Feature Archives

The new documentary "The Ghosts Of March 21" focuses on March 21, 2009, when a shoot-out between Lovelle Mixon and members of the Oakland Police Department resulted in the death of Mixon and four police officers. The documentary examines the encounter’s underlying contradictions and challenges the mainstream narrative of the confrontation. The film opened in Oakland and Berkeley on March 20 and 21, San Francisco on March 22, and Santa Rosa on March 23.

On March 7, the California Department of Corrections modified a San Francisco billboard to read, "HOW DO I FIND A TAX LOOPHOLE?" and "NO INCOME TAX FOR BOEING, GE and VERIZON." The billboard was modified one week after the Center for Tax Justice published a report comparing the profits and income taxes for Fortune 500 companies. Twenty-six, including Boeing, General Electric and Verizon, generated a combined total of $170 billion in profits, but maintained negative tax rates every year from 2008 to 2012.

The corporate media's narrative on the opposition protests in Venezuela is that the Venezuelan government caused this crisis, because it is a dictatorship that has ruined the economy in a failed attempt to impose Cuban style socialism. In San Francisco, activists gathered for a rally at the 24th and Mission BART Plaza on February 17, to protest the one-sided media coverage. Another event on March 6 featured a reportback from Venezuela and commemorated the one-year anniversary of the death of President Hugo Chavez.

Brigada Anti-Gentrification writes: [O]n February 28th, the windows of Vanguard Properties in the Mission District were smashed out. Vanguard thought it was pretty funny to build some luxury condos on 24th.... Vanguard thought it was pretty funny to buy foreclosed houses in Oakland and flip them at a profit. We think it's more funny to bring the fight to the developers themselves.

On March 1, people from around the world in over 27 cities took to the streets in solidarity to participate in a global day of action, billed as the March Against Corruption. In San Francisco, over a hundred people came out to protest the corrupting influence of big money in politics. A number of local musicians and activists spoke out about a range of issues, from the global environmental crisis to the war in Iraq, "connecting the dots" between their own struggles and the underlying issue of government corruption by big money.

On February 26, about 150 tenants and community supporters, including Eviction Free San Francisco, rallied at 24th/Mission BART Plaza for a “March On Greed” to the office of serial evictor Kaushik Dattani. The rally, march, and protest was the latest in a growing number of grassroots events responding to the rapid pace of evictions and gentrification during this latest real estate boom. Eviction Free San Francisco is an entirely volunteer organization of tenants and their supporters using mutual aid and direct action to resist evictions and preserve our homes.

People gathered at 16th and Mission streets on the afternoon of February 1 to oppose the development of highrise condos at 1979 Mission Street. The proposed development, by another faceless corporation, Maximus, would construct two 10-story towers of 351 "market rate" condominiums at $3,500 per month each, while displacing low income tenants and small business owners, and further marginalizing homeless people. The bilingual rally was organized by La Playa 16 Coalition/The Plaza 16 Coalition.