Feature Archives

On March 23rd some San Francisco Board of Supervisors, community groups, and local residents held a press conference on the steps of City Hall to denounce the "lies and manipulations" in Pacific Gas and Electric' mailers and television commercials over Proposition 16. Supervisors also took this time to re-iterate their commitment to Clean Power SF, which is a plan adopted in 2007 that will set San Francisco on the path to using clean renewable energy from cheaper sources.

Santa Cruz Water Department and Soquel Creek Water District have embarked on a plan for a desalination plant, a highly energy intensive way to increase the water supply. The greenhouse gases that such a plant would produce have inspired opposition. A forum on Thursday, March 18th at Live Oak Elementary School features Bill Kocher from the Santa Cruz Water Department and Debbie Cook, former mayor of Huntington Beach, and author of "Desalination, Energy Down the Drain."

For over three years, a community has resisted the development of a massive coal-fired power plant in the Navajo Nation called Desert Rock, blockading roads and occupying a permanent campsite. On March 17th, Elouise Brown, president of the Doodá Desert Rock committee, will launch an 11-day tour of California to speak about the dangers posed by the coal industry, the exploitation of indigenous land by energy companies, and the ongoing struggle to stop development of Desert Rock.

On January 9, the Raging Grannies joined worker safety advocates in protesting plans by Tesla Motors, Inc. to build an auto assembly plant in Downey, California. Downey is the location of a major film studio built on the site of a former NASA plant that produced spacecraft for the Apollo moon missions. Despite cleanup efforts meant to protect workers from the toxic residue of aerospace experiments and manufacturing, dozens of film production workers have developed severe health problems while working in Downey. Some never recovered.

The first annual Earth First! California Roadshow will be traveling through the state this month to build connections between bioregions and different ecological resistance groups, and to promote the upcoming Organizers' Conference and Winter Rendezvous in Santa Barbara. About a dozen events are scheduled, including stops in Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and Fresno.

After Re'Anita Burns and other members of Youth United for Community Action helped shut down hazardous waste disposal company Romic Technologies, The Nation hailed their action as one of the top 10 youth activism victories of 2007. As 24-year-old Re'Anita enters a second decade of organizing in her community of color, she fights for tenants who need relief from illegal rent increases. She says she is not sure what changes the next ten years will bring to East Palo Alto, but she knows one thing for certain: she will never stop being a community organizer.

A poorly researched article on California water, the "New Dust Bowl," is online and appeared in the November-December edition of Mother Jones magazine, a publication known for its investigative reporting. Dan Bacher, an Indybay contributor and editor for Fish Sniffer, critiques the article, stating, "The 'New Dust Bowl' sounds just like a headline from the Sean Hannity Show or Fox 'News' - and the article reads like a propaganda piece for growers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley."