BradleyStuart.net

Cruz Molina’s Judicial Review Canceled at Last Minute by UCSC

bradley — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:23:11 +0000

On March 13th, UC Santa Cruz canceled their judicial review hearing against Cruz Molina just before it was set to begin, off-campus, at the UCSC Inn. Cruz and David Benterou are UCSC freshman targeted for allegedly having the tree-sitters as their “guests” on the morning of November 7th, 2007. Supporters of Cruz and David organized a “Student Justice Teach-In” on March 6th. They assert that UCSC is trying to scapegoat Cruz and David by holding them responsible for all past, present and future actions of the tree-sit on Science Hill.

Students and other community members arrived at the UCSC Inn to discover that demonstrations are not allowed there because it is private property and that Cruz’s hearing was canceled. No official explanation was given for the cancellation, though some people asserted that Doug Zuidema, UCSC’s Director of Judicial Affairs, wanted to hear Cruz’s version of the events before holding a hearing. The announced demonstration and media exposure of UCSC’s off-campus, behind closed doors, judicial review process may have influenced them more than a last minute altruistic decision to inquire about Cruz’s version of events. Read More and View Photos

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Students and Workers Block Road at UCSC to Protest Poverty Wages

bradley — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:26:07 +0000

On February 28th, UC Santa Cruz workers represented by the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, and backed by students, demonstrated for justice, dignity and a fair working contract. Over 350 people took part in the largest demonstration of the school year in support of UCSC’s most underpaid workers. Instead of making demands outside the Chancellor’s office, workers and students got UCSC’s attention by lining McLaughlin Drive and twice shutting down Hagar Drive. Students and workers felt empowered by seeing how easily they can bring UCSC to a halt. Read More and View Photos

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Police Raid Activist House in Santa Cruz

bradley — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:02:22 +0000

On February 24th, police broke through the front door of a home on the 700 block of Riverside Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz. For the duration of the police presence they declined to comment on their reason for being there, other than to say it was an “ongoing investigation.” Comments on the newswire state that the police actions were in response to a demonstration that took place that morning at the home of a UCSC vivisectionist (animal testing by inflicting distress unto an animal to research the effects of a variable). Read More | Photos | More Photos

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Peter Young Speaks at SHAC 7 Benefit in Santa Cruz

bradley — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 06:00:50 +0000

On February 23rd, noted animal rights activist Peter Young spoke at the Louden Nelson Center in Santa Cruz about his experiences with the animal liberation movement. His talk was followed by a screening of the film “Behind the Mask“, a thought provoking film that gives an in-depth look at the lives and motivations of animal liberationists. The event was a benefit for the SHAC 7; six individuals whose 1st Amendment rights were violated when they were sent to prison for defending animals by merely drawing attention to the horrors that go on at an animal testing facility called Huntingdon Life Sciences.

In 1997, Peter and a friend liberated over 8,000 mink and foxes from various fur farms in a two-week road trip across three midwestern states. Read More and Listen to Audio

UCSC Workers Offer New Year Resolutions To Shape Up UC

bradley — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:05:59 +0000

Members of AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) Local 3299 (custodians, food service workers, gardeners, maintenance workers, shuttle drivers and medical center workers) as well as students, teachers, and community allies, rallied at UC Santa Cruz on January 31st, the same day AFSCME’s contract with the University of California (UC) expired. The demonstration coincided with AFSCME Local 3299’s statewide delegations to all five UC medical center CEOs and all ten campus Chancellors to present a list of seven new year resolutions that the UC System must adopt to ensure quality patient care and student services.

The demonstration, began with a rally in the Baytree Plaza at UC Santa Cruz and was followed by a march to Kerr Hall, where the chancellor’s office is located, to demand justice for UC’s lowest wage workers. AFSCME Local 3299 and their allies are calling on Chancellor Blumenthal to take leadership within the UC to support UCSC workers and strengthen the broader Santa Cruz community by granting AFSCME members a fair contract with market rate standards and benefits protections. AFSCME organizers assert that, “outrageous executive compensation continues to be a top priority at UC while frontline workers struggle to make ends meet. Read More and View Photos | More Photos

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Campus Earth Summit: Sustainabilty Focus or Farce?

bradley — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 06:47:37 +0000

The 7th annual Campus Earth Summit was held on January 31st at the College 9/10 Multipurpose Room at UC Santa Cruz. The well-attended event was organized by the Student Environmental Center and the Sustainability Office at UCSC and featured local speakers, a ‘low carbon’ lunch sourced from local organic farms, workshops on reducing ‘carbon footprints’ and conversations about environmental sustainability at UCSC. The summit was held in conjunction with Focus the Nation, a nationwide climate change teach-in happening simultaneously at over 1,000 colleges and universities across the USA.

There was so much excitement and talk about the future, but actions of the past were hardly discussed at all. None of the keynote speakers mentioned that on December 21st, 1991, the Coalition to Move Colleges Nine and Ten issued a press release about the destruction of “Elfland” through the logging of approximately 100 redwood trees where the College 9/10 Multipurpose Room stands today. The press release stated, “Elfland, as the area is called, is unique to the UCSC campus. Huge ferns grow in the valleys next to giant trees; tiny highland meadows support deer and endangered native grasses. It is a wildlife corridor and biologically diverse area on campus. Giant sinkholes pock the area, which overlies limestone caverns and has an important and poorly understood connection to the campus underground hydrology.” Read More and View Photos

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Wednesday Night Dinner at the Elm Street Mission in Santa Cruz

bradley — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 07:40:19 +0000

The Elm Street Mission, “a non-profit church that works with homeless men and women to show them the love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit,” is located in downtown Santa Cruz next to a record shop, art gallery, café, spa, metro center, night club and some housing. On the Elm Street Mission blog, Pastor Ben Palm writes that the church provides between 4,000 and 5,000 meals each month, and in an August 2006 interview with Laura Mattingly, he said approximately 75% of the recipients are homeless.

Dinners are served starting at 6pm every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Cooked meals and clothing are provided to people in exchange for the little green ticket they receive after roughly 45 minutes of Christian evangelism and indoctrination. As a Church, the Elm Street Mission believes they are helping to enable homeless people to kick drugs and alcohol and all other addictions. Pastor Ben Palm proudly states, “We feed, clothe, and pray with them, as well as show them the power in the word of God. Many lives have been changed in the last 37 years and many more will be changed in the future.” Read More and View Photos

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Gabriela León at UC Santa Cruz: Sunday Walk to the Zócalo of Oaxaca

bradley — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:39:02 +0000

Gabriela León Vázquez gave an artist talk at UC Santa Cruz on January 29th about her exhibition at UCSC’s Sesnon Gallery, Sunday Walk to the Zócalo of Oaxaca (Paseo dominical por el Zócalo de Oaxaca). She was born in Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico in 1973, and is currently living and working in Oaxaca. The exhibition, on display until March 8th, is a multi-media artistic response to the popular revolt and resistance that unfolded in Oaxaca in 2006 and 2007, including photos from the Peoples’ Guelaguetza (la Guelaguetza Popular) on July 16th, 2007.

The following audio was recorded at UCSC’s Oakes College room 105 and edited into two tracks; Gabriela León’s presentation, followed by the question and answer session. Read More, View Photos and Listen to Audio

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$50,000 Sunday Stroll on the Westside Railroad Tracks

bradley — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 07:33:35 +0000

On January 27th, People Power, an advocate for human-powered transportation in Santa Cruz County, hosted a walk along the rail corridor in Santa Cruz in response to recent threats by Union Pacific to fine “trespassers” up to $2,000. The walk in the rain, which brought out more than two dozen people, featured local historian Ross Gibson who included information on the past and possible future of rail transportation in Santa Cruz County. The Sunday stroll began at Swift Street on the Westside of Santa Cruz and ended at Bay Street. Read More and View Photos

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Beat It! This is Our Parking Lot!

bradley — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:52:12 +0000

As you literally may of heard, on January 23rd, the Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra and fellow drummers provided rhythm for the weekly community gathering in the Cathcart parking lot during the Santa Cruz Farmers Market. A vegetarian soup was provided to all interested by a renown local chef and supporter of peaceful community gatherings. The mushroom soup was able to soothe hunger and warm up the cold, although not rainy, afternoon and break the ice while people were beginning to gather around and wonder what was going to happen. Without needing any cues, the Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra got the party started and slowly but surely more and more people began playing music, dancing, sharing food, poi spinning, hacky sacking, talking, documenting and spectating.

One woman was arrested, for reasons that were unknown to her and witnesses to her arrest, by SCPD officer Cline. At least four police cars and a police SUV were stopped in Cathcart Street immediately after the arrest, but they decided to keep on rolling down Cathcart and left the community gathering and drum circle alone. In response to police harassment at the drum circle in previous weeks, a poster taped on a tree urged people to support the market drummers and asked Mayor Ryan Coonerty if having the SCPD issue citations for drumming was his way to Keep Santa Cruz Weird. Read More and View Photos

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