ALAMEDA COUNTYVoters have officially removed two Sunol Glen Unified School District board members, the culmination of a recall initiative sparked by their push to ban the flying of Pride flags on local school grounds last 12 months.

Results certified by Alameda County on Friday show the recall was an in depth call, with 52% of voters supporting the ouster of Board Chairman Ryan Jergensen and Trustee Linda Hurley. Voter turnout was 64%, with 533 of the county's 828 registered voters casting ballots.

In September, Jergesen and Hurley – who made up the vast majority of the three-member panel – proposed a rule change that will have allowed Sunol Glen School to fly only the “statutory flags,” meaning the flags of the state of California and the United States. Although the Pride flags weren’t specifically mentioned within the resolution, it got here just months after school officials flew the flag on school grounds.

The recall campaign quickly gained momentum, with parents accusing Jergesen and Hurley of bigotry and censorship—not just for the flag ban, but in addition for Jergesen's demand that Alameda County sheriff's deputies remove the general public from the board room before the board voted on the resolution.

In a press release, leaders of the recall initiative, United for Sunol Glen, said the vote “puts an end to the chaos that the school board majority has brought to the community and puts the school district on a path that refocuses on the well-being of Sunol Glen School and its students.”

“Our victory is marred by the knowledge that the past year has created much division and we must now figure out how to move forward as a community,” Erin Choin, a mother and substitute teacher at Sunol Glen, said in a press release.

With Jergesen and Hurley not on the board, that leaves only Peter “Ted” Romo, who opposed the flag resolution. Romo and Jergensen were elected to four-year terms in 2022, while Hurley was elected to two-year terms that very same 12 months.

The Alameda County Board of Education is anticipated to temporarily fill at the very least considered one of the possibly vacant seats.

Staff author Katie Lauer contributed to this story.

Originally published: July 20, 2024 at 12:37 pm

Three days after being displaced from their gathering place near Susanville, members of the Rainbow Family were establishing a brand new site 25 miles away, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The second campground is near Dixie Creek, about 12 miles north of Beckwourth. Like the primary, it’s positioned within the Plumas National Forest.

As of Monday, Rainbow Family campers were still refusing to use for the permit the Forest Service requires for all groups of greater than 75 people, the agency said.

The original venue on the headwaters of Indian Creek was closed to the general public on Wednesday, June 26, about per week after participants began preparing for the event the primary week of July, with the Forest Service citing public safety and natural resource concerns.

At a town hall meeting the evening before the closure, residents of the Susanville area reiterated their concerns about fire hazards, damage to natural and cultural resources, and crime because of the massive influx of individuals into rural areas.

A forest service update on Monday said about 80 people were still on the Indian Creek site.

Forest Service officials learned of the brand new camp on Saturday, June 29, and imposed a 15 mph speed limit in the world on Monday. Level 1 fire restrictions have been in effect within the Plumas National Forest since June 23, which include a ban on campfires except in designated fire pits at some recreation areas.

Since 1972, the Rainbow Family of Living Light has met every summer on undeveloped public land for a “non-commercial wilderness camping experience where we practice living in peace,” as one member's website describes it. The venue was announced this yr on June 17, and visitors began flocking to the event shortly thereafter.

More than 10,000 people attended the 2022 gathering in Colorado, in comparison with about 3,000 in New Mexico last yr.

The Rainbow Family Gathering near Susanville has some residents on edge, with officials warning of potential crime and environmental damage as 1000’s of attendees make their technique to a venue within the national forest.

Since 1972, the Rainbow Family of Living Light has met every summer on undeveloped public land for a “non-commercial wilderness camping experience where we practice living in peace.” This yr, a site near Red Rock Lookout within the mountains of Plumas National Forest was chosen. Shortly after the venue was announced on June 17, visitors began arriving for the event.

Press releases from Plumas National Forest leaders cite health, safety and environmental risks and indicate that the Rainbow Family shouldn’t be applying for a special permit required for events with greater than 75 people. “They claim to have no leaders or member of the group who can speak for them or sign a permit on behalf of the group,” the knowledge states. posted by the Forest Service.

Last week, two forestry orders were issued regarding driving and parking near the group's campsite.

Meanwhile, police departments in surrounding communities are warning residents to “remain vigilant and secure their property” as their officers will likely be thinly spread in the favored recreation area in the course of the holiday week.

A press release from the Plumas County Sheriff's Office said the Rainbow Family “often includes individuals who engage in illegal or socially unacceptable behavior, such as public nudity, civil disobedience, drug or alcohol abuse, and confrontations with locals.” The agency urged residents to lock their cars and “keep valuables out of their yards,” and Susanville Public Safety Director Mike Bollinger advised residents to not “pick up hitchhikers for the next few weeks,” in accordance with SierraDailyNews.com.

Lassen County Supervisor Jason Ingram urged residents to affix him on Friday to “resist (respectfully and peacefully) in any way possible.” A plan to drive to the campsite in a caravan was apparently abandoned, but Ingram claimed in a Facebook post that he and a number of other people went to the world on Sunday and were attacked by members of the Rainbow Family.

A Website for the participants of the meeting promotes respectful and peaceful behavior. “Alcohol is discouraged, weapons are inappropriate, violence is contrary to the spirit,” it says, and points out that cannabis is illegitimate in national forests.

The Forest Service is organizing a virtual public meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, to tell “local residents and visitors” concerning the meeting.