Feature Archives

A broad coalition of education leaders urge full disclosure by city & county of Sacramento regarding arena negotiation details during a press conference.

10/19 update: Temporary restraining order halts destruction.
10/17: At a press conference on the steps of Fresno City Hall, the ACLU and other civil rights groups announced a lawsuit against the City of Fresno, accusing the city of violating the constitutional rights of homeless people whose personal possessions are being destroyed and confiscated in ongoing raids. Clothing, medication, tents and blankets, as well as irreplaceable family photographs, personal records and documents have been destroyed by Fresno’s Police and Sanitation Depts., who use bulldozers and garbage trucks to confiscate tents and shopping carts full of personal belongings, usually crushing them on the spot, often with the homeless owners watching and protesting. Photos

Update: Four people have been indicted on federal charges of distribution of marijuana and conspiracy to distribute, and they were all granted bail. Two of them, Luke Scarmazzo and Ricardo Montes, both 26, have not yet been released due to a federal government appeal of their bail. There is a hearing on the bail appeal for Luke and Richard on Monday, October 16th, at 11am in the Fresno Federal Court.

The California Healthcare Collective (CHC) in Modesto was raided on the morning of Wednesday, September 27th by local and federal agents. The city had last year banned dispensaries, except for those that are nonprofits. In mid-September, the Modesto City Council voted to repeal the non-profit provision, thus making the CHC "illegal," and setting the scene for the raid. Medical marijuana supporters in California say that they will not stand for these continued attacks on medical cannabis patients.

On Monday, September 25, federal authorities asserted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have arrested 109 people on suspected immigration violations, throughout the Sacramento area, including 12 in Lodi. The raids were part of the government’s “Operation Return to Sender” campaign of cracking down on undocumented immigrants. The raids are strikingly similar to the recent roundups in Santa Cruz, Watsonville and Hollister on September 7th and 8th, where 107 were arrested by ICE officials in a move that infuriated the community.
Condemnation of the raids

SB 840, the 'Universal Health Care' bill, was passed by the California State Senate on Aug. 31, and would provide health care coverage to all California residents through a state-run, single-payer system, ending the need for private insurance companies.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s promise to veto Senate Bill 840 ensures that the health care system of California will remain privately run.

The City of Fresno is in the process of adopting an ordinance that would make it a crime to be in the possession of a shopping cart. The ordinance would criminalize the homeless who use shopping carts as a means of transporting their possessions. The ordinance will subject any person with a shopping cart that has been removed from a business, to a $1,000 fine and up to one year in jail. The ordinance is part of an ongoing attack against this communities homeless population. These attacks have included the bulldozing of homeless encampments, destruction of homeless persons personal possessions, an ordinance against aggressive panhandling, and the building of fences to prevent the homeless from accessing vacant state owned land. Photos

On September 6th, a diverse group of local elected officials announced their opposition to the Arena Tax proposed by the Maloof Sports and Entertainment Corporation.

Under the proposed Measures Q & R (The Arena Tax), the sales tax will be increased in Sacramento County to raise $562 million in order to build a sports and entertainment facility in downtown Sacramento. All revenues generated from the facility will go to the the Maloof Sports and Entertainment Corporation. The Officials urged voters to vote 'no' on Measure Q & R on the November Ballot.

For more information on the Arena Tax and its impact on the community, please visit Sacramentans Against the Arena Tax