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Wed Mar 30 2016 (Updated 04/07/16)
Grassroots Effort Under Way for New Oakland Police Commission, Tenant Rights, $20 Min Wage
Community activists working independently on separate ballot measures have come together under the umbrella of the Oakland Justice Coalition. Together, the three measures they propose would radically transform police accountability, renters' protections, and the minimum wage in Oakland. On March 24, Oakland Justice Coalition members made a formal announcement of their intentions in front of Oakland City Hall. The canvassing kickoff will be held on April 2.
Read more on Indybay's Government & Elections page
Sun Mar 27 2016 (Updated 03/30/16)
CAA Opposes Rent Controls in Oakland, Alameda, San Jose, Mountain View, and Other Cities
The California Apartment Association (CAA) has been meddling in the affairs of city after city in Northern California in an effort to stop any and all renter protections being promoted by renters, tenant activists, and their supporters. The same day that Oakland tenant activists filed a ballot initiative to strengthen renter protections called the Renters Upgrade, the CAA announced that they were keeping an eye on things, and are coming up with their own plan to counter the tenants' movement efforts.
Tue Mar 22 2016 (Updated 03/26/16)
Protesters Crash Oakland Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Set to Feature Mayor Libby Schaaf
Before 8am on March 18, over a hundred housing activists caught the Oakland Chamber of Commerce off guard at their "Oakland is open for business" breakfast for real estate developers. Protesters were able to completely shut down the 2016 Economic Development Summit at the Kaiser Building on Lake Merritt before Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf could even give her opening remarks.
Sun Mar 20 2016 (Updated 03/22/16)
Oakland Council Approves Second UrbanCore Luxury Tower Proposal for E12th St Parcel
On March 15, the Oakland City Council approved moving forward with the latest iteration of luxury housing at the E12th Street parcel, public land that was created when the roads and bridges around the south end of Lake Merritt were recently reconfigured. Housing activists showed up at City Hall and successfully shut down the meeting, but the council then held their discussion and vote privately in Mayor Libby Schaaf's office. Critics vow to keep the fight alive for "public land for public good." A final vote on the proposed sale to UrbanCore will happen later this year.
Sun Feb 14 2016 (Updated 02/16/16)
Farm Defenders Halt Construction at Gill Tract for Second Time This Year
On February 9, farm defenders halted construction on the Gill Tract farm in Albany once again. Five farm defenders sat in silent meditation in the path of heavy machinery that was removing topsoil. Contractors attempted to operate the heavy machinery around them despite the risks to the safety of those on site. Three were arrested and two were taken to jail. The two were released later in the day.
Norman “Wounded Knee” DeOcampo (Miwok), a long-time resident of Vallejo, will be taking part in the Longest Walk 5 beginning February 13 at La Jolla Shores in San Diego, California. Wounded Knee is the Founding Executive Director of the Vallejo based organization Sacred Sites Protection and Rights of Indigenous Tribes. (SSPRIT). He is the only person who will have participated in all five Longest Walks.
Read more on Indybay's Racial Justice page
On January 11, construction work began on the southern portion of the Gill Tract. The UC is privatizing this section for a high-end senior assisted living facility, a Sprouts supermarket, and a parking lot. The next day after working hours, about fifteen individuals entered the Gill Tract to remove surveying stakes marking the paths for the heavy machinery brought to pave over land. On January 28, farm defenders chained themselves to an excavator that was removing valuable topsoil, halting a day of construction.
Wed Jan 13 2016 (Updated 01/25/16)
Bay Area Holds 96 Hours of Action as Part of Nat'l Call to “Reclaim King’s Radical Legacy”
Hundreds of people from more than two dozen groupings responded to the Anti Police-Terror Project’s (APTP) call to come together for 96 hours of direct action over the Martin Luther King Day weekend, January 15-18, in San Francisco and Oakland. Mayors and police chiefs were targeted for protest. The weekend’s events culminated in a Reclaiming King’s Radical Legacy March and a surprise shutdown of the Bay Bridge on January 18.
Tue Jan 5 2016 (Updated 01/06/16)
Mother of Oscar Grant Calls for Peace and Unity to End Police Violence at Annual Vigil
On January 1, family and friends marked the seventh anniversary of the police murder of Oscar Grant at the Oakland BART station where his death sparked a justice movement that has caught fire nationally in recent years. About 125 people attended the afternoon vigil at Fruitvale BART Station to hear words from family, faith leaders and activists, and poetry and song in memory of Grant and Black youth lost to violence.
Wed Dec 30 2015 (Updated 01/01/16)
Year-Long Campaign in Support of the Black Friday 14 Leads to All Charges Being Dropped
On Black Friday 2014, following the grand jury announcement it would not recommend indicting police officer Darren Wilson for the murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, fourteen Black activists chained themselves together on a BART transit platform “to prevent trains from moving at the West Oakland station, in response to the seemingly unending war against Black communities.” District Attorney Nancy O'Malley and BART pursued criminal charges and originally $70,000 in restitution. Now, after a year-long campaign by the Black Friday 14 and a broad coalition of allies, the DA has dropped all the charges.
Wed Dec 16 2015 (Updated 12/17/15)
César Aguirre Convicted of Smashing OPD Windows, Sued by Oakland, Called Outside Agitator
An activist who was pursued by the City of Oakland for criminal vandalism and restitution is challenging his conviction four years later. César Aguirre was convicted for allegedly smashing the windows of the OPD Internal Affairs and Recruiting Offices during the Occupy Oakland General Strike of November 2-3, 2011. Aguirre has now filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his conviction based on the prosecution's failure to disclose material evidence.
Sat Dec 5 2015 (Updated 12/13/15)
NLG Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Over Berkeley Police Brutality Against Black Lives Matter Protesters and Journalists
Eleven people who were clubbed, teargassed, slammed to the ground, shot with impact munitions or groundlessly arrested by the police during a December 6, 2014, Berkeley demonstration filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Berkeley, then-City Manager Christine Daniel, Chief Michael Meehan, the City of Hayward, and Berkeley and Hayward officers in federal court on November 23, 2015. The plaintiffs include journalists who were covering the demonstration, as well as demonstrators.
Sat Dec 5 2015 (Updated 12/07/15)
Richard Perkins Killed by Oakland Police Same Day Patrol Car Smashed Near Major Sideshow
Before dawn on November 15th, about 700 cars showed up to an “LA to the Bay” sideshow in East Oakland. An OPD patrol car was smashed as those gathered chanted, "Fuck the Police!" Later that same day, responding to another sideshow just after dark at about 5:30pm, Oakland police were in the process of impounding several motorcycles when they killed Richard Perkins near 90th and Bancroft Avenues in East Oakland. The killing has been protested with a student walk-out and march from Fruitvale BART.
Sat Dec 5 2015 (Updated 12/06/15)
ACLU Settles Lawsuit with Alameda County Jails over Pregnancy Testing
The ACLU of Northern California and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office have reached a settlement agreement that will ensure that women are able to choose whether they receive pregnancy testing in the county’s jails. The agreement is the result of a lawsuit, Harman v. Ahern, which argued the policy was a violation of the California Constitution, the U.S. Constitution and state statutory law.
Thu Nov 26 2015 (Updated 11/27/15)
Activists Vow to Mobilize at Paris Climate Change Summit Despite Protest Ban
Immediately following the Paris attacks of November 13, France announced the prohibition of mass marches in cities across the country. Large rallies scheduled for November 29 and December 12 in Paris during the UN climate conference have been forbidden due to this new ban. French rally mobilizers are asking why demonstrations are prohibited while sporting events and Christmas markets are being permitted. In Northern California, climate activists marched in Oakland and Santa Cruz during the weekend of November 21-22 in a lead-up to the Paris climate summit.
Read more on Indybay's Global Justice and Anti-Capitalism page
In an example of collaboration with privacy advocates, on November 17, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed a comprehensive privacy policy regulating the county's use of cell phone interceptor equipment (often referred to in the press by “Stingray” or “Hailstorm”) before approving the purchase of an equipment upgrade. The policy requires a warrant before any deployment of the device and periodic audits of use.
Sun Nov 22 2015 (Updated 12/31/15)
Black Friday 14 Action a Prelude to Huge Rally to Raise Oakland Minimum Wage to $15/Hr
In a show of solidarity, labor unions and Black Lives Matter activists staged a protest on November 10 which targeted Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley. Some two hundred protesters gathered outside D.A. O'Malley's offices demanding that she “Drop the charges against the Black Friday 14!” They declared that the struggles for economic justice and racial justice were two sides of the same struggle. Inside the courthouse, a delegation of labor leaders occupied O'Malley's office. No arrests were made.
Sat Nov 14 2015 (Updated 11/22/15)
Alameda County Sheriff's Deputies Brutally Beat Man in San Francisco's Mission District
On November 13, the San Francisco Public Defender’s office released video of two Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) Deputies beating a man who is curled up on the ground. The first deputy tackles and punches the man and then both proceed to hit him with their batons for nearly a minute, repeatedly striking the man in the head and all over his body. They only stop beating him after other ACSO deputies and SF police arrive on the scene. Instead of rendering medical aid, the arriving police walk around the seriously wounded man, shining flashlights on him as he moans in pain, crying out for help.
In the city of Alameda, rent increases and evictions remain unregulated. Landlords are pushing rents up sky high and/or evicting people out of homes they've been able to afford for decades. On November 4, an estimated 200 Alamedan renters went to their city council to demand an end to unfair rent hikes and displacement. City Official Bob Haun shoved a 68-year-old Alameda Rental Coalition leader and police tackled another protester to the ground where he lay bleeding while police restrained him. After a hearing that lasted past 1am, the council voted for a temporary 65-day limit of 8% on rent increases and ban on no cause evictions.
Thu Oct 15 2015
Occupy The Farm Supports Indigenous Ceremony at Gill Tract
On October 11, a group of indigenous people held a sacred ceremony and observance on the historic Gill Tract Farm to honor the land and the ancestors who lived on the land for over 10,000 years. The gathering was convened by the Indigenous Land Access Committee (ILAC) — a group of Ohlone and other native people who envision reclaiming land stolen from them, and restoring spiritual and cultural lifeways in solidarity with indigenous people on every continent harmed by colonization.
Sun Oct 11 2015 (Updated 10/16/15)
County Board of Supervisors to Vote on DA's Request for Hailstorm Cell Site Simulator
A "Stingray" is a device that simulates a cellphone tower and intercepts all phone traffic in its range. A new California law set to go into effect this January requires most state and local agencies to conduct a public hearing and to create a privacy policy before acquiring a Stingray or equivalent device. But on Tuesday, October 13, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider whether to approve a request by the Alameda County District Attorney to accept money from the state to acquire an upgraded Stingray known as a "Hailstorm." If approved, and if the purchase is consummated before the new year, the new Stingray law would not apply.
UPDATE: The decision on approving the grant money for a Stingray upgrade was postponed to an indefinite date, probably December.
On September 12, about 60 people showed up outside Uncle Sam's Liquors in Richmond to remember Pedie Perez who was shot dead at that location on September 14, 2014 by Richmond police officer Wallace Jensen. Although Jensen claims that Pedie had tried to take his gun, witnesses dispute this and the store's surveillance video shows that after a struggle on the ground Jensen got up and backed away with his gun still holstered. He then shot Pedie from about six feet away.
From the Calendar:
1PM Saturday Apr 9
Oakland Justice Coalition General Meeting
1:30PM Saturday Apr 9
Documentary: DIRT! The Movie
3PM Saturday Apr 9
Article DEADLINE for Slingshot newspaper issue #121
4PM Saturday Apr 9
Strike Debt Bay Area Meeting: Debt Resistance is NOT...
5:30PM Saturday Apr 9
Toward Justice: The Black/Palestine Solidarity Tour
10:30AM Sunday Apr 10
Towards A New Ecology of Justice: Intergenerational...
2PM Sunday Apr 10
Oakland Justice Coalition Canvass & Signature Gathering
2PM Sunday Apr 10
Being Human: A Performance by Allan deSouza
7PM Sunday Apr 10
David Hartsough: Waging Peace
12:30PM Monday Apr 11
Meet the (Alternative) Candidates for Berkeley Mayor
7PM Monday Apr 11
Oakland Tenants Union monthly meeting
6:15PM Wednesday Apr 13
Oakland Livable Wage Assembly regular meeting
7:30PM Wednesday Apr 13
A Very Heavy Agenda Part 2
7PM Thursday Apr 14
Screening of: The Emerald Forest
7:30PM Thursday Apr 14
2016 Green Film Fest, April 14-20
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Vulture Capitalist Randall Smith's Hedgefund Alden Global Capital Shuts Oak Tribune
Tuesday Apr 5th 10:42 AM
Alameda County Residents to Urge Planning Commission to Support Fracking Ban Ordinance
Monday Apr 4th 3:20 PM
April 5 Oakland City Council: Oakland Declaration of Housing State of Emergency
Friday Apr 1st 7:43 PM
SPAWN Provides Redwood Education to Oakland Students from Brothers on the Rise
More Local News...
Thursday Mar 31st 10:31 AM
OSHA Chief Michaels and DOL Secretary Perez In Corruption Scandal At DOL/OSHA
Thursday Mar 31st 5:37 AM
Mary Kay Henry - Members Demand Say Aside The Rigged Election Results In SEIU 1021!
Sunday Mar 27th 11:34 PM
CalSTRS, Spiking, Teacher Pensions, Charters, Cover-ups & Whistleblowing With Thompson
Monday Jan 11th 9:58 AM
Wheaton College President Philip Ryken denies targeting professor for wearing a hijab
Saturday Dec 19th 3:00 AM
Author Anita Wills announces release of book, A Nation of Flaws JustUs in the Homeland
More Global News...
Sunday Oct 4th 5:55 PM
Hillary wants Death Row...shuns LWOP 4 Honduran coup...3-15-16 Mouse Report
Tuesday Mar 15th 3:26 PM
Flowers for Algernon and Palma...Warrants for Bibi and Company...2-23-16 Mouse Report
Tuesday Feb 23rd 3:20 PM
Roseanne Barr Headlines Israeli Government-Linked Gala in Bay Area Synagogue
Wednesday Feb 17th 9:46 AM
E-mails Describe SEIU-UHW Regan's Secret Deal with CA Hospital Ass with Att. Bruce Harland
Sunday Feb 14th 3:58 AM
RichmondWhistle-blower Stacey Plummer wins $104,000 settlement with city, City Manager
Open Newswire...
Wednesday Feb 10th 5:43 PM |