North Bay / Marin News

On January 20, Women’s March is coordinating a day of action which declares, "We will walk out of work, school, and commerce because a Free America begins the moment we stop cooperating with fascism. One year into Trump’s second regime, we face an escalating fascist threat: ICE raids on our communities, troops occupying our cities, families torn apart, attacks on our trans siblings, mass surveillance, and terror used to keep us silent."

On December 17, activists with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) rallied at Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, urging him to pardon jailed animal rescuer Zoe Rosenberg and ensure her immediate release. Ms. Rosenberg, a UC Berkeley student and animal cruelty investigator with DxE, was convicted of felony conspiracy and sentenced to 90 days in jail for rescuing four sick chickens from Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse.

Events were organized across northern California to commemorate two years of resistance to the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Calls were widely made for an end to the forced starvation of the Gazan population, and for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. In Oakland, community members marched to demand an arms embargo; at UC Berkeley, students organized a mass walkout; in Petaluma, activists conducted their long-time weekly picket.

Despite being sued by Trader Joe's, activists with the grassroots animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) continue to protest at their stores. On July 19, the group held a 40-minute funeral for the chickens being sold inside an Oakland store. They mourned the countless chickens who suffer and die at Trader Joe's "free-range," "organic" chicken supplier. DxE investigators have documented systemic animal abuse at Petaluma Poultry.

Activists in Northern California are not waiting for court challenges to stop Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Protests are ongoing and have cropped up outside Tesla showrooms in Berkeley, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Corte Madera and Seaside, amongst other locations. The earliest of these happened on a national day of action on February 15. The action at the Van Ness Tesla location in SF grew to about a thousand people.

In spite of a year of popular mobilization against arming Israel's genocide of Palestine and in contravention of US law, President Biden and Congress are continuing massive arms shipments to Israel. The People's Arms Embargo has responded with ongoing blockades at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California. “If the U.S. government won’t stop shipping arms to Israel, then we will establish a People’s Arms Embargo to stop it ourselves," organizers say.