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THE MAGAZINE OF OAKLAND, BERKELEY AND THE WORLD THAT REVOLVES AROUND US

EDUCATION ISSUE

January 2026

The

HOW CASSIE YE SCALED A HOME-BASED E-COMMERCE BUSINESS INTO $100 MILLION APPAREL COMPANY

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January 2026

EDUCATE ME

THE MAGAZINE OF OAKLAND, BERKELEY AND THE WORLD THAT REVOLVES AROUND US

BOSS MOM

A letter from our editor 4

Ballet class sparks thriving business 20

CONTINUED LEARNING

Classes help us grow 6

SWEET TREATS

Petite LaFleur exalts confections 24

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Campuses face federal restrictions 12

KITCHEN CONDIMENTS

Tips for making mustards 28

POWERING AI

Data centers outpace clean energy 16

COUNTRY POET

Andrés Miguel Cervantes sings stories 32

Keeping warm in the winter months Warm yourself from the inside out with our selection

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Karen Klaber

PRODUCTION OPERATIONS MANAGER Zk Bradley

EDITOR Samantha Campos

CREATIVE SERVICES PRODUCTION MANAGER

COPY EDITOR

Deb Fisher

Suzanne Michel

CONTRIBUTORS Aaron Cantú Jeffrey Edalatpour Lou Fancher Stephanie Lam James Libresco Daniel O’Donnell j. poet

SENIOR DESIGNER Jackie Mujica

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elena Razgonov

EDITORIAL DESIGNER Phaedra Strecher Heinen

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Lisa Santos

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGERS Danielle McCoy Ben Grambergu Lynda Rael Sharon Zuberbier

CEO/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Dan Pulcrano

DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES Cindy Couling

of tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and house-made soups. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Monday–Saturday 9 AM to 8 PM Sunday 9 AM to 7 PM –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

ON THE COVER Photo of Cassie Ye, courtesy of Stelle

AN EAST BAY EXPRESS PRODUCTION www.eastbaymag.com TELEPHONE: 510.879.3700

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CLASS IS IN SESSION A stack of biblio-lessons awaits at my favorite used bookstore bar in Oakland, Clio’s.

Power Knowledge Is

What motivates our quest to learn?

Aaron Cantú reports on energy issues for Capital & Main, has been nominated for a dozen awards and earned top honors from the California News Publishers Association. Jeffrey Edalatpour writes about arts, food and culture for SF Weekly, Metro Silicon Valley, East Bay Express and KQED Arts.

Ed” unpacks the Trump administration’s effort to pressure elite U.S. universities into sweeping ideological changes, threatening federal funding unless campuses accepted new restrictions on speech and governance. A Hayward mom used her science education to create a children’s dancewear line after her oldest daughter started ballet. Cassie Ye launched Stelle from her garage, building the company without venture capital and applying a methodical, testing-driven approach. The results were striking: Stelle’s sales reached $100 million while Ye was largely running the business on her own. Former pastry chef Suzanne LaFleur launched her Berkeley company after working as a production manager at Dandelion Chocolate to learn about manufacturing. Petite LaFleur is now known for its signature salted dark chocolate honeycomb candy and also makes a golden popcorn bark. And to further our edification, we present East Bay organizations that offer

Lou Fancher has been published in Diablo Magazine, Oakland Tribune, InDance, San Francisco Classical Voice, SF Weekly, WIRED.com and elsewhere. Stephanie Lam reports on local news and feature stories for a mix for Bay Area and national publications.

hands-on classes on niche topics: from stained glass making and woodturning to cooking, sewing and homesteading techniques like canning, soap making and herbal medicine. Continuing our home-schooling, we explore mustard as a condiment, highlighting its ancient history and growing popularity. We also learn how to incorporate contemporary artisanal and seasonal flavors with five simple recipes. Hearing a Bert Jansch record at 25 sparked local musician Miguel Andrés Cervantes to learn fingerpicking. He’s also inspired by the profound simplicity of artists like Townes Van Zandt and Leonard Cohen. His subsequent music could now be described as Mexican-American folk/ country—or “Western noir.” To me, Cervantes’ approach offers a version of that balance: learning from masters, paying close attention and building something meaningful from ordinary moments—one record, one song, one careful step at a time. —Samantha Campos

James Libresco is a first-year student at Brown University studying political science. Daniel O’Donnell is the co-owner and operator of an organic landscape design/build company in Fremont, Chrysalis-Gardens.com.

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA CAMPOS

have always disliked the proverb, “Ignorance is bliss.” If only I had the choice, I sometimes grumble to myself. I tend to believe the opposite—that paying attention matters—even if our informationsaturated world has lately challenged this notion, along with my mental well-being. As with most things, it’s about finding that balance: seeking meaningful understanding without losing the pleasure of simply noticing what’s in front of you. Somewhere between “learning how the world wags and what wags it” and maintaining a childlike wonder at the absurd miracle of it all. That tension—between depth and delight, knowledge and wonder—runs through this issue. In “Fueling AI,” we examine how the surging electricity demand from nearly 300 California data centers, many powering AI inference models, is quietly straining the state’s clean energy goals and propping up the fossil fuel industry. Project Censored’s “Trump vs. Higher

j. poet has been writing about music for most of his adult life and has interviewed a wide spectrum of artists, including Leonard Cohen, Merle Haggard and Godzilla.

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PINS AND NEEDLES The Sewing Room in Alameda teaches things like how to use a sewing machine, and how to work with different fabrics and patterns.

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Liveand Learn

A guide to some of the East Bay’s most unique educational opportunities BY Stephanie Lam

n the Bay Area, learning opportunities aren’t just confined to a college or high school classroom. Several East Bay organizations offer hands-on classes on niche topics: from stained glass making to urban farming and cooking. The activities are open to people of all ages, experience levels and abilities, and are taught by local professionals. Whether one is looking for a new hobby or seeking a bonding opportunity with a group of friends, they may check out the following classes in the area.

Stained Glass Making

Stained Glass Garden, 1800 Fourth St., Berkeley, 510.841.2200. Open all week from 10am to 5pm. BLOWN AND FUSED Berkeley’s Stained Glass Garden offers weekly introductory courses on how to make glass panels and mosaics.

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With its translucent colors and intricate designs, stained glass is mesmerizing to look at. Stained Glass Garden, a Berkeley-based business, offers weekly introductory courses on how to make glass panels and mosaics. Participants can learn techniques like glass fusing or decorating from the center’s instructors. The space also doubles as a shop, where community members can purchase art glass supplies and handmade glass gifts made by Bay Area artists.

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THE BUZZ Urban Farm Oasis is a Berkeley-based, communitycentered urban farm store with classes on beekeeping.

Urban Farming If soaking in soil and being around bees sounds like fun, then Urban Farm Oasis has one covered. This Berkeley-based, community-centered urban farm store hosts classes on beekeeping, where locals can discover the basics of starting a hive and using equipment. There are also occasional gardening classes that demonstrate how to plant and care for unique plants. The Oasis store also sells beekeeping supplies, live chicks, chicken feed and other urban farming essentials.

Embroidery Yarns, needles and a sense of creativity are the only things needed to create elaborate embroidery and knitted items. In Alameda, Coven of Stitches provides community classes on how to utilize

Coven of Stitches, 1602 Webster St., Alameda, 510.263.8039. Open Wed to Fri from noon to 8pm, Saturday from 10am to 6pm and Sunday from noon to 6pm.

Urban Homesteading There is a craft to living sustainably and self-sufficiently in an urban environment, and The Institute of Urban Homesteading knows all about it. This organization offers classes in Berkeley and Oakland on mastering age-old techniques like canning, soap making and herbal medicine. Each class is held inside

the private homes or gardens of the organization’s instructors or at other community homestead sites. The Institute of Urban Homesteading, iuhoakland.com, Oakland and Berkeley.

Sewing Fabrics and thread come to life in local sewing classes. The Sewing Room in Alameda has an array of classes, including how to use a sewing machine, and a review of how to work with different fabrics and patterns. Class sizes are between four to six students, and sewing supplies and stock fabrics are provided. Locals can experiment with making projects like a zipper pouch, tote bag or apron. The Sewing Room also has a Fashion Studies series, where adults and teens can learn about designing and making clothes from scratch. The Sewing Room, 1419 Park St., Alameda, 510.710.9525. Open Monday, Tuesday, Friday from noon to 5:30pm, Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 8pm, Saturday from 10am to 5:30pm and Sunday from 10am to 3pm; thesewingroomalameda.com.

PHOTO BY WIRESTOCK CREATORS, SHUTTERSTOCK

Urban Farm Oasis, 1441 Ashby Ave., Berkeley, 510.665.5509. Open daily from 10am to 6pm.

yarn, whether it be through embroidery, needle felting, crochet or knitting. The organization launched in 2023 to share the art of crafting with locals.

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Discover, create, and make new friends at O’Dowd’s Summer Academy!

ising 6th–9th graders dive into exciting academic and enrichment classes, meet new friends, and discover their strengths—all on O’Dowd’s welcoming campus in the Oakland hills.

Bishop O’Dowd High School

From math and Spanish to drama, gardening, and beyond, students learn by doing: small classes, creative projects, and plenty of collaborative, confidencebuilding fun.

Flexible morning and afternoon options let families design the schedule that works best. And with free lunch for students taking 3+ classes, it’s easier than ever to spend the day learning, laughing, and exploring what it means to be a Dragon. “Summer Academy was a fantastic experience for my daughter— It’s why we ultimately chose O’Dowd for high school.” —Parent of a Current 12th Grader

9500 Stearns Ave, Oakland, CA 94605 | 510.577.9100 | www.bishopodowd.org/summer JANUARY 2026 | EASTBAYMAG.COM | EAST BAY MAGAZINE

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YES, CHEF Kitchen on Fire is a cooking school that offers hands-on experiences in Berkeley and Oakland.

Music/Jazz A wide range of music classes and ensembles awaits adult musicians of all skill levels at The Jazz School. The classes cover different styles, including jazz, blues, Brazilian, funk and Latin. Locals can test their skills on the piano and keyboard, guitars, drums and percussion. The school also has ensembles for people to join, and the groups perform free events for the public. The Jazz School, 2087 Addison St., Berkeley, Mon to Wed from 4 to 10pm, Thursday from 10am to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm; jazzschool.org.

Dance

Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, 2704 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley, 510.654-5921. Open Mon to Thu from 9am to 9pm, Fri from 9am to 8pm and Sat and Sun from 9am to 6pm; shawlanderson.org.

Industrial Art

Ever wanted to learn how to be a home chef? Kitchen on Fire is a cooking school that offers hands-on experiences in Berkeley and Oakland. Their list of classes includes a 12-week course on learning cooking basics, and an introductory class on using knives and other equipment. The organization also offers food-specific cooking classes on how to make the best dosas, sushi, pizza, dumplings and other familiar dishes. Day and night classes are offered weekly at the two locations and are taught by trained chefs.

Woodturning, glass making and flameworking are all classes locals can take at The Crucible in Oakland. The nonprofit organization and art school aims to make fine and industrial arts accessible to locals of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. Crucible has 18 departments for every interest and level of experience. Participants can learn arts like ceramic making, welding and even blacksmithing from professionals. The organization also offers full and partial scholarships for youths and adults who would otherwise not be able to participate in classes or camps.

Kitchen on Fire, 1509 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley; 6506 San Pablo Ave., Oakland; 510.548.2665; kitchenonfire.com.

The Crucible, 1260 7th St., Oakland, 510.444.0919. Open Mon to Fri from 10am to 10pm and Sat and Sun from 10am to 5pm; thecrucible.org.

INDUSTRIAL ARTS The Crucible in Oakland offers classes for a multitude of interests, like ceramic making, welding and even blacksmithing.

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Adults hoping to immerse themselves in the world of dance can shuffle their way towards the Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley. The center hosts dance classes, from contemporary ballet and modern to belly dancing and hiphop. Their ongoing dance classes run on a drop-in basis, while their four-week courses begin at the start of every month. Financial aid programs are available for adults who qualify under the center’s requirements.

Cooking

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Honoring Our Past. Building the Future.

ounded in 1887, Head-Royce is a diverse K–12 school nestled in the Oakland hills that serves families seeking a transformative educational experience. As a 138-year-old institution—and the third oldest independent school in California—

Head-Royce is steeped in tradition, but progressive in its approach to teaching. Our mission is to develop students of character, intellect, and creativity, and with those three core values in mind, we put students first in everything that we do.

4315 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, CA 94602 | 510.531.1300 | http://www.headroyce.org

WHERE CHALLENGE MEETS BALANCE.

entley School is an intellectually curious and inclusive community where teachers embrace the strengths of every student, helping them to achieve their full potential. At Bentley, we believe a culture that balances academic achievement, co-curricular engagement, and socialemotional well-being creates the most transformative student experiences. Please schedule a visit to learn more.

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Trump vs.

Higher Ed BY James Libresco

fter waging war on public broadcasting and the arts, the Trump administration threatened last fall to cut federal funding to nine prominent colleges unless they restricted campus speech that opposed conservatives. “Academic freedom is not absolute,” read part of a Compact for Excellence in Higher Education that offered the schools preferential research funding if they obliged with a laundry list of demands

that would restrict expression. If any school refused the demands, it “elects to forego federal benefits,” the compact read. While the corporate media chose to gloss over the full extent to which the proposal undermined free expression, thousands of students across the country read it for themselves and took to the streets, demanding that their schools not capitulate. And although none of the initial nine universities have signed on thus far, President Donald Trump has now offered the agreement to every college in the country.

PHOTO BY EDWIN ANDRADE

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RAISE YOUR HAND Brown University professor Timmons Roberts says Trump’s proposed policies are ‘a direct attack on the freedom of speech.’

What Does the Compact Say? The compact was sent on Oct. 2 to the University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia. Nine pages long, it listed almost two dozen demands. Among the most

controversial was one requiring schools to abolish “institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.” Students noted these terms were vague, perhaps intentionally. “What does that mean?” said Raya Gupta, a freshman at Brown who protested the compact. “We can be pretty sure that the Trump administration is going to use that to shut down programs like the Center for Students of Color and our LGBTQ+ center.” The compact also demanded professors, when acting “as university representatives,” refrain from speaking on “societal and political events.” Timmons Roberts, a professor of environment and society at Brown, said his courses on climate change fall into those categories. “How am I going to teach what I need to teach?” he said. “That is a direct attack on the freedom of speech.” In another clause, the compact demanded that universities “screen out” international students who “demonstrate hostility” to U.S. values and allies, and share “all available information” with the State Department. Universities risk “saturating the campus with noxious values, such as antiSemitism,” the compact read. Notably, the State Department last year revoked the visas of hundreds of students it accuses without evidence of supporting antisemitic terrorism. Students and faculty claimed other demands—a limit on international students to 15% of the school population, sex-based definitions of gender and an SAT requirement—eroded institutional independence. “We are not a dog,” said Clay Dickerson, the student council president at UVA, at a protest. “We are not to be leashed up by the federal government and dragged around.”

How Did Universities Respond? Although federal officials set a final deadline of Nov. 21 to respond to the compact, seven of the original nine schools had already rejected it at the time.

Emphasizing the importance of academic freedom, Vanderbilt stated it was providing feedback as part of a dialogue but not yet deciding whether to accept or reject the compact. The University of Texas at Austin’s response was more positive, welcoming the opportunity and expressing a desire to work with the administration. However, it has yet to publicly commit to signing the agreement. But, in a social media post, Trump expanded the compact’s scope to all universities, claiming it will “bring about the Golden Age” of higher education. While only two universities—the New College of Florida and Valley Forge Military College—have officially agreed to the compact, many of the schools that rejected it appeared more concerned with preserving merit-based research funding than protecting free expression. In his response to the federal government, Arizona president Suresh Garimella wrote that his school has “much common ground” with the compact’s ideas, but does not agree with “a federal research funding system based on anything other than merit.” UVA interim president Paul Mahoney’s response was almost identical. Penn president Larry Jameson’s only justification was that he is “committed to merit-based achievement.” MIT president Sally Kornbluth wrote that the compact would “restrict” her school’s independence. But “fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone,” she wrote. Only three schools—Brown, Dartmouth and USC—heavily emphasized academic freedom in their responses. “It’s disappointing,” said Jade Personna, a senior at MIT who protested against the compact, “that the school, which has a lot more power and leverage than I do, is not willing to stand up for us in that way.” Personna said she believed MIT treaded lightly to prevent a brash response from Trump. But she would have preferred “stronger language,” she added. It remains unclear what will happen to the schools that did not sign. In early November, Project Censored requested comment from the Education Department, but received an

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automated response: “Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of [a spending bill]. … We will respond to emails once government functions resume.”

What Did the Media Cover? The Wall Street Journal reported first on the compact, but its main and deck headlines included no mention of free speech. Six paragraphs in, after referencing the SAT requirement, the story mentioned the clause banning “institutional units” that “belittle” conservative values. The article included no reference to clauses prohibiting professors from discussing “societal and political events” and mandating that schools screen foreign students who “demonstrate hostility” to U.S. allies. Neither did stories by The New York Times, CNN and USA Today. The Washington Post’s story does mention the “societal and political events” clause—30 paragraphs in. But, like the others, it doesn’t say international students would be screened for their values. In its framing, CNN initially downplayed free speech implications, describing the effective ban on anticonservative speech as a policy “to foster ‘a vibrant marketplace of ideas on campus,’”

‘How am I going to teach what I need to teach? That is a direct attack on the freedom of speech.’ — TIMMONS ROBERTS, PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY AT BROWN

before quoting the rest of the clause seven paragraphs in. Personna, the MIT student, said it was “concerning” to see that the establishment press did not cover all of the compact’s freespeech implications. Although she read the compact in full, individuals who relied on media summaries may have lacked critical information. “We all need to look at the things that are most alarming,” she said in reference to the compact’s free-speech clauses, because they can become a “stepping

stone for the Trump administration to expand its power further.” But even with the selective coverage, student groups on campus publicized the unfiltered truth, Personna said. “The Trump administration very much miscalculated … how easy it would be to coerce people into signing something like this,” she said. This article has been printed with permission from Project Censored. It was written before the campus shooting at Brown University.

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The Child Unique Montessori School and Montessori Elementary Intermediate School of Alameda

he Child Unique Montessori School and Montessori Elementary Intermediate School of Alameda serve children at three campuses from 18 months through 8th grade. Renowned for its adherence to Montessori philosophy and social justice emphasis, we offer a sensorial, living experience to learn and honor the people within the world around us. We create a student-centered

environment which fosters curiosity, love of learning, critical thinking, and an understanding of identity, belonging, diversity, inclusion, and justice. The arts (music, performing and creative arts) and culture (second language lessons and inclusion) are bookends to our curriculum. And although our school seeks continual diversity, we recognize that diversity alone is not inclusion. With carefully crafted scaffolding, we help children learn in real time how to care for living things, including those who are different from them.

• Award winning school • Award winning students • Award winning principal • Small classes/tight ratios • 2 bilingual immersion classrooms: Mandarin/Spanish 2226 Encinal Ave., Alameda 510-521-9227 thechildunique.org

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory High School

acred Heart Cathedral is a private high school that offers a rigorous and innovative academic curriculum complemented by outstanding arts and athletics programs. Our faculty ensures students receive the best education within an inclusive Catholic community of faith. SHC offers 25 AP courses, opportunities to compete in 24 sports, round-trip East Bay

transportation and state-of-the-art facilities, including a 300-seat theater, a spacious theater workshop, a 12,000-square-foot library and fitness and athletic performance centers. With 100 percent college acceptance, graduates attend top universities, including Stanford, Notre Dame and UC Berkeley.

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Fueling The high cost of clean energy

PHOTO BY KM STOCK, SHUTTERSTOCK

BY Aaron Cantú

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urging electricity demand from data centers across the U.S. is outpacing the supply of new clean energy sources, helping to sustain the fossil fuel industry. It’s a dynamic at play in California, where renewable energy is limited and expensive while power from existing natural gas plants is available and cheap. Home to Silicon Valley, California now has nearly 300 data centers, many of which require around the clock power to run pre-trained artificial intelligence inference models. More are planned, and their combined power needs could be substantial. So could their pollution output, which comes from high electricity use and on-site diesel generators. By 2030, California’s data centers could consume the equivalent of adding another city the size of Los Angeles to the grid. In the last two years, investor-owned utility Pacific Gas & Electric has had twice as many applications for large customers than during the previous eight years,

POWERED UP California now has nearly 300 data centers, many of which operate around the clock.

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«mostly from new Bay Area data centers.

In filings to the California Public Utilities Commission, which is considering updates to its clean energy incentives, PG&E cited data centers and headwinds against renewable energy as reasons that regulators should allow millions more tons of climate-heating emissions by 2030. “The volume of data center load was previously not considered” when the commission set a target of capping grid emissions at 30 million metric tons, PG&E wrote. The utility suggested it should instead be 38 million, a difference equal to 21 additional fossil gas plants operating for a full year. It would put the state at the upper limit of its goal to slash grid emissions by decade’s end. The AI load comes at a challenging time for California, whose data center power consumption is among the highest in the nation. The state also wants 5 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030 compared to 1.9 million today. In 20 years, state law requires California to have a fully clean energy grid, even as it pushes for millions of additional electric cars and anticipates far more complex data center power demands. But for large buyers of power, clean energy currently comes at a premium, limiting its use. A years-long delay for grid interconnection at the California Independent System Operator, as well as high demand and financing costs, are contributing factors, as is the abrupt end of federal clean energy tax credits and other anti-renewables assaults under President Donald Trump. That offers an advantage to operators of existing gas plants, which now power more than a third of California’s grid, even as renewables have surged. Prices for renewable energy in longterm purchasing contracts are “some of the highest that I’ve seen in the last 20 years,” said Monica Padilla, CEO of Silicon Valley Clean Energy. Her organization, a community choice aggregator that buys renewable electricity for customers, serves three data centers. Over the last year, “We started seeing these huge load growth” forecasts from the state, Padilla said. Meanwhile, prices per megawatt for solar, wind, geothermal and battery storage have doubled or

While many data centers are in Silicon Valley, more than half of the state’s most polluting gas plants are in communities with high levels of poverty, disease and pollution. tripled since 2018. “We can’t do it just with renewables right now. They’re too expensive,” she continued. While many data centers are in Silicon Valley, more than half of the state’s most polluting gas plants are in communities with high levels of poverty, disease and pollution, a report by California Environmental Justice Alliance and the Sierra Club found. At least nine of the gas plants are releasing levels of nitrogen oxides, a smog-forming group of pollutants, that are above federal limits. But the AI boom has undercut the efforts of advocates to phase out natural gas. After releasing the report, environmentalists intended to “start working long term to phase down natural gas plants,” said Sam Brown, who lives four miles from the Walnut Creek Energy Center, a top polluter, in Los Angeles County, and knocked on doors to warn of the danger. “With the amount of consumption of energy with AI, I think it’s going to look a lot less likely now,” Brown added.

Capturing Clean Credits Yet some gas plant operators say they have a solution: capturing the carbon. More specifically, using chemical amines such as monoethanolamine, which binds to carbon dioxide molecules in gas to prevent them from being emitted and warming the atmosphere. The technology has, however, failed to meet capture targets worldwide and requires large sums of capital to retrofit onto power plants. It’s also energy

intensive. Research from MIT found that reheating amines to remove the carbon and then compressing it eats 15% more of the plant’s energy. Additional investment and energy are needed to pipe the compressed carbon for permanent sequestration, such as burying it. Despite those issues, the idea of retrofits has been embraced in California’s blueprint for cutting emissions, after years of advocacy by influential oil and gas lobbyists. Some companies are lobbying the Public Utilities Commission to allow power from gas plants retrofitted with new pipelines and amine absorbers and regenerators to receive clean energy credits. California Resources Corporation, which operates thousands of oil wells in addition to the 550 megawatt Elk Hills gas plant in Kern County, described gas plants such as those affixed with amine tanks as an “ideal” renewable energy resource, even better than wind or solar. The company said it could also reduce pollutants like nitrogen oxides; the plant released 88.5 tons of them in 2023, as well as volatile organic compounds, atmosphere-heating methane and other pollutants. In a call with investors in May, CEO Francisco Leon said his company was “pursuing multiple new opportunities with AI data center companies.” Its subsidiary, Carbon TerraVault, received federal permits in 2024 to construct four carbon injection wells in which it plans to bury 1.5 million metric tons of carbon annually through 2050. Even if this project succeeds, it wouldn’t address methane leaks that comprise 25% to 48% of emissions from gas-fired power,

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a paper published by Stanford researchers found. And the amines eventually degrade into cancer-causing nitrosamines and ammonia that pollute the air, the paper concluded. The company didn’t respond when asked how soon its power plant might begin capturing carbon. Another company, Calpine Energy, wrote to the commission that gas-fired power plants retrofitted with carbon capture technology are “essential to achieving” California’s emissions goals. Even as renewables have grown as a share of grid power since 2009, Calpine’s 22 gas plants saw some of their largest peak loads and emissions in the last five years, especially during heat waves as people cranked up air conditioners. That includes the Los Medanos Energy Center, a 500 megawatt gas plant in the Bay Area that emitted record carbon levels in 2022. Calpine is seeking permits to capture small amounts of carbon there, and was overseeing a federally funded pilot project at another plant before funding was cut.

Calpine didn’t respond to questions about its carbon capture projects. Calpine and California Resources Corporation have for years been driving forces behind carbon capture regulations in the California Legislature, including this year’s AB 881 and SB 614, both of which task the Office of the State Fire Marshal with regulating carbon pipelines and are awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature. The companies spent a combined $2.56 million on lobbying since 2023, not including trade groups. Some gas power plant owners, including Calpine, are installing battery storage systems on their properties that already have interconnections to the grid. For Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s Padilla, that’s a good step. Her group recently bought power from a Central Valley natural gas plant owned by Middle River Power with a battery installed on site. The battery delivers electricity in the evening before the gas turbine kicks on. “It makes sense to utilize that interconnection capacity for clean resources as well,” Padilla said.

But even as it operates the battery, Middle River Power, which is owned by data-center investor Partners Group, told the Public Utilities Commission last summer that renewable energy sources were unpredictable and variable. Gasfired power plants that capture carbon, by contrast, hold “great promise” and deserve clean energy credits. With operational carbon capture for the state’s gas plants potentially years away, regulators run the risk of creating an impression that the technology allows companies to “guiltlessly combust fossil fuels,” said Sascha von Meier, a senior advisor at the California Institute for Energy and Environment. Natural gas should be treated as a “transitional aid” to renewable energy, von Meier said, not a permanent solution. But the unpredictable growth of computational power for AI creates uncertainty. Added von Meier, “There’s a potential for it to just be totally out of control.” This article was produced by Capital & Main. It is published here with permission.

JANUARY JANUARY 2026 2026 | EASTBAYMAG.COM EASTBAYMAG.COM | EAST BAY MAGAZINE

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STELLE STYLE Among the bestselling lines are the children’s ballet products, as well as the tennis and pickleball skirts for adults.

Mot herh ood

Breed s

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HAYWARD HEADQUARTERS Mom-of-three Cassie Ye of San Mateo founded Stelle in 2014 to provide stylish dancewear and athleisure for women and kids.

Cassie Ye goes from pharmaceutical industry to dancewear for kids with Stelle BY Lou Fancher

The company quickly added softball clothing when her daughter’s interests shifted, followed by a full line of kids’ apparel and activewear for women. Working out of her San Mateo home’s garage, Ye jumped into the retail industry full force. “I chose high-quality vendors, built my team one-by-one and did a little of everything,” says Ye. “We started selling on Amazon, which was a good place to start a small business. They provided all the packaging, sales fulfillment, tracking returns, everything. My garage was like a warehouse center. We shipped things after repackaging them, repaired returns, resold never-worn items in original packaging. Later, we added our own designs.” Ye’s background in science and the discipline necessary to earn a doctorate translated into vital business strengths. “My Ph.D. training had a profound

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF STELLE

otherhood does not automatically cause a person to become an entrepreneur. But in the case of Cassie Ye, it did. In 2014, she founded her company, Stelle. The year was a big one. The birth of identical twin girls meant Ye; her husband, Joey Jia; and their first daughter were now a family of five. With a Ph.D. in pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Utah and a B.S. in polymer science from Fudan University, Ye wasn’t content to simply be a stay-at-home mom. After the couple’s oldest daughter began studying ballet, Ye developed and launched Stelle with the germinative idea of producing dancewear for kids. Headquartered in Hayward, Stelle in the early years offered dance tights, leotards, tutus, practice skirts and shoes.

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‘My philosophy is, if you keep working, you grow.’ — CASSIE YE

« influence,” she notes. “You start from

PRODUCT PICKS Women’s yoga and lounge pants, slim-fit athletic jackets and Stelle’s casual business pants in multiple colors also move briskly.

one piece of paper, design experiments, do research, do repeated testing. You’re building something from nothing.” Most startups find seed investors, using the early funds to rapidly develop a business. “We—my husband was advising me—didn’t pitch venture capitalists,” says Ye. “We built and learned slowly. I was doing everything on my own. I knew I needed to purchase from high-quality vendors; the process was deliberate. If we did anything wrong, we moved quickly to correct it. My philosophy is, if you keep working, you grow.” Stelle’s sales revenue reached $100 million while she was primarily operating the business singlehandedly. After building her team, reaching benchmark goals marked achievements everyone shared. “We also expanded from the five products I started,” recalls Ye. “Every time I made something new for my girls and they liked it, I was very satisfied and put it into production right away.” Most surprising to Ye was that creating Stelle was not more arduous. “I had control, flexibility, and I could balance my mom/work lives,” she says. “To be honest, I wasn’t overly aggressive or ambitious at first. I took it as a task, rather than a career. I wasn’t dreaming huge. I just wanted to do steady, solid steps.” The number one priority was offering only superior items. And the fabrics were selected deliberately, with reasonable price points in mind. Good designs and vendors with strong quality controls in their manufacturing processes were also a focus from day one. “You sometimes order things, and they’re not what you thought you were getting,” explains Ye. “You have to call a stop and have them fix it. We have high-quality standards. If you have that, customers will come and stay.”

Among the bestselling lines are the children’s ballet products, as well as the tennis and pickleball skirts for adults. Close behind for all customers are leggings, sweatshirts, activewear tops, and clogs and slippers. Women’s yoga and lounge pants, slim-fit athletic jackets and Stelle’s remarkably versatile, well-designed casual business pants in multiple colors also move briskly. Product additions already on the platform or in the pipeline include TicTac-Toe patterned kids’ sweaters, new underclothes, adult sweatshirts with luxury-style prints, and overall, new and brighter colors beyond the current season’s dusty pink, burgundy, charcoal, burnt orange, mocha and ever-popular black. Stelle gives back annually from the company’s success, donating to schools, community charities and nonprofit fundraisers. As of November 2025, the donated items total is at 31,370, with an average of 6,000 pieces per year. “Donation is always a good thing, because we’re all part of society,” says Ye. “We make things people love and can use. Our clothes and shoes have gone to the local community and to people in Guatemala. It’s not something I think of as special. It’s something you should do if you have the ability, time, money or products you make.” Asked about future goals, Ye says she would like to move beyond being an entirely e-commerce company to establishing a local bricks-and-mortar store. “I want to keep good quality items and make exclusively my own brand line. I want to make Stelle a top brand in the U.S., maybe in the world,” she explains. “I have the patience for that. I just have to bring belief to people on my team and keep us moving in the right direction.” Stelle, stelleworld.com.

22 EAST BAY MAGAZINE | EASTBAYMAG.COM | JANUARY 2026

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12/18/25 8:20 AM

MARKET HALL TREAT It all started with Petite LaFleur’s signature salted dark chocolate honeycomb candy, made from local honey.

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Petite

LaFleur A taste of honey, much sweeter than wine

BY Jeffrey Edalatpour

hails from Europe. The shelves are stacked high with Italian panettone and biscotti, French teas, British jams and curds, Greek olives and Scandinavian tinned fish. Petite LaFleur is an exception to the European rule at Market Hall Foods. Suzanne LaFleur’s chocolate business is based in Berkeley. A former pastry chef, LaFleur launched her own company after taking a job as a production manager at Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco. “The whole point of getting that job was because I wanted to learn [about chocolate] manufacturing from a raw agricultural product into a product for the customer,” she said. As the sole proprietor and chocolatier at Petite LaFleur, she’s currently making two products, a golden popcorn bark and the aforementioned honeycomb candy, which, it turns out, is actually made out of honey and not honeycomb. “It’s called honeycomb because of the texture,” LaFleur explained. “Basically, the ‘honeycomb’ I make is an aerated honey toffee.” It has a caramel-like quality on the

tongue, but the floral and earthy flavor is informed by the activity of bees as they travel through the air and land on soft beds of pollen. LaFleur sources her honey from Khaled Almaghafi’s Bee Healthy Honey Shop in Oakland. He’s been making honey and distributing it in the Bay Area since 1992. As proof of his bona fides, his social media account swarms with images of himself draped in blankets of busy bees jauntily strolling around his face and torso. Almaghafi clearly does not suffer from apiphobia. When she picks up her five-gallon order of honey, LaFleur noted that he’s rarely at the shop. “He’s often out in the field removing wasp’s nests and moving bee colonies, things like that,” she explained. While working as a pastry chef, LaFleur made plated desserts with honeycomb as a component “to add a little crunch.” But when a friend of hers handed her a Crunchie bar from the UK, she had an inspirational aha moment. “It’s a honeycomb bar, but it’s very sweet,”

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PHOTOS BY BOBBI LIN

fter dinner at a friend’s house the other night, she laid out a small plate with pieces of candy. There were dark chocolate peppermint creams made by Summerdown, a company based in Hampshire. Their tagline sounds like it was copied straight out of a Midwich Cuckoos’ chapter: “We are the peppermint people.” The Summerdown cult also makes versions of their mints in the shape or form of dominoes, crisps, fondants and truffles. Like Mr. Creosote, I only required one thin mint to satisfy my sweet tooth. On another occasion, my friend handed me a bag of Petite LaFleur’s signature salted dark chocolate honeycomb candy. She’d found both of these confections at Rockridge Market Hall. The “market” section of the hall has continued to evolve over time into an haute bourgeois version of Cost Plus, which has been rebranded as World Market since my last visit there. Most of the “world” represented at the College Avenue gourmet grocery store

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« LaFleur said. And, instead of actual

honey, the Crunchie bar is made with golden syrup. To make her own version, she experimented with the flavor, adding in other notes such as Maldon sea salt. “I try to caramelize the honey so, hopefully if I’ve done my job right, you might have very slight bitter notes,” she said. “I wanted you to be able to eat it without your palate getting bored.” When it comes to the process of tempering chocolate so it “breaks well with a snap,” LaFleur reminded me that milk, dark and white chocolates all require different temperatures to achieve a shiny finish. Otherwise, it won’t solidify. “If you’re doing it by hand, you melt chocolate to a higher temperature than you want to actually use in the final product,” she explained. Then she adds unmelted chocolate to cool it down. “Without getting super technical, you’re trying to align the crystals so they stay emulsified,” she said. Tempering preserves the layers of honeycomb while also preventing the candy from easily melting in the hand. The Petite LaFleur production center is set up in the Berkeley Kitchens building, the same one that houses Third Culture Bakery, Batter Bakery and La Noisette Sweets. And, until it closed at the end of 2025 (sob), Kelsie Kerr’s Standard Fare operated out of it for more than a decade. “I love this building,” LaFleur said. “It’s really cool to be amongst a community of other kitchens, because if you forget something you can go down the hall for support.” LaFleur doesn’t have retail hours because she’s in production mode there. Pickups can be arranged online, but she’s usually cranking things out for her wholesale accounts. “I do also sell on my website and on Etsy, especially right now because of the holidays,” she said. If Market Hall Foods isn’t a regular haunt, Petite LaFleur products are widely distributed around the East Bay at Oaktown Spice Shop, Berkeley Bowl, Piedmont Grocery and Blue Willow Tea. Petite LaFleur, 2701 Eighth St. #104, Berkeley. petitelafleur.com. IG: @petitelafleursf.

CACAO JOURNEY LaFleur launched her own company after taking a job as a production manager at San Francisco’s Dandelion Chocolate to learn about manufacturing.

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12/17/25 9:57 AM

Winter Mustards Mustering up some enthusiasm for seasonal flavors of a staple condiment Daniel O’Donnell

Sumerian texts dating back to as early as 3,000 BCE. The Ancient Romans are thought to be the first people to have created a version of the mustard widely used today. It consisted of ground mustard seeds, honey, vinegar, spices and unfermented grape must, which is the juice and skins of freshly crushed grapes. These ingredients were mixed into a spreadable paste called mustum ardens, which translates roughly as burning must. It would evolve into the English word mustard. Today, mustard is used worldwide. Mustards are made from three of the more than 40 varieties of mustard seeds. White or yellow mustard seeds are used to make the mild bright yellow mustard most Americans are familiar with. Brown

mustard seeds become more aromatic as they age and are spicier than white mustard seeds. They are used to make deli mustard, classic Chinese mustard and Dijon. Black mustard seeds have a pungent flavor. They are more closely related to wasabi and horseradish, and are especially hot. None of the mustard seeds listed above reveal the flavors they impart to a mustard until they are ground and/or mixed with liquid. This allows two chemical compounds to react with each other, creating the pungent flavor and spicy sensation in a mustard. Unlike some condiments such as soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and horseradish sauce, which have had limited new flavor profiles, mustard has had

PHOTO BY CARTER DEGGELMAN

he most popular condiment in the U.S. based on sales volume is mayonnaise. It was invented by a French chef in Spain in the 1750s. The first recipe for tomato ketchup, often called the “King of Condiments,” was published in 1812. These condiments are popular during both summer and winter meals or in sandwiches made with holiday leftovers. Surveys show that mustard, which has been used as a condiment for thousands of years, is not as popular as those other condiments. However, the “King of Condiments” and mayonnaise could be dethroned briefly by mustards that incorporate winter flavors. References to the use of mustard seeds are found in ancient Indian, Egyptian and

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WILD AT HEART Mustard grows wild in the Bay Area, such as in these fields in Half Moon Bay.

MAPLE MARVEL The recipe for maple syrupbased mustard calls for a cheese cloth and a pan for a slow simmer.

Maple Mustard 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon cornstarch 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons water, divided 1/2 cup white vinegar 1 teaspoon whole allspice 2 teaspoons ground mustard 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 3/4 teaspoon salt Make a cheesecloth sachet filled with the allspice. Combine 3/4 cup water, vinegar and maple syrup in a small bowl. Mix flour, cornstarch, mustard, turmeric, salt and remaining water in another bowl until smooth. Capture 75% of the spicy compounds by waiting four minutes before

gradually stirring in the vinegar mixture. Pour everything into a saucepan, add the spice bag and simmer over medium heat. Stir occasionally until mustard thickens.

Walnut Mustard 1 cup yellow mustard seeds 1/2 cup apple vinegar 3/4 cup white wine 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts 1/4 cup cane sugar 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon turmeric Place the mustard seeds, vinegar and wine in a bowl. Cover overnight. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a little water.

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PHOTOS BY DANIEL O’DONNELL

numerous flavorsome evolutions. Century-old styles include spicy mustards, honey mustards and vinegarbased mustards. More contemporary mustards use beer, horseradish, wasabi, dill pickle and bacon. There are numerous smoked pepper, onion, garlic or paprika mustards. And there is a wide variety of herb-flavored mustards, including tarragon, dill and rosemary, as well as fruit-infused flavors such as blueberry, fig and passion fruit. Below are five mustards that incorporate seasonal winter flavors. The first two involve making mustard from scratch, while the other three recipes use purchased mustards. All capture the essence of winter flavors.

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BERRY SPICY Cranberry mustard uses sweet and spicy ingredients like brown sugar, honey and ginger.

Cranberry Mustard 3/4 cup honey Dijon mustard 2/3 cup whole cranberry sauce 1 teaspoon honey 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Honey Pumpkin Mustard 1/2 cup avocado oil 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup stone-ground mustard 1/4 cup honey 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a little water.

NUTTY AND NICE Cover mustard seeds, vinegar and white wine overnight for walnut mustard, then mix the rest of the ingredients in a food processor the next day.

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Honey Cinnamon Mustard 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 teaspoon maple syrup 1 teaspoon honey 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Ginger Curry Mustard 1/4 cup basic yellow mustard 3 1/2 teaspoons sugar 1 tablespoon vinegar 3/4 teaspoon sweet curry powder 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Mustard consumption is growing in the U.S., primarily due to new artisanal flavors. Serving seasonal flavored mustards with everyday and holiday winter meals will muster up a delicious sense as to why more people should be enjoying them. ❤

SUNNY YELLOW Yellow mustard seeds make the classic bright yellow mustard Americans love on hot dogs.

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INNER LIGHT MexicanAmerican folk/country singer Andrés Miguel Cervantes discovered his ‘voice’ long after hearing his first Bert Jansch record.

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ndrés Miguel Cervantes said the title of his new album, Songs For The Séance, references his process as a songwriter. “It has to do with the concept of getting in touch with the spirits of the past and present,” he said. “Exploring the memories that move us, or hold onto us. Your life experiences are a well that you can draw upon. The title song was written 10 years ago, and it took a while to build an album off of that concept. “I like to meditate on the ideas that arise within me and let them grow and develop on their own,”

PHOTO BY ALICIA VANDEN HEUVEL

San Francisco songwriter Andrés Miguel Cervantes explores the ‘memories that move us’ on his new album 32 EAST BAY MAGAZINE | EASTBAYMAG.COM | JANUARY 2026

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PROFOUND SIMPLICITY Cervantes is inspired by the music of Townes Van Zandt and Leonard Cohen.

“New Friend” is a mid-tempo country tune, driven by a heartbeat supplied by a bass drum. A gospel-like call and response between Cervantes and the women singing backup illuminates the chorus. “I was living out in the high desert and thinking of an entity that would guide someone through the process of songwriting,” Cervantes explained. “The new friend is music, or my inner light.” On “Sis and I,” Cervantes plays a simple rancheria rhythm on his acoustic, as he describes the childhood experiences he shared with his older sister: climbing trees, watching TV, eating at family barbecues and driving down to Mexico to visit relatives. “As you acquire more experience, you see the world differently,” Cervantes said. “As you grow as an observer, you can

reflect on whatever you see in the world, and make meaning out of it. It’s like an artist that paints a slice of life on a city street. It doesn’t have to be a profound moment; it’s just a moment, and it has a value to the people who are living it. “It’s like the music of Townes Van Zandt or Leonard Cohen: the ability of being able to capture something simple, that could be seen as superfluous, but it’s a beautiful moment that you want to share,” he continued. “I want to be creative and keep writing. For a long time, I didn’t feel like I had a voice. I like to keep that in mind when I’m writing.” ‘Songs For The Séance’ was released on Speakeasy Records on Nov. 1. Listen to the album on Cervantes’ Bandcamp page: andres-cervantes.bandcamp.com. More info: andrescanta.com.

PHOTO BY PAULO PLACENCIA

he continued. “A lot of time, I’m composing in my mind, but I try not to get too involved with what is happening, organically. I let the songs be what they want to be. The process can happen quickly, but sometimes it takes years to finish a song.” Although he grew up in a home full of music lovers, it took Cervantes a while to decide he wanted to be a songwriter. “My parents both sang, but I played sports as a kid,” Cervantes said. “I had a friend whose mother played music. She heard me singing over the years and encouraged me. I bought my first guitar when I was 22.” Listening to the music of guitarists John Renborn and Bert Jansch got Cervantes interested in fingerpicking. He began teaching himself. “When I was 25, I was gifted a Bert Jansch record,” he recalled. “That sent me down the path to create my own music. It took years to discover my own voice and decide what I wanted to write about.” As he developed a catalogue, he began performing occasionally, once or twice a year, while working a day job. That changed in 2012, when he met producer Alicia Vanden Heuvel, owner of Speakeasy Studios in San Francisco. After seeing him perform, Vanden Heuvel asked him if he’d like to make a record. “I think he’s one of the great poets and storytellers of our generation,” she said. “His voice is unique, lush, yet familiar, classic.” With Vanden Heuvel producing, Cervantes recorded The Crossing, showcasing his acoustic fingerpicking and mellow tenor up front in the mix. Vanden Heuvel brought in musicians to add subtle touches of pedal steel, violin and backing harmonies. “I wanted to create a sonic landscape reflecting the open spaces of the West,” Vanden Heuvel noted. They took the same approach on Songs For The Séance. “I recorded five songs alone, singing and playing guitar,” Cervantes said. “We recorded five more with a rhythm section.” When the basics were down, they discussed the direction of the arrangements, adding wordless vocal harmonies that drift in and out of focus, with subliminal washes of sound supplied by other players.

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