Alex Darocy Photography

Two individuals sat with their bicycles and other survival gear outside of one of the boarded up entrances to the vacant bank building located at 75 River Street in downtown Santa Cruz at about 2am on a weekday evening last week. This was enough to raise the attention of a Santa Cruz police officer in a patrol vehicle, who was then quickly joined by two more vehicles arriving at the location. After issuing one individual a citation, a police officer could be heard telling the pair they would be given 20 minutes to gather their belongings and leave. The police left and the two stayed there for about an hour and a half. 75 River Street has been vacant since 2008. Both the city and county of Santa Cruz have gone to great lengths, and costs, to "protect" the empty building. Santa Cruz police arrive at 75 River Street last week. The address of 75 River Street in Santa Cruz became infamous in 2011 when political activists occupied the building for three days during the hei...

Three of the four remaining Santa Cruz Eleven defendants resolved their legal cases in Santa Cruz Superior Court today. Gabriella Ripley-Phipps and Brent Adams were present in court and pleaded "no contest" to one misdemeanor count each of trespass in association with the 2011 occupation of the vacant bank building located at 75 River Street. A no contest plea was also entered by his attorney for Franklin Alcantara, who was not present at the hearing. In exchange for the plea, the felony vandalism charge the defendants still faced has been dismissed, and a fixed restitution amount has been set at $1500 per person. The remaining defendant Cameron Laurendau and his attorney were not present in court today, and at the time of the hearing his case was still scheduled on the court calendar with a trial date of July 27. Gabriella Ripley-Phipps after the hearing. The large, empty bank building, which had been leased and left vacant in downtown Santa Cruz for years by Wells F...

On August 22, another energetic parade was held in support of the final four Santa Cruz Eleven defendants, who are still facing criminal charges in relation to the 2011 occupation of the vacant bank building located at 75 River Street. The course of the parade "followed the money" from District Attorney Bob Lee, who is prosecuting the case, to Wells Fargo Bank. Community members dressed in green and carried large, gold dollar signs. They followed a suit-clad parader wearing a Bob Lee mask who lead them to the Wells Fargo branch located at 74 River Street. Wells Fargo is the so-called plaintiff in the case, and defendants have recently discovered Lee has a financial relationship with the bank. Bob Lee in front of 75 River Street The visit to Wells Fargo felt much like the 2011 occupy protests that occurred there, and many of the other locations visited along the parade also recalled the occupy era. The court house was visited, as was San Lorenzo Park, and the parade tr...

According to the Santa Cruz Eleven website, the trial for the remaining four defendants has been postponed indefinitely as the prosecution has entered a new motion to disqualify Judge Burdick. Statement posted on the Santa Cruz Eleven website: "Today the 4 remaining members of the SC11 were in Department 6 for the continuation of their readiness hearing and were met with a surprising and frustrating twist. The prosecution entered a 170.1 motion to Disqualify Judge Burdick which essentially halts all proceedings while that motion is dealt with. A next date of March 26th was set to revisit things, but as it is trial is unlikely to be any time before June, and may be out as far as next fall. We friends and supporters of the 11 are frustrated and motivated. This is an important time to continue our support, and increase the presence of public opinion saying “enough is enough, drop the charges!” Stay tuned for upcoming events and more information." The Santa Cruz Elev...

Community members in downtown Santa Cruz took to the streets on February 11 to parade in support of the final four Santa Cruz Eleven defendants, whose trial begins on March 4. They were charged in association with the 2011 occupation of the vacant bank building located at 75 River Street, which occurred during the height of the Occupy movement. Parading past 75 River Street The parade traveled down Pacific Avenue and made brief stops at the Town Clock and City Hall. The group passed by 75 River Street at one point. The bank building that was occupied in 2011 still sits vacant today. A large number of supporters held signs and wore shirts printed with the statement, "I was in the building." Hundreds if not over a thousand people entered an exited the building over the course of the three day occupation in November and December of 2011. Eleven people were first singled out for prosecution in February of 2012, but by January of 2013 that number facing charges was reduced...