North Bay / Marin News

In spite of a year of popular mobilization against arming Israel's genocide of Palestine and in contravention of US law, President Biden and Congress are continuing massive arms shipments to Israel. The People's Arms Embargo has responded with ongoing blockades at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California. “If the U.S. government won’t stop shipping arms to Israel, then we will establish a People’s Arms Embargo to stop it ourselves," organizers say.

The first U.S. countywide vote to prohibit factory farms will take place on November 5 in Sonoma County. This historic measure was named Measure J after the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors asked the Registrar of Voters to assign the already intensely debated initiative a measure letter months earlier than normal. The battle over the ballot measure comes after a decade of investigations into Sonoma County factory farms.

Students at UCB, Cal Poly Humboldt, Stanford, Sonoma State, SF State, Sacramento State, USF, UCSC and UCD joined students at colleges throughout the country to establish occupations in support of Palestinians. Outrage at Israel's attempted genocide in Gaza has produced a movement of encampments at Harvard, Columbia, Yale, MIT, NYU, UT Austin, and more. Police have arrested hundreds, and yet the protests persist and expand.

In an inexplicable move, the National Marine Fisheries Service has allowed a little known fishery that targets bottom-dwelling sablefish to expand into federally designated habitat for critically endangered Pacific leatherback turtles off the coasts of Oregon and California. The fishery's lines can wrap around sea turtles’ necks or front flippers, anchoring them to heavy pots on the seafloor, resulting in injuries and deaths.

May Day actions this year were organized with urgency in solidarity with the Palestinian people, heeding the call from the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions to stand with Gaza. Workers and peoples around the world called for an immediate ceasefire. Marches and rallies filled the streets across Northern California on May 1, and there was no business as usual at the Port of Oakland as officials closed the port in anticipation of planned protests.

On May 19, Governor Newsom announced a legislative package and signed an executive order that would gut the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to expedite the construction of the Delta Tunnel, Sites Reservoir, and other controversial infrastructure projects, drawing condemnation from environmental groups. On May 25, the California Senate Budget Committee voted to temporarily block the plan, ending the proposal for this legislative year.

The year 2023 could have been a moment to celebrate the half century of reproductive choice afforded by Roe v Wade. Instead, post-Roe, women are resisting further attacks. On January 21, San Francisco turned out to counter-protest the annual so-called "Walk for Life," when thousands are bussed in to demand a total end to reproductive freedom. On January 22, dozens of Women's Marches were held in cities throughout the country.