Alex Darocy Photography

A Thanksgiving trip to The Witch's Cottage, an antique shop located in Felton, revealed what has been a slow moving topic of discussion as of late in the small town located in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains: the shop is currently displaying two Confederate flags in its front windows, along with a hand written statement taped nearby that reads: "History...Not Hate. One is what appears to be a full sized replica-version of a Confederate battle flag, and the other is a smaller sticker labeled as being produced in 1999 by Eagle Emblems Inc., which sells a variety of military-style, "emblematic" products.  The shop is located along Highway 9, and in addition to the Confederate flags, two American flags also hang, and visible are stickers with statements supporting the American troops, and a sticker denoting membership in the San Lorenzo Valley Chamber of Commerce.  The main shop window is full of what look to be 1970s and 1980s era pop cultu...

A recent trip to downtown Santa Cruz revealed how difficult it can be for street musicians to navigate the many different city ordinances that affect them, some of them unfairly. The downtown is patrolled by officers from the Santa Cruz Police Department, both on foot and in vehicles, and also by private security forces which include uniformed guards employed by First Alarm. The Downtown (business) Association's own representatives, who are called "hospitality guides" dress in bright yellow and also enforce city ordinances by threatening to call the police if individuals do not comply with their demands. On the Friday evening of November 9, a group of four musicians who were playing in front of the New Leaf Market, located on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Soquel Avenue, were told by two Downtown Hospitality guides to stop playing because the crowd listening to them had become too large. The band did not argue and they moved across Soquel Avenue to resume playing i...

On October 30, the family of Derrick Gaines, the 15 year old who was shot and killed by a South San Francisco Police Department officer on June 5, filed a federal civil rights action against the City of South San Francisco. Family members, who are seeking $10 million in damages, hired Attorney John Burris to represent them in the wrongful death action. Burris says, "This is a clear case of racial profiling that lead to disastrous results." The press conference was held in front of the South San Francisco Arco gas station where Gaines was killed, and Rachel Guido Red, Gaines' mother, said she hopes the civil action will lead to a change in police procedures. "These are our kids out there and there's other ways of dealing with them, other than shooting and killing them," she said. The civil suit, was additionally filed on behalf of Derrick Gaines' father, who is also named Derrick Gaines. "Every day I am having a harder time dealing with this......

On Friday, October 5, Occupy Santa Cruz celebrated its first anniversary with a general assembly at Laurel Park, followed by a documentary film screening about the Santa Cruz version of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Laurel Park was the site of the first meeting and general assembly of Occupy Santa Cruz on October 4, 2011. Returning there one year later for a birthday celebration, approximately 70 people attended the film screening. Community members reported that there were about 20-30 people at the general assembly held beforehand. The evening in some ways felt like a reunion of old friends, as many in attendance had lived together night and day at the Occupy Santa Cruz encampment in San Lorenzo Park, which existed from October 6 to December 8, 2011. Community members active with a variety of nearby occupations were present at OSC's anniversary, including Occupy Monterey, and one person involved with Occupy San Jose said that he was thinking of moving to Santa Cruz bec...

Quickly morphing from a small neighborhood watch group to a spin-off of Take Back Santa Cruz, Take Back Watsonville has announced it will hold its first major public meeting on October 9, amidst racially charged and pro "American" rhetoric from its founder, Paul Gutierrez. After being featured as a crime victim in an article in the Watsonville Patch, Gutierrez was then made a blogger for the website where he has had the opportunity to establish and promote Take Back Watsonville and raise funds for the new organization, all in less than a month's time. In one comment Gutierrez left on an article in the Watsonville Patch, referring to an individual he perceived to be a member of the Watsonville Brown Berets, he wrote, "You wont be apart of the solution because people like you are the problem. we all get your so proud to be a brown beret and so proud to be Mexican. go the hell back to Mexico if your so proud and hate Americans so much. don't forget its because of p...

Two members of the Santa Cruz Eleven, in addition to several other community members and activists, had a brief opportunity to speak with Santa Cruz District Attorney Bob Lee when he parked his car at the court house near a homelessness issues event being held at San Lorenzo Park on July 17th. Becky Johnson and Robert Norse are among the eleven people known as the "Santa Cruz Eleven" who were charged with two felonies each in association with the Fall 2011 occupation of the vacant bank building located at 75 River Street. When they saw DA Bob Lee drive up, they immediately engaged him in conversation about the serious charges they feel they and others are wrongly facing. To read more, see: Impromptu Conversation Between DA Bob Lee and Two of the Santa Cruz Eleven http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/07/18/18717774.php Santa Cruz District Attorney Bob Lee and Robert Norse

La Playa Carmel Hotel & Bar has completed its $3.5 million dollar restoration, and former workers who were not rehired when the hotel changed ownership and the construction was completed were joined by community members for a "Rally to Rehire La Playa Hotel Workers" on July 6th. This is the first major protest at the hotel since the completion of the remodel, and the management has stated that it only rehired two of the 113 former La Playa employees. This, and the fact that that workers have struggled with hotel management since 2010, has prompted labor groups to call for a boycott of La Playa Carmel, which was announced at the rally, and organizers also requested a strong turnout from community members for a two-day "siege" of the hotel from 7am-7pm on July 20th and 21st. Approximately 150 community members and workers were joined by Monterey County Supervisor Jane Parker, Seaside Mayor Felix Bachofner, California State Assembly Member Bill Mon...