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Six months ago, local Occupy movements arrived at one of Monsanto corporation's Davis facilities at 6 a.m. Monsanto sent a message to their plant's workers to not come into work. The protest educated the public and initiated a conversation as a general assembly brainstormed solutions to Monsanto's corrupt ties with the government, unethical business practices, destruction of the environment, as well as the production of unhealthy food.
Local activist groups and Occupy movements plan to shutdown the Davis Monsanto plant once again, as part of the international shutdown Monsanto action, on Monday, September 17th at 6:00 a.m. at the corporation’s facility at 1920 5th Street in Davis. Guest speakers will include Cindy Sheehan and Al Rojas. Sandra McDougle and the Fresh Juice Party will perform original songs for the action. Education, music, art and food will be provided.
 Read More | Over 60 Occupy Monsanto Actions Planned for the Week of Sept 17th
Previous Coverage: Mobilize Against Agriculture Privatization in Sacramento: June 2003 || Reclaim the Commons in SF, June 2004 || Biodemocracy 2005: Reclaim the Commons in Philadelphia || Global Days of Action to Shut Down Monsanto, March 2012 || Hundreds of Farmers Occupy UC Berkeley's Gill Tract in Albany || Yes on Prop 37 March in Santa Cruz to Label Genetically Engineered Foods
On August 24, supporters of GMO-Free Santa Cruz and Proposition 37 on the California ballot, marched and sang along Pacific Avenue to raise awareness about the proposition, and encourage people to vote in favor of it. Throughout the United States, people currently eat genetically engineered food, but they generally are not aware of it. The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, Prop 37 on the November ballot, would simply require food sold in retail outlets in California, such as grocery stores, to be labeled if it is produced with genetic engineering.
Joshua Hart reports: "If the California Coastal Commission’s August 10 decision is any indication, no endangered species, viewshed, or habitat is safe from a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) 4G cell tower popping up right next door. It’s open season, as smart phone addictions drive a kind of selective blindness toward wireless damage to life itself.
"Though dozens of nearby residents had sent letters of opposition to the Commission, far outweighing those in support, and despite the project clearly violating several key sections of the Coastal Act and Local Coastal Plan, the Commission approved the project at the direction of the wireless industry, seemingly irritated by the large number of people who showed up to speak and defend Big Basin State Park and Santa Cruz County’s pristine North Coast.
"Although a wide range of problems with the project were brought to light by letters to the commission, as well as public testimony, the Commissioners seemed in a daze of apathy brought on- they said- by the 1996 Federal Telecommunications Act (FTA) which prohibits local and state governments from rejecting cell infrastructure based on “environmental effects” which has also been interpreted as meaning human health.
"Those groups who are meant to protect remaining wilderness areas have grown silent, awkward, in denial. We cannot count on the traditional defenders of nature to protect us from the threats of the 21st century. We need to establish new forms of resistance if we are to have any chance at protecting what remains- or even turning the tide on the decline of our liberties, our quality of life, and our biological diversity."
Read More | Previous Coverage: Verizon Wireless Cell Sites Threaten Santa Cruz County North Coast
Richmond, California residents have long battled with the massive oil company Chevron which maintains a large refinery on the city's western edge. Considering the enormous profits made by the corporate giant — a record year-end profit of $26.9 billion in 2011 — residents accuse the company of short-changing the city while it continues to spill dangerous pollution into the air that causes high rates of respiratory issues in the area, especially amongst children. On August 6th, a fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond sent huge plumes of smoke into the air and hundreds of residents to local hospitals. Richmond residents and those in the East Bay hills nearby were told to not only close their doors and windows that night but to tape them shut to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals.
On August 7th, Urban Tilth, a Richmond resident-run and operated urban Agriculture non-profit that runs 11 different school and community gardens in Richmond, held a press conference and protest at the Richmond Civic Center. The event was called to hold Chevron accountable for the release of a myriad of dangerous contaminants into the air, as well as the potential loss of thousands of pounds of food grown by local school children and residents, intended to help alleviate problems of food scarcity. Later the same evening, Chevron itself, to appease area residents, held what it billed as a community town hall. Hundreds of Richmond residents showed up to protest Chevron's callous attitude toward the community. Produce that was likely ruined due to the fire was dumped on the stage where Chevron representatives sat.
Chevron-hosted Town Hall Mtg in Richmond |
Richmond Residents Hold Chevron Responsible for Fire, Toxic Release, & Food Contamination |
Chevron Rage - Richmond Community Demands Justice & Some Want Public Control Of Chevron
Previous Coverage: Direct Action and Rally at Chevron Richmond Refinery || Iraqi Oil Workers Tell Chevron "Hands Off Iraq" || Nigerian Direct Action Activists Put Chevron on Trial || Chevron Shareholders Protest || Mobilization: Chevron Killing People and the Planet for Profit || 31 Arrested in Protest at Chevron Headquarters in San Ramon
Thirty Earth First! activists protesting Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) logging practices rallied peacefully outside the gates of SPI’s Arcata mill on August 6th, demanding a stop to the company’s logging of old-growth. “We’re here to expose SPI’s destructive logging” said Jeremy Jensen. “They claim to be sustainable under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative label but SPI intensively clear-cuts and logs old-growth forests all over California.” Demonstrators blocked the logging truck entrance to the mill, holding banners reading “SFI is a scam” and “Stop old-growth logging.” They stood in front of a truck trying to enter the mill, disrupting logging traffic for over half an hour. Earlier in the day, an activist was handcuffed and detained by police in Arcata while hanging a banner on an overpass that read “Sierra Pacific Logs Old-growth”. He was later released with a warning.
The activists cite two examples of SPI’s clear-cutting and old-growth logging plans in Humboldt County. One, a 245 acre logging plan in the Mattole River and Bear River watersheds, and another in Redwood Creek totaling 241 acres.
Read More
Residents of Santa Cruz County concerned about health, privacy, and the environment, as well as those who enjoy the beaches of the north coast free of cell towers and other industrial equipment, demonstrated in front of Verizon Wireless's retail store on Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz on Saturday, July 21st. The protest raised awareness of the company's plans, along with NextG corporation, to install six new cell sites along Highway 1 and Swanton Road in the county's remote north coast region.
Demonstrators say the North Coast Cell project is a threat to views, endangered species and resident safety. The California Coastal Commission is expected to decide whether to issue a coastal permit for the project at its meeting on Aug. 10 at the Santa Cruz County building. A large community presence is anticipated.
Read More and View Photos |
See also:
 Public Comment Period for Big Basin Preliminary General Plan/Draft EIR Ends August 1st
The Right to Vote on Desal Coalition's Charter Amendment initiative has secured a place on the November ballot. Voters will decide whether to amend the City Charter in order to guarantee that the people of Santa Cruz determine the future of desalination in the city. The City Charter can be amended only by a vote of the people, unlike an ordinance, which can be amended or repealed simply by a vote of the City Council.
On June 27th, George Cadman interviewed local activist and best-selling author John Robbins about his latest book, No Happy Cows: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the Food Revolution. John and George talked about the revolving door between Big Ag and government agencies like the FDA, the rising cost of healthcare in the United States, the predatory ad campaigns that are directed at children by big fast food companies and the misleading "Happy Cows" advertising campaign of the California Milk Advisory Board.
It was standing room only in the county government center for the Santa Cruz LAFCO meeting on June 6th, where over 50 community members spoke before the commission in support of protecting the forest and open space of the UC Santa Cruz upper campus from future development.
During the meeting, university chancellor George Blumenthal threatened that UCSC would take legal action or withdraw its application entirely if the conditions LAFCO laid out on March 7th that limit extending water service to the north campus were imposed. After a break, commissioners John Leopold and Don Lane returned with amendments to the March 7th conditions, but ultimately LAFCO decided the next vote on the matter would be held in October.
  Read more, listen to audio, view video and photos | Previous Coverage: LAFCO to Vote on Motions Concerning Expansion of UC Santa Cruz
On Saturday, June 23rd, the Springfield Grange in Pájaro hosted the Festival of Tamales, a benefit for the Grange and Center for Farmworker Families. The menu featured delicious sweet and savory tamales, made with GMO-free masa from El Aguila Foods, including turkey and chile verde, sweet corn, and ollalieberry pecan praline. The tamales were made by local community members using recipes from El Salvador, Mexico, Texas, and the Monterey Bay Area.
The Cherán K’eri uprising on April 15, 2011 and the process of self-government now underway in that community is, for many, a source of inspiration, a strong show of resistance to be defended, and an experience to learn from. That’s why around 500 people from 15 cities in Mexico and 11 countries in the world set up camp just outside this Purépecha town in Michoacán on May 24-27, 2012, as part of the National Encounter of Autonomous Anti-Capitalist Resistance. The idea was to lend support to the Cherán community and share experiences of autonomy, options of self-organization, and ways of living in harmony with nature.
Guille, a Cherán woman, speaks: “It was really early in the morning. A lot of people hadn’t gotten up yet. I was one of the first people to respond to the call for action. I was really worried because of all the fireworks set off in the area where the conflict began. Here, we use fireworks to communicate with each other when something important happens in the community. When people hear them, we unconsciously count how many have sounded. If there are more than three, we go out into the street to see what’s happening. That day it seemed like hundreds were set off. Then the church bells began to ring and that’s always a sign that something really big is happening. It’s like saying: Watch out, Cherán. We’re in deep trouble.
“When they heard the fireworks and the church bells, a group of young people joined in almost immediately, and then a lot more neighbors did, too. Seven trucks were burned and five men were detained. The rest got away with the help of our local police. From that time on, we stopped recognizing the authority of the police. Most of them weren’t even from here. And in fact, they were working with the organized crime group.
Read More and View Photos | Los caminos de la autonomía llevan a Cherán
On May 29th, community members involved with the Right to Vote on Desal petition drive rallied at City Hall and turned in 2,003 petitions with the signatures of 8,717 Santa Cruz water citizens to the City Clerk, who now has 30 days to complete the signature verification process. 5,500 verified signatures is the requirement to move forward, which is 15% of registered city voters, and if that number is reached, citizens will have a chance to decide if construction of the proposed desalination plant will proceed.
The Winnemem Wintu Tribe will hold a four-day War Dance (H’up Chonas in Winnemem) May 24-27 at the McCloud River site where they hold their Coming of Age ceremonies. The War Dance signifies the tribe’s spiritual commitment to defend at all costs the ceremony from heckling, flashing, and violating disruptions by recreational boaters that have occurred in previous years. More than 400 volunteers from throughout the country, native and non-native, are expected to converge upon the sacred sites to help the tribe close the river and protect the War Dance from interference by boaters.
8PM Friday Sep 7
Barn Dance
7:30PM Wednesday Sep 12
Earth 2100
3PM Friday Sep 14
Human Be-in
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