Memorial to Billy 'Guero' Sell, dead while taking part in California Prisoner Hunger Strike for Human Rights

Statewide Prisoner Hunger Strike to Stop Torture, Long-Term Isolation & Indefinite Solitary Confinement in Prisons [link]

Anonymous commentator said...
I wonder how the cellmate Sell murdered in 2007 would respond to this story.....Karma? I do not think it is fair to paint this man, as a "victim"..when he showed no passion for his attempted murder years ago..and then for his victim and cell mate he murdered in 2007....I could care less about his art work.
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Northbay MDS replies:
Ah. Well, your comment "sets the record straight". As this project of recording various campaigns is being made by an individual, I support all efforts by the public to set the record straight with corrections or further information. Of course, the Human Rights abuse in California prisons is prevalent, and that's the real issue. If prisons were meant to be like an old Soviet GULAG, then there's no reason to think the USA is freedom loving. But if our prisons were meant to be better than a GULAG, than this is why these stories are being posted, to act as the watchful eyes for freedom against tyranny. Yes, I live amongst criminals here in this so-called "ghetto" in Vallejo's hillside, and I am cold in my heart having seen so much death and sex-slavery and deadly actions against our neighbors, but even I know that Human Rights abuse is evil, despite it occurring against a convicted violent criminal, abuse which makes his already bad character worse. The lesson here is, we live in California, and we shouldn't have to stand for conditions which are similar to dictatorships, even in our prisons, or we lose as a culture!

Drawing by an unknown prisoner


2013-07-27 "Prisoner in Corcoran SHU dies while on hunger strike; Fellow prisoners mourn, advocates raise questions about his death"
by Isaac Ontiveros, Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition [http://sfbayview.com/2013/prisoner-in-corcoran-shu-dies-while-on-hunger-strike-2/]:
Isaac Ontiveros of Critical Resistance, a national grassroots organization working to abolish the prison industrial complex, is a spokesperson for the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity coalition. He can be reached at (510) 444-0484 or isaac@criticalresistance.org.
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Oakand – Mediators working on behalf of hunger striking prisoners have received disturbing news that Billy Sell, known to his friends as Guero, died while on strike at Corcoran State Prison Security Housing Unit (SHU) on Monday, July 22. His death is being ruled a suicide by prison officials.
Fellow prisoners have reported that Sell was participating in California’s massive statewide hunger strike – now in its 20th day. They further reported that Sell had been requesting medical attention for several days prior to his death.
They described Sell as “strong, a good person” and openly questioned the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR) ruling his death a suicide, saying it was “completely out of character for him.”
Advocates are outraged at Sell’s death, noting that it could have been prevented if CDCR had negotiated with strikers.
Mediators are working to get further accurate information and accountability from the CDCR. “This story is deeply troubling and contradicts the assurances that the hunger-striking prisoners are receiving about appropriate medical care,” says Ron Ahnen of California Prison Focus and the mediation team representing striking prisoners.
Mediators have made an official inquiry to the federal receiver overseeing California’s prisons. This report comes amid growing concern for the medical care strikers are receiving, along with continued condemnation of the CDCR’s response to the strike and Gov. Brown’s total silence on the issue.
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Bayview Newspaper Editor’s note: This very tragic news is of the first known death of a participant in the 2013 hunger strike. According to the person who first reported it and who spoke with several of his fellow prisoners, Billy Michael “Guero” Sell, CDCr No. P-41250, age 32, was housed in 4B-3L of the Corcorcan SHU, had not been under mental health care and had been going without water as well as food.
The prisoners reportedly described him as “strong, a good person, a good soldier” and concluded that “Billy died because of the hunger strike.” He is said to be from Riverside, but supporters have not yet been able to locate and talk with his family. The Bay View sends condolences to everyone who was Billy’s friend, comrade, fellow prisoner or family member.
This preventable death compels us all to push Gov. Jerry Brown harder to meet the prisoners’ demands and end the hunger strike before we lose any more of these brave freedom fighters. Billy “Guero” Sell’s life mattered.
Call Gov. Brown at (916) 445-2841, email him via http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php, fax him at (916) 558-3160 or write him at Gov. Jerry Brown, State Capitol, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814.


PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE ALERT! (Week of July 29-August 4, 2013)
"Man Down!" That's the cry prisoners shout to the guards when a man needs immediate medical attention. The guards at Corcoran State Prison did not respond to the cry, and hunger striker Billy 'Guero' Sell died on July 22, 2013.
The Corcoran prison officials allege that Billy Sell committed suicide.
Prisoners tell a very different story...
"Man Down!" shouted hunger strikers to the guards in San Quentin's notorious prison within a prison, the solitary confinement Adjustment Center on Death Row. Four of the hunger strikers were not drinking water, as well as refusing all food.
Fortunately, these Adjustment Center prisoners are still alive. But, to this day, the Warden has not met with the hunger strikers to address their just demands.
In this fourth week of the hunger strike, even people with strong bodies and strong spirits will be in need of immediate medical monitoring. We do not want anyone else to die!
Please send this message to the prison officials (listed below):
*** I URGE YOU TO MEET WITH THE HUNGER STRIKERS NOW and ADDRESS THEIR JUST DEMANDS.
*** I DEMAND IMMEDIATE MEDICAL MONITORING FOR ALL HUNGER STRIKERS.
*** I DO NOT WANT ANY MORE HUNGER STRIKERS TO DIE!
1. To Warden Connie Gipson at Corcoran Prison:
phone: 559-992-8800 ext. 5008
email: Connie.Gipson@cdcr.ca.gov

2. To Warden Kevin Chappell at San Quentin Prison:
phone: 415-455-5000
email: Kevin.Chappell@cdcr.ca.gov

3. To CDCR Secretary Jeffrey Beard:
phone: 916-323-6001
fax: 916-442-2637

To keep up to date on the hunger strike, sign up for the daily list serve at
[www.prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com].

Send your love, solidarity and some postage stamps to a hunger striker:
Mr. Carlos Argueta F-63367;
Ca. State Prison - San Quentin 3AC - 15- N;
San Quentin, CA 94974

Thank you,
PHSS Pledge of Alert work group

See the beautiful artwork of Billy 'Guero' Sell, the prisoner who was hunger striking in Corcoran and died July 22, 2013 at age 32. Here is the link: [https://app.box.com/s/u2jzarb3mhowidpi0iwc]

"Right On!" Raven Resists The "Take Back Santa Cruz" Terrorism Tide

Defend those without homes! campaign page [link]
Santa Cruz is attacking houseless people [link]NOTES BY NORSE: Take Back Santa Cruz is a small but influential group of bigots who have acquired a substantial following by blaming homeless people for improper needle disposal, "illegal" camping, and the presence of homeless people in public places. Raven does not specifically name them as the harassing group, but other homeless people report being accosted and ostentatiously surveilled by self-identified TBSC members. Raven, who writes for and vends Street Spirit, a monthly homeless newspaper, is an activist with HUFF as well as Occupy Santa Cruz and other groups. She is also a street masseuse, recently harassed by the SCPD for offering massage for donation on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz. Please report and publicize any problems with police, hosts, security thugs, etc. by contacting HUFF at 831-423-HUFF {4833) or posting an account on [www.indybay.org/santacruz].

2013-07-26 "A Homeless Woman Stands Up for Free Speech and Freedom of the Press" 
by Raven [http://www.thestreetspirit.org/a-homeless-woman-stands-up-for-free-speech-and-freedom-of-the-press/]:
Those of us out on the streets, who are fighting for our lives, are at the heart of what this country stands for — the right to be “We the People.” We are the reason this country exists. It was on our backs that the 1% built their empires, with our hard labor, blood, sweat and tears.
Fifteen years ago, I found myself homeless, and living in San Francisco. I was pretty traumatized after a bad relationship that left me with a concussion and living in a women’s shelter. After three months there, they helped me find an elderly woman to live with, who threw me out after I gave her a month’s notice. She was pretty verbally vicious and I couldn’t stand her anymore.
But after a month, I still hadn’t found another place and was left with nothing, so I went to the welfare office where I had seen a box on one of the forms that asked if I had a place to stay that night. I checked no. They set me up in an SRO (single room occupancy) hotel and paid the owners directly. At last I had a room to myself!
But it wasn’t long till I had people knocking on my door. I was petrified to walk down the hallway there. I wasn’t used to being or thinking of myself as homeless. But that was when I became aware that I was indeed considered legally homeless.
Like most people, I ignored the guys out on the streets selling Street Sheet. It just looked like another form of panhandling to me. I will never beg on the streets and I will not support people begging out on the streets with signs that say they need money for this or that. There are too many ways to make money without begging for it.
Busking is another situation altogether. If I am entertained, or can see someone making an effort to give something for what they are getting, then it’s busking, vending or bartering, at least, not just straight-up begging. I haven’t begged on the street since I was about 5 years old. I considered it gauche at best, and uncivilized and immature at worst. But that’s just this homeless person’s opinion. I realize not everyone will agree with me.
But my opinion of the guys who sell newspapers about homelessness issues has changed a lot in the last year. Over time, I don’t know when, I became aware that the money they made from selling Street Sheet and Street Spirit went straight to them, and it helped with paying their rent on their SRO hotel rooms, or maybe it just gave them a little pocket money to buy cigarettes, gum, etc.
Most of the guys with enough presence of mind to sell these papers aren’t using drugs. They’re just trying to survive, from what I’ve seen. But they are also promoting awareness of the issues that surround homelessness. They are activists in the truest sense of the word.
A year ago, I moved to Oregon and became very involved with the Occupy movement in my local town, a smallish city with very little in the way of homeless services. Like many small cities, they had a habit of sending their homeless folks off to the nearest larger city, expecting them to take advantage of the already overextended services there.
The local homeless population had something that I haven’t seen much anywhere in California — they had a sense of community. Within the Occupy movement, there was a fine young couple that, with their combined journalism experience, took on the task of creating a Free Press newspaper.
It was awesome to see the paper get printed and reclaim freedom of the press as well as free speech. In time, they decided it was more useful to turn the paper into something that the local homeless population could sell, just like Street Sheet and Street Spirit in the Bay Area, not to mention what is sold in Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
Using these larger cities as their models, they finally came out with their first issue, renaming it as they changed from a free newspaper to a paper oriented towards supporting a particular purpose.
I was very proud to be a part of that process. I was proud to watch it grow and evolve. I was proud to see people standing up for free speech and freedom of the press, let alone raising awareness about homelessness.
And now that I’m back down in the Bay Area, I am proud to have connected up with the homeless activists here and to be selling Street Spirits so I can raise a little gas money for myself. It took me over a decade to accept that I have been homeless off and on, to some degree or another, most of my adult life. I’ve never been forced to sleep outdoors, but I have slept in my truck when it was more comfortable than the couch I was being offered.
And right before the Santa Cruz earthquake (Loma Prieta in 1989), I was sleeping in a tent in someone’s backyard for a month. It was like having my own bedroom outdoors. But it never occurred to me to be a homelessness activist till now.
When I moved back to the Bay Area recently, I had already made up my mind to sell newspapers because of my experience in Oregon with Occupy, but it had been a passive decision up until the night I was handed my first bunch of Street Spirits.
I hadn’t even sold one paper yet. I’d just been handed a bunch of them by another activist who saw my enthusiasm to sell them and recognized my need for some cash. It just so happened that this took place at a City Council meeting. I had them in my hand and was feeling good about it, not hawking or being pushy, just letting people see them in my hand.
A man started giving me odd looks. I couldn’t tell if he was curious or scornful. I smiled and sort of nonchalantly waved them in his direction. Not a big gesture, just offering. He finally found the courage to ask me what I hoped to accomplish, something that I hadn’t had a chance to think about yet.
At the time I told him I just wanted to try and hear what the City Council was saying, that I wasn’t trying to accomplish anything else.
He started asking me all sorts of personal questions. I felt a bit violated, as I didn’t think it was the appropriate time or place for him to be asking such questions. This was a council meeting, not a forum on homelessness. Would you walk up to a stranger on the street and ask them why they were selling something? Who was he, a complete stranger, to question my right to sell anything?
I wasn’t being loud, obnoxious or pushy! He asked me where I came from. I told him I’d been homeless in Santa Cruz before, in San Francisco and Petaluma, not to mention Oregon. He asked me why I didn’t go somewhere where there were services. I told him he obviously didn’t understand how the cycle of homelessness worked! He finally walked away and left me alone.
But he helped to inspire me to be an activist, to be an advocate for myself and other homeless people. He clarified for me why it is important to raise the awareness of the general public around homelessness issues. He also clarified my reasons for wanting to stand up for free speech and freedom of the press. Those of us out on the streets, who are fighting for our lives, are at the heart of what this country stands for — the right to be “We the People.”
We are the reason this country exists. It was on our backs that the 1% built their empires, with our hard labor, blood, sweat and tears. It was our blood they shed in the streets when they try to break the unions. It is our protests that go unheard as we try to survive.
So now, I go out and proudly sell newspapers, hoping to enlighten oh so many people with their bourgeois attitudes. Who make less money and have more credit than they understand what to do with, and think that this makes them better than me.
They never understand that they have little more than I do, and some of what they have is owed to me, as I, just as they, are part of the Commons, and what they have is taken directly from the Commons.
They don’t understand that the 1% thinks it has the right to dole out what is taken from the commons and to decide who gets what. These people who pass me on the street and turn their noses up at me — they don’t understand that this is my choice, not a hardship. It is my right to exercise my First Amendment rights. It’s taken me a long time to come to this understanding, but I’m proud to be doing it.

Sonoma County Solidarity Network defends low-income residents from inhumane evictions at Hotel Petaluma

[socosolidarity.net] [socosolidarity (@gmail.com] [707-595-0136]

2013-07-25 update from Carl P.:
I just wanted to briefly share a great piece of news I received yesterday from a former tenant at the Hotel Petaluma. As you may remember, Orrin Hart, who was a disabled military veteran living at the hotel, was one of the few remaining tenants after the eviction date passed in April. Orrin is in a wheelchair, has no source of income and could not find housing in Sonoma County. Instead of sympathizing with Orrin or helping him find a place, Terence Andrews filed an "unlawful detainer" lawsuit against him, the beginnings of forcible eviction proceedings (that can also harm your credit and ability to rent in the future). One of the last things that the Solidarity Network did before ending this campaign was to help Orrin file an appeal in court, which would delay the eviction by at least a month and would also cost Andrews several thousand dollars. However, this was mostly just a stalling tactic; in all likelihood Orrin would lose his appeal, be forced out and would have a lawsuit on his record. But it did buy him some time. We also organized phone blasts to Andrews' cell phone, where dozens of our supporters called him and demanded he drop the case. So, I just got a call from Orrin yesterday saying that the judge threw out the unlawful detainer and is forcing Andrews to pay him compensation for the case, as well as return his rental deposit (which he wouldn't have gotten back if the lawsuit was successful)! I just wanted to thank everyone again who participated in one way or another in the Hotel Petaluma fight. Although we weren't totally successful, without our efforts these tenants would have had to face this whole situation alone and several of them would be in much more dire conditions than they are currently. Solidarity gets the goods!


2013-04-17 update from the "Sonoma County Solidarity Network" (more info at [northbayuprising.blogspot.com/2013/02/sonoma-county-solidarity-network.html]:
Terence Andrews threatens disabled military veteran! Please take action now!
 Yesterday, we received a call from Orrin Hart, a long-time resident of the Hotel Petaluma. Orrin served in the National Guard for 14 years and must use a wheelchair because of work-related injuries. Orrin has been desperately searching for a place to live and has had no luck. Instead of negotiating an extension with Orrin, yesterday hotel owner Terence Andrews told Orrin that if he was not out by Tuesday he would file a lawsuit to forcibly evict him from his room. Andrews also threatened to place a restraining order on Orrin's caretaker if he tried to enter the building.
 Orrin recently had an operation on his knees and is currently suffering a bad reaction from it, and is in extreme pain. We are asking Terence Andrews to show some shred of compassion for this man and refrain from taking legal action against Orrin.
 PLEASE call or text Terence Andrews right now and demand that he negotiate an extension with Orrin until he can find re-location. 415-505-1924.
 Furthermore, we are in need of a more serious response from the community if these legal proceedings go forward. Let's form a team of people who are willing to commit nonviolent civil disobedience in the event that Andrews refuses to negotiate. What do you say?
 You can email socosolidarity@gmail.com if you are interested, or call me at 707-338-5318.
Let's keep the struggle for justice going!
The Solidarity Network meets Thursday, 2013-04-18 at 7pm at KBBF studios, 1300 N. Dutton Ave., Santa Rosa. Please join us as we continue to take direct action to fight back against slumlords, and to reclaim stolen wages for workers, among many other things. All are welcome!



Message from member of "Sonoma County Solidarity Network" at their facebook page:
Hotel Petaluma residents, mostly low-income and older folks, first got an illegal rent increase last December, then just received eviction notices in February, so that the rich asshole who bought the place can turn it into an upscale hotel. He wasn't betting on the residents, and their friends in the Solidarity Network, fighting back. If you want to join in the fight to protect Hotel Petaluma and its nearly 100 residents from being put out on the street, come check out the Solidarity Network, Thursday night at 7pm at 467 Sebastopol Ave. And stay tuned!
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Update from Carl P.:
A little history: Terence Andrews bought the building, tried to raise rents an illegally high amount and was called out on it and forced to only raise them the legally-highest amount, 10%. He then said he would NOT be kicking people out (all the while knowing that that's exactly what he intended to do). Two months later, the tenants get an eviction notice. So, he raised rents on people for no justifiable reason other than to extract that extra bit of wealth from a bunch of mostly poor, elderly residents. There is no religion or moral creed on earth that could justify this sort of behavior. It is mean, and it is wrong. Putting poor people out on the streets, cheating them, coming up with phony excuses for not returning peoples' rental deposits (this is happening, despite its non-inclusion in the article), this is not the kind of thing we ought to encourage in our town. Everyone wants to complain about homelessness and crime, but then they don't even have the moral fortitude to stand up when a group of people are about to be made homeless and severely poor just because the whims of some wealthy Marin-ite.

Update 2013-03-26 from Carl P.:
great news! Ruth Bird, who we have been working with in this campaign, just found out that the "unlawful detainer" issued against her has been thrown out, after pressure from our picket last week and the counter-motion we filed in the courts. Ruth is now able to move on from the horrible ordeal of being evicted from her home of 13 years, without having to worry about having an eviction on her record.
Solidarity gets the goods!


2013-03-26 "Public Meeting to Defend Hotel Petaluma"
Tuesday, 6:00pm
The 100+ residents of the Hotel Petaluma are being evicted so that its new owner, Terence Andrews, can turn it into a hotel for tourists. He is offering no assistance to the tenants, many of whom are elderly and disabled. The Hotel Petaluma Tenants Committee has formed to resist this injustice and we need your help!
 We demand:
1.) Re-location assistance for all tenants
2.) The return of our rental deposits
3.) Residents who wish to remain will be allowed
The Hotel Petaluma Tenants Committee is part of the Sonoma County Solidarity Network. If you are having problems with your employer or landlord, please call us: 707-595-0136. www.socosolidarity.net
 #DefendHotelPetaluma.
 No One Gets Put Out. Period.
 *We will meet in the social hall at St. Vincent Church, which is located on the corner of Howard and Western. 35 Liberty St, Petaluma
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2013-03-18 Update: The struggle continues: most tenants of Hotel Petaluma have moved out, but we are collecting as many names as possible to follow-up and make sure everyone receives their rental deposits back, as well as $1,000 in re-location assistance. Even for people who have found a new place to live, most have had to pay hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars to move, put down rent, pay a new deposit, etc.
 We are already hearing of some tenants not receiving their deposits for bogus reasons (example: Ruth re-modeled her room....she's lived their for 13 years. Even though the Hotel is being re-modeled entirely, the owner refuses to give back the deposit, saying the room has been "destroyed").
 Today we are filing motions to stop Ruth's forceful eviction. Terence Andrews has refused to negotiate with Ruth in good faith. There will most likely be pickets in front of the hotel this week. Can you join us?
 Stay tuned...
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2013-03-13 Update: Well, one demand got met. We received confirmation from Terence Andrews that rental deposits will be returned (of course, if we hear otherwise, we'll pursue it).
 Please tell your friends about this public meeting and invite them. Also, everyone is welcome to attend the Sonoma County Solidarity Network weekly meetings, Thursday at 7pm, 467 Sebastopol Ave., in Santa Rosa.


Note from "So.Co. Solidarity Network": Here is a much worse article from the Argus Courier. a.) this reporter wasn't at the picket. b.) he didn't interview any tenants, and c.) the majority of the article focuses on the director of Petaluma Peoples Services justifying the gentrification of Petaluma and making it seem like a step up for tenants (again, if they had interviewed any tenants, they would've gotten a different picture).
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2013-03-21 "Tenants picket for concessions at Hotel Petaluma" by Liam Nelson from "Argus-Courier [http://petaluma360.com/article/20130321/COMMUNITY/130329924/1362/community]
Residents of Hotel Petaluma are pondering a variety of outcomes as the hotel's owners pursue a change from single occupancy room leasing to a more traditional hotel rental policy.
While many residents have found new housing, and others have opted to stay on under the new, costlier nightly rates, some occupants haven't yet arrived at a plan of action. One group, Sonoma County Solidarity Network, is organizing protests, such as a picket held Wednesday, while another, the community based human services provider Petaluma People Services Center (PPSC), has been helping residents to understand their rights and options under the law.
According to Elece Hempel, Executive Director of PPSC, “every situation has to be approached on a case by case basis.”
PPSC runs the renter's rights program for Sonoma County and has been involved in housing issues at the hotel on a number of occasions. In fact, Hempel said, the hotel's current owner, Terry Andrews, received landlord education and information from PPSC Housing Specialists after he purchased the historic but rundown hotel in October. PPSC offers classes to landlords that cover “what's fair, and just, and how to follow the rules,” explained Hempel.
“Most landlords don't like to be told what to do,” Hempel added, “but we explain to them the ramifications of not complying with the law and they usually see the benefits of working within that framework.” According to Hempel, Andrews was no exception.
PPSC staff has made several trips to meet with residents of the hotel to help them understand their options. Some residents qualify for low-income housing, but many do not. PPSC also offers a rental assistance program, providing first and last months rents for those who qualify. So far, said Hempel, “only a handful of the hotel residents have come in to apply.”
PPSC has also referred several residents to PEP Housing, a nonprofit dedicated to providing quality affordable housing. So far, PEP has only had a few inquiries.
Some of the residents are already dealing with health or financial issues, Hempel explains, and the 30- and 60-day notices to vacate they received from hotel management only compounded those existing challenges.
In one case, PPSC is helping a resident by recruiting volunteers to help him move his belongings into new housing and coordinating with Joseph Rye of Petaluma Transit to help facilitate transportation to medical appointments in Napa using existing paratransit programs.
Meanwhile, Carl Patrick of the Sonoma County Solidarity Network (SCSN), a workers and tenants rights group connected with Occupy Santa Rosa, says the group got involved when tenants reached out in late February.
Patrick's group has organized a public meeting on March 26th at St. Vincent Church at 6 p.m. According to Patrick, the group hopes to “form a 'Solidarity Committee' to organize actions and public pressure” against the hotel owners to meet the group's demands. Those demands include re-location assistance for all tenants being evicted (which they estimate at $1,000 per tenant) as well as the return of rental deposits, and for residents who wish to remain in the hotel to be allowed to do so at their old rental rates.
They also held a picket demonstration in front of the hotel on Wednesday.
According to Hempel, the hotel has thus far met or exceeded the legal requirements, returning tenants' deposits as they vacate, yet Patrick expressed skepticism on this point stating, “we heard from many tenants that they did not expect to receive their deposits back.”
Jessica Andrews, hotel marketing manager and daughter of Terry Andrews, refuted this, saying that the hotel is returning deposits as it goes through rooms after tenants have moved out, often earlier than the 21 days required by law.
Additionally, Jessica Andrews pointed out that “tenants are staying on who have agreed to the new [more expensive] rates,” adding that these rates reflect new and improved amenities. Andrews added that they were glad to have long-term residents stay on, since she feels they contribute to the hotel community.
Regarding the planned protest, Andrews was unmoved, but accepting. “That's fine, they have their right to free speech, but we're not changing our stance,” she said. “... we're not upending peoples lives, but trying to improve their living conditions.”
Meanwhile, PPSC is continuing to help displaced residents pursue other housing arrangements.
“My goal is for the residents to be able to live happily,” Hempel explained, “in a new place where they actively want to be.”
“Some of those who have moved have been delighted by the change, because they hadn't realized how many compromises they were making by living in the hotel,” she added.
Hempel encouraged tenants or anyone wishing to help a tenant to contact PPSC at 765-8488.


2013-03-20 "Picket seeks concessions for Hotel Petaluma tenants"
by Lori Carter from "The Santa Rosa Press Democrat" [http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130320/ARTICLES/130329950/1350]:
Picketers including Petaluma Hotel resident Tom Brackett, right, stand in front of the Petaluma Hotel to protest the new owners' eviction of tenants to turn the hotel back into an overnight hotel. (Photo by SCOTT MANCHESTER / The Press Democrat)

A handful of protesters picketed in front of Hotel Petaluma on Wednesday, calling for financial assistance for tenants of the building, which is being converted from low-cost apartments back to overnight hotel rooms.
One resident and about a dozen activists from Occupy Petaluma and the Sonoma County Solidarity Network, an offshoot of Occupy Santa Rosa, stood in the rain at lunchtime with brightly colored signs urging support.
Resident Tom Brackett has lived at Hotel Petaluma for more than 8 years, paying $613 a month for a room with a shared bathroom down the hall. He has until April 15 to move.
"I want him to delay the evictions," he said Wednesday. "Give 'em some space."
Brackett is on a waiting list at another site, but said it's been mentally difficult to move from a place he's loved. Hotel Petaluma is convenient to downtown and the Petaluma Market, where he said he enjoys the fresh food choices.
Terry Andrews of Marin County bought the former single-room occupancy residence in October after the previous owner lost the 1923 building to his lender. Last month, Andrews issued notices to the 104 tenants that he would be returning the building to its roots as a traditional hotel.
Most renters have moved out, Andrews said. A few have leases until April 15.
A few tenants sought help from Occupy activists, who hope to raise awareness of the low-income residents' situation. Last week, the group issued "demands" of Andrews for financial assistance, guaranteed deposit returns and an agreement that tenants could remain if they wished at their current rent.
Andrews said some tenants have agreed to remain as "extended-stay renters," who pay slightly more than their current rent but cannot bring in their own furniture and can't stay more than a few weeks at a time in the same room.
Holding a sign reading "Let them be," Occupy Petaluma activist Jude Mion said Andrews "doesn't need to be making more money, doesn't need to be greedy" at the expense of low-income tenants.
"He should lend a helping hand to Petaluma," she said, "not come up from Marin with his Marin bucks and gentrify us."
A community meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m. March 26 at St.Vincent de Paul Catholic Church for residents who want to support the tenants, Patrick said.


2013-03-18 "Activists pressing demands to help Hotel Petaluma tenants"
by Lori Carter from "The Santa Rosa Press Democrat" [http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130318/ARTICLES/130319517/1350]:
Low-income tenants facing eviction from Hotel Petaluma have turned to Occupy activists to press their demands for assistance.
The former single-room occupancy residence changed hands in October after the previous owner lost the 1923 building to his lender. The new owner, Terry Andrews of Marin County, initially said he planned only to renovate the building.
But last month, he decided to return the Petaluma to its roots as a traditional hotel, issuing eviction notices to the 104 tenants.
Although not officially low-income housing, the hotel has traditionally housed tenants of lesser means. The small rooms, which have no kitchens, have rented from $200 to $795 a month. Many share bathrooms.
Some tenants lived there short term, while others stayed for years. With little management oversight, the hotel gained a reputation for having a dodgy clientele.
An Occupy Santa Rosa offshoot called Sonoma County Solidarity Network delivered to Andrews last week a "list of demands" that seeks relocation funds, the guaranteed return of rental deposits and the option for tenants to stay at the hotel at their current rent.
The activists are planning to picket in front of the hotel Wednesday at noon.
Andrews said he is complying with all laws in asking the tenants to leave. He said his staff is issuing the return of most deposits the same day the tenants move out, earlier than the law requires.
About 15 or 20 tenants are represented by the Solidarity Network, group spokesman Carl Patrick said.
He didn't dispute Andrews' assertion that he is acting lawfully. But he said Andrews should do more.
"He's upending people's lives and he doesn't have to," Patrick said. "He's doing it to gentrify downtown Petaluma and to try to make a killing off this building that has been people's homes forever. It's the responsible thing to do."
Patrick said if Andrews doesn't pony up with financial assistance, "he's going to be single-handedly responsible for worsening poverty. . . . It's the least he could do as a wealthy man, to provide some kind of assistance. It would be irresponsible not do that."
Andrews said he met with Solidarity Network representatives and those from the city last week to determine what assistance may be available to the tenants. Petaluma People Services Center has already helped some tenants move into newer, subsidized housing.
Andrews said he doesn't feel obligated to find -- or foot the bill for -- the tenants' new residences or to allow them to continue living there beyond their eviction dates, the last of which are set for April 15.
The demands may buy the tenants legal leverage, Patrick acknowledged. He said Andrews may be more amenable to spending money up front than to bother with the time, hassle and expense of going through legal proceedings to forcibly evict tenants who refuse to leave.
"Some people don't feel like they should have to move," he said. "They didn't do anything wrong. They've been paying more money (in higher rents) for no reason, other than to make Terrance more money for himself."
Some rooms at the hotel have already been converted to daily rentals that book for $65 to $90 a night. Andrews said he plans to renovate all the rooms by this summer. He also plans to open a bakery in a space currently occupied by a nail salon on the ground floor.
A community meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m. March 26 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church for residents who want to support the tenants, Patrick said.


2013-03-12 "The Battle Over Hotel Petaluma and the formation of the Hotel Petaluma Tenants Committee" by "Sonoma County Solidarity Network" [http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/03/12/18733495.php]:
The low-income tenants of the Hotel Petaluma are facing eviction. The Sonoma County Solidarity Network is helping them fight back.
 For decades the Hotel Petaluma has served as one of the few, if not only, single-room occupancy buildings for low-income residents in this always-growing northern Californian suburb. Built in 1923, the Hotel contains over 100 units, some of which cost as little as $200 a month to rent. The Hotel has faced several ownership changes over the last decade, and was foreclosed on in 2011. Last year, Marin County property mogul Terence Andrews acquired the building and immediately raised rents by 10%. As the Bohemian recently reported, in December he told the Press Democrat “we’re not throwing people out.”
 That promise seems to have been hollow.
 Last month residents received 30-day eviction notices, while some of the longer-term residents (some have been there for upwards of 25 years) have been given until April 15th to vacate. Andrews intends on converting the old building and re-opening it as a nightly hotel charging $90 a night. He is also evicting several of the small-businesses (by refusing to renew their leases at the end of the year) on the ground level. As an apparent response to these announcements, the Hotel’s office windows were recently smashed by a disgruntled citizen.
 Not long after the eviction notices went out, several tenants contacted the Sonoma County Solidarity Network for support. We set up a few meetings with the tenants, and helped them canvass the building to find other tenants willing to stand up against the slumlord Terence Andrews. We decided to form an ad-hoc Tenants Committee and draft a demand letter to Andrews, which reads:
[begin letter]
 Dear Mr. Andrews,
 As the organized tenants of Hotel Petaluma, we respectfully respond to your eviction notices by issuing the following demands:
 1.) Before complying with any eviction, we demand adequate re-location assistance. This can take the form of monetary compensation for finding a new residence, or through the securing of other housing prior to the date of eviction.
 2.) Every tenant who is vacating shall receive their rental deposit. Due to the proposed renovations to the rooms and to the hotel in general, we do not accept claims that tenants who have minor wear and tear on their rooms do not have a right to their deposit.
 3.) Those tenants who wish to remain will be allowed to stay and continue to pay their monthly rent at current levels.
 Please respond to these demands as soon as possible, or further action will be taken.
[end letter]
 The overwhelming majority of Hotel Petaluma tenants are seniors and many are disabled or faced with mental health issues. Public housing is sparse in Petaluma, and rents have only gotten higher in the last few years as major property companies seek to “re-vitalize” downtown with expensive lofts and restaurants. One of the only other affordable housing complexes, the Greenbriar Apartments, is also currently being evicted to make way for more luxurious units. Yet so far the only assistance that Terence Andrews has offered to tenants is to post Craigslist ads for apartments in the office window.
 The process of organizing tenants at Hotel Petaluma has been difficult, as many feel isolated, alone, and hopeless. Legally, there is very little recourse in these situations, except to delay the eviction as long as possible and make it costlier for the landlord to evict than to give in to our demands. This campaign would not be possible without the leadership and ferocity of some of the longer-term tenants, who at the campaigns outset (last week) would say things like “I’m not an organizer. I don’t have time.” Yet now they are taking the lead in canvassing their building, recruiting supporters, doing research, and developing contact lists of all the tenants, and helping us to formulate strategy.
 While the Tenants Committee (comprised of a few dedicated individuals) is organizing inside the hotel and receiving near unanimous support from the tenants, the Solidarity Network is beginning to develop the community support that will be necessary to sustain the fight against the landlord from the outside. We are developing a legal team, talking with the press, and making contacts with city officials. Our first action will be a large Public Meeting on Tuesday, March 26th at St. Vincent Church (corner of Howard and Western). Here we will form the Solidarity Committee, form Working Groups, and hopefully come out with a concrete plan to delay or stop the eviction, and win the crucial demands that will help tenants land on their feet if indeed the eviction goes through.
 Together we are slowly building the base for collective action, among a group of tenants who had before felt completely alone and isolated. Through this collective action, we can see the low-income tenants of Hotel Petaluma beginning to realize their own power and their own capacity to win and seek concessions from millionaire property owners. Whatever the outcome of this struggle, we are demonstrating that Petaluma will not be gentrified without a fight, and that the combined forces of poor tenants, with radical working-class organizers and broader community support can prove a serious threat to the bourgeois conquerors of this town, which many of us have called home for our entire lives. We are raising the stakes and we will make it costly for any slumlord to extract his profits from our small town.
 We will keep our community updated on the developments of this campaign, which seems to change its character from day to day. Please consider supporting this campaign in one way or another, either by coming to our public meeting, or by spreading the word and forwarding this article.
 If you are having a problem with your landlord or employer, please contact the Solidarity Network, 595-0136. socosolidarity [at] gmail.com
http://www.socosolidarity.net


2013-02-27 "Hotel Hubbub"
by Gabe Meline from "Northbay Bohemian" [http://www.bohemian.com/northbay/hotel-hubbub/Content?oid=2411187]:
Depending on whom you ask, the Hotel Petaluma has either been an important safety net for residents on fixed incomes or a flophouse for drug users and ne'er-do-wells. But last week, the building's new owner, Terry Andrews, decided it would be neither. Residents received 30-day eviction notices, with some of the longer-term residents allowed to stay until April 15.
Andrews' plan is to refurbish the building, built in 1923, to its former glory, and reopen it as a nightly hotel charging $65–$90 a night. (For many rooms, the bathroom is down the hall.) The city will stand to gain hotel tax, while some note, correctly, that downtown Petaluma could use more hotel rooms.
Others are not so swayed. "There are people here who are handicapped and have been here for 10 years, 15 years, and they have to leave," says resident Mark Perdue. "There're gonna be a lot of homeless people in a couple months outside in the streets of Petaluma."
Street-level retail owners are worried, too. Vinh Pham, 46, has operated T&T Nail Salon on the ground level of the hotel on East Washington Street for 12 years. Pham reports that last week, Andrews came to the salon and announced his intention to let the salon's lease expire next year. "He decided we would not continue in this place," Vinh says. "He said he wanted a coffee shop or a sandwich shop instead."
In December, after he increased tenants' rents, Andrews told the Press Democrat, "We're not throwing people out." Last week, the hotel's smashed office windows were boarded up, causing speculation that perhaps someone had retaliated against Andrews for going back on those words.

WRITE HUNGER STRIKE PRISONERS NOW!

Statewide Prisoner Hunger Strike to Stop Torture, Long-Term Isolation & Indefinite Solitary Confinement in Prisons [link]

Following call for support from Ma'at Ra Ka Emmeya, a community liberation organizer in Oakland:
IN THIRD WEEK OF HUNGER STRIKE!!!!!!!!
Keep up with supporting the Prisoner Hunger Strikers, they are experiencing heavy repression, despite the torture from the state they are still representing to the fullest,write them and send them love and light now! The California Prisoner Hunger Strike is in it's 3rd week, please go out and get some stamps envelopes n some papers, write them and send them a loose stamp, paper and envelope so they can write someone outside the walls

THE PRISONERS HAVE TAKEN A REVOLUTIONARY ROLE AND ACTION TO EXPOSE THE DEHUMANIZING STATE SANCTIONED TORTURE THAT THE CDCR HAS REFUSED TO ADDRESS, THESE PRISON FACILITIES ARE MAKING OUR COMMUNITIES WORSE BY USING UNNECESSARY TORTURE TACTICS TOWARDS PRISONERS WHO ARE LABELED TO BE "GANG AFFILIATED" BECAUSE OF THEIR NON-VIOLENT POLITICAL BELIEFS, CAUSING TRAUMA TO THE HUMAN BEING WRITE THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PELICAN BAY HUNGER STRIKE THE 14 PRISONER REPRESENTATIVES:
address your letter with the person's name & prison number; Pelican Bay State Prison/SHU; PO Box 7500. Crescent City, 95532.
1. Todd Ashker C58191
2. Arturo Castellanos C17275
3. Sitawa/ R.N Dewberry C35671
4. Antonio Guillen P81948
5. Danny Troxell B76578
6. George Franco D46556
7. Ronnie Yandell V27927
8. Paul Redd, Jr. B72683
9. James Baridi Williamson D34288
10. Alfred Sandoval D61000
11. Louis Powell B59864
12. Alex Yrigollen H32421
13. Gabriel Huerta C80766
14. Frank Clement D07919
*Mr. Arturo Castellanos may not be able to receive your letter. He's on 'restricted mail,' by the prison authorities.

WRITE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NCTT-COR-SHU ( NEW AFRIKAN REVOLUTIONARY. COLLECTIVE .THINK .TANK)
1.Zaharibu Dorrough, D-83611, CSP-Cor-SHU, 4A3R, P.O. Box 3476, Corcoran, CA 93212 [hungerstrike removal address!]

2. J. Heshima Denham, J-38283, CSP-Cor-SHU, 4A3R, P.O. Box 3476, Corcoran, CA 93212 [hungerstrike removal address!]

3.Kambui Robinson, C-83820, CSP-Cor-SHU, ? 4A3R, P.O. Box 3476, Corcoran, CA 93212 [hungerstrike removal address!],

4.Jabari Scott, H-30536, CSP-Cor-SHU, ? 4A3R, P.O. Box 3476, Corcoran, CA 93212 [hungerstrike removal address!], Corcoran, CA 93212
-------------------
WRITE MARISSA ALEXANDER Marissa Alexander has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Marissa is the victim here. Her husband beat her while she was pregnant. After yet another beating, Alexander fired a warning shot which traveled through a wall and into the ceiling. That shot saved her life. Prosecutor Angela Corey did not take into account that Marissa Alexander: Had a court injunction against her crazed husband,Had Given Birth 9 Days Earlier,Was trained to use a weapon and earned a concealed weapons permit. Marissa Alexander J46944 Lowell Annex 11120 NW Gainesville Rd Ocala, FL 34482
http://justiceformarissa.blogspot.com/

Santa Cruz attacking houseless people: Public Hysteria Citizens Task Farce Meets Again!

Defend those without homes! campaign page [link]
Santa Cruz is attacking houseless people [link]

2013-07-24 "Santa Cruz Public Hysteria Citizens Task Farce Meets Again!" 
NOTES BY NORSE:
This is the group that calls itself "the Public Safety Citizens Task Force", personally selected by Mayor Bryant, and headed by the Public Relations officer of the Seaside Company Kris Reyes and a former civilrights-hostile police officer Jim Howes. The group's make-up as described in the minutes of their first meeting (http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=32263) is
a. Jeff Cole, Fire Captain, City of Mountain View
b. Carolyn Coleman, Executive Director, Santa Cruz CommunityCounseling Center
c. Renee Golder, Teacher, Santa Cruz City Schools
d. Jim Howes, Asst. Director Regional Occupational Program, Santa Cruz County Office of Education, (retired Santa Cruz Police Officer)
e. Rod Libbey, Executive Director , Janus of Santa Cruz
f. Danielle Long, Social Work er, Santa Cruz County
g. Kristin Long, Family Attorney (retired Asst. District Attorney)
h. Kris Reyes, Director of General Services & External Relations, Santa Cruz Seaside Company
i. Reyna Ruiz, Commission member, Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women
j. Steve Schlicht, Marketing Director, Ezonthei
k. Dennis Smith, Commission member, Santa Cruz Port District Commission, (retired Santa CruzCounty Sheriff’s Lieutenant)
l. Kim Stoner, Real Estate Appraiser and Consultant
m. Bernie Tershy, Professor, Univers ity of California, Santa Cruz
n. Deborah Tracy-Proulx, School Board Trustee, Santa Cruz City Schools
o. Patty Zoccoli, Business Co-Owner, Zoccoli’s Deli
Nary a left activist, homeless person, or low-income resident to be seen (please correct me if I'm wrong).
Nothing about the real health and safety problem if not crisis left by the City Council's behind-closed-doors surrender to Take Back Santa Cruz in January closing the only Needle Exchange in the City proper. And this next session is about "the Drug problem".
The real purpose of the group, or so I fear, is to give fiber and filler to the NIMBY "disappear the homeless" mentality that has become ever-more explicit in a Council that has long been anti-homeless in its laws, policies, and appointments--even in the best of times.
The staff materials are included as an attachment, and can be found on-line at http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=33257 . A tip of the hat to City Clerk/Administrator Bren Lehr and Staff Worker Scott Collins for putting them up on the Task Farce webpage (http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/index.aspx?page=1924). However, until I called them several days ago, there was neither notice, minutes, nor report for the next meeting, nor minutes for most of the other meetings. I'm still waiting for them to post the audio.
It's not that I necessarily recommend that people take seriously the content of these meetings (other than protesting the anti-homeless mission and make-up and exposing the "Public Safety" mythology behind the group's formation), but one should always know what new abuses are being planned.
We need, of course, a group concerned with Public Justice Citizens Task Force, which concerns itself with restoring rights to the entire community stolen in the ongoing political repression--particularly for the poor and homeless, but impacting the entire community (curfews, closed spaces, massive police and security thug presence, opaque Council actions without meaningful public debate, etc.).

2013-07-11 "Santa Cruz Public Hysteria Citizens Task Farce Meets Again!" 
NOTES BY NORSE: Looks like the Public Hysteria Citizens Task Farce (Mayor Bryant's hand-plucked gang of preprogrammed worthies which calls itself the Public Safety Citizen's Task Force) is running into a few obvious cold hard facts in spite of itself. (See article below)
As they say about even a busted clock being right twice a day, even the Task Farce and police fluffpoodle Shanna McCord has to stumble over the obvious now and then as the Take-Back-Santa-Cruz inspired group marches dutifully towards its prefabricated "run the homeless out of town" conclusions. Naturally the Lane/Posner "liberals" have no organized principled response--as they've bought into the mythology of a "public safety" "menace" that doesn't exist (any more than it did 10-20 years ago).
I made the following comments (in somewhat modified from) in the Topix section that follows the article and encourage others to do the same. The comments begin at [http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_23638487/santa-cruz-police-at-loss-how-get-handle]: Now it becomes clear--as it always was--that the absurd, abusive, and counterproductive shut down of the Barson St. Needle Exchange was a primary Bigotry Blunder--as was obvious from Day One. Returning to old Drug War rhetoric is a nice election eve trick (inveigh against prostitutes, bums, immigrants, ...Chinese and Jews too, while you're at it). But it's futile ignorance and prejudice. The politically-motivated agenda went over in the atmosphere of Fear cultivated by Take Back Santa Cruz and its opportunistic allies in the Downtown Association, SCPD, and Santa Cruz Neighbors. The ridiculous claim that Santa Cruz is “overrun with needles” by bringing 1000 needles to City Council, and then shutting down the City's only Needle Exchange center that has taken in 250,000 needles last year defies the straight face test. Obviously there'll be an escalating health crisis according to trustworthy authorities who claim expansive needle exchange as the Best Practice, whatever scaremonger rhetoric the venomous Drug Warriors spew. Requiring more documentation and regulation—whether at Needle Exchange or the Homeless (Lack of) Services Center will produce more environmental abuse, theft, and general disrespect for the law as well as heightening polarization, resentment, and ultimately violence. Even poor people will only take so much before they strike back in self-defense. Attacking poor people's right to use public spaces and their survival sleeping behavior and labeling these “crimes” is major dumb Attacking addicts as criminals is equally stupid. But it appeals to the fear and phony “do something!” impulse and plays into the hands of those seeking political power. Not to mention the financial costs of trying to jail people caught in the vise of the ongoing Depression. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
---
2013-07-10 "Santa Cruz police at a loss on how to get a handle on drug and alcohol problems" 
by Shanna McCord from "Santa Cruz Sentinel"[http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_23638487/santa-cruz-police-at-loss-how-get-handle]:
SANTA CRUZ -- A top Santa Cruz police official painted a dire picture of the problems drug and alcohol addiction cause the city, which are exacerbated by a court system that all but ignores the issues, he said. Deputy Police Chief Rick Martinez delivered his report on the impacts of addiction as part of a panel discussion Wednesday to the Santa Cruz Public Safety Citizen Task Force. The 15-member task force, created earlier this year by the City Council in response to increased crime and complaints from residents, is charged with finding solutions to some of Santa Cruz's crimes and behavioral problems. The panel included a 21-year-old heroin addict; Lynn Harrison, drug and alcohol program manager for the county Health Services Agency; and Rod Libbey of the treatment program Janus. Libbey is also a task force member. Martinez said Santa Cruz is saturated with more alcohol permits per capita than any other city in the state, resulting in a chronic problem especially concentrated downtown with panhandling, public urination and public intoxication. He said such behavior greatly impacts the quality of life for Santa Cruz residents and business owners, but there is not much police can do beyond making repeated arrests to stop the crimes because offenders face little repercussion after the arrest. Unless a violent crime is committed, the court only considers municipal code violations a civil issue and turns the ticket over to collections, Martinez said. "It was a financial decision by the courts to make more money and lighten their work load," Martinez said. "It's disheartening to see the justice department turn its back on our city to make their lives a little easier." Only after an offender has failed to appear in court three times in six months can police get an arrest warrant, he said. Some low-level offenders in Santa Cruz have 60 to 80 violations under their belt, he said. Of 3,600 citations issued to local homeless people in 2012, only 96 were taken care of, Martinez said. "It's a huge frustration point for us," said. One of the speakers said he grew up on the Westside and started smoking pot at age 9, moving into heavy drugs by 18. He said he now has an $80-a-day heroin habit, and stealing from stores or burglarizing cars are common ways he feeds the addiction. He told the group there isn't much that can help a heroin addict outside of being locked down in a rehabilitation facility. Most heroin users don't choose to help themselves kick the powerful habit, he said. He suggested task force members look into easier and cheaper methadone access, free food for people living on the streets and a new needle exchange program close to downtown. "There are no clean needles anywhere," he said. "Needle exchange has to come back or AIDS and hep C will be everywhere." Task force members asked questions of the panel and took notes as they begin the next phase of their mission in creating a report with recommended solutions to the city council in November. Chairman Kris Reyes said the group's work only becomes more difficult in the next few months. "We're going to be having conversations that are uncomfortable and challenging," Reyes said. "We want to deliver a report that is thoughtful and realistic in addressing the totality of the issues we're facing."

"Waste Management" corporate practices in Oakland kill a worker, threaten the health & safety of others

Funeral service held for Eva Macias, June 24th, 2013

1. The recycling industry has a terrible safety record nationwide. Too many workers are being killed and injured.
2. The City of Oakland’s recycling contractors seem to be doing no better than the abysmal record nationwide.
3. Last June, Waste Management employee Evangelina Macias – a mother and longtime employee – was crushed to death at work.
4. Cal-OSHA investigated. They determined that Waste Management caused the death. The company was cited for several serious safety violations and fined over $50,000.
5. Waste Management hasn’t taken responsibility; they’re refusing to pay the fine and are appealing the citations.
6. Each day, Oakland’s recycling workers are exposed to heavy dust, asbestos and lead, solvents, pesticides and other hazardous chemicals, sharp objects including dirty syringes, human and animal feces, and dead animal carcasses. In addition to raising their abysmally low-pay, I hope the Council will impose new health and safety standards – including company-paid health and safety training conducted by outside, independent providers – along with the right to sanction companies who fail to prevent hazards.


2013-07-26 "Waste Management Workers Protest Hazardous Conditions and Poverty Wages" from the "Spotlight" newsletter of the "California Labor Federation": 
Last year, Cal-OSHA charged Waste Management (the company that collects waste and recycling for the city of Oakland) with violating safety rules that led to the death of a worker. Despite a formal citation from Cal-OSHA, Waste Management has refused to pay any fines or take responsibility for causing the worker’s death. The conditions have continued to deteriorate, and last month, federal officials filed a formal complaint against Waste Management for violating federal labor laws.
Frustrated with the employer's persistent law-breaking and poverty wages, the Waste Management workers launched a protest at company headquarters on Thursday, the second such protest they've held since the federal complaint. At the protest, the workers detailed the shocking hazardous working conditions and dangerous materials they encounter on the job, and called on the employer to clean up its act and treat its workers with respect.


2013-07-24 "Waste Management recycling workers will protest at company headquarters against abuse, disrespect & poor conditions"
Press Release from "International Longshore & Warehouse Union" [www.ilwu.org]:
Protest Wednesday, July 24th, 10am-12 noon & 1-3:30pm at [72 98th Avenue, Oakland]
CONTACT: ILWU Communications Craig Merrilees [510-774-5325] [craig.merrilees@ilwu.org], Roy San Filippo [415-775-0533 x118]
Recycling workers who process materials collected from residents in Oakland and other East Bay cities will protest on Wednesday, July 24 in front of Waste Management's corporate headquarters at 172 98th Avenue in Oakland, CA from 10am to 12 noon, and from 1pm to 3:30pm. The largest turnout is expected in the afternoon, from 2-3pm.
Workers are frustrated because Waste Management has been violating federal labor laws and treating workers disrespectfully. Last week, workers organized their first protest, volunteering hundreds of hours of time to the cause. Last month, federal officials filed a formal complaint against Waste Management for violating federal labor laws.
Last year, Waste Management was charged by Cal-OSHA with violating safety rules that led to the death of a worker. After being formally cited by Cal-OSHA with serious safety violations, Waste Management refused to pay any fines or take responsibility for causing the worker's death.
Waste Management enjoys a lucrative contract with the City of Oakland that is up for reconsideration by the City Council. The company reported profits last year in excess of $800 million dollars, but has refused to improve pay for their workforce of low-wage recycling workers – most of whom earn $12.67 or less per hour. Recycling workers in San Francisco and San Jose who do the same work are paid $20 per hour – enough to support families and escape poverty.
During the protest, recycling workers will provide details about the hazardous working conditions and dangerous materials they encounter on the job.


2013-06-26 "Rest In Peace: Evangelina 'Eva' Macias Family, friends and co-workers attended the funeral of the great-grandmother who died in a horrid, work-related accident last week in San Leandro"  
by Tom Abate from "San Leandro Patch" [http://sanleandro.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/rest-in-peace-evangelina-eva-macias]: An eight piece band played at the funeral of Evangelina "Eva" Macias on Monday, as family, friends and co-workers congregated in St. Leander's Church to pay their last respects to the great-grandmother who died last Monday in a tragic, work-related accident. Macias, 66, was run over by a bulldozer at the Waste Management dump at the foot of Davis Street, where both she and the driver were veteran employees. The accident is being investigated. A Patch reader left the following comment on the story of the accident: "I was there when this happened and I want to say what a brave and strong woman she was. I was one of the first people to reach her and I spent 20 minutes with her at her side trying to render as much aid and comfort as possible. She was awake and interacting and responding to me the entire time I knelt by her as we waited for 'help'. Pure and absolute bravery from 'Eva'. "I knew her for 20 minutes, and under circumstances hard to possibly imagine. "I try constantly to overide my nightmare-like flashbacks with the extreme courage and dignity she showed. She was incredible. My deepest sympathy to her family and friends. Sincerely, Julie Rushing-Nelson."


2013-06-20 "Bulldozer crushes San Leandro recycling worker"
by Vivian Ho from "San Francisco Chronicle" [http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bulldozer-crushes-San-Leandro-recycling-worker-3646148.php]:
A 66-year-old woman died after a bulldozer crushed her while she directed traffic at a Waste Management Inc. recycling plant in San Leandro, authorities said Tuesday. Alameda County firefighters responded to the plant on Davis Street at about 3 p.m. Monday after the bulldozer ran over Evangelina Macias of San Leandro, crushing her legs and hips, fire officials said. She died at a hospital Monday night.
Macias had worked at the plant for almost 13 years, said plant spokeswoman Karen Stern. She was in charge of directing the public to the proper drop-off areas, and was wearing a bright yellow vest and hardhat when the bulldozer hit her.
Stern said the bulldozer driver has been a plant employee for 22 years. He was placed on paid administrative leave. "He's distraught," Stern said. "It's devastating. It's a 22-person department. They're very close-knit." The incident is under investigation by Cal/OSHA, said agency spokesman Peter Melton. Since 2009, the Waste Management plant in San Leandro has had four Cal/OSHA investigations into its operations, two for health issues and two for safety. State officials did not have details of the incidents Tuesday but said that all four have been closed.
The last injury in Macias' department occurred six years ago, Stern said. "Their commitment to safety and one another was really important to all of them," she said. "It's shocking, to say the least. It's a horrible accident."


2013-06-19 “San Leandro dump worker dies after being hit by front-end loader”
from “KTVU Channel 2” [http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/disasters/san-leandro-dump-worker-dies-after-being-hit-bulld/nPZWH]:
Woman run over by bulldozer at San Leandro landfill (Raw NewsChopper 2 footage from scene of San Leandro dump accident)

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — Family and co-workers of a traffic director at a Bay Area Waste Management plant were in mourning Tuesday after she died from injuries caused by being run over by heavy machinery. Grief counselors were on site Tuesday at the Waste Management Facility in San Leandro after Evangelina “Eva” Macias, a 13-year employee at the landfill, died after being crushed by a front-end loader during business hours and in front of co-workers Monday. Cal OSHA says Macias was directing traffic at around 3 p.m. when the driver of a front-end loader struck her. The driver told investigators he didn't see her. She was airlifted to Highland Hospital where she died later that night. “It's hard to take in because of how it happened, it’s still surreal,” said Macias’ daughter Maria. “I kind of don't want to believe it happened.” Maria and her sister Anna were still in shock Tuesday afternoon that their mother Eva was gone. She was 66 years old and described as an active, outgoing woman who loved traveling and going to the gym. Her daughters said she loved her job as a traffic director at the Waste Management Facility in San Leandro. “She was always very careful, very smart very smart,” said Maria. A Waste Management spokeswoman said the driver of the front-end loader has worked there for 22 years and has a clean record. After the accident, he was placed on paid administrative leave. “It's a loss we all feel and it's something we're touched by,” said Karen Stern, Waste Management spokesperson. “We send our condolences to her family and we hope that we can do anything we can to help them through this period.” The agency says only 22 people work in that division and it is a very tightknit group that was well aware of safety on the job. Surveillance cameras captured video of the incident. Waste management and Cal OSHA were both investigating the incident Tuesday, and Macias' daughters said Tuesday that they were still waiting for answers. “We don't know all the details, I don't want to assume -- I have to get all the details first,” said Maria Macias.


2012-06-18 "Eva Macias, 66, hit and killed by machinery near San Leandro"
by Justin Schneider [http://findmyaccident.com/california/2012/06/19/eva-macias-66-hit-and-killed-by-machinery-near-san-leandro/]:  Police say a female worker died Monday after being hit by a piece of heavy machinery in San Leandro. According to the Alameda County Fire Department, an unidentified employee was operating a bulldozer at Waste Management, located at 2615 Davis Street. Some time after noon, the bulldozer hit Evangelina “Eva” Macias, 66, of San Leandro, a co-worker, as she directed traffic. Investigators say Ms. Macias suffered massive trauma to her lower body. Paramedics rushed her to a nearby hospital, but doctors were unable to save her. It is unclear whether the California Division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate the incident. According to the California Department of Industrial Relations, the state was home to 14,878 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in 2009. The California Department of Industrial Relations reports that 301 workers were killed by occupational injuries in 2009. If you would like an official copy of the police report, request a copy with this form [http://findmyaccident.com/california/2012/06/19/eva-macias-66-hit-and-killed-by-machinery-near-san-leandro/#].

Veterans for Peace support California Prison Hunger Strike

Statewide Prisoner Hunger Strike to Stop Torture, Long-Term Isolation & Indefinite Solitary Confinement in Prisons [link]

2013-07-22 "Local Veterans for Peace Write Governor Brown In Support Of Courageous Prisoner Hunger Strike For Five Human Rights Demands"
Media Contact: Don Swall [707-476-0236] [seaworhum@gmail.com]
"We are... opposed to torture being employed in the form of long-term solitary confinement in CDCR Security Housing Units and other isolation units."
Attached hereto is the Letter, with letterhead and signature. The text of the letter is also below. 
Today, Amnesty International has also issued a press release "USA: End inhumane treatment of California prison hunger strikers" regarding the retaliation by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) against prisoners participating in the peaceful hunger strike. Veterans for Peace in their letter specifically asked for a guarantee that "reprisals against peaceful hunger strikers not be taken," but the CDCR continues to withhold medications, freeze prisoners in their cells, hold prisoners' confidential legal papers, forbid exercise time, and take official disciplinary action against strikers.
Local Veterans for Peace participated in demonstrations in Eureka CA during the 2011 Prisoner Hunger Strike, recently demonstrated outside Pelican Bay on July 8, 2013, when the strike resumed, in solidarity with over 30,000 prisoners taking part, and have helped with informational demonstrations on the Arcata Plaza which occur every Thursday (since early June), "5PM For the 5 Demands."
Please see July 19, 2013 letter below and attached.
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Veterans for Peace, Humboldt Bay Chapter 56
July 19, 2013
Dear Governor Brown:
By a unanimous vote of the members present at our monthly membership meeting of Veterans for Peace, Chapter 56, Humboldt Bay, we support the hunger strike currently underway throughout the California State Prison system.
We endorse the prisoners' 5 demands:
1. End group punishment and administrative abuse.
2. Abolish the debriefing policy, and modify active gang status criteria.
3. Comply with the U.S. Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons 2006 recommendations regarding long-term solitary confinement.
4. Provide adequate and nutritious food.
5. Expand and provide constructive programs and privileges for individual SHU inmates.
Veterans for Peace is a global organization of military veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices. A culture of peace is at least as important at home as overseas and we call for the immediate end of the inhumane practices currently in use in CDCR Security Housing Units and other isolation units. We request guarantees that reprisals against peaceful hunger strikers not be taken.
We have 90 members in Chapter 56, Humboldt Bay, and 280 chapters throughout the U.S. The VFP is on record in opposition to torture as a tool at institutions from Guantanamo Bay to Abu Ghraib. We are equally opposed to torture being employed in the form of long-term solitary confinement in CDCR Security Housing Units and other isolation units.
[signed] Sincerely, Don Swall