Web Log
Oct 27, 05:19 AM | Author: jane kim | Category: politics
Fall Newsletter: An update
Portions of this entry was recently sent to my listserve.
1) The “No on 73-78” Coalition needs volunteers!
Many of the individuals on this list (close to 300!) walked for a certain campaign last year. I’m sure many of you miss the exercise….
Please consider volunteering again this year for the Alliance for a Better California or the Asian Pacific Americans for an Informed California. They are organizing daily precinct walks and phonebanking nights to GET OUT THE VOTE (to vote NO on the Governor’s propositions). Some of the coolest organizers in the city are working on this campaign.
Also, on SATURDAY and SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5th and 6th, you can also join youth leaders from Chinatown, APAIC (and myself) to walk precincts in Chinatown and the Inner Richmond.
For more information, please check out: EVENTS.
2) New Youth Guest Blog Columnists
If you have read through my new site, you’ll see that I’ve been a sporadic blogger. However, the site wouldn’t be interesting if I was the only writer. Fortunately, four young emerging leaders have agreed to be Guest Blog Columnists on my site to write about issues facing young people in San Francisco today and what young people are working on. These folks are going to be running things soon and hopefully they’ll be names that we’ll read on future ballots (and voting for) one day! It’d be good to get to know them now.
Guest Columnists will start writing in November. Hailing from Galileo, Marshall and Balboa (current and past), these young people are Student Advisory Council members to SFUSD (SAC), Youth Commissioners, housing/neighborhood activists, student activists- they encompass all these things and more!
3) Prop H Community Meetings
Wanna give input on how Prop H funding should be distributed to our public schools? The past year and a half, I have been serving on the Prop H Community Advisory Committee to SFUSD. This committee makes recommendations to the School Board and Superintendent on how to distribute funds from this new Prop H fund, voted into implementation in the March 2004 election. This is the first year of implementation and $10 million new city dollars went to the District. This city fund will grow every year to eventually $60 million dollars by 2009. 1/3 is allocated to pre-K programs, 1/3 to sports, arts and libraries and the last 1/3 is open to discretion. Although this money is not nearly enough to do everything we NEED to do for our students, it’s still a chunk of change and we want your opinion. We need more people to weigh in on the discussion, otherwise, the voice of the few that do make the effort, get weighted consideration.
COMMUNITY MEETING DATES:
Thursday, November 10th, 6:00-7:00
Mission High School
3750 18th Street
4) San Francisco People’s Organization
Many of you know that I have been involved in helping to develop this exciting new coalition of community based organizations, labor unions and neighborhood/community activists. It is humbling to be in a room of long respected and emerging activists that work in different communities and live in at least 10 out of the 11 districts in SF. It has been a learning experience to serve as its President, and that is an understatement. The Board has voted to prioritize two long term campaigns that we would like to build alliance around while also supporting the work already occurring in individual neighborhoods- 1) Anti-Gentrification and 2) Violence Prevention.
We are looking for more participants and individuals that can help guide the campaigns so that we are best serving all our neighborhoods. If you are interested in getting involved, check out our WEBSITE or email info@sfpeople.org. In addition, we are working on a shorter term campaign to help Tom Ammiano’s office pass new health care legislation decreasing the number of uninsured in SF, particularly those that work for small businesses.
6) Save Bindlestiff!
For the past few months, I have been working on a benefit CD for Bindlestiff’s Capital Campaign. It is a collection of primarily unreleased tracks from local Bay Area bands that are a part of the Stiff community. Sometimes, when people think “unreleased,” they think tracks that just didn’t make the cut for the album. But these tracks are hot! The Skyflakes, Denizen Kane, Pidgeon, Kiwi, and From Monuments to Masses are just some of the esteemed local bands on the CD.
Save the Stiff! If you don’t know about this issue, check out their website.. Some of the best emerging writers, comedians, actors, and bands have been incubated through this space, including a few who are dearest to my heart. This is an important community space developing local artistic talents that San Francisco should be supporting!
7) Lastly, if you have time, check out my website. I list events and issues that I find of interest or of importance in San Francisco and the Bay Area. I also have a “links” page, listing organizations in the arts, youth, and politics field that I think more people should know about. Before the end of the year, I plan to release my first “radio podcast” of local, Bay Area independent music that I think you should check out. Thank you Head “bomb” Zoo Keeper (Mr. Matsueda) for making this site possible.
········· ∞∞∞ ·········