Page 208 – Good Times

Firing Santa Cruz Fairgrounds CEO Causes Backlash

Local News

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February 7, 2023

Firing Santa Cruz Fairgrounds CEO Causes Backlash

Nearly 100 people filled the Fine Arts Building at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Tuesday to attend the Fair’s Board of Directors meeting.

While Fair Board meetings don’t normally draw a large audience—former CEO Dave Kegebein says some days saw nobody in attendance—a growing number have been coming since Oct. 4, when the Board voted 7-2 to fire Kegebein.

Many community members question the move, and say the Fairgrounds’ books began to show a healthy, positive balance under Kegebein’s leadership for the first time in more than a decade.

Kegebein says the institution’s books were “upside down” when he started in 2012, and showed a $2 million balance when he was fired.

Don Dietrich, who took the reins after Kegebein’s termination, says the decision to fire Kegebein came after an audit by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). The audit showed that Kegebein charged 850 expenditures to a state-issued credit card, totaling $108,869, for “various purchases that were personal in nature, unjustified and/or not supported with a receipt or a vendor invoice.”

But many question the report’s validity, saying the audit—and the move to fire Kegebein—was part of an effort by the state to take over the Fairgrounds. Kegebein also says he did not have a chance to respond to the audit before the board took action.

He says that the state is targeting its county fairgrounds to be converted into “resiliency centers” and used for emergencies, such as the homelessness crisis.

“People need to be engaged with what’s happening in the Fair industry, because there are more and more signs that the people from the state intend to repurpose these fairgrounds from what the community has known them as,” Kegebein says. “If communities don’t stand up and defend their fairgrounds, they are going to be real surprised at the outcome.”

But CDFA Deputy Secretary Michael Flores says that the community does not need to worry about losing their fairgrounds.

He says that Santa Cruz County Fair is one of 17 fairgrounds that stand to benefit from a $96 million package of money from the CDFA, intended to help them become emergency centers complete with industrial kitchens and other infrastructure.

When not in use as resiliency centers, Flores says, the kitchens can be used as business incubators, similar to El Pajaro CDC in Watsonville, which holds several small food businesses.

This happened at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds in Eureka, where a pie maker and a cider company set up successful businesses.

Flores points out that annual county fairs are just one event out of the year.

“The rest of the year, CEOs and fair managers are looking to generate revenue,” he says.

The Directors who cast the dissenting votes against Kegebein’s termination—Jody Belgard and Loretta Estrada—were abruptly fired about two weeks later during a phone call from the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Former Watsonville Mayor Dennis Osmer reckons their firing was retribution for voting against the termination.

“In total, this was a political strike against a well-run and successful County Fair without regard to local consequences,” Osmer says in a letter to the Pajaronian.

The disputed charges outlined in the audit included $33,582 in fuel and $2,237 in maintenance charges for his truck.

Kegebein says all the charges he made were for his work at the Fairgrounds, and says he put 200,000 miles on the truck he purchased new to use there.

He agrees that he did not duly submit receipts and expense reports, but says he told state officials he would correct that. On Oct. 25, he presented a check for $30,000 to the Board to cover the fuel expenses.

On Tuesday, several people addressed the Board, nearly all of whom spoke against Kegebein’s termination.

“What happened to Dave was wrong,” Jeanette Crosetti says, whose father J.J. Crosetti ran the Fairgrounds in the 60s. “We don’t want this to happen again.”

Crosetti urges the directors to travel to Sacramento to advocate for the Fairgrounds at the gubernatorial level.

“Do what’s best for Santa Cruz County, not what’s best for Sacramento,” she says.

Osmer slammed Dietrich for suggesting Kegebein’s termination came because he misappropriated funds as outlined in the audit.

“Where is the evidence? There is no evidence,” Osmer says. “I think Mr. Kegebein is entitled to due process. Please give it to him.”

Gary Stubblefield, the Fairground’s Livestock Superintendent, says Kegebein was the best and most responsive of the several CEOs he worked for.

“Anything that we needed, he was there for us,” Stubblefield says.

Other fairgrounds, Stubblefield adds, have lost their livestock departments due to mismanagement and in-fighting.

“We need someone like Dave to help keep us on track and give us the cooperation we need to keep the livestock going,” he says.

Because the item was not on Tuesday’s Board agenda, there was no action for Directors to take.

Volunteer Fire Departments Keep the Santa Cruz Mountains Safe

Lia Prusha

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February 7, 2023

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Volunteer Fire Departments Keep the Santa Cruz Mountains Safe

Zayante Fire Chief Dan Walters has had an eventful year, and it’s barely started.

Early Jan. 9, wind gusts of 40 mph ripped a root ball containing three trees out of the ground, knocking one into the roof of Station Two, an equipment storage facility on Lompico Road. He got a call from Captain John Amadeo, who was 50 yards away with crews, responding to a mudslide in the heavy rain when the tree hit.

Just hours later, Walters stood inside Station One on East Zayante Road, looked down, and saw water flowing in under the door.

Water rushed inside the station and rose to six inches in ten minutes. It took out the district’s landline phone service, several computers, radios, records in file cabinets, power supplies, two feet of sheetrock in the walls and the floor. No one was hurt, but damages are estimated at $118,000, prompting a GoFundMe for both stations.

“No one ever dreamed that the fire station could flood,” says Chief Walters, who’s usually full of contingency plans.

Walters drove to the station but could not get close due to the number of downed trees and wires, which crews were busy clearing off the road.

So, he requested help, paging the station’s volunteers. Volunteer firefighters from Zayante Fire and the other San Lorenzo Valley districts—Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek and Felton—were already responding to other calls.

Departments utilize every available volunteer in extreme weather. From Dec. 31 until well after the storms subsided, area first responders in the Santa Cruz Mountains have been slammed. Alongside their colleagues from larger city departments, including Scotts Valley and the state fire department CalFire, volunteer departments worked nonstop, responding to downed power lines, structure fires, falling trees and blocked roads.

They rescued people trapped in homes and sometimes entire neighborhoods and performed public services, like teaching residents how to start generators and use sump pumps.

Volunteer fire departments, operating on small budgets and volunteer labor, perform lifesaving and vital services to the community. Doing so much with so little, a volunteer department—especially in the San Lorenzo Valley—just might be the real-life little engine that could.

MOUNTAINSIDE NECESSITY

If it takes grit to live in the Santa Cruz Mountains—where storms, mudslides, wildfires and earthquakes are just some of the hazards—it takes an even more unique character to serve the mountain community as a volunteer firefighter.

Zayante, Ben Lomond, Felton and Boulder Creek are unincorporated communities with populations of around 3,000-7,000. The districts each have what’s known as all-risk fire departments, meaning they respond to a broad spectrum of emergencies. Each district has one or more stations, almost entirely staffed by volunteers. Far from novices, these volunteers are battalion chiefs, firefighters, captains, engineers, EMTs and paramedics.

Looking at the numbers, it’s clear how essential these departments are, especially during natural disasters.

On average, Zayante receives about 250 calls a year: from Jan. 11-25, the station ran 86 calls. Ben Lomond, another district served by volunteer fire departments, averages 450 a year: in January alone, it received 100 calls. Felton Fire ran a whopping 140 calls in the first three weeks of January when they usually average about 50-60 a month.

Volunteers have the same training and do the same work as career firefighters, but with one important caveat: they aren’t paid.

“We come across as very professional, and we wear uniforms,” Felton Fire Chief Bob Gray says. “But these kids are just out there doing their thing just for the betterment of the community.”

Comprising 70 percent of the nation’s firefighters, volunteers have a history in the Santa Cruz Mountain region. In the early 1900s, residents of the logging town Ben Lomond raised funds to buy equipment that volunteers operated.

“They worked out of an old, little shed next to the park hall. They had no engines, and their first engine here was some kind of old chemical wagon that they used to drag along with them to structure fires,” Ben Lomond Fire District Chief Stacie Brownlee explains.

Volunteer departments have since evolved, but the idea remains simple: community members raise funds and mobilize forces to protect where they call home.

But in the past few decades, Santa Cruz County has been growing. As the oceanside destination attracts more people who want to call it home, the mountainside community is also experiencing population growth. Decades ago, volunteer departments were created to service these small towns based around one industry.

SLV Steve, an area retired career firefighter-turned-photographer, says an influx of newcomers in the last decade changed the demographic and focus of volunteer firefighters. The volunteers in each department were made up of families born and raised in the mountains and knew the terrain. They worked in town and didn’t commute.

Steve says that the average volunteer is there to get their ducks in a row to become a career firefighter. For the most part, volunteer stations have leaned into this reality, stressing their free specialized training to attract and retain volunteers.

LIMITED RESOURCES

Many recent transplants don’t realize the departments are all-volunteer.
“Somebody came by last night and said, ‘Why aren’t you guys paid?’ and I go, ‘Paid?’ Number one, the taxpayers couldn’t afford a paid department up here, and number two, during the CZU fire, I had almost sixty volunteers at my station. If this was a paid department, there’s no way I would have had that many volunteers down here to help,” Brownlee says.

Brownlee’s department currently has 29 on-call volunteers. In contrast, Scotts Valley, a city of over 12,000, operates a “career department” of 22 paid, full-time firefighters with benefits. Additionally, instead of volunteer programs, they offer a “paid call firefighter program,” where a small pool of non-benefits employees works on-call and are paid by the call; departments that offer incentives like these use would-be volunteers. As it is becoming easier for recruits to get hired by the career departments, it’s becoming more and more difficult each year to get volunteers, says Gray, the one full-time employee in his station.

Blue- and white-collar communities will pay the costs if recruitment and staffing dips. Community volunteer fire departments are the most cost-effective model, costing the community a quarter of what it costs to run a full-time paid department.

Funding for fire districts comes from property taxes. The San Lorenzo Valley has a median house price of $885,665, whereas the Scotts Valley median is $1.3 million, and in Santa Cruz, $1.6 million. Lower house prices mean lower property taxes. While that may make an area more affordable, it also means less money to fund fire departments.

“It’s a huge value to the community to have a volunteer department,” says Gray. Donations from residents and support for fundraisers, like pancake breakfasts and T-shirt sales, are appreciated. Fundraisers fill gaps left by government funding.

Felton Fire’s budget last year was $900,000—an amount one could easily spend on a single engine. Those funds must be used for equipment, fuel, training, instructors and overhead. Engines are not part of the budget and are expected to last for several years. Contingency funds exist for emergencies only. During the CZU fire, the state agency CalFire made an emergency declaration allowing volunteers to be paid.

Damage to both Zayante stations wasn’t on Chief Walters’ 2023 bingo card and is not covered by the yearly budget or contingency funds. While FEMA and insurance money will arrive, it will take time, and likely won’t cover all of the damage, making community donations crucial to bridge the gap.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Gray doesn’t want anyone to think that volunteer departments are unprepared or hanging by a thread. Mutual aid agreements allow county, state and local departments to coordinate who can be where and when to respond to emergencies efficiently. Nearby city departments, CalFire and other agencies support small departments. Chiefs, acting as operating officers, know each other’s capabilities and equipment.

A mud rescue on a San Lorenzo riverbank on Jan. 16 demonstrated mutual aid at its best. Officers from CHP, CalFire and local stations rescued a young man lodged chest deep in quicksand. SLV Steve captured a photo of the victim posing with the agents who saved him, smiling with relief.

California has been leading the charge with mutual aid, using this system since the 1980s, and other states are adopting the model. In a smaller county like Santa Cruz, mutual aid allows specialized teams in each department to serve the entire county, like Ben Lomond’s Swift Water Rescue team.

Brownlee emphasizes the importance of mutual aid for all-volunteer departments. With the average volunteer lasting three years, according to estimates, mutual aid can supplement responder times during natural disasters, but ongoing volunteer recruitment is vital.

“You’re getting on-the-job experience as well as the same training you would get in a fire academy at a college at no cost to the individual,” says Gray.

Not all volunteer firefighters aspire to careers. Sometimes, they’re electricians or work over the hill at big tech jobs like Google, with a wide age range. Regardless of their day job, it’s the draw of helping the community that keeps them coming back.

THE FUTURE

Chief Walters says the volunteers are making do with the “wet dog smell” of Station One until they remove the damaged sheetrock. They ran 10 professional-grade dehumidifiers to soak up the moisture and will stand in the parking lot waiting to respond to calls while contractors repair the building. Since the sun came back out, they are back to more “normal” rings, like auto accidents and structure fires.

Now, says Walters, the focus is the “pain in the district:” many residents are still without power or in damaged homes, trying to get to work in excessive traffic caused by closures. He appreciates the community; although sometimes people have a short fuse in these situations, he’s not seeing it.

Recently Representative Jimmy Panetta, State Senator John Laird and County Supervisor Bruce McPherson visited the station along with PG&E representatives, holding a community hall in the district. They partnered with the station to educate the community on the recovery process. At the event, Walters was heartened to see neighbors coming together in tough times. He says you learn cooperation when you grow up in or move to the San Lorenzo Valley.

Despite the recent storms and long hours, department morale is high.

“This is the kind of stuff that we like to do, as bad as it may sound,” Walters says. “We’re here to make a bad day better for people.”

The Onslaught of Shootings Inspires New Bill

Todd Guild

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February 7, 2023

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The Onslaught of Shootings Inspires New Bill

On Jan. 28, 18-year-old Rowan Parham was fatally shot at a party in Boulder Creek by a 16-year-old. Parham was fondly described as a loyal friend with a quick wit, a friend to many other students in the San Lorenzo area.

This shooting came less than a week after a mass shooting rocked the Half Moon Bay community. Just an hour down Highway 1 from Santa Cruz, Chunli Zhao allegedly shot and killed seven people and wounded one at a labor camp. The next day, on Jan. 24, another mass shooting in California made headlines when Hemet resident Huu Can Tran killed 10 people and wounded 10 others in a dance studio in Monterey Park near Los Angeles.

And these shootings are just the ones in California. This year, there have already been 59 mass shootings throughout the country, in which at least four people were wounded or killed, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The spate of ongoing gun violence ignited the attention of California Senator Anthony Portantino, who, along with Gov. Gavin Newsom and several co-authors, introduced a bill on Feb. 1 that intends to strengthen California’s already stringent concealed carry regulations.

Portantino says the legislation was also spurred by New York Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, the recent Supreme Court decision that declared unconstitutional New York’s law requiring gun owners to show good cause to carry a concealed weapon. While that decision does not affect California law, some worry the precedent could prompt gun rights advocates to overturn other legislation.

“In the wake of the recent tragedies in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay and the continued threat of mass shootings, it’s critical that California leads on the issue of gun safety and reform,” Portantino says. “I am proud to be working with Governor Newsom, Attorney General Bonta and activists on SB 2 to strengthen our existing concealed carry laws and ensure every Californian is safe from gun violence.”

The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action did not respond to multiple calls for comment. But on its website, it describes Senate Bill 918’s failure, a bill similar to SB 2, as a huge win for gun owners, who would not have to bear the additional costs, burdens and restrictions that the law proposed.

Newsom, who co-authored the bill, says that California’s strict gun laws have led to a 37% lower gun rate than the national average.

“We’re doubling down on gun safety and strengthening our public carry law to protect it from radical Republican attacks,” he says.

California already requires anyone applying for a CCW permit to justify their need by showing they are under threat. SB 2 would add to this by setting the minimum age for obtaining a permit to 21. It also requires stricter storage and training requirements and limits each CCW license to no more than two guns.

Also, under the proposed law, applicants must undergo interviews—usually with their local sheriff’s departments—a process that includes reference checks and a review of their social media.

Portantino’s bill would also establish several “sensitive public areas” where firearms would be forbidden, such as schools, government buildings, playgrounds and places of worship.

“The Supreme Court’s reckless Bruen decision opened up the floodgates for more guns in more places—but with this bill, California once again renews its commitment to being a national leader in the fight against gun violence,” Shannon Watts says. Watts is a California resident and founder of Moms Demand Action, part of Everytown’s grassroots network. “While the gun industry celebrated the ruling that put their profits over our safety, our grassroots army is proud to stand with our Gun Sense Champions in California to pass this critical bill and make our communities safer.”

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology: Feb. 8-14

Rob Brezsny

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February 7, 2023

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): During my quest for advice that might be helpful to your love life, I plucked these words of wisdom from author Sam Kean: “Books about relationship talk about how to ‘get’ the love you need, how to ‘keep’ love and so on. But the right question to ask is, ‘How do I become a more loving human being?'” In other words, Aries, here’s a prime way to enhance your love life: Be less focused on what others can give you and more focused on what you can give to others. Amazingly, that’s likely to bring you all the love you want.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You have the potential to become even more skilled at the arts of kissing and cuddling and boinking than you already are. How? Here are some possibilities. 1. Explore fun experiments that will transcend your reliable old approaches to kissing and cuddling and boinking. 2. Read books to open your mind. I like Margot Anand’s The New Art of Sexual Ecstasy. 3. Ask your partner(s) to teach you everything about what turns them on. 4. Invite your subconscious mind to give you dreams at night that involve kissing and cuddling and boinking. 5. Ask your lover(s) to laugh and play and joke as you kiss and cuddle and boink.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You are an Italian wolf searching for food in the Apennine Mountains. You’re a red-crowned crane nesting in a wetland in the Eastern Hokkaido region of Japan. You’re an olive tree thriving in a salt marsh in southern France, and you’re a painted turtle basking in a pool of sunlight on a beach adjoining Lake Michigan. And much, much more. What I’m trying to tell you, Gemini, is that your capacity to empathize is extra strong right now. Your smart heart should be so curious and open that you will naturally feel an instinctual bond with many life forms, including a wide array of interesting humans. If you’re brave, you will allow your mind to expand to experience telepathic powers. You will have an unprecedented knack for connecting with simpatico souls.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): My Cancerian friend Juma says, “We have two choices at all times: creation or destruction. Love creates and everything else destroys.” Do you agree? She’s not just talking about romantic love, but rather love in all forms, from the urge to help a friend, to the longing to seek justice for the dispossessed, to the compassion we feel for our descendants. During the next three weeks, your assignment is to explore every nuance of love as you experiment with the following hypothesis: To create the most interesting and creative life for yourself, put love at the heart of everything you do.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I hope you get ample chances to enjoy deep soul kisses in the coming weeks. Not just perfunctory lip-to-lip smooches and pecks on the cheeks, but full-on intimate sensual exchanges. Why do I recommend this? How could the planetary positions be interpreted to encourage a specific expression of romantic feeling? I’ll tell you, Leo: The heavenly omens suggest you will benefit from exploring the frontiers of wild affection. You need the extra sweet, intensely personal communion that comes best from the uninhibited mouth-to-mouth form of tender sharing. Here’s what Leo poet Diane di Prima said: “There are as many kinds of kisses as there are people on earth, as there are permutations and combinations of those people. No two people kiss alike—no two people fuck alike—but somehow the kiss is more personal, more individualized than the fuck.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Borrowing the words of poet Oriah from her book The Dance: Moving to the Deep Rhythms of Your Life, I’ve prepared a love note for you to use as your own this Valentine season. Feel free to give these words to the person whose destiny needs to be woven more closely together with yours. Oriah writes, “Don’t tell me how wonderful things will be someday. Show me you can risk being at peace with the way things are right now. Show me how you follow your deepest desires, spiraling down into the ache within the ache. Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how to dance, the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran author Walter Lippman wrote, “The emotion of love is not self-sustaining; it endures only when lovers love many things together, and not merely each other.” That’s great advice for you during the coming months. I suggest that you and your allies—not just your romantic partners, but also your close companions—come up with collaborative projects that inspire you to love many things together. Have fun exploring and researching subjects that excite and awaken and enrich both of you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio writer Paul Valéry wrote, “It would be impossible to love anyone or anything one knew completely. Love is directed towards what lies hidden in its object.” My challenge to you, Scorpio, is to test this hypothesis. Do what you can to gain more in-depth knowledge of the people and animals and things you love. Uncover at least some of what’s hidden. All the while, monitor yourself to determine how your research affects your affection and care. Contrary to what Valéry said, I’m guessing this will enhance and exalt your love.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In his book Unapologetically You, motivational speaker Steve Maraboli writes, “I find the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” That’s always good advice, but I believe it should be your inspirational axiom in the coming weeks. More than ever, you now have the potential to forever transform your approach to relationships. You can shift away from wanting your allies to be different from what they are and make a strong push to love them just as they are.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I analyzed the astrological omens. Then I scoured the internet, browsed through 22 books of love poetry and summoned memories of my best experiences of intimacy. These exhaustive efforts inspired me to find the words of wisdom that are most important for you to hear right now. They are from poet Rainer Maria Rilke (translated by Stephen Mitchell): “For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): To get the most out of upcoming opportunities for intimacy, intensify your attunement to and reverence for your emotions. Why? As quick and clever as your mind can be, sometimes it neglects to thoroughly check in with your heart. And I want your heart to be wildly available when you get ripe chances to open up and deepen your alliances. Study these words from psychologist Carl Jung: “We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect; we apprehend it just as much by feeling. Therefore, the judgment of the intellect is, at best, only the half of truth, and must, if it be honest, also come to an understanding of its inadequacy.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “In love there are no vacations. Love has to be lived fully with its boredom and all that.” Author and filmmaker Marguerite Duras made that observation, and now I convey it to you—just in time for a phase of your astrological cycle when boredom and apathy could and should evolve into renewed interest and revitalized passion. But there is a caveat: If you want the interest and passion to rise and surge, you will have to face the boredom and apathy; you must accept them as genuine aspects of your relationship; you will have to cultivate an amused tolerance of them. Only then will they burst in full glory into renewed interest and revitalized passion.

Homework: Name one thing you could do to express your love more practically. Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Alderwood Pacific Opens in Downtown Santa Cruz

Mark C. Anderson

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February 7, 2023

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Alderwood Pacific Opens in Downtown Santa Cruz

Familiar yet new. Reliable yet daring. Exceptional yet accessible.

That’s the philosophical burger Alderwood Pacific, which opened on Feb. 3, is trying to flip.

Fittingly enough, the same headlining burger at original Alderwood Santa Cruz—just a few blocks away—will be a big part of that.

So will less splurgy price points, draft cocktails, handmade pasta, a wider selection of sandwiches and a 4-6pm happy hour with oyster-Champagne specials among others.

Beyond the burger, the familiar

elements include a raw bar, AWSC’s signature hen-of-the-woods dish, a solid wine list and a contemporary setting.

As Pacific opens, Alderwood on Walnut Avenue, recently spotlighted in the latest Michelin Guide, has embarked on “a style refresh and menu update,” according to a statement.

That also allows Executive Chef Jeffrey Wall and company to focus on the new place, as Executive Director of Operations Sam Woods points out.

“It is an important moment for us as a company, and why we chose

to temporarily close [ASC],” Woods says. “We’re putting our name on a new restaurant, and the only way to pull it off is to focus all of our energy here and let the community know how important it is to us.”

In what ultimately will become a double debut, the improvements for the first Alderwood sound promising on their own.

“When we refocus on Alderwood Santa Cruz, we have a plan for an exceptional new culinary experience that hasn’t been done here,” she says.

More than anything, Woods—who recently returned to her native Santa Cruz after extended time working in New York City’s fashion scene—hopes the Pacific Avenue spot is the kind of place repeatedly frequented within a given week; somewhere that’s welcoming and affordable.

“Back East, you have your neighborhood spot,” she says. “For us, we want to carve that out. The goal, eventually, is to be a seven- days-a-week restaurant. There’s no place like that in Santa Cruz.”

At the same time, Alderwood’s fast-casual fried chicken spinoff, Flashbird, in the Abbott Square food- and-drink hall, anticipates two new locations soon.

The “craft-fast” fried chicken sandwich spots aim to open on Mount Hermon Road in Scotts Valley and 41st Avenue in Pleasure Point in mid-February and late spring, respectively. alderwood-pacific.com

BIG DEAL FOR BIGFOOT

Inventive chef Jessica Yarr, who brought Santa Cruz foodie sensations Chicken Foot and The Brunch Shift, has something fresh coming. She’s returning to her native Felton—where her parents own Bigfoot Discovery Museum—to debut The Grove Bakery Cafe on March 2. She’ll do wood-fired vegan baked goods, grain and veggie bowls, grab- and-go goodies, coffee alternatives and more. In the meantime, she’s prepping Valentine’s Day treat boxes, available for preorder via Grove’s Instagram through Feb. 10 ($60), packed with delicious baked goods and chocolates. “A preview of what we’re going to do, to share with your sweetheart and support our opening,” Yarr says.

DRINK BAY BEER

Day drinking, overrated. Bay drinking, underrated. San Francisco Beer Week 2023 stretches south, all the way to Lupulo Craft Beer House in Santa Cruz. Lupolo is rocking collaborations with Seattle’s Fair Isle (and nine of their beers) on Feb. 10 and Portland’s Upright (seven more brews) on Feb. 11. A Saison spotlight follows on Feb. 12, with still more events the next weekend. lupulosc.com

Priest Ranch’s 2018 Brut Rosé is a Napa Love Letter

Josie Cowden

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February 7, 2023

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Priest Ranch’s 2018 Brut Rosé is a Napa Love Letter

Priest Ranch Brut Rosé is the perfect libation for Valentine’s Day. If you want to treat your sweetheart to something special, this stunning salmon-pink wine could be your answer.

Produced and bottled by Priest Ranch in Napa Valley, the 2018 Brut Rosé ($60) is 100% estate-grown Syrah and made in the traditional Méthode Champenoise style. It has terrific balance and a creamy-smooth finish. Hints of fruity flavors include strawberry, cherry and peach.

The historic Priest Ranch is now part of the Somerston Estate, “a significant property totaling 1,615 acres planted to hillside vineyards.”

Their delightful tasting room gives visitors to Priest Ranch an enjoyable time. And as a special event for Valentine’s Day, a Caviar & Bubbles Experience is offered. “Effervesce with us and enjoy the luxury of bubbles and fresh caviar,” Priest Ranch co-founder and GM Craig Becker says. The Caviar & Bubbles Experience includes a bottle of Brut Rosé paired with a 1-ounce serving of high-quality caviar, with crème fraiche and kettle chips. So, whatever you’re celebrating, this unique pairing will enhance the occasion. There’s also a Valentine’s Day Special from Feb. 9-15. And the 2021 Priest Ranch Rosé of Pinot Noir ($38) is another pink-wine beauty. Reservations recommended.

Priest Ranch Wines, 6490 Washington St., Yountville, 707-944-8200; priestranchwines.com

OTHER BROTHER BEER

If you love beer, head to Seaside for a terrific beer-tasting event on Saturday, Feb. 11, 5-10pm ($65). The Other Brother Beer Co. hosts the Bay Area Brewers Guild Coast Chapter kick-off party for San Francisco Beer Week. Enjoy unlimited tastes of fabulous beers being brewed across the region. There will be merch and food from Ad Astra Bread Co. at Other Brother’s tap room.

Other Brother Beer, 77 Broadway Ave, Seaside. 831-747-1106; otherbrotherbeer.com

Silver Spur is a Santa Cruz Breakfast Champion

Andrew Steingrube

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February 7, 2023

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Silver Spur is a Santa Cruz Breakfast Champion

For Germán Lopez, owning the Silver Spur with his father for the last three years has been a lifelong dream fulfilled. His dad worked in restaurants for most of his life, which inspired Germán to purchase the longtime breakfast and lunch spot. The space is themed like an old-time saloon from the wild west. Germán defines the menu as classic American style with Tex-Mex and Spanish influences, exemplified by the Chilaquiles, Huevos Rancheros and the South of the Border Scramble with Ortega chiles. Other breakfast standouts include the hand-grated, cooked-to-order hash browns, the homemade sausage country gravy and “the best pancakes in town”—scratch-made and fluffy, they have banana nut, chocolate chip, blueberry and their signature orange poppyseed. Lunch favorites include the Beach St. Burger with bacon, avocado and cheese, and the Chinese Salad. Silver Spur is open daily from 7am-2pm. Germán dished on his influences and what makes the chilaquiles so special.

What does owning Silver Spur mean to your family?

GERMÁN LOPEZ: My family has never owned any type of business or gone to college, so buying the Silver Spur has been a big accomplishment. My mom inspired my love for food, and my dad washed dishes at several restaurants and would bring me as a child. Turning my family’s dream into a reality has been very fulfilling.

How would you describe your chilaquiles?

We have the traditional option with red enchilada sauce made by my mom, served with my dad’s homemade refried beans and my mom’s rice. Every time I cook and serve this dish, I am filled with pride because it represents our family and how we combine our talents and work together. It’s a dish we grew up eating, so it holds a special place in my heart.

Silver Spur, 2650 Soquel Drive, Santa Cruz, 831-475-2725; cafesilverspur.com

Boulder Creek Shooting Victim ID’d

Local News

Todd Guild

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February 2, 2023

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The 18-year-old killed Saturday, Jan. 28, at a Boulder Creek party—Rowan Parham—was described as a man who loved his friends and family, a sentiment returned by those who knew him.

“Anyone that knew Rowan, knew that he was an extraordinarily loyal friend with a quick wit, an infectious laugh and a smile that always lit up the room,” said Philip Wartena in a GoFundMe for the family.

Parham previously attended Soquel High School—at the time of his death, he attended Oasis High School, a Santa Cruz County Office of Education program with a campus at Cabrillo College.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 1000 block of Brimblecom Road at about 10pm for multiple reports of a shooting.

Witnesses said players from the San Lorenzo Valley High School girls soccer team and cheerleading squad were at the party when several uninvited people arrived, including the 16-year-old suspect.

Witnesses said that Parham put his hand on the suspect’s shoulder when the suspect turned around and shot him.

The suspect then rode away on a dirt bike after the shooting. He is not being named because he is a juvenile.

Two attendees performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but Parham was pronounced dead at the scene.

San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District Superintendent Christopher Schiermeyer said that the school district contacted its mental health counselors at SLV High School, Coast Redwood High School and the County Office of Education for additional counseling support.

He added that the district, on behalf of Parham’s family, is asking for donations to help cover funeral expenses and a celebration of life.

The incident is still under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 831-471-1121.Parham’s family has set up a GoFundMe page: gofund.me/0b1f3b0e

Things to Do in Santa Cruz: Feb. 1-7

GT Staff

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February 1, 2023

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ARTS AND MUSIC

DR. MADD VIBE (ANGELO MOORE OF FISHBONE) AND THE MISSIN’ LINKS WITH MONKEY The whirlwind of punk, funk, ska, metal, soul and reggae that propels Fishbone is ever-present in lead singer/saxophonist Angelo Moore’s latest project, Dr. Madd Vibe and the Missin’ Links. The multiple time signatures, reggae rhythms and jazz triplets glide smoothly alongside Moore’s soulful vocals. “Music saves lives,” Moore told Pasadena Weekly. “It saves people’s minds and gives people a different perspective to look at life when there isn’t one. The music is the answer to a lot of people’s problems and prayers.” The multi-talented musician also plays the theremin and Hammond B3 with his other band, Angelo Moore & the Brand New Step. But the Missin’ Link adds more of a hardcore sound to the ensemble—it’s also a platform for Moore to show off his skills on the double-tier organ. Monkey was born in 1996 at the height of the 4th Wave Ska Craze. They have been recording and touring the world since. $20 plus fees. Friday, Feb. 3, 8pm. The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. thecrepeplace.com

A RAINBOW OF AMERICAN MUSICS Under the direction of Michael McGushin, UCSC Chamber Singers will open the show with a performance of the first printed music to originate in the “New World,” including music in the ancient Inca Quechua language and Nahuatl, the Aztec language. To celebrate Black History Month, the award-nominated Endurance Quartet of Houston, Texas, will perform a set of traditional gospel music. The group’s African American hymnody—the roots of the gospel style we know today—is an emotional and unforgettable live music experience. There will also be a pre-concert talk in the sanctuary at 7:15pm and a meet-the-artists reception for season ticket holders and donors in Holy Cross Hall at 6pm. $12-30 plus fees. Saturday, Feb. 4, 7:30pm. Holy Cross Church, 210 High St., Santa Cruz. scbaroque.org

JENNY DON’T AND THE SPURS WITH HANK AND ELLA WITH THE FINE COUNTRY BAND PLUS MIKE HELLMAN For more than a decade, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs has been a musical force—a burst of spirited garage-infused country music delivered with sincerity and raw conviction. They churn out infectious energy during their must-see live shows. The group’s persistent touring and recording schedule has amounted to nearly 500 live appearances in almost a dozen countries and a slew of albums and singles. Now, with a revamped lineup and a lot of live experience under their “tooled-leather western belts,” the outfit keeps riding into the sun that never sets. Husband and wife duo Hank and Ella with the Fine Country Band is a throwback to vintage country, traditional Americana and the deep roots that are considered the foundation of all music. $15/$20 plus fees. Saturday, Feb. 4, 9pm. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. moesalley.com

DEB TALAN (OF THE WEEPIES) WITH KACIE HILL After climbing the charts with indie rockers the Weepies, Deb Talan tells her story through her own music on a solo tour focused on healing and storytelling. Talan has been frank in interviews and blog posts about her mental health struggles and being a survivor of childhood incest. More recently, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy—Lucky Girl, Talan’s fourth solo record, goes deep into that chapter of her life. San Francisco singer-songwriter Kacie Hill opens. $20/$25 plus fees. Sunday, Feb. 5, 8pm. The Catalyst Atrium, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. catalystclub.com

THE WOOD BROTHERS The Wood Brothers were grateful that they didn’t know they were making a record. “If we had known, we probably would have been too self-conscious to play what we played,” bassist/vocalist Chris Wood says. “At the time, we just thought we were jamming to break in our new studio, so we felt free to explore all these different ways of performing together without worrying about form or structure. It was liberating.” On past records, the band—Wood, guitarist/vocalist Oliver Wood and drummer/keyboardist Jano Rix—would write an extensive collection of songs and then record them all at once. With Kingdom In My Mind, the Wood Brothers create tunes from expansive instrumental jam sessions. The easygoing, improvised sessions became a massive pool of source material, which became Kingdom, their seventh studio release and most experimental and intuitive collection yet. “A testament to the limitless creativity of the unharnessed mind, the record explores the power of our external surroundings to shape our internal worlds, reckoning with time, mortality and human nature.” $22/24 plus fees. Monday, Feb. 6, 8pm. Rio Theatre 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. folkyeah.com

KENNY BARRON TRIO 2016’s Book of Invention marked Kenny Barron’s first trio outing in 20 years and first recording with Kenny Barron Trio bandmates bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. The National Endowment for the Arts honoree mesmerizes audiences with his sensitive melodies and contagious rhythms. Jazz Weekly calls him “The most lyrical piano player of our time.” The Philadelphia native moved to New York City at 19 and freelanced with Roy Haynes, Lee Morgan and James Moody after the tenor saxophonist heard him play at the Five Spot. Upon Moody’s recommendation, Dizzy Gillespie hired Barron in 1962, and he developed an appreciation for Latin and Caribbean rhythms. The pianist went on to play with Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson and Buddy Rich. In the early ’70s, Barron worked with Yusef Lateef, a key influence in his art for improvisation. Barron’s Sunset To Dawn was his first of 40 recordings as a band leader. His duo record with Stan Getz, People Time, was the first of 11 Grammy nods. Without Deception, Barron’s 2020 follow-up to The Art of Conversation, was hailed as one of the top jazz records of the year. $57.25/$63.00; $31.50/students. Monday, Feb. 6, 7pm. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. kuumbwajazz.org

MATT ANDERSEN WITH MARIEL BUCKLEY When Matt Andersen steps on stage, he brings a lifetime of music to every note. His soulful performances run the scope from intimate to headbangers. In the studio, Andersen’s always got the same attention to detail as he has to his live shows. His poignant work has amassed over 18 million streams on Spotify and 18 million views on YouTube. His forthcoming record, The Big Bottle of Joy, comes out on March 10. Meanwhile, Mariel Buckley reveals authenticity and pushes her songwriting to challenging peaks on Everywhere I Used to Be. While in the studio, she moved towards contemporary production and quickly found herself in a “daily rhythm of deconstructing and rebuilding each song to find its full potential.” On “Whatever Helps You,” Buckley serenades the night with country futurism, and in “Neon Blue,” she struggles with loss through reverberated guitar riffs and ‘80s deep synth chords that transition into a throbbing rock beat. Other tunes are coated in detailed, personalized lyrics. $22/24 plus fees. Tuesday, Feb. 7, 8pm. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. feltonmusichall.com

COMMUNITY

UCSC INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES GRAND OPENING The community is invited to celebrate the launch of this new cultural center in Santa Cruz—in addition to the three exhibits, there will be food trucks and live music. The new galleries provide a home for the innovative and nationally renowned art and justice exhibitions and events for which the Institute of the Arts and Sciences has become known. Inaugural exhibitions include Seeing and Seen, a collection of the work from 2022 MacArthur Fellow artist and filmmaker Sky Hopinka presented in collaboration with the San José Museum of Art, and Degrees of Visibility/ Ashes Ashes by artist and activist Ashley Hunt. These exhibitions expose the troubling histories and current ramifications of prisons and are part of IAS’s ongoing project “Visualizing Abolition,” UCSC’s Mellon Foundation-funded public scholarship initiative. Free. Sunday, Feb. 5, noon-5pm. UCSC Institute of Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave., Santa Cruz. ias.ucsc.edu/venue/institute-of-the-arts-and-sciences

DR. IBRAM X. KENDI AND NIC STONE: ‘HOW TO BE A (YOUNG) ANTIRACIST’ The New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi shapes how a generation thinks about race and racism. How to Be a (Young) Antiracist is a positive reframing of the concepts shared in the adult book, with young adulthood front and center. Aimed at readers 12 and up, and co-authored by award-winning children’s author Nic Stone, How to Be a (Young) Antiracist empowers teen readers to help create a more just society. Kendi and Stone have revised this work to provide anecdotes and data that speak directly to the experiences and concerns of younger readers, encouraging them to think critically and build a more equitable world. Antiracism is a journey, and young adults will have a map to carve their own path. $25-45. Sunday, Feb. 5, 8pm. Kaiser Permanente Arena, 140 Front St., Santa Cruz. bookshopsantacruz.com

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The Jewel Theatre’s World Premiere of ‘Little Heart’

Christina Waters

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February 1, 2023

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The Jewel Theatre’s World Premiere of ‘Little Heart’

A prolific artist and member of the Immaculate Heart teaching order in Los Angeles, Sister Corita Kent produced bold Warholian silkscreen posters, banners and murals that proclaimed the substantial cultural shift of the late 1960s. The Vatican II edicts of Pope John the 23rd allowed Mass to be conducted in English, tolerated the secularization of nuns’ clothing and relaxed the organization of religious communities. Hippie Revolution slogans soon penetrated Kent’s teaching community, and her colorful artwork surfed that wave, bringing her fame and her religious community’s sudden wealth. Kent was in the right place at the right time.

Playwright and poet Irene O’Garden sensed an untold personal story in this cultural flux, and Little Heart, receiving its world premiere at the Jewel Theatre, is made of her discoveries. An excellent cast of seasoned professionals—led by Patty Gallagher as Sister Corita, the “Little Heart” namesake—works its chronological way through the life and times of this vibrant woman.

Starting as a complete novice in art and teaching, 18-year-old Corita is plunged into curriculum-building at Immaculate Heart College by her senior colleague Sister Maggie (Sheila Savage). Maggie is full of ambition, sass and Broadway show tunes. Fueled by Coca-Cola and chocolate, she also knows how to push Corita’s buttons, and soon the newcomer has acquired her first class of art students and discovered the commercial potential of silkscreen.

Little Heart‘s busy stage is an installation of workstations, craft tables, lecture sites and illuminated screens on which media propaganda and Kent’s actual artwork and catchy affirmations are displayed. Everything is in motion as if to keep us in touch with how the times they were a ‘changing just as Kent’s career takes off. Something of a benevolent dictator, Kent was a hugely successful teacher, fearlessly firing off commands to her assistants in conversation and posters and books. Her famous rules for artmaking quickly became a best-selling ten commandments to live by. “Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.” Words still as fresh as they were fifty years ago.

Clearly, there’s a goldmine of provocative and inspiring material here and an excellent cast to bring it all to life. The use of collage and vignette, rather than dramatic encounter, of chronological documentation rather than deep focus on a few personal issues to heighten and ultimately resolve, makes this world premiere a challenge.

It’s impossible not to fall for Gallagher’s Corita, whose experimental approach to artmaking seems to open every door and every heart. The sequential vignettes that comprise the entire piece are peppered with pronouncements about how influential she was and how many lives she changed. And how hard she was pushed to keep on making lucrative visual messaging. With so much history to cover, the playwright has chosen to tell us how Corita Kent’s career unfolded rather than show us the woman and her life-changing epiphanies. Ultimately Kent’s increasing engagement with political and secular themes outrages her superiors, including the authoritarian Cardinal McIntyre (Jesse Caldwell), who forbids her to continue making art that dares to refresh the liturgical canon.

O’Garden’s strength as a poet is on display in so much of the dialogue. When Corita and activist priest Daniel Berrigan meet, their scenes unfold more in beautifully crafted words than in spontaneous conversation. People don’t really talk this way to each other, even if we wish they did. There is much to savor in Sister Corita’s encounters with Berrigan, played with warmth and dignity by Jewel veteran Shaun Carroll. As Corita’s close friend and early days mentor Sister Maggie, Sheila Savage provided a humorous counterpoint to Corita’s arduous work ethic, and Diana Torres Koss, as the order’s Mother Michael, maximized the moments of political tension.

Still in its infancy, this ambitious world premiere is sure to tighten over time. Patty Gallagher’s brilliance illuminates each fast-paced interaction. One longs, however, for a lot more of Gallagher’s Corita and fewer testimonials.

Little Heart, by Irene O’Garden, directed by Susan Myer Silton, shows at the Tannery Arts Center’s Colligan Theater, 1010 River St., Santa Cruz, through Feb. 19. jeweltheatre.net

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