Santa Cruz poet Ellen Bass writes about a near miss in this monthly installment of locally inspired verse.
County Parks Wait for Closure Notices
Santa Cruz residents are waiting to hear which of their favorite parks will be closed due to budget cuts. While no specific parks have been named yet, it is all but certain that at least some of the county’s parks will be among those closed to the public shortly after Labor Day. About 100 of the states 278 parks are scheduled to be closed, and the state has already stopped accepting camping reservations for all but 20 parks.
UCSC Prof Finds Waning Support for Death Penalty
Professor Craig Haney of UCSC is one of the foremost experts on the death penalty, particularly in California. A study that he just released found that Californians still support the death penalty by an overwhelming 66 percent, but that this number has decreased considerably since a 1989 study, in which almost 80 percent supported the death penalty.
Small Wildfire in Boulder Creek Contained
Fallen power lines are believed to be responsible for a small wildfire in Boulder Creek yesterday between Highway 9 and Logan Creek Road. No mandatory evacuations were required, and the fire was quickly brought under control.
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place for Freelancers
You’d think the easiest way to find out about the effectiveness of “coworking”—the phenomenon whereby work-at-homers, freelancers and other indie business strangers elect to set up shop in a building and find out what happens—is to ask the coworkers (not to be confused with the tradition-bound drones known as “co-workers”) themselves. Trouble is, they’re all too busy working.
Self-Employment Gets A Grip in Santa Cruz
They’ve come from around the country and the world to gather on the bare concrete floor of an empty office building and talk shop. A sea of laptop-clutching writers, photographers, graphic designers, IT specialists, engineers, public relations officials and advertisement representatives with one thing in common: they never want to work for another boss again.
Santa Cruz to Vote on Major Smoking Ban
Citing the dangers of second-hand smoke and the number of cigarette butts littering the streets and beaches, city leaders in Santa Cruz will meet Tuesday, Sept. 8 to extend a smoking ban through much of downtown.
Vigil for Healthcare Reform
Supporters of healthcare reform will be gathering under the clock tower in downtown Santa Cruz this evening for a candlelight vigil.
LBAM Strikes Again
About 50 people gathered in Watsonville’s Civic Center on Monday to protest plans by the by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to eradicate the light brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana) from California.
Time for An Oceans Policy Overhaul
“The Mayors’ Summit was about more than just plastic litter,” writes Jim Ayers, vice-president of Oceana and director of the Exxon Valdez cleanup. “It was about recognizing that we all have a shared past and future dependent on healthy oceans, and that efforts to protect them are now paramount in the face of climate change and ocean acidification.”
