Bratton Online

Highlights this week: Charlottesville, The Ku Klux Klan… Red, White and Blue Beach changing owners…Cabrillo Festival and some history…Greensite on better public process for developments…Krohn in Portland plus Eugene and city politics and Faris Sabbah qualifications…Steinbruner and the Sentinel article on Aptos Village problems, Barry Swenson Builders, Rancho Del Mar and Aptos Jewelers closing, Privates Beach in Capitola, Soquel Creek Water District…Patton about Government, Trump and democracy…Eagan and a Pensive moment…DeCinzo and cyclists…Jensen reviews Step…I critique The Glass Castle, Annabelle: Creation, and The Dark Tower…Quotes about Beaches.

ORIGINAL PERGOLESI January 20, 1954. As we can see, this was once the dentist Dr. Miller’s Offices. We’ve been reading about the Pergolesi Coffee House closing. One could say it went from pain to pleasure to pain again.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com

TREE FORTS AT UCSC

GREAT SCENE FROM AMADEUS. Remember this scene?? Only historians will tell you that back then conductors didn’t stand where Mozart did…if they even had conductors!!!

TEETER TOTTER SCENES. They don’t make them like they used to…

DATELINE August 14, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE & NO FURTHER COMMENT…(from The WRAP and Yahoo News Sat. August 12, 2017)

Former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke blasted Donald Trump on Saturday for the president’s tweeted call for unity following the violent protests by white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left three dead and more than 30 injured.

“I would recommend you take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists,” Duke tweeted.

A friend sent me the SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER website. It says that there’s a Neo-Nazi hate group in Santa Cruz. Go here to prove it. https://edit.splcenter.org/hate-map

If you click around you’ll find other DAILY STORMER groups (as in storm troops) in Mountain View, Santa Monica and Los Angeles.

OUR BEACHES AND THE LAW. I asked a friend to tell us what’s happening legally at the good old Red, White and Blue Beach. Here’s the reply…

IN THE NORTH COAST WIND
August 13, 2017

Ownership of Red, White and Blue Beach, our North Coast’s last accessible, privately owned beach, will be changing hands. Earlier this year, Judge Paul Burdick ordered the property sold to settle the claims of heirs to the property.

For decades, until it closed in 2008, nudists visited, paying a modest fee to stay in tents and RV’s while they swim and cavort and enjoy a dog and camera free beach. Bordered by Wilder Ranch State Park to the south and Coast Dairies State Park to the north, the property would seem to be a logical addition to the Parks portfolio. But time has shown that California State Parks doesn’t have the resources to manage the beaches, improve access, or develop any sanitary facilities to serve the hundreds of visitors who come each week to the North Coast beaches they acquired in 2006 as part of the first phase of the Coast Dairies transaction. In comparison, Red, White and Blue Beach is in pristine condition. By restricting access, the owners have prevented the ongoing onslaught of trash and graffiti that have become a feature of Santa Cruz County’s North Coast beaches since they became public, and even more visitors can be expected when access to the adjacent Monument property just inland is developed.

The Santa Cruz County Land Trust has long had their eye on the property. Time will tell if they will prevail in the planned private sale, or perhaps a wealthy individual will follow millionaire Vinod Kholsa’s example at Martin’s Beach, up the coast in San Mateo County.

The billionaire venture capitalist bought the beach property and barred visitor access, sparking an ongoing court battle over public access to the coast versus an owner’s property rights.

CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC. Christi Macelaru both impressed everybody and he too seemed to be impressed by his first season here as the conductor of the Festival orchestra. I counted over 70 members of the orchestra…and that’s huge by today’s music market. Dennis Russell Davies began teaching the Santa Cruz new music goers when he took over the Festival in 1974. He’d conduct some Beethoven and then a brand new composition and show us how they related, Marin Alsop after she got through her Leonard Bernstein period brought us dozens of living composers. Christi, using almost all of Marin’s orchestra veterans played it safe and didn’t make any big changes…and everyone seemed to like his choices.

ODD LOCAL HISTORICAL NOTE TO THE FESTIVAL. composer Christopher Rountree mentioned in his remarks to the audience that he had long time relations to sheriffs in Santa Cruz…he sure did!!! As one historical webpage states… Undersheriff Rountree and Sheriff Howard Trafton were shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man who was interfering with highway construction crews. Sheriff Trafton was able to return fire during the shootout and killed the suspect”. That was on September 5, 1925. We also now have a Santa Cruz County Jail named Santa Cruz County CA Roundtree Medium Facility after Christopher’s grandfather. More than that, The men of the Rountree family served as peace officers for nearly a century in Santa Cruz County. Go here to reads all about the Rountree family

WHEN A PROJECT IS A FAIT ACCOMPLI

Unable to attend a recent city council meeting, which approved by a slim one-vote margin, the proposed new hotel at the site of the run-down now condemned Lanai Hotel on Beach Hill, I caught a re-run on Community TV. At first sight this one seemed easy for council to vote against: a developer wishing to build a 60-room hotel to replace his current 20-room hotel at a height that will block the “breathtaking ocean-views” for the assisted living and memory care residents of Sunshine Villa, the historic Victorian directly behind and at the same height as the proposed hotel. Who would take away from an elder with dementia their view of the ocean from a facility to which they are confined? The developer, four council members and city staff, that’s who. (Brown, Watkins and Krohn voted against). What at first sight seemed an easy decision for me became more complex as the details emerged. Apparently in the past, Sunshine Villa had sought to develop the site and build a facility as tall as the proposed hotel, which would have blocked the views of the ocean for those in the current building. They later withdrew the project. The architect for the hotel project posited that Sunshine Villa’s current position was hypocritical. Sunshine Villa’s manager responded that their tenants at that time had different needs. I found myself thinking, a view of the ocean is a view of the ocean.

The hotel developer and owner was asked if he could reduce the scale of the hotel down to three stories which would significantly reduce the loss of view-shed? He replied that despite his owning the land, such a reduced scale would not “pencil-out.” He would not make sufficient profit to cover the cost of underground parking and cost of building, since he is not building a box but a handsome building. When asked if he had ever in the two years it took to develop the project sat down with the residents and management of Sunshine Villa to discuss concerns and explore options, the developer said no. Any ambivalence I had was dissipated, replaced with thoughts of “heartless” and “greedy.” Unfortunately the council majority didn’t share my thinking and approved the project with a request to ensure the back-side of the building, which will soon replace the ocean view for Sunshine Villa residents, is a bit more interesting than the current design (Mathews) and a request for future projects over 40 units to have Public Works/Transportation Commission input (Terrazas) since traffic issues were raised and dismissed.

The source of the problem for this project, for the Hyatt on Broadway, for the Wharf Master Plan and for a host of other projects is that years of work are often done behind the scenes prior to scrutiny by the public and even the council. “Stakeholders” is a euphemism for “supporters of the project.” The City Staff follow codes and zoning or are supposed to do so. If the project is within the guidelines, then staff usually recommends approval or recommends variances to accommodate aspects such as increased height limits and council majorities usually approve staff recommendations. By the time the public or folks impacted, such as Sunshine Villa residents or Broadway residents get wind of a project it has already been in the development stage for years. The iconic 110 year-old red horse chestnut tree that grew on the edge of the site on Broadway should have been protected under the Heritage Tree Ordinance which states a “heritage tree can only be removed if a design cannot accommodate it.” Rather than telling the developer’s architect at the beginning of the process to submit a design to accommodate the heritage tree as required by ordinance, staff approved a design that by its nature could not accommodate the tree. Thus began the charade where the heritage tree could not be protected. Another source of the problem is the acceptance of developers’ statements that the economics “will not pencil out” if they don’t get to build as high and as massive as they want. Is this true? Some basic economics and alternatives should accompany every significant development. It’s quite possible that the proposed hotel to replace the Lanai could make a decent if not obscene profit with 40 rooms rather than 60, a tripling of the current 20 rooms. Council and the public should have access to such information.

A way to avoid conflicts between developers and residents and allow council a better gauge of public sentiment would be to float a project idea prior to any costly architectural design work being done. Had staff and council done that with their Wharf Master Plan, the howls of protest would have sent urban design firm ROMA scurrying back to San Francisco without a million bucks of questionable public monies in their pockets for a design make-over that few if any seem to like. I applaud the Dream Inn developers for holding a public meeting prior to any fixed design to gauge public reaction to the proposal for their West Cliff and Bay parking lot. If the developers, city staff and council majority listen and respond to the chorus of opposition rather than seeking ways around it, then public process has real rather than perfunctory meaning.

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.

By: Chris Krohn    Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

GAME CHANGING WEEK?

Game Changed.

All eyes this past weekend were on Charlottesville, Virginia. I hope they still are, even as your eyes multi-task and read these words too. Will the horrifying puss from our mixed and still remaining racist amnesia continue to drip unheeded from the wound that is the AltRight? It starts with the Presidency, and until “he who shall not be named” steps up this wound will continue to fester. Can the ropes that brought down the Saddam Hussein statue in Bagdad now be used to fell the pro-slavery memorials in Charlottesville, Richmond, and St. Louis? We must support this movement. According to the New York Times, three people have lost their lives–Heather D. Heyer of Charlottesville, 32 and a Bernie supporter, helicopter pilot, Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen, 48, of Midlothian, Virginia, and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, 40, of Quinton, Virginia, and at least 19 were injured when, a car ran into a “supporters-to-tear-down-the-statues” rally. Santa Cruz mourns this week.

Connecting the Dots
I was in Portland last week. It’s a city that many of our Santa Cruz brothers and sisters are retreating to, I wanted to find out why. The trip accomplished goals for both my current jobs. I attended the Ecological Society of America’s (esa.org) annual meeting at the Oregon Convention Center, an enviro cast of over 5000. The overall theme for this year’s get-together was “Linking biodiversity, material cycling and ecosystem services in a changing world,” meaning folks, we are up shit’s creek with no paddle in sight, now we really need each other more than ever! And that’s just what ecology is about. It’s both a branch of biology linking all us organisms to one another and to our physical surroundings, and it’s a political movement that forms questions and seeks answers in how best to protect the environment. We may not be able to stop climate change, but we can fight like hell to develop mitigations, change habits, and educate each other on the real global threat: relentless consumerism under the flag of capitalist ideology.

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Portland city hall on SW 4th Avenue

My other mission was to visit elected representatives in Portland and Eugene to find out what their issues are–high cost of housing, homelessness, widening income gap that has led to petty crime (sound familiar?)—and how they deal with them; can we learn something from how their city addresses these matters? First stop, Portland city hall to attend their council meeting. The five councilmembers are called “commissioners” in Rip Town, and a high-rise development project was the main item on the agenda. Of course, in this city, high-rise means over 200 feet and today’s agenda item includes no affordable units but lots of tree amenities, and a pedestrian street running through the project that would be open to the public. The subject was the old Oregonian newspaper printing press site on Broadway in the Goose Hollow neighborhood. The new building rendering was supposed to look like an open newspaper, which an opposing speaker said no one would even remember in ten years what that was. At the end of the meeting I approached Commissioner Amanda Fritz and she invited me to her office to share ideas. Each of the five commissioners is responsible for a department in the city, hers is Parks and Recreation. “That’s right,” she said to me later in her enormous woody-everything office, “I can fire the Parks Director right now, not that I’m going to, but I am in charge of that department.” But it is also at the ultimate discretion of the mayor, Ted Wheeler who can also take away this privilege from a commissioner at any time. Strange, no? It is an interesting check and balance system they established here in 1913. (For a discussion on how most commission forms of government led to the council-manager form, see: ballotpedia.org/City_commission.) Fritz and I discussed how homelessness is affecting neighborhood parks, and how mountain bikers are tearing up vulnerable hiking trails (familiar again), “we need to find a place for them too,” she said. Then she’s called away by an assistant. (I find myself imagining what it would be like if Santa Cruz city councilmembers had just one real staff assistant…each Portland commissioner has around six.) Suddenly, she returns with the mayor and their brand-new police chief, Danielle Outlaw the former Oakland deputy chief, in tow. Pleasantries are exchanged as I wonder how a 41-year old African-American woman might lead the police department in a city recently reeling from a knife-wielding trolley passenger who killed two who had come to the defense of a woman who appeared to be Muslim, and stabbed a third. Seems like it could be a terrific choice. I asked Chief Outlaw if she was familiar with the new Santa Cruz police chief, Andrew Mills. She nodded and smiled and said she was aware that he had just taken the job in Santa Cruz. She appeared favorably impressed. Then I was off on the Bolt Bus for the two-hour journey to Eugene where the University of Oregon is located and where a fellow traveler, “Councilor” Emily Semple, had just been elected.

A California Sister City?
Emily Semple is from the suburbs of New York City. She attended the University of Connecticut before heading west to Oregon with her then lawyer-husband. Later, she studied Forest Ecology at the University of Oregon. What interests her most on her council job is climate remediation, building housing “for people to sleep,” city parks, and green spaces. Like I said a fellow traveler. She’s on the city’s Budget Committee, the Human Rights Commission, and she is the city’s liaison to the McKenzie Watershed Council.

Emily was recently concerned about the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries in Eugene. She was supporting a 1000-foot buffer to protect locals from outside money, but she told me that battle’s been lost, “although it could come back to council sometime in the future.” There’s outside money coming in and it’s hard to stop. (Beware fellow Santa Cruzanos!) They tried to make a law to protect locals, but the Oregon version of the California ABC, the OLCC, vetoed it because “it’s not possible to determine where the money actually comes from,” she paraphrased their decision. One of her allies, George Brown, who held the Ward 1 seat before her, and whose advice she sometimes relies upon, told her that limiting the number of outlets would be like if another market wanted to open next to his Kiva Market in downtown Eugene. He would not oppose it, on principle. So, why should cannabis businesses be any different, he reasoned? There are now 56 dispensaries in Eugene according to Semple.

I peppered her with more questions, she peppered back responses. She’s in the minority on a 6-2 council. The mayor only votes to break ties. There are 166,000 people in the city of Eugene, and around 20,000 in the downtown ward she represents. Some 9,894 people voted in last November’s election, and she won by only 140 votes. She beat the establishment candidate (sound familiar again?). Semple said the city is not feeling the bigness of the University of Oregon (23,000 students) like Santa Cruz feels UCSC (18,700), even though U of O is only located about a mile from downtown. She said she’s met the university president, but has little to do with their politics. “We can’t stop them from growing anyhow,” she said.

Emily supports the “homeless rest stop program,” but there are only three and she says it’s difficult to expand because no one wants one in their neighborhood. Note: their last “point in time” homeless count was 1,500, but Semple believes there are almost double that number. She’s pushing a “free to ride” city bus program, but does not see it happening any time soon. Bus fare is currently $1.75 compared to our $2.00 Metro fare. She’s a Bernie supporter; believes council meeting minutes should provide more information about what was actually said during council meetings; and she’s working on attracting more “like-minded progressives” to run for council seats. (Sounds familiar? Yes!) She mentioned that the council can only hire and fire the city manager, police auditor, and the municipal judge. That’s a bit different than Santa Cruz. The city manager in Eugene hires and fires everyone else including the city attorney and city clerk.

She toured me around her district. There seemed to be lots more buses than in Santa Cruz, moveable tables and chairs made it easier for people to gather, and I saw occasional congregations of homeless people, “but they have to leave five feet for people to walk by,” Semple said. Rents are rising, mainly because so many people from California are moving here several people mentioned, but rents are nowhere near the Santa Cruz crisis. In Eugene, one bedrooms are from $500-$1200 and two bedrooms are around $1300-$1800, I was told by several people. (I’ve not yet checked Craigslist.) Semple says there are too few places for “low and no income” people, and she’d like to change that.

It’s easy to see that Emily Semple is a serious and intense student of local government. She works at this job 40 hours a week for $14k per year. “I’m starting to live on my credit cards,” she said. Her other job as a graphic artist is in decline because of how much time she spends on Eugene city council business. Honestly, I would welcome her to Santa Cruz politics, but I am really glad someone like her is holding down the left side of the city council in Oregon’s third largest city. Portland and Salem are numbers one and two in size.

Support for Faris Sabbah
A meeting I forgot to cover in last week’s column was with the thoughtful and likeable, Faris Sabbah, candidate for Superintendent of the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. His background includes a childhood shared between Dad’s Iraq and Mom’s Ecuador. He later graduated from UCSC and earned a Ph.D. at Berkeley. Currently, he’s number two to Michael Watkins who is retiring from that top spot. I’m endorsing Sabbah for Superintendent because it seems like he has his eyes on the prize: believes in the values of equality and social justice, focuses on the needs of migrant students, and he will readily admit he does not have all the answers, but is open to learning them. With a $40 million budget, he will make over $200k per year, too much given what teacher pay is, but that’s up to his bosses: Sue Roth, Dana Sales, Abel Sander, Jane Barr, Sandra Nichols, Bruce Van Allen, and Rose Filicetti. The “superintendent” is actually the “secretary to the board.”What does a superintendent do? The majority of the work is to “review local accountability plans for each local school district,” Sabbah told me. And I guess, make them accountable. He’s also interested in addressing the lack of affordable housing for teachers, and students. The city of Santa Cruz is losing students because of the lack of affordable housing and teachers are uneasy about job security as a result. But housing prices definitely top all other insecurities countywide.

Street furniture in Eugene. Can’t you just imagine this kind of street furniture taking over Cooper Street as an extension of the MAH, or perhaps closing off part of Church Street alongside Regal Cinema 9, or even placing some on Lincoln Street next to the Farmer’s Market? We can do it… with the people leading.

Immigrant Note
Just to keep it real, a manager at a chichi “bio-dynamic” (means organic and a whole lot more, look it up!) winery near Portland said the labor shortage this year is severe. “Scarce, more unskilled, and expensive” is how she put it. All the wineries are in contact with ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and wondering what will happen, she said. “ICE is saying, ‘Yes, we are authorized to detain whoever we want, but we are only going after those who have a warrant.'” Raise your hand if you believe this…They pay $13 an hour, “and the contractors are paying even fifty-cents more an hour to attract experienced pickers, but it’s getting harder and more cut-throat now,” she said. If you include workers’ compensation and insurance, her winery will pay $16.90 an hour and still can’t attract enough laborers this year.

Bernie Tweet of the Week
“As hate crimes and hostility toward minorities surge, now more than ever we must stand against those who threaten our brothers and sisters.” (August 12)

Upcoming Events

Aug 16th – Food Lounge – 5:30 p.m. Showing of Citizen Jane.Community discussion to follow. 1001 Center Street #1
Aug 17th – Rank Choice Voting (non-partisan) Community Meeting – 7 – 8:30 p.m. Presentation by FairVote – 411 Roxas – Santa Cruz Community Church.
Aug 22nd–City Council meeting, 2:30pm, City Council Chambers, 801 Center Street, SC

~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.

By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

“HEART OF THE VILLAGE” WILL BE A TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE
Last Sunday’s (8/13) Santa Cruz Sentinel cover story about the Aptos Village Project was disgusting. Lots of quotes by Supervisor Zach Friend and Chamber of Commerce leader John Hibble painted an unrealistic picture of this overly-dense and out-of-character development that has been pushed through by the County to benefit Barry Swenson Builder. Neither of them lives in the area and they will not be affected by the intensified daily gridlock of 8,000 additional vehicles caused by the development.

Do you think any of the influence in all this mess getting shoved through despite public protest might be related to former Supervisor Ellen Pirie’s efforts, driven by the need to “feed the County machine”? Here is a quote from Assistant County Planning Director Ms. Wanda Williams’ May 6, 2011 e-mail to Supervisor Ellen Pirie in a discussion about the Apple Barn’s preservation: “The loss of the NR-3 (historic) rating would trigger the need for preparation of an Environmental Impact Report and I have been told by the Swenson team that the EIR requirement will kill the project—something that we are working furiously to avoid.”

How about this February 16, 2011 e-mail exchange between out-going County Planning Director Tom Burns and Supervisor Ellen Pirie: “The staff tends to get caught too much up in the details on the CEQA issues, and Wanda (Williams) seems to get where they need to get to. Just remember, try to avoid us doing the detailed CEQA review for the RR crossing project.” Public Records Act requests are great things when the County actually honors them, as was the case a year ago.

The reason Tom Burns handed the Aptos Village Project over to Wanda Williams, the Assistant Planning Director, and not to Kathy Previsich, the new Planning Director, is because Kathy Previsich’s husband, John, bought land adjacent to the Aptos Village Project in the 1990’s and HAS GREATLY PROFITED FROM THE APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT BY SELLING A SEWER EASEMENT FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS $$$, SO SHE LEGALLY HAD TO RECUSE HERSELF. In fact, the photo on the front page of last Sunday’s Santa Cruz Sentinel was taken from the vantage point of the Previsich driveway…Hmmmmm

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What the Sentinel reporter, Mr. Nicholas Ibarra, did not discuss in last Sunday’s article was that:

All of the parking along Aptos Creek Road that runners and cyclists use to access Nisene Marks State Park will vanish. Mr. Jessie Nickell, Sr. Vice President of Barry Swenson Builder, has stated (in writing) that the public will have free and open parking available in the Aptos Village Project, including Nisene Marks State Park users. However, the Codes, Covenants and Restrictions (CC&R) for the Project state that tenants have full right to limit parking uses to best benefit tenant needs. Do you see the writing on the parking meters?
Why did the County continue to use 2004 traffic counts to assess traffic impact fees for the Project and to design traffic improvements to accommodate the Project? Will adding two traffic lights in the Village really fix everything? Why did the Public Works staff use the lowest visitation value for all businesses within Project when some, such as a grocery store, have one of the highest visitation rates? Those numbers also were used to calculate the miniscule amount of transportation improvement fees requested of the developers.
Why are the taxpayers funding virtually all of the street improvements to accommodate the 8,000 new vehicles trips per day that Public Works forecasts the Project will cause? All other developers are responsible for 100% of the development’s impacts. Why are taxpayers funding the Metro bus stop relocation (not ADA-compliant) in order to make way for the Parade Street gateway to the Project from Soquel Drive?
Why hasn’t the County required Barry Swenson Builder to follow the law regarding the diesel contamination problem that occurred last year when crews illegally extracted a 5,000 gallon underground storage tank? Why won’t the County require additional soil testing and remediation for the contaminated soils where the tank was located? The true site was never evaluated because Barry Swenson Builder crews had already hauled out the tank and covered everything up with soil by the time County Environmental Health inspectors were notified of the contamination. Witnesses have submitted testimony and video, but are ignored. New Leaf Market is next to this polluted site. Does New Leaf Market know about the judgment Santa Cruz County District Attorney has filed against Barry Swenson Builder for their illegal action?
Other concessions the County gave Barry Swenson Builder waived the $1000/bedroom park development fee for the 69 new residences (not 65, as the article stated), most of which are 2800 square feet and over. The County also gave the developers FREE easement across County park property for storm water drainage (parking lot runoff) directly into Aptos Creek.
Affordable housing concessions likely will allow Barry Swenson Builder to rent at market rate the 10 affordable units (the public was told all through the process that there would be 12 affordable units) for 7 1/2 years before selling them at affordable rates. Swenson was also allowed to make the affordable units smaller than is normally allowed and to reduce the number of bedrooms in affordable units.
Why has the County allowed Barry Swenson Builder to excavate massive amounts of earth within a recorded Ohlone Village archaeologic site(CA-SCR-222) and have no qualified archaeologist or Native American observer present? Why did the County allow Barry Swenson Builder to demolish the foundations of the historic Lam-Mattison Apple Dryer and Vinegar Works last year without a permit or involving the Historic Resources Commission or having a qualified archaeologist present? What about the historic 1880 railroad turntable known to be buried on site and for which initial explorations supported but the findings eliminated from the environmental review reports? Now, developer Joe Appenrodt is asking County Environmental Services for permission to excavate the soils in that area and use it for fill elsewhere in the development, even though the soil is contaminated with lead, arsenic, and petroleum pollutants, as one would expect of railroad soils.
The article claims that We Are Aptos “unsuccessfully filed suit against the County in February 2016 over what the group claimed was an inaccurate development map.” In truth, We Are Aptos filed a petition for a Writ of Mandate of the County in March, 2016. We were demanding that the County do its job to force Barry Swenson Builder to follow the law with respect to Conditions of Project Approval that were violated. Judge Paul Burdick agreed with We Are Aptos in the court room that the County had not followed its own requirements. County Counsel said staff would “probably” do better in the future while making sure the developer had maximum feasibility benefits. Judge Paul Burdick denied our petition, then disclosed that he was a long-time friend and neighbor of Joe Appenrodt, one of the Project’s developers.

Both Supervisor Zach Friend and Mr. John Hibble trivialized the noise and traffic congestion problems that are inherent of the Aptos Village Project. Zach Friend touted Measure J in the article but in 2015 when the Planning Department unrolled its Code Modernization mess, Supervisor Zach Friend said “MEASURE J IS OLD AND NO LONGER SERVES THE MODERN NEEDS OF THE COUNTY.”

Measure J, passed by voters in 1979, was an effort to slow the County’s growth rate at a time when it was second-fastest in the state. It was an effort to require 15% of all development be dedicated to affordable units (recently diluted to allow developers to pay in-lieu fees instead, and those units have not been being built).

Old documents? I wonder if Supervisor Zach Friend wants to also shred the U.S. Constitution?

(Becky later asked..”I wonder what the Sentinel reporter meant in the article by “formerly known as Barry Swenson Builder“? She’s trying to find out… BB)

THE COUNTY IS NOT OBLIGATED
In an effort to understand the soil contamination problem with the County taxpayer-funded Aptos Village Traffic Phase I Improvement Project, I had to file a Public Records Act request to obtain any information. Nearly one month later, I still do not have the answer because County Counsel formatted the CD in a manner that made the information inaccessible on all computers I am able to use. In order to read the CD, Counsel advised I have to download a program called ‘Outlook’. However , the public library system does not allow that practice. The CD also does not work on the computers at the County Law Library.

Counsel David Nefouse informed me last week that “The County is not obligated to ensure that the public can access materials provided in a Public Records Act response.” Other materials on CD and flash drives have worked fine, but this request seems blocked. Hmmm… Is there a First Amendment Coalition doctor in the house?

THE COUNTY’S APTOS VILLAGE PUBLIC WORKS BLOG IS FINALLY INTERACTIVE
Business owners and residents of the Aptos Village area receive NO information about the stalled progress of the taxpayer-funded road improvements to benefit Barry Swenson Builder and the other Aptos Village Project developers. Businesses in the area are suffering due to the major disruption and problematic parking. County Public Works Project Engineer Carissa Duran had informed me at the project’s beginning that I could not leave comments on the blog site, even though Supervisor Zach Friend and Public Works engineer Colt Essenwein had assured my community that the Public Works blog site would provide interactive information.

Here is the link: http://aptosvillageimprovement.blogspot.com/2017/07/aptos-village-improvement-plan-update.html#comment-form

The site is rarely updated, but finally, it seems the public can post comments and get an answer…maybe?

NO CONSTRUCTION DELAY WARNING FOR BARRY SWENSON BUILDER’S TRAFFIC DELAYS
The Aptos Village Project crews are also digging up Trout Gulch Road in order to connect storm water pipes and utilities. The only way to get information about those traffic delays is via the 24-HOUR APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT ANSWERING SERVICE: 831-427-8050. Nowhere on the site is there any sign with this number posted as the County-required 24-hour disturbance contact, but if you look closely at one of the cheery little turquoise signs on one of the many construction trailers at the site, you’ll see it. By the way, did you know that the Project’s Conditions of Approval state there is to be ONE construction trailer on site? I think I counted eight or ten…oh, well, what do rules matter?

ADIOS TO APTOS/ LA SELVA FIRE CHIEF JON JONES
Last Thursday (8/10), after listening to further public testimony and over an hour of deliberation, the Aptos / La Selva Fire District Board of Directors announced that they were granting severance to Chief Jon Jones and immediately replacing him with Division Chief Todd Skrabak. The audience of 100+ stood and applauded. The sense of tired relief from the firefighters who had gathered was palpable.

Thank you to the Board for listening to the firefighters, and the public. Healing is long-overdue.

AND ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST IN THE RANCHO DEL MAR CENTER
Yet another long-established Aptos business in the Rancho del Mar Center is going away. Aptos Jewelers is closing its doors, having been in business since 1972. Is it related to the remodel work on the horizon by owners TRC Retail? The owners Mr. Bill Hoffman and Mr. Donald Coldwell, say it’s just time to retire and have a change.

Other existing business owners are wondering what to do, with the $10 million remodel project around the corner, and no information from the TRC Retail folks about what to expect. I try to patronize those independent businesses as much as possible…it’s hard to make a living in a ghost town atmosphere.

BUSINESS AND INSTIUTUTIONAL REPS NEEDED TO HELP SOLVE MIDCOUNTY WATER PROBLEMS
The Midcounty Groundwater Agency Nominating Committee decided to re-open the window for applications of business owners and institutional reps. The Groundwater Sustainable Planning Committee will be working to develop the plan for healing the area’s critical groundwater overdraft problem. The new deadline for applications is August 22. Applications are available at http://www.midcountygroundwater.org/

Stop in at the Community Foundation (10am-noon) this Thursday, August 17 and get answers to your many questions about the agency and the tasks mandated by the State.

SUSTAINABLE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY PLAN STILL IN EIR PROCESS…NOT A DONE DEAL !!
I was surprised to hear from Supervisor John Leopold that the Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan, which calls for massive dense mixed use developments throughout the County, is still in the EIR process and has not been approved by the County Board of Supervisors. It had seemed to be a done-deal and not discussed much. However, at his constituent meeting recently in Porter Memorial Library, a woman asked specifically about the status of the Nissan dealership proposed for the Soquel Drive/41st Avenue intersection. In that discussion, Supervisor Leopold stated that, much to his chagrin, the Planning Department has not followed through with the environmental review deadline for the Plan, as has been repeatedly requested by the Board. Now, it seems, Planning Director Kathy Previsich stated during budget hearings that the report may not be ready until June, 2018.

Personally, I think smearing the likes of the Aptos Village Project throughout the County is a mistake, especially with inadequate infrastructure to address the impacts of dense, multi-story developments. Water?? What water?? Gridlock? Well, just hop on the bus and be gridlocked there, too. Significant historic structures in the way? Just bring in the bulldozer.

WITH LIBERTY AND ACCESS FOR SOME…PRIVATE’S BEACH
Last week’s ruling by the First District Court of Appeals in San Francisco that forces the land owner to allow public access to Martin’s Beach over private property seems like it could have implications on a similar local access issue at Private’s Beach in Capitola. Here is a link to information about last week’s ruling: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/10/martins-beach-ordered-open-to-public-by-appeals-court/

So now take a look at the local Private’s Beach issue:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/NE/20160625/NEWS/160629797

Requiring people to pay $100/year for a key to the gate and beach access seems counter to the Coastal Commission’s mandate of free access to the public’s beaches. Interestingly, Mr.Mark Massara provided legal counsel in both cases. He represented SurfRider for access at Martins Beach, and has represented the Opal Cliffs Recreation District to restrict access at Private’s Beach.

It will be interesting to watch what area Coastal Commission Pat Veesart (725 Front Street, Santa Cruz, Ca 95060) does with the 9′-high wrought iron fence and locked gate restricting access to Private’s Beach (it’s a nude beach, by the way).

WHAT’S ON TAP FOR THIS WEEK’S SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BOARD MEETING?
At last month’s Board meeting, Chairman Tom LaHue scolded me severely for not having thoroughly read the thick agenda packet in advance of attending their meeting. How dare I want to ask questions of staff AFTER their reports to the Board, rather than BEFORE the reports are even given? Tsk, tsk…

To mend my ways, I requested a copy of the full agenda packet last Friday afternoon as soon as it became available. My, what interesting reading. Here are some highlights:

Item 5.1 page 53 Work to develop a memorandum of understanding with the City of Santa Cruz for obtaining secondary or tertiary treated water for the PureWater Soquel Project has been completed. Both agencies approved final draft agreements on June 27, 2017. WAIT A MINUTE…THE EIR IS NOT DONE YET AND THE BOARD INSISTS THEY HAVE NOT DECIDED TO PURSUE PUREWATER SOQUEL TREATED SEWAGE WATER INJECTION INTO THE AQUIFER. Hmmm…

Further staff reports in Item 5.1 (page 55) is a notice that the Danish helicopter investigations to identify the location of the saltwater interface will be ready in October. That’s good news.

NO Engineering report items? Not even news about the stalled Granite Way well that will serve the Aptos Village Project? How about the treatment for the new O’Neil Ranch Well that has been taken off line due to unexplained increasing ammonia levels? Not even a whisper about the possible treatment of the Country Club well, now offline due to high 1,2,3-TCP carcinogen contamination? Hmmm….

What’s this? (page 56) agendize a conversation about changing the District name?

Oh, oh. (Page 64) Assembly Bill 574 would require the State Water Resources Control Board to develop regulations in four years for direct potable reuse of treated sewage water. Well, maybe Soquel Creek Water District should hold off on their rush to inject that nasty stuff into the groundwater supply of the entire area and just sell it to their own customers outright then. I’m not sure I can trust their water anyway (they’ve been knowingly pumping carcinogenic 1,2,3-TCP into the drinking water for years).

Item 6.2 (page 90) Funding the Pipe Loop Study with Santa Cruz City to test corrosive issues for river water transfers. That’s a good idea. The folks in Flint, Michigan would have benefited by such careful study.

Item 6.6(page 121) A request to extend the consultant contract with HydroMetrics before the greater contract finally goes out for bid. HydroMetrics, with former Soquel Creek Water District manager Laura Brown as a principle, has been on call since 2005. Consultants charge $200/hour for their time spent monitoring management, equipment and data collection. Wow.

Item 6.7 (page 125) Approval if bid award for $53,300 to Coastwide Environmental Technologies from Watsonville to demolish the two houses next to District offices to make way for the PureWater Soquel West Annex treatment plant. One house was built in 1890 and probably has some valuable historic heart redwood taken from local canyons…why not offer that for salvage, or even move the house? There is some asbestos in an area of the kitchen counter, according to an earlier report, but not the entire house. No respect for historic structures or the fact that t well-known commercial artist, Mr. Millsap, grew up there? WHAT IS THE RUSH TO DEMOLISH THE HOUSES AND CLEAR THE DECK FOR PUREWATER SOQUEL WEST ANNEX? Isn’t the EIR still in process? Could it be that staff and the Board REALLY HAVE made up their minds to do this project?

Hmmm…part of the bid price break-down is “paint stabilization and hazardous waste paint debris disposal” for $5,000. That’s right, all paint pre-1970 contained lead and is potentially toxic. Golly, I wonder if Barry Swenson Builder was careful about the paint removal last week from the Apple Barn exterior prep work? I hope the County knows…write Rebecca Supplee Rebecca.Supplee@santacruzcounty.us and John Gerbrandt John.Gerbrandt@santacruzcounty.us or call 831-454-2022 and ask.

Item 6.8 (page 138) approve up to $44,500 for contract with a Washington, D.C. lobbyist??? I remember hearing this discussed at the may 16, 2017 Board meeting, and really wondered how a District with the second-highest customer rate charge could justify hiring yet another consultant. The Board seemed rather doubtful at the time, but agreed to allow staff to launch a proposal to solicit bids. Well, here it is…a request for alot of money to lobby, hiring CapitalEdge. Staff and Board members Carla Christensen and Rachel Lather even conducted interviews.

I wonder if the Soquel Creek Water District customers know their rates are scheduled to increase by over 17% next year??? Take a look at some of the correspondence on pages 183-208…I think some people are beginning to ask important questions of the District and Board. That’s good news!

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).

#225 / Dangerous Claims Of Political Illegitimacy

I just got through reading the book whose cover is pictured on the right. Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos, and Michael Huttner, founder of ProgressNow, outline ways to change our national politics in the time of Trump. The authors have some very good ideas, and they outline their “45 ways to fight Trump” in five different sections:

Resist Trump At All Costs
Protect The Culture

III. Minimize Damage, Policy

Build Electoral Infrastructure
Build Grassroots Infrastructure

I particularly applaud Sections IV and V, since that is really what democratic self-government is all about. We, the people, can and must assert control over our own government, but generally speaking, talking about it isn’t going to be enough. Some actual action, focused on elections, is going to be required. This is the message of activist Micah White, too, about whom I wrote in a blog posting a week or so ago.

I do want to say that there were some things in the Moulitsas-Huttner book that I found disturbing. Specifically, statements like these:

Why do the Dakotas, with their combined population of 1.6 million have four senators, while California, population 38.8 million, has two? [Page 2]
Donald Trump is not the legitimate president of the United States… [Page 2]
We aren’t living in a legitimate democracy… [Page 3]
We cannot accept the results of an illegitimate election won by an illegitimate candidate by illegitimate means… [Page 4]
People as racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic as Trump and his gang of brownshirted cronies have no legitimate role in our nation’s public life [Page 6].
Let me comment, first, on why North and South Dakota (two separate states) have four senators to California’s two. It’s pretty clear why! Our Constitution allocates TWO senators to each state, regardless of population. While we could have organized our nation differently, there are some very good reasons to have adopted a “federal” system. “Mass democracy” has its potential problems. Read Hannah Arendt if you need convincing.
Avoiding any debate on the merits of our federal system (and there are definitely arguments on both sides of the question), I don’t like to see the authors deliberately attempting to mislead their readers.

The sentence to which I object acts as though there is an “equivalence” between “the Dakotas” and “California.” The sentence therefore implies that the allocation of two senators to California, while “the Dakotas” get four, is somehow unfair and “illegitimate.” Of course, unless and until we amend the Constitution, the allocation of senators that the authors complain about is totally “legitimate,” and it’s not “unfair,” either. That’s the system we’ve set up. It would be fine to argue for a change to the system, but unless the system is changed, giving “the Dakotas” four senators is exactly the way our system is supposed to work. There is nothing “illegitimate” about the system. Quite the opposite!

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

I am sorry that Donald Trump won the election. I think he is unqualified and unsuited for the job, and he should be replaced. There are several different ways that could happen, but voting him out of office, the next time there is a presidential election, is the normal way we take care of such matters. To say that our system is “illegitimate” opens up the possibility that some other means for governing ourselves should be chosen. And if the last election wasn’t “legitimate,” then maybe we should delay the vote next time around, or ask the generals to take charge!

Friends, that’s the door to Venezuela! Or Kenya. Or the Philippines.

Let’s stop any further talk about the “illegitimacy” of our current democracy, or of the president the nation elected. Check out the 45 ways to make sure the next election produces a different result! Our very legitimate democracy can take care of business; that’s what I think. Suggesting that it can’t is dangerous in the extreme.

~Gary 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 his blog at www.gapatton.net

CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo takes a broad view of “cyclists” below a page or two.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “A Pensive Moment” down a 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.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “While a certain temporary resident of the White House and his cronies are doing everything they can to defund educational opportunities, along comes a movie like the affirmative and joyful Step to explain in vivid terms how education can transform lives, families, and communities. This engrossing documentary examines the stakes for three young black women, high school seniors from inner-city Baltimore, as they strive to be the first members of their families to go to college. Read all about it in this week’s Good Times, and keep checking back at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/) for more news, reviews, and updates!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

THE GLASS CASTLE. Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts and especially Brie Larson bring this autobiographical life story to the screen. “Dysfunctional family” doesn’t come close to describing their family problems. The problem is that Woody Harrelson almost always plays exactly Woody Harrelson (as do John Goodman,Vin Diesel, Sylvester Stallone, etc.) He’s an incurable drunk and takes his family on his 100’s of trips through hell. It qualifies as a sob story except that Brie Larsen is just mesmerizing and perfect in the role. Plus you have to believe that Naomi Watts is an old wrinkled mountain woman married for life to Woody. ! Go see it and bring a hanky.

ANNABELLE:CREATION. This is supposed to be the prequel to the Conjuring series (in case you’ve seen the haunted doll series). You can stay home and write the tired old script in seconds. Dark cellar stairs, creepy doll in closet, innocent orphan girls, scarecrows, dumbwaiters, you’ve seen it dozens of times if you haven’t been careful.

THE DARK TOWER. How can a movie from books by Stephen King, and produced by Ron Howard, and which stars Mathew McConaughey and Idris Alba be so bad?? (18 on RT). It’s intergalactic, bloody, complexly stupid plot…and it’s filmed mostly in the dark. That saves tons of money spent on special effects. McConaughey is the bad guy and Alba is the good guy, in case somebody forces you to go. It’s more depressing than watching Fox news!!

AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER, We should never forget that there were 22,438 Trump Voters in Santa Cruz County and they should all be allowed in free to see Al Gore’s update on Climate Warming. As you know climate warming is worse than ever. Facts, experts, news clips, common sense and a great documentary team show us just how bad itreally is right now.

LADY MACBETH. A well deserved 89 on RT and it should be more. Florence Pugh plays the Lady, and she only made one other film The Falling in 2015. The book source was written in 1865 and this version is set in a Downton Abbey time. It’s full of sex, great costumes, amazing woman empowerment (that you won’t like!) and a thriller that will hold you to the screen every second. I loved it. 9 Thumbs up. ENDS THURSDAY, AUGUST 17

DETROIT. Will Poulter who plays a Detroit cop is one of the most dislikable actors we’ll ever see onscreen. You wouldn’t like him even if he played Jesus, Tom Hanks or even Cristi Macelaru. He leads the cops into the Algiers Hotel killings that happened in Detroit in 1967. It’s all about racial hatred and cops killing black people. Way overdone, no depth, no development and far below the work that Kathryn Bigelow and her work directing The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. Here’s a link to The Guardian statistics about how many people Police kill in the United States each year…. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/the-counted-police-killings-us-database

THE BIG SICK. Kumail Nanjiani the Pakistani jerk from the “Silicon Valley” tv sit com not only wrote this plot but he and his real wife lived it. The film is a bit long but it’s well worth seeing. It’ll grab you when you least expect it. He’s a standup comic and falls in love with Zoe Kazan, a “white” girl. It’s heart rending, funny and a tale told of cultural differences between his traditional Pakistani family and her very contemporary Mom (Holly Hunter) and dad. Go see it…it’ll surprise you.(and I’ll predict some Awards around December-January).

ATOMIC BLONDE. Charlize Theron does a nearly perfect job as the Blonde in this James Bond – Berlin Wall era action movie. Very well done fight scenes, complex spy loyalty plot, John Goodman is getting more and more difficult to believe, and he’s in it too. James McAvoy is there too but he doesn’t matter much. It’ll be the first of many sequels believe me, even though it didn’t do that well on opening weekend. Charlize T. also produced the film, and it’s based on a graphic novel.

DUNKIRK. Acclaimed auteur Christopher Nolan directs this World War II thriller about the evacuation of Allied troops from the French city of Dunkirk before Nazi forces can take hold. co-star, with longtime Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer providing the score.

Dunkirk is a city in France and during WWII the Nazis drove the allied troops to Dunkirk’s beaches. There were 400, 000 troops stranded there with no ships to take them to safety. Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance are in the film briefly and do fine acting jobs. The film is all war and is well made and directed…better than most war films. But with City Of Ghosts playing now that’s the one to see IF you like genuine war films.

MAUDIE. A 90 on Rotten Tomatoes and Sally Hawkins plus Ethan Hawke play a severly crippled arthritic and her cruel, stubborn husband…and it’s a true story. The film is sad, poignant, heart gripping and maybe even mawkish. Other than some fine acting by all involved I’m not sure why they made this film, or why you might enjoy it. Me? I’m not sure if I did.

WONDER WOMAN. IF you like comic book heroes or heroines (hope its ok to use that term) Wonder woman is several cuts about the usual no brainer/ violent/monster filled box office smashes we keep seeing. Gal Gadot is a former Miss Israel and we keep hearing about that. She plays W. Woman. Robin Wright, is in it too and she is a long time favorite of mine. She is Sean Penn’s ex. Chris Pine just jumps around looking like the usual Hollywood cutie pie. If you remember that she’s a comic book star and is supposed to battle, fight and pose in tight pants all the time you could enjoy this more than most of that ilk. Do remember too that Wonder Woman is a DC comics creation NOT a Marvel Comic character…there’s a big difference, and I was corrected on Bushwhackers last Friday.

WAR ON PLANET OF THE APES. This should really be classified as an animated saga. It’s all digital ape stuff with Woody Harrelson as an evil human. It has a plot that could make you think seriously…if you can take the computer apes seriously. It could eb said to relate to the Democrats versus the Republicans. Republicans (Harrelson) want to build a wall among other plot devices and the more liberal apes just want to have peace. About 90 % of the film is centered on wars between the two forces and who will rule in the future. Better to go to one of our museums or galleries instead.

SPIDERMAN:HOMECOMING. Michael Keaton completely steals every movie he’s ever made and he sure does playing an evil “Vulture” in this latest version of the web spinner (there have been at least 13 versions of Spidey on TV and the movies!!) Spidey is a high school student with Teresa Tomei as his mom. Robert Downey jr. is back as Iron Man. It doesn’t matter much but Gwyneth Paltrow is in it too. It’s a little better than most of the Marvel Comics hero movies but not much.

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. On August 15 Julie James releases the news about the new Season of The Jewel Theatre. After Julie, interventional cardiologist and Doctor Neil Sawhney (PAMF) brings us up to date on heart news. August 22 has Faisal Fazilat explaining what Ranked Choice Voting is all about…followed by Magi Amma and Danny Drysdale talk about the Santa Cruz Bernie Organization. On August 29 The San Francisco Mime Troupe’s Marilet Martinez tells us about their 9/9, 9/10 performances here. September 5 has Lisa Hadley and Davis Banta previewing their Quality Of Life play. Then therapist Alexandra Kennedy talks about her Awakening to Life In Transition retreat. UCSC’s Gary Griggs discusses his newest book, “Coasts In Crisis” on Sept.12. On October 10 Phyllis Rosenblum discusses the Santa Cruz Chamber Players 2017-18 season. The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. 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

This lady is great!

OR…if you just happen to miss 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. 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

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. “BEACHES”
“I love out-of-the-way, rugged places. For me, holidays are about the experiences, and the people, and the memories, rather than sitting on a nice beach getting tanned. I try to plant myself where I am and embrace what is there in front of me”. Evelyn Glennie

“To go out with the setting sun on an empty beach is to truly embrace your solitude”, Jeanne Moreau

“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach – waiting for a gift from the sea”, Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“In this big ball of people, I’m just one grain of sand on this beach”, Aurora

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
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Blog Archives

August 14 – 20, 2017

BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.