Hello Fellow Greens,

Two ways to be active with the Greens at the peace rally tomorrow!
Join the Green Party contingent, which will be meeting at 16th and Mission at 10 AM, and marching together with the counter-recruitment contingent to Civic Center.  Also, the Green Party will have a booth at Civic Center.  We still need volunteers to
help at the booth.  Contact Mark Barnes mbarn2002@yahoo.com.

We are also hosting a panel of Green women who have run for office, sponsored by the Feminist Issues Group (FIG), on March 21.  See details below in Calendar.

In this update:
1. News

2. Help Us Elect Aimee Allison to Oakland City Council

3. Calendar

NEWS:

The San Francisco Green Party has officially endorsed Aimee Allison, Green Party candidate for Oakland City Council.

http://www.aimeeallison.org/

Green Party member Barry Hermanson held his retirement party this week, and is considering a run for state assembly. 

http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/news.htm

Former Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez is continuing to make news regarding his law practice. 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/18/BABADIGEST2.DTL

http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/03/18//news//20050318_ne07_cityhallbriefs.txt

Matt also wrote an opinion piece for the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

http://www.sfbg.com/39/24/x_oped.html

Ralph Nader, who ran for President on the Green Party ticket in 1996 and 2000, has chimed in on the failed policies of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0314-24.htm

For more news on how Arnold is destroying our state, see

http://www.arnoldwatch.org and http://screwarnold.blogspot.com/.

Green Party member and well-known electoral reform expert Steve Hill co-wrote a piece in the San Francisco Sentinel.

http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/id332.htm

The Green Party continues to lead the pack in running women and people of color for local office.  Former Green Party candidates Lisa Feldstein, Jane Kim and Renee Saucedo are being honored at a breakfast sponsored by the National Women's Political Caucus-San Francisco on March 19.  The three women will also appear with Susan King on a panel sponsored by the Feminist Issues Group (FIG) on March 21.  See details below in Calendar.

HELP US ELECT AIMEE ALLISON TO OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL:

Donations and volunteers are needed to elect a progressive Green woman of color to a seat on the Oakland City Council.

Donations may be made online at http://www.aimeeallison.org/Donate.php.  Or you may donate by check.  Please write your occupation and employer on your check, or on a separate piece of paper.  The limit is $600 per person, and the first $100 of each donation will be matched with City of Oakland funds, until the City's allocation has been exhausted.  Send your donation to: 

Neighbors for Aimee Allison
P.O. Box 16093
Oakland, CA  94610

To volunteer, please send an email with your phone number to vote@aimeeallison.org.    We need folks to table, walk precincts, and make phone calls -- please let us know which of those tasks you can help us with!  If you can help this coming week, here is the schedule:

**Tabling and Precinct-Walking:

    Sunday, March 20, 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm

    Meet at Aimee's home, located at 547 Jean Street, Oakland (3 blocks from Grand and Elwood)

    Contact Kelly Virella at 510-384-7640 or kelly_virella@sbcglobal.net

**Phone-banking:  (Volunteers should contact Greg in advance).

    Tuesday, March 22, 6:30 pm – Bring a cell phone if you have one.

    Red Oak Realty, 2099 Pleasant Valley at Broadway (at 51st), Oakland

    Contact Greg Jan at 510-444-7336 or gregjan4@yahoo.com

CALENDAR:

FRIDAY, MARCH 18

WHAT: Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi hosts the first in a series of art receptions at his City Hall office

WHEN: Friday, March 18 from 5 – 8 PM; opening receptions will continue to occur on the third Friday of each month.

WHERE: Office of Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, San Francisco City Hall, located at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 282
DESCRIPTION: Ross is pleased to present Teresa Norris' The Depth of Water photo installation featuring several large scale works comprised of multiple, separately framed images. While Norris' photographs convey a sobering take on the pollution and the detritus that mar our urban landscape, they also display the undeniable beauty found in say, bay waters unnaturally colored by chemicals. Ross finds in Norris' photos an artist's expression of the environmental concern that has always been present in his work.  The event is free and everyone is invited.  Light refreshments served.

SATURDAY, MARCH 19

WHAT: Join the National Women’s Political Caucus, San Francisco for "Breakfast with the ’04 Candidates," a look back at San Francisco’s Fall 2004 election season

WHEN: Saturday, March 19, beginning at 10 AM - 12 noon

WHERE: Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center, located at 660 Lombard Street in San Francisco

DESCRIPTION: The National Women’s Political Caucus, San Francisco is sponsoring “Breakfast with the ’04 Candidates,” featuring NWPC-SF endorsed 2004 candidates and Green Party members Lisa Feldstein, Jane Kim, and Renee Saucedo.  The panelists will discuss what worked and what did not in the Fall 2004 San Francisco campaign season.  A $10 donation is suggested; light breakfast provided.  The event is open to public via RSVP to nwpcsf@yahoo.com.  The panel will be moderated by Jim Stearns, Stearns Consulting.   For more information, contact: Sadie Ferguson, President of National Women’s Political Caucus - San Francisco at 415-225-7097 or nwpcsf@yahoo.com.

http://www.nwpc-sf.org/

SATURDAY, MARCH 19

WHAT: Global Day of Action - No to War & Occupation
WHEN: March 19, 11 AM

WHERE: Begin at Dolores Park and march to Civic Center

DESCRIPTION:  Join the Green Party contingent, which will be meeting at 16th and Mission at 10 AM, and marching together with the counter-recruitment contingent to Civic Center.  Also, the Green Party will have a booth at Civic Center.  We still need volunteers to help at the booth.  Contact Mark Barnes mbarn2002@yahoo.com.

SUNDAY, MARCH 20

WHAT: Meeting of the WestSide Greens

WHEN: Sunday, March 20th from 3 - 5 PM
WHERE: the home of Barry Hermanson, located at 2467 28th Avenue near Taraval.
DESCRIPTION: Rita and Nancy have asked for approximately 20 minutes on the agenda to report about their meeting with Gayle McLaughlin, the new Green supervisor in Richmond. They recently had dinner with her and asked about her campaign strategy.  They will bring copies of Gayle's literature she handed out.  Most of the rest of the meeting will be devoted to setting goals and objectives for the remainder of the year. 
For more information, call Barry on his cell phone:  415-205-4453.

MONDAY, MARCH 21

WHAT: The Feminist Issues Group (FIG) presents "Learning from the Green Women Candidates of 2004", a panel discussion with Green women who have run for office

WHEN: Monday, March 21; 6:30 PM Reception, 7 PM Panel

WHERE: San Francisco Green Party Office, located at 1028 A Howard Street, between 6^th and 7^th Streets

DESCRIPTION:  Join us for refreshments and a panel discussion on women running for elected office.  Sarah Lipson has been confirmed as moderator, and the panelists are Susan King, Lisa Feldstein, Renee Saucedo and Jane Kim.  This panel discussion is moderated by School Board Member Sarah Lipson.  For more information, call Maureen DeBoer 415-519-1373 or access http://www.sfgreenparty.org.

TUESDAY, MARCH 22

WHAT: Building an International Feminist Movement, a report-back & reflection on the Beijing+10 UN Meetings, event sponsored by the Women's Building and the Women of Color Resource Center
WHEN: Tuesday, March 22, 6 – 9 PM, program starts promptly at 6:30 PM
Where: The Women's Building, located at 3543 18th Street, between Valencia & Guerrero, in the Audre Lorde Room on the 2nd Floor
DESCRIPTION: A participatory discussion featuring Christine Ahn, of the Women of Color Resource Center, Luz Alavarez Martinez of the National Latina Health Organization, and a representative from the California Women's Agenda (CAWA).  A
$5-10 donation is requested, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.  Panelists will share their experiences from the United Nations meeting "Beijing +10" and from the original Beijing conference on the status of women. In February, the UN convened the Beijing +10 meetings to report on the progress (or lack thereof) made by the nations of the world to improve the status of their women and girls ten years after the 1995 UN Beijing Women's Conference.  Hear the stories of grassroots efforts from women and girls around the world and how the actions of the US Government affect women worldwide.  For more information, call Jovida at 415-431-1180 x20 or Diane at 415-641-7832.  This evening is part of the ALMA Nights Series at The Women's Building.  ALMA = Awareness, Leadership, Mentoring & Art.
http://www.womensbuilding.org

TUESDAY, MARCH 22

WHAT: School Board Meeting
WHEN: Tuesday, March 22 at 7 PM

WHERE: 555 Franklin Street in San Francisco
DESCRIPTION:  The School Board will be meeting to talk about school closures (they have released the list of potential sites without any input of the public, parents and/or teachers); layoff of paraprofessionals (key people in the classroom) and the beginning of the budget process.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23

WHAT: Evict PG&E from Hunter's Point.  Shut down PG&E's Hunter's Point Power Plant Now!  Join this community protest for environmental justice!

WHEN: Wednesday, March 23 at 12 Noon

WHERE: PG&E Corporate Headquarters, located at 77 Beale Street near Market Street

DESCRIPTION:  Sponsored by the Coalition to Shut Down the PG&E Hunters Point Power Plant, Huntersview Tenants Association, All Hallows Garden Residents Association, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Code Blue, and the Community First Coalition.  For more information, contact Greenaction at 415-248-5010 or visit http://www.greenaction.org/.

THURSDAY, MARCH 24

WHAT:  Community Meeting on Living Wage and Health Care with Sophie Maxwell, District 10 Supervisor

WHEN: Thursday, March 24, 6 - 8 PM

WHERE:  Crocker Amazon Club, located at 785 Moscow Street at Italy Street, two blocks northeast of Geneva and Moscow

DESCRIPTION:  The Living Wage Coalition is holding an education and information session about the Living Wage laws - the Minimum Compensation Ordinance and the Health Care Accountability Ordinance - and the new Minimum Wage Ordinance and about how the laws can be improved and expanded to include more workers.  Sophie Maxwell confirmed she would attend.  Gerardo Sandoval was invited but declined to attend.  Please contact his office at 415-554-6975 or Gerardo.Sandoval@sfgov.org and let him know that you care about a living wage and would like him to attend this meeting.  For more information, contact the Living Wage Coalition at 415-863-5543 or sflivingwage@hotmail.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 24
WHAT: On the 40th Anniversary of the first teach-ins on the Vietnam War, National Teach-In on Iraq: How Can We End This War?
WHEN: Thursday, March 24 at 7 PM
WHERE:  Mission High School, located at 3750 18th Street at Dolores in San Francisco
DESCRIPTION:  Two years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the country continues to bleed and suffer. The death toll soars on all sides and especially among civilians. The cost of the war mounts daily and vital services are cut at home. But many questions remain: Did the January 2005 elections improve the situation in Iraq? Is the US troop presence in Iraq helping stabilize the country, or is it at the root of Iraq's deadly violence? And what are the true costs of the war at home ­ its impact on military families and returning veterans, its $200+ annual billion price tag, and the looting of our economy by militarist corporations?  Join people throughout the country as we consider these issues and others at teach-ins in San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Ann Arbor, marking the 40^th anniversary of the first Vietnam War teach-in in 1965.
Featured Speakers include:
Rahul Mahajan, Anti-war Activist and Author of Full Spectrum Dominance:
U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond:
Cindy Sheehan, mother of fallen Iraq war soldier, Co-Founder of Gold Star Parents for Peace, and member of Military Families Speak Out
Fernando Suarez, father of fallen Iraq war soldier, Founder of Guerrero Azteca Project and member of Gold Star Parents for Peace
Aimee Allison, Gulf War conscientious objector, counter recruiter, and Oakland City Council candidate
Howard Wallace, San Francisco Labor Council, National Board of Pride at Work, and Steering Committee of US Labor Against the War
Sean O'Neil, US Veteran of the Iraq War and purple-heart recipient
Medea Benjamin, Co-Founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace
Sponsored By Global Exchange & CODEPINK: Women for Peace.  A $5 donation is requested.  Free for students.  No one will be turned away for lack of funds.  For more information:  http://www.globalexchange.org or call 415-255-7296.

FRIDAY, MARCH 25

WHAT: Election Reform Workshop - The No Confidence Movement
WHEN: Friday, March 25 at 7:30 PM

WHERE: SF Green Party office, located at 1028 A Howard Street, between 6^th and 7^th Streets in San Francisco.

DESCRIPTION:  Come and hear about the No Confidence Resolution.  Read it at
http://guvwurld.blogspot.com/2004/11/no-confidence-resolution.html.  This
resolution says we have no basis for confidence in the legitimacy of US
federal elections.  This resolution is pending before the Arcata City Council.  Pressing it in Eureka has led two City Council members to co-sponsor a town hall forum on
election reform.  It is time that SF and Berkeley take a look. 

SUNDAY, APRIL 3:
WHAT: Cesar E. Chavez Holiday Parade and Festival

WHEN: Sunday, April 3, parade assembles at 11 AM

WHERE: Justin Herman Plaza, at the foot of Market Street
DESCRIPTION: Join thousands from labor unions, community organizations, religious congregations and schools in commemorating the birthday of Cesar E. Chavez, the co-founder of the United Farm Workers.  This is the fifth anniversary of the state holiday.  For more information, call 415-552-2911 or email CECparade@yahoo.com.

Thanks to all of our members for your continued support!

Warm Regards,

Erika McDonald

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