There are many ways to protect crops, besides industrial pesticides. According to Ken Kimes, owner of Santa Cruz County’s New Native Farms and a board member of the Community Alliance With Family Farmers, the people who are setting the rules have a lot to learn about that. “They’re used to working inside the factory walls,” he says. “If they’re not prepared for the farm landscape, it can come as quite a shock to them.”
News
Ten Questions for Larry Blood
The host of KUSP’s “Out Front, Outback” gives us the scoop on how a jazz lover makes it in this town.
Tremors Increase along San Andreas Fault
A UC Berkeley seismologist reports that the number of tremors along the San Andreas Fault has increased by as much as 80 percent over the last four years. Using evidence gathered from seismic tools buried near Parkfield to measure the phenomenon, Robert Nadeau explains that these tremors “can signal that there are deep stress changes going on that we hadn’t detected before.”
Health and Human Services Employees Laid off in Santa Cruz County
Some 50 county employees, most of them from Health Services Agency and Human Services Department, have been informed that they will be laid off due to budgetary constraints.
First Swine Flu Death in Santa Cruz County
County public health officials announced the first death from the H1N1 virus, or swine flu yesterday. The victim, a 52-year-old woman, has not been identified. Her condition was exacerbated because she suffered from asthma, which lowered her immunity to the disease. Health officials added that no other people in the country are currently hospitalized because of swine flu. The woman’s family other people she came into contact with are currently being tested for the disease.
Santa Cruz Final Budget Includes Citizen Input
When the Santa Cruz City Council passes its 2009-2010 fiscal year budget next Tuesday, it will usher in an agenda radically different from any since the Loma Prieta earthquake struck in 1989. Then, an unexpected natural disaster leveled buildings, crumbled roads and forced residents to sacrifice services for years to come in efforts to rebuild the community. Now, a far-from-natural financial disaster has ripped through Santa Cruz, like so many other American towns, and though buildings still stand, the devastation is undeniable.
County Bank to Accept State IOUs
Santa Cruz County Bank announced today that it will be joining big boys Bank of American and Bank of the West in accepting state issued IOUs, plus do customers one better.
The Fate of High Tech in California
In a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, almost 300 scientists and 25 legislators warned that planned budget cuts to the University of California system could endanger the state’s high tech industry.
Mark Stone to Swim the English Channel
Santa Cruz County Supervisor Mark Stone will be exchanging his suit for a Speedo sometime in the next two weeks as he plans to swim the English Channel. Stone has been training for the challenging swim since 2007 at both at the Simpkins Family Swim Center and in open waters, not even interrupting his daily workouts when he was up for reelection.
Petty Crime Shifts to Harvey West
Increased law enforcement on Pacific Avenue has led to rising crime in Harvey West, according to residents, businessowners and Santa Cruz police. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that many residents have complained of more illegal activity in the area, citing instances of drug deals, prostitution and public defecation. Since there are few parking limits in the area, Harvey West is also prime RV camping real estate. Santa Cruz Police Chief Steve Clark told the Sentinel that statistics show a crackdown in one part of town leads to heightened crime in other areas, in what he terms a “cyclical pattern.”
