Feature Archives

The people of Santa Cruz continue to show their support for activists who have taken to the trees in opposition of UCSC's Long Range Development Plan. Santa Cruz community members have come to observe, to bring supplies and to thank the tree-sitters for taking a stand against UCSC's plan to add 4,500 new students and destroy 120 acres of forest. Among the visitors were Mayor Emily Reilly, who called the site "inspirational," and said that she would donate food from her bakery to the activists.

On Saturday, November 10th, hundreds of people marched on Chevron's Richmond Refinery to oppose the company's proposal to process dirtier, sulfur-heavy oils in the city of Richmond.

The November 7th spill of bunker fuel from the Cosco Busan, South Korea-bound container ship, is shaping up to be much more serious than early reports indicated and appears to be the worst ship-related spill in more than a decade. The Coast Guard estimates that over 58,000 gallons of fuel were spilled from the accident. Only a fraction of those gallons of fuel have been contained thus far. San Francisco Baykeeper is investigating why initial reports underestimated the size of the spill and why the Coast Guard failed to immediately coordinate its response with the Office of Spill Prevention and Response.

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!"