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On July 22nd, over 3,000 people rallied at the Port of Oakland to protest against pollution and poverty. Many truck drivers at the port make as little as $8 an hour and receive no benefits. The port trucking system requires drivers to sit idle in their trucks for hours everyday while their trucks spew out toxic diesel emissions. Port diesel pollution is associated with high rates of cancer and asthma. As a result, cancer and asthma rates are higher in West Oakland than other parts of the Bay Area.
At a public meeting held July 15 in San Francisco, Bayview residents and supporters accused the San Francisco Department of Public Health of turning a blind eye to Lennar Corp's toxic construction in the Hunter's Point Shipyard.
Bayview community members said Lennar Corp, a housing redevelopment corporation based out of Miami, has been digging into asbestos-rich serpentine rock sending plumes of cancer-causing dust into nearby homes, recreation centers and elementary schools.
 Photos
Last November, The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) voted to fine Lennar for not accurately monitoring toxicity levels during construction.
California state law requires Lennar to monitor the toxicity of the air and inform residents when asbestos or other carcinogens reach a poisonous level. However, May 30, when asbestos meters sky-rocketed to 138,000 levels of particulate matter, community members were kept in the dark. Bayview advocates say the release far exceeded levels deemed lethal, even by the city's lenient standards, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Bayview residents were not informed of this until more than six weeks later on July 14th.
The toxic reading came just days before the June 3 election, when a heated battle was taking place over Prop F, a grassroots proposition that would have forced Lennar to create affordable housing; and Prop G, an initiative that would grant Lennar permission to proceed with the construction of 10,000 condominiums on the Shipyard, a Superfund site.
"Such an overage should have triggered a complete removal of those most sensitive receptors which would have been our children..." noted Bayview resident Marie Harrison of Green Action, an environmental justice organization, as she addressed the commissioners.
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Will Lennar ever be fined for dropping the dust ball?
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Test the Lennar site: There is no safe level for asbestos exposure
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Lennar slapped with racial discrimination lawsuit,
accused of violating toxic asbestos cleanup restrictions
Previous Indybay Coverage
Glen Chase, a Professor of Systems Management, has released a report identifying the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) eradication program as a fraud. "CDFA claims the moth is an emergency and pretends that they can eradicate it in order to steal $100's of millions from taxpayer emergency funds, set aside for real emergencies."
On June 29th, Berkeley community members, and supporters of the tree-sit at U.C. Berkeley's Memorial Oak Grove attempted to re-supply the tree-sitters with food and medical supplies. The U.C. police, however, blocked all attempts to provide food and medication.
On July 1st, two tree-sitters in a redwood tree negotiated with the UC police, and arranged to be taken into custody with the provision that they would be taken to Berkeley City jail (not Santa Rita) and that they would be cited and released.
Another tree sitter, (Dumpster Muffin, the woman who had stood on the small platform during the recent crane incident) experienced medical difficulties. She requested that a doctor she trusted be allowed to meet her at the bottom of the tree when she descended to the ground. She also requested that a local videographer, LA Wood, be allowed inside the grove to film the event. The request was partially granted ; only Wood was allowed to enter, but it was promised that medical attention would be provided if Muffin looked sick.
When Muffin climbed down from the tree, she was grabbed by the police, and although she collapsed a couple of times, no medical attention was allowed to reach her.
Red More
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Corporate America At The Tree Sit
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Prevous Coverage of the Memorial Oak Tree Demonstration
At approximately 2:00 p.m. on June 20th, fires started off of Highway 1 between Mar Monte Road and Airport Road. By 6:00 p.m., 1,000 acres had already burned and several homes destroyed. It is currently burning out of control and continues to threaten the health and safety of people and animals in the area.
The fires ignited and took hold rather rapidly, with many people nearby the fires unaware of the danger or what procedures to follow. An observer of the fire from Freedom Boulevard around 3:00 p.m. was overwhelmed by the giant flume of smoke that encroached over the city of Freedom and headed towards Watsonville.
Currently, over 2,000 people are being forced to evacuate their homes and others are being asked to evacuate, including all areas within the Airport Road, Freedom Blvd and Larkin Valley Road area. Highway 1 is currently closed for a six mile stretch, between Larkin Valley Road and down to Riverside Drive, according to other news reports. Read More and View Photos
On June 19th, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that aerial pheromone application will no longer take place over urban areas and will be "limited to agricultural land and undeveloped regions as a tool of last result" to control the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM). “The bottom line for eradicating this pest has always been safety,” said Sam Farr, representative of the 17th Congressional District of California. “The public was never convinced that spraying was safe or the only option, and the result has been protests, anger and a series of lawsuits."
anarchist writes, "To everyone who read that Greenspace lost a window to "anarchists" and cringed:
This incident is not representative of the greater revolutionary struggle or anarchists in general. One person claiming their inconsequential vandalism with a communique, especially does not represent the tactfulness and potency that most anarchists act with – both in our contribution to existing social conflicts, and even more so, in our autonomous actions.
"I write this not because I feel protective of Greenspace's financial prosperity, but because I believe this 'action' does more damage than it does good. In my opinion, it leaves a damaging misrepresentation of what anarchist intervention looks like on a local level." Read More
On Tuesday June 18th, Alameda County Superior Judge Barbara Miller upheld a temporary injunction preventing U.C. Berkeley from developing an athletic center in the Memorial Oak Grove. Celebrations broke out among protesters as the news was announced.
Photos
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 PDF Of Ruling
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Tree Supporters Prevail in Berkeley Oak Grove decision
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Berkeley Daily Planet Report
The University says they will continue taking down tree-sits and it is not clear how long the oak grove will be safe. Many tree-sit members have said they will remain in the trees until getting a guarantee from the University that the grove will not be cut down.
UC Berkeley officials say that the campus has prevailed on virtually every challenge raised in the lawsuit.
"We are thrilled that the judge concluded that state seismic law will allow the Student-Athlete High Performance Center to be built on the site," said Vice Chancellor for Administration Nathan Brostrom at a campus press conference.
"The university has prevailed on every single issue in this suit except for two simple, very technical issues," said the university's attorney, Charles Olson.
The issues preventing UC development are related to earthquake risks and additional noise and traffic impacts of their proposed development.
While Judge Barbara Miller ruled that the proposed training center itself wouldn't be on the Hayward Fault, she did rule that its construction will involve alterations to the stadium which is on the fault. Therefore, the University must prove that such construction wouldn't violate the Alquist-Priolo Act which regulates new development on active faults.
The law only prevents renovating structures on faults if the work amounts to more
than half the value of the original building, so it is possible the University merely needs to provide proof that their alterations will amount to less than half the value of the stadium (which the university estimates to be worth $600 million). The proposed athletic center itself is estimated to cost $123 million, so a lifting of the temporary injunction could come as quickly as the University can provide the court with a proof of its cost estimates.
 Audio from UC Berkeley's Press Conference following court ruling
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Other coverage:
Campus officials declare 'a major victory'
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Both Sides Claim Victory as Judge Issues Stadium Ruling
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Judge rules in UC Berkeley's favor
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Judge rules in Cal stadium case
Previous Indybay Coverage Of The Oak Grove Tree-Sits
During summer break, the UCSC tree-sit is on high-alert of a possible attack. In Berkeley this week, police, professional tree climbers, and cherry pickers were used to cut the climb and supply lines of tree-sitters. Similar techniques could be used in Santa Cruz to remove protesters who've been in the trees since November 7, 2007.
Historically, UCSC has cut trees and broken ground on controversial projects during summer and winter breaks. While students are off campus, the administration believes that resistance to their expansion plans will be minimized. Supported by students, faculty, staff, and the Santa Cruz community, the tree-sit stands in direct opposition to UC plans to develop the campus and dramatically increase enrollment. Read More
see also: Celebrating 200 Days of Tree-Sitting Resistance to UCSC Expansion
June 19th Update: Treesitter and Indybay reporter Cricket, came down Thursday night after 3 days of fighting. He made a deal that resulted in his pictures being handed off to others who could post them to Indybay.
On Tuesday, June 17th, at least five hired contract workers arrived at 6:30am and climbed into the branches of the oak trees to take down tree-sit platforms.
Around 5pm, one woman tree-sitter was taken down from a tree and arrested.
Contract workers continued to take down parts of the tree-sit Wednesday and 3 protesters were arrested.
On, June 10, Berkeley residents & activists gathered at Berkeley City Hall to protest UC Berkeley's plan to pulverize LBNL's Bevatron structure. Protesters are worried about the environmental and health impacts of the University's plans to demolish, and haul away, the Bevatron and its contents.
The demolished structure will contain radioactive materials, asbestos, lead, mercury, PCBs, and chlorinated VOCs. Some of the radioactive materials include Cobalt 60, Cesium 137, and Europium 154. Radioactive energy form Cobalt 60 can be 59 times greater in intensity than that of an ordinary X-ray. The waste material is scheduled to be hauled by thousands of heavily loaded uncovered trucks down Hearst Avenue to Oxford Avenue, south on Oxford to University Ave and from there onto I-80.
Protesters say that an alternative to the demolition would be to allow the Bevatron and its contamination to remain onsite in relative containment. Onsite containment will allow the radioactivity to decay in place and not be hauled away to other communities.
Photos | Wikipedia Article On The Bevatron
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Bevatron Shutdown In Nostalgic Ceremony
The community of Felton prevailed in its six-year fight to acquire its water system from California-American Water (Cal-Am), a subsidiary of the German multinational corporation RWE. Cal-Am and the San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD) announced a purchase agreement on May 30th, less than a week before the planned start of an eminent domain trial where a jury would have set the value of the water system. “This win, combined with the failure of RWE to efficiently and affordably deliver water to the residents of Felton is yet another example of why water utilities should be managed by the public," said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch.
Earth First! Radio News is a no compromise weekly radio program produced at Free Radio Santa Cruz. Focussing on direct-action and bio-diversity, EF! Radio provides eco-action and activist news, calls-to-action, updates and commentary on current events worldwide. The May 29th broadcast features updates from the North American Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network, Tre Arrow Defense Committee, Support for Rod Coronado, Buffalo Field Campaign, as well as news from Montana, Australia, Chile and more.
Environmentalist and political prisoner, Tre Arrow has been incarcerated in Canada and the US since March 13th, 2004. He is set to take a non cooperation plea agreement on June 3rd at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Portland. Tre continues to stand firm in his commitment to being a voice for the Earth. "Just as I will protect my birth mother from violation and harm, says Tre, "I am dedicated to being a force to stop the unnecessary and egregious assault on this precious planet." Read More and Listen to Audio
In a letter to Chevron executives and shareholders (and to ExxonMobil, who meet the same day), Iraqi oil workers unions called on Chevron to end the occupation and stop pushing for the "Iraq Oil Theft Law." This message will be delivered by an alliance of environmental justice, human rights and international solidarity groups converging on Chevron's annual shareholder meeting, Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00AM at Chevron corporate headquarters in San Ramon.
Earth First! Radio News is a no compromise weekly radio program produced at Free Radio Santa Cruz. Focussing on direct-action and bio-diversity, EF! Radio provides eco-action and activist news, calls-to-action, updates and commentary on current events worldwide. Stories from Earth First!, Sea Shepherd International, Earth Liberation Front, Animal Liberation Front, Greenpeace, Canopy Action Network and actions by many other movements and local groups that defend Mother Earth are included with news about endangered animals, plants and ecosystems.
Earth First! Radio is broadcast live from Free Radio Santa Cruz 101.1 FM, Thursday at 9:00 pm. Free Radio Santa Cruz is live on the Internet at www.freakradio.org with streaming mp3 up to 128 Kbs. You can listen to archived shows and get a podcast at h2opodcast.com/EarthFirst.html Listen to Audio
On May 13th, a huge mob of cyclists rolled peacefully through the streets of Santa Cruz after a 6pm convergence at the Clock Tower. Bikers spanned city blocks in the right lane of Mission Street to raise awareness about California Vehicle Code Section 21202, cyclists may use the full right lane when the lane "is too narrow for a bicycle to safely ride to the side of a motor vehicle." Many people wore yellow shirts with a figure of a bike and the words "MAY USE FULL LANE cvc 21202."
9AM Tuesday Aug 12
Kids in Marshes
6:30PM Friday Aug 22
Owls of Marin
6:15PM Tuesday Oct 21
Brower Youth Awards
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On July 22nd, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara J. Miller upheld U.C. Berkeley's plans for an athletic training center in the Memorial Oak Grove. The order ends, on July 29, an injunction that had blocked destruction of the grove. She also ruled that the city and the former City Councilmember Dona Spring must pay most of the university’s legal bills.
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