Outgoing councilmember Michael Rotkin gives the Democratic Women’s Club an election recap
One word sums up the current economic situation, and that is “depression,” comparable to the 1930s, and one of the key mistakes the Democrats made in the recent mid-term elections was trying to water it down as some kind of extended recession on the mend, according to Michael Rotkin.

A longstanding progressive activist, Rotkin has served five stints as the mayor of Santa Cruz over a 26-year career on the Santa Cruz City Council, in addition to working as lecturer and director of field studies in the Communities Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz. At a meeting of the Democratic Women’s Club on Wednesday, Nov. 17, Rotkin gave the audience a fast drive-by of his take on the elections, in which he discussed the federal and state wins and losses, the state propositions, and then honed in on the elected offices he is most familiar with: the Santa Cruz City Council. 

Seven months after 74-year-old dementia patient Carol Fundingsland was found dead on Highway 1 after disappearing from Sunshine Villa assisted living facility, her sons Erik and Ronald Kuentzel have filed a lawsuit.

The brothers are seeking compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of their mother, who was admitted to the facility at 80 Front St. in Santa Cruz at 1 p.m. Friday, April 9, 2010 and wandered out the front door at 5:30 p.m. that evening.

Staff noticed Fundingsland was gone around 9 p.m. that night, at which point they searched the facility and called Erik Kuentzel to inform him. He did not receive the voicemails until 11:05 p.m., at which point Sunshine Villa reported her disappearance to police. Erik spent the next three days searching for his mother on foot, while Sunshine Villa canvassed neighborhoods. Police responded to several possible sightings that weekend.

Neighbors, builders wait another month before word on Ocean Street Extension project
It’s a late October evening and the Santa Cruz Memorial Cemetery looks coolly picturesque. The last hint of sunlight dips behind the bordering mountains, patchy storm clouds gather, and dusk settles over the gravestones. Elsewhere in Santa Cruz, people are huddled around their televisions, cheering as the Giants win game two of the World Series. But here a group of neighborhood residents have gathered, standing on the unpaved shoulder of Ocean Street Extension, to talk over some collective concerns.

Recently, the group made a splash by opposing a proposal before the City of Santa Cruz for a 40-unit development to be built at 1930 Ocean Street Ext., directly across from the cemetery and adjacent to the Santa Cruz Memorial Crematory.

Childcare subsidies for working low-income families get cut in series of line-item vetoes by Schwarzenegger
At a rally on the steps of the State Capitol Thursday, Nov. 4, Anna Martinez, a single mother of four from Clovis, Calif., asked the question that had inspired the event: “If I lose Stage 3 subsidies, I’ll have to quit my job and re-apply for cash aid,” she said. “I can’t afford day care on my own and I like my job. I work hard. What good does it do anybody for me to quit my job?”

Despite the intense political wrangling that finally produced this year’s state budget agreement 100 days late, there was bi-partisan agreement that subsidizing childcare for parents who had graduated off welfare and were now working was money well spent and should not be cut.

After a two-year economic stalemate, plans for the live/work development move forward
When the Santa Cruz City Council unanimously approved the Delaware Addition project in July 2008, the 20-acre live/work development on the Westside promised to be the answer to commuters’ prayers.

The prospect of a mixed-use neighborhood that could house not only your pre-established or start-up business but also your family sounded almost too good to be true, with its eco-friendly design, prime location and considerably low prices.

Then, the economy tanked.

Candidates for Santa Cruz City Council sound off
Eight will run; three will win. In the ring are incumbent Lynn Robinson, transportation commissioner David Terrazas, insurance executive Kevin Moon, nonprofit workers Steven Pleich and Gus Ceballos, parks and recreation commissioner Hilary Bryant, planning commissioner David Foster, and transportation commissioner Ron Pomerantz. Gus Ceballos did not participate in the questionnaire.

The who’s who and what’s what in the Capitola and Watsonville city council races
Behold Part One of Good Times’ election guide, where readers can feast on Q&As with city council candidates and, hopefully, get a better idea of who to vote for. This week we grill the candidates for Capitola (below) and Watsonville (left). (Scotts Valley had two incumbents running unopposed—they both got their seats back, so we’ll forgo the coverage.) Check back next week for Part Two of the election guide, where you’ll find information on candidates for Santa Cruz City Council, Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, and important state ballot measures.

Watsonville City Council candidates sound off

There are a total of seven candidates in the Watsonville City Council race. Watsonville’s council is districted, and two of the candidates—District Three’s Bill Neighbors and District Seven’s Nancy Bilicich—are running unopposed. The remaining candidates are Marty Corley, Eduardo Montesino and Nick Rivera in District Four, and Daniel Dodge and Gabriel Gonzalez in District Five. Rivera, Gonzalez and Bilicich did not participate in the questionnaire.

Santa Cruz City Council candidates deliberate on water issues
It’s not often that competing politicians agree. But in this year’s Santa Cruz City Council race, all of the contenders—rather, all five of those in attendance at the Oct. 6 forum at the Louden Nelson Community Center—see eye to eye on one issue: water.

A crowd of Santa Cruzans filled the hall to hear David Terrazas, Lynn Robinson, David Foster, Ron Pomerantz and Steve Pleich speak about what water supply strategies they will support if they are elected on Nov. 2.

Attendees were informed that candidate Hilary Bryant was home with a fever, but Kevin Moon, who does not appear at forums regularly, and Gus Ceballos, who is known to play the “I haven’t done my homework on this issue” card, were both missing in action.