Laurel, Pacific, and Center where a new huge building will go up once the destruction is cleared. California is undergoing some major changes and it sometimes seems like there's a race on to make us as inhospitable as possible, at least for those who have no control. The State is for sale (and on fire) and we're helplessly watching it happen. Last week, two writers contributed opinion pieces to the Santa Cruz Sentinel and they have agreed to allow reImagine to post them here.

By Erica Aitken The Belvedere Street neighbors brought in a cherry picker crane raise to the height of the future buildings on Water Street and Branciforte. Please visit their website here. There is a new project up for consideration by the City Council. 831 Water Street will replace a strip mall with a car wash and small businesses. The two five-story buildings, one for affordable and one for workforce housing, include space for commerce and stackable parking. The 77 afforda

Erica Aitken Banished to a choice of 4 parks, people who sleep outdoors will be required to walk 75 feet away from the trail to pitch their tent or lay down their sleeping bag. Tuesday, March 9 is an important day. That's the day when our hard-hearted City Councilmembers are likely to vote in favor of the Temporary Outdoor Living Ordinance (TOLO) in spite of massive community opposition and in spite of the cruelty that such a law will inflict on already vulnerable people. Ima

In another cruel and unethical attempt to displace hundreds of people without houses, Santa Cruz City Staff announced that it will submit an Outdoor Living Ordinance to City Council today for a vote. The ordinance specifies areas where people will not be allowed to sleep. Everyone will be forced to pack their belongings at the end of each night. Daytime camping will be banned. Before the ordinance was published, more than fifty letters of support were sent to City Council, us

By Jim Weller (reprinted with permission by the author) I’ve been concerned me for some time about the huge investments that have been pumped into the political campaign to prevent future public transportation in the railroad corridor owned by the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC). We’re talking about a future light rail system with emissions-free battery-electric vehicles, along a 25-mile corridor designed for movement in both directions simultaneous

Erica Aitken The wharf is another beloved place that will undergo a Silicon Valley facelift. This time, the carrot at the end of the stick is that the Master Plan has to exist in order to get money for necessary repairs. That’s what we’re being told. The Master Plan, as it was presented November 24, is not engraved in stone. The three tall buildings, covering the seal viewing holes without knowing where they’ll be relocated, the many covered constructions that will insulate y

Medics and mental health counselors team up to form a mobile crisis team in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo Mail Tribune) CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) is a mobile crisis intervention program that responds to situations in the streets requiring mental health assistance, de-escalation, and other help usually assigned to social workers. The program is meant to unburden the police, allowing them to do the their work, crime prevention and intervention in case of v

By Erica Aitken The Riverfront Housing Complex will span over a section of Front Street, three tall buildings of condominiums. With this project comes the familiar negotiations and compromises made to eke out a paltry number of affordable units. We don’t need luxury condos but developers do because that’s how they make their money. With nobody in City management questioning the premise, luxury projects are passed using the grudging and not always awarded promise of a few affo

By Tereza Coraggio Without a plan to take back our economy, anyone elected to City Council will be overseeing a train wreck of massive unemployment, home foreclosures, business bankruptcies, ballooning government debt, a physical and mental health crisis, closure of public agencies, and economic stagnation. That doesn’t include rebuilding homes that are facing the loss of future insurability or homeschooling students who are facing the loss of future employability. Frankly, I

Willie SaySo is a writer, performer, and producer of multimedia and events, residing in Santa Cruz. An active freelance contributor to ScreenRant, Will is known locally for almost a decade of producing community events, musical performances, and active community participation. Santa Cruz is an oasis of creativity and culture in the redwood mountains, a select group of artists and visionaries who’ve joined together to create a community as bright and individualistic as its un

How accumulated debt will break your town By Erica Aitken and Mark D. Lee A contemporary urban planning magazine called Strong Towns has identified a problem that few of us have been able to articulate. This concerns the growth of our towns, new roads, new buildings, tons of money into infrastructures, without consideration for how these towns will be maintained by future generations. We vote for bonds, we allow our City Council to approve countless constructions and we are,

Media Watch is an organization that relentlessly fights media bias. Abusive stereotypes and prejudice is common all through media channels. Media Watch promotes education and action and endorses media literacy as part of standard education curriculum. Find out more about them here. "What we need to build affordable housing is political will." [Sandy Brown] Part 1 Part 2

Stephen Kessler Published originally in the Santa Cruz Sentinel September 26 At its June 23 meeting when it approved what is now known as the mixed-use library- housing project—formerly known as the garage-library project, aka the Taj Garage, subsequently lipsticked with “at least 50 units of affordable housing,” thereby eliminating a couple hundred supposedly desperately-needed parking spaces—the Santa Cruz City Council directed staff “to provide a report to the City Counc

If you work here, you should be able to live here!

Reversing the Public Works Commission to allow City Council candidate Alicia Kuhl to park her RV and live on Olive Street, the City Council voted 6-1 to force her to move. Candidate Alicia Kuhl is homeless. She lives with her three children and disabled partner in an RV parked, for two years now, on Olive Street where there are NO residences. There is no possible harm being done to anyone and the spot is safe and stable. In a recent meeting with the Public Works Commission, t

In a recent Sentinel guest editorial, Santa Cruz United claims that the success of the March recall of two council members amplifies the wisdom of their endorsements in the current council race. But the fact is that the recall campaign was a shameful act of deception. Camouflaged with accusations of misbehavior, the recall drive was fundamentally about greed. Nearly $200,000 was spent to acquire @13,000 yes votes (51% of the vote) required to enact the recall. A major source

Just when I think the democratic process regarding a new garage Downtown has reached its lowest point, there's a new low. The previous low was June 23rd when the City Council approved the concept of a 400 space parking garage without ever receiving the Downtown Parking Strategic Plan that the City paid Nelson\Nygaard $100,000 to create. I speculate that since Nelson\Nygaard didn't support the garage, staff felt it inconvenient to bring their presentation to the Council. But s

By Erica Aitken The next City Council elections will decide the future of Santa Cruz. Do we open our doors to Silicon Valley with luxury rentals and our very own Santana Row? Or do we take control and build beautiful affordable housing for those who work and would like to live here? If we ask ourselves this question, it is because we have rece ntly been the victims of a particularly galling breach of trust from our current City Councilmembers who voted 4 – 2 to replace our cu