On September 2nd, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is expected to release the report of an investigation into widespread accusations that PG&E’s so-called 'smart' meters are inaccurate and routinely overcharge customers. Aside from concerns about accuracy, there is growing alarm from citizens over health risks from the new meters and this has led 20 cities and counties throughout California to demand a halt to smart meter installation.

Despite PG&E’s claims that Smart Meters are safe, no pilot program or independent study has ever taken place to evaluate the acute and long-term health, safety and environmental impacts from multiple meters, or the wireless infrastructure and mesh network in which the meters operate. Scientific studies linking wireless radiation to brain tumors and other adverse health impacts have led to local laws being passed in Fairfax and Watsonville that ban smart meters completely. Short-term health impacts include headaches, sleep problems, dizziness, heart palpitations and stress.

"The installation of smart meters should be halted due to the associated health and environmental risks to our communities” said Stephany Aguilar, Council Member for the City of Scotts Valley. “My being electrically sensitive reinforces my belief that people have a right to be safe in the homes. It is also imperative that we be provided an accurate accounting of our energy usage.”

Read more | PG&E Abandons Smart Meter Facility Following Protests in Santa Cruz County | previous coverage: Protests Halt PG&E's 'Smart' Meters for 3rd Day in a Row

At the August 25th Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting, district nurses used their allotted time during open comment to make an organized, collective presentation to the school board and community regarding the imminent safety of PVUSD staff and students. The presentation School Nursing Services in Hard Times by school nurses Kathleen Kilpatrick, Elizabeth Thorne and Judy Schwartze shared important information about the state of school medical services in PVUSD.

Some of the major points presented to the school board and district administrators were that the average caseload for senior nurses is 5,000 students and ten school sites, current assignments are unsafe and put students at risk and caseloads are already above state and national averages. Nurses in PVUSD also manage Special Ed students in all levels of acuity. Read more

On August 30th, for the third straight morning, outraged Santa Cruz County residents gathered at the gates of Wellington Energy at 38th and Portola in Capitola, successfully blocking what they say is a forced installation of radiating 'smart' meters against the will of residents and nearly two dozen local governments throughout the Greater Bay Area.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff showed up and asked the protesters to step aside. Once it was clear that protesters were willing to risk arrest, PG&E backed down in order to avoid any additional negative publicity that is increasingly plaguing their 'smart' meter program.

Numerous local governments, politicians, and organizations are calling for a moratorium, have enacted a ban, or are opposing Smart Meters, including the City and County of San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Marin County Board of Supervisors and the cities of Sebastopol, Berkeley, Cotati, Fairfax, Santa Cruz, Piedmont, Scotts Valley, Capitola and Watsonville.

Joshua Hart of Stop Smart Meters! says protests will continue every morning this week at 38th and Portola in Capitola, starting at 7:30am.

Read more with video and photos | Stop Smart Meters! | previous coverage: Protesters Halt Smart Meter Installation in Santa Cruz County

On August 28th, the new Santa Cruz County chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) held a fundraiser in Felton. It was the local chapter's first public event.

Americans for Safe Access, based in Oakland, is the largest member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens working to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic uses and research. ASA works in partnership with state, local and national legislators to create policies that improve access to medicinal marijuana for both patients and researchers. ASA claims to have over 30,000 active members with chapters and affiliates in more than 40 states.

Gail, a member of the Wo/Man's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) who was born with glaucoma and is blind, was grateful for the opportunity to meet and socialize with others who benefit, physically and mentally, from cannabis. As an eighteen year old student at UC Santa Cruz, Gail was passed a joint for the first time. That is when she discovered that marijuana eases the pain she experiences from glaucoma. Read more and view photos

Student organizers handed out literature and dropped a banner during the "Presidents Barbeque" at CSU Monterey Bay on Sunday, August 22. The University President’s speech, which occurs every year on the day before class starts, had no relevance to students’ lives and once again proved the disconnect between those who attend the university and those who manage it. This year a group of students contributed to the event by passing out copies of CSUMB’s Otter Disorientation Guide, a guide to a more realistic college experience. It also echoed the recent statewide call to action to defend public education on October 7th. Several students dropped a banner over the side of a building that faced the crowd. The sign read "Set Education Free—Strike! Oct. 7th". The banner was quickly removed, exposing the anti-free speech attitude of those who run the university.

Read more | CSUMB Otter DisOrientation Guide 2010 | Cal Disorientation Guide 2010 | October 7: Strike for Higher Education

Early morning on August 26th, outraged Santa Cruz County residents gathered at the gates of Wellington Energy at 38th and Portola in Capitola to protest what they say is a forced installation of radiating 'smart' meters against the will of residents and nearly two dozen local governments throughout the Greater Bay Area. Despite the fact that the $2.2 billion program is being funded by ratepayers, and the new meters installed on people’s homes, there has been virtually no public consultation in advance of what PG&E itself admits is one of the largest rollouts of technology in history.

PG&E’s smart meter troubles have mounted significantly this week. Tuesday night, the City of Novato demanded a halt to the program, and Watsonville unanimously passed the most stringent law in the state banning smart meters within city limits, following the lead of Fairfax in Marin County. Santa Cruz County, Capitola and numerous other local governments throughout the state are planning to follow their lead, responding to inaction by PG&E and the CA Public Utilities Commission in the face of peer-reviewed scientific studies that suggest the meters may have serious unintended health consequences, similar to cell phones which have been linked with brain tumors in many recent studies.

Read more and view photos | previous coverage: Scotts Valley Neighbors Against Smart Meters Chase PG&E Out Of Town | PG&E Forces Smart Meters On Scotts Valley | Scotts Valley Residents Ask City for Moratorium on Smart Meters

In another move clamping down on public use of previously public space, the city of Santa Cruz posted "closing hours" on the City Hall grounds for the first time, without any kind of public hearing, announcement, or rationale. When then-Mayor Mike Rotkin tried to close down City Hall in 1996 to end another homeless protest against the Sleeping Ban, the City Council declined to back him and Judge Samuel Stevens ended up granting a very limited injunction requiring that folks there "obey all laws." This time, without a hearing, Parks and Recreation, which controls virtually all the public space around public buildings, issued an edict closing the area.

In the early morning of August 22nd, police issued four citations at Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010 for lodging in violation of California Penal Code Section 647e. 72-year old Collette Connolly was taken to jail for refusing to sign the citation. A generator is said to cost $100 for each night that it chugs and growls in front of City Hall to fuel the burning glare of four 15' high klieg lights.

Read more | Homeless Settle In As Police Continue Nighttime Raids & Daytime Surveillance | Lights, Camera, Tickets! Klieg Lights at City Hall--Throwing Light on the Shelter Shortage | Correcting the Record at the Homeless Services Center | previous coverage: Peace Camp 2010 Relocates from County Courthouse to Santa Cruz City Hall

Anarchist activist and former parade organizer Wes Modes was found guilty on August 16th of walking in the DIY New Year's parade on December 31, 2009. Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Jeff Almquist rejected arguments that the citation was discriminatory and that the city's permit requirements were unconstitutional. Almquist also denied a lengthy challenge to the City's permit requirements without addressing all of the points it brought up.

One important concern was whether this verdict would be used to send Wes to jail, by alleging he was in violation of a sentencing condition from an arrest on September 17th, 2008 near the Santa Cruz Farmer's Market. When asked to finalize and acknowledge Wes's community service hours, Almquist declined to make a statement. Instead he postponed any discussion of the issue until November 30th.

According to parade participants, the Almquist's ruling is the latest in a series of police and city harassment that Modes has received since outing police infiltrators in 2005.

Read more | previous coverage: Parade Group Challenges Santa Cruz City Permits | Parade Prosecution: People v. Wes Modes

The Scott and Carrie Support Committee, along with the RNC 8 Defense Committee and friends, are excited to "bring The Conspiracy to Santa Cruz!" On Monday, August 16th at 7pm at SubRosa, the Conspiracy Tour 2010 will feature presentations on the cases of Scott DeMuth, Carrie Feldman and the RNC 8, as well as information on AETA, grand jury resistance, dealing with state repression and more.

Conspirators allege, "This will be a roadshow to remember even before you read about it in your FBI file."

Event Details | Conspiracy Tour | Support Scott DeMuth! | RNC 8 | Grand Jury Resistance

Red, a participant in the Peace Camp 2010 protest against the Santa Cruz Sleeping Ban, said that she and about 15 other demonstrators moved to City Hall at 3am on August 11th. The Peace Camp had been at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse since July 4th, and persevered through six Sheriff raids.

"We took it to the city because it's a city problem," said Red. "So we're camped outside the mayor's office."

Although Sleeping Bans have been ruled unconstitutional and overturned in several California cities, including San Diego, Laguna Beach, Los Angeles and Richmond, it is still enforced vigorously in Santa Cruz.

Read more and view photos | One Big Earthquake and You're All Homeless: End the Sleeping Ban | Archived Stories of the Sleeping Ban Struggle in 1996 and 2001 | August, 2007: Ongoing Protest Against the Santa Cruz Sleeping Ban | previous coverage Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010 Perseveres Through Six Sheriff Raids

Fuck ICE writes: "On Friday evening, August 6, we gathered outside the Santa Cruz County Jail to demonstrate our solidarity with the people locked up inside and express our hatred of imprisonment. About 30-40 of us stood in the middle of Blaine Street, next to both the main County Jail (where 336 people are locked up) and the Women’s Facility (21 people). We banged on drums made from 55-gallon barrels with the intention of creating as much noise as possible to breach the prison walls. Our portable sound system blasted insurgent hip-hop, including N.W.A’s 'Fuck the Police' and the Geto Boys’ 'G-Code.' We carried two banners stating, 'Free All Prisoners' and 'Chinga la Migra/Fuck I.C.E.'

"Chants included 'We Are All Illegal, Todos Somos Ilegales,' 'Chinga la Migra, Y La Policia,' and 'Revolt on the Outside, Revolt on the Inside!' We also told jokes at the expense of cops and jail guards. At one point, as the jail guards stood on the roof of the jail watching us, people started chanting 'Jump! Jump! Jump!' We also used a megaphone to attempt to speak directly to the prisoners and let them know that they are not forgotten and that they have support from the outside."

Read more | On ICE, Imprisonment, and White Supremacy | What is the "Secure Communities" Program?

On the night of Monday, August 9th, between 20 and 40 people gathered, many laid out in sleeping bags, for the 37th night of Peace Camp 2010's high profile protest at the Santa Cruz County Building. Shortly after 4am on Tuesday morning, eight Sheriff's deputies were ticketing, evicting, and hauling two people to jail. Five more people were cited. Housed activists Linda and Coral both got their first citations; they had joined the protest in solidarity and were "caught" sleeping when the deputies made their 6th raid of the week.

As Tuesday morning dawned, about eight people remained on the steps of the courthouse building, seated next to "End the Sleeping Ban" signs. The group awaited the return of two jailed activists, while a third, Gary Johnson, was still being held. There have been 24 citations, with the arrest total at an additional 9, mostly on the same charge of violating California's anti-lodging law PC 647e, a "disorderly conduct" code which could result in jury trials and public defenders.

Homeless advocate Robert Norse states that the core message of the demonstration, left out of corporate media reports, "is the homeless have created a safe place to sleep and use the bathroom, because the city and the county refuse to do so, instead using a law to make sleeping at night a crime."

Two Jailed, Curbhugger Released, Five More Misdemeanor Tickets | All Quiet Up to 1 AM | previous coverage: Attorney Ed Frey Arrested on 35th Night