Feature Archives

Santa Cruz deputy harbormaster Timothy James Anderson is scheduled to be back in court in Napa County on March 4 to face battery charges stemming from an incident that occurred on August 13, 2013 near Lake Berryessa. Anderson and his friend Steven Belmont were arrested in Napa County after the incident, and Belmont has been ordered to stand trial on attempted murder charges for allegedly attacking Berryessa resident Roy Powell with a pitch fork.

In January 2013, Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit on behalf of the organization Stop Animal Exploitation Now, using the California state anti-cruelty code against an animal testing facility known as Santa Cruz Biotechnology. The company “harvests” blood from tens of thousands of animals, including goats and rabbits, and the case is currently on appeal. Last week, the Court denied a motion filed by Santa Cruz Biotech to keep secret the names of those who have a financial interest in the outcome of the animal cruelty lawsuit.

Animal rights activists demonstrated at the Chipotle Restaurant in Santa Cruz on January 24 as part of an international series of actions organized by Direct Action Everywhere. A letter was delivered to the manager reminding the company of the abuses animals farmed for food experience. It was a public delivery for patrons to witness, conveying the message, "It's not food. It's violence."

On January 16, the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) officially recommended Santa Cruz County to receive $25 million it requested for jail expansion at Rountree Detention Center in Watsonville. The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors now has 90 days to approve or reject the jail expansion proposal from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. In response to the BSCC's recommendation, Sin Barras and other community members demonstrated later that day at the Clock Tower in downtown Santa Cruz to say, "NO MORE MONEY FOR JAILS!"

Robin Moore / Save Upper Campus writes: We're bombarded daily with slogans and images promoting conservation, urging us to be green, and informing us of UC Santa Cruz's leadership in the field of sustainability. Meanwhile, UCSC is proposing to build on 240 acres of the undeveloped Upper Campus, removing redwood forest, mixed evergreen forest, and northern maritime chaparral in order to construct new buildings, roads, and parking lots.

At the end of December, stickers printed with the statement "Bring Back Code Blue! Santa Cruz, CA" were spotted in downtown Santa Cruz. Many residents remember the phrase "code blue" as a reference to when officers within the Santa Cruz Police Department organized a pattern of violent assaults on homeless or "street" people in the 1980s.

Community members continue to protest La Playa Carmel owner Sam Grossman's refusal to rehire the workers who were laid off in 2011 when the hotel was closed for a remodel. La Playa Carmel re-opened in 2012 and only three of the former workers, who were all union members, were hired back. At the holiday rally held on December 20, a former worker named Sergio said, "I miss working here. I worked for 23 Christmases in this restaurant, and the last three I haven't worked."