Nascent ‘Citizens Council on Homelessness’ holds its first meeting

At approximately 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5, inside Room 207 of the Louden Nelson Community Center, a new local movement began—or, at the very least, an email list was compiled.

About six people showed up to the meeting, after seeing fliers around town announcing the formation of a new Citizens’ Council on Homelessness. The fliers invited people to “discuss a comprehensive plan to address homelessness that is practical, affordable, and humane”—a poignant charge given the current tensions surrounding the issue of homelessness locally.

Local patients and providers navigate the changing healthcare landscape

California's Healthy Families program was eliminated in Santa Cruz County on March 1, pushing thousands of children into Medi-Cal. Gov. Jerry Brown did away with the state's child healthcare plan—which served as the primary option for families who did not qualify for Medi-Cal, but could not afford private insurance—as part of a budget maneuver in 2012.

New standards favor teacher freedom in the classroom, focus on global standards

After 18 years as a teacher, Karen Richmond says she finally feels that educators are being treated as professionals.

“We have a lot of training and a lot of us have a lot of experience,” says Richmond, a kindergarten teacher at Valencia Elementary in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD). “I really feel like, for the first time in my teaching career, that's being validated.”

Watsonville youth work with Santa Cruz METRO to stock up on healthier snacks

For the hungry bus riders of Santa Cruz County, the only options currently found in vending machines at Santa Cruz METRO stations are sugary drinks and junk food like donuts, candy bars, and high-fat chips. The lack of choices and a desire for something healthier spurred Watsonville-based youth advocacy group Jovenes SANOS to take action.

“All it takes is someone to step up,” says Jovenes SANOS member Miguel Murillo, who attends Cabrillo College and has been involved with the group for three years.

A look at the ongoing USDA investigation into a local medical lab

There is a cruel irony in the fact that the local medical production lab, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. develops antibodies and animal healthcare products—products such as vaccines, antibiotics and pain relievers for ranch animals, like goats—but has also repeatedly violated the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) by allowing many of the goats that they use for producing those antibodies to suffer horribly and, in some cases, die.

Boulder Creek meets to discuss Town Plan and improvements still to be made

The main drag in Boulder Creek is dotted with historical architecture, quaint awnings and signage reminiscent of the western frontier village the small Santa Cruz Mountain town was during the end of the 19th century. Just past the diminutive downtown, tree-studded hills make Boulder Creek what Nancy Owens calls “the gateway to the redwood forest.”

Below are photos from the procession for the Thursday, March 7 memorial for Sgt. Loran “Butch” Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler as it made its way down Ocean Street, en route to the memorial in San Jose. 

Left: A Los Angeles Police Department officer pays his respects. 

.

.

.

.

.

Amid local spike in gun violence, the Board of Supervisors regulates firearms retailers

“At this very moment in Santa Cruz, there is gun violence happening.”

This announcement was made while helicopters circled overhead and sirens screeched in the near distance, as residents of Santa Cruz County came together to make their voices heard about the recent increase in gun violence at both a local and national level.

The rally, which took place at the Clock Tower in Downtown Santa Cruz on Tuesday, Feb. 26, was put on by the recently formed local group Community Against Gun Violence. That same afternoon, two police officers and one civilian suspect were shot dead near N. Branciforte Avenue and Water Street. It was the first time Santa Cruz had ever lost police officers in the line of duty. By the time he was found, the suspect was wearing body armor and was in possession of three different guns.

As memorials roll out for fallen SCPD officers, law enforcement are reminded of the daily risk of their jobs

The loss of two Santa Cruz police officers last week—a first in the department's 150-year history—has left the community feeling broken and the police department reeling. But local law enforcement says the fact that their lives are on the line is something they live with everyday.

“When you get this news, it's shocking and upsetting, and when you get in this line of work you know it's a possibility,” says Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy April Skalland.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Thursday briefings reveal additional information about shooting that killed two Santa Cruz police officers

The two Santa Cruz police detectives who interviewed suspect Jeremy Goulet spoke with him for about 10 minutes through his closed door before he opened fire, said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Phil Wowak during a press conference on Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Santa Cruz Police Department. The officers never set foot inside of his home. 

During the dialogue, Goulet left his spot behind the door and appeared a moment later in a different location, ambushing Detective Sgt. Loran "Butch" Baker and detective Elizabeth Butler and killing them in seconds.