Green Sunday, May 12th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Fracking in California: Stop the Frack!
Please come to our Green Sunday talk to learn why and how to stop the frack!
Oil companies have quietly begun fracking California for oil — in the Bay Delta, the hills above Ventura, Kern County and the heart of Los Angeles — with plans for massive expansion at the expense of our air and water. The intensive process of fracking releases and extracts oil or gas by blasting water, chemicals, and sand at high pressure into deep underground rock formations, and is polluting local water and air, and accelerating climate change.
A deposit known as the Monterey Shale may hold 15.4 billion barrels of oil, according to federal estimates, two-thirds of the nation’s shale-oil reserves. And California was the third-largest oil producing state last year, behind Texas and North Dakota. California’s oil reserves could produce as much greenhouse gas emissions as much as all the tar sands flowing through the Keystone XL pipeline for 40 years.
There is no safe way to frack, so Food & Water Watch and our allies are working throughout California to achieve a statewide ban on fracking and we need your help . . . California’s legislature is considering two bills, AB 1301 introduced by Richard Bloom and AB 1323 introduced by Holly Mitchell, that would put an end to fracking in our state. We need your help to get these bills passed. This legislation is vital to protecting our state’s precious water resources and farmland.
You can tell your Legislators to please support a statewide fracking moratorium by signing our petition here.
Our speaker will be Adam Scow, the California Campaigns Director at Food & Water Watch. Adam has guided several successful campaigns across California to protect water as a public resource and prevent privatization of local water supply and has served on the planning committee for the annual California Water Policy Conference sponsored by Public Officials for Water and Environment Reform.
Please come to our Green Sunday talk to learn why and how to stop the frack!
See: www.foodandwaterwatch.org/california
See also: Lawmakers advance bill to halt oil fracking (4/29)
Sunday May 12th, 2013
5:00 to 6:30 pm
Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland
wheelchair accessible
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, April 14th, 5 – 6:30 pm
The Tars Sands and the Battle over the Keystone XL Pipeline
Plus an Overview of other 350 Bay Area Climate Campaigns
Scarlett Russell has 4 years experience as a Community Organizer with various Environmental Non-Profits, from Houston, TX and now lives in the Bay Area. She is a Volunteer with 350 Bay Area’s ”No Tar Sands” Campaign Team.
Rand Wrobel is a member of the 350 Bay Area Steering Committee, and has been active with 350 and the climate movement since 2010.
Scarlett Russell and Rand Wrobel will present a background on Canadian and American Tar Sands, climate movement actions past, present and possible, and will look at what we in the Bay Area can do to help. They will also present updates on government corruption including the Northern Route Approval Act, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Obama’s Staff member’s oily ties to TransCanada. Finally, a quick briefing will be presented from the other Climate Campaigns active in the Bay Area with 350 Bay Area.
Sunday April 14th, 2013
5:00 to 6:30 pm
Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland
wheelchair accessible
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, March 10th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Report Back on a Labor exchange Trip to Cuba:
A conference and meetings in Havana, and visits to Santa Clara, Trinidad, and the Bay of Pigs, January-February, 2013
The four of us attended a conference and meetings as well as museums and historic locations in Havana, then took a road trip to the above listed cities during a two week trip during late January and early February. Highlights included the Jose Marti, Revolution, early Havana, Archaeology, Bay of Pigs, and Che museums; a meeting with the legendary labor leader Pedro Ross, the World Balance Conference, and visits to Trinidad and Old Havana.
* Larry Shoup is a historian, writer and long time activist. He was the Green Party’s candidate for Secretary of State in 2002.
* Suzanne Baker is an archaeologist and writer. She has also served on the Green Party County Council of Alameda.
* Kate Tanaka is involved in various aspects of community activism; was formerly on the Green Party County Council, works as a residential real estate agent.
* Aki Tanaka is a member of the Green Party county council, a recently retired member of the kpfa listener station board, and a retired engineer.
Sunday March 10th, 2013
5:00 to 6:30 pm
Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland
wheelchair accessible
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, February 10th, 5 – 6:30 pm
“Food Justice and the Intersection of Urban Greening and Gentrification”
For our February Green Sunday, Max Cadji will be speaking on “Food Justice and the Intersection of Urban Greening and Gentrification”, and showing a short video about gentrification and NOBE (North Oakland Berkeley Emeryville) Neighborhood issues.
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Green Sunday, January 13th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Obama’s Economy: Recovery For The Few.
The speaker for our January Green Sunday is Jack Rasmus. He is the author of the 2012 book “Obama’s Economy: Recovery For The Few“. He also hosts a radio show “Alternative Visions” on the Progressive Radio Network and teaches economics at St. Mary’s College in Moraga.
He will be discussing the recent battle over the so-called fiscal cliff; analyzing the political considerations which were decisive in the outcome. Recognizing that the battle over spending and taxation is far from over, he will talk about future battles as well.
Sunday January 13th, 2013
5:00 to 6:30 pm
Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland
wheelchair accessible
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, November 11th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Discussion with local Green candidates about the November 6 general election.
What is the political significance of the election results — local, state, and national? How did we do? What Green Party efforts worked? What’s next?
Sunday Nov 11
5 to 6:30 pm
Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland
wheelchair accessible
Panelists:
Oakland City Council Candidates Theresa Anderson & Don Macleay
Berkeley City Council Candidate Phoebe Sorgen
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, October 14th, 5 – 6:30 pm
4-Person Panel on the State Propositions
The Green Party of Alameda County invites you to a Green Sunday discussion about the November 6 general election, featuring a 4-person panel. The discussion will focus primarily on the state propositions — a listing of these eleven propositions is at: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures.htm
The Green Voter Guide has been published and will be available for perusing at the meeting or online, here.
Panelists:
** Marsha Feinland — Former commissioner, Berkeley Rent Board; co-chair, Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party
** Michael Rubin — An activist since the 1960′s; currently sits on the State Coordinating of the California Green Party and the Steering Committee of the Oakland Greens.
** Eugene E Ruyle — Peace and Freedom Candidate! for State Assembly, 15th District (San Pablo, Richmond, El Cerrito, Kensington, Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Piedmont, and Emeryville)
** Laura Wells — Green Party candidate for Governor 2010, and spokesperson for the “No Corporate Money” campaign.
You can also get a bundle or two of the Voter Guides to distribute in your neighborhood, workplace, etc.
If you want to take a look at the Voter Guide now, check on line.
http://acgreens.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/greenvoterguidenov2012.pdf
The October 14 panel discussion i! s co-sponsored by the East Bay Social Forum.
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, September 9th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Why was Alan Blueford killed?
For the September 9 Green Sunday, the GPAC invites you to hear two speakers about the ongoing story of police misconduct in the East Bay.
Our first speaker is Jeralynn Brown Blueford, the mother of Alan Blueford, who was killed by the OPD under very suspicious circumstances. The Blueford family has formed the Justice 4 Alan Blueford Coalition to get answers about why this young man was shot and killed. Andrea Prichett from Berkeley CopWatch will also speak. Andrea has been training people for 20 years to monitor police, document abuse, and organize resistance to police misconduct.
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, August 12th, 5 – 6:30 pm
The Alameda County Green Party officially endorses the California Right to Know Campaign
Vote YES On Proposition #37 For Labeling Genetically Engineered Foods!
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, July 8th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Dear Greens,
We hope you will come out for Green Sunday on July 8th for the presentation:
Health, Justice, and Communities at Risk
Jeff Conant
(Global Justice Ecology Project)
Tina Stevens
(Alliance for Humane Biotechnology)
Gopal Dayaneni
(Movement Generation)
The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab is working with local mayors, city councils, and a host of business interests to transform the East Bay into a biotech hub, the “Green Corridor.” Without public awareness or adequate attention to health and safety issues in this earthquake-prone region, controversial synthetic biology research — known as “extreme genetic engineering” — is planned for labs throughout the East Bay.
Learn more at this SynBioWatch.org sponsored presentation.
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Green Sunday, June 10th, 5 – 6:30 pm
The June Green Sunday will feature Dan Siegel, the noted civil rights attorney, talking about the effects of the Occupy movement on our civil rights and civil liberties. Already our movement has been facing attacks on our right to protest and the militarization of our local police forces. We look forward to an informative talk and a lively discussion on how to respond.
Recently, during legal proceedings between the Regents of the University of California and the Gill Tract Farmers Collective, Dan Siegel gave a presentation to the Court about “Occupy the Farm” in Albany:
“When defense lawyer Dan Siegel spoke, he made no argument as to whether or not the Farmers had or had not entered the land in question, though he did note that there was no evidence that several of the named parties had been on the land. Rather, his argument rested on the contours of the land itself, whether or not the land is ‘private’ or ‘public,’ and the charge that the UC has the means to remedy the problem without seeking injunctive relief from the Court. “I am amused by the characterization of the property as private property,” Siegel said. “Unless something remarkable has happened in the last 48 hours, the Gill Tract is no more private property than this courthouse is. The Regents are stewards of public property, they do not own the property,” Siegel said.”
See: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/06/02/18714576.php.
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Green Sunday, May 6th, 5 – 6:30 pm
The Upcoming June Election (and our Voter Guide)
Our May Green Sunday program will be held on the FIRST Sunday of May, on the 6th of the month. The topic will be The Upcoming June Election: the various measures and offices which will be on the ballot in Alameda County, and the written analysis and recommendations in our Voter Guide. (An electronic version of the Guide is now available at our blog website here: http://acgreens.wordpress.com/voter-guides and we’ll also bring plenty of paper copies to the May 6th Green Sunday).
Come join us in a discussion of everything from our 3 Green Presidential candidates (Roseanne Barr , Kent Mesplay , and Jill Stein ), to state and local tax measures, to county supervisor, school board, and superior court judge, to the premier of the “Top Two” primary, its effects on smaller political parties like ourselves, and our lawsuit against it .Hundreds of Voter Guides will also be available, for those of you who can help us distribute them around town at cafes, bookstores, laundromats, libraries, and the like, or by passing them out at BART stations, farmer’s markets, grocery stores, or anywhere else where there’s a lot of foot traffic. [Special Note: A Green Party Presidential Forum will be held in San Francisco with our 3 candidates on the evening of Saturday, May 12. If you are interested in attending that event, please reserve your ticket here:
https://cagreens.nationbuilder.com/may_12_donate ]. So, if you have any questions or comments about anything on the June ballot, this is your chance to discuss it!
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Green Sunday, April 8th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Dealing With Attacks On Our Civil Liberties
Join us for an interesting talk and discussion on recent attacks on our civil liberties, how people have dealt with similar attacks in the past and what worked in the long run.
Speakers:
Ann Fagan Ginger is an American lawyer, teacher, writer, and political activist. She is the founder and the Executive Director Emerita of the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute in Berkeley. Ginger has been a visiting professor of law at Hastings, U. of Santa Clara, Puget Sound Law Schools and San Francisco State. She is the author of 22 books and many articles, and lectures widely. She is an expert in human rights law and peace law and has argued and won before the U.S. Supreme Court.
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=713215581291529425&hl=en&fs=true
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Fagan_Ginger
A possible second speaker to be announced. Look for a second announcement later this week.
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, March 11th, 5 – 6:30 pm
A Different Way to Occupy City Hall: Participatory Budgeting in Venezuela and Oakland
One of the central demands raised by the Occupy movement is for direct, participatory democracy in which ordinary people – rather than corporate executives and political elites – are able to directly impact the decisions that affect their lives. But can this actually work? And if so, how? This talk examines participatory budgeting, where local residents exercise decision-making control over the municipal budget process, in Venezuela where one of the speakers spent nearly a year doing PhD dissertation research. After examining how participatory budgeting has worked in Venezuela, the speakers will discuss the Community Democracy Project, a citizen’s voter initiative that seeks to bring participatory budgeting to the city of Oakland.
Please join us for an interesting talk and discussion.
Speakers’ Bios:
Gabriel Hetland, PhD candidate, UC Berkeley, Department of Sociology. His dissertation research focuses on participatory budgeting in Venezuela and Bolivia. Since November he has been a core member of the Community Democracy Project.
Abigail Martin, PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, studies the historical development of energy and chemical industries. Her dissertation work examines industrial policy and environmental governance in biofuel sectors of Brazil and US. She is a core member of the Community Democracy Project.
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, February 12th, 5:00 – 6:30 pm
Feb 12, 2012, 5-6:30 pm
Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th Street in North Oakland
Wheelchair accessible
Free event; donations are encouraged.
Speakers will include K-12, community college, and university students and faculty working with Occupy Education CA, a statewide network. Occupy Education CA is planning a statewide week of action in defense of public education and social services, starting Thursday, March 1st with local actions, including a 99-mile march from the East Bay to Sacramento, culminating Monday, March 5th with a convergence and march in Sacramento, as well a plan to to occupy the Capitol.
For information about this week of action:
http://OccupyEducationCA.org/wordpress/?p=130
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Green Sunday, January 8th, 5:00 – 6:30 pm
The Occupy Movement and The Green Party
The Occupy Movement and The Green Party
Samsarah Morgan, an active Oakland Green, will lead our discussion. Samsarah has been involved with Occupy Oakland from its beginning, and played a key role in starting and maintaining the Children’s Village.
We will look at the Occupy Wall Street Movement especially in its Occupy Oakland form. We will discuss the effect of the Movement on national and local politics, particularly how Occupy has changed the political environment in which we work. We will also talk about how the Green Party can interact with the Occupy Movement by both learning from the movement and trying to influence it. Even though many OWS activists are resolutely opposed to electoral politics, is it possible over time to win some of them to our vision of an alternative electoral politics? How might we go about such a project?
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, November 13th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Global Justice Ecology
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation. Sounds good right? Maybe Not!
SPEAKER: Jeff Conant, the Communications Director of Global Justice Ecology Project
California is ready to implement in 2012 the global climate policy called REDD, aimed at reducing emissions by halting rainforest destruction. California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 mandated greenhouse gas reductions, including participation in a regional cap-and-trade system. Global financial institutions are pushing market/financial incentives, including carbon credits, to implement this plan-more “green capitalism” (an oxymoron if there ever was one). Jeff Conant, the Communications Director of Global Justice Ecology Project will discuss REDD’s emergence in California politics and its serious implications for human rights and ecological justice in the Global South.
Global Justice Ecology Project (GJEP) explores and exposes the intertwined root causes of social injustice, ecological destruction and economic domination. It aims to build bridges between social justice, environmental justice and ecological justice groups to strengthen their collective efforts. Within this framework, our programs focus on Indigenous Peoples’ rights, protection of native forests and climate justice. We use the issue of climate change to demonstrate these interconnections. Global Justice Ecology Project is the North American Focal Point of the Global Forest Coalition.
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green
Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, November 13th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation. Sounds good right? Maybe Not!
SPEAKER: Jeff Conant, the Communications Director of Global Justice Ecology Project
California is ready to implement in 2012 the global climate policy called REDD, aimed at reducing emissions by halting rainforest destruction. California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 mandated greenhouse gas reductions, including participation in a regional cap-and-trade system. Global financial institutions are pushing market/financial incentives, including carbon credits, to implement this plan-more “green capitalism” (an oxymoron if there ever was one). Jeff Conant, the Communications Director of Global Justice Ecology Project will discuss REDD’s emergence in California politics and its serious implications for human rights and ecological justice in the Global South.
Global Justice Ecology Project (GJEP) explores and exposes the intertwined root causes of social injustice, ecological destruction and economic domination. It aims to build bridges between social justice, environmental justice and ecological justice groups to strengthen their collective efforts. Within this framework, our programs focus on Indigenous Peoples’ rights, protection of native forests and climate justice. We use the issue of climate change to demonstrate these interconnections. Global Justice Ecology Project is the North American Focal Point of the Global Forest Coalition.
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green
Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, March 13th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Redevelopment: An overview – Why it’s on the chopping block and how it affects your city.
The featured presenter will be Gretchen Lipow, a Green Party member and community activist in the City of Alameda. Gretchen is a retired teacher, past president of the Alameda Education Association and current President of the Alameda/Contra Costa NEA/CTA Retirees.
The comments below are an introduction to Gretchen’s presentation.
Redevelopment agencies were born in 1945 when cities and counties were empowered to create special agencies aimed at fighting blight. In 1952 cities and counties were given power to use property taxes as a funding source. For the most part it’s cities, not counties, that have been the big spenders; in this case bonders of redevelopment, which includes the right to seize property by eminent domain. The agency floats bonds to finance land acquisition in the neighborhood, and basic improvements (such as hazardous waste cleanup) then starts transferring property to developers. The bonds are paid off from increased property taxes generated within the district – those in excess of the old baseline.
Today redevelopment agencies claim 12% of all property taxes in the state, and today redevelopment bonds total over $88 billion. The 425 agencies have virtually no oversight, and presently the state comptroller’s office is auditing many of the agencies. There is no analytic data on the success of the redevelopment except for one done in 1988 by Michael Dardia who set about to showcase redevelopment’s success but instead found more downsides; while there was faster average growth in redevelopment districts than in other areas, in general they didn’t grow fast enough to justify their share of property taxes.
The big problem is that schools and other public services are shortchanged, as Redevelopment money is not available for the city’s General Fund or for school funding. The tax increment does not cover the full funding mechanism and the state “backfills”. Last year this backfill totaled $2 billion…money that could have been used to directly fund the state’s public schools.
To make this discussion most meaningful call your city’s redevelopment agency and find out how much your town is bonded. Find out how much is allocated for “administration” and see if you can determine what this really pays for.
Does your city pay salaries, for city staff such as police or other staff?
Does your city abide by the rule of spending at least 20% redevelopment bonding on affordable housing?
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
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Green Sunday, February 13th, 5 – 6:30 pm
The Scandal of Smart Meters and PG&E: Beyond the Greenwash
In this presentation, we will cover the major issues surrounding Smart Meters, including their threat to health (from their microwave radio frequency radiation), their invasion of privacy (in gathering hourly data about private lives), their easy hackability, and their violation of basic democratic rights. We will also refute the spurious claims to their environmental benefits and energy-saving capability.The installation of Smart Meters without consent represents a degree of corporate impunity possible only with government complicity. The Smart Meter program, as an expression of corporate control, stands in opposition to democratic and community rights, most directly expressed by denial of a right to refusal. It also represents a fundamental violation of the precautionary principle. Already large numbers of people have become ill after Smart Meters were
installed near their living environment (e.g. headaches, nausea, ear ringing, heart palpitations etc). We will describe the meters themselves, the movement that has arisen against them, some of the immediate health effects, and the overall politics of this new form of grid (the “Smart Grid”). We will also discuss the research on the impact of non-thermal radiation on humans, animals, plant life, and those who have Electro-Hypersensitivity.
SPEAKERS:
Steve Martinot is a writer, human rights activist, and retired lecturer from San Francisco State Univ., living in Berkeley. He has done union, community, and anti-war organizing for most of his life.
Marti Kheel is an ecofeminist scholar and activist and author of Nature Ethics: An Ecofeminist Perspective. Currently she is a visiting scholar at U.C. Berkeley, Division of Society and the Environment.
Alexander Binik, an environmental health educator and licensed psychotherapist, is also Executive Director of the DE-Toxics Institute in Fairfax.
Sarah Reilly is a Certified Nutritionist and founder of Get Nourished, a Holistic Nutrition Practice that serves clients globally. She has advanced certifications in functional endocrinology, functional blood chemistry and brain chemistry with a special interest in inflammation and autoimmunity. She has had Electro Hypersensitivity since 2003 and has been studying the physiological impacts of Electro Magnetic Radiation on human physiology for the past 3 years.
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side ofTelegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
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Green Sunday, January 9th, 5 – 6:30 pm
*What kind of California do we want?*
And how can a strong Green Party help us get there? At the first Green Sunday of 2011, we will explore these questions. We’ll also have a chance to learn about plans that are being drawn up by Greens and aligned groups at the local, state, and national levels. Come at 5:00 p.m. on January 9 and add your voice, experience, and plans. Laura Wells, our candidate for Governor in 2010, will moderate.
We’ll bring – and raffle off – the inspiring book California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State, and How We Can Fix It.
See links:
http://www.californiacrackup.com/
http://books.google.com/books?id=Y0GwjbFf_88C&printsec=frontcover&dq=california+crackup&source
(read Laura’s first google book review, the review that ends with, “It’s keeping me energized!”)
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Green Sunday, June 13th, 5 – 6:30 pm
Neibyl Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph (near 65th St.), North Oakland
Please join us for the next Green Sunday on June 13th. We are having an open discussion of the June 8th primary and what it says about the current political situation. All are welcome to actively participate in the discussion. SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Outreach Working Group of the Green Party of Alameda County. See Our Meetings page here.
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Green Sunday, May 9th, 5 – 6:30 pm
The Fight Against Corporate Power in Richmond Neibyl Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph (near 65th St.), North Oakland
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs &
discussions sponsored by the Outreach Working Group of
the Green Party of Alameda County. They are usually held on
the 2nd Sunday of each month.
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*Green Sunday*
Green Candidate for Insurance Commissioner talks about Health Care
Sunday, February 14th
5:00 to 6:30 pm
First, we’ll watch Bill Moyers Journal story about health care and money… here’s the intro, spoken by Bill on 18 Dec, 2009:
“Something’s not right here. One year after the great collapse of our financial system, Wall Street is back on top while our politicians dither. As for health care reform, you’re about to be forced to buy insurance from companies whose stock is soaring, and that’s just dandy with the White House.”
After the short film, Bill Balderston, Green candidate for California Insurance
Commissioner, will lead a discussion about health care and other issues that affect all Californians.
Bill is a longtime activist with Vote Health. He is also a former Oakland Education Association Executive Board Member and a former State Council Member with the California Teachers Association (CTA).
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
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*Green Sunday*
Sunday, January 10th5:00 to 6:30 pm
LOCATION:Niebyl-Proctor Library6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
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SUMMER RECESS ’09
Dear Green Sunday Fans,
A brief message to let you know that out Green Sunday organizers are taking a summer recess so there will be no Green Sunday programs in June, July and August. Our regular 2nd Sunday at 5pm schedule will resume in September.
The GPAC County Council meetings will continue through the summer on the 2nd Sundays of the month at 6:45 pm at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland. Our next meeting will be on June 14th. We encourage anyone who is interested to attend our Council meetings.
Your Green Party County Council
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Wilson Riles on a Radical Alternative Currency System
for Oakland
Wilson Riles Jr
Sunday, May 10th
5:00 to 6:30 pm
“After almost a year of community work the Oakland Coalition for a City Identification Card (OCCIC), of which the Green Party has been an integral part, has proposed a complex, radical, alternative currency system for Oakland that has an excellent chance of being passed by the Oakland City Council.
Borrowing from the experience of hundreds of other US cities and international communities once passed by the Council this system could be transformative for Oakland and spark the creation of similar systems all over the Bay Area and nationally. The philosophical elements that under gird the proposal has Biblical, indigenous, and modern roots most intensive articulated in the writings of E. F. Schumacher (Small is Beautiful). Thomas Jefferson lost his conflict with Alexander Hamilton over the economy’s structural issues this system raises up. All of this and the proposal is a mechanism that will promote ecological correction significantly. “
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West
side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Served directly
by AC Transit routes 40, 64 & 17 with 6, 51 & 43 nearby.
Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs &
discussions sponsored by the Outreach Working Group of
the Green Party of Alameda County. They are usually held on
the 2nd Sunday of each month.
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Tom Athanasiou on “Global Justice or Climate Catastrophe”
Sunday, April 12th
5:00 to 6:30 pm
“In the face of global climate emergency, both theorizing and organizing must be accompanied by a deep commitment to truth telling. The mainline climate movement, alas, has concentrated almost exclusively on “inconvenient truths” of a scientific kind. I will briefly discuss a few of these, for they are essential. But essential as they are, it is long past time for inconvenient political truths to join them on the stage. And here there is plenty of inconvenience to go around. I will make two points. First, that the deep structure of the climate crisis — and the international climate policy impasse – has much to do with global economic polarization. And, second, that without a new and radically effective kind of global justice movement, we will fail to avert the impending catastrophe. Nor, despite all that we have learned, are we prepared. It’s time to think big.”
Tom is the director of EcoEquity and member of the Greenhouse Development Rights authors group. His interests focus on distributive justice within a context of global environmental emergency. He is the author or co-author of numerous books and reports, including The Right to Development in a Climate Constrained World, Dead Heat: Global Justice and Global Warming, and Divided Planet: the Ecology of Rich and Poor.
(See http://www.ecoequity.org for more information)
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LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West
side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Served directly
by AC Transit routes 40, 64 & 17 with 6, 51 & 43 nearby.
Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs &
discussions sponsored by the Outreach Working Group of
the Green Party of Alameda County. They are usually held on
the 2nd Sunday of each month.
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AC Transit in Trouble
Sunday, March 8th
5:00 to 6:30 pm
An Exploration: Can a change in the method of selecting AC Transit’s board bring about a more fiscally responsible agency that is sensitive to its riders and operators AND the environment?
Joyce Roy has been closely following AC Transit’s actions and writing about them for years. She does not own a car and is very active so rides a lot of buses. And she does not merely ride buses, she engages with riders and operators so knows their views.
After she got her nose under the tent, so to speak, as a member of AC Transit’s Accessibility Advisory Committee beginning in early 2007, her eyes were opened even wider and she tried to change things by running for the board. She lost the battle but won the war. She has begun referring to herself as a Whistle Blower and has started a ACTransitwatch. blog.
She is a semi-retired architect and has served as Director of Transportation on the League of Women Voters of the Bay Area board, and as the League’s representative on ACTIA’s Citizen’s Watchdog Committee. She was a founding member of a neighborhood YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) group, ULTRA (Urbanists for a Livable Temescal,
Rockridge Area) which advocates for more density along transit corridors like Telegraph and Broadway.
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Served directly by AC Transit routes 40, 64 & 17 with 6, 51 & 43 nearby. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Outreach Working Group of
the Green Party of Alameda County. They are usually held on the 2nd Sunday of each month.
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Obama the Utopian?
Sunday, February 8th, 2009
5:00 to 6:30 pm
Many commentators have discussed the “pragmatism” of Obama, sometimes
with praise and other times with a critical edge. What many have
missed however is the “utopian” dimension of the Obama campaign this
fall. Berkeley Green Gabriel Hetland will be discussing the
utopianism of the Obama campaign. In particular, Gabriel will look at
how this utopian dimension functions in two contradictory ways: 1) as
a legitimation for the campaign’s instrumental politics (which have
been quite on display in the first several weeks of the Obama
administration) ; and 2) as a means of inspiring and bringing in a new
generation to politics, with possibilities that may spill beyond the
bounds of what the Obama campaign itself may consider acceptable.
Gabriel will also discuss how this relates to Alameda County Green
Party, and what potential this offers for radical politics in America.
LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.
DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West
side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Served directly
by AC Transit routes 40, 64 & 17 with 6, 51 & 43 nearby.
Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs &
discussions sponsored by the Outreach Working Group of
the Green Party of Alameda County. They are usually held on
the 2nd Sunday of each month.
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Hi all,
Gabe will be speaking and facilitating a discussion about “Obama the
Utopian” at this Sunday’s (Feb 8th) Green Sunday. He thought this
article by Ted Glick was relevant and that you might like to read it
before hand.
Third Party Organizing Under Obama
Feb 02, 2009 By Ted Glick
Ted Glick’s ZSpace Page / ZSpace
“As a politician, Mr. Daschle often struck a populist note, but his
financial disclosure report shows that in the last two years, he received
$2.1 million from a law firm, Alston & Bird; $2 million in consulting fees
from a private equity firm run by a major Democratic fundraiser, Leo
Hindery Jr. . . and at least $220,000 for speeches to health care,
pharmaceutical and insurance companies. He also received nearly $100,000
from health-related companies affected by federal regulation.”
-N.Y. Times, Feb. 1, 2009, page 1 story, “Daschle Knew of Tax Issues
As Of Last June”
The nomination of Tom Daschle for both White House “health czar” and
Secretary of Health and Human Services is in trouble. It’s in trouble
because information has come out that Daschle, former Democratic Party
leader in the U.S. Senate, didn’t pay until very recently $128,000 in back
taxes owed for “the use of a car and driver provided by a private equity
firm,” the same one which gave him $2 million in consulting fees.
Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs, is quoted as saying, “The
president is comfortable with Senator Daschle’s variety of experiences
and backgrounds. It’s why he believes he’s best suited to the efforts to
reform our health care system.”
Is this really the best President Obama can do when it comes to change we
can believe in as far as our seriously-flawed health care system?
It has been like a breath of fresh air to have Obama in the White House.
I don’t miss at all reading in the newspaper each morning about the
latest Bush/Cheney outrage. Some mornings over the last two weeks there
has been truly good White House news to read about: an end to torture,
pro-labor initiatives, support for renewable energy, a reversal of Bush’s
anti-choice family planning policies internationally.
But the Daschle fiasco, coupled with other problematic Cabinet
appointments, particularly Robert Gates, James L. Jones, Timothy Geithner
and Lawrence Summers, underlines the importance of continuing efforts to
build a consistently progressive political alternative- a “third party”-in
this country.
The last eight years for those efforts have not been easy. Under the
neo-conservative Republicans, the predominant sentiment among
progressive- minded people, both activists and the broad swath of voters,
has been that it is essential that we get the Republicans out of office.
And since the winner-take- all, corporate dominated U.S. electoral system,
and the corporate mass media which reports on it, are structured to make
third parties seem like little more than “spoilers” (spoilers of a rotten
system), it has been a hard, upstream row for groups like the Green Party
and the Labor Party, the two surviving, national, progressive third party
organizations.
At a local level the Green Party has been able to maintain and strengthen
its presence in many, a large majority, of states. It has been electing a
slowly growing number of people to local offices like city council while
maintaining an activist presence on issues. The vast majority of those
local electoral victories, however, have been by Green Party members
running on a non-partisan ballot line. Very few of the currently 250 or
so elected Greens won office by running on a Green Party ballot line.
On a national level, in both 2004 and 2008, the progressive third party
movement was divided between those who supported non-Green Party member
Ralph Nader’s independent campaigns and those who supported the
candidates chosen by the GP’s internal democratic processes, David Cobb
and Cynthia McKinney. In both Presidential election years, Nader got a
small percentage of the 2.8 million votes he had gotten in 2000 -460,000
(2004) and 730,000 votes (2008)-and Cobb and McKinney got between 120,000
(Cobb) and 160,000 (McKinney).
It seems to me that if we are ever going to open up the U.S. electoral
system to the participation of those who rightly feel very excluded, if
we are to ever have a genuine multi-party democracy instead of a
two-party duopoly, there are a number of things which must be done by
those who support this objective, those who are currently active in
groups like the Greens or the Labor Party, as well as those working in or
close to the Democratic Party who clearly understand its serious
limitations:
-We need to keep building our independent electoral/activist efforts,
organizing on issues and running candidates on local and, where it’s
strategic, state levels.
-We need to be people who can be counted on to support the struggles of
communities of color, labor, young people, women, environmentalists and
other progressive- oriented constituencies around the issues they are most
affected by. We need to be reliable allies. We don’t have the money and
access to corporate media that the Dems and Reps do, but over time we can
compensate for that with solid personal and political connections at a
grassroots level.
-Along these lines, there is a need to firmly reject sectarian, narrow
and divisive approaches toward third party organizing which would isolate
us from our natural allies. There are some individual members of the
Green Party, for example, who attack as sellouts other Greens who are
working with Democrats, as well as non-Green independents and maybe some
Republicans, on issues. They have no appreciation of the need to be known
not just for having good ideas about what needs to be done to bring about
genuine change but for demonstrating in practice an ability to organize
effectively through alliance-building.
-Finally, there is a continuing need for the development of arenas for
discussion and relationship- building among those who have similar
programmatic ideas about what needs to be done but have differences over
the political tactics to achieve them-i.e., between progressive
Democrats, progressive third partyites and those who see themselves as
primarily issue-oriented activists. It may well be the case that such
discussions could develop into something more substantial as far as
regularized communication and coordination. And perhaps, as we get the
mixed bag of results– some positive, some negative, some somewhere in
between–that we can realistically expect from Obama and the Democrats,
we’ll figure out how to advance toward an effective, consistently
progressive, activist and electoral, national political vehicle we can
all be part of.
Ted Glick is a former coordinator and continuing leader of the
Independent Progressive Politics Network. His primary work for the last
four years has been as a climate activist. More information can be found
at http://www.tedglick .com.
From: Z Net – The Spirit Of Resistance Lives
URL: http://www.zcommuni cations.org/ zspace/commentar ies/3762
The Green Party of Alameda County invites you to a Green Sunday discussion about the November 6 general election, featuring a 4-person panel. The discussion will focus primarily on the state propositions — a listingof these eleven propositions is at: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures.htm The Green Voter Guide has been published and will be available for perusing.
Panelists:
** Marsha Feinland — Former commissioner, Berkeley Rent Board; co-chair, Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party
** Michael Rubin — An activist since the 1960′s; currently sits on the State Coordinating of the California Green Party and the Steering Committee of the Oakland Greens.
** Eugene E Ruyle — Peace and Freedom Candidate! for State Assembly, 15th District (San Pablo, Richmond, El Cerrito, Kensington, Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Piedmont, and Emeryville)
** Laura Wells — Green Party candidate for Governor 2010, and spokesperson for the “No Corporate Money” campaign.
Sunday Oct 14
5 to 6:30 pm
Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland
wheelchair accessible
You can also get a bundle or two of the Voter Guides to distribute in your neighborhood, workplace, etc.
If you want to take a look at the Voter Guide now, check on line.
http://acgreens.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/greenvoterguidenov2012.pdf
The October 14 panel discussion i! s co-sponsored by the East Bay Social Forum.
