City 5/29

Cold winds and gray skies did not deter a crowd from gathering near Stearn’s Wharf as Veterans For Peace on 5/26 celebrated its 5th annual Memorial Day candlelight vigil at Arlington West, where thousands of white crosses represent lives of some of the American soldiers killed in current military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mayor Marty Blum and former State Assemblymember Hannah-Beth Jackson both spoke, the latter noting that “War must be a last resort.” (/memorialday)

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Retired U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright, who resigned from her post as a U.S. State Department official in March 2003 in protest of the invasion of Iraq, spoke about current U.S. military efforts on 5/26 at Santa Barbara’s Veterans Memorial Building, at Chaucer’s Books, and at the Arlington West Memorial Day ceremony. Wright also signed copies of her new book, Dissent: Voices of Conscience. (/annwright)