By Huda Ahmed/510 Report
AC Transit and UC Berkeley are considering changes to the bus shuttle that serves the campus, which could result in the layoffs of several drivers employed by the university.
Under an existing agreement, the university offers the service and leases the buses from AC Transit. But the long-term lease expired in June 2008 and has been month-to-month since then. The transit agency elected not to continue the deal past December of this year, said Seamus Wilmot, UC Berkeley’s acting director of parking and transportation. 
But AC Transit spokesman Clarence …

Biodiesel Grows Up from Shaleece Haas on Vimeo.
By Shaleece Haas/Special to 510 Report
Biofuel Oasis, a worker-owned biodiesel company, is moving from their one-pump garage to a new drive-through station on a busy corner in southwest Berkeley, Calif.
UPDATE: On April 30, 2009, Biofuel Oasis made the move to their new station.

Rich people may have more money but does that mean they’re less polite? A recent UC Berkeley study examines how body language reveals wealth.

Surfing the world wide couch. from Alba Mora on Vimeo.
By Alba Mora/Special to Oakland North
Would you ever let two strangers crash on your couch? Recently reporter Alba Mora welcomed two couchsurfers into her Berkeley home.

By Lauren Rudser and Brittney Johnson/ Oakland North
Last week, the Obama administration reversed bans, put in pace under President Bush, on Stem Cell research using federal funds. See how this is affecting one local couple.

I was driving down Shattuck Ave this afternoon – the 6th anniversary of the Iraq war – and out of the corner of my eye I noticed quite a commotion out front of the Marine Recruiting Center. I circled around to get a better look, and saw the huge windows at the front of the Center being replaced. There were baseball-sized holes in the windows, and dripping red paint.
Read an article about the vandalism from the Oakland Tribune.

By Diana Montaño/510 Report
The tropical crops of Maria Inés Catalán’s youth don’t grow in Hollister. Instead of winding through the papaya and mango trees of her native Guerrero, Mexico, here, wearing black loafers caked in mud from the past week’s rain, she tramples weeds, carefully stepping over the kale, broccoli and artichoke plants that thrive in the Northern California winter.

[audio:http://510report.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/stand_narrated_0218.mp3]
Farm Fresh Choice, a food justice and youth empowerment project of the Berkeley-based Ecology Center, works with youth of color in West Berkeley to educate the community around nutrition and access to healthy eating. On Tuesday afternoons, they run an organic produce stand outside Bahia, a bilingual after-school program. Listen to some of the youth as they discuss their work in the community.

By Huda Ahmed/510 Report
Jessica Fischer organized mysterious shapes made of plastic and metal, as well as spongy brightly-colored toys on the table and waited for her young audience at UC Berkeley’s International House to be seated. The dim yellow light bulbs gave the room a romantic glow. The whole room was soon packed with more than 45 international students from the University of California trying to figure out what these objects were and what the speaker would say.

Brittney Johnson/510Report
Scenes from an Auction: As the number of Bay Area foreclosures skyrockets, so does the amount of auctions selling foreclosed homes at a fraction of their original price. Watch potential buyers vie for bargains at a recent auction.