Community

Tell me I’m wrong!!!

Tell me I’m wrong!!! Admin, Community, Media, Transparency 1 Response »

Aug 202013

Accountability Starts Here! Tell me how I’m wrong. Really, this is your chance. In a Facebook thread, Councilmember Diana Souza accused me of making assumptions and “twisting things”. I’ve been very critical of Souza’s 7 years in the Council, so it’s not surprising that she feels that way. But is she right? I demand accountability from my elected officials, surely my readers have the same right to demand it from me. I do make assumptions. I have to. When the City – or its officials – fail to be transparent, the only way to fill in the gaps is to [Continue Reading]

Alameda County Lawmakers Must Stand Against Coerced Sterilization

Alameda County Lawmakers Must Stand Against Coerced Sterilization Community No Responses »

Jul 122013

Last Monday, the Center for Investigative Reporting issued a report on how women in California prisoners have been coerced into being sterilized so they can no longer have children. The report was based on the work of San Leandro’s own Cynthia Chandler and her organization Justice Now. It seems like something out of a movie about a dystopic future or from Nuremberg Trial transcripts, but it’s not. It’s California in the 21st century. Coerced sterilizations violate some of the most fundamental rights of women: those to physical integrity and to have children and form a family and to . It [Continue Reading]

The Rick Styner Case: Court Documents Show Porn & Burglary Charges Are Bogus

The Rick Styner Case: Court Documents Show Porn & Burglary Charges Are Bogus Community, Legal, Police 2 Responses »

Jun 132013

Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned William Congreve, The Mourning Bride When I wrote my preliminary analysis of the criminal charges filed against San Leandro High School Teacher Richard Styner, I relied purely on the facts as reported by the media. I have now obtained the actual court documents filed in this case. These include the charge sheet filed by the District Attorney, and the “declaration of probable cause” on which those charges are based, executed by San Leandro Police officer Cathy Pickard. Based on them, I can say [Continue Reading]

Prelude to a Lawsuit: Mayor Cassidy Condoned Public Humiliation of Men in “Gay Sex” Arrests

Prelude to a Lawsuit: Mayor Cassidy Condoned Public Humiliation of Men in “Gay Sex” Arrests Community, Legal, Police No Responses »

Jun 112013

The City of San Leandro and the San Leandro Police Department were just hit with a class-action lawsuit for false arrests and issuing malicious press releases in their botched sting operations meant to catch men soliciting non-commercial homosexual sex in public areas. Last year, when the Police Department issued a press release announcing one such sting operation, I wrote to Mayor Stephen Cassidy expressing my concerns with what appeared to be illegal and discriminatory behavior in the part of the Police. When Mayor Cassidy expressed his approval of the SLPD’s methods, I spoke up at a City Council meeting. [Continue Reading]

SLPD Chief Sandra Spagnoli Claims “Over Pollination” Concerns Require Strict Controls of Beekeeping

SLPD Chief Sandra Spagnoli Claims “Over Pollination” Concerns Require Strict Controls of Beekeeping City Hall, Community, Police 1 Response »

Dec 132012

But is this a ploy for police to gain access to resident’s backyards? San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli is attempting to turn the “urban farming” ordinance the City Council voted to pass in October 2011, into an “animal control” ordinance. After that meeting, City staff drafted an ordinance, modeled after those in surrounding cities and based on community input, that achieved a happy balance between promoting and regulating urban farming. The Police Chief, however, got a hold of it and is pushing to have it rewritten to provide strict controls on the keeping of bees and chickens. According to [Continue Reading]

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