Editorial Note

Santa Cruz California editor of good times news media print and web
Brad Kava | Good Times Editor

I caught the Santa Cruz Symphonyโ€™s โ€œMovie Nightโ€ last Saturday โ€“part of its pops programโ€“and I was blown away, not just by the level of the performance, but by the low attendance.

The Civic was three quarters full for a show that should have sold out several nights. 

The music was phenomenal, truly family friendly and not the least bit schlocky, which was a worry when the program included themes from James Bond, โ€œStar Wars,โ€  โ€œThe Pink Panther,โ€ โ€œBatmanโ€ and โ€œUp.โ€

The level of musicianship from a nearly 100-person orchestra was phenomenal in bringing out the depth of movie composers who may be overlooked compared to the masters traditionally covered by the symphony. Maestro Danny Stewart was theatrical and friendly with light-hearted explanations that won over my VIP guest, Parker, 7, who was seeing his first symphony.

โ€œThe violins bring out the light and the drums bring out the dark,โ€ he said as he reviewed the show. I donโ€™t know if heโ€™s ready for extended classical works, but we would definitely see this same show again, if there was a second performance.

And I hope there will be many, many more geared to audiences of all ages. Yeah, I know kids canโ€™t help asking questions during the music, and yeah, they drop popcorn all over the floor, but the joy this music brought to a first-time listener was one of the highest moments of my life. Now, should I also bring him to a Dead show?

One last note: how about more videos to accompany the movie scores? They had one for Charlie Chaplinโ€™s โ€œSmileโ€ from โ€œModern Times,โ€ but more video could bring out more of the computer-raised generation.

Good Times has another new editor, Jeanette Bent, who has a seriously diverse background. Here is her introduction: 

As a journalist and Santa Cruz native, Iโ€™ve always revered the Good Times. I grew up working at the now defunct Gangplank newspaper at Harbor High School before studying print journalism at Cal State, Long Beach, where I also held down city and managing editorship at the schoolโ€™s daily and monthly publications, respectively. During this time, I had a stint working as a correspondent for my schoolโ€™s paper and magazine in Aix-en-Provence while abroad in France, before moving to New York City on an internship at Dance magazine. 

Hereโ€™s where I should probably note that Iโ€™ve always simultaneously maintained a career in journalism as well as performance art, namely dance and aerial arts โ€“ the latter a skill I picked up while choreographing for a resort in the Caribbean, where I also met my now husbandโ€ฆ very Dirty Dancing. Moving back to NYC and taking a job as the copy, then production editor at Movmnt Magazine, I decided to focus on performance art, which is primarily what Iโ€™m known for in Santa Cruz. The serendipitous nature of my role now as managing editor lies somewhere between my extensive journalism background and my former aerial studio, Aerial Arts Santa Cruz. As I write this from the Good Timesโ€™ office, I look out the window over the San Lorenzo River where I dangled off the Soquel bridge as an aerialist a mere six years ago. Iโ€™m thrilled to leverage my deep knowledge and resources of this eclectic area to better serve our community. And you never know where me or my merry performers might just pop up!

Jeanette in an elbow hang on the crescent moon aerial apparatus

Brad Kava | Interim Editor

Jeanette Prather | Managing Editor


Photo Contest

HAWK WITH GOPHER SNAKE

Hawk gets caught with gopher snake on Delaware near Natural Bridges State Park on June 8, 2023. Photograph by Nanda Wilson.

Good Idea

Wilder Ranch Park is celebrating the communities and cultures of the region this Saturday from 11 am to 4 pm. There will be live music and dance performances, collaborative art opportunities, speakers from Santa Cruz County, games, food trucks, tours of the historic complex and more. The celebration is part of State Parks Week, a collaboration between State Parks, Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, Santa Cruz County Black Health Matters Initiative, the Amah Mutsun Land Trust and more local organizations. The event is free.

Good Work

You might have noticed the holdups caused by construction if you travel between 41st Avenue and Soquel Drive: the construction wonโ€™t let up anytime soon, but itโ€™s all going to the good cause of making biking and pedestrians safer. The project is an effort to create a new bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing at Chanticleer Avenue, all part of the broader Highway 1 Corridor Project thatโ€™s building pathways between Santa Cruz and Aptos. For this week expect slowdowns during the day and evenings, with the full schedule here: sccrtc.org


Quote of the Week

โ€œThe job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.โ€

– Mr. Dooley, 1902

Things to do This Week, June 14 – 20

ARTS & MUSIC

Wesli You canโ€™t get much more worldly than the Haitian/Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer named Wesley Louissaint, 42, who plays Moeโ€™s Alley Wednesday at 8pm.

His four albums feature slices of voodoo, rara, roots reggae, Afrobeat and hip-hop and have won top honors in Canadaโ€™s answer to the Grammys, the Junos. 

Search his video and youโ€™ll find a tuneful spirit reminiscent of Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff. Tickets are $18 and you must be 21 and over to get in. Mokili Wa, the Congolese band opens. Moeโ€™s is at 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz.

Beatles Trivia Night at Britannia Arms in Capitola at 7:30 pm Saturday features 50 questions about the fab four and itโ€™s free. There are Beatles prizes for our most knowledgeable teams, a costume contest where you can win just for dressing as your favorite Beatle from your favorite era and more Beatles fun all night long! All teams must have at least one player with access to a smart phone/tablet/laptop as the game is played on your phone or other internet connected device. Wi-fi is provided.

COMMUNITY

Ganja Yoga No, this isnโ€™t The Onion. Itโ€™s serious. We swear. Well, why not? We have Goat Yoga and Hot Yoga, so this is a natural next step in the Cruz, High Yoga.

In their words: โ€œThis class is a magical space where Cannabis, Yoga and Community come together to chill and elevate your soul. Javiโ€™s classes can be described as a blend of slow vinyasa flow, relaxing vibes, grounded spirituality and a touch of latino spice. A San Francisco classic now right here in downtown Santa Cruz!โ€

This is an all levels class – CBD/THC friendly. Bring your Own Weed (BYOW) – Masks optional. No prior Yoga or Cannabis experience is required. It meets 6:15-7:45 Thursdays through the summer at The Studio on Squid Row, 738 Chestnut Street. (Info: 415-545-8484). First class is free; $18 suggested donation afterwards.

Astronomy on Tap You drink and the kids learn about the stars. Or the kids drink and you see stars. Who says drinking canโ€™t be educational?  Not the Humble Sea Brewing Company, which is bringing astronomers to talk about strange things in the skies, like dark matter. Admission is a blissful FREE for the 6:30pm Thursday talk at 820 Swift St., Santa Cruz.

In โ€˜The Flash,โ€™ Michael Keatonโ€™s Batman Returns to the DCEU

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Barry Allen is the man who can outrun time itself. Bathed in electrified chemicals, he became The Flash, the fastest man alive.

Seeing the previews for The Flash, one expected sobbing nostalgia. Hereโ€™s not just Ben Affleckโ€™s recent Justice League Bat, but the main event: Michael Keatonโ€™s class of โ€™89 Batman mentoring a goofy pair of parallel-world Barry Allens (played by Ezra Miller).

Keatonโ€™s Batman is now a hairy recluse. The two speedy boys recruit him for a mission to find Superman after their earlier quest to save Barryโ€™s mom from murder is upset by the arrival of an armada of Kryptonian fascists led by General Zod (Michael Shannon).

Tim Burtonโ€™s feat in his long-ago blockbuster Batman (1989) was to disinter film noir itself. His hit opposed the cheerleading, flag-flapping fare of the day; instead of celebrating the wealth of the suburbs, Burton addressed the anguish of the cities. It was a story about how grief could change you into something you wouldnโ€™t recognize, into something you wouldnโ€™t want to meet in a dark alley.

Decades of dead friends and bulldozed movie theaters later, itโ€™s a pleasure to see that old Bat, spry and ready for a fight, and to see a guano-spattered tarp peeled back to reveal the block-long Batmobile. Thereโ€™s more modern manic action when he and the Flashes engineer a prison break in a Siberian facilityโ€”the Commies are still afoot in this parallel world.

The rescued prisoner solves a Goldilocks problem the fanboys have about Supermanโ€“whether heโ€™s too mild or too badass. This time those supreme powers are in the imprisoned Kara (the winning Sasha Calle), a figure known elsewhere as Supergirl. The single best idea in Christina Hodsonโ€™s script is putting all of that power into a fiery-eyed yet compassionate figure.

Still, the film is about The Flash, who can access all time and space, laid out before him as if it were a slowly turning celestial zoetrope. Director Andrรฉs Muschietti (of the It remake) treats this hero with a lot of scorn, stripping him for laughs and smearing food on his face. In the filmโ€™s worst scene, heโ€™s pelted with marshmallows by some potheads.

Ezra Millerโ€™s personal troubles are immaterial. As Charlotte Rampling said of Sean Connery, one prefers the man on screen to the man in real life. I liked him from first sight in 2016, where his Barry described himself as โ€œa good-looking Jewish kidโ€; thereโ€™s a bit of Dustin Hoffman in the self-satisfaction, add a bit of Jerry Lewis in the klutziness and impulsiveness. Heโ€™s striking in his crimson armor ready for a run, posing like Mercury on the FTD flower box. And thereโ€™s a very pretty scene of a group of children, shrieking with delight at their encounter with The Flash.

He is on a noble quest, racing back through the years for one last chance to see his mom, appealingly played by Maribel Verdรบ.  Still, the script is so clumsy that it doesnโ€™t offer a clue to who murdered herโ€”thatโ€™s all on the TV show elsewhere.

Are multiverses just an excuse for not picking a tone or choosing a story? Our cinemaโ€™s flavor of the last few years may just be the child of channel-surfing. Battles royal carried out to guitar shredding canโ€™t overcome the saddening counterpoint: The Flash makes you feel simultaneously overserved and underserved.

In theaters June 16.

Prog-Psych-Stoner Trio

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Mammatus clouds are a force of nature not to be reckoned with. The geometric cellular pattern of pouches form through atmospheric turbulence within cumulonimbus clouds. Theyโ€™re primarily composed of ice and can extend for hundreds of miles, often changing direction due to unstable air pressure and wind shear. 

As turbulent as they are, mammatus clouds are also wondrously beautiful, igniting awe-inspiring sunsets for quiet moments of reflection. 

You donโ€™t need to know all this to listen to Santa Cruzโ€™s prog-psych stoner trio, Mammatus, but it lends a meteorlogic perspective for the groupโ€™s expansive vision. 

โ€œI think our emphasis is that life is amazing,โ€ explains guitar player, Nicholas โ€œNickyโ€ Emmert. โ€œItโ€™s sacred to be a living, breathing thing experiencing and interacting with the universe.โ€ 

He takes a pause, then laughs with his band matesโ€“brother and drummer Aaron Emmert and bassist Chris Freelsโ€“before adding, โ€œThatโ€™s pretty much the theme of every one of our songs. Thereโ€™s lightness and darkness and we want to be bearers of light in the darkness.โ€  

Ok, thatโ€™s a heavy answer to asking about the bandโ€™s inspiration. However, one listen to their upcoming album, Expanding Majestyโ€“out June 23 on Silver Current Records with a record release party that same night at the Blue Lagoonโ€“and it makes perfect sense. 

As the title implies, Expanding Majesty is a massive journey of sound. Ethereal synths, space exploring riffs, and heavy rhythms take the listener on an aural adventure through the multiverse of music. Unlike their 2015 release, Sparkling Waters, with its mellow and majestic melodies, Expanding Majesty finds the band grounded in their heavier sound allowing them to take off at any point on a gust of fresh air. 

Itโ€™s the result of a long, drawn-out and heavily meditated process of how the band builds their music. 

โ€œCertain songs we thought were done and then weโ€™d add five more minutes of music,โ€ Freels says. โ€œThere were songs that were mostly written but then weโ€™d go on a backpacking trip and feel super inspired. Weโ€™d pour that inspiration into a song we already wrote and all of a sudden thereโ€™d be a new riff.โ€ 

Mammatus is the living embodiment of the saying, โ€œAll good things take time.โ€ Despite playing together for almost 20 years, Expanding Majesty is only their fifth studio album. Large gaps in time between albums is commonโ€“like the six years between their sophomoric The Coast Explodes and their third release, Heady Mentalโ€“which allows the trio a chance to ruminate on what theyโ€™re doing, giving meaning to each note and movement. 

โ€œIf we didnโ€™t do it this way we wouldโ€™ve broken up by now because we wouldโ€™ve burnt out,โ€ explains Freels.

Even with the time they give themselves to write and record each album, Aaron views Mammatusโ€™ music like a fourth generation copy of a cassetteโ€“present but some of it is lost in the static. 

โ€œOnce you start finding the riffs and themes, then you have this epic vision of what itโ€™s going to be. [However], then it ends up maybe 60 percent close to what you were going for and you say, โ€˜Ok, I guess weโ€™ll go with that.โ€™โ€ 

If trueโ€“that weโ€™re only listening to a portion of what Mammatus wants to sound likeโ€“maybe thatโ€™s a good thing. The human brain might not comprehend if they were able to get any closer to the great collective aether artists draw from and strive to return to. Songs like โ€œBy the Skyโ€ and โ€œForeveriffโ€ have a spiritual quality to them, briefly peeling back the curtain to something else before returning the listener into this realm. Finite beings trying to express infinite ideas. 

โ€œPhil Manley, who recorded Expanding Majesty, described Mammatus as when you look up in the sky and see a hawk,โ€ explains Nick. โ€œWhen itโ€™s flying really high up there and just looks like a speck.โ€ 

Manley should know. Along with being a longtime friend of the band and founding member of D.C. post-rock trio, Trans Am (as well as current member of space jam rockers, Terry Gross), this is the second Mammatus album Manley has recorded at his El Studio in San Francisco. 

However, Expanding Majesty marks the first time the band has worked with Spanish sci-fi and fantasy illustrator, Cristian Eres. A red dragon soars across the clouds into a castle backlit by the setting sun perfectly encapsulates the common feeling throughout the album. An otherworldly sense of simple and pure freedom.

Those that get the rare chance to see Mammatus live should always take it. Just as their albums are elusively spread out, so are their shows. This year they only have four dates planned with a fifth unannounced show in the works.  

โ€œIf there was an AI [artificial intelligence] version of Mammatus, it would just be sitting there doing nothing,โ€ Aaron dryly smiles.

Turkish Delight

Authentic Turkish street food, brilliant to see, brilliant to eat. That’s what you get at the Walnut Avenue hot spot Arslans, where the menu offers bold flavors without identity issues. This is food that knows what it is. And it’s off the charts delicious. Listening to the Traveling Wilburys, watching soccer, and inhaling plates filled with warm fragrant pita bread, garlic-infused spit-roasted lamb and chicken, dipping each bite into seriously zippy hot sauceโ€”that was our lunch last week at Arslans. Run by the talented, hardworking team of Yunus and Marissa Arslan, this is a popular pit-stop for downtown workers, visitors, and inquiring foodies like ourselves. We were blown away by the quality. Of course! After all, this is food that has been taste-tested for thousands of years. We added a chilled bottle of Tamarind soda ($4, good choice to partner spicy cuisine, btw)  The central item on the energetic menu is the acclaimed dรถner (pronounced do-nut, with a soft “t”). If you’ve enjoyed Greek gyros, or shawarma, then you have a good idea of the dรถner. The aromas filling the two-dining room shop had us all but drooling, and the rotisserie roasted dรถner is why. I order the combo dรถner wrap, which involved beef and lamb and chicken, plus a host of accompaniments: fries, carrots, onions, lettuce, tomato and red cabbage, slathered with two sauces, (there’s some lemony-smoky sumac in the mix somewhere) all tightly packed into thin lavosh ($14.50). The huge wrap was the size of the Bosporus and came with an army of thin-sliced dill pickles. Meanwhile, my companion went for a gorgeous platter of beef and lamb dรถner ($20), that arrived with an acreage of micro-shredded lettuce, cabbage, arugula, and tomato salad on one side of the plate, a mound of moist, buttery rice pilaff on the other. The centerpiece thin slices of spiced meats lay under a soft blanket of warm fresh pita. A white sauce of mayo, yogurt, dill and garlic added more flavor magic, but I was an immediate fan of the house hot sauce, involving high wattage spices (smoked paprika, plus cumin, cinnamon) and hot red peppers.

Sexy food, without question, each bite a poem to the timeless appeal of garlic and we ate for long minutes before we came up for air. Patrons seated around us were inhaling huge bowls of colorful salads, and others stopped by for their carry-out orders. I can see how Arslans could become a regular lunch stop for anyone with tastebuds.

Lunch began with an order of baba ganoush ($8) surrounded with quarters of tender pita served in a blue pottery bowl. The smoky roasted eggplant had been mixed with roast tomatoes and sweet peppers, which made it lighter than the tahini-infused version of this Mediterranean classic. I could have eaten it all day long. But then I could have eaten the house pita bread all day long too. Warm and tumescent it was an outstanding example of the ancient staple. Let me be clear: the Arslans wrap is flat-out fantastic. I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun eating lunch. The balance of ingredients is precise and accurate. Nothing else is needed to make every bite sensational. Big flavors and huge portions. Inflation fighting at its tastiest. And the baklava! The moist, flaky rectangles of filo encrusted with butter, pistachios and honey were imported from Turkey. Ethereal yet not too sweet, this is the feather-light dessert finish that spicy food requires ($4). We left this dining spot happily full and ready to go back soon. Actually, I could have eaten this entire meal all over again. Immediately!

Arslans Turkish Street Food – 113 Walnut Ave, SC Open daily 11:30amโ€”8pm, ’til 9pm Fri&Sat.

http://www.arslansturkishstreetfood.com/

Wrights Station

Rosรฉ of Cinsaut 2022

Rosรฉ wine sales in the United State increased 118% between 2015 and 2020 โ€“ with the year 2017 seeing a rise in sales of 53%. As this country deepens its love affair with rosรฉ, the market is expected to skyrocket. The days of rather boring โ€œpink juiceโ€ have long gone, and many rosรฉs of today are simply outstanding.

Wrights Station Winery has produced an excellent 2022 Santa Clara Valley Rosรฉ of Cinsault (about $35). Guava and watermelon are the stars of the fruit โ€“ with a spring bouquet floral nose and a pleasant dry finish. This wine stands up to any rosรฉ loverโ€™s taste test.

Wrights Station Vineyard & Winery, 24250 Loma Prieta Ave., Los Gatos,  408-460-9343. Wrightsstation.com

La Vita Release Party

Bargetto Wineryโ€™s 2019 La Vita wine is an intricate blend of Dolcetto, Nebbiolo and Refosco. The annual release party held at Bargettoโ€™s beautiful property in June is always a special event โ€“ as each year a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this luscious wine goes to a local nonprofit such as Hospice of Santa Cruz County. Community Bridgesโ€™ Pajaro Valley Flood Relief is this yearโ€™s beneficiary. La Vita is $65 a bottle. 

Bargetto Winery, 3535 N. Main St., Soquel, 831-475-2258. Bargetto.com

Dinner at the Courtyard with Fonda Felix and HOME restaurant

Brothers-in-law Diego Felix of Fonda Felix and Brad Briske of HOME restaurant will be preparing a โ€œfantastic dinner at the Courtyard.โ€ Felix will be cooking up some of his native Argentinian cuisine, and Briske will be showing off his โ€œnative Californianโ€ culinary skills.The event is 6-9:30pm on Sunday, June 17 in the Swift Street at 402 Ingalls St., Santa Cruz. Tickets are $100. Wine pairing is available from Felixโ€™s neighbor 11th Hour Coffee. Email Felix at fe***********@***il.com

The Trout Farm

Rollinโ€™ by the River

By Andrew Steingrube

When Kym Dewitt was first offered ownership of the Trout Farm in Felton, she wasnโ€™t interested. The iconic spot had plenty of history and was steeped in mountain lore, originally opening in 1903 with its signature sure-catch pond, thatโ€™s been defunct after a fire. Her opinion changed, though, when she and her husband Shawd and their business partners Olive and Craig visited the property with its gleaming pool and natural beauty.. They purchased it and continue to refurbish. 

The restaurant, open every day from 11am-9pm (bar until 11pm on Fri/Sat) came back to life in early May. Dewitt says the ambiance has a distinct mountainside retro resort feel, punctuated with soaring cedar ceilings. She defines the food as American bistro cuisine complemented by a full bar with signature cocktails. 

The rich and creamy mac-n-cheese and the crispy fried calamari are popular appetizer offerings, and the meatloaf sandwich on sourdough with a spicy brown sugar glaze is a lunch favorite. Dinner entrรฉes include (of course) a pan-fried whole rainbow trout topped with a citrus, fennel and arugula salad, as well as a thick cut bone-in pork chop with seasonal fruit chutney. 

The house made desserts are highlighted by a classic creamy and smooth cheesecake with raspberry coulis and vanilla crรจme anglaise. GT went fishing for answers with Dewitt, asking what made her fall for the Trout Farm and what the experience there is like.

What moved you about the space?

KYM DEWITT: The property is stunning with its majestic oak trees and soaring redwoods, a unique one-of-a-kind land located on Zayante Creek. It took our breath away, itโ€™s really just so gorgeous. We saw the potential in it to bring back something historic and special to the San Lorenzo Valley. So many people have told us that they caught their first fish here, and we really look forward to reviving the trout pond.

Whatโ€™s it like dining there?

When people walk in, they are surprised by how beautiful the space is,the dramatic high ceilings and the fireplace in the dining room create a warm and cozy environment. We also have an outdoor dining deck that is pet-friendly and overlooks the creek and pond. The food is elevated and the whole experience is elegant and comfortable.

7701 East Zayante Road, Felton, 831-854-3009; thetroutfarm.com

Free Will Astrology for the Week of June 14

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries-born Vincent van Goghโ€™s painting Potato Eaters shows five people in a dark room barely illuminated by lamplight. Seated around a small table, they use their hands to eat food they have grown themselves. Vincent wanted to convey the idea that they โ€œdug the earth with the very hands they put into their bowls.” I donโ€™t expect you to do anything quite so spectacularly earthy in the coming weeks, Aries, but I would love to see you get very up close and personal with nature. Iโ€™d also love to see you learn more about where the fundamental things in your life originate. Bonus points if you seek adventures to bolster your foundations and commune with your roots.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera emerged from his mother’s womb in 1886. But some observers suggest that Rivera’s soul was born in 1920: a pivotal time when he found his true calling as an artist. During a visit to Italy, as he gazed at the murals of 15th-century mural painters, โ€œhe found the inspiration for a new and revolutionary public art capable of furthering the ideals of the ongoing revolution in his native land.” (In the words of art historian Linda Downs.) I will be extra dramatic and speculate that you may have a comparable experience in the coming months, dear Taurus: a rebirth of your soul that awakens vigorous visions of what your future life can be.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Among her many jobs, my triple Gemini friend Alicia has worked as a deep-sea rescue diver, an environmental activist, a singer in a band, a dog food taster, an art teacher for kids, and a volunteer at a sleep lab researching the nature of dreams. Do I wonder if she would be wise to commit herself to one occupation? Not really. I respect her decision to honor her ever-shifting passions. But if there will ever come a time when she will experiment with a bit more stability and constancy, it may come during the next 11 months. You Geminis are scheduled to engage in deep ruminations about the undiscovered potentials of regularity, perseverance, and commitment.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): As religious sects go, the Shakers are the most benign. Since their origin in the 18th century, they have had as many women as men in leadership roles. They practice pacifism, disavow consumerism, and donโ€™t try to impose their principles on others. Their worship services feature dancing as well as singing. Iโ€™m not suggesting you become a Shaker, Cancerian, but I do hope that in the coming months, you will place a premium on associating with noble groups whose high ideals are closely aligned with your own. Itโ€™s time to build and nurture your best possible network.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): For years, Mario A. Zacchini worked at a circus as a โ€œhuman cannonball.โ€ On thousands of occasions, he was shot out of a cannon at 90 miles per hour. โ€œFlying isnโ€™t the hard part,โ€ he testified. โ€œLanding in the net is.โ€ His work might sound dangerous, but he lived to age 87. Letโ€™s make Mario your role model for a while, Leo. I hope he will inspire you to be both adventurous and safe, daring but prudent. I trust you will seek exhilarating fun even as you insist on getting soft landings.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): One of my favorite astrology teachers, Stephen Arroyo, notes, “Most people have a strong opinion about astrology, usually quite extreme, even though 95 percent have never studied it whatsoever.” Of course, astrology is not the only subject about which people spout superficial ideas based on scant research. Viral epidemiology is another example. Anyway, Virgo, I am asking you to work hard to avoid this behavior during the rest of 2023. Of all the zodiac signs, you have the greatest potential to express thoughtful ideas based on actual evidence. Be a role model for the rest of us! Show us what it means to have articulate, well-informed opinions.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Meditation teacher Cheri Huber wrote a book called Be the Person You Want to Find. This would be an excellent title for your life story during the next ten months. I hope you will soon ruminate on how to carry out such a quest. Here are two suggestions. 1. Make a list of qualities you yearn to experience in a dear ally and brainstorm about how to cultivate those qualities in yourself. 2. Name three high-integrity people you admire. Meditate on how you could be more like them in ways that are aligned with your life goals.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Now is a good time to take stock of how you have fared in the Dating and Mating Games through the years. Why? Because you are entering a new chapter of your personal Love Story. The next two years will bring rich opportunities to outgrow stale relationship patterns and derive rich benefits from novel lessons in intimacy. An excellent way to prepare is to meditate on the history of your togetherness. PS: The term “fate bait” refers to an influence that draws you toward the next turning point of your necessary destiny. Be alert for fate bait.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian actor Samuel Jackson loves the color purple. He insists on it being featured in his films, and he often wears purple outfits. In Black Snake Moan, he plays a purple Gibson guitar. In the animated movie, Turbo, he voices the role of a purple racing snail. In his Star Wars appearances, he wields a purple light saber. Now I am endorsing his obsession for your use. Why? First, itโ€™s an excellent time to home in on exactly what you want and ask for exactly what you want. Second, now is a favorable phase to emphasize purple in your own adventures. Astrologers say purple is your ruling color. It stimulates your natural affinity for abundance, expansiveness, and openness.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): People who understand the creative process say itโ€™s often wise to stay mum about your in-progress work. You may diminish the potency of your projects if you blab about them while theyโ€™re still underway. I donโ€™t think thatโ€™s true for all creative efforts. For example, if we collaborate with partners on an artistic project or business venture, we must communicate well with them. However, I do suspect the transformative efforts you are currently involved in will benefit from at least some secrecy for now. Cultivate the privacy necessary to usher your masterpiece to further ripeness.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Musician Frank Zappa (1940โ€“1993) was a freaky rebel, iconoclastic weirdo, and virtuoso experimenter. Everything normal and ordinary was boring to him. He aspired to transcend all categories. And yet he refrained from taking psychedelic drugs and urged his fans to do the same. He said, โ€œWe repudiate any substances, vehicles, or procedures which might reduce the body, mind, or spirit of an individual to a state of sub-awareness or insensitivity.โ€ Zappa might have added that some substances temporarily have a pleasing effect but ultimately diminish the life force. In my estimation, Aquarius, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to re-evaluate your relationship with influences that weaken the vitality of your body, mind, or spirit. It will also be a favorable period to seek new modes of lasting liberation.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): If you are at a festival or fair where you could win a lot of money by smashing watermelons with your head, I hope you won’t do it. Same if you imagine you could impress a potential lover by eating 25 eggs in three minutes: Please don’t. Likewise, I beg you not to let yourself be manipulated or abused by anyone for any reason. These days, it’s crucial not to believe you can succeed by doing things that would hurt or demean or diminish you. For the foreseeable future, you will be wise to show what you do best and express your highest values. That’s the most effective way to get what you want.

Homework: What do you wish you could get help to change about yourself? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Pajaro Water Agency Kicks Off Water Pipeline Project

Although work has already begun on theย College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project, a group of dignitaries and a cast from the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) gathered Friday for a ceremonial groundbreaking to herald in the project, which is expected to bolster water supplies and slow groundwater extraction from the critically over-drafted Pajaro basin.

The project byย PVWMAย will utilize the naturally-occurring lakeโ€”which historically has been drained in the summer to make way for cropsโ€”as a permanent source to supply 1,700 acre-feet of water annually to local growers.

โ€œThis will help solve our problem of critical overdraft and salt water intrusion,โ€ Lockwood said. โ€œThis is a really important project and it is a big project and itโ€™s taken an army worth of people to help get it to this point from our board of directors both past and present.โ€

Work crews have been surveying work and โ€œpotholingโ€ to identify existing underground utilities before construction of the pipeline begins. 

โ€œAs we all know, agriculture is the economic engine of this area. And it is important โ€” you canโ€™t have ag without water,โ€ said California Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren. โ€œThis project is going to solve saltwater intrusion problem, subsidence and it is going to provide water for thousands of acres of agricultural land and it is also going to help the fish.โ€

During the week of June 11, trenching will begin in the roadway in the area of East Lake Avenue and Holohan Road, said PVWMAย Water Conservation and Outreach Specialist Marcus Mendiola.

The $68 million project includes a weir structure, a treatment plant and a six-mile pipeline that will convey treated water from college lake to connect to the coastal distribution system.

Crews have already cleared land for some of the underground pipe that will convey the water. 

The College Lake Pipeline Project will be a six-mile, 30-inch water main that will transport treated water from a facility at College Lake to more than 5,000 acres of farmland via an existing system of 22 miles of pipeline. 

The project will also improve fish passage and bypass flows for the endangered south-central California coast steelhead. 

It is the largest new source of water in the Pajaro Valley since the completion of PV Waterโ€™s Watsonville Area Water Recycling Facility in 2009.

โ€œThis is a glorious milestone for this agency,โ€ said Amy Newell, PVWMA Vice Chair, as she described the project as an โ€œabsolutely essential element  of what will be the path to sustainability for this agency.โ€ Newell took time to underscore major drivers of the project, including Tom Reider, one of the founders of PVWMA, and a list of โ€œtalented staff.โ€

The PVWMA board awarded two contracts to Mountain Cascade, Inc. for each project component: the College Lake Water Treatment Plant and Intake Facilities Project in an amount of $44,989,854, and for the construction of the College Lake Pipeline Project in an amount of $23,707,310. 

Construction is expected to take 22 months. 

Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Hires New Manager

Zeke Fraser was hired as the new manager of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, the board of directors announced Tuesday, capping off a search that began when former manager Dave Kegebein was fired in October.

Fraser, a resident of Santa Cruz for nearly 30 years, has more than 25 years of experience in general management, banking, property management, customer service, operations and logistics, according to a press release from the fair.

โ€œBeing local gives me the perspective and the contacts to ensure that the fair continues to be well-sponsored and that the people of Santa Cruz and surrounding counties will get a fun and enjoyable County Fair that feels like it belongs to them,โ€ Fraser stated in a press release.

Fraserโ€™s fondness for fairs dates back to his childhood, he said.

โ€œWhen I was in my tweens, my father ran the county fair circuit across California as part of a music band and my family went with him,โ€ Fraser said. โ€œThis inspired me to later participate in several Renaissance Faires in my late teens. I think the fair has been calling to me for a long time, and I’m excited to finally answer that call.โ€

In a virtual-only meeting held over Zoom, Board Chair Michael Pruger announced Fraser as the new manager following a brief closed session period to finalize the hire.

Fraser will begin his role on Monday, and will be paid $8,135 a month. Pruger added that the board is working on organizing a public meet-and-greet with the new manager.

โ€œZeke is a local,โ€ Pruger said. โ€œHeโ€™s been working within this community for many, many years. We look forward to having a very good working relationship with both the community and board.โ€

The board fired Kegebein in October on a 7-2 vote, pointing to an audit from the California Department of Food and Agriculture that stated many expenditures on a state-issued credit card were for purchases that were โ€œpersonal in nature, unjustified and/or not supported with a receipt or a vendor invoice,โ€ including for gasoline for his truck.

Kegebein has called the allegations โ€œfalse accusations,โ€ saying that all the purchases were for his work at the fair, and on Oct. 25 presented the board with a $30,000 check to cover the fuel costs.

The fairgrounds has seen three interim managersโ€”Don Dietrich, Kelley Ferreira and Ken Alstottโ€”since the October decision.

The annual Santa Cruz County Fair is scheduled for Sept. 13-17.

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Pajaro Water Agency Kicks Off Water Pipeline Project

The College Lake Pipeline Project will provide permanent water source to more than 5,000 acres of Pajaro Valley farmland.

Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Hires New Manager

Zeke Fraser, a Santa Cruz resident, starts role Monday
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