Page 342 – Good Times

Santa Cruz Restaurant Week 2021 a Success

Christina Waters

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November 9, 2021

Santa Cruz Restaurant Week 2021 a Success

Full House

Last week hundreds of diners, tired of being cooped up, decided to accept an offer too good to refuse—the special menus of Santa Cruz Restaurant Week. And the word is that the participating restaurants experienced positive results, full houses and new patrons. At La Posta and Soif, both offering $45/three-course menus loaded with pastas, wild mushrooms and expressive desserts, the tables were full. At both places, the week was a big success. “Lots of very happy diners, somewhat exuberant to be out,” said owner Patrice Boyle. Damani Thomas’ Oswald enjoyed a lot of dining traffic during Restaurant Week; patrons were attracted to the seasonally inflected menu of popular house specialties. Over at Sugo Italian Pasta Bar on the Eastside, owner Marco Paoletti told me that the week “worked out very well.” Paoletti chose to run a $25 menu. “We tried to have a price to attract new customers,” the owner said. Sugo’s menu stressed seafood and pasta favorites, from gnocchi primavera to fettuccine porcini with sausage. The tiramisu limoncello dessert helped draw a crowd of new fans.
“Yes, it was successful in attracting new customers,” Paoletti said. “A lot of people came because they saw our listing in Good Times.” At Gabriella Cafe, Paul Cocking’s $45 menu filled the house, the patio and the sidewalk parklet. “Yeah,” admitted Cocking, “it was unreasonably busy. Most of the people who came already knew about the event, but I’d say we were 20% to 30% busier than normal. It was quite remarkable; even though we did the $45 menu, which I think might be a bit high for some folks, still people loved the idea. They thought it was a big deal.” Part of Gabriella’s big deal had to do with remarkable dishes like the pan-roasted rockfish with chimichurri, the luscious roast beets with goat cheese, and of course, pastry chef Connie Villalobos’ intriguing desserts.

A Half-Century of Joze

No one can claim insider knowledge of Santa Cruz, who has not feasted on the complex, high-wattage cuisine of Jozseph Schultz. And those of us who’ve been here for a while recall with pleasure the many Calamari Festival courses, the Persian New Year exotica, the sheer dazzle of the chef’s hand—and the extraordinary phenomenon that was the original, larger-than-life India Joze. Well, for one day only, Nov. 13, we—or at least a whole lot of us—will be able to take a seat in the original Joze Art Center interior and enjoy dining, theater, magic and major reminiscing to help celebrate 50 years of India Joze artistry. Don’t hesitate. There won’t be another chance. Tickets available at eventbrite.com.

Sablefish Gusto at Avanti

Passionfruit reduction over a transparent sauté of leeks. Incredible! Along with baby carrots, fennel and potatoes came a plump pan-roasted sablefish ($32). The leeks’ elusively wonderful nuances of lemon and passionfruit elevated the fish to something close to the sublime; another notable dish from the kitchen of Avanti Santa Cruz, one of our go-to spots for carryout or patio dining. We joined the seafood with an order of the always-killer Dinosaur Kale salad, laced with almonds, citrus, Ricotta Salata and delicate bread crumbs ($13). avantisantacruz.com.

Verve Gifts for Coffee Lovers

Here’s a preview of holiday gift possibilities: for $30, you can acquire the Craft Coffee Duo, involving a 12 oz. whole bean bag of Verve’s Holiday Blend, plus a Kinto diner mug. Easy peasy. Or, for the coffee newbie, a Blend Essentials trio of Verve’s best-selling blends: three 8oz whole bean packages of Holiday, Streetlevel and Sermon Blends. $35, and you’re done! At your local Verve. vervecoffee.com.

IN PHOTOS: American Crown Circus & Circo Osorio Makes its Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Debut

Tarmo Hannula

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November 8, 2021

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IN PHOTOS: American Crown Circus & Circo Osorio Makes its Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Debut

The American Crown Circus & Circo Osorio runs shows several times per day through Nov. 15 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601. E. Lake Ave., Watsonville. For more information and tickets, visit americancrowncircus.com.

Come one, come all! The Big Top is in town!

A juggler works his magic on stage with a giant metal cube.

Spiderman dangles from the rafters, seemingly unaware of gravity.

A performer dazzles the crowd with her hula hoop skills.

An acrobat sweeps through the air with ease.

How California Could Help Fix the Supply Chain

GT Staff

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November 5, 2021

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How California Could Help Fix the Supply Chain

By Grace Gedye, CalMatters

If you’ve never really thought about California’s ports or the global supply chain before the past month, that’s normal. But they’re having problems now, driven by the pandemic, and it’s causing a shortage of everything from computer chips to kitchen supplies.

California’s problem is a national one, too: The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together bring in 40% of all goods shipped to the U.S. by water. So now everyone from port directors to President Joe Biden is interested in fixing the situation.

The backlog’s origin story is complicated. Early in the pandemic, factories had to shut down or reduce their output. Shipping companies reduced their schedules, assuming people would be buying less stuff. Protective gear was sent to locations across the globe that don’t export many goods, so some of those shipping containers didn’t get returned.

Then, people did buy stuff — a lot of stuff. Warehouses struggled to hire enough workers to keep up with demand and they started getting backed up, leaving containers full of new goods at the ports, where they started to create traffic jams, said Chris Tang, a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management who studies supply chain issues.

This week, California lawmakers talked with experts and stakeholders about what the state could do in the near term to resolve the backlog, and in the longer term, to prevent similar backups in the future.

“I mean, the simple answer to this crisis is that people stop buying stuff, but that’s not going to happen,” said Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, a Democrat whose district includes both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. “So we need to respond, and we need to respond quickly.”

Already, federal, state, and local policy makers have taken action. On Oct. 13, Biden announced the Port of LA would operate around the clock, a decision that came after the Port of Long Beach also decided to extend its hours. A week later, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order directing state agencies to look for land that could be used as temporary storage, identify freight routes that should be exempted from vehicle weight limits and identify training partnerships with private industry for port and logistics workers. In late October, the federal Department of Transportation said it would offer billions of dollars in loans to shore up California’s port and supply chain infrastructure. At the local level, authorities have allowed containers to be stacked four high, rather than the usual two, and said companies would be fined for leaving containers too long at the ports.

But, experts say the backlog may not be resolved until sometime next year. In the meantime, loitering ships are causing pollution and businesses across the country are facing shortages.

“It has become clear that this is a multifaceted problem, and it will require multifaceted action,” said O’Donnell at the hearing. “There is not one switch you can flip.”

So what can the state of California actually do to help?

Find land that can temporarily store containers

Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, said the solution she’d heard most frequently is for the state to identify parcels of land, either inside or outside port complexes, that can be used as additional temporary storage for containers.

Myers said the agency now has a list of several dozen potential sites, though there are complications for each. The government has a deadline of Dec. 15 to complete its survey, though they may be done sooner, Myers added.

Using other locations as temporary storage is something that private marine terminal operators have been doing for some time, said Robert Leachman, a professor in UC Berkeley’s Industrial Relations and Operations Research program. It makes sense, he said, as a short-term solution.

But leaving goods strewn across Southern California could create new problems, such as how best to retrieve them later and negotiate with communities opposed to having a ton of big rigs coming and going, experts said.

Grow the truck driving workforce

Contributing to the backup is a shortage of truck drivers. Truck drivers are independent contractors and are paid per delivery rather than by the hour, Leachman said. When they’re stuck waiting at the ports for hours to get their container, it means they’re working more hours for the same take home pay. Fewer drivers are willing to take that deal.

There’s also a shortage of warehouse workers. “The jobs are hopelessly unattractive so we can’t get enough people to fill them,” Leachman said. He thinks wages will need to rise to fill those positions.

California transportation secretary David Kim said he’s met with the White House, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and the Department of Food and Agriculture to discuss driver recruitment and retention. The federal transportation department will also be working with states to expedite the licensing process for truck drivers.

The state can work with universities and community colleges to provide technical training and build the pipeline of people prepared for trucking and logistics jobs, said Nick Vyas, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. But in the longer term, if it’s hard to interest enough workers in these kinds of jobs, automation may be part of the solution, he said.

Tang agrees. In the short run, there’s a huge need for truck drivers, but, said Tang, “I think that the long term prospects for truck drivers (are) not good.”

Suspend regulations and laws

A coalition of more than a dozen business groups sent Newsom a letter requesting that he suspend several regulations and laws to help solve the supply chain issues. Among their proposals:

Suspend a variety of environmental regulations and pollution laws;
Suspend the state’s landmark worker status law passed in 2019 that reclassified many independent contractors as employees;
Suspend a new law passed this year which requires warehouses to disclose to workers any quotas or work speed standards.

A quick response came from Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, the San Diego Democrat who introduced both worker laws. She pointed out that the independent contractor law does not currently apply to truck drivers; a battle over an exemption for the drivers is currently wending its way through the legal system. Additionally, the warehouse law isn’t slated to go into effect until January of 2022, leading Gonzalez to call the proposals “deceptive.” She also said the shortage of truck drivers has been decades in the making, driven by deregulation of the industry and decreasing working conditions.

“Instead of offering good-faith proposals that address the underlying problems contributing to labor shortages and congestion at our ports, the industry-backed proposal is a thinly veiled attempt to cut costs on the backs of essential workers and skirt future enforcement efforts,” she wrote.

When asked if the administration would reconsider laws regulating warehouses, Myers didn’t offer a conclusive response. “I think we’re willing to look broadly; I think there’s some things that we won’t be willing to change,” she said. She also said the administration may relax regulations such as some weight limits for trucks.

An inland port?

Another, longer term solution suggested was the creation of an inland port — sometimes called a dry port — to function as a distribution point for incoming goods. Inland ports are connected to sea ports by road or rail.

“An inland port in the Central Valley would do wonders in terms of relieving choke points, and facilitating the movement of cargo from the San Pedro Bay ports up to northern and central California by truck or rail,” said Transportation Secretary Kim at the hearing. He said a proposal is currently being developed by the Fresno Council of Governments, which has secured a $1 million grant from the federal Transportation Department to study the idea.

This would alleviate some of the pressure at water ports, Vyas said.

But Leachman is dubious of the value of a new inland port. It would require building additional terminals for cranes to unload containers, he said, which is costly. He contends those investments could be better made elsewhere. If a new inland port was built somewhere in the middle of the state, like Fresno, it could result in a lot of extra miles for truck drivers. Most of the distribution facilities are in the Inland Empire and near Southern California ports.

“If you end up needing to go to those warehouses anyways, it’s sort of wasted miles right? You go to Fresno, they’re going to have to double back to Ontario or Pomona,” Leachman said.

So how much can the state really do?

In short, not a lot, Vyas said. The California ports are just one point in the very long supply chain — stretching from manufacturers across the globe, to consumers in small Midwest towns and large East Coast cities. California’s state government has limited influence on the international actors involved, and the millions of consumers across the U.S. who order goods. There aren’t quick fixes for growing the warehouse and truck driving workforces.

But the issues could be resolved before too long anyway: Tang expects things will calm down by February or March of 2022.

Should Social Justice Be Part of Math Education?

The New York Times and GT Staff

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November 5, 2021

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Should Social Justice Be Part of Math Education?

By Jacey Fortin, The New York Times

If everything had gone according to plan, California would have approved new guidelines this month for math education in public schools.

But ever since a draft was opened for public comment in February, the recommendations have set off a fierce debate over not only how to teach math, but also how to solve a problem more intractable than Fermat’s last theorem: closing the racial and socioeconomic disparities in achievement that persist at every level of math education.

The California guidelines, which are not binding, could overhaul the way many school districts approach math instruction. The draft rejected the idea of naturally gifted children, recommended against shifting certain students into accelerated courses in middle school and tried to promote high-level math courses that could serve as alternatives to calculus, such as data science or statistics.

The draft also suggested that math should not be colorblind and that teachers could use lessons to explore social justice — for example, by looking out for gender stereotypes in word problems, or applying math concepts to topics such as immigration or inequality.

The battle over math comes at a time when education policy, on issues including masks, testing and teaching about racism, has become entangled in bitter partisan debates. The Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, seized on those issues to help propel him to victory Tuesday. Now, Republicans are discussing how these education issues can help them in the midterm elections next year.

Even in heavily Democratic California — a state with 6 million public school students and an outsize influence on textbook publishing nationwide — the draft guidelines encountered scathing criticism, with charges that the framework would inject “woke” politics into a subject that is supposed to be practical and precise.

“People will really go to battle for maths to stay the same,” said Jo Boaler, a professor of education at Stanford University who is working on the revision. “Even parents who hated maths in school will argue to keep it the same for their kids.”

The battle over math pedagogy is a tale as old as multiplication tables. An idea called “new math,” pitched as a more conceptual approach to the subject, had its heyday in the 1960s. About a decade ago, amid debates over the national Common Core standards, many parents bemoaned math exercises that they said seemed to dump line-by-line computation in favor of veritable hieroglyphs.

Today, the battles over the California guidelines are circling around a fundamental question: What, or whom, is math for?

Testing results regularly show that math students in the United States are lagging behind those in other industrialized nations. And within the country, there is a persistent racial gap in achievement. According to data from the civil rights office of the Education Department, Black students represented about 16% of high school students but 8% of those enrolled in calculus during the 2015-16 school year. White and Asian students were overrepresented in high-level courses.

“We have a state and nation that hates math and is not doing well with it,” Boaler said.

Critics of the draft said the authors would punish high achievers by limiting options for gifted programs. An open letter signed by hundreds of Californians working in science and technology described the draft as “an endless river of new pedagogical fads that effectively distort and displace actual math.”

Williamson M. Evers, a senior fellow at the Independent Institute and a former official with the Education Department during the administration of George W. Bush, was one of the authors of the letter and objected to the idea that math could be a tool for social activism.

“I think that’s really not right,” he said in an interview. “Math is math. Two plus two equals four.”

Distress over the draft made it to Fox News. In May, Boaler’s name and photograph were featured on an episode of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” an appearance she did not know about until she began receiving nasty letters from strangers.

Like some of the attempted reforms of decades past, the draft of the California guidelines favored a more conceptual approach to learning: more collaborating and problem-solving, less memorizing formulas.

It also promoted something called de-tracking, which keeps students together longer instead of separating high achievers into advanced classes before high school.

The San Francisco Unified School District already does something similar. There, middle school math students are not split up but rather take integrated courses meant to build their understanding year by year, although older high school students can still opt into high-level classes such as calculus.

Sophia Alemayehu, 16, a high school junior in San Francisco, advanced along that integrated track even though she did not always consider herself a gifted math student. She is now taking advanced calculus.

“In eighth and ninth grade, I had teachers tell me, ‘Oh, you’re actually really good at the material,’” she said. “So it made me think, maybe I’m good at math.”

The model has been in place since 2014, yielding a few years of data on retention and diversity that has been picked over by experts on both sides of the de-tracking debate. And while the data is complicated by numerous variables — a pandemic now among them — those who support San Francisco’s model say it has led to more students, and a more diverse set of students, taking advanced courses, without bringing down high achievers.

“You’ll hear people say that it’s the least common denominator that discourages gifted kids from advancing,” said Elizabeth Hull Barnes, the math supervisor for the district. “And then it’s like, nope, our data refutes that.”

But Evers, the former Education Department official, pointed to research suggesting that the data on math achievement in places such as San Francisco was more cherry-picked than conclusive. He added that California’s proposed framework could take a more nuanced approach to de-tracking, which he saw as a blunt tool that did not take the needs of individual districts into account.

Other critics of de-tracking say that it amounts to a drag on children who would benefit from challenging material and that it can hurt struggling students who might need more targeted instruction.

Divya Chhabra, a middle school math teacher in Dublin, California, said the state should focus more on the quality of instruction by finding or training more certified, experienced teachers.

Without that, she said, students with potential would quickly fall behind, and it would only hurt them further to take away options for advanced learning. “I feel so bad for these students,” Chhabra said. “We are cutting the legs of the students to make them equal to those who are not doing well in math.”

Tracking is part of a larger debate about access to college. Under the current system, students who are not placed in accelerated courses by middle school may never get the opportunity to take calculus, which has long been an informal gatekeeper for acceptance to selective schools.

According to data from the Education Department, calculus is not even offered in most schools that serve a large number of Black and Latino students.

The role of calculus has been a talking point among math educators for years, said Trena Wilkerson, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. “If calculus is not the be-all, end-all thing, then we need everyone to understand what the different pathways can be and how to prepare students for the future,” she said.

California’s recommendations aim to expand the options for high-level math, so that students could take courses in, say, data science or statistics without losing their edge on college applications. (The move requires buy-in from colleges; in recent years, the University of California system has deemphasized the importance of calculus credits.)

For now, the revision process has reached a sort of interlude: The draft is being revised before another round of public comment, and it will not be until late spring, or maybe summer, that the state’s education board will decide whether to give its stamp of approval.

But even after that, districts will be free to opt out of the state’s recommendations. And in places that opt in, academic outcomes — in the form of test scores, retention rates and college readiness — will add to the stormy sea of data about what kinds of math instruction work best.

In other words, the conversation is far from over.

“We’ve had a really hard time overhauling math instruction in this country,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of California’s board of education. “We cannot ration well-taught, thoughtful mathematics to only a few people. We have to make it widely available. In that sense, I don’t disagree that it’s a social justice issue.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Second Harvest Kicks Off the 2021 Holiday Drive

Johanna Miller

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November 5, 2021

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Second Harvest Kicks Off the 2021 Holiday Drive

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A parking lot at Cabrillo College’s lower Aptos campus was abuzz with activity Thursday as Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County kicked off its 2021 Holiday Food & Fund Drive.

Community and educational leaders, elected officials, business owners and more attended the “Rally for Hope” to celebrate and learn more about the annual drive, which generates funding for 165 nonprofit food distribution partners. The drive lasts three months, and this year organizers have set a goal of raising five million meals.

The rally offered guests resources and ideas about how to start their own drive, as well as to-go box lunches. A quilt was created and donated specially for the event’s raffle by the South Bay Modern Quilt Guild.

“Today, hundreds of food drives kick off across the country,” said Second Harvest CEO Willy Elliott-McCrea. “At businesses, at schools, at churches, at organizations, in neighborhoods. So this is really a special day.”

McCrea highlighted the direct effect even a single donation makes during the drive—for every $1, four healthy meals are donated.

“Every dollar you raise goes directly to feeding neighbors in Santa Cruz County,” McCrea said. “100% goes to creating and feeding and raising millions of meals for residents who are experiencing food insecurity, including one in every four children. One hundred percent goes to feeding struggling college students and seniors. One hundred percent goes to feeding veterans and working families.”

The co-Chairs of this year’s drive, Santa Cruz County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios and UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive, also spoke at Thursday’s event.

“Last year we had a tremendous amount of need … and yet, you folks stepped up and did something that was unprecedented,” Palacios said. “You set a world record for us—you raised the most amount of funds and food that we’ve ever done. It was truly inspiring.”

But Palacios pointed out that even though things are “looking up” in the county, with low infection rates and the economy improving, that need still remains.

“Let’s do it again—let’s set another record,” he said.

Richelle Noroyan, a spokesperson for Second Harvest, said they are predicting slightly more food donations than last year. This has a lot to do with the reopening of schools, which are a big driver of the food they collect through barrel donations.

“But I think people are realizing the power of donating money,” Noroyan said. “We can buy four to five times more food with [monetary] donations. It gives us the ability to purchase wholesale, at cost prices. That gives the food bank the ability to feed even more people.”

Noroyan urged anyone interested to start their own food drive with family, neighbors, colleagues and friends. Virtual campaigns are “super easy” to create, she said.

“I know it looks like we’ve come a long way since this time last year—and we have,” Noroyan said. “But economists are estimating that it could take three to five years for certain people to recover. More people than ever before are food insecure. Our services are essential for people to get through that.”

For information about the 2021 Holiday Food Drive and how to start a campaign visit thefoodbank.org/holiday-food-fund-drive.

Sheriff’s Office: Most Residents Ignored Evacuation Order

Christina Wise

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November 5, 2021

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Sheriff’s Office: Most Residents Ignored Evacuation Order

When it rains, it pours—especially in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which is designated as a temperate rainforest biome. While Southern California has dabbled in drought for years on end, the Santa Cruz region has a feast-or-famine approach to rainfall in the winter months. The feast arrived over the weekend of Oct. 23 and 24, dousing the area with much-needed moisture while amplifying fears of the potential for debris flow activity.

Debris flows occur when heavy rainfall triggers a landslide that picks up trees, vehicles and homes in a violent, fast-moving wall of detritus. After a treacherous fire season in 2020, the San Lorenzo Valley’s denuded mountains, downed trees and steep terrain created the perfect storm for a debris flow event.

By the end of the onslaught, rain totals exceeded seven inches in Zayante, and Ben Lomond Mountain recorded 9.63 inches of rainfall within 48 hours.

Preparation for potential debris flow activity was front and center in the San Lorenzo Valley’s first responder community, as the incoming “atmospheric river” was slated to bring upwards of 8-10 inches of rain to the mountains. In preparation for the storm, Santa Cruz County officials ordered some 300 addresses throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains to evacuate early on Oct. 24.

Fortunately, the debris flows never materialized and residents were allowed to return home the following day, but local fire departments were ready for anything.

Along with Ben Lomond Fire Department Chief Stacie Brownlee, Assistant Chief Mike Ayers had his team on high alert in response to the impending storm.

“All of our assets were staged at the fire department. We were monitoring the burn scar area and various creek drainages,” Ayers said. “Streams were running clear and didn’t approach flood stage, and we understood the difficult decision made [by the Office of Emergency Services] to upgrade the evacuation warning to an order.”

Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said that agency shared information through its social media, CODE Red (the emergency evacuation and notification system) and by going door-to-door for those in the impacted zones on Oct. 23.

“Roughly one-third of those we spoke to in the impacted areas said they would evacuate with two-thirds chose to stay,” she said.

Ayers highlighted the delicate dance necessary to keep the public informed and safe, noting that an order to evacuate can lead to frustrated locals who return to no damage, while a warning may not be enough in the event a debris flow occurs.

“Moving ahead, all involved agencies need to work very closely with weather services and the county geologists to make the appropriate call and get as much information out ahead of time as possible,” he said. “Local fire and operational chiefs attended an educational forum with local real estate professionals regarding both wild land fires and potential debris flows. Sharing that information with the public could be beneficial in getting the educational part out to residents.”

Ayers said that the department responded to a number of calls for assistance over that weekend: trees and wires down, localized flooding, one kitchen fire and a handful of medical emergencies.

The countywide response, said Ayers, was an appropriate one.

“Until we have some significant regrowth within the burn scar and potential debris flow impacts are lessened, we will need to act in the best public interest ahead of time, rather than playing catch-up or reacting to an incident after it has occurred,” he said. “When an evacuation order is issued, we would like people to comply rather than to stay. Knowing how responding agencies make those decisions will help the public to understand the actions we are taking.”

Boulder Creek Fire Protection District (BCFPD) Chief Mark Bingham also had his crew at the ready when the rain came rolling through.

“We staffed four engines—two of them were high water vehicles—and provided sand bunkers and sandbags (approximately 30 tons of sand, and 1,000 sandbags) that were supplied by the county,” he said.

In addition, Bingham’s team worked with Caltrans and county officials to stage equipment and k-rails (temporary barriers) for rapid storm response.

Ultimately, the preparations were largely unneeded, but, Bingham said, appropriate given the warnings that were emanating from the weather service.

“The response planning was well coordinated and appropriately staffed,” he said. “Of course, we dodged a bullet and did not need to engage any equipment or personnel for anything out of the normal for a Boulder Creek winter storm.”

Above all, local authorities reiterated the need for residents to abide by evacuation orders for their own safety.

Future storms may yet metastasize into an atmospheric house of horrors for the region, so county personnel are still advising caution as the rainy season kicks in by encouraging residents to have a family emergency plan, a disaster kit, and a cell phone registered with Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 to receive reverse emergency notifications. In addition, evacuation zones were updated earlier this year, and it’s important for residents to know their zones in the event of an emergency. To find yours, visit scr911.org/general/page/know-your-zone.

RTC Director Recommends Hard Pass on Electric Rail Proposal

Todd Guild

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November 5, 2021

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RTC Director Recommends Hard Pass on Electric Rail Proposal

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission Director Guy Preston on Thursday recommended that the agency not pursue a partnership with a company hoping to provide electric passenger rail service from Capitola to Santa Cruz, citing the cost of fixing tracks and other ongoing expenses.

Preston estimated that the cost to the county would be between $50 and $60 million to prepare the tracks for passenger rail, in addition to maintenance and operations costs.

Preston also suggested that a half-cent sales tax could help to fund those repairs, if the county does pursue a passenger rail plan.

“RTC staff does not recommend pursuing this unsolicited Public Private Partnership (P3) proposal or any other potential P3 proposal for passenger rail service,” Preston wrote in a staff report.

The issue came before the Commission on Sept. 1 as an unsolicited proposal by Chatsworth, Calif.-based TIG/m LLC to run electric rail service along the county’s line. That company provided a demonstrationduring two weekends in October.

County staff and TIG have estimated that it could take 14 years to complete plans for passenger rail.

No action was taken during the discussion, although many of the commissioners who heard Preston’s report said they hope the county does not abandon plans to eventually bring passenger rail service.

“I hope we stay open and at least continue to look for funding sources … so we can continue to seek passenger rail in the near future,” said commission alternate Felipe Hernandez, adding that he wants freight service to continue in South County.

But despite signaling that passenger rail could be a reality in the future, the commissioners appeared to agree with Preston’s financial concerns.

“We’ve gotta realize we don’t have $50-60 million to pay for the repairs we would need to move forward,” said Commissioner Bruce McPherson. “We have to be realistic in what we can do, because if we say we can do a lot with passenger rail immediately, that’s a false promise.”

McPherson also expressed concern about having to tap into the commission’s discretionary fund to pay for the repair.

Commissioner Manu Koenig, who made his opposition to passenger rail service a cornerstone of his 2020 campaign for Santa Cruz County Supervisor, said the demonstration highlighted the poor condition of the tracks.

Koenig also cited traffic tie-ups he said were caused by the demonstration, and of pedestrians walking close to the track.

“I don’t believe that rail-trail is possible,” he said. “It’s actually a physical impossibility given the physical constraints of the track.”

Backed by Report, Advocates Ask for Safe Pesticide Use

GT Staff

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November 4, 2021

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Backed by Report, Advocates Ask for Safe Pesticide Use

SALINAS—Nurses, teachers, labor leaders, elected officials and concerned residents held a news conference and rally with more than 50 supporters at the Monterey County Government Center on Oct. 26 to release a report revealing extensive use in the Monterey Bay area of 13 pesticides linked to childhood cancers.

Organized by Safe Ag Safe Schools (SASS), the group called on state and local governments to restrict the use of the pesticides, and post warnings to the internet before they and other hazardous pesticides are used.

The speakers included Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers President Nelly Vaquera-Boggs, Salinas City Council member Anthony Rocha and a host of health officials.

Specifically, the report revealed regular use in Monterey Bay of 11 out of 13 pesticides identified in two recent studies by UC Los Angeles that researchers linked to early childhood cancers.

They found that the pesticides increase risk of a child developing specific forms of cancers ranging from 1.60 times (or 60% increased chance) to 3.38 times (or 238% elevated risk), if their mothers lived within 2.5 miles of the pesticide application while pregnant, SASS said.

“We must break the cruel pattern of neglect by DPR and the Ag Commissioners and demand they protect our children,” said United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 Ag Division organizer Efrain Aguilera of Greenfield. “That begins with stopping pesticide secrecy and ends with stopping the use of all pesticides that harm children.”

More than 28 countries have banned or not approved 10 of the 13 pesticides.

The first UCLA study from 2020 examined correlations between pesticide exposure and childhood leukemias. The second article from earlier this year looked at pesticide links to childhood brain tumors.

The links between cancer and pesticide exposure have been major topics for decades. However, what is new about the recent studies is that they are California-specific, provide correlations of individual pesticides to specific childhood cancer subtypes and establish links to in utero exposure over a long distance—up to 2.5 miles from the pregnant mother’s residence.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) was allocated $10 million in this fiscal year’s state budget to bolster the dissemination of information regarding the application of pesticides in area farms.

This week, DPR held two webinars to hear from the public on the development of the statewide system that would notify the public in advance of pesticide applications near where people live, work or play.

“Our goal is to increase transparency and provide equitable access to information about pesticide applications,” said DPR Acting Director Julie Henderson. “This will provide an opportunity for the public to make their own decisions about additional health precautions they want to take to protect themselves and their families. We believe this is also an opportunity to strengthen the engagement between DPR, County Agricultural Commissioners and the communities we serve.”

Information is available on DPR’s website or at www.cdpr.ca.gov.

Watsonville’s Ambitious Plan Aims to Address Climate Change

Johanna Miller

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November 4, 2021

1

Watsonville’s Ambitious Plan Aims to Address Climate Change

WATSONVILLE—The city of Watsonville has taken its biggest step yet in making a commitment to address climate change locally.

On Oct. 26, the City Council unanimously approved the 2030 Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP), aiming to make policy changes in order to cut emissions, restore natural land and prepare for the impacts of climate change on the community.

Alex Yasbek, the city’s environmental project manager, presented the CAAP at the meeting, and was met with overwhelming support from fellow city officials and community members.

“It was exciting for a number of reasons,” Yasbek said. “That our city is so supportive, that they have backed the process the whole way … A lot of cities don’t have that, and aren’t as forward-thinking. We have the support of the planning department, public works and all the directors.”

The CAAP includes three initiatives: Climate action (reducing emissions), adaptation (preparing for climate change) and restoration (undoing the effects of climate change).

The plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the community to 80% lower than levels in 1990 over the next decade. It will also set a goal to become “net-negative” by 2030—that is, to remove more GHGs than emitted. This will be addressed by transportation, transitioning from natural gas to electric, investing in green energy and promoting food waste programs.

The adaptation component builds on what the city is already aiming toward with its 2020 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, which outlined plans and programs to prepare for natural disasters. Measures include flooding and wildfire preparation, agriculture and food resilience, and energy resilience—meaning, improvements to the city’s power grid, backups at critical facilities and the introduction of a new microgrid at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Lastly, climate restoration addresses carbon sequestration (tree planting, regenerative agriculture), ecosystems (habitat restoration, water quality) and what the city calls “equitable green recovery;” creating green jobs and infrastructure throughout the community.

Traditionally, Yasbek said, climate work has focused mainly on carbon emissions, without much attention to the natural world. But these things can no longer be ignored, he said.

“And the thing is, when you address those issues, you also address emissions,” Yasbek said. “Everything is interconnected. We need to be changing, rethinking everything.”

The city, especially in recent years, has shown support and interest in addressing climate change, working closely with organizations such as Regeneración and Watsonville Wetlands Watch.

In 2021, it endorsed the Climate-Safe California Campaign’s goal of net-negative emissions by 2030. In September, Watsonville became the first city in California to adopt a resolution urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a State of Emergency for the climate crisis.

City Council member Rebecca Garcia, who brought forward the resolution at a Sept. 14 meeting, said she was inspired after being approached by representatives from the Let’s Green California movement.

“I was asked to sign their petition,” she explained. “A few days later I was thinking, why can’t a city do that, too? As a jurisdiction.”

But the CAAP is more than an endorsement—it is a tangible, legally-binding document that will be assessed in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act.

“This plan has an actual target … It is a firm commitment,” Yasbek said. “Meaning, if we don’t meet our goal in 10 years, we can be taken to task.”

According to the CAAP’s executive summary, an interdepartmental team of city staff, along with a Community Advisory Committee (CAC), will be responsible for moving that work forward. The team will provide annual progress reports and a GHG inventory update every two years to track progress, plus prepare updates at least every two years to incorporate changes in legislation, technology, economy, policy and human behaviors.

“It will take a lot of effort and change from everyone to reach this goal,” Yasbek said. “It will not be easy. But it’s not overly difficult either; it’s definitely achievable. We are picking ambitious goals because that’s where the science says we need to be.”

Outside support will also be an essential component to the plan’s success. A Public Engagement Plan has been developed, and within it are plans to form the CAC to advise the city on how best to engage with the public.

“This is going to take more than just the City Council,” Garcia said. “It has to include the public. And it’s looking good. At the [Oct. 26] meeting, at least 12-14 community members spoke in support of this plan. And we often get emails from people asking how they can do better.”

However, Garcia said, the city recognizes that climate change is also a social justice issue. Often, it’s the residents who are most impacted by climate change who cannot immediately take steps to stop it. Bringing equity into the picture can be anything from helping people purchase electric vehicles, to finding them local employment so that they don’t have to commute as far.

“This plan recognizes that there needs to be more support for people to start climate action,” Yasbek added. “We can’t just tell people to buy an electric car. A lot of them can’t afford that. Equity, the environmental justice component is really important.”

Garcia said she was “very excited” about the adoption of the CAAP, and hopes that other cities, counties and regions will implement similar plans in the future.

“Watsonville is the leader in this region in terms of what we’re doing to address climate change,” she said. “We are going to be a model for other jurisdictions.”

Added Yasbeck: “It almost feels like we’ve reached a turning point in public perception of climate change. I’ve been aware of these issues for over 20 years … but now I feel this groundswell of action and awareness.”

For information about the 2030 Climate Action & Adaptation plan and to read more about each initiative, visit bit.ly/2ZLKGQ7.

What Does the Biden Administration’s Vaccine Mandate Mean for You?

The New York Times and GT Staff

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November 4, 2021

0

What Does the Biden Administration’s Vaccine Mandate Mean for You?

Emma Goldberg, The New York Times

Corporate America has entered the next phase of its effort to counter the spread of the coronavirus. Companies of 100 or more employees have until Jan. 4 to ensure all their workers are either fully vaccinated or submit to weekly testing and mandatory masking. The measure was announced by President Joe Biden in September, and details were released Thursday by the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Some employers have already stepped forward to establish their own vaccine mandates, but many had been waiting for federal guidance. OSHA’s rule will affect some 84 million private-sector workers across the country, including some 31 million who were believed to be unvaccinated.

Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about what OSHA’s rule means for American workers and their employers.

What is OSHA’s new rule?

Private companies of 100 or more employees must require their workers to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 or submit to weekly coronavirus testing and mask-wearing while in the workplace. The deadline for employers to enforce the mask mandate is Dec. 5.

How will OSHA’s rule be enforced?

OSHA is expecting that the vast majority of workplaces will comply with its rule, but it will investigate complaints that workers raise. The agency has a whistleblower system that allows workers to report any possible violations at their workplaces. The agency has tended to be short-staffed on inspectors, labor lawyers said, but it is likely to make enforcement of the rule a high priority.

What is the penalty for violations?

Companies that fail to comply with the rule may be subject to fines, according to an administration official. OSHA’s penalties are up to $13,653 per serious violation.

How can workers report company violations to OSHA?

To report employers who are not in compliance with OSHA’s rule, workers can file a written complaint, submit a whistleblower complaint online or call the agency at 1-800-321-OSHA.

Which employers are covered by OSHA’s rule?

Any employer with 100 or more workers will be required to adhere to the rule. Some smaller businesses have voluntarily issued their own mandates for either coronavirus vaccines or weekly testing. A Gallagher survey of more than 500 businesses released in early November found that the number of employers requiring vaccinations had doubled since August, to 17% from 8% of its survey respondents.

OSHA is currently considering whether to extend the rule to employers with fewer than 100 workers.

Do part-timers and contractors count toward the 100-worker threshold?

All employees, including those working part time, count toward the threshold. Independent contractors do not.

Will the requirements apply to remote workers?

Teleworkers and people who work exclusively outdoors will not be required to be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing because OSHA’s rule is focused specifically on ensuring people’s protection against the coronavirus in the workplace. Employees who work part of the time in the office and the rest of the time remotely are required to follow the rule.

Which vaccines count toward the requirement?

Workers can get any vaccine listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization, which includes two doses of Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech, and one dose of Johnson & Johnson.

Who can claim an exemption? Who will determine those exceptions?

Employers are required to give two kinds of exemptions to the vaccine mandates: medical and religious. Exemptions for people with certain medical conditions are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Many employers require people to present a doctor’s note to qualify for this exemption. Exemptions for people with sincerely held religious beliefs are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. So far, no major religion has banned its members from taking the coronavirus vaccine.

Can employees opt out through testing? Who will pay for those tests?

It will be up to employers to determine whether workers can opt out of getting vaccinated by submitting to coronavirus testing. If workers opt to be tested weekly instead of being vaccinated, they must also be masked in the workplace. OSHA does not require employers to pay for or provide tests, given that the vaccine is free and highly effective, but businesses may be required to pay under collective bargaining agreements or local laws.

Will employees be paid for the time it takes to get vaccinated?

Employers have to provide paid time off for their workers to get vaccinated, up to four hours, as well as sick leave for them to recover from side effects. They are required to provide this leave starting Dec. 5.

How will employers verify that workers are vaccinated?

Employers are expected to keep documentation of their workers’ vaccination status, such as a copy of their vaccination cards or a signed and dated employee attestation.

Can employers fire workers who do not comply?

The religious and medical exemptions will come into play here — but when it comes to people who do not have exemptions, employers are generally free to discipline people who do not follow their rules. They may face pushback, though, under collective bargaining agreements.

If workers are fired for not following the rules, are they eligible for unemployment?

A worker’s eligibility for unemployment is determined on a state-by-state basis. Typically, people qualify for unemployment if they are terminated through no fault of their own, but each state has its own standards, and what that means is up to highly varying interpretations.

How long will employers have to put the new standard into effect?

Employers need to act quickly: The deadline for workers to be fully vaccinated is Jan. 4. With many retail and logistics companies understaffed and overburdened, the January deadline will make it easier for them to face the holiday season.

Do workers who recently tested positive for the coronavirus still have to comply?

OSHA has determined that it would not be feasible for employers to permit exemptions based on prior infection.

Is it legal for employers to mandate vaccines without giving workers an option to instead submit to testing?

Unless workers qualify for an exemption, employers have the right to mandate vaccines without a testing option. In fact, labor lawyers said that OSHA has indicated it prefers employers to mandate the vaccine.

What tests meet the standards of this rule?

All coronavirus tests approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration are permitted, including so-called PCR (or polymerase chain reaction) tests, considered the gold standard for detecting infection, along with the rapid antigen tests, which are less sensitive.

Do employers have to provide their workers with paid time off for COVID testing?

No. Employers have to provide paid time for getting the vaccine and sick leave for recovering from side effects, but they are not required to provide leave for testing.

If employees are spread over various workplace locations, is the company still expected to comply with OSHA’s rule?

Yes, even companies whose 100 or more employees are distributed across different sites are expected to comply, according to labor lawyers.

Do companies affiliated through common ownership have to count all employees when looking at the 100-worker threshold?

Labor lawyers said that most likely what constitutes a single employer entity will be defined by the same rules and definitions used for taxpaying purposes.

Will this rule apply to employers that are not private businesses, such as local governments and public school districts?

No. OSHA’s rule specifically applies to private-sector employers with 100 or more workers. Nonprofit organizations are covered by the rule.

Does OSHA’s rule cover employees of colleges and universities?

Private colleges and universities, but not public ones, are covered under OSHA’s rule.

Does the federal rule supersede any conflicting state laws on vaccine mandates?

OSHA’s standard preempts the existing rules of state governments, except in states that have their own OSHA-approved agencies dealing with workplace issues. Those state agencies have to enact a rule at least as effective as OSHA’s.

Once OSHA’s rule is put in place, what portion of the U.S. population is expected to be vaccinated?

It is estimated that about 31 million of the 84 million workers covered by the rule are currently unvaccinated and that 72% of them will get the vaccine because of the new requirements. A Goldman Sachs analysis in September found that about 90% of American adults will have received at least one dose of the vaccine by mid-2022. As of early November, about 80% of adults in the United States had been vaccinated.

What legal authority does OSHA have to create this rule?

The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives OSHA authority to respond quickly to emergency situations when workers are confronted with grave threats. Because of the serious threat posed by the pandemic, the agency has issued an emergency temporary standard allowing it to put in place this new rule. Labor lawyers say this is within OSHA’s legal authority. Still, the rule is likely to face challenges, and dozens of attorneys general have already threatened to sue.

“The pushback is going to be on the question of, ‘Is this an occupational hazard?’” said Doug Brayley, an employment lawyer at law firm Ropes & Gray. “When you’ve got a virus circulating everywhere, is it within OSHA’s authority to regulate it as an occupational health matter? I think OSHA will prevail, but I’m not certain.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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