UCSC has eliminated a discounted health care plan for its employees, and staff are now being forced to choose between a cheaper plan that excludes physicians under the Sutter Health Network and an inclusive plan that is 150 percent more costly. Some 60 percent of the employees are affected. They are now faced with a dilemma: switch plans or switch physicians.
Articles by Danny Wool
School District Tackles Disparities
There’s no doubt that there is inequality in California’s schools. Some serve wealthy communities and have plenty of money and parental involvement to give already affluent kids a top-notch education. Others serve more impoverished communities, where parents are unable to help out or make donations to fund extra-curricular activities. Often, as in Santa Cruz, the two types of schools exist side by side in the same school district.
Rhode Island Artist Wins City Commission
About 10 years ago, Santa Cruz City Council passed an ordinance that said 2 percent of the cost of every public project be set aside for public art projects. According to the ordinance, the money cannot be transferred to the general fund, so the council has decided to go ahead with two large public arts programs. Rhode Island artist Brower Hatcher will receive $200,000 to create sculptures for two new roundabouts, planned but not yet built, for the intersections in front of the Municipal Wharf and Depot Park.
Woman Sues City Over Son’s Death
UCSC student Benjamin Quaye had just been ejected from a pub for fighting. He was visibly drunk and staggered along the street, trying to make his way home. Then he tripped, fell down a gully, hit his head and died. His body was discovered the next morning by a jogger. Now Quaye’s mother is suing the city for $2 million, claiming Santa Cruz police are responsible for his death.
County Rail Line Misses Key Deadline
Santa Cruz County’s Regional Transportation Commission admits that it is in a tough position. It failed to meet its target to sign a contract with Sierra Northern Railway by yesterday’s 5pm deadline. Sierra Northern Railway had been selected as the operator of the tourist train that would run along the line, making it eligible for state funding. According to the commission’s deputy director, Luis Mendez, a contract with a train service provider must be presented to the state by Nov. 3 in order to qualify for $10.2 million in state funding for the project.
Shark-Petting At Seymour Center
Kids and parents poured into the Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz on Sunday for a chance to do something they never imagined: pet a shark and live to tell about it. To mark the Center’s tenth anniversary, it unveiled its new shark tank, stocked with swell sharks. Swell sharks are generally harmless to humans and pose no threat to divers. Nevertheless, people were warned to, “Use two fingers only, touch gently on the middle of the back … don’t touch near their heads.” Still, it is an experience not to be missed, and great cause for boasting among kids and adults alike, “I pet a shark!”
Santa Cruz Local Foods To Expand
Noah and Eleanor Taylor have a backyard farm, and they wanted to make sure that their produce gets to as many people as possible. That’s why they started santacruzlocalfood.com, a local business that collects food from local farmers, sell it online to local buyers and delivers it—by bike, of course—to customers. It’s a chance for people to get the freshest strawberries, tomatoes, and lettuce, and even flowers, breads, meat, and eggs while leaving a minimal carbon footprint. All of their suppliers are local “small-to-medium-sized producers who employ organic methods or use organic ingredients and who operate within 100 miles of Santa Cruz, unless noted,” according to the site. Deliveries are done with Pedal Express and cost $7, but there is also an option of coming to a drop site and picking up the groceries you’ve ordered yourself at one of three locations. Pick up and delivery take place on Tuesday, between 4:30 and 6:30 pm.
The Butterflies Are Back—In Theory
The skies above Santa Cruz will soon be speckled in orange and black as the monarch butterfly begins migrating southward and westward for the winter. This Sunday, lepidopterists and fall color enthusiasts from across the county converged on Natural Bridges State Beach to see the monarch butterflies return to Santa Cruz in a blaze of orange and black. The park’s eucalyptus grove is the only monarch preserve in California, and Sunday marked the 24th annual Welcome Back Monarchs Day.
Rallies to Defend Public Education
They rallied at UCSC—inevitably—but also in Watsonville and downtown Santa Cruz. They waved signs that read, “Witness the death of public education.” As the state senate prepared to finally pass the budget, students across Santa Cruz County demanded that their legislators protect the state’s colleges and universities. It was the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education, and students and professors alike demanded that their voices be heard.
SCPD Shuts Down Drug Ring
The SCPD, together with the DEA and ICE, shut down a major drug ring in Operation Southern Exposure. According to police, more than 40 people were arrested, including nine who were in the country illegally. Police also confiscated several pounds of drugs (cocaine, meth, heroin, ecstasy, and crack), 10 firearms and $25,000.