Let’s start by stating the obvious: people around here feel very strongly about housing development. Or putting a stop to it. This little coastal town has seen some big divisions and plenty of lines drawn in the sand when it comes to deciding how to house the new immigrants, students and trannies (as in transplants) that arrive in a steadily increasing stream each year. Some of the best known players—the bitterati of the housing fight—have been battling for decades now along predictable factional lines: environmentalists versus developers, progressives versus business interests. Toss in the affordable housing advocates, the anti-university front and the people who just like things the way they are, and what you get is a turf war as heated as gangland. There is no shortage of drama here.
News
Time for Sensible Budget Solutions
Despite a collegial tone in his State of the State message, Gov. Schwarzenegger followed with a “slash and burn” budget proposal two days later. With a theme of “jobs, jobs and more jobs,” the governor seeks to reconcile a projected $21 billion deficit over the next 18 months by cutting safety net programs that create and protect jobs. In addition, the proposed budget inappropriately juxtaposes economic growth against hard-fought environmental protections and public transit programs.
Women’s Advocacy Groups: Make Santa Cruz Safe
In the misty winter dusk outside the 7-Eleven at Ocean and Broadway streets, Ashley Russell lights a candle in remembrance of Nichole “Nikki” Schrock. It was inside the store, just a few hours into the new decade, when Schrock, an auburn-haired, 24-year-old mother, was gunned down during her morning shift as store clerk in what police are calling a murder-suicide. (Slide show included)
Heavy Mining Equipment Vandalized Near Davenport
The incident is the latest of a series of attacks on construction sites in the area, which began late last summer.
Water Problems Plague UCSC Expansion Plan
Has the Santa Cruz Water Department fully studied the implications of a proposed expansion of the UCSC campus? Some members of the county’s Board of Supervisors are not convinced it has.
267 Acres of Santa Cruz Redwoods Saved
The land consists of two parcels: one 107-acre area adjacent to the Skyline-to-the-Sea hiking trail, and another 160-acre area plot in San Mateo.
Santa Cruz Flips for Fungi
For weeks and months, the status of marijuana has been in the local news. For a welcome shift, attention this weekend switched to ‘shrooms, as Santa Cruz celebrated its Fungus Fair. Over 300 varieties of local fungus and mushrooms were on display at the event, but that’s just a tiny sliver of the 3,000-5,000 varieties available locally.
Fate of Santa Cruz Libraries in the Balance
There’s something very antiquated about Santa Cruz County’s public library system.
School Officials Skeptical of Governor’s Pledge to Protect School Funding
School officials throughout Santa Cruz are skeptical of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s pledge in his State of the State address that education funding will not be touched as the state struggles with a $20 billion deficit.
New Techniques Could Help Solve Cold Case
Using new technologies, investigators may finally be able to determine the identity of “Pogonip Jane,” whose body was found in the Pogonip greenbelt 16 years ago.
