Bratton Online

PACIFIC AND CATHCART STREETS, Downtown Santa Cruz, November 29, 1950. This is where you’ll find Kianti’s Pizza and Hoffman’s Bistro. The building that says “Fulmer’s Furniture” was once upon a time known as The Good Times Building. It was owned by Jay Shore the original creator and publisher of Good Times. With an incredible piece of luck he sold the building a very short time just before the 1989 earthquake.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com

DATELINE March 20, 2017

PLAYING THE PIPES. Don’t tell John Malkin about this…he’ll be playing them too

IMPEACHARA…face your problem. Do you suffer from T.I.A.D.? The Shadowbrook’s Ted Burke sent this one. He adds…” For all the anti-Trump people out there and those who aren’t but appreciate good political humor no matter the target. Good fer what ails ya . . .

TRUMP’S TOP SECRET MARCHING BAND. Their precision is stunning but somehow it’s also scary.

BLACK “POLICE” CARS…PLEASE TELL US. I believe it was last Saturday and I was driving around the Santa Cruz Police Headquarters area when two sleek, all black, no white doors, black searchlights cars turned the corner. Each contained a pair of some kind of uniformed personnel. Who or what are they? ICE staffers/agents? some secret unmarked Santa Cruz Police? Anybody know who or what these cars are doing here? Lemme know ASAP

POWER TO AND FOR THE PEOPLE. Supervisors Bruce McPherson and John Leopold appear to be genuinely in support of and are actively pushing the Monterey Bay Community as a group to buy our electric power at wholesale prices from PG& E and forming our own power company so we can get that power at more reasonable rates. Other California communities like Palo Alto have been doing it for decades. It’s about time we became involved. Salinas is voting on it Tuesday March 21, 2017. There has been very little coverage in our local papers and here’s what I found in Supervisor John Leopold’s monthly newsletter…

“On February 28th, the Board of Supervisors took a critical step in the creation of a locally run, municipal power utility that will greatly increase the amount of renewable energy in use in Santa Cruz County and beyond. Since 2013, the County has joined with San Benito and Monterey counties and the cities in each county to examine the feasibility of using the Community Choice Energy (CCE) model to provide clean-source power at a cost equivalent to PG&E. This model is used in a number of other counties and would allow our community to choose what kind of power we wanted to pursue while still having PG&E maintain the power lines and provide customer service. Importantly, revenues that have historically flowed to PG&E will stay in our community to help fund renewable energy projects and local jobs.

Known as Monterey Bay Community Power, the new utility will have rates equivalent to what is now charged by PG&E. A local board of elected officials would set rates and determine the type of energy mix that best serves the community. My priority will be the reinvestment of revenue from this new entity to create local jobs by creating new renewable energy projects locally. Cities and counties in the three county region have been signing on quickly. While there are still some issues to be resolved, the next step in implementation is putting together the financing for the startup of the operation. You can read about the Board’s action here. Check out the website for Monterey Bay Community Power here for complete information and updates.

If you go to the MBCP you’ll read…

MONTEREY BAY COMMUNITY POWER UPDATE.
Monterey Bay Community Power is continuing their effort to move forward in its final phase of formation. Jurisdictions from throughout the tri-county region are bringing the JPA Agreement and ordinance to their Boards of Supervisors and City Councils for consideration with hopes of seating the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) in April 2017 and delivering its first renewable power to local residents and businesses in Spring of 2018. The program is projecting up to 62% renewable energy portfolio as early as 2019, nearly double the 2020 requirement of 33% set by California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard.

MBCP is being touted as the single most important climate initiative our region can adopt to support local climate action goals. MBCP is receiving broad community support from the public, local businesses, and local non-profits.

The Compact is grateful to all supporters who have contributed public comment at council and board meetings, letters of support, and additional outreach to ensure the success of MBCP. A very special thank you is in order to the County of Santa Cruz, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Romero Institute, and Emerging Ecologies for their support and community outreach. The efforts of these organizations have been instrumental in the recent formation of the JPA.
Official Joint Powers Authority Members to date: San Benito County, Santa Cruz County, Capitola, Scotts Valley, Marina, Hollister, and Soledad.

Jurisdictions who have passed the first reading:Watsonville, Gonzales, Seaside, San Juan Bautista, King City, Del Rey Oaks, Monterey County, Sand City and Monterey.

I don’t know who is responsible for all the pushing and shoving a major move like this takes …and that person should receive a medal (not made of metal!).

DEVELOPING OUR DOWNTOWN. Jean Brocklebank wrote this piece that says everything about what should concern all of us about the City of Santa Cruz, our environment and how little our City Council seems to care about all of above.

“On behalf of Friends of San Lorenzo River Wildlife environmentalist Jean Brocklebank shared concerns sent to City planners, about proposed Downtown Recovery Plan, General Plan and Local Coastal Plan amendments that will have impacts on wildlife. Those amendments will be a way to make Santa Cruz grow in scale, once more — this time by getting closer to the San Lorenzo River and getting higher into the sky. “Any development along the river corridor will absolutely impact avian species. East-facing windows will reflect the rising sun and cause confusion for birds. More birds are killed by flying into building windows than by any other means. FoSLRW expects the City to address this impact and research ways to prevent bird deaths due to new buildings, regardless of height.

“There is precedence for the FoSLRW request. On Tuesday March 7, 2017 the San Jose City Council voted to prioritize working on bird-safe design guidelines for buildings near creeks. San Jose City staff will begin work on studying this issue over the coming year, and will bring their recommendations to the City Council when this work is finished. The City of Santa Cruz would be wise to emulate the City of San Jose. FoSLRW wants development farther away from the river and the Riverwalk. This will allow people to enjoy the river without buildings being built almost on top of it.” Check out Friends of San Lorenzo River Wildlife at http://foslrw.weebly.com/

22,438 TRUMP SUPPORTERS (VOTERS) IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY. Just repeating this, as promised. Many times this last week I brought up this statistic to friends…it amazes everybody. We should never forget it.

LEAF BLOWER MEETING. Has anybody ever met a human who likes leaf blowers…either gas or power driven? Everybody hates them and other cities are doing something about it….Santa Cruz is finally organizing and maybe we can get the City Council to join the world and again help save the environment and our ears, and noses, and sensibilities.

C.H.A.S.E. (Santa Cruz Coalition for a Healthy And Safe Environment) advocates a ban on the use of gas powered leaf blowers and blowers louder than 55 decibels in the City of Santa Cruz. They have organized a CHASE Postcard Signing Event for : this Saturday March 25th at the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center. Refreshments will be served & you can drop in anytime between 1 and 4 p.m. The Center is located across from the Municipal Wharf by the tracks at 35 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz. CHASE invites you, your family, friends, and neighbors to fill out our postcard expressing your support for leaf blower regulation. CHASE will deliver the postcards en masse to the Santa Cruz City Council with a request for action. Children are welcome to sign as well; their voices must be heard! If you cannot attend but would like to sign a postcard, email chasesantacruz@googlegroups.com and we will deliver one or more to you. Alternatively you can sign the online petition

You should also read Steve Kessler’s article from The Santa Cruz Sentinel March 10, 2017 titled Legislators: for quality of life’s sake, ban the leaf blowers!

CABRILLO FESTIVAL HOUSING. I’ve known and still know, dozens of folks who have housed Cabrillo Music Festival musicians during the fest and they love it. Here’s what the Festival says re: sharing a room or space…”Our most critical need!! The Festival is in constant need of donated accommodations to comfortably house our orchestra members, esteemed composers, guest artists, and technical staff. Specifically, if you have a spare bedroom, guest house, or granny unit that you can offer for one to two weeks during the Festival, please contact us right away at: (831) 426-6966, or use the form provided on their website. Our Housing Coordinator Valerie Hayes will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Hosts are not expected to provide meals or transportation, just aclean, safe, and friendly home base while artists are here for the Festival. Housing an orchestra musician is reportedly one of the most rewarding aspects of the Festival experience!

SAVING SANTA CRUZ IDENTITY

The original Santa Cruz Public Library, built in 1908, was a handsome building. One wonders if locals at the time tried to save it before it was demolished in 1966. Were people too busy or too complacent to try to preserve that beautiful landmark building or were they ignored? Fast forward to 2017 and the future of the Santa Cruz Public Library is again at stake. Built in 1968, the downtown library may lack the imposing presence of its predecessor and may be short on some of the amenities apparently now desired in libraries but skilled renovation could bring it into the modern era while preserving its current existence. For those who have called Santa Cruz home for decades and who love books, the downtown library is as familiar as a favorite sweater. It is part of the identity of Santa Cruz.

The proposal from city staff is to demolish the current library building and put a new one under a 5 story parking garage on Cedar Street, displacing the Wednesday Farmers’ Market, and removing the stately magnolia trees. I see nothing to like here. Many feel the same way for a variety of reasons. There is a public process for examining the issues before any recommendations are made to council but staff appears to be proceeding as though the proposal is a fait accompli. Maybe they know something we don’t.

The council vote on 12/6/16 called for “an independent study to verify savings of renovation versus a new build” and this study has not been done. The vote also called for a seven-member citizens’ Downtown Branch Library Advisory Committee and this committee has not yet been formed. Yet the agenda of the Downtown Commission for Thursday March 23rd at 8:30 AM at city hall includes a Public Works Capital Improvement Program budget recommendation for $2.3 million for a design and environmental review of the parking structure. This would seem to put the cart before the horse or the car before its alternatives. The three consultants hired by the city all recommended workable measures to reduce demand for parking prior to considering building expensive parking structures. On the one hand staff are recommending removing fifty percent of parking requirements for the new 65 to 85 feet tall mixed-use buildings anticipated for Front and Pacific (an economic boon for developers) and on the other hand staff are citing the lack of parking downtown as justification for a new 5 story parking structure, paid for by the public. Whose side are they on?

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~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).

#9, March 20, 2017

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THIS COUNCILMEMBER.

Every week on theSanta Cruz city council is different. As different as one week is from another , there must be some ties that bind. Perhaps it is the dissimilarities, distinctions, or varying disagreements that occur, which links the calendar dates into a more cohesive narrative that may reveal a picture of my civic life.

Early Monday morning I met with City of Santa Cruz Planning Department’s Principal Planner,Ron Powers, to discuss”The Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report” (re: Downtown Recovery Plan). It was an engaging conversation, which revealed that this is a big plan, folks. Similar to the steroidal Wharf Master Plan, and the market rate housing developer dream known as the“Corridors Plan,” this one contemplates BIG changes in the downtown, for example building heights going to seventy feet along Front Street. It’s a plan that brings together some formidable developer interests too including land-use consultant, Owen Lawlor who teams with Milpitas’ Devcon Construction. And don’t forget Barry Swenson and Doug Ross also have interests in this area. This plan includes parcels from Soquel to Laurel along Front Street, and from Cathcart to Laurel along Pacific Avenue. The question for city council members might be: What will the public benefit(s) be in these forthcoming projects? Affordable units maybe? It’s up to the community to weigh in and make the developers do the right thing. One elephant in this room is what will the Metro be doing with their property (1.5 acres)? Will they Play Ball with the developers, or go their own way? Stay tuned, the development of our downtown takes a village.

Later in the day I met with city manager (CM), Martin Bernal to discuss the Tuesday city council meeting agenda, but the conversation was mostly agreeing to disagree over one of his pet projects, the so-called “garage-library,” a five-story behemoth planned for the current site of the Farmer’s Market at Lincoln and Cedar streets. I will continue to update this story as information is made available.

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Tuesday was an official city council meeting and truth be told, I believe every vote taken by the council was unanimous. The most significant moment during the meeting was perhaps city manager Bernal’s not so cryptic message to the city council that there is a “no interference clause” in the city charter he said, prohibiting the council from telling him who to appoint as the next chief of police in Santa Cruz. It came across as a not so subtle message. The other agenda issue the council voted affirmatively on was the sanctuary city ordinance backing up an already approved city resolution stating clearly that Santa Cruz welcomes immigrants and will seek to protect them when threatened by outside federal powers.

The evening city council meeting was a most remarkable event given Santa Cruz’s history of contentious politics. It was a kumbaya moment that had both councilmembers and water commissioners singing the praises of the city’s water advisory committee (WASC). Everyone present was falling over each other in endorsing the post-desalination reset policy recommendations that will help us move toward even greater conservation with the implementation of a more innovative rate-payer structure that incentivizes using less water.But during public comment that night, Curtis Reliford the made-in-Santa Cruz change-maker and mirth-maker provided a poignant, and almost surreal moment after a night of back slapping, when he repeated the Standing Rockcampaign slogan, “Water is Life,” and reminded this group of decision-makers that not everyone’s water is so secure.

Wednesday night I spent at the Resource Center for Non-violence. It was a birthday celebration for Tatanka Bricca (72!) and his partner Carol (68). The evening was filled with music and an informative update on what activists are currently doing at Standing Rock in North Dakota since the pipeline was given a thumbs-up, first by the Trump Administration and then by a judge. Danny Sheehan of the Romero Institute is there aiding several protesters who were arrested according to Sheehan’s son whose band performed at the birthday party. There has been a news blackout since protesters were forced off the site last month. NPR reported last Sunday that oil could be flowing through the pipeline(DAPL) as early as this week.

Thursday’s highlight was at the Beach Flats Community Center where I joined fifteen other community members who’d gathered to offer input to CM Bernal as he moves toward reviewing applications of those who’ve applied to be the next police chief. He responded to a variety of questions including, Is the ICE agent still embedded in SCPD? (That agent is in the process of leaving.), Why have rangers displaced downtown hosts and community service officers on Pacific Avenue? (To provide more protection.) And, how can PD be restructured to provide real help to the homeless instead of just issuing more tickets? (We don’t have the funding to fund human services…the money goes to our core services, it’s a balance between protection and enforcement.)

If your group wants to meet with the city manager to offer input on the next police chief, and planning director too, you can email him at:mbernal@cityofsantacruz.com or call 420-5020.

Friday’s big meeting was a ONE-HOUR gathering of the city’s Climate Action Task Force. It’s a wonderful group of environmentalists, alternative energy practitioners, bicycle advocates, educators, a city staff member, and me. We were summarily told by the staff member that we will NOT be making recommendations to the city council, even though the same council set up the group. BUT we are to assist(?) in implementing the city’s climate action goals as contained within the Climate Action Plan. How, you might ask will we will assist if we are not to make any recommendations? Me too. We will have three more”one-hour” meetings (since when is a task force meeting only one hour?) between now and December. We can talk about stuff, but just don’t make any recommendations was the message. I was perplexed by this outcome, especially given that the massive “garage-library” project, originally a part of our agenda was suddenly removed right before the meeting by the staff member’s boss, deputy city manager, Scott Collins. It was a baffling turn of events.

Saturday is usually busy, chaotic and a buffet of meetings to choose from, and it was no different this past week.But this was also the first weekend of March Madness basketball, which I had to follow in the upper small box window of my computer as I meeting-hopped. First up was the “Community Conversation on Homelessness” at the Garfield Park Church. Around forty people came and went during a meeting where the main discussion topics were: what’s being done around homelessness, what can be done, and what should be done? There was ample input and a particularly thoughtful presentation by Santa Cruz county’s Human Services Department’s senior analyst, Adam Spickler. He stressed that collecting data (“evidenced-based”) is crucial in drawing not just funding, but empathy from the greater community towards the plight of our city’s homeless population. Of which only around 600 are sheltered on any given night out of over 2000 according to the Santa Cruz County Homeless Census & Survey of 2015. Next, I attended the amazing organizing effort being carried out by a newly formed group called, Santa Cruz Indivisible. The civic auditorium took on a job fair-style atmosphere in which hundreds mingled around tables advocating for dozens of causes that included free speech, universal healthcare, immigrant’s rights, and affordable housing to name a few of my favorites. Organizers say that over 2000 have registered with Indivisible in only a few months’ time. What everybody attending seemed to agree upon was that we must all get much more organized if we are going to resist Trump and his regressive social policies. People are fired up and that is good to see. Finally, I attended the meeting of the “Anti-Trump Reading Group”, organized by current and former graduate students from UCSC. It’s an eclectic, thoughtful, and provocative assembly that’s been meeting every Saturday afternoon in the backroom of Lupelos on Cedar Street. They send out an academic-style reading at the beginning of the week and the conversation flows on Saturday. “The Tyranny of Structurelessness,” by Jo Freeman was only tangentially brought into a conversation that covered organizing;how to enable democratic practice; meeting facilitation; and the importance of having a media presence within activist groups so that the overall message is not coopted or misconstrued.

Sunday’s meetings included an organizing effort around a Granite Construction boycott, in light of Granite’s bid to build Trump’s wall between the US and Mexico. The other group meeting I attended, Organizing Circle, is a project that grew out of SC4Bernie’s “Brand New Council”campaign to get a new city council elected. Well,the canvassing continues and this group meets once a month to “listen” to neighbors and their concerns about the city. This was the third such walk and between 11 and 25 walkers have made their presence known these past months in the Beach Flats, Lower Ocean, and South of Laurel Street neighborhoods so far. What is unique about the Organizing Circle is that it meets for an hour to discuss tactics, walks for two hours, and then meets at a group member’s house for a potluck-debrief-story-sharingsession. It’s actually fun!

Other Notes

The city council’s, “norms and values” retreat part I, is Tuesday March 21st from 3-7pm at the Harvey West Clubhouse in Harvey West Park… and I’m sure I’ll write something about it in some way next week.
Also, don’t forget the Planning Commission’s “special meeting” to discuss, you guessed it, “the Corridors Plan” Thursday, March 23rd at 7pm in the city hall chambers.

Bernie quote of the week:

The Republican health care bill… “should be seen as a huge tax break for the wealthiest people in this country.”

~ 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.

WILL WE BE ABLE TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE SAFELY?
No one from the Department of Public Works or County Board of Supervisors has answered that question with regard to the structural integrity inspections of the Aptos Creek Bridge. I have searched the CalTrans online bridge inspection reports, as Mr. Presleigh, Director of County Public Works suggested (well, he yelled angrily at me, really), but found nothing. The Public Records Act request I filed for the information has been ignored, with the exception of nine pages of computer gibberish sent me from County Counsel Mr. Nefouse.

Why doesn’t anyone seem to know the answer to the basic citizen question of “Has the Aptos Creek Bridge been inspected since the major storms?” Is the 1928 bridge safe? Will it be able to withstand the sustained heavy construction equipment traffic inherent to the proposed Aptos Village Traffic Phase I Improvement Project as well as the Aptos Village Project? Many citizens are worried….and the public safety officials are not responding to their questions.

I wonder…..how DID Barry Swenson Builder and the other Aptos Village Project developers recently bring in the many pieces of massive earthmoving equipment to begin building the 17′-high retaining wall and new road? Did they travel over the “impaired” washed-out area of Soquel Drive near the trestle or over the questionnable 1928 Aptos Creek Bridge?

The equipment seemed to arrive overnight. LOTS of interesting things happen at the Aptos Village Project at night….such as illegally transporting and destroying the 5,000 gallon metal diesel tank that the crew removed from the ground without permit or legal cleaning and handling. I wonder where that tank really went?

THE STENCH WAS TERRIBLE THIS WEEK
Soils at the true location of that underground storage tank were never tested or remediated. That’s because Barry Swenson Builder had covered everything up by the time (eight days later) the County Environmental Health staff became aware of and inspected the site where hundreds of gallons of diesel and who-knows-what-else leaked into the soil as the crew cavalierly ripped it from the ground.

There has been massive earthwork all around the true tank location, but that site has remained untouched…until this week. An excavator bit into the edge of the site and WHEW! The soil smelled of diesel and sewage. There was no further work there the following day…maybe Air Quality Control Board and County Environmental Health caught wind of the problem?

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When asked if staff investigating the problem might take soil samples, County Environmental Health staff replied “No, but we could require the developer to do that.” Do you think that Barry Swenson Builder crews would do a thorough and honest job of sampling? Hmmmmm…….

BARRY SWENSON BUILDER REFUSED TO RESPOND TO PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS’ REQUESTS TO PROTECT THE HISTORIC HIHN APPLE BARN.
Last weekend, crews negligently left a large ladder propped up from the ground level and leading into the open door of the 125-year-old historic Hihn Apple Barn. Lots of odd things happen in that construction area at night, such as historic artifact scavenging, illegal diesel tanks leaving… It seemed to me that a ladder providing easy access into the Barn could spell trouble.

That is why I phoned the Sheriff’s non-emergency number (471-1121) to ask that a deputy investigate and contact the developer to remove the public nuisance ladder and easy access to the historic Barn. I also phoned the “24-hour Disturbance Response” number that the County requires to be posted on site for the public benefit. That number for the Aptos Village Project (475-7100) is Barry Swenson Builder’s business hour phone and is only active Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm. Responsive, indeed.

The Sheriff kindly investigated the site and phoned to confirm the ladder access to the Barn and to let me know that she had no way to access the construction site to fix the problem. She said she would work with the developer to get the problem resolved.

At the end of the following day, the ladder access problem remained. I phoned the Aptos/La Selva Fire station directly and asked that the public nuisance and potential hazard for a warming fire set inside by area vagrants be corrected. The officer assured me he would discuss the problem with his Chief and get back to me. The ladder remains as I write this article and I have received no reply from either the Fire Department or Barry Swenson Builder’s “24-hour Disturbance” staff. Wow.

It sure would be a shame if the Hihn Apple Barn had the same unfortunate accident as the Rispin Mansion did when Barry Swenson Builder was working there, wouldn’t it? Well, think good thoughts for the Barn and phone the Fire Department quickly if you see suspicious activity in the area.

Tell me again how those recent lights were left on in the Barn all night when there is no electricity legally hooked up to the construction site? Hmmmm….

PROTEST THE COUNTY SPENDING $2 MILLION TO HELP APTOS VILLAGE DEVELOPERS AT THE EXPENSE OF VALENCIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS AND 1500 RURAL RESIDENTS!

****Join your neighbors Friday (3/24) 4pm-6pm, Saturday (3/25) 9am-noon, Monday (3/27) 7:30am-9:30am) at the intersection of Trout Gulch Road and Soquel Drive to PROTEST the County spending $2 MILLION to help Aptos Village Project developers instead of Valencia Elementary School and 1500 rural households affected by the indefinate closure of Valencia Road.

The warning signs are now in place on Soquel Drive (blocking the lane of traffic for Rancho del Mar customers) and also at the Cathedral Drive/Trout Gulch Road intersection…”EXPECT DELAYS ON TROUT GULCH: 8:30am-4:30pm beginning March 27 and through July 17″.

Gee, can the County really justify spending this $2 million to move the westbound Metro bus stop and create dedicated turn lanes “necessary for roadway and storm drainage improvements for the Aptos Village Project, according to John Presleigh, the county public works director.” ????? (direct quote from March 8, 2017 Santa Cruz Sentinel ‘Coast Lines’)

I think the County’s priorities, and motives, are questionable.

Metro maintenance managers (I like that alliteration, don’t you?) gave a tentative nod of approval to the relocation site a long time ago, but there have been significant changes made to the design, location and specifications since. No one from Metro seems to have been consulted about this project recently, and according to Metro staff, COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS IS NOT RESPONDING TO REPEATED REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION. Gee, I guess I’m not the only one that gets ignored, but that gives me no comfort in this case.

Contact Public Works Director John Presleigh <John.Presleigh@santacruzcounty.us> 454-2160, or County Supervisor Friend <zach.friend@santacruzcounty.us> 454-2200 (he loves to hear from you) and let them know you think the basic safety of 600+ school students and staff and 1500 rural households deserve highest priority for scarce public road repair money.

LOOKING ON THE HORIZON TOWARD SANTA CRUZ CITY….BIG CHANGES IN REZONING
Try to attend the Corridor Rezoning Public Hearing Thursday, March 23, 7pm at the Santa Cruz City Council Chambers. Here is the link for more information.

This means TALL, DENSE changes on the horizon for the Water Street, Soquel Avenue, Ocean Street and Mission Street areas of Santa Cruz. You might get a sense of what could come by looking at the new Palo Alto Medical Foundation Building on Mission…tall, with reduced setbacks. However, the proposed height for these areas is 5-7 stories…much more imposing.

I attended one of the public meetings held last year where the traffic study was presented for the proposed changes. All major intersections would become so congested that the Level of Service (i.e., how long the average delay would be to travel through an intersection) drops way below the City’s current acceptable level. The mitigation proposed amazed me….to simply DOWNGRADE the City’s acceptable Level of Service to match what the proposed project would create. Wow. Oh, and also eliminate parking for the businesses in the Branciforte area.

Attend the March 23 public hearing if you can, or send an e-mail to the Project Manager, Ms. Michelle King: mking@cityofsantacruz.com

Water? What water?

MIDCOUNTY GROUNDWATER AGENCY BOARD APPROVED SPENDING LOTS OF MONEY
Last week, the MidCounty Groundwater Agency (MGA) Board met to discuss more details about how the group consisting of Soquel Creek Water District, City of Santa Cruz, Central Water District, small private water companies and private well owners can satisfy the State’s requirement to have a plan ready by next year to heal the critically-overpumped Purisima Aquifer. The meeting, held during evening hours at the Simpkins Swim Center, was well-attended.

The issues mostly centered around approving expenditure of money, money and more money. With the exception of the Central Water District representative, the Board agreed to all proposed amounts and issues. Central Water District serves about 800 customers in the Freedom Boulevard and Day Valley area of Aptos. Unlike the other larger water agencies on the Board, Central Water District has a bare-bones staff and works very hard to keep the cost of water to its customers as low as possible.

Soquel Creek Water District proposed that the MGA approve an additional $107,070 for their consultant, HydroMetrics, to continue working on a groundwater model that the MGA AdHoc Plan Committee will use to develop the required Plan for the State. Keep in mind that one of the owners of HydroMetrics is Ms. Laura Brown, former General Manager of Soquel Creek Water District.

The Board discussed what value the model might have for decision-making and whether or not the information might even be available in time for their use to create the State-required Plan. Soquel Creek District General Manager, Mr. Ron Duncan, said he’d have to check into it, but he thought that the contract between the District and HydroMetrics probably said something about that. I asked if there is any deadline specified in the contract for the date of the deliverable information? That question was ignored. Hmmm…….

Two members of the MGA Board recused themselves from voting. When the Central Water District representative voted “No” on the approval (he said something like “I cannot justify passing this large expense on to our customers”), Board President, Dr. Bruce Jaffee pointed out that the MGA By-Laws dictate that the agencies must unanimously approve any asset expenditures.

After a bit of silence, the bookkeeper for the group, which happens to be the Soquel Creek Water District’s bookkeeper and is paid by the MGA as part-time staff, pointed out that the model would not really be considered an “asset”, and therefore a unanamious vote of approval was not necessary….Well, that was handy !

With a sigh of relief, the Board then went on to approve $100,000 for a possible study by a Danish company of the sea water intrusion location within the offshore areas of the Purisima Aquifer. I was glad to hear Mr. Duncan report that he had talked with Stanford scientist Dr. Rosemary Knight, who recently published results of her extensive seawater intrusion studies at the beaches between Seaside and Capitola, and that she was impressed with the Danish work. Mr. Duncan discounted my comment.

Read about Dr. Knight’s great work here.

She points out there is a freshwater plume extending into the Bay that correlates with a stormwater collection pond in the Seaside area. Why can’t our area make good use of stormwater collection and recharge, too? The Pajaro area has a couple of pilot projects. Take a look!

I was glad that Mr. Brian Lockwood, General Manager for the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, was in the audience. He had not been made aware of the proposed study and asked that his agency be included, sharing the cost.

The Board then went on further to approve hiring a legal consultant, just in case County Counsel cannot give an opinion. Mr. John Ricker, representing the County Environmental Health Department, explained that no one on County Counsel is really proficient in water law.

I pointed out that Ms. Darcy Pruitt, the Senior Water Planner and recently hired by the MGA ($148,000/year) is a lawyer with specialty in water law and land use. Her job is to check that the State-required Plan is legally fit. Why hire another expensive lawyer? My comment and question were ignored. The Board also did not seem to care that Soquel Creek Water District had already paid the now-approved legal consultant a sizeable sum BEFORE the Board approved the action and told me I could not comment further on the matter. Hmmmm…..

By the way, Boardmember Supervisor Zach Friend here left the meeting early…as he always does.

After Mr. Ricker gave the update on the Aquifer status, based on measurements and tests within the many monitoring wells, staff asked the HydroMetrics representative in the audience “Do you foresee improvements in the status of the aquifer within the next 5 years, based on your current studies?” After hesitation, the man replied “A policy decision would change the aquifer, but a technological change would not.” Does that mean he agrees with my many requests to Soquel Creek Water District to declare a moratorium and that the County needs to hold a public hearing to declare a countywide groundwater emergency? Soquel Creek did the later in June, 2014 (I am correcting that date from last week’s column). My requests are ignored and the Board of Supervisors does not respond to my letters asking for such.

Contact Soquel Creek Water District Board President Dr. Tom LaHue <TomL@soquelcreekwater.org>
Get more information about the MGA at www.midcountygroundwater.org

If you live in the San Lorenzo Valley or Scotts Valley areas, you need to know that a similar joint group is forming the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency. There have already been meetings.

The next meeting is scheduled for April 19, 4pm-6pm. I suggest you get a place at that table as soon as possible. Sign up for notifications here: www.smgwa.org

IS YOUR BACKYARD ON THE RADAR TO BE ACQUIRED?
The article “Group maps land protection strategy” in the Santa Cruz Sentinel (3/13/17) got my attention. The Nature Conservancy has created maps identifying key areas “for local land trusts to use to identify private lands that could be strongholds for species threatened by climate change.” The maps and information, “called the Terrestrial Resilience and Regional Connectivity reports and maps, cover some 355,000 square miles in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and parts of Montana, Nevada, California and Utah.”

So far, the group has $6 million from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation that it is now distributing to land trusts to use for gaining “use-limiting easements or outright purchases.”

Here is a link to information the group has related to the Eastern U.S.

Similarly, the Sempervirens Fund recently proposed ‘The Great Park’, and included taking a great deal of private land to create it. Take a look at this map and see if your land is on their radar. If you are, you might want to join others who are concerned: http://www.rurallandalliance.org.

IN CLOSING. I HAD FUN visiting the California State Library while in Sacramento last week. I am researching Branciforte County, which is what the area from the Pajaro River north to at least Pescadero was called BEFORE becoming Santa Cruz County (and San Mateo County) in 1850. Look for more about the 220th anniversary celebration of Villa de Branciforte coming up this July!

WRITE ONE LETTER. MAKE ONE CALL. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
BUT 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).

#77 DENYING TO THE GRAVE March 18, 2017

Elizabeth Kolbert has recently written an informative article for The New Yorker. Kolbert’s article is titled, “Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds.” In her article, Kolbert reviews three different books. One of the books she reviews is Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us. Kolbert synopsizes Denying to the Grave as follows:

Jack Gorman, a psychiatrist, and his daughter, Sara Gorman, a public-health specialist, probe the gap between what science tells us and what we tell ourselves. Their concern is with those persistent beliefs which are not just demonstrably false but also potentially deadly, like the conviction that vaccines are hazardous. Of course, what’s hazardous is not being vaccinated; that’s why vaccines were created in the first place. “Immunization is one of the triumphs of modern medicine,” the Gormans note. But no matter how many scientific studies conclude that vaccines are safe, and that there’s no link between immunizations and autism, anti-vaxxers remain unmoved. (They can now count on their side—sort of—Donald Trump …) All three of the books Kolbert reviews are showing us, she says, that “human reason may have more to do with winning arguments than with thinking straight.”

How on earth could that possibly be? Most of us assume that our ability to reason (greater than the ability possessed by other species) is what has helped us survive in a dangerous world. In fact, Kolbert tells us, citing to the second book she reviews, The Enigma of Reason, by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber:

Humans’ biggest advantage over other species is our ability to cooperate. Cooperation is difficult to establish and almost as difficult to sustain. For any individual, freeloading is always the best course of action. Reason developed not to enable us to solve abstract, logical problems or even to help us draw conclusions from unfamiliar data; rather, it developed to resolve the problems posed by living in collaborative groups.

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

In short, gaining group acceptance for what could be called a “political solution” to a challenge or an opportunity is what has made it possible for human beings to prosper and survive, in evolutionary terms. By mobilizing a collective response to danger or opportunity, humans have been able to be more successful than they ever could have been had they only been able to act individually. “Reason,” thus, turns out not to be some abstract ability to find out the “real truth” about the world, but is more like the ability to provide others with a “reason” for working together to accomplish some particular goal.

The third book mentioned in Kolbert’s article is The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone. Authors Steven Sloman, a professor at Brown, and Philip Fernbach, a professor at the University of Colorado, are cognitive scientists. They, too, believe that “sociability is the key to how the human mind functions or, perhaps more pertinently, malfunctions.” Naturally, since our “reason” is not really based in our objective examination of the “facts,” on a scientific basis, the fact that other people seem to agree with us confirms our understanding. Our “wrong” understanding, in many cases: As a rule, strong feelings about issues do not emerge from deep understanding … And here our dependence on other minds reinforces the problem. If your position on, say, the Affordable Care Act is baseless and I rely on it, then my opinion is also baseless. When I talk to Tom and he decides he agrees with me, his opinion is also baseless, but now that the three of us concur we feel that much more smug about our views. If we all now dismiss as unconvincing any information that contradicts our opinion, you get, well, the Trump Administration.

This is how a community of knowledge can become dangerous, Sloman and Fernbach observe. In a study conducted in 2012, they asked people for their stance on questions like: Should there be a single-payer health-care system? … Participants were asked to rate their positions depending on how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the proposals. Next, they were instructed to explain, in as much detail as they could, the impacts of implementing each one. Most people at this point ran into trouble. Asked once again to rate their views, they ratcheted down the intensity, so that they either agreed or disagreed less vehemently.

Sloman and Fernbach see in this result a little candle for a dark world. If we—or our friends or the pundits on CNN—spent less time pontificating and more trying to work through the implications of policy proposals, we’d realize how clueless we are and moderate our views. This, they write, “may be the only form of thinking that will shatter the illusion of explanatory depth and change people’s attitudes.”

What Sloman and Fernbach are calling for, in fact, is the kind of “political” debate and discussion that will ultimately lead to a “political” solution. We need a solution that is based not on what one side or the other believes is “right,” or “true,” but on what we find, after discussion and debate, will be collectively accepted, thus allowing us to mobilize cooperative action going forward. The scientists are telling us that the human species has prospered and survived based on that ability to cooperate.

The way I read the Kolbert article, it confirms that we do live, most immediately, in a “political” world, and that our survival in the World of Nature, upon which we ultimately depend, will itself depend on our ability to sustain a “political world” in which we can act cooperatively to meet our common challenges. Time presses on us now, and with great urgency.

Right now, in the United States, genuine political discussion and debate has virtually ceased. Everyone is trying to “prove” the other side wrong, marshaling their arguments, and basing those arguments on what often turn out to be “alternative facts” (and this is true on both sides; let’s admit it).

“Forget the facts,” is what I think Kolbert’s article is saying. The idea that we must use our human reason to find the “right” answer is precisely the “wrong” thing to do. There are at least two varieties of “right,” with respect to every argument, and the “confirmation bias” Kolbert discusses in her article will operate to keep it that way. If we keep on denying each other’s arguments, instead of finding out how to “reason together,” as the Prophet Isaiah advises, all sides are going to go down, “denying to the grave.”

The cracks in the ice at the poles are obvious enough. The World of Nature is being transformed, and not to the benefit of our human civilization. What is not so clear is whether our human history of collective cooperation can once again prevail, in the face of everything that the Natural World throws at us. It is that cooperation that keeps us safe. It is that cooperation that will allow us to survive”.

~
Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for indivuduals 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. Check out his news re: Shopping bags and the profits see below.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Lime Tick Trump” 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, check out this week’s feature “On Second Thought” (circa 1987) and the ever- entertaining Eaganblog.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “I hope you’re in the mood for surprises, because I have no idea what I’ll be coming up with this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com). But the sun is out (for a few days, anyway), the trees are in bud, Spring is lurking just offstage, and anything is possible! But do expect to hear from me about the new Beauty and the Beast movie soon!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

SENSE OF AN ENDING. What a cast!!! Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Emily Mortimer and even Michelle Dockerey who plays a pregnant lesbian. The major, and only problem for me, with this film were the veddy veddy narsty Brit accents. Adapted from the book this is a sensitive and complex view and review of Jim Broadbent’s memories of his love lives and his marriage. Its mean and subtle zings and arrows might be depressing for you and you’ll miss being in London if you like London…but go see it quickly. It won’t be many Santa Cruzans cups of tea.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Total 100% Disney sights, sounds and drech. You couldn’t possibly tell the songs from this Disney production from any of the last 30 years of Disney product songs. A wasted cast includes Emma Watson, Kevin Kline, Ewan MacGregor, Ian McKellan, Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, and Audra McDonald. BUT most of these actors play the roles of animated tea pots and candlesticks. There is or are no reasons to see this re-hash of every commercial triumph the Disney Factory has turned out for more than 50 years. And the kids will probably love it.

LAND OF MINE. Denmark’s entry for best foreign film 2017. Subtitled and deeply magnificient. Pefrectly acted, 100% engrossing, and for me it was a deep as any Greek tragedy.

It’s 1945 The Germans lost the war and Denmark has forced 1000’s of young Deutsche POW’s to defuse and de-activate the millions of land mines that they buried along the miles of Denmark’s beaches. Human, realistic, painful, If you like films that make you think AND re-consider what you hold deeply, go see this one… as quick as possible. ENDS THURSDAY March 23.

MOONLIGHT. Best Oscar film 2017!!! For starters, Moonlight has a 98 % on Rotten Tomatoes, so it’s not just me who really not only enjoyed this tale of drugs, gangs, and love, but people who like deep, serious films loved it too. Set in Miami, this sharp, delicate, brilliant story of a Black man’s life is told in three parts. It’s best not to read too much about the plot and just watch with wonder as it unfolds. You’ve never seen a film like this one. Yes, It’s back again…many nominations and winning an Oscar for best picture did it!!

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO. James Baldwin began writing a book in 1979 and this documentary uses the 30 pages his finished as continutity between the 6 chapters in the film. The links are stories of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. It’s Baldwin working for unity and equality and we all need to see this film. It’s a lesson in humanity, and probably no Republicans or any of the 22, 438 Santa Cruz Trump voters will see this important film. It’s narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and got a 98 % on Rotten Tomatoes. Please see it!!! ENDS THURSDAY, March 23.

A UNITED KINGDOM. “Based on a ture story” has almost become a law for movies lately…but this one really is. And It’s an excellent film. There’s a bunch of Black & White themed films out there now and that’s a good thing. This “historical” film about the King of Botswana land falling in love with and marrying a white Brit. woman is still deeper and more meaningful than most of the rest. (“Loving”, etc.) Recent award winner David Oyelowo and the brilliant Rosamund Pike star of Gone Girl (one of my favorite actors) grab hold of every scene and make you believe it. More than that you (we) become completely involved with the story. Somehow you’ll begin to wonder just how far you’d go in this “mixed marriage” thing. Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 85%. ENDS THURSDAY, March 23.

GET OUT. Rotten Tomatoes gives this one an amazing 99%. Plus, it’s a huge box office hit !!! That’s surprising to everybody because it’s a low budget semi horror-comedy, black and white theme film. Probably released in February because that’s when they release films that aren’t expected to make much money. Catherine Keener is about the only actor whose name any of us might know. It’s a white girl brings home a black boyfriend topic. Only it goes into zones and situations that will amaze and get you laughing!! Wild, inventive, new, fine acting, twisted…you’ll love it.

LION. A true story of a little 5 year old boy getting lost in India. At last we get to see Dev Patel portray somebody serious and he does an excellent job. It’s a very cornball plot that you can guess every turn and twist, but still just because it’s India you do stay tuned in all the way through. Rooney Mara is his girlfriend for part of the plot and Nicole Kidman is the Australian wife who adopts him. It’s 100% feelgood and there are much better films out and around now, but it does have a certain charm.

HIDDEN FIGURES. A syrupy, Hollywoody much- altered story of three Black American women who did spectacular mathematical and technical work at NASA while fighting against a lot of racial and female prejudice. All to launch John Glenn into orbit. It’s both a cute and painful story at the same time. It’s a contender and still lacks something that could have made it a classic. It almost outdrew Star Wars on opening weekend!

KONG:SKULL ISLAND. Kong is back and after waiting for his appearance about 45 minutes into the film I figured why Kong is always mad. Unlike all gorillas, Kong has hair all over his butt and he has no penis! He does have his usual minute or two with a beautiful blonde…that’s Brie Larson (playing Faye Wray). Samuel. L. Jackson is a very bad guy, Tom Hiddleston is the big hero John Goodman gets killed before you expect it and John C. Reilly saves the movie from being just another numb & dumb box office smash. It beat Logan at the ticket office so that proves it. Truthfully though, it isn’t all bad IF you like monster gorilla movies.

LOGAN. Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart lower themselves considerably by playing the lead roles in this last of the Wolverine series. I’ve tried hard and failed to stop thinking that this is exactly the kind of film I’ll bet that Donald Trump likes. Even though the Wolverine (Jackman) is a comic book character and the special effects are just about 90% of the picture, the cruelty, killing, blood, evil, are all so typical of today’s biggest boxoffice hits, it’s too over the top for me. No plot, no emotions, no humanity…just more blood and more killing. Even the ending when Wolverine is in a stone covered grave I kept worrying and watching to see if some of the stones didn’t start shaking, meaning we’ll be tortured by an even worse Wolverine #10. Yes Jackman has played the part nine times!!! Go if you like Donald Trump type movies.

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. . Espressivo conductor and artistic director Michel Singher talks about their March 30 concert on March 21 followed by Chip from The Downtown Association of Santa Cruz. Roy Malan discusses the Hidden Valley String Orchestra concert happening April 9. John Aird follows with an overview of UCSC growth, water, and our tourist driven wharf plans. On April 4 Linda Burman-Hall returns to talk about The Santa Cruz Baroque Festival’s spring concerts. After Linda, UCSC’s Ben Leeds Carson details the April In Santa Cruz concerts. Carson Kelly tells us about the political force “Indivisible” on April 11. Followed by Brian Spencer talking about the See Theatre play “The Nether” opening April 14. On May 2nd UCSC Film Professor emeritus Earl Jackson talks about films and his Asian teaching experiences. 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

Here is the exact opposite of the drum corps above. I love these guys, they’re amazing!

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. “WHALES”

“Ships are expendable; the whales are not”, Paul Watson
“Nature did not put whales on this earth to splash kids while stuck in a pen”, Jane Velez-Mitchell
“If you were to make little fishes talk, they would talk like whales”, Oliver Goldsmith
“If I say that I am more interested in preventing the slaughter of large whales than I am in improving housing conditions for people, I am likely to shock some of my friends”, Richard Dawkins

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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March 22 – 28, 2017

BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.