Bratton Online

Highlights this week:
BRATTON…more about the Robert Singleton #MeToo issue, illegal Mierda re DeCinzo and City Council candidates, E Clampus Vitus and a new Octagon plaque. GREENSITE…on ADU sea-changes coming soon. KROHN…Election issues for council candidates, UCSC, traffic, homelessness. STEINBRUNER…on sewage water into Soquel faucets, more about Pure Water Soquel, Soquel to accept Santa Cruz water in December, Betty’s Burgers and Bayshore hotel parking hassle. PATTON…about Trump, Big Tim Sullivan and the media. EAGAN…and Putin’s lifetime chauffeur. DeCINZO…and shopping news. JENSEN…more about her Beast Book successes. BRATTON…critiques Equalizer 2 and Mama Mia: Here we go again UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…from Vladimir Putin!.

“Jimmy” Roosevelt campaigning for Governor, at Pacific Avenue and Cooper Street. February 15, 1950. Jimmy Roosevelt was FDR’s son. He ran against Earl Warren and lost. He also ran for Mayor of Los Angeles and lost to Sam Yorty. What’s more odd is that he later joined Democrats for Nixon and supported Reagan in 1980 and 1984.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

BACH ON PIANO FOR BLIND ELEPHANT.

ELEPHANTS DANCE TO FLUTE MUSIC!!!

DATELINE July 23, 2018

ROBERT SINGLETON AND THE #MeToo ISSUE (continued) After briefly mentioning in last week’s column that Robert Singleton was probably considering another run for a City Council seat — and that there have been many rumors and unsolved statements about a possible #MeToo incident in Sacramento — I received many phone calls and emails with lots more information about what happened. First of all, if there was “a #MeToo incident”, it wasn’t in Sacramento…it was right here in Santa Cruz. A woman emailed a letter to the four Santa Cruz “Brand New Council” candidates Sandy Brown, Drew Glover, Chris Krohn and Steve Schnarr during the 2016 campaign, stating she was in a terrible two-year relationship with Singleton while she was a UCSC student. The email states that the relationship was “emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive”. I have a copy of that 2016 email, and I emailed her this morning (7/23) to see if she has more to add…or subtract.. In that 2016 email she said that her “emotional mind was not strong enough to present the proof” that she has. I’ll wait a while to see if she responds, and then I’ll connect with Robert Singleton to see what his reaction is…or was. If anyone has more information please send it to me, and we’ll sort it out.

MORE ILLEGAL MIERDA. Steve Schlict, theeditor — and main mover behind the Santa Mierda weekly blog — has been running Steven DeCinzo cartoons without DeCinzo’s permission. That’s not just illegal, but unkind and unfair. He’s done it before. I’ve emailed DeCinzo about this. More than that, Schlict’s online info says he’s a principal at BioMarcommunications, which “focuses on life science business investment”. But for two years he’s been the main force behind that Santa Mierda blog. Schlict claims to be a moderate, but anyone reading Mierda will note just how far-right and pro-law and order the blog and especially the reader “commenters” are. He’s started a City Council candidates section. He says that Paige Concannon is a regular reader of Meirda and that he’s “thankful that she’s running”. So that’ll tell you how right-wing pro-growth she is. Needless to say he’s against Drew Glover and Justin Cummings. Of course he likes Richelle Noroyan and believes that Ashley Scontriano is very impressive. Those endorsements alone should give us the info we need to vote in November.

E CLAMPUS VITUS PLAQUE CEREMONY. One of the ECV websites says, “The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV) is a fraternal organization dedicated to the study and preservation of Western Heritage, especially the history of the Mother Lode, gold mining and silver regions of the area. There are chapters in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and we now have Outposts in Montana and Wyoming. There are now 45 recognized chapters and 7 Outposts in April 2017. John Tuck and I were sworn in (with much swearing) at the installation of the bronze plaque on the Branciforte Adobe back in 1980. Since then the ECV created a Viceroy Marqués De Branciforte Chapter #1797. Their “official” notice says, “There will be a Plaquing at the historic Octagon Building in Downtown Santa Cruz so this will be an event you will not want to miss! It’ll happen July the 29th of 6023 (Clampers call our year 2018 ” 6023″). It’s be at the Octagon Building Location at
118 Cooper Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060. I have no idea what the plaque is about, since all but the upper portion of the exterior brick walls of the Octagon have been totally and officially destroyed, with county approval… and I get no response from my Clamper brothers for details.

July 23, 2018

WHO’S IN CHARGE?

The July 17^th Community Meeting organized by the city Planning staff was an eye-opener. It’s no secret that city staff have increasingly taken on the role of setting policy with council increasingly rubber stamping such policy, reversing the traditional roles of council setting policy with staff charged with implementation.

At the Community Meeting, such role reversal was on full display and I found it disturbing. Usually at such public meetings the staff assumes a low- key stance and confine their presentations to communicating what projects are in the works. Particularly with controversial projects, they avoid promoting one side or the other with a nod to the fact that it’s up to council to make the final decision. This meeting was a radical departure from the past. Most of the topics covered were relatively minor. One stood out: potential changes related to Accessory Dwelling Units. (ADU’s)

At the state level there have been sweeping changes passed and others proposed for ADU construction policy in order to encourage more to be built and to by-pass local ADU Ordinances. Although there is no evidence that building market-rate second homes on single family lots will make a dent in the cost of housing given unlimited demand and a hot economy at the upper income levels, “more housing” is the rallying cry of developers, architects and some housing activists. Until now, city staff have recognized the tension in allowing second houses in areas zoned for single homes with the resulting impact on traffic, parking, noise and privacy to name a few. With considerable care and many public meetings, which I have attended over the years, planners have tried to balance this tension by allowing the building of second houses (ADU’s) on single- family lots with restrictions on size, setbacks and the major one: that one of the two houses be occupied by the owner of the property. These reasonable restrictions have allowed stable neighborhoods to absorb ADU’s without the full- scale disruption that unlimited building of ADU’s would bring. All that is about to change and the main drivers are city- planning staff.

Some of the state level changes in ADU policy have been so controversial that the bill has died in committee. SB 831 is the poster child in this regard. That bill would have removed all restrictions on ADU owner-occupancy so that the owner need not live in either house. So what? say the ADU proponents. More housing is good, whatever the impacts. Perhaps not. Consider a town such as Santa Cruz with 56% of the houses in single- family neighborhoods owned by someone or a consortium, who live elsewhere. Maybe in another house in Santa Cruz or increasingly, in some other county, state or even country. Such owners have no stake in whether the surrounding neighbors of their investment property are impacted by all that increased density brings. So what if both dwellings are occupied by students, maybe a dozen in all, who party into the wee hours? The absentee owner isn’t bothered. So what if parking a car off-site becomes impossible when all parking requirements are lifted for ADU’s as is being proposed by city staff? The absentee owner isn’t bothered. Currently, a property owner who wants to build an ADU has to consider whether they want another person sharing their property in order to make money off the added dwelling. With owners who live elsewhere, no such deliberation is needed so it’s all about money. Lifting the owner-occupancy requirement would be a sea-change in neighborhood stability and livability. This was so obvious at the state level and until now at the local level that it has been removed from the state legislation.

At the Community Meeting, planning staff in charge of ADU’s did not temper enthusiasm for the proposed changes to the ADU ordinance. The handout described reducing setbacks, ending all parking requirements and considering approval of additional ADU junior units, (meaning 3 units on a single family lot) as “progressive.” The statement was made that “city policy will reflect state law and may go further.” Such changes were described as comprising a “new, improved ordinance.” Really? For whom? Certainly not for existing neighbors and for overall neighborhood integrity, to use that long-forgotten term. Any sense of tension between existing neighborhoods and the addition of hundreds of ADU’s was not in evidence from staff comments, nor staff handouts. At one point I had to remind staff at the conversation table that council would have to approve these changes, something that seemed to be forgotten.

My recollection from the council meeting regarding changes in ADU’s as part of the Housing Blue-print Subcommittee’s recommendations, was that such a change in owner occupancy might be implemented only if it was tied to the unit being designated as “affordable.” I asked the planner, Sarah Neuse, “didn’t council members voice opposition to removing the owner occupancy requirement per se?” She replied, “a couple of them discussed that but didn’t vote on it.” Hmm…

Even the Planning Director seemed to be taken by surprise at her interpretation that a revision in the ADU ordinance would recommend ending owner occupancy overall besides ending it for a “affordable” ADU’s. When he asked for clarification, she swiftly responded that the revisions would include both. She also made it clear that this was on a track for public hearings by Fall, probably beginning in October, before a new council is seated.

If you want to have input before this is a done deal and rubber-stamped, the staff to contact on ADU policy is Katherine Donovan: kdonovan@cityofsantacruz.com. I’d also contact sneuse@cityofsantacruz.com, the harbinger of these exciting “improvements.” Perhaps an enquiry of council members is also in order: just to check who is running the show.

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 22, 2018

NOVEMBER ELECTION ISSUES, CONTINUED
Voter Issues Redux

Let Santa Cruz be an example of building bridges and not walls.

If you remember last week I started a list of issues that progressive candidates might run on, or pay close attention to during the upcoming November, “off-year” election. The issues discussed last week, (which can be found by scrolling down to last week’s https://brattononline.com column), were neighborhood integrity or livability; creating truly affordable housing; and protecting and enhancing our precious Santa Cruz natural environment. This week it’s about city-university issues; traffic and transportation; enhancing the pedestrian-bicycle experience; and what I like to call, Santa Cruz foreign and domestic policy stands.

So, how many issues can a candidate actually run on?
In the old days it was perhaps simpler, but no less daunting for anyone running a serious city council campaign. The issues were usually water, traffic, and housing, in that order. Now, there’s less emphasis on water, although H2O is always a significant piece of most local political discussions. But it is HOUSING and homelessness that have just sucked all the air out of Santa Cruz politics. It is, without a doubt, THE campaign issue and it began in earnest in 2016 and will likely continue through 2024. Of course, traffic, quality of life–livability–and the environment are close behind. So how to choose? Each candidate must try to get up to speed on the myriad of issues Santa Cruz faces by setting up loads of meetings…with homeless advocates (McHenry, Kramer, Adams, and Conable) city department heads (at least the city manager, police chief, and planning and finance directors); reaching out to past winning, and losing, candidates…there are enough ex-mayors out there to field possibly an entire 12-person basketball team (Lane, Bryant, Beiers, Scott, Fitzmaurice, and soon, current Mayor Terrazas come to mind); seek out UCSC honchos, if you can get ahold of them (Blumenthal, Tromp, and Latham among others); visit our Sacramento reps (Sen. Monning and Assembly member Stone), and try to shadow US Rep. Panetta for a day if he will let you; and check in with SEIU reps Urrutia, Nathanson, and Colby, and Monterey central labor council political rep, Glen Schaller as well). And if housing is the issue, meeting with for-profit (Swenson’s Nickell and Devcon’s Lawlor), and non-profit (Mercy Housing and Mid-Peninsula) housing developers, as well as rent control advocates (Jagadeesan, Cavooris, Hochman, and Smedberg) and anti-rent control SC Together (Renshaw) too. So many meetings, I know. But if you’re a candidate, this is what you do. I suggest choosing 2-4 issues, developing a 1-2-minute stump speech on each, and bringing all future forum conversations, presentations, and neighborhood meetings back to your 2-4 issues that you’re running on.

Election Issues, Part II
Make no mistake, UC Santa Cruz, Inc. represents the single largest political issue candidates will have to deal with because it’s attached to all others. UCSC usually is, and likes to act as, the elephant in the room–a player flicking at the levers of local power, and hoping to be unseen while it works the back rooms of the housing, traffic, and water political landscape. The gargantuan growth of the U over the past decade has come to represent all of our housing, traffic, and water woes. So, consequently the more than 40,000 students, faculty, staff and other support services locally attached to UC, Inc. present huge impacts on the quality of life for everyone in town, crashes, bumps, and bangs that are not so easily mitigated away. It is up to the next city council to continue the foot-in-the-door dialogue recently begun as a result of the Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP) process. It is past time for the council to work diligently alongside the university in approaching the regents with the perhaps unwelcome line in the sand: No más UCSC growth past 19,500! This message has to be given in unity (77% of voters agreed on June 5th), full-throated, and with integrity and the understanding that you as a candidate and future councilmember are representing the 65,000 residents who live here now. The message must be delivered resolutely, zealously at times, and with commitment. This continuing communiqué must include that scaling back the growth of the university will have positive impacts on the UCSC education brand. Next, traffic is a LOS–Level of Service–“F” on several thoroughfares throughout the city at many times during the week and on weekends. Boardwalk traffic has never been adequately dealt with; I suggest an independent analysis of on-campus and off-campus traffic counts (given that UCSC traffic honchos say cars on campus have not increased since 2005…?!?) Getting people out of their cars by providing alternatives remains a constant challenge for the next city council. And all those who say that cars are not going away anytime soon should support as many car-alternatives as possible so when they want to drive there will be less congestion. More parking garages, additional freeway lanes, and larger numbers of cars streaming ever-so slowly to the Boardwalk are not solutions progressives seek. Closing Pacific Avenue to cars, ordering up a thousand more e-bikes (half placed on the UCSC campus), parking more beach-goers at the county building, and perhaps using the now half-dozen Google-Apple-Amazon buses patrolling Pacific each morning to pitch in and bring Boardwalk patrons from Silicon Valley to Santa Cruz on weekends may offer some relief to our traffic woes. Of course, shoring up Metro Bus funding and demanding the Regents pay more to transport students around campus and town instead of continuing to raise their tuition could simply be called: councilmembers performing constituent services. Besides closing Pacific to autos, we need to focus on moving bike lanes away from traffic. The green lanes were a good start, but now comes the tough decisions of how to shield bikes from the internal combustion engine. If we can do that it will be another game-changer in getting people out of their cars. In addition, let’s bring back the “free parking” for all e-cars. It’s an incentive that went away two years ago after having what appeared to be a successful 13-year run.

The People’s Republic of Santa Cruz Foreign Policy Office
Over the years, the Santa Cruz city council has taken many stands–against nuclear power, off-shore oil drilling and invading Iraq, El Salvador and Nicaragua. We’ve supported recognizing, and protecting our immigrant population, the Amah Mutsun (Ohlone), the Sioux at Standing Rock, and medical marijuana patients. We’ve demanded Granite Rock not bid on Trump’s border wall (success!) and that the state ban fracking (unsuccessful, so far). These issues are usually brought to the council from various community interest groups. What happens is the council provides a forum for debate and discussion and then votes, up or down, whether they believe the community is benefited by supporting the issue before them. Despite periodic criticism, developing these “foreign and domestic” policy stances takes little council time and from my experience really aids the community in providing an outlet for residents who anxiously want to do something about world issues that go beyond 7th Avenue. I like that our residents are active and concerned about life outside of Santa Cruz.

P.S.
There’s much to say and do concerning housing the homeless and providing more mental health, drug, and alcohol abuse programming. The state of California has passed some major bills that will allow cities to apply for funding. The next council must hit the ground running in directing staff to secure this funding. In the area of social services there is much more progressives can do. The fact is, progressives came to power in Santa Cruz advocating for more social services funding. I say, how about a Department of Social Services? Berkeley does it, maybe it’s time we do too.

(Goes to Democrat primary winner, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who is currently on a tear to reshape the Democratic Party and make it work for her generation (and mine too!).

“It is a human rights violation to separate children from parents, as ICE has done. This admin. continues to keep children from their parents. Sexual assault and abuse is not uncommon in ICE detention, either.” (July 19)

(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).
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

July 23, 2018
MAKE ONE CALL. WRITE ONE LETTER. ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. BUT JUST DO SOMETHING!

INJECT TREATED SEWAGE WATER INTO MIDCOUNTY DRINKING WATER SUPPLY PUBLIC STUDY SESSIONS FOR DRAFT EIR PUBLIC COMMENT ON $183+ MILLION PROJECT.
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is now in the Public Comment Phase, which will close August 13 unless extended. There will be three Public Study Sessions sponsored by Water for Santa Cruz County and Communities United for Better Government to encourage public response to the EIR:

Wednesday, July 25 Aptos Library 6pm-8pm
Wednesday, August 1 Porter Memorial Library 7pm-9pm (Sup. Leopold often has constituent meetings here 5:30-6:30)
Wednesday, August 8 Aptos Library 6pm-8pm

Find good information on the Alternative Project #2 that is not addressed in the EIR by visiting the Water for Santa Cruz County website waterforsantacruz.com/

Soquel Creek Water District will host a Public Meeting on July 31 at Twin Lakes Church (adjacent to lower Cabrillo College Campus) from 6pm-8pm. Do not expect any public question & answer opportunity, but there will be a court reporter present to accept oral comment, as well as staff willing to take your written comments.

The EIR is a large document, available online here.

It is also available in print (minus the Appendices) at various public libraries. Ms. Mow-Schumacher, District staff handling public comments, responded to my query about not having public access by saying that the District is not required to provide a hard copy of the Draft EIR to the public, but did, and that the Appendices are on a CD included in the back of the document. She did not respond to my request for an extension of Public Comment time.

The District’s Project Overview is here but does not deliver accurate cost assessment. Last year, consultants stated the project would cost $60-$70 Million, and the Feasibility Study at the time reported that the total cost, including financing would burden ratepayers with over $183 Million Project debt. Now the District reports the Project is estimated to cost $90 Million, but has not updated the debt burden to include the cost of financing the Project.

While the information touts the Prop. 1 Grant application that could award up to $50 Million for the Project, and a federal grant that could award $20 Million, it does not divulge that both grants are RE-IMBURSEMENT GRANTS, and may take five to eight years for re-imbursements to be paid. Recently, the consultants recommended the District re-consider efforts to apply for the federal grant because re-imbursement could take 10 years. Soquel Creek Water District ratepayers will have to foot the bill, probably over $200 Million, with future rate increases. The Finance and Administrative Services Standing Committee is working on how to structure these future rate increases to District customers. View the Committee members here, and try to attend their un-recorded meetings.

The public may request an extension for more time to review the Draft EIR. Under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines, the MINIMUM public comment period is 45 days, and the MAXIMUM public comment period is 60 days.

(Title 14 of California Code of Regulations, Chapter 3, Article 8 (Time Limits) Section 15105 (a). I personally worry about this PureWater Soquel Project being shoved through without adequate review. Much of the analysis deals only with the construction phase, not the long-term operational aspects. I hope to see you at one of the Study Sessions, and at the July 31 District Project Meeting.

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BOARD HOLDING SPECIAL MEETINGS FOR PUREWATER SOQUEL PROJECT THAT ARE NOT RECORDED

The Board has scheduled a number of Special Meetings that are on the website, but the materials to be presented are not available. They are held at the District offices in cramped conditions and are not audio or video recorded. The next one is Tuesday, July 24 at 6pm. The discussion includes how to finance PureWater Soquel Project and Project Modeling. Here is the link.

At last Tuesday’s regular Board meeting, the material scheduled for Board consideration at the Special Meeting was available for the public at the back table. It is a Technical Memorandum from Brown and Caldwell consultants discussing PureWater Soquel Project scheduling and design issues. On page 7, the document states “”Both the tertiary treatment facility and AWPF (Advanced Water Purification Facility ) will comprise complex, equipment-intensive treatment process trains that will be expected to perform on a highly reliable basis.”

This is exactly what the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) Panel told the District last September, and because of that, they recommended a small pilot project first. Although District Board and staff insist there would be state-of-the-art technology and redundancy in monitoring for contamination and system failures, one need only look at what happened in Monterey County recently when similar state-of-the-art technology and redundancy FAILED, with unknown amounts of raw sewage dumping into the Monterey Bay and no one even aware it was happening.

The Brown and Caldwell Technical Memorandum further states on page 7 “it is critical that these facilities be initiated and completed within a specific time window (to meet both the District’s Board of Directors’ goal of replenishing the groundwater basin by 2022 and the liquidation date of Prop 1 Groundwater Grant funds by December 2022 should the District be awarded state funding)–a schedule that is more aggressive than is typically afforded for traditional DBD projects of a similar scope.” (bold type added for my emphasis on how quickly this project is being shoved through).

The consultants estimate that the Project cost will escalate by $5Million per Year. It should be noted that consultants have advised the Board that the Project EIR does not have to be finalized before applying for the grant money.

Brown and Caldwell recommend, in interest of time, that the total design and construction be done by one firm, and that a Request for Proposals (RFP) be used rather than a standard bidding format because it saves time and is preferred by the construction companies. On page 9 of the Technical Memorandum, the consultant recommends reducing the design level stage to 30% rather than a 60% design level, and admits that while speeding things up, it also adds commercial and schedule risks. What the Board will consider at the Special Meeting July 24 is whether to adopt a firm commitment to this aggressive schedule and inherent risks.

Attend if you can. I will video record this Special meeting and have it released on YouTube.

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT WILL BEGIN ACCEPTING NORTH COAST WATER THIS WINTER, IF AVAILABLE
I was really glad to hear District Engineer Taj Dufour state at last Tuesday’s Board meeting that the ending paragraph of staff recommendations regarding the Water Chemistry Report by Black and Veatch had an error in the date of when the District could begin accepting North Coast stream waters. It had read “December, 2019” but Mr. Dufour assured the Board that the District can begin accepting water December, 2018. That is great news, and will help the aquifer in the MidCounty area.

It is a pilot project and, as was stated at the MidCounty Groundwater Agency meeting last Thursday, could lead to negotiation in the future for greater water volumes to share or purchase. I think this is very encouraging news. To that end, it would seem prudent that the County Water Resources Director, Mr. John Ricker, should include in the current County water modeling project with HydroMetrics to include effects of reduced pumping by Soquel Creek Water District wells, or even halting that pumping completely during winter months. Contact John Ricker and ask about that: John Ricker<john.ricker@santacruzcounty.us>

COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT STAFF DID NOT GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT
Betty’s Burgers is coming to Aptos Village in the space that has been a laundromat for years. One might ask: Where will everyone park? It was a surprise to Bayview Hotel and Restaurant owner Ms. Cristina Locke to learn that 100% of her parking area behind the Hotel would be granted to the new Betty’s Burgers customers, even though the legal agreement made in the 1980’s was for shared parking. Despite multiple meetings with the new owner, and a verbal agreement for a solution, the Planning Department language of 100% use got approved. Ms. Locke had to appeal.

At the Appeal Hearing, it was made clear that the Betty’s Burgers parking study did not address weekend special events and restaurant needs of the Bayview Hotel and how that would conflict with the anticipated busy Betty’s Burgers parking needs. The consultant for Betty’s Burgers, Ms. Dee Murray (a former Santa Cruz County Planner) stated that the Bayview Hotel did not record the 2013 Use Permit that would allow special events, so the document was not valid. The Zoning Administrator, Ms. Wanda Williams (who has overseen the Aptos Village Project development) then stated that since the document had not been recorded, she could not consider any impacts on weekend parking conditions. and granted the Betty’s Burgers application.

Subsequently, Code Compliance staff determined that the Bayview Hotel and Restaurant Use Permit HAD BEEN RECORDED AFTER ALL.

Ms. Locke would have to appeal the Zoning Administrative decision with the Planning Commission, and pay $1200. She cannot afford that. Luckily, the Zoning Administrator did add language to the Betty’s Burger Permit to submit a report on parking issues in one year. That will give Ms. Locke the opportunity to ask for amendments then. Wow.

Here is the YouTube video link of that appeal hearing.

Those Zoning Administrative hearings are not recorded, but a member of the public recorded this one. He plans to add the letter to Ms. Locke from the County, admitting that her Use Permit was recorded after all, but is invalid for other reasons.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS NEEDS TO RE-INSTATE THE COUNTY BUILDING AND FIRE CODE APPEALS BOARD

During the County Budget hearings last month, Planning Department Director Kathy Molloy (-Previsich) stated that the reason the environmental review has not been done for the Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan is because now the Planning Department needs to focus on getting all the unpermitted structures in the County addressed to make sure they are safe and habitable. She reported that this will take a lot of staff time to work with property owners to address alternate methods and materials that will ensure the structures are safe and habitable.

The County had a Building and Fire Code Appeals Board, composed of industry professionals and contractors, that did just that, and it cost the property owner very little to appeal to them. However, on November 19, 2013 the Board of Supervisors erased that group’s existence from County Codes and took over jurisdiction of all such matters…now charging $1800 for any appeals (after one pays $800 to appeal the Planner’s decision to the Zoning Administrator, and $1200 to appeal that decision to the Planning Commission). Doesn’t it seem logical that a group of industry professionals could be better-qualified to determine materials and methods for assisting property owners in meeting the Planning Department’s “SAFE AND HABITABLE” requirements? Doesn’t it seem also more likely that property owners who want to reconcile permit issues might trust a Building and Fire Code Appeal Board of citizens, rather than the Planning Department?

Here is the resolution to amend the County Fire Code that abolished the Building and Fire Code Appeals Board and gave the power to the Board of Supervisors. Notice that the new wording also makes the Fire Official an ex-officio member of the Appeals Board with no ability to vote on any matter before the Board.(Chapter 7.92.108.1) and that the list of qualifications for the Appeals Board was deleted (7.92.108.3).

Please contact your County Supervisor and ask about the wisdom of this situation, and insist that the Building and Fire Code Appeals Board be re-instated with qualified industry professionals, rather than the Planning Department spending inordinate amounts of time making decisions that property owners have to pay to appeal to a Board of Supervisors that is NOT qualified to determine the merit of the case.

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.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

July 21, 2018
#202 / Just Spell My Name Right
Pictured is “Big Tim” Sullivan, a New York City, Tammany Hall politician. Here is a brief biography from Wikipedia:

Timothy Daniel Sullivan (July 23, 1862 – August 31, 1913) was a New York politician who controlled Manhattan’s Bowery and Lower East Side districts as a prominent leader within Tammany Hall. He was euphemistically known as “Dry Dollar,” as the “Big Feller,” and, later, as “Big Tim” (because of his physical stature). He amassed a large fortune as a businessman running vaudeville and legitimate theaters, as well as nickelodeons, race tracks and athletic clubs. Sullivan in 1911 pushed through the legislature the Sullivan Act, an early gun control measure. He was a strong supporter of organized labor and women’s suffrage. The newspapers depicted Big Tim as the spider in the center of the web, overstating his criminal activities and his control over gambling in the city. Welch says that, “assigning the role of vice lord to Sullivan gave Tammany’s enemies a weapon to be wielded in every municipal election between 1886 and 1912.

Sullivan may also have been the person who first proclaimed, “I don’t care what the newspapers say about me as long as they spell my name right.” However, this attribution to Sullivan is not really clear. The honor might go, instead, to P.T. Barnum. Click on this link to see a discussion about who said it first.

If you are interested enough in “Big Tim,” you can click right here to find out more about the “gun control” legislation that Sullivan authored. According to the account that accompanied the picture featured at the top of this blog posting, the famous “Sullivan Act” was designed to take guns away from law-abiding citizens, while preserving the ability of gangs and mobsters to maintain their guns, all the better to terrorize the citizenry.

I haven’t done any real research on that topic, and am not at all sure that the claim just referred to is accurate. Wikipedia down rates claims that Sullivan was mobbed up, and pretty much identifies Sullivan as a progressive hero, advocate for the “little guy,” backing women’s suffrage and organized labor.

I ran across Sullivan’s name because of my interest in that well-known quote. These words about politics and publicity are the real subject of today’s blog post:

“I don’t care what the newspapers say about me as long as they spell my name right”.

Having been an elected official myself, and one who was never supported by my hometown newspaper, and who thus received a lot of “negative publicity,” I can verify that there is some truth in this observation. Which brings me to our current president, Donald J. Trump.

I agree with Patrik Müller, a Swiss journalist. Müller points out, in a column in the June 19, 2018, Wall Street Journal, that Trump is glorying in, and profiting by, all the negative publicity he is receiving. Müller’s article is titled, “The Press’s Cult of Trump,” and it is his observation that the press’s obsession with our president’s every utterance or action is helping to elevate the president’s power and significance, and thus the president’s ability to assert a political dominance that is in no way justified by any reality of his person or his politics.

Maybe Barnum, not Sullivan, really was the first person who first pointed out that even “bad” publicity is “good” publicity. Barnum has always been associated with the saying, “there’s a sucker born every minute,” and while the attribution of that saying is also contested, our president doesn’t have to know where these observations came from to seize upon them as helpful guides to his political conduct.

President Trump’s ferocious obsession with the media and his willingness to do anything to get his name before the public indicate that he has learned these lessons well, no matter who first pointed out these political truths.

Without trying to discover the origins of this advice, maybe we can finally realize the profound significance of the observation that for a politician and public figure even “bad” publicity is often “good.”

Feed a cold, but starve a fever. That’s another well-known advisory. Isn’t that a pretty good prescription about how we should treat “Big Don” Trump, as he appeals for our attention?

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 and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Se another classic DeCinzo…”Shopping news and views” by scrolling downwards just a bit.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Car- tuning with Putin” 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. Read his take on the kissing of trophies titled . “Kiss This”!!!

EVENTS

CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC. July 28-Aug.12. From their website (www.cabrillomusic.org)… Each summer Cabrillo Festival brings together music lovers, community members, professional orchestra players and extraordinary composers for an inspired gathering that offers a musical experience like no other. For the 2018 season, Music Director Cristi Macelaru has summoned voices from around the globe and across diverse cultural backgrounds to present 18 contemporary works that reflect the human spirit and the stories we tell, the grandeur of the planet, and the vastness of the cosmos. You’re invited to journey deep into the creative process through our open rehearsals, talks and the intoxicating experience of live performance. Cabrillo Festival delivers spectacular musicianship, coupled with a warm and welcoming environment for listeners at all levels, plus that famously special Santa Cruz vibe. It’s a rare thrill, and you’re invited! So much is new in 2018!

New pay-what-you-can Community Night Concert This new event welcomes the wider community to experience just how fun new music can be. Earlier concert times All our evening concerts now begin at 7pm! New $20 Youth tickets Invite your favorite young person (age 6-25), and inspire a future Festival fan! New Prix Fixe Dinner on our Grand Finale night.

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 there’ll be a 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 up 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: “In case you missed it, big fun was had at Bookshop Santa Cruz last week as we launched Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge out into the world. Thanks to everyone who showed up to make the evening such a success! And read all about it this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com ). Also, if you can’t judge a book by its cover, what can you glean from Page 69? Find out as I cruise around the blogosphere in support of my Beast!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

EQUALIZER 2. Denzel Washington is back again as a vigilante. Unlike all the rest of the bloody, violent, killing, revenge movies, Denzel makes this one a little deeper, more thoughtful, and yet at the same time heavy-handed. There’s nothing new, imaginative or startling in it, but because it’s Denzel you’ll be able to sit through all of it.

MAMA MIA ! HERE WE GO AGAIN. It’s all of the original cast (even Meryl Streep for two songs) and ABBA music. It’s mindless, pointless, meaningless, and lacks almost all of the charm or naiveté of the first one. If you wait until almost the end you can watch a 72 year old Cher in tights singing to her daughter Meryl Streep — who is 69 years old!!! You could also watch Stellan Skarsgard, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Julie Walters embarrass themselves in this strictly for-the-money prequel. Or I could say, “here we go again… BUT you shouldn’t”.

LEAVE NO TRACE. It’s difficult to critique a film with a 100% RT rating. Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie play a father and daughter who live in the woods around Portland, Oregon. Why they live outdoors, and how they face the real world, makes a near perfect film. Sensitive, thoughtful — and it forces us to think again about our definition of what a home is and what will happen after the movie ends. See this excellent film quickly.

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS. (94 RT) A very serious documentary about Jewish twin and triplet babies that were secretly separated and placed around carefully-chosen Jewish families in New York City in the 50s, as part of an experiment that has still never been made public. The previews make you think it’s about triplets and the fun they have finding each other. It’s much more than that, and will have you questioning your own behavior and your DNA inheritance. SEE THIS FILM!!!

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? A well deserved 99 on RT and Mr. Rogers turns out to be all that we’d hope to see in this bio. That he was a lifelong Republican is about the only surprise, but it’s not important. It’s no surprise to learn about his faith-based upbringing and he practiced love and kindness in his entire television career. Go see this film. You’ll agree with him about the glut of violence in other children’s tv shows. We can only guess how he’d deal with Trump’s presidency. He handled Robert Kennedy’s assassination and 9/11 with amazing taste and skill. His neighborhood tv show started in 1968 and lasted until 2001. He died in 2003. As I mentioned go see this film, it’s one of the few uplifting things available nowadays.

RBG. This nicely-done documentary tells us a lot more than has ever been made public before. Ruth Bader Ginsberg (RBG) is a surprisingly quiet, shy woman. It reminds us that Bill Clinton got her the job as Supreme Court Justice: oddly enough it does not remind us that Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O’Conner as the first woman to serve on the court. See this film. It’ll give you hope that you can fight against the odds. It’s been packing ’em in for weeks at the Nick, and it deserves it.

HERIDITARY. It genuinely earned 91 on RT!!! Toni Colette and Gabriel Byrne control the screen, the plot and all your attention is this shockingly scary horror film. It features séances, ghosts, and grave scenes and no cheap power saws or trite Hollywood tricks. This film is genuinely scary and you’ll remember it long after you leave the theatre. ENDS THURS. 7/26

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU. A 95 on Rotten Tomatoes, this is a crude take-off on telemarketers and their lowly status in life. It takes place in Oakland and is nearly all African-American themed. That means that to be a successful telemarketer you have to use your “white voice”. Danny Glover has a small part, and we can only hope he gets some decent roles again. This wasn’t one of them. There is too much racism, role-playing. and politic switching played as humor for me to really like this movie. You are on your own.

SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO. Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin are back again in sequel #2. ‘Sicario’ means “Hitman”, especially with regard to Mexican drug cartels, in case you’ve ever wondered. “Soldado” means “to pay” as in hired hit man. It’s a nasty, tough, complex, killing movie. There’s the kidnapping of a 12 year old daughter of a drug lord, and a merciless look at the very current plight of Mexican immigrants…especially now with Trump making headlines with his sick view of humanity. The plot is fast and hard to follow, but it’s got some well-produced moments.

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP. It’s embarrassing to watch Michael Douglas, Laurence Fishburne and especiallyMichelle Pfeiffer having to take roles in yet another factory-produced Marvel Comic mass-produced monster hit. (85 RT) Paul Rudd is back in this sequel, and does the best possible job as the Ant-Man. He shrinks; he grows, flies around on the Wasp’s back and does what little he can with this comic book movie. I’m guessing that these Marvel movies are best enjoyed by eight-year-olds. If you’re older than that, think at least twice before attending

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM. A big 50 on RT and it didn’t deserve that much. Chris Pratt, James Cameron, Geraldine Chaplin and Jeff Goldblum are the only names you might remember from other movies but they can’t help this weak, predictable, rip off. Dinosaurs escape…like duh!!! Gee and they eat humans or stomp them to death. It is very far removed from the realistic, character driven original Jurassic Park of 1993 starring Richard Attenborough, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and B.D. Wong. Send the kids, don’t accompany them!!

BOUNDARIES. Syrupy, corny, trite, not funny and boring! Even with Christopher Plummer and Vera Farmiga leading, this would-be comedy is an insult. Plummer as a Grandpa pot dealer wearing adult diapers on a cross country jaunt with his not-funny daughter makes for a very amateurish and miserably directed movie…avoid at all costs. ENDS THURS. 7/26

INCREDIBLES 2. I liked Incredibles 1. Now Pixar/Disney has shifted to centering on Mrs. Incredible as a Wonder Woman who goes through numerous violent bloody battles against the one concept I thought was funny…the evil Screenslaver. Very little of the original charm, family stuff, human frailties, it’s another cutesy version of the Marvel Comics blockbusters

SKYSCRAPER. What is it with bald-headed movie stars like The Rock/Dwayne Johnson? There’s Vin Diesel, Bruce Willis, Samuel Jackson, Yul Brynner, Jason Statham, Patrick Stewart, and of course Ben Kingsley. As Shakespeare or somebody once wrote…, “Be not afraid of baldness: some are born bald, some achieve baldness and some have baldness thrust upon them”. This is a flop of a movie. Maybe a few moments of scary views down the 200 floors above Hong Kong. I almost forgot: in addition to his baldness, Dwayne’s hero role is a guy with just one leg!!!

THE FIRST PURGE. It was July of 2016 when the first of the first purges splashed on our screens. It was set in Washington. Marisa Tomei must be very desperate to show her face in this bloody sequel. It’s set on Staten Island and it could almost be seen as a comment on Trump’s presidency! For 12 hours it’s legal for Staten Islanders to kill any neighbors. It’s supposed to reduce the anger and tension we deal with the rest of the year. It goes beyond being a very bad movie, it’s a cruel and savage plot set almost entirely within the Black community. Don’t go.

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. July 24 has Dr. Larry DeGhetaldi CEO of Sutter Health Santa Cruz and Pres. of Palo Alto Medical Foundation of Santa Cruz talking about medical issues and developments. He’s followed by UMI Santillan and Astrid Medrano from QEUC ( Quality Eduction in UC’S ). On July 31 Angela Franklin and Dave Weaver from C.F.O.G. Citizens For Orderly Growth in Scotts Valley will talk about their area issues. On August 7 Dr. Shawna Riddle of PAMF talks about staying healthy. Attorney Bob Taren discusses politics and problems on August 14^th. Aug. 28 has Lisa Rose and Ken Koenig from Santa Cruz Indivisible talking about their latest plans and events. September 11 Michel Singher from the Espressivo Orchestra will describe their upcoming concerts. 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

Interesting… 🙂

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. VLADIMIR PUTIN…. (born October 7, 1952)

“Those who fight corruption should be clean themselves”. Vladimir Putin
“Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan, ‘You’re either with us or against us”. Vladimir Putin
“I am the wealthiest man, not just in Europe, but in the whole world. I collect emotions. I am wealthy in that the people of Russia have twice entrusted me with the leadership of a great nation such as Russia – I believe that is my greatest wealth”. Vladimir Putin

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Snail Mail: Bratton Online
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Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
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July 23 – 29, 2018

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