The Save the Peaks Coalition is fighting the United States Forest Service in a legal battle to protect children from hazardous endocrine disruptors and to protect the San Francisco Peaks sacred site in Arizona from desecration. On Monday, January 9th, The Save the Peaks Coalition et al v. the United States Forest Service will be heard by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, CA. The case argues that under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, the Forest Service failed to adequately consider the impacts associated with ingestion of snow made from reclaimed sewer water in its Environmental Impact Statement. Organizers are calling for a strong turn-out for a march and rally before the court hearing, and a welcoming reception will be held the previous day on Sunday, January 8th.

Hundreds of people participated in the 7th Annual Last Night DIY New Year's Parade on December 31st, 2011 in downtown Santa Cruz. Hundreds more lined Pacific Avenue to watch and document the grassroots New Year's Eve celebration created by the community. The event has become both a homespun, family-friendly alternative celebration and a controversial embarrassment for the city.

In a call-out for a march at 1pm from 14th Street & Broadway to a rally at the Fruitvale BART station on January 1st, 2012, organizers write: "The movement that touched ground in January 2009 — the organizing to address police terrorism — laid the ground work for the movement against the 1% here in Oakland. The polarizing disparity of wealth and the numerous police killings in our communities are inextricably linked. To unravel a system that forecloses homes, pushes our families into poverty and criminalizes our youth while gentrifying our neighborhoods, we need to not only address a system based on greed but a system that needs police brutality to survive and thrive through state terror. On this 3rd anniversary of Oscar’s murder, lets take to the streets to show that Oscar Grant is gone but not forgotten. Oscar lives on in the memories of his family and friends and in our resistance to the police."

The twelfth and final profile in the series “Hidden in Plain Sight,” by Peter M, concerns Jose Manuel Martinez, whose creative life has been story telling. As a recording artist — a singer-songwriter — he made his mark in Rock, Latin Rock and Salsa. Now having just completed a Master’s degree in Education at Stanford University, he is an English teacher, relating to young people how stories can empower, and the ways they can bring people together.

On December 8th, the California Coastal Commission voted 10-1 to approve the controversial $5 million Arana Gulch Master Plan. The vote was expected to resolve a fifteen year long battle between cycling advocacy groups and environmental groups that oppose a bike path through the Santa Cruz greenbelt. But in a move that has some long time Sierra Club members crying foul, cycling advocacy groups are running a slate of three candidates for the board of the Santa Cruz County Group of the Sierra Club in the December election. This would be the second cyclist-sponsored candidate slate in two years, and is expected to decide control of the Santa Cruz Group Executive Committee.

On December 17, approximately 75-100 community members protesting the desecration of Rattlesnake Island, the spiritual center of the Elem Pomo community, marched to the Piedmont mansion of John Nady, the owner of Nady Systems, who has been one of those pushing for the development of the island as the location of two luxury-style vacation homes. Community members first circled up and held a rally near the Lakeview library branch in Oakland, then proceeded to march two miles up and into the hills of Piedmont where Nady owns a large home, and a short demonstration was held that featured speeches as well a spirited singing of the AIM song.

Eighteen months after he was first detained on accusations of revealing information to WikiLeaks, PFC Bradley Manning appeared before an Article 32 investigating officer for a pre-trial hearing on December 16th at Fort Meade in Maryland. Supporters gathered outside the gates of Fort Meade to call for Manning's freedom and denounce the proceedings as unjust. Supporters have long argued that PFC Manning could not receive a fair hearing due to unlawful command influence from President Obama, who publicly declared in April that the former Army intelligence analyst "broke the law."

Community pickets and mass mobilizations to blockade ports have been planned for December 12th by Occupy movements in San Diego, LA, Oakland, Portland, Tacoma, Seattle, Vancouver, and Houston. Occupy Anchorage, Occupy Denver, and Occupy Wall Street are targeting Goldman Sachs and Walmart on the 12th. Solidarity actions are being planned as far away as in Japan. In Oakland, marches to the port will begin at 5.30am at West Oakland BART. At 3pm, people will rally at 14th and Broadway, followed by a 4pm sharp march to the port. A 5pm march to the port will leave from West Oakland BART.

On December 8th at about 7 a.m., approximately 100 police from across Santa Cruz County outfitted in riot gear raided the Occupy Santa Cruz encampment in San Lorenzo Park. Six people were arrested and are being held in jail. Arrestees are reportedly being held on $25,000 bail each (one exception being held on $50,000) for various charges, including failure to leave the park.

A community park was established in downtown Santa Cruz on December 3rd when volunteer gardeners gathered at dawn to build raised concrete flower beds, plant shrubs and fruit trees, and build benches. By early afternoon they hung a sign to welcome people to the new community park. "This is an ongoing process of creation," said one of the gardeners, "We'll be planting through the winter. As these new sprouts take root it will be beautiful!"

On November 30th, more than a hundred activists in Santa Cruz demonstrated in front of a Chase bank, before marching to and occupying a vacant bank building at River and Water Streets. A communique handed out shortly after the building was entered states, "This building is being re-purposed in solidarity with Occupy Santa Cruz. Formerly a Coast Commercial Bank, the building was bought by Wells Fargo, closed, and has been vacant for the past three years. The company leasing the building manages foreclosures for Wells Fargo."

Friday, December 2nd will see a full afternoon and evening of protest on the streets of San Francisco. With the rallying cry, "Stop the Cuts! Tax the Rich!", labor and community activists will occupy the Federal Building plaza at 7th and Mission from 2pm. Later in the afternoon they will march past symbols of corporate and financial corruption, continuing into the evening with a rally and concert at the OccupySF encampment at Justin Herman Plaza.

For the 10th straight year, community members gathered on Black Friday to protest the desecration of the sacred Ohlone shellmounds in Emeryville that were disturbed when the Bay Street Mall was constructed on top of them. The demonstration was on November 25 this year, and organizers of the event hoped to educate shoppers about the Ohlone burial sites, and that there were other shopping alternatives located nearby. A short rally during this year's demonstration featured speeches by Ohlone and Native American activists as well as a representative of Occupy/Decolonize Oakland.

After effectively shutting down and preventing employees from starting the workday at the Hahn Student Services building at UC Santa Cruz starting at 5am on November 28, students held a rally at Quarry Plaza at noon followed by a general assembly at 2pm. After discussion of agenda items, students reached consensus on holding the remainder of the GA at the Hahn building to support those who were still maintaining the shutdown. At Hahn, it was decided that the building would be entered and occupied.

On November 21st, the United States Army scheduled an Article 32 pretrial hearing for PFC Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence specialist accused of releasing classified material to WikiLeaks. The pretrial hearing will commence on December 16th at Fort Meade, Maryland. This will be PFC Manning’s first appearance before a court and the first time he will face his accusers after 17 months in confinement. A rally and march in solidarity with Bradley Manning takes place on Tuesday, November 22nd, starting at 5pm at Market & Powell Streets in San Francisco.

On the afternoon of Friday, November 18th, UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi ordered the UC Davis police to clear student protesters from the main quad on campus. In a gesture of solidarity with UC Berkeley students and faculty, and the national Occupy movement, students at UC Davis had set up tents on the main quad. Police in riot gear arrived to remove the tents, and students responded by sitting in a circle and linking arms around the tents. Without provocation, police pepper-sprayed the students. UC Davis students, alumni and others will converge on Monday, November 21st at noon on the quad to show solidarity and support for the students who were beaten and pepper-sprayed, and for a conversation about the university’s future.

On Saturday, November 19th, a day of mass actions, Occupy Oakland will set up a new occupation in the park and empty lot on 19th and Telegraph adjacent to the Fox Theater in the rapidly gentrifying Uptown neighborhood and entertainment district. A massive march planned for the day will end at this park and Occupy Oakland will begin setting up a new camp. Occupy Oakland is asking for all committees and supporters to begin making plans in whatever way they can to assist the new occupation and come prepared to make it happen.

Local Service Employee International Union (SEIU) members participating in the Occupy Day of Action demonstrations which took place on bridges around the country, joined members of Occupy Santa Cruz and members of the local MoveOn.org council to rally at the Santa Cruz County courthouse on November 17 in support of improving and repairing local infrastructure to stimulate job creation. The demonstration began on Water Street Bridge where community members held signs along the pedestrian areas of the bridge.

UPDATE: The trial has been delayed. More details will be forthcoming.

On November 17th, a Jerusalem civil court will convene regarding the case of Tristan Anderson, an international solidarity activist from Oakland, California, wounded in March 2009 when he was shot in the head by Israeli border police in Ni'ilin, Palestine. He survived the attack on his life, but has been left paralyzed on one side of his body and with significant damage to his brain. To date, no one has been charged with any crime whatsoever related to the shooting of Tristan Anderson. Also on November 17th, supporters are invited to an event in Berkeley in solidarity with the trial featuring Tristan, an update from court from Gabby, and a discussion as well as music.

On November 14th, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and the National Lawyers’ Guild (NLG) filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Oakland Police Department (OPD) for its egregious constitutional violations against Occupy Oakland demonstrators. The ACLU-NC and the NLG are suing OPD on behalf of Scott Campbell and other demonstrators subjected to excessive force during recent demonstrations. Additional plaintiffs include Kerie Campbell, Marc McKinnie, Michael Siegel, and NLG Legal Observer Marcus Kryshka.

Students at UC Berkeley walked out of classes on November 9th to protest budget cuts and rising tuition, and to support the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. The rally protested economic inequality and its impact on students, the poor and the young — in the words of the occupy movement, a protest by the 99% of the people who are exploited by a system that only benefits the top 1%. Later that night, students were beaten by police batons as they tried to set up tents in Sproul Plaza, and six students and an assistant professor were arrested. Students continued to occupy the plaza without tents, however.

Occupy Oakland continues to kick through the boundaries of what was previously thought possible, upping the ante of what it means to resist against corporate greed and state oppression. Just one day after a hundred people were arrested, two encampments were physically smashed to the ground, and a thousand supporters were attacked by police with chemical weapons and projectiles in a manner that shocked the conscience of the nation, Occupy Oakland collectively took the audacious and ambitious step of calling for the first General Strike in America in sixty-five years.

On November 8th, 2011, four students from Renaissance High School went to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds to protest against the way the circus treats their elephants. Students attending the protest joined other demonstrators from the bay area that were following the circus around to their performances. One protestor was assaulted while handing out flyers about the circus. The students stayed at the fairgrounds protesting for animal rights from 3pm to 7pm.

In solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a general strike, which was in response to the police violence in Oakland that resulted in the serious injury of Scott Olsen and others, Occupy Santa Cruz members called for a strike to be held in Santa Cruz on November 2nd. Suggestions to avoid work and or/school were made, and community members gathered at the county courthouse steps for a march and demonstration downtown.

After an eviction from their previous transmitter site, Free Radio Santa Cruz has found a new site and resumed broadcasting. The collectively run, anti-corporate, community supported station has been providing Santa Cruz with alternative programming to counter mainstream corporate and NPR stations since 1995. Uncle Dennis, a broadcast engineer for Free Radio Santa Cruz, is offering a class in radio engineering during the winter quarter of Free Skool Santa Cruz.

On October 27th, the City of Fresno and Caltrans did what they said they were going to do — they attacked the homeless encampment on Santa Fe street in downtown Fresno. But, they did not destroy the encampment without being confronted with significant resistance by community members who protested the eviction. Evictions at all of the other encampments — The Hill, G street, Santa Clara street, F street, and at San Benito/H street — are scheduled for Tuesday, November 1st.

Santa Cruz, Calif. — Just as PG&E enters the final phase of its deployment of wireless “smart” meters in California, the largest of the state’s Investor Owned Utilities (IOU’s) has reversed course, quietly beginning to replace the ‘smart’ meters of those reporting health impacts with the old analog version. Consumer rights and health groups immediately seized on the news, demanding that millions of Californians unhappy with their new wireless meters get their analogs returned immediately at no cost.

Early on October 25th, expecting a police raid at Occupy Oakland in Oscar Grant Plaza, occupiers began to erect barricades along the perimeter and access ways to the plaza. At 4:30am, over 500 police surrounded the plaza. Police fired projectiles and tear gas shells and hand-lobbed at least one flash-bang grenade over the barricades before marching through the camp tearing down tents and pulling down almost everything that stood in the plaza. Over 70 people were arrested during the raid. Later in the day, Alameda County Sheriff's deputies repeatedly deployed massive amounts of tear gas and fired projectiles into a crowd of marchers throughout the night. Numerous people were injured, some seriously when projectiles were fired at the heads of protesters. On October 26th, occupiers removed fencing and again took Oscar Grant Plaza, holding their daily General Assembly which voted 1484 to 46 for an Oakland general strike on Wednesday, November 2nd.