Free Zoe
On Dec. 3, convicted felon Zoe Rosenberg was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay over $100,000 in restitution. Her crime was rescuing four dying chickens from a Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse truck.
Activist prosecution has long been a harsh tool to silence the few willing to risk themselves to save others, but Zoe’s prosecution has amplified her voice. Her actions and, by extension, the conditions chickens endure at Petaluma Poultry factory farms and slaughterhouses, have garnered national attention.
At Zoe’s sentencing hearing, supporters overflowed from the courtroom to the hallway outside. Afterward, activists called for Zoe to be released in demonstrations as far away as the U.S. embassy in London.
Now in jail, Zoe continues to think of the millions of chickens who “need help far more than I do.”
In Fresno, activists protested outside of Trader Joe’s, which sells Petaluma Poultry chicken.
Zoe’s prosecution is a deeply unfair miscarriage of justice. Yet, by creating persistent messaging and gathering steadfast support, Zoe and hundreds of other activists are turning the fearful tactics of the poultry industry, which are meant to instill passivity, into vehicles for activism and change.
Arthur Utecht
Fresno
What Is the Green Party Doing?
Concerning “Green Party Update” (December 2025 issue), the Green Party basically has a good agenda, certainly much better for America than that of the mainstream political efforts.
However, by all appearances, they have no strategy for implementing that agenda and thus are essentially irrelevant. Yet, the writer, apparently on behalf of the Green Party, is quick to trash others.
Take the current resistance, which is desperately in need of coordination and leadership. This should be a gift to the Green Party. The Democratic Party isn’t going to lead the effort. But where is the Green Party? Advocating for the lost-cause candidacies of folks running statewide.
If you want to be taken seriously, do something to help save democracy. Anything.
Saul Ross
Selma
A Pool for Central High
On Dec. 4, the Fresno City Council issued a proclamation recognizing Central High School’s Men’s Water Polo Team Day—honoring an undefeated team that won their league and produced the League MVP and League Goalie of the Year. My son is on that team. Their achievements were exceptional.
Yet Central High School does not have a pool.
Instead, students must be transported daily to another school, losing nearly an hour of valuable time each day just to participate in a sport that every other high school in Fresno can host on their own campus.
This inequity traces back to a boundary change that moved students into the most outdated high school in Fresno. Many expressed disagreement with this change.
Central Unified claims to value equity, access and excellence, but their actions say that they don’t care about that for the students on the south side of the district.
The district needs to start the process of building a pool now and as expeditiously as possible. Anything less is unacceptable.
Gabriel Suarez
Fresno
