As part of the new economic development plan for Telegraph Avenue, aka the “Telegraph Public Realm Plan”, the economic development manager for the city of Berkeley (Michael Caplan) is recommending that Berkeley city council support new student housing in People’s Park.

Show up to the city council special session at 5:30PM (this is not the regular meeting which starts at 7PM) and speak during the public comment period. Show your support for keeping People’s Park as an open space.

2019 will be the 50th anniversary of People’s Park. In 2019, the public can demand that People’s Park be turned into a California State Park, as to be preserved in perpetuity. People’s Park could also be placed on the national historical register. Developers and UC Berkeley are well aware that there is mass support for People’s Park’s preservation, but they ignore public sentiment by continuing to place People’s Park under threat of development.

Directed by Grace Lee

What does it mean to be an American revolutionary today? Grace Lee Boggs (June 27, 1915 – Oct. 5, 2015) was a Chinese American woman in Detroit whose vision of revolution will surprise you. A writer, activist, and philosopher rooted for more than 70 years in the African American movement, she has devoted her life to an evolving revolution that encompasses the contradictions of America’s past and its potentially radical future. The documentary film, AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS, plunges us into Boggs’s lifetime of vital thinking and action, traversing the major U.S. social movements of the last century; from labor to civil rights, to Black Power, feminism, the Asian American and environmental justice movements and beyond.

Doors open at 7pm, film starts at 7:30. Free popcorn and snacks, as always.

Join us for free weekly meditation happy hour on Wednesdays, co-hosted by the Art of Living Eastbay Berkeley/Oakland.

We will teach simple and easy guided meditation and breathing techniques to let go of stress and trauma, let your hair down, and celebrate!

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 ♥

Dogtown Redemption, with post-film discussion

Leeloo is an artist and musician living with mental illness. She is also a trans woman of color.

Leeloo had a crisis situation that was mishandled by John George Hospital, resulting in an irresponsible discharge that left her on the streets of San Leandro without a phone, glasses, or money. As a result, she allegedly acted out of her own self preservation and as a result is jailed in ‘protective custody’ at Santa Rita.

We are fighting for her to get her case seen in Behavioral Health Court. Please come out and show support for Leeloo! We will be wearing all black in solidarity with Leeloo.

The more community that can show up for her proves to the DA that she is an excellent candidate for this ‘diversionary’ legal process.

*The event is listed at 9:30am on Thursday. There’s likely to be some waiting around, folks are welcome to continue arriving any time before 11am.

“WE HAVE NO PLACE ELSE TO GO.”

Like thousands of other Oakland residents, our family was evicted by a slumlord after we reported
him to the City. After 6 months of living out of our car, searching three counties for housing or even
shelter services with no help in sight, we have decided to take our struggle directly to City Hall. Since
we cannot find shelter, we will take shelter in this public building until our city officials provide relief
for us and the thousands of other families who have been displaced.
Stand with us at Oakland City Hall (14th & Broadway) this Thursday (June 30th) at noon.

If you have nowhere to stay,
stay with us at City Hall Thursday night.
Hot meals will be provided.
#HousingIsAHumanRight #StopStayExpand

More info (PDF):

nowhere-else-to-go

A fundraiser for survivors of the fire that burned down the homes of 58 people on Mission and 29th.

Door fee will be $10 USD (but no one turned away). We’ll also do a raffle (please message if you have suggestions for raffle prizes). El Rio are kindly donating all bar proceeds from 8-12 to the fund.

All proceeds will go directly to the familes and will be matched 1-1 by a corporate sponsor. The Mission Economic Development Agency will process all donations and won’t be charging a fee.

The Tony Award-winning SF Mime Troupe opens in Berkeley July 2 & 3, then San Francisco July 4 with its 57th season premiering “Schooled“

Education. It’s like the weather: everyone has an opinion but nobody does anything about it. That’s how Livina Jones feels about her son Tom’s new school, Eleanor Roosevelt High. With it’s old textbooks, crumbling classrooms, and racist treatment of kids just like hers Livina believes Roosevelt is exactly the sort of school that can benefit from a little free-market common sense. The nanny-state government has failed to see students as individuals, and failed to give them the real-world skills they’ll need to get ahead. So who says it isn’t time for some big money, for-profit schooling?

Edith Orocuru, for one. She’s the long serving history/civics/American government/basketball coach at Eleanor Roosevelt, and she’s willing to fight for her version of education as long as her reconstructed hips will allow. But is she fighting for a system that can be fixed, or is she just too blind by her past to see how times have left her and her school behind? And when an efficiency expert, Mr. Babbit, is assigned to improve her class is it a sign that Edith is behind the times, or a sign of something more sinister? And with privatization on the line, and a Wall Street heavy hitter lined up to fold the entire district into his conglomerate, suddenly the next School Board election is more about a hidden agenda than the open curriculum. And when did the hall monitors start wearing brown shirts and arm bands?

Dogtown Redemption, with post-film discussion

This dinner (of spaghetti and a sweet red sauce with grilled garlic bread) is being held in conjunction with First They Came for the Homeless’ re-establishment of Liberty City in an effort to demonstrate peaceful, communal living and self-sufficiency.

https://www.facebook.com/events/294334184246214/

A homeless person is still a person, but in America the homeless are less than Untouchables: they are invisible to most of us, and a nuisance to others. In Berkeley the homeless not only have to live on some of the most dangerous streets in America, they have to constantly deal with persecution from the police. Why is the city insisting on harassing and ticketing those without money, many of whom have served our country, many of whom have mental illness and/or are struggling with drug addiction and/or the after-effects of abuse? Why are these people being scapegoated as millionaires and billionaires continue to hoard money when we know once you’ve got enough of it, it can’t buy you anymore happiness? Did the bankers not ruin our country and world economy? Why are they still making so much, continuing to profit off of the cheap labor and suffering of the Underclass? And why does so much of the Underclass still defend them? Because they believe in the myths of the American Dream and the Self-made Man?… No man is an island…

But let’s talk more about it over spaghetti on Saturday!

COME MARCH WITH US 
Calling all renters to march with ARC in the Alameda 4th of July Parade ! The city has seen some of us on the streets gathering signatures, now let Alameda see MORE of us to show the city how important the issue of rent stabilization is and how many people it impacts.

We’re calling on individuals, families, students, faith groups, and other sympathetic groups to join in.  Kids on bikes, trikes, in wagons, and in strollers welcome and wanted.  Dogs, too – great way to take your dog for a walk !

The parade starts at 10 am on July 4. Line-up starts as early as 8 am.  The parade route is 3 miles long but you don’t have to walk the entire route.

We will send you more information after June 29 with our parade line-up number and exact instructions on how to get in the line-up.

Let’s show the city that the ALAMEDA RENTERS COALITION is a important part of Alameda and here to stay. COME MARCH WITH US !”

Dogtown Redemption, with post-film discussion

Join us tomorrow. March for Bernie and Robin Hood tax around Lake Merritt #independenceday #RobinHoodTax #WeAreBern… pic.twitter.com/68accee0E4

— Bay Area for Bernie (@BayArea4Bernie) July 4, 2016

March with us July 4th! Lake Merritt Oakland, CA #MarchForBernie #OurRevolution #RobinHoodTax #Bayareaforbernie #Am… pic.twitter.com/KGjPLBC4T7

— Bay Area for Bernie (@BayArea4Bernie) June 20, 2016

A memorial vigil will be held on Sproul Plaza on Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. to honor UC Berkeley student Tarishi Jain and the others who lost their lives alongside her in the terrorist attacks in Bangladesh. All members of the community, both on campus and off, are invited to this vigil, which will be a safe space for reflection and mourning.

#Oakland city council wants to sneak thru a controversial land sale the day after a holiday weekend. Turn out to #SaveE12th 7/5/16 7pm

— E12 Peoples Proposal (@PeoplesProposal) July 3, 2016

The E12 Coalition is calling all supporters to join us at City Hall TODAY at 7pm to oppose the sale of the E12th Street parcel! #SaveE12th

— E12 Peoples Proposal (@PeoplesProposal) July 5, 2016

Agenda Item:

Subject: 12th Street Remainder Parcel Disposition And Development Agreement With Urbancore And EBALDC
From: Economic And Workforce Development
Recommendation: An Ordinance: (1) Authorizing The City Administrator, Without Returning To The City Council, To Negotiate And Execute A Disposition And Development Agreement And Related Documents Between The City Of Oakland And Urbancore Development, LLC Or Its Related Entities Or Affiliates (“Urbancore”), And East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation Or Its Related Entities Or Affiliates (“EBALDC”), For
(A) Sale Of The 12th Street Remainder Parcel Located At E12th Street And 2nd Avenue (“Property”) For No Less Than $8.0 Million,
(B) A Seller Carryback Loan From The City To EBALDC In The Amount Of $3.3 Million Plus The Cost Of Loan Origination, And
(C) Development Of The Property As A Residential Mixed-Use Project, All Of The Foregoing Documents To Be In A Form And Content Substantially In Conformance With The Term Sheet Attached As Exhibit …

The Renter Protection Ordinance Ballot Initiative is now scheduled for the July 19th City Council Meeting.

The Committee to Protect Oakland Renters urges the Community and Economic Development Committee to reject the Council Member Kalb’s Ordinance Amending Chapter 8.22, Article I (Rent Adjustment).

Renters in Oakland are being squeezed now, and they cannot wait years for renter protections to be implemented. This ordinance just “kicks the can down the road”, protections for a huge number of renters would not even start until 2018. That means 24,000 additional tenants could be forced out of Oakland before these protections become effective.

The moratorium on rent increases ends on July 5th. But no steps have been taken to address the housing crisis. It is time to act on real reforms. Not halfway measures that won’t be implemented for years.

This is not an organizing effort, this is about passing the strongest protections possible for Oakland renters. While we believe the current council has the best interests of tenants in mind, this might not always be the case. This is why the Committee To Protect Oakland Renters strongly believes new regulations protecting renters must go to the voters.

We are asking the Oakland City Council to support the Protect Oakland Renters Act, introduced by Council Member Kaplan that will be on the City Council Agenda on July 5th.

Come out and let your voice be heard by your elected representatives on July 5^th. Join us in the fight to protect the soul of Oakland.

Committee to Protect Oakland Renters

This article in the East Bay Express by Darwin BondGraham highlights some of the challenges we’ve faced in this process.Don’t forget to like us on Facebook!

San Leandro’s minimum wage will be an action item on the Tuesday, July 5th at 7 PM Council meeting calendar. If it gets four votes it will go on the Council consent calendar on Monday July 18th. We need large turnouts at both Council meetings. We need to get as many people as we can to speak in favor of San Leandro increasing our minimum wage, before the State’s increase.   Vice Mayor Jim Prola’s proposal are $12 by July 2017, and then a dollar a year until it reaches $15 July 2020 for both large and small businesses, which are two to three years sooner than the State’s 2022/23. Under the State’s minimum wage the Governor could delay it till 2024/25.

Large turnouts are critical to get passage at both meetings with at least four votes. 

Over the last few weeks we’ve learned that SFPD:
* Failed to notify the DA of Amilcar’s killing so his team could independently investigate the crime scene.
* Had already removed Amilcar’s body before the DA’s investigative team learned of the killing and arrived to investigate.

As a result, no full independent investigation of the crime scene was possible. According to DA Gascón, this has made his investigation both more difficult and lengthy.

WE SUSPECT A COVER-UP, especially given all the lies we’ve heard from SFPD ever since they killed Amilcar. So: At our last vigil at Mission Police Station, we decided to bring this to the Police Commission and demand action.

WE’RE GOING TO THE POLICE COMMISSION!
We want them to investigate, and, if necessary, discipline and fire the officers who ordered the removal of Amilcar’s body.

To get the facts out and to explain our demands more fully, we’ll hold a press conference at 5pm, just prior to the 5:30pm Police Commission meeting.

Our demands are now two!
* The District Attorney must file murder charges against the officers who killed Amilcar. (Despite this possible cover-up, the DA has more than enough evidence to file murder charges!)
* The Police Commission must investigate SFPD for possible cover-up of Amilcar’s killing and take the necessary disciplinary action against the responsible officers.