EscInd: Weekly Action Plan for May 3, 2021
Welcome to Escondido Indivisible’s weekly action plan for May 3, 2021! Pick an action or two and commit yourself to doing them. As President Obama said in his farewell speech: Believe in your ability to bring change. Show up, dive in, stay at it. Stay safe and healthy!
Events
- Tuesday, May 4, 2021, 9:00 AM: San Diego County Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting via teleconference. Agenda includes Item #2 on Update to No Cost Communication Services for Incarcerated Persons, Item #5 on Immigrant Rights Legal Defense Fund, Item #10 on COVID-19 Response Update, Item #26 on Eviction Moratorium. Live broadcast of the meeting will be at sandiegocounty.gov here. Public comments may be made via eComment service or via email to publiccomment@sdcounty.ca.gov. See Voice Your Opinion.
Police Accountability
- Read-up on our post earlier last month on Re-imagining Public Safety and Actions to Hold the Police Accountable (PDF version) which was made before the EPD shooting, but still relevant.
- Read-up on Candlelight Vigil Held for Homeless Man Shot, Killed by Police in Escondido, North County Report: Oversight Demands Ramp Up Following Escondido Police Shooting, Protesters demand release of video in fatal Escondido police shooting and Escondido Police Release Video In Fatal Shooting Of Homeless Man. Although the EPD tried to de-escalated, they still drew a gun as the first option instead of other non-fatal weapons, and they were also not equipped to handle a case with a known person who they knew had cognitive disabilities and mental illness.
- Follow We The People Escondido (@wtp_escondido) on Twitter for news and actions related to the EPD shooting.
- Contact the Escondido City Council and express support for establishment of citizen review boards to investigate complaints against law enforcement officers as recommended by a 2015/2016 Grand Jury Report from San Diego County Civil Grand Jury. The City Council discussed the topic last October, but there have been no updates since then. See Grand Jury Report: Citizen Oversight Boards Of Police Behavior, Escondido Response to Grand Jury Report and Council, residents call for Escondido police oversight board.
- Contact Assemblymember Waldron and State Senator Jones and ask them to support SB-2 to create a decertification process for peace officers. Senator Jones voted no on SB-2 in its 2nd hearing on April 27, 2021. See SB-2 Fact Sheet and Police Decertification Bill Moves Forward (scroll down).
Immigrant Rights
- Read-up on Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer Proposes Immigrant Legal Defense Program
- Comment on Item #5 to establish an Immigrant Rights Legal Defense Fund and provide legal representation to detained immigrants facing removal proceedings. See ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties’ Immigrant Legal Defense Program Resources, Factsheet, Illustrated Explainer and Community Talking Points & Template e-Comment & Testimony.
COVID-19 Response
- Read-up on How Did India's COVID-19 Crisis Become a Catastrophe?, Brazil backs away from the virus brink as deaths top 400,000 and Top U.S. trade negotiator meets Pfizer, AstraZeneca execs on COVID-19 IP waiver.
- Contact Representative Issa, Senator Feinstein and Senator Padilla and ask them to call for WTO to waive vaccine patents to allow fast, global production of vaccines. See Call Your Reps to Help India.
Voting Reforms
- Contact Senator Feinstein and Senator Padilla and express support for H.R.1/S.1 to strengthen our democracy. Senators Feinstein and Padilla are co-sponsors of S.1. Note that Representative Issa voted no on H.R.1, but the House passed the bill with a 220-210 vote. See Indivisible Democracy Guide, Indivisible Guide on H.R. 1: Strengthening Our Democracy and Support Democracy Reform with H.R. 1/S. 1.
- Contact Assemblymember Waldron and State Senator Jones and ask them to support AB-37 to extend vote by mail to all elections in California.
Escondido Indivisible is a grassroots group dedicated to affecting changes in our local community. Our website is at EscondidoIndivisible.com, and our sister group is at Escondido Indivisible on Facebook. Send us links and comments at EscondidoIndivisible50@gmail.com and @EscInd50 on Twitter. And feel free to forward our newsletter to interested parties! If you were forwarded this letter, you can subscribe here, and check the archive here.
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