Berkeley H.S. Sexual Harassment Case Settled
An out-of-court settlement was reached last week on the restraining order against Anthony Smith, a counselor at Berkeley High School accused of sexually harassing a 16-year-old female student. Stephen Rosenbaum, an attorney who represents the student, said he is still pressing the Berkeley Unified School District to remove Smith from campus. Rosenbaum says he is considering a lawsuit against BUSD. Smith voluntarily agreed to abide by the terms set out in the restraining order even though that order is no longer in effect. His lawyer, Kimberly Fanady, said Smith will stay at least 50 yards away from the student and refrain from communicating with her. The resolution followed an Oct. 19 order by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Taylor Culver giving Smith and Rosenbaum
In Berkeley, 2 Measures Would Grow Cannabis Industry
Berkeley residents will vote on two ballot measures Tuesday that could lead to a greatly expanded medical cannabis industry in the city — and hundreds of thousands of new dollars for the city’s coffers. Measure T would increase the number of locations where marijuana is sold from three to four, and also permit six 30,000-square-foot indoor growing areas in the city’s industrial zone in West Berkeley. These places would not be open to the public, but would be used to grow cannabis, test it, distill it into tinctures or creams, or cook it into food products. Measure T would also explicitly permit medical cannabis collectives to operate in residential neighborhoods, but would limit the size of their growing operations to 200 square feet. Collectives are usually composed of
For Richmond Law Student, Latino Vote Gets Personal
Twenty-year-old Bianca Rojo doesn’t take voting lightly. Five years ago, immigration authorities deported her parents to Mexico because they were in the United States illegally. Rojo’s parents took her two younger brothers with them. “I hate seeing families separated by a broken immigration system,” Rojo said. “It’s affecting a lot of children that are U.S. citizens. My life has been changed dramatically.” Rojo, a U.S. citizen and Richmond resident, believes the only lasting way to keep families like hers together is for Latinos in the U.S. to become more politically active. Now a third-year criminal justice student at San Francisco State University, Rojo works as an intern at a law firm. Her goal is to become an immigration attorney. Between school and
