Keep Santa cruz weird

The fate of this city hangs in the balance. It is undergoing a transformation as it capitulates to the pressures of economic forces, most of whom have their first concern about their own benefit. They fought an increase in local wages for everyday working people. It was $9.25/hour. This city could have led the way in fighting for economic fairness, but we fell short. It was an engineered defeat by those with the most to lose, the bosses of local business. In one case they held an illegal meeting to tell their workers that they must vote against the measure. Now the forces that led that fight have taken control of the city council and their plans are clear. They expect to make this city a welcome place for business by sacrificing the values that have made us who we are. In this case weirdness includes doing what seems at first sight to weigh against business or to put us on the map as a city with values that make waves.It is only necessary to imagine us taking the measures that Berkeley and other radical cities have taken in the past year or so. We used to stand for something nationally. But our reputation is undergoing renovation to make us more business friendly, just as we watch a Borders Books closing and Gateways Books closing. Have the city council done anything to avoid these collapses. I hardly think that the local Borders gets any sympathy on our city council. But people who are local are losing their jobs. We need to keep a Santa Cruz attitude alive as it faces the most powerful forces of co-optation it has ever met. The old anti-chamber of commerce was easy. Now the wolves are wearing wool.