Stabbing Outside Catalyst Sends Man to Hospital
Last Saturday night around 8PM, Santa Cruz police responded to the Catalyst on Pacific Avenue after getting a call about a reported stabbing in front of the club. Apparently a man was waiting in line for a hip-hop concert. Multiple people approached the victim in line and asked if he was in a gang, before they jumped him and stabbed him. The man was taken to a Bay Area hospital where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries. Police are still looking for multiple suspects involved in the stabbing.
Mischief with a BB Gun in Watsonville
Thursday morning around 1:30AM, Watsonville Police responded to the 400 block of Rodriguez Street after getting reports of a possible shooting. After arriving to the scene, they found two people with apparent wounds from what appeared to be a BB gun. Both victims are expected to be okay. Witnesses reported seeing two suspects driving a white car with one of them wearing a ski mask. Police soon spotted the car driving recklessly and pulled the car over on the 100 block of Main Street, where they found the BB gun used in the shooting and the ski mask that one of the suspects was wearing at the time of the shooting. Both men are also accused of shooting out several businesses in the downtown area.
Both men were arrested and booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail and booked on multiple charges including assault with deadly weapon, conspiracy, willful discharge of a BB gun in a negligent manner and vandalism charges. I’m not sure about the deadly weapon part, I don’t think anyone ever died from a BB gun. But I will say Watsonville PD probably saved these idiots lives. Running around in gang territory shooting off a BB gun is just looking to get shot by a real gun. These guys are lucky they weren’t shot.
State Homeless Audit Shows a Black Hole of Accountability
This story made me sit up and take notice.
“California spent $24 billion to tackle homelessness over a five-year period but didn’t consistently track the outcomes or effectiveness of its programs, according to state audit released Tuesday. The report attempts to assess how effective the state and local cities have been spending billions of dollars to address the ongoing homelessness crisis in California. An estimated 171,000 people are homeless in California, which amounts to roughly 30% of all of the homeless people in the U.S. Despite the roughly $24 billion spent on homeless and housing programs during the 2018-2023 fiscal years, the problem didn’t improve in many cities. Among other things, the report found that the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, which is responsible for coordinating agencies and allocating resources for homelessness programs, stopped tracking spending on programs and their outcomes in 2021 despite the continuous funding from the state. It also failed to develop a collect and evaluate outcome data of these programs due to the lack of a consistent method.”
In one of the worst kept secrets in California, of course there’s no accountability for actual performance here. It’s the homeless industrial complex. They don’t want success. They want a continued need to fund. It goes something like this: Local non-profit promises to support local city council candidate knowing that if elected, the same city council candidate will support funding local non-profit while in office. Quid pro quo. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. There’s no conditions to be met, no performance measures to measure, it’s just “I’ll support you if you fund me”. So we have lots of redundant non-profits focused on homeless issues here (which is STILL THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COUNTY AND NOT THE CITY). It’s like money gets sucked in and never comes out.
Santa Cruz City Council Punts on West Cliff One Way Pilot Program Grant
This Tuesday, the Santa Cruz City Council unanimously rejected the idea of one-way traffic on West Cliff Drive. The pilot program plan would have converted the eastbound lane of West Cliff Drive from Bay Street to Natural Bridges State Beach into a two-way bike lane. A $3.5 million state grant application to pay for the pilot program opened in late March, and city staff rushed to try to get it approved. A recent survey showed about 60% of respondents favored a one-way street with a separate bike lane. About half of neighbors near West Cliff Drive in the survey supported a one-way street.
The city council also adopted a “50-year Community Vision for West Cliff Drive”. Like we have no other more urgent issues than worrying about what will happen to West Cliff Drive in 50 years. I don’t care about what will happen to West Cliff Drive in 50 years. I’ll be dead. Let them figure it out in 40 years or so. In 40 years, they won’t care what your “vision” is. It will be obsolete and irrelevant. I care about what you’re doing NOW about public safety, homelessness, growth, water, all the fucking things impacting my life right now. I know it’s a big ask but maybe spend less time on the future and more time fixing the now.
Salmon Fishing Season Cancelled
This past Wednesday, federal fishery managers unanimously voted to cancel all commercial and recreational salmon fishing off the coast of California for the second year in a row. The decision was made to protect California’s salmon populations after drought and water diversions impacted the ability of Chinook salmon to thrive. In addition, the California Fish and Game Commission will decide next month whether to cancel inland salmon fishing in California rivers this summer and fall. State and federal agencies are now expected to implement the closures for ocean fishing. The commercial season typically runs from May through October.
The Community Speaks
Question of the Week!: “Who is your favorite local band or performer from Santa Cruz?”
“Jesse Daniel”
– Mike
“Alex Lucero is my current local fav. Great mix of covers and original.”
– Jaime
“Drain 4 ever”
– Jocelyn
“So many…..Ted Welty and the many bands he plays with, Alex Lucero and the Live Again Band, Joint Chiefs, Big Bad Wolf, Billy Reese, Jazz the Dog, Patti Maxine……”
– Valerie
“The Coffis Brothers”
– Elaine
“James Durbin! Went on a show that is mostly about Pop music, did what they asked but also stuck to his metal roots. He’s still touring and living a pretty successful life from what I’ve seen. Pretty proud of him.”
– Robert
“Ribsys Nickle, Vinny Johnson Blues band, The Beach Cowboys, Lost Boys and James Durbin, and back to HS days – Starborne & Eddie and the Tide ♥️ argh almost forgot my absolute favorite- pls check this artist out. Mira Goto”
– Beth
“Chop Tops”
– John
“Ted Welty! He’s the anchor of several bands: Spun, Locomotive, Breath, and Fuse as well as his solo act.”
– Fritz
“Wolf Jett”
– Angela
“Good Riddance, Fury 66, Coffee Zombie Collective and Alex Lucero!”
– Jaime
You can read all the responses here!
Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions! I learned about some new music. Never heard of the Chop Tops. They kick some ass!
The Chop Tops live at Slim’s in SF 03/15/13
Bonny Doon Winery Introduces Paper Wine Bottles
Local favorite Bonny Doon Vineyards is about to become the first winery in the US to use fully-recyclable paper wine bottles. The new wine bottle packaging, shaped like a bottle, is five times lighter than a traditional wine bottle. Fully recyclable, the packaging weighs just under three ounces. They are made from 94 percent recycled paperboard with a food-grade pouch inserted to contain the wine. The winery’s rosé wine will be sold at Whole Foods stores throughout California this spring, expanding to other stores throughout the U.S. later in the year.
You’re Making Me Hungry
I may have found the best food deal in all of downtown Santa Cruz. This past Tuesday, I stopped by Pleasure Pizza on Pacific for their “Cheesy Tuesdays”, where you can get a slice of cheese pizza for the absolutely ridiculous price of just $2. TWO DOLLARS FOR A SLICE!
And I’m not talking about baby slices. I’m talking big slices. I grabbed a couple cheese slices to go and took them home for lunch (and dinner).
So how was the pizza? It was good! I’m one of those people who actually like plain cheese slices. I figure, it’s easy to mask your pizza with lots of stuff, but if you can’t make a good cheese pizza you can’t make a good pizza. You gotta get the basics right first.
The pizza here checked all the basic boxes. A nice crust, not too bready or thin, hand tossed. Good sauce to cheese ratio. The sauce was good, not too sweet or spicy. And the cheese was just the right amount.
Anytime I’m downtown on Tuesdays, I know where I’m headed! Best food deal in all of downtown Santa Cruz. I’ll grab a couple slices, bring them home, dress them up with whatever I want, toss them in the toaster oven, and bam! Instant lunch and dinner for $4.
The Weekly Stroll
After grabbing my $2 slices from Pleasure Pizza, I walked across the street to the sounds of a busker playing the theme from the Godfather on his accordion. Then his friend came over and brought him a cheese slice and he stopped playing so he could eat his slice with his friend.
The Weekly Seen
New Santa Mierda YouTube Channel!
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When you hold a Hip Hop Concert nothing good ever happens…Years ago Skinny McDougles on Portola held one and a guy got stabbed right outside the backdoor. They came from Seaside, Marina and San Jose just to cause trouble, and succeeded.
Hey Johnny Bitchin! Glad to see you’re still around. Still at the Harbor bitchin?
What does the license plate mean?
M-I-E-R-D-A. It means shit. Literally. 😛
If you are a Whole Foods “member” (Amazon Prime), they have an entire cheese pizza for $10 on Tuesdays (or maybe it’s Fridays).
Good to know! Costco also has the $10 pizza (which also isn’t bad). Thanks Judi!
Generally we are in agreement and have been for years. There is one point, however, on which I think you’re dead wrong, and that’s the notion that the homeless problem is somehow the county’s and not the city’s. I don’t understand your reasoning.
Which, the city or the county, has promoted the policies that have made Santa Cruz (the City) #1 in homeless/capita? Answer – The City. Which, the city or county, has elected nutjob ultra-liberals who have created the seemingly-permanent housing crisis that’s resulted in Santa Cruz (the City) being one of the most unaffordable places on the planet? Answer – The City.
I could go on (and on, and on, and on), but you get my point. The City is the locus of all of these problems because the City (through its elected representatives) has for decades(!) promulgated the policies that created them. Why, then, do you seem to think that it’s not only fair to blame the county, but rail on about how they need to come up with the programs/funds to solve it? I love the work that you do in trying to Keep It Real(TM), but on this matter you are misguided and simply wrong. IMHO, of course.
The reasoning is pretty simple. Only one has a multi million dollar budget for something called “County Health Services”, which homelessness falls under. The COUNTY. The COUNTY is responsible for homeless services. Many years ago, I was having coffee with Fred Keeley (of all people) and he told me this exact same thing to my face. This comes from the Mayor himself. That’s not to say the city doesn’t stick it’s nose in the county’s business here. But the responsibility is a county responsibility.
The COUNTY already spends over $450 million on “Health Services”, and over $250 million on “Public Safety”. That’s 2/3 of the COUNTY’s entire budget and most of those expenditures are centered in and around the CITY. Much of that money is directly spent as a result of the decades-long misguided policies of the CITY. And the COUNTY is, relatively speaking, far poorer than the CITY.
Yours is a tired, and false, narrative. The CITY’s priorities have long been and continue to be a mess. Bleating about how it’s the COUNTY’s fault doesn’t change that.