ORWC supports the Save Pete’s Harbor (SPH) cause. If you would like to donate to SPH you can visit:
Many thanks to all the ORWC members and other Peninsula Occupiers who’ve donated! ORWC alone has given several hundred to the Pete’s Harbor cause and the SPH folks can’t thank you enough. 
(For more info on SPH, check out their website and their Facebook page.)
Good afternoon Occupiers,
Some of you may have heard of the horrific fire at 531 Woodside Road this past Sunday and may be wondering where to donate/where you can help out.
You can always donate to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army, but for those of you who are cash-strapped or are just looking for a more direct giving route (such as asking what size clothes people need and giving appropriate clothes directly to them) we have seen conflicting information.
For now it sounds like people are being asked to call (650) 366-2742 first to make arrangements re. donations. Please call the number and ask what the current need is. If you get any new info, please comment here so that we can update this post.
On a side note, it’s no surprise that the city’s most devastating fires (including the recent one in North Fair Oaks) are taking place where more people of color live and where housing tends to be more affordable. This is definitely a social justice issue.
Widespread public outrage over the San Francisco Pride Board’s decision to unfairly revoke Bradley Manning’s status as grand marshal for SF Pride 2013 resulted in a huge turnout for the Free Bradley Manning contingent in the parade.
There were about 500 to 600 people representing dozens of different organizations, including Occupy Redwood City, Peninsula Direct Action, and Occupy San Jose.
Photos can be viewed here:
Photos – Part 1 of 3
Photos – Part 2 of 3
Photos – Part 3 of 3
Bradley Manning is an LGBT hero and whistleblower who should be celebrated and defended by the queer and trans communities, not thrown under the bus for a mainstream gay agenda subservient to corporate interests and the U.S. war machine.
With a sign saying, “I was Bradley Manning,” Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg rode in the parade with Veterans For Peace. Mr. Ellsberg has been a vocal advocate for Manning and rode in the parade as the People’s Grand Marshal, a surrogate for Bradley Manning. Ellsberg had been planning to do this even before Manning’s status as grand marshal was revoked.
Whistle-blowing is not a crime! FREE BRADLEY MANNING!
Pete and/or Paula Uccelli Have Endorsed:
Councilmember Roseanne Foust
Councilmember Jeff Ira
Councilmember Barbara Pierce
Councilmember John Seybert
Pete and/or Paula Uccelli Have Made Campaign Donations to:
Mayor Alicia Aguirre
Councilmember Ian Bain
Planning Commissioner Janet Borgens
Councilmember Roseanne Foust
Councilmember Jeff Ira
Councilmember Barbara Pierce
Councilmember John Seybert
Planning Commissioner Shawn White
Ted Hannig Is/Was Attorney for:
Paula Uccelli
Councilmember Roseanne Foust
Ted Hannig Has Endorsed:
Mayor Alicia Aguirre
Councilmember Jeff Ira
Ted Hannig Has Made Campaign Donations to:
Mayor Alicia Aguirre
Councilmember Ian Bain
Planning Commissioner Janet Borgens
Councilmember Roseanne Foust
Councilmember Jeff Ira
Councilmember John Seybert
Ted Hannig is Facebook Friends with:
Mayor Alicia Aguirre
Councilmember Ian Bain
Planning Commissioner Kevin Bondonno
Planning Commissioner Janet Borgens
Councilmember Roseanne Foust
Vice Mayor Jeff Gee
Councilmember Jeff Ira
Planning Commissioner Nancy Radcliffe
Councilmember John Seybert
*
Now, before you great defenders of Redwood City get your boxer briefs in a twist, please note, NOWHERE do we say these actions are illegal. They are not.
But while these actions are not illegal, they do illustrate a feeling of pay-to-play politics and do not leave Redwood City voters with the feeling that their city council or planning commission is unbiased or able to make impartial decisions.
It is for these reasons that we feel each planning commissioner or city councilmember who has been endorsed by and/or received donations from Pete and/or Paula Uccelli and/or Ted Hanning must recuse themselves from all matters related to Pete’s Harbor or the proposed development at its site.
*
P.S. What about citing our sources, right? Where did this information come from? Well, from various sources, including:
- October 2010 issue of the Redwood City Spectrum
- November 2009 issue of the Redwood City Spectrum
- October 2004 issue of the Redwood City Spectrum
- 2003 campaign statement for Rosanne Foust
- Mayor Alicia Aguirre’s campaign website
- Smart Voter
Back in October, Port Commissioner Lorianna Kastrop called Redwood City voters and residents at Pete’s Harbor people with “an artificial sense of entitlement.” She then likened the landlord/tenant relationship between Pete’s Harbor residents and harbor landlord Paula Uccelli to a situation where you let “a friend sleep on [your] couch” and then those friends “get angry and insist that they will continue staying on your couch” when you insist they move on.
These offensive comments were rightly called out by ORWC members and residents of Pete’s Harbor. It is shocking that the same person who called rent-paying, law-abiding boaters couchsurfing parasites is a Port Commissioner in Redwood City advocating for the privatization of publicly-owned submerged lands open to the boating public.
If you’re curious, you can read Ms. Kastrop’s words right here:
12 Nov. 2012 Letter (Vice Commissioner for the Port of Redwood City)
Apparently she was so upset that people were offended by her comments and calling for her to lose her job that she wrote to the City and backtracked in a typical cover-your-ass move, stating stated that she was “only” speaking as a private citizen and not a Port Commissioner. We suppose that in her mind, when a government official gets up to talk trash about members of her own community, the fact that she is also answerable to that community as an official shouldn’t matter.
By the way, the assertions she makes in her comments? Total lies. She wrongly stated that at Port Fest, Save Pete’s Harbor petitioners told them that 500 people will be displaced from Pete’s Harbor. This is untrue.
What may have been stated is the cumulative impact: Approximately 300 residents at Peninsula Marina were evicted by the Pauls Corporation, and 184 residents were evicted from Pete’s Harbor. The result? Approximately 500 people being evicted from the two marinas by this one developer.
Silly us, but we would have thought that a Port Commissioner would be a little more truthful, knowledgeable, and, uhh, tactful? And that she’d show an iota of empathy for people whose lives were scattered to the winds by Paula Uccelli.
So, how do we remove her from public office? Let’s start that discussion.
(As a courtesy to Save Pete’s Harbor, ORWC has reposted their press release from Tuesday, 16 April 2013 below. Please help spread the word, and check out this subsequent article by the Mercury News about our Save Pete’s Harbor friends!)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City Documents Bolstering Save Pete’s Harbor Obtained
SPH Says: “Start Over with the Community”
REDWOOD CITY - Save Pete’s Harbor (SPH) members and their supporters have obtained documents from the City of Redwood City that show quite clearly that the City is well aware that former Colorado State Senator Paul Powers (R) has amended his planned development permit for the historic Pete’s Harbor area. As stated by the city’s planning manager Blake Lyon at the October 30, 2012, Planning Commission meeting where the proposal was approved, any significant amendments to the development proposal would require that the entire process be scrapped and then restarted.
A March 4, 2013 e-mail from city manager Bob Bell to the City Council indicates clearly that “Paul Powers has amended his project.”[1] This document is of critical importance to SPH because it acknowledges what SPH has maintained all along: that a plan to keep a commercial marina at the outer portion of Pete’s Harbor would constitute a major change to the original development proposal, where the original intent was to shut down the commercial marina permanently and to privatize publicly owned waters and the boat slips on them for the exclusive use of the planned development’s future residents.
Since Paul Powers communicated to the California State Lands Commission (SLC) on February 19 that he intends to have a commercial marina be part of his development,[2] SPH has maintained that the planned development approval process with the City of Redwood City needs to start over. Amending his plan to include a commercial marina with far more public access needs constitutes a significant, major change to Powers’ development proposal. Mr. Bell admits as much himself in the March 4 communication, saying he will write to the SLC about ”the importance of interconnectivity of the marina and land side.”
Any truly viable commercial marina in Smith Slough at the site of the outer portion of Pete’s Harbor requires more shoreside amenities than the Pauls Corporation’s original proposal to privatize the docks acknowledges. Amenities that a viable commercial marina would need include but are not limited to closer parking and more parking spaces, loading and unloading zones, pathways that provide access not just to people but to rolling dock carts, an eatery and/or a vending machine location, and proper trash and recycling facilities.
However, to this date it is clear that neither the City nor Paul Powers has done enough to address the needs that a commercial marina would have. Other communications obtained from between Paul Powers and the City show that the City is willing to overlook the parking requirements the development plan would need to be compatible with a truly viable commercial marina.
For these reasons, SPH strongly asserts that changing course and expressing an intent to develop a commercial marina instead of privatizing publicly owned submerged lands is a significant amendment to the development proposal. SPH declares that the only responsible thing for the City of Redwood City to do is to stay the process and rescind the planned development permit that was issued so that the Pauls Corporation may start the development process over.
Another internal City communication, sent the day before the City announced a postponement of SPH’s appeal hearing, makes it clear that the city has known for some time that changes have been in the works for the proposed development and that the planned development permit isn’t likely to avoid a significant amendment.[3]
James Lee, Secretary for SPH, said, “With this new information coming to light, many SPH members and supporters are now more concerned than ever about the city’s behavior. These internal communications show that the city is eschewing its leadership role and putting the Redwood City community through unnecessary division and turmoil by letting this drama play out when they know full well that they will have to go back to square one once someone notices.
“The City is going to try as hard as they can to justify pushing this development through even though there are clearly a lot of changes to the development plan that need to be made. What I am hearing in the community is that many who are following this issue are now concerned that the City Council will try to use the appeal hearing as the venue to push through these amendments without having to start the planning process over as they should. This marina property development should have never been approved without inclusion in the Inner Harbor Precise Plan or another Precise Plan of its own.
“Save Pete’s Harbor is calling on the government of Redwood City Council to do the right thing: Stop the shell game and tell Paul Powers to start over, this time with the community included in the planning process.”
(Estás invitado a un ¡MERCADO VERDADERO GRATIS!)
Sunday, April 14
1pm -5pm
City Hall, 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City
Domingo, 14 de Abril
1pm-5pm
Ayuntamiento, 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City
A place to give and get all sorts of items 100% for free! Help keep usable items out of the landfill, while connecting with your community. This is not barter (trade), but a gift economy. Don’t have anything to give? That’s okay! You’re still welcome to come and take what you need.
Un lugar para dar y obtener todo tipo de artículos ¡100% gratis! Ayúda a conservar las cosas útiles fuera de la basura, mientras te conectas a la comunidad. No es el trueque, ni negocio, pero es para regalar al que lo necesita. ¿No tienes nada para regalar? ¡Está bien! Todavía eres bienvenido a venir y llevar lo que necesites.
Please DON’T Bring: Drugs, alcohol, weapons, hazardous materials, animals, anything illegal.
Por favor NO traigas: Drogas, alcohol, armas, materiales peligrosos, animales, o cosas ilegales.
Please DO Bring: Anything else! Examples include clothing, food, books, housewares, and services that would be helpful to people.
Por favor SI traigas: ¡Todo el resto! Incluyendo: ropa, comida, libros, artículos para el hogar, y servicios que serían útiles para las personas.
Please DON’T: Leave any items behind. If no one takes home an item that you brought, please take it back with you.
Por favor NO: Deje ningun articulo detrás de usted. Si nadie se lleva una cosa que usted trajo, por favor llevarla de regreso con usted.
Please DO: Join us and have a great time!
Por favor SI: Únase a nosotros y ¡te divertiras!
Another Economy is Possible: Be a Part of It!
OTRA ECONOMÍA ES POSIBLE: ¡SER UNA PARTE DE ELLA!
On 12 February 2013, ORWC and OSJ went down to speak out in favor of marriage equality at San Jose City Hall:
To show support for equal marriage rights, councilmember Ash Kalra (with members Don Rocha, Kansen Chu, and Xavier Campos) proposed that San Jose sign on to and join in San Francisco’s argument to the United States Supreme Court that the same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.
Passive-aggressive maneuvering by the City Council’s Rules Committee, engineered by anti-gay mayor Chuck Reed, meant that this issue was heard last on the agenda, at the end of the meeting, after a loooong list of other items. This meant that all the people who showed up at 1 PM to speak ended up not speaking ’til about 7 PM, or not at all. Many people left because they had other commitments they could not miss. The huge crowd of people who had turned out to support marriage equality dwindled down to about twenty people when finally, the agenda item was ready to be heard.
Despite this maneuvering, the remaining few spoke passionately, and ORWC and OSJ folks in particular called out the council and the mayor for their heartless attempt to push back the agenda item and delay it until few people were left to speak. Occupiers involved with Peninsula Direct Action spoke out directly at the City Manager Deb Figone, referencing the group’s media event outside her house that highlighted her attack on union workers and public safety in San Jose.
One Occupier spoke passionately about his experience as “a queer, Asian person” living on the Peninsula and said he drove down from Redwood City because he wanted Redwood City to follow San Jose’s lead in being willing to hear matters like these. Other Occupiers spoke just as urgently and highlighted the importance of supporting locally issues of national importance that affect people everywhere in the country.
The motion passed, by a surprising 9 to 1 vote (with one abstaining). The lone no vote was by the anti-gay mayor, Democrat Chuck Reed. Shameful vote by Reed, considering that even the conservative Republican Pete Constant voted yes on the grounds that he did not think he should impose his Greek Orthodox religious beliefs on others.
P.S. One bit of gossipy news: When ORWC and OSJ folks tried to speak to the representative for BAYMEC (an LGBT elections organization) after the meeting, he literally RAN from us from inside an elevator we were all in right as the doors were closing! Pretty rude considering we were just making small talk and wanted to connect with his group after speaking in solidarity with him during the meeting. Was he afraid he would catch Occupy cooties? 
P.P.S. The representative for the South Bay Labor Council was far nicer to us and thanked us for coming. 
Anyway, enough gossip! For more info, check out this article and this article.
As of April 5, 2013, ORWC is now posting updates for OSJ. To read all OSJ updates, go here.
(Current and former members of ORWC, OSJ, and Peninsula Direct Action, as well as a whole host of other allies joined striking Hyatt workers back on the picket line in Santa Clara! Over a hundred people turned out for this inspiring action. After the demo, we headed back to the offices of Unite Here! Local 19 for an intimate reception with our friends and comrades. Lots of peeps were out and representin’. SOLIDARITY!)
As of April 5, 2013, ORWC is now posting updates for OSJ. To read all OSJ updates, go here.
Evidence has come to light recently thanks to sleuthing by TechDirt that our friends at Occupy San Jose (OSJ) were spied on by the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) back during its inception. Below is sample text from some of the documents obtained showing that DHS were taking some notes on OSJ:
Snippet (p. 246-247): +1 (877) 437-7411 Emergency Dispatch (b)(6),(b7)(c) From: Sent: wednesday, October 19, 2011 15:2~ (b)(6),(b7)(c) To: subject: FW: occupy wall Street protestors FYI-Sounds like all is OK in San Jose. Sent from my BlackBerry wireless Handheld (b)(6),(b7)(c) Area commander Federal protective service - Region 9 Northern District / oakland & San Jose offic (b)(6),(b7)(c) cell: Dispatch: 415-556-1492 (b)(6),(b7)(c) e-mail: From: Sen To: (b)(6), (b)(7)(C) (b)(6), (b)(7)(C) (b)(6), (b)(7)(C) subject: RE: occupy wall Street protestors AS I write this, they have moved along to the next corner and the KGO-TV truck has gone also. I have a clear view from my office. (b)(6), (b)(7)(C) , From: Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 1:43 PM (b)(6),(b7)(c) page 64 Obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund www.JusticeOnline.org (b)(6),(b7)(c) subject: occupy wall street Protestors (b)(6), (b)(7)(C) I received a call from employee in san Jose informing me that at approximately 1:30 today the occupy wall Street protestors showed up at the San Jose office in our open air lobby area. She thinks there are about 20 - 25 protestors on site. Also, channel 7 news media is on site.
Pretty creepy stuff! An excerpt from the article is below.
(Read the full article and peruse the obtained documents here.)
The Partnership for Civil Justice has released some new DHS documents it received via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, showing that DHS regularly spied on peaceful demonstrators and activists. Because exercising your First Amendment rights must make you one of them there “anti-government” Americans, which means the DHS is free to spy on you.
Functioning as a secret political police force against people participating in lawful, peaceful free speech activity, the heavily redacted documents show that the DHS “Threat Management Division” directed Regional Intelligence Analysts to provide a “Daily Intelligence Briefing” that includes a category of reporting on “Peaceful Activist Demonstrations” along with “Domestic Terrorist Activity.” (p. 68)
The PCJF has obtained thousands of pages of documents pursuant to its Freedom of Information Act demands and made them available for public viewing. The newly obtained documents show coordination and intelligence monitoring by the DHS, the FBI, the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies of “Occupy-type” protests.
The documents show the routine use of Fusion Centers for intelligence gathering on peaceful demonstrations as well as the use of DHS’ “Mega Centers” for collection of surveillance information on demonstrations.
And it’s not just the big cities. The new documents show that DHS is involved in spying on peaceful protesters and activists around the country. It also shows that DHS helped local law enforcement “crack down” on the various Occupy gatherings. But the key thing is that DHS seems to have no qualms at all about spying on anyone who disagrees with the prevailing positions of today’s federal government. And it’s clearly not because they’re trying to protect others from any threat of actual harm. They seem to be focused on spying to further the goal of preventing the administration fromlooking bad:
The documents show a Department of Homeland Security that appears obsessed with the question of whether any and all protests that are being surveilled receive media attention and coverage. Reporting within the DHS on media coverage of First Amendment protected activities, even in the smallest places, appears to be a routine part of DHS intelligence reports. None of the documents explain why media coverage of peaceful demonstrations is of interest to law enforcement or concerns “homeland security” in any way.
That’s because it doesn’t concern “homeland security” at all. It concerns the job security of those employed by Homeland Security.
Nice to know our tax dollars are being wasted on surveilling peaceful protesters! Solidarity and love to OSJ from your friends at ORWC.
As of April 5, 2013, ORWC is now posting updates for OSJ. To read all OSJ updates, go here.
Check out the State Lands Commission’s (SLC) letter responding to an inquiry by the City of Redwood City:
Letter from City to SLC and Subsequent SLC Response — PDF file
Note that the SLC letter vindicates Save Pete’s Harbor’s position that the Outer Harbor must remain open as a commercial marina and that the Pauls Corporation’s proposed development is not fit for approval from the SLC. The SLC also states that the Pauls Corporation has not even submitted an application for lease transfer to them…
…so why were tenants evicted so quickly?
Interestingly, the datestamp on the SLC letter shows that the City of Redwood City received the letter on January 28 during normal business hours. Later that same day, the City Council voted to delay the appeal ’til May.
Blake Lyon, the City’s Planning Manager, wrote in a correspondence to an ORWC member that:
On Monday, January 28, 2013 the City received a response email from SLC with a pdf attached letter dated Friday, January 25, 2013.”
Had Save Pete’s Harbor known about this letter, perhaps they could have advocated during the council meeting that the appeal be heard, since the SLC letter basically vindicates Save Pete’s Harbor’s position and sends a strong message that the city should affirm the appeal and tell the Pauls Corporation to try again with a different planned development permit.
Media Contact
ORWCMedia at Gmail.Com
Paula Uccelli Hires PR Firm Paid to Defend
Crimes Against the Environment and Tenants
REDWOOD CITY-WOODSIDE - As the remaining and former tenants of Pete’s Harbor gather today at noon at the historic Pioneer Saloon in Woodside to fundraise for their cause, ORWC is shocked to uncover the depths to which Paula Uccelli, harbor landlord, and the Pauls Corporation have gone to protect their image against Ms. Uccelli’s tenants, who are simply fighting to save their homes and to keep the state-owned “outer harbor” portion of Pete’s Harbor open to the public as a commercial marina in keeping with the state’s intended public trust use of that land.
Photo by James Hensperger.
(Please contact ORWCMedia at Gmail.Com to arrange for an in-person or phone interview with harbor tenants who will be at the Pioneer Saloon in Woodside today fundraising for their cause. The Pioneer Saloon is located at 2925 Woodside Road in Woodside.)
Ms. Uccelli’s newest paid defender in the press is Zennie Abraham, a pro-Chevron blogger who was “let go” from the San Francisco Chronicle in November of 2011 for multiple conflicts of interest, mostly around his connections to Sam Singer, a Chevron media consultant based in San Francisco.[1][2][3] In 2009, Julio Prieto, a lawyer representing 30,000 residents of the Ecuadorian rainforest against Chevron and their 26 years of toxic waste dumping into Amazonian waterways, said of Sam Singer:
“Paying so-called independent bloggers to post is just one part of a wide-ranging fraud designed by Chevron to cover up the company’s enormous exposure in Ecuador.
“Singer is an unabashed Chevron mercenary. It can be a lucrative business if you’re willing to accept fees to cover up the dumping of billions of gallons of toxic waste [in Ecuador].”[4]
Ms. Uccelli in recent days has hired Sam Singer’s PR firm Singer Associates, Inc. to manage whatever damage she perceives has been caused to her image by the Uccellis’ non-payment on Pete Uccelli’s state lease for 28 years, or by her tenants’ truthful public testimonies of their experiences at Pete’s Harbor during the recent attempted eviction and sale process by Ms. Uccelli. Despite denying being a “Chevron shill” in 2009,[5] Abraham’s connections finally caught up with him two years later when the Chronicle ended their relationship with him.
But Ms. Uccelli’s paid defenders at Singer Associates have not only shilled for corporations that destroy land in other countries. They have also been paid to produce positive press right here in San Mateo County, against tenants in East Palo Alto trying to save their homes from Page Mill Properties:
In 2009, news came to light about Zennie Abraham’s connection to Singer Associates as a pro-development defender for Page Mill Properties.[6] According to the Mercury News Page Mill evicted hundreds of people in East Palo Alto and at one point was serving unlawful detainers on at least ten percent of their tenants: one in ten people. By contrast, eviction rates of about one or two percent were fairly common for the area. Page Mill and East Palo Alto were also involved in about ten lawsuits over rent hikes and other issues.[7][8]
Page Mill hired PR “fixer” Sam Singer, who said in a prepared statement that Page Mill had only evicted twenty residents, and that the data that is being provided by a local tenants group was false. But when a local fair rent coalition then published the county’s actual case numbers for the unlawful detainers filed by Page Mill, Singer Associates’ claims were proven to be a pack of lies. Page Mill in fact achieved a vacancy rate of approximately 25% in their units in East Palo Alto, a rate that was about eight times the historic 3% vacancy rate of these apartments.[9]
While Adam A. Alberti has been Singer Associates’ public face for Paula Uccelli in the last week, Zennie Abraham of Chevron and Page Mill Properties fame has been one of the only sources of Paula Uccelli’s press releases–press releases that serendipitously use the same wording and spin that Alberti and Singer Associates have been using to defend the harbor landlord. These stories include false narratives of harassment by Save Pete’s Harbor against Ms. Uccelli and Ms. Uccelli’s “overpayment” on the 28-year balance on Pete Uccelli’s state lease.[10][11]
James Lee of ORWC stated, “I’ve known of Zennie Abraham ever since he stated blatant mistruths about a peace rally I attended in San Francisco a couple years ago and have followed his connection to Chevron and Page Mill since before our struggle to preserve Pete’s Harbor for the public trust and community good. Abraham is not to be trusted, and it’s shocking to see that Ms. Uccelli would hire such a profoundly dirty firm like Singer Associates to try and burnish her image.
“Abraham’s past connections with Singer Associates are clearly ongoing, and Ms. Uccelli is clearly paying Singer to benefit from that connection. ORWC calls on Ms. Uccelli to fire Singer Associates and to manage her image with a firm that has true values and exemplifies the type of empathy and respect-building that she has been lauded for by our community.
“We think it is only sensible that if Ms. Uccelli wants to protect her image at a time when she is trying to aid in the development of the Redwood City waterfront after evicting close to two hundred people, hiring a firm that has defended some of the worst environmental and housing criminals in recent years is perhaps not the wisest choice.”
(Please call ORWCMedia at Gmail.Com to arrange for an in-person or phone interview with Occupiers or harbor tenants who will be at the Pioneer Saloon in Woodside today fundraising for their cause. The Pioneer Saloon is located at 2925 Woodside Road in Woodside.)
[1] http://thechevronpit.blogspot.com/2011/11/chevron-blogger-dumped-by-san-francisco.html
[2] http://blog.sfgate.com/abraham/
[3] http://realchevron.blogspot.com/2011/11/chevron-paid-blogger-fired.html
[4] http://chevrontoxico.com/news-and-multimedia/2009/0331-chevron-pr-director-donald-samson-behind-secret-payments-to-bloggers-to-hide-ecuador-liability
[5] http://www.prblognews.com/2009/09/28/zenophon-abraham/
[6] http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=6883
[7] http://www.tenantstogether.org/article.php?id=717
[8] http://www.pagemillwatch.com/?p=46
[9] http://www.pagemillwatch.com/?p=52
[10] http://www.zennie62blog.com/2013/01/15/petes-harbor-owner-paula-uccelli-victim-of-bullying-after-selling-property-44456/
[11] http://www.zennie62blog.com/2013/01/10/petes-harbor-overpays-rent-judge-rejects-tenant-tro-27251/
Since joining the fight to stop their evictions, many of the liveaboard tenants at Pete’s Harbor have experienced harassment and deception from the harbor landlord Paula Uccelli, harbormaster Giorgio Garilli, and other members of Uccelli’s hired staff.
One liveaboard tenant is a lady who was away from her boat at the harbor because she was going through chemotherapy. Although she had provided the harbor with her contact information before leaving, she came back to find her boat padlocked, stripped of valuable items, and for sale.
Below is a chronicle of interactions that harbor tenants had with Uccelli’s staff in October alone. The list of interactions show that Paula Uccelli’s hired workers have little to no sympathy for the tenants whose rents were funding their livelihood.
Almost all of the harbor tenants listed below are referred to by letters as opposed to their actual names. The fear of retaliation is so strong among many tenants that they have no wish to name themselves publicly.
- Occupy Redwood City
@@@
Monday, 8 October:
Harbor staff Jill and Manuel photograph harbor residents entering and attending the City Council Meeting and write down their names. They are referred to below as liveaboards A through P.
Wednesday, 10 October:
Harbormaster Giorgio Garilli yells at liveaboard A, telling him to clean off his boats.
Wednesday or Thursday, 10 or 11 October:
Harbor staff Manuel and Timo are confirmed walking around G Dock, checking out the water supply next to the boats.
RV resident Alison Madden says that trucks have been slowly and regularly driving around her Airstream. One black truck stopped right in front of where she usually parks and idled for a minute.
Giorgio says to liveaboard B, “I like you, B. You should stay away from these [Save Pete's Harbor] people. They are doing this the wrong way.”
Thursday, 11 October:
Giorgio calls liveaboard C, yells at him, tells him that his shut-off valve to the water supply is a modification that cannot be made. But liveaboard C walks the docks and discovers that other residents have done the exact same thing.
Sunday, 14 October:
Giorgio tells RV resident D that “those that are fighting this are going to pay dearly.”
Monday, 15 October:
Giorgio asks liveaboard E if he has found a place to put his boat yet.
Wednesday, 17 October:
Following the 10/16/2012 Planning Commission meeting at which tenant F spoke, Giorgio leaves a voicemail message for subletting liveaboard F saying that he is not a tenant, that G and H (who own the boat) are the tenants, and that Giorgio will have to make this clear at the 10/30/2012 Planning Commission meeting. Note that a subtenant is a tenant legally and it was an approved situation, so the same force should be given to tenant F’s viewpoint and experience as to any other tenant’s.
Thursday, 18 October:
RV resident Alison Madden, one of the tenants at the forefront of the Save Pete’s Harbor fight, suddenly has internet connectivity issues.
Friday, 19 October:
Non-liveaboard I says that Giorgio called him and told him he had to move his boat. He says that Giorgio told him, “Paula’s shutting down the thing.”
Giorgio calls non-liveaboard J and tells him he needs to move his boat ASAP.
Giorgio calls liveaboard K and asks if she “has a place to go yet.” He tells her he has a list of marinas and she should come and get it. When she asks how soon, he tells her she should hurry.
Harbor staff Jill sees liveaboard L (her husband M had a boat at the harbor for over thirty years) in the parking lot and tells her that she is “not taking this seriously” and that they “should look for a place to live.”
Harbor staff places yellow caution tape around empty slips, something that has never done before based on the recollection of the long-term tenants.
Monday, 22 October:
When liveaboard K calls the office about rent, harbor staff Jill asks if she has called Pillar Point Harbor yet, says that Pillar Point said she hadn’t called them, and that “you better hurry up before the crab boats get back.”
Harbor staff places yellow caution tape around additional empty slips. When liveaboard N asks harbor staff Manuel and Timo what the tape is for, Manuel says, “it’s just tape.” When liveaboard O asks about the tape, Giorgio tells him it’s to show where empty slips are.
Liveaboard B discovers his automobile has a large dent NOT made by a vehicle, in the left back panel. He feels strongly it is the result of his being quoted in a recent article about the harbor.
Tuesday, 23 October:
When liveaboard K went to pay the rent, Giorgio asked, “Have you found a place to go, K?” and she responded, “We were going to wait until the sale is signed.” Giorgio then said under his breath, “I was afraid of that.”
Saturday, 27 October:
RV resident Alison Madden notices two new large dents in her Airstream. No vehicles are authorized to be near the space where the dents would have been made.
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About a week ago, our friends at Save Pete’s Harbor filed a “Complaint for Declaratory Relief.” The document states, among other things, that:
Mr. Uccelli began including the following clause in some, but not all, liveaboard leases: “Since the marina is up for sale and no more live-aboards are being admitted, the live-aboard status was granted to you as a favor. I, [Name] agree to leave the slip when this will be required by the marina (with notice from owner).” Some leases do not have this clause, others are unsigned. The clause generally appears on the reverse side of the second sheet of the lease, with only that clause on the page, titled “Amendment to Live Aboard Status”. Some leases are not signed, Mr. Stone did not have this clause.
Individuals were not advised individually or collectively in July about any [planned developement] permit application, there was no posting on the property, in the office, in the restaurant hallways, or on the website operated by a Tenant who also operates a commercial business and hosts a website on behalf of Pete’s Harbor with the permission, but not the oversight, of Defendants. As such, Tenants were misled into detrimental reliance, not having the summer months to work on, prepare or move their boats.
[S]everal tenants with special needs, special use cases and/or hardship due to detrimental reliance over the years and with boats that needed repair work to enable them to move, have approached Defendant [Paula] Uccelli and have been told in clear terms that no additional time will be granted.
Downloand the PDF file of the Complaint for Declaratory Relief here.
This is from the 18 December 2012 edition of the Palo Alto Daily Post:
Media Contact
ORWCMedia at Gmail.Com
ORWC and Save Pete’s Harbor
“Occupy the Dream Home” with OBAU
MENLO PARK, TODAY (10 AM) - Occupy Redwood City (ORWC) is proud and excited to announce that together with members of Save Pete’s Harbor (SPH) we will join Occupy Bay Area United (OBAU) and other anti-foreclosure and anti-eviction activists at an “Occupy the Dream House” press conference and speakout.
Photo by James Hensperger.
The event will take place at 3 Patricia Place in Menlo Park, the site of a $4.1 Million Silicon Valley dream house that is to be raffled off to a lucky winner.[1] ORWC, OBAU, other foreclosure fighters, and local Silicon Valley residents like those of SPH who just want to reclaim the American dream of stable home ownership without threat of eviction are gathering the day before the raffle winner is chosen to bring attention to economic injustice and call on local communities, elected officials, and government agencies to do more to help their neighbors stay in their homes.
(To arrange interviews with members of ORWC or residents of Pete’s Harbor, please contact James Lee at the phone number above. Press photos of Pete’s Harbor can be downloaded for general use as long as credit is given to photographer James Hensperger.)
BACKGROUND:
The “Occupy the Dream House” action will demonstrate the stark contrast between our hardworking neighbors at Pete’s Harbor who are trying to save their homes, and the rich, uncaring landlord of Pete’s Harbor, Paula Uccelli. After making hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent from her tenants over the past several decades, Uccelli is colluding with an out-of-state developer known as the Pauls Corporation and her friends in Redwood City government to fast-track the eviction of her tenants, despite the fact that the outer portion of the harbor is leased from the state under the condition that it be maintained as a commercial marina, a type of place that includes liveaboard tenants. Ms. Uccelli only recently paid less than half of the $400,000+ balance due on this state lease after having neglected to pay the state for almost thirty years, and the outer harbor is public land that she is in no position to give away.
Despite the clearly complicated nature of the land in question, and despite the fact that the Pauls Corporation may not be the right developer to build on a shoreline area at high risk of flooding and liquefaction[2], Ms. Uccelli and city officials have been deaf to pleas to slow the development process and hold off on evictions until all these concerns are resolved. Instead, the City Council unanimously approved a consent agenda item at a November meeting limiting public input and restricting the ways in which land use appeal hearings like the one filed by SPH will be managed.[3]
“Dream house raffles for opulent homes like 3 Patricia Place serve as distractions from the realities of life in the Silicon Valley,” said James Lee of Peninsula Direct Action. “In reality, we have the influx of high-tech industry employees to the Peninsula creating an economic boom that has hurt the hard-working people of our communities. The rising demand for luxury housing is encouraging unsympathetic local governments like the City of Redwood City to build high-end luxury condos in the path of sea level rise at the expense of a sustainable floating community like Pete’s Harbor.
“Pete’s Harbor is one of the Peninsula’s last affordable housing communities. In contrast, the City of Redwood City has over a thousand new housing units in their development pipeline and none of those units are set aside for affordable housing. Thanks to the actions of landlords like Ms. Uccelli who have profited off their tenants and elected officials who care more about property tax revenues than creating communities where you can build a life regardless of your income level, hard-working everyday people are being pushed out of Silicon Valley.”
Jess Hansen of ORWC added, “We’re really happy and excited to be working closely with other Occupiers from SF and across the Peninsula in this action. The problems of the 99% are all around us. We are excited to send a message to underwater homeowners and people living under threat of eviction that they are not alone! We are ready to help them fight back.
“We also want to send a message to lawmakers that they have to do more to protect the working- and middle-class people in their communities. Colluding with rich landlords and out-of-state developers at the expense of their own constituents is a shameful practice, and it shows that our political culture needs to change. We are excited to go to Menlo Park and demand that change, and we invite the public to come join us.”
*
[1] Silicon Valley Dream House Raffle
[2] Homeowners Sue Millbrae Condo Developer
[3] OP-ED: The City’s New ‘Guidelines’ for Public Meetings
###
Local photographer James Hensperger has taken some gorgeous photos at Pete’s Harbor. Please take a look below to see the type of beauty that is within this community at our local, public access commercial marina.
Pete’s Harbor is one of the last bastions of affordable housing on the Peninsula. It is a community that matters, and the people who live there are part of the 99%. They are a community worth fighting for.
Fore more information, check out Save Pete’s Harbor (SPH) or “Like” Voters4Boaters on Facebook! More details on how you can help this community of homeowners in danger of eviction are on the Facebook page and the SPH website.
(Many thanks to James Hensperger for his lovely photos!)
Below you will see an article that ran in the Daily Journal today. What it fails to mention is that the $180,000 paid to the state by Paula Uccelli is substantially less than half of what the state is actually owed.
The article also states that Uccelli is only paying to keep herself from losing her lease with the state for the outer harbor. But in ORWC’s view she has already lost it, by repudiating the lease by closing off slips in breach of the public trust use of the outer harbor. Her actions have made the harbor unsafe and have been in direct conflict with the public trust on which her lease was conditioned. Read on below.
Pete’s Harbor owner pays state back rent
January 09, 2013, 05:00 AM Daily Journal Staff ReportThe owner of Redwood City marina Pete’s Harbor sent the state nearly $180,000 for back rent, interest and penalties but did so under protest because her attorney said she has unsuccessfully been trying to pay.
Paula Uccelli sent a check for $179,357.03 to California’s State Land Commission on Jan. 7, according to documents provided by her attorney, Ted Hannig.
Uccelli and her now-deceased husband, Pete, tried paying the rent since the lease began in June 1984 but inquiries as to the correct person for receiving the money went unanswered. Instead, according to the letter Hannig sent to Public Lands Manager Grace Kato, the funds were paid annually into a separate account. In September 2012, Paula Uccelli went to Sacramento to resolve the matter but the state responded it did not know how much was due, the letter states. In November, though, the state demanded $178,420 which the letter said does not include credit for any rent already paid.
Uccelli is paying the funds to avoid risking the loss of the lease.
Uccelli’s money struggles with the state commission came to light after she announced plans to evict live-aboard boat tenants and sell the land to a developer for conversion into 411 waterfront housing units. The tenants and supporters have waged a public fight against the plan and the city’s approval of necessary permits, going so far as appealing the matter to the City Council later this month.
In his letter, Hannig writes also that in December the commission offered to give Uccelli more time to resolve the matter if she allowed the renters to remain on the premises while making repairs to the docks and premises. The direct communication with the renters about their tenancies is “unlawful interference” and “inappropriate,” Hannig wrote.
P.S. Hannig, Uccelli’s attorney, seems dead wrong about “unlawful interference.” The State Lands Commission are public servants, and the outer harbor is State Lands’ jurisdiction. We also know that the State Lands Commission considers liveaboards part of the public trust use of the outer harbor. So as members of the public why wouldn’t harbor tenants not have every right to talk to the commission and vice versa? Especially when the developer and Uccelli have been talking to the commission? Hannig has no clue what inappropriate truly is.
Dear Occupiers:
The GA Council Working Group had their first meeting tonight. Here’s a report so everyone knows what we’re up to.
The brainstorm document lists the broad goals decided in the last GA council. Add your ideas for how to accomplish these goals. No matter how absurd they may seem, please list ALL of your ideas. There should be no judgement in this early stage of the process – we’ll sort this out during the council. Feel free to contribute ideas related to issues we’re already involved with, like Pete’s Harbor and the jail. Again, to access the document, click here.
Peace and Love,
The GA Council 2 Working Group
(Estás invitado a un ¡MERCADO VERDADERO GRATIS!)
Sunday, October 7
1pm-5pm
Main and Beech Streets, Redwood City
Domingo, 7 de Octubre
1pm-5pm
Calles Main & Beech, Redwood City
A place to give and get all sorts of items 100% for free! Help keep usable items out of the landfill, while connecting with your community. This is not barter (trade), but a gift economy. Don’t have anything to give? That’s okay! You’re still welcome to come and take what you need.
Un lugar para dar y obtener todo tipo de artículos ¡100% gratis! Ayúda a conservar las cosas útiles fuera de la basura, mientras te conectas a la comunidad. No es el trueque, ni negocio, pero es para regalar al que lo necesita. ¿No tienes nada para regalar? ¡Está bien! Todavía eres bienvenido a venir y llevar lo que necesites.
Please DON’T Bring: Drugs, alcohol, weapons, hazardous materials, animals, anything illegal.
Por favor NO traigas: Drogas, alcohol, armas, materiales peligrosos, animales, o cosas ilegales.
Please DO Bring: Anything else! Examples include clothing, food, books, housewares, and services that would be helpful to people.
Por favor SI traigas: ¡Todo el resto! Incluyendo: ropa, comida, libros, artículos para el hogar, y servicios que serían útiles para las personas.
Please DON’T: Leave any items behind. If no one takes home an item that you brought, please take it back with you.
Por favor NO: Deje ningun articulo detrás de usted. Si nadie se lleva una cosa que usted trajo, por favor llevarla de regreso con usted.
Please DO: Join us and have a great time!
Por favor SI: Únase a nosotros y ¡te divertiras!
Another Economy is Possible: Be a Part of It!
OTRA ECONOMÍA ES POSIBLE: ¡SER UNA PARTE DE ELLA!
