Let me start by saying that I hope your stomach is feeling better after being turned by Mr. Hammer’s recent letter. Rather than his comments being “hateful” as you described, I saw them more as a complaint about the misplaced priorities of our local leaders here in Santa Cruz. The writer is correct in saying that Pacific Ave has become somewhat of a No-Go zone for many locals, with its number of vacant shops, the flea market atmosphere, with vendors spread out on the sidewalks selling their wares, and its propensity for attracting vagrants and misfits who wander around aimlessly among the tourists.
Yes, our once hospitable and prosperous downtown is now sadly in decline, but in spite of that, one of the biggest local concerns centers on some community members who are offended by the BLM street art being damaged once again. Let’s face it…that wasn’t the best choice for a place to do some City-sponsored virtue-signaling anyway. Painting giant letters on a public street that can only be read from a nearby rooftop or a low-flying plane wasn’t really the brightest of ideas. Why not paint the words on the outside of City Hall where it could at least be seen at a glance by those passing by? And why is it that only Black lives are being singled out for respect anyway…shouldn’t this community feel that ALL lives matter?
I think that, instead of always just preaching to the choir, Good Times should consider printing more opinions from residents that might not align with the thinking of a small, but very outspoken, group of locals. And these letters should not always be considered hateful simply because they happen to disagree with the editor’s personal beliefs, or the paper’s philosophy of promoting progressive ideas and “Woke” thinking. After all, isn’t that what freedom of expression is all about?
Jim Sklenar | Santa Cruz
No School Shootings in Cuba
Your recent reader’s letter to you regarding the need to prepare for more school shootings caused me to think about a past tour of the Cuban high school system there a few years ago. During the visit in a Havana high school I asked some of the teachers and a principal there participating in the tour how they dealt with graffiti, weapons, shootings and other forms of violence. There was a dead silence. The teachers looked stunned and were speechless for a few moments as they looked at each other and then me. “We have never had any of those experiences that you speak of” the principal said.
I also visited over seven major cities in the past 10 years there and couldn’t find a single homeless person living on the streets.
Maybe we could send a delegation to Cuba and find out what they are doing that we are not that could help us get out of the situation that we are now in.
Drew Lewis | Santa Cruz
PARKS FOR ALL
I would like to thank you for your excellent story, Parks for All, about the effort to build a universally accessible playground at the centrally located and popular Jade Street Park in Capitola. Like the well used LEO’s Haven playground at Chanticleer Park, children with disabilities can play alongside friends, neighbors and family members, experiencing joy.
LEO’s Haven has become one of the most heavily used playgrounds in the county, which isn’t surprising since one of every ten children have a disability, as do two out of every ten people in the general population. Universally designed playgrounds clearly show that when public spaces are designed with all abilities in mind, children, parents, grandparents, and caregivers benefit.
County Park Friends is working to raise $1 million for the playground from the community and the City of Capitola will fund the balance of the estimated $1.79 million project. Fundraising has begun, and if you’d like to learn more or to contribute, please visit https://www.countyparkfriends.org/jadestpark. You can help to make this dream a reality. Thank you.
Dan Haifley campaign volunteer
LETTERS POLICY
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Annie Morhauser hand crafted her own path to success and never looked back
Starting with nothing but creativity and an abundance of drive, Annie Morhauser has weathered economic downturns from earthquake to recession to Covid in the forty years since she started her line of luxury glassware, Annieglass.
“Onward” is her middle name, and as a tour through her 16,000-square-foot studio and fabrication facility told me, she’s not about to slow down. A 40-year track record is worth celebrating.
Morhauser hit upon her bold signature design right off the bat. In 1983, she took her line of slump-glass dinnerware, with painted rim of 24 karat gold, to her first trade show. Her products were made in America. The company was owned and run by a woman.
The innovative dinnerware, all inspired by natural forms, was irresistible. Imitated by many, these hand-signed beauties have been avidly collected, given as wedding gifts and dazzled countless parties, photo shoots, and department store displays.
With the Roman Antique gold-rimmed design as her centerpiece, Morhauser kept tinkering, designing, testing, expanding and today employs more than two dozen workers in her busy Watsonville plant. Spend a few minutes in her company and you’d sign up to join them.
40 years, but who’s counting?
Not Morhauser, who whips up new designs like most of us hop in the shower. Twice a year she introduces her new collections at trade shows and in her Atlanta showroom. Experimenting with ways to incorporate recycled glass into a new product line is her latest passion. Translucent green, embellished with abstract touches of gold, the new Elements line of repurposed glass beckons from her display shelves. Ideal as trivets for hot food items, cheese boards, and appetizer trays, these pieces challenge the party-giver to imagine new uses. The mother of invention takes on recycled glass.
GLASS WORKS Annie Morhauser grew a passion into a giant business in Watsonville. Photo: Annieglass
In the beginning
“I had to be resourceful,” she recalls, just off the phone with some distributors at Amazon. Inspired by glassworkers she’d met during her days as an art student at Oakland’s California College of the Arts, Morhauser knew she wanted to give it a try.
Always being told that she couldn’t do or join certain things because she was a woman, the glass artist took creative revenge. “I named my company Annieglass just to show them,” she says, smiling. “The Santa Cruz Glass people supplied me with whatever they had available and I literally foraged for whatever was left over in their dumpster.”
Obviously hand-crafted but visually appealing, her early work made in a 400-square-foot space in the Old Sash Mill gradually took off. With the help of Michael Reinhold, her business partner and husband, the designs expanded.
“He gave it a brand. Took it to Gumps, Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. He really thought big.”
She grows momentarily wistful mentioning her ex-husband, who died just a few years ago. After the 1989 earthquake hit her small plant was knee-deep in broken glass.
Should she just quit, move back East and start over? Nope.
Instead she took out a loan and bought a factory. Morhauser knew she wanted to grow Annieglass into a national business.
“When I started I was excited when I finally had a phone with two lines!” she laughs. “The early success kept me intrigued,” she admits. “It only gave me small victories, but it gave me enough of them to keep going.”
So she hired a national sales manager in 1996, “and it just continues to grow.”
An artist who created a successful business: how did she make it happen? She thinks for a minute.
“I’m always forward looking, paying attention, always looking ahead. I think versatility and problem-solving are my strengths,” she says, tracing the platinum edges on a new tiger print appetizer platter.
Matthew Eaton, her longtime production manager stops by to describe Morhauser’s pioneer technique for slumped glass with gold patterning. Taking what she could find—window glass—she melted it over ceramic molds. The process, which today involves the use of increasingly complicated ceramic molds, is called slumping. The initial shapes were basic circles, squares, and rectangles.
Today thanks to a mammoth, computerized water jet glass cutter, Annieglass can make an endless variety of shapes. After slumping the pieces are painted with precious metals—by hand or by screen printing—then fired in huge kilns. After finishing, polishing, and signing, they’re ready to go out into the far-flung Annieglass market of 400 department stores, plus online shopping.
BIG BIZ Annieglass started small and now has dozens of workers. PHOTO: contributed
The Watsonville Studio
Morhauser’s daughter Ava Reinhold has just stepped into the National Sales Manager role.
Seven years ago Ava initiated the inhouse, twice-monthly Craftbar events. Popular and well-attended, these hands-on events are held at the Watsonville plant by a variety of local artists who lead participants in embroidery, pottery decorating, glass painting projects, kept company by the weekend beer and wine bar.
“And we have free tours of the plant on Friday and Saturday,” Morhauser reminds me, never misses a marketing opportunity.
The vast warehouse is the center of fabrication and experimentation—part studio, part plant.
“It’s all made right here in Watsonville,” she explains happily as we walk through corridors of digital electric kilns. One of the labels, Denver Kilns, closed down during the pandemic, due to supply chain problems. “So we switched to a new manufacturer, Euclid. Fingers crossed—we just had two new Euclid kilns hooked up this week by the electricians and we’ll start firing this week.”
Another row of half dozen round Skuitt kilns are used almost exclusively for making bowls. The kilns are fed shaped window glass, heated up in two hours to almost 1,400 degrees. Everything is controlled by computers. After an overnight cooling, they’re ready for detailing, in smaller, adjoining studios.
A wall of towering storage racks face the kilns, holding finished tableware and sitting ready to fill orders. The signature Roman pieces with the gold, or platinum borders. The newer serving platters, from household-sized to enormous platters for catered parties with rippling borders that resemble pale aqua flowers.
Newer shapes all have their own shelves, the translucent grove plank cheese boards, and butterfly serving pieces whose glass wings are covered with small golden butterflies. Large (very large) glass scallop shells cry out to be filled with ice and stuffed with champagne bottles.
“They’ve been used as baptismal fonts,” Morhauser confesses.
Pulling an enormous new sculptural piece halfway out of one rack, Morhauser points out its rippled surface shimmering with traces of gold and platinum abstractly brushed across the surface. Her energy is contagious. Each piece is destined for the wrapping and shipping station at the far back of the shop, next to the roll-up doors for easy UPS access. Jumbo rolls of green bubble wrap hang from overhead dowels for easy access.
“We can ship out 400 pieces daily,” she says.
Artisanal pieces like these have been photographed at one time or another for the likes of the NY Times, House and Garden Magazine, the Smithsonian, where these pieces are part of the permanent collection. Annieglass is everywhere.
In 2022 Annie Morhauser was named Santa Cruz County Artist of the Year. An eye-catching video, Resilience, documenting Morhauser’s rise from artisan to entrepreneur, was created for the awards event by her muralist son, Taylor Reinhold, working with Joel Hersch and Michael Daniel of Swan Dive Media.
“When I spoke at the award ceremony, I was asked what advice I would give to others starting out” she says. “My answer was, ‘Don’t be afraid to fail.'”
Annie Morhauser has walked that talk.
“Early on I was programmed to not look back, not look over my shoulder. Instead I’m forward looking,” she says. “A lot of it’s just paying attention, to competition, to trends. That’s how we went from a Fort Mason craft fair to the New York Gift Show, and now we have a year round showroom in Atlanta. In the beginning it was just me, and now we have sales reps all over the country. We’re in every Bloomingdales. I’m always looking ahead.”
Polishing her own instincts, Morhauser regularly invites consultants and other specialists to finetune her corporate skills. She pauses often to give credit to her team. Shipping and customer service manager Sherlyn Torres has been with her for 32 years.
CELEBRATION Raising a glass for the 40th year of business. PHOTO: Annieglass
The Present and Beyond
“In the old days we used to loan things to magazines, and then they’d give us credit,” Morhauser says.
Through trial and error Morhauser realized that as far as product placement went, prop stylists were based in New York, not Santa Cruz County.
“Now social media is key, although it’s hard to find influencers who reflect exactly what we do,” she says.
She still contends that “being in the best stores has always been the best way to get the word out. We’re a luxury brand. And surprisingly we’re better known in the deep South than we are in San Francisco. There’s a real strong showing in jewelry stores, like Dell Williams here in Santa Cruz. Jewelry stores have added bridal registry service, bringing in gifts like mine.” From craft, to gift, to bridal registry market. “And we were able to do bridal registry because we don’t do things in sets. You’re able to buy just one at a time. You can just pick and choose, rather than buying an entire set.”
This novel/innovative single unit approach was, she admits, a negative in the beginning.
“But the deep South went for it, because people had inherited china they liked to use, but they wanted to make it their own. So they’d buy our bowls, or our chargers, because those single pieces went along with their heirloom place settings.”
Morhauser is thrilled to announce, “last year was our biggest year because a million and a half people got married. A million and a half weddings! A record, after a few years of putting off weddings entirely. During COVID we were shut down like everybody else, and 18 months later we’re having the best year we’ve ever had.”
Even after four decades, there’s no down time.
The seemingly tireless woman who lives in jeans and running shoes, never sits still. Never seems stressed. How does she do that?
“Part of it for me is curiosity. I’m never bored. Making this business work uses my intellect. Designing the pieces feeds another part of me, the artistic part. But I couldn’t just work in a studio. I need the challenge of how do we problem-solve this?” Her passion for problem-solving is her super power.
“My mother was an immigrant from Italy, she saw the depression and she always said necessity is the mother of impression.”
Where competitors “got their egos involved,” Morhauser stayed versatile and flexible. She recalls other creators who wouldn’t put their products on Instagram. “But that’s what you need to do. I waited 10 years before I bought the huge water-jet machine that cuts out all the new irregular shapes, hearts, flowers. I didn’t know anyone else who had one, so I held off.” She laughs at her own caution, now admitting that the water-jet machine was a game changer.
“All of a sudden I could stop making just circles and squares, that was big,” she says, laughing. “It broadened everything— I could make octagon shapes, tree shapes, flower shapes. I felt like I was 19 again. It was so fun.”
Innovation, and fun, continues. In honor of the 40th anniversary of Annieglass this summer, Morhauser designed massive roundish sculptures/platters with gold and platinum streaks dancing across the surface. Inspired by a documentary on painter Gerhard Richter she saw in a painting class with Tobin Keller at Cabrillo College, Morhauser used a squeegee to apply the shimmering marks to glass.
“They’re the largest pieces I’ve ever made,” she says, running her hand across the traces of precious metal on the surface. “They’re 38 inches across. The crew calls them Giant Tortillas! Actually they are called the 40th anniversary limited edition and yes, you can serve on them. All were sold out within 48 hours to our wholesalers around the country.”
Recycling is her current obsession.
“It’s a dream of mine, recycling. I’ve been trying to get a grant to do the recycling on a larger scale. I can’t do it by myself. It’s science, you know, getting different types of glass to be compatible with each other. You have to experiment. Keep notes in a little book.”
At 66, does she ever think about retiring?
Take a guess.
Even with a house in Hawaii waiting for her whenever she’s ready, she loves being stimulated.
“It’s all too much fun to step away any time soon.”
PAINT NIGHT AT ABBOTT SQUARE Do you love to paint? Have you ever dabbled on a canvas with some acrylics or oil? This Wednesday all you need is two hours of time, 35 dollars and a can-do attitude. Led by Anastasiya “Ana” Bachmanova of Follow The Sun Art, this one day class at Abbott Square delivers a step-by-step guide on how to paint a Boardwalk sunset inspired wonder. Of course, true art comes from within, so don’t be afraid to add a little of yourself in it with color and composition tweaks. Just remember what Bob Ross said, “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.” MAT WEIR
INFO: 5:30pm, Abbott Square, 725 Front St., Santa Cruz. $35.
THURSDAY
SOUL
TRUELOVES There’s the joy of true love, and then there’s the joy of True Loves, a Seattle-based soul-funk ensemble of eight musicians who’ve got the groove. For fans of Parliament and Tower of Power, the vibe is all out “Theme from Shaft” intro turned epic jam sessions. Prepare yourself for killer sax solos, jazzy guitars, and a baseline that doesn’t quit. The ’70s energy is strong, so bust out your paisley and get ready to fall hard for True Loves. JESSICA IRISH
EMILY ANN ROBERTS For Emily Ann Roberts there was no turning back from the moment at the Grand Ole Opry as a little girl when she saw Vince Gill sing “Threaten Me with Heaven.” As a finalist on Season 9 of NBC’s The Voice, Roberts wowed the world with her gospel-inspired vocals and covers of timeless country songs by Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, The Chicks and even Elvis. The Knoxville native took some time to finish high school after the show, but now at 24 she’s back with her much-awaited debut album, Can’t Hide Country, coming out September 22. What’s more, she’s played the Opry 16 times… and counting. ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: 8pm, Chaminade Resort and Spa, 1 Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz. $35-$65. 476-5600
ROCK
CHASE THE MONSTER If you’re familiar with the local rock or metal scene, then you probably already know Chase the Monster. For the past four years they have been serving up their special blend of psychedelic-blues, stoner-metal throughout the Bay and state. Their shows are a unifying force between punks, metalheads, blues rockers and stoners alike, all headbanging with their horns held high. For those unfortunates who haven’t seen them live yet, Chase the Monster’s singer, Nel Barrow, may already look familiar, as you’ve probably seen the Cruz Kitchen & Taps mural on Pacific Avenue that–unofficially–happens to have a very striking resemblance. MW
INFO: 9pm, Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 423-7117.
FRIDAY/SATURDAY
ROCK
JERRY’S MIDDLE FINGER Garrett Deloian and Rodney Newman met in 1993 and bonded over a mutual passion for The Grateful Dead. It was this love for all things GD that kept the two in touch over the years. About 8 years ago, they decided to form a band in LA. But rather than pay tribute to The Dead, they honored the great one himself—Jerry Garcia. While LA is not known for a robust Dead tribute scene (unlike say, Santa Cruz), their band, Jerry’s Middle Finger found a large audience. And they’ve been able to traverse the west coast and play for packed houses of Dead fanatics. Hell, they’re playing two nights at Felton! Will they play all their personal favorite Garica songs or recreate a specific Jerry Garcia show. All signs point to maybe. AARON CARNES
JUNGLE BROTHERS As The New York Times and other major publications celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop this month, Moe’s Alley brings some of the genre’s greatest innovators to town. The legendary trio Jungle Brothers pioneered the fusion of jazz, hip-hop and house music in the 1980s with optimistic, Afrocentric lyrics. Their 1988 debut album Straight out the Jungle influenced a broad array of artists from De La Soul to A Tribe Called Quest. Soon these groups would form the New York City collective Native Tongues, which championed a jazzy sound and politically conscious themes that shaped a generation. AM
PAJARO VALLEY FLOOD RELIEF The Pajaro Valley suffered devastating floods this past winter. As the community continues its long recovery, Cabrillo College, Arte Del Corazon and other local charities have come together to co-sponsor a fundraiser celebrating all that makes the region shine. In addition to beer tasting, there will be live music, poetry and Ballet Folklorico dancing. Several local artists will also be present selling their artwork to support the cause. While a donation of $10-$20 is suggested, the organizers emphasize that after this difficult time, no one will be turned away for lack of funds. AM
YEAR OF THE COBRA The first time I saw Year of the Cobra was way back in the Before Times of 2015 at the Blue Lagoon. They were amazing. I was even more blown away when I learned the band–consisting of Amy Tung and Johannes–had only formed earlier that year. Eight years later, Year Of The Cobra has rightfully earned their way into the hearts and minds of metal fans and critics. Their latest album, 2019’s Ash and Dust, is a perfect example of what makes their live performance so good: Tung’s hauntingly sweet vocals floating above misty ground of grimey guitar riffs and crushing drum beats delivering a sense of impending doom that draws you in like siren’s song. MW
KIM NALLEY performs Music of Burt Bacharach at Kuumbwa
KIM NALLEY: MUSIC OF BURT BACHARACH Burt Bacharach was a prolific songwriter, whose tunes were unbelievably catchy. Yet, his approach was such that music snobs could appreciate his skill. He blended chamber pop, jazz and lounge, often using odd time signatures and chord choices. Some of his classic tunes include “I Say A Little Prayer,” “(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me,” “Walk On By” and a million others. San Francisco based jazz/blues vocalist Kim Nalley comes to Kuumbwa to pay tribute to the music of Bacharach. She’s joined by pianist Tammy Hall, bassist Michael Zisman, drummer Kent Bryson and backing vocalists Brown, Sturgis & Brown. AC INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $36.75/adv, $42/door. 427-2227.
Poet Laureate Farnaz Fatemi merges her Iranian heritage with American Experience
If part of the lure of poetry is in the community it offers, then poet laureate of Santa Cruz County, Farnaz Fatemi’s resolve to help bring the various contingencies of poets together is a gift to both poets and non-poets alike.
Fatemi comes by this longing for kinship honestly as she seeks to navigate the often-disparate worlds of her Iranian heritage with her American lived experience; and these are the themes that are explored in her prize-winning collection, Sister Tongue.
Fatemi grew up in Southern California, the daughter of Iranian immigrants and came to Santa Cruz after her twin sister expressed a desire to study with Lucille Clifton at the University of Santa Cruz. Fatemi says of her twin, “She was a poet from the beginning.”
While at UCSC in a class taught by the poet Alfred Arteaga, Fatemi began reading poets like Lorna Dee Cervantes and Alfred Arteaga. (She says reading the former was the reason she became a poet.) Although she wrote poetry while in college and read at open mics, she didn’t consider herself a poet. Yet, after college she found that she continued to write poems…perhaps more consistently than other pursuits. Wanting to learn more about the craft led her to attend graduate school at Mills College where she earned her MFA.
She taught briefly at Cabrillo College and part time for the colleges at UCSC. Eventually she joined the UCSC Writing Program. During the academic year she found it challenging to find time for her own writing and tried to make up for it in summers.
Fatemi recounts that in the mid-2000s she found herself in a funk. In 2009 a dear friend died suddenly of leukemia. She was just 39 years old. It was then that she knew she needed to write more, so she began a writing group with poets Lisa Allen Ortiz, Francis Hatfield, Ingrid LaRiviere and Danusha Lameris. This group continues to meet and is a source of inspiration and encouragement.
Fatemi says she worked on the poems in her first collection for nearly seven years before sending the manuscript out. In 2021 Sister Tongue won the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize, selected by Tracy K. Smith. The unusual form of the work grew organically, in two streams…the prose and the poems were at first separate, but somehow she was able to combine the two.
Of Sister Tongue she says, “I inherited a world in a language I didn’t understand, and wanted to learn what was real in that world; and was trying to learn what it is to live with others who didn’t speak in my native tongue….this liminal space was experienced in different ways…I wanted to trust my curiosity about [the language…culture]…that it would lead to some sense of understanding, at least inside myself.
Fatemi has abundant energy for the job of poet laureate and lots of plans for projects already initiated and in the works. After 21 years of teaching at UCSC she says this is the perfect time to participate in the wider community of poetry and to give back.
Some programs she has helped develop include poetry (and music) in the parks with Santa Cruz County Parks; the inaugural youth poet laureate program for Santa Cruz County (applications will be ongoing through February 1,, 2024, and Fatemi will be sponsoring a series of workshops for teens in the fall which will consist of writing workshops, portfolio arrangement and performance skills.)
Much of her work is outreach and she collaborates with the County Office of Education, Arts Council Santa Cruz County and the poet laureate of the city of Watsonville, Bob Gomez. And Fatemi was the poet-in-residence at the 61st Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music this year.
In July Fatemi was chosen to receive $50,000 from the Academy of American Poets—one of 23 individuals who serve as poet laureates of states, counties and cities across the United States, through its Poet Laureate Fellowship program made possible through the Mellon Foundation.
Currently she is writing poems. Her writing process during this busy period is to write down one thing she has noticed each day. (This practice began with her book launch when she wanted to remember what happened at a reading, what someone said to her, if someone made her cry or laugh or touched her in some special way.)
In September she plans a residency where she will be able to get back to her “poet brain” and write. Fatemi says, “Poetry is something we can keep going deeper into…in a world that is so dominated by black and white thinking…poetry is a place where we can imagine uncertainty; a space where we don’t need to know all the answers.”
Borders
I know its shape—
my not-country
faraway home.
I know the space
it takes
the snail head
of Tabriz
at the top,
bulbous
spiral of the rest.
I’ve known
for decades
without knowing,
the way I didn’t know
what countries touch
the tender neck,
the belly or the shell
except Iraq
because my cousins
hoped not to die
on that front.
—Farnaz Fatemi
From Sister Tongue, farnazfatemi.com
Magdalena Montagne is a local poet- teacher who leads drop-in poetry writing workshops throughout Santa Cruz County. Her website is www.poetrycirclewithmagdalena.com
The sleek new bar was already full. So was the outdoor patio, and the new family-friendly banquettes along the oceanview windows. In short, the newly spiffed-up, redesigned and reimagined Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen Beachside is already a wild hit with locals and visitors. And on a Wednesday!
Melo and I got one of the few remaining tables in the spacious main room and enjoyed the sight of owner Sean Venus working the crowd, greeting patrons, and making sure tables were bussed. It was that busy. While we enjoyed the action, and the glimpse of a private party room that had been carved out of the original space, we made our drinks orders. On a previous occasion we’d enjoyed one of the house specialties, Beach Don’t Kill My Vibe, a bit of liquid poetry involving Venus gin No. 01, strawberry puree, lemon and basil, so we explored further down the Cocktails menu.
I’m a big fan of the Gin+Tonic with No. 01 (slightly less botanical than No.2 or the current seasonal gin), so that’s where I placed my bet. Melo, always a big David Lynch fan, wanted to try the Laura Palmer, a libation our server assured us was the current favorite with Venus regulars (both $14). My pretty G&T came adorned with a sprig of lavender, a scattering of juniper berries and a slice of orange. Everything is fragrant and refreshing.
The Laura Palmer was aromatic with a beautiful magenta hibiscus tea reduction, a splash of rose water, seltzer and lemon slice, added to the flagship No. 01 gin. These are easy-to-love cocktails that cry out for slow sipping and lots of gossip. Only a few sips later and our shared appetizer of burrata with grilled peaches and heirloom tomatoes arrived ($18). The word is “wow.”
A sensational way to start dinner, and one of those killer summer pairings of cool and fire-grilled ingredients. The white sphere of creamy mozzarella sat surrounded by a shallow pool of mint oil, Friends in Cheeses jam, and toasted almonds, with a trio of toast points of Companion sourdough on the side. We cleaned that beautiful plate in record time. The noise level rose along with the tide, visible gleaming in the setting sun just beyond the front parking area.
Kudos to Venus. This is an attractive remodel of the original room. Next came two memorable mains, a delicious creation of crispy seared sea bass ($38) and the house specialty, lobster roll ($36 that evening, but market price varies).
Cutting to the chase let me just say that the lobster roll was outstanding. Better than outstanding. It was the Platonic Form of lobster rolls on a soft, toothsome brioche roll. Nuggets of moist lobster had been tossed in a tarragon aioli and sherry vinaigrette, but not to the point of obliterating the fresh sweet lobster flavor. Enormous house-made potato chips, quite salty, filled the other side of the large platter.
We shared this fabulous entree, just as we did the plump sea bass, sitting on a freshly sauteed landscape of squid, including teeny tentacles (irresistible!), oyster mushrooms, tomatoes, and emerald broccoli, the entire layering of seafoods and veggies encircled by a thick swirl of avocado crema.
Seriously wonderful food, so wonderful that it overcame the noise level that had built over the course of our visit. The line for tables was out the door by the time we left. One touch of Venus is never enough. Can’t wait to go back.
The memory of tasting this 2019 Ram’s Gate Chardonnay is sure to linger, especially if the experience is at the winery’s beautiful facility in Sonoma. Grapes are from esteemed Hyde Vineyard in Napa – dedicated to pursuing a goal of excellence with “wines that break barriers and open new frontiers.”
The 2019 Chardonnay ($70) is elegant on the nose with terrific concentration and depth on the palate, say the folks at Ram’s Gate. The difference with the 2019 “dynamic vintage” is the increased Musqué (Indicating both perfumed and Muscat-like) percentage in the final blend allowing the intense aromatics to shine through.
This is an exceptional Chardonnay – chock full of spices and citrus fruit with tantalizing aromas of vanilla, butter and hazelnut – finishing with “distinct minerality.” It gained 94 points from Wine Enthusiast.
Ram’s Gate offers a variety of different tastings. There is a seated wine tasting; a Seasonal Wine and Food Experience; Wine and Bites; Luxury Picnic; or Sip and Savor at the Pond. So add a little pizzazz to your visit by pairing wines with delicious food. A regular seated wine tasting of one hour is $60 per person – applied toward any purchase at the end of your tasting.
Ram’s Gate Winery, 28700 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 707-721-8700. RamsGateWinery.com
Fonda Felix
Chef Diego Felix of Fonda Felix contacted me recently about an upcoming collaboration of dinners with Soif Wine Bar for each Saturday in October. The Oct.7 dinner will feature wines by local winemaker Terah Bajjalieh of Terah Wine Co. Bajjalieh, a native Californian, immersed herself in the winemaking business not that long ago. Well-armed with a master’s degree in enology and viticulture – she is also a certified sommelier. You can buy her wines online. More info at fondafelix.com and terahwineco.com
Kerri O’Neill grew up in Santa Cruz as a self-described at-risk kid who went to continuation school and moved out at 17. Raised vegetarian, she got into the restaurant industry as a server. One day, her boss asked her to make a batch of vegan cookies. They came out spectacular.
In 1992, she began making one of the first organic and vegan cookies in town called Kerri Kreations.
The local wholesale bakery sells to grocery stores like New Leaf, Whole Foods and The Food Bin. Her cookies are also available in coffee shops, as well as direct-to-consumer via her phone number and website. She defines her cookies as hand-made and artisan-crafted, using responsibly sourced ingredients with a low glycemic index. Some best-sellers include the Peanut Butter Fudge Collision, classic Chocolate Chip, Ginger and the Banana Nut Chunk.
Tell me about your journey?
KERRI O’NEILL: I feel like this business is a total testament to following a feeling inside. As a kid, we didn’t have much money, so cooking was something that came naturally to me. I just followed my heart and passion, and magic and alchemy followed. That passion, desire and want is the thing in the future calling to us, it’s our destiny becoming manifest through our passion. The business has taught me about discipline, hard work, resilience and the importance of a good sense of humor.
How do you describe your cookies?
They are top shelf and the ingredients are exactly what I would use at home making cookies for myself. They are vegan, but that is something I keep cryptic because most vegan desserts are often less than satisfying in terms of flavor and texture. I’ve spent many years perfecting recipes while also updating with current flavor trends. What’s on-trend now – organic, non-GMO and sustainably sourced ingredients – is what I’ve been doing since I started the business over 30 years ago.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): None of the books I’ve written has appeared on the New York Times best-seller list. Even if my future books do well, I will never catch up with Aries writer James Patterson, who has had 260 books on the prestigious list. My sales will never rival his, either. He has earned over $800 million from the 425 million copies his readers have bought. While I don’t expect you Rams to ever boost your income to Patterson’s level, either, I suspect the next nine months will bring you unprecedented opportunities to improve your financial situation. For best results, edge your way toward doing more of what you love to do.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Addressing a lover, D. H. Lawrence said that “having you near me” meant that he would “never cease to be filled with newness.” That is a sensational compliment! I wish all of us could have such an influence in our lives: a prod that helps arouse endless novelty. Here’s the good news, Taurus: I suspect you may soon be blessed with a lively source of such stimulation, at least temporarily. Are you ready and eager to welcome an influx of freshness?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Humans have been drinking beer for at least 13,000 years and eating bread for 14,500. We’ve enjoyed cheese for 7,500 years and popcorn for 6,500. Chances are good that at least some of these four are comfort foods for you. In the coming weeks, I suggest you get an ample share of them or any other delicious nourishments that make you feel well-grounded and deep-rooted. You need to give extra care to stabilizing your foundations. You have a mandate to cultivate security, stability, and constancy. Here’s your homework: Identify three things you can do to make you feel utterly at home in the world.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): On Instagram, I posted a favorite quote from poet Muriel Rukeyser: “The world is made of stories, not atoms.” I added my own thought: “You are made of stories, too.” A reader didn’t like this meme. He said it was “a nightmare for us anti-social people.” I asked him why. He said, “Because stories only happen in a social setting. To tell or hear a story is to be in a social interaction. If you’re not inclined towards such activities, it’s oppressive.” Here’s how I replied: “That’s not true for me. Many of my stories happen while I’m alone with my inner world. My nightly dreams are some of my favorite stories.” Anyway, Cancerian, I’m offering this exchange to you now because you are in a story-rich phase of your life. The tales coming your way, whether they occur in social settings or in the privacy of your own fantasies, will be extra interesting, educational, and motivational. Gather them in with gusto! Celebrate them!
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Author A. Conan Doyle said, “It has long been my axiom that the little things are infinitely the most important.” Spiritual teacher John Zabat-Zinn muses, “The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.” Here’s author Robert Brault’s advice: “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” Ancient Chinese sage Lao-Tzu provides a further nuance: “To know you have enough is to be rich.” Let’s add one more clue, from author Alice Walker: “I try to teach my heart to want nothing it can’t have.”
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “I don’t believe that in order to be interesting or meaningful, a relationship has to work out—in fiction or in real life.” So says Virgo novelist Elizabeth Curtis Sittenfeld, and I agree. Just because a romantic bond didn’t last forever doesn’t mean it was a waste of energy. An intimate connection you once enjoyed but then broke off might have taught you lessons that are crucial to your destiny. In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to acknowledge and celebrate these past experiences of togetherness. Interpret them not as failures but as gifts.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The amount of rubbish produced by the modern world is staggering: over 2 billion tons per year. To get a sense of how much that is, imagine a convoy of fully loaded garbage trucks circling the earth 24 times. You and I can diminish our contributions to this mess, though we must overcome the temptation to think our personal efforts will be futile. Can we really help save the world by buying secondhand goods, shopping at farmer’s markets, and curbing our use of paper? Maybe a little. And here’s the bonus: We enhance our mental health by reducing the waste we engender. Doing so gives us a more graceful and congenial relationship with life. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to meditate and act on this beautiful truth.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I hope that in the coming weeks, you will wash more dishes, do more laundry, and scrub more floors than you ever have before. Clean the bathrooms with extra fervor, too. Scour the oven and refrigerator. Make your bed with extreme precision. Got all that, Scorpio? JUST KIDDING! Everything I just said was a lie. Now here’s my authentic message: Avoid grunt work. Be as loose and playful and spontaneous as you have ever been. Seek record-breaking levels of fun and amusement. Experiment with the high arts of brilliant joy and profound pleasure.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Dear Sagittarius the Archer: To be successful in the coming weeks, you don’t have to hit the exact center of the bull’s-eye every time—or even anytime. Merely shooting your arrows so they land somewhere inside the fourth or third concentric rings will be a very positive development. Same is true if you are engaged in a situation with metaphorical resemblances to a game of horseshoes. Even if you don’t throw any ringers at all, just getting close could be enough to win the match. This is one time in your life when perfection isn’t necessary to win.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I suspect you are about to escape the stuffy labyrinth. There may be a short adjustment period, but soon you will be running half-wild in a liberated zone where you won’t have to dilute and censor yourself. I am not implying that your exile in the enclosed space was purely oppressive. Not at all. You learned some cool magic in there, and it will serve you well in your expansive new setting. Here’s your homework assignment: Identify three ways you will take advantage of your additional freedom.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Though my mother is a practical, sensible person with few mystical propensities, she sometimes talks about a supernatural vision she had. Her mother, my grandmother, had been disabled by a massive stroke. It left her barely able to do more than laugh and move her left arm. But months later, on the morning after grandma died, her spirit showed up in a pink ballerina dress doing ecstatic pirouettes next to my mother’s bed. My mom saw it as a communication about how joyful she was to be free of her wounded body. I mention this gift of grace because I suspect you will have at least one comparable experience in the coming weeks. Be alert for messages from your departed ancestors.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Those who know the truth are not equal to those who love it,” said the ancient Chinese sage Confucius. Amen! Seeking to understand reality with cold, unfeeling rationality is at best boring and at worst destructive. I go so far as to say that it’s impossible to deeply comprehend anything or anyone unless we love them. Really! I’m not exaggerating or being poetical. In my philosophy, our quest to be awake and see truly requires us to summon an abundance of affectionate attention. I nominate you to be the champion practitioner of this approach to intelligence, Pisces. It’s your birthright! And I hope you turn it up full blast in the coming weeks.
Homework: Cross two relatively trivial wishes off your list so you can focus more on major wishes. Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com
When an adult mastodon tooth was found at Rio del Mar earlier this year, staff at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History were excited by the sheer novelty of the discovery—and also for how the discovery ignited interest in the community.
The museum celebrated its 118th birthday this past weekend. Over the past years, it has been undergoing an evolution of sorts as its staff works on building community engagement. That includes creating unique programming and exhibits designed to serve its educational mission and ensure inclusivity. It’s a transformation they hope will introduce the museum to new visitors and re-introduce it to those who haven’t been in awhile.
Felicia Van Stolk, the museum’s executive director, includes herself among those who previously thought of the museum primarily as a place for field trips. She grew up in the county and visited the museum with school, but didn’t remember going other than that before she joined the museum’s education department in 2016.
“There was a really big turning point for the museum [around the time I came on],” Van Stolk said. “I was brought on as part of this intentional kind of refresh of the museum under the direction of then-director Heather Moffat. And the reason there needed to be this refresh is that even though we are 118 years old this year, we’re a relatively new nonprofit. We only became independent in 2009.”
In that year, the city of Santa Cruz cut the museum (the first in the city) from its budget. The nonprofit Santa Cruz Museum Association took over according to Liz Broughton, the museum’s visitors services manager.
“We had to really work to overcome the perception that the museum was closing or was closed,” Broughton said. “We had to really transition. Now, seeing the amount of growth we’ve gone through – it was a journey.”
While the city no longer owns the museum, it continues to be a great and supportive partner, Broughton added. Going from publicly owned to non-profit meant a loss of guaranteed funding, but it also opened the opportunity for more freedom in choosing supplies and vendors and more autonomy.
“I think this process really did force us to kind of step back and re-think, ‘how can we do more, think big, dream big?’’ said Broughton.
A Pandemic Pivot
In nearly 15 years since becoming a nonprofit, the museum tripled its staff, added new programming and honed its vision. Then Covid-19 hit.
“Even though we closed our physical doors, we were able to keep all of our employees,” said Van Stolk. “It really deepened our sense of purpose as a community resource. We aren’t just a building that people can walk around in; we are a resource for people to learn, for people to connect with nature and be inspired to explore even without us.”
According to the American Alliance of Museums, three-quarters of museum directors around the country reported operating incomes fell by an average of 40% during 2020. Half said their total staff size decreased by an average of 29% when compared with pre-pandemic levels. Museums and cultural institutions around the nation are working hard to bring more visitors in and return to their pre-pandemic attendance levels, which were already dwindling.
The Museum of Natural History is bucking the trend; last year was a record for attendance with more visitors than ever before.
“We saw a 14% increase year-over-year in visitation,” said Broughton. “That’s a testament to what we are doing.”
A National Reckoning
Parallel to the challenges of the pandemic, museums and cultural institutions around the country are in the midst of reckoning with historical injustices, racism and colonialism.
Some are having deeper conversations around repatriation—essentially, relinquishing control of artifacts that may have been looted or taken by unjust means. Some are looking at the context of how artifacts and exhibits are displayed and updating outdated and sometimes inaccurate information.
The California Association of Museums, a nonprofit that works with the state’s museums, has made an equity action plan key to its efforts, stating, “as educational institutions that serve the public, museums have a vital role to play in helping Californians understand and address racism and inequities within their communities.”
Even for natural history museums like the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, these changes are encouraging patrons’ engagement with the natural world in a nuanced, modern way.
That includes updating interpretive signs and descriptions to remove outdated and harmful language. It’s also an opportunity for museum leaders to think carefully about the context of future exhibits.
Last year, the museum featured one of its first new, in-house curated exhibits in over a decade, Remembering Castle Beach. The exhibit touched on issues like climate change and racism in its telling of the area’s history.
“We were able to really tell the story of the human versus nature interactions,” said Kathleen Aston, the museum’s collections manager. “It was a way to tell a natural history story through cultural elements.”
The museum also partners with the Amah Mutson Tribal Band on a number of projects and programs, including updating terminology, revising existing exhibits and rewriting the museum’s schools programs. That includes new interpretative signs at Neary Lagoon that the museum is helping the city with.
Bringing in programming for all ages
For many long-time residents, the museum is viewed as a staple of school field trips and has served as a local polling place, but there wasn’t always programming geared toward adults—or at least that was the perception.
Newer events like the annual Museum of the Macabre, a Halloween-inspired event that takes place at night, are decidedly aimed at adults. Combining ghastly and creepy exhibits with a costume party, thematic cocktails and other activities, the event has become one of the museum’s most popular.
Now in its seventh year, the Museum of the Macabre will take place over six weeks this year as opposed to just being a one night thing. As part of this year’s celebration, the museum will be featuring an exhibit called Underground: Unearthing Unseen worlds.
The museum also regularly participates in First Friday as well an ongoing series of lectures and presentations focused on the CZU Lightning Fire, nature illustration and journaling workshops.
Taking Stock
In the background of all these efforts is a major project to inventory the museum’s collections to gain a better understanding of what they have, and start bringing out more of it for public view.
At any given time, just a small percent of the museum’s archives are on display. Aston and her team are cataloging everything and considering possible new exhibits to curate using these existing items. It’s a big undertaking and one that’s long overdue, according to Aston.
“When I first started here, we could do 2D exhibits and that was about it,” said Broughton.”In the past couple of years, we’ve really upped our game and been able to do more internal curation. Our public programming has increased dramatically; [previously] we only did a handful of events each year. The demand is here in our community.”
Wildfires in the county’s unincorporated regions have stayed relatively low for this time of year.
So far in 2023, just 71 vegetation fires have ignited in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, compared to 107 for the same time period last year.
That’s according to Nate Armstrong, who serves as unit chief for Santa Cruz County’s Cal Fire division.
But Armstrong warned the County Supervisors during their Aug. 8 meeting that the fire season could peak later than usual. That’s in part because of the grasses and brush drying out in the warm, dry summer, leading to a fire season starting possibly in September or October.
“Cal Fire’s main operational objective is to keep 95% of fires to 10% or less, and by and large we do a great job of that,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong said the lower number of fires can be attributed to the exceptionally wet winter.
But those rains also fueled the growth of forest understory and grasses, and left behind debris that could serve as fuel and increase the fire danger this year—and in the coming years.
Low Recruitment
The county is trying to build up its ranks of roughly 70 volunteers, with five volunteer companies in South Skyline, Bonny Doon, Loma Prieta, Davenport and Corralitos.
But recruiting and retaining volunteers can be a challenge, Armstrong said.
One way many jurisdictions do this is by using crews of state prison inmates trained to fight fires. But even those suffer from low numbers.
Just 72 of the 152 inmate crews are sufficiently staffed statewide. Of those, only 61 have enough training to safely respond to fires, Armstrong said.
Cal Fire spokesman Issac Sanchez said that the agency is addressing these low numbers by entering into agreements with organizations such as California Conservation Corps, California Military Department and by requesting resources from local and federal officials.
Cal Fire has also hired seasonal firefighters to make up for the lagging numbers.
But those measures have not completely made up for the reductions in volunteers, Sanchez said.
“CDCR hand crews, like all hand crews, are part of every vegetation fire response and are sent as part of the initial dispatch,” he said. “We see these resources as valuable in our efforts to not only combat vegetation fires but also in preparing communities for fires through fuel reduction projects.”
Inside The Problem
The reasons behind low volunteer numbers vary.
Low volunteers are especially prevalent with crews made up of state prison inmates who are trained to help battle fires. Mainly, Armstrong said, because of recent changes to state sentencing laws that have significantly reduced the incarcerated population.
The Covid-19 pandemic also significantly reduced the number of people who would be eligible for the Conservation Camp Program, said CDCR spokeswoman Tessa Outhyse. That’s where inmates learn the skills they need to fight fires.
About 1,800 people make up the current Conservation Camp Program, Outhyse said, which is an increase from last year.
About 970 of these are qualified to work on fire lines and can respond to emergencies all over the state at a moment’s notice.
Last week, more than 100 incarcerated firefighters assisted crews with emergencies in at least four counties across California, Outhyse she said.
CDCR is working on a pilot program to expand opportunities for youthful offenders and their peer mentors to participate in the camps. Officials frequently recruit eligible inmates from the state’s institutions.
They also tell them about the opportunities afforded to incarcerated firefighters after their release, such as the Ventura Training Center, which provides further training to inmates who have participated on fire crews.
Ultimately, Armstrong stressed, while equipment can help abate fire it’s the crews on the ground that make the difference when battling a blaze.
“I’ve never seen a fire completely put out with aircraft,” he said. “It all comes down to the folks on the ground.”
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