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DATELINE July 3, 2017
| SANTA CRUZ SWINGS A full length movie by Ken Koenig. Yes I’ve run this before but not everyone got to see it…and learn our local jazz history. |
| Cowells Santa Cruz California = out of control! Just in case you haven’t watched enough surfing footage here’s some from 2010 with a great soundtrack!!! |
PLEA FOR STYLE, CLASS, DESIGN, INTEGRITY. Looks like we have to face the fact that the majority of our Santa Cruz City Council gives butt kissing approval to every cookie cutter hotel and apartment block pitched by any corporation or any developer that wants to build here . So to be fair to our community why not have a law stating that there will be a large brass plaque prominently affixed to the front of said structure with the current mayors name in Big Bold type and the approving councilmembers names following. In these recent cases it would state on the new Hampton Inn…
“The design, respect for the community, aesthetics, and height of this building was approved by Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Chase, Cynthia Mathews, David Terrazas, Richelle Noroyan, and Martine Watkins”.
By the way Expedia claims that there are 65 hotels near Santa Cruz Wharf…check it out https://www.expedia.com/Santa-Cruz-Wharf-Hotels.0-l6209895-0.Travel-Guide-Filter-Hotels
Newcomers may not know that the Sunlit Motel (soon to be demolished) was formerly El Dranel Motel see an original El Dranel postcard
https://www.amazon.com/Mission-California-Original-Vintage-Postcard/dp/B00P4DRXIU ).
| APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT. Some of what Becky Steinbruner talks about every week. 17 minutes of proof. |
MAJOR GOD ORIENTED THEME PARK DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED FOR FELTON.
Mount Hermon was founded in 1905. Its mission was and is (from their website)…” To proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior, teach the authoritative Word of God, and serve His Church in our nation and throughout the world”. They have between 70,000 and 85, 000 visitors every year, and have 63 full time employees. See the rope courses and the importance of god already at Mt. Hermon.
Now the evangelists want to cut a 12 acre park out of the never developed large natural open meadow with wetlands and oak woodland and make it into an attraction as big as the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Kevin Collins worked for many years as a lobbyist and policy analyst for Group, Chapter and State level Sierra Club organizations, formed the successful but now disbanded Lompico Watershed Conservancy, and has volunteered with the San Lorenzo Valley Women’s Club for nearly 30 years. He wrote the following article…
Major Land Development Proposed for Felton
The Mount Hermon Association is proposing a 12 acre bicycle based amusement park / day camp on two undeveloped parcels of 14.8 acres adjacent to the Felton Fair shopping center near the intersection of Mt. Hermon Rd. and Graham Hill Rd. This development would occupy essentially the same size area as the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Mt Hermon is a Christian theme resort and conference center with an overnight capacity for 886 guests. Their facilities include dining, conference halls and recreation. The IRS classifies them as a church but Mt. Hermon also operates components that are business activities. For example they run a $99 a ticket “zip line / canopy tour” through an old growth redwood stand on Bean Creek. This past spring they were cited for illegally destroying redwoods in the riparian corridor, trees they viewed as impacting this canopy tour.
In 2012 Mt. Hermon purchased two undeveloped lots totaling 14.8 acres bordering the Felton Fair shopping plaza. This location is within the extent of the 1988 Felton planning area. These parcels are not zoned for the use Mt. Hermon intends. The land is now a sloping meadow with a wetland swale and oak woodland. This meadow once extended to the San Lorenzo River. In 2014 Mt. Hermon submitted plans for a recreational development on these parcels. The County Planning Department processed an application and presented the Planning Commission with a recommendation for a Mitigated Negative Declaration, part of CEQA law that shortcuts a full EIR (Environmental Impact Report), clearance for re-zoning, General Plan amendments, and code exceptions. If this had gone forward, this development would now be in construction and the citizens of Felton would have known little about it.
The County Planning Commission dismissed the recommendation sought by the Planning Department, and in March 2016 an EIR process began. That document is still pending release after over a year.
Mt Hermon’s land holdings are extensive and reach from the Felton Fair shopping center to the County Juvenile Hall, about 1.25 miles up Graham Hill Rd. and northeastward to the abandoned Hansen Quarry. Within that zone there are privately owned houses, but the dominant landowner is the Mt Hermon Association. They operate a water system and have their own post office. In 1999 they were required to prepare a Master Plan EIR connected with an expansion of their overnight lodging. The new lodging included construction of a multi-floor hotel type building on a wet meadow. There were also new stipulations for water use of the over-drafted aquifer and other matters.
Because the DEIR (draft version) has not been released, it remains uncertain what the development includes. Mt Hermon’s contractors produced detailed site drawings to secure construction approval in 2014. We do not expect significant changes, and commentary in this article is based upon those 2014 materials, the EIR’s Notice of Preparation and personal knowledge.
I’ve had access to those drawings and was amazed by the intensity of the proposal. Every useable spot in the 12 acres would have something built upon it except for two small patches ironically referred to as meadows. The largest element is a 5+ acre downhill mountain bike course filled with scores of buried structure supporting jumps and other path contouring elements. This course on “engineered soil” is serviced by a conveyor belt lift system that guests would stand on while holding their bikes to be lifted in two stages to the top of the hill. At the top there would be a 62 foot tall observation tower where the bike trails begin. The trail network is elaborate and highly engineered. Much of the 16,044 cubic yards of soil excavation is related to these “trails”. But other extensive land re-contouring is necessary, and the site will have two bicycle pump track courses linked with the downhill course. Nowhere does it seem necessary to pedal uphill.
Two large buildings totaling 14,117 square feet would provide registration, retail sales, bike rental and repair, a lounge, food concessions and office space. A second building is primarily designed as a “day camp” with classrooms for elementary and junior high school children directly associated with Mt. Hermon’s programs. There are also utility buildings and a building to service a “target sports area”. There is an extensive ropes course suspended from numerous telephone poles and platforms with a maximum height of 53 feet. 600 feet of retaining walls up to 9 feet in height create a non-public play field and other terrain flattening contours to the original ground. A splash park, a small community garden and parking for 134 vehicles complete the use of the site.
Much of the site will be illuminated by pole mounted floodlights and ground illuminating bollard lights. Large sections of the development are intended for night use. Lastly there is a footbridge to span over Zayante Road leading from their existing development.
Water use and sewage raise major issues. The location intended for the septic system and its leach lines was flooded this past winter. Ground water anywhere near this level would force the development to shut down. Mt. Hermon is already under pressure for its large water use but they intend to run a six-inch water main from their existing water system to service this development and also mention an on-site well. Virtually the entire property except about two acres facing Zayante Road will be dug up and re-contoured. Most of it requires irrigation. The existing wetland vegetation will be largely eliminated under buildings, driveways, and other construction. Wild ducks were floating in the wetland this past winter.
The San Lorenzo Valley Women’s Club is one group challenging this project. I’m associated with the VWC, but do not speak for them. Extensive information is available on their website. Go here… http://valleywomensclub.org/2017/04/19/the-proposal Traffic increases at “D and F” rated intersections, aquifer overdraft, potential flooding of Felton Grove, noise, dust, light pollution, erosion, land sliding, and the elimination of now rare meadow habitat are all potential impacts. It is disturbing that the County Planning Department regards its own zoning and General Plan with such indifference that it appears to act as a proponent of the project. There are many possible uses for this land, which is park quality. An intensive amusement park should not be the outcome. The small town character of Felton would be swept away”.
Kevin doesn’t say what we can do to stop or change their plans…so stay in touch and we’ll keep you posted. It’s all in Santa Cruz County Supervisor Bruce McPherson’s Fifth District .He’s “religious” so there’s work ahead!!!
Apparently it’s too much to ask to have our Planning Commission meetings televised, as is the practice in all other cities in Santa Cruz County. Apparently it’s also too much to ask to have staff reports and attachments available online after the meetings even if the controversial item is to be continued at a future meeting on July 20th.
Unable to attend the June 29th public hearing on proposed restrictions on short-term vacation rentals, 3 days later I searched the city’s new website to find the staff report and public correspondence that was available prior to and at the hearing. Nothing available. I tried various online routes to get this information and came up empty-handed. This practice of quickly removing the links to staff reports and submitted public comments is frustrating and needs to change. And if they are available in some obscure online sinkhole, that needs to change. To get said documents I could have gone to the library before it’s demolished but that takes time.
According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, which did cover the hearing, over one hundred pieces of correspondence were submitted to the commission by June 29th. A standing room only crowd and dozens of speakers packed council chambers to weigh in on both sides of the issue. While I cannot comment on the hearing itself, I’ve heard the arguments many times and it’s a hot topic on NextDoor.com so here are a few thoughts on the issue.
In my assessment this issue is a no-brainer. If I were a councilmember I could relax with this one. Yes, people have strong feelings about the right to do with their property whatever they wish but that right is never unlimited. You can’t build a sixty-foot high home in a single- family neighborhood; you can’t build a twelve-foot high fence; you can’t build to the four corners of your property; you can’t cut down a healthy, safe heritage tree. Well, that happens since there’s little consequence and once it’s cut it’s gone but in general, our individual rights are tempered by other people’s rights and community needs and are respected as such. In most cases the limits on our individual rights are reasonable and reflect the common good.
Such is the case with the proposed limits on short-term vacation rentals given the context of a crisis in housing prices and rents. It’s the crisis in the cost of renting that should most concern the community since that impacts the most vulnerable of our residents. Someone who is looking to buy or has recently bought a house in Santa Cruz and can afford a $3,000+ a month mortgage is not in crisis. Someone who lives and works here and has just been told their rent will rise by $300 a month despite the fact they are working two service level jobs to survive is in crisis.
With no limits on the freedom of landlords to raise rents at will, with an ever-increasing UCSC student population as well as high-tech workers from over the hill setting their sights on Santa Cruz, there is no subtlety to this issue. The city has held large community gatherings to solicit solutions and nobody is saying there is no problem. In the midst of this crisis and contributing to it, along come Airbnb.com and VRBO.com, both now household names. The numbers of short-term vacation rentals have quadrupled in the past few years, according to city data. It’s a given that the monetary return from short-term vacation rentals far surpasses that of long-term rentals. It’s also a given that the more units turned into short-term vacation rentals the fewer the units available to rent long-term, exacerbating the rental housing crisis situation.
The Santa Cruz city council’s role is to make policy for the public good based on issues of quality of life, safety and security. Its role is not to make policy to maximize property owners’ ability to make a profit, nor underwrite a mortgage. Despite the howls of protest from those who stand to make big bucks from loosening restrictions, the council’s voice should be a unanimous vote on the strongest short-term rental restrictions possible.
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.
Picture of the Week
I was going over the bike bridge Sunday evening around 7:15pm and witnessed firefighters on the job putting out a blaze behind Ross Clothing at the corner of River Street and Highway 1. Please go hug a firefighter this week and say thanks!
Corridor Reset?
At the evening session of the Santa Cruz City Council meeting between a presentation on federal assistance for affordable housing, and what most had come for, a discussion of the Santa Cruz housing crisis, City Manager, Martin Bernal dropped one of his subtle, gee-aw-shucks bomb shells. You know something like, ‘Yes, I will take mayo on that sandwich, and by the way, we are halting the corridor planning process…‘ The video of the meeting is not yet up on the city web site, but he did say something like there will be a six-month reprieve on any more planning and implementation of what’s become a real policy thorn in his side that’s really been stuck there by ambitious out in front of the community city planners. It now appears that Bernal is reining/reigning them in. He said these same planners would be pulled off corridor planning for six months (?), and put on the task of working on affordable housing…Kind of unclear what that exactly means, but our Brand-New City Council will take it as a people’s victory. AND, they are jumping for joy on the eastside. This was one of the top five campaign themes of the Brand-New Council…and here it was, served up before several hundred residents packed into the civic auditorium to discuss housing. Nice timing Martin. I owe you one. What this move clearly shows is that politics matters. Neighbors have been asking for a reset, a reprieve, a moratorium, and a do-over for maybe, a couple of years now. It’s been the active presence of the Branciforte Action Committee (B.A.C.) and a strident political campaign that has put eastside issues front and center. Many kudos to all involved, let’s declare victory, but not go away, because these plans have a nasty shelf-life, just witness the Beach Area and South of Laurel plan. We thought we stopped the most onerous parts of BSOL in 1998, but the plan continues to be trotted out occasionally to justify monstrous development in the beach area (see Lanai Lodge below).
Going Dark?
June 27th was the last city council meeting before “going dark,” as city insiders often say. It sounds weirdly cryptic, like a portentous clue on the way toward a nuclear winter, or some such other disaster. Don’t get me started, but what does it mean to “go dark?” Why not just say the city is on break…or gone on holiday, but “dark” during the most lighted month of the year feels strange. Okay, enough.
More 5-2’s, and a 4-3 Almost
Another 5-2 minority council vote at this past June 27th afternoon city council meeting yielded up another $263,044 for a deck project outside the golf lodge of the Delaveaga golf course. Later, a 4-3 vote saw the majority support yet another hotel operator max-out-lot-space for a hotel over the wishes of 126 city residents at Sunshine Villa, the assisted living facility atop Beach Hill.
There it was, item #14, Delaveaga Golf Lodge, Deck Repair. Councilmember Sandy Brown and I voted against yet another ghastly golf course expense…The golf course is a budget-busting city held asset. It will run a deficit this year of $547,000 as laid out in the city budget that was passed by the council on June 13th. At a previous meeting, the council voted unanimously for Parks and Recreation Director, Mauro Garcia to conduct a fee study. Delaveaga “green fees” are $45 now, while Pasatiempo charges $250 per round of golf. It would only take an additional ten or fifteen bucks per round for Delaveaga to balance its books…not make any kind of profit mind you, but all I’m looking for is a balanced golf course budget. I vote against any more money going to the golf course until a fee study is completed. The main motion passed 5-2, and just before the vote, Director Garcia revealed that this Lodge deck project was also experiencing cost over-runs to the tune of $75k. Where will the extra money come from he was asked? Quimby Act funds, Garcia replied. Well, would the Quimby Funds be used for anything else if the lodge outdoor dining facility were not in such peril? Like maybe more maintenance of the Pogonip, or new park play equipment, or how about a down payment on buying the Beach Flats Community Garden? Seems that Quimby funds are to be used for park acquisition and maintaining existing parks (https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/795/files/quimby101.pdf). So, why the golf course dining facility? Well, of course we have needs, Garcia replied, and we could use money for a lot things. Go figure!
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~Bernie Quote of the Week
“We may disagree on where to go with health care, but there should at least be open debate. Not just decisions made behind closed doors.“ (July 3rd 2017)
Issue of the Week
How do you spell “s-t-e-w-a-r-d-s-h-i-p”? Look closely at these two pictures. One is a healthy Jessie Street Marsh, and the other is taken after last week’s clear cut of the same marsh by the Santa Cruz Dept. of Parks and Rec. Why is Santa Cruz not protecting its wetlands as San Francisco is doing? It’s one of our low hanging fruit climate change mitigation measures we can take.
BrattonOnline note…The city has given exactly the same treatment to Neary Lagoon by allowing those damn goats to kill all natural grasses by importing and fertilizing every weed that’s ever invaded our environment.
(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).
Last Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors refused to take jurisdiction to hear further appeal information regarding the plan to further gut the historic preservation of the Aptos Village Project’s Hihn Apple Barn. They neglected to consider significant new information and significant information regarding the project conditions…that violated CEQA law.
The Board of Supervisors did not care that new information submitted documented that the June 10, 2010 Historic Resources Commission meeting included a detailed training by Ms. Sheila McElroy, Historic Consultant to the County, identifying the Barn door and roofline silhouette as two major character-defining historic features. The Board of Supervisors did not care that the May 12, 2017 Commission approvals of the New Leaf Market plan to completely remove the historic barn door and to alter the roofline silhouette will further cumulatively degrade the NR-3 historic Apple Barn, following earlier approvals to relocate and rotate the Barn, removing it from historic context, while also gutting the interior of the original wooden floor and changing the floor elevation. NR-3 means the Barn was eligible for listing on the State and National Historic Registry, but maybe not now.
They did not think that it was important that the New Leaf Market architect (who is in Portland, Oregon) said the historic barn door could not be saved because the fire marshal would never let me do that in reference to keeping the historic wooden barn door and sliding it over the modern steel roll-up door proposed. New information submitted last Tuesday clarified that the Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District has never been approached with such plans to review for possible fire code compliance, but would gladly accept any Change Order plans from New Leaf Market and Barry Swenson Builder. It would take roughly 72 hours to accomplish such a review, so it would not have delayed the Project had the Board of Supervisors taken jurisdiction or even asked that such plans be submitted for fire department review.
The Board of Supervisors did not care if Barry Swenson Builder Project Foreman Mr. Keith Henderson stated at both the April 10, 2017 and the May 12, 2017 Historic Resources Commission public hearings that he did not understand why the Commission had approved the modern doors and windows that they did in 2011, and that he really thought the Barn door could be saved, but the Planning Department would not allow it. We have no idea why those approvals were issued at the August, 2011 Commission hearing because there are virtually NO staff notes (Ms. Annie Murphy) included in the minutes that record any discussion at all.
(Ms. Murphy is consistent…she made no notes for other crucial Historic Resources Commission meeting minutes, either. For example, the April 14, 2016 one when the Commission reviewed the landscape plans submitted by Aptos Village Project developer Pete Testorff for the modern two-story building planned to be built on the Bayview Hotel property. There was A LOT of discussion about that from the audience, but none was recorded as ever happening in the minutes the Commission approved subsequently. )
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WRITE ONE LETTER. MAKE ONE CALL. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
BUT JUST DO SOMETHING.
~Cheers,
Becky Steinbruner
Becky Steinbruner is a 30+ year resident of Aptos. She has fought for water, fire, emergency preparedness, and for road repair. She ran for Second District County Supervisor in 2016 on a shoestring and got nearly 20% of the votes.
The New York Times ran an article in its Sunday, June 25th edition that made a comparison between President Trump and Senator Joe McCarthy. That is where I found the picture(s) above.
The Times’ article highlighted McCarthy’s reliance on lies to advance his political objectives, but The Times didn’t spend a great deal of effort in pushing the point that our current president seems to have a very similar tendency towards mendacity. Instead, The Times highlighted another similarity between Donald Trump and Joseph McCarthy, and I agree that this is the more important, and more consequential basis for comparison:
Mr. Trump now practices Mr. McCarthy’s version of the politics of fear from the White House. The two figures, who bear striking similarities — and who shared an adviser, Roy Cohn — both mastered the art of fear politics. Fear politics is killing this country! We are investing our energies, and our resources, in activities that make sense only because we are so “afraid.” Apparently, a 1986 horror film called The Fly was the source of a phrase that seems to sum up the political message that we are hearing from everyone (and not just from our McCarthy-like president):
You know, maybe we should just forget about that fear thing! That would mean forgetting about:
- Radical Islam
- Rapists From Mexico
- Police Violence
- Etc.!
I am not saying there aren’t problems. I am not saying that the list above (and the much longer list any one of us could produce) doesn’t contain items of genuine concern. It’s just that FEAR doesn’t really help us to deal with the problems. It actually immobilizes us. We should tell those fears to “fly away home.”
And here’s a good reminder of how getting together with our friends and neighbors, outdoors, singing along, is probably the best way to escape our fear-filled worries for the future: I mean it. Staying home, and watching the news, is a prescription for being “afraid.” For being “very afraid.” Out in the streets. With friends and neighbors?
A good way to beat the fear factor! (Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read his blog at www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo takes aim at Big Sur’s wilderness. See below a few pages.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Cutting our Cord” down about a foot or two. As always, at TimEagan.com you will find his most recent Deep Cover, the latest installment from the archives of Subconscious Comics, and the ever entertaining Eaganblog.
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “To celebrate the upcoming Santa Cruz Shakespeare stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, SCS will host a week of Hitchcock-related film screenings and other events around town — including one co-hosted by yours truly! Read all the gory details this week at… Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com).”
Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THE BEGUILED. Colin Farrell, Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Durst top the list in this Civil War hokey melodrama. For some reason the director Sophia Coppola is getting big publicity but I saw nothing that gave her any extra directing points. Farrell is a wounded Yankee who stumbles into this very southern girl’s school, and gets all the girls and their leaders to fall all over him. You could stay home and dream up the script.
THE WOMEN’S BALCONY. Don’t believe the word “comedy” in this film’s promotions. It take place in today’s Jerusalem and is all about the orthodox traditions of this one synagogue. It brings out the 100% patriarchal traditions and the nearly futile battle the women fight to still be segregated back into their separate and unequal balcony that collapsed. The women actually are happy that they got their balcony rebuilt. An odd and subtitled film. To actually borrow a phrase from the Roger Ebert reviewer… “the film makes some extremely sharp points about fanaticism, sexism masked as holiness, and tolerance among the faithful”.
THE HOUSE. Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler can be really sometimes but not when they have a boring old predictable movie like this dud. They play parents who try to raise their daughters tuition by having a gambling casino in their basement. Both those stars are clever,smart performers and they and you deserve better than this junk.
MY COUSIN RACHEL. Daphne Du Maurier who was born in London (1907 -1989) wrote this intricate, wonderful, 19th century, threatening, gothic, perverted story of a trusting rich 25 year old who falls in love with his cousin who is out to take both his brothers and his family fortune. Du Maurier wrote Rebecca and also The Birds which Alfred Hitchcock used as a starting point for that film. Rachel Weisz plays Rachel!! And you couldn’t ask for anyone better…she is magnificent. A British costume saga, and if you’re a follower see this film ASAP, because it ends Thursday, July 6.
BEATRIZ AT DINNER. Salma Hayek is a poor, hard working , talented, spiritual, immigrant from Mexico who ends up having an elegant dinner with John Lithgow and some ritzy friends. Lithgow plays Donald Trump…(the character is named Doug Strutt) really. It’s a clunking, heavy, poorly directed, blah of a movie. It could have been sensitive, real, poignant and even witty but it isn’t. The ending is not only terrible but it is cruel, pointless and it’ll make you feel bad. Don’t go. And it takes place in Newport Beach.
WONDER WOMAN. IF you like comic book heroes or heroines (hope its ok to use that term) Wonder woman is several cuts about the usual no brainer/ violent/monster filled box office smashes we keep seeing. Gal Gadot is a former Miss Israel and we keep hearing about that. She plays W. Woman. Robin Wright, is in it too and she is a long time favorite of mine. She is Sean Penn’s ex. Chris Pine just jumps around looking like the usual Hollywood cutey pie. If you remember that she’s a comic book star and is supposed to battle, fight and pose in tight pants all the time you could enjoy this more than most of that ilk.
ROUGH NIGHT. Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer, and Zoë Kravitz should be ashamed to have played the leads in this piece of Hollywood crap. It demeans women to the utmost. It has absolutely no cleverness, intelligence, timing, or logic. The plot and way too many scenes are sexist, tasteless, pointless, and set in Miami. That’s enough…forget all about it. Ends Thursday 7/6…and that’s a good thing!!!
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES. The absolute bottom of the barrel in sequels. Even the dopey mugging by Johnny Depp (whose brother owned a bookstore in Santa Cruz) Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush and Orlando Bloom doesn’t save the lack of a story or plot. The effects are built for 3D but add to the confused and twisted story. Avoid this one like the plague.
THE MUMMY. Well, it has a 16 on Rotten Tomatoes, and I couldn’t agree more. I’ll bet Tom Cruise snuck a whole bunch of Scientologists into this insane, completely confusing, screwy monster movie. It’s by far the worst Mummy movie I’ve ever seen. (probably about 4). Poor Russell Crowe who must need the $$$ to actually take on a role like the evil Dr. Henry Jekyll. Yes, Jekyll…because Universal is putting a Jekyll monster in one of their theme parks.!! It’s obvious you shouldn’t go, no one else is…it’s a huge bomb.
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 4th has environmentalist Grey Hayes talking about the magnificent meadow mouse. Then environmental attorney and former Santa Cruz County Supervisor Gary Patton talks about growth and changes in our County. On July 11 Ellen Primack exec.dir of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music tells us about this year’s fest. Then we’ll hear about Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s plays this season. 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
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Sometimes I feel bad for laughing at these, but I think we’ve all been there 🙂 |
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur, The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES. “SAND”
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand”. Milton Friedman
“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up”. Muhammad Ali
“Movies are written in sand: applauded today, forgotten tomorrow”. D. W. Griffith
COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!
Snail Mail: Bratton Online
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Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.
Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.
