Feature Archives

Danny Blackgoat, a longtime Dine' (Navajo) resister of forced relocation, will be traveling from his home at Big Mountain (AZ) this weekend to speak in Santa Cruz on Friday, Nov. 13th and San Francisco on Saturday, Nov. 14th. He will be screening a new 24 minute film featuring Pauline Whitesinger, and giving an hour long presentation about relocation, coal mining, and recent happenings at Black Mesa.

On October 24th, as part of the worldwide action on climate issues, activists rallied throughout Northern California. In Santa Cruz, marchers carried placards through town and held a mock trial of the automobile. In Humboldt County, demonstrators chose the ancient redwood forest in Richardson Grove as their protest site because it is threatened by Caltrans’ proposal to widen highway 101. In San Francisco, Justin Herman Plaza was filled with an enthusiastic crowd, while in nearby suburbs residents gathered to share planet-saving tips with neighbors.

Donna Bird writes:, "In New Zealand we seem to have become the dumping ground for U.S chemicals and the experimental ground for the biotech products manufactured in the United States and we are paying the price. New Zealand is being turned into a parking lot. Our forests, waterways and our health are all being systematically destroyed by your patented products which are designed to kill things."

A coalition of organizations rallied in San Francisco on September 21st to deliver a message to U.S. lawmakers and polluting corporations. The protest started at the S.F. office of Senator Barbara Boxer and then moved to Chevron Oil Corporation’s downtown S.F. "Energy Solutions" office. The action capped the weekend-long West Coast Climate Justice Convergence, building grassroots pressure in the lead up to the December's Copenhagen climate talks.

A widely circulated email, republished on Indybay, theorizes that UC Santa Cruz is in the process of completely closing the historic UCSC Arboretum. A volunteer at the world-famous botanical garden states, "They are doing it by steps to prevent a public outcry."

On August 15th, hundreds rallied at the Richmond BART and then marched to the Chevron oil refinery. The protesters called attention to Chevron’s polluting oil refinery in Richmond and to its oil industry expansions - killing people and the planet for profit. A critical mass bike bloc also meet at the Richmond BART and followed the main march to the Chevron refinery. At the end of the march there was non-violent civil disobedience action against the refinery.

August 7th, 2009 marks the two year anniversary of the death of John Myslin, a high school teacher who was run over by a truck at the intersection of Bay and Mission in Santa Cruz. Several months after his death, on April 8th, 2008, another experienced cyclist, Chris Rock, was run over and killed by a truck at the same intersection. A memorial bike ride took place on August 16th.