Timothy Leary once said that “We are dealing with the best-educated generation in history, but they’ve got a brain dressed up with nowhere to go.” Well, they could have gone to the San Jose Holiday Inn to attend the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) Conference. The Santa Cruz-based group brought together 1,000 people to discuss the benefits of psychedelic drugs, especially as a means of helping people tackling such problems as depression, OCD and PTSD.
Articles by Danny Wool
Fire on The Mountain
Firefighters were called last night to put out a fire at the new McHenry Library. The building, which is under renovation, is slated to house the Grateful Dead archives, and some of the documents were already in the building. Nevertheless, university authorities say that the collection was not damaged in any way.
Two Dead in Family Spat
Two men are dead after a family spat ended with a shooting on Hutchinson Road, off Highway 35 near the summit.
County Superior Court Could Lose One-Quarter of Its Staff
Faced with a $2.3 million shortfall on its $18 million budget, the Santa Cruz County Superior Court is preparing to lay off between 20 and 30 of its employees by the end of this fiscal year on June 30. The total staff of the court is 140. The decision comes on top of a major restructuring effort announced two weeks ago.
Transportation Commission Eyeing King Street
The Transportation Commission has called on the city to study a bike-friendly King Street corridor.
Vets Hall to Cost $1.4 Million to Fix
First the good new: the Veterans Memorial Building can be repaired. Next the bad news: it will cost $1.4 million. This was the finding of a report by the Streeter Group Inc. of Soquel. The problems, according to the report, include fractured concrete columns in the auditorium and shaky soil beneath the foundation. It could pose a danger to people in the event of a significant earthquake. Repairs to the building could take anywhere from four to six months, but first the county will have to come up with the $1.4 million.
Search for Deputy Police Chief Underway
Santa Cruz is looking for a new deputy police chief, and three officers have already applied, even though the new position pays $10,000 less than the last deputy police chief earned.
City Takes Steps to Help Panhandlers … and Residents
One of the most frequent complaints heard about downtown Santa Cruz is that it is being overrun with panhandlers pleading with passersby to spare them some change. At its weekly meeting yesterday, City Council voted in support of a solution to help the indigent while reducing the impact that panhandlers are having on local businesses. It voted to add eight red parking meters labeled “Imagine” to the downtown area for people to drop their change.
Pigeon Point Lighthouse a Victim of the Times
A hundred years ago, ships sailing between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay could look to the Pigeon Point Lighthouse for reassurance that the safety of dry land was nearby. In these days of radio and sonar, however, the lighthouses of old are mainly curiosities, reminding us of the past—a past that could soon be forgotten. Pigeon Point Lighthouse is crumbling away, and there is no money to rescue it.
Bus Routes Likely to Be Cut
The Santa Cruz County Metropolitan Bus District is looking at which routes it can cut as it deals with a multimillion-dollar deficit.
