The Weekly Dump 7.31.20

Drive By Murder on Mission Street in Santa Cruz

Tuesday afternoon around 1PM, there was a murder on Mission Street in West Santa Cruz. The 28 year old victim from Santa Cruz was reportedly sitting in a silver Mercedes before he was shot to death in some kind of a drive by shooting near Mission and Fair. Initially, SCPD and emergency responders were dispatched to a report of a victim of a shooting on Mission St, north of Swift Street. When officers and medics arrived, they found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the head sitting in the front passenger seat of a car. The victim died on the way to the hospital. Further investigation determined the shooting occurred at the intersection of Mission Street and Fair Avenue. SCPD called for a Project ROPE looking for the suspects car, which was described as a dark colored Acura or Honda sedan. I haven’t heard of any arrests or suspects. Drive by shootings in broad daylight on a Tuesday afternoon on one of our busiest streets. In the middle of pandemic. Welcome to Paradise.

Poor Local Leadership Contributes to Continued COVID Spike in Santa Cruz

The coronavirus is still spiking locally. We’re over a thousand local cases. And how many people locally have gotten tested? I’d bet maybe one percent of the county. We have no idea how bad it really is. Wear the mask. The numbers don’t tell the story but they help paint a picture. Almost 40% of the known cases (390) are people between the ages of 18-34. And almost 60% of the cases are occurring in South County, where we’ve seen recent spikes among farm workers. Personally I think the 3 biggest reasons for the local spike are:

  • Extended family gatherings with a lack of social distancing and masks
  • Having our local beaches open and bringing tourists to Santa Cruz from outside our bubble
  • Too many unregulated, irresponsible local public gatherings

Our Coddling Helped Kill This Woman

Last week, CHP arrested a 31 year old Boulder Creek man for a deadly hit-and-run that killed a 73 year old woman two weeks ago. He was arrested on the 2300 block of Stevens Creek Boulevard in San Jose. The Boulder Creek woman was reported missing on July 14th and her body was found down an embankment off Bear Creek Road after being struck by a vehicle two days later. He’s been arrested at least 20 times locally since 2014. He was arrested 6 times locally in 2019. We arrest this shithead every other month. It was only a matter of time until he killed someone and that time came due. And the blood stain is on those who enabled it.

Penny Bail Time!

This Tuesday, SCPD arrested a 29 year old male for burglary, trespassing, and resisting arrest. The sheriff and keeper of the jail turnstile cut him loose with a Get Out of Jail Free card less than 24 hours later. “PTA”. Penny bail! I’m surprised more low grade criminals don’t make their way to Santa Cruz to commit their “nuisance crimes”, since the sheriff obviously doesn’t really give a shit about putting them in his jail.

Now Open!

Monday afternoon around 2:30PM, someone drove their car through the front window of the 7/11 on the corner of Ocean and Broadway. Apparently the driver confused the accelerator for the brake. No one was seriously injured in the crash. The store wasn’t so lucky.

Attempted Murder Isn’t Newsworthy Anymore in Santa Cruz

Last week, Santa Cruz Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 46 year old Aptos woman for attempted murder on the 400 block of Vista Del Mar. Actually, she was charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, domestic violence, elder abuse, and false imprisonment. Her bail is set at $275K and she’s still in county jail.

For the Turnstiles

Last Thursday morning around 1:30AM, the CHP responded to the area of Highway 1 and Dimeo Lane where they arrested a 31 year old Felton woman on a laundry list of charges, including robbery, burglary, grand theft, battery, DUI, and driving on a suspended license. You think that was enough to keep her in jail? Nope. her original bail was set at $25K. She got kicked to the curb with a “PTA” (Promise to Appear).

Turnstiler of the Week

Last Sunday, SCPD responded to the Jack in the Box on Water Street where they arrested a 25 year old male. He was charged with stealing a car, intimidating a witness, battery, and identity theft, all felonies. Still in jail last time I checked. But expect him to be kicked to the curb soon. He’s been arrested at least 20 times locally since 2017.

Someone Had a Rough Morning

Tuesday morning around 10AM, SCPD responded to the 500 block of Water Street where they arrested a 33 year old male for felony domestic violence. Last check he’s still in county jail sitting on a $25K bond.

They’ve Only Just Begun

Friday night around 10:30PM, a number of residents called 911 to complain about a loud party going on in the park near Raymond and Leibrandt. I think a couple of units responded. When SCPD arrived, they reported at least 50-60 people “taking over the street” (their words). Did they just say fuck it and give up? Pretty much. You know how Andy feels about the people refusing to be governed. He refuses to govern. They were ordered to “stay clear”. Maybe it is time to defund the police. They don’t seem to be doing their jobs here. We’ve completely given up the “enforcement” part of law enforcement to avoid looking politically incorrect.

Laughing Sal Isn’t Laughing Right Now

In some of the least surprising news this week, the Seaside Company, who own and operate the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, basically threw in the towel this week on opening this year after the coronavirus shut them down. In an official notice filed with the state’s labor agency, nearly 1,100 workers are affected by layoffs and furloughs, which the company described as “temporary.” The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Carousel Inn, Sea and Sand Inn, Boardwalk Bowl, and Harbor Inn are all affected by the decision. “We expect the closure to be temporary as a result of COVID-19,” stated the Seaside Company’s director of human resources in a letter this week to the Employment Development Department. Among the 1,097 jobs affected, 163 were arcade games and attractions operators, 144 were foodservice staffers, and 105 were ride operators. Interesting how none of the administrative workers or management were effected. Just the grunt workers.

I called this weeks ago. Even if they were allowed to “open”, no way they could operate profitably with a capacity restriction. If mandated COVID restrictions limited them to say 50% of normal capacity within the park, they don’t make money. That’s half their margin. And the week to week uncertainty just makes the decision an easy one for the owners.

Santa Cruz City Council Race Updates

The candidate filing period is officially open! You can track the list of “official” candidates here.

Who’s officially running?
These are people who have at least filed a 501 form with the city.

  • Martine Watkins
  • Sandy Brown
  • Richelle Noroyan
  • Sonja Brunner
  • Kayla Kumar
  • Maria Cadenas
  • Kelsey Hill
  • Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson
  • Elizabeth Conlan
  • “Bad Mom”

Still no men? I had someone tell me this week that Chris Krohn will NOT be running again this time around. All kinds of speculation can be read into that. And I could be wrong, he might jump in at the last minute to prove me (and anyone who voted to recall him) wrong. But I think ultimately, even local progressives have had enough of Chris Krohn and his narcissistic, aggressive, confrontational approach to being on the city council.

There was some kind of Zoom forum with some local group representing various unions on Thursday that the city council candidates participated in. I lasted less than minute before I couldn’t take anymore. After logging in, there’s Bad Mom doing her Zoom call from her car. Oh hell no. Sorry. I came back later as it was ending. I caught a very small amount from some of the folks I’m unfamiliar with. Honestly, nobody really impresses me so far. I know it’s still early. I know the nomination period is still open. But wow, what a lightweight field of candidates. If Sandy Brown leads your slate, how sad and pathetic is that? Basically, we’ve got a group of very nice, well intentioned women (with the exception of one Bad Mom), and they all sound pretty much the same. Except for Bad Mom of course. So here’s how this is lining up:

The “Moderate Machine” slate will be something like:

  • Watkins
  • Brunner
  • Kalantari-Johnson
  • and maybe a still to be announced unknown 4th

The “Progressive Machine” slate will be something like:

  • Brown
  • Cadenas
  • Kumar
  • Hill or Conlan (whoever can pull better funding and endorsements)

and then we’ve got the narcissistic grifter looking for attention.

And then there’s this little bomb that kind of dropped in the Zoom call:

Now I haven’t talked to or heard form Richelle so this is news to me. If this is true, it’s unfortunate. I know Richelle personally as a friend and I like her. We don’t always see eye to eye, but that’s to be expected. I know she truly cares about Santa Cruz. And she makes compromises, when most other city council members are unwilling to do so (and sometimes they get recalled for it). If she’s actually out, it’s probably because she couldn’t get the “moderate machine” to back her, something that has always seemed a baffling struggle to me. I think it’s part personality, part unfair stigma, and partly because the “machine” couldn’t control her the way they would like to. And that’s the part I respect. I hope she runs for the Board of Supervisors instead. The pay is much better, and the meetings aren’t a clown show.

Walking the Rail Trail

I was out walking with a friend on Sunday afternoon and we decided to check out the rail trail section currently being built between Bay and Almar. There’s still a lot of hurricane fencing in different sections but access to the new paved trail was available at a number of points. And my first impression is it’s really nice! There’s new industrial design fencing along the route, but the footprint of the permanent fencing that separates the trail from the rail is minimal. The path itself is fairly wide, wide enough to drive a vehicle on, and runs adjacent to the existing railroad tracks.

So far so good! But my biggest concern as always isn’t the building part. It’s the maintenance part. And that’s the part where the city and/or county always disappear and the project ends up going south. Hell, we’ve already turned San Lorenzo Park, a jewel of a city park if there ever was one, into a fucking bum camp. And it’s just basically ignored now with no real enforcement. Campers in the park are using the original fencing as part of their camp structure. There are stolen bike chop shops in the camp. People are just pitching tents literally ANYWHERE THEY WANT now. Numerous tents literally line the San Lorenzo River right now, outside of the city/county sanctioned “Camp Coonerty III”. And what (or who) is to stop the same thing happening along the new rail trail? Is it going to be lined with tents full of busted up stolen bikes in the coming months? I challenge anyone to go walk the railroad tracks from Depot Park to Bay street and see what I’m worried about. It’s short, less than a mile. It’s a human sewer of bum camps debasing and squatting in the woods, trash everywhere. But it’s out of sight so it’s out of mind.

Get Your Swagger On!

 

I have swag! I’m working with Spreadshirt and have my own shop. I just put some basic products up to start with for now with the new logo. You can also click “Customize” and “Products” and pick from other products not currently available in my store. Contact me with any questions or issues. Nothing would make me happier than to see people out and about with my swag. I want photos! I’ve never asked for money, and I still plan to continue to do the Weekly Dump each week and make it available for free, without any paywall or ads or spam (or salary). Think of this as a way of donating to the effort and getting something back for your donation (I only make a few bucks on each item sold). I’d love to do more with Santa Mierda if I had the means to do so. This will help provide the means to do so. And it helps get the word out. The hell with the coronavirus, let’s make this viral. Being stuck inside is the perfect time for online shopping! I’ll love you long time if you buy my swag.

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27 Comments

  1. Ben- good “Dump” this week.

    re the story: “Penny Bail Time!,” Uncle Jim’s liberal use of “Promise to Appear” is actually illegal. Here’s why:
    CA Penal Code sec.1320.10. (e) Pretrial Assessment Services shall not release:
    (1) A person who has been assessed in the current case by Pretrial Assessment Services using a validated risk assessment tool pursuant to Section 1320.9 and is assessed as high risk.
    CA Penal Code sec.1320.7 (h) “Risk” refers to the likelihood that a person will not appear in court as required or the likelihood that a person will commit a new crime if the person is released before adjudication of his or her current criminal offense.

    In short- a drug addicted transient is a person who is THE MOST likely to re offend. Not only is possession of controlled substances and paraphernalia a crime, but so is the related property crime associated with supplying the addiction.

    So why is this happening? Simple. The “Validated Risk Assessment Tool” is being administered by County Probation. Hazzah!

  2. We do need Richelle.

  3. I too listened to some of the Labor Council/SC for Bernie (ain’t it about time to give up on Bernie?) Leftist bad audio Zoom-a-thon and the idea there is a “moderate” slate is rich. I hear the search for the “least worst” non-essentially SDA type communist slate (recall backers) will only back 3 candidates, haven’t disclosed who those are, and will put money behind them while they hold their nose. Your guess is as good as mine who those will be. Somehow asking leading questions like “Exactly how are you going to be supporting Prop 15?” (statewide end-around raise taxes on someone else prop dumping part of prop 13 funneling more money to local schools from increased taxes on business property) isn’t exactly good moderating, and the candidates didn’t mention a lick of what it was about or why, but sure did some boot licking along the way. It’s entirely possible some didn’t even know what it is. That’s just before I tuned out.
    Again I say the S hits the fan after Nov, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

    • I guess “moderate” is pretty relative here. Moderate to the far left socialists. And what a bag of nuts those organizers are over there. The old lady moderator was cracking me up. You’re right though. The “moderate” candidates are barely that. I think given the toxicity of the Krohn/Glover recent history, the priorities seem to be civility, working together, and lots of pandering to Santa Cruz progressive talking points. People feel like crap right now and the smart candidates won’t try to make people angrier or ratchet up the noise but talk in empty platitudes and wishful thinking. Remember, the city is absolutely fucking broke right now. The number one topic SHOULD be COVID and post COVID fiscal management, but instead it’s the usual support for MORE spending on social service programs the county is already responsible for. And I’m all for civility and working together. Just manage your fucking budget.

  4. Here’s the deal. Santa Cruz is a college town and a tourist town. Both of those economic activities are now bust. It doesn’t matter who is in charge, they are bankrupt and the revenue well is dry. Pretending otherwise accomplishes nothing. You can’t tax people who aren’t here.

    • You are right. Now what?

      • Judging only from the list of names that have appeared that wish to take on the task of leadership of our fair city in a fiscal crisis, it might be time to seriously consider not being here either. As it turns out, watching surfers, redwood trees and enjoying nice weather is very expensive and may not be worth any future price of admission.

    • Theodora Kerry

      Best succinct analysis of the economic future of Santa Cruz that I’ve read. One addition though: They can tax the people who are here, as well as continue to approve development schemes which “promise” to bring in more revenue despite the concerns of local residents.

  5. City Insider

    We need Richelle…. Take a drive by San Lorenzo park… Or on highway one by River Street … These people have heard the rumor that Santa Cruz encourages drug users and $$ for all the trash they leave. Take off the rose color glasses…
    Three people seem to run the city….god. it’s soooo obvious.
    Get a frigging backbone …. What about the people that work there ass’s off every day?

  6. Just the Facts

    If you can manage to somehow stumble into town, or hit a curb with your broke-down “mother-ship” RV, your set! The County will give you a free tent, healthcare, deliver free food to your campsite, and seemingly give you permission to squat where ever you want. How is this helping anything? Where is the “management” portion of the San Lorenzo camp? Stop using Covid as an excuse and DO SOMETHING meaningful. It’s only a matter of time before that cess-pool becomes ground zero for an outbreak of some kind and/or fatalities. We need some seriously good leadership and fast.

  7. This place sick now! Wake the fuck up people. I’m a longtime resident and I and leaving here a soon as I can. It’s a shit hole !

  8. We moved here from Canada 6.5 years ago. I work downtown.

    In 6.5 years, the change in this town is shocking. Downtown is overrun by meth head zombies. I was stacked by a homeless guy downtown 2 years ago – in broad day light.

    The people in “charge” here make it abundantly clear that they care nothing for the people who live in Santa Cruz. They are so far removed from the concerns of the average decent person. They may as well be on a different planet.

    I am homesick for B.C.

  9. May I suggest the Military Green Tie Dye color for Santa Mierda Tees. Or Grey. Much more interesting then solid colors.

  10. Just the Facts

    This just in…..SC Parks is shuttering all parks restrooms and replacing them with plastic out-houses because they claim it costs too much to maintain/repair the public restrooms. They are also shuttering Lower DeLaviega Park for the same reason. Meanwhile, they just purchased a whole new round of tents {three sizes!} and cots for the San Lorenzo bum fest. Your tax dollars at work!

  11. Theodora Kerry

    Re: causes for spike in COVID cases:
    1. More tests = more cases, especially when you know that most tests have a false positive bias.
    2. Most cases, if tests are correct, result in a building of herd immunity, the ultimate way to defeat a virus.
    3. A small percentage of cases have resulted in hospitalization, and an even smaller have resulted in death, hence only 4 deaths in Santa Cruz during this whole epidemic, and all of these were people w/ serious chronic health conditions.
    4. In identifying the risky situations that have contributed to this rise in COVID cases (assuming the tests are correct), you fail to mention the several BLM marches that happened throughout our county where up to hundreds crowded together w/ and w/out masks, shouting, chanting, and sharing their spit w/ little concern for those nearby. Why ignore this very obvious contribution to the higher test #s?

    • Theodora, I thought your points were very well made.

    • As do I.

    • MuyDeplorable

      Regarding #4: Certainly I disapprove of all those knee-jerk protests. But I doubt if the impact was large. The virus seems to propagate in closed areas and by contact. Even screaming protestors would not pollute the surroundings much, and they tend to remain grouped. So I would expect that an infected protestor might infect only another 2 or 3 people, and those might be folks whom the protestor ordinarily meets.

      On the other hand, we know that infection is spread by close housing and mingling family groups. I expect that the south county bubble is due to congested housing, not protests or field work or beaches. So, what are our goverment poobahs doing to prevent gluts of poorer people in congested housing? Nada. There’ more money to be made that way. For the poobahs, that is.

    • RE: #1 Absolutely and unequivocally FALSE (in other words, you are full of mierda!)

      Science is not a “belief system” but a process and methodology for seeking an objective reality.

      “Belief” and science are incompatible at every level. The two seek different answers to separate questions using fundamentally and inherently incompatible methods. Nothing can truly bring the two together without sacrificing intellectual honesty.

  12. Just got back from spending the time and our dollars in Capitola. So pleasant. Nice amenities and stores with people who don’t look they are shop lifters and drug dealers. Or mentally ill. Sure wish my tax dollars could go to having nice things, a clean city and stores that aren’t closing due to a lack of patrons. That’s ok. Take out lunch in Scotts Valley was really good too.

    • Scruzy, ya I’ve always wondered why you can go to Capitola,Scotts Valley and Aptos and things there are pretty normal for the most part. But the second your in Santa Cruz it’s- drug addicts,super criminals and bums EVERYWHERE!! But the people who run Santa Cruz seem to want it this way.

      • The difference is shocking. Can you imagine being stuck in the traffic on Soquel yesterday near Staff of Life. This is so unacceptable. I for one am now very careful where I am willing to go. I never thought Santa Cruz could get so scuzzie.

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