ENDANGERED EASTSIDE (VILLA de BRANCIFORTE NEIGHBORHOOD). This is Water and Soquel and Morrissey Streets on June 12, 1953. “twas long before Grocery Outlet, The Post Office, Lucky Grocery and much, much more.
CABRILLO FESTIVAL O’ MUSIC NATIONAL PRAISE. First of all (in answer to many of our questions)…no word has been made public as to Marin Alsop’s replacement. Second of all, last Friday and Saturday concerts almost completely packed the Civic Auditorium. Dozens of tributes of all styles were given and received by Marin, it was good fun. Right after intermission Jesse Rosen President and CEO, League of American Orchestras flew in from New York and stated…”America’s 1200 orchestras look to Cabrillo as a kind of laboratory, a cauldron of creativity; developing the finest compositional talent. Cabrillo is regarded as astandard-bearer in fostering creativity and demonstrating a rich and authenticrelationship with its community“. He really said it more friendlily and profoundly than that, but I emailed him Sunday and he just sort of paraphrased it all for us especially. It amazed many audience members to hear that there are 1200 orchestras in the USA and although The NY Times, The Wall Street Journal and many, many national and international media voices have recognized The Cabrillo Festival, it was still great to hear OUR orchestra praised and respected so highly. You shoulda been there, and there are just two more concerts left…get those tickets in case you’re still wondering what the super fuss is all about.
YOU TUBE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA…WHO KNEW?
FUNNY PRESIDENT OBAMA. We’ll never get another one like him!!
HOW MORAL ARE YOU? Lee Taiz sent in this deep and timely question/test.
Subject:MORALITY
Are you as moral as you think you are?
This test only has one question, but it is a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision. Only you will know the results, so remember that your answer needs to be honest.
THE SITUATION:
You are in Florida, Miami to be specific.
There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding.
This is a flood of biblical proportions.
You are a photojournalist working for a major newspaper, and you’re caught in the middle of this epic disaster.
The situation is nearly hopeless.
You’re trying to shoot career-making photos.
There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water.
Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury.
THE TEST:
Suddenly you see a man in the water.
He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with the debris.
You move closer.
Somehow the man looks familiar.
You suddenly realize who it is.
It’s Donald Trump
At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under forever.
YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS:
You can save the life of Donald Trump OR you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world’s most powerful Republican men hell bent on the destruction of The United States of America…
THE QUESTION:
Here’s the question, and please give an honest answer…….
“Would you select high contrast color film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?”
TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES.
John Aird Former co-chairman of CLUE, member of Desal Alternatives and Community Water Coalition (CWC)……active citizen went to much trouble to lay out some facts and questions in this most troubling time of political honesty. He says…
“I thought you might find the compilation (below) that I put together based on information from the politifact.org organization of interest. They took information/statements on the respective listed individual websites and then judged each of them on its relative “truth” on a scale from “true” at the high end to at the low end, “pants on fire”- their rating step that’s worse than just being false.
What is shocking is the comparative difference on the low/false end:
Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, President Obama statements ranged from 11%-14% “false” or “pants on fire” while more than half (55%) of Trump’s statements were so rated.
I know that this difference is not entirely new “news” in general. However, the fact that the basis of this information is from their own presumably well-reviewed and considered websites makes it especially noteworthy.
Truthfulness based on Facts:
“Mostly True” + % in Rank Order
Bernie Sanders
Hillary Clinton
Pres. Obama
Trump
True
13
22
21
4
Mostly True
39
28
27
11
Half True
20
21
27
15
Mostly False
17
14
12
15
False
11
11
12
36
Pants On Fire
0
2
2
19
Totals:
Half True+
72
71
75
30
Mostly False+
28
27*
26*
70
*Apparently the totals are a reflection of rounding
ELERICK’S INPUT. Mr. Paul Elerick of Aptos remains on vacation…
(Paul Elerick is a member of, and former co-chair of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, http://sensibletransportation.org . He’s a current member of Nisene to Sea, a group of mid-county citizens committed to maintaining an open hiking trail from Cabrillo College to Nisene Marks State Park
Gillian is off to Florida for the birth of her first grandchild, and she’ll be writing from there…
WAKE UP WESTSIDE
Members of the Santa Cruz City Planning Commission showed a hint of spine at the public hearing for the 630 Water St. development last Thursday (8/4/16). Although they unanimously approved the development of 20 units to join the already constructed 53 units next to Kiva Retreat House, they balked at catering to the developer’s lament that having to provide 3 “affordable” units out of the 20 was a burden on his profit margin. For once, commissioners seemed to at least listen to the eastside residents who showed up to voice their concerns about the cumulative impacts of dense developments rising on the eastside like mushrooms after rain. Perhaps toadstools is a better simile since there is nothing palatable about this sea change to the character of Santa Cruz neighborhoods on the eastside.
While providing housing is the rationale for every new development, there is no evidence presented that such development does actually provide housing for working locals. Lip service is paid to “evidence-based” decisions yet the decision-makers draw on no data to support that claim. “If it’s dense it’s good” is the prevailing theme. While this has some validity for local resource conservation, it all goes out the window if what we are doing is enabling more and more people to move to Santa Cruz. Anecdotal evidence suggests that new units and houses are snapped up by folks from over the hill or by students or by the wealthy for their second or third homes. All new housing developments are marketed to those who live elsewhere. Not that we begrudge others from viewing Santa Cruz as a cool place to live but once the pot is full, further filling is likely to create a mess which is exactly what is happening with all this new development.
One of the messes is car parking. For the 630 Water St. development, the provision of .7 car parking spaces per unit with no car parking for guests is all that is legally required for rental units. There is at present an average of 1.4 persons per unit according to the developer, so car parking is currently being provided for only half the residents. This under-provision of car parking is based on the General Plan which allows for such a reduction in a place like 630 Water St. since residents are expected to walk a third of a mile up Water St. to shop and there is a Quick Mart on Branciforte and Water with public transportation within a quarter of a mile. As one speaker shared, “for a person with arthritis, this arrangement simply does not work”. I guess “smart growth” is really “able-bodied growth.” Old people and those with mobility issues need not apply. And when the car parking provisions prove inadequate, future residents will be looking for parking in the neighborhoods, especially with the pending removal of on street parking on major corridors such as Water Street. The commissioners suggested but the developer balked at providing bus-passes for 17 units at an annual cost of $13,000 a year since he said that would be a financial hardship although the rental income seems quite nice. Each 350 square foot SRO earns $1750 per month in rent except for the 13 “affordable” units, which are around $1450 per month.
If you live on the Westside this may be a big yawn but for the folks on the Eastside it is tearing at the fabric of their quality of life. Photos shown at neighborhood meetings document tall multi-story developments towering over the backyards of small single-family cottages. And this is just the beginning. Small Eastside businesses are alarmed at the future loss of on street parking essential for their survival. These issues will be aired and voted on at public meetings at the council level over the next few months. Westsiders should not rest on their single-family zoning laurels. Unless more residents from the west side of the river join their neighbors on the east of the river to protest this cramming of 12 sardines into a can built for 6, you can’t blame the Eastsiders if they launch a ballot initiative to spread the misery to include rezoning parts of the Westside to multi-family residential. The only winners in that game will be the housing developers and speculators.
~(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).
PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s Two Worlds website…(dated Friday, August 5 2016)
“In an article that ran in The San Jose Mercury News on Thursday, August 4th, Michael Doyle and William Douglas of the McClatchy Washington Bureau observed that Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump is apparently laying the ground for a post-election challenge to the results of the November election (presuming he isn’t declared the winner in that election, of course):
“If there’s voter fraud, this election will be illegitimate, the election winner will be illegitimate, we will have a constitutional crisis, widespread civil disobedience, and the government will be no longer the government,” Trump ally Roger Stone said last week on The Milo Yiannopolous Show. Let’s be clear; this isn’t about being a “sore loser,” as the news article suggests. For the Trump campaign to make the statement (through an intermediary, admittedly) that there will be a “constitutional crisis” and “civil disobedience” if Donald Trump doesn’t win the election in November is extraordinarily concerning.
This statement tells me that Trump’s claim that the election is “rigged,” a claim he has already made, may be used to destabilize our democracy, should Trump not win. Some have already identified Trump as a candidate who seems devoted to a totalitarian or “fascist” approach to government, in which he believes that “he alone” can solve the nation’s problems. If Trump loses, in what will the predicted “constitutional crisis” consist? What kind of “civil disobedience” is being forecast? Will armed groups of thugs, encouraged by Trump, attempt to disrupt the transition to a Hillary Clinton presidency, despite an election that finds her the electoral victor?
Our pride, as a nation, has always been that after an election there is an orderly and peaceful “transfer of power” to a new governmental administration, and a transition that occurs without violence, however filled with tension the election itself might have been, and despite claims – and even justified claims – of irregularities in the election process. The concession of Al Gore to George W. Bush, in 2000, is an example from recent history. If Donald Trump is suggesting that this pattern of democratically directed transition should or would be broken, if Trump loses in November, then we all have much to be concerned about. However, this is not just a “Trump” problem. It is only fair to highlight very similar concerns about what has been said on the Democratic Party side. Both Leon Panetta and Joe Biden suggested, at the Democratic National Convention, that an election result that gave the presidency to Donald Trump was so unacceptable that it could not be abided. Panetta, in his speech, said, “Donald Trump cannot become our commander in chief.”
Biden said, in his speech: Let me talk about something that I am deadly serious about. This is a complicated and uncertain world we live in. The threats are too great, the times are too uncertain to elect Donald Trump as president of the United States. Let me finish. No major party nominee in the history of this nation has ever known less or has been less prepared to deal with our national security. We cannot elect a man who exploits our fears of ISIS and other terrorists, who has no plan whatsoever to make us safe, and man who embraces the tactics of our enemies: torture, religious intolerance. Saying “should not” would have been a correct use of language – and boy, do I agree! But “cannot?” Let me give Joe and Leon a little lesson in democracy. Donald Trump CAN, indeed, become our commander in chief, if the voters elect him to be the next President of the United States. Donald Trump CAN be elected, if he wins in November.
I was at the Convention, and I personally heard Leon Panetta make the statement that Donald Trump “cannot” become our commander in chief. That statement, and Joe Biden’s similar statement, and Biden’s claim that “America owns the finish line,” were the three most disturbing statements made at the Convention, in my opinion. The horrible speech of General John Allen, promising that American bellicosity would know no bounds, ever, was a close runner up. Leon Panetta and Joe Biden are Hillary Clinton’s intermediaries and spokespeople, just as surely as Roger Stone is Trump’s intermediary and spokesperson. For both the Clinton and Trump campaigns to suggest that the election results in November will not be respected if their chosen candidate loses makes my blood run cold.
I was so proud to be in Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy, but I actually cried when I contemplated (and it did come to my mind) that this place might also be, for my Party, the Democratic Party, the place where American democracy died. I supported Bernie Sanders, not Hillary Clinton. I don’t want Donald Trump to be President. Let me say, though – and let me urge anyone who might read this to be of like mind – that the principles of American democracy are too precious to be set aside because the “wrong” candidate wins, the candidate of the other party. Between now and November, the nominated candidates are going to contest an election. Candidates for President have been doing that for over two hundred years. The person who wins, with the required number of electoral votes “can” become President. MUST become President. That is our commitment to democracy, and “democracy trumps partisanship.”
~Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo muses on our ART problem….see below a few pages.
MUSICAL SAW FESTIVAL & SCRIBNER CELEBRATION. It’s the 37th annual Musical Saw Festival that we started way back in September 1979, that is happening this Saturday and Sunday (08/11 & 08/12). The most easily accessible (and free way) to hear some of the very best Saw Players from around the world (truly) is to be at the Tom Scribner Statue in front of Bookshop Santa Cruz Saturday from 2-4 p.m. Denise Gallant is filming a documentary on Tom Scribner, she’ll be there too.
Here’s some of what’s going on:
Saturday, August 13th, 2:00 to 4:00 PM The start time for the street jam has been changed to 2pm this year. Chairs will be provided for performers. Acoustic instruments only, please. We will gather at the world’s only life-sized bronze statue of a saw player in front of Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA.
Saturday, August 13th, 6:30 to 10:00 PM We will provide the meat, please bring drinks, a side dish, chairs and a lantern for after dark. We will share a potluck dinner, then pull out our instruments for a jam session. Look for us in the outer parking lot of Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, California, just seven miles north of Santa Cruz
Sunday, August 14th, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Roaring Camp Railroads, 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton, CA
This year we will be on the Chuckwagon BBQ Stage, which is also known as the Group Picnic Stage. This is an outdoor stage towards the back of the park, near the Chuckwagon BBQ area.
10:00 – Gathering of the Sawyers 11:00 – Musical Saw Contest
12:00 – The Blacklock Family Band
12:30 – Art Peterson with Laurie Miller, Donnie Hodges & Susan Spoons
1:00 – The Geezers – Juli Moscovitz & Friends
1:30 – Blacklock Ukulele/Saw Extravaganza
Featured Sawplayers
1:45 – Cindy Webster – saw and electricity
2:00 – Joe Eding
2:15 – Lou Mannick
2:30 – Thomas Spearance
2:45 – Terry Bergman
3:00 – Morgan Cowin
3:15 – Alistair “Azo” Bell from Australia
3:30 – Presentation of Awards
4:00 – First Place Winner of Musical Saw Contest
4:15 – CHORUS OF SAWS (ALL Sawplayers welcome)
4:30 – Musical Saw Workshop – play the saw! 5:00 – Sawyers Farewell Circle
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Why would anyone have to take a vacation from watching movies? In my case, it’s two family weddings, and the family reunions that come with them! So I’m taking a short break from the blog, Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com). But I’ll be back in time for opening night at Santa Cruz Parks & Rec Teen Theatre’s production of Alias Hook, August 19, at Louden Nelson. Maybe I’ll see you there!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
OUR LITTLE SISTER. 91 on Rotten Tomatoes!!! Many (including me) are calling it the Best film of 2016. Intelligent, sensitive, (Subtitled) perfect acting, the direction assumes we have brains, and a heart. Three Japanese teen age sisters living alone learn they have another sister. The sister moves in with them, and the film takes us through every emotion we’ve ever had. It’s the kind of film we get to see very seldom nowadays. No blood, violence, car chases, sex…just excellence. Please see it, it’ll re-affirm your faith in movies. (P.S. I’ll always try to say if a film is subtitled because I know it’ll turn off about 50 % of you immediately).
SUICIDE SQUAD. Will Smith, Jared Leto, and Viola Davis could never be accused of acting in this horrible Gotham City disaster. Yep, Gotham City and yes Batman is in it for a few seconds but he doesn’t save this Super Hero flick from being one of the very worst ever made. (read any other review!!!). I could try to tell you about the plot, but there really isn’t one…it’s all violence, weird effects, killing, and to save production money most of it is filmed extra dark so you can’t see what might be around the corner. Don’t let anybody go except your worst enemy.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
CAFÉ SOCIETY. Woody Allen’s newest starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Parker Posey and Steve Carell. Woody narates the film and he’s older and his voice has lost that whiney, confused, contradictory warble that we’ve grown to love so much. This film doesn’t rank in his top 4 or 5 films. The story is original, the acting is perfunctory, Kristen Stewart is above reproach, but it’s no Midnight in Paris, Annie Hall, Blue Jasmine, Hannah and Her Sisters or Purple Rose of Cairo.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC.Viggo Mortensen, the lead in this family saga, has never been better, and he’s almost always excellent. The older you are the more you’ll appreciate this extension of our 1950 & 60’s belief system. A film that has Noam Chomsky’s philosophy as a driver, Jesse Jackson, Joy of Sex book, Lolita, Glen Gould’s Bach Variations and some non-christian beliefs added, has to take you back just a bit. And in a good way. Viggo raises his family in the total wilds and later they have to face modern life and society. It’s as much fun as it is moving, sensitive, and well made. Frank Langella and Steve Zahn add to this hit film. Go for/to it!!
HUNT FOR WILDERPEOPLE. An excellent movie that has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. I had a problem with the New Zealand or “Kiwi” accents, and missed a few poignant scenes. See the video on the right for a quick tutorial. Also note it’s “WILDERpeople” as in WILDERNESS not WILDER as in State Park. It’s a scenic, sensitive, comedy about the adventures of a 13 year old misplaced orphan who meets up with grizzly, solitary Sam Neill. They escape authorities by existing in the wilderness of the New Zealand Bush Country. It’s also exciting, tight, creative, perfectly acted, and most importantly…ORIGINAL!! (In all fairness, it’s also cute, feel–good and improbable!)
STAR TREK BEYOND. The third in the new Trek movie series this is a waste of eveyone’s time and money. They cop out and show a photo of Leonard Nimoy about half way through and show a snapshot of the entire Enterprise original 1966 crew. Mostly it’s just another throw bombs and shoot around corners (or curves on spaceships). Nothing near the humanity, intelligence, or real wit the original had, which made all of us such lifelong fans. The acting is terrible, the plot is meaningless. Go only if you need your periodic Star Trek Fix, and don’t care how “authentic” it is. ( I didn’t know Capt. James Kirk’s middle name was Tiberius and that Shatner is 85 years old and was born in Montreal).
JASON BOURNE.The minute you leave the theatre this movie will seem like a dream you had. It’s fuzzy, unclear, random scenes in random order, no real meaning…just like a dream. The director tried to make some new kind of spy killing, car chase, fie, explosion movie. Edits, cuts, dialogue are all mixed up and mixed together…it makes little or no sense at all. Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassell, Alicia Vikander, and Riz Ahmed from “The Night Of” all do their best, but it’s all the director’s fault. Well, Matt Damon just phoned in his part and he’s terrible.
GHOSTBUSTERS 3. Remember that there was a sequel also with the original cast in 1989. As most movie fans know, they have replaced the original male Ghostbusters….Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Eddie Hudson, Rick Moranis and Harold Ramis with an almost all woman cast ie…Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. Plus adding Charles Dance and Chris Hemsworth. The sex change isn’t the important change, even though that’s what everyone focuses on. The big difference is in the amount of intelligence, cleverness, and solid humor in the script. These new jokes are dumber, clumsy, obvious, shallow and just not funny. The ghosts aren’t as clever either. Only go if you need to complete your ghostly experiences. Watch for cameos by most of the originals.
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. I hear that this is a very funny TV show made into a movie. I read in various places that it’s funny…I didn’t laugh once. Two loud British “babes” go to the French Riviera and race through a lot of muck and fuss. Kate Moss (I just learned) is a beautiful and famous model and the two bimbo stars get involved with her. Just to be fair and add perspective…the young girls/women in the movie audience did laugh a lot. So if you’ve watched and liked the TV series, you’ll probably like this heavy accented film too.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
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. . Rick Gladstone opens on August 9th discussing Tom Scribner and Santa Cruz political history in the 1960’s. He’s followed by Debbie Hencke discussing undesirable Branciforte & Eastside growth. The new book “Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast” co-author Christian Schwarz guests on August 18th after which former County Supervisor and Sanders pledged delegate Gary Patton talks about the DNC. Carol Panofsky talks about Munching with Mozart and other music on August 23. Then on August 30 Artist and Doctor Mark Wainer talks about his forthcoming exhibit. Angelo Grova unveils his Fashion Art Show on Sept.20. Michel Singher previews The Espressivo Orchestra’s next concert on September 27. 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 a trailer for a movie called “Embrace” It’s a film about body acceptance, and there is a way we can get it to show in Santa Cruz! Follow this link to Gathr and preorder your tickets to ensure a screening at the Riverfront on September 28 at 7:30. I’ll be there.
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur,The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES – OLYMPICS
“Finishing second in the Olympics gets you silver. Finishing second in politics gets you oblivion”, Richard M. Nixon
“Olympics — A lifetime of training for just ten seconds”, Jesse Owens (African-American athlete, 1936 Summer Olympics)
“I swam my brains out”, Mark Spitz (American swimmer, 1972 Summer Olympics, on winning seven gold medals Inspirational)
“It was not the money that was my main motive; it was the challenge and the thrill where I got my kicks. Armed robbery to me was like a sport. To take on an armored vehicle with two armed security guards—it was like an athlete attending the Olympic Games” Drexel Deal.
COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Ccolumn. 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
OUR COUNTY BUILDING CONSTRUCTION March 18, 1966. Not just the County Building but a great view of El Rio Mobile Home Park just behind Lenz Arts. There’s the Outdoor World building, The Taqueria place at River and Water Streets, and Vapor Cleaners on Water Street!!!
A MYSTERIOUS HAMLET. I’ve never missed a one of Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s (or Shakespeare Santa Cruz) plays in their entire history and I was even in their very first play, King Lear. I attended opening night of Hamlet last Friday 7/29. Changing Hamlet’s sex to female wasn’t anywhere near as interesting as I imagined it would be. What was “interesting”, surprising, and totally mystifying is how the audience laughed so much and so often. Right from the very first scene with Hamlet’s ghost, the place burst into fits of howls, guffaws, and continuing snickers. Those laughs continued right into what is traditionally the most serious and heartfelt confrontations in all of theatre history. I don’t mean the intentionally funny Mrs. Polonius dialogue or the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern stuff. I’m talking about heavy scenes between Ms. Hamlet and her Mom or Hamlet and Ophelia getting solid laughter!!! Why?? I could only come up with these possibilities….
The actors are playing it for laughs on purpose.
The actors have little or no idea what is funny in Hamlet.
It’s bad acting because it’s very rushed, and shouted due to inability to project.
Three quarters of the audience has never seen Hamlet and thinks it’s a comedy.
Go see it, maybe it’s just a new way of playing Shakespeare. Their production of Macbeth last year got a bunch of laughs too…go figure.
ELERICK’S INPUT. Mr. Paul Elerick wrote that he has a one way ticket back to Michigan. He’s going to stay there at least through August. So we’ll just wait here!!!
(Paul Elerick is a member of, and former co-chair of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, http://sensibletransportation.org . He’s a current member of Nisene to Sea, a group of mid-county citizens committed to maintaining an open hiking trail from Cabrillo College to Nisene Marks State Park
Gillian brings us…. THE MYTH OF MILLENNIALS
In case you missed the earlier lengthy article on the topic, the Sentinel positioned a new one right on the front page of Sunday’s edition with the headline: “Why not build more granny units?” The article was a sales pitch for accessory dwelling units, (ADU’s), second homes on single family lots, with promotional quotes from planners, designers, contractors, housing specialists, housing activists and legislators. Not a sole voice from dissenting residents whom the planners dismiss as out of date, out of touch “Leave it to Beaver” caricatures. To maximize readers’ endorsement at an emotional level, the article opened with the story of a couple trying desperately to find housing for their grown daughter with disabilities, scanning the housing scene with tape measure in hand due to the supposedly draconian, complex housing codes across Bay Area communities. Since the city and county of Santa Cruz have recently completed lengthy updates to their ADU ordinances, including public meetings, commission recommendations and Council/Board of Supervisors’ votes to relax the codes to encourage more ADU’s in single family neighborhoods, one wonders why the Sentinel chose to feature and promote this issue at this time? Given the housing feeding frenzy going on at the planning department and developer levels, with ever-increasing heights and density re-defined as essential, modern and desirable, and neighborhood alarm at the impact of such density brushed off as NIMBY’ism, the Sentinel’s promotion of ADU’s suggests they have an insider’s knowledge of what may be coming our way in the near future. If so, the assumptions and statements of “fact” on which such development is based require closer examination.
The label, “affordable” is thrown around like candy. Beyond the small number of “inclusionary” units, a quick glance at the rents of new apartment complexes and ADU’s in Santa Cruz confirms they are market rate and “affordable” only in the sense that if you earn a high enough income you can “afford” one. Of course they cost less than a single-family home as they always have but that fact does not make them “affordable”. The Bay Area promoters of all this development like to say that “families have morphed over time” and unlike the post World War II suburban era of single families, today we have college students, millennials, empty nesters and the elderly, all of whom don’t need single-family homes. Uh, I don’t think those categories of people are unique to the present day. Each generation has students, young adults and the elderly. Development disguised as duty to a new world order.
Perhaps the biggest hype is around traffic and parking. According to the Sentinel article, “attitudes around cars have changed. Students and millennials don’t own them.” Based on this assumption, inadequate provision for parking and neighborhood concerns about increased traffic due to increased housing density are treated as non-issues at every planning meeting I’ve attended. But is this assumption true? Not according to new data coming out of Detroit and the National Automobile Dealers Association. Now the largest generation in the U.S., millennials in California outpaced boomers for the first time as the biggest buyers of new cars and trucks in 2015. They just waited a little longer due to the recession and the graduated licensing laws. The same is probably true for the professed preference for dense urban living on the part of millennials. Perhaps while single. When such millennials decide to settle down, start a family and look for a piece of single-family living they will be indistinguishable from their earlier counterparts and this rush to build as many units as possible, overwhelming the eastside of Santa Cruz and transforming the town into an urban clone will be revealed for what it is….plain old growth, greed and profit. What makes this era unique is that the planners are developers in civic clothing; the council has bought the “housing crisis” mantra (it’s a housing cost crisis unconnected to supply and demand); the desire to move to Santa Cruz or own a second home here is bottomless; UCSC could care less about their ever-expanding impact on the town’s rental market and housing and bicycle activists are developers hand-maidens. The lone voices raised in protest are the eastside neighbors and local small businesses whose modest small homes and businesses will be swamped and eradicated in the tidal wave of dense development imposed with no concern for the adverse ripple effect on schools, open space, business leases, infrastructure and resources.
This coming Thursday (8/4/16) at the Planning Commission meeting at 7pm all of these themes will be on display as staff presents and commissioners discuss and vote on adding 20 additional units to the currently approved 53 units at 630 Water St. The assumptions challenged above will be center stage as parking is pared to below minimum, traffic deemed a non-issue, and any neighborhood concern swatted away as if an annoying gnat.
~ (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).
WORLD’S BIGGEST WAVES EVER SURFED!
Genuine Santa Cruz crowd pleasers!!!
CHRIS KROHN with DNC SNAPSHOTS.
Chris brings BrattonOnline an exclusive report
“DNC Snapshots”
Republicans Seem to Implode, Democrats Like to Explode
Sunday 2016 Philadelphia—pre-convention political protestation
CAFÉ SOCIETY TRAILER. Just to give you an idea of Woody’s latest effort.
So much happening…the morning begins by finding out the Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was forced to resign her position over a WikiLeaks email cache that had the DNC staffers favoring Hillary Clinton’s campaign over Bernie Sanders…it’s an accusation Sanders people have been levelling for months and now a new energy and confidence seems to have been unleashed as Sanders supporters are out in force and feeling a justified “Bern” now. Wasserman-Schultz resigning really casts a pall over the the big party…how will Dems recover?
Police presence seems minimal in Philadelphia. Talking with Lt. Stanford a spokesperson for the Philly P.D., tells me his police department has four times as many police officers as Cleveland, 6200 total, and “we are used to these demonstrations” he tells me as the remaining few hundred marchers stream into a park behind us. It was a march of several thousand demanding action on the climate change.
Best march chants: “Tell me what democracy looks like? This is what democracy looks like” “Hillary Fracks” Hey, hey, ho, ho corporate greed has got to go” “Hell no DNC we won’t vote for Hillary”
I run into Democracy Now’s, Amy Goodman near Philadelphia’s city hall after the first of the two large marches. She’s talking to her editor and working on a storyline about the first march. She tells me the feeling here is much less oppressive than Cleveland in terms of police vs. the freedom to protest. Cleveland had police from 21 agencies throughout the US including the California Highway Patrol! Hundreds of police continually patrolled the downtown in groups of 5-15. If there is that kind of presence here, it certainly is not visible.
I talk to two men in “Make America Great Again” hats, they are the only Trump supporters I encounter. They are standing near FDR Park outside of where the convention will be, it’s the finish line for one of the demonstrations. They are a father and son and I recount several criticisms of their candidate—misogyny, racism, and of war hero, McCain. How do you respond? The son says, “If Trump says something stupid I won’t agree with him, but he hasn’t said anything stupid to my mind.” Jesse, who is 17 and will turn 18 in September, says most of his friends are Bernie supporters.
DNC Day 1—Monday
Breakfast with California delegation and Santa Cruz Bernie delegate, Shawn Orgel-Olson and alternate delegate- former SC supervisor, Gary Patton. At over 500, it’s by far the largest delegation so all the nation’s political personalities want to speak to talk to California…but on this morning Sec. of State, Alex Padilla probably wishes he was somewhere else. Chants erupt of “count our ballots, count our ballots,” effectively drowning out Padilla who in turn begins to shout even louder. It happens to Rep. Barbara Lee and S.F. Mayor Ed Lee too when they talk it up about Hillary. In the minds of the couple hundred Bernie delegates present, Hillary has not yet been voted on by delegates, so endorsing her now is insulting according to several delegates I spoke to. Patton says, “What burns the butts of these delegates is that the people talking to us want to pretend Clinton is already the party nominee, but it’s not official.” Orgel-Olson, who actually ran Bernie’s winning SC campaign adds, “She hasn’t been seated, we are still his delegates.” Later in the day, Bernie himself is booed in a closed door meeting by his own delegates for endorsing Hillary Clinton. Are things getting crazier, or is it just the democratic process unfolding?!
The night on the big stage is THE Dem left-of-center night: Ben Jealous former NAACP Director, Rep. Raul Grijalva and Al Franken, followed by the all-star politicos, Sen. Corey Booker, Flotus Michelle Obama, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Presidential nominee Bernie Sanders. The night is choreographed flawlessly. Bernie is heartily cheered by Hillary supporters. I run into SC supervisor Zach Friend. He’s not a delegate but a “whip.” He’s got a yellow reflective jacket on that all whips wear. I ask him to explain what he does. He says the DNC contacted him to volunteer for this job and his main tasks are to attend to delegates on the floor, “advise them on rules…we’ve had medical issues, I’m a conduit to assist both (Bernie and Hillary) sides,” he said.
DNC Day 2—Tuesday
I see writer, Norman Solomon around noon in the lobby Starbucks at the Marriott where all Democratic delegates are staying. He’s heading up an effort called “Bernie Delegates Network,” and tells me two-thirds of Bernie delegates have signed on. “For a politician Bernie is the greatest politician in my lifetime,” Solomon says, “but there are limits that come with the territory.” He says he’s organizing some of the dissent taking place, but at the end of the day “defeating Trump is crucial.”
It’s been one hundred degrees for three days in a row and it’s “roll call” day on the floor of the convention and the Bernie people are out in force shouting and chanting for their candidate. The floor of yet another corporate-sponsored arena (Bernie supporters are critical too of the corporate-sponsored breakfasts, parties, and general party swag given out and it has to impact some long-time Dems on how business is conducted.), is wall to wall people and very difficult for anyone to move around. A delegate using a wheelchair is escorted by three DNC assistants and just runs into people, and they move out of the way opening a path for others. Just then, a few minutes after Gov. Jerry Brown announces California’s delegates vote for Hillary Clinton he is confronted by a protester in a black t-shirt with the word,”Exile” printed on. He yells at Brown to appeal the vote and says he must do a recount as Padilla failed to count over a million ballots in the state. Brown looks at the man, cups his ear and then turns away. The man continues to shout. Jerry is surrounded by a who’s who in California politicians: Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, former Gov. Gray Davis, Sen. Barbara Boxer…Brown had ten minutes to file an appeal, but it was not to happen on this day as the governor hurries toward an exit surrounded by an entourage.
Later, Bill Clinton gives a very personal biography of the former first lady while Meryl Streep is her usual charming self, and singer, Alicia Keys performs to much applause.
RNC Day 3, Wednesday
What is fun and amazing about coming to a political convention is that you can actually get face time with people you usually only see from afar. Conversations with some of my heroes like Minnesota’s Keith Ellison–the only Muslim in congress and an important spokesperson for progressives nationwide. He seems to be the only person who knows how to talk to Bernie supporters about supporting Hillary without insulting them. Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights era hero who recently held a sit-in on the floor of Congress to force gun control legislation, in which “every single member of the California delegation participated,” tells me that voting for a Green Party or Libertarian Party candidate is “throwing your vote away…”Rep. Maxine Waters from Los Angeles is her usual friendly and thoughtful self. She became embroiled a few years ago, if folks remember, in Gary Webb’s series in the SJ Mercury News about the CIA selling drugs to finance their far-flung international operations. I also got to talk to Howard Dean the former governor, presidential candidate, and DNC chair who now actually makes fun of his famous Iowa “scream” by screaming a lot, and then waiting for the delay until people get it and then everyone laughs.
If Hillary wins, Ellison sees even more progressive moves that might be made like same day voter registration and declaring election day a national holiday he says. Sen. Al Franken a fellow Minnesotan speaks after Ellison and is as funny as he ever was on Saturday Night Live, and even says the show was much more fun, and should be, than being a U.S. Senator. All of these super progressives only have praise Bernie and his supporters.
Bernie Sanders himself comes to address the CA delegates. He is again booed when he says “we” must support Hillary Clinton. When the catcalls subside he tells the group, “In my view it’s easy to boo, but it’s harder to look your kids in the face when they are living under a Donald Trump presidency.” There are only cheers as he leaves, but no interviews…he’s now surrounded by an entourage, perhaps there are 11 or 12 in all, including some family members. He takes no questions and is rushed out a side door into a waiting elevator.
The night was full of political adventure too…In the late afternoon, perhaps one of the biggest convention moments for Bernie supporters was the shout-down of our former Congressmember, CIA chief and Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta. After recounting the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden in his speech, the Oregon delegation started a chant of “No more war.” It caught on and eventually filled the arena. Panetta paused, started up, and then paused again, a bit flummoxed as were Hillary delegates too who began to applaud loudly to try and drown out the chanting. Panetta started again, and the “no more war” chant started anew, but this time louder. The Hillary delegates began what many thought was a Republican-owned incantation, “USA, USA,” and they were coached on by each area whip. It was an odd, but stunning moment…would’ve likely been cheered on by many Santa Cruz peace activists too if they were present.
A huge storm hits that night during the convention and people are afraid to stay in the press tent because it’s swaying with each gust of wind. No one can exit though without getting soaked as torrential rain pours down and there is a fifty-foot zone to run across if you want to head back into the arena. People line up by the tent exits waiting for the rain to ease up. Inside the Wells Fargo Arena most attendees are oblivious to the storm outside.
Next week…The storm inside, and what did Bernie really accomplish in running for President?
~Chris Krohn is a former Santa Cruz Mayor.
PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s Two Worlds website…Gary was an Alternative delegate for Bernie Sanders to the Democratic National Convention. He wrote the most revealing daily coverage on what really was going on between the Clinton and Sanders delegates that I could find in all of media.
“What has happened here in Philadelphia this week? The political party headed by President Barack Obama has handed off political leadership to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has been officially presented to the Party as its new leader, and whose personal qualities have been extolled, and whose political leadership and political abilities have been celebrated.
POSITION AND PERSPECTIVE
The Virginia delegation, and the New York delegation were seated right down in front of the podium because when the chairs were set up, Party organizers already knew who the candidates would be. Convention organizers knew that Hillary Rodham Clinton from New York would be the Presidential nominee, and that Tim Kaine from Virginia would be the Vice Presidential nominee. Except….they didn’t really know that, officially.
If you are sensing a kind of “theme” here, in my Convention commentaries, you are probably accurately picking up on my genuine distress that the Democratic Party did not deal very well with the fact that the decision about who the nominee would be was not, officially, settled at the time the chairs were set up. And it wasn’t even settled on the first day of the Convention, either, since the roll call vote didn’t happen until Tuesday.
My personal comments must be understood as the comments of someone who was elected and sent to Philadelphia by voters in California’s 20th Congressional District precisely to advocate, in every way I could, for the selection of Bernie Sanders as the Democratic Party’s nominee for President. Because I was privileged to be an Alternate Delegate, I was able to see, firsthand, that the Democratic Party apparatus was operated to favor those within the Party whom the Party Establishment had predetermined should take power, and to disfavor those supporting a different option; in other words, to disfavor Bernie Sanders and all of his delegates.
In all fairness to the Party, the situation this year was extraordinary, as Bernie Sanders’ campaign was extraordinary. Normally, the Party actually does know, officially, who the Party’s nominee will be long before the Convention begins. The normal thing to do is to design the Convention as a “pageant of praise” for the nominee. But this year, things actually were different, in that almost 1,900 people came to the Convention, as I did, as delegates committed to a candidate different from the candidate favored by the Party Establishment, and with an expectation that there would be an actual vote of the delegates before the curtain went up on that “pageant of praise” thing. How the Party decided to deal with this unusual situation was revealing, and it was profoundly distressing to virtually all the Sanders delegates.
As I have indicated earlier, the Convention organizers should have put the roll call vote first. But the organizers didn’t do that. Therefore, as speaker after speaker on the first day kept referring to Hillary Clinton as “our candidate,” and as “the nominee,” the Convention organizers sent repeated messages to the Sanders Delegates that they were irrelevant and unwanted interlopers. Some of these Sanders Delegates “booed.”
On Day Two, after the roll call vote, which Hillary Clinton clearly won, the Chair of the Convention twisted the motion of Bernie Sanders, who asked the Convention to suspend the rules, and to direct that the votes be recorded, and then to “declare Hillary Clinton as the nominee.” Instead of presenting that motion to the Convention for unanimous approval, Convention Chair Marcia Fudge sought to transform Sanders’ generous gesture into a false claim that Hillary Clinton’s election was “by acclimation.” Many Sanders Delegates walked out.
On Day Three, the Party apparatus actually made a number of unsuccessful but noticeable efforts to drive the Sanders delegates out of the Convention entirely, to get rid of them and their disturbing presence, utilizing various techniques reported upon yesterday. On Day Four, Hillary spoke. Before giving my review of Hillary’s speech, let me make a few other, more or less random, comments.
NOT GOING GAGA
All California delegates got a free ticket to the “Camden Rising” concert, featuring Lenny Kravitz and Lady Gaga, which took place on Lundy Lawn yesterday, Thursday, July 28th, at 1:00 p.m. The weather was rainy, as you’ll see if you click the link above. I am not sure how many California delegates actually went, but I’m pretty sure virtually no Bernie Sanders Delegates attended. The weather was definitely not encouraging, and it wasn’t all that easy to get from downtown Philadelphia to the concert location (or, at least, it didn’t seem like it was going to be easy to those delegates who, like me, were not familiar with the territory). Those factors were discouraging to attendance, but most discouraging was the fear, based on what happened on Day Three of the Convention, that not being at the Convention early would mean that Sanders Delegates would be shut out. In fact, this fear turns out to have been legitimate. Click this link for a little video giving a real time report of a Bernie Delegate from the Convention Floor. Ultimately, those delegates with Floor privileges did get to sit down and participate.
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY
ALL delegates (or a large percentage of them, at least) arrived at the Wells Fargo Center in a condition best described as “fully drenched.” A massive rainstorm hit at about 2:00 p.m., just as everyone was trying to get out to the Arena for the 4:00 o’clock drop of the gavel. No discrimination against Bernie Delegates is alleged. There are two routes to the Wells Fargo Center; you can go by bus, or you can go by subway. Either way, you’ll get wet if it’s raining. Once there, you have to walk about a half-mile outside. “Fully drenched” is perfectly descriptive.
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE
A popular “chant” relied upon by Bernie Sanders Delegates on Days One and Two of the Convention was: “This is what democracy looks like.” Politics IS about debate, and differences, and dissension, and discussion. All that conflict and controversy, ultimately, leads up to a decision, but you don’t get to the decision stage in a democracy without going through the debate and disagreement stage, first. Efforts to make Sanders Delegates “sit down and shut up” led to that chant: “This is what democracy looks like!” Philadelphia, of course, is the perfect place to remember what democracy is supposed to be all about, and I have to confess that I, and I know other delegates, got teary eyed at times at the thought that this Convention, held just blocks from where the Constitutional Convention was held, might be coming at the ending of our democratic experiment. There is worry enough about that with thoughts of what might happen with the election of Donald Trump. But even the conduct of this convention was not, as you will have seen from my reports, very comforting for those who love democracy.
THIS IS WHAT AMERICA LOOKS LIKE
Let me highlight one of the most wonderful things that happened at the Democratic National Convention – and it happened multiple times, and was inspiring every time it happened. I assume that television viewers must have seen this happen, the way we in the Wells Fargo Center Arena saw it happen. A number of times during the Convention, which was highly scripted, suddenly the activity on stage stopped, music came up, and the jumbo screens visible to Delegates and visitors began showing pictures of the crowd, generally as Delegates danced, or mugged for the camera, or hugged, or waved banners, or flags, or signs. People would look at the screen, and if their little area came on camera, they would recognize that, and go crazy. These interludes were high energy breaks in what were sometimes long and perhaps even “tedious” recitations of the greatness of the next President of the United States. There was a chant that captured the essence of this exercise in the recognition and celebration of the diversity of the Delegates and others in attendance: “This is what America looks like.” The diversity of the crowd in Philadelphia speaks volumes about the commitment of the Democratic Party to a politics of inclusion. Actually, the entire Convention program did that, too. It made me proud to be a Democrat! Anyone remember the diversity present in the Republican Party Convention? No? Me neither!!
A YELLING GENERAL
The most disturbing presenter on Thursday, from my point of view, was Retired Marine Corps General John Allen. His presentation on the stage, flanked and backed by many other unnamed military representatives, was obviously approved by Hillary Clinton, and the General yelled out every word he spoke, dramatizing the bellicosity that he promised Hillary Clinton would deliver. Hillary, he said, “knows how to use all instruments of American power,” and she will “defeat” evil, and “defeat” ISIS, while “protecting the Homeland.” On behalf of future Commander in Chief Clinton, Allen called out our “enemies,” and promised them, “you will fear us,” and “we will defeat you.”
In other words, if Allen is right, we can look forward to a vastly increased reliance on our military in a self-satisfied effort to let everyone in the world know that if they oppose American desires, “we will defeat you.” I was sensitive to Joe Biden’s claim that “America owns the finish line.” As I reported yesterday, I didn’t like the implications inherent in that promise. But Biden’s statement was clearly nothing compared to Allen’s rant, which asserted that Hillary Clinton will get us to the finish line by an unrestrained willingness to use military force. Donald Trump may be scary. But to my mind, so is General John Allen, and if he truly speaks for Hillary, that’s scary, too. I well remember what Hillary Clinton said after the death of former dictator Muammar Qaddafi, who was killed in a revolt in Libya promoted and advanced by Hillary Clinton, as one of her personal projects as Secretary of State. Laughing with reporters as she first learned of Qaddafi’s death, she joked, “We came, we saw, he died.” General Allen said of the upcoming election that this is “the opportunity” for America. Opportunity for what, I wonder and I worry?
HILLARY, HILLARY!
As readers will remember, I was not on the Convention Floor on Thursday night, since my Alternate Delegate status put my assigned seat up in the rafters. I didn’t experience what I understand was uncomfortable tension in the section of the Arena assigned to the California Delegation, since the initial efforts to lock Bernie Sanders Delegates out, ultimately unsuccessful, did carry over into tension between Clinton and Sanders Delegates as the evening drew to its conclusion.
The conclusion of the evening, of course, was the much-anticipated speech of Hillary Clinton (followed by the “balloon drop,” I guess I should say, which was also much-anticipated). Back in the hotel room, long after midnight, I heard from Alan Haffa, who was a Delegate, and who was on the Floor, that protests and chants took place among some (not all) of the California Sanders Delegates, even as Hillary Clinton made her speech. Bernie Sanders specifically asked his Delegates, in a text that I got, too, not to protest, and to be respectful. I couldn’t see that anything happened otherwise, but it seems that there was an “otherwise,” involving a few Sanders supporters.
From where I saw the speech, it was, simply, terrific, with only one footnote to that “terrific,” in my view. I feel certain that Hillary wants to convey that she is capable and willing to use military force, in the role of Commander of Chief of the United States Armed Forces. However, I have a continuing concern about Hillary Clinton’s willingness to try something besides military force, as the United States faces a world that many believe is defined by a struggle of decency against “evil,” and terrorism. Her speech was not completely reassuring to me on that point. Maybe that General really does speak for Hillary?
That concern expressed, I did think that Hillary Clinton’s speech was terrific, and incorporated a very forthright and much-appreciated effort to state her commitment to the progressive principles that the Bernie Sanders campaign insisted must be the foundation of the Democratic Party’s platform and program, going forward. I thought Hillary Clinton was inspiring, and called out to the best of America. I was comforted by my thought, as she made her speech,:”Yes!! Hillary Clinton will win the Presidency!” Particularly given the other choice, it is imperative that she does.
Those who care about the future of our politics (and indeed our nation), need to help make that happen.
That’s my bottom line takeaway from the Convention. And as for the “political revolution” ignited by the Sanders’ campaign? I am never giving up on that! And I’m hoping that the Sanders Delegates I met aren’t giving up, either!”
~ Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo gives us a plane’s eye view of Santa Cruz, scroll down.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Eagan’s Little Miss Putin makes a move…see below.
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “It’s not like a woman has never played Hamlet before. Discover some vintage examples of actresses in the role, and find out what’s special about Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s powerful new production, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com). Also, visit a dreamy, glittering 1930s as they never were — except in the movies — in Woody Allen’s Cafe Society. “Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
JASON BOURNE. The minute you leave the theatre this movie will seem like a dream you had. It’s fuzzy, unclear, random scenes in random order, no real meaning…just like a dream. The director tried to make some new kind of spy killing, car chase, fie, explosion movie. Edits, cuts, dialogue are all mixed up and mixed together…it makes little or no sense at all. Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassell, Alicia Vikander, and Riz Ahmed from “The Night Of” all do their best, but it’s all the director’s fault. Well, Matt Damon just phoned in his part and he’s terrible.
CAFÉ SOCIETY. Woody Allen’s newest starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Parker Posey and Steve Carell. Woody narrates the film and he’s older and his voice has lost that whiney, confused, contradictory warble that we’ve grown to love so much. This film doesn’t rank in his top 4 or 5 films. The story is original, the acting is perfunctory, Kristen Stewart is above reproach, but it’s no Midnight in Paris, Annie Hall, Blue Jasmine, Hannah and Her Sisters or Purple Rose of Cairo.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC. Viggo Mortensen, the lead in this family saga, has never been better, and he’s almost always excellent. The older you are the more you’ll appreciate this extension of our 1950s & 60s belief system. A film that has Noam Chomsky’s philosophy as a driver, Jesse Jackson, Joy of Sex book, Lolita, Glen Gould’s Bach Variations and some non-christian beliefs added, has to take you back just a bit. And in a good way. Viggo raises his family in the total wilds and later they have to face modern life and society. It’s as much fun as it is moving, sensitive, and well made. Frank Langella and Steve Zahn add to this hit film. Go for/to it!!
HUNT FOR WILDERPEOPLE. An excellent movie that has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. I had a problem with the New Zealand or “Kiwi” accents, and missed a few poignant scenes. See the video on the right for a quick tutorial. Also note it’s “WILDERpeople” as in WILDERNESS not WILDER as in State Park. It’s a scenic, sensitive, comedy about the adventures of a 13 year old misplaced orphan who meets up with grizzly, solitary Sam Neill. They escape authorities by existing in the wilderness of the New Zealand Bush Country. It’s also exciting, tight, creative, perfectly acted, and most importantly…ORIGINAL!! (In all fairness, it’s also cute, feel – good and improbable!)
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR. Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgård take the leads in this John Le Carré international money scheme thriller. It’ll remind you of James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock type chase films. Evil Russian Mafia spies, innocent British tourists, messy internal proble ms with British Government…all stuff that you’ve seen before. And it’s pretty good too.Paris, Bern, Marrakech, French Alps, and of course London are feature attractions. If you like espionage, foreign intrigue, not much blood, and good acting– go for it.
YO-YO MA’s WONDERFUL EGO or THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS-YO YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE. A mess of a documentary. Not one complete piece of music in it. It rambles all over the world showing how musicians continue selling their souls by selling out their true folk music to make a buck. Ther’s a lot of good music being written nowadays both serious and popular…this doesn’t give proper credit to either. Stay home and listen to some music you really like, you’ll be better off.
STAR TREK BEYOND. The third in the new Trek movie series this is a waste of eveyone’s time and money. They cop out and show a photo of Leonard Nimoy about half way through and show a snapshot of the entire Enterprise original 1966 crew. Mostly it’s just another throw bombs and shoot around corners (or curves on spaceships). Nothing near the humanity, intelligence, or real wit the original had, which made all of us such lifelong fans. The acting is terrible, the plot is meaningless. Go only if you need your periodic Star Trek Fix, and don’t care how “authentic” it is. (I didn’t know Capt. James Kirk’s middle name was Tiberius and that Shatner is 85 years old and was born in Montreal).
GHOSTBUSTERS 3. Remember that there was a sequel also with the original cast in 1989. As most movie fans know, they have replaced the original male Ghostbusters….Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Sigourney Weaver , Eddie Hudson, Rick Moranis and Harold Ramis with an almost all woman cast, i.e. Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. Plus adding Charles Dance and Chris Hemsworth. The sex change isn’t the important change, even though that’s what everyone focuses on. The big difference is iin the amount of intelligence, cleverness, and sold humor in the script. These new jokes are dumber, clumsy, obvious, shallow and just not funny. The ghosts aren’t as clever either. Only go if you need to complete your ghostly experiences. Watch for cameos by most of the originals.
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. I hear that this is a very funny TV show made into a movie. I read in various places that it’s funny…I didn’t laugh once. Two loud British “babes” go to the French Riviera and race through a lot of muck and fuss. Kate Moss (I just learned) is a beautiful and famous model and the two bimbo stars get involved with her. Just to be fair and add perspective…the young girls/women in the movie audience did laugh a lot. So if you’ve watched and liked the TV series, you’ll probably like this heavy accented film too.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
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 August 2 Dr.Neil Sawhney (cardiologist) from PAMF talks about heart health. Then Kathy McClure discusses the secrets of self-publishing. Rick Gladstone opens on August 9th discussing Santa Cruz political history in the 1960’s. He’s followed by Debbie Hencke discussing undesirable Branciforte & Eastside growth. The new book “Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast” co-author Christian Schwarz guests on August 18th. Carol Panofsky talks about Munching with Mozart and other music on August 23. Then on August 30 Artist and Doctor Mark Wainer talks about his forthcoming exhibit. 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 funny in the interesting sense of the word.
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur,The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES. About SUNSET
“Soon it got dusk, a grapy dusk, a purple dusk over tangerine groves and long melon fields; the sun the color of pressed grapes, slashed with burgundy red, the fields the color of love and Spanish mysteries.”
Jack Kerouac, On the Road
“One might fancy that day, the London day, was just beginning. Like a woman who had slipped off her print dress and white apron to array herself in blue and pearls, the day changed, put off stuff, took gauze, changed to evening, and with the same sigh of exhilaration that a woman breathes, tumbling petticoats on the floor, it too shed dust, heat, colour; the traffic thinned; motor cars, tinkling, darting, succeeded the lumber of vans; and here and there among the thick foliage of the squares an intense light hung. I resign, the evening seemed to say, as it paled and faded above the battlements and prominences, moulded, pointed, of hotel, flat, and block of shops, I fade, she was beginning. I disappear, but London would have none of it, and rushed her bayonets into the sky, pinioned her, constrained her to partnership in her revelry.” Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
“A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and then dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and a torn cloud, like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of its going. And dusk crept over the sky from the eastern horizon, and darkness crept over the land from the east.” John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
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Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
41st & CAPITOLA ROAD 1967. Ah, progress!! That huge building in the lower right hand quarter is of course, Orchard Supply Hardware (once King’s Plaza). 41st runs left and right in the center. Now we have two banks and two gas stations on this former green corner.
A LITTLE BENNY HILL. We need all the humor we can get between Cleveland and Philadelphia.
JERRY LEWIS does his “Cinderfella dance”. Fun fact that you may not know: The scene was shot with one take of Jerry Lewis going down the stairs and one take going up. He ran up the stairs in less than nine seconds and collapsed at the top. He was taken to the hospital and spent four days in an oxygen tent with his second cardiac event. This delayed filming for two weeks.
FRANK SINATRA & COUNT BASIE. Just in case you forgot what “great” meant.
PROTECTING OUR NORTH COAST. (Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument). Sunday’s (7/24/16) Santa Cruz Sentinel had a great article titled, “Protections a must before monument”. Here’s what Ted Benhari from Friends of the North Coast (one of the authors) said, and sent out on Facebook…
“Farm Bureau President David Van Lennep, Big Creek Lumber’s Bob Berlage, and I wrote an OpEd in Sunday’s Santa Cruz Sentinel about the importance of getting the conditions demanded by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the Santa Cruz City Council written into any proclamation President Obama might issue creating the Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument. Without having those spelled out in the proclamation’s language, the impacts on our roads, first responders and other services will likely have to be born by local taxpayers. Just below is a link to the OpEd. If you are concerned about this, write a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and President Obama demanding these protections be included if he makes Coast Dairies a national monument, which we think is a terrible mistake because it will only attract thousands more visitors without necessarily providing any more funding (our national park system has $12 billion dollars of unmet maintenance needs, a figure which grows larger every year).
TRUMP, GEORGE F. WILL AND DAVID BROOKS!!! Sunday’s Santa Cruz Sentinel (July 24, 2016) should be preserved in some very special place. Not only did we find the above article on saving our North Coast, and Chris Krohn’s piece on the Republican Convention and how that party may be over but we find absolutely shocking revelations from staunch conservative and Pulitzer prize winner George F. Will. He calls Trump “a boastful adulterer and aspiring torturer”. He says Mike Pence’s unctuous affect resemble’s Uriah Heep’s”. It’s important…you should read Will’s entire editorial here…
DAVID BROOKS, “The Dark Knight of disorder promises law and order” David Brooks another noted conservative and commentator for the Washington Post called Trump “The Dark Knight”. He says in this article, But if Trump is detached from the country, and uninterested in anything but himself, he’s also detached from his party. Trump is not really changing his party as much as dissolving it. He also states…” This is less a party than a personality cult. Law and order is a strange theme for a candidate who radiates conflict and disorder. Some rich children are careless that way; they break things and other people have to clean up the mess”. Go here and read it all… When you have two of the most prominent Republicans in the nation saying that about the party candidate and the party…you know times are changing.
COMMUNITY POWER AND OUSTING PG&E. ( a repeat) More than just closing Diablo there’s 1000’s of folks working hard to create “Community Power”. Counties and cities such as
Marin County, San Mateo, Sonoma, San Francisco, Benecia, El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo all have bought in to community power and Lafayette and Walnut Creek join that group in September. Check out this link to see what Monterey Bay Community Power has already accomplished. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gY6AkwdIuY . Then read the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s angled and typically cautious piece about this October and Community Power plans for our neighboring Counties. http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/NE/20160609/NEWS/160609741
COMMUNITY POWER MEETING…Beverly DesChaux, President of the Electric Auto Assn Central Coast Chapter sent this notice… Hi Environmentally Concerned Citizens,
The Electric Auto Association, Central Coast Chapter is very excited to co-sponsor this presentation on our Monterey Bay Community Power, Wednesday, August 3rd, 6-7:30 pm at Santa Cruz High Auditorium. This presentation will include results of the technical study. It will help you to understand what a Community Choice Energy(CCE) program means with all of its many benefits to our community and the environment, including facts and figures about costs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions reductions into the future. This information will prepare you to choose whether to buy your electricity from our locally controlled CCE or opt out to stay with PG&E. As we green up the grid, this is great news for EV owners/drivers who are not already plugging into their own solar arrays. This presentation will be co-sponsored with Allterra Solar, and Santa Cruz City Schools’ Green Schools Committee, targeting environmental groups and other interested members of the community. That’s Weds., Aug. 3
6-7:30 p.m. Santa Cruz High Auditorium. We hope you will join us for this official presentation by the outreach firm for Monterey Bay Community Power. The aim is to begin providing electricity to customers by October 2017, so please invite concerned groups and people so they can be informed about their upcoming choice.
Mr. Paul Elerick of Aptos writes… THAT APPLE BARN IN APTOS.
No, this isn’t a storage place for Apple Computer products. It’s the former Village Fair Antique shop housed in an old apple shed that no longer exists. We get updates in the local Aptos newspapers as to what going on. Never what’s not going on. Ever since last year Barry Swenson Builder (BSB) has given completion dates for moving the barn about 300 feet to become a grocery store and the “Town Center”. It’s almost August and the barn hasn’t moved . The apple barn when moved will become a focal point for BSB’s Aptos Village Project with 67 residential homes, retail shops and whatever. Maybe even a small park on a hillside that was once in their plan.
I hope out county government takes all this into consideration when they start to sell us their Corridors Plan, of which Aptos Village Project is apparently one of them. I believe BSB’s project in Aptos will have set records for elapsed time between approval and completion. I believe this is year 13 for Aptos Village.
Please, please… neighbors on the East Side of Santa Cruz, don’t let BSB or any other development company get started on that wonderful portion of Soquel Ave between Ocean St. and the freeway. It’s just fine the way it is, and so are the neighborhoods that are located nearby. Don’t give us county people another reason not to come into Santa Cruz’. (Paul Elerick is a member of, and former co-chair of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, http://sensibletransportation.org . He’s a current member of Nisene to Sea, a group of mid-county citizens committed to maintaining an open hiking trail from Cabrillo College to Nisene Marks State Park
Gillian sends… DEVELOPERS’ EXPRESS
At the Planning Commission meeting on the Downtown (Recovery) Plan, (7/21/16) supporters, namely developers, property owners and the Downtown Business Association and opponents, members of the public with concerns, attended in equal numbers… five on each side. It is hard to fathom why such a radical departure from the vision of the original Downtown Recovery Plan has attracted little response from the community. The reasons are probably many: so much new development bearing down on us like a freight train it feels overwhelming; eastside neighborhoods under siege leaving little time to worry about downtown; the pervasive, misguided philosophy of “growth is inevitable” and most concerning, that few locals care enough about downtown to speak out.
And then there’s that old problem of misinformation masquerading as truth put forward by the Planning Department.
According to the Department, the amendments under discussion are consistent with the First Principles of the Downtown Recovery Plan (DRP) the outcome of scores of meetings by the 19- member Vision Santa Cruz, chosen to guide rebuilding after the 1989 earthquake. This claim of “consistency” is bogus. The overarching principle of the DRP was that buildings in the downtown not exceed 2-3 stories with explicit criteria for any additional heights up to 5 stories, including an emphasis on solar access. Human-scale was a term used throughout the document. The proposed amendments state that, “new development will not be required to strictly adhere to a 2 and 3 story scale.” That is an understatement. Buildings of 85 feet plus 5 feet of extras on top are proposed for Pacific and Front streets with 70+ feet proposed for lining the San Lorenzo river between Laurel and Soquel. Six and seven floors are re-defined as ” mid-rise construction.” The elements of the San Lorenzo Urban River Plan developed in 2003 are scrapped in favor of a high-rise landscape, essentially walling off the river from the rest of downtown save for a few alleyways that will punch through to the levee from Pacific Avenue. Solar access now contains the qualifier, “reasonable.” You want sun? Go to the beach.
One snippet of Planning Department misinformation caught me by surprise. Under the section: Additional Height Findings for Project Approval, it is proposed that a project will be eligible for a density and height bonus if it meets one of the listed conditions and the last condition (vi) states that, “”Buildings taller than 60 feet provide an extraordinary contribution to the aesthetic goals of the Downtown Plan.” Ergo, if you’re tall, you can get a bonus to be taller because… well…you are tall and tall is aesthetically good. When I and another speaker drew attention to this curious logic, Ron Powers the senior planner for the Plan responded that the entry was in the original DRP so they had decided to keep it, a decision hailed by Commissioner Peter Kennedy. Puzzled that I had made such a mistake, I re-read the documents later that night. Not a mistake on my part but misinformation on theirs. In the original DRP, in order to be considered for additional height, the document states that, “the Director of Planning must make a recommendation to the City Council, with the finding that the proposed building provides an extraordinary contribution to the aesthetic goals of the Downtown Recovery Plan.” Sneaky huh?
No final decisions were made at the meeting and the issue will be back to the Planning Commission before heading to council. However some conclusions were clear. All commissioners approve of the new heights and none expressed reservations. While there will be discussions ahead on what “affordable” and “low-income” mean, the developers in the room made it clear that they expect the residential units to be market rate. Commissioners pointed out that 46% of downtown residential is currently “affordable” which unbalances the desired mix with market rate. Expect market rate. While “workforce” housing is the buzz -word to sell the new Plan, expect student housing and pent-houses for the wealthy. Not a problem for commissioners. Water? Not a problem since the city has solved that issue according to commissioner Mesiti-Miller who sat on the Water Supply Advisory Committee. Traffic impacts? Not a problem since all will be walking, biking and taking the bus and this takes care of parking, 50% of which will be off-site, saving developers $30,000 a space. Environmental concerns? Not a problem according to commissioner Kennedy since “the state takes care of that and you can’t destroy the environment in Santa Cruz,” further claiming that, “we’re on a moving train, there is no status quo.” If so, this train is the developers’ express, with the Planning Department as chief engineer, commissioners as conductors, passengers are future students and well-off folks who don’t live here yet. And locals? No seats available on this train.
~ (Gillian Greensite is a long time local activist, a member of Save Our Big Trees and the Santa Cruz chapter of IDA, International Dark Sky Association http://darksky.org Plus she’s an avid ocean swimmer, hiker and lover of all things wild).
CHRIS KROHN’S EXCLUSIVE REPORT TO BRATTONONLINE…from Philadelphia.
INSIDE THE RNC Chris Krohn is a fromer Santa Cruz mayor.
“Much of Cleveland this week is surreal, maybe post-surreal”.
Surreal, Take One—Police and More Police
There are police there from 21 different states—Louisville, Austin, Charleston, all represented, and so are the Florida, Indiana, and New Jersey state police to name just a few. But perhaps the most bizarre security presence I witnessed, more unusual than Secret Service, Homeland Security Intelligence (HSI, who know?), “Terrorism Task Force,” and the National Guard was the presence of our own CHP. That’s right, the California Highway Patrol had at least seven officers patrolling downtown Cleveland during the convention. The mayor, Frank Jackson told me in an interview that the city’s received $50 million to help pay for the convention, so I guess it’s got to go somewhere.
Many lobbyists and consultants would retreat each day to what I called the Tech Schmoozfest at Politico,the politics web site. They (never was sure who “they,” Politico, were?) set up on the 21st floor of a downtown office building. After “checking in” an elevator was set aside to zoom you up to 21. Upon exiting your eyes were treated to a wall of balloons spelling out Politico. On the other wall were glass encased memorabilia boxes of past and present political campaigns…moving to the next room was an open bar, and everything was free. There were displays by Microsoft and Lyft and in the corner was an oxygen bar run by a Trump voter who goes around the country setting up oxygen bars for corporate events. She told me she’s voting for Trump “because he can get things done.” In the next room, the largest, were two more bars and a long food table, a vodka punch bar, lots of white couches, and a TV studio where daily panel discussions took place on the economy or prison reform or foreign policy and were broadcast on the internet. There were tons more freebies too: notebooks, sun glasses, magazines, glasses and my favorite, caffeine-loaded candy. But the best thing for this reporter was the Free Wi-Fi, a place to file a story and check my email. Thank you Politico!
Surreal, Take Three—The Tools of Street Combat
The new weapon of urban warfare is not new at all, it’s the mountain bike. The first time I saw the mountain bike used as a way of controlling large groups of people was at the RNC in Minneapolis in 2008. The plastic orange wrap at the RNC in New York in 2004 got them into multiple law suits because they rounded up too many people who weren’t involved in demonstrating. The bicycle police are more discriminating I guess. In Cleveland, literally hundreds of cops were put on bikes and they often acted as fencing by aligning their bikes, circling random groups of demonstrators and closing the noose. They use the bikes to chase people too through narrow alleyways or across busy plazas. The bicycle police often close down streets and trap protesters by setting up ten or twenty bikes at either end trapping protesters, delegates, and vendors and stopping them from exiting an area until the police deem the security threat ended.
Surreal Take Four—The East 4th Street Media Circus
MSNBC set up two studios, a glass enclosed one and an open air studio on E. 4th Street leading toward “The Q,” where the actual convention was held. There was Chuck Todd going one-on-one with a Republican about whether there’s a “liberal bias” to the news(Anybody want to ask Bernie Sanders about “liberal bias?” Seems like some of Todd’s emails were among the Wiki-Leaks DNC take-down of Bernie releases last Friday.); over there is Chris Matthews talking to passersby like he’s lonely and there’s not much news to report; and, there was always a dozen Code Pink members around singing, dancing and shedding light on Trumpmisogyny, Republican war-like politics, and general GOP incivility. Those women attracted a lot of right wing anger, but their creativity turned more than a few heads. At one point they passed out 500 tennis balls and had people playing catch, but tennis balls are prohibited in Cleveland this week, deemed a (dangerous?) weapon. They were all confiscated by heavily armed police. When this was happening, just a few blocks away I was interviewing members of the West Ohio Minutemen who were “open-carrying” AR 15 and M-16 automatic weapons, all legal-like. Go figure! And just in case anyone thinks Homeland Security or the Secret Service will make us safe, how is it that Code Pink sent protesters into the convention on three of four nights to chant and unfurl banners? Even Medea Benjamin, whose face must surely be known by “the authorities” was able to get in on the final night and briefly disrupt the Trump coronation.
Surreal, Take Five—Event Choreography
Day one saw the “Never Trump” forces put on some junior political fireworks in trying to round up support for a stop Trump movement (Bernie’s movement of the “rigged system” at the DNC in Philly this week is proving to be much more widespread). It was real and maybe unexpected by some, but there were many anti-Trump people present, but not enough to make a dent on the orange hair, probably because most of the Never Trumpers stayed home including the Bush’s, John McCain, Marco Rubio and even Sarah Palin who endorsed Trump early in the campaign was nowhere to be seen at the RNC. Then we heard Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, offer a very well-received and well-crafted speech only to find out later that some paragraphs had been hijacked from Michelle Obama’s 2008 own “wife” speech at the DNC. At one point, during the damage control phase, Melania did say she quite admired Michelle.
On night three the scene was bordering on pugilistic pandemonium. The lights over Ted Cruz suddenly dimmed, and on the second level towards the stage left back of the Arena, it’s him.The orange hair is a dead giveaway.He’s upstaging Lyin’Ted, and it’s working. Ted would not seal the deal and endorse”the Donald” and the crowd finally sensed it and they let fly with loud boos and hisses. Lyin’ Ted paused waiting for HIM to take his seat. Cheers all around for HIM. Then Lyin’ Ted started in again and the crowd would have none of it. When the booing becomes deafening, Lyin’ T offers that smarmy smile like he knows more than his audience does, so the audience boos louder and he finally gets off the stage.
The nominated vice president, Mike Pence the Indiana governor is next. “I’m a Christian, a Conservative, and Republican in that order.” This seems to be all you need to know, although his speech was one of the best of this convention, the Lyin’ Ted’s non-endorsement upstaged the entire night. The last night in leading up the the BIG speech and the balloon drop was marked by war cries of “Lock her up,” and “build the wall,” and then Ivanka Trump reeled off a bunch of liberal social issues “that my father supports” included universal childcare and gay marriage. Trump’s 76-minute speech is, well, 76-minutes too long. Trump people lamented the previous night’s Vince McMahon moments of walking through the fog and lights were not replicated for the main event.
I couldn’t get out of Cleveland soon enough. Although the RNC confab was enormously entertaining it was just a tad overdone. Only really took one day to get their message: the economy is really fine, but the debt is too high, Michelle Obama might be okay but Hillary Clinton is right up there with Pol Pot and Idi Amin, and we must gut anything Obama touched, especially that Obamacare’s gotta go since so many of the Republicans got theirs already.
On Our Way to Philly
Sitting in the back of an old Mazda flying down I-76, putting distance, lots of it, between us and the Republicans. Philly and the Democrats are just ahead. It’s a seven-hour drive “so get comfy,” says my Math teacher friend who taught at Santa Cruz High until recently, having to move to the central valley to take care of his mom as so many of my middle-aged friends seem to now be doing. I’m content to be jammed in the back of the car typing away. We’re talking over an Observer story about a Wiki-leaks document dump. They are DNC official emails about how senior DNC officials sought to undermine the Bernie campaign and support Hillary.
We’re passing around slices of olive bread topped with almond ricotta while also eating last night’s Thai food take-out. Signs for Pittsburg, Gettysburg and Reading fly by. Just passing Lititz, Pa., only 77 miles from another corporate-named convention center where the DNC will be meeting. Unlike Cleveland’s downtown arena, Philly is an old school car-centric one on the outskirts of town where all the freeways cross. Several convoys of Pennsylvania state troopers have been passing us, presumably filled with at least one “important person” each, and then an enormous Fox news truck goes shooting by, their “Fox five” news people emblazoned on the side. I go back to typing this. It’s one hundred degrees outside our air conditioned traveling bubble and the heat wave is here. Funny, never heard a word about climate change in Cleveland, but the West Virginia delegation held up signs reading “Trump Digs Coal.”
~ Christopher Krohn
PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s Two Worlds website…Gary’s in Philadelphia.
DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION COMMENTARY #1.
Today, Monday, is the start of the Convention, and today is the last time for delegates to check in. Most did yesterday, I among them, and those who showed up got lots of convention-related buttons, water bottles, toys, snacks, and the like. Delegates receive their official credentials to get into the Wells Fargo Center on a daily basis, and Monday morning is the first day that official credentials are being handed out. Since I am an “alternate” delegate for Bernie Sanders, I may get an upgrade if a Bernie delegate doesn’t show up.
As I indicated yesterday, I am using my Two Worlds blog, this week, to give readers a personal report, perhaps providing news or information that the major media isn’t covering. In terms of what happened on Sunday, the Democratic Party is all about the “Party” thing.
On Monday morning, a breakfast was held for the California Delegation. That delegation is being housed in the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott, at about $700/night, which means most delegates are sharing accommodations. I am rooming with Alan Haffa, a Monterey City Council Member and Bernie Delegate. Alan is also a coordinator of Bernie Delegates from the Central Coast Region.
The breakfast was unexpectedly raucous. Many Bernie Delegates booed or otherwise showed their dislike for Hillary Clinton, whenever her name was mentioned. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is not a favorite of progressives, and was attacked during his time at the podium. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla drew the most negativity, with chants from the floor of “Count Our Ballots,” and “Do Your Job.” Many Bernie Delegates truly believe that Bernie “won” the vote in California, and that ballot fraud was prevalent. The fact that the breakfast and the Convention was partly sponsored by oil companies, with that fact being advertised, probably put the more progressive delegates in a cranky mood, even before the speakers showed up to stir their ire. Nancy Pelosi was really the only major speaker who didn’t draw down anti-Hillary Clinton reactions, laughing off an effort by one Bernie supporter to put a “Bernie Sanders For President” sign into the video screen with her. By the time she ended her terrific address, I felt like starting a chant, “Pelosi for President!”
In my opinion, the problem that the Democratic Party has had with the Sanders’ Delegates, right from the start, is that the official Party apparatus has acted as though Hillary was inevitably going to be the official candidate, thus sending the message that the actual “election” process was a sham. The revelations that led to the resignation of Debbie Wasserman Shultz, and to the rancor that has accompanied her appearance here in Philadelphia, show that this attitude was present from the start of the primary season, and it still persists. The Convention is organized in a way that “presumes” that Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Party candidate; however, Hillary has not yet been officially voted into that status, and doesn’t have enough “pledged” delegates to claim the nomination. When the “Super Delegates” all vote, Hillary should, indeed, have more than the necessary numbers, if they vote for Hillary as they say they will, but until that happens, the theme of “Coming Together,” which all the Party officials deployed, rings hollow in the ears of Bernie Delegates who want to vote for their candidate, and who truly believe that Bernie would have a much better chance than Hillary to defeat Donald Trump.
On Sunday evening, all the Bernie Delegates from California got together, and talked about how to communicate and coordinate as the Convention gets underway. Bernie Sanders has called a meeting for today, for all his pledged delegates. There was a real debate about whether to go to that meeting, since many Bernie Delegates were afraid that the meeting was scheduled so late that they would miss the opening of the Convention, and that their absence might then allow adverse rulings to be made, without their objection and opposition. Bernie moved his meeting earlier, to eliminate that problem. I am finishing up this posting at about 11:00 o’clock on Monday morning, Philadelphia time”. Go to Gary’s website to read his daily comments on the convention and to see his photos.
~Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net
THE TROUBLE WITH SHAKESPEARE. Just watching the trailers for the repeats of Shakespeare plays at the National Theatre Live’s Hamlet, our local Hamlet and Midsummer Night’s and the vast majority of any modern Shakespeare productions around the world …whole generations are growing up with no chance to see Shakespeare’s plays uncut and the way he wrote and staged them. Isn’t it like putting the Mona Lisa in a Nike tee-shirt so the younger generation will appreciate her more??
HIP BOOK SIGNING. Ralph Abraham and the Hip Santa Cruz History Project invite you to a launch event for their new book, “Hip Santa Cruz” just published on June 17, 2016. It’ll be at the R. Blitzer Gallery in the Wrigley Building, 2801 Mission Street (foot of Western Drive), 2nd floor on Saturday, August 6, 2-5 pm. The program:
2 pm,
Sitar Power concert (Ashwin Batish and family)
3 pm
Brief talks and discussions with contributors…
(Ralph Abraham, Rick Gladstone, Fred McPherson et al ).
4 pm
1960s slide show (Jacob Aman) and songs (Eric Levin)
book signing (Ralph and Holly Harman)
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Scribner’s statue ripe for assault….see below.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Tim Eagan bursts balloons…scroll lower.
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Head over to Cabrillo Stage for a vivid production of Fiddler On The Roof (starring one of the best Tevyes ever!) this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://lio-express.blogspot.com). Also grab a glass of Champers and find out how the dysfunctional duo from Ab Fab fares on the big screen!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC. Viggo Mortensen, the lead in this family saga, has never been better, and he’s almost always excellent. The older you are the more you’ll appreciate this extension of our 1950 & 60’s belief system. A film that has Noam Chomsky’s philosophy as a driver, Jesse Jackson, Joy of Sex book, Lolita, Glen Gould’s Bach Variations and some non-christian beliefs added, has to take you back just a bit. And in a good way. Viggo raises his family in the total wilds and later they have to face modern life and society. It’s as much fun as it is moving, sensitive , and well made. Frank Langella and Steve Zahn add to this hit film. Go for/to it!!
STAR TREK BEYOND. The third in the new Trek movie series this is a waste of eveyone’s time and money. They cop out and show a photo of Leonard Nimoy about half way through and show a snapshot of the entire Enterprise original 1966 crew. Mostly it’s just another throw bombs and shoot around corners (or curves on spaceships). Nothing near the humanity, intelligence, or real wit the original had, which made all of us such lifelong fans. The acting is terrible, the plot is meaningless. Go only if you need your periodic Star Trek Fix, and don’t care how “authentic” it is. ( I didn’t know Capt. James Kirk’s middle name was Tiberius and that Shatner is 85 years old and was born in Montreal).
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. I hear that this is a very funny TV show made into a movie. I read in various places that it’s funny…I didn’t laugh once. Two loud British “babes” go to the French Riviera and race through a lot of muck and fuss. Kate Moss (I just learned) is a beautiful and famous model and the two bimbo stars get involved with her. Just to be fair and add perspective…the young girls/women in the movie audience did laugh a lot. So if you’ve watched and liked the TV series, you’ll probably like this heavy accented film too.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
HUNT FOR WILDERPEOPLE.An excellent movie that has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. I had a problem with the New Zealand or “Kiwi” accents, and missed a few poignant scenes. Go here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgWnQVfY3mE to get a quick tutorial. Also note it’s “WILDERpeople” as in WILDERNESS not WILDER as in State Park. It’s a scenic, sensitive, comedy about the adventures of a 13 year old misplaced orphan who meets up with grizzly, solitary Sam Neill. They escape authorities by existing in the wilderness of the New Zealand Bush Country. It’s also exciting, tight, creative, perfectly acted, and most importantly…ORIGINAL!! ( In all fairness, it’s also cute, feel – good and improbable!)
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR. Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgard take the leads in this John Le Carre international money scheme thriller.It’ll remind you of James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock type chase films. Evil Russian Mafia spies, innocent British tourists, messy internal proble ms with British Government…all stuff that you’ve seen before. And it’s pretty good too.Paris, Bern, Marrakech, French Alps, and of course London are feature attractions. If you like espionage, foreign intrigue, not much blood, and good acting– go for it.
YO-YO MA’s WONDERFUL EGO or THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS-YO YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE. A mess of a documentary. Not one complete piece of music in it. It rambles all over the world showing how musicians continue selling their souls by selling out their true folk music to make a buck. Ther’s a lot of good music being written nowadays both serious and popular…this doesn’t give proper credit to either. Stay home and listen to some music you really like, you’ll be better off.
GHOSTBUSTERS 3. Remember that there was a sequel also with the original cast in 1989. As most movie fans know, they have replaced the original male Ghostbusters….Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Sigourney Weaver , Eddie Hudson, Rick Moranis and Harold Ramis with an almost all woman cast ie…Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. Plus adding Charles Dance and Chris Hemsworth. The sex change isn’t the important change, even though that’s’ what everyone focuses on. The big difference is in the amount of intelligence, cleverness, and sold humor in the script. These new jokes are dumber, clumsy, obvious, shallow and just not funny. The ghosts aren’t as clever either. Only go if you need to complete your ghostly experiences. Watch for cameos by most of the originals.
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. Tarzan has left the jungle but politics and Christoph Waltz have begun enslaving Congo locals so Tarzan ( Alexander Skarsgard) returns back to the vines. He brings Samuel L. Jackson who plays a more intelligent black version of Gabby Hayes, and does it poorly. The joy of the jungle, Brenda Joyce, Maureen O’Sullivan , Cheetah and Boy are gone. Just war, blood, violence remain. It’s sad to see a tradition like Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan squeezed through this absolutley senseless waste.
SWISS ARMY MAN. This is easily the most bizarre film I’ve seen in ten years. Paul Dano almost always plays in odd, nearly insane movies and he’s just as nuts in this one. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) plays a dead corpse who farts so hard that Dano uses him as a jet ski!!!
It isn’t funny, or even odd enough with any class or coherence to make it worth seeing. It’s listed as a comedy, no one was laughing when I saw it.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
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 July 26 Michael G. Sullivan from The San Francisco Mime Troupe tells us about this year’s production happening at UCSC’s Porter College Aug. 6 & 7 Then Michael Warren and Aimee Zygmonski discuss this year’s Santa Cruz Shakespeare season which runs through August 28th at De LaVeaga park. On August 2 Dr.Neil Sawhney (cardiologist) talks about heart health. Then Kathy McClure discusses the secrets of self publishing. Rick Gladstone opens on August 9th discussing Santa Cruz political history in the 1960’s. Carol Panofsky talks about Munching with Mozart and other music on August 23. 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 mentioned Catherine Tate as Donna Noble (in Dr. Who) last week. This is a skit featuring David Tennant and Donna, eh, I mean Catherine; a special for the charity Comic Relief.
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur,The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES.
“August, the summer’s last messenger of misery, is a hollow actor”, Henry Rollins “Having personally watched the Voting Rights Act being signed into law that August day, I can’t begin to imagine how we could have all been so wrong in believing that more Americans would vote once they were all truly free to do so”, Andrew Young “I bet deep down you still wish your mom would take you clothes shopping every August for the new school year”, Bridget Willard.
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
SANTA CRUZ BEACH & BOARDWALK 1940. This photo contains plenty of long ago history, By squinting you can see what used to be Opera Island over by the east parking lot in the San Lorenzo River. Note too The Casa Del Rey Hotel later turned into a senior center later razed rapidly (1989) by Charlie Canfield /Boardwalk to get FEMA earthquake money. Of course you notice the pier running out from the Boardwalk. Then there’s The La Bahia Hotel.
SANTA CRUZ’S CANCEROUS GROWTH. In spite of the massive evidence surrounding us, cities do not get better, or expressly more prosperous when they get bigger. Yet the lure and promise of taxes imposed on new buildings and big out of town and state franchises still fool local officials into luring and encouraging growth. Can anyone possibly think that San Jose or Los Angeles or San Francisco city coffers are better off because they grew into gigantic metropolises? Santa Cruz is seeing this “greed above
UC STEREOTYPES EXPLAINED. Odd, strange, but you probably haven’t seen this one!!!
PGA GOLF TOUR MEETS ANIMALS
all common sense” attitude when we keep getting our elected politicos’ pitches pushing THE CORRIDOR PLAN. I’m willing to bet that never in Santa Cruz City history has there been such a rush to approve as much building as is happening right now. The Villa de Branciforte Society (go here to see their history) has been working for years to keep some semblance of livability and quality to our neighborhoods. They work hard to inform neighbors and elected officials of the enormity of pending development. (Go here to see their current “Developments on the Block”…) Just like widening highways encourages more traffic new housing doesn’t satisfy any local housing needs it encourages more folks moving here.
To make all this even more real check out the two full pages (below) of projects from April 30, 2016 of such projects as four hotels, 248 units on Delaware, 94 units on Pacific, 63 units on Pacific and numerous additions, second floors, ad infinitum. We need to keep asking our City Council and especially the new council candidates such questions as… where will the necessary water come from, how can our streets carry the added traffic, hos can the police and fire departments handle the extra problems. What kind of new jobs will be created, how much of the new business profits will stay in the County?
Follow this link to see a more or less complete list (2 full pages) of all the projects the City has given approval to build.
KROHN GOES TO CLEVELAND. Former Santa Cruz Mayor and political activist Chris Krohn is in Cleveland. He will be sending exclusive reports on the Republican Convention to BrattonOnline….here’s his first (dated Mon, 18 July, 2016 8:37 am)
“SURROUNDED BY REPUBLICANS”. by Chris Krohn.
I was surrounded by Republicans at SFO this past Saturday night. Having been able to score a press pass from the House of Representatives Periodical Press Gallery for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland—they obviously do not know me—I’m waiting for my red-eye flight when I hear a forty-something in a red tee shirt wearing Birkenstock’s and carrying a computer bag being introduced to a twenty-something woman who is seated near me. “I run data for Trump, that’s what I do. Nice to meet you,” he says. Then a guy about 30 in beige shorts and a white sport shirt chimes in. “Oh yeah, I was the youngest delegate for the Republicans back when I was 22…I’m a big fan of Donald Trump…I’m on the leadership committee for the state.”
I’m thinking, wow the convention starts here at SFO. So with notebook in hand I get up and approach the Republican gaggle. The man in shorts is clear he does not want to talk about the convention. He says he’s going but “doesn’t necessarily want people to know. Who do you work for?” he asks.
“Yes, but I don’t really want to go on the record at this time.”
So why are you going?
“Because it’s a circus, and I like the circus.”
I board the airplane and track down the Trump data guy in a window seat in row 12. “Nope, can’t talk about it.” His speech is slurred. “I would love to talk about it, but they made me sign an agreement, really sorry.”
It’s a soft touchdown on Frontier Airlines flight 1516 into Cleveland’s Hopkins International airport. As I disembark there is Trump on the big screen talking to CNN’s Anderson Cooper. I stop momentarily to look at the New York Times headlines: “Trump: we are in a world war scenario,” he’s quoted as saying, responding to the recent truck attack on Nice, France. Trump and the Republicans seem to be everywhere in this normally moderate and a bit left of center Democratic city.
Although the airplane had very little leg room the seats did not recline (I will likely not fly Frontier again), it is contrasted by the city’s sparkling metallic Rapid Transit train that awaits me just steps from the terminal.It’s 6:40am and the sun’s just coming up over the tracks as we leave the airport station and pass by the Ford Factory and head towards downtown.
I get out at the West 117th street station in Lakewood where I will be staying with a woman, an “artist hippy” she later calls herself. We met through the “Housing Needed”section of Craig’s List. Seems like she just wanted to put up journalists who would perhaps tell an alternative RNC story she said. I was game.
Lakewood appears to be a prosperous middle-class part of Cleveland. I walk down mainstreet, called Madison, and it is well configured with two-way traffic lanes, a center turning lane and two bicycle paths on either side. Seems that cafes and craft beer bars have taken the place of dry goods stores and hat shops. Gasoline is selling for $2.09 a gallon, and the Lakewood Village Tavern advertises pints of Miller Beer for $1.75. The flags, and there are many, are at half-staff. I am told later they are for the Dallas police officers who were shot last week.
I find my way to my host’s house on Olivewood, a narrow tree-lined street with modest and tidy homes, most were probably built in the nineteenth century. I arrive to an open doorwith nobody home. Shelby Scanlon my host later says she never locks the door “because there’s always people coming in and out.” I sleep for a couple of hours and Shelby drives me the five miles separating Lakewood from downtown. She drops me off at a convenient place where I wade into the first unofficial day of RNC-mania.
MSNBC has set up a large presence on East 4th Street not far from the “Q Arena” where main political proceedings will take place beginning tomorrow. The area appears like a Fan Zone outside of some huge sporting event. People are selling political buttons, stickers and tee shirts, bars seem to be doing a brisk business, and manyof the political tourists are just standing and gawking at MSNBC’s Chris Hayes as he texts between segments of his show. Republicans are so close to this TV booth that they can almost reach out and mess his hair up if they wanted, and I assume many would as Hayes is sometimes the poster child of the liberal press for many of the GOP faithful.
East 4th street is definitely a party and people-watchingplace for the Republicans. I run into Wisconsin governor and former GOP presidential candidate, Scott Walker. He’s wearing a very unpresidential red sports shirt and brown Dockers. He chews on a mouth full of food and stands between two women as his aide snaps cell phone pictures. It’s hard not to ask him about his Koch brothers financial support and how he got punked back in 2011 by a well-known prankster who pretended to be David Koch calling him about union protesters at the state capitol. (Walker bought it, see YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBnSv3a6Nh4). But I move on.
I run into Hardball’s, Chris Matthews and ask him about his recent interview with Bill Maher in which the political comic said he fully expected President Obama to come out and support the legalization of marijuana. Matthews immediately gave me a thumbs up when I mention Maher’s name, but did Matthews really believe Obama would come out on this issue? I ask. He pauses and appears to seriously think about the question. “No,” he said, “I really doubt it.” I take a selfie with him just before he goes onthe air inside of the MSNBC glass bubble.
Next, I am able to get up close and personal with Frank Jackson, the current mayor of Cleveland. Jackson’s a Democrat, so I ask him how he likes being around so many Republicans. “The Republicans are spending money and that’s good for Cleveland,” he says. He also says that they’ve been planning this convention for two years and the federal government ponied up $50 million to underwrite it. And, how much is the city on the hook for? Ominously he just shakes his head saying, “I’m not sure right now.” When I tell him I’m from Santa Cruz he tells me he was stationed at Camp Roberts in central California and he and his army buddies would often visit Santa Cruz and San Jose. He said he liked those places a lot. I snap another selfie and I’m off to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall a Fame a few blocks away for the big media-delegate party the RNC is throwing. But it’s a two-hour wait just to get past security, and having an RNC press pass does nothing to avoid it, so I head over to the press center to file this story and marvel at all the firepower I pass in the streets: police, secret service, army and other police units I am not sure who they are attached to, are all heavily armed. They do not lean on anything either but stand upright and appear ready for action.
To get inside the press center itself my backpack has to go through a machine, I walk through another one, and a police officer wearing a bullet proof vest also waves his metal detecting wand in bodily places even the airport screeners never venture to. So this is how to spend $50 million on a convention and preserve a free press. As the San Francisco Chronicle’s Herb Caen often said, “Gawd, I love this city.”
~
Christopher Krohn (Next week: What happens inside the convention hall never stays inside.)
Mr. Paul Elerick of Aptos writes…
The People’s Democratic Club (PDC) held their annual Retreat on Saturday, July 16. 24 PDC members plus several non-members attended. The minutes will be posted soon at www.pdclub.org, but here is a report from PDC’s initiatives Committee on what will be on the November 8th Ballot Good grief!!!! Seventeen propositions on the State Ballot!!!!
School Bonds. Funding for K-12 School and Community College Facilities. Initiative Statutory Amendment. Authorizes $9 billion in general obligation bonds: $3 billion for new construction and $3 billion for modernization of K-12 public school facilities; $1 billion for charter schools and vocational education facilities; and $2 billion for California Community Colleges facilities.
Yes
Yes
Prop 52
????
More study
State Fees on Hospitals. Federal Medi-Cal Matching Funds. Initiative Statutory and Constitutional Amendment. Directs those fees and federal matching funds to hospital-provided Medi-Cal health care services, to uncompensated care provided by hospitals to uninsured patients, and to children’s health coverage. Requires two-thirds vote for the Legislature to amend existing law that imposes fees on hospitals (for purpose of obtaining federal Medi-Cal matching funds)
Yes
Yes
Prop 53
NO
Revenue Bonds. Statewide Voter Approval. Initiative Constitutional Amendment Requires statewide voter approval before any revenue bonds can be issued or sold by the state for projects that are financed, owned, operated, or managed by the state or any joint agency created by or including the state, if the bond amount exceeds $2 billion.
No?
NO
NO
Prop 54
NO
Legislation /Proceedings. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute. Prohibits Legislature from passing any bill unless it has been in print and published on the Internet for at least 72 hours before the vote, except in cases of public emergency.
No?
NO
NO
Prop 55
Yes
Tax Extension to Fund Education – Extends by 12 years the temporary personal income tax increases passed 2012: earnings over $250,000 for single filers; over $500,000 for joint filers; over $340,000 for heads of household].
Yes
Yes
Yes
Prop 56
YES
Tobacco Tax to Fund Healthcare, Tobacco Use Prevention, Research, and Law Enforcement. Increases cigarette tax by $2.00 per pack, with equivalent increase on other tobacco products and electronic cigarettes. Revenue primarily to increase funding for existing healthcare programs and services.
Yes
Yes
Prop 57
YES
Criminal Sentences. Juvenile Criminal Proceedings and Sentencing. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute. Allows parole consideration for persons convicted of nonviolent felonies upon completion of full prison term for primary offense, as defined. Provides juvenile court judges shall make determination, upon prosecutor motion, whether juveniles age 14 and older should be prosecuted and sentenced as adults.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Prop 58
YES
English language education. (PDF)Specifies English immersion – Repeals current legislation that prohibits English immersion programs
Yes
Yes
Yes
Prop 59
YES
Campaign finance: voter instruction. Advises overturn of Citizens United
Yes
Yes
Yes
Prop 60
NR
Adult Films. Condoms. Health Requirements. Initiative Statute. Requires performers in adult films to use condoms during filming of sexual intercourse.
NR
NO
Prop 61
NR
State Prescription Drug Purchases. Pricing Standards. Initiative Statute. Michael Weinstein c/o Bradley W. Hertz (818) 593-2949
Prohibits state agencies from paying more for a prescription drug than the lowest price paid for the same drug by the Department of Veterans Affairs
NR
NR
Prop 62
YES
Death Penalty – Repeals death penalty as maximum punishment for persons found guilty of murder and replaces it with life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Applies retroactively to persons already sentenced to death.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Prop 63
????
Firearms. Ammunition Sales. Initiative Statute – Prohibits possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines, and requires their disposal by sale to dealer, destruction, or removal from state. Requires most individuals to pass background check and obtain Department of Justice authorization to purchase ammunition.
Yes
NR
Yes
Prop 64
YES
Marijuana Legalization. Initiative Statute.Legalizes marijuana and hemp under state law. Designates state agencies to license and regulate marijuana industry. Imposes state excise tax on retail sales of marijuana
NR
Yes
Prop 65
NO
Carry-Out Bags. Charges. Redirects money collected by grocery and certain other retail stores through sale of carry-out bags, Requires stores to deposit bag sale proceeds into a special fund administered by the Wildlife Conservation Board to support specified categories of environmental projects.
NR
?
Prop 66
NO
Limits Death Penalty Appeals. Procedures. Initiative Statute. Changes procedures governing state court appeals and petitions challenging death penalty convictions and sentences. Designates superior court for initial petitions, limits successive petitions. Imposes time limits on state court death penalty review.
No
No
No
Prop 67
YES
Referendum to Overturn Ban on Single-Use Plastic Bags. If signed by the required number of registered voters and timely filed with the Secretary of State, this petition will place on the statewide ballot a challenge to a state law previously approved by the Legislature and the Governor
(Paul Elerick is a member of, and former co-chair of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, http://sensibletransportation.org . He’s a current member of Nisene to Sea, a group of mid-county citizens committed to maintaining an open hiking trail from Cabrillo College to Nisene Marks State Park
GREENSITE’S INSIGHT. Gillian writes….”Gillian is off for this week. Will return next week”. We are repeating her column from last week because the “click here/read more” link didn’t work much of the time.
“PG&E TREE REMOVAL HAS TO BE CHALLENGED!” (July 11, 2016)
The July 6th meeting with PG&E and city representatives was well attended thanks to community activism and little thanks to the city. At the council meeting in late April when this issue was on the council agenda as a presentation allowing no public comment, council stated that the July 6th meeting would be widely publicized. An Immediate Release item that appeared on the city’s website less than a week before the meeting, a hard to locate posting from Santa Cruz Neighbors on Next Door the day before the meeting and a Sentinel Coastlines entry the day of the meeting does not to me constitute a “widely publicized” meeting.
The posting from the city stated that the list of 38 public trees to be removed would be available at the meeting. The three copies available to look at but not take away suggest the city did not anticipate a large turnout. After the Mayor’s opening words, the city arborist introduced the meeting followed by the usual plethora of PG&E operatives dragged forward to respond to questions. It was a rather sorry affair. As one person shared, “I expected a slide show on the project with detailed explanations, scientific evidence and a comprehensive list of trees.” The poster boards with drawings of trees and pipelines did not pass muster for scientific evidence. The most energetic aspects of the meeting came from audience challenges and probing questions. At least questions were allowed in a group setting, a rare occurrence in today’s democratic process where consultants orchestrate small tables and post-it notes with no questions allowed.
In answer to a direct question about how many trees on private property in the city are involved, besides the 38 on public property, it was disturbing to hear that there are 275 such trees on the removal list with 122 being of heritage designation. This information had been hitherto carefully guarded. PG&E stated it had already met with each property owner to draw up an agreement. One wonders whether such property owners in the city of Santa Cruz have been advised of their right of refusal which was made clear at the meeting in Live Oak organized by Supervisor John Leopold? If property owners in the city have already signed an agreement that right might be forfeited. The impact of removing so many heritage trees in a 13-mile square city will be significant. Such a large tree removal project should be subject to CEQA and the local Heritage Tree Ordinance but the city arborist/urban forester said no, it wouldn’t be. Bay Area attorneys and the urban forester in Walnut Creek disagree. So it seems does the county. In the letter to the Board of Supervisors from John Leopold and Bruce McPherson, they state: “We propose that the project be put on hold here as well while the County creates a framework agreement with PG&E that makes sure our needs and our local and state environmental regulations are met.”
In response to the question, ” what data does PG&E have of problems with gas transmission lines caused by trees or tree roots?” the answer from PG&E was, “we don’t have any documented cases.” So, with close to 7000 miles of gas transmission lines and decades of use, there is not a single example of a problem caused by trees. I went on the website for SoCalGas, the counterpart to PG&E in central and southern California. There are many entries for gas transmission pipeline safety with not one entry involving the need to remove trees. I looked on the CPUC website with many entries for gas transmission pipeline safety subsequent to the San Bruno tragedy with not one entry involving the need to remove trees. There is no time to waste in contacting the city council and demanding that any agreement between the city and PG&E be channeled through a public process so we can have input and scrutinize how our city is protecting our interests and our trees, or not. If we fail to demand this public process it will be a private deal between the city and PG&E.
At the very least, the city’s agreement should spell out the legal opinion on the applicability of CEQA and the Heritage Tree Ordinance. It should clarify the rights of property owners to reject the tree removal proposal. It should require each heritage tree slated for removal to have its roots mapped with GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) to determine if the roots are near or far from the pipeline. It should require that PG&E and CPUC submit detailed, scientific evidence for this tree removal project. It should require evidence of pipeline valve upgrades with automatic and remote control shut-off capabilities in our county. PLEASE add your voice to help stop this unnecessary vandalism. Visit Melrose St. or Save Our Big Trees FB page and take in the beauty of the Catalpa trees, which will be gone for good if this project is allowed to progress”.
~
(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).
PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s Two Worlds website… dated July 14, 2106
UCSC TRAIL RIDE. Not sure exactly where near the campus this is..and it’s beautiful.
“GOOD ADVICE FROM JANE”
The City of Santa Cruz is in the middle of developing a so-called “Corridors Plan” for the main transportation corridors in the city. Affected would be Mission Street, Ocean Street, Water Street, and Soquel Avenue. In general, higher densities and increased building heights would be encouraged all along these city streets. I have been following the project from afar, and I have been encouraging local residents to get involved. There was a community meeting last night, for instance, on the East Side, highlighting the massive traffic, parking, and other impacts of what is being suggested. My suggestion? Pay attention. The stakes for the future of Santa Cruz are, actually, pretty high.
Pertinent to the discussion of the proposed City of Santa Cruz Corridors Plan would be a reading of Jane Jacobs’ famous book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. First published in 1961, Jacobs’ book is still in print. (Jane Jacobs in 1961, was Chair of the Committee to Save the West Village) The Nation magazine recently published a tribute to Jacobs by Roberta Brandes Gratz. The article is titled, “The Genius of Jane Jacobs.” The subheading to the article says, “She argued in favor of local wisdom and community visions, rejecting the grandiose designs of distant planners.” There is a pull quote from the article, below.
Shall I repeat myself? I will. Santa Cruz City residents, pay attention! Whether in urban downtowns or neighborhoods, or in suburbs or small towns, local residents and businesspeople know instinctively which improvements will bring positive change. When they have the means to pursue those improvements, or when new people come in and make improvements that harmonize in scale and use with the existing place, positive change occurs. Jacobs recognized this and argued in favor of local wisdom and community visions over the grandiose designs of distant planners and other so-called experts.
Conflict arises when distant experts, developers, and city hall planners come up with schemes in which that local wisdom has not been brought to bear at the beginning of the process. Such schemes usually show little respect for the nature and built form of the community and then are presented at “public” forums, in what is deceptively called a public process. At that point, the plans are tinkered with and maybe an “amenities” package is added (a form of bribery to ensure passage even if inappropriate to the place). But the input of local stakeholders is nonexistent in the beginning and minimal at the end. This is when the total transformation and, often, replacement of a community occurs, not its genuine regeneration”.
~
Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Hear Steven DeCinzo on Universal Grapevine Tuesday July 19 th, 7-7:30 p.m. KZSC 88.1 fm. Scroll downwards to see his take on Santa Cruz Shakespeare
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Scroll down to see Eagan’s view of our views.
BLITZER GALLERY PRESENTS…The Fool’s Journey-An Exhibition of Paintings-Special Event-Gallery Talk: Sunday July 24th 2 pm. Pamela Eakins, Ph.D. “The Fool’s Journey”. Following in the tradition of the Tarot, with its 22 illustrations of life passages, gifts, and challenges, 18 women artists paint their experience of life’s journey. Based on a painting course developed and taught by Susan Heinz. Curated by Betsy Anderson and Susan Heinz. Featured artists are…Laurel Andres, Sharon Bosley, Maureen Davidson, Bonnie Friedmann, Ruth Garland, Susan Heinz, Aisha Hudson, Lynne McGolrick, Eileen Nazzaro, Christine Price, Kathy Pouls, Nora Sarkissian, Barbara Schatan, Karen Schembs, Peggy Snider, Berdell Spellman, Janet Trenchard, and Karen Zelin.
Exhibit dates now through July 30, 2016. Gallery hours -Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 5 pm. SPECIAL EVENT: Gallery Talk, Sunday July 24th, 2 pm-Scholar and author, Pamela Eakins, Ph.D., speaks on “The Fool’s Journey”
MUNCHING WITH MOZART & FRIENDS. Every third Thursday of the month Carol Panofsky presents a free concert. So Thursday, July 21st 12:10 – 12:50 at the Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown Branch – in the Meeting Room there’ll be ” Noontime with the Oldies – very Oldies” with Lynn Kidder at the piano. Lynn will play Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) Sonata in C, K. 560 and Sonata in C, K. 561. Then Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Preludes, from Well Tempered Clavier, vol. 2 No. 7 in Eb and No. 9 in E. After that, Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Romanze in F#, op. 28 #2 and Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) Ballade in g, op. 23. Shell close with Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Sonata in Eb, op. 31 #3, “The Hunt” Presto con fuoco. Get there early seats go fast.
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “How well has Santa Cruz Shakespeare transitioned to ther new performance space in DeLaveaga Park? Read about the new SCS production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com). The set and costumes may be minimalist, but that they got the stage erected at all is no less a feat of magic than anything conjured by Puck and his fleet of fairies!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
HUNT FOR WILDERPEOPLE.An excellent movie that has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. I had a problem with the New Zealand or “Kiwi” accents, and missed a few poignant scenes. Go here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgWnQVfY3mE to get a quick tutorial. Also note it’s “WILDERpeople” as in WILDERNESS not WILDER as in State Park. It’s a scenic, sensitive, comedy about the adventures of a 13 year old misplaced orphan who meets up with grizzly, solitary Sam Neill. They escape authorities by existing in the wilderness of the New Zealand Bush Country. It’s also exciting, tight, creative, perfectly acted, and most importantly…ORIGINAL!!
GHOSTBUSTERS 2. As most movie fans know, they replaced the original male Ghostbusters….Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Sigourney Weaver , Eddie Hudson, Rick Moranis and Harold Ramis with an almost all woman cast ie…Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. Plus adding Charles Dance and Chris Hemsworth. The sex change isn’t the important change even though that’s’ what everyone focusses on. The big difference is iin the amount of intelligence, cleverness,and sold humor in the script. These new jokes are dumber, clumsy, obvious, shallow and just not funny. The ghosts aren’t as clever either. Only go if you need to complete your ghostly experiences. Watch for cameos by most of the originals.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
THE INNOCENTS. An 88 on Rotten Tomatoes!!! It ‘s worth even more than that!!!A French, subtitled , sad, threatening, well-acted, brilliant film that will wrench out your heart…and also your thoughts about faith. Set in Poland at the end of WW2, convent nuns have been raped by Soviet soldiers and 7 are pregnant. A young pretty French doctor stops her life to help them in spite of horrendous odds. It’s a well made film and should win awards…but it probably won’t. It’s too heavy for the awards, being so political and all.
WIENER-DOG. Four separate family stories woven around who owns the Weiner Dog As it passes from woner to owner. Danny DeVito is great to see back on-screen. Greta Gerwig is more or less boring and adds nothing (which is unusual for her). Kieran Culkin is in it and looks like an overly debauched Daniel Radcliffe. Julie Delpy and Ellen Burstyn also have dinky roles in this randomly constructed half funny mess but they should have stayed home, and so should you.
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR. Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgard take the leads in this John Le Carre international money scheme thriller.It’ll remind you of James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock type chase films. Evil Russian Mafia spies, innocent British tourists, messy internal problems with British Government…all stuff that you’ve seen before. And it’s pretty good too.Paris, Bern, Marrakech, French Alps, and of course London are feature attractions. If you like espionage, foreign intrigue, not much blood, and good acting– go for it.
LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. This sharp, wordy, comedy is from a little known Jane Austen book, “Lady Susan”. If you’re particular, it takes place in England 130 years before Downtown Abbey (1790). Plenty of Hayden, Cherubini and Cimarosa-type music. Daughter Hillary convinced me that I’d been slipping critic- wise and that Kate Beckensale is completely out of character, and phoney. It’s a desperate, wordy attempt to make still more money out of anything with Jane Austen’s name on it. The plot centers on what women had to do to survive back then. Go see it if you like Brit costume epics, with lots of scenery and furniture. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, so go figure. It’s just not all that great a film.
THE BFG. A huge Steven Spielberg special effects version of Roald Dahl’s 1982 children’s book. It lacks charm, warmth, cleverness, and wonderment. It’s even just plain boring for long sections. The BFGiant’s big excitement is in fighting the even bigger giants. It isn’t thrilling either. The effects are very good and may be better in 3D. But you’d be better off waiting and renting it later. Oh yes, the Queen of England is in it too, and she’s also boring.
YO-YO MA’s WONDERFUL EGO or THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS-YO YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE. A mess of a documentary. Not one complete piece of music in it. It rambles all over the world showing how musicians continue selling their souls by selling out their true folk music to make a buck. Ther’s a lot of good music being written nowadays both serious and popular…this doesn’t give proper credit to either. Stay home and listen to some music you really like, you’ll be better off.
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. Tarzan has left the jungle but politics and Christoph Waltz have begun enslaving Congo locals so Tarzan ( Alexander Skarsgard) returns back to the vines. He brings Samuel L. Jackson who plays a more intelligent black version of Gabby Hayes, and does it poorly. The joy of the jungle, Brenda Joyce, Maureen O’Sullivan , Cheetah and Boy are gone. Just war, blood, violence remain. It’s sad to see a tradition like Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan squeezed through this absolutley senseless waste.
SWISS ARMY MAN. This is easily the most bizarre film I’ve seen in ten years. Paul Dano almost always plays in odd, nearly insane movies and he’s just as nuts in this one. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) plays a dead corpse who farts so hard that Dano uses him as a jet ski!!! It isn’t funny, or even odd enough with any class or coherence to make it worth seeing. It’s listed as a comedy, no one was laughing when I saw it.
THE LOBSTER. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly head the cast of this unfathomable, suposedly dystopian satire on our views and customs relating to sex. marriage, and it’s not nice to animals either. It’s heavy drama, with some laughs thrown in. Maybe you have to be young and distant to catch all the supposedly clever zingers. I missed 95 % of any meaning or purpose to this flick.
THE PURGE:ELECTION YEAR. What an idea…each year for just 24 hours it’s legal to kill anybody in this city. The city in this sequel is Washington, D.C. The first Purge movie had some sick but fascinating ideas in it this sequel is a very sick followup. A woman candidate for president who looks a lot like Elizabeth Warren is hunted by sort of Donald Trump type nazis. It gets bloody, racist, sexist and just plain putrid. They should purge this film, and forget the idea completely.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
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. Satirist, political cartoonist Steven DeCinzo guests first on July 19th. He’s followed by Becky Steinbruner and Ed Silviera discussing Villa BrancifortePreservation and the S.Cruz Transportation Corridor plans. Then on July 26 Michael Warren and Aimee Zygmonski discuss this year’s Santa Cruz Shakespeare season which opens July 12. After which, Michael G. Sullivan from The San Francisco Mime Troupe tells us about this year’s production. On August 2 Dr.Neil Sawhney (cardiologist) talks about heart health. Then Kathy McClure discusses the secrets of self publishing. Rick Gladstone opens on August 9th discussing Santa Cruz political history in the 1960’s. 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 only knew Catherine Tate from her playing Donna Noble in Dr. Who opposite David Tennant as the Doctor. I found some gems from the Catherine Tate Show, and I’m going to binge watch all the Catherine Tate I can find.
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur,The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES. Shakespeare’s dream quotes….
“A dream itself is but a shadow”, Hamlet. “If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended, that you have but slumber’d here, while these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding but a dream”, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “When I waked, I cried to dream again“, The Tempest.
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Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
THE ANTHONY BLOCK 1870 + . This building stood at the Town Clock corners of N. Pacific, Water and Mission Streets. It was once the home and business location of Elihu Anthony. In this photohe had converted it into a two story building. The second floor was a social hall. The bottom floor was a grocery, bakery, drug store, and even Irwin’s Nickledeon movie house. They cut it down and moved half of it in 1909, and razed the rest in 1934.
The Campaign For Sensible transportation can’t keep their website very current…check it out: sensibletransportation.org but they work hard on trying to make sense of what the Regional Transportation Commission is trying to do so they can get the funding to widen Highway One by adding auxilliary lanes. Debbie Bulger wrote to the Campaign For Sensible Transportation… “As one who opposes the tax measure, I do not and will not make decisions for anyone
JONATHAN WINTERS ROASTS JOHNNY CARSON. Our popular humor today is so different from these classic years.
but myself. I feel it is important for CFST to publicize the arguments against the tax measure so people can make up their own minds from a position of knowledge. No one else will address th e real transportation and social justice issues against the tax measure if CFST does not do it”. Then she added “new information and analysis by Richard Stover which shows the Greenhouse Gas Reduction claim in the RTC brochure is incorrect.
Additionally the projection of a faster commute is way overstated by the RTC.
Stover states and asks in his report: 1. How much of the projected reduction can the RTC really claim? The conclusion the public can draw from this is that the Plan guesses they can get 9% reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions from Plan projects, but it might be less than 5%.
Are the estimated speeds and CO2 pollution reductions reliable? The RTC neglects to include induced traffic in their analysis.
The Plan analysis is flawed, incomplete, and at odds with the RTC’s Environmental Impact Report. Th e Plan estimates its projects might contribute at least 4.7% of the projected greenhouse gas reductions. But even that estimate seems to be optimistic.
Are there priority projects that didn’t make it onto the “constrained” list because of lack of potential funding?
Does the Appendix C use of the word “prioritized” have any relation to that word elsewhere in the Plan?
If there are priority projects on the unconstrained list (unlikely to be funded) what h appens to the greenhouse gas projections if they are removed from the analysis?
The RTC needs to clarify what projects are included in the greenhouse gas analysis. One final note: The legal document which would enact the proposed 1/2-cent sales tax does not include any reference to the Plan”. End of Bulger/Stover exerpts.
There are numerous statistics, questions, and sources in Richard Stover’s report. Be sure to read all of it. I’ve attempted to cut to some essentials. This’ll go down in County history as one of the biggest boondoggles ever foisted on a community that deserves better treatment.
KUSP RUMOR. I’d be more than happy to refute and apologize for this rumor next week but the source is near unimpeachable!!! “The word is that KUSP is hanging on by thread, making just enough to cover monthly expenses, with just one employee and several volunteers. That’s not good enough to last very long, as expenses beyond month to month come up periodically.
The other word is that no one has stepped forward with an offer to buy KUSP license and equipment. No big surprise since that would be buying an $850,000+ debt as well, with no prospects of income to pay it off. Don’t know what they’re gonna do”. End of rumor!!!
ELERICK’S INPUT. Mr. Paul Elerick of Aptos writes…
HIGHWAYS IN MICHIGAN, ETC.
Had a great two weeks in Michigan with family and friends. It’s always nice to go there in the summer months, and always nice to get back home. I found that transportation is just as short of funding in Michigan as in California. The one most obvious is the deterioration of the highways, never enough time and money to fix them. Michigan has an added level of complexity – they have only the warm months to work on road repair.
Couldn’t find any auxiliary lane projects but did see lots of upgrades to existing secondary roads getting their gravel roadbeds paved for the first time ever. There was no opposition to this asphalting work. Couldn’t find any opposition to added freeway lanes, although there has been some of this in the past. Paving roads is seen by most of the folks there as a good thing.
Michigan is not a backwards state on transportation issues though. They have a fantastic network of bicycle trails throughout the state, and support for bike safety everywhere.
So am I ready to leave my home in Aptos for return to my Michigan “roots”? After living here for the past 55 years, not a chance. It’s probably too late to control urban sprawl in Michigan and California. Michigan has a longer way to go than we do. But let’s not fool ourselves, we need to stay on top of development that brings the need for more real freeway widening, not just six miles of auxiliary lanes to help people who are already here.
(Paul Elerick is a member of, and former co-chair of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, http://sensibletransportation.org . He’s a current member of Nisene to Sea, a group of mid-county citizens committed to maintaining an open hiking trail from Cabrillo College to Nisene Marks State Park
EDITOR’S (Bratton) NOTE. The opinions on widening highways and auxilliary lanes are Paul Elerick’s…not mine, by a long shot.
GREENSITE’S INSIGHT.
PG&E TREE REMOVAL HAS TO BE CHALLENGED!
The July 6th meeting with PG&E and city representatives was well attended thanks to community activism and little thanks to the city. At the council meeting in late April when this issue was on the council agenda as a presentation allowing no public comment, council stated that the July 6th meeting would be widely publicized. An Immediate Release item that appeared on the city’s website less than a week before the meeting, a hard to locate posting from Santa Cruz Neighbors on Next Door the day before the meeting and a Sentinel Coastlines entry the day of the meeting does not to me constitute a “widely publicized” meeting.
The posting from the city stated that the list of 38 public trees to be removed would be available at the meeting. The three copies available to look at but not take away suggest the city did not anticipate a large turnout. After the Mayor’s opening words, the city arborist introduced the meeting followed by the usual plethora of PG&E operatives dragged forward to respond to questions. It was a rather sorry affair. As one person shared, “I expected a slide show on the project with detailed explanations, scientific evidence and a comprehensive list of trees.” The poster boards with drawings of trees and pipelines did not pass muster for scientific evidence. The most energetic aspects of the meeting came from audience challenges and probing questions. At least questions were allowed in a group setting, a rare occurrence in today’s democratic process where consultants orchestrate small tables and post-it notes with no questions allowed.
In answer to a direct question about how many trees on private property in the city are involved, besides the 38 on public property, it was disturbing to hear that there are 275 such trees on the removal list with 122 being of heritage designation. This information had been hitherto carefully guarded. PG&E stated it had already met with each property owner to draw up an agreement. One wonders whether such property owners in the city of Santa Cruz have been advised of their right of refusal which was made clear at the meeting in Live Oak organized by Supervisor John Leopold? If property owners in the city have already signed an agreement that right might be forfeited. The impact of removing so many heritage trees in a 13-mile square city will be significant. Such a large tree removal project should be subject to CEQA and the local Heritage Tree Ordinance but the city arborist/urban forester said no, it wouldn’t be. Bay Area attorneys and the urban forester in Walnut Creek disagree. So it seems does the county. In the letter to the Board of Supervisors from John Leopold and Bruce McPherson, they state: “We propose that the project be put on hold here as well while the County creates a framework agreement with PG&E that makes sure our needs and our local and state environmental regulations are met.”
In response to the question, “what data does PG&E have of problems with gas transmission lines caused by trees or tree roots?” the answer from PG&E was, “we don’t have any documented cases.” So, with close to 7000 miles of gas transmission lines and decades of use, there is not a single example of a problem caused by trees. I went on the website for SoCalGas, the counterpart to PG&E in central and southern California. There are many entries for gas transmission pipeline safety with not one entry involving the need to remove trees. I looked on the CPUC website with many entries for gas transmission pipeline safety subsequent to the San Bruno tragedy with not one entry involving the need to remove trees. There is no time to waste in contacting the city council and demanding that any agreement between the city and PG&E be channeled through a public process so we can have input and scrutinize how our city is protecting our interests and our trees, or not. If we fail to demand this public process it will be a private deal between the city and PG&E.
At the very least, the city’s agreement should spell out the legal opinion on the applicability of CEQA and the Heritage Tree Ordinance. It should clarify the rights of property owners to reject the tree removal proposal. It should require each heritage tree slated for removal to have its roots mapped with GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) to determine if the roots are near or far from the pipeline. It should require that PG&E and CPUC submit detailed, scientific evidence for this tree removal project. It should require evidence of pipeline valve upgrades with automatic and remote control shut-off capabilities in our county. PLEASE add your voice to help stop this unnecessary vandalism. Visit Melrose St. or Save Our Big Trees FB page and take in the beauty of the Catalpa trees, which will be gone for good if this project is allowed to progress.
~
(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).
WORLD’S BEST ROLLER COASTER RIDES.
Check out these modern coasters…a far cry from our historic beauty at the Boardwalk.
PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s Two Worlds website…
BERNIE SUPPORTERS (July 10th)
Michael Moore has endorsed Bernie Sanders for President. I endorsed Bernie Sanders, too, and was elected as an “alternate delegate” to represent those who voted for Bernie Sanders in the Primary Election in June, in California’s 20th Congressional District. In Santa Cruz County, California, where I live, Bernie Sanders won almost 60% of the vote.
News articles are speculating that Bernie Sanders is planning to endorse Hillary Clinton, before the Convention. I, personally, hope that Bernie Sanders doesn’t do that. As I explained in an Op-Ed not too long ago, a representative democracy presumes that elected representatives are going to be allowed to vote for those whom they represent. While Hillary Clinton is “leading” Sanders in pledged delegates by a substantial margin, and while the Party leaders who are “super delegates” are overwhelmingly in favor of Clinton, Clinton still doesn’t have enough pledged delegates to have been elected before the Convention.
Since almost 60% of the Democratic Party voters who voted in the June Primary Election in my county voted for Bernie Sanders, I believe they expect their elected delegates will represent their wishes by voting for Bernie Sanders at the National Convention. Delegates like me, in fact (as opposed to the so-called “super delegates”), are called “pledged” delegates, since we are pledged to vote for the candidate on whose behalf we were elected. If (as is apparently pretty certain) the Sanders delegates get outvoted, then the Convention will select Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party candidate, and that, again, is how representative democracy works. The candidate who gets the most votes wins. At least, that is how it is supposed to work. Somehow, that principle apparently got lost somewhere along the line in that Gore-Bush Presidential election.
Many of the news articles discussing a possible pre-convention endorsement of Clinton by Sanders note that Sanders’ supporters will be very disappointed if such a pre-Convention endorsement occurs. Many of these Sanders supporters and delegates to the Convention are new to the Democratic Party (I’m not, by the way). Query whether these new recruits to the Democratic Party will stick with the Party if they think that the Party is being operated to suppress the expression of their opinion. That is what they will think, I am pretty sure, if long time Party leaders succeed in beating up Bernie to the extent that he makes a pre-Convention endorsement that will tend to cut off the ability of Sanders elected and pledged delegates to cast their vote for the candidate favored by the voters they represent. The idea that elected Democratic members of Congress would “boo” Bernie, which reportedly occurred, is a demonstration that some of these Party leaders are less committed to the democratic process than they are to forcing those with different views to hew to the “Party line.”
My advice to Democratic Party leaders: let the Convention delegates vote. Stop pressuring Bernie Sanders to make a pre-Convention endorsement. That’s totally in the self-interest of the Party, because all those new Party members who support Bernie are much more likely to stick with the Party, in November and beyond, if they think that the Party has treated them, and their candidate, fairly.
And here’s my advice for the new Democrats who support Bernie Sanders. Stick with the Party, and take it over. We made a huge amount of progress this time, with Bernie Sanders’ great leadership helping to do that. But a person would have to be naive to think that the big-money Democrats who have taken over the Party of Roosevelt are going to give up their power without a fight. You have to “take” political power, and that “takes time.” That “political revolution,” I hope, has only just begun!”
~
Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net
THE ABSOLUTE SCARIEST TIGHT ROPE ACT I’VE EVER SEEN!!!
Watch this one…yes, you’ve seen plenty but not as scary as this couple!!!
SANDY LYDON’S CENTRAL COAST SECRETS. Issue #37 is online now. Full of great photos of Capitola nearly underwater. News about a Nisene Marks walk, another Monterey Bay Walk is coming up and so is a tour of Japan. Then there’s the annual Christmas in Cambria. But mostly, just don’t miss the 1983 flood and storm that sent waves through the Venetian Court. Read it here.
HIP SANTA CRUZ IN THE 1960’S. UCSC Math professor Ralph Abraham has been involved with and fascinated by our local Santa Cruz Hip culture in the 1960’s. He’s collected some statements and interviews from lots of the folks who were there. If you’ve only heard of the Hip Pocket Bookstore and The Barn in Scotts Valley and Ken Kesey’s visits, be sure to read his new book, “Hip Santa Cruz“, It’s available at Bookshop Santa Cruz and around.. You can also hear him on my Universal Grapevine radio program Tuesday night July 12, and it’s archived for two weeks in case you missed it by going to KZSC.org and clicking on the archives link.
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo and PG&E Power lines…see downwards…
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Hillary and those gnawing emails…see below!!!
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: ” What are the magic words that every author want to hear from her editor? Find out this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com), as my Beast gets the greenlight (at last!) to go roaring into production. My book is NOT the Disney version; however, Disney’s live-action riff on its own animated Beauty a nd the Beast will be coming out at about the same time, early next year. Looks like it’s going to be a Beastly spring!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
THE INNOCENTS. An 88 on Rotten Tomatoes!!! It’s worth even more than that!!! A French, subtitled , sad, threatening, well-acted, brilliant film that will wrench out your heart…and also your thoughts about faith. Set in Poland at the end of WW2, convent nuns have been raped by Soviet soldiers and 7 are pregnant. A young pretty French doctor stops her life to help them in spite of horrendous odds. It’s a well made film and should win awards…but it probably won’t. It’s too heavy for the awards, being so political and all.
WIENER-DOG. Four separate family stories woven around who owns the Wiener Dog, as it passes from owner to owner. Danny DeVito is great to see back on-screen. Greta Gerwig is more or less boring and adds nothing (which is unusual for her). Kieran Culkin is in it and looks like an overly debauched Daniel Radcliffe. Julie Delpy and Ellen Burstyn also have dinky roles in this randomly constructed half funny mess but they should have stayed home, and so should you.
YO-YO MA’s WONDERFUL EGO or THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS-YO YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE. A mess of a documentary. Not one complete piece of music in it. It rambles all over the world showing how musicians continue selling their souls by selling out their true folk music to make a buck. Ther’s a lot of good music being written nowadays both serious and popular…this doesn’t give proper credit to either. Stay home and listen to some music you really like, you’ll be better off.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR. Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgard take the leads in this John Le Carre international money scheme thriller.It’ll remind you of James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock type chase films. Evil Russian Mafia spies, innocent British tourists, messy internal problems with British Government…all stuff that you’ve seen before. And it’s pretty good too.Paris, Bern, Marrakech, French Alps, and of course London are feature attractions. If you like espionage, foreign intrigue, not much blood, and good acting– go for it.
WEINER. As weird as Anthony Weiner is, the social programs he fights for to become Mayor of New York City are way better than Cynthia Mathews’s any day. He’s brilliant, the documentary is well done, and this guy has a lifelong hang up with his name and his “wiener”. So he photographs his crotch and puts it online. Later on, during his Mayor campaign, he has phone sex with a young babe. His famous wife is/was Hillary Clinton’s best friend and advisor. If it wasn’t all true it would be the nutso fantasy of all time. Go see it.
FREE STATE OF JONES. After all the lack of racial representationin last year’s films that was so hugely magnified at this year’s Oscars be prepared for many, many racially focussed films in the enxt few months. Jones is the first. It stars Matthew McConaughey and it’s about the little known history of one southern man’s battle to free the slaves at the end of the Civil War. It’s long ( two hours and 20 minutes) and even dull at times…and its fascinating.
LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. This sharp, wordy, comedy is from a little known Jane Austen book, “Lady Susan”. If you’re particular, it takes place in England 130 years before Downton Abbey (1790). Plenty of Hayden, Cherubini and Cimarosa-type music. Daughter Hillary convinced me that I’d been slipping critic- wise and that Kate Beckensale is completely out of character, and phoney. It’s a desperate, wordy attempt to make still more money out of anything with Jane Austen’s name on it. The plot centers on what women had to do to survive back then. Go see it if you like Brit costume epics, with lots of scenery and furniture. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, so go figure. It’s just not all that great a film.
THE BFG. A huge Steven Spielberg special effects version of Roald Dahl’s 1982 children’s book. It lacks charm, warmth, cleverness, and wonderment. It’s even just plain boring for long sections. The BFGiant’s big excitement is in fighting the even bigger giants. It isn’t thrilling either. The effects are very good and may be better in 3D. But you’d be better off waiting and renting it later. Oh yes, the Queen of England is in it too, and she’s also boring.
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. Tarzan has left the jungle but politics and Christoph Waltz have begun enslaving Congo locals so Tarzan ( Alexander Skarsgård) returns back to the vines. He brings Samuel L. Jackson who plays a more intelligent black version of Gabby Hayes, and does it poorly. The joy of the jungle, Brenda Joyce, Maureen O’Sullivan , Cheetah and Boy are gone. Just war, blood, violence remain. It’s sad to see a tradition like Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan squeezed through this absolutley senseless waste.
SWISS ARMY MAN. This is easily the most bizarre film I’ve seen in ten years.Paul Dano almost always plays in odd, nearly insane movies and he’s just as nuts in this one. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) plays a dead corpse who farts so hard that Dano uses him as a jet ski!!! It isn’t funny, or even odd enough with any class or coherence to make it worth seeing. It’s listed as a comedy, no one was laughing when I saw it.
THE SHALLOWS. It should be titled JAWS 23 or whatever sequel it is now copying. A young, beautiful surfer girl from Texas who goes surfing at an unnamed beach in Mexico. Then the good old digital shark goes after her for about 80 minutes. I can’t spoil the ending because you know it already.
THE LOBSTER. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly head the cast of this
unfathomable, suposedly dystopian satire on our views and customs relating to sex. marriage, and it’s not nice to animals either. It’s heavy drama, with some laughs thrown in. Maybe you have to be young and distant to catch all the supposedly clever zingers. I missed 95 % of any meaning or purpose to this flick.
GENIUS. Think about this cast…Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Jude Law (as Thomas Wolfe) Nicole Kidman, Dominic West (as Ernest Hemingway) and Guy Pearce (as F. Scott Fitzgerald) !!! This movie sucks. It is one of the worst acted, poorly written films I’ve seen in years. But it does prove that editors are an important fact of literary life. Don’t go.
THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR. What an idea…each year for just 24 hours it’s legal to kill anybody in this city. The city in this sequel is Washington, D.C. The first Purge movie had some sick but fascinating ideas in it this sequel is a very sick followup. A woman candidate for president who looks a lot like Elizabeth Warren is hunted by sort of Donald Trump type nazis. It gets bloody, racist, sexist and just plain putrid. They should purge this film, and forget the idea completely.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
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 July 12 Ellen Primack, executive director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music tells us all about the 25th anniversary of Marin Alsop’s conducting. After Ellen, Ralph Abraham talks about his new book, “Hip Santa Cruz:1st Person Accounts of the Hip Culture in Santa Cruz in the 1960’s”. Satirist, artist Steven DeCinzo guests first on July 19th. He’s followed by Becky Steinbruner and Ed Silviera discussing Villa Branciforte and the S.Cruz Transportation Corridor plans. Then on July 26 Michael Warren and Aimee Zygmonski discuss this year’s Santa Cruz Shakespeare season which opens July 12. After which, Michael G. Sullivan from The San Francisco Mime Troupe tells us about this year’s production. 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 found this absolutely hysterical clip from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Guest is Rod Hull (and Emu), and you also see glimpses of Richard Pryor and Ally Sheedy!
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur,The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES. “ROLLER COASTERS”
“Enthusiasm is not the same as just being excited. One gets excited about going on a roller coaster. One becomes enthusiastic about creating and building a roller coaster”, Bo Bennett “Life can be like a roller coaster with its ups and downs. What matters is whether you are keeping your eyes open or closed during the ride and who is next to you.” Ana Ortega “Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs… unless you fall off”, Anonymous
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PACIFIC AVENUE. ST.GEORGE HOTEL. This was the era of The Pacific Avenue Garden Mall 1969-70. The TeaCup Chop Suey Restaurant and bar, Tom Cahill’s fine clothing store and some other businesses that I can’t remember.
UCSC’S BILL DOMHOFF DISCOURSES ON SANTA CRUZ POLITICS. Bill’s also written about dreams and The Bohemian Club.
TOM SCRIBNERS REDWOOD RIPSAW REVIEW. Most folks who’ve lived in Santa Cruz any length of time have heard of or even knew Tom Scribner. We know him mostly as a Musical Saw player and his statue.Tony Russomano was more than kind and sent us downloadable photos of the June 1, 1967 Redwood Ripsaw Review. (Tony mistakingly called it the Redwood Chainsaw) . It was a twice monthly typewritten opinion paper, and Tom Scribner was the main writer and editor.
Click to Download Chainsaw.zip 63.8 MB <-- large file, but worth it.
If it'll open, you'll see and read what true patriots Tom and his cohorts were. Writers (and my long time friends) John Tuck, John Sanchez, Rick Gladstone, Paul Lee, and Dick Credit wrote pieces month after month centering on ways the USA could improve. The first headline article, “Another War?” is just the beginning. It circulated to about 200 people and grew to 1,700 per month. Manuel’s Restaurant in Aptos was an ardent supporter. Most of those guys later wrote for Jim and Katy Heth’s Buy and Sell Press which became The People’s Press. We have almost nothing like it in Santa Cruz County anymore.
PG&E Watch the two very different, yet both PG&E related videos below. Really, just hit play.
PG&E’S CLOSING OF DIABLO NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.
As most folks have heard by now PG&E is going to close their Diabolo Nuclear Power plant by 2025. Enivonmental groups all over the world are rejoicing. A long time ago David Weisman from the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility asked me if they could use the recording and the song our trio “The GoodTime Washboard 3” wrote back in 1964 titled “Don’t Blame PG& E, Pal”. The Alliance wanted to make a clip of and put it on You Tube. It’s there now…and you can watch and sing along, and yes we are very proud of that song. It got us lots of exposure and led to an album for Fantasy Records (now on iTunes)
COMMUNITY POWER AND OUSTING PG&E.
More than just closing Diablo there’s 1000’s of folks working hard to create “Community Power”. Counties and cities such as Marin County, San Mateo, Sonoma, San Francisco, Benecia, El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo all have bought in to community power and Lafayette and Walnut Creek join that group in September. Check out this link to see what Monterey Bay Community Power has already accomplished. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gY6AkwdIuY . Then read the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s angled and typically cautious piece about this October and Community Power plans for our neighboring counties.
PACIFIC AVENUE HISTORIC PHOTOS. In response to the folks who have asked why I keep mentioning the what looks like enormous width of Pacific Avenue in those historic photos and why I keep comparing it to the mostly one lane traffic that exists now…I’m not actually sure. More than anything I want to see Pacific Avenue remain healthy..and prosperous…and even necessary! I’d like to see a Pacific Avenue that would bring locals back there to shop for necessities and enjoy our shared neighborhood. I can’t see that happening if we keep encouraging more franchises and cookie cutter businesses. Narrowing it to just one-way? Or closing it to all traffic and making it a plaza like place?? I don’t know anymore than any so called experts do. Some places it works, some places it doesn’t. Who’s to decide? An involved and intelligent Santa Cruz City Council sure would be a change. The last bunch of councils decisions and attitudes are what created the Pacific Avenue that we have now. Think about that when you look at the passing parade of council candidates.
ELERICK’S INPUT. Mr. Paul Elerick of Aptos remains on vacation.
Capitola City Council with the room packed to overflowing on a warm June evening. The issue at stake: whether to allow a skate park to be built on the four-acre city-owned Monterey Park, currently occupied by New Brighton Middle School, a baseball diamond, a soccer field and a small grove of mature eucalyptus trees providing a sweet spot of shade in the peaceful green acreage, across the street from an established neighborhood.
The meeting was well run. In fact Santa Cruz city council could learn a thing or two about respect for the public and public process that seems to have taken a holiday under current Mayor Mathew’s gavel. Attending the Santa Cruz city council the public is accustomed to being treated as an annoyance, told to raise our hands if we want to speak, scolded if we decide to speak after the initial count and sometimes only remembered as an afterthought in the process unless we are a developer, a consultant or a member of a favorite non-profit. By contrast, Mayor Bottorff carefully explained the process for the evening’s meeting, showed no impatience with the 58 people who spoke nor the many who got up to speak after the long line waiting to speak had dwindled to a handful. Beyond that the contrast ends. The 2-1 decision, with Stephanie Harlan in the minority to Ed Bottorff and Dennis Norton’s vote to approve the skate park (the other two council members were required to recuse themselves) had the familiar disregard for the impact on the nearby residents and a catering to a special interest group with financial backing that we have come to expect from the Santa Cruz city council majority.
I had come to speak on behalf of the grove of trees. The others were there to speak for or against the skate park with the majority speaking in opposition. These were the neighbors who will be directly impacted by the all-day grind of skates on concrete, a noise many feel comparable to chain saws, barking dogs and nails on chalk boards. I sympathized with the neighbors. Since there is a new skate park within a mile of the proposed park, with plans to add a pump track, I wondered along with many others why the need for a second one? I paid a visit. Situated just off the frontage road, it’s the ideal location in that no neighbors are affected, there’s room for expansion and the boys seemed to be having a good time. Well, that’s an assumption. Skating appears a solitary activity. There was zero social connection among the boys. No look of satisfaction, accomplishment or challenge. Studied cool and indifference. No sound except the relentless grind of boards on concrete. The posted rules requiring helmets, knee and elbow pads ignored, save for one younger boy who wore a helmet. I left convinced that this activity should not be in anyone’s front or back yard.
When it was eventually my turn to speak, I saw Bryan Stow making his way towards the line of speakers. He moved slowly on crutches. I gestured to him to go ahead of me. He demurred, saying maybe he should go to the end of the line, which stretched from the front to the back of the room with little space for a man on crutches to navigate. I encouraged him to speak next. A simple gesture that could have gone unnoticed except the Mayor made a point to ask the packed room if anyone had a problem with Bryan Stow moving to the head of the line, thereby erasing any possibility for his being regarded as just another speaker. Bryan explained that his bedroom is 150 feet away from the proposed skate park; that he has sleep apnea and needs to sleep in the daytime to compensate for lost nighttime sleep; that the all-day noise from the skateboards would make sleep difficult if not impossible. He begged the council to uphold the appeal and not approve the building of the park. After he spoke I thought, “well no need for anything more to be said. How could anyone with a heart vote against that human need?” I was wrong. The two male council members were more than happy to vote for the skate park citing the need for the younger skaters to have their own spot. Council member Dennis Norton offered to soundproof Bryan Stow’s bedroom, which struck me as just a notch above offering him ear-plugs. As for the grove of trees? They’ll get the ax. Despite a choice of locations, two of which would have spared the trees and were the preference for staff, the council majority voted for the only choice that requires getting rid of the trees. Ironically, Richard Novak, skateboard manufacturer and funder for this proposed park complained about the lack of shade at the existing skate park and told the council to “plant some trees!”
What lesson did the youth present at the council meeting learn from this decision?
That compassion for others, especially those most vulnerable, has no significance. Male youth do not need more skate parks and mountain bike trails as much as they need male role models to demonstrate that concern for others and feelings of compassion are not signs of weakness but sources of strength. Yet another skate park is a poor substitute for that more important lesson.
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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).
KZSC COLLEGE COMMUNITY RADIO. This is dated from 2011 but it does give you some idea of the fun and creativity that the students and a few of us community people have in sharing broadcasting.
PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s letter in the Sentinel Posted: 07/01/16, 3:00 PM PDT …
“All this advice for Bernie Sanders is way off base”
Bernie Sanders has been getting a lot of advice, lately. Advice like, “why don’t you admit you lost; sit down; get out of here; shut up.”
Stephen Kessler, a regular contributor to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, pretty much says all that in his “Open letter to Bernie Sanders” published last Saturday, accusing Sanders of being “deluded” and “caught in the bubble of (his) fans’ adulation.” Kessler paints Sanders as an “intransigent nag and a sore loser.”
As an alternate delegate pledged to Bernie Sanders, who plans to be at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, I would like to offer a different view.
“Hard” delegate votes are the votes of delegates who are obligated to vote for a candidate. Neither Senator Sanders nor former Secretary of State Clinton has enough “hard” delegate votes to be able to claim a victory at this time. 2,383 delegates are needed to win. Hillary Clinton has 2,208. Bernie Sanders has 1,890. Particularly when you consider the “unpledged” or “super” delegates (elected officials or Democratic Party leaders), Clinton is far ahead in the votes. Unless something changes (which is at least possible), Clinton will win the nomination. Sanders is not “deluded” about this. As he has repeatedly said, he is “pretty good at arithmetic.”
But … Bernie Sanders has not sat down nor shut up. Why not? There are at least three good reasons.
First, Bernie Sanders is being respectful of the nominating process. The process lets candidates compete for delegates who will be pledged to that particular candidate, and those delegates are a kind of “elected official.” Whether a delegate is elected through an initial “caucus,” and then a primary election, as in California, or directly in a “caucus” election, as happens in some other states, delegates who are elected are pledged to their candidate, and they go to the convention to cast votes for the candidate whom they were elected to support. That’s how the process is supposed to work.
Delegate votes are cast at the convention, not before, and that’s where unpledged “super delegates” vote, too. So, in view of the fact that neither Bernie Sanders nor Hillary Clinton has enough pledged delegates to win, the election takes place in Philadelphia, not in the newspaper columns of the pundits.
Second, Bernie Sanders is treating his delegates seriously. The people who ran to be Sanders delegates did so because they believe in Bernie Sanders and in the political positions he took in his campaign. Hillary Clinton took different positions. Sanders is giving his elected delegates the dignity they are due. In a representative democracy, representatives get to vote for the things they believe in and campaigned for. How hard is that to understand?
Finally, delegates to the convention get to vote not only for the candidate they prefer, but on various other matters, too, like the party platform and the future organization of the party. Were Sanders to abandon his campaign (and his delegates) before the process is completed, those Democrats who want a new direction for the Democratic Party, and the voters who voted for those delegates, would have the rug pulled out from under them.
The ordinary voters who selected delegates, like me, and who want Bernie Sanders to be president, deserve their chance to use the process to try to advance the political goals they support. Bernie Sanders is playing by the rules, and he is giving those who voted for him that chance. Advice to truncate the process, and to abandon the “political revolution” that Bernie Sanders has helped initiate, before the delegates elected to represent that revolution even get to the convention, is way off base.
Gary Patton was a member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors for 20 years, from 1975 to 1995. He served as the first executive director of LandWatch Monterey County, from 1998 to 2005. He will represent the 20th Congressional District as a pledged delegate (alternate) for Bernie Sanders at the Democratic Party Convention to be held in Philadelphia in late July.
~
Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. A Starbucks near you??? See downwards a scroll or two.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Eagan gives us another earthly perspective so see below. Then check out http://www.timeagan.com/?eaganblog for some Tic Talk.
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Some people talk about building a wall. (Okay, one fool in particular.) Find the perfect antidote to that mentality this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com) in The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. Also, why are people flocking to The Lobster? Seriously; I want to know!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR. Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgard take the leads in this John Le Carre international money scheme thriller.It’ll remind you of James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock type chase films. Evil Russian Mafia spies, innocent British tourists, messy internal problems with British Government…all stuff that you’ve seen before. And it’s pretty good too.Paris, Bern, Marrakech, French Alps, and of course London are feature attractions. If you like espionage, foreign intrigue, not much blood, and good acting– go for it.
THE BFG. A huge Steven Spielberg special effects version of Roald Dahl’s 1982 children’s book. It lacks charm, warmth, cleverness, and wonderment. It’s even just plain boring for long sections. The BFGiant’s big excitement is in fighting the even bigger giants. It isn’t thrilling either. The effects are very good and may be better in 3D. But you’d be better off waiting and renting it later. Oh yes, the Queen of England is in it too, and she’s also boring
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. Tarzan has left the jungle but politics and Christoph Waltz have begun enslaving Congo locals so Tarzan ( Alexander Skarsgard) returns back to the vines. He brings Samuel L. Jackson who plays a more intelligent black version of Gabby Hayes, and does it poorly. The joy of the jungle, Brenda Joyce, Maureen O’Sullivan , Cheetah and Boy are gone. Just war, blood, violence remain. It’s sad to see a tradition like Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan squeezed through this absolutley senseless waste.
THE PURGE:ELECTION YEAR. What an idea…each year for just 24 hours it’s legal to kill anybody in this city. The city in this sequel is Washington, D.C. The first Purge movie had some sick but fascinating ideas in it this sequel is a very sick followup. A woman candidate for president who looks a lot like Elizabeth Warren is hunted by sort of Donald Trump type nazis. It gets bloody, racist, sexist and just plain putrid. They should purge this film, and forget the idea completely.
SWISS ARMY MAN. This is easily the most bizarre film I’ve seen in ten years.Paul Dano almost always plays in odd, nearly insane movies and he’s just as nuts in this one. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) plays a dead corpse who farts so hard that Dano uses him as a jet ski!!! It isn’t funny, or even odd enough with any class or coherence to make it worth seeing. It’s listed as a comedy, no one was laughing when I saw it.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
NEON DEMON. I’m conflicted on this one. Director Nicolas Winding Refn uses Elle Fanning to make an amazing look and style to this film about the sick and sex ridden world of high fashion modeling. There’s a little necrophoilia, lesbian love, cannibalism, and vampirism all wrapped in a brilliant, cold, sterile portrait of that side of Hollywood. Even more strange they cast Keanu Reeves who is as bad as usual, as Elle’s Pasadena motel manager. Audiences at the Cannes Film Fest both cheered and booed. You won’t forget this one…and it’ll be awhile before the film world catches up to what is/was being said here.Oh yes, Christina Hendricks the giant sexy babe from Mad Men, does a fine job here too.I saw it again last week…and still like it.
FREE STATE OF JONES. After all the lack of racial representationin last year’s films that was so hugely magnified at this year’s Oscars be prepared for many, many racially focussed films in the enxt few months. Jones is the first. It stars Matthew McConaughey and it’s about the little known history of one southern man’s battle to free the slaves at the end of the Civil War. It’s long ( two hours and 20 minutes) and even dull at times…and its fascinating.
WIENER. As weird as Anthony Weiner is, the social programs he fights for to become Mayor of New York City are way better than Cynthia Mathews’s any day. He’s brilliant, the documentary is well done, and this guy has a lifelong hang up with his name and his “wiener”. So he photographs his crotch and puts it online. Later on, during his Mayor campaign, he has phone sex with a young babe. His famous wife is/was Hillary Clinton’s best friend and advisor. If it wasn’t all true it would be the nutso fantasy of all time. Go see it.
MAGGIE’S PLAN. This NYC tradgi-comedy falls into the “Woody Allen, New York City Odd People in Love” category. Julianne Moore, Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke and Bill Hader do excellent acting (except for Julianne Moore and her lousy German accent). It’s about University teachers, divorce, sex, raising kids, control freaks, and our very, very complex lives today. You’ll be completely absorbed all the way through. Not a classic but “absorbing”.
LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. This sharp, wordy, comedy is from a little known Jane Austen book, “Lady Susan”. If you’re particular, it takes place in England 130 years before Downtown Abbey (1790). Plenty of Hayden, Cherubini and Cimarosa-type music. Daughter Hillary convinced me that I’d been slipping critic- wise and that Kate Beckensale is completely out of character, and phoney. It’s a desperate, wordy attempt to make still more money out of anything with Jane Austen’s name on it. The plot centers on what women had to do to survive back then. Go see it if you like Brit costume epics, with lots of scenery and furniture. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, so go figure. It’s just not all that great a film.
THE SHALLOWS. It should be titled JAWS 23 or whatever sequel it is now copying. A young, beautiful surfer girl from Texas who goes surfing at an unnamed beach in Mexico. Then the good old digital shark goes after her for about 80 minutes. I can’t spoil the ending because you know it already.
CONJURING 2. I like Vera Famiga’s acting a lot. This is an “Exorcist type” true, ghost – type movie. Based on some haunted house in Londontables and chairs fly, doors slam, a little girl sounds like an evil devil driven Popeye and it is as scary as a film can be.After it’s over you’ll go home thinking about any/all encounters you’ve never had.
THE LOBSTER. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly head the cast of this
unfathomable, suposedly dystopian satire on our views and customs relating to sex. marriage, and it’s not nice to animals either. It’s heavy drama, with some laughs thrown in. Maybe you have to be young and distant to catch all the supposedly clever zingers. I missed 95% of any meaning or purpose to this flick.
GENIUS. Think about this cast…Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Jude Law (as Thomas Wolfe) Nicole Kidman, Dominic West (as Ernest Hemingway) and Guy Pearce (as F. Scott Fitzgerald) !!! This movie sucks. It is one of the worst acted, poorly written films I’ve seen in years. But it does prove that editors are an important fact of literary life. Don’t go.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
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. Gillian Greensite local environmental activist, brings us up to date on stuff on July 5th…She’s followed by Karen Ashley and Dick Tippett reporting on the West Coast Dowsing Conference. On July 12 Ellen Primack, executive director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music tells us all about the 25th anniversary of Marin Alsop’s conducting. After Ellen, Ralph Abraham talks about his new book, “Hip Santa Cruz:1st Person Accounts of the Hip Culture in Santa Cruz in the 1960’s”. Then on July 26 Michael Warren and Aimee Zygmonski discuss this year’s Santa Cruz Shakespeare season which opens July 12. After which, Michael G. Sullivan from The San Francisco Mime Troupe tells us about this year’s production. 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
Inherited memories? This girl from Sweden decides to see if a herd of cows will answer to the way their ancestors were called, likely by her ancestors. She’s 26, from my home town of Gothenburg, and 5 years ago moved to the far north of Sweden to get away from noise, people, and city life. She lives in a cottage in a village that has a population of 11 (!). Click through to her blog, her photography is amazing!
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur,The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack o n 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 Simont on, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES. “TOURISTS AND TOURISM” “The average tourist wants to go to places where there are no tourists“, Sam Ewing “I am leaving the town to the invaders: increasingly numerous, mediocre, dirty, badly behaved, shameless tourists”, Brigitte Bardot “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going”, Paul Theroux “I have come to the conclusion that the major part of the work of a President is to increase the gate receipts of expositions and fairs and bring tourists to town”, William Howard Taft “The tourist may complain of other tourists, but he would be lost without them“, Agnes Repplier “I quit flying years ago. I don’t want to die with tourists”, Billy Bob Thornton
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
PACIFIC AVENUE PARADE, Circa? It’s either 10 :40 am or 10:50 am. According to the two clocks in this 1950’s photo. Once again, note the two lanes of parked cars, see the marchers marching in five columns and there’s still plenty of room on the sidewalks and in the street. Remember the buildings haven’t been moved an inch…so where has all that space disappeared to?
UCSC, MONEY & SHAKESPEARE SANTA CRUZ. Remember all that muck UCSC administration issued when they shut down Shakespeare Santa Cruz from using the famed Audrey Stanley-Karen Sinsheimer Glen ? Read the late Don Rothman’s history here http://www.donrothman.com/audrey-stanley-and-karen-sinsheimer-the-readiness-is-all . First UCSC said they wanted to use the glen for more student productions. That was a year ago and they have never used the Glen since that time. UCSC administration
CHINA’S NEW GLASS BRIDGE.
also claimed that money was a big factor and they couldn’t afford to keep the Glen running. Since that time UCSC has refused to even rent the costumes that were created for Shakespeare Santa Cruz to Santa Cruz Shakespeare. More than that, they have been selling costumes worth hundreds of dollars each (such as the gorgeous gown designed by B. Modern for The Rape of Tamar play) for $5 apiece!!! At some point this has to be known as cruel and unusual punishment..not some pretext as fiscal responsibility. Who is in charge there?
IDLE THOUGHTS. Wouldn’t it be a big surprise and just try to guess the result IF CONDOLEZZA RICE decided to run as president or vice president? On the other hand… have you noticed that all the men who drive those damned loud motorcycles up Pacific Avenue are short and fat? Is there a relationship? Quien Sabe?
SAN RANCISCO MIME TROUPE VS. SANTA CRUZ LAWS. At the very last minute the City Of Santa Cruz’s bureaucracy almost stopped The San Francisco Mime Troupe’s performance in San Lorenzo Park claiming some obscure legal permit nonsense. The Mime Troupe performs in city parks without problems all over Northern California and they have been doing that for decades. The Pickle Family Circus did exactly the same thing. This year Santa Cruz City repeated its legalistic crap and forced the Mime Troupe to stop playing in San Lorenzo park entirely. The Mime Troupe will be performing up on the UCSC Campus Saturday August 6 and Sunday August 7. This is a larger issue than stopping The Mime Troupe. Santa Cruz City Hall has been clamping down on many public events in the last two or more years. Fear of lawsuits? stopping large crowds? reducing book work? Whatever it is and whichever department is responsible , our city is looking like the most up-tight, negative, dictatorial administration in our history. Now’s the time to demand a change in how our city government relates to the folks living here. Ask the City Council candidates where they are at with these regulation enforcements and public entertainment. Ask them too while you’re at it where those candidates stand on so many other issues like The Beach Flats Gardens…we need to humanize our City Council.
ELERICK’S INPUT. Mr. Paul Elerick of Aptos is still on a Michigan vacation…probably driving only on auxilliary lanes!!!
DOES TREE CITY USA HAVE ANY MEANING?
If you love trees, put the date of July 6th on your calendar. If you want the city of Santa Cruz to follow the lead of the county in challenging PG&E’s tree eradication project, plan to attend the meeting. It will be held in the Police Community Room at 155 Center St. from 6:30-8:00pm.
PG&E has embarked on a tree removal project, named the Community Pipeline Safety Initiative, along its 6,750-mile high-pressure natural gas transmission pipelines. These are not the distribution lines that connect from the street to your house. These are the high-pressure transmission steel pipelines that transport gas over long distances from a storage facility to a distribution center, including traversing the city and county of Santa Cruz. The stated reason for PG&E’s removal of thousands of trees is to improve emergency access and safety. Few would question such a goal if trees legitimately stood in the way (or grew in the way) of such access and were indeed a legitimate safety issue. The evidence for trees causing such problems is scanty at best and those who have researched the issue challenge whether it is a problem at all. The San Bruno disaster had nothing to do with trees but rather with neglect, faulty pipeline welds and failure to keep track of pipeline information, to name a few of the causes. The vast majority of problems affecting underground pipelines are caused by third party excavation without properly locating the pipeline before commencing work.
PG&E would have you believe that a tree growing within 14 feet of a gas pipeline creates an emergency because it may prevent immediate access to the pipeline if a leak or other problem is detected. This makes no sense in an urban environment. The city’s public trees slated for removal are on sidewalks next to roads. Should a problem be detected, the concrete sidewalk and asphalt road would have to be excavated to access the pipeline. The gas would be shut off and lines evacuated of gas so first responders could access the site without fear of their vehicles igniting a fire. In the unlikely event that a tree and its roots would need to be removed in order to access and repair the pipe, the tree is an inconvenience at best, and may delay access but it does not constitute an emergency. We are not talking about putting out a gas fire in which case the tree is largely irrelevant. The other potential problem with trees, according to PG&E is that the roots may corrode the external coating on the pipeline and a tree may uproot, damaging the pipeline. These problems are noted but lack detailed, documented data. Even if these are legitimate concerns, there are options available short of the wholesale removal of so many trees.
Many communities reacted strongly and negatively to PG&E’s tree removal campaign and their elected officials have been outspoken in challenging PG&E. Palo Alto, Walnut Creek and the county of Santa Cruz have insisted that PG&E enter into an agreement so that “all trees proposed for removal be reviewed with the intent to minimize the number to those that present a clear and verified safety concern that cannot otherwise be mitigated and that local and state environmental regulations are met.” PG&E has indicated it will cooperate with the county. Walnut Creek was successful in reducing the number of public trees slated for removal from 191 to 6. The city of Santa Cruz has been silent so far although there is word that they are moving towards drafting an agreement. Whether it is oriented towards strong tree protection remains to be seen. It did not augur well that the initial presentation from PG&E at a council meeting allowed for no public comment. Who decided that? The mayor? The city manager? Highly unusual. Nor does it augur well that my recent letter to council and city manager asking for an update regarding any agreement with PG&E went unanswered.
While Graham Hill Road will bear the brunt of tree removals if this project moves forward, including rare Ponderosa pines, the city of Santa Cruz will lose many trees, especially those which are of heritage designation. As things stand now, the beautiful Catalpa trees on Magnolia, Catalpa and Poplar Streets will be cut down as well as 16 Incense Cedars on Ocean St. Extension, to name just a few. Out of a possible 99 public trees that PG&E listed as growing in their right of way in the city, 39 have been targeted for removal. This does not include trees on private property, the numbers of which PG&E will not disclose.
Any city agreement should require that PG&E provide scientific proof of their safety and access claims beyond cartoon drawings and assertions. It should require that all trees have an individual profile, with a detailed rationale for each one’s removal. Each tree, including the 24 growing directly above the pipeline should be examined with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to show the depth and location of roots. If the roots are far from the pipeline then the tree should remain. The agreement should require proof that all transmission gas pipelines have been internally inspected and pipeline control valves upgraded, replaced or added with remote control and automatic shutoff capabilities prior to any action on tree removal. If not, one is left to speculate whether this tree removal project is a diversion from the real work needed to ensure pipeline safety.
Our city has a poor track record on tree protection. Our trees deserve better. We can demand better. The county has stepped forward. Other towns have stepped forward. As a Tree City USA, let us not be the least among them.
(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).
PEOPLE TERRIFIED ON GLASS BRIDGE. It’ s nearly indecent to show these folks reaction to the glass bridge BUT would you walk across???
CAROL BURNETT & GREAT OUTAKE!!!! Yes this is all over FB but it gets me every time…enjoy.
PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s Two Worlds website…
“Politics is never about truth. It is about opinion. We may be right to believe that Islamic fundamentalism is wrong (as are many if not most fundamentalisms); but that belief is an opinion not a truth. It is an opinion that has emerged over time through persuasion. If that opinion is to be maintained, it must be persuasive. We must argue for it and convince the majority that it is correct. That is why it is essential that we allow those who disagree to make their arguments. We should listen to fundamentalists and argue with them, not dismiss them, caricature them, or punish them. That is the best way we can truly confront, disagree with, and defeat our enemies. The same is true for those who are racist, sexist, or anti-Semitic”.
That statement is from Roger Berkowitz, commenting on Hannah Arendt’s view of politics. The illustration is a pictorial depiction of one of my favorite poems, The Blind Men And The Elephant, by American poet John Godfrey Saxe. It is not ours to know “the truth,” in the sense that we can ever “prove it.” At least, not in our human world. In the World of Nature, where the laws are called “laws” because they perfectly describe what actually happens, the concept of a provable “truth” has some pertinence. But not in our human world. We live in a world of “opinion,” not “truth;” that is, we live in a “political” world. In that political world, the laws are not descriptive but prescriptive. They tell us not what will or must do, but what we want to do. In the human world that we create, “laws” are not discovered; they are made, and in any democratic society, persuasion is an absolute prerequisite. That’s what Berkowitz says. That’s what Arendt says. They’re right!”
(Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Summer time, travel time…exotic places…DeCinzo has tit all scroll below.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Tim E. fires up our imagination, see downward. Then check out Eagan’s NRA question of the week…or century, at http://www.timeagan.com/?eaganblog
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Feed your inner lit geek this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com), with Genius; Jude Law stars as life-ravenous author Thomas Wolfe, and Colin Firth is his uber-editor, Maxwell Perkins. Also, an update (and a cool new poster!) on the SC Parks & Rec Teen Theatre production of Alias Hook, coming this summer!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
NEON DEMON. I’m conflicted on this one. Director Nicolas Winding Refn uses Elle Fanning to make an amazing look and style to this film about the sick and sex ridden world of high fashion modeling. There’s a little necrophoilia, lesbian love, cannibalism, and vampirism all wrapped in a brilliant, cold, sterile portrait of that side of Hollywood. Even more strange they cast Keanu Reeves who is as bad as usual, as Elle’s Pasadena motel manager. Audiences at the Cannes Film Fest both cheered and booed. You won’t forget this one…and it’ll be awhile before the film world catches up to what is/was being said here.Oh yes, Christina Hendricks the giant sexy babe from Mad Men, does a fine job here too.
FREE STATE OF JONES. After all the lack of racial representationin last year’s films that was so hugely magnified at this year’s Oscars be prepared for many, many racially focussed films in the enxt few months. Jones is the first. It stars Matthew McConaughey and it’s about the little known history of one southern man’s battle to free the slaves at the end of the Civil War. It’s long ( two hours and 20 minutes) and even dull at times…and its fascinating.
CONJURING 2. I like Vera Famiga’s acting a lot. This is an “Exorcist type” true, ghost – type movie. Based on some haunted house in Londontables and chairs fly, doors slam, a little girl sounds like an evil devil driven Popeye and it is as scary as a film can be.After it’s over you’ll go home thinking about any/all encounters you’ve never had.
THE SHALLOWS. It should be titled JAWS 23 or whatever sequel it is now copying. A young, beautiful surfer girl from Texas who goes surfing at an unnamed beach in Mexico. Then the good old digital shark goes after her for about 80 minutes. I can’t spoil the ending because you know it already.
GENIUS. Think about this cast…Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Jude Law (as Thomas Wolfe) Nicole Kidman, Dominic West (as Ernest Hemingway) and Guy Pearce (as F. Scott Fitzgerald) !!! This movie sucks. It is one of the worst acted, poorly written films I’ve seen in years. But it does prove that editors are an important fact of literary life. Don’t go.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US
FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
WIENER. As weird as Anthony Weiner is, the social programs he fights for to become Mayor of New York City are way better than Cynthia Mathews’s any day. He’s brilliant, the documentary is well done, and this guy has a lifelong hang up with his name and his “wiener”. So he photographs his crotch and puts it online. Later on, during his Mayor campaign, he has phone sex with a young babe. His famous wife is/was Hillary Clinton’s best friend and advisor. If it wasn’t all true it would be the nutso fantasy of all time. Go see it.
DARK HORSE. Another documentary, and it’s syrupy, feel good, nearly predictable and grand fun to watch. The middle class Brits who all chip in and buy a race horse are perfect. You’d want them for neighbors. It’s another slam at England’s class system. Their class system is just older and better defined and more accepted than ours.
MAGGIE’S PLAN. This NYC tradgi-comedy falls into the “Woody Allen, New York City Odd People in Love” category. Julianne Moore, Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke and Bill Hader do excellent acting (except for Julianne Moore and her lousy German accent). It’s about University teachers, divorce, sex, raising kids, control freaks, and our very, very complex lives today. You’ll be completely absorbed all the way through. Not a classic but “absorbing”.
LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. This sharp, wordy, comedy is from a little known Jane Austen book, “Lady Susan”. If you’re particular, it takes place in England 130 years before Downtown Abbey (1790). Plenty of Hayden, Cherubini and Cimarosa-type music. Daughter Hillary convinced me that I’d been slipping critic- wise and that Kate Beckensale is completely out of character, and phoney. It’s a desperate, wordy attempt to make still more money out of anything with Jane Austen’s name on it. The plot centers on what women had to do to survive back then. Go see it if you like Brit costume epics, with lots of scenery and furniture. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, so go figure. It’s just not all that great a film.
NOW YOU SEE ME 2. A disaster sequel to another disaster opener. 36 on Rotten Tomatoes. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and bit parts by Morgan Freeman & Michael Caine but don’t tell anybody. Four would be stage illusionists (technical advice by David Copperfield, really) are supposed to be world famous but Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe, really) is an evil world plotter and you’ll never be able to follow the plot anyways, so don’t go. Tell your friends who like stage magic not to go too, there isn’t any. What effects there are, are all digital Fx.
THE LOBSTER. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly head the cast of this
unfathomable, suposedly dystopian satire on our views and customs relating to sex. marriage, and it’s not nice to animals either. It’s heavy drama, with some laughs thrown in. Maybe you have to be young and distant to catch all the supposedly clever zingers. I missed 95 % of any meaning or purpose to this flick.
X MEN: APOCALYPSE. Another Marvel Comics dystopian monster versus mutant movie. The one in teresting thing I remember from this very forgetable mess is that Magneto played by Michael Fassbender is Jewish and got all his superhuman strength from the ashes of Auschwitz!! And it shows Auschwitz too!! Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Issac, James McAvoy and a big surprise Ally Sheedy are all in it for the big bucks they got paid….why else?
POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING. I am many generations before this parody of today’s rock scene and didn’t laugh or like any of the parts I stayed awake through. Then I left just about half way through. It is true that Sarah Silverman, Ringo Starr, Mariah Carey, Martin Sheen, Jimmy Fallon, Simon Cowell, and Joan Cusack all have “cameo” parts of about 12 seconds each BUT that Judd Apatow directed it… should be warning enough.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
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. June 28 has naturalist Grey Hayes warning us of more dangers from the ill-schemed proposed North Coast Cotoni National Monument. He’s followed by UCSC Professor James Clifford telling us about his new UCSC Campus book, “The Ecotone“. Gillian Greensite local environmental activist, brings us up to date on stuff on July 5th…She’s followed by Karen Ashley and Dick Tippett reporting on the West Coast Dowsing Conference. On July 12 Ellen Primack, executive director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music tells us, all about the 25th anniversary of Marin Alsop’s conducting. Then on July 26 Michael Warren and Aimee Zygmonski talk about this year’s Santa Cruz Shakespeare season which opens July 12. 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 can watch clips from the Graham Norton Show for hours. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a whole episode, come to think of it!
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur,The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Bu rdick, 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 “THE FOURTH OF JULY”
“There, I guess King George will be able to read that”, John Hancock
On signing the American Declaration of Independence.
“Because of the poor economy, we couldn’t afford fireworks. The only snap, crackle, and pop at our house yesterday was when I poured milk on a bowl of Rice Krispies”, Unknown.
“Being a traditionalist, I’m a rabid sucker for Christmas. In July, I’m already worried that there are only 146 shopping days left”, John Waters
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
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HALL OF RECORDS AND FIRST COUNTY COURTHOUSE.
This was taken before 1894 when the courthouse burned down/up in the fire of that year. The Hall of Records still stands as Lulu’s Octagon Coffee house. It’s all on short little Cooper Street. I have no idea which Cooper it was named after, probably Fred Cooper who had a bookstore.
RAY BOLGER and the missing dance from The Wizard of Oz. Ray came to Santa Cruz a few times. We visited once when he filmed Peter and The Wolf for Dan Bessie out on Swanton Road.
THE DOWSERS ARE COMING!!! We don’t hear as much about dowsing as we used to. Dowsing being the “art” of divining where water is located by use of some sort of sticks, or rods. There’s much more to it than that and the 34 th annual West Coast Dowsing Convention is happening again this year from July 1-5 on the UCSC campus.
DOWSING CONFERENCE IN SANTA CRUZ.
Check out this video clip
FUTURE OF PACIFIC AVENUE. Our Santa Cruz City Council race is looming closer each week. What should be one of the largest issues facing our council is the health and future of Pacific Avenue. Our wimpy council kowtows daily to allow business exploitation and what should be better marketing concepts to stop more ruining of our Downtown. As out of town franchises like Five Guys Burgers gets more and more popular, more and more of that money goes out of town and more of our local burger businesses are hurt. As our City Museum of Art & History brings in four or five out of town restaurants and a wine and beer business, again more of our local businesses are decimated. As our police hassle our street performers and the vendors, they refuse to ticket or stop the insane loudness from the roaring motorcycles. Those motorcyclists licenses could easily be photographed and ticketed. We now have one “parklet” narrowing Cathcart street. The quick debate will soon carry over to more parklets on Pacific and so will the decades old debate on making Pacific a one way street, or closing it to all traffic. We need some consistent thinking, planning, and permitting if Downtown is going to remain the centerpiece it once was…when locals went there to shop and have fun.
COTONI-ESHOO-CEMEX NATIONAL MONUMENTAL THREAT. Before everybody gets excited over again about Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s National Park Monument with Obama’s Yosemite push, we need to realize and remember that our Coast Dairies Land just north of Davenport is now and has been 1. Almost wilderness 2. Completely protected by BLM regulations. 3. Even if declared a National Monument BLM doesn’t have the money to protect it from the tens of thousands of tourists that will invade and ruin the very nature of the place. AND what happened to all the political promises by Supervisor Ryan Coonerty, Anna Eshoo and others to not support the Monument status unless certain rules and regulations were made part of the plan?
SANTA CRUZ SHAKESPEARE. I drove up to the De La Veaga building site of Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s new outdoor theatre a couple of weeks ago. I was going to take pictures of how it’s developing, but I couldn’t, the project is just too big to photograph. Rick Wright the president of the Shakespeare board stopped by my car on his way to saw down a couple of trees. He told me there was more than 2 ½ miles of cables under the new “Tech House” building that was near completion. Tractors, bulldozers, trucks were everywhere, didn’t see any seats yet but the whole scene is so large I might have missed them. Everything opens July 12th. It’s going to be something else. Especially when they only have a two year lease.
APOLOGY TO STEPHEN KESSLER. I wrote here two weeks ago in answer to Stephen Kessler’s diatribe against Bernie Sanders that he was heir to the Maidenform Bra fortune. Stephen corrected me…it was Rose Marie Reid Swimware not Maidenform Bra. Stephen after continuing to slam Bernie in every possible way also corrected me in saying he never had to work for a living. He said he did too, he’s been a writer almost all his life…you can see what he’s been up to all of his years at http://stephenkessler.com
PAUL ELERICK IS ON VACATION (In Michigan)
GREENSITE’S INSIGHT. DEMOCRACY UNDERMINED
Last Thursday, the City of Santa Cruz Planning Commission voted unanimously to conduct their next round of discussions on the Corridor Plan and the Downtown RecoveryPlan in a series of private ad hoc committee meetings. No public allowed. Two ad hoc committees were voted in: one to review development standards and circulation issues for the Corridors Plan and the other to review development standards for the Downtown Recovery Plan, that outdated name for the bulky high rises that will eventually line the river on Front St. between Laurel and Soquel, and parts of Pacific, bulldozing the current buildings that house Recycled Stereo, India Joze, University Copy and many other small long-time Santa Cruz businesses. These zoning changes foreshadow the development of projects more massive and impactful than any Santa Cruz has ever experienced, ones guaranteed to change the character of Santa Cruz to the point of rendering parts of town unrecognizable.
The Brown Act, passed in 1953, guaranteeing the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies, allows for ad hoc meetings so long as they are of short duration, sunset after that time, are comprised of less than a majority of members and focus on a discrete topic. Therefore the decision to move to private meetings is most likely legal. However one could argue, as I did at the Planning Commission meeting, that ad hoc private meetings are an inappropriate venue for deliberation on these rezoning plans, given their significance and impact. Excluding the public leaves the public without a voice until the final meeting of the full commission where only small details are left to be discussed. Deference is to those commission members who have spent hours on the plans in ad hoc meetings.
This was true for the Downtown Recovery Plan. After scores of ad hoc meetings, the commissioners presented the results to the full commission who accepted their summary without debate and spent hours on fine details. Those of us in attendance who would have liked to challenge basic premises such as heights of 85 feet and the adoption of “volumetrics,” that is, no upper story setbacks, didn’t stand a chance. Discussion and acceptance of these basics had happened long before in the private meetings attended no doubt by Planning staff and consultants. In response to the commissioners lament that there is just too much to discuss in public meetings I pointed out that city council has equally if not more complex projects and doesn’t form private meetings to discuss them prior to full council deliberation: that the role of the commissioners and council is to set policy, not merge their work with consultants and the planning staff. Some commissioners and planning staff became defensive and hastened to reassure that the commissioners were all volunteers, that there were no back-room deals, that they weren’t in bed with developers and so on. “Of course not,” I responded, “but the purpose of public meetings is to allow the public to witness the deliberations and debates of the elected and appointed representatives and participate in that process, not to have that debate and discussion happen in private meetings and be presented with a finished project. It might be efficient but it is not democratic.” A further measure of unconcern with democratic process is the failure of the city of Santa Cruz to televise their planning commission meetings, long ago accomplished by the cities of Scotts Valley, Capitola and Watsonville.
This trend towards private meetings to discuss public issues is troubling. While the city did hold public meetings to showcase the elements of the Corridors Plan, the public had to fight for the right to speak. Another commission, The Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, which I co-founded and chaired for a number of years, changed its public standing committees into ad hoc committees save for one, which meets infrequently and is often cancelled. When I asked to attend an ad hoc committee I was told I could not do so unless a commissioner invited me, which did not happen. At the time we were engaged in a battle with the Police Department over its failure to adequately investigate cases of reported rape. The PD became unglued at the criticism (all well documented) and city, staff and newly appointed commissioners rallied behind the police. Private ad hoc committees were effective in keeping me at arms distance. Of course the public can always attend and speak at the final meetings of the full standing body and no decisions are made until that point. This is the standard reply to concerns. As anyone who has attended such meetings can attest, at that point one’s voice is simply not heard.
Our democratic process is not something to take for granted. It needs constant vigilance. As it increasingly slips away it needs your voice raised in protest. ( 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).
PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s Two Worlds website…
Stanley McChrystal is a retired General in the United States Army. In other words, this is a guy who knows about guns (and other weapons). In an opinion piece in the June 17, 2016 edition of The New York Times, McChrystal came out in favor of gun control legislation, to “keep guns out of the hands of those who cannot be trusted to handle them responsibly.” What we need to avoid, said McChrystal, is a situation in which “our communities … feel like war zones.” McChrystal’s article bore this title: “Home Should Not Be A War Zone.” I want to join with McChrystal in saying that “home should not be a war zone.” But let me ask this question: Does that same principle apply to Iraq? Or to Afghanistan? And what about Syria? What about Libya? Presumably, we all remember the pictures of what United States military operations, some of them directly commanded by McChrystal, did in those countries. U.S. Military operations have turned the homes of other nations into “war zones,” with drone strikes, on the ground military operations, naval bombardments and aircraft bombing runs. The picture below is from Iraq, and is labeled as “collateral damage.” We started that war.
In the article readers are reminded that the United States has a long history of bombing the homes of other peoples “back to the stone age,” to use the colorful, but largely accurate, language of General Curtis LeMay. Here for nostalgia buffs, is a picture of a United States aviator destroying Ben Tre, a village in Vietnam.
GREAT WHITE SHARKS JUMPING. Probably not as big a danger as the bird poop on our wharf but worth thinking about.
There is at least some evidence that the recent and horrific events in Orlando, Florida were the result of someone trying to achieve retribution, in this country, for what this country is doing to the homes of those living in countries that the United States government has decided have something to do with “terrorism.” Ask the ordinary people whose homes are being destroyed by the United States military who they think the terrorists are. Their answer will almost certainly be that the greatest purveyor of terror today is the United States government (and specifically its military troops and the private contractors who have properly been identified by Bob Dylan as the Masters of War). Want to stop terrorist efforts from targeting U.S. communities, and trying to turn them into war zones? Let’s stop doing to others what we do no t want them to do unto us!”
Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expre ssed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Our spacial neighbors and their welcome see down a few pages..
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Eagan views our constitutional RITES…use your scroll wheel for a few pages below.
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Party like a pagan this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com), as we celebrate the Summer Solstice! And. as an extra added attraction this year, we also get a full moon on the same day! Read all about it!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
WEINER. As weird as Anthony Weiner is, the social programs he fights for to become Mayor of New York City are way better than Cynthia Mathews’s any day. He’s brilliant, the documentary is well done, and this guy has a lifelong hang up with his name and his wiener. So he photographs his crotch and puts it online. Later on during his Mayor campaign, he has phone sex with a young babe. His famous wife is/was Hillary Clinton’s best friend and advisor. If it wasn’t all true it would be the nutso fantasy of all time. Go see it.
DARK HORSE. Another documentary, and it’s syrupy, feel good, nearly predictable and grand fun to watch. The middle class Brits who all chip in and buy a race horse are perfect. You’d want them for neighbors. It’s another slam at England’s class system. Their class system is just older and better defined and more accepted than ours.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
MAGGIE’S PLAN. This NYC tradgi-comedy falls into the “Woody Allen, New York City Odd People in Love” category. Julienne Moore, Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke and Bill Hader do excellent acting (except for Julienne Moore and her lousy German accent). It’s about University teachers, divorce, sex, raising kids, control freaks, and our very, very complex lives today. You’ll be completely absorbed all the way through. Not a classic but “absorbing”.
ME BEFORE YOU. It’s an odd bit of casting to see Emilia Clarke who plays the white haired,skinny, oft-bare-nippled, dragon mother Princess Daenerys Targaryen Thoros in Game Of Thrones in this hammy, corney tragi-comedy. She is chubby, uneducated, clutzy, poorly dressed, goofy and mugs incessantly. The other star is a guy in a wheelchair who looks so much like Christopher Reeves (in and out of the wheel chair) that there’s a creepy feeling all through the film. It’s beyond a tear jerker, it’s treacle, sugary, and not worth your time.
LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. This sharp, wordy, comedy is from a little known Jane Austen book, “Lady Susan”. If you’re particular, it takes place in England 130 years before Downtown Abbey (1790). Plenty of Hayden, Cherubini and Cimarosa-type music. Daughter Hillary convinced me that I’d been slipping critic- wise and that Kate Beckensale is completely out of character, and phoney. It’s a desperate, wordy attempt to make still more money out of anything with Jane Austen’s name on it. The plot centers on what women had to do to survive back then. Go see it if you like Brit costume epics, with lots of scenery and furniture. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, so go figure. It’s just not all that gteat a film.
NICE GUYS. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe make terrible buddies in this sloppy attempt at another buddy movie.This one is set in L.A. in the 70’s. An investigator and a cop team up and with no laughs, no subtleties whatsoever, more violence, much blood, …it’s awful. There’s a 13 year old girl in it that does an excellent job of acting her name is Angourie Rice. We’ll be seeing and hearing more of her.
NOW YOU SEE ME 2. A disaster sequel to another disaster opener. 36 on Rotten Tomatoes. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and bit parts by Morgan Freeman & Michael Caine but don’t tell anybody. Four would be stage illusionists (technical advice by David Copperfield, really) are supposed to be world famous but Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe, really) is an evil world plotter and you’ll never be able to follow the plot anyways, so don’t go. Tell your friends who like stage magic not to go too, there isn’t any. What effects there are, are all digital Fx.
THE LOBSTERColin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly head the cast of this unfathomable, supposedly dystopian satire on our views and customs relating to sex, marriage, and it’s not nice to animals either. It’s heavy drama, with some laughs thrown in. Maybe you have to be young and distant to catch all the supposedly clever zingers. I missed 95% of any meaning or purpose to this flick.
X MEN: APOCALYPSE. Another Marvel Comics dystopian monster versus mutant movie. The one in teresting thing I remember from this very forgetable mess is that Magneto played by Michael Fassbender is Jewish and got all his superhuman strength from the ashes of Auschwitz!! And it shows Auschwitz too!! Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Issac, James McAvoy and a big surprise Ally Sheedy are all in it for the big bucks they got paid….why else?
POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING. I am many generations before this parody of today’s rock scene and didn’t laugh or like any of the parts I stayed awake through. Then I left just about half way through. It is true that Sarah Silverman, Ringo Starr, Mariah Carey, Martin Sheen, Jimmy Fallon, Simon Cowell, and Joan Cusack all have “cameo” parts of about 12 seconds each BUT that Judd Apatow directed it… should be warning enough.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
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. June 21 has Carla Brennan talking about Meditation, Buddhism, and Mindfulness. She’s followed by Lincoln Taiz and Ben Leeds Carson talking about the workshop presentation of their opera “Menagerie: The Trial of Spock” (the Star Trek Opera). June 28 has naturalist Grey Hayes warning us of more dangers from the ill-schemed proposed North Coast Cotoni National Monument. He’s followed by UCSC Professor James Clifford telling us about his new UCSC Campus book, “The Ecotone“. Gillian Greensite local environmental activist, brings us up to date on stuff on July 5th…She’s followed by Karen Ashley and Dick Tippett reporting on the West Coast Dowsing Conference. 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
Oh yes. This isn’t new (2011), but if you’ve ever shopped at Whole Paycheck, this will resonate.
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur,The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES“SHARKS”
“French fries kill more people than guns and sharks, yet nobody’s afraid of French fries“, Robert Kiyosaki
“Sharks are beautiful animals, and if you’re lucky enough to see lots of them, that means that you’re in a healthy ocean. You should be afraid if you are in the ocean and don’t see sharks”, Sylvia Earle
“Most people don’t know that humans kill 100 million sharks every year, mostly for a really expensive soup in Asia”, Michael Muller
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Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
SANTA CRUZ’S MYSTERY SPOT. There aren’t as many Mystery Spots around the USA as there once was, and ours was/is one of the best.
STAN KENTON & HIS ORCHESTRA. I’ve never been a fan of Stan Kenton but his influence on West Coast jazz was undeniable.
LONDON NELSON, JACOB LIEBBRANDT, JOAO CABRILHO, AND MR. GHARKY.
Or “What Sin’s A Name”?
It was great news last week to see that Good Times finally caught up to spelling LONDON Nelson’s name properly. I’d been writing about LONDON Nelson and that stupid spelling for at least 25 years. Phil Reader wrote a brief book about LONDON N. and appeared on my radio program a few times talking about how that mistake happened. It takes all of about three minutes research to learn how it happened. Now let’s see if Good Times sticks to the proper spelling. I bet they won’t. For some reason (probably arcane), Santa Cruz County has been cursed with popular names that have been spelled incorrectly for decades or even a century.
LEIBBRANDTS FIND CITY IS NOT RESPECTER OF NAMES; FEW PERSONS CAN SPELL IT. by TOM McHUGH (of McHugh Bianchi). Stan Stevens sent this. It’s from Santa Cruz Evening News1929 Jan. 18, 10:2
Various members of the Liebbrandt families in the city have found to their dismay and chagrin that certain names are not conducive to felicitation. Their dilemma is a misspelled surname. It seems that the trouble started somewhere in the early years of the nineteenth century when Jacob Leibbrandt migrated to Nebraska from his native Germany. Just how long he remained in that state is not known but we find him in Santa Cruz in 1850. Probably there would have been no trouble if J. Leibbrandt had not been a large land owner. He was, however, and thereby hangs a story. His tract ran in an irregular line from what is now the corner of Cliff and Third street and was bounded by Third street, Leibbrandt avenue and Kaye street on the north; Third street on the east; Beach street on the south, and Cliff street on the west. Now Leibbrandt had three sons Jacob Jr., David and John, and eventually these boy married. When the city fathers deemed the time to be ripe to dedicate Leibbrandt avenue to Santa Cruz and posterity a certain one of the wives decided that she could achieve renown if she could but devise a shorthand method of spelling the name. Then the fun began. Her first attempt was Leibrandt, later she changed it to Leibrant. It appears in the records of the county recorder spelled in at least three different ways, as Leibbrandt, Liebrant and Leibrandt. Other ways of spelling are Librant, Liebbrant, Liebrandt, etc. This indifference over the spelling of a proper name has raised a justifiable wrath in the bosom of the Leibbrandts. To add insult to injury the name is not pronounced correctly by many. According to Herbert Leibbrandt of 44 Leibbrandt avenue from whom we gleaned much of our information, the correct pronunciation is Lee-brandt. Most people it Ly-brandt. Apparently the only way to straighten the matter out is to conduct an election or pass another ordinance.
GHARKY STREET AND GHARKY WHARF. Former Mayor Katherine Beiers first alerted me to this “popular” misspelling. Here’s an article from
“Notes on the History of Wharves at Santa Cruz, California”
by Frank Perry, Barry Brown, Rick Hyman, and Stanley D. Stevens June, 2012
David Gharky was born around 1800 and arrived in Santa Cruz during the winter of 1852-1853. He built and, for a few years, operated Santa Cruz’s second wharf. He was primarily a farmer and died in 1877. It should be noted that “Gharky” has been spelled at least seven different ways. The present-day street is spelled “Gharkey,” which was a common spelling in the 1800s. The 1865 deed recording the sale of his wharf to the California Powder Works spelled it “Gharkey,” “Gharky,” and “Girkey” within this one document. Spellings in old newspapers include “Gherky” and “Ghearkey,” while the 1860 census spelled it “Yerkey”—possibly a clue to its pronunciation. The State Legislature, in issuing a wharf franchise in 1856, spelled it “Ghirky.” The strongest evidence, however, points to “Gharky” as the correct spelling. It is spelled that way in the 1854 poll list, on an 1866 parcel map, in the 1867 Great Register of Voters, in the 1870 census, in his obituary (Sentinel, Sept. 25, 1877, p. 2), and on his tombstone at Evergreen Cemetery. Most significantly, he signed it that way in his will (see page 14). Given this evidence, we have adopted that spelling here, except when quoting others”.
JOAO RODRIGUES CABRILHO. This has been a hotly contested mis-spelling since California became a state. Some historians believe that Cabrilho was born in Portugal which means Cabrilho is correct. Others believe he was from Spain, which means Cabrillo is proper. When I’ve spoken to Portuguese Organizations we all agree it’s Cabrilho. Check this out. From the Library of Congress article titled “Cabrilho’s Discovery of California”
LEAH GARCHIK AND MY GREAT NAMES. Noting all of above, names has always fascinated me. I met Cashmere Tango Obedience in Aptos, E. Pluribus Eubanks verified his name for me decades ago. In the last two months I’ve sent two names to Leah Garchik at the San Francisco Chronicle. She sent them back, not wanting to make fun of a foreign name and she thinks folks might be too sensitive in the second case. From the 3/30/16 issue of the Santa Cruz Sentinel in an article about new buildings being proposed near an agricultural zone…it stated this.. “We’re not city planners or economists, but we feel there must be a proposal that falls somewhere between encroaching on the buffer and killing the project.” Juggy Tut, president of Elite Developments, which bought the property last year, remains patient despite the controversy”. I never asked Juggy. Last week I sent Leah “Rasmea and her defense committee recently won a huge victory, as the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sent her case back to trial judge Gershwin Drain, saying he had BLAH.. BLAH”‘ JUGGY TUT and GERSHWIN DRAIN !!! How can you beat those monikers??
CABRILLO FESTIVAL HOUSING. It’s a long time and very popular tradition. Especially for folks who live near the Civic Auditorium to house one or two Cabrillo Festival Of Contemporary Music musicians while they’re here. Hundreds of friendships have been made, kids love having musicians in their homes”and you get to hear Festival secrets too. The “official” festival request reads “We need your help! Each year, dozens of local families and individuals open their homes to house our talented orchestra members and illustrious guest artists. With the momentous season ahead, we now find ourselves short of homes! If you have a spare bedroom, guest cottage, or entire home available, won’t you consider joining our host program? Many of these are for short term stays! You’ll receive vouchers for two concert tickets, and the opportunity to support some incredible artists. Contact Festival Housing coordinator Valerie Hayes at 426-6966 or use this form
ELECTION RESULTS
Only one shocker in Santa Cruz County results, and that was the vote total that Donald Trump received. It’s hard to understand why 5,883 of our neighbors voted this way. Obviously they haven’t been watching Trump perform on TV, and God knows he’s been given lots of free TV by the media. Very scary stuff going on here. No surprise here in Santa Cruz County that Bernie beat Hillary by the count of 25,171 to 20,105. The Bernie team certainly got their people out to vote. Now lets get the Dems on the same page in November. I found it reassuring that all three of the County Supervisors running for re-election won. Today’s Board of Supervisors members are working as a team to get things done while supporting their diverse constituents. Nice going voters and nice going Supervisors Friend, Leopold and McPherson. Check here for complete election results.
(Paul Elerick is a member of, and former co-chair of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, http://sensibletransportation.org . He’s a current member of Nisene to Sea, a group of mid-county citizens committed to maintaining an open hiking trail from Cabrillo College to Nisene Marks State Park
SEXUAL ASSAULT: CHANGING THE NARRATIVE
There is no going back.
Inspired by the compelling Victim Impact Statement read aloud in court by the woman sexually assaulted, and fuelled by national outrage at the 6 month jail sentence handed down by Judge Aaron Persky to the ex-Stanford student convicted of sexual assault, the public’s understanding of the impact of rape and the focus of blame has shifted as dramatically as two plates in a major earthquake. The issue of rape, routinely buried in silence, has soared to a national and global level and the discussion is not on how drunk she was but on how life shattering her experience was. This shake-up is long overdue.
Females have for centuries been held accountable for the sexual violence of males perpetrated against them in male-dominated societies including our own, despite significant gains in female status and economic independence. Historically, the task of preserving her virginity as a measure of her worth fell on women’s shoulders. If she were raped then she hadn’t tried hard enough to prevent it. Our very language renders the person who raped invisible by using the passive voice as in my last sentence. While women as male property has largely been legally overturned in most countries, and many men do not use force to obtain sex, the social attitudes holding women accountable for rape have been slow to change. This is especially true when alcohol is involved. From research we know that if a woman is raped and has been drinking she is blamed, hence the guilt and shame. If a man rapes and has been drinking he is excused. Typical victim-blaming statements include, “she was drunk, what did she expect?” and “she put herself in a dangerous situation.” That an aggressive male creates the “dangerous situation” does not register and is rarely examined as the cause. It is accepted as given and the task is to avoid it not question its legitimacy. In fact masculinity is rendered invisible in media coverage of all violence whether local or global. Boys are not born violent nor are they prone to rape. They are, however encouraged if not pushed in that direction by cultural norms of the need to be a “real man,” the politics of global war and the throbbing reinforcement of aggressive masculinity by the popular media. This imperative permeates all aspects of our lives from presidential politics (is Obama tough enough?) to humiliating a young boy for showing “weakness.” That many young boys and men are beginning to challenge the straightjacket of expected masculinity, and many male mentors helping to foster that possibility is encouraging but insufficient unless there is also wide social and political recognition of the centrality of the need to wean men from violence and a redistribution of resources in that direction.
The fury surrounding the Stanford case has focused on the very light sentence handed down by the judge with thousands calling for his removal from the bench. The defendant was found guilty of sexual assault (not rape) in that he penetrated the woman’s vagina with his fingers (labeled “foreign objects” in the legal system) and was witnessed “humping” her with his clothes on, while she was extremely intoxicated and eventually unconscious. The three felony counts of sexual assault arose from these actions. Due to alcohol she had no memory while he claimed she consented, a claim the jury disbelieved. Had he been sentenced to 6 years in state prison there may have been no public outrage. Many of those clamoring for justice say they would be happy if he were raped while incarcerated. As understandable as these strong emotions may be, they bring us no closer to understanding the causes of sexual violence and its prevention.
Ohio, the home state of the convicted ex-student, is a state that adopted the abstinence-only sex education policy that thankfully has been terminated by President Obama. How many generations of young people were left with a vacuum where sex education might have played a positive role especially when the family fails, as most do, and it appears this one did if the father’s comment of “20 minutes of action” is any indication? Yet even states such as California, which did not adopt abstinence-only, fail to provide young people with the insights, skills and language to navigate the complexities of sexual relationships. Beyond body parts, disease and pregnancy prevention, few attempt to engage in conversations about desire, sex as a relationship not a thing, caring for oneself and others, pleasure etc. Consent can be taught in grade school, not in a sexual context but in other contexts such as asking to borrow a scooter. Those who “take” sex probably also “take” her scooter. Boys who demonstrate aggressive tendencies should be noticed by teachers, religious leaders, coaches, all well trained in these issues and with resources readily available to intervene. To wait until college to teach sexual consent with online mandatory modules is too little, too late as evidenced in the Stanford case.
The letter from the woman who was sexually assaulted has sparked a national conversation, helping rape survivors lift the load of guilt from their shoulders and shifting the focus to the actions of the male who instigated the crime. It is a rare opportunity to build upon this historical moment, to ask fundamental questions and provide game-changing solutions.
(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).
UCSC DORM TOUR. Not what you think
PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s Two Worlds website”
Go to Gary’s Two World’s website to see the Trump image he mentions”
In his blog posting entitled, “How Donald Trump Hijacked the Authenticity of the Web,” Weinberger claims that Trump appears to be “authentic,” even “honest,” because political discourse has succumbed to a standard of “political correctness” that makes virtually all political speech seem somewhat deceptive and fraudulent. In other words, by saying the politically incorrect thing, Trump gets credit for “speaking truth to power,” and for an honesty and straightforwardness to which he is most emphatically not entitled. Weinberger’s observation is worth thinking about, particularly as those who hope for an honest political discourse think about how to “trump” the advantage that “The Donald” has managed to obtain by his ruthless and brutal disregard for good breeding and the truth”. (Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Same old view of local cyclists according to DeCinzo scroll that-a-way.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Eagan swings into our hot election circus see below”
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Good news for art lovers, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com), as Pajaro Valley Arts hosts an excellent sculpture show in its Watsonville gallery, and offers up a fabulous new membership deal. Also, discover a new online arts and letters publication, Ampersand Literary, which generously invited me to Q&A about books, writing, and my chaotic adventures in publishing!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
MAGGIE’S PLAN. This NYC tragi-comedy falls into the “Woody Allen, New York City Odd People in Love” category. Julienne Moore, Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke and Bill Hader do excellent acting (except for Julienne Moore and her lousy German accent). It’s about University teachers, divorce, sex, raising kids, control freaks, and our very, very complex lives today. You’ll be completely absorbed all the way through. Not a classic but “absorbing”.
NOW YOU SEE ME 2. A disaster sequel to another disaster opener. 36 on Rotten Tomatoes. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and bit parts by Morgan Freeman & Michael Caine but don’t tell anybody. Four would be stage illusionists (technical advice by David Copperfield, really) are supposed to be world famous but Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe, really) is an evil world plotter and you’ll never be able to follow the plot anyways, so don’t go. Tell your friends who like stage magic not to go too, there isn’t any. What effects there are, are all digital Fx.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
ME BEFORE YOU. It’s an odd bit of casting to see Emila Clarke who plays the white haired,skinny, oft-bare- nippled, dragon mother Princess Daenerys Targaryen Thoros in Game Of Thrones in this hammy, corney tragi-comedy. She is chubby, undeucated, clutzy, poorly dressed, goofy and mugs incessently. The other star is a guy in a wheelchair who looks so much like Christopher Reeves (in and out of the wheel chair) that there’s a creepy feeling all through the film. It’s beyond a tear jerker, it’s treacle, sugary, and not worth your time.
LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. This sharp, wordy, comedy is from a little known Jane Austen book, “Lady Susan”. If you’re particular, it takes place in England 130 years before Downtown Abbey (1790). Plenty of Hayden, Cherubini and Cimarosa-type music. Daughter Hillary convinced me that I’d been slipping critic- wise and that Kate Beckensale is completely out of character, and phoney. It’s a desperate, wordy attempt to make still more money out of anything with Jane Austen’s name on it. The plot centers on what women had to do to survive back then. Go see it if you like Brit costume epics, with lots of scenery and furniture. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, so go figure. It’s just not all that gteat a film.
MONEY MONSTER. Genuine Hollywood. What can you expect when you have George Clooney and Julia Roberts as stars and Jodie Foster as director. The entire film demands lots of tension and there is some but it keeps lagging. You will be totally aware that you’re watching Clloney and Roberts every time they move or speak. The irate investor/person of plot isn’t the best actor either. But there’s few other films around so see this”just be warned.
NICE GUYS. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe make terrible buddies in this sloppy attempt at another buddy movie.This one is set in L.A. in the 70’s. An investigator and a cop team up and with no laughs, no subtleties whatsoever, more violence, much blood, “it’s awful. There’s a 13 year old girl in it that does an excellent job of acting her name is Angourie Rice. We’ll be seeing and hearing more of her.
THE JUNGLE BOOK. I must confess to still being under the influence of the REAL Jungle Book movie. That’s the 1942 masterpiece starring Sabu as Mowgli. All real live action, no special effects, just Kipling and technicolor. This Disney commercial money maker is exactly that”a Disney money maker. Filmed darkly (to save FX expense) it’s a hodge-podge of BillMurray’s looney asides, some old Disney songs and not one iota of what Kipling had in mind when he wrote the book. Send the kids, and you go to the movie next door, believe me.
THE LOBSTER. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly head the cast of this unfathomable, suposedly dystopian satire on our views and customs relating to sex. marriage, and it’s not nice to animals either. It’s heavy drama, with some laughs thrown in. Maybe you have to be young and distant to catch all the supposedly clever zingers. I missed 95 % of any meaning or purpose to this flick.
X MEN: APOCALYPSE. Another Marvel Comics dystopian monster versus mutant movie. The one in teresting thing I remember from this very forgetable mess is that Magneto played by Michael Fassbender is Jewish and got all his superhuman strength from the ashes of Auschwitz!! And it shows Auschwitz too!! Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, James McAvoy and a big surprise Ally Sheedy are all in it for the big bucks they got paid”. why else?
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. These box office gazillion dollar money makers are getting more and more bizzarre. They are direct copies of comic book plots. You shouldn’t apply any common sense or logic to the plots. Like comic books (even the earliest ones 1930’s) were just for fun and escape. So is Captain America:Civil War. To see Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Robert Downeyjr., Paul Rudd, Marisa Tomei, Martin Freeman, William Hurt, Paul Bettany, Hope Davis, Alfre Woodard and the legendary Stan Lee (creator of the Marvel Comics) in as nonsensical and violent and bloody and senseless a film like this one is just embarrassing. I can’t wait to see such sagas as Orphan Annie vs. Little Lulu, Joe Palooka battles Dick Tracy, Bugs Bunny vs. Minnie Mouse. They can’t fail.
POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING. I am many generations before this parody of today’s rock scene and didn’t laugh or like any of the parts I stayed awake through. Then I left just about half way through. It is true that Sarah Silverman, Ringo Starr, Mariah Carey, Martin Sheen, Jimmy Fallon, Simon Cowell, and Joan Cusack all have “cameo” parts of about 12 seconds each BUT that Judd Apatow “directed it” should be warning enough.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
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. The three top Short Story Winners from Bookshop Santa Cruz take over the June 14 program which is also Universal Grapevine’s 10th Anniversary!! June 21 has Carla Brennan talking about Meditation, Buddhism, and Mindfulness. She’s followed by Lincoln Taiz and Ben Leeds Carson talking about the workshop presentation of their opera “Menagerie: The Trial of Spock” (the Star Trek Opera). June 28 has naturalist Grey Hayes warning us of more dangers from the ills-schemed proposed North Coast National Monument. He’s followed by UCSC Professor James Clifford telling us about his new UCSC Campus book, “The Ecotone“. 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
With all the sadness going around, here’s a little helping of pure joy.
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here” http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur,The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez” and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES “MUSEUMS”
“I went to the museum where they had all the heads and arms from the statues that are in all the other museums”, Steven Wright
“I’ve become like one of those people I hate, the sort who go to the museum and, instead of looking at the magnificent Brueghel, take a picture of it, reducing it from art to proof. It’s not “Look what Brueghel did, painted this masterpiece” but “Look what I did, went to Rotterdam and stood in front of a Brueghel painting!”, David Sedaris “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep”, Scott Adams
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
BRAND NEW HISTORICAL PHOTO. Here we are, the June 4th ers at Lulu Carpenters (on June 4th 2016). We started getting together in 1982, and hadn’t been together for at least 15 years). Left to right… That’s Rip Harris– S. Cruz High School Counselor, Kathy Cowan – Cabrillo teacher and author of “Sacred Lies Sober Truths“, Linda Pope formerly of Pope Gallery and UCSC’s Sesnon Gallery, Me, Gail Cruse– realtor and vocalist with the “Back In Time” trio. Coffee, laughs and an Astrology reading from Susan Heinz!!!
photo credit: my new iPhone and a genuine photographer who volunteered and I didn’t get her name
MUHAMMAD ALI AND SYLVESTER STALLONE. Ali was truly the greatest, and would have been a much better president than Trump. Watch these two stars in action.
MUHAMMED ALI…MORE OF…only if you like the reality of boxing.
JUST GET OUT AND VOTE. Here’s How…
PRESIDENT….Bernie Sanders by all means, and later (if necessary) Hillary Clinton.
U.S. SENATE….Kamala D. Harris
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE….Jimmy Panetta, yep! I know what you’re thinking but…
STATE SENATOR….Bill Monning (even with his strange support of studying the economics of closing the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant).
STATE ASSEMBLY….Mark Stone, hasn’t done anything wrong yet!
YES ON 50…The legislator suspension measure.
YES ON Q…Cabrillo College Bond. (Some questions do arise here BUT it’s our community college!)
YES ON S…Santa Cruz Library Money. It’s needed now more than ever!
COUNTY DEMOCRAT CENTRAL COMMITTEE. Pick 5 out of the six. The five I know are all pro-growth, anti homeless…it’s embarrassing, and shameful
SANTA CRUZ CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FORUM. There’ll hopefully be more of these and the first one I know of will be produced by the Peoples Democratic Club of Santa Cruz (PDC) it’s happening Monday August 29 6:30 p.m. at the London Nelson Community Center.
KESSLER, CLINTON…and MAIDENFORM BRAS. It shouldn’t have been such a surprise to read Stephen Kessler’s diatribe against Bernie Sanders in Sunday’s Sentinel. He called Bernie an idealogue, said he’d “make a lousy president”, wasn’t a liberal, wasn’t a Democrat, would destroy the Democratic party, said “no one has taken him seriously”, and called him a simple minded demagogue. Kessler had special words for Bernie’s constant attack on Wall Street, wherin lies the clue to Stephen’s heavy attack. Stephen is one of the heirs to the Maidenform Bra Corporation and has never had to work a solid day in his life. So protecting stocks and Wall Street??? It all figures, in case you wondered. Read it here… or not!
Mr. Paul Elerick of Aptos writes…
PRIDE.
What a wonderful event, the entire day with the before-parade, the parade and after the parade. I walked with the People’s Democratic Club along with our Democratic Central Committee, Crosson North County Democrats, and other likeminded folks. I’m sure the large turnout of Democrat walkers had to do with having two candidates in the running for the Democratic nomination for president. I’d say of the marchers, the Sanders and Clinton supporters were about even. But that wasn’t the same with the parade watchers. Sanders had the most vocal (and younger) supporters. Great parade and lots of fun afterward.
Here’s to getting behind our Democratic Party candidate. Let’s not even think about giving the election to Trump because our choice for president came in 2nd in the Democratic Primary on June 7, Make sure you vote!
Oh yes, I forgot to mention a great lunch at 99 Bottles. Try their American Stout (Number 38 on the list), to go with the BBQ beef sliders. It would be another good place to watch election returns.
(Paul Elerick is a member of, and former co-chair of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, http://sensibletransportation.org . He’s a current member of Nisene to Sea, a group of mid-county citizens committed to maintaining an open hiking trail from Cabrillo College to Nisene Marks State Park
CORRIDORS OF POWER.
The parking component of the Corridors Plan was presented to and discussed by the Santa Cruz City Planning Commission last Thursday. The public present voiced strong opposition. Eastside neighbors were joined by local business-owners, their numbers swelled by a petition containing 200 signatures of other businesspeople, gathered in just 2 days of door-to-door effort. The senior city planner expressed annoyance, declaring that the public had been misled by a flyer detailing the proposed parking changes and distributed to neighbors and businesses by folks on the eastside. A number of long-time local business owners, including a Soquel Avenue physician plus the owner of Horsnyder’s Pharmacy begged for the retention of on-street parking, stating its removal would severely impact their businesses since proximity was crucial for their elderly, often frail patrons. The senior city planner continued to be annoyed, stating that this change was way off into the future and anyway, prior to the removal of on-street parking, new parking structures would be built within a quarter mile or so of any business. “This will promote healthy living through walking and bicycling” assured the consultants.
The traffic engineer and other consultants deplored the amount of off-street parking that is currently available at businesses on the Soquel, Water, Ocean, and Mission corridors. Far too much in their estimation based on counting cars in parking lots on four occasions. One urged getting rid of all blacktop, citing the need for no oversupply, adding that of course it “needs to be managed well.” Hence their proposal for a new Transportation Management Agency that will accompany this Plan. The fact that all current off-street parking is free was especially troubling to the consultants. “Free is not conducive to managing parking demand,” they advised the commissioners who never questioned this premise. “Unbundling” parking is the urban planning jargon for removing free parking at businesses and replacing it with distant parking structures, costly to build and undoubtedly costly to use. Of course this won’t happen overnight or tomorrow until it does.
Commissioners all agreed that it is our job to provide housing for whomever wants to come and live in Santa Cruz. “Growth is inevitable “was the consensus and “we have to be able accommodate it.” Since there is no limit if you accept these assumptions, after the corridors are maxed out with dense urban apartments and high- rise parking structures, where next? Well, commissioner Mark Mesiti Miller noted that there are 3-4 bedroom single -family homes in Santa Cruz that are occupied by 2 people and “that’s not right” he opined. Will a Bedroom Management Agency be far behind? Commission chair Peter Spellman offered a few concerns regarding the lack of specificity in the Plan but there was no discussion of the impact on the future of the small local businesses that line these corridors. Commissioners seem unaware that their enthusiasm for the Plan embraces the eventual demolition and replacement of long-time local businesses that some of them profess to love. Similar to working class black neighborhoods and stores in Portland, this gentrification will drive out the long-time local establishments in Santa Cruz who simply won’t be able to afford the new rent in the new buildings. I guess someone has to pay for the proposed Transportation Management Agency. Developers are watching and waiting in the wings. That which gives Santa Cruz its familiarity, its sense of place, its unique character will gradually be lost. Or as one commissioner put it, “the Plan will bring uniformity.”
There were very few folks from the Westside attending the commission meeting. Those who live on the westside could give more support to our neighbors on the Eastside who face the brunt of the Corridors Plan although folks on the westside should prepare for big changes at Bay and Mission, Mission and Almar, the eventual loss of Palm Center and other small local businesses once their property owners have been “incentivized ” to sell and develop. Think high-rise, glass and steel, elevators, no free parking, parking structures, multi-story student apartments on top of retail catering to students. So far, the city, the consultants and the commissioners are saying it’s this Plan or nothing which suggests they feel very much in control and sense little opposition. Whether they are correct remains to be seen. The General Plan calls for development along the corridors. How much, what scale, what configuration, how to protect local business and established neighborhoods can all be shaped by the community if enough people get involved. The Plan will be codified over the summer by staff and consultants and return in the fall to the Planning Commission before going to Council.
It will be a sad day for Santa Cruz if this Plan slips through without stiff opposition from all sides of town.
(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).
GROUCHO MARX, DICK CAVETT, AND TRUMAN CAPOTE
(WHAT A GROUP). What celebrities today have this much appeal and cool?
OLDIE BUT GOODIE. It’s been around for years, and I laugh every time I see it.
PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s Two Worlds website…June 4, 2016
LET’S HAVE HOUSING PRICE CONTROL
The People’s Democratic Club of Santa Cruz County, affectionally known as the PDC, hosted a discussion on affordable housing on Thursday, May 19th. I was privileged to be able to participate in the discussion, and joined former Santa Cruz County Planning Director Tom Burns, and current County Planning Department staff person Sarah Neuse, for what turned out to be a lively and (I thought) productive session. The very engaged audience, more than any of the named presenters, is what helped make it that way.
The PDC billed the evening as “An Initial Conversation about Density and Affordable Housing,” with the idea, I think, that there would be a lot of back and forth on the question of whether or not it is “worth it” to increase residential densities in Santa Cruz in order to provide the community with more affordable housing. As some who are reading this blog posting probably know, the City of Santa Cruz is currently considering a “Corridors Plan,” to increase building heights, mixed uses, and residential densities along the City’s main transportation corridors (Ocean Street, Mission Street, Water Street, and Soquel Avenue). Santa Cruz County has recently adopted a somewhat similar plan, which they call the “Sustainable Communities Plan.”
The PDC sent out its meeting announcement with the following advisory:
There’s almost universal agreement that Santa Cruz County has a housing crisis! But responding to the need for affordable housing often comes into conflict with environmental, neighborhood, and traffic concerns. Are their [sic] new ways to increase affordable housing within these concerns? Let’s talk about it. This will be a conversation – not a debate or a hearing – that will attempt to hear and respect differing views about how to meet the housing crisis without sacrificing the integrity of our community. We see this as a first step in finding common ground among progressives to address this issue that affects all of us.
I think it’s fair to say that the meeting did not end up with a focus on “tradeoffs” between community integrity and affordable housing. I think most of those in attendance ended up agreeing with me that increased residential densities do not, in and of themselves, produce more “affordable” housing, and that any thought that our affordable housing crisis can be eliminated (or made less severe) by “building our way out of it” is a false expectation.
It may be theoretically true, as our high school economics classes tell us, that when “demand” is high, prices rise, and that increasing “supply” should reduce the price. However, in the real world, right now, a lot of existing and new housing is not being purchased for “shelter,” and especially not for people who live in the community. Housing is increasingly being purchased as an “investment,” and those doing the purchasing are people with money, from all over the world. Considering the imbalance between those with lots of money and the ability of a local community to build new housing, new housing production almost certainly does not lead to lower housing prices. Of course, in Santa Cruz County, and especially in the City of Santa Cruz, continued growth at the University of California, Santa Cruz adds even more demand into the mix.
Is there a solution? Really, as I said some time ago, in a blog posting called “The Tough Truth About Affordable Housing,” we need to impose price controls on housing. You can do that with new housing, but you can’t do it with existing housing. As the “political revolution” that Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders call for moves ahead, we probably need to fund new, permanently price-restricted housing for working families, and to add that demand to Sanders’ call for affordable, single-payer health care and a free college education for all our young people. A decision on whether or not to increase building heights, mixed uses, and residential densities along our main transportation corridors must be “decoupled” from our concerns about affordable housing. There is no automatic connection between the two.
What will make housing affordable is price controls.
It’s just that simple.
And that is, indeed, a very “tough truth.”
(Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. DeCinzo asks “is it really, really the Safe-Way”? …checkout is below.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. The ever thoughtful Eagan puts the bite on politics. Thumb down a few pages.
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa is working and writing harder than ever, and was deeply involved with Nancy Raney’s celebaration at the Nick. Check out her website anyway, just to make sure you didn’t miss anything. It’s at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-xpress.blogspot.com) Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
ME BEFORE YOU. It’s an odd bit of casting to see Emila Clarke who plays the white haired,skinny, oft-bare- nippled, dragon mother Princess Daenerys Targaryen Thoros in Game Of Thrones in this hammy, corney tragi-comedy. She is chubby, undeucated, clutzy, poorly dressed, goofy and mugs incessently. The other star is a guy in a wheelchair who looks so much like Christopher Reeves (in and out of the wheel chair) that there’s a creepy feeling all through the film. It’s beyond a tear jerker, it’s treacle, sugary, and not worth your time.
X MEN: APOCALYPSE. Another Marvel Comics dystopian monster versus mutant movie. The one interesting thing I remember from this very forgetable mess is that Magneto played by Michael Fassbender is Jewish and got all his superhuman strength from the ashes of Auschwitz!! And it shows Auschwitz too!! Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Issac, James McAvoy and a big surprise Ally Sheedy are all in it for the big bucks they got paid….why else?
POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING. I am many generations before this parody of today’s rock scene and didn’t laugh or like any of the parts I stayed awake through. Then I left just about half way through. It is true that Sarah Silverman, Ringo Starr, Mariah Carey, Martin Sheen, Jimmy Fallon, Simon Cowell, and Joan Cusack all have “cameo” parts of about 12 seconds each and that Judd Apatow directed it…which should be warning enough. .
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
A BIGGER SPLASH. Tricky, subtle, beautifully acted by Tilda Swinton who plays a female David Bowie, and a plot that’ll sneak up on you. Ralph Fiennes is unusually nasty and perfect in his role as a father and ex-lover. Lots of nudity, Italian Island scenery and surprises that’ll ultimately leave you happy that you saw it.
LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. This sharp, wordy, comedy is from a little known Jane Austen book, “Lady Susan”. If you’re particular, it takes place in England 130 years before Downtown Abbey (1790). Plenty of Hayden, Cherubini and Cimarosa-type music. Daughter Hillary convinced me that I’d been slipping critic- wise and that Kate Beckensale is completely out of character, and phoney. It’s a desperate, wordy attempt to make still more money out of anything with Jane Austen’s name on it. The plot centers on what women had to do to survive back then. Go see it if you like Brit costume epics, with lots of scenery and furniture. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, so go figure. It’s just not all that great a film.
NICE GUYS. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe make terrible buddies in this sloppy attempt at another buddy movie.This one is set in L.A. in the 70’s. An investigator and a cop team up and with no laughs, no subtleties whatsoever, more violence, much blood, …it’s awful. There’s a 13 year old girl in it that does an excellent job of acting her name is Angourie Rice. We’ll be seeing and hearing more of her.
MONEY MONSTER. Genuine Hollywood. What can you expect when you have George Clooney and Julia Roberts as stars and Jodie Foster as director. The entire film demands lots of tension and there is some but it keeps lagging. You will be totally aware that you’re watching Clloney and Roberts every time they move or speak. The irate investor/person of plot isn’t the best actor either. But there’s few other films around so see this…just be warned.
MEDDLER. Susan Sarandon and J.K. Simmons who plays a cop named Zipper are the main reasons to see this family drama. There are a few laughs, but the plot is so burlesqued that you’ll never be too absorbed or care about it. It’s a warm touchy-feelie flick but only hints at any of the characters depths so again you don’t get very involved. Your call….as usual. I didn’t know that Susan Sarandon is 70 years old. Same age as the character she plays.
THE LOBSTER. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly head the cast of this unfathomable, supposedly dystopian satire on our views and customs relating to sex. marriage, and it’s not nice to animals either. It’s heavy drama, with some laughs thrown in. Maybe you have to be young and distant to catch all the supposedly clever zingers. I missed 95 % of any meaning or purpose to this flick.
THE JUNGLE BOOK. I must confess to still being under the influence of the REAL Jungle Book movie. That’s the 1942 masterpiece starring Sabu as Mowgli. All real live action, no special effects, just Kipling and technicolor. This Disney commercial money maker is exactly that…a Disney money maker. Filmed darkly (to save FX expense) it’s a hodge-podge of BillMurray’s looney asides, some old Disney songs and not one iota of what Kipling had in mind when he wrote the book. Send the kids, and you go to the movie next door, believe me.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. These box office gazillion dollar money makers are getting more and more bizzarre. They are direct copies of comic book plots. You shouldn’t apply any common sense or logic to the plots. Like comic books (even the earliest ones 1930’s) were just for fun and escape. So is Captain America:Civil War. To see Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Robert Downeyjr., Paul Rudd, Marisa Tomei, Martin Freeman, William Hurt, Paul Bettany, Hope Davis, Alfre Woodard and the legendary Stan Lee (creator of the Marvel Comics) in as nonsensical and violent and bloody and senseless a film like this one is just embarrassing. I can’t wait to see such sagas as Orphan Annie vs. Little Lulu, Joe Palooka battles Dick Tracy, Bugs Bunny vs. Minnie Mouse. They can’t fail.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
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. Former MayorBruce Van Allen guests the first half hour, then former County Supervisor Gary Patton discusses local politics on Election Day June 7.The Short Story Winners from Bookshop Santa Cruz take over the June 14 program which is also Universal Grapevine’s 10th Anniversary!! June 21 has Carla Brennan talking about Meditation, Buddhism, and Mindfulness. She’s followed by Lincoln Taiz and Ben Leeds Carson talking about the workshop presentation of their opera “Menagerie: The Trial of Spock” (the Star Trek Opera). 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 some of Jimmy Fallon’s segments – Wheel of Musical Impressions, for instance, is great. Jamie Foxx is absolutely fantastic, so enjoy.
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur,The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES. “GAY”
“I was like, Am I gay? Am I straight? And I realized…I’m just slutty. Where’s my parade?” Margaret Cho
“The single best thing about coming out of the closet is that nobody can insult you by telling you what you’ve just told them.” Rachel Maddow
“Democracy! Bah! When I hear that I reach for my feather boa!” Allen Ginsberg
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
McChrystal’s article bore this title: “
