Kinetic Sculpture Race – 2014 – VIDEO

 

pix by James Decker more of this fun day in Humboldt County:   http://radmul.blogspot.com/2014/05/fair-wage-photo-bomb.html

 

A Sensible Proposal – Run Off Elections for Eureka City Council in June & November

shortlink here: http://wp.me/p38Pt0-ad

mnemonic here: http://urlet.com/recent.physical

from Bill Holmes humboldt.organizer@gmail.com

I think we should consider changing the city council election system before the next election cycle.

We should implement a primary election for City Council in Eureka in June with a run off in November between the top two vote getters.

This is the way democracies operate in the modern world.

I know that this is not quite the ranked choice voting that the Greens support, but it is simple and it works even if its not so elegant a solution. With a top two run off (two round system) there will be no more spoilers in the Eureka Council elections, and I would think that both Democrats and Greens and independents would favor that.

I ask if possible for Linda Atkins to bring this simple proposal forward for the council to act upon now. If they fail to act I would be interested in anyone willing to circulate an initiative to implement this simple but much needed change to bring basic democracy to the Lost Coast. This could be a big tent effort for any lovers of small “d” democracy.

I think as an initiative it will be a very easy sell to the voters. It will be no problem getting signatures for it to qualify, given a crew of a dozen volunteers or so.

And just think, no more spoilers.

have a peaceful day,

Bill

— A People’s Initiative for a $12.00 An Hour Minimum Wage for Large Employers http://fairwages.org info@fairwages.org

Stroll the Eureka Boardwalk for Herbal Freedom, April 20, 2013

shortlink here:  http://wp.me/pbr9G-3FA    mnemonic here:  http://urlet.com/costs.especially

I WOULD LIKE FOUR AND TWENTY FRIENDS TO JOIN ME WITH SIGNS ON THE BOARDWALK @ 330 PM ON APRIL 20.  MY ISSUES ARE FULL LEGALIZATION AND SAFE ACCESS (DISPENSARIES) FOR EUREKANS.

Bring your sign (Safe Access? Norml? DIY?)  or I will provide one of several designs.  I will not be smoking please do not offer me any, I am not asking for civil disobedience, just peaceful exercise of 1st Amendment Rights.  There is a municipal ordinance in effect against smoking on the boardwalk, but its legality may be in question since it is possible that the city council never got the approval of the Coastal Commission to enact that change.  This is not the time to challenge that ordinance.   There are vacant lots adjacent to the boardwalk that are relics of the city’s failed and fraudulent redevelopment agency.  Maybe people who need to smoke tobacco can smoke there but I am not a lawyer.  I myself was blessed with the strength to quit my tobacco addiction in April of 2008, five years ago.  🙂  I struggled with nicotine addiction for most of my adult life.  I started nicotine at age 18, before marijuana and long before alcohol, which I started at age 21.  I never would have considered smoking marijuana if I hadn’t smoked tobacco first.

And in retrospect, I think that I was relatively blessed that my experience with these things came relatively late in my teens rather than earlier.

Yes I feel better and I sing better since I quit tobacco.  Let me say one more thing.  Cannabis helped me quit tobacco.  It is harm reduction if nothing else.  If you really care about the peoples health it is time to legalize.

At 420 we will stroll for freedom together, back and forth up and down the boardwalk for an hour or so with our signs, making new friends and organizing for victory.

The people lead, the politicians follow.

I understand that there are people here who grow for a living and fear that legalization may reduce the return on their labor.  I do not want to trivialize that fear and I don’t.  I want to hear from people in that situation maybe we can reach some understanding.  Maybe there is some route to prosperity after legalization, no doubt it won’t be perfect, there will be change.

have a peaceful day,

Bill

After 42 Years of Failure, California Lt. Governor Newsom Calls for Legalizing Marijuana

By Phillip Smith on April 15, 2013

SACRAMENTO, CA — At the California Democratic Party convention in Sacramento Saturday, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom called for marijuana legalization and described the war on drugs as “an abject failure.”

“After 42 years of failure, I think it’s time we concede that if we continue to do what we’ve done, we’ll continue to get what we’ve got. I think you and we deserve better. It’s about standing up on principle, having the courage of our convictions, about saying publicly all too often what we say privately.”

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/17129/california-lt-governor-newsom-calls-for-legalizing-marijuana/

~!!~  please forward  ~!!~

UPDATE:  When I attended the Eureka City Council “Visioning” session last friday I engaged Mayor Frank Jager in conversation during a break.  It may interest you to know that our Mayor is a proponent of full legalization of marijuana.   In fact he is welcome to grab a legalize it sign and come stand next to me on 420 on the boardwalk.   Mostly the Mayor and I disagree on mostly everythng but on this we see eye to eye.

have a peaceful day, Bill

mnemonic here:  http://urlet.com/costs.especially

I’m going to make 10 or 15  full color posters of this nice Don’t Tread On Me flag above and I will give them away free to the first people who show up and want one.

I have about 20 of these nice black and white “Freedom” posters too, for the signless.  They will be free to anyone who is pro-cannabis.

If Safe Access is your issue I have a few signs for you too!  Just meet me after 330 at the foot of F St.  First come first serve!  Come down and represent!

The Respect Our Rights poster is most likely the one I will carry.  But then I am a radical, I actually believe that cannabis users have civil rights, constitutional rights and human rights that extend back in time before any government.  I have a few of these to share as well.

Some of us will want to remember our sisters and brothers who have been cruelly and wrongfully imprisoned over the Herb in neoslavery in for profit corporate prisons.  Yes we can share a couple of these too.

SET OUR PEOPLE FREE!

Want to Grow the Economy?  So do we, and we have  a few signs.

On Saturday April 20 I am going to go to the Eureka Boardwalk with a sign at about 3:30 in the afternoon and I hope that five or six of you nice people join me to demonstrate for herbal rights and herbal freedom.   Commencing @4:20 pm we will stroll the boardwalk between F and B sts, with our signs.   I am only asking for a few people to come out and represent, I am not trying to compete with or harsh anyones buzz.   I am not asking for civil disobedience.   This will be for Eureka residents who want to represent for Medical Marijuana Rights, general herbal rights, Full Legalization of Cannabis, those who represent for the spiritual use of cannabis, or those who want to legalize industrial hemp, for anyone who is pro-cannabis but whose civil rights are not being respected.    Lets be a big tent.  This will be for Eureka residents who want to represent but have trouble getting to other venues, but of course it is open to anyone who lives outside Eureka who is pro-cannabis.

We will meet around 3:30 at the foot of F St.  At 420 we will start strolling peacefully up and down the boardwalk with our signs, for about an hour.   Let’s have fun, lets meet new friends, let’s organize.  I welcome other diverse community organizations to come to the boardwalk and table!  I want to meet people who want to get some dispensaries in Eureka, lets get it done.

Would be nice to have a drum circle or two, just saying.

This does not have to be a big thing, but it is an important thing.

I am just thinking about this and it is evolving.  I welcome your input.

Is there anyone who can design a flier for me?  Something readable quarter page (4.24 in x 5.5 in)

I will play a few songs too between 3:30 and 4:20, including of course “Free the Weed.”

How about a few poetry slammers and a few more street musicians?  It’s a Big Boardwalk.

email me humboldt.organizer@gmail.com

I will be there.  I just need five or six people.

Thank you everyone!

have a peaceful day,

Bill

Contact Arcata City Council – DEMAND AN END TO HARRASSMEN​T OF THE PEOPLES 420 FESTIVAL!

PLEASE everyone email or call the Arcata City council and demand an end to the thuggish oppression of the Peoples 420 festival.

STOP WASTING PUBLIC MONEY!

STOP TRASHING OUR CULTURE!

STOP WASTING THE RESOURCES OF A HALF A DOZEN CITIES WITH IMPORTED COPS!

THESE PEOPLE POOPED AND PEED ON OUR CELEBRATION!

THEY STOOPED TO DUMPING MANURE IN THE PARK ON THE DAY OF OUR FESTIVAL!

THIS OPPRESSION MUST STOP!

PLEASE BE CIVIL BUT FIRM WITH THESE OFFICIALS.

ARCATA CITY COUNCIL:

Shane Brinton, Mayor and Council Member

Cell:  (707) 845-9372 Email:  sbrinton@cityofarcata.org

Michael Winkler, Councilmember

Voice Mail:  (707) 822-1857 Email:  mwinkler@cityofarcata.org

Susan Ornelas, Councilmember

Phone:  (707) 826-2722 Email:  sornelas@cityofarcata.org

Alexandra Stillman, Councilmember

Voice Mail:  (707) 845-3900 Email:  astillman@cityofarcata.org

Mark Wheetley, Vice-Mayor

Phone:  (707) 822-5953 Email:  mwheetley@cityofarcata.org

by all means forward this message………

George Clark & Linda Atkins 2008 Campaign Statement on the Need to Raise the Minimum Wage in Eureka

FRANK JAGER: Job killer

October 6, 2008 Heraldo  Leave a comment Go to comments

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/frank-jager-job-killer/

From the Clark/Atkins campaign:

GEORGE CLARK AND LINDA ATKINS REBUT JÄGER AND ENDERT ON RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

“Yesterday’s Eureka Reporter article: “Two Candidates Suggest Raising Minimum Wage,” discussed George Clark and Linda Atkins proposal to raise Eureka’s minimum wage from $8 to $9 per hour.

Concerned about the fact that Eureka’s workers’ median income level is only 51% of the statewide average, Clark and Atkins feel that raising the minimum wage is a necessary first step, as part of a comprehensive effort to get Eureka’s economy back on track.

The article also featured the reaction of Linda and George’s opponents in their race for Eureka City Council: Polly Endert and Frank Jäger respectively. “It’s totally the wrong approach,” according to Polly Endert and Frank Jäger added, “It’s a great idea, but it’s a job killer.”  The evidence shows minimum wage initiatives are neither “totally wrong” nor “job killers.” They are, however, often resisted by entrenched moneyed interests whose influence in this campaign once again threatens the future of Eureka’s working families. When it comes to raising the minimum wage, Linda Atkins and George Clark feel the facts should speak for themselves.

Over the past 12 years around 140 States and Municipalities have enacted living wage measures and 29 states and the District of Columbia all operate with minimum wages above the Federal standard. There is now a rich body of evidence in this area, none of which supports Jäger or Endert’s claims. In 1995 and in a subsequent study in 2000, David Card and Alan Krueger, “consistently found that changes in the minimum wage have not tended to raise unemployment by any discernible amount (and indeed have tended to be associated with slight increases in low-wage employment.”

In 1998 a survey of professional economists at forty leading research universities in the field of labor and public economics published by Victor Fuchs of Stanford and Alan Krueger and James Poterba of MIT conclude that, “the general professional view is, again, that there were no strong negative employment effects, if any, from raising the minimum wage by relatively modest amounts.”

Three more recent studies examining the impact of living wage laws in San Francisco and Los Angeles done in 2005 all agree: “None of these studies finds evidence of significant reductions associated with the implementation of living wages laws.”

A particularly interesting study was done from 2001 to 2005 comparing employment growth between 11 states that operated with minimum wage levels higher than the Federal standard and 33 others that did not. The states operating with the higher minimum wage experienced overall job growth of 0.57 %, while those that maintained the lower Federal minimum wage had a 0.52% growth rate. In other words employment growth was actually slightly faster in those states which paid minimum wages greater than the Federal level.

Given the enormous amount of evidence that contradicts Frank and Polly’s “sky is falling” reaction to the idea of raising the minimum wage for Eureka’s working families, are we to conclude that they simply don’t get it or is this what having “no agenda” means to them?

George Clark and Linda Atkins believe in building our economy from the ground up.  Raising wages in Eureka, which are so far below the state average, is the right and fair thing to do for Eureka’s working families. When the spending power of working families goes up, so does morale, which leads to productivity boosts, lowers job turnover, all in an ongoing “virtuous cycle,” and everyone benefits.  Furthermore, increased spending by Eureka’s workers creates more demand for products, helping businesses while creating more jobs in the process.” —

Defending the Community

$12.00 An Hour Minimum Wage for Large Employers

http://fairwages.org

http://eurekafairwageact.wordpress.com

info@fairwages.org

Fair Wage Folks Turn in Signatures at Eureka City Hall for $12 Minimum Wage Ordinance

Fair Wage Folks Turn in Signatures at Eureka City Hall for $12 Minimum Wage Ordinance

http://eurekafairwageact.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/fair-wage-folks-turn-in-signatures-at-eureka-city-hall-for-12-minimum-wage-ordinance/

Media Contact: James Decker (707) 761-5247 info@fairwages.org

Eureka, CA: On Thursday afternoon, February 7th, the “Fair Wage folks” submitted about 2,700 petition signatures to qualify the Eureka Fair Wage Act (aka Minimum Wage Ordinance) for the city ballot. This people’s initiative, if passed by voters, would raise the minimum wage from $8 to $12 for large employers to pay their workers in the city limits.

The Fair Wage folks thank the people of Eureka and throughout the county for their warm support and look forward to winning a fairer wage this year.

The Eureka City Clerk and the Humboldt County Elections Office have up to 30 days to report as to the sufficiency of the petitions. Once certified, the Eureka City Council can choose to pass the Fair Wage Act as written or to set an election for a vote of the people.

“I used to work at McDonald’s making minimum wage. You know what that means when someone pays you minimum wage? You know what your boss was trying to say? It’s like “Hey if I could pay you less, I would, but it’s against the law.”

– Chris Rock

Full Text of Fair Wage Act

http://eurekafairwageact.wordpress.com/text-of-the-eureka-fair-wage-act/

Climate Justice Movie Night – TONIGHT (Friday) – Eureka

CLIMATE JUSTICE MOVIE NIGHTS
A Benefit for the Tar Sands Blockade in Texas
@ 47 West 3rd Street, Eureka (a block and a half behind the Eureka Co-op, next to St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall)

All films start at 7:00pm
Refreshments served, with Discussion following films

Fri Jan 25: “CRUDE The Real Price of Oil”

Fri Feb 8: “GASLAND”

Fri Feb 22: “THE LAST MOUNTAIN A Fight For Our Future”

Hosted by the Rhizome Infoshop, a project of Humboldt Grassroots and The Ink People

Humboldt Grassroots: http://humboldtgrassroots.com

Every Signature Counts! 7 Days Left to Sign the Initiative and Gain Ballot Access!

If you have not signed yet but think this is worthy of a vote, please contact us at info@fairwages.org or 707-442-7465 and we will do our best to get your signature.  EVERY SIGNATURE COUNTS!  The Eureka Fair Wage Act is a People’s Initiative to raise the minimum wage to $12.00 an hour for large employers in the city of Eureka.

If you can volunteer in some way or assist in some way in this final week of the signature drive please contact us.  Assuming that we make the ballot we will have several more months of intense campaigning ahead of us.  WE COULD USE YOUR SUPPORT.

Thank you!

have a peaceful day,

Bill

~please forward to Eureka voters!~

Minimum Wage Factoids

62% of all Minimum Wage Workers are Women

“In 2011 more than 62 percent of minimum-wage workers were women compared to just 38 percent of male minimum-wage workers. Slightly more than 2.5 million women earn the minimum wage or less, while approximately 1.5 million men do. This imbalance is even more drastic once you consider that women were just 46.9 percent of all employed workers in 2011.”

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2012/06/women_minimumwage.html

2 of 3 Minimum Wage Employees Work for Large Profitable Corporations:

Two out of three low wage workers are employed by large corporations with more than 100 employees:

http://www.nelp.org/blog/entry/dol_issues_over_248000_in_penalties_to_walmart_supplier/

Raising the Minimum Wage is a Job Booster,  Not a “Job Killer”

“A significant body of academic research has found that raising the minimum wage does not result in job losses even during hard economic times.

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2012/06/minimum_wage.html

$12.00 An Hour Will Raise A Worker Out of Poverty

A $12.00 an hour wage, while not a “living wage,” will lift a worker working 34 hours a week  over the Federal poverty level for an individual in Humboldt County.

http://fairwages.org

The Gasoline Index 1968-2012

In 1968 an hour’s pay at minimum wage ( $1.60) would buy almost 5 gallons of gasoline (@ $0.33/ gal.) but today in Eureka an hour’s minimum wage ($8.00) will buy a little less than 2 gallons of gasoline (@ $4.37 per gallon.)

If the minimum wage had been increased at the same rate as the price of gas, the minimum wage would be over $21.00 per hour today.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774473.html

Today’s Minimum Wage Worker is $7,000 Poorer Than a 1968 Worker

At $7.25 an hour, today’s full-time minimum wage retail worker, security guard, child care worker or health aide makes just $15,080 a year. Last century’s 1968 minimum wage worker made $21,944 a year, adjusted for inflation.

http://letjusticeroll.org/news/001216-raise-minimum-wage-raise-america

Worker Productivity Grew, Worker’s Wages Shrank

Worker productivity grew 80 percent from 1973 to 2011. The average worker wage fell 7 percent, adjusted for inflation.

http://letjusticeroll.org/news/001216-raise-minimum-wage-raise-america

The Reduction of Minimum Wage Value Has Cratered the Middle Class

In 2010, our nation’s economy was growing, but most Americans didn’t feel it because 93 percent of the income growth went to the richest 1 percent. The bottom 90 percent of Americans got none. It sure wasn’t always like that. Between 1938, when the federal minimum wage was first enacted, and 1968, when it peaked in value, the bottom 90 percent of households shared 69 percent of the nation’s income growth. The middle class was able to grow.

http://letjusticeroll.org/news/001216-raise-minimum-wage-raise-america

California Has the Lowest Minimum Wage on the West Coast

California $8.00 Oregon $8.80 Washington $9.04 Nevada $8.25

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._minimum_wages

Raising the Minimum Wage is Overwhelmi​ngly Supported by the Public

This June, a Zogby Analytics survey of likely voters found seven out of 10 supporting a raise above $10 an hour (including 54 percent of Republicans). Notably, 71 percent of young people (18 to 23 years old) favored it. Likewise, last November’s “American Values Survey” by the Public Religion Research Institute showed two-thirds of Americans in favor of a $10-per-hour minimum.

Jim Hightower  http://www.nationalmemo.com/our-disgraceful-minimum-wage/

Defending the Community

$12.00 Minimum Wage for Large Employers

http://fairwages.org

http://eurekafairwageact.wordpress.com

email: info@fairwages.org

Get Involved, Your Skillset is Needed!

10 Days Left to Sign the Eureka Fair Wage Act!

more information:

http://eurekafairwageact.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/do-you-want-to-sign-the-eureka-fair-wage-act-petition-or-register-to-vote-2/

Climate Justice Movie Night – TONIGHT – Eureka

CLIMATE JUSTICE MOVIE NIGHTS
A Benefit for the Tar Sands Blockade in Texas
@ 47 West 3rd Street, Eureka (a block and a half behind the Eureka Co-op, next to St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall)

All films start at 7:00pm
Refreshments served, with Discussion following films

Fri Jan 25:  “CRUDE  The Real Price of Oil”

Fri Feb 8:  “GASLAND”

Fri Feb 22:  “THE LAST MOUNTAIN  A Fight For Our Future”

Hosted by the Rhizome Infoshop, a project of Humboldt Grassroots and The Ink People

Humboldt Grassroots:  http://humboldtgrassroots.com