The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Leon Sykes.

For the past few weeks, talking to my friends about the Oscar Grant shooting trial, the long conversations were always the same.

They all wanted a second-degree murder verdict for former BART officer Johannes Mehserle. But everyone assumed acquittal was coming.

It didn't seem like jurors in LA felt the gravity that we felt. We were worrying about the verdict, and the response.

Fast-forward to 4:05 p.m. Thursday, July 8. I was in West Oakland, listening on the radio. I heard "guilty" and I clapped. Part of me was happy he was at least convicted. But another side of me was upset at the sentence. Two to four years doesn't seem enough. And even with the gun enhancement charge, five to 14 years doesn't seem enough.

While I do know some decent officers of the law, there are too many who are nowhere near decent, and those officers stick out. That's why so many Oaklanders were disappointed with the verdict. So when sentencing rolls around, I'm hoping the judge will take us into consideration.

Previously:

• Parks and Recreation
• Senioritis Going Viral
• Financial Dreamers

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Larry Coney

There’s a recreation center I go to play basketball with a friend. Besides the court, there’s a playground for little kids and a community center with a gym and rooms for tutoring.

There’s also an alleyway behind the gym where every day I see teenagers shooting dice or using drugs.

On a Saturday afternoon last month, police responded to an armed robbery at the park. They came back just a few hours later to make an arrest on a drug deal, in plain sight of the basketball players.

With all the illegal activity around them, what happens to the park’s younger kids? There’s more of a likelihood someday they too will become drug dealers and hustlers.

Increasing patrol cars alone won’t solve this problem. The police need to come together with the community to make our parks safer and give kids better models for finding jobs and having fun.

Previously:

• Senioritis Going Viral
• Financial Dreamers
• Learning Wall Street's Ropes

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By: Ella Ross

In the last few years, it seems that phrases like “eating local” and “sustainable” have become a part of many Bay Area residents’ vocabularies. But we tend to forget that that America’s industrialized food system has only been around for about a century.

As I saw on a recent trip to Italy, most of the world has been eating local -- forever. I used to think that eating local mostly meant avoiding produce grown in faraway places like Chile or the Philippines.

But in Italy, it means eating food produced within a few miles, and knowing the people that make and grow your food.

When my Italian relative in Tuscany makes her delicious pasta al pesto, she buys a rare strain of basil from a special vendor. She can also identify the type of pine trees that will produce the best pine nuts for her sauce. She’s friends with the woman who makes her fresh pasta. And she even grows her own olives to press into olive oil!

My relative doesn’t consider herself a foodie. She’s just making a meal, the way it’s been done – for centuries.

Previously:

• Senioritis Going Viral
• Financial Dreamers
• Learning Wall Street's Ropes

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By: Dawit Gebremedhin

I hate waking up. But if I had a choice between going to summer school early in the morning, or taking an online course whenever I wanted, I’d choose summer school. Too bad I’m not allowed.

To get into summer school you have to fail a class completely to be eligible to enroll. Meanwhile, my school counselor told me my chances of getting into free community college classes are unlikely due to state cutbacks. So, he referred me to an online university that teaches the course for 124 dollars a semester.

I’m worried I’ll struggle in an online class. The last time I had a course as hard as Geometry, the teacher had to explain a problem several different ways for me to understand it. From what I can tell, the online course won’t be as interactive.

While summer school would’ve taken up three hours each day, I’m sure it would’ve been time well spent. I can picture myself now taking the online course completely puzzled and with no help in sight.

Previously:

• The Crying Conspiracy
• Birdies are Better Than Balls
• Rights vs. Wrong

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By: Caitlin Grey

I am convinced that my high school is conspiring to make me cry by graduation day.

At first, I was impervious to their tactics. I vowed to myself I would not give in to the countless melodramatic senior activities—Senior Prom, Senior Talent Show, Senior Prank, Senior Awards Night, Senior Bonfire, you name it— I either skipped them or sat through them apathetically.

But I admit I’m beginning to crack. I got a little teary-eyed at the final meeting of Garden Club, and I’ve even indulged in the sentimental ritual of signing yearbooks. Read more...

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By: Elena Hernandez

My high school badminton team doesn’t get a lot of support, and no one really cares, or comes to watch our games. But despite that, we’re the fastest growing team.

Last year I played basketball, and after running suicides 6 days a week, I thought badminton would be a piece of cake. But this sport offers different challenges.
Read more...

By: Sayre Quevedo

If you asked me what a ‘Crush’ video was, a few months ago I would have guessed it was a shoddy video made by a love-struck tween. I would have been wrong.

When I was ten years old, my brother ran into my room; his eyes bloodshot from crying. He had just seen a video showing a raccoon skinned and hung, while its body convulsed with life. It was a ‘Crush’ video. Viral and usually home-made, they depict animal cruelty but are ruled perfectly legal with a recent 8 to 1 vote by the Supreme Court.

I have a love for the arts and therefore a love for freedom of expression. So, before writing off the 8 judges for lacking moral-conscious I recognize that rights are at stake. Maiming animals is wrong, but so is suppressing personal expression. If freedom of speech is for everyone then it’s inevitable that someone will produce something offensive or disturbing.

I love my dogs, but I love my rights more. If dealing with these crude videos is the price of the freedom to create then I guess I will just have to deal.

Previously:

• Beauty Amidst Chaos
• Traditional Food is Local Food
• Senioritis Going Viral

By: Zenobia West

Last month in Antioch, a seven-month old baby died after being left in her parents’ car for twelve hours. I don’t know whether to feel bad for the baby, or for the parents.

I was raised by over-protective parents who came into my room at all hours of the night to see if I was asleep. Which makes me think all parents should know where their kids are.

But I know it’s not always that easy. One time I left my little cousin at school and I didn’t realize it until I got all the way home. When I got back, there was my three year old cousin waiting alone in the park.

I know what it’s like to mess up especially after a long day. The parents of the baby in Antioch were getting home late after doing laundry and they were tired. The couple worked two jobs each, and juggled taking care of two kids.

Many people think parenting is part of human nature and that everyone should know how to do it. But not enough people grow up with good parents who teach us how to do it right.

Previously:

• Beauty Amidst Chaos
• Traditional Food is Local Food
• Senioritis Going Viral

By: Dawit Gebremedhin

It’s the season for the California Standards Test, which means many of my teachers and principals are walking around looking stressed. But for me, it’s the one test worth looking forwardto all year.

In the days before the test, our high school principal starts the morning announcements with reminders about the impending exam. And he even appeals for students to eat healthy breakfasts, so we can stay focused.

In class, my teachers say our school could be closed if we score too low. Some teachers have even tried a scare tactic, telling us colleges look at our scores. But that’s not true; the test affects my school’s success, not mine.

I’m already so stressed out from the 2-3 tests I take per week that actually affect my grades. Then I breathe a sigh of relief when I sit down to take the standards test.

I bubble the answers I know, and guess on the ones I don’t – which is also my strategy on regular tests. But at the end of this exam, I don’t care about those guesses I made. Instead, I put my head down and catch some stress-free sleep.

Previously:

• Beauty Amidst Chaos
• Traditional Food is Local Food
• Senioritis Going Viral

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By: Maya Cueva

Mothers can pass down many different things to their daughters -- some share their love for cooking, some their feminist fervor. I appreciate my mother for teaching me how to see through manipulative advertising in the media.

It started in elementary school. My mother would point out stereotypes in television shows and their commercial breaks. Spotting product placements was like an eye-spy game for me. She called it “reading TV.”

I remember sometimes being annoyed as my mother interrupted the shows. Yet, now, as a 16-year-old, I realize how important these lessons have been.

The teenage years are known as a time when being “cool” is the most important thing. Advertisers know this better than anybody else and saturate popular TV shows with their products. Ever notice how much Coke the American Idol judges drink?

Watching these ads with a trained eye helps me resist them—which in turn makes me an independent thinker.

If it weren’t for my mother I would probably be another teen in line at the Apple store, waiting to buy the iPad that starred in an episode of Modern Family. So thanks, Mom!

Previously:

• Senioritis Going Viral
• Financial Dreamers
• Learning Wall Street's Ropes