Feature Archives

On January 16th at about 4:20pm, Santa Cruz Police Sgt. Flippo, Officer Auldridge, and three other cops (two as back-up) began writing warnings to folks on the edges of the drum circle in the Cathcart parking lot. The drummers, after ignoring the police for awhile, moved to Pacific Avenue to continue drumming at Soquel and Pacific. The Trash Orchestra calls for drummers to participate in a rousing drum circle on Wednesday, January 23rd at the Cathcart parking lot.

On January 12th, two University of California police officers used pepper spray to disperse about 15 people gathered below an occupied redwood tree on Science Hill at UC Santa Cruz. One of the officers proclaimed that the group was trespassing and then both officers began pepper spraying people in their faces.

a writes, "Last night [January 9th] 2 friends and I were walking from Kresge towards the science buildings when we heard screams...LOUD screams coming from the area of the tree sit. We ran as fast as we could towards them. We saw 2 cop cars, about six officers including 1 bike cop and two security guards. A woman was being dragged toward a squad car. We approached slowly, but were asking the cops to take it easy on her, it sounded like she was being hurt."

On two successive Wednesdays, December 26th and January 2nd, police officers ordered a peaceful drum circle to leave the parking lot on Cedar Street alongside the Santa Cruz Farmers Market. The police are enforcing a new municipal ordinance, which went into effect in mid-November, that activists refer to as the 'Parking Lot Panic Law.' The merchant-backed law prohibits lingering in a parking lot or garage, unless you have a vehicle there (and then only for fifteen minutes).

The Wireless Radiation Alert Network (WRAN) educates Santa Cruz County community members on the adverse health effects related to Electro Magnetic Frequency (EMF) exposure in the extremely-low frequency (ELF) and radiofrequency (RF) band of the electromagnetic spectrum (1-300GHz). Energies of these frequencies, called non-ionizing, are used in electrical transmission, distribution and electrical use by the public, by radio and tv broadcasts, cellular transmissions, wireless internet access and more. WRAN promote alternatives to wireless communication systems, for example the use of fiber optics and coaxial cables and to preserve existing landline phone networks.

As of December 20, 2007 various governmental agencies and public interest groups have received 643 documented complaints from Monterey and Santa Cruz area residents who believe they suffered adverse short-term reactions following the aerial spraying of pesticide pheromones on their cities in September, October, and November 2007. Of the 643 complaints, 509 are reported here for the first time, along with the original 134 complaints of adverse reactions following the aerial spraying of the Monterey area in September which were released to state agencies and the press in October.

Steven Argue writes, "For the most part the Iowa caucuses were business as usual for the Democrat and Republican Parties. Among the Democrats, 'anti-war' and 'pro-single payer health care' Democrat Dennis Kucinich put his support behind pro-war, anti-single payer health care Barack Obama. Yet on the far right, anti-war Libertarian and Republican Ron Paul gained a stunning 10% of the vote."