NewsNews
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City, Activists Stand by Separate Desal Initiatives
NewsPolitics Feb 21, 2012, by Jacob Pierce
When Santa Cruz Mayor Don Lane read local activists’ ballot initiative to put desal to a vote, he says one thing caught his attention. It had to do with timing. Lane agrees with a host of activists that Santa Cruz voters should weigh in on whether or not to build a $100 million-plus desalination plant on the Westside to increase the fresh water supply. But they agree on little else—including when to hold the vote.
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Lane and Terrazas Want Desal Ballot Measure
News Feb 15, 2012, by Jacob PierceIt might be an overstatement to say Santa Cruz’s discussion over desalination has been blown out of the water, but it definitely just changed. Mayor Don Lane and Councilmember David Terrazas will propose an ordinance at the next city council meeting that would put a desal plant to a vote sooner rather than later, as outlined in a statement released Wednesday, Feb. 15.
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Council Delays Vote on Lower Ocean Street Development
News Feb 15, 2012, by Jacob Pierce
At a city council meeting that fell on Valentine’s Day, some community members raved about a proposed mixed-use development many hope will spice up Lower Ocean Street and make it safer too. But the city council wasn’t exactly showering love on the developer’s handling of the public process.
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Santa Cruz’s Predictive Policing Experiment
News Feb 14, 2012, by Tessa Stuart
On top of a parking garage in downtown Santa Cruz a new high-concept weapon is being tested. It’s not a gun or a chemical, but police believe that, paired with officer intelligence, it is powerful enough to stop a crime before it even occurs. Deputy Chief of Police Steve Clark demonstrates.
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New Ambitious Paper Covers Scotts Valley to Carmel
News Feb 14, 2012, by Jacob Pierce
For someone to start a newspaper in 2012, its founding editor would have to either be totally nuts or betting on a very good idea. Jon Chown, whose new twice-monthly Monterey Bay News and Views hits the stands this week, obviously believes he falls into category number two.
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Coonerty Seeks Job with County
NewsPolitics Feb 08, 2012, by Jacob Pierce
City councilmember, former mayor and NextSpace co-founder Ryan Coonerty is preparing to further buff up his resume and applied to be the county’s next economic development coordinator. “This is something I’ve done on the city council for seven years trying to attract and retain businesses,” says Coonerty, also a legal studies lecturer at UCSC. “And I thought it was important for the county to have an effective strategy to create jobs. I have a commitment to doing that.”
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Web Natives’ Google Trouble
News Feb 07, 2012, by Clive Thompson
We’re often told that young people tend to be the most tech-savvy among us. But just how savvy are they? A group of researchers led by College of Charleston business professor Bing Pan tried to find out. Turns out: the almighty Google might be more powerful than we imagined.
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Reports of Farr’s Retirement Greatly Exaggerated
News Feb 02, 2012, by Jacob Pierce
Congressman Sam Farr’s office took a botched headline in stride this week after the Monterey County Herald reported his congressional seat was vacant. “It appears April Fools’ Day came early this year,” Farr said in a statement yesterday. “Contrary to this morning’s Monterey County Herald headline—I have not retired or resigned and have no plan to do so.”
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Pols Show Little Love for Oversight Board
NewsEnvironmentPolitics Jan 31, 2012, by Jacob Pierce 2 Comments
With the 108-page Climate Action Plan awaiting final approval by the Santa Cruz City Council, environmentalists are nursing hopes that a few final items on their wish list will make it into the framework. One such item is creation of a citizens’ advisory board to make sure the city meets its own goals for cutting its emissions. “I envisioned a working group where there were would be committees that were open the public,” says People Power’s Micah Posner. Some politicians are hesitant to say the least. “I think that’s a big, big mistake,” former Mayor Mike Rotkin told city council.
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UCSC Asks the Labor Question
News Jan 31, 2012, by Sally Neas
Questions of who grows, ships, processes and sells food will be on the table this weekend when UCSC hosts academics and activists to discuss “Labor Across the Food System.”
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