Dryer catches fire at Elmwood laundromat Sunday night
Firefighters quickly put out the flames, said BFD. Nobody was injured.
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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BUSD leaders try to reassure parents exasperated by Zoom pause
A town hall was dominated by Zoombomber issues, but staff also shared details about BUSD operations.
Berkeley Unified suspends online classes after naked ‘Zoombomber’ enters session
The incident occurred just two days after BUSD implemented its “distance learning” plan.
Berkeley City College names Angélica Garcia as new president
Garcia comes from Skyline College in San Bruno, and takes up the leadership role during a rocky time for the Peralta district.
Berkeley shut schools, required masks in 1918. Read a woman’s letters from that pandemic
One Berkeley woman’s 1918 letters to her husband reveal impacts of an influenza pandemic that feel quite familiar today.
Laid off during pandemic, Berkeley workers struggle and get creative
Florists, hair stylists, housekeepers, retail workers, security guards and booksellers: they’re all in the same boat.
New shelter-in-place order: More of same for Berkeley but clampdown on construction
The new order will last until May 3.
Berkeley, Bay Area to extend shelter-in-place order until early May
Officials said more information will be available by Wednesday.
UC Berkeley lab pivots from editing DNA to processing COVID-19 tests
What happens when you combine a viral pandemic, an empty laboratory and a bunch of biologists who’ve been forced to put their regular work on pause?
Berkeley Unified students will get more remote schooling starting in April
BUSD released its highly anticipated “distance learning plan” Wednesday.
Who gets to learn in Berkeley, and how, when COVID-19 has closed all schools?
Berkeley schools are undergoing identity crises as they scramble to try to keep serving all their students.
Man, 80, has first lab-confirmed community-spread COVID-19 case in Berkeley
The patient is recovering in isolation, but his experience is another indication that the novel coronavirus is spreading throughout Berkeley.
Worried about food during the COVID-19 crisis? Berkeley Unified, local pantries offer free meals
BUSD meals are available to anyone 18 or younger. Other groups are working to feed adults.
East Bay parks will stay open, despite confusion and citations
Parks were temporarily closed Tuesday but will reopen within the next day or two, said EBRPD.
UC Berkeley students hold ‘wildcat’ strike for more pay, rehiring of fired workers
The graduate students are forming a “digital picket,” refusing to teach online classes or provide grades.
Sweeping shelter-in-place order announced across Berkeley, Bay Area
The region-wide rules go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and ban non-essential movement and business.
