It took longer than expected, but the Santa Cruz City School Board managed to produce a balanced budget in time to present it to the Office of Education. The $55.7 million budget cut $5.4 million, with concessions by virtually all parties involved included to make up the difference. In practical terms, it means that the school year will be one week shorter next year and adult education programs will be very sparse. In order to help, school administrators agreed to take nine days of furlough during the school year and to postpone some maintenance issues in the schools.
News
Another Arrest in Tenorio Murder
Yesterday SantaCruz.com reported that Pascal Reyes, 21, was arrested for his role in the murder of high school student Tyler Tenorio last October.
The Gulf Died for Your (Our) Sins
Today is day “n” of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, where “n” equals the number of sins committed in service of our bottomless appetite for fossil-based energy; “n” equals the number of organisms killed by the careless spewing of petroleum toxins across the globe and through every biome on the planet; “n” equals the number of organisms killed by the heedless construction of entire civilizations based on and powered by petroleum; “n” equals the number of acres of living earth ripped asunder and covered with asphalt for roads, parking lots, megalopolis; “n” equals the number of mountaintops blasted out across the landscape in the search for fuel, of tailings piled up in toxic mounds and rainbow lakes of waste left to leech into our lives, into all life.
USCS Professors Elected to the California Academy of Sciences
Four UCSC professors have been chosen to join the California Academy of Sciences in recognition for their work.
Gregory S. Gilbert, Professor of Environmental Studies, is also the Director of the Santa Cruz-Watsonville Inquiry-Based Learning in Environmental Sciences, a partnership between UCSC and Watsonville High School, designed to promote science education in the county.
City Mulls Closing Libraries for Months
If an agreement is not reached between the city and the union representing library employees, the Santa Cruz city council is prepared to close all but one of the city’s libraries for two to three months to save $667,102—about 16 percent of the city’s current deficit. The employees are members of the SEIU.
Arrest Made in Tyler Tenorio Murder
Pasqual Reyes, 21, was arrested on Tuesday for his role in the murder of high school student Tyler Tenorio last October.
The Infuriating Cell Phone Racket
Anyone who isn’t already angry with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint—the four national wireless providers that reportedly control 90 percent of the U.S. market—might consider this ridiculous news. One of the most outrageous cell phone scams is really very simple simple: Charge customers for being forced to listen to 15 seconds of unnecessary voicemail instructions reminding them how to leave a message after the beep.
John Laird’s Sprint Toward Sacramento
On Friday, June 11, former Assemblymember John Laird left his house in Aptos at 6:45am and drove three hours south to San Luis Obispo, did an editorial board meeting, stopped by his campaign office there, raced two and a half hours north to Monterey for two more editorial board meetings, stopped at the Monterey campaign office, and then spoke for an hour and a half at a live radio town hall before driving home.
Pension Tensions in Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Police Chief Howard Skerry has worn SCPD blue for 29 years. So when he turns in his gun and badge in September to retire, he’ll take home a pension of about $170,000 per year for the rest of his life. It’s the same deal every cop and firefighter in Santa Cruz gets: stay on the job until at least age 50, then retire with 3 percent of your salary for every year spent on the force. That means an officer who retires after 20 years gets 60 percent of his income, one who retires after 25 gets 75 percent, and so on.
County Rethinks Cutting Aid to Nonprofits
Santa Cruz County supervisors are considering softening the blow to local nonprofits this year by adjusting a proposed 20 percent cut to 12 percent. The county currently gives about $3.4 million to local nonprofits, about half of what it gave in 2002.
