In a pastel-toned house just off Highway 1 in Davenport, an 89-year-old man weeps softly into his hands. He says he’s worried that if his sewer and water bills jump from around $2,700 to $4,000 per year, like they’re scheduled to by the end of July, he’ll have to sell the home he’s lived in since 1947. A widower with no children, a fixed income and an advancing case of prostate cancer, he says he can’t bear to think of leaving.
Articles by elgeorge
Congratulations, Santa Cruz, It’s MGMT
For a young band with superstar status and a hot first album there’s no less enviable task than recording a second one. Fans want another catchy blockbuster they can sing in the shower, critics want a challenging new effort that shows artistic progression. What they get is sometimes a little of both, but mostly a lot of neither. Hence: the “sophomore slump.”
A Photo Finish for Amgen Race in Santa Cruz
It was a photo finish in Santa Cruz for stage three of the Amgen Tour of California as United States’ David Zabriskie nosed ahead of Australia’s Michael Rogers by mere inches to claim the stage win. Defending TOC champ, Santa Rosa’s Levi Leipheimer came in third, while local favorite Ben Jacques-Maynes of Watsonville finished 38th and cycling legend Lance Armstrong placed 14th among the 58 cyclists who completed the 113-mile race from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. With slideshow and videos.
Supe Candidate Haunted by Prank
The 2002 police report that details a threatening voicemail left by Watsonville City Councilman and 4th District Supervisor candidate Emilio Martinez reads like a scene out of Goodfellas. Using a grand total of 15 F-bombs deftly placed among 12 sentences, Martinez makes it clear that one Joe Norris, a former colleague at Indian Motorcycles in Gilroy, ought to tender his resignation.
Dogs Rule at Woofstock West in Soquel
Fed up with the leashes of society and begging for change, hundreds of dogs descended on the athletic fields of Soquel High School on Sunday for the Woofstock West, Spring Dog Festival. Put on by local canine advocacy group Coastal Dogs, the event featured beauty contests, races, an obstacle course, fetching competitions and even “weenie bobbing,” a game where dogs slurp up hotdog chunks in a tub of water. With slideshow and video.
In Santa Cruz, Anarchists of All Stripes
One week after masked so-called anarchists vandalized 18 businesses and a police car in downtown Santa Cruz during a May 1 street party, another group of anarchists is meeting a few blocks away from the scene. The setting is the sunlit patio of the The Abbey Coffee, Art and Music Lounge on Highland Street, and calling the meeting to order is John Malkin, author, journalist, radio host and self-described Buddhist anarchist.
Santa Cruz County RTC Buys Railroad
It’s official. The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission is buying a railroad. In a meeting Thursday night, commissioners voted unanimously to spend a total of $19.2 million in state transportation money to buy the tracks from railroad giant Union Pacific and to repair and upgrade them for increased business.
Santa Cruz Surfers Tale Hits the Silver Screen
Though he didn’t have a title for it at the time, Joshua Pomer started filming The Westsiders when he was 16 years old. It was the late 1980s, and, armed with a bulky video camera he borrowed from Santa Cruz High, the teenaged Pomer took in his immediate surroundings: Steamer Lane, the Circles neighborhood and the surf-centered antics of his ragtag group of friends. Over the years, Daryl “Flea” Virostko, Shawn “Barney” Barron and Jason “Ratboy” Collins—Pomer’s cast and crew—became celebrated pro surfers. Pomer, meanwhile, acquired progressively fancier cameras. What happened in the interim has less to do with surfing or filmmaking than with the trials of life and the bonds of friendship, and is the subject of Pomer’s documentary, which premiers Saturday, May 8 at the Riverfront Twin Cinema at 6:30pm as part of the Santa Cruz Film Festival.
Santa Cruz Rail Line Purchase Hurtles Toward Approval
Sierra Northern Railway Engine No. 48 rumbles slowly down the tacks toward Watsonville. A growling, 125-ton rolling box of steel and fuel, its form or one similar has hauled people and goods along the 32 miles of Santa Cruz Branch Line railroad since 1881. Beneath it, the tracks and the land at least 20 feet on either side are owned by Union Pacific, as old and imposing a company as you’ll find in American business. And until the Cemex cement plant in Davenport closed down in January, Cliff Walters and Wes Swift, the engineer and conductor inside the train, had plenty of work driving loads both north and south of Santa Cruz, their bosses at Sierra making a modest but steady profit while turning over lease payments in cash and services to UP like clockwork. With slideshow.
UCSC’s Shiny New Art Building
Art majors at UCSC got a look at their fancy new digs last Thursday when the university opened its Digital Arts Research Center to much fanfare. The $35 million, three-story complex, with its metal, glass and mesh design, glistened in the warm afternoon sun as the chiming music of UCSC’s Balinese Gamelan jingled in the background. David Yager, the school’s incoming dean of the Arts Division, along with Chancellor George Blumenthal, addressed the crowd of about 200 people before cutting a yellow ribbon and opening the doors for the attendees.With slideshow.
