Did you know you can get to SFO by public transit, for just $10? This is only one example. Indeed, there are very few places you CAN'T get to by public transit. The problem is information. You'd need to contact three different transit agencies to plan a trip to the airport. The Metro Riders Union has a better answer: an easy, online transit guide geared to people who live in Santa Cruz.

Unlike a transit agency Web site, which only covers transit routes in one city or county, we are free to cover lots of different routes in lots of different places.

We hope that the site will grow and evolve. We plan to add leisure destinations like Big Sur, the North Coast, and the Napa Valley. (Bet you didn't know you could take transit to those places!) We also want to make the site more interactive. For now, you can post short questions, comments and suggestions to the public forum.

[ iridethebus.org | Paratransit Task Force ]

The Comercio Justo Rally and Protest at the Mission St. Taco Bell in Santa Cruz has been transformed into a celebration. Taco Bell has agreed to some of the Coalition Of Immokalee Workers demands and the CIW has called off the boycott. Taco Bell has agreed to a raise of one cent per pound of tomatoes which will mean roughly $20 more per day for farmworkers. Taco Bell has also agreed to work towards improvements industrywide in fast food. Taco Bell is owned by Yum Brand Foods, which is the largest corporation in fast food, bigger than McDonalds.

The Santa Cruz Rally will still meet at 3:30 pm at the Mission St. Taco Bell, but will then cross the street and gather at the small park by the Community Garden. The scheduled speakers, including the mayor, will still speak and there will be a discussion and celebration. Photo

Coverage from Austin Indymedia: Farmworkers Take Down Taco Bell | Trabajadores Agricolas Derrotan a Taco Bell

Audio: Santa Cruz Rally on March 11th Transformed Into Celebration | Peace Talks: Support the CIW | Interview about Boycott on FRSC

CIW Press Release: Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Taco Bell Reach Groundbreaking Agreement

[ Coalition of Immokalee Workers | Student/Farmworker Alliance | 2005 Truth Tour | US Indymedia Topic Page ]

At a memorial today, friends and family shared memories, poetry and song, celebrating the generous spirit of Albert Walter Guzman, the patron of many community programs for supporting positive lifestyles in an era of increasing urban decay.

On February 14, Santa Cruzans for Responsible Planning (SCRAP), a local grassroots organization backed by former Santa Cruz Mayors, held a news conference at the entrance to the Santa Cruz City Wharf. This was the official kickoff for a community-wide referendum campaign to halt the single largest development in the city since UC Santa Cruz. If the group can acquire at least 4,000 valid signatures, the "Coast Hotel" issue will be placed on the ballot for a city-wide vote.

Opposition to SCRAP's referendum campaign includes the developers (of course!), current employees of the Coast Hotel who would like to have more work in the winter months and SEIU Local 415.

The proposed development calls for a 270 room hotel, 6-level parking garage and a 23,000 square foot Conference Center.

Photos: Santa Cruzans for Responsible Planning vs. Workers and Bosses
Photos: SCRAP Kicks Off Anti-Hotel Petition Drive

Coverage of the 1/25/04 SC City Council Meeting: [ Meeting on Hotel-Convention Center Project I City Council Approves Coast Hotel Project Despite Widespread Community Opposition ]

About 500 Santa Cruz city workers, represented by SEIU Local 415, are poised to strike Friday at midnight when their contract expires.

According to Leslie Scanagatta, Local 415's chief spokesperson, rising costs of health care benefits, and low wages, are key issues on the bargaining table. She points out that city employees have twice agreed to a voluntarily wage freeze, to help the city get through a financial crunch, and haven't had a raise since April, 2002.

Irwin Young, human resources director for the City, said, "we've been working dilligently to reach an agreement." If an agreement isn't reached, he says, "we can continue to bargain, or the union then decides to take action."

Talks between the parties will continue on Thursday, and Friday, but Scanagatta says at this point, she's not hopeful. "Local 415 members spent the day making picket signs, and are prepared for the worst."

Update from 12/3/04: A strike of some 500 Santa Cruz, CA city employees was sidestepped for the time being Thursday, when reps from SEIU Local 415 and city officials came to terms on a tentative agreement in their contract dispute. (read the full comment)

see also: SEIU Rank and File Revolt

This is eating the poor for lunch, GOP style. If you have a voice and a conscience, the time to speak out is NOW!

Michael Ledeen, a trusted aid to Karl Rove and close associate of Larry Franklin, can provide the missing details in the Rove/CIA Niger Uranium investigation. In the spirit of The New American Century, Ledeen reaped cash benefits as a direct result of the war in Iraq.

Many were recruited through the Heritage Foundation website, where they had posted their résumés. They were paid six-figure salaries out of Iraqi funds, and most served in 90-day rotations before returning home with their war stories. One such volunteer was Simone Ledeen, daughter of leading neoconservative Michael Ledeen. Unable to communicate in Arabic and with no relevant experience or appropriate educational training, she nevertheless became a senior advisor for northern Iraq at the Ministry of Finance in Baghdad. Another was former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer’s older brother Michael who, though utterly unqualified, was named director of private-sector development for all of Iraq.

Money for Nothing
The American Conservative

"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

Bolivarian Revolution

Early last year, Jane Mayer of The New Yorker published a definitive article about the recent career of Ahmed Chalabi, The Manipulator. She describes an encounter between weapons sleuth Scott Ritter where The Manipulator exhausts his dwindling credibility with Ritter: but Chalabi has somehow managed to craft his vision into a current reality, exceding even his own expectations.