SF GREEN PARTY WEEKLY 3/31/06-4/6/06 NEWS: - 3/26: Election Whistle-Blower Stymied by Vendors (http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1465) - 3/27: Green Party Mourns Loss of Member Tom Fox (http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1469) - 3/27: Green Congressional Candidate Berg Launches Peace Org (http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1468) - 3/27: Bernie Sanders' Independent Revolution (http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1467) - 3/27: Third Parties Shake Off "Spoiler" Image (http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1466) - 3/28: Green Party US Senate Hopefuls Charge Senate Changes In Immigrant Legislation Don't Go Far Enough (http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1470) EVENTS: - 3/30: San Francisco's Annual Political Trivia Contest - 3/31: ACORN Action for Money Mart - 4/1: Stand Up! Stand Out! Free Leadership Training Session for Women - 4/3: Campaigns and Issues Working Group - 4/4: Housing and Land Use Working Group - 4/5: Expand the First Source Hiring Program - 4/6: Feminist Issues Group - 4/8: Auctioning Off Downtown! San Francisco People's Organization Art Auction & Party - 4/10, 4/23: Reception for Barry Hermanson for Assembly - 4/12: SF Green Party County Council meeting - 4/13: FILM: INDEPENDENT AMERICA: The Two-Lane Search for Mom & Pop - 5/24: SAVE THE DATE!!! Something Fun at the Green Party Forum!!! Join the medley of politics and performance ANNOUNCEMENTS & ACTION ALERTS: - Bay Area Reporter and Fairmont boycott - Co-Chair Needed for GROW Working Group - Earn A Living Making San Francisco A More Green and Progressive City! IN EVERY ISSUE: - Discuss Instant Runoff Voting in Green Party Activist Jim Dorenkott's Blog (http://www.dailykos.com/user/jim%20d) - Take Action! - Become a Green Party Sustainer! JOKE OF THE WEEK: - Funny Scam Email from a man who says he's Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Brother ************************************************************ NEWS: 3/30: San Francisco's Annual Political Trivia Contest WHEN: Thursday, March 30th 7:00PM-9:00PM WHERE: Cafe Royale, 800 Post Street, San Francisco DETAILS: Come to the fun-filled, laughter-filled 3rd annual SF Political Trivia Contest! Celebrity emcees include Public Defender Jeff Adachi, School Board Commissioner Mark Sanchez, Supervisor Chris Daly, School Board Commissioner Eric Mar and many others. (Ross had a conflict on his calendar). The categories include "Streets of San Francisco," "Look for the Union Label," "Housing" and "You Thought that You Knew San Francisco." This is a fundraiser for the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, who almost got their charter revoked for endorsing Matt Gonzalez for Mayor and Mark Sanchez, Sarah Lipson & Whit Leigh for School Board. Admission is $5 per person or $20 for a team of four or more. --------- 3/31: Action for Money Mart WHEN: Friday, March 31st 6:00PM WHERE: 7th and Market CONTACT: David Sharples San Francisco ACORN 415-587-9080 DETAILS: ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is doing a campaign against Money Mart to get them to stop ripping off poor people with their 300% interest rate payday loans and high check cashing fees. On March 2nd we hit them in 30 cities across the country and in Canada, including a 35 person action on the Money Mart store at 7th and Market. We gave Money Mart the Loan Shark of the Year Award. Now we're doing another action on Money Mart to get them to reduce their fees. --------- 4/1: Stand Up! Stand Out! Free Leadership Training Session for Women WHEN: Saturday, April 1st 10:00AM-2:00PM WHERE: Bayview Hunters Point YMCA, 1601 Lane Street, San Francisco, CA 94124 Bayview Hunters Point YMCA is wheelchair accessible COST: Free of charge, lunch & childcare provided LUNCH AND CHILDCARE: Will be provided to registered participants. RSVP: Open to Public via RSVP to nwpcsf@yahoo.com or 415-931-4364 CONTACT: Alix Rosenthal, President National Women°Øs Political Caucus - San Francisco Tel: 415-377-6722 nwpcsf@yahoo.com DETAILS: °∞Stand Up! Stand Out!°± is a free leadership training program aimed at empowering women from Bayview Hunters Point by helping them effect change in their neighborhood and in their city. This one-day skill-building workshop is intended to begin teaching women how to organize around community issues and best approach local officials. As NWPC-SF President Alix Rosenthal said: °∞Our core mission is to get more women involved in politics. We can work towards this goal by helping to demystify the processes by which local governments make the decisions that most directly affect women and their communities.°± The program will kick off with an introductory greeting from S.F. Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, followed by a panel of guest speakers including local commissioners Angelo King (Bayview Hunters Point Project Area Committee, Environmental Commission), and Willie Kennedy (Southeast Community Facilities Commission). The session will finish with smaller, interactive group discussions facilitated by grass roots organizers, which will focus on strategies and skill building. The National Women's Political Caucus is a multicultural, intergenerational, and multi-issue grassroots organization dedicated to increasing women°Øs participation in the political process. The San Francisco NWPC caucus has been in existence since 1973, working hard locally in support of the NWPC mission: to recruit, train and support pro-choice women candidates for elected and appointed offices at all levels of government. For more information about the San Francisco NWPC caucus, see http://www.nwpc-sf.org/ --------- 4/3: Campaigns and Issues Working Group WHEN: Monday, April 3rd 7:30PM-9:00PM WHERE: San Francisco Green Party office, 1028 A Howard St (between 6th St. and 7th St.), San Francisco DETAILS: Monthly meeting of the Campaigns and Issues working group. We will discuss the four issues on the SF ballot, plus any other pending election related topics, including the timeline for our slate card production. --------- 4/4: Housing and Land Use Working Group WHEN: Tuesday, April 4th 7:00PM WHERE: San Francisco Green Party office, 1028 A Howard St (between 6th St. and 7th St.), San Francisco DETAILS: The local Green Party is drafting a housing platform to help guide its future. This is a great time to get involved to shape the vision you have for what San Francisco will look like 30 years from now, and what income groups will be inhabitting the city. Non-Greens are welcomed to all HLU meetings. --------- 4/5: Expand the First Source Hiring Program WHEN: Wednesday, April 5th 1:00PM WHERE: San Francisco City Hall, 1 Carlton B Goodlett Place, Budget and Finance Committee Hearing, Board chambers DETAILS: This hearing was previously scheduled for March 29. The city currently has a 1st Source Hiring Program that is supposed to connect low-income and historically disadvantaged peoples with job opportunities. Companies list job openings for entry level positions with the program and the program distributes this information to public assistance programs, community organizations and other centers that serve the disadvantaged. Low-income people then have an advantage of applying for the jobs early. Unfortunately this program has not be given the resources to be effective. Support Supervisor Mirkarimi's legislation to improve the program and bring more jobs to the poor. Supervisor Mirkarimi's legislation will do the following: 1. Expand the types of jobs available to low-income and disadvantaged people to go beyond construction into other industries with more growth in SF. 2. Ensure that the program gets enough resources to be successful via fines that will be strictly enforced on companies that don't comply with offering jobs to low-income and disadvantaged people first. 3. Reduce poverty in SF by increasing creating more avenues for low-income people to get access to jobs with the opportunity for advancement. Take Action! Attend the Budget and Finance Committee Hearing and tell the Board you support expanding the First Source Hiring program. Also, please show your support for this important legislation by calling and emailing the Mayor, your Supervisor, and the other members of the Board. --------- 4/6: Feminist Issues Group WHEN: Thursday, April 6th 7:00PM-9:00PM WHERE: Wild Awakenings Cafe, 142 McAllister, San Francisco DETAILS: The topic will be "What are the feminist issues today?" The 4th wave is here. --------- 4/8: Auctioning Off Downtown! San Francisco People's Organization Art Auction & Party WHEN: Saturday, April 8th Doors open at 7:30 pm Silent Auction 7:30 ®C 10:00 pm Live Auction with Auctioneer Matt Gonzalez at 9:30 pm WHERE: 111 Minna, San Francisco TICKETS: $10-$20, or pay what you can Advance Tickets available at Ticketweb.com DETAILS: Music by Goh Nakamura, Dan Johnson, DJ VNA, Olga Salamanca, & judy b. Poetry reading by SF Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman Work-in-Progress Film screening of °∞For Real Bayview°± by Markus Darkraven Artists: Chris Corales, Ben Baumgartner, Monique Deschaines, Mark Erlinger, Lawrence Ferlenghetti, Ana Fernandez, Pam Pam Gaddies, Albert Herter, Blake Herod, Jack Hirschman, Martha Hubert, Jamie Knight, Luna Media, Robin Margerin, Siri Margerin, Valerie Mih, Theresa Morris, Keady Phelan, Lucho Pozo, Michael Rauner, Jane Reed, Albert Reyes, Steve Richards, Janet Rosen, Augusta Talbot, Amy Trachtenberg, Debra Walker, Kelly Yount, Arngunnur Yr, & MORE°≠ Curators: Bruno Mauro, Siri Margerin and Catherine Rauschuber Honorary Hosts: Chris Daly, Matt Gonzalez, Jack Hirschman, Mesha Irazarry, Krissy Keefer, Ross Mirkarimi, & Debra Walker --------- 4/10: Reception for Barry Hermanson for Assembly WHEN and WHERE: Monday, April 10 7:00PM-8:30PM 1045 Santiago, San Francisco Sunday, April 23 3:00PM-5:00PM 1339 27th Avenue, San Francisco DETAILS: Join the Westside Green Club in support of Green candidates: Barry Hermanson (State Assembly, District 12) and Nancy Lewis (Green Party County Council) Refreshments served. Bring family, friends and all interested voters. Children are most welcome. These events are sponsored by the Westside Green Club. --------- 4/12: SF Green Party County Council meeting WHEN: Wednesday, April 12 7:30PM-9:30PM WHERE: San Francisco Green Party office, 1028 A Howard St (between 6th St. and 7th St.), San Francisco DETAILS: This is the Green Party's monthly meeting of the County Council. We will be setting the agenda for the General Membership meeting, reviewing our finances, and other business related discussion and decisions. --------- 4/13: FILM: INDEPENDENT AMERICA: The Two-Lane Search for Mom & Pop WHEN: Thursday, April 13 Starts 7:30PM WHERE: Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th Street (@ York St.), San Francisco TICKETS: $5-$10, and go on sale 30 minutes before the show. Proceeds benefit the 2006 CounterCorp Film Festival in October. INFORMATION: http://www.countercorp.org DETAILS: In their new 80-minute documentary, "INDEPENDENT AMERICA," award-winning journalists Hanson Hosein and Heather Hughes took a 32-state road trip to uncover the growing opposition to corporate franchises and Å0Ç9big boxÅ0É0 retailers across the U.S., and the David vs. Goliath struggle that local small businesses, many of them local "mom and pop" stores, are being forced towage to stay alive. The former reports have only two self-imposed rules: 1) no interstate highways, and 2) no corporate chains -- including gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and grocery stores. In other words, they can only shop with mom and pop. What they discover during their trip is growing discontent with corporate America, and a growing movement away from globalization and toward localization,Å0É0 as individuals and small businesses across the country band together to preserve not only their livelihoods, but their local communities as well. In Colorado, a Starbucks is repeatedly vandalized. In Texas, a rebellious city forces Borders Books into retreat. Residents of AmericaÅ0Ç8s Å0Ç9Fourth of JulyÅ0É0 capital in Nebraska turn against their new Wal-Mart. And an entire Wyoming town goes into business for itself after it is abandoned by its one chain department store. Along the way, their conversations with corporate executives, economists, entrepreneurs, political leaders, union members, and ordinary Americans from all walks of life lead Hosein and Hughes to conclude that a healthy democracy needs local small businesses if it is to control ever-growing corporate power. The film will be followed by a panel discussion. ============================== ANNOUNCEMENTS & ACTION ALERTS: Bay Area Reporter and Fairmont boycott The Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club just found out that the Bay Area Reporter is planning on holding their 35th Anniversary at the Fairmont Hotel this Friday. Local 2 members were locked out by the Fairmont for 53 days and currently are engaged in a long-standing, nearly 2-year boycot of the Hotel--the boycott is still on. It's tough to move an event at the last minute, but it's critical that queer community groups hold the line on the boycott. Please support Local 2 workers and call Tom Horn or Mike Yamashito at 861 5019 of the BAR and encourage them to move their event. --------- Co-Chair Needed for GROW Working Group Micheas Herman of the GROW Working Group (tabling and voter registration) is seeking a new co-chair. Contact Micheas Herman at ... or the County Council at cc@sfgreens.org for more information. --------- Earn A Living Making San Francisco A More Green and Progressive City! Two years ago, former organizers for the Matt Gonzalez for Mayor campaign decided it was time to stop getting 'close but not close enough' to progressive victories like public power and Matt as Mayor, and to begin a city wide, year round, grassroots campaign that would start helping us win such victories! So in January 2004, the organization Our City was born. Since then we have helped to: - Pass the ban on old polluting diesel buses - Pass Matt Gonzalez's anti chain store law - Get the downtown hotel workers back on the job, and - Get the Police and Planning Commissions put back on SF Government TV after the City tried to pull them off. Now we are campaigning to get rid of PG&E's monopoly on our electricity service, and start running the City on renewable energy like solar and wind power instead! We have just begun hiring and training new grassroots campaigners to help us win this fight. No experience necessary. Earn $280 to $400 each four day work week learning to be a strong progressive organizer. To apply, call Eric at 415-756-8844 from noon to 2pm any weekday, or send an email to jobs@our-city.org For more information, see our web site at http://our-city.org ============================== IN EVERY ISSUE: Take Action! Find out about opportunities to help our elected Greens (writing letters, attending hearings, etc) -- subscribe to the SF Green Party Action list! The Action list is a low-traffic list (approximately one message per week in addition to our newsletter) telling you what you can do to help: https://list.sfgreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/action --------- Become a Green Party Sustainer! As you may know, the SFGP is supported by our wonderful sustaining donors -- 175 and growing. In the next 12 months we hope to double that figure, and you can help us achieve our goal by signing up to make a regular contribution to the Green Party. Our sustainer program nearly pays all of our basic monthly operating expenses, including rent and utilities on the office, and drastically reduces the amount of work needed to raise money. Our sustainers free us up to do what we're really here for - to pursue Green values through the democratic system. Sustainers also ensure that we are able to keep our office, which has hosted numerous campaigns' headquarters including the successful Prop A, Instant Runoff Voting initiative. Becoming a Green Party sustainer is easy, fun, and secure! For more information, see http://www.sfgreenparty.org/makeadonation/makeadonation.html ============================== JOKE OF THE WEEK: Funny Scam Email from a man who says he's Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Brother Editor's Note: I got an email the other day that I thought was the funniest spam/scam email I ever received. Of course, I did not respond to this person, but thought I'd share it: Hello, My name is Col(Rtd) Jon Aristide,brother to the exiled President of Haiti,(Dr.Jean Betrand Aristide).Due to the evolution against the government of my brother caused by his political opponents in Haiti,we managed to enter a red cross airplane that was evacuating foreigners and we are presently on political assylum in Central African Repubilc(CAR) I wish to invest in Real Estate and commercial Properties and equally start a new life in your country with your assistance and cooperation.If you are in a good position to help my family,please send an e-mail to my personal address below indicating your desire to help meinvest this funds in your country and beyond. I urgently await your e-mail letter. Best Regards and hope to meet you soon. God bless, Col Jon(Rtd). ************************************************************ For more info on our activities, please see our website, http://www.sfgreenparty.org. You can also email us questions at info@sfgreens.org. To send us news items (short blurb please, plain text only) for possible inclusion in the newsletter, email news@sfgreens.org. Please don't put these addresses on mailing lists; messages not specifically addressed to us won't go through.