Earth Day Lite- inSanity Cruz! Editorial

OK, OK, I know its "Keep Santa Cruz Weird" but why does the City of Santa Cruz officially celebrate Earth Day (Sunday 4/27) on an asphalt (ass-fault) parking lot??? When I first saw the ads I wanted to bring my jack-hammer to join in the celebrations. The end to the automobile! Autogedon!! Well... maybe a sledge hammer. OK, my hoe, a few seeds and a watering can- to try and scrape beneath this sadly superficial celebration. Joni Mitchell said/sang it best in the 70's "Don't it always seem to go... you take paradise and put up a parking lot." How true.

San Lorenzo Park (our beautiful, if under-used, Central Park) on the other hand, was virtually empty on Sunday. More empty than I'd like. In fact, the City Parks Supervisor recently cut down a number of beautiful old trees by the duck island stage in order to better see/expose the homeless "problem" and reduce unsightly leaf litter. Go figure! Keep SC Weirder? I had to scoot to the edge of the grassy knoll last Saturday to find much needed shade while watching live music at the weekly Saturday Market in the Park. Folks with Free Skool Santa Cruz got it rite (http://www.santacruz.freeskool.org). On Earth Day they had croquet, punk soccer, Earth-day Birthday cake and a rollicking good time... in the park!

You can join in some great spring celebrations in the park: Today (May 3) is the Annual SC Bluegrass Fest 12-4, May 17 & 18 is The River Arts Festival a great 2 day community arts fest in San Lorenzo Park (now, with less trees!).

I hear that if you want to contest the cutting of an old growth tree in the city of Santa Cruz it now costs a concerned citizen $500 to appeal the chainsaws cry (until a few months ago it cost $50 to fight the ax).
Are we going backwards? More Hummers humming? I think it's time to start... running!

To the return of the Lorax
and the main reason we live here- in the first place.

Grrr- ant