With California’s budget still straining, it was inevitable that the new governor would search desperately for places to cut. And it was inevitable that all the old favorites would be targeted. This means that higher education—one of the only “flexible parts of the budget,” in Gov. Brown’s words—is on the chopping block again, with a proposed $1.4 billion in budget cuts. The UC and CSU systems will each face $500 million in state funding cuts, while the community college network can expect another $400 million in cuts.
Building Evacuated in Bomb Scare
The University Town Center was evacuated on Monday morning after a suspicious package was found on the third floor of the building. The bomb squad investigating the object determined that it was a laptop with some wires protruding. The object was first noticed by an IRS employee, who immediately notified the police—the floor is shared by the IRS and the ACLU. Occupants of the building were allowed to return shortly after 12:30pm.
SPCA Gets New Shed
People across Santa Cruz County have been rallying to help the local SPCA after what can only be called a very tough week. A shed that stored free dog food for needy families was broken into last week, but since the news went out, some $7,000 worth of pet food has poured in from concerned residents. Then there was the shed itself, which was replaced thanks to the efforts of Billy Klinkefus.
Protesters Demand Bradley Manning’s Release
When people think about Wikileaks, they inevitably focus on Julian Assange, the founder of the controversial organization who was recently released from prison in Britain. Less attention is paid to Bradley Manning, who allegedly fed him large amounts of secret information and is currently kept in solitary confinement at a maximum security military prison in Quantico, Virginia. Manning became famous for leaking video footage of a U.S. Apache helicopter in Baghdad that killed a news photographer with Reuters and his driver. Though he has been in solitary for months, Manning has not been convicted yet.
UCSC Grad Among Those Slain in Arizona Shooting
Chancellor George Blumenthal of UCSC offered “our heartfelt condolences to Gabriel Zimmerman’s family, friends and colleagues.” Zimmerman, 30, a graduate of UCSC, was killed in the attack on Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson this Saturday.
Flooding on Soquel Avenue
A faulty pipe was able to do what some of the worst winter storms in years were not. A water main break on Soquel Avenue between the river and Ocean Street flooded the road and forced it to be closed down for several hours on Thursday. The pipe, which dates from 1924, burst at about 10am, causing a geyser of rocks and asphalt to shoot high into the air. While no businesses were damaged in the flooding, several cars parked along the street were.
UCSC’s American Studies Program Ailing
With budgetary constraints bearing down on universities throughout California, the five-member faculty of UCSC’s American Studies program has voted to suspend the major, at least while they explore alternatives to keeping the program open. Like Community Studies, which was suspended last year, the American Studies program will no longer be accepting new students, and its current focus will be on ensuring that the current classes of juniors and seniors graduate.
SPCA Wants to Build New Home
Just days after the SPCA suffered a break-in and the theft of hundreds of pounds of dog food, the agency announced that it has purchased a new, half-acre lot down the block from its current home where it hopes to build a new facility. Home is the right word. The current building is a converted two-bedroom house that now houses both animals and offices. The new home will be a 5,000-square-foot facility built with the welfare of the animals and its role as an office in mind.
Scotts Valley’s Silent Chopper
Officers with the Scotts Valley Police Department will be rolling a little less raucously in 2011 after the department assumed ownership in early December of a brand new electric motorcycle. The machine, the first zero-emissions bike to serve a California police department, is capable of 50-mile trips, freeway speeds, instant acceleration and perfectly soundless patrols of the streets.
Former Mayor Joins Governor’s Cabinet
Two-time Santa Cruz mayor and former Assemblymember John Laird has been appointed to Governor Jerry Brown’s cabinet as the new Secretary for Natural Resources, the Sentinel reports, with oversight of over more than two dozen state agencies. Laird is a longtime environmental activist, and the California League of Conservation Voters called his selection “superb.”
