California Magazine Archive

‘A very big deal’: Proposed legislation would tax California gun sales to fund violence prevention
By Leah Worthington“I joined the gun violence prevention movement because of school shootings like Uvalde and Parkland. Shootings that left me terrified to go to school. Shootings that left me worried that I was going to be the next headline,” the Oakland 9th grader told the senators emphatically. “I am here today pleading for a change.”

Want to Solve the Climate Crisis? Invest in Africa
By David SilverbergAs Deputy Director of World Resources Institute Africa, Shirley is on a mission to accelerate the continent’s clean energy industry and spread awareness about the paltry financing the sector currently attracts.

Stuck in the Middle
By Glen MartinKevin Sawyer is a man of many parts. He's a certified commercial and residential electrician. A trained paralegal. A skilled guitarist and pianist. He's also an inmate at San Quentin State Prison serving an indeterminate life sentence for burglary and sexual assault.

Hippie House Music: DJ Puts a New Spin on the Dead
By Leah WorthingtonAround 11 p.m., a curly-haired woman, twinkling in a black, sequined pantsuit, took to the stage to roaring applause. A tie-dye Dead shirt peeked out underneath her jacket as she fit headphones over her ears and hit play.

Eric Carter
Eric Carter recently published his second book, “In Pursuit of Health Equity: A History of Latin American Social Medicine,” with the University of North Carolina Press. Since 2012, he has been teaching at Macalester College in Minnesota, where he is the Edens Professor of Geography and Global Health. Eric lives in Saint Paul with his wife and two […]

Scott Silver
This summer marks three years of Co-founding The Quality Edit (thequalityedit.com), is a modern media company at the intersection of content, curation, and conversion. The Quality Edit has become the go-to site for product recommendations, trend forecasting and more, and Scott Silver leads the Editorial Operation with over 50 writers contributing to the site monthly. Scott just celebrated […]

Melissa Blaustein
Melissa Blaustein is currently the Mayor of Sausalito. After graduating Berkeley in 2010, she got her masters in public policy at Science Po in Paris. She is getting her second masters in Homeland Security at Monterey Army base. A dedicated swimmer, she swam the English Channel in 2018. She is founder of Allied for Startups headquartered in Brussels.

Diane Steenman
Cal ’68 classmates will commemorate our 55th reunion at the Golden Bear Luncheon on Friday, October 6, 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in Pauley Ballroom during Alumni and Parents Weekend at Homecoming. Other Golden Bears who graduated 50+ years ago will also be joining us at the luncheon. In addition to the Reunion Luncheon, the Center on […]

Susana Fattorini
Nominated by a student, Latina visual art high school teacher Susana Fattorini received a Public Service Award from Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell in 2022 during Hispanic Heritage Month, for writing the class Art & Culture, which recognizes and celebrates diverse and living artists in the curriculum, as well as a focus on exploration and expression of […]

Nakata’s Smile: Unlocking the Diaries of Jack London’s Valet
By Aleta GeorgeThe reference librarian slid the archival container across the counter. “This looks like a fun box to look through,” he said. I smiled behind my face mask.

Pac-4 Blues: Monday Morning Quarterbacking the Pac-12 Implosion
By Scott BallIn case you missed the headlines, the Pac-12, Cal’s athletic conference, blew up over the weekend, leaving observers slack-jawed.

A Writer Returns to Berkeley in his New Novella
By Deven M. PatelWriter James Terry, ’92, loved Berkeley and the culture that surrounded it—all the funky moviehouses, legendary bookstores, and iconic cafes, most of which have disappeared with the times.