Feature Archives

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

Massive citizen mobilization is needed to respond to the limitations government has done to address social ills. On Nov. 7 voters need to respond to the greed that drives the real reason behind the 'Maloof tax'. The 'Maloof tax' is a public subsidy to build a new basketball arena and an associated advisory referendum that will come before voters. The Maloof family owns Sacramento's Arco Arena, where the NBA Kings and WNBA Monarchs play.

The Maloofs, of course, have the capital to build the new arena, but they want Sacramento County taxpayers to help them bear that cost.

The Fresno City Council approved the start of a massive police video surveillance project at their Tuesday, August 22 meeting. The last hurdle to approve this project was the acceptance, by the City Council, of a policy manual to regulate the use of the cameras. While much of the policy manual came from The Constitution Project and was protective of civil liberties, there were several key elements of the manual that community members strenuously objected to.

Independent journalist Mike Rhodes reports that he was recently asked to sign a petition to legalize marijuana. Once he had signed, the signature gatherer asked if it she could register him as a Republican. She told him that she would be paid extra for Republican registrations, but she also told him that she was paid hourly. Victor Salazar, the Fresno County Clerk, said that the process sounded deceptive, and referred Rhodes to the Secretary of State fraud investigation unit. Mike was unable to reach anyone at the fraud investigation unit by phone, despite repeated calls.