Calendar

When the California Public Utilities Commission came out with a plan in December to make installing rooftop solar unaffordable, our huge outcry forced them to back down.  But their new proposal is pretty much the same, so we need to do it again (sigh).   Details on the old and new plans are here.

The plan would continue to impose a “solar tax” on customers with rooftop solar and slash the payments they get for electricity they generate — this time described in slightly different language and with a more gradual implementation schedule to make it seem more palatable.

When they made the original proposal in December, more than 150,000 people submitted comments to the CPUC and Gov. Newsom, along with over 600 nonprofits, cities, schools and elected officials and most major newspaper editorial boards.

We need to rally again to save solar!

***ASAP: Call Governor Newsom at 916-445-2841.
His office is open Monday-Friday from 9 to 5. Say your name and where you live, and something personal.  Here’s a suggestion:

“The CPUC’s latest rooftop solar announcement is a non-starter for me. California should not be taxing solar energy, period. We need more solar, not less. Please show leadership now.”

***June 2, 11 AM – 3 PM: Don’t Tax the Sun Rally – CPUC Offices, 505 Van Ness, San Francisco    Look the CPUC in the eye and tell them what you think in person!  Organizers will kick it off with a rally on the steps of the CPUC, and then help you sign up and speak directly to the CPUC. And, of course, refreshments!    RSVP

Call the CPUC Public Comment Line
Dial remotely into the CPUC meeting on June 2nd to tell them to drop their latest Solar Tax.  Sign up here.

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85817209915

Relevant Agenda Items:

5. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – DVP – Apricot 360 database
a. Review and take possible action on Impact Report and proposed Use Policy
6. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – OPD – Annual Reports (Automated License Plate Readers, Cell-Site Simulator,   Biometric Crime Lab, Forensic Logic/Coplink, GPS Tag Tracker, ShotSpotter, Live Stream Camera, Mobile Fingerprint ID,   Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Drones)
a. Review and take possible action on the annual reports
7. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – DOT – Mobile Parking Payment System
a. Review and take possible action on Impact Report and proposed Use Policy

Screening of a documentary film about the occupation of churches by sex workers in 1975 in France which International Sex Workers day commemorates. Readings from Prostitutes Our Life which documents powerful words from sex workers on strike then. Connecting that historic action with present day organizing against violence, poverty, racist enforcement of the prostitution laws and discussion.

Today marks 2 years since Sean Monterrosa was murdered by Vallejo PD. Tonight there is a candlelight vigil @Justice4Sean – 1050 Redwood St. Vallejo, CA @ 7PM. Sending so much love to the Monterrosa’s from out east. ¡#SeanMonterrosa, presente! ❤️🕊 pic.twitter.com/fnig4qmDu0

— Talia (טליה) Moore (@tal_moore) June 2, 2022

“I’ll do a concert from my living room, livestreamed on Twitch and other platforms (just click the link when the time comes and I’ll appear), archived afterwards.”

White Nationalism & Intervention webinar THIS Sunday 6/5.

One thing is clear: white supremacist terrorism will continue to escalate until the white nationalist movement is out-organized. White folks–we have a lot of work to do. https://t.co/ibTvfX2vBh pic.twitter.com/mNIeGZHDA6

— CRCAA (@crc_accomplices) June 1, 2022

We must honor those who have been killed due to the violent police state in this country so please come out to Westborough Park in San Francisco this Sunday at 1 pm to celebrate the life legacy of Derrick Gaines, as well as raise funds for his memorial. pic.twitter.com/QzRxvoB0H0

— Anti Police-Terror Project (@APTPaction) June 3, 2022

Links to the draft agenda, zoom link and the April meeting notes.

Chapter News

Our work continues. One of our recent chapter activities involved educating and engaging more supporters as we look forward to a next round of legislation. On April 23rd we tabled at Pleasant Hill Community Park at a primary kick off event, sharing information about single payer, handing out brochures and gathering contact information of supporters.  This and other educational outreach events helps grow our list serve.

Please get in touch when you hear of other tabling opportunities in our and surrounding counties.

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We’ve also organized a postcarding campaign in East Contra Costa County, where we’ve identified two neighborhoods of potential supporters.  On May 14th, a group of our members met to put together packets of post cards with printed labels. All packets have been distributed.  Many of us are in the process of writing personal notes, asking for people to look at our website and contact us for more information.

This is also a reminder for people to vote for single payer supporters in the upcoming June 7th election.

We will have another round of postcarding in a few months and will let you know when and how to get involved in this project.

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In the meantime, we encourage you to write letters to the editor in support of single payer or email or call your legislators, urging their support of single payer legislation when a new legislative term begins. Send us a link to your published letters so we can add them to our HCA blog.

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On May 24 PNHP and HCA sponsored a webinar on the Healthy California for All Commission’s final report with Commissioner Carmen Comsti; health policy expert James Kahn; and Michael Lighty, president of the Healthy California Now coalition.

In case you missed it you can see a recording of this tight, thought-provoking hour of commentary and Q&A here.

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Also check out the translate button on our website. It enables the visitor to translate all the written content on our website pages into their selected language. Here is a small example in Chinese.

Check it out and tell your friends. Top right corner…can’t miss it.

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And last but not least we want to thank our chapter members and HCA donors, your past and current support are greatly appreciated. Your contributions are used wisely.

We especially thank our recurring members.
You are the backbone of the organization.

Thank you!

We encourage supporters to join us by making a contribution. If you feel so inclined please use the donate button or a membership link below.

Sincerely,
Jonee Grassi and Nel Benningshof, HCA – Contra Costa County Chapter Directors

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
Announcements
(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

RALLY AND SPEAKOUT
TELL CHANCELLOR CHRIST: HANDS OFF PEOPLE’S PARK!

People’s Park Council is hosting a rally and speakout for groups and individuals who oppose UCB’s plan to destroy People’s Park. DEMAND OPEN SPACE!

The situation is increasingly urgent as UC administration and the City of Berkeley make plans to suppress community opposition to the impending invasion of People’s Park. Tensions are rising as deadlines and rumors of deadlines circulate through the park. The placement of large dumpsters in the park; the opening of the new Rodeway Inn specifically for the residents of People’s Park and anecdotal accounts of police warning campers that it is “illegal” to trespass, all indicate that the UC will attempt to take the park soon. Despite the fact that just this week the park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, decades after it was named a City of Berkeley Landmark, UC is amassing its forces to attempt take People’s Park once and for all.

Our opposition is to the construction of ANY housing on People’s Park no matter who it is for. While the pandemic emergency required that we use public places to respond to an emergency, People’s Park is meant to be a place for all people. We all need open space and a place to be.

For the sake of the climate, for our health which depends on green spaces and trees for good air quality, for the sake of our mental health, and for the sake of our children who by nature need to have open space to explore and grow. For the sake of our history and the movement that not only built People’s Park, but also made Berkeley known internationally. We must prevent needless desecration of that sacred space. The University community and administration need to honor our rich tradition of resistance and let People’s Park remain as a community park.

Our history AND our future depend on People’s Park.

WHO: People’s Park Council
WHAT: Rally and Speakout

More information: www.peoplespark.org

oscargrantcommittee-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

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 1^st Monday 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

Get the latest information on a new study that maps the future pattern of sea level rise in the coastal US,  flood risks to coastal wetlands, and where conservation efforts could help.

Register here

Climate Central will present scientific, policy, and other experts discussing the findings of their new report, their implications, and strategies for enhancing wetlands. Journalists who have covered the topic will also speak.

This workshop will include embargoed information from a peer-reviewed paper scheduled for publication on June 8. Media representatives are invited to submit questions during live Q&A, but will be asked to honor the embargo.

Speakers:

• Benjamin Strauss, CEO and Chief Scientist, Climate Central
• Kelly Van Baalen, Project Manager, Climate Central
• Siddharth Narayan, Assistant Professor, Integrated Coastal Programs, East Carolina University
• Hilary Stevens, Coastal Resilience Manager, Restore America’s Estuaries
• Mary-Carson Stiff, Policy Director, Wetlands Watch
• Tiffany Turner, Director of Climate Solutions, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
• Halle Parker, Environment Reporter, New Orleans Public Radio

You may submit questions via chat at any time during the workshop, or email your questions directly to Dan Rizza at sealevel@climatecentral.org

This webinar is the sixth in The Climate Center’s Investing in Climate Action for Jobs, Health, and Equity webinar series.

You can grab the book from here: https://t.co/Ont3yfrPrR

If you need it, we can also give you a PDF copy of the book after you register!

— The Debt Collective 🟥 (@StrikeDebt) May 10, 2022

This webinar is the sixth in The Climate Center’s Investing in Climate Action for Jobs, Health, and Equity webinar series.

June 9 in Sacramento: End the Gas Car Era

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) must step up for climate action. Join a climate justice rally outside the June 9th CARB hearing to push the Board to do the right thing and speed the transition to 100% electric vehicles. CARB’s latest clean cars proposal allows huge numbers of new dirty, gas-burning cars to be sold after 2030 and fails to ensure equitable EV access for low-income communities of color. We can’t achieve equity without a stronger 2030 sales target and mandatory provisions that support communities hit first and worst by high gas prices, tailpipe pollution and the climate crisis.

The rally will feature powerful speakers, chants, and performance art to show our collective power as we pressure CARB to take the urgent action needed. Following the rally, supporters will be encouraged to bring our policy demands inside the hearing and make public comments.

Event co-hosts include the Center for Biological Diversity, Let’s Green California, 350 Sacramento, Climate Center, Oil & Gas Action Network, Extinction Rebellion SF Bay, 350 Bay Area, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, 350 Silicon Valley, Climate Hawks Vote, Plug in America, and California Interfaith Power & Light.

Ready to rally in Sacramento? RSVP at this link.

This Thursday, Oakland Councilperson Carroll Fife will be going live in conversation with the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO) Program as well as Jame Burch from the Anti-Police Terror Project. They will talk about where the program is currently at and the state of public safety overall in Oakland.

To watch, go to the Facebook, Twitter or YouTube page on Thursday June 9th at 6:30pm.

You can read more about MACRO here.

We need a fight!

As we await Decision Day (Day X) that will more than likely overturn 50 years of legalized abortion in the US, we continue to see the Democratic Party establishment do nothing serious to fight back against this assault on bodily autonomy. Working people across the country are wringing their hands while Democratic lawmakers sit on theirs. On May 25, our comrades in New York led a sit-in at Chuck Schumer’s office calling out the gross inaction of the Democrats and demanding an immediate end to the filibuster and the codification of Roe v. Wade into law.

Here in the Bay Area, we have been planning a demonstration of our own at Nancy Pelosi’s office in San Francisco, with a similar message – we have not surrendered in this crucial fight, and we deserve leaders who won’t give up either! Baring white flags sprawled with our message of “No Surrender,” we will be calling on Speaker Pelosi to take action and end the filibuster, codify Roe, expand the Supreme Court, literally anything serious, to protect abortion rights.

Sign our petition: Democrats, No More Excuses!