On Sunday, October 10th, a group known as Creative Housing Liberation occupied Hotel Leslie in downtown San Francisco. This occupation was planned as part of a rally and march for World Homeless Day. Over 120 people convened for this event, which began around noon at Civic Center with speakers, musicians and spoken word. Eventually, the group marched up Larkin Street to the hotel, gathering outside for more performances and speakers, food and music, tours of the abandoned building, and the eventual occupation of the building by a core group of people.

On October 7th, students, workers, & faculty gathered in solidarity to defend public education across the U.S. At UC Berkeley, supporters gathered in Sproul Plaza, marched, and later occupied the North Hall Reading Room at Doe Library. At San Francisco State, supporters rallied, with speakers including Oscar Grant's Uncle Bobby.

Recently in West Side Modesto, about 100 people gathered in protest against the police killings of Francisco Moran in early September 2010, and the recent murder of Rita Elias by a Stanislaus County Sheriff. Banners read, "RIP Francisco Moran, RIP Rita Elias," "DISARM MPD," and "From LA to Oakland to Modesto, Resist Police Terror, 209 RISE UP!" Family members and friends of Elias wore shirts with her image, and earlier that day they had helped fundraise for her funeral expenses and for her three children that she leaves behind.

On the morning of September 22nd, settler security personnel in Silwan in East Jerusalem shot and killed Samir Solhan. Solhan, a father of four, was a well known figure in Silwan. The Palestinian residents of Silwan rioted in the following days protesting the murder. Although the police readily accepted the settlers' security personnel's version that he was in fear of his life, testimonies and video tell a different story.

A new poll released Thursday by the Public Policy Institute of California shows Proposition 19 — the statewide initiative to control and tax cannabis (marijuana) — leading 52-41, with just 7 percent of likely voters still undecided. "Controlling and taxing cannabis is polling higher than anything else on California's ballot, including the gubernatorial and Senate candidates, as well as all the other initiatives," said Richard Lee, a proponent of Prop. 19.

George “Elfie” Ballis, photographer, Indybay contributor, organizer, and chronicler of Fresno’s progressive movement died Friday, September 24. He was 85. In recent years George “Elfie” Ballis spent much of his time producing video documentaries of the progressive movement in Fresno and the Central Valley. Some of his footage about Peace Fresno’s infiltration by the sheriff’s department ended up in Michael Moore’s 2004 hit movie "Fahrenheit 9/11."

On the morning of September 24th, FBI agents served grand jury subpoenas and raided the homes of several anti-war and social justice activists in Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois. The federal law cited in the search warrants prohibits, "providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations." The Supreme Court recently rejected a free speech challenge to the material support law from humanitarian aid groups.

A protest took place in San Francisco on Tuesday, September 28th at the Federal Building at 7th St. and Mission St.

Last week the Concord Coalition and the Peter G. Peterson Foundation launched their “Fiscal Solutions Tour,” a series of public forums focusing on right wing cures for the nation’s economic problems. One of their major proposals is lowering the benefits and raising the retirement age for Social Security. In San Francisco and San Jose, they were met by protesters who shouted "Hands off Social Security!"  

Nurses, teachers, and union members lined the Bayshore Freeway in front of the San Francisco Airport Hyatt-Regency on September 21st to protest a Meg Whitman fundraising event. Anti-war activists were also on hand to demonstrate against former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who endorsed Whitman for Governor in a speech at the hotel.

On September 15th, protesters gathered in front of Senator Feinstein's office in downtown San Francisco to demand full and fair employment. Federal economic stimulus funding passed by Congress last year created jobs in non-profit organizations to provide services to the community in the Jobs Now and Community Jobs Program. That funding ends September 30, 2010, and so do those jobs.

On September 16th, Daniel Ellsberg, US Army Col. and diplomat Ann Wright (ret.), senior CIA analyst Ray McGovern (ret.), and KPFA morning host Aimee Allison spoke in Oakland to kick off a nationwide campaign to free alleged whistleblower Bradley Manning, accused of leaking thousands of documents and combat video showing the gunning down of Iraqi civilians and journalists. The event was be streamed live on Indybay as well as Michael Moore's website.

Dina Padilla is calling on Attorney General Jerry Brown to investigate the role of PG&E in the San Bruno fire of September 9. In a statement released to the press, Ms. Padilla asked that criminal charges be filed against PG&E saying, "I believe that PG&E is criminally negligent and is incapable in properly defending the lives and property of California residents." Residents of the San Bruno neighborhood say that they had been complaining for weeks preceding the blast of a gas smell, but that nothing was done.

Demonstrations against Proposition 23, an oil company sponsored initiative that would delay implementation of California's global warming law, began in earnest this month. Protesters carrying signs reading "Stop Texas Oil--Hell No on 23" have demonstrated in San Rafael, Mountain View, Berkeley, Richmond, El Cerrito and Palo Alto. Organizers say this is just the start of a campaign that will include hundreds of such actions statewide before November's election.

On September 9th, a protest took place in San Francisco demanding the US government pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). If passed, ENDA would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination in the workplace for civilian, non-religious companies with over 15 employees, as well as federal, state and local governments, unions and employment agencies. Several protesters were arrested for blocking traffic at the corner of Market and Castro Streets.

On August 30th, the Mobilization for Climate Justice West marched in downtown San Francisco to the office buildings of Chevron, BP, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to demand accountability from "Big Oil." Near BP's San Francisco headquarters, at the intersection of Mission and New Montgomery, the march stopped and blocked traffic. Fourteen activists refused to leave the intersection and were arrested by police.

On August 30th, for the third straight morning, outraged Santa Cruz County residents gathered at the gates of Wellington Energy in Capitola, successfully blocking what they say is a forced installation of radiating 'smart' meters against the will of residents and nearly two dozen local governments throughout the Greater Bay Area.

Student organizers handed out literature and dropped a banner during the "Presidents Barbeque" at CSU Monterey Bay on Sunday, August 22. This year a group of students contributed to the event by passing out copies of CSUMB’s Otter Disorientation Guide, a guide to a more realistic college experience. It also echoed the recent statewide call to action to defend public education on October 7th.

The Bay Area is commemorating the 90th anniversary of women's suffrage this week with speakers, films, costumes, and concerns. Members of the national organization Radical Women put out a call on the occasion of Women's Equality Day this year saying, "It's time to reclaim and re-energize a fighting, militant feminist movement!" In San Mateo, US Congresswomen Jackie Speier and Anna Eshoo warned that women's reproductive rights continue to be threatened.

The California Nurses Association held a press conference August 19th accusing Sutter's California Pacific Medical Center, which operates St. Luke's Hospital, of discriminating against Filipino nurses. The nurses presented declarations from three former hospital managers documenting a policy of discrimination and data showing a precipitous decline in the number of Filipino nurses hired at St. Luke's. Union and community leaders suggested that the decline is related to Filipino nurses' leadership in the 2008 campaign to save the hospital.

Five people were arrested on August 20th for chaining themselves to bicycles and blocking an entrance to the Arco/BP gas station at the corner of Fell and Divisadero in San Francisco. Friday evening's action was the 11th since the group Fix Fell began demonstrations to demand that the city and the Department of Public Works take measures to make the street safe for bicyclists.

In another move clamping down on public use of previously public space, the city of Santa Cruz posted "closing hours" on the City Hall grounds for the first time, without any kind of public hearing, announcement, or rationale. When then-Mayor Mike Rotkin tried to close down City Hall in 1996 to end another homeless protest against the Sleeping Ban, the City Council declined to back him and Judge Samuel Stevens ended up granting a very limited injunction requiring that folks there "obey all laws." This time, without a hearing, Parks and Recreation, which controls virtually all the public space around public buildings, issued an edict closing the area.

Social Security was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. Originally a plan for retired workers, it soon became a program to provide monthly income to widows and widowers and their minor children as well as the disabled. Calling the plan "America's promise to its citizens" and opposing any movement to privatize the program, activists in San Francisco and San Jose held demonstrations around the 75th anniversary of Social Security this past week.

Early in the morning on August 17th, forest defenders set up a 60 ft. high road blockade to stop the active clear-cutting operations of Green Diamond Resource Company in the redwoods near Jacoby Creek Road north of Eureka in Humboldt County. These clear-cut logging plans represent a fraction of the ongoing clear-cut logging operations in Northern California. “We are not coming down voluntarily until the reckless logging in the Jacoby Creek watershed is stopped,” said Fly, one of the activists from atop the 60 ft. high hanging platform.

Anarchist activist and former parade organizer Wes Modes was found guilty on August 16th of walking in the DIY New Year's parade on December 31, 2009. Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Jeff Almquist rejected arguments that the citation was discriminatory and that the city's permit requirements were unconstitutional. Almquist also denied a lengthy challenge to the City's permit requirements without addressing all of the points it brought up.

On Thursday, August 19th at 8:30am the Fresno Brown Berets and CA Prison Moratorium Project will present a petition to the Fresno City Council demanding Police Chief Jerry Dyer be fired and that reforms be made like drug testing the cops. You are encouraged to attend and share your own story.

Demonstrators swarmed the Googleplex in Mountain View on August 13th. They converged on Google headquarters to protest the giant search engine company's proposal to the Federal Communications Commission that would exempt wireless communication from most government regulation.

Redwood Curtain CopWatch writes: "Humboldt County Sheriff Officers shot and killed Robert Garth in the morning of Saturday August 7, 2010. CopWatchers and friends of the Garth family went to Blue Lake, after learning of the shooting. We took lots of video and photos. We want to share what we learned, in brief. First this: As we write this post, we anticipate two things. The first is that the media (i.e. Thadues Greenson of the Times-Standard who was in Blue Lake) will parrot, stating as fact, the police story. That's what the media ALWAYS does."

On the night of Monday, August 9th, between 20 and 40 people gathered, many laid out in sleeping bags, for the 37th night of Peace Camp 2010's high profile protest at the Santa Cruz County Building. Around 4:30am on Tuesday morning, eight Sheriff's deputies were ticketing, evicting, and hauling two people to jail. The total number of citations is now 24, with the arrest total at an additional 9, mostly on the same charge of violating California's anti-lodging law PC 647e, a "disorderly conduct" code which could result in jury trials and public defenders.