Dead Central UC Santa Cruz

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I took my son to check out UCSC where he will be attending college next year and made it to Dead Central. There was a nice exhibit and if one wanted to do a real deep dive they have the records . I was a little underwhelmed by Dead Central but absolutely loved the campus and the Forrest it's located in . I'm really excited for my son to begin his next chapter in Santa Cruz. 

I agree on the beautiful, forested campus! I visited recently and thought the GD "archive" exhibit was on the small side but does feature some really cool stuff. FYI, the contents do get periodically rotated with stuff that is apparently warehoused  close-by but that had been delayed due to the COVID closure and is probably due to be swapped out anytime now. Next time I swing through there I want to actually see/handle some of my old decorated GDTS envelopes that can be "ordered up" and put on hold in the records dept upstairs via email 2 weeks in advance. 

I would imagine that your son is fully stoked to be heading there for school, etc.!!

I had the same thoughts when I visited there -- thought the exhibit room would be 10 times larger, LOL, like why wouldn't it be? 

I tried to go there while in California last year because I was going to Santa Cruz area pretty regularly... it was always closed, so instead I'd go exploring up at UCSC's botanical garden. 

It's difficult to get a job there, too -- I tried!

I did find a few interesting taco places if you ever want recommendations.

Santa Cruz where Dead Heads were banned from the homeless shelters in the 80's.

Knew a lady that worked for the city of Santa Cruz in the 80-90's

At the end of tour the food stamp office would get flooded with tourheads

At one point the city sued Jerry for all the money back they had given to deadheads

a judge threw the case out

just an amazing piece of property and an absolute gem.

1 of my kids went there as well. she wrote a field guide for the botanic garden.

your son will have a great time. i love that town, warts and all

Went there a few months after it opened and glad that they turned the stuff over to UC.  I remember when they opened it they advertised for a curator and for a moment, I thought that would be perfect...but didn't take the leap.  They do rotate the exhibits/materials so if you in the area, well worth it

 

Santa Cruz, what a place to excel, heaven on earth.

Great Job Dad ! Good luck to yer boy

>>>the campus and the Forrest it's located in

For years the University has been cutting down swaths of redwoods to expand the campus and has plans to take the expansion all the way to it's furthest boundary (miles away).  FWIW the university, and to an extent, the student body, are considered a blight by some in the area. 

The university, being a State entity, is not easily constrained by local growth ordinances, and in an area where there has never been enough water or housing to go around, this is a huge issue.  And it's not like we don't get enough rain, or have suitable sites (old quarries) for new reservoirs, we do. But the problem is that no proposal for this type of project has a chance because anything that is even remotely considered an environment issue is voted down by the student body (more on this later). 

And I am all for protecting the environment, but again, we have a number of large abandoned quarries with year round creeks that flow through them (the one above Davenport for one).  I got in a discussion with an environmental studies student friend who said we can't create ANY new reservoirs, even in these hideous scabs on the landscape, because those creeks used to have salmon that spawned there.  Well, guess what, that ship sailed when they decided to mine limestone to build San Francisco... those fish are gone and they're never coming back.

So not only do the students put added pressure on an already insanely expensive and competitive rental market, they get to vote on local issues.  And since the majority of UCSC students are not local and are claimed as dependents by their (mostly wealthy) out of town parents, they contribute very little to nothing in the way of tax revenue for the city/county, yet the student body vote regularly swings every local election.  I am fine with them voting, but just have them vote in local elections where their parents are paying taxes where their family actually has some skin in the game.

Speaking of skin, our housing prices have gone absolutely bananas in the past few years and so have property taxes. Even with Prop 13, the county can still assess at the currently appraised rate and increase taxes by a small percentage every year, year after year and to add extra pain, there are new bond measures that are supposed to pay for things like libraries, busses, etc, and they ALWAYS pass thanks to the student body who supports any 'cause' of this ilk.  I'm not against this type of infrastructure per se, but when it's the same causes decade after decade while major infrastructure issues (roads/traffic, water, support for business) are ignored, it really begins to feel like a ponzi scheme.

Bottom line is that the locals are under the constant strain of ever increasing rent, taxes, water bills (along with forced water rationing), traffic, etc, while the University continues to expand unchecked and it's non-contributing, mostly transient student body drives up rental prices and pretty much has the final say in all areas of local politics. Yay.  Of course the politicians pander to the student voting block and remain willingly toothless when it comes to fighting the State over UC expansion/water rights, so things just get worse for the locals while the University and politicians gets rich and the students live in la la land until it's time to leave the area for someplace that's pro business where they can get a good job (and/or a place that's affordable).

And in the interest of full disclosure, I was raised in a staunch Republican family and came to absolutely despise most of their values, but I have also seen one of the country's most 'progressive' local governments (politically speaking) here in Santa Cruz fail and fleece their residents decade after decade in crucial areas while lining their's, their family's and their political friends' pockets, so I guess it's just not possible for me to be as black and white about politics as many people here (or those other nutters over in the 'fox news zone').

OK, now that I got that off my chest I'm going to go for a nice relaxing bike ride in the Redwoods on a really shitty concrete road (Glenwood) that literally hasn't been repaved since it was first built over a hundred years ago, but at least on the shit roads I don't have to deal with all the pissed off drivers commuting home in slow traffic from Santa Clara (where all the good jobs are).

Jeez.

And people give me shit for the length of MY posts.

I love getting a shitty hotel room by the boardwalk and eating late night Mexican food. 

 

I know how underwhelming everything in Santa Cruz is to most jaded visitors but I never talk anyone out of going because I love going there. 

Thanks, Hall. You not only brought the local picture, but beat Lance at his own game.

< people give me shit for the length of

LOL

Because of you I hear admin's creating an entirely new category called ' Manifestos '

Yer a good sport bro, ya know if  I didn't love ya I wouldn't fuck with you at all.

>>>shitty concrete road (Glenwood)

 

fun fact: That road was the first in the US to slope the curves instead of grading them flat.