Mass Rally at CalTrans: No Road Widening Through Richardson Grove

Hi, my friend once said technology should be pronounced "take knowledge away"
I'm not very skilled at using this, and the only way I can figure out how to get you these pictures of todays fresh banner towering over the 101 at RICHARDSON GROVE, is by emailing them to you. Sorry about that. Happy Bob Marleys birthday to you. Forget about that stupor bowl on sunday!

I think Caltrans should leave the trees alone in Richardson Grove State Park. They say the forest won't be significantly harmed by their road widening project, but that is a flagrant bald faced lie. They know what to say to get the project started, and it will be easier to get forgiveness later than permission now. If safety is the issue, why not slow down like between Eureka and Arcata? It's only 100 yards of narrow winding old growth. Respect for the long protected park trees should trump any benefits of the so called progress this would bring. Do you really think the prices we pay for goods and services would go down as a result of this project? Our quality of life is the only thing that would go down. How do you feel about nuclear waste coming into Eureka from other countries and trucked down to Yucca Mountain, Nevada? If the real reason for the "strategic" road widening is to be able to bring military tank trucks up here at a high rate of speed, then people should be even more opposed to it. A lot of people enjoy a slow pace of life, and that's why we live here. Not too long ago, the whole Redwood Highway was an attraction in and of itself. All the reasons why we like it here would be gone if this area grows the way some secretly want it to. Just south of the grove is the county line. Do we really want to become more like Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin? What happened to 2 million acres of redwoods and a once thriving timber industry down there? How does our suffering for the lack of an extra 5 feet of semi truck length compare to the suffering of the earth? All we have left of the old growth are these relatively tiny postage stamp sized beauty strips and now even that is threatened.
People once said Los Angeles would never grow- no water, right? Humboldt Bay, even though 90% reduced from its original size, has the greatest potential of any large bay on the west coast to recover its biodiversity. Out of all the ecosystems of the earth, the bay ecosystem has the most reproduction going on. Deep reverence for mother nature would be real progress. Please come to the Rally at Caltrans, Wabash and Union, Mon. Feb. 7 at Noon. This road widening project is a waste of money. Cut the Caltrans- fat!

Sincerely, George S. Phillips 3036 Avenue of the Giants
8454970

As Richardson Grove is wide and beautiful like all the people who came, and are still out at Cal Trans protesting, slash/ Inside!

There's going to be a tweet posted, stay tuned in.



2:37, 6 people locked to Caltrans entrance. People sing and chant. Energy is high.

Tweet: RGroveActionNow, Richardson Grove

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We need more coverage on Richardson Grove! <3

12 people got arrested Monday 2/7/11 at Caltrans vs. Richardson Grove. The Thursday before a large banner got hung on a cliff towering over the 101 in the grove that read "No Widening - Thanks, but No Tanks." The local media coverage barely touched on the myriad of issues, focusing on the "violence"of the protesters at Caltrans in Eureka, and the gestapo.
I was at the rally Mon. Feb. 7 at Caltrans to save Richardson Grove from road widening. Everything about this gathering was positive, except when a large police officer kneeled down on the chest of a man who had both arms locked to people on either side while another officer squeezed 2 pairs of nunchucks around his ankle and calf. His writhing and screaming did cause all of the onlookers to powerfully chant "shame" repeatedly, and many in the nonviolent crowd did then resist being forced out of the lobby where flagrant torture was occurring.
At the rally were at least 200 people, locals from all walks of life. There were beautiful signs saying things like SLOW DOWN, YIELD TO NATURE, and KEEP HUMCO LOCAL. There were lively speakers, singers, prayers, guitar, mandolin, trumpet, drums, and many chants such as ONE DEMAND-CANCEL THE PLAN, CUT THE CAL TRANS FAT-SAVE MONEY, GET OFF OUR DOORSTEP AND WE'LL GET OFF YOURS, CALTRANS LIES, etc. Democracy and peaceful civil resistance was celebrated at our public dept. of trans. on behalf of our protected Park.
To me this issue is about massive development of the Humboldt Bay region, and a huge increase in our industrial police state which will cause quality of life to decline. The time has come to weigh these things we call progress and Nature, and to stand together for the future, with deep respect.