Two Minutes Then STFU

The Board of Supervisors is still trying to take away civil rights in Humboldt County. They passed an ordinance to restrict freedom of speech and of assembly. They got laughed out of court by a jury when they tried to prosecute people for violating it. Ever since they have been trying to dig out from the hole they find themselves in. Today they enlisted the help of the Human Rights commission to try and justify their ignoring basic civics. If there are 3 doors to a building and I am standing in front of 1 of them I am never going to be impeding your entering the building. The medium is the message. The way I choose to express my free speech is in and of itself free speech. Below the photo are my remarks.


"I think it is a very bad idea to let people that have proven themselves to be incompetent to mess around with the most important documents in our society. Humboldt county has the highest poverty rate and shortest life expectancy in California. So the good news is your shitty little life will be short."

Too old to play full court

"Those that prevent peaceful revolution insure a violent one."

That sentiment has been expressed in the past and it was the late President Kennedy that I see it attributed to most of the time. I put it on a sign at Occupy Eureka and the irony deficient police arrested me.
I have been a little remiss of late in my posting and for that I apologize. The time has been short and I have been tweeting short blurbs and using the dreaded Facebook to communicate. So to that end a little update on the journey.
We turned in our signatures. It was a wild scramble to get 15% of the electorate and I am still not sure we made it. We did get far in excess of 10% so at some point we will be running a campaign to pass it. There is of course the opportunity for the city council to just pass it and to let it start working right away but as it isn't a 1/2 million dollar give away to a rich person I am not holding my breath.
Speaking of the city council I spent Friday afternoon with the mayor. It was a little gathering in small claims court. I am suing the city and several of the thugs of EPD. It was nerve wracking to be in a room with that many evil people for that long. We go at it again on Friday morning. The state has screwed with too many of us for too long. Some one had to stand up and at least get it on the record. We were just a little backwoods outpost of the occupy here behind the Redwood Curtain so you wont see us on Court TV. When the trial is over I will give a full report.
I have court as support twice today and Wednesday as well so it would seem that I have moved Occupy inside the courthouse. Rust never sleeps.

You've been served

The lawsuits from occupy Eureka continued, All 4 suits are filed and the defendants served. Started with Murl at the City council last night. Then we finished up at EPD using substitute service and handing 8 different orders to appear for the cops.

Small Claims Occupation.

Occupy Eureka is not done yet.

On December 4th and 5th 2012 a number of Lawsuits were filed by members of the Eureka Occupation for violations of civil rights that occurred last November.

We decided to serve the city in public at the meeting of the city council. Several members were not able to file until tomorrow so they will be conducting service over the next few days.
I spoke to the city council. You can read my prepared remarks here. I will post the link to video when it is posted.

I have some papers for the clerk. This is a suit filed today naming the city of Eureka and 3 police officers, Murl Harpham, Patrick O'Neil and Stephen Watson as defendants. Others are here tonight to serve more suits and still more will be filed tomorrow. These are in response to the absolute total disregard for civil rights by the Eureka police department during the Occupy Eureka protest in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse beginning on October 7th of 2011. Hundreds of community members participated over a period of 9 months in an attempt to reform the corrupt capitalist system of socializing risk and privatizing profit. That system continues unfortunately as a rich company owner will get more then ½ a million dollars in subsidies paid for on the backs of the poor.

During my time in front of the courthouse I witnessed the casual disdain for the the poorest members of our community the police exhibit constantly. I witnessed a constant assault on first amendment freedoms by officers of the Eureka Police Department and the Humboldt County Sheriff's department.

Today we live in a country that is operating as a police state with indefinite detention threatened by our federal government and the militarization of local police and Sheriffs. The worst aspects of that trend were on display in front of the courthouse during Occupy Eureka. The slanderous email thread with the Rumsfeldian “we don't know who is in those tents” and the insinuation the some “professional protesters” were planning nefarious activities. Then those people Identified were arrested on false charges and held in some cases for over a week. This violation of personal liberty will not tolerated by the people of Eureka. You were given the opportunity to deal with these problems in the form of claims filed earlier and in the matter of hiring a new chief for Eureka PD. You made the wrong decision in both cases.

We also served the Chief of Police with more cops to be served in the weeks to come. It is a long struggle we are engaged in and Occupy Eureka is not any where near done yet.

First Birthday

We celebrated the one year anniversary with a few signs, a tent and several visits from the police. we showed the film below with sound track in the evening. Copyright problems block the soundtrack version on youtube, sorry.

Remembering In the Redwoods

It is impossible to capture all of the emotions that returning to the courthouse brings forth in me today. We are here to remember. To remember A fallen defender of the earth, David, “Gypsy” Chain, and to remember a year spent engaged in the struggle to defend human dignity here on this space. Because he was brutally murdered by corporate society I never had the chance to meet Gypsy but the world is a poorer place for his absence.

One year ago today some of us were watching as the world erupted with a new movement. People by the score were arriving at Zuccotti park in the heart of the financial district in New York city. Gathering to share their disgust with the state of life in the land where they lived. We had seen this happen throughout the middle east and northern Africa. They had called it the Arab spring and now we were bearing witness to what had been dubbed the American fall.

The capitalists oligarchs had restored the system for the wealthy. The 1% had looted the treasury to pay their bonuses while the poor were under the boot of an oppressive regime of teabaggers swept into congress by the failure of the hope and change corporatists, For them austerity was a religion.

Occupy was a continuation of the teachers in Wisconsin taking to the streets, of a Tunisian fruit vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi self immolating in the square. A reaction to millions being thrown from their jobs and their homes.

We called ourselves the 99% and came from all walks of life. Students buried by debt training for jobs that no longer existed. Jobless people, houseless people, the disenfranchised, the despised, the derelicts. The artists and engineers, musicians, teachers and nurses and well I think you get the picture.

We came with more then our complaints we came with a process. We were foolish enough to believe that everyone in their midst had value. That everyone in a group has the right to be heard and to put their ideas out there. That instead of a few rich men going behind closed doors to decide the fate of the rest of us that we would gather in open general assemblies that everyone took their turn to speak at. That we were All leaders and Nobody Was.

I am proud to have been part of that last year here at the courthouse. We were one of thousands of groups that sprang up around the world in solidarity with the Occupy Wall street movement. We came down on the 7th of October and hung up some banners and held the first of many General assemblies of our own.

We have come a long way since that day and that is what we are here to commemorate and I hope move forward. Because that is the true legacy of occupy. We have shown the world that we are not going to take it. We have changed the conversation in America and become part of the long history along the road to a more perfect union.

The process was for me transformative. I had always been an activist, or so I thought but for the first time in my life I was involved in the struggle every waking hour. I was able to see that for many of those around me were transforming as well. You cannot experience a true community with the type of aspirational goals that we had growing and not be changed.

We pitched a tent or 2 that grew to a camp that grew into a community and that was not what the capitalists wanted. When they do it in Tahir square they sent the secretary of state out to praise it. When it happened at UC Davis they sent the militarized police out to pepper spray it.

We affected a response throughout the nation from those in power. Violent repression. We scared the fuck out of those people inside the courthouse. The failure of capitalism could not be displayed to a docile public they were paid so highly to keep appeased. They tried to label us terrorists and a security threat. They smiled and nodded and made nice in public then all the sudden they struck with an Iron Fist in the form of riot troops. We were no different here then the rest of the country with our comrades going to jail cells and to hospitals.

Our comrade Hans sent this message. “They can break my ribs but the can't break my spirit.”

When I am speaking I like to try and stick to the principle that less is more so I will not try your patience rehashing the litany of police misconduct and abuses of power that we were subjected to. That is for another time perhaps but I am going to ask you to indulge me for a for a short walk down memory lane.

Many of you are familiar with the assassinated leader from India Mr. Gandhi, and something he said rings true of what we have done. First they ignore you, The root of the problem began here. For decades society has ignored the plight of those at the bottom. That group that must be sacrificed to their Capitalist God “Market Forces”

Then they ridicule you; Who pooped and peed on the bank became a meme with Defegate becoming national news. When a member of the media came it was to find the weirdest person in the crowd to get a 5 second sound bite of the crazy hippies and their hobo camp. Those inside the building tried to play us off and hoped we would go home.

Then they fight you; 7 November rolled around and the Chief of EPD had a plan and the DA gave the order to, “Go Get Em” That night they arrested dozens, injured a few and stole the property of those that have the least. What followed was a calculated series of attacks on the members of Occupy Eureka. Unjust imprisonment, Theft of property, destruction of signs, bogus arrests. The complete disregard for constitutional rights and of human rights.

Then you win; We went to court and kicked their ass, Hung Jury, case dismissed in the interest of justice, decline to prosecute, Not Guilty On All Counts. When they ginned up some AstroTurf group to “take back the courthouse” We turned out the power of the people and the power of the people don't stop. We sent them packing back to their sad little lives of hate for anything different.

We held our vigils out here in front of the courthouse and the Sheriffs were forced to drop their heads as they walked sheepishly by having been taught that we the people were the sovereigns

Janell filed a lawsuit to overturn the ordinance 2477 and I am confident she will prevail. We outlasted the fence around the grass and have gotten some of the more odious sections of the ordinance on the chopping block. We forced them to return our property and our signs and we forced them to stop arresting us. To some extent the problems I was just speaking about were side issues. Once the police state sent out their military arm, EPD we were engaged in the fight for the right to protest. We fought to hold the space because that was a large part of the message. If as many wanted we had given up that fight nothing else would have mattered. They fought like hell to prevent us from getting out this message.

You have saddled us with a system that is wrong and we will not sit quietly by while you continue to destroy our communities. No you will not cut down old growth to widen a road so you can pull your tanks into our front yards. We will not become slaves to the company store and we will not allow you to give million dollar bribes from the head waters slush fund.

Human rights are most in need of defense for the powerless in society. Sleep is as much a necessity as food and water. We endured in the cold winter rains in the hope that soon no one would have to.

We are raising the wages of working people in Eureka. Many of you have little faith in government and less faith in the ballot box but as Malcolm X once said by any means necessary.

We are gathering signatures for the Eureka Fair Wage Act to force Walmart to pay a $12 per hour minimum wage. Please sign it if you live in the City of Eureka and can vote.

We continue to fight for justice against laws that criminalize poverty and dissent.

This last year has been exhausting for many. The godfather of our little occupy was worn down and I am glad to see Jack here today and in improved health.

I say to you We only lose when we quit. I am truly fortunate to be a part of this action. I have met some special people that I am proud to call my comrades. Men and women that are willing to stand together and say no more.

You had your chance to run the world and you fucked it up.
Now it is time for you to go away and to let us try and fix it.
You are Capitalism
You are Fascism
You are totalitarianism
You are globalization
You are finalization
You are Hatred and You are Greed.
You will not poison our air and our water and food supply and our minds. We will not tolerate your wars against other countries and against the environment. We are human beings and you will treat each of us with the dignity that that accords us.

What I would have, will say

I am here today to speak about the state of law enforcement in this county and the lack of accountability.

Last Thursday was Cotton day here in Humboldt County. It has been 5 years since 4 members of EPD beat a man to death while other cops stood silently by. The city lost a multimillion dollar law suit but not one of the killers have been fired.

When you allow killers to go unpunished you create a climate of lawlessness in the institution that rots it at its core. In a free society it is imperative that the integrity of the law enforcement agencies be above reproach. That and the presumption of innocence are the cornerstones of our system of justice. The police are allowed to carry weapons even in places a member of the larger society cannot. In this day and age the police are armed more in the manner of an invading army. When a few people protested outside the court house with tents the police arrived in riot gear with military style weaponry and attacked peaceful protestors exercising their rights granted in both the United States and State of California Constitutions.

We have not purged our departments of those that have disgraced the members that wish to honorably serve their community. By not doing so we have weakened the community. When we erode the faith people place in the institutions we turn those institutions into oppressive forces.
The policeman on the beat unbound by the law in his own mind oversteps his authority and people that have done no harm to society spends weeks in jail for protesting the destruction of our environment or the corruption in our financial sector. People are arrested for riding a bicycle while having an accent.

The making of bad laws undermines that faith as well. When your Board chose to ignore the first amendment and volumes of case law in an effort to remove the right to redress grievances from the people of Humboldt county it made a mistake. The overwhelming public sentiment against that action was ignored and a bad law was passed. A law that many people feel compelled to break because it is an affront to free people in a constitutional republic.

The jurors as part of the system of checks and balances has rejected that law and you are planning to try and amend it. I would like to see that that process is done in a manner open to the public. Repeal the Urgency Ordinance in total, Either abandon the idea that you should try to regulate protesting or Schedule well publicized public hearings in all parts of the county rather then the sham process that has been followed so far.

I would also ask that the Board of Supervisors join members of the community in condemning the Arcata Police department overstepping their authority and acting as an ICE agent, profiling people with accents. It is bad enough that local police would issue citations to obvious tourists that were not causing any harm but simply made a wrong turn while riding their bicycles rather then just give them some directions and help them on their way. To demand papers from someone based on obvious profiling should be grounds for dismissal. That is probably too much to hope for in a county where the police regularly kill with impunity.

Eureka Fair Wage Act

Notice of Intent to Circulate Petition

Notice is hereby given by the persons whose names appear hereon of their intention to circulate the petition within the City of Eureka for the purpose of raising the minimum wage. A statement of the reasons of the proposed action as contemplated in the petition is as follows:
Walmart and other large retail outlets have a negative impact on wages and benefits for working people in the communities where they open stores. To remedy that negative impact, large employers in Eureka shall be required to pay a minimum wage of twelve dollars ($12) per hour.

LEGAL TEXT OF THE EUREKA FAIR WAGE ACT

AN INITIATIVE ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EUREKA CALIFORNIA AMENDING TITLE XI OF THE EUREKA MUNICIPAL CODE TO REQUIRE THE PAYMENT OF A CITY-WIDE MINIMUM WAGE OF 12 DOLLARS PER HOUR FOR ALL EMPLOYERS WITH 25 OR MORE EMPLOYEES

WHEREAS families and workers need to earn a living wage~ and public policies which help achieve that goal are beneficial; and
WHEREAS payment of a minimum wage advances the interests of the City as a whole~ by creating jobs that keep workers and their families out of poverty; and
WHEREAS a minimum wage will enable a worker to meet basic needs and avoid economic hardship; and
WHEREAS this ordinance is intended to improve the quality of services provided in the City to the public by reducing high turnover, absenteeism and instability in the workplace; and
WHEREAS prompt and efficient enforcement of this Chapter will provide workers with economic security and the assurance that their rights will be respected.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED, BY THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF EUREKA:

SECTION 1. Title XI of the Eureka City Code Of Ordinances is hereby amended to add a new Chapter to be numbered, entitled and to read as follows:

CHAPTER 123.00
Fair Wage Act
123. 01 TITLE.
This ordinance shall be known as the "Eureka Fair Wage Act."

123.02 AUTHORITY.
This Chapter is adopted pursuant to the powers vested in the City of Eureka under the laws and Constitution of the State of California, but not limited to the police powers vested in the City pursuant to Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution and Section 1205(b) of the California Labor Law.

123.03 DEFINITIONS.
The following terms shall have the following meanings:
A. "City" shall mean the City of Eureka.
B. "Employee" shall mean any person who:
1. during a particular calendar week performs at least two (2) hours of work for an Employer as defined below; and
2. qualifies as an employee entitled to payment of a minimum wage from any employer under the California minimum wage law, as provided under Section 1197 of the California Labor Code and wage orders published by the California Industrial Welfare Commission, or is a participant in a Welfare-to-Work Program.
C. "Employer" shall mean any person, including corporate officers or executives, as defined in Section 18 of the California Labor Code, who: 1) directly or indirectly through any other person, including through the services of a temporary employment agency, staffing agency or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours or working conditions of any Employee; and 2) is either subject to Business License Tax Chapter 110 of the Municipal Code of the City of Eureka or assigns an Employee or Employees to perform work within the geographic boundaries of the City.
D. "Minimum Wage " shall have the meaning set forth in Section 123.04(B) of this Chapter.
E. "Welfare-to-Work Program" shall mean the CalWORKS Program, including but not limited to the Temporary Assistance To Needy Families Program (TANF), and the General Relief Program, and any successor programs that are substantially similar to them.
F. “City Attorney " shall mean the City Attorney of the City of Eureka.
G. "Nonprofit Corporation" shall mean a nonprofit corporation, duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation and (if a foreign corporation) in good standing under the laws of the State of California, which corporation has established and maintains valid nonprofit status under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and all rules and regulations promulgated under such Section.
H. “Code” shall mean the Municipal Charter and Code of the City of Eureka, California.

123. 04 MINIMUM WAGE.
A. Employers for which twenty-five (25) or more Employees perform work for compensation during any particular calendar week shall pay Employees no less than the Minimum Wage set forth in this Chapter for each hour worked within the geographic boundaries of the City during that week.
B. Beginning on the effective date of this Chapter, or for Nonprofit Corporations as defined in Section 123.03 of this Ordinance, 18 months after the effective date of this Chapter, the Minimum Wage shall be an hourly rate of twelve dollars ($12). To prevent inflation from eroding its value, beginning on January 1,2014, and each year thereafter, the Minimum Wage shall increase by an amount corresponding to the prior year’s increase, if any, in the cost of living. The prior year's increase in the cost of living shall be measured by the percentage increase, if any, as of August of the immediately preceding year over the level as of August of the previous year of the Consumer Price Index (Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, U.S. City Average for All Items) or its successor index as published by the U.S. Department of Labor or its successor agency, with the amount of the minimum wage increase rounded to the nearest multiple of five cents. The adjusted minimum wage shall be announced by October 1 of each year, and shall become effective as the new minimum wage on January 1.
C. A violation for unlawfully failing to pay the Minimum Wage shall be deemed to continue from the date immediately following the date that the wages were due and payable as provided in Part 1 (commencing with Section 200) of Division 2 of the California Labor Code, to the date immediately preceding the date the wages are paid in full.

123.05 WAIVER THROUGH COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
To the extent required by federal law, all or any portion of the applicable requirements of this Chapter may be waived in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, provided that such waiver is explicitly set forth in such agreement in clear and unambiguous terms.

123.06 NOTICE, POSTING, AND PAYROLL RECORDS.
A. By December 1 of each year, the City Attorney shall publish and make available to Employers a bulletin announcing the adjusted Minimum Wage rate for the upcoming year, which shall take effect on January 1. In conjunction with this bulletin, the City Attorney shall by December 1 of each year publish and make available to Employers, in all languages spoken by more than five percent of the work force in the City, a notice suitable for posting by Employers in the workplace informing Employees of the current Minimum Wage and of their rights under this Chapter.
B. Every Employer, as defined in this Chapter, shall post in a conspicuous place at each workplace and job site where any Employee works the notice published each year by the City Attorney informing Employees of the current Minimum Wage and of their rights under this Chapter. Every Employer shall post such notices in any language spoken by at least five percent of the Employees at the workplace or job site. Every Employer shall also provide each Employee at the time of hire with the Employer's name, address, and telephone number in writing.
C. Employers shall retain payroll records pertaining to Employees for a period of four years, and shall allow the City access to such records within 10 business days, with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time, to monitor compliance with the requirements of this Chapter. Where an Employer does not maintain or retain adequate records documenting hours worked and wages paid or does not allow the City reasonable access to such records, the Employee's account of how much he or she was paid shall be presumed to be accurate, absent clear and convincing evidence otherwise.

123.07 RETALIATION PROHIBITED.
It shall be unlawful for an Employer or any other party to discriminate in any manner or take adverse action against any person in retaliation for exercising rights protected under this Chapter. Rights protected under this Chapter include, but are not limited to: the right to file a complaint or inform any person about any party’s alleged noncompliance with this Chapter; and the right to inform any person of his or her potential rights under this Chapter and to assist him or her in asserting such rights. Protections of this Chapter shall apply to any person who mistakenly, but in good faith, alleges noncompliance with this Chapter. Taking adverse action against a person within ninety (90) days of the person's exercise of rights protected under this Chapter shall raise a rebuttable presumption of having done so in retaliation for the exercise of such rights.

123.08 IMPLEMENTATION
A. Guidelines. The City Attorney shall coordinate implementation and enforcement of this Chapter and may promulgate appropriate guidelines or rules for such purposes. Any guidelines or rules promulgated by the City Attorney shall have the force and effect of law and may be relied on by Employers, Employees and other parties to determine their rights and responsibilities under this Chapter. Any guidelines or rules may establish procedures for ensuring fair, efficient and cost-effective implementation of this Chapter, including supplementary procedures for helping to inform Employees of their rights under this Chapter, for monitoring Employer compliance with this Chapter, and for providing administrative hearings to determine whether an Employer or other person has violated the requirements of this Chapter.
B. Reporting Violations. An Employee or any other person may report to the City Attorney in writing any suspected violation of this Chapter. The City Attorney shall encourage reporting pursuant to this subsection by keeping confidential, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable laws, the name and other identifying information of the Employee or person
reporting the violation. Provided, however, that with the authorization of such person, the City Attorney may disclose his or her name and identifying information as necessary to enforce this Chapter or other employee protection laws. In order to further encourage reporting by Employees, if the City Attorney notifies an Employer that the City Attorney is investigating a complaint, the City Attorney shall require the Employer to post or otherwise notify its Employees, using a form provided by the City, that the City Attorney is conducting an investigation.
C. Investigation. The City Attorney shall investigate all reported violations of this Chapter by an Employer or other person. The City Attorney shall have the authority to inspect workplaces, interview persons and subpoena books, papers, records, or other items relevant to the enforcement of this Chapter.
D. Resolution. The City Attorney shall make every effort to resolve complaints in a timely manner, and shall take no more than one year to resolve any complaint. The failure of the City Attorney to meet this timeline shall not be grounds for closure or dismissal of the complaint.

123.09 ENFORCEMENT
A. Where prompt compliance is not forthcoming, the City Attorney shall initiate one or more of the following enforcement actions to secure compliance:
1. The City Attorney may issue an Administrative Citation pursuant to § 10.35 et seq. of the Code with a fine of not more than $50 for each day or portion thereof and for each Employee or person as to whom the violation occurred or continued.
2. The City Attorney may initiate a civil action for injunctive relief and damages and civil penalties in a court of competent jurisdiction.
B. Any person aggrieved by a violation of this Chapter, any entity a member of which is aggrieved by a violation of this Chapter, or any other person or entity acting on behalf of the public as provided for under applicable state law, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the Employer or other person violating this Chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorneys' fees and costs and shall be entitled to such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any back wages owed, the payment of an additional sum as liquidated damages in the amount of $100 to each Employee or person whose rights under this Chapter were violated for each day that the violation occurred or continued, reinstatement in employment and/or injunctive relief. Provided, however, that any person or entity enforcing this Chapter on behalf of the public as provided for under applicable state law shall, upon prevailing, be entitled only to equitable, injunctive or restitutionary relief and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
C. This Section shall not be construed to limit an Employee's right to bring legal action for a violation of any other laws concerning wages, hours, or other standards or rights nor shall exhaustion of remedies under this Chapter be a prerequisite to the assertion of any right.
D. Except where prohibited by state or federal law, City agencies or departments may revoke or suspend any registration certificates, permits or licenses held or requested by the Employer until such time as the violation is remedied.
E. Relief
The remedies for violation of this Chapter include but are not limited to:
1. Reinstatement, the payment of back wages owed, and the payment of an additional sum as liquidated damages in the amount of $100 to each Employee or person whose rights under this Chapter were violated for each day or portion thereof that the violation occurred or continued, and fines imposed pursuant to other provisions of this Code or state law.
2. Interest on all due and unpaid wages at the rate of interest specified in subdivision(b) of Section 3289 of the California Civil Code, which shall accrue from the date that the wages were due and payable as provided in Part 1 (commencing with Section 200) of Division 2 of the California Labor Code, to the date the wages are paid in full.
3. Reimbursement of the City's administrative costs of enforcement and reasonable attorneys fees.
F. Posted Notice. If a repeat violation of this Chapter has been finally determined, the City Attorney may require the Employer to post public notice of the Employer's failure to comply in a form determined by the City.

123.10 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER REQUIREMENTS
This Chapter provides for payment of a local Minimum Wage and shall not be construed to preempt or otherwise limit or affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy or standard that provides for payment of higher or supplemental wages or benefits, or that extends other protections.

123.11 APPLICATION OF MINIMUM WAGE TO WELFARE-TO-WORK PROGRAMS.The Minimum Wage established pursuant to Section 123.04(B) of this Chapter shall apply to the Welfare-to-Work programs under which persons must perform work in exchange for receipt of benefits. Participants in Welfare-to-Work Programs shall not, during a given benefits period, be required to work more than a number of hours equal to the value of all cash benefits received during that period, divided by the Minimum Wage.

123.12 FEES
Nothing herein shall preclude the City Council from imposing a cost recovery fee on all Employers to pay the cost of administering this Chapter.

123.13 AMENDMENT BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
This Chapter may be amended by the City Council without a vote of the people as regards the implementation or enforcement thereof, in order to achieve the purposes of this Chapter, but not with regard to lessening the substantive requirements of the Chapter or its scope of coverage.

SECTION 2. Effective Date.
This ordinance shall become effective on the ninetieth (90th) day after it is certified. This ordinance is intended to have prospective effect only.

SECTION 3. Severability.
If any part or provision of this ordinance, or the application of this ordinance to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this ordinance, including the application of such part or provisions to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected by such a holding and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, the provisions of this ordinance are severable.

Victory for the night

The feeling of victory is sweet. Last night around 9:45 2 deputy sheriffs walked by the front of the courthouse while we held our candle light vigil for first amendment rights. The sheepish looks they gave us when we invited them to join us said it all. Total capitulation by law enforcement. They came back around twice more before we departed at 11:30 and ignored our “criminality” each time.
The Machinations of the small town old boy network are becoming clearer with every action of the power structure. The sheriff decries the district attorney's actions while the acting police chief rails against the “lawlessness in front of the courthouse. All against the backdrop of oppressing the poor at every turn.

Not Guilty

For Immediate Release Wed, July 11, 2012

Humboldt Jury Finds Candlelight Vigilers “Not Guilty” in Courthouse Curfew Trial

Victory for First Amendment Rights & Free Speech Vigilers: "The Constitution is the law of the land."

Contact: Peter Camacho, Amanda Tierney, Kimberly Starr: (707) 442-7465, parc.office@gmail.com

EUREKA, CA – On March 30th, three participants in a “Candlelight Vigil for the First Amendment” were arrested on the Humboldt County courthouse steps, peacefully asserting Constitutional rights in the face of a repressive 'urgency ordinance', passed three days earlier, that seeks to criminalize everyday activity in front of the courthouse such as sharing food, setting down a bag, or holding a protest between 9:30pm and 6:00am. The courthouse has been Humboldt County's historic forum for free speech activity for over 50 years."They violated the ordinance but the Constitution gave them a right to be there. The Constitution is the law of the land," said Juror #7.
The trial of the three candlelight vigilers, Peter Camacho, Kimberly Starr, and Amanda Tierney, was the first test of the courthouse curfew. It may also have been the last if the Board acts on their June 18 vote to remove the curfew portion of the ordinance. Supervisors Virginia Bass, Mark Lovelace, and Ryan Sundberg voted for the curfew to be rescinded in the interest of preserving the public's right to hold night-time vigils and gatherings. The Board plans, however, to expand repressive prohibitions to public space surrounding over 120 county facilities.
The jury in the vigil case was in deliberations for six days. Arguments during trial largely centered around the question—does the county legislature have the authority to trump First Amendment Constitutional rights?
“We hold strongly to the firmly planted belief that no government body can trump the Constitution. The Board of Supervisors tread where no government in the U.S. should go,” said pro per defendant Kimberly Starr in closing arguments. "This courthouse is a visible, central, and most reasonable and traditional place for protest activity in Humboldt.”
“It is 'as American as apple pie' to believe that it is every citizen’s right to utilize this traditional public forum for such a simple, peaceful exercise of the First Amendment," added attorney, Casey Russo. Mr. Russo of the Public Defender's Office represented Mr. Camacho, who was arbitrarily held for six days in jail for the candlelight vigil arrest.
Mr. Russo described the three vigilers as “concerned Americans who are brave enough to put themselves out there and exercise their First Amendment rights.”
The jury viewed a video of the vigil from the night of the arrest; it showed a calm, peaceful, and principled gathering. The trial however had a pronounced intensity as community members rooted for justice, a decision in favor of the defendants and in favor of basic civil rights.
Humboldt Deputy District Attorney, Jackie Pizzo, attempted to discredit the vigilers' defense and assertion of their Constitutional rights by pointing out that they are not attorneys nor do they hold doctorates in Constitutional law.
Countering the prosecution's attempts to discredit them and criminalize the simple act of sitting on the courthouse steps, the vigilers made strong statements during their testimonies and closings:
"The U.S. Constitution and the California Constitution were not created for study by academics or for mysterious reference by attorneys or to be a complex subject matter for historians. The rights of the people and safeguards from overbearing government are laid out in the Bill of Rights. These things are for common people to use, to assert, to protect themselves with.
The unanimous verdict from the jury reinforces the popular sentiment that the curfew is an unlawful abridgment of the people’s right to assemble and speak. "We believed they had the right to be there and we believed they thought they could be there," a juror told the victorious demonstrators and their supporters after the verdict.
In closing, the day before 'Independence Day', Amanda Tierney, representing herself, urged the jury to "say 'yes' to the elixir that should always fuel our democracy…the freedom to express our opinions and engage each other in a social dialogue. "
Community members have been enacting nightly "Candlelight Vigils for the First Amendment" in front of the Humboldt County courthouse for over three months, in opposition to the passage of the controversial ordinance.
###

Some pictures from the front

Some pictures from the front, a few from our continuing vigils and some from the most recent Art's alive. We are still out front of the courthouse at night 9:30 to 11:30 every night.

Throwing sand in the gears

Spent a couple of hours out at the beach waiting for some space to become available. Part of helping some folks put their lives together. Have to cop to the fact that we have not been very successful. We have far from failed but we still don't have a secure space for them to be in. Life continues to flow and the courts beckon for the next few days. Things have spun off in new directions and I am fatigued. What else is new.