Big Brother comes to Felton, plus two Santa Cruzans with calming influence
Safety: Not Just For Republicans
Re: “Give It a Restroom” (Letters, Jan. 8): As a mother of three young children here in Santa Cruz, I have numerous times found myself in potentially unsafe situations in broad daylight, downtown or close to downtown. It has turned me off from wandering freely around this town, which is a weird feeling since I've backpacked all over the world and spent many years in non-fancy parts of NYC. I feel unsafe in Santa Cruz; I don't want anyone “acting out” anywhere near my kids due to “fear” or mental illness.
I am all for an increased police force. Above all I am all for an effective police force.
And no, I'm far from Republican. But when someone gets murdered in your neighborhood by a “malnourished” homeless guy, well, the myth that crazy people wandering the streets won't actually hurt kinda falls apart. Not so sure more bathrooms will solve this.
Name Withheld By Request
Santa Cruz
Big Brother Out of Felton
The town of Felton has turned into a little right-wing spy and surveillance mafia-run police state. There are surveillance cameras everywhere in our town's businesses, violating our privacy and dignity as customers and as sovereign, free human beings. These cameras are in our laundromats, our natural food stores, our coffee shops, our thrift shops, inside and outside Safeway, Rite Aid and CVS, in our banks, in our convenience stores, etc.
Who the hell authorized these businesses to spy, photograph, survey and monitor us in this way?
We are not cattle! The town of Felton is not a nice, little bohemian town any longer, its turned into a little right wing, mafia-run Nazi police state!
I urge all residents of our quaint little town to boycott all of those businesses who illegally spy on their customers in this way. We also need to demand that they remove these cameras as well as have them all issue an apology to the entire community for the evil privacy violation crimes they are committing against us.
A sane, civilized, upright and decent society does not engage in this level of police state spying and surveillance of its citizenry.
Ruth Hertzberg
Felton
FROM THE WEB
The Power of Peace
Re: “Power Player” (Cover, Jan. 15): I played Ashwin's music in the prisons of Texas with great success engaging and calming prisoners down. Anyone with an anger issue in my presence quickly started smiling as they sat (in handcuffs) in my office. I am a huge fan of Ashwin and his family!
Donald Castellano-Hoyt
Devoted Following
Re: “Beyond the Trend” (Health and Fitness, Jan. 22): Danielle is an incredible teacher—deep, gentle, gifted, caring…she's one amazing “little sprout!” Many of us in her huge, loyal following at Toadal remark after every class how very, very lucky we are. Om shanti om.
Jennifer Salima Holt
