SC City Council discussed the Hotel-Convention Center Project on Tuesday night, 25 January, at 809 Center St. People opposed to convention-hotel at the Dream Inn site, along with a 6-story parking garage, came to the city council meeting to keep the pressure on the council to not pass this deal with the developers and replace one eyesore for another on our coast.

After two public hearings last week, including one that went past midnight, the City Council is poised to make a decision on financing $30 million for this project tonight. Many residents have already voiced their disapproval of this plan which seems to be broadly flawed.

A particularly convincing argument against the project was that these types of ventures are not bringing in substantial dollars for the cities that invest in them and many are in the red, according to a recently published Broookings Institute study. Read more about the study at Bruce Bratton's website or on Brookings Institute online.

Food Not Bombs has been feeding without discrimination since 1981 (Boston, Mass.), and is now in over 270 countries around the world. We act in defiance of weapons of mass destruction, and believe that as Martin Luther King said "Peace is not the absence of tension, but the presence of justice."

We are a small and young collective seeking experienced cooks and other volunteers. Donations of reusable spoons and bowls would be wonderful! If you are interested please email johndoe3332145 (at) yahoo.com or contact a food not bombs Santa Cruz collective member and express your interest. We are also starting gardens.

[ johndoe3332145's Gardening Page I Food Links from Bagelhole.org I Food Not Bombs News I Food Not Bombs Menu ]

Family get-togethers nowadays can comprise many different diets. Often vegetarians and vegans present special challenges to family members who are not familiar with those dietary preferences. This article is for those family members. A vegetarian does not eat meat, but will eat dairy products and/or eggs. A vegan will not eat anything with meat, eggs, or dairy products. So a vegetarian can eat anything a vegan can eat, but not vice versa. With just a little forethought, these dietary preferences are not hard to accommodate. And your vegetarian/vegan guests will appreciate the efforts that show you cared. Often vegans and vegetarians resent the fact that no one cared about them having access to food that they can eat at family events, and with this little preparation, you can set the tone to be one of inclusion.

On September 23, Felton FLOW (Friends of Locally Owned Water) organized a film screening of Thirst at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz, CA. Thirst is a new documentary that examines community water conflicts on three continents. 'Thirst' demonstrates that popular opposition to the privatization of water ignites remarkable coalitions that cross partisan lines. When it comes to water, many people demand local control and fear the arrival of multinational corporations with large lobbying budgets and little local accountability.

Thirst also shows that the individual struggles of these communities raise the same profound questions: Is water a human right for all people? Or, is it a commodity to be bought, sold, and traded in a global marketplace?

After watching Thirst, a six speaker panel discussed water issues around the world with a focus on Felton, a rural community in the Santa Cruz mountains. For more information on Felton's struggle for community controlled water resources, visit FeltonFlow.org. Also visit ThirstTheMovie.org.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, California. On September 11th and 12th The Campaign for Sensible Transportation will be holding a two day, fundraising book sale, benefiting the No on Measure J- "Widening 1 Won't Work" campaign.

No on Measure J is opposed to Meaure J, the highway widening sales tax initiative. The initiative will be on the ballot in November. If passed it will raise the county's sales tax primarily to widen Highway One from Santa Cruz to Watsonville.

[ Campaign for Sustainable Transportation I No on Measure J I People Power ]

On November 5th, activists held a protest at the 41st Ave. entrance to the Capitola Mall parking lot. 41st Ave is a very high traffic road in Santa Cruz County. Many motorists honked and gave thumbs up in support of the demonstration bringing attention to the forest destruction caused by the millions of catalogs distributed for Victoria's Secret.

On November 5, a small group of animal rights activists demonstrated in front of the KFC on Mission St., a busy road which is also Highway 1 in Santa Cruz. The number of customers in the restaurant quickly dwindled and passing motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, KFC customers and an employee that encountered the protesters were either very supportive of the demonstration or willing to listen to and learn from the protesters.

I spoke with one activist to find out why he protesting in front of KFC. He spoke about respect and equal rights for all animals and the need for people to adapt a vegetarian diet.

"Former Union Carbide project engineer Umesh Nanda told the court that at the time of the disaster the management was planning to dismantle the plant, which was running huge losses."

reported by AFP

This is an effort to save the most biologically diverse body of water on Earth.

"... the debate is over. We know the science and we see the threat. Most of all, I say that we know the time for action is now. Global warming, and the pollution and burning of fossil fuels that cause it, are threats we see here in California and everywhere around the world. "

Arnold Schwarzenegger in
New Perspectives Quarterly

Yes Arnold, and greed for fossil fuel profiteering has pitted the Bush administration against the leaders of the Arab world for the past 5 years.