November 2012 - Sustainability

[Sustain] Fwd: SF Wed noon Nov 28 Protect Medicare
by Don Eichelberger 28 Nov '12

28 Nov '12

Protect Medicare TOMORROW (Wednesday), 12 noon, Federal Building, 7th and Mission St., San Francisco! -------- Original Message -------- Subject: SF Wed noon Nov 28 Protect Medicare Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:30:37 -0500 (EST) From: dbechler <dbechler(a)value.net> Reply-To: dbechler(a)value.net To: done7777(a)sbcglobal.net Single Payer Now <http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=xv5kKQDgSad4KDyjRt8A5PI…> *Protect Medicare Don't Let the 1% Steal our Social Investments Nov 28 Wed Noon SF Fed Bldg Plaza* Dear Single Payer Supporter, The California Alliance for Retired Americans, and Gray Panthers are holding a FLASH MOB, this *Wednesday, November 28th at 12pm* to protest deficit reduction through cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other essential benefits. The FLASH MOB will be occurring at the *Federal Building Plaza at 7th and Mission Streets in San Francisco*. Come at 11:30 to practice flash mob routine. *The main messages of this action are*: - Tax the top 2% - Hands off Social Security - Hands off Medicare and Medicaid - NO cuts to essential programs We encourage you to forward this message. Please let us know if you can attend. Thank you, Don Bechler Chair - Single Payer Now <http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=y2pzyxA3UFsQ7bh8IVCfL%2…> 415-695-7891 Cell 415-810-5826 Single Payer Now survives on the generosity of our supporters. Please consider making a donation <http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8De2BuWWaW5JQ9%2FeyPRVe…>. www.SinglePayerNow.net <http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=PrrwjqTj9tHTdyXZdz3nc1M…> | 415-695-7891 | dbechler(a)value.net <mailto:dbechler@value.net> You have received this email through your subscription to Single Payer Now's email list. If you did not subscribe, or would no longer like to receive email updates unsubscribe here. <http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=81%2FoH1jRCEY08d8wUbVFi…> empowered by Salsa <http://www.salsalabs.com/?email>

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[Sustain] [SFGP-A] Wiener-CEQA Strategy Summit NOTES & NEXT STRATEGY MEETING Nov 29, SF City Hall Cafe 1:30pm - then Planning Hearing 3pm
by Eric Brooks 23 Nov '12

23 Nov '12

Hi all, Wiener-CEQA Strategy Summit Notes (see attached), and NEXT STRATEGY MEETING: Thu, Nov 29, SF City Hall Basement Cafe 1:30pm to discuss opposition strategy (then Planning Hearing 3pm) (Please reply right away to confirm.) We pushed Wiener back bigtime. Now we need to make sure he is put in his place on this unacceptable attack on CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) protections permanently! IMPORTANT: The Nov 29 Planning Hearing is now scheduled for 3 PM, SF City Hall, Room 400. AND: There is now NO SCHEDULED DECEMBER HEARING in the Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee. Following the Planning Commission hearing, this item will not be considered again until early 2013. But we are far from out of the woods. Today's SF Guardian report shows that Wiener is not done pushing this legislation. See: http://www.sfbg.com/2012/11/20/developers-wet-dream So our next meeting needs to happen soon, and will be crucial in planning out a strong and detailed opposition strategy for making sure that Wiener's legislation is stopped in its tracks. As before, a strategy session has been set in the SF City Hall basement timed just before the Planning Commission hearing so that we can go straight from our meeting into the Planning hearing. Please reply as soon as possible if you plan to be at the strategy session and/or Planning hearing. Thanks all for engaging this rapid strong response that has shown Wiener and City Hall that weakening CEQA is not on the menu! cheers Eric Brooks Campaign Coordinator, Our City 415-756-8844 -- "I have been criticized for idealism. But understand this. An idealist is simply a person who recognizes that if one acts on what one believes, one can change the world. Ideals are dismissed as unattainable dreams, only by those who do not take action." ~ anonymous

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[Sustain] Wiener-CEQA Strategy Summit NOTES & NEXT STRATEGY MEETING Nov 29, SF City Hall Cafe 1:30pm - then Planning Hearing 3pm
by Eric Brooks 22 Nov '12

22 Nov '12

Hi all, Wiener-CEQA Strategy Summit Notes (see attached), and NEXT STRATEGY MEETING: Thu, Nov 29, SF City Hall Basement Cafe 1:30pm to discuss opposition strategy (then Planning Hearing 3pm) (Please reply right away to confirm.) We pushed Wiener back bigtime. Now we need to make sure he is put in his place on this unacceptable attack on CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) protections permanently! IMPORTANT: The Nov 29 Planning Hearing is now scheduled for 3 PM, SF City Hall, Room 400. AND: There is now NO SCHEDULED DECEMBER HEARING in the Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee. Following the Planning Commission hearing, this item will not be considered again until early 2013. But we are far from out of the woods. Today's SF Guardian report shows that Wiener is not done pushing this legislation. See: http://www.sfbg.com/2012/11/20/developers-wet-dream So our next meeting needs to happen soon, and will be crucial in planning out a strong and detailed opposition strategy for making sure that Wiener's legislation is stopped in its tracks. As before, a strategy session has been set in the SF City Hall basement timed just before the Planning Commission hearing so that we can go straight from our meeting into the Planning hearing. Please reply as soon as possible if you plan to be at the strategy session and/or Planning hearing. Thanks all for engaging this rapid strong response that has shown Wiener and City Hall that weakening CEQA is not on the menu! cheers Eric Brooks Campaign Coordinator, Our City 415-756-8844 -- "I have been criticized for idealism. But understand this. An idealist is simply a person who recognizes that if one acts on what one believes, one can change the world. Ideals are dismissed as unattainable dreams, only by those who do not take action." ~ anonymous

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[Sustain] Important Update - WIENER ATTACK ON CEQA - Hearing Dates Have Changed
by Eric Brooks 18 Nov '12

18 Nov '12

Hi all, Last Thursday's strategy summit and Planning hearing each went well for us in defending our local access to challenging development via CEQA (the California Environmental Quality Act) from the new attack to weaken that access by San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener. Over 20 representatives of environmental, neighborhood, historic preservation, social justice, and park protection organizations attended the strategy summit. Several attorneys well versed in CEQA attended and gave excellent briefings on the legislation and its many deep attacks on public process. A very good discussion was had on near term strategy to defeat Wiener's measure, which resulted in an effective working consensus on how to proceed as a unified opposition campaign. (I'll post more on that working strategy in a follow up email.) WIENER'S REACTION & NEW HEARING DATES Many of us attended, and spoke at, the Planning hearing on Thursday, and met with Supervisor Eric Mar's office the next day, Friday Nov 16. We learned at the Commission hearing and from Supervisor Mar, that the rapid, energized opposition and avalanche of comments to supervisors and planning commissioners that we all have launched together, have gotten Supervisor Wiener's attention in a -big- way and caused him to dramatically reassess his strategy for pushing this legislation. As a result, in the November 15 Planning Hearing, consideration of the measure was postponed for two weeks, and Supervisor Wiener also asked Eric Mar to reschedule the crucial Land Use Committee hearing on this matter to early December (instead of next week). Most importantly, Wiener has asked that the December Land Use hearing be informational only, with no action item to pass the legislation on to the full Board of Supervisors. So we now have sufficient time to organize and implement a rock solid campaign to stop this legislation in its tracks, and to demand a full legitimate stakeholder process for any changes made to CEQA procedure and protections. We should meet right away to keep in strong forward motion, and to work out a good organizing strategy for the next few weeks. I'll follow up soon with a proposed date, time and location for the next strategy session. NOTE: If your organization has a good meeting space, please reply asap so we can line up effective venues for the next and future strategy sessions. NEW HEARING DATES, TIMES, LOCATIONS Here are the new hearing dates, times and locations. (Pleased attend as many of these hearings as you can and speak to the many deep flaws and betrayals of public process in Wiener's legislation.) HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION - Wed, Nov 21, 12:30pm - SF City Hall, Room 400 PLANNING COMMISSION (IMPORTANT HEARING TO PUT DETAILED OPPOSITION ARGUMENTS ON THE RECORD) - Thu, Nov 29, 12 noon - SF City Hall, Room 400 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS LAND USE COMMITTEE (VITAL HEARING TO SHOW THE BOARD WIDESPREAD AND DIVERSE OPPOSITION) - Mon, Dec 3, 1pm - SF City Hall (probably in Room 250 - will send confirmation) I'll follow up soon with meeting notes from Thursday's strategy summit. Excellent start all! We have gained the high ground, and are well poised to defeat this legislation if we stay in high gear. cheers Eric Brooks Campaign Coordinator, Our City 415-756-8844

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[Sustain] Fwd: Hugo Chavez to Obama (very short)
by Don Eichelberger 10 Nov '12

10 Nov '12

Hugo speaks for me. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Hugo Chavez to Obama (very short) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2012 13:52:39 -0800 From: mary moore <justice3(a)sonic.net> To: November 9, 2012 by Common Dreams Hugo Chavez to Obama: Stop Invading Countries, Focus on Your Country's Social Woes Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez on Thursday urged newly re-elected President Obama to "stop invading" other countries and "think about his own country" which suffers from social and economic problems. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaking about Obama's reelection. Chavez made the comments during a cabinet council meeting broadcast on the state channel, VTV. "President Obama has been reelected. Hopefully he and his government reflect, first about their country, which, unfortunately, has plenty of economic and social problems," said Chavez. "It is a divided country... [It has] poverty that grows every day, misery and an elite, a superelite, that exploits the country and society, and even poisons it, tricks it and manipulates it through a media war," he added. Because of this, Chavez urged Obama to "dedicate himself to governing his own country and stop invading and destabilizing countries." In October Chavez won his third re-election and vowed to pursue more socialism.

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[Sustain] Fwd: Press Release-November 11, 2012 Rally March Starting At Japanese Consulate To Stop Reopening Of Nuclear Plants In Japan
by Don Eichelberger 10 Nov '12

10 Nov '12

Hope you can join this march and rally tomorrow (Sunday), starting at the Japanese Consulate on Fremont between Market and Mission, 3 P.M. See you there, Don -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Press Release-November 11, 2012 Rally March Starting At Japanese Consulate To Stop Reopening Of Nuclear Plants In Japan Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2012 19:35:39 -0800 From: Steve Zeltzer <lvpsf(a)igc.org> To: NFC NFC <nirs(a)sanonofre.com> Press Release-November 11, 2012 Rally March Starting At Japanese Consulate To Stop Reopening Of Nuclear Plants In Japan Event: Rally Speakout To Stop Reopening Of Japan's 50 Nuclear Plants Place: 50 Fremont St. San Francisco Time: 3:00 PM Japanese, Japanese Americans and community labor activists will rally and march on November 11, 2012 at the San Francisco Japanese Consulate to protest the plans of the Japanese government and utility industry to reopen the closed nuclear plants in Japan. Despite continued contamination at the Fukushima plant and failure to secure it from a further earthquake the Japanese government and major political parties continue to push to reopen the remaining 50 plants. The government has now admitted that the Oih nuclear plant which was recently reopened despite massive protests has an active nuclear fault directly under the plant. Speakers will report on the continuing plans to "decontaminate" the Fukushima area and force the residents to move back to the plant as close as 4 miles. The government with the collaboration of the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA has proclaimed that the area and region around the plant can be reclaimed through "scrubbing homes" and removing the topsoil of schools in the Fukushima region. There has been an epidemic of thyroid cysts in children in the region and the continuing contamination of the region and world is a serious health problem despite the proclamations from the government, utilities and nuclear industry that this catastrophe can be contained and overcome. There will be a rally and march to the PG&E building which is seeking to use sonar in the ocean around the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to allow it's continued operation. In California, PG&E as well as the Southern California Edison Company which operates the San Onofre nuclear plant continue to demand that the ratepayers pay for the operation of the plant. The dangerous San Onofre has had leaks in its tubes and it is presently shutdown and has cost the people of California over $300 million yet the California Public Utilities Commission Chair Michael Peevey and the CPUC board are refusing to permanently close the plant. Instead they want the ratepayers and people of California to pay for the continued operation of these dangerous plants. This rally and march has been initiated by the No Nukes Action Committee which is part of the Nuclear Free California Network. For more information go to http://nonukesaction.wordpress.com/ or email nonukesactioncommittee(at)gmail.com <http://gmail.com/> You can also phone Chizu Yamada at 510-495-5952 The Nuclear Free California website is at www.nuclearfreecal.org <http://www.nuclearfreecal.org/> --

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[Sustain] URGENT: Emergency Strategy Summit On Wiener Legislation Attacking CEQA Protections (SF City Hall Basement Cafe Thu Nov 15 10am) Please RSVP!
by Eric Brooks 09 Nov '12

09 Nov '12

Hi all, The situation is urgent. 1) Scott Wiener's legislation attacking our local California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) protections will go before the Planning Commission next Thursday, November 15, shortly after 12 noon. (Thankfully for our purposes, the measure is Item 1 on the regular agenda so we will not have a long wait to speak on the item.) 2) THEN: On Monday November 19 at 1pm, the legislation goes to the Land Use Committee (Scott Wiener, Malia Cohen, Eric Mar) on which Mar is our most likely ally and possibly the only one. (That hearing will likely be held in City Hall Room 263.) 3) THEN ALARMINGLY: The legislation is planned go to the full Board of Supervisors as a committee report THE VERY NEXT DAY, NOV 20, for a vote! So we have very little time, and we need to form a sharp organized campaign if we are going to stop this legislation. (Scott Wiener is far more capable an opponent than was Alioto-Pier, and the Board of Supervisors is not as progressive on developer issues as it was 2 years ago.) STRATEGY MEETING IN CITY HALL BASEMENT CAFE NEXT THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15, 10AM (2 HOURS BEFORE PLANNING HEARING) RSVP! So that we can get better organized, a meeting has been set in the SF City Hall basement cafe at 10am on Thursday November 15. Invited will be yourselves, environmental organizers, social justice groups, neighborhood groups, and historic preservation advocates. Please RSVP right away to this email at the 'Reply To' address brookse32(a)earthlink.net so that I can get a sense of who plans on attending both the 10am meeting, and the Planning Commission hearing at noon. I'll follow up soon with more detail on the legislation, and proposed talking points. thanks! Eric Brooks Campaign Coordinator Our City 415-756-8844 -- "I have been criticized for idealism. But understand this. An idealist is simply a person who recognizes that if one acts on what one believes, one can change the world. Ideals are dismissed as unattainable dreams, only by those who do not take action." ~ anonymous

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