Feature Archives

On the night of November 8th, police attempted to spy on the UCSC tree-sit and were foiled when protesters learned of their plans. A student saw a man in his early 20's get out of a police car and get on a bike heading towards the tree-sit. The student then called friends at the tree-sit, who confronted the man and asked him to leave.

Early in the morning of Wednesday, November 7th, activists opposed to UC Santa Cruz's Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) launched a tree-sit in redwoods near Science Hill. UCSC plans to develop the occupied site into a new Biomedical Sciences Facility. The facility would be the first project under the University's plan to develop 120 acres of forest in order to accommodate 4,500 new students.

Weather conditions are preventing the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) from being able to begin their aerial assault of pesticides and pheromones, referred to as "treatments," over North Santa Cruz County. "Treatments" have been scheduled on November 4th, 5th and 6th, however the CDFA reports that those "treatments" were canceled due to fog and unsafe flying conditions.

Long Range Resistance writes, "UC Santa Cruz's irresponsible plans for expansion have been made without the meaningful participation or consent of the student body, and in disregard of Santa Cruz residents' concerns. On Wednesday, November 7th, we will make visible our opposition to UCSC's Long Range Development Plan, while dialoguing with each other about the issues at hand. Come one, come all!"

On Saturday, November 3rd, San Francisco hosted one of over 1,400 rallies across the country to call on political leaders to "Step It Up" by strengthening policies to cut carbon emissions. Step It Up has called the campaign "the largest coordinated climate change event in U.S. history." Step It Up San Francisco featured a carnival-like atmosphere complete with a Toss Out Fossil Fuel sock toss, sidewalk chalk, electric cars, and solar-powered smoothies. The crowd gave City Hall the "green finger" by stamping their fingers with green ink and symbolically pointing at City Hall.

On November 1st, Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick denied the County of Santa Cruz's request for a temporary restraining order to halt the aerial spraying of CheckMate LBAM-F over Santa Cruz County by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Three state-owned airplanes are scheduled to begin spraying pesticides over North Monterey County on Sunday, November 4th, and then over Santa Cruz County sometime early next week.

The United States Geological Survey reports, "a moderate earthquake occurred at 8:04:54 PM (PDT) on Tuesday, October 30, 2007. The magnitude 5.6 event occurred 8 km (5 miles) NNE of Alum Rock, CA."