Community Shows Support for Orlando Victims
Members of the Santa Cruz community, including the mayor and city council members, turned out to show support for the victims of the recent Orlando shootings. Dozens of people congregated at the clock tower downtown, showing their support for the LGBT communities. For what it’s worth, some of them sang songs and carried signs that mostly said hooray for our side. United we stand…on the rainbow flag?
It was a nice gesture of course, we have a very “compassionate” community. I just wish some of them showed the same passion and outrage for the stuff that’s slowly destroying our town. We seem to deal with a constant stream of public safety issues, but I never see the mayor or other city council members out rallying around those causes. How about a rally to stop the daily nuisance crimes we endure as a community on a daily basis? The stuff that isn’t 2000 miles away but in our backyards, parks, and beaches.
Aldo’s to be Demolished. Closing June 26th
Aldo’s Harbor Restaurant will be demolished and its owners will begin serving food out of a food trailer later this summer, while the structurally unsound seawall beneath its building is replaced. In the next couple months, Aldo’s will open an outdoor waterfront lawn site inside the harbor, between the B and D docks, with a 28-foot food trailer and customer seating deck. More on this story here.
Trial Date Set for AJ Gonzalez
Adrian “AJ” Gonzalez has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of Madyson “Maddy” Middleton. Judge Timothy Volkmann set a Feb. 21, 2017 trial date at his arraignment.
Gonzalez was 15 years old last July when Maddy’s body was found in a recycling bin at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz. Court records show Madyson had been raped, beaten and dumped in the bin. Gonzalez will be tried as an adult with murder, rape and other sexual assault-related offenses. If he’s found guilty of all counts, Gonzalez faces a maximum of life in prison. More on this story can be found here.
Just a horrible tragedy that shook the community at it’s roots. I personally spent many hours helping search for her through the night she went missing. Lots of questions came out of all this. Questions involving how SCPD could miss the location of her body for 2 days when she was in a dumpster feet away from their “staging and control” area at the Tannery. Why was such a “secure” area so seemingly “insecure”. At the time, it didn’t feel right to ask a lot of these questions. Maybe we’ll get some of the answers at the trial next year.
It’s Hugh’s News!
(This week we introduce “Hugh’s News”, where our beat reporter Hugh will be covering the City Council meetings for us, and providing updates and commentary on the meetings, topics covered, and much more. It’s always a circus and Hugh is the ringmaster!)
Hugh Jorgan reporting on the June 14 Santa Cruz city Council meeting.
I walk in and Robert Norse is talking about graffiti abatement. He is against… fighting.. graffiti… WTF. Somehow made it about washing away people? Idiot. There is a tagger in Santa Cruz called Anus. Tags his name all over the place. Maybe he will find Norse’s house. RN stood up to speak on yet another item and there was a collective “oh Jesus Christ” from the audience. Again? Why does he need to weigh in on everything ? No helmets for cops because that makes us a police state? Asshole. New helmets for the police passed unanimously.
And now onto the projected budget for 2016-2017. Scott Collins reported on 24 hour restroom possibilities for the upcoming year. The “Posner Potty” has not been destroyed completely in 2 yrs. Collins and staff want to add a few more Porta-Potties to the downtown area. Definitely the most cost-effective “solution”. They discussed 24 hour bathrooms located in the parking garages. These would require security. Based on this year’s experience however, it was not safe for one security guard. 2 will be needed. They brought up the Portland Loo. Pricey but clearly the best choice in my opinion. The only problem with the Portland Loo is where to put it. Merchants in the past have said they do not want them in front of their stores.
And here is what was passed.
Expand number of porta potties for now. Come back in December during the midyear budget report, just before several of the city council members term out. How is pilot working? If the Porta Potty Pilot Program (4 p’s) is working, they will then explore the possibility of adding Portland Loos.
I swear to God Don Lane sucks the air out of the room. I’m light headed.
Nate supports the bathrooms!
DL said they need to massage items in the budget. Massage? There’s an image I’ll never get out of my head.
The ever present “freedom sleepers” were outside. There was some twisted geek walking around with an army helmet that had “OCCUPY” printed on the front and a handlebar mustache. I wanted to clothesline him.
Trout Farm Inn Burns Down
The community is mourning the loss of the Trout Farm Inn in Felton, a local treasure and institution. Built on the site of a trout hatchery, the Felton Trout Farm consisted of a rustic main building and raftered interior. Trout Farm Inn began operating in 1947, but a restaurant has been operating on the site as early as 1903. The fire is believed to have started in a vent above the kitchen’s grill. In addition to the bar and restaurant, the Trout Farm Inn operated a pool during summer months, which was popular with Felton-area families.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the Trout Farm families. Click here for more info.
Save the Planet!
Spotted on West Cliff!
Get Your Cheap On at the Boardwalk!
Take advantage of the best local summer deal. Between June 13th and August 25th, Mondays & Tuesdays after 5pm all Boardwalk rides are $1 each!
And hot dogs are $2, sodas are a buck! You could fill up on cheap hot dogs, then tempt fate with a spin on Fireball!
DeCinzotized – Classic Steven DeCinzo
Weekly Shoutouts!
Shout out to Linda Schutte-Konzen for her tireless advocacy for cleaning up Main Beach, and her persistent chafing of both the city and the Seaside Company. Well done Linda!
City Council Election Watch
Not much news on this front but I’m keeping a watchful eye on the declared candidates. I’ll post my opinions on all the candidates probably some time in July. Of the declared candidates, JM Brown seems to be the most “visible” with his signs. Steve Pleich is making his usual rounds on social media trying to raise awareness and support (but who doesn’t know him locally?). Everyone else is pretty quiet right now.
4 of the 7 seats on the Santa Cruz city council will be up for re-election this fall. 4 is also the magic number for a “majority” so theoretically, a new “majority” could actually be voted into office and make sweeping changes. The likelihood of that happening is about zero though. There just aren’t 4 like minded candidates running with enough clout to pull this off. Very few candidates have actually declared so far, and a number of others have been “rumored” to be considering a run.
Declared Candidates:
- J.M. Brown
- Steve Pleich
- Nate Kennedy
- Dru Glover
- Martine Watkins
Rumored Candidates:
- Cynthia Mathews
- Micah Posner
- Sandy Brown
- Mark Primack
A friend of mine had a meeting with Martine Watkins. Came away with a good feeling with check marks in the safety and accountability boxes. I like that Martine is coming from a mom with small kids perspective. Looking forward to finding more about her positions on our city level problems.
Thanks for the feedback David. I’m optimistic about Martine too.