SANTA CRUZ COUNTY > New autism center opens in Aptos

Although nearly one in 88 children are being diagnosed with Autism, quality services aren’t necessarily becoming easier to find.  

The I Can Too! Learning Center, a division of Trumpet Behavioral Health (TBH) in Aptos hopes to address this locally. The center is wrapping up construction, and, upon its opening early this month, will begin work to provide Santa Cruz County with a group of professionals who can teach and care for families with Autistic children starting early on in their development. According to Camille Summers-Godfrey, Santa Cruz head teacher for TBH, providing intervention and educational services at a young age for children with developmental delays is imperative to progress and can lessen the need for greater assistance later in life.

Local jui jitsu instructor gives his top self defense tips

Seated behind the desk of his East Cliff Drive dojo, jui jitsu instructor Claudio Franca explains that it is not always possible to protect oneself or prevent an attack.

“Unfortunately, sometimes you don’t have a choice,” he says in a thick Brazilian accent. “Twelve o’clock, Downtown Santa Cruz … sometimes you can’t [prevent an attack],” he adds, referencing the May 7 fatal stabbing of downtown business owner Shannon Collins that still has the community reeling.

In some circumstances, however, Franca assures that self-defense training can be helpful. “The idea is avoiding the confrontation,” he says. “Move away, call another person.”

Franca, who originates from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been teaching the martial art for 25 years. He also teaches two women’s self defense classes a week at the Santa Cruz location and one a week at his Watsonville studio.

SANTA CRUZ > Coalition delivers 8,800 signatures in an effort to place desal amendment on November ballot

The Right To Vote On Desal coalition rallied in front of Santa Cruz City Hall on Tuesday, May 29, at 12:45 p.m. to deliver 8,800 signatures to city officials for processing.

The signatures were gathered in order to add a Charter Amendment to the November ballot that would guarantee the Santa Cruz community the right to make the final decision on the construction of a controversial desalination plant.

Since mid-February, volunteers have been gathering signatures from city voters in an attempt to hit the 5,400-in-180 days requirement to qualify the initiative for the November ballot. At 8,800 in 120 days, they have far exceeded requirements.

Watch the winning films from the Take One Screenwriting Competition

If you recall, back in August 2011, Good Times teamed up with local production company *IMPACT and the Santa Cruz Film Festival to host Take One: A Screenwriting Competition. The rules were simple: Submit a short script of any genre (two pages maximum) for a one- to two-minute movie.

SLUG REPORT > Venus will soon pass in front of the sun

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the world of astronomical events. First we had the partial solar eclipse on May 20, and now we’ve got Venus swooping in front of the sun on June 5. The transit of Venus in front of the sun is something not slated to occur again until 2117, so block out some time on June 5 to stare at the sun (using filters and common sense, of course).

A public viewing station will be set up at the Porter Wave sculpture, or the Porter “squiggle” as nearly everyone calls it, on the UC Santa Cruz campus. Telescopes equipped with the proper filters will be available at 3 p.m. Additionally, Lick Observatory will be hosting viewings from 2 - 8:30 p.m.

A series of lectures by UCSC professors and lecturers have been presented on campus, aimed at covering a variety of topics relevant to the upcoming transit. Ranging from the exploration of Venus via spacecraft to comparisons between life-supporting Earth and the acidic atmosphere of Venus, the talks focus on expanding public understanding of the importance of the event.

 SANTA CRUZ > How one local is moving past his foreclosure

Local Ken Foster exemplifies the harm that can be done by just one foreclosure. After his ecological landscaping business, TerraNova, began “flat lining” in 2008, Foster says he took some risks to save his business, ultimately at the cost of his home. In order to meet business expenses and make payroll, he fell behind on mortgage payments, beginning more than two years ago. Facing default and foreclosure, Foster began what would be more than two years of struggle with Chase Bank on his qualifications for a loan modification so he could keep his home with reduced income.  

SANTA CRUZ > Resource Center for Nonviolence gets new digs

Beats from local band Ancestree and the scent of falafel filled the halls of 612 Ocean St. on Sunday, May 20, during the Resource Center for Nonviolence’s open house at the new location. Visitors mingled among freshly painted hallways lined with volunteer sign-up sheets, fare-trade olive oils, scarves from the Middle East, and what may well be the largest collection book written or inspired by Gandhi on the West Coast.

The open house was celebrating the RCNV’s move into what once was the Christian Science Church on Ocean Street. The new building is reportedly a much better space for the organization, which is dedicated to promoting peace and social justice through the principles of nonviolent social change.

SANTA CRUZ > Judge dismisses charges against two activist journalists

Two more of the “Santa Cruz 11” have had all charges against them dismissed. During a half-hour hearing on Monday, May 14, Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick dismissed the charges of trespassing, vandalism and conspiracy against Bradley Stuart Allen and Alex Darocy, which stemmed from their alleged involvement in the November 2011 occupation of a vacant downtown bank building.

A group “standing in solidarity with Occupy Santa Cruz” illegally entered the building, located at 75 River St. and leased by Wells Fargo, and, over the following three days, hundreds of people visited the site. Santa Cruz police watched the scene and, in February 2012, the District Attorney charged 11 people with trespassing, vandalism and felony conspiracy.

Allen and Darocy have argued they were at the occupation as independent journalists. Local mainstream journalists also seen entering the building were not charged, including a Santa Cruz Sentinel photographer—a fact discussed by Burdick in court.