People across Santa Cruz County have been rallying to help the local SPCA after what can only be called a very tough week. A shed that stored free dog food for needy families was broken into last week, but since the news went out, some $7,000 worth of pet food has poured in from concerned residents. Then there was the shed itself, which was replaced thanks to the efforts of Billy Klinkefus.
Articles by Danny Wool
Protesters Demand Bradley Manning’s Release
When people think about Wikileaks, they inevitably focus on Julian Assange, the founder of the controversial organization who was recently released from prison in Britain. Less attention is paid to Bradley Manning, who allegedly fed him large amounts of secret information and is currently kept in solitary confinement at a maximum security military prison in Quantico, Virginia. Manning became famous for leaking video footage of a U.S. Apache helicopter in Baghdad that killed a news photographer with Reuters and his driver. Though he has been in solitary for months, Manning has not been convicted yet.
UCSC Grad Among Those Slain in Arizona Shooting
Chancellor George Blumenthal of UCSC offered “our heartfelt condolences to Gabriel Zimmerman’s family, friends and colleagues.” Zimmerman, 30, a graduate of UCSC, was killed in the attack on Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson this Saturday.
Flooding on Soquel Avenue
A faulty pipe was able to do what some of the worst winter storms in years were not. A water main break on Soquel Avenue between the river and Ocean Street flooded the road and forced it to be closed down for several hours on Thursday. The pipe, which dates from 1924, burst at about 10am, causing a geyser of rocks and asphalt to shoot high into the air. While no businesses were damaged in the flooding, several cars parked along the street were.
UCSC’s American Studies Program Ailing
With budgetary constraints bearing down on universities throughout California, the five-member faculty of UCSC’s American Studies program has voted to suspend the major, at least while they explore alternatives to keeping the program open. Like Community Studies, which was suspended last year, the American Studies program will no longer be accepting new students, and its current focus will be on ensuring that the current classes of juniors and seniors graduate.
SPCA Wants to Build New Home
Just days after the SPCA suffered a break-in and the theft of hundreds of pounds of dog food, the agency announced that it has purchased a new, half-acre lot down the block from its current home where it hopes to build a new facility. Home is the right word. The current building is a converted two-bedroom house that now houses both animals and offices. The new home will be a 5,000-square-foot facility built with the welfare of the animals and its role as an office in mind.
Former Mayor Joins Governor’s Cabinet
Two-time Santa Cruz mayor and former Assemblymember John Laird has been appointed to Governor Jerry Brown’s cabinet as the new Secretary for Natural Resources, the Sentinel reports, with oversight of over more than two dozen state agencies. Laird is a longtime environmental activist, and the California League of Conservation Voters called his selection “superb.”
Reservoir Level Belies Water Needs
The heavy rains have almost filled Loch Lomond, and another storm could bring it past the spilling point, but that doesn’t mean the county’s water problems have evaporated. According to the Santa Cruz Water Department, the reservoir can hold 2.86 billion gallons of water, and it is just 80 million gallons short of that because of the extensive rains. “But that doesn’t mean we’re out of trouble,” water department chief Bill Kocher told the Santa Cruz Sentinel. The district’s customer base is growing, but the capacity to store water is not growing along with it.
Scotts Valley Hotel Facing Foreclosure
There is plenty in the news about homes facing foreclosure, but little about other properties. That may soon change. Lenders are foreclosing on the Scotts Valley Hilton for an unpaid debt of $16.8 million. Though some estimates place the number of hotels in California in distress at about 1,000, this is the first hotel in Santa Cruz County to actually face foreclosure.
Alpo Goes Missing
Over the past few months, SantaCruz.com has reported on the dearth of food in the city’s food pantries and how that affected the holiday season. But people aren’t the only living things to go hungry in these times of need. Many animal lovers are struggling to feed their pets too, which is why the local SPCA launched its pet food pantry 10 years ago.
