A small group of people started gathering in front of McClatchy High School today, at 3 o’clock, to show their support for gay rights. Among the group, were protesters who had gathered earlier at the capitol, students from neighboring schools, and the press.       It was nearing the scheduled time for the arrival of the notorious anti-gay protester, Fred Phelps and his clan, from the Westboro Baptist Church. They were scheduled to arrive at 3;15pm, according to their website godhatesfags.com.       The high school was ready with a dozen staff members standing guard in the front drive way. A number of students chose to dine in restaurants across the street, having a nice vantage point

The California State University system faces a $1.27 billion dollar cut in its 2009-10 General Fund Budget from one year ago.  While total enrollment is up 4,000 students across the CSU system, budget outlays are 55 percent less than they were in 2008-09. To balance the CSU budget, the CA Board of Trustees has enacted a three prong approach. Teachers will be furloughed twice a month in order to save jobs, classes are being cancelled to save cash, and students will see a 32 percent increase in their student fees.  This is the seventh time in eight years that student fees have gone up, and students are finding it very difficult to graduate because the classes they need have either been canc

About 1,500 people gathered on the west steps of the State Capitol Friday afternoon to express their anger with state environmental regulations, which they said were responsible for increased unemployment in the state. Present at the event were talk radio hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty, Congressman Tom McClintock and Mark Meckler, head of the Sacramento Tea Party Patriots and the event's organizer, as well as several business owners and a representative from the National Tea Party Patriots organization. In addition to the protesters on the west steps, many tractors, big rigs and other trucks carrying signs and honking in support of the protest were on the streets around the Capitol.

Press Release Contact: 1. Marielle Tsukamoto 916-685-6747 mariellet@frontiernet.net   2. Patricia Pratt 916-482 3018 cell: 916 730 9380 quiltsrpat@aol.com Twenty-five Sacramento groups Oppose Nuclear Weapons Twenty-five local Sacramento organizations and hundreds of supporters will come together on Sunday August 9th for the 64th Annual Day of Remembrance and Action to Oppose Nuclear Weapons. This family-friendly event will be held at the CSUS Alumni Center. Doors open at 4pm for networking and viewing sponsor tables with the program from 4:30-6pm. The event is free and there is adjacent free parking beside the center. For directions, go to http://www.sacstatealumni.com/alumniCen

On June 8, American Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to 12-years of "labor reform" by North Korea. This Thursday a candlelight vigil will be held on the Capitol west steps in peaceful protest. On April 27 a vigil was held for Laura Ling and Euna Lee to raise awareness for the two journalists' detainment in North Korea. This time it is in support of the two women who face the notoriously harsh conditions of North Korea's labor camps. The two American journalists were on assignment for Current TV, a cable and web network co-founded by Al Gore, when they were detained on March 17 and convicted of illegal entry and engaging in "hostile acts" after a four-day trial North Kor

On Tuesday evening, hundreds of workers with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) congregated at the steps of the Capitol to voice their frustrations with how the state legislature is handling the budget. Yvonne Walker, President of the SEIU, opened the rally with a fiery speech about how state workers “are on the tipping point,” with the continued proposals to cut state workers’ pay and adding a third furlough day. Walker described the two-day furlough already in place for state workers as “the equivalent of one month’s pay.” She explained an additional day of unpaid leave would increase the financial burden on state workers, causing some to lose their homes. Workers were w

Sacramento, CA Friday, May 1, 2009 Several Sacramento Police officers formed a blockade at the front entrance of the Five Fifty Five building on Capitol Mall today as demonstrators gathered to let their voice be heard by Bank of America officials. The downtown branch of Bank of America is located on the ground floor of the Five Fifty Five building. Bank personnel guarded the back ally entrance to be sure that those entering were there for bank business and not part of the demonstration. At this location the demonstrators were voicing their opinion of alleged misuse of bailout funds handed to the banks, and calling for the CEO of BofA to step down. When we attempted to question bank offici

Ever drive by the Capitol building and see a crowd gathering, only to pass by wondering what was that? Whether it's a large gathering, a rally, or a special event, stories in this storyline will focus on all happenings outside of California's historic State Capitol building, located at 10th and L Streets. Future articles in this storyline will likely include interviews with organizers and participants, as well as photographs, flyers and additional information. Monday April 27th: California Young Democrats will be holding a press conference to help mobilize the youth vote. Taking place from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., the event will consist of approximately 60 people who will convene at the no

Look out, Governor Schwarzenegger! Thousands of angry students are yelling at your front door.   Today at the Capitol, college students from all over California gathered to speak up about their frustrations in this year’s ‘March in March’.   At 10:00 am, a crowd of thousands from all over the state started marching from Raley Field towards the Capitol. The passion of the students could be felt in the air during the walk.   “What do we want? EDUCATION! When do we want it? NOW!” “You say cut that, we say fight back!”   These were just a couple of the many chants that could be heard throughout the crowd. Anybody with functioning ears within a ten-block radius could probably hear the screa

Several hundred hardhats gathered at the southwest corner of the Capitol grounds this morning to protest the budget deadlock that has thrown hundreds of labor brothers out of work. In fact, said Jarad Donabedin, a member of Laborers Local 185, “Everyone here is out of work. This is real life.” Called by the California Alliance for Jobs, speakers from operating engineers, carpenters and laborers locals spoke in a highly-charged atmosphere to repeated cheers from those gathered. The most common chant was “What do we want?” “A budget!” “When do we want it?” “Now!” chanted as the protesters circled around the area, holding picket signs reading “LEGISLATORS DO YOUR JOB SO WE DON’T LOSE OURS!

While riding through the downtown area today I spotted a group of people walking down the street heading toward the plaza. After following them around for a few minutes to investigate, I quickly realized that they were protesters. This small group of 8 was heading for the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza in downtown Sacramento this morning, chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, budget caps have got to go.” I followed these protestors for a block or so, before they finally stopped in front of the conference room at Holiday Inn. Apparently the legislature was having a meeting in this hotel working on ways to cap California’s budget. There I found out that the protestors were actually part of the SEIU of Cali

Thursday, less than two hours after Governor Schwarzenegger finished his State of the State address, a few hundred members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1000 gathered to protest on the south steps of the State Capitol. The SEIU, whose mission is to improve the lives of workers and their families, held seven simultaneous protests against budget cuts for state workers, including gatherings in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. For many California families, problems with our national economy compounds the problems within the state's budget. Although the crowd was roughly half the size of the previous day's protest, today's chants were louder and led by s

Approximately 100 Protesters chanting "Free Free Palestine" and holding large Palestinian, American, and UN flags assembled outside the Robert Matsui courthouse on the corner of 5th and I Streets yesterday, in the latest of a series of gatherings to protest the ongoing Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip. Protesters said they were there to raise awareness of the aggressive actions of Israel, and the US policy of support for Israel in the form of arms shipments. Naseer Abboushi, of the Palestinian - American Congress, said "We want a diplomatic solution to end the fighting and get a long- term solution. We believe that this can be achieved diplomatically." Not all protesters were Palest

People always have signage at protests and rallies so we produced large signs to add to the mix. We thought it would be fun to try and drive content by giving people a reminder the conversation can continue online.  In the future we intend on bring these signs to locations as news is breaking.