Permaculture design. Herbalism. Medicine making. Regenerative beekeeping. Healthy produce for the people.
Santa Cruz Permaculture seeks to outfit anyone interested in all of the above—basically everything you need, nothing you don’t, indefinitely—with a clear goal in mind, as director Dave Shaw articulates.
“Permaculture is about permanent culture, and living on the planet as if we humans wanted to be permanent inhabitants here and thus want to ‘leave things better than we found it’ for future generations,” he says.
SCP does consulting and land stewardship to that end, and as of 2022, stewards a 26-acre organic farm that’s evolving further to be a regenerative, no-till, mixed vegetable, flour, fruit, herb and agroforestry wonderland.
The emphasis at the farm is educational, and upcoming classes—open individually or as a slate—look most promising.
This weekend (Feb. 10-11) brings on herbal preparation how-tos—think body oils, salves, lotions, poultices, tinctures and even natural first aid—followed by landscape construction (Feb. 17-18) and food forest propagation (Feb. 24-25).
Good Times came across SCP at last month’s EcoFarm, where communications chief Leah Stern was sharing the good dirt.
“Preparing society for the ‘great turning’ from industrial growth society to regenerative society is the most important issue we’re facing,” she says. “We want to give people the tools for personal resilience.”
Irreverent-and-informative news site The Hustle recently took a long look at how restaurants are doing, and it gives my hungry heart hope after more than 72,000 restaurants shuttered due to COVID in the U.S. alone. Some 53,000+ opened in 2023, a clip of 16 for every 100,000 peeps, while a bunch of categories are popping, including pop-ups (up 66% year over year), desserts (also 66), hot pot (53) and creperies, of all things (63), which makes me grateful for the midtown institution that is The Crepe Place. Give me all the spinach-onion-mushroom-white cheddar-gruyere-garlic crepes please; thecrepeplace.com.
DOWNTOWN UPGRADE
Pretty Good Advice #2 (1319 Pacific Ave.) debuted last week in downtown Santa Cruz. The menu features the same hits that headline at their original Soquel hub—veggie burgers, seasonal salads, soft-serve, spicy chicken sandwiches, and burly all day breakfast sandwiches like the Final Meltdown with roasted mushrooms, fried egg, caramelized onion, crispy potato, pepper jack and secret sauce, prettygoodadvicesoquel.com.
FAST AND JUICED
Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains’ eighth annual Grand Wine Tasting, tagline “Mountain vines, elevated wines,” uncorks March 24 at Mountain Winery with more than 45 vintners in the mix, winesofthesantacruzmountains.com…Cavalletta (9067 Soquel Drive, Aptos) is dishing on weekends and ready to fully open with its housemade pasta and wood-fired pizza once it has the staff, cavallettarestaurant.com…Watsonville Public House (625 Main St., Watsonville) is eyeing mid month for a soft opening.
Paul Violante started working at Scopazzi’s in 1983 when the previous owner asked him to come on as a cook, putting a succession plan in place that came to fruition three years later when Violante became the chef/owner.
His journey started on the Santa Cruz Wharf, where he went from cleaning windows to cleaning fish, dishwashing to prep cooking, then line cook to chef.
Scopazzi’s combines mountain character and continental Italian cuisine. Lightly breaded calamari and sautéed artichoke hearts start things off, and the entrées include filet mignon, chicken parmesan and pastas such as lemon pepper linguine with prawns.
Made-in-house desserts include Grand Marnier cheesecake, tiramisu and Angel Strata Pie with layers of meringue and chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream. The wine list features both local selections and European offerings. Open Wednesday-Sunday, hours are 11:30am-3pm for lunch and 4-9pm for dinner with a Sunday breakfast from 10:30am.
What makes Scopazzi’s so special?
PAUL VIOLANTE: First of all, it’s the ambiance. It would be hard to find another restaurant with this much character, when people walk in, they are truly in awe. The redwood walls, fine drapery, etched glass, huge original open-hearth fireplace and high A-frame ceilings really set the feeling of the dining experience. And it’s fine dining with old-school French cart service, we do tableside preparations like our well-known Caesar salad, flambé pepper steaks, Cherries Jubilee and Bananas Foster. We are the only restaurant in the county to offer these services for show.
What has been the key to your success in the industry?
PV: I have always loved what I did and I also love the instant gratification of the food. When you create something and it’s well-received, it’s a really great feeling. Just like a rock star on stage getting a standing ovation it’s a wonderful feeling creating art with food that others enjoy. It makes you want to come back the next day and do it again, and it makes all the other hard work that comes along with owning a restaurant much easier.
13300 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, 831-338-4444; scopazzisrestaurant.com
Since Nefesh Mountain formed nearly a decade ago, the band has been exploring and expanding the conventional boundaries of Americana music. Comprised of singer Doni Zasloff and multi-instrumentalist Eric Lindberg, the duo is known for fusing Jewish traditions with bluegrass and other folk aesthetics. Out of many high-profile festival and concert appearances worldwide, their 2021 debut at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville was a recent stand-out. The audience can expect a hearty mix of originals and covers from a band that can take on everything from the Allman Brothers to Coltrane and make it theirs. ADDIE MAHMASSANI
Corinne Bailey Rae was launched to fame in 2006 when her breezy single “Put Your Records On” topped the UK R&B chart and earned a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. Since then, Bailey Rae has collaborated with artists like Bill Withers and Esperanza Spalding and heard her songs in blockbuster films like Venus. Her song “Green Aphrodisiac” was on one of Obama’s iconic playlists. In 2023, she released Black Rainbows, her first album in seven years. Jordan Bassett of NME wrote, “. . . it swings from crunching glam-punk to skronking experimental jazz that wouldn’t sound out of place on David Bowie’s Blackstar. There are left turns, and then there’s this.” AM
INFO: 8pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $52.50. 423-8209.
FRIDAY
FOLK
IRA WOLF
Lille Aeske has become the spot in the Santa Cruz Mountains (and the rest of the county) for authentic folk music, the kind steeped in growth and heartache, the kind Ira Wolf plays. Although she now resides in Nashville, Tennessee, Wolf is a Montana soul raised on the road. She released her debut album, Fickle Heart, in 2014 and began touring the same year. Since then, she’s toured across six continents, performing her emotionally heartfelt lyrics with beautiful melodies. Wolf stepped away from music for several years to take care of her mental health, but last year, she returned to the studio and dropped her fourth album, Rock Bottom. MAT WEIR
What’s cooler than being a successful comedian? How about being the frontman for a successful ’90s punk band and the current singer for a punk rock supergroup? What if that’s also on top of being the cofounder of one of the coolest independent record labels—SideOneDummy—that signed bands like Flogging Molly, AJJ, Title Fight, PUP and more? And maybe include recently completing a comedy tour opening for . . . (checks notes) . . . Metallica?! That’s the level of coolness Joe Sib brings to the table. The Santa Cruz comedian returns for one night at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center to share some stories and plenty of laughs. MW
INFO: 7:30pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $20. 427-2227.
SATURDAY
CLASSICAL
SOUNDSCAPE SALON WITH VICTORIA THEODORE
Victoria Theodore is a classically trained musician who has played with legends, including Stevie Wonder and Beyoncé. She brings her insights and talents to the Soundscape Salon, where she will participate in musical performances and discussions with fellow musicians Kate Saphir Alm and Shannon D’Antonio and guests from the Suzuki Piano Studio. The topic for the discussion portion of the afternoon is the influence of Black American composers on their White European counterparts. It’s not hard to imagine how such influences were overlooked by history; it is hard, however, to imagine missing such a joyful event. JESSICA IRISH
INFO: 1pm, Peace United Church, 900 High St., Santa Cruz. $25. 426-2010.
SATURDAY
EXHIBIT
THE SANTA CRUZ ITALIAN FISHING COLONY: 150 YEARS OF AMORE
Italy and California have a lot in common: they’re around the same size, have long coastlines, and are known for their excellent cuisines—especially their seafood dishes. The two places also share familial names (Stagnaro and Locatelli come to mind). Historian Geoffrey Dunn is here to answer the big question: why do those names appear all over Santa Cruz? As the great-grandson of Italian immigrants Cottardo and Maria Stagnaro, Dunn is uniquely qualified to tell the story of the 60 Italian families who moved from Riva Trigoso, Italy, to Santa Cruz and Capitola. (Hint: it involves fishing.) JI
INFO: 3pm, Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. Free. 429-1964.
SATURDAY
MALIAN
VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ
Legendary Malian musician Ali Farka Touré defied his parents’ wishes to be a soldier. In a strange twist, when Vieux decided he would follow in Ali’s footsteps, the elder Farka Touré disapproved—ironically wanting his son to become a soldier. Thankfully, Vieux chased his passion to become one of the most famous West African guitar players alive today. He has performed alongside artists like Shakira and Alicia Keys and has recorded with Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks and more. His latest album covers his father’s work with Houston instrumental trio Khruangbin and captures the soul of Ali’s work with a fresh twist. MW
Sacramento singer-songwriter Richard March has been compared to progressive country troubadours like Kris Kristofferson, Glen Campbell and Mickey Newbury—pretty high praise for any musician. He’s opened for several luminaries, including Johnny Cash’s old backing band, the Tennessee Three, legendary folkie Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, bluesman John Hammond, and Stray Cat Lee Rocker. He has also been a guest artist on NPR’s Blue Dog Jams and heard on the Air America radio network. DAN EMERSON
Since he came onto the New York jazz scene in the early ’90s, pianist Brad Mehldau has been one of his generation’s most influential and prolific players, recording more than 40 albums as a leader (or coleader). Mehldau is also a master of a specific performing format—solo piano—which requires a higher level of technique and improv ability than the more common trio and quartet settings. Throughout his career, Mehldau has released seven high-quality recordings of solo performances. He will perform solo when he makes another visit to Kuumbwa on Monday night. DE
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., $63/adv, $68.25/door. 427-2227
Spend some time in Santa Cruz and you may hear the term “herb” used in all sorts of ways. A tasty herb could mean anything from weed to oregano depending on whom you ask.
Herbs and plants have been used since, well always, for medicinal and therapeutic purposes. While Western medicine has granted us immeasurable benefits, in the US, pharmaceuticals have eclipsed the “alternatives” to near sideshow status.
It’s tempting to think of herbalists as experts in providing botanical solutions to wellness. And that may well be true, or not. Here in the US, there are no regulations around the professional term. In short anyone can call themself an herbalist.
Yet not all nations are so laissez faire. Medical Herbalist Paula Grainger, turned Cruzan, used her degree in clinical herbal medicine from a prestigious London University to establish a successful apothecary there. But in 2011, a move to Santa Cruz also forced a change in the way she did business.
Upon her arrival, Grainger discovered the tinctures and medicinal herbs she relied on in London were hard to find here. This became the impetus for growing her own plants for use in herbal remedies. As she began integrating into the community, this English herbalist discovered that people here were interested in applying this science to their own lives.
These days Grainger sees her clients becoming more aware of herbal medicine following a western medical paradigm as opposed to the traditional Chinese medicine model. She notes the medical establishment is so much more open to recognizing the benefits of herbs and diet as the field is becoming more mainstream. Yet in realizing the many medicinal uses of plant plants as medicine, no one size fits all.
So how does one possibly know where to start? Paula Grainger has ideas.
GT: Do you see herbal medicine as preventive or curative? Or both?
PG: While in England, a Medical Herbalist is a recognized profession licensed to prescribe remedies, here the commonly used term is Clinical Herbalist. That said, a number of health problems can be significantly improved through the use of herbs. Certain herbs can also protect us from a variety of mental and physical conditions, so it’s both.
GT: What are some common reasons people seek out your services?
PG: It’s pretty diverse, from pregnancy to menopause, to chronic digestive issues, to anxiety, to building immunity.
GT: What are the best herbs for building immunity?
PG: I like echinacea, elderberry, thyme, ginger, and andrographis, but it’s also about an overall healthy nutritional state.
It’s also important to manage sleep and stress. When you’re in fight or flight response your body isn’t in a good healthy physical or mental state.
Some anti-anxiety herbs I use are: skullcap, passionflower, chamomile, lemon balm, St. John’s wort, hawthorn and rose.
GT: What are some easy ways to incorporate the benefits of herbal medicine into everyday life?
PG: Herbal tea is a delicious and effective solution. I also like herbal powder blends, adaptogens you can add into your smoothie. Cooking foods like soups, even muffins and pancakes. Some herbs I like to incorporate into recipes are ginger, turmeric and garlic. Spices are herbal medicine, they are both antimicrobial and they warm you up.
GT: What is your favorite herb and why?
PG: Lemon balm, so many reasons. It’s antiviral, with a really nice ability to lift your spirits. It helps to protect memory function. And it grows everywhere in Santa Cruz, so it’s easy to access and tastes amazing. You can pick a handful and make a tea, it’s a very calming all around lovely herb.
GT: You are offering an online course soon? Tell me more
PG: I’ve been teaching classes in my Santa Cruz home and garden for years, but I wanted to create a workshop which anyone can join. It’s so empowering for people to learn to grow and harvest herbs. Your Garden Apothecary starts on February 13th with a series of 6 classes. Learn more at www.paulagrainger.com
We are deluged with your comments about our article about the 59-unit housing project at the Food Bin site on Mission Street, which has no onsite parking. I’m turning this column over to your comments on our social media sites.
NOT RIGHT
Whoever approves this needs to have their parking spots taken away from both their residents and their place of employment.
Affordable housing is based on a $57 hourly minimum wage. Think about that.
You have to earn $28.83/hour full time to be able to live in these “affordable units” and only 8 of the units are $28.83/hour full time affordable. All no parking for residence or for the business below the units.
How can someone think this is a good idea?
Paul Doherty
NOT SO BAD
I’m hopeful about this project because of the ongoing updates to Metro, ongoing improvements to the bikeability of roads, traffic calming projects that protect pedestrians, and the fact that it’s building dense housing close to important services like groceries, medical, schools. I know plenty of car-less people in Santa Cruz and I hope the trajectory that we’re on allows more and more people to live without needing cars. This is the answer to our housing crisis.
Marisa Gomez
FACT CHECK
This Good Times article contains TWO MAJOR ERRORS that have caused confusion and consternation among readers. First, $57,650 is the upper limit of “very low income” for an individual to qualify for any of the eight very low income apartments — not the low end of a range of incomes. And, second, each of the SRO apartments planned for this project will have full — not partial, as the article implies — bathrooms and kitchens. Editor: please correct the online version of article, and admit to these errors in a public statement. The gross misinformation spread in the article is very damaging to public discourse about this project. Such errors also damage the credibility and reputation of your newspaper.
Jim MacKenzie
Photo Contest
FOGBOW over Porter Sesnon State Park, Aptos.Photograph by Dianna Glidden
Good Idea
For five years beginning in 2015, Santa Cruz County’s Sobering Center was a place for detainees who were under the influence of drugs or alcohol and first-time DUI suspects.
That program freed up jail space, allowed arresting officers to get back on the street and kept the suspects out of emergency rooms.
But the Coronavirus and a fire forced the center to close in 2020. Last week county officials cut the ribbon on the new Sobering Center, located at 265 Water St., just a stone’s throw from the Main Jail.
Good Work
For more than two years, Aptos residents have had to travel to other areas to check out a book, movie, magazine.
Sunday, Aptos opened its community hub, or as Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend put it, its “new living room.”
The 12,400-square-foot building is outfitted with updated technology, an outdoor reading room, garden, patio, children’s reading area, rideshare and bike parking, group study rooms, a gallery, a community room and terrace, public art and historic displays in partnership with the Aptos History Museum.
Quote of the Week
“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.”—Mary Oliver
A man was killed in Boulder Creek after a tree crashed into his home, as winds pounded Santa Cruz County after several heavy rainstorms on Sunday.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn identified the man as 45-year-old Robert Brainard III.
Deputies and firefighters responded around 3:30pm to a report of a tree that slammed into a home on the 14100 block of Highway 9.
Keehn says that one resident made it out of the house, but another was trapped inside.
“Unfortunately, the resident inside sustained injuries from the tree falling into the home and was pronounced deceased at the scene,” she said.
There were no other injuries reported, although downed power lines and fallen trees forced the closure of several roads throughout the county. As of Monday morning, five remained closed.
Late Monday morning, sun rays were breaking through the clouds that have dumped several inches of rain over the past few days.
National Weather Service of Monterey Bay meteorologist and hydrologist Carolina Walbrun said that rain is expected to continue throughout Monday, which will abate and allow the county to dry out through Tuesday.
Another rain system is expected on Wednesday, with a drying period on Thursday and Friday.
•••
How much rain fell?
(In inches)
Santa Cruz hills: 3.29
Coast: 2.24
Felton: 3.24
Davenport: 2.49
Aptos: 2.12
Boulder Creek 4.76
Ben Lomond: 5.02
Scotts Valley hills: 2.61
City of Scotts Valley: 1.87
South County: average of 1.8
•••
The most damage came from the wind—measured as high as 65 miles per hour—which slammed the county for several hours and wreaked havoc on the county’s power system.
Pacific Gas and Electric said that a total of 29,975 people were without power throughout Santa Cruz County as of 11:30am on Monday.
The winds also knocked down several trees.
Paige Gordon stood near her Live Oak home Sunday afternoon, hours after a towering eucalyptus tree—felled by heavy winds— smashed through the top floor and rendered the entire structure uninhabitable.
High above her head, the wind roared through the small stand of eucalyptuses from which its fallen brethren came.
Gordon lives in the house with her husband and 7-week-old and 17-month-old children. Nobody was injured when the tree came down at 9am, she says. But the tree crashed through the attic and into the upper floor.
Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian Numerous trees dropped to the ground and over homes and vehicles on Moran Way in Live Oak.
“If my kids had been upstairs when that happened, somebody could have died,” she says.
Gordon says she has been grappling with the rules protecting the grove—a protected habitat of monarch butterflies—and with limited county budget to maintain the trees since she moved in three years ago.
“They don’t take care of this parcel,” she says. “It is frustrating, because it could have been avoidable.”
Trees also crashed into several other houses throughout the Mid-County neighborhood, all of them from county-owned property.
It is not clear whether the county will be responsible for the damages.
Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manu Koenig, whose First District covers the neighborhood, says officials are looking at the issue.
Koenig says that the county has been looking at problems with the trees for the past year, and has removed several trees to protect the residents.
But the rules protecting the area can limit those efforts, he says.
“We’ve been navigating the monarch butterfly habitat management plan on the one hand, and of course our obvious concerns are keeping neighbors safe,” he says. “We do need to strike this balance between the natural environment and the human environment. It’s a constant challenge.”
Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian Santa Cruz Firefighters secure the scene on Ocean View Avenue in Santa Cruz Sunday evening where a large tree fell across several homes, vehicles and the entire roadway.
Don Davis, a 39-year-old Boulder Creek resident, called the storm “anticlimactic,” particularly compared to last year.
A storm like this was simply water off a duck’s back for a guy like Davis.
“I’m the grumpy old ‘mountain man,’” he said, noting even if the power goes out there are plenty of ways to stay entertained. “I tell people, ‘Back in my day, movies were called books.’”
But he recognizes downstream residents may face greater flooding impacts than he would.
“I’m right by the river, but up on the hill,” he said. “You guys all get your flooding from us.”
Fred Cox, 71, of Scotts Valley said authorities had predicted Mother Nature would be meaner, particularly in terms of the wind.
“I didn’t see any more than 35-mile-per-hour gusts,” he said. “They were talking about 50-60.”
Nevertheless, auburn forest litter was strewn across Highway 9, causing motorists to slow down and dodge large sticks and redwood boughs.
Cox said he was thankful a 10-foot oak tree had recently been removed from his property.
“I’m grateful that the redwood trees are getting water,” he said. “I’m grateful that the reservoirs are filling-up.”
Aptos resident Diane Marcel, 61, had arrived in Felton to check on her two endurance horses Anden and Disney.
“They’re really stressed out,” she said, as one twirled around the stable. “They’re high-strung.”
But the forecast had been revised downward, meaning it wasn’t looking like the river was, in fact, going to overtake its banks—and so they wouldn’t have to evacuate.
“We’re feeling pretty lucky actually,” she said, noting last year they had to evacuate four times, whereas this winter that hadn’t happened. “We’re all relaxed.”
However, some boarders hauled their livestock from the Covered Bridge Equestrian Center to other locations—just in case.
Throughout the afternoon, the weather made a mess of things throughout much of the San Lorenzo Valley, with first responders directing traffic around a downed tree on Highway 9 north of Brookdale and Boulder Creek Fire Protection District firefighters preventing people from approaching tree-damaged wires along Two Bar Road near Boulder Creek as they waited for a PG&E crew to appear.
Around 3:30pm, Capt. Matt Sanders of the Ben Lomond Fire Protection District said, after a slow night, they’d just received 4-5 calls for service in the previous hour or so.
A controversial new measure is on the March ballot that could affect the future of housing development in the City of Santa Cruz. As the election nears, two sides that claim to support the building of affordable housing are at odds on how to get there in the heart of the nation’s most expensive rental market.
California’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance gives city’s the power to enact their own affordable (or inclusionary) housing requirements for building developers. In Santa Cruz, the current ordinance adopted in 2020 requires developers to make 20% of the total units for residential projects affordable.
The definition of “affordable” is tied to the area’s median income (AMI) and is broken down into categories ranging from very-low to above-moderate income, according to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development. In Santa Cruz, the AMI for a household is $132,800. A family of four could be making $132,000 per year and still be considered low-income.
Measure M would raise the number of affordable units that developers are required to build for a given project. Some affordable housing advocates say that the measure actually hinders future development in the city. The measure would also trigger a vote of the people in the event that the city wants to change zoning laws to build taller buildings. Opponents say that this puts projects like the city’s planned homeless service center in jeopardy.
Both sides are looking to sway voters on March 5 with their vision of what affordable housing looks like.
Housing for People
Before Measure M, there was the Housing for People initiative. The initiative was born in the summer of 2023 out of residents’ concerns over real estate development in downtown Santa Cruz. This included the city’s downtown plan expansion, which would redevelop 29 acres south of Laurel Street. The plan would bring 1,800 units of new housing, 20% of which would be required to be affordable to people with moderate, low and very low incomes.It includes 60,000 square feet of commercial retail space, as well as a new 3,200-seat arena for the Santa Cruz Warriors basketball team.
The downtown plan’s proposed development could allow for buildings up to 12 stories, about double the current zoning limits. In order to do that, the city would have to “upzone”, or raise the height limits with a change to the zoning ordinance. Public input is not necessary for that to happen.
By October of 2023, the Housing for People initiative had amassed nearly double the 3,100 required signatures to get on the March 2024 ballot. Now known as Measure M, the initiative would do two things if passed:
Raise the city of Santa Cruz’s affordable housing rate to 25% for all new housing developments over 30 units
Require a vote by city residents to approve any changes to the general plan or zoning ordinances that increase height limits to developments.
Opponents say that if passed, Measure M would kill all housing development—including affordable housing—in the city. Developers couldn’t afford to build projects if a quarter of them had to be below market rates.
In early January, the “No on M ” campaign kicked into gear, touting support from various pro-housing organizations. These include Affordable Housing Now, Housing Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz YIMBY and the UCSC Student Housing Coalition. The Santa Cruz County Democratic Party and the Santa Cruz City Council have also taken an official position against Measure M.
Local leaders who have historically been pro-affordable housing have also come out against the measure, and are campaigning to strike it down.
HOW HIGH? An artist’s rendition of what a 12-story development would look in the South of Laurel neighborhood. Measure M proponents are wary of taller buildings being built without residents’ approval. Image: Russell Brutsche
20 or 25
Don Lane, former three-time mayor of Santa Cruz, has worked on affordable housing initiatives throughout his career, including 2018’s Measure H. He is against Measure M.While initially thinking that taking a vote on height limits for development projects was a good idea, he says that Measure M’s raising of the affordable housing percentage to 25% is not.
“You’ve got to be careful because, if you go too high, we’ll just won’t be able to go forward and build those projects and we just won’t build houses,” Lane says. “They’ve reached too far and they wanted to sort of sell this as a pro-housing measure. It sounds good, but I think it’s counterproductive.”
Lane cites a recent report commissioned by the city staff which states that raising the affordable housing rate would make the city less desirable for developers if the affordable housing requirement is raised to 25%.
During the Santa Cruz City Council meeting in which the report was presented, city planning director Lee Butler also said that since the affordable housing rate was raised to 20% in 2020, only one development project has met that target number.
Frank Barron, a retired land-use planner and a key figure in developing Measure M, says that the pandemic, high interest rates and building costs could have contributed to the slowing of construction projects. He also says that the city’s fears of turning away development by adopting the 25% rate should be put to the test.
“[If] after Measure M passes and five years from now—supposing what they say is true—and it’s shut off all development, […] the city council can put it back on the ballot,” Barron says.
Other cities—San Francisco, for example—have lowered their affordable housing requirement in recent years. Development projects within the city of San Francisco are now required to make 15-21% of units affordable, down from 22 to 33%.
Elizabeth Madrigal, a Santa Cruz resident who works for an affordable housing developer in the Bay Area, says that raising the rate to 25% would result in no housing being developed. She, like Lane, also cites the study commissioned by the city.
“If Measure M were to pass it would stop all market-rate housing and also affordable housing,” Madrigal says.
Joe Quigg, a retired affordable housing developer in the area, says that raising the affordable rate to 25% won’t stop large developers from building in the city. It may deter smaller, local developers, but projects like the eight-story Anton Pacific building on Pacific Avenue and Front Street would still go up.
“A lot of the reason I support [Measure M} is that increasing the affordability won’t be a problem for larger projects. Because the new state laws give higher bonus densities to those projects and they’ll be able to do a lot more units,” Quigg says.
The City of Santa Cruz website lists all development project applications currently in the pipeline. At the time this article was written, the website lists applications for nearly 50 “significant projects” which would build “25 or more new housing units or over 25,000 square feet of commercial [development],” according to the city.
How High?
Taking any amendments to the city’s general plan or any zoning changes to a vote is a form of direct democracy, according to proponents of Measure M. Keresha Durham, a bilingual educator and part of the Measure M campaign, says that city officials have not been listening to the will of residents.
“They would have voted in different ways on different issues, you know. They’re not providing affordable housing. We need more affordable housing and we also need more democracy,” Durham says.
Durham also says that local officials are prioritizing the needs of large housing development firms instead of those of the community, and that the over 6,000 signatures they gathered to put the measure on the ballot reflects that. The original name of their group was Housing for People not Unaffordable Towers.
She also says that even the current projects going up, like Anton Pacific, will be out of reach for working-class families and students.
Don Lane says that while the measure might have only intended to require a vote around changes in building heights, the language in the final version does not make that clear. Lane says the measure could trigger a vote on changes to a residential fence’s height. He also pointed out that the new homeless services development planned for Coral Street would have to be voted on.
“They thought they were just talking about tall buildings but they just didn’t write it that way,” Lane says.
Frank Barron clarifies that the measure only seeks to vote on housing developments over the height limit—not fences— and that the Coral Street project would be exempt from a vote under state law.
Currently, the height limits on buildings within the city limits is six to eight stories. Frank Barron says that he is not against more development, or even taller buildings, but that if the height limits are to be increased they should be taken to a vote.
“It’s not even [that] it’s bad, it should be subject to the vote of the people,” Barron says.
Visit cityofsantacruz.com to read the full text of Measure M and official arguments against it.
Every day kids are being left at school and parents have had to take off work to pick them up because of a shortage of bus drivers.
PVUSD Transportation Director Mark Verch says the district needs 75 drivers to complete all of its routes, but is currently short 21.
And even with the mechanics, fuelers, trainers and dispatchers taking shifts, there are school routes every day that go unfilled, leaving families scrambling to find ways to get their kids to school and home again, Verch says.
During its Jan. 24 meeting, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees approved a $1000 financial reward for anyone who recommends qualified bus drivers to take students to and from school, and on field trips.
That problem has been bedeviling PVUSD–along with districts across the U.S.–with the low pay and high cost of living driving people out of the industry.
“It really hurts, knowing those kids are going to have to find a different way home,” he says.
Another impact, he says, is on field trips.
The low numbers leave just five buses available every day to take kids on extracurricular trips, so one that involves all the fifth-graders from a school will fill that.
Teachers as a result must put in requests for field trip transportation months in advance.
“It’s on a first-come, first-served basis,” he said. “It hurts to reject a field trip, because that’s special for the kids. It’s all impacting the students. That’s what it comes down to.”
Verch says the problem stems largely from the pay, with hourly wages ranging from $19.68 to $25.11.
But the position also comes with a somewhat onerous application and certification process, which can take up to six months, and which makes California the strictest state to become a bus driver, he says.
This includes 20 hours of classroom work, and several written tests administered by the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Drivers must also go through 20 hours of on-the-road training under the tutelage of an instructor. But that can be hard when the instructors are busy covering shifts, Verch says.
“They’re all now having to take on these roles of filling the vacancies, including our supervisor who goes out and drives, which means they aren’t able to fill their duties. So their work is also suffering,” he says.
The requirements, he says, speak to the importance of the job.
“This is somebody’s child,” he says. “We want to make sure they are getting the best service and the best drivers out there to protect these students, so there are no accidents.”
Another challenge for school districts is the state law that mandates transportation for special education students, but not for those in general education. So during a shortage, priority for buses shifts to that population.
The shortage is not limited to PVUSD.
Santa Cruz City Schools spokesman Sam Rolens says that district is in somewhat better shape, with four unfilled positions and two who are in the hiring process.
Still, with pay for Santa Cruz Metro drivers ranging from $25.81-$35.93 per hour, the competition for qualified drivers can make retention a challenge.
“You have a lot of employers to choose from,” Rolens says. “We work hard to make sure that we’re being competitive with the Metro, but any time you’re in an industry where there are options, it’s hard.”
Across the U.S., the number of school bus drivers has steadily declined since the economic recession of 2009, when roughly 290,000 were employed, according to a November, 2023 study by the Economic Policy Institute. That number has decreased to 192,400.
PVUSD Superintendent Murry Schekman said that a pay increase would help address the problem. But such a proposal would be a big ask, since the unions representing teachers and school employees have “me-too” clauses in their contracts, which require that raises for any sector go to all employees.
“When you give a pay raise, it should go to everyone,” he says. “The benefits in PVUSD are so good that people stay when they see them, but I sure wish we paid better.”
Proposing pay increases could also be a hard sell for the cash-strapped district, which is facing enrollment decreases and subsequent loss of per-pupil funding.
What is your favorite go-to, good times restaurant?
Isai Rincon, 19, UCSC Game Design major
Betty Noodles on Front St near the Metro Center is where my friends and I go. For a while they were called Monster Pot. The pho is my favorite. —ISAI
Leah Leichty, 27, Face and body painter
Anywhere I can get some good sushi. I’m basic—poke, sashimi, sushi, anything fish, I love it. You can’t go wrong with a great rainbow roll. —LEAH
Bob Ertl, 55, Marketing
The Crow’s Nest is where we go the most. Laili on Cooper St is a great little restaurant for after an event Downtown. —BOB
Aurora Friedman, 21, UCSC Human Biology major
My friends and I like Kianti’s pizza and pasta bar. We’re broke college kids so it’s high-end for us. On weekends, they do fun dancing with pizza dough. I really like the jalapeno cheese bread and a salad. —AURORA
Jeff Aldrich, 47, X-ray laser science manager
It’s past now, but The Dolphin, for breakfasts every Christmas morning. Now, Café Palomar for breakfast and lunch. I go there and watch people play volleyball and see the boats go in and out of the harbor. —JEFF
Regina Kim, 19, and Vince Moreno, 19, UCSC computer science majors
We go home to be with family for big celebrations, but for here, Arslans Turkish Street Food is the best. We love the kabobs. —REGINA and VINCE
Pajaro Middle School has seen its share of setbacks in the past year.
First, there was the flood in March 2023 that brought mud and debris into the classrooms and forced closure of the school. It was the second time in the past three decades the school has flooded.
As a result of the most recent event, all 450 students were shifted to Lakeview Middle School, and to Ohlone and Hall District elementary schools.
But even before that calamity, the school’s athletic field was in need of an upgrade, with uneven playing surfaces and gopher holes to contend with.
So now, as workers begin the repairs that are expected to allow students to return to class in August, Pajaro Valley Unified School District has kicked off a campaign to raise the $1.5 million needed to install an artificial turf field.
The ongoing $4.6 million repairs–most of which is covered by state and federal relief funds–do not include the field.
In the meantime until the field can be built, the district will replace the grass to give the students a place to play.
Interim Superintendent Murry Schekman told the PVUSD Board of Trustees that he will help assure the field gets built.
My time in the district is limited, but if the money is not there, I’m going to hang around until we raise that money.”
Donations can be sent to 294 Green Valley Road, Watsonville, CA, to the attention of the Office of the
Superintendent. Checks should be made payable to the Pajaro Middle
School Field Fund. PVUSD’s Federal Tax ID will be shared with donating parties.
For information, or for a tour, call interim Superintendent Murry Schekman directly at 840-7675 or email mu************@***sd.net.
Permaculture is about permanent culture, and living on the planet as if we humans wanted to be permanent inhabitants here and thus want to ‘leave things better than we found it’ for future generations.
We are deluged with your comments about our article about the 59-unit housing project at the Food Bin site on Mission Street, which has no onsite parking.
By TODD GUILD and DREW PENNER
A man was killed in Boulder Creek after a tree crashed into his home, as winds pounded Santa Cruz County after several heavy rainstorms on Sunday.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff's spokeswoman Ashley Keehn identified the man as 45-year-old Robert Brainard III.
Deputies and firefighters responded around 3:30pm to a report of a tree that slammed into...
