Bratton Online

PRE-DRONE PHOTO OF SANTA’S VILLAGE May 29,1957. Wikipedia says…. “In 1956 the Lawridge dairy farm, alongside Highway 17 in Scotts Valley, was leased to southern California developer Glenn Holland. He had already developed Santa’s Village in 1955, in San Bernardino County, and would later build a third in East Dundee, Illinois, becoming Santa’s Village AZoosment Park. The grand opening was May 30, 1957, with Danish native Carl Hansen (aka magician/clown Hocus Pocus) in the role of Santa Claus. The main rides were a bobsled, a spinning Christmas tree and Santa’s Express train. There was also a petting zoo, a huge Jack-in-the-Box and equally large Santa’s boot, and an Alice in Wonderland hall of mirrors.

In August 1966, Holland sold to developer Noorudin Billawalla. In 1977, the Santa’s Village Corporation filed for bankruptcy, and in 1979 the park closed for good. In 1990 Borland International purchased the land as their world headquarters. The park had its own freeway exit off Highway 17, and as of 2016, the freeway exit signs still read “Santa’s Village Road”.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com

DATELINE April 24, 2017

Paraguay’s landfill orchestra plays instruments made from recycled rubbish

STAR TREK DEALS WITH TERRORISM!!!

SANTA CRUZ SWINGS A Full length movie. I posted this one hour and 22 minute film by Ken Koenig a year or more ago. It got great reviews. If you haven’t seen it…do it now. You’ll learn a lot about our older and newer jazz history.

UCSC AND THE NUDGING OF STUDENT NUMBERS. The responses to the shifting of enrollment numbers given by UCSC Chancellor Blumenthal show a very real concern, support, respect, diversity, and caring for the relationship between the University and the community. One respondent wrote…“That’s a very good point. Some of the missing students might be undocumented students who left after Trump was elected. That’s a number that could tell a story or two”. Andrew Schiffrin wrote… “I read in your most recent column about the confusion around the University’s enrollment numbers. I may be able to help. As I understand it, the University uses a three quarter average in determining the official annual enrollment number. I think the Chancellor’s 17,500 number refers to the three quarter average for the 2016-17 school year. As your column states, the 18,753 enrollment number is for the Fall, 2017 enrollment.

Since enrollment declines over the school year, the University argues that using the three quarter average is reasonable. The 19,500 maximum enrollment under the current LRDP is tied to this approach. Of course, a reasonable argument can be made that the impacts of the Fall Quarter enrollment on the community are real and shouldn’t be discounted through incorporation in the annual average.

We won’t know how close this year’s enrollment approaches the 19,500 maximum until the University releases this year’s three quarter average. The maximum was projected to be reached by 2020 and can’t be exceeded until a new LRDP is adopted. I hope this helps”.

Calling attention to another aspect, a reader writes… “Failing to mention the methodology is still misleading. And if the chancellor is talking about planning, I think that the most honest population number should be a projection from the most current numbers. And projecting from the Fall 2016 enrollment, more than 1,800 students would have to have dropped out between October 2016 and Jan 2017 to maintain the 17,500 average. That’s more than ten percent of the student body. So he’s picking numbers, now almost a year out of date, that makes him look good. Or his Communications people are putting these numbers in his mouth”.

STILL MORE UCSC NEWS. The April 20 issue of City on A Hill Press told a sad story. The sub headline read…”Response to removal of 80,000 books for study space, café”. The story by Katherine Plocharczyk opened with…More than 80,000 texts were permanently removed without faculty approval from the Science and Engineering (S&E) Library last summer to make room for renovated study space and a library cafe. On April 13, research professor Michael Nauenberg, who has been a member of the UC Santa Cruz community for over 50 years, held a talk, urging students to consider how this may affect their education”. Read all of it here… It also states “The books were either destroyed or relocated to storage facilities”. It’s hard to really tell what’s going on up there on the Hill. Are they that desperate for space and money, do they lack an appreciation for books, do they dare ask the faculty for advice? Above all that, is anyone in charge of the overall quality of the education that the next enrollees will receive? Every meeting I have with UCSC students (and I have a lot) involves hearing about the crowded classrooms, the inability to take classes they need to graduate, proper places to study, and so on. What is also a large question that never seems to be made clear is “Who’s in charge”? How much control or decision-making power does the Chancellor have and just which areas does he make decisions? The number of new students admitted, on campus housing numbers, construction of new bed spaces…and how many decisions are delivered to him by the Board of Regents?? I only wish we knew more about that.

THE SWANTON FAMILY BRINGS ELECTRICITY TO SANTA CRUZ. Historian and former UCSC map librarian Stan Stevens was kind enough to send us a four-page document detailing not just the Fred Swanton we know a little about but also his dad Albion Paris Kingston Swanton. The Swantons not just created our very own opera House and brought the very first electricity to the city, and the connection to the early Boardwalk but plenty more. Download the pdf here!

HOUSING: PRICE NOT SUPPLY IS THE PROBLEM.

Sunday’s Sentinel (4/23/17) contained two op-eds that address the future of Santa Cruz. One under the name of UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal and the other by Gail Jack of the organization, Affordable Housing Now! Both are growth endorsing and both are based on assumptions that can be challenged.

The Chancellor’s article is a smooth piece of salesmanship for growth. We hear about Regine, from a working class Filipino family whose early interest in computers has led her to UCSC and a major in computer engineering. A heart- warming story sending a subtle race-coded message that any opposition to further UCSC growth will thwart the educational aspirations of thousands of future Regines. Never mind that students can get a fine education at UC Merced, including a major in computer engineering. The goal here is not so much ensuring that future students receive an education but that they get it at UCSC. Bigger is better. Students who select a campus other than UCSC receive letters encouraging them to consider UCSC if they change their minds. That doesn’t reflect a concern for the impact of UCSC growth on the community.

When addressing housing, the choice of words is revealing. The op-ed states: “The County’s housing shortage, for example, makes interesting headlines.” A more accurate statement would be “UCSC growth has resulted in escalating rents that are forcing out low income workers and families.” A shortage of housing is not the core of the problem. There is a rent crisis fuelled largely by UCSC growth in the context of housing being a market commodity. There are hundreds of units of housing currently being built in town and the rents are exorbitant. A 300 square foot unit rents for $1700 a month. Others are in the $2300 a month range. Supply and demand is not the model any more. You can pave over paradise and the rents will still be exorbitant. The reassurance that UCSC is planning on building 3,000 beds by 2020 under a new public-private partnership will reassure some but not this writer. That means destroying the Porter meadow and erecting a concentration of housing that will not only be out-of scale with what has been historically the human-scale of campus development but will also ensure social problems that will strain already maxed out resources such as counseling; police; health services etc. I lived for four years in Family Student Housing, a complex of 199 apartments, which translates into approximately 700 beds. The scale of 3,000 beds crammed into the Porter meadow is a formula for problems. Not to mention that students also venture off-campus, which means pressure on all off-campus facilities and resources. And if less than 97% of those 3,000 beds are occupied, the result will be rent increases across the board for all on-campus students, driving them into the community where landlords adjust their rents to keep pace with UCSC. Growth is the problem, not the lack of housing or lack of participation in the LRDP process.

The op-ed from Affordable Housing Now! uncritically accepts that growth is good, that the problem is lack of supply rather than housing speculation and that high density will translate into affordability with everyone biking and walking or using public transit. The op-ed states “we are not building enough housing for the people who want to live here.” Why should we? Building more housing has not resulted in lower housing costs or rents and that is true for Santa Cruz and other communities. It only results in over-crowding. It is estimated that you would need to build 10,000 units of housing to see rents reduce by 15% according to housing researchers. Nowhere does the op-ed address the concept of carrying capacity or sustainability. People don’t spend all their lives inside their houses. The consume things. They get on the roads, most of them in cars. They go to clinics where parking and getting an appointment are becoming difficult. Where is the space for new medical clinics? And all the other services that a community needs and desires?

It’s past time to accept that we are at the upper limit of human carrying capacity and the only possible solution is to not build more housing for all who would like to live or study here but to take care of the people who are already here.

~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).

GRANITE AND TRUMPS WALL. Micah Posner emailed to clarify Granites “BID-NO BID” statement … Yes. It is a big victory, albeit a minor role in one. It seems likely that the pressure did effect Granite. Their CEO said that if Granite was “asked to build it, they would.” Google “Trump’s Wall Granite Construction” for the source. While that is not exactly the same as putting in a bid, it does seem to connote that they have had a change of heart. Good for them”. Read Chris Krohn’s Trumped–up Wall report next.

SPEAKING OF THOSE PESKY THINGS KNOWN AS EMAILS.

First, the Happiest News This Week — All part of Just Saying No to Trump’s Trumped-up Wall

First, I received this email forwarded from the city manager:

Martin (Bernal),
Thank you for your call today. You had asked me for feedback on whether Granite [Construction] has bid any border security work under the current administration. You may be aware that the Department of Homeland Security solicited proposals and whitepapers to be submitted by contractors on April 4th. I can say with certainty that the only border security-related projects that Granite has submitted bids on to-date were administered under the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations. As Granite has previously shared with the City of Santa Cruz, we fully support everyone’s right to voice their opinions. Granite is in the business of creating jobs by putting the proven skills and capabilities of our thousands of diverse employees across the country to work and build infrastructure projects in North America. Please let me know if I can provide any further clarification.

Best regards,
Don (Roland)
Manager Construction Materials, Coastal Region Granite Construction

Then I sent this to Don Roland:
Thank you Mr. Roland. Can I tell my constituents that Granite Construction of Watsonville, Ca. will not, has not, and does not have any intention of bidding for work on an ill-conceived border wall idea by the Trump administration? It is important for all of us that you clearly state your intentions. I believe you are going in the direction of NOT assisting in the wall-building fiasco, but could you be a bit clearer?

Thanks much and your communication is much appreciated.
Best, Chris Krohn Councilmember

Then, I was elated when I received the following email and declared victory:

Council Member Krohn,
Thank you for your message. My family and I live in Santa Cruz, so as one of your constituents I appreciate your service to our city. April 4 was a critical deadline to submit proposals to the Department of Homeland Security for border security projects. Granite did not submit a proposal, and to date has not bid any border security projects under the Trump administration. With recent road maintenance funding being secured at the state and local levels, we’re currently focused on building those types of projects.

Sincerely,

Don

Score one for the people! OMG, I love Santa Cruz!

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Email #2–Back to the Future

The Santa Cruz city council agenda for April 25th has as one of its thirty agenda items a 299-word superfluous account of a 7-hour meeting about the city’s goals and strategic planning for the next two years. It simply states:

Item 5. Minutes of the April 1, 2017 City Council Retreat. Motion to approve as submitted.

“At 9:22 a.m. facilitator Shawn Spano closed Oral Communications. Led by facilitator Shawn Spano, the City Council discussed mission, goals, focus areas, deliverables, and priorities for a two-year work plan, in addition to a set of topics to be scheduled for regular report-out to the Council in the next 12 months. City staff are to refine the work plan based upon Council comments and return the work plan for formal City Council acceptance at an upcoming regular meeting. The City Council took no action.”

Upon seeing this I sent the following email to the city manager:

Reading the one-pager (mostly describing who was there, but without titles of Department Heads and city staff..?) A member of the public would never know what went on between 9:30am and 4:30pm on April 1st 2017 inside a room in a rather hidden part of the city of Santa Cruz…seven hours with “city leaders,” some of the highest paid municipal employees in this city, most of whom make in excess of $150,000 per year, got together to discuss city business, a strategic work plan, and goals for the coming two years and nothing about our conversations is reported out to the public?

Missing minutes:

–I specifically stated, “for the record” at the beginning of the meeting, “let the record reflect that Parks and Rec. Director Mauro Garcia is NOT present.”

[Nothing noted in official minutes.]

—It should be noted in these minutes too, because it is noteworthy, that the city clerk and finance director were also absent without nary a reason offered to the public that was present or the city council that I am aware.

—So, what happened at this meeting? What was said? You sort of summed up what the public said, you even got John Aird’s three points (homelessness, water banking and the university’s future growth) in there, but what did council and staff say? The city manager? Assistant city manager? Dep. city manager? What did they say?

—What was on all those charts that Shawn Spano, the facilitator wrote out? And please do not tell me that a “report” will be issued later and “posted” on the web site because that is not my point of bringing this to your attention.These minutes are sometimes the only thing the public will ever see, ever have to question, ever have in the way of information, or start, a conversation with their elected representatives and city staff.

Please Mr. City Manager, give the good people of Santa Cruz a better report on 1) what the “strategic plan” is to be, and 2) what are the goals, short and long-term ones, that were discussed?

What’s Coming Next?

May 9th City Council Agenda May Have Something on it for Every Concerned Resident

The May 9th city council agenda is shaping up to be an epic, historic and perhaps histrionic council session. There are no less than at least five pretty big issues scheduled by the city manager to be on that agenda. (Has he consulted yet with the Mayor? Will something get bumped? Probably no film at eleven.) Here is what we are tentatively in store for:

Short-term Vacation Rentals, otherwise known as “STVR’s,” and my sources say they are killing the golden goose of Santa Cruz as a premier university town, Santa Cruz as a place for working people to live, and Santa Cruz as a place of diversity. STVR’s, along with the University’s exorbitant dorm fees, are driving out families and low-wage earners from Santa Cruz. There are well over 300 of these vacation rentals now, that’s 300 additional hotel rooms! There’s currently a moratorium while a subcommittee of eleven made up of two renters and the rest homeowners—studies the issue and gets back to the council. The group asked for three additional meetings, so the council must extend the current moratorium on vacation rentals. I’m calling for keeping it in place at least until October 15th and not slipping it onto a council agenda when the students are away this summer. Los estudiantes have a big stake in this issue. It is currently slated to go to the Planning Commission on June 29th.
Marijuana permits for two additional outlets, two of our oldest established groups—Valerie Coral’s WAMM, Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana, and Lisa Molyneux’s, Greenway,will also be on the agenda. These two groups have been operating since Proposition 215, the “Compassionate Use Act,” was passed by more than 70% of SC voters. Seems to me we should be able to work this out and cap the number of outlets in Santa Cruz at four. There are currently two licensed businesses in the marijuana-selling business in SC.
The elusive, exclusive, oft-referred to but never zeroed in on since I’ve been on the council the past five months, is the “Homelessness Coordinating Committee’s” Report on how we might address the issue of homelessness. Will it really come to the council at long last? The situation for the past year has been dire for the homeless. It is easily the #1 issue on most people’s minds (with housing a close second, but they are connected). This committee is a subcommittee of the city council that’s been meeting for awhile, to figure out what to recommend on this, the most dire and pressing issue in town. Stay tuned!
UCSC chancellor,George Blumenthal will attend the city council on May 9th and attempt to say how the 19,500-student gorilla in town is really around 17,000, and UCSC is saving water, and the traffic counts on campus haven’t changed in ten years (?!?), and that while UCSC is experiencing some growing pains, “we” have to do it ‘cause we’re mandated by the state. You may have guessed it! Must be time for a new Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) process. The old one, an agreement that was clearly not good for the city of Santa Cruz given the current housing, traffic and water situation, is set to expire in 2020 and the planning must begin in earnest sometime soon. So, is now—May 9th—the time for the “town” to come out en masse and say, “NO MAS, 19,500 is all we can fit into Santa Cruz” to the “Gown?”

And Finally, on That Same Tuesday, May 9th Agenda…

Stop the presses! Drew Glover, hometown guy who got over 10,000 votes in the last SC city election and was subsequently thrice denied a seat on city commissions may finally get appointed to the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women (CPVAW). But then again, maybe not…People should come out and make sure either Drew is appointed or that council members state publicly why they are opposed to his appointment. Stand up for Drew and be counted!

~ (Chris Krohn is a father, writer, activist, former Santa Cruz City Councilmember (1998-2002) and Mayor (2001-2002). He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 12 years. He was elected last November to another 4-year term on the Santa Cruz City Council).

RANCHO DEL MAR CENTER IMPROVEMENTS MEAN CUTTING DOWN ALL EXISTING TREES (even the large redwood by Ace Hardware).

I requested a meeting with Planner Randall Adams to review the TRC Retail plans for Rancho del Mar Center. He responded by placing the plans in the Records Room for me to see. I am troubled by the plans to remove all existing vegetation…the large redwood tree, the large palms, the mature Hollywood Junipers. There are no new planting areas included in the sea of asphalt of the lower areas near the theater. It does not appear there are any stormwater runoff elements, such as bioswales or pervious paving included either. Contact Mr. Bruce Walton “Bruce Walton” BWalton@trcretail.com 858-442-9960 (cellphone)

A GREAT RESOURCE FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN LOCAL WATER ISSUES
A thoughtful and highly educated group of citizens has formed “Water for Santa Cruz” to study secondary supply options for our County. One member, Mr. Scott McGilvray, has served on the State Water Advisory Commission and others have a wide range of engineering and scientific expertise. This group has sounded the alarm regarding the Soquel Creek Water District plan to pursue the PureWater Soquel project, injecting treated sewage water into the groundwater supply for the MidCounty region. These people have asked many times to be included on Board agendas for presentations to the Soquel Creek Water District and Santa Cruz City Water District meetings, but are never given the opportunity to give a public presentation.

Take a look at their website: www.WaterforSantaCruz.com to learn about the readily-available and affordable alternative solutions to the groundwater overdraft problem facing our area. You will also find a comprehensive list of local meetings and hearings regarding the local groundwater crisis.

BROWN ACT VIOLATIONS CAUSE RE-DO OF APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT PUBLIC HEARING
The Santa Cruz County Planning Department and Historic Resources Commission committed at least nine violations of the Ralph M. Brown Act in the course of the Aptos Village Project Public Hearing held earlier this month. Because a few citizens brought this to the attention of County Counsel, the Planning Department has decided to RE-DO THE PUBLIC HEARING ON FRIDAY, MAY 12 AT 9:30AM (Board of Supervisor’s Chambers, 701 Ocean Street).

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Here are the violations committed that must be cured and corrected with a re-hearing:

Improper notification: the agenda for the public hearing was not made available at least 72 hours in advance of the hearing.

The agenda, once made available to the public, did not include any of the information in the attachments referenced in the agenda. The public was therefore given no information regarding the specifics of the proposed amendment changes. Members of the public unable to attend the 9:30am Monday public hearing could not have responded in writing to issues reviewed by the Commission due to improper notification procedures.

The agenda, when first made available to the public, had the incorrect time for the public hearing, listing it as occurring at 9:30pm. This was corrected when an observant member of the public questioned Planning staff member, Ms. Murphy, 24 hours before the public hearing. Members of the public who viewed the agenda before it was corrected were improperly notified and improperly informed.

The agenda was very vague and was not written in such a way as to pique the public’s interest to further investigate critical issues not available in the agenda. For example, the agenda stated the proposed amendment reduced the number of doors. In reality, the two doors remaining are proposed to be a modern industrial steel roll-up door and a steel door for employee entrance. This diverges greatly from the historic preservation of the character of the structure, which is eligible for the National Historic Registry.

Members of the public attending the public hearing were given incomplete packets of information, devoid of many Exhibits purported to be in the agenda packets of Commissioners.

There was an insufficient number of complete information packets available for all members of the audience at the public hearing. Because no advance information was available, even the members of the public who attended the public hearing were not properly or fully informed of all of the critical issues being considered.

There was insufficient room for all attendees to be comfortably seated. Even though Ms. Murphy was notified in advance that a sizeable number of people were planning to attend and that she needed to consider a larger room for the public hearing, attendees were crowded into the small Planning Department Conference Room. The chairs were uncomfortably close together, making access difficult, and some members of the public were forced to stand the entire duration of the hearing.

The County Historic Resources Commission website was not updated with any current information before the public hearing.

During the public hearing, it became clear that three of the five Commissioners had privately toured the Hihn Apple Barn and the Aptos Village Project with Barry Swenson Builder foreman Mr. Keith Henderson at some point before the public hearing. This constitutes a serial meeting and as such violated the Ralph M. Brown Act.

REQUEST NOW THAT COUNTY PLANNER MS. ANNIE MURPHY NOTIFY YOU OF THE PUBLIC HEARING AND ALL ASSOCIATED INFORMATION TO BE CONSIDERED:

Annie Murphy Annie.Murphy@santacruzcounty.us or phone 831-454-3111.

Mark your calendar for Friday, May 12 at 9:30am for the second public hearing to consider these vendor-driven changes to the Historic Preservation Plan for the Hihn Apple Barn. Remember, the New Leaf Market architect said at the last hearing that adding modern changes to this 125-year old historic treasure of the Project “won’t really matter because no one will be able to see them due to the 15-foot high retaining wall nearby.”

Is that the attitude our community wants to support when we were promised the historic character of the Barn would be preserved?

THIS HEARING IS ALSO THE LEGAL TIME TO PRESENT NEW INFORMATION REGARDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF THE PROJECT THAT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED AT THE TIME OF INITIAL APPROVAL OF THE PROJECT’S MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION.
I wonder why work on the foundation for the three-story building next to the Apple Barn has stalled after it was pointed out to Assistant Planning Director Ms. Wanda Williams and Chief Building Official Mr. Martin Heaney that there was no permit issued for the work? Hmmmm…..

Maybe someone took a closer look at the second soil report that stated liquefaction risk was low, when the first report stated liquefaction risk was high? Hmmm…….

COUNTY ROAD WORK BENEFITING THE APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT SLOWED THIS WEEK
For unknown reasons, the bulk of the construction equipment brought in by John Madonna Construction of San Luis Obispo has been idle on the railroad tracks at Trout Gulch Road and Soquel Drive this past week. Maybe it was the rain? Maybe it was the lack of archaeological observers on site during previous excavation work (and a significant historic artifact was discovered)?

Maybe it was the potentially-contaminated soils under the 200′ of railroad track bed to be excavated 31″ deep that must be sampled, tested and remediated? That will be especially important now that the disturbed soils from Pete Testorff’s and Joe Appenrodt’s parcels (known to have high lead and arsenic levels, and possibly petroleum compounds) have discharged stormwater runoff that collected at the railroad tracks. An independent analysis of the sediment-laden stormwater is forthcoming.

There are many potential soil contamination problems at the Aptos Village Project. But what else would one expect, given the extensive historic railroad and lumber yard use, along with the apple dryers, which often contribute to elevated arsenic levels in soils?

THE GOOD NEWS IS THE VALENCIA ROAD REPAIR WILL BEGIN IN TWO WEEKS
It was interesting to discover last week that officials from State Fish and Wildlife have also been puzzled why no work has occurred on the Valencia Road repair. “We assumed that the Valencia Road site would receive a temporary bridge to resume service, as was done on Nelson Road in Scotts Valley.” the official wrote. That official thanked the members of the public who sent information that Valencia Elementary School has been closed due to unsafe access and await the Valencia Road repair. That person contacted the County Department of Public Works, and reported back that the County representative, Mr. Tim Bailey, stated the work will begin in two weeks.

Contact Mr. Tim Bailey or phone 831-454-2160 and ask when the work will begin.

The 600+ students at Valencia Elementary School will thank you and so will the 130 households in adjacent Rolling Green Estates. I wonder why the work was stalled? Do you think it was to make the road construction project at Trout Gulch Road and Soquel Drive easier without the school traffic? I do.

WHY IS SANTA CRUZ COUNTY PARKS SPENDING $35,000 TO PAVE APTOS VILLAGE PARK ROAD?
I wondered that when I read over last weeks’ County Board of Supervisor Consent Agenda. The binder of information available for the public in the County Clerk of the Board’s window did not have the plans included in the documentation. There was no notation that the plans were available at any other source or that they were missing from the binder.

The documentation stated that all information would be available in the County General Services Dept. at 701 Ocean Street (that’s room 330). I went there Tuesday morning and asked to see the information. I was told it was not available to the public until after it was approved by the Board. Transparent government? For that reason, I asked the Board to remove the item from the Consent Agenda and place it on the regular agenda. That means I had to wait until the very end of the meeting.

I was informed by the Board that there are public computers available at Clerk of the Board’s office. I did not know that because there are no notices posted at the two computers in the lobby, which were placed there last fall for the Cannabis licensing program.

Well, I had a commitment to honor that required me to leave the County Building for over an hour. I returned to find the Board meeting seemingly near the end of the item preceding the Aptos Village Park Road work issue. I dashed to the public computer to look at the plans. One computer was only for Cannabis licensing and the other was not operational.

The kind lady at the office got the second computer to work, but the plans were very large and took a long time to become available. I dashed back to the Board meeting…it seemed like the hearing about spending $1million for serial inebriates was closing…I dashed back to the computer to see a plan for the parking lot work that County Parks staff had drawn for the bid work but there were no less than THREE large volumes describing the actual scope of the work going out to bid. Frantic, I dashed back to the Board meeting. Again, it seemed close to the end, so I sat to listen.

My item for discussion came up. I explained that I had great difficulty accessing the information but saw that the Aptos Village Park parking lot was to be repaved and work done at the entrance adjacent to Aptos Creek Road.

Why do this work now when the County’s Phase II of the road construction work on Aptos Creek Road is forthcoming, and would most likely damage the Park’s road entrance? Why do this work at all when the Park road is in better shape than most of the County roads? Why not slurry seal the parking lot, rather than use expensive paving? LEO’s Haven, the All-Inclusive Park for kids with mobility challenges could really use that $35,000 instead.

Chairman John Leopold did not ask any County staff to address my questions. “I am surprised, Ms. Steinbruner, that you would ask that Parks spend money for engineered plans for this project.” I did not say I wanted that, but rather that I had become interested because the paving project drawings had not been drawn by engineers. I live on a privately-maintained road and as such, know that the County will not accept from my neighborhood any drawings for paving projects unless they are from a licensed engineer.

“Your opinion about the Aptos Village Project is widely known, Ms. Steinbruner.” and Leopold looked to Second District Supervisor Zach Friend. “The answers to your questions are all available in the material, if you would have only taken the time to read it.” he said. At that, the Board voted unanimously to approve spending $35,000 on the road into Aptos Village Park that is in excellent condition. Well, well, well. I just have to wonder if there is more to this project than meets the public eye? Stay tuned…..

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST DOW AND SHELL CHEMICAL CORPORATIONS FOR GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION PROBLEMS
Kudos to Ms. Melissa Dennis for her excellent Op-Ed piece in the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Sunday, April 23, page C9). Ms. Dennis clearly described the problem with the 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) contamination in one of the production wells currently serving water to Soquel Creek Water District’s customers in the Seascape/Aptos areas.

TCP is a carcinogen that was an unnecessary byproduct of an old formula for the fumigant Telone. Dow removed TCP from the fumigant 30 years ago, after knowingly contaminating water supplies of millions of Californians but not publicly disclosing the hazard.

According to Ms. Dennis’ article, “The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) says five parts TCP per trillion is too much. The levels in the Balustrol Drive well have been as high as 15 parts per trillion, despite the fact that TCP hasn’t been applied in over 30 years.”

At last Tuesday’s Soquel Creek Water District Board meeting, Item 5.4 discussed System Water Production Reports. The issue of TCP at the Country Club Well is outlined on page 263: “Country Club Well was drilled in 1953. Chromium 6 is present at an average of 6.8micrograms/liter (the MCL, or Maximum Contaminant Level, is 10 micrograms/liter). Country Club water also contains 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) at concentrations EXCEEDING (bold type added for emphasis) the draft MCL of 5 nanograms per liter (ng.L). TCP levels at Country Club range from less than 5 ng/L to 15ng/L. The MCL is expected to be finalized later this year.”

“In addition to commissioning a feasibility study for treatment options and costs, District staff is also investigating the feasibility of temporarily reducing or stopping the use of the Country {Club} Well pending installation of treatment in order to minimize exposure to TCP.”

****When I asked the Board if they would take the well off-line NOW, the answer was NO, because the State has not yet officially set the maximum contaminant level that would require that action.****

So, those who drink Soquel Creek Water District’s water in the Seascape/Aptos area are getting a daily dose of TCP carcinogen, as it is blended with the water from other wells. Does that bother you? I am not one of those customers, but it bothers me that the Board does not see value in immediately removing a known carcinogen from the water they sell.

Soquel Creek Water District has been required to report the TCP levels to the County Board of Supervisors, but no one has taken any action to ask that the contaminated well be taken off-line as a public health precaution. Supervisor Zach Friend recently told a citizen that he buys bottled water for his toddler to drink, due to concerns about possible contaminants in Soquel Creek Water District supplies. Hmmm…

CALL the District 475-8500 or WRITE the Board and ask why the Country Club Well continues to remain in production when TCP levels are a potential health hazard (enough that the District is suing Dow and Shell Corporations for the problem)?

Tom LaHue toml@soquelcreekwater.org (current President)
Bruce Daniels bruced@soquelcreekwater.org (Vice-President)
Carla Christensen carlac@soquelcreekwater.org
Bruce Jaffe brucej@soquelcreekwater.org
Rachel Lather rachell@soquelcreekwater.org
Ron Duncan rond@soquelcreekwater.org (General Manager)

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT APPROVED A SPECIAL RATE FOR TWIN LAKES BAPTIST CHURCH FUTURE ADDITIONS
The Twin Lakes Baptist Church wants to add a 330-person-capacity wedding chapel, a new coffee house, and a new outreach center to their campus. The organization requested a MUCH-REDUCED water demand offset figure than the District would normally consider. However, because of the good record keeping the Church could provide regarding current water use, the Board agreed to approve the reduction. It seems the water demand offset rules can always be bent to suit certain interests. I wonder if this Board action will set a precedent for other applicants to now make claims for reductions?

Remember, this is the same group that in 2014 filled the Board meeting beyond capacity at Seascape Resort to protest when some Board members were recommending a moratorium due to the critical groundwater overdraft and sea water intrusion problem. Back then, the Church wanted to expand their school campus and needed the water service approval to get building permits.

The Board instead voted to declare a Groundwater Emergency, and granted the service agreement. They also went on to grant the approval for the Aptos Village Project, which will use 38+ AcreFeet of water every year…..that’s a lot.

Keep in mind the District now only allows a total of about 4AcreFeet/year new water use, because the seawater intrusion problem continues to cause irreversible damage to the region’s water supply.

MEANWHILE, THE NEW O’NEILL RANCH WELL IS STILL OFFLINE due to unexplained increasingly high levels of ammonia in the water. The new Granite Way Well, constructed next to the Aptos Village Project, is a relatively low-producer due to the deep non-water-bearing clay layers. Engineer Mr. Taj Dufour stated that the well is still due to come online this summer,…even though no work seems to be happening to develop the well.
I wonder if there were any of those Barry Swenson Builder illegal diesel tank contaminants found in the water tests? Hmmm……

WONDERING WHAT SANTA CRUZ CITY WATER THINKS ABOUT COOPERATIVE TREATED SEWAGE WATER PROJECTS?
Ms. Rosemary Menard will speak about this at the next Soquel Creek Water District meeting on May 2, at the Capitola City Council Chambers, 6pm.

WONDERING ABOUT THE STATUS OF THE DEEP WATER DESAL PLANT IN MOSS LANDING?
Representatives of that group will give a presentation at the May 16 Soquel Creek Water District meeting, same place, same time. Former District General Manager Ms. Kim Adamson now shepherds the massive Project.

WANT TO TOUR SANTA CRUZ CITY’S NEW BELTZ WELL & TREATMENT PLANT?
Sign up for the May 1 tour (11am) by calling 420-5213.

LACK OF TRANSPARENT ZONING ADMINISTRATOR DECISION TO APPROVE A COMMERCIAL EVENT CENTER ON RURAL PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD.
A Pleasant Valley resident who found out at the last minute about a public hearing to consider approval for a large event center in his neighborhood told me many other neighbors with concerns just did not know about the hearing last Friday. Maybe that’s because the County is only required to notify residents up to 300′ from the project…maybe the cows in the pasture next door got the notice?

The Zoning Administrator, Ms. Wanda Williams, had not visited the site to see how narrow Pleasant Valley Road is before she approved more events to be held than what Planner Ms. Sheila McDaniels recommended, due to neighborhood comments. The applicant’s traffic study (Hamilton & Swift is the lead on this) indicated there would be no impact on the traffic caused by 10 large events (200 guests) and 16 small events (50 guests) every year, in addition to the regular weekend wine tasting events.

What amazed me was that Ms. Williams was prepared to approve the zoning change to Commercial use in this rural residential and agricultural community, but was not exactly sure how she wanted the conditions of approval declared. “We’ll just have to tweak it and put up on the website what we decide to approve,” she said.

I pointed out that doing so is not transparent government. She declared a five-minute break, returned, and approved more events than what had been recommended, with the option to request even more large events (200 guests) with amplified music lasting until 9pm within six months, at a level of discretionary approval NOT requiring any public notice at all. Wow.

I guess it did not matter to Ms. Williams that she approved something that is being considered under the Planning Department’s Environmental Review policy, but has not been vetted by the public or the Board of Supervisors. Maybe the Pleasant Valley community who value their quiet rural quality of life will have to pay $1800 to appeal the decision…and hire a lawyer. Here we go again…..

WRITE ONE LETTER. MAKE ONE CALL. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.

DO SOMETHING TODAY.

~Cheers, Becky Steinbruner
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.

Friday, April 21, 2017

#111 / May I Politely Disagree?

Brent Lewellen, pictured right, wrote a letter to the San Franciso Chronicle addressing the forcible removal of Dr. David Dao from United Airlines Flight 3411 on April 9, 2017. Lewellen’s letter was published on Saturday, April 15, 2017, and is reproduced below.

The forcible removal of Dr. Dao from the airplane resulted in significant physical injuries to him, and the incident generated a great deal of public discussion (including several of my own postings on this blog, the latest of which was yesterday). Wikipedia now has a page devoted to the incident on United Flight 3411.

Here is Lewellen’s letter:

Listen to authority next time

I believe the most important aspect of the United Airlines story is being overlooked. It’s not about overbooked flights or whether airlines should have the right to compel passengers to give up their seats (currently they do). The most important question this regrettable confrontation raises is what, as a society, we believe citizens should do when persons of authority, such as a security guard or a police officer, direct us to do something. Is it really OK now to simply disregard what a cop or security guard asks (then tells) us to do because we don’t want to?

You can reasonably argue whether United Airlines should have brought in airport security, but once it did, a citizen in a free society has a duty to comply with its instructions. You are certainly free to complain (loudly) as that authority figure escorts you from the plane; threaten to sue, demand to see a manager. But you must comply with those instructions, or you violate the social contract. One reason United called airport security is that people have decided they don’t have to listen to airplane personnel anymore. We can’t continue down this path.

signed…Brent Lewellen, San Francisco

It is Mr. Lewellen’s contention that “a citizen in a free society” has a duty to “comply” with the instructions of a “security guard or a police officer” when such an official issues a direct order to the citizen to do something, and that this duty to “comply” applies without any reference, whatsoever, to how justified, or not, the order might be. In other words, it is Mr. Lewellen’s belief that our duty as citizens is to “comply” first, and to complain later. This is how citizens must uphold “the social contract,” according to the way Lewellen sees the world. This is, to repeat, what Mr. Lewellen contends is the obligation of “a citizen in a free society.”

I want to disagree with Mr. Lewellen. Politely, I hope, but emphatically.

click here to continue (link expands, click again to collapse)

My first posting about this United Airlines incident noted how much the series of events that occurred on Flight 3411 duplicated what we know about how totalitarian societies operate, how they seize control, and how they transform what has been a “free society” into something quite the opposite.

Far from going along with what appears to be an abuse of official authority, I suggested nonviolent resistance, not only on the part of the passenger (Dr. Dao in this case), but also by everyone else, precisely so “citizens in a free society” could maintain that quality of freedom. If governmental authority has the right to act in apparently arbitrary ways, with the duty of the citizens being to “comply,” no matter how arbitrary or legally unsupported the orders might be, then the chance to challenge the unjustified order at a subsequent time counts for very little.

If the security officers had told all the Jews on the plane to stand up, and get off, we know that this would have been wrong, but as Lewellen sees it, anyone subjected to this kind of an order, and anyone watching it happen, should simply “comply,” and then take up their objections later, in a different forum.

Again, I politely disagree.

My second posting about the United Airlines incident was about “adhesion contracts,” and raised a legal question. Is it actually true that the airlines have a legal right to kick ticketed passengers off their planes, just because there is a 46-page contract that the passenger never read, but that the passenger supposedly agreed to? Lewellen thinks that these are the current rules. I am not quite so sure this is true. While I do think legislation to eliminate this possibility is appropriate, as I argued in my blog posting, such an adhesion contract, in the circumstances in which Dr. Dao was kicked off Flight 3411, is quite possibly not a legally enforceable obligation to which he had a legal duty to “comply.”

I would have no disagreement with Lewellen if he had said that he thinks that Dr. Dao made a very bad choice, in attempting to employ the tactics of passive resistance to oppose what the doctor thought was an improper order. In other words, had Lewellen been trying to give his personal advice about how it would be best to handle such a situation in the future – “comply” now, and take up the legalities later – he would have been making a responsible suggestion (thought I might politely disagree with that conclusion, too).

But Lewellen didn’t say that he thought citizens should consider the “compliance and complain later” strategy as the best strategy to pursue, in cases like that in which Dr. Dao found himself. Lewellen said that it is the duty of citizens to “comply” with the orders of governmental officials (whether legal, justifiable, or not), and that this is what “citizens in a free society” are required to do.

I can’t emphasize enough how much I disagree with Lewellen’s approach to citizenship. It will be much better for all of us if every one of us refuses to “comply” with apparently arbitrary orders, and we need to refuse to comply at the time these orders are issued, not months or years later, in some completely different forum.

A “free society” can only remain free if governmental authorities are required to demonstrate their legal right to issue orders, and to carry them out, in advance of executing them, rather than demanding immediate “compliance” with what appear to be arbitrary demands, backed up by the potential and actual use of violence for those who don’t “comply” with those demands immediately.

In my opinion, whether he really intended this or not, Lewellen comes down on the side of a totalitarian approach to government by saying that “compliance” is always the first duty of a “citizen in a free society.”

In my view, the opposite is the case.

~Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read his blog at www.gapatton.net

CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo takes pity on UCSC Students and “rockin out”. See a few pages downward.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Korean fashion statement”below some few pages. As always, at TimEagan.com you will find his most recent Deep Cover, the latest installment from the archives of Subconscious Comics, and the ever entertaining Eaganblog.

SANTA CRUZ BAROQUE FESTIVAL. The Baroque Festivals Concert #5 is titled “Harmonious Sphere”. Experience the North American debut of the renowned Colombian early music group Esfera Armoniosa. Directed by the charismatic Claudia Liliana Gantivar, they will perform folkloric villancicos, psalms, and lamentations from Colonial Latin American archives. Instrumentation includes recorder, baroque guitar, theorbo, dulcian, and viola de gamba. Trained at European early music conservatories, Esfera Armoniosa appears with support from the Colombian Ministry of Culture. It’s happening Saturday April 29 at 7:30 pm
in the Holy Cross Church, 126 high Street, Santa Cruz. Or get in touch at Santa Cruz Baroque Festival • 831-457-9693 • E-mail • P.O. Box 482 • Santa Cruz, CA 95061

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “How does the great Alfred Hitchcock’s sage advice for constructing a movie apply to writers? And what does Maestro Hitch have to do with the 2017 Santa Cruz Shakespeare season? Find out this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (ljo-express.blogspot.com).” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

LOST CITY OF Z. A pointless and true plot based on a book about a Brit who keeps trying to find what he thinks is a lost civilization deep in the Amazon jungle. Its 2 hours and 20 minutes long, but you’ll think it’s longer. It has everything jungles always have except Tarzan…and suspense. The hero leaves his wife and kids at home for years on end and you’ll wish you had stayed there too. The true name of the hero only adds to the boring trek… Percy Fawcett.

THE PROMISE. Oscar Isaac and Christian Bale lead this sad story of how the Germans under the Kaisers rule watched and supported the Turks back in 1915 as they murdered the Armenian segment of their population. ( 1.5 million Armenians). For some unknown reason James Cromwell has a two minute role and Jean Reno is also on screen near the end of the film. IF you do go, see if you feel like Christian Bale who plays an Associated Press newsman somehow is too big for the screen. Sounds odd but check it out. There is a very serious love interest dealing with tradition, religion, fidelity that seems to offset the too real tragedy of the Armenian slaughter. The Republic of Turkey still denies all this ever happened…more of the insanity of world politics.

UNFORGETABLE. Katherine Heigl plays the absolutely perfect ex-wife who haunts, plots, and damned near demolishes the new relationship her husband is having with Rosario Dawson. It’s more like a 1940’s B movie plot that we’ve seen too often. Lies, deceit, trust, sex, stabbing, and who loves the 10 year old perfect daughter most is about the entire story. You don’t need to see it any more times.

FRANTZ. Subtitled and in French and German this is another masterpiece from the young (40) Francois Ozon (Swimming Pool, See The Sea). Subtle, sensitive, perfectly paced and engrossing acting by all concerned. It’s about the aftermath of WW1 and the heart tearing effects it has on the soldiers and the families that survived. Love, enemy hatred, family loyalty, a soldiers duty are all paced and packed together in a film that will keep you completely involved up to and including the closing scene. See it quickly, Landmark closes these films way too quickly.

T2 TRAINSPOTTING. Danny Boyle is one of the most effective and wide ranging film directors working today. Not only did he direct the original down, gritty and dirty original Trainspotting in 1996 but he also did Slumdog Millionaire, and Steve Jobs fils. T2 takes us back to the original four druggies, thugs, and crazy guys who did that heroin robbery 20 years ago. They get together again and NO they don’t do “another job” they argue, hug, fight and give us a very busy film full of creativity, brilliance and Edinburgh Scotland atmosphere. It too has Iggy Pop music and Ewan McGregor in the lead. You have to see it if you liked the original.

GET OUT. Rotten Tomatoes gives this one an amazing 99%. Plus, it’s a huge box office hit !!! That’s surprising to everybody because it’s a low budget, semi horror-comedy, black and white theme film. Probably released in February because that’s when they release films that aren’t expected to make much money. Catherine Keener is about the only actor whose name any of us might know. It’s a white girl brings home a black boyfriend topic. Only it goes into zones and situations that will amaze and get you laughing!! Wild, inventive, new, fine acting, twisted…you’ll love it.

YOUR NAME. This beautiful Japanese inspired animated film makes Disney animation look like Walter and Margaret Keane’s “Big Eye” paintings in San Francisco in the 60’s. It is drawn with such skill and a sense of what animation can create that even Pixar should hang their well-financed heads in shame. The story behind Your Name is complex and thought provoking. Centering on youth and growing up, and sex changes, and ghosts, and family… it is just brilliant. See the subtitled version to get the full Japanese sensitive touch.

THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE. Jessica Chastain and her husband ran the Warsaw Zoo in Poland in 1939 before, during and after the Germans invade. A true story adapted from the book it details how the couple managed to hide 300 Jews from the Nazis inside the zoo during the invasion. You might get to thinking, as I did about half way through the film about the contrast, similarity, duality of watching the animals escape from behind bars and then keeping the Jews in the same place. Or of watching the animals escape to their freedom or posible death…well you see what I’m getting at. Besides that I’m against Zoos, Aquariums, animal parks, and all that cruel stuff. So go se this film, Jessica is very good in the lead role except that her fake Polish accent sounds fake.

GHOST IN THE SHELL. If you can stand watching Scarlett Johansson running, jumping, leaping, shooting and maybe being a robot for 106 minutes while she’s wearing just a skin tight, white, thin, body suit…then go see this movie. It’s a zillion dollar Japanese Studio production and another good thing about it is that Takeshi Kitano has a brief appearance and it’s amazingly powerful. Then again, he always is. The plot is way too complex and unbelievacle to fathom out. It’s copied from a Japanese comic book. Not to insult them, but12 year olds will love it.

GIFTED. Hollywood stars Chris Evans (who usually plays Captain America) and Octavia Spencer along with British star Lindsay Duncan lead the cast of this feel good saga of a 7 year old girl who was born into a mathematical genius family and who becomes another mathematical genius. It’s too soapy, too cute, too unbelievable, too contrived to be a good movie. I can’t think of any solid reason to recommend it to any group except to families who may have a genius child and are wondering what to do OR not do, with her.

GOING IN STYLE. Another tired re-hash is Going In Style starring Morgan Freeman-79, Alan Arkin-83, Michael Caine-84, Ann Margret –76, and Christopher Lloyd – 79 as the same grumpy old geezers who decide to rob a bank. That these actors would align themselves with Steven Mnuchin who was the National Finance Manager for the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, and who Trump just appointed as Secretary of The Treasury is a shame. The first version was in 1979 and starred now long gone stars George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg. Making our senior citizens the butts of jokes is about as funny as Mantan Moreland, Aunt Jemina, Gordo, and any overused stereotypes that come to mind.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Total 100% Disney sights, sounds and drech. You couldn’t possibly tell the songs from this Disney production from any of the last 30 years of Disney product songs. A wasted cast includes Emma Watson, Kevin Kline, Ewan MacGregor, Ian McKellan, Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, and Audra McDonald. BUT most of these actors play the roles of animated tea pots and candlesticks. There is or are no reasons to see this re-hash of every commercial triumph the Disney Factory has turned out for more than 50 years. And the kids will probably love it.

LOGAN. Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart lower themselves considerably by playing the lead roles in this last of the Wolverine series. I’ve tried hard and failed to stop thinking that this is exactly the kind of film I’ll bet that Donald Trump likes. Even though the Wolverine (Jackman) is a comic book character and the special effects are just about 90% of the picture, the cruelty, killing, blood, evil, are all so typical of today’s biggest boxoffice hits, it’s too over the top for me. No plot, no emotions, no humanity…just more blood and more killing. Even the ending when Wolverine is in a stone covered grave I kept worrying and watching to see if some of the stones didn’t start shaking, meaning we’ll be tortured by an even worse Wolverine # 10. Yes Jackman has played the part nine times!!! Go- if you like Donald Trump type movies.

FATE OF THE FURIOUS. Just about everybody who watches or reads the news knows that the Fate of The Furious (better title “Fart of the Furious” as in exhaust) movie topped almost every box office record ever set. Vin Diesel (real name Mark Sinclair) was born in Alameda in 1967 and has been the lead in all eight exact copies of one of the dumbest plots ever filmed. To see such stars as Helen Mirren sink to a three-minute role, Charlize Theron half act some part as a Russian killer is just sad. There’s a street race in Havana and somehow it ends with cars taking on the Russians in some sort of war. The USA reaction and most of the world’s reaction to such a crap of a film is an embarrassing statement of our collective taste. Dwayne Johnson is in it too but he is always in these sorts of things.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. . Carla Brennan discusses Mindfulness and Awareness on April 25 after which Keith McHenry talks about “Food Not Bombs” and the Santa Cruz experience. On May 2nd UCSC Film Professor emeritus Earl Jackson talks about films and his Asian teaching experiences on my turn at Pledge Drive night!!… May 9th has director Kinan Valdez discussing the traditions behind the new version of the “Zoot Suit” play opening May 26-June 4 at UCSC. Bookshop Santa Cruz features its top Short Story Winners on May 30. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

I love Bob Ross and his happy little trees. 🙂

NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur, The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.

QUOTES. “MOVIES”

“A film is – or should be – more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what’s behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later”, Stanley Kubrick
“If the boy and girl walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand in the last scene, it adds 10 million to the box office”, George Lucas
“To you I’m an atheist; to God, I’m the Loyal Opposition”, Woody Allen
“Life doesn’t imitate art, it imitates bad television”, Woody Allen

COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Blog Archives

April 25 – May 1, 2017

BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.