Feature Archives

On November 7th, about 75 people turned out on Science Hill, the site scheduled for construction of a Biomedical Sciences Facility, to celebrate the one year anniversary of the UCSC Science Hill Tree Sit. The festivities featured speakers, spoken word, and musical performances, as well as laughter, storytelling and conversation. People also marked the occasion by sharing memories of November 7th, 2007, the day that hundreds of students, staff, faculty, and community members withstood the police in order to support the tree sit.

People from the Klamath Basin and throughout California are urging the State Water Resources Control Board to not grant Warren Buffett-owned PacifiCorp a clean water permit because of the degradation of water quality resulting from the operation of company's dams on the river.

Just a few days before the one-year anniversary of the aerial spraying for Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) in Santa Cruz, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) released two studies about the pesticide applications in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. While CDFA claims that these reports prove the safety of the eradication program, environmental groups and citizen advocates say that statement is misleading and point out fundamental shortcomings of both reports. Rather, they argue, they reveal another breach of the law by CDFA.

On Friday, November 7th, students and other community members will gather on Science Hill at UCSC to celebrate one year of occupying trees in resistance to the UC’s plans to destroy 120 acres of forest in Upper Campus, home to the threatened Burrowing Owl, and a vital watershed area. Festivities, including speakers and a performance by Blackbird Raum, will commence at 1pm. Tree-sit supporters assert, "Only by coming together can we make an impact on the choices that will affect all of us living in this landscape."

A coalition of fishing and environmental groups is alarmed that an executive order by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued earlier this year could further threaten imperiled populations of Central Valley and Klamath River salmon. The order, made during the budget impasse between the Governor and Legislature, terminated temporary help positions from the state’s payroll.

A group of Hmong gardeners and their allies are fighting an attempt by the City of Fresno to evict them from plots they have farmed for 13 years. The Hmong Community Garden provides food for 300 members of the Hmong community. The city is planning to destroy the garden and build a police substation in its place. City officials have claimed that an agreement was reached to relocate the gardeners, but the gardeners stated they have not and will not agree to be relocated.

Glen Chase, a Professor of Systems Management, has released a third report detailing the methodical fraud that the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Management perpetrated to attempt to create a bogus emergency eradication program for the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM). This third report demonstrates the fraud and deception within the program strategy that CDFA Management used and is continuing to use to qualify for $100's of millions of dollars of emergency taxpayer funds, which were intended for real emergencies.