LOS ANGELES - May 14, 2006 – Less than two weeks remain on a contract option between the Trust For Public Land, (TPL) and the developer who wants to destroy the farm. The contract grants TPL the right to purchase the property and preserve the farm. One of the terms of the contract states that the local community must raise 1 million dollars towards the purchase of the land. Community organizers say they are still far short of that goal. Last month the farmers lost their legal challenge to the evictions in court. So at this time the contract option is all that is preventing evictions by force.

Reports from the Newswire: 18 Days Left to Save The South Central Farm | | Save the South Central Farm - Photo Essay by Jonathan McIntosh
Update: farmers and their supporters will be protesting tonight, Tuesday, May 16, at 7pm, outside the mayor’s mansion located at 605 S Irving Blvd near the corner of Wilshire and Crenshaw. There are only 5 days left to raise the money needed to avert a possible eviction.

What started two years ago as a group of 8 friends who got together for a midnight bike around the city has become a rolling street party approaching 1,000 riders. On the 2nd Friday of the month at 9:30 pm , bicyclists gather at the intersection of Sunset and Echo Park. This has become the starting point for a late night bike ride that weaves its way through the streets of Los Angeles. They call themselves the Midnight Ridazz. From the newswire: VIDEO: Midnight Ridazz | Photo: Midnight Ridazz

This Friday American historian and activist Howard Zinn and Italian surgeon and author Gino Strada will be featured in a symposium on the theme JUST WAR.. Strada’s presentation will illustrate EMERGENCY’s work world wide, including a proposed regional cardiac center to be constructed in Sudan. Zinn will discuss his most recent book, Just War, for which Strada wrote the introduction; copies will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Audience Q & A will follow the colloquy. From the Calendar: ”Just War”

LA PUENTE, CA, 7 May 2006--Forty people lined the entrance road to WalMart in La Puente today, part of a trio of protests in California to end government oppression in the indigenous town of San Salvador Atenco. They were standing up against a government land grab and police brutalization in Atenco, in the state and country of Mexico nearly 1400 miles away. In all, they had broken through the mainstream media disinformation about "crazed" and "hysterical" farmers in the small flower-farming community of San Salvador Atenco, and connected the farmers' plight to globalization, land rights, and Indigenous oppression. ...
Full report: Atenco No Está Solo by Leslie Radford

Marcy Winograd, candidate for Congress, 36th District (LA-Beach Cities), attempts to present an arrest warrant to Republican appointed Sec of State Bruce McPherson who was "NOT IN!" Fearing a repeat of the Ohio fiasco, Winograd demands verifiable voting. Her supporters demonstrated in front of the Secretary's office last weekend. ...
Report with photos: Marcy Winograd Delivers Arrest Warrant to Sec of State, McPherson by Linda Sutton

Wal-Mart Stores tied to attacks on Mexican Peasants in outskirts of Mexico City (San Salvador Atenco). Groups in Southern California mobilize in response encourage bi-national protests

WHAT: Protest at Wal Mart in response to Repression, death and brutality of Flower vendors near Mexico City

WHEN: Sunday May 7th, Noon

WHERE: LOS ANGELES: 17150 E. Gale Ave.., La Puente, CA 91745 RIVERSIDE: 5200 Van Buren Blvd, Riverside, CA 92503 SANTA ANA: 3600 West Mcfadden Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92704

MAY 5, 2006 SAN SALVADOR ATENCO, MEXICO-Violent attacks against the people of San Salvador Atenco by Federal Police have led to several casualties, including the death of a child. Federal Police have declared a state of siege and continue to ransack the homes of community members, searching for police officers that have been detained in response to the imprisonment of protestors. The violence started on Wednesday May 3, as local vendors attempted to sell flowers in the nearby community of Texcoco, to remove competition at the future site of a Wal-Mart store. Full Stories:Protest at Wal Mart... by FUERZA Y CORAJE || HARSH REPRESSION IN MEXICO by La otra campana a Montreal || Protest held today at Mexican Consulate by Bob || Ya Basta! Protest Wal Mart // Stop Violence in Atenco! by phuk minutemen || Atenco Prisoners Launch Hunger Strike by jen lawhorne centro de medios libres
Latest development on the Atenco repression:Coverage of Atenco in English
Update: Protest at the Mexican consulate Monday to Saturday 6:30 - 8 AM! Walmart on Sunday by http://detodos-paratodos.blogspot.com

Reports are appearing on the LA-IMC newswire and elsewhere on the internet of police violence and arrests against peaceful demonstrators late Monday night. One site shows cell phone video of an incident near Mac Arthur Park. There are also reports of police violence in the downtown area that night.
From the Newswire: Police State and Rebellion after March by anon | | Police violence in Macarthur Park by monkey | | And there are concerns about excessive force used to clear the streets around City Hall in the late afternoon after the downtown march. Photos: Detailed account of police harassment at City Hall - PHOTOS/VIDEO by Jonathan McIntosh

May Day Reclaimed: General Strike and Massive Marches Close Downtown and Mid-Wilshire LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2006 - There were two massive marches in Los Angeles today one Downtown and the other down Mid-Wilshire. Estimates of the downtown march vary widely, LAPD released an initial estimate of 350,000 early in the day, the mayor's office put the figures higher at 450,000 while others are reporting close to a million. But it was the 4.5 mile long march down Wilshire that was unquestionably the larger of the two. Long time activists stated that the Wilshire march was possibly the biggest march they have ever seen. The two marches were comprised of different groups, so when totaled, well over a million people were in the streets protesting this May Day, May 1, 2006.

Latest reports from the newswire: May Day 2006 - We Have Made History! And the Next Step by Lee Siu Hin | | Hundreds of Filipino Americans Join the Two Los Angeles Marches by Al P.Garcia | | FROM E.LA TO OLVERA STREET NO BUSINESS AS USUAL by jlr | | Hundreds of Thousands at LA noon time March by Jose M. Lara

PHOTOS: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 I 6 I 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 | 17

VIDEO: A Day without Immigrants | Video: May Day March down Wilshire | Wilshire Immigration march video |

The Los Angeles Indymedia Collective would like to thank all those reporters, photographers, organizers and activists for their contribution in documenting this historic day.

SANTA ANA, CA -- A crowd of more than 10,000 people jammed the streets of downtown Santa Ana earlier this afternoon to demand full amnesty for undocumented workers and protest pending legislation going through Congress that would criminalize their presence within the United States. ...
Full report: More than 10,000 people rally for immigrant rights in downtown Santa Ana | Photos of Santa Ana immigrant rights march (5/1/06) all by Duane J. Roberts | Photos from Mayday 2006 in Santa Ana by greenchaos.com

LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2006 – Troqueros one day strike shut down 90% of the operations of the Port of Los Angeles on Monday. On any given week day up to 12,000 truckers are working at the port. On Monday, May 1 the ports looked empty. At the main gates to the port at the intersection of Figueroa and Harry Bridges normally 1000’s of trucks are coming in and out of the gates, on Monday at about 10:30 am one LA-IMC reporter saw no trucks.

A rally for the Troqueros was held in nearby Banning Park on the Pacific Coast Highway. Troqueros at the rally said that on a typical workday one could expect to see hundreds of trucks rolling by on the highway every hour. In one hour less than10 trucks were counted. AUDIO: Troqueros Huelga – Truckers Strike | | Report back: Troqueros May Day strike shuts down port

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