Page 248 – Good Times

Watsonville Plane Crash Investigation Update

Local News

GT Staff

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September 16, 2022

Watsonville Plane Crash Investigation Update

The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday released the preliminary results of its investigation into the mid-air plane crash last month at Watsonville Municipal Airport that killed three people.

While not offering any fresh information, the report does give a detailed look at the crash, which occurred Aug. 18 at about 2:55pm.

According to the report, a Cessna 152 flown by Stuart Camenson was performing touch-and-go landings, and was coming in for another landing when Carl Kruppa, flying a Cessna 340 northeast of the airport, reported that he was 10 miles out and planned to land on runway 20.

About one minute later, Camenson reported that he was on the crosswind leg, then shortly after reported that he was on the downwind leg for runway 20.

Kruppa reported that he was three miles out and straight-in for runway 20, and soon radioed that he was one mile out and straight in for the runway. He also said he was looking for air traffic.

Camenson reported that he saw the Cessna 340 behind him, and added that he was going to go around, “because you are coming up on me pretty quick.”

Multiple witnesses then said they saw and heard the two airplanes collide.

A pilot who was flying over the airport at 1,300 feet said he saw the Cessna 340 close on the Cessna 152’s tail.

The Cessna 340 then banked to the right, and its left wing struck the Cessna 152. The pilot then saw both airplanes crash.

Another witness who took a photo of the two airplanes as they approached the airport said that the Cessna 340 appeared to be in a steep right bank, and that the Cessna 152 appeared to be in a slight “nose-low attitude.”

Camenson’s plane crashed on the airport property about 1,200 feet northeast of the approach end of runway 20. The left wing separated from the airplane and came to rest about 500 feet northeast of the main wreckage.

The left horizontal stabilizer and elevator separated and came to rest about 380 feet northeast of the main wreckage.

Two small sections of the Cessna 340’s left tip tank were located near the Cessna 152 wreckage. The Cessna 340 came to rest in a hangar located on the southeast side of the airport. All major pieces of the Cessna 340 were located in the debris area.

Both aircraft were recovered and secured in a storage facility pending further examination.

The crash also killed Kruppa’s wife, Nannette Plett-Kruppa, and a dog that was also aboard their plane.

Watsonville Moves Forward with Caltrans on Downtown Project

Local News

Tony Nuñez

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September 15, 2022

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Watsonville Moves Forward with Caltrans on Downtown Project

Breaking from the usual modus operandi of allowing her colleagues to ask their questions and voice their concerns first, Watsonville Mayor Ari Parker started the city council’s questioning of a $25 million reimaging of downtown Watsonville’s street landscape. The people she’s talked to, the 7th District representative said, are “very worried” about the impact the proposed reduction of lanes on Main Street from Freedom Boulevard to Riverside Drive could have on Brennan Street, where several homes, businesses and a school have entrances and exits.

“I think that [city staff] has heard that over the past decade,” Parker said.

A few moments later, Parker said she also heard complaints from people in her district, including the older adult communities on the city’s east side. They don’t feel safe parking or shopping downtown on Main Street; cars and semi-trucks sometimes zip by above 40 miles per hour.

“I have tried and succeeded in parking on Main Street. I took my life in my hands when I got out of my car on Main Street, and it scared the heck out of me,” she said. “I know that our senior community is not going to do that—not that way it is.”

At its Tuesday meeting, the city council voted unanimously to support a resolution that signified to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) that the city is willing to investigate the comprehensive renovation of the downtown corridor. Those plans include the aforementioned “road diet” and the addition of separated bike lanes, parklets for outdoor dining and widened sidewalks. Changing the traffic patterns on Beach Street and Lake Avenue from one-way to two-way roads is also included in the list of alterations.

Watsonville has been unable to change its downtown because of decades of inaction from Caltrans, which has jurisdiction over the street because it is part of a roughly seven-mile Highway 152 thoroughfare. Previous council members’ hesitancy to explore the reduction of lanes has also hampered the project’s momentum. But with the state now emphasizing shifting roadways across California from car-first thoroughfares to pedestrian-friendly avenues, the city has the support of Caltrans and the funds to implement its plans, too.

“This will involve a partnership with, certainly, the property owners and the tenants, and thank goodness, Caltrans is going to be our partner,” Councilman Lowell Hurst said. “I think this is a landmark piece of commitment on our part. They’ll be flexible; I hope when we meet difficulties and adjustments that need to be made. I hope Caltrans will be a good partner in that.”

There is a 10-year timeline for the project, city staff says. Caltrans will have a litany of tasks it must accomplish before it can break ground. This includes a yearlong public outreach period, preparing environmental documents and creating detailed designs. According to Watsonville Principal Engineer Murray Fontes, construction is planned for 2031, though that timeline could speed up.

The project’s scope could change during that process. Caltrans is expected to conduct a traffic study along with its environmental impact reports before moving forward.

Staff says Caltrans is basing its renovations on concepts included in four plans developed by the city over the past five years: the Downtown Complete Streets Plan, Vision Zero, the 2030 Climate Action & Adaptation Plan and the Downtown Watsonville Specific Plan.

A key element of those plans is encouraging changes to roadways to make them more accessible for bikes and pedestrians. Staff said the shift is integral for the Santa Cruz County city; between 2013-2019, Watsonville has consistently ranked among the fifth highest in the number of pedestrian collisions for cities with a population of 50,001 to 100,000.

It’s Santa Cruz County Fair Time

Local News

Todd Guild

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September 15, 2022

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When the Santa Cruz County Fair opened Wednesday, Watsonville resident Manuel Monroy was one of the first ones through the gate, his 3-year-old son Leo at his side for the boy’s first fair experience.

The popular All Alaskan Pig Races, a visit to the livestock exhibits and a large bag of cotton candy were on their agenda.

The annual trip has been a tradition Monroy wanted to pass on to his son.

“I’ve been coming since I was a kid,” he said.

The bag of brightly colored, light-as-air confection was not the only food option the father-son duo had to choose from, not by a country mile.

One of the biggest draws for many visitors is the various food booths offering such choices as roasted meat, locally made pies and hot dogs in numerous states of existence, from the utilitarian on-the-stick variety to the street-food-inspired bacon-wrapped type.

If fairgoers are interested in the latter, it may behoove them to pay a visit to Hot Doggin’ Gourmet Hot Dogs. This booth has been a part of the California State Fair in Sacramento for 20 years and is making its Santa Cruz County debut. Here, one can also find various forms of tater tots, including “Totchos,” inspired by the south-of-the-border dish its name suggests.

And, of course, there are the deep-fried foods, including the ever-popular breaded Oreo cookie, which, while perhaps not altogether healthy, is worth a once-a-year delve into decadence.

When food is out of the way, visitors can also check out the animals and produce exhibits, which ostensibly is the reason for the Fair in the first place, and beautifully showcases the year-round work by the agricultural community that puts food on tables across the nation and employs thousands of people locally.

There are also numerous entertainment options, which run throughout the day.

The Santa Cruz County Fair runs through Sunday, Sept. 18. santacruzcountyfair.com.

Supes Signal Support for Tenant Protection

Local News

Todd Guild

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September 15, 2022

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Supes Signal Support for Tenant Protection

One woman lost her job and couldn’t pay rent and then found herself in a battle with her landlord, who didn’t believe her story and threatened eviction.

A family financially affected by the Covid-19 pandemic found themselves battling a landlord who raised their rent and threatened to call Immigrations and Customs Enforcement if they fought the increase.

Other tenants live with problems like rats because they don’t want to complain and risk angering their property managers.

These stories were just a few examples of alleged bad behavior by landlords that the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors heard Tuesday before unanimously approving the first reading of a new ordinance that would prohibit retaliatory moves by those who rent out apartments and houses.

The ordinance will be heard a second time on Sept. 20.

The new set of rules comes weeks after a report showing Santa Cruz County as the second most expensive place to rent in the U.S. 81% of very low-income households are paying more than 30% of their income on housing, according to county officials. 92% of extremely low-income households are hit equally as hard.

Zav Hirshfield of Santa Cruz-based Tenant Sanctuary says he speaks to 10-12 renters weekly, many of whom live in fear of standing up for themselves when faced with problems as tenants.

“Fear of retaliation is the dominant reason that people do not assert the rights they have under the law,” Hirshfield said. “Any protection that will make tenants feel that they are safe in asserting their rights and do not have to fear retaliation for just asking that their landlord follow existing law would be an improvement to the lives of renting residents in this county.”

County leaders say the new rules will give renters legal recourse when they are subject to harassment by their landlords or property owners.

The rules still allow landlords to evict problem tenants when done legally.

Among other things, the ordinance would prohibit increasing rent, failing to provide services or repairs, releasing private information about tenants or giving tenants false or misleading information in an attempt to evict them.

Landlords who violate the rules could be forced to pay attorneys’ fees and other costs as ordered by the court.

Board Chair Manu Koenig said the County has been proactive in helping tenants through the Covid-19 pandemic, having distributed more than $26 million countywide in rent relief for residents.

Koenig said the new rules should balance tenants’ rights with those of property owners and landlords—he removed a section of the ordinance that would have made evicting tenants for poor behavior more difficult.

“I recognize that it’s a difficult role to thread the needle between tenants’ rights and landlords’ ability to protect other tenants in the building and do their jobs as good property managers,” he said.

Things to Do: Sept. 14-20

GT Staff

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September 14, 2022

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ARTS AND MUSIC

JAVIER ZAMORA ‘SOLITO’ Javier Zamora began writing poetry to face the agonizing experience he had gone through as a 9-year-old. His first collection, Unaccompanied, retraces his own migration from El Salvador to “La USA.” While his poems alleviated some of the heavy load Zamora had carried around for 20 years, he describes them as “snapshots” of what he went through. He knew that penning a memoir would be the only way to free that scared little boy inside of him. Solito is the result. Read story. Free (with registration). Wednesday, Sept. 14, 7pm. Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. bookshopsantacruz.com.

BONNIE ‘PRINCE’ BILLY WITH EVICSHEN Will Oldham, aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy, is an infectiously passionate talent whose facial hair goes through more changes than an adolescent approaching puberty. The prolific singer-songwriter and actor has many lofty credits, including Johnny Cash covering his tune “I See a Darkness”—Marianne Faithfull and Deer Tick have also recorded Oldham’s songs. Before a 2015 Big Sur show, he said his biggest fear is “losing my mind or watching friends or loved ones losing theirs.” Meanwhile, no one is doing what Victoria Shen, aka evicshen, does. The SF musician is a sound artist, experimental performer, instrument-maker and rabble-rouser in the best possible way. $36.75. Friday, Sept. 16, 8pm. Kuumbwa, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. folkyeah.com.

ROSAAZUL Acclaimed local group RosaAzul bring their mix of mariachi-era songs and both classical and modern Mexican music to the Kuumbwa. Violinist Adam Bolaños Scow also performs with the Santa Cruz Symphony and various classical chamber music groups, while lead vocalist and guitarist Jose Chuy Hernandez runs a music academy in Hollister, and vocalist and guitarron player Russell Rodriguez is an assistant professor in the UCSC Music Department. They are joined at this show by local folklorico group Senderos. $27/$40 gold circle. Saturday, Sept. 17, 7:30pm. Kuumbwa, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. snazzyproductions.com.

GOLDENSEED’S FIELDS OF GREEN SHAREHOLDER EVENT If you’re looking for run-of-the-mill stand-up comedy, Zane Lamprey isn’t your guy. Lamprey is all about gimmicks—setting world records for champagne sabering (31 bottles in a minute) and the longest live podcast (26 hours straight). At the Watsonville cannabis farm, zany Zane plans to set the record for the world’s highest comedian. “The official record for the highest altitude stand-up comedy gig ever was at 17,395.01 feet in Nepal,” Lamprey says. “When I’m on stage at Goldenseed’s bountiful marijuana farm, I’ll only be about 43 feet above sea level, so we’ll have to find another way to measure how high I am.” In addition to comedy, there will be farm tours, live music, food and drink, art, contests and more. $29 plus fees; free for shareholders. Saturday, Sept. 17, 4-7pm. Goldenseed Farm, 650 Buena Vista Drive, Watsonville. owngoldenseed.com/comedy.

LERA LYNN WITH MISTY BOYCE Lera Lynn appears in the second season of HBO’s True Detective. She pretty much plays herself, a singer-songwriter performing at a dive bar. As she performs “My Least Favorite Life,” it’s almost impossible to focus on anything Colin Farrell’s Detective Velcoro and Vince Vaughn’s Frank Semyon are discussing in the seamy, mostly vacant joint. Lynn’s soprano vocals flow with effortless vibrato as she picks her chords with restraint and works in a dissonant minor-key, adding vicious melancholy to Los Angeles’ underbelly. $15/$19 plus fees. Sunday, Sept. 18, 8pm. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. feltonmusichall.com.

MONOPHONICS WITH GA-20 AND KENDRA MORRIS The psych-soul outfit Monophonics’ Sage Motel is more than a record; it’s “where big dreams and broken hearts live.” The story begins with a charming motor lodge in the 1940s; by the 1960s, the quaint highway inn has become a safe spot for bohemians to be themselves. Artists, musicians and vagabonds would stop there as seedy ownership pumped obnoxious amounts of money into high-end renovations, eventually attracting some of the most prominent acts of the era. But the Sage Motel devolved into something different when the money ran out. The outfit’s fifth studio album since 2012 is captivating and cinematic. $20/$25 plus fees. Sunday, Sept. 18, 8pm. The Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. catalystclub.com.

BILLY COBHAM’S CROSSWINDS PROJECT There’s a good reason that Billy Cobham was named one of the “25 Most Influential Drummers” by Modern Drummer in 2001. Listen to the percussion throughout Miles Davis’ seminal jazz exploration, Live Evil, and you’ll understand. Or check out the early work of the ’70s jazz fusion supergroup Mahavishnu Orchestra, a period in which Cobham further honed his percussive technique and his own band, Spectrum, a mix of jazz, funk and rock. Since, he’s collaborated with many notables, including the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir. Cobham was also one of the founders of Jazz is Dead. Cobham will be accompanied by keyboardist Scott Tibbs, bassist Tim Landers and guitarist Mark Whitfield. $52.50/$57.75; $29/students. Monday, Sept. 19, 7pm. Kuumbwa, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. kuumbwajazz.org.

SANDRA CISNEROS ‘WOMAN WITHOUT SHAME’ The House on Mango Street has been on nearly every school’s reading list. The author, Sandra Cisneros, is a poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, performer and artist. She’s won NEA fellowships in poetry and fiction, a MacArthur Fellowship, the National Medal of Arts and more. These days, she’s doing what she does best: write what many of us think but have never said. With Woman Without Shame, Cisneros delivers “bluntly honest and often humorous meditations.” $25-33. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 7pm. Cowell Ranch Historic Hay Barn, 94 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz. bookshopsantacruz.com.

COMMUNITY

SENDEROS FIESTAS PATRIAS The outside of Santa Cruz City Hall will be transformed! Enjoy folkloric dance, traditional music, authentic food, arts and crafts vendors and a flag ceremony conducted by the Consul General de México-San José. The fiesta marks the commemoration of Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, who initiated the fight for freedom as he made a Grito de Independencia (cry out for independence), sparking the start of México’s battle for Independence from Spain. Free. Saturday, Sept. 17, 1-5pm. Santa Cruz City Hall Courtyard, 809 Center St., Santa Cruz. scsenderos.org.

COMMONGROUND: A FESTIVAL OF PLACE-INSPIRED, OUTDOOR WORK The new biennial festival of place-inspired, outdoor work will be hosted throughout Santa Cruz County, from forested hillsides and historical landmarks. Focused on temporary and performative public art projects in rural, urban and architectural spaces, the 10-day event features site-responsive installations and interventions across the area’s natural and built environments, connecting people, stories and landscapes. Most events are free. Read story. Friday, Sept. 16 through Sunday, Sept. 25. Visit santacruzmah.org for times and exhibit locations.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY FAIR In addition to amusement rides, deep-fried Twinkies and petting zoos, the most beloved event of the year has a lot in store, including Monster Trucks and Motocross, the Gary Blackburn Band, Journey Unauthorized, a Heart tribute band (Heartless), the Country Cougars and Salinas Valley Charros and Escaramusa Charra with Los Reyes De La Banda. $20/adults; $13/seniors; $10/children. Wednesday, Sept. 14-Tuesday, Sept. 20. 2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville. Visit santacruzcountyfair.com for times.

GROUPS

WOMENCARE ARM-IN-ARM This cancer support group is for women with advanced, recurrent or metastatic cancer. The group meets every Monday and is led by Sally Jones and Shirley Marcus. Free (registration required). Monday, Sept. 19, 12:30pm. WomenCare, 2901 Park Ave., A1, Soquel. 831-457-2273. womencaresantacruz.org.

OUTDOORS

38TH ANNUAL SANTA CRUZ BODYSURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS Who needs a surfboard when you already have a body that works the waves perfectly? The Santa Cruz Bodysurfing Championships returns to Lagunas this year. The long-running contest features the region’s best bodysurfers and competitors from around the state and Hawaii. Read story. $60/entry. Saturday, Sept. 17, 7:30am. Laguna Creek Beach, Laguna Road, Hwy 1, Davenport. Register at santacruzbodysurfing.org/contest.

Email upcoming events to Adam Joseph at least two weeks beforehand.

Or, submit events HERE.

The String Cheese Incident Headlines the Santa Cruz Mountain Sol Festival

Adam Joseph

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September 14, 2022

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The String Cheese Incident Headlines the Santa Cruz Mountain Sol Festival

The String Cheese Incident can drop a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Those Memories of You” that dribbles into the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Lonesome Fiddle Blues,” and then slips into a spacey jam that segues into Peter Rowan’s “Panama Red.” That’s not a hypothetical—it’s from an actual set the group unleashed a couple of months ago.

Michael Kang (acoustic/electric mandolin, electric guitar, violin), Michael Travis (drums), Bill Nershi (guitar, lap steel), Kyle Hollingsworth (keys), Jason Hann (percussion) and Keith Moseley (bass) have learned how to employ their improvisational skills in more ways than one. Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh was supposed to join String Cheese for a set of Dead tunes at the renowned Red Rocks Amphitheatre last July, but Lesh caught Covid. Within a 24-hour-period, the band secured phenom Billy Strings. Though they had never performed with the badass guitarist, they went ahead with the same Dead set that concluded with “Estimated Prophet,” “Eyes of the World,” “The Other One” and “Shakedown Street,” each song bleeding into the next.

“We’ve been so lucky to share the stage with dozens, if not hundreds, of our friends, mentors and idols,” Keith Moseley tells me before heading into his Colorado studio; String Cheese plans to release a new studio record sometime in 2023. “That spirit of collaboration is super exciting for us, and has been part of what we’ve always looked to—that common language of music with friends helps us dig deeper into the experience by sharing the stage with these other players.”

Every SCI fan knows that no shows are alike. Ever. In the vein of the Dead, they can perform five, six or seven nights straight without repeating songs.

“Every show has a lot of possibilities in terms of the dynamics and energy,” Moseley says. “When those improv moments show up, it’s [important] to be open, attuned to the vibe of the crowd, the energy in the room and the [energy] of the band members.”

Other than the Grateful Dead and Phish, SCI is really the only other example of a jam-oriented band who has been at it consistently for multiple decades with pretty much the same lineup.

“We’ve been fortunate to be able to keep it together,” Moseley says. “It’s taken a lot of hard work and a shared focus. I think our diversity hinders us, but, in some ways, it helps us and helps keep the music interesting and fresh. A lot of it is about trying not to control what happens, and being accepting with an open mind, open heart and being part of the creation. Certainly, the energy from the crowd is a part of that. There’s more potential to create some magic, and that’s what we’re going for.”

Everybody in the band is a songwriter, and everyone contributes. The operation runs like a well-oiled democracy: everyone gets a chance to bring in and play their own songs. Like any relationship, there’s some give and take, and a lot of compromises, but these guys truly nurture each other’s strengths and avoid focusing on weaknesses.

The group’s endurance can also be attributed to the outdoor Colorado mountain lifestyle most members lead. when they’re not making music, they’re skiing, hiking and mountain biking. Hell, they started the band to perform in exchange for ski passes. Now they’re at a point where they don’t have to live on the road, performing 200 shows or more per year.

“No one has suffered from addiction or terrible health issues, and a lot of that is because of lifestyle focus,” Moseley explains. “We’re able to have time off to spend with our families. That also keeps us hungry to come back and play more and more. All those things have enabled us to keep going.”

It’s been 20 years since String Cheese last performed in Santa Cruz County—they played at UCSC, Palookaville and the Catalyst multiple times. Also, their multi-instrumental mandolinist Michael Yang lives in the area, and drummer Michael Travis is a UCSC alum.

“Santa Cruz has always been close to the heart of what we do,” Moseley says. “It’s going to be fun to get back.”

SCI headlines Mountain Sol Saturday and Sunday (4:30pm). Saturday features Santa Cruz alt-bluegrass trio the Devil Makes Three (2:45pm), Americana rocker Jackie Greene (1:15pm) and prog soul quintet Object Heavy (noon). Sunday includes Melvin Seals and John Kadlecik leading the Grateful Dead-flavored Terrapin Family Band (3pm), reggae roots outfit KATCHAFIRE (1:30pm) and late great guitarist Neal Casal’s brainchild Circles Around the Sun (noon). Local favorite Matt Hartle and Friends will be jamming throughout both days.

The Santa Cruz Mountain Sol Festival is Saturday, Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept. 18, 11am-9pm at Roaring Camp, 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton. $115/single day ($60/kids 10-17); $225/ weekend ($115/kids); kids 2-9 are free with a ticketed adult. For RV camping, shuttle and parking, visit santacruzmountainsol.com.

The Jewel Theatre Kicks Off its Season with George Bernard Shaw’s ‘Arms and the Man’

Christina Waters

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September 14, 2022

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The Jewel Theatre Kicks Off its Season with George Bernard Shaw’s ‘Arms and the Man’

Can a satirical anti-romantic comedy written over 100 years ago—and not by a man named Shakespeare—have anything to say to us today? It can if the play is Arms and the Man, and the playwright the acerbic Nobel Laureate George Bernard Shaw. Jewel Theatre has made this daring choice for its highly entertaining season opener.

Few theater-goers aren’t familiar with the wicked wit of Shaw, the man whose Pygmalion gave us My Fair Lady. Nothing and no one is safe from his juicy pen—love, war, men, women, the military, the bourgeoisie, even the Swiss.

The jewelbox production is beautifully mounted on a shallow stage which moves the action, the crisp dialogue, and the gorgeous costuming close to the audience.

Set in the late 19th century during a war raging between Serbia and Bulgaria, Shaw’s satire about the glorification of love and war begins in the bedroom of Raina Petroff (Elinor Gunn), daughter of a wealthy Bulgarian family. Raina is engaged to marry a military officer involved in what they all believe is a heroic battle against the enemy. All the pomp, pretense and disastrous ideology of soldiering are ripe for skewering by Shaw’s brisk lines, which retain surprising energy in the hands of director Nike Doukas’ skillful cast.

Raina and her mother Catherine (Marcia Pizzo) are delirious with joy over news from the front, sent by the father of the house, that Raina’s fiance, Sergius, has led a great victory. He is the “hero of the hour, the idol of the regiment.” The play opens in Raina’s luxurious bedroom—beautifully captured by Se Hyun Oh’s scenic design and Wen Ling Liao’s lighting—where Raina has just climbed into bed when an intruder suddenly bursts into the bedroom through an unlocked window. A battleweary Serb soldier (actually a Swiss mercenary fighting for the Serbs) needs a place to hide while he rests. In the ensuing wordplay, Raina extolls the virtues of her gallant Sergius, while the intruder (Charles Pasternak in full Errol Flynn mode) tells quite a different story, revealing that the Serbs “triumphed” only by luck, since their Bulgarian opponents had no ammunition.

Seeing how tired and hungry he is, Raina gives the starving soldier some of her chocolate creams, and when he has to be hustled out of the house to avoid capture, the romantic girl puts her photograph with the inscription “to my chocolate cream soldier” into the pocket of his jacket.

Thanks to the Jewel’s crisp production, the play’s subtext emerges nicely—the tension between women’s intelligent perceptions and the cooing, subservient roles they adopt in order to maintain their position in society. This tension plays out in the next scenes with the maid Louka (Allie Pratt), who knows her own worth even though she’s a peasant, and Raina’s realization about the privileged role she’s played all her life. “Perhaps we only had our heroic ideas because we are so fond of reading Byron and Pushkin,” Shaw has her admit.

The pace picks up when the men, father Petkoff (Bo Foxworth), and the magnificently costumed toy soldier Sergius (Kyle T. Hester) arrive home from the battlefield. A blissful Raina basks in the glow of her sweetheart’s uniform, his handsome looks, his peacock attitude. The comedy gets richer as Shaw unleashes delicious jokes about pretentious Bulgarians and their hygiene. Civilized versus barbarian behavior is raked over the Shavian coals—and given the current Ukraine situation, the dialogue still hits its target. During the second half of the play, Louka, the pert serving girl, and Nicola (Andrew Davids), the wise servant who knows his place, become Shaw’s mouthpieces for the working class, who see through the posturing dramatics of their social superiors. Some of Shaw’s political messaging about the dignity of workers gets muddled in the rapid-fire exchanges between Pratt and Hester, but in the end, all the points are clearly made.

Arms and the Man looks fantastic, with outstanding period details from furniture to gowns (kudos to B. Modern). And the adroit cast keeps the witty repartee moving, with special praise for Hester as the hysterically pompous Major Sergius, Marcia Pizzo and Bo Foxworth as the fussy, nouveau riche Petkoffs and most resoundingly to “chocolate cream soldier” Charles Pasternak, who walks off with the last fifteen minutes of the production.

The Jewel Theatre season opener is ripping good entertainment, loaded with wit and blustery character epiphanies. You know exactly what will happen, and you’ll enjoy it all the same.‘Arms and the Man’ by George Bernard Shaw, a Jewel Theatre production, will be performed at the Colligan Theater on the Tannery campus, 1010 River St. in Santa Cruz, through Oct. 2. jeweltheatre.net.

Letter to the Editor: Let Beach Creatures Be

Letters to the Editor

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September 14, 2022

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Letter to the Editor: Let Beach Creatures Be

I am a local resident and walk the Cowell and Boardwalk beaches every morning. There is an increasing number of dogs on the beaches. This morning, I witnessed an off-leash doodle harassing and nipping at an injured bird who had come on to shore to pass. The dog owner could not get the dog away from the bird by demand, and was chasing the dog while it continued to yelp and nip at the bird—who was in quite a flutter, yet helpless. Please dog owners, comply with the no-dogs-allowed city ordinance. Have compassion for the birds, seals, dolphins and other creatures who regularly wash up or come onto shore to pass in peace. The beach is their natural habitat and they have the right to die peacefully without harassment or fear. Thank you.

Nisa Moore

Santa Cruz

These letters do not necessarily reflect the views of Good Times.To submit a letter to the editor of Good Times: Letters should be originals—not copies of letters sent to other publications. Please include your name and email address to help us verify your submission (email address will not be published). Please be brief. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and to correct factual inaccuracies known to us. Send letters to le*****@go*******.sc

Letter to the Editor: Critical Density

Letters to the Editor

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September 14, 2022

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Re: “Zone Defense” (GT, 9/7): The tactics employed by special interest groups to thwart the City of Santa Cruz’s adoption of objective housing standards are appalling. I am particularly troubled by the threatened misuse of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to delay the process. This is a textbook example of why the state is becoming more prescriptive and requiring local jurisdictions to ministerially approve certain types of developments (e.g., ADUs, higher-density housing). Ministerial actions are exempt from CEQA.

I have practiced environmental and land use law for decades, and have witnessed the erosion of public support for important environmental laws like CEQA. It is particularly discouraging to see people like Gary Patton, who spent decades championing CEQA and other environmental laws, using CEQA to preserve their own personal utopia. Higher-density housing for all income groups is critical to solving the housing shortage. And 100% affordable projects do not pencil out without significant public funding. The areas identified by the city are near transit, which will reduce vehicle miles traveled and associated greenhouse gas emissions. This hypocritical entitlement mentality needs to stop.

Lizanne Reynolds

Aptos

These letters do not necessarily reflect the views of Good Times.To submit a letter to the editor of Good Times: Letters should be originals—not copies of letters sent to other publications. Please include your name and email address to help us verify your submission (email address will not be published). Please be brief. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and to correct factual inaccuracies known to us. Send letters to le*****@go*******.sc

Opinion: The Summer of Bracero

Letters to the Editor

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September 14, 2022

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Steve Palopoli editor good times santa cruz california

This has been the summer of bracero here at GT. I’m not sure that we’d ever run a story mentioning the Bracero Program before this year (though it’s certainly possible that we did before my time), and then in June it came up in my cover story about Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, who recorded a version of Woody Guthrie’s protest anthem “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos).” Incensed that the national media did not name the migrant workers who were killed in a 1948 plane crash—some of whom were being returned to Mexico after their bracero contracts expired—Guthrie channeled his anger into a poem that later became a song which has been covered by everyone from Bob Dylan and Joan Baez to Bruce Springsteen to Billy Bragg.

Then the Bracero Program came up again the very next week, when Tony Nuñez wrote about the issues around farmworker housing, and mentioned how his own grandfather originally traveled from Mexico to the U.S. as part of it.

Now, in this week’s cover story, Adam Joseph goes in-depth about the Bracero Program. The starting point is an event at the MAH this week looking at its history, but his piece gets much deeper, into the opportunities that the program offered to immigrant workers, and also its abuses. Thanks to a trove of probably never-seen-before images discovered by Ignacio Ornelas at a Stanford library—like the one on our cover this week, and others used throughout the story—we also get a very humanizing look at the braceros who were part of the program. The role they played in building this area’s agricultural industry is a history just beginning to be told.

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ONLINE COMMENTS

Re: WATSONVILLE ARTS SCENE

Excellent news! As the piece explains, Watsonville is filled with creative, energetic folks, and they deserve the support. The arts are integral to a richer, deeper life, and should be accessible.

— Tom Bentley

RE: DUKE KAHANAMOKU

That was a super read. I’ll bet the Duke remained noble even though he was under pressure from travel and performance schedules.

— Sean Hennessey

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

**BURST THINGS FIRST** Fireworks at the Watsonville Airport Open House over Labor Day weekend. Photo by Maria Choy.

Submit to ph****@go*******.sc. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250dpi.

GOOD IDEA

DO THE FANDANGO

Mexican Independence Day is right around the corner, and Watsonville will be celebrating with its first ever Fandango en La Plaza, a free community event. A fandango is a cultural tradition that brings together dancers and musicians for one big celebration, and this event will be no exception. There will be live dancing, music performances from Southern Mexico and an outdoor screening of the award-winning documentary film Fandango at the Wall on Friday, Sept. 16 at the Watsonville Plaza.

GOOD WORK

COOKING FOR A DECADE

The kids are alright, and the Teen Kitchen Project (TKP) is proof of it. The nonprofit is celebrating 10 years of bringing young people into the kitchen to cook healthy meals for Santa Cruz County residents living with critical and chronic illness. TKP has over 1,000 local youth ages 14-18 preparing nourishing meals adapted for medical diagnoses. Over the years, TKP has delivered 370,000 meals straight to the doorsteps of the clients who are in medical crisis. Learn more about TKP at teenkitchenproject.org.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
— Dolores Huerta

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