Over 100,000 Californians are expected to participate in Bike to Work week, which is May 15th through 19th. On Thursday, May 18th, which is Bike to Work Day (BTWD), people in some places will join together to ride to work. In cities such as San Francisco and Berkeley, local organizations will sponsor energizer stations with refreshments and other bicycle-related goodies.
Read More On Indybay's Environment Page

The May 1st Coalition for Immigrant Rights called for an emergency march and rally to be held on Wednesday, May 17th. The rally was part of a national day of action to demand Full Rights for All Immigrants. The San Francisco protest took place at 5:00pm at UN Plaza . Photos

Read More On Indybay's Immigrant Rights and SF Pages

Mireya Gómez-Contreras of the Watsonville Brown Berets writes:
In 1998, I was one of four people to receive a Queer Youth Leadership Award for my activism around gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning (queer) issues. As a young, queer Latina, I was saved from falling into the hands of drugs, violence and total depression because I became involved in my community. Queer activism specifically helped me deal with the added pressure of feeling I had to conform to a heterosexual world. My message to Santa Cruz County community members today is to step it up and really support teens, where I feel it counts a great deal to young people, through recognition.

Read More on Santa Cruz IMC and Indybay's LGBTQI Page

Developer Joe Shekou recently filed a frivolous lawsuit, aka SLAPP suit, against Gallinas Creek activists. The activists have been effective and vocal in stalling attempts by the developer to build a 3 acre indoor soccer complex on endangered wildlife habitat in Marin County. The wetlands of Gallinas Creek are home to the endangered clapper rail and marsh mouse.

Read More on Indybay's North Bay and Environment Pages

On May 9th, after more than an hour of public comment and city council chatter, the “Parking Lot Panic” law was significantly amended. It now requires another vote on May 23rd to assure its final passage. Hence there is still time to educate the community as to how absurd, abusive, and unresponsive to real concerns this law is. It's not just a homeless issue, but one that radically changes how the entire community will be allowed to use their vehicles.

Read More on Santa Cruz IMC and Indybay's Health and Housing Page

For over 20 years, May 15th has been celebrated as International Conscientious Objectors Day. Each year activities are focused in a country where war objectors are being harassed or persecuted. This year the international focus is on the United States' denial of the right of soldiers to object. Coordinated activities were held in New York, Washington DC, and the Bay Area. The protest in Oakland started with a rally near Oakland's Civic Center. People marched down Broadway to 21st St., where they blockaded the Oakland Military Recruiting Center. They pasted signs with statements such as "Resist, Don't Enlist" and "Army of None" to the windows of the center.
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | Video
Read More On Indybay's Anti-War Page

On Sunday, May 14th, activists gathered at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant in Palo Alto to protest the cruel treatment of veal calves, whose flesh Puck serves. The protest coincided with Mother’s Day to highlight the plight of calves, who are separated from their mothers at very young ages to be turned into veal. The protestors distributed leaflets about veal production and held signs urging customers to say no to veal.

Read More on Indybay's Peninsula and Animal Liberation Pages

A clean power rally will be held on Monday, May 15th at 12:00pm outside of San Francisco City Hall. The city and county is on the verge of building the largest municipal clean energy network in the world. Every home in the city would be powered by safe, renewable energy. Greenpeace and the Community Energy Alliance will gather to show Mayor Newsom that they support clean power.

Read More On Indybay's San Francisco and Environment Pages

MoveOn is part of a new campaign called Moms Rising, which aims to collect 50,000 signatures and comments supporting mothers and American families by Mother's Day. MomsRising plans to deliver these comments to people in Congress. They want to protect mothers from discrimination in hiring, promote the work flexibility that all parents need, demand universal health care, and get a living wage for all Americans so they can support their families.

Read More On Indybay's California, Labor, and Women's News Pages

On Sunday, May 14th, No New Jails will take a huge Mother’s Day card to the Century Regional Jail in LA and ask people waiting in line to visit loved ones in the jail to sign the card. People can sign the card online if they will not be able to go to LA. The card for the governor will demand that 4,500 women be released from state prison, rather than creating new prison and jail beds. The card is in response to a bill in Sacramento that has proposed moving 4,500 women from state prison into smaller privately-run prisons, many of which will be located in Los Angeles County.

Read More On Indybay's Police State, California and Women's News Pages

On Monday, May 8th, workers at Landmark Shattuck Cinemas turned in authorization cards to the National Labor Relations Board, filing a certification petition for representation with the Industrial Workers of the World. Rising tensions at the Shattuck Cinemas over the year have pushed workers to demand an end to unfair working conditions and greater accountability from management. On Friday May 12th, workers and labor activists rallied in front of the Shattuck Cinema.
Photos: 1| 2 | Read More On Indybay's Labor and East Bay Pages

The long fight by Bayview Hunters Point residents, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, and allies to close the "dirty, outdated, and unnecessary" PG&E; Hunters Point power plant is over, as state and PG&E; officials have confirmed that the plant has stopped generating electricity. Residents have also confirmed that the stacks that emitted unacceptable levels of pollution for decades are now quiet and are not in operation. On Friday, May 12, the Huntersview Mothers Committee and Greenaction celebrated the shutdown of the PG&E; plant. Photos

Read More On Indybay's Environment And SF Pages

5/17 Update: Judge Walker rules EFF can use evidence in lawsuit against AT&T; documents will be kept under seal.

It has now been revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been secretly collecting the phone records of tens of millions of Americans since September 11, 2001. The data has been provided by telecommunications giants AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth. The NSA claims the phone record data is being used in its fight against terrorism, although the millions of ordinary Americans' whose telephone behavior is being tracked are not suspected of any crime. The goal of the secret program is reported to be the creation of a "database of every call ever made" within US borders.

Read More on Indybay's US and Police State News Pages

On the evening of May 5th, there was a public and peaceful Cinco de Mayo music and spoken word event held on the corner of Story and King in San Jose which was viciously attacked by riot police. Six people were beaten, arrested and had their video footage and property seized at this peaceful, legal gathering on private property.

Read more and listen to audio on Indybay's South Bay and Police Pages.

The Zapatistas declared a red alert on May 3rd in regard to the calamitous situation in Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco, towns just outside of the Mexican capital. Just before, police had attempted to drive flower vendors in Texcoco from their market to make way for a Wal-Mart. The community resisted, over a hundred were arrested, and police used tear gas and live ammunition, killing a 14 year-old boy, Javier Cortés Santiago. A peaceful march of thousands led by Subcomandante Marcos streamed into Atenco on May 5th.

More coverage on Indybay's Americas Page.

Claude Marks & Kelah Bott, in Fault Lines #16, write:
Recent crackdowns on the animal rights and environmental justice movements have left many activists feeling that their communities are under siege. From the prosecution of the SHAC 7 to the arrests of thirteen individuals for arsons committed over a ten-year span, a war is being waged against these movements by the U.S. government. While all of this may seem terrifying in its unfamiliarity to younger activists, the tactics being employed by the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force are anything but new.

Read more on Indybay's U.S., Animal Liberation and Environment Pages.

The people of Bayview Hunters Point are opposed to the Redevelopment Plan that would raze their homes and kick them off of the land on which they reside. Many of the 30,000 residents are deeply rooted, refuse to be moved, and want to develop their neighborhood themselves and determine their own destiny. 91% of the people who live in the neighborhood are people of color, which makes BVHP San Francisco's Black heartland. Corporate interests involved in redevelopment of the area would exile moderate- to low- income citizens and progressives who don't cast conservative votes, replacing them with whiter, wealthier taxpayers who vote for money-generating initiatives.

Read More On Indybay's Housing and SF Pages

The Chevys Fresh Mex in Tracy, CA terminated eight employees because of their absence from work on Monday, May 1st. The kitchen crew had handed a signed petition to the employer to indicate their desire to support the May 1st march for immigrant rights. Four additional employees have walked out of their jobs in solidarity with their fired coworkers, after their protest of the termination measure was ignored.

Read more on Indybay's Labor and Workers and California News Pages. [en español]

According to Illegal Immigrant Protest dot com, May 5th and 6th were a "National Illegal Immigrant Protest Rally Days." Destroy the Border Coalition called for people to go out and counter the racist message of the rallies.
Read more | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | Audio

Read More on Indybay's Immigrant Rights and South Bay Pages