In bulldozing Santa Cruz’s de facto town square — Lot 4 and its beloved magnolias — to make way for a parking garage, affordable housing and a new library, activist Rick Longinotti argues that the city not only erased a cherished gathering space but also bent fiscal rules, risking public trust.
Rick Longinotti
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Jimmy Panetta, stop enabling Netanyahu’s violence
Activist Rick Longinotti is mourning the year of bloodshed in Gaza, Lebanon, Israel and the West Bank. He is deeply disturbed by the support he sees our local congressional representative, Jimmy Panetta, giving to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Monday, Oct. 7, he and other activists are organizing to bring requests to end support to Panetta and grieve those lost to war.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Let’s celebrate the legacy of Celia and Peter Scott’s environmentalism – and think about the future of Highway 1
Environmental activist Rick Longinotti celebrates the work of Santa Cruz environmentalists and political activists Celia and Peter Scott, who are set to be honored May 3 with other activists as part of the Reel Work Film Festival. Without their efforts, Longinotti writes, Santa Cruz would not have local treasures like Wilder Ranch State Park, the Pogonip or Arana Gulch. He also points to current debates about Highway 1 widening and insists we need to follow the Scotts’ lead and think about alternatives.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
High-rises south of Laurel in Santa Cruz? Is it wise to build in areas that will see climate change flooding?
The City of Santa Cruz is proposing a change in zoning south of Laurel Street downtown to allow 12-story buildings and require 20% affordable units. A community group has qualified for ballot Measure M, which would require a vote of the people for height-increasing building changes to city zoning. It will also mandate 25% affordable units. Activist Rick Longinotti has questions about the zoning plan as it relates to climate change.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Why do other communities have better transportation options than Santa Cruz?
An equitable transportation system is a matter of political will; other communities have better transit and safer streets, writes Rick Longinotti of the Campaign for Sustainable Transportation. In a Community Voices opinion piece, he outlines how the likes of Boulder and San Francisco have succeeded and invites Santa Cruz County residents to the Transportation Justice Conference on Aug. 26 in Aptos.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Highway 1 futility: Why you might soon be spending more time in traffic
Activist Rick Longinotti warns Highway 1 commuters about two county projects he believes will make traffic around Santa Cruz worse: the exit-only lane from Soquel Drive to 41st Avenue and a proposal for a Kaiser Permanente medical complex in Live Oak. The first will cause congestion and won’t bring improvement, he writes, while the second is misplaced and would “call for a 730-space parking structure, 50% larger than the current largest garage in the county.” Kaiser, he argues, should build so employees and patients have access to public transit.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Santa Cruz’s parking garage mistake: It would undermine library project, make affordable housing harder
Santa Cruz voters delivered a historic “no” vote on Measure F last month. Rick Longinotti attributes this to mistrust in city government. Longinotti believes city staff buried a consultant’s downtown parking strategic plan to win city council support for a new parking garage to be constructed along with a new downtown library.