The Santa Cruz Skilled Nursing Center may be the largest nursing home in the county, but under its previous owners, it was faced with 21 complaints over patient care. Things have improved considerably since Nazareth Healthcare took over the facility, and its rating has been raised from one star to two. Nevertheless, a new complaint filed with the California Department of Public Health is raising questions as to whether things have really improved beyond the visible building renovations.
Articles by Danny Wool
The Cost of Desalination
At a meeting of the city of Santa Cruz Water Commission, the price for a new desalination plant was given as $99 million—and that was just the largest of several major water projects that the commission voted on for the next three years. The total cost of all the projects is $120 million.
Drunken Woman Rescued from Cliff
The excitement began on Sunday morning, when families living along the cliff near the Boardwalk trestle heard desperate calls for help.
Durbin Makes It Through
It took almost an hour for Ryan Seacrest to tell us that James Durbin made it through to the Top Ten of American Idol. It seemed as if they were toying with us. Sure, it was obvious, but then again, do you really trust the musical tastes of the American masses—the same people that bring us Justin Bieber? So we waited and waited and learned very little, except that Durbin likes heavy metal, and that he was in a photo shoot with People magazine and Country Living (can’t wait to see if they publish his brownie recipe).
Police Salaries Cut But Costs Up
The City of Santa Cruz successfully cut its salary base by 3.8 percent in order to meet its budget, the Sentinel reports. This meant more furloughs and positions remaining unfilled, forcing other city employees to pick up the slack. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the SCPD.
Traffic Stop Turns into Heroin Bust
It began as a routine traffic stop on Coral Street on Monday.
Protests Continue at UCSC
About 200 students demonstrated in UCSC yesterday to protest proposed budget cuts that would drain the state’s universities of $1.4 billion. The administration, charged with making the cuts, expressed understanding for the student demonstration, with UCSC Spokesman Jim Burns saying, “The concern that students have about the impact that reduced state support is having on the depth and breadth of our academic offerings is completely understandable. We’re concerned, too, especially since we now must figure out how to make another $19 million in cuts.”
City Avoids Pink Slip Blues
Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent Gary Bloom is very proud of the way the city’s school district has managed to keep its budget in check. Not one of the district’s 425 teachers will be getting a pink slip this year, and there is even money in the reserve fund.
Neighbors Complain About Homeless Guests
For months, Penny Huntsinger has been inviting the homeless to stay in her house at 126 Chrystal Terrace in exchange for doing small chores. She is trying to help, she explains, because the city’s shelters are all full, and these people have nowhere else to go. Her neighbors have opinions about all this.
He’s Got Another Round Comin’
Just as predicted, local rock star James Durbin was a huge hit on American Idol last night. His performance of the Judas Priest classic “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” even managed to bring out the inner heavy metal chick in Jennifer Lopez, and kept the f-bomb patrol on their toes as Steve Tyler commented, “You’re just crazy good, man.” Nor was it lost on the judges that Durbin debuted Judas Priest on a show better known for endless trite renditions of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and the Broadway musical Showgirls’ “And I Am Telling You.” Personally, I can’t wait to see him take on the late Joe Strummer.
