By Richard Stone As reported in our local daily on Sept. 4, the City of Fresno officially hired Rick Rasmussen as head of the Office of Independent Review (OIR) aka the police auditor. The good news [...] Continue Reading
Social Justice
Soul Calling: A Photographic Journey through the Hmong Diaspora
By Paul Gilmore Over the years—from the time I was a kid in Baraboo, Wisc., to just last week at the bar—I’ve run across a great many people whose formative experiences had something to do with what [...] Continue Reading
The Interfaith Social Justice Collaborative Faith Calendar – Oct. 2012
Compiled by Susan Orovitz Tuesday, October 2–Saturday, November 10 Isaac Bashevis Singer and His Artists. The Jewish Federation of Central California and Temple Beth Israel invite you to attend a [...] Continue Reading
“Fire Dyer” Rally Aug. 1
A “Fire Dyer” rally was held on Aug. 1 to mark Fresno Police Department (FPD) Chief Jerry Dyer’s 11th year. According to a press release from the Brown Berets, the group that organized this event, [...] Continue Reading
Prison System Punishes Community Alliance Writer
By Mike Rhodes Boston Woodard, who has been writing for the Community Alliance newspaper for the last seven-plus years, has been put in solitary confinement in a California state prison. This is [...] Continue Reading
Exonoree Says “Death to the Death Penalty”
By Richard Stone Sabrina Butler has the dubious honor of being the only American female “exonoree”—a death row inmate who has later been found not guilty of the crime she was incarcerated for and [...] Continue Reading
State-Sanctioned Torture in Pelican Bay SHU
By Daniel Treglia Located just a few miles from the Oregon border is a prison tucked into the redwood forest known as Pelican Bay. It’s said that Pelican Bay was designed to house the “worst of the [...] Continue Reading
Keeping It Real with Dr. Jean Kennedy: Don’t Count Me Out – September 2012
By Dr. Jean Kennedy I recently interviewed a young woman on my radio show heard on KFCF 88.1 FM. I met Star Brown through her brother, who took my women’s studies class. Star approached me to help [...] Continue Reading
Death Without the Possibility of Parole
Community Alliance Writer Thrown in the Hole (Again) By Mike Rhodes Days before going to press we learned that our colleague Boston Woodard has been put into solitary confinement. Woodard, who writes [...] Continue Reading
Listening to the Ghosts of Fresno
By Paul Gilmore “Every city is full of ghosts, and learning to see some of them is one of the arts of becoming a true local.”—Rebecca Solnit Why in the last couple of months have thousands of people [...] Continue Reading
No More Stolen Lives
By Mike Rhodes Editor’s note: An important trial, particularly for those interested in police accountability issues, will begin on Dec. 6 in federal court in Fresno. The trial will look into the [...] Continue Reading
With Your Help, We Can and Shall Abolish the Death Penalty
By Maria Telesco Thanks to all for your responses to the booklet A Taxpayer’s Guide to the California Death Penalty. Now that you’ve read it and know the facts, we are preparing for the next phase. A [...] Continue Reading