Too Dangerous, Too Inefficient, Too Expensive “It is useless. If we are in hell now, all we can do is crawl toward heaven.”—Heroic Japanese worker Dangers and Inefficiencies If nuclear power was a [...] Continue Reading
Activism
Opinion and Analysis from the Grassroots
Classrooms, Not Prison Cells By Daniel Treglia I’m inspired to write because of Miriam Hernandez, who wrote “Where’s the Attention to Education” in the May issue of the Community Alliance. Although [...] Continue Reading
May Day March Focuses on Immigrant Rights
The 2011 May Day March for Immigration Reform drew more than 500 enthusiastic participants. It evolved into an event that was qualitatively different from recent years. The theme of this year’s march [...] Continue Reading
Some Inconvenient Truths: Nuclear Power in Fresno County?
In Japan, earthquake-born tidal waves engulfed backup safety systems at the Fukushima reactor complex. Half a world away in Madera County, local officials were giving their unanimous support for plans [...] Continue Reading
Letters to the Editor
Save Jesse Morrow Mountain I am a member of Friends of Jesse Morrow Mountain and have been for about nine years. The time is getting crucial now because the Fresno County Planning Commission is [...] Continue Reading
Progressive News Briefs
Dream What We Can Become and Rejoice Almost 50 years ago in the fields of the Central Valley, a movement formed to bring dignity and collective bargaining to the plight of farmworkers. As the memories [...] Continue Reading
Don’t Feed the Animals
We’ve heard the story of “The Bird Man of Alcatraz,” by Robert Stroud. Prison folklore has it the Bird Man smuggled bird eggs and fledglings (baby birds) inside his coat into the cell house on “The [...] Continue Reading
Grassroots: Profiles of Local Activist Leaders
Pam Whalen, of all the people I’ve interviewed, has perhaps the clearest vision of what her work as an activist is directed toward: “A workers’ paradise.” For her entire life, she has been propelled [...] Continue Reading
Academy in West Fresno Teaches Leadership and Comradeship
This spring, the Fresno West Coalition for Economic Development (FWCED) has sponsored the Black Men and Boys Leadership Academy (BMB). Keith Kelley, CEO/president of the FWCED says, “We are very [...] Continue Reading
California Seniors Group Fighting to Save Retirement
The future of retirement is on the line, according to the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA), a progressive grassroots advocacy organization. Nan Brasmer, president of the California [...] Continue Reading
Movement for Immigration Reform Struggles On
The May Day Committee as part of the movement for immigrants’ rights is conscious that comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level eludes us at this time. However, there are several bills at [...] Continue Reading
Abolishing Homelessness in Merced: Lessons from 10-Year Plans in Other Cities
On April 9, more than 110 people attended a forum titled “Abolishing Homelessness” at the UC Merced campus. In attendance were homeless persons from Merced; veterans of homeless struggles in [...] Continue Reading