Rob Brezsnyโ€™s Astrology: Nov. 23-29

ARIES (March 21-April 19): One of your callings as an Aries is to take risks. You’re inclined to take more leaps of faith than other people, and you’re also more likely to navigate them to your advantageโ€”or at least not get burned. A key reason for your success is your keen intuition about which gambles are relatively smart and which are ill-advised. But even when your chancy ventures bring you exciting new experiences, they may still run you afoul of conventional wisdom, peer pressure and the way things have always been done. Everything I have described here will be in maximum play for you in the coming weeks.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your keynote comes from teacher Caroline Myss. She writes, “Becoming adept at the process of self-inquiry and symbolic insight is a vital spiritual task that leads to the growth of faith in oneself.” Encouraging you to grow your faith in yourself will be one of my prime intentions in the next 12 months. Let’s get started! How can you become more adept at self-inquiry and symbolic insight? One idea is to ask yourself a probing new question every Sunday morning, like “What teachings and healings do I most want to attract into my life during the next seven days?” Spend the subsequent week gathering experiences and revelations that will address that query. Another idea is to remember and study your dreams, since doing so is the number one way to develop symbolic insight. For help, I recommend the work of Gayle Delaney: tinyurl.com/InterviewYourDreams

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The TV science fiction show Legends of Tomorrow features a ragtag team of imperfect but effective superheroes. They travel through time trying to fix aberrations in the timelines caused by various villains. As they experiment and improvise, sometimes resorting to wildly daring gambits, their successes outnumber their stumbles and bumbles. And on occasion, even their apparent mistakes lead to good fortune that unfolds in unexpected ways. One member of the team, Nate, observes, “Sometimes we screw upโ€”for the better.” I foresee you Geminis as having a similar modus operandi in the coming weeks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I like how Cancerian poet Stephen Dunn begins his poem, “Before We Leave.” He writes, “Just so it’s clearโ€”no whining on the journey.” I am offering this greeting to you and me, my fellow Cancerians, as we launch the next chapter of our story. In the early stages, our efforts may feel like drudgery, and our progress could seem slow. But as long as we don’t complain excessively and don’t blame others for our own limitations, our labors will become easier and quite productive.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo poet Kim Addonizio writes a lot about love and sex. In her book Wild Nights she says, “I’m thinking of dating trees next. We could just stand around all night together. I’d murmur, they’d rustle, the wind would, like, do its wind thing.” Now might be a favorable time for you, too, to experiment with evergreen romance and arborsexuality and trysts with your favorite plants. When was the last time you hugged an oak or kissed an elm? JUST KIDDING! The coming weeks will indeed be an excellent time to try creative innovations in your approach to intimacy and adoration. But I’d rather see your experiments in togetherness unfold with humans.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In her book Daughters of the Stone, Virgo novelist Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa tells the tale of five generations of Afro-Cuban women, her ancestors. “These are the stories of a time lost to flesh and bone,” she writes, “a time that lives only in dreams and memories. Like a primeval wave, these stories have carried me, and deposited me on the morning of today. They are the stories of how I came to be who I am, where I am.” I’d love to see you explore your own history with as much passion and focus, Virgo. In my astrological opinion, it’s a favorable time for you to commune with the influences that have made you who you are.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In accordance with astrological omens, here’s my advice for you in the coming weeks: 1. Know what it takes to please everyone, even if you don’t always choose to please everyone. 2. Know how to be what everyone wants you to be and when they need you to be it, even if you only fulfill that wish when it has selfish value for you. 3. DO NOT give others all you have and thereby neglect to keep enough to give yourself. 4. When others are being closed-minded, help them develop more expansive finesse by sharing your own reasonable views. 5. Start thinking about how, in 2023, you will grow your roots as big and strong as your branches.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Even if some people are nervous or intimidated around you, they may be drawn to you nonetheless. When that happens, you probably enjoy the power you feel. But I wonder what would happen if you made a conscious effort to cut back just a bit on the daunting vibes you emanate. I’m not saying they’re bad. I understand they serve as a protective measure, and I appreciate the fact that they may help you get the cooperation you want. As an experiment, though, I invite you to be more reassuring and welcoming to those who might be inclined to fear you. See if it alters their behavior in ways you enjoy and benefit from.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z has stellar advice for his fellow Sagittarians to contemplate regularly: “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with the aim; just gotta change the target.” In offering Jay-Z’s advice, I don’t mean to suggest that you always need to change the target you’re aiming at. On many occasions, it’s exactly right. But the act of checking in to evaluate whether it is or isn’t the right target will usually be valuable. And on occasion, you may realize that you should indeed aim at a different target.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You now have extra power to exorcise ghosts and demons that are still lingering from the old days and old ways. You are able to transform the way your history affects you. You have a sixth sense about how to graduate from lessons you have been studying for a long time. In honor of this joyfully tumultuous opportunity, draw inspiration from poet Charles Wright: “Knot by knot I untie myself from the past / And let it rise away from me like a balloon. / What a small thing it becomes. / What a bright tweak at the vanishing point, blue on blue.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In accordance with current astrological rhythms, I am handing over your horoscope to essayist Anne Fadiman. She writes, “I have always felt that the action most worth watching is not at the center of things, but where edges meet. I like shorelines, weather fronts, international borders. There are interesting frictions and incongruities in these places, and often, if you stand at the point of tangency, you can see both sides better than if you were in the middle of either one.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Over the course of my life, I have been fortunate to work with 13 psychotherapists. They have helped keep my mental health flourishing. One of them regularly reminded me that if I hoped to get what I wanted, I had to know precisely what I wanted. Once a year, she would give me a giant piece of thick paper and felt-tip markers. “Draw your personal vision of paradise,” she instructed me. “Outline the contours of the welcoming paradise that would make your life eminently delightful and worthwhile.” She would also ask me to finish the sentence that begins with these words: “I am mobilizing all the energy and ingenuity and connections I have at my disposal so as to accomplish the following goal.” In my astrological opinion, Pisces, now is a perfect time to do these two exercises yourself.

Homework: In what process have you gone halfway, and you really should go all the way? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Hanloh Thaiโ€™s Menu Wows at Bad Animal

Itโ€™s always a thrill tasting an exciting new menu. And thatโ€™s exactly what we experienced last week at Bad Animal at our first encounter with the masterful cooking of Lalita Kaewsawang and Mauricio Ortiz, the brains behind Hanloh Thai, which is now filling the tiny kitchen with remarkable flavors to match the avant-garde salon ambience. A creative playlist saturated the background as we joined diners sampling the eclectic wine list and provocative menu.

To join with feisty appetizers of Mieng (betel leaves with assorted condiments, $11) and Laab Moo (spiced pork wrapped in tender greens, $17) we chose three wines. A Slovenian orange Malvasia 2018 ($15), one of my go-to varietals on this list, worked its salt-spice magic from first sip. Another terrific choice was a 2021 Kadarkaโ€”a full-bodied, pinotesque red grape from the Hungarian winegrowing district of Szkekszard ($14). Our companion enjoyed his distinctive, unfiltered 2021 Annesanti โ€œNinfa del Neraโ€ bianco, a blend of malvasia, grechetto and trebbiano from Umbria ($14). All the wines proved delightful partners for the dramatic cuisine created by the Hanloh chefs.

Presentation and service were outstanding throughout the meal, and it became abundantly clear that Bad Animal has, in its fourth year, hit its stride as a food and wine destination embedded in a bustling bookstore.

The first appetizer arrived, a plate with three large peppery betel leaves topped with bits of pungent lemongrass, cubes of plum, toasted coconut, peanuts and a glaze of amazing tamarind sauce. Each bite of the wrapped leaf took us through layers of flavor with terrific balance, showing off the skill of the chefs. Our second appetizerโ€”offering minced pork loaded with herbs, fish sauce, lime and the kick of chili de arbolโ€”was just as much fun to eat as the first. From a bouquet of emerald greens we selected our fresh leaf, filled it with the spiced pork and polished it off with a few bites. Just enough kick to clear the sinuses, but not enough to numb our tastebudsโ€”and heaven with the wines.

Our shared entrees of two Thai classics were blatantly gorgeous. Arriving along with our order of exceptional jasmine rice ($4), the Tom Kha Gai ($23) was a masterpiece of balanced flavors and fragrant aromas. Coconut broth infused with generous slices of Maryโ€™s chicken, lemongrass, tomatoes and oyster mushrooms were swirled with shreds of sorrel and chard, every bite exuding sweet heat. My favorite dish of the evening, Pak Ob Woonsen, arrived in clay pot dishes upon the top of which sat little bowls of a fiery birdโ€™s eye chili and pineapple dressing (we licked these bowls clean). Inside the large pot lay a shimmering tangle of glass noodles, surrounded by luscious shiitake mushrooms, tofu and tender braised greens, inflected with sesame oil, dark soy sauce and ginger ($29). The long noodles were fun to try to manage, and we happily succumbed to the umami-intensive messiness. An outrageously fine dish that, once tasted, imprinted itself on my sensory consciousness. Tofu arrived inari-style, puffed up into soft pillows to better capture the dreamy sauce. I can barely believe Iโ€™m getting so excited about tofu, but this dish was transformative.

The dessertโ€”a bowl of shaved ice dotted with unripe melon, acrid adzuki beans and neon green pandan jellyโ€”proved unworthy of the spectacular meal weโ€™d just enjoyed. Perhaps the menu will change its dessert offering?

With Bad Animalโ€™s Hanloh Thai menu, youโ€™re in for a wonderful flavor odyssey. Itโ€™s already wildly popular, and rightfully so.

Bad Animal, 1011 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. badanimalbooks.com.

Bargettoโ€™s 2019 Pommard Clone Pinot Noir is a Voluptuous Mouthful of Goodness

Thereโ€™s a reason why Bargetto Winery has been in business for eight decades and counting. Theyโ€™ve been producing excellent, hand-crafted wines since 1933. Nearly 90 years after they started, their focus is still on richness and intensity in all their varietals.

My husband and I attended Bargetto Wineryโ€™s presentation of their 2023 Taste of Bordeaux River Cruise for Wine Lovers. As you sail down the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, youโ€™ll enjoy local tastings and some excellent Bargetto winesโ€”with John Bargetto, director of winemaking, as your wine host. The seven-night cruise is from June 1-8, 2023, by AMA Waterways aboard their AmaDolce. If youโ€™re considering going on a cruise next year, why not add wine to the experience? Visit the Bargetto website for more info.

During the cruise presentation, I sipped on a 2019 Pommard Clone Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir ($35), a voluptuous mouthful of juicy, rich fruit with a deep ruby color. A second glass tasted even better! Aromas of toasted vanilla bean and baked cherry pie and flavors of โ€œripe cherry, strawberry and raspberryโ€ boomed to the forefront. Kudos to winemaker Bobby Graviano for this beautiful Pinot.

Bargetto will be one of the wineries at the Aptos Wine Wander (more below).

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

Aptos Wine Wander

Sixteen wineries will participate in the popular Aptos Wine Wander, with wine tastings offered at various local businesses in Aptos Village. A commemorative glass and wristband are provided at check-in, along with a map of tasting locations inside Aptos Village businessesโ€”all located on Soquel Drive and Trout Gulch Road. New Leaf Community Markets sponsors the event.

Aptos Wine Wander is Saturday, Dec. 10, 1-4pm. Check-in is 12:30pm at Aptos Village Green. $45/$55. winesofthesantacruzmountains.com.

Beach Street Cafรฉ Offers a Cross-Cultural Menu

Since opening in 1979, Beach Street Cafรฉ has been a Watsonville favorite with classic, old school diner vibes. Juan Sumano has worked there for over two years, initially as a prep cook before moving to the front-of-house and working his way up from bussing to his first serving job. Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Sumano came to the U.S. at 15 and has worked in the restaurant industry most of his life.

He says Beach Street is all about a friendly and family-oriented feel with quick service and a menu of traditional breakfast and lunch diner food with some Mexican dishes sprinkled in. Some of these include the chilaquiles scramble and fried churro waffle with ice cream and fresh berries. The classic diner fare includes the customer favorite country fried steak with homemade gravy and the meat loverโ€™s scramble with sausage, bacon, ham and cheddar cheese. For breakfast or lunch, the Beach Street Burrito is a big hit, and other lunch options are the club sandwich and hamburger, with either regular fries, curly fries or onion rings.

Beach Street is open every day, 7am-2pm. GT asked Sumano recently why he came to the country and about life as a server. 

What inspired your journey to the U.S.?

JUAN SUMANO: I had family here already, and I mostly moved here to pursue the classic American dream. I wanted to be able to have my own house, live my best life and get to be exactly who I am without limitations. And I love cooking and serving, so the restaurant industry has been a good fit for me. Iโ€™m very happy with where I am and what Iโ€™ve done.

Why do you enjoy being a server?

Meeting new people and also seeing the same people coming in and getting to know them. And just the little personal conversations, and even when Iโ€™m busy being able to project good and calm energy and caring about the customers. I also love when customers know my name, and I know theirs, and I can even guess their order sometimes. And just being able to ask about each otherโ€™s lives, about our families and how our weekends wentโ€”little things like that mean a lot to me and them. You donโ€™t know what people are going through, so I always try to make their day. 

Beach Street Cafรฉ, 435 W. Beach Street, Watsonville, 831-722-2233; beachstreetwatsonville.com.

Vandals of Santa Cruz Black Lives Matter Mural Sentenced

The men who used the spinning wheels of a pickup to damage a Black Lives Matter mural on Center Street last yearโ€”as they and their friends who were watching from the sidelines shouted white supremacist slogans and made Nazi salutesโ€”must pay more than $19,000 in restitution and attend restorative justice and cognitive behavior classes, a Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge ordered Friday.

Hagen Warner, 20, and Brandan Bochat, 21, will also serve two years on probation and have the threat of 90 days in jail hanging over their heads if they break any laws during that time.

The newly-convicted felons are also prohibited from owning firearms.

If they manage to someday reduce their conviction to a misdemeanorโ€”which their attorneys said was a hopeโ€”Judge Syda Cogliati signaled she would consider adding a 10-year firearms ban.

Warner and Hagen Pleaded no contest to felony vandalism and hate crime charges on Oct. 24.

The sentence followed more than an hour of impassioned victim impact statements from community members and the people who created the mural.

The unusual decision to allow testimony from the public, Cogliati said, was a way to bring important voices to the case.

โ€œHere, the community is the victim,โ€ she said. โ€œVictim impact statements are an essential part of our criminal justice system.โ€

Abi Mustapha, one of the artists who created the mural, said the vandalismโ€”and the fallout from itโ€”has left her feeling unsafe and scared.

โ€œYou have hurt me,โ€ she said to the men as they looked on silently. โ€œYou have tried to intimidate me. And you have gone out of your way to try to destroy something that took a lot of work to create, and thatโ€™s not OK.โ€

More than a dozen speakers asked the judge to impose the maximum punishment and to increase the two-year sentence recommended by the probation department. But Cogliati said laws created by the state legislature bound her.

Santa Cruz City Councilman Justin Cummings was one of two Black men elected for the first time in 2018.

โ€œIt took a really long time for Black people to have a voice in our local government,โ€ he said.

The creation of the mural, Cummings said, came in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, as communities were organizing around the Black Lives Matter movement. It was the same year that Cummings served as Santa Cruz Mayorโ€”he was the first Black man to do so.

โ€œThis really helped bring our community together, and many people expressed how much they appreciated the fact that we were able to put this type of mural in our community,โ€ he said.

The act of vandalism was an act of racism and intimidation aimed at the Black community, Cummings said.

โ€œIt was so egregious that not only did they do that act, but they recorded it and put it online to spread hate, and that is something that should not be acceptable,โ€ he said.

Community organizer Esabella Bonner said the vandalism is a sign of a deeper underlying problem with society as a whole, and that she experienced racism as a student at Soquel High School.

โ€œWhat we are witnessing in the behaviors and actions of these men is a failure of systems,โ€ she said. โ€œSystems that have failed not only the Black community but also these men themselves.โ€

Turning toward the vandals, she told them she hopes that restorative justice โ€œsets you free โ€ฆ and I wish you both an opportunity to shed away the hate and the hurt that lives inside your bones and get to the root of your own inferiority complex.โ€

Neither Bochat nor Warner spoke in court.

Warnerโ€™s defense attorney Ed Sidawi explained that his client was โ€œincredibly nervous.โ€

โ€œThis entire process has taken an emotional toll on him, and being here every court appearance,โ€ Sidawi said, adding that Warner will likely discuss the matter in smaller group settings as part of his required restorative justice classes.

Bochatโ€™s attorney Mischa Rinkus said he โ€œis committed not to be a force of hate or divisiveness in the community and to live his life in another way.โ€

โ€œHe offers his sincere apology to the community of Santa Cruz for his behavior, which was not just hateful but divisive at a very critical time for our community,โ€ she said. 

Rinkus added that Bochat โ€œis not a white supremacist.โ€

But Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Michael Mahan had a different view.

While both men are equally to blame, Mahan said, Warner has come to all the hearings and showed some form of remorse and regret.

That is not true for Bochat, who โ€œneverโ€”still doesnโ€™tโ€”take this seriously,โ€ Mahan said.

Bochatโ€™s assertions that he did not plan the vandalism were belied by the fact that he let someone out of his truck to take a video of him doing it, Mahan said.

But the most damning evidence of Bochatโ€™s racism was evidence taken from his cell phone.

Mahan read several expletive-filled text messages in which Bochat used racial slurs to say he hates Black people and wants to โ€œkill them allโ€ with an assault rifle.

The messages also contain derogatory statements about LatinX people and LGBTQ+ people.

โ€œThese two men and their band of friends planned, organized and targeted that mural,โ€ Mahan said. 

Paying restitution, Mahan said, is โ€œliterally the least they can do.โ€

โ€œEveryone is here because of the impact and the damage done to our community,โ€ he said. โ€œAnd itโ€™s clear that some people still have fear, even after this has all happened, and I actually think the true impact probably will never be expressed or seen in our community, and I hope that this brings a small amount of closure and appreciation that justice can be possible.โ€

Nov. 8, 2022 Election: Brooks Leads in Capitola Council Race

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The race for three seats up for grabs on the Capitola City Council is highly competitive, with incumbent Yvette Lopez Brooks in the lead. 

Brooks has served on the council since 2018 and is the only incumbent in the raceโ€”she has 2,490 (25.95%) of the votes and is ahead by the most significant margin. She is followed by her four opponents, who are in some cases separated by a little more than a handful of votes: Alexander Pedersen has 1,799 (18.75%) votes, followed closely by Joe Clarke with 1,791 (18.67%) votes. Gerry Jensen trails right behind them with 1,767 (18.42%) votes, and in last place is Enrique Dolmo, Jr. with 1,718 (17.91%).

The Santa Cruz County Elections Department said it would provide another round of updates on Friday, Nov. 18, at 4pm.

Brooks credits the number of candidates running for the three seats and the competitive results to an engaged voter base. Theย 2021 Censusย results show Capitolaโ€™s population to be 9,846: 4,469 votes have been counted for the council race, just under half of the total population.ย 

Brooks says holding the lead in votes in such a competitive race is a testament to her tenure on the city council. She says itโ€™s also helpful being the only incumbent running. 

โ€œIncumbents tend to have more name recognition,โ€ says Brooks. โ€œIโ€™ve worked really hard the last four years, including being the mayor during a worldwide pandemic, and I think that just shows true with the results. The community knows who I am.โ€ 

Should she be re-elected, Brooks plans to focus on finding new funding streams for the city by working with state officials to find grants and exploring local tax measures, like theย cityโ€™s sales tax measure,ย which will be up for renewal in 2026.

Nov. 8, 2022 Election: Cummings Takes Lead in Race for 3rd District

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Update: 6pm, Friday, Nov. 18

Justin Cummings maintained the lead Friday afternoon by a thin margin, with 9,459 (49.68%) of the votes cast in the race for Santa Cruz County 3rd District Supervisor. Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson is closing in with 9,426 (49.51%) of the votes, a difference of a mere 33 votes.ย 

Cummings says this all feels too familiar, referring to his 2018 bid for Santa Cruz City Council where he jumped from sixth to first place. Although he expected this race to be close, this slim of a margin was unexpected. But, he is cautiously optimistic and holding out on any celebrations until the votes are certified.

He is hopeful that same-day registration votes, which take longer to count due to the two-step verification process to eliminate the possibility of voter fraud, will carry him through to a win.ย 

โ€œOftentimes, historically in Santa Cruz, people who vote early, have more of a conservative vote,โ€ says Cummings. โ€œThe people who are more progressive vote later. Thatโ€™s what happened to me in 2018, and I feel like that’s whatโ€™s happening again.โ€

Cummings says the County Clerk already plans on hand-counting votes in the tight races across the county. When asked if he would call for a recount should Kalantari-Johnson take the win, he says thatโ€™s unlikely. 

โ€œWhen I was mayor, I gave Gail Pellerin a key to the city because of how much effort she put into making sure that people had access to being able to vote or drop off their ballots,โ€ says Cummings. โ€œA recount is not something I’m thinking about right now.โ€ 


Original story: 9am, Friday, Nov. 18

In a comeback reminiscent of his 2018 bid for Santa Cruz City Council, Justin Cummings has taken a razor-thin, 35-vote lead on Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson in the race for the 3rd District Santa Cruz County Supervisor seat.

In updated results released by the Santa Cruz County Elections Department Thursday evening, Cummings had 9,428 (49.69%) votes counted in his favor, with Kalantari-Johnson right behind him with 9,393 (49.5%) votes.

Initial election night results showed Cummings trailed 53.87% to 45.23%. Throughout the week and a half since election day, heโ€™s inched closer in votes to his opponent.

In a social media post, Cummings let his followers know of the news.

โ€œWe flipped it, but now we gotta hold it,โ€ he wrote. โ€œItโ€™s not over until itโ€™s certified.โ€

Cummings, who would be the first Black man to be elected supervisor in Santa Cruz County if he defeats Kalantari-Johnson, mounted a similar come-from-behind victory in 2018 to capture his current seat on the city council.

โ€œAt the beginning of the night, I was in sixth place. I think by the end of that first night, I was in fourth. But by the end of the week, I was first,โ€ he told GT on election night.

Cummings also said he expected to secure last-minute voters, who he thinks might tend to be the younger university students.

The Elections Department said it would provide another round of updates on Friday, Nov. 18, at 4pm.

Oswald Hosts Santa Cruz Black Thanksgiving

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The kitchen at Oswald restaurant wasnโ€™t the standard blur of chopping, straining and dicing Tuesday, as owner Damani Thomas demonstrated an unconventional way to cook a Thanksgiving turkey.

Organizing the event was local community organizer Ayo Banjoโ€”who, after strapping on an apron, went headlong into learning how to deep fry a turkey under Thomas’ careful tutelage for a Santa Cruz Black Thanksgiving cooking show. Santa Cruz Black is one of the groups in GT‘s Santa Cruz Gives holiday drive this year; the group’s stated mission is to “empower and sustain a prosperous and thriving Black community … by building and advocating for fair and just policies, that promote increased access and equity in health, safety, and well being.โ€

โ€œNow, Iโ€™m going to advise our viewers more than once: Donโ€™t try this at home!โ€ Thomas said sternly while looking directly at the camera held by videographer Hayley Sanchez. โ€œAnd if you must, take it outdoors and have one of these right nearby,โ€ he advised, waving a large fire extinguisher he keeps right next to his stove.
Thomas deftly walked Banjo through the opening steps of preparing a brine that he had soaked the turkey in overnight. The brine was made of salt, white and brown sugar, chili flakes, bay leaves, peppercorns, juniper berries and water. As the video rolled Thomas showed Banjo how to season the turkey, the last step before the turkey hit the hot oil.

โ€œWe are highlighting a Black-owned business, and that is how I tied in with Ayo,โ€ Thomas said. โ€œI like his energy.โ€
As the oil in a large pot of the stove inched up to 350 degrees, Thomas showed Banjo how to carefully lower the bird into the oil, avoiding a dangerous splash-back.
โ€œI learned a lot of this from my grandma Sally,โ€ Thomas said. โ€œShe had cookbooks, but for anyone that knew her, she was the cookbook, with her pantry, her countertops and stove. She was amazing.โ€

Amping up his flare for theatrics, Banjo charged the kitchen with enthusiasm, often peppering the camera with both hands and exaggerated expressions as he watched the boiling oil turn the turkey golden brown. 

โ€œI have no idea what we are going to make today, so I am going to be very amateurish,โ€ Banjo said. โ€œBut Iโ€™m ready, so letโ€™s make this thing happen.โ€
Thatโ€™s when Thomas hoisted the turkey out of the oil and onto a large cutting board.
โ€œUsually a cook doesn’t let anyone touch their knives,โ€ he said. But for the video, he gingerly passed a large chefโ€™s knife over to Banjo, but then took it back to show how to properly slice up the bird.

In about an hour, from brine and seasoning to cooking and serving the turkey, Thomas and Banjo then settled in on a pair of barstools and offered a final thought.
“For me, Thanksgiving is all about family and friends and laying back and staying warm,” Thomas said. “I hope we can encourage young people to become good chefs and business owners and perpetuate growth.” 

Donate to Santa Cruz Black and 62 other local nonprofits at santacruzgives.org

Oโ€™Neill Cold Water Classic Returns with a Focus on Equality

Santa Cruzโ€™s hallowed surf contest at Steamer Lane got underway on Tuesday for its 35th iteration under the moniker of the Cold Water Classic.

Back for the first time since 2015, the event returns as a World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1000 competition. And it not only features a womenโ€™s division, but the female competitors will also get the same pay as their male colleagues.

The top nine men and top six women from the QS in North America will make the jump to the Challenger Series, which is the final step before a surfer can qualify for a spot on the coveted Championship Tour.

โ€œThe Cold Water Classic shows that competitive surfing is alive and well in Santa Cruz,โ€ says Oโ€™Neill Team Rider and Events Manager Shaun Burns, also surfing in the contest.

Burns recalls some childhood memories, watching locals like Peter Mel (who won the event in 1997) and Adam Repogle (who won it in 2002) surf against the other best pros of the time.

โ€œThere are so many good surfers in Santa Cruz, and it continues to put our town on the map for competitive surfing,โ€ he adds. 

Look out for locals like Nat Young, Esme Brigham, John Mel, Autumn Hays, Sam Coffey and Keanna Miller. These surfers (minus Young, already on the World Surf Leagueโ€™s Championship Tour) are vying for a spot on the World Surf Leagueโ€™s Challenger Series (CS). On the menโ€™s side, Mel sits at No. 12, while Coffey holds down No. 20. On the womenโ€™s side, Hays sits at No. 9, Miller sits at No. 19 and Brigham at No. 22.

The locals, in addition to other California Championship Tour pros like Kolohe Andino (No. 20) and Griffin Colapinto (No. 7), will battle it out for the grand prize of $2,500, which the respective winners for the menโ€™s and womenโ€™s will receive for their performances.

โ€œItโ€™s an amazing opportunity for the local groms (youth surfers) to witness professional surfers surfing their home break. In Northern California, the youth donโ€™t really get to experience [professional surfing] compared to Southern California, which hosts annual events at Huntington Beach,โ€ says Burns. 

Winning the Cold Water Classic could be a localโ€™s big break that puts them on the map. This was the case for Young, who became the event’s youngest winner at 17 in 2008. Now a season CT surfer, Young is ranked No. 17 worldwide, heading into the 2023 WSL CT season.

A lot has changed in the surfing world since the Oโ€™Neill Cold Water Classic last ran. A perfect storm of grassroots movements, corporate payouts and big-time decisions have taken great strides to close the pay gap between men and women. 

It all started coming to a head in Northern California in 2016. San Franciscan big-wave female surfer Bianca Valenti, other pro surfers, and San Mateo County Harbor District Commissioner Sabrina Brennan helped form the Committee for Equal Pay in Womenโ€™s Surfing (CEWS).

The CEWS battled for women to not only get the chance to surf in the notorious big-wave event held at Maverickโ€™s in Half Moon Bay but also for equal pay. Around the same time, a photo of two pro junior surfers holding their prize checks sparked some controversy on social media. People began to call out the pay gaps on social media because the photo showed the young man holding a check worth twice as much prize money as the winner of the womenโ€™s division.

Amid the surging movement, the WSL made an announcement: Starting in 2019, it would award equal prize money to male and female athletes for every WSL-controlled event. 

Shortly after that, California Gov. Gavin Newson signed in Assembly Bill 467. Also known as โ€œEqual Pay for Equal Play,โ€ the measure โ€œrequires equal prize compensation for all athletes, regardless of gender, as a condition for approving a lease or permit request for any sporting event held on state lands.โ€

But the progress made by the WSL and the state took time to ripple out to local events.

Last October, Oโ€™Neill hosted the Freak Show Pro, a local contest featuring a womenโ€™s division, but the prize money was initially set for $10,000 for the men and only $1,000 for the women. 

โ€œ[Oโ€™Neill] owned up and made it equal pay,โ€ says Burns, after the prize money situation gained traction on social media, bringing into question Assembly Bill 467. 

John Mel and Hays went on to win the event, earning $2,500 each for their performances.

โ€œTheyโ€™ve always been there for me as a female athlete and supported my dream of traveling around the world to compete,โ€ Hays says of Oโ€™Neill. 

While the prize money situation for the Freak Show Pro unfolded awkwardly, Burns notes that Oโ€™Neill is the company that puts on the pro events in town and has to iron out the kinks as the industry changes.

They now consider the equal prize money for the Cold Water Classic a step in the right direction.

The Cold Water Classic runs through Saturday, Nov. 19, 7am-6pm. Steamer Lane at West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz.ย cityofsantacruz.com.

Things to Do in Santa Cruz: Nov. 16-22

ARTS AND MUSIC

PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE: โ€˜EMPIRE OF PAINโ€™ AND โ€˜ROGUESโ€™ Bestselling author Patrick Radden Keefeโ€™s Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty is a painstakingly ambitious dive into the Sackler family, the dynasty behind OxyContin, which subsequently became the ultimate variable that led to Americaโ€™s ongoing opiate epidemic. Keefeโ€™s Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks features 12 of the acclaimed journalistโ€™s most intriguing stories from The New Yorker, including the pursuit to bring down a jovial international black market arms merchant, a vehement death penalty attorney and the intricacies involved in forging $150,000 vintage wines. While most of Keefeโ€™s work focuses on people doing terrible things, his long-form journalism also shows readers thereโ€™s usually another side to stories thatโ€™s never been considered. Free (registration required). Wednesday, Nov. 16, 7pm. Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. bookshopsantacruz.com.

LACY J. DALTON WITH EDGE OF THE WEST โ€œCrazy Blue Eyesโ€ catapulted Lacy J. Dalton to superstardom and led her to become one of the most successful female singers of the 1980s. Daltonโ€™s CMA-nominated anthem โ€œ16th Avenueโ€ and a slew of her other hits, including โ€œTakinโ€™ It Easyโ€ and โ€œEverybody Makes Mistakes,โ€ were always playing in the background, whether it was a packed bar on a Saturday night or a Sunday afternoon at Sears. Recently, Dalton scored a Platinum Record for her duet with Willie Nelson. She was announced as 2022โ€™s Lifetime Career Achievement Award winner, which sheโ€™ll accept in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry. You could say that special guest band Edge of the Westโ€”Jim Lewin, Bill Laymon, Ken Margolis and Marty Carpenterโ€”is a member of the Grateful Deadโ€™s extended family, based solely on the number of times theyโ€™ve played Phil Leshโ€™s now-defunct Terrapin Crossroads and Bobby Weirโ€™s Sweetwater. Additionally, EOW has performed several tributes to the Dead and New Riders of the Purple Sage. โ€œ[Edge of the West] is a manifestation of the old west pushed out towards the edge of Californiaโ€™s coast until itโ€™s launched into a new dimension,โ€ guitarist Lewin told me in 2015. โ€œItโ€™s roots-based Americana for the hippies from the old days and the hippies of the future.โ€ $35/$40 plus fees. Thursday, Nov. 17, 8pm. Moeโ€™s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. moesalley.com.

GIRL TALK WITH HUGH AUGUSTINE Lately, Greg Gillis, also known as Girl Talk, has been focusing on his collaborative work with rappers Wiz Khalifa, Erick the Architect (Flatbush Zombies), Smoke DZA and Don Q. But the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native hit the big-time in 2004 with his super slick, unexpected musical hodgepodges that run seamlessly through his album Unstoppable. Gillis sampled over 300 songs from just about every genre and era of popular music. The layered mashup is a unified collage unlike anything youโ€™ve heardโ€”or will hear in the future. In 2014, artists collaborated with Gillis during his Coachella setโ€”performing their vocals over his mashupsโ€”for the first time. He was joined by Too Short, E-40, Juicy J and Busta Rhymes on the first weekend and Freeway, Waka Flocka Flame, Tyga and Busta Rhymes again on the second weekend. If youโ€™re ever in Pittsburgh on Dec. 7, youโ€™ll be able to celebrate โ€œGregg Gillis Day.โ€ $36.50/$42 plus fees. Thursday, Nov.17, 9pm. The Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. catalystclub.com.

JAKE BLOUNT Singer-songwriter Jake Blount is a two-time winner of the Appalachian String Band Music Festival and the 2020 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize. A specialist in the early folk music of Black Americans, Blount masterfully weaves spirituals, blues and string band music into his versatile sets. The musicianโ€™s understanding of the earliest clues of the sounds that flooded the landโ€”before definitive โ€œgenresโ€ were used to categorize those soundsโ€”combines that similar mix of academia and creative curiosity that fueled Alan Lomax decades earlier. Blountโ€™s 2022 essay for Rolling Stone explores the climate crisisโ€™s effect on the touring industry. His subsequent record The New Faith is a manifestation of apocalyptic terror set on an unnamed island off the coast of Maine. Blountโ€™s soundtrack to a film that doesnโ€™t exist centers around an imagined religious ceremony performed by Black refugees following the downfall of civilization due to climate change. $26.50/$31.50; $15.75/students plus fees. Thursday, Nov. 17, 7pm. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. kuumbwajazz.org.

SMOKE CHASER WITH THE SUBORBITALS Since 2003, the Suborbitals have been an on again-off again original โ€œlow-rockโ€ outfit powered by Ryan Mastersโ€™ (guitar and vocals) poignant prose and the bellow of Ben Herodโ€™s baritone sax. โ€œTell me your lies but donโ€™t expect the truth out of me/ Spill your guts but donโ€™t expect me to pick them back up,โ€ Masters croons on โ€œIncommunicata.โ€ Smoke Chaser, a newly formed collab featuring the members of the Suborbitals and established Monterey singer Malinda DeRouen, is self-described as an โ€œoriginal rock band from Santa Cruz that creates lush, catchy psych-pop soundscapes.โ€ The key word is โ€œlush.โ€ The group recently released their 2022 debut single โ€œHighway One.โ€ The carnival of Big Sur, Henry Millerโ€”and sexโ€”is just a taste of the eclectic bandโ€™s full-length debut, due out in December 2022. $10/$12. Friday, Nov. 18, 8pm. The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. thecrepeplace.com.

BILL CALLAHAN WITH JERRY DAVID DECICCA Singer-songwriter and experimenter Bill Callahanโ€”who performed under the name Smog from 1990-2007โ€”is perpetually trying to scratch an itch that he can only reach between awake and dreaming. His latest, YTIโ…ƒAฦŽะฏ, is no exception. The dissonance and melodic discord of Callahanโ€™s 12 compositions fuse with his trancelike baritone vocals, simultaneously concocting a shuddering, welcoming and familiar soundscape. Guitarist Matt Kinsey, bassist Emmett Kelly, B3 player and pianist Sarah Ann Phillips and drummer Jim White will join the prolific musician. (This show has been moved from the Rio. All tickets purchased for the Rio will be honored). $32/$36 plus fees. Monday, Nov. 21, 8pm. Moeโ€™s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. folkyeah.com.

COMMUNITY

O’NEILL COLD WATER CLASSIC The iconic O’Neill Cold Water Classic returns to Santa Cruzโ€™s world-renowned Steamer Lane as a menโ€™s/womenโ€™s qualifying series 1000 stop on the World Surf League tour. Check out some of the most talented up-and-comers as they compete for a spot on the WSL tour alongside several established local stars. Free. Wednesday, Nov. 16 through Saturday, Nov. 19, 7am-6pm. Steamer Lane at West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. worldsurfleague.com/events/2022/qs/88/oneill-cold-water-classic/main.

DEEP ROOTS DANCE FEST Recently, the Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center hosted the first segment of the 2022 World Dance Festival at its Santa Cruz headquarters. The second portion of the festival will also highlight world dancers, but this time there will be a contemporary spin. โ€œA Reimagining of Dance from the African Diasporaโ€ will feature dance and musical groups performing works from Brazil, the Congo, Cuba and Haiti. The African Diaspora will present original contemporary works onstage, rooted in their traditional forms. โ€œAs dancers, artists in general, weโ€™re always looking to progress the art form, take those traditions and flip them, spin them and turn them on their head,โ€ Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center Executive and Artistic Director Micha Scott says. $30; $20/students and seniors plus fees. Saturday, Nov. 19, 7pm. Cabrillo Crocker Theater, 6500 Lower Perimeter Road, Aptos. cabrillovapa.universitytickets.com.

SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS VS. SOUTH BAY LAKERS You might not get the same dazzling show that youโ€™d expect from a Golden State game amongst 18,000 riled-up fans cheering on Stephen and Draymond at the Chase Center. But the Santa Cruz Warriorsโ€”and whoever they playโ€”are far from where the not-quite-good-enough-for-the-NBA players are sent to die. Nearly 50% of the NBA this season is made up of former G leaguers. It wasnโ€™t long ago that Jordan Poole was suiting up for games at the Kaiser Permanente Arena. Now, heโ€™s considered one of the top guards in the NBA. $27.20-$275. Saturday, Nov. 19, 7pm. Kaiser Permanente Arena, 140 Front St., Santa Cruz. santacruz.gleague.nba.com.


Email upcoming events to HERE.

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Lacy J. Dalton with Edge of the West, Girl Talk, Deep Roots Dance Fest and More
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