Dylan Greiner was removed as an administrator of the Santa Cruz Clean Team's Facebook group shortly after he was arrested for victimizing young female students through his surf school. He first became a public figure involved with community safety organizations Take Back Santa Cruz and the Clean Team in 2012 when he uploaded a video to YouTube showing drug paraphernalia on Cowell's Beach in Santa Cruz. After Greiner shared the video through Take Back Santa Cruz, the organization reported their Facebook group acquired approximately 500 new members.

In 2013 Take Back Santa Cruz member Steve Schlicht was appointed by Mayor of Santa Cruz Hilary Bryant to the city's newly formed 'public safety task force' that critics argue has focused on petty crimes relating to drug use and homelessness, over more direct approaches to violent crimes such as rape and violence against women.

TBSC Watchdog writes: "As a result of the viral publicity and unquestioned support by Take Back Santa Cruz, The Clean Team, and the Santa Cruz Patch, Greiner's surfing school business may have expanded, thereby giving him more access to victims. Has the anti-homeless agenda of these so called public safety groups had a negative impact on public safety overall in Santa Cruz? Are their viral advocacy methods shifting focus away from real crime, and towards misdemeanors and petty infractions?"

Read More

Previous Coverage: Mayor's Public Safety Task Force Member Is "Fine with Junkies Dying" || Video of Take Back Santa Cruz Supported Clean Team Harassing Homeless

On August 17, two members of the 'Walmart 60' picketed the Salinas Walmart store. They and their supporters continue to ask that members of Wallmart's Board of Directors reinstate the more than 60 workers, known as the Walmart 60, who were fired after protesting working conditions at the retail giant. A number of recent events protesting working conditions at Walmarts in the greater Bay Area lead up to a march in San Francisco on September 5 as part of a national day of action in support of the striking workers who lost their jobs.

Walmart's poor treatment of its Associates was put into context when it was revealed in a recent study that each Walmart store costs taxpayers nearly $1 million in government subsidies for programs such as food stamps and other public assistance that struggling workers rely on to survive. The Associates want the public to know that the vast majority of Walmart workers aren't paid enough to afford basic health care, to pay for rent and utilities, or to keep food on the table, yet the Walton family who controls the retail chain has more wealth than the bottom 42% of American earners combined.

The protest at the Salinas Walmart took place on August 17, the same day Walmart Board Chair and Walton heir Rob Walton planned to race two of his race cars, worth more than $16 million dollars, at the annual Monterey Motorsports Reunion at nearby Laguna Seca Raceway. "I'm here today in Salinas to tell the shoppers and everybody out here in Salinas that Rob Walton of Walmart is really supplying his 16 million dollar race car that he is doing this weekend with taxpayers money," Dominck Ware of the Walmart 60 said.

Read More with Video and Photos | See Also: Workers United Will Never Be Divided! SF Rally And March To Defend Fired WalMart Workers

On August 28, the trial date for those charged in association with the 2011 occupation of the vacant bank building located at 75 River Street in Santa Cruz was pushed back yet again. The four remaining defendants found out they will now face trial on March 3, 2014. More than 300 people crossed the threshold of the building in the course of the three day occupation which occurred during the height of the Occupy movement in November and December of 2011. Authorities claim there was thousands of dollars in damages to the building, and eventually eleven people who were dubbed the Santa Cruz Eleven by supporters would each be charged with two separate felonies and two discrete trespassing charges. Seven of the Eleven had all of their charges dismissed by the summer of 2012.

At a pre-trial hearing on August 16, 2013, Santa Cruz Judge Paul Burdick asked the prosecution if the “people” thought it necessary to go forward with the cases, given the profound expense it would cost considering that the damage amount to the building was only $20,000. The assistant district attorney stated that the “community” he is hearing from does want to see a jury trial. After a hearing to assess scheduling conflicts on August 28, a new trial date was set for March 3, with a readiness hearing scheduled for February 27.

Brent Adams writes: "There has been a plea offer made to us but we’re not budging. Why would I plead guilty for shit I didn’t do? I was there on principle in the first place so I’m not about to take the easy path out just because I’m fearing jail time."

Read More | SC-11 Back in Court: D.A. Bob Lee's BigTop Up for Fall Engagement? | Santa Cruz Eleven, the Lessons of Food Not Bombs and The Broader Austerity Crisis | Support the Santa Cruz Eleven

Previous Coverage: Santa Cruz Eleven Down to Four || Vacant Bank Occupied in Santa Cruz

On August 24, community members marched with the Santa Cruz NAACP to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Great March on Washington. The 1963 civil rights rally was also known as the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." In Santa Cruz, those commemorating the day also broadly described their action for justice, calling it a march for "voting rights, jobs, justice, freedom, and to end stand your ground."

Community members marched through downtown Santa Cruz singing classic civil rights era hymns. When gathering at the town clock, one individual was applauded when it was announced that he had been present at the 1963 March on Washington, and several in the crowd raised their hands when asked who had been fighting for civil rights causes for 50 years or more.

Speakers included Stephanie Milton who spoke out against stand your ground and other justifiable homicide laws, and Simba Kenyatta who spoke about how the City of Santa Cruz has never had a black city council member. Kenyatta proposed two local election reform measures: eliminating privately financed elections, and dividing up the voting population into districts. "This is 2013, we still have never had a black city council person in Santa Cruz," he said. Kenyatta, a three time Santa Cruz City Council candidate, is one of the only three black city council candidates to run for office in the history of Santa Cruz.

Read More with Photos and Videos | See Also: NAACP Action Alert re End Racial Profiling Act

Previous Coverage: Marching in Santa Cruz for Justice for Trayvon and Others Subjected to Racial Profiling

After spending $17 million, Santa Cruz City officials now want to re-engage the public by backing off on their promised desal vote in 2014. In response, the Desal Alternatives steering committee has issued a call to all citizen supporters to advocate that the City Council adopt water security measures that can be implemented immediately.

In a joint press release issued by Mayor Hilary Bryant and City Manager Martin Bernal, Bernal states that the EIR for the Desalination facility proposed for the Westside of Santa Cruz will be completed in order to, "inform future discussions about the City’s water supply." Rick Longinotti, of Desal Alternatives, believes that decision should be made by the city council.

Rick Longinotti writes: "The decision whether to complete the EIR belongs to the Council, since it will cost a lot more money to complete than the $1.6 million already spent. The four hundred comments submitted on the Draft EIR comprise a devastating critique of the desal project. There is only one way that a final EIR can "fix" the deficiencies in the Draft: by recommending a package of alternatives to the project. Anything less from a Final EIR would not be credible. The Council may hesitate to spend more money just to get a Final EIR that recommends alternatives to the project. Council members can reach that conclusion just by reading the comments on the Draft."

Read More | Desal Alternatives | See Also: Bethany Park Desal Alternatives

Previous Coverage: City of Santa Cruz Entangled in CalDesal’s Advocacy and Lobbying Activities || Supporters of Right to Vote on Desal Turn in Petitions at Santa Cruz City Hall || Invitation-Only Meeting Held to Promote a Desalination Plant in Santa Cruz

On August 16, community members returned to La Playa Carmel for a boycott rally in support of the workers who lost their jobs when the hotel shut down and re-opened in the summer of 2012 after a change of ownership. The labor rally coincided with the final events in a series of "elite" automobile shows occurring throughout the Monterey Peninsula, and protesters marched for justice for the former workers next to Ferraris and other high end vehicles parked in front of La Playa.

At $450 a night for the least expensive room on the weekends at La Playa Carmel, the hotel is a luxury vacation destination where expensive automobiles are commonly seen. Two Ferraris, a Maserati, and an Aston Martin represented just a few of the expensive makes parked in front of La Playa on the day of the boycott rally. As they marched, individuals at the rally held picket signs with messages such as "We are the 99%," "La Playa Carmel Destroys Tradition," "Sam Gross-Man Unfair," and "We Are One: Respect Our Rights."

The expensive cars drew a few extended looks from those supporting the workers, but there was no mention of them when individuals spoke at the end of the rally. "I just wanted you to know the NAACP is absolutely with you, and that Labor Rights are Civil Rights, Civil Rights are Labor Rights," said a member of the Monterey Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Read More with Photos

Previous Coverage: Workers Still Protest One Year After Sam Grossman's Take-Over of La Playa Carmel