May 13 – 19, 2020

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…Oganookie revived, KZSC’s Bushwhackers Movie critiques, Trump’s local votes, GREENSITE…on the Riverfront Project. KROHN…will return next week. STEINBRUNER…Santa Cruz raising water rates?, County using Facebook to communicate? Homeless to Adventist Camp?PATTON…The Top, Middle and Bottom of voting. EAGAN…Subconscious Comics plus Deep Cover. JENSEN…Watchables. QUOTES…”Viruses”

DOWNTOWN APTOS. 1910. Do note the original placement of the train depot, the hotel, the train tracks.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

GIRAFFES FIGHTING.

Horse scared by fart!

DATELINE May 11

KZSC’S BUSHWHACKERS BREAKFAST CLUB & B MOVIE BRATTON!

Reviewing — or better yet critiquing — movies on KZSC’s Bushwhackers Breakfast Club has been a weekly delight for 17 years. Then came the pause for virus issues. Starting again this very Friday May 15 right after the news at 8:10am, I’ll (phone in) my slings, arrows, bouquets and warnings related to what’s available to watch on any size screen. Theatres, cinerama, superscope, 70mm, appear to be doomed, so it’ll focus on what’s worth our time to view at home, or workplace (if any), Tune in, it won’t hurt. KZSC is at 88.1 FM on your dial or keyboard.

OGANOOKIE FANS FOREVER! Jack Bowers, one of the Oganookie original band members, was kind and thoughtful enough to send this clip. Oganookie was just about the first Santa Cruz band to achieve any resemblence of fame or especially fortune. Bowers says, “Staying home for my esteemed former colleagues Bob Stern and George Stavis has meant delving into the long shelved Oganookie oeuvre. First one of the shelf is “Little Maggie” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBZszEfsT4c regards, Jack Bowers

TRUMP VOTE QUESTIONED/UPDATED? Reader Martin Peaden emails to tell us/me…

“In reference to the May 4 column, 11,276 people voted for Trump in March! That was limited to only Republican Party members. And very recently. New Canadian and former Santa Cruzan Dan Dickmayer wants us to know…” Closer to home, though not born and raised in Santa Cruz, is Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize winner and researcher on epidemics, who graduated from Merrill College when I knew her in the early 70s. Now 69 years old, she was on CNN last night with Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper, with whom she is friends. She was amazing, far outdistancing most of the other experts I have seen. I hope she gets more exposure for her views, not least her anti-Trump perspective.

May 11

The Future of Santa Cruz

The rendition above is what is planned for lining the river levee on Front Street between Laurel and Soquel bridges opposite the Metro. The city released its Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for this project today. I had hoped for a breather after the DEIR for the Wharf Master Plan but no such luck. Not that luck has anything to do with it. You don’t have to be a bloodhound to smell something fishy in the city’s timing of the release of environmental documents for three major projects (Parks, the Municipal Wharf and now this Riverfront Project). Can the controversial library issue be far behind?

The project is taller, denser and boxier than what was approved a few years ago by the Planning Commission and the then city council (pre-Glover and Cummings elections). I and a few other die-hards attended those meetings and voiced what we felt was a shared community perspective: that this scale of development was out of scale: that its size, feel and look spelled the end of our small town’s character: that despite a token required 20 “affordable” units, 80% of the market-rate condos would not ease our housing cost crisis but would exacerbate it by attracting high-tech workers from Silicon Valley or second homers, a demographic fact verified by the real estate industry.

As bad as it was then, this version is worse. Thanks to the CA state government’s imposing a “density bonus” on local governments, developers can get all sorts of waivers if they cram more units into their project. So this one went from 133 to 175 units with the trade-off that the 20 affordable units now include 15 for very-low income levels and 5 for low-income levels. For this they get waivers for height and step-backs. It went from 70 to 81 feet in height and is now 7 stories with 6 stories of housing above street level commercial (previously 5). Gone are the step backs of the top story, previously required to be 60% smaller than the floor below. The demolishing of two historic small buildings, currently leased by long-time well-known local businesses has not changed.

I’m wondering if this love affair with housing density will take a hit after the corona virus is a memory? We now know that density by itself does nothing for affordability or for getting people out of their cars despite all the happy talk. Santa Cruz is a relatively small town and will never have the level of robust affordable public transportation system, which is a pre-requisite. We know that low-income workers are pushed further to the margins when new market-rate dense developments bulldoze small rental units. We know that the lifestyle of wealthier newcomers increases not decreases the overall carbon footprint. Does dense living also increase susceptibility to viral spread? If New York and Italy are examples, it might be a relevant variable.

Perhaps it’s time to reconsider density as the greener alternative. I am familiar with the ostensible environmental arguments for density and find them un-compelling. Those who espouse them strike me as lacking any affection for a small town feel. They lack awareness of the class impact of such developments. Santa Cruz for them is a blank slate for designing a new urban elite consumerism. The alternative is not a nightmare of suburban sprawl. It is to plan carefully and go slowly. That small is beautiful and moderation key. Keep a human scale. This is not nostalgia. It is a love of place. Perhaps if those promoting these projects lived in the city rather than on properties far from the madding crowd or had more than a few years residency under their belts they too might look at the above project and really see how it obliterates the character of Santa Cruz. And this is just one of many coming down the pike.

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.

CHRIS KROHN’S SANTA CRUZ REPORT. Will return next week.

(Chris Krohn  is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected to the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His term ended in April of 2020.
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

May 11

HOW CAN WE FIND OUT WHAT’S NEXT?
Every Thursday at 10am, Santa Cruz County Health Officer, Dr. Gail Newel, holds a press conference to update the County with her newest ideas for keeping the public safe. The only way citizens can find out what she has in mind each week is to listen to the County’s FaceBook live stream. What about those who do not subscribe to FaceBook? Too bad. No local radio stations broadcast it reliably.

Why won’t the County use the 454-2222 tele-conference system that is free, and allow anyone with a telephone to be able to listen to these press conferences? Write the Supervisors and ask the County make these critical meetings available to the general public.

I am grateful to be able to hear Governor Newsom’s the daily press conferences held at noon by tuning in to KAZU radio 90.3FM.

Supervisor and Chairman Greg Caput <greg.caput@santacruzcounty.us>
Ryan Coonerty <ryan.coonerty@santacruzcounty.us>
Zach Friend <zach.friend@santacruzcounty.us>
John Leopold <john.leopold@santacruzcounty.us>
Bruce McPherson <bruce.mcpherson@santacruzcounty.us>

And do try the County Public Information Officer Jason Hoppin <jason.hoppin@santacruzcounty.us>

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY ORDERED TO SHELTER IN PLACE INDEFINITELY BUT LOCAL BUSINESS COMMITTEE DEMANDS DISCUSSION
Congratulations to the local merchants and bankers who convinced the County that Gail Newel needs to work with them to chart a path to opening local business again and begin to climb out of the economic abyss she has created for the County.

The Sentinel “Coastlines” announced the handful of bankers, non-profit leaders, and a couple of small business owners who will be guiding this effort to talk some sense into Gail Newel. I wonder who chose the committee? The list does not include either Casey Byers or Robert Singleton, who commented strongly in the Sentinel report.

COUNTY WANTS TO MOVE IN DOZENS OF HOMELESS YOUTH AND LET THEM ROAM THE SOQUEL COUNTRYSIDE
Soquel residents near the Seventh Day Adventist Camp on Soquel San Jose Road are not pleased that Supervisor John Leopold kept them in the dark for nearly a month as he worked with attorneys and the Church Camp to place 35 trailers for homeless there. He knows this neighborhood is adverse to such a thing, based on the fierce push-back he received when the County tried to allow a homeless RV park there a couple of years ago. This time, the homeless, aged 18-25, would be allowed 24/7 full use of the large acreage owned by the Church. Understandably the locals are worried about fire danger from smokers wandering about night and day.

So why did Supervisor Leopold wait until the Sentinel announced the project to send a letter to his constituents in the area?

Why would the County think it makes better sense to put these homeless youth miles from town and provide free shuttle bus service instead of locating the trailers on the County-owned lot in Watsonville at Freedom Boulevard and Crestview? That was used for FEMA trailers after the 1989 earthquake, was plumbed and may still have utilities, is on a major bus route, is just behind the County medical clinic and is next to a large community garden operated by the Master Gardeners?

I think these are all good questions, but Supervisor Leopold refuses to answer them or the myriad of others his constituents are asking about this proposal. The most significant one by far is: Why didn’t he come talk with his constituents sooner? They will remember this in the November elections.

YOU MUST TELL US WHY YOU THINK YOU SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO SPEAK
That is pretty much the attitude of Soquel Creek Water District Board Chairman Bruce Daniels, now that all members of the public must submit a written request to the Board to pull any Consent Agenda item for better public discussion. One also must write the Clerk of the Board to ask to speak on specific regular agenda items. If you don’t, you cannot speak.

I am grateful for the kind consideration of Board member Bruce Jaffe who is agreeable to my requests that Consent Agenda items get pulled, even though Chairman Daniels makes it clear that I have not provided the Board with any good reason for doing so. Apparently, “for better public discussion” has no meaning to Chairman Daniels. I really appreciate Bruce Jaffe.

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT IS DIGGING A DEEP HOLE OF DEBT FOR CUSTOMER BURDEN BUT STAFF WILL GET A 6% RAISE
Any Soquel Creek Water District customer should be worried about how much their water will cost them in the next couple of years and be concerned about the massive debt the District is loading up on your wallet. There were 18 participants logged into the May 5 Soquel Creek Water District Board meeting. Maybe one of them was you. If not, let me fill you all in a bit on what happened that has me especially concerned for the financial fate of the District’s rate payers.

I’ll begin with the Budget Presentation, Item 7.3

Usually the Board hears the annual Budget presentation in the form of a separate workshop. This year, it was presented as “a robust memo”. There was to have been a presentation by Raftelis rate consultant to inform the Board about the real financial situation post-rate increases and how it is affecting revenues and customers. That was not part of the presentation.

Financial Director Leslie Strohm went quickly through a dizzying amount of material quickly. The upshot is that they will need to borrow an additional $57.7 million to support the expenses of the PureWater Soquel Project ($55.2 million) and the Quail Run Tank Project ($2.5 million), causing the total debt service next year to approach $4.8 million and remain as such for 20 years. (see pages 157 and 158)

Water sales are down, and are projected to decrease by $1.1 million (although on page 139, it is stated that water sales are up by $449,600).

The operating expenses are projected to rise by $2 million in 2020/2021, but without explanation. If PureWater Soquel gets built, that would raise annual operating expenses by an estimated $2.5 million for that system alone.

With the addition of more AMI (“smart meters”) registers, it is expected that more customers will fall into the expensive Tier 2 pricing. The District has budgeted $50,000 in revenue next year, due to penalties for late payments. They paid a staff member to attend a webinar by the Special Districts Association to learn “How to Collect Unpaid Bills”. Ron Duncan said staff has suggested forming a Go-Fund-Me campaign to help raise money for the people who cannot afford to pay their water bills. There was supposed to have been a discussion about the three different ways customers who are unable to pay their water bill could get a credit. That discussion did not happen, and was described in the Financial Staff Report, citing there would be other discussion about it in later agenda items. It was not part of the “Robust Memo Item”.

Because of the debt the Board feels is necessary to take on to move ahead on PureWater Soquel, they discussed postponing other capital improvement projects, such as main replacements. The only project they cannot postpone is the Alta Drive trenching and paving project in La Selva Beach, because it is being mandated by the County, according to Leslie Strohm.

Most disturbing was the discussion about how to cut costs. Leslie Strohm said various departments had worked together to cut $1 million in order to present a balanced budget to the Board. Bruce Daniels pointed out that since the Water Transfers will end this December, they could eliminate the proposed $90,000 set aside for water purchases and testing . “The agreement ends in December, so that’s a good place where money wont get spent.” Bruce Daniels said. Tom LaHue asked if the District is still negotiating with the City? Ron Duncan simply said “Yes, maybe a $50,000 Pilot Water Transfer would be more appropriate to budget.”

“But if we don’t transfer anything, then that’s zero.” said Bruce Daniels. He reminded the Board that the price the City wants to charge will determine everything, and since they can’t give the District the $300/AF price (referring to that law suit from the North Coast farmers) it will be too expensive. “I’d rather give the money to PureWater Project.” he said.

Bruce Daniels then wanted to further decrease the Conservation Dept. budget. It had already been decreased budgeted customer rebates by $60,000. He said he felt that with the economic depression of the COVID-19 situation, people will be just trying to pay their bills and won’t have money to do water-saving projects.

Leslie Strohm told the Board they may have to look at raising rates further in 2023.

There are some odd expenditures by the District regarding the Water Transfer Project, evidenced in the March warrants. I pointed out to the Board that it appeared the Monterey Bay Analytical labs had double-billed $2,227.50 on March 27.(page 39/40) I also asked why Miles Farmer was paid $2,800 again this month to do water sampling for the Water Transfer Project when the intertie and transfer project got shut down in the end of January, and never resumed?(page 39). The District paid the City $1,947 for water purchase, but I am not clear if that it the total amount.

Meanwhile, salaries are up 6%, and the pension benefits are up 12.4%, largely because the CalPERS unfunded pension debt. The District is adding 2 new Full Time Employees this year..I am unsure what they will do. That’s the upshot of their Budget discussion. Leslie Strohm will come back June 2 with a proposal to borrow $57.2 million and ask the Board to approve the 2020/2021 budget. They all thanked her profusely.

I encourage you to listen to their Board meeting proceedings. I as glad to be able to point out to them that in the “What’s On Tap’ item 4.12, there was misinformation….”our hydrologists tell us that 5.99 units per household per day is sustainable.” for the groundwater basin levels. I asked them to explain that claim if it were true. Bruce Daniels admitted it was an error and directed staff to correct it. “Good one.” said Director Christensen. No one thanked me for pointing that error out. Oh well.

CITY OF SANTA CRUZ WATER COMMISSION ALSO CONSIDERS RAISING RATES
On May 4, the Santa Cruz City Water Commission met via teleconference and discussed “water pricing priorities”, which is a very politically-correct way of saying RAISING WATER RATES.

City water rates went up a couple of years ago, and the rate structure changed, too. Now, it’s time to start priming the pump for another rate increase, and that happened at the City Water Commission meeting. Unfortunately, those meetings are not recorded…but should be. I got busy and forgot to check for the City Water Commission meeting agenda…I used to get notices, but that hasn’t happened in awhile.

I think pages 21- 22 have interesting information about the capital improvement projects and operations.

There was an interesting agenda for the Commission’s May 4 meeting that featured a presentation by Raftelis to discuss setting priorities on water pricing, beginning at page 55. This is the same rate consultant that Soquel Creek Water District uses. Watch out! The issue will be determining the Cost of Service.

There is also a good report about the Annual Water Demand and Assessment for 2020 on page 45.

This report summarizes current water supply conditions and presents information supporting the staff recommendation that no water restrictions be implemented during the peak season of 2020.

DISCUSSION: Water year 2020 is shaping up to be different from prior years in several ways. In contrast to water year 2019, which saw an optimal water supply outlook in April due to abundant rainfall and strong surface water runoff, water year 2020 has been marked by comparatively lower rainfall amounts overall and one entire month, February 2020, that was completely dry. River runoff has been considerably lower throughout the winter thus far. As of the writing of this report in mid-April, rainfall totals in the City measured 22.66 inches, about 77% of average for the season to date. Cumulative river runoff for the San Lorenzo is following the trend of the 2018 water year. The current cumulative runoff amount as of April 15th is 25,717 acre-feet. In 2018, the end of March cumulative runoff amount was just over 22,000 acre-feet. That amount alone would classify the year as critically dry. However, in 2018 the cumulative runoff crossed the threshold from critically dry to dry by the end of May which ended the water year in the dry category. It is expected that this current water year, 2020, will follow a similar pattern and the water year will be classified as dry. Water conditions have improved somewhat, 5.1 beginning in mid-March and then again in early-April when several late-season storms provided much needed precipitation to the central coast region. These late season storms pushed up the local rainfall and runoff totals. If not for these storms, the water year classification would surely fall squarely in the critically dry category.

There is good information on pages 51-53.

Did you by chance listen in on that teleconference meeting? If so, please let me know what happened.

OVERREACHING NEW COUNTY ANIMAL ORDINANCES WOULD LIKELY WIPE OUT THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY FAIR AND 4-H
The May 12, 2020 Board of Supervisor Agenda Item #8 proposes massive changes to the County’s animal and animal husbandry codes, and if passed, would wipe potentially out the Santa Cruz County Fair animal exhibits and 4-H showmanship activities. It would also make anyone with more than three dogs or more than five cats endure home inspections and hefty animal facility license fees.

People need to write the Board and request these proposed changes get vetted by small family farm owners, 4-H / FFA, the Santa Cruz County Fair Board, the County Agricultural Commission, the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau and the public in general. Why are such broad and overreaching changes being shoved through during this crazy Shelter-in-Place time when no real public meetings are allowed?

The Board may decide to approve these changes, and have a second reading of the changes on May 19, thereby adopting them. However, if enough people have contacted them by Tuesday morning, the Board may request staff to make changes.

I must say, the County Administrative Officer, Carlos Palacios, who is sponsoring this cannonball, really made it difficult over the weekend for the public to access the proposed new language from the website.

Many attached files became “corrupted and not able to be uploaded”, but eventually got repaired, only to have others disappear and be replaced with incorrect and irrelevant documents (“Redevelopment Successor Agency Financial Statement and Independent Audit June 30, 2019”). Hmmmm…..

SOMETIMES THE SMALLEST ACTS OF KINDNESS MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
My friend, Shirley Coleman, was in hospice, having battled cancer for years. She always loved and admired Celtic music, and loved local bagpiper David Brewer as “the son she never had”.

David Brewer showed up one lovely day recently and played Shirley’s favorite tunes. She sat on her porch with a big smile under her mask, exhausted. She told us all afterward it was the best day she had had in weeks.

The Aptos Times was kind enough to send reporter Jondi Gumz, and published this gem: A Bagpipe Full of Cheer

Shirley passed away last week, but her sister said they watched the video a friend had made and sent them over and over because it made Shirley so happy. Rest in Peace, Shirley, and thank you to David Brewer for bringing a bagpipe full of cheer.

MAKE ONE CALL. WRITE ONE LETTER. DO KIND THINGS FOR OTHERS. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.

Enjoy the fresh air and gentle sunshine, and be well,

Becky Steinbruner 831-685-2915 ki6tkb@yahoo.com

Becky Steinbruner is a 30+ year resident of Aptos. She has fought for water, fire, emergency preparedness, and for road repair. She ran for Second District County Supervisor in 2016 on a shoestring and got nearly 20% of the votes.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

May 5
#126 / The Country Club Set (And The Rest Of Us)

Having just polished off my blog posting made yesterday, extolling the virtues of The New Yorker, I was amused to find a message in my email inbox that promoted a New Yorker article titled, “How Greenwich Republicans Learned to Love Trump.” It was as if I had received this email simply to prove my point! Read The New Yorker to find out what is really going on!

I do commend the article to your attention. As I say, I found out about it from an email bulletin from Axios, which gave me the following advice: “If you read only 1 thing: ‘The Greenwich Rebellion.'”

Evan Osnos, the author of the advertised article, is The New Yorker’s resident expert on China. Here, however, Osnos has turned his attention to the Country Club Republicans of Greenwich, Connecticut. There is a reason for that, of course. It turns out that Osnos grew up there.

As Osnos paints the picture, Greenwich was, for generations, a place that might have been thought of as the private political plantation of the Bush family. Generations of the Bushes dominated Greenwich politics, and particularly the polite and proper “style” in which politics was carried out, and its “service oriented” approach to government.

Consistent with this style was the call by President George H. W. Bush for a “kinder, gentler nation.” Apparently, this was truly the spirit of the Greenwich Republicans – right up until Jeb Bush ran for president, and tried to tell Republicans “how ‘immigration is love.” Osnos outlines how this very “starched collar” Republican stronghold decided to cast its lot with Donald J. Trump, despite Trump’s failure to conform to the typical Republican Party archetype that had been admired in Greenwich up until that time.

One particular sentence in Osnos’ article attracted my attention:

As early as May, 2016, exit polls and other data showed that Trump supporters earned an average of seventy-two thousand dollars a year, while supporters of Hillary Clinton earned eleven thousand dollars less.

As I understand it, Osnos is reporting on national statistics here, and to me, the point is not that Trump supporters represented the well-to-do, and that the supporters of Hillary Clinton were those who earned less. There is nothing too remarkable in that observation.

What struck me (not being much of a “math guy”) was how that “average” income figure must have been derived, for both the Trump and the Clinton supporters. We all know that Trump’s supporters include a huge fraction of the ultra-wealthy, that 1% of the population that controls over 90% of the entire wealth of the nation. Considering how much income each member of the “billionaire class” might command, there simply must be huge numbers of Trump supporters who are extremely low-income, if the average income of all Trump supporters ends up being only $11, 000 more than the average income of Clinton supporters.

In other words, when we consider the incomes of Clinton supporters, most of them earn something like $60,000 per year – certainly with some lower income persons and some higher income persons making up the average, but with the “deviation” from that average not being all that much. But there must be a huge deviation from the average when we consider the incomes of Trump supporters. He has, if Osnos’ numbers are correct, a coalition that spans the ultra-wealthy (those from Greenwich, Connecticut being one component) to the very significantly below-average income workers that we see at Trump rallies.

For me, this is not a happy thought.

Osnos is concerned that the reputation of his home town has now changed, and that the place where he grew up has moved away from a kind of genteel, noblesse oblige politics to a politics that “forgives cruelty as the price of profit.”

As Osnos sums it up, in the last line in his article, “In the long battle between the self and service, we have, for the moment, settled firmly on the self. To borrow a phrase from a neighbor in disgrace, we stopped worrying about ‘the moral issue here.'”

My concern is somewhat different. If Trump and his Republican Party confederates can maintain a hold not only on the formerly “service oriented” rich people who have now accepted Trump’s cruelty as “the price of profit,” but can also attract huge numbers of those on the edge of poverty, a decent politics may be difficult to achieve. Where can a decent politics, that founds it appeal on the idea that we are all “together in this,” build a majority that can take back power from the ultra-wealthy, so that the immense productivity of this nation can be made to benefit the nation as a whole?

As I say, Osnos’ article does not suggest that a solution is close at hand. Unlike Osnos, I don’t have any special concern for Greenwich, Connecticut and the elites who live there. But I do care, deeply, about the United States of America, and what Osnos’ article tells me is that we have a significant political problem. If large numbers of those at the “bottom” continue to identify with those few at “the top,” we are left with an isolated “middle” that doesn’t have the electoral strength to demand that the government respond to the needs of everyone.

Of course, that is not news. You don’t have to read The New Yorker to understand that!

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. Mixes penetrating laughs with introspective thinking. Scroll down.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s ever present even current…”Deep Cover” 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.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Wondering what to watch while you shelter in place? This week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com) , let me steer you toward some noteworthy new entries and some four-star favorites that have recently popped up on a streaming platform near you!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

QUOTES. “VIRUS”

“There is nothing so patient, in this world or any other, as a virus searching for a host.”
~Mira Grant.

“Disregard the coronavirus as you would a cannibal kissing your face.”
~Kevin Ansbro

“Our brains are like computers; it’s our responsibility to programme them well, daily, and remove the viruses.”
~Sam Owen, 500 Relationships

This guy is really funny

Best Impression of a Kid You've Ever Seen. Eric O'Shea – Full Special

Best Impression of a Kid You've Ever Seen. Eric O'Shea – Full Special

Posted by Dry Bar Comedy on Wednesday, April 15, 2020

COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Subscribe to the Bulletin! 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!), and the occasional scoop. Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

May 6 – 12, 2020

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…Ignore Trump, Library news. GREENSITE… on the need to speak up to save the Municipal Wharf KROHN… Santa Cruz Report. STEINBRUNER…bike lanes repaired, bike lanes erased PATTON… Exhaustion & Politics. EAGAN… Deep Cover + Subconscious Comics. JENSEN… takes a deep breath. QUOTES… “COMMUNICATION”

SANTA CRUZ’S REAL LIBRARY. Andrew Carnegie funded 2509, libraries and more than 800 are still in use. This photo is from our Santa Cruz library. It opened April 1904, was 9000 square feet in size, and demolished in September 1966. The library in use now opened in 1968.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

AWKWARD SPORTS MOMENTS.

OLD CIRCUS PHOTOS.

DATELINE May 4

LATTE BREAKING NEWS

IGNORING TRUMP…A CHOICE. There’s a small chance that by working together we (the editorial “we”) could change the way our world works. IGNORE TRUMP. If we (now meaning the media) stopped watching the Trump portion of the virus updates, the three biggest TV networks FOX, CNN, and MSNBC would stop broadcasting him. Trump has created the biggest ratings ever and it’s our fault for us waiting and watching his latest lies, claims and globe changing mistakes. A digression…did you know that Rachel Maddow — who is 47 years old — was born in Castro Valley, and went to Stanford? I didn’t. Today Trump makes his headlines by taking attention away from Corona data, and we foolishly debate his every word, and he does it all over again, day after day, again grabbing all the headlines and still keeping his supporting voters. We need to stop him before elections get more scary and closer. Do remember that 22,438 Santa Cruz voters voted FOR him the last time…

LIBRARY NEWS FOR This just in from Jean Brocklebank, from Don’t Bury The Library — one of the many groups and multitudes opposed to the plans from Cynthia Mathews and her co-horts to demolish our present library, and build that new parking sky rise with cars and collectibles combined. “Community Presentation of an update from Group 4 architects on their progress with the Downtown Library Mixed Use Project Cost Assessment. This will be a virtual meeting. There will also be a future community meeting once the final report is ready. The final report will be available to the public prior to the meeting. The place is to de determined and Doors Open: 4:30 PM…Program Starts: 4:30 PM…End Time: 6:00 PM“.

JOKE. Shelley Hatch reports in to tell us that the Rio theatre marquee is displaying a funny. She added…I don’t know if it’s funny on paper, but it was in those big, colorful letters announcing it as a coming attraction, and a double bill as well. Serendipitously, our webmistress happened to have taken a photo of it, seeing as she also found it hysterical.

May 4th 2020

Save the Municipal Wharf!

I read the Wharf Master Plan draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) over the weekend. It was not a pleasant experience. It is however a necessary one since the deadline to respond to this sham of a CEQA document is May 27th. The city has been sitting on it since 2017. That they chose to release it in the middle of a stay at home viral pandemic is frustrating enough but the document itself is infuriating. I suggest you take a look. Your silence does not equal consent but it sure will be interpreted that way. You can find it here

Ignore everything else and scroll down to the heading WHARF MASTER PLAN DRAFT EIR DOCUMENTS. Each section is a different link with the Appendices containing the various consultants’ reports.

You may recall that the city was shamed into conducting an EIR after thousands of people who love the current wharf signed a petition protesting the proposed make-over and demanding that a full Environmental Report be done to assess the impacts of such changes. That, plus a letter from an attorney who documented the legal need for such environmental review forced the city to go back to the drawing board. After 3 years of waiting, some hoped the whole project was on the back burner and others felt it was a non-starter due to the $25 million price tag. Both are wishful thinking.

The language in the DEIR is Orwellian. Everything proposed is an “improvement.” Whether it’s the 3 new buildings up to 45 feet in height; a 30% increase in retail and commercial; a 50% increase in daily automobile trips with only 45 new parking spots achieved by re-striping the current spots (read narrower); the paving over of the sea lion viewing holes plus a boat landing dock capable of handling tenders from cruise ships although the document doesn’t admit that, you gonna love it! is the general theme.

The impact on the marine and bird species (the wharf is a listed sensitive habitat site and birding hot spot) is swept into the “no significant impact” category with a sleight of hand. Sure the protected migratory birds which currently nest under the wharf might be impacted by the lowered walkway on the west side and the hundreds of people who will be able to access their current nesting area but hey, the wharf will be bigger so actually the habitat area is increased! No mention that such birds, who make the long trip from Puget Sound to the wharf each year are sensitive to disturbance, usually abandoning their nesting areas if disturbed. Nor any mention that after losing access to under the wharf from the west, entrance from the south and east will be difficult if not impossible for the birds due to the obstructions that are planned: a lowered viewing platform to the south plus a boat dock and outriggers to the east.

The consulting historian found no issues of significance perhaps because she failed to include the lowered walkway when she wrote: “The improvements proposed for the West side of the Wharf are mostly structural (new piles) and cosmetic (improvements to the facades of the existing buildings). These alterations would not change the overall character of the Wharf and would not impair the ability of the Wharf to convey its historic significance.”

I hope by this time you are angry enough to put pen to paper and send in your comments. If you are still hesitant, consider that the Wharf Master Plan was funded by a grant from the US Department of Commerce with the claim by the city that the wharf was seriously damaged in the tsunami of 2014, which it wasn’t. Besides this fraudulent claim, consider also that the city has just thrown Gilda’s Restaurant under the bus, shoving 50 employees out of work, many of them having worked at Gilda’s for decades. Despite a number of potential buyers for the restaurant, willing to keep it as Gilda’s, the city would not grant a lease reasonable enough for a viable business venture. Four council members backed that affront. I can hazard a guess who they are. Compare that abandonment of an iconic landmark wharf business with the strategy statement #3 in the DEIR: ” The third strategy calls for expanding the number, mix and attractiveness of commercial uses on the wharf within the existing footprint devoted to these purposes with preparation of a marketing plan to guide city efforts for outreach to potential tenants.” Apparently not the current tenants. Remember the author of the Wharf Master Plan said, looking at Gilda’s: “We can do better.”

The Wharf is a Municipal Wharf, meaning it belongs to the people of Santa Cruz most of whom oppose this morphing into A Pier 39. That the word “municipal” has been erased in these documents is not without significance. If this DEIR is un- opposed and sails through city council then it’s only a matter of time and grant applications before the wharf as we know and love it is forever lost to the community.

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.

May 5, 2020

Passing the Time in Lock-Down

Watching, Listening, Reading
The first thing you will see is that the “Majority Report” has retired. Now, this is The Santa Cruz Report. Why? Because having a seat off the city council and looking in, instead of looking out, puts me in a whole different place. The current council majority acts along the lines of that old CIA-ish jaundiced view of reality, paraphrased this way: If you knew what I know you would do it this way too, but I can’t tell you what I know. It’s for your own safety. I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of this person, that event, or any reality you may be experiencing. It’s why so many councilmembers, past and present, love “Closed Session.” They get to know something no one else in town is privy to, and certain councilmembers thrive on it. And why begrudge them this stealthy fringe benefit because the job really offers few perks, a parking pass, free food during council meetings, and a smallish pay check, $1500 per month. Why shouldn’t councilmembers at least be able to carry with them the secrets of the castle? No? I don’t believe so either. The public’s business ought to be done in public, not behind the doors of the Courtyard Conference Room, a place the public cannot enter. Open and transparent government ought to be foundation of our local government, with or without Covid-19.

Rx Advice
I can safely report out to all good residents of Santa Cruz that after having spent over seven years on the Santa Cruz City Council, the council has much to learn from the public. In fact, local government depends on “The Public” insisting on exercising its First Amendment speech rights. It is up to you to ask questions, put forward creative solutions, follow the money trail wherever it leads, and push for open and participatory governance. The community must be present to help disinfect the whole process because it’s the only cure that will save our community from those developer-real estate lugubrious souls who sell snake oil wrapped in the guise of “affordable” housing. Their scams have been working for a long time and they were willing to spend over $200k to remove two councilmembers who got in their way. (What will this November look like?) But folks, we all know it isn’t over ’til it’s over. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Watching
What have I been watching during this lockdown? Thought you’d never ask…

Executive producer, Michael Moore and Director Jeff Gibbs offered up an Earth Day present on April 22nd that on first look may appear to be a leftist circular firing squad. Planet of the Humans, besides being an absolutely FREE movie, offers a sober and cynical glimpse into “green capitalism.” Specifically, it presents a grim picture of industrialized and monetized wind, solar, and biomass business. Bill McKibben, Al Gore, and the Sierra Club come off, if not looking somewhat villainous then as just pragmatic capitalists. Say it ain’t so?!? Yes, inaccuracies abound in this documentary, but real substance is also there too. Part of the message is that 1) we live on a planet with finite resources, 2) there’s no free lunch and 3) fuel efficient airplanes and electric cars traversing around the planet will not save the planet in the long run. An “executive producer” is usually that person in the film hierarchy who secures the funding. So how much Moore had to do with the writing, interviewing, and post-production of Planet of the Humans is not immediately obvious. Furthermore, the film is overly serious and cynical, and lacks Moore’s tremendously famous humor from Roger and Me, Sicko, and Capitalism: a Love Story, not to mention the show that really hooked me, the hilariously inventive TV Nation. Little of this documentary is funny. Of course, Covid-19 has given us all an opportunity to take a step away from the climate abyss and see the positive changes already registered in air and water quality around us. The question becomes, what will we do when the “shelter in place” order is lifted and so many seek to go back to “normal,” which perhaps a majority never fully shared in before the virus? BTW, a Rachel Carson quote gets in near the very end of the movie and possibly summarizes the movie-makers message:

Humankind is challenged, as it has never been challenged before to prove its maturity and its mastery–not of nature, but of itself.

There’s More Beyond Moore
During these Coronavirus days, there’s a lot to watch. We get to shelter-in-place during the “golden age of television.” It would take a couple of life-times to watch all the great material that’s now being produced. For any of you political junkies I recommend a Danish series, Borgen. Bruce Bratton put me onto it last year. I also suggest checking out a new Norwegian political drama series, Occupied. Quality-wise, Borgen kills it with a fantastic story-line– first Danish progressive woman prime minister dealing with a multi-party government–and the acting is first-rate. I saw most of House of Cards and Borgen beats it for realistic storyline and shear drama. It is more like an on the edge of your seat West Wing. Occupied is interesting in seeing how a Green loses his way after being chosen as head of state. For sheer pleasure, and minor dollops of politics and head-turning moments, check out the Coen Brothers western, the Ballad of Buster Scruggs. But during these sometimes bleak Covid days I have found by far the most intriguing, engrossing, and at times surreal series is La Casa de Papel from Spain. It’s called Money Heist in English. I can hardly wait for season 5! A diverse group of bank robbers, headed by a college professor, breaks into the mint in Madrid and begins printing money, but how will they get it out? I also recommend Unorthodox. It’s about a woman exiting the Orthodox community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn for a freer life in Berlin. If the comedic weirdness of the Coen Bros is not enough, try Look Who’s Back. Adolf Hitler returns to present-day Germany trying to do it all over again, but this time with different results. If you are a Bob Dylan fan, No Direction Home is excellent, not to mention a YouTube find of all 55 minutes of his 1965 press conference in San Francisco (Can spot the question from Alan Ginsberg?). All these offerings can be found on Netflix, except Borgen, which you will have to use your search engine to hunt down. (P.S. For your sports viewing fix try The Last Dance on ESPN, pay close attention to the hip-hop sound track. Absolutely for FREE on YouTube are the Celtics-Lakers 1984 Game 7 (with or without the original commercials); Game 7 of the 1987 Lakers-Rockets finals; the Mets-Orioles 1969 final game 5; and the 1970 Knicks-Lakers’ game 7. They are all there, enjoy!)

Listening
I’ve been listening with rapt attention to Albert Camus’ 1947 book, The Plague, usually while on my daily exercise walk to the end of the Santa Cruz Wharf. I like talking to our famous pelicans and sea lions. I’ve picked up the habit of taking pictures too, of people wearing masks, so many designs. It may be what I remember most about this time. So much of The Plague resonates with our current Covid-19 crisis. It is set in an imaginary town, Oran in Algeria, and the area is fatefully closed off to the outside world, but only after an ineffective political class finally decides the virus is extremely deadly, similar to what we have seen in Wuhan, Milan, and New York City. Food is delivered to the gate and no one can get in or out. Although this fictional story was written some 73 years ago, the parallels are eerie: people not being able to say goodbye to their loved ones; most become unemployed; jail guards and their prisoners get sick at similar rates; and those who work with the sick and dying also get infected and many die. The main characters begin to stop their obsessive, almost perverse interest with death counts and the numbers of new infections and instead begin to take great interest in the life immediately around them, the loudness of the birds, certain flowers they’d not paid attention to before, and running into people they’d been missing, or not running into them realizing they are dead. On my daily walk to the end to of the pier I too have noticed the roaring sounds of birds. I’ve been absorbed by the dive-bombing pelicans and hungry seagulls. I was startled and amazed one day to see more than 100 sea lions swimming in clear blue-green waters off the end of the wharf, and on another day, I glimpsed three fishing boats being gently massaged by friendly waves near the same place. Hasn’t the weather been stunningly beautiful too during these confusing and sometimes haunting days of virus living? I am also thoroughly enjoying listening to lots of radio as I work the garden: Democracy Now, On the Media, Fresh Air, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, PBS News Hour (on KQED), and a small daily dose of All Things Considered.

Reading
A friend of mine recently accused me of being “sucked” in to the editorial line of the New York Times, which may not be the worst of crimes for most people, but I fended him off because the Times is not my only source of information. He said I was prioritizing “prose over truth.” Then I began pondering his words and examining where do I get my information from and how did I come to rely on the Times, at least for the headlines? After all, I stopped paying for the Sentinel about five months ago, as another friend now sends me a daily Senile-Extra email on “all I need to know,” he says. Instead, I get the S.F. Chronicle and New York Times delivered. I check in with Al Jazeera and the BBC on-line along with brief looks at Twitter, Instagram, and even Facebook on some days. I do look forward to the now Wednesday delivery of the New Yorker to my door. But I knew that this was not enough to convince my friend that I was not simply an agent of the New York Times, so I wrote him the following letter:

Dear Bob,

Ya know, I sort of purport to be a writer first…a media critique and a reader 2nd and 3rd. Actually, I have an MFA in Creative Non-fiction…and some time we can argue about what the hell that is…I wrote a long paper on it once, which I am happy to share…not saying I “know,” just sayin’ I’ve thought about some of this journalistic stuff for a while now…NY Times and all.

First, I started out delivering the NY Post, NY Daily News, and Newsday, the latter was a Long Island-only paper at the time. For a period, I actually delivered all three at the same time. I never read “The Times” until I lived in California. It was, too heady when I was a N.Y. “moron” as I’m sure your K.C. friends refer those East Coast know-it-alls. But the kids I hung with saw it as some sort of “Einstein” publication, too many words and a bad sports section, we all agreed… I got really interested in journalism around the time Reporter Don Bolles was murdered by the mob in Arizona…My journalism heroes became Ben Bagdikian, Howard Zinn, Molly Ivins, I.F. Stone, James Baldwin, Upton Sinclair, Ida B. Wells, Elena Poniatowska, and Saul Landau. All were journalists and great teachers of writing because of the way they wrote. Saul was the only one I knew personally. For sheer chutzpah, and annoyingly great prose on issues I cared about, Alexander Cockburn’s “Beat the Devil” column in the Nation Magazine tops everyone. Not a week goes by where I do not lament his passing. In more recent years I’ve taken a keen interest in the likes of Jane Mayer and Elizabeth Kolbert, Jill Lepore and David Remnick too, all write for the New Yorker and I really just enjoy their writing style. For their investigative talents, I respect Jeremy Scahill, Seymour Herch, and Amy Goodman…and I used to really appreciate Lowell Bergman for his well-done 60 Minutes pieces. And I’ve always admired the journalism of Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy…journalists at various times. Of course, there’s incredible thinkers like Sartre and De Beauvoir and most people might be surprised to hear they were both journalists too. I respect them as I do Gabriel Garcia Marquez, another fine journalist before his fiction career took off. All three have been published in the NY Times over the years. I took a class once in D.F. from Gregorio Selser, editor at the time of El Dia. Selser wrote the book,” Sandino,” which to this day is one of THE books on the Somoza-Sandino era.

My “clips” include stints with San Diego City College paper, City Times (you didn’t catch my interviews with Jimmy Carter and Jean Stapleton, did you?), the Daily Aztec at SDSU (Ralph Nader, Pete Wilson, anyone?), and “Pravda” on a Hill at UCSC (from the earthquake and the FMLN in El Salvador to Abimael Guzman and the Shining Path.) Also, got published in SJ Merc, NY Times; had a 10-week long column in Good times back in 2006, and of course my “illustrious” career with the Berkeley Daily Planet which you sort of know, but have you looked up the 20-plus articles I’ve written over the past 3 conventions with a decidedly left critique? Not to mention gigs with KSCO (fired because I said Bush should not invade Iraq), and SC Community Television.

En fin, it has been fun. I have only done what I was interested in, and that of course, is a luxury, a privilege. I never had to cover city hall or the courts or domestic violence or the sometimes-political tediousness inside of the public schools…all of which have produced great stories, and great journalists. Anyhow, why do I read, relish, and respect the New York Times? Glad you asked that question. Because that is where many talented writers land. They often have to Morse code their differences with management, but the prose—stylistic, organized, often erudite—there are few other places to go to read writing like this. It is not the only ball game in town, I get that. But, for example, I love Cuban béisbol. It is baseball, pure baseball. No one makes more that $100 bucks a month and players seem to love it and play well, but it is technically not as good as Las Ligas Grandes… I can enjoy the Nation Magazine or the Intercept, which I do, but the writing in the Times is a cut above. Does that mean everyone who reads it becomes an instant sycophant? I would say not, one can enjoy a fine wine, vodka, or micro-brew without buying into the politics of said organization or business. Of course, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! is my North Star in journalism. Goodman, Glenn Greenwald, Naomi Klein and Chris Hedges all ride the cusp of incisive, creative, investigative uniquely American-flavored journalism.

(Also, by the way…I sometimes read The New York Review of Books, Nation, National Geographic, the Catholic Worker, The Progressive, In These Times, La Jornada, Granma, and let us not forget the venerable, irascible, hob-knobbing classic: The Santa Cruz Comic News.)

There you have it Bob. I am sure I have left out a lot…my writing teachers by the way include Glenn Roberts, Catherine Miller, Paige Stegner, Becky O’Malley, and some folks I kept a close academic bead on because of their writing techniques: Kurt Vonnegut, Toni Morrison, Graham Greene, Joan Didion, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, James Baldwin, and Carlos Fuentes. Most were journalists at one time or another.

“Now is the time to create millions of good jobs building out the infrastructure and clean energy necessary to save our planet for future generations.

For our economy, our planet, and our future, we need a #GreenNewDeal.” (April 20)

(Chris Krohn  is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected to the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His term ended in April of 2020.
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

SANTA CRUZ CITY COUNCIL UNABLE TO ACCEPT PUBLIC COMMENT
I could not participate in the April 28 Santa Cruz City Council meeting, but did later listen to the proceedings via Community TV Government on Demand. It seems no one from the public was able to get through to the Council for the first half of the meeting. The Council eventually figured this out, but some members of the public most likely had given up trying.

The question the City Council needs to answer for the public is: If the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is able to continue holding in-person public meetings that allow the people to speak freely, why can’t the City Council do the same?

COUNTY SUPERVISOR CHAIRMAN CAPUT TO ASK FOR SUPERVISORS AND DEPT. HEADS TO FOREGO PAY FOR 2 WEEKS IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE UNEMPLOYED MASSES
Chairman of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors announced at the April 28 Board meeting that he will ask members of the Board on May 12 to forego their pay for two weeks, ans ask all department heads to join in as well. “All these shelter-in-place orders have caused people to lose their paychecks for five or six weeks. We need to be leaders here,” he said. Alot of people are really hurting, but government workers are okay, albeit working from home.

While County Administrative Officer has assured the public that there will be no government reductions for now, there might be in 2021.

HEY, DON’T BURY THE LIBRARY!
What are those people thinking? Tune in May 7 at 4:30 to the Library Advisory Committee meeting for a Community Presentation of an update from Group 4 architects on their progress with the Downtown Library Mixed Use Project Cost Assessment. This will be a virtual meeting. There will also be a future community meeting once the final report is ready. The final report will be available to the public.

Plan to be ready at least 5 minutes before the virtual meeting begins at 4:30 pm. However, as with any public meeting, one may join at anytime after 4:30 pm.

SELLING ART TO STAY AFLOAT?
Until last week, any art museum who sold off art treasures for purposes other than to axquire additional pieces would suffer censuring, sanctioning and public shaming by the powerful Association of Art Museum Directors. However, last week that group relaxed their rules to now allow art museums to sell off artwork in order to economically survive the COVID-19 problem. Known as “deaccessioning”, art museums may now sell valuable pieces of art, just to survive.

This does not set a good precedent, and I wonder how safe the nation’s treasured art pieces are? Who would decide when the need is great enough to sell things, rather than cut back in other areas? How would the museum directors decide what to sell and what to keep? What guarantee to benefactors have that their donations will not be auctioned off rather than shared with the public and future generations?
Hmmm…..

MCGREGOR DRIVE NOW SAFER FOR BICYCLISTS….BIKE LANE RESTORED
Last week, the hard-working County Public Works crews repaired the huge road failure in the bike lane on McGregor Drive in Aptos that caused some real safety hazards for cyclists. Many thanks!!

You can write the crews a thank you note, and report other road problems that still need attention, by filing a report here.

APTOS VILLAGE TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENT….BIKE LANE ERASED
Soon, bicyclists will have to veer out into traffic as they approach Aptos Creek Bridge in order to accommodate a traffic mitigation measure for the Aptos Village Project developers’ Phase 2 subdivision.

The County plans to begin construction soon on a new traffic light in Aptos Village at Aptos Creek Road and Soquel Drive that will be a mitigation for the Phase 2 Aptos Village Project. In order to make room for a dedicated turn lane on eastbound Soquel Drive for left turns onto to Aptos Creek Road, the westbound bike lane in that busy area will be erased. So will about 7 parking spaces for the Publik House and other area businesses.

The County’s project, known as “Aptos Village Traffic Improvement Project” Phase 2B is fully funded, thanks to the Board of Supervisors approving “unanticipated revenue” of $3.4+ million for the Project on March 24, 2020. The grand total for the Phase 1 and 2 work is $6.9 million, according to Santa Cruz County Capital Improvement Report 2019/2020 (see page 58)

Look at page 60 of that Report. It shows the drainage improvement project for Rio Del Mar esplanade area still needing $4.8 million to happen. Why has the County consistently rated the Aptos Village Traffic Improvement Projects as the top priority for funding in various grant applications? Hmmmmmmm…..

HOW DOES COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER GAIL NEWEL HAVE SUCH AUTHORITY?
No standing, sitting, lying allowed on the beach …beach chairs and umbrellas prohibited? Beaches closed between 11am and 5pm? Why does County Health Officer Gail Newel continue to impose draconian restrictions when the models projecting massive numbers of hospitalizations and deaths is just not happening and she has publicly admitted that outdoor activities are very low risk?

Can our local and state leaders admit the models were not as accurate as we all feared, and instead again allow the people to move about freely to re-establish their livelihoods and citizen rights? The current state of emergency has essentially allowed censorship of the public at meetings, streamlining permit processes to forego environmental review and public hearings, and cause fear-driven decision-making that will have devastating economic impacts for years to come.

On March 4, Governor Newsom made a Proclamation, NOT an Executive Order, stating that the disease would overwhelm all local government that would be unable to adequately cope with the threat posed, based on the conjecture of the models from the University of Washington (under Gov’t Code 8625(c)). He also stated that Californians should heed his advice, and strict compliance with what he advises would help control the problem. But he did not ORDER Californians to comply (Gov’t Code 8571). Finally, under Gov’t Code 8625, he proclaimed an emergency. Read what a constitutional attorney has to say about this: Gov. Gavin Newsom Did Not Actually “Order” 40-Million Californians To “Shelter In Place”

Also on March 4, Santa Cruz County Health Office Gail Newel also proclaimed a local state of emergency, stating that even though there were NO CONFIRMED CASES in Santa Cruz County, there was imminent and proximate threat from Santa Clara County.

The Board of Supervisors ratified her Proclamation on March 10 by making this unsubstantiated finding:

WHEREAS, California Government Code section 8630 empowers the County Board of Supervisors to proclaim the existence of a local emergency in the event of conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of the County; which are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of the County and require the combined forces of other political subdivisions to combat;

Since then, our county and country have been torn apart economically, and the models shouting for the need for local hospital surge centers that have been set up (and now abandoned) never materialized.

Governor Newsom has imposed stringent and far-reaching Executive Orders on a regular basis, without statistical data to justify much of anything.

Here is the text of Health and Safety Code 101080 that is what Gail Newel continues to claim as her basis for power:

ARTICLE 2. Local Health Emergencies [101075 – 101095]

( Article 2 added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 3. )

101080.
Whenever a release, spill, escape, or entry of waste occurs as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 101075 and the director or the local health officer reasonably determines that the waste is a hazardous waste or medical waste, or that it may become a hazardous waste or medical waste because of a combination or reaction with other substances or materials, and the director or local health officer reasonably determines that the release or escape is an immediate threat to the public health, or whenever there is an imminent and proximate threat of the introduction of any contagious, infectious, or communicable disease, chemical agent, noncommunicable biologic agent, toxin, or radioactive agent, the director may declare a health emergency and the local health officer may declare a local health emergency in the jurisdiction or any area thereof affected by the threat to the public health. Whenever a local health emergency is declared by a local health officer pursuant to this section, the local health emergency shall not remain in effect for a period in excess of seven days unless it has been ratified by the board of supervisors, or city council, whichever is applicable to the jurisdiction. The board of supervisors, or city council, if applicable, shall review, at least every 30 days until the local health emergency is terminated, the need for continuing the local health emergency and shall proclaim the termination of the local health emergency at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant the termination.

This is not what is happening in Santa Cruz County. The law enforcement and health officer are making the determinations and the unsubstantiated claims that somehow, banning beach chairs and umbrellas from the beach will protect us all. Further more, in these economic shambles, the Sheriff has hired extra deputies to cite shelter-in-place violators $1000. Supervisor John Leopold’s newsletter reports over 200 such tickets were issued last weekend, and an additional 100 parking tickets for illegal parking in the Live Oak beach neighborhoods.

In my opinion, the elected leaders must step forward and regain control.

Call and write the Board of Supervisors and City Councils. 831-454-2200

Chairman Greg Caput <greg.caput@santacruzcounty.us>
Supervisor Ryan Coonerty <ryan.coonerty@santacruzcounty.us>
Supervisor Zach Friend <zach.friend@santacruzcounty.us>
Supervisor John Leopold <john.leopold@santacruzcounty.us>
Supervisor Bruce McPherson<bruce.mcpherson@santacruzcounty.us>
Santa Cruz City Council <citycouncil@cityofsantacruz.com>
Watsonville City Council <citycouncil@cityofwatsonville.org>
Watsonville City Clerk <cityclerk@cityofwatsonville.org>
Capitola City Council <citycouncil@ci.capitola.ca.us>
Scotts Valley City Council <cityhall@scottsvalley.org>

PROTESTS OF TYRANT NEWSOM
Protesters rally in Orange County to denounce Newsom’s beach closure

IS THIS AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION?
I find this chilling…and what some Santa Cruz County residents have actually clamored to have happen. County Supervisors admit that they have considered an Order restricting how far from home people could travel, but decided it would be too difficult to enforce.
A New Mexico city has closed its borders to outsiders after becoming a COVID-19 hotspot

SUPERVISOR JOHN LEOPOLD’S TOWN HALL MEETING WITH CONGRESSMAN PANETTA
Tune in Wednesday, May 6 at 6pm to Supervisor Leopold’s Tele-Townhall meeting. This is your chance to ask questions about what is really going on and how the legislature plans to dig out the budget from serious debt now in the many trillions of dollars.

If you missed last weeks’ Tele-Townhall meeting with CAO Assistant Elissa Benson, you can listen here

WRITE ONE LETTER. . MAKE ONE CALL. ATTEND A TELECONFERENCED MEETING AND SPEAK OUT! TAKE A WALK IN THE SUNSHINE AND FRESH AIRE AND STAY STRONG.

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.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

May 2

#123 / Exhaustion

As an environmental attorney, I am sometimes approached by persons concerned about proposed development projects of various kinds. When I am so approached, I am often asked to provide free legal and political advice, and I almost always tell inquirers that free advice is “worth every penny you pay for it.” Usually, I don’t have a lot to say in response to requests for free advice, for two different reasons.

First, of course, as Abraham Lincoln may or may not have said, “an attorney’s time and advice are his stock in trade.” Attorneys are in the business of giving advice, and if they hope to be paid for that advice, it is not, generally, a good idea to give the advice away for free.

Second, and much more important, as far as I am concerned, I worry a great deal that general comments I might make, giving free legal or political advice, will actually be bad advice, and steer people in the wrong direction if they rely on it. Almost always, to use that familiar phrase, the “devil is in the details,” and general statements about the law, or what might be a wise thing to do, can be significantly in error, if an attorney gives advice without really knowing what the attorney is talking about, in terms of the details.

So, I tell people who inquire, and ask for free advice, to hire an attorney to provide assistance, and to do it sooner rather than later. That is a piece of “free advice” I am willing to provide to everyone, as this blog posting makes clear. No charge to the reader!

Here is another piece of free legal advice that I am providing to anyone who might be able to make use of it: you need to exhaust your administrative remedies before filing a lawsuit, if you want to be successful.

“Exhaustion” is what attorneys call participating in the decision-making process at the administrative level. The courts require that the plaintiff or petitioner must have “exhausted his or her administrative remedies” before challenging a decision in court. Relevant arguments must be raised at the administrative level. Relevant facts must be introduced into evidence at the administrative level, too. One reason you need to get that attorney on board “sooner rather than later” is to make sure that you do, in fact, fully exhaust your administrative remedies.

If anyone thinks that the courts are going to reverse bad policy decisions by local officials, and thus conclude that the right time to consider hiring an attorney is immediately following a bad decision by a City Council, or a Board of Supervisors, or some state or federal agency, such person will likely be very much disappointed by the results of any lawsuit filed.

If we hope for positive results from our institutions of democratic self-government, we need to get involved ourselves. I am fond of saying that, in these daily blog postings I write, and otherwise.

In the context of legal proceedings to challenge governmental decisions, that kind of personal involvement is an actual requirement, before a court will take action to reverse what may have been an illegal or otherwise challengeable governmental decision. We must, in other words, give our elected officials all our arguments, evidence, and advice before those officials take their action. If we do, and the officials do what we consider to be the wrong thing, then the courts will hear from us, and examine our objections, and the courts may rule in our favor.

If we just show up in court, however, with arguments and objections we never made during the approval process, and tell the court that the elected officials did the wrong thing, it is almost always true that the court will not even review our objections. Why not? Because we did not “exhaust our administrative remedies.”

Unless citizens participate before the decisions are made to which they object, the courts are simply not going to consider their arguments.

Participation in government can be exhausting. It takes a lot of energy, time, and often money. But if you don’t exhaust your remedies in the administrative proceedings leading up to what you think is a bad governmental decision, you won’t get much satisfaction in court.

Exhaustion? You’re saying that’s a good thing?

You bet I am, and that’s a piece of free legal advice that is worth a lot more than what you paid for it!

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. A classic comic if there ever was one. These are from Tim’s private collection!

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Deep Covers” 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.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Sorry, folks, I have nothing to declare this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com ). Any minute now, I’m going to get a grip and start posting again, so please do keep checking back. You never know when I;m going to get inspired!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

COMMUNICATION

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind”.
~Rudyard Kipling

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place”.
~George Bernard Shaw

“Assumptions are the termites of relationships.”
~Henry Winkler

Thought this might be appreciated…

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

April 29 – May 5, 2020

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…the real Hawaii issues. Sentinel’s politics. Errett Circle Church, sugary beverages & the City council. GREENSITE… on comparing Australia and USA on Covid 19. KROHN…will be back next week. STEINBRUNER…15 billion County deficet, bad drinking water, Soquel Creek water debt, City Council and Covid laws. PATTON…on being Ruled.EAGAN…Subconscious Comics and Deep Cover. JENSEN…her second book. QUOTES…”BOREDOM”

AN EARLIER SANTA CRUZ. This was 1894 after the big fire. It is Pacific and Cooper Streets. City water had been shut off earlier in the day. Do note the Town Clock in its original position “high atop” the old Elks building.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

PASADENA ROSE PARADE 2020.

FUNNY CLASSICAL MUSIC WITH ORCHESTRA.

DATELINE April 27

HAWAII’S REAL ISSUES. For many years I’ve had a free subscription to Ka Wai Ola, the official monthly newspaper of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.(OHA). The April edition has a story (www.kawalola.news) titled “Aloha Rising Survey Results”. It lists the most important Hawaii issues. 1. Affordable homeownership. 2. Proper management of land and water resources. 3. Native Hawaiian representation in government. 4. Poverty in Hawaii. 5. Access to Hawaiian homelands. More than that… 88% of the survey responders plan on voting this year, and 78 % of these responding Hawaiians participated in an Hawaiian cultural activity last year.

SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL FOLLOWUP. Area activist Fred Geiger wrote to say something like “don’t be too kind to the Santa Cruz Sentinel; they’ve been so Republican for so many decades”. He’s right, and so was the Sentinel dating back to the anti -Chinese era and today with more than enough right-wing columnists. The Sentinel never once in 20 years endorsed Gary Patton for County Supervisor as an example. Then too, there’s Bruce McPherson. He was co-editor with brother Fred and became my editor for the short six months I wrote for them. He later quit the Republican party and went “no party preferred”. But to Mr. Geiger I say, “look at the columnists starting with Amy Goodman and their near daily choice of letters to the editor”. Besides all that, it’s owned and operated by Media News Group. Wikipedia says of Media news group… “MediaNews Group is known as a cost-cutter in the newspaper publishing industry. The company has a reputation for buying smaller daily newspapers in a single area (examples include Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area) and consolidating their operations, including sharing staff writers and printing facilities. As a result of the cost-cutting, some former employees say that the newspapers are focused on making a profit to the detriment of good journalism”. Having said which, I do believe it’s also important for a community to read about meetings, events, happenings, and as much local news as possible. I think the beleaguered Sentinel staff — even with today’s — pressures tries hard to do that.

THE CIRCLE CHURCH DEVELOPMENT. If I read the docket properly, Tuesday April 28 will be the City Council’s chance to save our community church at Errett Circle — or let the greedy developers split the property into pie-shaped pieces and make millions. The whole piece was sold for $3.3 million in February.

April 28

On Delivering the Goods

Santa Cruz library patrons received an email on Monday afternoon from Santa Cruz Library director Susan Nimitz with the following:

“We are working extra hard to plan for a future when we can safely return to providing you with physical materials.”

Just how “extra hard” have our library system heads been working towards this goal I wondered? This came to me after a conversation with my girlfriend in NSW Australia about the books we are reading during our respective countries’ stay at home orders. After we exchanged our favorite books and programs she added that a highlight for her has been the delivery of library books to her home by the local library during the shut down. I felt a twinge of envy. One of the top negatives for me during this stay in place order has been the shutdown of our libraries except for online access. I understand no gatherings at the libraries. I understand no book returns. I don’t understand why books ordered online wouldn’t be delivered to an address? It surely is no more risky than delivered food, in fact probably less risky. I read a book online only when there are no other options. Our public library has given us no other options. I think it reflects a lack of imagination or lack of caring or both. Let them read online!

This got me thinking about the difference between Australia and the USA with respect to response to Covid-19.

We can speculate why Australia, Mexico, South America (other than Ecuador) India and Africa have not seen the spread and deaths from Covid-19 as have China, northern Europe and the USA. Maybe season related? We will see. Beyond this speculation, there are significant differences in the response to the pandemic that are worth noting.

Australia has a conservative Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. In Australia the conservative party is the Liberal Party while the liberal or left of center party is the Labour Party. Tomato Tomahto. They usually form a coalition government (it’s a parliamentary not a two-party system) with either the Greens or the Country Party or others depending on the season.

Early on in the pandemic the conservative Prime Minister convened a national cabinet of all state and territory leaders who meet regularly and issue updates. Similar to the USA, states in Australia have a lot of independence yet there emerged a rare consensus for the need to act together. The trade unions, more powerful in Australia than in the USA although their power has diminished since neo-liberalism took hold in the 1980’s, worked with the government to determine a fair package to assist workers and reached agreement, another rare occurrence. An app can be downloaded that allows Australians to be traced if they have been in contact with a known carrier. Despite concerns, 2 million people out of a population of 25 million down loaded the app in the first 24 hours. Schools are about to re-open. With few exceptions, people are following stay in place and physical distancing orders. The tourist beach Bondi remains closed but other beaches are open and people are keeping their proper distance. By and large, despite its convict past, most Aussies obey the rules. No dogs on beaches; no bikes on single-track trails; no socializing during a pandemic.

It’s been said that this virus has stripped naked our system’s flaws. Beyond the inability to deliver books to our homes, a major flaw exposed here, among others, is an individualism that works well at some times but at this time works against our common interest which is survival.

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.

April 27, 2020

Chris will be back next week.

(Chris Krohn  is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected the the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His current term ends in 2020.
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

April 28

THERE WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH MONEY
How long must kids have to drink water known to contain a carcinogen because the water companies say they can’t afford the treatment cost to remove it?

I listened in on a three-hour teleconference workshop by the State Division of Drinking Water to learn more about how much carcinogenic Chromium 6 water companies should be allowed to sell to customers. Over 50 individuals participated, some of them were teachers from Watsonville schools and city government staff. Teachers lamented that in the past five years, the incidence of students developing cancer has risen dramatically.

Teachers and social justice advocates pointed out the EPA mandated in 2004 that State Division of Drinking Water officials develop the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for Chromium 6, a proven carcinogen. Poised to adopt a more protective health goal level in 2017, the State was forced by a legal judgement to conduct a feasibility study for water treatment to remove Chromium 6.

That is happening now. Here is the White Paper ready for public comment

Public comment will be accepted until May 15. commentletters@waterboards.ca.gov Include “Public Comment on Feasibility White Paper for Establishing Hexavalent Chromium MCL”

There are a few alternative treatments that several discussed in the teleconference workshop, such as this one:

Ionex SG Debuts Breakthrough Technology For Low-Cost Removal Of Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium 6) From Groundwater — With Near-Zero Waste

Note that Ionex installed the first-in-the-nation Chromium 6 treatment station at the Soquel Creek Water District facility. Too bad that the moment the Court ruled the Chromium 6 MCL would not be immediately lowered, Soquel Creek Water District exited the contract agreement with Ionex. The District, however, continued to collect rate monies from customers to pay for the Chromium 6 treatment. District ratepayers owe a debt of gratitude to ratepayer Jon Cole, acting as his own counsel for public benefit, for taking the District to court and winning his demand that the District stop collecting this money. The judge made the District stop, but did not require them to refund any money.

One of my concerns, having listened to many comments in the teleconference workshop, was: will the expense of this treatment required to improve the health of the people drive the cost so high that the State could require small water companies to consolidate with large municipalities, in order to spread treatment costs over a larger group?

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BUDGET AND ISSUANCE OF INTERIM DEBT
The next Board meeting of the Soquel Creek Water District is May 5 and will include many interesting items regarding the financial impacts of the expensive PureWater Soquel Project. It will be teleconferenced, but members of the public are able to be unmuted only if a written request is made in advance of the meeting. You can listen to the last meeting here

Despite the video dated 4/2/2020, the meeting actually happened on 4/7/2020.

Make sure you tune in on May 5!

REGULATIONS ABOUT DRINKING EXPENSIVE TREATED SEWAGE WATER COMING..KEEP SENDING THOSE LETTERS
Soquel Creek Water District’s plan to inject millions of gallons of treated sewage water into the aquifer, let it sit awhile, then pump it out and sell it to customers is called Indirect Potable Re-Use. The State is working away on making it so that water companies can soon put that treated sewage water directly into your tap and call it Direct Potable Re-Use.

You can send comment to the State Division of Drinking Water and let those regulators know what you think.

ddwrecycledwater@Waterboards.ca.go

Although the official public comment period ended a few months ago, Mr. Randy Barnard let me know that the State will continue to accept and consider public comment as policy is being created.

Division of Drinking Water’s Recycled Water Information | California State Water Resources Control Board

FBI RAIDS MIGHIGAN CLINIC FOR ADMINISTERING VITAMIN C
It is chilling that the FBI raided a clinic near Detroit because the owner was administering Vitamin C to frontline medical and emergency responders to keep their immune systems strong.

FBI raids medical spa for providing false coronavirus treatments of high doses of vitamin C

FBI raids medical spa for providing false coronavirus treatments of high…

Would the FBI raid a community clinic for administering mandatory vaccination for COVID, even though it is not proven safe or effective, and the testing to prove that has all been waived?

Researchers call for relaxed standards in race to find coronavirus vaccine

Maybe not if the dose includes an Identification chip.

ID2020 | Digital Identity Alliance

SANTA CRUZ CITY COUNCIL TO EXTEND COVID EMERGENCY ANOTHER 60 DAYS AND EXPAND THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WHO CAN ISSUE CITATIONS
I received the following this week from a friend…

On Tuesday, 4/28, the Santa Cruz City Council will consider two specific items on the agenda #17 & 18. Item 17 proposes extending the COVID emergency for 60 days, until the end of June. Item 18 authorizes City employees to issue citations to enforce the “shelter in place”, “social distancing”, and mask wearing requirements.

I was surprised and dismayed to learn that most City employees were ALREADY authorized to issue these Notices to Appear and Release Citations.

The following additions are being proposed:

Marine Safety Officer
Santa Cruz County Health Officer and subordinates
Urban Foresters and City Arborists
Wharf Supervisor
Golf Course Superintendent
Rangers
Resource Recovery Supervisor
Street Sweeper Operators
Water Patrol Officer

These changes to Chapter 4.02 “Code Enforcement Authority and Powers” of Santa Cruz Municipal Code will be voted on at the City Council Meeting on Tuesday, 4/28

I asked an attorney for clarification on “Notice to Appear and Release Citations” – and received this reply –

“The process, in other words, is equivalent to what happens with a “traffic ticket,” with which many persons have experience. If, the person charged does not admit the violation, and wants to contest the citation, then guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, as in all criminal proceedings. Evidence will have to be produced in court by the prosecution. IF a person receiving a citation is found guilty, there can be penalties, probably including not only a fine, but incarceration.

The purpose of the Penal Code Section is not only to establish that this procedure is valid, but to exempt from a civil lawsuit any authorized public officer or employee who is later claimed to have wrongly used this citation power.”

I don’t see any information about the proposed fines and have written to the City Council to inquire.

This fact is continually stated that – for most people the Coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough that clear up within 2 to 3 weeks. This has certainly been the case in Santa Cruz County where the numbers continue to be extremely low.

Negative Tests (3,090)
Positive Tests (115)=.04% – 67 people have recovered
Hospitalizations (18) = .006%
Deaths (2) = .0007%

There have been only 2 deaths, both persons with previous chronic health conditions. **********

Does any of this worry you with respect to the personal freedoms and economic hardships that State and local officials are causing???

COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER WARNS OF $15-$20 MILLION COUNTY DEFICIT
CAO Carlos Palacios was the guest of Supervisor Zach Friend at last week’s Tele-Townhall meeting to discuss the economic impacts of the Health Officer and Governor shelter-in-place orders. He warned that the future economic conditions will be severe, with perhaps a deficit of $15-$20 Million in the County budget.

He said that, although County has not seen the surge in hospitalizations that had been predicted, the County continues to move forward to set up alternate medical treatment centers to handle the surge that may comein late May or early June.

For this purpose, the Seventh Day Adventist Camp in Soquel and Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds are being contracted for possible homeless treatment and isolation centers if needed. Simpkins Swim Center is already set up and in use, along with Multi-University in Scotts Valley and the Veterans Centers in Santa Cruz and Watsonville.

CAO Palacios said that he does not expect to have to cut services until after July 1, 2021 and beyond because the County has maintained a 10% reserve fund, totaling $58 million, that will fund the County’s needs. Fiscal Year 2020-2021 was when CAO Palacios had warned the Board of Supervisors a tsunami of debt would arrive due to the CalPERS debt funding government employees.

The County has received no State or Federal stimulus money as of April 21.

Wow…our society needs to get back to work!

WRITE ONE LETTER. MAKE ONE CALL. ATTEND A TELECONFERENCE MEETING. TAKE A WALK IN THE FRESH AIR AND SUN TO BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.

Cheers, Becky

Becky Steinbruner is a 30+ year resident of Aptos. She has fought for water, fire, emergency preparedness, and for road repair. She ran for Second District County Supervisor in 2016 on a shoestring and got nearly 20% of the votes.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

April 23
#114 / We Are Not Ruled

The picture on the right, taken from an article in City Journal, shows visitors inspecting the original version of the Declaration of Independence, in Washington, D.C. The article from which I grabbed this picture is entitled, “About Those Self-Evident Truths…” The article is worth reading, as a stimulus to civic engagement.City Journal is a politically conservative magazine published by The Manhattan Institute, which describes itself as “a leading free-market think tank focusing on economic growth, education, energy and environment, health care, legal reform, public sector, race, and urban policy.”

That article on “Those Self-Evident Truths” advances the idea that our “culture,” as constituted by our “manners, morals, and beliefs,” is in a state of significant collapse. At least, that’s how I would provide a short synopsis.

I can’t say that I am completely in tune with the article, but I was attracted to this statement, the second sentence in the article, with which I wholeheartedly agree:

We are not ruled.

That is, we are “not ruled” unless and until the “culture” that supports our democratic self-government has, in fact, totally collapsed. I am not willing to concede that it has.

Still…

If we want to maintain a nation that is “not ruled,” and in which “self-government” is practiced in fact, then a lot more of us will have to get involved in government ourselves.

Where self-government is concerned, there aren’t any shortcuts.

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. A classic comic if there ever was one. These are from Tim’s private collection!

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Hey, if the Rolling Stones can jam with each other online from their rec rooms, what am I waiting for? Here’s my response to the global shutdown; my “lost” second novel now available in its entirety online — for free! Nothing to join, nothing to buy, no passwords required. Just follow the links and enjoy! Doing my bit to provide a little escapism in these anxious times, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/).” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

BOREDOM

“Boredom is the root of all evil – the despairing refusal to be oneself”. – Soren Kierkegaard

“Boredom is the fear of self”. – Marie Josephine de Suin

“There’s no excuse to be bored. Sad, yes. Angry, yes. Depressed, yes, Crazy, yes. But there’s no excuse for boredom, ever”. – Viggo Mortensen

This is so cool! After watching it, I fell down the rabbit hole of videos on scything and gardening and growing food for free!

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

April 22 – 29, 2020

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…about The Sentinel, GREENSITE… on Gilda’s Restaurant KROHN…Masks. STEINBRUNER…Soquel gives water to church not Cabrillo, RTC asking for $1 million, NewLeaf Aptos and Covid.PATTON…Voting Young. EAGAN…Comics and inner views. JENSEN…No new films but check her out.. QUOTES…”Claustrophia”

FULL LENGTH VIRUS MASKS ON PARADE. Just a little humor in these fairly grim times. This was really our Fourth of July Parade in 1927 Almost at the center you can make out Max Swain’s Unique Theatre. Swain took it over in 1906, He was of course one of Charlie Chaplin’s favorite foils.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

SNEEZING NOT JUST FOR SHUT INS.

TOWN CLOCK WORKINGS.

DATELINE April 20 2020!

SENTINEL COVERAGE AND EMAIL…Last week I mentioned that The Santa Cruz Sentinel hadn’t printed a word about the Easter weekend, arrests, legal action. I received a thoughtful email from Johnny Croper…take a look.”The lack of reports over the weekend by the Sentinel is probably due to the fact that much of the staff was furloughed and it could be permanent. Elaine Ingalls, Dan Coyro and weekend editor Don Fukui are furloughed while Michael Todd, Julie Jag and Anthony Solis left last year and were not replaced. That leaves two reporters, one part-time photographer, a sports writer and the managing editor”. Then yesterday Jondi Guma sent a Messenger message re the drastic total and present state of our press. It’s from POYNTER Institute in Florida…check it out….very scary.

It’s sad to watch one of our most important and historical icons failing, and failing so fast. The PRESS, our daily newspapers, have led our country since the late 1700’s. I’ve been a Sentinel subscriber since 1970 except for one little break of a week and a half. Give them the credit they deserve!

April 20th 2020

GILDA WOULD NOT APPROVE

Long-timers who love the municipal wharf will be sad to hear that Gilda’s restaurant will not re-open when the time comes.

Gilda’s has been my second home for years. My son’s first job was busing at Gilda’s. It was where I drove like a homing pigeon from the emergency room after my John lay dead on the gurney. The hugs of friends at Gilda’s, the workers and patrons were instinctively sought. It is where I go (or went) at least twice a week to connect with friends and enjoy good food at reasonable prices.

Gilda’s is old-school Santa Cruz. Heavily working class, grey hair, some now needing help, most grew up here, surfed here, taught school here and will die here. Most of the cooks, dishwashers and wait staff have worked at Gilda’s for decades.

The rub is that the owners have just said goodbye, thanks and good luck to the staff without even a modest severance check to help ease the financial burden of permanent loss of job. Not even for those who have worked there for decades.
I have a hunch that Gilda Stagnaro were she alive would have insisted the workers receive a check in appreciation for their day-in, day-out hard work. That was her character.

It is no secret the city has long wanted to get rid of Gilda’s restaurant. The head of ROMA, that SF firm paid a million bucks to write the Wharf Master Plan in 2014 said over his slide show when it hit on Gilda’s Restaurant, “We can do better.” That got me out of my seat. I could hear Gilda cheering me on.

The Economic Development Department’s vision is two-story, upscale. This, despite the fact that the most recent wharf restaurant to go out of business permanently was the upscale Splash restaurant. The city seems ignorant of who frequents the wharf. Or maybe they want to change the demographic.

Given this record, it was no surprise that the city refused to play ball with Gilda’s owners when the latter sought a new lease that would allow new owners to keep Gilda’s Restaurant in its current form. It’s no secret that Dino and Malio Stagnaro want out of the business. The only thing standing in the way of their being able to sell and retain Gilda’s as we know and love it was the city’s co-operation. The city gave them the shove.

If you’d like to see how rude the past Mayor Watkins was as she cut off Dino Stagnaro at two minutes as he tried to share his family’s centuries of history on the wharf and the need for the city to approve a lease that would allow willing buyers to continue Gilda’s,
check it out here.

The city senior Economic Development staff must be cheering this news. For the rest of us who love Gilda’s restaurant it is a sad day. For the workers, no thank you check from Gilda’s owners is an insult. Gilda would not approve.

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.

April 20

Masks.

I usually go out every day for a walk, 3-5 miles, so as not to turn into a couch potato. I have been increasingly disturbed by the fact that I see less than 15% of the people I encounter on Pacific Avenue, along West Cliff Drive, and on the San Lorenzo River levy wearing a mask or bandana, which by the way, is now the advice of the Center for Disease Control. Can everyone just wear a mask, and gloves to but at least a mask, if you go out. Masks are becoming quite fashionable and we just might really flatten that curve if we follow the common sense. We are not out of the Covid-19 woods yet and wearing a mask certainly seems to make sense for a few of reasons: 1) it shows respect to everyone, especially our seniors and any grocery store, pharmacy and bank people we may encounter, 2) models good behavior for our young, for our old people, and for the tourists I encountered everywhere the past two weekends; and 3) get us practicing for the inevitable return of the virus in fall or winter. Seven states now require masks including Hawaii, Maryland, and New Jersey with many cities that have similar population densities to Santa Cruz. It makes sense. Please wear a mask.

Do you know any of these stalwart Santa Cruzans who are now donning masks whenever leaving home? (answers next week)

(Chris Krohn  is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected the the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His current term ends in 2020.
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

April 20

WHY DID SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT PREFER TO GIVE FREE WATER FOR 50 YEARS TO A CHURCH INSTEAD OF CABRILLO COLLEGE?
Part of the deal that Soquel Creek worked out with Twin Lakes Baptist Church regarding the Twin Lakes Church PureWater Soquel Project injection well is to give the Church FREE irrigation water for 50 years. Wow.

It really is a shame that the District chose the Twin Lakes Baptist Church site instead of the Cabrillo College site, just across the road along Cabrillo College Drive. Their preference for Twin Lakes Church required that they chop down nearly 20 healthy oak trees at the Twin Lakes Church well site that were likely roosting places for solitary bats, and the District chose to do so during the most lethal time for the bats: winter torpor. However, just across the street at Cabrillo College, the same well could have been constructed and not required any tree removal.

Also, the District could be paying Cabrillo College the $800/month it will continue to pay for the next two years to Twin Lakes Baptist Churchas rent for the site. That is separate from the tens-of-thousands of dollars the District gifted to the Church with the waiver of all water demand offset fees for the Church’s new construction project nearby. And this Prop. 1 publicly-funded injection well agreement could have provided Cabrillo College 50 years of FREE water for irrigating their athletic fields, instead of favoring the private Twin Lakes Baptist Church school’s athletic field irrigation needs.

Does this seem right to you? Hmmm…..

Some members of the community have observed seeing the District manager at Twin Lakes Baptist Church Sunday services last year. The District held all of the public hearings at Twin Lakes Church during the EIR process…not at the adjacent public venue, Cabrillo College.

HMMMM….
Write the State Water Resources Control Board who generously granted the $50 million Prop. 1 public money for this PureWater Soquel Project and make your thoughts known.

Alyssa Wible <alyssa.wible@waterboards.ca.gov>

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT CANCELS APRIL 21 BOARD MEETING
Well, after going to a lot of trouble to re-instate the April 21 Board meeting, the General Manager Ron Duncan cancelled it again.

Hmmm…..

The Board had been scheduled to Approve Issuance of Interim Debt for PureWater Soquel Project Cash Flow

I suppose it does make more sense to combine that with the May 5, 2020 Board meeting, which will feature a Budget Workshop. Make sure you tune in on that meeting, which will most likely be teleconferenced.

ONLINE OPEN HOUSE AND SURVEY FOR ALTERNATIVE TO RAIL TRANSPORTATION
Here is your chance to provide your thoughts on yet another expensive study the RTC is doing to yet again continue to do nothing on the rail corridor. The current study will take one year and cost $1 million!

Transit Corridor Alternatives Analysis Online Open House Now Open

You have until May 11, 2020 to let the RTC know yet again what you think about how the rail corridor could be used to best-address the traffic congestion our County had faced until recently. We all hope that the economic stability of the region will return soon, and support public transportation into the future.

IS A TREATED SEWAGE WATER INJECTION WELL COMING TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?
If you live in Aptos, the Soquel Creek Water District may be planning to inject millions of gallons of treated sewage water into the groundwater near your drinking water source and the County Environmental Health Dept. will not be concerned and will ask no questions while granting the new well permits to the District. If you live near these projects, contact the District and County Environmental Health now.

Soquel Creek Water District Board <bod@soquelcreekwater.org>

Environmental Health Services: Nathan Salazar<nathan.salazar@santacruzcounty.us> and John Ricker<john.ricker@santacruzcounty.us>

Soquel Creek Water District has their three injection well projects out for bid right now. My inquiries with the Santa Cruz County Health Dept. is that the District has not applied for permits for two of the three new wells, and that will be left to the contractor to do so. The County will NOT consider whether or not there are other private wells or small water company production wells nearby.

Last year, Soquel Creek Water District violated State Regional Water Quality law by failing to obtain permits required to inject over 6 million gallons of treated water into the aquifer when the Twin Lakes Church injection well was constructed. The contractor was Maggiora Bros., and the Project was under scrutiny of Brown and Caldwell Engineers as well as the District engineering staff.

Maggiora Bros. violated State law by not paying required state prevailing wages to their trucking contractor employees, which was required by the fact that the District used State Prop. 1 Grant monies to pay for the project.

Can Soquel Creek Water District be trusted? Hmmmm……

The County paid no concern to the fact that two small water companies and multiple private wells in Aptos are within 1/8 mile of the Twin Lakes Church injection well and are “downstream” of the millions of gallons of treated sewage water that Soquel Creek Water District plans to inject 24/7.

I found that shocking.

May 12 Bid Closures for three injection well construction projects

Redevelopment and testing of the Twin Lakes Church SWIP well,
Destruction of the Monterey Production well,
Drilling, construction, development, testing, and completion of the Monterey SWIP well,
Drilling, construction, development, testing, and completion of the Willowbrook SWIP well.

SWIP is an acronym for “Sea Water Intrusion Prevention” The estimated cost for this work is $1,850,000. Wow.

If any of these projects is near you, please contact Soquel Creek Water District right away:

Skylar Murphy <skylar.murphy@soquelcreekwater.org> 475-8500 x148

Here is a link to drone footage of the Twin Lakes Church injection well from last year. That well already has significant problems that require redevelopment.

https://vimeo.com/348278420

APTOS VILLAGE NEW LEAF MARKET CLOSES DUE TO CORONAVIRUS-POSITIVE WORKERS
I am glad that the New Leaf Market in Aptos Village, now owned by a large conglomerate in South Korea, responsibly closed for one day upon learning that multiple of their workers tested positive for the coronavirus. I wonder if the Santa Cruz County Health Department will trace and notify all the customers? Let’s hope those workers recover soon, but what about all the others who continue to work there? Hmmm….

Updated April 19, 2020:
At New Leaf Community Markets, the health and safety of our staff and community is important, and we continue to take extra precautions as the challenges posed by novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to evolve. On April 18, we made the decision to temporarily close our store in Aptos after learning that staff members had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Upon learning the news, we took immediate action to notify the Santa Cruz County Public Health Department. We deeply care about the well-being of these staff members, and we have been in touch to support them while they are recovering and self-isolating at home, including compensating them for the necessary leave of absence. While health authorities did not require us to close the store, we chose to do so to deep clean and care for our staff. We reopened the store on Sunday, April 19, following these additional safety measures:

Sanitation of public and administrative areas throughout the store in partnership MAYBE THE CORONAVIRUS IS NOT AS with a third-party sanitation company and in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance and our own rigorous sanitation and food safety procedures.
Public health authorities concluded the location is safe for resuming operations.
The store is staffed with individuals who did not come into prolonged close contact with the staff member who tested positive for COVID-19, as guidedby the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

IS THE CORONAVIRUS PERHAPS MORE BENIGN THAN THOUGHT?
The Stanford University study released recently indicates the infection rate in early April in Santa Clara County alone may already have been 50-85 times more than the number of official cases at that time. “The estimate comes from a first-in-the-nation community study of newly available antibody tests that suggest how widespread the invisible—and perhaps benign—companion has been in the Bay Area’s hardest-hit county.”

What is different about this Stanford study is that the test used to determine the presence of the COVID-19 is an antibody test, and much more reliable. It has been shunned by many local health authorities because the results take longer to obtain.

They have instead relied on quicker results of a different test performed in Santa Clara County that looks for bits of virus at all, and cannot always pinpoint the specific COVID-19 among the total viral load shown in the tests. It is known as the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PRC) test and according to the interview with the test’s Nobel-Prize winning inventor Dr. Kary B. Mullis, the test was never meant to be used as a diagnostic tool, but rather, used only for research projects. According to his interview below, the numeric level of the test can be changed to provide different results depending on the number used as the diagnostic indicator.

That explains many confusing results. The article below is a bit long, but definitely worth reading.

I am grateful for the Stanford anti-body tests and the possible voice of reason it could bring to what I see as an unknown frontier that is quickly taking away our personal freedoms and Constitutional rights as if they were bowling pins.

“Emergency powers tend to kindle emergencies”…which are sometimes driven by the availability of emergency monies available.

Think about that as you read this

Take a look at what the Town of Bolinas is doing

Using the antibody test results, the residents will then work as a community to protect those who are most vulnerable.

Take a deep breath and read about the Stanford study…give it thought.

WRITE ONE LETTER. MAKE ONE CALL. JOIN IN ON A VIRTUAL MEETING. GO FOR A WALK IN THE FRESH AIR AND SUNSHINE. STAY HEALTHY AND MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.

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, and again in 2020, getting 33%.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

FROM GARY A. PATTON From Gary’s “We Live In A Political World” website…
April 16, 2020
#107 / Hey Kids!
I am not much on celebrity culture, but a recent editorial in The New York Times gave me a reason to track down the facts on Cardi B.

Cardi B, who is pictured above, was born on October 11, 1992, and her birth name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar. She is, for any others who are not really “up” on celebrity culture, a Grammy Award-winning American rapper, social media personality, songwriter, television personality, actress, and former reality star.

The Times has now featured Cardi B as a “Get Out The Vote” champion:

In a hilarious, highly profane rant posted Thursday on Twitter, the 27-year-old rapper went after young people for not delivering for Mr. Sanders. “I’m seeing all over Twitter: ‘I love Bernie. I love Bernie.’ But y’all wasn’t voting. Y’all wasn’t voting!” she scolded. “Now, you know who be voting? Older people.” And on she went about how the nation is facing perilous times, how President Trump is not up to the challenge and how this is no time to be messing around by not voting.

The Times’ own Get Out The Vote effort was an editorial headlined, “Hey, Kids: Get Out There And Vote!” It was accompanied by the image reproduced below.

I am not sure that addressing young people as “kids” is the best way to motivate the behavior that The Times’ is hoping for, but “voting” is definitely a good start on political participation, and on making sure that our democratic form of self-government will endure. If we think self-government is important (this is Cardi B’s point), we do need to get involved ourselves.

Voting is good. It is definitely, in fact critically, important. Cardi B and The New York Times are absolutely right about that, but here’s one more thought.

Voting is important. But it’s just a start!

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s comic 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.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. “The coronavirus pandemic has claimed another victim: the deadline. Without movie, editorial, and social deadlines, how am I supposed to, you know, actually DO anything? Find out just how much of a sloth I’ve become, and compare notes, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com.” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

“CLAUSTROPHOBIA”

“I think I’m a very solitary person. To actually not be anonymous is a bit claustrophobic for me.”
~Ani DiFranco

“Sharks have a deadly form of claustrophobia. It’s not so much fear of enclosed spaces as it is inability to exist in them. No one knows why. Some say it’s the metal in aquariums that throws their equilibrium off. But whatever it is, big sharks don’t last long in captivity”.
–Neal Shusterman

“I’m a bit claustrophobic, I don’t like crowds, I live by the sea – that’s what I see when I come out of my house in Bridlington.”
-David Hockney

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

August 15 – 21, 2020

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON… about Errett Circle Church, Sentinel’s no local news, Bill Maher and China… GREENSITE… on virus and class … KROHN… Sheltering in place and what will things be like on the other side… STEINBRUNER… on Kaiser, water, and closed parks PATTON… on don’t close the beaches … EAGAN…Sub Cons and Deep Cover JENSEN… slacking or being productive?… QUOTES…”BINGE WATCHING”

SANTA CRUZ, THE BAY, THE SAN LORENZO, NEARY LAGOON…1948. Just waiting for the Tsunami!!! But seriously squint closely to see the huge sand bar under the San Lorenzo Bridge where our city-owned parking lot used to be.

Those were the days.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

Funeral director Caitlyn Doughty has a Youtube channel called “Ask a Mortician”. It is very much worth watching; this episode is about the misconceptions about refrigerated trucks and mass burials in NYC

April 13

ERRETT CIRCLE CHURCH RISES AGAIN!
The many neighbors and folks from far and wide are still struggling mightily to save their Errett Circle Community church. They have a new website at www.savethecircles.org – it shows their planned events, it shows the faith and determination their community has in defeating the developers from dividing the property into sections and making fortunes from that community sacrifice. As the neighbors say in their website…”WE are in the process of starting our fundraising campaign to buy back 111 Errett Circle. Soon we’ll have our non-for-profit status and we can begin to accept donations online. Please share our website with all of your neighbours and friends to get the word out!

We also wanted to give an update on the current owner’s development process. The Planning Commission is holding a meeting on April 16 and is restricting public access because of COVID-19. We have emailed city council members and the planning commissioner to ask that the meeting be postponed until the public can be present, and have been told that we will be able to submit our comments in writing beforehand. We encourage all of you to write emails to the planning commission asking that the public be able to attend in some way or have the meeting delayed (Ryan Bane – RBane@cityofsantacruz.com or Lee Butler – lbutler@cityofsantacruz.com).

We’d also like to encourage the planning commission to consider asking the owners for more public space than the current plans allow for, possibly a public park on the section of land that looks down Woodrow Ave. In your letters you can include any ideas that you have that you think would make the plan better for the whole community!
If you’d like to receive emails about the purchase of 111 Errett Circle, please email: savetheheartofthecircles@gmail.com to get on our list, or submit a contact form on the website.

SENTINEL’S HOLIDAY COVERAGE? For the first time ever the city of Santa Cruz was really illegal for tourists to visit over the Easter weekend. Beaches all along the coast were “locked” (taped off), Boardwalk was flu-ted out, and the police were standing at the ready. How many $1500 tickets were issued? Any fights? What happened to our town under this new illegalization? Not a word or report in the Sentinel? It doesn’t take experience to check this needed news. I support and subscribe to it because it’s all we got in non-sponsored news.

BILL MAHER’S OTHER SIDE? I was flipping past Maher’s show just at the moment he carried on about how we should be kind to our Chinese-American friends but that all the most serious flu epidemics in history came from China. It dawned on me…is Bill Maher the left wing Donald Trump? Read how “The Daily Beast” sees Maher… It’s not just you and me !

April 13th 2020

A Class Act

If there is proof needed that we live in a class society it is contained in the same page headlines on two different subjects on section A6 in the Sentinel of 4/13/2020. One is titled “Tax paying immigrants won’t get stimulus checks” and the other, “Wave riders ponder pandemic rule.”

I wrote about the former last week. Following the lack of response from the city council on the exclusion from a stimulus check of laid-off undocumented workers who pay taxes, I wrote Congressman Jimmy Panetta. His form reply was detailed and answered my question affirming that fact, including no payment for the children of such workers, despite their being citizens. When interviewed on CNN Panetta spoke to the issue directly with specifics and pledged to get it addressed. One might ask where was the Democratic Party in all of this? Maybe they tried and failed to get its inclusion? Maybe they thought it too controversial to get the stimulus bill passed? Maybe they thought no votes are to be gained since undocumented workers like permanent residents cannot vote? On a simple human level, anything other than insisting that the estimated 4.3 million workers without legal status who pay taxes via a Taxpayer ID number (since they cannot apply for a Social Security number) should receive the same payments as all workers is callous and shortsighted. Those without documents who don’t pay taxes are a different issue.

The words of one woman interviewed might touch your heart. Working as a housekeeper and filing a tax return annually (it’s the right thing to do, she says) she is out of work, having lost most of her clients. She has been in the US for 30 years. Similar to my friends in the same situation, most were brought as young children to the US. Don’t think for a moment they have not tried to secure permanent residency or citizenship. One of my friends brought to the USA as an 8 year-old filed papers for citizenship in 2003. He is still waiting. No, the papers are not lost. It just takes time the officials say.

Of course you can help! Write to Panetta and express support for insisting that workers who are undocumented and who pay taxes should receive the same financial help as all other workers who pay taxes, including their children. I’ll refrain from overly commenting on the paltry sum of money allocated. Canada was able to allocate $8000 to each worker as a lump sum plus $2000 a month for the duration of the stay at home orders.

And now for the really serious issue covered in the latter headline: a shut down on CA beaches including a ban on surfing. Oh the horrors! The workers “won’t get” a stimulus check but the surfers “ponder” the rule to keep out of the water in the interest of public health. What is this “pondering” all about? The surfer interviewed has surfed Huntington Beach for more than 30 years, about the same time that the aforementioned immigrant worker has been in the US doing work that most of us wouldn’t touch. The surfer on the other hand is braving it by carrying his board a long way and navigating barricades to get to the water. And the paid enforcers? “I even walked right past a lifeguard and he didn’t say anything,” the surfer recalled. “That’s how I knew it was OK.”

I have seen this scenario play out on West Cliff Drive since its closure. Driving home last week I saw two city rangers walking shoulder- to- shoulder on West Cliff Drive pass a person in the closed zoned without saying a word. Today, driving home I counted 128 people out on West Cliff. Most without masks, in close proximity and ignoring the prominent signs indicating the path is closed. Does our right to have fun trump public health? While the law abiding, thinking of others people stay close to home and walk or bike in the neighborhoods, the couldn’t care less, don’t tell me what to do crowd have West Cliff and the parks all for themselves. This is not ok. Rangers and police have paid jobs. We expect them to do their jobs. Looking the other way is not part of their job description.

As the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Arden said, commenting on how well New Zealanders were complying with the stay at home orders: “While compliance has been generally strong, there are still some I would charitably describe as idiots.”

What does it say about us that we cater to idiots and leave stranded the low wage, tax paying workers whose only lack is a piece of paper giving them the status they would be honored to hold?

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.

April 14, 2020

Review of Emerging Thought While Under Lockdown

Sheltering in Place…
We will get through this. And with our collective efforts we will come through it maybe with a changed perspective on how to live and new appreciation for our friends, family, and colleagues. Is it possible we might change our views on how we build, what we build, and who we build for? And what about our transportation habits, might the pandemic give us pause to contemplate how we get around, where we travel to…or not, the potential for Santa Cruz to be a transportation model while providing support for those who live here now? I’ve been doing some reading, as I am sure many of you have too. I offer four hopeful pieces below on how we might use this adversity to create positive change for workers, renters, students, and the houseless…and it wouldn’t really be inventing anything new because it’s already being done elsewhere. It would just be borrowing an idea or two.

Now you see it, now you don’t.
So-long old friend, La Bahia on Beach Street, RIP.

Social Change Happens After Pandemics
Claire Cain Miller writes in the New York Times a cogent and optimistic piece about how pandemics have a way of “…shrinking the gap between the rich and the poor, or empowering the working class.” How is it other countries require paid sick leave, subsidized childcare, and universal healthcare, but not the U.S.? Can we learn from this crisis?

Lay Offs and Unemployment
How is it that Germany has avoided massive layoffs and unemployment has increased perhaps by no more than 1% so far as all countries everywhere race to ‘flatten the curve?’ But in the U.S., we will likely surpass the highest unemployment during the Great Depression, 25%, as unprecedented numbers of workers are laid-off. It is a dire jobs picture right now, with the $1200 checks lagging and rent due for so many on May 1st. How does Europe do it?

Pedestrians Rule!
Many are now dreaming, planning(?), and re-visioning a transportation future that is not dependent on car culture. It has been exciting to watch NYC try and transform itself into a livable city. First came CitiBike, then moveable outdoor furniture all over mid-town Manhattan, and also opening up of major streets on Sundays for peds and bikes as well as skateboarders and roller-bladers. Then came the many-year negotiation of “congestion-pricing” for vehicles going into Manhattan. That is set to begin next year. But now, with the Covid-19 crisis and city residents in lockdown a different research project is taking place. “Yet the wide-open streets have fueled talk of possibilities that seemed unlikely even a month ago: large car-free zones, a network of connected pedestrian-only streets and an explosion of bike lanes that could be used for delivering packages by cargo bikes.” Could Santa Cruz be far behind?

Nova Coronavirus Covid-19, May Force Progressive Change on U.S.
Jonathan Freeland writing in the Guardian newspaper points out that so much of the national, and local, progressive agenda has been given a jumpstart by the Covid-19 crisis, but will the changes stay? So much of what Bernie Sanders, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, and other progresistas have been touting is now being implemented because of the crisis: guaranteeing housing, freezing evictions, mandatory drug price reductions and free coronavirus testing, implementing the Defense Production Act, drastically reducing our massive incarceration rate, and allowing the homeless to also shelter in place has spawned a renewed effort to find more permanent housing. There is much hope to draw upon from Freeland’s opinion piece. Not to mention the numerous rent strikes being organized around California (Link to Anti-eviction mapping project).

Freeland’s piece is here

PS If you are wondering about the direct payments the federal government has been discussing, small economic shrapnel from Andrew Yang’s UBI plan (Universal Basic Income) really, then check out this summary of Republican-Democrat plans.

Trump knows mail-in ballots mean a larger voter turnout, which he does not want to see.

That is pretty pathetic.

My colleagues and I are working as hard as we can to pass legislation so that as many people as possible can safely participate in our democracy.

From NPR Politics Tweet:

@nprpolitics

“President Trump has incorrectly denounced voting by mail as widely susceptible to fraud.

But Trump himself voted by mail in Florida’s presidential primary last month — and Florida Republicans have long supported mail-in ballots.”

(Chris Krohn  is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected the the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His current term ends in 2020.
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

IS THE COUNTY TAKING OVER KAISER’S FOUR STORY MEDICAL BUILDING AND 730-CAR PARKING GARAGE IN LIVE OAK?
It appears so, if you look at the slides presented April 2, 2020 for a teleconferenced public hearing. This massive project, located at 5940 Soquel Avenue (near Chanticleer Avenue), was initially presented to the public at an open house in 2018 as a Kaiser Medical facility. However, nowhere in the recent presentation will you find Kaiser’s name. In fact, the opening slide announces “Santa Cruz County Medical Office Building Environmental Impact Report”. Hmmm….

Take a look at the images of this four-story medical building and the four-story 730 car parking garage.

Interestingly, Kaiser Permanente awarded $500,000 to fund the large project in Live Oak at 1500 Capitola Road that will include a two-story Dientes clinic and a separate two-story low-cost medical clinic, adjacent to a three-story affordable housing complex. Those clinics are supposed to open in 2021.
Money talks, doesn’t it?

Here is a link to the December 27, 2018 Sentinel article about the public open house, announcing the Kaiser Project and the San Diego developer handling the application: Live Oak site eyed for medical center

According to that article, Kaiser plans to have the new facility open in 2023. Wow.

In my opinion, a good point to make is that a better alternative site would be the vacant Toys R Us and Marshall’s building just across the freeway that is closer to existing public transit (the proposed site has NONE), and is near Dominican Hospital and other medical complexes (not to mention a proposed 24/7 drive-through CVS pharmacy across the way near the Union 76 gas station).

Public comment on this massive four-story medical office and adjacent four-story 730-car parking garage has been extended by one week and will close on May 1, 2020 at 5pm. Make sure you send your comments and issues that must be addressed about this project to:
Stephanie Hansen <stephanie.hansen@santacruzcounty.us>

Another big question is why aren’t the BeachComber Mobile Home Park residents receiving notice about this project that would loom over their back yards and forever destroy their quality of life? This proposed medical facility will operate 8am-8pm, with some services being 24/7. Reliable information from residents in the Park is that only the group’s President attended the 2018 Project open house, but no one has heard anything further about the status of the Project.

Hmmm…does this seem to you that the County Planning Dept. and Kaiser are neglecting proper noticing of a disadvantaged community???

If you have any comments you would like to submit, please visit the County’s environmental webpage to review the documents available

Here is what I recently sent to Ms. Hansen, to which I have received no response.

Dear Ms. Hansen,
Thank you for this information. I have reviewed it and, while the April 2 presentation slides are helpful, I wonder if the meeting was audio recorded? Hearing the discussions would be very valuable.

I find it curious that nowhere in the presentation is the name “Kaiser” applied, and in fact, the first slide is entitled “County of Santa Cruz Medical Office Building” with the County Seal prominently shown next to it. This is misleading, unless this project truly is being funded and will be operated as a County-owned medical facility. Can you please clarify this matter and why Kaiser is not mentioned at all?

How many participants were there at the April 2 remote presentation? How were people who participated by telephone able to access the presentation slides during the session?

What level of outreach is the County Planning Dept. providing to the Beach Comber Mobile Home Park residents? I notice the slides are all in English; was there a Spanish translator available at the April 2 presentation? I am somewhat familiar with that community and know that many are Spanish speakers.

I have already submitted comment regarding the 5490 Soquel Project Scoping, but will review the documents along with the presentation slides and submit further comment.

Finally, while I do appreciate that the Planning Department has extended the public comment period for this large project’s Scoping by one week, I respectfully request that the public comment period be extended by at least 60 days.

Given the severe restrictions on the public’s ability to gather for meaningful community discussions, I feel that a 60-day extension, or a postponement of the Project’s EIR process until the COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions are lifted, is reasonable, due to the magnitude of potentially significant impacts the project presents to the Live Oak community. This community is considered to be a disadvantaged community.

Thank you again for your help in reviewing this project. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Becky Steinbruner

CLOSING THE BEACHES AND CITING SURFERS???
Has local law enforcement imposed martial law? So it seems, when Sheriff Jim Hart insists that surfers will be fined $500/hour for going out to enjoy the waves. Will he next make it illegal to ride a bicycle or jog? Those are all equally solitary sports, yet last week, law enforcement pressured County Health Director Dr. Gail Newel into closing down the beaches and making surfing illegal until April 15.

“We were getting information from social media that large numbers of people were planning to visit Santa Cruz from out of the area. Law enforcement felt they would not be able to control the crowds.” said Dr. Newel during last Wednesday’s public teleconference with Supervisor John Leopold. She stressed that “unless law enforcement shows push-back”, she plans to re-open the parks and beaches on April 15, EXCEPT possibly skate parks and dog parks.

Dr. Newel also stated that County Sheriff Jim Hart has been proactively planning these measures for the past TWO months. At least two additional deputies have been hired on to monitor citizen compliance. Wow.

Here is the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s report that “Law enforcement agencies join together to tackle coronavirus” (page A4).

Sheriff Hart is quoted in this Santa Cruz Sentinel article

“On Wednesday, Hart said law enforcement agencies were working to provide “fair warning” to area residents in advance of enforcement starting tomorrow.

“We don’t want people in the water. We don’t want people in the parks. We don’t want people in the open spaces or the state parks,” Hart said. “And if people make the decision to go ahead and do those types of activities that I’ve described, they’re going to get a citation and the fine is going to be up to $1,000 each time they go out and do that.”
The Sheriff’s Office has teams dedicated to beach and park enforcement, Hart said. Violation of the new order constitutes a misdemeanor under state health code and is punishable by imprisonment, fines up to $1,000, or both.
Surfing Ban…

Hart said he has mainly heard support for the order from the area’s surfing community, particularly professional surfers.

For surfers who decide to flout the weeklong ban, Hart said they should expect a citation waiting for them when the get out of the water. “They gotta make a decision if it’s worth $500 an hour for them to be out in the water or not,” he said.”

County residents are getting citations for $1000 because they were parked in a vehicle, and watching the ocean waves breaking at the beach.

And Santa Cruz County residents are writing letters to the editor like this one in the San Jose Mercury News by Ms. Pat Emard of Aptos

Curiouser and curiouser….

What about Sweden’s approach? Sweden sticks to ‘low-scale’ lockdown despite rise in coronavirus deaths

PLEASE SUBMIT COMMENT ABOUT HOW MUCH CARCINOGENIC CHROMIUM 6 CAN BE IN YOUR DRINKING WATER
Do you think it is right to allow a known carcinogen to be in your water at levels that will most likely cause cancer, just because it would cost money to remove it? The State Department of Drinking is asking for your comment on a Water White Paper that will influence whether new drinking water standards to lower the amount of carcinogenic Chromium 6 (hexavalent chromium) that public water systems are allowed to sell to customers.

Please forward it to others.

For those involved with Ohlone Elementary School and Renaissance High School, here is a link to the Community Water Center discussion of the Chromium 6 issues there

In quick review, in 2011, the national Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessments determined the Chromium 6 health goal, the acceptable risk level, to be 0.02mg/L (also parts per billion or ppb). There was no regulation for Chromium 6 in drinking water, the carcinogenic form, only total Chromium, which includes the non-carcinogenic form Chromium 3, and was set at 100ppb..

In 2014, California Drinking Water authorities were poised to adopt the first regulated amount of Chromium 6 allowed, setting a 10ppb MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level), as close to the health goal of 0.02ppb as feasible.

Several large water companies filed legal action. On May 5, 2017, Judge Christopher Krueger in Sacramento Superior Court declared the State’s action to set the 10 ppb MCL invalid. On May 31, his formal judgement ordered the State to conduct a feasibility analysis and to establish a new MCL. That is currently 50ppb total Chromium.
[Case No. 34-2015-80001850]

[You may be interested to know that Soquel Creek Water District, with a few wells showing Chromium 6 contamination, instituted a tiered rate structure in 2016 to charge customers in Tier 2 extra in order to pay for the anticipated Chromium 6 treatment. They collected this money until July 1, 2018, when ratepayer Jon Cole won his self-represented lawsuit against the District for the illegal rate structures, heard in Santa Cruz County Superior Court before Judge Paul Burdick. The District was not ordered to refund the monies collected for the treatment plant it never built. Case No. 17CV00689. The District had a contract with a company called Ionex, to treat water for removal of Hexavalent Chromium, but exited the contract on May 16, 2017, immediately after Judge Krueger’s May 5 initial ruling.]

Here is a really good fact sheet on the issue of Hexavalent Chromium in water and the history of this issue in California

That is what brings us all now to this White Paper about the Feasibility Analysis of setting the MCL for Chromium 6 (Hexavalent Chromium). The comment period has been extended to May 15, but there will be only ONE public hearing, held via teleconference on April 27, 1pm-4pm. I encourage you to participate, and to submit written comment.

Below is a link to the information about submitting public comment, the online public hearing, and the White Paper

Here is a direct link to the White Paper itself

Here is the gist of the document, excerpted from page 2:
“Due to the inherent uncertainty of placing economic value on numerous factors necessary for cost-benefit analyses, the MCL set by the State Water Board will be through a policy decision that considers traditional concepts such as treatment costs and number of cancer cases averted, as well as the costs and benefits of the regulation, as required by the Administrative Procedure Act, particularly as it relates to non-cancer health impacts on individuals, their families and their communities. This document describes challenges faced by the State Water Board in considering economic feasibility during the development of MCLs and concludes there is no simple formula capable of generating an economically feasible MCL.”

Note this on page 4 of the White Paper:
“During the economic analysis the State Water Board assumes all water systems exceeding the proposed MCL would implement the best available technology, even though there may be other, potentially less expensive ways for water systems to come into compliance (such as taking a contaminated well out of service, blending, consolidation with another nearby water system or installing point-of-use or point-of entry treatment systems).”

(I added bold type to this option, because that is what Soquel Creek Water District did when their Country Estates Well in Seascape had very high levels of 1,2,3-Tricholorpropane (TCP) carcinogen before the new state contaminant levels required them to close down the well.)

Also on page 4:
“As discussed later in this paper, not all health benefits can be accurately monetized, and a qualitative assessment of the other health effects may be the only possible option.”

Further on Page 4:
“The level at which the State Water Board sets an MCL is a policy decision. It is not an arbitrary or capricious decision but based on applying available scientific evidence to rulemaking requirements of applicable statutes. Determining an MCL cannot be reduced to a simple formula. Arguments have been advanced advocating the use of cost-benefit analyses to establish MCLs at a point where the cost of the MCL equals its benefit to health. However, this document discusses that a cost-benefit approach is not feasible because of its inability to accurately account for and monetize the benefits and impacts of selecting one MCL versus another. “

I encourage you to read page 5 feasibility preface of the Cost/Benefit approach that I find positive:
“Focusing solely on treatment costs for complying with an MCL ignores the benefits gained by ending the exposure to a known carcinogen.”

The cost/connection table on page 8 does not look quite right to me for the values in the 0.010 mg/L category, but the monthly values mostly seem feasible to the 0.010 mg/L MCL and above.

The conclusions are interesting: (on the last page of the report, page 11)
“Statewide protection of public health cannot be limited to what is affordable to the smallest systems serving only a small fraction of the State’s total population. Economic feasibility cannot be determined by a simple formula. Even if such a formula existed, accurately ascribing value on the costs and benefits of reducing exposure to known carcinogens is limited.

Therefore, the State Water Board must take a multi-faceted approach to looking at economic feasibility when setting drinking water standards, considering multiple lines of evidence. Some of those lines of evidence have been set out here, and the State Water Board would like to engage stakeholders in what additional information should be considered.”

So, folks, this is where we all can make a difference. Please submit your thoughts by noon on May 15, 2020 to:
<commentletters@waterboards.ca.gov>

or via US mail to

Ms. Jeanine Townsend, Clerk for the Board
State Water Resources Control Board
P.O. Box 100
Sacramento, CA 95812-100

SUBJECT LINE: “White Paper Discussion on Economic Feasibility Analysis on Consideration of Hexavalent Chromium MCL”

Please write. Listen in on the April 27 teleconference at 1pm and learn more.

STATE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER ORDERS INSURANCE COMPANIES TO REFUND AUTO INSURANCE PREMIUMS
In response to the COVID-19 economic damage, State Insurance Ricardo Lara issued an order Monday that requires insurance companies to credit or refund auto insurance premiums to policy holders between March and May, 2020. This is justified by the reduced amount of driving that Californians are doing due to the shelter-in-place orders.

Binge Watching

You would not believe the amount of feedback I’ve gotten over people binge-watching The West Wing. Most of them have binge-watched it countless times.
~Rob Lowe

The problem with binge-watching on Netflix is that you lose three days of your life.
~Harland Williams

I love a good Netflix binge!
Simone Biles

I have taken a bit, when I find the time, to the odd television binge. Because television has improved so much, it’s worth binging.
~Sam Neill

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

April 8 – 14, 2020

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON… gives us the scoop… GREENSITE… on Getting No Response… KROHN… Santa Cruz is worth the fight STEINBRUNER… on water, water, water PATTON… on Internet trolls … EAGAN… Sub Cons and Deep Cover JENSEN… temporarily suspended… QUOTES…”PERSISTENCE”

CLEAN BEACHES. This was back about 1940 or so, before the Dream Inn, before dirty beaches, The Ideal Fish Restaurant building was there. Check it out and think about how all the development this area has received, and just how much better is it now???

Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

Seth Meyers now does his show from his home, like many other talk show hosts. Here’s “A closer Look” from April 6

STATE OF BRATTON Bruce is working on resting up and getting better still. He sends thanks for all the notes, FB’s, emails and calls of support, and here’s his contribution for this week:

JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. What more could possibly change our world? Amazon goes bankrupt, CNN guilty of Fox bribery, Trump gets assassinated, fill in the blanks. So now that most of the world is hibernating, hiding, praying, becoming religious , this just could just be a time to do some life life style decision making. I’ve long time believed that man’s most serious enemy is fellow man. But maybe, just maybe, just like the dinosaurs learned there are cosmic-larger than earth life threats. Or stated another way, this could be the time when we cancel our cable server, cut out even more shopping trips, and get down to an honest of what we really need to do to improve the life we had.

THE LAST RECALL. It couldn’t be more fitting than to have the Santa Cruz City Council recall not on community TV. A genuine mistake in community and justice. We must be very aware of the direction the pro-direction, that the council will take. Cynthia Mathews is definitely back in control. That means more non-affordable housing, more commuters, more of everything that brought us and so many others here in the first place.

April 6th 2020

What Public?

I wasn’t holding my breath in expectation that the city’s Economic Development director would respond affirmatively to my request to postpone the deadline for comments on the Wharf Master Plan EIR. The draft EIR was released last week with a deadline of May 13th. Whether enough folks will have the wherewithal to focus on the future of their Municipal Wharf during this crisis is hard to determine. I’m sure staff weighed that question carefully in their choice of timing.

As I discovered and shared last week, an email sent to the official council address at citycouncil@cityofsantacruz.com is likely to be distributed to council without a name attached, without an identifying topic or buried anonymously under a pile of other business. Perhaps that’s what happened to this other email I sent to council three weeks ago:

March 16th 2020

Dear Mayor Cummings and City council,

I have many friends who work in the service industry, especially local restaurants. Most have been laid off work for a minimum of two weeks with an expectation for a much longer period. I searched the city website and explored the links to options for financial support during this unprecedented situation.

In order to apply for unemployment benefits you have to be a citizen or have proof of approval to work. These workers have neither. Those whom I know have lived in the city of Santa Cruz since they were brought here as children. While I’m sure this is a statewide and national problem, I am bringing this to your attention and ask that you consider this a local emergency. All those whom I know are renters and have young children. If they can’t pay the rent they lose their housing and have nowhere to go since family members are in the same situation.

The city is organizing much effort to help the unhoused. A similar effort is needed to help laid-off undocumented workers, most of whom work two jobs with no sick leave or other benefits.

I would appreciate a response.

Sincerely,

Gillian

Again no response. Rent postponement is no help. At some point the back rent becomes due and if money is scarce now, after a few months without work it won’t magically appear. Some local restaurant owners are applying for federal loans in order to help their laid off workers and some aren’t. The latter have basically told their workers to get screwed. The city could have played a role in this crisis.

I recall when the UCSC administration shifted to a “no response” model of dealing with complaining staff subordinates. In the early days of my working at UCSC, any letter sent upstairs, even to the Chancellor, was responded to in detail and with thought, even if the response was not what one hoped for. It was around the turn of the millennium when the change happened. Emails sent went unanswered. With serious issues I tend to be persistent and vocal student support can be convincing so a response was soon received. The shift to a no-response mode wasn’t accidental or personality based but a new business model, similar to the cubicles that replaced open office space and isolated workers. Now the institution is so big I doubt most workers would know where to begin to complain.

Beyond buried emails and no-responses, we can expect a further erosion of democratic process at city hall with the ouster of council members Krohn and Glover. I am less concerned about a few instances of rudeness to staff (especially since I was accused of the same in 2005 in an effort to shut me up in my protest over the abysmal response to rape by SCPD) than I am about a new majority attempt to roll back the democratic gains from the past 2 years. There have been many and usually on a 4 to 3 vote with Mathews, Meiers and Watkins opposed. Newly elected Katherine Beiers was instrumental on previous councils in getting as policy a city attorney summary at the end of council meetings naming the legal topics and action discussed in closed-session, which was crucial for public awareness, a key to democratic process. Whether the new council will build on what’s in place or move to collapse it is an open question. I’m not holding my breath.

Correction: the photo from last week of a wave crashing into the wharf was in summer not winter.

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.

April 7, 2020

Santa Cruz is Worth the Fight!

This is a refined version of the message I put forward here last week, but my theme is borrowed from Presidential candidate, Elizabeth Warren. All of us would likely not be here if Santa Cruz was not worth the fight.

Back, by Popular Demand!

But It Is!
In a strange anticlimax, the Santa Cruz County Clerk confirmed on Monday, March 30, that Councilmember Drew Glover and I will not be returning to the Santa Cruz City Council this term. After what may go down as the longest month in my life, all 27,373 votes in the city of Santa Cruz were counted. On that day, we learned that the recall effort had narrowly prevailed – in my race by 507 votes. Although this was an historic and unprecedented vote, the outcome is dwarfed by the tragedy of the global pandemic that has descended on our planet. I truly hope that responding to Covid-19 will bring our City back together. We need each other. Maybe this crisis will help us transcend our local political differences. Glover and I have been recalled, but the issues we brought to the city council will not disappear anytime soon. Knocking on countless doors in dozens of neighborhoods (those pre-virus days seem so long ago), I came to realize how deep the political differences in Santa Cruz are around many issues, including affordable housing, homelessness, and the out-of-control growth of UCSC. Although the pandemic has changed our society irrevocably, the severity of our community’s challenges has only intensified. Our collective political struggle is still basically about who gets to live in Santa Cruz and whether our town is for sale to developers and corporate real estate interests.

It’s the Political Community We Build
Looking back at the campaign for a moment, I am deeply grateful to the grassroots participants in Stop the Recalls. We faced tremendous odds. The Santa Cruz “Together,” “United,” “Forward” trio — all various incarnations of the same powerful real estate industry and developer-driven interests — was tough to overcome. Individuals centered in these interest groups began proposing recalls from Day 1, after the November 2018 election of Glover and now-Mayor Justin Cummings. The required campaign spending reports, which will arrive long after the March vote, will demonstrate that in order to drive Councilmember Glover and me from office, the recall proponents spent well into the six digits on at least five slick city-wide mailers, full-page newspaper advertisements, and endless Facebook ads. Campaign finance filings will show how special interest money helped buy an election. Is this the new political normal in Santa Cruz?

Progressive Hope
While the recall passed by a small majority, there was notable evidence of progressive strength in this election. My friend and former city council colleague Katherine Beiers, who is a marathon runner in her spare time, far out-distanced her rival to fill the remaining six months of my term. Other progressive gains came in races where reform candidates were running for seats on the Democratic Central Committee. Planning commissioner and Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member Cyndi Dawson bested long-time pro-development powerbroker Cynthia Mathews as the top vote-getter in the 3rd District. Another DSA member and high school science teacher, Stacey Falls, also won a seat in this district, which covers most of the city.

The Long Sprint Home
We must remember that politics is not a sprint but a marathon. It took years after the 1989 earthquake to rebuild Santa Cruz, and it probably will take years to rebuild our local economy after this pandemic abates. Besides rebuilding our economy, several major controversial issues remain pending: the just-released Wharf Master Plan looks to put our beloved pier on Disneyland steroids; the UCSC administration wants to add 10,000 more students; the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is now up for debate; and of course, the ongoing library-in-a-garage-atop-the-Farmers’-Market saga will continue. With the severe ramifications of the pandemic playing out and the November elections just around the corner, I sincerely hope our community will get some much-needed rest —that unfortunately Covid-19 is forcing upon us—and come back together with our sleeves rolled up, guided by a spirit of generosity and mutual aid! To paraphrase Elizabeth Warren, Santa Cruz is worth the fight!

“During this pandemic, know your rights!
For most renters, you cannot be evicted or charged penalties for not paying rent.
For most homeowners, you can request a forbearance on your mortgage.” (April 6)

(Chris Krohn  is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected the the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His current term ends in 2020.
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

IS THIS THE JAIL FOR SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT CUSTOMERS WHO CAN’T PAY THEIR HIGH WATER BILLS?
It sure looks like it, doesn’t it? Do you like the bundle of electrical wires protruding from the ground next to the sidewalk? Yikes!

Soquel Creek Water District refuses to abide by the environmental mitigations the Board approved for the Granite Way Well as part of the Well Master Plan Mitigated Negative Declaration in 2010. Back then, the Granite Way Well was supposed to be tucked within the Aptos Village Project (at the actual site of the buried fuel tank that was later excavated in 2016 and hauled away in the night), but in 2015, the developers got approval from the County Planning Dept. and Board of Supervisors to move the Well to it’s current location directly across from the Aptos Post Office, at the busy intersection of Trout Gulch Road and Cathedral Drive.

In 2015, I wrote the District’s Director of Engineering, Mr. Taj Dufour, to ask what the new well facilities might look like. There were no plans available at all for the public to view during the Aptos Village Project hearings that included other major changes to the subdivision’s design as well. Mr. Dufour assured me that the facility would blend with the neighborhood and not obscure visibility at the intersection.

However, because the District’s new Granite Way Well as built now is so aesthetically unsightly, and is in a very high-traffic and publicly visible location, I have requested a number of times that there be landscaping to improve the site. Nothing has happened.

I have written the Board multiple times about this matter, but received no response. At the Board’s March 3, 2020 meeting, I publicly asked that the District plant vines on the imposing fence around the Granite Way Well site to soften the unsightliness. Mr. Taj Dufour assured me and the Board that there is landscaping planned for the site.

However, in truth, it appears that NO landscape plans exist, according to District staff response to my Public Records Act request to view them.

The District’s Environmental impact Report (EIR) for the 2010 Well Master Plan included mitigations 3.13-2a and 3.13-2b on page 3.13-18 to address this aesthetic impact of the Granite Way Well. Mitigation 3.13-2a requires that the facilities blend with the character of the existing neighborhood, and not obscure historic resources (like the Hihn Apple Barn that is now New Leaf Market??)

“Typically, fencing would be obscured with slats and landscaping.”

See page 373:

“Because no treatment facilities would be constructed at this site, the only above ground structures that would be constructed as part of the WMP are the well and pump building and security fencing. These structures have the potential to degrade the visual character of the Aptos Village Plan project, which would be a potentially significant impact. However, implementation of Mitigation Measures 3.13-2a (Compatible Facility Design) and 3.13-2b (Aptos Village Design Elements) would ensure that these structures would be designed to be compatible with the surrounding area and the design elements of the Aptos Village Plan. With implementation of these measures, the permanent impacts to visual character at this site would be reduced to a less-than-significant level.”

Mitigation Measures Measure 3.13-2a: “Compatible Facility Design (applies to all sites). The SqCWD shall consider the existing visual character of the site and surrounding area in the design of new permanent, aboveground facilities. As appropriate, the SqCWD shall implement the following design elements to ensure the aboveground facilities are compatible with the surrounding areas: • Fencing materials shall be constructed in color and texture similar to the surrounding environment and screen project facilities from public views to the extent feasible. Fencing materials and gates shall include coated or screened chain-link fencing with security slats. • The SqCWD shall plant trees, shrubs, and other ornamental landscaping around the proposed facilities to screen the facilities from both public and private views and improve the visual quality of the site. As part of this design measure, the SqCWD shall consult with a licensed landscape architect to determine the appropriate types of trees, shrubs, and grasses that would be planted. All landscaping must be designed in accordance with security standards (DoD, 2002) for maintenance of clear zones for intrusion detection.”

Measure 3.13-2b: Aptos Village Design Elements (applies only to Granite Way-Aptos Village Well site). “The proposed well and associated structures shall be constructed in accordance with the Aptos Village Plan guidelines for architectural design, lighting, and landscaping in the design of new permanent facilities, as appropriate and feasible, to ensure that the facility is compatible with the proposed redevelopment area. Significance after Mitigation: Less than Significant. ”

The District must adhere to the Mitigations included for the Project as agreed to in the 2010 Well Master Plan EIR. The design of the Granite Way Well fence violates the Mitigations 3.13-2a and 3.13.2b.

The fencing is not consistent with the character of the existing neighborhood, and significantly detracts from the nearby historic Hihn Apple Barn, which is listed as NR-3 historic status and eligible for the National Historic Registry. The 20′ pole with SCADA antenna extending well above the unsightly fence further adds substantial degradation of the existing visual character and quality of the site and it’s surroundings, and the attached light creates a new source of glare and degradation of night time views in the area.

We need to all ask that Soquel Creek Water District fulfill the Mitigations approved for the Project, and act as a good neighbor for the Aptos area residents and business owners. Those who must daily view the Granite Way Well and its obtrusive fence surrounded by high weeds and bundles of buried electrical wires protruding above ground deserve better.

Other District well sites have landscaping. Why is the Granite Way Well in the historic Aptos Village any different?

WRITE to the District Board of Directors <bod@soquelcreekwater.org> and copy Clerk of the Board Ms. Emma Olin<emmao@soquelcreekwater.org>

GROUNDWATER LEVELS ARE IMPROVING IN MIDCOUNTY, SO WHY INJECT EXPENSIVE TREATED SEWAGE WATER?
The Soquel Creek Water District Board’s Consent Agenda is just chock full of amazing actions that they want to sweep through without you knowing much about it. That’s a sneaky technique, and is multiplied by the remote meetings happening.

It is clear that the regional solution to work with the City of Santa Cruz and do surface water transfers IS working, but the District is hiding that in the Consent Agenda.

Consider Consent Item #4.8 Approval of Stage 3 Water Emergency without charging emergency rates (page 114) Note that on the bottom of page 114, staff states: “Currently, there is no reduction in production capacity, so an evaluation of this trigger condition is not applicable.”

Look at graph on page 116 showing cumulative rainfall that is approaching Stage 1 and not an emergency.(you can find the criteria for different stages of water shortage on page 120) Also at the bottom of page 116, it states “As described in the 2019 Annual Report by Montgomery & Assoc., there has been an improvement in groundwater conditions based on rising groundwater levels in the Basin in Water Year 2019 when compared to conditions shown in the GSP based on Water Years 2016 and 2017. These improvements are attributed to:

lower water consumption and thus, lower groundwater pumping over the past five years;
Water Year 2019 is classified as a wet year, which is the second wet year in three years; and
pilot tests that provided surface water from outside of the Basin into the Basin as groundwater recharge and for in-lieu use to reduce groundwater pumping.”

So, the Regional solution to work with the City of Santa Cruz and do surface water transfers IS working. But Soquel Creek Water District wants to forge ahead with an expensive and risky project.

Here are a few other Consent Agenda items…all about their DEBT to build this expensive project.

Item 4.2 Calendar of meetings that re-instates the Board meeting on April 21, at which time they will consider approval of ISSUANCE OF INTERIM DEBT FOR PUREWATER SOQUEL PROJECT as well as the May 5 Budget Hearing (page 14)

Item 4.3 Outlining new rules for customer rate assistance that could offer a 35% credit directly on water bills or PG&E bills (the District’s high rates comes within 29 cents of qualifying low income customers for a 50% credit) (page 16 with AB 401 report on page 19)

Item 4.4 Ron Duncan’s Purchase Order payments for three PureWater Soquel Project components, totaling $5,749,902 (page 68)

Item 4.5 Warrants that include paying Best, Best & Krieger $18,610 to fight my motion to strike their costs demand that I pay
them a little over $2800 (page 71) Now does that make fiscal sense to you?

$391,708 to Brown & Caldwell for PureWater Soquel Project tertiary plant/injection well design (page 72)
Another $10,000 to Corona to figure out the ammonia problem at O’Neil Ranch Well (page 74)
$30,870 to ESA for environmental analysis to support PureWater Soquel Project (page 76)
$58,207 to Montgomery & Assoc. for PureWater Soquel Project injection well modelling but also work on Anti-Degradation Analysis Report (page 76) How will injecting treated water impact the aquifer? The District is only now taking a look at that issue!
$12,928 to Guiterez to prepare PureWater Soquel Project grant and loan applications (page 79)
$36,515 to Hanson Bridgett for legal review of PureWater Soquel Project consultant contracts (page 80)
$500 to Bob Bosso legal office, even though he has officially retired and no longer attends Board meetings (page 82) He used to get $8000/month.
$2,200 to Miles Clifford Farmer for water sampling services of the pre-1914 water transfer purchase (page 83) Where did he sample in that short time?
$11,520 to Monterey Bay Analytical to test water of pre-1914 water transfer purchased water (page 84) That’s alot of money for so short a time.
$28,613 to Santa Cruz City for the pre-1914 water transfer purchase (page 89)
$5,000 to Sherman & Boone for Purchase Agreement of PureWater Soquel Project Chanticleer Site land (page 90)
$191 costs for PureWater Soquel Team interviews (page 91)
$2,063 to Tom Burns (former County Planning Director) for PureWater Soquel Project planning (page 91)
$800 to Twin Lakes Church for monthly rent of injection well site (page 92)
$6,170 to Vermyden & Maddux legal services for customer late bill payments ($425 late fees and $5,745 legal services) (page 93)

Item 4.7 Approving the Scope of work for consultant work on PureWater Soquel Project. (page 105) Montgomery & Assoc. + Hanson Bridgett legal approving an additional $68,864 for Montgomerey & Assoc. + $39,250 to Hanson Bridgett = $108,114 on top of previous contract costs Montgomery & Assoc. will have model for Final Anti-Degradation Analysis done by April 30, 2020 (see discussion on page 108) and draft groundwater recharge impacts model due May 8, 2020 (page 109) adn draft PureWater Soquel Project tracer study for retention analysis due June 8, 2020 (page 110)

ITEM 4.10 Grant Ron Duncan broad decision and policy-making powers under current State of Emergency…this is concerning. If the Board cannot meet, the President & Vice-President can make full decision for the Board. (page 125)

ALL OF THAT IMPORTANT STUFF IS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA!!!

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BOARD TO DEFINE A PROJECT TO INJECT TREATED SEWAGE WATER INTO YOUR DRINKING WATER AS “ESSENTIAL”???
The Board will meet via Zoom and teleconference Tuesday, April 7, and will most likely approve Item 7.2, and agree to designate the District’s General Manager, Ron Duncan, or designee, “acting as the Director of Emergency Services, and thereby authorized to declare that any of the District’s current or future public works projects constitute an Essential Governmental Function under the terms of the County of Santa Cruz’s shelter-in-place order dated March 31, 2020 as it may be amended or any future similar order issued by a regulatory agency”

This is a clear action to keep moving forward the District’s expensive and risky plan to inject millions of gallons of treated sewage water into your drinking water if you live in the MidCounty area. Obviously, the District is worried about delays to their PureWater Soquel Project due to the COVID-19 restrictions, and want to authorize Ron Duncan to declare all projects as “essential” when this one, in the opinion of many, is not.

It’s all about the money. Why would the District want to bring in workers from outside the area to build their project, and thereby help spread the COVID-19 problem? This County has deemed all construction other than repairs as NON-essential.

The Board wants to put the PureWater Soquel Project injection well work out to bid?

Item 7.3 Seawater Intrusion Prevention (SWIP) Recharge Project of the Pure Water Soquel Program, CWO 20-3000, Adopt Plans and Specifications, Call for Bids and Adopt Findings of Project Substantially Complex (it begins on page 139)

The District will solicit bids until May 12, 2020 when a bid opening will take place at 2pm. The bids will be evaluated and presented to the Board for award on May 19th. Construction will begin in early June 2020 and the successful bidder will have 226 calendar days to substantially complete the project.

The Engineer’s estimate is $1,847,000. I’ll bet those workers will not be local.

AND APPROVE THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACT FOR THE TERTIARY TREATMENT FACILITY FOR PUREWATER SOQUEL PROJECT (page 190) Item 7.6
Authorize Entering into a Professional Services Agreement for Operations and Maintenance At Risk (OMAR) Services for Phase 1 of the Pure Water Soquel Advanced Water Purification Facility Project

The Review and Selection Committee came to a decision to recommend that the contract be awarded to Jacobs. These workers are in San Jose…a COVID-19 hotspot. The District wants to bring them here?

As this OMAR Phase 1 work includes advisement on the operability of the Treatment Facilities Project and the engineering design by the Treatment Facilities Project’s design builder, the contracting entity to provide services under this agreement is CH2M Hill Engineers, Inc., a Delaware Corporation and subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering Group.

The Consultant’s long-term services contract could be for operations and maintenance of the AWPF.

How can a new Project be deemed “essential” when the District’s own recent hydrologic report states the groundwater levels are rising?

Well, folks, there it is. Please write a Letter to the Editor with your thoughts. Write to the District Board with your questions and comments…get them on record.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY WILL HAVE MAIL-ONLY BALLOTS FOR NOVEMBER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
That’s the latest news from County Clerk Gail Pellerin. These indeed are interesting times.
Guest commentary | Keeping democracy alive during the COVID Crisis

WRITE ONE LETTER. MAKE ONE CALL. PARTICIPATE IN A REMOTE MEETING. HUG YOUR FAMILY AND LAUGH. STAY HEALTHY.

Cheers,
Becky

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 and finished with almost 30% of the votes.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

#99 / I Meet A Troll

I had an adventure not so long ago. I met a troll.
I am sure you know the kind of “troll” I am talking about. I am not talking about “a dwarf or giant (in Scandinavian folklore) that inhabits caves or hills.” That’s the definition of “troll” from the Merriam-Webster dictionary, online.

I am talking about an Internet troll, which Wikipedia defines as “a person who starts quarrels or [who] upsets people on the Internet to distract and sow discord by posting inflammatory and digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages.” Internet trolls do not often venture out into public; they do not generally self-identify.

MY ADVENTURE:
A month or so ago, prior to the March 3rd election, I made a posting to my Facebook Timeline, passing on some information about an upcoming event connected to John Leopold’s campaign for Supervisor in Santa Cruz County’s First Supervisorial District. Lots of people expressed appreciation for the notification, but a couple of people expressed, in troll-like posts, how much they despised and disliked Supervisor Leopold. Their postings went on for quite a bit.

As the Bible tells us [Proverbs 15], “a soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Trolls specialize in “stirring up anger.” With the Bible as my guide, however, I did not rise to the bait, but “turned away wrath.” I didn’t argue. I didn’t protest. I acknowledged the postings, and expressed my disagreement in a polite way. And I didn’t block any further commentary or access to my Facebook page for the troll-like commenters.

That was that.

Then….. (several weeks later), I went to see the movie Parasite, at the Nickelodeon Theatre in downtown Santa Cruz. By the way, I recommend the movie, if you haven’t seen it!

In the middle of the show, I made a quick trip to the restroom. As it happened, another person was heading to the restroom at the very same time. As we emerged into the light, he looked at me, and recognizing me, he said, “are you Gary Patton?”

I confessed I was.

“Well,” he said, “I’ve been trolling you.”

“Oh,” I said, “I think I remember that. About John Leopold, right? You notice I didn’t come right back at you.”

“I know,” he replied, and then proceeded to engage me in a reasonable (if brief) discussion about some of the local issues of concern to him. We differed, but the conversation was cordial, just the kind of discussion about a political issue that anyone might have.

In fact, in person, this “troll” was a pretty decent guy, or so I felt.

Because I wanted to see the movie, I didn’t really have time to discuss local political issues; thus, my troll and I never really became acquainted. Given more time, and allowing for our political differences, we might have become perfectly friendly. Even though we didn’t agree on a number of things, we did agree on some, and I was happy to make this troll’s acquaintance.

As he presented himself on the Internet, I would have suspected that my “troll” might have looked just like a “real” troll, pictured above. In real life, though, my “troll” seemed to be a nice enough person, given that he did have some political views with which I didn’t agree.

The lesson I draw from this adventure is that our politics needs to be person-to-person. Politics by Internet is simply not a viable way to make democracy work.

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. Classic peeks inside our secret places…maybe?

Lisa writes about being temporarily suspended, and watching movies on Amazon, Netflix – and everywhere else! This week, she’s taken a blogging break, but check out her old stuff at Lisa Jensen Online Express (ljo-express.blogspot.com/). Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

Here you have 8 minutes worth of clips of my countryman, Alexander Skarsgård, being hilarious 🙂

Persistence

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
~Benjamin Franklin

“Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.”
~Dale Carnegie

“Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.”
~Napoleon Hill

“Throughout human history, in any great endeavour requiring the common effort of many nations and men and women everywhere, we have learned – it is only through seriousness of purpose and persistence that we ultimately carry the day. We might liken it to riding a bicycle. You stay upright and move forward so long as you keep up the momentum.”
~Ban Ki-moon

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

April 1 – 7, 2020

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON… gives us the scoop… GREENSITE… on Don’t Morph the Wharf!… KROHN… final recall and Corona STEINBRUNER… on Kaiser, water, and closed parks PATTON… on Hannah Arendt Virtual Reading group … EAGAN…Sub Cons and Deep Cover JENSEN… temporarily suspended… QUOTES…”SELF EDUCATION”

EARLIEST PHOTO OF DOWNTOWN SANTA CRUZ. This was taken around 1859. It’s of course what we now call Pacific, Front, and Mission streets with that Jamba Juice, US Post office and stuff there now. Back then it was Willow, Front and Main Streets.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

If you haven’t been sent this by at least five different people by now, I’d be surprised. It bears repeating though, so watch it and pass it on. (warning, lyrics contain the f-word)

People get super creative when confined to their homes, it turns out…

STATE OF BRATTON Not yet at 100%, but slowly getting there. Thanks for all the notes, FB’s, emails and calls of support!

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE /KZSC and other NEWS. Ever since June of 2006 I’ve hosted Universal Grapevine. Now with the KZSC virus rules no more than one person can be in a room at the same time. That does make it difficult to interview two (or more guests 0 on air.. So I’m forced to retire the program until something else is possible.

MINIMUM OF MODICUMS. Doesn’t it seem to everyone else that the shutting of the Cabrillo Music Festival for this year is like folding up the town clock and hiding it?

March 30th 2020

DON’T MORPH THE WHARF!

It’s hard to believe it’s not deliberate.

A typical winter wave on the wharf’s westside where the plan is for a walkway 12 feet below wharf deck.

The city staff has just released the long-awaited Wharf Master Plan (WMP) Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) in the middle of a pandemic crisis with all of us under “stay in place” orders, unable to meet in person. The release triggers a CEQA required month of public comment, meaning April, when it is expected our social distancing will continue with no ability to meet with others, nor with council members, nor with council meetings allowing public in-person participation. Doing it online is not a reasonable, alternative if the last online council meeting is any indication.

I wrote to the head of the city Economic Development Department prior to the release of the DEIR requesting that the WMP/DEIR be postponed due to the crisis. The timing seemed ill thought out. Or maybe well thought out. This was my email:

Good morning Bonnie,
In your presentation to council on Tuesday March 24th, I believe you said that the DEIR for the Wharf Master Plan would be released at the end of March with a comment period running through April.

If this is correct (the audio was intermittent and often hard to hear) we urge you to change plans and wait until the coronavirus is well behind us before releasing the DEIR. To release it and have a comment period when the public is unable to meet to discuss and council meetings have no public in person access would be viewed as inappropriate given the circumstances.

It has been a number of years since our legal advice to the city to do an EIR was supported by the city attorney and the council at the time. We have been waiting for 3 years to review the DEIR.

Over two thousand people signed the petition urging the city to conduct an EIR for the Wharf Master Plan. We were pleased the city listened. To use this difficult time of social distancing and ban on public gatherings to release this long-awaited document would not be in good faith.

We would appreciate a response to this request to postpone release of the DEIR until post coronavirus.

I received no reply and the DEIR was released on Monday of this week.

Since I had copied council members on the email I was disappointed that none followed up with the head of Economic Development to support the request for postponement. I had used the official method to reach all council members citycouncil@cityofsantacruz.com and assumed that it would reach them. It had reached them… as an un-named attachment at the bottom of an email alerting council in bold red lettering about the closure of city offices. Designed to be overlooked.

In case you have forgotten or weren’t involved with the Wharf Master Plan let me share a reminder. The WMP is a document created by the San Francisco Design Firm ROMA for a cool million dollars paid for mostly by the Federal Government Department of Commerce under the fraudulent claim by the city that the Municipal Wharf sustained significant damage from the tsunami of 2011. The wharf sustained no significant damage, although the Small Craft Harbor did.

You can tell it’s a SF Design team since there is no feel in their Plan for the local history and culture of the Wharf except as branding. It includes 3 new non-commercial buildings of 40-45 feet height, one at the end of the wharf; a covering of the seal lion viewing holes; infilling with two story commercial space on the west side of the wharf; a dock at the south end that could accommodate tenders from cruise ships; a lowered walkway on the west side which shows ignorance of the local waves as pictured. The original engineer for the wharf, built in 1914 spent a year studying the waves, currents and conditions before submitting plans. He must be turning in his grave.

The WMP would have breezed through council approval without proper environmental review had not many folks got involved and protested. We saw and see it as turning our Wharf into Pier 39. Over 2000 people who love the wharf signed a petition protesting the WMP and urged an EIR since among other things, significant nesting migratory birds were left out of the initial limited review (Pigeon Guillemots). Our protest backed up with legal opinion successfully sent it back for an EIR.

We have waited and wondered when the EIR would be released. Dates kept being pushed forward. Optimists amongst us hoped it had been put on the back burner and that the $30 million price tag plus unavoidable environmental impacts were non-starters. Realists should have known that it’s all a question of timing.

With the recall of two council members all but determined and the public excluded from public space, what better time than now to release the DEIR? As a bonus, two other major environmental documents have recently been released: the city Parks Master Plan and the UCSC scoping process for the EIR for future campus growth. All with public comments periods during the coronavirus crisis.

I wish I’d been a fly on the wall when this advantageous timing was discussed behind closed doors.

If you feel as outraged as I, then write to the city manager, the city Economic Development Director and the city council and demand postponement of the Wharf Master Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report. Just don’t use the official council email. It can’t be trusted.

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.

Final Recall Results

Close Call
The recall of Councilmember Drew Glover and myself was confirmed according to the Santa Cruz County Clerk’s final March 3rd Primary voting results posted this past Monday. The difference in my case was 507 out of 27,343 votes cast. Looking at these vote tallies it is clear that our community is divided. It will also become clear once all the required campaign spending paper work is submitted that a lot of money was spent to drive Councilmember Glover and me out of office over political differences around affordable housing, homelessness, and the growth of UCSC. But the ideas, policies, and people we represented are not retreating.

Not Me, Us
These issues are not only not going away and they are now forcibly being spotlighted and unevenly addressed because the Covid-19 health threat does not differentiate class, race, immigration, or housing status. This recall was never about Glover and Krohn. It was and is about us speaking up for the interests of people usually marginalized in our local politics. It is about who gets to live in Santa Cruz and whether or not this town is for sale.

People Power v. The Empire
To our hundreds of community members who walked neighborhoods; wrote op-eds and letters to the editor, fundraised, contributed to the Stop the Recalls campaign, and spoke out eloquently and forcefully about the sham recall that just occurred, I say thank you. I am so appreciative of the wisdom, passion, and compassion you brought to bear on these contested political and social issues in of our time. We were armed with reason and fact and we did not waver in standing up for the most vulnerable in this community. We rocked it against tremendous odds. The Santa Cruz not so “Together,” “United,” or “Forward” trio— all various incarnations of the same powerful real estate industry and developer-driven interests–were tough to overcome. Evidence points to the fact that a recall effort by these forces was in the works from Day 1, after the November 2018 election of Glover and now Mayor, Justin Cummings. Although the final campaign spending reports are not yet in, these groups, or members of these groups, will have far outspent us with their slick mailers, full-page advertisements, and endless Facebook ads. While it was tough to overcome their big bucks, we had People Power and that kept the vote close.

Divided We Stand
At the end day, the mathematical truth is that a majority of voters who cast ballots in the March election actually did not support the recall. In my case, 53.46% of all voters did NOT choose to recall. (See results below.) That figure speaks volumes in favor of our collective progressive efforts. Although on the surface, the “yes” votes outnumbered the “no” votes by 507, it was the undervote of 2,409 voters—those who voted on other items, but chose NOT to cast their vote in this misleading recall—that perhaps tells the real story. (Note: an “undervote” is when a voter decides to not vote on a certain candidate or ballot measure, but on the same ballot does register votes in other races.) I was heartened and encouraged by these figures and feel honored that my old friend and former city council colleague, Katherine Beiers a marathon runner, far outpaced her rival to win. She will now take my former seat on the city council. Additionally, there were notable progressive victories that came out of this election, but may not receive much press coverage. Cyndi Dawson, planning commissioner and Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member, bested long-time pol, Cynthia Mathews as the top vote-getter in the race for seats on the Democratic Central Committee (DCC). Another DSA-er, local activist, and high school science teacher, Stacey Falls also won a seat on the DCC in the third district, which covers most of the city of Santa Cruz.

Coronavirus 1, Santa Cruz Politics 0
For now, we find ourselves in a very difficult place in Santa Cruz history, and US history. The Covid-19 virus threatens the health and welfare of our community as well as our local and national economy. It is heartening to see so many locals working together to overcome this pandemic. Maybe after it begins to abate we can all take a step back and work together to rebuild Santa Cruz in a way that serves our entire community. I wish the new councilmembers well. Besides rebuilding our local economy there’s several other major issues facing our community: the Wharf Master Plan was just released, the UCSC administration wants to add 10,000 more students, the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is now up for debate, and of course, the ongoing Library-in-a-Garage-atop-the-Farmer’s-Market ongoing saga will continue. With the severe ramifications of the pandemic playing out, and November elections right around the corner, I sincerely hope our community will get some rest and take some time to appreciate our friends and families and our precious natural environment. It’s time to rest and take stock of who we are as a community and where we might be going in this post-virus future.

Results of March 3rd Primary (03-30-20)

(Chris Krohn  is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected the the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His current term ends in 2020.
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

UCSC 2040 LONG RANGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR) ADDITIONAL SCOPING SESSION WILL BE ONLINE
You have another opportunity on April 1, 6pm-8pm, to join a live webcast and comment on the UCSC Long Range Development Plan that would provide on-site housing for increased student enrollment and a percentage of staff. As I understand it , this does not address the separate plan to put family housing in the expansive meadow.

You can look at the Long Range Development Plan here

You can learn more about the April 1 webcast scoping session here

I wonder what Ms. Morgan Bostic do to help the process? Remember that the County and City of Santa Cruz
approved her new $120,000 job to be County/City liaison (consent item #36 on 1/14/2020 Board agenda) The Board also directed County Planning Director, Ms. Kathy Molloy, to submit comment on the LRDP…that should be interesting.

Here is a link to the UCSC 2005-2020 Long Range Development Plan

Compare them and see what you think.

Make sure you submit comment on the upcoming environmental work to be done for the updated Long Range Development Plan that will guide the UCSC expansion and housing issues through 2040.

SANTA CRUZ CITY ORDERED TO INVESTIGATE AND REPAIR RUPTURED SEWER OUTFALL PIPE
On February 11, 2020, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board sent a letter to the City of Santa Cruz, informing them that they must submit a technical report by May 31, 2020 to address a ruptured sewer outfall pipe that is leaking treated sewage water to get dumped closer to shore than is allowed. We should all be cheering, but the surfing community in particular should be happy.

The City of Santa Cruz Sewage Treatment Plant on Bay Avenue has a ruptured pipe that delivers the treated effluent out into the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary, causing the effluent to leak out closer to shore. The City officials have been aware of this problem for a few years.

NEWSFLASH
Due to the COVID-19 shelter in place order, the County of Santa Cruz is extending the public comment period for comments on the scope of this Environmental Impact Report for the Medical Office Building Project until Friday, May 1, 2020 at 5 p.m. Comments may be submitted by email to stephanie.hansen@santacruzcounty.us or to:

Stephanie Hansen, AICP, Principal Planner
Santa Cruz County Planning Department
701 Ocean Street, Fourth Floor
Santa Cruz, California 95060

Agencies and interested members of the public are invited to attend a Public EIR Scoping Meeting on Thursday, April 2, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This meeting will include a brief overview of the EIR process and allow time for oral comments on the scope of the EIR. Due to public health concerns, the scoping meeting will be a web-based video conference that can be accessed via this link

Participation without visuals is also possible via telephone using the following dial-in information:

Phone number: 571-317-3122
Access Code: 284-683-261#

The February letter demand that the City perform scuba or remote vehicular inspection of the rupture, submit a detailed description of the rupture, assess the rate of discharge, identify corrective actions with an explanation as to why the repairs will be done in the manner identified, and to provide a detailed schedule of the corrective action to be taken. This must be submitted to the State by May 31, 2020, or the City could be out of compliance with their permit issued under Order R3-2017-0030, and could face penalties of $10,000/day or if taken to Superior Court, $25,000/day and $25/gallon over 1000 gallon/day leakage.

This is good news and I commend those who wrote to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board about this problem.

FOUR-STORY KAISER MEDICAL FACILITY PROPOSED FOR SOQUEL AVENUE IN LIVE OAK WOULD REMOVE 102 AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS…PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD IS NOW OPEN

The 30-day comment period for this massive project in Live Oak ends April 22, 2020 at 5pm…don’t you think it should be extended by at least 30 days due to the current COVID-19 crisis? Contact Planner Stephanie Hansen and ask for such: <stephanie.hansen@santacruzcounty.us>

April 2, at 6pm-7:30pm is the Online Public EIR Scoping meeting.
The access will be via this link

Participation without visuals is also possible via telephone using the following dial-in information:
Phone number 571-317-3122
Access Code: 284-683-261#

Project information is available for review online

Shouldn’t we be insisting that the facility have it’s own micro-grid energy production, as was required for the large medical and dental complex just approved on Capitola Road in Live Oak?

Please take note of the Nissan Auto Dealership documents for 41st Ave./Soquel Drive that got pushed through at the expense of mixed-use housing planned for the spot. Now the County wants to sweep away the planned affordable housing that is zoned for the area of the Kaiser project?

Here are my comments:

Dear Ms. Hansen,
Thank you for this information. Due to the COVID-19 mandates, and the fact that all libraries, including the Porter Memorial, are closed, and the Capitola Library is still under construction, I feel that an additional 30 days for public comment is reasonable and should be granted.

I have read the document briefly and would like to submit the following comment:

Traffic impacts of the project must be evaluated via a two-week-long continuous traffic analysis conducted once the COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates have been lifted and normal commerce restores. The traffic count must be done to accurately count the traffic flows on the Soquel Avenue frontage road throughout 24-hour periods on weekdays as well as weekends.
Traffic impacts on local businesses and residents in Live Oak must be evaluated to determine what, if any, mitigations are possible. Adding another freeway on-ramp for southbound Highway One in the Kaiser area could relieve the already congested Soquel Avenue frontage road. The valid and meaningful traffic analysis must be an integral part of teh EIR. The previous traffic analysis was done by cameras in operation for a brief two hours on a weekday and was unacceptable and meaningless.
There is currently NO Metro bus service to this area. The applicants must be required to pay for adding this service to the proposed facility, including the cost of the additional buses, drivers and passenger stations. The bus needs to enter the Kaiser premises for passenger service to the door of the main medical facility entrance to accommodate the elderly and infirm with mobility challenges. This must be addressed in the EIR and the funding of the new Metro service in perpetuity be made a condition of the project approval.
The shoulder on either side of Soquel Avenue frontage road is narrow and poorly-maintained, making bicycle traffic hazardous. Existing stormwater drainage grates are in the narrow shoulder and force bicyclists to veer into the lane of auto traffic. The proposed Kaiser medical facility applicants must be required to create wider shoulders along Soquel Avenue, preferably with a protected bike lane on both sides of the the busy roadway. Enhancing bicycle and pedestrian use to accommodate the increased trip visitations to the area
Storm water drainage is already problematic, causing the area of Far West Nursery growing grounds adjacent to the proposed Kaiser facility to flood frequently in the winter rainy season. The proposed Kaiser facility will add significantly to the impervious surface area and cause further potential flooding to the nearby nursery and possibly to the adjacent Beach Comber Mobile Home Park, an affordable housing community. This must be addressed in the EIR.
The applicant must hold a public meeting in the Beach Comber Mobile Home Park community room, with Spanish translation, in order to provide equitable noticing and meaningful input for those residents. These residents will be significantly impacted by construction and the imposing four-story structures looming over their homes and backyards. How will Kaiser screen their community to preserve their privacy from views of and by the Kaiser facility? This must be addressed NOW, as well as for later EIR comment and notifications thereof.

Beachcomber Mobile Home Park in Live Oak

Beachcomber Mobile Home Park is located at 2627 Mattison Lane in the Live Oak area of Santa Cruz, Ca, 95062. This affordable housing mobile home park is a medium sized park of 71 units, with a great commute location. This is an all age co-op park. There are income limitations in order to be able to qualify to live in this park. Contact the park at the number at the bottom of the page to see about qualifying if this park is of interest. Space fee was approximately $370 as of 2017.
The Sanitary Sewer conveyance system in the Rodeo Basin in the proposed Kaiser medical facility is currently at over-capacity, according to Mr. Kent Edler’s comment on the PureWater Soquel Project Advanced Treatment Facility EIR, which is planned for a parcel nearby. How will the proposed Kaiser medical facility sewage train affect the over-capacity system? Kaiser should be required to pay for any and all sewage conveyance upgrades. This must be addressed in the EIR.
See Page 35-36 in this document:

Impact 4.17-1, Impact CU-UTL, 3.8.1 The Chanticleer site is located in the SCCSD “Rodeo Basin”, which has been declared by the SCCSD Board as overcapacity. New non-residential connections in this basin are limited to 1,000 gpd of discharge. The DEIR discusses a separate 8” brine conveyance from the AWPF at the Chanticleer site to the City of Santa Cruz WWTP, however the DEIR is silent on whether a new connection to the SCCSD sanitation system will be required, and if so, what the expected discharge will be. SCCSD is putting together a project to resolve the overcapacity declaration, however that may take 3+ years. SCCSD staff is available to discuss options (such as a connection point outside of the Rodeo Basin) with District staff if the expected discharge will exceed 1,000 gpd. Section 3.8.1 lists SCCSD as a local agency which may require a sewer connection and discharge permit. As discussed above, please provide more information on whether a connection to SCCSD’s system is needed and what the expected discharge amount is.
Aesthetics of the looming four-story structures on the neighborhoods and from the Highway One corridor must be addressed in the EIR with realistic and effective mitigations.
Winter shadowing impacts on the growing grounds of Far West Nursery directly adjacent will be significant. How will Kaiser mitigate the impacts on the nursery’s livelihood and operation? This must be addressed in the EIR.
Noise must be evaluated not only for construction phase but also the operational impacts. How many sirens will the neighborhood residents and business owners have to hear on a daily basis? What are the expected operating hours of the Kaiser medical facility? Are weekends included? The neighborhoods already hear alot of noise from the freeway and the flea market across the freeway, as well as sirens of emergency responders going to Dominican Hospital. This must be addressed in the EIR.
The existing Nigh storage yard is in fact home to many impoverished citizens living in unconventional structures or campers. While not permitted, it is a real and significant population that will be displaced by the proposed Kaiser medical facility. There must be adequate attention given to relocation of these people or they will be forced to scatter to local business parking lots and vacant areas. How will Kaiser provide housing for these displaced impoverished people? This must be addressed in the EIR.
There are also a few legitimate small business owners operating from within the proposed Kaiser medical site, such as Dogherra’s Towing. How will this proposed project impact the small businesses dependent upon the site location and costs? How will Kaiser mitigate this significant negative economic impact on business owners? This must be included in the EIR.
The parcel that is proposed for the Kaiser medical facility is one of the last R-Combining Overlay areas established by the County Planning Department in 2008 to be designated for dense affordable housing. Where will Kaiser relocate those 102 affordable housing units designated in the R-Combining Overlay by the County Planning Department?
A report last year to the Planning Commission provided some information that has been somewhat elusive to the public, namely the locations of the R-Combining Districts for very dense affordable housing were identified in about 2008.(page 9 of Exhibit A here: http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/planning/plnmeetings/PLNSupMaterial/PC/agendas/2019/20190313/006.pdf

One of those is the Nigh Property, 5940 Soquel Avenue, and would provide a spot for 102 affordable housing units on 5.1 acres. How is the Kaiser applicant going to mitigate the loss of 102 affordable housing units in Santa Cruz County? One possibility could be to require inclusion of on-site affordable housing for staff, as is currently being considered by the County for applications at other medical facilities and schools. The loss of the R-Combining affordable housing the County had planned must be addressed in the EIR.
Please require flagging and staking of the two proposed buildings to provide the public with meaningful and visible physical delineation of the proposed buildings. Please include easily-visible signage along Chanticleer Avenue and Soquel Avenue to alert passersby of current comment opportunities, picture of the proposed buildings, and comment deadline information.

Thank you for the notification of this critical environmental study. Please extend the comment period, make the documents available in areas accessible to the public when COVID-19 mandates for shelter in place are lifted, and hold Spanish translated meetings at the BeachComber Mobile Home Park and Live Oak Grange.

Please acknowledge that you have received this message. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Becky Steinbruner

ANOTHER PROJECT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT…
Live Oak is also set to see a 13,000+SF new drive-through CVS pharmacy that would be open 24/7, just across from Dominican Hospital, between Soquel Drive and Commercial Way, adjacent to the Union 76 gas station. Of course, the County has awarded Boos Development West LLC a Mitigated Negative Declaration for this project, saving them lots and lots of money, even though there are high levels of arsenic and lead contamination in the soil from the auto salvage business that used to be there.

The developer, represented by Leanna Swenson, is asking for exceptions that would allow a larger illuminated sign facing Highway One, a designated scenic corridor, and to reduce the required landscape areas to two feet, rather than five feet. No tree can thrive in a two-foot wide parking strip, so how will the visual impacts of this large building be “softened”?

Public comment closes April 27, 2020 on this project’s Mitigated Negative Declaration. This project is scheduled to be heard at a future Zoning Administrator hearing as Application 181576.

The project would require 3,200 cubic yards of soil to be excavated and hauled away, and 3,300 cubic yards of soil to be trucked in and compacted. That’s about 180 large truck trips. However, the County staff that did the environmental evaluation of the diesel trucks and excavators felt there was no need to consider this less-than-significant impact, even though the exhaust levels would have great potential for being in violation of air quality standards. The County staff acknowledged that Santa Cruz County is within the North Central Coast Air Basin, and does NOT MEET CURRENT STATE STANDARDS FOR OZONE AND PARTICULATE MATTER, according to the Monterey Bay Air Quality Control Board. (see page 18 of the project MND). Keep in mind that this is upwind of Dominican Hospital and many medical offices just across the street, termed ‘sensitive receptors’.

The project would significantly degrade the level of service for the north-bound on-off ramp at Commercial Way and Highway One, but the County staff feels that when CalTrans has the money to fund area upgrades, the traffic problem will be improved (how about the developer paying for this?) If the County really wants to reduce greenhouse gases, is it in keeping with that policy to allow a drive-through open 24/7? The County staff environmental analysis reasons that, even though the Santa Cruz County Code 13.652 prohibits drive-throughs, that rule does not apply to this project because only 3-4% of the total store business would be from the drive-through feature. WOW.

Two structures housing existing businesses and a residential unit will be demolished. The amount of impervious surface will be increased by 13,068 SF (about a third of an acre) and will significantly add to the stormwater runoff in the area. Geotechnical studies show that the soils are clay and are not suitable for infiltration, but despite that, there will be three bio-retention features to supposedly handle the runoff, with excess being sent to the local storm drains leading to the Bay, but possibly to the drainage area that also leads to the proposed Kaiser medical building project that already experiences winter flooding during heavy storms.

The County Dept. of Public Works has determined that culverts in the area are not large enough to handle this increase in storm water runoff, and would require that the developer install subterranean detention basins under the parking lot that would then meter out the water at a rate consistent with the amount of stormwater runoff now. (see page 36)

The building is proposed to be 13,111SF and also a 1,712SF mezzanine for storage, and a 49-car parking lot facing Soquel Drive. The trash and recycling area would be next to the scenic corridor. Setbacks would be reduced to two feet on the western and eastern boundaries.

There is no discussion about electric vehicle charging stations or solar panels on the roof being required. The County staff states this is not a problem because the County has adopted policy supporting these measures in the “Strategies for the Reduction of Energy Use and GHG Emmissions“. So it seems that this project does not actually have to DO any of those recommended actions, but it is adequate to just have the County’s advice that these measures happen??? WOW.

Will the developer be required to install a upgrades to Metro bus stop already located a block away to serve this 24/7 drive-through business? Will the developer be required to provide improved bike lanes in the area? No, because of the recent bicycle green-lanes installed nearby with Measure D public money. Boos Development LLC will only be required to pay $268,410 to the Live Oak planning area fund to offset the anticipated additional 1,268 new vehicle trips each day this business would cause. This money could be used anywhere in the Live Oak area

Here is a link to the project materials

WHAT LEVEL OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW WILL BE REQUIRED OF THE SWENSON HOTEL ABOVE THE SANTA CRUZ HARBOR?
With all this large development work going on in Live Oak, one must wonder if any planner is considering the cumulative impacts of everything? It is incumbent upon the people to remind them to do so.

Keep you eye on this large project, which includes a luxury hotel near the Harbor on 8.3 acres at 7th and Brommer. The County kindly sold the land it had purchased for $7,400,000 to Swenson Builder for only $2,900,000. Isn’t that amazing?

Here is a link to the neighborhood newsletter with information about the hotel that nobody there wants except the County seeing only the profits of the transient occupancy tax revenue

Here is the link to the Swenson website where you can sign up for future notifications: Santa Cruz Harbor Village

CLOSING STATE PARKS…WHERE CAN WE GO?
It is troubling to me that the government’s answer to keeping people safe is to deprive us of the places that will keep our health and spirits strong. I hope that you are all staying healthy and doing all that you can to boost your immune systems. Mercury News article

WRITE ONE LETTER. MAKE ONE CALL. PARTICIPATE IN A WEBCAST MEETING. TAKE A WALK IN THE FRESH AIR AND SUNSHINE, AND STAY HEALTHY.

Cheers,
Becky

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 and finished with almost 30% of the votes.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2020
#91 / Intellectual Arrogance

I am taking part in the Hannah Arendt Virtual Reading group that meets online each Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time). During our nationwide coronavirus lockdown, the Hannah Arendt Center is providing free access to anyone who would like to join. I do encourage my friends to join the group, and to participate (click right here).

This is not the first time I have made this suggestion, and I must report that I am not seeing any familar West Coast faces, or seeing any familiar West Coast names, among the group gathered on these weekly video conference calls. If you are trapped at home anyway, think about going outside your current mindset to explore the wonderful world of Hannah Arendt.

Last Friday, as the Virtual Reading Group studied the “Epilogue” to Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem, it was noted that Hannah Arendt exhibited, in authoring that book, which is probably her most controversial work, what amounts to a kind of “intellectual arrogance.” This sounds like a “bad thing,” right?

In the conversation in the group, it was pointed out that “intellectual arrogance” is perhaps not always such a bad thing. Einstein’s equation, above, should never be disregarded, but when mutual respect undergirds the conversation, it is important that there be at least a few persons in the world who are willing to be so “arrogant” as to advance their own ideas and understandings of what is right and true, despite the fact that they will know in advance, or quickly discover, that their ideas and thoughts have no acceptability whatsoever among the general public.

We make our world by acting together, and we can build on solid rock only if we are willing to “speak truth to power,” and to have the “intellectual arrogance” to insist that our ideas be taken seriously, as we all search for truth.

As I listened to the conversation – and agreed that we must preserve a place for the “intellectual arrogance” that can bring us to the recognition of new truths and new possibilities – I was reminded of my favorite quote from Ugo Betti. Betti was an Italian judge and a playwright. He tells us that WE are important – each one of us. If we truly knew our own importance, we would be strengthened in our resolve to say what we think, and to insist on it, even when everyone we know says we are in error.

Speaking one’s “own mind” can seem like arrogance, sometimes, but if we are willing truly to cross-examine ourselves before we speak, to see if we really do believe that our thoughts are correct, then we need to have the courage to speak up and speak out.

That’s what’s needed, don’t you see? That! … Everyone is … a very great, very important character! Yes, that’s what we have to tell them up there! Every man must be persuaded – even if he is in rags – that he’s immensely, immensely important!

What is the Virtual Reading Group going to be talking about this coming Friday? On Violence.

Hannah Arendt is worth listening to on that topic, and it’s a topic worth thinking about!

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. Classic peeks inside our secret places…maybe?

Lisa writes about being temporarily suspended, and watching movies on Amazon, Netflix – and everywhere else! Check it out this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (ljo-express.blogspot.com/). Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

There are so many people out there, corona-ing the hell out of all kinds of songs. If you have some time, jump down the YouTube rabbit hole, you will be entertained. I picked one favorite to show you here 🙂 Oh, and Neil Diamond actually sang and posted “Sweet Caroline” singing “hands, washing hands, don’t touch me and I won’t touch you” 🙂 You’ll find that one if you look 🙂

Self Education

“Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.”
~Isaac Asimov

“All I have learned, I learned from books.”
~Abraham Lincoln

“The most powerful people are the ones who never stop learning.”
~Rejoice Denhere

“To create something new, knowledge is essentially required, but not academic degree.”
~Rajib Lochan Dhibar

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

March 25 – 31, 2020

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON… gives us the scoop… GREENSITE… with a Quarantine Story… KROHN… has the week off STEINBRUNER… courts, Aptos, and Soquel Water PATTON… on Facebook and Trump … EAGAN…Sub Cons and Deep Cover JENSEN… watching movies on Amazon… UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…”STAYING HOME”

“THREE WAY” TRAFFIC ON PACIFIC (1925-28). Note the cars PARKED on both sides of Pacific Avenue and a parade of cabins on trucks going down themiddle of the street. You can also see the then County Bank Building at Cooper and Pacific and all the men wearing hats!!! That’s of course our Town Clock sitting in its’ original location atop the IOOF Hall.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

Learn things! For free!

Another plus side of all this shelter in place – craft projects!

THESE ARE THE BEST OF TIMES. Folks always say that when they aren’t sure what and where it’s turning. The old World War 2 movies they’re showing that dangers from the skies are really bad. The virus stalking and blowing around the world is teaching us a lot about our selves and crises. A larger danger than Trump? It didn’t seem possible and now we have just about half as much to worry about ‘That’s not counting what the dinosaurs had to face just those few ages.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Your notes, FB’s, emails and calls of support have been wonderful. I’m still under the superhuman efforts of my daughters to regain stability and breathe near normally..see you soon..

March 23rd. 2020

A QUARANTINE STORY

Unless you are sick with the covid virus, are a first responder, or have lost your low-paying jobs and cannot collect unemployment due to immigrant status, this new life on stay-at-home orders is not that difficult. With grocery, liquor and cannabis stores open, walking encouraged and springtime blooming, can you really complain? Here’s a quarantine story for perspective.

In 1948 when I was three years old, my family left England for Australia on the SS Orontes, (pictured) a voyage of around 40 days. My father worked for Shell Oil as a driller, work that took him to Burma, Assam, Ecuador and finally, Australia. Three is a bit young to retain clear memories and mine of the voyage are scant. I recall the lip of a rogue wave visible from the dining room porthole with shouts and screams so it must have been unusual. There are fleeting images of men dressed as women, lathered up, throwing each other into the swimming pool and a man with crown and trident: the seafaring ritual for crossing the Equator. At the port of call in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a long walk up a steep hill to a tiny gift shop where my father allowed my sister and I to choose small, wood carved elephants. Mine is black, ebony, is missing its tusks and half a foreleg and is something I’d probably grab if quick evacuation were imminent.

I have no idea when I became sick on the voyage. It was pre-vaccine measles, a nasty virus affecting mostly children under five with significant complications including encephalitis and can be fatal. A vaccine was not available until the 1960’s. I can only imagine the scene as we docked in Australia after a long sea voyage, immigrants to a new country and I’m whisked away to a quarantine hospital for three weeks. No visitors allowed. I do remember that quarantine hospital or at least a few images are etched. I was held in a concrete basement in a bed not a cot. The only other inmate was a baby, old enough to stand and hold onto the bars of the cot, which it shook continuously. I was annoyed and wished it would stop while feeling sorry for it. I said, “it will be alright” and then felt silly since it couldn’t understand. I hadn’t yet learned about tone. I recall our being left alone for what seemed like days and then the baby was gone. One’s sense of time is subjective so after what seemed like an eternity, a nurse took me by the hand and led me up a long ramp with sunlight at the end. Ah the sunlight! And there a car with my parents, who I hadn’t expected to see again.

I’m grateful to scientists who produce vaccines that protect us from viruses that used to kill. Those who fear vaccines may never have dealt with a serious viral illness pre-vaccine as we are now facing with Covid-19. While medical science will find a vaccine that allows us to face down this virus, others are in the wings. In the interregnum, a good time to assess our global priorities, as class injustice is laid bare and consumption gluttony for a time put on hold.

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.

Chris Krohn is off this week. He will return next week.

(Chris Krohn  is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected the the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His current term ends in 2020.
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

CORRECTION OF ERROR LAST WEEK REGARDING MEASURE R CABRILLO COLLEGE BOND
Thank you to the readers who kindly pointed out my error in last week’s column wherein I stated that it looked like the Cabrillo College Measure R Bond proposal had not failed to gain the required 55% voter approval. That was my error, and I apologize.

To be clear, Measure R did not pass because to date has only received 52.55%, and needed 55%.

Election Results

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT SNEAKS THROUGH MAJOR DECISIONS ON ELECTION NIGHT WITHOUT BENEFIT OF VIDEO FOR PUBLIC
Soquel Creek Water District Board has shown a pattern of holding Board meetings on Election Night at unorthodox locations, and not always providing video for the public to witness the critical decisions approved. Recently, on March 3, the Board approved the $6.2 Million contract for the Phase 1 design/build work for their expensive and unnecessary (in the informed opinions of hundreds) project to inject millions of gallons of treated sewage water into the drinking water supply for the MidCounty. The meeting was held in the Cabrillo College Horticulture classroom. District staff announced that the meeting was being recorded, as had been requested by the public (me). There were nine Project consultants in the audience, one member of the District’s Water Supply Standing Committee, and one member of the general public…me.

During the public comment regarding the Project, during the two minutes I was allowed, I was reading from the legal Declaration of Ron Duncan, General Manager of the District, filed in Santa Cruz Superior Court on February 20, 2019, but ran out of time. I asked for one more minute, but Chairman Bruce Daniels refused. I continued reading the final sentence of the Declaration but District staff unplugged the electricity to my microphone.

It is possible that unplugging the electrical cord also affected the video process, because now, Board Clerk Emma Olin informs me that “due to technical problems, the March 3 Board meeting video is not available.”

What was so offensive to the ears of the Board that caused staff to unplug my microphone? I was reading Ron Duncan’s sworn declaration (page 6) stating “The bond requirement for the liquidation of funds under Prop 1 is that qualified projects must be constructed and on-line by spring, 2023. The last date for disbursement of Prop. 1 grant monies is February 29, 2020, thus all project work must be completed by February 29, 2020 or the District would be required to surrender the $50 million.”

How, then could the Board be approving the $6.2 Million Design/Build work for the Project on March 3, 2020 and not have to surrender the $50 million grant….if what Ron Duncan claimed, under penalty of perjury, were true?

Take a look at Item 7.2 that begins on page 33 of the agenda packet and is described in the Presentation.

So, we should all be asking the State Department of Water Resources if they plan to require Soquel Creek Water District to surrender the $50 million grant.

Maybe that is why the Board also voted to take yet another trip to Washington, D.C. this June to lobby for more federal money. Ratepayers will foot this bill, along with the $45,000 annual contract for the Capital Edge lobbyist they are also paying to do this very work for the second year in a row.

Wow. Maybe the Board will take some nice pictures and at least give the ratepayers a slide show when they return.

Incidentally, it was on Election Night on November 6, 2018 that the Board held a meeting at Community Foundation and approved the rate increases necessary to pay for the expensive PureWater Soquel Project, as well as the Twin Lakes Church Pilot Injection Well for the Project….all before the Board certified the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and approved the PureWater Soquel Project on December 18, 2018. Isn’t that amazing?

(I am glad the District did video this meeting, although for a long time, they had posted a blurry screen of a May 6, 2018 meeting in it’s place. I am happy they corrected that error.)

METRO REDUCING SERVICE AND ELIMINATING FEES
These are strange times, and for those who depend on public transit to go grocery shopping and attend appointments, things will get more complicated, but at least riding the bus will be free.

Take a look here

Monterey County Transit has adopted the same policies.

COURTS STATEWIDE REDUCING SERVICE OR TAKING HOLIDAY
It is shocking to read that the California Judicial Council issued a mandate on March 18 causing not only Santa Cruz County Courts to declare court holiday and reduce services, but most all counties in the state as well.
Here is the link to the Mandate issued, and
here is a link to updates for all counties in the state.

Wow.

COASTAL COMMISSION CHAIRMAN PADILLA HOSPITALIZED WITH COVID-19 INFECTION
Chairman of the Coastal Commission, Steve Padilla, who presided over the March 11-13 meetings in Scotts Valley, has been hospitalized and placed on a respirator due to coronavirus infection. Those from the area who attended these meetings to speak about the Soquel Creek Water District’s PureWater Soquel Project and also the City of Santa Cruz beach camping issues were exposed needlessly due to the Commission’s decision to hold the meeting “with precautions”.

Send good thoughts to Chairman Padilla and all those who now are in quarantine.

WILL COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS BE VIOLATING THE BAN ON PUBLIC GATHERINGS TUESDAY?
At the time of this writing, the County Board of Supervisors is planning to hold a regular meeting in the 5th floor Board Chambers, with seemingly no precautionary measures noted on any County websites for remote participation by members of the public ordered to shelter in place and respecting a ban on public gatherings. WHY?

Meeting

“To protect public health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19, the California Department of Public Health has determined that all non-essential gatherings should be postponed or canceled across the state until further guidance is issued by the California Department of Public Health.”

CONSENT AGENDA ITEM WILL FUND APTOS VILLAGE TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS $3.5 MILLION?
Perhaps the consent agenda items such as #48 are the reason for pushing through an ill-advised public meeting. This nod of the Supervisors would approve a $2,850,387 contract with Anderson Pacific from Santa Clara to put in a new traffic light at the Aptos Creek Road and Soquel Drive intersection, while also eliminating the bike lane from there to the bridge, several parking places belonging to the pub next to the bridge as well as several parking places along Soquel Drive in front of the existing businesses in the Aptos Village. The taxpayers will also fund adding a dedicated turn lane on Soquel Drive to accommodate the Aptos Village Project subdivision’s gateway entrance from Parade Street. The traffic light at Aptos Creek Road just happens to be a condition of the Aptos Village Project subdivision Phase 2 that the Board approved in January on the consent agenda, without any discussion whatsoever.

What is curious is that the Board will approve the “unanticipated revenue” of $3,437,000 to fund the Project, with a claim that $2,887,000 will come from the Regional Transportation Commission’s (RTC) Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP) revenue awarded. The curious thing is that the RTC only awarded the County $400,000 for the Aptos Village Traffic Improvement Phase 2 Project.

One wonders how much of this bill the Aptos Village Project developers are paying? I have asked Public Works for information but as of this writing, have received no answers. I have also asked Supervisor Zach Friend to pull the Consent item and place it on Regular agenda for better public discussion…no response. Hmmmm……

CONSENT AGENDA ITEM WILL AWARD NEARLY $1 MILLION TO RE-START MAR VISTA BIKE/PED OVERPASS PROJECT BUT WILL DISREGARD THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE

Consent agenda Item #47 will happily re-start the Mar Visa Bike/Ped Overpass Project that has languished for 20 years, but would disregard the will of the public about where it should be built in order to provide the safest route for elementary school kids. The plan seems to keep to the original idea of crossing Highway One at the Mar Vista Drive area, and would take away parking from the local residents and perhaps the Aptos Grange, while causing students to have to cross Soquel Drive multiple times in order to get to Mar Vista Elementary School.

A citizens committee met with the consultant about three years ago and unanimously recommended the overpass be located closer to Cabrillo College athletic fields, bringing a pathway to Soquel Drive along the creek bank. The group felt that this would provide a safer, more direct route to the elementary school, as well as Cabrillo College. There could be protected or even a separate bike path along McGregor Drive to safely link the Seacliff neighborhood to the overpass along undeveloped land near New Brighton State Beach lands and provide a safe bike and pedestrian link that would be well-used.

The agreements in Consent Agenda Item #47 that the Board will approve with a single nod (let’s hope they are awake) would transfer the Project to the County Department of Public Works to manage the money that the RTC has budgeted for the work, and CalTrans will handle all the environmental analysis. The public can look forward to only two (meaningless) Open House comment sessions along the way as the Scope of Work agreement already states there will be a Mitigated Negative Declaration declared after some analysis that focuses mostly on how to handle the removal of parking spaces on Mar Vista Drive.

Contact the County Board of Supervisors and let them know your thoughts:
Chairman Greg Caput <greg.caput@santacruzcounty.us>
Ryan Coonerty<ryan.coonerty@santacruzcounty.us>
Zach Friend <zach.friend@santacruzcounty.us>
John Leopold <john.leopold@santacruzcounty.us>
Bruce McPherson<bruce.mcpherson@santacruzcounty.us>
831-454-2200

WRITE ONE LETTER. MAKE ONE CALL. WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF LOCAL PAPERS. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE THIS WEEK.

Happy Spring,

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 and finished with almost 30% of the votes.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

#85 / Perils Of Prediction

I enjoyed a recent article in The New Republic, “The Political Media’s Blurred Reality.” The article made (legitimate) fun of the various media pundits who have been covering the current presidential race, specifically including Rachel Maddow, who seems to be a favorite of the liberals and the Democrats. I am, as you might deduce from this somewhat catty remark, not a big fan.

At any rate, The New Republic article points out the hazards of “pack journalism,” and I think it is right on target. My point in passing on the article is simply to remind my readers of a point I make quite consistently: it is not our assignment, in life, to “observe,” and to “predict.”

There is nothing wrong with informed observation, and with becoming “informed spectators.” But if we begin to believe that this is our main assignment, and that this is what we are mainly supposed to do as our democratic homework, we have profoundly mistaken our mission.

Ours is not the task of good “observation,” which is what all those pundits do, to whom (The New Republic says) we all tend to pander.

No. Our task is to think, talk, and act!

Forget about “prediction.” Self-government begins when we begin to get involved in both individual and collective action ourselves.

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. Classic peeks inside our secret places…maybe?

Lisa writes about an Amazon original film just released, called Blow the Man Down. Check it out this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (ljo-express.blogspot.com/). Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only and archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. Peter Klotz-Chamberlin from the Resource Center for Non Violence guests on February 4. After which Nancy Macy who is Environmental Committee Chair of the Valley Womens Club talks about PG&E and other problems. Jean Brocklebank and Michael Lewis will talk about our Santa Cruz Public library issues on Feb 11. Distinguished Artists Series founder John Orlando and pianist Lembit Beecher guest on March 3. OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… https://www.radiofreeamerica.com/schedule/kzsc You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

Hey, you’re home, might as well redo your bathroom?

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.

Staying Home

I’m a home girl. I like to stay home.
~Faith Hill

I’m a very lazy, stay-at-home kind of girl.
~Jerry Hall

To be an ideal guest, stay at home.
~E. W. Howe

Charity should begin at home, but should not stay there.
~Phillips Brooks

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

March 18 – 24, 2020

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON… gives us the scoop… GREENSITE…Greensite on a crisis of a different sort.. KROHN… on Covid-19. STEINBRUNER… exposure, and Cabrillo College. PATTON… on Facebook and Trump … EAGAN…Sub Cons and Deep Cover JENSEN… on Wendy… UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…”ISOLATION”

ABUILDING THE DREAM INN. This architectural disaster happened before local environmental groups were organized. It was 1962. That’s the Lynch House standing alone on the right, built in 1877. This was also before the beach was polluted.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Watch this about how germs spread. This guy puts out terrific videos, you should keep an eye on him.

BRATTON STILL CHILLING.
Home, and still taking it easy, Bruce is wondering if anyone has a lead on a granny unit or a room (preferably Westside to be close to him) for his daughter(s) to stay in while they come out to help look after him while he regains his strength. If you know of anything please just email bratton@cruzio.com!

Keep Your Distance
With nothing insightful to offer about Covid-19 and political meetings cancelled, a few words on a different crisis: housing. Or more accurately: housing costs. With the virus, it’s tempting to say, when things get back to normal. Is it normal for farm workers in Salinas to be cramped with 13 people in a tiny 2-bedroom- rental, while high-tech buyers snap up pricey new apartments and houses as second homes in Santa Cruz?

The knee jerk response is “we need more housing!” to the delight of many speculators, developers, housing activists and politicians. Mandating the building of high-rise, dense housing has been championed through the CA legislature by Senator Scott Wiener via a number of Bills, including the recently defeated SB 50. Had it passed, local governments would have lost control over such land-use decisions. Senator Wiener has a new Bill pending, SB 902. It’s a softer sell (indicating how draconian was the other Bill) and similarly misses the mark. It eliminates single-family zoning across CA.

For a city our size, under his Bill, one small house on a single-family lot could be bulldozed and replaced with a four-plex plus accessory dwelling units. If our local government votes to rezone a neighborhood to allow 10 homes on a single-family lot, then Wiener’s Bill allows it to by-pass environmental review. Exemptions are allowed for high fire-risk areas, meaning folks who live in single family homes in such areas won’t face being surrounded by dense housing where there used to be single family homes. Which means other people will put pressure on local government to develop open space and forested lands just so they can live in single-family peace and privacy, another bonus for the wealthy. Meanwhile, middle-income and working class locals who have worked and lived here for decades in single-family neighborhoods will just have to get used to the crowding with its noise, cars jostling for parking, dogs barking, lights glaring and increased crime. That’s the research on density. Wiener’s Bill is silent on the issue of subsidized housing, a lack that lost him support last time: a lack that questions either his grasp of the issue or for whom the Bill favors.

The housing crisis is not a supply-issue. There are an estimated 1.2 million vacant houses in CA, which is more than 8%. The statewide rental vacancy rate in 2018 was 8.4%. Both numbers add up to a lot of empty houses: the same number as the unmet housing need. Since taking over such housing is not condoned (although there have been attempts by homeless mothers) a tax on an empty second home seems reasonable.

A Vacancy Tax is not a new idea. It has been implemented in Vancouver, Canada. State Senator Nancy Skinner of Berkeley has introduced SB 1079 on this issue. The challenges are mostly ideological, especially where eminent domain enters the picture. The devil is in the details. Too many exemptions and the cash flow is less than anticipated. People preferring to pay the tax rather than offload the property makes the supply less available. However, it is worth a try since it has the potential to add housing without the expense of building from scratch. It avoids the associated huge use of non-renewable resources and disposal of that which is bulldozed. We keep hearing about the current high cost of building and building materials, which we are told force developers to recoup through high rents. This problem can be avoided by using existing empty houses either through eminent domain if they are corporate-owned or using the proceeds from a Vacancy tax to fund Section 8 housing.

Building high-density, infilling, the “smart” growth model is promoted by Wiener as well as notables such as Newsom, Sanders and Warren This model does not lead to lower rents or lower housing costs. Research shows it forces them upwards as new buyers with big incomes and high end consumption patterns move in and low income workers are forced out.

In the new normal of Covid-19 and what lies beyond, we should not be promoting human crowding as a housing solution when alternatives are available.

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.

March 17, 2020

Coronavirus Trumps Political Virus

Strange Days
I found myself in CVS on Front Street this past Sunday. I stopped at the front door realizing there were more than 50 people already in the store. I looked at the checkout line and noticed at least twenty lined up single-file waiting to make their purchases. No one seemed to be heeding the social distancing rule. All were only about 2-feet apart instead of the recommended six feet. I decided to venture into the store only a few feet more and impulsively read aloud from my cell phone the advisory Governor Gavin Newsome’s office had just released that morning. Besides the 50-person space limit and six-feet social distancing, constant washing of hands, not touching one’s face, and each of us just shutting down our own outside-of-home life and self-quarantining, there he was also calling for the closure of all bars, wine bars, breweries, and for restaurants to reduce their occupancy by half and to provide curbside food service and at-home deliveries. Everyone seemed to pay attention to my impromptu reading, but no one spoke. I nervously exited wondering if people would heed a town-crier more than their IPhone. For the city’s part, I am told by our Economic Development Director that city staff has divided the community into five parts and will be doing outreach to all local businesses letting them know what is acceptable, voluntary, or mandatory in terms of carrying out their operations. That was to begin this past Monday morning.

The March 3rd Primary, Still Counting
The votes continue to drip, drip, drip into the County Clerk’s office at 701 Ocean Street. The last count was issued around 4pm on Thursday, March 12th. “Today we added an additional 895 ballots. We are continuing to process and research the same day and provisional ballots. We are also tagging voter records if they voted in this election and auditing each polling place. We will NOT do another update until next week – most likely Friday, March 20.”

According to the website, votecounts.com, there are almost 6000 votes countywide yet to be tallied. We will hear another update this Friday.

When Censure Becomes a Political Tool
By Sheila Carrillo, an activist and astute political observer reflects upon the Recall election that just took place. escuelita@baymoon.com

The question flashing neon bright in my mind when I attended Tuesday night’s City Council meeting was “What is REALLY going on here?” I was astonished that the first agenda item of the evening was as yet another censure of Drew Glover—despite his imminent recall from office— marking a full year and a third since the obsessive scrutiny and harassment of council member Glover had been instigated.

The crucifixion actually began on Next Door before he even took office, corresponding with the November 2018 election resulting in a progressive majority on the council for the first time in two decades. The Next Door recall rants began initially by attacking Drew’s (humane) concern for the homeless community and his strong advocacy for renter protections. But a couple of months later on February 12, 2019, the focus of the recall attacks shifted, when recently-elected Mayor Watkins inappropriately used her pulpit to publicly accuse both Drew and Councilman Chris Krohn of gender based bullying, while citing only hearsay. In reality, the issue at hand was their justified insistence and her unreasonable resistance to promptly agendizing and addressing our community’s homeless crisis. But unfortunately, the facts were never brought to light because Martine maintained tight control of the conversation, refusing to allot time for Chris and Drew to respond to her allegations.

Watkins Non-censure
Not only was Martine NOT censured for this misconduct in office and misuse of power, but what was a staff conflict that could have been readily addressed and mediated internally through Human Resources, became an $18,000 investigation of charges (plus $10,000 for the Davis investigation!) that essentially could not be substantiated. The Rose Report in fact found “no substantiated instances of sexual harassment or gender- based discrimination.” Again, no censure of the city manager or H.R. for this wonton waste of time and money. Martine’s pronouncement provided the recall tribe with a more righteous, and thus more appealing, accusation to pin on the two progressive leaders whose presence on our City council was apparently so threatening that they had to be removed from power at all costs. The recall proponents’ accusations deftly switched from the issues of rental protection and homeless advocacy to sexual harassment and bullying— attacks that continued the duration of a year-long, well-funded, smear campaign, with a San Francisco consulting firm employed in the process.

CPVAW Missteps
At that point, the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women stepped well-outside their defined mission which is to “prevent sexual assault, rape, and domestic violence.” Instead, they joined the bandwagon and spoke out to censure and condemn Drew Glover regarding issues they cited as gender-based harassment, and soon, recall proponents with fresh fuel had plastered signs all over the University with accusations of sexual harassment and signature gatherers were overheard characterizing Chris and Drew as sexual predators. Once again, at this week’s council meeting, instead of censuring the CPVAW (which at the time of Drew Glover’s alleged offense was under the helm of commission Chair Grossman) for being out of line, the council minority again took aim at Drew. At his next to last council meeting as an elected, Drew found himself again the target of public censure— for speaking truth to power in calling out the misconduct of the commission.

City Council Minority Fiasco
As I sat through two hours of comment, discussion, and ultimately a vote on whether or not to formally censure or merely “disapprove” of Drew’s conduct. I couldn’t help wondering why our City wasn’t attending to more pressing issues, as we face the Coronavirus crisis, lack of accommodations and services for our homeless, and the fact that Santa Cruz is one of the least affordable communities in the entire country. What REALLY fueled this unrelenting harassment and successful political coup? I encourage us as a community to explore who and what was behind the removal from office of a leader newly-elected to represent the disenfranchised in our community— before he’d even had a chance to serve.

Sheila Carrillo can be contacted at escuelita@baymoon.com

“Lack of health care does not just threaten the wellbeing of the uninsured—it affects us all. This crisis is teaching us that we are only as safe as our least-insured and most vulnerable people. Now is the time for solidarity. Now is the time to make health care a right for all.” (March 16)

(Chris Krohn  is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected the the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His current term ends in 2020.
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

COASTAL COMMISSION RUBBER-STAMPS SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT’S EXPENSIVE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY-DISRUPTIVE PROJECT
Last Wednesday, the Coastal Commission approved the District’s plan to inject millions of gallons of treated sewage water into the aquifer that provides drinking water for the MidCounty area. They did not seem to care about the massive energy increase this project would bring, or the significant environmental damage caused by construction and operation.

I was shocked that the Coastal Commission showed so little interest in or concern about the issues raised in correspondence submitted last week, or in oral testimonies at the hearing.

Only Commissioner Katie Rice asked if the District had considered the construction impacts and wondered how long the construction would take? (Had she not read anything at all?) Ryan Moroney, the Coastal Commission planner could not answer, so Melanie Mow-Schumacher from the District stated 17-24 months. The EIR states 24-36 months.

Commissioner Rice then asked about lifeline rates for low income rate payers? Melanie answered the District’s rates are set by Prop 218 process and no discounts are allowed.

Commissioner Luce wanted to know if the District has stormwater capture systems? The simple answer from Melanie was “yes”.

Commissioner Howell then gave an adoring statement about what a great project it is, and wondered what the cost/acre foot will be? Melanie said the District does not know yet!!!! However, it is estimated at $3,500/AFY, with better estimates to be presented later this spring.

With one unanimous vote, the Commission approved the Project permit. No questions asked about the ruptured sewage treatment plant outfall pipe that is part of the permit they approved.

None cared that the District violated the State Water Quality Control Board requirements by injecting six million gallons of treated water into the aquifer without a permit to do so.

None asked about recommendations for additional noticing for Live Oak residents, who received NO notice of the impending project before…Capitola City had asked for and received extra noticing for residents within the Capitola City boundaries during construction work.

I am both shocked by and disgusted with the Coastal Commission’s error in failing to even question issues that certainly apply to the environmental and coastal visitor aspects of the Project’s construction and long-term operational aspects.

The addendum that was attached to the District’s response to comments did not seem to have been seen by the Commissioners. One of them asked about where to find them at the conclusion of Ryan Moroney’s staff report, wherein he mentioned the existence of the Addendum. Frankly, I doubt that the Commissioners had read anything at all.

I am considering an appeal.

COASTAL COMMISSION CHAIRMAN PADILLA TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
The Chairman of the Commission, Steve Padilla, announced Saturday that he has tested positive for the corona virus after spending three days in Scotts Valley at the meeting. Commissioner Uranga announced Sunday that he and his family will voluntarily self-isolate for two weeks.

Does that mean that every one who attended the meeting should do so?

I would like to thank Ms. Melanie Mow-Schmacher at Soquel Creek Water District for alerting me to this news. I wonder why the Coastal Commission did not notify me, as a speaker who submitted a speaker card for the afternoon item, and had been present at the meeting all day Wednesday?

GOOD NEWS FOR BUSY APTOS ROAD FULL OF POTHOLES
The slalom course of potholes on Soquel Drive between Freedom Boulevard and Rio del Mar Boulevard is finally going to be repaired. On March 30 – April 10, the work will cause some delays, but is long-overdue and will be a great safety improvement. Look for other Dept. of Public Works projects here: www.sccroadclosure.org

CABRILLO COLLEGE COULD HAVE USED THAT $250,700 FOR BETTER PURPOSES
Cabrillo College’s 32-year bond proposal in Measure R appears to not have failed to get the required 55% approval of voters. Hopefully, the leadership will listen to the people and not waste over one-quarter million dollars again.

I just finished looking through the most recent campaign contribution filings for Friends of Cabrillo College….as of March 4 filing, the grand total of contributions is $250,700. That’s more than a quarter million dollars and could have paid for lots of “needed upgrades”.

Take a look at the contribution reports they have filed

The bank they use is in Sacramento, as is the consultant, and it looks like some of the mailers were donated by the California Federation of Teachers in Burbank ($8090.23). No local businesses benefited. Times Publishing in Aptos offers that service, as do several other local independently-owned small printing businesses, but Friends of Cabrillo College paid to have the work done elsewhere.

TBWBH is a San Francisco-based political consultant agency
Friends of Cabrillo College paid them $58,135.

Anedot is Dallas, Texas is a fundraising consultant and got paid $2,500.

Miller Maxfield is yet another consultant in Santa Cruz, and got paid $15,000.

It looks like Elaine Johnson was yet another campaign consultant, and got paid $4,000. She also was hired to support the Measure H affordable housing bond measure in 2018 that voters rejected. Elaine Johnson | wlscc

The Friends of Cabrillo College committee assistant treasurer is Shawnda Deane, in Sacramento. She got paid (Deane and Co.) at least $4666 (I sort of lost count). www.deaneandcompany.com

I am not sure where the bill is for the two attorneys who showed up in Santa Cruz Superior Court to fight Kris Kirby’s legal action demanding the ballot language comply with AB 195 requirements to clearly state the duration of the proposed bond (Judge John Gallagher denied her request). One attorney was David Casnocha, who practices in San Francisco and said he had written the ballot language and is a bond attorney. That expense does not seem to be reported anywhere.

Big donors are the Cabrillo College Foundation ($49,999), Patty Quillin, wife of Reed Hastings of Netflix ($49,000), Bud Colligan ($25,000), Deborah Rennels Salkind ($10,000) and the various construction trade labor unions ($4,000 to $6,000 each).

The Associated Students of Cabrillo College (Student Government for Cabrillo College) donated $20,000? Wow. That donation was reported on March 3, election day.

Those wealthy donors could have given their money to Cabrillo College for improved lab space upgrades to support the students training to become medical professionals.

Oddly, no fire or law enforcement names or organizations are listed as financial contributors. How come they did not support Measure R’s claim to build the new $23 million fire and law enforcement training center in Watsonville?

Did the firefighter unions endorse Measure R? No. Only the County Fire Chiefs Association did

Even though Cabrillo replaced the artificial turf in the stadium last year, at a cost of $1.2 million, one of the nearly 100 projects listed in the ballot language that would have been eligible for the use of the money is “turf replacement”. You can read that here. (Note that this is from the San Benito County Election website. That’s because the Cabrillo College District boundaries extend into San Benito and Monterey Counties. I think it’s odd that this is not shown on the College website, other than the general areas of the trustees.)

I hope that Cabrillo College trustees will look more creatively for funding for capital improvement projects and wait until terminating the two other bond measures taxpayers are still paying off. That will be in 20 years. I hope that Cabrillo will finally understand that the tax payers are struggling to make ends meet and, in rejecting Measure R, have clearly said “Enough is enough.”

CABRILLO COLLEGE FACING POSSIBLE TWO-YEAR BAN FOR ILLEGAL HOUSING BENEFITS FOR ATHLETES
After Cabrillo College spent $1.2 million to replace the artificial turf at the football stadium, the team may be banned from playing there for two years because the College provided free housing for 20 out-of-state players in 2018 and 17 out-of-state players this season. It is illegal to provide benefits for some but not all.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that the Cabrillo College football team may be banned from competing for two years due to a violation of the California Community College Athletic Association Constitution for providing illegal housing benefits to football players. In 2018, the College provided housing benefits to 20 out of state football players at the Breakwater Apartments in Live Oak. Those apartments rent for $2550-$3,015/month each.

Ten other players who could not pay rent for living spaces joined the 20 who were receiving housing benefits, and slept on the floor and couches. By the end of the season, all 30 Cabrillo team players were evicted.

This season, Cabrillo provided housing benefits for 17 out of state players to share three places in Soquel Knolls Condos. It is unknown what the rent for these units is. There are 57 players on the College football team roster.

I am glad Cabrillo College staff did the right thing and reported the violation to the Association. Stay tuned to find out if Cabrillo College football team will be taking a time-out from their newly-renovated stadium’s artificial turf. Again, that replacement cost taxpayers $1.2 million. Add to that the cost of providing the free housing for those out-of-state players.

Tell me again why Cabrillo College tried to convince voters there is just no money available to upgrade the science labs needed for training medical professionals???

WRITE ONE LETTER. MAKE ONE CALL. ATTEND A PUBLIC MEETING. JUST DO SOMETHING AND MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.

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 and finished with almost 30% of the votes.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

#77 / #Winning Isn’t Everything (IRL)

The March 9, 2020, edition of The New Yorker came with a great cover, featured above. That edition of the magazine also included an important article, for those who care about the state of our nation’s political life. In the hard copy version of the magazine, the article was called, “#Winning.”

If you search for the article online, you’ll find that the title has changed, and it is now quite a bit longer: “The Man Behind Trump’s Facebook Juggernaut.” That “Man” has a name, Brad Parscale, who is pictured below:

The article on Parscale, which was written by Andrew Marantz, is worth reading in its entirety. In fact, the next time I teach my UCSC class on “Privacy, Technology And Freedom,” I think I will make this article part of the assigned reading. Parscale is no “genius,” at least according to one of the people quoted in the article, but he did convince the Trump campaign to use Facebook to its fullest. That decision by the campaign probably gave Trump the presidency. The techniques used by the campaign, outlined in the article, tell a cautionary tale about what is ahead for what Alexis de Tocqueville once called “Democracy in America.”

Facebook has amalgamated an incredible dossier of information on virtually everyone in the country – and this appears to include non-Facebook users, too. The platform has been incredibly successful in parlaying this proprietary information into success in the advertising world, and it turns out that political advertising isn’t all that different from the commercial variety. This is one of the insights for which Parscale claims credit. Selling Trump? That’s just another brand of soap!

Right after the Trump victory in 2016, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, downplayed the idea that Facebook played any truly significant role in the Trump victory. According to Zuckerberg, “the idea that fake news on Facebook, of which it’s a very small amount of the content, influcenced the election in any way, I think, is a pretty crazy idea … Voters make decisions based on their lived experience.”

As one Facebook employee put it, quoted in The New Yorker article, that’s just “bullshit.”

“Facebook’s business model is premised on the assumption that there is no solid boundary between social media and ‘lived experience’ … For a decade, our pitch to everyone, especially advertisers, was ‘We can target the exact people you want and make them behave in the exact ways you want.'” That is a “non-bullshit” statement by the Facebook employee who called his boss out for providing a bullshit statement about Facebook’s influence in the last presidential election.

Facebook, and other Internet platforms, will continue to be successful in influencing political behavior, as long as we are all beguiled into the idea that what we encounter on social media is equivalent to our “lived experience.”

The “realities” we find online aren’t, quite often, any kind of “reality” at all, and our experiences on social media aren’t just another variety of our “lived experience.” If we want to preserve a democratic politics, we will have to find ways to shift our significant political conversations from “social media” to an “unmediated” reality in which we rely on conversations, and debates, and discussions with those flesh and blood characters with whom we have personal contact, in real life (IRL).

If we can’t figure that one out, the Brad Parscales of the world will continue to be effective in targeting their messages to “the exact people” that a politician wants to contact, and with every expectation that the messages that the politician sends will then make those people “behave in the exact ways” that the politician wants.

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. Classic peeks inside our secret places…maybe?

Lisa writes: “Still daring to venture out to the movies? As of this writing, movie theaters are among the few entertainment venues still open. Find out if Wendy — the new film from the director of Beasts Of The Southern Wild —is worth the risk of going out, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (ljo-express.blogspot.com/). Including bonus content not found in my Good Times review!” ” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

These guys have some unreal stuff on their bucket list, and in this episode they get help from the US Navy. Watch this, it’s very entertaining.

Isolation

A person is a person through other persons; you can’t be human in isolation; you are human only in relationships.
~Desmond Tutu

No one can live entirely on their own, nor can any country or society exist in isolation.
~Daisaku Ikeda

I think, if you have enough inner resources, then you can live in isolation for long periods of time and not feel diminished by it.
~Aung San Suu Kyi

We do not achieve happiness or salvation in isolation from each other but as members of society
~Margaret Thatcher

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

March 11 – 17, 2020

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON… back soon, really!… GREENSITE…on yet another oversized luxury development. KROHN… on election results. STEINBRUNER… thankful for the votes. PATTON… UCSC strike… EAGAN…Sub Cons and Deep Cover JENSEN… on Emma… UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…”QUARANTINE”

A GENUINE KITCHEN BROTHERS PROJECT. Raymond Kitchen built most of this abalone shell, stone, and concrete “temple” in 1947. Dr. Stoller ,who did mushroom fertilizer research, finished the structure in 1954. According to John Chases book, Kitchen got the idea from a postcard he received from India. This temple is at 1211 Fair Avenue.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

BRATTON STILL CHILLING.
Back home, but taking it easy for another week, Bruce is gearing up to be back to his usual Brattoning soon. We sure have missed him, so watch this space!

PROGRESS? When I picked this week’s historic photo, I wanted to check up on it.

This is what you see when you google 1211 Fair Avenue and pick “street view”. It makes me very sad that I missed going by there and seeing that house! I’ve been reading up on the Kitchen brothers – truly fascinating! They built their houses at night in the moonlight, in part because of a penchant for eastern mysticism, and only in part because they didn’t have the necessary permits… Imagine that today! [Gunilla]

March 9th 2020

On Removing A Watermark

Over 50 residents filled the room at the Oblates of Saint Joseph for a public meeting on yet another large-scale development coming our way. The proposed project of 100 units, if approved, will occupy a 3- acre site, the former home of Gateway School on Eucalyptus Avenue, a cul de sac off Pelton Avenue, opposite the Monarch Butterfly site in Lighthouse Field. The upbeat tone of the developer was not matched by most of the residents in attendance, including yours truly.

The developers, Oppidan Investment Corporation from San Jose have 6 such projects around the country. This would be the 4th on a Catholic campus. The Oblates would continue to own the property. Residents would not own but would lease the units and a different entity from the developer would be the operator.

This project is planned as a senior complex although the developer did not know the age cutoff. It already has a name: The Watermark at Santa Cruz. Of the 100 units, 15 are for independent living, 62 for assisted living and 19 for memory care. Out of the 100 units, 4 are slated to be “affordable.” Despite a projected staff of 20, there are only 64 parking spaces planned with delivery trucks directed to use Eucalyptus Avenue, a quiet street of single-family homes with little traffic. The site is not only zoned R1 or single family but also lies within the West Cliff Drive Overlay District and the Coastal Zone Overlay District, both of which have specific protections. It will need a Special Use Permit plus a Historical Alteration Permit. Despite all this, the city planner in attendance thought it might be CEQA exempt. I asked how many heritage trees are earmarked for removal but the project Landscape Architect didn’t know.

In fact the Investment Corporation didn’t seem to know much about Santa Cruz except that it is the perfect place for their project, which I interpreted as it will make a lot of money. They waxed on about the delights of seniors thriving in the warm California sun. More than one of us exchanged looks, which were unmistakable as: “don’t they know about the fog?” Apparently not, since they presented with pride the plan for a small vineyard onsite.

While Father Mathew of the Oblates, who has been in Santa Cruz for 1 year (17 years with the Oblates order) talked about this being about “care for the dignity of all human beings” I have a sneaking suspicion that it really is about care for the elderly wealthy. The developers encouraged us to check out a similar Oppidan project being built in Napa, which I did. The Watermark at Napa Valley is larger (173 units on 5.8 acres) with a higher percentage of independent living units, about 40% whereas the Santa Cruz version has 15%. In Napa, leased units for independent living start at $4,000 a month for 700 square feet, assisted living starts at $6,295 per month and memory care starts at $7,195 per month. New residents will pay a one-time membership fee ranging from $30,000 to $60,000. For all this you get three dining area options, courtyard gardens and gathering spaces, a fitness center, salon, theater, spa, wine bar, coffee bar and pizza oven.

I didn’t have to do mental arithmetic to know these are not meant for the likes of me. Nor for any of the hard working or retired local seniors I know. Similar to most of the developments in Santa Cruz city, they are meant for the well off who don’t yet live here. If you are tired of hearing the whine of “we need more housing” rather than the real need, which is Section 8 and affordable housing, check out the rents and sale price of the plethora of housing already approved, underway or planned for the city

While memory care and assisted living are unmet needs, especially for the working class, we should not be guilt-tripped into providing luxury resorts for wealthy seniors. Especially not one of this size, imposed on a neighborhood of single-family homes, opposite the overwintering site of a monarch butterfly grove. One gets the distinct feeling that we who live here don’t matter any more.

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.

March 10, 2020

Election results

Former Mayors Krohn, Fitzmaurice, Weed, Beiers and Laird

In the aftermath of March 3rd primary election, Councilmember Drew Glover is currently down by about 2200 votes, and I am losing to the “yes” money-crowd by around 1400. There are 9,000-10,000 votes left to count in the city of Santa Cruz. After everything is tallied I am holding out hope that we will prevail. Other good news, it looks like Cyndi Dawson and Stacey Falls will gain seats on the Democratic Central Committee, 3rd District (city), and Nora Hochman looks like a good shot to get a seat too in the 1st District; Annrae Angel is headed to a run-off in the Superior Court judgeship race and our hope in that one is that there are currently over 11,000 “under votes” (voters who left it blank) and third place finisher Jack Gordon (14,000 votes) just might endorse Annrae; and finally, Adam Bolaños Scow is winning for second place in the 20th Congressional District primary over the Republican in the city of Santa Cruz, but he is down by over 14,000 votes district-wide. Lots more votes are still to be counted!

“Cops Off Campus, COLA in my Bank Account”
That was the chant heard up and down the state last week following the firing of 80 UCSC graduate student workers. On March 5th, there was a day of solidarity with actions on all 10 UC campuses demanding the fired graduate student TAs be reinstated. Grad Student leader, Stephen David Engel wrote to the Chancellor on March 9th observing how the strike is not winding down at UCSC, but spreading to other campuses. “Grads at Santa Barbara have gone on full strike. Grads at Davis and San Diego are on grading strike. Dozens of departments at Berkeley and Los Angeles are strike-ready, and more are following their lead. Four other campuses are organizing and starting to catch up.” Although things might slow down (campus closure?) because of the Corona Virus, grad students have no intention of letting up off the gas pedal in their demands for a cost of living adjustment (Cola).

Professor Drafts Open Letter Directed Toward UCSC Chancellor, Cindy Larive
I’ve known Ronnie Lipschutz almost since he arrived to the UCSC campus in 1990. He is a credible voice on how we–the campus and community–arrived at this crisis point wrapped tightly in the overlapping issues of affordable housing, educational quality, homelessness, and the notion of shared governance. I print Ronnie’s letter in its entirety because it is a bright light explaining the complex and difficult situation the Town-Gown currently finds itself.

February 20, 2020
To: Chancellor Cynthia Larive, Provost & EVC Lori Kletzer
From: Ronnie Lipschutz

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE UCSC ADMINISTRATION

I write this letter as an individual faculty member who has been at UCSC since 1990. I am not representing any faculty group, department or Academic Senate Committee. It is my own assessment after 30 years at this campus.

I attended the Academic Senate meeting on Wednesday, February 19, and felt a growing sense of dismay as I listened to your presentations and your responses to questions from the floor. I was especially dismayed by EVC Kletzer’s repeated statement that she did not know what would happen after the Friday midnight deadline issued to the striking TAs to turn in Fall grades. Nor was I reassured by her state position that, should a shortage of qualified TAs follow, departments and faculty are responsible for dealing with problems of enrollments, class capacity, teaching and workload. While I am aware that such decisions are generally made “locally,” this response a rather disingenuous one and ignores the fact that the present situation is a consequence of Administration decisions and actions taken over the past decade. Over that time, the Administration has paid little heed to either Senate or faculty warnings about the lack of funding to support new initiatives, such as graduate growth, Silicon Valley and others. Now the faculty is being asked to address the results of 20 years of poor administration, planning and judgement.

I will not belabor this last point except to point out that the increase in undergraduate enrollments since 2000—which have greatly exacerbated the local housing crisis—have also required growing graduate student enrollment to teach them, without having in hand the necessary resources to support the latter. Generally, the formula was something like the following: undergraduate growth would bring in the tuition required to fund teaching while graduate growth would facilitate research and recognition which, in turn, would provide the extramural research funds and private donations that would support such growth.

Moreover, so far as I can recall, during those two decades, a number of strategic academic plans were prepared explaining that such growth was necessary for the glory of UCSC, without any transparent, public explanation of how the necessary funding was to be procured. This hallucinatory vision became dogma ten years ago when UCOP offered “rebenching” funds in exchange for a new “graduate growth” initiative. These funds were accepted with in full recognition that they were insufficient to support the new FTEs and graduate students coming to campus.

I will not repeat here the many assurances that were offered by the Administration about how such growth would be achieved—those are available in the many documents and studies, none of which clearly explained how this would be financed. And, until the TA strike, the Administration continued to blithely assume continued undergraduate and graduate growth as necessary from both financial and branding perspectives. Needless to say, we are now reaping the whirlwind. The Administration appears poised to use the TA strike as a pretext for reducing graduate enrollments to levels that can be funded given available resources. If this is the plan, it is an extremely cynical one.

Furthermore, to put the onus on faculty for dealing with the resulting crisis is even more cynical. I do not blame you for this situation; it is the result of two decades of administrative ineptness and opacity as mentioned above. But to shift the burden of coping to faculty, who will have to scramble to adapt, and undergraduates, who will be shut out of necessary classes and receive a degraded education, is inexcusable. Finally, to announce that yet another committee will be established to consider the contradictions is simply kicking the can down the road. We all know that such committees tend to make reasonable recommendations that cannot be funded, and that their reports end up on a (metaphorical) shelf somewhere, to be ignored the next time a similar problem arises.

Which leads to the fiction of “shared governance.” Somehow, there is a wide (mis)perception that this means joint management between administration and faculty. Of course, it means no such thing: the Administration decides what it wants to do and then consults with the Faculty Senate for comments (with objections routinely ignored). Over the past decade, there were ample warnings from faculty that the graduate growth initiative was unsupportable, but these were simply dismissed with the proviso that “we will take care of it.” So, perhaps you should take care of this, rather than shifting the onus onto the faculty.

If this letter sounds bitter, it is—very bitter. For 30 years, I participated in what was a promising and exciting experiment and that has been transformed from gold to dross. I am retiring at the end of June and so none of this matters very much to me in practical terms. But it matters greatly to undergraduates, whose credentials may well be very tarnished by this fiasco, to the graduate students, who were made promises that have been broken repeatedly and many of whom have, at best, a future career of “freeway flying” in store, and to faculty and staff, who have to bear the burden of the Administration’s generally inept administration. We have ethical obligations to our students and, if we cannot fulfill them, we would do better not to make empty promises to them in the first place.

Yours sincerely,

Ronnie Lipschutz

Professor of Politics, 1990-2020
Provost, Rachel Carson College, 2012-2018

(Chris Krohn  is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected the the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His current term ends in 2020.
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

THANK YOU TO THE 32% OF THE SECOND DISTRICT WHO ENTRUSTED ME WITH YOUR VOTE
While I did not gather enough votes to win the public service job of County Supervisor, I am very grateful for the trust that one in three voters placed in my abilities and conviction to be a responsive leader with fresh ideas for solutions to the County’s problems. I met wonderful people I would not otherwise know, and will continue to work to serve the Community to the best of my ability.

Thank you for that rich experience. I am honored and humbled.

IS SUPPORT FOR WOMEN IN POLITICS GENUINE IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY?
The race for County Supervisor in District 2 is done. I got nearly one-third of the votes. Not enough to win, but I did win by making many new acquaintances, and gaining more knowledge and experience.

In pondering the outcome and process, I have to wonder how genuine are the claims that Santa Cruz County politics supports women in government? It certainly did not feel that way from the Democratic side of the show, or the local unions. None of the unions invited me to speak to their groups and in fact, most made their endorsements even before the nominations closed.

The Women’s Democratic Committee refused to let me speak, as did the Democratic Committees with the exception of the Pajaro Valley Cesar Chavez Committee (only because the Pajaronian published the meeting was open to the public).

Here is what Mike Rotkin, leader of the Democratic Women’s Committee, wrote me when I simply asked to be able to participate in speaking to the group, not asking for any endorsement at all:

Dear Becky Steinbruner,

The charter and by-laws of all of the chartered democratic clubs, including the Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County do not allow us to endorse non Democratic candidates, so I am sorry, our forum is not open to your participation as you are not a registered Democrat.

Yours,
mike
Mike Rotkin
Program Chair
DWC

Conversely, the Republican Women’s Committee invited me to speak to their group. I did not ask for any endorsement, and was treated with the utmost of respect and consideration. The Republican Committee also invited me to speak, and again, I did not request any endorsements for my non-partisan candidacy. However, the Republican Committee did endorse me. That seemed to anger many people, without knowing any of the details, or recognizing that I am registered “Independent” and was running for a non-partisan office.

Let me ask you this: Are the Santa Cruz County politics hypocritical and reactionary? Do the actions of the Democrats really match what the group says they support? It seems to me that the Democrats have behaved like a reactionary and ill-informed junior high click, and this was born out in the Sentinel Letter to the Editor urging voters NOT to vote for me simply because of political associations of one of the legions of people helping me.

Anyone who knows Kris Kirby knows that she is a hard-working, honest and very generous person who cares about the community. She was one of many, many people who worked to help me, and I was honored to have her help. The letter-writer refused to meet with me for discussion, as did a member of the Cabrillo College governing board when I repeatedly asked…their answer was NO! (in one case, the response was very rude).

Sand box politics…what a disappointment.

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT PERMIT HEARING BEFORE THE COASTAL COMMISSION THIS WEDNESDAY IN SCOTTS VALLEY
This Wednesday, March 11, the California Coastal Commission will consider Agenda item #W22b, granting a consolidated permit application 3-20-0014 to Soquel Creek Water District for the PureWater Soquel Project. This permit would streamline the permitting required for this energy-intensive project to inject 1.3 million gallons of treated sewage water daily into the groundwater drinking supply for the MidCounty area. Rather than individual jurisdictions of Santa Cruz County, and cities of Santa Cruz and Capitola reviewing permit applications, The Coastal Commission will consider a consolidated permit under the Coastal Act.

I am asking that you please send a letter to the Coastal Commission today to protest the Project based on energy requirements that are not sustainable and Project components that would hold water supplies hostage to overseas equipment and technology suppliers.

Instead, the area’s water supply needs can be better supported by continued conservation and regional water transfers for which infrastructure is already in place. This will support better environmental stewardship and sustainability, while ensuring dependable water supplies during emergencies and Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events.

This is in alignment with the City of Santa Cruz 2015 Water Supply Advisory Committee recommendations for secure and environmentally-sound regional water supply and storage solutions.

Please send your written comment on Item #W22b as soon as possible, and before March 10, to Ryan Moroney <ryan.moroney@coastal.ca.gov>

Attend the Coastal Commission public hearing on Wednesday, March 11 at the Hilton in Scotts Valley (6001 La Madrona Drive ) near Highway 17.

Here is a link to the staff report

Here is a link to the exhibits

Thank you very much.

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BOARD AND STAFF WILL TRAVEL TO GLAD-HAND IN WASHINGTON, D.C. WHILE RATEPAYERS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE TO PAY RISING WATER BILLS
The Soquel Creek Water District Board often schedules important issues to be heard on Election Night. Such was the case on March 3 when the Board not only approved spending $6.2 million for the design of first phase of the treatment plants to inject millions of gallons of treated sewage water into the Midcounty drinking water supply, but also to make rate payers fund yet another trip to Washington, D.C. for Board and staff to glad-hand.

The Board insisted these are very necessary trips and must be made in order to secure additional funding for the expensive and environmentally damaging PureWater Soquel Project. It does not seem to matter that the ratepayers are already paying $45,000/year for Capital Edge lobbyists to do this very work.

There were nine consultants in the audience of the Election Night Board meeting. I was the only member of the public not affiliated with one of the District’s cheerleading Sub-Committees who attended and spoke. Board Chair Bruce Daniels refused to allow me more than 2 minutes to speak, even when I asked respectfully. When I continued reading from a legal sworn declaration by General Manager Ron Duncan about how the cut-off date for the Project expenses was February 29, 2020, a staff member unplugged my microphone. Wow. Some transparency.

Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BUDGET FORECAST REPORT WORRIES ME
Every year, the County Administrative Officer (CAO) presents a mid-year financial report to the Board of Supervisors. This Tuesday, March 10, Carlos Palacios will give that report sometime after 1:30pm. This is a very telling report, and often presents a more realistic picture of the County’s finances than what is given later in June at the Budget Hearings. The real report is in Item #17 that follows this somewhat rosy report but states the County needs to sell bonds because of a looming deficit.

Here is the link to the rosy report in Agenda Item #16

Here is some info from the actual Report:

Sales tax revenues are up nearly $3 million
Property tax delinquency rates are slightly higher
Transient Occupancy Tax is up by $81,676, now totaling over $5.5 million
The Cannabis industry has brought in over $3.7 million in tax revenue

Here is a quote regarding expenditures:
“For the first seven months of the fiscal year, the County has expended 50.00% of the total updated budgeted General Fund expenditures of $585,219,288. Salaries and Benefits are the county’s largest expense reflecting 56.5% of the budget that has been spent as of the end of the first seven months of the fiscal year which is reasonable compared to the budget. At the end of the first seven months in the prior 2018-19 fiscal year, 51.45% of the expenditure budget had been spent.”

Now, look at this report in Item #17….asking to set a public hearing on March 24 to sell bonds to finance the County budget’s anticipated deficit:

Continued Budget Shortfalls Anticipated.
Looking ahead, the General Fund is expected to meet its obligations for FY 2020-21 through further reductions to department projections. However, due to some declining revenues in the current year and continuing through FY 2024-25, or remaining flat, the General Fund is unlikely to meet its obligations without new or increased revenues and/or major cost reductions that could potentially impact programs and services. Based on updated projections for average expenditures and slowly declining revenue growth, the annual budget shortfall is $3-$7 million but it could be as high as $8-$12 million if prior year savings are not achieved and revenues stagnate or decline further. The five-year forecast is provided below.

Rising Retirement Rates Drive Costs.
The primary cost driver in the next five years is the continued increased cost of retirement due to rising rates which is facing all agencies invested in CALPERS. Retirement rates are anticipated to double by FY 2024- 25 and grow from $33 million to $81 million since 2013-14. The General Fund net cost increase is anticipated to grow from $24 million to $58 million since 2013-14. Rates have been impacted primarily by (1) the loss of investment earnings during the Great Recession, (2) decreases in projected future investment earnings from 7.75% to 7.0%, (3) changing demographics.

I’ll be back with the link to that March 24 Bond sale hearing.

Write the Supervisor with your thoughts.

I think it is important to attend the meeting because what is said, and what is printed for the public record, sometimes do not match.

WILL THE UCSC LONG RANGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN HOUSE THEIR STUDENTS AFFORDABLY?
This Thursday, March 12, you can find out what the University is planning to do to house the thousands of new students enrolled. We can follow the good example that the City of Davis and the County of Yolo set with UC Davis and negotiate a win-win agreement, or we can follow our old pathway of lawsuits that just make the attorneys richer and do not solve anything.

Take a look at what Davis did: City of Davis, Yolo County and UC Davis Agree to Memorandum of Understanding on Partnership and Growth

Attend one of the meetings, and submit written comment if you can

Becky Steinbruner is a 30+ year resident of Aptos. She has fought for water, fire, emergency preparedness, and for road repair. She just ran for Second District County Supervisor and got nearly 30% of the votes.
Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

#71 / Why Are They Having So Much Fun?

I had to laugh, recently, when a friend who teaches at the University of California, Santa Cruz (the locals call it UCSC) told me about a comment allegedly made by a city resident, someone who lives near the entrance to the UCSC campus.

A wildcat strike by graduate student Teaching Assistants has disrupted life on the campus quite significantly during the last month or so – and nearby neighbors have also been impacted. Among other things, traffic to and from UCSC has, periodically, been completely blocked, and those who live in the neighborhood have had traffic-related frustrations. Check these photos to get the flavor. If you are a local, of course, you may well have had experience with strike-related traffic disruptions yourself:

Well, here is the remark, supposedly made by a neighbor who was impacted by the strike, and with this remark apparently made in a rather accustatory tone of voice:

Why are they having so much fun?
What made me laugh was my recollection of what Hannah Arendt said about revolution, in her wonderful book, On Revolution. When fundamental changes are being fought for, said Arendt, one common experience is a spontaneous erruption of “public happiness,” an almost giddy realization that we are not alone, and isolated, but that we are, in fact, as I so frequently say, “together in this life.” It is not by chance that our Declaration of Independence says that we hold it to be self-evident that all persons are created equal, and that we all have the unalienable right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Why are they having so much fun? Because there is nothing more energizing and more empowering – more happiness producing – than working together to change the world.

That the strikers and demonstrators are “having fun” is a pretty good sign that significant and even “revolutionary” changes may be coming to UCSC – and perhaps to the UC System as a whole, since strike support activities are spreading to other campuses.

Yes, I really laughed when I heard that comment! It’s lots of fun to change the world. What a concept!!

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net
Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. Classic peeks inside our secret places…maybe?

Lisa writes: “You my never think of a Jane Austen novel as excoriating, but her fourth novel, Emma, bristles with savage social satire on the idleness of the upper classes. The savvy and stylish new movie adaptation of Emma captures the bite of Austen’s ironic asperity, as well as the beauty of her world, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (ljo-express.blogspot.com/). ” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

This is great. Better than great, this woman kicks butt!

Quarantine

Democratic institutions form a system of quarantine for tyrannical desires.
~Friedrich Nietzsche

The vast distances that separate the stars are providential. Beings and worlds are quarantined from one another. The quarantine is lifted only for those with sufficient self-knowledge and judgment to have safely traveled from star to star.
~Carl Sagan

Unhappiness can be like a virus spreading from one person, to the next person, to the next one and so on. When someone is mean or rude to you, do not let their unhappiness infect your own life. If you are the unhappy one, please quarantine yourself so you do not infect others!
~Jennifer O’Neill

The way that worms and viruses spread on the Internet is not that different from the way they spread in the real world, and the way you quarantine them is not that different, either.
~David Ulevitch

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

ARTICLE 2. Local Health Emergencies [101075 – 101095]

COMMUNICATION

BOREDOM

“CLAUSTROPHOBIA”

Binge Watching

Persistence

Beachcomber Mobile Home Park in Live Oak

Self Education

Staying Home

Isolation

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