Publish to Newswire
Add an EventSearch Results
Featured Center Column Stories
(sorted by date posted in reverse chronological order)
Sam Farr Votes Again and Again to Strengthen U.S.-Israel Military Ties A demonstration to protest U.S. involvement in Israel's attacks on Gaza was held on August 14 outside of a fundraiser for Congress Member Sam Farr in Santa Cruz. On August 1 Farr voted, along with most of the House of Representatives, to give Israel an additional $200 million this year to fund their "Iron Dome" missile defense system. One sign held outside of the fundraiser asked, "Where is the Iron Dome for Gaza?"...
Posted: Sat, Aug 16, 2014 7:42pm PDT
WeCopwatch Reports on Protests and Police Abuses from Ferguson, Missouri 
WeCopwatch is reporting for Indybay from Ferguson, Missouri, where on August 9 a Ferguson police officer shot down and murdered 18-year-old local resident Michael Brown in broad daylight in front of numerous witnesses. In a town that is 67% African American, and constantly the subject of racist police stops and citations by a Ferguson police department made of up 53 officers, of whom only three are African American, the community is outraged by the murder....
Posted: Sat, Aug 16, 2014 2:55pm PDT
Eviction Free San Francisco Occupies Vanguard Properties and Demands Eviction be Rescinded 
On August 12, Eviction Free San Francisco occupied the offices of Vanguard Properties — the largest real estate company in the Mission. Vanguard co-founder Michael Harrison is currently evicting four units at 151 Duboce, home of Benito Santiago and other residents. Benito, 64, has lived at his home for 37 years and has nowhere else to go. Members of Eviction Free SF entered Vanguard's office, and before being physically dragged out, demanded that the eviction at 151 Duboce stop immediat...
Posted: Thu, Aug 14, 2014 11:53pm PDT
Youth Press Conference in San Francisco Calls Attention to Children at the Border 
San Francisco youth are holding a fast for 5 days to call our attention to the crisis of the children trapped at the U.S. Mexico border. Youth from ages 16 to 20 held a press conference at City Hall on August 12 and announced their plan to set up a tent across from City Hall Tuesday and Wednesday for donations. They will then return to ICE headquarters Friday at noon to end their five-day fast....
Posted: Tue, Aug 12, 2014 10:15pm PDT
Homeless Activists Urge ACLU to Take More Principled Stand on Criminalization of Sleep 
At its board meeting on June 30, ACLU Santa Cruz County adopted a statement of principle in support of a proposed moratorium on camping ban laws and ordinances within the City and County of Santa Cruz. Proponents argued that criminalizing homelessness, and particularly the essential right to sleep, is a failed policy. It is the intention of the Board that the statement be read publicly before both the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the Santa Cruz City Council at their next meeting...
Posted: Sat, Aug 9, 2014 7:26pm PDT
Environmentalists, Farmers, Tribal Leaders Call for New Bay Delta Conservation Plan EIR 
Restore the Delta (RTD) and many other groups held a large rally at the State Capitol on July 29, featuring the delivery of a “Death of the Delta" coffin containing thousands of public comments opposing Governor Jerry Brown’s peripheral tunnels. Hundreds of people, including fishermen, Tribal leaders, environmentalists, Delta farmers and environmental justice advocates, rallied to protest Jerry Brown’s tunnel plan and to call for a new Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) Environmental Im...
Posted: Sat, Aug 9, 2014 4:03pm PDT
Latino Activists Demonstrate in Solidarity with Children Detained by U.S., Killed in Gaza 
Latino activists in solidarity with Palestinians marched down Market Street in San Francisco on August 2 in a unity call for saving the children of Central America who are languishing at the US-Mexican border, as well as the children dying in Gaza. Movimiento por la Reunifacacion Familiar organizers reached out to everyone to join together in a march chanting, “No mas ninos deportados nuestros ninos son sagrados!” “No more children deported; our children are sacred.”...
Posted: Sat, Aug 9, 2014 3:09pm PDT
Community Calls for End to U.S. Funded, Seven-Year Siege by Israel's Military 
On August 4, activists in downtown Santa Cruz staged a second die-in as part of their ongoing protest of Israel's attacks on Gaza. Like the July 28 die-in, a rally was held first at the Town Clock, where many of the names and ages of Palestinians killed were displayed on name cards. Community members then marched to the Cooper House on Pacific Avenue where the die-in was staged. Individuals laid down on the sidewalk and their bodies were outlined in chalk as organizers read the names and ages...
Posted: Sat, Aug 9, 2014 1:48pm PDT
'Operation Chill' Provides Santa Cruz Police with New Weapon: Free Slurpees 
The Santa Cruz Police Department announced they will be partnering with 7-Eleven stores to launch "Operation Chill," which is code for a program that attempts to affect the behavior of kids, and change their perception of the police department, by bribing them with coupons for free slurpees. According to police, since its inception in 1995, police departments have issued more than 12.5 million coupons,or “tickets” to kids in communities throughout the country....
Posted: Tue, Aug 5, 2014 5:53pm PDT
Three-Time Killer Reinstated After Being Fired for Throwing CS Flash-Bang at Scott Olsen 
Seconds after an Oakland police officer shattered Scott Olsen’s skull with a lead-filled munition on October 25, 2011, officer Robert Roche threw an explosive teargas grenade at persons who were attempting to come to Olsen’s aid as he lay critically injured on the ground in clear view of the police. Roche was subsequently fired, but on July 30, 2014, an arbitrator overturned the termination and reinstated him with full back pay. Roche officially returned to work at OPD on Monday, August 4....
Posted: Mon, Aug 4, 2014 12:39pm PDT
Angry Seniors, Teachers, Hotel Workers, Artists and Community Block Tech Buses in SF 
Seniors, union workers and community supporters stopped tech company buses on August 1 at 24th and Valencia Streets to protest the epidemic of evictions caused by the City of San Francisco, which has allowed tech buses to bring thousands of Silicon Valley workers to the City, pushing up prices and evictions....
Posted: Mon, Aug 4, 2014 11:57am PDT
Community Calls for End to U.S. Funded, Seven-Year Siege by Israel's Military 
A demonstration was held in downtown Santa Cruz on July 28 to protest Israel's continued assault on Gaza and the people of Palestine. After rallying at the Town Clock, where many of the names and ages of Palestinians killed were displayed on placards, community members marched to the Cooper House on Pacific Avenue where a die-in was staged. Individuals laid down on the sidewalk and their bodies were outlined in chalk as organizers read the names and ages of Palestinian children killed since t...
Posted: Wed, Jul 30, 2014 11:59am PDT
Project Could Launch New Oil Field in Condor Habitat, Waste Millions of Gallons of Water 
Citing concerns about water use and contamination, a Monterey County Superior Court judge has ruled that San Benito County unlawfully approved a dangerous new oil-development project near Pinnacles National Park that could result in hundreds of wells being drilled in important agricultural and wildlife habitat in the Salinas Valley watershed. As the judge’s ruling notes, “There are numerous opportunities for toxic spills to occur that the County has apparently not contemplated.”...
Posted: Mon, Jul 28, 2014 1:30am PDT
Feds Close Over 25,000 Square Miles of Ocean Off California’s Coast to Destructive Gear 
In response to pressure from conservation groups, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced an area closure for the swordfish drift gillnet fishery in the Pacific Ocean off California from July 25 through August 31 to prevent entanglements and drownings of endangered loggerhead sea turtles. This year’s El Niño conditions, warmer than normal waters, attract the endangered loggerhead sea turtles to the nutrient-rich waters where the deadly fishery operates....
Posted: Sun, Jul 27, 2014 5:58pm PDT
DA's Decision Not to Prosecute Erick Gelhaus Prompts Civil Disobedience in Santa Rosa 
In response to the decision from Sonoma County district attorney Jill Ravitch's decision not to prosecute Erick Gelhaus, the Sheriff's Deputy that killed 13-year-old Andy Lopez, protesters assembled in Santa Rosa on July 12 and marched through the downtown streets. After the official march was declared to be over, many continued to march in an act of civil disobedience towards Highway 101, where they blocked an off-ramp and all three northbound lanes of traffic....
Posted: Sat, Jul 26, 2014 5:48pm PDT
Eden Foods Wants to Stop Covering Birth Control for Its Employees 
On July 19, the Raging Grannies passed out flyers in front of the Palo Alto Whole Foods store, telling customers why they should boycott Eden Foods, a company that is suing the Obama administration for exemptions to the Affordable Care Act. Eden Foods owner Michael Potter wants to stop covering birth control of all kinds, including pregnancy counseling, for his employees. The Grannies sang their message as well, calling out Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, who has also publicly campaigned against...
Posted: Sat, Jul 26, 2014 5:05pm PDT
Rallies Statewide Commemorate the Day 30,000 Prisoners Refused to Eat 
On July 8, community members in Santa Cruz and around the state gathered to commemorate the one year anniversary of the California Hunger Strike. Sin Barras writes: "July 8, 2013 is a day we remember to never forget the torture the state of California willingly inflicts on human lives. On that day, 30,000 prisoners followed the lead of their fellow prisoners locked in solitary confinement and refused to eat. By one account, close to 100 people went without eating for 59 days before agreeing...
Posted: Fri, Jul 25, 2014 1:58pm PDT
Protests in East Salinas Resume Following Fourth Police Killing 
In response to the killing of Frank Alvarado, the Direct Action Monterey Network called for a rally on July 12 in East Salinas against police violence. Frank's sister Angélica Garza spoke, saying she wanted justice for "Frankie" and "he had a big heart." For the duration of the rally, Frank's niece held a sign that read "Stop Police Brutality. Justice For My Uncle!"...
Posted: Wed, Jul 16, 2014 10:50pm PDT
Hundreds of Palestinians, Including Whole Families, Have Been Killed in Gaza Since July 8 
Rallies have been held around the world in opposition to Israel's recent air strikes on Gaza and the collective punishment carried out against the Palestinian people living there and in the West Bank. In Northern California, demonstrations have been held in Fresno, Oakland, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Salinas, and Santa Cruz. According to the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC), as of August 17, approximately 1939 Palestinians, including whole families, have been killed since July 8....
Posted: Wed, Jul 16, 2014 9:14pm PDT
Frank Alvarado, Killed by SPD, Spoke in Santa Cruz Against Prison Expansion 
On July 10 at around 5am, two officers with the Salinas Police Department shot and killed Frank Alvarado at a private home in Salinas. Frank was well known in Santa Cruz, where he recently spoke out against California prison expansion at a rally in May. His killing was the fourth use of lethal force since March 21 by officers with the SPD, and all of the killings have occurred in East Salinas neighborhoods....
Posted: Fri, Jul 11, 2014 6:36pm PDT