Grounded in Community: Terra & Self takes on Pacific Avenue
Kenné Johnson-Scianna remembers not knowing how to take care of her skin at an early age. It wasn’t until she was hired by Lush that she learned personalized self-care. After seeing the rise of small businesses during the pandemic, she wanted to share that knowledge…
If It Feels Good, Wear It
I work at a not-so-conventional boutique in downtown Santa Cruz. Walk in, and you’ll find paper-white walls, a speckled tan linoleum? floor, and black metal racks filled with clothes curated from Oakland to Uruguay. It would be boring, if not for the bright clothing and…
The Kind of Green Paper Folks in Need, Don’t Need
How is it that a bright green paper issued from the government doesn’t buy you anything but a possible tow? These green pieces of paper, known as “green tags,” serve as warnings for allegedly abandoned vehicles. The police leave these warnings on vehicles that have…
No Roof and Drenched: How the Unhoused Endured the Storm
It’s 45 degrees, and it’s pouring. The light of a sunless day is waning. Kazoo, a member of the unhoused community, begins to realize that his tent is not going to cut it — it’s not an all-weather tent. Hearing word of an open shelter…
The Sesnon Gallery: Keeping Art and the Community Alive
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the question, “What do we do amidst social unrest?” With so many ways to contribute to change, UC Santa Cruz promotes its Social Documentation Master of Fine Arts program (SocDoc) as a space that allows students to recount and…
Seat Up for Grabs: District 6 City Council Election
The streets of Santa Cruz are filling up fast with RVs parked for days on end with nowhere to go, houseless camps residing in public spaces, and worried residents wondering if they’ll be able to make rent next month. With these concerns at the forefront…
Can Measures K and L Save Santa Cruz City Schools?
Failing infrastructure, outdated classrooms, and a teacher shortage are only some of the problems Santa Cruz City Schools (SCCS) are hoping to address with two new bond measures this November: Measure K and Measure L. While Measure K would raise funds for the local middle…