Not every freelancer is bubbling over with entrepreneurial zeal. Some do it because their industry has steadily shaved off staffers and outsourced tasks in order to save money. For others, child care or similar work-life considerations are at the root of the decision to freelance—blurring the line over whether freelancing, with its sporadic pay and other associated brutalities, is a matter of choice or necessity.
Power Surge Leaves Downtown in the Dark
The lights downtown went off for 90 minutes on Saturday night because of a suspected power surge. Some 2,000 customers of PG&E lost electricity in an area extending from Soquel Drive near Dominican Hospital to Pacific Avenue.
Coastal Cities Move Cautiously on Bag Ban
It’s hard to believe that Rwanda, a nation nearly destroyed by civil war 15 years ago, has it over Santa Cruz in the eco-conscious department, but there it is: it and 18 other developing nations have banned plastic bags. We haven’t.
Santa Cruz Leaders Aim to Snuff Out Cigarettes
City leaders are looking to take another major swipe at tobacco smokers by banning smoking on Pacific Avenue downtown, around Main Beach and on the Municipal Wharf.
Police Clear Harbor High Coach
Travis Rebbert, the new coach of the Harbor High School football team, has been cleared by police of suspicion in the theft of $25,000.
Watsonville Cracking Down on Speeding in School Zones
The City of Watsonville is adding 38 new speed limit signs around school zones as part of a crackdown on speeding.
Santa Cruz Drop-In Center to Close
After ten years, Santa Cruz AIDS Project is forced to shutter its Front Street drop-in center.
Drugs a Fire Hazard in Pogonip
Pogonip may be popular with people out for a brisk stroll, but anyone who veers off the most popular trails could run into a heroin or coke deal. Chief Ranger John Wallace says that the number of drug deals taking place there is so enormous that people are making their way down to “Heroin Hill” from Silicon Valley. Over 100 drug-related arrests have been made in the area since this past May.
UCSC Votes “No Confidence” in Yudof
In the 15 months that he’s been in office, UC President Mark Yudof has not made many allies. According to the UC Union Coalition, some 98 percent of employees who participated in a week-long straw poll voted no confidence in him.
The King of Santa Cruz Skateboards Returns
In a garage in a middle-class neighborhood at the edge of Santa Cruz, the improbable is happening. Decades after he created some of the most enduring images in the genre, the artist whose name is virtually synonymous with Santa Cruz Skateboards is once again drawing pop-eyed monsters, warhorses and nubile mermaids for skateboard decks so the youth of today can thrash in style. Jim Phillips is back. With slide show.
