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
Columns
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
International Year of Chemistry 2011: Marie Curie’s Struggle against Sexism and Xenophobia
By George B. Kauffman The 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations has proclaimed 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011) under the leadership of the UN Educational, Scientific and [...] Continue Reading
In Memoriam
Marion Metcalf Young (April 29, 1927–March 12, 2011) Marion Young, one of the founders of the Fig Tree Gallery and a member of the local progressive community, died unexpectedly on March 12 after a [...] Continue Reading
Homeless Couple To Be Recognized for Heroism
On the bitter night of December 17, Joseph Edwards put his life on the line to save the lives of four college students. The four had been driving along Bear Creek in Merced when they lost control of [...] Continue Reading
Credo: Profiles of Activist Elders
Howard Watkins, having retired from the legal profession, is best known these days as the Ubiquitous Photographer, the guy who asks the prinicpals of every civic event to please gather up front to [...] Continue Reading
The Soldiers of the Russian Winter
It is winter and I am drawn to a large map, designed in 1869 by French civil engineer and statistician Charles Minard. It is a graphic of the 1812 march of Napoleon and his imperial Grande Armee, [...] Continue Reading
Targeted Again!
A few years ago, I wrote an article about a “shake-down” (search) that took place at Solano State Prison (CSP-Solano) in Vacaville. During that search, some of the guards desecrated prisoners’ [...] Continue Reading
The Stalking Continues
The harassment of Fresno State Student Body President Pedro Ramirez by a Tea Party activist continues unabated. The latest move of so-called citizens’ advocate Neil O’Brien was the launching of an [...] Continue Reading
2011 Rogue Festival
The Rogue Performance Festival is turning 10! We can hardly believe it has already been 10 years, but we are excited to celebrate 10 years of independent performance and art in Fresno. We have added [...] Continue Reading
Progressives Organize in the Central Valley
Enthusiastic progressives in the Central Valley gathered on January 26 to form the local chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), which will be called the Central Valley–Sierra [...] Continue Reading
From the Grassroots: Profiles of Local Activists
When Lance Canales walked in for our interview, I hardly recognized him. He had shed a bunch of pounds and his trademark long hair was shorn into a handsome short-and-wavy style. As we talked, though, [...] Continue Reading