THEY DON’T drink blood. They don’t wear fake fangs or black trench coats. They don’t read Anne Rice novels and they wouldn’t be caught dead watching Twilight. What they do is ride souped-up motorcycles at ridiculous speeds, party like rock stars and occasionally forget to wear clothes while doing either. They’re the Vampires. And they’re Santa Cruz’s most recognizable motorcycle club.
News
School Trustees Okay School Lunch Plan for Middle Schools Only
School trustees voted last night to allow Executive Chef Jamie Smith to begin preparing school lunches for Santa Cruz middle school students.
More Violence in Santa Cruz
On Tuesday, 30 protesters interrupted a City Council meeting, waving signs and demanding that the city do something to address public safety.
Water Regulations to Be Relaxed
County water officials have announced that they plan to loosen strict water rationing rules that have been in place since May.
No More Swine Flu Vaccine in Santa Cruz
“There’s no more swine flu vaccine in Santa Cruz and Watsonville until further notice.” That was the gist of a statement issued by the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency on Wednesday.
An Amazing Man
Morton Marcus, whose outsize presence animated and at times dominated Santa Cruz County’s literary culture for most of the last 40 years, died peacefully at home after a long illness early in the morning of Oct. 28. He was 73, and seemed both younger and older—younger because his attitude toward everything was one of boyish enthusiasm, and older because the amount of living he jammed into his years would have taken several lifetimes for anyone less charged with creative energy.
Madam Mayor
I never met Mardi Wormhoudt. In the late 1990s, when I was getting my start in journalism and relegated to the sandbox of features writing, I would hear her name uttered in the newsroom and wonder at the hallowed tone employed by my usually cynical hero-colleagues. In the same way children take cues from their parents, espousing essentially baseless opinions about frivolous aunts or shiftless uncles, I came to understand that Mardi Wormhoudt was one of the good politicians. I didn’t know why. I just accepted it.
In Council Meeting, Fears Over Public Safety
The rape of an elderly woman last week and the murder of a local high school student by gang members seem to have people on edge. About 30 protesters interrupted a City Council meeting last night, waving signs and demanding that the city do something to address public safety.
School Trustees to Vote on School Lunch Plan
Santa Cruz City Schools trustees will be voting tonight on whether to approve a new school lunch program. The proposed program will feature food prepared from scratch from locally grown produce. The decision will come earlier than planned because a transition period, during which lunches were provided by Revolution Foods of Oakland, was found to have been misbudgeted.
School Fundraisers Brings in $332,000
Deborah Berkson of Santa Cruz turned down the chance to drive her son to school in a brand new Prius. The winner of this year’s Drive for Schools fundraiser decided to take the cash prize—$25,000—instead.
