August 5 – 11, 2026
Greensite… on town and gown growth… Steinbruner… Vistra… EMBER Symposium… Hayes… Bush Behavior… Patton… Graphing Reality: Who Is Up & Who Is Down… Matlock… The biggest Trump scandal in history… Eagan… Subconscious Comics and Deep Cover … Webmistress serves you… Oscar Peterson Piano lesson… Quotes on… “August”
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If you want to pitch in to
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~Webmistress
THE ODYSSEY. In Theaters. Movie. (8.5 IMDb) 
The “Helen is DEI casting!” and “Achilles is trans!” outrage tells me you looked up The Odyssey just long enough to be angry, without actually reading it or seeing the film. I’ve read it multiple times, from adolescence through university. It’s a legend Homer recorded centuries after the supposed events, preserved through oral tradition, and all the variations that adds to the story. Helen’s skin color has no significance to the story, and Achilles is already dead when The Odyssey begins. Elliot Page doesn’t play Achilles at all, but Sinon, the young man sent to war in another’s place.
Nolan’s Odyssey is a solid, faithful-ish telling, briskly told in about three hours (I know, that sounds like an oxymoron but it’s true). It adds some believable depth to Odysseus, gives Penelope less screen time than she deserves, and as a mythology geek I could nitpick the lack of spear fighting or the anachronistic Corinthian helmets instead of the Achaeans’ boar’s tusk helmets. But that’s fanboy trivia. At its heart, it’s a powerful story about responsibility and loss. Well worth a watch. Twice, if you can.
~Sarge
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. PrimeTV. Movie. (6.8 IMDb) 
Masters of the Universe (2026) was a genuine surprise. Rather than forcing the franchise into a dark, gritty reboot, it embraces the colorful, larger-than-life spirit of the original. It balances action, fantasy, and humor without winking at the audience, making the whole adventure feel sincere, fun, and delightfully goofy.
This isn’t trying to be the next great fantasy epic—it’s trying to be a Masters of the Universe movie, and it succeeds. Ignore the toxic nostalgia crowd complaining about the diverse casting of characters like Man-At-Arms, Triclops, and Ram Man, and you’ll find a tonally accurate adaptation that answers plenty of questions longtime fans have had for years (particularly namings). Stick around for the mid- and post-credit scenes. Well worth the watch.
~Sarge
QUICK LOOK AT NETFLIX. Netflix. Series, Movie. 
Here’s some stuff that’s not necessarily current, but currently on Netflix:
Veronica Mars think Buffy, but with no vampires, and lots of class conflicts, roofies … and the result … and murder in a small California coastal town. Young Kristen Bell (The Good Place) lives with her disgraced cop/now PI father, and is determined to solve the murder of her best friend, and the case that tanked her father’s career. A fun watch.
The Dead Don’t Die think Night of the Living Dead directed by Wes Anderson. Only in this case, it’s Jim Jarmusch. Zombies in a small town, with Bill Murray and Adam Driver starring. Tilda Swinton is a samurai. Much more like his 80’s films.
Mindhunter was pretty amazing, on and off; the casting for Big Ed Kemper was spot on. Period piece that follows the building of the FBI’s “profiling” division, focused on this new thing: serial killers.
The Enola Holmes movies: Sherlock (Henry Cavill)’s little sister, Enola (Alone backwards), breaks free of an attempt to ship her off to a deportment school, and takes up the family business on her own. There follow adventures, romance (on her terms), and occasional visits by her anarchist mother, Helena Bonham Carter. The first is a lot of fun, growing less (for me) as the sequels went on.
Marty: Life is Short, let’s hope it’s not for him! I love Martin Short, so this was a gem. An autobiographical history, chock full of familiar clips, as well as previously unseen personal movies, and of course a tremendous group of cameos.
~Sarge
SUPERGIRL. In theatres. Movie. (6.1 IMDb)
Supergirl is 67 years old.
In that time, she’s been through a LOT of attempts to give her her OWN story instead of just being Jr. Girl Superman. She suffers here from 1) the Manosphere complaining that she’s not cute or “feminine” enough, and 2) people stuck on an older version of her, like comparing Super Friends Aquaman to Jason Momoa.
Loosely based on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King, and honestly drawing from True Grit too, Supergirl stars Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) as Kara Zor El, who leaves Earth to escape the shadow of her cousin, Superman, and the expectations piled on her while still dealing with PTSD from the destruction of Krypton. She ends up caught in a child’s vendetta and a race against time to get medical help for Krypto (played by Krypto, from Superman).
The pacing isn’t the sharpest, but the soundtrack is a banger, the effects are great, and Jason Momoa as Lobo is a role he was born to play. Despite haters and Rotten Tomatoes, well worth a watch.
~Sarge
GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER. Netflix. Series. (6.8 IMDb)
Think Nancy Drew meets True Detective. Five years after the apparent murder of a popular high school student, aspiring journalist Pip Fitz-Amobi decides the case doesn’t add up. What begins as a school project quickly turns into a deeper investigation, uncovering secrets, lies, and long-buried resentments in a town convinced the mystery was solved years ago.
The show’s biggest strength is Pip herself (Emma Myers – Jenna Ortega’s bouncy rainbow werewolf roommate on “Wednesday”): smart, determined, and believable as an amateur sleuth. While it never gets as dark as True Detective, it avoids feeling like a watered-down teen mystery, delivering genuine suspense, credible twists, and enough suspects to keep you guessing. Based on the novel by Holly Jackson, it’s a fast, engaging binge that captures the appeal of a classic detective story while giving it a modern true-crime sensibility.
~Sarge
GOOD OMENS 3. PrimeTV. Movie. (8 IMDb)
In 1990, fantasy legend Terry Pratchett and young comic fantasy mavin Neil Gaiman collaborated on a novel built around the question, “What if the Antichrist got switched at birth?” and Good Omens was born.
In 2024, the third season of Amazon’s adaptation of the late Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens was put on hold after multiple allegations of sexual assault against Gaiman surfaced in the news.
The Amazon version of Good Omens thrived on the brilliant chemistry between David Tennant and Michael Sheen as Crowley, a demon, and Aziraphale, an angel, who have spent millennia on Earth in what increasingly resembles a Cold War marriage. Faced with the impending Apocalypse, both come to the conclusion that maybe it might be altogether better … NOT doing that.
Featuring a host of charming side stories that all somehow linked together, plus a simmering relationship between the two leads, the first season felt like a delightful Douglas Adams pastiche. Since season one adapted the novel itself, the second season came as a complete surprise. Crafted entirely by Gaiman, it leaned harder into the Crowley/Aziraphale relationship, along with a gloriously naked and amnesiac Jon Hamm as the angel Gabriel. A great deal happens, and it all ends on a heartbreaking cliffhanger.
Then came season 3 … NOT!
As allegations against Gaiman mounted, stretching from the mid-80s into relatively recent years, comics, films, and television projects tied to him began getting canceled or shelved, including Good Omens 3. Fortunately, Gaiman stepped away from the production, allowing fans to get a third season … sort of. Cut down to a single feature-length finale, it still manages to wrap up a surprising number of story threads, and may even produce a few sniffles.
Gaiman’s problematic history aside, worth a watch.
~Sarge
PANTHEON. Netflix. Series. (8.5 IMDb)
What if the threat isn’t AI? What if it’s UI: uploaded intelligence. Human brains destructively scanned, living only in the cloud. “Pantheon” explores this idea as exquisite, real science fiction. Not cheesy animated sci-fi melodrama, but a genuine exploration of love, grief, immortality, endless simulations, conspiracies, global politics, and so much more.
The animation is restrained, there to serve the story rather than distract from it. The characters are rich, not cardboard cutouts, whether good or bad. No supervillains. No Mary Sues.
It’s a dense story, so if science fiction concepts tend to lose you, this may not be for you. But if they don’t, this absolutely deserves a watch.
~Sarge
STRANGER THINGS – TALES FROM ’85. Netflix. Series. (5 IMDb)
Stranger Things exits stage left…then pops back out for one more bow.
Set between seasons 2 and 3, this animated take brings back the core crew without sanding things down for kids. It’s not anime or cheap knockoff – dipping their pens in the Spiderverse/Arcane inkwell, with a creative, stylized look. It’s also more focused than the later live-action seasons, trimming most of the adults and zeroing in on the kids. Best of all, Will Byers actually gets to be a character instead of a punching bag, helped by the addition of Niki, an Amazonian punk rocker who connects with him over their shared outsider status. The recast voices are a little jarring at first, but you should settle in. Rough reviews aside, it’s worth a watch.
~Sarge
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Sarge, aka Jeffery Sargent, cut his teeth on the Golden Age of Hollywoood on TV and with regular trips to the Sash Mill. Film classes then, at Cabrillo with Morton Marcus, broadened his scope – he found he preferred Keaton over Chaplin, and Akira Kurosawa was his Yoda. Sarge spent 15 years working in Special Effects, on everything from Starship Troopers to Battlestar Galactica. He is a staunch geek who has a weak spot for Cozy Mysteries and loathes “Reality” shows. While he doesn’t care for the unrelenting banal horror of “True Crime”, he licks his lips over a twist like the end of Chinatown. Email Sarge at JeffLSargent@gmail.com |
The photo is of the almost completed Family Student Housing (FSH) and Child Care complex at the base of the East Meadow at UCSC. It is a replacement for the current Family Student Housing and Child Care center on the westside of campus which will be bulldozed to make way for new high-rise buildings to provide three thousand additional on campus bed spaces. This additional housing is intended mostly to reduce overcrowding in existing college dorms and provide housing for graduate students.
When proposed, this new FSH and Child Care Center faced stiff opposition from campus faculty, staff and community members due to its location. UCSC lost a lot of endowments over its unpopular decision to build on the iconic East Meadow when other sites were available. Unfortunately, the new complex has fewer apartments than the existing FSH and is significantly more expensive per apartment. I’ll leave it to you to judge the aesthetics.
UCSC has grown from a student body of six thousand in 1980 to just shy of twenty thousand today. UCSC student population growth accounts for approximately half the City of Santa Cruz’s population growth since 1980.
A consistent fifty percent of students live off campus, so even though eleven thousand housing units have been built in the city over the past 50 years, the growth at UCSC exerts continued pressure on the cost and availability of rental housing. This creates a serious hardship unless you are a landlord, developer or business owner who profit from such growth. Then it’s all gravy. For everyone else, the ever-rising rents, besides impacting students, are driving lower-income workers and residents on fixed incomes to leave Santa Cruz for cheaper rental communities.
Those who see an easy solution by requiring UCSC to build more housing on campus–look at all that land! – fail to grasp that building on campus is very expensive, despite UCSC owning the land. This is due to a combination of topography, geology and soils. The loans for any such housing must be repaid across the student body. This state funding requirement continually raises rents on campus with each new housing complex built, so that off-campus housing is always cheaper, hence the incentive for students to choose to live off campus.
There are parallels between overbuilding in the city and the continued population growth on campus. Both are being actively pursued to the max by their respective “planners.” But good planning includes assessing the impacts of growth on the sustainability of resources and infrastructure. While state laws require the city to build more housing and the university to absorb a percentage of student growth, both town and gown are exceeding their state requirements. The city approved permits for double the state-required housing units in the last eight-year cycle and has made it clear its allocation for this cycle ending in 2031 is “just the beginning.” The impact of such overbuilding on current residents, the impact on the environment, the impact on the identity of the town does not seem to concern the city planners.
Similarly, UCSC has admitted (not yet enrolled) 45% more students than last year by joining UC Riverside and UC Merced in pursuing students who did not include these campuses in their UC Fall applications. The enticement is a no-cost chance for students to add these schools after the deadline. This option is intended for schools that have the most room to grow. UCSC apparently sees itself as having a lot of room to grow, ignoring the impact of that growth on its host town, and ultimately on its students. The decades of care to ensure the built environment at UCSC complements its stunning natural environment is being tossed aside.
In their rush to overbuild and rush to over-enroll, town and gown make strange bedfellows.
| Gillian Greensite is a long time local activist, a member of Save Our Big Trees and the Santa Cruz chapter of IDA, International Dark Sky Association http://darksky.org Plus she’s an avid ocean swimmer, hiker and lover of all things wild. |
Monterey County Environmental Health Dept. Director Mr. Ric Encarnacion accepted Vistra’s paid consultant report to brush aside any problems resulting from the 2025 Moss Landing Battery Fire, and claim there is no need for any ongoing studies.
2025 Moss Landing Vistra Power Plant Fire | County of Monterey, CA
Vistra’s paid consultant, Terraphase Engineering, Inc., developed a conceptual site model describing “plausible release mechanisms, transport pathways, exposure media, and receptors relevant to off-site conditions. The conceptual site model identifies atmospheric emission and deposition of particulate matter during the fire event as the primary plausible mechanism for off-site transport of fire-related constituents.
The objective of the screening-level risk evaluations was to evaluate long-term, persistent conditions rather than short-term or transient conditions immediately following the fire event.
Conclusion???”
“Based on the conservative screening-level evaluations presented in this Report, concentrations of COIs (Contaminants of Interest) in off-site soil, sediment, and surface water do not indicate conditions that would represent an unacceptable risk to human or ecological receptors. These conclusions are based on deliberately conservative assumptions that provide a health-protective upper-bound estimate of potential risk and conservatively assume that detected concentrations are attributable to the fire event. As a result, no further human health or ecological risk evaluation related to the ML300 fire event is warranted.
The limited number of nickel concentrations in sediment exceeding ecological screening-levels identified in Hester Marsh and the MAOA (mosquito observation areas) is most appropriately attributed to natural variability, rather than to sustained or spatially coherent fire-related impacts. The spatial distribution of these concentrations, the absence of a deposition-related pattern, and the broader dataset collectively do not support attribution to fire-related impacts.
This Report concludes that additional off-site investigation or response actions are not warranted at this time based on the available data and weight of evidence for the sampled off-site soil, sediment, and surface water evaluated in this Report.”
It is shocking that Monterey County Environmental Health Director accepted these conclusions and recommendations, without any third party analysis.
Here is what Brian Roeder, Never Again Moss Landing, had to say on “Bratton on KSCO” last Friday.
One only has to look at the comments of the agencies, questioning everything from why Terraphase waited four to nine months to do sampling, took few samples and used sampling methods that diluted contaminants, and failed to hold any meaningful meetings with the public that was significantly and adversely affected.
Write the Monterey County Board of Supervisors and demand that Vistra;s report be rejected until an impartial expert review is conducted. Hold Mr. Encarnacion accountable. Further studies are absolutely necessary, but should not be entrusted to Vistra’s paid consultants.
Luis Alejo <alejol@countyofmonterey.gov>
Chris Lopez <lopezc@countyofmonterey.gov>
Glenn Church <churchg@countyofmonterey.gov>
Wendy Root-Askew <root-askeww@countyofmonterey.gov>
Kate Daniels <danielsk@countyofmonterey.gov>
Clerk of the Board <cob@countyofmonterey.gov>
Telephone: 831-755-5066
The Board meets next on Tuesday, August 11.
Write Monterey County Environmental Health Bureau Chief Ric Encarnacion <encarnacionr@countyofmonterey.gov>
Telephone 831-755-4542
Questions regarding Vistra’s Report:
EHInfo@countyofmonterey.gov
WHAT DO THE SCIENTISTS SAY?
This Friday, August 7, the Estuary Monitoring of Battery Emissions and Residues (EMBER) research group from San Jose State University and Moss Landing Marine Labs will host a Public Science Symposium on the Moss Landing Battery Fire Studies.
This symposium is hosted by EMBER with support from all partnering organizations – Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Elkhorn Slough Reserve and Foundation, Marine Pollution Studies Laboratory, Amah Mutsun Land Trust, and Monterey Bay Aquarium is free and open to the public via remote access.
Moss Landing Battery Fire Science Symposium | Elkhorn Slough
On April 1, 2026, EMBER gave a presentation to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors regarding their research, findings and recommendations on the effects, movement and transformation of heavy metals depsited as a result of the lithium battery fires on Moss Landing in 2025. Watch the video of that presentation here:Watch the full video here (EMBER presentation begins at 4:46). View the EMBER research group’s presentation slides here.3/31/26
WHAT ABOUT ALTERNATIVES TO FLAMMABLE, EXPLOSIVE LITHIUM BATTERIES?
This Friday at 2pm, I will interview the CEO of Alsym, a company making sodium batteries . Why on earth would our elected leaders allow flammable, explosive battery storage systems when there exist non-flammable alternatives, such as sodium technology?
Alsym Energy — Non-flammable sodium-ion batteries
Listen in this Friday, August 7 at 2pm-3pm on KSCO Radio AM 1080, FM 104.1, or livestream: www.ksco.com
KA-CHING, KA-CHING…BOARD OF SUPERVISORS APPROVE A BALLOT MEASURE FOR YET ANOTHER 1/2 CENT SALES TAX
The County Board of Supervisors met in a last-minute Special Meeting on August 4 to shove through a ballot measure with hopes of extracting another 1/2 cent sales tax in the County. It exceeds the legal cap set by the California Constitution Article XIII C because if approved, the sales tax rate would exceed the legal amount in some areas of the County. If approved, the tax would be extracted from people throughout the County, including the four cities, but used only within the unincorporated areas.
The Board agreed to adopt a “State of Fiscal Urgency”, due to the lack of funding expected as the federal HR-1 impacts to cut funding for many social services. According to the Staff report, 1 in 3 Santa Cruz County residents depends on these social services, including medical, housing and food benefits.
CEO Coburn emphasized the greatest need is to prop up Watsonville Hospital as more and more people seek basic medical treatment in the Emergency Room there. When Supervisor Cummings asked the question “What can we tell voters if they ask ‘what’s in it for me?'” Amazingly, it was Jason Heath, County Counsel, who blurted out “If Watsonville Hospital closes, all those people will be sitting on the highway making their way to Dominican Hospital!”
Well, well…what an impartial and legally-supported statement.
Santa Cruz City Mayor Fred Keely was in the audience and hopped right up to the microphone during public comment to implore the Board to add in a focus on spending “a good chunk” of the anticipated $27 million annually on homeless services, if the ballot measure passes.
“We have to be careful about specifying what the money will be used for,” cautioned County Counsel Heath. CEO Nicole Coburn had already made the argument that the money would need to just go into the County General Fund “to provide us maximum flexibility for future needs.”
However, she already had some word-smithed amendments ready for the Board to adopt that would give Mayor Keeley what he wanted.
Of course, the real reason for keeping this a general tax is that it can be approved with only a 50% + 1 majority, whereas a Special Tax would require a 2/3 majority.
The bulk of the talk seemed to indicate that most of the money would go to prop up the Watsonville Hospital. Measure N, approved by the voters in 2024, allowed a parcel tax of $24 per $100,000 assessed property value rate for 30 years to pay for a $116 million bond to purchase the hospital and make capital improvements. Impartial Analysis of Measure N
Over and over again, County Staff insisted that Watsonville Hospital is vital to the entire County. Maybe the Board should examine enlarging the Measure N assessment area to the entire County? Hmmmm…..
Watch the presentation here.
Do you think this will encourage more people to shop online, harming local small businesses and robbing the County of sales tax revenues?
Write the Board with your thoughts: Board of Supervisors <boardofsupervisors@santacruzcountyca.gov>
You can also testify at their August 11 Board meeting.
PAJARO VALLEY FIRE DISTRICT HANDING OVER LOTS OF MONEY TO THE COUNTY
On August 11, the County Board of Supervisors will vote to adopt a property tax exchange agreement from Pajaro Valley Fire Protection District and accept a will serve letter from Santa Cruz County Fire Department to absorb the Pajaro Valley Fire funds in the bank.
The County will need to determine the transfer of ad valorem property tax revenues to fulfill the
requirements of Section 99 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. A Will-Serve Letter will indicate that
the County, under CSA 48, is willing and capable of providing services.
At issue is the approximately $1.2 million in Pajaro Valley Fire’s bank account that will be siphoned into the County’s Fire Dept. Fund, with no requirement to be used to benefit the people in Pajaro Valley Fire District that have paid it. Last month, the Pajaro Valley Fire Board voted to look at buying property for a new fire station in their service boundaries, “maybe set up a temporary second fire station”, with the “hope that the County will develop it and operate a second fire station in the Pajaro Valley Fire area.”
The Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) will discuss the ongoing aggressive effort of LAFCO Director Joe Serrano to force this merger, rewarding the County handsomely by setting high assessments for those in the Pajaro Valley Fire boundaries to pay to the County…in excess of about $500,000 annually…forever.
There has been no independent consultant to evaluate the feasibility of the merger. Two residents from the Pajaro Valley Fire District area have asked for this analysis. On June 3, the LAFCO Commission voted to initiate such a study. Mr. Serrano met privately with both fire agency leaders and seemingly convinced them it was not necessary. Mr. Don Jarvis, retired fire Chief, was responsible for helping complete the merger of Aptos/La Selva Fire with Central Fire District in 2022 and has performed expert consulting work for LAFCO during the merger of Scotts Valley Fire and Branciforte Fire Districts. He is a resident of the Pajaro Valley Fire District, and feels the need for the independent feasibility study is great, and opposes the current “cash-cow” attitude now being taken by LAFCO to extract maximum dollars to benefit Santa Cruz County Fire.
Please take a moment to read his correspondence to the LAFCO Commission on the August 5, 2026 agenda. His excellent letter, along with another great letter by resident Randy Craven, are buried in a link at the bottom of Item 7a “Ongoing Fire-Related Projects”.
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS INTERESTING INFORMATION ABOUT PUREWATER SOQUEL PROJECT
Soquel Creek Water District has a good webpage to provide reports related to the PureWater Soquel Project. Take a look at the GeoTracker information where you and enter the Project identification code (WDR100055307) and find all manner of interesting information, once you scroll down to the bottom of the page.
The “How to Use GeoTracker” is very helpful. Do take a look!
WRITE ONE LETTER. MAKE ONE CALL. LISTEN TO THE EMBER PRESENTATION.
DO ONE THING THIS WEEK AND MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
Cheers,
Becky
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Becky Steinbruner is a 30+ year resident of Aptos. She has fought for water, fire, emergency preparedness, and for road repair. She ran for Second District County Supervisor in 2016 on a shoestring and got nearly 20% of the votes. She ran again in 2020 on a slightly bigger shoestring and got 1/3 of the votes.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com |
What do the following have in common: the powerful Greek goddess of untamed nature, a Western states rebellion against federal control of lands, the tarragon of virtue, absinthe, and millions of acres of California? Sagebrush!
Sagebrush species are in the Artemisia genus, named for the Greek goddess Artemis- guardian of nature and helper of midwives and girl children. Her sacred animals are deer, bear, and quail and her sacred plants are the palm tree and cypress.
Artemis’s origin of the sagebrush genus makes it apparent that the Sagebrush Rebellion was ironically named, oppositional as it was to nature. That rebellion wanted to sell off federal lands for private use by mining, oil extraction, livestock grazing, and development. The movement had such anti-conservationist allies as Ronald Reagan (“if you’ve looked at a hundred thousand acres or so of trees — you know, a tree is a tree, how many more do you need to look at?”) and James Watt (“If the trouble from environmentalists cannot be solved in the jury box or at the ballot box, perhaps the cartridge box should be used.”). Perhaps the Sagebrush Rebellion never went away, we just call it by another name now.
The virtuous tarragon is an Artemisia and so is the supposedly psychoactive-spiking herb of absinthe. Big Sagebrush covers much of Eastern California (and the Great Basin) and California Sagebrush is a major component of natural areas along coastal California, including around the Monterey Bay. So, obviously, Artemisia is a group of plants with which you should be familiar.
Big Sky Country
Head over the “other side” of the Sierra Nevada, north to the Big Sky of Montana, south through Arizona and east to the Rocky Mountains – all of that is Big Sagebrush Country. Western movie backdrops – sagebrush! Off to Burning Man? Got to go through sagebrush! Big Sagebrush peters out when you arrive into the desert or up mountain slopes at higher elevations. It is the stage surrounding piñon pines, giant jeffries, and twisted junipers. Mono Lake is framed by it. As extensive as it seems like the Big Sagebrush scrub community might be, it is disappearing due to energy development (drill, baby, drill and Big Solar), roads, and other institutions of human greed. And the harbinger of the loss of Big Sagebrush scrub is the decline of one of the most fascinating birds in North America: the sage grouse.
Sage grouse form big mating parties with resplendent displays, but that phenomenon is disappearing so much so that folks had to pay attention as far back as 2002 to the Redwood City denizen Craig Dremann’s federal petition to list it as endangered. This evolved into an anti-science act of Congress in 2015, forbidding that listing and turning instead to the pursuit of landowner incentive-based conservation. That anti-science approach to protecting species is enough to drive any conservationist to the bottle. But, if a drinker wanted to get Absinthe minded, they would have to take some sage advice and travel to Europe.
By the way, speaking of intake of dangerous compounds, sage grouse have evolved to be able to eat sagebrush- something most big animals can’t manage due to its toxicity. Tough birds!
Absinthism
Grand Artemisia, A. absinthium, naturally occurs in the Old World but is much planted for its medicinal effects and use in the famous alcohol. It turns out that the “active” ingredient that supposedly made people crazy from drinking absinthe is thujone, and thujone-free absinthe is all that is legal in the USA. Go to Europe to get the real stuff to see if it is different than just getting tipsy on any alcohol: supposedly, it isn’t. Get higher amounts of thujone to, according to herbalists, control internal parasites but that also endangers you with getting seizures, so the side effect might be worse than the potential cure. Many Artemisias have a multitude of toxins in them, which is normal for the ancient sunflower family…a byproduct of long evolution to disgust herbivores.
California Sagebrush
Along the coast from Baja through Central California, in less-disturbed scrubby areas, one will encounter California sagebrush. In Southern California, there is another this time truly federally recognized endangered bird the California Coastal Gnatcatcher. Because science prevailed and that species did gain federal protection, 350,000 acres of California sagebrush habitat has been protected (though 90% has been lost) to conserve this bird. The California Coastal Commission recognizes the Monterey Bay’s coastal scrub habitats as Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA), giving the habitat strong protection.
Artemisia californica, California sagebrush, is a silvery-leaved drought and fire tolerant shrub with a strong sagebrush scent. Deer don’t eat it because of those aforementioned nasty chemicals. Some of those chemicals drip with rain or fog into the understory and are a kind of natural herbicide. Fires can rip through stands of this species and it sprouts right back – good thing, too: its roots can hold slopes up and reduce post-fire erosion and landslides. This is a good species for landscaping. There are forms that are entirely prostrate, ground-hugging blankets and even some forms that are upright and tall..and everything in between. Its dense growth makes it great bird habitat and it doesn’t need any water. Cut the shrubs back from time to time to reduce fire danger and legginess. The main drawback I can find is that it makes me sneeze: so, I cut back the 50 or so plants in my landscape to the ground in June before they bloom which is during fire season. Next thing I know is that they have resprouted in time for winter bird cover.
Alternative Artemisias
I would be remiss if I didn’t add some information about two other Artemisias: tarragon and mugwort. Tarragon is Artemisia dracunculus, the last name referring to the shape of its leaves being like dragons’ tongues (likely referential, not experiential). It is a weed in California but probably not the type that one would want to harvest. Mugwort is a native plant (Artemisia douglasiana). Common names of plants ending in ‘wort’ are supposed to mean something about their medicine. Liverwort is supposed to be good for the liver. Motherwort is supposed to be good for mothers. And so, mugwort must be good for mugging. Or perhaps your face. Or something. Anyhow, I was introduced to mugwort as an herb to help recall one’s dreams: a bit of the plant under your pillow and you’ll awake recalling your dreams. It didn’t work for me, but I didn’t get mugged the following day, either. It has long lasting effects that way: years later, I still haven’t been mugged!
I hope you can get out on a near-scrub encounter sometime soon to appreciate sagebrush, its scents, and the wildlife it supports.
-tune in 6-7pm KSCO am 1080 this Friday August 7 during the weekly Bratton on KSCO to hear Grey talking more about the problem of managing visitor use in conservation areas…better yet: call in! 831-479-1080-
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Grey Hayes is a fervent speaker for all things wild, and his occupations have included land stewardship with UC Natural Reserves, large-scale monitoring and strategic planning with The Nature Conservancy, professional education with the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and teaching undergraduates at UC Santa Cruz. Visit his website at: www.greyhayes.net
Email Grey at coastalprairie@aol.com |
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
The image at the top of this blog posting is from The Wall Street Journal (on May 29, 2026). Lest the picture cause any confusion, that newspaper is most definitely not recommending a “Billionaire Tax Now.” The Journal identifies the picture as a scene from the California Billionaire Tax Act’s campaign kickoff in Los Angeles in February. Come November, we Californians will get to vote on that billionaire tax idea!
A graph published in the same article from which I acquired the photo was titled, “The Record Divide Between Corporate Profits and Worker Pay.” Click the link to read the article. Below, you can see two graphs that were included in the article, and that pretty much sum up its message. The two graphs show that employee compensation, as a percentage of the nation’s gross domestic income, is going down. Corporate profits, as a percentage of gross domestic income, are going up.
In other words, as our economy bounds along (or limps), corporations and their stockholders are getting an increasing share of the income produced by the business. Workers are getting less.
Well, isn’t that just the way of the world? Well, it is, but as I continually suggest in my daily blog postings, it is possible to change the world – and I am recommending that we do just that with respect to the facts to which those two graphs are alerting us.
One approach is the proposed “Billionaire’s Tax,” which is why, I feel sure, The Wall Street Journal provided that picture of the rally in Los Angeles. There is, however, another approach that might also be considered (they’re not mutually exclusive). What if we decided, by way of a federal law, that corporations would have to pay their workers not only cash money (subject to collective bargaining), but with an actual share of the business? Suppose, when corporate profits increased, not all of those profits would go to those who own the business. Suppose part of those profits had to be paid out to the workers who made the profits possible?
The net result, were this a requirement maintained over time, is that workers – not just the “capitalists,” the “owners” who “capitalized” the business – would end up owning a share of the business.
I, personally, think that this would likely be positive not only for the workers, but for the business itself. A “virtuous circle” might well be established. We know about how “vicious circles” work, but there are the “virtuous” variety, too.
I admit that this system of compensation, if made a requirement, would tend to turn “workers” into “capitalists,” but even though I am not a big booster of the capitalists (and particularly the “billionaire” variety), this “pay the workers with ownership” approach might well be worth a try!
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Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com |
Journalist Sidney Blumenthal, who served the Clinton White House, as well as an advisor for Hillary, is seeing a situation that may become the “biggest Trump scandal in history.” The recent arrests of MAGA influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate who are facing extradition to the UK for human trafficking, rape and child pornography may be related to “the greatest international crime syndicate with the greatest political influence in history,” all related to “the politics and the network at the center of the Trump world where the Trump world is an underworld.”
Calls for an investigation are getting louder, with journalist Nina Burleigh who is known for investigating Jeffrey Epstein, dubbed the Tate Brothers as the “millennial version of Epstein.” Arrested in Romania in 2022 on rape and human trafficking charges, the Tates were free to leave that country after the Trump administration intervened, being “welcomed back into the fold” by Trump’s allies, and getting an invitation to the White House. Burleigh reports that they were “swatting all over the world, given a free pass by the US government to our great shame, and they have lived here for the past year and a half.”
Citing Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, as playing “a key role in springing the Tates from Romania,” he is also seen as being “closely tied” to the two brothers. That mission alone is “material for an investigation because that was a foreign legal matter that our country used to pressure” release of the duo claims Burleigh. “They’re the millennial version of Epstein; they have a type of network that is similar in that it relies on the trading of females and the abuse of women as the glue that connects them to each other. But it’s also a financial and political power node that they inhabit,” she concludes.
The Tates are fighting extradition, denying the criminal allegations, but as the case unfolds it is taking on additional political ramifications with scrutiny of their ties to Barron Trump, which has become an increasingly uncomfortable topic in the GOP camp. This twist may or may not be meaningful, but Republicans would rather not consider the alleged communications involving Barron and Andrew Tate, despite a lack of a publicly confirmed relationship. Nevertheless, observers see the jeopardy for the Trump family, apart from any legal battles for the White House. President Trump has no power to pardon foreign criminal charges or unilaterally stop extradition proceedings.
Congresswoman Yasemin Ansari of Arizona is urging an investigation into whether associates of the Trumps‘ used their influence to aid the Tate brothers. Even if Barron isn’t charged, his involvement in the presidential campaign and his family’s crypto escapades are high on the radar, and should the Democrats gain House control after the mid-terms, a deeper probe could be in the offing. In a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Ansari referenced reports about the Tate brothers’ communications with Barron and other members of the president’s inner circle, “which raise extremely grave national security, diplomatic, and ethical concerns,” and calling for subpoenas for Barron and other officials to testify before Congress.
As Bryan Cohen Tyler of Daily Dose of Democracy says, “Baby Trump getting his first subpoena! Daddy must be so proud!” Likely his only response was, “Person, man, woman, camera, tv,” acing it once again.
Regardless of how the Barron/Tate scandal works out, Daddy is still “dying, grasping at anything to keep him immortal,” as Lisa Needham writes on Daily Kos, in reference to his building of ‘The Triumphal Arch‘. He has to see tangible proof of his lasting presence, “to revel in his destruction of the nation’s capital and of Democracy until his last breath. And of course, he wants to use your money to do it.” We have seen photos of the ground-breaking on which the NPS crews supposedly will work 20 hours a day, year-round, an “unusually aggressive” timeline in order to complete the project before Trump leaves office, surely to ruin all the carefully-planned sight lines in DC.
In Tom Tomorrow’s ‘This Modern World‘ political cartoon, Stephen (Creepy Guy) Miller is telling President Trump, tanning lotion dripping from his face, “Sir, people are complaining that the arch will obstruct views of the Lincoln Memorial.” Trump answers, “Then tear the Lincoln Memorial down! Do I have to do ALL the thinking around here?” Creepy Guy replies, “Right away, sir,” as he turns to VP Vance, dressed as a hotel bellhop, telling him, “Okay, we need an A.I. video of the Memorial being demolished.” Vance turns to go, agreeing, “On it!”
Not only will this ugly Tacky Trumpian Triumphal Trophy be hastily constructed, it will be cheap-looking and cheap — made of “concrete clad in granite” instead of natural materials which constitute the makeup of nearby monuments. It is not yet known how many taxpayer dollars Trump will have to siphon off to fund his non-emergency project — just the usual no-bid contracts to his cronies for shoddy work with the usual kickbacks — so get ready for another decrease in Social Security or Medicare. On The Bulwark, William Kristol writes, “Look on the bright side. With all the surrounding monuments think of all the flexibility you’ll have finding a good seat to watch them knock down the arch later.”
Trump biographer Michael Wolff finds it odd that the president dragged his cabinet and other top goons of the administration to Camp David last week, especially since he absolutely hates the secluded retreat, proclaiming it as insufferable for any stay beyond a half hour in his past remarks. Wolff calls the visit “odd,” and a potentially telling sign of trouble within the administration for which Trump deemed a third trip in his second term a necessity to appear presidential. Biographer Wolff says it’s “more of the Trump show, which he is compelled to do, but at the same time a sign of some desperation.”
As expected, the inner circle entourage took turns in a round-robin competition to shower Trump with praise, similar to the Cabinet meetings at the White House. A photo release shows the president standing in front of ‘Aspen Lodge‘ which is traditionally Camp David’s presidential cabin; however, because of a ‘bedding problem‘ he returned to his Bedminster golf club for the weekend, seeking better accommodations. Trump arrived at the New Jersey club along with his blonde executive assistant, 34-year old Natalie Harp who is said to fuel his Truth Social rampages by typing them out for the boss. Several readers posted that Harp has taken over Melania’s duties as his steady and loyal female companion — more of a Stormy Daniels or a modern day Eva Braun?
The TACO president is unable to exit the Iran “excursion” that Bibi Netanyahu pushed him into, after announcing numerous cease fire agreements and backing off from at least 37 threats to level Iran. Yet, he goes along with Pete Hegseth’s request for Congress to fund another $67 billion to continue the war, replenishing the ammunition to allow Trump to keep shooting himself in the foot. Ben Meiselas of MeidasTouch points out that the morning news from the White House continually says a deal is basically done, needing only signatures; but, by evening the US and Iran are exchanging love missiles across the Strait of Hormuz — the same cycle every day. “Person, man, woman, camera, tv.”
Former Republican strategist, Steve Schmidt, in a recent The Warning post, says that Trump is losing control, which explains his increasing rage, recklessness, and frantic aggression. Schmidt argues that Trump’s political power was never about ideology, conservatism, or patriotism — “It was always fear — of retaliation, humiliation, exile from the cult, the mob, the tweet and the primary, the foundation” of The Don’s hold on the GOP. It’s apparent that the foundation is cracking as courts rule against the administration’s thrust, and as Congress members see that Trump can no longer protect them.
“Strongmen must appear invincible,” Schmidt says. “Trump suddenly doesn’t.” He cites parallels with Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy who appeared untouchable until they suddenly were not. “Cornered strongmen are dangerous strongmen,” Schmidt concludes, “And underneath the screaming, the threats, the vulgarity and the spectacle sits a frightened old man watching the thing he values most begin to slip away from his grasp: the perception of power. Once that goes, everything goes.”
As Timothy Noah writes in The New Republic, leave it to Whizmaster Donald Trump to create problems out of whole cloth that were never a concern before — his latest being the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, an Indy 500 race around the National Mall on August 22 and 23. Of concern is possible damage to what may be the densest concentration of historic, scientific, and fine arts treasures anywhere in the US. Two days of vibrations from twin-turbocharged V-6 engines threaten the National Archives, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Air and Space Museum, along with other structures along the route. If you need a distraction from the Iran Excursion, the ICE killings or the unreleased Epstein documents, how about watching the National Museum of History be consumed by flames?
Directors of the various facilities have already started to move irreplaceable items away from the adjacent raceway, or shoring up larger objects in danger of falling or tipping over. Noah writes, “It’s hard to imagine a worse place than the National Mall for an Indy 500 race, and having to brace facilities from potential damage.” Some frescoes in the Cohen Building have existing cracks in the plaster already from everyday activity, so fear of further damage from vibrations on race days is justified. Mary Okin, assistant director of the Living New Deal, says, “It has become clear to us that this event would include substantial potential for adverse effects due to vibratory impacts during the race…sound waves well above normal street traffic and even jackhammers, pile drivers and freight trains.”
Okin questions the necessity and cost of the event, being concerned not only about the buildings and the contents, but outdoor collections and sculptures. “Why would we risk any of that just for a Grand Prix at a place that is just patently not appropriate?” Timothy Noah doesn’t claim to be an expert on the impact of vibrations in museum, but it is a fact that the institutions keep track of vibrations created by simple footfalls — anything above 80 decibels can cause some damage, so what of the 140 decibels in a road race? Let’s hope that Freedom 250 Grand Prix celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence doesn’t end up smashing into the case holding that document.
The recent showing of Nicolle Wallace’s ‘The Best People‘ podcast on MS NOW with guest Sue Gordon is a must-see! Gordon is a former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, regarded as one of the most accomplished leaders of national security for nearly forty years. She was pressured into resigning in 2019 by the Trump administration after serving as a nonpartisan public servant, but interestingly, she would serve again if asked, fighting Trump policies everyday for the benefit of the country. Sadly, she is fighting stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer, and realizing that her remaining time is probably shorter than she initially anticipated.
Trump appointed former Senator Dan Coats as his first Director of National Intelligence, who in turn asked that Gordon be appointed as his deputy, whose job was to keep the president up to date. Coats was a straight-shooter, resulting in Trump’s frowning upon his investigation into Russian meddling in our elections, so after two years of friction, he was out. Trump then concluded that Gordon was disloyal, undeserving of promotion into Coats’ job, so she resigned, with Trump loyalists then stepping into the picture. At the end of Wallace’s interview with Gordon, she asked her if she had any words for the audience; and in consideration of her public service, along with her current health battle, Gordon advised, “If you have a minute, do something with it!” Simple, but strong guideline for us all!
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Dale Matlock, a Santa Cruz County resident since 1968, is the former owner of The Print Gallery, a screenprinting establishment. He is an adherent of The George Vermosky school of journalism, and a follower of too many news shows, newspapers, and political publications, and a some-time resident of Moloka’i, Hawaii, U.S.A., serving on the Board of Directors of Kepuhi Beach Resort. Email: cornerspot14@yahoo.com. |
Each week, I will feature a selection of interesting and historically significant places in Santa Cruz County from the 1986 edition of Donald Thomas Clark‘s wonderful book, “Santa Cruz County Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary“, published by the Santa Cruz Historical Trust.
“Nuggets” If I find something topically relevant, but not necessarily directly related to the week’s selection, you’ll see it under the Nuggets heading. Note: for reasons of brevity, sources are usually dropped when I reproduce an entry. You can always email me if you’re curious, or, even better, buy a copy of the book!
Dateline: August 5, 2026
This caught my attention for two reasons. First, the fact that the name was changed. This is not unusual, although the Scottish influence seems to have had contradictory effects (see my previous column on La Selva Beach’s original name, Rob Roy). I guess “Glenwood” sounds more pastoral than Martinsville, but I suspect that the residents of the many towns and cities named Martinsville, here in the U.S. and elsewhere, might have an issue with the idea that the name is “ugly”.
More importantly, the reference to Margaret Koch, which gives me the excuse to introduce you to one of the key figures in the annals of Santa Cruz historians.
According to the Santa Cruz History Wiki page linked to above: “Margaret Rau Koch (April 13, 1918-January 7, 2011) was a local historian who wrote several volumes [six, in fact –Thomas] about the area, and she was a staff writer for the Santa Cruz Sentinel from 1957-1981.” She’s most famous for her book, Santa Cruz County: Parade of the Past, published in 1973 (cited in Clark’s book below). You can view it online via Archive.Org (truly a lovely little book, full of pictures that were vintage even in 1973).
A little searching around found a list of most of her other books on thriftbooks:
- The walk around Santa Cruz book: A look at the city’s architectural treasures
- The Pasatiempo Story
- They Called It Home: Santa Cruz, California
- Santa Cat: Behind the lace curtains 1856-1926 (Fiction)
Further digging located a reference to her sixth book on the Soquel Pioneers web site’s “Timeline and Bibliography” page (another historical resource), published in 1978 by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education: Going to School in Santa Cruz County: A History of the County’s Public School System. A copy of it can be found via the County Office of Education web site. According to this page, the COE has only five copies remaining.
In my digging around over the years, I’ve found it not at all uncommon for “hyper-local” authors like this to have very few of their books remaining in print, or even have a reliable list of what they’ve authored readily available. So many of them were published by tiny, tiny little presses/non-profits, or even self-published (essentially).
The Sentinel published an article, Newspaperwoman, author and county historian Margaret Koch dies (might be paywalled), along with her obituary, accompanied by a fabulous photograph of her holding said book (visible prior to the paywalled portion). The article quotes Carolyn Swift (another fabulous Santa Cruz historian), then director of the Capitola Historical Museum, thusly:
“People still talk about her,” Swift said. “She was very influential in telling people’s stories. She was synonymous with Santa Cruz history before Sandy Lydon came along.”
She and my great-auntie, Hulda Hoover McLean, were linked as women who were both longtime residents of Santa Cruz County with a deep interest in its history, and “Women of the Year” (1972 for Koch, 1976 I believe for McLean). In fact, Margaret owned several prints of Hulda’s paintings, which were donated by her to the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (another great local historical resource, there are so many).
I’ll introduce you to Sandy and Carolyn in a future column. Maybe I’ll even get one or the other of them on the air via Bratton on KSCO at some point (anyone willing to help make that happen, please contact me!).
Again, one little item, one deep rabbit hole for a local history lover. I’m sure I could dig deeper, but this is enough for one column. See you next week!
The original name for Glenwood, named for Charles C. Martin and his wife Hannah Carver Martin, Their granddaughter, Margaret Koch, explains: “(Glenwood] first was called Martinsville but a family friend from Scotland protested that the name was ugly and changed it to Glenwood.”–Koch (1973, p.140).
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Thomas Leavitt is the husbandy thing to our illustrious webmistress. A resident of Santa Cruz (now part time) since 1993, his interests include history, technology, and community organizing. He started the world’s first self-service web hosting company, WebCom, located at 903 Pacific in May of 1994. He’s been part of too many community organizations to mention, and ran for City Council in the early aughts. Email Thomas at ThomLeavitt@gmail.com |
“August”
“Today is the first of August. It is hot, steamy and wet. It is raining. I am tempted to write a poem. But I remember what it said on one rejection slip: ‘After a heavy rainfall, poems titled ‘Rain’ pour in from across the nation.'”
~Sylvia Plath
“Every summer, around late July and into August, I find myself in Europe, performing at any festival that will have me.”
~Henry Rollins
“The congressional tradition of escaping the nation’s capital in August dates back to the time before air conditioning when Senators would race home before the summer heat reached its peak. I’ve got an advantage over many of my colleagues because we in Mississippi know something about summer heat.”
~Cindy Hyde-Smith
“The band’s never taken a year off. Last August we decided to take one, and three months in I was bored to tears.”
~Steven Tyler
“When you are in a sport, there is a plan to reach for perfection in a certain week in August and it gives you a focus in life and in everything you do around it.”
~Denise Lewis
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This is quite lovely. 🙂 |
Direct questions and comments to webmistress@BrattonOnline.com
(Gunilla Leavitt)
July 29 – August 4, 2026
Greensite… sitting this week out… Steinbruner… Felton Fire… VISTRA battery fires… Hayes… Marshall Meadows… Patton… We Might Well Ask Ourselves, “Why?”… Matlock… is on a break… Eagan… Subconscious Comics and Deep Cover … Webmistress serves you… be yourself… Quotes on… “Hollywood”
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COMING TO YOU, STRAIGHT FROM SALT LAKE CITY! I’m posting this from a hotelroom in Salt Lake City. I’m here for a wedding, and taking in the sights and some good food while I’m at it. Today, for instance, I had the most amazing Eggs Benedict at a “Thai Fusion” brunch restaurant. It was in my top 3 ever as far as Eggs Benedict goes. The Hollandaise sauce was out of this world; it was rather lemon-y, which was perfect. After that, we went to see one of the largest open pit mines in the world: The Bingham Canyon Mine, AKA the Kennecott Copper Mine. It was established in 1903, and is three quarters of a mile deep and two and a half miles across. I can’t express how fascinating it was. Don’t be surprised if I return to this subject in the future.
I gotta crash, though. There’s the wedding tomorrow, and then more sight-seeing stuff on Friday and Saturday. I’ll tell you all about it next week!
~Webmistress
THE ODYSSEY. In Theaters. Movie. (8.5 IMDb)
The “Helen is DEI casting!” and “Achilles is trans!” outrage tells me you looked up The Odyssey just long enough to be angry, without actually reading it or seeing the film. I’ve read it multiple times, from adolescence through university. It’s a legend Homer recorded centuries after the supposed events, preserved through oral tradition, and all the variations that adds to the story. Helen’s skin color has no significance to the story, and Achilles is already dead when The Odyssey begins. Elliot Page doesn’t play Achilles at all, but Sinon, the young man sent to war in another’s place.
Nolan’s Odyssey is a solid, faithful-ish telling, briskly told in about three hours (I know, that sounds like an oxymoron but it’s true). It adds some believable depth to Odysseus, gives Penelope less screen time than she deserves, and as a mythology geek I could nitpick the lack of spear fighting or the anachronistic Corinthian helmets instead of the Achaeans’ boar’s tusk helmets. But that’s fanboy trivia. At its heart, it’s a powerful story about responsibility and loss. Well worth a watch. Twice, if you can.
~Sarge
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. PrimeTV. Movie. (6.8 IMDb)
Masters of the Universe (2026) was a genuine surprise. Rather than forcing the franchise into a dark, gritty reboot, it embraces the colorful, larger-than-life spirit of the original. It balances action, fantasy, and humor without winking at the audience, making the whole adventure feel sincere, fun, and delightfully goofy.
This isn’t trying to be the next great fantasy epic—it’s trying to be a Masters of the Universe movie, and it succeeds. Ignore the toxic nostalgia crowd complaining about the diverse casting of characters like Man-At-Arms, Triclops, and Ram Man, and you’ll find a tonally accurate adaptation that answers plenty of questions longtime fans have had for years (particularly namings). Stick around for the mid- and post-credit scenes. Well worth the watch.
~Sarge
QUICK LOOK AT NETFLIX. Netflix. Series, Movie.
Here’s some stuff that’s not necessarily current, but currently on Netflix:
Veronica Mars think Buffy, but with no vampires, and lots of class conflicts, roofies … and the result … and murder in a small California coastal town. Young Kristen Bell (The Good Place) lives with her disgraced cop/now PI father, and is determined to solve the murder of her best friend, and the case that tanked her father’s career. A fun watch.
The Dead Don’t Die think Night of the Living Dead directed by Wes Anderson. Only in this case, it’s Jim Jarmusch. Zombies in a small town, with Bill Murray and Adam Driver starring. Tilda Swinton is a samurai. Much more like his 80’s films.
Mindhunter was pretty amazing, on and off; the casting for Big Ed Kemper was spot on. Period piece that follows the building of the FBI’s “profiling” division, focused on this new thing: serial killers.
The Enola Holmes movies: Sherlock (Henry Cavill)’s little sister, Enola (Alone backwards), breaks free of an attempt to ship her off to a deportment school, and takes up the family business on her own. There follow adventures, romance (on her terms), and occasional visits by her anarchist mother, Helena Bonham Carter. The first is a lot of fun, growing less (for me) as the sequels went on.
Marty: Life is Short, let’s hope it’s not for him! I love Martin Short, so this was a gem. An autobiographical history, chock full of familiar clips, as well as previously unseen personal movies, and of course a tremendous group of cameos.
~Sarge
SUPERGIRL. In theatres. Movie. (6.1 IMDb)
Supergirl is 67 years old.
In that time, she’s been through a LOT of attempts to give her her OWN story instead of just being Jr. Girl Superman. She suffers here from 1) the Manosphere complaining that she’s not cute or “feminine” enough, and 2) people stuck on an older version of her, like comparing Super Friends Aquaman to Jason Momoa.
Loosely based on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King, and honestly drawing from True Grit too, Supergirl stars Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) as Kara Zor El, who leaves Earth to escape the shadow of her cousin, Superman, and the expectations piled on her while still dealing with PTSD from the destruction of Krypton. She ends up caught in a child’s vendetta and a race against time to get medical help for Krypto (played by Krypto, from Superman).
The pacing isn’t the sharpest, but the soundtrack is a banger, the effects are great, and Jason Momoa as Lobo is a role he was born to play. Despite haters and Rotten Tomatoes, well worth a watch.
~Sarge
GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER. Netflix. Series. (6.8 IMDb)
Think Nancy Drew meets True Detective. Five years after the apparent murder of a popular high school student, aspiring journalist Pip Fitz-Amobi decides the case doesn’t add up. What begins as a school project quickly turns into a deeper investigation, uncovering secrets, lies, and long-buried resentments in a town convinced the mystery was solved years ago.
The show’s biggest strength is Pip herself (Emma Myers – Jenna Ortega’s bouncy rainbow werewolf roommate on “Wednesday”): smart, determined, and believable as an amateur sleuth. While it never gets as dark as True Detective, it avoids feeling like a watered-down teen mystery, delivering genuine suspense, credible twists, and enough suspects to keep you guessing. Based on the novel by Holly Jackson, it’s a fast, engaging binge that captures the appeal of a classic detective story while giving it a modern true-crime sensibility.
~Sarge
GOOD OMENS 3. PrimeTV. Movie. (8 IMDb)
In 1990, fantasy legend Terry Pratchett and young comic fantasy mavin Neil Gaiman collaborated on a novel built around the question, “What if the Antichrist got switched at birth?” and Good Omens was born.
In 2024, the third season of Amazon’s adaptation of the late Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens was put on hold after multiple allegations of sexual assault against Gaiman surfaced in the news.
The Amazon version of Good Omens thrived on the brilliant chemistry between David Tennant and Michael Sheen as Crowley, a demon, and Aziraphale, an angel, who have spent millennia on Earth in what increasingly resembles a Cold War marriage. Faced with the impending Apocalypse, both come to the conclusion that maybe it might be altogether better … NOT doing that.
Featuring a host of charming side stories that all somehow linked together, plus a simmering relationship between the two leads, the first season felt like a delightful Douglas Adams pastiche. Since season one adapted the novel itself, the second season came as a complete surprise. Crafted entirely by Gaiman, it leaned harder into the Crowley/Aziraphale relationship, along with a gloriously naked and amnesiac Jon Hamm as the angel Gabriel. A great deal happens, and it all ends on a heartbreaking cliffhanger.
Then came season 3 … NOT!
As allegations against Gaiman mounted, stretching from the mid-80s into relatively recent years, comics, films, and television projects tied to him began getting canceled or shelved, including Good Omens 3. Fortunately, Gaiman stepped away from the production, allowing fans to get a third season … sort of. Cut down to a single feature-length finale, it still manages to wrap up a surprising number of story threads, and may even produce a few sniffles.
Gaiman’s problematic history aside, worth a watch.
~Sarge
PANTHEON. Netflix. Series. (8.5 IMDb)
What if the threat isn’t AI? What if it’s UI: uploaded intelligence. Human brains destructively scanned, living only in the cloud. “Pantheon” explores this idea as exquisite, real science fiction. Not cheesy animated sci-fi melodrama, but a genuine exploration of love, grief, immortality, endless simulations, conspiracies, global politics, and so much more.
The animation is restrained, there to serve the story rather than distract from it. The characters are rich, not cardboard cutouts, whether good or bad. No supervillains. No Mary Sues.
It’s a dense story, so if science fiction concepts tend to lose you, this may not be for you. But if they don’t, this absolutely deserves a watch.
~Sarge
STRANGER THINGS – TALES FROM ’85. Netflix. Series. (5 IMDb)
Stranger Things exits stage left…then pops back out for one more bow.
Set between seasons 2 and 3, this animated take brings back the core crew without sanding things down for kids. It’s not anime or cheap knockoff – dipping their pens in the Spiderverse/Arcane inkwell, with a creative, stylized look. It’s also more focused than the later live-action seasons, trimming most of the adults and zeroing in on the kids. Best of all, Will Byers actually gets to be a character instead of a punching bag, helped by the addition of Niki, an Amazonian punk rocker who connects with him over their shared outsider status. The recast voices are a little jarring at first, but you should settle in. Rough reviews aside, it’s worth a watch.
~Sarge
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Sarge, aka Jeffery Sargent, cut his teeth on the Golden Age of Hollywoood on TV and with regular trips to the Sash Mill. Film classes then, at Cabrillo with Morton Marcus, broadened his scope – he found he preferred Keaton over Chaplin, and Akira Kurosawa was his Yoda. Sarge spent 15 years working in Special Effects, on everything from Starship Troopers to Battlestar Galactica. He is a staunch geek who has a weak spot for Cozy Mysteries and loathes “Reality” shows. While he doesn’t care for the unrelenting banal horror of “True Crime”, he licks his lips over a twist like the end of Chinatown. Email Sarge at JeffLSargent@gmail.com |
Gillian is out this week, back next!
| Gillian Greensite is a long time local activist, a member of Save Our Big Trees and the Santa Cruz chapter of IDA, International Dark Sky Association http://darksky.org Plus she’s an avid ocean swimmer, hiker and lover of all things wild. |
Last Friday, the people of Felton voted to significantly increase their fire district assessments in order to pay for full time firefighters on duty. This was a Prop. 218 vote, so votes of those who pay more counted with greater weight. The weighted vote approval was 67.88%. Of the 1,181 ballots submitted and counted, 825 voted in favor of the assessment increase, and 325 voted to oppose it.
Felton Fire Assessment 2026
Most property owners will be paying $641.66 annually.
The following day, the Board met in Special Meeting to interview three candidates for Fire Chief. The era of turbulence seems to have come to an end, and the people have placed great trust in their Fire District leaders to steer the ship in a more stable direction.
Interim Chief Isaac Blum did an outstanding job. A round of applause also goes to the Felton residents who organized, did in-depth research and determined the new Assessment increase was reasonable and necessary. They then knocked on doors and did tabling at every opportunity to help people understand the issue.
Bravo!
The alternative would have been to likely consolidate with Santa Cruz County Fire Department, pay alot more, and lose all independent governance. You can watch how that option plays out in Pajaro Valley Fire District in the coming months. Pajaro Valley Fire Protection Disctrict | COOPERATIVE FIRE PROTECTION PROVIDED BY CAL FIRE
SCOTTS VALLEY FIRE CHIEF TO DISCUSS NEW FIRE FEES
Did you know that if you are at fault in an auto accident that requires the Scotts Valley Fire District to respond to help you or others, you will be charged a Fire District Recovery Fee through your insurance, even if you live within the boundaries of the City of Scotts Valley and pay to maintain the Fire Department? This is something new for the City of Scotts Valley Fire District, and was voted in by the Fire District Board and launched last March.
Listen in THIS FRIDAY on KSCO Radio AM 1080 at 2pm to the interview with Scotts Valley Fire Chief Mark Correira.
- The district has signed an agreement with Fire Recovery USA, one of several firms that bill insurance companies for emergency services. Many auto policies include coverage for these services as part of their standard policy. When the Fire District responds to an auto accident and provide services, the responsible party’s insurance is billed for those services.
Services range from basic scene management (blocking traffic to prevent secondary incidents and applying absorbent for fluid spills) to more intensive operations such as vehicle extrication using hydraulic rescue tools. The billing rates are based on national averages and range from $618 to $1,859 depending on the level of service provided. Most insurance companies process these claims routinely without question. The Fire District can also charge for helicopter landing zone services and additional hourly rates for extended incidents.
The Fire District staff coordinate with law enforcement to determine fault. While this is usually straightforward, for more complex cases they obtain an involved driver’s insurance information and let Fire Recovery USA handle the claims process. While the Fire District does have to wait for CHP reports, but that is the exception and not the norm. They have found it is best to grab the information at the scene.
This is a cost recovery program where Fire Recovery USA submits bills with the expectation of payment, but the Fire District does not pursue collections against individuals. If the company doesn’t pay after three bills, it is written off as uncollected.
According to Scotts Valley Fire Chief Correira, “this program is well-established in other parts of the country and is gaining popularity, which is why multiple companies provide this service. It’s new to our area, with SVFPD being the first in the county to implement it. Hollister Fire is the next closest agency using this approach.”
EPA TEAM ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT MOSS LANDING BATTERY FIRE
Last week, the EPA had a team of people available at the Castroville Farmer’s Market, answering questions anyone had about the Vistra Battery Fire in Moss Landing. I spent about an hour talking with engineer Mr. Kazumi Brockman. It was a lot better than being restricted to two minutes of public comment that receives no response.
I learned
- The air monitors are at 6′ elevation and are all around the “hot spot” and the perimeter and data is submitted daily. They monitor for PM 2.5 , metals and HF.
- The debris analysis will be released to the public this fall, before Phase II transports actually begin.
- The debris, based on projected contaminant levels, will be transported to Buttonwillow, CA
- The trucks transporting the batteries for recycling in Nevada were not required to identify the cargo, as the Dept. of Transportation classifies lithium batteries in Class 9, optional placarding. The engineer said the EPA encouraged Vistra to placard the trucks for the safety of any first responders in the event of an accident. He said Vistra complied.
- The EPA cannot directly operate drones for air monitoring but can hire contractors to do it. I pointed out that the EPA had not asked any contractors to conduct airborne sampling during the fire. The engineer and maiin public outreach person were unresponsive.
- Clean up work stops if certain wind speeds occur. The site is sprayed with water to control dust and a material was sprayed over the debris earlier this year that acts much like a sealant. Water sprayed goes into an existing subsurface collection system that is sampled. The Dept. of Water Resources oversees that.
- Phase II will begin this fall.
- Total clean up is scheduled to be completed in 2027.
- They still claim not to know the cause of the fire, and quickly mentioned “litigation”. When they stated that newer projects are designed to be much safer by being containerized with individual unit suppression systems, I pointed out that it is the same suppression and monitoring system technology that was in the Moss 300 facility, and that knowing why it failed is imperative to protect areas in future BESS projects. I pointed out that the container modules off-gas when there are problems and that putting such hazards near residential areas is unacceptable. They were silent.
I appreciated having an opportunity to have unlimited conversation with these people, but still feel Vistra and the EPA are not being completely truthful.
Entry to Vistra’s Battery Fire Clean Up site from Dolan Road, Moss Landing.
LIVESTOCK BARNS AT COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS NOT YET DEMOLISHED DUE TO BAT POPULATION
The Santa Cruz County Fair Board voted last month to demolish the historic pig, goat and sheep barns at the Fairgrounds and put the demolition project out to bid. Three bids were received, and the work was to begin August 16 with completion before the opening of this year’s Fair on September 16.
Luckily, the State required environmental review. EcoSystem West biologists determined there are populations of roosting bats in the barns that would be harmed by demolition. The Fairgrounds CEO Dori Rose Inda explained that the biologist is working with California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife to “re-roost” the bats so that demolition can proceed.
Please write California Fish and Wildlife Senior Biologist Alexis Harrison <alexis.harrison@wildlife.ca.gov> and ask that demolition of the Santa Cruz County Livestock Barns not move forward until the roosting bat population has migrated out of the barns.
In my opinion, the barn demolition work should wait until later this fall when the bats migrate, if they are a migrating species.
The Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds could become a “Community Resilience Center” if the County’s OR3 is successful with their grant application for $10 Million to upgrade Fairgrounds infrastructure to offer emergency shelter for people and livestock. The grant funding, offered by the California Strategic Growth Council, would be implemented over six years, requiring the Fairgrounds to be accessible year around for sheltering and education, not just during emergencies.
After six years, the Fairgrounds would be responsible for upholding the terms of the grant for another nine years, a total of 15 years under the grant implementation period.
The County already has an MOU with the State-owned Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds (14th District Agricultural Association) for emergency sheltering of people and livestock. The MOU ends in 2031.
Take a look at the Letter of Commitment from the Farigrounds CEO and the explanation by OR3. (pages 88-92): July 28 2026 Board Packet
While the California Dept. of Food and Ag (CDFA) was given a one-time General Fund allocation of $150 Million in 2020-2021 to create “Community Resilience Centers”, Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds did not apply. Fairground and Community Resilience Centers Programs
The grant writing staff at the County’s Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience (OR3) will learn next spring if the grant application is awarded. Stay tuned.
SOQUEL PIONEER PICNIC…150 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF RAILROAD CONNECTING THE COUNTY
Last weekend, over 140 people gathered in Pringle Grove in Soquel, across the street from Bargetto Winery, to carry on the traditional Soquel Pioneer Picnic, happening since 1939. This year’s Speaker was Mr. Frank Perry, local historian, describing the determined efforts of Frederick A. Hihn to connect Santa Cruz County via rail. After four different attempts, he was successful…and 150 years later, the railroad connecting Santa Cruz and Watsonville is languishing.
Frank Perry describes multiple attempts by F.A Hihn to
connect Santa Cruz and Watsonville by railroad,
finally accomplishing it 150 years ago.
MORE ABOUT THE AUGUST 4 SPECIAL BOARD OF SUPERVISOR MEETING AND IMPENDING SALES TAX BALLOT MEASURE
Many thanks to reader Bruce H. who sent information about Senator Laird’s SB 762, allowing some local jurisdictions, including Santa Cruz County, to impose higher total sales tax than is constitutionally allowed. SB 762 does the same as Senator Laird’s SB 1078 that was written specifically for Santa Cruz County.
However, it appears that Senator Laird did a gut and amend action that bill to become something else.
Here is the Amended Version of SB 1078, no longer co-sponsored with Assemblymember Addis and Pellerin:
Introduced by Senator Laird
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Addis and Pellerin)February 13, 2026
An act to add and repeal Chapter 3.85 (commencing with Section 7294.7) of Part 1.7 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. An act to amend Section 51.1 of the Civil Code, relating to civil rights.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
SB 1078, as amended, Laird. Transactions and use taxes: County of Santa Cruz. Civil rights violations: service of process: Civil Rights Department.
Existing law, including the Unruh Civil Rights Act, the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976, and the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act, specifies various civil rights based on specified characteristics. Among these rights are the right to be free from discrimination in business establishments, right to be free from violence or intimidation, and right to be free from interference with the exercise of legal rights through threats, intimidation, or coercion. Existing law establishes liability for sexual harassment within certain professional relationships. If a violation of any of these specified civil rights is alleged or the application or construction thereof is in issue in any proceeding in the Supreme Court of California, the state court of appeal, or the appellate division of a superior court, existing law requires each party to serve a copy of the party’s brief or petition and brief on the State Solicitor General at the office of the Attorney General.
This bill would additionally require each party to serve a copy of the party’s brief or petition and brief on the Director of the Civil Rights Department.
Existing law authorizes various local governmental entities, subject to certain limitations and approval requirements, to levy a transactions and use tax for general or specific purposes, in accordance with the procedures and requirements set forth in the Transactions and Use Tax Law, including a requirement that the combined rate of all taxes that may be imposed in accordance with that law in any county not exceed 2%.
This bill would authorize, until December 31, 2030, the County of Santa Cruz, by an ordinance adopted by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, to levy a tax pursuant to the Transactions and Use Tax Law at a rate not to exceed 0.5% for general and special purposes, subject to voter approval, as specified. The bill would authorize those taxes to exceed the 2% limit described above.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Santa Cruz.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The bottom line is that the Board of Supervisors will be holding a Special Meeting on August 4 to sneak a new sales tax measure on the November ballot, just bartely making the deadline of August 7 for their required action.
NEW KIOSK AT 701 OCEAN STREET COUNTY GOVERNMENT BUILDING
The County Government Building at 701 Ocean Street in Santa Cruz recently got a major remodel of the 5th Floor Board of Supervisors chambers and bathrooms.
Now, the wobbly public notice kiosk has been replaced with an attractive new kiosk just outside the building where meeting agendas are posted. It helps to thumb through the agendas of Commission and Board meetings to see what is happening.
R.I.P. JEFF SAVAGE AND CAP PENNELL
Recently, two have passed that will leave especially big holes in the lives of many, and certainly mine. Jeff Savage was a kind and funny guy, known as Boring Jeff, and hosted “In the Driver’s Seat” on KSCO Radio. I looked forward to his programs on Friday to learn about all manner of car issues from Jeff and his encyclopedic knowledge. Sadly, he passed away recently due to an aggressive brain tumor.
Last week, Cap Pennell stretched out on the couch to take a nap before lunch and never woke up. He was a well-known Amateur Radio mentor and historian, well-known and respected. Cap was always listening on the radio bands, and saved the County’s emergency communication operations several years ago when there was a major fiber optic vandalism act that took out all phones and 9-1-1 emergency dispatch. I like to think that Cap is still listening…just in a different way.
I will miss both of these amazing fellows. Godspeed to both of them, and blessings to their families and friends.
MAKE ONE CALL. WRITE ONE LETTER. SUBMIT A COMPLAINT TO THE NEWLY-SEATED COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY.
DO ONE THING THIS WEEK AND MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
Cheers,
Becky
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Becky Steinbruner is a 30+ year resident of Aptos. She has fought for water, fire, emergency preparedness, and for road repair. She ran for Second District County Supervisor in 2016 on a shoestring and got nearly 20% of the votes. She ran again in 2020 on a slightly bigger shoestring and got 1/3 of the votes.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com |
As rich and diverse as the Monterey Bay is for Life, there are some standout places within that larger geography, and one of those places is Marshall Meadows. The name refers to a bunch of patches of coastal prairie at the top of UCSC and into Wilder Ranch State Park, bisected by Empire Grade. This place is named for Mary Elizabeth Marshall who owned the meadows in the late 1880’s. She was the daughter of Isaac Graham who brought her West with him in 1852. She apparently used portions of the meadows for a flower garden, but I need to do more work with old maps to figure out where her house was (let me know if you know!). Before that, native peoples lived in and managed the meadows; they had a village site that has been well studied by archeologists there. It is because of native people’s management that we have such beautiful and biologically important meadows presently. The meadows are known by various names including ‘Marshall Flats,’ ‘Marshall Field,’ and ‘Twin Gates.’
Biota
Marshall Meadows is home to some very interesting species. The endangered Ohlone tiger beetle miraculously is hanging on there, living as it does on trails where bikers are likely to smash them. The endangered San Francisco popcornflower is also found there. A species that should be listed as endangered, the Pt. Reyes Horkelia, is thriving in portions of the meadows. These prairies are also home to locally rare patches of goldfields, large flowered star tulip, Pacific panicgrass, and ladies tresses orchid. Because of the wetlands and extremely poor soil, the meadows have unusually dense patches of native grasses and reduced competition from invasive, non-native plant species. As a result, there are colorful patches of native flowers beginning in late winter and going right through spring. That profusion of flowers supports a bunch of interesting pollinators, some of which are probably undescribed species.
Mima Mounds
Marshall Meadows features a very interesting phenomenon: mima mounds. These are hummocks around 3 feet tall and 15 feet or so in diameter. In between the mounds are wetlands and even small winter-time pools. The varied topography allows both wet- and dry-adapted plants to thrive close to one another. Mima mounds can also be found on other parts of campus and within Wilder Ranch State Park as well as at Santa Cruz City’s Pogonip and Moore Creek greenbelt areas, and, further afield, at Point Lobos State Reserve, and Fort Ord National Monument.
Fire and the Meadows
Human-caused fire impacts have long been an issue in these meadows. The native peoples probably used cultural fire in various ways in the meadows, but their wisdom specific to that spot, developed over thousands of years, has sadly been lost. Old World peoples banned fire and then, once the genocide was largely over, hypocritically used it themselves when they realized how important it was to keep pasture open for livestock. At UCSC’s founding, they continued to use fire in the meadows and chaparral to reduce fuel loading in preparation for wildfire. When I started my job as Campus Reserve Steward in 1992, the University had neglected its fire management for some unknown number of years for, again, unknown reasons. However, Dean Raven with the grounds department was enthusiastic in his support of my proposal to start up the burning again to maintain the prairies and so we began exploring options. Somehow, folks determined that fire could happen but only on Campus Reserve land, on the western side of Empire Grade where there hadn’t been fire for decades or maybe even so far back as with the native peoples. Students collected pre-fire data and I solicited expert opinion about what to do. There were many false starts but CALFIRE managed to make bare dirt around ‘burn units’ to do a training fire. Eventually, the agency lit the fire, huge flames erupted, native grasses were killed, and the meadow was permanently converted to a more weedy prairie. That was around 1994. Fast forward to 2020 and the other side of the road was blitzed.
The 2020 CZU fire didn’t reach Marshall Meadows, but it was close. CALFIRE mobilized a bulldozer to cut a bare soil fire line along the fire road at Marshall Field, scraping away all of the native plants and disturbing the soil badly.
Draining the Meadows
Start with Santa Cruz County Public Works, add in the University and State Parks maintenance crews, and overlay that with hordes of rules-ignoring mountain bikers, and you have a recipe for drying out the precious Marshall Meadows. The Public-Works-dug ditches along Empire Grade are deep and carry a lot of water, draining and eroding the wetlands of Marshall Meadows. The ditches lead to ditch-caused gullies in the forest, and the eroded soil dumps into streams that would otherwise support endangered steelhead. Thanks (NOT), Public Works, for accelerating the extinction of multiple species!
The University has done its best to keep the fire road open, building up gravel and digging ditches to dry up the road, further altering the wetlands in the meadows. State Parks once wanted to build a parking lot in the meadows, a story detailed here. Parks continues, like the University, to ‘maintain’ the destructive roads.
Meanwhile, massive numbers of mountain bikers are flaunting rules and adding to the wetland draining and destruction. The trails they use are eroding, making channels that drain the wetlands, sending precious water quickly into ditches and drying out the meadows. Occasionally, State Parks has put up signs ‘closing’ trails during particularly wet weeks: it is difficult to overlook the ‘trail closed’ signs tossed into the bushes and the steady line of bikers seeking muddy gear and ‘joy’ on the sunny days between winter storms.
Restoring the Meadows
Amongst all this negativity, there is some good work going on in Marshall Meadows towards restoration and management of the habitat and species. UCSC associates are keeping their eye on the illicit mountain biking trails, putting up signs and discouraging use. Occasional volunteers and staff are physically removing invading brush and trees. Fuels clearance along Empire Grade also worked well at removing invading woody species. State Parks has been maintaining a regular burn regime on the meadows they manage, and, although timed badly for germinating annual wildflowers, the fires have seemed to maintain meadow habitat while enhancing some perennial native species. State Parks’ program of invasive exotic species control has also been very important at maintaining Marshall Meadows. I hope that folks maintain these activities and more people recognize the importance of stewarding these meadows in the future.
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Grey Hayes is a fervent speaker for all things wild, and his occupations have included land stewardship with UC Natural Reserves, large-scale monitoring and strategic planning with The Nature Conservancy, professional education with the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and teaching undergraduates at UC Santa Cruz. Visit his website at: www.greyhayes.net
Email Grey at coastalprairie@aol.com |
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Why should a middle-class nurse pay a larger share of her paycheck [to Social Security] than a wealthy corporate lawyer?
The question I have posed above comes from Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Moreno, writing in The New York Times, in a column whose online title reads as follows: “Bernie Moreno and Elizabeth Warren: Our Plan to Save Social Security.”
That’s Bernie Moreno, in the picture at the top. I am telling you this just in case you didn’t immediately recognize him (and I’m betting that anyone reading this blog posting probably didn’t). I know a lot about Elizabeth Warren, and would recognize her anywhere, but I certainly wouldn’t know Bernie Moreno if he knocked on my door – something that is highly unlikely, since Moreno is the senior U.S. Senator from Ohio, and I am virtually certain that he does not regularly visit or vacation in Santa Cruz!
In case you’re totally clueless, our Social Security System is heading for real problems, the key problem being that the monies being placed into the Social Security Trust fund are not going to be adequate to fund future Social Security payments, starting in 2030, or thereabouts.
If you click the link I have provided above, and read the Moreno-Warren article (it’s a “gift” article and should be available even to non-subscribers), you can find out more. The key point I am attempting to highlight is that if those people who have annual incomes above $184,500 were to pay the same percentage into Social Security that people pay who have the same annual income that I do (and that you do, too, probably) the Social Security System’s solvency would be extended for another generation.
As Warren and Moreno correctly note:
This is a no-brainer: The wealthiest Americans, who have benefited the most from America’s opportunities, should contribute the same percentage of their income as a factory worker in Chillicothe, Ohio, or a teacher in Worcester, Mass.
Or, I might say, a teacher or a restaurant employee in my own hometown of Santa Cruz, California.
So, we might well ask ourselves, “Why?” Why don’t they?
Well, the rich get let off the hook because our political system is reacting to the power of money. It’s supposed to react to the power of the people.
Who do you think could do something about that?
Right! YOU could!
And me, too, of course!
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Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com |
Dale is taking a break.
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Dale Matlock, a Santa Cruz County resident since 1968, is the former owner of The Print Gallery, a screenprinting establishment. He is an adherent of The George Vermosky school of journalism, and a follower of too many news shows, newspapers, and political publications, and a some-time resident of Moloka’i, Hawaii, U.S.A., serving on the Board of Directors of Kepuhi Beach Resort. Email: cornerspot14@yahoo.com. |
Each week, I will feature a selection of interesting and historically significant places in Santa Cruz County from the 1986 edition of Donald Thomas Clark‘s wonderful book, “Santa Cruz County Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary“, published by the Santa Cruz Historical Trust.
“Nuggets” If I find something topically relevant, but not necessarily directly related to the week’s selection, you’ll see it under the Nuggets heading. Note: for reasons of brevity, sources are usually dropped when I reproduce an entry. You can always email me if you’re curious, or, even better, buy a copy of the book!
Dateline: July 29, 2026
This week’s entry caught my eye because of the Porter family name. According to Find A Grave, Mary Elizabeth Easton Porter was born in Santa Cruz County in 1870, and died in Santa Barbara County, age 87, in 1957. Not to be confused with Mary Porter Sesnon (the daughter of her husband’s uncle, Benjamin Porter, and of a previous generation).
The Porter family name is instantly recognizable in Santa Cruz County, not the least because Soquel’s main drive is Porter Street (there’s also Porter College up at UCSC, the Porter-Sesnon House at Cabrillo, etc.) There were and have bean a LOT of Porter folk over multiple generations. The Santa Cruz Trains web site has a detailed history of the Porter Family, which among other things, explains the origins of this week’s entry: “When The Forest of Nisene Marks was formed in 1965, the matter of the Porters’ property had to be resolved [the family’s summer long time family home, the Porter House]. After long negotiations, it was agreed that the larger parcel would be donated in exchange for the creation of the Mary Easton Picnic Area.”
Clark doesn’t mention this, but Warren R. Porter also founded prominent local companies Graniterock (the gravel, sand, concrete, and asphalt company) in 1900 and Granite Construction (1922), as per the SCC History Wiki. The Graniterock Blog has a piece on The Easton Family of Santa Cruz who also played a big part in the founding of the company.
There’s very little I can find online about Mary Easton specifically, which I think speaks to the sexist bias of historiography in general. Clearly, she must have held some significance in the family’s mind, for the price of donating their portion of The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park to be naming part of it after her. The Mary Easton Picnic Area is right after the main parking space inside the park, and the short Porter Trail inside the park takes you from it, to the Porter Family Picnic Area. See this map (PDF) to locate it.
I’ve mentioned some of this local online historical resources I use to research the topics for each column, but Find A Grave is a general purpose tool/site that often yields fascinating information and links (as mentioned in my recent column on Winkle’s Bridge).
A picnic spot in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. Named for Mary Easton Porter, wife of Warren R. Porter. Porter, born in Santa Cruz, March 30, 1861, was the son of John T. Porter, one of the founders of the Loma Prieta Lumber Company incorporated in 1883 to log much of the area encompassed by today’s state park. Warren R. Porter was bookkeeper (1884), then secretary (1886-1902) of the lumber company. He was incorporator (1888), director and (1900-1922) president of the Pajaro Valley National Bank, Watsonville. From 1907 to 1911 he was lieutenant-governor of California. Mary Easton was the daughter of Rev. G. A. Easton, rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley. They were married August 23, 1893, and built their residence
at the company town, Loma Prieta. See also Porter Family Picnic Area, and Porter Gulch [3].
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Thomas Leavitt is the husbandy thing to our illustrious webmistress. A resident of Santa Cruz (now part time) since 1993, his interests include history, technology, and community organizing. He started the world’s first self-service web hosting company, WebCom, located at 903 Pacific in May of 1994. He’s been part of too many community organizations to mention, and ran for City Council in the early aughts. Email Thomas at ThomLeavitt@gmail.com |
“Hollywood”
“I used to think as I looked out on the Hollywood night, ‘There must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me dreaming of being a movie star.’ But I’m not going to worry about them. I’m dreaming the hardest.”
~Marilyn Monroe
“Hollywood is a sewer with service from the Ritz Carlton.”
~Wilson Mizner
“Hollywood will put you in a box, so to speak. Some people will have seen you in ‘La Bamba’ or another dramatic film and think, ‘Okay, that’s what Lou does.’ But they don’t really have an idea of the range or diversity that I can bring to a project.”
~Lou Diamond Phillips
“It’s said in Hollywood that you should always forgive your enemies – because you never know when you’ll have to work with them.”
~Lana Turner
“Where I come from, it’s a little bit like England. We start from the theater, and we do films a bit on our free time. The history of making films in Scandinavia is so old, it’s like the oldest. The Nordic film industry started before Hollywood, in Stockholm, in Copenhagen.”
~Michael Nyqvist
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Figure out who you want to be, and then be that! |
Direct questions and comments to webmistress@BrattonOnline.com
(Gunilla Leavitt)
