BLACK MESA 2012: Ohlone Elder Corinna Gould Speaking on November 9 at RCNV

Black Mesa benefit 2012: Anti-colonial struggle from California to Arizona

A Public Event ·  

By Santa Cruz Indigenous Solidarity

• • Friday, November 9, 2012
  • 6:30pm until 10:00pm

• SPEAKERS: * Kat Keediniihii (Diné) * Growing up at Big Mountain, Kat was raised with Diné traditions by her family in the midst of a struggle for cultural survival. She is currently living in Salinas with her four sons and is known as a humble, hard-working woman who is always there for the people. * Corrina Gould (Chochenyo/Karkin Ohlone) * Corrina Gould is a community organizer and educator in Oakland who works every day to honor her ancestors. For over a decade she has been on the front lines of Ohlone efforts to protect sacred sites. MUSIC: Speakers will be followed by a set of acoustic music by local artists: Pale Robin, Gembrokers, Scott Ferreter and secret guests! http://palerobin.bandcamp.com/ http://thegembrokers.com/ ALSO: * Black Mesa Support Slideshow * Desserts and food Admission is $5-20, no one turned away. This is a benefit for Black Mesa families resisting relocation. “Our life is our religion, and our religion is the land.” Thomas Katenay, Diné “What I say about this development that happens all over the Bay Area, is that it’s a cultural genocide. They’re trying to wipe us out, in a different kind of a way.” Corrina Gould, Ohlone BACKGROUND: In Northeastern Arizona, traditional Diné (Navajo) elders and families at Black Mesa are continuing a decades-long resistance to coal strip-mining and forced relocation from their sacred ancestral lands. In the Monterey and SF Bay Areas, Ohlone people continue to fight for cultural survival and the protection of their sacred places and burial grounds. “Un-recognized” by the federal government, the Ohlones have no land-base and live day to day within a settler society that is largely ignorant of their continued existence. Event details: Friday, November 9th 6:30pm-10:00pm @ the Resource Center for Nonviolence 612 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, CA BLACK MESA INDIGENOUS SUPPORT, SANTA CRUZ sheepandsagebrush@gmail.com 831-708-8199 http://blackmesais.org/

Resource Center for Nonviolence

612 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, California 95060

"Homelessness Summit" in Santa Cruz County: Let's Make Room For Compassion ~~ Change The Face Of The Future

Creating Smart Solutions to Homelessness:

A Countywide Community Engagement Summit

Saturday, Dec. 1 **10am - 4pm**

Cabrillo College (Dining Room in Building 900)

Lunch and snacks provided

What can we do about Homelessness in Santa Cruz County? The question itself strikes a passionate chord, with strong and divergent views in the community. There are many public and community based organizations providing programs and services to people who are homeless. Law enforcement and emergency response resources are used to address symptoms of homelessness. Neighborhoods, parks and business districts are impacted by homelessness, often in significant ways. However there is common ground - we all want less homelessness.

No single entity or program can address these issues on their own. We need a community-wide response and that means each and every one of us has a part to play.

Would you like to be part of the solution? Please join us at a community-built and countywide conference on homelessness with these objectives:

·      Create broader and more diverse community engagement on homelessness.

·      Develop better communication & coordination among those concerned about these issues.

·      Improve understanding of the realities of homelessness in Santa Cruz County.

·      Share information about proven, successful models and solutions working in other communities including some that are taking shape in Santa Cruz County.

·      Develop a shared vision for change and agreed upon action steps.

·      Form an ongoing community leadership group to carry the work forward on shaping policies to address homelessness.

We are seeking participation from all geographic areas of Santa Cruz County and representatives from all stakeholder groups including business, faith-based organizations, service providers, neighborhood groups and service clubs, law enforcement, elected officials, professionals, and people who are homeless or formerly homeless. Spanish language translation will be provided.

Event registration is required - go to eventbrite at www.smartsolutionstohomelessness.org to sign up. If you have questions please contact Phil Kramer, Project Coordinator at phil@smartsolutionstohomelessness.org or    call  (831) 334-4976.
We look forward to your participation -

John Leopold - Chair, County Board of Supervisors

Don Lane - Mayor, City of Santa Cruz

Eduardo Montesino - Mayor, City of Watsonville

Mary Lou Goeke - Executive Director, United Way of Santa Cruz County

Lance Linares - Chief Executive Officer, Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County

Gary Merrill - Executive Director, Santa Cruz County Business Council

Christine Sippl - Director, County of Santa Cruz Homeless Persons Health Project

Linda Lemaster - Formerly Homeless Parent & Continuum of Care Evaluation Committee

Lodging Trial Postponed Yet Again

Lemaster's Lodging 647(e) Trial

After 774 days waiting in the court calendar stacks, as far as I can determine. Judge Connally was counting, per her remark on Wednesday 10 - 10, "longest waiting case". 

But then she said, "no room."

On October 10th, Honorable Rebecca Connally said she could not adjudicate the booked trial because she had a different trial to begin, which she asserterd only she, herself, could try.

Therefore, she punted the whole Lodging Trial back to the Master Calendar's currently assigned Judge, Honorable John Salazar.

Yesterday, Friday Oct 12th, Salazar said simply, "There IS no courtroom available."

So my attorney, Jonathan Gettleman, said, "Your Honor, we would like to withdraw Ms. Lemaster's time waver."

So Judge Salazar looked at his overly full calendar again and said, "All right then ... within two weeks."

That puts the NEXT 'trial readiness hearing' on Hallowe'en, and the Lodging 647(e) Trial likely to start on the first Monday in November, said Gettleman after court.



I have not asked for any special considerations since this began, unless you want to count asking for a Jury, which I still read is my right as a US of A citizen accused.

I seem to be witnessing the breaking down of our system of Justice in a small rural County, in a large but purportedly near-bankrupt state, during our Nations' shifting recession?

What can we do about Homelessness in Santa Cruz County?

Creating Smart Solutions 
to Homelessness:
A Countywide Community Engagement Summit
Saturday, Dec. 1 **10am - 4pm** 
Cabrillo College (Dining Room in Building 900) 
Lunch and snacks provided

What can we do about Homelessness in Santa Cruz County? The question itself strikes a passionate chord, with strong and divergent views in the community. There are many public and community based organizations providing programs and services to people who are homeless. Law enforcement and emergency response resources are used to address symptoms of homelessness. Neighborhoods, parks and business districts are impacted by homelessness, often in significant ways. However there is common ground - we all want less homelessness.

No single entity or program can address these issues on their own. We need a community-wide response and that means each and every one of us has a part to play.

Would you like to be part of the solution? Please join us at a community-built and countywide conference on homelessness with these objectives:

• Create broader and more diverse community engagement on homelessness.

• Develop better communication & coordination among those concerned about these issues.

• Improve understanding of the realities of homelessness in Santa Cruz County.

• Share information about proven, successful models and solutions working in other communities including some that are taking shape in Santa Cruz County.

• Develop a shared vision for change and agreed upon action steps.

• Form an ongoing community leadership group to carry the work forward on shaping policies to address homelessness.

We are seeking participation from all geographic areas of Santa Cruz County and representatives from all stakeholder groups including business, faith-based organizations, service providers, neighborhood groups and service clubs, law enforcement, elected officials, professionals, and people who are homeless or formerly homeless. Spanish language translation will be provided.

Event registration is required - go to www.smartsolutionstohomelessness.org to sign up. If you have questions please contact Phil Kramer, Project Coordinator at phil@smartsolutionstohomelessness.org or (831) 334-4976.

We look forward to your participation -

John Leopold - Chair, County Board of Supervisors

Don Lane - Mayor, City of Santa Cruz

Eduardo Montesino - Mayor, City of Watsonville

Mary Lou Goeke - Executive Director, United Way of Santa Cruz County

Lance Linares - Chief Executive Officer, Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County

Gary Merrill - Executive Director, Santa Cruz County Business Council

Christine Sippl - Director, County of Santa Cruz Homeless Persons Health Project

Linda Lemaster - Formerly Homeless Parent & Continuum of Care Evaluation Committee

# # # # # # #

Please let me know if you have any questions and how I can help.

Thanks,
PhilPhilip Kramer
Project Coordinator
Smart Solutions to Homelessness Summit

Project Manager
180/180
www.180santacruz.org
(831) 334-4976

Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz become National Monument in honor of Cezar Chavez

Obama honors iconic Latino activist Cesar Chavez

UPDATED 5:05 PM PDT Oct 08, 2012

Assemblymember Luis Alejo tweeted this 
photograph of President Barack Obama at 
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument Monday. 
-by Luis Alejo

Describing it as a "day that has been a long time coming," President Barack Obama made modern history Monday by announcing the creation of a monument to honor the late labor and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.
The Cesar E. Chavez National Monument becomes the 398th unit in the National Park Service system, and the first honoring a Latino born later than the 1700s, the Park Service told CNN.

It's no coincidence the move comes less than a month before Election Day, as the president maintains a strong lead among Latinos. A big turnout among Latino supporters in states where the race is close could help Obama win re-election against GOP challenger Mitt Romney.

The president spoke at a ceremony in Keene, California, on land known as Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz, where, from the 1970s until the early '90s, Chavez lived and led his farm Nuestra Senora Reina de la Pazworker movement.

Decades ago, Obama said, when Chavez began his farm worker movement, "no one seemed to care about the invisible farm workers who picked the nation's food -- bent down in the beating sun, living in poverty, cheated by growers, abandoned in old age, unable to demand even the most basic rights."

"Cesar cared," the president said. "In his own peaceful and eloquent way he made other people care too." Chavez's organized labor marches and other protests, including a boycott of table grapes, led to "some of the first farm worker contracts in history," Obama said. "Let us honor his memory, but most importantly let us live up to his example."

Chavez's movement "was sustained by a generation of organizers who stood up and spoke out and urged others to do the same," Obama said.

Chavez, Obama said, believed that "when someone who works 12 hours a day in the fields can earn enough to put food on the table -- maybe save up enough to buy a home -- that lifts up our entire economy."

Obama acknowledged that there's still "more work to do" and "the recession we're fighting our way back from is still taking a toll -- especially in Latino communities which already faced high unemployment and poverty rates."
Earlier Monday, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 30 Latino organizations, lauded the move.

Chavez, who died in 1993, embodied the principle "that individuals can accomplish more as a community than they ever could on their own," said Hector E. Sanchez, executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, in a statement put out by the leadership agenda.
The monument includes 120 acres, National Park Service spokesman David Barna said.

Obama's order puts property under federal protection that includes a visitor's center, the United Farm Workers' legal aid offices, Chavez's home with his wife, Helen, a memorial garden containing his grave, and other buildings, the White House said.

LCV spokesman Jeff Gohringer said Monday that establishing the Chavez monument stands as "further proof of President Obama's commitment to our special places across the country and we hope he continues to use that authority."

Paul F. Chavez, president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, said at the time, "For my father, La Paz was a personal refuge from bitter struggles in agricultural valleys and big cities, a spiritual harbor where he recharged batteries, drew fresh inspiration and prepared for the battles ahead. It was a place where many dedicated people spent years of their lives working with Cesar Chavez for social justice, inspiring generations of Americans from all walks of life who never worked on a farm to social and political activism."

Read more: http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/salinas/Obama-honors-iconic-Latino-activist-Cesar-Chavez/-/5738906/16900010/-/11ks97rz/-/index.html#ixzz28m1wKAMO

When two Worlds Collide: D.A. Bob Lee and Robert Norse

A MEETING IN THE MIDDLE 



When Bob Lee recently parked on the cusp of a local lunchtime gathering dedicated to drafting a "Homeless Bill of Rights", he bumped into some indicted defendants whom our community is calling the "Santa Cruz Eleven" and their friends.

Lee is District Attorney in Santa Cruz County. He indicted eleven people who nay have visited 75 River Street in Santa Cruz, shortly after an Occupy Santa Cruz-related March against Foreclosures. 75 River Street is a vacant bank building which owners Wells Fargo and Barry Swenson are trying to sell the three-years-empty place.

SCEleven, homeless locals and many other visitors responded to the bank building's  liberation, and it's liberators' welcome sign, on November 30/December 1st, 2011.

Linda's Hearth note: Well, I can't find the scary photo of Bob Lee, D.A. and Robert Norse. Thought it was perfect for the coming All Saints' Day. Never mind! Here's a funner photo, by Alex Darocy, also posted with many others at Indybay Santa Cruz, Feb 29th, 2012.

Lodging 647(e) Trial Oct 15th starting 9 a.m.

Lodging 647(e) Trial Launches
October 15, 9 a.m.

Santa Cruz Superior Court, 701 Ocean St, Courtroom/Dept #1,
 

Santa Cruz 95060 (very very close where citation originated...)

NEWS:  
Linda Lemaster's Lodging trial 

punted to "the Master Calendar" on Weds, 
Oct 10th by Honorable Rebecca 
Connolly.

"I'm told I'll be assigned another 
new Judge Friday afternoon." -LL

This Lodging Trial is about a ticket Linda Lemaster received in the wee hours,  for California's PC Lodging 647(e). The story of this citation has been slowly moving thru' legal limbo for over two years and two months, since PeaceCamp2010. Heading now toward a jury trial.

PC2010 held a First Amendment protected demonstration and protest on the Courthouse steps, in support of homeless people who have to sleep outside, August 2010.

And in resistance to the sleeping ban law used in the City of Santa Cruz to criminalize and further marginalize homeless people. Muni Code 6.36.010  pretty much criminalizes anyone sleeping outside in public view, regardless of other factors, but it is selectively used to banish certain classes of people.

This City of Santa Cruz anti-sleep law adds significantly to dangers homeless people here face, including undue stress and criminalization which, according to Lemaster, "never seems to end if one is without money."

It invokes collective memories of sleeplessness as torture, for some of us.

So anyway, in August 2010, the County's Sheriff's Deputies (and apparently others?) selected "Lodging 647(e)" as a tool to -- so it seemed to me at the time -- make our demonstration go away.  Since then, both Gary Johnson, homeless survivor, and Ed Frey, attorney activist, have been sentenced to jail, and Johnson is still in jail right now.

See Indymedia Santa Cruz and SC Sentinel, summer 2010,

and my own article in theStreetSpirit.org for Sept 2011, to

learn more about PeaceCamp2010.

"Lodging is being used to push homeless people around in California, despite its historic use as a catch-all for status crimes. After this, regardless of outcome, it's the state legislature for me..." -- Linda Lemaster

"My pro-bono attorney Jonathan Gettleman has already lead the "lodging law" itself into a legal appeal, a Writ of Habeus Corpus. Then, Honorable Paul Marigonda's response acknowledged the First Amendment's pertinence. Gettleman and his partner, Eric Nelson, will begin presenting my case Tuesday, October 16th. After Jury Selection, starting Monday October 15 at 9 a.m." -Lemaster

Come if you can on October 16th! 

I will be spending the first ten minutes of "lunch" on Monday and Tuesday in quiet meditation, perhaps in the Atrium. Join me in silence if you like, or consider being a friendly witness of this trial. All caring support profoundly appreciated. I suspect if the courtroom is packed Monday and Tuesday, jurors and judge will "look sharp." 

Or please email me if you want to help in some other way ~ homes4everyone@yahoo.com  

If you want to help cover my lawyers' hard costs, such copying, here's my virtual-treasurer's e-dress for paypal-transmitted donations. Or contact me. Any such contributions will go entirely to my attorneys pro bono expenses: 

masterdeon@gmail.com

Lemaster, summer 2012