Features

Monterey Court Stops LBAM Spray  

Following a similar ruling by a Santa Cruz court last month requiring the state to complete environmental studies before spraying for the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) in Santa Cruz County, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Robert O’Farrell ruled Monday that the state cannot spray in Monterey County until the state agriculture department completes environmental studies. 

“I’m glad that this case will set a precedent requiring government to do the required studies before they spray an unsuspecting populace with untested chemicals,” said Alexander Henson, attorney for Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment, which brought the lawsuit against the California Department of Food and Agriculture. 

CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura released a statement after the decision, saying he will ask the San Jose Sixth Court of Appeals to allow the state to appeal the Santa Cruz and Monterey decisions together.  

“The light brown apple moth infestation is, in fact, an emergency that threatens our nation’s food supply and our state’s environment,” Kawamura said in the statement. 

For information on the LBAM, go to www.stopthespray.org or www. cdfa.ca.gov/LBAM 

Berkeley Celebrates Conscientious Objector Day Today 

At 10 a.m. today (Thursday) war resisters will raise a peace flag at 2180 Milvia St., celebrating the city’s second annual Conscientious Objector and War Resisters’ Day in the city of Berkeley. The Peace and Justice Commission is sponsoring the event. 

On Saturday, the celebration continues noon-4 p.m. in Civic Center Park, at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Center Street, with music by Country Joe McDonald and Annie and the Vets and speeches by peace activist Daniel Ellsberg, Councilmember Kriss Worthington and others. 

Witches, Crones and Sirens at the Marine Recruiting Station 

Code Pink continues its almost daily presence at the downtown Marine Recruiting Station, 64 Shattuck Square. 

“Our week of protests commemorating Mother’s Day culminated in a full day of magick and ritual drawn from women’s wisdom of ‘Witches, Crones, and Sirens’ on Friday, May 9,” said Code Pink organizer Zanne Joi in an e-mail to the press and protesters.  

UC workers take strike vote 

Service and patient care workers at all University of California hospitals and campuses are voting in the next week whether to go out on strike, according to William Schlitz, with AFSCME Local 3299. Results of the vote will be announced May 23.  

At UC Berkeley food service workers, custodians, groundskeepers and security officers are represented by AFSCME.  

Laney College workers earn 25 percent more than the university workers, Schlitz told the Planet.