EL CERRITO
Join Tess Taylor, El Cerrito’s poet laureate, on May 2-3 for the inaugural El Cerrito Youth Poetry Festival in collaboration with El Cerrito High School and Harding Elementary.
The event will start at 5:30 p.m. May 2 in the El Cerrito High library with live performances by Poetically Speakin’, the Gaucho Review and a student open mic session. Teachers will also take the stage, making for an evening full of poetry, games, pizza, doughnuts and fun.
Then head to Harding Elementary from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 3 for a Poetry Carnival featuring intergenerational poetry, music, word games and even the chance to read a poem live on the radio. This exciting event will celebrate the power of poetry across generations!
— Windbloom Studios
BERKELEY
Sign up for classes, learn how to forage for edible seaweed
Forage for seaweed this summer with Berkeley-based organization Fork in the Path. Seaweed is delicious, nutritious and abundant on the California coast in the summertime, and learning how to sustainably harvest each species with an expert guide is important to ensure our coastal seaweeds are around for generations to come. Fork in the Path offers eight classes in June and July.
Ricardo Romero Gianoli will lead classes June 14-15 and July 12-13 and Autumn Summers will lead classes June 28-29 and July 26-27. The classes include intertidal ecology, community building, foraging, land history and foraged food tastings. It’s absolutely beautiful on the coast and a great time for an outdoor adventure! For more information or to sign up for a class, visit forkinthepath.org/classes online.
— Fork in the Path
ALBANY
Citywide Garage Sale to return May 3
The Citywide Garage Sale is back! This year the garage sale will be held May 3, when residents will host garage sales in front of their homes as a way to reduce, reuse and recycle materials. Learn more and register your sale at albanyca.org/garagesale.
— city of Albany
RICHMOND
Rep. Garamendi meets with area leaders over Trump administration
U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Richmond, recently held several meetings with officials from Contra Costa and Solano counties to discuss local priorities and how to combat President Donald Trump’s dismantling and cuts to federal agencies and programs such as Medicaid, Social Security, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Veterans Affairs and Education departments.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s policies are harming our communities by driving up the cost of health care, groceries and gas,” Garamendi said. “At the same time, they are stripping away our state’s ability to fight climate change and Californians’ deserved benefits like Medicaid and Social Security, and they are stealing funds for school lunch programs to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy.
“These meetings are part of my work to hear local leaders’ concerns and discuss how we can collaborate to better the lives of our shared community. While Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Republicans harm our communities, we are fighting to protect our constituent’s health care and deserved benefits.”
Among officials Garamendi met with were Eduardo Martinez, Cameron Sasai and Brianne Zorn, the respective mayors of Richmond, Pinole and Martinez, and board members of the Green Empowerment Zone. Garamendi also met Fairfield Mayor Cat Moy, Suisun City, Benicia and Vallejo Vice Mayors Dawson, Macenski and Bregenzer, Solano County Administrator Bill Emlen and the Napa-Solano and Contra Costa Central Labor Councils.
The meetings followed Garamendi’s two townhall events in a week attended by more than 1,000 constituents. In those townhalls, he heard directly from constituents about their anger and fear concerning the actions of Trump’s administration and communicated how he and House Democrats are resisting Trump and Musk.
— U.S. Rep. Garamendi’s office
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