Feature Archives

On November 2, red paint was splashed across the front door of Mission Santa Cruz. Following the Catholic church's canonization of Junipero Serra, a series of acts of vandalism has occurred on the Central Coast, including the beheading of a Serra statue in Monterey in October, and the splashing of paint on Mission Carmel and the toppling of a statue of Serra in September.

In a show of solidarity, labor unions and Black Lives Matter activists staged a protest on November 10 which targeted Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley. Some two hundred protesters gathered outside D.A. O'Malley's offices demanding that she “Drop the charges against the Black Friday 14!” They declared that the struggles for economic justice and racial justice were two sides of the same struggle. Inside the courthouse, a delegation of labor leaders occupied O'Malley's office. No arrests were made.

On November 14, residents of the Midtown Park Apartments in San Francisco's Western Addition and their supporters gathered for a fundraiser and BBQ. In 2013, the City terminated the lease with the tenants and awarded it to Mercy Housing. Tenants are now facing enormous rent increases and Mercy Housing has put forth plans to eventually demolish the buildings. In response, Midtown tenants went on Rent Strike five months ago and are calling out for public support.

In the city of Alameda, rent increases and evictions remain unregulated. Landlords are pushing rents up sky high and/or evicting people out of homes they've been able to afford for decades. On November 4, an estimated 200 Alamedan renters went to their city council to demand an end to unfair rent hikes and displacement. City Official Bob Haun shoved a 68-year-old Alameda Rental Coalition leader and police tackled another protester to the ground where he lay bleeding while police restrained him. After a hearing that lasted past 1am, the council voted for a temporary 65-day limit of 8% on rent increases and ban on no cause evictions.

Students, teachers, supporters, plus many others marched from CCSF’s Mission campus to the Civic Center campus over the pending downsizing of City College on November 12. Faculty union AFT 2121, which represents 1500 faculty at CCSF announced they authorized a one-day strike in response to unfair labor practices at City College. A picket to support CCSF faculty in contract negotiations has been called for November 18.

On November 13, the San Francisco Public Defender’s office released video of two Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) Deputies beating a man who is curled up on the ground. The first deputy tackles and punches the man and then both proceed to hit him with their batons for nearly a minute, repeatedly striking the man in the head and all over his body. They only stop beating him after other ACSO deputies and SF police arrive on the scene. Instead of rendering medical aid, the arriving police walk around the seriously wounded man, shining flashlights on him as he moans in pain, crying out for help.

On March 3, six UCSC students blocked California Highway 1 using lockboxes and garbage cans filled with concrete. Independent journalist Alex Darocy, long-time Indybay contributor and editorial collective member, shot several photographs of the student demonstrators from his car as he passed the blockade, and for that he is currently being prosecuted, facing the possibility of jail time. A Motion to Dismiss, which argued that the prosecution is attempting to criminalize and chill conduct that is protected under the First Amendment, was heard on November 13. Judge Paul Burdick denied the motion and set a trial date for February 22, 2016.