Thousands gather to welcome back James Durbin with open arms

Judging by the surging crowd and the number of squeals heard outside Louden Nelson Community Center Saturday afternoon, tourists might have thought Justin Bieber was in town.

But every local knew—Saturday was Durbin Day.

A long journey from undocumented immigrant to legal resident
When Samuel Garcia first came to the United States in 1999, he paid a “coyote” to help him sneak over the U.S.-Mexico border. In the middle of the night, he crossed the Sonora Desert into Arizona with hopes of finding better paying work than was available in his hometown in Oaxaca.

On April 19 of this year, Garcia became a legal U.S. resident. He lives in Santa Cruz with his wife and 1-year-old daughter—both U.S. citizens. However, Garcia’s path from undocumented immigrant to legal resident has been difficult and complicated, not unlike the experience of many other immigrants to California.

XTERRA triathlon comes to Santa Cruz
After two years of working with the Department of Economic Development on special projects, such as bringing the Amgen Tour to Santa Cruz, Jennifer Karno wanted to do more to promote Santa Cruz as a destination for natural beauty and year-round outdoor adventure.

“Some people move to Santa Cruz because it’s a place where you can work hard and play hard, but we're not known for promoting it, so many don't realize that we have one of the biggest bike industries really in the country,” Karno says. "I'm passionate about bringing off- season tourism here in a sustainable way, because in that time between October and June our economy suffers.”

After a year and a half of consideration, an upcoming event that marks a public-private collaboration between XTERRA and the City of Santa Cruz, state parks and Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks aims to do just that. Santa Cruz's own Wilder Ranch State Park will host the 2011 XTERRA triathlon Pacific Championship, including one of six regional championship races in XTERRA's America Tour.

GT sits down with the city manager to check the city’s fiscal pulse
City Manager Martin Bernal inherited a less than favorable budget situation when he took over the position in 2010.

In 2009, then-City Manager Richard Wilson told Good Times that, in his three decades at our fiscal helm, he had seen “nothing even close” to the financial crisis the city was facing. The last time the city even hoped to break even was in 2001, he added, and budgeting should be tough for some time to come. Having served as assistant city manager under Wilson for 13 years, Bernal knew what he was in for when he succeeded him—but that hasn’t made it any less hectic.

The Blue Plaque Program piques fresh curiosity about Santa Cruz County’s ever-present past
On Saturday, May 7, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) will be holding the 38th Annual Blue Plaque Program (BPP) awards to honor local sites of architectural and historical significance. The plaques themselves, though, are just a hint—a tip-of-the-iceberg insinuation—of the surprising, entertaining, and sometimes shocking stories about these sites that would otherwise stay obscured by the opacity of time.

“It’s really meant to highlight historical structures in town both for architectural and historic reasons,” says Amy Dunning, archivist at the MAH, as she walks slowly between the graves and mausoleums of the Old Holy Cross Cemetery. “It’s the story of our community, it’s beginnings, [and] an understanding of our own neighborhoods and downtown areas throughout the county.”

A look at UCSC’s new robotics major and how it came to be
The past several years have been full of bad budget news for UC Santa Cruz. Thanks to a Golden State that isn’t so golden these days, the school has had to make more than $50 million in permanent budget reductions since the 2008-2009 fiscal year, resulting in the elimination of 300 staff and 110 teaching assistant positions, a 16 percent reduction in faculty positions, and a 15 percent decrease in academic funding. UCSC officials are currently grappling with $19 million in cuts as part of Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2011 budget, which included $500 in cuts to the UCs (even worse news: this amount could deepen later this year depending on how the state’s budget pans out).

A look at the environmental consequences of family planning budget cuts
This year the Earth’s population will hit seven billion, and this number will climb to nine billion by 2050, according to United Nations (UN) reports.

Even though the United States will produce fewer children than developing nations, our growth will have disproportionately detrimental environmental impacts. By the time Americans hit age 16, it’s not unusual for iPods, camera phones and personal cars to be added to the list of needs that includes food and shelter. In fact, according to the Sierra Club, the average American child uses as many resources as 35 youth in India.

Will there be cuts to the METRO bus system this year?
The bus service provided by the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) is a lifeline for many in our community. METRO buses take middle and highschoolers from the communities of Davenport and Bonny Doon to school in Santa Cruz. Many people rely on METRO buses to take them to work, to medical appointments and to the grocery store. Utilizing public transportation rather than traveling in a single-passenger vehicle is one of the keys to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We must support a robust system in our community.

Habitat Conservation Plan will protect fish, but mean less water for Santa Cruz—ramping up the city’s call for desalination
The topic on hand at the April 5 special Santa Cruz City Council meeting drew an impassioned crowd. They gathered to watch (and speak up) as the council heard the Water Department's presentation for a proposed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The federally mandated plan would limit the amount of water the city can take from streams that are home to endangered and threatened species, including Coho and steelhead salmon, and set a plan for water operations in Santa Cruz for the next 30 years.

Following public comment, the council voted unanimously to allow the department to enter into HCP negotiations with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). An approved plan is required to bring Santa Cruz into compliance with the Endangered Species Act before the city can continue taking water from the San Lorenzo River, Newell Creek and the North Coast streams.

Short sale and foreclosure buyers talk about their recent Santa Cruz purchases
When Gary and Sara Strands took possession of their home, everything from the kitchen stove to the air conditioner was missing. Kitchen cabinets, doors, and lighting and plumbing fixtures were all gone. There were holes in the walls and the toilets were backed up because the previous owners had also taken the water pump.

The Strands purchased their Santa Cruz home from the bank a year and a half ago, after the previous owners lost it in a foreclosure. They recently had the home appraised (so that they could refinance and drop their interest rate down from a 5.25 to a 4.25 percent fixed rate), and found that the house appraised for $300,000 more than their purchase price of $525,000. The owners who lost the property in foreclosure owed the bank $879,000, and Wells Fargo Bank took a $354,000 loss on the transaction.