LA ORGANIZACIÓN TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND (FONDO PARA TIERRA PUBLICA) HA LOGRADO LA OPORTUNIDAD DE RESCATAR LA HUERTA DEL SUR CENTRO!
La Huerta está localizada en entre las calles 41 y Alameda en el Sur Centro de Los Angeles, y quizás es la huerta comunitaria más grande— de tamaño de 14 acres — en los Estados Unidos. Después de un contencioso esfuerzo sobre esta propriedad que duró tres años y hizo noticias a trávez del mundo, el Trust for Public Land (TPL) ha obtenido la oportunidad de rescatar la Huerta. De un acuerdo tentativo para comprar el terreno, TPL espera unificar a todos los intereses y sectores diferentes en Los Angeles para recaudar fondos necesarios para comprar esta propiedad. Necesitamos su ayuda para alcanzar esta meta comunitaria de recaudar $1 millón en menos de 30 días. Mas

THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND SECURES OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE THE SOUTH CENTRAL FARM
After a contentious three-year land-use battle that made news around the world, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) has secured an opportunity to save the Farm. Within the confines of a tentative purchase agreement, TPL hopes to help unify stakeholders and different sectors of Los Angeles to raise the money necessary to purchase the land. The community goal is to raise $1 million in less than 30 days. More

LOS ANGELES, April 24, 2006—Whatever mainstream media is saying about divisions in “Latino” leadership around the May 1 Gran Boicot, the real-life version of “A Day Without a Mexican” (and a Guatamalen, and a Salvadoran, and a Korean, and a Muslim, and their supporters) will be happening. The boycott, a call for no purchases, no work, no school, and rallies around the country has taken on a life of its own, and its heartbeat is here in Los Angeles. The threats of deportation, criminalizing undocumented residency, and increased life-threatening border enforcement now being considered in the Senate have brought together dozens of local organizations in solidarity.

A partial list of area organizations supporting the Huelga General includes Action LA, Alliance for Civil Justice, ANSWER-LA, Barrio Planners, the Committee on Raza Rights, the Council on American-Islamic Relations - Los Angeles, Hermandad Mexicana, the Immigrant Solidarity Network, the Industrial Workers of the World, the International Social Organization, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, the L.A. Latino Muslim Association, Latino Movement USA, Los Angeles Mexican National Brotherhood, Los Angeles Troquero Collective, the March 25 Coalition, the Mexican American Political Association, Mexicans Without Borders, Multi-Ethnic Immigrant Workers Organizing Network, the Muslim American Society - Los Angeles, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Muslim Students Association - West, the National Alliance for Human Rights, La Opinion, People’s CORE-CDIR, Radical Women, Students for Amnesty, and Union del Barrio. Apologies to those not included here. ...
Full report: The Gran Boicott is on, and the troqueros are in by Leslie Radford

LOS ANGELES, 23 April 2006--To the casual observer, Saturday’s confrontation between pro-migrant activists and the minutemen might have looked like the dozen or so others over the past year: 65 or so minutemen at their peak, something like 100 pro-migrant activists across the street from each other at a day labor center, trading insults.

But the morning match up at the Burbank Home Depot was the first since the Gran Marcha of March 25, the first since the Senate took up the question of legalization for migrants. Under the rain-threatening clouds, the minutemen barely acknowledged their ostensible purpose, a Southern California convergence against Burbank Home Depot, part of a National Corporation protest against hiring workers without papers. Instead, showing their frustration at the turning tide, the minutemen verbally assaulted the Native Americans, Chicana/os, and Mexicans with unmitigated racial insults and slurs for four hours. ...
Full report: Burbank: Standoff in the Street by Leslie Radford || A22: Burbank by V

Black Republican Ted Hayes and his Minutemen allies held an anti-migrant demonstration in Leimert Park today, which was outnumbered by a spontaneous gathering of African Americans who opposed them by a margin of 2 to 1. Black women danced and led a chorus chanting "No Human Being is Illegal." A man of African descent brought signs and maps and images of Native Americans and proclaimed, as he held up one of the photos beside a Mexican man's face "They're not illegal - this is their land!"
Full report: Black / Brown Unity Overtakes Ted Hayes' anti-MIgrant Demo in Leimert Park by Juan Santos

UPDATE: Ted Hayes Quits Minutemen, Recruits Gang Members by Juan Santos
Also from the newswire: Hayes plans rally for this Friday at Crenshaw High Ted Hayes' Rally 4/28

WEST LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2006 - Anti-war and environmental activists joined forces today in a protest that targeted a Ford Motor Dealership in West LA. At issue is Ford Motors’ role in contributing to global warming and the current oil wars in the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. From the newswire: VIDEO: Protest at Ford Motors' Dealership
Timeline from today's action:
12 pm Code Pink attempted to drop a banner across the street from the Ford dealership at Westgate and Santa Monica in West Los Angeles.
12:15 pm Attempt has failed because of a quick police response to this incident. It is reported that the message on the banner was criticizing the Ford corporation policy.
12:40 pm Two women from Code Pink have chained themselves to an oil barrel which is itself chained to the railing pipe of the Ford dealership. There are about 20 police officers and 5 police squad cars.
1:05 pm The 2 women were arrested by the LAPD and they were transferred to the West division.
2:50 pm The LAPD has announced that the 2 women from Code Pink will be released soon. No specific time was given.
4:15 pm Alexandra Alaine is released
4:28 pm Samantha Miller is released

Sustainable UCR a coalition of students, faculty and staff at UC Riverside will present a demonstration of cars converted to run on vegetable oil. April 27 1-3 PM UC Riverside Bell Tower Commons. Sustainable UCR is driving vegetarian! Sustainable UCR is an organization of students, faculty and staff and University of California, Riverside working towards environmental sustainability on the Riverside campus. On April 27 from 1-3 at the UC Riverside Bell Tower Sustainable UCR will demonstrate three Grease Cars! What are grease cars, you might ask? Grease Cars (also known as Veggie Cars) are regular passenger vehicles that have been converted to run on used vegetable oil. ...
Full report: Veggie Oil Car Demo by Justine Lemos

LOS ANGELES, April 15, 2006 - An estimated 6,000 people marched in downtown Los Angeles this Saturday. The marchers were mostly students and young people protesting the proposed anti-immigration bill HR4437. If passed the bill could break up their families. The march was dedicated to Anthony Soltero, the 14 year old student who’s suicide has been attributed to threats he received from school administrators for participating in last months student walkouts. His family was in the march and his mother spoke at the rally.
From the Newswire: Student March for Immigrant Rights by Bob Morris | | Interview with Jaime Rodriguez of the March 25th Coalition by A | | Student March Against Racist Legislation by Marcus | | Images from Todays Student March by A | | VIDEO: Student March April 15 by A

LOS ANGELES, 15 April 2006--It only took two weeks for Estudiantes Unidos/Students United to pull the march together. This morning thousands of students, exuberant and determined, marched through downtown to support immigrants, but more to the point, to flex their own political muscle. They found their voice and took their place in what they dubbed "the civil rights movement of this century."

It was still difficult to find a European face, but Asian- and African-descent students were everywhere in the predominantly Mesoamerican crowd. So were parents: moms striding side-by-side with their middle-schoolers, sometimes three generations marching arm-in-arm. Every half-block of the three blocks of marchers brought a different chant. But this morning there was a new one: "¿Qué queremos? ¡Amnistía! ¿Cuando? ¡Ahora!"

Full report with photos: STUDENTS UP THE ANTE: Amnesty's the new agenda by Leslie Radford

SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES, April 14, 2006 - According to south central farmers a unit from the LAPD Department of Internal Affairs came to the farm on Thursday to take statements from witnesses about the events surrounding Council Member Zine’s visit to the farm last Tuesday night. Full Story

Update: ... In Los Angeles we need angels of hope, amnesty, empathy, and equality. We do not need “Angelinos of Retribution”. This is the role that Mr. Zine presented when he publicly humiliated a 13-year old girl who went to testify about her traumatic experience in a dark night in South Central Los Angeles. ...
Full report: Los Angeles City Council Member Dennis P. Zine does a drive-by in South Central by Tezozomoc

LOS ANGELES, April 12, 2006 – Council member Dennis Zine paid an unexpected visit to the South Central Farm last Tuesday night. According to the farmers he circled the farm in an unmarked police car with two other police officers at about 10 pm Tuesday night. The car apparently caused concern for the farmers and they went to investigate. What occurred next has become the subject of controversy between the councilman and the farmers. This Wednesday morning in council chambers during public comments the farmers questioned Zine about the incident. Zine broke with council protocol and gave a direct response to farmer’s comments. Full Story, (with audio from council session) | | Also from the newswire | | MP3 - Senor Zine Incidente | | Council Member Zine's Statement re: Farm Incident

Today, students throughout the University of California system began sit-ins at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Riverside, to demand that the University of California adopt a policy requiring that the brands producing clothes and uniforms bearing the university name source these goods from factories in which workers are represented by a democratic union and earn a living wage. ...
Report: United Students Against Sweatshops sitting at Riverside and Berkeley Univesities by Fernando Sanchez

As of 9:30 tonite, 12 students still are staging a SIT IN at ucr chancelor's office at UC Riverside, with about 75 demonstrators still outside in support. Demands are for UC to go SWEAT FREE! UC Riverside has the potential to set a new standard that could potentially spread and force large, greedy public establishments like the University of California system to buy ONLY SWEAT FREE clothing for their workers. ...
Report with photos: Students Take Over Chancelor's Office at UCR!!! by phuk minutemen Update: Police arrested TEN students at the University of California-Riverside by Maria Hernandez

Tens of 1,000s March for Rights Throughout the LA Area Thousands of people filled Main Street in downtown LA this afternoon and evening to demand legalization of undocumented workers and oppose vicious plans for mass criminalization, deportation, and border militarization, as the wave of mobilizations for immigrant rights continued to ripple across the country.

An estimated 10,000 rallied and marched downtown, another 7,000 in Van Nuys and over a 1,000 in Santa Ana. No anti-immigrant events have been reported. All events have been peaceful. Reports from the newswire:

DOWNTOWN Report from April 10th march by schock
Photos: USA , LOS ANGELES, CA, IMMIGRATION REFORM PROTEST by Stephen Sakulsky || April 10 Immigrant Rights March by Bob Morris || APRIL 10 NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION IN LOS ANGELES by Marcus
Audio: MP3 - An interview with Jessie from the Mexica Movement by A
Video: VIDEO: April 10th Downtown LA march for immigrant rights by A

SANTA ANA: Downtown Santa Ana flooded with upwards of 1,000 immigrant rights supporters|| Photos of Santa Ana immigrant rights marches all by Duane J. Roberts

Opinion newswire: I am the first one to criticize Chicano/Latino politicos when they don't defend the interests of the community. However, during the present crisis, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and most Latino elected officials in Los Angeles have acted in a principled manner, forcefully speaking out against the racist nativism that is gripping the country. The same can be said of the Catholic Church and its refusal to go along with the hysteria. ...
Latinos: It's way overdue by Rodolfo F. Acñu (professor of Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Northridge)