November 15 – 21, 2017

Posted on November 16, 2017 by Bruce
Highlights this week:

PG&E and PUC are crooks, how to give your Doctor a check-up, Wallace Baine and the Sentinel, Leonard The Haberdasher,  Aldo Giacchino and some wisdom about our housing demand and Outside influences …Greensite: spotlight on and off UCSC…Krohn about more City Council meetings, UCSC student housing facts, City Water Facilities….Steinbruner about RTC and funding their projects, DeSal and who is Dudek, “Save Santa Cruz” meeting, Soquel gets more water hookups, Board Of Supervisors and their pay raise!!! Patton and Matsui family land gift in serious development question….DeCinzo and “Plane As Day”…Eagan divulges secret behind our gun laws….Munching With Mozart…Brecht’s Arturo Ui at UCSC…Jensen reviews Wonderstruck…I critique Novitiate, Murder on The Orient Express, and Wonderstruck…great Quotes about Forest Fires.

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DOWNTOWN SANTA CRUZ circa 1894. The tracks shown here would be 100% effective and great if only THAT city council had left them in. The tracks were installed in 1891. It’s odd but Pacific Avenue looks narrower in this historic photo. As usual in these photos you can see the Town Clock atop the Odd Fellows Building just to the right of that five tiered phone pole.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
SANTA CRUZ’S MOBILE FUTURE? Daughter Jennifer sent this one. As she says, it’s interesting. Like maybe Mission Street between Chestnut and
Swift?
DRAINING THE SAN LORENZO RIVER. This sure is a long way from home, but what if they drained our San Lorenzo?
THE HYPERLOOP…ELON MUSK EXPLAINS IT. Again from daughter Jennifer this goes a long way of explaining what a hyperloop is…and we’ve all been
wondering, right?

Dateline November 13, 2017

THE EVILS OF PG&E plus PUC. I’m betting there’s few — if any— even half-informed Californians who trust our Public Utilities Commission. It was formed in 1915, our governors appoint the board members, and we’ve watched as they give minor spankings to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) over flagrant and criminal deeds. This time PG&E is asking the PUC to make us customers pay higher monthly bills to cover the costs of the wine country fires that their equipment caused. We’ve heard and wondered and sworn at those board choices, and their business connections and credentials…and still state disasters continue, and virtually nothing is done about changing public utilities rules and laws. PG&E is again being allowed to string pole-to-pole wiring throughout timber country…and we are only now learning the true price to both the environment and humans from the wine country fires. Locally, (20 years ago) when I was president of the Rural Bonny Doon Association, PG&E  stated they were going to replace the rotting phone/electrical lines…we worked and swore at them to place the lines underground. It’s cheaper and obviously safer to have underground lines, because there’s a fraction of upkeep needed — and it removes the need for tree trimming. We put together petitions, letters, meetings…PG&E wouldn’t do it. They said it wouldn’t “pencil out”. As we see, that’s how the PUC has seen fit to allow them to get away with it all these years. We need a politician or two, or a majority, to “legalize” both PG&E and the PUC. Got any ideas? The Chronicle had an article stating some of the above gripes and further noted… “PG&E functions as an investor-owned business. Even though it is often termed a public utility, it is managed as a private enterprise and is not a government entity or public cooperative. PG&E has a market capitalization of about $29.37 billion”.

CHECKING YOUR DOCTOR’S RECORDS. I just learned that you can check your Doctor’s records for issues like malpractice. First, go here to the Medical Board of California…then on the lower left click on the “Quick Physicians Name Search”. You can go get their listed records…such as malpractice, court orders misdemeanors All my Docs passed 100%. I hope yours do too.

WALLACE BAINE AND DUNKIN DONUTS. All of us were negatively surprised I’m sure by  Wallace Baine announcing that he’s leaving the Santa Cruz Sentinel. All those decades, all those words and events. Not a lot of well known and well read names left at the old Sentinel, is there?  What everybody’s guessing at is where Wallace will go next? He said he’s not leaving the area…we should have a guessing contest. Look at the Sentinel lately. Note the front page photo covering the opening of Dunkin Donuts. Is that where Santa Cruz really has become? Front Page & Dunkin Donuts??? What kind of newspaper does that? Then there’s the almost confirmed rumors of terrible management change and more nutsy editorial decisions. I’d leave the Sentinel too if I were Wallace.

ALDO GIACCHINO ABOUT HOUSING. Last Sunday’s (11/12) Santa Cruz Sentinel had a column by long time friend Aldo Giacchino. It lays out the Santa Cruz housing problem better than anything I’ve seen or heard read it at least twice then get the City Council to commit it to memory. Sentinel credits say… Aldo Giacchino is a Santa Cruz resident, a retired city planner, and a retired health care facilities planner and business manager.

OUTSIDE SOURCES INFLUENCE OUR HOUSING DEMAND. By Aldo Giacchino

The community disquisition about housing that is currently underway has highlighted quite well the unavailability of low and moderate cost housing.

The misguided solution that has been put forth is that if we build a lot of new housing, prices/rents will come down. The city bureaucracy has jumped on this bandwagon, enthusiastically promoting higher densities and the construction of thousands of units in six- to seven story buildings. The city’s motivation, however, is stimulated mostly by the growing city deficit which is caused by somewhat static tax revenues while operating costs increase at a much faster pace. The single solution that council and staff are promoting is that the new housing will bring more net revenue. But this is a fallacy that requires some sober analysis.

Housing demand in Santa Cruz is generated, mostly, by outside sources such as students rotating through UCSC, young professionals from Silicon Valley seeking lower prices, and by second home part-timers from a wide area. Much of this demand is bolstered by the city’s appeal as a small coastal town and the quest for relief from an overly dense and overly expensive Silicon Valley. These factors are of such magnitude that there is no amount of housing density and market- rate construction increase that will reduce demand or prices. With what is going on in the densification of Silicon Valley, the demand spillover into Santa Cruz will continue, no matter how much we build. Another part of the overall demand is the local component of low and moderate income workers who are needed to provide services to us all. No amount of market-rate housing is going to help to these people: they need subsidized housing.

With such intense demand, the proposed “build baby, build” solution will be futile. It will not reduce housing costs and will adversely impact the livability rating of Santa Cruz.

The transportation, circulation and mobility infrastructure, which is already grossly inadequate, will be severely over capacity. Developers will be the only beneficiaries of such policy. The rest of us will get more gridlock and continuing rises in home prices and rents. The fact is that new housing does not generate enough municipal revenue to match the increased cost of extending services to the new housing. City expenditure growth is driven mostly by ever-rising employee costs (65 percent of all general fund expenditures), while growth in the primary revenue sources (real estate taxes and sales taxes) is severely restricted by Proposition 13 and by the switch to internet commerce.

For sure, new housing will increase tax revenue at first, as it comes on line, but the predominance of inelastic tax revenue sources cannot sustain the ever increasing municipal costs. There will be no net gain.

Different strategies are needed. Housing for low and moderate income workers requires local/ state subsidies and must have a mandatory requirement that each new market- rate housing development include 30 percent- 40 percent units for low and middle income workers. The city deficit problem requires expense reductions and also the increase of revenue sources to pay for the growing cost and quantity of city services.

Building more market rate housing will only increase the severity of the city’s financial problems and, through increased congestion, will certainly bring about a steep decline in the livable qualities of the city. As the business saying goes, when a product produces continuing net losses, you cannot make it up in volume.

Housing demand in Santa Cruz is generated, mostly, by outside sources such as students rotating through UCSC, young professionals from Silicon Valley seeking lower prices, and by second home part timers from a wide area.

Much of this demand is bolstered by the city’s appeal as a small coastal town and the quest for relief from an overly dense and overly expensive Silicon Valley.

WHO KNOWS LEONARD THE HABERDASHER? Long or old timers from Santa Cruz must remember Leonard and the Haberdashery he ran upstairs at the old Cooperhouse. That’s assuming you remember the Cooperhouse! A friend and I got to talking about those days and neither of us could remember Leonard’s last name…anybody in readerland remember his last name? email me as always at bratton@cruzio.com.

SHINING A LIGHT ON AND FROM THE HILL

The Associated Press continues its investigations into the UC President’s top- level interference into a confidential state audit of the Office, with the collusion of the UCSC Chancellor. Emails show that both the UC President and the UCSC Chancellor were not only aware of this interference but the latter also instrumental in ensuring the doctored surveys from UCSC were implemented as requested by the UC President’s Office. The revisions reversed criticisms to ensure the President’s office was shown in a favorable light. The chief of staff to the UC President has resigned “to pursue other opportunities on the east coast”, Napolitano (who was briefed on the revisions) has apologized and no heads have rolled at UCSC. While scandals, sexual and otherwise are daily fare, it’s tempting to shrug this one off as minor league, and move on. That would be a mistake. We should take this rare glimpse into the machinations of power at the esteemed city on a hill to criticize and mobilize rather than cower and accept that continued UCSC growth is inevitable. The Emperor, in this case the UC President and her cohort, the UCSC Chancellor have no clothes and it’s a prime time to stand up and demand they enact a moratorium on UCSC growth which is causing havoc to a small town with limited resources. Don’t buy the PR that they have an obligation to educate students and have no choice. There are always choices.  

When its student population was under 10,000 in the 1990’s, UCSC brought many positives to its host city of Santa Cruz. Since that time its student population has doubled along with associated bloated top administration and underpaid support staff. UCSC students, half of whom live off campus, comprise 30 per cent of city renters and overwhelm the city’s limited rental properties.  No amount of building can accommodate such numbers, whether on or off campus, without destroying the beauty and livability of both the campus and the town.

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So far, the city and county elected leaders have been weak in response to their constituents’ growing recognition that enough is enough on the hill. Two letters of concern are insufficient. We need stronger leadership.

While a small light of press scrutiny has been shone on the abuse of power at UCSC and the President’s office, UCSC has turned a spotlight on the community: many spotlights to be accurate. Without a blink of concern for its impact on the town, UCSC has installed mobile night spotlights on the East Field for night Rugby. These glaring, unshielded lights pollute  the night sky and are the dominant lights from UCSC as seen from the wharf and from over 3 miles away on Highway 1 as the halo of white lights documented in the image on the right. Fiat Lux to be sure.

~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.

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By: Chris Krohn    Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

THIS WEEK ON THE CITY COUNCIL:an insider’s report to more meetings

So, You Want Political?!
Wow, what a political week it was! You’d never know it by reading our print media, Santa Cruz Sentinel and Good Times, even though they both did yeoman’s work on reporting out about homeless-houseless sleeping in the San Lorenzo Park Benchlands. There are simply more news-worthy issues happening than they can currently cover. Both Jessica York [here] and Jondi Gumz [here] wrote insightful stories for the Sentinel on camping and UCSC students being evicted in Santa Cruz, respectively. The Good Times’ Andrea Patton got a cover story titled, “Homeless Camp in San Lorenz Park Stirs Controversy, Hope.” It was well-researched and contained some key information about the link between the dire housing and ongoing homeless-houseless conundrum in Surf City. But, in the recent past, say 1975-2005, there were at times three, or four weeklies, and the Sentinel had a whopping 15 or more reporters (now down to four, I hear).

Frankly, an awful lot of stuff does not get reported on in this city. Trees are indeed falling everywhere, and the forest is lacking journalism resources. Perhaps we are in transition to the Twitter-verse, Snapchat, and Facebook future, and it continues to be a continuing challenge to get the word out about what’s happening down at city hall. How are those supposedly in charge actually spending your $225 million dollars that passes as the city budget?

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings
I know, if you follow this column I’ve used that sub-head before, but this job is a lot about meetings and this week was no different. There were four in fact, at the University alone. All were about housing.

Unacceptable! Pave paradise and put up 79 condos with NO affordable ones. Not only is Swenson Builder about to do that, they now have completely taken the entire sidewalk on upper Cedar Street (across from Cafe Bene) and took out a #10 bus stop as well. I am still asking, what is the public benefit that the public is getting from this Swenson project on the site of the old Bookshop SC? Please don’t cut the Great Walnut Tree too…

First, the developers of UCSC’s Housing West, you know the 3000-bed project that’s actually 2300 beds when they put back all the beds that are now in study lounges, triples into quadruples and doubles into triples situations…yeah, that project. They invited students to “share” what they would like to see. There was a strong presence of Orwellian linguistic gymnastics at the meeting. “We are analyzing sustainability…integrating the project into the campus ethos (at 3000 beds!)…it will be seamless…a hub…and clusters…spaces that mimic the library…” Of course, they never once talked about the main topic on everyone’s mind: $$ HOW MUCH $$$?What I also saw was a developer hamstrung by a reduced building envelope—now only being able to build on the highly successful and popular “Family Student Housing” footprint, and trying really hard to come off as least corporate as possible. They even let out that they would be lowering the number of units for student families (bad idea!) from the current 199 units to 125. One current family housing invitee said to me afterwards, “Why would you ever take down perfectly good housing when we are in the middle of a housing crisis? It’s my home they are talking about.”

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Bernie Tweet of the Week
“The Paradise Papers make clear that we need, in the United States and throughout the world, a tax system which is fair, progressive and transparent.” (Nov. 13)

~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).

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By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

IS THE RTC FUNDING SOMETHING IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?
The list of project applications to get a piece of the $22 Million Regional Transportation Commission grant pie is here (begins on page 51 with staff recommendations on page 57).

There are more applicants this year than last (the RTC only had $7 Million to give away.

Look at Project #6 where the RTC funds itself $409.000 for planning work even though the cost of their work is only $250,000.  But because the State allows staff to grab up to $409,000, they have recommended to themselves that they take the maximum allowed.  Don’t you wish you could decide such parameters of YOUR paycheck?  (Well, you do, if you are a County Supervisor…more on that later.)  Wow.

Look at Project #8 where the Highway One Auxiliary Lane between 41st Avenue and Soquel get $2 Million (staff recommendations state that the money has been held for that project since 2014…so why didn’t they get going with the project before the campaign for Measure D began?)  Hmmm…

Look at Project # 9  where the Highway One Auxiliary Lane between State Park Drive and Bay/Porter get proposed funding of $1,830,000 with more to come in from Measure D funding.  Did you see the November 2, 2017 Santa Cruz Sentinel report about this topic?  Here it is.

Take a look at Project #35.   I think it is interesting that the many of the projects submitted by both the Santa Cruz County and City  Public Works are virtually the same as last year.  Supervisor Zach Friend (who chairs the RTC this year) must be sad to see that for the second time, the RTC staff recommends $0 for improvements in his Seacliff neighborhood.  The RTC states that $850,000 has already been awarded to this project but that $1.69 Million is still needed.   I wonder where all the money is coming from to do all the work that is happening there?  Maybe it was Susan Maureillo’s County budget reward to him as she retired from County Administrative Officer in June in exchange for his District overlay restriction on outdoor cultivation of Cannabis?   I understand that her neighborhood had some big grows that smelled offensive to her.

THE BOARD ALSO APPROVED THEIR OWN PAY RAISE GUARANTEED FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
Because I could not find a parking place at the County Building lot last Tuesday morning,  I arrived at the November 7 Board of Supervisor 9am meeting five minutes late.  Normally, the Pledge of Allegiance and the individual Supervisor comments on the Consent Agenda items takes about 10 minutes to get through, but I walked into the Chambers just as the Board was approving the Consent Agenda.  Supervisor Greg Caput voted “NO” on Item #9, an automatic pay raise for the Supervisors for the next four years.  I had intended to pull that item off the Consent agenda and demand public discussion about why the Supervisors can vote themselves a guarateed payraise without any public input on their performance?

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A POSITIVE THING FOR SANTA CRUZ COUNTY RESIDENTS…..COMMUNITY BASED POWER
The Board of Supervisors (with wallets well-satiated) then approved selling $8 million in bonds to fund the fledgling Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP)project. This will bring on board 100% carbon-free electricity for Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito Counties acting jointly with 16 municipalities.  The MBCP will, according to a staff presentation, save Santa cruz County $28 million the first year of operation, thereby costing the County nothing effective the first year of operation. 

I heard a second presentation on the MBCP again that same evening at the Soquel Creek Water District 11/7/17 Board meeting.   You can watch both of those presentations on the Community Television “Government on Demand” website: http://www.communitytv.org/watch/government-demand/

JUST ONE LAST THING….PROBLEMS REMAIN AT APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT CONSTRUCTION SITE.
I attended the Aptos Chamber of Commerce breakfast last week, and learned that Barry Swenson Builder had treated the Chamber to a tour of the Project the previous Monday.  Some of those who had been on the tour joked publicly that “I want that 3rd floor office suite”.  The issue remains:  who will be able to afford any of those commercial and residential suites in the Aptos Village Project?  Do you think it will be the grocery clerks at New Leaf Market?  The Sereno Property Management Group is currently taking applications for the FIVE Measure J affordable residential units, which the County allowed Swenson to make smaller and with fewer bedrooms than HUD usually requires.  Nice concession to make it “pencil out”, don’t you think?   Will any local teachers or firefighters get a shot at these five units?  Hmmmm…..

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.

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By: Gary Patton    Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com


#317 GIFT WITH A TWIST.
The Matsui family has given a gift that is reportedly worth $20 million to Hartnell College, which is located in Monterey County. Read all about it right here, in a story from the Monterey Herald. You can see the gift, outlined in yellow, in the picture above. The gift to Hartnell is 215 acres of prime Salinas Valley farmland. The estimated market value of the land, that $20 million figure, is based on the idea that the land will not continue to be farmland, but will be converted to development. 

Let’s assume that this gift is totally motivated by the charitable impulses of the Matsui family, which definitely has a record of charitable giving. The Matsui Family Foundation is dedicated to supporting education, so it does seem likely that this gift, too, has been motivated by the family’s charitable impulses. How could it be otherwise, you say? 

Well, if the Matsui family owns adjacent land, the development of the land they have now given to Hartnell would boost the value of their own, adjacent property. If that were true, and it would be easy enough to check this out, by consulting the Assessor’s records, the gift of this land to Hartnell would derive from a mixed motive. 

Schools and colleges are often used by wily landowners to “pioneer” a new area for sprawl. The Monterey County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, is supposed to stop sprawl, and LAFCO will ultimately decide whether or not to allow the annexation of this land to Salinas, leading to its subsequent development. LAFCO is a body that is composed of political officials, and LAFCO members would probably be swayed by an appeal from Hartnell, which could point to the public benefit of letting the college gain an annexation approval that would let it develop the land. Query whether a private landowner would get the same treatment. 

Without any reference, however, to what may have motivated the Matsui family’s gift, careful consideration should be given to whether or not this land should be annexed to Salinas for development. All involved in the future decisions that will determine the fate of this land (and that definitely includes Monterey County and Salinas voters) should think long and hard about what the annexation and development of the gifted land would mean for the future of the community. This gift comes with a twist!

If the land is allowed to be developed, that will mean more money to the landowner and the developer, and if the landowner is Hartnell College, that money will be used to support local education. That’s a plus! On the other hand, development of the land will also help undermine the long-term viability of the county’s biggest industry, agriculture, and will lead to more water supply/seawater intrusion problems, more air pollution, more traffic, and more demand on scarce public resources. 

LandWatch Monterey County, a nonprofit organization that is trying to preserve and protect the environment, and to support good land use policy, has noted that more Salinas sprawl is NOT a good thing for the long term future of Monterey County. 

Not for most of the public anyway, with landowners and developers  excepted!

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

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CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo “flies low” over San Jose…see downwards a few pages.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Gun Control” 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. This Thursday, November 16 from 12:10-12:50 at the Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown Branch in the upstairs Meeting Room Carol Panofsky on  recorder and Ann Thiermann at the piano will play Sonata in G minor, op. 1, No. 2 by

George Frideric Handel. Then they’ll play Sonate F-Dur, TWV 41:F 2 by Georg Philipp Telemann. Following those two will be Sarabande from Partita BWV 1013 by none other than

Johann Sebastien Bach. The last piece will be  Sonata in G minor H.524.5 by good old Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. It’s free and get there early because there aren’t that many seats.

BERTHOLD BRECHT AT UCSC. The rarely performed “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui”
Will be performed Friday, November 10, 2017 to Sunday, November 19, 2017 at the Mainstage Theater (UCSC). It’s being presented by: the Theater Arts Department. Their web page says…Bertolt Brecht’s witty satire, in which notorious gangster Arturo Ui bullies his way to dominance over 1930s Chicago, comes to the stage in this biting satire of Hitler’s rise to power. Drawing inspiration from classic Hollywood icons such as James Cagney, Paul Muni, and Edward G. Robinson, this comedy by Bertolt Brecht warns of what happens when a vain and violent fear monger is allowed to go unchecked. With a live band, projected film clips, and the witty language of Jennifer Wise’s fresh translation, faculty director Erik Pearson brings a modern twist to this timeless call for resistance.  November 10-19, 2017 Thursday-Saturday at 7:30PM Sundays at 3:00PM Talk-backs after both Saturday performances
General admissionTickets on sale at UCSCtickets.com. We talked about the play on Universal Grapevine. Brecht pretty much linked and compared Hitler with Al Capone. This production adds Donald Trump to that group. Don’t miss it.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “It’s not Hugo, but find out why I think Wonderstruck, the new movie based on another eccentric Brian Selznick book, still scores points for tolerance and visual style, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). Also, get in the seasonal spirit with my new favorite holiday movie trailer!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

NOVITIATE. Whether or not you view the Roman Catholic Church as favorable will make or break this film for you. It’s the saga of a 16 year old girl going through the nun’s training. It’s raw, beautifully filmed and Oscar winning acting performances, you’ll not forget this very serious near documentary. Cruel, brutal, psychologically scary, honest…what more can you ask for? Nunneries were so bad that the Vatican issued a change of rules in 1964 to stop the inhumanity that was rampant, 90,000 nuns left the church after that. Go see it quickly. 86 on RT.

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. Most mystery nuts claim this is Agatha Christie’s best mystery but this isn’t the best movie version the 1974 was better.  Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer are fine actors especially Michelle and they do their jobs in this new “Express”. However the cuts, flashbacks, photography, and not-tight directing by Kenneth Branagh who does the Poirot role just dull the trip. Remember the old one with Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot and Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Richard Widmark, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, Wendy Hiller, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, and Ingrid Bergman? That film just roared along the tracks and took us with it. Bergman won her third Oscar with her role in that version.

All that said, go see it! It’s fun and only a little dull in parts.

WONDERSTRUCK. I never read the book and after seeing this movie I never will read the book. It’s a confusing story of two kids one from 1927, one from 1977 running away from home and going to New York City. They come from bad homes, looking for a parent, and love, and there must be 100 time flips back and forth showing some mysterious connection. You’ll learn that connection at the end but it’s not worth it.

BLADERUNNER 2049. Denis Villeneuve directed this sequel with advice from Ridley Scott and it has many hidden plot lines from the original (try to see it before you see 2049)…it’s an unique addition to science fiction films. Dystopian is a very overused word describing a disaster based future. This film again has Los Angeles totally transfigured…and even darker and more devastated and bleak than the first one, was set in LA 2019. Ryan Gosling carries the entire story, with Robin Wright and Harrison Ford doing fine acting jobs too. I have rarely, if ever, seen or felt a theatre audience so still-so hypnotized-awed-puzzled-and silent as the one I joined last week. I’ve seen it 2 ½ times now… it needs two viewings on as large a screen as possible, because the photography is so impressive and important.

ITThis broke all box office records the weekend when IT opened…and IT should have. IT is a well made, very scary movie. Based on a Stephen King novel, IT is chapter one of a two-part nightmare/daydream that will grab you when you are least prepared to be scared. It has all the clichés…BUT it’s also got tension, mystery, and perfect timing along with excellent acting. Just go see IT — but only if you truly enjoy being scared. 86 on RT.

BATTLE OF THE SEXES. Billie Jean King plays against Bobby Riggs in this easy-going tennis and sex movie. Billie Jean has an internal battle with her own sex, which adds a deeper and more involved plot than the 1973 match which we’ve all been reading up on, or remember from those days. Emma Stone— reputedly the highest star in the world — acts perfectly with Steve Carrell, and the movie is a guaranteed hit with everybody. I didn’t recognize Sarah Silverman as the women’s coach because she wears sunglasses all through the movie. I liked Little Miss Sunshine better.

VICTORIA & ABDUL. Almost everyone knows that Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria in this cute, warm, cuddly feel-good movie. Eddie Izzard plays the Prince of Wales (Edward VII), but you won’t recognize him. I didn’t, and I’m a big fan of Izzard’s. Stephen Frears directed it. He did My Beautiful Launderette, Prick Up your Ears, Philomena and some more great films but this isn’t in that category. Aside from the cuteness, it ignores the cruelty of the British rule over India during the almost 30 years.

LUCKY. This is Harry Dean Stanton’s last film and he was 91 years old when they filmed it. He died in September. He also played and sang in Santa Cruz a few times too. This is a sad saga of an old man who never married, wandering around his desert town yakking and gossiping with his crony friends. He talks about death, tortoises, and the things you’d imagine a 91 year old would talk about. The cast includes Transcendental Meditation’s David Lynch, plus Ed Begley Jr., and Tom Skerritt. Probably no Academy Awards, but it’s a pleasant film. 98 on RT. ENDS 11/16

THE FLORIDA PROJECT. Willem Dafoe heads the cast of unknowns in this depressing almost-documentary of a six-year-old girl and her little friend’s sad lives, as they eke out an existence living in motels near Disneyland in Orlando. Their lives and the fragments of the other neighboring families are sad from start to the finish of this film. It’s a saga, and it’s well done, but for sure it’s a feel-bad film.

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER. Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell top the acting list but it’s Barry Keoghan as the driven, mysterious teen ager that you’ll remember long after you leave the theatre. This film is a deadly serious drama. Its mythical, symbolic, and deep. The director Yorgos Lanthimos also made Dogtooth and The Lobster films also starring Colin Farrell so that should give you an idea of how far out this one is. ENDS 11/16

LBJ. Not the greatest bio-pic ever filmed but eventually Woody Harrelson will grow on you

as LBJ really takes over as President and deals with Civil Rights, Viet Nam, and his many other accomplishments and defeats. Audiences switch back and forth from silly laughing at funny script lines to damn near crying when LBJ leaves the support of his southern cronies. Yes, JFK’s assassination is in there, so is Walter Cronkite’s announcement of JFK’s death. Go see it, and be prepared to have even more remorse over what’s happening at the White House this week. ENDS 11/16

KINGSMEN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. I wished I’d remembered that this second installment of an ongoing series comes from comic books. The entire movie looks like an animated cartoon. It’s violent, murderous, and plain goofy. Elton John plays himself, and there’s a warning right there. To watch such good actors as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and especially Colin Firth jump around for their million dollar salaries is embarrassing.

SUBURBICON. I have not and will not see this movie. Never, ever have I read and received so many bad warnings about a cruddy movie. George Clooney directed it, Matt Damon has the top role, and Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 27. Julianne Moore and Oscar Issac are in it too. Never mind about the plot, too many friends and readers have warned me…and I’m passing the word on to you, DON’T GO!

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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 14 is KZSCs PLEDGE DRIVE night and historian Ross Gibson will keep us up to date on what old news is new!  November 21 author and political scientist Jill Cody talks about her book, “America Abandoned”. Following Jill will be Rick Longinotti talking about libraries, highways, and plenty more hot issues. The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. December 5 has Michelle Williams exec. dir. of the Arts Council of Santa Cruz talking about their new events and looking forward to 2018. Then boat captain Jim Christmann shares some amazing tales from his nearby ocean adventures.Dec.12 has Chayla Fisher from UCSC’s Student Environmental Center discussing some serious campus issues, sucas the LRDP. AND ALSO…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

Good old days, indeed…

QUOTES. “FOREST FIRES”
“But clouds bellied out in the sultry heat, the sky cracked open with a crimson gash, spewed flame-and the ancient forest began to smoke. By morning there was a mass of booming, fiery tongues, a hissing, crashing, howling all around, half the sky black with smoke, and the bloodied sun just barely visible.

And what can little men do with their spades, ditches, and pails? The forest is no more, it was devoured by fire: stumps and ash. Perhaps illimitable fields will be plowed here one day, perhaps some new, unheard-of wheat will ripen here and men from Arkansas with shaven faces will weigh in their palms the heavy golden grain. Or perhaps a city will grow up-alive with ringing sound and motion, all stone and crystal and iron-and winged men will come here flying over seas and mountains from all ends of the world. But never again the forest, never again the blue winter silence and the golden silence of summer. And only the tellers of tales will speak in many-colored patterned words about what had been, about wolves and bears and stately green-coated century-old grandfathers, about old Russia; they will speak about all this to us who have seen it with our own eyes ten years – a hundred years! – ago, and to those others, the winged ones, who will come in a hundred years to listen and to marvel at it all as at a fairy tale. (“In Old Russia”)”
? Yevgeny Zamyatin, The Dragon: Fifteen Stories

“She was beautiful, but she was beautiful in the way a forest fire was beautiful”, Neil Gaiman

COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

November 7 – 13, 2017

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Bruce
Highlights this week:
Santa Cruz Halloween downtown but no costume contests, Impeach Trump (going for 2 million) petition, Sentinel moved back into old Sentinel Building, Black M’s new interpretation, Hot Damners back on this Friday night, 300 new beds at UCSC-who for?, Felton Victory over Mt. Hermon’s Jesus Bike Land plan… Greensite on city cutting women’s safety workshops…Krohn about Housing-a civil right?, Bernie, Hillary and that convention, Swenson’s money hole on Pacific giveaway, balancing what budget?, STR’s and a possible rent freeze?…Steinbruner relates the county housing sham, Rancho Del Mar gets permits, yardwaste gets dumped, Live Oak Library switches, Groundwater Agency Workshop happening. ..Patton about our billionaire’s biggest worries and the lower classes….Eagan and another water problem….DeCinzo goes to church!!!…Jensen reviews THOR…I critique The Killing Of A Sacred Deer and LBJ…Quotes on “November”

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DESTROYING OUR SANTA CRUZ CITY LIBRARY. Andrew Carnegie funded 1689 classic public libraries around the USA; Santa Cruz’s beautiful library was one of them. On September 12, 1966 that City Council gave permission to destroy this historic building. You can see Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church which still stands across Church Street from the library. That church used to be a funeral home. I’m betting (on this Monday Nov. 6, 2017) that this week our present developer-loving City Council will vote 5-2 to tear down our present library and vote for the parking garage-library 5 floor cement monster.                                                        

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
RUTH ETTING & “IT HAD TO BE YOU”. She never got the fame she deserved…just the notoriety. Just listen a minute or two.
LATEST NEW MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. We’ve seen plenty around Santa Cruz but check the ones near the end of this clip.
TEN MYSTERIOUS THINGS FOUND IN ICEBERGS. Maybe they’ll find am old city council that we could thaw into something useful!

DATELINE November 6, 2017

HALLOWEEN IN SANTA CRUZ. An absolutely magnificent civic celebration. One we should all be proud of. Thousands roaming Pacific Avenue from about 1 pm onward. (Too bad they had to put the temporary jail/holding tank, and the Watsonville Police van, right in the middle of Cooper Street). Also good news is there weren’t the usual number of arrests, which that proves something. Now what we need is for Santa Cruz Downtown Association— maybe partnering with the Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Cruz Business Council— to have a Halloween Costume Contest, like we used to. Judges, a raised platform, some music and great prizes from area stores would make a grand addition to the vanishing sense of community, and add to the family fun we saw this Halloween. Remember the great Good Times Halloween Parties at the Coconut Grove; remember the huge celebrations at the Catalyst…again with great prizes and hundreds of happy celebrators? I remember them like it was yesterday. Maybe next year??

IMPEACH TRUMP PETITION. We’ve all read about Tom Steyer’s petition to IMPEACH TRUMP. Just make sure you too have signed it. You don’t want to feel embarrassed when he’s impeached and your grandchildren ask if you helped get that monster out of office!!! Here’s the link. It’ll take about 37 seconds: https://action.needtoimpeach.com/act?sc=ema_s

HELL ON A HILL. Latest rumors and a few messages scrawled here and there say that all the new construction planned for UCSC — and the adding of 3000 beds — is for allowing MORE students to come to campus…not to handle the sad, near-evil crowded conditions the present students have to deal with. Let’s hope someone tells us this isn’t true.

SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL MOVES BACK TO ORIGINAL SENTINEL BUILDING!!!
It seems just a bit odd, but as you probably read The Sentinel has moved out of its Scotts Valley offices. They are planning on locating over near Costco in the Harvey West Park. The offices aren’t ready, so where do they end up??? Renting space from Cruzio, which of course is the old Sentinel Building…,You could say “Only In Santa Cruz”… but you don’t have to.

MORE ON THAT MISSING BLACK “M”. Now we know the 10 foot tall black M that stood next to the extra large ORANGE ball at the corner of Cooper and Front streets rests in Nina Simon’s back yard. We also know that the M didn’t stand for McPherson— it stood for “Museum”. So along comes Welles Goodrich, one of Bonny Doon’s wisest sages, who tells me he thought the M together with the ball stood for…. “Mac-Sphere-son”.Wait for it.

HOT DAMN STRING BAND AT THE BOOKSHOP SANTA CRUZ…AGAIN/STILL. None of us remember what year our Hot Damn String Band played at The Bookshop Santa Cruz’s annual birthday. It was before we helped organize the book drive and survival party that made it possible for the Bookshop to open in the tent (pavilion) right after the 1989 earthquake. Well, The Hot Damns are playing again (and still) this year, at 7:30 on Friday Night November 10. That definitely includes Jim Reynolds on guitar, Annie Steinhardt on fiddle, me on washboard, Gary Cunningham string bass, Dave Magram banjo, and Dore Coller mandolin. The real deal is that book prices will be the lowest they get all year that Friday and Saturday. See you there!!!

HELL ON A HILL. Latest rumors and a few messages scrawled here and there say the all that new construction planned for UCSC and the adding of 3000 beds is for allowing MORE students to come to campus…not to handle the sad, near evil crowded conditions the present students have to deal with now. Let’s hope someone tells us it isn’t true.

ENVIRONMENTAL VICTORY IN MOUNT HERMON IN FELTON. Nancy Macy from the San Lorenzo Valley Women’s Club has been way out in front of the battle to save some precious land from being turned into a JESUS BIKE PARK. She sent the following…

Campaign to Prevent “Felton Meadow Project” Successful. Project Withdrawn

Posted on: October 5, 2017 2:32 pm

Posted in Community Concerns, Environment, Featured Story, Felton Meadow Project

Felton Meadow Preserved! (For Now)

It is with intense gratitude that we announce the Mount Hermon Association (MHA) has withdrawn its plans to replace a rare remaining meadow, at the entrance to the San Lorenzo Valley, with an “Adventure Park” that included a “Bike Velocity Park.” Their official statement on their website read, “Thank you for your continued interest in the Felton Meadow. We have been encouraged by the interest. The costs associated with developing the Felton Meadow property have exceeded our current capabilities and so we have decided to forego any development. Although we are not moving forward with development of the property, there are new programs in development that will benefit our surrounding community including new programs intended for our local community. We will be starting an After School Program for grade school students in the San Lorenzo Valley and launching Velocity Bike School and Adventures with classes, guided rides, and backcountry trips based out of our current location. The Felton Meadow property will continue to be maintained and managed by Mount Hermon.”

The defeat of the project is due to the intense, multi-year involvement of many people. Thoughtful, intelligent, in-depth research provided cogent arguments against the development and drove the effort to stop the project and preserve the valuable meadow, wetlands, oak woodlands and viewshed (significantly beautiful view protected in the Felton Town Plan) at the entrance to the SLV. 

The VWC and its Environmental Committee are surprised and relieved by MHA’s decision. We were prepared – after thousands of hours of research – with hundreds of documented arguments against the project which was officially initiated with an attempt for a Mitigated Negative Declaration in the summer of 2014, after having met twice with MHA about their plans after purchasing the property two years before. We have a plan in place with dozens of concerned people ready to help, had raised funds to support the effort to comment on the EIR. We were also ready to further publicize the disturbing problems with the proposal, to enlist community support to protect the Meadow, and to speak at Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors public hearings to convince these leaders not to support the project. With the many delays in producing the Draft Environmental Impact Report, we felt it would have taken at least another year from now to resolve the issue with a vote by the Supervisors. 

We are committed to continuing to “Save the Meadow,” and are open to ideas and support for doing so. Financial assistance is also appreciated. 

We learned a lot in researching the many aspects of the project beyond the significant environmental and social problems. We will be providing further information about the health and safety issues to the community, to increase awareness of the problems we learned of. Please watch the VWC website and Facebook for further information, or contact us to help. 

To become involved in the effort to further protect the Meadow, contact Environmental Committee Chair, email Nancy Macy or call (831) 345-1555.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED THE EFFORT TO STOP THE AMUSEMENT PARK PROPOSAL ON OUR PRECIOUS AND RARE MEADOW, WITH ITS OAK WOODLANDS, and WETLANDS with its BEAUTIFUL VIEWSHED.

All of us should read and memorize the steps and thinking that went into this victory over the destruction of more of our county. Check out the VWC website. http://valleywomensclub.org/category/environment/felton-meadow-project

In Defense of Women’s Self-Defense
As women come forward en masse with stories of decades of sexual harassment from male supervisors and mentors, one might conclude that the decades of programs to encourage females to find the confidence to confront such behavior are finally bearing fruit. Or one could perversely decide to cut such programs. The City of Santa Cruz has opted for the latter.

At Wednesday’s meeting (11/1/17) of the city’s Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, staff recommended cutting the provision of the free (residents) and low cost (non-residents) women and girl’s self-defense workshops from year round to just one month in April which is national Sexual Assault Awareness month. The commissioners voted to support staff’s proposal. The rationale? That enrollment has been dropping, classes cancelled or held with low enrollment. Alerted that this was on the agenda and unable to attend the meeting I emailed a response, urging commissioners to adopt a vigorous publicity and outreach effort rather than dropping the classes: to no avail. I can only conclude that commissioners, staff and the city manager (the commission is under the city manager’s office) are ignorant of the demonstrated value in self-defense to empower women and girls to find their voice and use the skills learned to thwart sexist behavior and sexual assault.

The Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women was enacted into local law through a citizen’s initiative in 1981. I was one of the co-founders. As the first chair of the seated Commission I and other commissioners recognized the crucial role of women’s self-defense in maximizing women’s safety. From that date until now (1981-2017) women’s self-defense has been central to the Commission’s programs. The community has been blessed with a number of skilled self-defense instructors offering such workshops, funded by the Commission. Women’s self-defense is not a variety of karate. It is based on the awareness that females often lack the necessary mind-set to confront male aggression. They too often giggle, ignore or try to please rather than delivering a controlled, direct imperative to “leave me alone.” It recognizes that many threatening situations involve intimates. It backs up verbal assertiveness with simple effective physical techniques that have nothing to do with typical karate moves. It urges women to listen to their gut feelings rather than dismiss them. It works. Thousands of women and girls have used the skills learned in such workshops to thwart male aggression. Commission files are full of words of appreciation from those who have taken the workshops. One senior woman shared that she got more confidence out of four weeks of class than hundreds of hours of therapy.

Encouraging girls and women to take advantage of self-defense classes has always been a challenge. Workshops fill after a high profile stranger rape but otherwise, outreach and publicity is key. Who wants to admit that daily lives are organized around avoiding male aggression? The sole publicity for the city’s self-defense classes is via the Parks and Recreation Guide. A robust publicity campaign should include neighborhood online networks; Sentinel; Good Times; senior centers; banners; posters; radio spots etc. For staff and commissioners to ignore such an obvious first step prior to terminating most of the workshops is unacceptable.

Ordinance No. 81-29 that created the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women states that: “It shall be the policy of the City of Santa Cruz that the prevention of rape and domestic violence shall be one of its highest priorities.”  Cutting women’s self-defense workshops before making every effort to publicize their effectiveness makes a mockery of such policy directive. This issue goes before city council for a vote in early December. If you care about the safety of women and girls in Santa Cruz, let council know how you feel about this ill-advised recommendation.

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.

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NOT ALL CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE THE SAME.

A Dream
It occurred to me recently that maybe we need to look at housing differently. Maybe we should look at it like universal healthcare, or public education. Maybe since everyone needs a place to live, we need to find places for everybody. Possibly, if we can agree that housing itself is a right, it may be the way to free up funding for affordable housing because it is a civil rights issue, and people of color are being pushed out of their homes in greater numbers because of skyrocketing rents. That’s what Lorena Melgarejo and Anne Bellows argued in an editorial in the San Mateo Journal this past Sunday.

They wrote: “This month, San Mateo County and a handful of nearby local governments officially recognized what many of us already knew: Large rent increases and no-cause evictions are an urgent civil rights issue on the Peninsula. These practices, which thrive in the brutal rental market on the Peninsula, undermine the housing security of many — but they disproportionately harm African-American, Latino, Filipino and Pacific Islander renters. Left unchecked, the displacement crisis we now face will lead to a new era of housing segregation.”


On a cloudy day in Lower Ocean neighborhood about a dozen protesters set up a post in front of the Sleep Tight apartments on Ocean Street this past week to provide support for tenants who were to be evicted.

Along with education (Article 26) and healthcare, housing (Article 25) is also included in what’s become the gold standard of human rights documents, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/), and for good reason. Everybody needs a place to live. Of course, the housing crisis is bigger than Santa Cruz because everyone cannot live here, but we have to figure out the numbers and plan, and also secure the funding for affordable housing for people who live here now. We’ve got to continue making demands on Sacramento and Washington, D.C. while working locally on obtaining money for an affordable housing trust fund, taxing speculators, and building a 24/7 emergency homeless shelter. We can do this.

Donna Brazile’s New Book, Hacks
Are you kidding me?! Donna Brazile’s new book, “Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns that Put Donald Trump in the White House”. It’s the memoire in which she confides to the readers that the Hillary Clinton campaign came to own and operate the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and that in itself might’ve made for an unfair primary against her opponent, Bernie Sanders. Well, I get it, Bernie is a socialist. He believes we all should be taken care of, probably even believes in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see above). I get that. He was not a real big “D” Democrat, so realpolitik demanded that the Dem party elders do everything they could to Stop Bernie. But somehow the party will change and Bernie, like same sex marriage, minimum wage, universal healthcare, equal pay for equal work, and collective bargaining will come out on the right side of history. Just watch (and I hope you participate too!). What all this says is that a whole lot of Democrats, socialists, and non-party people are disappointed in the democratic process and the current Democratic Party and are demanding change. To all of you I say, keep pushing, on the inside and the outside, it’s the only way change actually happens.

Another Bite at Swenson Apple on Pacific
Councilmember Brown and I pulled item #9, Park Pacific Subdivision at 1547 Pacific Avenue, off the city council consent agenda last week. “Subdivision” (map) is the word for $money$. By obtaining a subdivision map, Barry Swenson Builder represented by their Santa Cruz Manager, Jesse Nickel, is now able to avoid providing twelve affordable rental units. The scheme is like this: since they will be “for-sale units,” Swenson-Builder will not have to sell the Magic 12 for at least ten years to comply with the city’s 15% inclusionary law. They will rent them out instead, all 79 condos, at market rates. I checked with the city attorney and planning director before the meeting and they both said the council could demand the 12 inclusionary units be rented out at affordable HUD rents, right now. Brown and I argued for this, but were rebuffed by a council that was more intent on “filling a hole” than obtaining more affordable housing. These units slipped away like so many others into that profit-driven black hole named, “Does-Not-Pencil-Out”. (If this is sounding like a Molly Ivins story about the Texas state legislature, well you wouldn’t be too far off the mark…do as I say, not as I do.)

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Bernie Tweet of the Week.
“Instead of more tax breaks for Wall Street, we must make public colleges and universities tuition-free by taxing Wall Street speculators.” (Nov. 1)

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.

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By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HOUSING ADVISORY COMMISSION REJECTS REQUIRING 15% RENTAL UNIT NEW DEVELOPMENT TO BE AFFORDABLE.
County Planning Director Kathy Previsich and Housing Planner Julie Conway were adamant that developers will not build rental housing units if required to make 15% of them affordable and inclusionary because it would not be feasible for the developers.  Here we go again, folks, the poor developers claim they just can’t make building affordable places for people to live “pencil out” for their wallets, and the County (and Santa Cruz City) just fall all over themselves to give the developers whatever they want.  Remember, that’s what Planning director Kathy Previsich told the Board of Supervisors recently: “We need to change the regulations so the developers can do what they want to do.”  Wow.

The Housing Advisory Commission, a group of citizens who considers these issues based on Planning staff information and makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, had a fair discussion of the merits of inclusionary affordable housing requirements for rentals.  One of the Commissioners admitted a large developer had contacted him.  I wondered why the Commission is not required to declare this Ex Parte communication on matters, as does the Planning Commission?  I had an uncomfortable feeling that more than one of the Commissioners had been contacted, perhaps by Mr. Robert Singleton, who was sitting in the audience and has deep connections with the real estate industry here.  He was obviously pleased by the Commission’s vote.

Julie Conway assured the Commissioners that if they approved her recommendation to deny the requirement of 15% affordable units included in rental projects of seven or more units, she would notify them right away if any developer applied for a project that would include affordable rental housing, and they could at that time revisit the issue.  Huh?  Why should any greedy developer want to do that when the Planning Department just bows down to them to allow them to “do what they want to do”?  If a developer were to apply for such a project, according to Julie Conway, they could ask for up to three concessions.  Wow, Barry Swenson Builder got A LOT more than that at the Aptos Village Project (and Soquel Creek Water District allows them free water during construction).

Many thanks to Commissioners Nancy Abbey and Bud Lindholm for voting NO, and beseeching the Commission and Planning staff to require developers to build 15% affordable units in residential rental projects.  At least THEY are acting responsibly and with conscience.  Let’s just hope the Board of Supervisors will NOT FOLLOW the Commission’s recommendations and vote to require developers build affordable housing.

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ASK QUESTIONS AT THE MIDCOUNTY GROUNDWATER AGENCY WORKSHOP AND PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING
Attend the next MidCounty Groundwater Agency educational workshop on Monday, November 13, 7pm-9pm at the Community Foundation Building in Aptos (just across the street from the Rancho del Mar Center Safeway).  That workshop is for the general public but also to educate the Groundwater Sustainability Planning Committee that is writing the plan of action to heal the area’s critically-over drafted aquifer.  That Committee will meet Monday, November 13, 4pm-6:15pm and will also be at the Community Foundation Building.  Don’t let them talk YOU out of staying to listen to their discussion, as that did happen to a private well owner who showed up at the last meeting!   Here’s more info: http://www.midcountygroundwater.org/gsp-advisory-committee/committee-meetings

~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.

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By: Gary Patton    Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com


#309 / The Worried Billionaires

The world’s billionaires are worried. What are they worried about? According to Newsweek, they “fear that the poor will rise up.” When I first saw the Newsweek article, I put it on Facebook. I provided a “Pull Quote” from the article, followed by a Question and a Statement: 

PULL QUOTE: “The total wealth held by the world’s billionaires rose by 17 percent in 2016 to $6 trillion, and the uber-rich are concerned that growing inequality could lead to society turning against them”. 

QUESTION/STATEMENT: 
(1) How could they ever imagine something like that?
(2) Wouldn’t that be nice!

The wealth controlled by the world’s “billionaire class,” to quote Bernie Sanders, is wealth that was socially created. It is absolutely legitimate to consider how best to utilize that wealth for the benefit of those not personally in possession of it. The questions to be addressed are all “political” questions. We do “live in a political world,” and in the United States, we believe that our representative democracy can make decisions about how to structure our economy and society. Trying to figure out how to set up a system that reduces the incredible wealth inequality now prevailing is absolutely appropriate. “Rising up,” in this context, means starting to take seriously the opportunity to use our political system to make significant (even revolutionary) changes. 

Americans, we all remember, are all about revolution!

Naturally, there are, and should be, debates about what to do, and what is fair, but when 1% of the population controls something like 35% of the total wealth of the society, it is probably time to see if putting that wealth to work for a greater percentage of the population wouldn’t make sense. 

What is the point of this posting? Not to urge violence against billionaires. I am against that. If that kind of “rising up” is proposed, please count me out. I think there is a better way. This is a plea to my fellow citizens to understand that we are, in fact, “all in this together,” and that our political system needs to marshal the resources of our society to deal with the crises of our time: a natural world that is moving towards the massive extinction of species, from bugs to humans, and a situation in the nation in which hard working men and women can no longer find a sheltered place to sleep at night, and are homeless under bridges. 

What am I worried about?
I am worried that we are going to continue to let the billionaires take it all, and that because of this our world, a world that does belongs to all of us, rich and poor alike, is going to come apart.

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

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CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo “kids around” a large church issue…scroll downwards just a bit…

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Desert View” 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: “Okay, so it’s less about the gods of classical Norse Mythology than the Marvel Comics pantheon, but find out why I still get a kick out of the surprisingly funny new Thor movie this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). Also, my Beast book prowls closer to publication with a cool new page in The Candlewick catalogue, and pre-order online discounts galore!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.  

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER. Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell top the acting list but it’s Barry Keoghan as the driven, mysterious teen ager that you’ll remember long after you leave the theatre. This film is a deadly serious drama. Its mythical, symbolic, and deep. The director Yorgos Lanthimos also made Dogtooth and The Lobster films also starring Colin Farrell so that should give you an idea of how far out this one is.

LBJ. Not the greatest bio-pic ever filmed but eventually Woody Harrelson will grow on you as LBJ really takes over as President and deals with Civil Rights, Viet Nam, and his many other accomplishments and defeats. Audiences switch back and forth from silly laughing at funny script lines to damn near crying when LBJ leaves the support of his southern cronies. Yes, JFK’s assassination is in there, so is Walter Cronkite’s announcement of JFK’s death. Go see it, and be prepared to have even more remorse over what’s happening at the White House this week.

THE FLORIDA PROJECT. Willem Dafoe heads the cast of unknowns in this depressing almost-documentary of a six-year-old girl and her little friend’s sad lives, as they eke out an existence living in motels near Disneyland in Orlando. Their lives and the fragments of the other neighboring families are sad from start to the finish of this film. It’s a saga, and it’s well done, but for sure it’s a feel-bad film.

MARK FELT: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE. We thought we knew enough about Watergate, but this story of the “Deep Throat” behind the revelation of Nixon’s involvement, is involving and interesting right from the start. Liam Neeson plays the stiff, moral, upright tightlipped Mark Felt, and does it well. Diane Lane plays his boozy wife and doesn’t get a chance to add much. It’s a learning experience and you’ll become even more concerned over the current relationship between Trump and the FBI. Go for it.

SUBURBICON. I have not and will not see this movie. Never, ever have I read and received so many bad warnings about a cruddy movie. George Clooney directed it, Matt Damon has the top role, and Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 27. Julianne Moore and Oscar Issac are in it too. Never mind about the plot, too many friends and readers have warned me…and I’m passing the word on to you, DON’T GO!

BLADERUNNER 2049. Denis Villeneuve directed this sequel with advice from Ridley Scott and it has many hidden plot lines from the original (try to see it before you see 2049)…it’s an unique addition to science fiction films. Dystopian is a very overused word describing a disaster based future. This film again has Los Angeles totally transfigured…and even darker and more devastated and bleak than the first one, was set in LA 2019. Ryan Gosling carries the entire story, with Robin Wright and Harrison Ford doing fine acting jobs too. I have rarely, if ever, seen or felt a theatre audience so still-so hypnotized-awed-puzzled-and silent as the one I joined last week. I’ve seen it 2 ½ times now… it needs two viewings on as large a screen as possible, because the photography is so impressive and important.

ITThis broke all box office records the weekend when IT opened…and IT should have. IT is a well made, very scary movie. Based on a Stephen King novel, IT is chapter one of a two-part nightmare/daydream that will grab you when you are least prepared to be scared. It has all the clichés…BUT it’s also got tension, mystery, and perfect timing along with excellent acting. Just go see IT — but only if you truly enjoy being scared. 86 on RT.

BATTLE OF THE SEXES. Billie Jean King plays against Bobby Riggs in this easy-going tennis and sex movie. Billie Jean has an internal battle with her own sex, which adds a deeper and more involved plot than the 1973 match which we’ve all been reading up on, or remember from those days. Emma Stone— reputedly the highest star in the world — acts perfectly with Steve Carrell, and the movie is a guaranteed hit with everybody. I didn’t recognize Sarah Silverman as the women’s coach because she wears sunglasses all through the movie. I liked Little Miss Sunshine better.

VICTORIA & ABDUL. Almost everyone knows that Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria in this cute, warm, cuddly feel-good movie. Eddie Izzard plays the Prince of Wales (Edward VII), but you won’t recognize him. I didn’t, and I’m a big fan of Izzard’s. Stephen Frears directed it. He did My Beautiful Launderette, Prick Up your Ears, Philomena and some more great films but this isn’t in that category. Aside from the cuteness, it ignores the cruelty of the British rule over India during the almost 30 years.

LUCKY. This is Harry Dean Stanton’s last film and he was 91 years old when they filmed it. He died in September. He also played and sang in Santa Cruz a few times too. This is a sad saga of an old man who never married, wandering around his desert town yakking and gossiping with his crony friends. He talks about death, tortoises, and the things you’d imagine a 91 year old would talk about. The cast includes Transcendental Meditation’s David Lynch, plus Ed Begley Jr., and Tom Skerritt. Probably no Academy Awards, but it’s a pleasant film. 98 on RT.

AMERICAN MADE. Is NOT another dopey, violent Tom Cruise superhuman action flick. This one is based on an unbelievable probably half-true story about a guy who becomes an international drug runner, and then gets involved illegally with our CIA and the Iran Contra affair that almost got President Ronnie R. evicted. It’s probably Scientology that gives Tom Cruise that certain extra something…and I have to admit I like watching the buy. 87 on RT.

KINGSMEN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. I wished I’d remembered that this second installment of an ongoing series comes from comic books. The entire movie looks like an animated cartoon. It’s violent, murderous, and plain goofy. Elton John plays himself, and there’s a warning right there. To watch such good actors as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and especially Colin Firth jump around for their million dollar salaries is embarrassing.

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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.

On November 7 Dr. Suzanne Kerley talks about plastic surgery, hand surgery and the dangers of trusting what you see on the internet. Then Scott McGilvray from Water For Santa Cruz straightens the record on our water problems. November 14 is KZSCs PLEDGE DRIVE night and historian Ross Gibson will keep us up to date on what old news is new!  November 21 author and political scientist Jill Cody talks about her book, “America Abandoned”. Following Jill will be Rick Longinotti talking about libraries, highways, and plenty more hot issues. The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. December 5 has Michelle Williams exec. dir. of the Arts Council of Santa Cruz talking about their new events and looking forward to 2018. Then boat captain Jim Christmann shares some amazing tales from his nearby ocean adventures.

Seven words: turn up the volume and watch this.

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. “NOVEMBER”
“Wind warns November’s done with. The blown leaves make bat-shapes, Web-winged and furious,” Sylvia Plath, The Collected Poems
“I detest ‘Jingle Bells,’ ‘White Christmas,’ ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,’ and the obscene spending bonanza that nowadays seems to occupy not just December, but November and much of October, too”, Richard Dawkins
“November; Crows are approaching – Wounded leaves fall to the ground’, Sir Kristian Goldmund Aumann
“There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life’s July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November”, Martin Luther King, Jr.


COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

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Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

October 30 – November 5, 2017

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Bruce
Highlights this week:
Amazon not Apple moves to Pacific Avenue, Omei closed forever, Martine Watkins mayor after Terrazas, Car deal worked, Hot Damn String Band at Bookshop…Greensite researching…Krohn about library Garage, Save Santa Cruz SRO meeting…Steinbruner on Swenson’s Pacific Avenue condos, Aptos Village and no affordable units, Santa Cruz Metro Bus Stop, that $3 million dollar stop light pricing…Patton and our Political World…DeCinzo and weather…Eagan’s profound Subconscious Comics…Jewel Theatre’s Award and Patsy Cline Play…Jensen and The Florida Project…I critique Mark Felt, The Florida Project and NOT Sunburbicon…Quotes for Election Day.

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UCSC STUDENTS PROTESTING THE UC REGENTS ON CAMPUS Oct. 18. 1968.
The regents wanted to ban Eldridge Cleaver the Black Panthers leader from speaking on campus. According to this year’s UCSC Primer more than 1000 students, 20 faculty members, two horses and a pig went to Crown College to share their beliefs.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
ANIMALS just LOVE kids!!! And note the political ad that comes up first!!!
SAD DRONE FILM OF SANTA ROSA FIRE DESTRUCTION.
FROZEN DRONE FOOTAGE OF NIAGARA FALLS.

DATELINE October 30, 2017

OCTAGON PLATZ and PLANS. Geez, yes, and thanks to everyone — like former mayor Bruce Van Allen— who wrote to tell me that I mixed up my tech companies. I wrote here last week… “With Apple employees now ensconced in the top two floors of the O’Neill Building (formerly Cooper House) we can only wait and wonder —(1) how many were locals,(2) how many moved here, and (3)how many more will be coming here, and where will they live?” B. Van Allen wrote… “Amazon, not Apple, is in the top floors of that building where the Cooper House was. They have been recruiting locally to some extent —a lot of us in the geek worlds of SC heard about it (and some applied). Think of the disparity between the earnings of someone upstairs there and almost anyone working on the street level downtown —retail workers, restaurant and coffee shop workers, clerical workers in ‘old economy’ offices such as banks, insurance agencies, non-profits, and so on. Then project that disparity in ability to pay onto our local housing market”. B. Van Allen makes a strong point…and I sit corrected.

Yes, I read in Christina Waters’Good Times column that the Omei Restaurant is officially closed for good! (or in Grigsby’s case, closed for evil). I wonder just how many of the folks who did eat at the Omei would stay in a Trump Hotel? Will we ever know?

Who becomes Mayor after David Terrazas, you ask? Well, the City Council will muck it over and will most likely decide on Martine Watkins. I really believe we should start voting directly for Mayor. We also need to keep track of just how much Terrazas actually accomplishes in his term. Most folks don’t expect much.

THAT BIG BLACK “M”. Ed Penniman emailed to opine… “Regarding the ‘M’ at the MAH, I think that few people realize the the ‘M’ stands for MacPherson —Fred and Linda — who were nice enough to financially underwrite the institution. So in my mind, it seems disrespectful to just jettison it or use it as a planter or whatever, a trophy in someone’s backyard?!” BUT Ed, — and I think, most of us — were wrong!!! Historian and MAH stalwart Stan Stevens tells us… “I agree with Ed Penniman insofar as this M should have a more prominent place. I wish to clarify for Ed and your readers, however, that the M is (or was) for Museum — the Museum of Art and History — not for McPherson (although both are appropriate). Although I do wish to point out that it was the entire McPherson family (note that it isn’t Mac, it’s Mc) contributed to MAH, not just Fred III and Linda. It was primarily Lillian McPherson Rouse, Mahlon McPherson, and Fred D. McPherson Jr. — sister and brothers — that were the primary-generation contributors.

DON YOUNG DIED…DAMNIT! Harry Meserve wrote to say:“Donald J. Young, a founder of the Saturday Shakespeare Club and Cabrillo College Professor for thirty years, died today in Aptos California at the age of 94. He was an extraordinary teacher, both in college and in the club, with a sense of humor and eagerness to work with anyone who wanted to think and to write. There will no doubt be many remembrances of him, not least from club members who shared with him a love of Shakespeare and of drama.

He taught many of us to think, and challenged us to write, especially in the context of a breakfast group that met every Wednesday, at Severinos in Aptos — and even in his own living room. There are no words to express how each of us will remember him. I am sure that there will be opportunities to say more in the near future. Don leaves a daughter, two sons and grandchildren, as well as his wife and close companion for over 50 years, Viviane Young — a force for good in her own right”.

Personally I’d add that Don was not just brilliant and witty, but an inspiring human being…I’ll miss him, and so will thousands of former pupils and friends.

CAR DEAL COMPLETED!!! Thanks very much to BrattonOnline reader, Universal Grapevine interviewee, and activist for Live Oak neighborhood preservation, Bob Morgan. I’ll soon be driving his 2010 Honda Civic. I’m lucky because as predicted I received exactly 2 responses and Bob’s worked perfectly.

HOT DAMN STRING BAND AT THE BOOKSHOP SANTA CRUZ…AGAIN/STILL. None of us remember what year our Hot Damn String Band played at The Bookshop Santa Cruz’s annual birthday. It was before we helped organize the book drive and survival party that made it possible for the Bookshop to open in the tent (pavilion) right after the 1989 earthquake. Well, The Hot Damn’s are playing again (and still) this year, at 7:30 on Friday Night November 10. That definitely includes Jim Reynolds on guitar, Annie Steinhardt on fiddle, me on washboard, Gary Cunningham string bass, Dave Magram banjo, and Dore Coller mandolin. The real deal is that book prices will be the lowest they get all year that Friday and Saturday. See you there!!!

GREENSITE’S INSIGHT. Gillian is probably deep into research…and will return here 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).

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By: Chris Krohn    Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

JUST THE FACTS MA’AM!
Sgt. Joe Friday on the old cop show, Dragnet, used to say, “Just the facts ma’am,” which is pretty convenient when you might not want to hear the quilt of stories behind how the facts became facts. But without context, facts are like vacuum cleaners sold to people who don’t have access to electricity: convenient machines, but not very useful without a power source. There’s quite a few “facts” running around Santa Cruz inside the housing, homelessness, and UCSC conversations, but often a context, the stories behind the facts, is lacking. Having stated the obvious, I am going to now put out a bunch of factoids that happened this week — and in the interest of time, let you draw your own conclusions. It’s a kind of, do as I say not as I do, column this week.

Packed Save Santa Cruz eastside meeting, over 200 in attendance!


Stellar performances by eastside community members at the Save Santa Cruz forum (L-R): Gary Patton, Jerry Christiansen, Walt Wadlow, Dolores Salazar Talbert, Deborah Marks, Dawn Norris, Candace Brown, Bob von Elgg, and Cyndi Dawson. Kudos!

  • Library-garage architects (advocates?) presented three plans recently to the Library Committee. (1) $37.7 million to renovate existing library; (2) $47 million to build a new, one-story library, (3) $49 million to build a new two-story library…but, lo and behold, if it is put inside of a five-story parking garage, the price magically comes down to $26 million. BTW, none of these buildings would be “net zero energy”, which is really sad in 2017.
  • Just the facts ma’am: Six undergraduate women were evicted by the city this past week from 102-104 Hillcrest Terrace, below the University, just off Highland Avenue. They were given 36 hours to vacate and not offered any alternative housing opportunities as far as I’ve been able to ascertain. One of them said to me when I stopped by to see what could be done:”We can kiss tomorrow’s midterms goodbye.”
  • In the new movie, Mark Felt (Watergate’s Deep Throat character) the main character, FBI second-in-command to J. Edgar Hoover, Mark Felt— played by Liam Neeson —goes through a long list of communes where his runaway daughter might be, and he lands on one in Ben Lomond of all places, on Bear Creek Rd. In the next scene he is retrieving her and bringing her back to Washington, D.C. just in time to see Nixon walk across the tarmac and get on that infamous helicopter just after resigning.
  • SC4Bernie member and UCSC student leader, Jeff Stoll talked to City on a Hill Press recently about housing and his comment as one of now 19,000 hill-dwellers bears repeating. “At the end of the day, housing is the issue that unites the campus and the community…it’s an issue related to campus development and the way we want to see the campus expand or not expand in a sustainable way.”
  • UCSC Prof. Adam Millard-Ball reported that in the transportation research he is conducting, “traffic sprawl” in the United States peaked in 1994, although not in Atlanta, which seems to still be in “sprawl” mode. He also said that car ownership peaked in 2005. Interesting.
  • Just the Facts Ma’am: The top issues of concern by residents in the Prospect Heights neighborhood, voiced at a forum on public safety at DeLaveaga School hosted by SCPD Chief, Andy Mills, were: Isolate aggressive transients, form private sector partnerships for patrolling, focus on community safety — wellness and quality of life, make mental health collaborations between city and county, connect crime to campsites, there needs to be more visible patrols — get out of the car and more citizen involvement, use compassion when confronting homeless, police need to be proactive vs. reactive, and we need to find better ways of managing mental illness. Chief Mills also said that “80% of the calls for service by PD are for homeless-related issues.”
  • Just the Facts Ma’am: Talking Points from Eastside “Save Santa Cruz” meeting last Thursday night, at 411 Roxas Street:
    • “Anyone here play poker? Well, the Corridors Plan is currently on ‘hold,’… we need         the city to ‘fold’ the Corridors Plan.” (Jerry Christianson)
    • Farrell’s Donuts vs. Dunkin’ Donuts (corporations certainly know how to vulture local businesses)
    • — Habit Burger? Where did that come from?
    • The goal of developers is to maximize profits…and we get that. The goal of the city council should be to maximize the quality of life for residents, and THEY should get that!
    • Is a 340 square feet unit renting for $1700-$2000 really “affordable by design?”
    • “We need housing for people who live here now.” (Dawn Norris)
    • City has approved over 500 hotel rooms in the past three years. Where will the wait- staff, gardeners, bartenders, and chefs all live?
    • Gary Patton hit it out of the park at the Eastside “Save Santa Cruz” meeting when he said: “Let’s make this city the way we want it to be, not the city someone tells us it should be.” And on the accusation of NIMBY-ism, Patton said:”We have nothing to be ashamed of if we fight for our community…we can’t have self-government if we don’t get involved ourselves.” Patton seemed to throw down the gauntlet when he said if developers really want to build in Santa Cruz, they can build 50% market rate and 50% affordable…the crowd went wild!
    • Okay, Patton and the rest were all really good, but Carmela Weintraub, who wrote “The Spirit of Santa Cruz” statement, had the quote of the night when she stood up from the audience and announced: “Okay, we saved the Pogonip, we saved Lighthouse Field, we saved Wilder Ranch…now we have to save the whole god-damned city!” (Applause!!!)

Finally, I planted a redwood tree and a sequoia tree in my backyard this week…I really felt powerful, and can’t wait for the grand kids figure out how to save them from over-development!

Bernie Tweet of the Week… “Are you truly free if you work 100 hours a week because you can’t find a job with a living wage? Are you free if you have no health care?” (October 29)
~(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).

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By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

IN OBSERVANCE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WEEK, SANTA CRUZ CITY COUNCIL VOTES FOR ZERO AFFORDABLE UNITS TO HELP “PENCIL OUT” 79 CONDOS DOWNTOWN FOR BARRY SWENSON BUILDER.
Thanks to Councilman Chris Krohn for pulling Item #9 off the Consent Agenda (saved for non-controversial issues) to allow public discussion about the five-story mixed-use Subdivision Map for 1547 Pacific Avenue.  He and Councilmember Sandy Brown lobbied the rest of the Council to reconsider the earlier approval that waived the 12 affordable rental units that could have been required, if the Council followed their own regulations and Strategic Plan goal to provide more affordable housing to residents.

“We have to be consistent with our decisions,” said Mayor Cynthia Chase.  “We can’t hold up a good plan because it isn’t a perfect plan and I think this is a good plan,” said Councilmember Martine Watkins.  “Any units are good units,” said Councilmember Michelle Noroyan.  The Council refused to require Barry Swenson Builder to include the 12 required affordable units, even though members of the public also spoke out to ask that they reconsider.  One member of the public called the Council “a bunch of hypocrites” for pretending they want to increase affordable housing but not having the actual will to act accordingly.

As the guillotine of votes passed the Subdivision Map approval, Jesse Nickell, the Vice President of Barry Swenson Builder, stepped to the podium and thanked the Council.  “This will fill a big hole in housing,” he said.  I think it will mostly fill his wallet.

COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CONSIDERS CHANGES TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENTS
It worried me to hear County Planning Director Kathy Previsich say “We want to change things so the developers can do what they want to do.”   She was referring to the Code Modernization that will change County Zoning and General Plan policies.  Item #30 before the Board at last Tuesday’s meeting presented a good opportunity to examine a Planning Department presentation about proposed changes to affordable housing and Measure J requirements of developers.  There was good discussion about the effectiveness of the current ability of developers to pay in lieu fees instead of actually building 15% of a 5 or more unit development as affordable housing units.  The Planning Department also proposed increasing developer fees for affordable housing from commercial developments, in order to house prospective employees, and for remodel additions of over 500SF. 

The Board asked lots of questions about how increasing the fees might affect developer feasibility.  There was also discussion about developers “gaming the system” by offering rental units instead of selling units, to escape having to offer 15% to affordable deed sales or pay the in lieu fee.  Here is what the Planning Department staff recommended:

It is therefore RECOMMENDED that your Board provide direction, in concept, that staff prepare drafts of proposed regulatory amendments consistent with the following changes: 

  1. Update Santa Cruz County Code Chapter 17.10 to require on-site inclusionary units at 15% of total units for projects of 7 or more units (with the Board of Supervisors having authority to approve alternative of AHIF payment);
  2. Revise the Affordable Housing Impact Fee schedule to apply to net new square footage over 500 square feet for additions, replacements and remodels; and to raise the Fee on Projects of 2 to 4 units as recommended in this report;
  3. Revise Commercial Impact Fee to develop categories based on occupancy so that net new square footage or a change to a more employment intensive occupancy would pay higher AHIF;
  4. Require AHIF payment at building permit issuance rather than through escrow, unless an alternative timing is approved by the Board of Supervisors; and
  5. Require all projects, including mapped subdivisions being used as rental housing, to pay fees and utilize affordable units consistent with the Affordable Housing Guidelines.

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

MY NEIGHBOR, MATT, BRAVELY SAVED MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND NISENE MARKS STATE PARK FROM BURNING UP
Last Thursday night, my neighbor Matt noticed an orange glow coming from a house nearby that was on everyone’s radar as suspicious.  The house was unoccupied at the time.  Matt investigated and saw flames licking up the exterior wall and flaming material dropping below into the woods.  We had red-flag fire conditions that night.   He called 9-1-1 and rushed over with his fire extinguisher.  It wasn’t enough to stop the flames.  His roommates arrived home just then and helped form a bucket brigade that was able to quell the fire enough until multiple fire engines arrived and doused the flames. 

It was then that he and the firefighters discovered small mountains of butane cannisters nearby and throughout the house, along with massive amounts of drying marijuana hanging thickly throughout every single room.  Yep, it was a large refinery and extremely dangerous.  Then Matt understood why the 9-1-1 dispatcher advised him NOT to approach the house to try to put out the fire.  It also explained why the fire engines were accompanied by multiple sheriff units.

The firefighters told Matt that the house came dangerously close to reaching an explosive condition.  He unknowingly had risked his life to fight the fire and save the neighborhood.  Wow.  He is my hero. 

We have all felt shaken since, realizing how close our community and the State Park came to being a conflagration.  How much did law enforcement know about this situation beforehand?  This is the second time in three years that a fire has begun due to drug processing in my community.  I wonder how the Cannabis legalization and County’s permitting will affect the drug refining landscape in rural areas like mine?   There are industry people who are conscientious and will do things well, yet the Black Market will persist, possibly being bolstered by the onerous 31 pages of mitigations set forth by the County for those who want to gain a legal cultivation and processing permit.  It would help neighborhoods like mine if those legal operations were somehow identified. 

The comments are due by October 31, and further public meetings will follow the CEQA process.

TOTO, WE’RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE.
I attended the “Stop Overbuilding Santa Cruz” gathering last week, along with about 200 others.  We heard community speakers explain what the City of Santa Cruz is really up to with the Corridor Plan, how traffic levels are already at the limits of what the 2006 studies supporting the traffic plans projected for future growth, and no one is mentioning the groundwater overdraft crisis.  We agreed on the fact that the quality of life is about to change and citizens need to get to work now to have any effect at all. 

Somehow, I was hoping to hear how the group plans to accomplish having a meaningful and effective voice at the table of Sustainable Santa Cruz and Vision 2030 and all those studies and charettes steamrolling along.  What troubled me as I left is the stark realization that, based on my experiences with local government agencies, attitude toward the public has deteriorated.  By and large, the elected officials making policy affecting the lives of others have a palpable disregard and disrespect for members of the public who attempt to take an active interest in government.  As I mentioned earlier, public dialogue is openly and admittedly discouraged.  Those who ask questions are ignored or dismissed, unless you are a large developer.

This is a big change from how elected officials regarded the public’s involvement 25-30 years ago.  What does that mean for those who are concerned by the steamroller tactics of local government officials who throw themselves at the feet of AMBAG and the State bullwhips?  It means, in my opinion that we have to make our voices louder and even more persistent, backed by reliable information and documentation.  It also means, in my opinion, that it is time for some citizen initiative actions to put more issues on the ballot for the people to examine, discuss and vote upon.  There have been too many back-room deals made and it simply must stop.

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).

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By: Gary Patton    Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

#297 / Politicization: Bad Or Good?

As Jennifer Szalai noted in an article published last Sunday (10/29) in The New York Times Magazine (the article was titled “Cheap Trick” in the hard copy version), politicization is not held in high repute:

Politicization is the last refuge of the scoundrel.To “politicize” something — hurricanes, intelligence, science, football, gun violence — is to render it political in a way that distorts its true meaning. That, at least, seems to be the reasoning of those who use the term as an insult: We adhere to pristine, unadulterated facts and call for unity; they politicize those facts for partisan gain and divide us even more.

As I read those introductory words, I immediately began writing (mentally) my opposing Op-Ed. In fact, since we do “live in a political world,” meaning that the social, economic, and cultural aspects of our civilization depend on the political choices we make, “politicization” is hardly negative. In fact, “politicization” means that we are collectively debating, and ultimately deciding, what we are going to do about something. We need more, not less, of that. 

By the time I reached the end of Szalai’s essay, I had calmed right down. Szalai finished her discussion by citing to Hanna Arendt, who always deserves the last word:

According to popular lore, part of what made totalitarianism so dangerous was its “politicization of everything,” but Hannah Arendt, who should know, insisted in a 1958 essay that the opposite was true. It is “depoliticization,” she wrote, that “destroys the element of political freedom in all activities”. Depoliticization is what makes political action seem futile and moot. To strip an issue of its political dimension is to assume it’s settled or to try to make it so — not by argument, which would be to politicize it, but by blithe dismissal or brute force.

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

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CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Everybody talks about the weather but DeCinzo illustrates the problem…scroll below

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s always profound Subconscious Comic, down a few pages. As always, at TimEagan.com you will find his most recent Deep Cover, the latest installment from the archives of Subconscious Comics, and the ever entertaining Eaganblog.

JEWEL THEATRE COMPANY RECEIVES RECOGNITION FROM THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING
The Jewel Theatre Company wins prized National Theatre Company Grant honor from Founder of the Tony Awards. Their announcement reads…Jewel Theatre Company is pleased to announce that the American Theatre Wing, best known as the creator of the Antoine Perry “Tony” Awards, is awarding the Jewel Theatre Company with one of the 2017 National Theatre Company grants. Created by American Theatre Wing to recognize and support the most promising emerging theatre companies, the 2017 grants for Initial Support are being presented to nine companies from around the country”. That’s great and well deserved news. Jewel Theatre opens their next play “Always…Patsy Cline” starring Diana Torres Koss and Julie James on Thursday Nov. 9 and it plays through December 3. It’s at the Colligan Theatre in the Tannery and if you haven’t been there yet…just go!

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “My response to The Florida Project was so lukewarm; I decided not to even post it on the blog. Read all about it in this week’s Good Times, instead, but please do keep checking out Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/) for future updates!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

THE FLORIDA PROJECT. Willem Dafoe heads the cast of unknowns in this depressing almost-documentary of a six-year-old girl and her little friend’s sad lives, as they eke out an existence living in motels near Disneyland in Orlando. Their lives and the fragments of the other neighboring families are sad from start to the finish of this film. It’s a saga, and it’s well done, but for sure it’s a feel-bad film.

MARK FELT: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE. We thought we knew enough about Watergate, but this story of the “Deep Throat” behind the revelation of Nixon’s involvement, is involving and interesting right from the start. Liam Neeson plays the stiff, moral, upright tightlipped Mark Felt, and does it well. Diane Lane plays his boozy wife and doesn’t get a chance to add much. It’s a learning experience and you’ll become even more concerned over the current relationship between Trump and the FBI. Go for it.

SUBURBICON. I have not and will not see this movie. Never, ever have I read and received so many bad warnings about a cruddy movie. George Clooney directed it, Matt Damon has the top role, and Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 27. Julianne Moore and Oscar Issac are in it too. Never mind about the plot, too many friends and readers have warned me…and I’m passing the word on to you, DON’T GO!

BLADERUNNER 2049. Denis Villeneuve directed this sequel with advice from Ridley Scott and it has many hidden plot lines from the original (try to see it before you see 2049)…it’s an unique addition to science fiction films. Dystopian is a very overused word describing a disaster based future. This film again has Los Angeles totally transfigured…and even darker and more devastated and bleak than the first one, was set in LA 2019. Ryan Gosling carries the entire story, with Robin Wright and Harrison Ford doing fine acting jobs too. I have rarely, if ever, seen or felt a theatre audience so still-so hypnotized-awed-puzzled-and silent as the one I joined last week. I’ve seen it 2 ½ times now… it needs two viewings on as large a screen as possible, because the photography is so impressive and important.

LOVING VINCENT. The first movie ever to have been made with 1000’s of oil paintings, to create an animation of Vincent Van Gogh’s life and questionable murder or suicide. You’ll see dozens of his and your most favorite Van Gogh paintings “come to life” — plus an intriguing story line. The animation is so good that fans (I’m one) of PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre Poldark series will recognize Eleanor Tomlinson (Demelza) playing Adeline Ravoux in this absolutely beautiful film. It has a 77 Rotten Tomato rating! See it ASAP because Landmark doesn’t keep masterpieces long unless audiences show up the first weeks. ENDS THURS. NOV. 2

IT This broke all box office records the weekend when IT opened…and IT should have. IT is a well made, very scary movie. Based on a Stephen King novel, IT is chapter one of a two-part nightmare/daydream that will grab you when you are least prepared to be scared. It has all the clichés…BUT it’s also got tension, mystery, and perfect timing along with excellent acting. Just go see IT — but only if you truly enjoy being scared. 86 on RT.

GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN. The veddy-veddy British story of A.A. Milne and his son that inspired the “Winnie The Pooh” books. Milne suffered greatly from his war time service — as did Britain —and the Pooh books made Milne millions of dollars, while ruining his son and the mother’s lives. The accents are hard to understand in parts and you’ll end up feeling sorry for everyone in the story…IF you go see the movie. ENDS THURS. NOV. 2

BATTLE OF THE SEXES. Billie Jean King plays against Bobby Riggs in this easy-going tennis and sex movie. Billie Jean has an internal battle with her own sex, which adds a deeper and more involved plot than the 1973 match which we’ve all been reading up on, or remember from those days. Emma Stone— reputedly the highest star in the world — acts perfectly with Steve Carrell, and the movie is a guaranteed hit with everybody. I didn’t recognize Sarah Silverman as the women’s coach because she wears sunglasses all through the movie. I liked Little Miss Sunshine better.

VICTORIA & ABDUL. Almost everyone knows that Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria in this cute, warm, cuddly feel-good movie. Eddie Izzard plays the Prince of Wales (Edward VII), but you won’t recognize him. I didn’t, and I’m a big fan of Izzard’s. Stephen Frears directed it. He did My Beautiful Launderette, Prick Up your Ears, Philomena and some more great films but this isn’t in that category. Aside from the cuteness, it ignores the cruelty of the British rule over India during the almost 30 years.

MARSHALL. This movie almost takes us back to Raymond Burr and his role as Perry Mason the Lawyer in the Perry Mason 1957 TV series …it’s a courtroom drama. More importantly, it’s based on an early case that Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall handled for the NAACP in Connecticut. You’ll recognize Kate Hudson as the “victim” and James Cromwell as the racist judge. Fine story, good cast…not the most memorable film in history, but you’ll like it. ENDS THURS. NOV. 2

LUCKY. This is Harry Dean Stanton’s last film and he was 91 years old when they filmed it. He died in September. He also played and sang in Santa Cruz a few times too. This is a sad saga of an old man who never married, wandering around his desert town yakking and gossiping with his crony friends. He talks about death, tortoises, and the things you’d imagine a 91 year old would talk about. The cast includes Transcendental Meditation’s David Lynch, plus Ed Begley Jr., and Tom Skerritt. Probably no Academy Awards, but it’s a pleasant film. 98 on RT.

AMERICAN MADE. Is NOT another dopey, violent Tom Cruise superhuman action flick. This one is based on an unbelievable probably half-true story about a guy who becomes an international drug runner, and then gets involved illegally with our CIA and the Iran Contra affair that almost got President Ronnie R. evicted. It’s probably Scientology that gives Tom Cruise that certain extra something…and I have to admit I like watching the buy. 87 on RT.

KINGSMEN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. I wished I’d remembered that this second installment of an ongoing series comes from comic books. The entire movie looks like an animated cartoon. It’s violent, murderous, and plain goofy. Elton John plays himself, and there’s a warning right there. To watch such good actors as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and especially Colin Firth jump around for their million dollar salaries is embarrassing.

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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. Halloween night Oct. 31st has Jean Brocklebank and Judi Grunstra talking about the Santa Cruz Main Library plots and plans. Then dramaturg Victoria Gardiner and friend talk about UCSC’s production of Berthold Brecht’s play, “Resistable Rise Of Arturo Ui” playing Nov.11-19. On November 7 Dr. Suzanne Kerley talks about plastic surgery, hand surgery and the dangers of trusting what you see on the internet. Then Scott McGilvray from Water For Santa Cruz straightens the record on our water problems. November 14 is KZSCs PLEDGE DRIVE night and historian Ross Gibson will keep us up to date on what old news is new! The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. 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

I realize now why, and how much, I really like her. Spend the time to watch this (I’ve fixed the video that didn’t work; give it a second to load).

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. “ELECTION DAY”
“The politicians were talking themselves red, white and blue in the face”, Clare Boothe Luce

“Each party steals so many articles of faith from the other, and the candidates spend so much time making each other’s speeches, that by the time election day is past there is nothing much to do save turn the sitting rascals out and let a new gang in”, H. L. Mencken

“Republicans are relentless and they’re smart, too – they’re not all dumb – and on Election Day, they’ll be up at five in the morning”, Michael Moore

“An election is coming.  Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry”, George Eliot, Felix Holt, Chapter 5


COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

October 25 – 31, 2017

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Bruce
Highlights this week:
Don Lane Bearcat out on attack last week!, Santa Cruz and Watsonville are almost the happiest places (it says), Lou Harrison fought the Cabrillo Music Festival, J.M. Brown running again for City Council…Greensite On Weinstein, Weiners and Women …Chris Krohn about City Council Agenda problems, Swenson’s Pacific Ave hole condos and nada affordable, City ambulance service questions, planning dept exodus by Rebagliati and more questions, Odd and unusual cuts in City budget…Becky Steinbruner deals with County contracts with SALINAS Yellow Cab-why?, More on Swenson’s black hole condos on Pacific ave., united Corridor Study problems, Aptos Village developers illegal moves, $3 million for a development stoplight and we pay for it!!…Patton reports on Chris Hedges and world future predictions…DeCinzo  and Highway 17        …Eagan depicts our nationwide heart attack…Jensen reviews Goodbye Christopher Robin…I critique Lucky and G’bye Christopher Robin…Quotes for Halloween.

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SEA  BEACH HOTEL. Built in 1870’s  and it burned down at 3:30 am, June 12, 1912. It had 170 rooms and stood about where the Casa Blanca Inn &  Motel are located  on Main Street by the Boardwalk.     
photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
CRAZY INVENTIONS OF 2017. There are 100’s more these came up first.
BUILT IN GOTHENBURG SWEDEN IN 1914 this cargo ship was in use till 1939, then abandoned and sailing the seas on its own for 38 years(!).
SANTA CRUZ AND HIGHWAY 1. Looks like a Russian tourist view of our
extremely happy town!!!

DATELINE October 23, 2017

OCTAGON PLATZ. One of the first things I heard at the Octagon Platz last week was that Don Lane’s Bearcat Police Attack Vehicle was used once again on October 19 to deal with a robbery at Outdoor World. I somehow missed any Santa Cruz Sentinel coverage of that war zone incident.  With Apple employees now ensconced in the top two floors of the O’Neill Building (formerly Cooper House) we can only wait and wonder —(1) how many were locals,(2) how many moved here, and (3)how many more will be coming here, and where will they live? When you look closely at the proposed Downtown plan — which is mostly about ruining the area with expensive high rises — you’ll see that one idea is to turn an area of Front Street in front of the Post Office into an extended plaza that sort of connects to the Town Clock space. That part doesn’t seem too bad at first squint. On Wednesday I met with novelist Michael Marshall Smith. He’s going to help me get little things like the difference between comas and commas and punctuation gizmos such as syntax into this space. He’s courageous; I gotta say that about him. Truly amazing how many dozens or more folks stop by The Octagon daily to say how they miss Manthri Srinath’s Lulu’s Coffee House at that location. Another MAH employee told me it looks it’ll remain empty into next year, before two locally-owned restaurants open in what was the historic Octagon/County Hall of Records. Much, much kudos to the Digital Design and Brand Surgery folks, who had the historic Leonard Building (1894) at the corner of Cooper Street and Front painted last week. By the way, Cooper Street was named after the Cooper Brothers, who came here in the 1850s from Gettysburg, and were related to James Fennimore Cooper.

STOP LAUGHING AND BEING SO HAPPY. Be sure to click and read the link below that reveals Santa Cruz to be the second happiest city in the United States! Britain’s Daily Mail had the article; I just clipped parts of it to post here…

“America’s top 25 happiest cities revealed: Boulder in Colorado is named as the place with the most satisfied residents. The metro area of Santa Cruz-Watsonville California came second in the list, followed by Charlottesville, Virginia, Fort Collins, Colorado, and San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande in California.

It tops a list of 25 of America’s happiest cities, revealed in new book The Blue Zones of Happiness. Written by National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner, it reveals ‘the secrets of the world’s happiest places’. California has no less than eight cities in the top 25 list, including the metro area of San Diego-Carlsbad.

Read all of it here if you don’t believe me

CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC HISTORY. I had lunch last week with very long-time friend Alyce Vestal Caudil. She and Ted Toews, who taught at Cabrillo College, started the Cabrillo Music Festival. Along with stacks of newspaper articles documenting the very first Cabrillo Festival —and showing Alyce’s and Ted’s incredible energy and foresight — Alyce has related over and over again that Lou Harrison “fought the Cabrillo Festival tooth and nail” right up to close to the opening concert, and finally joined in”. Lou was a wonderful guy and an inspiration to musicians and music lovers all over the world, but to keep reading endlessly misleading stories concerning his alleged early support of the Festival seems more than ridiculous.

J.M. Brown is strongly rumored to be running for Santa Cruz City Council. He didn’t make it the last time. Take a look at some of the folks who endorsed him…see just a hint of anything here? Cynthia Mathews, Zach Friend, Steve Reed, Santa Cruz Realtors, Hillary Bryant, Bike Santa Cruz, Bob Bosso, Cynthia Chase, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Robert deFreitas, Geoffrey Dunn, Doug Ley, Matt Farrell, Carol Fuller, Bud Colligan and Robert Singleton — for starters. Chris Krohn wrote about Drew Glover’s big campaign kickoff party here last week. Please send me any/all the 2018 Council candidates names you hear of…it’s going to be a crowded race.

WEINSTEIN, WIENERS AND WOMEN
Does the massive reaction to Harvey Weinstein’s long history of sexually abusing women signify a cultural shift in the norms of sexual violence? Or is it a momentary focus, soon to be lost in the next news saga? A few reflections from the past may help illuminate its significance in the long struggle for gender equality.

In 1991, during the Senate hearings for the Anita Hill testimony of sexual harassment against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas I was glued to the television, declaring excitedly that there was no turning back. The revolution had arrived! A tad premature to be sure,  since at the same time Harvey Weinstein was probably cornering another young woman in his hotel room with penis erect and male privilege intact.

Anita Hill brought the issue of sexual harassment into the light of day and on a global level. This crucial step is a prerequisite for change. But cultural change is often slow, accompanied by the expected backlash. It requires constant work by engaged people to keep it moving. Two decades earlier, Lin Farley had coined the term, “sexual harassment” to describe the shared experiences of countless women who had received unwelcome sexual attention at work from men, usually their supervisors, with firings and poor performance evaluations a result of their non-compliance. It wasn’t long before universities were also under scrutiny for routine sexual harassment. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, universities and workplaces scrambled to put policies in place and educate their workforce under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.  The fact that 40 years later, universities are still being sued and investigated, including UCSC, for sexual harassment violations is a reminder that social change is never easy or automatic. In my experience, which includes 30 years at UCSC in rape prevention education as well as years on the city’s commission to prevent violence against women, institutions strive to bury, not solve, the issues. Public Relations, not prevention is the goal. Of course no one will admit to that but working from the inside I can attest that’s the case. It’s rare to find institutions, which sincerely want to change. I had to travel to Tanzania, Malawi and South Africa to find them and the difference was tangible. While sexual and interpersonal violence against women in these countries far outstrips the norms in our own country and national leaders are often the perpetrators, in every country I found sincere efforts for change at the institutional level. Hopefully this will lead to change at the personal level.

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

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By: Chris Krohn    Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com


Good Development
Ribbon cutting for thirty-nine new affordable units on Soquel Avenue near 7th Ave.


Bad Development
Single-family monster home on Getchell near the corner of Wanzer Street


Ugly Development
Everyone asks me, ‘What is this?’ It is a soulless hotel on Mission Street Extension. No emoji can express our collective community angst and sadness.

HIDDEN AGENDA OR OPEN AGENDA? WHY NOT JUST PUBLISH AN “AGENDA FOR DUMMIES?”
So much of the Santa Cruz City Council agenda is made up of snooze items. For example, the “Reconciliation of Private Encroachment on City Watershed Lands,” might be one. The issue is that years-ago somebody paved over city land to put in a private driveway and now they want to trade two of their acres to the city for the driveway land. Then there’s approving grants for Water Department “technical assistance contracts,” worth a couple of million dollars. Of course, many agenda items are snooze items until something goes wrong resulting in a law suit. The city is often involved in suing and being sued. Turns out though that so much of municipal substance is shrouded in the bureaucratic word blather that makes up each agenda item. This week’s city council agenda was of particular note. It was seemingly filled with insignificant and tedious snooze items, but in fact reflected a great deal about of our current collective anxiety around affordable housing, healthcare, a planning department that sees things differently than the community, and a city budget deficit. Perception and deception are unfortunately often by-products in our representative democracy.

Still No Affordable Rental Housing at Swenson 79-condo Project at 1547 Pacific Avenue, Why?
Not to beat a dead horse, but there they were, 11.85 units (15% of 79) of affordable rentals right there on the table at the last two city council meetings. The majority decided not to demand these units because it “just won’t pencil out” for the developer. On the Tuesday, Oct. 24th agenda, Barry Swenson and company was asking the council for a final condo map for their Pacific Park project (the old Bookshop Santa Cruz site). Seems like they need the map in order to rent the units at market-rate and avoid selling them to further avoid having to sell the affordable ones. If you are confused, then this complicated scheme is working. It’s the eleventh hour or the bottom of the ninth or nearing the end of overtime, whatever metaphor works, and the city council needs to decide which side of the affordable housing debate they are on. Either find developers who only build affordable, or continue making deals with devils who have their bottom lines, or shareholders’ concerns, first. Hoping for affordable units isn’t the same as making them build the units. The council is responsible to the housing needs of the community, not to the 20-30% profit margin developers expect.

Public Ownership of Ambulance Services
Can the Santa Cruz Fire Department add a countywide ambulance service to its workload? The short answer is, maybe. But, there is a $70,000 consultant contract on the agenda to evaluate the potential to make this happen. It would mean not having to take a huge fire truck out with the inevitable private ambulance service, usually AMR, following close behind. Instead, SCFD would leave the fire truck at the station and operate its own ambulance. In fact, if Fire Chief, Jim Frawley’s dream is realized we just might better be able to attend to our “unhoused and economically disadvantaged populations…” A part of Frawley’s dream bears repeating here from the city council staff report he submitted for this council agenda item:

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P.S.
Over 500 people came out this past week at the Civic Auditorium to hear Professors Steve McKay and Miriam Greenberg present their findings on how crazy bad our housing market has become. They had an army of over 200 students interview 1700 renters across Santa Cruz county. You can see their work at http://noplacelikehomeucsc.org/en

P.P.S.
This Thursday at 6:30 p.m. the Santa Cruz Community Church at 411 Roxas Street on the eastside will be buzzing with Save Santa Cruz people advocating for the final entombing of the “Corridors Plan.” Many believe it is not dead yet, but still limping along. I suggest Save Santa Cruz people look at Item #23 “Density Bonus Ordinance Amendments” on the Oct. 24th council agenda and see how even without the Corridor Plan, a nasty for-profit developer genie is working over-time.

Bernie Quote of the Week
Sen. Sanders on Trump’s tax plan: “It is a Robin Hood proposal in reverse…it must be defeated”

~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.

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By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS APPROVES 5-YEAR CONTRACT OF $86,000 per YEAR WITH SALINAS YELLOW CAB!!
The owner of the consolidated Yellow Cab Company for Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito Counties could not explain to me how the $86,000 per year dollar amount for the proposed 5-year contract County Health Services recommended that the Board approve. The recommendation to the Board stated that Yellow Cab is the only cab service that can provide what is needed to transport clients from the Behavioral Health facilities to appointments locally.

“THAT IS NOT TRUE,” said local Green Taxi Cab owner, Mr. Brian Lister, who attended the October 17 Board meeting and testified that he was not even made aware of the potential contract. He is a local business owner, and his cabs run on bio-diesel. That should have made the Supervisors pause and agree to Mr. Lister’s and my request to either postpone the approval for further discussion, or to award the contract for one year, rather than five. That would have made a lot of sense, given the Health Service staff that, in answering Supervisor Caput’s question about the economics of the arrangement, said laws are changing at the State level that will most likely change what the County can allow for transportation of these clients.

NOPE. “Well, we could use the ambulance service or law enforcement to transport people,” the staff member said. “Well, what about having the attendant that gets paid $65/hour to help the clients who are able to instead learn to navigate the public transit system? These people will most likely not be able to afford a taxi when they are no longer under County care,” I said.

NOPE. The Board approved a 5-year contract with Salinas Yellow Cab for $86,000/year. That will make the owner of Yellow Cab happy. He was not at the meeting, but had told me on the phone “Uber has made it really hard for cab companies to survive, but this County contract will save me.” He plans to buy more cabs, just for the County work. Mr. Lister, Green Cab owner, said he would sure appreciate a shot at the County’s contract, too. However, it seems the Board of Supervisors could not be bothered, and instead handed the 5-year generous paycheck to an out-of-County conglomerate with a fossil fuel-powered fleet. It seems a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?

MEASURE J AND DEJA VU
In 1978. Santa Cruz County voters passed this legendary Ordinance to address the rapid growth rate (Santa Cruz County was the fastest-growing county in the state while being the smallest, next to San Francisco), and lack of affordable housing due to high housing prices. Doesn’t this sound familiar?

Here is a link to the text of Measure J. Look at page 17-3: Housing Crisis

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WHY WON’T THE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT COOPERATE WITH THE WATER DISTRICT?
Soquel Creek Water District Staff discussed the challenges new State Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) laws will present to the District. Under SB229, the District must provide water for ADU construction, cannot require a new or separate utility connection but the District still will apply the Water Demand Offset (WDO) requirements for conservation measures in order to grant new service approval.

Staff explained that “the City and County will no longer require the conversion ADU applicants to produce a Will Serve letter before a building permit application is accepted. The best solution to this issue is to be added to the land use agencies’ check off/ routing process, similar to other agencies such as fire and sanitation districts. District staff has made this request of the County on multiple occasions in the past; however, the County has been reluctant to add the District to this process. Until this occurs, it will be a challenge to inform the conversion ADU applicants of the WDO requirements. Naturally, alerting development project applicants late in the process can be a surprise, resulting in unanticipated costs and delays.”

“Why do you think the County is so resistant to working with the District?” I asked. Staff looked at the Board and remained silent. No one answered my question. So, I will ask you, the reader, why you think the County wants to maintain this disconnect between land use and water policy? Write your County Supervisor (or call 831-454-2200) and ask for this to change:

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT BOARD WILL RECONSIDER PUNITIVE RATES FOR LEAKS
An elderly lady on a fixed income came to the Board meeting October 17 and pleaded for a variance of the District’s Leak Adjustment Policy. It nearly broke my heart to listen to her beg for financial help with the $1500 punitive bill she received for a leak that she could not have known was occurring until she got a shocking bill. The District charges $39/unit instead of $6/unit for excessive water use. The Board decided to allow her an adjustment on her bill, and will reconsider their 2015 leak adjustment policy at a future Board meeting.

With all the worry in the air over fires, infrastructure and world events, I hope you will all take time to walk on the beach or in the beautiful forests to appreciate the exquisite beauty of where we live.

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.

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By: Gary Patton    Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

#289/Prophecies And Predictions


Chris Hedges (pictured right) authored the essay mentioned in my blog posting yesterday. He conveys a rather daunting message: 

The American empire is coming to an end. The U.S. economy is being drained by wars in the Middle East and vast military expansion around the globe. It is burdened by growing deficits, along with the devastating effects of deindustrialization and global trade agreements. Our democracy has been captured and destroyed by corporations that steadily demand more tax cuts, more deregulation and impunity from prosecution for massive acts of financial fraud, all the while looting trillions from the U.S. treasury in the form of bailouts. The nation has lost the power and respect needed to induce allies in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa to do its bidding. Add to this the mounting destruction caused by climate change and you have a recipe for an emerging dystopia. Overseeing this descent at the highest levels of the federal and state governments is a motley collection of imbeciles, con artists, thieves, opportunists and warmongering generals. And to be clear, I am speaking about Democrats, too.

I can’t say I disagree with Hedges’ analysis. How about you? Is the American Empire “coming to an end?” If it is, and I have already said that I personally think that Hedges’ analysis is on target, here is question number two: Would that actually be a bad thing? 

The cartoon that headed up my blog posting yesterday has Uncle Sam, in the guise of a homeless person, holding up a sign that says, “Will Destroy The World For Money.” To the extent that this is what the American Empire does (and there are some pretty good arguments that this is an accurate description), it would be hard to mourn that “End of Empire.” So, here is question number three: Is Hedges offering a “prediction” or a “prophecy?” In other words, is Hedges claiming to outline what must and will happen – as “predictions” do – or is he providing us a warning about what could happen? If the latter, that would make Hedges’ essay a “prophecy,” at least in the way I draw a distinction between these two different words that both relate to a forecast of the future. It is probably relevant that Hedges is a Presbyterian minister. He must certainly know about those prophets in the Bible. Those Biblical prophets typically forecasted doom, unless the people repented. Generally, as I’m recalling the Bible stories, the people didn’t repent, and the projected doom arrived, in spades!

After the listing reproduced above, here is what Hedges says about the coming of the End of Empire: 

Short of a sudden and widespread popular revolt, which does not seem likely, the death spiral appears unstoppable, meaning the United States as we know it will no longer exist within a decade or, at most, two. The global vacuum we leave behind will be filled by China, already establishing itself as an economic and military juggernaut, or perhaps there will be a multipolar world carved up among Russia, China, India, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa and a few other states. Or maybe the void will be filled, as the historian Alfred W. McCoy writes in his book “In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power,” by “a coalition of transnational corporations, multilateral military forces like NATO, and an international financial leadership self-selected at Davos and Bilderberg” that will “forge a supranational nexus to supersede any nation or empire.” That introductory phrase (“short of….”), which is in the nature of a call to repent, tells me that Hedges  is speaking in the prophetic tradition. Bad things will happen, and our doom will come, unless we do something now. 

Hedges calls that “something” that we might do a “popular revolt.” I call it a “revolution.” 

The changes we need don’t have to be violent. In fact, to be truly an avenue to change, they can’t be, because violence has permeated everything we do, today, and it will be “the revolution” when we eschew violence for a nonviolent future.

Is that possible? You bet it is!

It’s not “inevitable,” though. 

The future is never “inevitable,” because human beings are possessed of the gift of freedom, and can always inaugurate something completely new, and create a “New Order In The World,” a Novus Ordo Seclorum.

Hey, we did that once before, remember?

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

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CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo’s historical view of Highway 17…see below.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Heart Attack 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 that contains his piece “Like A Rug”

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Find out how filmmaker Simon Curtis gets an author’s biography right in Goodbye Christopher Robin, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). Also, my next novel,  Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge, may not be coming out until 2018, but it’s already available for pre-order online at an insane discount! ” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

LUCKY. This is Harry Dean Stanton’s last film and he was 91 years old when they filmed it. He died in September. He also played and sang in Santa Cruz a few times too. This is a sad saga of an old man who never married wandering around his desert town yakking and gossiping with his crony friends. He talks about death, tortoises, and the things you’d imagine a 91 year old would talk about. The cast includes Transcendental Meditation’s David Lynch, plus Ed Begley Jr.,  and Tom Skerritt. Probably no Academy Awards but it’s a pleasant film. 98 on RT.

GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN. The veddy-veddy British story of A.A.Milne and his son that inspired the “Winnie The Pooh” books. Milne suffered  greatly from his war time service as did Britain, and the Pooh books made Milne millions of dollars, ruined his son and the mother’s lives. The accents are hard to understand in parts and you’ll end up feeling sorry for everyone in the story…IF you go see the movie.

BLADE RUNNER 2049. Denis Villeneuve directed this sequel with advice from Ridley Scott and it has many hidden plot lines from the original (try to see it before you see 2049)…it’s an unique addition to science fiction films. Dystopian is the very overused word describing a disaster based future. This film again has Los Angeles really transfigured…and even darker and more devastated and bleak than the first one which was set in LA 2019. Ryan Gosling carries the entire story, with Robin Wright and Harrison Ford doing fine acting jobs too. I have rarely, if ever, seen or felt a theatre audience so still-so hypnotized-awed-puzzled-and silent as the one I joined last week. I’ve seen it 2 ½ times now… it needs two viewings on as large a screen as possible because the photography is so impressive and important.

MOTHER. An excellent, genius- directed, absolutely intelligent plot, best-acted…what more can you ask from a movie?? Jennifer Lawrence, plus two  of my favorite actors Javier Bardem and Ed Harris, Brian Gleeson, and a darker Michelle Pfeiffer make a perfect cast for this challenging film. Not a scary, boo-type, odd, weird, what’s that?, cellar stairs type of film. It’s more like “what is going on”, “I can’t imagine what’s happening next kind of film, Directed by Darren Aronofsky it’s a winner, and you’ll remember seeing it. So go. RT calls it a “psychological thriller” I agree.

BATTLE OF THE SEXES. Billie Jean King plays against Bobby Riggs in this easy going tennis and sex movie. Billie Jean has an internal battle with her own sex, which adds a deeper and more involved plot than the 1973 match which we’ve all been reading up on or remember from those days. Emma Stone reputedly the highest star in the world acts perfectly with Steve Carrell and the movie is a guaranteed hit with everybody. I didn’t recognize Sarah Silverman as the women’s coach because she wears sunglasses all through the movie. I liked Little Miss Sunshine better.

ITThis broke all box office records last weekend when IT opened…and IT should have. IT is a well made, very scary movie. Based on some Stephen King books, IT is chapter one of a two part nightmare- daydream that will grab you when you are least prepared to be scared. It has all the clichés…BUT it’s got tension, mystery, and perfect timing along with excellent acting. Just go see IT but only if you truly enjoy being scared. 86 on RT.

LOVING VINCENT. The first movie ever to have been made with 1000’s of oil paintings to create animation of Vincent Van Gogh’s life and questionable murder or suicide. You’ll see dozens of his and your most favorite Van Gogh paintings”come to life” plus an intriguing story line. The animation is so good that fans (I’m one) of PBS”s Masterpiece Theatre Poldark series will recognize Eleanor Tomlinson (Demelza) playing Adeline Ravoux in this absolutely beautiful film. It has a 77 Rotten Tomato rating! See it ASAP Landmark doesn’t keep masterpieces very long unless audiences show up the first week.

VICTORIA & ABDUL. Almost everyone knows that Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria in this cute, warm, cuddly feel good movie. Eddie Izzard plays the Prince of Wales ( Edward VII), but you won’t recognize him. I didn’t, and I’m a big fan of Izzards. Stephen Frears directed it. He did My Beautiful Launderette, Prick Up your Ears, Philomena and some more great films but this isn’t in that category. Aside from the cuteness, it ignores the cruelty of the British rule over India during the almost 30 years.

MARSHALL. It almost takes us back to Raymond Burr and  his role as Perry Mason the Lawyer in the Perry Mason 1957 TV series …it’s a courtroom drama. More importantly it’s based on an early case that Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall handled for the NAACP in Connecticut. You’ll recognize Kate Hudson as the “victim” and James Cromwell as the racist judge. Fine story, good cast, not the most memorable film in history but you’ll like it.

AMERICAN MADE. It is NOT another dopey, violent Tom Cruise superhuman action flick. This one is based on an unbelievable probably half true story about a guy who becomes an international drug runner then gets involved illegally with our CIA and the Iran Contra affair that almost got President Ronnie R. evicted. It’s probably Scientology that gives Tom Cruise that certain extra something…and I have to admit I like watching the buy. 87 on RT.

KINGSMEN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. I wished I’d remembered that this part 2 of an ongoing series comes from comic books. The entire movie looks like an animated cartoon. It’s violent, murderous, and plain goofy. Elton John plays himself and there’s a warning right there. To watch such good actors as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and especially Colin Firth jump around for their million dollar salaries is embarrassing.

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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. Tuesday October 24 has City on A Hill editors in chief Nicolette Nodine and Michael Kushner talking  about their publications. Then BrattonOnline columnist and area activist Becky Steinbruner brings us up to date.  On November 7  Dr. Suzanne Kerley talks about plastic surgery, hand surgery and the dangers of trusting what you see on the internet. Then Scott McGilvray from Water For Santa Cruz straightens the record on our water problems. The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. 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

Some of these Mondegreens you can’t unhear! 🙂

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. HALLOWEEN

“I’ll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween”, Author unknown
“At first cock-crow the ghosts must go
Back to their quiet graves below”, Theodosia Garrison
“Never let your kids buy an off-the-shelf Halloween costume. Forbid it, no matter how close you may be to the witching hour. Instead, help them make their own. Encourage them to use their imaginations and their ingenuity. Show them that what can be created is often better than what can be bought. And besides, don’t the darkest, most frightening things live inside us anyway?”, Joe Kita Wisdom of Our Fathers, 1999
“‘Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world”, William Shakespeare, Hamlet [III, 2, Hamlet]
“This Halloween the most popular mask is the Arnold Schwarzenegger mask. And the best part? With a mouth full of candy you will sound just like him”, Conan O’Brien

COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
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

BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

October 16 – 22, 2017

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Bruce
Highlights this week:
More about the MAH Black “M” and Abbott Fountain, Omei Boycott in effect, Save Santa Cruz meeting,…Debbie Bulger and mountain bikers… Greensite on Downtown Recovery Plan finale at Planning Commission…Krohn and what affordable housing crisis? our “crazy” police chief, Drew Glover running for City Council, why Robert Singleton for Planning Commissioner? …Steinbruner and why are we paying $3 million dollars for an Aptos Village Stoplight?, Aptos Village developer Testorff breaking rules, still no permits for Rancho Del Mar demolitions, historic 1890 Milsap House destroyed, and she too asks why Robert Singleton for Planning Commissioner …Patton about “Better Living Without Chemistry”…deCinzo and cyclists…Eagan and Ducking the issue…Munching with Mozart…Santa Cruz Chamber Players new season concert on 10/22…Jensen and Rotten Tomatoes symbols…I critique Loving Vincent and Marshall…Quotes on Forest Fires.

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AERIAL VIEW DOWNTOWN SANTA CRUZ 1946. Look closely… see the post office, McHugh Bianchi Store, The Civic Auditorium, The Cooper House, the original pre-Catalyst building, just a bit of the Octagon,…a great photo.                                                       
    
photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
NIAGARA FALLS COLLAPSE.
Having grown up in Buffalo, New York we went to the falls every time relatives visited. This footage is shocking and looks like our West Cliff Drive.
BLADERUNNER 2049. I’m just trying to get everybody to go see this brilliant film.
STEPHEN COLBERT’S FAKE INTERVIEW WITH TRUMP.

DATELINE October 16, 2017

OCTAGON PLATZ. Being back sitting near the front door of The Octagon not only re-opens contact with dozens and dozens of old and new friends, it creates grand new items to write about. Again the question came up about…”whatever happened to the big, tall black letter “M” that stood at the corner of Front and Cooper Street”. As I reported a couple of weeks ago Nina Simon MAH director replied…

…”When we designed and built the new deck wrapping around the corner, we wanted to invite people to easily hang out and people-watch from there. We also wanted to make the deck as big as possible”. What I learned last week from one of those reliable sources is the the big black letter M at last sighting was in Nina and her husband’s back yard!

I also learned that the Chuck Abbott Square Fountain, the only fountain in Santa Cruz was originally built with the original steps to The Octagon itself. The Octagon was our original Hall of Records in 1882. Alan Counahan who designed and built that fountain cut those stairs into the sides of that fountain over at Angelo Grova’s Michangelo’s studios on River Street. Where are those steps now? Who knows?? Somehow many folks keep forgetting that MAH, the entire Abbott Square operation all are under County not Santa Cruz City control.

OMEI BACK OPEN AND BOYCOTT?? According to once again located in Santa Cruz…Sentinel, Roger Grigsby has opened the Omei on a limited basis. As you probably remember Grigsby donated $500 to the 2016 U.S. Senate Campaign of David Duke the former head of the Ku Klux Klan. As Grigsby stated, “It would be really interesting if these people really listen to David Duke himself, rather than listening to what other people say about him,” Grigsby said of Duke, who led the KKK from 1974 to 1978′. It’s all about the supremacy of the white race and especially the males. Many folks stated that a boycott closed the Omei…I don’t think so. Grigsby himself stated it was the quitting of his staff. Now we have a chance to see if a BOYCOTT of the Omei will keep it closed. You probably remember Greenpeace boycotting Exxon, boycotting Nestle for their artificial breast milk, Wal-Mart and their gun sales, Gallo wine and Cesar Chavez’ protest? Well check inward and figure out if you want your money going to the Ku Klux Klan or whatever right wing organizations your Omei bill goes to.

I STILL NEED A CAR. I got one response from Ralph Williams who is trying to help me find a reasonably priced car. If any reader of friends of readers knows of an automobile for sale please get in touch as soon as possible. It’s easy just email me at bratton@cruzio.com . My 1998 Honda has about 205,000 miles on it and……please???


“SAVE SANTA CRUZ”. Stop Overbuilding, stop rezoning.
As their face book page says, “Who is being served here & who is making money? Please attend these housing events & ask tough questions “The development on tap all over the City is not required to include below market rate housing & provides HUGE breaks to developers”.

There’s a meeting for everyone who cares about the character and community of Santa Cruz. It’s Thursday October 26 at The Santa Cruz Community Church 411 Roxas Street 6:30 -8 p.m.

Click the image on the right to see what Seabright and Soquel corner (Charlie Hong Kong) would look like

Hear more from your neighbors and find out ways you can get involved and TAKE ACTION!! The Church on 411 Roxas Street is between Trevethen Avenue and Park Way.

“MOUNTAIN BIKERS WANT MORE”. That’s what Debbie Bulger told me at The Octagon Platz last week. Debbie is the coordinator of “Mission: Pedestrian“, the Santa Cruz pedestrian advocacy group and local affiliate of California Walks. Write it up I said…she did!

MOUNTAIN BIKERS WANT MORE…Debbie Bulger.

Mountain bikers want more places to play in Santa Cruz. In fact they have displaced those on foot in park after park yet represent only one quarter the numbers of residents who prefer walking and hiking for recreation.

Right now Santa Cruz is a “Mecca” for mountain biking. Don’t take my word for it; listen to the mountain bikers themselves and the folks who track them: Singletracks.com  lists the Soquel Demonstration Forest/Forest of Nisene Marks as #2 in their posting of the BEST Mountain Bike Trails in California. That’s right, #2 in the whole state.

Stacy Peterson reports on santacruz.org : “From mellow rollers beside the ocean to technical singletrack through the redwoods, Santa Cruz is a mountain bike Mecca with spectacular terrain and views to match.”

Dan Palermini says this about the Soquel Demonstration State Forest on mtbr.com. “Boasting some of the best legal mountain biking in the San Francisco Bay Area, “Demo” is a regional riding hotspot . . . .”The Soquel Demo Forest above Nisene Marks has the Flow Trail, an almost 4-mile long technical screamer featuring banked turns and jumps.

The Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBoSC) website enthuses “We are blessed with a multitude of options for riding here in Santa Cruz County.” Additionally they assert, “Santa Cruz County is quickly becoming a bike park mecca.”

These sentiments explain the comments I receive whenever I’m out of town and mention to a new acquaintance that I’m from Santa Cruz. “Santa Cruz is a biking Mecca,” they invariably say whether they are from Orange County or Vermont.

MBoSC, on its own website, identifies over 200 miles of mountain bike routes in or near Santa Cruz at Wilder Ranch, Henry Cowell State Park, UCSC campus, Big Basin, Pogonip, and DeLaveaga Park not counting the miles of new trails to be created in the next few years in the San Vicente Redwoods (former Cemex). This plethora of trails does not count those in Monterey County such as the over 100 miles of trails on Fort Ord National Monument.

MBoSC is a well-funded non-profit with multiple paid staff members and numerous local partners in the bike industry such as Fox Shox, Santa Cruz Bicycles, and Ibis Cycles among others. Santa Cruz Bicycles has donated $500,000 for new trail development in the San Vicente Redwoods area. Some of these trails will be designated for mountain bike use alone.

I am not arguing against mountain biking as a sport or “wholesome family activity.” I am arguing against misrepresentation of the facts. It is critical that decision makers objectively analyze the situation and not be swayed by false claims of paucity of mountain biking trails.

In testimony before the Santa Cruz City Council those lobbying for more mountain biking trails in City parks claimed there are fewer than “40 miles of trails open to cyclists” in Santa Cruz. They derive that number because they don’t count fire roads. Many of those testifying were from out of town.

Despite the bikers’ public testimony, they actually have it pretty good in Santa Cruz—more than pretty good. What is threatened is the peaceful experience and serenity hikers’ desire. Few hikers crave the adrenalin surge of spotting a bike and rider hurtling downhill towards them at 30 mph or more. Officially, the bike rider is supposed to yield to the hiker. How many hikers choose to test this right of way challenge?

Because of such conflicts most hikers have been displaced on trails at Wilder Ranch, the Aptos Creek Fire Road, and the McCrary trail at Pogonip. Indeed, Pogonip and Moore Creek Preserve are part of a dwindling resource for hikers and dog walkers: a place to walk where they don’t have to worry about being run over. The stress is almost unbearable for elderly walkers who just want a quiet stroll in a natural setting.

The fact is the city of Santa Cruz  residents overwhelmingly prefer hiking, running, swimming, surfing, and soccer over mountain biking. A random sample survey of community preferences for fitness, athletic, or sports activities conducted for the City showed that the greatest percent of respondents (37%) preferred hiking or walking. Next came swimming and running at 17% each. Further down on the list after road biking, surfing and soccer was mountain biking at 9%. Despite the many mountain bike opportunities in the Santa Cruz area, mountain bikers want more. That is understandable; it is human nature to want more. They are lobbying the City of Santa Cruz to build additional trails in the Pogonip and at DeLaveaga Park Wilderness.

The City will be studying proposed new trails in our open spaces. If you are concerned about the loss of quiet, natural places for people to walk without fear, sign up for info on Walking in Nature at missionped.org and talk to your Santa Cruz City Council members.

HIGH RISE GAMBLING
Surveying the near empty council chambers at the last Planning Commission meeting for a final vote on the Downtown “Recovery” Plan (DRP), the chair of the Commission declared, “no one here means the community is ready for the Plan and supports it.” A convenient forgetting of the scores of people who have showed up and voiced their opposition to this rezoning of sections of the downtown for future building heights of up to 70 feet abutting the river levee between Soquel and Laurel and up to 85 feet on the west side of Front and between Pacific and Front for selected parcels: such heights way beyond those recommended in the post-earthquake DRP. I attended most of the meetings on this project, including this final one. I can attest that when the topic of building heights was on the agenda, public opposition was vocal and strong and ignored. When the public is ignored, they either get organized and push back or drift away. I was the only person who spoke against the project.

Most commissioners had nothing but praise for the DRP. Commissioner Conway did acknowledge that this “represents a significant change for our town” and “we’ll be counting on talented architects” to make it work. Commissioner Spellman is often the lone voice expressing a modicum of reservation for the overbuilding of Santa Cruz. His cautious critique of the DRP passed into the void, as did the CA Coastal Commission’s concerns, which were reframed by senior planner Ron Powers as “encouraging active uses of the river walk.” The CA Coastal Commission concerns were actually about the height of the buildings and the need for more community serving uses but no mind; this is about selling the private development agenda not communicating the facts.  Tall building heights are no problem, says the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) since we look at things “at eye level”. The EIR also concluded that the increased traffic from the project cannot be mitigated. This inconvenient truth was swept away by a Statement of Overriding Considerations, the means by which significant environmental impacts can be ignored in an EIR if other needs are deemed overriding. Chair Mesiti-Miller, noting that the traffic impacts from the project are unavoidable said, “I rejoice in that. It may get people out of their cars.” A unanimous vote of approval sent the DRP to city council for a meeting and vote on November 14th.

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

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By: Chris Krohn    Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS? WHAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS?
Well, this week is being dubbed, “Affordable Housing Week” by the city of Santa Cruz. So, it’s official, a result of Affordable Housing Crisis Month(s), I guess. It begins this Thursday at the Civic Auditorium. Expect an inside look at our county’s housing crisis from UCSC sociology professor’s, Miriam Greenberg and Steve McKay. They will tell us things like how much people pay to live here (50-70% of their salary), and how many residents live three-to-a-bedroom (27%). The stats won’t be pretty, but then so many Santa Cruzanos live the housing nightmare each day, and having a pair of capable and well-versed academics sum up the pretty dismal Surf City housing scenario may feel like a special salve applied to a particularly nasty gash. They’ve been doing research and employing dozens of undergraduates to walk neighborhoods and collect up data and stories about how people survive here in, arguably the most difficult of housing markets in California. Doors open at 6pm and there will be plenty of organizers, activists, and nonprofits present to offer you opportunities to get involved. Other groups will be present too, representing homeless issues, climate change, and transportation among other themes that directly and indirectly affect our housing market. Greenberg and McKay go on at 7pm.


The face of Homelessness this past Saturday morning on Chestnut Street

Our “Crazy” Police Chief
Well, you may be hearing this for the first time, but our Police Chief, Andy Mills, went and penned an editorial that appeared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. It states that the Santa Cruz Police Department will not issue camping citations between 9pm and 6am.

How crazy is that? Not very. There isn’t any room at the inn, so what he’s done is essentially taken a step back from the abyss of criminalizing people who are homeless, who need a legal place to sleep, and offered them some breathing room. The last homeless count in Santa Cruz was around 1500 and there are not enough shelter beds for even 30% of those experiencing homelessness. Here’s an excerpt from the chief’s Op-Ed:

“From 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. SCPD will not issue camping citations unless there is a complaint by someone in control of that property or some other crime or nuisance behavior is taking place. Instead, the police will turn their focus to finding those stealing out of your yards, cars, and homes during the night. SCPD will pursue them with vigor. I believe we can break the cycle of reactionary homeless policy.”


Drew Glover and his campaign manager, Juliette Lyon in a fun moment this past Sunday (10/15) when Drew hosted a “Campaign 2018” brunch. He’s officially running for Santa Cruz City Council. Go Drew!

That’s a wow! In my 35 years of living in Santa Cruz I’ve never heard a chief of police state such an obvious truth so intelligently and also, compassionately. Now it is up to the city and county to approve the resources to fund the necessary programs, transitional housing, and addition shelter services so desperately needed. Hopefully this stirs the pot a bit and will lead to meaningful change in our community.

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Finally

The Good:  Drew Glover is running for city council in 2018. You can find out more at his Facebook page.

The (sort of) bad:  I counted 58 individuals milling around their tents that were situated on the Benchlands next astride the backside of 701 Ocean Street last Sunday night at around 6:15pm.

The Ugly:  The city council majority appointed their seventh (out of seven), planning commissioners last week. He is Santa Cruz Business Council stand-in and wannabe Real Estate entrepreneur, Robert Singleton. Sandy Brown and I nominated Candace Brown, Faz Faisal and Zav Hershfield to fill the seat, but the majority was having none of it. They wanted all the seats for themselves, I guess. Maybe there are too many renters, tenant’s advocates, sociologists, psychologists and community studies majors already on the commission. Ooooh, it was ugly. As Woodrow Allen’s character, Fielding Mellish once stated (in Bananas), “It’s a travesty of sham of a mockery of a sham of two mockeries…”

Bernie Sanders Quote of the Week
“Trump might be unaware that Puerto Rico is part of the US, but Congress must move as quickly as possible to pass a disaster relief package.” (October 12)

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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.

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By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

TAXPAYERS WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR A SECOND $3 MILLION STOP LIGHT FOR APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT DEVELOPERS????
The County Department of Public Works wants taxpayers to spend nearly $3 million more to help Barry Swenson, Joe Appenrodt, Pete Testorff and other unseen Aptos Village Project developers and have asked the Board of Supervisors for permission to apply for grants to do so from the Regional Transportation Commission.  Item #26 on the October 17 Board Agenda spells out the shocking request, at the expense of other much-needed road improvement projects in Supervisor Zach Friend’s District, such as Freedom Boulevard, San Andreas Road, Trout Gulch Road and Soquel Drive that are absolutely failing in places, but are receiving NO ATTENTION.

Write the Regional Transportation Commission and demand that the $3 MILLION Aptos Creek Traffic Light be dumped from the consideration table completely.  It is time that the Aptos Village Project developers pay for the impacts of their disgusting development that will add 8,000 vehicles/day.

George Donderos, Executive Director gdonderos@sccrtc.org, Luis Mendez, Deputy director lmendez@sccrtc.org, Daniel Nikuna dnikuna@sccrtc.org  Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission, 1523 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 or call 831-460-3215.  The RTC Board meets November 2, 9am, location TBD.  The RTC Budget and Administration Committee meets November 9, 3pm in the County CAO Conference Room (5th Floor) at 701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz.

And don’t forget Second District Supervisor Zach Friend zach.friend@santacruzcounty.us 454-2200 and Dept. of Public Works Director John Presleigh john.presleigh@santacruzcounty.us 454-2160.

“SOMETIMES THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TELLS US TO JUST APPROVE PROJECT PERMITS” EVEN WHEN THERE IS NO PARCEL NUMBER ASSIGNED.
Why did the Santa Cruz County Planning Department issue building permits for Aptos Village Project developers Barry Swenson , Pete Testorff, and Joe Apppenrodt when the permit applications had expired?  (Check the County Planning Department “Permit Status” for APN 041-011-41, 041-011-42 and APN 041-011-51).  That is what I wanted to know last week as the excavators were digging up what could have been remnants of the 1880’s railroad turntable near the historic Bayview Hotel.  The kind lady at the Building Counter had no explanation, and said it was odd.  She asked her supervisor.

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Finally, send good thoughts to all those in the areas of the State continuing to burn that have lost their homes, their lives and for which life will never be the same.  Send thoughts of gratitude for the hundreds of emergency responders working around the clock to protect and serve, and will also be affected by the devastation.

I find myself appreciating the true beauty of our area, and wondering how best to fight and to save it from the Barry Swensons and tax-hungry governments steamrolling zoning changes and ignoring building codes to push through massive San Jose-like developments that will forever change the quality of life as we know it in Santa Cruz County..  Read the story of WHY the non-profit is moving here Nonprofit to move to Santa Cruz Delaware Project, making way for housing downtown  Join me October 19, 6:30pm in front of the Civic Auditorium to protest the Santa Cruz City Council waiving a 15% affordable housing requirement for Barry Swenson’s 79 condos in the five-story building on Pacific Avenue.  Attend the October 26, 6pm “Stop Over-Building Santa Cruz” at 411 Roxas St. in Santa Cruz. Do you think it is a good sign that Robert Singleton, a young aggressive pro-development-at-any-cost person just got appointed to the Santa Cruz City Planning Commission?

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.

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By: Gary Patton    Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com


#286 / Better Living … Without Chemistry

(Photo by Shmuel Thaler)

When I was growing up, the DuPont Corporation told us we could achieve “Better Living…Through Chemistry.” That was sort of like the statement in The Graduate, advising that “plastics” was the “one word” that would open up a positive future for all aspiring young people, and for the nation at large. Chemistry and “plastics” definitely do go together.

As time went on, I became deeply skeptical about “plastics,” and chemistry, and about all “synthetics,” as the way forward to a better living or a better future.
A few weeks ago, in an article in my local paper, I learned that strawberry growers have discovered a “natural fumigation” technique, eliminating the need for methyl bromide and other synthetic chemicals dangerous to all life. The article is worth reading.

Isn’t it time that we abandon our quest to build a “synthetic” world, and realize that our lives will be better without chemistry?
I’m pleased to find that this is what local strawberry farmers are starting to understand”.

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

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CLASSICAL DeCINZO. “Cyclist’s Mecca”..see DeCinzo’s true view of the scene just scroll below.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s ” Ducking The Issue” 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. This free concert series happens the third Thursday of every month in the upstairs meeting room of the threatened Santa Cruz Main Library. This Thursday  October 19th Daniel Lewin, solo violin plays Johann Sebastien Bach’s  Violin Sonata No. 3 in C major, (BWV 1005) Adagio Fuga Largo Allegro Assai. That happens at 12:10 p.m.

SANTA CRUZ CHAMBER PLAYERS START NEW SEASON. On Saturday and Sunday Oct. 21 and 22nd,MUSA the Bay Area ensemble Presents “Smörgåsbord Baroque”
Music by Antonio de Salazar, Teodorico Pedrini, Georg Philipp Telemann, and more

Derek Tam, concert director and haprsicord, Cynthia Black and Addi Liu, Baroque violins and Gretchen Claasen, Baroque violoncello.

“Smörgåsbord Baroque” features Baroque and Classical music from unexpected places! From the imperial Chinese court to the cathedrals of Guatemala, composers drew from European and indigenous sources to create music that dynamically captured the first wave of globalization from the 16th through 18th centuries.

That’s Saturday, October 21, 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 22, 3:00 pm at the Christ Lutheran Church 10707 Soquel Dr. Aptos, CA. Tickets just maybe at the door or… http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3094600

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “What separates a big red tomato from a (dreaded) splat over at Rotten Tomatoes? Find out this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). And celebrate the upcoming publication of Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge (coming in 2018) with another beauteous Beast of the Month!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

LOVING VINCENT. The first movie ever to have been made with 1000’s of oil paintings to create animation of Vincent Van Gogh’s life and questionable murder or suicide. You’ll see dozens of his and your most favorite Van Gogh paintings  “come to life” plus an intriguing story line. The animation is so good that fans (I’m one) of PBS”s Masterpiece Theatre Poldark series will recognize Eleanor Tomlinson (Demelza) playing Adeline Ravoux in this absolutely beautiful film. It has a 77 Rotten Tomato rating! See it ASAP Landmark doesn’t keep masterpieces very long unless audiences show up the first week.

MARSHALL. It almost takes us back to Raymond Burr and  his role as Lawyer Hamilton Berger in the Perry Mason 1957TV series …it’s a courtroom drama. More importantly it’s based on an early case that Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall handled for the NAACP in Connecticut. You’ll recognize Kate Hudson as the “victim” and James Cromwell as the racist judge. Fine story, good cast, not the most memorable film in history but you’ll like it.

BLADE RUNNER 2049. Denis Villeneuve directed this sequel with advice from Ridley Scott and it has many hidden plot lines from the original (try to see it before you see 2049)…it’s an unique addition to science fiction films. Dystopian is the very overused word describing a disaster based future. This film again has Los Angeles really transfigured…and even darker and more devastated and bleak than the first one which was set in LA 2019. Ryan Gosling carries the entire story, with Robin Wright and Harrison Ford doing fine acting jobs too. I have rarely, if ever, seen or felt a theatre audience so still-so hypnotized-awed-puzzled-and silent as the one I joined last week. I’ve seen it 2 1/2 times now… it needs two viewings on as large a screen as possible because the photography is so impressive and important.

VICTORIA & ABDUL. Almost everyone knows that Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria in this cute, warm, cuddly feel good movie. Eddie Izzard plays the Prince of Wales ( Edward VII), but you won’t recognize him. I didn’t, and I’m a big fan of Izzards. Stephen Frears directed it. He did My Beautiful Launderette, Prick Up your Ears, Philomena and some more great films but this isn’t in that category. Aside from the cuteness, it ignores the cruelty of the British rule over India during the almost 30 years.

MOTHER. An excellent, genius- directed, absolutely intelligent plot, best-acted…what more can you ask from a movie?? Jennifer Lawrence, plus two  of my favorite actors Javier Bardem and Ed Harris, Brian Gleeson, and a darker Michelle Pfeiffer make a perfect cast for this challenging film. Not a scary, boo-type, odd, weird, what’s that?, cellar stairs type of film. It’s more like “what is going on”, “I can’t imagine what’s happening next kind of film, Directed by Darren Aronofsky, it’s a winner, and you’ll remember seeing it. So go. RT calls it a “psychological thriller” I agree.

BATTLE OF THE SEXES. Billie Jean King plays against Bobby Riggs in this easy going tennis and sex movie. Billie Jean has an internal battle with her own sex, which adds a deeper and more involved plot than the 1973 match which we’ve all been reading up on or remember from those days. Emma Stone reputedly the highest star in the world acts perfectly with Steve Carrell and the movie is a guaranteed hit with everybody. I didn’t recognize Sarah Silverman as the women’s coach because she wears sunglasses all through the movie. I liked Little Miss Sunshine better.

IT. This broke all box office records last weekend when IT opened…and IT should have. IT is a well made, very scary movie. Based on some Stephen King books, IT is chapter one of a two part nightmare- daydream that will grab you when you are least prepared to be scared. It has all the clichés…BUT it’s got tension, mystery, and perfect timing along with excellent acting. Just go see IT but only if you truly enjoy being scared. 86 on RT.

AMERICAN MADE. It is NOT another dopey, violent Tom Cruise superhuman action flick. This one is based on an unbelievable probably half true story about a guy who becomes an international drug runner then gets involved illegally with our CIA and the Iran Contra affair that almost got President Ronnie R. evicted. It’s probably Scientology that gives Tom Cruise that certain extra something…and I have to admit I like watching the buy. 87 on RT.

KINGSMEN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. I wished I’d remembered that this part 2 of an ongoing series comes from comic books. The entire movie looks like an animated cartoon. It’s violent, murderous, and plain goofy. Elton John plays himself and there’s a warning right there. To watch such good actors as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and especially Colin Firth jump around for their million dollar salaries is embarrassing.

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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. Gary Patton gives info and background on the Save Santa Cruz Organization on Oct.17. Also on the 17th Sheila Carrillo and Muna Alsheikh from The Muslim Solidarity Group (part of Santa Cruz Sanctuary) will talk about their aims, goals, and issues. City on A Hill editors in chief Nicolette Nodine and Michael Kushner talk about their publications.  The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. 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

The very best part of this is the last minute and 15 seconds.

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. ‘FOREST FIRES’

“She was beautiful, but she was beautiful in the way a forest fire was beautiful”, Neil Gaiman
“Among the environmental trends undermining our future are shrinking forests, expanding deserts, falling water tables, collapsing fisheries, disappearing species, and rising temperatures. The temperature increases bring crop-withering heat waves, more-destructive storms, more-intense droughts, more forest fires, and, of course, ice melting. We are crossing natural thresholds that we cannot see and violating deadlines that we do not recognize”. Lester R. Brown
“No time to grieve for roses when the forests are burning”, Zbigniew Herbert  
Read this next one twice…
“The forest fires are the worst disaster in California since I was elected”, Arnold Schwarzenegger

COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
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

BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

October 10 – 16, 2017

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Bruce
Highlights this week:
ICE Raids here?, Homeless UCSC students hiding?, Voting for Mayor, Abbott Square Fountain distruction, County Jail volunteers quit, Community TV getting worse, I NEED A CAR …Greensite on the rail/trail environmental review …Krohn about loaded City Council agenda, future of City Manager, Homeless Task Force, going to Texas…Steinbruner reports that State Historic Preservation  Staff says, “Santa Cruz County Is A Black Hole for Historic Preservation“, Bulldozing Hirahara Barn, Swenson and Pacific hole condos get affordable units requirement waived by City Council, still no building permits at Rancho Del Mar, fees charged at Privates Beach just like Martin’s Beach issue ?…Gary Patton and “The Low Road” poem…DeCinzo and our Earthquake’s 28th anniversary…Jensen reviews Blade Runner 2049…I critique Blade Runner 2049 and Victoria & Abdul…Quotes about Earthquakes.  

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Norman Lezin addressing a “Civil Rights Sympathy” demonstration in front of The City Hall on March 13, 1965. Norm was formerly Chairman of the Board of Directors of Salz Leathers and Salz Tannery. Salz closed in 2001. The leather industry was one of Santa Cruz County’s most important businesses. Norm was our Mayor 1964-1965 and he was one of the few Democrats in the area back then 😉 !!                                                  
    
photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
Make your own Halloween decorations!
Today I found out… This is a great show on Youtube – this episode is about why some people sneeze from the sun.
They don’t make ’em like this anymore…

DATELINE October 9, 2017

OCTAGON & MAH MUSINGS. As I mentioned in the last two weeks I’m now back to sitting in front of the once meaningful Octagon building two or three afternoons per week. Folks ask and tell me all sorts of things. For example will there be more ICE Raids in Santa Cruz as Trump has now amped up DACA? Will our City Council take any stand on ICE Raids? What’s going to happen with that huge “homeless recommendations list” survey the City did about homeless? Is it just a council hype job? What about all the UCSC Students who are homeless…where and when are they entered into the statistics?  Any chance there will ever be another push to have rent control put on our ballots? Any possibility of us ever actually voting for the mayor position in Santa Cruz instead of the City Council choosing among themselves?

ABBOTT SQUARE FOUNTAIN. Long time friend Nick Royal emailed me and asked … in the little courtyard (now eating places) was a nice fountain by Alan Counahan.  I wonder if it still exists, some place? I liked it”.  Nick added that he knows Alan and his wife Gypsy who now live in Ireland.

MAH’s Nina Simon replied…”I met directly with Alan onsite regarding the fountain in 2014 and he agreed that it could and probably should be removed. Because it was poured in place, it was not easily moveable to another site – all but the central column would have been irreplaceable. We did actively pursue the possibility of recreating it with several other sites around the county, but ultimately, no one wanted to do that heavy reconstruction. 

Alan preferred for it to be destroyed rather than re-sited as he saw it as a site-specific piece. It was a few years ago, so I don’t remember his precise words, but Alan said something lovely about the idea that the fountain was built to commemorate an important time around the Earthquake, and that now downtown was in a new phase, a new time, time to move on… something like that.  

VOLUNTEERS AT THE COUNTY JAIL

Rick Longinotti stopped by the Octagon Platz to tell us that he and the Roman Catholic group of volunteers have stopped counseling, and helping at the County Jail because the officials tried to force them to sign a form freeing the County from any problems the inmates might either cause or be the result of. In a letter to the County he wrote…”I’m hoping that the County really doesn’t expect its jail volunteers to take responsibility for any damage that the inmates might do to one another while they are in our groups. Could you please ask the Sheriff Dept. to edit out the following paragraph in the waiver and I’ll be happy to sign it?

“I further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend the County, its officers, agents, employees, and volunteers from any and all claims, demands, actions, judgments, costs, attorney’s fees and damages of any kind for liability which the County may incur arising out of or in any manner related to the performance of voluntary service

He added…”The Catholics still aren’t going to the jail and it’s been six months since they raised their objection. See the Sentinel article here.

COMMUNITY TELEVISION & CLASSICAL ARTS? Far too many friends and locals are wondering what’s happened to our Community Television Station. Yes, it still runs the local meetings and Amy Goodman but what happened to Classical Arts ? It was the only cultural saving grace we’ve been able to enjoy over the years of cutbacks. The last on screen notice was that “Classical Arts no longer links to Dish Television” but CTV isn’t a Dish owned station. And of course we get the exact same daily movies over and over…what’s really happening at CTV? Why are they so bad at communicating? Why aren’t they more public?

HAPPY “WHAT” DAY? We must all be aware of the ethnic divisions in celebrating Columbus Day. Read this illuminating story from The Nation on how it all came about. I never knew… The Invention of Christopher Columbus, American Hero. From The Nation. Oct. 9, 2017

APOLOGY ABOUT EDITING. Mea Culpa all over the place. Last week’s BrattonOnline had way more than the usual errors, misspellings and goofs. I wish there was time each Monday morning to have some editor go over all the words that come flying in. Back in the day I had a few really great, supportive editors. Tom Honig, Buzz Bezore and Rob Pratt were the most memorable. Many errors are also due to lousy linking between Mac and PC. For example the 26 actual pages that made up last week’s edition took way more nerves and naps to produce…thanks for bearing with me, it and us all these years. [Webmistress adds: Mea culpa as well! I’ve had less time to edit – I used to do much more of it, and I’ll try to get back to it!]

I NEED A CAR. Over the more than 42 years that I’ve been writing a weekly column (12 of them online) I’ve posted a “car wanted plea” three times and each time it worked wonderfully. What I need is not an “affordable” car but “middle to low income” priced car. Also each time I’ve asked through this column many folks think that everyone else will respond…they don’t!!! I need you or any friend of yours who wants to sell a car to email me at bratton@cruzio.com and we’ll talk it over. Please??

TALL TALES AND RAIL~TRAILS
Until last Thursday, I hadn’t paid close attention to the controversial rail/trail project beyond the knowledge that some strongly support both rail and trail and some strongly support only the trail. Arguments seem persuasive on both sides.

When I read that the environmental review for Phase 1 of Segment 7 of this 32-mile  project, the 1.36 mile section from Natural Bridges to Bay and California Streets was on the October 5th Planning Commission agenda, I thought it wise to take a closer look. The city has a poor track record with environmental reviews or lack thereof. It took a lawsuit to convince the city that yes, if it was going to weaken its Heritage Tree Ordinance it needed to conduct an environmental review and its claims of CEQA exemption were unfounded. It took 2500 petition signers and a letter from an attorney to convince the city that an EIR was needed to adequately assess the environmental impact of changes proposed for the Municipal Wharf under the Wharf Master Plan. So I was keen to read and spot any inadequacies in the environmental documents for this segment of the rail/trail project. It did not take long.

The plan is to construct a 4.5 feet tall safety fence to separate the trail from the rail. It is to be made of steel posts and wire with the lowest rung 6 inches above grade. A friend commented that such a fence would be a disaster for animal migration, including skunks, coyotes, possums and the occasional deer on the far west side. With that in mind I was surprised to read under Section IV: Biological Resources on page 3-22 of the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) that: “The Project is located within an urban area and there are no wildlife corridors within the Project area.” Anyone living for a while on the lower Westside knows that’s not true. The MND follows that misstatement with: “Arroyo Seco and Neary Lagoon are not wildlife corridors for migratory fish species.” That’s true. It’s called Arroyo SECO for a reason. What about other species using the supposedly non-existent wildlife corridors? Not mentioned.

Such sloppy environmental review was sufficient to get me to the meeting. The room was crowded with the opposing camps of trail only defenders and rail/trail defenders. One fact is obvious. The rail/trail proponents or at least the many who wrote emails and those who attended the meeting have no interest in potential environmental impacts to animals or the loss of 25 trees due to the project. They applauded the MND and urged swift approval. The trail only proponents expressed concern regarding trees and used that issue to support the trail only option, which minimizes tree loss. No one mentioned animal corridors. When it was my turn to speak, I pointed out the incorrect entry regarding animal corridors. The planner in charge of the project shook his head as I was speaking. I hate when they do that. It’s a signal to other staff and commissioners that the speaker is wrong and is misquoting, which in this case was not true. Despite that tactic, when commissioners deliberated after public comment, three of them expressed concern regarding animal corridors and the impact of the linear fence. While they unanimously approved the project, one asked for that issue to be better addressed in the MND. We’ll see how that is handled when the MND goes to council.

Personally, this closer examination of the project has raised red flags. The 32 miles of the rail line from Davenport to Watsonville bisects many animal corridors, especially in the open space areas. A continuous steel fence running that distance should be of concern for animal migration. Besides that, many areas along the rail are lined with groves of trees providing immense habitat value. If you sight along the tracks in some places, to accommodate the widened rail/trail, all trees will be removed. Many are Monarch butterflies overwintering sites whether designated or not. At the Monarch Festival at Natural Bridges on Sunday, October 9th, the lead interpreter noted not only the decline of this iconic species but underscored the need to “help with trees on the coast and conserve tree groves” if we are to share a future with Monarch butterflies. How will further environmental reviews of the rail/trail handle this dilemma?

An environmental review manipulated to promote a project needs to be called out, whatever side of the issue you support. Otherwise such review is meaningless. In the long run we all lose… butterflies, trees, animals and ourselves.

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.

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By: Chris Krohn    Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

Filled with riddle, mystery. and enigma

“It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, but perhaps there is a key.”
–Winston Churchill referring to Russia, but perhaps he could’ve been talking about how the issue of homelessness is addressed in the City of Santa Cruz


Vice Mayor David Terrazas and Council member Chris Krohn cycling through the streets of Houston on a bike-share program. The Santa Cruz version of bike share starts this spring.

City Council Agendas
If you throw in the Parks Master Plan, the report on Short Term Vacation Rentals and its dozens of resident emails, and the “2017 Homelessness Recommendations” list, this city council agenda is well over 1000 pages! Whaaaat! It’s true. You receive the agenda on Thursday night and, voila, by Tuesday morning at 11:30am you have totally digested it, or not…and that’s after the daughter’s Saturday soccer game, a 3-hour council steering committee panel of village elders meeting, a Friday night date with spouse, and of course, the usual Monday meeting with department heads, city attorney and city manager mad-dash…it ain’t pretty, but I know what you are thinking. This is why they pay us the big bucks, about $1500 take home pay each month. I can live with it, but it doesn’t necessarily assuage those self-inflicted guilty feelings of not getting the job done.

But Why?
Why are council agendas so hefty at certain times of the year? We’ve had so many off-Tuesday night meetings cancelled, and at the twice monthly official meeting there’s often been no 7 o’clock session. Why so much on this one agenda? Poor planning? Staff necessities? Is it a chess game–overload councilmembers when you want to get something through? Is the word out? Or is it simply that the city doesn’t sleep, so get used to it rookie!? Okay, the council was able to pivot somewhat and meet this past Monday in closed session for two hours to discuss the future of the city manager. It was the only thing on the agenda. So, it is possible for the council to meet and mediate the work load, sometimes. Is it possible to meet on all the off-Tuesday council meeting nights and take up an issue like homelessness or housing, or a combination of the two…and actually make some decisions? And, how about meeting in a different neighborhood each of those off-Tuesdays? You know, bring the city council to the people similar to the Mayor’s valiant efforts of holding “City Hall to You” meetings in different parts of the city. Why not go the distance and hold an “official council meeting” on the Westside to discuss, and decide upon, an aspect of university growth? Or meet on the eastside to debate the final fate of the “Corridors Plan?” Or meet in any neighborhood and discuss homelessness and what is to be done?

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

Bernie Quote of the Week
“Despite the Trump administration’s destructive efforts, we will not stop fighting for women’s rights and full reproductive justice.” (Oct. 6)

~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.

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By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY PLANNING DEPT. WANTS TO BULLDOZE HISTORIC REDMAN-HIRAHARA BARN IN WATSONVILLE.

“You have legal ability to require the barn be re-built rather than demolished.  You do not have to be the beggars at the table here,” local historian Mr. Ross Gibson wisely told the County Historic Resources Commission at their October 2 meeting.  His sage words went unheeded.

Here is the video of that disgusting County Historic Resources Commission meeting last week.

Last week’s County Historic Resources Commission meeting was a real eye-opener.  Assistant Planning Director Wanda Williams insisted the wooden barn (built around 1900) next to the Nationally-Registered Redman-Hirahara house on Lee Road in Watsonville has no significance and in fact, informed the Commission that an over-the-counter demolition permit is in the works  This was a visible shock to the Commissioners, especially Ms. Carolyn Swift, who was aware of the 2010 archaeologist report recommending the barn also be placed on the National Historic Registry because of the incredible significance the barn played in housing many Japanese-American families returning to the area after forced incarceration during World War II.  Luckily for the Hirahara family, their neighbors had paid the taxes on their farm while they were imprisoned, but many other families were not so lucky.  The barn housed them until they could get re-established.

The Santa Cruz County Planning Director, Ms. Kathy Previsich, could care less.  Neither her Assistant, Wanda Williams, nor the Historic Resources Special Projects Planner, Annie Murphy were willing to acknowledge the importance of the barn, the significance of the 2010 archaeologist report or the blunder on the part of the Planning Dept. to follow through with the National Registry designation  when it was professionally recommended.  Instead, without notifying the Historic Resources Commission, staff is working diligently with the owner/developer Tut Family and Elite Developers to finish knocking the barn down, splintering the wood and any possible artifacts, and sending it all down the road to the dump.  And gee, wouldn’t it all be a shame if the demolition crew accidentally backed the dozer into the house?  That pesky historic house is in the way of a profitable new hotel or two, just like what is currently in the works on their other parcel across the road.  At the behest of Commissioner Swift, the Planning Dept. staff will ASK the developers if the Commissioners could be notified of the demolition date so as to possibly be present with archaeologists to retrieve historic morsels from the wreckage. 

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

COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS CLOSING APTOS VILLAGE TRAFFIC TO ONE LANE THROUGH DECEMBER, 2017.
The massive storm damage to Soquel Drive just at the underpass entering the Aptos Village will be repaired, beginning this week.  That has been a worry to many, and the FEMA repair will be welcome.  What will make it all a challenge for the area’s residents and businesses is the closure to one-lane of traffic until December 15.  That is in addition to the nightmare already in progress, for which there is little public information, in the taxpayer-funded County Phase I work to benefit the Aptos Village Project developers (http://aptosvillageimprovement.blogspot.com/)  AND the mess on Trout Gulch Road, Cathedral Drive and Aptos Creek Road that Barry Swenson Builder is creating, with absolutely no public information. 

Please contact Supervisor Zach Friend and let him know your thoughts.  He loves to hear from you.

831-454-2200,  Zach Friend zach.friend@santacruzcounty.us

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).

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By: Gary Patton    Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

#282 / When It Starts

The Sun magazine, which I have recently discovered, and which I find remarkable, has printed “The Low Road,” by Marge Piercy, in its October 2017 edition. 

The following is almost the whole poem, but I am ending where I have often said, in this blog, we must all begin. Marge Piercy says it more powerfully. She says it better than I ever could:

“The Low Road”

What can they do 
to you? Whatever they want. 
They can set you up, they can 
bust you, they can break 
your fingers, they can 
burn your brain with electricity, 
blur you with drugs till you 
can’t walk, can’t remember, they can 
take your child, wall up 
your lover. They can do anything
you can’t stop them 
from doing. How can you stop 
them? Alone, you can fight, 
you can refuse, you can 
take what revenge you can 
but they roll over you. 

But two people fighting 
back to back can cut through 
a mob, a snake-dancing file 
can break a cordon, an army 
can meet an army. 
Two people can keep each other 
sane, can give support, conviction, 
love, massage, hope, sex. 
Three people are a delegation, 
a committee, a wedge. With four 
you can play bridge and start 
an organization. With six 
you can rent a whole house, 
eat pie for dinner with no 
seconds, and hold a fund-raising party. 
A dozen make a demonstration. 
A hundred fill a hall. 
A thousand have solidarity and your own newsletter; 
ten thousand, power and your own paper; 
a hundred thousand, your own media; 
ten million, your own country. 

It goes on one at a time, 
it starts when you care 
to act, it starts when you do 
it again after they said no, 
it starts when you say We …

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

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CLASSICAL DeCINZO. See and appreciate DeCinzo’s very serious 1989 earthquake vision just a few scrolls downward.The earthquake happened October 17, 1989 at 5:04 pm.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s ” Worshipping What?” 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….with some “Dotard” concepts.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Catch up with one of Santa Cruz’s most beloved Open Studios artists this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). And life is still mysterious for human and replicant alike in the thoughtful 30-years-late sequel, Blade Runner 2049.” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

BLADE RUNNER 2049. Denis Villeneuve directed this sequel and it has very little visually or plot wise in the way of continuity…it’s an unique addition to science fiction films. Dystopian is the very overused word describing a disaster based future. This film has Los Angeles really transfigured…and terrible. Ryan Gosling carries the entire story, with Robin Wright and Harrison Ford doing fine acting jobs too. I have rarely, if ever,seen or felt a theatre audience so still-hypnotized-awed-puzzled-and silent as the one I joined last week. I’m going again, it needs two viewings on as large a screen as possible.

VICTORIA & ABDUL. Almost everyone knows that Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria in this cute, warm, cuddly feel good movie. Eddie Izzard plays the Prince of Wales ( Edward VII), but you won’t recognize him. I didn’t, and I’m a big fan of Izzards. Stephen Frears directed it. He did My Beautiful Launderette, Prick Up your Ears, Philomena and some more great films but this isn’t in that category. Aside from the cuteness, it ignores the cruelty of the British rule over India during the almost 30 years.

MOTHER. An excellent, genius- directed, absolutely intelligent plot, best-acted…what more can you ask from a movie?? Jennifer Lawrence, plus two  of my favorite actors Javier Bardem and Ed Harris, Brian Gleeson, and a darker Michelle Pfeiffer make a perfect cast for this challenging film. Not a scary, boo-type, odd, weird, what’s that?, cellar stairs type of film. It’s more like “what is going on”, “I can’t imagine what’s happening next kind of film, Directed by Darren Aronofsky it’s a winner, and you’ll remember seeing it. So go. RT calls it a “psychological thriller” I agree.

BATTLE OF THE SEXES. Billie Jean King plays against Bobby Riggs in this easy going tennis and sex movie. Billie Jean has an internal battle with her own sex, which adds a deeper and more involved plot than the 1973 match which we’ve all been reading up on or remember from those days. Emma Stone reputedly the highest star in the world acts perfectly with Steve Carrell and the movie is a guaranteed hit with everybody. I didn’t recognize Sarah Silverman as the women’s coach because she wears sunglasses all through the movie. I liked Little Miss Sunshine better.

This broke all box office records last weekend when IT opened…and IT should have. IT is a well made, very scary movie. Based on some Stephen King books, IT is chapter one of a two part nightmare- daydream that will grab you when you are least prepared to be scared. It has all the clichés…BUT it’s got tension, mystery, and perfect timing along with excellent acting. Just go see IT but only if you truly enjoy being scared. 86 on RT.

AMERICAN MADE. It is NOT another dopey, violent Tom Cruise superhuman action flick. This one is based on an unbelievable probably half true story about a guy who becomes an international drug runner then gets involved illegally with our CIA and the Iran Contra affair that almost got President Ronnie R. evicted. It’s probably Scientology that gives Tom Cruise that certain extra something…and I have to admit I like watching the buy. 87 on RT.

KINGSMEN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. I wished I’d remembered that this part 2 of an ongoing series comes from comic books. The entire movie looks like an animated cartoon. It’s violent, murderous, and plain goofy. Elton John plays himself and there’s a warning right there. To watch such good actors as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and especially Colin Firth jump around for their million dollar salaries is embarrassing.

FLATLINERS. Ellen Page who looks like she’s about 18 and is really 30 has the lead in this potentially interesting but terrible mess of a movie. She and some fellow Med students try flatlining (killing) themselves then bringing each other back to life a minute or two later. They have death visions, the equipment fails, they chicken out, and they suffer night and day- mares. But IF there was a director (;-) he or she completely blew it. Don’t go…you won’t be able to make any sense of it either. ENDS THURSDAY OCTOBER12.

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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. On October 10 Phyllis Rosenblum discusses the Santa Cruz Chamber Players 2017-18 season. Following Phyllis, Katie Hansen and Sierra Ryan two of the authors of the new MAH book Harvesting Our Heritage will discuss our County crop history. Gary Patton gives info and background on the Save Santa Cruz Organization on Oct.17. Also on the 17th The Muslim Solidarity Group (part of Santa Cruz Sanctuary) will talk about their aims, goals, and issues.  The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. 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

Tutorials are one of the best things about Youtube, for reals!

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  

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.              “EARTHQUAKES”

“Playing polo is like trying to play golf during an earthquake”, Sylvester Stallone
“The safest place to be during an earthquake would be in a stationary store.”
George Carlin,
“The earthquake, however, must be to every one a most impressive event: the earth, considered from our earliest childhood as the type of solidity, has oscillated like a thin crust beneath our feet; and in seeing the laboured works of man in a moment overthrown, we feel the insignificance of his boasted power.” Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle
“Southern Californians freak out when it rains, yet when there’s an earthquake they’re like ‘pass the salt”, Gregor Collins,
“An earthquake is such fun when it is over“, George Orwell, Burmese Days

COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

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

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

October 3 – 9, 2017

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Bruce
Highlights this week:
Read about Garfield Park Circle Church sale being fishy, Abbott Square and more news re Octagon changes, Buffalo Bill’s visits to Santa Cruz, Wilder Ranch & S.F. Chronicle…Carmella Weintraub about The Spirit of Santa Cruz…Greensite on rape rendered invisible in local crime stats…Krohn (from Texas) about Sanctuary State, ICE Raids, Bail schedule, planned development loopholes, Quality of Life Plan, rent control, moratorium on UCSC growth…Steinbruner writes on Rancho Del Mar’s sad day, Supe Zach Friend not helping businesses, cannabis growing and manufacturing problems, “Affordable” housing & Barry Swenson, Sentinel avoids reporting on Trump’s Mexico wall…Patton and our history lessons…Eagan and the jerking of the knee…DeCinzo and KSCO history…Jensen and Battle of The Sexes…I critique American Made, Battle of the Sexes, Flatliners, and Woodshock…Quotes on Puerto Rico.

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“Buffalo Bill Cody in parade on Pacific Ave. between Lincoln Street and Cathcart…Friday May 7, 1915”. With Buffalo Bill is his sister Mrs. Lydia Goulding who lived on Seabright Avenue. He visited here here in 1910, April 18,1914  and the above in 1915, his last visit, he died January 10, 1917.                                                  
    
photo credit: photo and Buffalo Bill data courtesy of David Terrazas

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
BILLIE JEAN KING TODAY. A foolish interview, but we get to see what she looks like after all these years
SANTA CRUZ CLIFF JUMPING. Looks familiar…like maybe I ran this before??? AND it’s still thrilling!!!
This enthusiastic British girl tells us a few things that are neat about Santa Cruz.

DATELINE Oct. 2, 2017

GARFIELD CIRCLE CHURCH SALE. “Something’s fishy about the sale of the Garfield Park Christian Circle Church” is what I heard over and over again from some residents who live in and on the circle street (Errett) that surrounds the church. Why was the selling price so far below the market value? It sold, and is in escrow for a listed price of $2,995,000. Who bought it?  Is there a brewery owner involved in the sale and purchase? Where is the money going from the sale? Why are they ripping out the church pews? Many complaints from the treatment of the community from Pastor Steve’s time as head guy to Christopher Drury who runs it now. There was no debt on the building,  the neighbors say. It had wide community use by all sorts of groups, now available times are severally limited. Why the new paint job on the church since it was only five years since the last one? There are more questions and because this is such a prime piece of Santa Cruz community and such a piece of our history…these questions and many more need answering, and more publicity shed on this sad  Drury dilemma.

NINA SIMON ON OCTAGON AND MAH CHANGES. I mentioned last week that I’m back sitting in front of The Octagon a few random hours each week. It’s great…folks stop by and give me all sorts of topics, secrets, and ideas for BrattonOnline. I also get plenty of questions about the changes that MAH and Nina Simon made to “the MAH-ABBOTT neighborhood” In answer to my query to her about what happened to the huge black letter M that stood next to the red ball at the corner of Cooper and Front Street she replied…”When we designed and built the new deck wrapping around the corner, we wanted to invite people to easily hang out and people-watch from there. We also wanted to make the deck as big as possible. We found a way for the ball – which is iconic to the site and beloved by many – to remain. But not the M. It was removed as part of the project”. In answer to even more questions about what’s going into the Octagon itself she emailed…” The Octagon is leased as part of Abbott Square Market and it is my understanding that they are actively developing it with local chefs, to open in 2018″. As it happened after her reply I asked two guys working inside the Octagon…they said that TWO locally owned restaurants will be opening in there by (next month) November!! I guess we’ll wait and see.

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BUFFALO BILL AND SANTA CRUZ VISITS. David Terrazas and I got to talking (not about politics!!!)  about Buffalo Bill (William F. Cody) and his visits to his Santa Cruz sisters. I’d never seen or heard about Bill visiting here…and had never seen any local photos…or knew that he was one of seven children. Sophia M. Decker and Lydia Goudling were his Santa Cruz sisters. Sophia died here at her sister’s home on Seabright avenue. David  T. also had the library print copies of his PEERLESS PAGEANT OF PLEASURE appearing at the Liebrandt Circus Grounds. His Sells-Floto Circus featured “his Indians, Zora Bravest woman in the world, Ranch Girls, and Beasts of the Jungle performed by MME. Ricardo and Captain Dutch. Before all of that happened they would stage a Circus Parade two miles long!!!  

WILDER RANCH HISTORY AND THE S.F. CHRONICLE. Tom Stienstra in his OUTDOORS column for the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, September 28 wrote a great piece about Wilder Ranch State Park. He titled it “A Hidden Gem for Bikers and Hikers”.

He describes not just the scope of the park but the protocol for hikers, horse people and mountain bikers. That is bikers give way to hikers and equestrians; hikers give way to horses. He repeats Ranger conversations and it’s all very nice BUT never once does he or any ranger tell of the huge battle and victory we locals had in fighting the development of 10,000 homes there. No mention of the $121,000,000 lawsuit that Bob Bosso and The Hollywood Turf Club that he represented slammed on us that we had to fight (we won). That battle against development was significant. I wrote Stienstra about all of it. We should wonder now what would our City Council or Board of Supes do today if Apple, Microsoft, Google wanted to build the equivalent of 10,000 homes here…like a Silicon Beach Ranch or some such monstrosity??

THE SPIRIT OF SANTA CRUZ by CARMELLA WEINTRAUB. My decade’s long- time friend Carmella Weintraub wrote this piece and sent it to Gary Patton and me. Carmella is a long time Santa Cruzan, mother and designer. Gary ran it on Facebook and I want to share it with all of you here. It’s so well written and covers the beliefs and feelings so many of us have. Don’t miss it…read it all…

“SAVING THE SOUL OF SANTA CRUZ”

Carmella Weintraub

It is said that the soul of a place is the sum total of the essence of its highest ideals and should be an expression of its commitment to the good, the true and the beautiful. This quality of soul comes only after the evolution through phases of its development, some of which is challenging and some a natural progress. Then, on both the personality level and the cultural level, integration comes and the soul essence solidifies into a clear and palpable sense of integrity and direction. After facing many changes and challenges in the last 25 years, I feel the soul of Santa Cruz in on the line and I want respectfully offer my perspective.

I came to Santa Cruz in 1969, the year of the Woodstock Festival, an event that heralded the arrival and growing strength of the counterculture and the beginning of the Aquarian Age. This coincided with my serendipitous landing in a town that seemed on the verge of virtually living the values of that time.  I must say, I resonated. The energy here was so positive and real.

The town, which I had known since the 1940’s – my great aunt and uncle lived in Paradise Park – had not changed that much since that time. It was still a sleepy little burg, full of senior citizens, retirees in their quaint little one of a kind cottages and students and faculty of the newly minted University and a main drag that sported some nice stores, Leasks and the Morris Abrams store in addition to the Cooper House and numerous small businesses.  

I found a city that was bordered on one side by the Pacific Ocean and on the other by giant redwood forests. Between these was a magical strip, which included many charming homes and multiple historic public buildings, built between the Victorian age and the 1950’s.  In addition, there was a huge amusement part called the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, an iconic symbol of the natural and playful part of human nature. The City on the Hill, the University community, overlooked this whole picture. The arts community, music and entertainment and surfers, boaters and colorful hippies rounded out the palpable spirit of Santa Cruz.

How could one go wrong?  Unparalleled pristine beauty, intelligence on the hill and creative energy all around.  How could one resist all of that?  I moved here.  I was 30 years old, give or take a few, and made a life here, knowing this place was special. Finding a job in social services saved me from living on the edge in a place without a huge economic base to support its populace.

The scene blossomed in the 1970’s, in the middle of some awesome cultural institutions, both of the Catalysts (old and new), the Cooper House, with live music and dancing by Ginger, Bookshop Santa Cruz, The Teacup Restaurant, the annual Spring Fair and lots and lots of live music groups, art and literary groups.  People “owned” the town. Pacific Ave. was turned into the Pacific Garden Mall in 1968 (originally called Downtown Oasis) a plan inspired by Chuck and Esther Abbott.

The mall was basically a non-stop party of music, mirth and exchange of ideas and provided a place where town residents started to mix with University students and their professors, several of whom held forth at the Pergolesi coffee shop behind Bookshop Santa Cruz to lead a weekly forum of the latest ideological point of view. Hanging out at Logos book store was the pastime du Jour. People were out in droves to see and be seen, to enjoy Don McCaslin, the Brothers Karamozov and to enjoy the radically individualistic social scene that was fueled by the general zeitgeist of the times. Tom Noddy, the Bubble Man, even made it to the Johnny Carson show.  

It was a fun, unselfconscious time, and even with the advent of recreational drugs, it was still slow, but upbeat, rich and enjoyable, a culture of free spirits, unfettered by the strictures of a culture of conformity.

Perhaps feeding off of some present, but unacknowledged, understanding of what we really had here, social action began to take place in the mid- 1970’s, focused on preserving the natural settings of Santa Cruz, for all time. During this magnificent period, many Open Spaces were saved for the enjoyment of future generations.  Pogonip was saved and annexed by the City in 1978 and would not be developed for housing. In 1974, a committed group of Santa Cruz citizens organized to keep Wilder Ranch from the ravages of north coast development. Later, in 1978, Lighthouse Point was saved, also from development, and later converted to a State Park, a status which endures until now providing perhaps the most beloved gathering spot in our city. Even later in the ‘70s Arana Gulch became a permanent greenbelt and would remain committed to its pristine original nature- green, wet and wild.

Money was beginning to creep into the culture of Santa Cruz, but not in a greedy or ostentatious way.  Houses on Westcliff were sold and other large ones built but still, there was the original feeling of Santa Cruz. A place for many people, visitors and residents alike to enjoy a place of rest, rejuvenation, relaxation and renewal.  It was a magical time and things were about to change dramatically.

At the end of the 1980’s, there occurred a sudden and major shift.  The Loma Prieta earthquake hit, decimating the Pacific Garden Mall and killing 3 people. I was downtown with my young children at the time and witnessed this tragic event. The damage was so extensive that the Mall lost its Historic status because 19 of 36 buildings that qualified for the appellation just two years prior to the quake were lost. Future generations would never see the examples of 1890s to 1929 architecture. The Cooper House, deemed unsafe by City officials, came down, despite the protests of hundreds of tearful onlookers.

This loss was a metaphor for much more that was lost in the Earthquake because in the ensuing years many aspects of Santa Cruz changed. In the nanoseconds following the earthquake, the town was plunged into a crisis of major proportions. The town was in shambles and soon so was the spirit of Santa Cruz. We had lost our center.

Very quickly, outside professional urban planning consultants were called in to consult on what our town should look like, despite their lack of familiarity as to what the DNA of Santa Cruz had always been.  Our hip little town soon became a “chic” little town and started a trend that was to continue until this very day.

After the earthquake the local ambience and architecture changed very rapidly and often surprisingly with less public input than was probably fair.

Costco, our first city big box store, opened in 1994.  A few years later, in a sudden departure from our historic heritage, Gateway Center opened in 1997, much to the chagrin of the small business owners who had their charming and historic buildings knocked down. Replacing these historic businesses with what turned out to be a strip mall in the shape of a square, housing businesses at the gateway to our town, in non-descript box like stores with no apparent nod to the look and feel of our town.  As if that were not enough shock. Soon modern design, coupled with a garish green paint on metal standards, appeared in the form of lighting on River St., ostensibly to create a welcoming look to the historic center of town.  In the opinion of many citizens, this goal was never achieved.

There were many shocked people, including myself, but as local architect–activist Mark Primack stated, at the time, after only two people showed up at the design review planning meetings, “the citizens of Santa Cruz will get what they deserve”. I am recalling all of this because I believe we are at a similar juncture now. If we don’t get actively involved in setting the course of development in this town, we will again be the recipients of something we do not want nor deserve.

After this particular surprise, more change came about and currently continues to come about, fast and furiously as the City fathers (and mothers) move quickly to fill in every empty space in Santa Cruz city limits with high density potentially generically designed “infill”, a phenomenon that is currently in process now, led by the Santa Cruz City Council and City Planners.   

To that end, currently on the table or in process are these projects:

  • The Corridor Plan, putting high density, tall buildings and hotels on Ocean St. Soquel Ave, Water St. and Mission St.
  • The Active Transportation Plan, a plan containing 260 separate projects all over the city to encourage bicycle and walking transportation and safety. Some of the projects disturb neighborhood unity, safety and aesthetics with signage and changes the neighborhood residents do not want to see in their established places of habitation. Other projects invite unbidden crime to enter quiet neighborhoods that are particularly vulnerable.
  • The Wharf Plan, potentially putting high density, tall buildings on the wharf, creating issues in congestion, questionable aesthetics and future dangers if sea levels do rise,
  • The Hyatt hotel in place of the former Unity Church, out of place in this particular crowded neighborhood with congested streets.
  • Potentially moving the present downtown City Library to the space displacing the Farmer’s Market and putting in a multilevel parking garage where none currently exists, at that site.
  • Increased non-aesthetic designs (so far) on the planned San Lorenzo River high-end housing development.
  • Increased development of the tech industry coupled with high speed Internet cable.
  • Destruction of more historical housing and buildings, especially on high profile streets.
  • More freeway lanes going to and from Watsonville, yielding more pollution and greenhouse gases
  • Private development of housing that does not meet the economic needs of most local citizens, low income and homeless populations.

Why is this all-important and where are we going with this? And why?

What can we do?

Taken together and followed by potentially more changes, these planned projects would change the face of our city in radical ways.  We need to determine our personal response to these intended changes and act on our convictions on behalf of all stakeholders, including visitors and future children. We need, as a community, to take stock of exactly what values we hold dear and exactly what we are losing by not honoring these values.

First, let’s be clear, these concerns are not about maintaining the status quo or about nostalgia.  They are about maintaining our spiritual, aesthetic and moral center in the face of an increasingly inhuman environment which is killing people and compromising the sanity of many our of  citizens, young and old and obliterating natural resources and open space.

There are many practical issues associated with planned changes for Santa Cruz, many of which are long term concerns .  First, can the infrastructure we have now support new development, especially those that will house many residents or visitors? Currently, our infrastructure of roads, sidewalks and buildings need repairing before money is spent on private development. Secondly and importantly, can we continue to supply water and other resources to new development and still service existing citizens? While new hotels can support the sagging tax base, the concern that current water users have is valid. We have contributed here for years.  Thirdly, why are taxes not levied on the multi-million dollar homes that are being built? The alternative, sales tax, creates an overdependence on materialism and shopping. Fourthly, how are all economic levels of citizens going to be able to remain here to enliven the mix of cultures and points of view we have historically enjoyed?

These are all valid, reality-based concerns for our citizens but there are also meta-issues which cannot be addressed at town hall meetings and these involve concerns that are often talked about in private conversations and they affect a large constituency of residents, visitors and future generations of same. Let me express, as a long term resident of this town, how I experience the many hidden values of our town and what we can do to save these before it is too late.

I feel Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) is a sanctuary, a holy sacred space for all who venture into these environs. The operative word here is ALL. Over the years, we have developed something special here and Santa Cruz’ charm and values are a magnet for people all over the United States and the world as well. I submit that Santa Cruz is a center of counter culture for a reason and is known worldwide for the way we live. As our mainstream culture speeds up, creates crowded, concrete communities overloaded with technology and cars and speed, we have maintained a commitment to something slower, saner and unique. It is perhaps a one-of-a-kind experience. Indeed, Santa Cruz IS an experience, a state of mind that is almost indescribable. We have much to offer a world-weary population and we must adhere to the core values and the gifts we offer to the planet. And they are many.  Our human lives actually rely on the necessity of regeneration, relaxation, recreation and rest. Our nervous systems actually demand this and the price we pay for not adhering to these necessities is illness, sometimes severe and often expressed as continuing low grade stress.

We have many healers here and it is, in my opinion, because we are a healing community. People need what we have, all people.  We must remain faithful to the part we play in healing the homeless, the frazzled, the young and the restless and let’s not forget our seniors, the original inhabitants of this retirement community.  We owe this to them as well as our children and future generations.

The chance to experience nature at its finest on miles of currently protected beaches and hundreds of square miles of redwood forests is priceless and nurturing and is, in essence, the basis of our healing atmosphere. The pace in Santa Cruz is not syncopated or staccato but, instead, more lyrical and softly entrained to the rhythm of the ocean and its playful inhabitant creatures. This is our DNA. Nature is our “brand” and in keeping with that, countless human beings can remain a natural human and even more can come here and remember what it is to be fully human. Through the enjoyment of our natural resources, we can experience the joyful and natural state that is evoked by our beautiful beaches and the countless other recreational opportunities that our environment offers.

In a time when cultural mania is increasing to megalomania and the metropolis becomes megalopolis; we have an example, here, of how to balance this trend. Hyperactivity is a national illness and it is up to us to remain a clear beacon for an alternative way to live.  Indeed, Santa Cruz has the ability to provide an active model for a viable life-style alternative.  A lot is riding on our commitment to modeling how it is to be fully human, related to nature, to each other and our fellow inhabitants of the planet. In these meta-respects, we are a model city.

Coupled with our natural resources, our University culture and our small, human size homes and public buildings, each with its individual look, we have created a culture of connected individualism, environmental sanity and ecological consciousness. Artists, musicians, creators, imaginers, young and old, people of diverse orientations, rich and poor, come together to create a culture of character and diversity which is unmatched anywhere. Why would we want to ruin this by importing any of the insanity that is what ruins most other large communities. To do so would, in and of itself, be insanity of the highest order.

We should not become a Silicon Beach. We do not need to be a bedroom community of Silicon Valley and we do not necessarily need to grow. We should not become Monterey and we are not Carmel with its quaint arts community. We simply need to continue to be ourselves and honor what has come to be an amazing place centered as we are on the edge of the Pacific Rim.

I believe we are here with a spiritual charge to balance the insanity of the techno, bureaucratic, corporate industrial complex.  With the protection of the forest on one side and the sea on the other, we are a virtual island of sanity. We are a true oasis of intelligence and creation and beacon of individual freedom to each be who we are as essence and to also share in the rich and diverse community that we share. We must as what we can do to retain the paradise that we have. In the spirit of dialogue, I humbly offer the following suggestions to perhaps stimulate a discussion about how we can help maintain a commitment to existing beauty and value in this town,.  

OUR TASKS

  • Support activities and leaders who will not gentrify, technologize, monetize or materialize (nor caffeinate) our community nor exploit human or natural resources to these ends.
  • Support the continuance of spiritual development and higher consciousness here, thus encouraging each individual to reach his or her full potential.
  • Support spontaneous grass roots level creativity, especially collaborative kinds of projects and events for all ages and stages of  life..
  • Support those activities, which do not exploit our natural and historic collective resources on behalf of a few, whether that is government, private citizens or outside developers.  
  • Support aesthetic building and public art and design which is in keeping with our historic legacy. This entails keeping the landscape “low rise” as opposed to high rise.  
  • Support those policies which do not allow crowding out the citizens of this area who are operating in the lower socio-economic levels.
  • Support those changes which do not increase speed, concrete, cars or exclusive money.  Economic development must be based on values of economic moderation and inclusiveness of all levels.
  • Support activities, people and policies that allow us to keep our natural rhythm, size and connectivity.  Choose that which supports harmony, diversity, inclusiveness and diversity.
  • Support the development of a process for ongoing public input and voting on each proposed development that has the capacity to change the DNA of our community.  Encourage referendum process.  
  • Support density in what is already here, change zoning laws to allow development of the many small outbuildings that abound in the city of Santa Cruz.
  • Support individuals to accept responsibility and accountability for the role he or she plays in the evolution of our planet and indeed, our very existence.
  • This includes responsibility for not over-populating the planet, for not condoning any form of violence or brutality and for respecting all beings as worthy of dignity and acceptance.

We need to unify our energies and goals for this town and listen closely to every voice. The planet and we have a lot at stake.  It is not too late to save what we have created in this village by the sea. We are capable of leading the nation in propagating values that lead to quality human lives as well as the other kingdoms with whom we share the planet, lives unburdened by values not developed in our true interests- that of being happy, healthy and connected with our whole planet and Universe.

Lastly, it is important that we elect leaders who understand the language of the soul. This means making collaborative decisions and working through a channel of what feels right, not only what a few think is right. Leaders need to listen carefully to all citizens who choose to speak up and it is my feeling that it needs to be longer than 2 or 3 minutes per speaker (as it currently stands in the City Council). Santa Cruz people know the language of the soul and we need to speak up on behalf of what we might lose if we don’t make our values known. We have way too much to lose if we stay silent. Many citizens, present and future are depending on us to serve the highest good of all.

Carmella Weintraub, September 5, 2017

Carmella@got.net

RAPE RENDERED INVISIBLE
It’s that time of the year. When the FBI releases its Uniform Crime Report tracking crime data for cities and counties nationwide, as predictable as fog in July, Santa Cruz officials distort the data by making rape invisible.

Last Saturday’s Sentinel covered the story of the FBI’s annual release of violent and property crimes with a focus on the rise of property crimes in Santa Cruz County and the reduction in violent crimes, both the reverse of national trends. While the nation has seen a 4.1% increase in violent crimes, Santa Cruz County has seen a 5% decrease. Property crimes fell nationwide by 1.3% yet have increased significantly in Santa Cruz County. Law enforcement spoke to the issues with the crime analyst from the Sheriff’s office Josh Pastor quoted as saying that “the rising property crime numbers are offset by the low levels of violent crimes.” He commented that “the area has experienced a decline in violent crimes for decades” and “you’d have to go back to the 1950’s to find a time with a lower crime rate.” He added that when he visits conferences in CA metropolitan areas his colleagues are surprised at the low rate of violent crimes in Santa Cruz County. Reassuring to a community worried about violent crime but is it true? It is, unless you examine the data on rape.

The federal Uniform Crime Report collects data on all violent crimes, including rape. According to the data, Santa Cruz County had a rate of rape at 44 per 100,000 people. This compares to Oakland/Haywood at 35; San Francisco at 34; San Diego at 32; LA at 41 and to venture out of California, Michigan at 32 and Miami at 29 (numbers rounded). Seems we have quite a high rate of rape per head of population, in fact, one of the highest.

It is instructive to compare cities, although the FBI warns against reading too much into such comparisons. So let’s not read too much into such comparisons, let’s just compare. In 2016, Salinas with a population of 159,000 had 86 reported rapes; Santa Monica with a population of 93,000 had 40; Huntington Beach with a population of 204,000 had 55; South San Francisco with a population of 68,000 had 25; Davis with a population of 68,000 had 26; Scotts Valley with a population of 13,000 had 1; Capitola with a population of 10,000 had 4; Watsonville with a population of 54,000 had 26 and Santa Cruz with a population of 65,000 had 45. For all cities, the percentage increase in rape was 4%, notwithstanding the change in the definition of rape in 2013.

While our murder rate is low, our rape rate is high. Reducing the data to averages may be politically expedient in a tourist town but is not helpful in directing law enforcement and community attention towards addressing our high rate of rape. Behind every statistic is a person whose life has been forever transformed by rape. We owe it to every person who has reported a rape to not render her or him invisible. Otherwise we are saying that rape is not a serious crime and we are setting the stage for the next victim.

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.

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By: Chris Krohn    Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

“Wins and Loses”

“New York (Santa Cruz too?) in its current dissonant form, is at ease with a disturbingly paradoxical identity, as a place that says yes to every branch of Dunkin’ Donuts and no to the people whose fortunes consign them to working there.”–Gina Bellafante, N.Y. Times Book Review of Vanishing New York

I offer an update about several issues that went before the Santa Cruz city council last week. Here’s the recap…

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News of the Most Vulnerable
Food Not Bombs Feeding the Poor Last Sunday at Post Office

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” (sound familiar?!)

Truly Affordable Housing Now! A 10-Point Plan
Get ready; we could be in for a roller-coaster of a ride if we hope to make any kind of dent in the currently insufferable pro-seller-landlord housing market in Surf City. There are so many first-course menu items vying to get on the table that it’s hard to keep up. So, here it is, a TEN-POINT Santa Cruz Quality of Life Plan that not only looks to lift all boats, but seeks to protect the most vulnerable and offer everyone a pay raise as our community approaches the stark reality that there is an actual “carrying-capacity” in our ecological hot-spot. Who will tell the people that there are limits? The following 10 points are not only the jagged pieces to the Santa Cruz housing puzzle–each not THE answer but rather a constituent part–but also its what I’ve been hearing from the multiple voices within the various social and political bubbles that I inhabit.

Santa Cruz Quality of Life Plan

  1. Placing a housing bond before the voters and it’s got to be in the hundreds of millions to even make a dent. (Santa Clara County passed one last year with 68% of the necessary two-thirds vote. It was for around a $1 billion.)
  2. Enact rent control complete with a “just cause eviction” ordinance along with an elected rent board. It failed twice before in Santa Cruz, but that was a long time ago when there were less than 50% renters, now tenants are near 60% and rents are at an all-time high.
  3. A five-year moratorium on growth at UCSC. Is it time for the gown to take a time-out so the town can recover, work on its own housing needs and shore up the transportation, and water infrastructure?
  4. Should the community demand that at least a full 50% of the thousand units of housing now being envisioned along Front and Pacific, between Soquel and Laurel, be truly affordable housing? Not by “design” or simply called, “workforce housing,” but by law and HUD standards of between 30% and 80% of the median county household income?


  5. San Jose to Houston for the P.O.P. conference–“Problem Oriented Policing.”

    Notice this is how they rope you in…there’s that first box of donuts, then…who knows what’s next.

    (L-R) Councilmember Chris Krohn, Chief of Police Andy Mills, Cathy Mills, Principal Management Analyst Lupita Alamos, and in the back, Santa Cruz Police Sergeant Bill Azua and Lt. Jose Garcia. [edit: Vice Mayor David Terrazas is also in the photo!]

    I’ll tell you about the conference in next week’s post and how many donuts I ate!!

    Continue the “Fight for $15” and demand it be on the ballot in 2018!

  6. The city should implement the UCSC model of faculty housing by building low-cost for-sale units, which only increase in price at the local cost of living rate.
  7. The city must work with the school district to create affordable housing for teachers. The city of Santa Cruz has land that could be “donated” to the school district to construct teacher housing. The school district holds land that the city can help with the permitting process.
  8. Enact a real estate transfer tax, a special “Airbnb” tax, and a 3% hotel tax to support homeless services and a permanent fund for affordable housing.
  9. The UCSC administration must lower its $1700 per month, per student dorm fees. It is the most potent force in driving up rentals all over town.
  10. Elect a city council majority in 2018 that will help advocate, enact, and enforce the housing measures above; candidates who promote student concerns, uphold the values of labor, and place social justice, fairness and an open political process, first.

Bernie Tweet of the Week
“At a time of massive inequality, the Republican budget takes from the middle class and those in need, and gives huge tax breaks to the rich.” (Sept. 29)

Correction(?) Who knows how old UCSC is? Raise your hand. I know they had a 50th anniversary that lasted like, two years. In my column last week, I said this was the 51st year. (opened in 1965) Well, it turns out that 2017-1965 = 52. Someone wrote in to say UCSC is actually 53. So how old is it? You’d think you could Google the answer, but it’s not so easy.

(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).

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By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

SAD DAY FOR RANCHO DEL MAR MERCHANTS AND THE APTOS COMMUNITY
I stopped in last Saturday evening at lower Rancho del Mar Center to offer help and good wishes to the independent small business owners on their final day allowed by TRC Retail.  Keang and DeeDee Lee were working hard to load fixtures they had sold into a trailer to clear out Le Chef Kitchen Store.  Lee’s Baskin-Robbins was already closed, but posters on the  window held hand-written sentiments from the customers who have appreciated Keang’s friendly manner and delicious ice cream for 14 years. Showtime Pizza owner Jose Gonzalez served a loyal customer the last piece of pizza and shook hands.  Sofia’s Taqueria owner, Robert Cordova, who started as a teenage dishwasher there and bought the business 12 years ago, talked casually with the many loyal customers who came for dinner before the restaurant is shuttered. 

WHY IS DEVELOPER TRC RETAIL BOOTING THESE FOLKS OUT WHEN THERE ARE NO BUILDING PERMITS ISSUED?  WHERE IS SUPERVISOR ZACH FRIEND? 
I asked the merchants what they would like to have from TRC Retail?

  • Showtime Pizza owner Jose Gonzalez:  “Nothing.”  He got lucky and will move to the nearby Aptos Village Square and re-open next month.
  • Sofia’s Tacqueria owner Robert Cordova replied “Please talk to me.”  He said TRC Retail would not answer his many requests for information and updates about the remodel timeline, and thought he had more time to find another place.  When he received the 30-day eviction notice, he said he asked about the projected price of the spaces after remodeling is complete: ” They said $4/SF…that’s too much for me.”  He pays $1.75/SF now.
  • Baskin-Robbins and Le Chef owners Keang and Dee Dee Lee were working too hard to talk much, but said they really don’t know what to do.  TRC Retail has not replied to their repeated requests for information either.  “It would be nice if we had first option to locate back into the Center after the remodel is complete” Keang said earlier.  Maybe he does not know the $4/SF price tag.  “I am beginning to think that TRC Retail does not want a Baskin-Robbins in their shopping center,”  he added.
  • Erik’s Deli was already closed up.
  • Senior Benefits Insurance Services owners Ken Cook and Bill Weber, the last business to occupy the vacant theater building, were not around.

Call TRC Retail Project Manager Scott Grady 949-500-6192  Scott Grady sgrady@trcretail.com and ask that TRC Retail to at least give the tenants compensation for moving costs…after all, TRC Retail’s property managers (there have been three of them!) did not respond to the tenant’s questions and Mr. Bruce Walton, TRC Retail management, admitted “We dropped the ball on communication.”

TOTO, WE’RE NOT IN APTOS VILLAGE ANYMORE…..
Work on the Trout Gulch/Soquel Drive intersection in Aptos Village is looking more like downtown San Jose every day.  Take a look at this great photo by Aptos resident Holger Blech.  The railroad crossing towers are not yet in place but are stored on the Aptos Village Project premises and ready for Collins Electric to hoist them into place.  What is missing in this photo is the gridlocked traffic in all directions.

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BUILDING THE GREAT BIG WALL
I have been somewhat surprised that the Santa Cruz Sentinel has not been covering the progress of Trump’s Wall at the Mexican border, but I am grateful that the Mercury News and many other newspapers have.  According to the media, work is beginning this week on the prototypes by companies selected by the Homeland Security administration.  Several environmental laws have been waived to expedite the work. Here is a link to just one article

Also of note are articles about ICE arrests increasing 43% but fewer have criminal records.  Here is a link  

It seems that maybe our government could effectively put more effort and resources into helping undocumented residents hop on the pathway to citizenship.

What do you think?

~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.

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By: Gary Patton    Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com


#274 / A Total Cakewalk

Rod Dreher, a self-declared “American Conservative,” was profiled in The New Yorker in May, 2017. That is when I became aware of Dreher’s blog, which is apparently followed by something like 200,000 people. 

On September 20th, Dreher posted a long reflection on the state of our present-day society, economy, and politics, with the following title: “This Crisis? It’s Nothing.” I’ll include an excerpt, below, so you can read some of Dreher’s thoughts without having to track down the original. He ends up concluding that, “compared to 1968-73, today is a total cakewalk.”

While I agree that the years from 1968 to 1973 were filled with all sorts of stresses and strife, I am not really willing to call our present situation a “total cakewalk.” Read Dreher to make up your own mind. 

Here’s where I DO agree with Dreher: He says we are all too much consumed with the “present,” and that we all need to “study history.” He’s right about that. That actually does help!

  • Imagine that the US was involved in a major overseas war in which over 11,000 American soldiers died in one year alone (1967). For a point of comparison, fewer than 7,000 US troops have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past 14 years of combat there. 
  • Imagine that 17,000 US soldiers would die in 1968, and 12,000 in 1969 fighting that war. 
  • Imagine that you might be drafted to go fight there. 
  • Imagine what it would be like if you were convinced the war was profoundly immoral, and you had to choose between deserting the country and bearing arms in that war. 
  • Imagine that many college campuses had become hotbeds not of snowflakey sit-ins, but of serious violence. 
  • Imagine that domestic bombings by left-wing radicals had become a routine part of American life (e.g., five per day in an 18-month period in the early 1970s). 
  • Imagine that two of the nation’s most prominent political leaders (MLK and RFK) Bobby were gunned down three months apart. 
  • Imagine that your government and military were lying to Congress and to the American people about the war, and had been for years (as was revealed with the 1972 publication of the Pentagon Papers). 
  • Imagine that major American cities were burning in race riots. 
  • Imagine that cops in a major American city staged what was later called “a police riot” outside a political party’s national convention, and beat the hell out of protesters. 

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

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CLASSICAL DeCINZO. A not very historic visit to KSCO!!! Scroll below.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Taking The Knee” 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 and “Hoot Culture”

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “It’s game-on when Billie jean King meets Bobby Riggs on the tennis court of honor in Battle of the Sexes, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). And kudos to the Santa Cruz Actors’ Theatre for bringing an intriguing new play about Martin Luther King to our little town!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

BATTLE OF THE SEXES. Billie Jean King plays against Bobby Riggs in this easy going tennis and sex movie. Billie Jean has an internal battle with her own sex, which adds a deeper and more involved plot than the 1973 match which we’ve all been reading up on or remember from those days. Emma Stone reputedly the highest star in the world acts perfectly with Steve Carrell and the movie is a guaranteed hit with everybody. I didn’t recognize Sarah Silverman as the women’s coach because she wears sunglasses all through the movie. I liked Little Miss Sunshine better.

AMERICAN MADE. It is NOT another dopey, violent Tom Cruise superhuman action flick. This one is based on an unbelievable true story about a guy who becomes an international drug runner then gets involved illegally with our CIA and the Iran Contra affair that almost got President Ronnie R. evicted. It’s probably Scientology that gives Tom Cruise that certain extra something…and I have to admit I like watching the buy. 87 on RT.

FLATLINERS. Ellen Page who looks like she’s about 18 and is really 30 has the lead in this potentially interesting but terrible mess of a movie. She and some fellow Med students try flatlining (killing) themselves then bringing each other back to life a minute or two later. They have death visions, the equipment fails, they chicken out, they suffer night and day- mares. But IF there was a director (;-) he or she completely blew it. Don’t go…you won’t be able to make any sense of it either.

WOODSHOCK. Kirsten Dunst parades and mopes, and staggers, through this entire flop of a movie in a wide selection of slips, bras, and panties. She is stoned in a Humboldt or Oregon cabin and neither you nor Dunst will ever figure what the point of this weed-hazed movie is about. I tried for the first half hour and gave up. Luckily it …ENDS THURSDAY OCTOBER 5.  

MOTHER. An excellent, genius- directed, absolutely intelligent plot, best-acted…what more can you ask from a movie?? Jennifer Lawrence, plus two  of my favorite actors Javier Bardem and Ed Harris, Brian Gleeson, and a darker Michelle Pfeiffer make a perfect cast for this challenging film. Not a scary, boo-type, odd, weird, what’s that?, cellar stairs type of film. It’s more like “what is going on”, “I can’t imagine what’s happening next kind of film, Directed by Darren Aronofsky it’s a winner, and you’ll remember seeing it. So go. RT calls it a “psychological thriller” I agree.

DOLORES. See both Chris Krohn’s and my “advice” and “promotion” of this very necessary documentary up above. We all have some opinion of Dolores Huerta based on rumor, poor memory and the ignoring by media. That’s why we should all see this film. It’s also strong on feminism and Gloria Steinem along with Angela Davis have much to add to Dolores’ near overwhelming labor organizing. Then too you’ll learn just how much aid and direction that Bobby Kennedy gave to Dolores. See this film and bring a good friend…or Republican. 100% on RT!!! ENDS THURSDAY OCTOBER 5.

This broke all box office records last weekend when IT opened…and IT should have. IT is a well made, very scary movie. Based on some Stephen King books, IT is chapter one of a two part nightmare-daydream that will grab you when you are least prepared to be scared. It has all the clichés…BUT it’s got tension, mystery, and perfect timing along with excellent acting. Just go see IT but only if you truly enjoy being scared. 86 on RT.

BRADS STATUS. Ben Stiller is at his very best acting here and it’s a touching, involving, magnetic film. It’s about a dad and his son and the all too real complex relationship between parent and offspring. Austin Abrams plays Stiller’s son and he is quite simply great in the part. I cringed a lot due to reality, and it’s a fine film. ENDS THURSDAY OCTOBER 5.

STRONGER. Jake Gyllenhaal is the spectator at the 2013 Boston Marathon who got hus legs blown off. What takes this movie out of the soupy heart puller category is that Jeff Bauman the victim was apparently a goof and fairly nasty guy. So you get booze, fighting, fuck words,  lots of anger but because it’s Jake Gyllenhaal you come out liking the show. It’s a feel good film and barely shows anything of the marathon. Go if you like that sort of thing.
ENDS THURSDAY OCTOBER 5.

DUNKIRK. Acclaimed auteur Christopher Nolan directs this World War II thriller about the evacuation of Allied troops from the French city of Dunkirk before Nazi forces can take hold. co-star, with longtime Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer providing the score. Dunkirk is a city in France and during WWII the Nazis drove the allied troops to Dunkirk’s beaches. There were 400, 000 troops stranded there with no ships to take them to safety. Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance are in the film briefly and do fine acting jobs. The film is all war and is well made and directed…better than most war films. But with City Of Ghosts playing now that’s the one to see IF you like genuine war films.

ATOMIC BLONDE. Charlize Theron does a nearly perfect job as the Blonde in this James Bond – Berlin Wall era action movie. Very well done fight scenes, complex spy loyalty plot, John Goodman is getting more and more difficult to believe, and he’s in it too. James McAvoy is there too but he doesn’t matter much. It’ll be the first of many sequels believe me, even though it didn’t do that well on opening weekend. Charlize T. also produced the film, and it’s based on a graphic novel.

STRONGER. Jake Gyllenhaal is the spectator at the 2013 Boston Marathon who got hus legs blown off. What takes this movie out of the soupy heart puller category is that Jeff Bauman the victim was apparently a goof and fairly nasty guy. So you get booze, fighting, fuck words,  lots of anger but because it’s Jake Gyllenhaal you come out liking the show. It’s a feel good film and barely shows anything of the marathon. Go if you like that sort of thing. ENDS THURSDAY OCTOBER 5.

VICEROYS HOUSE. When you have Hugh Bonneville (from Downton Abbey) playing Lord Mountbatten it would seem to  guarantee a masterpiece but this saga about Britain leaving the control of India in 1947 and dividing that part of the country into Pakistan and India, but it’s dull and near-boring in its’ accuracy. You’ll see Ghandi, Churchill, newsreels, and corpses…and learn a lot of history about oil deposits in Pakistan. Go warned. ENDS THURSDAY OCTOBER 5.

LOGAN LUCKY. This film has just about everything that should guarantee greatness or at least give you two hours of “Good Movie”. It’s a robbery movie that takes place at the annual Coca Cola NASCAR race in Concord North Carolina. Channing Tatum isn’t very impressive, but Adam Driver steals many, many scenes with his one arm. Katie Holmes is in it too but it’s Daniel Craig who is most watchable. It’s odd and weird but Hillary Swank shows up in the last few minutes that must hint that there’ll be Logan Lucky 2. Steven Soderbergh has done better.

WONDER WOMAN. IF you like comic book heroes or heroines (hope its ok to use that term) Wonder woman is several cuts about the usual no brainer/ violent/monster filled box office smashes we keep seeing. Gal Gadot is a former Miss Israel and we keep hearing about that. She plays W. Woman. Robin Wright, is in it too and she is a long time favorite of mine. She is Sean Penn’s ex. Chris Pine just jumps around looking like the usual Hollywood cutie pie. If you remember that she’s a comic book star and is supposed to battle, fight and pose in tight pants all the time you could enjoy this more than most of that ilk. Do remember too that Wonder Woman is a DC comics creation NOT a Marvel Comic character…there’s a big difference, and I was recently corrected on KZSC’s Bushwhackers Breakfast Club.

KINGSMEN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. I wished I’d remembered that this part 2 of an ongoing series comes from comic books. The entire movie look like an animated cartoon. It’s violent, murderous, and plain goofy. Elton John plays himself and there’s a warning right there. To watch such good actors as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and especially Colin Firth jump around for their million dollar salaries is embarrassing.

ANNABELLE:CREATION. This is supposed to be the prequel to the Conjuring series (in case you’ve seen this haunted doll series). You can stay home and write the tired old script in seconds. Dark cellar stairs, creepy doll in closet, innocent orphan girls, scarecrows, dumbwaiters,  you’ve seen it dozens of times if you haven’t been careful.

THE HITMANS BODYGUARD. Samuel L. Jackson probably says “motherfucker” at least 100 times in this car chase, bloody, violent flick. Audiences laugh nowadays at the violence and I have a tough time with that. Jackson is the Hit man and Ryan Reynolds is supposed to be his body guard for some reason that I slept through. Salma Hayek is supposed to be Jackson’s wife and I guess to prove it, she too says “motherfucker” at the very end of the movie. Don’t expect to enjoy Gary Oldman, because he only has about 10 lines.

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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. October 3 has Denise Gallant talking about her Tom Scribner documentary, and then we’ll talk with Erik Gandolfini and Avondina Wills about The Mountain Top play at the Center Stage. On October 10 Phyllis Rosenblum discusses the Santa Cruz Chamber Players 2017-18 season. Following Phyllis Katie Hansen and Sierra Ryan two of the authors of the new MAH book Harvesting Our Heritage will discuss our County crop history. Gary Patton gives info and background on the Save Santa Cruz Organization on Oct.17. The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. 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

This is uplifting. More people like this in the world, please!

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. “PUERTO RICO”

“American imperialism is often traced to the takeover of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii in 1898.”  Noam Chomsky
“In Puerto Rico, we have a lot of traditions. We eat a very typical thing that’s called ‘pasteles’ – it’s almost like a tamale made of bananas, and we make it all together. Like, all the women of the family unite, and it’s a very big deal, a very big thing”. Joyce Giraud
“After four centuries of Spanish rule, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States in 1898. Residents were granted U.S. citizenship in 1917, and the federal government has allowed Puerto Rico to exercise authority over its local affairs in a manner similar to the 50 states.” Pedro Pierluisi

COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

September 26 – October 2, 2017

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Bruce
Highlights this week:
About Rape and Sexism…Back to the Octagon and the missing M and next Octagon occupant..Angelo Grove leaves FashionArt Show…”Greensite offline this week. Returns next week.”…Krohn about UCSC growth, EDGI forum, Homeless garden project, Short Term Vacation Rentals, Jail bail schedule…Steinbruner and irritated, angry, accusatory Supervisor John Leopold, Supe Zach Friend fails residents of Rancho Del Mar, Tom LaHue says Steinbruner is lying and she replies…Patton and Trumps mental state…Eagan and The National Health Alert…DeCinzo and private Trump school.. Jensen and Rebel In The Rye…I critique Brads Status, Rebel In The Rye, Stronger, Polina and Kingsmen #2…plus Quotes for October.

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HINKLE’S CASH STORE.circa 1894 to 1923. At the corner of Pacific Avenue, Mission and Water Streets. Read more about this once great and important corner two paragraphs below.  
    
photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
SAN LORENZO RIVER WALK. Check out Alan Martin his video and his music too.
We gotta do something to bring our river up to its beautiful potential.
LITTLE BOY’S UNBELIEVABLE STUNTS.
SANTA CRUZ MUNICIPAL WHARF. This wharf is an integral part of our
community. Let’s keep it that way…and vote against the touristy plans the
City Council is thinking about.

DATELINE  September 25, 2017

ABOUT RAPE AND SEXISM. Last week in BrattonOnline Gillian Greensite enclosed a paragraph in her column that not only bears repeating but it should be memorized. It says so much about rape and sexism that still isn’t said , admitted and practiced enough. Read it again…

“This developer friendly view of the high cost of housing brings to mind a similar distortion when people discuss why we have a high rate of rape in Santa Cruz, in California, in the US and globally. The usual list includes: women wearing skimpy clothes; women drinking; women going out alone; women partying; women not using the buddy system; women flirting…you get the picture. The main cause of rape is masculine sexual aggression, which is rendered invisible and thus assumes the status of a force of nature that women must navigate around, alter their lives around and suffer the guilt and blame if they fail and are raped. We will never radically reduce the incidence and trauma of rape if we ignore the cause and focus on extraneous factors that are at best, irrelevant, at worst victim-blaming. We need to re-focus attention on creating the social conditions for boys to be raised in a culture where “being a man” is not equated with being aggressive and in which all genders respect and support each other. No, not easy, we don’t have a good role model at the top right now and it won’t happen overnight but at least we can stop looking in all the wrong directions while ignoring the only one that will make a difference”.

BACK TO THE OCTAGON. I seriously have no idea how many years I’ d enjoyed sitting in front of the Octagon working on this column and my radio shows. In front of the Octagon is a great place to observe the passing parade and to get hundreds of confidential tips on what’s happening. While the de-construction of Abbott Square and the con-struction of MAH’s courtyard happened, I mostly stayed home for those hours. I went back last week, met dozens of long time friends, and got some ideas and opinions you see here. The two biggest questions I was asked and I’m asking too, were…. what happened to the giant black “M” that stood so tall next to the Red Ball at the corner of Cooper and Front Street. Where did the M go and why was it removed? The probably more often asked question was when or who is opening what inside the Octagon…the most historic building in our Downtown? I’ve asked Nina Simon director of MAH……as of this printing (downloading) no response from Nina. But we’ll hear soon, I’ll bet.

HISTORICAL MISTAKE. I wrote some awkward words about the McHugh Bianchi Building that I pictured last week. Eagle eyed Steven Bignell wrote to say, “As I’m sure other have already commented (and of course you know), the late and lamented McHugh and Bianchi General Store was actually demolished not in 2011 but back on August 20th, 1974.  John Chase’s Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture gives a good summary of the losing battle that ultimately helped create the City Historic Preservation Commission and the Santa Cruz Historic Building Survey”. He’s right of course and Chase’s book tells us that specific corner building started out as a barbershop, a candy factory, a stove store, and then a bunch more businesses.  From 1894 to 1923 it was Hinkle’s Cash Store. It was McHugh and Bianchi’s from 1946 to 1974. There was a huge battle to save McHugh’s and when I ran Henry Faitz’s campaign for State Assembly in 1974 we made it a big part of the campaign platform. We lost, and Bank of the West built what we now see at the Pacific and Water and Mission intersection.

FASHION/ART SHOW AND ANGLO GROVA’S GOOD BYE. For what seems to be obvious reasons the annual FashionArt Show at the Civic is another one of those Santa Cruz things. It’s silly, beautiful, erratic, artistic, and has become in its 12 years very successful, and I’ve been to every one of them…including the first one in Angelo Grova’s Michael Angelo Gallery parking lot in 2004. Angelo gave a serious and heartfelt 37 second speech last Saturday night at the end of the show. He’s retiring and turning it all (almost all) over to Christina Morgan Cree who will executive direct it. So plan on attending next year…she’ll do a great job too.

                                                                         

GREENSITE’S INSIGHT.

Gillian emailed to say… “Greensite offline this week. Returns 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).

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By: Chris Krohn    Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

I Dreamed I Saw Some Affordable Housing Last Night…
“EDGI” at the Cutting Edge of Climate Justice

Most locals agree that UCSC growth is out of control. You’ve probably noticed that students are back! Some are still in pursuit of non-existent apartments and the cars most off-campus dwellers bring to town are beginning fill that brief street lull that locals relish between Labor Day Boardwalk closure and the first day of school. The rush on and off-campus begins in earnest this Thursday, Day 1 of Year 51. And, if you ask old-time watchers, those who monitor the student stream flow on and off the city-on-a-hill, it has only become more intense–more crowded, congested, and often bumper-to-bumper–on Bay, Story, and High Streets. Of course, it’s not just the estudiantes, its larger numbers of faculty and staff who serve them and travel from as far away as Hollister and Gilroy, and from Livermore and Walnut Creek too.

Bernie Quote of the Week
“We must work toward making health care a right. But right now, our job is to save our current system which Republicans are trying to destroy.” (Sept. 18). Bernie was hot this week. He spoke at the California Nurses Association (CNA) conference in San Francisco. See the video here:


If politics, the housing crisis, car traffic, or the latest rent increase has you down, just take a hike across the UCSC campus. It’s still filled with deer, bobcats, incredible bird life, a bunch of wild turkeys, and even a few rarely-seen pumas.

So, it was with those foreboding thoughts in mind that I attended a recent UCSC, Friday “The Original Thinkers” Forum. What drew me to this event was the mildly politically-charged title, “Meaningful Activism in the Trump Era,” and it was being officially sponsored by the University of California. And “meaningful” it was. Seems that the keynote speaker, sociology Prof., Lindsey Dillon is part of an international group named EDGI, Environmental Data and Governance Initiative whose charge is to save U.S. government agencies’ data from the likes of Trump and his ilk. Plus NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Osha, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Energy, and the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency were a few of the “guv” agencies that scientists were worried about as Trump era troglodytes began to leave their caves and roam about freely in the capitol. Outfitted with IT scrubbing brushes, and their nefarious form of electronic Windex, they are still out looking to obliterate words like “climate change,” and all the data that comes with it that’s taken years to compile, Dillon said. The EDGI data collecting was a monumental job that began shortly after election day and continued until May 1st of this year. Her task originally was to create “data rescue events” in which dozens of people with laptops would assemble and download government data before it could be erased or rearranged. Now, EDGI’s work is directed at creating access points for scientists and all members of the public to view the data. They also are writing reports on how these government agencies are going through unprecedented change with the new Administration. One of their reports, The First 100 Days and Counting Part 1: The EPA Under Siege, “is an in-depth analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Trump and administrator Scott Pruitt” according to EDGI’s web site. Part of group’s work too has been to conduct confidential interviews with scientists and other employees of these government agencies to find out what change looks like from the inside.

How does EDGI “organize and collaborate?” Dillon said they use programs like #slack, peerio (end-to-end encryption software), zoom (video conferencing software), GitHub (“data folks use it”), Versionista (“to track changes on-line), and the more well-known, Google Drive so every team member can work on tasks together she said. The data itself is set to be stored at the University of Pennsylvania, Dillon revealed. It was refreshing to see a host of local academics and pols offer Proffessor Dillon kudos. As Chancellor George Blumenthal opened the Hotel Paradox 8am breakfast event, I looked around at the faces of the 50 or so packed into a smallish conference room. Among those present were former Santa Cruz Mayor Don Lane, Supervisor Ryan Coonerty, former Redevelopment Director Ceil Cirillo, new UCSC Dean of social sciences, Katheryn Mitchell, and former city council candidate Robert Singleton also came out. It was a good audience for Dillon, and she knocked it out of the park. It is also good to know activist-scientists like Dillon and her crew are working, like our state and federal court system, to combat all the seeds of badness and chaos that the Trump gang continues to sow. Yay Lindsey, keep it up!

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Sleeper Stuff:

The Looming, But Not-forgotten Issue of Next Month

Sign of the times…forty proposed condos at 1930 Ocean Street Extension.  Housing for the second-home crowd?

~ (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).


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By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

NO BUILDING PERMITS HAVE YET BEEN ISSUED FOR RANCHO DEL MAR CENTER REMODEL.
So, why couldn’t Supervisor Zach Friend negotiate more than a paltry 10 days beyond the 30-day eviction date given the lower Rancho del Mar Center merchants?  He claims that owner TRC Retail is on a tight construction timeline and therefore he could not push for anything more.  Really?  How can that be true if TRC Retail has NO permits yet?  

Because I have recently been accused of telling lies here, I urge all readers to take a look at the Santa Cruz County Planning Dept. website: http://www.sccoplanning.com/ 

Click on the box “Check Application Status and Permit History” and enter APN 039-221-11 in the search box that appears.  Lots of permit history comes flying up for this old shopping center, but at the bottom of the page, click on page “4” and take a look at what comes up.  Master Applications 171014 and 171015 are still pending, having only been submitted July 19, 2017, the day before the Zoning Administrative Hearing when TRC Retail asked for a sign variance to allow four massive 12′ highlighted signs (which Administrator Wanda Williams thankfully rejected and applied reasonable modifications).  The most recent comments by planners are listed on August 18, 2017….lots of comments, in some cases.

So, no permits…what was the rush to push out the tenants?  Baskin-Robbins owner, Mr. Lee, cannot find a location suitable for relocation.  Even if he could, it would require approval from corporate headquarters that usually takes two months.  What did County Economic Development Director advise him to do?  Call Barry Swenson Builder and try to get into the Aptos Village Project!  Supervisor Zach Friend did nothing to help the merchants but certainly could have.

To make matters worse, the Aptos Chamber of Commerce organized a “Rally Around Rancho del Mar Merchants” last weekend.  With the crowded rally, shoplifters stole hundreds of dollars in merchandise from Le Chef Kitchen Store, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Lee. 

What is a saddened citizen who supports their independent small business family to do?  Call Supervisor Zach Friend 831-454-2200 and write him at Zach Friend zach.friend@santacruzcounty.us and let him know how you feel about his glaring lack of leadership that could have helped the Rancho del Mar merchants and citizens had he taken his dutiful role of negotiator last summer.  And while you’re at it, ask why he could not insist on more time for the merchants to relocate SINCE THERE ARE NO PERMITS FOR THE REMODEL PROJECT ISSUED.

Call TRC Retail Project Manager Mr. Scott Grady 949-508-6192 or write Scott Grady sgrady@trcretail.com and ask why TRC Retail gave the Rancho del Mar merchants a 30-day boot when the remodel project has no permits for the work.

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METRO OPERATIONS CHIEF OFFERS SHOCKING INFORMATION ABOUT APTOS VILLAGE BUS STOP RELOCATION.
Many thanks to letter-writer extraordinaire Mr. Tom Stumbaugh for making sure there was written correspondence in the Metro Board agenda packet last Friday regarding the inbound #71 bus stop relocation in Aptos Village.  Because that correspondence was on the agenda, the Board had to get an answer from Operations Chief Mr. Ciro Aguirre when several members of the public spoke up at the public communication time asking questions about the relocation.  Mr. Aguirre’s answer was not always audible, but what I heard was that early versions of the bus stop design submitted by County Public Works were NOT handicap-accessible and failed to satisfy the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.  The County dropped the federal funding portion of the Phase I Aptos Village Traffic Improvement Project and subsequently, local engineering firm Bowman and Williams submitted plans for the bus stop that were ADA-compliant but that did not include sidewalks.  Wow.

Mr. Aguirre went on to admit that the specifications for the new bus bay had to be changed because of the intrusion into railroad right-of-way, and therefore the bus will not be able to get completely out of the lane of traffic when stopped.  He acknowledged that there is limited line of sight visibility for motorists approaching the bus stop from the westbound Soquel Drive, but assured the Metro Board that the bus driver Union Leader had signed off on the project, so it all would not be a problem.  Wow, again!

“Why did Public Works ask us to move this bus stop?  Traffic in Aptos Village is crazy and I just don’t see how a bus driver will be able to get back out into traffic.  It’s ridiculous!”  said Metro Director Dan Rothwell.  Mr. Aguirre could not answer why Public Works had asked for the bus stop to be moved from the current level and highly-visible location, but assured the Board that the Metro drivers are all trained in defensive driving techniques and would deploy the flashing “YIELD TO BUS” sign on the back of the bus.  

“We really don’t have any say in these matters,” Director Mike Rotkin said.  “Public Works maintains the roads and we just have to put up with what they hand us.”  He might not be so agreeable if he had mobility issues and had to get on the #71 bus at Aptos Village to get to Santa Cruz.

Write the Department of Public Works and ask why the inbound #71 Metro stop in Aptos Village is being moved at taxpayer’s expense.  All questions have to be directed to Ms. Christine Berge mailto:christine.berge@santacruzcounty.us or phone 454-2160.   Maybe ask County Supervisor Zach Friend, too.  He attended the closed session meetings when all this was decided, and allowed the Aptos Village Project developers (Swenson, Appenrodt, Testorff) to get all this work done at taxpayer expense to benefit their disgusting development.   Call 454-2200 or write Zach Friend mailto:zach.friend@santacruzcounty.us.  Maybe also ask when the disruptive County Public Works road work in the Village that is really hurting business for the existing merchants will be finished???  As always, Zach says he loves to hear from you.

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).

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By: Gary Patton    Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com


#267 / Who Decides?

On August 29, 2017, The New York Times ran an Op-Ed by Peter D. Kramer and Sally L. Satel. Kramer is an emeritus professor of psychiatry at Brown. Satel is a psychiatrist and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. These psychiatrists addressed the following question: “Who Decides Whether Trump Is Unfit to Govern?” Kramer and Satel concluded that “the medical profession and democracy would be ill served if a political determination at this level were ever disguised as clinical judgment.”

On August 31, 2017, reader Ken Lefkowitz fired back a response. His letter to the newspaper strongly disagreed with Kramer and Satel:

“May I respectfully disagree with the esteemed psychiatrists, whose position is that politicians and not mental health professionals should decide on President Trump’s fitness for office. They write that “many experts believe that Mr. Trump has a narcissistic personality disorder.” These experts are concerned about his mental and emotional instability. 

People with this disorder distort reality to meet their extreme ego needs, rendering them blind to other views and facts but their own. Mr. Trump is capable of any belief or action that feeds his extreme narcissism, no matter how absurd. His actions are driven by his obsession to gain the praise and adoration of others. 

This inability to understand reality and the truth, which we have clearly seen in Mr. Trump, renders him incapable of evaluating situations and making informed, appropriate decisions. It is time the mental health community step up and join, if not lead, [sic.] the effort to remove our president from office”.

Let me weigh in on this timely topic, made even more timely by the fact that our president is clearly trying to match craziness with the Supreme Leader of the Democratic Republic of North Korea. If we truly believe in “self-government,” and a government “of, by, and for the people,” then “the people” must be in charge of deciding who is competent to be president.  Expert opinion can be solicited and employed as the people make decisions, but decisions about who should run our government, and what our government should do, are not susceptible to delegation to experts. “We, the people,” need to decide.

We have set up political mechanisms to make the political decisions that determine who is in charge, and how the government will operate. 

I conclude that we should stop looking for someone other than ourselves to save us. “We, the people,” is not a fictional entity. It’s a genuine political reality. I am voting for Kramer and Satel, on the question, “Who Decides?”

We decide! That’s what “self-government” means. I think we made a bad decision last November. If we want to reverse that decision now (which would be a good thing to do, in my opinion), we’d better start making our political system work, instead of hoping for some expert to come in and solve our problem for us. (Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read his blog at www.gapatton.net

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CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo Looks at what could now be a Trump approved private school!!! See below.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s ” National Health Alert #9” 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: “Look, Ma, I’m on Rotten Tomatoes! Here’s the link, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). Also, Rebel In the Rye, the new movie about the life and times of J. D. Salinger: perceptive or phony? Read all about it in this week’s Good Times.” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.  

REBEL IN THE RYE. Unfortunately this excellent film, especially if you’ve ever thought about writing for a living leaves on Thursday. It’s about J.D.Salinger and THE BOOK and what the writing and the success afterwards did to his life. A chubby Kevin Spacey plays J.D.’s mentor and Nicholas Hoult is J.D. See it quickly, or sometime for sure.

ENDS THURSDAY September 28.

BRADS STATUS. Ben Stiller is at his very best acting here and it’s a touching, involving, magnetic film. It’s about a dad and his son and the all too real complex relationship between parent and offspring. Austin Abrams plays Stiller’s son and he is quite simply great in the part. I cringed a lot due to reality, and it’s a fine film.

STRONGER. Jake Gyllenhaal is the spectator at the 2013 Boston Marathon who got hus legs blown off. What takes this movie out of the soupy heart puller category is that Jeff Bauman the victim was apparently a goof and fairly nasty guy. So you get booze, fighting, fuck words,  lots of anger but because it’s Jake Gyllenhaal you come out liking the show. It’s a feel good film and barely shows anything of the marathon. Go if you like that sort of thing.

POLINA. The plot is from a book and it’s another will the poor kid struggle into fame against the odds….except that most of the “odds” here are created by Polina. It leaves Thursday so no big problem here. The dance photography isn’t much to watch either…and it should have been.

ENDS THURSDAY September 28.

KINGSMEN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. I wished I’d remembered that this part 2 of an ongoing series comes from comic books. The entire movie look like an animated cartoon. It’s violent, murderous, and plain goofy. Elton John plays himself and there’s a warning right there. To watch such good actors as Julianne Moore , Halle Berry and especially Colin Firth jump around for their million dollar salaries is embarrasing.

MOTHER. An excellent, genius- directed, absolutely intelligent plot, best-acted…what more can you ask from a movie?? Jennifer Lawrence, plus two  of my favorite actors Javier Bardem and Ed Harris, Brian Gleeson, and a darker Michelle Pfeiffer make a perfect cast for this challenging film. Not a scary, boo-type, odd, weird, what’s that?, cellar stairs type of film. It’s more like “what is going on”, “I can’t imagine what’s happening next kind of film, Directed by Darren Aronofsky it’s a winner, and you’ll remember seeing it. So go. RT calls it a “psychological thriller” I agree.

DOLORES. See both Chris Krohn’s and my “advice” and “promotion” of this very necessary documentary up above. We all have some opinion of Dolores Huerta based on rumor, poor memory and the ignoring by media. That’s why we should all see this film. It’s also strong on feminism and Gloria Steinem along with Angela Davis have much to add to Dolores’ near overwhelming labor organizing. Then too you’ll learn just how much aid and direction that Bobby Kennedy gave to Dolores. See this film and bring a good friend…or Republican. 100% on RT!!!

This broke all box office records last weekend when IT opened…and IT should have. IT is a well made, very scary movie. Based on some Stephen King books, IT is chapter one of a two part nightmare- daydream that will grab you when you are least prepared to be scared. It has all the clichés…BUT it’s got tension, mystery, and perfect timing along with excellent acting. Just go see IT but only if you truly enjoy being scared. 86 on RT.

WIND RIVER. Jeremy Renner and young beauty Elisabeth Olsen track down a killer on an Indian Reservation in the very cold Wyoming winter. Much better than average, you’ll stay with the plot and quite decent acting…all the way. It males some obvious social comment along the way, and that works too. The conclusion is a bit crude and drunken, but Renner is almost always worth watching. ENDS THURSDAY September 28.

DUNKIRK. Acclaimed auteur Christopher Nolan directs this World War II thriller about the evacuation of Allied troops from the French city of Dunkirk before Nazi forces can take hold. co-star, with longtime Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer providing the score.

Dunkirk is a city in France and during WWII the Nazis drove the allied troops to Dunkirk’s beaches. There were 400, 000 troops stranded there with no ships to take them to safety. Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance are in the film briefly and do fine acting jobs. The film is all war and is well made and directed…better than most war films. But with City Of Ghosts playing now that’s the one to see IF you like genuine war films.

ATOMIC BLONDE. Charlize Theron does a nearly perfect job as the Blonde in this James Bond – Berlin Wall era action movie. Very well done fight scenes, complex spy loyalty plot, John Goodman is getting more and more difficult to believe, and he’s in it too. James McAvoy is there too but he doesn’t matter much. It’ll be the first of many sequels believe me, even though it didn’t do that well on opening weekend. Charlize T. also produced the film, and it’s based on a graphic novel.

VICEROYS HOUSE. When you have Hugh Bonneville (from Downton Abbey) playing Lord Mountbatten it would seem to  guarantee a masterpiece but this saga about Britain leaving the control of India in 1947 and dividing that part of the country into Pakistan and India, but it’s dull and near-boring in its’ accuracy. You’ll see Ghandi, Churchill, newsreels, and corpses…and learn a lot of history about oil deposits in Pakistan. Go warned.

  

LOGAN LUCKY. This film has just about everything that should guarantee greatness or at least give you two hours of “Good Movie”. It’s a robbery movie that takes place at the annual Coca Cola NASCAR race in Concord North Carolina. Channing Tatum isn’t very impressive, but Adam Driver steals many, many scenes with his one arm. Katie Holmes is in it too but it’s Daniel Craig who is most watchable. It’s odd and weird but Hillary Swank shows up in the last few minutes that must hint that there’ll be Logan Lucky 2. Steven Soderbergh has done better.

WONDER WOMAN. IF you like comic book heroes or heroines (hope its ok to use that term) Wonder woman is several cuts about the usual no brainer/ violent/monster filled box office smashes we keep seeing. Gal Gadot is a former Miss Israel and we keep hearing about that. She plays W. Woman. Robin Wright, is in it too and she is a long time favorite of mine. She is Sean Penn’s ex. Chris Pine just jumps around looking like the usual Hollywood cutie pie. If you remember that she’s a comic book star and is supposed to battle, fight and pose in tight pants all the time you could enjoy this more than most of that ilk. Do remember too that Wonder Woman is a DC comics creation NOT a Marvel Comic character…there’s a big difference, and I was recently corrected on KZSC’s Bushwhackers Breakfast Club.

ANNABELLE:CREATION. This is supposed to be the prequel to the Conjuring series (in case you’ve seen this haunted doll series). You can stay home and write the tired old script in seconds. Dark cellar stairs, creepy doll in closet, innocent orphan girls, scarecrows, dumbwaiters,  you’ve seen it dozens of times if you haven’t been careful.

THE HITMANS BODYGUARD. Samuel L. Jackson probably says “motherfucker” at least 100 times in this car chase, bloody, violent flick. Audiences laugh nowadays at the violence and I have a tough time with that. Jackson is the Hit man and Ryan Reynolds is supposed to be his body guard for some reason that I slept through. Salma Hayek is supposed to be Jackson’s wife and I guess to prove it, she too says “motherfucker” at the very end of the movie. Don’t expect to enjoy Gary Oldman, because he only has about 10 lines.

THE TRIP TO SPAIN. This is the third supposed comedy that two British actors, comics, impressionists… Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have made, and they shouldn’t make any more. These guys go on supposedly food tasting trips to restaurants in England, Italy and now Spain. In each restaurant and on the road they do imitations of famous British actors…James Bond, well Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and  Mick Jagger and try very hard to be funny. I haven’t laughed once during any of these contrived messes and find the two actors just about nauseating. Don’t blame me if you do decide to go. ENDS THURSDAY September 28.

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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. September 26 has Conductor, artistic director Michel Singher talking about the next Espressivo Orchestra Concert, after Michel,  Betsy Anderson and Alison Carrillo talk about  Museo Carrillo. October 3 has Denise Gallant talking about her Tom Scribner documentary, and then we’ll talk with Erik Gandolfini and Avondina Wills about the Mountain Top play at the Center Stage. On October 10 Phyllis Rosenblum discusses the Santa Cruz Chamber Players 2017-18 season. Following Phyllis two of the authors of the new MAH book Harvesting Our Heritage will discuss our County crop history. Gary Patton gives info and background on the Save Santa Cruz Organization on Oct.17. The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. 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

This is cute 🙂

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.    “October”

“October is the month for painted leaves…. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky; November the later twilight”, Henry David Thoreau, “Autumnal Tints”
“October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins…. Merry October! ~Rainbow Rowell
“On October 15, 1965, an estimated 70,000 people took part in large-scale anti-war demonstrations“, Noam Chomsky
“Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring”, Nelson Algren

COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

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

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

September 18 – 24, 2017

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Bruce
Highlights this week:
Griggs and Vulnerable Santa Cruz…True story of Barry Swenson’s Illegal Tank Removal…Nestlé’s buys vegan biz (like Coke buying Odwalla)… Peter Bartczak mural’s demise… Warning against Western Service Workers Association …Dolores the movie,  reviewed by Krohn and Bratton…Greensite on Housing Costs…Krohn and affordable housing, and the Pacific Ave. hole and Swenson plans…Steinbruner and true story of Swenson and Aptos Village development problems, Rancho Del Mar fighting TRC developer, Zach Friend not responding or caring or helping… Patton and DACA deal…DeCinzo and school time…Eagan and Medicare…Mark Stone Party Thursday…FashionArt show next Saturday…Jensen and a movie hint…I critique Mother, Dolores, Viceroy House and Beach Rats…Quotes, an amalgam of.

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McHugh & Bianchi General Store. November 1972. This grand identifying structure was replaced with Bank Of The West in 2011. It was right across the street from Scribner Square at the corner of Pacific and Mission.. It was once known as the Hotaling Building and Hinkle’s Cash Store.                                                        
    
photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
SANTA CRUZ TIME CAPSULE 1979-1999. As created and filmed by LBJohnson.
THE HUMANS 1979 from their album. Early Santa Cruz music!!!
Larry Hosford and Jeff Cruse on KUSP at General Feed and Seed in Soquel.

DATELINE September 18, 2017

VULNERABLE SANTA CRUZ. UCSC Earth Scientist professor and former director of the Institute of Earth Sciences Gary Griggs and I talked about the official City of Santa Cruz Vulnerability Study that he and Brent Haddad were commissioned to do. Paid for by FEMA money, it was also known as the Santa Cruz Climate Adaptation Plan. It laid out the dangers of flooding Pacific Avenue, floods filling Neary Lagoon, shores crumbling, on and on it reads. What’s the City ever done in reaction to the study, what has the City ever done by way of the evacuation plan it urged…nothing, just nothing. It’s the same as back in 1988 one year before the 1989 earthquake when the city commissioned experts to detail the possible earthquake dangers. That study said that almost all the business on Pacific Avenue needed re-shoring, needed huge new support systems. The businesses on Pacific and the City Council paid the study fee and sent the experts back out of town and almost all the building owners did absolutely nothing. Except oddly enough Max Walden who owned The Cooper House did the necessary re-structuring. But after the 89 quake local “experts” said the Cooper House did get damaged and because the new owner wanted the FEMA money he let the historic building be destroyed.  Are we still in the same boat? Will the next tsunami, tidal wave, or quake destroy more of our community because the City Council again ignores all the warnings? We’ll see, won’t we? Listen to the Griggs interview at … http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton  and click on “September 12”.

BARRY SWENSON GOT CAUGHT AND FINED! Becky Steinbruner has again, scooped everybody in her BrattonOnline column long ago and told all of us about Barry Swenson and the ILLEGAL TANK REMOVAL…this week she tells us the entire story that the Sentinel missed completely. Read it just below.

NESTLE’S BUYS IN. Read in The Monterey County Weekly how Nestle’s bought out a Moss Landing organic vegan business. Read the details here… Read the details here…

Remember Greg Steltenpohl’s selling of Odwalla Juices in Davenport to Coca Cola back in 1996. Read what’s happened to Greg here…

A fond farewell to Moonlight Dance, located at Scope Park, with artist Peter Bartczak and the Santa Cruz Arts Commission. Moonlight Dance has been a poignant symbol of the accepting and diverse culture of Santa Cruz for 24 years. The community shared fond memories and thoughts of the mural.

PETER BARTCZAK & MURAL. Like destroying the Cooperhouse, the closing of Logos, losing the Pergolesi, losing the Art and History from the McPherson Museum of Art and History, the painting over Peter Bartczak’s “Moonlight Dance”  mural in what used to be Scribner Square (SCOPE PARK) means losing more of the spirit of Santa Cruz. That’s the spirit that identifies us as a community and bonds and binds the folks who have chosen to live here. It is the same spirit that preserved the Town Clock….watch Peter

BEWARE THE WESTERN SERVICE WORKERS ASSOCIATION. This cult of young adults are back again (Trader Joe’s downtown) asking for spare change and trying to get more young people to join their group. Controversy follows them everywhere and always read this website before you get involved …or donate… Anybody know anything about the western service workers association?

CHECK YOUR FINGERS. Under no circumstances should anyone go see the movie “Beach Rats” now showing at the Nickelodeon. (see critique down below). But the one thing I did remember from critiquing it last Sunday is just one statement in the film. “If your index finger is longer than your ring finger, that means you’re gay”.

DOLORES…MORE THAN A MOVIE. Two more than salient topics are dealt with in this long overdue tribute to Dolores Huerta. One is to realize what history (and all of us) has done to motivated women. Obviously Hillary C. but add in Elizabeth Roosevelt, Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Pelosi and on and on. Huerta is shown to be a monumental force in spite of all odds, most of which are sexist. The second feature of this documentary is the power and strength and validity of The Boycott and its place in our history. From Delano and the grape boycott, to General Motors, Safeway, Nestle, Luis Valdez, Angela Davis are featured

HOUSING COST SHIBBOLETHS
A recent Sentinel editorial noted that California’s high cost of housing, including rents, hinders economic growth and is the major factor behind the high cost of living in the Golden State (As We See It 9/14/17). The editorial laid out the reasons for the state’s high housing costs as seen by the editorial board, namely: zoning restrictions that limit the amount of developable land; NIMBYS (Not In My Back Yarders); high development impact fees; overly strict building codes and labor rules; CEQA  (California Environmental Quality Act) abuses and inclusionary zoning measures (requiring a development to include a certain number of below market-rate units.) Wow, their list neatly summarizes factors that protect the environment; ensure building safety; respect the right to protest gentrification and overbuilding in neighborhoods and provide for some (never enough) lower-than- average priced (never low enough) housing units in multi-unit developments. Conspicuously absent from the Sentinel’s list is any mention of investors, speculators and developers whose right to profit from a basic human need for shelter is never questioned.  

This developer friendly view of the high cost of housing brings to mind a similar distortion when people discuss why we have a high rate of rape in Santa Cruz, in California, in the US and globally. The usual list includes: women wearing skimpy clothes; women drinking; women going out alone; women partying; women not using the buddy system; women flirting…you get the picture. The main cause of rape is masculine sexual aggression, which is rendered invisible and thus assumes the status of a force of nature that women must navigate around, alter their lives around and suffer the guilt and blame if they fail and are raped. We will never radically reduce the incidence and trauma of rape if we ignore the cause and focus on extraneous factors that are at best, irrelevant, at worst victim-blaming. We need to re-focus attention on creating the social conditions for boys to be raised in a culture where “being a man” is not equated with being aggressive and in which all genders respect and support each other. No, not easy, we don’t have a good role model at the top right now and it won’t happen overnight but at least we can stop looking in all the wrong directions while ignoring the only one that will make a difference.

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

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By: Chris Krohn    Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

Who Will Hold the City Council’s Feet to the Affordable Housing Fire?

“If Not Now When? If Not Us, Then Who?”

(Outrageous) Photo of the week

Your tax dollars at work! What happened to the smaller Ford Rangers, or even the Toyota Tacoma’s? What message is the city sending? What about an E-truck? Try jogging, biking, or strollering around this F-150 behemoth!?! Difficult at best. Why is the city purchasing such bloat? Just a couple of months ago I saw Park Rangers patrolling the river levy driving an electric golf cart. These carts are maneuverable and provide plenty of room to get around the recreating residents. Somebody has too much money in the city, and I have a homeless shelter that needs funding.

Brother, Can You Spare a Condo?
The housing “buck” that’s supposed to stop at the Santa Cruz City Council this week came and went. It came in the form of a Barry Swenson 79-condo project at 1547 Pacific Avenue; the site of the pre-earthquake Bookshop Santa Cruz. Our housing hyper-sensitive community was entitled to 12 units of affordable housing in this project. There it was on the table, but upon voting, our community was left hung out to dry and the 12 units disappeared into that same black hole of council misses: 555 Pacific Ave., 1800 Soquel Ave. 716 Darwin Street and the recent dubious additions to 630 Water Street. Somehow TWELVE bedrooms and studios just slipped through the folded arms of a compliant, developer-first five-two majority city council. Folks, our city council is just not holding developers accountable.

In this case, Swenson front man, Scott Connelly, was not offering any affordable units, and the Council Five wasn’t demanding any. In fact, Scotty will build a completely unfriendly-family project with NO 3-bedroom units, while at the same time turning several two-bedroom units into studios and more one-bedrooms in this “Santa Cruz hot, hot” housing market. How hot is it? I asked a simple question: Scotty, before you beam me up, how much will the rent be at 1547 Pacific Avenue? After all, it’s the location where I was introduced to caffeine during my UCSC undergrad days at Caffe Pergolesi, and where the Penny University was founded, and also where I was recently told, Supervisor Gary Patton held his Monday agenda review sessions before Tuesday County supervisor meetings. Well, it took Scott about ten minutes to get to the, er, actual, illusory maybe, rent prices. But finally, he did reveal some numbers to gaping mouths, dropped jaws, and bystander gasps. In a doctor’s voice charged with telling the patient she’s got incurable cancer, Mr. Connelly stammered and finally arrived at the price tags: Studios for $2000, 1-bedrooms for $2800, and 2-bedroom units as high as $3800…and “our” Santa Cruz City Council scored zero affordable units that day.

I often feel like I am living in a parallel universe while occupying a seat on the left side of city council dais. Some 58% of the community members that occupy some part of the universe I’m also apart of are renters. And those renters were looking to the council last Tuesday afternoon to help level this insane Santa Cruz rental market. I am deeply sorry to say the council failed this rather simple test because guess what? There’s hundreds more units of housing being contemplated along Front Street and the river, and achieving deep levels of affordability does not look very promising at this point.

Public Wants Council to Demand Developers Build the Affordable Units
To top it off, 28 of 29 members of the public who wrote in pleading with the council to demand that the developer at least take some time and come back to the council with the requisite number of affordable units were almost completely ignored. “Just figure it” out they wrote in unison. The city is entitled to 15%, or 11.85 units under the “Planned Development” scenario that the developers agreed to enter in. Perhaps the correspondence is best summed up by what retired teacher, Ruth Valdez, wrote:

“As a retired-teacher I am finding it nearly impossible to afford housing in this area where I’ve lived and worked since 1985. Is this any way to treat us? In your approval of 79 condos on Pacific Ave at the old Bookshop Santa Cruz site, your Council needs to demand that the developer build the 13 inclusionary units as per our ordinance for Planned Development units. The Council has discretion to demand this. I urge you to demand that these affordable units be built as part of the development. We need all the affordable housing possible in our city.”

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~Bernie Quote of the Week

“A great nation is not judged by its billionaires, but by its compassion.”

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.

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By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY FINES BARRY SWENSON BUILDER $125,000 FOR ILLEGAL TANK REMOVAL & SOIL CONTAMINATION AT APTOS VILLAGE PROJECT

The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported Sept. 16, Page A4 that Barry Swenson Builder agreed to pay $125.000 environmental fine related to a major Aptos development (notice the name is missing) for “improperly handled and disposed of” underground storage tank.  Here is the link.

The San Jose Mercury News also ran an article.

Well, in my opinion, the articles do not report the whole truth of this story.  Here is what really happened:  Barry Swenson Builder (the articles say the company is now called “Swenson”) and Santa Cruz Underground Paving crews came upon a buried metal tank in the Aptos Village Project on March 1, 2016.  By law, the crews should have stopped work, notified County Environmental Health and Aptos/La Selva Fire staff that the tank was there.  Did that happen???  NO.  Crews, at the direction of Barry Swenson Builder project foremen Jim Lynn and Keith Henderson, continued to extricate the tank.  The tank ruptured and spilled hundreds of gallons of old diesel fuel, probably associated with the historic Lam-Mattison Apple Dryer and Vinegar Works, the foundation of which was adjacent to the tank.  

I happened to drive by just then and saw the workers furiously channeling the liquid into a trench that SCUP had hastily created and I saw the large metal tank on the ground nearby.  I saw the liquid welling up from the hole where the tank had been, all next to the intersection of Village Drive and Granite Way.  I did not have a camera, but went back the next day and found NO TANK, and the trench filled in.  Hmmmm….

I contacted Assistant Planning Director, Ms. Wanda Williams, about the tank.  It took nearly a month to get an answer.  She assured me that all was well, that Barry Swenson Builder had a permit from County Environmental Health to remove the tank.  What caught my attention, however, was that the copy of the receipt for the permit was for March 8, 2016 (not March 1 or before) and that double fees for the permit were levied.  Hmmmm….

Luckily, I found out the shocking truth from some honest County staff: 

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~

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.

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By: Gary Patton    Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

#258 / That DACA Deal

Did President Trump make a deal on DACA? A deal that actually involved working with Democratic Party members of Congress? Yesterday, the media said, “Yes,” or at least, “we think so.” Of course, nothing is done until it’s done; we will all have to wait to see what ultimately happens. Nonetheless, the news stories raise an intriguing possibility. Could it be that we are finally moving away from a politics that is so hyper-partisan that it might be possible to contemplate a Congress that will play the role it is supposed to play in our governmental system? 

After the election of President Obama, in 2008, the Republican Party took the position that all Republican Party members of Congress would vote, en bloc, against anything that President Obama proposed. And the Party acted accordingly, with the Republican Party leadership ruthlessly enforcing that hyper-partisan “party line.” That meant, as a practical matter, for the last ten years of the Obama presidency, that nothing could happen on any significantly controversial matter. 

Any legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Congress could be vetoed by the President, and any program that the President favored would simply not be enacted by the Congress, no matter what. In the latter category were immigration reform, and specifically any program that would try to find ways to allow children who had been brought to the United States without proper authorization to stay in this country, and to continue to contribute to it. The President’s “Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals” program, carried out by Executive Order, was one of the “work arounds” that resulted from the Republican Party’s unwillingness to work with a Black President.

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

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CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Scroll below to see De Cinzo’s opinion of students …and fall!

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s ” Medicare For All ” 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 CONCERT. Not a bit of Mozart or classical music for some reason this Thursday. Here’s what they sent…”Jazz standards form the basis of the musical tradition that has been called “America’s Classical Music,” with jazz bands interpreting the songs in an endless variety of ways. Persephone (featuring guitarist and vocalist Suki Wessling and drummer Jen Bruno) presents these songs stripped back down to their essence, with the songs’ musical and lyrical context. (For more information, visit PersephoneBand.com.) Join us for a celebration of pan-American song! Thursday, September 21st 12:10 – 12:50 Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown Branch – Meeting Room.

BIG MARK STONE PARTY THIS THURSDAY (9/21). Join almost every thankful resident and voter in the 5th Annual Party in Support Of Assembly member Mark Stone. Mark has been a great County Supervisor, near-perrfect Coastal Commissioner and has been taking good care of us in Sacramento. Please Join Friends, Supporters, and Hosts, Les and Nancy Gardner, George Couch, Democratic Club of North Santa Cruz County, Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County for The Thursday, September 21, 2017 5:00pm to 7:00pm party at Bruno’s BBQ 230-G Mt. Hermon Road • Scotts Valley, California.
Sliding Scale: $30 – $50 Supporter: $250 Sponsor: $1,000.

Checks can be made payable to Friends of Mark Stone PO Box 81, Monterey, CA 93942 or contribute online at www.FriendsOfMarkStone.org For More Information Or To RSVP Please Contact: 831-234-5885

FASHIONART…THE 11th ANNUAL!!!
FashionART Santa Cruz brings together the very best of fashion and wearable art to create a one of a kind, unforgettable event. In 2006, Angelo Grova, of Michaelangelo Gallery, hosted a fashion show in the parking lot outside his gallery to help support a friend studying fashion design. Much to Grova’s surprise, more than 400 people showed up in his parking lot that night… and so, FashionART Santa Cruz was born. Encouraged by the overwhelming success of that evening Grova, along with a dedicated group of volunteers, moved the show to the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. Now an annual event, FashionART Santa Cruz showcases exquisite creations by emerging designers and spectacular, wearable art pieces. FashionART Santa Cruz takes the very best of fashion and art and brings them together to create a unique, colorful production full of surprises and creative talent. FashionART Santa Cruz is a full blown multi-media runway show featuring ready to wear from local and Bay Area designers and unique, one of a kind art pieces, all strutting down the runway for a truly unforgettable event. FashionART Santa Cruz 2017 will partner with non-profit organization, the Santa Cruz Education Foundation, who will receive partial proceeds from ticket sales. General Admission/Reserved Tickets. Tickets can be purchased from the Civic Auditorium by phone (831) 420-5260, in person, or online using the button below. It happens Saturday September 23, at the Civic Auditorium starting at 7 p.m. To purchase Premium Runway Seating tickets the day of show, contact FASC by phone: (831) 426-5500 or email: fashionartsantacruz@gmail.com And for sure don’t miss the TRUNK SHOW in the Civic parking lot that opens at 7 and goes on until after the Runway Show.

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: Lisa writes: “Check out the newest trailer from what may be one of my favorite movies of the year (hint: it’s from Guillermo del Toro) this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). And if you’re feeling blue that the final season of Game Of Thrones won’t be broadcast until (gah!) 2019, cheer up with this on-set blooper reel!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

MOTHER. An excellent, genius- directed, absolutely intelligent plot, best-acted…what more can you ask from a movie?? Jennifer Lawrence, plus two  of my favorite actors Javier Bardem and Ed Harris, Brian Gleeson, and a darker Michelle Pfeiffer make a perfect cast for this challenging film. Not a scary, boo-type, odd, weird, what’s that?, cellar stairs type of film. It’s more like “what is going on”, “I can’t imagine what’s happening next kind of film, Directed by Darren Aronofsky it’s a winner, and you’ll remember seeing it. So go. RT calls it a “psychological thriller” I agree.

DOLORES. See both Chris Krohn’s and my “advice” and “promotion” of this very necessary documentary up above. We all have some opinion of Dolores Huerta based on rumor, poor memory and the ignoring by media. That’s why we should all see this film. It’s also strong on feminism and Gloria Steinem along with Angela Davis have much to add to Dolores’ near overwhelming labor organizing. Then too you’ll learn just how much aid and direction that Bobby Kennedy gave to Dolores. See this film and bring a good friend…or Republican. 100% on RT!!!

VICEROYS HOUSE. When you have Hugh Bonneville (from Downton Abbey) playing Lord Mountbatten it would seem to  guarantee a masterpiece but this saga about Britain leaving the control of India in 1947 and dividing that part of the country into Pakistan and India, but it’s dull and near-boring in its’ accuracy. You’ll see Ghandi, Churchill, newsreels, and corpses…and learn a lot of history about oil deposits in Pakistan. Go warned.

BEACH RATS. This is a very gay movie so… if you’re not gay don’t go, it’s a terrible movie.  If you are gay really don’t go!!! The acting the plot, the shallowness, will or should, infuriate you. There is no depth, no background, lots of violence, crotches, lying, but mostly bad acting. And don’t forget about the length of your index vs ring finger (see above). ENDS THURS. SEPT.21.

This broke all box office records last weekend when IT opened…and IT should have. IT is a well made, very scary movie. Based on some Stephen King books, IT is chapter one of a two part nightmare- daydream that will grab you when you are least prepared to be scared. It has all the clichés…BUT it’s got tension, mystery, and perfect timing along with excellent acting. Just go see IT but only if you truly enjoy being scared. 86 on RT.

THE BIG SICK. Kumail Nanjiani the Pakistani jerk from the “Silicon Valley” tv sit com not only wrote this plot but he and his real wife lived it. The film is a bit long but it’s well worth seeing. It’ll grab you when you least expect it. He’s a standup comic and falls in love with Zoe Kazan, a “white” girl. It’s heart rending, funny and  a tale told of cultural differences between his traditional Pakistani family and her very contemporary Mom  (Holly Hunter) and dad. Go see it…it’ll surprise you.(and I’ll predict some Awards around December-January). ENDS THURS. SEPT.21.

WIND RIVER. Jeremy Renner and young beauty Elisabeth Olsen track down a killer on an Indian Reservation in the very cold Wyoming winter. Much better than average, you’ll stay with the plot and quite decent acting…all the way. It males some obvious social comment along the way, and that works too. The conclusion is a bit crude and drunken, but Renner is almost always worth watching.

DUNKIRK. Acclaimed auteur Christopher Nolan directs this World War II thriller about the evacuation of Allied troops from the French city of Dunkirk before Nazi forces can take hold. co-star, with longtime Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer providing the score.

Dunkirk is a city in France and during WWII the Nazis drove the allied troops to Dunkirk’s beaches. There were 400, 000 troops stranded there with no ships to take them to safety. Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance are in the film briefly and do fine acting jobs. The film is all war and is well made and directed…better than most war films. But with City Of Ghosts playing now that’s the one to see IF you like genuine war films.

ATOMIC BLONDE. Charlize Theron does a nearly perfect job as the Blonde in this James Bond – Berlin Wall era action movie. Very well done fight scenes, complex spy loyalty plot, John Goodman is getting more and more difficult to believe, and he’s in it too. James McAvoy is there too but he doesn’t matter much. It’ll be the first of many sequels believe me, even though it didn’t do that well on opening weekend. Charlize T. also produced the film, and it’s based on a graphic novel.

LOGAN LUCKY. This film has just about everything that should guarantee greatness or at least give you two hours of “Good Movie”. It’s a robbery movie that takes place at the annual Coca Cola NASCAR race in Concord North Carolina. Channing Tatum isn’t very impressive, but Adam Driver steals many, many scenes with his one arm. Katie Holmes is in it too but it’s Daniel Craig who is most watchable. It’s odd and weird but Hillary Swank shows up in the last few minutes that must hint that there’ll be Logan Lucky 2. Steven Soderbergh has done better.

WONDER WOMAN. IF you like comic book heroes or heroines (hope its ok to use that term) Wonder woman is several cuts about the usual no brainer/ violent/monster filled box office smashes we keep seeing. Gal Gadot is a former Miss Israel and we keep hearing about that. She plays W. Woman. Robin Wright, is in it too and she is a long time favorite of mine. She is Sean Penn’s ex. Chris Pine just jumps around looking like the usual Hollywood cutie pie. If you remember that she’s a comic book star and is supposed to battle, fight and pose in tight pants all the time you could enjoy this more than most of that ilk. Do remember too that Wonder Woman is a DC comics creation NOT a Marvel Comic character…there’s a big difference, and I was recently corrected on KZSC’s Bushwhackers Breakfast Club.

ANNABELLE:CREATION. This is supposed to be the prequel to the Conjuring series (in case you’ve seen this haunted doll series). You can stay home and write the tired old script in seconds. Dark cellar stairs, creepy doll in closet, innocent orphan girls, scarecrows, dumbwaiters,  you’ve seen it dozens of times if you haven’t been careful.

HOME AGAIN. Some friend used the word “torpor” in a meeting I attended last week. Torpor fits this movie almost perfectly…so does, stupor, inanity, vapid, fatuous and it stars Reese Witrherspoon. It’s not funny enough to be a comedy and not serious enough to be even close to a drama. A 40 year old woman (Witherspoon) rents/shares  her house to three young guys and they have sex…you shouldn’t watch. RT gives it 35 but it shouldn’t have. ENDS THURS. SEPT.21.

THE HITMANS BODYGUARD. Samuel L. Jackson probably says “motherfucker” at least 100 times in this car chase, bloody, violent flick. Audiences laugh nowadays at the violence and I have a tough time with that. Jackson is the Hit man and Ryan Reynolds is supposed to be his body guard for some reason that I slept through. Salma Hayek is supposed to be Jackson’s wife and I guess to prove it, she too says “motherfucker” at the very end of the movie. Don’t expect to enjoy Gary Oldman, because he only has about 10 lines.

THE TRIP TO SPAIN. This is the third supposed comedy that two British actors, comics, impressionists… Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have made, and they shouldn’t make any more. These guys go on supposedly food tasting trips to restaurants in England, Italy and now Spain. In each restaurant and on the road they do imitations of famous British actors…James Bond, well Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and  Mick Jagger and try very hard to be funny. I haven’t laughed once during any of these contrived messes and find the two actors just about nauseating. Don’t blame me if you do decide to go.

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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 and Barbara Riverwoman from the San Lorenzo River Mysteries group start the hour on Sept.19.  After which Christina Morgan Cree and Jenny Sandrof reveal the fashion secrets of the annual FashionArt show happening Sept. 23.  September 26 has Conductor, artistic director Michel Singher talking about the next Espressivo Orchestra Concert, after Michel,  Betsy Anderson and Alison Carrillo talk about  Museo Carrillo. October 3 we’ll talk with Erik Gandolfini and Avondina Wills about the Mountain Top play at the Center Stage. On October 10 Phyllis Rosenblum discusses the Santa Cruz Chamber Players 2017-18 season. Gary Patton gives info and background on the Save Santa Cruz Organization on Oct.17. The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. 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

If I didn’t post this before, I’m posting it now. And if I did, it’s worth watching again. This guy is hilarious 🙂

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. “AN AMALGAM”

“Man is by nature a political animal”, Aristotle
“People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do”, Isaac Asimov
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom”. Isaac Asimov

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former”. Albert Einstein

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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

Posted in Weekly Articles | Leave a comment

September 12 – 18, 2017

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Bruce
Highlights this week:

Earthquake hole on Pacific Avenue getting new development??..Garfield Circle Church reactions…Steve Pleich running for Supe in 2019…Greensite with updates on the Wharf and Hyatt…Krohn about marijuana concerns, the Mayors feedback session at MAH, plans for Downtown…Steinbruner deals with Taxpayers paying for Aptos Village road work, “Denser housing does not mean Affordable housing” sez County official, tough County pot laws developing, WILPF mtg. coming about water, drinking sewage water, lets help save Rancho del Mar businesses…Gary Patton  and Inescapable Trump facts, plus military equipment coming to our cities…DeCinzo and annual Civil War Tribute in Felton… Eagan and Global Warming and warning…Lisa Jensen asked to be Official Rotten Tomatoes Critic!!… I critique “It”, Home Again, and A Trip To Spain…and quotes about FALL.

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PACIFIC AVENUE PLAZA FOUNTAIN, August 23, 1967. The real name is The Morris Memorial Fountain. The Town Clock that towers over the fountain now was added July 4, 1976. Then on August 5, 1995 E.A. Chase’s statue “Collateral Damage” was placed a little to the east of the Clock Fountain.
    
photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
10 Amazing Science Tricks Using Liquid These are fun!
Cloying DELIVERY But fascinating famous painting mysteries
HOW TO SURVIVE WHILE IN A FALLING ELEVATOR

DATELINE September 11, 2017

PACIFIC EARTHQUAKE PIT UP FOR DEVELOPMENT. It’s that last and most noticeable 1989 earthquake hole on Pacific Avenue where BookShop Santa Cruz used to be.  Developer Bill Brooks and Geoffrey Dunn tried to develop it awhile back, that didn’t work. Prior property owner Ron Lau had a tough time working with Neil Coonerty trying to rebuild something there…that flopped. Now developer Barry Swenson has glorious concepts for that prime location. He wants to develop 2 bedroom suites, all high priced rentals. Building right up to the sidewalk, and more than likely chopping down the historic Black Walnut tree on Center Street near Locust. Let’s see what our City Council does with this one.

STEVE PLEICH RUNNING FOR THIRD DISTRICT SUPERVISOR. Never saying die, Steve Pleich announced that he has already taken out papers to run for the Third District Supervisor’s job. In case you just got here, the Third District covers some of Santa Cruz city, Bonny Doon, Davenport, Swanton Road and Ryan Coonerty heads it up now. Ryan’s term ends January 7, 2019.

GARFIELD CIRCLE CHURCH. Sheila Carrillo wrote to tell us that a friend of hers “and one of the current tenants at the Circle Church is hopefully going to make an offer. It would be a performing arts/education complex and maybe even some co-housing. In the meantime, let’s let the church know that we don’t want a big development going in there. I suggest we start by calling the church–the pastor is Christopher Drury and the assistant is Kristen 426-0510   and let them know that our community wants the church to work with a buyer who will save the historic buildings, continue the church’s stewardship mission, and maintain the character of the neighborhood.. A bonus would be to continue to serve the current tenants who are primarily children and special needs groups. Hopefully, someone will set up an online petition. Si se puede!”

Then Sheila added, “Unfortunately, it  seems like the Circle Church is (and always was) a done deal. The whole thing was handled very sneakily by the church. The other thing you might want to explore, in a different direction, is the fact that some cities (Venice, Cal. and Hollywood for example) are building (REAL) affordable housing above city owned parking lots”.

STEVE PLEICH RUNNING FOR THIRD DISTRICT SUPERVISOR. Never saying die, Steve Pleich announced that he has already taken out papers to run for the Third District Supervisor’s job. In case you just got here, the Third District covers some of Santa Cruz city, Bonny Doon, Davenport, Swanton Road and Ryan Coonerty heads it up now.

REVISITS AND A CORRECTION

First a correction: In the August 30th issue of BrattonOnline I wrote on the proposed building of 3000 beds on the west side of campus at UCSC. From information shared by UCSC at a scoping meeting and confirmed by someone who attended a different meeting with UCSC, I noted that 900 of these beds will be new and the other 2100 will be to relieve pressure on converted lounges and doubles that are being used as triples. That information was incorrect. The 2100 beds will be new and the 900 will be to relieve pressure on existing resources. My apologies for the error.

Second, an update on the Don’t Morph the Wharf campaign: the Environmental Impact Report, which you may recall was a direct result of community and legal pressure on the city, has not yet been released. It most likely will be ready within the next couple of months. Meanwhile hundreds of people, most of them from Santa Cruz, are eagerly signing the Don’t Morph the Wharf petition. Many are prominent Santa Cruz natives, many are old-timers and most have never heard of the Wharf Master Plan. All are adamantly opposed to the particulars of the Plan when shown the consultant’s renditions of the proposed changes. The overwhelming sentiment expressed is, “We love the wharf the way it is: don’t mess with it!” When they hear that federal Tsunami Relief funds were obtained to pay for the Plan with the false claim that the wharf was “severely damaged” from the tsunami, a certain level of disgust is expressed. If you would like to gather some signatures on the petition, email me at gumtree@pacbell.net.

The former Unity Temple and late
Red Horse Chestnut on Broadway		 Their replacement: Hyatt, Queen Palms
and Red Horse Chestnut sapling

Lastly, it’s time to revisit a tree issue. The first photo above is of the iconic 110 year-old Red Horse Chestnut tree that the city failed to protect under its Heritage Tree Ordinance and which was sacrificed, as was the neighborhood, for the recently completed Hyatt Hotel (at Broadway and Ocean Streets) as seen in the second photo.  Such is how the character of Santa Cruz is changed: for the worse in my opinion. If you squint you can spot a Red Horse Chestnut sapling planted in the far right hand side of the property, a required  mitigation for the loss of the 110 year-old tree. The original tree inspired an outpouring of love and a fierce devotion to try to save it. The sapling is cramped in a far corner with too little room to spread its future crown to the sky. No love lost there.

I had a chance to raise the issue of heritage tree protection with the newly hired Planning Director Lee Butler. I shared the observation that by the time a developer brings in a design to planning staff the process is well under way. Delineating heritage trees on a property early and before a design is contemplated is key. Sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn’t. Developers should be alerted by planning staff that they are required under the ordinance to accommodate heritage trees wherever possible in their design prior to their spending time and money on its creation. That if they fail to do so they will be sent back to the drawing board. It should not be acceptable to create a design that fails to accommodate a heritage tree and then claim the tree is in the way and has to be cut down, which is what happened with the Hyatt design. By the time the public is made aware of a development a few days before it reaches city council for a vote it is usually too late to make significant changes. Well, council does have that power but few are prepared to wield it to save trees. Only Katherine Beiers, who was on the city council when the Hyatt was initially approved, voted against its approval over the tree loss issue. Bravo Katherine! Director Butler agreed that early timing is crucial and said he would look into it.  

Follow-up and scrutiny are also key. On a number of occasions I’ve had to contact the city to save a heritage tree that is slated for removal but which could easily be saved (the Frederick Street project) or to alert them that ground has been broken on a project and the heritage trees earmarked for protection are being damaged. The Seaside Company back-hoed trenches a few feet from the trunks and right through major roots of the 5 heritage trees earmarked for protection during their remodel of the Sea and Sand Inn on West Cliff.  A few years later, the city gave them an emergency permit to remove all 5 trees on the grounds of safety.  

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.

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By: Chris Krohn    Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

Every Week…Something

Can’t believe another week went by and it’s already Sunday afternoon and here I am trying to churn out something at the Coffee Roasting Company (now that Pergolesi is no more) and going over my notes from another hectic week of meetings, forums, and get-togethers. Meetings with the new Planning Director, Lee Butler, the Mayor, the city manager, Beach Hill advocate and sometimes activist Don Webber, with Team WAMM and Team Planning Department on a new Marijuana ordinance coming soon, and with the redoubtable and always entertaining old-time Santa Cruz rabble-rousers of the Community Water Coalition. Pleasant Get-togethers included sit-downs with former Assembly Speaker Pro Tem and Santa Cruz County Treasurer, Fred Keeley who’s working on a county housing bond…and the other one with John Leopold, a Santa Cruz County Supervisor who had some push-back at me from my comments here last week, ‘So what’s the county doing on homelessness?’ John says county is doing plenty beginning with the success of the “All-in Plan,” hiring a full-time coordinator on homeless issues, and building transitional housing. And the main forum this week was a 50-resident discussion at the MAH, part of Mayor Cynthia Chase’s “listening tour” on housing. Even got to be on John Sandidge’s radio show with Culture Czar Grant Wilson and abogado extraordinaire, Ben Rice. (p.s. I’ve taken up “free yoga” too at Patagonia, 8:30a on Sundays.)

Team WAMM
The Wo/men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana is the real deal. Their deeds are the stuff of legend. Their mission, to offer care, medicine, and concern to many sick and dying people, is more awesome, complicated and necessary now than it’s ever been. In case you just got to Santa Cruz, WAMM has been a force for peace, spiritual and mental healing, and patient’s rights going on 25 years. They were the major force behind passing California’s Prop 215, “the Compassionate Use Act,” in 1996, and then they were forced to take on the bullying tactics of John Ashcroft’s Attorney General’s office after their farm was raided in 2002 by the DEA (yes, that Drug Enforcement Agency). Mike and Valerie Coral, the founders of WAMM, were even detained and taken to a San Jose holding facility, their 136 plants pulled up, but it all ended on a “high” and defiant note. The WAMM club’s weekly patient distribution of medical marijuana took place on the steps of city hall in front of a thousand residents as a DEA helicopter flew overhead. Fast forward to today and WAMM is still fighting to be a licensed dispensary in the city of Santa Cruz, and it will be on the council agenda this week. In case you are wondering, ganga is now legal in California and the law is set to take effect January 1st. Questions apart from licensing WAMM, abound: 1) residents are allowed to grow six plants in their garden, but they must be out of sight from other humans. Why? 2) dispensaries must be 600 feet apart in the local ordinance, but I believe only 300 feet apart under state law…why? 3) There is farmland within the city of Santa Cruz where pot could be grown, but the local ordinance being proposed outlaw’s “cultivation” within city limits. Why? 4) Will plant nurseries be able to sell “six-packs of marijuana plants, in the “open?” 5) Smoking rooms are not allowed in the proposed Santa Cruz ordinance. Does this unfairly discriminate against the poor who have fewer options, and as a result will people be smoking marijuana openly on the streets where it is also not legal? 6) And perhaps most importantly, we need to demand that an organic product be the only kind of marijuana product allowed to be manufactured, processed and packaged here within the confines of Surf City. Branding is important, and if the Santa Cruz brand is not organic we stand to lose not only a part of our values, but a piece of the market as well.

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


The San Francisco Mime Troupe’s production of “Walls,” was welcomed back to San Lorenzo Park by over 400 residents this past Sunday.

Odd stuff: If you look at the published minutes of last week’s city council closed session agenda item B, #2 you may wonder. I can’t say anything other than what is stated on the agenda, “Donald Harman v. City of Santa Cruz, et al. Northern District Court of California, Case No. 5:16-cv-034361.”

Hot stuff: The Downtown Recovery Plan Amendments and Downtown Association Executive Director, Chip!’s “Party” downtown on September 22nd. No one is sure what it is, but tickets cost $100. The locations to be visited from his web site look to be the new Glow Candle Lounge, MAH Secret Garden, and this just in from Chip!, “Downtown is constantly being redesigned. Representatives from Santa Cruz Economic Development Department and others will be on hand to talk about some of the exciting possibilities for Downtown including a Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium renovation, a permanent Kaiser Permanente Arena a renovation of SC Pacific Station and some very exciting housing projects right here in Downtown Santa Cruz.”Kinda makes you wonder what’s up that it costs a hundred bucks to see our downtown on that night and being ex-ed out of a discussion on some pretty big topics? Why wouldn’t they want to share this evening with everyone…for free?

Sleeper stuff: This is when those in power want you to look over there at the spot on the wall, while they’re downplaying (hiding?) what they are doing right in front of you. This week’s candidates for “Sleeper Stuff”…my fellow Santa Cruzans, keep your eyes on the Wharf Master Plan, the marijuana dispensary conversation and the subsequent ordinance(s), and the Downtown Recovery Plan.

~Bernie Quote of the Week
“I will do everything I possibly can to protect the DREAMers from being thrown out of the only country they have ever known.” (Sept. 8)

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.

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By: Becky Steinbruner    Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

SIGN AN ONLINE PETITION TO SUPPORT RANCHO DEL MAR LOCAL BUSINESSES
TRC Retail, the owner of the Rancho del Mar Center in Aptos, has given the boot to all tenants in the old theater area, with a deadline of September 30 to be out.  That is no way to treat tenants who have reliably paid their rent and whom you want to support during a very disruptive remodel project, don’t you think?

You may recall that when Kaiser bought the CrossRoads Center in Watsonville last year, those tenants also received a 30-day eviction notice.  You may also recall that then-Mayor Felipe Hernandez stepped up to the leadership plate and negotiated a 90-day termination notice with Kaiser, which allowed the merchants to find new retail space and relocate in an organized manner that preserved their businesses and served the Community well.

Where is Supervisor Zach Friend?????  Silent, as usual, and smiling for the Aptos Times cameras.  Please sign this online petition that I was somehow able to create (technology is not my forte) and let Second District County Supervisor Zach Friend know you want him to help these people who will suffer great financial hardship.   He needs to negotiate the ability for them to stay in their current locations until the end of December.  Some, such as the Baskin-Robbins owner, must first secure corporate approval to relocate his franchised store, which can take two months alone.  A 30-day eviction notice is unacceptable and borders on cruel, especially considering that TRC Retail has known for many months that eviction would be the plan.

Sign the Petition

Sign the Petition

ZACH FRIEND <: SUPPORT LOCAL MERCHANTS IN RANCHO DEL MAR CENTER

So where is the County Economic Development Advisor, Ms. Barbara Mason?  It is her job to help merchants like these.  Our tax dollars pay her to do this.  She recently sat next to the TRC Retail people at the County Zoning Administrative hearing when they were seeking a variance for their four 12-foot-tall entrance signs.  Call 831-454-2100 and ask for Barbara Mason’s help to ensure that these small local business owners get help, too.  She has not responded to my multiple calls and e-mails, nor to those of the Rancho del Mar merchants who have been given the 30-day boot. 

While you’re on the phone, give Mr. Bruce Walton at TRC Retail a jingle (858) 442-9960 and remind him that he and other TRC staff assured the 300+ Community members at the public meetings that the existing tenants would be treated fairly.  Ask him to keep that good-faith promise to the public who supports those retailers and ask that the existing retailers be allowed to remain until the end of December, with first priority to move back in after the remodel is complete.

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WILL AUDIT SINK STATE WATER TUNNEL?
Well, there is a good question and some interesting investigation.  Take a look at this San Jose Mercury News article about government corruption.

A Federal audit concluded that $50 million in taxpayer money was used improperly by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to subsidize San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts.  The money helped subsidize planning the water tunnel project when the irrigation districts were supposed to pay for the work.  According to the audit findings, only a small amount of the funds would be required to be repaid by the irrigation districts, under a special agreement.  Further, one of the chief Directors of the Westland Irrigation District, Mr. David Bernhardt, involved in the illegal $50 million deal, has been chosen by Donald Trump as the second in command for the Interior Department, which oversees the Bureau of Reclamation.  That places him in a position to give the irrigation districts preferential treatment in how the Interior Department implements the 2016 water legislation and permitting for the proposed tunnels.

Handy, don’t you think?  I wonder if Mr. Bernhardt has an office in Africa, next to Ellen Pirie’s?  It seems a safe place for hiding when the deals made become public.

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.

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By: Gary Patton    Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

FROM GARY A. PATTON  From Gary’s “We Live In A Political World” website…

We’re including two of Gary’s Two World’s this week…

From Monday, September 11, 2017
“UNMINCED”

This is the inescapable fact: on November 9th, the United States elected a dishonest, inept, unbalanced, and immoral human being as its President and Commander-in-Chief. Trump has daily proven unyielding to appeals of decency, unity, moderation, or fact. He is willing to imperil the civil peace and the social fabric of his country simply to satisfy his narcissism and to excite the worst inclinations of his core followers.*
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* David Remnick, “The Divider,” The New Yorker, August 28, 2017

And from Sunday, September 10, 2017

#253 “I HAVE JUST A FEW SUPERFICIAL CONCERNS”

The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump has “reinstated the ability of local police agencies to receive surplus military equipment, including grenade launchers….” See above for a picture of a grenade launcher. Click the link above for the entire article. Click here for a commentary!

Quoting again from The Wall Street Journal article, “Civil-rights activists criticized the move, saying having military vehicles and similar equipment in local communities … suggests a police force at war with residents. They also said the programs have few rules to control how the equipment is used and ensure officers are trained to use it properly.”

And here is one final quote from the article, outlining the position of the Trump Administration:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the change in a speech before the National Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police union. “We will not put superficial concerns above public safety,” Mr. Sessions told police officers, according his prepared remarks.

If you think it is a “superficial concern” that the federal government apparently wants to turn our local police agencies into armed combat units, with full military capabilities, then you will probably go to sleep tonight feeling safer, understanding that your police department may soon be mobilizing grenade launchers (and similar military equipment) against civil rights demonstrators and other kinds of bad guys. 

I have an opposite opinion. It’s like they say about the movies, or a play: “Once you show the audience the gun, you know it has to be used.”

I don’t want my city to end up looking like some town in Syria. Think about what kind of damage a “grenade launcher” can do on your city streets.

I have been urging, for some time, that we put the “war metaphor” to rest, as a fundamentally inappropriate way to understand the reality of our life. Putting military combat gear in the hands of our local police is a non-superficial escalation of violence in the heart of our local communities. That’s my opinion, at least.

Despite the federal government’s desire to outfit our local police with military equipment, local police departments and other law enforcement agencies don’t have to participate in the program. Contact your City Council and County elected officials. Get them to adopt an official policy for your community that will prohibit the use of any military equipment by local law enforcement (and may I say, especially “grenade launchers”).

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

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CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Reliving and paying tribute to the the Civil War in Felton (Roaring Camp). Scroll downward a ways…think about it!!!

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s ” Global Warming/Warning” 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: “Feast your eyes on the fabulously dark and romantic new cover of my next book, Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/). Also, take a look at my newly arrived Advanced Reader Copies, for a first glimpse of Beast in book-like form. And don’t look now, but yours truly has just been invited to join the roster of “Tomatometer-approved” movie critics over at Rotten Tomatoes!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975

This broke all box office records last weekend when IT opened…and IT should have. IT is a well made, very scary movie. Based on some Stephen King books, IT is chapter one of a two part nightmare- daydream that will grab you when you are least prepared to be scared. It has all the clichés…BUT it’s got tension, mystery, and perfect timing along with excellent acting. Just go see IT but only if you truly enjoy being scared. 86 on RT.

HOME AGAIN. Some friend used the word “torpor” in a meeting I attended last week. Torpor fits this movie almost perfectly…so does, stupor, inanity, vapid, fatuous and it stars Reese Witrherspoon. It’s not funny enough to be a comedy and not serious enough to be even close to a drama. A 40 year old woman (Witherspoon) rents/shares  her house to three young guys and they have sex…you shouldn’t watch. RT gives it 35 but it shouldn’t have.

THE TRIP TO SPAIN. This is the third supposed comedy that two British actors, comics, impressionists… Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have made, and they shouldn’t make any more. These guys go on supposedly food tasting trips to restaurants in England, Italy and now Spain. In each restaurant and on the road they do imitations of famous British actors…James Bond, well Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and  Mick Jagger and try very hard to be funny. I haven’t laughed once during any of these contrived messes and find the two actors just about nauseating. Don’t blame me if you do decide to go.

MENASHE. An excellent story about life in a Hasidic Jewish community in New York. A young father tries with all his might to raise his young son in this orthodox world. It’s subtitled and all in Yiddish with subtitles. Go see it.  ENDS THURS. 9/14

TULIP FEVER. Christopher Waltz and Alicia Vikander have the leads in this complex, twisted plot that somehow is based on a legendary tulip mania in Amsterdam in the 1700’s . It has beautiful costumes and ok photography but the story line is so pointless, that you’ll sleep during ¾ of the film. A sad disappointment. 10 on RT. ENDS THURS. 9/14

WIND RIVER. Jeremy Renner and young beauty Elisabeth Olsen track down a killer on an Indian Reservation in the very cold Wyoming winter. Much better than average, you’ll stay with the plot and quite decent acting…all the way. It males some obvious social comment along the way, and that works too. The conclusion is a bit crude and drunken, but Renner is almost always worth watching.

THE BIG SICK. Kumail Nanjiani the Pakistani jerk from the “Silicon Valley” tv sit com not only wrote this plot but he and his real wife lived it. The film is a bit long but it’s well worth seeing. It’ll grab you when you least expect it. He’s a standup comic and falls in love with Zoe Kazan, a “white” girl. It’s heart rending, funny and  a tale told of cultural differences between his traditional Pakistani family and her very contemporary Mom  (Holly Hunter) and dad. Go see it…it’ll surprise you.(and I’ll predict some Awards around December-January).

DUNKIRK. Acclaimed auteur Christopher Nolan directs this World War II thriller about the evacuation of Allied troops from the French city of Dunkirk before Nazi forces can take hold. co-star, with longtime Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer providing the score.

Dunkirk is a city in France and during WWII the Nazis drove the allied troops to Dunkirk’s beaches. There were 400, 000 troops stranded there with no ships to take them to safety. Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance are in the film briefly and do fine acting jobs. The film is all war and is well made and directed…better than most war films. But with City Of Ghosts playing now that’s the one to see IF you like genuine war films.

THE GLASS CASTLE. Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts and especially Brie Larson bring this autobiographical life story to the screen. “Dysfunctional family” doesn’t come close to describing their family problems. The problem is that Woody Harrelson almost always plays exactly Woody Harrelson (as do John Goodman,Vin Diesel, Sylvester Stallone, etc.) He’s an incurable drunk and takes his family on his 100’s of trips through hell. It qualifies as a sob story except that Brie Larsen is just mesmerizing and perfect in the role. Plus you have to believe that Naomi Watts is an old wrinkled mountain woman married for life to Woody. ! Go see it and bring a hanky.

ATOMIC BLONDE. Charlize Theron does a nearly perfect job as the Blonde in this James Bond – Berlin Wall era action movie. Very well done fight scenes, complex spy loyalty plot, John Goodman is getting more and more difficult to believe, and he’s in it too. James McAvoy is there too but he doesn’t matter much. It’ll be the first of many sequels believe me, even though it didn’t do that well on opening weekend. Charlize T. also produced the film, and it’s based on a graphic novel.

WONDER WOMAN. IF you like comic book heroes or heroines (hope its ok to use that term) Wonder woman is several cuts about the usual no brainer/ violent/monster filled box office smashes we keep seeing. Gal Gadot is a former Miss Israel and we keep hearing about that. She plays W. Woman. Robin Wright, is in it too and she is a long time favorite of mine. She is Sean Penn’s ex. Chris Pine just jumps around looking like the usual Hollywood cutie pie. If you remember that she’s a comic book star and is supposed to battle, fight and pose in tight pants all the time you could enjoy this more than most of that ilk. Do remember too that Wonder Woman is a DC comics creation NOT a Marvel Comic character…there’s a big difference, and I was recently corrected on KZSC’s Bushwhackers Breakfast Club.

PATTI CAKES. A youngster in New Jersey tries to make it in show biz…you’ve seen this 100’s of times before only not with an overweight unloved pudge as the star. It’s too corny and too predictable and too sad to be a comedy. If you like, or better yet if you LOVE rap music you’ll like this film much more than I did. ENDS THURS. 9/14

LOGAN LUCKY. This film has just about everything that should guarantee greatness or at least give you two hours of “Good Movie”. It’s a robbery movie that takes place at the annual Coca Cola NASCAR race in Concord North Carolina. Channing Tatum isn’t very impressive, but Adam Driver steals many, many scenes with his one arm. Katie Holmes is in it too but it’s Daniel Craig who is most watchable. It’s odd and weird but Hillary Swank shows up in the last few minutes that must hint that there’ll be Logan Lucky 2. Steven Soderbergh has done better.

SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING. Michael Keaton completely steals every movie he’s ever made and he sure does playing an evil “Vulture” in this latest version of the web spinner (there have been at least 13 versions of Spidey on TV and the movies!!) Spidey is a high school student with Teresa Tomei as his mom. Robert Downey jr. is back as Iron Man. It doesn’t matter much but Gwyneth Paltrow is in it too. It’s a little better than most of the Marvel Comics hero movies but not much.

ANNABELLE: CREATION. This is supposed to be the prequel to the Conjuring series (in case you’ve seen this haunted doll series). You can stay home and write the tired old script in seconds. Dark cellar stairs, creepy doll in closet, innocent orphan girls, scarecrows, dumbwaiters,  you’ve seen it dozens of times if you haven’t been careful.

THE HITMANS BODYGUARD. Samuel L. Jackson probably says “motherfucker” at least 100 times in this car chase, bloody, violent flick. Audiences laugh nowadays at the violence and I have a tough time with that. Jackson is the Hit man and Ryan Reynolds is supposed to be his body guard for some reason that I slept through. Salma Hayek is supposed to be Jackson’s wife and I guess to prove it, she too says “motherfucker” at the very end of the movie. Don’t expect to enjoy Gary Oldman, because he only has about 10 lines.

I DO…UNTIL I DON’T . It’s supposed to be a comedy about a documentarian making a film about marriage. It stars Lake Bell, Ed Helms, and mostly Mary Steenburgen. Miserable acting, pointless plot twists about fidelity and marriage and goes in absolutely no direction with a boring ending. ENDS THURS. 9/14

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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. UCSC’s Professor of Earth Sciences Gary Griggs discusses his newest book, “Coasts In Crisis” on Sept.12. Then Patricia Rain talks about her 2nd annual Vanilla Festival. Jane Mio and Barbara Riverwoman from the San Lorenzo River Mysteries group starts the hour on Sept.19.  After which Christina Morgan Cree reveals the fashion secrets of the annual FashionArt show happening Sept. 23.  September 26 has Conductor, artistic director Michel Singher talking about the next Espressivo Orchestra Concert happening Oct.15. October 3 we’ll talk with Erik Gandolfini and Avondina Wills about The MountainTop play at the Center Stage. On October 10 Phyllis Rosenblum discusses the Santa Cruz Chamber Players 2017-18 season. Gary Patton gives info and background on the Save Santa Cruz Organization on Oct.17. The top winners of the Bookshop Santa Cruz Young Writers contest read their works on November 28. 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

I love this guy 🙂 He brings me back to my adolescence 🙂

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. “FALL”

“Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.”
Yoko Ono

“At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost.”
? Rainer Maria Rilke,

“What makes a hero? Courage, strength, morality, withstanding adversity? Are these the traits that truly show and create a hero? Is the light truly the source of darkness or vice versa? Is the soul a source of hope or despair? Who are these so called heroes and where do they come from? Are their origins in obscurity or in plain sight?”
? Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground

COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
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

BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

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