What The Catalyst means to Santa Cruz’s music scene, its culture and its sense of itself
With The Catalyst in the news as the possible site of a new downtown housing development, maybe it’s time for a reminder of just how influential and central this performance venue has been to Santa Cruz’s musical subcultures. Read more from Wallace Baine.
OPINION: Let’s not call the new rail-trail plan a ‘peace deal’: Paving over rail for 20 years rejects voters’ will
Local activist and yoga instructor Mark Stephens argues that the Koenig–Keeley “peace deal” approved last week by the RTC is not a harmless compromise but a 20-year removal of rail service that effectively kills future commuter rail in Santa Cruz County. He notes that voters overwhelmingly rejected that idea in 2022, when 73% voted against Measure D’s trail-only vision. Stephens warns that paving over tracks would make restoring rail economically and politically impossible, despite claims of a temporary fix. He urges officials to honor the public mandate and take any plan that eliminates rail back to the ballot box. Read his Community Voices opinion piece here.
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