February News From Indivisible Altadena-Pasadena
Greetings.
It’s a busy time for Indivisible-Altadena-Pasadena and we’re excited to share recent activities and alert you to upcoming events and opportunities to get involved in fighting fascism.
Representatives of our group participated in launching the National Nurses United’s and the California Nurses Association’s nationwide Red Alert tour January 24 at Glendale Memorial Hospital. The goal is to save hospitals from closures and to restore MAGA politicians’ $1 trillion cut to Medicaid, which by 2027 will leave 1 million Los Angeles County residents without healthcare coverage and 3.3 million without coverage statewide. Get started by signing on to the nurses’ 10-point vision for a healthy society and by contacting your Congressional representatives to join nurses in their call to restore full healthcare funding.
On January 28th we showed up to support Grupo Auto Defensa's ICE Out of Dena Rally ahead of Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo’s state of the city address. Rally organizers shared a list of demands for Pasadena City Council including ending Pasadena Police Department cooperation with ICE and making sure that all charges against Pasadena Community Job Center Director José Madera are dropped. Police had arrested Madera and issued a misdemeanor citation on January 7 before releasing him, even though Madera was lawfully patrolling in response to a report of ICE agents in the community. Residents are free to observe, document, and photograph law enforcement actions conducted in public view. The community showed up to support Madera on Jan 7th and were are relieved to hear that the misdemeanor charges have now been dropped.
Meanwhile, others have been joining NELA Alliance for Democracy’s regular Sunday protests from noon to 2 p.m. at the Cypress Park Home Depot. The demonstration is aimed at getting Home Depot to require federal agents to have a warrant before they can come onto store property to seize day laborers regularly hired by roofing, landscaping, masonry, and other contractors doing construction work for homeowners and businesses.
Locally, a couple of us recently voiced support for safe parking for the unhoused in Pasadena before the City Council’s new Housing, Homelessness and Planning Committee on Jan. 30. Our members voiced support for continuing the program, which offers homeless residents with vehicles a safe place to sleep and use facilities, after the City Council decided not to renew a permit for All Saints Church’s program.
Looking ahead at National Indivisible, it’s all eyes on No Kings Day 3 and the upcoming mid-term election as Congressional contests heat up.
First, save the date (March 28) and look to our website and Facebook and Instagram feeds and the next issue of this newsletter for more details on No Kings Day 3. And yes, there will be a large action in Pasadena, so please mark your calendar and join us.
Second, last week Indivisible endorsed three candidates as worthy of your support in the mid-term primaries, including for Minnesota Senate, the state’s Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, in New York’s 10th Congressional District, Brad Lander, and in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, Dr. Jasmine Clark. Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin called the three fighters who will stand up for what’s right. He characterized their primary opponents as “status quo” and “asleep at the switch.”
Also save the date (March 14) for a rally which will feature a festive picnic and concert at private prison company GeoGroup’s Adelanto Detention Center north of Victorville. GeoGroup, a major funder of Trump’s campaign, has a sweetheart no-bid contract to operate the immigrant detention center for the Department of Homeland Security. Congressional representatives who toured the facility after ICE raids started in Los Angeles last June, including Rep. Judy Chu, found horrible conditions there. They included lack of access to drinking water and medical care, as well as lack of access to phones to call for legal assistance or to reach family members. Look for future communications and details about the rally being planned outside the detention center and look for a blog post on our website soon on the bigger picture of GeoGroup and private immigrant detention centers in America.
Also, remember to join our friends San Gabriel Foothill Indivisible any Saturday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Colorado and Fair Oaks to demonstrate your love for democracy, freedom, truth & the rule of law.
Finally, here are some new and noteworthy items for those concerned about the state of the nation:
