Happy Equinox! Spring is here ~ plants are leafing out, peaches and plums are blooming, and folks are planting our perennial plants throughout the country.  It is the busiest time of the year for the nursery with finishing up cuttings, seeding, grafting fruit trees, weeding and fertilizing, potting up bare root plants, and shipping out plant orders.  We are very grateful to the many volunteers that have gotten their hands dirty with us this past month.  We had nearly 30 volunteers come through at our work party on March 4th, had about 40 college students on Alternative Spring Break from Penn St. and University of LaVerne come through for tours and volunteer work, and had teachers from Slide Ranch on the coast come out.  Our work and plant knowledge is being spread to youth in many places.  Much thanks to all of the hands that have helped us in the busyness of Spring!

We have two upcoming volunteer work parties  on Saturdays in April:
April 8th 10am-4pm
April 22nd (Earth Day!) 9am-4pm

On Earth Day, join us for a Volunteer Day of fruit tree planting, weeding, cleaning and more including a Super Citrus Fruit Tree Sale, a Sale of Salves and Tinctures from our gardens, a bounce house for kids, and a Kale Smoothie Pop Up.  Please bring your own Water, Pot Luck Food and Good Attitude!  We are building community as well as growing plants!

The March for Science – San Francisco celebrates public discovery, understanding, and distribution of scientific knowledge as crucial to the freedom, success, health, and safety of life on this planet. We are a nonpartisan group, marching in support of the following goals: Communication, Funding, Policy, Literacy, and Diversity.

Join the Undergraduate Workers Union to learn about the intersections of student labor and rising tuition at the #1 public university in the world! Hear about opportunties for building solidarity with students and workers across departments on the UC Berkeley campus.

Come help student workers school Cal Dining on worker justice!

#LivingWagesNOW #NoJusticeNoPizza

Dear Friends, Families and Social Justice Advocates,

Together We Stand and Open Circle – Families United For Justice is announcing a National Day of Action for Justice for Diallo Neal. We are calling on all families and coalitions to join us and the mother of Diallo Neal, Gilda Baker, as we rally for an investigation to take place.

Diallo Neal was killed in a motorcycle “accident” in October 2005 after a chase with California Highway Patrol. Five years passed before his mother, Gilda Baker, began to put together the pieces of her son’s death. Eyewitnesses came forward saying that a CHP motorbike had shoved Diallo Neal, causing the fatal accident. A private investigator’s report revealed a number of issues with an inconsistent police narrative. We believe that Diallo Neal’s death was a homicide and that an investigation needs to take place.

Please join us on April 22nd from 5-7pm(Pacific) in front of Oakland City Hall for a rally to demand justice for Diallo. We will have several speakers and will be streaming worldwide on Facebook Live as well. Leading up to our main event on Saturday the 22nd, we ask that you Join us on Tuesday, April 18th at the Oakland City Council meeting, Chamber 3, at 5:30 pm to deliver the story of Diallo Neal and ask for a criminal investigation and that the city Councilmembers come out to support our rally on the 22th.

We are so very lucky to be in the Bay Area, the home of the Black Panthers and a place with such deep roots in social justice. We ask that you come out and build an unstoppable coalition with us.

Note-
This link will take you to the flyer for our National Call to Action Action email/call campaign which will be taking place all day on April 22, 2017. We encourage everyone to share this with folks out of the area who would like to make a difference and aren’t able to attend the rally.

The last National Call to Action held by Together We Stand resulted in almost 20,000 emails in 48 hours. Let’s beat this record and get JUSTICE for DIALLO ❤

Togetherwestand.nationbuilder.com Twitter/Facebook @TWSrevolution Twstherevolution@yahoo.com 1-800-528-1084

https://www.smore.com/g503u

Many thanks on behalf of the Family of Diallo Neal, Open Circle and Together We Stand.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to to call Together We Stand at 800 528-1084 or email us Twstherevolution@yahoo.com

Please join us in a California speaking tour of front line leaders in the movement to end homelessness in America. Proceeds from the Tour will benefit the People’s Tribune, in order to finance papers for homeless and other writers to distribute so they can tell their stories.

Speakers:
.
Mike Zint – homeless leader from ‘OccupySF, founding member of ‘First they came for the homeless’ and the Poor Tour intentional tent community/action
.
Bilal Mafundi Ali –People’s Commission for Justice and the San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness
.
Silvia Hernandez– Los Angeles
.
Gena Mercer – homeless organizer, Central Valley Journey for Justice
.
Robert Aguirre – San Jose – co-founder of the grassroots organization H.O.M.E.L.E.S.S.
.
With poetry by Jack Hirschman & music [tba]

We will be ‘digging in the dirt’, providing musical entertainment, children’s activities, and seminars on several topics including “Mugwort” and “Movement Building in a Time of Resistance.” We will also serve lunch for all, created from the bounty on our farm.

🔥 Deportation Solidarity Rally
630 Sansome Street Rm 590, San Francisco, CA
Sunday, April 23, 12:00 PM
RSVP now 👇https://t.co/JM1pOscYIU pic.twitter.com/MNRGLEuyZk

— IndivisibleELCERRITO (@ECindivisible) April 23, 2017

Here’s the music lineup, with speakers interspersed:
NOON  All Nations Drummers
12:30 Yukon Hannibal
12:50 Soul
1:10 Occupella
1:30 Max Ventura
1:45 Driftwood Dave and the Drifftones
2:20 Open Mike
2:35 Michael  Delacore: Park Hisstory
2:45 Funky Nixons
3:25 Other Speakers
3:40 The Diva Band
4:20 Isaiah McLane and Friends (my grandson)
4:50 Eddie Monroe as Trump
5:15 Skank Bank
.

RSVP here.

This livestream townhall will be simulcast across 3 time zones and 6 satellite cities to engage in political “what’s next” strategies. To join the simulcast, simply download Google Hangout, then just click a link that will be posted by our Berkeley Community Media TV team.  Satellite cities of private & public gatherings include: Weston FL, Lawrence KS, Flint MI, Rockville MD, Eureka CA, with Redwood Gardens in Berkeley CA as the “hub” of the network.

Key speakers include: ACLU rep to detail their “People Power” Campaign for cities; Nurse’s Union rep to weigh in on Single Payer SB562 in CA; Sister Moreen from the Bay Area Sanctuary Covenant; a progressive healthcare exec comparing a variety of health care systems: ACA, ACA+, Single-Payer in 15 states with health care in Canada, Britian, Taiwan, Australia and France; also Organizing 101″ strategies…and music!  Bernie Sanders’ platform, Michael Moore’s “10 Things To Do List”; resistancecalendar.org…and music!

The walkaway: citizens connecting to local organizations to grow the groundswell of resistance to the current Executive Branch and promote a progressive, inclusive agenda.  Berkeley Community TV will multiplex & record the event with 4-camera mini-studio & crew.  Event opens & closes with music by the stellar octet, The Bay Area Jazz Pantheon directed by jazz mandolinist Pat Fahey & friends.

Plan a fun evening out for “Dinner and a Movie” to benefit the Oakland Greens.  Note that we are coming up to the 38th anniversary of the Sandinista Popular Revolution and April 28th will be the 30th anniversary of Ben Linder’s assassination. The movie is called “American/Sandinista” (2008) by local film maker Jason Blalock, and is a retrospective of Linder’s project twenty years after he was killed by the Contras.

Your speaker Don Macleay is featured in the film because he was the project director up until a month before Ben was assassinated.   Macleay will also be traveling to Nicaragua on the 26th to participate in the 30th anniversary in San Jose de Bocay, the town near where Linder was killed and where a hydroelectric plant bearing his name was subsequently built on the stream that he was investigating.

Join us for discussion with people who during the 1980s were there on the ground.  Doors will open at 6 p.m. and dinner will start at 6:30 p.m.  The movie will start at 7:30 p.m.  $20 is a suggested donation, but no donation is too big or small, and as always no one will be turned away for lack of funds. This is a family-friendly event and is wheel chair accessible.

Oakland Greens funds are used to print literature, help with publishing the Alameda County Green Voter Guide, and produce direct community actions with a focus on mobilizing youth to become social justice warriors/candidates/activists.

Please join us for an Art Build Monday April 24th from 4-8pm. This art build is in preparation for the general strike and May Day actions on May 1st.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1239048449465541/

This is a great way to come talk about messaging and find ways to participate in the national day of action. You don’t need art skills to come (but much appreciated!), and youth and families are welcome.

ACCESS NEEDS: This event is wheelchair accessible. If you have specific access needs, please email mobilization@surjbayarea.org, and we’ll be happy to work with you to accommodate them.

SCENT FREE: We ask that guests do their best to be as scent free as possible. Please refer to this resource from the EastBay Meditation Center for more information on what that means: https://eastbaymeditation.org/accessibility/PDF/How-to-Be-Fragrance-Free-.pdf

Tax the Rich Rallies every Monday from 5-6 pm on upper Solano in front of the Oaks Theater and the Chase Bank.

All are welcome!

Also We’ll be at  SURJ (Stand Up for Racial Justice) event that starts at the Grand Lake Theater on Saturday April 1^st from noon-1 :00 PM.

For our calendar of events, songs to download and more: www.occupella.org.

• 1
• ​.​ David Brower and the Sierra Club’s battle to halt dams in the Grand Canyon
• 2
• ​.​ Lois Gibbs and Love Canal residents’ struggle against 20,000 tons of toxic chemicals
• 3
• ​.​ Paul Watson and Greenpeace’s campaigns to save whales and baby harp seals
• 4
• ​.​ Chico Mendes and Brazilian rubbertappers’ fight to save the Amazon rainforest
• 5
• ​.​ Bill McKibben and the 25-year effort to address the impossible issue – climate change ​

Surrounding these main stories are strands like environmental justice, going back to the land, and movements of the global south such as Chipko in India and Wangari Maathai in Kenya. Vivid archival film brings it all back and insightful interviews shed light on the events and what they mean. The film, which is directed by Mark Kitchell,
​(​husband of Occupy Forum’s own Ruthie Sakheim​) offers a deeper view of environmentalism as civilizational change, bringing our industrial society into sustainable balance with nature.

Time will be allotted for Q&A, discussion and announcements.

The Oakland City Council Finance Committee will be voting on whether to allocate money for a feasibility study for the Public Bank of Oakland, or wait until the summer to take the money from next year’s budget.

Because the Bank will be able to start saving Oakland money almost from Day 1, we need the Committee to take the funding from this year’s budget, and move this project along asap. Please call the members of the Finance Committee [Noel Gallo (238-7005), Abel Guillen (-7002), Dan Kalb (-7001), and Annie Campbell Washington (-7004)] and ask them to vote YES on Agenda Item #7 on the Finance Committee Agenda for 4/25.

You can also attend the Finance Committee. meeting and testify in support.  1st floor hearing room, City Hall.

To register to speak: https://solar.oaklandnet.com/Speaker/form

Our message is Vote YES on Item #7.

Our Bank, our money!
Friends of the Public Bank of Oakland

Join me at a Community Forum on Immigrant & Refugee Rights on 4/25! Know-your-rights training, resource tables, etc. https://t.co/NzRiUT7Vpo pic.twitter.com/PWyXq3A0Gl

— Keith Carson (@Keith_Carson) April 17, 2017

Tuesday 4/25: All Out to Berkeley City Council

In an unprecedented move, the Berkeley City Council is considering fully withdrawing their  participation in Urban Shield. A decision in favor of pulling out of Urban Shield by the Berkeley City Council paves the way for other cities in the Bay Area to do the same. Join us on Tuesday to show mass opposition to Urban Shield’s war on our communities.

Can’t attend on Tuesday? Support with CALL IN DAY: Monday, April 24th,.
Call Berkeley City Council and demand that they end police militarization. Here is sample call in language and contact info:

“Dear Councilperson _________,
I am writing to urge you and all Berkeley City Council members to take leadership in putting an end to Berkeley’s engagement with the militarization of police and disaster preparedness represented by the annual Urban Shield exercises and weapons expo, funded by DHS through the Urban Areas Security Initiative. Urban Shield’s emphasis on SWAT teams as the response to emergencies – including natural disasters – as well as the extremely militarized scenarios, diminishes resources for responding to the ordinary emergencies community members face every day. Berkeley should not be participating in war games funded by the Department of Homeland Security, which involve not only nine Bay Area counties, but teams from around the United States.That is why I ask you to exercise your leadership and reject any future funding from UASI, Berkeley’s participation in Urban Shield, and to stand with Alameda County communities, and people across the country.
Regards,
_______”

CONTACT INFO FOR BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS

Map of Berkeley Council Districts

Mayor Jesse Arreguin/ (510) 981-7100/ mayor@cityofberkeley.info
District 1/Linda Miao/(510) 981-7110/  lmaio@cityofberkeley.info /
District 2/Cheryl Davila/ (510) 981-7120/ cdavila@cityofberkeley.info
District 3/  Ben Bartlett/ (510) 981-7130/  bbartlett@CityofBerkeley.info
District 4/ Kate Harrison / (510) 981-7140 /  kharrison@CityofBerkeley.info
District 5 / Sophie Hahn/ 510) 981-7150 / shahn@CityofBerkeley.info
District 6 / Susan Wengraf / (510) 981-7160 / swengraf@CityofBerkeley.info
District 7/ Kris Worthington / (510) 981-7170 / kworthington@CityofBerkeley.info
District 8/  Lori Droste / (510) 981-7180 / ldroste@CityofBerkeley.info