Clean Slate Day will be held on April 16th from 10am to 2pm at the George Sim Community Center.  Volunteer attorneys and law students will be on hand for a criminal records expungement clinic.  The staff will consult with and aid clients with the process of having their past records permanently removed.  Many of our family and friends have made mistakes in their past and paid the price.  This clinic is aimed at helping our friends and family get back on the right track by removing the stigma that is attached to having a criminal record.  This stigma is often a primary factor that prevents many from obtaining work, attaining a degree or qualifying for loans and other supportive services.  Clean Slate Day is an effort to support people's right to the opportunity to become successful and productive members of society.

As always, the event is sponsored and very well organized by our community partners at All of Us or None.  If you are an attorney and would be interested in volunteering your time please contact Colin Bailey, Staff Attorney with Legal Services of Northern California at (916) 551-2138.

Ubuntu Green staff and volunteers put the finishing touches on home garden

 Ubuntu Green Launches Home Garden Project

The weekend of Saturday, February 26^th marked the kick-off of Ubuntu Green's Home Garden Project.  With the help of volunteers from the Sierra Service Project; Alternative Spring Break students from Loyola Marymount University; and the expertise of Soil Born Farms and Sacramento Yard Farmer, Ubuntu Green built 6 home gardens at 4 homes, which will allow residents to grow their own fruits and vegetables and lead to healthier lifestyles. 

Over the next two years, with support from The California Endowment, Ubuntu Green and its partners will build 60 home gardens in 12 South Sacramento neighborhoods and provide education to households on the health aspects of locally grown foods.  For more information and eligibility requirements for the Home Garden Project, visit here. 

CA Legislators Announce Bills to Establish Human Right to Water

 On Monday, the Capitol steps were flooded with legislators, safe water advocates, faith-based community members, and concerned residents, rallied together to announce a recently introduced package of bills. The bills are designed to ensure every Californian has the right to turn off their faucet and not be afraid that the water that comes out it will make them sick or that they cannot afford the water.

Many are surprised when they hear more than 250,000 Californians in the Central Valley alone lack safe water for drinking, bathing, and other household needs, while many others see their water service disconnected when they cannot afford to pay their water bills. The package of bills announced on Monday will establish the right of every person to have access to clean, affordable water for basic human needs.

Click here for a full list of the bills that make up The Human Right to Water Bill Package.   

Transit Case Raises Question:  Can the Poor Ever Find Justice?

A pair of social justice activists has written an eye-opening piece that asks the fundamental question:  Can victims of contemporary forms of discrimination and disparity find justice in our courts?  Eva Paterson and Reggie Shuford, president and director of law and policy, respectively, at Equal Justice Society, cite the case of Sylvia Darensburg, an African-American mother of three in East Oakland who depends on the AC Transit bus system to get to work in the daytime and to attend college classes at night.  On her way home at night, she has to walk 12 blocks from the nearest bus stop in her neighborhood. 

The authors present compelling statistics about the demographics of the bus system's riders:  almost 80 percent of AC Transit riders are people of color, and over 70 percent have incomes below $30,000. Nearly 60 percent are entirely dependent on public transit.  In 2005, a lawsuit filed on behalf of Darensburg and others against the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) charged the MTC with persistently underfunding bus systems while investing in rail systems, which have a higher proportion of riders with higher incomes and those who have access to other forms of transportation.  Last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the plaintiffs "failed to demonstrate how MTC's funding decisions either intentionally discriminated against or had a disparate impact on them."  The authors note that "by requiring that discrimination be intentional and explicit (an almost impossible high bar), courts no longer provide a meaningful remedy to victims of discrimination and bias. The end result is that countless valid claims are lost, dismissed or never even brought."  This case and many others highlight the fact that transportation equity is an issue that needs to be addressed in a number of venues besides the courts.  Click here for the full article.

Ubuntu Green Welcomes New Advisory Council Members!
 
 Ubuntu Green is pleased to welcome three outstanding people to its Advisory Council.  Carol Ramirez of Lilliput Children's Services, Simeon Gant of Green Tech Education and Employment, and freelance writer Raquel Ruiz are the newest professionals to lend their expertise to Ubuntu Green.  We look forward to their valuable contributions to our work!