After nearly 30 years of continuous publication, we have lost our funding. Street Spirit ceased publication on July 1, but we will not give up! Our newspaper is an invaluable source of East Bay news, and a vital resource for the people who sell it. Come party with us to support our effort to relaunch.

Tickets: We are selling tickets on a sliding scale of $5 to $500. Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds, so come even if you can’t pay and you’ll be invited in!

Learn: Alexis Madrigal will moderate a panel about East Bay homelessness, Street Spirit, and what our community stands to lose without it. Guests on the panel will include Street Spirit Editor Alastair Boone, Talya Husbands-Hankin of Oakland’s Love and Justice in the Streets, and Street Spirit vendors.

Dance: Music by Shruggs

Eat: Food by Hausa Vegan

Hang: Let’s get to know each other! Street Spirit has no future without the community of people who read and support it. Meet and chat with the amazing journalists, advocates, vendors, artists, and East Bay residents who lift us up.

*Flyer by Sucharitha Yelimeli*

Email strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com a few days beforehand for the online invite.

For our June and July meetings we are reading Poverty by America, by Matthew Desmond.

For  our June meeting we’ll be reading the first five chapters.
For  the  July  meeting  we will finish the book.

The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?

In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow.

Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.

Strike Debt Bay Area hosts this non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included Doughnut Economics, Limits, Banking on the People, Capital and Its Discontents, How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century, The Deficit Myth,  Revenge Capitalism, the Edge of Chaos blog symposium , Re-enchanting the World: Feminism and the Politics of the Commons, The Optimist’s Telescope, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, Exploring Degrowth, The Origin of Wealth, Mine!, The Dawn of Everything  A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, Beyond Money, Less is More,  Cannibal Capitalism, and Debt, the First 5000 Years.

Imagine a future of community policing, police commissions with real authority, and registered Green Party police chiefs. What would a Green Party police force look like? Demilitarized officers, biodiesel-fueled vehicles, and hemp weapons? How would you create a police force with Green Party values? Well, the irregular cast with special guests will discuss the possibilities with you and theorize on how to make an entirely new police  system a reality.

Join us – virtual doors open at 6 PM (witth the best pre-show music diversity). The discussion begins at 6:30 PM PST on ZOOM.

Organized by the Oakland Greens:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-does-a-green-police-system-look-like-tickets-516415160647?aff=ebdssbdestsearch#search

Troy’s book examines a piece of critical and understudied Latin American social movement and anarchist history involving the Federación Anarquista Uruguaya (FAU). Militants the FAU were involved shop floor struggles, neighborhood organizing, and armed guerrilla warfare–alongside the Tupamaros–against the US backed dictatorship which took power in Uruguay starting in 1973.

This event will feature readings from the book, a broader contextual discussion about revolutionary social movements in Latin America during the period, and lessons for revolutionaries today.

RSVP on Facebook by clicking this link!

We will be discussing the basics of capitalism. It is highly recommended to read the required readings as this night school will be geared more toward discussion.

Required Readings:

• Capitalism’s Gravediggers (excerpt) by Ellen Meiksins Wood (Jacobin)
• The Marxist Dialectic by John Molyneux
• The Contradictions of Capital by John Molyneux

Recommended Readings TBD

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87659579868?pwd=OHU3TFdLNVZ5c215MVVVcnBWcFd1QT09

Meeting ID: 876 5957 9868
Passcode: 945476

Hardware hack night – each Tuesday, we welcome sudoers new and old to bring their hardware projects to the space, or simply come by to learn and tinker! All welcome, 7pm til… whomever’s left standing!

You can also jump in virtually via https://meet.waag.org/turtlesturtlesturtles !

Some stuff people have been working on:

• Pimping out cool bicycles with lights for the East Bay Bike Party
• the dancing robot arm
• stable diffusion watercolor painting IRL

Online. Register here

Activists in the Bay Area have long felt incredibly lucky to have David Solnit creating the art that has brought life and energy to our actions for decades. Now we have the privilege of seeing him and another environmental artist, Emily Robinson, in an online discussion of Creative Activism: Using Art to Protect Our Planet.

• Emily Robinson, a Florida-based artist who turns plastic she pulls from the ocean into art pieces to raise awareness about plastic pollution (see her work on Instagram @plasticpresents)
• Our own David Solnit, as we know, centers art in mass mobilizations (see him in action on Instagram @davidsolnit)

In this month’s episode of Food & Water Watch’s Livable Future series, David and Emily will discuss how their art calls attention to the most pressing issues of our day and asks all of us to think creatively about what we can do to make a positive impact in the fight to protect the health of our planet

In an insane society how can we help those struggling with actual mental illness? And who is driving the country insane? The social worker drowning in the bureaucracy needed to help their unhoused client? The news anchor, who feeds anxiety with “breaking news” of daily atrocities and political scapegoating rather than the real “Who, What, Where and Why?”

We will meet them and more in our new comedy musical aptly titled: BREAKDOWN – A New Musical. Sometimes it’s not all just happening in your mind.

BREAKDOWN – A New Musical is written by: Michael Gene Sullivan & Marie Cartier Director: Michael Gene Sullivan Music & Lyrics Daniel Savio Music Director: Daniel Savio The show runs 80 min. – no intermission.

BREAKDOWN – A New Musical features a five-person cast that includes veteran SF Mime Troupe collective member: Andre Amarotico (Mr. Stereós); who is joined by Jamella Cross (Marcia Stone); Alicia M. P. Nelson (Saidia); Jed Pasario (Felix); and Kina Kantor (Yume). And SFMT Band: Breakfast (Keyboard, Guitar, Sax); Guinevere Q (Bass); and Jason Young (Drums, Percussion).

Bios: https://www.sfmt.org/press-bios All actors and the stage manager appear through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. To arrange an interview with writers, actors, or anyone from the SF Mime Troupe Collective, please call or e-mail publicist Lawrence Helman at 415-336-8220 heytheresells@gmail.com

Tech credits for BREAKDOWN – A New Musical include: Scenic Designer: Carlos Aceves; Costume Designer: Keiko Shimosato Carreiro; Props: Lena Seagrave; Choreographer: AeJay Mitchell; Sound Designer / Engineer: Taylor Gonzalez; Sound A2: Miguel Wacher; Sound A2: Solstiz Ibarra-Camp; Poster Design: Pablo Mica; Prod. Stage Manager: Karen Runk; Booking Coordinator: Junelle Taguas-Utumoengalu & Andre Amarotico; Tour Manager: Maxine Tower; Publicity: Lawrence Helman; Photography: DavidAllenStudio.com.

BREAKDOWN – A New Musical plays July 1 – Sept. 4, 2023 Opening: Sat. / Sun. July 1, 2 – Cedar Rose Park – Berkeley Opening: Mon. July 4, – Dolores Park – San Francisco Running throughout the Bay Area in SF, Marin (Mill Valley), Ukiah (Mendocino), Cotati (Sonoma), East Bay, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz, San Jose, and Davis July 1 – Sept. 4, 2023.

All shows are FREE and open to the public unless otherwise listed. Ticketed performance: Z Space: Aug. 24, 2023 (Thurs.). Some shows will require RSVPs: Davis HS, Richard Brunelle Performance Hall: Aug. 3 (Thurs.); SFMT Studio Back Lawn in SF: Aug 16 (Sun.). For a complete schedule and more information, visit http://www.sfmt.org or call 415-285-1717.

In an insane society how can we help those struggling with actual mental illness? And who is driving the country insane? The social worker drowning in the bureaucracy needed to help their unhoused client? The news anchor, who feeds anxiety with “breaking news” of daily atrocities and political scapegoating rather than the real “Who, What, Where and Why?”

We will meet them and more in our new comedy musical aptly titled: BREAKDOWN – A New Musical. Sometimes it’s not all just happening in your mind.

BREAKDOWN – A New Musical is written by: Michael Gene Sullivan & Marie Cartier Director: Michael Gene Sullivan Music & Lyrics Daniel Savio Music Director: Daniel Savio The show runs 80 min. – no intermission.

BREAKDOWN – A New Musical features a five-person cast that includes veteran SF Mime Troupe collective member: Andre Amarotico (Mr. Stereós); who is joined by Jamella Cross (Marcia Stone); Alicia M. P. Nelson (Saidia); Jed Pasario (Felix); and Kina Kantor (Yume). And SFMT Band: Breakfast (Keyboard, Guitar, Sax); Guinevere Q (Bass); and Jason Young (Drums, Percussion).

Bios: https://www.sfmt.org/press-bios All actors and the stage manager appear through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. To arrange an interview with writers, actors, or anyone from the SF Mime Troupe Collective, please call or e-mail publicist Lawrence Helman at 415-336-8220 heytheresells@gmail.com

Tech credits for BREAKDOWN – A New Musical include: Scenic Designer: Carlos Aceves; Costume Designer: Keiko Shimosato Carreiro; Props: Lena Seagrave; Choreographer: AeJay Mitchell; Sound Designer / Engineer: Taylor Gonzalez; Sound A2: Miguel Wacher; Sound A2: Solstiz Ibarra-Camp; Poster Design: Pablo Mica; Prod. Stage Manager: Karen Runk; Booking Coordinator: Junelle Taguas-Utumoengalu & Andre Amarotico; Tour Manager: Maxine Tower; Publicity: Lawrence Helman; Photography: DavidAllenStudio.com.

BREAKDOWN – A New Musical plays July 1 – Sept. 4, 2023 Opening: Sat. / Sun. July 1, 2 – Cedar Rose Park – Berkeley Opening: Mon. July 4, – Dolores Park – San Francisco Running throughout the Bay Area in SF, Marin (Mill Valley), Ukiah (Mendocino), Cotati (Sonoma), East Bay, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz, San Jose, and Davis July 1 – Sept. 4, 2023.

All shows are FREE and open to the public unless otherwise listed. Ticketed performance: Z Space: Aug. 24, 2023 (Thurs.). Some shows will require RSVPs: Davis HS, Richard Brunelle Performance Hall: Aug. 3 (Thurs.); SFMT Studio Back Lawn in SF: Aug 16 (Sun.). For a complete schedule and more information, visit http://www.sfmt.org or call 415-285-1717.

Info/registration here

The Bay Area Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force presents the first in its new series of summits on Climate, Social Justice, and the Rights of Nature.  This first event, Climate and H2O, will explore climate and justice issues relating to water.

Speakers include:

Corrina Gould, Tribal Chair, Confederate Villages of Lisjan, co-founder Sogorea Te Land Trust: Salmon, H2O, and Ceremony

Ellen Plane, environmental scientist, Resilient Landscapes Program, San Francisco Estuary Institute: Sea Level Rise, Groundwater Rise, and Adaptation for the San Francisco Bay Shoreline

Aundi Mevoli, Field Investigator and Policy Advocate, and Julia Dowell, Field Investigator and Community Advocate, San Francisco Baykeeper: Toxic Sites Creating Toxic Futures

Hayley Currier, Policy Manager, San Francisco Save the Bay: Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Resilience

Kija Rivers, Policy Advocate, Community Water Center: Drinking Water and Climate Change

Cheryl Sudduth, Elected: President, Board of Directors, West County Wastewater District: Environmental Justice in a Time of Unjust Justices (decisions)

CALL TO ACTION

No Coal in Oakland Community Rally

For years, developer Phil Tagami has been pushing to build a massive coal terminal in West Oakland.  In 2016, Oakland City Council voted unanimously to ban coal and, after defending a federal lawsuit, the city is now fighting in state court to end the threat of an Oakland coal terminal for good.

No Coal in Oakland, Interfaith Council of Alameda County, and Care 4 Community Action are cosponsoring a community rally against coal on July 22. Come to share our determination that toxic coal shall not pass through our West Oakland neighborhoods on its way from Utah to overseas markets. There will be food and music, beautiful new banners, yard signs to put up all over town, and updates on the trial in Hayward.

Our scheduled speaker has requested a later date, so we will have a round table discussion of the coming U.S. elections, considering what posistion U.S. leftists should take. We are looking forward to an informed and information discussion. Bring your opinions and be prepared to defend them!

Our Zoom room will be opened up as usual at 10:15 am for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin at 10:30 am and will end at 12:30pm.\

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 811 3335 0622
Passcode: ICSS2717rs
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Register 

Electrifying and expanding transit infrastructure will be crucial to meeting climate goals. In San Francisco, the city has operated electrified trolleybuses for over 85 years and this transit technology could be crucial to its decarbonization strategy.

According to a new report, leveraging San Francisco’s existing trolleybus infrastructure and updating it with next-generation In-Motion Charging (IMC) technology is the cheaper, more resource-efficient, and faster way to electrify and decarbonize its fleet in comparison to battery electric buses.

Join labor union representatives, researchers, and advocates as they explore how cutting-edge trolleybus technology could play a central role in San Francisco’s electrification goals, while providing stable service and good, union jobs.

This study’s implications go far beyond San Francisco. Beginning in 2029 100% of new purchases by California’s transit agencies must be zero emissions with a goal for full transition by 2040, and cities across the world are considering employing next generation trolleybus systems in their own decarbonization plans.

Speakers: John Doherty – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 6 Andres Emiro Diez Restrepo – Universidad Pontificía Bolivariana Natalia Ortiz – Metro Medellín Matt Haugen – Climate and Community Project Martin Wright – Trolleybus Advocate This webinar is brought to you by UC Berkeley’s Socio-Spacial Climate Collaborative and the Climate and Community Project.

Hardware hack night – each Tuesday, we welcome sudoers new and old to bring their hardware projects to the space, or simply come by to learn and tinker! All welcome, 7pm til… whomever’s left standing!

You can also jump in virtually via https://meet.waag.org/turtlesturtlesturtles !

Some stuff people have been working on:

• Pimping out cool bicycles with lights for the East Bay Bike Party
• the dancing robot arm
• stable diffusion watercolor painting IRL

Online. Register

The federal Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure and Jobs Investment Act will bring billions of dollars into communities. The goals are to create 9 million good jobs and reduce carbon emissions 40% below 2005 levels by 2030.

How can we make sure this money is used in ways that will really reduce CO2 emissions and benefit communities that need it most?

The Sierra Club ‘s  Bay Area Virtual Workshop, Harnessing the Power of the Inflation Reduction Act, will discuss ways to support the best implementation of these programs, at the state and local level, to benefit communities most impacted by climate and environmental injustice.

This can include working alongside local businesses and schools to apply for grants, spreading awareness about rebates, and more.

Before the workshop, you can check out this table of the available funding streams.