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The Community Democracy Project is your connection to direct democracy in Oakland! Convened out of Occupy Oakland in Fall 2011, we’re gathering steam on a campaign to bring the people back in touch with the city’s resources through participatory budgeting.
Picture this: Across Oakland, Neighborhood Assemblies are regularly
held in every community. People come together to tackle the important issues of their neighborhoods and of the city. At these assemblies, people don’t just have discussions–they learn from one another, from city staff, and they make fundamental decisions about how the city should run. They decide the city budget.
Democratic, community budgeting is a powerful step toward building strong communities, real democracy, and economic justice–and it’s being done all over the world.
The budget of the City Oakland totals more than $1 billion per year. Although part of the budget must be used for specific purposes, still over half of the budget–over $500 billion per year–consists of general purpose funds paid by the taxes, fees, and fines of the people of Oakland. The Mayor and the City Council decide the city budget, with minimal input from the community.
Working together, we will not only get a seat at the table–we will REBUILD the table itself. Participatory democracy is real democracy–join us to say: Local People, Local Resources, Local Power!
Liberated Lens is a digital filmmaking collective dedicated to social change, based in Oakland, California. We share resources, skills and knowledge to help each other tell stories that might otherwise remain untold. We make films in a spirit of collaboration and solidarity, share a lending library of film equipment for creative projects, and organize free, at cost or donation-based workshops.
Join us for our weekly meeting and a workshop!
We usually meet in our editing suite (2nd floor in the ballroom, to the left of the stage) and then work on projects. It’s open to all!
Hernan Jaramillo was murdered by OPD in July 2013. The family has decided not to accept a settlement, and will be pursuing a trial. The official announcement will be made on this day. Please come out and support!
The hearing will be at the Courtroom 2, 17th Floor at the United States District Court, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, in San Francisco.
More information: ACLU Northern California Statement
After two years and much behind-the-scenes work by Alameda County Against Fracking (ACAF), a comprehensive ordinance that would ban all extreme oil and gas extraction methods is coming up for approval by the Alameda County Planning Commission. The proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment would:
Modify the Alameda County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO) to prohibit high intensity oil and gas operations in the unincorporated area, including Well stimulation by increasing the permeability of the formation; enhanced recovery wells that are injected with brine, water, steam, polymers, carbon dioxide, or other gasses into oil-bearing formations to recover residual oil and in some limited applications natural gas; hydraulic fracturing; acid fracturing; acid matrix stimulation treatment; acid well stimulation treatment; and disposal or storage of the substances used in or the waste or byproducts of the uses listed above, including but not limited to hydraulic fracturing fluid, acid well stimulation fluid, well stimulation treatment fluid, flowback fluid, wastewater or produced water. Modify the ACZO to prohibit Disposal or storage in pits or sumps of any wastewater or produced water that is a byproduct of any oil and gas operations (uses listed in 17.06.040(I)).
See below for the official hearing notice, including the full text of the ordinance.
This final draft includes provisions that ACAF felt were most important not only for banning surface activities that enable fracking and other extreme oil and gas extraction methods, but also the percolation pits and sumps which have been notoriously involved in contamination of surface waters and clean water aquifers in California’s Central Valley.
Opposition has included E & B Natural Resources, owner of the six wells operating in East Alameda County, which objects to any limitation on its current operations, and Californians for Energy Independence, a petroleum industry front group which argues that the County should defer to the State of California in these matters, despite—or because of—the many failures of state agencies to adequately regulate oil producers. Some East County landowners have also spoken out against regulation in past committee meetings.
We don’t know how much opposition Big Oil and its local allies will mount at the April 4th Planning Commission hearing. But we hope there will be solid turnout of our own folks, pumped up (you should pardon the expression) and ready to testify, or to hold signs during the hearing.
Will Alameda County join Santa Cruz, Mendocino and San Benito in saying no pasaran to the oil industry? Passage of this ordinance by the Planning Commission is the last hurdle before the Board of Supervisors makes the final decision. Come join this historic effort!
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
Steve DeCaprio: Activist for Squatter Rights
A musician by trade, DeCaprio toured Europe in the late ’90s. “There was a huge movement in Europe to take over abandoned buildings and use them for purposes advancing art, culture, education, and political organizing,” said DeCaprio. “Seeing these accomplishments in Europe was very inspirational.” When DeCaprio returned to the United States, he had no choice but to make that inspirational idea a reality: “Upon my return, I was informed that there was no longer work for me at my previous employer. Soon after, I was evicted from my home so that the landlord could find tenants willing to pay more money. With no job and no housing I decided to occupy housing using the models I experienced in Europe.”
Fighting for Squatter Rights
While the idea of squatting is nothing new, DeCaprio’s approach to “occupying,” as he prefers to call it, is unique. DeCaprio seeks to permanently improve and repurpose abandoned buildings for the benefit of the community at large, and within the law. To do that, he has exhaustively researched and educated himself on a widely misunderstood law called adverse possession. Simply put, adverse possession states that anyone can legally claim an abandoned home if they establish stable residency in the space and maintain it, assuming no prior owner comes forward proving ownership within a specific period of time. The trick, of course, is dealing with law enforcement that doesn’t understand the concept and views DeCaprioand others like him as simple trespassers.
Countless run-ins with the police have motivated DeCaprio to become familiar enough with the law that he now counsels other squatters on how to successfully defend themselves from the system. He’s set up an advocacy organization called Land Action, which fights on behalf of fellow occupiers facing eviction. “Once I pass the bar I intend to litigate on behalf of occupations specifically, and human rights generally,” said DeCaprio. His own trial for “conspiracy to squat” is imminent.
Though he acknowledges it hasn’t been easy, DeCaprio says the success and growing enthusiasm he’s seen keeps him motivated. “These occupations are more focused on direct action rather than symbolic action,” said DeCaprio. “I am excited by this development because I think it is a more effective model for change during a time such as this when the political processes are so compromised.” (UTNE Reader)
Q&A and Announcements will follow. Donations to OccupyForum
Martin Luther King Memorial
Inter-Generational Community Readings
“Beyond Vietnam:A Time to Break the Silence”
The day after the anniversary of this prophetic speech (1967) and his assassination (1968)
Public, Shared Readings
12 noon, 2 pm and 4:30 pm
Be part of a mosaic of voices, reawakening King’s power
for the here and now
Sign up for a certain time at <bit.ly/MLKReaderReg>
or just show up. There are 16 segments for each reading.
This event is part of the Global Day Against Military Spending (GDAMS), April 5 to 18 <demilitarize.org>
Link to the speech: https://tinyurl.com/MLKSpeechInSections
Sponsoring Organizations
BAY-Peace, Better Alternatives for Youth; Labor Committee for Peace & Justice; Women’s Int’l League for Peace & Freedom (SF & East Bay); United for Peace & Justice-Bay Area; Western States Legal Foundation; Asian-Americans for Peace & Justice; Jewish Voice for Peace-Bay Area; Nafsi Ya Jamii; East Bay Peace Action, Haiti Action Committee
“Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.”
“I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today–my own government.
Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, EARTHLINGS chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
The community coalition — The Oakland Post Sunday Salon, Oakland Tenants Union, Oakland Alliance, Block By Block Organizing Network, John George Democratic Club, Wellstone Democratic Club — that sponsored the request to declare a “Housing State of Emergency” with Moratoriums on Rent Increases (above CPI), and on No-Cause Evictions, named a volunteer Action Committee at the Mar 13 meeting. The Committee met last week and developed a suggested list of actions (attached) that City Council could consider implementing during the moratorium period.
The “Moratorium Resolution” will be heard and acted on by City Council at the Council’s April 5 meeting.
The Agenda number of the Resolution is not known at this time as the April agenda has not been released (appx 7:30pm may be safe to plan for) .
Please feel free to spread the word, call or email councilmembers, plan to attend, and build a huge attendance at the April 5 meeting.
A rally in City Hall Plaza is being planned to take place before the Council meeting.
Also sign up online to speak when the item number is released.
For Speaker Card: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/CityClerk/s/SpeakerCard/SpeakerCard/OAK032373
council@oaklandnet.com. (goes to all council members)
District 2, the Eastlake area Councilmember Abel Guillén
(510) 238-7002, aguillen@oaklandnet.com
District 3, Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney
(510) 238-7032, lmcelhaney@oaklandnet.com
District 1, Councilmember Dan Kalb
(510) 238-7001, dkalb@oaklandnet.com
District 5, Councilmember Noel Gallo
510-238-7005, ngallo@oaklandnet.com
District 6, Councilmember Desley Brooks
(510) 238-7006, dbrooks@oaklandnet.com
District 7, Councilmember Larry Reid
(510) 238-7007, lreid@oaklandnet.com
District 4, Councilmember Annie Campbell Washington
(510) 238-7042, acampbell-washington@Oaklandnet.com
Councilmember At-large Rebecca Kaplan
(510) 238-7008, rkaplan@oaklandnet.com
City Administrator Sabrina Landreth
(510) 238-3301, cityadministrator@oaklandnet.com
Mayor Libby Schaaf
(510) 238-3141, officeofthemayor@oaklandnet.com
TURN UP FOR APTP’s DIRECT ACTION against Emeryville PD’s use of AR-15s in our communities! Why does a police department require the use of military-style assault weapons when serving its community? We believe that the police should not be at war with the people. TURN UP for this DIRECT ACTION that will begin at the Home Depot in Emeryville at 6:30pm and we will go from there…WE COMIN!
#Justice4YuvetteHenderson
Background:
—First, an offering: We affirm the existence, beauty, brilliance, and right of black, brown, and indigenous folk to self determine and thrive on this earth, in this moment in history, and for all generations. Àse —
Our purpose: Under an oppressive racial regime of white supremacy, thelives of Black folk are consistently devalued, criminalized, and abused by police in the United States due to reaffirmed impunity and increasingly, the proliferation and expediency of a militarized police force.
For Yuvette Henderson, this expediency meant her murder.
In the early afternoon of Tuesday, February 3, 2015, Yuvette Henderson, a 38-year-old mother of four children and one grandchild, was shot and killed by the Emeryville Police Department on the Oakland-Emeryville border of California. Michelle Shepherd and Warren Williams shot Yuvette with three weapons, including an AR-15 rifle—a military-style assault weapon. As the human rights violations in Ferguson exposed to the country last summer, police departments across the nation are abusing their access to military equipment and targeting communities of color.
This misuse of power is as present here in the S.F. Bay Area as it is elsewhere, made painfully clear with the killing of Yuvette. Repeated abuse of state power and increased state terror pose a serious threat to the human and civil rights of all people, including the residents of Emeryville and its surrounding area.
The city of Emeryville spans a mere two-square miles and has a population of 10,000 inhabitants. The presence of military-style assault weapons in a city this small only serves to deepen the divide between surrounding communities and law enforcement.
Enough is enough! State terrorism must end. Emeryville Mayor Ruth Atkin and the city council must ban the use of all military-style assault weapons from the Emeryville PD and ensure that all such weapons removed from the Emeryville PD.
TODAY, 6:30pm, #Oakland: Liberated Lens Local Filmmaker Series presents: FIRST FRIDAY https://t.co/AkPloe2DSR pic.twitter.com/bQv8zUOmAb
— Indybay (@Indybay) April 5, 2016
The Oscar Grant Committee was born from the struggle for justice for Oscar Grant, mudered by BART police on Jan 1, 2009. We organize working class resistance in support of families whose loved ones were murdered by police.
We meet on the first Tuesday of every month.
he Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality & State Repression (OGC) is a grassroots democratic organization that was formed as a conscious united front for justice against police brutality. The OGC is involved in the struggle for police accountability and is committed to stopping police brutality.
In alliance with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) we organized the October 23, 2010 labor and community rally for Justice for Oscar Grant. On that day the ILWU shut down the Bay Area ports in solidarity. Our mission is to educate, organize and mobilize people against police and state repression. Sisters and brothers! The Oscar Grant Committee invites you to join us in this vital struggle.
We meet on the 1st Tuesday of each month
You can join our discussion list by sending a blank (doesn’t even need a subject) email to
oscargrantcommittee-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
Laurel Book Store welcomes Sarah Schulman, author The Cosmopolitans, and Lucy Jane Bledsoe, author of the forthcoming A Thin Bright Line, who will discuss queer life in midcentury Greenwich Village through the eyes and stories of their new novels’ characters.
The Cosmopolitans is a novel set in Greenwich Village in 1958. Earl, a black, gay actor, and Bette, a white secretary, have lived next door to each other for thirty years, building a relationship of trust and caring. Then Hortense, a wealthy young actress from Bette’s past appears to “make it” in New York, and all their shared assumptions are shattered.
Sarah Schulman is a novelist, nonfiction writer, playwright, screenwriter journalist and AIDS historian. The Cosmopolitans is her 17th book.
At the height of the Cold war, a heartbroken woman agrees to suppress her homosexual desires in order to take a top secret government job. When she subsequently falls in love, she’s forced to make impossible choices. Based on a true story, A Thin Bright Line is a novel of Cold War intrigue, the birth of climate change research, and the foment of 20th century queer culture.
Lucy Jane Bledsoe’s new novel A Thin Bright Line, based on the life of her aunt and namesake, will be published in January of 2017. She’s the author of five other novels and several kids’ books.
We believe that love is the universal language. We also believe that love is the universal cure to heal what ails societies worldwide. These meditation happy hours are our love offering to the community and are the result of a beautiful new & evolving partnership w/The Art of Living facilitated by Neelam Patil…& the universe ♥
Join the Oakland Privacy Working Group to organize against Stingrays (cell phone interceptors) being acquired by law enforcement agencies, against Urban Shield, and to advocate for privacy and surveillance regulation ordinances to be passed around the Bay Area, especially by Alameda County and by the Oakland City Council. - We are also engaged in the fight against Predictive Policing and other “pre-crime” and “thought-crime” abominations, drones, improper use of police body cameras, requirements for “backdoors” to your cellphone and against other invasions of privacy by our benighted City, County, State and Federal Governments.
OPWG originally came together to fight against the Domain Awareness Center (DAC), Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub. OPWG was instrumental in stopping the DAC from becoming a city-wide spying network, and its members helped draft the Privacy Policy that puts further restrictions on the now Port-restricted DAC.We were also the lead in having Alameda County pass the most comprehensive privacy and usage policy in the country for deployment of “Stingray” technology (cell phone interceptors).
Stop by and learn how you can help guard Oakland’s right not to be spied on by the government & if you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy Working Group email listserv, send an email to:
oaklandprivacyworkinggroup-subscribe AT lists.riseup.net
For more information on the DAC check out
Homes Not Jails is a consensus-based collective of squatters and squat supporters who believe housing is a human right. Our goal is to open as much vacant housing as possible and to keep it open as long as possible. HNJ is a place to organize mutual aid among squatters and squat supporters and housing rights advocates in the bay. We actively fight to make our space inclusive and safe for everybody and combat oppression in all forms.
Benicia’s City Council is about to make a decision that could put our communities at risk. Valero Energy Corporation wants to build an oil-by-rail terminal at their Benicia refinery — meaning more dangerous oil trains coming through the Bay Area.
If approved, this terminal would allow trains carrying over 2.5 million gallons of toxic, explosive crude oil to travel through the area every day. We don’t need more fossil fuel infrastructure that puts communities and our climate at risk. Greenlighting fossil fuel infrastructure is the last thing our cities should be doing.
On February 11th, the Benicia Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny Valero’s dangerous plan, but Valero has appealed that decision to the City Council and is trying to rush through a reversal. The Benicia City Council will hear public comment on Valero’s appeal on April 4th. We know Valero is putting lots of pressure on the City Council to approve their project — that’s why we need to make sure City decision makers know that residents from across the region are watching.
- Carpools: We’re setting up carpools from the East Bay & Davis. Sign up to be a driver or passenger here.
We need to protect our communities and our climate. We need to stop this project once and for all.
City Council Agenda (sole) item:
Open the public hearing and solicit public comment. After public testimony at this meeting:
1. Add an additional hearing date of April 18, 2016
At the following meeting(s), Staff recommends the City Council continue to take public
comment, consider all appropriate documents and testimony, and then consider the
following actions:
1. Consider and reject the applicant’s request for continuance.
2. Deny the appeal and uphold the Planning Commission’s unanimous decision to deny
certification for the EIR and to deny the Use Permit; or
3. Decline to certify the EIR and provide specific comments on the deficiencies of the EIR
and direction on what needs to be improved in the EIR and remand back to Staff with
direction to return to Council with the EIR and Use Permit; or
2
4. Uphold the appeal and
i. Adopt the draft Resolution certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report, adopting
CEQA findings for the Project and adopt the Statement of Overriding Considerations and
the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program and
ii. Uphold the appeal and adopt the draft Resolution approving the Use Permit for the
Valero Crude by Rail Project, with the findings and conditions listed in the resolution.
FIRE CHIEF SUHR!
CHARGE THE OFFICERS WITH MURDER!
INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION!
Justice 4 Mario Woods. Justice 4 Amilcar Perez Lopen. Justice for Alex Nieto.
Join us at a townhall meeting to make our voices heard.
Refreshments will be available.
The new book, China on Strike, is based on dozens of interviews with workers in Pearl River Delta factories, an industrial region of region of 60 million people that has become the “workshop of the world,” as China has become the fastest growing major economy in the world over the last three decades. Pearl River Delta factories supply the world’s most profitable corporations, like Apple, Nike, Hewlett Packard, and many others. These interviews document the processes of internal migration in China, changing employment relations, worker culture, and other issues related to China’s explosive growth. China on Strike is the first English-language book to provide an intimate and revealing window into the lives of workers as they organize against low pay and brutal working conditions, launching the world’ largest strike wave in the 21st century. Two of these contributors will be in attendance and will speak and answer questions via interpreter Alex T. Tom.
“As these vivid case-studies illustrate, the real sleeping dragon—China’s enormous factory proletariat—is wide awake and fighting back on all fronts. Indeed, here is first-hand evidence that Chairman Xi Jinping may soon confront the largest labor rebellion in history.”
—Mike Davis, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Riverside, and author of Planet of Slums
Fang Gang has worked in factories since he graduated from university, conducting interviews with other workers about their collective struggles in the Pearl River Delta and compiling them into articles that are published and distributed. An example is his 2013 piece “Strikes over the relocation of factories.” Currently, Fan Gang assists with workers taking collective action in the Pearl River Delta.
Mi Tu has been engaged in doing translations of literature on workers’ struggles in other countries, as well as researching the conditions of workers in China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs), since her university days. Since graduating, Mi has worked in factories, interviewed workers engaged in struggles in the Pearl River Delta, and compiled and circulated these oral histories. Mi currently assists workers taking collective action against occupational diseases.
Alex T. Tom (interpreter) is the Executive Director of San Francisco’s Chinese Progressive Association.
Admission is free.