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Give your comments at the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors meeting when they discuss the proposed conversion of the Marathon refinery in Martinez and the much larger-scale proposed conversion of the Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo from refining petroleum to refining “biofuel.”

The Planning Commission has rubber-stamped woefully inadequate environmental impact reviews of these two projects. The supervisors need to hear from county residents!

The proposed projects would make Contra Costa County the world’s largest producer of liquid biofuels based on the refining of animal fats and vegetable oils.

Biofuels are promoted as a green alternative to petroleum on the theory that the absorption of carbon dioxide by growing plants balances the carbon dioxide released by burning the oils the produce.  The truth is much more complicated.

Refining biofuels creates potential local and global hazards. It requires higher temperatures than refining petroleum, creating the potential for more fires, explosions, and flaring.  It requires larger amounts of hydrogen, usually produced in a process that releases methane, a toxic gas that is a more powerful GHG than carbon dioxide.

Some feedstocks, especially animal fats, create potential odor problems, and plant and animal fats have the potential to gum up refinery equipment.

Growing enough crops for biofuels has the potential to divert agricultural land from food crops, raising global food prices. There is also a danger that demand for biofuel feedstock will lead to increased deforestation.

The EIRs passed by the Planning Commission fail to give adequate analyses of these hazards and possible mitigations.  Come and tell the supervisors we need a thorough environmental reviews of these hazardous projects.

For more info:

Summary of problems with Phillips 66 EIR,

Summary of problems with Marathon EIR

More detailed analysis from Biofuelwatch

WHERE

Board Chambers, Administration Building
1025 Escobar St., Martinez

Get the link to join here

WOMEN’S MARCH: NATIONWIDE CALL TO ACTION for ABORTION RIGHTS

Let’s be clear: Abortion is health care

That’s why in light of the dire news that SCOTUS has voted to strike down Roe v. Wade, we’re showing up for abortion rights.

We’re horrified, saddened, and livid. If you are too, then now is the time to show up and show them our movement won’t back down from protecting our reproductive rights.

Show up at your courthouses, federal buildings or town square to say bans off our bodies and demand elected officials take action before SCOTUS overturns Roe.

Bring your families, your signs, your stories, your heart, and your commitment to
save Roe and access to safe & legal abortion for all who need it.

🚨 RALLY TO DEFEND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS!

Join Bay Area union members, elected leaders, Planned Parenthood, La Familia Community Clinic, and more in an emergency rally.

⏰ WHEN: Today, 5pm

📍 WHERE: In front of Ronald V. Dellums Oakland Federal Building (1301 Clay St, Oakland) pic.twitter.com/qjlGJz4NnF

— IFPTE Local 21 (@IFPTE21) May 3, 2022

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

Agenda Items:

5. Federal Task Force Ordinance – OPD – Presentation of Annual Reports (ATF, USMS, DEA)
a. Review and take possible action on reports

6. AB 2336 (Friedman) Speed Safety System Pilot Program – DOT/Chair – evaluation of proposed bill solely as to potential privacy impact
a. Review and take possible action on draft resolution

7. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – OPD – Crime Analysis Software
a. Review and take possible action on Impact Report and proposed Use Policy

8. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – DVP – Apricot 360 database
a. Review and take possible action on Impact Report and proposed Use Policy

9. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – EDW – East Oakland Security Camera Proposal
a. Review and take possible action on Impact Report and proposed Use Policy

10. 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 reports

Please join KPFA for a special Zoom Event when we welcome\ Mark Follman and his debut book, Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America, hosted by KPFA’s Dennis Bernstein.

For the first time, a story about the specialized teams of forensic psychologists, FBI agents, and other experts who are successfully stopping mass shootings -a hopeful, myth-busting narrative built on new details of infamous attacks, never-before-told accounts from perpetrators and survivors, and real-time immersion in confidential threat cases, casting a whole new light on how to solve a grievous problem.

Thursday, May 5th at 7:00PM

At this post-May Day forum we will explore the current state of labor organizing at home and in other countries. Speakers will discuss recent victories, new leadership, unionization of traditionally marginalized workers, and how this trend is related to the fight for socialism.

David Bacon – Photojournalist, author, political activist, union organizer
Barry Eidlin – Assistant Professor of Sociology at McGill University, author of Labor and the Class Idea in the United States and Canada
[Speaker TBA] – [worker from Amazon organizing effort]
*Organizations listed for identification purposes only.

This event is sponsored by the Oakland Greens, Bay Area System Change Not Climate Change, and the Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party.

Click here for the Facebook event page

RSVP

Eat, drink, dance, and meet local labor activists at the Bay Area Labor Notes Dance Party and Fundraiser at the Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Avenue in North Oakland, on Saturday, May 7 from 6:00 to 11:00 pm.

All proceeds will help low-wage workers attend the international Labor Notes conference in Chicago this April.

A small donation of $5-$35 covers food, music, camaraderie, and stories about the Bay Area labor movement from local labor activists. Cash bar available, Venmo also accepted. Nobody turned away for lack of funds. All ages.

The program will begin around 7:30, featuring worker leaders speaking about labor struggles and victories from across the Bay Area, as well as a raffle, before turning into a dance party.

The Labor Notes Conference is a unique gathering of thousands of rank-and-file union members, local leaders, and activists who are putting the movement back into the labor movement.

It is an increasingly important space for labor activists to attend skill-building workshops and meet to share effective strategies that can win gains and amplify the voice of workers.

Your support will help to (re)build a fighting, democratic labor movement across the U.S. and around the world!

Click here for the Facebook event page

Join us Friday night for a dance party fundraiser! Labor Notes trains people to organize on the job, & connects radical union activists from all over the country! The money from this party will pay for Bay Area unionists to go to their big national conference in Chicago! pic.twitter.com/UVajS7MHDX

— East Bay DSA 🌹 (@DSAEastBay) May 2, 2022

Omni work party tomorrow (Sunday) 11-4pm! Lots of small tasks to be done. Please come help us clean, improve and repair our building, as we get ready for more events all summer.

— Omni Commons (@omnicommons) May 7, 2022

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

The Braver Angels event, “We the People’s Forum: Does One Size Fit All for Addressing Homelessness?” is coming up!

The Zoom meeting will open to participants at 7:55 pm EST on Monday, May 9. Here is your Zoom link to join:

https://braverangels-org.zoom.us/j/82190712365

For troubleshooting questions ahead of the event, email dlapp@braverangels.org

We the People’s Forum is an initiative of We the People’s Project at Braver Angels, an effort to build a politically and racially diverse team of working-class Americans to build a house united in America. To learn more or to get involved, visit www.braverangels.org/wpp

OTU’s Mission

The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.

Monthly Meetings

The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.

If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.

Join our patner @CURBprisons and the #CloseCAPrisons community in Sacramento next week for the May Revise Budget Press Conference and Rally. We demand that legislators and Governor Newsom close at least 8 more prisons by 2025. RSVP if you can make it https://t.co/zaTJm9cQuX pic.twitter.com/XHmdXMbk6E

— SURJ Bay Area (@surjbayarea) May 3, 2022

Each year in early May, Governor Newsom releases the May Revise budget after receiving input from state government bodies and community members. While the 2022-23 proposed budget (released in January) contained many positive investments, it also allocated $18.6 billion to corrections and included no plans to close more prisons in California, despite historically low, downward trending prison populations

It’s time for Governor Gavin Newsom and elected officials to do what’s right and commit to a smart plan to close prisons in California, like The People’s Plan for Prison Closure, that demands at least 10 prisons be closed by 2025. A serious plan for prison closure must include deep investments in prison towns to move them toward new, healthy economies, as well as toward healthcare, education, reentry services, and housing for  justice impacted families communities.

We are showing up outside the California State Capitol on May 11th to demand Governor Newsom close at least 8 prisons by 2025 and adopt a final budget that reflects the values and needs of ALL Californians by investing in communities NOT prisons and policing.

When: Wednesday, May 11th at 9AM (Register To Receive Important Updates)

Your support is critical in providing public comment at the Police Commission meeting on May 11! Learn how to give public comment and other ways to support by visiting: https://t.co/yAaGq2B7uB and https://t.co/yO4EwM6c1P pic.twitter.com/5RV4mt1vw2

— GLIDE (@GLIDEsf) May 10, 2022