On April 25, supporters of the South Central Farm held their third demonstration outside Forever 21 in Old Town Pasadena. (Background information can be found here.) The turnout was high: between 20 and 30 people, and the demonstrators were vocal and lively. . . .

This campaign is country-wide. However, not all of Forever 21's stores have the same name (even within Southern California). The names tend to be variations on Forever 21, like Forever Fabulous. Report back and photos: Never Forever 21: Round 3 by RP

After receiving an eviction notice taped to her door last week at the end of the six month redemption period on her foreclosed home, Rosemary Williams showed up at Housing Court at the Hennepin County Government Center Wednesday morning - along with about 50 of her friends and neighbors.

As the defendant at the preliminary hearing, Rosemary was represented by Jordan Kushner and Bruce Nestor of the National Lawyers Guild, who prepared to argue that in addition to disputing some facts of the complaint against her, the eviction would cause a public nuisance to the community and should therefore not be permitted to continue.   This experimental legal defense was met with skepticism by the housing court referee - but a trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday, April 28 at 9am at the HCGC. 

Read More & Video (Video is from 4/22 press conference and hearing) | The trial has since been rescheduled for May 26.

Homeless residents, displaced from downtown due to the closing of Franklin Shelter, have filed federal claims in the US District Court against Mayor Adrian Fenty for violating the Fair Housing Act, the American with Disabilities Act, and place of residence discrimination under the DC Human Rights Act. The claims result from the growing and systematic pattern of displacement of the largely African American homeless population from the downtown area to the poorest and most violent parts of the city, where health care facilities, sources of proper nutrition, job and counseling opportunities are virtually absent.

Dim sum means "to touch your heart." Come to the International District Housing Alliance (IDHA) fundraiser and support a local housing charity. IDHA provides housing assistance, workshops for first home buyers, leadership and community development, community safety, all within the framework of the international community.

Join the International District Housing Alliance, Don Porter (former reporter with King 5 News), and local food connoisseur Maxine Chan, for an intimate dinner and cooking demonstration. Dine on the International District’s finest cuisine and learn the art of making dim sum. Also leave with a booklet of the recipes of the fabulous food presented.

Meet at 10 PM, Saturday April 25, at Washington Circle

For DC residents, two of America’s so-called “favorite pastimes,”baseball and soccer, have become the nightmare that plagues our budget and exacerbates the local financial crisis.

Over two weeks after being told she had to leave her home on Clinton Avenue in Minneapolis, Rosemary Williams is still staying put - and the campaign to keep her there is getting ready to escalate.  Neighbors and activists still waiting for a potential forced eviction are calling for mass attendance at a noviolent civil disobedience training to take place Saturday at 2pm at the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign office in Sabathani Community Center.  Organizers announced that the training will be conducted transparently and that members of the press will be in attendance. Williams' fight, a flashpoint of the national foreclosure crisis, has drawn the attention of national media.

On Wednesday, tax day, Williams was among the speakers at a Minnesota Coalition for the People's Bailout Rally at the State Capitol.  If you have more news about Rosemary's campaign or the foreclosure crisis in the Twin Cities, please publish a comment or article to TCIMC!  (The video here is from a March 30 press conference.)

Related: MPLS Woman Becomes Center of Foreclosure Debate | What Housing Crisis? | Opposition to War and Occupation Statement of Solidarity | Video: People's Resistance to Scheduled Minneapolis Home Eviction | Evict the Poor--Rescue the Banks? | Stopping Foreclosure: One Woman's Home (from TC Daily Planet) | TCIMC Video of March Hennepin County Sheriff's Sale Action | Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign

The City From Below conference took place last weekend in Baltimore, MD. The conference brought together organizations and individuals across urban centers to think about organizing in the city, as it is a crucial space in creating social change. The majority of the participants organize for the rights of the poor, working classes, immigrants, refugees and people of color pushing the agenda that all who live in the city must be involved in shaping its future. Read More

Audio: Opening address from Mumia Abu-Jamal | Opening Panel - Crisis and Resistance in the Neoliberal City w/ David Harvey, Max Rameau, Esther Wang, and Shiri Pasternak | Max Rameau from Take Back the Land in Miami | Resisting Gentrification in the Creative City w/ Stevphen Shukaitis, Beka Economopoulos, Alan Moore, Christina Ulke & Adrian Blackwell | From Cities to Cells (and back again) w/ Vikki Law, Power Inside & Critical Resistance | Urban Struggles and Media Activism w/ the Media Mobilizing Project, The Philadelphia Student Union & more | Baltimore Human Rights Zone: Geography of developement and resistance w/ United Workers | David Harvey - View from Federal Hill, Revisited

Video: Children in the City w/ Elliot Liu and China Martens | Dispatches Against Displacementwith James Tracy and Maria Guadalupe "Lupe" Arreola | Know Your Rights to the City w/ NLG and Picture the Homeless | Chicago 101 w/ AREA's Dan Tucker

More audio,video, and reportbacks on the City From Below Website

MINNEAPOLIS - Last September, Rosemary Williams, a long-time resident and activist of South Minneapolis, received a Notice of Foreclosure on her home. Monday was her last day to legally reside in her home of 55 years.

“When I first learned that my house was being foreclosed on I was very depressed and emotional. I had just gone through some difficult times, temporarily losing my job and seeing my adjustable rate mortgage nearly double in one year, ” Williams related. “But when banks like TCF rejected federal aid money to help people stay in their homes, I said to myself, ‘Someone has got to step up and be a spokeswoman.”

Related: Video: People's Resistance to Scheduled Minneapolis Home Eviction | Evict the Poor--Rescue the Banks? | Stopping Foreclosure: One Woman's Home (from TC Daily Planet) | TCIMC Video of March Hennepin County Sheriff's Sale Action | Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign

Rule changes proposed by the New York City Department of Buildings in February have been slammed by critics citywide, and have raised fears that the changes could lead to a significant rise in illegal construction across the city and boroughs after they are implemented in mid-April.

The Rules of the City of New York (RCNY) guide city agencies like the Department of Buildings (DOB) when interpreting the City Charter and enforcing its laws. RCNY changes can be made by the Buildings Department without a vote from the City Council.

On March 16th, UCSC administrators and Vice Chancellors held a meeting to discuss rent hikes at UCSC's Family Student Housing (FSH). A hundred tenants, from a community of 200 rental units, showed up to demand affordable rents. On Monday, March 30th various Associate Vice Chancellors and Directors of UCSC Housing are holding a second meeting to discuss their proposed rent increase of 7.5% with the FSH tenants. This will be an increase of 62% over the last nine years.

Under US law, the rich can “steal” cheap foreclosed houses. “People’s” historian Howard Zinn writes, “It is not easy to prove that protest changes policy.” This Monday, March 30th, Rosemary Williams is launching a protest that just might change things! She is refusing to leave her home at 3138 Clinton Ave. South in Minneapolis. It fell into foreclosure after having been refinanced once, and again two years ago to help make ends meet with an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). Monthly payments shot up to $2,000!

Last week tenants and activists protested in front of Page Mill Properties' headquarters in downtown Palo Alto and marched to Congresswoman Anna Eshoo's office. They are asking elected officials to do more to stop the giant landlord/investor from harassing tenants and neglecting maintenance at the East Palo Alto rental properties owned and managed by Page Mill. This week's disclosure that the San Mateo County District Attorney's office may file criminal charges stemming from the electrocution death of a Page Mill employee is a grim reminder that landlord negligence can even lead to death, as it did during the winter holidays of 2007.

Housing activist group, Picture the Homeless, along with East Harlem residents are rallying outside of an abandoned building in El Barrio to protest City housing policy. They say that the building, and others like it city-wide, should be renovated and made into affordable housing units. They also say that many of the vacant buildings can be used to house the homeless.

Activists, including many foreclosed-upon and homeless residents, converged on Minneapolis City Hall Wednesday to demand that Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek take action to end the foreclosure crisis in the county. After boisterously protesting outside the room where a sheriff's foreclosure sale was guarded by deputies, three activists entered the room, and PPEHRC national organizer Cheri Honkala was  shoved out by a deputy after attempting to bid on a property.

Then, the group went across the building to Stanek's office to demand a meeting. After deputies were uncooperative, the activists moved in, filling the room while others waited with the media outside. After about two hours, a meeting was held between a chief deputy, County Commissioner Gail Dorfman, and five activists representing the organizing bodies: PPEHRC, ACORN, the Economic Crisis Action Group, the IWW, and Homes Not Jails. The officials promised a meeting with Stanek within two weeks. 

Related: Poor People's Campaign | MN ACORN | Twin Cities IWW | MN Coaliton for a People's Bailout | Star Tribune coverage by Randy Furst | Tough Rental Market Hits Families Hard, TC Daily Planet | Ongoing TCIMC Coverage:  The Foreclosure Crisis in Minnesota | Neighbors Helping Neighbors--To Break Into Vacant Homes | Video of PPEHRC Feb. 14 Housing Occupation

Other IMC Coverage: Groups Appeal Elephant Hill Ruling | Fenty Fundraiser Hammered by Peoples' Property Campaign

In a crucial attempt to protect a densely populated Latino neighborhood in Los Angeles, environmental justice advocates and community residents filed an appeal in court on March 3, 2009, seeking to overturn a decision to build luxury homes on a fragile hillside in El Sereno. The development on Elephant Hill would endanger residents and strip the community of its last open space.

“The community of El Sereno needs parks and open spaces, not McMansions,” said Tim Grabiel, project attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Elephant Hill is a greedy project pushed forward by developers at the risk of jeopardizing the health and safety of residents and the environment.”

Story: Groups Appeal Elephant Hill Ruling by Hugo Garcia

March 15th 1pm, Statewide March on the Capitol: Stop the Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan; Keep the Guard in Oregon.

ROP Statewide Rural Caucus March 15th brings people together to meet the challenges of the economic crisis and build progressive power for Rural Oregon.

Organizing with Hope in Times of Crisis.
What & When: Rural Caucus and Strategy Session Sunday March 15th 9am–7pm & Democracy Bailout Monday March 16th 9am-1pm.

Where: Salem, Oregon
March 15th at Willamette University (Montag Den)
March 16th at UCC Church (700 Marion St NE)

Who: Rural Organizing Project & 65 member Human Dignity Groups from 30+ counties in Oregon

Why: There is incredible hardship in rural Oregon right now but also a chance for true social change and economic restructuring. ROP members from all corners of Oregon will come together to strategize on the future of the progressive movement in rural Oregon, share skills to advance organizing in local communities & demonstrate our collective power.

On Wed, March 11, Mayor Fenty staged a fundraiser at 1602 U Street, with wealthy developers and businessmen putting up as much as $500 a plate. Only thing is, Fenty was barely able to enter the event himself, pursued hither and yon by 50-70 protesters!

WSQT Broadcast Audio featuring direct confrontation, 3min 3secs. | WSQT-TV Video coverage | RELATED:
FBI raids office of former Fenty aide for corruption (WARNING:article hosted by Google)

This article is a critique of a draft proposal by five progressive non-profits providing policy recommendations to the U.S. Congress concerning the promotion of affordable housing in the storm devastated areas of the Gulf Coast. This analysis is the collective work of New Orleans housing activists who have been fighting for affordable housing in the city since Katrina and longer. The main criticism of this analysis is that the proposal of the five non-profits, in general, represents a continuation of the failed private sector driven approach to rebuilding the Gulf Coast begun in 2005 under the direction of the Bush Administration.

Austin, Texas – March 11, 2009 - The Rhizome Collective is a consensus-run 501c3 nonprofit organization that has operated a center for community organizing and urban sustainability in an East Austin warehouse since 2000.

This warehouse was inspected on March 3rd by officials from the Building and Standards Commission of the City of Austin. On Thursday, March 5th The Code Enforcement Division of The City of Austin delivered a letter outlining a list of code violations to the Collective. The City mandated that the residents and organizations based in the warehouse must vacate before March 16th. The Collective is looking into all options, but is preparing to vacate the warehouse by the deadline. Before this inspection, the Collective was in negotiations to buy the warehouse from its current owner.

The Rhizome Collective is making every effort to work with the City on this matter. Contractors are currently completing an estimate of the cost required to bring the building into compliance with city building codes. Based on conversations with contractors, the Collective does not believe it will be possible to get an estimate, obtain permits and complete the work by the City’s deadline. [read full article]

The Rhizome also hosts the following projects: Inside Books a free books to prisoners program, Bikes Across Borders fixes and sends bikes to Cuba, Mexico and Central America, Austin Food Not Bombs shares free vegan food with homeless, KPWR People Will Radio, an urban, community, web-based radio project. Rhizome also held the Austin Indymedia Space.

UPDATE: The Slow Decline of a Dying Rhizome

The BLM's massive Western Oregon Plan Revision (WOPR) logging plan has ignited a groundswell of opposition stretching from government scientists and the general public to Oregon's Governor and Congressional Representatives. Unfortunately, the BLM is pushing forward with the misguided direction of the Bush administration regardless of popular opinion, the law or scientific review.

As it stands today, the WOPR is the law of the land for over 2.5 million acres of forests in Western Oregon, and the BLM is taking steps to implement the plan on the ground. The first major project under the WOPR was just announced, and it is a 1400 acre clear cut above salmon-bearing streams in Oregon's Coast Range called "Edson". If allowed to move forward, this destructive Bush-era plan will repeat this form of industrial logging across Oregon's remaining natural heritage.