Chevron Refinery Campaign Mobilization 2/2 at 5 pm
Mobilize to support these demands at the City Council 25th and Macdonald, Tuesday 2/2 at 5 pm. Gather at 5:00 for food, community press conference at 5:45; Council meeting at 6:30. The mobilization is sponsored by Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Communities for a Better Environment, and West County Toxics Coalition. Mark your calendar for Tuesday February 23, 9:30 am. Court of Appeals Hearing (case A125618) 350 McAllister (near Civic Center Bart) --MP
For more information on the campaign call 1/30/10 |
|
Resolution on 350 at City Council
To the best of my knowledge, Richmond would be the first city in America to endorse 350 ppm CO2 as the rightful goal. I am hoping that other cities will follow suit. Come to the 2/2 city council meeting and help Richmond make history. It will take all of us working together to solve the challenges which await us.
--Jeff Ritterman Agenda report General description of resolution by Gayle McLaughlin, Jim Rogers, and Jeff Ritterman Resolution for Richmond City Council 350 Statement 1/30/10 |
|
Great Kick-Off for End Chevron Perks Campaign
|
|
Casinos in Point Molate a discussion
But now we also have a difference among progressives about how to carry on these battles. In this issue we have viewpoints by three leading Richmond Progressives, Gayle McLaughlin describes he alternative vision for Richmond, Andres Soto discusses political forces, and Tony Sustak explains why environmentalists consider Plan B. Click here for their arguments. A fourth, Michael Beer expresses his opinion with political art. 1/17/10 |
|
Clean Air and Good Jobs
|
|
What to do about Haiti
|
More than 70people crowded into the room to get more information or help kick-off the campaign to End Chevron’s special cap on its utility tax rate. The meeting, sponsored by the RPA, was impressive for its enthusiasm for this campaign as well as its broadness and diversity -- neighborhood organizations, unions, groups fighting Chevron on its pollution and environmental policies. 
Battles between those how want jobs, health, and beauty in our city versus those who care only for development for profit is a constant in our city. |
The 1989 world series earthquake in SF-Oakland, which collapsed the Nimitz Freeway and busted the Bay Bridge, was centered near Santa Cruz. It was 7.1 or 7.0 The Haiti quake was 7.0. 63 people died in 1989. Something like 2000 times as many died in Haiti. While earthquakes are natural, their consequences in poor countries are unnatural--the result of economic power and U.S. foreign policy. -MP
|
Contact your Congressperson and say basic humanity demands that the US:
- Immediately blanket Port-au-Prince with constant helicopter drops throughout the city with massive amounts of water, food and supplies. Drop the bundles if there is no space to land. This should have happened already several days ago. Haven't we learned from Katrina?
- Rather than have US military control aid distribution, let Haitians distribute aid themselves. They will share. There are Haitian doctors on the ground, but they need medicine.
- Grant TPS status in the US to Haitians who need to be evacuated from the country.
- Immediately cancel all of Haiti's debt to international financial institutions. All revenue in Haiti from now on needs to be used to rebuild the capital, not to service foreign debts.
- Insist that former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide be allowed to return to Haiti. He is in exile in South Africa and wants to return. He is more able than anyone to bring stability to the country in this crisis.
Attend emergency vigil 1/18 at 5:00pm at Oakland Federal Bldg. with Barbara Lee (www.haitisolidarity.net for info)
Educate yourself about Haiti's history and the broader context that has led to so much suffering in Haiti today.
Do consider giving money, as that will give Haitians more flexibility to use it for what is needed most. Even if it's a very small amount, it will add up. Ti piti narive (Haitian Creole, "little by little we'll get there").
I continue to recommend Haiti Emergency Relief Fund http://www.haitiaction.net/About/HERF/HERF.html
--Marilyn Langlois
Haiti Emergency Relief
Fund Board member
Healthcare Crisis: Reform or Deform?
A community forum about health care policy from a progressive perspective. Panel discussion followed by Q&A.
- Dr. Laura Wright - Physicians for National Healthcare Program
- Jack Heyman - ILWU (International Longshore & Warehouse Union) Organizer
- Pat Snyder- Health Care for All, Contra Costa County
- Mike Parker - Richmond Progressive Alliance
- Roger Wilkins - UPS (United Parcel Service) Teamster Shop Steward, Organizer - Teamsters for a Democratic Union
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
6-8 p.m.
Community Room Richmond Public Library
325 Civic Center Plaza (near Macdonald Ave. & 27th St.)
Sponsored by United for Health Care Justice (www.united4healthcare.org) Richmond Progressive Alliance (www.richmondprogressivealliance.net), Peace & Freedom Party Contra Costa County (www.peaceandfreedom.org) For further information contact (925) 798-3698
Next Steps on Measure T
Contra Costa Superior Court Judge, David Flinn has ruled in favor of Chevron that Measure T passed by Richmond voters can not be enforced. 
The ruling is complicated and technical but it also suggests ways that, in the Judge’s opinion, the measure would pass his standards.
The city council is considering recommendations from its legal staff on a possible course of action including legal appeal and placing a revised measure on the ballot. The people have clearly spoken in favor of a fair share for Richmond. It is the responsibility of the City Council to promote the citizens’ interests.
What probably makes sense is a combination of approaches to clarify the legal questions and also make it clear that the community demands fairness in taxation.
As Mayor Gayle McLaughlin says, “We will not, we cannot, we will never throw in the towel. This is a matter of justice.”
What do you think about the ruling? What do you think should be done? Let us know at
RPAactivist@gmail.com.
You can read the ruling at
http://www.tombutt.com/pdf/chevron decision 12-16-09.pdf
RPA Statement
Measure T was a groundbreaking citizens' initiative passed by the Richmond voters in Nov. 2008. Measure T required the city's largest manufacturers, like Chevron, to pay a higher business license fee than the corner grocery store. Chevron spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat Measure T in the election, and failed. Chevron then used its army of lawyers to challenge Measure T in court.A superior court judge validated that the city had the right to change its license fees. The judge, however, sided with Chevron on technicalities, insisting that every aspect of measure T's implementation and enforcement be spelled out. The city's legal staff are advising the Richmond City Council on two possible courses of action. There are many applicable precedents on the books to justify a legal appeal. To support the community's mandate for fair taxation, the City councilcan also make the language adjustments recommended by the judge and resubmit it to the voters as a revised measure on the November 2010 ballot. Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and the thousands of Richmond voters who support Measure T remain confident that justice and fair taxation will ultimately prevail, one way or the other, with this council's help or with the next. 1/17/10
|
Learning from the Experts
My partner Vivien and I had the rare pleasure of hosting Professors Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett during the San Francisco leg of their U.S. book tour promoting their recently released book, “The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger”, Bloomsbury Press.
Professor Wilkinson has been researching the impact of income inequality on health outcome for several decades. Seven years ago, he began working with Professor Kate Pickett and broadened the analysis to include quality of life as well as health.
What Wilkinson and Pickett have uncovered is both truly remarkable and intuitively obvious. Rising income inequality impacts health and quality of life profoundly. As societies become more unequal a generalized social dysfunction sets in. We trust each other less, social cohesion breaks down and with it life expectancy suffers, homicides increase, teen pregnancy rates rise, more of us drop out of high school, in fact just about everything goes wrong. We become fatter, our children score worse on math and literacy tests, our prisoner population swells, more of us suffer mental illness, our children bully each other more and there is less 
chance of advancement based on merit.
It appears that we, who live in the developed world, are the first generation to face the problem that more material wealth no longer results in a longer or better life. People in the US have twice the wealth and buying power of their counterparts in Greece, for example, but the Greeks live longer lives with fewer social ills. Why? Once a country is no longer poor and chronic illnesses like heart attacks and stokes replace infectious diseases as the leading cases of death, life expectancy and social well being are not related to wealth, but rather to how equally that wealth is shared. The more equal the income distribution, the longer the life span and the fewer the social ills.
So how does the U.S. compare to the other 
wealthy nations. We are at the bottom of the heap. In the 1950s we were the most equal, had the longest life expectancy and the highest quality of life. For the last 30 years our social and political decisions have resulted in the US becoming more unequal than any other rich nation with the exception of Singapore. Our poor showing in health outcomes and our apparently intractable social ills are due to this maldistribution of wealth and income.
There is also an important tie in between the threat of climate chaos and income inequality. Consumerism itself is fed largely by concerns about status. More unequal societies promote consumerism as everyone tries desperately to keep up with those above them in the social hierarchy. Curbing our unbridled consumerism is now a matter of species survival. Income inequality also promotes a callous disregard for the environment. More unequal societies recycle less and their business leaders are less concerned about the environment.
I thank Professors Wilkinson and Pickett for their diligent research proving what we all should have already known; we all do better when we all do better. Now we also know that the planet does better also when societies are are structured to promote greater equality.
To learn more go to their website www.equalitytrust.org.uk Richard and Kate have given us the knowledge. Now it us up to us to redress the imbalances of wealth, income and power. It is only by doing so that we will improve our health and social well being and create the conditions necessary to meet the challenge of climate change.
--Jeff Ritterman
photos by Vivien Feyer