With the city of Santa Cruz preparing to tap into its Loch Lomond reservoir because of a severe water shortage, the “water police” have begun to crack down on people using too much water and violating local restrictions.
Critics Take Aim at New Strawberry Pesticide
If Gov. Schwarzenegger caves to political pressure, a new pesticide called methyl iodide could replace methyl bromide as the primary pest-fighter used by strawberry farmers. This might come as some relief to environmentalists who’ve been pushing the phaseout of the ozone-depleting methyl bromide. But there’s a catch: its would-be replacement is a highly volatile carcinogen, or cancer-causing agent.
Tourism Agency’s Fate Lies in the Balance
With Santa Cruz facing a $9.2 million deficit, Santa Cruz municipal lawmakers are considering cutting funding to the Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council.
Santa Cruz Farmers Oppose Blanket Restrictions
There are many ways to protect crops, besides industrial pesticides. According to Ken Kimes, owner of Santa Cruz County’s New Native Farms and a board member of the Community Alliance With Family Farmers, the people who are setting the rules have a lot to learn about that. “They’re used to working inside the factory walls,” he says. “If they’re not prepared for the farm landscape, it can come as quite a shock to them.”
Ten Questions for Larry Blood
The host of KUSP’s “Out Front, Outback” gives us the scoop on how a jazz lover makes it in this town.
Tremors Increase along San Andreas Fault
A UC Berkeley seismologist reports that the number of tremors along the San Andreas Fault has increased by as much as 80 percent over the last four years. Using evidence gathered from seismic tools buried near Parkfield to measure the phenomenon, Robert Nadeau explains that these tremors “can signal that there are deep stress changes going on that we hadn’t detected before.”
Health and Human Services Employees Laid off in Santa Cruz County
Some 50 county employees, most of them from Health Services Agency and Human Services Department, have been informed that they will be laid off due to budgetary constraints.
First Swine Flu Death in Santa Cruz County
County public health officials announced the first death from the H1N1 virus, or swine flu yesterday. The victim, a 52-year-old woman, has not been identified. Her condition was exacerbated because she suffered from asthma, which lowered her immunity to the disease. Health officials added that no other people in the country are currently hospitalized because of swine flu. The woman’s family other people she came into contact with are currently being tested for the disease.
Santa Cruz Final Budget Includes Citizen Input
When the Santa Cruz City Council passes its 2009-2010 fiscal year budget next Tuesday, it will usher in an agenda radically different from any since the Loma Prieta earthquake struck in 1989. Then, an unexpected natural disaster leveled buildings, crumbled roads and forced residents to sacrifice services for years to come in efforts to rebuild the community. Now, a far-from-natural financial disaster has ripped through Santa Cruz, like so many other American towns, and though buildings still stand, the devastation is undeniable.
County Bank to Accept State IOUs
Santa Cruz County Bank announced today that it will be joining big boys Bank of American and Bank of the West in accepting state issued IOUs, plus do customers one better.
