Follow Us
Assemblymember Ammiano introduces Homeless Bill of Rights
December 17, 2012
Assemblymember Tom Ammiano has introduced a groundbreaking bill to protect some of society’s most vulnerable members. The Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act (AB 5) establishes a foundation on which California can begin to build protections of the basic human rights of people who are homeless.
Senate passes Prison Media Access Bill
August 30, 2012
Update: Gov. Brown signed AB 1270 Aug. 31, restoring the conditions that existed before 1996, when corrections officials cut down on reporters’ ability to report on prisons and prisoners. “With passage of AB 1270, legislators have voted for transparent and accountable reporting of the state’s 32 prisons and the more than 130,000 prisoners locked inside their walls.”
CDCR registers last minute opposition to expanding media access to state prisons
July 27, 2012
AB 1270, legislation that would increase transparency and media access to California’s notorious state prison system, is currently facing opposition in the Senate Appropriations Committee. CDCR is formally opposing the bill, citing cost as their main concern. There are two ways that you can help: Attend a Lobby Day on Aug. 9 or phone committee members from home before Aug. 13.
Senate Committee on Public Safety votes to lift the media access ban on California prisons
June 12, 2012
Today, residents throughout the state celebrate as AB1270, a bill to lift the media access ban in California prisons, passed the Senate Committee on Public Safety in a 4-2 vote. Since 1996, media have been prohibited from choosing their interview subjects inside prisons, and nine versions of this bill have been vetoed by three different governors.
New data from Office of Civil Rights: SF Black students suspended six times more than whites
April 11, 2012
The recently released data reveal that in San Francisco Unified, Black suspension rates are more than six times the rate for whites (14.4 percent vs. 2.2 percent), and the Hispanic expulsion rate is 5 percent. Black males stood out, with 20 percent (one in five) being suspended from school during the 2009-10 school year.
America’s Cup clouded by local hiring, financing concerns
February 15, 2012
TODAY the SF Budget and Finance Committee considers vote on America’s Cup development, hearing at 1 p.m., America’s Cup discussion at about 2 p.m. Come to demand local hire and inclusion of disadvantaged contractors! At stake are 1,100 construction jobs and some $2 billion in contracts.
Prison media access bill passes California Assembly
February 12, 2012
The bill by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, to restore media access to prisoners, AB 1270, passed the California Assembly Jan. 26. The bill would remove restrictions on pre-arranged in-person interviews with specific prison inmates.
Mobilize to support the hunger strike! Let’s win this fight!
July 19, 2011
At least 400 prisoners at Pelican Bay continue to refuse food and thousands more around the state are striking in solidarity, making it the largest hunger strike in the history of the embattled California prison system. “We are urging our state representatives and Gov. Brown to step in and force the CDCR to recognize the prisoners’ demands,” says Manuel La Fontaine.
Conservatives keep anti-local hiring bill on life support as attack on community-labor partnerships limps out of first committee hearing
May 5, 2011
On top of already heaping opposition to his plan to limit the ability of California cities to pursue local hiring policies and local hiring project labor agreements, Assemblyman Jerry Hill is now opposed by the San Mateo branch of the NAACP.
Mounting opposition confronts San Mateo’s anti-local hiring assemblyman
April 28, 2011
A sea of overwhelming opposition in cities from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles has risen against San Mateo Assemblymember Jerry Hill and his anti-local hiring measure, Assembly Bill 356, which threatens state funding for any California city with a local hiring policy.
San Francisco and Bay Area workers under attack
February 11, 2011
Assemblymember Hill today unveiled legislation that attacks local hiring by banning state-funded construction in any city with a local hiring law, even shutting down Bay Area projects that residents of his own district work on.
Elect DeWitt Lacy District 10 Supervisor in San Francisco
October 8, 2010
I will be your voice at City Hall if you will be my feet on the ground of District 10. Together we can make sure that District 10 finally gets its fair share of affordable housing, quality schools and business opportunities.
Lawyers Guild applauds arrest of Officer Mehserle, Oscar Grant’s executioner, and calls for protection of protesters’ rights
January 14, 2009
The National Lawyers Guild calls upon BART, Oakland and Alameda County officials to recognize that their shameful response to Oscar Grant’s murder fueled the street protests.