Several Sundays ago, eight Boulder Creek residents protested in front of Verizon’s store in downtown Santa Cruz. Why did we do this? Haven’t we already won (“Cell tower application all but dead in downtown BC,” Dec. 13, page 4)? Well no actually, we have not. The application has been shelved but Verizon can come back at any time and have another hearing and get it approved. So why are we so concerned about this application? It all boils down to location.
Buried on the back page of the December 13 Press-Banner, the headline, “Local road projects get boost” (page 20), immediately caught my attention. The excellent article by Joe Shreve raises some serious concerns about the funding priorities and policies of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission.
The cool fall air and drizzly damp mornings have finally arrived — chilly mornings that signal the end of the craziest, most stressful summer since the great Lockheed fires of 2009. This summer felt like being transported back to 1960’s Viet Nam, with tactical scout planes controlling firefighters and police on the ground, and helicopters and Boride bombers in the air. Millions of dollars went up in smoke fighting scores of suspicious fires in the Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Felton and Ben Lomond areas.