Feature Archives

On July 20th, George Cadman interviewed Medea Benjamin about her new book "Drone Warfare: Killing By Remote Control," which is "a comprehensive look at the growing menace of robotic warfare, with an extensive analysis of who is producing the drones, where they are being used, who 'pilots' these unmanned planes, who the victims are and what some of the legal and moral implications are." Benjamin's book also looks at what activists, lawyers and scientists are doing to ground the drones, and ways to move forward. Medea Benjamin spoke at Bookshop Santa Cruz on Monday, July 23th.

David Morse, a long-time member of the San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center has settled his lawsuit over the University of California - Berkeley Police Department’s improper arrest, imprisonment, and seizure of journalistic materials during a student demonstration he was covering as a journalist. In exchange for Mr. Morse’s agreement to dismiss the lawsuit, UC Regents have paid $162,500 and have agreed to modify UCBPD policies and procedures and to conduct extensive training sessions for UCBPD officers regarding protections for journalists under federal and state law.

On July 1st, a benefit for Desiree Foster of the Santa Cruz Eleven was held at India Joze restaurant. Foster and ten other people were charged with two felonies each in relation to the occupation of a vacant bank building located at 75 River Street in Santa Cruz in the Fall of 2011. Foster, a 19-year-old woman, has been undergoing financial difficulties due in part to her mother's cancer diagnosis. The benefit featured food cooked and served by India Joze owner Jozseph Schultz and performances by several of Santa Cruz's biggest names in music and entertainment.

As he begins his 37th year of wrongful imprisonment, Native American leader and activist Leonard Peltier will be honored on Tuesday, June 26th with singing and drumming on Ohlone land at Theodore Lenzen Park in San Jose. Community members will discuss what can be done to secure Peltier's release from prison.

Desiree Foster, the youngest of the Santa Cruz Eleven, was arrested on February 8th as she and her boyfriend were leaving her home on her way to the Santa Cruz Courthouse in an attempt to quash her arrest warrant by agreeing to appear in court on a certain date. Instead, she spent the next nine hours sitting on plastic seating watching a deputy-controlled television set, having been arrested for two felony counts, conspiracy and vandalism, and two misdemeanor counts of trespass, with bail set at $5,000. Her mother, suffering from cancer, attempted to raise the $500 to bail out her daughter, when, inexplicably, Desiree was released on her own recognizance.

On June 12th, family members held a memorial for Derrick Gaines, a 15-year-old who was shot and killed by an officer with the South San Francisco Police Department on the evening of June 5th. Police claim that Gaines, who was walking with a friend near an Arco gas station, was engaging in "suspicious behavior".

On June 8th, the Court of Appeal of the State of California, First Appellate District in San Francisco, ruled that Mehserle's conviction should not be overturned. While the Involuntary Manslaughter conviction was considered grossly unjust, far too lenient and an affront to East Bay residents all too familiar with police violence against communities of color, the denial of Mehserle's appeal comes as something of a relief for Oscar Grant's family and the Oakland community. The conviction prevents Mehserle from ever wearing a badge and a gun again.