A group of residents called People Against Chemical Trespass is hoping to pass an ordinance that would make it illegal for non-local governments to use any pesticides whatsoever on Santa Cruz soil without the blessing of her people.
Articles by elgeorge
SCPD Deputy Chief Patty Sapone Calls It Quits
On Feb. 5, Patty Sapone turns in her gun and badge for retirement. She leaves as the first woman to be promoted all the way through the ranks and the longest-serving female officer in SCPD history.
UCSC Researcher Finds Albatross Tragedy
In the video, a mottled Laysan albatross chick waddles slowly in a circle, clacking its beak angrily in the camera’s direction. Its scruffy brown wings hang limply at each side, occasionally fluttering and dragging in the soil as the young bird struggles to defend itself from the perceived threat. Around its grey webbed feet, tiny white flecks dot the ground.
“Paint chips,” says UC-Santa Cruz assistant researcher Myra Finkelstein, the woman behind the camera, who’s now watching the video on her home PC. “Lead-based paint chips cover the ground in a lot of places. It’s real easy for the young birds to ingest them.” With video.
Progressive Jewish Group Comes to Santa Cruz
“Pro-Israel, pro-peace” may not sound like a controversial mantra for a political action committee, but in the world of Israeli-American foreign policy advocates, it’s loaded with meaning.
Three Arrested in Pogonip Drug Sting
Santa Cruz police arrested three suspected drug dealers in the Pogonip Thursday after a sting operation was conducted, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports. The men, 23-year-old Alfonso Marquez, 23-year-old Rey Antonio and 31-year-old John Pitts, were charged with crimes related to heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.
A Cell Tax for Santa Cruz?
With local unemployment at 13.5 percent, it doesn’t take a scientific poll to tell most people that raising city taxes might be a tough sell. But Santa Cruz city leaders are not most people.
The Bike Dojo: Taking Santa Cruz For A Ride
Rob Mylls is a stocky, wisecracking 42-year-old who is most often found behind a set of carbon fiber handlebars. Last July, after his boss at Hewlett-Packard said goodbye with a handshake and a pink slip, Mylls decided to skip the job hunt to chase a dream. The result is the Bike Dojo, “A Cycling Community.” And for anyone who joins, Mylls and his partner Delfina Gimeno promise a year-round ticket to gorgeous scenery, better fitness and maybe even some new friends. With slide show.
Snow Business in Tahoe
The weeklong storm that brought 4.5 inches of rain to Santa Cruz last week, brought 46 inches of snow to Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe. With slide show.
Santa Cruz’s Spendy Solar Program
As Santa Cruz’s much-trumpeted Renewable Energy Assessment District inches closer to implementation, its fate increasingly seems tied to the 9 percent interest rate participants would pay to join. The program, dubbed CaliforniaFIRST and administered by the quasi–public organization California Communities, would let homeowners purchase alternative energy systems like solar panels with loans financed by the sale of “special district”-issued bonds. The plan targets homeowners that lack enough home equity or good credit to qualify for a bank-issued loan.
Two Drum Circle Protesters Convicted of Misdemeanors
It took 15 months, 19 court hearings and an estimated 500 hours of legal work to convict Jack Rusk and Wes Modes of a combined three misdemeanor citations—resisting arrest and obstruction of justice, plus, in Modes’ case, battery of a police officer—stemming from the September 2008 “drum circle protest” near the downtown Farmers Market.
