News

View Articles in Other Categories

On October 16, Clergy Will Speak Out Publicly Against Measure S

News
Clergy and leaders of faith communities have signed a letter opposing Berkeley Measure S, the "no sitting" law, on the November 6th ballot. Religious leaders and young people will present the letter and list of signers on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m., Berkeley Old City Hall, 2134 MLK Jr. Way.

Santa Monica Students Pepper-Sprayed for Protesting Fee Hikes

News
“It really creates segregation between the haves and the have-nots,” says Board of Trustees member Margaret Quiñones-Perez. “If you can pay, you’ll get your classes. That’s guaranteed if you have money. But if you don’t have money, you may get classes, and you may not. Community colleges were not created for this.”

One Million Students Are Homeless in America

News
For the first time in history, public schools reported more than one million homeless children. The data also shows the troubling depth of America’s housing crisis. “The severe lack of affordable housing for families has yet to be addressed, and over one million children are paying the price,” said Maria Foscarinis.

Challenging Berkeley’s Anti-Sitting Measure

News
Elisa Della-Piana, director of the Neighborhood Justice Clinic in Berkeley decried the anti-sitting measure as punitive. “It will achieve nothing except create division in the community,” she said. “Enforcement of the ordinance would keep people homeless and create criminal records that could prevent them from getting housing or jobs.”

Thousands March in May Day Protests in Oakland

News
More than 5,000 protesters marched in Oakland on May Day to call for economic justice, full human rights for immigrants and poor people, and to demand an end to corporate greed and bank bail-outs. Demonstrators represented Occupy Oakland, immigrant rights organizations, anti-war activists, faith groups and labor unions.

Massive Protest at Wells Fargo Exposes Corporate Misconduct of Big Banks

News
Thousands of marchers protested the unjust gap between rich and poor by nonviolently disrupting Wells Fargo’s shareholders meeting in San Francisco. They confronted bank executives about Wells Fargo’s role in the country’s financial crisis, the high number of foreclosures that reduce families to homelessness, and the bank’s investment in private prisons.

Berkeley City Council Moves to Privatize Public Housing

News
“The city and BHA promised to keep its public housing permanent to receive special funding from HUD to build housing for the poor. Now they are breaking their promise to current and future generations of the poor, who desperately need low-income housing to remain in their communities.” – James Vann

Young Artists Crusade for Healthier Communities

News
The beautiful mural created by the young artists of Youth Spirit Artworks promotes healthy living and exposes the huge disparity between the health and lifespan of low-income and wealthier residents in Berkeley. The mural makes a strong statement about social justice by showing how poverty jeopardizes public health.

Occupy Activists Condemn Abuses at San Quentin Prison

News
The Occupy movement joined with prison reform groups to uphold the rights of prisoners whose suffering is concealed behind the concrete walls of California’s vast prison system. The demonstration was held to expose prison abuses and to bear witness on behalf of the multitudes behind bars excluded from our democracy.

Liberated Ads Confront the Foreclosure Crisis

News
The corrected ads were released just prior to the nonviolent shut down of San Francisco’s Financial District on January 20 by Occupy SF. January 20 also marks the one-year anniversary of the controversial Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted First Amendment protection to corporate political expenditures.

UC Bulldozes Community Garden in People’s Park

News   Poetry
Bulldozers destroyed huge numbers of healthy plants and trees at People’s Park in Berkeley on December 18, carrying out the orders of University of California officials. The bulldozers destroyed all the plants and flowers that had been carefully tended for decades by volunteer gardeners, leaving behind stripped earth.