Feature Archives

In April, the BART Board passed a law making it illegal to occupy two seats during rush hour on a BART train. The law was not to take effect until the BART police presented their implementation strategy. At the most recent BART Board meeting on June 23, BART police presented how they intend to enforce the new law. Fines of up to $500 will ensure that those least able to afford it become debtors, potentially subjecting violators to criminal warrants and further harrassment. Longtime BART director Joel Keller admitted he wants police to target the homeless.

On May 30, members of the animal liberation network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) rushed the stage of a Bernie Sanders rally in Oakland, decrying Sanders’ support for animal agriculture and demanding an end to violence against animals. Activists climbed over metal barricades at the rally in front of Oakland City Hall to display banners reading “Animal Liberation Now” and “Animal Rights is Social Justice.” The activists halted Sanders’ speech before being removed from the rally by Secret Service agents.

California is the most populous state in the nation, yet the state votes last in the presidental primary process. Major party nominees are usually declared before voters in the state get their say. This year promised to be different, with Bernie Sanders barnstorming across the state, bringing a more competitive race than is typical. On the eve of the California primary, though, corporate media outlets called the Democratic race for Hillary Clinton. Still there are a number of statewide and local candidates and issues to be decided on June 7.

On June 2, the Fair and Affordable Richmond coalition submitted more than 5,000 signatures to qualify the coalition’s Rent Control and Just Cause Eviction Protection ordinance for the November ballot. Members of the coalition and Richmond tenants spoke about the ordinance in front of Richmond City Hall, and how it will protect Richmond renters and the community. The Richmond City Clerk and Contra Costa County have thirty days to determine if the Coalition has collected the 4,198 valid signatures required.

Identity Europa, formerly known as the National Youth Front, is the youth wing of the Neo-Nazi American Freedom Party. The group, along with members of the National Policy Institute, held a rally on May 6 at the UC Berkeley campus with the full protection and cooperation of campus police. It was the largest open white power gathering in the Bay Area in some time and shows the degree in which the far-right is growing in the wake of Trump's campaign.

On two consecutive Saturdays, May 7 and May 14, farmworkers called for an international day of action to bring attention to the ongoing struggles in the berry fields in Washington State and San Quintin, Mexico. May 7 was initiated by Familias Unidas por la Justicia in Washington state, while Sindicato Independiente Nacional Democratico De Jornaleros Agricolas (SINDJA) farmworkers in San Quintin, Mexico called for a global day of action on May 14. Demonstrations took place in many locations, including Mexico City; Burlington, WA; Portland and Eugene, Oregon; and Eureka, Rohnert Park, Fairfield, San Leandro, Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and San Diego, California.

At 5am on April 12, US Postal Police and Inspectors, with support from the Berkeley Police Dept., arrived at the Main Berkeley Post Office and literally dragged protesters out of their tents, seized all their belongings, and tore down the information tent, the shelter for a 17-month occupation. Two groups of activists – First They Came for the Homeless and Berkeley Post Office Defenders – had occupied the grounds of the Main Berkeley Post Office continuously since late November, 2014.