Alex Darocy Photography

In shocking news to the Santa Cruz activist community, Sherry Conable was identified as the woman found dead on Cowell Beach on the morning of February 4. Sherry participated in and organized countless political demonstrations and anti-war events over the course of decades in the Santa Cruz area. She will be dearly missed. Sherry holds her iconic peace wreath at a demonstration at the Santa Cruz City Council in March of 2015 to protest the SCPD purchase of a Bearcat vehicle . According to early media reports, the cause of her death has yet to be determined. Independence Day 2014 , Ocean Street, Santa Cruz. Independence Day 2016 , Ocean Street Santa Cruz Sherry speaking to protest the SCPD purchase of a Bearcat vehicle in front of City Hall in February of 2015.

On January 27, community members held a press conference at Santa Cruz City Hall to reveal information which has added to their belief that police essentially lied in December when seeking the city council's approval to purchase a BearCat (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck) they claim will be used county-wide as an "emergency" vehicle. The purchase of the BearCat, which will be paid for with $250,000 in Homeland Security Department grants, has been widely protested in Santa Cruz by those opposed to the militarization of police. The Santa Cruz Police Department has claimed the nearest vehicle that is equipped similarly to the BearCat they want is located in Santa Clara County and would take 3-4 hours to arrive during an emergency, however activists with the organization SCRAM! (Santa Cruz Resistance Against Militarization!) announced they have found that at least two local law enforcement agencies currently possess armored vehicles. The County of S...

On March 1, community members from a number of peace groups joined the Women in Black during their weekly vigil on the corner of Cooper St and Pacific in Downtown Santa Cruz to display the names of some of the children killed by U.S. drone strikes, and to send a strong message to President Obama and the government to "ground the drones," and to, "stop killing children and other innocent people." Individuals held placards with the names of over 150 children killed by U.S drone attacks, and emphasized that they represented only a small portion of those killed. The names complied were mostly children from Pakistan and Yemen. One of the organizers, Sherry Conable, noted that though they extensively researched U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan as well, information on how many children were hit, and the exact details of the attacks, has been hard to come by. According to organizers, under the command of President Obama, and implemented by the CIA, hundreds of chil...