Feature Archives

UAW-QUAD writes, "Upon reading the UAW Local 2865’s summary of advancements made in the recent round of contract negotiations (emailed 10/4), one might think we made significant progress in improving our rights and benefits. It is apparent, however, that only small movement was made in the area of improving the rights of minority groups, while, generally speaking, disproportionate progress was made around the rights of the majority."

A tribute and memorial for Richard Quigley took place October 13th on the Santa Cruz Courthouse steps. Love him or hate him, he never gave up his fight for freedom for the oppressed. Quig t-shirts and baseball cap motorcycle helmets were available as well as an "open mic" for comments and tributes.

Suterra LLC, a manufacturer of "biorational" pest control products based in Bend, Oregon, has issued a cease and desist letter to Indybay demanding that information about a "secret" ingredient in the CheckMate OLR-F mating disruption pheromone be removed from the site.

Robert Norse writes, "Vice-Mayor Ryan Coonerty's latest attack on the Constitution is a new local law. It will expand a bad law passed last year to ban lingering in a city parking garage. Coonerty's expansion will ban all those not parking a car or auto from all downtown city parking garages and now all downtown city parking lots. It will be coming to City Council for a first reading in the evening of October 9th. No more Food Not Bombs or Drum Circles on Wednesday. Cars, yes. Human interaction, no."

Helping Our Peninsula's Environment (HOPE), an organization dedicated to protecting the natural environment, sued the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) because they violated California's Environmental Quality Act. CDFA refused to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) claiming they are exempt because it is an emergency. CDFA plans to aerially re-spray the Monterey Peninsula with Suterra's Checkmate pesticide (a moth pheromone) starting October 9th.

Disorientation Guide Collective writes, "We are trying to write and share our own history of the university. In other words, this is an introduction to the side of UC Santa Cruz that you might have heard about but won’t find in your glossy orientation materials. The guide is important to us because we realize that there are many difficult issues and challenges facing new UCSC students and we’d like to offer some information and inspiration."

On September 27th, the first day of UCSC's Fall quarter, service workers organized with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 initiated an informational picket in the Baytree Plaza demanding a fair labor contract. Workers, some with their families, were joined by student allies for a rally to send a strong message to UC administration that AFSCME, the Student Worker Coalition for Justice and graduate students organized with UAW Local 2865 are united in demanding that UC prioritize workers, students and their families.