Page 356 – Good Times

A Complete Guide to the 13th Annual Santa Cruz Restaurant Week, Oct. 20-27

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October 19, 2021

A Complete Guide to the 13th Annual Santa Cruz Restaurant Week, Oct. 20-27

It is fundamentally human to take things for granted. Even though we know we ought not to, succumbing to this perspective pitfall is all but unavoidable most of the time. But if there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, it’s not to take even the most basic things in our life for granted. Going to a movie, socializing with friends and sending the kids off to school all seemed like immutably concrete parts of everyday life—until they weren’t.

And so it was with going out to eat. We came to realize that our favorite restaurants need our support, and that no business—no matter how popular or long-standing—is immune from going under. Supporting our favorite local eateries has taken on a kind of civic-duty quality since the pandemic hit. Here in Santa Cruz, many restaurants have expressed extreme gratitude, crediting the local community for taking ownership of their favorite local spots in order to make sure the doors stay open and grills stay hot. GT asked this year’s Restaurant Week participants two questions, one looking back at the pandemic and one looking forward to this year’s offerings. Here’s what they had to say.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THE PANDEMIC ABOUT THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY?

“We really have excellent regular customers who supported us during the height of the pandemic and shutdowns. One customer came through the restaurant and tipped every employee $100. It really breathed life into the restaurant.”

— Ben Kralj, Chef/General Manager at Back Nine Bar and Grill

“Even after so many years in business and trying to succeed, you never know what can go wrong. We have survived the .com bubble and the 2008 recession, but I never saw this coming.”

— Jean-Pierre Iuliano, Chef/Owner of Café Mare

“The pandemic really taught us just how adaptable we can be. We had an opportunity to turn the beach into an amazing outdoor dining experience and develop a take-out system, which we had never done before. Above all, we were reminded of the amazing strength and support throughout the Santa Cruz community.”

— Alisha Dodds, Manager, Crow’s Nest

“The industry itself is very resilient—especially in Santa Cruz, where more restaurants have survived.”

— Paul Cocking, Owner, Gabriella Café

“Not to take staffing and supply chains for granted. It also taught me patience and learning to accept the things that I can’t control.”

— Liza Wadstein, General Manager, Hula’s Island Grill

“The importance of adaptation, and cultivating a more sustainable relationship not only with our guests, but our local farmers and fishermen as well.”

— Greg Karjala, Chef de Cuisine, Jack O’Neill Restaurant and Lounge

“We definitely appreciate our local regular customers. We were seeing a lot of the same faces during the pandemic, and we really appreciate the support.”

— Roberto Castagno, Manager, Kianti’s

“I believe that not just us, but all restaurants have become more focused on the guest and are being more careful and concerned about cleanliness and contamination.”

— Giovanni Spanu, Chef/Owner, Lago di Como

“Restaurants are a truly collaborative community effort. I am particularly grateful for our staff and our loyal, loving and patient patrons.”

— Patrice Boyle, Owner, La Posta

“It’s definitely been challenging, especially for a new restaurant, but it’s given us the opportunity to cater to the community in a unique way. It forced us to get creative.”

— Anthony Sitch, General Manager, Makai Island Kitchen and Groggery

“It’s very important to have a full staff, as well as catering to individual guest’s needs so that they feel comfortable dining out.”

— Joseph Moens, Executive Chef, Michael’s on Main

“The industry is not a given; you can be here today and gone tomorrow. And that you have to be flexible and resilient.”

— Damani Thomas, Chef/Owner, Oswald

“Just making sure your staff feels safe, that the culture is positive, and to be aware of our current surroundings. And also, being more transparent about what happens behind the scenes.”

— Ron Bonifacio, Director of Operations, Palapas

“The industry is resilient and has very hard-working employees. And it really gave the industry an opportunity to think outside the box, as well.”

— Margaux Keiser, Manager, Paradise Beach Grille

“To be grateful—for our jobs, our community and for the people helping us. Even the delivery drivers, I give them free food. It’s not about the money, it’s about supporting the community.”

— Ayoma Wilen, Chef/Owner, Pearl of the Ocean

“People’s expectations don’t change, despite it being well-known that restaurants are short-staffed. But we’re still putting forth a lot of extra effort trying to meet those expectations, and many of the staff including myself are doing the jobs of multiple people.”

— Ryan Koehler, General Manager, Riva

“The service and hospitality industries play an integral part in our society. What we do genuinely matters and people need to have shared social experiences. We all need to be able to celebrate life and one another and there is a lot to be said for taking care of others and helping to facilitate those moments.”

— Steven Miller, General Manager, Seabright Social

“I always thought that my profession was safe. But this has shown me that even the restaurant industry can be affected by outside factors.”

— Ken Drew, Executive Chef, Severino’s Bar and Grill

“We have a great community here in Santa Cruz that has been supporting us as well as other local restaurants. We consider ourselves very lucky and are grateful for all the support.”

— Dede Eckhardt, Manager, Soif

“It’s difficult working with fewer tables and reduced capacity, so we had to find a different way to serve our customers, such as takeout.”

— Marco Paoletti, Co-Owner, Sugo

“How wonderful and amazing the Santa Cruz community is, which I already knew since we opened in 2012. But now it’s even stronger. And that quality food always wins and how important it is to have a team that is like family.”

— Luca Viara, Owner, Tramonti

“It’s shown me that individual workers who want to make a difference have shown up and delivered exceptional service. Especially with so many restaurants short-staffed, those that are here are doing the jobs of multiple people.”

— Laine Elliott, Food and Beverage Manager, The View at Chaminade

WHAT DISH ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT ON THIS YEAR’S RESTAURANT WEEK MENU?

“I’m super excited about our grilled dorado (mahi-mahi) with a mango salsa. After visiting Mexico recently, I was very inspired by this fish and pairing it with tropical flavors.”

— Ben Kralj, Chef and General Manager at Back Nine Bar and Grill

“The pork scaloppini with roasted California chestnuts, shallots and white wine. It’s a perfect fall dish, in tune with the season, and the chestnuts make it unique.”

— Jean-Pierre Iuliano, Chef/Owner of Café Mare

“We are really excited about the menu this year, it sets the perfect tone for those hearty fall flavors. To start, you can’t miss out on the pumpkin carrot soup, it will warm you right up.”

— Alisha Dodds, Manager, Crow’s Nest

“Our fettuccine Bolognese which now features fresh-made Bigoli pasta from Watsonville.”

— Paul Cocking, Owner, Gabriella Café

“Our Bali Hai barbeque pork ribs that are slow cooked, fall right off the bone, and have a good tangy mango barbeque sauce. They are served with our island-style slaw with pickled ginger and jasmine coconut rice.”

— Liza Wadstein, General Manager, Hula’s Island Grill

“Our pumpkin soup that combines local heirloom pumpkins with local organic produce. It’s perfect for fall and showcases the local terroir of Santa Cruz.”

— Greg Karjala, Chef de Cuisine, Jack O’Neill Restaurant and Lounge

“Our gourmet pasta, which is a long-time favorite. It’s a very rich creamy pesto pasta dish with bacon, sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes.”

— Roberto Castagno, Manager, Kianti’s

“The nectarine panna cotta, made with organic nectarines, cream, milk, and sugar. It’s a traditional Italian dessert, and a specialty of our new pastry chef Crescenzo Pellicia.”

— Giovanni Spanu, Chef/Owner, Lago di Como

“The wild mushroom arancini are going to be amazing. It’s a great time of year for wild mushrooms, and they are served with a slightly spicy tomato aioli. It’s super seasonal, bright, and flavorful.”

— Patrice Boyle, Owner, La Posta

“Our poke bowl is definitely my favorite entrée on the menu. It has fresh ahi tuna, along with some unique flavors such as lychee and our Sriracha cream sauce.”

— Anthony Sitch, General Manager, Makai Island Kitchen and Groggery

“I like our Kalbi-style short ribs, which are unique and different. The heat and sweetness of the dish balance each other really well, and the meat is fork-tender.”

— Joseph Moens, Executive Chef, Michael’s on Main

“Our appetizer, the savory oyster bread pudding. It’s been a while since I’ve rolled this one out. It used to be a crowd favorite at our old location.”

— Damani Thomas, Chef/Owner, Oswald

“Our skirt steak entrée, which is a specialty for us and one of our most popular items. It’s Harris Ranch beef, and comes with rice and beans that are housemade by our chef every morning.”

— Ron Bonifacio, Director of Operations, Palapas

“Our fresh grilled salmon that has a lemon saffron beurre blanc and is plated with homemade garlic mashed potatoes and wilted spinach.”

— Margaux Keiser, Manager, Paradise Beach Grille

“Our wild-caught salmon curry from my mother’s recipe. It’s very unique, the flavors and the sauce, and people probably haven’t tried anything like it before.”

— Ayoma Wilen, Chef/Owner, Pearl of the Ocean

“The local-caught halibut with a housemade orange-rosemary cream sauce, rice pilaf, vegetable medley, and topped with our famous fried zucchini stick.”

— Ryan Koehler, General Manager, Riva

“Our spin on grilled street corn is something that everyone loves. It’s a modern take on the classic Mexican dish, sautéed in butter and fresh lime juice, and topped with housemade garlic aioli, shredded parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper.”

— Steven Miller, General Manager, Seabright Social

“A dessert that I made as a taster to help me get this job. It’s a pumpkin crème brûlée served in a real mini pumpkin. People love the presentation, it’s perfect for fall.”

— Ken Drew, Executive Chef, Severino’s Bar and Grill

“The short ribs, a hearty and comforting dish that helps welcome in the change of seasons. The meat is very tender and flavorful.”

— Dede Eckhardt, Manager, Soif

“The egg fettuccine that comes with porcini mushrooms and sausage in a creamy marsala rosemary sauce.”

— Marco Paoletti, Co-Owner, Sugo

“The new dessert we’re offering: a meringata made with Italian meringue, whipped cream, and berries and pastry cream on the inside. It was my favorite dessert as a kid in Torino and I used to run to the pastry shop to buy them.”

— Luca Viara, Owner, Tramonti

“The fresh, local, and wild King Salmon that comes with roasted fingerling potatoes, Kalamata olives, pancetta, chervil, and is finished with a sherry gastrique. It’s a brand-new dish that the chef is looking forward to having the public try.”

— Laine Elliott, Food and Beverage Manager, The View at Chaminade

‘Artivism’ Spreads Across Santa Cruz Walls and Streets

Erin Malsbury

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October 19, 2021

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‘Artivism’ Spreads Across Santa Cruz Walls and Streets

As 19 murals went up around Santa Cruz last month, Bridget Lyons made a point to visit each of them. She took photos of blank walls before the artists began working and helped bring food to the teams across town. A member of the City Arts Commission, Lyons was watching a project unfold that she helped approve months earlier.

“It was an easy decision for a number of reasons,” she says. The project, called Sea Walls Santa Cruz, was organized by PangeaSeed, an international foundation working on public art installations in coastal cities around the world.

“In their proposal, they showed evidence for having been able to pull off events of this size before,” says Lyons. “And they also showed an obvious commitment to marine health issues and ocean advocacy issues. And that for them, it was absolutely an art event and an art festival, but it was also something called Artivism, or activism through art.”

While certainly the biggest, the Sea Walls project is not the only recent Artivism project in Santa Cruz. Environmental organizations of all sizes are getting creative.

A drop in the ocean

For the Sea Walls project, “the proposal included ideas like having artists go on field trips to learn about specific ocean issues in the Santa Cruz area, incorporating local communities, and incorporating local schoolchildren,” says Lyons.

The foundation brought in artists from around the country and partnered with the local artist collective Made Fresh Crew. Taylor Reinhold, the Made Fresh Crew founder, worked with PangeaSeed for about two-and-a-half years to bring the concept to life.

“It’s the largest beautification project in Santa Cruz history,” he says, adding that because of external funding, “the city basically spent what one mural would normally cost to get 20 murals.”

The organizers also tried to minimize their impact by using eco-friendly paint. All the artists who worked with bucket paint—instead of something like spray paint—used recycled latex paint called Smog Armor. The Florida-based company claims that a mineral formulation in the paint also captures carbon.

“We’re excited to be able to not only create murals that serve as environmental education tools but ones that also act as carbon sinks,” says Akira Biondo, the director of operations for PangeaSeed. It isn’t clear exactly how effective those “sinks” will be, but the murals now serve as bright homages to ocean conservation.

Circling the drain

In another recent project, local artists partnered with communities and the Coastal Watershed Council to paint storm drain murals along the San Lorenzo River. Each one raises awareness about the importance of watershed health.

Starting in 2017, the Coastal Watershed Council began holding community meetings in the beach flats and neighborhoods along the river. The group wanted to know what people liked about their area and what they wanted to improve.

The most common feedback was the desire for more community gatherings, less trash and more public art. The council decided to tackle the requests with storm drain murals.

“They would bring people together to design and install them. They would increase public awareness about stormwater pollution and how litter and trash move from our communities into our waterways. And they would bring that public art component,” says Laurie Egan, the programs director for the Coastal Watershed Council.

After the first murals went up in Beach Flats Park and Felker and Pryce streets, residents requested another in Poet’s Park.

So local artist and community organizer Irene Juarez O’Connell began working with the neighborhood to design a new piece.

“A few months before the install, we put a bunch of paper on the floor around the storm drain and put out markers and invited the community to draw directly on the ground,” she says.

When it came time to paint, Juarez O’Connell again invited the public to participate.

“It’s very sweet, because some of the kids are able to say, ‘Look, I painted that turtle,’ or ‘That’s my butterfly.’ And they’re excited about it, and they have ownership over it,” she says.

Creative flow

The Poet’s Park mural highlights native species that live along the San Lorenzo River. Gumweed, California rose, coho salmon and other important species dot the piece. In the center, Juarez O’Connell painted the original Awaswas name for the Santa Cruz coastal area: Aulintak. It means “place of the red abalone,” she explains.

“The reason I chose to include the Indigenous name for Santa Cruz is to honor the importance of Indigenous stewardship in protecting and preserving not only our waterways, but our entire ecosystem and landscape,” she says. “That is a big part of the solution to the climate catastrophe.”

Juarez O’Connell considers herself an “Artivist.” She feels motivated by the power art has to shift culture. And she expects those shifts in culture to then shape policy.

“I believe that art is one of the many ways that we can communicate our vision for what’s possible,” she says. “It’s also a way for us to reckon with what’s present.”

Her newest storm drain mural does both for people of all ages.

“We’ve been able to continue that education and awareness with the kids who helped design it and their classmates by doing field trips from Bay View Elementary to actually go to the storm drains themselves, see the murals and follow what the path of a raindrop would be,” says Egan of the Coastal Watershed Council.

The Coastal Watershed Council carefully considered sealants and environmental concerns for the murals before beginning the projects. In light of the first few successes, the group now plans to create a formal program through the City. It would allow any neighborhood to install its own storm drain mural.

Trash to treasure

Artivism doesn’t just take the shape of murals. Local nonprofit Save Our Shores is currently calling for entries in two ocean-related art contests.

The organization has hosted an annual Marine Protected Area (MPA) photo and video contest—called the Waves and Wildlife exhibition—since 2016. It challenges people to appreciate and capture interesting moments in the many local MPAs.

Participants must submit entries by the end of the day on Oct. 23 to be eligible for prizes. The group will host a virtual awards ceremony on Nov. 5.

Save Our Shores also created a new plastic pollution art contest. The contest sprang out of a larger sustainability campaign.

“We had decided to launch this petition to try to get all of the municipalities in both Santa Cruz and Monterey counties to move away from all single-use plastic beverage bottles,” says Gail McNulty, a communications manager for Save Our Shores.

The pandemic delayed those plans, but it didn’t scrap them entirely. Save Our Shores hopes to use some of the entries from the contest to promote the petition.

The nonprofit welcomes entries from all ages. The art should include recycled plastic beverage bottles and highlight the effects of single-use plastics on the ocean. Submissions will close on Nov. 3.

“Art has a tremendous potential to make change,” says McNulty. “The visual can have an impact that resonates with people more directly and in a more memorable way than data.”

The groups hope that inviting the community to participate directly in Artivism will grow that personal connection to environmental stewardship even more.

For information about the Plastic Pollution Contest and the Waves and Wildlife Exhibition, visit saveourshores.org. For information about the Sea Walls Santa Cruz initiative, visit seawalls.org/activation/santa-cruz-usa/. For information about the storm drain murals, visit bit.ly/2YTHaTn.

Dungeness Crab Season Could be Delayed Again this Year

Drew Penner

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October 19, 2021

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Dungeness Crab Season Could be Delayed Again this Year

This year, according to National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) data, there have been 16 confirmed whale entanglements along the West Coast through Sept. 30.

That includes 10 humpback whales, four gray whales, one fin whale and a minke whale; 11 other reports could not be verified.

The vast majority of these reports came from waters along California. Five confirmed incidents were determined to be connected to commercial fishery operations, including three connected to Dungeness crabbing.

While 2021 is on track to show a massive drop from 2016’s high of 56 whale entanglements, it’s come at a cost.

Whales seem to be hanging around Monterey Bay longer due to warmer ocean temperatures, says Geoff Shester, California campaign director and senior scientist with Monterey-based Oceana Conservation Group.

Last year, the crab season was supposed to start Nov. 15, but was delayed until Dec. 23, as regulators sought to avoid more whale bloodshed.

Fisheries have been closed since the end of July, and are currently set to reopen on Nov. 6. But Shester says Dungeness crab season could easily be delayed again this year, depending on whale activity along the coast.

There are economic impacts associated with whale entanglements, too.

Replacing lost equipment is expensive, as is removing gear from an animal that has become wrapped up in fishing equipment. An average of 10% of gear goes missing, Shester says.

The California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group—known informally as the Whale Working Group—was created in September 2015 and is made up of industry players, government officials and environmentalists looking for solutions.

After their three-day meeting at the beginning of October, members interviewed by Good Times expressed excitement about technological advances offering hope for both fishermen and marine life advocates.

The Monterey Bay representative on the working group, Dave Toriumi, who’s been crabbing for more than a decade, says he hopes innovative trap systems will prevent season delays while protecting whales at the same time.

“We look at the whales like a good sign—like an omen,” he says. “We don’t want to entangle the whales.”

Shester, who is also part of the working group, says he’s excited about a series of trap systems coming out that would allow fishermen to catch Dungeness crabs without having ropes dangling in the water any longer than necessary.

But there are a series of steps the industry has to go through if the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is to give the new gear the stamp of approval.

“You have to show the Department this stuff’s not going to get lost and make a mess everywhere,” he says, the day before one such trial. “They’re already showing results.”

When crab fishermen drop traps to the seafloor, they leave a buoy—attached by a rope—on the surface. This allows fishermen to find the traps later, and it’s also how fishery agents can check to ensure fishermen aren’t using illegal methods.

Until now, failing to deploy a buoy would have been considered illegal.

However, one proposed system allows fishermen to sink their traps with the buoy still connected. Then, after a set amount of time, the buoy is released—hopefully sending it to the surface without incident.

Getting regulatory approval involves not just cool gear add-ons, but also incorporating these modifications into a digital application that allows regulators to locate traps underwater without a visual cue, equipment manufacturers say.

Karen E. Edson, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries, says introducing high-tech gear into the fishing world would require significant economic, technical and cultural changes for fisheries.

“How fishermen and their gear interact with each other … and gear from other fisheries would have to adapt,” she says. “If there were a high demand from the fishery to see these innovations move forward, I think approvals and the subsequent problem-solving needed to overcome these big challenges would move more quickly.”

There are at least four pop-up gear systems under development, and at least one proposed “breakaway rope” design meant to let a whale escape if caught, Shester says.

Out of 50 tests of San Diego-based Sub Sea Sonics’ Acoustic Release system, ropes only got tangled twice after the buoy was released to the surface, he says, adding that’s approaching the margin of error demanded by regulators.

Silicon Valley-based Blue Ocean Gear sells an already-legal circular GPS buoy that can be attached to crab traps and fishing nets. Ariana Low, who studied engineering at Santa Clara University, is the company’s project manager.

She was inspired to take the position after encountering lost fishing equipment while working with a recreational freediving team on the North Shore of Oahu.

“It just really opened my eyes,” she says of the errant sinks and hooks that turned up as she assisted spearfishermen attempting to source their dinner.

Blue Ocean Gear CEO Kortney Opshaug says their Internet of Things device was created with plenty of input from the fishing industry.

“It’s important to recognize how hard the fishermen have been working to find solutions,” she says. “Anything we can do to help keep fisheries going in the face of some of these environmental realities, we should put energy towards that.”

Russ Mullins, the owner of Ferndale, Washington-based Longsoaker Fishing Systems, has been developing an underwater buoy deployment system.

The netting can attach to traps fishermen already own, he explains.

“Everyone cares about where their seafood is coming from,” Mullins says. “Our goal here is to come up with vertical solutions.”

According to Oceana’s Shester, if all goes well with the tests—and, crucially, if regulators like what they see—some of the new equipment could be authorized as soon as April 1.

Fish and Wildlife Senior Environmental Scientist Ryan Bartling says the whale working group meeting was well attended and covered a lot of ground; he declined to comment on the pop-up systems, citing the fact that they’re currently being evaluated through the department’s Risk Assessment Mitigation Program.

The group will help the department implement a mitigation program throughout the year, he notes, but he wouldn’t comment on potential crab season delays due to whale activity.

“We will be conducting aerial surveys this week and reviewing all other available data,” he says.

Department officials plan to report their whale-traffic findings to the working group early next week, with a final decision about the season-opener expected at the beginning of November.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology: Oct. 20-26

Rob Brezsny

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October 19, 2021

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Free will astrology for the week of Oct. 20

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Even the wisest among us are susceptible to being fascinated by our emotional pain. Even those of us who do a lot of inner work may be captivated and entranced by frustrations and vexations and irritants. Our knotty problems make us interesting, even attractive! They shape our self-image. No wonder we are sometimes “intensely, even passionately, attached to suffering,” in the words of author Fyodor Dostoevsky. That’s the bad news. The good news, Aries, is that in the coming weeks, you will have extra power to divest yourself of sadness and distress and anxiety that you no longer need. I recommend you choose a few outmoded sources of unhappiness and enact a ritual to purge them.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In Norway, you don’t call your romantic partner “boyfriend” or “girlfriend.” You say *kjaereste*, which is gender neutral and is translated as “dearest.” In Sweden, you refer to your lover as *älskling*, meaning “my beloved one.” How about Finland? One term the Finns use for the person they love is *kulta*, which means gold. I hope you’ll be inspired by these words to experiment with new nicknames and titles for the allies you care for. It’s a favorable time to reinvent the images you project onto each other. I hope you will refine your assumptions about each other and upgrade your hopes for each other. Be playful and have fun as you enhance your empathy.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The band Creedence Clearwater Revival, led by Gemini musician John Fogerty, achieved tremendous success with their rollicking sound and socially conscious lyrics. They sold 33 million records worldwide. In 1970, they were the best-selling band on the planet, exceeding even the Beatles. And yet, the band endured for just over four years. I foresee the possibility of a comparable phenomenon in your life during the coming months. Something that may not last forever will ultimately generate potent, long-term benefits. What might it be? Meditate on the possibility. Be alert for its coming. Create the conditions necessary for it to thrive.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote, “I am unlike anyone I have ever met. I will even venture to say that I am like no one in the whole world. I may be no better, but at least I am different.” I urge you to make that your own affirmation in the coming weeks. It’s high time to boldly claim how utterly unique you are—to be full of reasonable pride about the fact that you have special qualities that no one in history has ever had. Bonus: The cosmos is also granting you permission to brag more than usual about your humility and sensitivity, as well as about your other fine qualities.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Nigerian poet Ijeoma Umebinyuo writes, “I will always want myself. Always. Darling, I wrote myself a love poem two nights ago. I am a woman who grows flowers between her teeth. I dance myself out of pain. This wanting of myself gets stronger with age. I host myself to myself. I am whole.” I recommend you adopt Umebinyuo’s attitude as you upgrade your relationship with yourself during the coming weeks. It’s time for you to pledge to give yourself everything you wish a lover would offer you. You’re ready to claim more of your birthright as an ingenious, diligent self-nurturer.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): As author David Brooks reminds us, “Exposure to genius has the power to expand your consciousness. If you spend a lot of time with genius, your mind will end up bigger and broader than if you spend your time only with run-of-the-mill stuff.” I hope this strategy will be at the top of your priority list during the next four weeks. You will have abundant opportunities to put a lot of “excellent stuff into your brain,” as Brooks suggests. Uncoincidentally, you are also likely to be a rich source of inspiration and illumination yourself. I suspect people will recognize—even more than they usually do—that being around you will make them smarter. I suggest you help them realize that fact.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Self-help author James Clear describes a scenario I urge you to keep in mind. He speaks of “a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow, it will split in two.” Clear adds that “it was not that last blow that did it—but all that had gone before.” You’ll thrive by cultivating that same patience and determination in the coming weeks, Libra. Proceed with dogged certainty that your sustained small efforts will eventually yield potent results.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Nobel Prize-winning poet Odysseus Elytis was speaking like a consummate Scorpio when he said, “What I love is always being born. What I love is beginning always.” Like most Scorpios, he knew an essential secret about how to ensure he could enjoy that intense rhythm: He had to be skilled in the art of metaphorical death. How else could he be born again and again? Every time he rose up anew into the world like a beginner, it was because he had shed old ideas, past obsessions, and worn-out tricks. I trust you’ve been attending to this transformative work in the past few weeks, Scorpio. Ready to be born again? Ready to begin anew? To achieve maximum renaissance, get rid of a few more things.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “I haven’t had enough sleep for years,” author Franz Kafka (1883–1924) once confessed to a friend. It showed in his work, which was brilliant but gaunt and haunted. He wrote stories that would be written by a person who was not only sleep-deprived but dream-deprived. The anxiety he might have purged from his system through sleep instead spilled out into the writing he did in waking life. Anyway, I’m hoping you will make Kafka your anti-role model as you catch up on the sleep you’ve missed out on. The coming weeks will be a fantastic time to fall in love with the odd, unpredictable, regenerative stories that well up from your subconscious depths while you’re in bed at night. They will refresh your imagination in all the right ways.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “The reason life works at all is that not everyone in your tribe is nuts on the same day,” writes author Anne Lamott. I will add that on rare occasions, virtually everyone in your tribe is functioning at high levels of competency and confidence. According to my analysis, now is one of those times. That’s why I encourage you to take extraordinary measures to marshal your tribe’s creative, constructive efforts. I believe that together you can collaborate to generate wonders and marvels that aren’t normally achievable. Group synergy is potentially at a peak—and will be fully activated if you help lead the way.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I believe your plan for the rest of 2021 should borrow from the mini-manifesto that Aquarian author Virginia Woolf formulated at age 51: “I will go on adventuring, changing, opening my mind and my eyes, refusing to be stamped and stereotyped. The thing is to free one’s self: to let it find its dimensions, not be impeded.” Does that sound like fun, Aquarius? It should be—although it may require you to overcome temptations to retreat into excess comfort and inertia.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough,” writes author and philosopher Alain de Botton. That’s too extreme a statement for my taste. But I agree with the gist of his comment. If we are not constantly outgrowing who we are, we are not sufficiently alert and alive. Luckily for you, Pisces, you are now in a phase of rapid ripening. At least you should be. The cosmos is conspiring to help you learn how to become a more vibrant and authentic version of yourself. Please cooperate! Seek all available updates.

Homework: Tell me why you’re such a gorgeous creature. https://Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Storrs Winery’s 2017 Pinot Noir is a ‘Killer’ Halloween Choice

Josie Cowden

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October 19, 2021

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Storrs Winery’s 2017 Pinot Noir is a ‘Killer’ Halloween Choice

How about a blood-red Pinot for Halloween!

Storrs Winery’s 2017 Pinot Noir ($36) is inky-dark, bold and guarantees you a howling good time over Halloween.

“Due to its aging in small French oak cooperage and long-term bottle aging, you will find this wine soft and supple with lovely notes of vanilla,” winemakers Pamela and Stephen Storrs say. “And the notes are earthy with vibrant aromas of raspberry, strawberry and cherry.”

This husband-wife duo has produced a Pinot Noir that’s beautiful and, at the same time, ideal wine to crack open when ghouls and goblins are hovering on your doorstep.

Storrs Winery is participating in the Fall Vintners’ Festival (see below), or visit them at their two tasting rooms.

Storrs Winery, 303 Potrero St. No. 35, Santa Cruz, 831-458-5030 and 1560 Pleasant Valley Road, Aptos, 831-724-5030. storrswine.com.

Vintners’ Festival

The Fall Vintners’ Festival—Saturday, Oct. 23, and Sunday, Oct. 24—features 25 wineries, including many not typically open to the public. If you like good wine, you are bound to have a splendid time. Organized by Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains, you can visit up to four wineries per day. Tickets ($45 for one day/$80 for both days) are available by reservation only. For more info and a complete list of participating wineries, visit scmwa.com.

Visit Regan Vineyards

Bargetto Winery’s Regan Vineyards is well known for growing supreme grapes for wineries far and wide; they now produce wine under their own label. Bargetto Winery’s John Bargetto says that Regan Vineyards’ wine represents the culmination of his life’s passion and devotion to making exquisite wine from the Santa Cruz Mountains.

“Our family has been dedicated to winemaking in this region for four generations,” Bargetto says. “Wine enriches our lives, encourages togetherness, complements meals and brings joy.” He’s absolutely right!

Regan Vineyards is open Sundays only. For more info, visit reganwinery.com.

Johnny’s Harborside Rocks Fresh Seafood Enhanced by Worldly Flavor Profiles

Andrew Steingrube

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October 19, 2021

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Johnny’s Harborside Rocks Fresh Seafood Enhanced by Worldly Flavor Profiles

From ocean views to fish primarily sourced from the docks right below, Johnny’s Harborside delivers a comprehensive coastal dining experience at the Santa Cruz harbor. Even executive chef Nichole Robbins, who has been with Johnny’s for four years, considers herself a product of the harbor. Robbins has worked in food service since the age of 15; she was also a behavioral therapist for 20 years. The seafood-centric California cuisine boasts Latin and Asian influences that are accessible to all. Menu favorites include spicy cioppino, mojo-style fish dishes and grilled fish tacos. Hours are Wednesday-Sunday from 3:30-8:30pm. GT asked Robbins about her love of seafood and whether there are similarities between cooking and behavioral therapy.

Where does your passion for seafood come from?

NICHOLE ROBBINS: It started by going out fishing at 3am with my dad as a child, right out of the Santa Cruz Harbor. I lived close to the harbor too, so I basically grew up there. When I went to college in Boston, I worked at a prominent farmers market that sold every kind of seafood on the East Coast. I also spent time in New Orleans and Southern California and I’ve always loved coastal towns. It’s intuitive for me. Now being at Johnny’s, it feels like a full-circle moment, being able to work at and look at the harbor that I love and call home every day. My goal is to evoke that sense of feeling comforted and being at home through the flavors of the dishes that I serve.

How do cooking and behavioral therapy parallel?

There is this common thread of uniqueness that happens each time you’re having an interaction with someone you’re providing therapy to or the components of a dish. In therapy and cooking, when you’re looking for a specific result, you’re honing in on one important part of the whole, and once you’ve identified what works, you can really build on it. They both require not only great multitasking skills but also micro-focus on small details. Once the little things come together, you can really see the whole person or dish come to life, and it’s a cool thing to step back and watch.

493 Lake Avenue, Santa Cruz, 831-479-3430; johnnysharborside.com.

Barceloneta Celebrates Two Years as a Santa Cruz Tapestry of Tapas

Christina Waters

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October 19, 2021

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Barceloneta Celebrates Two Years as a Santa Cruz Tapestry of Tapas

Now celebrating its second anniversary, Barceloneta continues to specialize in flavor entertainment, whether you dine indoors or takeout. Salads inflected with cloudlike chickpeas. Noodles in squid ink topped with strips of pepper and cubes of chorizo. It’s easy to put together a meal of many harmonizing flavors, just like we did last week.

First off was the order of Fideos ($14), a vermicelli-like thin pasta bathed in squid ink and tossed with fresh Monterey Bay squid. Micro-diced chorizo bits added welcome flavor hits; I love the idea of using sausage as a condiment within the dish itself. Piquillo peppers, chili threads and unctuous aioli pulled all the elements together into dreamy bites of faraway flavor.

Along with the Fideos, we shared the outstanding Ibiza Hippie Salad ($13), packed to go into broad swaths of shredded kale, cubes of roasted yam, preserved lemon, ribbons of pink pickled onion, and sunflower seeds. Two little containers sat within the salad box—one of flash-fried chickpeas that burst in the mouth into light nutty textures, and another of a puree of carrot, ginger and vinegar. This sauce would be addictive even on breakfast cereal. But on the gorgeous spiced greens, it was the stuff of high satisfaction. The Ibiza salad usually also involves plenty of the North African pasta called freekeh, but we’d ordered a gluten-free version of the dish, which meant no freekeh, but plenty of other ingredients.

Our other main dish was one of my Barceloneta favorites, the plump Gambas sauced with olive oil, sherry, chiles, and lots and lots of thin slices of garlic ($18). The shrimp were, in a word, perfect. Succulent, tender—not dry or overcooked, as can happen with carry-out orders. And they arrived with toasted slices of Companion baguette to help soak up all that unctuous sauce. A meal to repeat—often. Barceloneta, 1541 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Open 5:30-8:30, closed Sunday and Monday.

Let them Eat Joze!

Foodie for the People, a colorful documentary on the well-seasoned subject of Jozseph Schultz and India Joze Restaurant, gets its world premiere on Wednesday, Oct. 27 at the Del Mar Theatre. Jon Silver’s film contains many interviews with restaurant principals and local fans (including myself) of Schultz’s astounding culinary skills over many decades. Donations at the door. Proof of Covid vax or a negative Covid test within 72 hours is required. Masks required. Register on Eventbrite to get free tickets. A brief Q&A at Del Mar will be followed by a reception at India Joze, 418 Front St., Santa Cruz, 831-325-03633.

Vintners’ Fest

Autumn is not only harvest time in our bountiful winegrowing region, it’s also the perfect time to visit some of our panoramic wineries and discover new wines. Over two dozen wineries are showcased at this year’s Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains Fall Vintners’ Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 23-24. Reservations are required, so get your tickets now—$45 for one day, $80 for two. Attendees can visit up to four wineries each day, enjoying flights of three-five wines at each. Details and tickets at winesofthesantacruzmountains. com

Great PumpkinYes, we pay a price to live here, but one of the rewards is the chance to enjoy an abundance of great bakeries, breads, and pastries. And sure enough, the flavors of the season are suddenly on the pastry shelves of our coffeehouses, as well. Pro tip: The best that anything gluten-free will ever taste is the seasonal GF pumpkin muffin made by Manresa Breads and available locally for a well-spent $5.50 at Verve. Go early in the day; these light, fragrant, complex little cakes sell out fast.

As Cal Fire Makes Progress on Estrada Fire, Questions Linger About Burn

Tony Nuñez

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October 19, 2021

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As Cal Fire Makes Progress on Estrada Fire, Questions Linger About Burn

As firefighters continue to “mop up” a blaze in the Watsonville foothills sparked by a prescribed burn that went awry, some Santa Cruz County officials and residents are calling for the Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit (CZU) to answer lingering questions surrounding the Estrada Fire.

Chief among them: why go through with the burn at the sprawling Estrada Ranch despite Friday’s 87-degree heat and dry conditions?

Cal Fire CZU Division Chief Angela Bernheisel said the fire was one of a series of prescribed burns planned at Estrada Ranch that Cal Fire had brokered after at least a couple of years of working with the property owner, retired Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Estrada. They planned to burn some 20 acres Friday, but reduced the size of the burn as the day went on.

“At the end of the day, that’s when they got a little too much heat in the burn and it started some fires across the line,” Bernheisel said Saturday. “And with the resources that they had there, they just weren’t able to pick it up … luckily resources were ready and available … we got everything that we asked for.”

The fire as of Tuesday morning was 80% contained, and had charred at least 148 acres. No homes were destroyed, and the 174 people that were asked to evacuate from their homes east of Hazel Dell Road on Friday evening were allowed to return back to their property on Saturday.

At its peak, there were some 270 first responders battling the Estrada Fire.

Bernheisel said that Cal Fire CZU should have the blaze completely contained by early Thursday if all goes well.

“A lot of it is going to depend on what they find in the next couple days,” she said.

A prescribed burn, also called controlled burn, is the intentional use of fire to clear away dried vegetation that acts as fuel for wildfires. Bernheisel said that this prescribed burn was part of the agency’s Vegetation Treatment Program in which Cal Fire works with private landowners to reduce fuels in hopes of preventing large-scale fires.

Bernheisel said Saturday that embers from burning brush spread outside the fireline “where the wind was just enough to carry it a little too much beyond what we can control.”

Cal Fire CZU Unit Chief Ian Larkin on Tuesday stood by the decision to conduct the burn on Friday, saying that the conditions were right and the resources required to perform the preventative measure needed in the era of ‘mega fires’ were available.

“There is work that needs to be done to reduce fuels,” he said.

Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend, whose 2nd District covers the area in which the fire burned, said that although prescribed burns are an important tool for Cal Fire to use to prevent massive wildland fires such as last year’s CZU Lightning Complex, the local unit should answer questions brought forth by his constituents impacted by the Estrada Fire.

“Where I think the analysis needs to be is time, place, manner. Was this the best time and place and manner by which to do this? Obviously, it wasn’t because it jumped the line,” Friend said. “It doesn’t mean that location didn’t require a fuel reduction … But when you have to evacuate an entire community, when people are terrified that they’re going to lose their homes, when they have no place to go, that’s worthy and reasonable to ask for an after-action [report] and communication with the community on why the decision was made and how it was made.”

When asked whether Cal Fire CZU had planned to host a community meeting regarding the Estrada Fire, Larkin said that the agency would have an internal review of the incident to determine what could be done differently before, during and after prescribed burns.

The results of the review will then be made public through a press release.

Friend also said that many of his constituents did not know that a prescribed burn was happening on Friday, and that he was only made aware of the action after it had jumped containment. He learned after the fact that Cal Fire CZU had on Thursday posted a press release to social media about the prescribed burn.

“I think there are three frameworks that are important: (1) can we have a more robust notification process … (2) what’s the decision-making process as to when these prescribed burns are going to occur … and (3) what after-action or analysis is done after these events when they turn like this, so the community knows what happened and what can be done differently next time and whether this could shift decisions,” Friend said. “The difference between this being scary and catastrophic is very thin, and people are in [a state of] very heightened awareness in our area over fires.”

Watsonville Mayor Jimmy Dutra, who also did not receive any notification about the prescribed burn until it had gotten out of hand, said that although the fire did not force any evacuations of the 55,000 or so people in the county’s southernmost city, many residents were clamoring for information about its spread and whether or not they should be prepared to move. The sudden evacuation of Scotts Valley during last year’s CZU fires, Dutra said, was fresh in many residents’ minds.

“Even though the fires didn’t directly impact Watsonville, it was still close enough that people were really nervous about it spreading down,” he said. “The communication with local agencies needs to be better … Like anything, communication should be key.”

He also agreed with Friend that there needs to be some public explanation from Cal Fire CZU about why the agency decided to go through with the controlled burn during the hot and dry day. He also had questions about why the agency in its initial press release did not come clean about the cause of the fire, and instead said it was investigating what sparked the flames.

“Some of this stuff just doesn’t make sense and I think people deserve answers,” Dutra said.

Bernheisel said that the process leading up to a controlled burn is more than just “going out there and burning a plot.” Cal Fire, among other things, works with air quality regulators, monitors weather patterns and consults with fire scientists to determine the best conditions and approaches for the burn. Bernheisel highlighted a controlled burn planned for early next summer in the Soquel Demonstration State Forest in which it plans to work with the Amah Mutsun Land Trust and incorporate some of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band’s traditional fire ceremony methods.

“There’s so much preparation that goes into these burns,” she said.

Still, because of the permitting process and escalating drought conditions around the state, Cal Fire CZU conducts only a handful of controlled burns a year.

In 2020, according to the Prescribed Fire Information Reporting System, there were six controlled burns. All of them were completed without incident. What happened Friday is “rare,” Bernheisel said.

“I’m glad we can say that,” she added.

This story was updated at 1:52pm on Oct. 19 with comments from Cal Fire CZU Unit Chief Ian Larkin.

Biden’s Plans Raise Questions About What U.S. Can or Cannot Afford to Do

The New York Times and GT Staff

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October 18, 2021

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Biden’s Plans Raise Questions About What U.S. Can or Cannot Afford to Do

By Jim Tankersley, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — As lawmakers debate how much to spend on President Joe Biden’s sprawling domestic agenda, they are really arguing about a seemingly simple issue: affordability.

Can a country already running huge deficits afford the scope of spending that the president envisions? Or, conversely, can it afford to wait to address large social, environmental and economic problems that will accrue costs for years to come?

It is a stealth battle over the fiscal future at a time when few lawmakers in either party have prioritized addressing debt and deficits. Each side believes its approach would put the nation’s finances on a more sustainable path by generating the strongest, most durable economic growth possible.

The debate has shaped a discussion among lawmakers about what to prioritize as they scale back Biden’s initial proposal to dedicate $3.5 trillion over 10 years to programs and tax cuts that would curb greenhouse gas emissions, make child care more affordable, expand access to college and lower prescription drug prices, among other priorities. The smaller bill under discussion could increase the total amount of government spending on all current programs by about 1.5% to 2.5% over the next decade, depending on its size and components.

Biden has proposed fully paying for this with a series of tax increases on businesses and the wealthy — including raising the corporate tax rate, increasing taxes on multinational corporations and cracking down on wealthy people who evade taxes — along with reducing government spending on prescription drugs for older Americans.

As the negotiations continue, Democrats are considering cutting back or jettisoning programs to shave hundreds of billions of dollars off the final price to get it to a number that can pass the House and Senate along party lines. One key part of Biden’s climate agenda — a program to rapidly replace coal- and gas-fired power plants with wind, solar and nuclear energy — is likely to be dropped from the bill because of objections from a coal-state senator: Joe Manchin, D-W. Va.

The discussions have focused attention on Washington’s long-standing practice of using budgetary gimmicks to make programs appear to be paid for when they are not, as well as opening a new sort of discussion about what affordable really means.

The debate about what the United States can afford used to be pegged to its growing budget deficits and warnings that the government, which spends much more than it brings in, could saddle future generations with mountains of debt, sluggish economic growth, runaway inflation and enormous tax hikes. But those concerns receded after no such crisis materialized. The country experienced tepid inflation and low borrowing costs for a decade after the 2008 financial crisis, despite increased borrowing for economic stimulus under President Barack Obama and for tax cuts under President Donald Trump.

In its place is a new debate, one focused on the long-term costs and benefits of the government’s spending decisions.

Many Democrats fear the United States cannot afford to wait to curb climate change, help more women enter the workforce and invest in feeding and educating its most vulnerable children. In their view, failing to invest in those issues means the country risks incurring painful costs that will slow economic growth.

“We can’t afford not to do these kinds of investments,” David Kamin, a deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, said in an interview.

Take climate change: The Democratic think tank Third Way estimates that if Congress passes an aggressive plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, U.S. companies will invest an additional $1.3 trillion in the construction and deployment of low-emission energy like wind and solar power and energy-efficient technologies over the next decade, and $10 trillion by 2050. White House officials say that if the country fails to reduce emissions, the federal government will face mounting costs for relief and other aid to victims of climate-related disasters like wildfires and hurricanes.

“Those are the table stakes for the reconciliation and infrastructure debate,” said Josh Freed, the senior vice president for climate and energy at Third Way. “It’s why we think the cost of inaction, from an economic perspective, is so enormous.”

But to some centrist Democrats, who have expressed deep reservations about spending $2 trillion on a bill to advance Biden’s plans, “affordable” still means what it did in decades past: not adding to the federal debt. The budget deficit has swelled in recent years, reaching $1 trillion in 2019 from additional spending and tax cuts that did not pay for themselves, before topping $3 trillion last year amid record spending to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Manchin says he fears too much additional spending would feed rising inflation, which could push up borrowing costs and make it harder for the country to manage its budget deficit. He has made clear that he would like the final bill to raise more revenue than it spends in order to reduce future deficits and the threat of a debt crisis. Biden says his proposals would help fight inflation by reducing the cost of child care, housing, education and more.

A few economists agree with Manchin, warning that even fully offsetting spending and tax cuts could fuel inflation. Michael R. Strain, a centrist economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute who supported many of the pandemic spending programs, said in an interview this year that additional spending that stoked consumer demand would “exacerbate preexisting inflationary pressures.”

Republicans, who have vowed to fight any version of the spending bill, argue that the national economy cannot afford the burden of taxes on high earners and businesses that Democrats have proposed to help offset their plans. They say the increases will chill growth when the recovery from the pandemic recession remains fragile.

“The tax hikes are going to slow growth, flatten out wages and both drive U.S. jobs overseas and hammer small businesses,” said Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee. “There will be a significant economic price to all this spending.”

Fiscal hawks in Washington say Democrats could make choices to make the bill more fiscally responsible, such as including only permanent programs that are offset with permanent tax increases. But they say even that might not be enough to make the bill “affordable,” because Biden and his party would be dedicating new revenues to new programs when the U.S. population is aging and rising costs for Social Security and Medicare are projected to increase deficits. They fear there is a limited number of tax increases that lawmakers are willing to approve.

“There’s not really much low-hanging fruit” to reduce deficits, said Maya MacGuineas, the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonprofit in Washington. “But we’re taking the lowest-hanging fruit to pay for a huge expansion of government before we figure out how to pay for the government we have.”

Biden, whose entire economic agenda is wrapped up in the social policy bill, has tried to straddle the issue. He has insisted that the package be fully paid for, but he has also pushed for it to be as large as his caucus will allow.

His spending plans, Kamin said, “will expand the economy, leave American workers better off and address major costs that are right now being passed down to future generations.”

Kamin rejected Brady’s argument, saying that decades of Republican tax cuts had failed to produce the economic booms that their supporters promised and that taxing corporations and the rich would not stunt growth.

The president is also pushing the House to approve a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate this summer, which its sponsors say will bolster economic growth by improving highways, rail service, the electric grid and more.

Some of the programs in the larger spending bill could try to sidestep the affordability question by using a sleight of hand that both parties have long employed. Democrats could make certain programs temporary, like the extension of an expanded child tax credit, so that the bill complies with the rules of a budget process that Democrats are employing to bypass a Senate filibuster.

But budget experts predict the programs could be hard to kill once they end. Other temporary tax cuts and spending increases have persisted long after their expiration dates, like breaks for wind energy and racetrack ownership. Republicans used the tactic to minimize the cost of their 2017 tax cuts by setting all their tax cuts for individuals to expire in 2025.

In order to extend their own programs and tax cuts or make them permanent, Democrats would need to either add to the deficit or find additional tax increases or spending cuts beyond the ones they are hoping to pass this year. Kamin and other White House officials say Biden and congressional leaders have identified trillions of dollars in potential revenue increases to cover extensions of those programs, though many of those provisions have struggled to attract sufficient Democratic support to pass the House and the Senate.

Biden has said repeatedly that Americans earning $400,000 a year or less will pay nothing for that bill, and that the entirety of new spending and tax cuts will be offset. But he said the same thing about the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which was stocked with what budget experts call illusionary revenue raisers. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would add more than $250 billion to the deficit.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Why are ‘Ghost Guns’ Becoming More Common?

Mat Weir

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October 18, 2021

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Why are ‘Ghost Guns’ Becoming More Common?

In the beginning of September, San Francisco became the first city in the state to ban the buying or selling of build-it-yourself firearm kits. Commonly referred to as ghost guns, these kits are sold piece by piece, fully disassembled, or can be 3D printed at home making use of a federal loophole that claims since parts cannot fire on their own, they are not a firearm. Since they are not firearms per se, they can be sold online without traceable serial numbers or background checks.

The ban came on the heels of a nationwide surge in the use of ghost guns.

On Aug. 9 the National Police Foundation (NPF) released a comprehensive report detailing the proliferation of these weapons. It found that cities across the nation have seen an increase in the retrieval of ghost guns by law enforcement. For example, between 2017 and 2018 San Jose Police saw a 51% increase. It also found many of the retrieved weapons were in the possession of individuals who are barred from having firearms, particularly in New York City, Philadelphia and San Jose.

In April, the Biden Administration addressed the issue saying it will crack down on the selling of the kits in a country where an average of 316 people are shot every day and of those 106 die.

“Gun violence in America … [is] estimated to cost the nation $280 billion a year,” Biden said in his address from the White House Rose Garden.

On May 21 the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) under the Justice Department proposed new rules that would help to close the loopholes keeping ghost guns unregulated. These proposals include providing serial numbers for individual parts, and redefining what gun frames and receivers are as well as the definition of firearms to include kits.

Those proposed rules are currently under a 90-day public comment period.

Locally, more ghost guns are showing up on the streets and in the news.

On May 3, Santa Cruz Police retrieved a Polymer 80 9mm handgun when they received reports that an intoxicated man was brandishing a weapon at the Asti on Pacific Avenue in downtown. Adrian Romaine was arrested and charged with multiple felony violations for the incident.

On Aug. 18, during a routine traffic stop, Watsonville Police retrieved a concealed ghost gun from the car of 18-year-old Brian Mendez. This particular model had been modified to fire as an automatic.

And it was a self-built AR-15 that was used by accused Boogaloo Boy and Airforce Sergeant Steven Carrillo when authorities say he killed Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller in Ben Lomond on June 6, 2020.

The Santa Cruz Police Department was not able to return any statistics on the local retrieval of ghost guns by the time this article was published. However, SCPD spokesperson Joyce Blaschke did write to GT in an email saying “officers have taken a few ghost guns off the streets.”

“Those ghost guns were in the possession of people you absolutely do not want to have guns,” the email continues. “Gang members and criminals.”

Some 30% of guns recovered by the ATF in California are unserialized, says Celeste Perron, volunteer for the San Francisco chapter of Moms Demand Actions For Gun Sense in America, citing the NPF report. Moms Demand Action is a national grassroots movement for public safety against gun violence.

Perron says she is not anti-gun and grew up in a household with firearms, raised by a father who hunted. That’s one of the reasons why she says she believes the build-yourself kits need to be better regulated.

“If you’re a law-abiding citizen who can pass a background check there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a gun,” she says. “If you can’t pass a background check you shouldn’t have a gun.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Perry Ralston, owner of Perry’s Sporting Goods in Scotts Valley. He believes individuals should be able to buy parts to assemble their own firearms but they should be upheld to the same background checks and serial numbers as any other regulated firearm.

“Instead we have stupid laws where they can just buy them, build them and be done with it,” he says.

Ralston also argues the terminology is all wrong. “What’s a ghost gun?” he asks. “There’s no such thing as that, that’s not a gun.”

He says a true ghost gun is a firearm with the serial number removed and what people refer to as ghost guns are actually called ‘80 percenters.’ “It’s only 80% complete which means it’s not a gun,” he explains. “But don’t forget if they do [complete the firearm to working order] they have to legally, by law, have it registered.”

Ralston is referring to a 2016 law making California only one of three states to require all at-home builds to be registered and the owner to undergo a background check once complete. However, the NPF report acknowledges there is little research as to how effective that regulation is.

“Compliance with these registration requirements appears low,” it states, “and, in California, for example, no charges have been brought against those that have failed to register.”

Ralston, who does not “and will not” sell ‘80 percenters,’ believes politicians and state legislatures who don’t know what they are doing are to blame.

Despite the emotional reaction gun issues arise in people, Perron is optimistic that the work gun control advocates are doing is something most Americans stand behind.

“Most people are united in the belief you must be able to pass a background check to possess a deadly weapon and you shouldn’t be able to carry a loaded gun anywhere without a permit,” she says. “Those things aren’t very controversial.”

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