Berkeleyside

An accomplished research chemist with a specialty in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, he was also a lawyer (he passed the California and Hawaii bar exams as a hobby in his 50s), a comedian and a fitness buff.

At Oakland’s Sweet Maria’s, a national hub for the growing hobby, coffee lovers come to experiment, obsess over gear and chase the perfect roast.

The ban covers school-issued laptops in elementary and middle schools. A new parent advocacy group says BUSD still needs to go further to restrict screen time, bar phones and block AI use.

Controlled fires for Wednesday and Thursday were called off after Tuesday's smoky skies. Rising ozone levels resulted in Spare the Air days.

Other events include Nosh's BreakFest, a monthly music series at the Chapel of the Flowers and Berkeley Playhouse's production of "Legally Blonde: The Musical."