One of the outstanding cases facing the SCPD is on its way to being solved.
Articles by Danny Wool
Jury Rules in Favor of Vets
When the county closed the Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Santa Cruz because of safety concerns, the vets decided to fight back. They argued that the reports were exaggerated and that the replacement facility on Emeline Avenue did not meet their basic requirements. It may have been the same size as the original location, they argued, but it was difficult for elderly and disabled vets to get to. Furthermore, it didn’t even have a kitchen, they added, which is why they decided to forego their traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the needy next week.
UCSC Students Protest Tuition Hike
While the UC Board of Regents was meeting in San Francisco, about 200 students from UCSC gathered at the Porter College quad to protest a proposed tuition hike. At the San Francisco meeting, the regents were planning to decide whether to go ahead with an 8 percent tuition hike, on top of last year’s 32 percent hike. The students were furious at the prospect. In 2001, they noted, tuition was $7,695. In the 2011-2012 school year, it will be $11,124.
Smoking Kills
A Santa Cruz woman died in a house fire on Sunday night. Now investigators are saying that the cause of the fire was an untended cigarette. The fire, which occurred in a duplex at 201 Idaho Ave., was first reported at 5:20am. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke seeping out of the doors and the windows.
Commission Approves Amended Climate Plan
The city of Santa Cruz’s Transportation and Public Works Commission voted in support of the city’s Climate Action Plan on Monday. The plan is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city 30 percent from 1990s levels by 2020 by encouraging alternative energy use, conservation and—most controversially—reducing car trips by 30 percent over the next 10 years.
Zipcar Having an Impact on Santa Cruz
Last month there were seven Zipcars in Santa Cruz. Now there are 13. The service, which allows members to rent a car cheaply on an hourly basis, is already having an impact, reducing the amount that people drive locally, while eliminating the costs and pressures of owning a vehicle.
UCSC Professor Tackles Feminicide South of the Border
When we think about crimes against women, we usually think of the oppressive Taliban regime in Afghanistan or the mass rape of women in the Congo. We seldom think that the phenomenon is taking place much closer to home—in fact, right across the border. UCSC professor Rosa-Linda Fregoso aims at changing that perception. In Terrorizing Women: Feminicide in the Americas, a new book which she co-edited, she tackles the problem in Ciudad Juarez, right across the border in Texas. More than 1,000 women have been murdered there since 1993.
Two March for Repeal of DADT
Veterans from across the Bay Area gathered in San Jose yesterday to mark Veterans Day. Two veterans were conspicuously absent. Jason Knight and Jeffrey Kongslie Correa both studied at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, then served their country overseas. But Knight, a Hebrew linguist, was later discharged—twice—from the U.S. Navy under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Correa, who studied Arabic and spent six years in the Air Force, decided not to reenlist because of the discriminatory policy. He is now co-owner of the Vino Cruz wine shop in Santa Cruz. On Thursday the two walked from the gates of the Presidio in Monterey all the way to Santa Cruz to protest the law that prevents openly gay and lesbian men and women from serving in the military. Knight is one of 12,000 men and women who’ve been discharged from the military since 1994 because they are gay, even though the country is fighting two wars—and even though many servicemen and women are now their their third tour of duty overseas because of a shortage of soldiers.
Local Biz Gets Call From Veep
The recent election has shown that plenty of people across the country are upset about the stimulus bill. Not everyone, though. Some people are actually grateful for the opportunity it gave them to grow their business, even in a recession. Zach Davis and Kendra Baker, owners of Santa Cruz’s new Penny Ice Creamery, are among them. They even made a brief Youtube video thanking the President, Vice President, Senators Feinstein and Boxer and Representative Farr for giving them the support they need to get their new business off the ground. They even listed all the people they employed to make their dream of world-class ice cream made from scratch a reality.
Bike Rage In The Park
On Wednesday, police say that cyclist Eric Lamb began shouting obscenities at two young children who were playing in his way while he was riding through San Lorenzo Park. He then allegedly swerved intentionally to hit them, striking a 3-year-old with his bike.
