[A-List] Institutionalized Racism In Santa Cruz Journalism

["Leigh Meyers" <the.buffalo.in.the.midst@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dog bites man, but this is insidious

With the current socio-cultural makeup of Santa Cruz's population,
this this looks like an attempt to drive a small,
unnoticeable-at-first wedge between the local latino community & UCSC
students, who already think the local population of Santa Cruz hate
them because of UC's weed-like growth plan.

Open Letter:

Regarding "Drunken UCSC student hits, kills cyclists, CHP says"
By Jennifer Squires Sentinel staff writer

Ms. Squires,

You might note, I'm 'white'. Male, in my 50s. I've been riding a
bicycle as my main method of transport for over ten years now after
retiring from OTR truck driving, and all drivers scare the living crap
out of me, no matter what their color or gender, or religious beliefs.

In modern American culture, cars are inherently deadly weapons in the
hands of adolescents.

Adult adolescents, AND the ones under 20-something too.

But to the point... I do have one.

I have zero tolerance for institutionalized racism.

[...] "The bicyclist, who carried no ID, had not been identified late
Friday. He was a Latino male riding a 21-speed mountain bike without a
helmet, according to the CHP.

***Investigators said they don't know why he was out or where he was
going.***" [...]

I am thoroughly inclined to believe if the victim of this tragedy were
a white male, that question would have NEVER been asked, I'm sorry,
...answer... published.

After I send this missive to you, I am contacting every Latino
organization in the Santa Cruz area with a copy, and I've lived here
for a long time... I know a few.

I also have many latino friends who would like to know that the Santa
Cruz Sentinel is institutionally racist (the ones who don't already
know) in it's editorial policies regarding people of color.

Expect to hear from them.

Have a nice day, Leigh Meyers


Drunken UCSC student hits, kills cyclists, CHP says
By Jennifer Squires Sentinel staff writer

SOQUEL â A UC Santa Cruz sophomore allegedly driving drunk hit and
killed a bicyclist early Friday, the California Highway Patrol
reported.

Suleiman Hodali, 19, was less than three blocks from his Thurber Lane
home when he allowed his pickup truck to drift toward the side of the
road and strike an unidentified bicyclist, according to the CHP.

The bicyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. Hodali was uninjured.

This is the second fatality believed to involve alcohol in the county
this week and the fourth this year.

"People need to take this seriously," CHP officer Grant Boles said.
"That should upset people, that innocent people are being killed by
drunk drivers"

Hodali is a Porter College student who lives off campus, according to
school and arrest records.

He had a blood-alcohol level 11/2 to 2 times the legal limit for
people over 21 as he drove north up Thurber Lane around 3:15 a.m.,
Boles said.

The bicyclist, also traveling north on Thurber, was allegedly hit by
the right front corner of Hodali's 2002 Toyota Tacoma when the truck
drifted toward the outside of the road, according to the CHP.
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"He was thrown through some brush and landed on Sequoia Drive," Boles
said of the bicyclist.

Hodali stopped shortly after the collision. Two people witnessed the
crash and one called 911, Boles said.

Preliminary investigation shows "this 19-year-old's at fault," Boles
said. He added that CHP officers are looking into where Hodali
obtained the alcohol and said others could face prosecution for
providing alcohol to a minor.

Hodali, who grew up in the Los Angeles area, was arrested and booked
into County Jail on suspicion of felony drunken driving and gross
vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. His bail was set at
$100,000, which is higher than the standard for those crimes.

The bicyclist, who carried no ID, had not been identified late Friday.
He was a Latino male riding a 21-speed mountain bike without a helmet,
according to the CHP. Investigators said they don't know why he was
out or where he was going.

Coroner's Office detectives said they might be able to identify him
today through fingerprints.

Five people died in alcohol-related crashes in the county in 2006. By
comparison, four people have died in suspected DUI crashes in the
first five months of this year, according to Boles.

On Monday evening, a 20-year-old Boulder Creek woman died after she
was hit by a suspected drunken driver as she walked home along Highway
9.

"That's why we take this stuff very seriously," he said. "We want to
get drunk drivers before they crash. That's one of our main
priorities.

Contact Jennifer Squires at jsquires@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fatal collisions this year

The California Highway Patrol says Alcohol contributed to four deadly
crashes in the county this year

Jan. 1: Thomas Wahl, a 45-year-old Felton man, died at a hospital
after he crashed his sport utility vehicle on the Morrissey Boulevard
offramp. Alcohol was likely the cause of the rollover, the CHP
reported. No one else was hurt.

Jan. 29: Antoinette Soliz, 26, of Hollister is suspected of driving
drunk on northbound Highway 1 when she tried to make a U-turn near
Aptos, hit the center divide and rolled several times. Soliz's
4-year-old daughter died in the crash and seven other people,
including Soliz's two sons, were injured. She was not hurt. Soliz has
pleaded innocent to charges including vehicular homicide.

Monday: April Dawn Jackson, a 40-year-old Boulder Creek woman, was
arrested on suspicion she killed a pedestrian on Highway 9 north of
Boulder Creek around 8:30 p.m. Lauren Berglund, 20, of Boulder Creek
died after the wreck. Jackson, whose license was suspended for
previous DUI convictions, has pleaded innocent to charges including
vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence with a
blood-alcohol level higher than 0.20.

Friday: Suleiman Hodali, a 19-year-old UC Santa Cruz student,
allegedly struck and killed a man riding a bike up Thurber Lane. He
was arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving and gross
vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. The bicyclist has not been
identified.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/May/19/local/stories/08local.htm


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