Following the release in May of the Santa Cruz County Grand Jury report on jail medical care and conditions, one juror reported he was “shocked” at the lax oversight and poor communication between jail staff and medical personnel that led to five deaths in the facility during the past 11 months. While the "normal" mortality rate is around 125 per 100,000 inmates, Santa Cruz County's rate was 10 times that number during that period.

Activists say they are alarmed that these deaths came as the county outsourced jail medical treatment to private Monterey-based California Forensic Medical Group, a decision that effectively placed medical care for jail inmates beyond local control or accountability.

Steve Pleich writes: "In my view, these deaths are a tragic and unacceptable symptom of a disease. But the real disease is mass incarceration driven by the prison/industrial complex and fueled by institutional racism. Mainstream society seems comfortable with the policy of separating whole segments of our population from their liberty and in supporting a prison/industrial complex that is building new jail and prison cells at an unprecedented rate. So what questions do we need to ask to at least begin to understand and address the grave social issues that this current state of affairs represents?"

Read More | See Also: Santa Cruz Grand Jury Releases Reports on Jail Deaths and Juvenile Hall Meals | Grand Jury Report Highlights Overcrowding at Santa Cruz Main Jail

AshEl writes, "The movement to create healthy communities begins with appreciation. We want to create a day where we not only express gratitude to the hardworking people who put food on our plates, but also educate the community about the connections between food, climate change, and health. The goal of the day is to bring together youth, farmworkers, community leaders, local organizations, businesses, and public officials to celebrate farmworkers, while creating a platform for the Central Coast community to raise their voices around issues that support the environmental, economic, and physical health of the Central Coast region, the farmworkers, and their community.

"There will be live music, free food, healthy cooking demonstrations, education and speakers from community based organizations, and lots of love, goods, and support for farmworkers!

The event will be held on Sunday, June 15, Father’s Day, at Closter Park in Salinas, from 11-3pm.

Event Details

On Tuesday, June 10, council members Lane and Posner will introduce an ordinance that amends campaign finance rules in the City of Santa Cruz. They are proposing that donation limits for city council candidates be changed from voluntary to mandatory, and that the city implement a 1-to-1 match to campaign contributions if candidates agree to a $26,641 over-all expenditure limit. Former city council candidate Simba Kenyatta believes the ordinance does not go far enough and he is calling for real election reform in Santa Cruz.

Simba Kenyatta writes: "As a former city council candidate and as a poor, African American, my view of campaign finance reform is markedly different than what I hear is going to be proposed. I think that there should be no private money in public elections, at all. The city needs to come up with a way to finance our elections so that every candidate starts out with the same amount of money, and no more. Of course, the first reaction will be, we can't afford that, and our budget won't allow it. Well, I think we can't afford not to. Middle class people tend to have middle class friends, poor people tend to have poor friends, and there, is where the problem lies. Just because you put a ceiling on the amount of money doesn't do anything for people having a hard time raising any money because their friends and neighbors are as poor as the candidate, and raising money is much harder no matter how viable you might be as a candidate."

"We will have to be creative in financing the elections. I've often thought a quarter of a cent city tax on businesses would bring in enough money to finance it. I'm sure businesses will object but it would be a minor inconvenience, to support an actual democracy. They can pass that tax on to us because as a concerned citizenry we want to see the best candidates available, even if they are horrible at raising money. Sometimes as a candidate it felt way too close to begging. It would be nice to see businesses/corporations contribute toward a democracy instead of destroying it, as recent court rulings will allow them to do. I'm sure we have enough intelligent, forward thinking people to come up with a way to ensure equality in our electoral processes. Where there's a will, there is a way."

Read More: Real Election Reform | See Also: Video: Simba Kenyatta on Election Reform | Santa Cruz City Council to Consider Campaign Finance Reform Initiative

Tuesday, June 10: Bring Campaign Finance Reform to Santa Cruz

Following the SPD killing of Carlos Mejia on May 20, residents have struggled against the powers that be in Salinas. On May 25, local politicians and non-profit groups worked to quiet anti-police sentiment at the large march and statewide mobilization against police brutality held in East Salinas. On May 27, the family of Mejia filed a wrongful death legal claim against the City of Salinas, and a May 31 counter-protest was held at a pro-police rally organized by retired SPD officers and law enforcement families. Additionally, public pressure led the SPD on May 28 to release the department's policy manual on the use of deadly force.

The killing of Carlos Mejia was the third police killing by the SPD to occur in a short time span: on May 9, Osman Hernandez was shot and killed outside of the Mi Pueblo market on Alisal and Sanborn, and on March 20, Angel Ruiz was shot and killed outside of a Wingstop restaurant. All of this has been set against the larger narrative of law enforcement misconduct in Monterey County, which has been characterized by the alleged targeting of Hispanic individuals by King City Police, as well as the killing under mysterious circumstances of a man in Big Sur by a Monterey Sheriff.

May 25: Anti-Police Signs Not Allowed at Salinas March Against Police Brutality | Salinas Marches Against Police Brutality | Peace Police and Counterinsurgency in Salinas | Statewide Solidarity Grows With Salinas Community As Local Powers Attempt To Censor And Undermine The Peoples' Actions | Police Brutality & Counter-Insurgency in Salinas | Discussing Salinas and Oxnard on KDVS in Davis | May 25th Salinas Rally/March Against Police Brutality | Salinas on May 25 by Bruce Neuburger, Lettuce Wars

En Español: La policía de paz y contrainsurgencia en Salinas

May 27: Claim Filed Against City Seeks Admission Salinas Police Wrongfully Killed Carlos Mejia

May 31: Salinas P.D. Kills Three. Let's Have a Rally! | Counter-Protesters Question Unconditional Support for SPD at Pro-Police Rally

See Also: SPD Releases Use of Force 'Policy Manual' | Oakland Bannerdrop in Solidarity with Salinas | 2014 Monterey County Law Enforcement Misconduct Timeline | Salinas: "No Es Justo" by Lil Tony Mc (Song and Video) | Salinas Police Procedures and Killings Challenged by Citizens of Salinas | M.E.Ch.A de UCSC in Solidarity with the City of Salinas!

Previous Coverage: Salinas Police Kill Three People in Last Three Months

Recently, students at UC Santa Cruz reported to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) that two incidents of "serious racial bullying" had occurred on the university's campus. In response, the Santa Cruz Branch of the NAACP together with the UCSC Women's Center organized a "March and Prayer Vigil to Stop Hate Crimes and Racial Bullying in Our Community" on May 29. Community members, including students from UCSC, marched down Pacific Avenue and to the Town Clock where songs were sung and a prayer vigil was held.

Presently, the victims of the racial bullying wish to remain anonymous but Deborah Hill-Alston, the President of the Santa Cruz Branch of the NAACP, said the university is investigating the incidents and she is confident they will handle the matter properly. Hill-Alston did not want to go into the specifics, but she did say that the incidents were ongoing and had occurred recently. The incidents involved the use of improper language and threats which were made on campus to more than one student. According to the NAACP, incidents of racial misconduct are "constantly" taking place in the wider community as well as at local schools, from kindergarten to the university. "I want my kids to be educated in a safe environment," Hill-Alston told the group at the Town Clock.

"We need to hold our institutions accountable for setting systems in place that will change behavior, re-educate their members, and protect young people from the life-long scars of hate and prejudice. Please help us to focus on racism in our community and find peaceful solutions for the future," an announcement for the vigil stated.

Read More with Photos and Video

At approximately 2:45am on May 28, the University of California, Santa Cruz Student Union Assembly (SUA) passed a resolution calling for divestment from companies that profit from Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians with a majority vote of 22-14. While official discussion of the Divestment Bill was scheduled at 11pm, a SUA member motioned at approximately 8:15 to indefinitely table the bill. The motion failed, and the Divestment testimonials were initiated at 11:30pm.

Following the three hour debate, the first SUA vote on the resolution revealed widespread support for Divestment landing just shy of the necessary two-thirds majority. SUA representatives then voted to suspend the SUA bylaw dictating a two-thirds majority, instead requiring only a simple majority vote to pass the resolution. The resolution passed 22-14, a marked improvement over the previous 2013 UCSC Divestment Resolution, which failed 17-19.

The resolution was authored by members of the Committee for Justice in Palestine, a UCSC registered student organization, and endorsed by the UCSC chapters of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, Autonomous Students, and the Muslim Student Association. The resolution was also endorsed by several off-campus organizations such as Boycott from Within, the Santa Cruz Palestine Israel Action Committee, and the University of Cape Town Palestine Solidarity Forum.

Read More | See Also: Committee for Justice in Palestine at UCSC Moves Divestment Bill Forward

On Saturday, May 24, people all around the world united, including in Santa Cruz, California, to March Against Monsanto, calling for the permanent boycott of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and other harmful agro-chemicals. Marches occurred on six continents, in 52 countries, with events in over 400 cities. In the USA, demonstrations were held in 47 states.

The Santa Cruz rally and march was organized by GMO-Free Santa Cruz. The group’s main focus coalesced around Proposition 37 to Label GMOs in California. The March Against Monsanto (MAM) movement was founded by Tami Monroe Canal in response to the failure of Proposition 37 in California, a 2012 ballot initiative that would have required labeling many of the food products made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Canal says she was inspired to start the movement to protect her two daughters. “Monsanto’s predatory business and corporate agricultural practices threatens their generation’s health, fertility and longevity. MAM supports a sustainable food production system. We must act now to stop GMOs and harmful pesticides.”

Read More with Photos | GMO-Free Right to Know! Santa Cruz

On May 20, officers with the Salinas Police Department shot and killed Carlos Mejia outside of a bakery at the corner of Del Monte and Sanborn. They said he posed a threat because he was carrying garden shears. The killing was preceded by the SPD killing of Osman Hernandez at Mi Pueblo Market on May 9, and Angel Ruiz on March 20. Angel was shot by three Salinas Police Officers simultaneously in a Wing Stop parking lot. A video of the Carlos Mejia killing went viral, and on May 21 hundreds of people took to the streets of Salinas in response.

Direct Action Monterey Network writes: "On Tuesday, May 20 two members of the Salinas Police Department murdered a man. No excuses from the SPD can justify their actions. Anyone who has watched the video can clearly see two armed thugs approach a man carrying garden shears and a bag. The two thugs proceed to follow and surround the man, then shoot and kill him. Why is the reality of the situation not obvious to everyone? Because the two armed thugs wore badges and uniforms. In some people’s eyes, the position of “Police Officer” allows these murderers to act with impunity. To many others, this only reinforces what we’ve already known: that cops exist in our community to harass, intimidate, and control us. And this string of police shootings in Salinas is nothing new, nor isolated. It is part of a growing trend of police violence that exists around the United States."

Community members are organizing in a number of ways, and a large march is planned for Sunday, May 25.

May 25: Massive March Against Salinas Police Brutality!!

Read More with Video | En Español: ¡No más violencia de la Policía!

Salinas Police Protester Arrested for 'Inciting a Riot' | SPD: End the unjust violence against East Salinas residents through unnecessary force | Statement from Assemblymember Luis Alejo: Fatal Shootings Spark Community Concern | DAMN Response to Demonstrations Against Police Violence | Burning All Illusion Tonight (Salinas Riots, PDF Poster) | Cops train to kill: Salinas police Chief says, "We do not train to shoot people in the leg"

Residents and representatives of community organizations in Santa Cruz rallied outside of the court house on May 14 to voice their strong opposition to the Governor's May revise budget, which calls for an increase in spending for jail and prison expansion. According to Californians United for A Responsible Budget (CURB), spending on corrections in the state will rise 2.9%, and total spending on prisons will top $12 billion if the budget revision is adopted. Similar rallies were also held in San Francisco, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego.

"We are out here today because we know that if we put this money toward restoring social services, and the social safety net for the state of California, that we won't be locking up as many people because these two things are directly related," said Courtney Hanson of the organization Sin Barras. "They take funding away from services that people need to survive," she said.

Sin Barras has emphasized there is $5 billion that is available right now in the budget to fund social services, yet funding to begin the expansion of medical parole, to begin an elder parole program, and to create a parole process for non-violent and non-sexual second strikers has been cut to half what it was in the Governor's January budget.

Read More with Photos and Video | Californians United for A Responsible Budget | Sin Barras

Previous Related Indybay Feature: Santa Cruz Residents Urge County to Reject State Grant Awarded for Jail Expansion