Due to budget cuts, Cabrillo College will no longer be offering its selection of classes on wines in the 2011-2012 school year. The news comes as a blow to students studying to become wine stewards, but also to local viticulturists, who depend on people with a trained appreciation of wine. Wine-making is becoming increasingly important to the county, with 20 new wineries founded in Santa Cruz County over the past few years.
News
Dess Makes Bail
Elliott Dess, 21, appeared in court in shackles and an orange prison jump suit on Tuesday. Arrested for causing the death of bicycle courier Zachary Parke, Dess hoped the judge would lower his bail of $100,000. The judge refused, but Dess still managed to post bail later in the day.
FEMA Denial Hurts Santa Cruz County
Last winter’s storms, particularly in March, caused an estimated $17 million in damages to Santa Cruz County. Roads were washed out, neighborhoods were flooded and mudslides blocked access routes to homes and neighborhoods. Yet the damage wasn’t severe enough to be considered a federal emergency, and FEMA has informed Gov. Jerry Brown that it will not be contributing to repair the damage.
Santa Cruz Poets, Santa Cruz Inspiration: Robert Sward
From the editor of “Santa Cruz Poets, Santa Cruz Inspiration,” a poem about the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.
The Tesla of Scooters
“Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?” Rick Ator of GreenMotors on Soquel Avenue asks me as he prepares to hand over his shiny red ride. Before I finish describing my very limited scootering experience, he interrupts. “Good. This one’s faster,” he says, pulling a piece of shrink wrap off the left blinker.
With the slightest twist of the wrist, the 4,000-watt electric scooter lurches forward like a bull breaking out of a hamster cage. “Go slow,” he tells me as I inch out of the parking lot for my test ride in pulsing jolts of acceleration.
Ten Questions for Margaret Bruce
Ecology Action’s vice president of climate issues on Latvia then and now, her hopes for renewable fuel sources and the joys of desk-mounted weaponry.
PLATED: Summer Harvest
The UCSC Farm & Garden Market Cart is open for the season! Once again the ultra-fresh harvests from the hilltop farm and garden are brought to the base of the campus on Tuesdays and Fridays (noon-6pm) to tempt the Westside community of organophiles. “We are currently rich in greens,” proclaims Center for Agroecology spokeswoman Martha Brown. “The late season this year has served up all manner of lettuces—butter, Little Gems—as well as arugula, baby spinach, kales and chards.” Weighed and wrapped by the current crop of UCSC agroecology apprentices, the debut harvests also offer specialty summer squashes, lots of Asian greens and the ever-popular floral bouquets. Last week I spotted tubs of plump blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and even some rare mulberries amidst the bouquets of sage, bay and cilantro. Created from Farm & Garden produce, your evening salad will exude the literal flavors of the Santa Cruz Mountains in every bite. Every Tuesday and Friday afternoon through early November, at the corner of Bay and High streets. Free parking!
Enviros: Ban on Rat Poison A Start
A recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency could prove a small but important step in stopping a deadly epidemic in urban areas among owls, hawks and bobcats. On June 10 the EPA banned four of the most potent rat poisons for consumer use. Also called “second generation” rodenticides because they’ve been showing up for years in the livers of the predators that help keep rat populations in check, the toxins stop blood from clotting and cause fatal hemorrhaging in animals that have ingested it. The decision bans products like D-Con, Hot Shot and Generation from being sold in stores.
Online Sharing Resources
Where to find books, household tools, designer handbags and even business investors while cutting out The Man.
The Santa Cruz Sharing Economy
According to social media expert Rachel Botsman, our economy is about to embark on a transformation so complete it rivals the Industrial Revolution. “I think we’re going to look back and see the next decade as a momentous turning point: when technology reinvented entire sectors,” Botsman declared last month at an HP TECH@Work conference in Sydney, Australia.
