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Two experienced cyclists have been killed on Mission Street in Santa Cruz in the last year. According to People Power, Santa Cruz County's advocate for human-powered transportation, both of these deaths could have been avoided had the City designed the street six years ago with bike lanes. People Power also asserts that both deaths could have been avoided if the cyclists had felt safe riding in the middle of the right hand lane. On Tuesday, May 13th, bicyclists will converge at the Santa Cruz Clock Tower at 6pm for a group ride taking up the right lane of Mission Street, and eventually ending at the City Council meeting to ask that "BIKE MAY USE FULL LANE" signs be posted on Mission Street.
Eric McDavid was sentenced to 235 months for "conspiracy to damage or destroy government property by means of fire or explosives." He was convicted in February of 2008 for a crime that was never committed, and which was fabricated by "Anna", a young FBI informant who was paid over $65,000 to entrap him. Now that the sentencing is over, Eric will be able to start the appeals process. Two jurors from the trial wrote declarations about their views that Eric was wrongfully convicted.
Eric will likely be sent to a federal facility in the near future. Although he could be housed farther from his loved ones, his supporters are hopeful that the move will bring many improvements in his overall standard of living. They hope that he will no longer be kept in total separation, that he will have access to more vegan food, that he will be able to spend more time outside and away from his cell. Eric and his family are looking forward to finally having "contact visits" - after almost two and half years of not touching each other at all.
Sentencing Notes | Support Eric | Eric's Sentencing Memorandum | Analysis of Elle Magazine's story about Anna | Some past coverage of Eric's case on Indybay: 1/9: Motion for New Trial for Eric McDavid to Be Heard
May 7th marks the 6th month anniversary of the tree-sit on Science Hill at UC Santa Cruz, and of the two-month ground occupation which was born in torn fencing and broken police lines. There will be a gathering at 8pm underneath the tree-sit for an open-ended collective celebration. The tree-sit has been a continuous act of resistance against the University's expansion plans, including a Biomedical Sciences Facility at the site of the tree-sit and the development of over 120 acres of Upper Campus' redwood and chaparral.
On April 8th, around noon, cyclist Christopher Evan Rock was killed at the intersection of Mission and Bay Streets in Santa Cruz. That is two deaths and one major injury at that intersection within the last year, due to a street design and a culture of driving that does not allow for the existence of cyclists. In a memorial bike ride the next day, approximately 100 people dressed in black rode up Mission St. from the clocktower to the intersection of Bay and Mission.
The second public meeting to save the Beach Flats Community Garden took place on April 3rd. At the meeting, the gardeners put forward a bilingual plan for the garden to be managed by the gardeners. Reyna Ruiz of the Beach Flats Community Center said that the plan was something that she could work with and present to the Santa Cruz City Parks and Recreation as well as the Seaside Company which claims ownership over the land. The gardeners asked Brent, a supportive neighbor of the garden, to accompany Reyna when she presents the plan to the Santa Cruz City Parks and Recreation Department.
A groundbreaking independent report prepared by the Environment and Human Rights Advisory outlines 23 international human rights that may be violated by the aerial spraying program conducted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) for the Light Brown Apple Moth. These are in addition to other potential violations of US and California constitutions and state statutes.
At 9:45 in the morning of March 31st, a large force of Yolo County Sheriffs stormed the buildings at D-Q University, battering their way into the hallway of the large dorm with guns drawn, and arresting 18 students, community supporters, and elders. In a similar incident on February 20th, Sheriff's deputies came onto the sovereign campus and arrested three students. The students arrested on February 20th have their court date on Wednesday, April 2nd at 7:30am at the Woodland Courthouse and they have put out a call for supporters to attend. The court date for the 18 people arrested on March 31st is not yet known.
The Beach Flats Community Garden has had its ups and downs over the years, constantly reminded that the land is leased, rather than owned, that at any point the land might be taken back. This year, the threat of eviction is a bit more real. The City has created a new garden plot, maybe one twentieth the size of the Community Garden, and has asked the gardeners to give up their keys and stop planting.
On March 15th, activists and community members protested the war in Iraq, environmental racism and global warming by blockading the Chevron oil refinery in Richmond, CA.
A coalition which includes health, environmental and anti-war organizers had called for people to shut down the Chevron refinery for the day of Saturday, March 15th in support of community efforts to stop Chevron from expanding its Richmond refinery. An expansion will increase pollution and cause asthma, cancer and rising death rates in surrounding communities. 25 activists were arrested for taking part in the blockade.
In early March, Finnish filmmaker Hannu Hyvönen came to Santa Cruz to participate in the EarthVision International Environmental Film Festival. While visiting Santa Cruz, Hannu recorded an interview with Owl, a tree-sitter at UCSC's Science Hill.  Read More and Watch Video
On March 13th, Uncle Dennis spoke with Owl and fellow treesitter Stitches during an Earth First! Radio Special broadcast on Free Radio Santa Cruz. The 30 minute segment includes call-in questions and comments from Free Radio Santa Cruz listeners.  Listen to Audio
see also: LRDP Resistance || Friends of Flora and Fauna || Coalition For Limiting University Expansion
On January 24th, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Chuck Conner announced the availability of $74.5 million in emergency funding to combat the light brown apple moth (LBAM) "infestation" in California. President Bush's recent budget proposal sent to Congress sets aside $330 Million to eradicate plant pests, like the LBAM. It is unprecedented to design a long term plan to spray chemicals on people, which are untested for safety.
Cruz Molina, one of two UCSC freshman targeted for supporting anti-expansion protests, was scheduled to have a student hearing on March 13th at the UCSC Inn in Santa Cruz. Supporters of Cruz say he is being scapegoated and that the UC is trying to hold him responsible for all past, present and future actions of the tree-sit protest. Without explanation, UCSC canceled the hearing.
On March 10th, Judge Paul Burdick of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court ruled that the University of California's lawsuit was an attack on the first amendment rights of at least two tree sit supporters. A motion to strike from the lawsuit tree sit Media Support person Jennifer Charles and tree sit supporter Oliver Schmid was granted. Because the case involved the first amendment, the University will be asked to pay Charles' and Schmid's lawyers fees, on top of the money spent serving the injunction and on the University's own lawyers.
Science Hill tree-sit organizers and supporters write, "As you may have heard, on February 24th, some kind of protest took place at the home of a UCSC researcher who experiments on animals. Hyped-up news articles and administrative messages on campus have led some people to associate this protest with the Tree-Sit on Science Hill. We wish to take this opportunity to make it clear that the tree-sit is NOT affiliated."
EarthVision 2008, which marks ten years of inspiring environmental films, will be held March 3rd – 8th in Watsonville and Santa Cruz. The festival will be screening films from 13 countries, including 7 produced in the Monterey Bay area. The films are powerful educational tools for Santa Cruz, as entries are shown throughout the year on Community TV.
The re-sentencing hearing for Jeffrey Luers took place on February 28th in Lane County Circuit Court in Eugene, Oregon in front of Judge Billings. This followed an Oregon court of appeals ruling in February 2007 that Luers' original sentence of 22 years 8 months by Judge Lyle Velure was illegal, and the appeals court remanded the case back to Lane County Circuit Court for re-sentencing. Following the appeals court decision, negotiations have resulted in the decision to reduce Luers sentence to 10 years, bringing his release date to late December 2009.
In June 2001, then 23 year-old Jeffrey "Free" Luers was arrested for the burning of three trucks at a Eugene car dealership. His stated purpose was to raise awareness about global warming and the role that SUVs and trucks play in that process. Despite the fact that this action hurt no one, caused only $28,000 in damages and the cars were later resold, Luers received the draconian sentence imposed by Velure.
Luers gained support locally as well as all over the world as a political prisoner. It is widely believed that Luers received such a drastic sentence because of the political nature of the action he took. Following his original sentence, Amnesty International and the Eugene Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued letters of support citing that the sentence appeared to be politically motivated. During the course of his trial, statements were made by the police and prosecuting attorney that indicated it was Luers' political views on trial, not merely his actions. His defense successfully proved that evidence had been tampered with, officers had lied and that the prosecutor had manipulated evidence to get a legal search warrant at his residence. Luers was given a sentence that attempted to send the message to environmental and social justice activists that even a merely symbolic act of property destruction could be punished more harshly than many crimes against persons. Read More
10:30AM Sunday May 11
Bike to Worship
7PM Wednesday May 21
The Ride Of Silence
6:30PM Friday May 30
2008 Baykeeper Gala
1PM Saturday May 31
seed swap!
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