Mushrooms are on my mind. Not really for culinary purposes—truthfully, unless they’re of the Chanterelle variety, I leave them off my dinner plate. However, like the millions who have been tuning in to watch The Last of Us, an edge-of-your-seat show that has inspired many viewers to Google “cordyceps,” the cause of a post-apocalyptic world overrun by this fungus that begins using humans as its hosts turning everyone into zombie-like beings with one motive: spread to others. In reality, the cordyceps fungus grows on the caterpillar of a moth and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over a thousand years as an antioxidant immune system booster; studies have also shown that cordyceps help combat kidney disease, loss of sex drive and offer many additional health benefits. Watsonville-based chef Dory Ford began cultivating cords while diving into the science of mycelium (a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching) from other species. Ford raises cords on his new farm laboratory, MycoSci, using a proprietary method Mark C. Anderson breaks down in his cover story. The Last of Us wasn’t on Ford’s radar when this endeavor first hatched. The inspiration is more related to mental health. (If you didn’t already know, May is Mental Health Month.) Ford was inspired after a “loved one” came to him, revealing that she wanted to get off of the prescription antidepressants she was on, and she was interested in psilocybin (aka magic mushrooms) as a possible treatment—psilocybin-based care in clinical settings, has proven to relieve everything from PTSD to eating disorders. The federal government still designates psilocybin as a Schedule I controlled substance. However, MycoSci is ready to pivot to medicinal psychedelics. For now, focusing on cordyceps is OK with Ford—he’s prepared to go psilocybin whenever the government is willing to admit it was wrong. Don’t forget to pick up a copy of the 2023 Best of Santa Cruz County. The online flip-thru edition is also available at goodtimes.sc
Adam Joseph | Interim Editor
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“Kitten” stands in front of a mural at the Circle Church in Santa Cruz. Photograph by Richard Guadian.
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GOOD IDEA
Housing Santa Cruz County (HSCC) has proclaimed May as Affordable Housing Month! Several events planned throughout the county aim to tackle the region’s housing crisis. HSCC will host multi-jurisdictional policy discussions, a “Housing Element” bike tour, affordable housing project groundbreakings, affordable housing policy conversations with community leaders and more. A complete list of events is available at housingsantacruzcounty.com/affordable-housing-month
GOOD WORK
The Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County will celebrate the businesses, groups and individuals who have transformed the county at the 2023 Be the Difference Awards this month. The annual awards luncheon gives the local community a chance to thank those who donate their time to make the county a better place to live. Nominations are submitted by the community and vetted by a panel of community leaders who serve as judges this year. Tickets are $50. scvolunteercenter.org/be-the-difference-awards
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“It’s a very salutary thing to realize that the rather dull universe in which most of us spend most of our time is not the only universe there is.”
While reading Steve Kettmann’s article on Spanish/English dual immersion education in Santa Cruz schools, I couldn’t help feeling a bit of pride. Going back twenty years or so, a group of parents, including myself, often visited Grant St. Park along with our young children to participate in a county program called Together in the Park. A van full of various toys appeared every week, much to the kids’ delight, and new parents got a chance to mingle a bit, comparing notes and ideas on parenthood.
There, I met Sheila C., a bold Santa Cruz activist dedicated to our community. I am a native Spanish speaker, and she is a native English speaker with a notable command of the Spanish language. It was during these gatherings that two important park-bench community projects were born. The first: El Grupo de Español, is comprised of Spanish-speaking parents and families from several American countries, including the United States, who were interested in Spanish language development, both for themselves as well as for their children. Any parent was welcome as long as they did their best to communicate in Spanish during our weekly excursions to various locations, such as parks, forests and the like. Some twenty years later, with adult children, we get together once in a while.
The second park bench project was more ambitious, encompassing the broader community. After having personally experienced bilingual, English as a Second Language (ESL) education, I quickly realized that the sole purpose of those models was to teach students English as fast as possible, leaving behind any thought of bilingual ability. After much research, signature gathering from interested parents and several School Board meetings, DeLaveaga Elementary School was designated to become Santa Cruz County’s first Spanish/English Dual Immersion program. To merge the two projects, the participants from El Grupo de Español were, and still are, part of the teaching staff at DeLaveaga Elementary School.
Gabriel W.
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THE SUPERSUCKERS WITH HANGMEN AND ALVIE AND THE BREAKFAST PIGS With Eddie Spaghetti at the helm, the Supersuckers are an ever-present force of cowpunk rock nature, who have been driven to success by trailblazing record-company outcast Chris “The Mid-Fi Guy” Neal. The band is an oxymoron: the most famous band the mainstream has never heard of. And, once a Supersuckers fan, always a Supersuckers fan—as of 15 years ago, over 30,000 people were receiving Spaghetti’s E-newsletters. The outfit’s brand of alt-country meets punk earned them a spot as Steve Earle’s backing band on some of his best records, including his 1997 gem El Corazon. One thing about Spaghetti, who’s been the group’s one constant throughout the years: He’s dead serious about all of his music, even his 2003 hip-hop-flavored Motherfuckers Be Trippin’. It ain’t no farce. $18/$23 plus fees. Wednesday, May 3, 8pm. The Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. catalystclub.com
BROOKS NIELSEN Growlers frontman, Brooks Nielsen’s proudly full-length solo debut, One Match Left, is a twenty-song trip into darkness and toward the pinhead amount of light that eventually remains. “There’s happiness in there,” Nielsen says. “The bands that I like have a sense of humor, like Television Personalities or Jonathan Richman, but there’s a tragedy too. That’s the old theatrical tradition.” One Match Left showcases these attributes with self-aware swagger—Nielsen is a carnival barker, lullaby balladeer and rock and roll preacher, depending on the tune. The singer-songwriter’s first songs without his longtime Growlers bandmembers work well; it helps that he has some talented contributors, including Father John Misty guitarist Christopher Darley and songwriter Levi Prairie. $30/$34 plus fees. Wednesday, May 3, 8pm. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. feltonmusichall.com
MOLLY PRENTISS: ‘OLD FLAME’ Santa Cruz native Molly Prentiss, the author of Tuesday Nights in 1980, is returning for a reading and signing to celebrate her new novel, Old Flame, which explores what it means to be a daughter, friend, partner, lover and mother. Prentiss will be in conversation with radio host/producer and “Kitchen Sister” Nikki Silva, who is also Molly’s mom! Fun fact: Prentiss grew up in a commune. “It’s not as hippie or crazy as it sounds,” Prentiss insists. Her parents created it with friends in 1979, built all the homes themselves and have dinner together every night at 7pm—to this day. Free (registration required). Thursday, May 4, 7pm. Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. bookshopsantacruz.com
THE UGLY BOYS WITH DON CAPRICE AND DAYLIN XL Local indie alt-rap duo the Ugly Boys—Jacob Pfefferman and Sam Bortnick—are not bad-looking dudes. So, is the name supposed to be ironic? The Santa Cruz twosome would tell you they are ugly inside. Whether it’s all an act or the truth is in the eye of the beholder. From sixties-influenced psych rock to stony rapid-fire flows, the Ugly Boys are clearly inspired by the Beastie Boys. During Covid, they grew their social media presence with numerous TikTok videos that sparked a decent following, which continues to gain momentum. The Ugly Boys’ spirited stream merges a marriage of self-reflection peppered with fun pop culture references. Their amalgamation of West Coast hip-hop, electric beats and silky vocals produces candy for the ears. $15/$18 plus fees. Friday, May 5, 9pm. The Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. catalystclub.com
KEITH GREENINGER WITH THE COFFIS BROTHERS AND NINA GERBER Singer-songwriter Keith Greeninger’s music resonates deeply with his audience. This bond stems from his underlying philosophy that music is a gift and a “soulful medicine to connect us and take part in together.” His latest LP, Human Citizen, transpires as a “voice of welcome sanity above the challenges of the times we find ourselves in.” Greeninger has a way of highlighting and embracing our better selves without dividing or preaching. The musician embraces folk, rock, funk and even the Gil Scott Heron-type soul influences, employing horns and flute on several songs. Local fave the Coffis Brothers, whose energetic stage show mirrors the early Avett Brothers, continues improving with age. Since Nina Gerber’s accompaniment of Kate Wolf first earned her recognition, her skills as a performer, producer and arranger have continued to deepen. Her contributions to acoustic music have made her a following as loyal as the numerous high talents she has accompanied, proving the shadows equal to the spotlight in creating honest, powerful and beautiful music. $35/$50 plus fees. Saturday, May 6, 7:30pm. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. riotheatre.com
FANTASTIC NEGRITO White Jesus Black Problems is “an exhilarating ode to the power of family and the enduring resilience of our shared humanity.” Inspired by the illegal, interracial romance of Negrito’s seventh-generation grandparents—a white indentured servant and an enslaved Black man—in 1750s Virginia, the collection is bold and thought-provoking. While each track could stand on its own, its full audio and visual context yields a far more transcendent and immersive sensory experience that challenges our notions of who we are, where we come from and where we’re headed. (Negrito made a compelling companion film, too.) By now, much has been made of Negrito’s own unique story: growing up in a strict orthodox Muslim household, getting swindled by a major label and a near-fatal car crash that left his guitar-playing hand permanently damaged. There’s a happy ending to it all: In 2015, Negrito won the first-ever NPR Tiny Desk Contest and went on to win three consecutive Grammys for Best Contemporary Blues Album, tour with everyone from Sturgill Simpson to Chris Cornell and collaborate with the likes of Sting and E-40; he started his own label, Storefront Records and has performed at Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Newport Folk and every other major music festival. Additionally, he founded the Revolution Plantation, “an urban farm aimed at youth education and empowerment.” $26/$30 plus fees. Sunday, May 7, 8pm. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. moesalley.com
COMMUNITY
BOARDWALK PRIDE Show your pride and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community with giveaways, info booths (Santa Cruz Pride, Pajaro Valley Pride, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, the Diversity Center and Transfamilies of Santa Cruz County) and free entertainment, courtesy of ABBAFab. The ABBA tribute features some of the area’s most sensational talents! This multimedia production is a tribute to some of the greatest music produced in the 1970s and 1980s, including monster hits such as “Waterloo,” “Fernando,” “Honey Honey,” “Dancing Queen” and countless others. From ABBA’s earliest hits to Mamma Mia, ABBAFab will take you on an unmatched technicolor journey. Keep the party going at Cocoanut Grove with the first annual Santa Cruz Boardwalk Pride Afterparty, hosted by Sea Legends Rogue Roulette & Khloe Quarterpounder with DJ AyumiPlease giving up the beats. Free; $40-75/afterparty). Saturday, May 6, noon-6:30pm, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz. beachboardwalk.com/pride
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS MAKERS MARKET 10TH ANNIVERSARY “This market showcases the creative talent in our local community, and Hallcrest offers the perfect setting,” says Bree Karpavage, director of the SCM Makers Market. “Bring the whole family for a beautiful day of art and music in the redwoods.” The pet-friendly scene will include music by AJ Lee & Blue Summit and the vintage country duo Poi Rogers, with food truck Ate 3 One and local pulled pork master Kurt Zellerhoff. Fifty local artists will be featured at the event, including jewelry designer Rae Rodriguez (Boulder Creek), Bee Happy Today Clothing (Felton), Localife Flowers (Bonny Doon) and Love Cultivated Soaps (Ben Lomond). Free. Sunday, May 7, 10am-5pm. Hallcrest Vineyards, 379 Felton Empire Road, Felton. scmmakersmarket.com
Every child wonders what they’ll be when they grow up. For science illustrator Sami Chang, a dead shark lit the spark for her future career.
In seventh grade, Chang leapt at the opportunity to take a marine biology elective, mainly for the trip to the aquarium, she admits. But memories of her class’s beach clean-up are the ones that stick out to her today. Specifically, she remembers her fascination with a dead leopard shark washed up on the rocks.
“It was the first time I’d ever seen a wild shark,” says Chang. “I didn’t even know that there were sharks in the bay.”
Since then, her curiosity and careful eye for wildlife have guided her career. Chang is a marine biologist turned science illustrator. Through May 14, you can find her work proudly displayed in the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History’s annual spring exhibit, “The Art of Nature.” The program features 45 local artists whose work focuses on realistic depictions of nature. The month-long event continues the museum’s legacy of showcasing science illustration since 1989.
“Art is a wonderful way to get people interested in science and nature, and is a hugely powerful tool for communication and understanding,” says Liz Broughton, visitors services manager at the museum, in an email.
Chang couldn’t agree more. She went from scientist to science illustrator after earning a B.S. in marine biology with a minor in visual arts. Chang loved learning about the natural world and its creatures, but a research career didn’t excite her. Instead, she hoped to inspire others by drawing them into the overlooked wild world around her. So, she followed her heart.
Now, a big part of Chang’s job is to watch organisms—very, very carefully—and capture what she sees in impressive detail. She’ll always reach for her go-to watercolor and ink, but she also dabbles in colored pencil, graphite and digital illustration.
While most of her works feature tiny hermit crab clusters and other creatures from under the sea, she also delights in exploring above the surface, from carnivorous plants to the iconic banana slug. Regardless of her subject or medium, her work speaks for itself.
“We’re always impressed with the fine attention to detail she displays and the vibrancy with which she depicts species and ecological concepts,” Broughton says.
But it’s not just about painting pretty pictures. Chang hopes her work can inspire others’ curiosity too.
“The Art of Nature” marks Chang’s fourth time participating in the annual exhibit. This year, her work won’t just be hung on walls but will be brought to life. On May 13, she will guide attendees through the tiny curiosities of Santa Cruz’s tide pools, where they can try their hand at science illustration. The group will head down to Capitola’s coast at low tide to check out Chang’s favorite habitat: the intertidal zone, where the sea and shore meet. She expects to see vibrant sunburst anemones, hermit crabs, black turban snails, mussels and more.
Chang hopes the experience will bring people closer to the little details of Santa Cruz’s diverse ecosystems.
“Science illustration and field sketching allow us to pay attention a little bit more,” Chang says. “You just sit there and look. Over time you can see little changes that if you were to have walked past it, you wouldn’t have seen.”
Chang’s workshop is already full, but the museum hosts monthly classes in nature sketching and writing. The museum’s exhibit will have free admission for First Friday on May 7, where the public can check out the art and meet artists, including Chang.
“Every year, it’s an honor, and I love working with the museum,” Chang says. “I get to meet all these really cool other science illustrators. We can geek out together, and then we all learn something new.”
‘The Art of Nature’ runs through May 14, 10am-5pm; 5-8pm on First Friday at Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, 1305 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. $4; Free for members and 18 and under on First Friday;santacruzmuseum.org
Maybe you’ve heard: A mutated form of parasitic mushrooms called cordyceps is converting billions of humans into hyper-scary, hyper-athletic and hyper-contagious zombies.
They’re rampaging across the planet, devouring faces and spewing infectious spores.
That’s the fiction at the heart of The Last of Us, a smash hit series on HBO, which is built on scientific fact and then layered with creative liberties and a mass-panic apocalypse.
IRL, cordyceps actually do invade insect hosts after a spore lands on them and deploys its mycelia tendrils. Once the bug is paralyzed or dead, the fungus erupts out of the insect with a fruiting body (what most know as a mushroom), spreading its spores to other insects of the same species.
Like the show’s heroes, Joel and Ellie, Watsonville-based chef Dory Ford is one step ahead of the mushroom zombies, which keeps with a theme.
When he captained Monterey Bay Aquarium’s kitchens, he was ahead of the curve on smart and local sourcing before sustainability was a buzzword. When he moved on to school projects, he helped reinvent student nutrition. When he launched a catering juggernaut called Aqua Terra Culinary, he refined—and even redefined—how organic food, chic clients and limited food waste could harmonize.
Before millions of HBO viewers started Googling “cordyceps,” he was well into a fund-raising campaign to begin cultivating them while plunging into mycelium science lessons from other species (hence the name of his new farm-laboratory, MycoSci).
Like really helpful zombies, MycoSci’s living racks of cordyceps are alive (!) and continue growing in your fridge, so there isn’t the rapid eterioration that happens with harvested mushrooms. PHOTO: Mark C. Anderson
Ford laughs when he first learns that the mushroom he’s focused on became the demon protagonist of a deliriously popular show inspired by a video game.
“Yeah, we like to get ahead of the game,” he says.
MUSHROOM REVELATIONS
Mushrooms like the dark. So maybe this saga should start in a dark place.
When COVID brought its own sort of apocalypse, Ford was forced to close his restaurant and catering operation. The professional passion of his last three and a half decades went poof. It would be fair to say he fell into a zombie-like state.
“My entire business model—my entire life’s work—disappeared,” he says. “I was not well. What was I gonna do? I can’t sit at home and watch Netflix. I have ADHD; my leg bounces up and down.”
A psychedelic savior came into the picture organically. A loved one told Ford about 1) her hope to get off prescription antidepressants and 2) her curiosity in psilocybin-based treatments, i.e., the increasingly widespread (and increasingly legal) use of so-called magic mushrooms to relieve everything from anorexia nervosa to post-traumatic stress.
He offered to help and, after some successful therapeutic doses, went looking for more medicine.
COVID-related supply chain chaos, however, meant there was no psilocybin to be found easily. Ford ordered a grow box online and began experimenting with cultivation for personal use.
He deflects any notion of a “lightbulb moment”; instead, he simply applies his problem-solving skills. Still, that led to some lightbulb-like revelations.
“As a chef, you spend years dealing with something caught, killed, picked or cut,” he says. “By the time you get something, it’s at the end of its lifespan.”
His new task presented a different paradigm.
“When you get involved from a farming perspective, you’re creating life,” he says. “The instructions are a little different. You watch something grow, and you give them reverence.
“There’s enlightenment that came with that for me: ‘I’m OK with things.’ ‘I’m not going to crawl out of my skin.’ It allows you to carry on, to touch base with like-minded people, to find out you’re not alone.”
CORDYCEPS CHARM
Mycelium author, researcher, entrepreneur and author Paul Stamets likes to talk about how mushrooms can rescue the planet, which sounds hyperbolic but might be an undersell.
He writes and talks about how mycelium can decompose toxic and biological waste and prevent pests like ants and termites from destroying homes and crops. (Stamets has eight patents to prove it.)
He spotlights how it can convert cellulose into usable fuel and how it filters pathogens from polluted streams. He notes how it resists bacteria, which is why many antibiotics can be found in mushrooms. He observes how it can repair habitat post-natural disasters, perhaps on a Last of Us level.
“I love a challenge,” he says to start the TED Talk, “and saving the Earth is probably a good one.”
Last week, another TED Talk, “Could fungi actually be the key to humanity’s survival?” circulated on TED Recommends mailing lists.
“Maybe for the future, if we can learn from fungi,” says mushroom researcher and restaurateur David Andrew Quist, “we might be able to transform ourselves and our society in ways that are in greater harmony with nature.”
Mycelium growing on agar at the MycoSci farm-laboratory, one or two weeks after the agar was inoculated with a spore. PHOTO: Mark C. Anderson
The short answer, for Ford is, Hell yes, we can.
One way to get there is by way of taste buds and tummies. So far, this look at shroom superpowers doesn’t include their flavor flex. It’s a pause to salute all the healthy, tasty and umami-rich elements available from enoki and oyster, morel and maitake, shiitake and porcini and cremini. But not much is known about cordyceps’ taste profile, at least among most Americans.
That was a theme when Ford hosted his first public tasting event in three years at Elroy’s Fine Foods in Monterey last week, which featured live mushroom packs of cordyceps. According to Ford, some of the most common reactions are: “What is that?” “Can I touch it?” and “That’s delicious!”
“People left surprised and intrigued,” he adds.
The last reaction tracks back to the flavor front: What he prepared reflects cordyceps’ versatility and depth. (As do dishes from MycoSci partner chef Colin Moody, who’s crafted everything from cordyceps arancini to cordyceps maple ice cream with cordyceps streusel.)
On April 28, Ford sautéed the cordys for 30 seconds, then laid the brilliant orange against a soba noodle salad background of seasonal greens like kale, snap peas, asparagus, baby zucchini, green beans and scallions with a bit of radish, sweet corn for balance and a miso dressing—spiked with cordyceps powder.
“It does really well with all those Asian-leaning notes,” he says.
That makes sense: As opposed to most Westerners, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners—and eaters—know cordyceps well, partly because the fungi hail from the high mountains of China, where they grow wild on caterpillars. (MycoSci raises them on a proprietary—and sterilized—silkworm larvae substrate.)
Their historic applications include combating kidney disease, fatigue and dipping sex drive. Some studies have shown that they offer antioxidants, slow tumors, aid people with type 2 diabetes, soften the effects of arrhythmia heart conditions and slow down inflammation.
In my test run with MycoSci’s debut product—convenient snack packs of seasoned cordyceps—I felt more energized for an afternoon workout—anecdotal evidence, yes, but an experience that syncs with reports that cordyceps improve blood flow.
Interestingly, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has solid knowledge of the mushroom. It describes a range of specifics on its portal for holistic, alternative and medicinal methods (aka Whole Health).
“It is sometimes considered an adaptogen due to its immune-boosting properties … ” Whole Health reports. “Small studies have shown and can be beneficial in … renal damage for improving quality of life and cellular immunity after chemotherapy treatment, and for supporting liver function for those with hepatitis B.”
Cordyceps possess other charms. To start, they’re not a Schedule I controlled substance by the federal government (as is psilocybin). MycoSci stands ready to pivot at least in part toward medicinal psychedelics if and when regulations change— “When they catch up,” as Ford says—but for now, it’s the little-mushroom-that-could they’re focused on.
More good news: Cordyceps are relatively easy to grow and fetch a premium price of over $25/pound. The quality of what MycoSci is producing proves impressive enough that, pending negotiations, Far West Fungi is open to buying their entire supply.
The little Cheeto-looking fungi also catch the eye, which helps their visibility at independent grocers where MycoSci mushrooms are increasingly available.
In addition to Elroy’s, they appear at Far West’s spots in Santa Cruz, the San Francisco Ferry Building and Rainbow Grocery Cooperative in S.F. In MycoSci, Far West CEO Ian Garrone finds a fitting partner for what his family business wants to do.
“We’re always trying to bring in local, sustainable agriculture, especially with mushrooms, and not a lot of people are doing cordyceps,” he says, noting he sells 100 pounds a week, previously all from China. “It allows us to support local, provide more niche organic artisan mushrooms, get oxygen in your system—and it has great flavor, a little sweetness, something you can use in food and as a potent medicinal.”
MyoSci FUTURE
MycoSci’s one full-time employee is grow director Michael Bandy, who studied ecology and evolution at UCSC. He then started cultivating mushrooms in his basement before developing a full-send fungi farm in a 4,500-square-foot facility.
His main charge currently: scaling the cordyceps cultivation effort by tweaking light levels, substrate amounts and more. He’s looking at what he calls “a wide spectrum of potential nutrient ingredients,” all vegan—think nutritional yeast, spirulina and kelp, among many others.
The plan sounds good overall: working on optimizing life force with mindfulness.
“Operating and processing as efficiently as possible,” he says.
He’s audibly stoked by the challenge and is excited to apply his experience in extractions, tinctures and cultivation, using fancy tools like rotary evaporators and high-precision liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry usually reserved for the likes of pharmaceutical and forensic laboratories.
But as much as anything, he sounds most eager about advancing understanding of a range of shroom species, which gets at the big-picture thoughts running through the mycelium minds of Stamets and Ford.
MycoSci staff often hear the question, “What do I do with them?” Simple answer: Same as other mushrooms: Sauteé in butter or oil, bake in a tartine, sprinkle on a salad, eat them raw, etc. PHOTO: Mark C. Anderson
Bandy articulates a vision of elevating the food and supplement industry in the United States by using science to inform growing and extraction practices and product development, which sounds cutting edge but isn’t exactly. That was how many food systems worked before yield and timing took precedence over nutrition and quality.
“With our analytical tools, we can learn to grow our mushrooms in a way that will maximize beneficial compounds and nutritional density,” he says. “This is not new technology. It can—and should—be applied to our entire ag system.”
Put differently: Sleep peacefully, free of zombie-stalked nightmares, knowing the mushrooms will not create the next apocalypse.
A walk through downtown Santa Cruz reveals construction projects in the works on just about every other street corner.
Throughout the city, 18 housing projects are either under construction or coming down the pipeline. These developments are part of the city’s efforts to address its housing crisis and meet state-mandated housing goals.
The goals, known as Regional Housing Needs Allocations (RHNA), are handed down from the state in eight-year cycles and divided throughout Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. The two counties must collectively build 33,274 housing units in the following eight-year process.
Santa Cruz was allocated 3,736 of those overall units—a nearly fivefold increase from last cycle’s target of 747—that the city will have between December 2023 to December 3031 to build. Within that number, the city has to build affordable housing for people in moderate to very low-income brackets.
Santa Cruz has already met and exceeded its RHNA numbers for this last cycle, a feat that neighboring cities of Capitola, Watsonville and Scotts Valley are far behind.
At a meeting last Tuesday that lasted into the late hours of the evening, the Santa Cruz City Council reviewed the plan that lays out where all that housing could be built. The council advanced the project, which will be submitted to the state in the coming months.
The planning commission presented a proposal that zoned for over 8,000 units, far beyond the 3,736 the state expects from the city. But as emphasized at the meeting, there’s no guarantee those lots will be built upon. Ultimately, it’s less a matter of available space and more a question of how to ensure developers will build on those parcels.
“There just aren’t that many places to build apartments that will pencil out financially for a market rate developer or even an affordable housing developer,” Policy Director and YIMBY Law Advocate Rafa Sonnenfeld says. “The city, on paper, has enough places for projects to be developed to meet our housing goals. But not all of those will be developed in the next eight years.”
BRINGING BUILDERS
There are some outside factors beyond the city’s control regarding enticing developers. Land costs, construction and labor cost and interest rates all play a role when developers decide what’s a feasible and lucrative housing development. In Santa Cruz, city Planning Commissioner Eric Marlatt says another challenge is the significant amount of land in private ownership for generations.
A factor that’s up to the city’s determination is inclusionary rates or the number of affordable housing units that market-rate developers must include in any project. That number is set by cities and in 2020 Santa Cruz raised its inclusionary rate from 15% to 20%. That means developers must include 20% of their housing units as affordable to moderate and low-income residents. That’s the highest in the county, with Watsonville as the only other city with a similar rate.
The city is confident developers will continue to come to Santa Cruz and see it as a highly desirable place to build new housing, Director of Planning Lee Butler says. He says Santa Cruz will continue to attract developments for reasons like its proximity to Silicon Valley, the natural environment and the concentration of jobs compared to other cities in the county.
“The work-from-home dynamic, I think, has made Santa Cruz more attractive to people working in San Francisco, the South Bay or the East Bay,” Butler says. “I’d say that’s bearing out in the development proposals that we are seeing. Even with the interest rate hikes. The lending community is very much still believing that our local market is strong because of all of those factors.”
Still, Sonnenfeld worries that should the city raise the rate—a prospect some council members have raised—there might be a drop off in feasibility for developers. But it’s up to the city to find creative solutions to encourage more development.
“Maybe having different inclusionary rates in different neighborhoods because not every neighborhood has the same demand and not every neighborhood has the same zoning and what’s allowed,” Sonnenfeld says. “The number one thing that cities have control over is their land use. So, if we want more housing, we can zone for more; we can have higher buildings.”
There are also procedural hangups the city can tighten to speed up the project process, which might make Santa Cruz more appealing for developers. At the Tuesday council meeting, planning commissioners suggested cutting down the lengthy review process, the discretionary period. Once a project meets the city’s objective standards, there’s little reason why it wouldn’t be approved, they say.
During that discretionary period, the council can add further requirements to a project and hold public review and input sessions.
“The easiest thing the city could do is just change its procedures to where if something is already allowed to be built, according to the general plan using a state density bonus, then that kind of project shouldn’t need to be bogged down,” Sonnenfeld says. “Meeting after meeting and discretionary review is what delays and ultimately kills projects sometimes.”
SB 9
Local—and state—officials hoped to encourage more housing units through a bill that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.
The California HOME Act—or Senate Bill (SB) 9—allows homeowners to split their home’s lot and build up to four homes on a single-family lot. Many saw this as a significant victory for zoning reform that would open up new avenues for small-scale homebuilding.
The reality has shown varying results.
A study by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley found that out of thirteen jurisdictions across the state, SB 9 applications are limited or non-existent. In Santa Cruz, four applicants have used SB 9 since it went into effect.
Marlatt says SB 9 hasn’t produced the results some were expecting partly due to one of the bureaucracy’s pitfalls and democracy’s necessities: compromise.
“SB 9, in its current form, really represents a compromise from previous bills that were initiated,” Marlatt says. “There was a lot of fear from the public of developers coming in and ruining single-family households or that tenants would be displaced. A lot of the public agencies feared that there was going to be a loss of local control. Earlier versions of the bill allowed for a lot more units to be built. So, the criteria that are currently in the bill really respond to those concerns, which reduces the number of SB 9 eligible projects.”
Theoretically, the city could address many restrictions, such as increasing the number of units built on a lot or expanding the minimum size of the lot that SB 9 can apply to—so long as the adjustments loosen restrictions rather than tighten them. Marlatt also says that the newness of the legislation could be a reason why we aren’t seeing more developers employ it.
LOOKING AHEAD
According to Marlatt, the most challenging part of accomplishing last cycle’s housing goals was fulfilling the quota of 150 housing units affordable to people with very low income—those making less than 50% of the area median income, $83,500 for one person in Santa Cruz County.
He anticipates that for the next eight years, it will be meeting the number of affordable housing affordable to people making median incomes: wages that our middle-class and blue-collar workers are making.
“This is workforce housing; this is the missing middle,” Marlatt says.
The city gets affordable housing from its inclusionary requirement and other state and federal government subsidies. The city must build around 700 housing units for that medium affordable bracket for the next cycle, almost as many units as the last cycle’s goals.
Again, Sonnenfeld says there are ways to encourage that production—it’s just a matter of adjusting.
“We could create our own local density bonus program that gives incentives to developers to restrict rents to be those that are affordable to moderate incomes or let a developer build higher than the zoning would otherwise allow,” Sonnenfeld says. “Or, you know, there could be fee reductions; things like that would be helpful.”
The city is already looking down the line, anticipating where housing could go after this next eight-year cycle. These goals aren’t going to let up, and Santa Cruz needs to be ready, Marlatt says.
“We’re looking at going up. It’s all infill development, so we’ll have to build up,” Marlatt says.
For now, both stress that the current plan includes areas that are already zoned for housing projects.
“The city is currently not planning on rezoning immediately,” Sonnenfeld says. “All of the sites are already allowed to be built now. We should be embracing what is already allowed to be built, and we should be going further because we don’t actually have any certainty that the status quo is sufficient. That’s how we’ll have a more vibrant, healthy, sustainable community. We need to have more places for people to afford to live.”
Standing on a small bridge spanning a verdant creek in her Capitola mobile home park, Sheryl Coulston’s pride is evident as she points to the native plants recently added along the riparian corridor in ongoing beautification efforts.
Residents have similar restoration work planned at nine more areas along the creek, says Coulston. Coulston serves as board president at the resident-owned Brookvale Terrace Mobile Home Park, where she has lived since 1995.
“We love it,” Coulston says. “We bought our home here, and we care about taking care of it.”
Park residents celebrated the park’s 50th anniversary with a communal potluck on April 15.
“It’s a community, for sure,” Dolores Linville, a resident since 1999, says. “Looking out for neighbors, extending friendship, kindness, thoughtfulness between people.”
If someone is sick or recently had surgery, it’s common for neighbors to check in and bring them a meal. The small community resonates with that kind of care between neighbors, many of whom have lived there for decades.
But arguably the best aspect of life in Brookvale: as a resident-owned park, residents don’t pay rent.
Instead, they own and pay property tax on the land under their manufactured homes. Monthly homeowners’ fee goes towards groundskeeping, such as maintenance of the roads, clubhouse, swimming pool and other community-owned property.
“Even though we each own our land, I take great pride in the community grounds too,” Coulston says. “I care deeply because that makes our home a paradise.”
There are 23 resident-owned parks in Santa Cruz County, including Homestead Mobile Home Park on Brommer Street, which Brookvale Board Director Jerry Bowles says was the first in California.
On the other side of this coin are investor-owned parks, where residents own their homes but pay rent to the property owners.
One is Cabrillo Mobile Home Estates, a four-minute walk west of Brookvale. The small community of young families and seniors is in many respects similar to its neighbor, with one important distinction. Residents there face a 57% increase in their monthly rent—from $635 to $1000—when a 12-year rent cap negotiated by the city of Capitola expires on May 31.
A resident who asked to remain anonymous because they fear reprisals from the property owner—Santa Clara-based Vieira Enterprises, Inc.—says they are concerned the increase could force some residents out, many of whom are seniors on a fixed income.
The company has also implemented several onerous rules, such as considering a home abandoned if it sits unoccupied for four weeks. That’s a problem for seniors who might need to stay in the hospital for extended periods.
Vieira Enterprises did not respond to a request for comment.
Residents are now considering seeking rental assistance from organizations such as Families in Transition or the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
They will meet with Vieira next week, when they will express their concerns and get further information on the upcoming changes.
LOCAL PROTECTIONS
A patchwork of rental ordinances throughout Santa Cruz County help protect mobile home residents in some cases, but these vary by jurisdiction.
Santa Cruz County and the cities of Watsonville and Scotts Valley have their versions, says Henry Cleveland, who sits on the Santa Cruz County Manufactured Mobile Homes Commission.
The cities of Capitola and Santa Cruz abandoned their ordinances after legal challenges.
Santa Cruz’s fell in 2003 when Chicago-based Equity Lifestyles Properties—one of the largest owners of mobile home parks in the nation—sued.
Equity Lifestyles owns De Anza Santa Cruz Mobile Home Park, where residents under the previous agreement pay $700 monthly. New ones, however, are over $3,300.
At the time, residents were allowed to accept a 35-year lease under which their rent could only go up based on the Consumer Price Index.
But that offer did not apply to new owners. That means that selling an existing home comes with the disincentive of higher-than average rent and future increases.
In some cases, residents faced with rent increases give up and walk away from their homes. In these cases, the property owners buy the houses for little to nothing, allowing them to rent out the space and home without being burdened by rent control rules, Cleveland explains.
“What happens when there is no rent control and the investor-owned park owner raises the rent, it siphons money out of the local economy to the corporation or owner,” Cleveland says. “The money goes out of the county.”
Like Santa Cruz, Capitola abandoned its efforts to fight for rent control ordinances when property owners repeatedly sued.
“They said it violated their right to charge whatever rent they want,” Cleveland says.
The increase at Cabrillo Mobile Home Estates, then, is “entirely legal.”
In Watsonville, where roughly 10% of the population lives in mobile home parks, a voter-approved rent control ordinance protects residents. That ordinance was strengthened in 2018 when voters agreed to raise their monthly rent.
“For the residents of Watsonville, rent control is such an important issue that they increased taxes on themselves to defend it,” Cleveland says.
Residents of Pinto Lake Mobile Home Park in Watsonville successfully fended off a $150 increase in 2021 thanks to the voter-approved rental increase.
Protecting homeowners does more than help residents meet their living expenses.
With 80% of property value coming from homeowners, when rent is increased, it takes a bite out of overall property value.
But even in the jurisdictions that have instituted rent control—there are about 200 statewide—property owners can still petition in court to increase rent if they can prove they are no longer making a fair return on their investment.
They can also argue that, because of rent control limitations, they can no longer pay maintenance and operations expenses.
“In mobile home parks that don’t have rent stabilization systems, there are no restraints on how high rents can go,” Cleveland adds.
SETTING RULES
Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend says the county boasts some of the most robust protections for mobile and manufactured home communities in the state. These have served as a model for other jurisdictions and helped shape state discussions around additional protections, he says.
“This type of housing is one of the most important affordable housing tools we have and it provides protections for seniors and others in essential ways,” he says.
In December 2022, Santa Cruz County Supervisors approved an ordinance that ties future rent increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than allowing annual 10% increases as was previously allowed under County Code.
The ordinance also requires a neutral third-party mediator to handle rent increase disputes.
Mobile home protections are gaining traction at the state level as well.
Senate Bill 940, authored by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, allows local rent protection ordinances to apply to new construction.
Assembly Bill 1035—the Mobile Home Affordability Act—would prohibit park management from increasing rent by more than 3%, plus cost-of-living, in one year and no more than two increments.
It would also place restrictions on rent increases for new tenants.
But that bill, which would have taken effect in January 2024, has stalled for one year while a similar bill faces legal challenges.
Locally, the focus is on safeguarding current rental protections, Friend says.
“But these protections are constantly challenged, directly or indirectly, by some park owners that are focused less on ensuring people have a stable and affordable housing situation and more on profits,” he says. “The county is always willing to defend these protections and ideally we would see additional protections at the state level.”
BACK TO BROOKVALE
Initially inhabited by the Ohlone native people, the land under Brookvale Terrace was given to Maria Matina Castro Lodge in 1833 by the Mexican government as part of the Rancho Soquel land grant, according to “The History of Noble Gulch and Brookvale Terrace Mobile Home Park” by resident Stephanie Kirby.
Bowles says the park went through several owners before Abraham Keh purchased it.
Believing they could do a better job of taking care of the place—and not wanting to continue battling rent increases—the homeowners banded together and, in 1993, purchased it for $6.8 million with the help of a bond established by Capitola.
At the same time, they established the Brookvale Terrace Property Owners Association.
“The people here really love living here,” Linville says. “It’s friendly, the community is great, the location is wonderful, and you can’t beat the setting.”
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Before forming the band called The Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney performed under various other names: the Quarrymen, Japage 3 and Johnny and the Moondogs. I suspect you are currently at your own equivalent of the Johnny and the Moondogs phase. You’re building momentum. You’re gathering the tools and resources you need. But you have not yet found the exact title, descriptor or definition for your enterprise. I suggest you be extra alert for its arrival in the coming weeks.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I’ve selected a passage to serve as one of your prime themes during the rest of 2023. It comes from poet Jane Shore. She writes, “Now I feel I am learning how to grow into the space I was always meant to occupy, into a self I can know.” Dear Taurus, you will have the opportunity to grow ever-more assured and self-possessed as you embody Shore’s description in the coming months. Congratulations in advance on the progress you will make to more fully activate your soul’s code.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Georges Rouault (1871-1958) was a Gemini painter who bequeathed the world over 3,000 works of art. There might have been even more. But years before he died, he burned 315 of his unfinished paintings. He felt they were imperfect, and he would never have time or be motivated to finish them. I think the coming weeks would be a good time for you to enjoy a comparable purge, Gemini. Are there things in your world that don’t mean much to you anymore and are simply taking up space? Consider the possibility of freeing yourself from their stale energy.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Britain occupied India for almost 200 years. It was a ruthless and undemocratic exploitation that steadily drained India’s wealth and resources. Mahatma Gandhi wasn’t the only leader who fought British oppression, but he was among the most effective. In 1930, he led a 24-day, 240-mile march to protest the empire’s tyrannical salt tax. This action was instrumental in energizing the Indian independence movement that ultimately culminated in India’s freedom. I vote to make Gandhi one of your inspirational role models in the coming months. Are you ready to launch a liberation project? Stage a constructive rebellion? Martial the collaborative energies of your people in a holy cause?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): As crucial as it is to take responsibility, it is also essential to recognize where our responsibilities end and what should be left for others to do. For example, we usually shouldn’t do work for other people that they can just as easily do for themselves. We shouldn’t sacrifice doing the work that only we can do and get sidetracked doing work that many people can do. To be effective and to find fulfillment in life, it’s vital for us to discover what truly needs to be within our care and what should be outside of our care. I see the coming weeks as a favorable time for you to clarify the boundary between these two.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo-born Marie Laveau (1801–1881) was a powerful Voodoo priestess, herbalist, activist and midwife in New Orleans. According to legend, she could walk on water, summon clairvoyant visions, safely suck the poison out of a snake’s jowls and cast spells to help her clients achieve their heart’s desires. There is also a wealth of more tangible evidence that she was a community activist who healed the sick, volunteered as an advocate for prisoners, provided free teachings and did rituals for needy people who couldn’t pay her. I hereby assign her to be your inspirational role model for the coming weeks. I suspect you will have extra power to help people in both mysterious and practical ways.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What are the best methods to exorcize our personal demons, ghosts and goblins? Or at least subdue them and neutralize their ill effects? We all have such phantoms at work in our psyches, corroding our confidence and undermining our intentions. One approach I don’t recommend is to get mad at yourself for having these interlopers. Never do that. The demons’ strategy, you see, is to manipulate you into being mean and cruel to yourself. To drive them away, I suggest you shower yourself with love and kindness. That seriously reduces their ability to trick you and hurt you—and may even put them into a deep sleep. Now is an excellent time to try this approach.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): As she matured, Scorpio poet Sylvia Plath wrote, “I am learning how to compromise the wild dream ideals and the necessary realities without such screaming pain.” I believe you’re ready to go even further than Plath was able to, dear Scorpio. In the coming weeks, you could not merely “compromise” the wild dream ideals and the necessary realities. You could synergize them and get them to collaborate in satisfying ways. Bonus: I bet you will accomplish this feat without screaming pain. In fact, you may generate surprising pleasures that delight you with their revelations.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Some primates use herbal and clay medicines to self-medicate. Great apes, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas ingest a variety of ingredients that fight against parasitic infection and help relieve various gastrointestinal disturbances. (More info: tinyurl.com/PrimatesSelfMedicate.) Our ancestors learned the same healing arts, though far more extensively. And many Indigenous people today still practice this kind of self-care. With these thoughts in mind, Sagittarius, I urge you to spend quality time in the coming weeks deepening your understanding of how to heal and nurture yourself. The kinds of “medicines” you might draw on could be herbs, and may also be music, stories, colors, scents, books, relationships and adventures.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The mythic traditions of all cultures are replete with tales of clashes and combats. If we draw on these tales to deduce what activity humans enjoy more than any other, we might conclude that it’s fighting with each other. But I hope you will avoid this normal habit as much as possible during the next three weeks, Capricorn. I am encouraging you to actively repress all inclinations to tangle. Just for now, I believe you will cast a wildly benevolent magic spell on your mental and physical health if you avoid arguments and skirmishes. Here’s a helpful tip: In each situation you’re involved in, focus on sustaining a vision of the most graceful, positive outcome.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Is there a person who could serve as your Über Mother for a while? This would be a wise and tender maternal ally who gives you the extra nurturing you need, along with steady doses of warm, crisp advice on how to weave your way through your labyrinthine decisions. Your temporary Über Mother could be any gender, really. They would love and accept you for exactly who you are, even as they stoke your confidence to pursue your sweet dreams about the future. Supportive and inspirational. Reassuring and invigorating. Championing you and consecrating you.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Congratulations on acquiring the Big New Riddle! I trust it will inspire you to grow wiser and kinder and wilder over the coming months. I’ve compiled some clues to help you unravel and ultimately solve this challenging and fascinating mystery. 1. Refrain from calling on any strength that’s stingy or pinched. Ally yourself solely with generous power. 2. Avoid putting your faith in trivial and irrelevant “benefits.” Hold out for the most soulful assistance. 3. The answer to key questions may often be, “Make new connections and enhance existing connections.”
The lead special for Burger Week was the “Oh So Messi,” a wink and bow to two Argentinian legends, World Cup champ Lionel Messi and open-fire chef Francis Mallman, whose private Patagonian island is called La Soplada (in English, “blown away”).
Sí señor, I was blown away: Here came a flame-broiled ground chuck patty of Braveheart Black Angus beef, from-scratch chimichurri and a stylish crown of provoleta, a piece of salty provolone that’s spiced, dusted and fried.
Maybe I didn’t see this sort of cheffing coming because I was distracted by the dozen pool tables, ping pong and shuffleboard arrangements, all major parts of the Surf City puzzle.
Perhaps I figured gameplay might preclude the thoughtful stuff SCBBC’s creative director Tawni Lucero is doing.
It’s a long way of saying this: This Surf City establishment is full of surprises.
Those range from the local art on the walls (part of First Friday Art Walks!) to the indulgent noon-4pm Sunday brunch (waffle-battered fried chicken sandwiches!) to the fact they make their own ranch and barbecue sauce (who still does that!?).
They also cultivate a strong roster of handmade cocktails, including the Daydreamer with bergamot liqueur, chamomile simple syrup, Las Californias gin, lemon and a spritz of absinthe. Not the type of thing one would anticipate here.
“A lot of pool halls might have a mundane and even quiet vibe,” manager Scott Buzak says. “The general feeling I hear from our audience is that it’s surprisingly lively. We’re able to bring that energy thanks to our team—any time of day you come in, there’s more going on than you might expect. What we aim for is this: Yes, we have pool here, but it’s more so an environment for people coming together and having a good time that goes beyond billiards. You can find your space.”
SPEAKING OF BURGERS
A local burger staple is shutting down shop. Sources relay that the BURGER Aptos outpost and the spot on Mission have both stopped serving. On Instagram, a peek at Burger Santa Cruz reveals a simple message: “Sorry, we are closed.”
ON Q
This is not a drill: Cannabis-infused Gourmet Ganja hot sauce is a thing. The new THC-infused heat recently hosted a barbecue at Surf City Originals Dispensary on 41st Ave. in Capitola. The Santa Cruz-sown condiment can be found at various places around the state—check out the store locator at gourmetganjaca.com for more. Meanwhile, here’s a taste of its inspiration from creator David Brissenden: “I love being a chef,” he says on the GG website. “The creative process, the enjoyment of watching people eat what I make, all of it. I put my heart and soul into my creations, and it never gets old … It’s time for us to break through and disrupt the culinary industry by infusing cannabis into everyday products. This hot sauce is a labor of love that I’m beyond excited to share with the world.” Spicy stuff, for sure.
Randall Grahm, winemaker extraordinaire, is delighted to announce the release of his 2022 Le Cigare Orange. Grahm calls it “utterly delicious,” and it is! And I was equally glad to taste it.
“How could it possibly jibe with the historical Bonny Doon modus,” he says of his hesitancy to make something orange. However, considering the challenge presented to him, he could not pass up “this golden-ish/orange opportunity.”
Le Cigare Orange ($18) is 40% Grenache Blanc, 40% Grenache Gris, 10% Grenache Noir and 10% Orange Muscat, with grapes sourced primarily from the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey County. The wine has an unmistakable scent of peach and red wine’s textural richness and depth.
“This is neither a wine made from oranges nor something that one might smoke,” Grahm says with waggish humor. He says it refers to the curious orange color obtained when white grapes are fermented in their skins.
Grahm, confessing that he has not always believed in orange wine, says that if you experience what could be called “orange hesitancy,” then you should not be afraid to put your toes in the water and try it. He was skeptical when Andrew Nelson (co-founder of WarRoom Cellars and to whom Grahm sold Bonny Doon Vineyard in 2020 but remains as head winemaker) suggested that Bonny Doon produce an orange wine.
Nicole Walsh, a winemaker at Bonny Doon and with her own Ser Winery label, carries Bonny Doon wines in her tasting room in Aptos Village. How wonderful to have two wineries under one roof. Let the orange light shine! Try Ser Winery’s Orange Muscat while you’re there.
