Demanding Divestment

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May 8, 2024

After a late spring rain storm hit the area over the weekend, UC Santa Cruz students continued their protest of the Israel-Gaza war, occupying the University’s Quarry Plaza in an action meant to pressure the school into divesting from companies tied to Israel and U.S. weapons manufacturers.

The encampment sprung up May 1 and is being led by Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Santa Cruz (UCSC SJP), the local chapter of a larger network with a presence on college campuses across North America. The organization was founded at UC Berkeley in 1993.

Laaila, a second-year student and media liaison for UCSC SJP, said the encampment is an “amplification” of what SJP chapters across the nation have been doing for months, heeding the call from the national leadership of the organization.

“Part of that call was to encamp, to disrupt the daily lives of students and the campus and administration,” Laaila said.

The encampment is made up of mostly UCSC students.

Some U.S. politicians, university administrators and Jewish leaders have characterized the student protests as antisemitic. One of the demands on the group’s Instagram page asks that the University boycott Jewish groups such as “study abroad programs, fellowships, seminars, research collaborations, and universities. Cut ties with the Hellen Diller foundation, Koret foundation, Israel institute, and Hillel International.”

Hillel, represented at many colleges, is a Jewish educational, cultural, and social program for all students. The other organizations support Jewish life and Israel, similar to the NAACP or other organizations supporting minority rights.

Santa Cruz Hillel, in an Instagram post, had a nuanced response to the protest.

“We respect the students’ right to protest about causes they care deeply about and know Jewish students on campus have different feelings regarding this protest,” read part of the statement.

“Hillel’s motto is ‘all kinds of Jewish’ and we support all our Jewish students, now and in the future, while also expecting respect for one another, even when stakes are high and feelings are passionate,” the statement concluded.

The Israel-Gaza war is entering its seventh month, spurred on after Hamas militants led an attack on Israel’s southern border on Oct. 7. Around 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed that day, according to Israeli numbers. Hamas also took 250 hostages. The ensuing bombing campaign and incursion into the Gaza Strip by Israel has killed over 34,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Demonstrations have been held around the world against the Israeli response and the calls to boycott companies and institutions linked to Israel have increased. The core demands of many of the nationwide university protests have included divestment from Israel.

The student protests have been highly organized with support from various groups, including SJP and UC Divest.

UCSC SJP put out a statement on its social media accounts with a list of demands for University administration. Among them are calls for the “complete divestment from weapon-manufacturing companies and research collaborations with weapon manufacturing industries, including passive and active investment Blackrock,” according to the statement.

Blackrock Inc. is a multinational investment company and asset manager that handles investments for the University of California. The firm has a seven percent ownership stake in Lockheed Martin, an aerospace, arms, defense, information security and technology corporation which operates a facility in Bonny Doon.

Lockheed Martin has ongoing contracts with the U.S. military as well as the Israeli military, which was the first to acquire the company’s fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet.

The scene over the weekend at UCSC was starkly different from the chaotic images broadcast from Columbia University, UT Austin, UCLA and other campuses in the last weeks, as police in riot gear dispersed similar protests. There was no police presence observed at UCSC by this reporter.

Protestors allege that the University administration has installed surveillance cameras above the Bay Tree Bookstore to monitor the encampment.

Dozens of tents dotted the narrow passageway of Quarry Plaza as around 50 individuals—most wearing masks or face coverings—engaged in “de-escalation training” near the entrance to the plaza, led by a protester yelling instructions into a bullhorn.

Others milled around the encampment or remained inside tents, surrounded by Palestinian flags hanging above them off the wooden railings of the Student Union building. Organizers estimate that the number of protestors has reached close to 100 at times.

Laaila said that UCSC SJP has been in communication with University administrators and that the protestors have been asked to adhere to fire code regulations.

“We’ve been mostly adhering to [the regulations], but since we are growing they are expecting more and more from us,” she said.

Protestors at the Quarry Plaza are preparing for when the encampment is also dismantled.

“We know that they’ll eventually shut us down and we’re preparing for that, but this has been such a lovely community as well. We’re all here for the same thing, divestment. We’re all here for the anti-war movement,” Laaila said.

Some have interpreted the student protests against the war in Israel-Palestine as anti-Jewish, pointing to the rise in anti-Zionism on campus as equivalent to antisemitism.

Laaila noted that some counter protestors had made their way up to the encampment during the first nights of the occupation, and proceeded to take photos and video of the Quarry protestors. She also alleged that other counter protesters blared horns and revved the engines of their vehicles in the middle of the night.

Chabad on Campus at UCSC, an organization that serves as a “home away from home” to Jewish students, according to its website, sent out an email to students and affiliates on May 3 denouncing the Quarry encampment.

“It is heartbreaking to see the chaos and animosity brewing in the center of campus, and what’s worse, it is being disguised as or conflated with some form of social justice,” said the statement signed by Rabbi Shlomie Chein and Devorah Leah Chein, the director and executive vice president, respectively.

The demands that UCSC SJP listed in its social media statement have also been characterized as antisemitic.

An Instagram account with the handle antisemitismtoday, which reports “antisemitism in the news and social media,” according to its page description, shared a post to its page last weekend referencing UCSC SJP’s demand for the academic boycott. The account has nearly 64,000 followers.

“This isn’t about Israel. This is about purging Jews from campus,” read part of the post.

In response to these and other similar allegations, Laaila said she invites the community to come to the Quarry Plaza, meet the protestors, and see that they are not promoting hate. She notes that there are many Jewish students within the encampment.

“It is so devastating to hear these types of quotes without people understanding why we’re out here,” Laaila said.

University spokesperson Scott Jason-Hernandez in an email statement did not directly respond to specific questions regarding coordination with police to dismantle the encampment, nor about the administration’s communication with the protestors.

“The continued safety and well-being of our students and employees remains our highest priority. We also continue to support free expression while ensuring that our teaching and research mission continues unabated,” Jason-Hernandez said.

The University currently has no plans to cancel its commencement ceremonies, which will be held from June 14 to 17. Columbia, USC and Emory University have all canceled their graduation ceremonies due to the protests. An author interview with Hernan Diaz on May 19 at the Quarry Amphitheatre has been moved to avoid conflict with the demonstration. The new location hasn’t been announced yet.

Wetlands to Mountains

Todd Guild

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May 8, 2024

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Aptos resident Laura Dover-Smith was walking on a trail in Watsonville’s sloughs on her lunch break one sunny Wednesday, an activity she tries to do daily.

She says the walk affords her views of wildlife, but also gives her a respite from the bustling city nearby.

“We are lucky to have this gem right here,” she says. “More people should take advantage of this.”

To her dismay, she also often sees trash throughout the area. This includes detritus such as food wrappers and empty drink containers. She has found old car tires and, once, an old microwave.

On May 11, Dover-Smith will join hundreds of people for the first-of-its-kind Santa Cruz County Cleanup Day.

The event, officially called the Pitch-In Initiative, was created by the Trash Talkers Coalition, a sizable group made up of nonprofits, governmental and law enforcement agencies and others.

Sally-Christine Rodgers, who spearheaded the group two years ago, says she saw numerous organizations addressing the issue of litter, but few of them collaborated with each other.

Now, the group has monthly meetings, during which members hone the ways in which they deal with the problem of litter.

“I feel like we live in the most beautiful place on the planet, and I’m just getting tired of seeing all the litter and garbage,” Rodgers says. “We’re allowing trash and litter and cigarette butts to contaminate not only our natural areas, but our psyche. It’s a bummer to see trash all over the place, and it’s time we did something about it.”

Among other things the group has placed “Pitch-In” signs around the county.

“Our goal is to have those signs be our brand to highlight the issue, but also educate and act as a deterrent for people littering,” she says.

They have also installed cameras in north and south county to catch litterers and seek prosecution for illegal dumping.

“It’s not rocket science. It’s just that we have become complacent,” Rodgers says. “People litter frequently; there is illegal dumping all over the county.”

It is also a chance to venture into the harder-to-reach places in the county’s natural areas, says Jonathan Pilch, director of Watsonville Wetlands Watch (WWW), which has been part of Trash Talkers since its inception.

“The May 11 event is a really incredible opportunity for the community to get together to do a countywide cleanup and take care of our environment in a much more significant way,” he says.

For WWW’s part, two Pajaro Valley High School students are leading efforts to involve their fellow Grizzlies in cleaning up Harkins and Struve sloughs.

Senior Jaquelin Jeronimo, 17, says she sees many people leave their lunch trash around the campus. But that problem could ease if they participate in the cleanup.

“I feel like they don’t understand what they’re doing, and they don’t care,” she says. “I think doing this makes them care a lot more.”

Junior Gilberto Carrillo, 17, agrees.

“They don’t know to do better,” he says. “They need to be informed.”

Carrillo’s involvement with WWW has already inspired him.

“I feel like getting more involved in my community,” he says. “I want to do more.”

Rayland Baxter Flys into Rio Theatre for May 14 Concert

Music

sstreet

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May 8, 2024

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Rayland Baxter Flys into Rio Theatre for May 14 Concert

Rayland Baxter maps melodies like a hopeful scout surveying an ever-expanding territory of sound. A legacy artist (his late father Bucky Baxter was a multi-faceted guitarist whose resume includes Steve Earle & The Dukes, Bob Dylan, and the Beastie Boys among others), Baxter managed to avoid the lure of the stage for nearly the first three decades of his life, instead focusing on athletics and outdoor pursuits before answering the call.

The proverbial duck to water, Baxter glided onto the scene with 2012’s Feathers & Fish Hooks with subsequent offerings Imaginary Man (2015) and Wide Awake (2018) plumbing sonic and lyrical depths, and in 2019, Rayland paid tribute to Mac Miller with the largely self-produced Good Mornin’, a leg-stretcher of an EP that heralded his next evolutionary bender, his current album If I Were a Butterfly.

Gestating across a pattern of pre-COVID months and into the thick of the pandemic and beyond, Baxter’s Bufferfly manipulates genre and sound reminiscent of final-phase Beatles and ever-chimerical Bowie. It’s a mixtape of the artist’s life, a reach back and hurl forward that comes across equal parts adventure and therapy, and like the titular lepidopteran, chronicles Baxter’s “becoming.”

“That’s what we’re doing,” said Baxter during a recent early afternoon phone call, a woodpecker keeping time in the background. “Fifteen years ago, I was living in Israel with my dad’s best friend and he was kind of like my mentor of songwriting as a listener and a fan. All he had was Bob Dylan DVDs and Leonard Cohen DVDs and albums, and that Bob Dylan documentary where he says, ‘An artist is always in a state of becoming.’ Zooming out, a human, we’re all becoming—even on our deathbed. There’s always the next chapter.”

For this installment, Baxter set up hearth and shop in Franklin, Kentucky at Thunder Sound Studios. Then came the pandemic.

With no prospect of touring and no immediate call from his label, ATO, to issue an album, Baxter found an opportunity at Thunder Sound Studios to indulge in a dream recording experience for If I Were a Butterfly.

“It was at the third phase of it when I was there for a year, where the Swayze family rented me the studio for very cheap,” recalled Baxter, referencing the family of songwriter Billy Swayze, who founded the studio in 2016 and sadly died in a 2019 auto accident.

“There was no time limit, and coming out of it, that was ideal incubation for an artist of any kind, whether you’re a chef, a painter, musician, or a mechanic. All of these things were at my fingertips and I was allowed to become more of a defined me in that time,” he explained. “It’s the first record I’ve made where I leaned on myself a lot, thanks to the encouragement of guys like Shakey Graves and my friend Wes Schultz in the Lumineers and my dad. I love recording with producers, but this was my time to do this thing, and just be with my friends, the other producers, Kai Welch and Tim O’Sullivan—my buddies! There was no pressure.”

Highlights among Butterfly’s 10 tracks include the Tom Waits-ish and autobiographical “Tadpole,” the almost Gregorian “Violence,” the “Sgt, Pepper-y” “Dirty Knees” (with its trumpet and claim that “the heart is a beautiful instrument”) and the deceptive funk of “Buckwheat,” a master blend of strange poetry, cadence, and commentary.

For those curious to how Baxter intends to carry the mosaic of If I Were a Butterfly on tour, the artist himself admits to the challenge, but he also embraces it.

“I knew that it was going to be a little tricky when I was making the album. To really pull off that album live, to sound similar and present it as though it is the album happening, I would need 12 people in the band,” said Baxter. “[But] a song should exist in all forms. It should exist as a poetry reading, a chapter in a book, the President of the United States should be able to read it and it makes sense to somebody, or with a symphony and anything in between. It might sound a little different than the record, but it’s going to pump in a whole new way.”

As far as how the songs fit around the rest of Baxter’s catalog, new and longtime fans can expect an experience curated for the moment.

“I got all colors of the spectrum in a set from “Feathers & Fish Hooks” and “Willy’s Song”—it’s almost too much at points. Some nights, we’ve got to lean a little heavier on the quieter stuff, and some nights we want to take “Young Man” and play it for 20 minutes. “If I Were a Butterfly,” usually, we start the set with that song,” Baxter said. “It’s a whole new thing like coming out of the cocoon.”

Rayland Baxter plays May 14 at 8pm at the Rio Theatre. Tickets are $29.50. Advance tickets at etix.com.

Salinas River Beach State Park Hike

Take a Hike with Richard Stockton

sstreet

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May 8, 2024

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During my brief running phase, I ran in the Santa Cruz to Capitola Wharf to Wharf Race. I was dead last. The guy who was right in front of me, second to last, starts making fun of me.

“Hey buddy, how does it feel to be last back there?”

I said, “You really want to know what it feels like to be last?”

And I drop out of the race.

“Walking is not a sport. Putting one foot in front of the other is child’s play. When walkers meet, there is no result, no time … walking is the best way to go more slowly than any other method that has ever been found”
—French philosopher Frédéric Gros, Philosophy of Walking.

Many people want to walk fast, it’s the main thing. When we’re driving, it might seem reasonable to make good time. In a speeding car, the world looks general. It’s not until we join the land, one step at a time, that it becomes particular. I’m deeply impressed by people who can hike 20 miles or more in one day. That’s not what I’m after; I’m after these friends. The lesson today is to find our slowness. Today is about what mysteries happen when we lollygag.

Slow Walking, Soul Talking

In this day when every possible experience gets a Yelp rating, when there is a fee attached to everything short of breathing, hiking offers the most incredible deal imaginable: free travel. It gets even better. Take a hike and when you’re done, you’re somewhere else.

Sleepy John Sandidge is El Jefe of our group and leads us to Salinas River State Beach. We drive south on Highway 1 past Moss Landing.

Sleepy John Sandidge, Ben Rice and I will be joined by half a dozen friends. In terms of life path, it is a motley group. There will be the retired judge, the retired lawyer, the retired dentist, the retired newspaper publisher, and on the other hand there is me and Sleepy John. The difference is that the haves never speak about their millions of dollars, while Sleepy John and I never stop talking about our hundreds. I ride with Sleepy John on the way down to Salinas River Beach.

I say, “Sleepy John, do you consider yourself retired?”

“Definitely. I just can’t figure out from what.”

“Well, you did retire from your Please Stand By live radio show. A 1,650-show-run on KPIG is a lot to retire from.”

“True. It’s amazing what little impact ending that show had on my income. You?”

“I don’t think the word ‘retired’ applies to me. I’ve been looking for work since Covid.”

“I think that is called ‘unemployed.’ But hiking is kind of your new job. You’re making money right now. Right?”

“Big bucks. Tens of dollars.”

Sleepy John and I break into a duet to the tune of “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits.

“Hiking for nothing, ticks for free.”

Doctors will tell you, “If you’ve seen one 80-year-old, you’ve seen one 80-year-old.” This Nov. 1, Sleepy John Sandidge will turn 85. Here he is picking up trash on Salinas River Beach. He is an inspiration to those of us who aspire to become a tough old coot.

Blown Off Course

From the parking lot, we walk out a sand pathway that opens to the beach.

We are mystified to find thousands of stranded, four-inch-long, blue, mussel-like creatures that have a sail-like membrane on top. We Google them and find they are Velella velella, tiny colonies of organisms with a clear fin sticking out the top and tentacles dangling down. This free-floating hydrozoan lives on the surface of the open ocean, and are also called sea raft, by-the-wind sailor, purple sail, or little sail.

Sleepy John Sandidge and Jeanne Howard photograph stranded Velella.

Anya Stajner, from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, says, “Though they look like one organism, velella are colonies of creatures from a class called hydrozoa. They spend most of their lives out in the open ocean, searching the water column below them with tentacles that sting fish larvae or zooplankton, but are harmless to humans. One part of the colony is responsible for eating, another for reproduction. Each by-the-wind sailor is a colony of all-male or all-female polyps.”

We walk through thousands of them on the beach, like a stranded blue tide. As much as I like to blame climate change for everything, these critters are not jumping out of a burning forest to get stranded on the beach. Their fixed sail limits their navigation to tacking with a 45-degree angle with the wind, and sometimes the wind just takes them too close to the shore and waves wash them up onto the sand. The lines of dying animals are inches deep and go for miles.

Richard Stockton finds affordable housing at last.

And the final word from Frédéric Gros, “To walk, you need to start with two legs, the rest is optional.”

I recommend Salinas River Beach State Park for lollygagging with friends. We found soft sand, and beach shoes work. There are porta-potty opportunities along the way and beautiful ocean views and dunes with stunning vegetation. It’s not so much of a hike as a great beach walk. Saw a guy fishing and met some gregarious state workers setting up ropes to protect the nesting area of the western snowy plovers. I found the cutest snowy plover video on earth.

How To Get There: Take Highway 1 south, past Moss Landing, turn right on Potrero Road, cross the bridge and the free parking lot is there. Haute Enchilada has gotten crazy expensive, but there is Phil’s Snack Shack & Deli with outdoor seating and awesome sandwiches nearby. They carry stacks of Good Times for your reading while eating pleasure.

Things to do in Santa Cruz

Things To Do This Week

GT Staff

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May 8, 2024

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THURSDAY

ROCK

FLACO EL JANDRO

It’s hard not to fall in love with the mixture of irreverence and beauty that Flaco el Jandro brings to the world. A Chicano songwriter based in Salinas, he and his band Los Perros Callejeros have a gritty yet gorgeous mixture of rock, vintage boleros, punk and cumbia going on. The local legend has recently seen national attention, having been selected to perform at last year’s NPR Tiny Desk Contest On The Road Tour. It’s a great time to see this artist on the rise. Just beware: Flaco el Jandro can really deliver a love song. ADDIE MAHMASSANI

INFO: 8pm, Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

THURSDAY

FOLK

JAMIE DRAKE

Jamie Drake pulls from various strands of folk and, in her latest work, some bossa nova influences. Her music is deeply emotional and ranges in tone, yet each song connects with different aspects of the human experience. Songs explore a myriad of simple and complex feelings, such as processing guilt while maintaining hope or how to keep the childlike wonder of the world. Her music tells her story while giving space for the audience to reflect on their own experiences. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE

INFO: 8pm, Lille Aeske, 13160 Highway 9, Boulder Creek. $25/adv, $30/door. 703-4183.

FRIDAY

ELECTRONIC

CLAIRE ROUSAY

Combining ambient sounds found in nature with noises that occur every day of our lives (jangling car keys, for example), Claire Rousay earns her title as an experimental musician. Her vocals are auto-tuned and edited to create a muffled but powerful energy, not unlike the sound that a muzzled wild animal might make while dreaming of escaping its cage. Droning combined with pop-song energy is just a part of what Rousay delivers; she captures a certain kind of morose eroticism in her music, the kind that any artistic twenty-something might feel mired in—or sanctified by. JESSICA IRISH

INFO: 8:30pm, Indexical, 1050 River St. #119, Santa Cruz. $16. 627-9491.

FRIDAY

INDIE

CAROLINE ROSE

Like all great artists worth their value, Caroline Rose took a series of heartbreaks and life-transforming moments and processed everything the only way they knew how: through writing. The result is a therapeutic collection of somber and introspective songs more reflective than their previous pop-influenced indie rock work. It treads lightly through heavy subjects of self-loathing, depression, loss and moving on, with voicemails of hope and love left by Rose’s grandmother sprinkled throughout the album. Rose’s live performance of this material will probably be as vulnerable and breathtaking as the record itself. MAT WEIR

INFO: 8pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $31.50-$105. 423-8209.

SATURDAY

MUSEUM

HISTORIC LANDMARK BLUE PLAQUE AWARDS

Anyone strolling around downtown Santa Cruz and its surrounding neighborhoods might notice something about the houses in the area: not only are they sweeping, beautiful Victorian and Edwardian mansions recalling the glory days of horse-drawn carriages, but they also have little blue plaques attached to their entrances. Those plaques denote buildings of historical significance, and a few new ones will be bestowed this very weekend. Buildings of a certain age have stories to tell, so guest speakers will share their knowledge of Santa Cruz’s legendary architecture while this new round of plaques is distributed. Huzzah! JI

INFO: 1pm, Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. Free. 429-1964.

SATURDAY

BRASS

REBIRTH BRASS BAND

Inspired by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s progressive, high-energy sound, brothers Phillip and Keith Frazier (along with trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and other classmates from Joseph S. Clark High School in New Orleans) founded Rebirth in 1983. Arhoolie Records released Rebirth’s debut album a year later, drawing critical raves. The constantly touring street ensemble has become one of the great brass bands of the modern era, updating NOLA’s traditional second-line music with funk, jazz, soul and hip-hop elements. Mission Delirium opens the show. DAN EMERSON

INFO: 8pm, Felton Music Hall, 6275 Highway 9, Felton. $32/adv, $37/door. 704-7113.

SUNDAY

CLASSICAL

SONGS OUR MOTHERS TAUGHT US

Music is one of the most versatile art forms, whether made for entertainment or pulling every emotional string until the listener breaks. It also acts as a record of humanity, with different styles and genres representing various periods. This Sunday, Mariposa Cafe and Santa Cruz’s Musical Soulmates present Songs Our Mothers Taught Us, a matinee of crafted beverages, specialty foods and music spanning time and the globe. Movements by Beethoven will be paired with music by Ethiopian nun Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou. Poetry by Lyla June and Santa Cruz’s Danusha Lameris will complement the music of African American composer Carlos Simon and many more. MW

INFO: 3pm, Mariposa Coffee Bar, 1010 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 316-3026.

MONDAY

BLUES

CHRIS CAIN BAND

Growing up in San Jose, singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Cain immersed himself in the blues music coming from his father’s stereo. He took up guitar at the precocious age of eight and became a pro ten years later. Cain’s 1987 debut album won four Blues Music Award nominations, and he went on to win many more awards. Signing with the top blues label Alligator Records took him to new heights with his album Raisin’ Cain. Cain’s bluesy guitar and vocal style mark him as a disciple of the late B.B. King (like many other players). DE

INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St. $31.50/adv, $36.75/door. 427-2227.

TUESDAY

INDIE

ALVVAYS

Canadian indie power pop dreams come true this Tuesday as Alvvays makes its jangly, shoegaze-y way to the Catalyst stage. With lead vocalist and guitarist Molly Rankin bringing beautiful melodies, the band is a pure emotional force guaranteed to bring tears to many an eye and comfort to many a heart. Their album Blue Rev marked a triumphant step forward in their evolution, with the single “Belinda Says” scoring them their first Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Performance. Upon its release, Pitchforkdescribed the album as “one last dizzying teenage reverie before early-onset adulthood.” AM

INFO: 8pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $32/adv, $37/door. 713-5492.

Letters

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

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May 8, 2024

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HIKE AWAY

I found the reactions that were printed about the first Take a Hike column were over the top and clearly triggered individuals. I found the article about beach access to be fair and accurate. Stockton did not take a picture of the “Karen” or give any information that would personally identify her.

He talked about the situation in a general way and who the average person in that community blocking beach access was. Stockton discussed an issue that is very much “up” for our community to look at.

The term Karen is an archetype that we all need to check ourselves on having. Although I feel sorry for people whose name is Karen and was relieved that my name wasn’t chosen for this “archetype,” it is similar to calling someone a Pinocchio or a Goldilocks. We all have an understanding of that archetype.

And though Alex may think he has “no skin in the game” … I heard a lot of ego raging in his response. Let’s all take a breath here and go for a hike. And letting your small dog off the leash at the beach with multiple friends around, is that really a big offense?

Peggy Sullivan | Santa Cruz

CANNABIS DEBATE

I saw that in the most recent email to readers, the Good Times began with a statement of support for the new location of The Hook dispensary, and I was a bit concerned that the assertion that this dispensary was “started by WAMM” may confuse readers.

The incoming business is a commercial dispensary, an expansion of the ownership which runs The Hook’s two outlets (in Capitola and Watsonville) and the Treehouse in Soquel. It is true that in order to open a dispensary in the city of Santa Cruz, the owner purchased WAMM’s license, and it is certainly wonderful that The Hook’s ownership will continue to allow WAMM’s clients to receive medicinal cannabis from all the outlets they run, but I worry it may be misleading to characterize this business only on the basis of WAMM’s license since that will be a minor part of the business’ operations.

Apart from anything else, I’m sure our teachers and parents would want to make it clear they are not at all taking a stance in opposition to WAMM, who has done such amazing and life-saving work for decades.

I also know that the stance of teachers at Santa Cruz High have taken many people by surprise in our community, so I would love to offer access for interviews if you would like to learn more. I know it has proven divisive. I certainly do not expect to convince everyone that teachers’ and counselors’ concerns override the interests of this business which has met city requirements, but I would be happy to help demystify their position.

Sam Rolens

Chief of Communication & Community Engagement

Santa Cruz City Schools

The Editor’s Desk

Letters to the Editor

Brad Kava

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May 8, 2024

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Santa Cruz California editor of good times news media print and web — **Brad Kava** | Good Times Editor

As I hear stories about people leaving Santa Cruz for more affordable housing, I think about my walk downtown last Friday night.

The first thing I saw was a giant line of bicyclists, the controversial Critical Mass group, known for blocking traffic to encourage others to ride. I didn’t see them blocking anything. It looked like fun.

Next thing I saw was a parade of people dressed in animal costumes, known as Furries. There were giant chipmunks, squirrels and all sorts of critters. I talked to an organizer who told me they march and hang out once a month.

Then I caught a fantastic a capella group outside the O’Neill shop. Over at the Vets Hall there were two simultaneous concerts: a bunch of throbbing punk bands you could hear from blocks away and hip-hop artist Stunna Girl. I didn’t hear her, but the crowd waiting to get in was one of the best dressed groups anywhere. They looked like they were in NYC.

There was also a funk/soul band playing outside at Abbott Square and art exhibits all over town for First Friday. One of the exhibits I saw was a packed house of portraits by and of unhoused people.

I’ve lived in some of those places with more affordable housing, and none of them had the diversity, originality, artisticness and downright creative spark that I see here on almost any given night.

I’ve been to so many towns where the music was just another cover band, doing classic rock songs that were as bland and boring as oatmeal. I don’t know any town our size or much, much bigger (hello, San Jo) that has so much innovation and creativity.

On nights like this I think the cost of living here is high, but it’s worth it.

That said, this issue features a big local cultural event centered on literature, called Deep Reads, covered by New York Times writer and book author Steve Kettmann. And speaking of big names, last week I caught best-selling writer Jonathan Franzen spinning tales and discs on radio station KSQD (90.7-FM). That was a keeper.

Wellness columnist Elizabeth Borelli has a great feature this week about how Santa Cruz is one of the happiest cities in the world and should be a “blue zone” city, one with healthy people living longer lives. I agree.

So how much is happiness worth? That is the question.

Thanks for reading.

Brad Kava | Editor

PHOTO CONTEST

SUNDOWN Sunset at Santa Maria Beach in Live Oak. Photograph by Cristy Norian

GOOD IDEA

With a spirit of resilience and a commitment to community health and safety, Ayo Banjo and the Santa Cruz County Black Health Matters Initiative are pleased to announce the Santa Cruz Cookout. This vibrant community event takes place 2–5pm Saturday at DeLaveaga Park. The Santa Cruz Cookout is a call to come together in support and joy, to recognize the beauty of Black culture, and to contribute to a future where everyone is empowered to thrive.

GOOD WORK

Over the last 31 years, Play It Again Sports in Soquel has kept a quarter of a million sporting goods out of the landfill and on the field, court, rink, etc. Locally owned, the store is integral to families looking to sell and buy used equipment, such as baseball bats, which these days can sell for $350 to $500 new, but can be had for $20 here. “We see a lot of sticker shock,” says co-owner Andrew Frankl. “It’s fun and fulfilling to see people get something more appropriate for their needs. Our tracking system registered a quarter million items and we thought that was something to celebrate.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Nationalism is an infantile thing.

It is the measles of mankind.”

―Albert Einstein

Basket Case

Dining Reviews

Mark Davey

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May 8, 2024

0

The Fancy Pants Grilled Cheese now feels more at home.

That tasty melt with sweet chili jam on Companion Bakeshop bread is one of the attentively assembled hits at the Picnic Basket (125 Beach St., Santa Cruz), which is about to celebrate a month since its rebirth-remodel-expansion made it more fancy, but also more welcoming and practical.

The overall footprint covers about twice the size of the previous Picnic Basket, with a bevy of big windows letting in ample natural light.

A second service counter focuses on gourmet coffee and Penny Ice Creamery treats from PB’s sister company, including triple scoops, milkshakes, affogatos and root beer floats.

A flexed-up grab-and-go inventory presents everything from coconut chia seed pudding to chicken-salad croissants to bowls like the Santa Cruz with edamame, citrus, mango, cucumber, avocado, toasted seeds, sunflower sprouts and baby spinach with a house vinaigrette.

And an evolved marketplace section presents sundries like Happy Girl Kitchen pickles, Birichino wines and all the Santa Cruz craft beers—Fruition, Santa Cruz Mountain, Humble Sea, Corralitos, Sante Adarius, Discretion—a local connoisseur could crave.

“Everybody’s got a place on the shelf,” co-owner Zach Davis says.

Meanwhile, improved indoor-outdoor seating and order-ahead optionality make enjoying the Basket’s list of favorites easier, whether it’s the signature PB Reuben with Premiere pastrami and Sonoma Brinery kraut or the roasted beet sandwich with lemony chickpea spread, almond butter, pickled red onions and field-fresh lettuces.

In short, a community favorite built around the simple aim of “good food made with love” just got that much fresher.

thepicnicbasketsc.com

CLEAN JERK

One of the cooler homegrown foodie companies in Santa Cruz—which is saying something, but that is no hyperbole—is offering an intriguing way to earn a discount. Pescavore’s smoked tuna jerky, in all its wild-caught and sustainable glory, comes at 10 percent off for those willing to make a pledge to eat seafood twice a week. Pescavore’s website makes the pitch for why such a pledge a good idea, shouting out the health benefits (Vitamin D! Omega-3 fatty acids!) and environmental upside of responsibly fished seafood (Fewer fossil fuels! Reduced land impacts!). The kicker: The island teriyaki, smoked poke and Caribbean jerk strip packs are flat-out tasty, and convenient to pack along in your lucky lunchbox. pescavoreseafood.com

SALIENT SIPS

Starting July 1, under California SB 478, restaurants will no longer be able to charge service fees and will instead have to build those charges into its menu prices…Khushbu Shah, food writer and author of Amrikan: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora visits Bookshop Santa Cruz on June 23 for a free talk, register at bookshopsantacruz.com…Hop N’ Barley Beer Festival will be back at Skypark in Scotts Valley come July 13, with two stages of live music, food vendors, outdoor games and dozens of local craft breweries, benefiting the Homeless Garden Project, hopnbar.webflow.io…Summer intensives cometh at Permaculture Santa Cruz, focusing on intro and advanced design, santacruzpermaculture.com…A hero named Tom Gilbey went viral for pausing his run of London Marathon at each mile to take down a healthy pour of a mystery wine before guessing its varietal, vintage and region…Take us home Galileo Galilei: “Wine is sunlight held together by water.”

Midtown Meal

Foodie File

Andrew Steingrube

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May 8, 2024

1

Born and raised in China, Lorry Chen immigrated to the United States three years ago and started working at the Poki Bowl in Midtown two months ago. Now on his third restaurant job, he previously was a server at two other Chinese restaurants. He says America is the number one country in the world because of the people, the technology and, most importantly, for the main reason he moved here: freedom.

Chen says China’s government banned his social media account, and he was inspired to pack up his life, leave everything he knew and move across the world for the right to express himself freely. He settled in Santa Cruz, and says the community is good here and that the weather is similar to where he grew up in China, which reminds him of home.

Poki Bowl, open every day from 11:30am-8:30pm for take-out and limited on-site dining, offers simple but wonderful décor with lots of yellows and reds, Chen says. Bowls, of course, headline the menu and come in three different sizes. Choices include standard salmon and tuna, as well as unagi, chicken, shrimp and ham, and multiple combinations. Chen says his personal favorite dish is the ramen, a classic soup noodle dish with chicken, shrimp, egg and vegetables. Poki Bowl also has small-plate appetizers like savory/salty miso soup, kimchee, and seaweed salad. Dessert highlights are green tea cheesecake and mochi ice cream.

How has your immigration journey been?

LORRY CHEN: It was a little bit challenging because I don’t speak English very well, but I am improving. I will say that I really love the people here; they are very kind and friendly. And I also like the natural environment. We have so many trees, and the air is so fresh. In China, there are so many factories and so much pollution, but here the air is so clean and I feel so much healthier.

What do you love about the food at Poki Bowl?

LC: It is all very fresh and we have secret sauces that are made here. Some are spicy and some are sweet, and they really make the food taste a lot better. And we get fresh fish, like salmon and tuna, delivered daily—and get very fresh vegetables too.

1121 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, 831-600-8313; thepokibowlsc.com

Character Advancement

A&E

Mat Weir

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May 8, 2024

1

Sometimes life’s biggest chances come down to just a roll of the dice. Especially when that chance is on GAME Santa Cruz, the city’s first gaming cafe.

GAME—which stands for Games And Merriment Emporium—opens this month at 1101 Cedar St. (in the old Tabby Cat/Cafe Bene building).

Patrons can grab a cup of coffee and a slice of pie, and sit down with old, or soon-to-be, friends to play one of the over 300 tabletop games in the cafe’s eclectic library. Not just confined to traditional board games, tabletop games also include genres like role-playing games (or RPGs, e.g. Dungeons & Dragons) and card games.

While there’s already a couple places in the county for people to congregate and play—like Mythic Games, which caters to tabletop miniatures and Magic the Gathering, or Sword and Board in the Capitola Mall—GAME will provide the downtown gaming community a place to sit, eat, drink and play games that have come out in the last decade.

The idea came to Westly Pannell, an avid gamer himself, one late night while watching YouTube.

“As someone who runs a board gaming community, I wanted to share my love of board games,” he says. “So how do I get board games to people who normally don’t play?”

The algorithm suggested a page called Snakes & Lattes, North America’s largest board game bar, with locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

“And I thought, ‘I could do that,’” Pannell remembers.

He had already been selling tabletop games out of a downtown video game shop since 2015, using tip money from his then bartending gig to pay for inventory. What started with a shelf grew to a 9-by-12-foot section.

Pannell has also hosted a weekly game night since 2014, when he and friends would gather on the porch of the deeply missed Cafe Pergolesi.

“For people under the age of 21 and who don’t have a lot of money, where do they go?” he asks of downtown Santa Cruz. “Especially with the loss of Pergs, Logos and the open spaces we used to have.”

That’s where GAME comes in.

Players can rent one of the four smaller tables (which seat four) at $28 for two hours or the main table (which seats six to eight) at $42 for two hours. That’s about $7 per person. For games that take longer to play—like RPGs—players will be able to rent tables in four-hour blocks for $60.

For inexperienced gamers, or those wanting to try something new, GAME will host tutorial nights regularly. For the more experienced players, tournaments are definitely in the cards.

“I think his idea is awesome and it’s a good location,” says Eric Schmidt, a local RPG enthusiast and gamemaster.

Along with his friend, storyteller and gamer Matt Steele, Schmidt hosts the Gamer Gaggle, a salon-style gathering for tabletop role-playing fans to meet. There’s no gaming at the Gaggle; instead, its purpose is to introduce gamers to one another in hopes of forming new friendships and more game nights.

They started the Gaggle (which meets every second Saturday of the month from 2 to 4pm at Abbott Square) out of the necessity to fill a void.

“Over the past few years we’ve observed there isn’t really a good, connected gaming community here,” Steele explains.

“We’re friends who get together to talk about gaming, but it’s always better to have more people in the conversation. It’s also more interesting to have different perspectives. We really missed that in-person ability to sit down and geek out with someone.”

For those on the go, the cafe part of GAME serves gourmet coffee and espresso drinks from a rotating list of different premier roasting companies. Add on a slice of pie—or a savory hand pie—made by Edith’s Pies in Oakland, owned and operated by ex-Santa Cruzan Mike Raskin. Vegetarian and gluten-free options will also be available.

Along with selling new versions of the titles in its library, GAME also sells all the shiny, collectible accouterments like dice and miniatures.

However, don’t expect titles like WarHammer, Magic the Gathering or Cards Against Humanity. While GAME does carry competitive games, many in the collection are cooperative or solitary in nature.

Take Wingspan, a massively popular 2019 card-driven, engine-building game created by Elizabeth Hargrave with breathtaking art by Natalia Rojas. Over a course of four rounds, players accumulate resources to build habitats to collect different birds (all based on real-life species). It’s competitive in that everyone competes to win, but instead of screwing over one’s opponents, players are focused on their own hand.

For those who think the game industry is dead, think again.

According to ForbesBusinessInsights.com, the board game industry accounted for $13.06 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $32 billion by 2032. Gaming cafes add to this increase, along with more popularity among Gen Z and millennials than previous generations, and—of course—the 2020 lockdowns.

And other factors are in play for the rise in tabletop popularity.

Like Wingspan and Sleeping Gods, many of today’s games are multiple moves away from seminal but antiquated ones like Monopoly. Crowdfunding sites, such as Kickstarter, make it easier for independent creators to fund their ideas with an already-built-in market.

Last year Kickstarter reported a collective $226 million raised for tabletop game projects.

But before anyone skips a turn and gets in trouble, Pannell ultimately believes the life of GAME all comes down to having fun.

“The focus will be on the experience,” he states. “Every game that goes on the shelf is vetted. We play-test it before we sell it.”

PULL QUOTE:

“As someone who runs a board gaming community, I wanted to share my love of board games. So how do I get board games to people who normally don’t play?” Westly Pannell

Good TimesGood Times

Good TimesGood Times

Pesticide Reality Tour

Framing the Band

High Art

Playing Live

The Editor’s Desk

Letters

Brew Chew

Baby Food

Demanding Divestment

Wetlands to Mountains

Rayland Baxter Flys into Rio Theatre for May 14 Concert

Salinas River Beach State Park Hike

Slow Walking, Soul Talking

Blown Off Course

Things to do in Santa Cruz

Letters

The Editor’s Desk

PHOTO CONTEST

GOOD IDEA

GOOD WORK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Basket Case

Midtown Meal

Character Advancement

Demanding Divestment

Wetlands to Mountains

Rayland Baxter Flys into Rio Theatre for May 14 Concert

Salinas River Beach State Park Hike

Things to do in Santa Cruz

Letters

The Editor’s Desk

Basket Case

Midtown Meal

Character Advancement