The Weekly Dump 1.6.17

Winter Storms Bring San Lorenzo River Close to Flood Levels

A series of wet, winter storms blew through the central coast and Santa Cruz this past week, and on Wednesday morning the San Lorenzo river was approaching flood levels. Flood levels are about 21 feet and the river was expected to reach 19 feet. I actually got a reverse 911 call at 4:30 in the morning about it. Looks like the river got a good flush this week, and I expect all the debris that was upriver to either be floating in the Monterey Bay or piled up on local beaches. I’d also avoid surfing anywhere near the river mouth for awhile. The National Weather Service is calling for more heavy rain this weekend. So settle in, and don’t drive unless you have to. And if you do have to drive, BE PATIENT. 

Duffle Bag Full of Guns Stolen From Parked Car in Santa Cruz

SCPD finally got around to releasing surveillance footage of a hooded man busting a Jeep’s window and stealing a duffel bag packed with four loaded pistols from the vehicle, which was parked in front of a bar on Doyle Street between 9 and 10 p.m. The vehicle burglary took place last Monday sometime between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Doyle Street, adjacent to the One Double Oh Seven Club, at 1007 Soquel Avenue. SCPD is asking for the public’s help to locate the man, who was riding a bicycle from the scene in the footage. The duffel bag held a Glock 23 9mm, Sig Sauer P938 9mm, Makarov 9mm and a Smith & Wesson revolver. The bag also held ammunition for various calibers. Police advise anyone who sees the man to call 911 immediately.

GOOD LORD. THIS IS JUST RIDICULOUS. Gee, thanks a lot SCPD, for letting us know about this 4 days after it happens! No story in the mainstream media about it. No press release from SCPD about it the day the crime occurs. And WHO THE HELL LEAVES A DUFFLE BAG OF GUNS AND AMMO IN THE BACK SEAT OF THEIR CAR? IN SANTA CRUZ? Bumbling idiots all around here. I’ve heard comments from some folks who question if the person who’s guns were stolen works in law enforcement. It’s a fair question. Who would carry that many guns in a car? And apparently at least one of the guns is pretty rare and hard to get a permit for. It would also explain the lack of transparency from SCPD if a member of law enforcement was the victim here. The lack of transparency about all of this pretty much stinks. But it seems par for the course locally. Maybe the “brand new city council” can shake that up a bit. I’d be thankful to anyone who can make the city (and SCPD) more transparent. Maybe if we learned about this, I don’t know, maybe THE DAY IT HAPPENED, we might have a better chance of catching the guy who stole A DUFFEL BAG FULL OF LOADED GUNS AND AMMO. I’d think that kind of theft might be important to get the eyes of the community involved. You know. One of those “sense of urgency” kind of crimes. 

More from the Senile. The story’s about video being released, no video in the story. Of course. Nothing on the SCPD blog either. I finally found it on the SCPD Facebook page. Nice work there SCPD. What does their media person do all day anyways? I’d love to know. As little to keep the public informed as possible. 

House Explodes on Delaware Avenue

Early Wednesday morning, at around 4AM, a home on Delaware exploded and caught fire. Neighbors in nearby homes had to be evacuated as firefighters fought back the flames, and were probably aided by the pouring rain. I heard all of the humans living in the home escaped safely, but a dog and a cat perished in the fire. That’s very sad. The blaze engulfed the house as the occupants ran out of the home’s front door. Firefighters doused the structure for 20 minutes and spent nearly four hours ensuring the fire was out. One occupant suffered minor smoke inhalation but apparently did not require hospitalization.

Some of their friends have started a fund to help raise money for the folks that were displaced and lost everything. Amazing show of support in one day. It sounds like they’re hard working, local folks. Nice to see so much community support given on such short notice. 

Salvation Army Begins Winter Shelter Program Near Downtown

The Salvation Army on Laurel started operating as a winter shelter for the homeless beginning on January 1st. I have a bunch of friends who live within blocks of the building and are obviously concerned about the fallout from the program. And when I say “fallout”, I mean literally people falling out of the shelter in the morning and into the surrounding neighborhoods for the day. So I’ve got a number of eyes watching this new location closely who will report any bad behavior to me (which I’ll of course pass along here). I’ll reserve my personal judgement here until I get some feedback on it. As I’ve said before, I’m against people freezing to death from exposure. And I’ve said it before, the COUNTY (and it’s city rep on the Board of Supervisors) should be ashamed at the half assed COUNTY effort here. The county has plenty of empty public buildings it could use. It left it up to the local churches and the Salvation Army to deal with the problem, with the Homeless Services Center given the dubious responsibility of managing the money here after they refused to actually manage the program. The first RFP from the county had ZERO proposals. The second one had ONE, SINGLE proposal. A slapped together group that wasn’t even a 501c3. But hell, that’s good enough for the county. THEY’LL MAKE IT WORK. Maybe that’s enough to tell you the county shouldn’t outsource this and just run the program under county health services. 

Susan Mauriello Announces Retirement

From the County of Santa Cruz comes this:

Susan A. Mauriello, California’s longest-serving county executive and a champion of innovation and collaboration in county government, announced today that she will retire effective July 7, 2017.

Most people probably have no clue or idea who this woman is. She’s only arguably the most powerful person in Santa Cruz government. She basically does for the county what Martin Bernal does for the city. She’s been doing it for 27 STRAIGHT YEARS. She’s the definition of “status quo”. Good riddance. She’s been one of the staunchest defenders of the needle non exchange and has ignored the fallout and community concerns for YEARS. She fought Jim Hart when he wanted to expand the number of deputies in the sheriff’s office. She’s oblivious. I only hope the county looks OUTSIDE the county for her replacement. Don’t tell me Fred Keeley has been selected as her replacement. 

West Cliff Hotels Evacuated By SCPD on Tuesday Morning

Tuesday morning around 10AM, SCPD had the Dream Inn and the West Cliff Inn evacuate guests as they staged a number of units around the hotels and in the parking lot across the street. The scene lasted almost 2 hours. Apparently the person in question was staying in a room next door at the West Cliff Inn. SCPD finally entered the room and found a person dead. Someone appeared to have killed themselves by using helium. They reported a can of helium to be located in the room. I’ve never heard of using helium to commit suicide. Then I looked it up and apparently “Helium is the most popular method of self-deliverance among members of right-to-die groups“. I guess “self deliverance” is the politically correct way to say “committing suicide”. 

CHP Chases Car Down Highway One and Through Downtown Santa Cruz

Sunday night around 11PM, a car being pursued by CHP exited the Emeline exit at approximately 95 mph. SCPD picked up the vehicle and followed it through downtown and the east side where the car, described as a white Honda or Acura, continued to run from police. The car continued to run red lights and drive at high rates of speed until SCPD lost the guy. But then they found him again on Barson in the Beach Flats, where they continued the chase again along Riverside. SCPD gave up and shut the chase down as they deemed the guy to be going “too fast”. SCPD basically blew this call off to CHP. Said if they wanted the guy they could come look for him. Thanks for nothing here. Too busy dealing with bum service calls I guess. 

craigslist Grifter Arrested in Santa Cruz

A woman who was posting fictitious listings for property rentals (and scamming numerous people out of their money) was arrested in Santa Cruz this past week. Deputy Gutzwiller of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office arrested the woman Monday on numerous counts of grand theft. The woman would post ads on craigslist regarding a house for rent and would obtain an upfront security deposit from the victims when there was never a residence to rent. The victims ended up forfeiting the security deposits. Deputy Gutzwiller conducted a lengthy investigation that lasted several months. Through his investigation, he was eventually able to identify the woman as the suspect.

Given the non-violent nature of her crimes, and thanks to dumb mierda like Props 47 & 57, she’s probably out on bail already (EDIT: SHE IS. HER BAIL WAS SET AT $5K) and soon to be out on “probation”, grifting more people. Here’s some advice. NEVER give anyone money for a security deposit unless they can actually show you the property (by unlocking the door). Never pay cash. Just be smart. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. 

Just Another Junkie at Ross

Wednesday night around 10:30PM, a report came in about a junkie that was loitering in front of the main entrance of Ross, which was closed at the time. Why do I think he was a junkie? The manager reporting it described the subject as “dropping needles all over the place”. I can only imagine what the poor retail employees at Gateway Plaza have to deal with on a daily basis. Imagine if the city didn’t just treat the bike path as a transient highway they’ve all but forsaken and given up on enforcing. The area around that shopping center is junkie central. Plenty of vegetation to hide in. Plenty of stores to steal from. Quick and easy access to Harvey West Park, downtown, etc. without too many prying eyes. I walked a good section of the levee the other day. It was relatively bum free, even under the bridges, but I credit a lot of that to the bad weather. Not enforcement. I didn’t see a single SCPD or Ranger while I was out on the bike path. 

Woman and Dogs Fall Into Pacific Ocean

Thursday afternoon, a woman and 2 dogs that were with her fell into the ocean along West Cliff drive near Woodrow. Bystanders retrieved the dogs safely and firefighters used a rope system to retrieve the woman, according to Battalion Chief Josh Coleman. She was in the water for about a minute. Bystanders were unable to lift the woman to safety, but the dogs were pulled out and wrapped in blankets.

“The female victim was standing too close to the cliff’s edge and she kind of ricocheted down the cliff’s edge,” Coleman said.

Possible Strike at UCSC Could Disrupt First Day of Classes

A systemwide University of California strike could disrupt classes next Tuesday, the first day of the winter quarter at UC Santa Cruz. Teamsters Local 2010 workers will strike at UCSC and other campuses to demonstrate support for UC administrative, clerical, and support workers. As a result, the UC administrative, clerical, and support workers will take a one-day strike in protest of unfair labor practices in sympathy with their Teamsters Local 2010 on Tuesday. Interim Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Herbert Lee sent an email to UCSC faculty Thursday alerting them to the planned strike.

“At this time, we do not know how these strike activities will impact our campus. However, as we know from past experience, there is the possibility that access to the main campus may be impeded,” Lee said.

Look Who’s Trying to Destroy Fairy-Tale Farm!

What a grinch. Weekly Dump readers can help save Fairy Tale Farm. And stick it to the grinch.

Sign the petition to Save Fairy Tale Farm!

And here’s another message from Fairy Tale Farm in their battle with the slumlord grinch:

Hey wonderful Fairytale Family. Could you help us save Fairytale Farm? You get a chance to weigh in at a public comment, coming up on January 18th (Wednesday) at City Council chambers at 10:00 am. Letters will be even more important, but please also sign this petition, and share it with all your family and friends! Also, email: jrebagliati@cityofsantacruz.com, emarlatt@cityofsantacruz.com and mferry@cityofsantacruz.com

Sample letter in support of Fairy Tale Farm!

Candy Says

“Candy says I’d like to know completely. What others so discretely talk about…”

Candy Says – The Velvet Underground

Guerreros

by Ernie Douglasernie_1968_4x5_72dpi

Golden State Warriors: 
The GS Warriors took on the Mavericks last Friday night. They moved to 29-5 by winning 108-99, but the game was never really that close until the last few minutes of garbage time. They were up more than 20 in the 4th. KD had a triple double with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. In the postgame interview, Steve Kerr is obviously frustrated with the team’s sloppiness closing out games. It’s as if the players know how good they can be and they play around with turning that switch on and off. And it bugs the shit out of Kerr. Curry has always had the sloppy passes. And he’s still finding his groove with Durant. He’s got nothing to prove at this point. They’ll build a statue outside the new San Francisco arena for him some day. He’s just cruising. The bigger issue is the bench rotations. But that’s stuff that has time to work itself out. Denver played the Warriors pretty tight on Monday night. But the Dubs just have too much firepower. Durant, Curry, and Klay all had at least 20 points and Draymond had a triple double. Hard to beat teams that have that kind of firepower when it’s on blast. They’re defense could have been much better. I think that’s what makes Kerr (and Ron Adams) nervous. And I don’t think KD is the issue on defense. He’s overachieving on defense. I think the defensive lapses are coming from guys like Livingston and Iggy (older, slower legs), Zaza (slow legs, needs help defender), and Curry (who tries hard but plays the passing lanes for steals too much). Draymond and KD are locking in on defense. And it seems like with each 3 point shot they take, none of them crash the boards for an offensive rebound. Everyone is headed back the other way. Or Draymond’s the only guy back crashing the boards. They’ll need some younger, lock down defender guys (Looney for example) for the post season. I think this is the “last hurrah” for Livingston and Iggy. Both are noticeably slower this year. It will be hard to say goodbye, both are fan favorites. Let’s hope they win out one more time for these 2 guys. I think Iggy really LOVES playing here, and I could see him retiring and working in broadcasting or as a Warriors assistant coach. I think Livingston wants to play as long as he can still run. He’s still got a couple more years in him (a la Jason Terry), I just don’t think the Warriors can afford to keep him and lock up Curry/Durant long term. I think they see Ian Clark and Pat McCaw as their future replacements at this point. Clark is overachieving as Curry’s backup and playing better than Livingston is, McCaw is a future wing rotation player on the cheap. Wednesday night they took on a Trailblazers team without it’s best player (Lillard) and still almost coughed this game up until the final minute of the 4th quarter. And they gave up 117 points to a team without it’s best player! The offense was good, Curry had 35 points and Durant had 30. But the Trailblazers had 6 players in double figures. Where’s the defense? 

Upcoming games this week:  1/6 vs. Memphis (at Oracle), 1/8 at Sacramento, 1/10 vs. Miami (at Oracle), 1/12 vs. Detroit (at Oracle)

Santa Cruz Warriors:
The local Warriors had the week off. They take on the Grand Rapids Drive this week at Kaiser, before embarking on an extended road trip to Texas, before returning to Santa Cruz later next week. 

Upcoming games this week:  1/6 vs. Grand Rapids (at Kaiser), 1/8 vs. Austin, 1/9 vs. Rio Grande, 1/11 vs. Canton (at Kaiser), 1/13 vs. Salt Lake City (at Kaiser)

Weekly Shoutouts

Weekly shoutout to Robert Hulseman. I toast you sir. Weekly shoutouts to all of the Weekly Dump fans on NextDoor! Thanks for all the love and support from NextDoor readers!

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Keep Sharing the Weekly Dump!

I can’t say this enough, but thanks to all of you for reading, sharing, and mostly digging the Weekly Dump. We’ve definitely hit a nerve here locally. That’s a good thing. So I have a small, simple request from everyone here. If you like the Weekly Dump, tell one friend about it who you might think would enjoy it each Friday. If you’re a subscriber (and get the Dump delivered each week by email), just forward it to a friend. A friends list is even better! And if you just happen to be a casual drop in reader each week, please share a link with someone you think would enjoy the Dump each week. We can exponentially take this to another level and change the narrative in this town. But I need your help to do it. Thanks and keep reading!

 

16 Comments

  1. Johnnybitchin

    Keep up the good work Ben, it’s great to see some honest journalism for once in Santa Cruz. Calling Bums what they really are is refreshing, ooops, theres nothing refreshing about stinking Bums……..thanks again.

  2. Thank you for mentioning the fire that displaced a family on Delaware st. And supplying the go fund me link. They are close friends of ours who work locally and are a loved part of this community. We are trying to raise funds to replace what they lost in the fire, which was a total loss of property. Thanks.

  3. Hopefully Mr. Posner can find it in his heart to fight for what little green space there is left in the river flats like he did for the beach flats community garden.

    • A good real estate attorney could stop Micah’s sociopathic attempt to run roughshod over his co-owners. The Wades still seem to believe he will do the right thing, but that’s not how people like Micah work.

      • Arthur Macmillan

        I don’t get that the Wades think he will do the right thing. They don’t have the money for attorneys, have health issues, and daughters that need financial support while in college.

        Did it cost Mr. Posner a cent to fight for the beach flats community garden? No? Well, this time he is trading green space and his principles for money. A bit different circumstance, and you can bet a lot less interest on his part.

        He has already gotten away with murder. That all the money he collected in rent was illegal. He should have been fined at least the last couple of years worth of rent. Code enforcement knows this. But again, the renters don’t have the time or money when turned out into the streets to collect what they are entitled to. And even if they did the judges can’t be counted on to enforce the laws. Good going Santa Cruz! Hang the well meaning Wades out to dry because they don’t have thousands of dollars to prevent someone from stealing, right out in the open!

  4. Donna Robbins

    no reason the house on Delaware exploded???! Meth labs can cause huge explosions!

    • The fire appears to be either electrical or related to a water heater. Nothing says it’s drug related in any way, and the folks displaced don’t seem the type. By all accounts, the residents were good, hard working locals, with many friends now supporting them or offering them support.

  5. Someone posted a link to The Weekly Dump on my Nextdoor neighbor group. I almost didn’t bother to click on it, but thanks to a Bob Lamonica repeatedly over several comments, calling you a “small-town cowardly blowhard hiding behind a pseudonym” and more vitriol … he seemed hell bent on *exposing* you… I became intrigued. I’ve now signed up for weekly installments! Keep up the good work!
    ps if you’re reading this Bob, Legs Eleven is not my real name. Lolz

    • Who’s Bob Lamonica and why should I care what he thinks? But I’m glad he turned you on to the Dump by insulting me. Thanks for reading and commenting! I’ve been feeling the love from Nextdoor readers lately. Thanks again!

  6. Micah Posner has been a bad neighbor and a worst city council member and should not be rewarded for his sometimes illegal activities concerning this property. as a city council member he was renting out an illegal unit in the face of the law and as such needs to be made an example of. posner has no concern for the surrounding neighbors and no respect for the rights of others. i have had posner for a neighbor ever since he bought this property and he has brought chickens, with the flies that come with the shit that needs cleaning. he got a ROOSTER for this working family neighborhood so at the crack of dawn everyone had to be awakened by his rooster. now he is totally screwing the ‘partner’ he had in this property deal and his selfishness is showing no boundaries. Micah Posner has done enough damage with his stupid city council performance to the WHOLE city, let’s not let him do more local damage. let’s see if the ‘NEW CITY COUNCIL’ is willing to really do the things they said they would do. one thing the people i voted for promised was to fight irresponsible density development. let’s see it now!

    • I can think of at least 2 people on the “brand new council” who would ask “how high?” if a certain slumlord neighbor of yours asked them to jump (the 2 he just helped get elected). As for the other 5, hopefully they either know him well enough or know enough about him to see what kind of tool he is. 4 of them just spent the past 2 years suffering through his clown show antics to the point of censuring him. Good luck getting support from them if this ever comes before the city council. And the city council can override the planning commission recommendations on appeal.

  7. Arthur Macmillan

    RE- Nextdoor gag order fiasco:

    Can I get a shout out for trying? I said I would find ways to mention Santa Mierda on Nextdoor and I went directly there to do it. After having been a regular there for years I suddenly get an email forcing me to confirm my identity…which I did. Three times! Still, when I go there to post I get the same message.

    Now, I’m not paranoid enough (just barely) to think it’s intentional. Just the usual impersonal computer screw up. But you have my word! Just as soon as I’m ready to bang my head against they wall, I will try again! And my head is starting to itch, and the wall is the only cure!

    • Thanks for trying! I really have no idea why NextDoor corporate hates the Weekly Dump so much (when apparently so many of their users seem to enjoy it and those that share it). Maybe the truth hurts. I don’t have any junk to sell or give away, all I have is local news and opinion to share freely. There’s no “list” and there’s no “campaigns”. Just a whole lotta local vibrant honesty. Plug it at your own risk. But thanks to everyone on NextDoor that reads it and supports it. Can’t let a few loud gasbags dictate what gets posted or read over there.

  8. Arthur Macmillan

    Forget my shout out. Way bigger fish to fry. A bad cold has let me only skim the recent Santa Mierda issues. The issue with Fairy Tale Farms seems to me one of the most disgusting chapters in the repellent story of Micah Posner’s mission to rape Santa Cruz, and leave it totally broken down mentally, emotionally, and morally.

    I was a LITTLE saddened to see only 122 people, and now me, could be troubled to sign to petition against Posner, ripping off the people who freely gave time and money to promote numerous community and learning efforts, along with preserving a garden oasis that they spent their own money on, so that future generations of Santa Cruzans could have something beautiful to look at instead of every square foot for structures, and nothing for the beauty of nature.

    Scroll up and find the article, Please!!! Then go to the link to the petition and read that, Pretty Please!! The article looks a little small, and might be easy to miss. Maybe “Fairy Tale Farms” sounds corny and not worth reading. Read it first, then decide! Ask yourself if you’ve had enough with this kind of B.S.! Ask yourself if you want to encourage Micah Posner to keep debasing Santa Cruz. Ask yourself if you like being a doormat for a sociopath!

    We can be better than this. And I don’t mean, just a tiny bit better!

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