A Matter of Choice
Kathy Rock swam three miles every week. She spent hours walking her American pitbull, Stella Blue, in Delaveaga Park near her Santa Cruz home. Camping trips in Yosemite were a regular occurrence, where she would sleep next to the Merced River at nightfall. Sprightly beyond…
Constructing Futures
Before a word had been spoken, the nearly 200-strong audience that filled the Stevenson Event Center was on its feet with a raucous applause. Many of those standing had never heard Van Jones speak, but that didn’t matter. His presence alone was enough to lift…
A Wrench in the Machine
By Nick Nodine and Alex Wilkins Over 100,000 lives lost, $815 billion spent and years of fierce protest. President George W. Bush announced his global war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Just over a year later, he announced a full-scale invasion…
Beach Flats Lease Renewed for Three Years
Santa Cruz City Council approved an agreement with Seaside Company for a new three-year lease on 16,000 square feet of the Beach Flats Community Garden at Tuesday night’s packed city council meeting. Seaside will reclaim 10,000 square feet for its own landscaping purposes. Over 100…
Santa Cruz to Surf Web at Lightspeed
Santa Cruz will soon receive its first glimpse of some of the fastest internet speeds in the country. The Santa Cruz City Council voted on April 12 to approve a Wireless Broadband Gigabit Grant Award from Siklu Inc., an Israeli radio transmitter company. In partnership…
A Tale of Two Nations
While the organized chaos of the presidential primary storms ahead, it’s easy to get caught up in the rhetoric of the American political bubble. Observing the race to the White House as an outsider, I find myself constantly comparing the current American political climate with…
All That’s Gold Isn’t Safe
The City of Santa Cruz was recognized as a “gold-level bicycle friendly community” by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) last year, but the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), in its most recent 2013 report, ranked Santa Cruz first for number of bicyclists killed…
Protesters Join National Berry Boycott
A protest against Driscoll’s, the world’s largest berry producer, occurred in Santa Cruz on Friday with about 10 people holding signs outside Whole Foods on Soquel Avenue. Driscoll’s, headquartered in Watsonville, is the subject of a boycott that began in 2015, when employees of two…
Puppy Love
Unconditional love, undying loyalty and endless forgiveness. It’s sometimes difficult to find these traits in even our closest family and friends. In dogs, they’re ubiquitous. Whether dealing with stress from exams, going through emotional hardship or just needing an ear to listen — dogs can…
City Water Usage Hits Record-Low Levels
The City of Santa Cruz ended 2015 with its lowest water consumption levels in 50 years. Much of the cutback was due to severe water restrictions and penalties imposed by the city, but also in large part to the efforts of the city’s biggest water…