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By Paul Gilmore
Sometimes, I get a forceful reminder that there are other worlds coexisting right alongside mine—sometimes just a few feet away—and I could go my whole life without ever having noticed, even if the people in those other worlds have shaped mine in profound ways. And even when I do know about that other world, I could go my whole life without really entering that world and participating. Of course, I could be talking about any number of things—the world of the arts, of which I am an occasional spectator, the worlds of homeless people, who I …[Read the details]
By Richard Stone
Vanessa Aranda
Spending time at the Occupy Fresno encampment in Courthouse Park in mid-November, a visitor might have been surprised at how serene and congenial the atmosphere was. It felt more like a campout than a protest gathering—a weenie roast and a round of songs would have fit right in.
Amid the group of card players and food caretakers, I located my prospective subject, Vanessa Aranda, with one ear glued to her cellphone. Her call completed, we repaired to the front seat of my car to converse. Even as we talked, preparations …[Read the details]
By Richard Stone
(Author’s note: While in Fresno to speak at the Progressives’ gathering on Oct. 1, Jim Hightower graciously afforded the Community Alliance time to interview him one-on-one. In the absence of our vacationing editor, that opportunity came to me.)
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower close-up is pretty much like Jim Hightower the public speaker—modest, congenial, witty, knowledgeable and dedicated to the proposition that democracy works when power is dispersed. He believes in, trusts and likes “the little guys.” For his visit to Fresno, his requests were for non-corporate-owned accommodations (the organizers couldn’t find any!), …[Read the details]
By Maria Telesco
The long-awaited, updated, revised and redacted edition of A Taxpayer’s Guide to the California Death Penalty is so fresh from the printer the ink is barely dry. It’s authored by Paul Comiskey, the attorney who 30 years ago created the Prison Law Office to provide pro bono legal assistance to prisoners. The 28-page booklet, edited by Fresno’s well-known human rights attorney Catherine Campbell, says everything there is to say about the death penalty: It’s costly and benefits no one. The booklet tells it like it is; nothing is left out.
It comes down to this: How …[Read the details]
Cindy Quiralte
My colleagues on the Community Alliance Editorial Board said, “Interview Cindy Quiralte; you’ll be impressed.” I had never heard of her, but I said okay, and she said okay—and guess what—I’m impressed.
On meeting Cindy, it is immediately evident that here is a young woman who is idealistic, serious, motivated…and vivacious. Within just a couple years of her political awakening (see below), she has taken on major responsibility in several organizations, including her recent election as the first Latina president of the Fresno City College (FCC) student body.
She has dreams, …[Read the details]
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