Cries of โUnion power!โ rang out across Winchester Boulevard in the 91-degree Fahrenheit heat, as the actors’ strike arrived in Los Gatos.
On July 20, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) members picketed in front of Netflixโs corporate headquarters.
The relevance of Silicon Valley as an artificial intelligence incubator thatโs bringing change to entertainment pay models was not lost on the demonstrators.
โThis is our livelihood,โ said Rick Haffner, a 63-year-old from Cupertino whoโs been in SAG-AFTRA for some two decades, urging tech executives to work with actors on a new funding model. โSilicon Valley, take the lead!โ
On May 2, the Writers Guild of America went on strike, after talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke down.
WGA waged a highly coordinated campaign that managed to shut down the majority of shoots in Los Angeles. Other, more limited, actions took place further afield.
SAG-AFTRA, the union representing 160,000 performers, joined the WGAโs movement on July 13, opening a new front in the war over compensation rules in the streaming era.
On July 19, Netflix announced it was phasing out its basic ad-free plan for American viewers, the Verge reported.
The company, which recently started cracking down on password sharing, increased its subscribers by 8% and now has 238.9 million global users, according to collider.com.
Nevertheless, it failed to meet investorsโ expectations. Wall Street was hoping for the company, which was birthed in Scotts Valley, to deliver $8.3 billion in revenueโbut it came up short with $8.19 billion (and $1.5 billion in profit), the website said.
It was on the heels of an 8% share price tumble that actors beat a path to its Los Gatos campus.
The location was an obvious Bay Area target, explained Kathryn Howell, president of the San Francisco-Northern California SAG-AFTRA local.
โThere arenโt as many (studios) here,โ she said, noting while Pixar and Lucasfilm are nearby, both are subsidiaries of Burbank-based Disney, whereas this is Netflixโs global home base. โNetflix is one of the big companies that sits on the other side of the table.โ
Anthony Abate, from Sonoma, held up a paycheck for a penny from NBC Universal to illustrate how bad residuals can beโand why he feels the protests are vital.
โItโs about spreading the wealth,โ he said. โTrickle-down economics has never worked.โ
Abate was irked by a proposal from the studios that would see background actors hired for a day, to be scanned and recreated digitally in future scenes for no extra money.
Robert Chestnut, a 60-year-old Carmel-by-the-Sea resident whose credits include โDays of Our Lives,โ โAirwolfโ and โBumblebee,โ also joined the picket.
โWe used to have network stations, movie releases and cable,โ he said. โNow that we have streaming, everythingโs changed.โ
Part of the problem, he explained, is that Netflix isnโt transparent about how many people watch its shows.
The actors want 2% of streaming revenue, but itโs impossible to figure out what that figure is if studios keep this information to themselves, Chestnut said.
Chestnutโs message to Netflixโs board of directors chair Reed Hastings, who co-founded the company and has made his home just over the hill in Santa Cruz County?
โGet your head out of your ass and support our locals, our trained professionals,โ he said.
Neither Netflix nor Hastings replied to requests for comment.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) on July 21 voted unanimously to urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to change the way it funds flood control projects for economically disadvantaged communities.
Currently, the ACOE uses a 1:1 benefit-cost ratio when figuring the feasibility of a project, requiring one dollar of savings for every dollar spent.
That has hurt communities such as Pajaro and Watsonville, since the ACOE formula asses agricultural land as a zero.ย
Under that same formula, higher-income communities with million-dollar homes take precedence over those with lower-value properties.
Under the recommendation from NACo, the ACOE would implement changes to its cost-benefit analysis to offer equitable flood protection for disadvantaged communities.
The resolution carries no requirement for the federal agency to implement the changes. But the unanimous concurrence from NACoโa national organization that helps elevate local issues to a national levelโwill carry weight for federal lawmakers when they consider the issue, says NACo spokeswoman Rachel Serrao.ย
The new policy was proposed by Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Chair Zach Friend, and received unanimous support from the board four years ago.
โFor decades, Santa Cruz County led the fight for improved flood protection along the Pajaro River but were challenged by federal funding formulas that favor wealthier communities,โ Friend says. โNow that we are on the verge of finally moving into the design and construction phase, we do not want to see other communities subject to high flood risk left behind.โ
Locally, efforts to prevent flooding are set to get a big boost.
The Pajaro River Levee will soon receive a $400 million upgrade by the ACOE to offer 100-year flood protection, with work to begin in spring 2024.
In addition, the countyโs Zone 7 Flood Control District has invested millions in flood prevention projects over the years to increase water flow and prevent new breaches on the Santa Cruz County side of the Pajaro River.
This includes the bench excavation project in 2012, during which work crews removed 300,000 cubic yards of sedimentย along 7.5-miles of the Pajaro River and its tributaries to improve flow and prevent flooding.
Question of the Week: “What should be done about the Otter 841 affair?”
841 the otter is a playful otterโs daughter. One day when she was feeling bored, she stole a local surferโs board. Her playground is the surf, but does that mean she owns the turf? Is this the otterโs water? We turn to you for what to do.
“The otter owns the ocean, she is meant to be there, she should be free to play where she lives. Donโt try to capture her.”
โNatalie McCowan 21, Student“I want to take her home and give her a hot pink surfboard and name her Georgie Girl!”
โAmรฉlie Thams, 12, Student“Itโs about more than one otter. The red tide is toxic algae that is affecting the sea animalsโ food, and they are acting up because of it. Let her do her thing, because more are coming ”
โDaniella Blomquist, 19, Musician, with Lily“Otters were here before us so she deserves her freedom. Sheโs just being a territorial creature. We should make her a mascot, and she can have her own logo like on an Otter Pop!”
โRJ Castro, 50, Chef“She needs to buy a surfboard like everyone else! But seriously, she could be trying to play. Many animals play cross-species so we could play back. If she is captured, give her a place to play.”
โMark Fullerton, 64, Student“I think we should set her free. Itโs her home, not ours.”
World premieres, percussion superstars and a farewell to Ellen Primack
โWithout music, life would be a mistake,โ said the German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche more than a century ago.
And I agree.
Arguably the invisible tissue that connects us each to each, music magically weaves networks among musicians, composers and listeners.
Once interconnected, we remain that way. We always remember favorite songs, or the first time we sat in a darkened theater, swept away by the beauty and power of live orchestral music.
Nothing, certainly nothing on a digital screen, can compare with that enchantment, which is why August is my favorite month in Santa Cruz. For two weeks, thanks to the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the town will be awash with brilliant music, much of it as new as tomorrow.
The appeal of the festival lies partly in its power base of outstanding musicians, many of whom return year after year to perform, rehearse and surprise each other.
MASTER MAESTRO Music Director Cristian Mฤcelaru says new music should be treated with the same reverence as the classics. Photo: RR Jones
โThe Cabrillo Festival is different than other festivals,โ Music Director Cristian Mฤcelaru told me. โBecause the intensity with which we fulfill our unique mission informs the quality of the music we present. I believe that new music needs the same kind of attention as we give to masterpieces of the past.โ
And Maestro Mฤcelaruโs attention draws from an international reservoir of colleagues and protegรฉs able to finesse new compositions and breakthrough performances.
Among musicians, networking is a self-validating prophecy. For example, a renowned teacher mentors gifted pupils who in turn showcase works she creates for them at the Santa Cruz festival. Or an innovative emerging composer might come to the attention of the festival director at a workshop halfway around the world, and then, voila, arrives to bring that spark, that something new and extraordinary, to the Civic Auditorium. Thus are connections created and renewed.
For the next two weeks, from the free open rehearsals starting on July 30 through the resounding final evening on August 13, we will hear a potent stream of new music live in the Civic Auditorium.
Taking center stage this season is percussion: A galaxy of objects that can be hit, shaken, scraped and struck, some come with their own sonic voicesโbass drums, maracas or cymbals. Others are tuned to the composerโs desired pitchโsuch as timpani, vibraphone and xylophone.
Oscar-winning composer Tan Dunโs percussion concerto, The Tears of Nature, will be performed on August 5 by virtuoso soloist Beibei Wang. During the festivalโs second week, acclaimed percussionist Colin Currie returns to Santa Cruz with an arsenal of drumming instruments that include pans, buckets and oven racks to perform Julie Wolfeโs street-inspired concerto, riSE and fLY.
EYES OPEN Composer Jennifer Higdon’s second opera โWomen with Eyes Closedโ debuts in Philidelphia in September. PHOTO: A. Bogard
And just to make sure weโre paying attention, Opening Night Friday August 4 spotlights master percussionists Svet Stoyanov and Matthew Strauss performing the West Coast premiere of Duo Duel, an electrifying double concerto by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon.
Higdon, a prolific and in-demand artist, whose second operaโWomen with Eyes Closed, debuts in Philadelphia, September 2024โwill be in residence once again during this yearโs festival.
โI always have fun at Cabrillo,โ she told me, the warm backbeat of Tennessee in her voice. โI get to work with musicians I’ve worked with in other orchestras, and because the town itself is so much fun itโs nice to catch up with some of them in a more relaxed atmosphere.โ
During the cloistering of the pandemic, Higdon says she โwrote and wrote,โ including the Duo Duel destined for Cabrillo. โI think the isolation we were all feeling in the early months created a certain introspection, a need to reach out. So I wrote a more melodic percussion concerto, using only pitched instruments. The piece moves between a marimba, vibraphone and six timpaniโitโs very energetic,โ she laughs.
Higdon believes that the rare double concerto will โgive people a chance to see percussion virtuosityโit looks like a choreographed dance with the two players working together.โ The visual experience should be as exciting as the electrifying sound. And the composer admits that this dynamic tour de force contains โsome of the fastest work ever written for percussion.โ
DRUMS THE THING Cabrillo Festival percussionist Svet Stoyanov spearheads performances featuring lots of percussion. PHOTO: rr Jones
One of the virtuoso percussionists whoโll perform Higdonโs epic concerto, Duo Duel, is Bulgarian native Svet Stoyanov. โIt transcends speed,โ explains the marimba specialist about Higdonโs concerto. โItโs much more about flow, and at that point, I believe craft turns into art.โ
Considered a marimba virtuoso, Stoyanov maintains that he really plays โa lot of instruments in the percussion family.โ And he also maintains that live performances of these instruments are especially fun for audiences. A world music aficionado, Stoyanov is adept with Bulgarian native instruments. โIn fact, I’ll have one with me at Cabrillo and may be able to demonstrate a bit.โ
Being a good musician, according to Stoyanov, requires a performer to become versatile with the language of more than one instrument. โI’m in love with universal possibilities of sound and texturesโitโs truly one of the most beautiful things about percussion, what makes it so very rich to the listeners as well.โ
Percussionists like to joke, he says, that they are โall closet rock drummers.โ But with the idea of a concerto for percussion, โpeople have no idea what to expect. That’s both comical, and I think very exciting to the listener. If you go to a concert youโre literally going on a journey. You know you’re going to experience something you’ve never had before.โ
The great thing about working with Higdon, he admits, was that she โagreed to actually explore how the beautiful and melodic lines of a piano concerto could be applied to the art of percussion.โ
Stoyanov speaks for himself and his colleague Matthew Strauss when he says, โWe love Jennifer Higdon. We love her music. And weโre really grateful to Jennifer who loved the idea of creating an emotionally expressive percussion piece and embraced it so very wholeheartedly.โ
At the end of the day, Stoyanov believes that the piece heโll be performing is about โexploring how beauty can be applied to the idea of percussion.โ He is committed to a renaissance in percussion as an art form.
โYou know, when people hear about the percussion concerto theyโre excited. They donโt know exactly what to expect, but they know thereโs increasing depth in the musical potential for these instruments.โ And having a celebrated composer dedicated to creating a double percussion concerto, โchanges not only the present,โ Stoyanov contends, โbut the future of our art form as well.โ
The Cabrillo Festival 2023 season is by no means confined to percussion. In addition to a farewell commission to honor Ellen Primack, by Festival favorite Anna Clyne, Pulitzer-prize winning composer Kevin Puts has composed an Orchestral Concerto inspired by Amanda Gormanโs Hymn for the Hurting. Composer-in-residence Dan Caputo opens the festivalโs Finale with a texturally complex piece, Liminal, which explores the feeling of that elusive realm between sleeping and waking. Originally scheduled for the 2020 season (canceled due to COVID), Caputoโs creation of ambient layers came about from his lifelong interest in soundscapes and musical behavior across many genres.
Sound, space and atmospheric abstractions underpin his omnivore appetite in musical exploration, and Caputo cited Gyorgy Ligetiโs avant-garde orchestral music and electronicaโโthe layering of all these soundsโโas one of his compositional points of origin. โI’d say I was sort of influenced by contemporary classical music, which I studied as a doctoral student, and then by the experimental electronic world, people like Kate Soper, and Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never. I listened to a lot of experimental work.โ
Liminal began, Caputo explains, with โtreating the orchestra as one large body, using it to make and vary single gestures. Off-balance rhythms yet synchronized gestures,โ he describes the compositional strategy, as opposed to writing for individual instruments or sections and then putting them all together.
The score ended up requiring specialized score symbols inserted at the top of the pages of music, to help synchronize the communication between conductor and musicians. โI always try to pre-plan,โ says Caputo, a professor of music at University of Southern California. โBut as the music gets created I let the ideas go where they want to go.โ The piece weโll hear at the opening of the festivalโs final concert is the last one composed by Caputo entirely for live orchestra. โIt was my last non-electronic composition.โ
Caputo, like many musical artists, found himself stuck in quarantine during the pandemic, composing in solitude. Working electronically provided the solution, as he recorded himself playing, and re-recording, engaged deeply in sound experiments of shimmering layers and aural development, joining live instruments, such as clarinet or violin, with electronic accompaniment. Now working on large-scale EP-length works for streaming platforms such as Bandcamp and Spotify, Caputo looks forward to Santa Cruz. โI’ve never been to the Cabrillo festival, but of course I have lots of colleagues who have enjoyed performing here.โ
Bringing the festival to its conclusion on August 13 will be the World Premiere of Anna Clyneโs Wild Geese, commissioned by the festival to honor longtime Executive Director Ellen Primack, who steps down from her role this season.Primack, 62, has employed her extraordinary tenacity and passionate belief in the power of performance to build the Cabrillo Festival for Contemporary Musicโs influence in the expanding world of new music. After 32 years as Executive Director, she will turn over the reins of the festival in October to H. Riley Nicholson, currently the Executive Director of the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas.
Primack characterizes the Festivalโs โtwo-fold personalityโ as both international and yet small. The depth of the orchestra, drawing participants from all over the country, as well as their willingness to stretch out of any known comfort zone, is, she smiles, โone of our strengths.โ As is accessโโespecially rehearsal access, which allows audiences to experience the entire living, breathing process.โ
Ellen Primack has characterized her work as โmatch making:โ joining staff, musicians and donors in open-hearted, open-minded support for adventurous contemporary music. โOne of Cristi’s strengths,โ she reminds me, โis that heโs committed to fostering programs that are relevant, and that has led to a diverse soundworld. At the festival youโre going to like something,โ she grins. โAnd you’ll probably fall in love with at least one offering.โ
Open rehearsals are a gateway drug, Primack likes to explain. โInviting us to slow down and be inside live music. The festival is so much about the live experience. The audience itself has a role in the actual performance.โ Sheโs convinced that even younger audiences realize that โlive music is distinctive. The other thing about new music is the diversity of voices. And the young composers we bring to the festival speak their language.โ
Free family concerts help to bring in the next generation and those live exposures are the memories we build upon, that stay ever after in our lives, Primack believes. โWe have a $20 youth ticket for patrons 30 years of age or younger, for any of the performances,โ she reminds me, with a gleam in her eye. โEarly experiences help us feel comfortable with music, and our obligation is to tell the stories, to allow people to have a new vocabulary filled with energy and a sense of joy.โ And that energy has fueled Primackโs enviable track record of finding support for the commissioning of more than 50 new pieces for the festival orchestra since 2006, including work by Philip Glass, John Adams, Mason Bates and Jennifer Higdon.
โThe festival is thriving artistically, and this seemed like a good time for me to step down, to find more time for family and friends.โ While stepping down from her role with the Festival, Primack is nowhere near retiring. Sheโll help with the transition to a new Executive Director, as well as continue her arts consulting. โIโd like to rebuild the arts cohort in our community, sharing ideas, brainstorming. And building leadership.โ Leadership is something Ellen Primack knows about.
Don’t miss the bounty of rehearsals and concerts at this yearโs Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. The world will be listening! July 30-August 13, at the SC Civic Auditorium 307 Church Street. For tickets visit cabrillomusic.org or call 831.420-5260, x5
I appreciate the Good Timesโ invitation to address issues raised in Sandy Lydon’s July 11th and 12th Santa Cruz Sentinel commentaries on Cabrilloโs naming decision, to run alongside new commentary I understand he has been invited to share here.
Mr. Lydon and I both care deeply about this college and the communities served, especially those whoโve faced discrimination. Weโve both been recognized for work to elevate people historically marginalized and oppressed; Mr. Lydon for his activism supporting Asian immigrant communities in our region, and me for equity and civil rights work supporting LGBTQ people, to name just some of our work.
Cabrillo, in fact, is where I first learned about activism. I attended Cabrillo from 1994 to 2002 while working fulltime as a preschool teacher in Ben Lomond. Cabrillo presented me such rich, forward-thinking perspectives, far beyond any Iโd been exposed to before. Itโs where I first learned concepts of white privilege and whitewashing of history. Itโs where I learned anti-bias education, and that โintentโ does not exempt one from โimpactโ when causing harm, even if that harm was unintended.
This is the โCabrillo wayโ as I learned it and is what grounded my commitment to social justice.
The โCabrillo wayโ Mr. Lydon described in his July 12th commentary differs. His takes Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo off the collegeโs signage to discuss his nuances and complexities, but then posts overgeneralized and convenient definitions of JRC on our website and puts him โback upโ only to promise annual reflection and reexamination. My โCabrillo wayโ suggests that if in that process we learn the impact of the name is harmful to any of our students, we have a responsibility to address that impact, not just the original namingโs intent.
I must admit, I shared Mr. Lydonโs views when this request was first presented. Iโd hoped that as we explored the namesake, weโd find that who he was and how the college came to be named after him warranted keeping the name. But the very ideologies I learned at Cabrillo the college helped me understand our responsibility in separating the college from Cabrillo the man.
It is undoubtedly distressing for Native and Indigenous students to attend a college named for a man who gained immense wealth and power through slave labor resulting from the conquest of Indigenous Mexico and Central America. A man who set the stage for the colonial conquest of California and the subjugation of Native and Indigenous peoples who lived in this region for centuries, their ancestors.
At the onset, I committed to holding equity as central to this process, ensuring all students feel welcome, have a sense of belonging and thrive. While I heard many good people share many valid reasons for not changing the nameโincluding Sandy LydonโI also heard the stories of Native and Indigenous people suffering from transgenerational trauma and injustice, exacerbated by our collegeโs name. Others heard this suffering as well.
After a near three-year educational process that Mr. Lydon participated in, survey results illustrated that when people learned about Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and the harms caused from our college carrying his name, support for changing the collegeโs name increased. This, alongside all we learned throughout our educational process, informed our Name Exploration Subcommitteeโs ultimate report to the community, its recommendation and the six-to-one majority governing board vote to change the collegeโs name.
Now that we know the name Cabrillo does continuing harm to members of the collegeโs public, many believe we have a responsibility to correct that harm by separating the name from our college. Clearly, Mr. Lydon sees this differently, as do those in our community voicing strong opposition to changing the collegeโs name. Some feel more time is needed to consider potential new names. There are now calls to pause this process so that our leadership can seek more public input.
Perhaps pausing is necessaryโthough I cannot decide that alone. But pausing will only be effective if everyone commits to truly listening to each other, respectfully. It should also center the voices of those harmed by the current name, and thoughtful dialogue about what qualities matter in a new name. Thatโs how we uphold the โCabrillo wayโ as we move forward.
Adam Spickler is a Trustee on the Cabrillo College Board of Trustees. He has worked in nonprofit leadership and in state and county government since 2002. He is also a proud Cabrillo College graduate.
It’s Been Bass-Ackwards
By Sandy Lydonย
Listen to it! Itโs echoing throughout every corner of this county. Everybodyโs talking about Cabrillo-the-college, Cabrillo-the-guy and the histories of each. Even folks who live off the Information Grid, enjoying their newsless lives, are finally hearing about the Cabrillo Name Thing. In fact, if we want to escape it, we canโt.
At the beginning it was a simple either-or choice, but since the naming subcommittee introduced five possible replacement names, it has swollen to seven choices. Support groups have arisen for all seven possibilities. Any day now I expect to see a group on a Highway 1 overpass (the Cabrillo Highway, BTW), waving signs urging motorists to โHonk if you love Cajastaca!โย ย
THIS is the conversation we should have had before the Board voted to remove the collegeโs name on November 14, 2022. It has gotten a little strident and personal, but in the main it has been educational, even laugh-out-loud funny.
I believe a lot of the shrillness and stridency is born out of desperation caused by a looming deadline of Aug. 7. Trustee Adam Spickler and I are writing feverishly side-by-side, each trying to get in one last shot before the deadline.ย ย
I suspect that Trustee Spickler will bring up things that Iโve written or said in the past, and Iโll return the favor.ย
Spickler wrote a heartfelt letter published in the July 22 Sentinel apologizing for using the phrase โold white person.โ To use such a phrase while combating racism is counterproductive. We older folks, defined by the Federal government as people over 40, are members of a protected class, just as are the Indigenous people he vigorously supports. We were hurt by the cavalier manner our opinions were dismissed on November 14. Fighting discrimination against one group by denigrating another divides the community and, in my opinion, is just plain wrong.
Had the Cloak of COVID not smothered us during the years 2020 and 2021, we might have been able to have this conversation before the November 14 meeting. Zoom and URLs are no substitute for in-person face to face meetings, and classroom interactions.
Many public institutions take a breather in August, and Cabrillo should too. Here are some of my reasons for extending the calendar but continuing the conversation, which comes on the heels of Richard and Theresa Crockerโs most recent pledge of $1 million to keep Cabrilloโs name:
None of the five names are worthy of replacing the collegeโs original name. Toss them all and begin again, this time using published works such as Don Clarkโs Santa Cruz County Place Names as your sources.
The process for selecting those names is skewed by the members of the naming task force participating in the public sticky-note meetings. Some of them argued their support for their favorite names. I believe that this tilts the meeting results.
There were no apparent controls on the sticky-note process. It would have been easy for advocates of particular names to โstuffโ the panels. I believe that any results coming from the โgallery walksโ in the public meetings should be discarded, the present task thanked for their service and dismissed, and a new process be designed, without sticky-notes.
The money raised so that โno public fundsโ be used is far short of the $600,000 goal.
The conversation shows no signs of waning. As Trustee Spencer asked when she cast the lone dissenting vote, โWhatโs rush?โ Indeed. And Iโm sure that my co-columnist Adam Spickler has provided some powerful and erudite arguments that deserve time for our reflection.
Letโs continue the conversation.
Sandy Lydon has been a teacher for 62 years, the last 54 at Cabrillo. He is an award-winning author and lecturer, most notably for his activism on behalf of regional Asian-American communities. He was voted โBest College Teacherโ in Good Timesโ first Best Of poll in 1976.ย
Marรญa Olvide Lozanoโs 2-year-old daughter stomps around as her mother sits in the lobby of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program at Community Bridges in Watsonville. It’s 5pm on a Tuesday and the pair are the only clients here as staff wraps up for the day.
Olvide Lozano is here for the monthly assistance provided by WIC to access healthy nutrition for her toddler. Leafy greens poke out of the bag that she received moments before as part of her food aid.
โThey teach us how to give [our children] a balanced diet. Something that sometimes we donโt know about,โ Olvide Lozano says in Spanish about the program. โSo then I try to give them more vegetables, more fruits, less bread, less junk food.โ
Olvide Lozano works as a blackberry picker on a local farm. She came to the area nine years ago from Jalisco, Mexico and has received WIC assistance for both of her children through Community Bridges for the past eight years.
The local non-profit is leading a new engagement effort that targets farmworkers like Olvide Lozano. The program received federal funding earlier this summer to embark on their project to enroll more immigrant and farmworker families in WIC. Itโs a daunting task, however, and the organization will have to break through misconceptions and fears entrenched in the community.
Brief History
In 1972, the federal WIC program began as a pilot supplemental food program aiming to improve the health of pregnant mothers, infants and children in response to malnutrition among many poor mothers with young children. By 1975 the program was permanent. Over the years, federal legislation introduced various elements to the program, including nutrition education, breastfeeding support and social services referrals.
Community Bridges opened its WIC program in February 1977. Currently, it serves more than 800 pregnant women, 900 breastfeeding women, 1,600 infants and 5,000 children across Santa Cruz County. It assists participants with nutrition education, breastfeeding education and health care referrals, among other services.
The WIC Community Innovation and Outreach Project (WIC CIAO) grant is awarded to 36 programs nationwide and the WIC program here is one of its distinguished recipients. The award is given to organizations involved in efforts to develop innovative outreach strategies to boost awareness and participation in the program.
The non-profit applied for this grant to help expand reach to immigrant and farmworker families and increase WIC enrollment in the area. Out of 84 California agencies providing WIC assistance, Community Bridgesโ program was one of only two in the state to be awarded the WIC CIAO and received $244,189 for an 18 month-long project. Dana Wagner, the WIC Program director, is honored to receive the award and emphasizes that it was a team effort for the organization.
โI just knew that there were families that were likely eligible who just werenโt receiving services … and it connected so much to my values and the values of Community Bridges that I just want to provide the assistance to families that are eligible for services,โ Wagner says. โWIC has a proven track record of helping families and helping them have healthier outcomes and I just wanted to make the services available. So when I saw this opportunity I just said โyes letโs go for it.โโ
Community Bridges is planning on strengthening its partnerships with its Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Center for Farmworker Families to โaddress barriers and misconceptions about participating in the WIC program,โ according to a press release.
Risking It All
Dr. Ann Lopez, Executive Director of the Center for Farmworker Families, works with the local immigrant and farmworker population. She stresses the importance of meeting them where they are, as many are afraid of institutions for fear of deportation.
โPeople are very reticent to go anywhere that looks like an institutional setting even if there is tremendous benefit. The organizations must come to the workers and not vice-versa,โ Dr. Lopez says.
The Center for Farmworker Families holds a bimonthly food distribution for undocumented farmworkers in a clandestine location in the Watsonville area. Itโs set up this way so participants feel safe and comfortable, according to Dr. Lopez.
โIโve learned firsthand that people would rather starve than risk deportation,โ she says.
The fears these families have are not unfounded.
A Trump-era policy called the โpublic chargeโ rule made it so immigrants could be denied permanent resident status if they had received or were expected to receive public benefits, including food assistance. In 2021 the Biden administration reversed that policy. Senate Republicans have recently passed a resolution to reinstate the public charge rule, but President Biden is expected to veto it.
As it stands, receiving federal benefits like WIC currently do not affect immigrantsโ status or prospective citizenship. Now that they have received the prestigious award, Community Bridges is ready to dispel myths and expand their reach.
โI am honored and thrilled to have been chosen for this opportunity to engage more families in the Pajaro Valley and surrounding area with WIC,โ says Wagner. โI want to let families know that WIC is a safe place, that it is easy to apply for services and that we are here to assist with a variety of services to improve health and well-being. Food access knows no boundaries, nor does it care about citizenship requirements.โ
The Scotts Valley Unified School District will hold a public hearing on Wednesday to discuss a parcel tax that would raise revenue for student programs and teacher salaries.
The meeting seeks to address the wealthy communityโs struggle to maintain educational offerings.
District officials have long complained that government funding formulas disadvantage Scotts Valleyโa comment that was repeated in the posted agenda for this weekโs special meeting.
โScotts Valley Unified School District is one of the lowest funded unified school districts in California,โ the item summary reads. โThis parcel tax will help protect Scotts Valley schools’ key academic programs, teachers and counselors in order to address the educational and social emotional needs of all of our students.โ
The Parcel Tax Renewal Campaign Committee is considering an all-mail-in ballot in October and is looking at an annual $168 per parcel levy, which would be an increase of $60.
The district conducted polling earlier this year and found support for a tax, according to school board documents.
Superintendent Tanya Krause said SVUSD has been successful at hiring staff and is in a better position than it was a year ago.
โIt was a challenging school year, but we made it through,โ Krause said at a June 13 meeting.
The parcel tax could bring in $1 million a year for seven years, beginning in 2024-25.
The public hearing will be held at Scotts Valley Middle School, located at 8 Bean Creek Rd. in Scotts Valley, starting at 5pm.
DOG DAY AFTERNOON Seascapeโs concerts were kid, family and dog friendly. Catch the last one Sunday. Photo: Brad Kava
Wrath of KaiJune: A Burlesque And Drag Tribute To Giant Monsters. With a name like that, how can you say no? It turns out this Wednesday performance is the ultimate tribute to show stomping glamour and seduction. It is the unified spirit that Pride month never dies. Performances are by local artists, including Xinistra Gl’amour, Babraham Lincoln, Sylvia Wrath, Shiza Minnelli, Miss Monsterra, Jubilee, Carolina Peach and Selina de Vestige. Giant monsters are unapologetically themselves and strive to bring this embodiment of KaiJune Pride to the stage. It promises to be a night full of monsters ready to take you for a wild ride into their world. It plays 7:30-9:30pm Wednesday at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing, 119 Madrone St. Santa Cruz. Tickets are $20 online and $25 at the door.
The Dream Inn is bringing the second Summer Dreaminnโ Marketplace, connecting residents, visitors and local artisans for an evening of shopping, food, beverages and music. Local artisans and makers will showcase goods as diverse as jewelry to art, ethically-made swimwear, soaps and screen prints, to woodwork on the patio with live music from Claudia Melega and Dennis Dove. Itโs Wednesday 4-8pm on the front patio, 175 West Cliff Drive. Free admission.
Reggae Thursdays at the Cruz Kitchen & Taps is a great time to get your rasta man and woman chops on. DJ Spleece is the man behind the stand who brings out the reggae fans. Check him out 6-8pm at 145 Laurel St., Santa Cruz. Free
MARIO Y SU TIMBEKO is a band formed by Cuban drummer and composer Mario Salomรณn, featuring Carlos Caro on congas and percussion, bassist and cuatro player Pedro Pastrana, Erick Peralta on keys, pianist Jason Moen, singer Christelle Durandy, singer and songwriter Juan Luis Perez. They made their debut on the streets of Oakland at the 2018 Temescal Street Fair. TimbeKO incorporates elements of R&B, gospel, jazz and funk into the sounds of popular Cuban Salsa, also known as Timba. They play Friday at 9pm at Moeโs Alley, 1535 Commercial Way. Tickets are $20.
THE LOSS of the great outdoor Seascape Beach Resort concert stage is bad news for Aptos area music fans: the great free summer concert series on the hill outside the resort will be canceled after this Sunday because of complaints from neighbors.
The series has brought in a wealth of original and cover music by some of the areaโs top performers from 2-4pm in the picturesque spot where the resort stages weddings, with room for kids to play and families to picnic.
It became what Aptos is seriously missing: a town center with regular gatherings.
Neil Pearlberg, the concert promoter, said he was given news that he had to cancel a scheduled show by James Durbin last weekโbecause he was told Durbin, the American Idol finalist, would bring in a โseedyโ crowd. He was also told his last show would be July 30.
One resort manager said the business had noise complaints from a neighbor.
The weekly concerts attracted hundreds of people from all over, who might not have come to the resort on a Sunday, said Pearlberg.
โThe place is dead,โ Pearlberg added. โThey are making money and bringing in people from Santa Cruz who never go there. Itโs a battle. Is there a better stage in California? Youโve got rock โnโ roll, the beach and Monterey Bay. Itโs what California is about. Aptos is crying out for something like this.โ
Thereโs some good news: 1. The last show features a celebrated band called Pet Roxx, a classic rock covers outfit. 2. A resort representative said they would bring in quieter music by the bar and pool. 3. Pearlberg is working to launch a new concert series at Pleasure Point starting in August. Watch this space for listings.
COMMUNITY
CEO WORKS: What Small Businesses Need to Know: California’s Retirement Mandate and Secure Act 2.0
If you own a business in California with five or more w2 employees, it’s crucial you understand the state’s retirement mandate and how it affects your company. The Secure Act 2.0 is a new law aimed at improving retirement security for Americans and benefits create significant tax benefits for new SMBs that are setting up a new 401k plan for their business in 2023 and beyond. Failure to comply can result in hefty fines, so it’s essential that you make sure your business is in compliance. Presenter David Roberto will explain exactly what you need to know and will answer any questions you may have. Lunch included with ticket purchase and the first 15 registrants will get a free pair of socks and tumbler! Register at:bit.ly/scwceoworksj26
Santa Cruz authorโs new memoir arrives at Bookshop Santa Cruz
Disclaimer: I know Lara Love Hardin.
La Selva Beach resident Lara Love Hardin is having her autobiographical book release of The Many Lives of Mama Love at Bookshop Santa Cruz Aug.1. The hometown release is auspicious. Her novelโs journey, paralleling her life, takes place in Santa Cruz. Like a scene straight out of Central Casting, the Bookshop audience will be filled with actual characters from her brilliant heartfelt first memoir.
Second is that Hardin, along with previous Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Chase, have started a non-profit called The Gemma Project that helps incarcerated women get the support and guidance they need. Chase will also be Hardinโs conversation partner at this must-see book release party.
The original Gemma program is the organization that Hardin joined while she was in jail for fraud and opiates. When you finally get to read The Many Lives of Mama Love, youโll realize Hardinโs takeaway from the portion of her life that was disreputable, was to help others who find themselves entangled in Americaโs prison system.
Spoiler Alert: Iโm going to talk about the book.
Not since The Lost Boys has a work of art referenced Santa Cruz as heavily as The Many Lives of Mama Love. Our little beachside town is the backdrop, the shimmering screen, thatโs behind every wrong turn Hardin takes. And she takes a lot of them. Itโs a heavy story. You might think that a tale of a woman who finds herself in the pits of opiate addiction and then has the pivot of the century, facilitating best-sellers with people like The Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall and many others, is a whimsical tale. It is not.
Trigger Warning: It gets sad (but then it gets happy).
While I was reading the advance copy of Mama Love in my front yard, I was texting Hardin and giving her my impressions on the fly. It was fun until I realized I had tears running down my cheeks. For those of us who have dealt with siblings, parents and others who got caught in the death grip of opiates, Hardinโs story rings depressingly familiar.
Hardinโs hold-nothing-back account of her life is a testimony to how fragile our existence on this planet is. Hardin is a survivor.
She turned to crime to support her addiction. From getting a Masterโs in Creative Writing and attending bourgeois garden parties, to picking the pockets and stealing the identities of the attendees, Hardinโs descent is subtle at first, then a downward rocket ship. Who would suspect a straight laced Californian looking soccer mom of ripping everyone off? And in some ways, this ability to be a chameleon is Hardinโs superpower. She can be many things to many people. It was in jail that she became Mama Love. It was out of jail she became a powerful literary agent and New York Times bestselling author.
Q & A
Are you looking forward to traveling around and talking about yourself?
Iโve been doing a lot of podcasts and interviews, but everything gets released on August 1, which is our launch week. After the Bookshop Santa Cruz release I fly to New York City the next morning for a talk at The Strand Bookstore. Then I go to Boston at Harvard Bookstore, then D.C. The schedule is still being filled in, but August 22 Iโm in LA.
Are you nervous about seeing some people at The Bookshop event who want to talk with you?
Iโm open to having conversations about just about anything. But itโs like one of the things I say in the book which is, do we let people pay for their crimes? If you met all your requirements, legally, are you forgiven? If you do your sentence, you pay your restitution, complete probation, are you done? Am I done? If thereโs more to do, Iโll do it, but there is a point where internally, Iโm done. I lost a lot of years living in fear and shame and running from imaginary mobs.
Do you still deal with shame?
Itโs weird when I think Iโve done all this work in healing and then the fear and shame pop up out of nowhere. I just signed an author to my agency and she said she wanted to read my book. I gave her an advance copy of Mama Love. Two days later I get an email from her and the email is super-positive. She said she loved the book and the exploration of identity. And she closed with itโs an honor to work with you. But when I read the email, all I could think was that she doesnโt want me to be her agent now that she knows about me. A shame thought, no basis in reality, the exact opposite of what Iโm reading in front of my eyes. The big difference now is I can notice that and think, โhow interesting it is how the shame just pops back in so easily,โ and I can let it go.
You went full Nine Perfect Strangers to prepare for writing your book.
I felt strongly that I needed to do Ayahuasca before I started writing the book. I didnโt have time for 30 years of therapy, I needed to hack it. Before I did it I got to speak to Gabor Matรฉ, heโs the scientific advisor for the place I went to in Costa Rica. Heโs an expert on addiction, has written a NYT bestseller and heโs an advisor there. He asked me what I was afraid of and I told him, number one, was that I was going to die. Two was that I was going to run off into the jungle all crazy and then die. I wanted to know how I reconcile being sober and going to the jungle to do a strong drug.
Did Gabor Matรฉ set your mind at ease?
When I first met Gabor Matรฉ, he asked me when I was taking opiates, what was I looking for? I said it made me feel connected to people and gave me joy and a sense of belonging. He told me, that is what I am looking for.
Was it life changing?
I think it helped me write the book because Iโm really embarrassed by my own emotions. And exploring the roots of that really helped.
In what ways did it help?
Ayahuasca opened up memories that I didnโt have before and gave me compassion for the people in my childhood. Iโve always told people that Iโm fine to be alone, I prefer to be alone. I need my alone time. Iโm an introvert. And then in the Ayahuasca I saw this pattern in my childhood where I learned early on, I was safer alone and I carried that into adulthood. And because I never challenged this early adopted pattern, I experienced profound loneliness in my life.
How did it inform the way you wrote your book?
I had to be totally honest and real and raw in the book or why bother writing it? I had to get out of my own way and out of my comfort zone.
Whatโs your hope when people read it?
My hope is that people will resonate with the book. At the same time, if Iโm going to have a big microphone for a while I want to do some good with it. Cynthia Chase and I co-founded a non-profit called The Gemma Project (.org) and itโs going to provide reentry services, particularly for women who are mothers. 80% of the incarcerated women in prison are mothers. Women need support to navigate the illogical and almost impossible jail system so they donโt end up back there.
How did your children, who are all in the book, feel about it?
I let all my kids read it. My youngest, Kaden, who just graduated high school really wanted to read it. Heโs not a big reader, but he took it in his room and I kept checking in on him asking what page he was on. Finally he locked me out of his room and said we would talk about it tomorrow. He read it in six hours and texted me at midnight and said thereโs a big problem at the end of the book.
I nervously asked what it was and he said thereโs a typo at the end. The next day we talked and he said that he didnโt know any of that about me, about my life. Itโs brought us closer. He did tell me there were boring parts. All the parts he wasnโt in.
Get your copy of The Many Lives of Mama Love at Bookshop Santa Cruz on Tuesday, August 1at 7pm. 1520 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz
This weekend the renovated Quarry Amphitheatre, in a picturesque spot between the ocean and the redwoods, will host two nights of Sound Tribe Sector 9. The group is famous for their groovy melodies and tasty jams blending rock, jazz, funk and electronic genres.
โMy vision is to serve the campus and the community,โ Quarry manager Jose Reyes-Olivas says, adding the public should keep an eye open for future events. โThe Sound Tribe shows are just the beginning.โ
For the past six years, Reyes-Olivas has overseen everything Quarry related. Prior to that, he played an essential part in the outdoor ampitheaterโs much needed $7.5 million renovation.
Before coming to the Quarry, Reyes-Olivas produced some of the largest benefit concerts in the Bay Area. He got his start in 1994, freshly graduated from UC Santa Cruz himself, helping a cause all too familiar to residents today.
โThe levee in Pajaro had broken in 1994, ironically,โ he recalls.
At the time, he was working for Watsonvilleโs Salud Para La Gente clinic, some of the first responders to the flooding.
โBonnie Raitt had read about Pajaro and wanted to do a couple fundraisers for [Salud Para La Gente] and thus my career was launched,โ Reyes-Olivas says.
Over the years, he would produce benefits with Raitt several times, along with Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Michael Franti and others before starting his own company, Sage Productions.
The Quarryโs history itself is also deeply grounded.
It operated as a working quarry in the 1800s and after the California Gold Rush it was the largest supplier of limestone to San Francisco. To this day you can still see the remnants of the old Cowell Lime Works at the base of the campus.
In 1967, two years after UC Santa Cruz was founded, modernist landscape architect Robert Royston was hired to build the Amphitheatre.
For 40 years it continued to be the background setting for ceremonies, concerts and lectures by activists and writers like Alex Haley, Delores Huerta and Angela Davis.
However, it closed in 2006 after it had fallen into disarray. Renovation fundraising started in 2014 and three years later the Quarry got its much needed facelift.
โTo a certain degree I think in the original design they were trying to build it as a big classroom,โ says Reyes-Olivas. โI know production, so I was looking at it from a different lens.โ
Along with new seating, the Quarry received a new concrete stage, scaffolding for lights, power distribution and many of the key elements to make it an up-to-date, high-tech venue for all occasions.
It even made an appearance in the 2020 FX miniseries Devs, filmed on the campus.
โOne of the location scouts was a UCSC alum and he told his co-workers, โI think you should check out this place for a couple of scenes,โโ Reyes-Olivas explains. โThe location manager was so impressed he brought [writer and director] Alex Garland, who took to the whole campus. So it was actually the Quarry that reeled them in.โ
Today, the 2,700 occupancy venue is run by Reyes-Olivas and his production team of eight students. โ[The Quarry] is contemplative,โ he says. โBut at the same time, for live shows, itโs very badass.โ
Some of the badass will be in a bottle for these shows. For a limited time, Woodhouse Blending & Brewing is selling a lighter IPA in collaboration with STS9, called โWilder.โ
โItโs something super clear and light but has the juiciness and flavor profiles of a hazy,โ explains Woodhouse co-founder, William Moxham. Moxham became friends with the band after meeting them through keyboardist David Phippsโ wife, Valerie, in the local West African Drum and Dance scene.
STS9 performs Friday August 4 and Saturday August 5. Doors 6pm. The Quarry Amphitheatre at UC Santa Cruz, 1156 High St., Santa Cruz. $49.50 plus fees single day/$87.50 plus fees two day pass.
Question of the Week: "What should be done about the Otter 841 affair?"
841 the otter is a playful otterโs daughter. One day when she was feeling bored, she stole a local surferโs board. Her playground is the surf, but does that mean she owns the turf? Is this the otterโs water? We turn to you for what to do.
World premieres, percussion superstars and a farewell to Ellen Primack
โWithout music, life would be a mistake,โ said the German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche more than a century ago.
And I agree.
Arguably the invisible tissue that connects us each to each, music magically weaves networks among musicians, composers and listeners.
Once interconnected, we remain that way. We always remember favorite songs, or...
MUSIC AND ARTS
Wrath of KaiJune: A Burlesque And Drag Tribute To Giant Monsters. With a name like that, how can you say no? It turns out this Wednesday performance is the ultimate tribute to show stomping glamour and seduction. It is the unified spirit that Pride month never dies. Performances are by local artists, including Xinistra Gl'amour, Babraham...
Santa Cruz authorโs new memoir arrives at Bookshop Santa Cruz
Disclaimer: I know Lara Love Hardin.
La Selva Beach resident Lara Love Hardin is having her autobiographical book release of The Many Lives of Mama Love at Bookshop Santa Cruz Aug.1. The hometown release is auspicious. Her novelโs journey, paralleling her life, takes place in Santa Cruz. Like a scene straight...
Redwoods venue hosts STS9 double-header
This weekend the renovated Quarry Amphitheatre, in a picturesque spot between the ocean and the redwoods, will host two nights of Sound Tribe Sector 9. The group is famous for their groovy melodies and tasty jams blending rock, jazz, funk and electronic genres.
โMy vision is to serve the campus and the community,โ Quarry manager Jose...
