Students at the Hatlen Center for the Blind in San Pablo, Calif., are learning skills most of us take for granted – life skills that will help them live independently. Now, after 36 years, the center has a chance to gain its own independence, right here in El Cerrito.

Watch the video report from ECF reporter Matt Durning to learn how.

To learn more about this unique development project, read the earlier ECF article, “A New Neighbor in El Cerrito”

BY FERNANDO GALLO AND DANIEL MCGLYNN//

The economic downturn is having a devastating effect on companies and employees alike – news of layoffs comes almost daily. But at a local level, one group also dealing with the downturn is seldom mentioned: day laborers. These workers, the majority of which are undocumented Latinos, have little choice but to stand and wait for jobs that are never guaranteed. El Cerrito Focus visited the Home Depot parking lot on San Pablo Avenue twice recently to talk to laborers and find out how they are dealing with these tough times. Listen in on how they’re dealing with today’s economic crisis.

BY N’JERI EATON//

The West Contra Costa Unified School District met with the community Wednesday night to discuss school closures at DeJean Middle School in Richmond.Each school board member, including newly elected Antonio Medrano and Tony Thurmond, addressed the audience about how they plan to handle school consolidation.

With the announcement last week about the growing state deficit, school boards across the state, including West Contra Costa Unified will be affected.  This may lead to an increased number of school closures.  Following a special session with the state Legislature, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed cutting $4.5 billion from education, health care and welfare payment.

“We were looking at closing three or four schools before, now we may be closing four or five.  We don’t know yet,” said board member Antonio Medrano.

Castro Elementary School is scheduled to close at the end of the school year.  The school board has recommended the site be used for the relocation of Portola Middle School.

BY SWETA VOHRA //

If you heard honking on the streets of El Cerrito today, it probably had little to do with the traffic.

The No on Prop 8 campaign is making last-minute efforts near local polling places on sidewalks and street corners, and many cars are using their horns to voice their support.

“If [the proposition] lost, I didn’t want to think, what if I had gone out? I wanted to give it my all,” said Dr. Susan Kegeles of Berkeley.

Kegeles has been out since early this morning by Hogan’s Garage, a polling place in north El Cerrito, handing out fliers and flashing signs at residents as they head to vote. A professor at the University of California, San Francisco who conducts research on HIV prevention among young gay men, Kegeles said, “Legalizing marriage is a way to show gays and lesbians as equals.”

Joyce Jennings and Sharon Lewis were also out near the United Methodist Church polling station earlier today. Lewis, who has a gay son, said this was the first day she’s done active campaigning and has been impressed with the hard work by the No on Prop 8 campaign. She wanted to do her part today by being out in the community.

Lewis, who came from Canada over 40 years ago, sums up her feelings about this year’s election: “If Obama doesn’t win and Proposition 8 doesn’t pass, I am thinking about moving back to Canada.”

Jennings, a resident of Berkeley, had been up since 5 a.m. campaigning at various sites in El Cerrito and the East Bay. For her, this is a very personal, emotional proposition. Jennings married her partner this past June and if Prop 8 passes, it could potentially dissolve her marriage.

“It’s really scary that it only takes a majority of people to change the constitution, which is supposed to protect our rights,” she said.

Jennings acknowledges that it’s a very emotional issue for people on both sides.

“You don’t have to support same-sex marriage morally but you can also vote no on 8,” she said.  For her, the bigger issue is about changing the constitution to eradicate basic rights.

Jennings said that while many people have been excited by their signs, there have been unpleasant and sheepish reactions. One man, according to Jennings, took a flier, threw it down, and yelled at her.

“Some straight couples have passed by me and won’t even look at me. They just don’t get it,” said Kegeles.

The campaign for No on Prop 8 will continue until the polls close at 7 p.m. today. Many of the supporters plan to be at Unitarian Universalist Church in Kensington tonight, which will have a potluck party and big screen TV to watch the election results.

It’s unclear whether voters will know the results of Prop 8 by tonight, but campaigners are going to fight until the end.

Jennings said, “I’m very nervous, but I’m out here because of it.”

BY ALEXIA UNDERWOOD & DANIEL MCGLYNN //

On October 2, the long-awaited debate between vice-presidential candidates Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin took place at Washington University in Saint Louis. In El Cerrito, a politically charged crowd gathered at the Cerrito Theater to watch the internationally televised event.

Politics mixed with popcorn and viewers got a chance to see how the Democratic and Republican running mates stacked up against each other.

The El Cerrito Focus caught up with some viewers to get their thoughts on how the vice-presidential candidates performed. Just like the presidential debates, the event was free, and required waiting in a long line to get in. Once inside, the crowd booed, whistled, laughed, and even yelled at the screen as the candidates worked their way through an evening of domestic issues, financial woes and foreign policy.

In this video, you can see for yourself what some members of the audience had to say.

BY N’JERI EATON//

The West Contra Costa County United Democratic Campaign Headquarters held a Get Out the Vote Rally in El Cerrito on Sunday to celebrate the work of volunteers.

BY N’JERI EATON//

A rowdy crowd of local residents gathered at the Cerrito Speakeasy to watch the vice-presidential debate.

BY FERNANDO GALLO//

Councilmember Sandi Potter talks about why she came to El Cerrito, the redevelopment of the Cerrito Speakeasy, and the arts movement in El Cerrito.

The Farmer’s Market in the El Cerrito Plaza is a cornucopia of sound, color and fragrance.  Watch this video to get a taste and then experience it for yourself, every Tuesday and Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.