[scimc-news] Santa Cruz Indymedia Newsletter July 8th, 2006

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SANTA CRUZ INDYMEDIA UPDATE, July 8th, 2006
http://Indybay.org/SantaCruz

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News and events currently featured as of Tuesday, July 8th:
(check http://Indybay.org for more featured news!)


3PM Monday Jul 10 Surviving the Downtown Ordinances
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/04/18285200.php

7PM Tuesday Jul 11 Decisions on Arana Gulch at City Council
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/06/18286010.php

7PM Thursday Jul 13 Bearing Witness in Colombia
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/06/27/18283221.php


Rally and Parade in Solidarity with the South Central Farm
Santa Cruz Solidarity With South Central Farmers

July 7th - 10th are International Days of Solidarity with the South
Central Farm. A rally in solidarity with the South Central Farm will take
place on Sunday, July 9th at 2:00pm at the clock tower in downtown Santa
Cruz. People will parade through town handing out flyers and displaying
posters and signs before gathering for a final rally with speakers and
discussions about the current status of the South Central Farm in Los
Angeles, threatened green/wild spaces in Santa Cruz and local community
garden projects.

Bring instruments, drums, noisemakers, signs, banners and verve. Some
people will be dressed as vegetables or dressed in green. Donations for
the Radcliffe Elementary School Community Garden may be brought to the
rally for pickup.

Read more
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/08/18286501.php


WARNING: Travel Advisory for Santa Cruz Visitors
Special Police Enforcement Conditions Exist

Advisory writes: Over 4,500 copies of the following handbill were
distributed on July 3rd and 4th in tourist areas of Santa Cruz. They were
placed under windshield wipers of cars in city lots, hotels, and
resturants, on light poles, change machines, and distributed by hand.
Areas covered included Beach Boardwalk, Wharf, Depot Park, Downtown, West
Cliff, Seabright areas, Mission Street, and Ocean Street. The handbills
were created to bring to the surface the simering tensions between the
business interests (and their lapdogs in the downtown association and city
council) and the rest of the citizens of this town.

Read more and view photos
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/07/18286274.php


Watsonville Community Garden Established in Solidarity with South Central
Farm
Community Garden in Watsonville is Requesting Support

Teachers and students are starting a community garden on an unused parcel
of land on the otherwise barren Radcliff Elementary School campus in
downtown Watsonville, CA. Beds have been dug, and the garden is almost
ready to be planted, once a sufficient amount of resources have been
gathered. While school administrators have been consulted about the
garden, it has yet to receive any official financial assistance.

Organizers who have been following the recent tragic eviction of the South
Central Farm in Los Angeles see the establishment of this new garden as a
continuation of a common effort towards community self-reliance and
getting back in touch with the land beneath our feet. In light of this
weekend's call for action in solidarity with the South Central Farmers
facing eviction (July 7-10), Teachers For Class War! are requesting
donations of tools, soil, seeds, and other supplies to assist in the
creation of a valuable community resource.

Read more
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/06/18285834.php


Arana Gulch to be Paved?
The Pros and Cons of Paving Arana Gulch

Jeremy Underhill writes: The serene isolation and beauty of Arana Gulch is
threatened by two miles of eight foot wide paved trails and a suspension
bridge over Hagemann Gulch. As one of Santa Cruz's last untouched
wilderness areas we need to keep it free of roads! It is a beautiful
escape from our modern suburban lives and can be easily accessed by
anyone. Bikes can be easily ridden through right now and bike paths if
needed could be put through the already developed harbor adjacent to Arana
Gulch. It does not cause any biker more than five minutes inconvienence to
save this undeveloped land. Also the native endangered Tarplant is
threatened by this development.

Come to the City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 11th at 7:00pm at City
Council Chambers 809 Center St.

Read more
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/06/18286053.php


Last Rights Parade and Protest
City of Santa Cruz Fails to Resolve the Police Spying Scandal

On July 5th, the new Santa Cruz Police Department policy on spying went
into effect. Under the new rules, even if you are engaged in
constitutionally protected first amendment activities, Santa Cruz police
will still be able to videotape you inside or outside of your home, audio
record you, listen to your phone calls, look at the mail you are
receiving, read your email, make notes about your organization, tail you,
monitor your website, subscribe to your email lists, and examine your
membership lists.

The city has fallen down on its promise to pass a policy providing
protections for our first amendment rights. They resisted. They were
dragged kicking and screaming to the issue. They stonewalled. They
sidelined the ACLU. They lied. Then they told us they'd done their job and
that everything was okay.

Working within the system is not working.

Nothing less than our First Amendment rights to free expression and right
to privacy are at risk here. We will never accept police spying on our
political and community groups and activities.

A parade and protest of the new policy took place on July 5th starting
with a press conference at the Santa Cruz police station.

Read more and view photos
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/01/18284537.php


Fan the Raging Flames of Freedom
Santa Cruz's 2nd Annual Old Time American Flag Burn

On July 3rd, fiesta mysteriosa hosted Santa Cruz's 2nd Annual Old Time
American Flag Burn at Seabright Beach. The celebration was a B.Y.O.F.
event. Before the burning and melting of more than a dozen American flags,
people gathered around the fire pit to share their personal feelings and
beliefs about burning American flags. It is legal to burn American flags,
however the burning of US currency is illegal. Dollar bills, powerful
symbols of global capitalism, were also burned, despite the illegality of
the act.

Read more and view photos
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/04/18285188.php


A Complex Tragedy: Denice Denton and UC Santa Cruz
Denton’s Role at the University And How We Will Move Forward

Josh Sonnenfeld writes: As I read through the articles, stories and
remembrances of former UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Denice D. Denton, I feel
like I’m meeting her for the first time. I’m meeting the former University
of Wisconsin professor who left an enduring mark on her students. I’m
meeting the role model and mentor of women in science and engineering. I’m
meeting the first female dean of the University of Washington’s College of
Engineering. I’m meeting the first openly queer woman to lead a major
research university. I’m meeting the person who publicly challenged
Harvard’s sexist President. I’m meeting the woman whose death leaves a
“gaping hole in the small and tightly knit community of America's elite
female scientists and engineers.” I’m meeting the woman I, and most in the
Santa Cruz community, never got the chance to know.

Read more
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/04/18285054.php


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Center network with a focus on local issues and the direct impact of
larger issues on our community. Santa Cruz Indymedia is not a membership
organization; it is a tactic, a concept, and a movement that can be
effectively utilized in many different ways.

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