Paula Gregoire: Save Paula’s Cottage

On September 9, 2014, Paula Gregoire, her mother also named Paula, and her daughter Isabella, spoke before the Santa Cruz City Council against the city's inhumane rental inspection program. The cruel and invasive ordinance was pushed through in August 2010 in a 5-1 vote by the gentrifying forces of the Santa Cruz City Council with pressure and backing from UC Santa Cruz.

[Video (5:54): Paula Gregoire interviewed by KION's Marissa Schwartz in front of Santa Cruz City Hall on September 9, 2014. Download Video (70MB)]

The circumstances faced by Paula and Isabella — homelessness and couch surfing — resonate with thousands of people struggling to pay rent and survive in Santa Cruz, as well as people who have already been priced out of town.

Standing in front of city hall, Paula spoke with Marissa Schwartz of Monterey reporting for KION, a CBS affiliate based in Salinas.

In the accompanying video of Paula being interviewed by KION's Marissa Schwartz, Paula explains that she and her parents have fully cooperated with the city of Santa Cruz and worked to bring her cottage home up to code, however the city's only response has been to red-tag her home while insisting that she and her ten-year-old daughter Isabella find somewhere else to live.

For more information on the fight to Save Paula's Cottage, the Santa Cruz rental ordinance, and UC Santa Cruz, please see:

Community Members Rally to 'Save Paula's Cottage'
Longtime Santa Cruz Residents Forced Out of Town by City and UCSC
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/09/07/18761261.php

The Santa Cruz Rental Ordinance and You
Rental Inspections to Drive Up Rent in Santa Cruz
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/05/18/18679986.php

They Pledged Your Tuition
An Open Letter to UC Students
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/12/03/18631358.php