“His speeches were about people trying to make a better place for all of us,” says Darrell Musick, a local consultant. He and hundreds of other people like him attempted to emulate Martin Luther King, Jr. by turning the day dedicated to his legacy into an opportunity to volunteer for the community. People across the city cleaned up bike paths and parks, created a compost heap, worked to protect endangered species and scrubbed graffiti away.
News
UCSC Bracing for Trouble
It will be a tense day at UCSC as students and faculty return to class after the long weekend. They are concerned about a threat of violence, posted anonymously in a bathroom in the Social Sciences building in December. Though there was no indication of what form the violence would take, many students have announced their intention to stay home today. The Student Union Assembly cancelled a meeting and a small number of professors have cancelled classes.
Little Basin Park A Big Deal
The California State Parks Department struck a deal on Jan. 14 to acquire Little Basin, a 535-acre Santa Cruz Mountain property adjacent to the Big Basin Redwoods State Park once used as an employee retreat by Hewlett-Packard. The state purchased the land, appraised at $13 million in 2007, for $6.5 million dollars from the Sempervirens Fund of Los Altos and the Peninsula Open Space Trust, based in Palo Alto.
What to Do About Aptos Creek
Having a home with a view comes with a cost. That’s what the residents of homes on a bluff overlooking Rio del Mar Beach are beginning to realize, and the cost is more than just hefty mortgages. They are worried about Aptos Creek, which runs beneath the bluff. If the creeks swells in another storm, it could cause the bluff to crumble and send their homes tumbling down.
Frankenfish Labeling Bill Introduced
Whether or not the federal Food and Drug Administration approves a genetically engineered salmon for sale in U.S. markets and restaurants is one question now pending. Whether the public will know they’re eating the fish if the feds approve it is another.
UCSC Warned of Violence
Graffiti scrawled in the men’s restroom of the UCSC Social Science building warned that Tuesday, Jan. 18 will be a violent day on campus. Authorities do not know who left the message or what type of violence it means, but they are taking it seriously. Jan. 18 is the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the violence could be related to his legacy.
You Guys Are Life Savers
California was faced with a dilemma when it ran out of sodium pentathol, the drug commonly used in lethal injections. The state’s supply expired on October 1 last year, and the Department of Corrections spent two months searching for a remedy. They finally found one in the State of Arizona, which agreed to lend us 12 grams of the coveted drug.
County RDA Team Forges Ahead
Gov. Jerry Brown is eying the state’s redevelopment agencies’ funds to cover the budget deficit, but in Santa Cruz County, one branch of the redevelopment agency is moving full steam ahead despite an uncertain future. The Economic Development team under its new manager, David Dobson, is focused on fostering local startups and expanding existing businesses. This focus on the private sector, he believes, will spur job growth in the county.
UCSC Scholarship Fund for Shooting Victim
A new scholarship has been created at UCSC in memory of Gabriel Zimmerman, an aide to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who was killed in the Tucson massacre on Saturday. Zimmerman was a UCSC alumnus. The fund was established by two alumni, Alex Clemens and Jonathan Klein, who have no connection to Zimmerman but were inspired by his story. “He embodied the traits you want to see for a person who goes into public service,” said Clemens.
Streetsigns: Dancing In The Dark
Maybe it was the fact that the crowd skewed young, or that the multiuse space at the 418 Project in downtown Santa Cruz has a little bit of a gymnasium feel, or maybe it was the older couple on the fringe of the crowd peering around like someone’s parents, but as the Bane Show was getting underway on Sunday night there was something awkward about the event, in a distinctly high-school-dance kind of way.
