January 23 – 29, 2018 - Bratton Online - A Weekly Column By Bruce Bratton - Page 36Bratton Online – A Weekly Column By Bruce Bratton | The latest incarnation of Bruce Bratton's weekly opinion columns, 34 years and running

January 23 – 29, 2018

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…Nervous political hints and some good news. Pacemaker and defibrillator blues. GREENSITE…on the new council and its many issues. KROHN…Council concerns and questions, herding of cats, New Majority. STEINBRUNER…Water for Santa Cruz meetings, Soquel Creek Water District fee increases. Scuttling water transfer with Santa Cruz City, Eshoo’s “home Rule”, Preserving historic buildings. PATTON…more from Hannah Arendt EAGAN…Subconscious Comics and Deep Cover. JENSEN…her 5 ½ days at Dominican Hospital. BRATTON…Shoplifters, a great film. UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…”Ground Hogs Day”

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY COURTHOUSE. 1866-1894. 110 COOPER STREET. This magnificent building (on the right) was our courthouse until it burned down in 1894. They built the new Courthouse that same year. The Cooperhouse, as it was known, lasted until after the 1989 earthquake and was torn down by the new owner to get FEMA money.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

CAROL CHANNING AND DINAH SHORE.

TEAM DRUMMERS. Don’t ask why I included this, just a curiosity.

ROCKIN’ AND ROLLIN’. Hard to believe folks did that!!

DATELINE January 21, 2019

BAD NEWS OR WHAT? Have you been noticing and reading that a few of our usually Progressive national press pundits are hinting Trump supporters may get him re-elected in 2020? It’s hell and a nightmare to think about. Is that big blue wave still allowing Democrats and liberals a future of good surfing? But in the meantime we’ve now got RAIL PLUS TRAIL.

MISSING A BEAT. I came up short this week on meetings, news events, even movies and concerts. Drs. Ryan Brandt and Dr. Neil Sawhney installed a combination Pacemaker/defibrillator early Wednesday morning and adjusted it again on Thursday morning over in Dominican Hospital. So I missed a few happenings this week. I may be calling a friend or two for some rides…don’t be surprised.

January 21, 2019

THE NEW COUNCIL MAJORITY IMPACTS ALREADY FELT.
Thanks to the new majority of Glover, Cummings, Brown and Krohn’s initiating the item, the community can now watch the proceedings of the city’s Planning Commission on Community TV…sort of fitting. If you thought this a no-brainer…all other cities in the county broadcast their Planning Commissions to the public…you have not felt the chilly reception some of us got when we spoke to this and other issues before the old council majority. This democratic step forward plus oral communications back at the traditional time of 7pm and it feels like change is in the air. It sure puts a spring in my step whenever I have to attend council or a commission whereas before, only a sense of duty dragged my feet down to council chambers.

These items, while important, are minor compared to what the council and new council majority will face in the coming year. Folks are already crying foul over the interim Just Cause eviction ordinance under discussion, despite the fact that it is not the same as Measure M (no rent control board for example) and it is temporary, until an agreed upon ordinance reflecting diverse viewpoints is passed. In talking with friends who own rentals or know people who do, I’ve concluded that with few exceptions, most identify with their self-interest. No surprise there. What is a surprise is how hard it is for them to recognize the difference in status between someone who pays rent to a landlord in order to be housed and someone who owns their own home plus another property (or more) to make money off renters. Privilege is invisible to those who have it.

Another thorny issue, although far less important in the scheme of things, is that of the red Jump bike program. I was unable to attend the community meeting on the issue although it was clear from the Sentinel coverage that people have concerns and many braved the stormy night to express them. The main objection is the ability to leave the bike wherever you want to, which means that sidewalks are blocked, forcing pedestrians and any wheelchair users onto the road. The ability to leave the bike anywhere in the city is a huge incentive and the most likely reason for the success of the program. Calls by the public for requirements to return bikes to hubs, likely will be ignored by city staff and Uber, which owns Jump Bikes. The company says it offers an incentive for returning the bike to a hub, although a frequent Jump Bike user who nearly always returns the bike to a hub told me she has never seen a credit to her account for such diligence. While it’s nice to be able to dump your stuff and have others clean up after you, is this a socially responsible habit to encourage? Parents, schools and cities spend much time and money to foster habits of picking up after oneself: packing your trash; putting dirty clothes in the hamper or better yet, washing them; cleaning up your dog crap; bussing your dishes etc: life’s lessons that make for a community not just a collection of individuals. To encourage the discarding of the red bikes anywhere you please with big white vans and staff to pick them up and return them to a hub encourages an individualistic attitude and an erosion of social responsibility. Since the Jump Bike program is expected to return to council for evaluation after a trial period, we can expect a big turnout.

Other issues that will eventually reach council include the campaign by Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz for more mountain bike trails in Pogonip and the environmental review of Segment 7 Phase 2 of the Rail Trail, which runs from California St. to the wharf roundabout past the Water Treatment Plant. This three quarter of a mile section, slated to cost $10 million and includes an up to 19.5 feet retaining wall plus the removal of many heritage trees, happens to run through a recognized monarch butterfly site near the West Cliff trestle bridge. The city, which does not have a good track record of handling environmental reviews (Wharf Master Plan and Heritage Tree Ordinance as just 2 examples) failed to include reference to the monarch site in its first circulation of an Initial Study so it had to be re-circulated. Comments due by February 7^th. This segment of the rail trail is environmentally sensitive and deserves a better evaluation and careful review of alternatives via an EIR rather than the limited Mitigated Negative Declaration.

Then there are the many large downtown development projects that seem to skirt affordability requirements and it’s safe to say, the council will be busy in 2019. And so will we.

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.

Jan. 23, 2019

MLK Day in Santa Cruz.
Drew Glover, Chris Krohn, Justin Cummings

Being an Activist vs. Being an Elected Official
Can an elected official continue to be an activist after being elected? I’ve been told no a couple of times by some of our Village Elders. I’ve always carried with me the notion that yes, if you can get elected you can still fight city hall, but from within. It takes time adjusting to being on the inside, but activism does not have to stop.

Watching AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she has recently become a lightning rod example of trying to put activist experience into her elected office affairs. She sometimes livestreams parts of her day. AOC voted for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker, but also protested with a group outside her office demanding the speaker create the “Select Committee for a Green New Deal.” A couple of weeks ago AOC voted to fund a Dept. of Homeland Security budget (H.J. Res. 1), which included paying ICE employees during the government shutdown, and she keeps advocating for abolishing ICE too. She also continues to talk about socialism, rare for a US elected official, saying it guarantees “a basic level of dignity.”

Every member of this Brand-New City Council–Glover, Brown, Cummings, Krohn–was elected as an activist. Parsing the nuance between activism and governing is now on the table. Many will say, now you represent everyone in Santa Cruz. While that’s true, it may be nearly next to impossible to achieve. You may want to represent all residents, and you should never cower from meeting people who may not agree with you, or did not vote for you, but you were elected on issues. All Santa Cruz voters will not agree with you on all issues. The issues this council majority stood most firm on during the past two elections were affordable housing, protecting renters, and addressing the homeless crisis. Part of the job of the city council is also to be bridge builders and identify those issues that many can agree upon and move them in the legislative arena.

Herding Cats
Being in the majority can often create more difficulties than being on the minority side of the city council. I sometimes saw last council’s supposed Mathews majority—Terrazas, Mathews, Watkins, Chase, Noroyan–struggle to produce a majority vote. Often there was tension between Mathews and Watkins when spending real money on children’s programs came up (the 1% Cannabis tax, implementing a sugar tax, and forcing developers to provide more common space for children in their developments were three such issues), or between Mathews and Terrazas’ opposing views on the city manager’s effectiveness. (My opinion from watching city council public meetings.) When the Mathews’ majority would get really rankled was when she herself would seem to lecture them on being the only adult (her!) in the room. Oh, and when her majority members tried to pry away a few budget crumbs from the Mathews-architected city budget it was usually pretty entertaining to see. We’re already running a deficit according to our Finance Director, so why would we even consider adding more, she would aver while one of her majority was advocating for as yet unfunded worthy program. These were often big struggles over a few thousand dollars, while millions went to pay down pension costs, buy new F-150 city ranger pickup trucks, and fund First Alarm security contracts. So, working within a “new majority” or any majority takes time and real work.

New Majority
Understanding how well the majority communicates and can effectively carry out its agenda may be rooted in an old concept: party discipline. But then how can a progressive majority have party discipline when there isn’t even a party? At least if the current four councilmember majority were selected by a party, as in the British Parliament, for example, Labour selects its members to represent the party and not the individual interests of that Member of Parliament (MP), then they would be able to rely on a party platform. Right now, each councilmember cannot coordinate a four-person majority vote outside of a council meeting. The public’s business must, and should, be done in public. The Ralph M. Brown Act, passed by the state legislature in 1949, makes it so that no more than three out of seven councilmembers can agree in private on business that is before the council. The solution: City Councilmembers must be willing to engage in public discussion if the public is to be adequately represented.

Developing a Progressive Agenda and Communication Skills to Go Along with it
Brown, Glover, Cummings, and Krohn were elected to help create some sort of administrative governing agenda in order to address this community’s housing inequality, and then marshal our resource base (hotel tax revenue, sales tax revenue, parking fund revenue, rental property revenue, “one-time” state monies, and “charges for services” all equal to $102,277,346 in money the city expected to take in during 2019) to address the affordable housing and homeless services crisis. There have been wide-ranging discussions during the past two political campaigns on how to address this bifurcated crisis and they include: 1) demanding developers build the legally-mandated 15% inclusionary (all of us argued for a higher figure); 2) finding a place for a 24/7 homeless shelter with services and pathways toward transitional and permanent housing; 3) not constructing a back-in-time-looking five-story parking garage on the site of the beloved downtown Farmer’s Market; 4) placing climate change (disruption) at the forefront of our fashioning of public policy (what does that look like?); and 5) opening up government to those who find it difficult having a voice (already started this by putting “oral communication” back to its former 7pm council agenda time slot and televising planning commission meetings. Next, is moving council meetings to the Civic when we expect over 150 participants.) But perhaps most importantly, 6) protecting tenants from overbearing rents, and if Measure M did not pass, creating a community conversation through bringing together a multitude of voices to design a rent stabilization program that would work for the most people in Santa Cruz. Of course, University growth, overwhelming traffic on many days of the year, enhancing the care and access to our greenbelt lands, an increasing awareness of social justice and equity in everything the city does, as well as increasing ways to support local businesses were indeed parts of the past two electoral campaign conversations as well.

“We must do more than just “honor and remember” Dr. Martin Luther King. We must be faithful to his revolutionary spirit, his call for a “radical revolution of values” and his incredible courage in taking on virtually the entire political and economic establishment of his time”. #MLKDay (Jan. 21)

(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

January 21, 2019

“WATER FOR SANTA CRUZ COUNTY” HOSTS THREE EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS
Water for Santa Cruz County wants to make sure people know how to correctly file written protests against water rate increases and to know that there is plenty of water available for the region if only the politicians will cooperate with one another. That is the focus of three educational workshops the group will host at the Aptos Library: Wednesday, Jan. 23, Tuesday, Jan. 29, and Tuesday, Feb. 12, all at 7pm- 8pm.

Soquel Creek Water District is again going after their ratepayers for substantial rate and fee increases, but this time, they want them to agree to a 9% increase ANNUALLY FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. The District needs this money to fund the $90-135 Million project to inject treated sewage water into the aquifer that supplies drinking water for the MidCounty region, but that information is not specifically divulged in the glossy mailer sent to ratepayers. If the cost of financing the project, known as Pure Water Soquel, is included, the cost skyrockets to potentially nearly $200 Million! District rates are already second-highest in the State, according to District financial reports presented to the Board in 2017, and that was before the 17.5% rate increase the District imposed last year. Wow. WRITTEN PROTESTS THAT INCLUDE ADDRESS, PARCEL NUMBER, NAME OF PERSON ON THE ACCOUNT, AND SIGNATURE MUST BE FILED BY THE FEBRUARY 19 RATE HEARING.
MAKE ONE CALL. WRITE ONE LETTER. ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. BUT JUST DO SOMETHING!

Take a look at the District’s Mission and Values here

Do you think the Board and staff are acting in a manner that is “economically feasible” while supporting “collaboration”? I do not. The District is not acting in conformity with either of those values by shoving through their expensive project to use large amounts of energy to inject treated sewage water into the aquifer that supplies drinking water to the entire MidCounty area, not just Soquel Creek Water District customers.

Apparently the District is getting a bit nervous because at the January 15 Board meeting, Ms. Leslie Strohm, Director of Finances, informed the Board that she is working with State Water Resources Control Board staff to get assistance for low income ratepayers to get financial help with paying their water bill. Until now, the Board has adamantly claimed they could not offer any financial assistance to low or fixed income ratepayers. Interestingly, Ms. Strohm reported that the rate assistance program she is investigating would not credit the water bill, but rather the customer’s electric bill, or give the customer cash or credit on their Visa account, which they could then use to pay their water bill. This would be available for customers who are a household of four and meet federal poverty levels (income of $56,000). For District customers, discounts could be 20%-50% of a bill for up to 12 units of water. Ms. Strohm stated that most of the District’s qualified customers would be eligible for the 50% discount rate….that says a lot, doesn’t it??

Ms. Strohm said she would have to respond to the State by February 1 regarding the District’s interest in participating in the program. If you are a Soquel Creek Water District customer, please write to Ms. Leslie Strohm leslies@soquelcreekwater.org and ask that the District pursue this program to get help for low income residents. I have already talked with many elderly fixed-income customers who struggle to pay their water bills now.

Attend the Water for Santa Cruz County workshops and learn more about the real and affordable possibilities for regional water management using existing infrastructure to solve water storage and supplies for our future. Learn more here: www.waterforsantacruz.com

Here is an excellent article by Sentinel reporter Ms. Jessica York

WHY DID SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT STAFF CHOOSE TO SCUTTLE RESULTS OF REGIONAL SURFACE WATER TRANSFER PILOT PROJECT WITH SANTA CRUZ CITY?
I was shocked last Tuesday by the District Board’s overall lack of concern regarding the impacts of staff decision to activate the large O’Neill Ranch Well, two weeks after finally opening the valve to accept 1200 gallons/minute of potable water from Santa Cruz City. That action reduced the water coming from Santa Cruz by half. Staff had earlier refused to answer my written request for an explanation of the action, stating that it would be included in a report to the Board on January 15. That oral report provided by Ms. Christine Mead did not even mention the surface water pilot project happening at the Service Area #1 test site. She stated that “regretfully, the O’Neill Ranch Well will have to be turned off” to accommodate Santa Cruz City’s Aquifer Storage & Recovery Pilot Project (ASR) at the nearby city-owned Beltz 12 well. That was to have happened last Friday, January 18.

It was only because Director Carla Christensen asked about the Surface Water Transfer project that it was addressed at all. Members of the public also asked about it further but, given past actions, there would have been no guarantee that the staff would have been asked by the Board to provide any answer at all.

Ms. Mead informed the Board that the reason the O’Neill Ranch Well was activated was to test the ammonia levels in the water from the well to determine how much disinfection would be needed. This new well has been plagued with increasingly high ammonia levels and has been turned off for most of the past two years, but the work done last year to seal the casing in the area thought to be the contamination source zone supposedly corrected the problem. Ms. Mead reported that the District received a WAIVER FROM THE STATE regarding hypochlorite levels for treating the water there, and staff wanted to know whether those disinfection by-products would be a problem. The Surface Water Transfer Pilot Project allows water to be transferred, if certain conditions are met, November 1 – April.

She said the well must run for 2 hours to stabilize the reportable ammonia levels. However, according to data given the City Water Advisory Commission on January 7 by City staff, shocking the Commissioners, the O’Neill Well has been in continuous operation since about December 20, just two weeks after the intertie was opened on December 3, with great public celebration.

When members of the public quizzed the District Board about the wisdom of essentially ruining the test results of not pumping in Service Area #1 during the Surface Water Transfer Pilot Test to allow the groundwater levels to rise naturally and thereby address any salt water intrusion problems due to District over-pumping, Director Bruce Jaffe stated that there was a misunderstanding in the intention of the Project. The goal was not to test whether or not the groundwater levels would be improved with not pumping (“We know that will work”, he said) but rather to test the effects of surface water in the District pipelines, and that the O’Neill Well was adding groundwater to the mixture to further test that effect.

That was all news to me, because the Pipe Study conducted last year by researchers at Virginia Tech, paid for by both the City and the District, concluded the bench test results were clearly such that there was no further need for a closed loop pipe test to do any further analysis. There has been only one call from a District customer in the test area, stating their water had a “musty” odor.

Santa Cruz City Water staff reported at their Commission meeting January 7 that the Surface Water Transfer Pilot Test was actually beneficial to their system because the water in pipes and storage was being used and replaced more quickly, thereby not aging and allowing disinfection by-products levels to increase. The amount of water going through the interties since activation of the O’Neill Ranch Well dropped by about half, reducing the benefit to the City, and negating the Pilot Test results on monitoring groundwater level improvements that could support future expansion of this conjunctive use.

What is the Soquel Creek Water District Board and staff thinking???

Well, at least the District staff is still keeping the well in the Seascape area off line that is contaminated with 1,2,3-TCP. They had, until last year, continued pumping from that well even though the carcinogenic contaminant level was three times higher than allowed by proposed new State limits. According to staff, the State is undergoing legal challenge to reducing the amount of the carcinogen that is allowed to be in the water. Now, isn’t that comforting???

I am relieved that the District Board, staff and committee members will all be receiving and ETHICS TRAINING on February 5, 6pm, just before their regular Board meeting at the Capitola City Council Chambers. It will be taught by District Counsel Mr. Bob Bosso. I wonder if there will be popcorn provided?

SANTA CRUZ MIDCOUNTY GROUNDWATER AGENCY SCHEDULES MEETING AFTER HAVING CANCELLED
The Santa Cruz MidCounty Groundwater Agency is a group composed of representatives of all water users in the Purisima and northern boundary of the Aromas Red Sands Aquifers that are tasked by the State to develop a plan by the end of this year for sustainably managing the groundwater basin. It consists of Soquel Creek Water District, Central Water District, Santa Cruz County (representing small water companies), a County Supervisor (or his aide), Santa Cruz City Water Manager Rosemary Menard, a City Councilmember, and three private well representatives that were chosen by the municipal representatives. That group meets every two months, and was to have met earlier this month, but cancelled the meeting.

However, the meeting just got re-scheduled for MONDAY, JANUARY 28 AT 1PM-4PM and will be at Simpkins Swim Center. I find this odd for three reasons….

The meeting had been cancelled earlier, with notation that the next Board meeting would be held March 21, 2019.
These Board meetings have always been held during evening hours but this one is scheduled for the early afternoon, not allowing working members of the public to participate.
Despite being on the automatic notification list for meetings of this agency, I have received NO Notice of this rescheduled meeting.

Hmmmm……

Here is the website link

The Advisory Committee, the citizen group that is to develop the Sustainable Groundwater Management Plan for the Basin and submit it to the Board for their approval, is meeting this Wednesday, January 23 at 5pm at the Simpkins Center. The Board is also part of that group. Attend if you are able. These meetings are audio recorded and available (all except the December 12, 2018 meeting) here, along with doucmentation.

In truth, this Committee was last month informed that the Board will develop the Plan and issue it to the Committee, and allow them to prioritize projects included in the proposed Plan. That was not the intention or goal stated initially during the selection process for members of this citizen-based Advisory Committee. Attend if you can. Sadly, at the December 12 meeting, I was informed that MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ASK QUESTIONS DURING PUBLIC COMMENT TIMES STRUCTURED IN THE MEETING’S PROCEEDINGS, BUT MERELY TO REGISTER COMMENT. What a sham of democracy. And this Agency will ask for trust and cooperation of small water companies and private well owners in the later implementation of the Plan??? We shall see.

ANNA ESHOO INVOKES “HOME RULE” AGAINST FCC MANDATE TO ALLOW 5G TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURES IN PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY WITHOUT ANY LOCAL REGULATION.
Many are wondering about the wisdom of allowing massive installations of new wireless technology, known as 5th Generation (5G) throughout the public rights-of-ways in the nation without any environmental review whatsoever for a technology that has not been tested. Many California counties and cities protested last year to pre-empt SB 649 that would have mandated the placement of this technology and given local jurisdictions no control over setting fees associated that the telecommunication providers would have to pay for use of the public rights-of-way. Thankfully, Governor Brown refused to sign the legislation into law within the 10 day period required to do so.

Now the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), clearly an public agency captured and enslaved by the private telecommunications industry, has enacted federal law to strip local jurisdictions of any power to refuse the placement or regulation of the 5G technology that would have new infrastructure installed on utility poles and street lights every 400-500 feet throughout the jurisdiction.

Rep. Anna Eshoo and Senator Richard Blumenthal asked the FCC in a letter dated December 3, 2018 for proof that 5G technology is safe.

Last week, Rep. Eshoo introduced HR 530, invoking “Home Rule” that would supersede the new FCC mandates and restore local control

BRAVO!!!
What is “Home Rule”? Basically, it is the doctrine that local people best know how to regulate and run things in their jurisdictions. Isn’t that a novel idea? It can also be applied at the city and County levels of government under certain conditions. I am hosting a by-invitation-only event to learn more about how this might be applicable in Santa Cruz County and City. Contact me if you want information: 831-685-2915

Learn more about the Home Rule principle here

Write Rep. Anna Eshoo and thank her for her brave leadership

Call 831-335-2020.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION TO CONSIDER CHANGES IN HOUSING ZONING CODES…LIVESTREAM NOW AVAILABLE?
The Santa Cruz County Planning Department staff will present one of three pending major changes to zoning codes related to housing to the Planning Commission on Wednesday, January 23 at 9am in the 5th floor Supervisor chambers. I was happy to see yesterday that effective January 17, those meetings and public hearings will be live streamed by Community TV for those who cannot attend, but now do not see any reference to the improved transparency measure on the Commission website. Hmmm…

Write Michael Lam michael.lam@santacruzcounty.us and ask about this. He is the Clerk for the Planning Dept. agendas.

On January 9, the County Housing Advisory Commission considered the Planning Department staff’s recommendations for the three new zoning code changes regarding housing:

Permanent Room Housing (PRH) overlay to allow old hotels, motels and convalescent centers to legally rent to long-term occupants, (I think new ones should be included, too)
On-Site Facilities Housing overlay to allow on-site staff housing at schools and hospitals, and
By-Right owner ability to build farm worker housing on agricultural land, providing 12 houses or 36 beds, but larger projects may be allowed (!)

You may remember from reading my report last week about this meeting that Commissioner Dean Lundholm asked some really good questions that never really got answered by staff. The public needs to keep asking those questions, because many are at the heart of preserving Measure J, enacted in 1978 to preserve agricultural land and keep growth at a reasonable level while regarding supporting infrastructure.

This Wednesday, the Commissioners will consider only the PRH component of the mix.

Here is the Commission agenda

Here is the link to the CTV “Government On Demand” where you can see other government meetings live-streamed, as view archived meetings as well.

Maybe things will go live at the Planning Commission meeting Wednesday?

COUNTY HISTORIC RESOURCES COMMISSION TAKES POSITIVE STEP TO PRESERVE HISTORIC BUILDINGS
Last Monday, the County Historic Resources Commissioners took a great step to preserve important historic buildings in the County when owners would rather just bulldoze them. Modeled on the City of Santa Monica’s requirements, the new regulations will require owners of historic buildings to show actual proof of it being unfeasible to restore /preserve historic structures when they apply for a demolition permit to bulldoze the structure instead. This will help a lot and I especially applaud Commissioner Suzie Merriam for her efforts.

These meetings are not recorded, but a friend did so and will put it up on public YouTube soon.

I have witnessed the Historic Resources Commission approving a demolition permit for the last house in the historic Hihn Subdivision in Aptos (8057 Valencia Street), eligible for the National Historic Registry, when the owner claimed saving it was economically not feasible. The owner submitted NO actual bids or economic information to verify the claim was true, and the Commissioners did not ask for it before granting the “partial-demolition” permit that allowed the ENTIRE structure to be destroyed and sent to the landfill (except the one piece of virgin redwood beam crews salvaged for me and that I donated to the Aptos History Museum).

Our County still has a long way to go to put some teeth behind the County government claims that it values cultural and historic resources, but this is a good start. Many outside agencies that I have contacted are shocked to learn that Santa Cruz County has no “Mills Act” in place to waive property taxes for owners of historic properties that are well-maintained. Santa Monica has this and other incentives.

Write your County Supervisor and ask that Santa Cruz County adopt the Mills Act:

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

Call 831-454-2200

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

Jan. 19 / Arendt On Trump

Timothy Shenk is a co-editor of Dissent and a fellow at New America. He is currently writing an intellectual history of American democracy and has recently published an article titled, “Hannah Arendt’s Answer to Paul Berman on the Contemporary American Left.” Shenk’s article was highlighted in a recent edition of Amor Mundi, the weekly blog published by The Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College. Here is what Shenk has to say about how a study of the Nazi past might help to explain our current political reality:

If you want to understand American politics today, the single best source might be page 334 of Hannah Arendt’s masterpiece, The Origins of Totalitarianism. …

After running through a brief history of modern Europe, Arendt’s narrative brings her to one of the most puzzling questions of the interwar period: Why were vulgar demagogues peddling ridiculous doctrines able to turn millions of people against the liberal order? She had, by then, already discussed the psychology of what she sniffily referred to as “the mob,” and now turned her attention to totalitarianism’s attractions for the elite. What especially interested Arendt, who turned 27 the year Hitler became chancellor of Germany, was its appeal for younger intellectuals.

Her answer centered on the failings of the status quo. “What the defenders of liberalism and humanism overlook,” she observed, was that it had become “easier to accept patently absurd propositions than the old truths which had become pious banalities.” Why was that? Well, people had eyes. They could see that elites who proclaimed themselves champions of civilization were “parading publicly virtues which [they] not only did not possess in private and business life, but actually held in contempt.” Everybody knew the whole thing was a joke, except for the great men who bought into their own propaganda. Confronted with this hypocrisy, “it seemed revolutionary to admit cruelty, disregard of human values, and general amorality because this at least destroyed the duplicity upon which the existing society seemed to rest.” Sure, the alternative was farcical, but at least everyone would be able to stop mouthing the same old lies, and that offered a kind of liberation.

I think the phenomenon outlined by Shenk is precisely what has allowed Donald J. Trump to rise to the top of our American politics, and why it is far from certain that he won’t be elected to a second term in 2020.

Americans, I believe, are deeply committed to the kind of democracy that I like to call “self-government,” a political system in which the government is both “of” and “by” the people, as well as being “for” them. Being able to participate in this kind of government, more even than economic success, is what I think constitutes the “American Dream.”

When people see our political “leaders” mouthing the words, while lining their own personal and political pockets, and kowtowing to the corporate interests that siphon off the wealth of the nation into their personal and corporate bank accounts, they loathe the hypocrisy of “the system,” and are more than ready to celebrate leaders that openly display their “cruely, disregard of human values, and general amorality.” Perversely, it is such “leaders,” and our current president is among their number, who seem more credible and honest than the so-called “honest politicians” who denounce our president, but who in fact are not all that different.

Shenk is on to something. I would say that the lessons for today are two:

Read Hannah Arendt
Do something about it! Self-government does still 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. Scroll below for secret scenes and driving forces, with our deeply committed friends.

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

“RED VELVET, THE PLAY”. The Jewel Theatre Company, Santa Cruz’s only full time professional theatre company presents Lolita Chakrabarti’s play Red Velvet from January 23-February 17 at the Colligan Theatre in the Tannery. It’s about the backstage world of London in the early 1800’s. The play is Othello and the lead gets sick and a black actor from America is about to take his place as the black Othello!! Go to https://www.jeweltheatre.net/red-velvet for more data and tickets.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Fate does not like to be tempted. She’s always ready to smack you with some new, unforeseen obstacle. Find out what she had in store for me last week — including a 5 1/2 -day escapade at Dominican, and a guest appearance from my Spirit Guide — 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.

SHOPLIFTERS. Famed and great Japanese film director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s film about an impoverished makeshift family won the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. And it earned a 99! On Rotten Tomatoes. A very poor family “adopts” a cruelly-treated little girl, and gives her sensitive and true family love — while teaching her to shoplift to stay alive. The relationships and bonds of love are a bit confusing (and near boring) yet it’ll rip your tears out and maybe even cry. Not your standard Hollywood saga…but a piece of cinematic art.

IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK. A 94 on Rotten Tomatoes, Golden Globes and Oscar talk, this is a deeply moving story about a black Harlem family in the 70’s, facing the very real race problems that remain with us all. James Baldwin wrote the book, and the Beale Street reference is only to drive home the fact that time and equality haven’t changed. Rape, pregnancy, mother’s love, are combined with super acting to wrench hidden feelings from all of us. Don’t miss this excellent film.

ROMA. What’s extra perfect about Roma is that you can see it on the theatre screen right now, realize how perfect a film it is, and then go home and watch it again on Netflix. I did exactly that. Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien) directed this complex self-biography/masterpiece. I’m not sure what’s best… the acting, the photography, or the story. It’s Mexico City in the 1970’s, and we watch the changes in the life of a housekeeper and of the world she lives in. See it, especially if you like award-winning classics.

ON THE BASIS OF SEX. If you saw the recent documentary “RBG” there’s no reason to see this nearly religious tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsberg. But she is a lot prettier in this version. We know by now that RBG is some kind of saint and that she had a lung problem a few weeks ago. Felicity Jones is a British actress and manages to sound about 80% American with just some New Yorker accent that flips on and off. It’s sort of a mix between Joan of Arc and Mary Poppins

BEN IS BACK. Julia Roberts does one of her very best roles in this controlling Mom dealing with her addict son. Lucas Hedges also captures the rest of the screen as the remorseful son who is earnestly trying hard to stay “clean”. A very hard biting drama, and probably has been a true story many thousands of times. Go see the movie. VICE. Not a GREAT movie but an important one. Christian Bale is completely unrecognizable as Dick Cheney and his performance is for sure Oscar-worthy. I had no idea how evil and powerful Cheney became working under and on top of George W. Bush. It is a scary movie and lacks continuity but politics fans need to see it.

FAVOURITE. Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman work together nicely in this costume drama that tries to be a comedy or else it’s a comedy that looks like a costume drama. Olivia Colman is Queen Elizabeth in this 18^th Century and she’s been winning all sorts of awards and praise for her slap stick fun. The movie is intentionally full of out of proper time words and gestures. They say fuck a lot and make very modern gestures. Not my favorite movie but just maybe it’s yours?

WELCOME TO MARWEN. Poor reviews like a 28 on RT, but I liked it much more than they did. It’s “based on a true story” about a guy who got severely beaten by thugs and lost his memory…completely. So he re-creates a new world populated with Barbie and Ken dolls. Steve Carell plays Mark Hogancamp, the real life sufferer who still lives in up-state New York. Since the movie is about a mentally de-ranged guy it too is disturbingly directed. It’s complex, confused and really involving as well as hypnotic. CLOSES THURSDAY, JANUARY 17

MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS. Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie play strong and competing would be queens in this costume drama set around the 16th century. It’s a battle between the two great actresses over the throne. It’s full of Catholicism, cruelty, cunnilingus, and other controversial topics. It’s way over done and certainly doesn’t add much too cinematic history.

MARY POPPINS RETURNS. This is a NEW Mary Poppins movie. Emily Blunt is no Julie Andrews and if you’re old enough to remember seeing the 1964 original you’ll realize just how wonderful it was. There’s not a single memorable song in this take, there’s no purity, innocence, or genuinely creative additions to the 54 year old original. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer and Julie Walters with Colin Firth and Meryl Streep added just to give it hype. Meryl Streep is sort of the Ed Winn character but she’s not as good.

BIRD BOX. Sandra Bullock stars in this dystopian melodrama. Invisible aliens attack earth and if you look at them you’ll have to commit suicide!! I saw this on Netflix, it’s brand new in limited release and who knows of it’ll ever go wall to wall in theatre. It’s a mish mash of time periods as Sandra takes two children on a blindfolded row boat trip to escape these invaders. The ending ??? It doesn’t have one exactly, as our heroes stay over at a school for the blind and stare at the sky. The photography is fine, the acting is pretty good, but none of it makes sense.

GREEN BOOK. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali (from Oakland) are getting extra-super praise for their roles in this almost-true story of a white chauffeur driving a black jazz pianist through the American south in 1962. I couldn’t buy the entire plot. Both Viggo and Mahershala play their roles way over the top…becoming caricatures. There isn’t a surprise, revelation, or any lesson to be learned from this movie. It’s a story we are all too familiar with. If Slumdog Millionaire got an Academy Award, this one could too. But not from me.

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. I should note that I’m no fan of “Queen” the band, or of Freddie Mercury, their Mick Jagger-copying lead singer. Nonetheless this Hollywood-style movie is shallow, hammy, trite, and adds nothing to film, music, or history. It’s actually boring for much of its screen time of two hours and 15 minutes.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. . Julie James talks about Jewel Theatre’s new play Red Velvet on January 15. Then Celia and Peter Scott talk about Campaign For Sustainable Transportation. Phil Collins from New Music Works discusses their Feb. 2 concert featuring Terry Riley, piano and Sarah Cahill on January 22. Following Phil will be Attorney Bill Parkin and Ron Pomerantz talking about the lawsuit against the City and developer Owen Lawlor. John Laird discusses his plans to run for Bill Monning’s State Senate Seat on January 29, then Bill Raney talks about his new book, “Beatniks, North Beach in the 60’s”. Linda Burman-Hall discusses the full season of The Santa Cruz Baroque Festival on Feb. 5 followed by UCSC Math prof. Ralph Abraham with news of his two new books on the Hip History of Santa Cruz. Ellen Grace O’Brian talks about her book, ” Jewel Of Abundance” on February 12. Authors and Publishers Doug and Rachel Abrams discuss their new book on finding, maintaining relationships “Eight Dates” OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

Stephen Colbert breaks it down…

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur, The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.

QUOTES. “GROUND HOGS DAY.”

“The groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears”. Bill Vaughn

“Old Groundhog stretched in his leafy bed.
He turned over slowly and then he said,
“I wonder if spring is on the way,
I’ll go and check the weather today…” Author Unknown, “Groundhog Day”

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring”. George Santayana

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

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January 16 – 22, 2019

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…Women’s March, MLK March, Santa Cruz Online, Obama Avenue in NYC, Tamara Parker died. GREENSITE…On The Death of a Spouse. KROHN…Priorities of council issues, Camp Ross, Bernie still for president, City Council didn’t pass Measure M. STEINBRUNER…Soquel Creek Water District and sewage water, lacking EIR, Twin Lakes Church and Cabrillo Property and water rate increase. PATTON…Tech dividend and sharing the wealth. EAGAN…Walls and Cages. JENSEN…looking ahead. BRATTON…critiques On The Basis of Sex. UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…on “Marches”.

PACIFIC AVENUE. August 29, 1957. This is about at the corner of Walnut and Pacific. Reeve’s is now the Gap, then we have Synergy, and Berdels at the corner.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

HOW THE ROVER GOT TO MARS. This is serious…no jokes in it, it’s huge and powerful, and Ralph Davila sent it.

THE MOST INCREDIBLE TRUCK DRIVERS IN THE WORLD!

DATELINE January 14, 2019

WOMENS MARCH (ON JANUARY 19). This march and rally has become a very strong statement, especially for Santa Cruz Women. Their website says… “The March begins at 10am at Pacific and Cathcart Street. We are asking people to start gathering at 9am. The route will follow Pacific and turn right onto Water, then turning ‘right’ into the County Parking Lot at the County Offices. 701 Ocean St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. The Rally will begin at 11am. For more details see below… We need your help to fund the 2019 Santa Cruz Women’s March, and beyond. Please use the link below and make a donation, any amount is helpful. Thank you! See you on Saturday, Jan 19, 2019 at 9 am.”

Women’s March: Sign up here!

MLK MARCH (ON JANUARY 21) NEWS. Carson Kelly from Santa Cruz Indivisible sent this plea!!! “For those of you that have signed up to help at this weekend’s Marches (Women’s March on 1/19 and MLK March on 1/21)… thank you! For those that haven’t, there is still time! And both Marches need the volunteer support.

MLK March: Sign up here!

Photographers needed:

The Citizenship 2.0 project will also take place at the Rally, and we need assistance. One of Santa Cruz Indivisible’s calls-to-action will be to ask participants: “What civic duties do you have as a resident of the United States?” We will be asking people to answer the question on a small whiteboard, and then pose for a picture holding up their answer. We hope to gather hundreds of answers and put them into social media, as part of our Citizenship 2.0 project introduction.

To help us with this, please register here . Thank you for your support

Carson Kelly.

SANTA CRUZ ONLINE. Erstwhile and honest and former KUSP staffer Michael Lewis has created a new and important source of political and environmental daily information. It’s Santa Cruz Online. Michael writes to tell us: “Democracy is practiced by those who show up. Since we all have limited time and energy, we need to know where and when to show up, to support those causes we support and defend. With a newly seated Santa Cruz City Council, this year will be our opportunity to work with our representatives and community activists who support our causes. I’ve created a website, Santa Cruz Online, as an annotated calendar of events, meetings, actions and opportunities in Santa Cruz City and County government. I’ll be posting weekly reviews of upcoming meeting agendas and minutes for City Council and County Board of Supervisors, as well as advisory bodies, committees, and affiliated organizations. Click HERE to go to Santa Cruz Online, and enter your email address in the “Follow” box (in the right hand column on a computer or at the end of the post on a mobile device) to receive timely updates.

Michael Lewis
Santa Cruz Online: https://sconline464234593.wordpress.com/

OBAMA AVENUE, NYC. Mark Bernhard and Ann Steyeart sent this…

Petition Asks NYC to Rename a Stretch of Fifth Avenue

A petition started by MoveOn.org calls for the block of Fifth Avenue in New York between 56th Street and 57th Street to be renamed “President Barack H. Obama Avenue.” Such renaming is not unusual. The New York City Council recently approved naming streets for the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, Notorious B.I.G., Woody Guthrie, and Audre Lorde. A section of freeway in Los Angeles has been renamed for Obama.

What is special about Fifth Avenue from 56th Street to 57th Street is that it just so happens to be home to Trump Tower. Donald Trump’s reelection campaign will be headquartered there. If the city council approves the name change, the reelection committee’s mailing address will become:

Committee to Re-elect President Donald Trump
725 President Barack H. Obama Avenue
New York, NY 10022

TAMARA PARKER DIED. Tamara Parker and partner Patrick Casey once owned and operated Casey’s Ice Cream Parlor in Scotts Valley. Tamara later owned and operated “Legal Document Services” on Walnut Street, which was a new name for Para Legal functions. She was one of my favorite clients and friends from the more than 250 clients I had while a marketing consultant for Cabrillo’s Small Business Development Center for nearly 15 years. She was as ardent a world traveler as she was in making sure her clients received 100% of her attention and care. She married and retired about 5 years ago, and moved to a great senior community “The Villages”, in east San Jose. She’ll be missed.

January 14, 2019

ON THE DEATH OF A SPOUSE.
On January 19th, it will have been two years since my life’s partner and love of 30 years, John Phillip Bergwall, died. I tend to be a private person and avoid talking about personal issues. Death, however, is a social issue. Collectively we shy away from its discussion, leaving individuals to cope alone and others at a loss for words.

While you have no idea of the impact of such a life-changing event until felt personally, lifting the shrouds of silence on the inevitability of death might help us feel the wonder of life shared more keenly. It is indeed short.

John died suddenly, without warning, as I was driving him to an appointment. Cardiac arrest. On Broadway, just a few yards from where we had faithfully held our weekly vigil to save the life of the 110 year-old red horse chestnut tree on the site of the Hyatt Hotel that had ignored the community’s pleas to save the tree. Our many signs were John’s work, artist that he was.

A line from Susan Abulhawa’s Mornings in Jenin resonated: “Struck by…death’s lack of drama. Its matter-of-factness. Its quiet authority.”

And this from Emily Dickinson spoke to me:
This is the hour of lead-
Remembered, if outlived,
As freezing persons recollect the snow-
First-Chill-then Stupor-then the letting go.

We live as though there is always tomorrow. Like most people I was at a loss for words if someone whispered that so and so had just “lost” her or his spouse. Not that I blurted out “well, you’re better rid of the old fart!” I murmured something hopefully caring but unintelligible. Like with sex, we lack a meaningful language of communication around death since both are taboo subjects. Interesting that one is the potential beginning of life and one the ending of it. We live in the middle part and leave the beginning and end to chance. I feel the middle could be better-lived if the end were better articulated.

There are many widows and widowers amongst us although the former far outnumber the latter. We are invisible. Once the rituals have ended, it is assumed we get on with our lives and “get over it.” I can’t speak for everyone but those I can speak for will tell you that is not so. The sharp edges somewhat dull but the emptiness is still keenly felt. Tears are just below the veneer of daily living. Maybe this is a measure of how much love was shared when the other was alive. The paradox of wishing for less love in life to ease the pain of eventual loss is not a very good solution.

I’ll leave you with a few thoughts. Treasure those you love as though they may be gone forever tomorrow. The universes are distant, cold and immense while love is close by and warm. If you know someone who has lost a loved one, say something simple and caring. Avoid saying nothing out of discomfort…it’s not about you. Avoid comparisons. No, it’s not like when your dog died; they are not “in a better place”; time may not help; things don’t always happen for a reason; we are not lucky to have had the time we had. Sometimes a hug is all that is needed since such physical closeness has disappeared. Whenever I leave the wharf after Gilda’s, the place I drove to after the emergency room and John dead on the gurney, since Gilda’s is family, one of the women at the kiosk always asks “How are you today?” Even after two years, I know she means “How are you today without your beloved John?” That touches the heart. That is sufficient.

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.

Jan. 14, 2019

PRIORITIES
What Should the City Council Take On?

The camp behind Gateway Plaza shopping center,
“Camp Ross,” has grown to 135 tent structures.

What is the most important issue facing Santa Cruz right now? I met with over a dozen people this week all of whom would seem to have priority differences. There were the dozens of activists who came out to the council meeting seeking protections for tenants now; I met in the backroom (no smoke) of Lupulos Beer House with folks wanting to decouple the library from the garage and take a look at that wonderful space bounded by Cedar, Lincoln and Cathcart streets as a public space, a town commons perhaps, and a permanent place for the Downtown Farmer’s Market; then there was the guy on the Westside who says UCSC is being let off the housing hook because they seem to be absent from the city council debate on renter protection and affordable housing (I hope not); the highest priority for the dance-arts community is preserving space for art downtown in the face of the Devcon-Swenson-Ross developer frenzy to re-do Pacific Avenue and Front Street; Save Our Shores is looking at eliminating plastics from the ocean; the “Berniecrats” organized a slate of state convention delegates that includes Justin Cummings and Jeffrey Smedberg, and were urging supporters to go to SEIU to vote this past Sunday; city commission appointments, set for a city council decision on January 21st, was on the minds of many I met with this past week, as was the ongoing saga over whether the Corridor Plan is really dead; and how do we get the Lawlor Project to build those 31 affordable units inside their 205-unit sprawling market-rate development on Pacific near Laurel Street? But when I ran into Daniel and Dougie at the now penned in homeless camp, dubbed Camp Ross, I realized anew what our community priorities might be.

Camp Ross, 25% more Tents this Week than Last
After counting 105 tent structures last week all packed between the cinder block back wall of Ross Dress for Less, and the unforgiving asphalt and noise of the Highway 1 and River Street intersection, I just figured there wasn’t much space left to grow. But when I visited this past Saturday the number of tent-structures ballooned to 135 with still more people looking for a spot. I also learned that, while this location is not really perfect for anyone–campers, community, businesses, drivers–it is in fact a place for the homeless and the houseless to be and collect their thoughts, use a rest room perhaps, wash up and maybe take a respite to plan for tomorrow. Is it safe for everyone? No, not like the city-sponsored River Street camp was. Is it a place to rest? For now, yes, but the city council and board of supervisors need to act, and act quickly on addressing this critical situation.

Late, Great California?
The scene out at Camp Ross is as startling as it is familiar. It’s a script playing out in many California cities including Hayward, Chico, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco. Camp Ross is nonetheless eye-opening, perhaps because it sits only a few feet from the busiest intersection in Santa Cruz. I spoke with six residents at the camp and this is what they had to say: “Someone threw an explosive device (M-80?) at the camp the other night and woke many of us up.” “Someone in a passing car on Highway 1 shot pellets into tents recently.” “Many of us are willing to work… (he points)…over there is an electrician, there’s a plumber, I’m a professional laborer. I’ve worked on many construction sites. I just need a job.” What do they currently need most after a home and a job? “Toilette paper and work boots.” Also, “be nice to have a sound barrier…the traffic is so loud, really bad.” For the city’s part, we’re assisting Brent Adams’ Warming Center and storage program, bed space has been opened at the Page Smith House, and we are funding the Salvation Army shelter on Laurel Street. What’s clear is that these band-aid programs exist AND, there’s still close to 200 people camping behind Ross. So, what’s on the agenda for this city council? Fund an interim shelter with outdoor space for tents and incorporate wrap-around services like counseling and medical care (the recently opened navigation center is a move in this direction), identify a permanent 24/7 shelter site, and help create an expanded storage program.

Run Bernie Run?
Our Revolution, the Bernie Sanders organizing group, held a giant get-together this past weekend via act.tv Over 400 house meetings were held around the country to solicit input for a potential Bernie for President campaign run. There were 15 Berners present at the meeting I attended, it was one of four in Santa Cruz county. What I noticed was that while the passion for a Sanders presidency still, excuse the pun, burns bright, there is a slight wariness in the battle-hardened Bernie-istas. Is it the age of Bernie (77)? Is it the huge field of Democratic candidates? Is it the recent entry of hardcore Sanders’ supporter and strategist, Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard, into the presidential field? Or is it a spreading feeling (among white people) that only a white guy can take on an even older white guy and maybe Bernie’s too old? (Like Biden (76) and Trump (72) aren’t?) The age thing is a smoke screen because any campaign ought to be run on issues. If Elizabeth Warren (69) or Kamala Harris (54) or Gabbard (37) run for President on the issues Bernie has laid out–Medicare for all, tuition-free college, criminal justice reform, taking on the billionaires, and governing as if black lives do indeed matter–then I would say many Bernie supporters might sign on to such a candidate. But believe me, if it is the resurrection of St. Joe Biden, the tepid populism of a Sherrod Brown(66), or the Dem-insider politics of a Kirsten Gillibrand (52), then a lot of Berners will likely be disappointed. Warren might fit a Sanders supporter’s alternative eventually, but the group I sat with on Saturday watching the act.tv feed move from group to group around the country did not indicate much support at this time, they were excited about Bernie. Run Bernie run? Yes, but it won’t be like last time. It never is.

(PS Left out Booker, Garcetti, and Beto…okay, whatever…)

Measure M vs. Current Council Recommendation
No matter what you’ve been hearing about the reconstitution of Measure M, rent control, either on Next Door or the in letters to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the Santa Cruz city council did NOT pass Measure M. What it did pass on January 7th was 1) limited rent increase of 7% over two years with a 2-month relocation assistance if it went beyond this amount (unanimous 7-0 vote) and 2) a temporary measure to offer some relief to renters while a housing task force goes to work in fashioning recommendations for city council consideration. There was no rent board approved, no six-month relocation fee passed, and no having to keep renting in-perpetuity to those 62 and over, or disabled. These were the parts of Measure M that seemed to be referred to most often as onerous in last November’s Measure M ballot initiative(The I’m in favor of rent control, just not this rent control measure, remember that sentiment? Okay, the council responded.) The council took an approach last Tuesday to try and provide protection for some of the most vulnerable members of our community, tenants, while we work on finding some permanent renter protections, shoring up homeless services, and taking another look at the rental inspection ordinance (remember that one?!). Stay tuned!

“In America, a woman—not the government or her employer—must control her own body. We must vigorously defend women’s access to all reproductive health services and allow them to make their own medical decisions.” (Jan. 14)

(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

January 13, 2019

PLEASE HELP “WATER FOR SANTA CRUZ” DO THE RIGHT THING
On December 18, the Soquel Creek Water District Board certified as complete the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Project to inject treated sewage water into the MidCounty groundwater drinking supply (PureWater Soquel Project) and approved the Project. The release of the document for public review on December 7 came as a surprise to the public, and during the busy holiday season, the District allowed only 10 days to review the 4″-thick voluminous and complex information. There were no copies provided at the libraries. The District refused to honor many many requests for a time extension.

There are MANY flaws, deficiencies and errors in this EIR. Since the Board approved all that, the only recourse to correct the problems and force the District to consider the feasibility of water transfer (conjunctive use) agreements for regional water management is legal action.

This is the right thing to do.

Please consider helping Water for Santa Cruz County to take this important and responsible action by donating whatever amount you are able. Visit their website to learn more, and to click “Donate” with whatever amount you can spare. https://waterforsantacruz.com

WHAT IS SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT DOING AT TWIN LAKES CHURCH AND CABRILLO COLLEGE DRIVE?
Many people who were not aware of the Soquel Creek Water District’s plan to inject millions of gallons of treated sewage water into the drinking water supply for MidCounty may not know that preliminary construction work for the PureWater Soquel Project actually began on or about January 2 of this year at Twin Lakes Church, adjacent to the lower Cabrillo College campus. The District Board approved a faulty Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) on November 6, even before the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the treated sewage water injection project, aka, PureWater Soquel Project, was complete or the Responses to Comments made on the Draft EIR published for public review. I have been reviewing the term of the Lease and Easement Agreement between Twin Lakes Church and Soquel Creek Water District. The work begain in early January. Here are some facts:

The temporary agreement is for 3 years, and the District is paying $800/month, payable in advance in one chunk ($28,800 if my math is correct).
The District has also agreed to reimburse the Church $6,475 for some outside plan reviews and construction consultations (associated with additional demands of the Project).
The District gets to use additional space (location not specified, but probably the adjacent parking lot) for equipment staging. The time anticipated for the staging is 100 days, but the District will pay the Church $100/day for any additional time needed to complete the Project.
The Pilot Project will use 8+million gallons of potable water that will be taken from a hydrant on Church property (not the one on the entrance island near the Project). The District will install a separate meter on this source and credit the Church on water bills for the amount used in the Project. I do not know what rate will be used (bulk rate? Commercial rate? Special rate?), as it is not specified in the Agreement.
If the Pilot Project is deemed useful as an injection well site for PureWater Soquel, a 50-year Long-term Lease Agreement has been prescribed, and will provide the Church with up to 3.5 Acre Feet/year free water for 50 years for irrigating the athletic fields with the treated sewage water from the PureWater Soquel Project if it is available, or with potable water if it is not.
Also part of the Long-Term Lease is that the District will waive all Water Demand Offset requirements of the Church for the proposed expansion of on-site resident housing, provided it is adjoining existing such housing, or as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and does not exceed 1600 square feet.
Terms in the construction agreement state that there is to be minimal activity during busy times at the Church (M-F 7:45am-9am and 2:45pm-3:30pm, Saturday 5:30pm-7:30pm, and Sunday 8:30am-12:30pm). “The street and driveway adjacent to the construction site shall be kept clean and swept daily.”
The District is to have placed a sign at the site, immediate upon beginning of Project work, describing the Project information. They were a bit late getting a sign up, and the one there now is almost impossible to read because it is printed on see-through mesh. By County Code, there must be a 24-Hour Disturbance Contact number posted for members of the public to be able to call with problems…I do not know if that is on the mesh sign. The Church representative who signed the Agreement is Valerie Webb.
The next step is that Maggiora Brothers will show up and begin drilling the 1000′-deep pilot well, and geological data regarding the soils will be logged. Once drilling begins, it could be continuous and may take 2-3 weeks. It will be loud, so if students, staff, or Church members are bothered by the sound, the District will be required to install sound blankets to deflect the noise upward. The District will also be bringing in 2-3 large “Baker Tanks”, which essentially are big portable settling ponds, to use in de-chlorinating the hydrant water before injecting it into the Aquifer, and also to let muddy water associated with the drilling (containing potentially-toxic drilling mud compounds) settle before dumping it into the adjacent creek. That is all supposed to be monitored, and I expect the area will be completely off-limits to anyone not associated with the Project. It is curious that no one from Fish and Wildlife submitted comment on this Project.
The injection testing will last into March or April. Although the environmental document and Director Bruce Daniels stated the injection would be “gravity feed”, THAT IS NOT TRUE. There will be either generator-driven electric pumps forcibly injecting the 6+Million gallons (the 8+ million figure for the total project includes construction water needs) or a portable power drop-down brought for the construction site. The injection must be continuous and will also be very noisy. Again, if anyone is disturbed by the noise, the District must install sound-deflection blankets.
After the Pilot Project is evaluated, the well would either be capped and developed later as part of PureWater Soquel, or destroyed under permit.
The District is responsible for re-landscaping the disturbed area, replacing the 18 trees that were cut down, chipped and hauled to the Buena Vista Landfill. Let’s hope the biotic assessment at that time was done well…the trees were known to support solitary bat habitat and populations. I have requested a copy of the report via a Public Records Act request from the District.
You can review the comments submitted on the Initial Study for the Pilot Project on the District website, and also as part of the November 6, 2018 Board meeting held at Community Foundation. The Board adopted two resolutions that night regarding the Project in items 6.3 (page 39) and time 6.4, which was specifications for the Project to go to bid. The Project was put out to bid before the 30-day CEQA appeal window for it closed. The Bid was awarded on December 4, also before the CEQA appeal window terminated. No appeals were filed…it is a complicated and expensive process to appeal CEQA actions, but was warranted, in my opinion, because of the incorrect statement that the injection process would be “gravity feed” but will in fact require pressure-injection pumping. The Board approved all of this.
At the time of my questioning the Project approval on November 6, Chairman Bruce Daniels told me that the City of Santa Cruz was “making them do this for future Aquifer Storage Recharge sites.” That was also not true because the City is using their own Beltz 12 well, located within their service area, for that purpose and will begin testing that this month.
One also has to wonder why only the Twin Lakes Injection Well site is being tested so rigorously in advance of the PureWater Soquel Project, and not also the Willowbrook and Monterey sites. There is likewise little geologic information known about those proposed injection well sites.
Finally, one must question whether the Board fully considered on the Draft EIR and Responses to Comments, which has become the Final EIR for PureWater Soquel Project upon their December 18 approval. Did the Board act with a fair and impartial state of mind to evaluate all impacts and feasibilities associated, having taken such extensive action and expenses to ratepayers at the Twin Lakes Church Pilot Injection Well Site in advance of even approving the EIR for PureWater Soquel???

You may share this information with whomever you wish. You can see the original documentation on the Soquel Creek Water District website archived agenda for December 18, 2018, pages 66-79, with other legal information associated following page 79.

I think this Board really needs to be taken to task for these irresponsible actions….and ratepayers need to consider either recall action or writing a letter to Santa Cruz County LAFCO Director Pat McCormick, asking that the Commission place on their next agenda (February 6) an item to consider CONSOLIDATION OF SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT WITH SANTA CRUZ CITY WATER DEPARTMENT. Here is the address:

Santa Cruz County LAFCO Director Mr. Pat McCormick, County Governement Building Room 318D, 701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. You can talk with him by calling 831-454-2055. While LAFCO cannot initiate annexation, it CAN initiate consolidation.

Many agencies, such as Aptos/La Selva Fire and Central Fire Districts, are now consolidating to save costs to ratepayers by eliminating redundant administrative costs and overhead while improving efficient service to the public. Consolidating Soquel Creek Water District with Santa Cruz City would most definitely do that, while supporting a more logical and cost-effective regional approach to water supply management and storage issues in the County. Santa Cruz City Water, under direction of Ms. Rosemary Menard, is proceeding in a balanced and cost-effective manner to ensure the area’s water resources are being managed well, and paying equal respect to a wide range of Capital Improvement Projects to ensure reliable water at an affordable price to ratepayers. Review the January 7, 2019 City Water Advisory Commission presentation

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT RATEPAYERS NEED TO PROTEST IMPENDING RATE INCREASES BY FEB. 19
If you are a ratepayer of the District, you probably received a glossy notice from the District notifying you that they are about to RAISE YOUR RATES AND FEES AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN (every year through 2023)!!! This is to pay for the District’s project to daily inject millions of gallons of treated sewage water into the drinking water supply for the entire MidCounty region. The PureWater Soquel Project is estimated to cost $90-$135 Million but will total nearly $200 Million with debt burden.

According to District budget information presented to the Board in 2017, rates for Soquel Creek Water District customers are already second-highest in the State for a system of its size.

If 50% + 1 District ratepayers PROTEST this rate increase, which must be done in writing, the rate and fee increases will not be allowed, under Proposition 218. Here is what you must include on your written Protest Letter:

The service address, including assessor’s parcel number (that is eight-digit number above your name on your bill or on the mailer you must received).
You statement indicating whether it is the water rate and/or the service charge you are protesting.
The name and signature of the individual qualified to protest the charges.

Only one written protest shall be counted for each individual parcel, but if you own more than one parcel, submit a protest letter for each.

Send your written PROTEST (original only, no copies) to:

PROTEST OFFICER
Soquel Creek Water District
P.O. Box 1550,
Capitola, CA 95010

FAX or e-mail letters will not be counted. Please do make a copy of your letter and keep it for your records, in the event there is further need for verification.

You may also physically bring your letter to the February 19, 2019 Rate and Fee Increase Hearing scheduled at the Capitola City Council Chamber (420 Capitola Avenue) at 6pm, but you must submit your letter before the end of the public hearing (that will be at the very beginning of the Board meeting) in order for it to be counted.

If you are a tenant of a property in the Soquel Creek Water District and do not pay the utility bill, please contact your landlord and make sure they are aware of the impending 9% annual rate increases and up to 40% fee increases annually through 2023, and that they have received the notice. Encourage your landlord to protest the increases to help keep your rent down. Any one may submit a letter or give oral testimony to the District, but only those who receive the billing statements will be allowed to protest.

Note that under Prop. 218, the District is required to explain why the rate and fee increases are needed, and how the increases were calculated. While the front page of the glossy mailer states the money would be used to “support management of the groundwater basin, collaboration with other water agencies and fund the evaluation and development of supplemental water supplies.” that is VERY VAGUE INFORMATION to support the need for annual rate and fee increases for the next five years and does not disclose the increases are to support PureWater Soquel Project. On page 6 of the glossy mailer, under “What are the proposed changes to rates?”, it states “If grants are awarded for construction of a major supplemental supply project, then the Board may enact lower rate increases than anticipated.”

Without explaining in a transparent manner to the ratepayers that these increases are to pay for PureWater Soquel Project, that in fact is what is driving the entire scheme here. I know this because I have attended the SIX SPECIAL BOARD MEETINGS that were held at the District Office since May, 2018 to discuss these issues as well as how to “Fast-Track Construction” on the PureWater Soquel Project. The District did not record these meetings for the public who could not be there but I was able to record some (check YouTube for public links).

Also, the District’s expensive glossy mailer DOES NOT EXPLAIN HOW THE RATE AND FEE INCREASES WERE CALCULATED, even thoufh it they are required to do so by Prop 218 law. This work was all done by Raftelis, a very expensive consultant company. Your money paid for that, too.

Notice on page 5 of the glossy expensive mailer that “Proposed Emergency Rates” are stated but it is not clear if the rates given in the mailer are Emergency Rates or not. In June, 2014, the District enacted a “Groundwater State of Emergency”…didn’t that also enact “Emergency Rates”?

THE BOTTOM LINE HERE IS THAT SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT RATEPAYERS NEED TO PROTEST IN WRITING BY FEBRUARY 19 OR FOREVER BE SUBJECTING THE MIDCOUNTY AREA TO DRINKING TREATED SEWAGE WATER AND PAYING AN ESTIMATED $45 MORE MONTHLY ON BILLS FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS.

WHY HAS SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT RUINED THE WATER TRANSFER PILOT PROJECT RESULTS?

I was shocked to learn at the January 7 Santa Cruz City Water Advisory Commission meeting that Soquel Creek Water District activated their large O’Neill Ranch Well only two weeks after beginning the Water Transfer Pilot Test with the City of Santa Cruz. That means the results of the test to monitor groundwater levels in the area with the District’s well not pumping and instead selling water from Santa Cruz are meaningless. I wrote District Engineering Director Taj Dufour, and District Operations Manager Christine Mead to ask why the O’Neill Ranch well was activated. Ms. Mead responded that she cannot disclose such information but that it will be available at the January 15 District Board meeting during staff reports. Wow. What is the District thinking, when it has taken three years to get to this point of accepting the water for the Pilot Test?

Maybe the results were just looking too promising, and that would not support the District’s view that conjunctive use with Santa Cruz is NOT AN ALTERNATIVE TO THEIR PREFERRED PLAN TO INJECT EXPENSIVE TREATED SEWAGE WATER INTO THE AQUIFER??? Hmmmmm……Read the Sentinel report about the Water Transfer Pilot Project here.

MIDCOUNTY GROUNDWATER AGENCY BOARD MEETING CANCELLED, BUT ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL MEET
The MidCounty area water steward agencies represented by Soquel Creek Water District, Central Water District, Santa Cruz City, and Santa Cruz County, with three private well representatives (chosen by the municipal agencies) meet every other month as the Board of the MidCounty Groundwater Agency. That Board’s meeting, scheduled for January 17, has been cancelled. Odd, given the significant events and actions being taken by the agencies at this time.

However, the agency’s Advisory Committee will meet on January 23, 5pm, at Simpkins Swim Center, to continue working on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Plan to submit to the State by the end of this year, as required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act signed by now-retired Governor Jerry Brown. This group is hand-picked by the Board, and meets monthly. Last month, the Board informed the Advisory Committee that there will be options presented to them by the Board and consultants that they will be allowed to prioritize as their Plan for ensuring the MidCounty Basin is brought to a sustainable level by 2040. That was a new development, and a definite change in the purpose of the Committee, who has been educating themselves on the issues in order to develop an independent set of recommendations for the Board to approve. Attend the Advisory Committee meeting if you are able. They are audio-recorded and archives are available on the website www.midcountygroundwater.org

SANTA MARGARITA GROUNDWATER AGENCY DOING GREAT JOB TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC !!
Last Saturday morning, the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency held a great public informational workshop in Felton, entitled “Land Use and Water: How Much Does Growth Matter?” With an opening speech by Mr. John Laird, recently-retired Chairman of the State Natural Resources Department, and speakers from the County, Cities, and water agencies, it was an excellent and well-attended event. The resounding thought of the day was conjunctive use of the water supplies we have to provide storage for times when supplies are low.

Interestingly, the water demand for the City of Santa Cruz is projected to be FLAT….not increasing, even with projected growth for the city mandated by the State via Regional Housing Number Allocation (RHNA). The growth rates anticipated for Santa Cruz County by the regional arm of the State overseeing such things, the Associated Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) projects modest growth in our area, with the exception of UCSC, with a 56% increase by 2030. Wow. Here is a link to AMBAG: https://ambag.org/

Also interesting, I thought, was that overall water use is lower now than totals 30 years ago. So, the message of the final panel that included Rosemary Menard (Santa Cruz City Water Director), Rick Rogers (San Lorenzo Valley Water District Manger), Piret Harman (Scotts Valley Water District Manager), and John Ricker (County of Santa Cruz Water Resources Division Director) was that growth in the County will NOT adversely impact water needs because of increased water efficient building and appliances, and if there is continued conservation by all who live in the County. Wow. I welcome reader thoughts about this.

The event was recorded and will be available soon on the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency website. The remaining FREE educational workshops the agency is holding will be February 9: “Water Budgets: How Do We Balance All Needs?” and March 9: “Managing Groundwater: How Can We Prepare for an Uncertain Future?”

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

January 7, 2019 #7 / A Tech Dividend?

Manuel Pastor (left) once taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is now a Professor of Sociology and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. Chris Benner (right) was formerly at USC and is now a sociology professor at UCSC. Benner and Pastor are suggesting a “tech dividend” for workers in the Silicon Valley.

The proposed tech dividend would be modeled after Alaska’s oil-industry annual permanent fund payments, which means that it would not be available only to tech workers. Click right here for a brief explanation, published in the Mercury News.

The Benner-Pastor proposal, which has to qualify as “radical,” since it suggests that wealth should be “shared,” not siphoned off to those at the very top of the economic pyramid, is just one way that we might go about repairing our badly-damaged economy. We really are “all in this together,” and the incredible wealth produced in our economy needs to be allocated so that everyone shares in the benefits of economic success. Worker cooperatives, and stock payments to workers (another way to spread ownership to all who work in a common enterprise) have been mentioned in this blog before. Here’s another idea!

And as a final word, how about we make tech businesses internalize their costs, too? That would mean, among other things, that the companies creating jobs would have to take a large share of the responsibility for making sure that adequate housing was built for the workers that are needed, as new jobs are generated.

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. Scroll below for secret scenes and driving forces.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Cages and Walls ” 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: I opened the window and “in –flew- enza” !! No she didn’t really, but check out Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com ). Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

ON THE BASIS OF SEX. If you saw the recent documentary “RBG“, there’s no reason to see this near-religious tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsberg — though she is a lot prettier in this version. We know by now that RBG is some kind of saint, and that she had a lung problem a few weeks ago. Felicity Jones is a British actress, and manages to sound about 80% American with a New Yorker accent that flips on and off. It’s sort of a mix between Joan of Arc and Mary Poppins.

VICE. Not a GREAT movie but an important one. Christian Bale is completely unrecognizable as Dick Cheney and his performance is for sure Oscar-worthy. I had no idea how evil and powerful Cheney became working under and on top of George W. Bush. It is a scary movie and lacks continuity but politics fans need to see it.

FAVOURITE. Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman work together nicely in this costume drama that tries to be a comedy or else it’s a comedy that looks like a costume drama. Olivia Colman is Queen Elizabeth in this 18th Century and she’s been winning all sorts of awards and praise for her slap stick fun. The movie is intentionally full of out of proper time words and gestures. They say fuck a lot and make very modern gestures. Not my favorite movie but just maybe it’s yours?

GREEN BOOK. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali (from Oakland) are getting extra-super praise for their roles in this almost-true story of a white chauffeur driving a black jazz pianist through the American south in 1962. I couldn’t buy the entire plot. Both Viggo and Mahershala play their roles way over the top…becoming caricatures. There isn’t a surprise, revelation, or any lesson to be learned from this movie. It’s a story we are all too familiar with. If Slumdog Millionaire got an Academy Award, this one could too. But not from me.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. . Julie James talks about Jewel Theatre’s new play Red Velvet on January 15. Then Celia and Peter Scott talk about Campaign For Sustainable Transportation. Phil Collins from New Music Works discusses their Feb. 2 concert featuring Terry Riley, piano and Sarah Cahill on January 22. Following Phil will be Attorney Bill Parkin and Ron Pomerantz talking about the lawsuit against the City and developer Owen Lawlor. John Laird discusses his plans to run for Bill Monning’s State Senate Seat on January 29. Linda Burman-Hall discusses the full season of The Santa Cruz Baroque Festival on Feb. 5. Ellen Grace O’Brian talks about her book, ” Jewel Of Abundance” on February 12. OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

Enjoy this Daily Show clip…

QUOTES. “MARCHES”

“If your child marches to a different beat, a different drummer, you might just have to go along with that music. Help them achieve what’s important to them” Sonia Sotomayor

“I don’t even really see sit-ins and marches as passive. I see them as quite assertive. I see those as emotionally aggressive tactics. I see people putting their lives on the line and being bold and brave”. Ava DuVernay

“I actually believe that this Trump phenomenon, which has affected many of us, is going to accelerate the use of art for philanthropy, because people are realizing that art is a vehicle for showing opposition – just look at the signs in the women’s marches”. Agnes Gund

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
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Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

January 9 – 15, 2019

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…John Laird to run for Bill Monning’s senate office?, Measure O lawsuit filed against City, City Council and Owen Lawlor Developer… 2018’s Sentinel prediction, Kessler, Primack and the shrinking Sentinel, Tom Noddy and the Flying Karamazov Bros., good bye John Dizikes. GREENSITE…debunks the “housing crisis.” KROHN…extra busy. No column, back next week. STEINBRUNER…no PG&E power , road blocked, back next week. PATTON…and“The Good Life”. EAGAN…Subconscious Comics and “Divided Government” in Deep Cover. JENSEN…about Roma and Harry Potter BRATTON…I critique “If Beale Street Could Talk” and lotsa good movies out now.UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…on “Storms”

CVS/Long’s Drug Store, July 27, 1965. Note the back of the Del Mar Theatre at the very far left. That’s about the only way to get your bearings at this job site. It’s Front Street and Soquel, with the four story parking structure including Oswald’s Restaurant today.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

MUSICAL SAW DUET. Odd, just odd that’s all.

Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) on a Harpejji G16. Watch your first harpejji concert.

DATELINE January 7, 2019

JOHN LAIRD INTO BILL MONNING’S SENATE SEAT? Last Tuesday night (1/1/19) on my Universal Grapevine radio program, Gary Patton surprised me — and probably most listeners — by saying that John Laird is seriously considering running for California State Senator Bill Monning’s seat. Bill terms out in 2020. He was elected in 2012 to the senate, and re-elected in 2016. John says he’ll send me more details ASAP! Santa Cruzan John Laird is currently our California Secretary of Natural Resources. John has been in public Service for 40 years, 23 of which were in elected office. Go here for his longer bio…

MEASURE O LAWSUIT AGAINST CITY OF SANTA CRUZ, THE CITY COUNCIL AND DEVELOPER OWEN LAWLOR. Activists Shelley Hatch and Ron Pomerantz have “filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus against Respondents City of Santa Cruz and City Council of the City of Santa Cruz . I’ve taken as much of the legal words in the action and included them in the next few paragraphs.” The Petition alleges that Respondents violated the California Constitution and a local voter-adopted initiative, Measure 0, that requires new developments to include a share of price restricted affordable housing in new housing developments, and that Respondents violated the California Environmental Quality Act”. Owen Lawlor of Lawlor Land Use Development Company is the developer of the proposed Pacific, Laurel and Front Street mixed 205 residential units and commercial 6 story building.

This lawsuit challenges the failure by Respondents City of Santa Cruz and City Council of the City of Santa Cruz (collectively referred to herein as “Respondents”) to enforce the requirement of a voter-adopted initiative measure that requires new developments to include a share of price-restricted affordable housing in new housing developments (Measure O). While Respondents pay lip service to the need for affordable housing, what Respondents actually do is to use the need for such affordable housing as an argument to endlessly promote market-rate development within the City of Santa Cruz.

Such market-rate development fails to quell or dampen the need for affordable housing. Contrary to the impression that Respondents have given by their promotion of market-rate housing, providing more market-rate housing does not actually provide a solution to the housing woes besetting the community, and does not alleviate the need for affordable housing.

In fact, as long as market-rate housing in the City of Santa Cruz, or even the County of Santa Cruz, is less expensive than housing in Santa Clara County (the address of the economic juggernaut infamously known worldwide as Silicon Valley), and as long as there is a world-class university, Airbnb and second homeowners, Santa Cruz will remain steadfastly unaffordable. No amount of market-rate development in an attractive California coastal area will dampen prices such that homes are affordable. Indeed, respondents ignore the economic realities of homebuilding. Density in San Francisco did not reduce the price of homes any more than it did in the New York City Borough of Manhattan.

The high cost of land and labor in California, and Santa Cruz, and the fact that developers only build when demand is strong, means that housing affordability will remain a perennial problem. Measure O, the growth management initiative adopted by the voters in 1979 that also created the City’s Greenbelt, recognized the folly of mindless growth and mandated an affordable housing requirement for new development. Measure O recognized that there was “an already existing housing crisis in the City of Santa Cruz… .”. The commitment, courage, and willingness shown by Shelley Hatch and Ron Pomerantz is amazing and inspiring. Now we get to watch how the new City Council will work under pressure.

SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL January 2018. Exactly one year ago this week I wrote in this space….

JANUARY 1 ST, 2018 SADLY SHRINKING SENTINEL First it was Wallace Baine, then Don Miller, then Karen Kefauver, Stacey Vreeken, and Haven Livingston…all gone. Now we have to wonder about such favorites as Donna Maurillo, Offra Gerstein, Jondi Gumz, Julie Jag — and how about the new column by Steve Kessler? As we’ve been reading, the cutbacks are all generated by Digital First Media. Go here… to see the extent of their print empire, consisting of 97 newspapers. Here’s an example (quote) of what they promise to do for advertisers… “Taking an omni channel approach, we look at a comprehensive view of the purchase journey for your ideal customer group and model the optimal combination of digital touch points to increase your marketing efficiency”. (1/07/19… Jondi Gumz just left after 26 years and Wallace Baine had a piece in Sunday’s (1/06/19) S.F. Chronicle).

ABOUT STEPHEN KESSLER, MARK PRIMACK, AND THE SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL 2019.
James Weller from Sanctuary Santa Cruz and the Peace United Church of Christ wrote a much-deserved critique on Facebook last week. Jim also adds that he has no authority to speak for those organizations, or for any of their members other than myself. Open the link, or links, to his entire piece — but his calling out of Kessler and Primack is spot on. Read how they slam Justin Cummings and Drew Glovers votes. Read about their accusation of exploiting the very legal UCSC student votes…and the ridiculous welcome to the “reality of governance”. See what Weller says about rent control and the “purchase of Propaganda”. And special thanks to James Weller, for allowing me to re-print all of it here…

“Enough already, from the stalking horses harnessed to the Sentinel’s bandwagon of shameless commerce. I’m talking about the politically purposed pundits Mark Primack and Stephen Kessler, whose blatherings seem to be the Sentinel’s favorite blunt instruments, pounding away at least once a week on the Opinion page.

What disgusts me is not so much that these smarty-pants oracles are beating their drums for the bourgeoisie, but that their utterances are full of errors. Worse, these are intentional errors.

Kessler, for instance, in his January 5 blurt, claims that Justin Cummings and Drew Glover, two of the three City Council candidates elected in November, nevertheless did “lose the popular vote,” laughably likening the function of our local popular election to that of the Electoral College.

Kessler’s rubric is “City Council Reality Check: Do the Math.” But he showed his work, and it is obviously bogus. No passing grade for you, Stephen. You compare the total number of votes for Drew and Justin with the total number of votes for all the other eight candidates, saying moronically that “a two-to-one margin” did not vote for the winners. Do I really need to point out that the total number of votes for all the candidates does not equal the number of voters?

He says that Justin’s and Drew’s campaigners asked supporters not to vote for a third candidate, though they could have. Yet, incredibly, Kessler ignores the common-sense certainty that most voters did nevertheless vote for three candidates, although we cannot determine which voters voted for whom. If every voter made three choices, then the total number of votes divided by three would equal the number of voters, which would come to 25,000. Now, look: Cummings won 12,516 votes, Meyers won 11,862, and Glover won 10,972. That means each in turn was favored by a whopping plurality among the rest of the candidates, though Cummings did poll an absolute majority among all of them.

No matter how you slice it, the winners won by solid pluralities of the popular vote. Period. Kessler got it badly wrong, and with a purpose.

Like Primack, Kessler whines about Glover’s “exploitation of the [UCSC] student vote” calling it a “clever political stratagem,” as if there were something nefarious about that. In his very next sentence, Kessler calls that outcome “fair and square by the rules of residency and same-day registration.” Well, duh. Those are the rules, aren’t they, Stephen? And the vast majority of us approve of them.

There are other equally telling lacunae in Kessler’s commentary, and nowhere does he tell the plain truth about why the likes of him, and Primack, are in print in the first place. When Kessler pompously says to Cummings and Glover, “welcome to the reality of governance,” as if he has any authority in the matter, the agenda is thinly veiled.

This isn’t about political philosophy. It’s about rent control, stupid. It’s about sore winners in the successful campaign to kill Measure M, the recently defeated rent-control and tenant eviction protection ballot measure. Glover, Cummings, Brown, and Krohn publicly supported M. Now, they are a majority of the City Council, which is what Kessler, Primack, and the Sentinel are freaking out about.

Some 57% of Santa Cruz residents are tenants, and they overwhelmingly support rent control, the failure of M notwithstanding. M was killed by nearly a million dollars’ worth of deceptive and diversionary propaganda bought and blasted at us by landlord interests, which bamboozled the electorate. The age-old ruling class strategy is to divide the populace, in this instance by pitting tenants against homeowners, and students against everyone else.

Yet in fact, very many voters who were scared off by the manufactured hue and cry against M allowed that they actually do support some form of rent control, but not this one. It was a ubiquitous refrain. In its particulars, M was a necessarily complex proposition, made weirder by the wild card of Proposition 10, conjuring a political Schrodinger’s cat if there ever was one.

But the 2018 election circus that seemed to be all about Measure M is over with. Before us lies the very different realm of municipal legislative process. And, guess what? In 2019, according to the will of the People, by due process, there definitely will be a rent control ordinance enacted by the Santa Cruz City Council. You can bet on it.

One thing on which Kessler agrees with the majority of us is that the process should “be a matter of reason, listening, persuasion, negotiation, [and] compromise.” I believe all that will indeed happen.

But this time, the landlord interests will not be able to buy their desired outcome by carpet bombing us with their purchased propaganda, as they did in 2018. This time, all their money will be to no avail. They’re going to have to come to the table. And there are way more of us than there are of them”. James Weller

TOM NODDY & THE FLYING KARAMAZOVS! Tom Noddy emailed to say he’s working on getting the original four Flying Karamazov Brothers plus himself to re-unite at the 50th anniversary of the Oregon State Fair. That’ll run August 23rd – September 2. Longtime Santa Cruzans who loved our downtown will never forget the Four Flying Karamazovs (UCSC students who went on touring the world, even making big time films). They’ll also remember Tom Noddy the bubble guy and Artis the Spoonman and all sorts of great entertainers that made our Pacific Avenue so unique.

JOHN DIZIKES DIED. There are certain people who create a place — or better yet, space — in their community that no one else can fill. John Dizikes was one of those special people. He had an unusual ability to be larger than life, to simply fill more dimensions than most folks do. No matter how many decades later, John represented all those special and unique features that UCSC had when it opened. He was a great radio interview, an incredibly knowledgeable opera companion, and we’ll all miss him…very much.

January 7, 2019

WHAT HOUSING CRISIS?
Let’s get one thing straight. We do not have a housing crisis. We have a UCSC- generated student growth crisis. Calling it a “housing crisis” is addressing the symptom not the cause. Putting a band-aid on the symptom without excising the cause will not solve the crisis. The cry to “build more housing!” manipulated by developers and housing zealots and latched onto by well meaning, concerned residents will fail to make a dent in the crisis unless the cause is named and tackled head-on.

Consider that in 2002, the UCSC student population was 12 thousand (11 thousand undergraduates and 1 thousand graduates.) The maximum rent for a 4-bedroom house, the size favored by students when they move off campus after their first or second year was reported to be $2300 a month. A Sentinel article on UCSC and downtown rentals for the beginning of the 2002 academic year, written by staff writer Heather Boerner noted that, “This summer, it’s not so bad being a student looking for a place to live. More rentals are on the market, both downtown and at UC Santa Cruz. Rents remain slightly lower than they were last year for the type of big houses students pile into.” And more good news, “don’t expect the student rental market to make renting more difficult for long-term residents this fall.”

Contrast that with a January 1st. 2019 Sentinel article by reporter Jondi Gumz in which Paul Bailey of Bailey Properties notes that a 3 bedroom home (which can house 6 students) rents for $4800 a month. Other than the massive rent increase for a smaller house, the only other metric that significantly changed in that time is the size of the student population. There are now 19 thousand students (17 thousand undergraduates and 2 thousand graduates) enrolled at UCSC with half of that number competing for off-campus housing, allowing landlords to raise rents to whatever the market will bear and enticing speculators to buy up and profit from the situation. Pro-development advocates fabricate a slew of culprits for the “housing crisis”: slow growth activists; environmental regulations; permit costs; rental inspections etc. They conveniently leave unexamined the UCSC demand side, which sits like an 800-pound gorilla on the neck of Santa Cruz, the smallest town to host a UC campus.

UCSC growth is also the cause of the current landlord/tenant hostilities over rent control. It is true that earlier rent control campaigns pre-date rapid UCSC growth but it is the more recent explosion of campus growth that has created the conditions for landlords to capitalize on a fifty percent rent increase in the past 4 years, an untenable situation for renters, especially lower income students and all low income service workers and families, predominantly Latinx. While landlords fume and tenants march, it is clearly not a level playing field. One side is making money and the other is paying the price. Meanwhile, the Regents who created the local housing crisis send missives from the UC ivory tower that the plan is for a further 10 thousand student-enrollment at UCSC. Time to lift our collective heads from the sand, acknowledge that building more in the face of expanding student enrollment is a dead end and organize, not only for a moratorium on further UCSC growth but a roll back to a 2002 enrollment level. That will solve the housing crisis. A far better alternative than paving over paradise.

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.

January 7.

Chris Krohn is working with his new City Council colleagues and it’s taken considerably more time out of his work lefe. He 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

January 7, 2019.

As of 7:32 am on January 7 Becky had no PG&E power in her house and the road was blocked. So no STEINBRUNER STATES report this week!

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

December 31, 2018 #365 / The Good Life (According To David Brooks)

David Brooks, columnist for The New York Times, titled his December 18, 2018, column, “Who Killed The Weekly Standard?” For those who don’t know, The Weekly Standard was a rather conservative publication (but not a publication that was very enthusiastic about our current president).

On December 17, 2018, the owners of The Weekly Standard, a couple of rich, conservative, white guys (you can read Brooks’ column to learn more), abruptly shut it down.

What struck me in Brooks’ column was his definition of “the good life.” Brooks said “the good life” was exemplified by The Weekly Standard:

The good life consists of being an active citizen and caring passionately about politics; … it also consists of knowing something about Latin American fiction, ancient Greek culture and social impact of modern genetics; … it also consists of delighting in the latest good movies and TV shows, the best new cocktails and the casual pleasures of life.

Many of us would agree that the “latest good movies and TV shows,” and “casual pleasures,” are among the things that make life good. I am not so much, personally, interested in “the best new cocktails,” though I do like Latin American fiction. I am not against ancient Greek culture, either. While this is definitely my personal view, I tend to worry a bit, and do not rejoice about, the “social impact of modern genetics.”

Brooks is right on target, though, at least I think so, when we look what Brooks puts at the top of his list:

The good life consists of being an active citizen and caring passionately about politics.

Let’s not forget that. As Hannah Arendt points out, in her book, On Revolution, “being an active citizen” and “caring passionately about politics” is what that “pursuit of happiness” thing is actually all about.

You know the “pursuit of happiness” I am talking about, right? I am sure it can include all sorts of “casual pleasures.” The “pursuit of happiness” is one of those “unalienable rights” mentioned in the Declaration of Independence! It is right up there with life and liberty, and according to Arendt, Brooks is correct in saying that it consists of “being an active citizen and caring passionately about politics.”

For 2019 and 2020, keeping Brooks’ definition in mind, let’s let those good times roll!

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. Peer into the wild, profound world of yours and my id, ego, and unmentionables.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Divided Government ” 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. Eaganblog has his “View From The Solstice” poem (very subtle) and his blog contains “Just Say Suck” which is nearly unforgettable.

ANNIE LYDON & DAVE STAMEY SHOWS. Singer, performer Annie Lydon joins songwriter and world renowned cowboy vocalist Dave Stamey with two shows at Michaels on Main 2519 Main Street Soquel on January 9 & 10. Get tickets immediately …they always pack the house. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30. Go to www.michelsonmainmusic.com and scroll down.

SANTA CRUZ CHAMBER PLAYERS…Concert #3. The concert is titled “On the Shoulders of Giants!”it features the Wild Coast Brass with Kevin Jordan, Concert director and trumpet. They’ll be playing music by J.S. Bach, Barber, Canadian Brass and more. That’ll happen Saturday, January 19, 7:30 pm and Sunday, January 20, 3:00 pm at The Christ Lutheran Church which is at 10707 Soquel Drive, Aptos (Off Highway 1 at Freedom Blvd.)

RED VELVET, THE PLAY. The Jewel Theatre Company, Santa Cruz’s only full time professional theatre company presents Lolita Chakrabarti’s play Red Velvet from January 23-February 17 at the Colligan Theatre in the Tannery. It’s about the backstage world of London in the early 1800’s. The play is Othello and the lead gets sick and a black man from America is about to take his place as the black Othello!! Go to https://www.jeweltheatre.net/red-velvet for more data and tickets.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Don’t expect action, but prepare to be immersed in Roma, the cinematic version of deep yoga breathing to observe and appreciate the small details of life, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express(http://ljo-express.blogspot.com) Also, some further thoughts on where we go when we’re no longer here, with input from Harry Potter and Mr. Earl!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

Very touching short piece. Soon, there won’t be any actual survivors of the Holocaust left. It is vital that we do not forget!

QUOTES. “STORMS”

“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore”, Vincent Van Gogh

It is only in sorrow bad weather masters us; in joy we face the storm and defy it. Amelia Barr

“I
think that the
world should be full of cats and full of rain, that’s all, just
cats and
rain, rain and cats, very nice, good
night.”
Charles Bukowski, Betting on the Muse: Poems and Storie

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
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Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
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Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

January 1 – 7, 2019

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…Traffic in Victorville! Water development in Victorville! Greg Larson’s plans, Special thanks to…GREENSITE… on UCSC’s season’s greetings. KROHN…back next week. STEINBRUNER…Recall Soquel Creek Water District board, Pleasure Point Corridor plan wrong, Zach Friends’ new $$$ office, Local water supplies, Rancho Del Mar news. PATTON…The Saboteur. EAGAN…Subconscious Comics and Deep Cover. JENSEN…had technical difficulties. BRATTON…critiques Roma, Ben Is Back, Vice, and many more good ones. UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…about “New Years”.

SANTA CRUZ’S PACIFIC AVENUE 1910. Yes, the corner of Lincoln and Soquel. The Unique Theatre we see here was once owned by Mack Swain. Swain partnered with Charlie Chaplin as his nemesis in many films. Nowadays it’s the Om Gallery on the left, Forever 21 and New Leaf on the right.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

SPIKE JONES BIG HITS. I grew up watching Spike Jones almost annually when he played Buffalo, New York. Nothing and nobody like him…ever.

CARNIVAL TRICKS EXPOSED AT OUR SANTA CRUZ BOARDWALK.

DATELINE December 31, 2018

VICTORVILLE TRAFFIC! As our local RTC bumbles on its way to solve our Santa Cruz traffic problem, we must keep in mind that traffic is terrible almost everywhere. I got dumped headfirst into the 5 o’clock car jam in the middle of Victorville! Who would believe there were enough people going anywhere near Victorville. This was the Westbound traffic on Bear Valley road — and no ne I asked could explain where such mobs were coming from (or going to) but it’s been a sad factor for years down there.

VICTORVILLE WATER! Nephew John took me on a sightseeing tour of Spring Valley Lake near his house. Like the traffic problems, water in California requires constant surveillance. It’s unbelievable to see the 200 acre lake — requiring 3 million cubic yards of dirt to be dug out of the ground in 7 months — created so that private homes developed by Boise Cascade Corporation would have porches facing water in this very dry environment. The lake contains 1 billion, 80 million gallons of water. The plumbing, evaporation, transportation, filtering problems continue to be gigantic. But the golf course and the very private children’s beach are very popular with the members/residents. How could that have happened? But then again Wilder Ranch was designed to have 10,000 homes and annexed to Santa Cruz city.

GREG LARSON’S PLANS. In case you’re wondering…yes, Greg Larson is planning to run again ASAP. There’s already been meetings to discuss when he should file, so that he can’t blame his late entry like last time. Cynthia Mathews is one of his main backers. This means we can expect Greg to start appearing at dozens of lemonade stand openings, in fact any type of community gathering — just to prove he really cares. It’s what Cynthia does as her next campaign gets rolling. Mkie Rotkins also joins every gathering just to get that exposure when he’s about to run for re-elections. Now we have to wonder if Larson has another $50,000 to spend on the next campaign like he did the last one.

SPECIAL THANKS
There’s no good enough way to thank Gunilla Leavitt for all the years she has been 100% responsible for getting BrattonOnline up online every single week…and she stays happy too. Our partnership goes back to July 23, 2003, when it first went online. Dick Bender suggested the internet, and Marv Kaplan introduced me to Gunilla. It’s been wonderful ever since.

Above and beyond a favor, author Michael Marshall Smith has been editing and trying to fix all of my punctuation and word parts of BrattonOnline every week for over a year. Read his Only Forward or The Anomaly novels. Keep up with his literary output by going to…www.MichaelMarshallSmith.com

December 31

LUX NIMIS

A few decades ago, when I voiced objections to yet another UCSC building proposal that paid no mind to the stunning views of the Monterey Bay from campus, one administrator suggested I simply ignore it and look beyond it. I found myself thinking of that comment last Sunday when I went for a run around the track at the East Field House. The view from the East Field is stunningly beautiful. It has been captured by photographer Shmuel Thaler in a variety of its moods: from early morning fog with a herd of deer faintly outlined to brilliant sunshine with the mountains of Monterey etched clearly across 25 miles of the Bay. Sharing this space with student athletes as well as community walkers and joggers is one of life’s true delights. That is, until now.

Now, six massive portable stadium light structures are parked on site so the Rugby players can practice and have games at night. Each has a bank of eight lights. Each can be raised to a maximum height of 40 feet. In the photo, the structure is at half-mast. They dominate and diminish this iconic view to a degree without precedent. You get a feel for this impact from the two photos that show the view of Loma Prieta with one of the light structures included and from the same spot, without. Collectively, the effect is akin to putting a 4 story Jack-in-the-Box on top of Half Dome. Other team sports manage to play and practice in daylight hours so why not Rugby? Did anyone consider the impact? Does anyone care? Is this the new normal at UCSC?

The desecration of this peaceful ambience and view is one thing; the impact of the lights on the community is another. The photo taken at night is of highway cars plus these lights at a distance of 4 miles south on Highway I. The glow in the distance that looks like a spaceship landing is the East Field stadium lights. At night, they glare at us from out on the wharf. They glare into windows in the County Building. From the air in a small plane to record the worst examples of light pollution in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, we documented these lights as one of the top 4 light polluters in both counties.

They make a mockery of the UCSC claim in one of its Long Range Development Plans that the campus ensures its lights are not obtrusive to the surrounding community. Light pollution goes well beyond aesthetics. Artificial light at night (ALAN) affects human health as recently documented by the AMA and disrupts all of the creatures that are nocturnal. Even plants are disrupted if they are exposed to artificial lights when it should be dark. But no mind, the rugby team has to play.

For amusement I tried to look beyond and ignore them. It was then I spotted the next desecration. All of the oak trees within the East Remote Parking lot have been cut down. The one in the photo still awaits the chipper. I counted 73 stumps, many over two feet diameter at the base. This is to make way for solar panels, which are a good thing but at what cost? Surely we can be careful and caring enough to find locations on buildings for solar before we cut down 73 oak trees? I wondered if the committee that made this decision wrestled with the dilemma or simply checked the box, “trees must go.” Perhaps they were looking beyond to the next project such as building on the East Meadow and didn’t even notice the loss.

See closeups of the photos here.

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 and he’ll 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

December 31

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BOARD AND STAFF TOOK DISGUSTING ACTION AND DESERVE TO BE RECALLED
The Soquel Creek Water District Board and Staff had obviously called in all their buddies and developers to the meeting December 18 when the Board certified the Environmental Impact Report for their preferred Project to inject millions of gallons of treated sewage water into the drinking water supply for the entire MidCounty area. A hot mic during the break revealed to those watching live-stream that Vice President Bruce Daniels was chortling about how most of the 25 public testimonies favored the PureWater Soquel Project. That included Steve Wait, executive for IDE Technologies, a large design-build-operate business specializing in recycled water and desalination projects.

What the Board approved was an EIR deficient in analysis of alternatives to their energy-hog and technology-dependent Project that will cost ratepayers $200 Million and take at least three years to complete. The Board approved a deficient EIR that does not respond to comments made by local water agency and sanitation experts with concerns about lack of data to justify claims made in the Draft EIR regarding sustainable pumping yields and 1500 AcreFeet/Year requirement for supplemental supply, hence size of the Project. The Board approved a deficient EIR that did not address comment regarding the placement of the treatment plant in an area already over capacity for sewage but that will be expected to handle the millions of gallons/day brine concentrate, full of contaminants, expected to be produced by the Chanticleer facility.

The Board disregarded public testimony from Supervisor John Leopold, who spoke out against the Chanticleer location of the treatment plant. The Board disregarded many written requests from the public to extend the comment period for the 740-page complex Response to Comments on Draft EIR for the Project from a mere and minimally-required 10 days. It was evident that Director Lather had not even read the document herself before approving it’s contents as part of the Final EIR.

Local agencies and members of the public now have until January 19 to file legal action to appeal this deficient California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) action. Ratepayers will be given the opportunity to PROTEST THE IMPENDING 9% ANNUAL RATE INCREASES, due for public hearing February 19. These significant rate increases are necessary to fund the environmentally-damaging PureWater Soquel Project that would inject millions of gallons of treated sewage water into the drinking water supply, not allow any other parties who also depend on the Purisima Aquifer for clean drinking water to vote on the Project, and whose construction will admittedly cause structural damage to 18 historic homes along the pathway of the proposed 11-mile pipeline from the City Sewage Treatment Plant on Bay Avenue to the proposed District treatment plant on Chanticleer Avenue in Live Oak. Construction would be so noisy that the District must pay for residents in the construction areas to stay at hotels.

What is Soquel Creek Water District Board and Staff thinking???? They obviously have lost sight of the bigger picture to provide AFFORDABLE AND SAFE drinking water to their customers. District rates are already second-highest in the State for a system their size and elderly customers regularly attend Board meetings to beg for adjustments to their sky-high water bills. “We are not allowed to offer any rate assistance programs,” is the constant Board reply as they sit munching snacks and signing approvals for $45,000/year contracts for lobbyists in Washington, D.C. It is disgusting to witness.

Why did the Board and Staff push through the Final EIR surprise action (no mention of any such significant impending action was discussed at the December 4 Board meeting to alert the public) during a busy Holiday Season, with action taken at a public MEETING, and NOT A PUBLIC HEARING that would have required formal noticing and more time??? Why did the Board and Staff certify an EIR as “complete” when the water transfers from Santa Cruz City, occurring NOW at a rate of 1200 gallons/minute and can continue into the future using existing infrastructure, but the Project EIR did not acknowledge???

There are many questions the arrogant and fiscally-irresponsible Soquel Creek Water District Board and Staff need to answer. It appears, however, that legal action is the only way to get them to listen. Take a look at their propaganda website here: https://www.soquelcreekwater.org/

PLEASURE POINT COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR PLAN IS …. NOT WHAT THE PEOPLE WANTED!
The County Board of Supervisors rubber-stamped the Planning Department’s Pleasure Point Commercial Corridor Plan at the December 11 meeting, during Regular Agenda Item #11. The Plan does NOT reflect what I heard the people who live in Pleasure Point say they wanted during the community meetings, that were supposedly to gather input from the neighborhood. This new Plan begin shoved through will reduce Portola Drive from its current two lanes in each direction to ONE lane in each direction, and expect drivers to BACK INTO THE ON-STREET DIAGONAL PARKING PLACES AND NOT HIT BICYCLISTS IN THE BIKE LANE. What???

Everything about the Pleasure Point Commercial Plan on Portola Drive smacks of what the Planning Department and the County Economic Development Director wanted but not at all what the people said is important to them, such as maintaining the existing two lanes of traffic flow and not building three-story tunnels along the way. They want to maintain their unique neighborhood character and way of life, not the gentrified version the County wants to shove in to collect maximum tax revenues.

Why does this keep happening??? Maybe it’s because the County Planning Dept. and Economic Development Directors keep hiring the same consultant, MIG, who successfully blasted in a number of large and controversial projects such as the Aptos Village Project, the massive hotel above the harbor, and now the Pleasure Point Commercial Corridor Plan, using perfunctory public meetings that pay no attention to the people at all. The February 22, 2018 Pleasure Point Commercial Corridor “public input” meeting was so disgusting and manipulative, several members of the public left early in anger. The representative from MIG issued the electronic voting clickers that mysteriously kept registering overwhelming support for the changes the Planning Department wanted, even though people were asking questions about the issues but were not given the answers before moving on to the next idea to “vote” upon. I noticed that the MIG presenter continually lumped the “I’d like more information on that” votes with the “I really like that” votes, and again would not stop to clarify any of the questions the audience had about the image on the screen they were being asked to vote upon.

Does this sound rigged to you??? Contact Supervisor John Leopold and let him know your thoughts. He said he sees no reason to hold any further Community Meetings on the subject. Do you agree with that? If you or your family bicycle in the area, you will be at great risk as people back into these proposed diagonal parking places on busy Portola Drive, especially at night. Call 831-454-2200 and write John Leopold john.leopold@santacruzcounty.us or Board of Supervisors, 5th Floor, 701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, Ca 95060 Maybe he will to go for a bike ride together with you on Portola Drive.

You can view the documentation for Regular Agenda Item #11 here

Watch the proceedings and hear what the Pleasure Point Community members who were able to attend the Tuesday 9am meeting had to say.

MEASURE G SALES TAX INCREASE FUNDS A NEW SPACIOUS OFFICE FOR SUPERVISOR ZACH FRIEND
Your new half-cent sales tax, voted in under Measure G to supposedly support 9-1-1 and fire basic services, will instead pay for a large office for Supervisor Zach Friend. Recent press releases in the Sentinel ‘Coastlines’ touted “Safety center to open next year” and state “The NEW CENTER is the first multi-agency public safety center in the county and will be located in the new Aptos Village development.” “The 3200-square-foot space (it’s actually 3220 square-feet) will including (their typo, not mine) offices, equipment and a meeting space. It will house an outreach center for the district attorney’s consumer affairs and environmental protection and probation staff, office hours for the Board of Supervisors and the relocated public safety substation.”

You can view the discussion that the Supervisors had with members of the public about this at the December 11 Board meeting in both Item #5 Public Input where I asked that the Board pull the item from the Consent Agenda for better public discussion (Supervisor Zach Friend refused to do so and actively tried to discourage Santa Cruz County Supervisor Greg Caput from accommodating my request) and Regular Item #13.1, where unacceptable rudeness from Chairman Zach Friend was blatant.

It seems the County will be one of the lead anchor businesses in the Aptos Village Project, with your tax dollars paying $82,000 from 9-1-1 funding to help Zach have a nice new office, but with only TWO DEDICATED PARKING SPACES. I guess he plans to continue his once-in-awhile Wednesday 9am-10am office hours and not have many constituents be able to visit. Maybe his new office will sit empty and unused, just like Supervisor John Leopold’s nice office in the County Sheriff Center on Chanticleer and Soquel Avenue. Interestingly, both locations are Swenson developments. Hmmm……

LEARN MORE ABOUT LOCAL WATER SUPPLIES
The Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency (that’s the rural and urban Scotts Valley, San Lorenzo Valley and Santa Cruz City areas) is hosting a free seminar series to educate the public and hold discussion about local water issues. The first seminar, “Land Use and Water: How Much Does Growth Matter?” will be January 12, 9 am-noon, at the Felton Community Center and will discuss land use planning and water supply consideration. Registration is encouraged but not required, and you need not live in the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency areas to attend. Read more here

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

RANCHO DEL MAR CENTER REMODEL PROGRESSING
The only tenant in the newly-remodeled Rancho Del Mar Center lower complex is Erik’s Deli, still housed in its former location. The rest of the complex sits empty, with work continuing now in the center building where Comerica Bank and Fleet Feet used to be. This will be the new location for Bay Federal Credit Union, once completed, and who knows what else.

Thanks to all who contacted TRC Retail about the dark and risky parking lots in these areas, there are now temporary construction floodlights on in the lower and middle parking areas at night, making it safer and much more inviting to patronize Erik’s Deli.

A recent article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel listed some new tenants slated for the future…a pretty short list.

Note the reference to the Sheriff Center closing in the Rancho del Mar Center, and opening up in the future at the Aptos Village Project. I wonder if the mysterious massage parlor that was next to the Sheriff Center will also be relocated to the new Aptos Village Public Safety Center??? Hmmmmm….

I hope you will patronize Erik’s Deli…they need all the help they can get, given TRC Retail’s draconian leasing policies.

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

December 22, 2018 #356 / The Saboteur

In a long review of The Fifth Risk, a book by Michael Lewis, Fintan O’Toole gave us this view of president Trump:

What’s going on here is easily enfolded within the terms that the big narratives of the Trump presidency offer us: chaos, ignorance, incompetence. The terms are not inapt, but they are radically insufficient.

We all know that people in power deploy distraction as a professional skill, much as magicians do. We are used to it. In every act of political communication, “Look at this” is always the explicit obverse of an implicit “Don’t look at that.” But Trump confounds us by using as distractions the very things that other politicians want to distract us from. In democracy as we think we have known it, the art of governance is, in part, the skill with which our attention is diverted from the sordid, the shameful, the thuggish. Yet these same qualities are the gaudiest floats in Trump’s daily parade of grotesqueries. This is his strange, and in its own way brilliant, reversal: instead of distracting us from the lurid and the sensational, Trump is using them to distract us from the slow, boring, apparently mundane but deeply insidious sabotaging of government. He is the blaring noise that drowns out the low signal of subversion.

The O’Toole review is worth reading in its entirety. O’Toole is saying that while our president may appear to be, he actually is not, either a buffoon or an incompetent. Quite the contrary. The president is the political equivalent of a criminal mastermind, a modern day Moriarty, disguising his real intentions, and presenting himself as a buffoon and an incompetent in order to do so.

What, then, is the president actually about? O’Toole, basing his analysis on the new book by Michael Lewis, says that the president’s project is to destroy the policy and administrative capabilities of the federal government. That is his real ambition. Our president, in other words, is a saboteur.

I have to say, that sounds about right to me!

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. Venture near the ego, the id, and our friends Ava and the Boss at Tim Eagan’s Subconscious Comics below.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Burning Issues” 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 reports in saying she’s had technical difficulties. Read her reports and reviews at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

ROMA. What’s extra-perfect about Roma is that you can see it on the theatre screen right now, realize how perfect a film it is, and then go home and watch it again on Netflix. I did exactly that. Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien) directed this complex self-biography/masterpiece. I’m not sure what’s best… the acting, the photography, or the story. It’s set in Mexico City in the 1970’s, and we watch the changes in the life of a housekeeper and of the world she lives in. See it, especially if you like award-winning classics.

BEN IS BACK. Julia Roberts gives one of her very best performances as a controlling Mom dealing with her addict son. Lucas Hedges captures the rest of the screen, as the remorseful son who is earnestly trying hard to stay “clean”. A very hard-biting drama, which has probably been a true story many thousands of times. Go see the movie.

VICE. Not a GREAT movie, but an important one. Christian Bale is completely unrecognizable as Dick Cheney, and his performance is for sure Oscar worthy. I had no idea how evil and powerful Cheney became while working under and on top of George W. Bush. It is a scary movie — and lacks continuity — but politics fans need to see it.

WELCOME TO MARWEN. Poor reviews — like a 28 on RT — but I liked it much more than they did. It’s “based on a true story” about a guy who got severely beaten by thugs and lost his memory…completely. So he re-creates a new world populated with Barbie dolls. Steve Carell plays Mark Hogancamp, the real life sufferer who still lives in up-state New York. Since the movie is about a mentally deranged guy, it too is disturbingly directed. It’s complex, confused and really involving as well as hypnotic.

MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS. Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie play strong and competing would-be queens in this costume drama set around the 16th century. It’s a battle between the two great actresses over the throne. It’s full of Catholicism, cruelty, cunnilingus, and other controversial topics. It’s way overdone and doesn’t add much too cinematic history.

MARY POPPINS RETURNS. This is a NEW Mary Poppins movie. Emily Blunt is no Julie Andrews, and if you’re old enough to remember seeing the 1964 original you’ll realize just how wonderful it was. There’s not a single memorable song in this take, no purity, innocence, or genuinely creative additions to the 54 year old original. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer and Julie Walters with Colin Firth and Meryl Streep feel like they’re added just to give it hype. Meryl Streep is sort of the Ed Winn, character but she’s not as good.

BIRD BOX. Sandra Bullock stars in this dystopian melodrama. Invisible aliens attack earth and if you look at them you’ll have to commit suicide! I saw this on Netflix, it’s brand new in limited release and who knows of it’ll ever go wall-to-wall in theatre. It’s a mish-mash of time periods as Sandra takes two children on a blindfolded row boat trip to escape the invaders. The ending??? It doesn’t have one, exactly, as our heroes stay over at a school for the blind and stare at the sky. The photography is fine, the acting is pretty good, but none of it makes sense.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. Ending the old year, former Santa Cruz County Supervisor Gary Patton and I will discuss the many events and issues that happened last year and guess some of the changes in 2019…for the full hour. January 8 has activist and columnist Becky Steinbruner. She’s followed by Keith McHenry bringing us up to date re Food Not Bombs. Julie James talks about Jewel Theatre’s new play Red Velvet on January 15. Phil Collins from New Music Works discusses their Feb.2 concert featuring Terry Riley, piano and Sarah Cahill. OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

Package thieves are getting more and more common; jerks who walk up to your porch and JUST TAKE your delivered boxes!! I think there’s a special place in hell reserved for these people, and every single one of these deserved every speck of glitter they got.

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. Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.

QUOTES. “New Years”
“A year from now, you’re gonna weigh more or less than what you do right now”. Phil McGraw
“Come, gentlemen, I hope we shall drink down all unkindness“. William Shakespeare
“May the New Year bring you significantly more joy than the holidays did”. Anonymous

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 | 1 Comment

December 19, 2018 – January 2, 2019

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…Holiday Shopping Downtown, Robert Singleton’s pro Dream Inn with YIMBY’s, UCSC’s next chancellor hint, Devcon-Terrazas-Lawlor development. GREENSITE…on Devcon and the last city council meeting of 2018. KROHN…broken computer, adjusted phrases and cumulative Council conundrums. STEINBRUNER…Kaiser Medical Facility impact, Soquel Creek Water Board and deficient EIR, Zach Friend’s $$$ new office, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership facts. PATTON…How to save the world. EAGAN…Subconscious Comics and Deep Cover. JENSEN…reviews The Favourite. BRATTON…critiques Roma and The Favourite. UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…on “Mistletoe”

DOWNTOWN SANTA CRUZ…PACIFIC AND COOPER STREETS 7:50 AM 1957. So many changes…no Cooper House, Bubble Bakery, Montgomery Ward Catalog Store or Leask’s. Now we have an O Neill’s Surf Shop, Urban Outfitters and Pacific Wave Surf Shop.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

MYSTIFYING UNDERWATER DANCE.

BIZARRE MOUSE TRAPS.

DATELINE December 17, 2018

HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAY TIME. Feeling extra gung-ho and super-loyal to Downtown, I did ALL of my holiday shopping at Palace Stationers and Bookshop Santa Cruz. Goodly-sized shopper crowds at both places. What was even more encouraging was the Bookshop had six cash registers going…and everyone smiled nicely!!! Santa Cruz is doing some things right!!

ROBERT SINGLETON REVISITED. As “LinkedIn” states, Robert Singleton is… “The Executive Director of the Santa Cruz County Business Council. He serves as the principal advocate and spokesperson for the organization, and for the business community at large. … Senior Marketing Strategist”. Today, (Monday Dec. 17) BrattonOnline learned…

Robert Singleton was at the developer’s Dream Inn meeting on Dec. 3, and has everybody read about what he did that night, as reported by Jessica York in the Sentinel? None of the city representatives were wearing name tags, but someone recognized Singleton while he was handing out pro Dream Inn project leaflets for the YIMBYS, before the meeting began. Someone confronted him about it, and he rudely told them he could do it if he wants, “you’re wrong to tell me I can’t”. They found a planner to report Singleton’s activities and his attitude. Staff stopped him from handing out more of the YIMBY material that was biased for the project. At the end of the meeting one of the Clear Court Mobile Home Park people, A. Webb, brought up this problem to Santa Cruz Planning Director Lee Butler and the attendees. Lee Butler told her he would refer the issue to the city attorney, as Webb asked for Robert Singleton to be recused when this comes before the planning commission. It’s been suggested that the Save Santa Cruz Westside people follow up with a letter to the city attorney, and Lee Butler, and others. It has also been actually suggested that they ask for Singleton’s removal from the commission, go for the big pressure point, to assure that we may just get Singleton’s recusal. Last week, a council member told us “the planning commissioners serve at the pleasure of the council members” and they would like to receive a letter about what he did for the YIMBYS. The YIMBYS are a developer-backed “please build anything in anybody’s back yard group”. Looks like more tasks for our NEW city Council!

THE NEXT CHANCELLOR? Lest we forget, George Blumenthal is UCSC’s TENTH chancellor! As we all are very aware, the forces that be are looking for his replacement. While they are “looking”, inside word has it that Executive Vice Chancellor and Campus Provost Marlene Tromp is going to get the job. Don’t mention where you heard this, and act surprised but you can almost bet on it!

DEVCON – LAWLOR – TERRAZAS TERRABUNDA. I believe terrabunda means “large ugliness” but I couldn’t confirm it online. Just like some of us call it Don Lane’s Bearcat Tank, the plotting, sneaky way the Lawlor Devcon development was pushed through (as the last action our dingbat City Council would fall for) means that the monster that will more than fill that space should forever be named after ex-mayor David Terrazas. Terrazas should go down in the books as our most pro-development mayor in history. We should never forget his closing anti-homeless, pro-developers monument. Check out this link to Owen Lawlor and Devcon’s acquisition of that Pacific/Laurel/Front Street property.

Better yet…read Gillian Greensite’s Insight on the same topic.

December 17, 2018

Whose side are you on?
The last city council meeting of 2018 was a marathon. Starting at 8:30AM and ending at 6PM with only a half hour break, the intent was clearly to pass as many development issues as possible before a new council was seated that same evening. I arrived at 11 AM for the Devcon Project, the 6 story, mixed use development for Pacific, Laurel and Front streets. The room was already packed with members of the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council. Sporting black CIA (Carpenters In Action) t-shirts and yellow vests they created a dominating presence.

It was soon clear they were there in strong support for the development. I was there to deliver the Sierra Club position that the city’s claim of CEQA exemption for a project of such height, scale and mass was invalid and press for Bird Safe Design guidelines given the extensive glass in this modern urban building. While I understand self-interest on the part of the Carpenters’ Union, I have long been puzzled by the tendency of many US unions to side with developers or warmongers, without reservation it seems. Australian unions refused to load ships with supplies for the US war on Vietnam to which the Australian government was an ally. To the person sitting next to me I said, “you wouldn’t see unions in Australia out in force for such a development.” The union member sitting in front of me turned around and asked “why not?” I explained that union members in Australia usually side with the have-nots rather than the haves. That there is a proud history of the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) placing “black bans” on projects that would result in the displacement of working folks for the professional class. That in 1973, BLF Union leader Jack Mundey had extended this to “green bans”, joining forces with working class residents and students and refusing to work on projects that carried threats to the environment or to social values or to loss of buildings of heritage, the most famous being the successful, bloody “Save the Rocks” fight. The CIA union member said that was interesting and turned back to watch the council eventually approve the development on a 5-2 vote.

One of the more frustrating things about city council meetings has been that once your minute or 90 seconds of public comment is over, you are required to sit and listen in silence to individual council members’ lengthy statements, including the false and the misleading. The less disciplined in the audience manage a yell or two of protest, quickly nipped in the bud. The more disciplined manage a shaking of the head. Not that long ago, public comment was 3 minutes, individual council members could call on a member of the public to answer a question during council deliberations, and oral communications started promptly at the beginning of the evening session. The current set-up is a slow chipping away at the democratic process, a slide hopefully addressed by the new council majority, including a requirement that Planning Commission meetings (where most of the decisions for developments are hashed out) be televised. The city of Santa Cruz is the only city in the county that does not televise its Planning Commission meetings.

My shake of the head was in response to council member Mathews’ wag of the finger at those of us in the audience who didn’t support the scale, height and density of the Devcon downtown project, since, she lectured, we all understood this density was the trade-off for saving the greenbelt open space lands. Simply untrue. Voting to save the greenbelt was, in Mike Rotkin’s words at the time, “like Mom and apple pie.” Who could oppose it? The overwhelming vote of approval reflected that lack of controversy. Only many years later, as new developments came on the scene was history re-written to include the notion of the trade-off.

My other shake of the head was also for council member Mathews. Her statement that the Devcon project is consistent with the guidelines of the Downtown Recovery Plan (DRP) is simply untrue. The 19 member group of individuals, formed after the earthquake to guide the rebuilding of downtown codified in the DRP that such rebuilding not be tall but be 2 to 3 stories with rare exceptions and be consistent with the scale, feel and architecture of downtown. This directive was cleverly undone by staff and members of the current Planning Commission, who used the iconic 93 feet tall Palomar building as their scale by which to advocate for far taller, more massive, modern generic future projects under their Downtown Plan Amendments. Had their meetings been televised you might have been more interested in this sleight of handiwork.

Fortunately we now have a new city council majority. One that Jack Mundey, still fighting the good fight in Australia for the working class and the environment would likely regard as fellow travelers.

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.

December 17

GOING FOR BROKE.

(Please note, this is not a standard “English type” composed column. It is an attempt to portray the speed at which issues came at both me and the city Council last week.)

Here goes, I am going toward my inner Kerouac..a type of poem-summary of last week’s Santa Cruz city council meeting because my damn computer screen broke and when your computer screen breaks you can’t go and dot eyes any longer, and and the crossing-tease is all but impossible and paragraphs, Not so possible. It’s a Broken screen column for December 17, 2018…because why? Because it’s a holiday week and it’s probably the best time for a screen to break…it’s the ghost of Steve Jobs you know, alive and well and he appeared when I fell asleep on the couch in the kitchen and while I was slumbering that silvery sleek MacBook Pro crashed onto the wood floor, and at the same time the ghost fills the screen like a like 1000 slivers and now and that’s all there is…it’s sinister, and I think it’s part of Job’s business plan, you know, the slippery machine sliding off something…and I had to go to the Apple Store in Los Gatos, over that hill, and why in Steve Jobs name is there no Apple store in Santa Cruz? I told y’all last week that I would come back to the salient issues that we discussed on the Santa Cruz city council on Dec. 11th and because there were a lot of issues…there was our closed session where litigation abounded but I can’t talk about it, and there was the certification of the elections from this past fall–seems like so long ago now–and a Big Win for Drew Glover and Justin Cummings, and then there was item number 5, the ad hoc budget committee that David Terrazas left us to help hamstring budget decision-making in the future, but he saw it as his way to deliver budgets that were not complicated, but budgets are always complicated especially when there’s so many needs chasing so few dollars…and we moved right on to the charter amendment committee update, which the mayor also put on, but there was no time because the agenda was so packed that we had to move onto the next item and it was the year end budget adjustment for fiscal year 2018, which also went on un-talked about because The lifeguard services agreement with the city of Capitola, another complicated agreement, was asked about but not discussed because the jump – Uber bike share program, item number 18, had to issue an update and of course it has to appear as a very successful program with several thousand people riding bikes each week, people are sometimes using the bicycle 5 to 7 times a day whereas in other cities they report usage at two to three times per day…then it was onto the regional transportation commission’s unified Corridor investment study, item number 25, and I’m still wondering if the city Council by endorsing “scenario B,” by way of our public works department, if the council in fact supported highway widening? I left an email for the city attorney and I’m waiting to hear back if that was indeed the case…and then the Owen Lawlor-Devcon project at 100 Laurel St., 205 units of market rate rentals with nary a single affordable unit in the whole building–and it was approved–and I did not, could not, would not vote for it because there will be no affordable units in this 205-unit market rate project…on to item 27, the relocation assistance for this displaced tenants, which was immediately amended by Councilmember Cynthia Mathews to cut out any kind of assistance for displaced tenants…Council agenda item number 28 was homeless services update and was structured to make one’s eyes glaze over and at the end there would still be no 24/7 homeless shelter, not enough Port-a-potty’s or mental health services, but we were informed that we now have a flush fund for homeless services topping $11 million, and it is headed to Santa Cruz county from the state and will be spent by a group made up of city managers from around the county, but Watsonville and Santa Cruz are really the only cities that provide homeless services, and we need more services–mental health, drug and alcohol addiction treatment, and short term and long term housing… Who speaks for the homeless? We were able to put off the accessory dwelling unit ordinance amendments until January or February when the new council is seated…Speaking of the new council, they were seated at 7 PM last Tuesday night, and Justin Cummings was elected vice mayor! because he had the support of the progressive community, the students, the voters, the tenants, the people who went out and walked precincts for him and Drew Glover and measure M, and it will be an election that will be remembered for a long time in Santa Cruz…

(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

December 17

WHAT WOULD KAISER’S 700-CAR PARKING GARAGE AND FIVE-STORY MEDICAL FACILITY ON SOQUEL AVE. FRONTAGE ROAD MEAN FOR THE LIVE OAK COMMUNITY?
Last week, the public got a glimpse of the proposed Kaiser Medical Facility for 5940 Soquel Avenue. There was no formal presentation of the project, but rather multiple stations where people could look at various aspects of it and talk with agents working for the developer, John Swift. That is when it became clear the five-story medical facility (NOT a hospital) to be located behind Ewing Irrigation and next to Far West Nursery and Beach Comber Mobile Home Park would also include a five-story 700-car parking garage.

What information did the traffic study conducted by Kimley-Horn provide? That is still in the works, but the traffic count was only done ONE DAY DURING THE 2-HOUR PEAK AFTERNOON COMMUTE TIME OF 4PM-6PM ON SOQUEL AVENUE FRONTAGE ROAD and used camera technology. Wow. How complete and realistic will that study be? I pointed out that there is NO METRO SERVICE to this area. The answer was that the developer is discussing this with Metro. I also pointed out to the daily congestion on Soquel Avenue Frontage Road, a two-lane road. The response was that CalTrans is planning to widen Highway One in that area in the near future, so that should help. The Kimley-Horn representative assured me there is a pedestrian/bicycle overpass planned for construction in the near future to serve this area. I asked him how many of those people who would require medical procedures would ride their bikes to visit Kaiser? He had no answer, but thought maybe staff would.

And what about the increased water demand? And what about the added storm water runoff to an area that already floods regularly in winter storms (I know this because I work in the area). I saw Santa Cruz County Economic Development Agency Director Barbara Mason in the crowd, so I asked her what the Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan had designated for this large acreage? She said she wasn’t quite sure, but thought is was labeled as an “Under-utilized Area of Opportunity”. I wonder how the many existing small businesses who rely on the affordable storage and mobile office space currently using the site feel about that?

Stay tuned for this one. Here is a photo, in case you missed it last week. There is nothing shown on searches for the project on Kaiser’s website.

You can register comments and questions at PMB info@5940SoquelAve.com

SOQUEL CREEK WATER BOARD SET TO CERTIFY A DEFICIENT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR INJECTING TREATED SEWAGE WATER INTO AREA’S DRINKING WATER SUPPLY
The Board of Soquel Creek Water District plans to certify as complete the EIR for PureWater Soquel Project when, in the opinion of many, the document has several serious deficiencies that could lend legal action if approved. The Response to Comment and EIR do NOT even document with fact and data the actual 3000 Acre Feet/Year assumption made by the District to support the need for the Project, and does not at all address alternatives, such as water transfers or a new reservoir on the 160-acre District Glenwood property on Soquel Creek.

Take a look at pages 5-18 in the packet, for Item 2.52

No one knows what the “Final EIR” recommends, because it does not seem to be available on the website or in local libraries. The minimal 10-day comment made available to the public for comment on the Response to Comments on the Draft EIR” is 740 pages, and difficult to read because several references are made to the Final EIR and other areas of the Draft EIR without any clear data analysis or discussion.

Clearly, Soquel Creek Water District staff and Board are more concerned about qualifying for grant money to help fund their resume-building dream project than providing affordable water to the customers, and want to increase rates 9% annually for the next few years to accomplish it. Attend this meeting if you are able, or let the Board know your thoughts. Board of Directors

I find this sham of public process simply disgusting.

Here is a YouTube link to the September Rate Committee, Public Outreach Committee and Supplemental Supply Committee meetings, not recorded, but I attended and did so.

Soquel Creek Water District Water Rates Advisory Committee Workshop 9/10/18 (1:18:05, uploaded 12/3/18)

Water Rates Advisory Committee Workshop

Monday, September 10, 2018, 3:30pm to 5:00pm, Soquel Creek Water District office

Discussion regarding preliminary rates for both the Inclining Tier and CustomerSelect rate models.

Soquel Creek Water District Public Outreach Committee, 8/14/18 (00:37:19, upl. 9/12/18)

Soquel Creek Water District Public Outreach Committee met on Tuesday, 8/14/18, 10:30-11:30 am, in the District Office.

AGENDA

Roll Call
Oral Communications (items not on the Agenda)
Business
Welcome New Public Members
Draft Communications/Outreach Plan for FY 2018-19
Water Wise Academy
Reports or Information from Committee Members
Requests for Future Items to Discuss
Adjournment – Next meeting scheduled for October 9, 2018

Documented by Becky Steinbruner

(This movie only shows the first part of this public meeting, because Becky was asked whether she had obtained a release form for filming, which she had not heard of before and didn’t have.)

Water Resource Management & Infrastructure Committee, 8/14/18 (00:41:56,. upl. 9/12/18)

The Soquel Creek Water District’s Water Resource Management & Infrastructure Committee met on August 14, 2018, from 4-5 pm in the District Office.

Agenda:

Roll Call
Oral Communications (items not on agenda)
Business
Welcome new members
Overview over 20-year Finance Plan
Community Water Plan’s Supplemental Supply Options (Pure Water Soquel Project, Surface Water Pilot Project, Storm water Capture Evaluation, Deep Water Desal Project)
Capital Improvement Projects
Reports and Information from Committee Members
Future Items to Discuss
Adjournment – next meeting 10/9/18

Documented by Becky Steinbruner

DOES SUPERVISOR ZACH FRIEND AND THE SHERIFF REALLY NEED A NEW 3220 Sq.Ft. OFFICE WHEN THE COUNTY BUDGET IS IN DEFICIT?
Last Tuesday, the County Board of Supervisors, Chaired by Second District Supervisor Zach Friend, approved a long-term lease for his new 3220 square foot office and Sheriff Center in Aptos Village. The lease stipulates only TWO dedicated parking spaces. The exact dollar amount of the lease is not clear in the document, but for now, about $82,000 will come from the Joint 9-1-1 Jurisdictional account for facilities maintenance and repair, and another roughly $15,000 will come from the County District Attorney’s Consumer Fraud Public Trust Fund. Supervisor Zach Friend let me know that the new Center will hold educational meetings for seniors about fraud awareness and protection issues.

Regardless of the location, why is all this expensive NEW AND SPACIOUS OFFICE SPACE being funded now, using 9-1-1 money that voters just approved with Measure G’s 1/2 cent sales tax increase to fund basic services? Did you know you were going to vote for such lavish NEW services? Can the County taxpayers really afford this, given the looming unfunded County government worker pension liability?

Take a look at this enlightening article recently published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel on the matter

Here the County Administrative Officer (CAO) Carlos Palacios is clear that this was really the intention of putting Measure G on the November 6 ballot. He had already told the Board last March that such action would be necessary. Why, then was the Measure sold to voters as a necessary measure to continue funding basic 9-1-1 Response and fire (those were the first words voters saw on their ballot for the Measure G question)?? Now, those 9-1-1 monies will pay for Zach Friend’s new office and a Sheriff Center that used to be at the Rancho del Mar Center next to Safeway in Aptos. Does this make any sense at all to you?

Maybe we should all contact the Grand Jury and suggest a strong case of fraud and need to investigate.

MONTEREY BAY ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP SUMMARY OF ‘HOUSING AND WATER’ PANEL DISCUSSION NOT AT ALL REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
I attended the November 30 “State of the Region” event in Seaside presented by the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) group. I have described my assessment of that meeting in the past couple of Bratton Online contributions. The MBEP website now has links to video for the two key presenters, Dave Evans and State Senator Scott Wiener.

The other discussions that included a panel of developers and lobbyists discussion Housing For All, were not recorded in full. The afternoon Roundtable Discussions also were not recorded, but are summarized on the event website. The Summary given for the does not comport with what actually was said.

I recorded those discussions and thanks to my friend, they are now on public YouTube:

Monterey Bay Economic Partnership 4th State of the Region 11/30/18 (2:10:06, uploaded 12/10/18) MBEP’s 4th Annual State of the Region Conference, Embassy Suites, Seaside, California, November 30, 2018, 8:30-5.

This video shows the first panel discussion “Housing for All” and the Roundtable “Housing and Water”

More information, slideshows, and videos of keynote presentations here

Housing For All
Affordable housing in California and in the Monterey Bay region is the number one issue for most policymakers and residents today. Housing For All examined concrete and innovative ways that housing of all types is being built in our region.

Moderator:
Matt Huerta, Housing Program Manager, MBEP

Panelists:
Stephanie Sonnenshine, CEO, Central California Alliance for Health
Lisa Li, Founder, California Sunshine Development, LLC
Meea Kang, Senior Vice President, Related California
PK Diffenbaugh, Superintendent, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District
Roundtable 1. Housing and Water

Water is in short supply in California and in the Monterey Bay region. Our population continues to grow and more people want to live (and are living!) in our beautiful region. How do we increase our water supply or live within its limits, while providing affordable housing for our diverse residents? Is there an overall policy framework on which to base individual housing decisions so we don’t litigate every project?

Moderator: Dave Stoldt, Director, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District

Contributors: Sarah Hardgrave, Associate Director of Conservation, Big Sur Land Trust

Alfred Diaz-Infante, President and CEO, CHISPA
Bruce Delgado, Mayor, City of Marina

To repeat, MBEP is the driving force creating the public policy that Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors readily adopted recently, and has been also adopted by various city government jurisdictions locally. Developers and bankers are now openly directing the Planning Departments for the benefit of developer profits. Here is the link to that

This is Ad Hoc planning, with no attention to infrastructure to support the associated water, transportation, emergency response, schools or parks planning or funding. Please write a letter to the editor of your favorite newspaper, and protest. Taxpayers will be left to pay for all of these improvements that new dense developments impose. The attitude was clearly stated by Senator Wiener put it clearly that funding for those things will manifest when the need becomes great enough.

TAKE A WALK NEAR THE BEACH, AND GIVE THANKS FOR THE BEAUTY AND FRIENDS

I like to recharge my soul with walks in the forests and along beaches of our area. It helps me remember what I love about living here, and counters the negativity of local politics. I hope you all will do something that feeds your soul and spirits during this season, and take time to be grateful for all positive things around you. Happy Winter Solstice… it will again be soon time to plant gardens.

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

December 13, 2018 #347 / How To Save The World

Malia Wollan has written a column for The New York Times that is the perfect follow-on to my blog posting yesterday. Yesterday, the topic was loneliness. I suggested that in order to combat the political variety of loneliness we are going to have to resuscitate a politics that is based on our personal participation. That mostly means local politics, where we can be the most powerful. I do know something about local politics, having been elected to an important local government office five different times.

In terms of local politics, going door to door is how it’s done. If we consider our “community” to be the relationships we have with others in the place we live, and if we admit that these relationships are vital, and that these relationships actually define “the world” that we most immediately inhabit, then going door to door, as Wollan outlines in her engaging column, is just exactly the way to save it.

Talking to ordinary people. That’s the secret. If you can accept the idea that it is, in fact, “politics” that is going to save us (and what else will?), then more of us need to learn how to go door to door. Wollan’s column gives us “a tip.”

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. Go even deeper to your hidden place with Ava and her friends with Subconscious Comics…a scroll away!
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s ” Now Hiring ” 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.

EVENTS. On the third Thursday of every month Munching With Mozart presents a free concert from noon to about 1 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room of the threatened Santa Cruz Main Library. This month it’s…

“Cello Concerto”

PROGRAM

Cello Concerto No. 1, a minor op. 33

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
  Allegro non troppo
  Allegretto con moto
  Tempo Primo

Yosef Feinberg, cello; Marina Thomas, piano

….And…

Grand Waltz and Tarantella, from the ballet Anyuta

Valery Gavrilin (1939-1999)
Rose Georgi and Marina Thomas, piano duo

That’s.. Thurs., Dec.20. 12:10 -12:50 Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown Branch – Meeting Room

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “I’m not a big fan of filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster), so there’s little chance his weird new effort, The Favourite, will appear on my Best Films of 2018 list next week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). But catch up with my full review in this week’s Good Times. And if I don’t see you before then, Happy Holidays to all!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

THE FAVOURITE. A mess of a movie. From the same director who did Lobster, this too is an attempt at comedy with serious stuff thrown in. It’s set in 18th century England, with Queen Elizabeth being wooed by two women. There’s some sneaky modern touches, with lots of “fuck you”s and contemporary actions forced into the plot. It’s either a drama with jokes, or a comedy with tragedies…both attempts fail. On the other hand, it does have Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz doing their best…and they’re great. You might like it. It got a 94 from critics and 60 from real people on RT.

MARIA BY CALLAS. To be fair, I’m an opera fan and have attended over 300 performances so any film lauding Maria Callas would be a hit with me. This documentary compilation of performances, newsreels and interviews is surprisingly great. Her relation with Aristotle Onassis is brutal, touching, and newsworthy. She died aged 53 in 1977. But it’s her acting and singing that made her opera’s most famous character. Go see it then listen to her recordings all over again. I did.

AT ETERNITY’S GATE. Willem Dafoe is the perfect Vincent van Gogh, even with his Wisconsin/New York accent. This film tries very hard to teach us about Vincent’s psychological reasons for painting and answer all questions about his behavior. You’ll learn more about Van Gogh but it looks like no one will ever know if he shot himself or if it was an accident during a scuffle/murder!!

WIDOWS. If you blink you’ll miss Robert Duvall and Liam Neeson, but you’ll see a little of Colin Farrell in a very uneven mess about a bank robbery. Viola Davis is the star of this “heist” movie. She leads two other women in a foolish, trite, impossible robbery caper. It’s not only hard to believe in, or follow, it’s just a re-hash of a million heist films we’ve all seen before.

GREEN BOOK. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are getting extra-super praise for their roles in this almost-true story of a white chauffeur driving a black jazz pianist through the American south in 1962. I couldn’t buy the entire plot. Both Viggo and Mahershala play their roles way over the top…becoming caricatures. There isn’t a surprise, revelation, or any lesson to be learned from this movie. It’s a story we are all too familiar with. If Slumdog Millionaire got an Academy Award, this one could too. But not from me.

CREED II. Sylvester Stallone — now 72 years old — is back again with another Rocky sequel. Like just about every one of Stallone’s four Rocky or Adonis Creed movies…it’s totally predictable. But it’s also exciting. The added depth (if you can call it that) is that once again it’s America versus Russia — and it’s interesting to see Dolph Lundgren again, 30 years later, as Drago’s dad. You won’t fall asleep. It was 1976, and 42 years ago, when Stallone did his first Rocky movie.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. Jane Mio of San Lorenzo River Mysteries, Sierra club, Parks and Rec. holds forth on Dec.18 talking about river management. Then Fred Geiger gathers up facts about ADU’s and shares some new ideas. The Tuesday after that is Christmas and you know about no Bonline that week! January First 2019 has former County Supervisor Gary Patton looking backwards and forwards politically for the full hour. AND/OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

QUOTES. “Mistletoe”
“You are the happy to my holiday, jingle in my bells, nut to my cracker, fruit to my cake, present under my tree, a wish to my star, home for my holiday, candy to my cane, kiss under the mistletoe, holly to my jolly, winter to my wonderland, ginger to my bread, milk to my cookie, joy to my world, star on my tree, love of my life.” –Unknown
“Mistletoe, the same plant you kiss under at holiday time, may be an effective aid against certain types of cancer”. Chris Kilham
“It’s supposed to be jolly, with mistletoe and holly… and other things ending in olly.” Terry Pratchett,
“What happens under the mistletoe stays under the mistletoe.” Unknown

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

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December 11 – 17, 2018

Posted on December 14, 2018 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…Progressive’s Victory Party, Larson and lateness, same sex marriages. GREENSITE..on Dream Inn parking lot development. KROHN…City Council business schedules, ADU’s, UCSC student numbers, affordable housing. STEINBRUNER…UCSC’s Kresge Project, Soquel Water Valve & sewage water, enhanced density bonus, San Jose and Google, Zach Friend’s new office space, Kaiser complex into Live Oak. PATTON…Originalism and Intent in our Constitution. EAGAN…Subconscious Comic and FOG and Deep Cover with Trump goes to church. JENSEN…reviews At Eternity’s Gate BRATTON…Maria by Callas, At Eternity’s Gate. UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…”Homeless”

CONTEMPORARY HISTORICAL SANTA CRUZ PHOTO. As a break from my habit of displaying old Santa Cruz with snow scenes, this clever, pertinent, humorous, creative piece of art by Russell Brutsche deserves the big spot. Now we just have to guess — or imagine — if that’s the 1. New building across from the Dream Inn 2. The Owen Lawler monstrosity proposed for Laurel and Pacific, 3. The Ocean and Water apartment development, 4. A cell tower at the Errett Church Circle development or 5. Do not fill in the blanks!!

photo art courtesy of Russell Brutsche

10000 MARBLE RUN!!

SILLY EXPERIMENT ABOUT MICE AND SMALL HOLES. Except that over 21 million folks have watched this.

CRUZIO’S FALLING DOMINOES. Cruzio had this in their monthly mailer. 77 million folks watched this so far! Nick Royal reminded me of the Guinness factor!

DATELINE December 10, 2018

THE PROGRESSIVES VICTORY PARTY. Santa Cruz definitely needs more of these progressive victory parties. We haven’t had one in years. Not trusting my own attendance estimates, I asked Susan Martinez, Micah Posner, Becky O’Malley and a few others for their guesses….each of them estimated about 300 folks were there. I agree. Speakers such as Gillian Greensite and Katherine Beiers made the most important point of the evening (Saturday at the 418 Project) that the work hasn’t ended not that there’s a progressive majority on the City Council — it’s just beginning. With impeachments already being whispered, we know the moneyed-development side of our city will aim at 2020 with both big and hidden guns. Beiers also spoke about what it was like to serve on the council with a six to one (6-1) majority. No one mentioned his name, but grimacing references were made about the $50,000 guy. And — to no one’s surprise — Mike Rotkin wasn’t there. There was much praise and big applause when notice was paid to the first two African-American males who won the race, and Justin Cummings and Drew Glover gave deep heartfelt talks about their new roles and the work that we will all have to share in by staying involved in City politics. Maybe the biggest and most important observation was made by long-time progressives such as Ron Pomerantz, Fred Geiger, Tadd Hatch and Robert Morgan, who pointed out that a lot of the folks attending and celebrating were new and young faces that we didn’t know. It proved that the positive and progressive majority now on the City Council will have the necessary hard-working populace to get Santa Cruz back on track. You shoulda been there!!!

GREG LARSON’S “I RAN TOO LATE”. Larson didn’t run too late, he ran too soon. He should have waited 10 years, until most of us have moved on. (Californians move every 7.3 years, according to studies) Jacob Pierce said about Larson in his Good Times article that predicted election results…. “He (Larson) believes that if he had launched his campaign earlier, he would have had a different result on Election Day, but says that he wasn’t able to announce sooner because of business and personal reasons”. Sure, THAT must have been why Larson lost. It couldn’t have been his assault on Ashley Scontriano, or his temper, or his meanness. It could not have been because he walked out of a UCSC Student forum. Who could possibly believe that his pro-development team of David Terrazas, Ryan Coonerty, Zach Friend, Fred Keeley, Owen Lawler, Ted Burke, George Ow, and Robert Singleton could have turned a few folks against him? Larson’s money involvement was startling. As I said in this space on Nov. 12 … “One reader wrote: “Greg Larson was the only candidate who declined to agree to the city’s voluntary expenditure limit, and is at $52,411 as of the Nov. 1 reporting”. Is it possible that Larson’s campaign contributions from The Seaside Company, various Canfields, many, many realtors, Cynthia Mathews, David Baskin, Mark Mesiti-Miller, Dana Morgan, Bob Bosso, John Burroughs, David Terrazas, Doug Ley and Zach Friend may have turned off more than a few voters? We’ll have to wait and see how many of the above support him when he runs again…and files earlier?

SAME SEX MARRIAGES. Now that same sex marriages have now been legal for ten years, has anybody seen statistics on which pairings are happiest? Two men, two women, or the traditional one of each. Which couplings have the highest divorce rates? Somebody must have done a study. Nothing serious, here just curious. If you have any numbers on this, please send them in…thanks.

December 10

DREAM INN REBELLION!
For decades we have been led like sheep into accepting a less than democratic process at community meetings. Herded towards display sites where we are allowed to chat one on one with planners and developers or shepherded around small tables and handed sticky notes to record individual opinions, our collective voice has been effectively muted. Even progressive orgs have adopted the practice of questions written on index cards, which are hastily sorted and only the least critical read aloud for a response. Prior to the adoption of these tactics designed to manage dissent, public meetings on controversial issues were uncomplicated. People asked questions and the developers, planners, organizers answered them. You got to hear how others felt about the issue, groans and all. Community groups formed out of such dialogue. You could assess the strength of various viewpoints and saw who was who. Clearly, such meetings require a competent chair to ensure all voices are heard and quieting the loud mouths: not such a difficult task. Those who preferred to put it in writing could always do so. That more democratic process has long been supplanted by the current managerial approach. However the large crowd who attended the community meeting organized by the Dream Inn developer, Ensemble, was having none of it.

People demanded the right to ask questions. With so many voices raised in unison, the organizers agreed to change the format. Our questions were asked and largely answered although the question about the legitimacy of city Planning Commissioner Robert Singleton distributing YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) flyers with the heading: The Dream Inn Project Will Be Awesome! produced a convoluted non-answer from the city.

We learned that this project is deemed by city planners to be exempt from CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act). Such designation is being used more and more frequently by city planners, including the mammoth Devcon-Lawler mixed use project with 205 housing units on Pacific, Laurel and Front Streets, to be voted on by the outgoing council this week barring any last-minute surprises. Such exemption avoids having to acknowledge, study and mitigate environmental impacts. The Dream Inn development has been well covered by the Sentinel, so just a few observations here with Ensemble’s rendition of the project included.

The current parking lot for the Dream Inn used to be the old Sisters’ Hospital, a handsome stucco low-rise building with spacious grounds, before it was bull-dozed to make way for the Dream Inn’s visitors’ cars. While cars are not a visual attraction, the big trees, open space and uninterrupted view of the Cowell Ranch (aka UCSC) and distant hills certainly are. While 6 out of the 55 trees on the property are to be saved, the stature of the remaining trees will be erased by the height and scale of the development. Talking of height and scale…here we go again with the architect’s rendition using the old trompe l’oeil of placing people, cars and bikes in the foreground to minimize the height and scale of the development in the background. In art, this is creative. In purporting to assess the impacts of a development, it is deceptive. Nor do we need birds-eye views; we need story poles delineating the actual scale of the 4 stories so we can walk by and get a feel for the impact. We need to-scale drawings with the surrounding buildings included, not just the project, so we can assess context. If our Planning Department were representing the good of the community not just the developer’s project, these would be required.

Some will be seduced with this project’s providing 89 housing units, 11 of which are designated “affordable.” That, plus green building standards, recycled water and roof gardens and what’s not to like? Well, a lot, if you care about the 64 unit Clearview Court low-income residents, many of whom own their mobile homes, have lived there for years and are probably some of the low income “work-force” that housing advocates profess to be concerned about. Their quality of life will be profoundly impacted with their windows abutting the service vehicle entrance to the project and with a 4-story shadow robbing them of morning sun. But never mind them, 11 other lucky ones will get to live in the new development.

There are many more issues, such as bringing commercial shopping into a residential area, the loss of a last rare piece of open space by the coast, the traffic impact in the already heavily impacted intersection of Bay and West Cliff. But take heart! Ensemble claims the project “will also provide habitat for butterflies migrating through the site.” (190 Westcliff.com. FAQ)

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.

December 10

Something Needs Fixing at City Hall

No Way for City to do Business
More agenda items have been packed into the last agenda of the year, Dec. 12th, than all the city council business undertaken in October and November together. The hardcopy edition is over 700 pages. Councilmembers receive it on Thursday night and are expected to read it, or rubber stamp the items, by the following Tuesday. This includes making inquiries and searching out additional information, informing constituents who have previously expressed interest in keeping up with certain topics, and finally, usually for me, meeting with the city manager, city attorney, and a couple staff people about certain agenda items. I especially like to meet in the field with staff concerning building projects, trees, and traffic issues.

It took a couple more years than expected, but here is the Brand New Council, Part II. Justin Cummings, Drew Glover, Sandy Brown, and Chris Krohn

The Reasons
There are likely three reasons why the Dec. 11th council agenda was so ginormous. It was Mayor Terrazas’ last meeting and he likely wanted to fit in a couple of projects he’s been working on like the resolution adopting “Budgetary Policy” that came out of an ad-hoc subcommittee he chaired. He also wanted one last stab at homeless policy, so the council was to “receive a comprehensive update on local and regional [homeless] policy…,” a pretty tall order for just one meeting, but given other items, Terrazas called the meeting for 8:30a, partly because of the agenda size and partly because the evening is reserved for the council to choose the incoming mayor and vice-mayor. Second reason why there is agenda-packing, as far as I can see, is fear of the incoming city councilmembers syndrome. Staff just doesn’t know where new council will be on various issues, they’d likely rather take their chances with old ones such as the long and complex Devcon-Lawlor project, which swam under the radar screen for so long then desperately sought to cross the Dec. 11th last meeting deadline. Will it happen? I am writing these words the day before the council meeting for the Bratton-on-line deadline, so I don’t know yet. Another one of these fear-factor projects, which could’ve come to the council weeks ago, or weeks from now, is “installation and maintenance of electric charging features” for Jump (Uber) Bike stations around town. All councilmembers seem to like program, but the progressive-left ones ask more questions and even succeeded in getting one of the stations moved a couple of meetings back. With more progressive-lefties on the way, staff is taking no chances. The Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance is another one to not let to chance with a new city council, although a new council can easily call it back and make changes, whereas the with respect to the 206 market-rate Devcon-Lawlor apartments to be situated along Pacific Ave., it might be harder to bring that one back…not impossible, just more complicated. And then with lawyer Bill Parkin’s last-minute letter representing a client who is demanding that Measure O affordable housing inclusionary ordinance be adhered to, the project may very well have to come back to council in January or February. Stay tuned! Final reason could be just work load issues and clearing of staff calendars for the new year.

Finally
The ADU part of the agenda is only 291 pages, the “Regional Transportation Commission’s Unified Corridors Study (UCIS) also not light reading, and the Devcon-Lawlor Project is also a couple hundred pages which all makes for an overwhelming bureaucratic reading experience. It is not really possible to read this packet in any manageable way, hangout a little bit with your family, and work the day job. Something’s gotta give. Spreading agenda items out through the year would make it more manageable. Which brings us to the recent election results. Justin Cummings and Drew Glover won seats on the council. What is the mandate? Crafting affordable housing that works. Building a 24/7 homeless shelter. Negotiating with UCSC on the number of students the UC Regents brings to town. Bringing popular power and participation back to city hall and the council chambers, i.e. restoring oral communication to 7pm; having more evening sessions so working people can attend meetings; making the city web site more accessible and user friendly; surveying residents on their needs and ideas; and opening up the civic auditorium when council meetings top over 130 people. I have no doubt that this new council will be open, hard-working, and social justice-minded. They were installed into their new jobs last Tuesday evening.

(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

December 10, 2018

UCSC KRESGE COLLEGE PROJECT DRAFT EIR OPEN FOR PUBLIC COMMENT UNTIL JANUARY 7
I attended the Public Comment Hearing recently for the Kresge College Renewal and Expansion Project. There were two hearings, and I chose to attend the one on the UCSC Campus. There were not many people there, but the mix was interesting, being current students and alumni. The Project will only add 175-225 new beds, enough to house current Kresge College students, but does not address the needs stated in the UCSC Long Range Development Plan to house substantial numbers of increased students in the future.. I learned that only about 50% of the UCSC population currently lives on campus. The new plans will make it difficult for students to have access to a common kitchen, requiring 33 students to share a kitchen, rather than the current 8. One current student in the audience asked if there would be showers near the common areas….which are currently being used as student dormitory areas. Wow.

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

Take a look at this Project and submit your thoughts by January 7

I was not able to review the document thoroughly before attending the hearing because the link was broken, but it seems to be repaired now. Maybe we need to follow the good work that the city of Davis, Calif. leaders recently did, with the help of a mediator, negotiating an agreement with UC Davis to provide on-campus housing for 100% of the increased student enrollment. UC also agreed to fund $2.3 Million in transportation improvement projects immediately around the Campus to support better infrastructure serving staff and students. What an amazing accomplishment! Why can’t we do that in Santa Cruz, too? Are there any leaders in the house?

Fire damages Seacliff apartment building

An apartment at the Seacliff Garden Apartments in the Seacliff area of Aptos sustained massive damage Tuesday (12/2) from a 3:30 p.m. blaze. (Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Register-Pajaronian)

FIRE DESTROYS SEACLIFF APARTMENT, LEAVING SOME HOMELESS
A November 20 electrical fire destroyed several apartments in Seacliff Gardens, most notably that of Gary Lindstrum, recent Soquel Creek Water District Board candidate. He was barely able to escape the fire, but lost everything. If you can help Gary, please consider a donation of any amount to a special account established for his benefit at Bay Federal Credit Union, account #33713456. You may send checks, payable to Becky Steinbruner with the notation “FBO Gary Lindstrum” and mail to 3441 Redwood Drive, Aptos, CA 95003. Phone 831-685-2915 with questions.

Take a look

THE WATER VALVE FINALLY OPENED!
It was a beautiful celebration Monday, December 3, when the Santa Cruz City Water officials and Soquel Creek Water District Board Chair together opened the valve to begin sending water to customers in the over drafted area of the MidCounty. Now, 1200 gallons/minute are flowing from Santa Cruz City’s system into the pilot project area of Soquel Creek Water District and District pumps in the area have been turned off. This should help groundwater levels rise and is a pilot project for using the water more extensively in the District to help address the Soquel Creek Water District’s over-pumping problem. It is one of the recommendations of the Santa Cruz Water Advisory Commission’s work that came from extensive studies by local citizens after the expensive SCWD2 DeSal effort dissolved due to citizen protests and referendum.

Here is a good report from Santa Cruz Sentinel writer Ms. Jessica York.

I also video recorded the celebration and will send out the YouTube link in the near future.

So, one must now ask the question: Is Soquel Creek Water District’s fast-tracked construction of the PureWater Soquel Project pre-mature and an irresponsible use of ratepayer money? This Project would inject 3 Million gallons of treated sewage water daily into the area’s drinking water supply; require annual 9% rate increases for the next five years in order to pay the $200 debt burden of the Project. In my opinion and that of many others informed on the subject, it would pose unknown health and safety risks to all who depend on the Purisima Aquifer for drinking water…..not just the District ratepayers. It would increase District annual operating costs by an estimated $2.5 Million, require hiring additional staff with required certification, increase energy demand significantly and depend on the highly-technologically dependent equipment to function perfectly 100% of the time. Remember that in Marina last January the high-tech sewage treatment system failed and dumped an estimated 9 Million gallons of raw sewage into Monterey Bay without anyone noticing for days.

Please contact Ms. Rosemary Menard, Director of Santa Cruz City Water Department and Mr. Ron Duncan, General Manager of Soquel Creek Water District and support further water transfers instead of the treated sewage water injection project. Rosemary Menard 831-420-5200 Ron Duncan 831-475-8500 and please copy District Chairman Bruce Daniels .

Take a look at the excellent article recently in the Santa Cruz Sentinel about water supply options the District’s Board discussed:

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2018/12/06/soquel-creek-water-district-lines-up-water-projects/

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT WANTS TO SNEAK THIS PAST YOU
Just when water observers were rejoicing the beginning of water transfers, Soquel Creek Water District dropped this calculated bomb….the Board intends to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for pumping treated sewage water into the area’s drinking water supply at their next meeting on December 18. Staff had reported to the Board during the December 4 meeting that the Response to Public Comment on the Draft EIR for PureWater Soquel was expected early next year. Nothing was noted on the board-approved calendar for December 18, other than a Resolution regarding Prop. 1 Grant funding (for the treated sewage water Project). Can the Board, with respect to transparency, expect the public to plow through this 740-page complex document in just 10 days, the MINIMUM required by California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) law???

This is deceitful and disgusting. Take a look at the information at www.soquelcreekwater.org Ask the Board for a time extension on Public Comment. Why does the District boast of transparency awards??? It really makes one wonder what the criteria are for granting these accolades, doesn’t it? By the way, contrary to the Board’s decision last year, Tom LaHue is AGAIN the Chairman of the Board, simply (AGAIN) changing places with Bruce Daniels as Vice Chairman. Not that much has changed since the old days when Martin Kreige ran the Board year after year ad nauseam.

Please contact the Board with your thoughts:

Tom LaHue toml@soquelcreekwater.org
Bruce Daniels bruced@soquelcreekwater.org
Carla Christensen carlac@soquelcreekwater.org
Bruce Jaffe brucej@soquelcreekwater.org
Rachel Lather rachell@soquelcreekwater.org
Emma Olin emmao@soquelcreekwater.org She is the new Board Clerk

WATER RIGHTS OF THE SOQUEL CREEK EXAMINED
The County Water Advisory Commission met last Wednesday to discuss the Soquel Creek Riparian Water Rights Adjudication, and with possible addition of Water Master to enforce the water rights adjudication order. An interesting guest was retired Judge Hodge, who made the landmark water rights decisions for the American River water rights adjudication. Soquel Creek Water District has no water rights to Soquel Creek, but Scotts Valley Water District does. I thought it interesting that the adjudication issue was brought about by a complaint filed by the City of Capitola. No Water Master was ever appointed by the court to enforce the adjudication and no annual reports (required by the State) regarding the enforcement have been filed.

Here is a link to a presentation on water rights made to Soquel Creek Water District Board within the recent past
Here is a link to the actual Superior Court adjudication order #57081 made in 1975

I always learn a lot at these meetings, and video recorded the discussion of the adjudication. Stay tuned for that public YouTube video release.

ARE YOU STILL GRAPPLING WITH THE IMPACTS OF RECENT BOARD OF SUPERVISOR APPROVALS FOR ENHANCED DENSITY BONUS?
Gary Patton described what is happening in Santa Cruz County very well in his last week’s Bratton Online contribution:

“One important thing to realize, in the Bay Area, anyway, is that those generating a huge part of housing demand (the large corporations with their jobs) are not paying for the impacts they are causing and there isn’t any solution unless we get money to write down the cost of newly-produced housing, keeping it as permanently “affordable” through price restrictions. Why not get some of that money from those corporations?

Anyone who observes what is really happening can see that the private market will never produce “affordable” housing. It will just produce MORE housing, and that housing will be taken by those with more money. Since we have a global market competing for our very scarce housing supplies, plus a lot of billionaires and want-to-be billionaires competing for any housing that is produced, simply increasing supply won’t do anything except gentrify and otherwise drive ordinary working people out of the homes they may barely be holding on to.” Well said! Now, consider this information from a recent report in the San Jose Mercury News.

Is there any of that money going to fund affordable housing in Santa Cruz County? I don’t think so, yet an estimated 25,000 residents from here commute daily to jobs in the high-tech industry, many of which have been forced out of the even-higher-cost-housing in the Bay area to Santa Cruz County. And don’t forget, some large tech companies, such as Amazon and Dudek, have already moved into downtown Santa Cruz.

Dont’t forget that over a year ago, Santa Cruz City Economic Development Director Bonnie Lipscomb stated on KION that the City had already approved 500-700 new housing units for the high tech workers. Are Amazon and Dudek contributing money to help build affordable housing for their workers?

FIRST AMENDMENT COALITION SUES SAN JOSE CITY TO GET BEHIND THE TRUTH IN GOOGLE AGREEMENTS
Big money from high-tech Google changed hands last week with the City of San Jose. Many people protested the transaction for Google Village, which has not been transparent and poses significant changes to the quality of life in the area of consideration. Here is a link to what the public is being told.

Notice that the issue of government transparency is getting minimalized, but consider the bigger-picture information below, taken directly from the First Amendment Coalition news release. Ask yourself why Mayor Liccardo is fighting the release of public information so vehemently?

For Immediate Release—The First Amendment Coalition (FAC), joined by Working Partnerships USA (WPUSA), today sued the city of San Jose to force the disclosure of secret details of its negotiations to sell valuable public land to Google.

The suit, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court, seeks records under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) relating to the planned development of a massive new Google campus on city-owned property, including records about the city’s use of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs).

More than a dozen city officials, including Mayor Sam Liccardo as well as councilmembers, signed NDAs at Google’s request. The NDAs purport to require city officials to withhold a broad range of information required to be made public under California law.

FAC and WPUSA, a San Jose-based nonprofit, have submitted numerous public records requests to learn more about the development and the city’s use of NDA’s. The city largely rebuffed these requests, in clear violation of the CPRA. Today’s lawsuit seeks to force the city to disclose those records.
“The public is entitled to know what elected leaders are doing and saying in negotiations with corporations doing business with the government—especially where those companies are as large and powerful as Google,” said FAC Executive Director David Snyder. “NDAs do not and cannot override elected leaders’ obligations to produce records under public records laws.”

***********

It all comes back to that common thread of local government’s lack of transparency, doesn’t it? Do you think Santa Cruz County has that problem? I do. Do you think there might be a similar case of backroom dealing with the City of Santa Cruz and the 1100 Pacific block of redevelopment land owned by the City? How does that fit with the Library-Parking Garage plan being shoved down our throats? How does that fit with the Pacific-Front Mixed Use development? And another 6-story project in the works behind the Metro Station? Think about it.

WHY ARE TAXPAYERS LEASING 3220 SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE SPACE IN THE APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT FOR ZACH FRIEND AND THE SHERIFF?
I just wonder why Consent Item #53 on the December 11 Board of Supervisor agenda would approve leasing such grand office space from the Aptos Village Project developers when the County taxpayers just financed multiple remodel projects of the Sheriff sub-station in the Rancho del Mar Center? I also wonder why the cost of the new lease is being paid largely by 911 Joint Power funds ($81,706) (Measure G money???) and money the District Attorney approved ($14,640) from the Consumer Fraud Penalty Trust Fund that the developers paid $124,000 into last year via a judgment regarding shocking environmental violations? Hmmmm….. And notice that the Consent Agenda Item #51 signs off over $2.5 Million in taxpayer-funded road improvements to deem the Phase 1 Aptos Village Traffic Improvement Project complete. Phase 2, which will bring a second traffic light to the Village at Aptos Creek Road, is due to begin next spring.

Here is the text of Consent Item #53: 6338 : Approve lease agreement with Aptos Village LLC for shared office space at 171 Aptos Village Way, Suite T1, Aptos; authorize the Director of Public Works to approve any future non-monetary changes to the lease agreement; adopt resolutions accepting unanticipated funds in the amount of $14,640 from the Consumer Penalty Trust Fund for the District Attorney’s Office, and in the amount of $81,706 from the Santa Cruz County 911 capital fund for maintenance and tenant improvements, and take related actions, as recommended by the Deputy CAO, Director of Public Works

THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTES
Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin certified the County’s November 6 Election results last week. Thank you to the 64,298 voters who said NO! to Measure H and a tax on housing that violated state law. Thank you to the 5,271 voters who said YES! to Soquel Creek Water District Board Candidate Gary Lindstrum and support for water transfers. Thank you to the 39,309 voters who said NO! to a deceitful Measure G sales tax increase that will actually not fund County Fire Dept. budget at all.

KAISER TO BUILD MASSIVE COMPLEX IN LIVE OAK?

I receive County Supervisor John Leopold’s monthly newsletters (by the way, he is the only Supervisor who sends them out regularly) and found this of interest:

“On December 13, Pacific Medical Buildings, a developer of medical office buildings, will host a community meeting about a proposal for a new facility located on the Soquel Avenue frontage road, near the Sheriff’s Center. The proposed facility will likely be a 3-4-story medical center with over 150,000 square feet of space for health care providers. Included in their plans will be a parking garage. If successful in the medical office building entitlement process, Kaiser Permanente has expressed interest in occupying the facility, significantly expanding their presence and level of services to the Santa Cruz County community.

The addition of a new medical center will have a variety of impacts on the local health care ecosystem. The County has hired a firm to study these impacts and identify any changes that need to be made to assure that all parts of our health care system stay strong and viable. This new project will also include a detailed traffic analysis to minimize impacts on surrounding roadways.

The healthcare industry is one of the economic and job providing pillars of the county. Local residents have been educated at Cabrillo College for years to enter the medical profession which pays living wages. The potential of new living wage jobs in our community is one of many aspects that should be considered during the important community conversation about this project. I encourage you to attend the Open House and find out more about what is being proposed.

Pacific Medical Buildings Community Meeting
Thursday, December 13
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Simpkins Family Swim Center
979 17th Avenue

Cheers and Happy Holidays, 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

December 4, 2018 #338 / “Originalism” Reconsidered

“Originalism” is a doctrine of Constitutional interpretation, often identified with former United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The idea of “originalism” is that there is “an identifiable original intent or original meaning, contemporaneous with the ratification of a constitution or statute, which should govern its subsequent interpretation.”

That seems like a plausible way to think about how to interpret the Constitution. Let’s look to the intent expressed in the words of the document.

In recent times, the Supreme Court has tended to put forward “originalist” arguments in favor of its profoundly conservative decisions. Erwin Chemerinsky, the founding Dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law and now Dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, says “It’s Time for a Progressive Reading of the Constitution.” He makes a good case that the so-called “originalist” decisions aren’t reflecting the Constitution’s original intent at all, and urges us to develop a “progressive reading.”

Among other things, Chemerinsky notes that any genuine “originalism” would admit that the words of the Constitution ought to be understood and interpreted according to the intent of the Framers, as that intent is found within the document itself. Thus, Chemerinsky says:

The document should be interpreted to fulfill its central values. Therefore, it is essential to begin by identifying the core underlying values that the Constitution is meant to achieve. The place to start is at the very beginning, with the Preamble, which articulates the purposes for the document. The Preamble states: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

I think Chermerinsky is onto something, in terms of how we should be thinking about the Constitution. Decisions on issues like gun control and campaign finance reform should reflect those Constitutional purposes. Let’s think about “gun control,” for example, in connection with the Constitution’s commitment to “domestic tranquility.” Seems like there is an important relationship right there!

Just to add on, let’s also not forget that the Constitution was (and I would say still is) a “revolutionary” document.

Let us not forget that “revolution” is what this country is supposed to be all 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. Eye in the Sky below, scroll down a bit.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s Characterization of Trump down a few pages. As always, at TimEagan.com you will find his most recent Deep Cover, the latest installment from the archives of Subconscious Comics, and the ever entertaining Eaganblog.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “There’s great news on the Beast front for e-book readers this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). Also, find out why Willem Dafoe (mesmerizing, as usual) received a Golden Globe nomination for At Eternity’s Gate, a cinematic oddity that would rather be a painting than a movie.” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

MARIA BY CALLAS. To be fair, I’m an opera fan — and have attended over 300 performances — so any film lauding Maria Callas was likely to be a hit with me. Nonetheless this documentary compilation of performances, newsreels and interviews is surprisingly great. Her relation with Aristotle Onassis is brutal, touching, and newsworthy, but it’s her acting and singing that made her opera’s most famous character. She died aged 53, in 1977. Go see it, then listen to her recordings all over again. I did.

AT ETERNITY’S GATE. Willem Dafoe is the perfect Vincent van Gogh, even with his Wisconsin/New York accent. This film tries very hard to teach us about Vincent’s psychological reasons for painting, and to answer questions about his behavior. You’ll learn more about Van Gogh but it still looks like no one will ever actually know if he shot himself or if it was an accident during a scuffle/murder!!

WILDLIFE. With a 33 RT critics rating, 152 normal people rating — plus the astounding acting by Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal — you can’t go wrong. This is actor Paul Dano’s first director job, an award-winning film about a teenage boy in the 1960’s trying to make sense of his mom and dad’s near-crazed decisions and problems. It’s sad, tense, frustrating, and an excellent film…go for it. Not to be confused with Boy Erased! or Beautiful Boy!!!

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? A well-deserved 98 on RT! Melissa McCarthy plays real-life author Lee Israel, who, when she’s down on her luck, starts forging and selling fake letters from famous literary stars. McCarthy is better for my money at being straight than she is as a comic. An excellent movie, based on a book that Lee Israel wrote confessing the entire plot. Go see it…it’s why they make movies, and why we like to go see them. CLOSES THURSDAY DEC.13

FREE SOLO. A National Geographic documentary of young Alex Honnold free-climbing El Capitan in Yosemite. It is beautiful, terrifying, and the most tension you’ve ever felt from anything ever on screen. He climbs the three thousand-plus feet in a little over three hours. It’s a nearly perfectly-made film, on a topic you’ll never forget. See it on the big screen at the Del Mar…you won’t regret it, trust me!!! Oh yes 98 on RT!!. CLOSES THURSDAY DEC.13

FIRST MAN. 88 on RT. Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong steals this saga about our landing on the moon in 1969. He’s nowhere near the type of human that Armstrong seemed to be, or must have been, to carry off this moon landing, marriage, fame, and some failures too. Claire Foy (The Queen) is wasted here as Neil’s wife. The movie is tense at times, nerve-wracking at others and is a full two hours and 18 minutes long. Armstrong died in 2012. It is such a tribute to our US space program, and such a hunk of our national pride, that it’s impossible not to enjoy. Go see it. Nope, they didn’t include the planting of the American flag.

A STAR IS BORN. Yes, the crowds are right: Lady Gaga is a genuine actor now. She takes almost all the movie away from Bradley Cooper. Cooper directed, financed most of it and plays and sings too. It’s a saga, a melodrama, and shares almost zero with any of the other 4 or 5 Star is Born flicks. Go see it, even if like me you’ve never seen or heard Lady Gaga before. According to Wikipedia… Lady Gaga is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986 in NYC)

FANTASTIC BEASTS: The Crimes of Grindelwald. I really liked most of the Harry Potter movies, but this is a far cry from the happy, brilliant, colorful, playful fiction of J.K. Rowling’s books and movies. Johnny Depp is terrible in this mess, and Jude Law is somewhere in it too, but Eddie Redmayne does a yeoman’s job in the lead. It lacks all the magic, the fairytale, and the imaginative fun of other Rowling films.

OVERLORD. You have to believe me when I tell you this is a movie about Paratroopers, D-Day, Nazi experiments and zombies…and it’s serious! It’s almost laughable (which is probably what is intended) but somehow Nazi experiments still aren’t funny to me. Forget it!!!

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER WEB. I think Claire Foy is probably the best actor/actress in the business. She could have made Lisbeth Salander (“The Girl With The…”) unforgetable — but the script, the directing, and the characters all let her down. The other Lisabeth Sanlader films were well-done and incredibly exciting. This one is loaded with obscure references, dull explanations and few chase scenes. See it some other time.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. December 11th has former mayor and political consultant Bruce Van Allen talking about that last election. He’s followed by Scott McGilvray from Water For Santa Cruz bringing us up to date on our water issues. Jane Mio of San Lorenzo River Mysteries holds forth on Dec.18 talking about river management. Then Fred Geiger gathers up facts about ADU’s and shares some new ideas. The Tuesday after that is Christmas and you know about that! OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

Gotta love a pittie!

QUOTES. “Homeless”
“You know, if I listened to Michael Dukakis long enough, I would be convinced we’re in an economic downturn and people are homeless and going without food and medical attention and that we’ve got to do something about the unemployed”. Ronald Reagan
“You can spend the money on new housing for poor people and the homeless, or you can spend it on a football stadium or a golf course”. Jello Biafra
“Economic inequality is not about food stamps and homeless shelters. It is about being a devotee of social justice and equality”. Mike Quigley

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

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December 4 – 10, 2018

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…Circle Church property update, an opinion column, Sustainable Transportation and bike parking. GREENSITE…on ADUs.KROHN…defining Far Left and its history. STEINBRUNER…Monterey Bay Economic Partnership event and Related California. PATTON…The Good Mayor. EAGAN…Subconscious Comics and Deep Cover. JENSEN…reviews Green Book. BRATTON…critiques the new films. UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…from Donald Trump!

SANTA’S VILLAGE. Taken on May 9, 1959 in Santa’s Village — which was built in 1955 and went bankrupt in 1977. It was in Scotts Valley. Shown here (left to right) is some guy, and then with necktie, is Liberace’s almost famous brother George, then Carl Hansen all dressed up as Santa Claus. For the rest of the many years Carl Hansen was Hocus Pocus the clown. See the You Tube just below.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

HOCUS POCUS, OUR FAVORITE SANTA CRUZ CLOWN.

Funny Sea Lion/Seal Video Compilation | Dogs of the Sea

King High Tide at San Lorenzo River, Santa Cruz, CA

DATELINE December 3 (before city election results)

CIRCLE CHURCH PROPERTY. There was a meeting last Thursday (11/29) in the Circle Church, managed by Mark Thomas, a realtor from Lighthouse Realty. 75 or more community members attended. Justin Cummings, Donna Meyers and Chris Krohn also attended. Sue Powell was there too, and she Facebooked… “Thank you for the reminder about the Errett Circle development meeting. It was well-attended. The “Circle of Friends” bought the property a year ago and hired Thatcher Thompson to draw up plans. The majority of community members in the audience opposed the development. My POV is that it is elitist, lacks diversity, and does not fit in the neighborhood. Any mandated affordable units will most likely be built elsewhere. It is an important central location with an incredible view to the ocean, and it should remain as a center for community gatherings. New Council, new Planning Commissioners. Hopeful”. Sue didn’t mention that the property sold last December for $3,266,666, and that it’s zoned for residential. The majority of folks attending that meeting proved that most of the neighbors want to see the property remain oriented to community use. Most of the audience applauded when any anti-co-housing property plans were discussed. Many Circle Church neighbors were so mad at the managed presentation that they walked out in frustration. It’s been a genuine community center for 120 years. The property continues to be heavily used, with classrooms, the gym, and the kitchen and sanctuary always filled and booked way in advance with activities. Many folks want and hope that the city can take over the entire facility. The church is not in poor shape, as the would-be developers claim. The developers are pushing for cutting down the trees, destroying the church and making it into 12 two, or two and a half, story houses with 12 ADU’s. It’ll be a huge money-maker for the Circle of Friends and their co-housing development. Let’s hope the city takes a genuine interest in this Circle property: it’s precious ,and a very significant part of our history…and future.

FACEBOOK FOLLIES. I won’t bother repeating all the stuff that a few well-intentioned FB’s wrote in response to my including “scumbag” as a description of Christopher VanHall in last week’s BrattonOnline. My community bell-ringer did tell me that maybe “scumbag” was a little harsh, and that “slick sales pitchman” fits him more accurately. VanHall is generally regarded as the “pastor” of the Circle Church, even though he has no official religious title. VanHall also has a history of owning two churches in South Carolina. You should go to my page on Facebook and read the 6 or more entries, including a response from VanHall. A very important factor in all of this is that in spite of all of above, these FB’ers don’t seem to realize that BrattonOnline is an OPINION COLUMN! It’s like an editorial or any regular opinion column, it’s not “fake news” and doesn’t try to be…what you read here now, and all the way back to 1975 when I started with, Good Times Vol.1, #1 are opinions.

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION. Peter Scott sent this important notice…I recently added three links to videos about bike parking in the Netherlands to our website. The three videos are about new bike parking facilities at transit stations in Utrecht and Delft. These facilities are large — as many as 12,000 bikes can be parked at the Utrecht Centraal Station. Just click here for links to all three. Those links are on the left-hand side. Please read the pieces on Bus Passes, Highway widening, Smart Trains and Rail PLUS Trail. Peter concludes… “I hope you enjoy them. Maybe some ideas here. Do we really need a garage for 12,000 cars?”

December 3, 2018

ADU EXCHANGES.
The city Planning Director, Lee Butler, read last week’s BrattonOnline piece and wrote to me, wanting to clarify a few points regarding ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units) to make sure that I and other community members have a clear understanding of the City’s proposals. (The issue, postponed from the Nov. 27th meeting will be before council on Tuesday Dec.4th, Last minute edit: The item was tabled. The new date for council vote on the ADU proposed changes is Tuesday December 11th after the hour of 8:30 AM). He recommended I read the staff reports and wanted me to know that the reduced setbacks for ADU’s are state law; that the issue of removing owner-occupancy in exchange for affordability is still an ongoing discussion; that the fast track is a result of city council direction. He further clarified that while 56% of city households are indeed tenant occupied, for single-family homes, tenant occupancy is under 1/3rd. He expressed the opinion that removing all parking requirements for ADU’s “goes only a bit further” than existing state law by adding new freestanding ADU’s to the parking exemptions. I penned the following reply:

Hi Lee,
Thanks for taking the time to write. I reviewed the staff report prior to the Planning Commission meeting on ADU revisions, attended that meeting and have read the staff report for the Dec. 4th meeting. I understand that the city is obliged to conform to state law regarding ADU’s so am not critical of the city for complying. However the proposed city changes go well beyond state law and the impacts on our neighborhoods IMO will be significant and negative. I understand that the topic of ADU’s was high on the list of recommendations from the Housing Blueprint Subcommittee and that council directed staff to bring the issue back as soon as possible. That doesn’t preclude an approach that tries to balance the provision of more ADU’s with a need to protect existing neighborhoods from overcrowding, noise, traffic etc. So far, I see much of the former and little of the latter.

Removing any parking requirement for newly constructed ADU’s is a significant change, especially in the single- family neighborhoods, which are undergoing rapid gentrification with small cottages demolished and new, larger dwellings frequently adding an ADU. The reasoning behind such a parking change does not suggest concern for existing neighborhoods, which have spoken up loudly and clearly about parking nightmares on their streets. Yes, ADU’s are a way to add rental housing to existing neighborhoods but for whom and at what cost? With 1440 residential units built since the 2030 General Plan adoption and many more units slated for downtown, it could be argued that the state law easing of restrictions on ADU’s is far-reaching enough and doesn’t require the city pushing that limit further. I’m aware that many want these changes in order to profit off the hot rental market. I’ve heard from those who have lost their privacy, sunlight and open space due to ADU’s. I don’t see ADU’s providing affordable housing for those who live and work here and if they did, I’d not be opposed. In fact I’m not opposed to the reasonable addition to our housing stock via ADU’s. I’m opposed to the removal of reasonable limits that protect existing residents from such development.

Thanks for clarifying the setbacks issue as state law. However, the proposed city change from the current limit of 30% of the rear yard setback for an ADU to 50% is significant and negates staff’s apparent concern for the adjoining residents’ right to sunlight, privacy and open space.

Having more discussion on the trade-off: non-owner occupancy for “affordability” is appreciated. However the proposed change to owner occupancy to include family members seems unnecessary and open to abuse. Having worked at UCSC for 30 years I’m aware of a number of houses bought by parents for their student offspring and friends to live in while attending college. Perhaps a small impact. The larger, more concerning impact is the staff recommendation to allow new ADU’s to be operated as short-term rentals for 3 years, not only ignoring neighborhood impacts but also negating the stated rationale for ADU’s.

Thanks for the invitation for dialogue. Hoping you are enjoying a beautiful sunny Sunday after such welcome rain.

Gillian

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.

December 3, 2018

Far Left
A journalist writing for a local weekly recently called me and my fellow Santa Cruz Councilmember, Sandy Brown, part of the “Far Left.” I wondered what I had done to offend him? Should I cut my hair? Change my pants more often? Were my nose hairs too prominent? Or maybe, just to prove him right, I should don a black arm band and sweat band and run down Pacific Avenue screaming, “death to Amerika.” A part of me thought I should wear more black and spit a lot more. Maybe Sandy and I should call ourselves The F.L. as the insurgent FMLN in El Salvador and FSLN in Nicaragua came to mind.

Some History
A Far Left in the United States, or Europe often saw armed revolution as the only viable political alternative. The Weather Underground, Red Brigades, the Bader-Meinhoff Gang come to mind. Hate to say it, but Sandy Brown and I don’t even possess gun permits. Far Left also conjures up for some the image of the bearded beret-wearing Che poster, or Stalin twirling his famous Simon Legree mustache. (Question: do Far Leftists always have some form of facial hair?) Perhaps cars burning on the Champs Elysee in Paris in ’68 is the image of leftists gone really far? Will autos, or bicycles be burning along Soquel any time soon?

Realpolitik
Sandy and I’s Far Left tendencies generally have to do with not building a five-story parking garage on the current site of the Farmer’s Market, or asking developers to keep 25% of the units they build affordable. We did once oppose one of those Uber Jump Bike racks on West Cliff. Maybe the Far Left label comes from the time we voted for money to televise Planning Commission meetings (we lost, 5-2)? Oh, I know what it could’ve been, we voted to increase the city council’s budget supporting childcare facilities in town. We were told the extra $25k would be a budget buster, but we voted yes anyway.

More History
Far Leftists are often seen as seizing office to combat an overbearing dictator–Somoza, Diem, and Pinochet all come to mind, but since Donald Trump does not live in Santa Cruz, it is unlikely that the Santa Cruz version of armed revolution will be spilling into our streets any time soon. And sometimes, because a few of those so-called Far Leftists are bat-shit crazy–Jim Jones, Daniel Ortega/Rosario Murillo, and Pol Pot–the term Far Left carries a good deal of pejorative baggage when used in the Santa Cruz context. Some of these dictators were ruthless people who killed off their opposition wantonly and sought to bring “ordem y progreso” only to maximize the profits of their petrochemical factories, copper mines, and cattle ranches.

Rubber Band Effect
In politics, the political rubber band often snaps back. First, a country is pulled over from the Far Right to the center, only after a left was pushed to the Far Left and picked up weapons, but is that what’s happening in Santa Cruz today? I wonder if Gaspar Ilom (Guatemala), or Roque Dalton (El Salvador), or even Abimail Guzman (Peru) know there’s a Far Left in La Republica Popular de Santa Cruz? If they did, maybe they’ll apply for political asylum? (Wasn’t that a city council agenda item recently?)Insurgents of the Colombian FARC, the Basque ETA, or Western Sahara’s Polisario must all be wondering what they were fighting for if all it took for two members of the Santa Cruz city council to waltz into office and be pronounced as members of the Far Left.

Councilmembers Brown and Krohn showing off “Far Left” credentials in front of surfer statue.	The “Far Left” Raging Grannies performing recently at Ruth Hunter’s memorial.	Students waiting in line to vote. Do “Far Leftists” vote?
Sam Farr, seen recently sporting a Red Gayabera shirt. The “Farr Left” gloves came off when he revealed it was from, now get this a Havana trip with hardcore “Far Leftist,” Ruth Hunter.	The Bicycle Taxi driver…is he on the “Far Left” too?	Students waiting in line to vote. Do “Far Leftists” vote?

Addendum
So, what does a Far Left in Santa Cruz even look like? Given that the Far Left is rarely (if ever?) elected, what could be behind this local weekly’s Far Left labeling of the apparent winners of the Santa Cruz city council elections? I was so interested in this notion that I began asking everyone I encountered during the past week what a Far Left is, and does it exist in Santa Cruz? Most people just winced and wanted me to repeat the question. When I did they responded: ‘A Far Left in Santa Cruz, what does that mean?’ I wondered if this weekly media organ is so invested in condos, bike racks, or parking lots that they have to label hardworking, renter Democrats as leftist insurgents. More appropriate labels might be: Left Democrat, Berniecrat, Progressive or New Progressive, but Far Left? Would anyone out there actually believe we have a Far Left city council in this city, or in California, or would you believe there’s one looming and lurking somewhere on the US landscape east of here? Me neither. But if you read the local weekly, there appears to be one in Surf City so beware.

Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour may have been a fringe idea a few years ago, but now it is a mainstream idea whose time has come. (Dec. 3)

(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

December 3,2018

2018 STATE OF THE REGION EVENT WAS SHOCKING
I was grateful for the extra money that came my way last week, enabling me to afford the $150 ticket to attend the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership “2018 State of the Region” event in Seaside. What I learned was shocking, and has me worried about what Santa Cruz County will be like in the future if citizens who care do not fight back. State Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 35 legislation recently signed by Governor Brown, legally “streamlines” the building permit process to virtually eliminate public process and discourage lawsuits by making plaintiffs post a bond or agree to pay all attorney fees. This will make it a challenge to protect our neighborhoods.

The “State of the Region” event opened with Ms. Kate Roberts, President of Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) since its 2015 inception, giving a self-congratulatory acknowledgement to the group that Santa Cruz County Supervisors recently approved MBEP initiative regarding density bonus and re-structured / deferred developer impact fees. These recommendations came from Sibley Simon’s Housing Policy White Paper. (Sibley is president of New Way Homes) She also announced that Salinas City Council had also approved deferred developer impact fees.
MAKE ONE CALL. WRITE ONE LETTER. ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. BUT JUST DO SOMETHING!

The next work MBEP will focus upon will be farm working housing plans with a goal to create 5300 units within the next five years. The group also is working on a transportation initiative and expects that to be their next active campaign. MBEP’s stated Transportation Initiative Goals include advocating for transportation policies and funding, including improved bike infrastructure. With Bud Colligan, CEO of Greenway, on the MBEP Board, you can be sure that there will be increased lobbying to remove the rail in the region. You can look at MBEP’s initiatives here.

The first keynote speaker was Dave Evans, a former Apple executive and co-founder of Stanford Life Design Lab and co-founder of Electronic Arts. His presentation, “Designing Your Region” was more about self-designing, and he instructed the audience to extrapolate his rapid-fire speaking content to regional work. For me, the most important insight he offered, citing a video called “Drive” by Daniel H. Pink, was that studies have shown that workers are not motivated to be more efficient by money. Rather, the best motivators are autonomy, mastery and a sense of purpose.

Now, put that thought against what the second keynote speaker, State Senator Scott Wiener said about upcoming state mandates of local government for increasing densities and streamlining the permitting process, promising more state grants for counties who approve zoning changes to allow greater densities. He talked about the “tension of local vs. state control” but said local government does not always make the best decisions. “Local control is important when it delivers good results.” he said, and cited the need to “re-calibrate the balance”. He announced that he will re-introduce his proposed SB 827 that failed in committee last spring, but would have removed local control to prevent allowing developers to build FIVE-STORY apartment buildings near every high-frequency transit stop.

Senator Wiener then applauded the passage of his SB 35 that streamlines the permitting process and forces all counties to get caught up with their state-mandated building permit issuance numbers (known as Regional Housing Needs Allocation or RHNA). He acknowledged that local elected officials may face re-call threats, as a result of the required rapid development process and decrease in public process, but promised THE STATE WILL MAKE MORE MANDATES TO TAKE THE RESIDENT PRESSURE OFF LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS.

He promised State grants for jurisdictions that approve zoning and enhanced density bonus changes in order to provide more planning department staff to quickly process building permits. He also said that he will work to get state redevelopment programs going again. He provided a heart-rending narrative that Starbucks just can’t find workers because housing is so expensive. According to the Starbucks website, the average barista only gets paid $8.12-$11.99/hr, with an average of $9.55/hr. Don’t you think Starbucks should pay their employees more so that they can afford to live here, rather than forcing taxpayers to subsidize housing for them?

Senator Wiener then closed his presentation with the statement that it will take 10-20 years to correct the housing problem but that we owe the future generations a legacy of housing provided. What about a quality of life and environmental integrity?

The Question & Answer session that ensued was interesting. Watsonville City Councilman Felipe Hernandez asked if the return of the redevelopment agencies could be brought back only for affordable housing projects? Senator Wiener replied that the recently passed SB152 was with that attempt in mind. SB152 is state legislation allowing Sonoma County to increase taxes by up to 2% for specific purposes and was signed by the Governor on September 23, 2018. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB152

A Salinas City Councilman pointed out that sometimes, cities are unable to approve such large and dense housing projects as mandated by the state because of infrastructure constraints. “It’s not just because of NIMBY and lack of political will,” he said. Senator Wiener responded: “I’ll be happy to meet with you. Infrastructure restrictions are like a chicken vs. egg issue, but it’s just not reality to get tandem development and necessary improvements done. The improvements can happen when the demand is there.” Wow.

So, what Senator Wiener said conflicts with what the other keynote speaker Dave Evans said about what motivates a region to become more efficient and vibrant: the state is using a big stick with the promise of money to make it happen, rather than giving local jurisdictions autonomy, mastery and a sense of purpose with local control.

Another session in the MBEP State of the Region event was a “Housing for All” panel led by Mr. Matt Huerta, Housing Program Manager for MBEP. He is the person who orchestrated the community meetings that Fred Keeley and Don Lane held last year to “gather public support” to convince the County Board of Supervisors to put Measure H on the November 6 ballot, expecting all county property owners to fund a bond for housing. He also led the community meeting October 17 to explain to the public the significant Zoning Code changes, hot off the Sibley Simon White Paper press that the Board recently approved to make projects more profitable for developers.

That session was especially troubling because one panelist, Meea Kang, Senior Vice President of Related California (a large developer) who talked about lobbying state legislators for the passage of SB35. That newly-signed law will pretty much eliiminate CEQA and public process, speeding up the “by right” ability of developers to get building permit approvals to do pretty much whatever they want. “Public hearings are ridiculous because they take so much time,” she said. Matt Huerta agreed, citing the recent public hearing in Watsonville regarding the large Chinese-owned Sunshine Vista Homes development that ended at 1am. Ms. Kang emphasized that large developments will bring needed tax revenue to local government to support their budgets.

Ms. Kang talked about the next lobbying effort regarding “BY RIGHT ZONING” to allow ministerial approval only for development. That means that there would most likely be no public hearings or noticing of anything necessary. “The goal is to bypass discretionary approvals because it is too expensive to build if developers have to please angry residents,” she said. “It is much easier if the State passes laws mandating this so that local officials can just say that they have to do this because the State says so….it works.”

Matt Huerta then talked about how to deal with local resistance to dense infill building. “We have to legalize density. Few developers will enter projects without a certainty of densities of what they need to achieve” for desired profits.

Here is the text of SB 35

Here is the link to Related California, the big developer-lobbyist working with Senator Scott Wiener to take away public input and maximize developer profits.

More later on this……

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

November 30, 2018 #334 / The Good Mayor

Sam Liccardo, pictured, is the Mayor of San Jose. He appeared as a featured speaker, a little over a month ago, at an annual conference of environmental lawyers held at Yosemite. This was the 27th annual environmental law conference held at Yosemite, and while the conference this year seemed just like earlier editions, it actually took place under modified legal auspices. The conference used to be sponsored by the Environmental Law Section of the California State Bar, but now the various special interest and voluntary sections of the the State Bar have been spun off to a separate and independent nonprofit, the California Lawyers Association. The conference met at Tenaya Lodge, at Yosemite, from Thursday, October 18th to Sunday, October 21st. I have mentioned it in a couple of previous blog posts. You can click right here for the program.

Liccardo was chosen to speak, I feel certain, because he has been an environmental leader in two different ways. First, he is working to make more “infill” housing available in the center of his city. Many environmentalists think that preventing sprawl and infilling our central cities is the best way to accommodate population growth with the fewest environmental impacts. Liccardo is advancing that agenda in the City of San Jose.

Liccardo is not just promoting more residential growth and development inside the city, though. He is also pushing for permanent protection for the open spaces surrounding the city (and within it, too). Specifically, Liccardo has been a leader in trying to preserve and protect the Coyote Valley, which has long been slated for industrial development, even though it is a vital natural link between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range. Protecting the Coyote Valley is critically important if we want to maintain our midcoast region as a biologically healthy environment. Liccardo’s strong support for Measure T, a bond issue that appeared on the November 6, 2018, City of San Jose ballot, helped convince voters to approve this measure. Measure T will provide up to fifty million dollars for land conservation in the Coyote Valley.

Because Sam Liccardo is working hard to protect the natural world, not just building more of the human world, I’m calling him out as a “good mayor.” Most city leaders are devoted to lots more “development,” and little else. A mayor who is at least equally dedicated to the preservation and protection of the natural world deserves to be called a “good mayor,” in my opinion.

Liccardo spoke at a plenary session on Saturday morning. At one of the panel discussions held later that day, panelists addressed “The High Environmental Cost of California’s Housing Shortage,” and promoted some of the ideas advanced by Liccardo. I was not completely sold on the proposals made during that panel, however, which tended to credit the idea that simply building “more” housing will make that housing more “affordable.”

“Affordable,” of course, is a word that may disguise as much as it reveals, since everything is “affordable” to some one. If the people who most need “affordable” housing are those who have average or below average incomes, then the housing that meets the needs of those persons must be “affordable” to an individual or family earning a lot less than the more economically fortunate people in the community (or those who come from outside the community) who will likely be competing with local, and lower-income, residents for the housing that is available. The suggestion that building more infill housing will automatically mean more “affordable” housing is mistaken. The only housing that will be truly “affordable” to an individual or family with an averge or below average inome will be housing that is, somehow, price-restricted. In other words, “affordable” housing must be taken out of the so-called “free market.” In a market, those who have the most money get what they want.

One important thing to realize, in the Bay Area, anyway, is that those generating a huge part of housing demand (the large corporations with their jobs) are not paying for the impacts they are causing and there isn’t any solution unless we get money to write down the cost of newly-produced housing, keeping it as permanently “affordable” through price restrictions. Why not get some of that money from those corporations?

This is true throughout the Bay Area; in Santa Cruz County, this problem is acute, exacerbated by the growth of the UCSC campus, which is aiming to add 10,000 more students to a community where ordinary income workers are, literally, becoming homeless. Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz City Council, pushed by a pro-development city staff, has bought into the argument that we need to let the developers build more, and has actually reduced inclusionary requirements that can produce at least a little bit of price-restricted, and thus “affordable” housing. Maybe the new City Council, with three new members elected on November 6, 2018, will change that pattern.

In Santa Cruz, a “good mayor” will have to go one step beyond Sam Liccardo. We need city leaders who will demand that developers set aside a significant percentage of any new development permitted for price-restricted “inclusionary” housing that will actually be “affordable” to those who live and work in Santa Cruz!

PS: Just as a brief postscript, The Mercury News has reported that Mayor Liccardo (and other members of the San Jose City Council) signed “non-disclosure” agreements with Google, as the City negotiated in secret with Google over a proposed development in the heart of the San Jose. You can’t really continue to qualify for “Good Mayor” status if you are hiding the ball from the people you represent. Just a thought for the Mayor! There is a lawsuit about this in progress, and any one who cares about self-government should definitely be on the side of full disclosure by public officials, not “non-disclosure.”

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. See deep inside our subconscious like for instance..mindless chit chat and beyond!! Scroll below.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “CLIMATE REPORT” 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: “My esteemed editor at Good Times calls Green Book “the feel good movie of the year about racism.” Well, yes and no: it doesn’t make you feel good about racism, but stars Viggo Mortenson and Mahershala Ali — forging an alliance on a road trip through the Deep South — makes it a trip worth taking, 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

BOY ERASED. The sad, many-leveled story of a gay teenager being sent to a sexual conversion center. If you now have, or ever have had, any issues with sex, religion or parenthood then see this totally engrossing film. Russell Crowe is the preacher/car dealer dad. Nicole Kidman is the well-meaning Mom and Lucas Hedges is perfect as the conflicted son. RT Critics give it 85, normal people give it 77. . CLOSES THURSDAY DEC. 6.

WILDLIFE. With a 33 RT critics rating, 152 normal people rating — plus the astounding acting by Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal — you can’t go wrong. This is actor Paul Dano’s first director job, an award-winning film about a teenage boy in the 1960s trying to make sense of his mom and dad’s near-crazed decisions and problems. It’s sad, tense, frustrating, and an excellent film…go for it. Not to be confused with Boy Erased! or Beautiful Boy!!!

BEAUTIFUL BOY. A long and drawn-out saga/story of a teenage boy Timothee Chalamet in his first real role. He becomes a crystal meth addict, and his Dad — played by Steve Carell — goes the full distance as a parent trying to relate and help. The movie is as sad as real life when parents lose touch with their kids. The background music is way too loud, but the acting is perfect, and it is a very sad, depressing film, without an ending that will leave you satisfied. CLOSES THURSDAY DEC. 6.

WIDOWS. If you blink you’ll miss Robert Duvall and Liam Neeson, but you’ll see a little of Colin Farrell in a very uneven mess about a bank robbery. Viola Davis is the star of this “heist” movie. She leads two other women in a foolish, trite, and impossible robbery caper. It’s not only hard to believe in, or follow, it’s just a re-hash of a million heist films we’ve all seen before.

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. I should note that I’m no fan of “Queen” the band, or of Freddie Mercury, their Mick Jagger-copying lead singer. Even so this Hollywood-style movie is shallow, hammy, trite, and adds nothing to film, music, or history. It’s actually boring for much of its screen time of two hours and 15 minutes.

MID 90’S. Comic Jonah Hill directed this mid 1990’s near-documentary of skateboarder teen agers coming of age in Los Angeles. My grandsons are going through the same period of life, and in the same area right now — but I could not sense what point or comment Jonah Hill was trying to make with this short (84 minutes) drama. The story seemed disjointed and pointless, but maybe that was the point? CLOSES THURSDAY DEC. 6.

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER WEB. I think Claire Foy is probably the best actor/actress in the business. She could have made Lisbeth Salander (“The Girl With The…”) unforgettable — but the script, the directing, and the characters all let her down. The other Lisabeth Salander films were well-done and incredibly exciting. This one is loaded with obscure references, dull explanations and few chase scenes. See it some other time.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. Tandy Beal talks about her special performances on Dec. 4th. Then Carla Brennan shares news about Meditation and Mindfulness’ and how it can help get through the holidays. workshops. December 11th has former mayor and political consultant Bruce Van Allen talking about that last election. He’s followed by Scott McGilvray from Water For Santa Cruz bringing us up to date on our water issues. Jane Mio of San Lorenzo River Mysteries holds forth on Dec.18 talking about river management. Then Becky Steinbruner covers many south county and environmental problems. The Tuesday after that is Christmas and you know about that! OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

Woohoo, I love a good mashup 🙂

QUOTES. “Donald Trump”

“I’ve always said, ‘If you need Viagra, you’re probably with the wrong girl”. Donald Trump “I have a great relationship with the Mexican people”. Donald Trump “People love me. And you know what, I have been very successful. Everybody loves me”. Donald Trump “The first thing the secretary types is the boss”. Donald Trump

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
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Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
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November 26 – December 2, 2018

Posted on November 29, 2018 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…Too easy to vote here?, Circle Church and property doomed. GREENSITE…on the city council election. KROHN…election issues, Measure M, neighbor vs. majority, new packed “emergency” council agenda. STEINBRUNER…Board of Supes except Leopold sell out to developers, Monterey Bay Economic Partnerships SECRET public policy, Soquel Creek selling sewage water and raising rates, PG&E doing more clear cutting. PATTON…on Indivisible’s history. EAGAN…Subconscious Comic Classic and Deep Cover. JENSEN…is very busy. BRATTON…critiques Green Book and Creed II, UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…”Christmas” (part 1)

PACIFIC AND COOPER STREETS. We can still appreciate the County Bank Building and the I.D Bank Building. Now we see Regal Cinema, Palace Stationers, Peets Coffee, and The Sock Shop. I still don’t have a year for this photo. Can any car enthusiast clue me/us in?

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

WHEN A PIANO CONCERT GOES OFF KEY!

Frank “Sugar Chile Robinson” with Count Basie

The most unusual musical instruments of the world!

DATELINE November 26, 2018

PROBABLY ONLY IN SANTA CRUZ. There was so much well-deserved anguish, chest-beating, anger, sympathy and plain frustration over the evil voting restrictions that cost so many citizens their voting rights two weeks ago. Now in Santa Cruz we’re having to live with the gripes of how same-day registration and voting made it too easy to vote! We can only guess where those complaints are coming from.

ERRETT CIRCLE-CIRCLE CHURCH DEVELOPMENT NEWS! Rumors have been rife for a few years now about who’s going to develop the Circle Church land. Now we know. A public notice of a “Community Outreach Meeting for proposed development” was sent out last week. On Thursday November 29 at 7 p.m. in the Church’s Sanctuary Room, the Circle of Friends LLC Co-Housing group will present two options. The first is to build 12 single family lots there. We can bet those “family lots” will run in the millions. The second option is 10 family lots and a cluster of small townhouses — ie. 4 two bedroom homes, 2 one bedroom homes and 4 accessory dwelling units (ADU’s). The notice says that the City Planning Department prefers the second option. Check out the history of the Circles here http://www.mobileranger.com/santacruz/santa-cruzs-westside-going-in-circles-since-1890 . This will be a never-to-be forgotten test of the power of citizens, neighbors, and everyone who cares about the environment, history, tradition fighting against the City Planning Department. It’ll also test our City government, and show us where their loyalty, community spirit, and plans for the future truly are. Everyone who cares about this significant part of our city should be at that meeting this next Thursday.

From Sept 15 BrattonOnline…

SQUARING THE CIRCLE (CHURCH). A long time and trusted friend sent this…“Circular rumors have it that no permits have been issued, or even applied for, for development of the “Circle Church”. As of this week one of the owners Chris Drury the former pastor of the Circle Church is living in a mobile home on the premises. I believe London Nelson is so heavily booked that it’s almost impossible to rent space there. I’m wondering if there is any interest amongst the city council to purchase this property as a rented community center? Can this subject be up for public hearing/vote? I’m hearing that the entire structure may be demolished for so called co-housing. Very disturbing. Think we can start some movement in the city to have council purchase? I know it’s probably a long shot, but may be worth some effort.Of course you’ve heard about the same Chris Drury, now with a name change…hmmmmm, is leasing the former Logo’s to open another alcohol outlet called “faith on tap”. Another scam by this scumbag”.

November 26, 2018

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR
Barring any last minute surprises, it appears that Justin Cummings and Drew Glover will join sitting council members Sandy Brown and Chris Krohn to form a new city council majority with a distinctly different philosophy from the current majority of Noroyan, Terrazas, Mathews, Watkins and Chase. That incumbent Noroyan failed to secure enough votes for a second council term indicates that the community is ready for a change.

I’ve been actively involved in city politics since the early days when Mike Rotkin and Bruce Van Allen successfully challenged the business/development council majority with what at the time was a new electoral strategy (campaign managers, direct mailers, walking precincts, get out the vote, door-hangers etc). For a while it seemed that neighborhood groups would have a voice as powerful as the business interests that had dominated city politics for decades. There were earlier council members who broke up the “good old boy” network. In the 1970’s, Virginia Sharp, Sally DiGirolamo and Bert Muhly brought environmental issues, neighborhood protection and historic preservation to the fore and were joined later by Carole DePalma, a strong voice for the environment, neighborhood protection and the main architect of our Heritage Tree Ordinance. Together with Gary Patton on the Board of Supervisors, followed by Mardi Wormhoudt, supported and motivated by a community of environmental activists, ordinances were passed to limit growth to a sustainable level, greenbelts obtained, massive developments halted, civic participation encouraged and for a while it seemed that Santa Cruz might really be a beacon of progressive thought and action.

Since that time, UCSC has grown from 5 to 19 thousand students, fuelling an affordable housing crisis. Via the Internet and slick marketing, Santa Cruz is now a year-round destination for global tourists. The push for economic development as an inherent good now holds sway over sustainable growth. Top city department heads are hired with the same pro-growth philosophy. Developers are granted immunity from providing even a gesture of below market rate housing. Our greenbelts are under threat as newbie mountain bike orgs push for greater access for their sport that not only damages the land but drives out passive uses such as walking and birding, all the while sneering at the aging environmental activists who saved these lands in the first place. Even our historical municipal wharf was put on the chopping block for monetary gain. Talk about time for a change!

I, and other die-hard neighborhood and environmental activists probably go to more city council meetings than most. We speak for our allotted two minutes (itself an erosion of public participation) then sit watching as the council majority ignores our input and consistently votes in favor of development. Not one of them has voted to save a heritage tree. Out of scale developments are never challenged. The impact of such developments on established neighborhoods never addressed. They rarely if ever challenge the recommendations of department heads. They seem more concerned about the needs of those who don’t yet live here but want to, as they smooth the way for the newcomers’ arrival.

Since the new council will not be seated until after the next council meeting there is unfortunately time for more damage from the current council majority. Put on a fast track by city planning staff, changes to the Accessory Dwelling Ordinance will have been voted on (November 27th meeting) by the time you are reading this. I have written at length on the negative impact of the proposed changes. Removing parking requirements; increasing size; reducing setbacks and the real slap in the face to neighborhood stability, changing the owner-occupancy requirements. In a town where absentee landlords hold 56% of the town’s housing stock, they have no incentive to temper the impact of two dwellings filled with partying students as they would if they lived in one of the dwellings. Staff well understood that a new council majority might not be enthusiastic about rezoning single- family neighborhoods into student dorms, hence the rush.

After that, the hope and expectation is that with a new majority cut from a different cloth, we will once again have decision makers who care more about those who live and work here, particularly the lower income and most vulnerable, than those who want to profit from over development and growth. That protecting our environment will mean more than a paragraph in a campaign brochure. That attracting tourists and ignoring residents is not the order of the day. That perhaps a beautiful heritage tree can be protected. That public participation is encouraged and welcomed at council meetings rather than endured. And as always, no council member can be successful without an active, engaged public. That’s our job.

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.

November 26, 2018

WHAT AN ELECTION! Take 1
It was a consequential campaign. From the very start back in February, many long-time observers of the Santa Cruz City Council were aware that the 2018 election might be a memorable one. With the state of national affairs what they were–Trumpism, Kavanaugh, and McConnell, (oh my!)–many locals who wished for better outcomes were ready to invest time and energy into local politics. After all, a severe housing crisis was helping fuel an even more severe homeless crisis and not getting involved was not an option.

It Was an Issues Election, Take 2
Although Measure M, which called for rent control, was a ballot initiative for the ages–providing iron-clad support for tenants, first–the Santa Cruz city council majority was also at stake. The council was experiencing a five-member, 12-year market-rate development-first ethos. It was a well-oiled vice grip manufactured by those with great means, and it resulted in that majority often turning a deaf ear to various segments of our community. Whether it was the hundreds who came out to council meetings in 2015 to protest the acquisition by the police of a Lenco BearCat Tank offered by the Department of Homeland Security, or protesters who railed against the non-acquisition of the Beach Flats Community Garden, there was a stark portrayal that things were not well in Surf City. Then, the community pushback on two projects at either end of Pacific Avenue comprising over 150 condos with little affordability seemed to go almost unnoticed by the developer class. (And now along comes Devcon’s 206-market rate apartment complex…stay tuned.) Earlier (2016) a former church site property, zoned for multi-family housing, was transformed into a play palace for the well-heeled traveler, now known as the Broadway Hyatt.

The Majority vs. the Neighbors
The current city council majority had also registered yays in the face of Westside neighborhood opposition in order to place a garish hotel on Mission near Swift Street without implementing any neighborhood suggestions; a cell tower on Meder Street was approved in the face of 20 neighbors present in council chambers; and Jump Bike racks were put in places they simply should not be. Combine that with an eastside uprising over all the council yes votes for market rate housing along the “corridors,” which produced few affordable units and set the stage for a robust and rigorous council campaign of issues over platitudes and hoped for leadership over policy rubber stamping. The campaign was informative and heated. It was about “housing, housing, housing.” Rent control was the obvious wedge issue, but the library-at-the-bottom-of-a-five-story-garage-on-top-of-the-Farmer’s Market was also center-stage. A 25% inclusionary ordinance to help yield more affordable rentals was suggested as was offering tenants priority over the university-inspired rental inspection ordinance.

The Denouement Aftermath
The votes are due to be certified on Dec. 6th. It appears that only the “provisional” ballots, some 6000 countywide, are yet to be counted. The National Conference of State Legislators defines a provisional ballot in the following way, “Provisional ballots ensure that voters are not excluded from the voting process due to an administrative error. They provide a fail-safe mechanism for voters who arrive at the polls on Election Day and whose eligibility to vote is uncertain.”

The current SC city council “winners” appear to be Justin Cummings, Donna Meyers, and Drew Glover should the current trend of voting returns continue until 12/6. The Good Times last week said that this candidate formation would likely hold. The Santa Cruz Sentinel also seemed to suggest the same this past Monday morning and three new faces would indeed appear soon at city hall. But ultimately it is the County Clerk, Gail Pellerin who will issue a final ballot summary and report. The Santa Cruz City Council will likely rubber stamp that count at its Dec. 11th meeting and then it will become real and a key historical moment all in the same time. As I said here last week, the people who supported Justin, Drew, and Measure M worked hard, overcame the moneyed interests, and should be proud of their work no matter the outcome, although cleaning up yard signs, paying off any last-minute loans, and cleaning up the campaign office is much easier when you win. Soon, it will be on to the process of healing some of our community’s open political wounds. I look forward to participating with the next city council in that process.

Two great candidates, tenacious campaigners, and good people.

City Council Agenda-packing
The city council agenda this week, and Dec. 11th, appear to be a developer-dream team wish list. Perhaps those free housing-marketeers are beginning to sweat with a new council coming soon, so let’s place whatever we can on the council agenda before January comes around. We’ve got Accessory Dwelling Units BIG ordinance changes; a SIX-year permits extension for the 32-condo project at 1800 Soquel Ave; a fake 15.5% (over two years) “rent control” ordinance; and the further evisceration of the 1980 Measure O ballot initiative, which mandated 15% of all housing development be “affordable.”

Happy Birthday Isabel!
My daughter Isabel was born 18 years ago this week and watching her grow and change, and change again has been one of the true joys of my life.

“We must end the absurdity of the United States having more people in jail than any other country on Earth. We have a racist criminal justice system that must be fundamentally transformed.” (Nov. 25)

(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

November 26

COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS JUST SOLD OUT TO THE BIG DEVELOPERS
Thank you, Supervisor John Leopold for being the lone “NO” vote on last Tuesday’s Board of Supervisor meeting when the County Zoning Code changes got approved to create extremely dense and tall development, possibly outside of the Urban Services Line, completely change the quality of life for rural and semi-rural neighborhoods. The Public Hearing was well-attended by developers and others who will profit by these changes and inherent concessions, but only two or three members of the general public could take time off work to be present and testify.
MAKE ONE CALL. WRITE ONE LETTER. ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. BUT JUST DO SOMETHING!

I have heard the Planning Department staff presentation on this topic a few times, going before the County Housing Advisory Commission and the Planning Commission. Previous photos of large developments in other counties were exchanged for photos of quadruplexes in Santa Cruz City, but still did not include local affordable housing projects such as Aptos Blue or Canterbury Commons in Aptos. Last Tuesday’s presentation omitted discussion of the developer incentives that will allow deferred payment of impact fees (money that funds infrastructure needs to handle impacts of the development) and building height and setback variances. It will allow Ad Hoc planning policy that will allow developers to apply for extra-dense R-Combining Districts (30 units/acre) anywhere in the County to be approved by the Board of Supervisors without regard to infrastructure to support it. It will grant developers major concessions allowed under Planned Unit Developments (PUD) yet not necessarily require the affordable units for which the concessions would be granted to actually all be built.

Supervisor Ryan Coonerty immediately made a motion to approve all proposed changes without the benefit of discussion by other Board members first. Supervisor John Leopold asked if Mr. Coonerty would consider an amendment to his motion to include a requirement that such proposed dense development be limited to within 200′ of major transportation corridors? “NO” said Coonerty.

Supervisor Leopold said “I am not sure this gets us to our primary goal of increasing affordable housing in Santa Cruz County. This will not generate that much more, and the rest will not be affordable by design. Projects with 100% affordable housing make sense for these types of bonus incentives. IS THIS GOOD LAND USE PLANNING? WHAT WILL OUR COMMUNITY LOOK LIKE? We need to do this in concert with the Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan to locate these developments along transportation corridors. When the County required inclusionary 15% affordable units of developers, there were 500 units built.” He further discussed the need to follow the Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan, formed with public input (a bit rhetorical if you consider the Nissan car dealership debacle on 41st Avenue), but got no support for this action from other Supervisors.

Supervisor Greg Caput kept repeating that there is a crisis but wondered what the impacts of such dense development might be on public infrastructure. “Are we looking at that?” he asked, noting there is nothing zoned for parks near dense developments. “We’re in a crisis but we don’t want to run off and build without thinking about it.” Oddly, he announced that he supported the proposed changes.

Supervisor Bruce McPherson also referred to the “Crisis”, but assured (maybe himself) “We’ll keep working on the Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan, but let’s go with this. I am happy to see such diverse stakeholders in support.” Indeed, a diverse group of people who will profit were in support of the approvals.

Chairman Zach Friend glibly said “It is easy to create fear and be against change. These are tired arguments that have been used for 30 years.” What does this carpetbagger know?

Sadly, the Board, with Supervisor Leopold’s lone dissenting vote, approved these major changes to our County Zoning Codes 13.01, 13.10, 17.10 and 17.12 with no amendments to address infrastructure or a public request of a continuance to allow for better general public vetting during an evening meeting. In fact, the only evening meeting held to discuss these massive changes were conducted October 17 by Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, (a group of bankers and developers), not County Planning Department staff. Take a look here

Contact your County Supervisor and ask for a public meeting to have these changes explained and discussed during an evening meeting, or attend constituent hours for any and all Supervisors. We have just been sold out for developer profits, and will get very little affordable housing in exchange. In my opinion, THAT is a crisis.

View documents and watch the proceedings for Item #7 at the November 20, 2018 Public Hearing here.

Call Supervisors: 831-454-2200.

Supervisor Greg Caput greg.caput@santacruzcounty.us Office hours Tues.(1-5), Thurs. (9-5), Fri. (9-5) at Watsonville Veterans Bldg. (215 East Beach Street) and third Wednesday (9am-1pm) at South County Sheriff Center (790 Green Valley Road, Watsonville)
Supervisor Ryan Coonerty ryan.coonerty@santacruzcounty.us No office hours.
Supervisor Zach Friend zach.friend@santacruzcounty.us 4th Thurs. (9-10am) at South County Sheriff Center (790 Green Valley Rd., Watsonville), 3rd Wed. (9-10am) Corralitos Fire Station, with staff available most Wednesdays (9-10am) at Community Foundation Bldg in Aptos and 4th Thurs.(10:30-11:30am) at La Selva Beach Library.
Supervisor John Leopold john.leopold@santacruzcounty.us First Wed. (5:30-6:30pm) Porter Memorial Library, 2nd Wed.(5:30-6:30pm) Summit Elementary School, 3rd Wed. (5:30-6:30pm) People’s Coffee at 17th Ave./ Brommer.
Supervisor Bruce McPherson bruce.mcpherson@santacruzcounty.us Wed.,December 5 (12:15-1:30pm) Felton Sheriff Center and Wed., December 19 (12:15-1:30pm) Boulder Creek Sheriff Center.

WONDER WHAT MORE IS ON THE HORIZON? MONTEREY BAY ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIPS WILL SHAPE MORE PUBLIC POLICY.
It is this private/public group that shaped the near-verbatim Zoning Code changes for the Planning Department and eventual approval by County Supervisors. These bankers and developers are busily crafting what they want our area to become without the benefit of public input. If you have a spare $150, you can attend the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership 4th Annual “State of the Region” event this Friday, November 30 in Seaside. Take a look.

Notice that Supervisor Zach Friend is on the Broadband Roundtable Discussion Panel in the afternoon. That’s interesting he is leading the way to push such service regionally and seems a conflict of interest since he is a paid board member of Yardarm Technologies, a gun technology company that depends on complete wireless coverage in the County for its use. This technology was tested extensively, free of charge, for Yardarm by Santa Cruz County Sheriff Dept. deputies.

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BOARD MOVING FORWARD TO PUMP TREATED SEWAGE WATER INTO YOUR TAP AND INCREASE RATES
Last Tuesday, the Soquel Creek Water District Board met at the Community Foundation Building to discuss critical Water Demand Offset Policy that will allow developers quicker approval for new service hook-ups without any real measurable water conservation to offset the increased water use by new development. The big push now by staff and a very complacent Board is to find ways to fund the $95 – $135 Million Project to inject three million gallons of treated sewage water into the area’s drinking water supply and add an estimated $2.5 Million to annual operating costs with unknown but potentially significant health problems for the general public.

The District instituted a Water Demand Offset requirement in 2003 to address aquifer overdraft problems in the District and beyond. New customers had to replace toilets to reduce water use before being given a new service hook-up. Now, with changes approved by the Board, developers will be granted these hookups with a monetary payment only (no actual water conservation project) of $55,000 per Acre-foot new anticipated use, plus additional meter and service fees approaching tens of thousands of dollars.

Lucrative for the District, the claim is that installing Smart Meters will save 86 Acre-Feet of water annually. That is an estimate, made to work on paper, but with no real measurable quantities backed up with actual data. Does this fulfill the District’s own requirement for a Water Demand Offset project? NO. The District was already planning to install Smart Meters over a year ago, and had set aside over $1 Million to do so, but staff zealously pointed out that this money could be instead used to fund PureWater Soquel Project and at the same time allocate large Water Demand Offset credits to developers to quickly pay their large hookup fees (there were about 46 of them waiting in line for conservation projects to actually save enough water to offset their new developments). Staff admitted that the District had already approved new service for 6AcreFeet more than what conservation projects had been accomplished to offset the increased pumping impacts.

Here is a link to that discussion

The Board refused to address the three requests I made during public comment on the Water Demand Offset policy changes:

Review what caused the 2003 institution of the Water Demand Offset policy. Was it a result of legal action?
Justify the $55,000/Acre-Feet Water Demand Offset charge to all applicants.
Quantify and prove that Smart Meters (AMI) will save the required amount of water for development applications over a 20-year life, as specified in the District’s policy and show that installing Smart Meters was not a project previously considered for water conservation (also a requirement of the District’s policy).

No Board member responded, other than Bruce Jaffe assuring me that my comments had been heard. Wow. And this District gets transparency awards of excellence???

How can this Board continue to approve things that just do not make sense? How can this Board continue to approve rate increases to pay for an expensive and risky Project to inject treated sewage water into drinking water supplies when their ratepayers are already struggling to pay water bills that are the second-highest in the State for a system of this size??? The District continues to pay consultants hundreds of thousands of dollars monthly for further study on the Project, including more advanced studies recently by Carollo Engineering on the contaminants lurking in local sewage. Here is the excellent article by Santa Cruz Sentinel reporter Ms. Jessica York

Soquel Creek Water District staff and Board have lost touch with their ratepayers and seem focused on a resume-building ego trip that may lead to serious water supply quality and economic problems for the MidCounty area residents.

WHAT IS 5G AND WHY HAVE MORE THAN 200 SCIENTISTS AND DOCTORS ASKED A FOR A MORATORIUM?
As Verizon prepares to install more and more microcell towers in your public right-of-way without any environmental or biological consideration, you may wonder how this could affect the health and well-being of you and your family. Attend the free public event this Friday, November 30 at the Live Oak Grange on 17th Avenue. Well-known and respected doctors and scientists will speak to help educate the public about this technology heading our way.

THANK YOU, MR. KEVIN COLLINS, FOR LEADERSHIP IN LOCAL ACTION AGAINST PG&E CLEARCUTTING AND HAZARDS
Last Tuesday, a long line of citizens testified before the County Board of Supervisors regarding problems with recent PG&E unauthorized tree removals on private property in the San Lorenzo Valley. Mr. Kevin Collins has filed a formal complaint with the Public Utilities Commission, citing that PG&E service interrupt safety technology is outdated and needs to be advanced to prevent further catastrophic fires in California, rather than drastic clear-cutting along fragile mountain roadways and riparian areas. He also cites CEQA violations.

There will be a Pre-Hearing Conference before a Public Utilities Commission Administrative Law Judge to consider his complaint on Friday, November 30, 1:30pm in Santa Cruz. If you would like to attend to show the Judge there is public concern, please contact Kevin Collins for details. It is important that any who attend are respectful of the very structured court-like atmosphere that will be in session, and understand that public comment may or may not be accepted.

The PG&E Base Camp in Scotts Valley has disbanded for now, but Davey Tree trucks, crews and chippers continue to show up on private property to intimidate property owners to acquiesce to allow removal of hundreds of trees, some being heritage trees. The County Counsel and Board of Supervisors continue to be silent and unresponsive to many property owners calling for an injunction. While PG&E should be required to obtain logging permits for the massive land areas now being clear-cut in the San Lorenzo Valley, their legal experts have side-stepped this issue by quietly filing for unprecedented 400′-wide easements on private property, without notifying the property owners.

Contact all County Supervisors and demand they work with County Counsel to issue an injunction until proper CEQA process is fulfilled. This would force PG&E to fully evaluate all alternatives and consider less environmentally-destructive measures such as replacing transmission wire with “hardened” or insulated wire less prone to arcing with tree branch contact, and to install modern, more responsive circuit fuse technology that immediately de-energizes lines when there is a problem.

Read about what San Diego Gas & Electric is doing to invest $3 Million in new technology to improve fire safety.

Here is what PG&E claimed it would do last spring, but in reality, the only actions seem to be massive tree removals, often on private property with bullying tactics to intimidate owners who may not understand that PG&E rules affect a 4′-wide radius on either side of wires, not the 12′-wide guideline that crews want to cut for ground to sky clearance:

In Advance of 2018 Wildfire Season, PG&E Takes Action with Comprehensive Community Wildfire Safety Program | PG&E

Local San Lorenzo Valley activists, led by Mr. Kevin Collins, are not the only citizens demanding action from elected leaders.

I live in rural Aptos and just last week received a letter from PG&E that they will soon be evaluating my mountain neighborhood for tree removal. We all need to contact our County Supervisors TODAY and demand an injunction, with hardened transmission wires and modern fuse technology installed instead of clear-cutting along fragile roadways. Call 454-2200.

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

November 24, 2018 #328 / Indivisible

On Thanksgiving Day, I got an email letter from Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg. They are pictured to the right. Their letter is reproduced at the end of this blog posting. Levin and Greenberg are the Co-Directors of Indivisible, a group seeking to “remake our democracy.” Indivisible was formed in reaction to the election of President Donald J. Trump in 2016. I got to meet Leah and Ezra at a small fundraiser in Menlo Park, and was impressed. There is a very active Santa Cruz Indivisible group, one of thousands across the country. I am supporter of the Indivisible effort, and I certainly encourage others to join up and to contribute.

The entire letter from Levin and Greenberg tells a “Thanksgiving Day story,” and makes an appropriate follow-up to my last two blog postings, celebrating our national holiday. Here is the part of the Greenberg-Levin letter that particularly got my attention. Greenberg says, as she describes her Thanksgiving Day search for a name for the group, not yet formed:

I thought about the Pledge of Allegiance. I had an idea. I tried saying it out loud: “Indivisible.” It gave us both goosebumps. One Nation, Indivisible. It was more than a word — it was a promise. Because in this moment, with Trump poised to take power, when our democracy and our neighbors would be under attack, we would need to fight together, indivisible. That was the only way we’d make it through.

The fact is, our greatest political problem is that we all too often see ourselves only as “individuals,” omitting to note that we are not only individuals. We are “in this together.” It is only when we practice a politics that is premised on that truth that we will be able to realize our deepest aspirations, and to protect ourselves from the many dangers that threaten our future.

It could give us all goosebumps: “One Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Indivisibles,

This time two years ago, Ezra and I were in Austin for Thanksgiving, sitting at the kitchen table at his dad’s house.

We were still reeling from the election of Donald Trump, and looking for something — anything — that we could do to respond. The night before, we’d met up with a friend who told us about a Facebook resistance group she was managing and how they weren’t sure what to do to have an impact.

A light bulb went off.

We knew exactly how grassroots activists could have an impact — as former congressional staffers in the early Obama years, we’d seen the Tea Party organize a powerful resistance that nearly brought Congress to a halt. What if we took the lessons we’d learned from that era, reverse-engineered them, and wrote a simple guide to making Congress listen? And then we could just put it out into the world, so that any new activists who were getting organized could read it. Maybe a few folks would put it to good use.

As soon as we came up with the idea, we were obsessed. We started an outline that night and started drafting the guide the next morning. Ezra’s family kept trying to get us to leave our laptops and hang out — it was Thanksgiving! — but the project just consumed us. It was the only thing we wanted to do.

That day, we decided this guide needed a name. The Tea Party had had a name rooted in American history, one that captured the imagination. What was something comparable for us, something rooted in our values and our history?

Ezra and I came up with a lot of bad ideas that just didn’t fit. Great Society. Four Freedoms. Then I thought about the Pledge of Allegiance. I had an idea. I tried saying it out loud: “Indivisible.”

It gave us both goosebumps. One Nation, Indivisible. It was more than a word — it was a promise. Because in this moment, with Trump poised to take power, when our democracy and our neighbors would be under attack, we would need to fight together, indivisible. That was the only way we’d make it through.

A couple weeks later, Ezra tweeted out a link to the Google Doc: “Indivisible: A Practical Guide to Resisting the Trump Agenda.” Within an hour, the traffic on the doc was causing it to crash. And that very night, we started getting emails from folks all over the country who were angry and scared and organizing. People who would pick up the charge, start leading this movement, and help change the course of American history. People who would soon start calling the groups that they had formed “Indivisible” groups.

Yes, the Trump administration has been as damaging and cruel as we could possibly have imagined. But in response to something so incredibly evil, and dark, and corrupt, Indivisibles have responded with love, light, and determination.

This Thanksgiving, we’ve got so much to be thankful for. Two years in, we’re not just resisting hate, corruption and authoritarianism — we’re insisting on a better future for all of us. Two years in, we have this hope for the future thanks to this incredible family of Indivisibles across the country who are making that hope possible.

Thank you for banding together, indivisible, with us.

In solidarity,

Leah and Ezra

Co-Executive Directors

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. Love and Lust and subtle rage take the stage this week. See below a few pages.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s ” U.S. Prime ” 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.

MARK WAINER PHOTOGRAPHIC ART SHOW.
We have a rare chance to see some absolutely beautiful photography from Dr. Mark Wainer at the R. Blitzer gallery from December 7-through the 29th. The Gallery is in the old Wrigley Factory, which is technically at 2801 Mission Street. I’ve known Mark for years and have watched and marveled at the stunning changes in his work. See for yourselves atMarkWainer.com there aren’t many ways to describe what Mark captures in his photos. The Opening Reception is on First Friday December 7, 5-9 pm. Trust me it’s a rare chance!!!

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa says she’s as busy as all get out…and will get something out next week! In the meantime go to Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com ). Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

GREEN BOOK. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are getting extra-super praise for their roles in this almost-true story of a white chauffeur driving a black jazz pianist through the American south in 1962. I couldn’t buy the entire plot. Both Viggo and Mahershala play their roles way over the top…becoming caricatures. There isn’t a surprise, revelation, or any lesson to be learned from this movie. It’s a story we are all too familiar with. If Slumdog Millionaire got an Academy Award, this one could too. But not from me.

BOY ERASED. The sad, many-leveled story of a gay teenager being sent to a sexual conversion center. If you now have, or ever have had any issues with sex, religion or parenthood then see this totally engrossing film. Russell Crowe is the preacher/car dealer dad. Nicole Kidman is the well-meaning Mom and Lucas Hedges is perfect as the conflicted son. RT Critics give it 85, normal people give it 77.

BEAUTIFUL BOY. A long and drawn-out saga/story of a teen age boy Timothee Chalamet in his first real role. He becomes a crystal meth addict and his Dad — played by Steve Carell — goes the full distance as a parent trying to relate and help. The movie is as sad as real life when parents lose touch with their kids. The background music is way too loud, the acting is perfect, and it is a very sad, depressing film, without an ending that will leave you satisfied.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. Bookshop Santa Cruz’s traditional night featuring the top three winners of their Young Writers Contest in each age group. It’ll happen for the full hour on Nov. 27. Tandy Beal talks about her special performances on Dec. 4th. Then Carla Brennan shares news about her Insight Meditation workshops. December 11th has former mayor and political consultant Bruce Van Allen talking about that last election.

OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

Fascinating, for 500 years now…

QUOTES. “CHRISTMAS”, part 1

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

“Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.” Mary Ellen Chase

“Oh look, yet another Christmas TV special! How touching to have the meaning of Christmas brought to us by cola, fast food, and beer…. Who’d have ever guessed that product consumption, popular entertainment, and spirituality would mix so harmoniously? “ Bill Watterson, The Essential Calvin And Hobbes: Calvin & Hobbes Series: Book Three

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

November 19 – 25, 2018

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…reflections from Paradise, Claire Braz Valentine, Curtis Reliford and David Terrazas, Landmark /Amazon theatre sale update. GREENSITE…is traveling without computer access. Back next week. KROHN…vote counting, campaigning, chancellor choosing. STEINBRUNER…Board o’supes not funding County Fire Dept., Meas.G not funding County fire Dept., Lawlor’s 205 apartments at Pacific and Laurel to have no affordables, County purged Nissan emails, Habitat for Humanity and lack of plans, Madonna and Aptos Village. PATTON…Nationalized Politics. EAGAN…Subsconscious Comics and Deep Cover. JENSEN…about Suds and Can You Forgive Me? BRATTON…critiques Boy Erased, Widows, Overlord, Bohemian Rhapsody, Fantastic Beasts. UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…on Thanksgiving.

KNIGHT’S OPERA HOUSE. Santa Cruz’s own opera house opened on November 23, 1877, at Union and Center Streets — probably about where the Art Center is now. Jack London and John L. Sullivan spoke here, and Ignacy Jan Paderewski gave a piano concert, too. The Opera House moved to Capitola in 1921, and burned down (or up) in 1961.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Presidential Turkey Pardoning

A COMPILATION OF WINS Not sure if these people are skilled, lucky, stupid, or all of the above…

DATELINE November 19,2018

GOOGLE PARADISE.. If you want an added thrill (not a good thrill) in addition to everything we read and hear about the desolation of Paradise, California, you can take a street view (from April 2018) all over town by going here.

CLAIRE BRAZ-VALENTINE NEEDS YOU! A very long-time Santa Cruzan, Claire’s an accomplished poet, playwright, children’s and adult fiction writer…and she lives/lived in Paradise. Her latest FB message is…My son Dan, my sister Linda and I have all lost our homes. We are desperately in need of a house to share with our two lap dogs. Thanks for all your good thoughts and prayers”. It was a beautiful house full of Valentine charm, I was there. Let Claire know how you can help her — just as soon as possible. Go to our Facebook page and comment on this post.

A STUDY IN CONTRASTS. Between Regal Cinema films on Saturday (Widows, Overlord), I talked to two extreme examples of Santa Cruzans. The first was our current and outgoing mayor, David Terrazas. Within 4 minutes, I was sitting next to Curtis Reliford on the bench by O’Neills — and we talked and talked and talked. Terrazas and I can never discuss anything meaningful: I tried telling him that his current city council was the worst I’ve ever experienced… and quickly we switched to movies. Curtis Reliford on the other hand told me how he’d taken his Peace Truck to Louisiana more than 30 times, plus Arizona, and many times to San Francisco. Curtis and his truck have never received any parking tickets, anywhere except here. The city of Santa Cruz has now issued him 20 tickets!!! He also told me that more legislation against the height of his Peace Truck has been “put on hold”. That’s why Terrazas and I can never talk about issues. If you’d like to help Curtis, go to his website, Follow Your Heart Action Network or call him at 831-246-4240.

p.s. Read Becky Steinbruner’s take on Owen Lawlor’s Front and Pacific high rise behemoth and the no affordable units… just a few scrolls below.

LANDMARK THEATRE CHAIN NEWS FROM AUGUST. Joe Blackman sent me news last April about Landmark Theatre’s possible sale to Amazon. He sent this “news” to us last Thursday from August of this year.

Hollywood Turns Upside Down as Pending Landmark Theatres Sale Could Be the Tip of Upcoming Exhibition Changes. Are Landmark and Amazon joining forces? Stay tuned. It could be small stakes compared with other industry maneuvers ahead as the studios take on Silicon Valley. A number of speculative deals are floating in the Hollywood ether, as the industry moves away from studio dominance and toward Silicon Valley. Caught in that maw is Twentieth Century Fox’s sale to Disney and AT&T’s merger with Warner Bros. But eyes are also on the fate of the indie Landmark Theatres chain, which owner Mark Cuban has been eager to sell since April. Netflix has denied interest in buying the rock-and-mortar exhibitor, which makes sense, as theater distribution is not the streamer’s business model.

Then Joe B. sent this from Bloomberg News (also from last August)…Amazon.com Inc. is in the running to acquire Landmark Theaters, a move that would vault the e-commerce giant into the brick-and-mortar cinema industry, according to people familiar with the situation.

The company is vying with other suitors to acquire the business from Wagner/Cuban Cos., which is backed by billionaire Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, according to the people who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The chain’s owners have been working with investment banker Stephens Inc. on a possible sale, the people said. No final decisions have been made, and talks could still fall apart.

November 19, 2018

Gillian is traveling without computer access. Back next week.

Gillian Greensite is a long time local activist, a member of Save Our Big Trees and the Santa Cruz chapter of IDA, International Dark Sky Association  http://darksky.org    Plus she’s an avid ocean swimmer, hiker and lover of all things wild.

THE CALM AND THE STORM?

Vote-Counting Continues at 701 Ocean Street
There is relative quiet for now in Room 310, the Santa Cruz County Clerk’s office and official place of ballot counting. Unlike Florida’s Broward County’s embattled clerk, our clerk Gail Pellerin, is calm, efficient, on-task, and appears determined to get this vote count right even if her staff has to work 11 and 12-hour days. I’ve made repeated visits this past week to Room 310, including Sunday, and early this morning, Monday (11/19) . They are just wrapping up the “vote by mail” count and will soon begin opening the first-ever general election CVR’s, or “conditional voting registration” counting. This last category was created by the California state legislature to extend voting opportunities right through the 8pm hour of poll closures on Nov. 6th. It was done so that as many California voters who wished to vote could indeed cast a ballot. Over 2000 “same day voters” did actually take the legislature up on their latest drive to elicit input into the political system, and according to one county clerk employee, Santa Cruz ranked Sixth among the state’s 58 counties where same day registration took place. Los Angeles, being the largest county, is tops, but percentage-wise, Santa Cruz county may be the largest same day voting participant. Counting the same day ballots, as well as the 50% of vote by mails that come in during the last days of the campaign, is the reason why it takes weeks to come up with a final tally.

Growing Movement
I am proud of the hundreds who participated in the Justin Cummings, Drew Glover, Yes on M and Yes on Prop. 10 campaigns. It was a team effort. Win or lose I must say that the blood, sweat, and tears that began last February–gathering over 10,000 petition signatures–and continuing up until the polls closed at 8pm on election day was nothing short of Herculean. The engagement, debate, meeting stamina, and walking endurance places many of you in the civic-activist hall of fame. When over 100 show up on a sunny Sunday to knock on doors…well, that’s the kind of community I want to live in. When the votes are certified on December 6th by our County Clerk, all of you who participated in gathering signatures, walking and talking, and working on the amazing get out the vote effort that took place in the final frenetic days of the election have little to regret. When some volunteers could not show up, others did. When Lower Ocean was covered, volunteers would head over to Seabright or South of Laurel or up to campus. People were committed and flexible. Many moving parts yielded many moving people, cars, bikes, skateboards, and feet. Wow, is it really over? Who among us has not woken up recently wondering what neighborhood you would cover that day? Or wondered what happened to all those yard signs we put up? Did anyone dream of forgetting to vote and wake up in a cold sweat of at first… regret, and then relief that the election is actually over? Onward to victory!

Janet and me, at yet another food affair. For more info on UC spending see this article

Next UCSC Chancellor?
I was kind of blown away when I arrived at the UCSC campus’ Tierra Fresca restaurant last Friday. I thought I was coming to sit with a group of campus insiders to discuss what criteria might be used in selecting the next Chancellor. I passed several armed police before descending the stairway to an eatery that sits right above the College 9 and 10 student dining hall. I breezed into the room and casually passed a woman whose head was buried into her podium notes. As I strode past she looked up. It was former Homeland Security chief, former Arizona governor, and current UC President Janet Napolitano. I introduced myself, welcomed her to Santa Cruz, snapped a selfie and headed for table 8, which was already bedecked with plates of salmon sitting atop top an arugula salad. Clearly, this was not going to be provincial affair. We were immediately welcomed by Janet and asked to discuss two questions:

What qualities would you want in the next Chancellor of UCSC? (Napolitano’s question) (btw, George Blumenthal is retiring)
If we (the table, there were 9 tables of 6-8 participants each) were getting together in five years, how would you measure the success of the choice that was made? (consultant’s question)

We were then told to get to work in our table groups and assign someone to report back out to the entire nine tables what the group discussed. It was 12:10pm, we had until 1pm to chat. This all had to end by 1:30pm.

Political and Local Glitterati
It was a conversation that included County Supe John Leopold, state resources chief John Laird, Assemblymember Mark Stone, County Supe Bruce McPherson, SC city councilmember Cynthia Chase, former mayor Don Lane, and many others with great amounts of city and county experience. I noticed no current students were present and I would hope a separate set of these meetings could be arranged to hear their input…Here are my notes, which I presented to the larger group. Seems to me they pretty much sum up what other tables discussed and presented as well. At my table were McPherson, Chamber of Commerce exec. Casey Byers, former Asssemblymember and current UC Regent Charlene Zettel (first Republican Latina in state Assembly), search firm consultant David Bellshaw, and Donna Mekis former Pres. of UCSC alumni Council.It was a healthy, albeit polite discussion in which I tried to hammer home the messages I’ve received from the SC electorate and my experience from my day job on campus: 1) there’s some pretty ugly labor conditions on campus that have been going unaddressed, 2) UCSC students are at the root of housing crisis in town, 3) respect and stewardship for a healthy and thriving natural environment on-campus and off-campus is essential for the next chancellor to grasp, 4) the city council and UCSC have a long and inextricable bond and must figure out how to live together, and 5) campus growth affects almost every aspect of local government.

The Criteria Discussed in Selecting Next Chancellor

Build a strong campus-community, which means engaging in a city-county-UCSC dialogue;
Next Chancellor should be aware that they are coming into a heated atmosphere around the issue of campus growth and have something to add to the discussion;
This person should expect a certain culture of intimacy, and with that a culture that speaks up. In other words, guarded and thin-skinned chancellors need not apply!
Must possess a commitment (and track record?) to first generation students;
The perfect candidate should have a handle on the tech community and be willing to conduct outreach;
Next Chancellor should be someone who embraces the natural environment and understands how important that is to the UCSC and city community;
He or she should possess experience with labor relations and negotiating with unions;
We need someone who is “transparent” and “authentic,” meaning if the chancellor and faculty have a different viewpoint the faculty knows that the chancellor is being transparent and authentic with them and trust can be built that way;
Housing, housing, housing…we are in a community-wide housing crisis and the next Chancellor’s skillset ought to reflect some experience elsewhere in this regard;
She or he must be “fundraiser-in-chief;”
Chancellor candidate has to be experienced in dialogue with students…be “culturally competent” as well;
The Next head of this university has to be willing to live on campus (the outgoing Chancellor did not live in Santa Cruz);
There is a culture here that is sober, serious and questioning…it is perhaps characterized by the idea that “we are going to change the world,” and the ultimate candidate must embrace, or at least understand this concept;
Lots of people in Santa Cruz county go over the hill each day–33,000–the next Chancellor must be a leader on-campus, off-campus, and be willing to meet with the business community.

“If we transition to a renewable energy system, as we must, we can save money and create millions of jobs while leaving our kids a planet that is healthy and habitable.” (Nov. 19)

(Chris Krohn is a father, writer, activist, former Santa Cruz City Councilmember (1998-2002) and Mayor (2001-2002). He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 12 years. He was elected last November to another 4-year term on the Santa Cruz City Council).
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

November 19

A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR THOSE BESIEGED BY FIRE…. AND A CRITICAL QUESTION FOR LOCAL SUPERVISORS
The smoke engulfing our area recently brings sadness to my soul, understanding that the smoke is not only from forests but also lives and Community livelihoods. The stories I read about are so sad, and bring back memories of a similar, although smaller-scale, disaster in my immediate neighborhood five years ago, but luckily the Red Flag Conditions had changed just a couple of hours before the fire erupted. That inferno claimed two homes and caused calamity that shook the soul of our community, but luckily did not explode into the Aptos Hills.
MAKE ONE CALL. WRITE ONE LETTER. ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. BUT JUST DO SOMETHING!
The other recent local fires in the Santa Cruz Mountains are a further wake-up call to us all. The danger is not limited to just the wildland areas, as both the Santa Rosa Tubbs Fire and Butte County Camp Fire have shown us. Why then, do Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and County Administrative Officer (CAO) continue to not fund the County Fire Department budget? Right now, it is the County Fire Department providing the critical fire and medical response for rural Santa Cruz County residents because nearly all of the CalFire units are gone to fires in other areas of the State.

Last week, the County Fire Advisory Commission heard a proposal from Mr. Michael Beaton, Director of General Services, regarding a possible ballot measure next spring to increase County Service Area (CSA) 48 fees for all rural properties. This is the primary revenue for County Fire Department’s budget. Supervisors refuse to give any money from the General Fund, which is where the recenly-approved Measure G half-cent sales tax money will go.

LET ME REPEAT THAT: NO MEASURE G MONEY WILL ACTUALLY FUND THE COUNTY FIRE BUDGET. Supervisors lied to the voters on that ballot measure.

Supervisors also refuse to send any of the State Proposition 172 Public Safety money resulting from a statewide half-cent sales tax passed by voters in 1992 on the heels of a massive fire in Southern California. Instead, Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors allocates ZERO DOLLARS to County Fire Budget from this $17+ Million annual revenue stream.

County Fire Budget is $1.3-$1.5 Million in deficit. Staffing levels on emergency response units is below State Fire Response recommendations. Still, County Supervisors refuse to fund this critical emergency response that protects rural areas, and potentially the urban areas as well.

WHY??? Write your Supervisor and ask!

Write your County Supervisor:

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

Also, Susan Galloway (ask her to make your correspondence public record on Board Agenda)

Call 831-454-2200.

FYI, Supervisors John Leopold and Bruce McPherson are meeting with County Fire Department Advisory Commissioners on December 3.

MAJOR HOUSING PROJECT IN SANTA CRUZ WILL HAVE NO AFFORDABLE HOUSING INCLUDED??
The Santa Cruz City Planning Commission approved an 85′ tall housing development at Pacific and Laurel that will have NO AFFORDABLE UNITS INCLUDED in the 205 rental untis proposed. Wait a minute, how can that happen amidst the “Affordable Housing Crisis” the City and County have proclaimed??? The Commissioners swallowed the line that Devcon Construction Inc. fed them that including affordable housing would not be “feasibly sustained”. The Pacific Front development also would not provide adequate parking for all those tenants and associated commercial needs, and would require at least 37 spaces to be shared with local retailers.

Here is the Santa Cruz Sentinel report

(Notice that in the illustration of the proposed 85′ tall apartment complex there is a similar height building included in the background. Hmmmm..)

About 40 members of the public spoke out against the woeful spinelessness of the Planning Commissioners to uphold a recent City Council requirement to include !5% affordable units in all new development. “If this developer won’t do it, find one that will,” said Ron Pomerantz. City Economic Development Director, Bonnie Lipscomb, praised the development. Maybe this is part of the 500-700 new residential units the City has promised the high tech giants for workers here? That is what she claimed during a KION TV interview over a year ago. Here is the link

According to the Sentinel report, members of the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership also praised the development. This is the same group of developers and bankers who are pushing the extremely dense Enhanced Density Bonus and R-Combining District Zoning Code changes on the November 20 Board of Supervisor Agenda, and also tried to deceptively shove a 35+year tax on all property owners with Measure H. Capitalism at it’s worst.

Maybe the City’s push to build a parking garage library nearby (using Measure S tax money) is also part of the scheme. The City Council may consider this Pacific Front Project as soon as December 11. Keep your eyes and ears open for that agenda item and show up. Is the infrastructure in place to handle this high-rise density? Who are we building for when, according to the Sacramento Bee, California has seen more than 15 consecutive yeas of net resident losses to other states.

Should the State really be mandating a certain level of growth in all Counties? Santa Cruz County’s Housing Element of the General Plan even exceed that required level, known as RHNA or Regional Housing Need Allocation. Read more about this and ask yourself: what business is it of the State to demand cities and counties grow a mandated amount, regardless of water and transportation issues?

THE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT PURGED THOUSANDS OF E-MAILS REGARDING THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP IN SOQUEL
We all need to financially and morally support the Sustainable Soquel group of citizens who are taking legal action to require our elected officials to be accountable and transparent. In the process of developing the Administrative Record for the case, which will include documents the judge is to review, the Sustainable Soquel group was astonished to discover that the County Planning Department “PURGED” thousands of e-mails regarding the development after the final Supervisor vote to approve the Project was obtained. Their legal counsel stated “he has never seen this sort of activity in his 20 years of specializing in Environmental Law.” Hence, his contention that the County’s email retention policy is unreliable and in violation of CEQA.”

Send any donation that you can manage, or mail checks, payable to Sustainable Soquel, c/o Lisa Sheridan, 3777 Cherryvale Ave., Soquel, CA 95073.

COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION ASKED TO APPROVE HARPER STREET PROJECT WITHOUT ADEQUATE INFORMATION
Thank you, Planning Commissioners Guth, Lazenby and Shepherd for upholding the integrity of your work last Wednesday when Planning Department staff failed to provide adequate information. Planner Lezanne Jeffs sent documentation to the Commissioners for a dense 11 unit development on Arana Gulch riparian area land bordering Harper Street but in print so small that no one could read it. In riparian areas, drainage plans are critical, but Commissioners were pressured by Commissioner Danns and Freitas to approve the plan anyway so that the County can quickly move ahead to GIFT THE PROPERTY to Habitat for Humanity. Many Harper Street residents showed up to protest the project, saying it is too much for the small street already plagued with parking problems and is not consistent with the character of the neighborhood.

Luckily, Commissioners Guth, Lazenby and Shepherd insisted on receiving adequate information for responsible consideration and recommendation to the Board and voted to continue the item on December 12.

But wait, why is the Board scheduling a public hearing for December 11 to approve GIFTING THE COUNTY-OWNED PROPERTY to Habitat for Humanity? Shouldn’t the Board wait for the proper consideration and recommendation by the Planning Commission for the Project? Take a look at Board Consent Agenda Item #54 on the November 20 agenda. Somehow, I think the elected members of the Board has lost sight of the importance of the Planning Commission’s decisions that safeguard the environment and the public interest.

Contact your Supervisor and ask that the public hearing for the 2340 Harper Street Project be postponed until the Planning Commission issues recommendations on the Project.

COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CONTINUES TO ISSUE BLANK CHECKS TO JOHN MADONNA CONSTRUCTION FOR WORK IN APTOS VILLAGE AREA
This Tuesday (11/20), the Board of Supervisors has a Consent Agenda Item #57 to approve an additional $71,759 supposedly for additional ADA access sidewalk ramps. However, if you read the documentation, this is the twelfth change order for the Phase 1 Aptos Village Traffic Improvement Project that finished up (finally, nearly one year late) last summer. There were no new sidewalk ramps added to the initial design, but low bidder John Madonna Construction (from San Luis Obispo) is charging the County taxpayers for three, as well as other markings and signs that all should have been considered in the initial bid proposal.

This company was awarded the bid during a second bidding process, after the initial bid by local Granite Construction was rejected by Public Works as the only bidder and too high. Now, 12 change orders later, the Project is way over the initial contract bid amount by $664,118 and over the bid amount submitted by Granite. That includes the $25,000 paid to train John Madonna Construction workers in proper hazardous materials handling, even though the company is certified for Hazardous Materials handling. Now, the Board of Supervisors is being asked to approve $71,759 MORE?!

Since when does the County issue blank checks to bidders and snub local contractors who know what they are doing? Ask Public Works Director Matt Machado matt.machado@santacruzcounty.us.

NEW METRO BUS STOP OPEN FOR BUSINESS AND TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN APTOS VILLAGE
County taxpayers funded a new traffic light at Trout Gulch and Soquel Drive in the Aptos Village area last year, and relocated the busy #71 Metro bus stop. That new location was activated last week, and the traffic is already backing up behind the bus when it stops there but cannot exit the lane of traffic. The former stop, central in the Village, did not present this problem. This was all part of Phase 1 Traffic Improvement Project, costing taxpayers nearly $2 Million.

Oddly, the CAO is recommending an additional $71,759 this Tuesday (11/20) for that Phase 1 Project, Item # 57 in the Consent Agenda. Supposedly, the money is needed for a change order to include sidewalk ramps for ADA access, but there were no extra ramps built that were not initially identified on the plans.

Here is what is included in the yet-to-come Phase 2 Aptos Creek Road traffic light improvements, according to the Public Works website

Aptos Village Improvements Phase II
Status: In Design

“Construct road and roadside improvements on Soquel Drive from Trout Gulch Road to Aptos Creek bridge to include: new traffic signal at Soquel Drive/Aptos Creek Road, new railroad crossing over Aptos Creek Road, sidewalk and bike lanes on Soquel Drive, new railroad crossing at new Parade Street”.

***************************

I find it disgusting that this Project received the HIGHEST level of grant funding for the 2018 Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission allocations for projects throughout the County (even more than Highway One Auxiliary Lanes!), approving another $1.9 MILLION for the Aptos Village Traffic Improvement Project

Contact Public Works Director Matt Machado if you have questions, matt.machado@santacruzcounty.us

He is very responsive. Attend the December 7 RTC Board meeting to weigh in with your thoughts on this use of taxpayer money.

Do note the photo of the new County-installed sign on Aptos Creek Road directing eastbound traffic onto a private road, Aptos Village Way, that goes through the Aptos Village Project. Not many people have been using this detour, maybe because the outlet onto Trout Gulch Road has a double yellow center line that makes left turns to the Post Office area illegal, and making a right turn to go toward Soquel Drive is quite dangerous. Is the County liable for accidents that occur as a result of directing traffic over a private road? Hmmm…ask Mr. Machado.

Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving, 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

November 17, 2018 #321 / Nationalized Politics

David Brooks has written a column about it, in The New York Times. Daniel J. Hopkins, who is a professor of political science at the University of Pennylvania, has written a whole book about it (see the picture above).

You and I (I am betting you have had the same experience that I have) have been noticing our nationalized politics in the form of an email bombardment from every corner of America, as political candidates who undoubtedly do reflect our general political views send us heart-wrenching appeals for campaign contributions.

These emailed appeals come to us despite the fact that we may never even have heard about these candidates, prior to receiving their emails, and despite the fact that they are seeking public office in states we may never have even visited.

Is the “nationalization” of our politics a good thing or a bad thing? I haven’t read Hopkins’ book, so I don’t know his views. The title suggests that he is writing as an “observer,” more than anything else, reporting on a fact of our contemporary political life, rather than taking any specific position on whether this change in our politics is a good thing or a bad thing.

Brooks definitely has a position, and he doesn’t like it. In fact, Brooks believes that the nationalizing of our political life is leading to the “unraveling” of the United States as a political community, dividing the nation into two distinct, different, and irreconcilable camps. The “Venn diagram is dead,” says Brooks. “There is no overlapping area.”

I tend to side with Brooks. I think my favorite political theorist, Hannah Arendt, would do so, too. Arendt celebrated the “federal” nature of American government, which sets up lots of competing centers of political power, making authoritarian and totalitarian central government less likely. California’s effort to fight the Trump initiatives on immigration and environmental policy are great examples of how our federal government is supposed to work. “Nationalized” government discards that conflict in an “all or none” fight for central political power. All political eyes focus on the federal government, the arena in which individual persons have the least likelihood to be able to influence political choices.

Concern about the “nationalization” of our politics is not just a “modern” understanding, either. In a book review appearing in The New York Times on November 4, 2018, Jeff Shesol cites to Joseph J. Ellis, and his new book, American Dialogue: The Founders and Us, to remind us what James Madison thought:

Along the way, as Ellis recounts, Madison was forced to part with his deeply held belief in federal supremacy and to embrace, instead, the blurrier concept of dual sovereignty — the idea of a nation caught, eternally, somewhere in the balance between state and federal authority. Madison came to see this tension as the genius of the Constitution.

Conclusion: there may be a reason to disregard those political pitches from North Dakota, Florida, Georgia, Texas and wherever. A nationalized politics is a surefire route to a more authoritarian and totalitarian future.

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

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. Go deep inside, and down a page or three, for another view of classic Subconscious Comics.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s ” How to Stop Voter Fraud” 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: “I’m taking a holiday break from the blog this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com ). But check out my reviews of Jewel Theatre Company’s tuneful ’60’s pop musical, Suds, and the Melissa McCarthy movie Can You Ever Forgive Me?, about a marginally-published author who, um, forges a new career in crime, in this week’s Good Times!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

SUSPIRIA. This re-make of a scary, bloody, slasher classic fails miserably. Tilda Swinton plays both a male and female role, but even that doesn’t make it worthwhile. It seems to last for 5 hours, much of the dialogue is hard to hear, the revised plot is next to impossible to follow and it’s just plain disappointing…don’t go. CLOSES Tuesday 11/20

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. November 20 has UCSC Professor Emeritus James Clifford bringing us up to date on The East Meadow development, followed by ex County Supervisor and land use attorney Gary Patton discussing the ongoing election results and other issues. Bookshop Santa Cruz’s traditional night featuring the winners of their Young Writers Contest happens Nov. 27. Tandy Beal talks about her special performances on Dec. 4th. Then Carla Brennan shares news about her Insight Meditation workshops. OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

PSA, here’s what to do with plastic bags!

QUOTES. “Thanksgiving”

“My cooking is so bad my kids thought Thanksgiving was to commemorate Pearl Harbor”. Phyllis Diller
“Trump lies when confronted with the truth, since any crack in his narcissism might spread like an Ebola of the soul, and he would deflate like one of Macy’s balloons on the Friday after Thanksgiving”. Richard Cohen
“I’m not a sandwich store that only sells turkey sandwiches. I sell a lot of different things”. Lady Gaga

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

November 14 – 20, 2018

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Bruce

Highlights this week:

BRATTON…Nouveaux Santa Cruz, money and candidates, local trumpo voters, Cotoni Coast Dairies updates. GREENSITE…on Gentrification. KROHN…Rent Control Epitaph or Reinvigoration? STEINBRUNER…Measure H failed, Supes to meet re building height and density, Soquel Creek and raising rates, Twin Lakes well project. PATTON…Against Impeachment. EAGAN…Subconscious Comics, and Deep Cover. JENSEN…reviews Bohemian Rhapsody. BRATTON…critiques Wildlife, The Girl in The Spiderweb and Suspiria UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE GUEST LINEUP. QUOTES…on “VOTING”.

SANTA CRUZ BEACH…before the boardwalk! 1889. Note the horse-drawn streetcars and the steam-powered merry-go round. There’s also an ad for the Santa Cruz Surf newspaper, and a “Museum” sign off in the distance. Those were the days.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

HAND CLAP SKIT. I’m not sure about this one…it seems a bit odd. BUT millions have watched it!!

THE LIVING STATUE OF JEROME MURAT. This has been online for ages, and it’s still weird.

DATELINE November 12, 2018

THE NEW SANTA CRUZ. Enough of the votes are in, and as so many of us wondered and predicted… money bought out the community of peaceful co-existence that Santa Cruz used to be noted for. One reader wrote: “Greg Larson was the only candidate who declined to agree to the city’s voluntary expenditure limit, and is at $52,411 as of the Nov. 1 reporting. I think Drew Glover’s amount is around $13,000. How much per vote would Larson have spent, if he could have continued asking for money, evidently he has no limit… The difference between their cost per vote will be of interest when it’s over”. We watched — and are watching — as landlords turned against renters, and defeated Measure M. We’ve seen who the developers and real estate money backed in THAT election. Now we watch while a weak and manipulated city council supports, as Gillian Greensite notes in her article below, “proposed new high-rise, mixed-use development for Pacific, Laurel and Front streets”.

MORE ON NOUVEAU SANTA CRUZ. Again from a reader… “There’s a discussion on Nextdoor that someone started about de-annexing UCSC? It’s gotten pretty interesting, as it has moved on to suppression of votes, district elections, etc., and finally today’s comments about “is it legal for candidates to drive voters to register to vote?” It sounds like that side is freaking out about the chance they may lose, and our team will have 4 on the council. The comments are from the Westlake to Seabright neighborhoods”.

There’s an important Santa Cruz Planning Commission meeting this Thursday (Nov. 15), about the hundreds of downtown units being proposed by developer Owen Lawlor and the city. They plan to put the cheap seats in a separate building, but the city is ready to green light the market rate/luxury building before any concrete plans have been made for the “affordable” portion. Gee, why don’t I trust this unplan that the city supports ? Are we just supposed to wait and guess when the afterthought affordable ones will be built, while more and more people will have to move far away — or annoy the upper crust by living in cars or bushes? The need is not in the above average income level, but that is what is being approved, time after time.

ONE LAST THING. We need reminding again that 22,438 Santa Cruz County residents voted for Trump in 2016.

COTONI-COAST DAIRIES UPDATES. Ever-alert Pat Matejcek sent this announcement, and because every single change in the Cotoni Coast Dairies plans affects everyone in our County, we all need to get on this mailing list…

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Powers, Michael mpowers@blm.gov“>
Date: Fri, Nov 9, 2018 at 3:37 PM
Subject: Update: Cotoni-Coast Dairies, upcoming Public Workshops
To: Michael Powers mpowers@blm.gov“>

Hello,

Hope all is going well for you. You indicated an interest previously in receiving updates regarding the Bureau of Land Management’s Cotoni-Coast Dairies in Santa Cruz County. I would like to invite you to participate in one of two public workshops scheduled in December that will explore future recreational access opportunities at Cotoni-Coast Dairies (see attachments). These public workshops are being held in advance of our formal planning process.

Please RSVP if you would like to participate in one of the workshops using the website noted in the attached information.

Note that the content and activities will be the same at both workshops.

Thank you for your interest in Cotoni-Coast Dairies, and for all the communication we have had regarding these BLM lands to date. We look forward to seeing you at one of these workshops, or at another time in the future.

Thank you,

Mike

Mike Powers
U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Central Coast Field Office
940 2nd Ave., Marina, CA, 93933-6009
mpowers@blm.gov

November 12, 2018

ILLUMINATING GENTRIFICATION
Sometimes gentrification hits you in the face like a bucket of ice water. Two experiences this week afforded a glimpse into how quickly Santa Cruz is being transformed into a city that caters to the well-to-do whose consumption patterns and lifestyles are reshaping this town.

Walking home from the far westside, my best friend and I stopped to take a look in a new lighting store close to Kelly’s bakery. I need a new floor lamp. A rather nice one caught our eye and I turned over the tag to see its price. A dollar twelve cents seemed wrong; it wasn’t a Goodwill store. It slowly became clear that the period was a comma and the price was $1,120. For a lamp! Disbelief turned into a strong desire to leave the store but we had been spotted. The very nice store manager showed us other examples at the more reasonable price of 300 and 400 dollars. For a lamp! It seemed

almost insulting to tell him we were thinking more in the $50 range. We didn’t. Stepping out into the sunlight I gasped for fresh air as if I had been holding my breath throughout. Holding my nose may have been more appropriate. What on earth is happening when a store selling obscenely expensive lamps and light fixtures apparently can stay in business in an area that not long ago was a low and moderate-income working class neighborhood? Some may judge this as whining at change that is inevitable or nostalgia for a Santa Cruz that no longer exists. Those who hold such viewpoints are usually profiting off the demographic changes or prefer an urban lifestyle. Change is never inevitable. Those who are the agents of change would like you to believe that it is since that attitude will make it less likely that you will take an active part in preserving what’s left of our town.
The other experience was downtown on Pacific Avenue. A friend and I had just finished a very nice Indian meal at Mumbai Delights. When we stepped outside after dinner we spotted the public notice for the proposed new high-rise, mixed-use development for Pacific, Laurel and Front streets. I’ve read the plans and my friend has attended the public meeting on the project. We know it is tall, large and boxy. However until you realize what will be torn down to make room for this behemoth and stand in the street to visualize the scale, it doesn’t fully register. This project will be discussed and voted on at the city Planning Commission at 7pm Thursday November 15th. You can see the plans via this link.

As we were walking up Pacific Avenue counting the current stores and businesses that will be bulldozed to make room for the new development, we intersected with a group of folks coming out of one of the fun businesses. We started talking and a lively conversation ensued with their side seeing growth as inevitable and defending the need for more market rate housing pitted against our side stating that none of this development will create housing for those who live here now and are struggling to pay rent but will be high priced apartments for wealthier folks who don’t yet live here: that this demographic shift will mean we lose the current businesses who will be unable to afford the future rents in the new big building and we will lose even more working class folks as this form of gentrification and UCSC growth lead to even higher rents. They hadn’t heard that perspective before so there was a pause for thought.

The new city Planning Department momentum is seeking more of this type of development and the current city council majority has drunk the “growth is good” Kool Aid so our only hope to preserve what’s left of Santa Cruz waits on the results of the city council race. That plus an engaged community willing to challenge this push for gentrification. Only when a $1,120 lamp doesn’t raise an eyebrow shall we call it quits.

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.

November 12, 2018

Rent Control Epitaph or Reinvigoration?

Measure M: Our ‘Network’ Moment?
The 2018 election is now over. The counting continues. How much were voters paying attention? Was this one of those once every 20-year major community skirmishes? Nineteen eighty-one was one, and 1998 was another. These were perhaps two other historical election-year markers in which the electorate sought out real change. You know it’s happening when local politics begins to leak into casual fall conversations about the World Series, or how the beginning of the UCSC school year brings smiling students and mega traffic back to the Westside. People found themselves this fall asking casual strangers, ‘So, what do you think about this rent control thing?’ Could this year’s election be a voter ‘aha’ moment? Many are on edge about the cost of housing and the inability to find solutions to homelessness as well. Could this be a Peter Finch moment we are living in?

Network
Remember, that old, and a bit odd, 1976 drama, Network, where Finch played a Walter Cronkite-type news anchor who at a certain moment instructs his audience to open their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this any longer.” Well, I hear what’s coming out of Santa Cruz windows and it’s something like, ‘I’m mad as hell and I just can’t pay this kind of rent any longer.’ Unlike what ensued in the fictional movieNetwork, real people in Santa Cruz came together this past winter and wore out their flip-flops and running shoes pounding the pavement to gather signatures, over 10,000 in only 87 days! Measure M is the result. Hundreds entered the political fray, some for the first time, to qualify this initiative. Never before had so many signatures been gathered so quickly in the city of Santa Cruz. But are these activists ready for the mad dash towards the November 6th finish line? Measure M got some major pushback from landlords, real estate developers, and outside corporate interests to the tune of $1 million. A local group, Santa Cruz Together opposed M, and combined with this outsider money they had a corporate war chest.It was an epic local battle. Tons of outsider Goliath money far exceeding the Movement for Housing Justice’s meager $50,000 effort. Who will prevail? Big money or big heart? There are still over 10,000 votes in the city of Santa Cruz still to count.

An Every 20-year Revolution?
Could this all be a local form of Thomas Jefferson’s revolutions cycle? “God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion…”This Santa Cruz “rebellion” was sparked by a whirlwind of national and international events, but a simpler truth is that rent is too damn high. We may live in a Santa Cruz bubble, but it is a bubble of our own making. History tells us that when hundreds participate in a local movement and gather over 10,000 signatures in the process, something in our community is awry and change is likely close at hand.

Stories Abound
Many UCSC grads and undergrads were accepted to go here, but were never told much about the depth of this community’s housing crisis. Immigrants living and laboring in Santa Cruz for the past two decades, making what many of us would consider middle-class incomes, have suddenly seen their rents rise 30-50%, while their wages remain stagnant. Locals who grew up here surfing, hiking, and loving the hell out of this place have found themselves all at once displaced as their parents sold during “a hot market,” while other parents were renters and wanted to retire, but can’t because if they keep working they can stay near their children. Santa Cruzans are “mad as hell” and Measure M is but one way of saying, ‘We not going to take it any longer.’ A whole new generation is becoming politically active. A movement? Maybe, but Measure M will be but one barometer if any movement is to take off here.

(Chris Krohn is a father, writer, activist, former Santa Cruz City Councilmember (1998-2002) and Mayor (2001-2002). He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 12 years. He was elected last November to another 4-year term on the Santa Cruz City Council).
Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

November 12, 2018

MEASURE H FAILED BECAUSE VOTERS WERE WELL-INFORMED
Countywide, property owners rejoiced last week when Measure H failed because it will hopefully send a strong message to the County Board of Supervisors that people are tired of being taxed to death. Many are struggling to pay property taxes already. Let’s hope the Board of Supervisors will listen.
MAKE ONE CALL. WRITE ONE LETTER. ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING. MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. BUT JUST DO SOMETHING!

The voters were well-informed, thanks to efforts of a handful of citizens who recognized the need to truly inform people about the bigger picture of Measure H, a poorly-written initiative placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors August 7, but that was nebulous and violated state law. There would have been no exemptions for seniors for that new 35-40 year vaguely-written bond tax measure. Many citizens independently took to the streets in their neighborhoods to talk with people. Truly a grassroots effort, the No on H campaign budget was a mere pitance compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars the Yes on Measure H corporate giants and Monterey Bay Economic Partnerships interests spent, paying people thousands of dollars to show up at forums and Farmer’s Markets. Take a look at the Campaign Reports here: http://votescount.com/

Really? Think of all the good those non-profits could have done with that big money instead. Rest assured, Measure H will likely return in June in some other form, with lots more big corporate money behind it. FYI, voters in Santa Rosa also refused to approve a similar bond tax as Measure N, for the same reasons, calling the attempted bond passage “crisis capitalism at it’s worst”. Ditto for Measure H in Santa Cruz County.

COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS WILL HOLD CRITICAL PUBLIC HEARING NOVEMBER 20 TO DECIDE HOW DENSE AND HIGH TO MAKE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD’S BUILDINGS
Mark your calendar for Tuesday, November 20 when the Board of Supervisors will decide whether to allow very dense development anywhere in the County that developers want to put it, and grant special concessions if some of it is affordable, calling it the “Near-Term Enhanced Density Bonus Program”. The Board Agenda may not describe it as such, however, and only list it as a Public Hearing for changes to County Codes 13.01, 13.10, 17.10 and 17.12. That was the secretive description listed on the Board of Supervisor Consent Agenda to set the date of the November 20 public hearing. It is being pushed forward by Monterey Bay Economic Partnerships, a corporate machine with many non-profits, developers and bankers at the table.

The impacts of these changes would not necessarily be confined to the areas within the Urban Services Line where public transportation and infrastructure would be in place to support up to 30 units/acre. Developers could wait to pay the impact fees of their projects; these fees are in place to help mitigate the impacts to schools, parks, and infrastructure until the units are sold and/or occupied.

Developers could go directly to the Board of Supervisors to ask for tentative permission to proceed with such dense R-Combining District development studies to support their approval, not even paying attention to the General Plan for how an area is zoned or planned for use. Is the Board of Supervisors really qualified to make such determinations? At the Planning Department’s recommendation, all these changes would be exempt from California Environmental Review Act (CEQA) process and just get shoved through without real transparent public process down the road.

Take some time to read through the County Planning Commission staff report and findings for the September 26 meeting, Item #7, where the discussion was continued from the earlier September 12 meeting.

Send your written comments to the Board of Supervisors on the November 20 Hearing matter as soon as the agenda is published (usually noon of the Friday before the meeting) so that Supervisors have a chance to read it and it will get recorded as correspondence on the matter. Show up to the Tuesday, November 20, 9am meeting in the 5th Floor Chambers (701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz) and testify.

I am worried the developers and Monterey Bay Economic Partnerships big money interests are launching a wholesale attack on Santa Cruz County that will toss reasonable growth out the window and change the quality of life as we know it, all in the interest of corporate profits.

The County is in crisis, we keep being told, and in fact, the Board declared a Shelter Crisis in order to accept the $10Million state grant recently. But where is UCSC in this dicussion? When will Santa Cruz follow the leadership of the City of Davis, which finally got UC Davis to agree to house 100% of its students? Why has the County Board of Supervisors allowed developers to choose whether or NOT to build the 15% affordable inclusionary housing as is stipulated by the 1978 Measure J law approved by voters during an affordable housing crisis back then???

Crisis capitalism at its worst……. Hold your elected officials accountable and weigh-in on what you want your neighborhood to look and feel like in the future.

Write your County Supervisor:

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

Phone 831-454-2200 and ask to speak with your Supervisor.

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BOARD MOVES FORWARD ON RAISING RATES TO PAY FOR TREATED SEWAGE WATER INJECTION IN DRINKING WATER SUPPLY
The Soquel Creek Water District Board met on Election night to discuss many critical issues, including increasing rates 9% annually for the next five years in order to pay for the proposed PureWater Soquel Project that would cost nearly $200 Million (debt service included) and add an estimated $2.5 Million in annual District operating costs. This comes on the heels of last year’s 17.5% rate increase and the District admitting its rates were second-highest in the State for a system its size. Wow.

The Board met at the Community Foundation in Aptos, and did not have Community Television recording either the Special Workshop that began at 5pm to discuss Water Demand Offset (WDO) new program policy to allow 86AcreFeet/Year to be sold to new development just by installing SmartMeter technology in the District. This will be a real boon to large developers who have had to search for toilets to replace and pay additional fees ($55,000/AcreFoot anticipated new demand), on top of tens of thousands $$ in new service connection fees. Do SmartMeters meet the District’s earlier-stated criteria for such offset projects? I don’t think so at all.

The Regular Board meeting included a presentation by Rafftelis consultants (ker-ching, ker-ching) about the proposed new rate increase structure that would be necessary to pay for the proposed expensive and risky injection of treated sewage water into the MidCounty area drinking water supply, ostensibly to counter seawater intrusion caused by the District overpumping. The Board voted to move forward with preparations for a Public Hearing on the matter in February, 2019 and most-likely adopt the proposed 9% annual rate increases for five years, with implementation in March, 2019.

How can a District that prides itself on Transparency Awards take such action, when the Board repeatedly insists no decision regarding action on the PureWater Soquel treated sewage water injection project will be taken until the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is completed (estimated to happen early next year)??? How can the Board continue to place increasing debt on its ratepayers who already struggle to pay increasing water bills??

How can the Board continue to diminish the real benefit of a Pilot Project due to begin November 26, finally accepting water from Santa Cruz City and allow passive groundwater recharge by simply diminishing District pumping in the Soquel and Capitola areas?

It is unfortunate that Board Candidate Gary Lindstrum appears to not have gained enough votes to have a seat. He would have brought reason to the Board, and would advocate sensible rates for customers. Sadly, the current Board has lost touch with the common people and seems swept-up in the resume-building glamour of a high-profile expensive Project to inject treated sewage water into the MidCounty area drinking water supply, posing unknown health risks to many.

I wonder who invited Steve Wait, Director of Sales of IDE Technologies, a multi-national company specializing in water treatment projects, to the Board meeting? He commented publicly that he lives in Santa Cruz and supported the proposed “very reasonable rate increases.” He refused to give me his contact information, or to take mine. “You’ll see me again here,” he said. Hmmmmmm…..

Here is the link to his professional interests

Although the meeting was not recorded by Community TV, a community member did video record it and will make it available on YouTube for public transparency. Stay tuned next week for that link.

IS THAT INFORMATION TRUE?
The Soquel Creek Water District Board also accepted public comment on the Responses to Comment on Twin Lakes Recharge Well Pilot Project. Well, accept comment is barely a description of the real process that actually occurred. Remember that the Board only granted the audience 3 minutes to lodge public comment on the Negative Declaration for the project to drill a 1000′-deep well along Cabrillo College Drive below Twin Lakes Church and destroy 19 oak trees, six of which are more than 12″ in diameter. I was the only one registering comment then, but the Board would not grant more time. I submitted written comments, along with two other citizens. The Board last Tuesday did a cursory glance at the unacceptable and vague responses to our comments. Graciously, Chairman Bruce Daniels allowed me one extra minute of comment time above the customary 3 minutes when I asked for it. Other members of the audience spoke to the fact that this Pilot Project is nothing more than a precursor to one of three injection wells for their expensive treated sewage water project but has not been evaluated as such in the environmental review process.

At the end of comment, Chairman Daniels responded with irritation that the Twin Lakes Recharge Pilot Project is being done because Santa Cruz is making the District do it as part of the water in lieu storage idea, and that there would be no pressure-injection pumps used…”It will all be gravity-feed” he said. Really? I am glad that got captured on video because it does not at all match the description of the PureWater Soquel Project or any aquifer recharge well project description. Also, I question whether Santa Cruz City would “make the District” construct a recharge well at Twin Lakes when the City is planning to use their own Beltz 12 well within the Capitola service area for this purpose.

There are many issues about Soquel Creek Water District that the public needs to question. Again, stay tuned for the YouTube video link to see what this group decided. Here is the website link for the District (note the location will again be at the Community Foundation in Aptos, most likely without Community Television recording)

No one ever did answer my question about why 19 oak trees will be cut down, chipped and hauled to the Buena Vista Dump just to make room for a 4′ x 4′ injection well.

SANTA CRUZ CITY WATER SCOPING MEETINGS FOR AMENDING WATER RIGHTS AND PLACE OF USE
Santa Cruz City Water Department should be congratulated for holding last week’s two public meetings to discuss and take comment on the Scoping for the Draft Environmental Impact Report study for amending Santa Cruz City water rights. the meetings were welcoming, informative and encouraging. The plan is to make sure there is adequate water reserved in the North Coast streams and the San Lorenzo River to support Coho and Steelhead in those streams, while amending the allowed Place of Use for the River water. After working on this action for over 12 years, it is great news for a regional solution to the County’s north and central water storage needs.

Here is the link to the excellent Santa Cruz Sentinel article by reporter Jessica York on the topic

Public Comment on the Scoping for the environmental review is due November 14 by 5pm. Here is the link to the information

In submitting comment, you are asked to focus comments on the following:

Environmental issues that should be studied
Nature and extent of environmental concern for potential impacts
Known methods of analysis
Measures that could reduce envirnomental impacts
Alternatives that could avoid or reduce impacts

Send written comments to Ms. Sarah Easley Perez, Associate Planner, City of Santa cruz Water Department, 212 Locust Street, Suite C, Santa Cruz , CA 95060 or e-mail to seasleyperez@cityofsantacruz.com Call her at 831-420-5327 with questions.

Take a look at the Water for Santa Cruz County website for excellent information about a regional solution to the area’s water storage challenges.

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

November 7, 2018 #311 / Against Impeachment

At 8:19 p.m. on election night, I got an email from Tom Steyer, who has founded and funded a group called “Need to Impeach.” The group is promoting an online petition asking the House of Representatives to impeach President Trump. Over six million people have signed this petition so far.

Steyer is identified by Wikipedia as “an American billionaire.” Here was Tom Steyer’s election night message to me:

Gary, you did it. The polls just closed on the West Coast, and it’s official: You and 6.2 million members of this movement made the difference in electing Democrats to a majority in the House of Representatives. We voted against Donald Trump’s inhumane, destructive policies and for a Congress that will hold him accountable. Tonight is a step forward not just for Democrats, but for the future of America. This is your moment — thank you for all you did to help.

This is what we set out to do. With control of the House, Democrats can release Trump’s tax returns, subpoena his family members, and, yes, launch impeachment proceedings. Now, we need to keep the pressure on. In the coming weeks, I’ll be counting on you to call on your representatives to actively support impeachment.

Savor this victory, but know that the fight continues. Ask your friends to sign the petition and demand that our new Congress impeach Donald Trump.

Thanks again,

Tom Steyer, Founder …Need to Impeach

I do not much like overfamiliar emails, which assume a relationship not existing in fact. I do not like deceptive and manipulative emails, either. I consider this email to me from Tom Steyer to have been both “overfamiliar,” and “deceptive,” and “manipulative.” I am not one of the six million plus persons who have signed the “Need to Impeach” petition, and I don’t know Tom Steyer personally. That reference to my name, “Gary,” and his statement that I am part of “this movement,” along with the complimentary “you did it” assertion, assumes a relationship that does not exist in fact. Steyer is clearly operating in just the same way that Kirsten Gillibrand is operating. I have complained about this kind of politics before. I am complaining again.

Furthermore, since Steyer’s email referenced the closure of the polls on the West Coast, and reached me only nineteen minutes after the polls closed, I have deduced that the message was actually prepared ahead of time. It was not (as it presents itself) a quick note to supporters from someone who is feeling very good about the results of the November 6th midterm elections, written when those results were known.

Most importantly, while, I do happen to agree with Steyer that the policies being pursued by President Trump are both inhumane and destructive, an immediate move towards the impeachment of the President is not, in my opionion, a good way to show Mr. Trump to the door. In fact, I think that approach would quite likely have exactly the opposite effect. Pursuing impeachment in the way proposed by the “Need to Impeach” group is to turn the public into the bull, charging a presidential matador who will put the sword to its heart after driving the poor animal insane. Frank Bruni, columnist for The New York Times, has written an article, recently, talking about how best to beat the president politically. The following image, from the article captures exactly how the president is playing his opposition:

It probably did not escape Mr. Steyer’s notice, though he did not mention it, that the results of the election mean that the President’s support in the Senate has grown, even as the President’s support in the House of Representatives has declined. The Senate is the body that must try the President, if Articles of Impeachment against the President are ever adopted by the House. It is also true that Mr. Steyer probably knows that a judgment against the President, that would actually remove him from office, requires the Senate to convict the President by a two-thirds vote.

In other words, if the impeachment of the President is to be successful, the process needs to be based on something more than the fact that six million people and more would really like to replace President Trump with someone else (presumably with Vice President Mike Pence).

I would like to suggest that the new House of Representatives not spend time trying to prove that the President should be impeached, but instead pass a series of bills that would address, directly, the main concerns of the citizens of the United States, which include a secure system of health care for the people, income inequality, confronting the climate change crisis, and providing adequate housing for every person who lives in this country. The House might also propose ways to end the never-ending wars that presidents of all parties seem so fond of pursuing. It could even address the dysfunctional laws that relate to aslyum and immigration. Is the Senate likely to agree with such initiatives? Highly doubtful, but perhaps more possible than getting the Senate to agree to convict president Trump on Articles of Impeachment.

If we want a new president (and we definitely need a new president), we are only going to get there if our elected representatives (and the political candidate who eventually opposes president Trump in 2020) are able to offer up a positive set of programs and policies that will persuade the voters that someone else ought to be running our government.

Attacking the president personally, which is what pursuing impeachment would do, helps the President politically, not the opposite. Let’s get serious. That’s my thought. Beat the president and his supporters on policy, instead of attacking the president on personality. He loves to be the victim!

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

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. Check out Eagan’s “racing against time and everything” Subconscious Comic for the week just below a few scrolls.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s ” You’re All Fired” 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.

MUNCHING WITH MOZART AND FRIENDS. Every third Thursday there’s a free concert in the upstairs meeting room of our threatened Santa Cruz Public Library from 12:10-12:50p.m. This Thursday ( Nov.15) it’s …

“Celebrate Piano Ensemble”
Presented by
Santa Cruz County Branch of
Music Teachers’ Association of California

PROGRAM

Sonata in D Major, Op. 6: Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827) • Stefanie Malone and Dorothy Roberts
Ma Mère L’0ye: Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) • Rose Georgi and Carol Panofsky
Jazz Suite for Piano Duet: Mike Cornick (1947- ) • Anne Lober and Lynn Kidder
Andante, K. 497: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) • Roger Emanuels and Carol Panofsky
Grand Waltz and Tarantella, from the ballet Anyuta: Valery Gavrilin (1939-1999) • Rose Georgi and Marina Thomas

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Find out why they were the champions in the high-octane Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com ). It’s more than just a killer soundtrack!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

WILDLIFE. With a 94 RT rating — plus the astounding acting by Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal — you can’t go wrong. This is actor Paul Dano’s first director job, an award-winning film about a teenage boy in the 1960’s trying to make sense of his mom and dad’s near-crazed decisions and problems. It’s sad, tense, frustrating, and an excellent film…go for it.

OLD MAN AND A GUN. Sissy Spacek (and her well-known nose) play foil to Robert Redford, in what he says will be his last movie. He’s 82 (and was born in Santa Monica, by the way). Sissy is 69 years old and is from Texas. Based on a true bit of muck, this movie has Redford as an old man who can’t quit robbing banks, or being very nice to everybody involved. Tom Waits is in it but I didn’t notice him! Casey Affleck is Redford’s foil, and does a brilliant low-key job. Danny Glover is in it too, and it’s good to see him working albeit in a very small part. Don’t miss this film. It’s cute, charming, friendly, and nicely done. CLOSES THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15.

COLETTE. Dominic West from HBO’s The Wire (filmed in and centered in Baltimore) Eleanor Tomlinson from Demelza Poldark (filmed in and centered in England), and the lead Keira Knightly all play French people but have British accents. The music score is by Thomas Ades who was here once with the Cabrillo Festival of Music. It’s an almost trite and overused true story of a woman who does all the writing while her husband gets the credit. It’s veddy, veddy British, clever, lightweight, fun, go for it. CLOSES THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15.

HALLOWEEN. Yes, Jamie Lee Curtis and her nemesis Michael Myers are back in another awkward attempt to make money…not cinematic progress. The usual scare attempts are used over and over and they just plain flop. There isn’t a single reason to see this latest version of the 1978 original. Save your money for Candy Corn.

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. Pledge Drive Night has UCSC teacher Maria Herrera, her students Ruvim Gavrilchik and Adrian Mendez talking about revolutionary on Nov. 13. They are followed by Ken Koenig and Judy Allen discussing the Common Ground part of Santa Cruz Indivisible. November 20 has UCSC folks bringing us up to date on The East Meadow development, followed by ex County Supervisor Gary Patton. Bookshop Santa Cruz’s traditional night featuring the winners of their Young Writers Contest happens Nov. 27. Tandy Beal talks about her special performances on Dec. 4th. Then Carla Brennan shares news about her Insight Meditation workshops. OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

1963. The Stomp was all the craze in Australia. It was not a complicated dance – “all you have to do is shake yourself about and keep time with the music” – I think we should bring it back!

QUOTES. “VOTING”

“The people who cast the votes don’t decide an election, the people who count the votes do”. Joseph Stalin

“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

“This is a frightening statistic. More people vote in “American Idol” than in any U.S. Election”. Rush Limbaugh

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

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