Feature Archives

On Saturday, April 28th, people all over the country organized events calling for the impeachment of George Bush. On April 28th, thousands of people gathered at Ocean Beach in San Francisco to spell out the words "IMPEACH NOW!" with their bodies. CodePink then lead a 12pm march to Nancy Pelosi's house. There were also actions in Sacramento and other cities around the US that day.

On April 19th anti-war protesters gathered in front of a Chevron station in San Francisco to protest a proposed Iraqi law that would give Western oil companies more control over Iraqi oil. If the law is adopted as is, control of the Iraqi oil industry will shift from the public sector, where it’s been since the 1970s, into the hands of the multinational oil companies, especially British and American firms.

Tuesday, May 1st was the first anniversary of the Great Boycott of 2006, in which immigrants led walkouts, boycotts, and protests all over the US. Protests were held in cities such as Davis, Fresno, Modesto, Oakland, Sacramento, Salinas, San Francisco, and Watsonville. The ILWU stopped work in 6 west coast ports, in part to support the Alcatraz ferry workers and their struggle against Hornblower Cruises. May 1st was also a day of nationwide student walkouts.

Walking around San Francisco, you might have noticed bright green ads featuring cutesy witticisms about what “green is,” sponsored by the local utility monopoly PG&E. My favorite ad prominently displays a piece of cow dung with the quote “Green isn’t always pretty.” Here, PG&E isn’t too far off; for them, green is… a lie.

On Saturday, April 7th, Homes Not Jails activists occupied a long-vacant building in San Francisco from which all the tenants were Ellis evicted several years ago. The housing takeover was a protest against real estate speculation that has been leading to homelessness. Supporters rallied at Mission and 24th St and then marched to the site of the occupied building.

On April 3rd, independent reporter Josh Wolf was freed from federal custody after spending 7 1/2 months in prison for refusing to turn over video footage to a federal grand jury. That morning, Josh wrote on his blog, "During the course of this saga I have repeatedly offered to allow a judge to be the arbiter over whether or not my video material has any evidentiary value. Today, you the public have the opportunity to be the judge and I am confident you will see, as I do, that there is nothing of value in this unpublished footage."

A land owner is threatening a community garden at Fulton and Stanyan Streets in San Francisco. The 1,300 sq foot plot is home to a variety of locally grown vegetables and fruit. After three months of building the garden, local residents are trying to save it from the land owner’s threats.