The lineup of surfers anxiously awaiting a clean drop at Steamer Lane this weekend will have to wait a little longer. Here come three days of competitive surfing with a twist—the best paddle-powered wave riders the world over are set to take the beach by storm. After whipping wind and hail cut short the quarter-century-old competition last year, the Santa Cruz PaddleFest is back.
News
Letters to the Editor, Mar. 14-20
Here’s what public schools, desalination, and Madonna all have in common: they can all elicit pretty strong opinions from Santa Cruz Weekly readers.
Supervisor Letter Shows Dog Leash Tensions
Officers from the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter started issuing tickets earlier this year for people walking their dogs without leashes. Judging from a recent newsletter from Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold, the enforcement change is causing a stir in parts of the county.
LAFCO Delays Decision on UCSC Water Expansion
The Santa Cruz Local Agency Formation Commission voted yesterday by a narrow margin to kick a can of water issues farther down the road.
UCSC Alum Edited Occupy Movement Paper
Two weeks after the first protestors unrolled their sleeping bags in Zuccotti Park, Occupy Wall Street’s inaugural newspaper hit the streets of lower Manhattan, hot off the people’s press. Among those hawking that first free issue of The Occupied Wall Street Journal was UCSC graduate Michael Levitin. A journalist by trade, Levitin jumped at the chance to join in the paper’s creation and help broadcast the diversity of voices and shared frustrations from within the fledgling movement.
Montessori Charter Advocates Drop Controversial Video
Nobody’s born with political acumen. It develops, often painfully, from the experience-driven discovery that something you just did pissed off a lot of people. Which might resonate with the organizers of a group called the Maria Montessori Charter School Families. They’ve learned firsthand, at their own pace (in a very Montessori way, you might say), a hard lesson about selling their concept for a charter elementary school to public school officials. Namely: First beware of insulting them.
Kicking Sugar for Better Health
Jill Escher had me at “clear skin” and “lifted brain fog.” Armed with a copy of her book, Farewell Club Perma-Chub: A Sugar Addict’s Guide to Easy Weight Loss, I hurled myself cold turkey into a sugar-free existence a few weeks ago, just as Girl Scout Cookie season commenced. And it wasn’t just the white stuff, either. All starches had to go.
Libertarian Think Tank Hosts Public Pensions Debate
A Santa Barbara–based think tank is hoping to turn up the heat on California’s discussion of public employee compensation in a series of debates with a libertarian slant. Oddly enough, the first stop is in Santa Cruz.
Letters to the Editor, Mar. 7-13
Oh, it’s been so very long since the Doobie Brothers were in town (but not that long…).
A Student’s View
It’s 4:30am Wednesday, not yet daybreak, at the intersection of Hagar and Coolidge on the UCSC campus. Already a few dozen intrepid protesters have gathered to block access to campus from the main entrance despite the chill of dawn and undoubtedly short-circuited sleep cycles. Soon word comes from the other entrances: they have been effectively blocked, and the protesters have their first victory before the sun has even appeared on the horizon.
