BradleyStuart.net » Environment

March to Santa Cruz City Hall to Save the Knoll

bradley — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:15:43 +0000

It has been over three weeks since KB Home contractors unearthed the skeletal remains of a young Ohlone child at the Branciforte Creek construction site in Santa Cruz. The City Council has yet to meaningfully address this situation or take action to honor Ohlone requests to protect the area by halting KB Home’s planned development.

On August 25th, 75 people marched in downtown Santa Cruz from Laurel and Pacific to City Hall on Center Street in an action organized by the Save the Knoll Coalition. One person maintained an indigenous chant throughout the march, many people carried signs and banners, and several distributed educational flyers.

The march was urgently organized for 10am on a Thursday because the Santa Cruz City Council was holding a special closed meeting, but the Branciforte Creek development was not on their agenda. However, prior to the closed meeting, twenty minutes were allocated for public comments about the pending Branciforte Creek development. Read More and View Photos

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Charlene Sul, a representative of the Save the Knoll Coalition, was one of the people who made impassioned public comments. Santa Cruz Vice Mayor Don Lane reported that he has been talking with KB Home representatives in an effort to protect the Knoll. Councilmember Tony Madrigal inquired with city attorney John Barrisone about holding another city council meeting soon to discuss the Knoll. Tony’s inquiry was backed by Councilmember Katherine Beiers, who said she was misinformed regarding the public comment period, and had told about 15 people that there would not be time for public comment.

At a rally outside city hall following the public comment period, Save the Knoll organizers stated that they felt the response from City Council was positive overall. But this is no time for people to let their guards down, rather it is important for people to continue putting pressure on KB Home and the Santa Cruz City Council.

Ohlone descendants have asked for a halt to any earth movement or development on the 6,000 year old village and burial site. Hundreds of Santa Cruz residents have rallied in support of the Ohlone people who are asking that the area be protected before anymore of their ancestors are disturbed.

For background information, breaking news, and ways to get involved in the ongoing efforts to save the Knoll, visit the coalition’s website at SaveTheKnoll.org

Stop the Dirty Energy Proposition: Vote No on Prop 23

bradley — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 23:34:43 +0000

On October 10th, a day of global action to work on the climate crisis, Santa Cruz residents rallied next to a Valero gas station on Highway 1 / Mission Street urging people to vote no on California’s proposition 23. If it passes on November 2nd, it will suspend California’s Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. AB 32 requires that by 2020 the state’s greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 1990 levels, a roughly 25% reduction under business as usual estimates. Read More and View Photos

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Over 90% of Prop 23 financial support has come from chemical and oil companies, namely Valero and Tesoro, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and Koch Industries, the largest private U.S. chemical company, headquartered in Witchita, Kansas.

The out-of-state chemical and oil companies who sponsored the initiative refer to their measure as the California Jobs Initiative, while environmental organizations and other opponents are calling Prop 23 the Dirty Energy Proposition.

The California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), an organization working to defeat the proposition, explains, “California leads the way with clean energy technology. But oil companies from Texas are spending millions to fund Prop 23 and block California’s global warming law. They want to keep polluting despite threats to our health and our climate.”

For more information, check out: Van Jones slams Koch Industries’ role in Prop 23

Santa Cruz Farmers’ Market Expands. Is the Drum Circle Finally Over?

bradley — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:37:47 +0000

Wednesday, April 21st was the first day of the expanded Farmers’ Market in downtown Santa Cruz.

While I was finishing lunch in a nearby restaurant, I heard the owner speaking with one of her employees about the expansion of the market, and she was not happy about it. She said that the increased amount of goods and services now being offered each Wednesday at the Farmers’ Market will have a negative impact on her restaurant and other downtown businesses. The feelings expressed by this longtime owner of a downtown restaurant do not correspond with an announcement from the Farmers’ Market which states, “The plans for the new Downtown Market have engendered excitement and full support from downtown businesses located adjacent to the market.”

The Farmers’ Market was also strangely quiet compared to previous weeks. Notably absent was the weekly drum circle and the crowd it attracts. And a vendor was selling artisan bread where for years, Food Not Bombs had been distributing free meals to anyone. Read More and View Photos

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Thousands Attend the International Cannabis and Hemp Expo at the Cow Palace

bradley — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:26:53 +0000

The International Cannabis and Hemp Exposition took place at the Cow Palace in Daly City on April 17th and 18th. The expo, which had the first permitted area for the use of medical marijuana, was the largest event of its kind to hit Northern California.

Established activist organizations dished out information to prospective members, and hundreds of vendors pitched their freshest accessories to thousands of medical marijuana patients and connoisseurs. At the same time, prominent members of the cannabis community discussed a wide-range of topics, including marijuana cultivation, medication and prohibition. However the main buzz, on and off stage, was the initiative to “legalize, control, and tax cannabis in California,” which is to be decided by voters in the state during the November 2010 elections. Read More and View Photos

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March in Santa Cruz for the Global Day of Climate Action

bradley — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:28:27 +0000

The website 350.org reports that on October 24th, people in 181 countries came together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet’s history. At over 5,200 events around the world, people gathered to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis.

Numerous events took place in Santa Cruz, CA, including a march which began at the wharf and went up the sidewalk of Pacific Avenue. The march ended at the clock tower where there was a rally and a mock trial of the private automobile, the largest contributing source of CO2 in California and Santa Cruz County. The trial was presided over by the honorable Fred Keeley, a former member of the California State Assembly and currently the Treasurer of Santa Cruz County. Read More and View Photos

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Demonstration in front of Chevron to Protest New Oil Drilling Off Central Coast

bradley — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:15:16 +0000

On July 23rd, as the California budget bill moves to the state legislature, local residents, some dressed as jelly fish and a sea anemone, held an afternoon demonstration in front of the Chevron on Ocean St. in Santa Cruz to oppose a plan to open the Central Coast to new drilling for the first time in 40 years. Demonstrators, including the staff of Save Our Shores, a non-profit organization based in Santa Cruz working since 1978 to prevent oil drilling in the Monterey Bay, are calling on the legislature to oppose new drilling off the California Coast, and instead pass an oil severance tax which would reportedly raise $1 billion a year from existing leases. Read More and View Photos

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Rally at Natural Bridges to Save State Parks & Beaches

bradley — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:43:20 +0000

If approved by the state legislature, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget plan will close 220 of 279 State Parks and Beaches, including each and every State Park and Beach in Santa Cruz County.

The proposed Santa Cruz County State Park and Beach closures are Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Castle Rock State Park, Castro Adobe State Historic Park, Coast Dairies State Park, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Lighthouse Field State Beach, Manresa State Beach, Manresa Uplands State Park, Natural Bridges State Beach, New Brighton State Beach, Palm State Beach, Rio Del Mar State Beach, Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park, Seabright State Beach, Seacliff State Beach, Sunset State Beach, The Forest of Nisene Marks, Twin Lakes State Beach and Wilder Ranch State Park.

A rally to save State Parks and Beaches took place on June 1st at Natural Bridges State Beach. On June 2nd, Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks took a bus to Sacramento for the only public hearing on this proposal before the Legislative Budget Conference Committee. Read More and View Photos

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Life Lab Science Program Celebrates 30 Years with Garden Festival

bradley — Sun, 31 May 2009 06:32:13 +0000

For 30 years, Life Lab Science Program has been helping educators and students bring learning to life in the garden. Based in Santa Cruz, Life Lab has been a leader in the garden-based learning movement locally and across the nation.

On May 30th, Life Lab celebrated its 30-year history with a birthday party in and around the Garden Classroom, located on the UCSC Farm, and featured garden crafts, visiting the chickens and goats, honey tasting, wheat threshing, tractor rides, and carrot birthday cake. Woodoven pizzas, strawberry tarts, fresh squeezed lemonade and hand-cranked ice cream were also available. Read More and View Photos

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Hitting Home: Capitola Home Depot Hit With Literature to Save Patagonia

bradley — Mon, 04 May 2009 05:25:45 +0000

The Home Depot in Capitola, California was targeted on Sunday, May 3rd with hundreds of stickers and handbills to publicize their involvement in a controversial development project in Patagonia, Chile. Read More and View Photos

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Tour de Everyday Rides in the Rain

bradley — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:24:27 +0000

On February 15th, ten bicyclists participated in the Tour de Everyday ride through Santa Cruz to demonstrate the utility of the bicycle for transportation. Highlights of the tour included riding across the new bike/pedestrian bridge that crosses the San Lorenzo River adjacent to Highway 1 and learning about the bicycle parking facilities planned for the new New Leaf. Even in the rain, bicycles are an efficient, inexpensive, and enjoyable way to get around town. Read More and View Photos

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