That’s awesome!

Oregon Comic Book

Gotta admit… pretty cool.

One of the best defensive backs in the country, Devon Kennard, has announced that he is now only considering (in no particular order) Arizona State, Cal, UCLA, USC, and Texas. He would be a HUGE pickup for Tedford’s weak defensive line (he had 24.5 sacks last year). And UCLA picked up a nice offensive lineman named Greg Capella.

Oh and Josh Nunes (the guy who wanted to do Engineering at the Furd or Cal) committed to… Tennessee? What the fuck?

GreyBear has another one of his court recaps from this morning’s hearing.

First, the hard news on the schedule: plaintiffs’ documents are due July 11th, UC’s on the 15th, and the hearing will occur two days later.

Interesting (when the plaintiffs asked for a date in August, instead of July):

“I’m not sure I understand,” said the Judge. “Aren’t we now down to just a few very specific issues? Why is so much time needed?”

“Your Honor,” said Volker, “We see a far different reality.”

(This may be the one statement that every observer can agree on.)

I, honestly, am not sure what to make of this. By all accounts, this seems to be a successful hearing. The 7.22 hearing date appears to be moved up (which is good). The judge appears to be discounting the plaintiff’s “reality,” which is always a fucking good thing.

But you never know. And now the plaintiffs are now trying a seismic safety tack, which is completely and totally divorced from reality. But who knows whether they can try to get more delays?

The realist might say “Great day this morning!” The Cal fan says “sigh” May the realist win!

The #1 DE recruit in the nation lists Cal as one of his top 5 schools:

Cal: “Part of why I am really looking at them is because they want me to play a new position. They want me to play a Buck linebacker/defensive end position where I would blitz and drop into coverage.”

FYI, “buck” is the weakside middle linebacker in a 3-4.

Not that they weren’t already. But anyway, A PICTURE BOOK????

Titled “[save oaks] call for photos – “Save the Oaks in Pictures” book forthcoming…”

Dear friends of Memorial Oak Grove,

Two of the grove’s long-time photographers – Matthew Taylor and David Wallace – want to organize and publish a photo book documenting the history of the treesit and the campaign to Save the Oaks.

We want YOU to contribute to this project!

We need:

- Photo submissions!! The more, the better. Whatever you’ve got!

- Photoshop work – processing, color correction, prepress

- Graphic design/page layout

- Printing/Publishing connections (we need to find a good printer and/or a publisher!)

- Help with marketing, sales, distribution

- Website creation

- Financial donations to pay for all of the above.

If you wish to contribute, please send an email to:

savetheoaksinpictures@gmail.com

You can also call Matthew at 510 684 7233, although email is preferred initially.

We envision the book covering the entire course of this campaign, from the first rallies on sproul plaza through the tree-sit. The photos would be accompanied by brief but powerful text explaining the events including moving quotes.

We are looking for photos of individuals, the grove, the treesitters, the people who love the trees, the wildlife that passes through the grove… Whatever else your cameras have captured these past 20 months…. And historical photos of the area including the stadium, its construction, and the canyon before there was a stadium…

If you are financially able to support publication of this book, please email us. We are seeking to raise the funds needed to pay for printing.

Thank you for your time and interest…

Sincerely,

Matthew and David
savetheoaksinpictures@gmail.com

PS – For those who are interested, Matthew is planning to write a text-focused book as well, which would explore the campaign in depth… Feel free to email if you are interested in contributing to that project…

oh yes, the Berkeley Daily Planet is back and better than ever. I always look forward to what they have to say. I especially look forward to their article on today’s hearing.

Here is their article on the Council meeting yesterday. Excerpts:

Acting City Attorney Zach Cowan told the Planet on Tuesday that the council did vote in closed session to write a letter to university officials urging them to allow the tree-sitters adequate food and water, to be supplied by "designated neutral clergy persons."

The vote to send the letter was 5-0-2, with Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmember Gordon Wozniak abstaining and councilmembers Betty Olds and Darryl Moore absent.

I feel as if many of these people’s comments are mistatements of truth.

Mary Rose Kaczorowsky told the council that since the university project is "changing and morphing," the university should be required to do a new environmental review.

Michael Kelly, a member of the Panoramic Hill Association, a co-plaintiff with the city against the UC gym project, added that for more than two years the university has said the beam is important for safety reasons. "Now we hear it is for cosmetic reasons," he added.

Some said that another reason the city should appeal an adverse decision is that the university did not adequately study alternative sites as CEQA requires.

UC Berkeley student Matthew Taylor said the university should have studied Maxwell Field, between the Greek Theater and the stadium, as an alternative. "It was never studied in the environmental report," Taylor said.

I like how one person proposes UC offer the tree-sitters the diet of a horse. Even the supporters think the tree-sitters are just animals. The end of this quote is epic:

University officials promised to give the tree-sitters 1,000 calories a day, according to tree-sit supporter Gianna Ranuzzi. "Yesterday they said we could bring packaged food," she told the council, arguing that the people in trees needed fresh fruit and vegetables—"apples and celery," she said.

Terry O’Brien said he feared for the life of the tree sitters. Last week, "I saw extreme violence," he said, referring to UC police and arborists’ interactions with the tree-sitters. The crime of trespassing should not be met with mortal harm, he said.

"It’s pathetic that the university is trying to starve out these young people," said Martha Nicoloff. "I think Max [Councilmember Max Anderson] made it clear—these young people are saints."

SAINT DUMPSTER MUFFIN! I shall pray to you and your GodPod all the time, dearest Saint Dumpster Muffin

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