Results tagged “santacruz”

If you're heading down to Santa Cruz this weekend to buy and take illicit drugs -- a common practice in a city that seems to have crashed into the side of California -- remember on thing: you won't be able to smoke outdoors starting today. IN certain areas, at least. Santa Cruz's outdoor smoking ban went into effect today. According to KTVU, "[a] new ordinance, approved by the City Council on Sept. 22, prohibits smoking on Pacific Avenue, Beach Street between the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf and Third Street, and West Cliff Drive." Over the last ten years, Pacific Avenue -- once a bastion of unwashed, methed out looking for a tuppence or two -- has turned into more of a boutique street.

Are you of the gay persuasion? Do you have a family? Do you like old roller coasters? Do you like Dipping Dots? Well, you're in luck. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, a seaside attraction usually filled with vile teenagers and gang members, is having Gay Family Day this coming Saturday, 10/3.

      

More than 2,400 residents are under a mandatory evacuation as the Bonny Doon wildfire continues to singe over 4,100 acres. So far, the blaze has torched two unidentified structures. As of 9 a.m. today, a scan 5% of the blaze has been contained. According to Cal Fire, reports the Santa Cruz Sentinel, "the blaze started [on Wednesday] near the Lehi Camp, a Mormon retreat at the top of Empire Grade, and the Lockheed Martin facility."

Hundreds of residents have fled their homes after a Santa Cruz county wildfire in Bonny Doon started last night. According to CBS 5, "authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations for about 600 people on Last Chance Road, Swanton Road, Warrella Truck Trail and Rancho del Oso." (Although according to KRON 4 Morning News, said evacuations are voluntary) Evacuations center can be found at "Pacific Elementary School located at 50 Ocean St. in the community of Davenport, and the American Red Cross has established a shelter at Vintage Faith Church located at 350 Mission St. in Santa Cruz." So far, 2,300 acres have been consumed since the fire sparked a little after 7 p.m. last night.

Dozens of students and staff at the University of California at Santa Cruz have gone on a hunger strike "in order to bring attention to $13 million in state funding being cut at the campus." This anti-digesting protest, it seems, was sparked by school wide cuts, which have affected the Latino Studies Department and the very-UCSC Community Studies program. Protest organizer Yvette Tran told KCBS, "“The hunger strikers will continue to not eat possibly for the week or until our demands are met." Said demands? Money. Anyway, those starving students are in for an even bigger shock. UCSC spokesman Jim Burns tells Mercury News, "We appreciate and share the frustration of students and others over continued reductions in state funding to UC. And in the wake of last week's election, we're bracing for even further cuts. In that environment, protecting every program is neither realistic nor possible." UC Santa Cruz, we should point out, is known for having a lily white vibe on campus, which only heightens the tension.

Almost a year after the Santa Cruz Mountains were set ablaze, authorities arrested Channing Verden, a contractor hired to clear brush in the mountainous terrain, for arson. According to the Merc, "Verden has been charged with one felony count of unlawfully causing a fire, plus an enhancement of causing multiple structures to burn." If convicted, Verden faces a maximum of seven years in state prison. If you recall, the fire torched 4,270 acres and destroyed over 100 structures.

Thousands of Santa Clara, San Benito, and Santa Cruz county residents are currently without phone service this morning. They can't even call 911 in case of an emergency. Why? Because of an old, AT&T-owned fiber optic line (leased out to Verizon) that went bust. "Verizon is completely down; other carriers are intermittent at best," said Zachary DeVine, a Santa Clara County spokesman. If residents of Morgan Hill, Gilroy, San Martin and Santa Cruz County cannot make a call to 911, officials "are urging people to go to their nearest fire or police department or local hospital or flag down an emergency vehicle."

While the banana slugs are on break for the holidays, hooligans went on a vandalism spree on Wednesday night at the UCSC campus. According to reports, the unidentified misfits damaged "up to 20 university cars, breaking windows of buildings and vehicles, spraying graffiti in residence halls, and laying down road spike strips." While officials have no suspects, we can only assume it was the work of Stevenson students. Oh wait, police said the trustifarianesque graffiti scrawled on dormitory walls, sigh, "expressed opposition to the prison system, law enforcement, and campus growth." So scratch that, this was clearly the work of Porter students.

Authorities are looking for, oh dear, "a bicyclist in Santa Cruz who fled after allegedly stabbing a motorist during a confrontation." It seems there was some sort of heated driver-to-cyclist confrontation today, which culminated with the guy on the bike kicking the guy's car door, hitting the driver in the face with a broom handle, and then finishing the job by stabbing the motorist. The victim, we're told, is in good condition at Stanford Medical Center. So...there you have it. (KGO)

Pierre Anton, of France, was arrested last night in connection with the brutal rape of a local woman along the San Lorenzo River early Saturday morning. In the states via a non-profit organization as part of a work exchange program -- and scheduled to leave the U.S. next week -- Anton was arrested at his workplace in Soquel. Looking to get in a little violé before heading back to France, Anton's return home has now been put on hold indefinitely. (KSBW, CBS5)

(A fun headline, yes?) Two people interrupted a rape in progress in Santa Cruz near the river levee last Saturday afternoon. The assailant -- who used a French passport to enter Rosie McCann's, where he met his victim -- is described as being in his 20s, around 6 feet tall, about 180 pounds, with brown hair and eyes and slightly crossed front teeth. To see a sketch of "Pierre" the prick, go here. Anyone with information about the rape or the suspect should call Santa Cruz Police Department Investigations Section at 831-420-5820, or the tip line at 831-420-5995. (CBS5)

Just letting you know that the fire -- which as of late this afternoon has consumed thousands of acres since it started at around 5:30 a.m. this morning -- is "completely out of control" as of 4:30 p.m. San Francisco firefighters have been deployed to the scene. What with the serious winds blowing in the area, no one knows just when the fire will start to die down. Wineries have been lost, homes and school evacuated, and Arnold has declared a state emergency.

For those of you with large animals (i.e., horses, emus, et al.) or even not so large animals (i.e., Sprinkles, et al.), a Capitola reader just informed us that you can take your beloved pets to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.

Huge plumes of smoke can be seen mushrooming over the Santa Cruz Mountains just above Ben Lomand due to a rapidly growing wildfire. It's gone from 100 acres to well over 1,000 in just a couple of hours. The fire allegedly sparked at the intersection of Summit and Loma Prieta roads.

Young whippersnapper, Santa Cruz resident 18-year-old Matthew Rosenberg, called his mom on Monday to tell her he had "tripped, broke his leg and was lost" in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He was half right. What he didn't tell her was that he was also bombed out of his mind on hallucinogenic mushrooms and a wee bit of acid. Oh yeah, and that he didn't break his leg.

Mr. Brock, While I appreciate your coverage of the spray situation I don't appreciate the stereotyping and blatant prejudice against people who become ill from being around cologne.(chemicals, paint, new carpeting car exhaust etc etc)

Today a major setback struck the final solution, if you will, against the light brown apple moth. Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick ruled that "aerial pesticide sprays must halt over Santa Cruz County until agricultural officials do a full environmental review of their anti-pest program." Even California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, after chitchating with lawmakers and environmentalists, put his foot down, saying that "the state would suspend all aerial sprays across the state until Aug. 17."

Perhaps due to the many squares of acid or complete the lack of sex, we don't remember UC Santa Cruz demigods coming down so hard on 4/20. But SFBG's crusty-but-benign (and victorious!) Bruce Brugman has word that UCSC officials have pulled a Bevan Dufty, more or less shutting down the campus this Sunday, 4/20, on the sacred day where people get baked. Really, really, reeeeeaaally baked.

An update on today's story about a UC Santa Cruz faculty member whose home was invaded by, according to local media outlets, members of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty animal rights group: the animal rights group claims zero responsibility for last night's attack.

Pro-life animal rights group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty is being accused of taking part in a break in of a UC Santa Cruz faculty member, whose research using animals "sheds light on the causes of breast cancer and neurological diseases," and attacking a man at the residence. According to Santa Cruz Sentinel:

Somehow this news story managed to slip past our radar last week, but the Gate published a story on how our wonderful state of California will be spraying the Bay Area with pesticides this summer. In an effort to eliminate the light brown apple moth (aww. Aren't they so cute?), an insect potentially disastrous for farming in California, the state agricultural department will be spraying an insecticide known as Checkmate over urban areas, according to the Chron. Cities that will be included in the spraydown are: San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, Oakland, Piedmont, Emeryville, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Tiburon and Belvedere.

Surely looking to turn us all into latter-career, Catalina-vacationing Natalie Woods, it looks like the rain will fall down (and wake our dreams) and won't stop until god knows when. Flooding, high winds, high tides, airport delays, glacial weather, and mass hysteria are all expected to bring us some mid-winter cheer.

Yesterday's near perfect weather is now but a sepia-toned memory. Reports of a strange, icy substance, often referred to as "snow," is falling on Mount Diablo, Mount Hamilton in Santa Clara County, Mount Hamilton, and (any minute now) Mount Tam. It's also blanketing the eerie Santa Cruz Mountains, resulting in the closure of Highway 9. It looks like many of you will have to take Highway 17. If you dare.

Twenty-four of the world's most bitchin-ass surfers are on their way to Half Moon bay for a dangerous showdown at this year's 2008 Mavericks Surf Contest. Shore stars like Shawn Rhodes, Greg Long (San Clemente FTW), Brock Little, Randy Cone, Santa Cruz's Tyler Smith, and more will take part in tomorrow's dangerous and exhilarating surf contest. The cold waters of Half Moon Bay combined with the Pacific storm winter weather make some of "the most dangerous waves in the world." This battle of the sea is not to be missed. Dude.

The recently-released website post-consumer.com is addressed to “anyone who has played or attended an indie rock show in Santa Cruz between 1999-2004.” We did! We were there! We remember the tall, handsome fellow with incongruous Ugg boots and a microphone on a stick who recorded shows in every bar, basement, living room and attic during the golden years of Santa Cruz indie rock!

CBS5 recently uncovered Caltrans secret pet cemetery -- somewhere along eerie Highway 9 in the Santa Cruz mountains -- where they simply bag, tag, and toss little fluffy over a cliff. Gross. Caltrans, it seems, is supposed to notify the pets' owners or take them to local pounds or an SPCA. But don't.

Today, the Oakland City Council voted to ban smoking in "ATM lines, parks and other public places," which is smurfy, health-conscious, makes the bitch behind you at the ATM line stops her self-righteous fake coughing, will result in animated birds singing on your shoulders, etcetera.

-- 19-year-old lad from Felton -- a fascinating, frightening place -- calls cops after his weed gets pinched. Which he was trying to sell in downtown Santa Cruz. And doesn't get arrested. [Chron]

Hey, everyone loves a list, right? Especially those ranking institutions of higher learning. The yearly U.S. News & World Report list is out -- any wagers on how local schools did? And, really, how much would it affect your choices? We remember mulling the 1991 list saying "can't get in there, can't get in there, nope, not there either . . ." But it's still fun to see how stuff measures up, we suppose. Unshockingly, Stanford University was high on the list, reaching No. 4 this year, undoubtedly driving the next generation of Azia Kims.