PACIFIC AVENUE January 26, 1965. Note Palace Stationers and Webers Photo Shop in their original locations next door to each other in the I.O.O.F. (International Order Odd Fellows) Building. The Palomar Building has Del Williams Jewelers and Ferrari Florists. Beyond that is The Bank Of America, the Del Mar Theatre, all there on the East Side of Pacific. Note too…the amazing width of Pacific Avenue two passing lanes, two parking lanes, and the wide sidewalks with potted plants and pedestrians.
SENTINEL’S PRO TRUMP HEADLINE. Any reader of the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s ” Letters to the Editor” page knows how they love to print those rare letters saying that the Sentinel is “too liberal”. Huge laughs result from any and all locals who’ve read more than a few editions and know all too well where the editors are now and have always been politically. Nowhere was this more clearly demonstrated than in last week’s biggest TRUMP headline when his Health Care bill was defeated. The San Francisco Chronicle headline stated ,”Stunning Defeat on Health Care” . New York Times headline read ” In Major Defeat for Trump, Push To Repeal Health Law Fails”. Newsday said, “Trump, Ryan suffer defeat”, the Huffington Post had “Trump Concedes Defeat”… worldwide news talked about Trump being defeated.
SPIKE JONES AND THE BLUE DANUBE WALTZ
Look now at our Santa Cruz Sentinel headline that same day (Saturday March 25) “Trump, GOP pull health care bill” Just as if it were a minor legal point, or some small step to a major Trump victory. That same issue carried Stephen Kessler’s pro Trump column stating Trump’s cutting of the government supporting the arts is a good idea saying that artists produce great art when they are starving. Or Kessler‘s column the week before damning the homeless saying they were too messy and didn’t clean up spaces where they were sitting.
SAN FRANCISCO AND ANTI-WALL BUILDING. The City of San Francisco is stopping any and all financial connections with companies that are bidding on building Trumps wall against Mexico. Shouldn’t we demand the same from our Santa Cruz City Council? Read Chris Krohn’s #10 minority report below a few pages about Watsonville’s Granite Construction wall building bid.
NEWS FROM THE GRAPEVINE. There are always plenty of news and opinions on my weekly Universal Grapevine radio program Tuesdays 7-8 p.m. on KZSC (now in its 11th year!) “Chip” the executive director of The Downtown Association of Santa Cruz was my guest last Tuesday. (It’s archived at KZSC.org) we were talking about the present, past and future of our Pacific Avenue Downtown. He made an excellent point, whether we like it or not, that retail stores are in serious danger all over the country due to online buying. Small locally – owned retail stores have an extra rough time meeting high rents….so franchised businesses are becoming more and more prevelant. Walk down, or up, Pacific Avenue again and figure out what percentage of businesses of any kind are locally-owned.
BE VERY AWARE. Wouldn’t you think that if our police shoot people carrying rakes that they would have murdered dozens of those dreaded leaf blower intruders around town? I mean those leaf blowers look just like machine guns or bazookas…maybe it’s because they’re louder???
BOB BROZMAN’S HAWAIIAN GUITAR HISTORY I can’t embed this video as per the request of the original poster, but I am going to provide the link, here. Spend 13 minutes for some truly fascinating facts and things you never knew about music!
GREENSITE’S INSIGHT.
“Greensite is traveling. No column this week”.
( 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).
#10 March 27, 2017
“SEARCHING FOR INTERSECTIONALITIES”
INTERSECTIONALITY, noun.1) The complex, cumulative manner in which the effects of different forms of discrimination combine, overlap, or intersect. (Merriam-Webster)
2) …ways in which oppressive institutions (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia ableism, xenophobia, classism) are interconnected and cannot be examined separately from one another. (Geek Feminism Wiki)
Intersectionality is a word I’ve been running into often lately. Whether in my office at UCSanta Cruz, and on the recent Woman’s March along Pacific Avenue, or at this past Saturday’s “A conversation on LGBTQ rights,”confronting our own intersectionality may be where we stand right now in American history. The Live Oak town hall-style meeting brought together County Supervisor, John Leopold, Sacramento-based Legislative Analyst, Alice Kessler, and Lisa Cisneros, Program Director for the California Rural Legal Assistance LGBTQ program to discuss “intersectionalities, andhow we stay well informed, engaged, and connected in the age of resistance.”
It seems that resistance has become our calling in the age of Trump. Perhaps we did not choose it this way, but it’s here and somehow teasing out our abilities to cope. Perhaps building upon our intersectionalities will ultimately reflect how successful we are in turning our resistances into a silver lining of organizing for the present and future needs of our community.
Affordable Housing Now(?)
Last Saturday also saw a gathering of affordable housing advocates huddling around Don Lane, who recently returned from down under (New Zealand) and was offering a summary of what led to the Santa Cruz housing “problem” (not crisis?), and also what the city-developer world is doing to confront and exploit it.
Groups working on this vivienda watershed moment, according to Don include: tenants (Santa Cruz Tenant’s Association), Affordable Housing Now (coalition of groups), No Place Like Home (academics Steve McKay and Miriam Greenberg), Smart Solutions to Homelessness, and the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership. He left out Organizing Circle and the Santa Cruz Strike Committee both groups in the thick of opposing any more vacation rentals. Lane pointed out that he wants affordable units built, but “builders will not build one hundred percent affordable,” he said. He also stated that “there are misconceptions in the community around the city’s inclusionary ordinance.” The Santa Cruz inclusionary ordinance still requires developers to build 15% of their total “for-sale” units as affordable in any project they undertake. What they are no longer required to do is build affordable rental units, UNLESS the city council negotiates that provision with the developer. It’s up to the city council to get the best deal for the community, or guess what? Maybe, developers don’t get to build here if their project doesn’t include a significant number (100%?) of affordable units.We have a housing CRISIS and the city council needs to respond.
And what’s being planned now by council? Pretty much hotels and market rate units. Councilmember Sandy Brown and I are doing everything we can to stop this tide. Some rentals are often negotiated under the guise of “affordable by design,” which is developer-speak and means whatever the market will bear. A dizzying array of projects were mentioned by Lane on this cloudy afternoon in Surf City. They include,the corridors plan “with opportunities for more rental housing on the corridors” (but not all rentals are equal!), the Owen Lawlor-Devcon project along Front and Pacific Avenue (Planning department planner said up to 500 new units may be built), the expansion of the Mid-Peninsula housing on Jessie Street, the Metro District’s “multi-use project” above the transit center, and the “Red Church” parking lot between Cedar and Center that Don says is slated to be “senior housing.” (Better check that. I’ve heard they may be scrapping that idea in favor of market rate condos).
My question right now around the housing issue is: Where is our community’s sense of urgency? Do we have it? The people paying stratospheric rents or living in their cars, or eking out an existence under the eaves at city hall can wait no longer. We need truly affordable housing now for those struggling to stay here now.
Bernie-istas Are Alive and Well and On the Move!
Along with the Indivisible newbie organizing, the SC4Bernie continues its mad dash toward achieving social and cultural change all over the place. I cannot help but contrast the above gathering of aging arm-chair advocates (DWC housing forum grouping around Don Lane) with the SC4Bernie’s can-do organizing style.
There was one of those periodic general membership, hell-everybody’s-a-member meetings last Wednesday at the Live Oak Grange, and you know right away when driving up and there’s a parking lot attendant turning away vehicles that the attendance will be big, and it was. Almost 200 packed into the hall to hear updates on the last ICE raid, mixed reviews on agriculture and capitalism, and a Danny Drysdale-moderated audience participation question on “How are you coping in the age of Trump?”The meaning of any Bernie meeting seems to come down to”Don’t Mourn, Just Continue to Organize.” And did they ever! Well-attended organizing break-out sessions included: affordable housing, Citizen’s Climate Lobby, Medicare For All, Organizing Circle, and Divestment (from the Dakota Access Pipeline financiers) among others. It was a fun, active, and participatory event…you know, how we dream meetings might be!
City Commissions
Last Thursday morning the Downtown Commission met to discussTraffic Demand Management (TDM), the future of the Downtown Trolley, and whether to give the thumbs up for the city staff’s continued zeal to build a five-story garage-library on the current location of the Santa Cruz Farmer’s Market. The TDM presentation was a boon to the hopes of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation’s efforts to bring less cars downtown, and in contrast flamed the fears of certain city staff members who, maybe rightly so, see their jobs as engineering more parking spaces. The commission shot down a recommendation proposal to apportion $2.3 million for garage design.Now it goes onto the city council for a final vote.
Then in the evening there wasa Planning Commission meeting to discuss the “corridors plan.” With a packed house of Eastside neighbors there was sure to be fireworks around a developer-friendly, pure capitalist- inspired plan to build, build, and build some more market rate housing east of the San Lorenzo. After all, isn’t that what Santa Cruz needs, you might be wondering? Well, an old friend and UCSC emeritus professor, Michael Urban sent me an email describing the night he went to the Planning Commission meeting. I print it here with his permission.
“Marilyn Patton goes 3rd in public comment, tells ’em that she teaches critical thinking and will give a transcript of the meeting to her students for analysis, pointing out a number of frequently used double-speak terms as she does so well. In short, she called “bullshit” on the whole thing. I went next, addressing not the commission but the audience. Told ’em that capitalism is destroying the planet and that we can’t do a thing about it. Told ’em that capitalism has come to mean that corporations are people enjoying far more rights than actual persons and that we can’t do a thing about the fact that we no longer live in a democracy. Told ’em that the corridors plan is capitalism which seeks to privatize and profit from our common space and that we can do something about that by rejecting this horrendous proposal.”
Amen Professor!
What Else?
We had Part I of our retreat, Norms and Values, last Tuesday (Part II will be April 1st) and it wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t whatever the opposite of pretty is either…We agreed to disagree on a lot of stuff and also opened some avenues of communication on issues we do agree upon, like…trying to communicate better. (Keep in mind, this meeting of our city council was NOT televised.)
I went in wanting to talk about some councilmember’s “no” votes on Drew Glover to be a member of the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women (wouldn’t want to talk about it “publicly,” according to Councilmember Mathews); the headlong rush to build a library-garage using voter approved money (It’s still in the planning stages, nothing approved yet, according to the city manager); the commission appointment process wherein four councilmembers are able to appoint seven commissioners to every city commission (It’s a process that’s “good for the city,” according to Cynthia Mathews); and what about the feedback I receive from the public that they feel left out of the council process, like decisions are somehow already made before a council meeting even begins many have told me?(No response at this retreat about that query.)
The short-term consensus-building issues I brought up were: withdrawing city money from Wells Fargo and finding another bank to do the city payroll (not so easy…); entertaining a conversation about a leaf blower ordinance; work towards placing an affordable housing bond before Santa Cruz voters; and finally, creating a time-certain for Oral Communication, which is a time on every city council agenda for the public to address the council on issues not yet on the council’s bi-weekly agenda (By consensus we agreed to putting the time certain at 5pm instead of having it float around as is now the case).
City Council Agenda this week…Not a huge agenda really.
A BIG issue is item #8, also on closed session agenda. Seems like no less than three people in the Sean Arlt family are filing claims against the city concerning the untimely death of their son and father at the hands of the SCPD. Item #14 has to do with a Granite Construction contract for $400k. It is the same company that has put in a bid to build the Trump’s wall along the US-Mexican border.(http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/mexico-border-wall-construction-contract-bids-open-march-6/)
In addition, Cemex (Davenport & Sand City) has a bid to pour the cement for the wall. I hope folks south of the border are protesting as much as we are about this absurd construct. Item #19 seems to be about banning fire rings and mandating propane or butane if you want to have fires, or cook on the beach in Santa Cruz. Finally, item #20 will regulate food trucks in the city, and I suggest you go to the following web site and read about it and let me, or other councilmembers know if you have issues with this proposed ordinance. http://scsire.cityofsantacruz.com/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=838&doctype=AGENDA
The Bernie Quote of the Week is:
“At a time when elderly women are more likely than men to be living in poverty, not only do we say NO to cuts in Social Security, we will expand Social Security.”
~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.
TOWNHALL MEETING THIS SATURDAY
Plan to participate in the Townhall Meeting with Anna Eshoo and Jimmy Panetta on April 1, 10am-11:30am at the New Brighton Middle School in Capitola. John Laird will moderate.
Although there is no specific focus for the event, look forward to hearing discussion about pressing issues such as road repair funding, groundwater crisis, housing problems and health care. What questions would you like to ask? Get your list ready. Doors open at 9:30am.
CHECK THEIR WEBSITE OFTEN TO VERIFY
Another public unveiling April 1 includes the official search for County Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) replacement for Ms. Susan Mauriello, who will retire this July after 28 years at the helm. Will this job really be offered publicly or is it just a formality before Ms. Mauriello makes her choice (likely Deputy CAO Mr. Carlos Palacios)? Check the website for the consultant the County has hired: Peckham and McKenney in Roseville. Yet another consultant hired to do work that one would think the County Personnel Administrator would be capable of handling. Instead, the consultant will get paid $20,000 to search. Remember, the County budget is currently $8.1 in the red?
I SURE HOPE THE NEW CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER (CAO) WILL CONSIDER FUNDING….. THE COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Fire Department Advisory Commission hopes that as well. That group has many times recommended that the Board of Supervisors more equitably divide the State Public Safety Prop. 172 sales tax money ($17 million last year) between fire protection and law enforcement. Only 0.5% goes to fire, and County Fire Department (the volunteers who keep the County emergency response working when paid agencies leave the area for major events elsewhere) does not even get that little crumb. It goes to the Fire Chief’s Association, with no stipulations on spending focus. Luckily, that group is fiscally responsible, and last year used the money for some badly-needed upgrades at the area’s training center in Bonny Doon.
The 2017-18 County Fire budget will deplete the last of reserve money. A change in Board of Supervisor voting, encouraged by a fire-safety-minded CAO could send half of the Proposition 172 money to purchasing much-needed water tenders and restoring engine staffing to the State level of three responders per engine. Maybe the Board is hoping for more state and federal emergency money to help with a major fire season on the horizon? Maybe Ms. Mauriello has high-volume sprinklers mounted all over her rural home in the Second District and therefore just doesn’t care.
AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION ON USING STORMWATER TO RECHARGE DEPLETED AQUIFERS
I attended the excellent program at the Hotel Paradox by Dr. Andy Fisher, UCSC Professor of Hydrology, and Dr. Daniel Mountjoy, representing the non-profit ‘Sustainable Conservation’. Both spoke about the issue of groundwater overdraft and low-tech methods for recharging them.
Much of what Dr. Fisher discussed related to the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency’s work since formation in the 1980’s to solve the overdraft problem. Currently, about 20% of the pumping from the area’s private agricultural wells are adding to overdraft by 12,000AcreFeet/Year. That is an improvement, but still the seawater is advancing inland at the rate of about 9″/day.
Three threats will continue to exacerbate the problem:
Demand for water is increasing
There is a shift in land use, creating more surface land space that is impermeable
Climate change could bring more intense rainfall in shorter time frames, not allowing for the land to absorb the rainfall and recharge the groundwater.
Capturing stormwater runoff…all that water gushing down the storm drains and into the swollen creeks…and collecting it in ponds for groundwater recharge through natural percolation could easily, according to Dr. Fisher, help solve this area’s critical overdraft crisis in a low-tech, low-energy demand way.
Working with the Resource Conservation District (RCD), a pilot study project on a 172-acre farm in Pajaro Valley will be worth watching. The 4-acre settling pond will not only recharge the groundwater table but also improve stream water quality overall by removing agricultural fertilizers and contaminants from the overall runoff into the creek nearby. What’s the incentive for the farmer to reduce production area to dedicate land for a recharge basin? Money is always a strong one. The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency is developing a program similar to net-metering used by solar panel owners who produce power for the electrical grid. In the case of groundwater recharge, it will be a bit more complicated and relies on good verification that the system is indeed recharging the aquifer. The pilot study will use an independent third-party certifier (UCSC and the RCD) to determine how much stormwater is percolating into the aquifer. Based on that information, the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency will pay for the rebate to the farmer’s water bill. Currently, farmers pay between $203/AcreFoot to $359/AcreFoot for the water they pump from their ag wells, depending on location of the well with respect to seawater intrusion threat (wells closer to the coast are assessed highest).
Dr. Fisher explained that other areas of Santa Cruz County are being evaluated as possible recharge sites, depending on geology and current land use. Recently, he met with local water agencies and County staff to overlay those areas with GIS parcel maps to identify possible property owners to approach for further pilot studies. He stressed that, with good monitoring and collaboration, collecting stormwater runoff can help return the region’s pumping demands to sustainable levels.
I thought it was interesting to hear that an acre of strawberries requires 2.5AcreFeet/year to produce and that these fields are covered by plastic mulch that reduced groundwater recharge by rainfall.
The second speaker, Dr. Daniel Mountjoy, discussed similar projects occurring in the Central Valley. He talked about that area’s ground subsidence…actual sinking of the land due to recent and sudden increased agricultural pumping as a result of no water available from the California Aquaduct. He explained that many farmers changed to drip irrigation, in an effort to use less water than flood irrigation, but actually depleted groundwater recharge levels by doing so.
“We have to build on natural processes, not fight them,” he said, and return the rivers to flood plains in a controlled way. To that end, one farmer did just that about six years ago, and invited his neighboring farmers to take a look at his findings. Now, Dr. Helen Dahlke, at the University of California, Davis (UCD) is on board with pilot studies to determine the long-range effects on crops where the fields are allowed to flood in the winter storm months.
These studies are financially supported by such groups as the Almond Board and Farm Bureau, but also several large food processing companies, such as Campbell’s, General Mills, Nestle and Anhueser-Busch are also donating large sums. These sponsors are concerned about the threat of losing the large supply of foods for their processing plants nearby if California farmers run out of water.
I SURE HOPE THAT SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT WILL TAKE NOTE OF THESE ENCOURAGING STUDIES and NOT proceed with the PureWater (“PoopWater“) Soquel Project, which calls for massive amounts of energy and perfectly-functioning high-tech systems to pump 3.1 million gallons of sewage water each day into the aquifer via injection wells. No ponds. No control of contaminant accidents. Not good.
LET THE PEOPLE VOTE…..everyone who depends on this water source for their safe drinking water should have a chance to weigh in via a Prop. 218 ballot process.
THE APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT HAS A BIG RECHARGE POND OVERFLOWING INTO THE CREEK
Last week’s gentle rains filled the recently-graded excavation site adjacent to Trout Gulch Road, with lots of erosion from recent massive amounts of earth work contributing to high sediment content of the uncontrolled stormwater runoff. Where are the erosion control practices? Where are those five temporary sediment retention basins indicated on the Drainage and Erosion Control Plan approved by Santa Cruz County Environmental Planner Ms. Carolyn Burke? That was all required on paper when Barry Swenson Builder was able to get a winter grading permit approved in December, 2015.
I think it should be revoked. Why doesn’t the County Inspector take note of these Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) violations? Maybe the Regional Water Quality Control Board will?
Last week, I met with Ms. Burke’s supervisor, Assistant Planning Director, Ms. Wanda Williams, to discuss the problems. Ms. Burke was on vacation. Ms. Williams was not interested in the stormwater and sediment samples I brought to her office. She also did not seem interested in the lab analysis report of the stormwater samples I collected last month, which are high in lead, arsenic, nitrate and phosphate. Hmmm…
There were many questions regarding permits for the Aptos Village Project that she could not answer, so she asked Building Department Official Mr. Martin Heaney to step in. He also was mystified. I was surprised to learn from him that the Santa Cruz County Building Department only deals with electrical permits, not anything to do with grading, drainage or fire code issues.
He thought it is okay that Barry Swenson Builder is running an extension cord from the former Hihn Apple Barn electrical service through puddled water over to the construction office trailers, and then on to the construction crews working inside the Barn in it’s new location. “What about rodents chewing the insulation and creating a fire hazard inside the historic Barn when the cord remains in the Barn and lights are left on all night?” I asked. He thought it was okay as long as the contractor examined the cords daily. I was glad that Ms. Williams asked Mr. Heaney to ask Barry Swenson Builder to remove all electrical extension cords from the Barn at the end of each work day. I wonder if they will?
IF I HAD BEEN ABLE TO GET THERE, I WOULD HAVE ASKED FOR EXPLANATIONS
There were three items on the March 21 County Board of Supervisor Agenda that I would have asked to be taken off the Consent Agenda and made into Regular Agenda items for discussion. Unfortunately, heavy traffic and an overflowing parking lot at 701 Ocean Street made me later than usual, and I missed the action on the Consent Agenda. I would have liked to have gotten answers to these questions:
Why did the Department of Public Works ask for and receive approval for the ability to hire five outside civil engineer consultants for $1 MILLION EACH annually for a contract period of three to five years to work on plans for storm repair projects? Didn’t Public Works Department Director Mr. John Presleigh tell the Board at their February 28 public meeting that “We’re going to do all the engineering in-house to save money.”?
When I asked the Dept. Of Public Works how many civil engineers there are on staff, I was told to go ask County Counsel. Really? Mr. Nefouse in that department could not tell me, but said he would send me an answer before the Board met. I received a general list of all staff titles for the Public Works Department, and it was difficult to determine how many civil engineers are on staff. I searched on ‘Transparent California’ and determined that there are 22 of them. Shouldn’t they be able to handle the work load?
Well, apparently not. The Board approved this $15 – $25 MILLION EXPENSE. Remember, the County is already $8.1 million in deficit.
Why did the Sheriff Department get Board approval for an additional $30,000 to pay Central Coast Landscape Maintenance for storm-related tree damage and drainage problems? I used to work in landscape maintenance and that seems like alot of money. I happened to drive by the Sheriff Center on Soquel Avenue frontage road and Chanticleer and took a look.
No tree damage. No big wash-outs. What I did see was an excavated area next to the building itself that had some fresh concrete next to the foundation. I am no building expert, but it seems to me that might be something the contractor who built that brand new Sheriff Center ought to be liable for, given there was a Performance Agreement.
But since that contractor is Barry Swenson Builder, it seems that the County officials have bent over backwards yet again and expect taxpayers to fix the problem instead. I don’t think that is right. Do you? Maybe the Grand Jury would be interested in this $30,000 ticket?
Soquel Village will soon have parking meters everywhere to bring in money to maintain the two County-owned parking lots. Last year, the Department of Public Works put forth a ballot measure asking property owners in the Village to form a new assessment district to pay for this. It was rejected by over 80% of those voters.
So, the Board of Supervisors approved the placement of parking meters in those lots and for all on-street parking in Soquel Village to collect the money, at 50 cents/hour. It will take lots of money to buy, install, maintain and read those meters, so Department of Public Works will loan the effort $100,000 as start-up money, payable over the next three years. Isn’t that generous?
That $100,000 would help repair roads, such as Valencia Road in Aptos, where the elementary school closed due to unsafe road conditions. I wonder if the parking meters will need a consultant, too?
SPEAKING OF VALENCIA ROAD CLOSURE…
HOW COME NELSON ROAD IS PASSABLE?
I took a drive up to Scotts Valley to see how the County was able to re-establish the route for Nelson Road (not far up Lockhart Gulch Road) over a creek where a large culvert failed in recent storms. That situation is interesting and similar to the Valencia Road conditions.
However, County Supervisor Bruce McPherson was able to get that temporary one-lane bridge installed by pushing hard to get money quickly from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. Two railroad flat cars were placed side-by-side to create a sturdy one-lane bridge on rock and timber abutments. Simple and effective, and it got done within three weeks after the storm closed the road.
So, why is Valencia Road still closed? Why did it take nearly a month for Supervisor Zach Friend to visit the site with Congressman Jimmy Panetta? Why isn’t this fast-tracked to get the job done to allow Valencia Elementary School students back to their class rooms?
Gee, I wonder if it could be related to the County wanting to keep the consequent reduction of traffic in Aptos Village area while the road work supporting the Aptos Village Project occurs? Lane closures begin Monday, March 27 and will happen through July 17. “The motoring public is asked to avoid this area if possibleor be prepared for delays of up to 20 minutes.” according to Mr. John Presleigh, Director of Public Works. What about the residents and merchants in the area who have no choice but to travel through this area? Well, keep that pesky school traffic out of the way….
Please tell me again why the taxpayers are footing the bill to move a bus stop, install turn lanes, replace 200′ of rail track, and add a traffic light….”for the Aptos Village Project”, again according to Mr. Presleigh of Public Works, as reported in the Santa Cruz Sentinel Coast Lines (3/8/17)?
The Regional Transportation Commission has approved two grants totaling $1,300,000 and also allowed $137,000 to be transferred from the Calabasas School Safe Pedestrian Project all to go to the Aptos Village Project road improvements. The Aptos Village Project developers (Barry Swenson Builder, Joe Appenrodt, Pete Testorff) are paying very little.
The County has bent over backwards to reward them with other concessions, too, and a draft Development Agreement in 2013 offered $5 million payback from County coffers to Barry Swenson Builder to re-imburse them for internal road and right-of-way expenses. Wow. I wonder if that includes the hefty sum Barry Swenson Builder paid County Planning Department Kathy Previsich’s husband for an easement of a narrow strip of land adjacent to Granite Way in the Project? Hmmmm….
Maybe the County Grand Jury would like to know about this ticket, too. Maybe even the State Attorney General….
By the way, the only source of information the public has is a blog on the County Public Works website: aptosvillageimprovements/blog But as of last week, it had not been updated with the new March 27 construction start time… then again, neither has the flashing road sign at Trout Gulch and Cathedral Drive. Hmmm…..
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.
FROM GARY A. PATTON From Gary’s “We Live In A Political World” website…Thursday, March 23, 2017
Discussing her thinking at the time she wrote the book, Atwood says that she had a great deal of trepidation that she would be able to “persuade readers that the United States had suffered a coup that had transformed an erstwhile liberal democracy into a literal-minded theocratic dictatorship.” Accordingly, one of the rules she followed in writing The Handmaid’s Tale was that she would “not put any events into the book that had not already happened … No imaginary gizmos, no imaginary laws, no imaginary atrocities…”
Atwood’s article is very much worth reading (presuming that you have already read The Handmaid’s Tale). If you haven’t, you should read the book first. Despite my appreciation for the article, I do want to make one critical comment, which might be thought of as a suggestion that nothing “imaginary” should appear in her discussion about the origins of the book, any more than “imaginary” topics should have been inserted in her story.
Atwood ends the article this way: “In the wake of the recent American election, fears and anxieties proliferate. Basic civil liberties are seen as endangered, along with many of the rights for women won over the past decades, and indeed the past centuries. In this divisive climate, in which hate for many groups seems on the rise and scorn for democratic institutions is being expressed by extremists of all stripes, it is a certainty that someone, somewhere — many, I would guess — are writing down what is happening as they themselves are experiencing it. Or they will remember, and record later, if they can. Will their messages be suppressed and hidden? Will they be found, centuries later, in an old house, behind a wall? Let us hope it doesn’t come to that. I trust it will not”.
A minor quibble. Or maybe not. I think Atwood should have dispensed with that very last, very short, sentence.
“Trusting” that we are not on the way to a totalitarian society might be disempowering. Suggesting that “trust” is the support on which we should rely might be read as a counsel that things will probably turn out alright.
That is a happy imagining. Our need to take action to ensure that democracy is not swallowed up, not a suggestion that some kind of “trust” is warranted, is what I think might be the better lesson from The Handmaid’s Tale“.
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. Takes on the “nature loving” bike riders scroll downwards.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Secretary Tillerson’s Trips ” 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.
ESPRESSIVO- SMALL AND INTENSE. Now in its second season, our newest serious music chamber size orchestra presents its fifth concert. The concert’s title is “An American Heritage”. That means music by composers Charles Ives, Ned Rorem, and Aaron Copland. They’ll perform Copland’s “Applachian Spring” that Copland himself conducted at Cabrilho College for the Cabrilho Music Festival directed by Dennis Russell Davies in 1978. It happens Thursday March 30, 2017 at 7:30pm at the Peace United Church of Christ, 900 High Street in Santa Cruz. Probably tickets at the door or at their website http://www.espressorch.org.
THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY. The Santa Cruz Chamber Players play musics by Debussey, Ravel, along with works by Hahn, Valderrabano and concert director Chris Pratorius Gomez. That’ll be Saturday April 1, at 7 :30 and Sunday April 2nd at 3 p.m. in the Christ Lutheran Church, 10707 Soquel Drive just off Freedom Blvd. Highway 1 turnoff just above the CHP headquarters. You could hope for tickets at the door or go to www.scchamberplayers.org
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Even though my friend and colleague Richard von Busack scooped me in the paper, you can still read my review of Disney’s new Beauty and the Beast this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com). And speaking of which, find out about my own Beast book heading into production at last. Drinks all around!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
PERSONAL SHOPPER. An absolutely brilliant film. Eerie, a few subtitles, high fashion, ghosts, and not shocking but mystifying , puzzling, nervous, and Kristen Stewart is rapidly becoming one of my favorite “actors”. It’s not don’t go into the cellar scary nor is it jump out of the closet scary, one brief corpse scene and just enough of a wonderful plot that will make you remember it and thuink about it long after you leave the theatre.
WILSON. It isn’t a good criticism but,(or and) you’ll never figire out if we are supposed to like, love, hate, or identify with Woody Harrelson’s role as Wilson is this mean-spirited, confused nasty saga. Laura Dern plays the same role she always plays, Judy Greer is about the most logical, natural human in the movie…and Cheryl Hines returns to the screen from her frustrating role in Curb Your Enthusiasm, years ago. Don’t see this movie. You’ll leave angry, confused and as mean-spirited as Woody portrays. And I still don’t know if it’s supposed to be a comedy, drama, or just an adaption of a graphic novel..which it is.
SONG TO SONG. A Terence Malick movie… probably it’s about relationships just like Frankenstein, Mary Poppins, Moonlight, Gone With The Wind films are about relationships too. All in all this is a completely unfathomable mess of a plot…like all of Malick’s films. It’s got Cate Blanchett, ping pong, Ryan Gosling, oil rigs, Rooney Mara, , hungry Latina mothers, swimming pools, blonde Natalie Portman, Val Kilmer, and Holly Hunter. If you figure it out let me know.
MOONLIGHT. LAST CHANCE TO SEE 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!! ENDS THURSDAY MARCH 30!!!
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 o 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.
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. ENDS THURSDAY MARCH 30!!!
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.
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.
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. 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 fo rce “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
Today I needed some inspiration, having dealt with some really crappy things lately. If this tiny little slip of a thing can do this, then there truly are no limits.
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. “APRIL”
“April is a promise that May is bound to keep”. Hal Borland “April is the cruellest month”. T. S. Eliot “Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever”. Charles Lamb “The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year“. Mark Twain
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Snail Mail: Bratton Online
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