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At the University of California, Berkeley, hundreds of soon-to-be graduates rose from their seats in protest, chanting and disrupting their commencement. Glenn Youngkin’s speech. At the University of Wisconsin, a handful of graduates stood with their backs to their chancellor as she spoke. After weeks of tumult on college campuses over pro-Palestinian protests, many administrators prepared themselves for disruptions at graduations on Saturday. Anticipating possible disruptions, university administrators had increased their security or taken various measures, including dismantling encampments, setting aside free speech zones, canceling student speeches and issuing admission tickets.

Persons: Glenn Youngkin’s, Berkeley Organizations: University of California, Virginia Commonwealth University, Gov, University of Wisconsin, The University of Wisconsin Locations: Berkeley, U.C

☆ At U.C. Berkeley Ceremony, a Student Protest Draws in Hundreds
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Holly Secon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Befitting a campus synonymous with student protest, the graduation ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley, on Saturday blurred the lines between pomp and pro-Palestinian activism. When the university chancellor, Carol Christ, took the stage around 10:45 a.m. at the school’s Memorial Stadium, a smattering of boos erupted from graduating students. But her initial remarks, acknowledging the students camping on Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza for almost three weeks, elicited cheers. They began to chant: “Hey hey, ho ho, the occupation has got to go” and “U.C. divest.” They also interrupted the speech by the student body president, Sydney Roberts, who said, “This wouldn’t be Berkeley without a protest.”

Persons: Carol Christ, “, Sydney Roberts, ” Organizations: University of California, ” Locations: Berkeley, Gaza, ”

A jury on Thursday convicted David DePape of federal crimes for breaking into the San Francisco home of Nancy Pelosi and beating her husband with a hammer in an attack last year that raised fears of political violence ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. The jury reached its decision after deliberating for roughly eight hours following a trial that lasted four days. Mr. DePape’s lawyers did not contest the evidence against him, which included police body camera video of the attack on Paul Pelosi and Mr. DePape’s own admissions to the police and on the witness stand. Mr. DePape, 43, faces a possible sentence of life in prison. Defense lawyers had argued to the jury that Mr. DePape’s bludgeoning of Mr. Pelosi, 83, while on a mission to kidnap his wife — then the speaker of the House and second in line to the presidency — did not amount to federal crimes.

Persons: David DePape, Nancy Pelosi, Paul Pelosi, DePape’s, DePape, Mr, Pelosi, — Organizations: San Locations: San Francisco

It was a typical low-key evening for Paul Pelosi while his wife was out of town: dinner out, home around 10 p.m., watch a little television, and then lights out close to midnight. Then about two hours later, he was woken up by an intruder who burst into his third-floor bedroom. “The door opened and a very large man came in with a hammer in one hand and some ties in the other,” Mr. Pelosi, 83, told a jury on Monday. “And he said, ‘Where’s Nancy?’”In a San Francisco courtroom, Mr. Pelosi, the husband of Representative Nancy Pelosi, spoke for the first time publicly about the brutal attack last year that left him hospitalized for days with a cracked skull. The testimony came during the federal trial of David DePape, who has been accused of bludgeoning Mr. Pelosi as he sought out Ms. Pelosi, who was the speaker of the House and in Washington at the time.

Persons: Paul Pelosi, Mr, Pelosi, ‘, Nancy, ’, Nancy Pelosi, David DePape, DePape Locations: San Francisco, Washington

David DePape lived a solitary life, worked carpentry jobs and was seemingly obsessed with right-wing conspiracy theories on the internet, where he railed about “wokism,” questioned the Holocaust and embraced Pizzagate and QAnon. Then in October 2022, the police said, Mr. DePape, 43, bust into Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and bludgeoned her husband, when she was still the House speaker. The case will now be presented to a jury when Mr. DePape’s federal trial in San Francisco opens on Thursday. That the case is coming to trial at all is something of a surprise, given the evidence. Mr. DePape admitted to the crimes in a police interview after his arrest, prosecutors say.

Persons: David DePape, “, ”, DePape, Nancy Pelosi’s, Ms, Pelosi, Paul Pelosi, didn’t Locations: Francisco, United States, San Francisco

☆ Where Tech Investors Are Buying Up Land, Locals Are Worried
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Holly Secon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a rural slice of California’s Solano County, between the cities of the Bay Area and Sacramento, rumors have been swirling for years about “the Flanneries,” a mystery company buying up mostly undeveloped land. “There’s sheep farms, there’s cattle ranches, and guys that are doing hay and safflower farming,” said the employee, Ashley Morrill, 40. “That’s what they do. There’s livestock, and things to feed the livestock.”Solano County’s rural roots are still front and center in an area where a company backed by tech industry billionaires has been buying up land to create what they imagine to be a city of the future. That company, Flannery Associates, has committed roughly $900 million to secure thousands of acres of farmland, court documents show.

Persons: ”, Ashley Morrill, “, ” Solano, Flannery Organizations: Bay, Flannery Associates Locations: California’s Solano County, Bay Area, Sacramento, ”

☆ I left Amazon to work for a climate-tech startup. I now wake up every day smiling — here's how I made the switch.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Holly Secon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Rotem Yossef spent seven years at Amazon before moving to ClimateAI, a tech startup. It's all hands on deck, all day, every day. Working for a startup offers more vertical career-growth potential: It's a pure meritocracy, free of politics and rigid hierarchical structures. Working in climate tech means that when I go to work, I continue to pursue the same values. Read, read, read — and understand the dynamics and implications of working for a startup and for a startup in the space you're aiming at.

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