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On October 22, Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed Adriene Ludd. Now, over two months later, the Sheriff refuses to release the incident report and the dash-cam footage and the community is demanding answers.
Micaela Davis, Criminal Justice & Drug Policy Attorney with the ACLU of Northern California writes: Friends, family, and neighbors of Mr. Ludd deserve the full story on this tragedy. The public also has a right to know what happened in a critical incident like this one. In the aftermath of a shooting, law enforcement should prioritize transparency and accountability. The Sheriff has the authority to release the documents and the footage that Black Lives Matter is demanding. So far, he is choosing not to.
Law enforcement across the country is over-policing, over-criminalizing, and using excessive force against communities of color, and it has to stop. The deaths of Laquan McDonald, Eric Garner, Aiyana Jones, and far too many others, have brought national attention to the excessive use of force against black people in particular.
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As advocates of Senate Bill 350 were celebrating the signing of the amended renewable energy bill by Governor Jerry Brown, a major appointment to a regulatory post in the Brown administration went largely unnoticed. In a classic example of how Big Oil has captured the regulatory apparatus in California, Governor Jerry Brown announced the appointment of Bill Bartling who has worked as an oil industry executive and consultant, as district deputy in the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources at the embattled California Department of Conservation.
Small cascades of pristine water rush out of the hillside at Big Springs, the headwaters of the Sacramento River, as they converge in a shallow pool located in the Mount Shasta City Park. On September 26, Caleen Sisk, Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, and hundreds of environmentalists and activists from all over California and Oregon held a rally, the “Water Every Drop Sacred” event, in the scenic park. After the rally ended, Sisk and tribal members led a march and protest of 160 people to the water bottling plant.
On August 19 protesters chanted outside the Los Angeles headquarters of agribusiness tycoons Stewart and Lynda Resnick shouting, "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Corporate Greed has got to go" and “Mayor Garcetti, have some will. Don’t let Resnick raise our bills.” The protesters, including Los Angeles ratepayers, community leaders and representatives of water watchdog groups, demanded that Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti protect LA water ratepayers from funding the massive Delta tunnels project promoted by Governor Jerry Brown to export more water to corporate agribusiness interests and oil companies on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.
"Resnick, a billionaire agriculture tycoon who controls vast amounts of California water, is pushing the controversial tunnels in an attempt to secure more water for Central Valley corporate agriculture interests and dupe Californians into paying for massive tunnels that won’t secure new water for Angelenos," said Brenna Norton of Food and Water Watch, who spoke at the protest. "Food & Water Watch estimates the average household could be charged as much as $5000 to pay for the project."
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Wildfires are a natural and regular occurrence during the dry season in California. After four years of drought, the situation this year is especially dire with huge numbers of large fires breaking out all over the state. The Rocky Fire was only contained within the last several days after burning for more than a month, consuming 70,000 acres in total. D. Boyer shared a thorough report from the scene of the Rocky Fire:
On July 29th a fire broke out in the area of Morgan Valley Road and Rocky Creek road in Lake County California. Since this fire started near Rocky Creek road it became known as the Rocky Fire. All wildfires or forest fires are given names according to the location where they started. The fire grew quickly because of the outside temperatures, the availability of fuel, and the lack of moisture or rain. The Rocky Fire has so far consumed at least 60,000 acres and as of August 6 is only 20% contained. The fire has used at least 26 aircraft, 301 Fire engines, 57 dozers, 40 water tenders, and over 3,000 firefighters. Air National Guard equipment has also been used to fight this fire.
So far 43 residences, 53 outbuildings destroyed, and 8 structures damaged. Counties effected are Lake, Yolo & Colusa Counties. The Rocky Fire has forced the evacuation of 1,480 people, and at least 13,000 have been asked to vacate their properties.
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On June 16, 2014, during a protest against police brutality and recent police shootings in Fresno, Brian Sumner used chalk on the Fresno Police Department Memorial. Phrases such as “FPD = Guilty”, “Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights”, and “Who do you call when the police murder?” were written in an attempt to call attention to the issue. Brian was arrested with one other individual, and charged with vandalism of less than $400.
During trial, Judge Hilary Chittick said that the chalk being washable was not a defense nor was free speech. The prosecuting District Attorney called only three witnesses, police officers who said they were offended by the chalk writings. On July 17, 2015, Brian was found guilty of vandalism by a jury in Fresno. He faced up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. At his sentencing on July 23, the judge lectured Brian about fascism before he was sentenced to one year of informal probation, 50 hours of community service, and $250 in court fees and restitution. Brian says he plans to appeal his conviction and sentence.
Interview with Brian Sumner on Filming the Police and Police Accountability
Previous Related Indybay Feature:
Family of Fresno Police Victim Attempts to Visit Mayor, Then Marches to Jail and Police HQ
The Winnemem Wintu Tribe and other tribal representatives and their allies rallied, chanted, sang and waved signs on the sidewalk in front of Westin Hotel on June 29 and 30 outside the Second California Water Summit in Sacramento. They were there to protest Governor Jerry Brown’s efforts to exclude California Tribes, environmentalists, fishermen and other key stakeholders in the public meeting about massive state water infrastructure projects proposed under Proposition 1, the $7.5 billion water bond.
The farm worker movement mourns the passing on June 7, 2015, of Rev. Deacon Sal Alvarez, who played a key role with Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta in the farm worker movement and on behalf of many other worthy causes over seven decades. Sal was motivated by deep faith in a movement grounded in the Catholic Church’s social justice teachings and dedication to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The outrage over the bottling of California water by Nestlé, Walmart and other big corporations during a record drought has become viral on social media and national and international media websites over the past couple of months. On May 20, people from across the state converged on two Nestlé bottling plants — one in Sacramento and the other in Los Angeles — demanding that the Swiss-based Nestlé corporation halt its bottling operations during the state’s record drought.
At the protests, activists delivered 515,000 signatures from people in California and around the nation who signed onto a series of petitions to Nestlé executives, Governor Brown, the California State Water Resources Control Board and the U.S. Forest Service urging an immediate shutdown of Nestlé’s bottling operations across the state.
Led by the California-based Courage Campaign, the protest was the third in Sacramento over the past year. The first two protests were "shut downs" this March and last October organized by the Crunch Nestlé Alliance.
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Photo essay of protest against Nestlé in Sacramento
Previous Related Indybay Feature:
Activists 'Shut Down' Nestlé Water Bottling Plant
A group of about 100 homeless people and their supporters attended the Tulare City Council meeting on April 21 calling for specific changes in public policy. The group, which delivered a petition signed by over 1,000 residents, called for improvements in the way homeless people are treated by the police, a safe place to sleep and equal rights. The Union of Hope in Tulare filled the City Council chambers with an overflow crowd. There was standing room only. This was the statement they delivered to the mayor and council members:
We thank you for this opportunity to address this issue that we want to bring to your attention. The issue is the poor treatment of houseless people here and the lack of a long term solution to the problem in this beautiful city. According to the Homeless Central California Area Social Services Consortium 2015 there are 595 houseless persons in our County, and in our city of Tulare there are 100. We find it deplorable that three houseless persons have died already this year, and Raul Galegos encountered a houseless mother with her 8-month-old child who were both as cold as ice. The houseless have reported being assaulted, having bones broken, and their belongings taken. These people are residents of Tulare and as such deserve to have access to shelter and provisions in their time of need. They deserve to be protected and not assaulted. They are human beings and they need to have access to emergency shelter in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. It is time to stop kicking this particular can down the road. The houseless need solutions, not a cold shoulder.
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