Senior administrators at UCSC met with students on Tuesday night to talk about looming budget cuts, which could intensify if voters reject the governor’s tax extension. The prognosis agreed to by everyone at the meeting was that the situation is “grim,” and that the impending cuts would be “devastating.”
Articles by Danny Wool
Medical Staff Take on Bosses at Salinas
John Steinbeck would be proud. Rather than sitting down with their bosses to negotiate deeper cuts, nurses, technicians and other hospital workers in the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare system have taken on their employers, telling them, “No, you’re not broke, and we can prove it.”
Is Santa Cruz Getting Older?
The recent census reveals that Santa Cruz County’s population grew by 2.7 percent over the past decade. It also found that the new population is considerably older. The number of youth in the county dropped by almost 9 percent, or 5,323 people. The county is getting older.
Durbin Plays Santa Cruz
James Durbin may not have made the top three on American Idol, but no one would have thought it after the reception he received on Saturday from the people of Santa Cruz. The Idol cameras weren’t at the Boardwalk, but 15,000 screaming fans were as Durbin took the stage.
Durbin Gets the Boot
There are still two more episodes of American Idol this season, but now that James Durbin got the boot, America has already picked its idol: the commercialization of music. The final three were not judged by their talent but by their appeal to a specific demographic. Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery are two of a kind. They are one-trick ponies who sing country and appeal to the prepubescent girl demographic, the same demographic that would vote for Justin Bieber over, say, Bob Dylan, or for those three annoying brothers whose names escape me (perhaps because they were so forgettable) over the Rolling Stones. While the third contestant, Haley Reinhart, may have had some sass, her performances were mixed. She did, however, appeal to all the little girls, who wanted to be just like her.
Gaga Goes Gaga For James
Theoretically, American Idol did a good thing last night—it put James right at the beginning and then again, right at the end. In a perfect world, it meant that I could have catnapped for an entire hour between the two performances. Unfortunately, this is when people must keep their eyes fully on the competition, and so the catnap was a little less restful. Oh, those sneaky, sly producers! No wonder they get the big bucks.
Bring Durbin Home
Santa Cruz is going Durbinsane. Even the Sentinel is featuring pro-James statements from James’s not-so-close relatives and friends. There’s the barber who does his dentist’s hair, a theater arts teacher at Cabrillo College who once saw James perform live, the mother of his sister’s friend from middle school, the mother of the director of a high school play he was in, a man whose sister went to high school with James’s father, and (gasp!) someone who once did karaoke the same night as him. What else can describe it but Durbinsanity?!
City Council Split Over Immigration
Santa Cruz has long been known as a “Sanctuary City,” which means it does not spend its resources on deporting illegal immigrants. That could soon be changing, though, after a contentious City Council meeting on Tuesday. In the end, councilmembers voted 4-3 not to support new state legislation allowing local authorities to opt out of a federal immigration reporting-and-detention program. The majority decided that it was not the role of city council to advise the sheriff’s office on how to respond to federal issues.
Durbin’s (Almost Definite) Hometown Tour
There’s country and there’s gospel, along with all the bubble gum pop for which American Idol is famous. Then there’s James Durbin. He’ll explode onstage with a marching band or leap from a piano as it bursts into flames. He’ll pout, he’ll shriek, he’ll hit notes that will send you rushing to protect your stemware, and his audience—everyone from pre-teen girls to gyrating grandmas and grandpas reliving their wild Woodstock days—will be hanging on the edge of their seats, hollering for more. He’s Santa Cruz’s answer to 21st century rock, and he’ll be coming home for a visit to the Beach Boardwalk this Saturday if everything turns out right. Which is to say if Scotty McCreery, Haley Reinhart or Lauren Alaina gets the boot from the show this week.
Mall Store Draws Criticism From Parents
Gang violence has long been a problem in Santa Cruz County, especially among teens. Now some people say that the Urbano clothing store in Capitola Mall is helping stoke the fire. In question is a jacket with the questionable message “Dispose of your local snitch” emblazoned boldly across the back. “Even if they don’t go in and buy it,” says one parent, “kids see it. It gets them psyched up.”
