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
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.
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. 
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.
On January 12th, two University of California police officers used pepper spray to disperse about 15 people gathered below an occupied redwood tree on Science Hill at UC Santa Cruz. The officers got out of their car, which was parked in the parking lot, and then followed the people dressed in black and wearing bandannas across their faces. One of the officers proclaimed that the group was trespassing and then both officers began pepper spraying people in their faces.
On January 10th, a tree-sitter on Science Hill at UC Santa Cruz dangled a lime green shopping bag from a platform high up in a redwood, presumably with the desire of receiving food, dry clothing and other supplies for occupying the crown of a coastal redwood during a stormy winter. UC police officers stood below the trees to prevent people from sharing with tree-sitters. A security guard also confiscated a backpack from under a tree and then turned it over to the police. UCSC has resorted to a diversity of tactics in trying to end the tree-sit which has been ongoing since November 7th, 2007, including police intimidation and violence, public relations lies and propaganda, and seeking a court injunction against named and unnamed individuals. 