The Weekly Dump 4.23.21

Bean Bagging in Boulder Creek

Tuesday morning around 11AM, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 100 block of Brook Lane in Boulder Creek after getting a report of a man carrying a rifle walking into a tent trailer. When they arrived, deputies spoke to the owner of the trailer who told them that nobody should be inside. Deputies then saw a man come out of the trailer but when they tried to speak to him, he went back inside and refused to come out for nearly 7 hours. SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams tried to talk to the man to no avail. Finally around 6:30PM, he emerged from the trailer holding a machete. After refusing to drop the machete, deputies used bean bag rounds to get him to comply. The 32 year old man had a previous felony conviction and was not allowed to have guns. The Sheriff’s Office also believe the man had an explosive device which went off when he was hit with the bean bag rounds. He had minor injuries. He faces 15 charges including battery, resisting arrest, flashing a weapon, making criminal threats, trespassing, and more. His bail was set at $25K and last check he’s still in jail.

Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting

Last Saturday night around 6:30PM, SCPD responded with multiple units to the 100 block of Beach Street after getting reports of a brawl involving multiple people with weapons. When they arrived, the brawlers scattered but one person with facial lacerations was arrested at the scene. The person with the knife was eventually cornered and tased on the 400 block of 2nd Street. No idea if either is still in jail at this time but I’m guessing probably not.

Dust in the Wind

A 34 year old homeless woman from Kansas who had been camping near land burned by fire last summer was arrested in connection with two fires in the Boulder Creek area this week. She was camping in the area of Pond View Drive in Boulder Creek when she was arrested by CalFire. Last check she’s still in jail facing 4 felony arson charges.

Throwing Your Life Away at 22

Last Thursday, officials with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Team arrested a 22 year old male who was wanted in connection with a recent kidnapping investigation led by Santa Cruz police. When he was found, he had a loaded gun in his waistband, a fake gun and eight pounds of cannabis. He also had outstanding arrest warrants from law enforcement in San Jose and San Francisco for a number of gun related crimes. He faces 24 charges in all. Last check he’s still in county jail being held without bail.

Was This One of Those Homeless Hotels?

Last Thursday, officials with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Team executed a search warrant on an Ocean Street hotel, where they arrested two men on drugs and guns charges. They found 438 grams of methamphetamine, 10 grams of heroin, a gram of cocaine, an AR-15 assault rifle, and a revolver. They also found packaging, scales, and pay and owe sheets. I’ll go out on a limb here and venture a guess that these guys might have been dealing drugs from this hotel room.

Teen Arrested in Texas for Santa Cruz Murder

Last Thursday, deputies from from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Harris County, Texas arrested a 16 year old male in connection with the killing of a homeless man off of Emeline Avenue back in January. Police made the arrest after getting a tip about the teen, who was in Harris County in Texas at the time of his arrest. Detectives investigated and obtained a warrant to arrest him. The victim was a transient from Pennsylvania who was found dead early on the morning of Saturday, January 17th on the 700 block of Emeline Avenue in Santa Cruz. He suffered blunt force trauma to his head, police said.

Did He Live on Hells Camp Trail?

This past Tuesday morning around 7:30AM, SCPD responded to the 100 Block of Felker Street for reports of a robbery after someone was robbed of their phone at knifepoint. They ended up arresting a 44 year old male and charged him with robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, as well as having an outstanding felony warrant. Last check he’s still in county jail.

Down on Main Street

This past Tuesday around 7:30PM, SCPD responded to the 300 block of Main Street where they arrested a 31 year old male and charged him with burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, and stalking. Last check he’s still in jail on a no bail hold.

The Weekly Bumfight

Thursday night around 7:30PM, SCPD got reports about 2 transients fighting with weapons near the intersection of Highways 1 & 9. Welcome to Santa Cruz tourists! Skid Row! A witness reported seeing a male swinging a machete at another male who was swinging back with a metal pipe. SCPD fanned out along the railroad tracks and around the bum camps still lingering along the side of the Mission Street bypass. They had good descriptions of the bumfighters but I don’t think anyone was caught or arrested.

Seabright Strong

Shout out to my friend Paige, who really did a fantastic job mobilizing her neighbors and the Seabright community in the face of growing concern that the city council was going to dump their problem into her lap. I call her the “Mayor of Seabright” for a reason! She was interviewed on KSBW and featured in Good Times this week, talking about the issue of the city’s inability to control an out of control homeless problem they created. And Paige isn’t some dopey armchair social justice warrior. She volunteers to feed the homeless every week at St. Francis’s kitchen. She’s been doing it for many years.

The Latest COVID Numbers From Santa Cruz County

Hey, remember that pesky thing called COVID? It’s still around. Don’t get lazy or cocky about it. There have been 15,759 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Santa Cruz County, according to the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency, with 148 known active cases. 204 people have died, 483 have been hospitalized, 2 are currently hospitalized, and none are in the ICU.. 15,407 people have recovered. A total of 129,851 people have tested negative. Santa Cruz County is in the orange tier of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Its adjusted case rate is at 1.4, and it needs to be at 0.9 or below to move up. It also has a 0.6% positivity rate, and that needs to be at 1.9% or below to move up.

The Battle Over Needle Pollution is Far From Over

While the public comment period regarding the California legislature trying to eliminate environmental reviews of groups that randomly distribute hundreds of thousands of needles into the community with no repercussions is over, the item itself has yet to be voted on and discussed within the committee. I want to sincerely thank everyone who signed and shared this online petition! Almost 400 signatures and emails were sent out saying we don’t support this, and hundreds of other emails were sent out individually. The proposed bill will be heard by the committee on April 28th (next week!). You can listen in on the hearing itself from this link (click “Listen to this hearing” link).

Adios Saturn Cafe

It was announced this week that the Saturn Cafe won’t be reopening. I won’t shed any tears here. I’ve lived in Santa Cruz for about 20 years and I think I ate here once, and it wasn’t very good or I would have gone back. I’m kind of surprised it lasted as long as it did. It based itself on a theme (1950’s diner kitsch?) and the emphasis on vegetarian food really didn’t appeal to this particular carnivore. The theme was pretty dated to anyone under the age of 75. It’s a prime location for whatever comes next. There’s gonna be a brand spanking new commercial and housing development going up right across the street. And then there’s Bonesios! (at least Taco Bum is gone for good now).

Adios India Joze

I read somewhere that India Joze on Front Street will be shutting down in the coming months. I won’t shed any tears here. For years, he allowed Keith McMuffin and his crew to use his filthy kitchen to cook food, and let them set up in his parking lot where they prepped vegetables, making a general mess and probably contributing to the many rats found along the levee near that location. Old Joze was definitely a whacky Santa Cruz character who kept it weird. I think the location is part of a larger redevelopment project taking place on that block of Front Street.

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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24 Comments

  1. Quinn McLaughlin

    There’s a lot more to Joe Schultz and India Joze and the Saturn Cafe than you appear to know; both are integral parts of Santa Cruz history. Back when India Joze was on Center Street and the largest restaurant in Santa Cruz it was Zagat rated and very much a local favorite. Joe is a great guy even though I do disagree with the way the outdoor kitchen is run weekly. There’s a great community around India Joze and it will be missed.

    The Saturn Cafe had its heyday on Mission Street next to where Sabieng now stands. It was full of redwood, plants and great dimly lit tables… I remember the cookie dough, chocolate madness and fantastic salads there. When Saturn moved to downtown the vibe totally changed, though many menu items carried over. Sad to see it go too.

  2. Wow, no one got “penny bail” in this week’s Dump (I’m sure someone was assessed one cent). Here’s my sarcasm for the week.

    Santa Cruz should erect a Statue of Liberalty with the inscription:

    “Give me your useless bums,
    Your drug addled masses yearning for free shit.
    The wretched refuse kicked out of decent communities.
    Send these, the hopeless parasites, tempest-tossed to me,
    I lift my lamp, better for them to see what to steal next!”

  3. Any idea how I can get that Paige chicks’ number? She seems to be a great catch! ?
    I can’t express how proud I am of her and her invovlement in our community! ????

  4. Thanks for all you do. Santa Mierda is invaluable.

  5. Paige is for real. True hero in my book.

  6. Keith “the thief” Mchenry. Pleads no contest to theft in December Scpd case # 20CR02458. Self described anarchist. Loves to trick young UCSC kids to protest everything.

    • YOKO F THUNDERS

      Homie got hacky-sacked by the sheriff! ???…ouch!

    • Gabrielle D Laney-Andrews

      I totally agree, I got to meet Paige when picking up some milkweed seeds from her, we ended up talking for over an hour about the state of Santa Cruz. She is awesome.

  7. Paige Concannon is a jewel—strong, kind, committed, and willing to put herself on the front line to make change happen for the good of this community. Thank you Paige!

  8. MuyDeplorable

    Ah, I remember the old Saturn Cafe on Mission Street. In that era, I worked in tech industry over the hill, and I would regularly come to Santa Cruz on weekends, for the retro-hippie environment. I am showing my age. Unlike most others, I would drive over the hill very early, before traffic, stay with local friends Saturday night, then go home late Sunday. I detested tech. Sadly, Santa Cruz is going that way.

    The food at old Saturn was not remarkable; but as I wrote, it was the setting. Knocked 20 years off my age, so to speak. The downtown area still had many retro-hippie businesses, too. I have not patronized their non-hippie replacements much, with a few exceptions.

    I expect that the area will evolve into tiny condos with ground-floor brewpubs and other businesses that will not attract my patronage. Tech. Ugh. Of course, it may be that the retro hippies without tech work skills are the ones infesting the area with bum camps. Also ugh.

  9. IH8SC!!!!

    Greenie that was AWESOME!!! You have no idea how right on you got that whole thing!!!!!! . I don’t comment much anymore cause the crap show will never end,SPRINKLED WITH DIRTY NEEDLES!!and Santa Cruz especially down town really doesn’t deserve to even be in my head. I have and will always feel sorry for the good and regular working class people and Students that have no choice but to be stuck in a place where drug addicts and drug dealers have more rights then anyone else. How that guy got found that killed that “transient” shows that if you live on the streets in SC the city has a vested interest in you. If it was the other way around I know the killer would still be out on the lose-how do you find a “transient” that doesn’t want to be found and what good is convicting a “transient” for murder. As far as I’m concerned Santa Cruz HAS NEVER BEEN ANYTHING THAT WHAT IT IS TODAY-maybe the ones that have fond or “groovy”,”spiritual” memories or experiences,well that’s all they are I’m sure on those days way back when there were still drug addict scum bags in SC doing what scum bag drug addicts do. So now that I read Santa Mierda and I see people wearing “Santa Cruz” hoodies and hats… I think to myself who could be proud to live in SC. I’m not IH8SC!!! My prediction—— a “Transient(s)” will be struck and killed by a vehicle cause nowadays when I come into SC I’m seeing all these junky Aholes walking ON THE FREEWAY going from camp to camp some are hanging out under the bridge that leads to ocean st or the opposite side highway 17. And who ever hits these idiots is going to have there lives ruined cause the City of Santa Cruz CA coddles drug addicts and criminals like a drunk junkie welfare mom does her unwanted kids that she only has to keeps around for getting welfare buts spend all the money on herself

  10. Pat Kittle

    Population growth aggravates EVERY problem we face (despite innumerate reassurances from ecological ignoramuses of all types).

    Absurdly enough, it’s the only problem that is strictly taboo to even think about.

    And as everything keeps getting worse smart people will keep playing dumb.

    Have a nice day!
    🙂

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