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 Melanie Mason/Oakland North
About a month ago, the North Oakland branch of the San Leandro-based chain Pet Food Express was hit by an armed robber. Two weeks later, it happened again, this time at the Pet Food Express Rockridge store, located in the Safeway shopping center at 51st and Broadway. According to employees, it was the same guy.
It was then that the vice president of Pet Food Express, Mark Witirol, started hearing of other armed robberies at the Rockridge shopping center. Frustrated by what he thought was a predictable pattern …

Diana Montaño/OaklandNorth
Last month, a youth curfew ordinance was voted down by the City Council’s Public Safety Committee. And while the ordinance failed to become law, it did succeed in rousing the voice of Oakland’s youth.
[audio:http://oaklandnorth.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/curfew.mp3]

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.

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.

By Samson Reiny/510 Report
Jason Witt is an Olympian of recycling—he can recycle up to 800 pounds of bottles and cans a day.  “He’s the captain of his ship,” said Amir Soltani, a writer and activist who has been following Witt for the past year as part of his upcoming documentary on West Oakland recyclers.  Soltani said there is a lot of physical effort and finesse involved in manning a cart the size of Witt’s, which, at the end of each day, is stacked with overstuffed bags protruding several feet into the air.  “He …