Feature Archives

During a meeting on February 10th in which they joined six other local governments who have passed laws criminalizing the installation of wireless Smart Meters, the Capitola City Council discovered that the wireless Smart Meters that CA utilities are trying to install are not certified by Underwriters Laboratory, a certification that is required under the state electrical code for all electrical appliances and equipment within the home. A demonstration was scheduled for San Francisco on February 16th.

Caltrans plans to take down some 54 trees in the Richardson Grove, and pave over the roots of many old-growth trees, in order to widen and straighten US-101 in southern Humboldt County. Reported to contain the 9th largest tree of all remaining Coast Redwoods, local residents refer to the Richardson Grove as the edge of the "Redwood Curtain." Preservation groups and community members against the project called for a rally at Caltrans District 1 headquarters in Eureka on Monday, February 7th and over 200 came to demonstrate against the highway expansion. Twelve people were arrested.

Wellington Energy is the company that is installing PG&E’s new wireless ‘smart’ meters in California. A former Wellington Energy employee contacted the Scotts Valley Neighbors Against Smart Meters about his experience installing smart meters from June through September in 2010. The 'Wellington Whistleblower' warns, "I do feel that Scotts Valley, Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Corralitos, to name a few should be informed enough to prepare for what could realistically turn into another San Bruno."

On the day after President Obama's State of the Union address, young people and elders gathered in front of the Federal Building in San Francisco for a rally and press conference to demand more job creation efforts. They stood together to commit to the fight to save social security, calling it "America's promise to its people."

Newly elected Governor Jerry Brown’s 2011–2012 budget proposal slashes $12.5 billion dollars from essential health and human services. Brown himself characterized his new budget as "draconian." Immediately following the January 10th announcement of Brown’s new budget, health service agencies held a press conference in the Sacramento State House denouncing the proposal. Statewide actions included similar press conferences and rallies in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and Fresno.

On New Year's Eve, as it has for the past six years, Santa Cruz hosted the DIY New Years Parade, what has become both a homespun, family-friendly alternative celebration and a controversial embarrassment for the city. The result of six years of do-it-yourself community organizing, the Last Night DIY Parade, a community-sponsored New Year's Eve celebration again hit Santa Cruz streets.

Tim Hull, Courthouse News writes: The 9th Circuit on Wednesday [Dec. 15] revived the First Amendment claim of a man who was kicked out of a Santa Cruz City Council meeting for giving a Nazi salute. Chief Judge Alex Kozinski wrote that a councilman's ensuing "hissy fit" may have disrupted the meeting more than the silent gesture.