Health and Fitness: Centering on Seniors

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August 23, 2022

Health and Fitness: Centering on Seniors

Fran Stekoll isn’t used to being pushed around—literally or figuratively. But for the first time in her life, the 89-year-old finds herself in a wheelchair and under the constant care of others.

Stekoll tries to remain a vibrant and inspiring force at Dominican Oaks, a rather upscale retirement community located on Paul Sweet Road in Santa Cruz. She sings in a musical ensemble called the Harmonics, leads weekly grief support groups for widows and widowers and is currently working diligently to complete an online master’s degree in mental health counseling.

Covid, though, has presented new challenges for Stekoll, as well as the other 208 residents of Dominican Oaks, and seniors throughout the country.

“I’ve noticed that the pandemic has been depressing—and burdensome—for a lot of people. Especially for those who are normally outgoing and naturally social,” says Stekoll. “For years, I couldn’t do groups, support activities and be out with other people. I learned a lot about who I really was.”

Older people are well aware that they’re at greater risk from Covid, and the pervasive fear has created a long list of co-occurring mental and emotional issues. The psychological well-being of older adults is under attack from multiple directions.

“For my entire life, I’ve never been isolated. None of us have ever been isolated like that before. Living in constant fear,” says Stekoll. “Covid has taught me—all of us seniors—how to adapt.”

According to the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging (NCMHA), there’s been a dramatic uptick of mental health conditions in older adults since the onset of the pandemic. It’s a health care emergency spawned by a health care emergency, with more than 20 million—or 25-30% of seniors—reporting substantial increases in anxiety and depressive disorders since April 2020. Half of men and women age 50-80 report feeling regularly stressed out and isolated from others, according to the recent Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging.

Social isolation among seniors has become so pervasive that it’s now widely considered to be a major public health concern, with one in two older adults at risk. Seniors experiencing loneliness are at a higher risk of impaired cognitive functioning, exaggerated levels of depression and impaired physical health, according to researchers.

The serious risks surrounding loneliness are gradually being recognized throughout the world. The U.K. and Japan have even appointed “Ministers of Loneliness” to combat isolation. One recent study indicates that loneliness has the same impact on mortality as puffing on three cigarettes a day.

Learning Distance

Her hair pulled back and wearing a pressed collared shirt and an easy smile, Dominican Oaks Administrator Amy Salnir sits on a velvety lobby couch to speak about her community. Masks and temperature scans are a must, and some of the residents that shuffle by us keep their distance. There’s still a vibe that things are not totally completely normal.

“The journey for our residents, and all seniors, it’s been difficult, with the lost activity and functions brought on by Covid. There’s been so much fear and loss during the pandemic. Reduced activities, meals together and social gatherings—it certainly affected residents’ mental health. There was an overall sense of isolation and loneliness,” says Salnir.

Taking the helm of Santa Cruz’s poshest senior living facility during a raging pandemic was a bit of a baptism by fire for Salnir. “There were so many unknowns,” she says. “For the community and for the world.”

Salnir is working to create a semblance of normalcy for residents. Some clubs are congregating again, there are a variety of indoor and outdoor classes and activities on the calendar each day and the dining room is emitting that happy clinking and clattering sound during mealtimes.

Today, Dominican Oaks is emphasizing the physical and mental health of its residents. There are support groups for women, various forms of grief, Parkinson’s, depression, Alzheimer’s and many other ailments. Socially distanced outdoor activities are offered for guests at every comfort level at all hours of the day.

Center of Community

Many local seniors, however, live on their own, without a built-in social network like the one at Dominican Oaks. That’s where Vicky Howell comes in. With slicked black grey hair and sporting a well-worn black Raiders t-shirt, 80-year-old Vicky Howell gives off the air of a punk-rock grandma. Prior to retiring to take on reception duties at the Mid County Senior Center (MCSC) in Capitola, she endured long years of handling notoriously difficult patrons at the DMV. Her two-day-a-week volunteer gig at the MCSC was, in contrast, easy and fulfilling. And then came the pandemic.

“When Covid hit, a lot of people I know just kind of gave up,” says Howell. “They isolated themselves, and it wasn’t good. They did nothing. They got so scared that they basically quit living. They stayed holed up in their houses and just stayed there. Afraid and not having the strength to start living again,” Howell remembers.

The MCSC offers local seniors a bounty of classes, groups, parties, events and all forms of physically and mentally stimulating activities. It’s always been an easy and budget-friendly way for the older residents of Santa Cruz County to join a supportive and vibrant community. But the doors of the Senior Center were closed for almost two years.

“We had to stop everything—trips, meetings, events and dances—for a long time,” says Howell. “We’re trying to get things back to what they were. But we’ve lost over 100 members. It’s still a scary situation for a lot of people.”

Howell has felt the effects herself, too. “Before we re-opened, there was nowhere to go. I missed interactions with other people—my community. Interactions with anybody. I developed severe depression,” she says. “Being here gives me a reason to get up in the morning. Otherwise, I’d stay isolated and in bed all day.”

Since Mid County Senior Center gradually began to reopen in June, Howell’s new desk duties have included verifying Covid vaccinations (required for entry), handing out N95 masks, providing free 911 cell phones, collecting payments and helping members sign up for new activities. She spends a lot of her pro-bono hours helping members feel comfortable again.

To Howell, a senior with good mental health “keeps herself busy, has a positive attitude and has things to look forward to. Someone active and part of a community.”

The Senior Center’s always-popular and delightfully raucous dances are back—though attendance is down significantly. And the monthly calendar includes yoga classes, gardening groups, book and gaming clubs, swing and line dance instruction, photo tutorials and even an Ikebana Japanese flower arranging course.

Covid is still a major threat, and while much of the world begins to normalize—and the majority of us now go through our days maskless—senior citizens must remain cautious.

“Seniors are known to suffer more greatly with symptoms of Covid. More hospitalizations. More deaths. Just knowing this adds to a senior’s stress level. The fear of catching Covid remains real,” says Carol Williamson, former president of the Santa Cruz chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). “Mental health is affected by all of this. The biggest enemy of our mental health is fear. And Covid is still providing seniors with a big dose of fear.”

Mental health conditions are treatable. But they are also often severely misunderstood and stigmatized in the U.S. Anxiety, depression and PTSD are often ridiculed, stereotyped or judged. Studies indicate that an average of one in three seniors say that they might have hesitation about seeking mental health care in the future.

In many cases, the diagnosis and treatment of a mental health disorder is also more complicated for older adults. Real issues like depression or repeated memory lapses are commonly overlooked or dismissed as normal characteristics of “getting older.”

Seniors must be open and vocal about any mental health difficulties they may be having, as there exists a wide variety of proven medications and strategies that can be used to combat these conditions. Setting regular goals and establishing routines can solidify a daily schedule. And exercising, having a regular sleep pattern, supplying the body and mind with lots of natural light, meditation, deep breathing and staying away from alcohol work wonders, too, experts say.

“Walking is a great way to lift the spirits,” says Williamson. “Our county is full of beautiful places to walk. Seacliff Beach, West Cliff, East Cliff, UCSC, the wharf and mountain trails or parks. Walk anywhere. Listen to music you love. Start a hobby. Read. Think. Keep learning new things. Cook. Garden. Get a pet. Cry when you need to and tell someone how you feel. Allow the truth of your feelings. Try to think thoughts that make you feel good. Give yourself compliments. Live well mentally.”

Mental Health Resources

Older Adult Mental Health Services Program: 1400 Emeline Ave., Bldg. K, Santa Cruz
831-454-4170 (Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm)
800-952-2335 (24 hours)

National Alliance on Mental Illness Santa Cruz County (NAMI): namiscc.org (831-427-8020)

Community Connection: ccsantacruz.org (831-425-8132)

More Health and Fitness 2022

A Local Yoga Guru

An Alternative Approach

Health and Fitness: A Local Yoga Guru

Richard Stockton

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August 23, 2022

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I meet Laurie Broderick-Burr as she rides her bicycle to our table at 11th Hour Coffee. I had chosen a quiet table for the interview; yoga instructors are a reserved, soft-spoken lot, right? I had imagined we would whisper about the fears people my age have of falling.

No.

Broderick-Burr does not whisper, nor does she describe body/mind issues with negative words. Rather than focus on seniors’ fear of falling, the Santa Cruz geriatric exercise educator reframes “embracing the wobbles” with a story about the absence of fear she saw in a 20-something who was balancing on the edge of a fence. Broderick-Burr looks around, “It was a fence just like this brick flower box here.”

She jumps up from our table, lifts her right foot to the top of the flower box, and pushes down with her leg until she is standing on one foot, above me, on the edge of the brick wall.

As she balances on the toes of her right foot, she looks down and says, “Embracing the wobbles means learning to accept that losing balance can be a learning opportunity.” She leans back and drops to the ground.

“The more ways we can find to move, the more access we have to continue moving,” she says as she sits down.

Broderick-Burr has been a one-woman movement revolution her entire life.

“I was lucky enough to fall into dancing as a teenager,” she says. “I felt equanimity in my entire system when I was moving. Dancing required my mind to focus, to consider and remember what came next, to remember patterns, to use all parts of my physical and mental being.”

She stands, turns to a chair, and lifts her foot onto the seat. “My passion deepened for strength training, and I began training people to use whatever they have in their lives,” she says, constantly moving up and down with her foot on the chair.

Broderick-Burr is a dancer, dance teacher, yogi, aerobics teacher, weight trainer, hiker, swimmer, skier, bicyclist and triathlon competitor with a master’s in kinesiology. I’ve never met anyone who has studied more modalities of movement.

“I’ve always been concerned that I was not only teaching yoga and dance, but also teaching aerobics, strength training, fitness. I worried that I didn’t fit into the dance world because I taught yoga. Then I felt I couldn’t be a yogi because I taught aerobics. I wasn’t a purist. But since I turned 60, I no longer feel like an imposter. I do what I do. What I’m doing is good and valuable. I’ve been doing it long enough.”

She looks down and smiles, her eyes twinkling. “In my 40s, I took up backpacking,” she says. “My husband Jim is on a High Sierra Mountain tour now; I’m preparing to join him for seven days. We’ve done the John Muir Trail many times, the Himalayas; we’re high mountain hikers. Nothing more we like than climbing a 13,000-foot peak!” She slaps her leg and laughs.

Broderick-Burr says that in her 50s, her work cohered with her master’s degree in kinesiology. “With an emphasis in geriatric exercise science and orthopedics rehabilitation, I can scientifically assess movement. I can see what’s happening and what needs to be built up.”

I start thinking, “This woman analyzes congealed slabs of protoplasm like me. Maybe she can help me.” I tell Laurie about my humiliating encounter with a basketball hoop the day before. I’d been walking the dog with my wife, Julie. We came to a basketball hoop hanging over the sidewalk. It was a low hoop, maybe 9-and-a-half feet high. The old desire to soar high burned in my belly, and I wondered how far over the rim my hand could go. I gathered my body, bent down and leapt upwards, throwing my arms up towards the rim.

Nothing happened. My feet were buckets of cement. Straining towards the rim, my arms flailed overhead like an advertising air-tube dancer.

“Whatever you’re doing, stop it,” my wife said.

“I’m jumping to touch the rim,” I told her.

“Your feet did not leave the ground.”

She was right. A credit card would not have fit under my shoes. I used to catch air, now I catch sick burns from my wife.

Jump Start

Broderick-Burr has ideas about why I can’t jump. She calls my hiking boots “coffin shoes.” Then she reminds me of her class in the morning and rides away on her bicycle. Full disclosure: when I took this assignment, I did it for the money. Now, I can’t wait for her class.

At 9:45am the next morning, I’m at Swift Street Fitness. Broderick-Burr is high energy, having a ball; the class vibe is relaxed and playful. Some of the participants have been practicing with her for 30 years.

I’ve taken enough yoga classes to know not to make noises, either voluntary or involuntary. The class is not so hard, and I manage to control the grunting. I’m strong enough to at least attempt Broderick-Burr’s poses. It’s a good class, but it is not helping me with my white-men-can’t-jump complex.

Then, Broderick-Burr works her magic.

She starts talking about jumping. She has us put the balls of one foot on a block and lift the heel. I see everyone else rise on their toes. I do not rise. I can stand flat-footed but have no lift. Zero. I’m shocked—my plantar fascia (bottom of the foot), ankles and calves cannot lift my heel one inch. Laurie suggests it is because of the big hiking boots I wear all the time. For 20 years, I let my foot bones fuse in my hiking boots while sitting in front of my computer, only taking breaks to drive long distances. They live in toe tombs.

Broderick-Burr’s assessment got me to own my feet. What’s weird is that I hike—not only is it the best exercise, but when you’re done, you’re somewhere else. But she tells me I hike without my toes.

“You have atrophied ankle muscles and plantar fascia,” she says. No wonder I’m so slow on the trail. And now here I am, not only unable to jump but incapable of pushing my heel off the floor to stand on my toes.

With military urgency, Broderick-Burr tells me to get on my toes. “Dorsiflexion of the big toe, plantarflexion of the ankle!” She tells me to go barefoot, get up on the balls of my feet and work my calves every day.

I’m on my toes now, lifting my heel as high as possible. My calves feel like lost spirits, annoyed to be summoned after all these years. My ankles and plantar fascia are trying to remember their purpose. I have dementia of the feet.

My failed attempt to jump showed me that something was wrong. Broderick-Burr figured out what it was and showed me what I might do about it. She warns me it will take a while to get my ankle and calf muscles back. I buy lightweight, thin-soled running shoes and like them so much I buy a second identical pair. Throughout the day, I put the balls of my feet on a 4 x 4 block and struggled to push up onto my toes. Now my heel rises an inch, more or less. OK, less.

One of her longtime students tells me, “Laurie’s approach to yoga combines classical teachings with contemporary science in a way that makes asana practice meaningful in the modern world. With sensitivity and a good sense of humor, she blends her deep knowledge of the mechanics of the human body with the traditions of Hatha yoga to provide practices that extend beyond the yoga studio into daily life.”

It’s working for me; I’m part of the movement revolution now. Free the feet! Broderick-Burr has a vast knowledge of movement and is passionate about helping her clients find new shapes. She insists she is not a physical therapist but says, “You can teach an old dog new tricks because neuroplasticity is possible in an aging body. You can bend the aging curve, but it takes embracing the wobbles and working with them to elicit change.”

By the time you read this, Broderick-Burr will be with her husband Jim in the High Sierras, dreaming of their next 13,000-foot mountain peak. I’ll be doing my prescribed heel lifts, dreaming of jumping over a credit card. She will bend her aging curve; I will bend my toes. She inspires people to move and is moving up that mountain right now.

Contact Laurie Broderick-Burr at mewithlauriebb.com, laurie-bb-s-school.teachable.com or on Instagram @yogaburr.

More Health and Fitness 2022

Centering on Seniors

An Alternative Approach

Pajaro Valley Unified Introduces Family Engagement Wellness Center

Todd Guild and Drew Penner

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August 23, 2022

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Pajaro Valley Unified Introduces Family Engagement Wellness Center

As thousands of students throughout Santa Cruz County prepared to return to classrooms for the start of the new school year over the past three weeks, educators and administrators were not only honing their lesson plans, but also preparing for how to deal with the complications of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Because the past two years saw young people worldwide move to distance-learning regimes, in-person classes are still far from normal for many kids. This has in many cases compounded trauma for students already facing such issues as poverty, hunger and violence.

Educators have had to look for ways to adapt to this changing landscape. For Pajaro Valley Unified School District, this includes the creation of its first Family Engagement and Wellness Center, which opened at E.A. Hall Middle School near downtown Watsonville in December. It is here that the more than 18,000 students of the largest school district in the county and their families can access services from several nonprofits, in addition to receiving food from Second Harvest Food Bank.

While offering such services at schools is not a new idea, the Wellness Center represents a shift toward bringing the students’ families into the loop, says PVUSD Student Services Coordinator Ben Slyder.

Among other things, the families can attend classes on topics such as positive discipline, dealing with depression and bullying.

“We recognize we need to focus and serve the whole child, and we have been doing that for many years,” Slyder says. “But we have now shifted that focus to the whole parent and the whole community as well.”

Holistic Approach

Slyder says that the trauma stemming from the pandemic has a wide-ranging impact that can hinder students’ long-term academic plans.

“Having a place like [the wellness center] allows for those connections between the adults and students, to help individuals think of those goals and have hope in knowing that, ‘Yes, this is where I am now,’ but recognizing it doesn’t have to be that way,” he says. “We can move forward in a different way. And having adults here on campus to help support that transformation is at the core of what we do here at the wellness center.”

For PVUSD mental health clinician Nancy Broxton—a licensed marriage and family therapist—this philosophy is paramount.

“I know that helping to support the whole family is one of the most important things I can do in order to change a kid’s life,” she says.

Santa Cruz City Schools spokesman Sam Rolens says that the district is in the process of launching similar wellness centers at its high schools. That effort, Rolens says, is funded in part by Measures T and U, $110 and $208 parcel taxes, respectively, that were approved in 2020.

In addition, socio-emotional counselors train teachers in how to spot signs of distress or anxiety among their students, Rolens says.

The district’s efforts to focus on student mental health goes beyond those additions. For instance, all SCCS students beginning in third grade have annual check-ins with counselors to see if anyone needs support, Rolens says. Using Covid-19 relief funding, SCCS recently added mental and emotional health counselors at all its middle and high schools.

Similarly, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (COE) is in the process of creating two new wellness centers at the other high school districts by the time class starts in fall 2023.

And the need for such services is more vital than ever. According to data gathered by the COE, the rates of suicidal thoughts and depression among LGBTQ+ students rose from 64% during pre-pandemic 2019 to 71% last year. That’s compared to an increase from 28% to 39% among non-LGBTQ+ students during that same period.

It is this growing need for mental health services that drove Scotts Valley Unified School District to make its top two priorities for this school year (1) diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging and (2) mental health, according to Superintendent Tanya Krause.

Krause says district officials were expecting problems with learning loss to crop up when students returned to the classroom. But it was the emotional challenges that caught them off-guard.

“Our biggest surprise upon returning to in-person instruction was the mental health issues that superseded some of the academic challenges that we were more prepared for,” she says.

To meet this challenge, SVUSD has upped its counseling roster. Krause says when she took over as superintendent in 2016 the district had just 2.2 equivalent counselors at the high school. Now there are 5.3 equivalent counselors between the middle school and the high school.

SVUSD is also increasing its emphasis on socio-emotional learning, and the district’s Food Service Department now provides free breakfast and lunch every day.

These changes follow a challenging year for SVUSD in which a freshman named Mateo Deihl died by suicide. His mom, Regina, said he had been bullied at school largely because he was Latino. A recent report from an education consultant hired by SVUSD found that many parents at the district feel the environment isn’t the friendliest for students of color or who are part of other minority groups.

A major takeaway from the report was that many parents aren’t confident in the district’s commitment to following through on addressing their concerns. But Krause says SVUSD is getting serious about fixing bullying problems, including by introducing a new discipline policy.

“We will have a greater emphasis on responses to hate speech for students,” she says. “We spent a big chunk of time with our leadership team talking about making sure students are really clear at the beginning of the year about what the expectations are.”

According to Krause, these situations tend to crop up before or after class and can fly under the staff’s radar. So, the district has started training yard duty workers, campus security and support employees on how to identify and deal with these scenarios.

The district knows that the social media world is another arena where this abuse has been rearing its ugly head, and Krause emphasizes they’re working to reduce bullying there too, where possible.

“While it’s oftentimes occurring outside of the school hours, the school is expected to respond to those types of situations,” she says. “So, a piece of what we’re going to be doing is partnering with an outside trainer to provide parent training.”

Because, after all, these issues are much bigger than the district, she adds.

“This is not just a school district focus, but a change in our community; and in our state—and in our nation,” she says. “And we’re hoping that our parent community will support and partner with us as we move with a greater focus in this direction.”

Changing Tide

The PVUSD Wellness Center brings the services of Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, Salud Para la Gente and Community Action Board under one roof, in addition to nutrition services.

This is not the only place in PVUSD to receive such services. Watsonville and Pajaro Valley high schools have their own resource centers, as do Pajaro, Rolling Hills and Cesar Chavez middle schools, where students can access services that include Dientes Community Dental.

But the Family Engagement and Wellness Center is the first created as a “one-stop shop,” offering a comprehensive range of services.

One room is designated as the “co-op,” which is packed full of shelves, all stocked with food from Second Harvest, where families can select food twice per week. This includes peanut butter, rice, milk, pasta and more.

The center also coordinates with Martha’s Kitchen—a 40-year-old organization based in San Jose that makes meals for homeless people—to provide hot meals once a week for the families.

Another of the rooms has been converted to a counseling center, where Broxton offers her counseling services, which she says are not limited to mental health help.

“I can feed them,” she says. “I can take them right next door to the Food Bank. I can solve that immediate problem, and then figure out how we can help. How do we change the home and how do we change everything? And then deal with the trauma. Because if I’m not doing the basics first then I can’t get to the therapeutic part.”

Last year, Broxton says she served roughly 70 students throughout the school district and reckons she’ll see anywhere from 30-40 families at any given time.

While she says that the importance of counseling services in a post-pandemic world cannot be overstated, Broxton adds that she has seen one positive: an unprecedented growth in acceptance of such services.

Rolens agrees, saying that his district has seen an increase in students seeking and receiving mental health consultations.

“This generation of students has gotten more comfortable with the idea,” he says. “We’re seeing more need in terms of mental health support. We’re just so happy we have the infrastructure to meet that need right now. We want people to use these services as much as they need them.”

Many families, Broxton says, are now excited when they see the “counseling” sign.

“I think we have all come to the conclusion that we need help and that we need to rely on each other,” she says. “And so I see a lot more openness to therapy.”

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology: Aug. 24-30

Rob Brezsny

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August 23, 2022

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the coming weeks, I urge you to flee from stale and rigid certainty. Rebel against dogmatic attitudes and arrogant opinions. Be skeptical of unequivocal answers to nuanced questions. Instead, dear Aries, give your amused reverence to all that’s mysterious and enigmatic. Bask in the glimmer of intriguing paradoxes. Draw inspiration and healing from the fertile unknown. For inspiration, write out this Mary Oliver poem and carry it with you: “Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company with those who say ‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A blogger named Chaconia writes, “I’ve cultivated a lifetime of being low maintenance and easy-going, and now I’ve decided I’m done with it. Demanding Me is born today.” I’m giving you temporary permission to make a similar declaration, Taurus. The astrological omens suggest that in the coming weeks, you have every right to be a charming, enchanting and generous version of a demanding person. So I authorize you to be just that. Enjoy yourself as you ask for more of everything.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The witch Lisa Chamberlain writes about the magical properties of colors. About brown, she says it “represents endurance, solidity, grounding and strength.” She adds that it’s used in magic to enhance “balance, concentration, material gain, home and companion animals.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, the upcoming weeks should be a deeply brown time for you Geminis. To move your imagination in a righteous direction, have fun wearing clothes in shades of brown. Grace your environment with things that have the hues of chestnut, umber, mahogany, sepia and burnt sienna. Eat and drink caramel, toffee, cinnamon, almonds, coffee and chocolate.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian poet Danusha Laméris discovered that earthworms have taste buds all over their bodies. Now she loves to imagine she’s giving them gifts when she drops bits of apples, beets, avocados, melons and carrot tops into the compost bin. “I’d always thought theirs a menial life, eyeless and hidden, almost vulgar.” But now that she understands “they bear a pleasure so sublime,” she wants to help the worms fulfill their destinies. I mention this, Cancerian, because I suspect you may have comparable turnarounds in the coming weeks. Long-held ideas may need adjustments. Incomplete understandings will be filled in when you learn the rest of the story. You will receive a stream of interesting new information that changes your mind, mostly in enjoyable ways.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You should never allow yourself to be tamed by others. That advice is always apropos for you Leos, and even more crucial to heed in the coming weeks. You need to cultivate maximum access to the raw, primal sources of your life energy. Your ability to thrive depends on how well you identify and express the beautiful animal within you. Here’s my only caveat: If you imagine there may be value in being tamed a little, in harnessing your brilliant beast, do the taming yourself. And assign that task to the part of you that possesses the wildest wisdom.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Whenever you are contemplating a major decision, I hope you raise questions like these: 1. Which option shows the most self-respect? 2. Which path would be the best way to honor yourself? 3. Which choice is most likely to help you fulfill the purposes you came to earth to carry out? 4. Which course of action would enable you to express your best gifts? Are there questions you would add, Virgo? I expect the coming months will require you to generate key decisions at a higher rate than usual, so I hope you will make intensive use of my guiding inquiries, as well as any others you formulate.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran blogger Ana-Sofia Cardelle writes, “I look back on past versions of myself with such love and tenderness. I want to embrace myself at different parts of my life.” I hope you’re inspired by her thoughts as you carry out the following actions: 1. Create an altar filled with treasures that symbolize major turning points in your destiny. 2. Forgive yourself for what you imagine to be old errors and ignorance. 3. Summon memories of the persons you were at ages 7, 12 and 17 and write a kind, thoughtful message to each. 4. Literally kiss seven different photos of your face from earlier in your life. 5. Say “thank you” and “bless you” to the self you were when you succeeded at two challenging tests in the past.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You know more about how karma works than all the other signs. Scorpio-style intelligence typically has a fine intuitive grasp of how today’s realities evolved out of the deep patterns and rhythms of the past. But that doesn’t mean you perfectly understand how karma works. And in the coming weeks, I urge you to be eager to learn more. Become even savvier about how the law of cause and effect impacts the destinies of you and your allies. Meditate on how the situations you are in now were influenced by actions you took once upon a time. Ruminate on what you could do in the near future to foster good karma and diminish weird karma.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Kabbalistic writer Simon Jacobson says, “Like a flame, the soul always reaches upward. The soul’s fire wants to defy the confines of life. It cannot tolerate the mediocrity and monotony of sheer materialism. Its passion knows no limits as it craves for the beyond.” That sounds both marvelous and hazardous, right? Jacobson concludes, “Whether the soul’s fire will be a constructive or destructive force is dependent on the person’s motivation.” According to my astrological analysis, your deep motivations are likely to be extra noble and generous in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. So I expect that your soul’s fire will be very constructive.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In the Spanish language, there’s the idiom pensando en la inmortalidad del cangrejo. Its literal translation is “thinking about the immortality of the crab.” It applies to a person engaged in creative daydreaming—her imagination wandering freely in hopes of rousing innovative solutions to practical dilemmas. Other languages have similar idioms. In Finnish, istun ja mietin syntyjä syviä means “wondering about the world’s early origins.” Polish has marzyć o niebieskich migdałach, or “dreaming about blue almonds.” I encourage you to enjoy an abundance of such explorations in the coming days, Capricorn. You need to fantasize more than usual.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): My Aquarian reader Georgie Lee wrote to tell me what it’s like being an Aquarius. I offer it to you because you are potentially at the peak of expressing the qualities she names. She says, “Accept that you don’t really have to understand yourself. Be at peace with how you constantly ramble, swerve and weave to become more of yourself. Appreciate how each electric shift leads to the next electric shift, always changing who you are forever. Within the churning, ever-yearning current, marvel at how you remain eternal, steady and solid—yet always evolving, always on a higher ground than before.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Here’s a good way to build your vibrancy: Use your emotional intelligence to avoid swimming against strong currents for extended periods. Please note that swimming against strong currents is fine, even advisable, for brief phases. Doing so boosts your stamina and fosters your trust in your resilience. But mostly, I recommend you swim in the same direction as the currents or swim where the water is calm and currentless. In the coming weeks, I suspect you can enjoy many freestyle excursions as you head in the same direction as vigorous currents.

Homework: What’s a past action you need to forgive yourself for? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Acrobat Winery’s Earthy 2019 Pinot Noir Signifies ‘Life in Balance’

Josie Cowden

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August 23, 2022

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Acrobat Winery’s Earthy 2019 Pinot Noir Signifies ‘Life in Balance’

Acrobat is Oregon wine, but it’s produced and bottled by Acrobat Winery in Geyserville and Healdsburg in Northern California. Their full-flavor 2019 Pinot Noir usually sells for around $20, but you might find it on sale for under $16.

“Acrobat is a wine born to introduce people to the drinkability of Pinot Noir,” Acrobat says. “Responsibly grown in the breathtaking hills and valleys of Oregon, this wine is excellent with food and equally enjoyable on its own. It comes with style and grace and is life in balance.”

And it comes with an easy-to-open screw cap.

Wine Enthusiast says that this Pinot is fragrant and spicy, with ripe berry fruit and an “earthy stiffness” that comes up with the tannins. “It will knock it out of the park with salmon,” they add, awarding the wine 90 points. acrobatwine.com.

An Evening with Friends

The fundraiser hosted by Friends of Hospice supports Hospice of Santa Cruz County community services and programs such as music therapy, pet companions, volunteer visitor programs, grief support, a camp for grieving children and much more. An Evening with Friends features music, food and complimentary wine. Mix and mingle with friends and enjoy this meaningful event.
Sunday, Sept.18, 5-8pm at Seascape Golf Club (Monarch Room), 610 Clubhouse Drive, Aptos. $125. ev****************@**************uz.org; 831-713-6083.

Kathryn Kennedy Winery

“Finally, after years and years, we did a deep dive into the winery library,” says Kathryn Kennedy Winery owner and winemaker Mary Mathis. “We brought some really old and rare bottles to the surface, and they are here for all to see.” If you are interested in uncommon bottles in the $100-400 range, visit kathrynkennedywinery.com.

Sevy’s Offers a Tranquil Outdoor Setting, Delicious Comfort Food

Andrew Steingrube

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August 23, 2022

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Sevy’s Offers a Tranquil Outdoor Setting, Delicious Comfort Food

San Jose native Matt Miyahara moved to Santa Cruz 10 years ago for the small-town feel, the beaches and great hiking spots. After graduating from San Jose State with a degree in Comparative Religious Studies, he entered the restaurant industry. A year and a half ago, Sevy’s at the Seacliff Inn in Aptos brought Miyahara on as the manager. He defines the cuisine as California comfort food served in a modern setting with a one-of-a-kind outdoor space. Miyahara says the breakfast highlight is the classic French toast, complete with a dark rum banana brûlée and topped with strawberries and powdered sugar. Dinner favorites include the grilled fish tacos punctuated with pickled onions and the braised short rib on a bed of parmesan polenta. A popular dessert offering is the beignet with chocolate dipping sauce.
Hours are 7am-9pm every day. Miyahara took a few minutes with GT to explain his love of restaurant work and what makes Sevy’s patio unique.

What led you into the industry?

MATT MIYAHARA: Right out of college I landed an entry-level job in finance, and hated it. I was stuck behind a desk, looking at a computer screen for eight hours a day. I felt like this job is not who I am, so I decided to go back into doing what I love—working in restaurants and again having those face-to-face interactions with guests and co-workers. I know that I love it because I never regret going back into restaurants. I never have a day where I dread going into work. I always look forward to it, because today won’t be like yesterday, and there are always new people to meet, new challenges to face and new experiences.

What makes the outdoor space special?

It’s one of the best in town and is a signature of our restaurant. When dining outdoors here, it is very calming, peaceful and homey. I remember the first time I sat out there and dined, watching fish swim through the pond, enjoying the breeze and sound of the waterfall. It was just a really memorable experience, and I see the draw it has for our customers.

Sevy’s at the Seacliff Inn, 7500 Old Dominion Ct., Aptos, 831-688-7300; seacliffinn.com.

Mo’s Dumpling is a Welcome Addition to Santa Cruz’s Westside

Christina Waters

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August 23, 2022

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Mo’s Dumpling is a Welcome Addition to Santa Cruz’s Westside

For my initial visit to Mo’s Dumpling on Mission, I dove right past the dumplings and opted for a combo plate of Ma Po tofu with shrimp, and a side of garlic fried noodles ($13.50). My mouth is still happily haunted with garlic and sesame oil from the huge expanse of soft succulent tofu bathed in spicy bean paste sauce.

The Chinese noodles themselves were addictive, as were the thick slices of wok’d baby bok choy. Custom cooked to order, the lunch was more than enough to satisfy a hungry woman (me), and still take some home.

The Mo’s menu is extensive, from dumplings to noodles to soups to fried rice, spicy sichuan string beans and myriad fried wing specialties. Gonna have to work my way through this menu, too.

The Westside is booming right now, between exceptional cocktails at Vim and Bantam to enlightened appetizers at Venus and Avanti, and the new Namaste.

Mo’s Dumpling, 2301 Mission St., Santa Cruz. Tuesday-Sunday, 11:30am-9pm. Closed Monday. Online orders for pickup. mosdumpling.com.

Bad Animal, Good Company

Always a treat to stop by Bad Animal, and not just for books. Rita and I took an early dinner in her favorite corner banquette—it’s everybody’s favorite spot at this chic literary salon.

I always love trying something from the eclectic wine menu, and my glass of Catalonian unfiltered orange wine from Raimones ($15) hit the spot on a warm evening. Piquant notes of salt and spice made it a memorable partner to the meal. Rita enjoyed her bronze-hued Sicilian blood orange soda from Tomarchio ($5), another refreshing choice. The evening starter of fig toast ($16) turned out to be an opulent plate of two toasted slices of sourdough, beautifully topped with layers of olive oil, warm fresh figs, tangles of paper-thin prosciutto and shavings of fennel. Each flavor romanced every other one, in one of those alliances that chef Katherine Stern does so well.

We both ordered bowls of tagliatelle ($23); Stern is the queen of pasta, and this one was no exception. The perfectly cooked pasta arrived laced with bits of bacon, tiny pale green shavings of summer squash and a lavish dusting of pecorino. This is pasta worth finding a parking spot for. A wonderful and 100% satisfying pasta creation. We ate every bite.

A dessert of lemon verbena panna cotta ($10) looked lovely, although the quivering square of custard proved very light in the lemon verbena department. A raspberry compote on the side was heavenly, and we also scarfed down the exceptional cornmeal cookies as quickly as was decent.

Keep on Truckin’

Scotts Valley’s Skypark—yes, there once was a small airport and runway where my dad used to fly single engine planes—hosts monthly outdoor gatherings starring your favorite food trucks.

Food Truck Friday is coming up on August 26, and that means KPIG’s Michael Gaither and Friends will perform the live soundtrack to incredibly spiced and seasoned freshly-made foods from Saucey’z, Taquizas Gabriel, Kuki’s Bowls, Scrumptious Fish and Chips, Aunt LaLi’s and Cracked Cookies. It’s happening on Friday, Aug. 26 from 5-8pm at Skypark, 361 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley. Bring a lawn chair, there are picnic tables and easy parking. Free.

Gayle’s Forever!

I couldn’t resist picking up an emergency dinner from Gayle’s last week—pistachio-crusted salmon, with sides of thin haricots verts with basil and perfect herb roasted Yukon Gold potatoes ($23.95). It was easy to heat up, and fed us both, plus a lunch the next day.

Casting Surprises at Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s 2023 Season Reveal

Stage

Steve Palopoli

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August 23, 2022

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Casting Surprises at Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s 2023 Season Reveal

At the Audrey Stanley Grove on Monday night, Santa Cruz Shakespeare Artistic Director Mike Ryan called local theater icon Paul Whitworth “my mentor, acting idol and friend.” It sounds like the kind of description that might come before the announcement of what would be a much-deserved career-retrospective award.

But this was something better—instead of looking back, it was looking forward. As part of SCS’ 2023 season reveal, Ryan announced that Whitworth will return to the Shakespeare stage next summer to play one of the Bard’s most famous, demanding and complex roles: King Lear.

The 72-year-old Whitworth is Santa Cruz’s most renowned Shakespearean actor. He started performing with SCS forerunner Shakespeare Santa Cruz in 1984, and became its artistic director in 1996, serving in that role until 2007. In that time, he left an indelible mark—no one who saw him play Richard III, for instance, will ever forget it, and I personally consider his embodiment of George in SSC’s 2004 production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to be the single greatest dramatic performance I have ever seen.

King Lear has never been performed in the Grove, and this will be Whitworth’s first time performing with Santa Cruz Shakespeare, which was founded in 2014 after UCSC infamously withdrew support from SSC. The last time Shakespeare’s tale of political madness was produced in Santa Cruz was 2005, and on Monday, Ryan commented that “the intervening 17 years have made it more relevant than ever.” The production will be directed by Paul Mullins, who wowed audiences this summer with an incredible take on Twelfth Night.

The other Shakespeare play Ryan announced for next summer is The Taming of the Shrew, which Shakespeare Santa Cruz produced in its final season in 2013. It’s a bit of a daring choice for these times, which Ryan acknowledged when he called it “a challenging play to do in our modern age” and teased a production that will entertain and “ask tough questions” about the play itself.

Another intriguing casting surprise came with the announcement of next season’s third play. Lauren Gunderson’s The Book of Will is a meta-comedy (not unlike, in some ways, Shakespeare in Love) about Henry Condell and John Heminges, two Elizabethan actors who are credited with preserving the Bard’s works as we know them today by putting together the First Folio. In a brilliant bit of casting, Ryan—serving his final year as artistic director next season—will play Heminges; Charles Pasternak—joining Ryan as co-artistic director beginning in January, and taking over the role fully after next summer’s productions—will play Condell.

Their real-life roles add a whole other level of meta to what is already, as Ryan put it, “a love letter to Shakespeare.”

“I can think of no better way to celebrate this transition,” he said Monday.

SCS Board President Rick Wright told the crowd that this had been a successful season for the company, which hit its goals after selling 15,000 tickets to almost 50 performances over two months. SCS’s 2022 season of Twelfth Night, The Tempest and The Formula has its final performances this week.

More information at santacruzshakespeare.org.

Watsonville Plane Crash Victims ID’d

Local News

GT Staff

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August 22, 2022

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The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Coroner has identified the three victims in a mid-air collision between two airplanes on Aug. 18 above Watsonville Municipal Airport.

Carl Kruppa, 75, and Nannette Plett-Kruppa, 67, both of Winton, California, were aboard the Cessna 340 twin-engine plane, while Stuart Camenson, 32, of Santa Cruz, was flying solo in a Cessna 152 single-engine plane.

All three people were pronounced dead at the scene. Officials at the scene also said a dog aboard the larger plane was killed in the crash.

The cause of the crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration.

Witnesses say the planes collided as the Cessna 340 attempted to land at the small Santa Cruz County airport. That plane skidded across the airfield before crashing into a hangar.

The Cessna 152 crash-landed on the outskirts of the airfield near Buena Vista Drive, just a few 100 feet from a suburban neighborhood off Freedom Boulevard.

Camenson was a UCSC graduate who went on to work in the university’s IT department. He was also a cast member of Cabrillo Stage’s recent production of Candide.

In a statement, UCSC said it was deeply saddened by the tragedy.

“Our thoughts are with their family and friends during this difficult time,” the statement read.

Federal Investigation Into Fatal Plane Collision Underway

Local News

Todd Guild, Tarmo Hannula and Tony Nuñez

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August 19, 2022

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Federal Investigation Into Fatal Plane Collision Underway

The National Transportation Safety Board has begun its investigation into a Thursday mid-air collision between two airplanes above Watsonville Municipal Airport that killed three people and one dog.

NTSB Airsafety Investigator Fabian Salazar said during a Friday afternoon press conference that the probe into the rare fatal crash at the small Santa Cruz County airport will take anywhere from 12 to 24 months to complete, “depending on the complexities of the investigation.”

However, the agency will release a preliminary report on the crash in 14 days, Salazar said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and Textron Aviation Corporation are working with NTSB on the investigation.

Salazar gave few details about the crash, which claimed the lives of two men, a woman and a dog just before 3pm Thursday. The names of the victims had not been released as of 1:30pm Friday.

Witnesses say that two planes, a twin-engine Cessna 340 and a smaller, single-engine Cessna 152, clipped wings while one was attempting to land.

The smaller plane appeared to flip on its side before crash landing near the beginning of the main runway off of Buena Vista Drive near Freedom Boulevard, according to witnesses. The other plane continued down the runway and smashed into a grassy field, igniting it ablaze before careening into an airplane hangar, which sustained major damage. That plane, officials at the scene said, had a man, a woman and a dog aboard.

The smaller plane had only the pilot aboard.

The three people and the dog were pronounced dead at the scene.

The airport was open as of Friday afternoon.

As an “uncontrolled” airport, Watsonville Municipal Airport does not have a control tower that guides air traffic. This means pilots are responsible for communicating with one another over radio frequencies when making approaches to land and while taking off. Salazar said that it is not clear if the pilots communicated before the collision. He also said that pilots are not required to do so.

“We are working to get the radio communications that were occurring on that day,” Salazar said.

Airport Director Rayvon Williams, who operates under the direction of the City of Watsonville, said that the addition of a control tower at Watsonville Municipal Airport would not be financially feasible at this time.

“The airspace around Watsonville at this particular time, nor the volume of traffic would support the cost of bringing a control tower to the field,” Williams said.

The single-engine Cessna is registered to Monterey Bay Aviation Inc., according to FAA records. It is listed on the United Flight Services’ website as available for rent. That business, which operates out of the airport and offers plane rentals and lessons, said in a phone call on Friday morning that it had no comment on the crash at this time.

The larger plane was registered to ALM Holding LLC. out of Merced County, according to FAA records.

Salazar was unwilling to comment on the planes’ origins.

The last fatal crash involving Watsonville Municipal Airport happened in 2011. Four people died after a plane crashed into nearby Watsonville Community Hospital shortly after taking off.

The airport’s website says the facility is home to 333 aircraft and that it is used extensively by various businesses.

In addition, the website says Watsonville’s airport is the Tri-County’s—a region encompassing Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties—busiest per number of operations and based aircraft. It supports many activities including private flying, flight training, ground school, aircraft rental, maintenance, air ambulance, law enforcement aviation, air charter, skydiving and many other aviation-related business concerns.

Williams said that the airport community was still trying to process the crash.

“It’s a small community and there are people here that are certainly grieving,” he said.

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