Students and workers gathered outside the Cowell Student Health Center on the UC Santa Cruz campus on February 13th in response to recent news that the UC system is planning to "exploit an Obamacare loophole" and cap student insurance coverage. The proposed plan would also increase the Student Health Insurance Plan fees by 25%. Rally organizers called the changes "financial mismanagement" on the part of UC administrators.

An eviction of a significant number of homeless people at a downtown encampment in Fresno was expected to take place on February 14th. According to residents of the homeless encampment, the owner of the property threatened to bulldoze the vacant lot and destroy everything. The eviction by the owner did not happen. The threat of sending in a bulldozer created enough anxiety among the homeless that at least half of them moved away. A fire of unknown origin in the encampment on the morning of February 14th cleared the remaining people from the area.

On February 14th, cities across the globe joined the One Billion Rising campaign to stop violence against women and girls. In Northern California, participating cities included Fresno, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Oakland, and San Francisco. One Billion Rising began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls.

To show support for the Idle No More movement, on January 26th a statewide rally was held on the steps of the California State Capitol in Sacramento. On the 27th, Ohlone and other individuals of Californian Native American ancestry held a flash mob in San Francisco at the Westfield Mall, where activists asked, "What are you going to do, not to idle anymore?"

On Wednesday, February 13th at 7pm, the Berkeley Police Review Commission will hold a hearing to discuss a possible drone policy for the city of Berkeley. On Thursday, February 14th at 1pm, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors' Public Protection Committee will hold a hearing on the Alameda County Sheriff's plan to purchase and deploy a drone. The Sheriff's office has stated it wanted to use the drone for "suspicious persons" and "large crowd control disturbances."

Two squats located in Oakland are facing eviction in the coming weeks. The Stayaway, located in the Highland neighborhood of East Oakland, received a "Notice to Vacate" for this Wednesday, February 13th. The RCA/Hot Mess compound, located in North Oakland, has been fighting eviction through court proceedings, but organizers believe eviction orders will be coming in the next week. Many of those organizing defense for the squats believe that "both spaces could face raids on or before Valentine's Day."

Davey D writes: Right now in LA there is a police officer named Christopher Jordan Dorner who is accused of killing 2 people. They were a couple, one a college basketball coach and the other the daughter of a man who repped him when he was fired from LAPD. He is believed to have shot 3 officers killing one and has threatened to return and do more major damage. He’s accused of killing a Riverside police officer. He is on the run as they have an all out manhunt…