Community Corner
🌱 Patch AM: What’s changing at Oxford Elementary and Berkeley’s winter shelter this year?
You won't want to miss A Community Christmas Eve Service! on the Berkeley Patch calendar
Hi Berkeley! We have the latest buzz right here. Let's keep you in the loop and get this morning started right! ☕️️
In today's newsletter:
- What’s changing at Oxford Elementary and Berkeley’s winter shelter this year?
- How Berkeley’s Hope Scholars turns foster youth into campus leaders
- How one UC Berkeley class project quietly reshaped Hollywood careers
Also on today's calendar: A Community Christmas Eve Service! and 9 more events.
Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Today's riddle: What did one astronaut stranded on the moon say to another? 🤔 (Answer below!)
Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
- Friday: An a.m. sprinkle, then rain, with a high of 59 and low of 53 degrees.
- Saturday: Periods of rain, temps: high: 59, low: 52.
- Sunday: Periods of rain, with a high of 58 and low of 51 degrees.
📰 News we're reading
1. The Wire: Oxford Elementary developer wants to build 20 ‘Painted Ladies'-style Victorians; Cal student paralyzed after fall at frat sues (berkeleyside.org) — Today’s local news roundup highlights several Berkeley stories, including a UC Berkeley student paralyzed in a fraternity fall who is now suing, and plans to build about 20 “Painted Ladies”-style Victorians at the former Oxford Elementary site. Also covered: UC Berkeley Chabad’s Hanukkah vigil, the relocation of Berkeley’s 24/7 winter shelter, and a serious crash involving a Berkeley man. 
2. For 20 years, this UC Berkeley program has helped students who've been in foster care succeed (universityofcalifornia.edu) — UC Berkeley’s Hope Scholars program, now 20 years old, has grown into a four-person team supporting hundreds of students who’ve experienced foster care, homelessness, or other nontraditional upbringings. The Berkeley-based program offers stipends, mentoring, mental health support, and community-building events, and is expanding its office space in the César Chavez Student Center to better serve both undergrads and graduate students.
3. How a UC Berkeley group project sparked two decades of TV hits (berkeley.edu) — Two Cal alumni trace their Hollywood careers back to a UC Berkeley rhetoric group project and formative experiences like teaching at San Quentin through a campus program. They describe how Berkeley’s rhetoric training and social-justice-oriented opportunities shaped their storytelling, commitment to diverse representation on screen, and ongoing efforts to build a stronger Cal-to-Hollywood pipeline, including a planned screenwriting course on campus in 2026.
4. AIRES revolutionizes reticular chemistry with rapid, data-driven crystal discovery (berkeley.edu) — UC Berkeley researchers helped create AIRES, a new AI-driven platform that rapidly discovers crystalline materials, potentially advancing clean energy and climate-resilient technologies. Working with international partners, the team doubled crystal discovery rates in a challenging chemical space. Their system uses robotics, automated experiments, and machine learning to turn reticular chemistry into a faster, data-guided process for finding next-generation materials.
5. Everything You Need To Know About New Washington Nationals General Manager Ani Kilambi (federalbaseball.com) — A new Washington Nationals general manager, Ani Kilambi, once studied statistics and operations research at UC Berkeley before rising quickly through analytics roles with the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies. His data-driven approach helped modernize those teams’ front offices and pitching development. Now he’s tasked with bringing that same forward-thinking mindset to a struggling, traditionally old-school Nationals organization.
📸 Around Berkeley
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🗓 Upcoming Events in Berkeley
Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!
★ Featured events ★
- A Community Christmas Eve Service!
The Church On the Corner, 1319 Solano Ave, Albany
6:00 pm - Crossing Over with Psychic Medium John Edward live in San Francisco, CA!
The Westin San Francisco Airport, 1 Old Bayshore Hwy, Millbrae
7:00 pm
Wednesday December 24
Friday January 9
Want to see your event featured? Click here!
Other local events
- Winter Lights For The Solstice
Temescal Branch Library , 5205 Telegraph Avenue , Oakland
11:00 am - Honky Tonk Night
Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center , 1317 San Pablo Ave , Berkeley
8:00 pm - 2025 Messiah Sing-Along
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley , 1 Lawson Rd , Kensington
4:00 pm - (Dec 22 - 26) Winter Math Camp for Kids ages 6-16
Congregation Netivot Shalom , 1316 University Ave , Berkeley
9:00 am - Read to a Dog
Kensington Library , 61 Arlington Avenue , Kensington
3:00 pm - English Conversation Club
Temescal Branch Library , 5205 Telegraph Avenue , Oakland
4:00 pm - Family Storytime
Kensington Library , 61 Arlington Avenue , Kensington
6:30 pm - Baby Bounce
Temescal Branch Library , 5205 Telegraph Avenue , Oakland
11:45 am - (Dec 29 - Jan 2) Winter Math Camp for Kids ages 6-16
Congregation Netivot Shalom , 1316 University Ave , Berkeley
9:00 am - Great Gatsby New Year's Eve
Book Society , 2945 College Ave , Berkeley
5:00 pm
Saturday December 20
Sunday December 21
Monday December 22
Tuesday December 23
Wednesday December 24
Monday December 29
Wednesday December 31
📣 Berkeley Shout Outs!
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💬 Chatter
What your neighbors are talking about on social media
- Greetings to my Berkeley community:
I recently moved to Berkeley and my two college aged kids are coming to visit me for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year. Since I'm new to the area,… (Nextdoor McGee Spaulding) - Reunited!
My dog leapt over our fence. Please keep an eye out. 20 lbs, muscular, black with brown eyebrows. Iggy. (Nextdoor Grizzly Peak)
- University of California Berkeley posted a job opening for Criminal Justice Researcher (Associate/Full Specialist) - California Policy Lab in Berkeley. Apply here.
- Jobs for Humanity posted a job opening for Mathematics and Science Teachers in Berkeley. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Berkeley here.
Ok Berkeley! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I don’t think you know the gravity of this situation.
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