On April 2nd, law enforcement agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Marshals Service raided the businesses and home of licensed medical cannabis provider and activist Richard Lee in Oakland. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) put out a call for patients and advocates to go to Oaksterdam University in downtown Oakland to protest the raids and support the victims. At least two protesters were arrested in the street while the raid continued. Richard Lee called the raid a "senseless act of intimidation."

On April 4th, a dozen people demonstrated on the sidewalk in front of the Wells Fargo Bank located at 74 River St. in downtown Santa Cruz, and across the street from the vacant bank building at 75 River St. The event was held to "encourage those victimized by the bank to learn they have allies" and "support the hundreds of people who visited or protested the vacant building at 75 River St. in late November and early December last year."

On Sunday, April 1st, Occupy SF working groups and affinity groups occupied a vacant building at 888 Turk Street, The idea was to liberate a vacant building and convert it into a social center, shelter and food bank for the people. The SF Commune stated that they initiated the occupation "to provide a perpetual, autonomous headquarters for the Occupy SF movement." The building has space for food preparation and distribution, bedrooms for housing, event rooms for General Assemblies and art projects, classrooms and space for medical services. When San Francisco police raided the building on April 2nd, over 50 people were arrested.

Demonstrators shut down the entrance of the Hotel Sofitel in Redwood City where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a fundraising dinner on March 26th. Several protest groups coordinated to produce a show of anger aimed at the presidential hopeful and wealthy attendees of the event. One group erected a giant Etch A Sketch outside the hotel entrance, making light of a recent Romney aide's gaffe; others mocked billionaire supporters of his campaign by wearing faux fur and pearls and lifting glasses of champagne.

The legendary poet, essayist and feminist Adrienne Rich died on March 27, 2012, at the age of 82 in her Santa Cruz, California home. Rich was one of the most celebrated poets of the last half-century and a lifelong advocate for women, gay and lesbian rights, peace and racial justice. She was a key figure in the women’s movement and an uncompromising critic of the powerful.

On February 26th, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot dead by self-styled vigilante George Zimmerman in Sandford, Florida. Sanford police did not arrest Zimmerman for killing the unarmed teenager, nor even take physical evidence such as Zimmerman's clothing or the handgun he used that night. Police allowed Zimmerman to walk away without charges under the protection of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. Rallies and marches have been held across the country for Trayvon, including at least three thus far in San Francisco and Oakland.

Santa Cruz County District Attorney Bob Lee has embarked on a full frontal assault against independent media in Santa Cruz by including four regular contributors to the independent news website Indybay.org amongst the eleven people charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors after the occupation of a vacant bank building on November 30th, 2011. District Attorney Lee is attempting to dictate how events such as the occupation of the vacant bank at 75 River Street should be reported on by the media.

Monsanto closed its facility in Davis, California on March 16th after 150 occupiers from throughout the state blocked the entrances to their Davis facility at 1910 5th Street. The occupiers reported that they shut down operations at the corporate giant, which produces genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and is notorious for its inordinate influence over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

On December 31st, 2011, President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012, codifying indefinite military detention without charge or trial into law for the first time in American history. The NDAA’s dangerous detention provisions would authorize the president — and all future presidents — to order the military to pick up and indefinitely imprison people captured anywhere in the world, far from any battlefield.

Students, educators, workers, and supporters of the Occupy movement, converged in the thousands on the State Capitol in Sacramento on March 5th. They were there to demand that the government fund education and social services. In the morning, a march left Sacramento's Southside Park headed for the Capitol. There they were joined by thousands of other protesters. They came from across the state.

On February 27, several dozen community members involved with Occupy Santa Cruz joined in a solidarity march with occupies across the country and the world, protesting repression of the occupy movement and the associated police violence. The march started from the Santa Cruz County court house occupation location of Occupy Santa Cruz, and it made its way through the downtown to City Hall, where a candlelight vigil was held.

On January 9, the general assembly at Occupy Oakland passed a resolution calling on occupies across the country to support a national occupy day in support of prisoners. In the following month, over a dozen communities across the nation followed in planning local demonstrations, including those in Los Angeles, Fresno, and Portland. On February 20, hundreds of demonstrators marched to San Quentin Prison where a rally was held in solidarity with the National Occupy Day in Support of Prisoners.

A "Free Bradley Manning" protest was held in front of the county courthouse in Santa Cruz on February 23 to coincide with Manning's arraignment in military court in Maryland on charges stemming from the accusation that he provided thousands of classified defense department documents to Wikileaks. Approximately two dozen community members participated in the demonstration, which was located at the courthouse general assembly location of Occupy Santa Cruz on Water Street.

On February 7th, 11 people were criminally charged for an occupation which began on November 30th, 2011 of a former bank building, now owned by Wells Fargo, located at 75 River St. in Santa Cruz. The occupation was intended to turn the space into a community center hosting a slew of services the city does not offer. The accused are charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors, including conspiracy, trespass and vandalism. A solidarity demonstration was held on February 15th in front of the Wells Fargo branch at 74 River St.

California's Proposition 8 ban on same sex marriage was ruled unconstitutional by a three member panel of judges from the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Judge Smith dissented. The panel majority stated that California voters violated the 14th Amendment of the Federal Constitution when voting for Prop 8. San Francisco's City Attorney stated that officials are getting ready and changing marriage forms, but that until the stay is lifted same sex couples in California still cannot marry.

For the eighth year, anti-choice Walk for Life demonstrators bussed into San Francisco from across the state marched to protest the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion 39 years ago. However, pro-choice activists celebrated the anniversary of Roe v. Wade with gatherings in the city's Justin Herman Plaza and in downtown Los Altos. Supporters of the Walk for Life West Coast event bemoaned the lack of news coverage given their march.

One of the major issues now confronting the City of Santa Cruz, and residents outside the city limits, too, is whether or not the City should partner with the Soquel Creek Water District to construct a $100 million dollar desalination plant to meet the need for water during drought periods in the City of Santa Cruz water service area, and to help relieve the threat of groundwater overdraft in the Soquel Creek Water District. A kickoff party for the Right to Vote On Desalination initiative will be held on Sunday, February 12th in Santa Cruz.

In the pre-dawn hours of Monday, January 30th, a small group of activists hung a banner from the La Fonda HWY 1 overpass by Harbor High. The banner read "WIDENING WASTE$". The approximately one-mile widening project will cost almost $20 million, to be funded by the State Transportation Bond and State Transportation Improvement Program funds. There are a number of other projects competing for those millions of dollars that may now not be funded because of the high cost of the widening project.

Occupy Oakland planned to reclaim a large vacant building with the purpose of putting it to use as a social center, kicking the new occupation off with a two day festival packed with speakers, workshops and performances. Marchers headed toward the abandoned Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, but Oakland police formed lines of riot police on perimeter streets and around the building. Tear gas was fired at marchers in front of the convention center, and again in large amounts along with projectiles around the corner at 10th and Oak streets. Later, another march headed through downtown Oakland, presumably to find an alternative building to claim as community space. Police kettled marchers in the Uptown Apartments park on Telegraph, and then again on Broadway in front of the YMCA. At the YMCA, hundreds were arrested, including several independent journalists. Many of those not kettled then marched back to the plaza where protesters burned a flag on the steps of City Hall.

On Friday, January 20th, thousands of people participated in a day of decentralized direct actions, bank blockades, flashmobs, cultural interventions, picketlines, office takeovers, a foreclosure auction disruption and a building takeover to Occupy Wall St. West -- the San Francisco Financial District. One group kicked off the day of action dressed as giant squids at Goldman Sachs, while others shut down Wells Fargo Corporate Headquarters on Montgomery St. by chaining themselves to the doors. Demonstrators also occupied Bank of America's main branch at Montgomery and California streets.

Women's rights advocates will celebrate the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza on the same day that the annual "Walk for Life" calls for its repeal in other parts of the city. On Saturday, January 21st, the Rally for Reproductive Justice will feature music, children's entertainment and speakers from 11 am to 1pm. All activities will take place under large tents so attendees can enjoy the event shielded from forecasted rain showers.

The Kenneth Harding JR. Foundation and Bayview residents and allies call for support to surround Candlestick Stadium on Sunday, January 22nd during the NFC Championship game in opposition to police brutality. A march to the stadium will begin at noon at 3rd St. and Oakdale in San Francisco and head via 3rd St. to Gilman and Jamestown. Kenneth Harding Jr. was murdered by the San Francisco police on July 16, 2011 for allegedly evading a two dollar Muni train fare. Event organizers ask that the community, "Join us in sending a message to the media and game attendees that the cops in the Bayview/Hunters Point Community are killing our children, violating our rights, and trying to silence the people for speaking out."

Gary Johnson, the homeless activist doing the nightly protest against the Sleeping Ban, the Lodging Ban, and the curfew at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse from late December until earlier this month, has been incarcerated since January 6 in what amounts to indefinite detention for the crime of sleeping. Johnson has received the bail amount of $5000 after having been arrested four times for "lodging" 647(e) and "trespassing" 602(o) during his protests.

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."