SACRAMENTO -Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay) and Assemblymember Jose Medina (D-Riverside) have introduced legislation to help eligible undocumented students at California public universities graduate with less loan debt and more job opportunities. AB 206 establishes the California DREAM Work-Study program to provide need-based work-study grants to undocumented students who would be eligible for the program under standards set for other UC and CSU students. The measure provides 100% of funds for work-study grants for students employed by a UC, CSU or public school district, and 50% of funds for job placements with other private and non-profit employers.

"An important part of a university education is networking and gaining skills that will h…

SUMMARY

This bill would provide pre-plea diversion, instead of post-plea deferred entry of judgment, for minor drug offenses.

BACKGROUND

California law provides for deferred entry of judgment for minor nonviolent drug offenses, most involving possession or use of drugs. A defendant is required to plead guilty, waive his or her right to a speedy trial, and complete a drug treatment program. If the program is completed, the criminal case is dismissed. Defendants are often led to believe that once the case is dismissed they will not be denied any benefit and the arrest will be deemed never to have occurred.

However, this dismissal does not protect a defendant from federal consequences, including deportation for non-citizen residents. Even for US citizens that complete the te…

IN BRIEF                                                                            

While the President's new deportation relief initiatives represent a key step forward, at least half of California's undocumented immigrant community members are excluded from protection. These Californians are at heightened risk of deportation. Of particular concern are a host of troubling tactics at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including a new program that will draft…

PDC meeting rocked!

Twenty Members present; Sheriff Jim Hart and Kieran Kelly, Field Representative for Asm. Mark Stone

Sheriff Hart reported on the proposed Sobering Center and asked the PDC to submit a letter to the Board of Supervisors in support of the center as its implementation has been designed, and of its placement on Water Street in front of the County Jail .  A description of the Sobering Center concept can be found in Sheriff's press release in article below.

Decision: Members agreed by consensus to have the corresponding secretary write the letter to be submitted before the April14 Supervisors meeting

Kieran Kelly, Field Representative for Asm. Mark Stone, described the "Financial Aid Equity for DREAM Act Students" that Assemblymember Stone has authored a…

Sign-on letter in solidarity with the Salvadoran struggle for food and water rights!

A broad representation of environmental, campesino/a, religious and labor organizations in El Salvador have joined together to promote a Constitutional Amendment (Article 69) that that would define both water and food as human rights to be protected in El Salvador.

The Environmental Alliance has issued an urgent call for international pressure on the El Salvador's Legislative Assembly to pass this amendment. Please add your organization's endorsement to the attached letter by April 1, 2015.

This landmark reform would serve as a critical safeguard against privatization and corporate control and help to address the severe inequality that exists in El Salvador today in access …

3/12/2015

The Honorable Sam Farr
United States  House of Representatives
701 Ocean Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Re: The Santa Cruz City BearCat and the TPP

Dear Congressman Farr:

The People's Democratic Club of Santa Cruz County acknowledges your March 10, 2015 letter in which you clarified your earlier participation in the BearCat issue, and your current thinking.  Thank you.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership appears to suffer from the same syndrome (BearCat) of limited public participation in developing a trade agreement that could have significant consequences for many people both here in the U.S. and abroad.

1. The secrecy, even from congress, manifested by the Administration in their international negotiations, creates a void in the collective consciousness that disables all but the …

 

        Treasurer Gail Jack reported we have $376 in the treasury with our rent for the meeting room paid through March.

Ron Pomerantz reported on Santa Cruz Resistance Against Militarization (SCRAM) and the resistance against the purchase of the Bearcat by the Santa Cruz Police Department.

§  Our members are encouraged to protest at every City Council meeting.  However, there is some question about whether to protest this Tuesday since there will be a memorial for police officers Sgt. Butch Baker and Elizabeth Butler killed on February 26, 2013. SCRAM will make a decision this weekend whether to protest at that meeting and will get the word out on SCPEL.

§  There was discussion about what "returning the Bearcat" means since it hasn'…

  

on political ads.

Citizens United unleashed unlimited, anonymous corporate spending on campaigns nationwide and allowed corporations, unions, and individuals to hide behind ambiguous and misleading committee names.

With AB700, groups funding political ads for ballot measures could no longer hide behind committee names like "Committee for Greater Democracy".  Billionaires like Charlie Mundger couldn't hide behind "The Small Business Action Committee" as he did in the 2012 elections.

AB700 would:

- Let voters know who really pays for political ads on the ads themselves.

- Clearly & prominently list their 3 largest funders on ballot measure ads.

- Use "follow-the-money" disclosure to stop deceiving voters about who pays.

- Apply to television ads, radio ads, roboc…