When Robert Norse gave a mock Nazi salute at a 2002 Santa Cruz City Council meeting, it was hard to imagine that gesture would launch what will probably a decade-long fight between Norse and the city. Nine years later, the much-covered case will soon be going to trial for the first time.
Articles by Jacob Pierce
Troubled Waters in Lompico
Merrie Schaller, a resident of the mountain community of Lompico, says she lives in a “split household” when it comes to a proposed rate increase for the Lompico County Water District. Schaller doesn’t plan to write a letter to the water department opposing the hike, but her wife does. The water district’s bi-monthly bills are already the highest in the county. “I hate it,” Schaller says, “but I understand it’s necessary. It’s a complicated issue.”
Santa Cruz Guide: Local Politics
Santa Cruzans are passionate about their causes. They’ll square off over anything: deciding the best way to re-develop neighborhoods, the best way to get around town and, of course, water. Here are some talking points about local issues for that next round of animated cocktail party patter.
Santa Cruz Guide: Pot Cards
We won’t ask why you’re thinking about getting your medical marijuana card. We’re not here to judge. Here’s our list of a few things to keep in mind, though, before you let your biology books and daily planner disappear into a plume of pungent smoke.
Santa Cruz Guide: Cheap Eats
Let’s be honest: it’s hard to find good food on the cheap without either camping at the dining hall salad bar or fighting for the kitchen stove with the roommate who makes the Soup Nazi look like Mohandas Gandhi. Here’s our guide to tasty eats that won’t do any damage to your wallet—or to your large intestine.
Coastal Cleanup Day Yields Loads of Trash
Stretching from the quiet creeks of Waddell Beach to the jagged coastline of Big Sur, 4,584 volunteers swarmed beaches and rivers around Monterey Bay to pick up garbage and recyclables last Saturday, Sept 17, as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day. Save Our Shores crews working at 81 cleanup locations in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties removed more than 17,000 pounds of trash, about 3,200 pounds of it recyclable. “It’s amazing how many people come out,” says Colleen Bednarz, communications director for Save Our Shores.
County’s Red Tag Habit Deemed Illegal
In 1997, code compliance officers with the Santa Cruz County Planning Department came to Hillary Falconer’s Soquel horse ranch and issued red tag notices for her stables, swimming pool, an adobe structure that her father had built in the 1960s, a compost bin and more—72 items in all—for being in violation of county building or zoning codes. Falconer, who owns and runs Briarcliff Farms on Old San Jose Road, contested all of them in court for three years. “Basically, they went through and said everything in this property was illegal,” says Falconer. “Everything.”
The Great Santa Cruz Milk-In
In protest of a state and federal crackdown on unpasteurized milk, the Santa Cruz Food Rights Coalition will be milking goats and passing out cups of the superfresh stuff near the Downtown Farmers Market this Wednesday, Sept. 7. Protesters will gather at a secret location downtown, put their goats on leashes and embark on a “mini-parade” down side streets to the market at 3pm.
Pirate Radio Seeks New Home
The airwaves of Free Radio Santa Cruz, which typically feature voices like local talk show host John Malkin and Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now,” have gone strangely quiet while the station looks for a new home. After officials from the Federal Communications Commission dropped off a noncompliance letter on Aug. 12, owners of the station’s home asked DJs to pull the plug on its antenna, which hung from a giant tree in their yard. The unlicensed pirate radio station has since suspended operations and been broadcasting online only.
Santa Cruz County Fair Fight
Max Kelley’s house on Rancho Brazil Lane, a pink Victorian with a blossoming flower garden and a water fountain, is about a mile and a half drive from the fairgrounds. It’s about a tenth of a mile as the crow flies. “It’s very quiet normally,” says Kelley, looking out from his wraparound porch at the tall eucalyptus trees that shield the fairgrounds from his view.
