For the 5th year running, the burning of American flags will take place on Friday, July 3rd at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz. Organizers say they raise the burning flag up as a sacred symbol representing their highest ideals as Americans, and that the "American Flag is so great a symbol that it represents the right to burn it."

Robert Norse comments, "Burning a flag in solidarity with the Honduran people on July 4th makes more sense to me than burning a flag as a celebration of the First Amendment. Divorcing flag-burning from its visceral ('Yanqui, go home!') content is a way of stripping the action of its force. Using constitutional arguments and hailing the First Amendment seems to me to be an attempt to dampen reactionary knee-jerk jingoism ('see, it's not so threatening'). But the point of a flag-burning in countries occupied by the U.S. or profiteering international corporations closely tied to U.S. guns and money IS to threaten ('get the fuck out!').

"Burn a flag on the 4th in front of the Honduran consulate in protest of continued U.S. support for the Honduran coup-sters. That's a real way of using the First Amendment in more than an empty symbolic way. Divorcing U.S. flag-burning from what it traditionally means is a way of concealing or ignoring important history."

previous coverage of flag-burnings: 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2005 | 2006 | 2008

Shortly before midnight on Sunday, June 28th, a demonstration will begin at Vandenberg Air Force Base to protest the U.S. launch of a Minuteman III nuclear missile. The target of the rocket is the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, South Pacific.

The protest will be held at the front gate of Vandenberg AFB, located at the intersection of Highway 1 and Casamila-Lompoc Road, which is six miles north of Lompoc on Highway 1 in Santa Barbara County, CA. The protest is sponsored by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. Andrew Lichterman of the Western States Legal Foundation will speak at the front gate rally.

Tony de Brum, a Member of the Kwajalein Parliament, writes, "Kwajalein has not gotten the attention it needs to straighten out the mess created by the Military programs it hosts. The displacement of the population and its living conditions on Ebeye continue to plague a society whose only crime against the powers that be was to be living in an atoll the US found attractive for first, nuclear testing, and now, the testing of the vehicles to carry those nuclear weapons around the world."

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, notes, "We must become 'dehypnotized' so we can see things as they are. The US uses the fear of other nuclear pipsqueak nations to get our own citizens to support massive US military buildups that are all about dominating the world. If the US was genuine in wanting other nations to stop the development of their nuclear capability then we'd lead by example, as is required by the United Nations Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and we'd get rid of our own evil WMD." Read more

On June 23rd, the Santa Cruz City Council passed a 45-day moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries in the city limits. Councilmembers said they needed the moratorium because they claimed there was a flood of daily inquiries to the city's Planning Department about opening medical marijuana centers. The are two pending applications for dispensaries on the Westside of Santa Cruz.

There are two existing dispensaries currently operating in the Harvey West area of Santa Cruz. However, local medical marijuana patient Craig Canada reports that he buys his medication from dispensaries in San Francisco where the prices are more competitive. Proponents of medical marijuana hope that additional dispensaries in Santa Cruz will result in more affordable prices locally.

There were lots of public comments at the June 23rd meeting, but there was not any council discussion after the public input session. The real moratorium on the two pending applications is at least 70 days since the Zoning Commission doesn't meet in August. And then one staff person can unilaterally extend the moratorium for nine months if the staff person finds they didn't "have enough time". Read more

The Santa Cruz City Council Measure K Oversight Committee held their most recent meeting on June 15th. As directed in Santa Cruz Municipal Code Section 9.84.060, the Committee is charged with overseeing the implementation of SCMC Chapter 9.84 which makes "Adult Marijuana Criminal Offenses" the "Lowest Law Enforcement Priority."

Measure K was passed by 64% of the voters in 2006. Since then it has been depleted by City Council hostility, staff negligence, city attorney and Santa Cruz Police Department (SCPD) intervention, and the failure of activists to challenge the situation.

HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship and Freedom) published a video and notes from the June 15th meeting held in City Council Chambers. HUFF notes the following points of particular concern:

1) The Measure K Oversight Committee is being denied substantive and detailed police documentation relating to citations/arrests involving marijuana.
2) The Committee is limited to two meetings per calendar year.
3) An agenda item slated for discussion at the December 2009 Measure K meeting proposes that even fewer meetings be scheduled in the future.
4) Minutes of the meeting are not made available to Committee members until roughly a week before the next meeting.
5) There was no SCPD liaison present.

Video and notes from the June 15, 2009 meeting

See also: Rump Measure K Committee Excludes Public Comment, Loses Audio Tape || Measure K Committee Old-Timer To Air Concerns at Committee Meeting || Gutted and Depleted Measure K Commission

City of Santa Cruz documents: 12/15/08 || 2/21/07 || 7/25/06

SubRosa is a non-profit space on lower Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz for art and radical projects run by a collective of volunteers from the local anarchist community. It offers radical books and literature, gourmet coffee and tea, performance and a weekly open mic, gallery art by emerging local artists, and a garden courtyard social space. Free wi-fi and public computers are also available for use. A variety of radical community events are held at SubRosa, including monthly art shows, Free Skool classes and a weekly Open Mic on Thursdays at 8pm. Read more

On June 17th, community members, organized by the newly formed Alliance Against Gang Enhancements, rallied and handed out flyers on the steps of the Santa Cruz County Courthouse and the corner of Ocean and Water to educate the public about the realities of gang enhanced sentences. Organizers say that the sentencing "enhancements" [sic] broadly criminalize youth and do not deter future gang crimes. Rather, they result in huge costs passed on to taxpayers and overcriminalize youth in marginalized communities.

Support for the demonstration was expressed by many car drivers and passengers, as well as people entering the courthouse. However, some folks were apparently less enthusiastic, such as the prosecutor against Richard Bentancourt. The jurors for Bentancourt's trail were reportedly brought into the courthouse through a backdoor. Bentancourt and two other people are on trial this week for a "gang crime" in which the defendants allegedly participated in a fight in Santa Cruz.

Read more and view photos | Gang Wars: The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the Need for Effective Public Safety Strategies

If approved by the state legislature, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget plan will close 220 of 279 State Parks and Beaches, including each and every State Park and Beach in Santa Cruz County.

The proposed Santa Cruz County State Park and Beach closures are Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Castle Rock State Park, Castro Adobe State Historic Park, Coast Dairies State Park, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Lighthouse Field State Beach, Manresa State Beach, Manresa Uplands State Park, Natural Bridges State Beach, New Brighton State Beach, Palm State Beach, Rio Del Mar State Beach, Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park, Seabright State Beach, Seacliff State Beach, Sunset State Beach, The Forest of Nisene Marks, Twin Lakes State Beach and Wilder Ranch State Park.

A rally to save State Parks and Beaches took place on June 1st at Natural Bridges State Beach. On June 2nd, Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks took a bus to Sacramento for the only public hearing on this proposal before the Legislative Budget Conference Committee. Read more

Rally at Natural Bridges to Save State Parks & Beaches

For 30 years, Life Lab Science Program has been helping educators and students bring learning to life in the garden. Based in Santa Cruz, Life Lab has been a leader in the garden-based learning movement locally and across the nation.

On May 30th, Life Lab celebrated its 30-year history with a birthday party in and around the Garden Classroom, located on the UCSC Farm, and featured garden crafts, visiting the chickens and goats, honey tasting, wheat threshing, tractor rides, and carrot birthday cake. Woodoven pizzas, strawberry tarts, fresh squeezed lemonade and hand-cranked ice cream were also available. Read more and view photos

On May 28th, students, staff, workers, and faculty rallied at the base of the UC Santa Cruz campus to protest the UC administration’s decision to cut Community Studies department staff, Latin American Latina/o Studies professors, and director positions at the American Indian Resource Center and the Women’s Center. The rally was organized by the New UC, a coalition that seeks to save quality of education in the UC from regressive, belt-tightening attacks, to ensure universal access to education, and to promote freedom of thought in the university.

Since May 26th, members of the Student of Color Collective (SOCC) have been on a hunger strike at the base of campus to protest budget cuts to underserved communities. In addition to the hunger strike and rally at the base of campus, resisidents of UCSC's Family Student Housing (FSH) held a demonstration with tents to protest inadequate living conditions and a rent hike. Read more and view photos

Also see: UC Santa Cruz Hunger Stike Ends | Community Studies at Santa Cruz to Be Eliminated

The weather is warming and this years summer crops at the Beach Flats Community Garden are coming up. It's been over a year since the Garden was first threatened with closure by the overburdened and resource-strapped Community Center which oversees it. Since, members of the community have banded together not only that once, but again last December, to make sure the garden stays open, the second time in the face of city budget cuts. Despite the threats, gardeners continue to plant, tend and harvest. Read more and view photos

On May 21st, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC) joined in a defense attorneys’ motion in the U.S. District Court in San Jose to dismiss U.S.A. v. Buddenberg, a federal prosecution of four animal rights activists in California—known as the AETA 4—for alleged conspiracy to commit animal enterprise terrorism. The four have been charged with conduct that includes First Amendment protected activities such as protesting, chalking the sidewalk, chanting and leafleting. The motion asks the Court to strike down the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) as unconstitutional.

“To characterize protest and speech as terrorist activities is ludicrous,” said CCR cooperating attorney Matthew Strugar. “And it is not just animal rights activists who are in danger here. The AETA is so broad and unclear it could be used to suppress lawful protests and boycotts by any activists across the spectrum, no matter what the issue. The law must be struck down.”

Passed by Congress in November, the AETA is aimed at suppressing speech and advocacy by criminalizing First Amendment-protected activities such as protests, boycotts, picketing and whistleblowing. It targets animal rights activists, but includes language so broad and vague it could be used to prosecute labor activists who organize a successful boycott of Wal-Mart, or union folks who picket a university cafeteria. Pushed through Congress by a powerful lobby of corporations and research institutions, the AETA is an unconstitutional law, because it criminalizes a broad swath of protected First Amendment activities and is so unclear as to fail to give people notice of whether or not their conduct is lawful. Read more

The Center for Constitutional Rights created an online petition for people to write their senator and representative to demand that they repeal the AETA.

see also: Obama administration targets environmental and animal rights activists as eco-terrorists | Government files responses to AETA4 motion to dismiss

Previous coverage: Activists Arrested for Chalking Sidewalks, Protesting with Bandanas, and Leaflet Distribution

Update 6/9/09: Judge Returns Guilty Verdict In Metro Trespass Trial

Robert Norse writes: "Over six months ago on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008, I was approached by a Metro security guard at the Metro Transit Center in downtown Santa Cruz. I was interviewing two homeless men for Free Radio Santa Cruz. The guard insisted I leave. I declined to do so. He called the police.

"The SCPD, instead of defending my right to be there and advising the Metro Security guards to stop bothering me, forced me to leave the property on threat of arrest. A Metro supervisor subsequently humiliated me further and banned me for the day because I was visibly tape recording the complaint I made to her and her response."

The case goes to trial on Friday, May 15th at 1:30pm in Department 1 of the Santa Cruz County Courthouse. The charge is refusing to leave a "business" when asked to do so. Attorney David Beauvais of Berkeley will be defending Robert Norse in the case. Attorney Kate Wells will be filing a subsequent federal lawsuit for damages. The trial will be before Judge Ariadne Symonds without a jury. City Attorney John Barisone, or one of his attorneys, will presumably be appearing for the city. Read more | Notes from the Defendant

See also: Ticketing for Standing and Talking at the Metro Bus Stop Sunday || Rotkin Claims: No Flyering Allowed at the Metro Center--Protest 11-26

The Rock n' Roll On the Knoll Benefit Concert scheduled to occur on the UC Santa Cruz campus on Sunday, May 17th has been canceled. This was announced with very short notice on the afternoon of May 14th. Apparently, UCSC had to export some of it's police force to a graduation ceremony at UC Merced where Mrs. Obama will be speaking.

This all-day concert featuring eight bands was to be a benefit for the Homeless Community Resource Center of Santa Cruz, and was expecting to draw over 1,000 students to attend. Planning has been in the works for over three months. This is the second time that the University has botched the scheduling of this concert, this time canceling it with less than a three-days notice. Read more

The Santa Cruz County Task Force for LGBTIQ Youth presents the 12th Annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards on Saturday, May 16th at Scotts Valley High School. There will be a community resource fair at 5:00pm, dinner beginning at 5:30pm, and the Awards Ceremony beginning at 7:00pm. A community dance with DJ Eko follows the show.

The Queer Youth Leadership Awards is dedicated to hosting the QYLA in schools across Santa Cruz County, and are excited to announce that the QYLA has now taken place in Santa Cruz, Capitola, Watsonville and will soon take place in Scotts Valley. Read more

Audio: T4CW: 5.11.09 Queer Youth Leadership Awards

Previous coverage: Students and Teachers Speak Out to Make SVHS a Safe Space || 10th Annual QYLA || Young, Queer Latina Leader Comes Full Circle || 1st Annual Watsonville Pride Celebration a Huge Success

UCSC is seeking to meet budget deficits by cutting health care coverage and benefits to its graduate students, including those with families and dependents. Lisa Sloan, Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Earth Sciences, asked the Graduate Student Association to approve cuts to current levels of coverage for the Graduate Student Health Insurance Plan (GSHIP). These cuts could increase the cost of co-pays for doctor visits and emergency care, decrease life-time coverage limits and probably, and most significantly, increase co-pays for prescription drugs, even those taken on a regular basis for chronic conditions.

Nellie Chu, graduate student in the Department of Anthropology and member of the Protect GSHIP Committee, underwent surgery last year to remove a 10cm tumor from her adrenal gland. Chu says, “GSHIP provided me with the affordable health care I needed to save my life.” With these cuts to GSHIP, however, Chu worries that access to healthcare will be out of reach for graduate students with serious illnesses such as hers. “We simply cannot afford to pay more for healthcare on our small salaries as Teaching Assistants,” Chu says. Read more

Previous coverage: Student Health Insurance at UCSC will Cover Transgender Healthcare