E2. Front Line Community Green

The post CA oil permits skyrocket in 2026’s first quarter; majority are for Chevron wells appeared first on Last Chance Alliance.

LOS ANGELES, CA. — Environmental justice advocates, climate organizations, and community leaders are sounding the alarm following the rupture of a crude oil pipeline in East Los Angeles, operated by Plains All American — the same company responsible for the 2015 pipeline spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, one of the worst oil spills in California history. 

Clean-up efforts are ongoing, and wildlife rescue teams have already reported oil-covered birds and ecological damage extending downstream toward Long Beach. 

According to local reports, the ruptured 16-inch pipeline was struck during construction work in East Los Angeles, releasing thousands of gallons of crude oil into storm drains and the Los Angeles River, once again exposing the dangerous consequences of fossil fuel infrastructure in frontline communities.

“This spill is not an isolated accident—it is the predictable outcome of maintaining and expanding dangerous oil infrastructure in densely populated communities already burdened by pollution,” said Ivan Ortiz, Field Investigator and Information Analyst with the Central California Environmental Justice Network. “As residents of Kern County, we empathize with communities in East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, Wilmington, and along the LA River, who, like us, have spent generations living beside toxic industries that threaten public health, contaminate ecosystems, and accelerate the climate crisis.”

The organizations emphasized that the spill highlights the continued risks posed by California’s fossil fuel industry, including aging pipelines, urban drilling operations, and oil transport systems running through residential neighborhoods, schools, parks, and waterways.

Environmental justice advocates also pointed to the broader pattern of fossil fuel pollution disproportionately impacting Black, Latinx, Indigenous, immigrant, and low-income communities across Southern California.

“For decades, frontline neighborhoods have been treated as expendable,” said Maro Kakoussian, Director of Climate & Health Programs at Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles. “We cannot continue sacrificing public health and environmental safety to protect oil industry profits. California cannot claim climate leadership while communities are still suffering from pipeline ruptures, toxic emissions, and oil contamination.”

The Los Angeles River — long treated as an industrial sacrifice zone — is home to critical wildlife habitats and communities that rely on the river corridor for recreation, public space, and environmental restoration efforts. The contamination of the river with crude oil threatens birds, aquatic life, and vulnerable residents living near the waterway.

“Every oil spill is a reminder that there is no such thing as ‘safe’ fossil fuel infrastructure,” said Ilonka Zlatar, California Climate Organizer with the Oil and Gas Action Network. “Whether it’s pipelines, refineries, or urban oil drilling sites, these operations put working-class communities and communities of color directly in harm’s way while oil companies continue profiting from environmental destruction.”

The groups are calling for a full independent investigation into the pipeline rupture and environmental impact, and immediate transparency regarding contamination levels and cleanup efforts, long-term monitoring of ecological and public health impacts along the LA River corridor, and an accelerated phaseout of urban oil drilling and fossil fuel infrastructure across the state. 

“This weekend’s spill is a frightening reminder of the impacts fossil fuels and oil drilling are having on our city and how quickly these disasters can spread,” said Andrea Vega, Los Angeles Organizing Manager at Food & Water Watch . “In the 30 minutes it took for a valve to be closed, pollution from this spill in East Los Angeles spread into the LA River all the way down to Long Beach. From spills to leaks to blowouts, fossil fuels are putting our clean air and water at risk, and we are stuck paying the price with our health and safety while the corporations get richer and pollute more. We deserve fresh, clean water and a livable future, and we need bold leaders who will get us to that future, not ones who will continue to capitulate to this polluting industry.”  

The organizations pledged to continue pushing for a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future that prioritizes community health, environmental restoration, and climate justice.

###

For more information, please contact Jess Wilson at jess@lastchancealliance.org

LCA LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We acknowledge that Los Angeles County is the traditional home of the Tongva, Chumash, and Tataviam people. Part of our commitment to decolonizing ourselves, our language, and our organizations is a commitment to learning and better understanding the history of Indigenous Peoples of so-called California, including the history of contact, colonization and the extraction of resources from Indigenous lands which has been part of the continuation of modern colonization.

The post Environmental Organizations Condemn East L.A. Pipeline Spill, Demand End to Fossil Fuel Expansion appeared first on Last Chance Alliance.

LCEA seeks a motivated, creative, skilled and experienced Campaign Organizer, who is passionate about economic, climate and environmental justice to engage grassroots organizations in advancing the movement to democratize energy.

To see JOB POSTING click HERE 

Organizing responsibilities include:
● Work with staff to develop, manage, and lead campaigns based on local priorities that uplift communities for energy justice.
● Lead and participate in coalitions and alliances to advocate for policies and practices that democratize energy and bring equity to low-income communities, communities of color, and other diverse stakeholders.
● Engage and maintain Spanish speaking community and organizational relationships.
● Help strategize our advocacy for energy democracy with our local community choice
energy public non-profit agency, Ava Community Energy (formerly East Bay Community
Energy).
● Work with the community to develop and shape community-driven policy.
● Mobilize allies to attend and make comments at government agency public hearings such
as Ava Community Energy, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), or other local,
regional and state agencies or city government (virtual and in-person).
● Grow the awareness of energy democracy through community outreach and recruit new
organizations to sign-on to LCEA’s position documents and letters and mobilize
organizations for key agency meetings and/or other campaign related activities.
● Participate in meetings, such as: LCEA Staff meetings, meetings with allied organizations,
public agency staff, elected officials and/or other decision makers.
● Assist in research and development of written documents, webinars, press releases, and
other collateral.
● Lead community outreach, conduct workshops and organize events.
● Work with the collective LCEA team, paid and volunteer staff, and also volunteers and
supporters (hybrid work environment - regular virtual meetings and some in-person).
● Mentor youth, students, interns, and other communities on energy literacy, education, and
advocacy.

Qualifications:
● Bilingual; Fluent in English and Spanish (Spoken & Written)
● Demonstrated work and facilitation with the monolingual Spanish community
using popular education and curriculum design.
● Willingness to represent LCEA at community events
● Basic knowledge of clean energy work areas like building decarbonization and
electrification, energy efficiency, solar and storage microgrids, community
resilience hubs, and other energy solutions.
● A passion for environmental justice and equity in clean energy solutions to
address both local pollution & global climate change. A strong social justice lens
in professional experience.
● Experience in organizing local, regional and/or state-wide grassroots advocacy campaigns
and mobilizations.
● Experience working with low-income communities; communities of color and other diverse
stakeholders.
● Experience with public speaking, media communications and popular education.
● Excellent campaign facilitation, strategizing, planning and grassroots organizing.
● Responsible, organized, detail-oriented, energetic, and creative.
● Experience with regular use of Zoom, Google Drive; Docs, Sheets, Slides etc,
Canva, and Social Media Platforms.
● Good written, verbal communications and people skills, in-person, virtual and on
the phone.
● Ability to self-start projects, respond rapidly to emerging issues, manage multiple
projects simultaneously, work independently and collaboratively with LCEA team
and allies.

Preferred Qualifications (not required):
● Experience in a collective team work environment.
● Knowledge of Community Choice energy.
● Experience in social media communications.
● Valid Driver's License and occasional access to a car.
● Experience or knowledge in CRM, Action Network or other similar communications
platforms.

The full-time position is 40 hours per week at $35/hour totaling $72,800 annually. Employer paid
medical, dental and vision benefits are included and are in addition to the base pay. The
Campaign Organizer will work in close collaboration with other members of the team virtually,
in-person at downtown Oakland office or other community events as needed and be based in
Alameda County or San Joaquin County. Willing to negotiate if the applicant prefers to work less
hours per week (30-40 hour range per week). Positions with at least 30 hours a week are
considered full-time and include medical, dental and vision benefits.

How to Apply:
Please send a cover letter explaining your interest in the position, including your phone
number, email and your availability, along with a resume to hiring@localcleanenergy.org as
soon as possible, with the email subject line “Applying for Bilingual LCEA Campaign
Organizer.” The deadline to apply is Friday June 19 at 6:00 pm PST.

Only candidates selected to the first round of interviews will be contacted.
We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage applications from women, LGBTQIA+
individuals, people of color, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

May 26, 2026: Read Truthout investigative article featuring Veronica Aguirre, Greenaction’s Central Valley Organizer and Program Coordinator:

“Residents of polluted areas say Trump’s rollbacks are getting really scary.”

Click here to read the article on Truthout.org

APEN’s Youth Leaders in Richmond have been at the forefront of our campaigns – protesting, gathering signatures, and giving testimony at city council meetings.

Audrey Min Thiphakhinkeo Paun is a vocal youth leader who has been heavily involved in the community input process to hold Chevron accountable to its Polluters Pay campaign promises. 

Today we hear from Min directly about the connections she’s making between the media, her experience with APEN, and her family’s history. 

Have you seen Pixar’s most recent release, Hoppers? It’s about environmental justice and some APEN Youth Leaders and I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the work we do in Richmond and the themes of the movie.

The main character is Mabel. She’s an Asian American kid who develops a deep appreciation for nature through her grandmother. When the glen and stream she shared with her grandma is threatened by developers, Mabel tries to organize to fight back.

Mabel is characterized by everyone in the town as a troublemaker. But really she’s a passionate activist who keeps fighting to protect the environment! Like Mabel, APEN Youth Leaders like me know what it is like to organize to protect your city from harm.

In Richmond we organize against Big Oil. We rally outside Chevron’s gates to demand a Just Transition away from fossil fuels. Like Mabel, we’re not troublemakers. We’re changemakers!

Mabel spends time trying to get signatures for a petition, in efforts to stop the city from building an illegal and environmentally devastating beltway. But she gets rejected at every turn.

APEN Youth Leaders have experienced this when we canvass, too. We face immediate rejections and often more failures than successes. 

 It might take longer to convince people in our community but we’ve realized it’s important that we do not give up: change takes time and work! 

Another similarity between us and Mabel is that she repeatedly holds the mayor of her town accountable for his illegal and harmful infrastructure project.

We know what it is like to hold local elected officials responsible. 

APEN Youth Leaders have given testimony at key council meetings and rallied outside of city hall to demand change.

Last year, a grassroots coalition in Richmond that we are a part of, fought and won the Polluters Pay campaign. This win ensured that Chevron invested $550 million back into Richmond! Now, it’s time to deliver on the promise of the Polluters Pay campaign for the people of Richmond.

We want to make sure that these funds are invested back into the community.With these new resources, we can fund essential services and infrastructure – like safe, walkable streets, bike lanes, public hospitals, and neighborhood parks. 

We can invest in our local economy, reduce our dependence on Chevron, and plan for a Just Transition. The families and workers who have been most impacted by Chevron’s pollution must have a real voice in deciding how the funds are spent.

As changemakers, all of us Youth Leaders in Richmond are taking time to learn about the war in Iran and how it relates to environmental justice.

Right now, the U.S and Israel are spending billions of our tax dollars to terrorize the people of Iran, Lebanon and Palestine.

My mom immigrated to Richmond from Laos because of the Secret War, an often overlooked conflict during the Vietnam War.

During that time, the U.S. dropped 270 million bombs on a country about the size of California, making Laos the most heavily bombed nation in history.

As Asian immigrants and refugees, our families know devastating war and imperialism can be. 

That’s why I’m dedicated to learn and fight alongside my fellow youth leaders. 

APEN Youth Leaders are going to continue to do the work, hold electeds accountable, and live up to our responsibilities as change makers. 

I hope you’ll donate today so we can reach our spring campaign fundraising goal. You can help resource the work APEN is doing in LA, Oakland Chinatown, and of course, Richmond. 

You can join the change makers! Give today!

The post What’s next for APEN Youth Leaders? appeared first on Asian Pacific Environmental Network.

 

Lizzie Suarez grew up in Miami and watched the city morph into what it is today: a billionaire’s playground. She works with Miami Workers Center, “as a place where people are finding community and finding answers to the questions of their lives.” She’s also a cultural organizer grappling to answer the question, what exactly is a cultural organizer?

 

The following is from our conversation on March 6th, 2026. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

~

Mark Chavez

What was life like growing up in Miami? 

Lizzie Suarez

I had a great experience growing up in Miami. I was fortunate enough to be involved in extracurricular activities, like sports, got into the arts outside of school and I had an experience of both being in public school and private school in Miami. As I got older, a lot of my experience I can see through a more political lens: the experiences I had with, you know, peers growing up. I was a teenager when Trayvon Martin was murdered and experiencing that as a kid and trying to make sense of the story. And then as I got older, witnessing uprisings and resistance across the United States, just following the news and being online. And so I would say it’s been a really eye-opening experience and a very unique experience. Miami is such a unique place compared to many parts of the United States, but I would also say I was like most kids when you get lost in childhood classmate drama and all that. 

MC

What has changed about Miami over your lifetime? 

LS

A lot has changed. Miami is a place that has always, since its founding, as the city of Miami proper and the region, a place that was created by Indigenous and Black people of the Caribbean for outsiders and for wealthy northerners. And so in that sense, not much has changed about Miami, but because the people who govern Miami have such a commitment to novelty, to newness, to the new next best shiny thing our city really changes, I would say, every five years almost. Every five years there’s a new influx of people, whether it be from New York or California, especially post pandemic. 

Now, most recently in the past few months, there’s been like six billionaires who have announced that they’re moving to Miami, one of them being Peter Thiel, moving Palantir here. And so, in the past six or seven years, a lot of my friends, people that I’ve known, have had to leave Miami due to rising cost of living. A lot of people in my circle that I’ve organized with or been in community with, many of them are not from here, but nonetheless, they have chosen to call this place home and chosen to help make it better. 

All that to say, although there’s new people, migration is just part of life. And so there’s all sorts of different people here, different nationalities, different states, but I think more and more, there’s just more concentration of wealth into fewer and fewer hands and working class people are feeling it the most. 

MC

Can you share how that ties into your work? How is Miami Workers Center borne out of, related to, responding to that increased disparity of wealth in the city. 

LS

I was actually just reading some notes and reflections from members from a convening that we had this past weekend. And the prompt was, who are we? When you think about us as an organization, who are we? 

One of our members put, “we are those who have been forgotten about, the disabled, working class people, people who can work, people who can’t work, people who are single parents with young kids, people who are navigating our complex immigration legal system.” 

And so I think about the organization, Miami Workers Center, as a place where people are finding community and finding answers to the questions of their lives. Can I afford to live here? Is this a safe place to live? Can I build roots here? How can I afford to live here? How can I find the resources I need to live a life of dignity?

And yeah… I think the organization is like a quest to answer the question, who was Miami for? We know, like I just shared, it has been a place for the rich, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Just as it was made, it can be unmade and made again. 

MC

That’s so beautiful. You all were involved in launching the first worker-owned cleaning business in Miami. Can you share, what is that? And in responding to that, also share a little bit about what is a cooperative and why are they so important? 

LS

The Miami Cleaning Cooperative is a new business, a new worker cooperative founded by members of the Miami Workers Center in collaboration with, and supported by, Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida and Catalyst Miami. 

For the past about two to three years now, members of that cooperative have been part of an incubation process. So they first started with learning what a cooperative is. It’s a different kind of way of doing business, as opposed to standard business practices where there’s a CEO at the top and everyone under them doesn’t get to make the decisions that impact their lives, whether it be economically or just the way that the business is governed. They are making the same amount of money, and they have learned about cooperatives being a more collaborative, generative kind of economics where the work is shared, there’s equal say, or the workers who make the business run get to set up the structures that they feel are fair and also supportive of their business. 

The worker-owners are involved in making decisions about where the profit of the business is going towards, how much of it is put back into the business versus how much of it turns into salary or pay that workers get to take home. 

We’re so proud that they’re now in business and working and taking on clients. And this is especially important for this group of women. One being a multiracial group of women, Miami is a place that is very segregated still by class and therefore by race, especially along national lines. So you often don’t see images or representations of people who are Spanish speaking from Peru or Nicaragua working in collaboration with Haitian women. And that is what we’re seeing in this cooperative. 

It’s not only an example of how people from different places can work together when there’s a shared vision and shared respect for one another, but also as domestic workers in an industry that is very precarious, where workers are often working in private homes: there’s little to no regulations for these workers. They’re often mistreated and taken advantage of, both economically, but also personally, it’s horrible the levels of disrespect and violence that women often experience on the job. 

Being part of a worker cooperative, an organization that has their back in these situations, that they don’t have to deal with these challenges alone, is really important. And then another part of it also is the environmental impact. So part of their commitment as a cooperative is educating other workers, other domestic workers on what are the kind of products that workers should be using on the job that doesn’t harm their health. 

MC

This is an aside but I remember when I was younger talking to my dad and being like, “Dad, I saw this thing that said ‘vinegar is really good for cleaning stuff. It that true?’” And his response was, “Yeah, if you like the smell of vinegar.” 

LS

(laughs) 

MC

It was the most dad response you could get. 

I saw something else about an eviction diversion program at Miami Workers Center. Can you share what that is and how that works? 

LS

In 2022, about four years ago, we advocated at the county that a budget for this program be created. We wanted to see a codified right to counsel for tenants who are facing eviction to have the right to free legal representation so that they have a better chance of staying housed, as a strategy to slow the rate of evictions in Miami-Dade County and have that impact the rate in which prices were going up. It’s kind of like a slow the bleed strategy. 

And we realized there would be many challenges to enforcing having a codified right to counsel without  funding for pro bono lawyers who are willing to represent these tenants, even if tenants had those rights on paper. So we successfully got this program started, which wouldn’t have been possible without our legal partners in this work. It’s in the second or third year now where MWC has a canvassing team dedicated to canvassing tenants who are facing eviction.  Many times, our team is how families are finding out that they have five days to file a response to the court or they default on their eviction. 

That’s part of the work that we’re doing. We are also putting on monthly know your rights and legal clinics in each district in the county. 

Part of the challenge is continuing funding for this every single year. We have to go to the county and fight at this point. It’s not even, what we want to see is increased funding, but what we’re seeing is a fight just to keep it as it is, where it can’t even, the program can’t even expand. That’s part of the challenge where we’re at now. 

Last year, the Eviction Diversion Project reached over 11,000 families with information about their rights, and connected over 1,700 to the representation that they needed. Many people were able to file responses and stay in their homes. 

Some of our most committed members are those who have that lived experience of facing an eviction and fighting it. Some win and some don’t, but throughout the process they are seeing how MWC stands in solidarity with them and has their back, and they want to ensure that that doesn’t happen to anybody else, that evictions don’t happen to any of their other neighbors. 

MC

What you’ve shared about Miami Workers Center makes me think about this idea of the third space. I think it’s so interesting because we’re in this moment where companies and corporations and brands are working so hard to figure out how they can get people offline and to real life experiences, and moments and events and things to build their excitement and engagement and buy into their brand. 

I keep thinking about how that is what our communities do inherently, like what organizing is, is about creating that offline interaction and engagement for community. I think we are just in this moment, especially in this post-pandemic era where people are just craving a place to be and to be engaged in something bigger than themselves. It’s really beautiful to see groups all around the country and the world that are doing that kind of stuff. 

LS

Yeah, it’s our biggest strength: being human beings in a world that desperately wants to be everything but a human being.

MC

So you work at Miami Workers Center, and you’re also an artist, and this other thing that people call themselves, a cultural organizer. What is a cultural organizer? 

LS

I actually was just thinking about this the other day, ’cause I’m like, what is that? What is it that I do exactly?’ 

I would say it’s being part of efforts that are bigger, that are like, what is that phrase, greater than the sum of its parts. Where you understand that it’s not about the work that you do alone, but it’s about making connections. And so for me, what that looks like is being open to connecting with new people, people who I see are doing similar kinds of work or trying to, or doing work in an effort of making [it] progressive. 

I have cultural worker friends who are in cumbia bands and doing local shows. I have friends who are sculpture artists who do poetry, and who are more in the academic field who are archivists and researchers. So it’s about getting to know all these different kinds of people and what they care about, and then being part of the organizing and using that as a vehicle in which these can come together in some way or another, even if it’s not part of a formal project. 

Cultural organizing can look like an assembly that was produced in collaboration with a grassroots organization, with a campaign, a clear call to action, and had theater and song and dance and art. It can also look like the long-term work of building relationships with people locally and trying to align on some shared vision. 

MC

It feels like there’s some similarity to when I was on the fundraising team at CJA for a while, and during that time we were grappling with the idea of calling ourselves resource mobilizers. It was a way to say that this is different from the mainstream approach to fundraising. It was kind of this reclamation, or just creating something of our own. 

LS

Yeah. And, where I would fear that the term cultural organizing doesn’t go is just seeing culture alone as a vehicle for change. When the reality is that you need culture and organizational structure and shifting of labor conditions, you know, to make systemic change. I think the smartest cultural organizing happens before we can get to the place where tenants are willing to form an organizing team and organize their neighbors. 

Food is the best way to get people to know each other. You gotta start with the barbecues, the cookouts, the movie nights, like that is cultural organizing at its best when it’s infused with the organizing strategy and not seen as an afterthought. 

MC

Speaking of food, you created a really beautiful food sovereignty poster a while ago. What was your process to actually make that poster? 

LS

My process began before the Creative Wildfire fellowship came about. I had been part of working with an organization, another local worker center called WeCount!, who organizes with day laborers, agricultural workers, domestic workers, construction workers. For many years I had been making campaign posters with them, doing graphics with them. And so through that experience, I got to know more about the struggle of agricultural workers who are trying to organize to change the industry. When I got the opportunity to collaborate with CJA and the Farm Workers Association of Florida on this and got to hear the stories that they shared, I wanted to paint the picture of both visualizing a transition with snapshots of what we are seeing in the world. 

You’ll see, I think it was in the bottom left, kind of like a toxic environment where the soil is very toxic and not only toxic to the land, but also to the workers who are tending to the crops, the food, and then in the bottom right, it’s almost like a comic, starting from the bottom left to the right, and then kind of moving its way up through transformation. The intention was that you could read it as a comic in that way or just as a process, but then looking at it wholly there’s always something bad and something good happening at the same time. It doesn’t show that everything is all great and we’re gonna arrive at liberation and things are just gonna be amazing. There’s always going to be struggle ’cause that’s just part of life. And so the intention was centered around food which is why you have the fish and the animals that are from the Everglades, which is most near to where I’m based out of. But you see people in it as well. I really wanted to just kind of pay respects to the workers who tend to the lands to make our food possible. Also recognizing that there’s a lot of work to be done to make it better. 

MC

What is some art that has really moved you recently? 

LS

There’s an organization in North Carolina called Down Home. They just started a video storytelling series and I’m really excited to see it. It’s called the Front Porch. They have a substack and they just put out a teaser video. It seems like they’re going to show stories and profiles of different people in rural North Carolina. Storytelling projects like that are exciting to me right now. It reminds you that the people in the stories are human, real people, showing their lives.

MC

Thank you, Lizzie, for taking some time. It was really nice to chat and hear a little more about what you’re doing. 

The post Lizzie Suarez on how Miami is changing, the city’s first cleaning cooperative, and being a culture worker appeared first on Climate Justice Alliance.

May 14, 2026:

See CBS TV coverage of

Greenaction Blasting Navy’s latest radioactive scandal at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund Site

Click here to watch

May 14, 2026—Politico’s Eric He reports on Gov. Newsom’s May Revise budget proposal, which calls for deferring $3.9 billion in Proposition 98 school funding despite revenues coming in $16.5 billion above projections. The move has drawn swift condemnation from teachers unions, school boards, and Democratic lawmakers who argue the constitutionally-guaranteed funding is urgently needed — including by Los Angeles Unified, which is counting on state dollars to honor $1.2 billion in new union contracts. On the positive side for education advocates, the governor preserved $1 billion for community schools expansion. Public Advocates Managing Attorney John Affeldt weighed in on the deferral, saying that while restraints are warranted, it’s “not a crazy maneuver given the volatility of our revenue picture.”

Read the Story

The post Politico Pro: Newsom sticks with controversial funding deferral in mixed-bag schools budget appeared first on Public Advocates.

May 15, 2026 Read the story on MSN.com Greenaction blasts the Navy over continued botched “cleanup” at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund Site Click here to read the Article on MSN.com

May 14 2026

Bay City News Article on the Latest Scandal with the U.S. Navy and the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund Site

Click Here to read the Bay City News Article

“SF: Cabinet Storing Radiological Materials Discovered At Former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard”

May 15, 2026 Read Capital & Main news story with Greenaction and allies: California Hazardous Waste Rules Criticized as Years Late and Polluter Friendly

May 1, 2026—EdSource reporter John Fensterwald covers Governor Newsom’s May Revision and its mixed implications for California schools—including a higher COLA, a historic $2.4 billion special education increase, and a $5 billion discretionary block grant, offset by the governor’s continued withholding of $3.9 billion in Proposition 98 funds that school groups say belongs in classrooms now. Managing Attorney John Affeldt is quoted warning that the budget’s reliance on AI-driven tax revenues is not a stable foundation: “Our state cannot continue to rely on temporary AI stock market bubbles.” Affeldt calls for more robust, permanent revenue streams—and makes clear that the same teachers being asked to transform students’ lives are being priced out of the communities they serve.”

Read the Story

The post Edsource: California schools could get billions more in Newsom’s final budget plan — with one catch appeared first on Public Advocates.

May 13, 2026,

Moab Times Independent article
“Protest Planned near La Sal over Uranium Mining Concerns”

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/protest-planned-near-la-sal-over-uranium-mining-concerns/

Thursday, May 14, 2026
Press Contact: Sumeet Bal, Director of Communications, 917-647-1952, sbal@publicadvocates.org

California Can’t Lead the World While Leaving Workers Behind

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California enters this May Revision in a moment of unexpected abundance—and familiar avoidance. 

Tax revenues are more than $16 billion above forecast. The state’s cash position has hit record highs. California dominates the global technology economy, leading the world in IPOs, artificial intelligence, Fortune 500 companies and innovation. But California cannot claim to lead the world while its teachers, nurses and essential workers are being priced out of the communities they sustain. Dominating in technology while losing ground on economic security for working families is not a strong legacy—it is a contradiction that demands solutions. The question this May Revision must answer is not whether California can dominate. It already does. The question is who that dominance works for.

California already knows how to build the things families need—the governor’s commitment to increasing per-pupil funding, investing in our educators, and expanding community schools proves that. When the state chooses to invest directly, boldly and consistently, it changes lives. Community schools are doing that now, in the communities that need it most. 

Housing and transit deserve the same commitment—not threats, not red tape reduction alone, but direct state investment that meets the scale of the crisis. Without substantial and sustained funding for affordable housing, low-income Californians will continue to struggle, regardless of how much development streamlining or local government oversight the state pursues. Meanwhile, the state’s basic protections against rent gouging and arbitrary evictions, the Tenant Protection Act, will expire in 2030 unless a governor with the courage to fight for and strengthen it steps forward. At the same time, without an infusion of state money, our public transit network is in danger of collapse. 

Abundance is not the same as security—AND it is not the same as justice. The working families at the center of our state’s story are experiencing a cost of living crisis that no IPO can solve—and they are waiting to see whether California’s record revenues will reach them, or pass them by once again. The question is made more urgent by federal cuts stripping millions of Californians of healthcare, food assistance, and housing support, and a proposed restructuring of Cap-and-Invest revenues that could cut affordable housing, transit, and clean air programs in half—redirecting dollars from low-wealth communities to fossil fuel companies. Seven years ago, the governor promised to fix the state’s boom-and-bust tax system. The boom is here. The question is whether he will use it for the Californians who built this state—and can no longer afford to live in it.

Education: A Legacy Built, A Problem Unaddressed

“Governor Newsom’s historic community schools investments will cement one of his enduring legacies, just as LCFF defined Jerry Brown’s,” said John Affeldt, Managing Attorney for Education Equity. “The research is showing that California’s community schools have cut chronic absenteeism by 30% compared to similar schools, reduced suspensions by 15% overall and delivered learning gains in English equivalent to 151 extra days of instruction for Black students.”

“But the governor’s May Revise failed to address one of the key equity challenges remaining for him—the state’s unconstitutional discrimination against low-wealth school districts in modernizing facilities. The State’s program for renovating dilapidated schools substantially favors high-wealth communities who are able to raise much more in matching funds, leaving students in poor districts in overheated portables and leaky classrooms amidst black mold and unremediated asbestos. The governor has acknowledged ‘you can’t look in the eyes of these kids,” but today, he chose to look away—and to keep fighting them in court,” added Affeldt, a lead counsel in a Public Advocates’ lawsuit suing the State over the issue.

“As far as moving forward into the future, our state cannot continue to rely on temporary AI stock market bubbles. To his credit, the governor proposed some modest new taxes, but to build a budget that will enable our residents to thrive, California needs more robust permanent revenue streams to support our schools and healthy communities. We cannot ask teachers to transform students’ lives while those same teachers are being priced out of the communities they serve.”

Higher Education: Affordability Crisis Threatens College Access & Completion?

“California’s economy is growing because generations of students had a path to affordable higher education. But too many low-income students are still being left behind as the cost of education and living continue to rise. If we want a future powered by innovation, we need to make sure opportunity isn’t reserved for those who could afford college anyway. We call on the governor and the legislature to strengthen and expand Cal Grant to keep the door to economic mobility open for the students coming after us—and ensures California’s future includes everyone,” said Sbeydeh Viveros-Walton, Director of Higher Education.

“For low-income Black and Latinx students, affordability is the difference between access, completion and attrition,” said Jetaun Stevens, Deputy Director of Higher Education Equity & Senior Staff Attorney. “Housing is the largest cost students face when pursuing higher education, and California’s housing crisis makes higher education out of reach for many low-income students. With 60% of community college students facing housing insecurity and nearly a quarter of community college students facing homelessness, we need greater investment in housing. We call on the governor and legislature to invest in additional projects through the Higher Education Housing Grant program—including reinvesting funds from withdrawn projects—and open up access to part-time community college students. We encourage the governor and legislature to make greater investments in affordable housing and homelessness prevention to improve economic opportunity for all low-income Californians, including supporting the Senate’s proposal to invest $1 billion in Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program 7 (HHAP) and an additional $1 billion for HHAP 8.”   

Housing Relief Deferred, Renters Left Behind

We welcome the inclusion of $500 million in HHAP 7 funds—California’s primary homelessness assistance program—in the governor’s proposal, but we are concerned about new requirements to receive that funding. Requiring a local funding match will shut out many jurisdictions. Requiring a Prohousing Designation is even more limiting: only 47 jurisdictions would currently qualify. Further, a Prohousing Designation is substantially based on how friendly a jurisdiction’s development environment is for market-rate developers—a standard which should not impede aid to people experiencing homelessness. Consistent, predictable funding is what moves people from the streets to stability. The Senate’s “Foundation for the Future” budget priorities letter reflects this, committing $1 billion for HHAP 7 and $1 billion more for a subsequent 8th round of funding. The governor should match that commitment—without the barriers.

Governor Newsom’s proposal also fails to address what his administration’s proposed changes to Cap-and-Invest would do to the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grant program (AHSC), the largest source of affordable housing funding in the state. When asked directly, the governor said it wouldn’t be addressed in his proposal. That is not an answer. Redirecting Cap-and-Invest money away from affordable housing and transit to fossil fuel companies and other polluters is a choice—and it demands a response.  Now is the time, however, for Governor Newsom to propose funding to backfill the affordable housing and transit funding that will be lost if his proposal to redirect AHSC money to polluters moves forward.

The human cost of inaction is not abstract.  More than half of California’s 6.1 million renter households spend more than 30% of their income on rent. Nearly a third spend more than half. Evictions have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels. “Housing is the largest item in a family’s budget and the governor’s housing proposals in his final budget do not address the problem or deliver the help renters desperately need,” said Michelle Pariset, Director of Legislative Affairs. “Governor Newsom will leave office without securing his legacy on rent stabilization and just cause for eviction, as the state’s basic protections against rent gouging and arbitrary evictions are set to expire in 2030. He could have worked with the legislature to remove this sunset on the Tenant Protection Act—permanently shielding renters from gouging and no fault evictions. Instead, renters will face that fight with a new governor and a legislature freshly-drenched in real estate industry campaign spending.”

Transit: When Transit Fails, Working Families Pay

The future of public transit in California hangs in the balance at the same time the rising costs of transportation is hurting low-income families. Citizens in multiple regions are collecting signatures for ballot initiatives to maintain critical service, but the state must do its part. “The governor’s proposed CARB regulations for the Cap-and-Invest program would eliminate over $600 million a year in critical state transit funding—funding for service, lower fares for seniors and students, electric buses, and infrastructure upgrades. These are cuts that the Californians who depend on transit cannot afford,” said Laurel Paget-Seekins, Senior Transportation Policy Advocate. “This governor’s proposal would leave a massive multi-year budget hole for transit and affordable housing at a time when Californians need additional investment to address rising costs of housing and transportation.” 

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Public Advocates Inc. is a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing, transportation equity, and climate justice.

The post Press Statement: California Can’t Lead the World While Leaving Workers Behind appeared first on Public Advocates.

May 13, 2026 For Immediate Release:
Ute Mountain Utes, Navajos/Dine, Greenaction & Allies to Protest Energy Fuels’ uranium mines and the mill/dump next to White Mesa Ute Community – Saturday, May 16, noon

 

 

Click Here To Download the Press Advisory –> PRESS-ADVISORY_WMCC_La-Sal_Protest (1)

Click Here to Download Flyer –> May 16 No Uranium Protest at La Sal Junction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 1, 2026

The eight-hour workday. Voting rights. Desegregated buses and schools. Every hard-won right Californians depend on today came from people who organized, refused to accept the status quo, and fought back.

In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions made a declaration: in five years, workers across the country would strike on May 1 for an eight-hour workday.  No guarantee of success—and no central command to make it happen. The idea spread anyway, city to city, carried by ordinary workers who organized locally and walked off of the job together. At Haymarket Square in Chicago, workers paid for that defiance with their lives. The movement grew anyway. They won, and May 1 became the international workers’ celebration, May Day.

That is the spirit that drives Public Advocates. For 55 years, we have combined civil rights litigation, policy advocacy, and deep partnership with grassroots communities to challenge the laws and power structures that lock low-income communities and communities of color out of good schools, stable housing, and reliable transit. We do this because rights declared on paper mean nothing without power behind them—and power is built through sustained organizing and coordinated struggle over time. That is how we win resourced schools, renter protections, and transit systems that serve the people who need these most.

That work has never been more urgent.

California is the fourth-largest economy in the world. The people who built it—teachers, nurses, farmworkers, transit workers, essential workers of every kind—are being pushed out of it. The Tenant Protection Act, the state’s primary shield against extreme rent hikes and unjust evictions, expires in 2030. Tens of thousands of affordable homes sit approved but unfinanced. Students in under-resourced school facilities are still denied what the law guarantees. This is not a series of policy failures. It is a system working exactly as it was designed—to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few rather than spreading it to include the people who make this state run.

We know it can be different today because we have seen it. In Minnesota years of cross-racial organizing produced the 2023“Minnesota Miracle,”— a single legislative session that delivered a billion dollars in affordable housing, free school meals for every child, expanded voting rights, paid family leave, and protections for workers and immigrant communities. This past January 23, that same coalition drove a massive ICE presence out of Minneapolis through peaceful community action. It didn’t happen by accident. It happened because people built power—across race, across issues, across years—together.

That is the work of May Day. That is the work of Public Advocates.

This May Day we recommit to the California that should exist—where the people who built this economy can afford to stay here, where every child has a school worthy of their potential, and where no community’s future depends on the goodwill of those in power.

Power isn’t given. It’s built. We’re building it.

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Public Advocates Inc. is a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing, transportation equity, and climate justice.

The post Statement: Public Advocates Stands with Workers and Communities Fighting For a Just California on May Day appeared first on Public Advocates.

April 30, 2026—LAist reporter Mariana Dale spoke with Senior Staff Attorney Alicia Virani about Miliani Rodriguez v. California, Public Advocates’ lawsuit challenging California’s inequitable distribution of Prop 2 school modernization funds. Virani explains why the firm filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in March—and why low-wealth districts facing asbestos, leaks, and toxic mold can’t afford to wait for the next bond measure. A hearing is scheduled for May 20.

Read the Story

The post LAIST: California voters greenlit billions of dollars to fix schools. How much has it helped? As schools age, the requests for modernization funding exceed the funding available.As schools age, the requests for modernization funding exceed the funding available. appeared first on Public Advocates.

WELCOME TO COMMUNITY REPORTS BY CCC’S RESEARCH JUSTICE INSTITUTE! WE’VE LAUNCHED THIS NEW SERIES TO PROVIDE A CLOSER LOOK AT OUR RESEARCH EFFORTS AND HELP DEMYSTIFY THE WORLD OF DATA. in this edition, our summer Intern Meilin Beloney unpacks key terms and topics at the heart of research justice.  Research justice 101: Key terms and readings to know

“Research justice” can sound like a big concept, but at its core it’s about valuing the lived experiences and desires of marginalized community members as essential pieces of evidence and data. Incorporating it into your research practices means ensuring meaningful community participation in every step of the research process. Furthermore, research justice centers the desires of communities as key to understanding their circumstances, rather than relying on narratives that present communities as broken or as problems (i.e., deficit narratives). 

To gain a deeper understanding of what research justice is, the Research Justice Institute looks to the work of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) scholars and researchers. Read on to unpack four key terms, along with some suggested readings, that are integral to understanding research justice.

1.Research oppression

To understand research justice, it is important to start by unpacking what research justice is not. As pointed out by DataCenter in their 2015 report “Introduction to Research Justice,” there is a power imbalance within research practices, wherein dominant institutions control the production of knowledge, resulting in marginalized communities being unable to control or access information produced about them. Research oppression occurs when community members are viewed solely as subjects of research, rather than as active participants in the research process (DataCenter 2015). Social science research has long been used as a tool of oppression. In his book Thicker than Blood: How Racial Statistics Lie, Tufuku Zuberi points to the role that white supremacy plays in our understanding of society. White logic grants objectivity to white scholars while devaluing BIPOC experience and expertise, often framing it as too subjective or anecdotal. Community members’ lived experiences are dismissed as invalid to the research process, leading to dominant institutions controlling the data and the stories that are told about marginalized communities, without the community’s input (Zuberi 2001). When we refuse to use white supremacist logics and tools in our research practices, we envision an alternative to research oppression: research justice. Research justice places community experiences and desires at the forefront of the research process, uplifting community members as integral to every step. Research justice is a process and platform that affirms that marginalized communities are the experts in their own lives.

2.Dominant data vs community data

It is important to understand the distinction between dominant data and community data, and how each may be utilized to advance the aims of research justice. Dominant data is gathered by dominant institutions such as governments and universities, and is often gathered in service of the dominant institution. These data are typically gathered using large population-level surveys like the Census or through the collection of information an individual provides in exchange for a service (i.e., administrative data). Dominant data, which are often quantitative, can highlight trends within populations, but often perpetuates deficit narratives. Numbers and statistics do not always capture the social, political, economic, and historical contexts of the data, often leading to conclusions that lack nuance and place the blame on marginalized communities for their own marginalizations. For example, without the context of institutional racism, a statistic proving the high amount of police violence in Black neighborhoods might imply that Black neighborhoods are inherently dangerous, or that Black people themselves are violent, rather than acknowledging the many social and political factors that lead to over-policing of Black communities (Lanius 2015). 

On the other hand, a key aspect of community data is that it is contextual. At CCC, we define community data as evidence generated by communities about their everyday lives, realities, and desires. Examples of evidence can include numbers, words, art, music, maps, and stories. Community data is collected, interpreted, and used on the terms of the community. By working with communities to understand their everyday experiences, we can gain a true sense of community needs and desires.

3.Community-led research

Community control is a key tenet of research justice. Research justice uplifts and values  marginalized communities as experts of their own lived experiences and, therefore, as leading experts in how to improve their everyday realities and overall well-being. When conducting research with marginalized communities, it is important to not only include community members, but to treat them as authorities in the research process. Trust and collaboration between researchers and community members are paramount, as demonstrated through the work of anthropologist Mariana Mora. Mora worked with a Zapatista community in Chiapas, Mexico to shape her research on Zapatista politics, autonomy, and self-determination. In her article “The Production of Knowledge on the Terrain of Autonomy: Research as a Topic of Political Debate”, Mora takes readers through her research process, describing the ways in which community members helped to shape and evaluate her research at every step, from research design to reviewing drafts of her 2017 book, Kuxlejal Politics: Indigenous Autonomy, Race, and Decolonizing Research in Zapatista Communities. Mora’s experience highlights the importance of community-led research, and provides a key example of how research can be designed and conducted in collaboration with community members.

4.Damage- vs desire-centered research

In an open letter to communities, researchers, and educators, Eve Tuck, Unangax̂ scholar, calls for a moratorium on damage-centered research – research that documents pain and oppression in an attempt to leverage change for marginalized communities. Tuck argues that damage-centered research frames marginalized communities as depleted and broken, perpetuating deficit narratives and defining communities solely by their marginalization. Tuck instead proposes a desire-based framework for research, in which lived realities are acknowledged alongside hopes and visions for the future (Tuck 2009). Research justice should employ a desire-based framework in order to avoid framing marginalized communities solely by what they lack, and to acknowledge the full spectrum of inequality, oppression, wisdom, hope, and the potential for change that exists within all communities.

Check out RJI’s reading library to dig deeper into these concepts and more:

These concepts and readings provide an overview of the key components of research justice, and it is only the tip of the iceberg. To continue exploring these ideas and access a wider range of resources, we encourage you to visit our growing RJI Zotero library. 

A powerful night of community, strength & supporting racial justice

State Sen. Khanh Pham sharing meaningful remarks as our featured speaker. Watch the full speech on our YouTube!

“Building community is what gets us through these times,” shared State Senator Khanh Pham to a packed room at this year’s Summer Soirée on June 13.

“It’s being in relationship with people who share our vision and our values – that is what helps us move out of fear and into collective action.”

At the Coalition of Communities of Color, this belief is at the heart of our mission. Our theme Rooted in Resilience was an important reminder that our strength is most powerful when shared, and grows when we’re together – even in the hard times, like the one we’re facing now.

We are so grateful to everyone who joined and supported our 2025 fundraising gala. We filled the night with a festive and meaningful atmosphere, with tunes by DJ Just Jeff, and folks enjoyed bites from our diverse selection of vendors that were both culturally rich and delicious.

A special thank you to our featured speaker, State Senator Khanh Pham, and our guest speakers, Mayor of Portland Keith Wilson and Oregon Community Foundation’s (OCF) Michael McIntosh, for their powerful and inspiring remarks.

Watch State Sen. Pham’s full speech at CCC’s Summer Soirée here!

View Full Album A Successful Summer SoirÉe

We extend a heartfelt thank you to OCF for being our presenting sponsor and for their support in helping make this night a success.

Together, with the power of community, we raised over $270,000 to sustain our work of transforming systems so that every Oregonian – across race, gender, or zip code – can thrive. At a time when our values are being attacked, your support means more than ever. Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who joined our CCC team at the Summer Soirée!

Because of these generous donations, we will be able to continue our efforts to provide research grounded in lived experience, solutions shaped by community voices, and policies that build a more just and resilient environment for those facing the first and worst of the climate crisis. See our work in action: watch our MADE for Health Justice video.

Didn’t have a chance to donate but want to support? Click here to make a donation today. Every donation makes a difference.

We hope you will join us next year as we celebrate our 25th anniversary! Details will be shared as they become available. Subscribe to our email list to stay in the loop.

Take a look at our event details:

Our special night took place at the OHSU Robertson Life Sciences Building. We are so grateful to OHSU for being our venue sponsor and for generously supporting our event.

A special shoutout to our host and vendors:

• Poison Waters as our Emcee and Auctioneer

• Devil’s Food Catering

• Plant Based Papi

• Annam VL

• DJ Just Jeff

And a special thank you to those who donated items for our raffle prizes and auction packages!

Thank you to our Summer Soirée sponsors!




Support CCC

**This opening is now closed. We are not accepting any further applications at this time. Thank you.

Applications due by August 27. Click here to view a full description of the job post.

JOIN OUR TEAM: The Coalition of Communities of Color (CCC) is excited to announce a new role within our Research Justice Institute! We’re looking to hire a dedicated and experienced Data Systems Administrator to lead the development and management of a robust, community-led, environmental justice data system. This role requires someone with technical expertise in developing data systems with a strong focus on equity.

Position Overview

As the Data Systems Administrator, you will lead the development, management, security, and accessibility of our community-led environmental justice data system. This is a first-of-its-kind opportunity to ensure that qualitative and quantitative data collected by community-based organizations is stored and made available in a way that supports equitable policy decision-making while respecting community ownership.  

We are seeking a data platform engineer and community-minded leader that understands both data systems and the ethical considerations of handling dominant institution quantitative and community-generated qualitative data, and shares our values and commitments to research and data justice. 

The Data Systems Administrator will play an integral role in advancing CCC’s Modernizing Anti-Racist Data Ecosystems (MADE) local level data ecosystem that will advance regional responses and approaches to extreme weather and climate justice needs. They will lead the development, implementation, and management of CCC’s environmental justice data systems, including selection and oversight of technical vendor(s) and building the back end of our data platform. They will also play a key support role in the Research Justice Institute’s quantitative research and data projects and reports.  

For complete details about responsibilities, qualifications and compensation, view the full job posting here.

About the Coalition of Communities of Color

Formed in 2001, the Coalition of Communities of Color is an alliance of culturally specific, community-based organizations engaged in collective action for racial justice. We work to improve outcomes for communities of color through advocacy, environmental justice, and research. Learn more about the Coalition of Communities of Color, its member organizations, and our Research Justice Institute.

TO APPLY

Please send a cover letter (max one page) and resume (max two pages) in one PDF file to HR@coalitioncommunitiescolor.org, with the subject line and file name “[Your name] — Data Systems Administrator.” 

Applications are due Wednesday, August 27.

View Full Job Post