Feature Archives

On Thursday May 1st, Al-Jazeera reporter Sami al-Haj was released after six and a half years at Guantanamo. Upon his arrival in Sudan early on Friday, Al-Hajj was carried off a US air force jet on a stretcher and immediately taken to a hospital. Al-Hajj told reporters at the hospital that "rats are treated with more humanity" than the inmates at Guantanamo, whose "human dignity [is] violated". Ten journalists have been held for extended periods by the U.S. military and then released without charge. The U.S. military continues to hold Jawed Ahmad, a journalist for Canada's CTV, at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

The Runner Initiative, or "Safe Neighborhood Act," takes aim on gangs and crime by pumping billions of non-existent state dollars into prisons and police. Opponents say more resources should go to education, job training, and community-based crime prevention programs. The author of the initiative, "Three Strikes and You're Out" Mike Reynolds, turned in over 700,000 signatures on April 24 to get the proposal on the November 2008 ballot.

The Runner Initiative (the Safe Neighborhood Act) takes aim on gangs and crime. Opponents say more resources should go to education, job training, and community-based crime prevention programs. The author of the initiative (Three Strikes and Your Out) Mike Reynolds, turned in over 700,000 signatures on April 24 to get the proposal on the November 2008 ballot.

Thousands of students from around the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas participated in a "Four Twenty" celebration in Porter Meadow at UC Santa Cruz on April 20th, 2008. Four Twenty (420) is a time of day when people, often a group of friends, smoke cannabis together or eat foods cooked with it. For that reason, April 20th has evolved into a counterculture holiday where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.

The Carrisalez family and their supporters held a press conference today to discuss the shooting of Jesse Carrisalez at Roosevelt High School by a Fresno Police Department officer. Elisa Ortega, Jesse’s sister, said “my brother shouldn’t have died. He was too young. He was a good kid that wanted to live.”

The Carrisalez family and their supporters held a press conference today to discuss the shooting of Jesse Carrisalez at Roosevelt High School by a Fresno Police Department officer. Elisa Ortega, Jesse’s sister, said “my brother shouldn’t have died. He was too young. He was a good kid that wanted to live.” A 14:43 minute video of that press conference is below.

Addy writes, "Since the administration is closing campus on 4/20, the UCSC students are extending an invitation to everyone to come up on Friday, April 18th to take over the quad. We'll have our 4/20 celebration early, to let them know that it is our campus, that we pay THEM. This new 4/20 policy is draconian and unnecessary as there have been no issues in the past."