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Nuz
Seems nobody noticed the new tenants that moved into the old Steenstrup Candy building on Porter Street, right down the street from Soquel High School. That is, until the kiddies brought letters home to Mom and Dad from the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District explaining that those new tenants, Specialty Engineering, would be using chemicals like 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (TCA) and isopropyl alcohol in their daily operations.
Suddenly, gang fights and concealed weapons took a distant second to Junior and Missy's health and safety on campus--alarmed parents turned out for two meetings to find out what the heck was going on.
According to its founder, Dr. Alan Selfridge, Specialty Engineering manufactures high-tech instruments that do everything from diagnosing and treating AIDS to "stuff for the space shuttle," as he puts it. The bone of contention, TCA, is used as a degreasing solvent. Says Selfridge, "[TCA] is pretty common in the industry because it's low on the toxicity level. You'd be doing a greater disservice to the environment by painting a piece of plywood every day."
That's not what Dr. Benet Luchion thinks. His group, the Committee for Universal Security, now has jumped into the act, demanding that "Specialty Engineering be a non-toxic industry in this community." Luchion (Ph.D. in theology, master's in chemistry) says in his press release that TCA can cause corneal burns, narcosis, nervous system damage and slow reaction time. And, that perennial ruler of every medicine cabinet, isopropyl alcohol, can cause sinus and larynx cancer, fatigue and hypertension. "We appeal to Community [sic] to oppose Toxic Chemicals at this site," says Luchion's flyer.
Fred Thoits at the air pollution control district figures it's out of his hands. "[Specialty Engineering] applied for a fume hood permit in December; we did an evaluation and found the project met all the district's rules and regulations," Thoits says. "And we have a regulation that requires us to deny or approve a project based on the criteria. The people who are upset by this are those who don't want the release of any chemical in their community. There's no meeting of the minds."
District Supervisor Jan Beautz is also looking a bit askance at this new kid in town. "This [business] falls under the category of getting an over-the-counter [planning] permit. But to me, this doesn't seem to be one who should," she notes.
Says County Planning Department Director Dan Shaw, "The neighbors raised several issues about how we issued the permit, but we reviewed it and [Specialty Engineering] did it the right way."
Although the air district has extended the public comments period for another month, there is currently little to dissuade it from issuing a permit for the fume hood exhaust system, necessary for the emission of toxic chemicals.
No public meetings are planned at this time, although the air district is preparing another mailing to neighbors and the parents of Soquel High students.
Fishing for BASS
Now wait a minute. BASS ticket agency holds a virtual monopoly on ticketing in the greater Bay Area, tags a 20 percent "service charge" on all tickets, but can't afford an 800 number for concert info? It's not that our heart doesn't go out to that needy conglomerate, but music fans like Philip Noland who live in the Santa Cruz mountains are the ones truly down on their luck. Up there, they can't get tickets to many big Santa Cruz, San Jose or San Francisco events without going through BASS, and the closest outlets are in Santa Cruz proper. That means they have to drive quite a few clicks to determine whether tickets are even available.
Why not call? "We're a walk-in service," says an employee at the Santa Cruz Civic box office, a BASS outlet, offering a San Jose number for ticket information. "It's a problem for mountain people," she admits.
Nuz decided to see what ol' Phil was upset about. First, we called the phone company to check the rates, and then called the San Jose number. It took seven minutes just to get a human being on the line--that's 80 cents--during which we navigated a maze of annoying options and were subjected to an ad for a glossy music magazine called Live. We were also informed about a FedEx service (didn't ask how much that cost) and told we should have our Visa card out "because BASS prefers Visa!"
When "Kenny" finally answered, he gave us the Visa pitch before saying his name. We asked about Doc Watson at Palookaville. Kenny typed something on his computer and asked (since we were waiting, he said) if we'd be interested in a lengthy full-color magazine. Um, no thanks, Kenny.
Finally, we got to the bottom line: $21.50 for the ticket, plus $2.75 for a "transaction fee," plus a $4.50 per ticket "service charge" (the service, we presume, was the privilege of being offered that nice magazine). Grand total, including phone call: $29.75.
Hell's Gate
So far, that nice new gate on the Locust Street Parking Garage has been nothing more than a pain in the rear end for holders of long-term downtown parking permits. Permit holders were supposed to get key cards that would allow them to pass the checkpoint--or should we say "cash-point"--but the new devices haven't worked since the gates became operational last month. This leaves drivers in the awkward position of having to explain, each time they pull up to the window, that they have a permit.
The hardware appeared to be at fault, explained one gate-keeper a couple weeks ago. Now, says another, city parking brass believe it to be a software problem. Software, hardware--c'mon folks. Isn't it just the slightest bit possible that the garage simply wants to be free?
The system's software designer will be here soon to troubleshoot, promises a toll-booth hostperson, and the city hopes the damn thing'll be working by week's end.
It's Murder Out There
Police are looking for witnesses to the shooting of Los Gatan Rick Foster, who was found lying on the shoulder of northbound Highway 1, dead from a single gunshot wound. Investigators believe that Foster and suspect David Turturici were playing freeway tag over Highway 17 and onto Highway 1, a not uncommon blood sport that erupts when dueling testosterone levels hit a vacuum of driving etiquette. This time, though, one of the cowboys was armed. Witnesses are sketchy at this point, so if anyone saw a red Mercury Capri ragtop and a grey 1979 Benz 280SE going at it on 17 late Wednesday night, give Detective Chuck Crompton at call at 475-4243 or Inspector Steve Smith at 454-2591. This page was designed and created by the Boulevards team.
Flunking Chem
Nuz loves tips. Leave messages by calling 457-9000.
From the Feb. 15-21, 1996 issue of Metro Santa Cruz
Copyright © 1996 Metro Publishing and Virtual Valley, Inc.