If the Santa Cruz chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is trying to “Keep Santa Cruz Weird”, then Ryan Coonerty was a fitting recipient for the “Hammer of Justice” award during their annual fundraiser at Long Marine Lab on August 24th. Coonerty is the mayor of Santa Cruz and either an owner of Book Shop Santa Cruz, or merely an employee of the bookstore, depending on which side of his mouth he is talking out of. His actions since becoming a Santa Cruz City Council-member in 2004, such as supporting police infiltration into community groups, should be, and in some cases have been, challenged by the ACLU. Therefore, one is left to believe that the Santa Cruz ACLU is a big supporter of irony when they award Coonerty, or just trying to do their part to ‘Keep Santa Cruz Weird.’
Coonerty, also a lecturer in the Legal Studies department at UC Santa Cruz and in the Political Science department at Cabrillo College, accepted his award while Bernard, a civil rights for the poor activist, held a sign stage left critical of his politics. The sign made three points: that Coonerty has cut public comment time for individuals during City Council meetings, banned activists critical of his policies from Book Shop Santa Cruz, and made it a crime to be in a public parking lot for longer than 15 minutes.
The Watsonville Brown Berets were recognized with the “True Patriots” award from the ACLU. The Berets displayed a banner in the corner of the room, painted that morning for Watsonville’s first Pride Celebration, that translates from Spanish to English as, “Liberation for All of the Oppressed.” Sandino and Carlie accepted the award and spoke on behalf of the Berets. In the Berets’ acceptance speech, which came after the mayor’s, Sandino spoke out against Ryan Coonerty’s repressive policies and affirmed the Berets’ solidarity with all oppressed peoples. Read More and View Photos
On June 6th, George Blumenthal was inaugurated as the 10th Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz during a ceremony on UCSC’s East Field. Students and workers, organized through the Student and Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), held a 10-hour day of action to deliver a loud and clear message — end poverty wages at the University of California. George M. Marcus, a Regent of the University of California, was a passenger in one of the many cars rerouted or delayed by the demonstration.
On February 16th, 2007, a protest targeting Sam Farr, Representative for the 17th Congressional District, was held at the Santa Cruz County Building. In a comment posted on Santa Cruz Indymedia, Steven Argue explained the primary reason behind the protest, “While Sam Farr has voted against supplemental war appropriations, He has voted for well over a trillion dollars in “defense” (actually war funds) since the beginning of the Iraq war. Besides being used to put the world in terror of U.S. corporate interests through the massive military machine of the United States government, that money has also been used to directly occupy Iraq.” 
On August 8th, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was un-welcomed to Salinas High School by members of the American Federation of Teachers, Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, Watsonville Brown Berets and other demonstrators. With an escort of police in cruisers and on motorcycles, Schwarzenegger’s vehicle drove past a group of protesters and into a back entrance of Salinas High. Police quickly locked out the people who, in the theory of US Democracy, are supposed to be represented by the Governor. 
On July 25th, Santa Cruz activists, guided by the Coalition for Impeachment Now (COIN), attended the last Santa Cruz City Council meeting of the summer in an effort to get “our city representatives” to place a measure on the ballot in November calling for the impeachment of George Bush and Richard Cheney. 
