On July 19th, approximately 80 to 100 people rallied in the parking lot of the Walnut Creek courthouse in support of former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. Counter-protesters, estimated to number about 200, showed up to demonstrate for Oscar Grant and other victims of police brutality. The rally was prompted by the conviction of Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter in the New Year's Day 2009 shooting death of train rider Oscar Grant.

Wes Modes returned to Santa Cruz County Court on July 16th. This high-profile infraction case, claimed by supporters as harassment of Modes, a well-known anarchist activist, stems from his alleged participation in the Last Night DIY New Year's parade on December 31st, 2009, as well as a knowledge that the 2009 parade did not receive a permit. A ruling in the case is expected shortly after August 9th.

On July 22nd, San Francisco's Submission Gallery will host a benefit for Marie Mason, a long-time activist in the environmental and labor movements from Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2008, Marie was arrested on federal charges of property destruction and later sentenced to almost 22 years in prison, the longest term of any "Green Scare" prisoner. Activists and former prisoners Linda Evans, Jeff Luers, and Karen Pickett will share their experiences and perspectives on Marie’s case.

Saying that Meg Whitman's election would threaten their meal and rest breaks and put patient care in jeopardy, nurses protested in front of the Republican candidate's home on July 15th. Nurses decided to take to the streets in large numbers after Whitman mailed letters and fliers to nurses' homes telling them not to believe statements made by the California Nurses Association. The day of action started with over 1,100 people chanting in protest in front of Whitman's Atherton home and ended with a rally and speakers' event at Cañada College.

The U.S. District Court in San Jose has thrown out the indictment of four animal rights activists who were charged with violating the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, because the government did not clearly explain what, exactly, the protesters did. The case is not over, however. The government can still re-indict the defendants with an amended bill of particulars that clearly outlines their alleged actions.

On July 8th, former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for shooting and killing Oscar Grant on January 1st, 2009 in Oakland, California. Mehserle was led away from the courtroom in handcuffs and is now in custody. His sentencing was expected on Friday, August 6th, but has now been delayed at the defense's request. Involuntary manslaughter can carry 2 to 6 years, with up to 10 added for a gun enhancement. Sentencing and other motions are now on the court calendar for Friday, November 5th at 8:30 a.m.

In Oakland, thousands of people took over the intersection of Broadway and 14th for a protest which started shortly after the 4PM verdict and lasted until late in the evening. Over fifty protesters were arrested. Protests also took place in Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Palo Alto, Fresno, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Bloomington Indiana and elsewhere.

Since July 4th, a couple dozen people have been protesting the Santa Cruz Sleeping Ban by camping each night from 8pm - 8am at the County Courthouse. Organizer Ed Frey says that the demonstration aims to "convince local and national government to stop breaching the peace, especially that of peaceful sleepers, and to instead use resources to discourage violence and warfare in all its forms."

Iraq Veterans Against the War, SF, write: The flag is a symbol of our unity and the blood sweat tears of those that came before us. The flag also has a purpose, some times it is a beacon or a message a warning that something is wrong. Jacob Crawford and Josh Wolf write: While millions across the United States of America celebrate freedom (for some), a flag [was burned] to send the statement that many are still waiting to reclaim true freedom.

On Sunday, June 27, Yonatan Shapira, an Israeli military refusenik, and Eaw Jasiewicz, a Polish activist sprayed "Liberate All Ghettos" in Hebrew, followed by "Free Gaza and Palestine" in English on a wall of an original block in the Warsaw Ghetto. In an interview with an Indybay reporter, Shapira states, "In our act we tried to separate between the actions of the Israeli Government and Jews.... the lesson that should be learned from the holocaust are resistance to any form of racism and ethnic cleansing."

On Thursday, July 8th at 7pm in Watsonville, the Brown Berets are hosting a workshop by acclaimed Bay Area artist and activist Favianna Rodriguez. Favianna will discuss the process of developing art in collaboration with community-based organizations. She will also discuss steps for designing visually engaging posters for social justice campaigns.

In this chapter of the series “Hidden in Plain Sight,” Indybay volunteer Peter M writes about Greg Landau. Landau is a record and film music producer living in the Bay Area. He learned filmmaking from his father, Saul Landau, while traveling throughout Latin America. Greg spent most of the 1980s in Nicaragua, where he was baptized by fire working for the Ministry of Culture in the Sandinista government. He relates the experiences that formed the cultural perspective informing his career today.

On June 26th, the Santa Cruz Indian Council Inter-tribal Gathering took place in Louden Nelson Park. There were many performances by native dancers. Elders spoke about the rich history and plight of Native Americans. There were also many vendors and informational tables.

For weeks, as the trial of Johannes Mehserle for the murder of Oscar Grant has progressed, city leaders have been stirring up fears of "outside agitators" bringing trouble to Oakland should Mehserle be acquitted or found guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter rather than the maximum now available, second degree murder. Corporate television stations have been running near daily coverage of Oakland police preparing to quell riots, while local non-profits have been disseminating talking points geared toward "inoculating" Oakland youth from their own feelings of anger. In Oakland, a community gathering has been called for 14th Street and Broadway at 6pm the day the verdict is announced. For further updates, see the next related Indybay feature.

On June 22nd, disability right activists established a tent city they have named "Arnieville" on Adeline at Stewart Street in Berkeley. Arnieville is an ongoing tent city protesting the Governor's proposed cuts to In-Home Support Services (IHSS), which enables people to remain in their homes rather than be institutionalized. A similar protest was held at the same place in late May.

June 25th through the 27th was Pride weekend in San Francisco. June 25th was the Trans March, Saturday was the Dyke March and Sunday was the official parade on Market St. While pride marches started as protests, many activists now see them as celebrations of the status quo. On Sunday at 2pm, Gay Shame protested at the SF LGBT Center against the corporatism and assimilation of the Pride celebrations. On Thursday, June 17th Queers United Against Israeli Terrorism protested at the Castro Theater against the Isreali Consulate's sponsorship of the San Francisco LGBT Film Festival.

Activists concerned about the close ties between Big Oil and Big Banks protested at a branch of JP Morgan/Chase Bank in Palo Alto on June 26th. Demonstrators encouraged customers to move their money to community banks or credit unions, telling passersby that not only did Chase take bailout money as a "too big to fail" institution, but that it is the chief depository bank for British Petroleum.

On June 25th, United Public Workers for Action (UPWA) called for a demonstration against the privatization of public education when it was announced that US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan would be the keynote speaker at Foothill Community College's graduation ceremony. After the UPWA initially received permission from the college administration to stage a peaceful protest, Foothill College president Judy Miner called organizer and Skyline Community College instructor George Wright to ask that he cancel the planned demonstration. Wright was also contacted by counsel at the office of the Education Secretary.

Rick and Brandon Morse held a press conference on June 22nd to explain the latest news about the City of Fresno’s attempt to close their medical marijuana dispensary. They say that the city has put pressure on their landlord to have them evicted from the location where their dispensary is located.

Pride @ Work, the Harvey Milk Club, and labor activists held a protest on Saturday, June 19th, to protest the firing of Vincent Atos from Hornblower/Alcatraz Cruises for organizing a union and allegedly (this is an actual quote from Human Resources) acting “too gay” at work. In turn, demonstrators decided to have a picket that was “too gay” for Hornblower. Picketers dressed in sailor suits paraded down a red carpet runway dancing to the music of the Brass Liberation Orchestra.

Northern California’s status as the home of high-quality marijuana didn’t need much reinforcement, but the region dominated the competition at the first High Times Medical Cannabis Cup on June 19th and 20th in San Francisco. The event featured a presentation by internationally renowned, best-selling author Jorge Cervantes during his first U.S. appearance. There was also an expo, cultivation seminars, an activism session with leaders of the medical marijuana movement and much more.

On Thursday, June 24th at 6:30pm at the Louden Nelson Center in Santa Cruz, local anarchists are hosting a panel discussion entitled "Demystifying Anarchy" to help non-anarchists understand the depth and nuance of anarchism. The event is intended for people who are curious about the philosophy, or might have questions or concerns. Demystifying Anarchy will feature a panel of anarchists who will speak about what anarchy means to them and how they see the world.

Unions, labor federations and other organizations around the world have condemned Israel’s deadly attack against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on May 31. In response on June 20th, a labor and community picket of an Israeli Zim Lines ship was called for the Port of Oakland. The picket has already succeeded in shutting down the port for the morning shift, after the ILWU refused to cross the picket line. Activists have promised to return at 4:30pm the same day to stop the next shift from unloading the Zim lines ship when it arrives from Monterey this afternoon.

On April 16th, veteran Indybay reporter David Morse moved to quash a search warrant issued for photographs he took at a December 11th protest on the UC Berkeley campus. The photographs were taken while Morse was covering the protest for Indybay. Despite clearly identifying himself as a journalist, Morse was arrested along with seven others, had his camera and photographs seized, and was charged with multiple felonies. The charges were dropped within days. On June 18th, Judge Yolanda Northridge quashed the warrant, ordering the UC Regents to return the original photographs and all copies.

Arab Queers write: "We, the undersigned queer Arab organizations, are appalled by the US Social Forum’s decision to allow Stand with Us to utilize the event as a platform to pinkwash Israel’s crimes in the region. Stand with Us is cynically manipulating the struggle of queer people in the Middle East through its workshop entitled LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East.”

Update: On June 23rd, the leadership of the US Social Forum voted to cancel the workshop in question for "being in violation of the anti-racist principles central to the US Social Forum."

Free Radio Santa Cruz has had their transmitter evicted. The landlord has given word to the collective that their transmitter has to go. Free Radio Santa Cruz has been on the air for over 15 years, but not without having to move from time to time. This is the downside of being an unlicensed, DIY, pirate radio station. Free Radio is urgently reaching out to the community in search of a secure location for their antenna.

On June 1st, family, friends, and community activists gathered in front of Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malleys office in Oakland to demand a vigorous prosecution of Johannes Mehserle for the murder of Oscar Grant. The next day jury questionnaires were handed out in Los Angeles Superior Court, and after numerous motions have been heard in pre-trial hearings and a jury which includes no African Americans was selected, the long-awaited trial began with opening statements on June 10th. On June 14th, the LA Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant made a call — "All Out to the Courthouse" — and hundreds rallied for justice. In Oakland, a mass community gathering has been called for 14th Street and Broadway at 6pm the day of the Mehserle verdict.

Since the April 20th BP oil spill began in the Gulf of Mexico, a number of related protests have been held across the country and locally. On June 11th, a group of bikers blocked entrances at a BP owned ARCO gas station at Fell and Divisadero in San Francisco. The demonstrators were protesting the environmental outrage in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as a dangerous bike lane that is perennially blocked by cars lining up to enter the station.

After more than a year in a Tel Aviv hospital, Bay Area activist and photo-journalist Tristan Anderson has returned home to California. Tristan was critically injured when he was shot in the head at close range with a metal high-velocity tear gas canister at the Israeli Separation Wall on March 13, 2009, while taking photos following a demonstration against the apartheid wall in the West Bank village of Ni'lin.