"You make an issue. The issue isn't there, just lying around waiting to be picked up off the sidewalk. It is what the author is intense about in his life." Last night (2/11/05) the curtain came down on the life of playwright Arthur Miller. His most renowned works dissect social and political issues from an intimate viewpoint.
New York Times Photo

For the last two and a half years at Scotts Valley High School, teachers have been fighting intolerance targeted specifically at LGBTI & Questioning students, out teachers, and allies. Teachers have placed posters regarding respect for the LGBT community in their classrooms; there have been PA announcements sponsored by the student diversity group regarding LGBT community events; and in-class distribution of the SVHS student newspaper, which has run student-written editorials representing both sides of various LGBT issues.

A parent, Mr. D'Andrea, whose child attends SVHS, is working closely with the right-wing Pacific Justice Institute. He has now threatened to sue the district over its supposed promotion of a "gay agenda."

There is a special board meeting that has been called for Feb 7 at 6:00 pm at Scotts Valley High School's Student Union.

Anti-gay activists have vowed to show up in force. Your presence during this special meeting will show that there is support for a safe learning environment for all students.

[ Leer mas en espanol I Request from an openly gay teacher at SVHS ]

Resources: [ California Student Safety and Violence Prevention I Make It Real I California Safe Schools Coalition I Safe Schools Project of SCC ]

A coalition of local organizations invited the entire community to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by joining in activities to promote peace, equality and social justice on Monday, January 17th. People throughout Santa Cruz County commemorated the holiday by engaging in community service activities - making MLK's birthday a "Day on, not a Day off."

"We believe that helping to put food on the table of a hungry family or providing reading material to help educate someone in jail are perfect examples of things that bring us one step closer to Dr. King's dream of an equitable, just society" notes Volunteer Center Director Karen Delaney. YouthSERVE hopes to collect 1,000 books for Friends Outside and 10,000 pounds of food for Second Harvest Food Bank between Dr, Kings' Brithday and Cesar Chavez day in March.

Pat Clark, former NAACP President and one of the local organizers, hopes that people will use part of their holiday to help spread Dr. King's message of hope, equality, compassion and peace. "People think of Dr. King saying "I have a Dream." We want people to remember that Dr. King was also an advocate for ending poverty, promoting peace and taking personal responsibility for making the world a better place."

Video: Download it here! (32.4 megabytes) I Photos I More Photos

[ Martin Luther King remembered in Fresno I Shut down PG&E Contingent at MLK march in SF I Indybay's Race page ]

Join us on Thursday, January 20th, at the County Courthouse, 701 Ocean Street in Santa Cruz for a good old fashioned rally, from 4:30 PM to 5:45 PM, and culminating with a mass swearing in of all those present as Collective President Pro-Tem of the USA.

then, at 5:45, we will march to the Collateral Damage Sculpture/Town Clock Park, corner of Water and River Streets, to mourn and honor the victims of war, call for an end to the Iraq Occupation, and lay flowers of remembrance in silence and reflection

at 6:30, we will proceed across Water Street, to the Sister Cities Circle next to the Post Office - together we will rekindle the torch of our giant Statue of Liberty Puppet, bringing her spirit and her purpose back to life!!

Update: George McGovern will speak at about 6:45pm

See Also: Mass Demonstrations in DC, LA, and San Francisco on Inauguration Day

Santa Cruz Copwatch is pleased to announce the availability of part of the Santa Cruz Police Department General Orders as of 12-29-2004 online.

If you have ever had any questions as to the proper Santa Cruz Police procedure and behavior according to local, state, and federal laws, the SCPD General Orders is probably the most thorough and detailed document available to find the answer. It is also sometimes helpful in finding out what the city expects the behavior of the public to be in certain situations.

The General orders are available at: SantaCruzCopwatch.org/go

Three cheers to the spook who exposed Bush.

It is an outrage that the Santa Cruz Government has been found to be infiltrating legal political activities in Santa Cruz through its police department.

But of course, the kinds of folks who push an ideology that required the expulsion of three-quarters-of-a-million Palestinians from their lands, and then lied about it, claiming there had been no such persons to begin with (as with Golda Meir’s infamous quip), can’t be expected to place a very high premium on truth. -- Tim Wise, anti-racist, anti-Zionist, Jewish-American activist, essayist & public speaker

We need to go to law school. Seriously. As activists, we are absolutely dependent on an industry of law that we know very little about and have very little influence in. Prison is serious stuff and to have so little available help within our own ranks is not acceptable or safe. Our friends and lovers are shuffled around in a system that leaves them wondering what they were actually charged with and/or convicted of and what exactly the evidence against them was. Our family are left in utter darkness about procedures and are reduced to begging for legal information from attorneys paid $200 an hour. I seriously believe we need more activist attorneys. NOW.

A luncheon and celebration will be held on January 8, 2006, acknowledging those who went to Selma, directly participated in the Selma to Montgomery March, voter registration in Mississippi, bus Freedom Rides, or other events in the mid-1960's that resulted in universal voter registration, Civil Rights legislation, and an overturning of Jim Crow laws.