California
University of California Bans Protest Encampments and Masks at All Campuses
![University of California Bans Protest Encampments and Masks at All Campuses University of California Bans Protest Encampments and Masks at All Campuses](https://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UCLA-Gaza-Encampment.jpeg)
As University of California students return to school this week, UC President Michael V. Drake has instructed chancellors at all 10 of the school’s campuses to enforce rules banning protests that block walkways, protest encampments and the use of masks that conceal identity.
A similar policy has been announced for the California State University system.
The new policy attempts to limit the kinds of protests against the war in Gaza and American support for Israel in that war seen at college campuses across the country last spring.
“Freedom to express diverse viewpoints is fundamental to the mission of the University, and lawful protests play a pivotal role in that process. While the vast majority of protests held on our campuses are peaceful and nonviolent, some of the activities we saw this past year were not,” Drake wrote in a letter made public Monday.
“I hope that the direction provided in this letter will help you achieve an inclusive and welcoming environment at our campuses that protects and enables free expression while ensuring the safety of all community members by providing greater clarity and consistency in our policies and policy application,” Drake said also.
The news comes one week after a U.S. district judge ordered UCLA to protect Jewish students in areas of campus where protests against the Gaza war are held.
UCLA was the center of a particularly violent incident on late April, after anti-Gaza war protesters erected an encampment on the school’s centrally located Royce Quad. The entrances to the encampment were guarded, and reportedly, passersby were only allowed to enter if they wore a wristband that indicated they supported the protests.
On April 30, a group of counter protesters, who appeared to consist mainly of right wing activists who did not attend UCLA, attacked the protest encampment with fireworks, tear gas and pipes. The response from law enforcement, particularly UCLA police and security guards but also LAPD was heavily scrutinized after it took more than three hours to quell the attack and the attackers were allowed to leave without being arrested. The chief of the UCLA police department subsequently faced calls to resign.
The ruling against UCLA came as part of a lawsuit from three Jewish UCLA students — Yitzchok Frankel, Joshua Ghayoum and Eden Shemuelian — who say they faced religious discrimination because they have a religious obligation to support the Jewish state of Israel. Because of Royce Quad’s location, the encampment made it more difficult for students who supported Israel to get to class.
The encampment was evicted on May 6.
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California
A Future Without Involuntary Servitude? In California, It's Long Overdue | KQED
![A Future Without Involuntary Servitude? In California, It's Long Overdue | KQED A Future Without Involuntary Servitude? In California, It's Long Overdue | KQED](https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-8.13.00 AM-1020x701.png)
In the past, I interviewed a woman who repaired the industrial-sized laundry dryers at the California Institution for Women in Chino while incarcerated. While teaching at Vacaville’s California Medical Facility, I met a man who did landscaping in front of the prison’s religious buildings. There’s a meat cutting facility at Mule Creek State Prison, and a poultry processing enterprise at Avenal State Prison.
Behind bars in California, people make everything from socks to American flags.
There’s plenty of potential occupations for people who are incarcerated. Some jobs are underpaid, and some don’t pay at all. But legally, every able-bodied person is supposed to work. It’s written in the state’s constitution as a form of “involuntary servitude” — or, as many see it: slavery.
This fall, if passed by voters, Prop. 6 would amend the state’s constitution to no longer require people who are incarcerated to work. Finally, 160 years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, we have the opportunity to put an end to a direct remnant of this country’s most inhumane system.
How did we get here? Let’s start at the top: the federal government. As you might have learned in history class, the 13th Amendment ended slavery, right? Well, no.
It states:
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
That exception (“except as punishment for crime”) creates a loophole for states to force people who are incarcerated to work without compensation.
The application of this exception varies from state to state. California is one of eight states where involuntary servitude is still a legal form of punishment for a crime. (There are eight other states where it’s explicitly stated that “slavery,” verbatim, is a legal punishment for a crime.)
With nearly 200,000 people behind bars, California has the most populous incarceration system of all 16 states where this form of punishment is legal. That massive amount of people working for free, or in some cases a few cents per hour, plays a valuable part in the Golden State’s economic system — one that generates the third-highest GDP in the United States.
Now consider that African Americans account for nearly one-third of all incarcerated people, but only 5% of the state’s total population. Do you start to see how slavery, far from being abolished, is actually alive and well?
“W
e’re not just simply trying to change the language,” says Paul Briley, Executive Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, of involuntary servitude. “We want to change the practice.”
During a recent video chat, Briley gave me a bit of a history lesson on the roots of the issue in California.
It starts with California’s first governor, Peter Hardeman Burnett, a noted racist and slave owner originally from Tennessee. Burnett got into California politics on the tail end of the Gold Rush, after leaving Oregon, where he was also politically involved. While in Oregon, he helped the state legislature establish a lash law, which required people of African descent to leave the state or else face punishment in the form of whippings.
“(Burnett) wanted to create a white-only west,” says Briley, adding that Burnett also advocated for California’s Fugitive Slave Law, which put Black residents who’d escaped slavery at high risk of being sent back to Southern slave states. The underlying ambition of the law, Briley says, was to keep this new state’s Black population to a minimum.
In 1852, the same year California passed its Fugitive Slave Law, the state also established its first mainland prison, San Quentin.
“There’s a direct correlation between slavery and mass incarceration,” notes Briley. And so — aiming to abolish not just the language but the practice — “that’s at the core of our mission: dismantling the entire prison industrial complex.”
California
Drinking water warning issued for California schools: “Poisoning” students
![Drinking water warning issued for California schools: “Poisoning” students Drinking water warning issued for California schools: “Poisoning” students](https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/2453245/drinking-water-warning-issued-california-schools.jpg)
A teacher is accusing the Oakland Unified School District’s water supply of “poisoning” students in California after staff learned that lead amounts far surpassing legal limits were present in the district’s water supply.
Reports documenting the lead amounts were allegedly available in the spring, KRON4 reported, but the district didn’t notify teachers and parents of the situation until this month, meaning that some students—such as those present in the schools for summer classes—were exposed to the water.
Teachers are now questioning why it took so long to notify the impacted parties about the dangerous water and demanding that OUSD remedy the situation.
Getty
“How could we be poisoning our students for so many months?” teacher Stuart Loeble said, according to the KRON4 report.
Loeble went on to say it was “criminal” that students were exposed to lead without knowing, and the district admitted to poor communication in a message sent to district families on Monday morning.
“Despite our attention to detail and care for our sites, we did not communicate effectively to the members of each school community as the testing launched, as we received the results, and as fixes were being implemented,” the district said. “We are putting systems in place to ensure a lack of effective communication does not occur again, and that school communities receive quick notice when this kind of testing is taking place on their campuses.”
When reached for comment, an OUSD spokesperson directed Newsweek to the district’s message. In it, OUSD encouraged parents to send their child to school with a reusable water bottle to use at filtered water stations.
The statement also explained that the district’s limit of allowable lead concentration in water is much stricter than state and federal limits.
“In most cases, the fixtures tested under the District’s limit,” the statement said.
More than 10 percent of the district’s water fixtures—such as faucets and water faucets—tested below the state limit but above the district limit. More than 6 percent of fixtures tested above the state limit. Any fixtures testing under the district’s limit remain in service, with all others taken out of service until repaired and retested.
“A total of 61 fixtures have been fixed so far, and are now waiting to be retested before being brought back on line,” the district said. “We anticipate that remediation process will take approximately three weeks.”
The concerning discovery comes several months after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an additional $3 billion from President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda to aid states and territories in identifying and replacing lead service lines. The project aims to prevent exposure to lead in drinking water.
“Lead can cause a range of serious health impacts, including irreversible harm to brain development in children,” the EPA announcement said. “To protect children and families, President Biden has committed to replacing every lead pipe in the country.”
In 2023, the EPA released data that shows Florida as having the most lead service lines in the country at 1.16 million lines, more than 12 percent of the total number of service lines in the state. Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and New York also have a higher percentage of lead lines.
California, however, tested as one of the states with the least percentage of lead service lines, according to the EPA data. At that time, there were 13,476 lead service lines, accounting for .15 percent of the total number of service lines in the state.
California
California glamping: 5 fantastic camping options an easy drive from the Bay Area
![California glamping: 5 fantastic camping options an easy drive from the Bay Area California glamping: 5 fantastic camping options an easy drive from the Bay Area](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SJM-L-GLAMP-0825-12.jpg?w=1024&h=683)
It may feel like summer is over, if there’s anyone school-aged in your household. But it would be a shame to waste these gorgeous days ahead just because our weekday mornings are starting a little earlier.
Why not plan an “it’s not over yet” glamping getaway, with just enough adventure mixed with some cushy ease? There are so many cool spots up and down this vast state of ours where you can rough it without really sleeping on the ground.
Here are a few pockets worth visiting next time you feel like camping … very, very comfortably.
On the Mendocino coast
Mendocino Grove offers the perfect combination of real camping spiffed up with some comfort and class. Your site has all the camping necessities — a picnic table, fire pit, lock boxes for food (there’s a lot of wildlife here), sliding door trash bins and the campground vibe that we all remember, with kids gathering at the swing set and playing tag.
But instead of sore backs and muddy feet, you’ll be sleeping in luxe canvas tents on decks, complete with leather scoop chairs, heated blankets, fresh linens, fresh-cut flowers and electricity. The bath house is stocked with organic body products, and there’s a full-service spa, sauna and yoga deck.
Add ons, including a s’mores kit and a cook box with enamelware, glass tumblers, salt and pepper grinder, olive oil, knives and a cast iron skillet, make things even easier.
Head for the Meadow Commons, a central gathering space, to enjoy the oatmeal bar, tea and coffee each morning. (That tea bar is open 24 hours a day.) And the commons hosts dinner on certain nights, a live music series and a beer, wine and espresso bar.
While there’s pretty much everything you might need at Mendocino Grove, civilization is so close, you can actually see the cozy town of Mendocino from some of the tent sites. Head into town, if you don’t feel like cooking in camp, or drive a couple of miles in the other direction for a meal at Terra Farm Kitchen.
This newly opened restaurant is part of the SCP Mendocino Inn & Farm. There are 10 locations in this distinctive hotel chain — the initials stand for soul, community and planet. Meander the property, visit the flock of chickens — there’s a table in the lobby with chicken food, if you’d like to take the ladies a snack — and say hello to the llamas, Mo, Larry and Curly. Then head for the main lodge for wine, pizza ($20-$25) and salads ($15) made with locally grown produce.
Russian River sojourn
Guerneville may be a small town, but it’s something of a glamping epicenter. You can find at least three awesome spots to glamp here near the main attraction, the Russian River.
AutoCamp is all about the Airstreams. This luxe camping company has nine locations, including sites near Joshua Tree, Yosemite and Sequoia national parks. Each one features clusters of the retro silver bullet trailers set around a central, modern hub with a little store full of provisions ranging from great local beer and wine to whiskey, picnic fare and grilling essentials for your fire pit. Complimentary breakfast includes granola blends plus coffee, tea and cocoa. And you can borrow one of their cool cruiser bikes for a spin around the riverside-meets-redwoods neighborhood.
![Tucked in a heritage orchard in Guerneville, Dawn Ranch offers luxe glamping tents and a modern bath house. (Dawn Ranch)](https://i0.wp.com/www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SJM-L-GLAMP-0825-06.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
Dawn Ranch is like a rustic fairy land, complete with full-service spa, upscale restaurant and private river access. Tucked in the heritage orchard, you’ll find glamping tents, canvas structures with fire pits, Adirondack chairs, free snacks and coffee set ups, plus luxe bedding and decor. The modern bath house is nearby, complete with redwood and brass finishing touches, plus irresistible Le Labo 33 bath products. This is camping for those who do not prefer camping.
Highlands Resort was recently purchased and renovated by Basecamp Hotels founder Christian Strobel and chef Crista Luedtke, who has pretty much revitalized Guerneville with her dazzling array of food and hospitality projects, including boon eat + drink, BROT and boon hotel + spa. Highlands is known for its cabins and rooms, but glampers will want to check out the seasonal Coyote Camp, complete with king size beds tucked inside canvas scout tents in a redwood grove. The adults-only Coyote Camp is open from May 1 through Sept. 30.
Paso Robles wine country
The Trailer Pond just may be the cutest candy-colored cluster of vintage trailers you’ll ever find. Five adorable trailers sit on the rim of an irrigation pond at Alta Colina Vineyard & Winery, where founders Bob and Lynn Tillman first planted 31 acres of organically and regeneratively farmed Rhône varieties in 2003. This is a spiffed-up campground, with enough country rusticity (lizards of every size, limited cell service and original fixtures from the 1950s and ’60s) paired with amenities that will make you stay and unplug for awhile, including a wine fridge/honor bar, Turkish towels and a communal fire pit.
Take a sunrise hike through the grenache vineyards. Come sunset, you’ll want to linger on the pond deck with a glass of delicious grenache blanc. You can also book more comprehensive tastings at the winery, including a Summit Vineyard Tasting that brings you up to the stunning Sundowner Deck with views as far as the eye can see. These five trailers are also bookable as one pod for special events and occasions.
If You Go
Mendocino Grove: Tent rates start at $239 per night. 9601 Highway 1in Mendocino; https://mendocinogrove.com/
Terra Farm Kitchen: Terra Farm Kitchen is open from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday-Monday at the SCP Mendocino Inn and Farm, 3790 Highway 1 in Albion; https://scphotel.com.
Autocamp: Trailer rentals start at $247 per night. 14120 Old Cazadero Road in Guerneville; https://autocamp.com
Dawn Ranch: Glamping tents start at $197. 16467 Highway 116 in Guerneville; https://dawnranch.com
Highlands Resort: Coyote Camp tents are $199. 14000 Woodland Drive in Guerneville; www.highlandsresort.com
Trailer Pond: Trailers are $225. Alta Colina Vineyard & Winery, 2825 Adelaida Road in Paso Robles; www.thetrailerpond.com
And still more …
Occidental: Sonoma Treehouse Adventures; www.sonomacanopytours.com/treehouse
Yosemite: Under Canvas; www.undercanvas.com/
Pescadero: Costanoa; https://costanoa.com
Big Sur: Alila Ventana; www.ventanabigsur.com/glamping
Big Sur: Treebones; www.treebonesresort.com
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