Bay Area Region

FOR IMMEDIATE  RELEASE                

March 14, 2011
Contact: Aaron Lehmer, Network Development Director, Bay Localize
(415) 613-4781, aaron@baylocalize.org

Bay Localize to Honor Prominent Community Leaders
at “Roots of Resilience” 5-Year Anniversary Gala

(Oakland, CA) — Celebrate with us on Saturday, April 2, 2011 as Bay Localize – an Oakland based project of Earth Island Institute dedicated to local sustainability -  hosts its Fifth Anniversary Gala, Roots of Resilience.  The event will honor community leaders, businesses, and civic pioneers who are stepping up to build a vibrant and resilient Bay Area. Highlights include Keynote Speaker Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, hip-hop headliner artists, Ashel “Seasunz” Eldridge and Jennifer Johns, and honorees of the Community Resilience Leadership Awards.  

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
SAVE THE DATE!  Saturday, April 2nd, 2011
Gala Dinner at 6:30 – locally grown, organic  entree with dessert
WHERE: CA Ballroom, 1736 Franklin St., Oakland (near 19th St. BART). (Parking available)
COST:  $50 Activist (limited supply) and $75 General; Group rates for Table Sponsorships

By Wyatt Buchanan

The California Air Resources Board violated state environmental law in 2008 when it adopted a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gases and again last year when it passed cap-and-trade regulations, a San Francisco Superior Court judge has ruled in a tentative decision.

If the decision is made final, California would be barred from implementing its ambitious plan to combat global warming until it complies with portions of the California Environmental Quality Act, though it is not yet clear what the air board would have to do to be in compliance. The state's plan, which implements AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, would reduce carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

The Air Resources Board and those who brought the lawsuit, a variety of environmental groups represented by the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, a San Francisco organization, have until Tuesday to respond before the court makes a final ruling.

Not Drivers' Fault

THIS IS regarding the Nov. 24 editorial, "AC Transit gets relief, but cuts still likely misses the mark:"

AC Transit's financial woes are not primarily due to drivers' salaries. (In fact, a regional and national comparison done in September of transit wages by MTC puts AC's toward the bottom of the spectrum.)

AC's deficit is mainly due to discriminatory funding decisions at the regional, state and federal levels, which prioritize highway expansion and costly rail expansion at the expense of operating bus service. And, as pointed out, the drawn-out recession doesn't help AC either.

By Christine Joy Ferrer

On November 11, at the Pro Arts Gallery in Oakland, Youth Speaks in partnership with Urban Peace Movement, AYPAL, Ella Baker Center and Raw Talent presented the Youth Town Hall on Police Brutality. This was done in memory of Oscar Grant and one week after Johannes Mesherle’s sentencing. These youth rolled deep. With standing room only, at least a hundred youth from all around the San Francisco Bay Area rose up to speak on police accountability and civil rights–pissed off at the injustice of our criminal justice system and frustrated at the misuse of the badge supposedly meant to protect us. I hope you are all moved by the spoken words of these amazing youth as they bust a verse. Their time to remain silent is over. They chant, “Ain’t no power like the power of the youth cuz the power of the youth don’t stop.”

 Listen to the Eyes Opened Blog podcast on the Youth Town Hall on Police Brutality.