Due to a funding shortage, the Japanese Cultural Fair may not take place for the first time in nearly 30 years

Steven Barisof fell in love with Japanese culture after visiting the country several times with his family starting in 1974. The trips inspired the Santa Cruz resident to attend the local Japanese Cultural Fair for more than 20 years—eventually becoming a volunteer  in 2008 and becoming a board member for the nonprofit behind the event shortly after.

The annual festival became a family tradition, and Barisof’s son, who began learning Japanese in the eighth grade, went on to volunteer at the fair in 2008, when he wrote attendee's names in Japanese characters.

However, the Barisofs, along with the thousands of others who attend the fair each year, may not get a chance to partake in the 27th Annual Japanese Cultural Fair this year. The event, which is set to take place at Mission Plaza Park near Downtown Santa Cruz this June, is facing a funding gap that could lead to its cancellation.

Longtime UCSC writing teacher Don Rothman to be remembered in campus memorial service

When Oakes College, one of the residential colleges at UC Santa Cruz, received a donated piece of art depicting European aristocracy coming to the New World, controversy ensued among students who believed in liberation movements.

Local organizations celebrate the life of MLK with art and music

The life and work of the world-renowned human rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is celebrated annually on Jan. 21 in the United States. The holiday is commonly associated with his dedication to overcoming racial inequality right up until the day he was assassinated on April 24, 1968 on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tenn. But today, many recognize that his legacy extends to encompass much more than just racial injustice.

In celebrating Roe v. Wade’s 40th anniversary, pro-choice Cruzans look to the continuing fight for reproductive rights ahead

As the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision nears its 40th anniversary on Tuesday, Jan. 22, there will be many women honoring its legacy who were not alive before abortions were legal across the United States.

For those who remember the pre-Roe era, such as former Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency Director Rama Khalsa, the anniversary brings back memories of an emotional struggle to win the right. 

Two hundred years later, ‘Mission Indians’ receive an apology from local Catholic bishop

On the night of Oct. 12, 1812, a small group of Mission Indians conspired to kill Padre Andres Quintana, a priest at Mission Santa Cruz, for his brutal treatment of native people.

A few days earlier, one of the conspirators, an Indian named Donato, was whipped under orders from Padre Quintana with a whip specially fitted with wire at the ends to make it more painful. Another whipping with the new whip was scheduled for the next day, which the conspirators intended to prevent. 

Fungus Fair speaker Christopher Hobbs on the rise of medicinal mushrooms and winning over ‘fungaphobes’

There is at least one Santa Cruz inhabitant that likes the area’s rainy weather: fungi, which flourish in our wet season. With local forests abounding with turkey tails and chanterelles, among other mushroom species, it’s no wonder that Christopher Hobbs and fellow mushroom enthusiasts with the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz have a passion for wandering through the woods and sharing what they find with the community.

GT looks ahead at likely key local issues for 2013

The last half of 2012 seemed to revolve around the election. Before that, the year kicked off with the SmartMeter saga still in full swing, and Occupy Santa Cruz stealing headlines. What will be this year’s equivalent? For one thing, we will have transportation projects under way (Rail Trail, Highway 1), and continued struggles with unemployment, hunger and other symptoms of a struggling economy. But here are three issues that we suspect will unfold in particularly interesting ways in 2013.

Watsonville Youth City Council plans to survey police

The Watsonville Police Department will face questioning by the Watsonville Youth City Council (WYCC) this month.

The survey of officers is the first move by the youth council to follow up on a survey they conducted during October and November of 723 high school students about how safe kids feel in different parts of the City of Watsonville, and how they interact with the police. 

Fifty percent of survey respondents said that they would not report a crime in progress, and 29 percent said they would not approach police for any reason.

One local woman’s mission to use marijuana and hemp to help returning veterans

There were approximately 21.5 million U.S. military veterans in 2011, including more than 13,000 living in Santa Cruz County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

This October, 9.7 percent of post-Sept. 11 veterans remained unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the rate of suicide among U.S. veterans has never been higher (the army reported 211 potential suicides by Sept. 27 this year).

Record number of calls for service help police work, but crime is still up

Earlier this month, there was a wager going around the Santa Cruz Police Department on when they would hit 100,000 calls for service—an all-time record number of calls in a year. Whoever guessed the day the record would be broken stood to win a cup of coffee, compliments of Deputy Chief Steve Clark.

On Thursday, Dec. 13, the department hit that 100,000 calls mark, which means Clark owes Chief of Police Kevin Vogel one cup of joe.