July 26 GREENZINE SF Green Party Weekly News and Events www.sfgreenparty.org twitter.com/sfgreenparty www.facebook.com/groups/SFGreenParty/ Dear Greens, We've made our first endorsements for this November's election, with more to come after our candidate forum on August 27. These are listed below, and on our website: http://sfgreenparty.org/endorsements/64-november-2014-endorsements We are especially pleased to endorse the initiative to keep Golden Gate natural grass, which officially made the ballot this week! Thanks to all the hard-working volunteers who made it happen. Here's more coverage of our fight against the toxic artificial turf: http://sfgreenparty.org/issues/63-fake-turf-wars-by-mike-murphy Greens continue to protest the Israeli killing of Palestinians in Gaza, and we post announcements of local demonstrations on our website as we hear about them. In contrast to last week's unanimous bipartisan Senate vote in support of more killing, we have long supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/issues/13-israel-bds (Since we issued the above statement several years ago, it is no longer on our front page--however, it is easy to find if you search for "SF Green Party Israel" in any search engine.) *===========================* Ralph Nader is in the Bay Area for several events this week. Because SF Greens have been outspoken in support of saving the US Post Office from privatization, we are glad to see Nader discussing the same issue at a public (and free) talk: Tuesday, July 29 2 pm - music 2:30 pm - talk Ralph Nader will speak on the steps of the Berkeley Post Office (2000 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA) about the Post Office, privatization of our public goods and services, & the fight to dismantle the corporate state. http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/ Nader will also speak at two other events this week; he'll be in Berkeley this Wednesday night and in SF on Thursday: http://www.mercurynews.com/books/ci_26174405/author-alert-ralph-nader-talks-... *===========================* SF Green Party Monthly Members Meeting and Candidate Forum Wed, August 27 - 6-10 pm Redstone Building, Room 302 2940 16th Street (between Mission and South Van Ness) We hold monthly meetings on the 4th Wednesday of every month. We will interview candidates who return our candidate questionnaires at our August meeting. Candidates should expect to receive questionnaires by email in the next two weeks. Although we have started making endorsements on propositions, there are still many more to consider, and we will work on those at our August meeting as well. Local props are here: http://www.sfgov2.org/index.aspx?page=2969 State props are here: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures.ht... If you want to ask questions of the candidates or find out more about ballot initiatives and the Green arguments in favor or against, come to our meeting this month! All our meetings are open to the public, so come if you're a new member or thinking of joining us. *===========================* Our endorsements so far: Local Props (these don't have ballot letters yet): * YES on keeping Golden Gate Park natural grass, and * NO on the proposal to allow nighttime lighting and fake turf on all parks * NO on the "transportation balance" proposal * YES on the anti-speculation real estate transfer tax Local Candidates: * David Campos for Assembly * Daniel Flores for Judge State Props: * NO on 43 - anti-environmental water bond * NO on 44 - rainy day fund, when we should be stimulating the local economy * YES on 45 - limits on health insurance rate increases * NO on 46 - we support raising the malpractice award cap, but strongly oppose random drug testing * YES on 47 - changing some nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors * YES on 49 - statement opposing unlimited corporate bribes *===========================* Paid contractor wanted: SF Green Party Fundraiser/Volunteer Coordinator (a part time independent contractor (1099) position): http://sfgreenparty.org/help-wanted *===========================* To submit events for our newsletter, please email a short blurb to news@sfgreens.org. Messages to a mailing list will be rejected.