Feature Archives

The Hoopa Valley Tribe rejected the latest draft of the Klamath River Basin Restoration Agreement (KRBRA) released on January 15th because the agreement lacks adequate water assurances for fish. "Hoopa will retain its rights to defend the Klamath," said Clifford Lyle Marshall, Tribal Chairman. "We will work with any and all parties to remove the dams and assure a restored healthy river."

Lakota Sioux Indian representatives declared sovereign nation status on Wednesday, December 19th in Washington D.C. following Monday’s withdrawal from all previously signed treaties with the United States Government. The withdrawal, hand delivered to Daniel Turner, Deputy Director of Public Liaison at the State Department, immediately and irrevocably ends all agreements between the Lakota Sioux Nation of Indians and the United States Government outlined in the 1851 and 1868 Treaties at Fort Laramie, Wyoming.

On December 14th, over 200 people gathered in downtown Oakland for a lively lunch time protest against plans by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to demolish 4,500 housing units in New Orleans. On December 20th, there was a City Council meeting in New Orleans to vote on the demolitions. Police used pepper spray and tazers to prevent residents from entering the City Hall chambers. City Council voted unanimously to approve the demolitions.

On Saturday, December 15th, nearly 100 people held a candle light vigil in front of a new mural designed and painted by local artist Paul Barron and Gary King Sr. at the spot where his son Gary King Jr. was brutally killed by Oakland Police Officer Patrick Gonzalez on September 20. Family and friends had turned the spot of the murder into a shrine with candles, but messages of love and anger were repeatedly torn down by the City of Oakland. It was only after family and friends launched a struggle that the city approved the creation of a permanent mural.

On Monday, December 10th, Supervisor Chris Daly hosted a hearing on the controversial San Francisco gang injunctions. Community members criticized the proposal, calling it racist and ineffective. They called on the city to address the root causes of violence not the symptoms.

West Fresno residents and their allies held a press conference on Monday, November 26, 2007 to respond to elected city officials identifying black gang members as terrorists.

Ichinkhorloo Bayarsaikhan, a 15 year old who immigrated to the United States from Mongolia, was murdered in a park in Alameda on Halloween night. The Asian Pacific Islander community has been troubled by police harassment and inadequate coverage of the investigation by local corporate media outlets throughout November. A rally and press conference to demand police accountability will took place on November 27th in front of the City of Alameda Police Department.