US News

On May 5, someone presenting themselves as federal informant Andrew Clark Darst tried again to establish communication with organizers he informed against in the lead-up to the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN. Most of the RNC 8 write: We are bewildered, dismayed and angered by the bizarre entitlement of the email. The author, apparently the same person who spent a full year lying to people to gain their trust, all the while sharing all the information he gathered with the FBI, dares to ask us for privacy. He points out that our shining a light on his actions may damage his career options.

At a meeting between representatives of the Santa Cruz chapter of ACLU of Northern California; Sanctuary Santa Cruz; Peace United Church of Christ and the Public Defender’s Office on April 19, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart was presented evidence of the ongoing arrangement whereby the Sheriff’s Office notifies ICE of release dates of arrested but non-convicted undocumented locals. When confronted with this evidence Hart confirmed the jail policy of cooperation and agreed to consider the information presented to him about other jurisdictions who refused to cooperate with ICE. At a meeting on May 10, however, Hart said that he would not change Santa Cruz County's jail policy.

A new study released by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Paying More for Being Poor: Bias and Disparity in California’s Traffic Court System, shows that Californians pay some of the highest fines and fees in the country — more than three times the national average for running a red light. And new Bay Area data reveals that African-Americans are four to sixteen times more likely to be booked into county jail on a charge related to inability to pay a citation. Two bills before the California Legislature (SB 185 and AB 412) seek to address many of the disparities

More than 2 million families now use Section 8 vouchers to keep from becoming homeless. It's the government's largest program to help low-income families pay their rent. However Section 8 housing proposals face stiff opposition in cities across the US, including the McKinney and Frisco suburbs of Dallas, Texas. Nicole Humphrey, an opponent, proclaimed, "In this neighborhood, most of us are stay-at-home moms with young kids. The lifestyle that goes with Section 8 is usually working, single moms or people who are struggling to keep their heads above water. It's just not people who are the same class as us."

Standing Rock Copwatchers write: In 2016, we left our families, our homes, our lives to go defend the water at Standing Rock, North Dakota. We stood in struggle with hundreds of tribes from across the country and continent. Our fight was for mother earth, and it was for our people, our history, and for our future. We have been traveling from city to city connecting with other people, sharing our stories, speaking about the fight for our earth, and conducting know your rights trainings. Many of us are currently in Oakland. We are fundraising to get the clutch on our bus fixed and for a NoDAPL / Copwatch food truck.

Long a go-to news source for community and independent radio stations across the country, Free Speech Radio News (FSRN) will permanently shut down at the end of April. For seventeen years, FSRN has broadcast stories documenting repression and corruption while highlighting the individuals, campaigns and movements working to bring about a more just and equitable society. Paul Riismandel writes: The loss of FSRN is truly tragic. FSRN has been dedicated to truly grassroots reporting that emphasizes local voices on the ground, with a focus on social justice.

Since April 15, the Alt-Right has been declaring a victory over antifascists in Berkeley, where a mix of Trump supporters, militia members, far-Right bikers, and neo-Nazis gave fascist salutes, held anti-Semitic signs, carried Alt-Right flags, and listened to white nationalist speakers. But the leader of the rally, Richard Black, a part of the Alt-Right himself, paints a much different picture. Black claims that without the coordinated help of the Berkeley Police Department, who worked with Alt-Right organizers, antifascists would have overrun and shut down the rally before it even began.

In an area in the Pine Nut Mountains east of Gardnerville, Nevada there is a wild horse herd known as the Fish Spring’s herd. This herd has many bands in it, including the Blue’s band, Blondies band, Zorro’s band, Socks band, and Rogue’s band. The bands are named after the lead stallion. There are so few wild horses on that range that wild horse advocates, photographers, and locals name the horses. Wild horses love their families and their freedom, but after they are rounded-up they lose all of that. When the Bureau of Land Management decides the amount of horses exceed the appropriate management area, they organize the rounding up of the excess horses.

Pacifica Foundation is a non-profit organization which owns five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations known for their progressive/liberal political orientation. Its national headquarters adjoins station KPFA in Berkeley. Bill Crosier, Pacifica Foundation's interim Executive Director, addressed members of the 5-station radio network after it became known that at least one of the KPFA Local Station Board members, with others, has secretly contacted celebrities and prominent supporters of progressive causes, falsely claiming that Pacifica is “collapsing”, and asking them to be on the board of a new nonprofit organization which would seek to acquire Pacifica's assets, or at least those of station KPFA.

On April 15, students, anti-racists, anti-fascists, and other residents of the Bay Area clashed in the streets of Berkeley against an array of organized white supremacist and far-right forces. Trump supporters openly carried anti-Semitic signs, fascist symbols, and raised their arms in sieg heil Nazi salutes. Unlike most events and actions the far-right has organized in recent past, this time members of the Right were able to take the streets in a city regarded as a leftist stronghold. The far-right is now bragging that if it can take over Berkeley, it can do the same in any city. Meanwhile, much of the Left focused on marches around Trump's tax returns.

On April 4, the Santa Cruz City Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). Citing​ ​DAPL’s​ ​violation​ ​of​ ​treaty​ ​rights,​ ​destruction​ ​of​ ​sacred​ ​sites​ ​and​ ​the​ ​threat​ ​posed​ ​to​ ​Standing​ ​Rock’s​ ​water​ ​supply,​ ​the​ ​city’s agenda report​ ​advised ​that​ ​Santa​ ​Cruz​ ​join​ ​the many​ cities​ across the country ​in​ ​officially “Standing​ ​with​ ​Standing​ ​Rock.” The Council’s resolution was formed as part of a collaborative effort between the city and a coalition of Santa Cruz residents working toward the divestment of city funds from major banks funding the project.

In the first comprehensive review of the more than 4,000 native bee species in North America and Hawaii, the Center for Biological Diversity has found that more than half the species with sufficient data to assess are declining. Nearly 1 in 4 is imperiled and at increasing risk of extinction. The widespread decline of European honeybees has been well documented in recent years, but until now much less has been revealed about the 4,337 native bee species in North America and Hawaii. The new analysis reveals that more than 700 species are in trouble from a range of serious threats.

Santa Cruz is a Sanctuary City. Following the DHS/ICE raids in Santa Cruz on February 13, SCPD Chief Kevin Vogel claimed the department cooperated with DHS only because they thought the raids were to target violent gang members, and that DHS lied about their intention to detain non-criminal undocumented individuals. During deliberations to strengthen the status of Santa Cruz as a Sanctuary City at the February 28 Santa Cruz City Council meeting, however, members of the public pressured Vogel to admit that an ICE/DHS agent has not only been working closely with, but even given office space by the Santa Cruz Police Department since 2009, and was involved in the recent raids in some capacity.

A coalition of social justice activists demonstrated with signs, banners, and flyers outside the annual RSA cyber-security conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco on February 14 and 15, educating attendees and the public about how Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) enables and profits from Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, and from racist immigration and incarceration policies in the United States. HPE is a platinum sponsor and participant in the annual RSA Conference. The protests followed last month’s Global Day of Action against HP, with over 150 demonstrations in over 60 countries around the world

White nationalist Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak at UC Berkeley on the first day of Black history month in a building named after Martin Luther King, Jr. The event on February 1 was cancelled after a large protest erupted outside the Student Union where he was set to speak. Within weeks, a video surfaced in which Yiannopoulos spoke favorably of men having sex with boys and against the concept of consent. Now, Yiannopoulos is facing widespread backlash, leading to the cancellation of upcoming speaking gigs and the publication of his book. Yiannopoulos also resigned his position as an editor at Breitbart News.