Wednesday 24
Senior and disability action Western Addition Senior Center, 1390 ½ Turk, SF; 415-546-2096. 9:30am-1:30pm, free. Senior and Disability Action University presents a workshop series on strengthening health care services for these populations in San Francisco. Learn about current health care services, how they could be improved, and the leadership and community organizing skills to get it done. This is the second to last session in the series, the last one is on Halloween, and it’s all free. The group also provides leadership and empowerment classes in several languages throughout the city.
Thursday 25
Take back the plaza Oakland City Hall, 14th and Broadway, Oakl; www.occupyoakland.org. 5pm, free. A year ago Oct. 25, the streets of downtown Oakland were the site of a historic event. Police had moved in on the Occupy camp next to City Hall, and the people there, and hundreds of supporters, resisted. In the dark, the fight raged on, and the tear gas clouds, bean bag bullets, and tear gas clouds would spread fear and radicalism throughout the crowd. In one infamous incident, Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen was hit in the head with a bean bag round, and his name spread throughout the country. Occupy Oakland will not let the anniversary of this day pass unmarked. Instead, they are calling for a night of protest.
Unite for prop A El Rio, 158 Mission, SF; Facebook: Community united for Prop A at El Rio. 6-9pm, $10-25. If fighting for a better world isn’t your thing this Thursday, try fundraising for one! Join Sups. John Avalos and David Campos, City College board members, and labor leadership for a event supporting Prop. A. The measure would create a much-needed parcel tax to keep City College serving students even as it faces the challenges of the accreditation process. You can also come to be entertained by MC Anna Conda and StormMiguel Florez, and leave decorated with the “I am City College” logo if you bring something to silkscreen.
Friday 26
SWOP happy hour El Rio, 158 Mission, SF; Facebook: SWOP Happy Hour Fundraiser — In the Name of Robyn Few! 4-6pm, free. Drink in the name of deceased sex workers rights and marijuana advocacy legend Robyn Few (see “Fierce, forceful, amazing: remembering Robyn Few,” 10-2-12.) The money raised at this happy hour benefit will go to Sew Workers Outreach Project Bay Area, the local branch of the international advocacy and action group that Few founded. There will also be a raffle with prizes like a pro massage, art and sex toys.
Sunday 28
ASWAT in concert Islamic Cultural Center, 1433 Madison, Oakl; www.mecaforpeace.org. 3-5:30pm, $10-50. ASWAT, whose name means “one voice,” will be performing songs that “represent our feelings towards occupation (the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem), the beauty of the land, our civil rights in this country, the Arab American experience and fighting hate and misinformation,” according to ASWAT’s founder Nabila Mango. This is the big annual benefit for the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), and this year the money goes to their Maia Project, which helps with “clean water for the children of Palestine. To date we’ve installed 37 water sanitation/purification systems in schools in Gaza, reaching 35,000 children and their families. The World Health Organization cites that 95 percent of the water in Gaza is unfit to drink.”
Tuesday 30
Ballot breakdown Alley Cat Books, 3036 24th St., SF; (415) 323-5768, theleaguesf.tumblr.com. 6:30pm, free. The League of Pissed-Off Voters is also known as the League of Young Voters. But frankly, it’s pissed off. Well, pissed off at some things, like California’s Prop. 32 that would screw unions, and District 1 candidate David Lee’s potential illegal coordination with Realtors, a problem that it hopes the Ethics Commission looks into after it filed a complaint about it this week. But the League is also very not pissed off about some things on this year’s ballot. Come to this event with questions, concerns, and a burning need to discuss the election with members of the League, from statewide propositions to city measures to local races.