On June 21, local activists in the Castro district united, in an outdoor public awards ceremony to "honor" the greedy landlord speculators most responsible for the gentrification and destruction of San Francisco's communities. The event took place at Harvey Milk Plaza at Castro and Market in San Francisco, and the activists called on people to stand up against gentrification by landlord speculators who are destroying our neighborhoods and communities. The event ended with people dancing, with music provided by the Brass Liberation Orchestra.

2008 Awards Recipients include CitiApartments/Skyline Realty, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Care Not Cash, Lennar Corporation, Landlord Attorney Karen Uchiyama, Lower Polk Neighbors, the SF Redevelopment Agency, the Mission Housing Development Corp, and a list of top real estate speculators.

Photos | Gentrifiers Scared From Castro by Roving Pack of Drag Queens | Event Announcement With Links To Award Winners

On June 19th, between 2,500 and 3,000 people gathered for a very spirited "Heathcare-Yes, Insurance Companies-NO" rally outside the Moscone convention center in San Francisco. The largest contingents came from the California School Employees Association (CSEA), the California Nurses Association, and the California Universal Health Care Organizing Project. Many other labor, community and political organizations mobilized significant contingents including the American Federation of Teachers, Lo. 2121, Senior Action Network, Gray Panthers, Calif. Alliance for Retired Americans, ANSWER Coalition, United Educators of San Francisco, Cindy Sheehan for Congress Campaign, Iraq Moratorium, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Gloria La Riva, PSL Presidential candidate, and Nathalie Hrizi, 12th Congressional District candidate of the PSL and Peace and Freedom Party distributed hundreds of flyers supporting free quality health care for all and calling for the insurance companies to be abolished.

Inside the center, insurance executives and their political mouthpieces were attending the convention of the American Health Insurance Association. In order to enter, many of the attendees had to pass by hundreds of workers chanting, "Shame, Shame, Shame."

Many of the rally speakers testified about having been denied health care by insurers when suffering life-threatening diseases. Others spoke of family members who had died after denial of benefits.
The main theme of the rally was the need for a universal health care system. The rally featured Sen. Sheila Kuehl and included protesters from the groups Physicians for a National Health Program, California Alliance for Retired Americans, California Nurses Association, Senior Action Network and California Universal Health Care Organizing Project.

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Video | California Alliance for Retired Americans | California Nurses Association | California School Employees Association | California Universal Health Care Organizing Project | Gray Panthers of San Francisco | Senior Action Network | United Educators of San Francisco

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on June 20th, fires started off of Highway 1 between Mar Monte Road and Airport Road. By 6:00 p.m., 1,000 acres had already burned and several homes destroyed. It is currently burning out of control and continues to threaten the health and safety of people and animals in the area.

The fires ignited and took hold rather rapidly, with many people nearby the fires unaware of the danger or what procedures to follow. An observer of the fire from Freedom Boulevard around 3:00 p.m. was overwhelmed by the giant flume of smoke that encroached over the city of Freedom and headed towards Watsonville.

Currently, over 2,000 people are being forced to evacuate their homes and others are being asked to evacuate, including all areas within the Airport Road, Freedom Blvd and Larkin Valley Road area. Highway 1 is currently closed for a six mile stretch, between Larkin Valley Road and down to Riverside Drive, according to other news reports. Read More and View Photos

Sam Farr, representative of the 17th Congressional District of California, stated in a June 19th press release that, "aerial pheromone application over urban areas is off the table" in the effort to control the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM). The California Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that aerial pheromone application will no longer take place over urban areas and will be "limited to agricultural land and undeveloped regions as a tool of last result."

In a June 19th conference call with environmental and citizen groups, Secretary A. G. Kawamura confirmed that aerial spraying of pesticides is off the table in all urban areas. He went on to say that this includes all areas that are accessible by road: If there are roads, CDFA considers it an urban area. Audio

“The bottom line for eradicating this pest has always been safety,” Rep. Farr said. “The public was never convinced that spraying was safe or the only option, and the result has been protests, anger and a series of lawsuits. It’s vital that we don’t delay in our efforts to control this pest. CDFA was correct to recognize that aerial application was becoming a distraction. A shift in strategy is the right move.”

reader comments, "Farr is a politico, he is only trying to keep the program alive."

"The public was never convinced that spraying was safe"

"No mention of the fact that it was actually not safe. Only public perceptions matter."

Aerial Pesticide Spraying Over Cities Stopped | Statewide Grassroots Movement Victorious in Stopping the Spray | Vegan Reader | LBAMspray.com | StopTheSpray.org | Helping Our Peninsula's Environment

On June 8, at Chai House in San Jose—a mostly Jewish senior housing complex—Jewish and Japanese American survivors of the camps of World War Two and their families met for the second time in three years to tell their stories and reach common understanding. Around two hundred at the event, called "A Gathering of Friends," snacked on bagels and sushi and then talked with each other for a couple of hours. The South Bay Holocaust Survivor Group and the Japanese American Museum of San Jose were sponsors of the meeting, and the group was about evenly mixed between the two communities represented. Said organizer Harvey Gotliffe of San Jose State University, “We are here to share, not compare.” View photos

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Santa Cruz County and mental health advocates will rally on Tuesday, June 10th at 9:30am in front of the County Government Building on Ocean Street to call for the protection of mental health services in Santa Cruz County. Children, incarcerated individuals, and individuals with mental illness are losing their services or will receive reduced services.

The consequences of these reductions will intensify the current trends to:
• Decrease availability of services for children and adults
• Increase the number of people with mental illnesses in the County jail systems
• Increase the use of law enforcement to address mental health needs
• Force vulnerable populations to become homeless
• Increase unexpected deaths among mental health clients
• Increase use of expensive hospital emergency rooms and psychiatric locked facilities

Read More | Short Commentary | More Medicare cuts to doctors in Santa Cruz County!

The community of Felton prevailed in its six-year fight to acquire its water system from California-American Water (Cal-Am), a subsidiary of the German multinational corporation RWE. Cal-Am and the San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD) announced a purchase agreement on May 30th, less than a week before the planned start of an eminent domain trial where a jury would have set the value of the water system. SLVWD will make a total cash payment of $10.5 million to acquire the water system, including the 250 acres of forested watershed land, which Cal-Am is 'donating' to SLVWD. In addition, SLVWD will assume the $2.9 million loan that Felton residents have been paying for a new treatment plant.

“Felton FLOW's landmark victory over private water interests demonstrates that grassroots action can stop corporate interests from profiteering on water,” said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch. “This win, combined with the failure of RWE to efficiently and affordably deliver water to the residents of Felton is yet another example of why water utilities should be managed by the public. Felton’s victory should inspire other communities suffering from the effects of privatization to take back their water systems.” Read More

see also: Small California Town Overthrows Corporate Giant for Control of Water || Previous Coverage: Felton Community Resists Water Giant (June 21, 2007) || Felton Passes Measure to Take Back Water Utility (July 26, 2005)

United States District Judge Oliver W. Wanger gave preliminary approval today to a $2.35 million dollar class-action settlement between a class of hundreds of homeless Fresno residents and the City of Fresno and the California Department of Transportation. The court had already determined that Fresno's practice of immediately seizing and destroying the personal possessions of homeless residents violates the constitutional right of every person to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. The homeless plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Kincaid v. Fresno, were represented by a team of attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC), the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR) and the law firm of Heller Ehrman LLP.

"The Court's ruling and the settlement should send a strong message to other cities throughout our country that if they violate the rights of their most vulnerable residents, they will be held accountable," said ACLU-NC staff attorney Michael Risher.

Plaintiff Al Williams suffered the effects of the raids on three occasions. In addition to losing clothes and food, his wife's wheelchair was destroyed and her medicines confiscated by Fresno police officers. "I felt like everything was taken away from me, but this settlement gives me hope for the future for myself and all the other people who suffered," said Williams, who now hosts a local radio show in Fresno.

"Many homeless people lost everything they owned to the City's trash compactors and bulldozers. With this settlement, they can access what has always been the solution to homelessness: a safe, clean place to live," said Elisa Della-Piana, an attorney with the Lawyers' Committee.

Read More | Judge Orders Mayor into court over PR statement after settlement

California held an election on June 3rd. Proposition 98 failed to pass and Proposition 99 passed. In the CA Assembly, Nancy Skinner beat Kriss Worthington and in the State Senate Mark Leno beat Carole Migden.
Leno Victory Marks New Era in San Francisco Politics | State Election Results | San Francisco Election Results | Alameda County Election Results

Propositions 98 and 99 were aimed at changing the government’s power to take private property. Proposition 98 would have abolished rent control and other renter protections. Proposition 99 will block the government from taking single family homes or condominiums to transfer to other private parties, but will allow eminent domain for public uses and will not ban rent control.

Prop 98 loses, Prop 99 wins | Tenants Speakout Against Realtors For Supporting Prop 98 | Protect rent control, print out a No on 98 sign | San Francisco Tenants Rally Against Prop 98, Then Vote Against It | Prop 98 can provoke a city-wide rent strike | Four days to Save Rent Control | Oakland, Berkeley renters oppose Proposition 98 | No on Prop 98 Update | RHANAC's Steve Edrington Accusses Renters of Being Entrenched Tenants | Prop 98 Continues To Lose In The Polls | Expose the Landlords' Scheme | Non Profit Housing Developers May Be Selling Out The Poor | Prop 98 would eliminate rent control and tenant protections | How To Defeat Prop 98 | Progressive Politicos Preach to the Choir | Housing California Conference Will Have Prop 98 Discussion | Housing California Conference To Have Bush/McCain Supporter As Speaker On Prop 98 & 99 | Save Rent Control & Tenant Protections Update | Prop 98 Trailing Badly; Californians Support Rent Control

In San Francisco, Proposition G passed and Proposition F failed to pass. Propositions F & G focused on development by Lennar Corp in Bay View Hunters Point. Proposition F would have required that half of all Lennar's housing be available to people making less than the median area income, which is $75,000 for a family of four. Prop. G is the deal Newsom and Lennar were pushing; it will give the financially troubled developer the right to build 10,000 new housing units, office and retail space, and a new football stadium, along with 300 new acres of parks, in one of the city's most economically depressed areas.

Optimism in the Face of Defeat in the Bayview | Election fraud probably committed for Prop G | Election Fraud Watch in SF on Prop G-2d 49er Stadium Swindle | The people are for Proposition F and that is what really matters | Say Yes to F | Big Labor Sells Out | The Labor Council of San Francisco has helped Propostion F is a big way | Bayview Residents: the Hidden Treasure | Hold out for Hunters Point

Chris Daly's Blog | San Francisco Tenants Union | NoProp98.org | PropositionF.com | SF Bay Guardian Endorsements

On May 13th, a huge mob of cyclists rolled peacefully through the streets of Santa Cruz after a 6pm convergence at the Clock Tower. Bikers spanned city blocks in the right lane of Mission Street to raise awareness about California Vehicle Code Section 21202, cyclists may use the full right lane when the lane "is too narrow for a bicycle to safely ride to the side of a motor vehicle." Many people wore yellow shirts with a figure of a bike and the words "MAY USE FULL LANE cvc 21202" as they rode westbound on Mission, up Bay, east on King St. and down to the City Council meeting at 7pm.

City Hall was packed with bikers, many of whom spoke eloquently about their experiences on Mission St. and other dangerous routes, including Seabright Avenue. People Power, a local bicycle advocacy organization, declared their support for City Council to request signs from CalTrans for Mission with a figure of a bike and the words "MAY USE FULL LANE." Read More and View Photos

see also: The Ride of Silence on May 21st