Foreclosure Auction Forestalled

Josie Jenkins said Congressman Mike Thompson's office helped broker a 30-day extension on her foreclosure so she can apply for state mortgage assistance to supplement the income from her new job.

Occupy Napa turned out for Josie Jenkins Thursday afternoon, with about a dozen local Democrats, Green Party members and other activists carrying signs and a banner. Jenkins had called for support Wednesday after learning that Bank of America, which holds the mortgage on her home, intended to sell the property on the courthouse steps Thursday afternoon, she said. (See Protesters Say They'll Block Foreclosure, 5:50 a.m.) But the protesters didn't need to do much more than cheer as Jenkins announced that that morning, she'd received a call from a staffer in Congressman Mike Thompson's office who had interceded with the bank. "They intervened," she said, explaining that Bank of America has given her another 30 days to apply for assistance …

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Starbucks Protest Heads to Council

The Napa Local group prepares to ask the city council today for a "process of local scrutiny" for chain businesses downtown.

Members of Napa Local, the month-old group formed out of concern at rumors a Starbucks might open at a prominent downtown intersection, are taking their fight to the Napa City Council this afternoon and evening. "We don't want a ban on all future chain stores, like Ben and Jerry's—we want a process of local scrutiny," the group states on a Facebook page named No Downtown Starbucks! Tell City Council to Regulate Corporate Chain Stores. Members of Napa Local, an outgrowth of the Occupy Napa movement, are concerned that a Starbucks at First and Main streets would hurt the existing coffeeshop at that intersection operated by the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company. According to the statement on Facebook: Napa Local is concerned by the prospect…

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Newspaper Endorses "Occupy Napa"

"Whether you subscribe to Occupy Napa's causes or vehemently oppose them, you will likely share the movement's lasting benefit—the development of Napa's future leadership," writes the editorial board of Napa's newspaper of record.

Newpaper Profiles Student Activist

An interview with Alex Shantz, Napa Valley College student and mainstay of the local Green Party.

"Occupy Napa" Takes On Starbucks

Updated 7 a.m.: The local protest group is calling for opposition to Starbucks' rumored interest in opening a coffee shop at the corner of First and Main streets in downtown Napa.

A recent report in the Napa Valley Register about the sale of a prominent downtown business building appears to have sparked a new protest movement against Starbucks Coffee, mentioned in the article as a potential new tenant at the corner of First and Main streets. The proximity of the proposed Starbucks to the longtime local hangout Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company is the focus of this week's general assembly of the Occupy Napa group, according to an event posting on Facebook. As of 7 a.m. Monday, 47 people had indicated they would attend the meeting at Slack Collective Studios and Art Gallery on West Street Tuesday evening. Among the comments on the Facebook page: This is a nasty move, obviously trying to force out a local business. …

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"Occupy" Protesters Withstand Winds

The gusty windstorm battered their banner and rattled their tents, but didn't keep the "99 percent" protesters from demonstrating all weekend.

  The Occupy Napa protest entered its third month of weekend demonstrations with a change of venue last week, setting up camp at Napa Valley College in a parking lot along the Napa-Vallejo Highway. From Thursday through Sunday, protesters camped and demonstrated their displeasure with economic inequality and budget cuts to education, while operating as a small, autonomous community. While only a handful to a half-dozen core protesters spent their nights on the site—including NVC student Nicholas Watter, who said the wind kept them busy fortifying their tents—daytime numbers swelled with the participation of union representatives, political activists and other demonstrators. In our video, Watter talks about what it was like spending the …

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Images from the Occupation

Saturday was Day Three of the Occupy Napa protesters' round-the-clock sojourn in a parking lot at Napa Valley College. Here are some glimpses from the afternoon occupation.

Saturday afternoon, the Occupy Napa encampment at Napa Valley College pulsed with music from a generator-powered sound system as battle-worn banners flapped themselves to ribbons in the day's tempestuous winds. On the third of four days in a round-the-clock demonstration, the protesters appeared to have assembled or attracted everything they needed to sustain their "occupation," which was negotiated with college administrators. Shelter and food Tents sheltered those who stayed overnight, including organizer and NVC student Nicholas Watter, who said that food donations had been overwhelming. A trio of portable toilets stood at a discreet distance from the small encampment, which clung to the most visible edge of the parking lot along the …

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Xulio Soriano

8:03 pm on Monday, December 12, 2011

I added more images!   more ›

"Occupy" Protest Relocates in Week 5

After four weekends in a row of around-the-clock demonstrations in Veterans Memorial Park, the Occupy Napa group moved to Dwight Murray Plaza on Saturday to make way for the annual AIDS walk in the park.

Napa's response to the Occupy Wall Street movement resumed for the fifth consecutive weekend Saturday afternoon, but in a new location: Dwight Murray Plaza on First Street. Because the annual AIDS Walk was taking place in Veterans Memorial Park Saturday morning, the city wouldn't issue Occupy Napa demonstrators the permit they needed to return to their customary free-speech zone on the park's southwestern edge, said protest organizer Alex Shantz. Protesters took the change in stride, raising their banner in the brick-lined plaza and walking back and forth with signs reading "HONK IF YOU'RE PISSED @ BAILOUTS," "CUTS KILL JOBS" and "TAXES CREATE JOBS," among other phrases. They also occupied the VINE bus shelter with a sign reading "THE …

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Protesters Gather Again in Veterans Park

For the fourth weekend running, a core group of protesters spent the night in Veterans Memorial Park downtown.

Napa's "Occupy Wall Street" solidarity demonstration took place again this weekend, but it was more like a friendly overnight picnic in the park than the rage-fueled conflicts that have been seen in other cities. According to video reporter Serena Peck, the day's most exciting moment was when protester Justin Graham unintentionally set off the siren effect on his bullhorn shortly before 7 p.m. As the sun set Saturday, a half-dozen protesters sat cross-legged on the grass along Main Street at the park's south end, chatting and eating. Another handful of demonstrators came and went with signs. Several local businesses showed their support with donations: Participant Josie Jenkins cooked and delivered a stir-fry with vegetables she said were …

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Joanne Gifford

9:57 am on Tuesday, October 25, 2011

To which I'm sure I need not point out that someone needs to insure that those schools and insurance companies need to be qualified to do such licensing...   more ›