Blog Archives

January 17 – 23, 2011

THRASH MOTORS in April of 1959. Then it was Pontiac Grill at the corner of Front and Cathcart Streets. Then it was Café La Vie now it’s The Surfrider Café. If you read closely you’ll see that the window ads promise 35 miles per gallon for a Vauxhall!!

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.
Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

THINK ABOUT BAD BUSINESS WITH LOCAL TIES. Lockheed Martin sure isn’t locally owned but we sure have to live with them. They are obviously secretive about what they are doing up there on Empire Grade but here’s some stuff to think about…that they’re doing around the world. The Truth-Out article starts with…” Have you noticed that Lockheed Martin, the giant weapons corporation, is shadowing you? No? Then you haven’t been paying much attention. Let me put it this way: If you have a life, Lockheed Martin is likely a part of it. True, Lockheed Martin doesn’t actually run the U.S. government, but sometimes it seems as if it might as well. After all, it received $36 billion in government contracts in 2008 alone, more than any company in history. It now does work for more than two dozen government agencies from the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s involved in surveillance and information processing for the CIA, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Pentagon, the Census Bureau, and the Postal Service.

Oh, and Lockheed Martin has even helped train those friendly Transportation Security Administration agents who pat you down at the airport. Naturally, the company produces cluster bombs, designs nuclear weapons, and makes the F-35 Lightning (an overpriced, behind-schedule, underperforming combat aircraft that is slated to be bought by customers in more than a dozen countries) — and when it comes to weaponry, that’s just the start of a long list. In recent times, though, it’s moved beyond anything usually associated with a weapons corporation and has been virtually running its own foreign policy, doing everything from hiring interrogators for U.S. overseas prisons (including at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and Abu Ghraib in Iraq) to managing a private intelligence network in Pakistan and helping write the Afghan constitution”. When you’re ready, read the rest of it here http://www.truth-out.org/is-lockheed-martin-shadowing-you66741

SIERRA CLUB & GROUP APOLOGY.A few weeks ago when writing and griping about Fred Keeley and Gary Griggs buying into the local Sierra Club elections I stated “There are only 2 independent non-profit environmental organizations operating in Santa Cruz County – California Native Plant Society and The Sierra Club”. I went on after that but all of you who wrote are completely correct there are many environmental organizations, independent ones, non profit ones, all doing good works, nearly constantly. I just wasn’t thinking…just irked. Sorry about that.

MOVE YOUR MONEY LOCALLY. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Santa Cruz has a great and important idea.

Where you bank makes a difference in our community and in the world. Locally owned and operated credit unions and banks are good for us and our communities, yet less than 10% of banking in Santa Cruz is done with local banks.

WHY BANK WITH LOCALLY OWNED BANKS?

To improve our local economy by investing your $$s in banks and credit unions who invest in homes and businesses in Santa Cruz County instead of funding out-of-county shareholder profits and CEO salaries in corporate mega-banks.

To have greater influence over your bank or credit union’s policies about the environmental impact of what and where they invest your $$s. (For more about mega-banks and environmental issues see: Claim Your Change. Go to www.kylethiermann.com)

To chip away at the power of big banks & mega-corporations who fund political campaigns and bulldozes Congress into passing laws favorable to them, but not necessarily for you.

Move Your Money and Tell Your Big Bank – “I’m going local!”

If you’re now banking at a large corporate bank, join others in a nationwide campaign to break up the concentrated power held by mega-banks and create a more balanced system of smaller, more diverse institutions that thrive by serving local banking needs. Explore the national campaign at www.moveyourmoney.info

Move at least one of your accounts to a local credit union or bank, and let us know so we can estimate the campaign’s impact. Call 831 465 8272 or email wilpf.news@calcentral.com Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Santa Cruz has pledged that at least 20% of our members will have accounts at local banks and credit unions.

ELERICK’S INPUT. Plot to develop the Koch Property above Cabrillo continues

Neighbors in the Vienna Woods (adjacent to the Koch Property) in Aptos continue to be lobbied by the owners and want-to-be developers of a new subdivision. Over the holidays, each resident on the street bordering Vienna Woods received a box of chocolates from the developers. The sweets were delivered along with suggestions that if only other neighbors would allow a new access road through their property, they would re-open their recently fenced land for their use. (As it has been for the past sixty years). They continue to tell neighbors of their plans for a subdivision, knowing that a second access to the property would be required. Of course the County says they have no knowledge of this until a plan for said subdivision is formally presented to them.

For readers who don’t know where this property is located, go up Vienna Drive off Soquel by the firehouse, left on Jennifer, and right on Danube. Look toward the top of the hill to see the property owners “dream house” under construction that was permitted by the county. What you won’t see is the hiking trail between Cabrillo and Nisene Marks State Park that was agreed to by the developer in exchange for his “dream house” on the hill. It’s not there, but the “dream house” is nearing completion.

(Paul Elerick is a member of Nisene 2 Sea, a group of open space advocates, serves as the chair of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation http://sensibletransportation.org , and is a member of the Sierra Club’s Santa Cruz Group’s executive committee).

PATTON’S PROGRAM. Gary roams all over with reports and ideas this week. He starts with Monterey County and how to appeal land use decisions. He follows with Watsonville and the PVWMA and LAFCO. Wednesday he addresses Salinas’s problems. Thursday he covers Redevelopment Agencies and some good works they’ve accomplished. He ends this week dealing with State and Transportation policies. (Gary Patton is “Of Counsel” to the Santa Cruz law firm of Wittwer & Parkin, which specializes in land use and environmental law. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, “Two Worlds / 365”www.gapatton.net )

DON MONKERUD REPORT. Don Monkerud is an old friend and an Aptos-based writer who follows cultural, social and political issues. He can be reached at monkerud@cruzio.com . He writes…

Positive Efforts to End World Hunger

Worldwatch’s State of the World report brings an unusual optimism to
a world desperately in need of alternatives. Recent figures indicate that 2010 tied 2005 as the hottest year on record. Indeed, 9 of the 10 warmest years occurred since 2001 as climate chaos creates havoc around the world. Last year, frigid snowstorms blanketed the U.S. and Europe, floods ravaged Pakistan, Australia and the U.S., and scorching heat led to forest fires and deaths in Russia as humans continue to dump carbon dioxide into the air”.

Read more (link expands, click again to collapse).

EAGANS DEEP COVER. Tim’s all color epistle takes aim at our dangerous attitudes and the problem of running around half cocked…scroll down.

LANDAU’S PROGRES. Saul writes in Progreso Weekly this week,

Something’s Rotten in the State of a Bank

Fish rots. Bacteria work their way down from the head and produce the stench that provoked Marcellus: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” He and Horatio had followed Hamlet, beckoned by the ghost of his father, the former King. The ghost verified what Hamlet calls “things rank and gross in nature” among those who rule Denmark, which he also calls an “unweeded garden.” At the play’s end, invaders advance. Hamlet’s assessment proved correct, but he procrastinated. The modern ghost(s) delivered similar messages to Julian Assange, who used twenty-first century theater — cyberspace — to reveal the stench emanating from the head of the large rotting fish, located in Washington, D.C.” Read the rest of it here…

Saul Landau is an Institute for Policy Studies fellow whose films are on DVD from roundworldproductions@gmail.com

KAREN KEFAUVER’S SOCIAL MEDIA WEEKLY TIPS.Karen’s an authority on “Social Media” Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (that sort of thing) and she’s bringing BrattonOnline a weekly tip-sheet on how and what to do with what’s become a necessity in communicating. One last survey showed that 600 million or 1 out of every 12 people on earth now uses Facebook.

3 Simple Steps to Launch Your Facebook Business Page

1. Create. You must have a free, personal Facebook page set up in your name in order to create a Facebook business page. You can create and administer a business page without revealing the content of your personal Facebook page (or even any evidence) that you are the one posting to the business page. To be safe, review the privacy settings on your personal Facebook page so that photos and posts are only visible to those you select.

2. Post. Select and post information that will entice readers to “Like” your page, return to it for more info and recommend it to their friends. Your business page posts should include links to interesting articles, questions for your readers that can’t be answered “yes” or “no,” and photos with captions and/or short video clips. Post a new status update once a day.

3. Respond. One way to measure if your content is interesting is to see if people leave comments on your posts. If they do, make sure you comment back to show your interest in their thoughts, answer questions and when necessary, delete spam or unwanted posts.

Be patient, keep posting good content daily and your audience on Facebook will grow and that can mean more business for you!”

Karen Kefauver is a freelance journalist and social media consultant who teaches Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to business owners and executives in both classes and private sessions. For info: Email: Karen@karenkefauver.com. Website: www.karenkefauver.com.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. This week (among other musings), Lisa ponders the tyranny of dieting in honor of Greg Archer’s new anti-diet book, “Shut Up, Skinny Bitches.” Read all about it at Lisa Jensen Online Express

Lisa Jensen has been writing film reviews and a column for Good Times since 1975.

WATERS WEIGHS IN. this week Christina dines at the new Afghani place, eats her weight in Dungeness crab and continues her thoughts on True Grit and The King’s Speech. All at http://christinawaters.com

THE WAY BACK. Peter Weirs first film in years is a saga of endurance of some escaped prisoners led by Ed Harris trekking across 4000 miles. Colin Ferrell plays a really grimy and gamey thug with a heart. At it’s best when seen on a big screen. Opens Friday at the Nick.

WHAT A WEEKEND. Both the New Music Works and the Santa Cruz Chamber Players created events last weekend that should have been seen by thousands. And both events did have the largest audiences I’ve seen in many years. Roland Rebele told me and I agreed that the Women’s Voices concert as performed by New Music Works on Friday night was probably the best concert they’d done in a long time. For me the performance by Karla Avila on clarinet and Michael McGushin on piano with both narrating Osvaldo Golijov’s – “There is Wind and There are Ashes in the Wind” with a text by Elie Wiesel that reflected Holocaust memories was one of the most touching memorable memorials ever. The Santa Cruz Chamber Players Sunday matinee concert that Alissa Roedig directed was equally as enjoyable. It was all music for the court of Louis XIV. Harpsichord, Viola da gamba, baroque violin and baroque flutes, that sort of thing. As mentioned the audiences were large and loving and we should be very happy to have such quality in the community. Don’t miss the next concerts by our local talent.

CUBA TRAVEL NEWS UPDATED & VENEZUELA CONSUL COMING. Cuba Caravan and Pastors for Peace folks sent this message. “Big news from Washington about Obama ending the travel ban, right!?!? Not quite right. Obama has gone back to the Clinton policy that allows travel with permission from the Office of Assets Control. It’s one step forward (Obama) after two steps backward (Bush) after one step forward (Clinton) – not exactly an end to the travel ban – we still need to get one of those stinking licenses to go legally, but it is at least back to the license-able days. And there’s still that pesky 50-year-old blockade! So we still have work to do! Pastors for Peace will caravan to Cuba without a license this summer to protest treating Cuba with less respect than every other country in the world – including Iran, North Korea, the Sudan, etc. And we’ll illegally carry humanitarian aid through the immoral, senseless, brutal blockade.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER FILM SHOWING. South of the Border – an Oliver Stone (2010) road trip film through South America visiting with such interesting and controversial presidents as Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, Rafael Correo and Raul Castro among others. This is a fundraiser for this summer’s Pastors for Peace challenge to the U.S. travel ban and blockade of Cuba. Proceeds will cover shipping costs for humanitarian aid and transportation for Santa Cruzans traveling with the caravan as an act of civil disobedience. Good News!! The Consul General of Venezuela has agreed to speak at the Feb. 6 showing of Oliver Stone’s “South of the Border” at the Rio Theatre. So…put this on your calendar – this will be your only opportunity to see this fascinating film (http://southoftheborderdoc.com ) in Santa Cruz……. and how often do you get to hear a real live Venezuelan diplomat speak? Guest Speaker – Martin Sanchez, Venezuelan Consul General. At 6:00 pm Feb. 6 (doors open at 5:30) Donations and no-one turned away for lack of $.

Questions? cubacaravans@sclatino.com Sponsored by Pastors for Peace, Santa Cruz Cuba Caravans and Reel Work Labor Film Festival.

THREE BAY AREA WRITERS PERFORM AT SUBROSA. Subrosa wants you to know that on Friday night 1/21 at 7 p.m. …”-Bambi will read from their newest book, ‘Mad Dog/Lost Puppy’, a sexual confessional, a purging of the psyche. Then Julian Smuggles (of Santa Cruz’s Intergalactic Smugglers) reads his short story, ‘The Pinwheel’. After that Zack Thiesen performs his work ‘Both’, a Jungian stage play. Mingling in between sets guaranteed, minimal technical difficulties promised. Possible 4th guest, or brief musical acoustic set by TBA. Spend your Friday night with some South Bay strangers. http://bothbooks.com That’s SURGERY S.C.
Friday, Jan. 21st at SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave. Reading will start promptly at 7pm.

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 sometimes old programs are on “blog”) at WWW.KZSC.ORG. Judy Bouley casting director for Peter Weir tells us back stage stories about Weir’s latest film The Way Back on January 18th after Judy UCSC’s Rob Sean Wilson will describe his new book, “BEATtitudes BEattitudes”. Karen Kefauver will open the program discussing “social networking”followed by UCSC’s Chip Lord telling us about his new exhibit “Public Spaces”on January 25. On February 1st County Supervisor John Leopold will interview me about my showbiz career, especially the re-union of our original “Goodtime Washboard 3” happening Feb. 5th at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage and I’ll interview him about his work with Arhoolie Records. Kinan Valdez from El Teatro Campesino will be on February 8th, and in the second half hour Ellen Murtha will explain why banking locally makes sense and helps our economy. Any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in and keep listening.

QUOTES. “We’ll pay you to live“, Traveler’s Money –Back Life Insurance. “Boss, Life is trouble—only death is not. To be alive is to undo your belt and look for trouble”, Zorba, in Zorba the Greek. “I’ve got a mind to give up living and go shopping instead”, Butterfield Blues band.

BEST OF DeCINZO. Mr. DeCinzo visits UCSC

Deep Cover

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