u/the_daily_cal

The California Department of Social Services has simplified the process for students at public universities to receive CalFresh benefits, allowing students to bypass certain exemption requirements, including those dictating how much a student must work weekly in order to be eligible.

For students to qualify for CalFresh — a federally funded benefits program known as SNAP that provides eligible individuals and families with funds to purchase food each month — they have to meet at least one of the student exemption requirements.

The exemption requirements include working 20 hours per week or 80 hours per month, qualifying for work study for the current academic year or being enrolled in an approved state or local program that increases employability, according to the CalFresh Student Eligibility Handbook.

UC Berkeley math professor Zvezdelina Stankova admitted to using an AI tool in an op-ed urging the UC system to re-adopt SAT and ACT requirements in admissions.

The article, published in the SF Standard, was flagged as 33% AI-generated or AI-assisted by detector Pangram.

A similar result was found in a June open letter from STEM faculty advocating for standardized testing. Thousands of academics, including five Nobel laureates, signed the letter, and Stankova partially wrote it.

After 108 applications, more than 1,300 votes, intense deliberation and an inspired social media campaign, the Berkeley Public Library has finally unveiled the three cute and cuddly creations that will become the new faces of its social media presence.

In a video posted to its Instagram on Friday, the library declared the winning mascots, naming book tornado Booknado “Most Creative” and octopus Libro Saltwater “Best Youth Submission,” while Shakesbear won both “Library Staff Pick” and “Most Berkeley.” The mascots were featured in the video and honored with sashes and flower crowns.

The Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership advised people without permanent immigration status to avoid air travel in a statement Tuesday, citing a recent uptick in immigration detentions at San Francisco International Airport. 

ACILEP said encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents at the airport have directly led to detentions in Department of Homeland Security facilities as well as deportations. Both domestic and international flights have been affected, the group said. 

The Berkeley International Office does not plan to respond with new guidance. BIO’s travel advisory, last updated March 2, only addresses international travel.

Before its recent distribution of produce contaminated with cyclospora and salmonella, Taylor Farms filed a lawsuit against former executive Brian Thure, alleging more than $32 million was embezzled for unauthorized purchases including a $1 million endowment for the Cal football team. 

According to the lawsuit filed in June, Thure and his wife, Julie Thure, embezzled $32 million over five years by moving money through the alleged “sham entity” MTS Building and Electrical. Taylor Farms accused James McPherson, who is also named as a defendant alongside the couple and MTS, of operating the entity to aid Thure and his wife in receiving and dispersing funds. 

Thure served as president of Taylor Farms’ Tennessee subsidiary from 2012 until March of this year following his time in the NFL playing for the now-Washington Commanders after his time with Cal football.

Following the departure of its director and assistant director in the last year, UC Berkeley’s Student Parent Center now has no professional staff. 

Tomie Lenear, who has been the center’s director for 11 years, will leave his role Aug. 28, according to an email sent to student-parents and obtained by The Daily Californian. 

The email said the center would not be closing, but students say this has fractured the trust they had built with campus. 

“When I was accepted to UC Berkeley, I realized that as a student-parent, I (would) be under customized care,” said Lan Huong Nguyen, who enrolled at UC Berkeley in 2023. “When the Student Parent Center disappears, my counselor (and) director disappears, and I’m deserted by myself.”

Jonathan “Jojo” Choi, a Bay Area attorney, forensic accountant and beloved UC Berkeley alumnus, passed away June 20 at the age of 41. 

Born in San Jose and raised in Saratoga, Choi graduated from UC Berkeley in 2007 with degrees in political economy and business administration before obtaining a J.D. from Santa Clara University. His sister described them as growing up in a family with traditions of public service and advocacy. 

“Jojo very much grew up steeped in that culture of ‘we’re here to make a difference,’ and not just individually … for more people than just one,” said his sister, Joanna “Mimi” Choi.

UC Berkeley is disputing a claim from the U.S. Department of Education that it had received $224.5 million in gifts and contracts from Chinese sources over the past 25 years. 

The Education Department published a dashboard earlier this year tracking Section 117 reports of foreign funding from “countries of concern,” including China. 

UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof said in an email that campus believes the data in the Education Department’s dashboard “(does) not provide an accurate reflection of our current international academic partnerships.” Mogulof added that campus is currently evaluating the department’s data against its internal records.

Neighbors in the Berkeley Hills are organizing against a proposed housing development at the former site of Oxford Elementary School, alleging the project misuses state housing laws, poses safety concerns in a high-risk landslide and fire zone and that the demolition would threaten the health of children at a nearby preschool. 

Some neighbors have shared their concerns with city officials, who they say have been “generally unresponsive,” leaving them feeling ignored. Children’s Community Center preschool leadership also said that they have contacted the city Planning and Development Department regarding the project and have received no response so far. 

Oxford Elementary was relocated from 1130 Oxford Ave. to University Avenue in 2020 after a 2019 report found that the former site was at risk of landslides. The report placed the site in the Keith Avenue landslide complex, an area with an increased landslide risk during earthquakes.

Disabled residents of the Eighth and Harrison streets encampment allege that they have been repeatedly denied Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations during their yearslong litigation battle with the city of Berkeley. Residents are left in fear for their safety as the city seeks to sweep the encampment.

Robbie Peddycoart, one of many disabled residents at the encampment on Eighth and Harrison streets, stated in a written testimony provided by Berkeley Homeless Union president Yesica Prado that he requested 12 ADA accommodations in February due to his disabilities that could make relocation life-threatening.

The BHU, which represents Robbie and other disabled residents of the encampment, was granted a temporary restraining order against the city last Thursday to prevent an imminent sweep. The judge awarded the injunction due to multiple alleged issues with how the city handled accommodations, including offering residents $100 gift cards instead of replacement tents or clothing, declining to store certain items such as “loose papers” or “bike carcasses,” as well as requiring unhoused people to predesignate their relocation spot with the city.

As the city’s November elections draw nearer, District 7 candidate Aidan Hill has accused sitting Berkeley City Councilmember Cecilia Lunaparra and her endorsed successor Syrak Micael of “destroying” parts of Southside. 

In a video posted to Instagram, Hill accused Lunaparra of allowing construction near restaurant El Trompudo, alleging the work may disrupt its operations. In another, Hill accused Micael of supporting the People’s Park development by voting to recommend continued funding for its permanent supportive housing component. 

“Where is Cecilia Lunaparra? Why isn’t she here right now?” Hill asked while standing outside of El Trompudo, where construction at nearby 2449 Dwight Way has shut off part of the street and the sidewalk. “She said she was in favor of building on People’s Park. She said she is in favor of destroying all of Telegraph Avenue.”

Lunaparra and Micael rejected the characterization.

UC President James Milliken issued a letter Wednesday urging California’s congressional representatives to take action to address slower funding disbursement rates than in years prior from federal science agencies. 

As of July 13, the National Science Foundation’s award rate is down 39%, and the National Institutes of Health’s award rate fell 22%, compared to previous years. 

The slow spend rate can be attributed to funding decisions, award processing, competitive renewals and a slower release of new funding opportunities, according to the letter.

UC Berkeley’s second Agentic AI Summit drew thousands of students, tech professionals and researchers Aug. 1-2 for a weekend conference centered around the new evolution of AI that can act on its own. 

Dawn Song, co-director of the Berkeley Center for Responsible Decentralized Intelligence, which hosted the event, researches AI safety and responsibility — something she said was an important conversation at the summit. 

“Agentic AI has the potential to transform how we work, learn, and solve complex problems, but realizing that potential requires us to think carefully about how we build and deploy these systems,” Song said in an email. “What has been encouraging to see at this summit is the willingness of people across the ecosystem to engage with both sides of that challenge.”

With a 10.5% admission rate this year, UC Berkeley is harder to get into than ever before — especially for underrepresented minorities. 

The UC system saw a record-breaking 251,907 applications this year, leading to tightening acceptance rates. Following the 2026 data, UC Berkeley is once again more selective than UCLA. 

African American and Latine admissions decreased from the 2025-26 cycle to the 2026-27 cycle, with a percent change of -18.1% and -9.8%, respectively.

Provisions in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act ushered in a new federal loan policy that will restrict loan dollars based on a student’s enrollment level. 

The new law establishes a schedule of reductions, which requires schools to prorate loans based on enrollment intensity. Only full-time students will be eligible for a full federal loan, while part-time students and students with reduced course loads will receive a smaller loan proportional to the number of enrolled units. 

Cruz Grimaldo, associate vice chancellor and director of the financial aid and scholarships office, said the new loan policy is expected to affect up to 1,000 students at UC Berkeley, primarily student-parents, DSP students and other students with accommodations for a reduced course load, meaning they take fewer than 12 or 13 units per semester depending on their respective college.

On July 9, a Berkeley resident was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the city’s first confirmed operation during the second Trump administration. The detainee from Morocco was arrested unbeknownst to the Berkeley City Council or Berkeley Police Department.

Sadly, this is only following the trend of what is becoming the newest ugly American truth.

Unconstitutional brutality continues to knock down back doors, abduct our neighbors and dehumanize those around us, even in a “sanctuary city” such as Berkeley. Being comfortable completely circumventing sanctuary jurisdiction means that millions of people are living in fear of dropping away in the dark before local governments get a chance to fight.

A disabled tenant at the Harriet Tubman Terrace apartments in South Berkeley is suing the building’s management and owner along with 30 individuals over “uninhabitable conditions” and resulting injuries and damages. 

The tenant, Jimmy Smith, claims that his apartment had “substantial defective conditions,” including no heat, no hot water in his shower, a broken intercom, a reduction in amenities and general dilapidation and lack of maintenance.  

Residents at the Harriet Tubman House — an affordable housing complex for older adults and individuals with disabilities — have made claims regarding the safety and maintenance of the building before, including that multiple units had no heat, they weren’t made aware of renovations and some residents were exposed to asbestos.

In its most packed meeting in months, and the final before its summer recess, the Berkeley City Council voted Tuesday night to move forward with a controversial plan for installing bike lanes on Hopkins Street.

Council members approved the motion, which will have the city repave Hopkins Street with one-way protected bike lanes on each side, even as they grappled with a lack of information on the impacts of the new plan.

“This feels like a wedge kind of being driven and I think that’s not sustainable,” said District 3 Councilmember Ben Bartlett. “These are some really interesting notes being heard, however I’m not an expert and I’d like to see this discussed in a room full of experts.”

Twenty-three UC and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory projects were among those announced under the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, a national initiative towards “AI-driven scientific discovery.” 

The DOE is committing more than $5 billion to the mission, which spans national laboratories, academia and industry. 

Genesis Mission-funded projects will “enable researchers to … refine new approaches to accelerating scientific discovery and breakthroughs,” according to Berkeley Lab spokesperson Jonathan Carter. Berkeley Lab contributions to the Genesis Mission will integrate AI with research into grid infrastructure, nuclear energy and more.

A controversial proposal to add bike lanes on Hopkins Street is returning to Berkeley City Council on Tuesday, reigniting a yearslong community debate.

The proposal, intended to improve safety on Hopkins, suggests the addition of a protected bike lane, repaving the street, raised intersections and floating bus stops.

Weaving in between commercial and residential areas in North Berkeley, Hopkins Street is a high-injury corridor for pedestrians and cyclists, and is part of a small percentage of Berkeley streets where more than 86% of fatal collisions occur. In the last 15 years, 46 pedestrian and bicycle crashes have occurred along the Hopkins corridor.