The Weekly Dump 8.26.16

Homeless Man Murdered Along the Riverwalk in Downtown Santa Cruz on Tuesday Morning

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A fight between 2 homeless transients resulted in a man being shot to death along the Riverwalk in downtown Santa Cruz at about 8:30 on Tuesday morning. Officers said there was an argument between two homeless people before the victim was shot. The suspect fled into the downtown area and got away. What a “vibrant” way to start your day Santa Cruz! (I’m determined to own that word now – BD)

He was finally caught nearly 3 hours later in the Beach Flats neighborhood after SCPD surrounded an apartment complex with guns drawn. They had to remove public bystanders who might have been in the crossfire. The area this happened on the Riverwalk is a well known area that the homeless like to hang out all day and bother people. The city is all too familiar with it and the history at this location. The city has chosen to do nothing about it but look the other way. Martin Bernal. City “Manager”. That’s the guy to blame here. Mr. Look the Other Way. Mr. Do Nothing.

Nothing like going for that morning run and running into a crime scene with a dead body under a sheet. On a Tuesday at 8:30 in the morning. People are probably out walking or jogging, moms pushing their kids in strollers, people walking their dogs, and GUYS ARE GETTING SHOT TO DEATH. What a wonderful thought. I’m sure the victim left a “vibrant” blood stain at the scene. KSBW is now reporting that the motive here was a “turf war” over selling meth and heroin along the Riverwalk.

A “turf war” murder between 2 homeless bums along the Riverwalk downtown at 8:30 in the morning. Does that register? TELL ME HOW THIS IS PROGRESSIVE IN ANY WAY. How does “Bum Enabling” make Santa Cruz more “vibrant”?

Are you ready to make PUBLIC SAFETY a priority yet?

City Hall to You Comes to the Westside

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Tired of all the dysfunctional mierda? Want to give our “city leaders” a piece of your mind? Here’s your chance. The City of Santa Cruz is welcoming all Westside/Upper Westside residents and business owners to this community forum for dialogue with City leaders and staff on neighborhood-specific topics. Individuals may voice concerns and ask questions (according to the flyer). It’s taking place on Wednesday, August 31st from 6:30-8-30pm at the Peace United Church at 900 High St. Ask them what they’re doing about public safety. Never mind that. TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT DONE ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY. They work for you. Some of them are even up for re-election. More information here.

Man Drowns in the Toilet Bowl

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Saturday afternoon a man jumped into the ocean near Lighthouse Field, which required another water rescue attempt from nearby lifeguards who were called to the scene from nearby beaches. He was apparently with some friends when he decided to jump into the toilet bowl. He never came out. I believe he was a tourist visiting from Salt Lake City. Santa Cruz Fire Department, the U.S. Coast Guard and six other local agencies responded and rescue workers searched for at least 3 hours before it got too dark. Does this sound familiar? I just wrote about another water rescue on August 5th. The Pacific Ocean is the last place to make a dumb mistake. Read more on the story here.

Domestic Dispute Leads to Police Standoff in Winkle Park

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Saturday morning around 11am, there was a big police standoff in Winkle Park. Winkle Park is off of Soquel Drive in Live Oak Santa Cruz Gardens (thanks for clarifying that Sam!), over near the old Skyview drive in theater. Apparently there was a domestic dispute of some kind and the suspect beat up a woman pretty badly. He apparently also had guns in his car and the words “suicide by cop” were mentioned. Police surrounded the perimeter of the park with guns drawn. The standoff lasted at least 2 hours. I heard the woman managed to escape from the man and the standoff was with just the man (no hostages). It finally ended when the man surrendered as police had his SUV surrounded with guns drawn. Suicidal guys with guns beating up women in a public park on a Saturday morning? Where parents might take their children to play? Not a “vibrant” look there folks!

Get Ready For the Best Week of the Year!

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Why is this next week the best week of the year? It’s a confluence of 3 reasons actually. A perfect storm of exodus and emptiness. Reason 1: Labor Day marks the end of summer. This year Labor Day is September 5th. The week leading up to Labor Day isn’t filled with people coming to the beach. It’s filled with people going to the malls to get ready for back to school. Or in many cases, school has already started and summer is already basically over. Reason 2: UCSC still hasn’t started their Fall Quarter so most of the students that don’t live here all year are still gone. UCSC Fall Quarter begins on September 17th. So there’s thousands of students not in town. And finally, Reason 3: Burning Man! Half the town clears out and heads for Nevada for the week. So we get the perfect storm every year the week of Labor Day. The tourists are gone. The students are gone. The Burners are gone. BLISS! It is SO nice in town that week. Traffic is light pretty much everywhere, the weather is still warm and you get the beaches to yourself, downtown is pretty much empty except for a few locals. It’s like the calm before the storm. My favorite week of the year to be in Santa Cruz. But don’t tell anyone!

More Food Trucks in San Lorenzo Park

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If you happen to be lucky enough to be here for the Best Week of the Year to be in Santa Cruz, check out the 2nd “Food Trucks A Go Go” event, taking place next Friday, September 2nd from 5-8:30PM. This also coincides with the monthly First Friday events that take place downtown, so maybe it will have a strong turnout if it can glean some of the runoff foot traffic from Pacific Avenue. Of course there’s this thing called “the levee” that stands between the 2, and the levee is like the red headed stepchild of Santa Cruz as far as the city itself is concerned. And I would say you’re probably pretty safe while it’s still daylight but there is that little matter of a morning homeless murder on the Riverwalk this week.

All snark aside, I am a huge fan of bringing food trucks to Santa Cruz. We are way behind the cultural 8 ball on this one. We are ripe with great places to put them (West Cliff Drive for example, where there’s NO FOOD). The city could make money off them, and run the Bum RVs off of West Cliff by replacing them with food trucks. Close off one parking lot along West Cliff (the former 3 trees for example) and turn it into a food truck parklet. Turn that free parking into a cash cow. Duh. But for some reason, some people aren’t hip to the food truck idea. I know David Terrazas wanted to pull the plug on the pilot program (and was the lone no on that vote) but I wonder if that’s more about his favorite Westside cafe not being a fan of food trucks. I do hope this event gets a good turnout. Come out and support food trucks in Santa Cruz!

Affordable Housing is a Pipe Dream in Santa Cruz

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So put down that pipe. It’s just not happening. I keep hearing just about all of the city council candidates barking about how they’re going to do something about “affordable housing”. And I can see exactly what they are doing about it. They are pandering for votes by making promises they can’t keep. That’s about it. If you think any of them individually can do anything about the high cost of real estate, the high rents, the lack of vacancies, you’re dreaming! It’s called a market. Supply and demand. Santa Cruz is notorious for being anti-growth. That’s called suppressing supply. Everyone wants to live here. That’s called demand. You can’t have it both ways. You can limit growth but that just means the few that get to live here set the market rate for living here. You don’t like it? Move to Modesto or Tracy. One person isn’t going to influence the housing market here, no matter how much they bark about it.

Here’s a recent article in the Guardian. Here’s a great quote that sums up what I’m saying here:

“By some measures, Santa Cruz is considered the “least affordable” small metro area in the US.”

Really!? So our city council candidates are going to just fix that? Just like that? WISHFUL THINKING.

Gary Patton is talking rent control. Good luck there! It’s never gonna happen.

So when you hear all these city council candidates talking “affordable housing” solutions, call them out on it! Ask them for details. How is it gonna be paid for (if the market doesn’t dictate the price, who makes up the difference?). How many new affordable units do they expect can be built locally? How will this new housing and the impact of higher density within the city limits effect the existing infrastructure, like impacts to public safety services, or just the increase in traffic on the roads? When they waffle, then shift the topic to public safety and what are they doing about it!

Highway 1 and North Coast Nearly RV Free

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So last week I did a write up on the RV situation along the North Coast from the Santa Cruz city line to the Santa Cruz county line, and how it appeared as if the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s department had been doing sweeps along this area, moving along some of the transient RV campers who had settled in. Last week I counted 18 “homes on wheels”. I made the same drive on Monday morning and afternoon and I only counted 3 this time! Down from 18 to 3! And the “notorious spot” near Swanton Berry Farm was empty going up and coming back! I also noticed the SCSO still has their trailer parked at the Davenport beach parking lot (as kind of a sub station). So I’m pretty sure they are doing nightly sweeps and the sweeps are actually working. Props to SCSO for finally cleaning this area up. Job well done. Speaking of Highway 1, we have….

Highway 1 Road Work Updates Announced By City of Santa Cruz

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I got some information passed along that Caltrans will be doing road work along Highway 1 for about 4 days starting this weekend. Caltrans will be paving parts of the highway overnight (from 8pm. to 5am). Here are the dates and areas being effected:

Sunday, Aug. 28, Hwy. 1/Mission at Chestnut Street:
Both northbound and southbound Mission St will be closed at this location.Loud noise and bright lights can be expected, including grinders, back-up alarms and asphalt grinding equipment. We are providing prior notification so that prior arrangements can be made.

Monday, Aug. 29, Junction of Hwy. 1/Hwy. 9, River Street:
One lane will remain open in northbound direction. Detour available for River St. traffic.

Tuesday, Aug. 30, Southbound Hwy. 1 at Ocean St. Undercrossing/Northbound Hwy. 17:
Southbound Plymouth on-ramp closed. Some loud noise and bright lights can be expected.

Wednesday, Aug. 31, Southbound Hwy. 1 at Ocean St. UC/Northbound Hwy. 17:
Southbound Plymouth on-ramp closed. Southbound Hwy. 1 to northbound Hwy. 17 onramp closed. Some loud noise and bright lights can be expected.

Electronic message boards will be posted to alert motorists of this roadwork. The CHP will assist with traffic control. Motorists can expect delays not to exceed 15 minutes. This roadwork is being done by the Santa Cruz Maintenance crews and is scheduled to be completed on Thursday morning, Sept. 1.

Maybe He Was Just Looking For His Miracle Ticket

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I heard from a number of people on Friday afternoon that some guy on acid (apparently that’s what he was telling people) was running up to cars in traffic near Soquel and Trevithan asking people for a ride. Kind of gives new meaning to the term “tripping”. No word if anyone picked him up but most likely, his ride if any came courtesy of the back seat of an SCPD patrol car.

Man Beaten With Boards on Pacific Avenue Near Downtown

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Friday night around 9:30pm, a man was beaten up with lumber near the 800 block of Pacific Avenue by three males and female. This is across from the Kaiser Arena. The suspects ran towards downtown and were last seen near the card room on Pacific near Laurel. At the scene, SCPD found a dented crutch and numerous broken boards. And someone’s shoe. No word if they found the suspect.

Marijuana Handouts at the Downtown Public Library

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Another call came in on Friday afternoon that some guy was just freely handing out “small bags of marijuana” in the public library downtown. Apparently he handed one to a staff member, who call it in to SCPD. Hopefully no kids were involved in this incident, which took place directly across from city hall by the way. Ah that “vibrant” downtown scene.

Keeping Up With Chris Krohn

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We’ve got a new irregular feature on the Dump (let’s be honest, everything is pretty irregular on the Dump). “Keeping Up With Chris Krohn” explores the colorful past and history of Chris Krohn, former mayor and now a city council candidate after being out of government for the past 16 years. Maybe he thinks 16 years is long enough for most people to forget about who he is and what he’s done. But Weekly Dump readers have a long memory, and have been bombarding me with stuff about Chris Krohn and his past transgressions. So I’m gonna pick a few of my favorites and feature them through this election campaign, just to provide some balance and perspective to all the rhetoric that will inevitably come from his mouth in the coming months. – BD

Well, here’s a little story about a man named Chris…..

Remember back in 2006 when Chris Krohn was running against Neal Coonerty for the District 3 County Supervisor race (won by Coonerty and now held by Coonerty’s son Ryan Coonerty)? In a move that obviously alienated some voters, Krohn mailed out two 11th-hour hit pieces, one of which was a campaign flier bearing the image of a shocked child exclaiming, ‘Neal Did What?’

The flier also included a Santa Cruz Sentinel ‘quote’ which, as it turns out, was actually fabricated by Krohn and his campaign manager Bill Malone.

Chris Krohn engaging in negative smear tactics? Fabricating quotes? Chris did what?

Got a good Chris Krohn story? Send it in on the form located on the homepage and maybe we’ll share it with the world!

Credit or Blame is a Matter of Perspective

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Micah Posner. After 4 years spent consistently violating ethics on the city council, he announced he’d had enough of being the “dishonest city council member with no support”. His latest email to people on his mailing list (not me! it was forwarded to me – BD) shows the level of delusion that regularly perpetuates itself in Micah’s brain. I’m not going to reprint the whole letter, it’s just way too self serving and narcissistic. But I want to share a few dingleberries here:

“Many of you thanked me for my service on the Council after my last email announcing my decision not to run again. You are most welcome. It has been my honor and privilege to serve you on the City Council and I am going to continue doing so for 4 more months.”

Actually, most were probably thanking him for NOT running again.

Oh but wait. Here’s the REAL gold:

“In case you haven’t heard yet, the California Coastal Commission has thrown out the City Council’s proposed ban on RV parking in the City of Santa Cruz. Many of the Commissioners clearly thought that trying to move the homeless around was not a good reason to restrict parking on the California Coast. One of them pointedly recommended that the City stop moving the homeless around and find a place for them to be. This was very gratifying for me, as Councilmember Lane and I voted against the proposal after the Council did not support our amendment to locate one or more parking areas outside of neighborhoods where the homeless could legally sleep. More importantly, because the Commission is made up of statewide political leaders, it gives me real hope that the state is moving away of the kind of useless and objectionable policies that our City has been employing against the homeless. Thanks is due to homeless activist Robert Norse, who challenged the decision at the Commission.”

Let’s remember it was Micah Posner who went to Robert Norse behind the city council’s back and alerted him to this planned ordinance in advance behind the other city council members backs (and he wonders why none of them like him?), which instigated Robert Norse to file his appeal. That’s right. MICAH POSNER ONCE AGAIN UNDERMINED THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PEOPLE HE REPRESENTS. It’s a habit for him. The rules don’t apply to him. Laws about ADUs? I’m Micah Posner! I don’t need no stinking rules. Let’s throw 4 years of ethics violations in there for not recusing himself any time any ADU related motions came up for a vote! And then, he thanks Robert Norse! Maybe Micah can take Robert out for dinner as a way of thanking him for all the time and taxpayer money they’ve both wasted together over the last 4 years! And of course, Micah would try to write that off as a city expense.

So the question to ask yourself here is: DO YOU REALLY WANT TO VOTE FOR ANYONE MICAH POSNER ENDORSES?

Upcoming City Council Candidates Forums This Week

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We’ve got 2 city council candidate forums on tap this week. Tomorrow is the Democratic Women’s Club Candidate Forum, which takes place at the SCPD community meeting room at 155 Center St. Then on Monday, we’ve got the Peoples Democratic Club Candidate Forum, taking place at Louden Nelson Community Center at 301 Center St. So 2 candidate forums in 3 days. I’m going to try to be at both if possible to cover them for the Dump, but if I can’t make it hopefully Hugh will cover it for us. Speaking of Hugh…..

Hugh’s News!

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August 23rd City Council Meeting Notes:

I am going to be blatantly honest here. I was playing Pokemon Go through a fair portion of the meeting. I am going to blame Micah. I did hear Lt. Dan Flippo was honored for 25 years of service. He is an amazing officer and Santa Cruz is lucky to have him. City Attorney Tony Condotti (very uncomfortably) started to present on a new ordinance that will require businesses open for massage to show proof that their masseuses are certified. This is because several businesses in the city operating as massage parlors are actually fronts for commercial sex operations. Really? Worst kept “secret” in Santa Cruz. Lt. Dan Flippo also spoke to the issue. He spoke to the link between commercial sex operations and human trafficking. Currently there are 53 businesses and 21 individuals that are in operation in the City of Santa Cruz, the majority of which are legitimate establishments. However due to complaints of neighbors and other concerned citizens, SCPD had entered some of these operations that were in question. A licensed social worker assisted them in communicating with the people thought to be at risk. These operations were indeed found to be commercial sex operations. The new ordinance among other things will require each business/individual providing massage show they are CAMT certified. All council members thanked Dan Flippo for heading this ordinance. All of them are in support for ending illegal sex operations/human trafficking. Micah (of course) had a number of questions. Micah showed concern for the individuals working out of their homes as legitimate massage therapists and how this ordinance could affect their income. Don had the same concern. Previous and current owners of Well Within spoke in favor of ordinance during public comment. The vote came in at 6 in favor for ordinance 1 not in favor (Micah as usual was the lone dissenter).

At this point a gentleman stomped into the room loudly. He had a handlebar mustache and has been seen hanging out with the “Freedom Sleepers”. He is apparently from Monterey and often wears a helmet. I’ll just call him “Sgt. Schultz”. He is ridiculous (Note: Seen after the meeting, Richelle and a friend were walking out of council chambers and were approached by Sgt. Schultz. He said to them “I am sure glad I don’t live in YOUR city” to which Richelle’s friend said “So are we”). Beat it Scheisskopf. Schnell!

There was also a case before the council for an appeal by a local homeowner who was basically getting the shaft by the city for having to build the city a new sidewalk if he wanted to make modifications to his home (which he needed in order to get a clean title). What a load of crap. What was most interesting about this particular item was how the vote went. The homeowner lost by a vote of 4-3, and the 3 voting in support of the homeowner were Don, David, and Richelle. That’s an odd group to vote together. But I give the 3 of them props for “sticking up for the little guy” against the legal extortion from the city here.

Some woman blathered on during oral communications about the RV parking situation, praising the Coastal Commission for supporting people to have access to beaches. Does everyone need it from midnight to 5 am? Give it a rest already. Broken record.

City Council Election Watch

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We’re almost through August now and the race is heating up. 2 city council candidate forums in the next 3 days. I give much respect for all of the candidates here, as it’s a difficult, thankless, emotionally draining job they are competing for. And did I mention the pay really sucks too? At least you get free parking downtown.

A few of the candidates have been seen walking the hoods, knocking on doors wanting to chat. None of them bite. Chat them up. Ask them why public safety isn’t their top priority? Because really, what’s more important than being safe? Nothing. I think being alive and healthy tops my personal wish list.

You’ll start seeing their signs popping up everywhere all over town. You’ll see them at community forums debating local topics. I’ll share what I know. It’s mostly opinion. I’m also going to rate them on what I’m calling my “Progress-o-meter”. 1 being a Trump Republican. 10 being Don Lane. And I’ll add casual observations overall every now and then.

UPCOMING CANDIDATES FORUMS:

• August 27: Democratic Women’s Club Candidate Forum, 155 Center St.
• August 29: People’s Democratic Club Candidate Forum, 301 Center St.
• September 14: Santa Cruz Neighbors Candidate Forum, 155 Center St.
• September 21: Democratic Central Committee Endorsement Forum, 740 Front Street, Suite 165
• September 22: Downtown Association Candidate Forum, 307 Church St.

This weeks endorsement goes to: Robert Singleton!
I’m endorsing him for a number of reasons. He’s smart, ambitious, and idealistic. And perhaps more importantly he’s fresh. He’s not a retread. He’s also not afraid to tackle sensitive subjects and try to identify better solutions. He’s not married to an ideology. He seems pragmatic. I think he understands the challenges of improving public safety in Santa Cruz, a town easily frightened by a rescue vehicle named after a cute little animal. One thing I feel he does understand is the red-line level of dysfunction within the city government. I don’t think he can fix it (at least not by himself) but I don’t think he’ll perpetuate it either. I think he’s a break from the status quo, despite being endorsed by the status quo. He serves on the Downtown Commission, so I’m sure he’d represent their interests better than some of the others on the city council do or will. And perhaps his biggest strength is he’s smart enough to understand the nuances of data driven analytics and how to apply that to improving the way our city government “does business”, especially with local social service based non-profits using alarmist rhetoric and fear mongering to validate increasing handouts in perpetuity.

OTHER CANDIDATES ENDORSED BY THE WEEKLY DUMP!

MARTINE WATKINS:
I’m endorsing her for a number of reasons. She has a masters degree in public policy so she’s not just someone with a bunch of grand ideas with no substance and no ability to make it happen. She seems pragmatic. She works for the County Office of Education so she’s already doing public service work that really does benefit not only the community but the less fortunate as well. I realize she’s not actively selling “public safety” as part of her campaign, and that’s a concern for me. But I think she understands what needs to be done there without the need to spell it out yet. I really like what I saw at the first candidate forum. I think she was the best speaker. She didn’t read from a script but seemed to be very well prepared. She’s raising 2 young kids. I’m sure she can handle the kindergarten atmosphere of most city council meetings like the adult in the room. I have little doubt that she’d do a fine job on the city council. I might not agree with all of her positions, and I’m fine with that. I’m not always right. Just most of the time.

Other Candidate Profiles:

J.M. Brown:
Brown is a former reporter for the Sentinel. He works in communications and brand management with a successful local firm, and has an impressive list of endorsements. He is currently serving as a City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Commission member and a member of the Santa Cruz County Housing Advisory Commission. He did ok at the first candidate forum, but nothing he says really stands out or differentiates him from anyone else. It’s like he’s a safe bet for a lot of people. He seems really nice, down to earth, seems to want to please everyone. Not sure how well that will work for him. But he’s been the leader in raising donations (by far) so his message is resonating with his donors at least.
Progressometer Rating: 7

Sandy Brown:
Sandy Brown is an assistant professor at the University of San Francisco and University of the Pacific. She previously worked for the local Community Action Board, and has taken part in the city’s Living Wage Advisory Committee, the Citizens’ Police Advisory Board and Santa Cruz County Women’s Commission. She also doesn’t like city hall. She was a mess at the recent candidate forum. It’s like she thought she could just wing it and appeared scattered, unprepared, and clueless. I’m sure she’s smart but she didn’t express it well.
Progressometer Rating: 9

Jim Davis:
Jim writes jingles for KPIG radio. And he likes cool hats. He looks every bit like a rock star. I’d call him the “Average Joe” candidate but his name is Jim. I know he thinks the city doesn’t do nearly enough for the homeless and he’s disgusted by all the needles found in public spaces. So he’s a definite wild card. He can be BOTH very progressive and very moderate. Now that’s an anomaly in Santa Cruz. Was recently busted for a DUI (after the black eye).
Progressometer Rating: 8

Dru Glover:
Founder of “Project Pollinate”, a community activism group that likes to throw parties 4 times a year in San Lorenzo Park. Works for the resource center for non-violence. Has never held public office before. Good speaker but talks really fast to fit all his ideas in. Seems to really love the color purple. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called “life”.
Progressometer Rating: 8

Nate Kennedy:
Hard to take Nate seriously. No website. Sometimes he has a few good ideas, and I think he really cares. In reality, he has little to no chance of winning a seat. He did bring color and laughs (no flair, that would be Jim Davis) to the first forum.
Progressometer Rating: 9

Chris Krohn:
Another former mayor and city council person comes back to try to haunt us. He is the Internship Director for the Environmental Studies Department at UCSC. He was elected to the Santa Cruz City Council in 1998 and was mayor of Santa Cruz in 2002. He’s been out of city politics for 14 years. The Santa Cruz Weekly actually described him as “one of Santa Cruz’s most famously leftist former mayors”. He would be the reincarnation of Don Lane. He gets the Perfect 10 on the Progress-o-meter. Even Mike Rotkin, notorious local socialist who previously served with Krohn on the city council, said “If you ask my opinion, I don’t think he’d make a great council member”. I guess that rules out his endorsement here.
Progressometer Rating: 10

Cynthia Mathews:
Current mayor. Long time city council member. She’s been involved in Santa Cruz politics since the Pacific Garden Mall days. She has had a history of leaning progressive but has become more moderate in recent years. She seems to have the best interests of the entire community in mind, even though I still think she leans too far left much of the time. I just feel like she had the opportunity as mayor to make a real difference this year but I just didn’t see it. I saw a lot of pandering but I didn’t see any major changes for the better. Just the opposite. Hell, we can’t even get a parking ordinance passed under this city council this year. Junkies murdering each other on the Riverwalk. Junior guards getting stuck by needles. Trashcans spilling garbage as they are washed out into the ocean from Main Beach. That’s not a “vibrant” look and it’s on her watch.
Progressometer Rating: 7

Steve Pleich:
Steve seems to be everywhere now that the campaign season is in full swing. He’s all over social media. Every photo-op you can likely find Steve ready to photobomb it. He loves attention. He loves the limelight. He loves to hear himself talk. He is running mostly on what I’ll call the “homeless” platform, bent on repealing the sleeping ban and other homeless issues. I’m sure he’s hoping to tap the old SCAN crowd once again but how many times can they go to the well and find it empty yet again.
Progressometer Rating: 9.9

Steve Schnaar:
Founder and director of the Santa Cruz Fruit Tree project, and a volunteer mechanic for the Bike Church. I really like both of these groups, although the Bike Church has had a stigma for supporting bike thieves. Long time social activist. Has had previous issues with SCPD and the city council (mostly related to the Bike Church). Married to Stacy Falls, longtime progressive advocate for homeless issues and co-founder with Brent Adams of the sanctuary camp project. I know he comes across as pretty soft spoken but his positions can be pretty extreme (and he seemingly has a tendency to take rejection personally when it comes to dealing with the city, much like Micah does now).
Progressometer Rating: 9

Free Concert with Los Lobos at the Boardwalk!

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More than three decades have passed since Grammy-award winning Los Lobos released their debut album and a worldwide smash single, “La Bamba.” Since then they’ve consistently evolved artistically while never losing sight of their humble roots. Perez, the band’s drummer, once called their powerhouse mix of rock, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues and traditional Spanish and Mexican music “the soundtrack of the barrio”. Many people think the Beach Boys are the quintessential “California” band but for my money this band is the quintessential California band. Shows at 6:30 and 8:30 as usual.

DeCinzotized – Classic Steven DeCinzo

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Weekly Shoutouts!

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Weekly shoutout to Stephen Baxter. It’s the Senile’s loss. Good luck in the future and feel free to send me tips! Shoutout to Janet Fardette, the Guardian Angel of the Riverwalk. Take a well deserved vacation. The city doesn’t deserve you until they can actually show they appreciate you. Shoutout to Officer Rock of the SCPD for his fine traffic enforcement around city hall on Tuesday afternoon. And a shoutout to Brannon for signing up to get the Dump delivered to his email (see the little box at the bottom right hand corner of page) so he can finally stop shaking his head.

Check Out Our Twitter Feed for More Mierda!

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Be sure to check out and follow our Twitter feed for even more mierda! Even though the Dump only comes your way once a week, I try to post breaking news and updates on other days as well. So check us out and follow us on Twitter for even more updates about real time news in Santa Cruz you might not otherwise hear about.