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This story about Fremont radar speed feedback signs was first broadcast during the Ohlone Tri-City News program on December 14, 2022.

Joahan Lopez, Reporter
Ivan Salvador, Photographer

This story about the Fremont Safe and Smart Corridor was first broadcast during the Ohlone Tri-City News program on December 14, 2022.

Armando Galan, Reporter
Natalie Delgadillo, Photographer

This story about the impact of virtual learning was first broadcast during the Ohlone Tri-City News program on December 14, 2022.

Alyanna Pasta, Reporter
Richard Kim, Photographer

REPORTER (V/O):
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was an unforgettable moment in the world. Local high school teachers still remember their reaction to it almost 3 years ago.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
We’d heard a lot about it in the news and I was following the graphs showing the increase in the number of cases and it seems that at some point we were going to have to shut down. We weren’t expecting a shutdown when we did. I think it was March 13th.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
Back in March, I remember very clearly I had just done a field trip to Chabot with my seniors. We came back from that and we were told we’d be out for a couple of weeks and that turned into a couple of years.
Reporter (V/O):
Getting accustomed to virtual learning was difficult for teachers.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
It felt like being a first year teacher again. It felt like having to relearn how to do everything because we kind of did. We had to figure out how to teach, but in a totally different way, different format.
Sean Jones, PE Teacher at Irvington
I’m just a very active individual, and for me, it became a desk job so I would sit on my computer and even though my students were moving, I wasn’t moving.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
Even something very simple, like turn to your neighbor and talk about something that happened to you last weekend. How do you do that in Zoom. You’re going to make 35 breakout rooms.
Reporter (V/O):
Teachers saw changes in students’ habits and behavior while being virtual.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
The culture here at Logan was that almost everyone’s camera was off and I would have maybe two or three students with their cameras on in any period.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
It was clear that this just wasn’t a good way to teach because like my daughter, she really needed that social interaction.
Reporter (V/O):
Teaching styles had to be adjusted to make learning at home effective.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
I had to rethink everything, actually, in addition to digitizing everything and delivering everything online.
Sean Jones, PE Teacher at Irvington
Instead of being like playing sports and interacting as a team, obviously we couldn’t do that, I turned it into a individual fitness class. So really utilizing fitness information on the internet, using Youtube, I created some of my own content and really just made it a fitness based class for individuals.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
We tried to translate the in-person experience into a Zoom experience.
Reporter (V/O):
Upon returning to in-person learning after a while, teachers noticed a difference in student life and atmosphere.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
I think that the experience of being at home and not having a lot of interaction with other adults made my students anyway, my current students, I think more insular, isolated perhaps.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
I think they were glad to be here again. But kind of almost like they forgot how to function at school.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
I feel sometimes when I’m in the classroom today, as if I’m still on Zoom and their cameras are still off, it feels like that sometimes. Occasionally I’ve had to say hello and they kind of look up at me like with surprise, like, oh, yeah, you’re still there.
Mr. Jones, PE Teacher at Irvington
Being around structure has really kind of, this year seems way more normal of a year compared to last year. So I think just being here and you know having classroom management and structure, it’ll get better as we go.
Reporter (V/O):
Despite the difficulties and challenges teachers faced while being virtual, they overcame them and got something out of it.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
I think it’s better than not having done anything for sure because, you know, we got we got to keep trying and we, you know, if nothing else, it’s a learning experience of how to face that adversity, how to deal with new new situations like that.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
Probably the biggest advantage potentially from virtual learning is that it can be asynchronous. So it doesn’t have to be everyone doesn’t have to be in class at the same time.
Reporter (V/O):
Teachers shared that they are glad to be back in the classroom again. This is Alyanna Pasta for Ohlone Tri-City News.

This story about the Made-Up Theater was first broadcast during the live Ohlone Tri-City News program on December 7, 2022.

Sean Siquig, Reporter
Andrei Domantay, Photographer

REPORTER (V/O):
The Made Up Theater on Washington Boulevard has been around since before the pandemic. What is it like to start performing in improv?
Grant Ewing, Staff & Performer:
I’ve never done improv outs ide of made up theater. This is my first and really only space. I was teaching and realizing I don’t have a chance to really do theater anymore because the services are just so time consuming. So taking a class once a week was really doable.
Victoria M., Performer:
Well, I actually am trained as a scientist, so I had no experience in improv whatsoever.
REPORTER (V/O):
Since 2018, Made Up Theatre has changed locations, now existing on the second story above a coffee shop, which is one of Fremont’s oldest buildings, built back in 1889.
Grant Ewing, Staff & Performer:
Getting to be above a coffee shop in a historical area of Fremont definitely gives the whole space a really intimate and like high culture. Feel like to know that you’re performing in a space it’s over 100 years old is such an amazing feeling as well as like we now have a much fuller set up of lights. We’re able to stream our shows online. We have our classes have expanded hugely. We got Venmo and QR codes on everything.
REPORTER:
Covid-19 had an impact on many small businesses around the world. How did Made Up Theatre’s owners adapt during quarantine from their usual hosting of weekly in-person improv shows?
Sean Taylor, Co-Owner & Improv Coach:
Like all theaters, comedy venues, concert halls, you know, we had to stop in person activities and shows, and that was really tough for us because we had only done in-person events and shows. As the weeks went by, we were like, We need to adapt to this. This is going to last for a while. So what we did is we just started doing shows from our living room.
REPORTER (V/O):
Improv is just one form of entertainment through acting; so what intrigues actors to participate in improv?
Sean Taylor, Co-Owner & Improv Coach:
You know, our connection here wasn’t very good. We had an okay connection in our house. So we just did shows every Saturday night at a pay what you want, kind of like ticket fee to come check us out. And it was very odd, you know, not to have that audience participation, that feeling of like like, you know, getting validation from an audience. And, you know, it’s something that especially during the pandemic, we didn’t have. So I think, you know, a lot of people said, you know, oh, my gosh, I really miss this, you know, having to do shows online via Zoom or just any anything without a live audience to give you that immediate feedback, you know, was so missing during the pandemic. So now we get to kind of re explore, you know, our connection with a live in-person audience. And that has kind of just been, you know, such a breath of fresh air for these people who have been kind of deprived of it for the past two plus years. There’s a lot of things I like about I love the relationship that you develop with your fellow performers, and I love that feeling of being surprised as and being able to surprise them.
Grant Ewing, Staff & Performer:
Because I’m so used to like scripted theater where you’re like, you have your lines, you might have to improvise if something goes off, but there’s a very clear narrative you’re heading to and there’s a saying in improv, it’s like, if you know you’re going, you’re already too far. Like you’re you’re you’re out of the space, you know, you’re going like it’s not improv anymore.
REPORTER (V/O):
The Made Up Theatre offers private improv coaching for those interested in becoming more experienced.
Sean Taylor, Co-Owner & Improv Coach:
This is an interactive improv comedy experience in our classes as well. You get to learn the skills that we utilize on stage, but the skills that we utilize on stage aren’t just for comedy or acting. They’re also very helpful for professional development. Personal development people take our classes, they take it maybe to be an actor or a comedian and our performers, as they go through our levels, you know, we might take performers from our classes or do auditions. And, you know, coming year is kind of like their escape for the week. You know, not all of them have like the ambitions to, like, you know, go to L.A. and become an actor. This is just a place where they get to have a creative outlet and, you know, express themselves.
Made Up Theatre is an improv comedy venue. We have shows every week. We teach classes, we do teambuilding and private events. It’s essentially, you know, something to do in Fremont that is something that it can be very lacking right now. And it’s something I’m happy to provide for the last ten plus years.
REPORTER (V/O):
This is Sean Siquig for Ohlone Tri-City news.

This story about the League of Volunteers was first broadcast during the live Ohlone Tri-City News program on December 7, 2022.

Rebecca Twyman, Reporter
Brandon Tran, Photographer

Rebecca Twyman (V.O.)
For over 40 years, the League of volunteers in Newark is a nonprofit that has been tirelessly striving to improve the community of the tri City area.
Greg Harris, Facilities Manager
We’re about promoting volunteerism in the community,
Jerry Juhl, Board of Directors Member
We do the best we can we help the needy.
Jodie Aquino-Sisk, Current Director
They help where they can. And you know, we do have certain programs where we do go year round-the adopt a family, Thanksgiving.
Donna Sick, Former Director
Where there’s a need in the community, we try to fill it with volunteers to bring that you know, fill the gap,
Sister Aquino, Employee
They really focus on trying to help people feel human and to not feel like they’re just some person that you know, that doesn’t, you know, they are just trying to give them the bare minimum, like they really try to help people to feel like they deserve to be loved. And I think that’s what’s really amazing about their thought processes and how they, they work to help other people.
Rebecca Twyman (V.O.)
Over the years they have developed, many programs do the best they can to help the community. Some of the events they host are there year round emergency food pantry, annual toy drives, Thanksgiving meals, art programs in schools, scholarships, and several free services and events to help those in need every year.
Sister Aquino, Employee
You hear about different programs that they have, like they just did something for Thanksgiving.
Jerry Juhl
We have a food bank program, where we offer a box of food of 25 items, non perishables that they can pick up once a month.
Donna Sick, Former Director
Used to do a lunch program. And then we now we provide snacks in the morning, because some of the kids come in the morning, they haven’t eaten anything yet.

Rebecca Twyman
But that’s not all they do. Every year, they help vulnerable families who are experiencing difficult times and help make their holidays magical.
Jodie Aquino-Sisk, Current Director
So we have the Adopt a family, which people can go to the website and sign up to either be adopted or to adopt a family like to actually sponsor a family. And so they would go online and it’s family who’s signed up and given their information. You can they could say like, “Hey, I’d like to adopt this family.” And then they would go through their wish list and bring all their gifts. And I believe they’re going to have them here by the 20th. And then those gifts will be given to the families.
Donna Sick, Former Director
So our adopt a family program does very well, our adopters. A lot of times if they have a tree on their wish list, they’ll give them an artificial tree and all the lights and they have a wish list that they can pick from for the kids and adopt them out.
Jodie Aquino-Sisk, Current Director
And so if the families are not adopted, we get the families together, we find out the ages of their kids and make sure that the kids have a toy and a turkey and some food so they can have a Christmas dinner and have presents under the tree.
Donna Sick, Former Director
And it makes a world of difference. And it’s not about you know a big quantity of toys, it’s just so that they can give something to their kids at Christmas.
Rebecca Twyman (V.O.)
It’s not too late to join the adopt a family events. The League of volunteers are still accepting applications for families to be adopted, and sponsors to help families in need. The last day to adopt is next Monday, December 12. And the adopted families can expect their gifts on or before December 20. They are also accepting donations, especially non perishable food to help continue growing their food pantry.
Jerry Juhl, Board of Directors Member
So we can always use donations, especially food.
Rebecca Twyman (V.O.)
They accept a wide range of donations, such as non perishable foods, clothes, toys, and many other contributions. However, time can be even more invaluable. To maintain their work for the community. They need volunteers to continue making a difference. They have many events, projects and services to serve their community throughout the year.
Jodie Aquino-Sisk, Current Director
So if you go to their website, and you click on the volunteer button, you can sign up and and there’s definitely places where you can volunteer, I would also like to get more younger volunteers to come in and have them come in because we do have a lot of older volunteers that maybe can’t help as much or, you know, they’re, they’re very passionate about it, but they can’t move around as well. And so if we got some younger volunteers with the same passion, and we can keep this organization going
Donna Sick, Former Director
We run with a great group of volunteers, we have probably two to three hundred very active volunteers.
Jodie Aquino-Sisk, Current Director
I want it to be that place where volunteers want to come and hang out and do things and they want to be around each other not because they have to because it’s because they want to.
Rebecca Twyman (V.O.)
To join the adopt a family events, give donations or volunteer you can visit lov.org On the website, you can learn more about the League of volunteers and how you can donate your resources to a good cause.
Sister Aquino, Employee
I think it just neat having organizations like League of volunteers because a lot of times you think that human nature is to turn inward and to focus on ourselves. But League of volunteers is, as well as other charitable organizations, they help us to just turn outward and focus on the needs of others.
Donna Sick, Former Director
I feel like everybody should give back in you know, your family, of course comes first and then your community.
Greg Harris, Facilities Manager
Come on down volunteer, right. It’s always a good time. And it’s always fun to help
Jerry Juhl, Board of Directors Member
And we do our best.
Jodie Aquino-Sisk, Current Director
I’m in a position right now where I can help and I would love to help
Rebecca Twyman (V.O.)
I’m Rebecca Twyman reporting for Ohlone Tri City News

This story about the Ohlone College Puente Program was first broadcast during the live Ohlone Tri-City News program on November 30, 2022.

Ivan Salvador, Reporter
Joahan Lopez, Photographer