Wallace Baine recounts his chance parking garage meeting with Tom Lehrer, the brilliant but reclusive musical satirist who spent many years in Santa Cruz and died Saturday at 97.
Commentary
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‘We are going to survive this’: After cuts to public broadcasting, radio station KAZU fights to keep local news alive
For local fans of NPR, the major cuts to public broadcasting are a blow, though not necessarily a knockout. But taken together with the CBS decision to cancel Stephen Colbert, these two developments mean a serious corrosion of public confidence in the media.
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America is facing a moment of reckoning on political violence
In the aftermath of political killings in Minnesota and tense Los Angeles protests, Wallace Baine talks to Santa Cruz activist Nane Alejandrez of Barrios Unidos about why we need to embrace MLK’s philosophy of nonviolence.
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After Saturday’s nationwide wave of protest, it’s time for a new Woodstock to unite America
After the nationwide “No Kings” political rallies, it’s time for the anti-authoritarians in the entertainment world to step up, with a concert so game-changing that people will be talking about 50 years from now.
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When are America’s artists going to answer the call to protest? June 14 would be a good time to start
A small Santa Cruz theater troupe called Dangerous Neighbors is putting on a show of sketch comedy called “Deflating Fascism,” on the same day that Donald Trump will preside over a showy military parade on his own birthday. It’s a tiny step, but a sharp reminder that it’s time for America’s creative artists to stand against the country’s slide into authoritarianism.
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Memorial Day 2025: What they died for then is still worth the fight now
In recent years, Memorial Day has been misunderstood as a celebration of the military. It’s really a time to remember those who never came back and to find the relevance of their sacrifice to our lives today.
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Other states do housing better than California; a new study shows how they do it
Terrible trio of a too small housing supply, too high living costs and too many homeless people plague California. A study says metro areas elsewhere are more pro-housing.
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In defense of ‘performative’: When they go low, put on a show
In the realm of political activism, theatrical is better. Fighting Donald Trump effectively might mean embracing the “performative” aspects of politics. Santa Cruz should be very good at the theatrical parts of public protest.