Highway 17 Landslides

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Many students here at UCSC live either on campus or within the city of Santa Cruz. Catching the City Metro, riding a bike, or simply walking out of their dorms and straight to class is the most commuting that the average student has to do. I however am not one of those students. I live near San Jose and have to commute on Highway 17 to get to class every day. Unfortunately, over the last few days a landslide has been backing up traffic on the already normally congested roadway. This has made commuting more difficult, and in some cases, made reaching or leaving Santa Cruz close to impossible.

The landslide happened last Tuesday on the 7th. It occurred just before Scotts Valley going northbound, completely blocked the highway on that side. This forced officials to close the highway last Tuesday. By Wednesday they had diverted traffic into one of the southbound lanes and making Highway 17 a two-way street around the area of the landslide. Then a bad situation got much worse when two constructions workers were run over by a dump truck on Thursday, injuring one (Stephen Whittier, 34) and killing the other (Bobby Gill, 54). This caused construction to halt for the rest of Thursday so that the accident could be investigated by Cal-OSHA. It was not clear if the dump truck driver had his back-up warning alarms on during the accident, so no arrests or citations have been made yet.

However, to make matters worse the continued heavy rains all of last week ended up causing the hillsides to become even more unstable. As a preemptive measure Highway 17 and all the alternate routes in and out of the city were closed completely Friday. Caltrans crews, CHP officials, and personnel from the California Division of Occupational Safety monitored the landslide all day, with them deciding that the area was safe for drivers early Saturday morning. A week after the initial landslide the highway is still restricted to one lane access both directions and not much debris from the landslide has been cleared out. It is not clear when officials will be finished.

This is not the first obstruction to befall Highway 17 this year. On January 9th, a landslide knocked down a telephone pole into the two northbound lanes, shutting off access going northbound. Later, on January 27th a bank robbery in Los Gatos ended up closing the highway as police searched for the suspects from 11AM all the way into the night. With rain forecasted to return on Thursday we can only hope that this won’t cause more landslides to happen. Otherwise commuting to school will become less of a drive and more like some kind of crusade against nature.

You can visit the United States Geological Survey website for more information about landslide preparedness. Stay safe out there!

This blog post was written by KZSC volunteer Thea Miller.

YUPPIES – s/t

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YUPPIES s/tBoredom. It’s all around us — in our classrooms, at the park, in our bedrooms, choking up our thoughts and actions like static on the TV screen. Disaffected youth toss cigarette butts into the streets in front of the local 7-11, spitting half-baked rhymes at passersby while their parents cower in cubicles, scratching their heads in the composition of a late-night email. Mid-level camaraderie congresses around the coffee pot at noon and there’s talk of prime rib and real estate and ‘the market’. In Omaha, Nebraska, no one knows boredom with more intimacy than Yuppies. In the summer of 2007, Jack Begley, Kevin Donahue and Noah Sterba came together very deliberately to end their boredom forever by performing punk rock live to a basement of kids who were bored just like them. With the addition of Jeff Sedrel on the bass in 2010 and a tour-heavy three years to follow, the rawness of their particular cut of rock n’ roll gristle was cooked through in the form of a self-titled debut on Dull Tools, a label run by fellow no-wave drill sergeant Andrew Savage (Parquet Courts). Vocalist Jack Begley forewarns listeners that we’re going for a ride, whether you like it or not, and nothing cures boredom like a swift kick to the gut and a crash test to the tympanic threshold. The sprawling, screeching manifesto to all that is death-proof in punk rock is recorded almost entirely in one take, lurching into song after song without ever skidding to a stop until we passengers throw the record out the window. It’s a flesh-singing, ball-tearing scrap of angular rock n’roll damage and it fuckin’ rules. Grip your copy of Yuppies through the label or check out their bandcamp next time boredom strikes, ’cause not all idle hands can work the blood and sweat out of an electric guitar like these Nebraskan devils can.

 

 

FATHER JOHN MISTY & Friends: Benefit for the Henry Miller Memorial Library Sept. 19

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Jesse Goodman with Peter Hale, (((folkYEAH!))), and the Henry Miller Library present an evening with Father John Misty and poets Anne Waldman, Ambrose Bye, and Sara Goodman at the Henry Miller Memorial Library’s 10th Benefit Concert on Thursday, September 19th at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur.

Henry Miller once wrote that “Memorials defeat the purpose of a man’s life. Only by living your own life to the full can you honor the memory of someone.”

Big Sur’s preeminent nonprofit book store and arts organization may be in a perpetual crisis of identity, but the Henry Miller Memorial Library encourages visitors to follow their bliss by providing a cozy atmosphere to browse, look at what’s on the walls, listen to music, have a cup of coffee or tea, sit down by the fire, read for a while, or simply enjoy a place “where nothing happens”.  The Library was founded in 1981 by Emil White, Miller’s longtime friend, occupying White’s former home and championing the late writer, artist, and Big Sur resident Henry Miller.

At the tail end of the semi-autobiographical novelist’s yearlong “Air-Conditioned Nightmare” journey for a place to settle, Henry Miller rooted in Big Sur in what he would call his “first real home in America”. Notorious for his fringe literary technique that blended character study, surrealist free association, philosophical and social reflections, and mystical deviations from the firsthand life experiences that underpinned most of work, Miller connected with White and a variety of artists, writers, and locals who would soon influence and collaborate with him on later works. His most characteristic works at this time were Tropic of Cancer (1934), Black Spring (1936), Tropic of Capricorn (1939) and The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy (1949-59), all of which were banned in the United States until 1961. While Miller was establishing his base in Big Sur, the Tropic books, still banned in the USA, were being published in France and steadily acquiring notoriety among both Europeans and the various enclaves of American cultural exiles. As a result, the books were frequently smuggled into the States, where they proved to be a major influence on the new Beat generation of American writers, most notably Jack Kerouac.

The Library hosts events throughout the summer months (May-October), including fashion shows, theater, open mics, lectures, book signings, art shows, and more.  With a capacity of 300 and nestled in a towering redwood grove, it is also one of the most unique live music venues in the world.

Past performers include KZSC favorites Patti Smith, Philip Glass, Arcade Fire, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, Henry Rollins, Fleet Foxes, Ben Gibbard, Frank Black, Explosions in the Sky, Thee Oh Sees, Woods, Kurt Vile, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Animal Collective, Camper Van Beethoven, White Fence, Sic Alps… the list goes on.

The psych-folk flavors of Father John Misty, formerly of Fleet Foxes and solo project J. Tillman, will join the ranks of these historical performances with accompanying poets Anne Waldman, Ambrose Bye, and Sara Goodman, as well as DJ Britt Govea, for an intimate evening at the outdoor stage where there will be a meet-and-greet with Misty prior to the show, table service, and signed posters. Attendees will also be part of history: the Henry Miller Memorial Library has recently submitted plans with Monterey County to create a sustainable, ADA-compliant space that will serve visitors, artists, and musicians for years to come. Your support will help make these plans a reality, all while celebrating the 10th benefit curated by Jesse Goodman.

For ticket information, hit on http://fatherjohnmisty.eventbrite.com/ and join what will surely be a landmark evening in the history of this special venue.

For more encouragement, scope the minister of acid-tinged folk jams doin’ what he does in a zoot suit fit for big guns upstairs Himself.

And on KEXP making Henry Miller proud with a ballad about writing a novel the good old-fashioned way.

Big Basin Summer Fun

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During the summer Big Basin State Park will host weekend Redwood Loop Walks, fun and informative guided half-mile strolls through an old-growth redwood forest. Meet the famous Mother Tree, The Father of the Forest and the Chimney Tree on this one-hour walk. The Loop Walks are stroller and wheelchair accessible. Directions and more information are available by calling Big Basin State Park at 831-388-8883.

Walk A Mile April 13th

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Would you put on a pair of high heels and walk a mile in her shoes? Men, women and children will be teaming up with Women’s Crisis Support/Defensa de Mujeres to walk a mile and raise awareness about sexual assault in our community. Sponsored by the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, the event takes place at Lighthouse Point on Santa Cruz’s Westside Saturday, April 13th from 9 AM to noon. Your MC host will be KZSC’s Lani B of “Wiki Wiki Wednesday” fame. To register to walk or for more information, call Women’s Crisis Support at 831-722-4989 or visit their website, WCS-DDM.com.

 

Reminder on PSA Guidelines

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As KZSC’s Public Service Announcement Director I receive piles of emails every day. Just like tofu, the easier your submission is to digest, the faster you’ll hear it on the air. Here are some of the basic points when sending notices:

General newsletters about your organization more often than not just get deleted. Since we want to represent you/your org in the best way possible, a specific announcement or event is much more likely to receive attention. Announcements can’t contain price information. Instead of including prices, please add some contact information you won’t mind sharing with the public. This way people can find out pricing, driving directions, etc. directly from you. What we refer to as “calls to action” – phrases like, “come on down!” or “get it while it’s hot!” (even if it is hot) will not be included in your PSA. And last but most obvious, the sooner you send your announcement, the more air time it could get! If you submit t a PSA less than two weeks before your event, it may not even be broadcast at all. What did mom always say about planning ahead? I love helping spread the word about the wide range of  events and activities in our community, so help me help you make your announcement stand out. If you have any questions, email me at: psa@kzsc.org.