Plus Letters to Good Times…
Embracing the Best
Earth Day Insult
Strong Brew?
It’s Take: 9 for the intrepid and ever-inventive Santa Cruz Film Festival. This week, our home-grown fest unleashes a wild array of unique films, many from local or locally affiliated filmmakers. In our ongoing coverage of the fest, GT spoke with some of the locals whose work made it into the festival this year. All their hard work and creativity is illuminated under the spotlight. But there’s more: The entire SCFF program is inside as well. In it, you will find everything there is to know about the fest in general—from informative capsules on each film to a list of parties, panel discussions and so much more. It promises to be a memorable outing so nab some tickets and enjoy. The fest opens May 6 and runs through May 15. Look for more exclusive behind-the-scenes coverage from GT in next week’s edition and also online. Let the drama begin …
Actually, elsewhere, some would like it to end—with good reason. In the aftermath of last weekend’s riots in Downtown Santa Cruz, GT asked Santa Cruz Vice Mayor Ryan Coonerty and Lynn Robinson, who is on City Council and chair of the Public Safety Committee, to comment on the events. Take note of that—and more information about that issue. In the meantime, the community pulls together and moves on in the wake of these senseless acts. (Continue to send us your thoughts at le*****@gt******.com .) I could go on about the May Day riots, and how a seemingly simple march from the Town Clock eventurally turned into mayhem and vandalism—torches, really?—but for now, I’d rather end with something I know to be true. Downtown Santa Cruz has been bruised before—often, much worse—and one thing I’ve noticed is that you can’t suppress the soul of her. She’s just too spirited. She always rises. So, as investigations continue, and, hopefully, future arrests are made, here’s to the locals and all the business owners affected by the violent acts, and the civic leaders striving to shed more light on this. Onward …
Greg Archer | Editor-in-Chief
Letters to Good Times Editor
Strong Brew?
I enjoyed Bruce Willey’s article about the beer party (GT 4/29)—at least after I got past his opening salvo “dissing” the Tea Party movement. His misinformed opinion is typical of someone who has never been to a Tea Party demonstration and gets their information regarding same from MSNBC, or some other biased source.
I had never been to one myself until April 15 when I attended the rally in Monterey. The nearest thing to violence that I saw came from a Leftist interloper who seemed to be determined to evoke an angry response from the peaceful crowd around him. He was pretty much laughed down. No surprise that when the Monterey Herald covered the event the photo they chose to put on their front page was that of the provocateur.
Although they didn’t share all views in common, there was one issue that all seemed to share, and that was the need to audit the Federal Reserve, and return to an honest banking system. It seems to me that this should be a bi-partisan issue, especially given the criticism of large corporations voiced by the political Left.
Perhaps if Bruce Willey and other knee-jerk critics of the Tea Party movement would take the time to actually study the issues involved with an open mind, they might find a lot less to criticize, or at least could criticize from a more intelligent position.
Edgar Darwin
Santa Cruz
Earth Day Insult
Regarding Earth Day, some articles and more … first, thanks to all the great folks who showed up to make this a fine day, even if half the crowd had to escape to the playground area to avoid stinking barbecue exhaust. Nothing says you care like tortured animal fat deposits on heads and clothes. We don’t want kids pooping on the teacher’s desk, so why the far more destructive disrespect of species, land and forest-destroying meat at Earth Day.
Billy Quealy
Pleasure Point
Embracing the Best
Hey—good job on The Best of Santa Cruz (GT 4/29). While it seemed like most of the winners were the same winners we always see, with some exceptions, I was happy to see that there were runners-up listed this year. And looking back at some of the Good Times covers over the years in honor of your 35th anniversary was a kick. People say it all the time, but it’s true: we really do live in the best place along the Central Coast. Keep rockin’ on …
Sam Jones
Santa Cruz
Clarification
In GT’s 4/29 issue, the name of the group opposed to the proposed Boulder Creek Recreation Center is the Boulder Creek-Brookdale Coalition of Concerned Citizens (BCBCCC), not the Boulder Creek Coalition of Concerned Citizens (CCC).
