Calendar
Wednesday 5/1: May Day General Strike to Stop Genocide & Rally at Harry Bridges Plaza https://t.co/ohbvkOKm6i
— Indybay (@Indybay) April 6, 2024
🚨 This May Day, workers across the Bay Area and across the country will Rise for Palestine 🇵🇸 !
Join an action in Oakland or San Francisco, talk to your coworkers and get them involved.
Check this thread for Bay Area actions happening on 5/1! pic.twitter.com/2EatggvEX9
— East Bay DSA 🌹 (@DSAEastBay) April 26, 2024
Emergency Call to Action!
All out for Rafah!
Sproul Plaza, at UC Berkeley!
Tuesday, May 7th at 4pm! pic.twitter.com/aCQ3WVzhfI— Mama Lisa (@LisTeague) May 7, 2024
We’re days away from the California State Senate voting on three transformative bills to hold Big Oil accountable and protect communities from deadly oil and gas pollution. We just need to secure a few more votes to get these crucial protections passed into law.
How do we do this? Come out to the Capitol on Monday 8/26 at noon for a big joyous outpouring of support for this important legislation. Senators will be reviewing hundreds of bills in the final days of the session. We need to focus their attention on these bills and secure their support.
Sign up here to take a stand on the Capitol lawn!
Front groups for the oil industry have spent millions of dollars lobbying to sink these bills and protect Big Oil profits. One notorious oil industry group (sounds like whiska!) is even planning a rally next Monday at the Capitol. At high noon. Are we going to let them outflank us? Outnumber us? Nope!
About the bills:
- Idle Well Clean-Up (AB 1866 – Hart): Forces oil companies to clean up their idle wells much faster.
- Low-Producing Well Accountability Act (AB 2716 – Bryan): Fines oil companies operating in the Inglewood Oil Field $10,000/month for operating low-producing wells near communities.
- Local Environmental Choice and Safety Act (AB 3233 – Addis): Protects local governments’ authority to restrict oil & gas production in their jurisdictions. Passage of this bill will enable a Contra Costa drilling ban.
All of us together can show that our movement, and not Big Oil, has the people’s support. Please join us on Monday! Sign up and recruit others from your networks. Childless cat ladies most welcome.
Again, here’s the link to RSVP and request or offer a ride.
Cosponsors include 350 Sacramento, 350 Bay Area Action, California Environmental Justice Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, The Climate Center, Food & Water Watch, Greenpeace USA, Last Chance Alliance, Oil & Gas Action Network, Sacramento Climate Coalition, Sunflower Alliance and Third Act Sacramento.
Let’s have some fun on Monday and get these bills across the finish line. Yes, We Can win these vital protections for Californians, local democracy, and our climate! Please join us at this important demonstration of people power.
Sunflower Alliance
https://350bayarea.nationbuilder.com/
The City of Oakland is planning a massive eviction, so the People have planned a Resource Fair.
Beginning Monday, September 16th, at 8am at West Grand and MLK. pic.twitter.com/ueqlzaCCMW— Mama Lisa (@LisTeague) September 15, 2024
The resolution to fund and expand ShotSpotter will come before the full Oakland City Council Tuesday, October 15th at 3:30pm. That means there is still time to urge your city council member to vote against the resolution.
The Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission recommended to the Council that the Shotspotter contract not be renewed, because of lack of evidence that it is effective, noting that the monies could be used for things that are known to be effective in reducing crime. The Council, however, is leaning towards ignoring that recommendation, a recommendation made by the Commission the Council, well, commissioned, to make such technical evaluations.
ShotSpotter, produced by SoundThinking, is an acoustic gunshot detection system (AGDS). Its many sensors and microphones constitute a mass surveillance network that does more harm than good to residents of cities across the U.S., including Oakland.
Write to Council members before Tuesday and urge them to say NO to ShotSpotter.
Why ShotSpotter Does Not Belong in Oakland’s Communities
Other U.S. cities, including Chicago and New York, are questioning or outright discontinuing their contracts with SoundThinking because the technology does not live up to its claims of improved public safety or police effectiveness. Houston’s mayor plans to end the city’s contract with SoundThinking, calling their technology a “gimmick” that did not improve the city’s public safety. After a one-year pilot program, Durham, North Carolina’s city council voted against continuing their contract after an audit showed abysmal results. Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Committee (PAC) voted against funding ShotSpotter on April 4th, 2024.
The technology attempts to triangulate the location of gunshots and decrease officer response time to shooting incidents. The Oakland Police Department (OPD) touts ShotSpotter as a crime deterrent that reduces gun violence and keeps communities safer. A growing body of evidence indicates that ShotSpotter fails to achieve any of its supposed benefits.
OPD reports there were 8,318 unique gunshot incidents detected by ShotSpotter in 2023. Of these incidents, only four lead to an arrest. According to OPD’s incident reports, 73% of gun violations were for negligent discharge of a firearm, not a violent crime. OPD Captain Lewis has confirmed “many of the ShotSpotter firearm recoveries are from gun owners doing ‘target practice in their backyard.'” ShotSpotter artificially bloats OPD’s workload, diverting them away from actual community needs.
OPD’s average time to respond to the most serious 911 calls for help has increased. The same increase has occurred in Chicago, Cleveland, and St. Louis. This trend can be partly explained by the artificial workload ShotSpotter creates for officers. For example, in St. Louis, AGDS added 3,400 new calls per average year in addition to 2,800 citizen-initiated calls – a 67% increase in service calls. OPD categorizes ShotSpotter alerts as a Priority I call (immediate dispatch). Therefore, officers are being diverted from urgent and potentially life threatening emergencies to address ShotSpotter alerts that have a decent chance of being nothing more than a loud noise.
ShotSpotter often sends police officers to chase false positive alerts. The technology is notorious for reporting fireworks, automobile backfires, and construction noises as gunshots. False reportage is not only a waste of time. It leads directly to civil liberties abuses and false arrests, as was the case for 65-year old Michael Williams. In his case and others, court documents reveal that law enforcement frequently requests that ShotSpotter’s analysts modify alerts to support their narrative of events.
U.S. Senators have urged the Department of Homeland Security to investigate funding of ShotSpotter for civil rights violations and discriminatory policing. In Chicago, the 12 districts with ShotSpotter installations are those with the highest populations of Black and Latinx residents. In NYC, 70% of acoustic sensors were placed in precincts with majority Black or Latinx residents. The same racist pattern holds for Kansas City, MO; Cleveland, OH; Atlanta, GA; and Boston, MA.
In Oakland, ShotSpotter has been deployed in four geographic phases. The first two phases of deployment were in predominantly Black, Latinx, and Asian communities, which is easily observed by comparing OPD’s map of ShotSpotter deployment (see page 6) with a race, ethnicity, and diversity map of Oakland. A Stanford University study found that OPD officers display a stark racial disparity in who they search, detain, and arrest. Placement of ShotSpotter sensors consistently follows patterns of historical over-policing, and Oakland is no exception.
The money wasted on ShotSpotter would best serve Oakland residents if redirected toward other community needs. Please write to your city council members to tell them that ShotSpotter is a wasteful and dangerous surveillance technology.
Information and Links to send message
NOx gases are toxic to our health and climate. The Air District is considering a rule that all new water heaters and space heating systems be zero NOx-emitting, starting in 2027 for water heaters and 2029 for furnaces. There is lots of fossil-fueled opposition. Send a message online and speak up at the meeting for the rule. See article for talking points.
On December 4, BAAQMD will hold a board meeting to review progress toward implementing these new regulations. Opponents are expected to turn out in force to delay or weaken them. To ensure that these regulations go into effect, BAAQMD needs strong public support. You can send a message to the BAAQMD board to express support of Rules 9-4 and 9-6 here.
You can also speak up at the BAAQMD board meeting. Click here to comment via zoom. This discussion is Item No. 25 on the agenda.
The staff slide presentation on the rules starts on p. 15 of this pdf. And some helpful talking points are here.
Whether you email a comment (by December 3rd) or speak at the meeting, we need everyone’s voice!
The CPUC is voting Thursday on a plan that might keep the dirty Aliso Canyon gas storage facility indefinitely open.
Please join us at the CPUC hearing for a rally and to make public comment demanding they delay the proceeding until March rather than approve the process that would keep Aliso Canyon open. Residents of Aliso have been dealing with the serious public health repercussions of the blowout and fighting to shut it down since 2015. They need our support!
For a quick update on Aliso Canyon, see Sammy Roth’s recent editorial in the LAT, “Gavin Newsom’s failure to close Aliso Canyon is hurting us all.”
RSVP here to help Shut Aliso Down!
If you believe that decisions about your body should remain yours, that books belong in libraries, not on bonfires, that healthcare is a right, not a privilege for the wealthy; if you believe in the power of free speech and protest to sustain democracy; or if you want an economy that works for the people who power it—then this march is for you.
The People’s March is about one thing: our power.
It’s a bold demonstration of the resilience of resistance.
We may have dark days ahead, but we will always work to protect our freedoms, our families, and our communities. We deserve a brighter future and we will continue to work for it.
We are worth fighting for. Our families and futures are worth fighting for.
Together, we KEEP MARCHING.
WHEN
Saturday, January 18th, 2025 @ 11:00 AM
WHERE
- The previously posted Civic Center march is now marching in solidarity and partnership with the efforts of the Immigration Rights group in The Mission. While this is a multi-issue focused moment, we have decided to combine our efforts in The Mission by marching to Dolores Park where a full rally will be held to keep our energy up as we head into a new era of administration.
- Lineup may begin at 10:00 AM at 24th St and Bryant St in THE MISSION
- Rally will take place at 24th St and Bryant St at 11:00 AM
- March is set to step off at 12:00 PM SHARP from 24th and Bryant
- Route: 24th & Bryant
24th & Mission
19th & Mission
19th & Dolores - Rally will take place at Dolores Park, information TBC
We are asking for volunteer Peace Ambassadors and Cleannup Crew to support this community event, and help ensure a safe, clean and meaningful march for all.
If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up at:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVK_ZWa7AxAERuQCv2j49oLWvHFOzFtzjK8pxuoZR63v0iNQ/viewform?usp=sharing
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
- Masks Highly Recommended
- This is a 1st Amendment March, no host is liable, march at your own risk
- Bring your family, friends, signs, water, snacks, mask, hand sanitizer, put on some sunscreen, check the weather and dress with layers, a hat and comfy shoes.
- All ages, and genders (& GNC) are welcome
- Signs and bullhorns are welcomed
- March will happen Rain or Shine
The day before Inauguration Day, January 19th, people from across Northern California will come together in San Francisco to demand a future that centers the needs of the people over the interests of the wealthy elite. With voices raised for workers’ rights, immigrant rights, environmental justice, and an end to the genocide in Gaza, we will stand for working people, not a billionaire’s agenda-from the local to the global, from defending people at home to ending the U.S. war machine.
Join the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity next Wednesday, for a press conference, procession, and day of remembrance vigil. We gather to reaffirm sanctuary, a sacred tradition across many faiths of welcoming immigrants and standing against actions that would tear families and communities apart.
RSVP HERE
https://twitter.com/HeatherThomasAF/status/1894468347636715742
https://twitter.com/HeatherThomasAF/status/1894468347636715742
https://twitter.com/HeatherThomasAF/status/1894468347636715742
Trump, Musk, and their billionaire cronies are gutting Social Security, slashing Medicaid, and looting our government to bankroll their latest tax scam—unless we stop them. We’re taking to thee streets to say Hands Off. Join us!
This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. Alongside Americans across the country, we are marching, rallying, and protesting to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country.
A core principle behind all Hands Off! events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.
