Blog Archives

DATELINE July 9, 2018

SANTA CRUZ NOT CARING ANYMORE? Santa Cruzans — including our UCSC students — aren’t bothering to vote. There’s little or no opposition to real estate and developer thefts, little to no progress in helping the homeless, few demands toward trying to change transportation issues. Why have we become uncaring about our community? There was a huge and wonderful turnout at the Immigration Protest two weeks ago, but where is the follow-through? There’s been some talk about direct electing of our Mayor, which I think would sure change the picture. And Gary Patton said in a recent blog…. “Frankly, I am worried about citizen-based democracy in my own hometown, since elected officials here are more and more turning over key policy decisions to the unelected staff.”  Go here . What part is President Trump’s evil and possibly infectious influence having on us?

SANTA CRUZ PUBLIC LIBRARY ISSUE. Jean Brocklebank has been one of the most active opponents of the plot/plan to build a 5 story parking garage, and put a new version of our public library under it. As part of her Don’t Bury The Library opposition community, she sent out a mailer last week…here it is:

“June 19 Study Session and Next Steps”

It has been almost three weeks since the City Council held its Study Session on the Library/Parking Garage that was proposed a year and a half ago by City Public Works Director Mark Dettle and the Countywide Library System’s Director and championed by City Manager Martin Bernal ever since.  Thanks to all of you who were able to be there, as well as to those of you who sent emails to the Council.  The place was packed (standing room only). The Library Director and members of the The Downtown Library Advisory Committee (DLAC) were given premier seating in the first two rows.

If you followed the news accounts then you know that nothing was decided at the June 19 meeting.  The meeting was close to two hours of listening first to accolades for the ad hoc Downtown Library Advisory Committee, followed by a tedious presentation about parking and potential parking rate structure fee schedules. The public spoke at hour three, for over an hour.  Then City Council was next, asking questions and stating their personal opinions.

If one wants to    watch the entire 4 hour meeting, go here.

At this Study Session, there wasn’t any studying of what could actually be provided by revitalization and renovation of the downtown library, as compared to a newly built library.  Council simply accepted the DLAC Report, which contained their last minute straw dog, Option A (Partial Renovation), which was soundly criticized as soon as the public caught sight of it late last year.  The DLAC called Option A “irresponsible.”  We agree, but for very different reasons.  None of which the Council studied.

At the end of that marathon of a meeting, which seemed to be more about the parking garage (euphemistically called a Mixed-Use structure to deflect the issue of building a new library in a parking garage) was a slide of Next Steps, including:

• Direct staff to conduct additional outreach on the proposed Downtown Library Mixed-Use project.
• Direct staff to conduct additional outreach on proposed parking rates with Downtown Businesses and workers.
• Return to Council in August.

Of that first step (additional outreach), it should be noted that at the end of the meeting, City Council member Martine Watkins’ made a point to value the importance of the outreach in “educating the community and hearing from them as well.”

Several days after the June 19 meeting City Council member Chris Krohn had this to say about both the June 19 Study Session and the likelihood of Council meeting again on this issue in August:            “Only Councilmember Richelle Noroyan, despite the 30-plus voices pleading with the council to ‘decouple’ the projects, or just simply use the $23 million bond money to fix the current library and leave the Farmer’s Market where it is, she alone was looking to make a motion to say yes on the library-garage atop the Farmer’s Market/garage site. She was quickly dissuaded from making the motion, mainly because staff had said the ‘parking rate strategy,’ as they called it, had not yet been worked out. So, will it come back in August? Unlikely. I emailed around the day after the meeting to find out, but no definitive answers were offered. Maybe September, one staff member emailed, but not sure.” We’re not sure why Council would think that there is enough time in the middle of summer vacations for anything other than perfunctory outreach anyway, so “sometime in September” sure makes more sense.  But as with this entire process (or lack thereof), nothing surprises us and we all must be prepared to act quickly.

Has Outreach Begun?

It most certainly has and we all need to be there to make sure that the misinformation that has plagued the library in a parking garage since it was first proposed is not spread farther and farther.  Below is an email from Friends of the SC Public Libraries Executive Director, Vivian Rodgers, apparently sent to all library volunteers on June 21st and again on July 5th.  Note the promise of providing food as an enticement!  What’s up with that?  Also note that this is not outreach to the community, as envisioned by City Council member Martine Watkins.  If it was truly outreach to the community, then FSCPL would have posted the meeting notice on its public Facebook page or its public web site.  Did Vivian misunderstand the purpose of the “outreach?”  Here is her email:

            Hi,
The Santa Cruz City Council delayed their vote on the mixed use library option till August. They’re delaying, in part, so that we can provide clarity on some of the conflicting information floating in our community.  Susan Nemitz and I would like to invite you to join us for a discussion.  We’ll provide updated information for the Downtown Branch and its future, and would like to hear your concerns and thoughts about the process.AND we’ll provide food and drinks! Please let me know which date works for you, or if you are unable to attend any of these hour-long conversations.

Tuesday, July 10, at 11:30 a.m. in the Upstairs Meeting Room of the Downtown Library
Thursday, July 12 at 9:30 a.m. in the Upstairs Meeting Room of the Downtown Library
Thursday, July 26 at 5 p.m. in the Upstairs Meeting Room of the Downtown Library
Thank you!
Vivian Rogers
Executive Director
Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries

Wait a minute! “… provide clarity on some of the conflicting information floating in our community?!!” This comment seems to be linked to Council member Richelle Noroyan’s comment on June 19, that those of us who have had legitimate concerns about the DLAC process and decision-making had created a “conspiracy” theory, thus attempting to dismiss the Don’t Bury The Library campaign, its key spokespeople and other residents opposed to the library/garage plan.

Call to Action!

Please plan to attend any or all of the meetings listed in Vivian’s email. It is the only way we can know what is being said to library volunteers. We’re convinced that Vivian and Susan set up these “discussions” with FSCPL volunteers because they heard DBTL spokeswoman, Judi Grunstra, state to the Council on June 19 that it should not accept that all Friends of SC Public Libraries or even all librarians supported the proposed project.

Hoping to see many of you who share our goal to keep the Downtown branch in its current location – revitalized and renewed…. on either  July 10, July 12 or July 26.  Let’s keep the pressure on for transparency and honesty. Jean Brocklebank, on behalf of DBTL

The  DON’T BURY THE LIBRARY website… Listen to Jean Brocklebank and Michael Lewis talk more about the library on my Universal Grapevine (KZSC 88.1 fm) next Tuesday July 17 at 7:30 p.m.

HISTORICAL PHOTO DATA. Last week I ran a photo of the Seabright Castle Beach. Historian Stan Stevens replied… “The event taking place outside the Castle, August 19, 1959, — the photo you ran July 3 – 10, —was the 10th Annual beach party, sponsored by the merchants for Seabright children. They fed nearly 500 children. “Hotdogs were cooked by the Castle restaurant and doled out to the ravenous horde by the busy committee of merchants, employees and a few parents….”  See the story, and other photos, Santa Cruz Sentinel Aug. 20, 1959, p. 17.

PETER McGETTIGAN — STILL MORE DETAILS. Historian Stan Stevens (quoted above) was a long time and good friend to Peter Mc Gettigan.  Stan wrote… “Peter had recently been hospitalized, at his own choosing, after trying to shake the flu. He was in the hospital three weeks, with some rehab afterwards. Peter was part of a helicopter medical evacuation team in Vietnam, and was exposed to Agent Orange as a result. This affected his lungs, and I am certain this contributed to his heart condition. We know these things from discussions we had with Peter, during several dinners at our home over the years”.

July 9^th
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST.

Depending on the Coastal Commission’s vote at its meeting on Thursday July 12^th, this 1937 Cotswald-style cottage pictured here on the coastal bluff at 1307 West Cliff Drive, the only house on the ocean side of West Cliff, most likely will be gone forever. Another iconic structure torn down. Little value placed on that which reflects our past, on the familiar, on what gives a sense of community and place. The likelihood was slim that someone with the $4 million it cost to buy the property would have opted to save the Doll’s House (one of its names), and be happy looking out at the ocean from within its walls. The Real Estate online photos of the interior show beautiful hardwood floors, pristine white walls and stunning ocean views from all the windows, enough one would think to keep anyone happy. Apparently not. All over Santa Cruz, with the possible exception of Beach Flats, newcomers with money are bulldozing the small cottages and erecting new structures, stretching height restrictions to the max. Many are second or third homes. Nothing illegal about all of this but for me sad to lose the modest built landscape that has defined Santa Cruz for so long. I wonder how they manage to keep the old structures in most European countries? Why do they treasure them more than we do? There’s nothing inevitable about human driven change. It reflects what we value and what we don’t.

Most remember this house, also called Tide Cliff Studio, as Jennifer’s house in Clint Eastwood’s 1983 film, Sudden Impact. Local historian Ross Gibson, who has researched its history, was quoted in a 1/20/16 Sentinel article on the sale of the house. “It’s rather iconic,” Gibson said. “It’s a very modest cottage and it probably wasn’t built like a castle or anything, but still, that wonderful charm that it has and its wonderful relationship with the natural setting, I’d hate to see it lost. Since it is Cotswold, the most that I could hope for was that the roof line remains the same.”

Given its unique location, the zoning for this house is Legal Non-conforming, which means that you can do repair and maintenance on the existing building but you can’t do a new development. Many of us have chuckled at the many “remodels” around town. A foundation and one wall of bare studs and the city says you can call it a “remodel” even though the new structure bears no resemblance to the old. At the hearing before the city’s Zoning Administrator in 2016, the plans for the new house were quickly approved under the pretense that this was not a new construction. That decision was appealed to the California Coastal Commission (CCC), which already had concerns of its own due to the house’s singular coastal location, past illegal placement of riprap and adjacent public pocket beach.

The recommendation from CCC staff to the Commission is that the plans do indeed constitute a new development by Coastal Act precedence. Take note city. What is proposed is not just repair and maintenance. They will, however, approve a Coastal Development Permit for the new structure if half of the riprap is removed, which will free up about 2,000 square feet of public beach area. They also require that no additional riprap or armoring can be placed to protect the new house should the coastline recede and render the new house unlivable within the next 50 years. In addition, the applicants have agreed to provide for two public stairway projects, a public pathway repair, and public park improvements along West Cliff Drive, as well a public access easement over the unburdened beach and rock shelf areas on the site.

If approved by the CCC, the current house will go and the new will be a dark brown rather than the soft blue and grey tones that embody Ross Gibson’s description of its “wonderful relationship with the natural setting.” Whatever one’s feelings about these changes, at least the Coastal Commission is looking out for the public’s interest in opening up access to the coast, something that escaped the attention of the city. The future of Santa Cruz is up for sale. The city’s role should be to represent the public good within the confines of its ordinances and codes. Too often, as in this case, it represents only the developer’s interests. And leaves the public to challenge its decisions if they can afford to appeal. Or if in the Coastal Zone, leaves it to the CCC to enforce the city’s Local Coastal Programs.

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.

July 11 2018

University Baiting and Bashing? Not so Fast
It was quite a meeting. Mayor David Terrazas and Planning Director Lee Butler forcefully presented the city’s side of the https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/us/army-immigrants-discharge.html on June 27. There it was in a basic PowerPoint: 78% of Santa Cruz just voted to severely limit the size of UC Santa Cruz; the growth of university has far outpaced the growth of the community since 2000 (58% student body (not including additional staff and faculty) vs. the 21% total growth of the city of Santa Cruz; and perhaps the real elephant in this room, the extravagant dorm rents that one student can pay per month, as high as $1,670 for a single room (no meals) and $1,400 per room if you want to live along Pacific Ave at the UCSC-owned “University Town Center.” What did any of this mean? Plenty. First, it is clear that too much of a good thing can be quite damaging to this community. While the discussion was amicable, the main message being shared by the Mayor with the assemblage of UCSC staff headed by Chancellor George Blumenthal was that the city simply cannot take any more university growth. Blumenthal is a keen listener, an apt debater and obviously, he’s also a man caught between the rock of the UC Regents, and the hard place of a must-grow Sacramento legislature. He trotted out his usual pallet of bureaucratic ballast: we are great at conserving water (true, on campus, but not off), traffic growth to the campus has not increased since 2005 (I challenged him, and he tacitly agreed to a city study), and UCSC must strive to find a place on the American Association of Universities elite big schools list (now 62 on list).

The chancellor and Mayor, at least at this gathering of the Community Advisory Group (CAG), conversed cordially and it appeared there was ample room for negotiation and mediation. The CAG is made up of elected officials including Supervisor’s Bruce McPherson and Ryan Coonerty, City Councilmember’s Cynthia Mathews and myself. The group also includes community notables and once-notables, Gary Patton, John Aird, Ceil Cirillo, Charlie Eadie, Bill Tyseling, and Don Lane. So far, the group has been united in pushing back hard on the suggested 10,000 student sticker-shock growth number the Chancellor trotted out last January. The meeting ended well past the allotted two hours with suggestions for city staff and university staff to work together on coming up with numbers and information in which to present to the UC Regents and the legislature concerning how much the city, and university, are struggling with the great numbers of students already in town without the resources to support them. The Chancellor indicated the state legislature might be a harder nut to crack than the Regents if Santa Cruz city and county officials are to form a one-two punch in limiting university growth. This group will meet again in the fall. A follow-up email sent the day after our meeting by the Vice Chancellor of Business and Administrative Affairs, Sarah Latham stated the following:

“One area that emerged with a high level of interest from CAG members was how you might partner with the campus in advocacy efforts to the State Legislature to ensure the quality of the UC remains high and supports the needs of our state, while also recognizing the needs of the local communities in which we are located.” (June 29)

Amen. Maybe we are on to something.

Berlin, Germany
Trump and Hitler Comparisons
Truth be told, many people here in Berlin made my own recent discovery long ago. In fact, way back in the summer of 2016 during the Republican presidential debates some Berliners perceived dark storm clouds hovering over the American political landscape. The language, style, and bravado of one Donald J. Trump was something Germans were eerily well-acquainted with before. I visited an exhibit here, the Topography of Terror. It is situated astride the former Gestapo headquarters. The exhibit is as grotesque as it is frank in its depiction of how Hitler and the Nazis came to power, but primarily it is focused on the year 1933. It is a riveting, revealing, and honest 2018 assessment of the horrible atrocities committed under a legally elected German government. The exhibit only covers one year in a city block-long depiction of the Nazi rise to power. Being here in Germany and looking through some of their history, mostly by perusing the German Historical Museum and the Topography of Terror site, which led up to a very dark period in German history and world history, I am struck by some parallels between this era and Trump.

The parallels seem chilling:

1. Adolf Hitler received 37% of the delegate votes and was subsequently chosen by rightwing German icon, Paul Van Hindenburg. The choice of Hitler did not necessarily have to happen. (popular 2016 vote: Clinton 48.2%, Trump 46.1%, electoral votes: Trump 304, Clinton 227—The Democrats had established a precedent earlier by not fighting the election results during the 2000 general election.
2. Hitler went after immigrants, Jews, Blacks and Gypsies Trump goes after immigrants, and uses terms like “rapists.” Hitler used vulgar terms as well.
3. Der Führer extolled the army every chance he had and built up national resources to support the military. Trump supports a dying coal industry, negates climate change, and is trying to prop up steel production for “national security” reasons.
4. Hitler looked backwards and wanted to return to a former way of life when Germany was a great (super) power in the 19th century. The Trump era mantra is Make America (Germany?) Great Again)
5. Hitler picked fights with his neighboring countries, which happened to be easier military targets too, Poland and France, as he wanted “German” territory restored, it was “taken” after WWI. Trump picks fights with Mexico and Canada every chance he gets.

Scenes from Berlin, 29 years after The Wall fell. Bike taxi bed. Entrance to the Kopi squat. Capitalism 1, East Germans 0. Here is an old East German Trabant decorating the entrance to the Marriot Hotel. Lots of radical banners all over Berlin, this one outside of 27-year old squat, Kopi. Street Art on the side of a building. They know how to do murals in Berlin. These are part of 2,711 cement stele, part of the Holocaust Memorial located near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Some say it’s an “illusion of order,” or a “hegemony of vision.” What do you think? Going down into the heart of the memorial itself, order and a sense of lost-ness. Graffiti is celebrated in Berlin. See larger versions of these photos on the Facebook page.

I’ve Gotta a Feeling…
And then, just when I was feeling rather queasy about the Trump and Hitler teaming up in the backcourt, this appears in the New York Times: Army is Discharging a Growing Number of Immigrants. “Lawyers for the foreign-born recruits say at least 30 have been discharged in recent weeks and thousands more are stuck in limbo.”

American Storm Troopers?
What Trump does not have is a Sturmabteilung, or SA, the army of Storm Troopers that enforced Nazi policies. It was a real paramilitary army at the time, and given the unsophisticated weaponry of the German state army before Hitler’s ascension to Chancellor, it was a powerful force. Although Trump has the National Rifle Association, and similar to President Paul Hindenburg’s calculation of not wanting to anger Hitler because he had this paramilitary force to be reckoned with, Hindenburg selected Hitler as Chancellor after a close vote. I wonder if any of that kind of thinking ever goes into the decision-calculus of Republicans on capitol hill? After all, Trump is using ICE–Immigration and Customs Enforcement–in a manner similar to Hitler’s private army. So, calls by a brave New York congressional Democratic primary winner recently, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to “abolish ICE,” may be a harbinger in the anti-Trump wilderness that may well catch fire.

In addition, the economy in Germany in the early-1930’s was in a tailspin while unemployment may have reached 30%, but it was coming down under the policies of the previous government when Hitler arrived in office in 1933. Employment was also coming down when Barack Obama left office. Trump of course takes credit now for low unemployment. Hitler immediately, despite the Nazi “Socialist” party name, began privatizing state industry. Trump too is the main spokesperson for American capitalism, despite his recent trade sanctions policies. In addition, it is obvious, even to the casual observer, that Trump does not value the contributions immigrants make to the US. economy. Trump’s brand of capitalism is nationalism, Hitler’s brand of socialism was also nationalism. We have been forewarned.

 

“Some of you know I’m Jewish,” Sanders said during a town hall in Wisconsin on Saturday. “My father came to this country at the age of 17 from Poland, Other people in his family did not come over. Most people died. Children died. Relatives of my father. So that is in my heart to see what a lunatic can do by stirring up racial hatred. And we’re not going to allow that to take place in this country.” (Haaretz, April 3, 2016.)

CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Lupin Lodge the Nudist Camp gets some visitors secc below.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “The Supreme Change” 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.

41^st ANNUAL MUSICAL SAW FESTIVAL. This happens AUGUST 11 & 12.
On Saturday August 11, 2018 at 2:00 pm there’ll be an Open jam at the Tom Scribner Statue, 1520 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA, in front of Bookshop Santa Cruz. That night at  6:30 pm Potluck and jam up at Roaring Camp‘s outer parking lot in Felton, CA.
On Sunday August 12 from 10:00 am to  5:00 pm will be the genuine 41st Annual Saw Festival at Roaring Camp in Felton, CA.
Highlights of the festival.
11:00 am Musical Saw Contest The 41st annual Saw Contest is the longest running saw contest in the world and they will crown their 2018 champion.
12:00-4:00 Featured performers, awards, chorus of the saws
At the festival you can jam, meet other saw players, take part in the contest, take a workshop, and hear some great saw players literally from all over the world.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Its publication day for Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge (at last!), this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com ). Sneak a peek at a sample chapter, listen to me on the radio, and don’t forget to come see me at Bookshop Santa Cruz, next Tuesday (7 p.m. July 17)! Also, read my review of the incredible true-story documentary Three Identical Strangers, in this week’s Good Times. Meanwhile, still missing my Art Boy, I turn to the movies for answers about what happens next after life as we know it.” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

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 July 10, Lisa Jensen will be talking about her book “Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge” and her Bookshop book signing. Then Ellen Aldridge from the Ocean Street Extension community talks about their concerns. Ellen Primack of The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music discusses it on July 17. Also on the 17 Jean Brocklebank and Michael Lewis share the latest news on our public library issue. July 24 has Dr. Larry DeGhetaldi CEO of Sutter Health Santa Cruz and Pres. of Palo Alto Medical Foundation of Santa Cruz talks about medical issues and developments. He’s followed by UMI Santillan from QEUC , Quality Eduction in UC’S . On August 7 Dr. Shawna Riddle of PAMF talks about staying healthy. Following her will be Marla Novo, history curator at MAH. OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… 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. “IMMIGRANTS”
“My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too”.  Barack Obama
“Nearly all Americans have ancestors who braved the oceans – liberty-loving risk takers in search of an ideal – the largest voluntary migrations in recorded history… Immigration is not just a link to America’s past; it’s also a bridge to America’s future.” George W. Bush
“The greatest nations are defined by how they treat their weakest inhabitants.” Jorge Ramos