EDITOR’S NOTE
Well-wishers who attended Snazzy Productions’ feting of Wallace Baine at the Rio Saturday night got an unexpected bombshell announcement.
“We’ll miss you, Wallace!” said Santa Cruz. “Surprise, I’m back!” said Wallace.
So let me just confirm that yes, it’s true, Wallace is the newest member of our GT staff. I’ll let him tell you about it himself, but this seems like a good time to make a confession.
First, let me say that when I was starting out at City on a Hill at UCSC, wanting to cover the arts was completely and totally uncool. The way you truly served the community as a newspaper, the thinking went, was hard news, and I wrote a lot of hard news. But deep down, I wasn’t buying this idea that the arts scene wasn’t an essential part of the community.
Neither was Stacey Vreeken, my editor, shortly after, at the Register-Pajaronian. She had a vision for covering the underserved arts community in Pajaro Valley that I was lucky enough to be hired to help her realize. I certainly had the passion and the enthusiasm for it; what I did not have was any idea of how to meaningfully and comprehensively cover an arts scene.
So how does a kid just out of college figure that out? Why, find somebody already doing it and do what they do, of course! That was how I became a follower of Wallace’s work at the Sentinel, and I learned a lot about what kind of people and stories to seek out in Watsonville from what he was writing about in Santa Cruz. We were always technically “the competition” for each other, but over the years I always respected what he was doing. And once I became part of the alternative press here, I had a feeling that if he ever got a taste of the freedom and space we have to explore Santa Cruz’s stories, he’d never go back to daily journalism. And indeed, so far he’s been like a kid in a candy shop at editorial meetings—completely thrilled to cover this community in a totally different way.
So please join me in welcoming Wallace Baine to GT. Don’t you love surprises?
STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Read the latest letters to the editor here.
DOG UNFRIENDLY
Re: “Puppy Love” (GT, 2/7)” Thank you for this article. Next let’s talk about “leash laws.” There is almost no place to walk our furry friends or let them romp without provoking harassment by Parks and Rec rangers armed with tasers and citation tickets that now amount to up to $250.
So, before adopting a furry pet, let’s consider that your walks will be restricted in most of Santa Cruz. Furthermore, if you are a renter, it is extremely challenging to find a place to live that will accept dogs. Many people have to leave town or give up their dogs.
I am currently in the process of bringing the “off leash laws” to the attention of the city yet again. So far, this has not been a successful discussion for dog owners. This, after incurring a citation in the park I have played with my dog in over the course of his life. So far, to no avail. There are no exceptions for well-trained, well-behaved spayed and neutered pets. This unfortunately is ultimately inhumane for dogs. But so it is. So buyer beware, if you adopt a dog. Unless we can pass some laws that protect humans and their canine friends, Santa Cruz is not a good place to own a dog.
Eva Rider | Santa Cruz
THREAT RESPONSE
On Jan. 23, the Santa Cruz City Council unanimously passed a Resolution in favor of the U.S. Congress passing Carbon Fee and Dividend legislation, as a viable, necessary response to Climate Change. There are conservative and nonpartisan groups supporting this type of legislation, so don’t fall on the floor laughing. There are 66 members of the House of Representatives, half Democrats, half Republicans, who meet regularly to discuss Climate Change and its solutions.
Carbon Fee and Dividend is a fee on fossil fuels at first point of sale. The money collected by the government would be given to citizens to help the transition to solar, wind, geothermal, etc., energies. Giving the money to us will keep the economy stable, with some citizens making more from dividends than they pay for their current energy bills.
Thank you, Santa Cruz City Council, for this and other recent bold acts (joining in a suit against nine energy companies) to address a threat to mankind equal to nuclear war, or greater.
Diane Warren | Boulder Creek
ONLINE COMMENTS
Re: Deleted Sentinel Story
Hedge funds are parasitic destroyers. They buy up to dismantle piece by piece for high profit returns. Check out CALSTARS teacher’s pension fund. Follow the money find the corruption!
— pec
Re: Tech Sexual Harassment
A bunch of geeks using technology to be more invasive than most of these women probably even know. Nobody wants to be the “complainer” and have a gamergate situation, where the “anonymous trolls” are co-workers.
I’ll read about this industry from afar.
Props to the women who speak out, despite the backlash.
— Murphy Midecker
Correction
In last week’s “Seals and Whales” story, the location of the new whale installation was misreported. It is at the Sanctuary Exploration Center. We regret the error.
PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
Submit to [email protected]. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250dpi.
GOOD IDEA
POINT OF DISCUSSION
Santa Cruz County officials are getting the word out about the third meeting to discuss the Pleasure Point Commercial Corridor on Thursday, Feb. 22. Attendees will provide feedback on design principles for commercial and mixed-use development in the corridor, as well as concepts for improvements to the Portola Drive streetscape. Planning staffers based draft concepts for the corridor upon feedback from the first two community meetings. The event is at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22, at Del Mar Elementary School gym.
GOOD WORK
SAFE BED
Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeffrey S. Rosell has announced that a settlement reached with My Pillow, Inc., will be donated to two local programs providing shelter services to victims of domestic violence—Monarch Services and the Walnut Avenue Family and Women’s Center. Alleging false advertising, a task force comprised of the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office and nine other DAs jointly sued the brand in 2016. Monarch Services and the Walnut Avenue Family and Women’s Center will receive $5,000 each.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“There are no extra pieces in the universe.”
-Deepak Chopra
