REPORTS

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

By J.D. Hillard | KUSP News
The memorial for Butch Baker and Elizabeth Butler, Santa Cruz police officers killed in the line of duty, was attended by the governor and included euglogies from the Attorney General and former defense secretary Leon Panetta.

Loma Prieta volunteer firefighters salute as the funeral motorcades passes on Highway 17. Photo: Richard Masoner/Cyclelicious/flickr

At the HP Pavilion in San Jose, in a ceremony that ranged through gravitas, laughter and tears, Santa Cruz and the State of California memorialized Detective Elizabeth Butler and Detective Sergeant Loran “Butch ” Baker today San Jose.

The event continued for hours and included memorials from family members and speeches from luminaries of government. Santa Cruz Chief of Police Kevin Vogel spoke fist describing Baker, who was a 28-year veteran of the force as a tenacious investigator always ready with a joke. Vogel has described Elizabeth Butler, who’d been an officer for 10 years, as a caring person with a drive for justice. He said it was an ideal skill set for a police officer.

Vogel painted a picture of two officers dedicated to righting wrongs and their community. He stressed that Jeremy Goulet, who killed Baker and Butler last week before dying himself in a shootout with police, would have gained fair treatment from them.

Leon Panetta, former congressman for the Monterey Bay area and until this year, secretary of defense, compared the detectives to soldiers who died defending the nation. He said he had seen a pattern in the military. Often among veterans of combat. Soldiers who needed counseling and didn’t seek or receive it and were not arrested when they committed crimes. Friends and superiors would turn their heads, he said. Panetta argued Butler and Baker, were the counter example, by investigating a charge of sexual assault they were taking a step to protect the public from violence.

Until his recent election Santa Cruz county Supervisor Zach Friend was a crime analyst for the Santa Cruz Police Department. He acknowledged the distress the detective’s killing had caused in the department and the community. He noted the outpouring to sympathy and support the department had seen and compared the event to a natural disaster. The killing was an “emotional earthquake,” he said.

Attendees at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz watched the ceremony on a large video screen. Jon Bombaci, a fellow Santa Cruz City employee, said he’d appreciated the professionalism he’d seen in Baker. Tia Moon said she’d come to show support and respect for the dead officers. As soon as she’d heard about the shootin she’d called her children to make sure they were safe, she said. Moon’s sentiment is pretty common in Santa Cruz, and beyond. With the nationwide attention the killing has gained it seems it’s close to home for a lot of people.

Photo: Stephen Laufer/KUSP

It’s a testament to how many people Sgt. Loran “Butch” Baker and Officer Elizabeth Butler had helped that an entire city government and two police forces feel the need to provide their staff’s with grief counseling.

Both Watsonville Police Chief Manny Solano and Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel had been partners with Baker. A practical joker with a presence that invited strangers to strike up conversations. Read more about Baker in Julie Reynolds Profile of Butch Baker from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Vogel said of Butler, that she was known for her sensitivity and tenacity in investigating sex crimes.  She was capable of  earning trust from people who had recently seen their trust abused in horrible ways. Read more about Butler in the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s Profile.

Photo: Stephen Laufer/KUSP

By J.D. Hillard
Jeremy Peter Goulet, whom Sheriff Phil Wowak says killed two detectives in Santa Cruz Tuesday, left the scene carrying a ticket to New Mexico and his passport.

These are among the details investigators are using to determine Goulet’s motives and intentions. He had a criminal history including an arrest for rape in Hawaii and other sex-related crimes. The 35-year-old man had moved to Santa Cruz within the past two or three months and had briefly held a job here. He had become a suspect in an incident of inappropriate touching of a minor that was under investigation by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

Friday, Feb. 22, he was arrested for public drunkenness at his home on North Branciforte Avenue. Within a couple days of that arrest, he was accused of misdemeanor sexual assault. That  category of the law includes acts like groping and threatening violence while groping. That accusation led to his firing from his job. And it was the charge Detectives Butch Baker and Elizabeth Butler had hoped to question him about. Some excellent articles about Goulet, from UCSC professor and AP reporter Martha Medoza, from Vivian Ho and other Chronicle Reporters, and from the Sentinel.

Goulet spoke to the detectives through a closed door, then disappeared and came from another direction, shooting and killing them both, Wowak said. They didn’t get a chance to radio for help, nor defend themselves. A few minutes later, Goulet fired on a team of police officers searching for him, and the fired back, killing him.

Investigators found three handguns on Goulet’s body, including two that had probably been taken from the slain detectives. He was wearing detective Baker’s bullet proof vest, probably taken from Baker’s car. He also had a ticket for a flight this week to New Mexico and his passport.

Santa Cruz police were relieved of public duty shortly after  the time of the shooting. Meanwhile, emergency calls and patrols were covered by the Sheriff’s Office and CHP. Officers and staff participated in grief counseling. In fact, Wowak said, member of his own office were speaking to counselors, and Mayor Hilary Bryant noted Santa Cruz city staff were as well, a testament to how many people had worked with and esteemed Butler and Baker. SCPD was expected to return to duty Friday morning.

A memorial is planned for Baker and Butler at the Kaiser Permanente Arena Thursday, March 7th at 11 am. Santa Cruz Chief of Police Kevin Vogel said he expected thousands to participate and was seeking overflow venues.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

By J.D. Hillard

At a press conference Wednesday, Santa Cruz Chief of Police Kevin Vogel memorialized Detectives Elizabeth Butler and Butch Baker, who died in a shooting Tuesday. While Santa Cruz Police participated in grief counseling or other forms of mourning, SherifF Phil Wowak said the public still had all the police protection they are accustomed to. The California Highway Patrol and Sheriff’s office would be patrolling the streets until SCPD is ready to return to duty.

Investigators released more information about the shooting. Butler and Baker had gone to the home of the suspect, Jeremy Goulet, to question him about a misdemeanor sexual assault. Goulet had multiple criminal charges in his background, including a recent arrest for public drunkenness. Investigators later learned that he had made statements to acquaintances about committing acts of violence, especially against police. Sheriff Phil Wowak said goulet shot and killed Baker and Butler, then took their guns.

Officers arriving on the scene determined a killer was loose. They organized teams following tactics aimed at finding and killing or capturing a violent armed person. Goulet encountered multiple of these teams before he fired shots. The officers he had shot at fired back, killing him. Wowak said the team had likely prevented more violence.

Wowak said Goulet had three guns on his person when he died. Two of these were likely the guns taken from the slain officers. He was also wearing body armor that may have been taken from one of the officers’ car.

Both of the slain officers were remembered as remarkable investigators and had been detectives for several years. Baker had trained or served along side numerous officers who are now senior member of the police department, including the Chief of Police. Wowak said Santa Cruz Police officers would begin returning to their regular duties Friday, or whenever they feel ready.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

A memorial in front of the Santa Cruz Police station. Photo: J.D. Hillard

By J.D. Hillard | KUSP News

Monterey Bay area law enforcement agencies are grieving after an incident yesterday that left two Santa Cruz Police Officers dead along with the man suspected of killing them.

At about 3:30 pm, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputies and Santa Cruz police officers responded to a report that officers had been involved in an altercation with shots fired. They found Detective Elizabeth Butler, and Detective Loran “Butch” Baker both with gunshot wounds in front of the Branciforte Avenue home of 35-year-old Jeremy Peter Goulet. There was an effort to resuscitate them, but they succumbed.

Firefighters provided light Monday night, as investigators searched for evidence in the incident that left two officers and one suspect dead. Photo: J.D. HIllard

With the awareness that a killer was loose, police locked down the surrounding neighborhood. Children and families were rushed from the playground of the nearby Branciforte small schools and locked down in the building. Sheriff Phil Wowak explains that team organized to search for the shooter encountered Goulet about half a block away. Goulet fired on them. They returned fire and killed him. The surrounding neighborhood and schools were locked down for hours as law enforcement conducted a house to house search to ensure there was no other suspect.

Flags lowered at a SCPD press conference Wednesday morning. Photo: J.D. Hillard

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

By Wes Sims

A mural reminds shoppers to bring their own bags at the Aptos Safeway whose owner may displace several businesses. Photo: Wes Sims.

Demolition is underway in Aptos for a low-income apartment complex across the street from the Rancho del Mar Shopping Center.  It might be a preview of what’s ahead for the shopping center itself in a couple of years if grocery giant, Safeway gets its way. 

Rancho delMar was built 50-years ago, covering 2-tenths of a mile along a sloping portion of Soquel Drive.  Safeway is at the uppermost, northern end, with retailers lined up to the south.  In February, Safeway Inc. purchased the shopping center from the original owner.  Now, it wants to demolish everything on the south end, raise the elevation, and re-build there.

Mitigating Construction Effects

Charles Eadie is with Hamilton Swift; a local land-use consulting firm hired by Safeway to mitigate the environmental elements of the project.

“There will be obviously effects in terms of dump trucks and construction vehicles, and that will all have to get analyzed in great detail.” Eadie says. “And what you do once you have an understanding of the scope of it, then you devise ways of managing that traffic and managing the timing of it in order to minimize the disruption.”

That shouldn’t be a problem, according to general engineering contractor, Greg Nohrden, who owns Santa Cruz Underground and Paving … not associated with Safeway.

“Everything is so regulated.  You can’t have dust, you can’t bring dirt out onto the road, anything that gets onto the road will be swept up, you can’t impede traffic, you have to get an approved traffic plan,” Nohrden says.

Displaced Businesses

But the mechanics of this project are only half the battle. Land use consultant, Deidre Hamilton, was shouted down at the most recent public meeting put on by Safeway.

“I hope you guys are teaching your kids to be more respectful than you’re being,” one audience member shouted. “The anger here, you need to address that.”

The anger centers on Safeway’s plan to demolish fourteen businesses where its new store would go.  Displaced merchants could then rent space in the old Safeway building, as well as new space to the south.  Safeway’s Architect was repeatedly interrupted as he tried to show slides of his design proposal.

Terry Foltz has owned Aptos Burger for eleven years. His restaurant is one of the  fourteen businesses slated for the wrecking ball. Foltz doesn’t know if he can afford to be displaced for up to 2 years. But he says he’s not just worried about his own future.

“I know all these other businesses.  They’re not businesses.  They’re people,” Foltz says. “They’re people that actively participate in our community and provide a service that our community uses too.  You know, all these businesses are viable.  Every one of them.  They’re all worth something.  And what’s going to happen here with the expansion and me having to close, it leaves my business worth nothing.”

Safeway has made a grant to fund advisors and consultants to help Rancho Del Mar businesses respond to the development. More on that in part two of this series.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Shakespeare Santa Cruz's festival glen will serve as the venue for the world premier of The Man in the Iron Mask. Photo: Courtesy of Shakespeare Santa Cruz

By J.D. Hillard

Two series continue in this season of Shakespeare Santa Cruz: Falstaff and the Henry dynasty pick up where they left off in Henry IV. Henry IV part two tells the story of the rise of Prince Hal to succeed his father and become Henry V — that play is scheduled for next season.

The Man in the Iron Mask continues the story of the Three Musketeers. Scott Wentworth, who has played numerous roles in Shakespeare Santa Cruz wrote the play and the festival hopes it will b performed by other companies.

Also this season, artistic director Marco Barricelli directs Twelfth Night.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz website. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Ann Altstatt's "On Mapping Various Points" combines landscapes with the graphs generated by sonar mapping of ocean floor geology. Image courtesy of Ann Altstatt.

By Melissae Fellet

When you’re up close to Ann Altstatt’s artwork in the earth • science • art show in Santa Cruz  jagged black lines like TV static dominate the picture. But as you walk backwards, a familiar landscape of Point Sur appears on the pale blue paper. It’s not a typical abstract mixed media: She’s portraying the scientific work of geologist Sam Johnson.

“So what Ann has done is draw the landscape [and] juxtapose [that] with the imagery that tells us how that landscape formed,” Johnson says.

Geologist Sam Johnson and printmaker Ann Altstatt discuss seafloor fault maps at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz. Credit: Lisa Hochstein

He maps the location and motion of underwater faults stretching along the California coast for the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center. Johnson is one of 16 USGS scientists who partnered with local artists for the exhibit at the R. Blitzer Gallery. Artist Lisa Hochstein organized and curated the exhibit, which runs through July 7^th.

“My little experiment was: What would happen if you mixed these two groups of people together?” Hochstein says. “What would they come up with? Would they want to work together?”

For this artist-scientist pair, the answer was yes. Altstatt studied geology in school and instantly understood Johnson’s love of maps.

To make a map, Johnson first needs information about the rocks under the ocean. He collects some of that information by bouncing sound waves off the layers of sediment below the seafloor. Reflected sound waves generate those TV static patterns that Altstatt used in her work. Only a trained eye like Johnson’s can interpret patterns in the static that indicate faults.

And that’s just some of the data Johnson uses to make a map. “The creativity is in how you combine information to generate a map,” he says. “Where the art comes is pushing the envelope in looking at landscape in new and different ways.”

bending of the San Gregorio fault as it reaches around Point Reyes influences how that point of land formed. Data from USGS. Image by Melissae Fellet.

One story emerging from these fault maps involves coastal projections like Point Reyes, north of San Francisco. In the ocean just south of the point, the San Gregorio fault splits into two pieces. One piece heads inland to join the San Andreas Fault. The other turns left towards the ocean. Land squeezed between these two faults rises to form the point.

Altstatt visited Año Nuevo, which is one of places where this process is potentially happening. “Looking at point Año Nuevo, up to Franklin Point and Pigeon Point, [I remember] feeling like my experience of this place is another form of remote sensing,” she says.

Just like Johnson uses sound waves to map unseen faults, Altstatt’s view of the landscape was another way to sense the geology offshore.

So in her piece, she layered paintings of four different coastal points with the static-like sound wave data Johnson collects. Altstatt also included maps of faults along the coast and lines that Johnson draws through the data as he interprets patterns in the static.

“Through the different layers of imagery that I’m using in the piece, I’m trying to follow some of the process that Sam would go through in taking data, and mapping an area and coming up with a story of the history of that place,” she says. “For me, it’s a way of describing the wonderment of being in a place and…imagining different ways of understanding how it’s come to be that way.”

“I told her that what she’d done was kind of what I imagined when I was dreaming about the science that I was doing,” Johnson says. “Ann’s art captured that state where it’s kind of all swirling around in an interesting pattern and hasn’t quite come together into the story or interpretation.”

earth • science • art exhibits scientific research next to the art it inspires. What’s really on display is the creativity and experimentation that artists and scientists use to explain how our world works.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

J.D. Hillard — Shoppers in Santa Cruz County today are getting some encouragement to reuse shopping bags. KUSP’s J.D. Hillard reports that with free reusable bags and other inducements, city governments and stores hope fewer plastic bags will end up in the environment.

The ocean environmental group Save Our Shores organized today as Bring Your Own Bag day in Santa Cruz County. Watsonville’s Mi Pueblo Foods, Several Safeways and other stores will be offering free reusable grocery bags. New Leaf natural food stores already makes a donation on behalf of shoppers who reuse bags; they’ll double that donation for the day. Laura Kasa is the executive director of Save Our Shores, the organization also organizes beach cleanups, where plastic grocery bags make up a significant part of the garbage collected.

More information about Bring You Own Bag day at saveourshores.org