Feature Archives

Justice Teams Network launched on May 2 to build power against systemic State Violence in all its forms. The Network is a statewide coalition of rapid response organizations across the state of California that will mobilize communities to respond radically to state violence. The Network will focus heavily on legislation as well as a public information campaign around the Police Officer’s Bill of Rights, the single largest obstacle to police accountability.

UPDATE: SB1421 passed and went into effect on January 1, 2019. AB931 did not survive the legislative session, but was reintroduced in February 2019 as AB392.

California lawmakers have introduced a measure that would alter the standard for when law enforcement officers can use deadly force. The Police Accountability and Community Protection Act (AB 931) would change the standard of firearm use from "reasonable use" to "necessary force." SB 1421 will give the public access to police records related to use-of-force investigations and complaints against officers for sexual assault or other serious job-related dishonesty.

Park Advocate reports: The foliage in People's Park is thinner this year. Another tree is gone, and various bushes and shrubs have disappeared. UC Berkeley has further whittled away at the park, and a new press release states that development plans are to be revealed after this academic year ends. The University of California is well aware that as the 49th anniversary of People's Park has passed, eligibility for historical protection is right around the corner.

Agricultural pesticide use in California remains at a near-record high, according to data released by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. DPR's latest numbers paint a grim picture of the state’s continued reliance on vast quantities of agricultural pesticides — 209 million pounds in 2016. That’s the third highest since reporting began in 1990. The greatest burden continues to be borne by the San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast.

At the March 27 Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting, five-plus hours of discussion ended with a decision that Urban Shield as currently constituted would end after the 2018 war games and exposition. The vote left open-ended what Alameda County’s regional disaster preparedness activities would be in future years, but the Supervisors were decisive that it would not be the Urban Shield event, which began in 2007.

A broad coalition kicked off a campaign urging Governor Jerry Brown to stop the build-out of dirty fossil fuel infrastructure, keep oil and gas in the ground and take immediate action to protect those most vulnerable to climate change. If Brown doesn’t act, the groups say, the governor will lose their support for the global climate action summit that he will host five months from now in San Francisco.

On March 26, proponents of Monterey County’s landmark Measure Z ballot initiative filed an appeal to restore the land-use protections that voters passed by an overwhelming majority in November 2016. The appeal challenges a Superior Court ruling in March that invalidated part of the ordinance, which aims to shield the county from fracking chemicals and oil industry pollution. Measure Z won with 56 percent of the vote.