.
Oakland’s old Lake Merritt Lodge will become a COVID-19 homeless shelter
Advocates hope Alameda County will buy other empty buildings to become housing for unsheltered Oaklanders, too.
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Advocates push back on plan to spend parks and homeless services funds on Oakland police
The decision on how to spend Measure Q funds comes as activists are calling on local governments to “defund the police.”
BUSD prepares for ‘distance learning’ in fall, creating child care concerns for some families
The Berkeley School Board on Wednesday approved a general planning framework as the district gets ready for 2020-21.
Berkeley bans all evictions during crisis, giving some tenants a year to pay back rent
The new “urgency ordinance” immediately expands Berkeley’s eviction moratorium, matching county rules.
School notebook: Gigantic budget cuts, principal turnover, mural gets a mask
Berkeley school news — in brief.
From translation to meals, these groups are pushing for better outreach to Latinx community during crises
In Alameda County, Latinx residents are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Community groups say information and resources could be more accessible.
Orderly hallways, 12-person classes. Berkeley schools could be unrecognizable in the fall
At a town hall Wednesday, BUSD leaders painted a more vivid picture of how schools could be structured with kids staying 6 feet apart.
BUSD might have to cut millions from budget because of COVID-19
A grim new prediction of California’s education budget has sent BUSD leaders into a state of “despair.”
Berkeley 11-year-old tells state official he’s got the math wrong on COVID-19 sign
A King Middle School teacher thought an erroneous social-distancing sign was a teachable moment. She was right.
What will school look like in Berkeley for the foreseeable future? Parents, staff weigh in
As BUSD faces major decisions about the fall semester and the end of this school year, district leaders shared ideas and sought parental feedback at a virtual town hall.
What will happen May 1? Berkeley renters, landlords, officials respond to new reality
Eviction moratoriums provide some temporary relief for tenants who can’t pay rent. But everyone from those renters to corporate landlords are still feeling worried about the future.
Construction, skate parks, nurseries: Some rules relaxed in new stay-at-home order
The new order goes into effect Monday and lasts until the end of May.
New map shows which zip codes in Berkeley, county have the most COVID-19 cases
There’s a small concentration of cases in one Berkeley zip code, but the overall number is too low to draw conclusions about infection rates across the city.
