Feature Archives

Long-time residents of the former landfill known as the Albany Bulb are facing eviction as early as this month. For decades, however, the Bulb has been a safe place for those in the East Bay without traditional housing to make a home. The Sierra Club and Citizens for an East Shore State Park have pressured the Albany City Council to take action to remove those who live at the Bulb and declare the land "recreation only." Residents are now organizing and taking action to raise awareness of their plight and fight impending eviction. On October 7, residents of the Albany Bulb and local community members rallied, marched, and set up a one-night encampment on Solano Avenue, demonstrating what Albany's main street will look like if the Bulb’s 60-plus residents are evicted from their homes.

After the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History altered its mission statement following the appointment of director Nina Simon two years ago, one critic says the institution has sacrificed the experience of art and history to become a "second community center." In a recent column, Bruce Bratton cites a report that details how museums across the country have been seeking to increase attendance numbers as proof to justify grants and larger sums of monies to subsidize programs.

As the U.S. government marched towards war with Syria in late August, anti-war groups and activists across the state responded with two weeks of emergency demonstrations. The ANSWER Coalition organized a series of protests, and actions were planned for the offices of Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, and Barbara Boxer. Events were also held at well known anti-war protest locations such as Peace Crossroads in San Jose and on Ocean Street in Santa Cruz.

Dylan Greiner was removed as an administrator of the Santa Cruz Clean Team's Facebook group shortly after he was arrested for victimizing young female students through his surf school. Greiner first became a public figure involved with community safety organizations Take Back Santa Cruz and the Clean Team in 2012 when he uploaded a video to YouTube showing drug paraphernalia on Cowell's Beach in Santa Cruz.

On August 17, two members of the 'Walmart 60' picketed the Salinas Walmart store. They and their supporters continue to ask that members of Wallmart's Board of Directors reinstate the more than 60 workers, known as the Walmart 60, who were fired after protesting working conditions at the retail giant. A number of recent events protesting working conditions at Walmarts in the greater Bay Area lead up to a march in San Francisco on September 5 as part of a national day of action in support of the striking workers who lost their jobs.

On August 28, the trial date for those charged in association with the 2011 occupation of the vacant bank building located at 75 River Street in Santa Cruz was pushed back yet again. The four remaining defendants found out they will now face trial on March 3, 2014. Authorities claim there was thousands of dollars in damages to the building, and eventually eleven people who were dubbed the Santa Cruz Eleven by supporters would each be charged with two separate felonies and two discrete trespassing charges.

On August 24, community members marched with the Santa Cruz NAACP to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Great March on Washington. The 1963 civil rights rally was also known as the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." In Santa Cruz, those commemorating the day also broadly described their action for justice, calling it a march for "voting rights, jobs, justice, freedom, and to end stand your ground."