Feature Archives

On March 4th, students and educational workers rose up against budget cuts, layoffs, fee hikes, and the system that prioritizes war and prisons over schools. Demonstrations took place in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Concord, Vallejo, Santa Cruz, Aptos, Watsonville, Monterey, Davis, Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, Los Angeles, and numerous other locations across California and the U.S. Actions included rallies, marches, and occupations of buildings and freeways. One hundred and fifty-seven people were arrested at I-880, an Indybay reporter amongst them. Most were charged with unlawful assembly and obstruction of a public place (misdemeanors). All have been released by now. Arraignments for I-880 arrestees are set for April 2nd and April 5th. A local high school student, Francois Zimany, is recovering from a 25-30 foot fall off of I-880.

In anticipation for the statewide strike and day of action on March 4th activists have stepped up their actions with a renewed round of occupations in California. An occupation of a construction site at UC Berkeley resulted in a "mass riot" on Telegraph Avenue with hundreds of youth fighting the police. March 4th actions are planned throughout the Bay Area, California and beyond. In the East Bay strikes and walkouts are planned to converge in Downtown Oakland and an evening rally is planned for San Francisco.

In anticipation for the statewide strike and day of action on March 4th activists have stepped up their actions with a renewed round of occupations in California. An occupation of a construction site at UC Berkeley resulted in a "mass riot" on Telegraph Avenue with hundreds of youth fighting the police. March 4th actions are planned throughout the Bay Area, California and beyond. In the East Bay strikes and walkouts are planned to converge in Downtown Oakland and an evening rally is planned for San Francisco.

Anita L. Wills, mother of Kerry Baxter, writes: "This is a blog written in response to the death of a young man in Oakland, California. The courts have cleared the way for his mother to sue the City of Oakland. He died after being beaten by police in Oakland. Two of the policemen involved in the incident were also involved in the wrongful prosecution of my son in 2001. The blog is about my son, the events that transpired, and how the police and courts figured in his wrongful conviction."

UPDATE 2/23: Holly's trial postponed until April 5th
UPDATE 2/22: Case Dismissed Against JR Valrey

JR Valrey and Holly Works, the last two of the Oakland 100 — those arrested during the rebellions that followed the police murder of Oscar Grant last year — must raise legal defense funds for their imminent trials. JR’s trial starts Monday, February 22nd, and Holly’s starts Monday, April 5th. Supporters are calling out to all who are able to attend the trials.

Update 2/11: Hutchinson wins discharge.
Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother from Oakland, CA, is facing up to a year in military prison for refusing to leave her son in Georgia foster care while being deployed to Afghanistan. Military objector support group Courage to Resist is raising funds for Hutchinson's defense and circulating a petition on its website to demand that charges be dropped.

On Friday, January 1st, two events took place in Oakland to commemorate the murder of Oscar Grant by BART police on New Year's Day 2009. The first was a vigil at the Fruitvale BART station organized by Oscar Grant's family. In the evening, the community gathered at the Humanist Hall in Oakland for an artistic and cultural night dedicated to networking and education. In Los Angeles, community activists made a strong presence at the court house on January 8th. It was the first hearing for Johannes Mehserle since his murder trial was moved out of Alameda County.