In a “most excellent” display of rock, Dogstar—featuring Hollywood outsider favorite Keanu Reeves on bass—played to a sold-out Catalyst main room last night. The air was more electrified than the batteries of the Matrix as everyone anxiously waited to get a glimpse of the star. Despite the show starting at 8pm, Catalyst staff had been at the club since 10am setting up the stage and keeping fans away from the tour buses all day.
Yet despite the early call time, stage managers, runners and security were in as good of spirits as the fans later in the evening. That’s just the magic of Keanu.
While the official time the doors opened was 7pm, VIP lanyard ticket holders were allowed in 20 minutes before. A group of 50 or so individuals rushed to the front of the stage to stake their place. Every once in a while a friend from any given group would go to the bar and place an order of drinks to bring back while the crowd broke into cheers whenever the door to the green room opened.
By the time opening band Sons of Silver hit the stage, the Catalyst bars were in full gear cranking out drinks to thirsty crowds. The Los Angeles five piece is touring off their latest single, “Running Out of Words,” ahead of the release of their debut full-length, Runaway Emotions. Featuring former members of Pearl Jam, Candlebox and Skillet, Sons of Silver brings a certified classic rock sound with a twist from keyboardist Brina Kabler. Their first time in Santa Cruz and at the Catalyst, Sons of Silver singer Peter Argyropoulos acknowledged the venue’s historic past.
EVERY DOGSTAR HAS ITS DAY Keanu Reeves and Dogstar played the Catalyst on Sept. 15. PHOTOS: Mat Weir
“It’s good to be in a proper rock ’n’ roll club,” he told the audience, noting the current Summer Vacation Tour with Dogstar has taken the bands to multiple casino resort shows.
After a 20-minute or so break between bands, the crowd erupted as the three-piece Dogstar took the stage. They opened the set with “Blonde,” an Echo & the Bunnymen-esque song that also opens Dogstar’s new album, Somewhere Between the Power Lines and the Palm Trees, which came out in October 2023. Throughout the set they played a number of new tracks, such as the break-up ballads “How The Story Ends” and “Glimmer” along with an energetic anthem, “Breach.”
After a quick five-minute break, Dogstar returned for a four-song encore that included lively cover versions of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” and The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated,” maybe or maybe not in honor of the day being the 20th anniversary of the death of Johnny Ramone.
As they closed out the set, singer Bret Domrose—a Santa Clara native who has also acted in movies like The Replacements with bassist Reeves and previously played bass in San Francisco new wave punk act The Nuns—told the Catalyst he was once in a local band as “a kid” that tried to play the venue but couldn’t get a gig.
“So thanks for finally letting me in,” he joked before the band walked off stage.
Living up to his reputation as a “regular person” and grateful star, Reeves re-emerged once most of the venue cleared out to greet fans and hang out with old friends. Before heading back onto the bus he signed autographs and took a couple of photos with some lucky fans while rocking a comfy pair of UGG boots. Like his character in The Devil’s Advocate said, it’s “free will after all.”
STRUMMING ALONG Catch Jake Nielsen on Fourth of July at Junction Park in Boulder Creek. PHOTO: Tarmo Hannula
What do you do when you’re a young rodeo rider, your whole family is known for professional rodeo, and a baby bull steps on your face?
For Aptos musician Jake Nielsen, then 9 years old, it was a pivotal moment in his musical journey.
“I actually got my face stepped on. A hoof cut my eyelid,” Nielsen says. “After that my parents were like, ‘No.’” Instead, Nielsen’s uncle Jayme Acevedo bought the teenager his first guitar, an Ibanez.
A few years later, after seeing his son’s dedication, Nielsen’s dad, Jeff, surprised him with a trip to Guitar Center in Gilroy. “I picked a black Fender Telecaster, and it’s my number one guitar that I still play all the time,” Nielsen says.
Fast forward a decade, and Nielsen is performing on stages nationwide. He signed with a new record label and has a jam-packed touring schedule, with a new single, “Baby Let Go,” coming out this summer. But don’t fret, Santa Cruz, because you can still see this Aromas native known for his scorching guitar and blazing riffs at multiple gigs around town.
Early Years
For Nielsen, who was born with cerebral palsy and cannot walk without crutches, playing the guitar came naturally. “I cannot for the life of me play piano, but anything with strings I can play,” he says. “It just always feels natural.”
His progression happened quickly. At 17, Jake was going to Bay Area open pro blues jams in the city with his uncle’s friend, Sal. “It was my first time being on stage in front of a crowd,” he says.
Being underage, “They would only let me in to play,” Nielsen explains. “I would have to wait in the car.” Open mics were nerve-wracking, he adds, but over time he gained experience surrounded by the other musicians: “I soaked it up like a sponge.”
He always had the strongest support and encouragement from family and friends in Aromas.
Testing out of Watsonville High School to pursue music, Nielsen formed the bands Fubar and later Jake Nielsen’s Triple Threat and started to hit local venues—Moe’s Alley, the Sand Bar and the Catalyst, to name a few.
Although Jake Nielsen’s Triple Threat has changed its lineup over the years, Nielsen sees it as part of his evolution as a musician.
“Right now I’m playing with two different drummers and two different bass players this summer,” he says. These include drummer Dennis Dove from the Bay Area and David De Silva, who is also bass player for Archer (another band from Santa Cruz). “One cool thing about being a solo musician is I can pick up good musicians wherever I go, and get to play with a bunch of different people,” Nielsen says. Bass player Brendan Brose (What’s Good and THC) and drummer Christian Walsh complete the band’s extended family.
Nielsen says he enjoys the chance to play with different musicians, like he did recently in New York. Although he’s had a few different drummers, the professionalism of the musicians has for the most part exceeded his expectations. “It’s cool to see that caliber of musicians,” he says. “It pushes my playing.”
On the Records
Nielsen released his first full-length album, Everyday Thing (The Orchard Records), in December 2022. The first single, “40 to Life,” is a high-energy, blues-meets-reggae rhythm, with lyrics inspired by Nielsen’s cousin, who got caught up in gang violence and served out a lengthy prison sentence. It’s a true story.
In addition, he’s come out with two new singles since Everyday Thing dropped. “Baby Let Go” is a “vibey-reggae island” number that’s set for release at the end of summer. Additionally, he recorded “Pick up the Pace” with Adam Patterson, drummer for the Expendables. “We did a bunch of tracks at his home studio in Corralitos. It was rad to sit down with him in the studio, and talk about music and road stories. I’ve grown up being a fan of theirs. … They are super humble dudes.”
“Pick Up the Pace” is now available on Spotify and all streaming music platforms.
Last summer, Nielsen signed to record label Just Call Me By My Name, which is distributed by the Orchard, a branch of Sony Music, based in New York. When we spoke, he had just returned from a live gig and media tour hosted by the label, which brought him to the Scarsdale Music Festival in New York. He was hoping to play a couple little shows beforehand to get ready, but that didn’t happen.
Noting that this was his first show since joining the new label, Nielsen says, “The first show of the summer was a big one.” After the day in New York doing interviews including Associated Press, “it was basically a whole day of answering the same questions over and over,” he says.
For Nielsen, who faces many challenges as a disabled musician, the road to success hasn’t always been smooth. Before he discovered music, he tried his hand at adaptive sports, which were not integrated with able-bodied sports people. “I still find new differences every day,” he says. “I just have to deal with them.”
For example, Nielsen says he doesn’t use a lot of effects in his shows. “My amp has a pedal, and I go from clean to distortion, maybe a little echo and reverb. I can’t really hit the pedals. I’d have to grab a crutch and hit a pedal with it. There’s been times I would miss it [the pedal], too, so I just keep it simple.”
And fortunately, there’s that strong family dynamic: his brother, wife Ashley and their two children are always there if he needs them. “It’s just always been who I was,” he says, addressing the challenges he faces on the road. “I never knew how to walk or run, so it doesn’t really bother me that I can’t do it.”
In fact, Nielsen has turned his disability into an unusual component of his live show. In what the band jokingly calls “the chainsaw massacre,” Nielsen uses his crutch to play slide guitar. “Every time I do it, people flip out,” he says. “One time I didn’t do it and got called out. Nothing about it sounds good, but people love it.”
With each performance as unpredictable as it is inspiring, every show draws on its audience. “It all kind of depends on how my legs are that day,” he says. “A lot of days the energy of the crowd will make me wanna get up…I just can’t sit down.”
Let Jimi Take Over
With an ambitious touring schedule—Denver, San Diego, Lake Tahoe—Nielsen looks forward to a full day of music July 12 at the Hello Inclusion festival at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in New York, his second consecutive year of playing at the show. “It’s super rad,” he says. “It’s kind of like Shoreline. They built it on the same grounds as Woodstock ’69.” Yes, that Woodstock, the very same festival grounds where Jimi Hendrix performed his famous guitar exploits all those years ago.
“Hendrix would have loved Jake,” says Ken Trush, co-founder and managing director of New York-based Daniel’s Music Foundation, and Just Call Me By My Name Records. The foundation is a nonprofit supporting musicians with disabilities. “Jake is a star and he’s a great speaker, but even more than that, he just lets his music do the talking,” Trush says. “And then when he lets the crutch fly, everyone goes crazy.”
Co-founded by the Orchard label, the Foundation hosts the Danny Awards, a global video call drawing some 110 musicians of all disabilities. Nielsen joined the top 10 finalists last year in New York and ultimately won the award. He was signed by the label last summer, and won the opportunity to perform at Bethel Woods with the other finalists. He will be featured on the foundation’s second sampler EP, Call Me By My Name Vol. 2, which drops Oct. 18. “This is about moving the needle for our community because we see so much talent,” Trush added. Nielsen also performs alongside this year’s headliners, Jason Mraz and Boston-based band Ripe.
Switching gears from power trio to solo name was inevitable for Nielsen. At least the change in name should make it easier for promoters to spell it out. “The worst one on a marquee was ‘Jack Wilson’s Triple Treat,’” Nielsen says. “I’ve seen it butchered.”
For now, Nielsen is looking forward to whatever the future holds, whether it be forming another band or a solo career—as long as he’s making music. “I’m never going to stop,” he says. “If a couple of us come together, I can see us sticking together for a long time,” he says. “Either way, I’m not stopping. The show must go on.”
Jake Nielsen plays on Fourth of July at noon in Junction Park in Boulder Creek, at 7pm on July 19 at the Midtown Block Party in Santa Cruz, and at 2pm on July 20 at “The Lot” concert series at Pleasure Point. Learn more about upcoming shows and where to find albums and singles at jakenielsenmusic.com.
Wolf Jett’s drummer, Jon Payne, and lead vocalist Chris Jones, understand the double-edged chainsaw nature of mountain life, for better (and worse), than most. Childhood friends, Jones and Payne dreamed of one day building a recording studio to capture their cosmic mountain music rhythms. In 2020, they completed the high-end, but rustic, studio on the property that Payne and his wife live on, in Boulder Creek. Within a notoriously short amount of time, due to the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, the studio, and home, and dream, were ashes.
Like their spiritual, and geographical compadres, The Coffis Brothers, the inspirational, fuel-injected Wolf Jett, also identifies as a band from the Santa Cruz Mountains. The mysteries, tragedies and beauty of living in the mountains, infuse the spirit of Wolf Jett’s songs. Add to this the band’s camaraderie, community spirit, and positive affirmation that things will be OK, make Wolf Jett poised and ready for the bigger stage.
Wolf Jett’s new album (their 2nd) is titled, Time Will Finally Come. You can draw a line from the immersive sounds of Bay Area bands of the 1960s-1980s (Payne and Jones originally bonded on their mutual love of Metallica) to the dorms of Chico State, where the Mother Hips formed, down to the mountains of Santa Cruz. Call it California Soul, or whatever label you need, but Wolf Jett moves effortlessly between grinding little numbers like, Strong Help Carry the Weak, to bluegrassy jams like Fare Thee Well. The beautiful ballad, Tivara, anchors the uplifting jams the band is known for, with a bittersweet soulful sound. Eclectic, and unable to be pigeon-holed, Wolf Jett comes across as a band whose time has indeed, finally, come.
On Time Will Finally Come, when Laura T. Lewis sings Broken, you can hear a hit that could be picked up by Nashville country singers. Lewis brings all the sunshine that hides behind the clouds. And, when Lewis joins Jones on the eponymous Time Will Finally Come, it’s like traveling back in time to the music of Delaney and Bonnie. There’s a soulful undercurrent brewing, that is more like the San Lorenzo breaching its banks. The track, Feel The Way I Feel, is another time-travelling ditty that could have appeared in any decade, in the last sixty years. What ties it all together is a sense of hope, community and overcoming adversity.
After three years of touring throughout California and beyond, the band has earned frequent radio play on local favorite KPIG and become a staple of the Santa Cruz music scene. Now, “Time Will Finally Come” is poised to broaden the band’s musical appeal and become a fan-favorite, as evidenced by the overwhelmingly positive reception of their first three singles released from the record in 2023. Produced and recorded in Oakland by Jonathan Kirchner (Con Brio), the album evolves the band’s sound in a more upbeat, cosmic-electric soul direction and features guest artists AJ Lee (AJ Lee & Blue Summit) and Jason Crosby (Jackson Browne, Phil Lesh, Mother Hips).
Payne says that Wolf Jett’s music, “Has a foot in the jamband world and a foot in Americana. And, Chris Jones was raised in the South and he brings a Southern rock/country influence.”
Chris Jones states, “Time Will Finally Come is a redemption story. We are finally able to celebrate life again, but these songs don’t forget what has happened over the past few years. There’s recognition of our trauma alongside hope for what’s to come. It’s the sound of rebuilding and learning from the past.”
Wolf Jett is having their record release party, of Time Will Finally Come, at The Kuumbwa Jazz on March 16th and will play the album in its entirety, with vinyl and CDs to sell. Plus, with their studio, finally being rebuilt and ready to roll, just this month, Wolf Jett has come full circle and ready to rise up, like a Phoenix in the sky.
Wolf Jett will have a record release party at The Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar Street, on Saturday, March 16th. For tickets and more information go to www.wolfjett.com
Rowland Rebele, a publisher and philanthropist who wanted to give away all of his money before he passed away, died Saturday at the age of 93.
“Reb,” as he liked to be called, served in the U.S. Navy and attended Stanford University before embarking on a career as a newspaper owner, mostly in California with business partner Lowell Blankfort. They sold them off one by one at a time when print publications were far more valuable than they are today.
Born in San Francisco, he lived his later years in Aptos, where he supported civic causes throughout Santa Cruz, including UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Symphony, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Santa Cruz Shakespeare and most important to him, the downtown homeless shelter, named the Rebele Family Shelter.
He also funded journalism training at Cabrillo College and Stanford University, where he regularly met with students studying and working in the field. He was a leading donor to the California First Amendment Coalition, a group that promotes a free press and freedom of expression.
Reb regularly told the students that his goal was to give away his money before he died. But his efforts weren’t limited to financial help. He regularly worked on the census of the local unhoused community, climbing down hillsides and along river banks to interview the people living there, even in his 80s.
His health deteriorated in later years, but not his vigor, intelligence or wicked sense of humor. He remained devoted to his college sweetheart, Patricia, who helped with managing the newspapers’ financial operations.
“Reb and his wife Patricia were completely devoted to each other, and together they supported numerous non-profit organizations,” wrote the Santa Cruz Symphony in an email. “They were present for nearly all our concerts and special events. Reb was typically the first to stand for an ovation and could be heard yelling bravo at most concerts.”
Rebele at home in 1999. Photograph by George Sakkestad.
Rebele and Blankfort purchased the Chula Vista Star News in 1961 and sold it to Hart Hanks Corporation, remaining there until 1978. He later owned newspapers in Butte County, California.
He acknowledged that publishing was a controversial industry. “We did have animosities because of our stand-taking journalism,” he told Metro Santa Cruz in 1999. “In our news columns, we tried to be fair and objective because that’s the role of a paper in part. It’s also the purpose of a paper to raise hell.”
Rebele helped kickstart the news organization that ended up owning Good Times. “I met him after I graduated from UC Santa Cruz and was starting the Los Gatos Weekly,” Good Times Publisher Dan Pulcrano said. “I visited him at his Aptos home and pitched him on investing. He pulled out a black binder, wrote a check for $500 and handed it to me. Those first dollars were the catalyst for starting a company, and everything that came after that.
“His Paradise Post printed our newspapers for a number of years, and his generosity in supporting the public’s right to know, local culture and housing for the community’s most vulnerable members was truly singular. He was one of a kind.”
Reporter Josué Monroy set out to cover a pro-Israel march last week and fairly present the views of the participants. We’ve also covered three pro-Palestinian demonstrations, and this was the first coverage that contained views from Israel’s supporters.
Josué presented a first-hand account of how divisions in the Middle East play out in our community. Our mission as journalists is not to select and quote views with which we agree. Rather, we must unflinchingly ask questions and share answers—even if we disagree with or are horrified by the thoughts expressed.
That is the nature of free expression. A quote is not an endorsement. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
Since publishing comments from several named individuals from the march on the Good Times website, we have heard from people who feel that we “amplified” the remarks, should not have published them, that we should apologize and issue statements on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The quotes in question were not printed, appeared on our site for 48 hours and were viewed by less than 1000 people. They were posted on Saturday and removed midday Monday. We listened to the community and were also asked by the individual quoted to retract the statement.
After the removal, two masked individuals showed up at Good Times’ office and anonymously posted flyers. They claim we support genocide. The leaflets personalize and give further distribution to the very words and ideas our critics contend we promoted. They publicly single out Monroy, who was doing his job as a journalist: reporting on local events, including quotes from the people there.
One group subsequently made threats and issued demands that we make political statements on the future of Israel in Palestine.
That’s not our job. We are here as independent journalists to cover local issues and dig deep into the things that make Santa Cruz tick.
We oppose Islamophobia, antisemitism and hate speech; and, we also believe that drawing attention to these issues serves the public interest. Activists on the Palestine issue should understand that the same protections afforded their critics protects their own free speechand assembly rights.
We will continue to do that and we will continue to elicit and print comments from the community, which is fundamental to our role as the Santa Cruz County’s principal locally-owned newspaper. In these times of war and misinformation, a free and independent press is more important than ever.
At a time when the journalistic community should stand together for free expression and the safety of journalists, we are also deeply disappointed to see competitors exploit this situation. They have given advance publicity to anonymous persons who will be engaging in an aggressive pressure campaign this week on our property.
The chilling effect of silencing opposing views through intimidation should concern all of us who value the free exchange of ideas in an open society.
The proposed 22-mile rail/trail from Watsonville to Natural Bridges will cost an estimated $4.3 billion to build and as much as $41 million a year to operate, according to a new study released by the Regional Transportation Commission—figures more than four times the estimated costs released in 2022 during the campaign in which voters approved the concept with 70 percent of the vote.
The RTC originally bought the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line from Union Pacific in 2012 for $14.2 million.
Public meetings were held last Monday and Thursday to go over a draft report released June 6, in which it listed the costs and estimated ridership of 3,500-6,000 passenger boardings per weekday for the year 2045.
“Boardings” and “ridership” refer to the number of times a person rides the train. A single person can account for multiple boardings in one day.
The project’s new price tag is a divisive topic among community members.
“We’re in this for the long haul and we know we’re years away from the community having to make funding decisions,” said Matt Farrell, the board chair for the interest group Friends of the Rail Trail. “RTC’s work helps us understand how rail transit could work and what it will take to make it a reality.”
Farrell referred to the current progress being made on the project as “something we can all agree is great news.”
Others are more skeptical.
Bud Colligan, who works with Greenway—the local organization in support of preserving the rail and creating a trail over it—said, “The $4.3 billion is absolutely beyond the capacity of Santa Cruz County taxpayers.”
The RTC should “invest in transportation that actually moves people,” he added, suggesting Santa Cruz METRO and ParaCruz as better options.
Speakers at the Monday meeting from the RTC and the engineering companies HDR and Fehr and Peers reviewed the data presented in the Zero Emission Passenger Rail Trail or ZEPRT’s Draft Executive Summary. The summary was published Friday and details the RTC’s preliminary plans for the 22-mile rail system.
HDR is a multinational engineering firm based in Nebraska that has offices in 15 countries. Fehr and Peers is a transportation planning and engineering firm with offices across the nation. They are headquartered in Walnut Creek.
In 2023, the county secured funding to finance a study conducted by HDR, the preliminary results of which are presented in the Executive Draft Summary. It was expected that the full study would take about two years, and the Final Concept Report is planned for submission sometime this fall.
According to the summary, the RTC projects a daily ridership of 3,500-6,000 boardings per weekday for the year 2045, although they plan to open the rail line sometime before that year.
The train cars that the RTC plans to use will have a maximum capacity of 234, with room for 116 seated and 118 standing passengers.
There is no exact figure for estimating weekend ridership, but it is expected to be lower than weekdays, which is in line with the RTC’s goal for the ZEPRT to primarily be used by commuters.
The current plan is for the rail system to operate daily from 6am to 10pm, with train service every 30 minutes. The RTC estimates that it will take 40 to 45 minutes for the train to travel from the southernmost stop in Pajaro to the northernmost one at Natural Bridges Drive in Santa Cruz. HDR Project Manager Mark McLaren said the train could “operate safely” at up to 60 mph.
One of the project’s long-term goals is to connect the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line to other rail systems in Castroville, Monterey, Gilroy and the Bay Area via the Pajaro station. An estimated 10% of riders would transfer in Pajaro, according to Fehr and Peers civil engineer Matt Haynes.
The annual cost of operation, with trains running every 30 minutes, is estimated to be up to $41 million. Alternatively, if the trains were to run every 60 minutes, the estimated annual cost could be up to $21 million.
There will be nine stations at the following locations: Pajaro, Downtown Watsonville, Aptos, New Brighton Road (intended for students of Cabrillo College), Capitola near Park Avenue, 17th Avenue, Seabright Avenue, Beach Street in Santa Cruz, and Natural Bridges Drive.
The Downtown Watsonville and Beach Street stations are expected to have the highest numbers of weekday riders, with 800-1,200 and 800-1,500 daily boardings, respectively. Capitola Station and Beach Street are projected to have the highest weekend ridership.
According to the RTC’s summary, the trains will be fully ADA compliant and will be able to accommodate multiple types of mobility devices and bicycles.
Much of the discussion at the Regional Transportation Commission Meeting on Thursday was about how the county intends to finance the project. According to McLaren, there are two possible federal grant sources: the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration. McLaren said the FTA rarely gives grants above 50% of the cost, while the FRA has historically covered up to 80%. The county would apply on the condition that the ZEPRT is an inner-city rail system.
RTC officials said the cost to the county could vary from 20 to 50 percent of the total $4.3 billion and the board voted for the RTC staff to prepare a report estimating the taxpayer responsibilities for each amount.
According to RTC Executive Director Sarah Christensen, the largest grant to date that the county of Santa Cruz has received for the rail corridor was a $67 million Active Transportation Program grant in 2022.
However, there are portions of the overall cost that cannot be funded with federal or state grants, and therefore must be paid for by the community—such as the annual operating costs, which could be up to $41 million.
The county is also responsible for funding pre-construction environmental analysis, which could take about three years and would cost between $14 million and $16 million, according to McLaren.
In a response to these conditions of the project, Commissioner Kim De Serpa said, “People are tired of shouldering the burden of communities that can’t make ends meet.”
Commissioner Manu Koenig also questioned the financial feasibility of the project.
Koenig speculated that the county would have to raise its sales tax rate from where it currently sits at 9.75% to as high as 12.5% in order to be able to fund the project and the operating expenses. That increase would make Santa Cruz County’s sales tax the highest in California.
He called the expense a “crushing amount,” and said, “The pressure on our local sales tax capacity…would take all the oxygen out of the room for funding any other kind of service through sales tax pretty much ever again.”
When asked if she thought the county could realistically afford the project, Christenen said, “If we prioritize this project over other needs, and we are serious about delivering this project, our team is going to figure out how to get it done.”
De Serpa said she would not support “any effort to take money away from roads and infrastructure.”
She said that the community has other transportation-related needs, such as a lack of sheltered bus stops and roads in need of repair.
CLEAN FUEL The RTC proposes a hydrogen-powered commuter train and had a sample riding the tracks before the 2022 election. Photo: Brad Kava
The projected expenses and ridership numbers are based on preexisting rail transit systems throughout the United States that the RTC deems comparable to the ZEPRT. Some of these systems include the eBART in the Bay Area, SPRINTER in San Diego, and the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART).
However, the reliability of these comparisons is questionable.
SMART initially projected a daily ridership of 5,200 in a 2014 forecast submitted to the Federal Transit Administration. Sonoma and Marin counties have a combined population of about 736,219.
Santa Cruz County has a population of about 267,551 (according to the Santa Cruz County website), and the ZEPRT has a projected daily ridership of up to 6,000.
SMART did not meet its anticipated daily ridership rate of 5,200. In a Draft Strategic Plan for the years 2025-2030, the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District said “the SMART pathway averaged 63,610 users per month” in 2024, which is about 2,120 per day.
They also said that one of their goals for the next five years is to “increase ridership to 5,000+ per day.”
Commissioner Steve Clark expressed doubt about the accuracy of the RTC’s comparison of the ZEPRT’s ridership model to that of San Diego’s SPRINTER rail.
Clark said that the Sonoma-Marin and San Diego metro areas have a “much larger population area,” and asked, “How do we get to that ambitious conclusion that we’re going to outperform those systems?”
The original projected daily ridership for SPRINTER was 11,000 in 2012. During the fiscal year 2023- 2024, SPRINTER reported an annual total of 1,822,849 boardings, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. That’s an average of about 4,994 boardings per day.
According to McLaren, stops at each station are expected to last about 90 seconds, approximately adding an additional 10 minutes to the total trip time for anyone traveling from Pajaro to Natural Bridges Drive.
Two previously proposed station locations—at Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville and 41st Avenue in Capitola—were removed from the updated proposal. Although these are well-traversed areas, McLaren said they were withdrawn from consideration because of concerns about losing ridership over excessive travel time.
The projected total cost of $4.3 billion is broken down into different categories.
The previously calculated Conceptual Railroad Bridge Replacement and Rehab Cost of $980 million is now included in several of the cost categories listed in the Draft Executive Summary, the largest of which is titled “Contingency.”
The Contingency cost of $1.283 billion is allotted for all of the unknowns regarding construction of the rail.
The $980 million cost was calculated earlier this spring because 28 of the 33 bridges along the rail line need replacing to make the project feasible, and the remaining five need repairs. However, this amount does not account for other expenditures, such as rail construction and the implementation of signal systems.
“At this point [the contingency] is essentially the insurance policy to make sure that as the project moves forward, there aren’t risks that come forward that would significantly impact the cost of the project in a way that’s detrimental,” McLaren said.
The Final Project Concept Report will be submitted sometime this fall.
Although it is a founding principle of our great democracy, many people do not understand what the absence of “The Rule of Law” really means.Because I lived in Guatemala for several years, it means to me that if your car is stolen there is zero possibility that you will get it back. It also means that if you own a business, you must pay “renta” (protection) to the local gang. A big part of the reason that our country is descending into chaos is the lack of respect for our laws. Who is responsible for this? Mostly, our current president, who ignores our laws, and his supporters that, after over 60 lawsuits concurred that Trump lost the 2020 election, continue to believe that the election was rigged. So, if you are one of those folks who believe that the 2020 election was rigged, you are an enemy of our beloved democracy, and I will stand in your way.
Don Eggleston | Aptos
RAIL/TRAIL OVERVIEW
The RTC has a bloated plan that is missing key components and will have to charge a ticket and parking amount that is so high [$21 to $32 per day] in order to cover costs that no one will ride. The rail design is for heavy freight that runs up the cost when there has been no appreciable freight on the present line for years. Where do you park the thousands of cars each day when there are no available spaces today?
This project should be changed to trail only. WHO ARE THE POTENTIAL RIDERS? The present-day traffic on Highway 1 is made up of workers coming from Watsonville to work in the shops and businesses of mid-county and Santa Cruz along with college students. These are the people we are trying to move to our rail system and most of them are low-income or no-income travelers and they cannot afford a break-even rail plan.
The current fare for a Metro all-day pass is $6. The Highway 1 widening project will improve the commute time, especially for buses. So why would a low-income person or student pay over $30 to ride the rail versus ride the bus for $6 which takes the same time to get from Watsonville to Santa Cruz?
Do you really believe that the public will approve a sales tax increase to 12%? I do not and several supervisors do not either.
Bill Beecher | Aptos
DEFEND FREEDOM
Our democracy is dying. It is being bludgeoned by fascists who care only about power. We have one hope, the same hope that has saved us before: Every American, regardless of party, must stand up and defend freedom. Donald Trump and his sycophants are attempting an armed takeover. Trump has amped up his scare tactics to justify turning our streets into battlefields. Then, by his order, he would pit our U.S. Armed Forces, sworn to support and defend the Constitution, against the very people who believe the same. Statements of solidarity, email petitions or letters to the editor are not enough. It is time to vote in the streets. Show up. Future generations are counting on us to defend the Republic. We are you: your relatives, your neighbors, your fellow countrymen, your fellow humans. We can do this. We MUST do this. We will do this.
The first thing you’ll notice in our cover story, a report from Ukraine in the center of a war, is that although the headline talks about the bravery and victimization of teen girls by Russian troops, there are no photos of the girls.
Santa Cruz author Steve Kettmann gave me a quick lesson on why not: we have to protect their identities.
But they did open up with Kettmann, a father of two children who spent a week doing relief efforts and researching a book on the war in a place few would dare to tread. Kettmann runs the Wellstone Center, a writing institute in Soquel, and has reported on politics and sports for national publications.
There are two photos that really tell the story: Kettmann and partners in front of a beautiful building, then another shot the next day, after it was bombed to rubble. I give Kettmann high praise not only for going there but also for filing the story on deadline over Father’s Day weekend. That’s what great journalists do.
A side note in keeping with the theme of an alternative entertainment weekly is that one of the people he met over there was Ken Casey, singer and bassist for Boston punk band the Dropkick Murphys, who was bringing aid, including an electric wheelchair for a victim of Russian bombing.
Kettmann was frightened by the cruelty of Russians so unabashedly attacking civilian targets and kidnapping young residents, and he was inspired by the courage of the Ukrainians.
“Ukraine will keep fighting, no matter what,” he writes. “Even if their cities are overrun and they have to take to the hills or the sewers or a remote location where they pilot drones that wreak havoc. As one Ukrainian told me, ‘One thing that Ukrainians do best is we can adapt to pretty much anything and make the best scenario out of the worst possible situation.’”
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
LOOKING FOR HOME There are so many pets at the SPCA shelter looking for a new home. Go check them out. Photograph by Rebecca Hall, rebeccahallphoto.com
GOOD IDEA
Community radio station KSQD, known as K-Squid, holds its fourth Broadcast and Podcast Workshop, planned for Salinas at the El Gabilan Library, July 19, 1:30-3:30pm. The series is scheduled to continue Aug. 20 in Marina and Sept. 18 in Monterey.
It will cover interviewing techniques and best practices, how to pick and use the right equipment and editing for radio and podcasts. All experience levels are welcome. To register contact Omar Guzman at Om**@ks**.org. K-SQUID broadcasts at 90.7 Santa Cruz, 89.7 Monterey, and 89.5 Salinas. Visit KSQD.org.
GOOD EATS
Remember Santa Cruz Burger Week? It’s now Bay Area Burger Week, with restaurants participating from the North Bay down to Silicon Valley. Visit BayAreaBurgerWeek.com or download the app for Android or Apple phones. The following local restaurants are participating: Belly Goat Craft Burgers, Churchill and Beers, Emerald Mallard, Hook & Line, Hula’s Tiki Bar and Grill, Laili Restaurant, Laughing Monk Brewing, Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery, Pana Food, Parish Publick House, Pono Hawaiian Kitchen and Tap, Riva Fish House, Rosie McCann’s, Salty Otter Sports Grill, Seabright Social and Sevy’s Bar + Kitchen.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“More parents would face the impossible choice between paying rent and buying groceries, and homelessness will increase.”
Aries writer Joseph Campbell was a world-renowned mythologist. His theories about the classic hero archetype have inspired many writers and filmmakers, including Star Wars creator George Lucas. As a young man, Campbell crafted the blueprint for his influential work during a five-year period when he lived in a rustic shack and read books for nine hours a day. He was supremely dedicated and focused. I recommend that you consider a similar foundation-building project, Aries. The coming months will be an excellent time for you to establish the groundwork for whatever it is you want to do for the rest of your long life.
TAURUS April 20-May 20
In Japan, komorebi refers to the dappled sunlight that streams through tree leaves. It names a subtle, ephemeral beauty that busy people might be oblivious to. Not you, I hope, Taurus! In the coming weeks, I invite you to draw on komorebi as an inspirational metaphor. Tune in to the soft illumination glimmering in the background. Be alert for flickers and flashes that reveal useful clues. Trust in the indirect path, the sideways glance, the half-remembered dream and the overheard conversation. Anything blatant and loud is probably not relevant to your interests. PS: Be keen to notice what’s not being said.
GEMINI May 21-June 20
In Finnish folklore, the Sampo is a magic artifact that generates unending wealth and good fortune. Here’s the catch: It can’t be hoarded. Its power only works when shared, passed around or made communal. I believe you are close to acquiring a less potent but still wonderful equivalent of a Sampo, Gemini. It may be an idea, a project or a way of living that radiates generosity and sustainable joy. But remember that it doesn’t thrive in isolation. It’s not a treasure to be stored up and saved for later. Share the wealth.
CANCER June 21-July 22
Tides don’t ask for permission. They ebb and flow in accordance with an ancient gravitational intelligence that obeys its own elegant laws. Entire ecosystems rely on their steady cyclical rhythms. You, too, harbor tidal forces, Cancerian. They are partially synced up with the earth’s rivers, lakes and seas, and are partially under the sway of your deep emotional power. It’s always crucial for you to be intimately aware of your tides’ flows and patterns, but even more than usual right now. I hope you will trust their timing and harness their tremendous energy.
LEO July 23-Aug. 22
Some jewelers practice an ancient Korean art called keum-boo, in which they fuse pure gold to silver by heat and pressure. The result is gold that seems to bloom from within silver’s body, not just be juxtaposed on top of it. Let’s make this your metaphor for the coming weeks, Leo. I believe you will have the skill to blend two beautiful and valuable things into an asset that has the beauty and value of both—plus an extra added synergy of valuable beauty. The only problem that could possibly derail your unprecedented accomplishment might be your worry that you don’t have the power to do that. Expunge that worry, please.
VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Some Indigenous cultures keep track of time not by clocks but by natural events: “the moon when the salmon return,” “the season when shadows shorten,” “the return of the rain birds.” I encourage you to try that approach, Virgo. Your customary rigor will benefit from blending with an influx of more intuitive choices. You will be wise to explore the joys of organic timing. So just for now, I invite you to tune out the relentless tick-tock. Listen instead for the hush before a threshold cracks open. Meditate on the ancient Greek concept of kairos: the prime moment to act or a potential turning point that’s ripe for activation.
LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22
Botanists speak of “serotiny,” a plant’s ability to delay seed release until the environment is just right. Some pinecones, for instance, only open after a fire. What part of you has been patiently waiting, Libra? What latent brilliance has not been ready to emerge until now? The coming weeks will offer catalytic conditions—perhaps heat, perhaps disruption, perhaps joy—that will be exactly what’s needed to unleash the fertile potency. Have faith that your seeds will draw on their own wild intelligence.
SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21
One of your superpowers is your skill at detecting what’s unfolding beneath the surfaces. It’s almost like you have X-ray vision. Your ability to detect hidden agendas, buried secrets and underground growth is profound. But in the coming weeks, I urge you to redirect your attention. You will generate good fortune for yourself if you turn your gaze to what lies at the horizon and just beyond. Can you sense the possibilities percolating at the edges of your known world? Can you sync up your intuitions with the future’s promises? Educated guesses will be indistinguishable from true prophecies.
SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21
Sagittarius-born Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) got a degree in law and economics and began a career teaching those subjects at the university level. But at age 30, he had a conversion experience. It was triggered when he saw a thrilling exhibit of French Impressionist painters and heard an enthralling opera by Richard Wagner. Soon he flung himself into a study of art, embarking on an influential career that spanned decades. I am predicting that you will encounter inspirations of that caliber, Sagittarius. They may not motivate you as drastically as Kandinsky’s provocations, but they could revitalize your life forever.
CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19
The ancient Egyptians revered the River Nile’s annual flooding, which brought both disruption and renewal. It washed away old plant matter and debris and deposited fertile silt that nourished new growth. In the coming weeks, Capricorn, I suspect you will experience a metaphorical flood: a surge of new ideas, opportunities and feelings that temporarily unsettle your routines. Rather than focusing on the inconvenience, I suggest you celebrate the richness this influx will bring. The flow will ultimately uplift you, even if it seems messy at first.
AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18
Medieval stonemasons worked not just in service to the immediate structures they made. They imagined eternity, laying foundation blocks in cathedrals they knew they would never live to see completed. I think you are being invited to do similar work: soulful construction whose fruits may not ripen for a while. A provocative conversation you have soon may echo for years. A good habit you instill could become a key inheritance for your older self. So think long, wide and slow, dear Aquarius. Not everything must produce visible worth this season. Your prime offerings may be seeds for the future. Attend to them with reverence.
PISCES Feb. 19-March 20
In the frigid parts of planet Earth, some glaciers sing. As they shift and crack and melt, they emit tones: groans, pulses, crackles and whooshes. I believe your soul will have a similar inclination in the coming weeks, Pisces: to express mysterious music as it shifts and thaws. Some old logjam or stuck place is breaking open within you, and that’s a very good thing. Don’t ignore or neglect this momentous offering. And don’t try to translate it into logical words too quickly. What story does your trembling tell? Let the deep, restless movements of your psyche resound.
A tribute album dedicated to the musical pioneer of zydeco music, Clifton Chenier, arrives on a platter (there are other options, besides vinyl), on June 25. Twelve deep grooves by some of the juiciest names in entertainment, like the Rolling Stones, Lucinda Williams and Taj Mahal.
The record was produced by Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), Joel Savoy (Cajun legend) and John Leopold, a Santa Cruz activist and former county supervisor.
“If you have ever heard of zydeco music, it’s because of Clifton Chenier,” Leopold says, looking very fit and drinking coffee outside the Verve on 41st. Like a man on a mission, Leopold begins an in-depth Ted Talk on the roots of zydeco and the influence of Chenier. Leopold’s passion for this under-represented form of music is evident in every word he says.
For brevity’s sake, here’s a condensed history.
Zydeco is often a blistering-fast genre of music that moves your feet, and soul, whether you consent or not. Ground zero seems to be southwest Louisiana, where people spoke Creole, pidgin, English, French and other languages on the reg.
The music that bubbled up out of this multi-ethnic rabbit stew used an accordion and other forms of homemade percussion instruments, like washboards, to create a new world of sound. Like much regional music, at the time, it stayed regional—until a star broke out and shared it with the world. Clifton Chenier.
Having grown up with an accordion-playing father, Chenier was born to tour. In 1955, he had his first national hit (“Hey Little Girl,” a remake of New Orleans legend Professor Longhair’s song), and all the states, across the land, got their first taste of spicy gumbo.
Chenier’s success got him sudden attention and he began to tour with people like Ray Charles (his hero), Etta James and Chuck Berry. But it wasn’t until 1966—when esteemed San Francisco Chronicle critic Ralph J. Gleason wrote a magical, glowing review of Chenier’s performance at the Berkeley Blues Festival—that Chenier was able to step out from behind the legends and find his rightful place onstage.
NEW GENERATION Sherelle Chenier Mouton, zydeco king Clifton Chenier’s granddaughter, plays on the tribute album. Photo: Jo Vidrine
There’s an undeniable power to zydeco. Back when Chenier was playing in the 1950s, he was still in his 20s and his shows would run all night long. “Clifton made zydeco his own,” Leopold begins. “Not only was he a great musician, but he would play shows to unite audiences. Clifton would book shows down in southwest Louisiana, where black and white audiences didn’t mix. But when he played, he would bring everyone together.”
“I heard an interview that Clifton gave once. He said he would get harassed if he walked offstage and went to the bathroom. It was easier just to stay on stage, and all his musicians had to stay onstage as well. And they would play for four hours. He had an amazing band,” Leopold recounts.
The three producers, through decades of connections, brought together a legion of artists to celebrate and record the music of Clifton Chenier. “We did six days of recording in Lafayette, Louisiana,” Leopold says, with a revolving door of talent like Jimmie Vaughan (Fabulous Thunderbirds), Molly Tuttle, John Hiatt and David Hidalgo. “We had close to 40 positions on this album. The house band was all stars,” Leopold beams—and one of its members, Sherelle Chenier Mouton, is Chenier’s granddaughter.
Of course, having the Rolling Stones on your album is sure to up your real estate. “It just raises the amplitude of people knowing about the album. It’s good to bring in people so they can connect with zydeco. And you get to hear Mick sing in French,” Leopold adds.
A true champion of Chenier on vinyl and stage was Chris Strachwitz, who founded Arhoolie Records in Berkeley in the mid 1960s. Carrying the torch of promoting underrepresented voices into the 21st century is album co-producer Joel Savoy, who also owns Valcour Records. Savoy comes from a family that has loved Cajun music for generations, and his father was close to Strachwitz. He “was my dad’s best friend, so we grew up hearing Chris talk about the label and about Clifton and all the artists,” Savoy says from his home in Louisiana.
Savoy is also a fiddle player who tours the world, much like Chenier, and is more than happy to share the sounds of his home. “I would say that whenever I travel, I’m an ambassador to my people and my culture. I do represent Louisiana every time I go somewhere, whether I want to or not, because you know me and all of my other traveling musician friends from here, anytime we go anywhere, we are spreading the gospel about the great state of Louisiana. Louisiana is so mysterious to many. We love our Acadiana, the community here, and we’re very proud to go all over the world and share our music. People really have started to connect to not only traditional vernacular music from the South Louisiana corner, but from all over,” Savoy says.
You couldn’t possibly honor the legacy of the King of Zydeco without the music benefitting and uniting others. Valcour Records is donating all profits from the sale of the album to the Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Valcour Records partnered with the Center for Louisiana Studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The fund will offer annual financial assistance to students studying traditional music, specifically zydeco accordion, at the university. It’s a sure thing Chenier would approve of the music moving through the generations.
A Tribute to the King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier will be available for shipping and download starting June 25. Pre-orders are available now at valcourrecords.com.
In a ‘most excellent’ display of rock, Dogstar—featuring Hollywood outsider favorite Keanu Reeves on bass—played to a sold-out Catalyst main room last night.
Rowland Rebele, a publisher and philanthropist who wanted to give away all of his money before he passed away, died Saturday at the age of 93.
“Reb,” as he liked to be called, served in the U.S. Navy and attended Stanford University before embarking on a career as a newspaper owner, mostly in California with business partner Lowell Blankfort. They...
Reporter Josué Monroy set out to cover a pro-Israel march last week and fairly present the views of the participants. We’ve also covered three pro-Palestinian demonstrations, and this was the first coverage that contained views from Israel’s supporters.
Josué presented a first-hand account of how divisions in the Middle East play out in our community. Our mission as journalists is...
There are two photos that really tell the story: Kettmann and partners in front of a beautiful building, then another shot the next day, after it was bombed to rubble.
