A Glimpse into the Santa Cruz Skate Scene
This article was written prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. The sound of wheels scraping smooth cement echoes throughout Derby Skate Park. Skaters gain speed as they glide down the sides of the snake run into the bowl. Someone speeds across, launching himself out of the…
Santa Cruz County Adopts E-Ballot Markers
Santa Cruz County’s new accessibility enabled voting machines have everything election experts ask for — they’re touch-screen, won’t keep your data on file and aren’t connected to the internet. When I tried one out on Feb. 11, county clerk Gail Pellerin led me into a…
Q&A With Santa Cruz City Council Member Contenders
Santa Cruz County voters will have the option to recall two city councilmembers, as well as choose from four potential successors, in the March 3 primary election. City on a Hill Press (CHP) conducted interviews with the six candidates to better understand the platforms they’re…
Recall Spearheaded by Outside Forces
Santa Cruz United (SCU) began its recall campaign in May 2019. Organizers marketed themselves as a grassroots campaign with the intention of removing City Council members Chris Krohn and Drew Glover from office. SCU grounded its campaign on the claims that Krohn and Glover created an…
Local Progressive Push Amid a National Divide
Three years into his graduate physics program at UC Santa Cruz, Clayton Strawn, 25, didn’t think he would get involved in local politics. He just didn’t see it in his future. But, frustrated by Donald Trump’s administration and inspired by Bernie Sanders’ grassroots activism, Strawn…
Another Generation Cometh
You’ve heard the stories about the bakeries who won’t cater gay weddings, about conversion therapy and the pickets outside abortion clinics. To many Americans, LGBTQIA+ rights and religion are like oil and water, destined to disassociate by holy texts written in the age of Philistines…
Federal Judge Halts Ross Camp Closure
Content warning: This article contains reference to sexual assault and violence. Many Ross Camp residents questioned the future of their living situation the afternoon of April 23 as they prepared to vacate the encampment under orders from the city. Some asked another question — did…
Gateway Plaza Camp to Remain Open for Now
After over a month of flip-flopping on what to do with the houseless encampment behind Gateway Plaza, sometimes called the Ross encampment, the Santa Cruz City Council rejected a plan to close the camp. Council members Cynthia Mathews and Donna Meyers and Mayor Martine Watkins…
Climate Conference Challenges Apathy
A United Nations study in late 2018 revealed we have just 12 years to control climate change and prevent global crisis. For many marginalized communities around the world, the crisis has already come. The sixth annual Climate Science and Policy Conference, held April 11 at…
Funding Arrives for Houseless Youth
Zero houseless youth by 2022. That is Santa Cruz County’s goal. But almost two years have passed since the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded funds in 2017 to help the county reach its goal. Due to a complex approval process, nonprofits…