Susan Jordan, a civil litigator and criminal justice lawyer from Mendocino County, died on Friday, May 29th in a plane crash in Utah. She was 67 years old and left a legacy of civil litigation and criminal justice work behind. Jordan represented several prominent political activists throughout her career as a criminal defense lawyer, including Earth First!'s Judi Bari after she was car bombed with Daryl Cherney in 1990 and members of the SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army) in the kidnapping of Patty Hearst.

Susan Jordan was one of the first attorneys to offer legal defense for Earth First! activists planning non violent civil disobedience during the Redwood Summer campaign in 1990. Then, Earth First! organizers Judi Bari and Daryl Cherney were car bombed and subsequently arrested as the main suspects. Cherney says Jordan came to their defense.

In the legal field, Jordan most notably made the first successful argument of self defense for a battered woman who killed her rapist, in the late 1970s. Jordan said it was the first ruling of its kind. Jordan was dubbed a feminist lawyer for her work defending women in criminal court. Read more

At 10am on Tuesday May 26th, in a 6-1 decision, the California Supreme Court's ruled in favor of Proposition 8 banning future same-sex marriages but upholding existing same-sex marriages. In the one dissenting opinion, Judge Moreno stated "This could not have been the intent of those who devised and enacted the initiative process. In my view, the aim of Proposition 8 and all similar initiative measures that seek to alter the California Constitution to deny a fundamental right to a group that has historically been subject to discrimination on the basis of a suspect classification, violates the essence of the equal protection clause of the California Constitution and fundamentally alters its scope and meaning."

California Upholds Proposition 8 Gay Marriage Ban, Leaves 18,000 Same-Sex Marriages Intact | PDF Of Decision: Strauss vs. Horton, S168047 | PROP 8 UNHELD 6-1 | Judge Moreno's Dissent | Gay Marriage Advocates Likely to Seek Another Ballot Vote | Feminist Majority Coverage | ACLU Coverage | Supreme Court Perverts Power of Initiative Process | California Was The Future

Street actions to protest discrimination are taking place throughout the day in California and elsewhere in the nation. Most actions took place at 6pm, but immediate action upon the announcement took place in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and Palo Alto. In San Francisco, police arrested more than 150 protesters for blocking the intersection of Van Ness and Grove near City Hall shortly after the ruling was announced.

Fresno: Photos
Santa Cruz: Photos
Palo Alto: Photos 1 | 2
San Francisco: Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Coverage Of Arrests Near SF City Hall
Los Angeles: AJLPP Statement | Press Conference At Gay and Lesbian Center
Sant Barbara: Photos
San Diego: Video | Over 4,000 Rally | Over 70 Activists Occupy San Diego County Clerk’s Office

On Saturday, May 30th, a rally of California-wide advocates for national LGBT equality will be held in Fresno. Organizers chose Fresno for its location in the middle of the state and because California's Central Valley population is more representative of "middle-America" attitudes. They say that the struggle for full equality for gays and lesbians has to be won in towns like Fresno, and not just in LGBT-friendly metropolitan areas.

San Francisco | Palo Alto | Santa Cruz and Watsonville | Salinas | Monterey | Hollister | Day of Decision | Meet in the Middle | Rage about prop8? Its White Night Time | How to Protest the Prop 8 Decision

MarriageEquality.org | Previous Indybay Coverage

In 1991 Troy Davis was found guilty of murdering an off-duty policeman and sentenced to death in the state of Georgia, despite a total lack physical evidence. The bulk of the prosecutor’s evidence presented at Davis' trial was based primarily on that of prosecution witnesses who later recanted their testimony. Most of the witnesses have claimed repeatedly that they were pressured by police to point to Davis as the perpetrator. So far, no court has been willing to hear the new evidence. He lost his most recent appeal and his execution date is expected to be set soon.

On Tuesday May 19, activists in Fresno sang solemnly and carried placards calling out for re-consideration of the case and elimination of the death penalty. In Palo Alto, members of Amnesty International Chapter 19 gathered signatures for clemency in the city's downtown Lytton Plaza. They were encouraged by an outpouring of support from citizens of all ages in the busy city square.

Palo Alto Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | Fresno Photos and Video | Amnesty International Vigil in L.A.

See also: Martina Davis-Correia, Sister of Troy Davis, Speaks at ILWU Event on Racism, Repression and Rebellion | Martina Davis-Correia Speaks at Townhall Meeting on Oscar Grant and Police Terror | Amnesty International

On April 19, injured workers in Southern California joined together in front of the Downey Kaiser medical center to speak out about workers killed and injured on the job. SEIU hospital workers and movie workers from IATSE and laborers claim that the former military industrial nuclear facility was not properly cleaned of toxics and now workers are getting sick.

On April 28th in San Francisco, Workers Day Memorial events included a press conference at the Pfizer Research Facility at 3pm and a speak-out at the ILWU Local 34 Hall at 7pm. Speaker included injured workers, the director of the Silicon Valley Toxic Coalition, and union representatives.

Read More on Upcoming April 28th Pfizer Event | Read More on Downey Kaiser Event | Workers Memorial Day

April 28th San Franciso Announcements: Pfizer Press Conference | ILWU Speak-out Forum

At Earth Day festivals in Sunnyvale and Santa Cruz, participants celebrated the pleasures of life lived simply and locally for the sake of the planet. On the Albany waterfront in the East Bay, children and parents searched the beach for trash and treasure, created art with found objects, and thanked the earth as they cleaned up the shoreline. At these and other venues in northern California, environmental pollution was a top concern.

Meanwhile at Stanford University, the role of globalization was raised at a fundraiser for water wells in Africa. The Raging Grannies sang "How Far to the Well, Sister" and encouraged students to continue their work addressing poverty brought on by the lack of safe, reliable sources of water in Kenya, Malawi, and many other parts of Africa.

At the Stanford event more than 60 students carried water in buckets across campus to bring attention to their cause. According to a World Health Organization/UNICEF joint monitoring project of 2004, daily clean water access is not a reality for 1.1 billion people in the world. Women suffer inordinately when water is not readily available, as the task of obtaining enough for household needs generally falls to them. The senior activist Grannies urged students to question globalization and institutions like the World Bank and IMF, and the effect of their policies on poverty in the world future generations stand to inherit.

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | Nuru International

A day of anti-tax, anti-immigrant demonstrations in San Jose started at noon in front the IRS building and didn't end until after 7:00pm. An estimated 150 right wing demonstrators, whipped into a frenzy by national conservative broadcasters, took over four corners of an intersection in the downtown area, jostling and shouting at the handful of counter-protesters who showed up in the early hours of the demonstration.

At 5:00pm about 40 student activists marched from San José State to Plaza de César Chavez where they were joined by more anti-war/immigrant rights demonstrators. The group chanted calls for tolerance and unity as they entered the park and were met with boos and cries of "U-S-A, U-S-A" by about 500 anti-tax demonstrators. When the former attempted to approach the stage they were pushed back by police wielding batons while riot police stood in formation across the street.

In San Francisco a smaller group of immigrant rights activists carried signs with phrases such as "Not Welcome MinuteKlan" aimed at countering the presence of the Golden Gate Minutemen. Both San Francisco and San Jose are official sanctuary cities for immigrants.

Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | San Jose Photos: 1 | 2 | San Francisco Photos: 1 | 2

The Obama administration was in San Francisco on Thursday, April 16th, to hold a day-long public hearing on Bush's offshore oil and gas proposal, which would open most of the outer continental shelf of the US to offshore drilling. The plan would allow new drilling for the first time in decades in Northern California's Point Arena Basin as well as three offshore basins in Southern California.

A coalition of environmental groups, including Ocean Defenders Alliance and Surfrider Foundation, organized an all-day rally featuring music and speakers outside the hearing on the UCSF Mission Bay Campus. Live webcasts of the hearings were available online, including an audio webcast at EarthCycles.Net.

Read more | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Event information | Fisheries Forum Questions Point Arena Closures: What Role is the Oil Industry Playing?

On Friday, March 27, protesters decried budget cuts to home care workers in front of the State Building in Oakland. SEIU, which organized the protest, claimed that the California budget passed in February contains $1 billion in "trigger cuts" to home care, health care, higher education, SSI/SSP, and CalWORKS. The Oakland protest was part of a day of action organized by SEIU that included a rally at the Capitol Building in Sacramento and in five other cities. "When legislators buried these 'trigger cuts' deep in the February budget agreement, they were counting on not having to take responsibility for their decision to make such unpopular cuts. We're coming to our leaders' front doors to demand they accept responsibility for their decisions that will harm the elderly, the sick, people with disabilities, struggling families, and students," said Paula Cantera, a home care provider in Napa County. The home care workers weren't alone. "If our leaders can find a way to enrich corporations with billions in shameless giveaways, they can find a way to protect our seniors an people with disabilities, " said Gary Passmore, Executive Director of the Congress of California Seniors.

Photos

Students and educators from public colleges all over the state converged on Sacramento on March 16, 2009 to demand that California fully fund higher education and not raise tuition. Many had meetings with legislators. While protests were entirely peaceful, one student was arrested by police for no apparent reason.

Amid the deepening budget crisis in California’s public colleges and schools, over 6,000 students, teachers, administrators, and education workers converged on the State Capitol in Sacramento on March 16, 2009. They came to demand, “Keep the doors open,” “No budget cuts,” “Bail out colleges, not banks,” “Fund education, not war,” and “Money for schools, not prisons.”

They came from all over the state. Students from Los Angeles Mission College had boarded buses before 3 AM to arrive in Sacramento in time to march from Raley Field to the steps of the Capitol for an 11 AM rally. De Anza College in Cupertino sent four buses with some 200 students. Altogether, over 70 buses converged at Raley Field from which participants marched across the drawbridge over the Sacramento River, down the Capitol Mall to the State Capitol, a distance of approximately one mile. They were joined on the steps of the Capitol by students from local area public colleges.

Read More with Photos

LGBTQ people and allies eagerly await the California Supreme Court decision that will either reject or affirm anti-gay Proposition 8. Marriage equality activists say that if the court rules to only uphold the existing same sex marriages, but allows the rest of Prop 8 to stand, it will not be a victory. Many are calling for a return to the streets with direct action and civil disobedience if discrimination is written back into the California Constitution. The California Supreme Court must rule within 90 days of March 5, 2009, when they heard the case, meaning a decision is expected at the latest by June 3.

In anticipation of an earlier decision, lesbian/gay/bi/trans activists and allies left Berkeley, California for a 100-mile walk to the state capitol in Sacramento on March 25.  The event began with a rally on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall at Noon on March 24 with speakers, including a representative from Supervisor Tom Ammiano's office and gay rights activist Cleve Jones. The day's event included inspirational music and dancing by the Raging Grannies and Brass Liberation Orchestra on the steps of the California Supreme Court buidling.

Marchers began their trek in earnest on March 25 building bridges with local communities and enlisting former antagonists to help repeal the ban on same-sex marriages.  The march was initiated by the direct action group One Struggle One Fight, and supported by a range of organizations including the LGBT labor alliance Pride At Work and the group And Marriage For All, which coordinated No On 8 outreach among LGBT people of color.

More than 50 people from 10 cities and towns signed up to participate in the peaceful event, including 78-year-old Dolores Huerta, the co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, and Robert Moore, a 28-year-old gay Mormon who encouraged everyone interested in civil rights to join the cause. The group walked through both large and small cities on the way to the capital, entering bustling suburbs like Walnut Creek and small Delta towns such as Locke. The march culminated in a day of action in Sacramento on Monday, March 30, to demand the repeal of Proposition 8 and spotlight the need for better health care and immigration rights for all people.

March to Sacramento Arrives in Capitol | Why We March | Prop 8 D-Day Call to Action | One Struggle One Fight | Day of Decision | Pride At Work

International Women's Day was celebrated on Sunday, March 8th with a number of events around the Bay Area. The Stop Violence Against Women: 1 in 3 Art Exhibit included performances on Saturday and Sunday in the Women's Building. On Sunday, March 8th, Code Pink observed IWD with a march across the Golden Gate Bridge at 12pm, followed by a potluck and program in Berkeley. The film "A Single Woman: The Story of Jeannette Rankin" was screened on Sunday in Palo Alto. It is the story of the first woman elected to the United States Congress. Outside of the Bay Area, the RCP and Revolution Books planned to Celebrate Resistance and Internationalism! with a rally and march in Los Angeles in support of women in struggle all over the world, starting at 1pm on Saturday. The march was followed by an RCP-USA Women Hold Up Half the Sky presentation in LA on Sunday.

Women's Month continued on Monday, March 9th with a Consent & Intimate Violence Workshop at 5pm at UC Santa Cruz. UC Santa Cruz will host an International Women's Day Celebration on Saturday, March 14th at 12pm. On Saturday, March 21st, Vocolot will be amongst the performers at a Women's Earth Alliance Benefit Concert at 8pm in Alameda. On Sunday, March 22nd, the Women's Building will host a 3pm reading and discussion of Diana Block's memoir Arm the Spirit - A Woman's Journey Underground and Back.

Video

Indybay's Past Coverage of International Women's Day

A report released in February and authored by a group of researchers from various organizations, including the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC), California Department of Fish and Game, and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, supports concerns Californians have had about the aerial spraying of pesticides in the Monterey Bay area in 2007. The study shows the correlation of the unprecedented bird die off and red tide with the timing of the spraying of the pesticide Checkmate.

The authors of the study reported the birds had a "slimy yellow-green material on their feathers" and that the cause of death was due to "surfactant-like proteins, derived from organic matter of the red tide, [that] coated their feathers and neutralized natural water repellency and insulation." The birds were unable to maintain buoyancy and drowned.

While the researches commented on the foam as being attributed to red tide, the foam was in fact also seen in rivers after the pesticide spraying, and found by a San Jose State University researcher to be filled with microcapsules associated with the spray. Many residents within the spray zone remember the yellowish foamy substance on their windows, decks, and planter boxes left by the spray. Read more

Previous coverage: Obama Administration Asks Court to Suppress Identity of Harmful Chemicals