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| Protest at Simpson's Annual Stockholder's Meeting To Be Held by Supporters of Memorial Oak Grove in Berkeley April 23, 2008 For Immediate Release - Contact: Citizyn (510) 938-2109 More Info: http://www.saveoaks.com or email citizyn@riseup.net When: Wed. April 23, 2008, 1:45pm (The Stockholder,s Meeting begins at 2 pm) What: Protest at Simpson,s Annual Stockholder,s Meeting Where: Simpson, Inc.,s home office in the Hacienda Business Park at 5956 West Las Positas Blvd, Pleasanton Who: Supporters of the Memorial Oak Grove in Berkeley who are trying to urge the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Barclay Simpson, to divest $25 million dollars from a construction project that would raze the Memorial Oak Grove at the UC Berkeley campus and to reinvest it when the building location is moved to a more suitable site. People representing a broad range of community members that make up the Supporters of the Memorial Oak Grove in Berkeley want to urge investors to divest their contributions from the construction of the proposed Student Athletic High Performance Center (SAHPC) until the location is moved to a more suitable site. A protest has been planned at the annual stockholder,s meeting for Simpson, Inc. in response to chairman Barclay Simpson,s donation of $25 million to the new facility, which would bear his name. The supporters are speaking out on behalf of a joint lawsuit against the university by the City of Berkeley, the California Oak Foundation, and two neighborhood groups that are opposed to the present construction site. There has also been an ongoing tree sit at the site for more than 500 days to ensure the protection of the Grove during the court processes. The main reasons why Supporters of the Memorial Oak Grove are opposed to the building site are as follows: 1) Memorial Oak Grove stands upon part of an Ohlone Native burial ground, according to the Native community and UC Berkeley,s Environmental Impact Report for the SAHPC. The Native community would like it to remain undisturbed. 2) A significant number of trees at the Grove were planted by people from the university in 1923 in memoriam to World War I Veterans. The only surviving veteran in the US, 107 year old Frank Woodruff Buckles, would like the new facility to be built at a more suitable location. 3) Memorial Stadium (adjacent to the Grove) stands atop an active earthquake fault and there are earthquake safety laws (Alquist Priolo and Seismic Law of 1974) that are supposed to protect the public from building being built in those locations, which the university is trying to circumvent therefore jeapordizing public safety. 4) There is a City ordinance that serves to protect the Coast Live Oak of this size and age from being cut. A significant number of trees in California suffer from Sudden Oak Death. The trees at Memorial Oak Grove, ranging in age from 85-200 years, help comprise a healthy intact ecosystem, which is important for the environment, wildlife and combating global warming.  << Back to Press Release Archive | Latest Press Release | Newsroom | | 
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