Feature Archives

Last night's Sacramento Critical Mass ride started out beautifully from Cesar Chavez park at about 5:30 with about 40 riders. The ride headed down a main downtown street, and then zig zagged around the city for about a half hour before the police began to make arrests. In the end, four riders would be arrested, many while waiting for traffic lights, and generally obeying all traffic stops and rules. One rider, according to a report, was grabbed by the arm, his wrist was forcibly twisted into "pain compliance holds," to which the rider responded by repeatedly asking what the officer was doing. The officer stood there, twisting his wrist back and forth, obviously not trying to do anything except cause pain and injury. The situation escalated further when several more officers ran over and tackled the rider to the ground. There were 4-5 officers pinning the rider to the ground, some kicking, others twisting his wrists, and yet another putting on handcuffs. Muffled screams of "YOU ARE HURTING ME," and "PLEASE STOP," could be heard from underneath the pile of officers. Read full report here.

5/26/05 Over 10,000 teachers, nurses, firefighters and labor union activists rallied against Governor Schwarzenegger, and his broken promises to public services. Representatives from the so-called "special interests" groups spoke and told their powerful stories and demanded that Arnold keep his promises to California. An airplane flew the message "California is not for sale!" Various anti-war organizations like ANSWER and Code Pink were out in force, as were people drawing attention to the Minutemen. Pictures here.

5/23/05 Protests were held last Saturday in Modesto and today in Fresno against from police killings and brutality. Today,members from the Fresno Hmong community protested against police violence. Susane Moua, a spokesperson for the group said Fresno Police Department (FPD) officers brutally attacked Neng May Her during a domestic dispute. Her has been charged with obstructing and resisting the officers. His trial is now taking place in the Fresno County courthouse. Moua said that the attack on Her happened in July 2004 when the family’s children got into a conflict. The FPD was called, but instead of bringing peace to the family, the officers "immediately used a loud tone of voice toward the mother and attacked the mother verbally to scare her. The officers physically attacked the father when he arrived to the home." According to Moua, Her suffered from multiple bruises and other injuries from this incident. There were photographs at today’s protest to substantiate these accusations. Security guards harassed the group and made them move the protest after stating that they did not have a permit.

In Modesto friends and family of Sammy Galvan, who was shot in August 2004 by two Modesto police, protested the death of the young man. Responding to a domestic call, police arrived at the Galvan house and shot him when he made aggressive moves towards them with a knife and they feared for their lives. Witnesses however contend that Sammy made no aggressive moves towards police, and his weapon was a cooking knife. The demonstration was the second in four months, and the family is currently engage in a lawsuit against the Modesto Police department.

Reports and pictures here, here.

5/17/2005:California State University - Fresno (CSUF) president John Welty has issued a memorandum prohibiting undercover “surveillance activities” by campus police officers. The statement was viewed as a significant victory by student activists on the campus who have been concerned about civil liberties violations and the erosion of academic freedom. Ruth Obel-Jorgensen, president of the Campus Peace and Civil Liberties Coalition said “we appreciate that President Welty has taken this important first step.”

See the Community Alliance newspaper story here. See the SunMt video and the actual letters from the ACLU, the university, and the County of Fresno here

5/13/2005: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was greeted by hundreds of union members and community activists, who were on hand as he arrived at a fundraising event. The fund raiser and demonstration was held at the Bonadelle Mansion in an upscale part of town, far from the homeless and poor. The Bonadelle family is famous in Fresno for their role as housing developers in the area. They were also involved in Operation Rezone, which was an FBI sting operation. Several developers and City Council members were put on trial and jailed for their roles in buying and selling votes to enrich the developers.

The demonstrators, who took up most of the block in front of the Bonadelle mansion, at one point took over the street. Attending today’s demonstration were union members from Service Employees International Union, the Fresno Teacher’s Association, California Nurses Association, etc., and was one of the largest demonstrations in Fresno in quite awhile. Report and pictures here.

5/9/2005: Workers at Angelica Textile Services have authorized a strike that could effect hospitals and health care facilities throughout California and the United States. At a press conference and rally in Fresno, union members and their allies described some of the dangerous working conditions Angelica workers face. The sheets they clean often contain surgical tools, hypodermic needles, and are soaked with blood and feces. A major demand in the negotiations is for improved health and safety conditions. View audio and video of the Fresno Angelica protest here. To stay up to date on the situation at Angelica visit the workers web site here. Angelica workers are represented by UNITE HERE.

This week, East Bay Animal Advocates (EBAA) unveiled the findings of their investigation into the California dairy industry, the largest in the nation. Their graphic documentation reveals systematic animal neglect at dairy farms across the state. EBAA documented conditions at farm operations in five of California's top producing dairy counties (Merced, San Joaquin, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Tulare). In California, dairy concentrated animal feeding operations commonly confine several thousand cows on limited acreage. Cows are denied adequate protection from severe weather conditions. The pasture-less dry lot system increases the incidence of infection, disease and injury among the cow population. According to California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District, California dairies pose a serious threat to humans living in surrounding rural communities. In 2004, the California Pollution Control Financing Authority allocated $70 million in state bond funds to expand large dairy operations, which produce significant amounts of pollution from cow manure. These findings seem to counter the "Happy Cows" marketing campaign, which each year the California Milk Advisory Board spends $37 million to promote.

Last week, the state Supreme Court denied review of an appeal by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) — which had sued the Milk Board for for false advertising and unfair business practices — leaving stand a previous ruling which declared that government agencies are immune from lawsuits over the truthfulness of their ads.

Reports: EBAA's Inside Dairy Production · KPFA | PETA vs CA Milk Producers