Plus Letters to Good Times...
Spend Taxes and Water Rate Increases on Jobs
Good to the Last Drop
Care to host a fundraiser? It wouldn’t hurt. Just choose the topic you’re fundraising for wisely. And, unless you’ve been in a coma the last 52 days, you already know where aid and relief efforts need to go—The Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill in the Gulf is the nation’s worst environmental disaster. As you are now aware, wildlife has been affected and the city of New Orleans, once again, is being impacted on a number of levels, mostly economically. And there’s the Gulf itself, which is being compromised as millions of gallons of oil continues to pump into it daily.

Freaking out, digging the bomb shelter, buying all kinds of canned food—just stocking up.
Kyle Davis
Santa Cruz | Server

Several years ago, I was having lunch with U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, who mentioned between bites that he would soon meet with a class of students from Mount Madonna School during one of their periodic visits to Capitol Hill.

Farr must have seen me stifle a yawn, because he seemed to read my mind: “No. You don’t get it. What they do at Mount Madonna School is something different. It’s something that is known around the Capitol as the best program in the nation.”

Father’s Day is Sunday. Libra moon trine Mercury in Gemini creates opportunities for Right Relations (Libra), communicating with feeling (moon) and intelligence (Mercury in Gemini) to our fathers. The sun is high in the heavens now (Tropic of Cancer). Summer, the longest day of light, begins Monday morning (4:28 a.m. West Coast). Soon the sun will begin to move southward, the light gradually decreasing each day. Within the most brilliant light there is also darkness. Duality is presented to us by Gemini. Uriel is the archangel guarding Earth during summer. The fairy world (devic builders) begins to rest, their work creating the plant kingdom complete for the year. Jupiter’s the morning star, brilliant Venus at night.
Oil spill questions: Is the Gulf oil spill the final event that brings down our economy? Was it created intentionally? Is the floor of the sea fractured? Are there eighteen other sites spewing oil. Are two million-plus gallons a day flowing into the sea? Is there a media blackout? Are there 20-mile wide plumes of fire? Is the oil dispersant (Corexit) placed on the waters (the toxic fumes falling from clouds) creating illness? Are geographic areas around the Gulf on lock down? Is this a massive cover-up? Are photographers being threatened? Will nuclear weapons be needed to cap the spill as Russia once had to? What and where’s the truth? And who’s really responsible? Is this a “false flag” event that is now out-of-hand? What will the consequences be on the economy and food supply?  Will there be unrest, will the market fall, and will a massive migration occur? Our world and lives are changing rapidly. There’s an eclipse next seek, seen in parts of the Americas. Astrology provides guideposts for humanity. The heavens tell us we’re in for one hot summer of enormous disruption and unprecedented unrest. Is everyone prepared?

Plus Letters to Good Times...
Thanks, Friend
More Gore
Best of the Online Comments
It’s the hot issue at the moment—the proposed Desalination Plant in Santa Cruz. Here’s the lowdown: The city of Santa Cruz has plans to create a desalination plant, which would offset water deficits. Those deficits are created in drought-ridden summer months, but if the city continues to grow—hello UC Santa Cruz—some believe water supplies will be further taxed. The desalination plant will remove millions of gallons of seawater each day but, some note, only about half that amount will be converted into drinkable water. The rest of the brine will be transported to a water plant and then blended with treated wastewater, and then put back in the bay. The issue has both sides debating the significance of the plant. This week, writer Amy Coombs presented the issue—and a number of questions—to community activists and water district representatives. You may find what they each share rather illuminating. It all unfolds in this week’s cover story. Dive in. Continue to send us your thoughts on the Desalination Plant issue to [email protected] Let’s keep the dialogue flowing.

I think the pros are more jobs in Santa Cruz, people working on the plant, etc. The cons would be if the plant itself creates a lot of pollution or makes a lot of noise in a residential neighborhood, or if it requires an increase in taxes.

Evin Murphy
Bonny Doon | Land Surveyor

A few months ago, I wrote a column about the written word, and wondered whether sentiments like “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” have forever transformed into texts like “U R gr8.”

The basic “harrumph!” quality of that column drastically missed the mark, somehow suggesting that the beauty of the written word was being replaced by something short and horrid, that the future of writing depended on the literary value of a teen’s text or a mini-blogger’s 140 words.

Last Thursday, Mars (the tester) entered Virgo (extreme detail, purification) and this Thursday, Mercury (star of conflict) enters Gemini (duality). In order for all thoughts, actions, meeting and planning events to succeed this week and for the next month, it’s best to work within the following guidelines—purposely have focus and awareness, gather and organize information, be detailed and discerning, communicate with intentions for goodness and goodwill, allow no criticisms, and thus separations, to occur. Be aware of conflicts and crisis. Be prepared for tests, trials, and obstacles and remember always that “tension creates attention.” The Tester (Mars) and Star of Conflict (Mercury) will be influencing all of humanity’s endeavors.
Saturday (4:15 a.m., West Coast) is the new moon, 21 degrees Gemini. The personality-building seed thought for Gemini new Moon is “Let instability do its work.” This means let ordinary day to day experiences, disharmony, inconsistency, unpredictable changes, instability in relationships, lack of unity—all life’s vicissitudes—have the task of providing our personality and Soul experiences of/in form and matter. After many experiences and at a certain point (often in despair), we then seek out and focus upon creating harmony, a Soul quality. Thus all personality experiences of and in form and matter lead us to the goal: the Soul directing the strong and focused personality.
Join the NGWS at the new moon by reciting the Great Invocation. Monday is Flag Day. Flags, an unrecognized art form, represent the spirit of the people within each nation, country and state. Monday, Venus enters Leo. Everyone falls in love. Or wants to. Love is the only thing that heals the Chiron wound. Chiron is retrograde. Old wounds return.

Plus Letters to Good Times...
Aftermath of May Day Riots Linger
What About The Other Side?

What are you proud of? Maybe it’s time to take stock, look within and find out. Face it—our lives can get hectic. Sometimes we need to schedule time to just sit and reflect. (Trust me, it won’t hurt—much.) This week we get a “pride” reminder in the form of, fittingly, all of the Gay Pride events set to unfold, thanks, in big part, to the Diversity Center.

Higher quality locks and more bicycle lockers.
Andrew Marine
Santa Cruz | Student