Watsonville Hospital Begins Operations Under New Ownership

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Watsonville Hospital Begins Operations Under New Ownership

Thursday marked the end of an era—and the beginning of a new one—as Watsonville Community Hospital officially became a public entity, to be controlled by a local board of elected representatives.

The purchase followed a months-long fundraising campaign—the largest in Santa Cruz County history—that netted donations from more than 450 people and organizations ranging from $5 to $7.5 million.

“This milestone illustrates what is possible when we all rally around a common cause and underscores how the people of the Pajaro Valley—and beyond—deeply care for this community,” says Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Board Vice Chair Jasmine Nájera. “The completion of the transaction represents an exciting step for the future of the Hospital, which is now well-positioned to meet the ongoing needs of the community and patients it serves.”

Late last year, the Pajaro Valley Health Care District Project (PVHDP) announced its intentions to purchase the hospital and place it under local leadership. That announcement came soon after hospital officials declared bankruptcy and said it was facing closure unless a buyer came forward.

The Project also found help along the way from Sen. John Laird and Assemblymember Robert Rivas, who led the creation of the Pajaro Valley Health Care District with Senate 418. The legislators also secured a $25 million appropriation from the state to support the purchase.

With the sale, the hospital has successfully emerged from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.

In a short press conference at the hospital on Thursday, CEO Steven Salyer said that he saw the hospital’s dire financial picture when he joined in July 2021 under the previous owners. As bankruptcy approached, he says he met members of PVHDP, and realized he shared a vision of a nonprofit running the hospital.

“When I explained my vision to them they made it very clear that they had this vision for a long time,” he says.

One of his first orders of business, he says, is making sure WCH is paid the same as surrounding healthcare providers. The trouble, he says, is that the hospital is in the 25th percentile nationally in the amounts it receives.

“Everybody around us is getting paid more—a lot more—for the same types of services,” he says.

County Cuts Ties with Boulder Creek-Based Waste Hauler

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County Cuts Ties with Boulder Creek-Based Waste Hauler

A Boulder Creek trash and recycling collector that hadn’t been paying the money it owed the County of Santa Cruz—or keeping up with regulations—has lost the right to work in Santa Cruz County.

The owner of Kunz Valley Trash, 66-year-old Jack Kunz, says he’ll now be forced to drive to San Mateo County to build his business after officials brought the hammer down.

“We got behind in our payment to the County, partly because of Covid, partly because of the CZU fire and partly because of some medical issues that my wife had—several surgeries and three near-death experiences in the hospital,” he says, adding he had a mild heart attack in April. “They had an excuse to get rid of us, and they used it, basically.”

Kunz was off the route as of Aug. 1, and some customers faced significant increases. They’re switched to San Jose-based GreenWaste Recovery, the company already contracting with the County.

Summit Waste & Recycling, another small outfit serving mountain residents, may also pick up some of Kunz’s former clients. However, according to the County’s director of community development and infrastructure Matt Machado, they’re not obligated.

He says the County’s been attempting to get Kunz to pay up and to stop breaking state laws—like the one that says you have to pick up refuse weekly.

“Jack wasn’t compliant with the old law and was even further away from compliance with the new law,” he says, referencing the new green waste mandate, Senate Bill 1383, which came into force in January.

Kunz admits he hasn’t been above board with everything and says he never understood why “weekly” collections were required.

With the surgeries, hospital stays and the dire economic landscape, he says he didn’t have the time to complete all the paperwork he’d agreed to submit to the County.

For example, he collects between 40-60 “tags” monthly. The tags are supposed to be sent in, but he says he doesn’t have enough time.

According to Kunz, while he hasn’t furnished the County with the official forms, the tags are all listed on the monthly checks he claims to be filing.

Machado says the County has not received its dues.

“It’s been three years where he has not paid his franchise fees, nor has he been compliant with state or local laws,” he says.

The way Kunz sees it, the County saw a vulnerable small business owner and is swooping into hand over his around 500 customers to GreenWaste, who—because they charge more—fork over more cash to the government.

But the County says it didn’t know Kunz had that many customers because the company hasn’t been sharing its data.

Kunz says that some addresses had been paying $5.95 a month, noting their regular 35-gallon rate is $6.50 per bin.

The County says if Kunz had been doing weekly pickups like they’re supposed to, that $6.50 per week rate wouldn’t be far off from GreenWaste’s pricing—it charges $24.62 per month for 20-gallon service, $33.99 per month for 32-gallon service, $67.89 per month for 64-gallon service and $101.77 per month for 96-gallon service (with recyclables and organics included).

GreenWaste was handed a business with monthly revenues estimated at approximately $20,000, County and Kunz officials say. The franchise fee rate is 10%, Kunz notes.

In addition to getting hit with base rate increases, former Kunz customers living in difficult-to-access areas can also expect to be dinged with more fees.

While Kunz would drive up meandering roads for no extra cost, GreenWaste will charge $14.38 a month—although they’ve agreed to reduce this by 27% until they figure out what expenses this entails.

Kunz has long prided itself on being able to go where GreenWaste’s bigger, bulkier trucks could not.

“We went right to their house,” Kunz says. “Our business plan was we only charged you for what we picked up. Every garbage company in the world would tell you we’re leaving money on the table.”

But while GreenWaste has been purchasing more agile vehicles, Kunz says he spent so much money repairing one truck that he could’ve bought two new ones.

Machado says because Kunz relied on the County’s Ben Lomond transfer station—which doesn’t accept certain recyclables, including some types of paper—GreenWaste can keep more items out of landfills.

“Waste diversion is a huge deal,” he says, referencing the increased contamination scrutiny coming from China, which had been laxer about the quality of recyclables it would accept. “Recycling is complicated today because of some of the worldwide policies.”

Kunz says it wasn’t uncommon for trash and recycling to get jumbled up in his truck, but he claims the County isn’t as green as it pretends to be.

He says he was charged around 75% extra during a dump run on Nov. 3 last year because a 3,360-pound load of trash was contaminated by accident with concrete siding that was supposed to be recycled.

And yet, he says he saw a piece of heavy equipment push the wall material in with the rest of the garbage—instead of organizing it in the recycling pile.

“They just left it in there,” he says. “I’m telling you; they did not take it out of the pile and put it where it belongs.”

Machado says he doubts that happened.

Public Weighs in on Sheriff’s Office Auditor

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Public Weighs in on Sheriff’s Office Auditor

At a community meeting on Aug. 30, county residents gave feedback on what they hoped for from the new Independent Sheriff’s Auditor (ISA) position. Many echoed the same sentiment: In addition to an ISA, a civilian oversight committee is needed to bring transparency and accountability to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. 

In January, the Board of Supervisors unanimously moved to hire an ISA. Sheriff Jim Hart brought forward the recommendation to hire a neutral third-party auditor for his agency. His recommendation comes two years after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1185 into law, a bill that allows every California county to create an official watchdog group or individual to oversee sheriff’s offices.

Currently, the Santa Cruz Police Department is the only law enforcement office within Santa Cruz County that has an independent auditor to investigate claims of abuse, misconduct or public complaints.

The ISA will be responsible for investigating complaints from the public regarding the Sheriff’s Office, looking into use-of-force instances and auditing the department’s investigations. The meeting was held to collect ideas from the public on the details of the ISA position, like the scope of the ISA’s responsibilities, and when and how he or she would get involved with the Sheriff’s Office, among other responsibilities.

Deputy County Administrative Officer Melodye Serino said the County will use the feedback to develop a Request for Proposals and start accepting applications for the ISA. 

The public comment portion of the meeting lasted over an hour, pushing the meeting past its 7:30pm end time. The comments largely reiterated similar desires: For the ISA to have subpoena power, for the Sheriff’s Office to front costs associated with the ISA position, for there to be oversight into the jails and for the ISA to work in conjunction with a civilian oversight committee. 

Serino continued to reiterate that this meeting was only intended to gather input on the auditor and that the Supervisors had already unanimously limited oversight to a single police auditor.

“I want you to understand that my direction from my bosses is to go forward with the inspector general model,” Serino said. “OK. So that doesn’t mean that that might not change in the future.” 

Many callers also spoke to the lack of public transparency within County jails, and the troubling reports and incidents that have happened at the jails in the past decades.

“I know that numbers in the jail are tracking upward, there’s an inadequacy of medical and mental health care, unclear ICE cooperation levels, lack of independent investigations into jail deaths and injuries and information,” said Cassandra Gazipura, a public defender and member of the Sheriff Oversight Committee, who also presented at the meeting. “The conditions inside the jail that are often not made public, and they need to be.” 

In June of 2021, Santa Cruz grand jury released its “Justice in the Jail” report, which found the need for more public transparency and oversight, among other management and resource issues. This report came after inmate deaths at the Main Jail and criminal conduct including sexual assaults by correction officers.

“One thing that’s historically important about the jail is that the public doesn’t get any information about what happens in the jail,” said one caller. “There has been some atrophying in services and facilities. There should be public hearings, civilian oversight, and the auditor should be independent from law enforcement. Otherwise, we’re just doing what’s been done before.” 

Serino says she and her team hope to present the public’s input at one of the Board of Supervisors meetings in October.

Caltrans Proposes ‘Bold’ Renovation of Downtown Watsonville

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Caltrans Proposes ‘Bold’ Renovation of Downtown Watsonville

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the City of Watsonville are on the cusp of beginning a 10-year endeavor that will completely reshape the city’s major arterial road.

Caltrans has committed to a $25 million renovation of its roughly seven-mile thoroughfare of Highway 152 that starts at the Highway 1 Main Street exit, flows through Watsonville’s downtown corridor and continues to the Holohan Road-East Lake Avenue intersection. 

The project seeks to improve pedestrian and bicycle accessibility and safety for the Santa Cruz County city that between 2013-2019 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 topped the California Office of Traffic Safety Crash Rankings twice in that time.

The majority of the alterations to the thoroughfare will come in downtown Watsonville, and the biggest change is a so-called “road diet” that will remove at least one lane on Main Street from Freedom Boulevard to East Beach Street.

The Watsonville City Council heard the news during a study session of its Tuesday meeting.

For those following along with the city’s recent long-range planning, various aspects of the project will be familiar. According to Watsonville Principal Engineer Murray Fontes, 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.

Those documents addressed various issues relating to the city’s future, and they all have a common theme: Changing downtown Watsonville from a car-centric expressway to a pedestrian-friendly destination where a person can live, shop, play and eat without having to hop in a car.

Fontes acknowledged that the plan, especially the reduction of lanes on Main Street, will be a tough sell for some people.

“Implementing [the road diet] will require changes in our transportation lifestyle. They will take time to implement and see the results,” Fontes said. “During the process, some may question our choice. But if we see it through, the results will be transformative as our downtown community will become the safe vibrant area that we are seeking.”

The city council took no action on the item on Tuesday, but it will be asked to vote on a resolution supporting the project at its Sept. 13 meeting. If the city council approves that resolution, it will signal to the state that the city is in favor of investigating the project.

Caltrans will have a litany of tasks it must accomplish before it can break ground. This includes a yearlong public outreach period, the preparation of environmental documents and the creation of detailed designs. Fontes says all of that could take some 10 years to complete.

“Ten years seems like a lifetime,” said Councilmember Eduardo Montesino.

To which Fontes responded: “[Caltrans doesn’t] want to oversell. If it goes faster, it goes faster. But they recognize that transformative projects may need to work at their own schedule … But I think if we said ‘hurry up,’ I think they’d try to accommodate us.”

Along with the road diet, the planning documents the city has completed also call for separated bike lanes, parklets and widened sidewalks, and for changing the traffic patterns on Beach Street and Lake Avenue from one way to two-way roads.

Fontes said the city is currently conducting a traffic study as a final piece for the Downtown Watsonville Specific Plan to measure what impact the road diet and other changes will have to other streets. In addition, Caltrans is expected to conduct its own traffic study and environmental impact reports before moving forward with the changes.

Many of the councilmembers echoed Fontes in saying that it could be difficult to convince residents that these changes would ultimately benefit the community. Councilmember Jimmy Dutra asked questions about the possibility of a group coming forward with a ballot measure to halt the project, and Mayor Ari Parker said that she worried many Watsonville residents are “very concerned of change.”

Councilmembers Lowell Hurst and Vanessa Quiroz-Carter both said the proposed changes would be an exciting way for Watsonville to step into the future and reactivate what was once a thriving downtown area.

“I think it’s very bold of Caltrans and our staff to propose these changes knowing that change is hard and that it’s difficult to project the future as well,” Hurst said. “Yeah, there will be some naysayers on this in lots of ways, but there will also be lots of voices that have not spoken yet.”

Things to Do: Aug. 31-Sept. 6

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Things to Do: Aug. 31-Sept. 6

ARTS AND MUSIC

ACOUSTIC SISTERS: MIMI FOX AND PAMELA ROSE The new Bay Area duo, featuring jazz and blues singer Pamela Rose and world-renowned jazz guitarist Mimi Fox, is more than a celebration of the remarkable women in jazz and blues; it’s a celebration of remarkable people in jazz and blues. Fox is known for fusing bebop with soul up and down the fretboards. Meanwhile, Rose’s swing-meets-soul vocals have taken her all over the globe. Together, the duo’s acoustic project—immersed in early blues, folk and original material—is lively fun that commands attention. $31.50/$36.75; $18.50/students. Thursday, Sept. 1, 7pm Kuumbwa, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. kuumbwajazz.org.

ROCKY BAILEY BIRTHDAY BASH WITH BOOM DRAW Legend has it that the Kingston, Jamaica native Rocky Bailey has emceed every reggae show in Northern California—and beyond. Boom Draw will pay tribute to that claim, which might be impossible to prove or refute, with their multi-generational lineup that features talent with lofty resumes: all the players have backed internationally known reggae artists on tour and in the studio. The all-star outfit comprises musicians from beloved Santa Cruz and Bay Area reggae institutions, including Pure Roots, the Rastafarians, Dub Congress, Inka Inka and the Sugarbeats. Boom Draw comes armed with a mission: Rock dancefloors with classic songs from reggae’s formative years. $10. Thursday, Sept. 1, 7:30pm. Michael’s on Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. michaelsonmainmusic.com.

GINNY MITCHELL, GARY BLACKBURN AND MORE A night of some of Santa Cruz’s finest singer-songwriters features Americana-roots musician Ginny Mitchell, who’s been a friend to just about every local musician. At this point in her career, the two-time cancer survivor has nothing else to prove. San Joaquin Valley native Gary Blackburn has fronted Blackburn-Dadd Band, Trigger Happy, Fools Paradise, the Western Flyers and UTURN. However, the most natural variation of his musical vision comes out in his solo work—an intimate blend of everything, old and new, that inspires him. $10/$12 plus fees. Friday, Sept. 2, 8pm. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. feltonmusichall.com.

THE FOUR EYES, HOD AND THE HELPERS AND THE TENDERLIES If there is a list of best album names, the Four Eyes’ 2007 Five Songs About Videogames (And One About Something Else) should be on there somewhere. But the big news surrounding the garage rockers: It’s been nearly 20 years since they last performed in Santa Cruz, their hometown. It’s also a chance at redemption: The bandmembers agree that their final show in Santa Cruz before moving to Sacramento in 2004 was “disappointing.” Meanwhile, Hod Hulphers, the singer-songwriter namesake of the freak-folk outfit Hod and the Helpers, says, somewhat cryptically, of his band’s music, “there’s an empathetic pathos, a self-conscious bitterness rare in modern songwriting.” The Tenderlies round out the lineup with music best described as an orphaned child of The Zombies and The Pretty Things. $10/$12. Saturday, Sept. 3, 8pm. The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. thecrepeplace.com.

GROUNDATION WITH GHOST ROCK There’s a good reason that reggae royalty, including Israel Vibration, The Abyssinians and The Congos, regularly calls on Groundation to collaborate. For more than 20 years, the California roots reggae collective has stuck to their “no digital” philosophy. The band only uses analog instruments and recording equipment—no tricks, just a lot of talent. Their 2022 release, One Rock, marks the group’s tenth album, and nine new tunes fueled by complex arrangements that ooze with moving melodies. $30/$35 plus fees. Sunday, Sept. 4, 9pm. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. moesalley.com.

TAB BENOIT WITH JD SIMO While the list of awards Tab Benoit has received throughout his three-plus decades is long, the number of all-star musicians who have worked with the Houma, Louisiana native, including Junior Wells, Dr. John, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Allen Toussaint, Kim Wilson, Jimmy Thackery, Charlie Musslewhite, would take up a page. There’s just something about the Grammy-nominated guitarist’s stark variation of swampy Delta blues that singer-songwriters gravitated to—the same goes for his millions of longtime fans. $30/$35 plus fees. Monday, Sept. 5, 8pm. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. feltonmusichall.com.

LESS THAN JAKE AND BOWLING FOR SOUP WITH CLIFFDIVER AND DOLL SKIN It’s a mid-90s pop-punk—with a sprinkling of ska—extravaganza. Pez-obsessed trio Less Than Jake’s 2003 Anthem might be considered the most successful record of their career, but it’s their distinctive style, showcased in tunes like “Liquor Store” and “My Very Own Flag” off their full-length debut, Pezcore, that put the Gainesville, Florida goofballs on the map. Around the same time, Wichita Falls, Texas’ Bowling for Soup, was sprouting a massive fanbase thanks to their own brand of eccentric power-pop hits like “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” and “High School Never Ends.” $34.50/$40. Tuesday, Sept. 6, 7pm. The Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. catalystclub.com.

COMMUNITY

FIRST FRIDAY: ‘FIRE’ From ecology to preparedness to recovery, September’s First Friday is all about fire. Experts will lead various interactive outdoor exhibits and activities in the “fire” field. There will be traditional fire-making demos with Alex Tabone; Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast co-author Christian Schwarz will also be on hand. Free. Friday, Sept. 2, 5-8pm. Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, 1305 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. santacruzmuseum.org.

TRIBUTE TO THE BEGONIA FESTIVAL Organized by the Capitola Art and Cultural Commission, Capitola Historical Museum and Capitola Beach Festival, celebrate and share memories from 65 years of the Begonia Festival with historical memorabilia and much more. There will be a variety of entertainment, including the Capitola Ukulele Club, swing music courtesy of the Little Big Band and Te Hau Nui Hula and Tahitian Dance. Free. Saturday, Sept. 3 and Sunday, Sept. 4, 10am-4pm. Various locations in downtown Capitola. capitolachamber.com.

EL MERCADO RETURNS TO RAMSAY PARK The Community Health Trust’s farmers’ market returns to Ramsay Park in the parking lot in front of the skate park. The location might have changed, but the message is still the same: El Mercado aims to “decrease food insecurity and improve access to health-promoting resources for Pajaro Valley families.” Free. Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2-6pm. Ramsay Park, 1301 Main St., Watsonville. pvhealthtrust.org/el-mercado.

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. 5, 12:30pm. WomenCare, 2901 Park Ave., A1, Soquel. 831-457-2273. womencaresantacruz.org.

OUTDOORS

MOUNT MADONNA CAMPFIRE PROGRAMS: NIGHTTIME NEIGHBORS Visit the amphitheater near the ranger station, where a guest speaker from the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center will take you on an educational journey about a wild nocturnal buddy that goes “bump in the night.” Please note that there will be no actual campfire. Free. Saturday, Sept. 3, 6pm. Mount Madonna County Park, 7850 Pole Line Road, Watsonville. visitgilroy.com/event.

GREAT TRAIN ROBBERIES Witness 75-minute reenactments of shootouts between prominent law enforcement officers and infamous desperados of the 1880s aboard the Redwood Forest Train as it chugs up Bear Mountain. Caution for those sensitive to loud noises. $44.95; $29.95/children 2-12. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Sept. 3-5, 10am-5pm. Roaring Camp Railroads, 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton. roaringcamp.com.

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

Or, submit events HERE.

Metal Mavericks the Melvins are More Prolific than Ever

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Metal Mavericks the Melvins are More Prolific than Ever

Buzz Osborne talks fast. Whatever the subject, he spews knowledge with the velocity of hummingbird wings. 

Before our interview, he’s just finished a round of golf—you read correctly—one of Osborne’s favorite things to do when he has the time. Fourteen years ago, some rock and roll buddies invited him to play a small three-par course, and he’s been hooked ever since; he’s still coming off the high of playing Pebble Beach after the band’s last tour was “shitcanned.”

Most of those “rock and roll buddies” who introduced him to golf no longer play.

“All except one have quit playing because it wasn’t easy right away,” Osborne, aka King Buzzo, says from his Los Angeles home. “I just kept playing.”

Osborne, known for the crop of salt-and-pepper springs blooming from his dome, approached golf—no lessons, no instruction—the same way he learned how to play guitar. 

There’s nothing predictable about Osborne’s approach to anything—including the Melvins, the band that he’s led for 39 years and counting. The Melvins scored a big record deal, with a guarantee from the label that the band would have 100% control over the music but were dropped after just three records. While their 1994 psych-metal meets industrial noise rock LP, Stoner Witch, sold decently, the 1996 follow-up, Stag, which did garner some critical acclaim for its fearless exploration—it’s loaded with experimental instrumentation, studio effects and various styles and avoids cohesion like herpes—Atlantic knew by then that the group would never generate sales comparable to the grunge goldmine that had been dominating popular music.

“Lots of people aren’t going to like what we do, and I get that,” Osborne says. “But that doesn’t rule my life.”

Ironically, many of the bands that were generating hundreds of millions for major labels at the time cited the Melvins as a significant influence. The Melvins’ variety of heavy sludge metal—carried by Osborne’s post-punk riffs, simple power chords and notes of cheekiness hidden in plain sight and often mistaken for pure dread—has even been credited for kickstarting grunge. Osborne and Kurt Cobain grew up in Montesano, Washington, and were close friends long before Nirvana. Cobain considered King Buzzo a musical mentor. Osborne attacks his guitar without overthinking melodies, which helped shape Nirvana’s style as much, if not more so, than the Pixies’ soft-loud-soft format.

“It’s great,” Osborne says of the credit Cobain was always quick to give the Melvins. “On the other hand, I wish [Cobain] was unsuccessful and still alive—my life has been filled with [death] in one form or another.”

Major label or not, the Melvins—Buzzo, drummer Dale Crover and a laundry list of bassists and lofty guests—have churned out over 30 records since 1984, which doesn’t include compilations, side projects, reissues and detours. Osborne emits grunge intuition, implying he doesn’t need to ask permission. And Ipecac Recordings, co-founded by Greg Werckman (former manager of Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles label) and Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle), has been the perfect label for Osborne and the Melvins to do that since their brief stint with Atlantic. 

“We’re determined and not afraid to do things differently or change,” Osborne says. “Dale and I are a good partnership. We like to play live. We make our living playing music and figure out how to make that work. That’s our whole deal. Whether people like it or not is anybody’s guess, but I think they should.”

Success, or lack thereof, has no bearing on Osborne’s prolific nature. Nor does a pandemic. Just before Covid, the Melvins released the ambitious and underrated A Walk with Love and Death, a double album featuring two distinct albums: Love is a 14-track soundtrack to a movie that hadn’t been made, and Death is simply a nine-track album. 

The fire seemed to burn white-hot under Buzzo’s ass during the pandemic: In 2021, the Melvins released two records, including Five-Legged Dog, a whopping quadruple album—36 songs spanning four records and nearly three hours—featuring acoustic reworks of the band’s classics, including “Edgar the Elephant,” “Revolve,” “The Bit” and “Billy Fish,” with some covers intertwined, including Alice Cooper’s “Halo of Flies” and the Stones’ 1971 nugget, “Sway.”

“I approached [Five-Legged Dog] as if I was going to do a cover song of another band,” Osborne explains. “I’m not that precious with [our songs]. We just did our best with what we had, and it came out good. When we had enough stuff to do a whole album, I was like, ‘We should do a double album.’ But it seems like many people do double albums, so I said, ‘Let’s do something bigger—let’s do four albums.’ Do people care about this? That remains to be seen, but I was very excited about it. I thought it worked out great. I know that we could do a whole tour like that. But it’s been so long; it’s time to play loud guitar.”

Meanwhile, Working with God is the ultimate record to “turn up to a 11.” When you need a pick-me-up after a shitty day, it’s the ideal pandemic album to blast so loud that your neighbors can enjoy “Fuck You,” the amplified tribute to Harry Nilsson’s “You’re Breakin’ My Heart” and “Fuck Around,” the Beach Boys’ punk stepchild of “I Get Around.” Overall, the record radiates with the Fugs’ biting, dark humor.

“If you listen to our entire catalog, there’s a vast array of nightmarish shit going on,” Osborne says. “That’s kind of what’s kept us going. I’m not afraid of hard work.”

In addition to music and golf, Osborne is an avid street photographer—also self-taught. His debut photography book, Rats, is coming out soon. If you doubt his photog skills, his work featured on Instagram (@realkingbuzzo) will squash that disbelief—Osborne notes that his book won’t include anything from his Instagram account.

“Photography is one of my favorite things,” he says. “I shot Mike Patton for a cover of Revolver, so that proved I could do it, which is nice.”

Maggot Brain Magazine—Mike McGonigal’s quarterly glossy zine published by Third Man Records—recently included Osborne’s photographic tour diary, which he shot on a fixed-lens Leica D-Lux (Typ 109) camera.

“I was determined to play guitar; I was determined to take pictures and I was determined to play golf,” he says. “You put discipline into anything, and it works.”

The Melvins (We Are the Asteroid and Taipei Houston open) perform Friday, Sept. 9, at 8pm. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. Sold out (Add name to the waitlist.)

Los Darks Aspires to Kickstart a Latinx Rock Renaissance

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Los Darks Aspires to Kickstart a Latinx Rock Renaissance

Sure, there have been some amazing local Latinx rock bands—most recently, La Plebe and Los Dryheavers come to mind—and the now-defunct Appleton Grill in Watsonville once served as the local spot to see the best in underground Latinx rock. But the scene for such bands has never quite come together in Santa Cruz County. 

Now one local group is trying to turn that around, one show at a time. 

“We wanted to do this to say, ‘Hey, when you hear Latin American bands, you need to go see them because that’s what’s really going on,’” says Denny Joints, guitar player and one of the singers for local group Los Darks. “We see it every weekend. This is the real Santa Cruz music.” 

The “this” he’s talking about is a Spanish-language-centric show Joints helped organize for Sept. 3 at Urbani Cellar in Santa Cruz. Along with Los Darks, it will feature Latin ska band La Maldita Cruda (from San Jose), Santa Cruz Latin-infused surf-psychobilly-rock trio Fulminante and local rock act Death Department. 

“We wanted to do this to show we support everyone,” says Pepe Bárrio, Los Darks’ lead singer. 

Bárrio grew up in a musical environment, hailing from Puebla, Mexico–the same city as Alex Lora, lead singer for one of the largest Mexican rock bands of all time, El Tri. It’s his deep roots that anchor his writing. 

“Where I grew up was a very intense city, very violent,” he says. “But a lot of support from friends and family.” 

Bassist Salome Cruz says the bands are already active here, but they need more exposure.

“We want to get more people into the scene,” she says. “I would like to bridge the gap between punk and rock, especially in Spanish. Like Fulminante, they’re amazing and a great example.” 

Fulminante released their self-titled debut album in 2018; they continued to play live even during the pandemic, joining a number of other artists for the SoFA Music Festival livestream. However, a series of setbacks and medical issues put the three-piece on a 10-month hiatus from September of last year until July. 

However, Fulminante says they’re back and ready to blend genres and simmer in the sauce of rock ’n’ roll once again.

“Our friend Sophie says [our shows] are one of the only places you’ll hear a Manu Chao cover with a Dramarama cover,” jokes singer and drummer Josue Monroy. “And that’s just us. There’s a core–a certain vibe–to the music, but it’s also pretty diverse.” 

“Growing up, that was the soundtrack to my house,” agrees Fulminante singer and guitar player Brenda Martinez. “It was oldies, Mexican music, blues, hip hop, everything.” 

Despite this, both Martinez and Monroy agree the Spanish-language music scene is severely lacking in Santa Cruz. 

“When I was growing up, Santa Cruz never catered to these bands,” Monroy says. “We’d always go to San Jose or house shows in Watsonville. Santa Cruz always felt musically segregated in that way.” 

So when they were asked by Los Darks to play the show at Urbani Cellar, it was an opportunity they knew they had to take.

“Even though it’s easier to access other types of music, when it comes to actual shows things tend to stay within certain scenes,” explains Monroy. “And that means you’re perpetuating the same thing.” 

“There are people out there who want a Latin scene,” Martinez agrees. “And it can be an eclectic scene, not just rock or punk in español.” 

It’s this type of mentality that also drives Los Darks, who draw their inspiration from—and even cover—classic Latin songs and traditional styles. Yet at the end of the day, they are rockers through and through. 

“We just want to play our favorite music the way we want to play it,” Joints says. “Pop music we can feel good about.” 

Los Darks plays Saturday, Sept. 3 at 8pm. $10. Urbani Cellar, 140 Encinal St., Santa Cruz. urbanicellar.com.

Farnaz Fatemi Celebrates Debut Book of Poetry ‘Sister Tongue’

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Farnaz Fatemi Celebrates Debut Book of Poetry ‘Sister Tongue’

Farnaz Fatemi lives a double life. Born in California to two Iranian immigrants, she has found herself engaged in poetry as a tool of archaeology, sifting through memories, words and places to find the key to her sense of self. In her first book of collected poems, Sister Tongue, the winner of the 2021 Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize selected by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy K. Smith, she puzzles over her identity as Persian-American, and as a twin. The book of poems and sensitive travel notes traces Fatemi’s odyssey on a return visit to Iran as an adult, threading her way between Farsi and English with love and trepidation. Fatemi spoke to me about the new collection.

If I had to locate the heart of this collection, it would be this line: ‘I want the foreigner in me to meet the foreigner in me.’ What does it mean to you?

FARNAZ FATEMI: Writing those lines was an attempt to name something that I knew wasn’t just personal. It was an attempt to capture something about my childhood and adulthood which the book itself hopes to pay attention to. It’s not just Farnaz paying the attention—it’s the speakers in these poems considering what foreignness means, and how it changes through a lifetime. Taking the question as a personal question: yes, as a child I was incredibly alienated from myself. I didn’t understand what my own wishes and hopes were because I was so worried about everyone else’s. I felt different because of my Iranian family. I felt far from language, I felt different from other girls and from my twin sister. You could say much of how I have learned to be in the world evolved from a feeling of foreignness. 

You are a twin in two senses, biological and cultural—as Tara’s sister, and as an American Persian. Did these twin challenges (pun intended) power the creation of this book?

There is no question they did! I also feel like I should have noticed a lot sooner than I did the way so many of my poems about relationships are inherently about the way I am a twin in this world. I also feel like I should have noticed the tensions you’re raising and the way they are, in a way, parallel to each other. The process of making this book certainly demanded that I explore them. And demanded that I find language that reflects the liminality of twinness and of being bicultural, to express what that liminality feels like.  

Has your sense of identity shifted over time? Depending upon whether Persian or American is ascendant, do you always long to be the other?

I long since stopped wanting to be one or the other. I think that’s reflected in some of the reconciliation that happens in different poems in Sister Tongue. More importantly, though, I benefited from learning, in my twenties, the Farsi phrase do rageh, which means, literally, two-veined, and is used to reflect people like me—people raised here in the United States with strong Iranian ties or with family who culturally stays connected to Iran. I know what made me me, and it’s very much a healthy mess of being the daughter of Iranian immigrants, exposed to a diversity of pop cultures, coming of age in Southern California in the ’80s and more. What’s important to me is the way the poems in Sister Tongue want to make room for that possibility.

The Hive Poetry Collective presents Farnaz Fatemi’s new poetry collection, ‘Sister Tongue,’  with Danusha Lameris, Ingrid LaRiviere, Frances Hatfield and Lisa Allen Ortiz. Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 7pm. Free. Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. bookshopsantacruz.com.

Letter to the Editor: No Free Ride for RVs

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Letter to the Editor: No Free Ride for RVs

Why do the folks from Santa Cruz Cares feel that this city has an obligation to allow RV dwellers to live on neighborhood streets, when there are over a dozen RV parks in the Santa Cruz/Watsonville area that can accommodate them? Oh, but wait … these parks actually charge a fee for their facilities! Many who choose this vagabond lifestyle have no jobs, few resources and bring little or nothing to the community, yet still feel that Santa Cruz should provide them with a place to park their rigs and allow them to live here for free. Where does responsibility to provide for oneself enter the picture here, if at all?

A friend of mine once lived in a RV because that’s all he could afford on his meager SSI income. He liked this area but knew he couldn’t afford to live here, so what did he do? No, he didn’t just park on the street somewhere and start calling it home like many do here, but instead, found himself an affordable RV park in King City. No, King City certainly isn’t Santa Cruz, but that’s all he could manage. Despite his pared-down lifestyle, he maintained a sense of personal responsibility and didn’t expect others to provide for him. Maybe all the RV “campers” who feel that this community owes them something could take a page from his playbook and start being responsible for their lives instead of expecting a free ride from the city.

Jim Sklenar

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: For the Survivors

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Letter to the Editor: For the Survivors

Re: “Lived to Tell” (GT, 8/3): Yesterday afternoon (Aug. 7), along with about 50 other interested parties, I watched the 90-minute film documenting the CZU fire as told by rescue people and the victims of the amazing, frightening fire.

My heart was heavy and full of awe for the victims of this tragedy. Families told of losing everything, their shock, sadness and anger. Anger at the insurance companies’ many lies and, of course, the Santa Cruz County office’s many barriers to people getting rebuilding permits.

We heard from many victims who had left the area in sadness—a grief that I have never felt.

My heart went out to the families who after years of living in this lovely paradise in the woods had lost everything. Losing their beloved home after a lifetime of hard work making it a happy place of welcome, a place their family and friends loved.

Families endured the empty county promises to help those who lost everything and make it “reasonable” to rebuild—all lies. The county put these people through hell. Victim’s identities, their lives, their families and community—all abused by bureaucracy, red tape, egos and a sense of bullying.

My prayer is that someday people working in insurance companies and the county of Santa Cruz will realize what they have cost these poor victims; the lives they have destroyed by being so heartless and not doing the “right thing” as promised.

I left right after the film, stumbling to my car in tears!

Pearl Mendes

Ben Lomond

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

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Things to Do: Aug. 31-Sept. 6

Ginny Mitchell, The Four Eyes, Tribute to the Begonia Festival and More
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Metal Mavericks the Melvins are More Prolific than Ever

Iconic frontman Buzz Osborne talks about the band’s ambitious quadruple album, his new street photography book and golf
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Los Darks Aspires to Kickstart a Latinx Rock Renaissance

The trio is committed to igniting Santa Cruz County's underground Latin rock scene
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Farnaz Fatemi Celebrates Debut Book of Poetry ‘Sister Tongue’

The Santa Cruz poet’s exploration of self-identity delves deep beyond her Iranian heritage
Read more

Letter to the Editor: No Free Ride for RVs

A letter to the editor of Good Times
Read more

Letter to the Editor: For the Survivors

A letter to the editor of Good Times
Read more
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