It started with a few Code Pinkers raising hell outside of the Marine Recruitment Center on Shattuck Avenue, in Berkeley. Then came city council members Betty Olds and Laurie Capitelli's now-infamous "uninvited and unwelcome intruders" line, socially, if not yet physically, ousting 'em from the city. Add in the few orange Gitmo-suited protesters who chained themselves to the center a couple of days back and presto! A neighborhood street skirmish over parking spaces and noise variances (and political beliefs, and rhetoric, and ... ) became the bait for a full-on attack from the GOP: Yesterday, six Republican senators introduced a series of bills as the Semper Fi Act of 2008. And guess who's gonna suffer? Schools, commuters, the disabled, and Cal. Under the proposed legislation, $2.8 million currently allotted for Bay ferry service, school lunches (Alice Waters-made school lunches), and public safety, amongst other entities, will be re-routed to the Marine Corps. (Gentle reminder: George Bush is, in fact, still in office.)
· GOP targeting Berkeley over Marines vote [Oakland Tribune]
· "Uninvited and Unwelcome Intruders" Invited and Welcomed [Curbed SF]
· Berkeley Ousts Marines, Welcomes Growers [Curbed SF]
[Image courtesy CBS 5]
Loading comments...