Page 365 – Good Times

Still No Decision on Watsonville Interim City Manager Appointment

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November 18, 2021

Still No Decision on Watsonville Interim City Manager Appointment

WATSONVILLE—After three closed session meetings the Watsonville City Council has not yet decided on who will lead the municipality in the interim after outgoing city manager Matt Huffaker leaves later this year.

But Watsonville Mayor Jimmy Dutra says that a decision could be near.

“I think we’re getting closer to a solution for the interim city manager position,” the city’s lead official said after a four-hour Wednesday morning meeting at the Civic Plaza.

For the second time, the City Council gave staff direction on how to proceed but made no final decision on the appointment.

It is unclear when the elected leaders will again discuss the item. Dutra said that another meeting could happen before the City Council’s final regularly scheduled meeting of the year on Dec. 14.

“It may happen sooner than that but I don’t know of the exact timing,” Dutra said as he, city staff and much of the City Council rushed out of the council chambers and back to work following the special mid-week meeting.

The gathering was the city’s third in three weeks concerning the appointment of the interim city manager.

It met on Nov. 3 in a special meeting with two City Council members absent and debated the item in closed session again at its regularly scheduled Nov. 9 meeting.

At the Nov. 3 meeting, the City Council directed staff to search for two companies that would spearhead the city’s efforts to find a new city manager. One company would be in charge of finding a permanent replacement for Huffaker, and the other for identifying a person to fill the position in the interim.

Huffaker, the city manager in Santa Cruz County’s southernmost city for three years, was appointed as Santa Cruz’s chief executive on Nov. 9 by the Santa Cruz City Council. He is slated to start his new position on Jan. 3, 2022.

His final day with Watsonville is Dec. 14.

The appointment of an interim city manager has drawn concerns from people who claim they are city of Watsonville employees that have flooded the Watsonville City Council’s email with pleas that it look outward for a replacement. Specifically, those people say that Assistant City Manager Tamara Vides is not qualified for the position.

Two city employees, Joaquin Vasquez and Andrea Padilla-Curtis, have come forward against Vides’ possible appointment on the record.

Both wrote to the City Council before the Nov. 9 meeting to say that the city should look elsewhere for an interim city manager.

Vides, at the Nov. 3 special meeting, received a show of support from interim police chief Tom Sims and fire chief Rudy Lopez and the directors of the parks, development and finance departments.

At Wednesday’s meeting, there was no public comment before the City Council began its closed session—public bodies conduct closed sessions to discuss private matters such as lawsuits, employees and the purchase or lease of real property.

[This story has been updated with the addition of two city employees’ letters to the city council. — Editor]

Santa Cruz Luminary Stephen Kessler Discusses his Latest Collection of Poetry, ‘Last Call’

Christina Waters

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November 18, 2021

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Santa Cruz Luminary Stephen Kessler Discusses his Latest Collection of Poetry, ‘Last Call’

Essayist, translator, pundit and award-winning poet Stephen Kessler has been courting the muses for over 50 years. Kessler’s recently released 12th collection of poetry, Last Call, is an elegant exploration of Santa Cruz, music, love lost, growing old, irony and pandemic-induced epiphanies—at 169 pages, it’s his largest collection yet.

GT: Briefly tell us about how this collection of poems came about. What time period did they span? Where do they fit in your oeuvre?

STEPHEN KESSLER: My books tend to coincide with periods or “chapters” in my life. The poems in Last Call were written between January 2017, when I turned 70, and February of this year when I received my first Covid vaccination. Those years happened to coincide with two terrible events in the personal and the public realm: the breakup of my marriage and the presidency of Donald Trump. So there was a lot of tough material to process, which accounts for the sense of grief and loss, especially in the first section of the book, “Bad Luck Charms.” My hope was and is through the alchemy of the language to turn all that hurt into something else—including ironic distance—the same way singing the blues can transform pain and heartbreak into something beautiful and consoling, maybe even funny.

You’re known for the jazz syncopation of your poems, the way the lines stride and swing into each other. Do you read the work aloud as you write? Or only afterward? How does it work?

I write by hand on paper (or with occasional exceptions on a manual typewriter) and try to let my hand do the thinking guided by the technical skills I’ve developed over about 65 years of practice, just as a jazz musician typically improvises spontaneously without reflection, letting the trained ear and fingers direct where the melody is going. I hear it in my head as it’s being written and try to just let it rip according to where the sounds of the language lead. Then I may read it to myself in a whisper to feel how it tastes as much as to hear how it sounds. If it feels more or less like natural speech but spring-loaded for torque from one line to the next, that’s the effect I’m hoping for. Sometimes it comes out right the first time, and at other times it requires revision. But I always let it sit for a while to let it cool off so I can have a more objective look—and listen—at what I’ve written. If it’s not working, and I can’t fix it with a few adjustments, I tend to set it aside and move on to the next one, rather than try to save every poem by revising as extensively as I did when I was younger.

I see more willingness to indulge in alliterative lines, in internal rhymes within the lines themselves. Were you consciously expanding your style in this collection?

Alliteration, internal rhyme, vowel rhyme and other prosodic devices have always served as my tools and techniques of composition, so I don’t see how this book is any different in that respect from most of my earlier work. But one’s style evolves, and I enjoy surprising myself from one line, one poem, and certainly one book to the next. At this stage of the game, I’m less concerned with writing a perfect poem (or a perfect book) than in letting the lines move to their own measure, so in that respect, they may feel more indulgent or expansive in some way. But as I said, I’ve been reading and writing verse for so long—since childhood—that I feel enough confidence in my technical chops to let the poem take its own organic form. So there are lots of different shapes and sizes and styles of poems in this collection.

Which muse pulled stronger, growing older or enduring quarantine?

Normally I’m accustomed to spending a lot of time at home alone with the writing, so the lockdowns weren’t all that inconvenient for me. But being increasingly old is something I don’t know if anyone ever gets used to, so the physical and psychic realities of entering “old age” (even though 70 is the new 50, and I’m reasonably healthy) play a much bigger part in the composition of this book—only the last year of which, maybe a dozen or 15 poems, was written during the pandemic.

Can you reflect on the bittersweet irony of publishing your most ambitious late-career book and calling it Last Call just when COVID shut down the world? As if the title were the leitmotif of the era itself.

The title came to me very early on, with the poem of that title, which I think was written about four years ago, so the pandemic had nothing to do with it. That poem was literally written at the bar of a local restaurant where the bartender was calling for any last orders before closing. It matched my gloomy mood of the moment and seemed fitting for the late-life themes I was wrestling with. Everyone asks if it’s meant as a valediction, and I think probably not, but then again, you never know. I certainly intend to keep writing, but that’s not entirely up to me. I expect the world will go on, with or without me.

Much as complex recipes in fine cuisine, this work more than ever lays down opposing riffs—sweet and salty, joy and pain, darkness and clarity. A poet’s-eye view of the rhythm of existence itself?

In writing, as in cooking, I use whatever ingredients and seasonings are at hand. I definitely prefer a book—my own or anyone else’s—that moves through a range of themes and moods and motifs rather than repeats a formula over and over. Doesn’t everyone go through different rhythms of existence? Looking back over some 50 years of publishing, I feel as if I’ve consistently tried to respond as honestly as possible to the full range of my lived experience. I just hope I’ve gone deep enough that the poems resonate with the experience of others.

In your work, you never draw attention to craft—form, composition, conscious/slant rhyming. Yet I have to admire the impeccable line breaks like some of these in “Last Call”:

trees crashing through
roofs, blackouts,
rivers rising and
spilling into living
rooms leaving a film

Does the spontaneous observation trump craft in your work? Or were these poems different in feel/form?

What you call “craft” I call technique, and it’s baked into the writing in a way that’s inseparable from imagination or observation, just as form and content in the best poems are seamlessly integrated. I learned the fundamentals when I was in elementary school by reading (for fun!) traditional English poetry (my family had a paperback copy of Palgrave’s Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrical Poems) and writing imitations of rhymed and metered verse—usually just to entertain my friends. I wrote the lyrics to the class song for both grade school and high school graduations. I learned to write a poem for any occasion. Most of those efforts, when they weren’t intentionally funny, were no good as poetry except in a formal sense: they scanned metrically according to whatever form I was imitating, and they rhymed at the ends of the lines. So listening for rhythm and rhyme became habitual, and by the time, around 18 or 19, I started writing “free verse”—a misnomer because it demands even more formal control than fixed forms, requires that you create your own form on the blank page—these prosodic principles were ingrained in me.

It took me many more years, decades even, to learn to deploy them effectively in composition, but by now, I’ve been doing it for so long that the form the poem takes is second nature and almost unconscious until I look and see what I’ve done. In the case of the title poem you quote from, the length of the lines was determined by the width of the notebook page I was writing on; the breaks just happened to work as written, so I didn’t mess with it. Other poems written in the same pocket notebook came out completely different because I heard the breaks fall in different places.

Some poems in this collection are only a few words wide, forcing me to read downward (vertically) in a single gulp. Others stretch more words across the page, slowing down your voice and the reader’s intake. How do these decisions come to you?

Funny, for me, short lines tend to slow a poem down, and long lines move more swiftly across the page. That just shows how we all read differently. As noted above, in some cases, it’s the width of the page I’m writing on, or in the case of “Borges’s Belt,” it was the strip of paper I was typing on as the poem describes its own physical creation. “Paisley Yours” is in the voice of the model in the middle of a magazine page, and the narrow white space on either side of the image determined the long skinny shape of the poem as I typed it on my 1974 Adler manual portable. Others may start as prose in the first draft, and once I see the whole thing, I find where the breaks belong. And still, others are composed originally as verse because the lines come to me one at a time, and that’s the way I set them down. Most of these decisions make themselves according to how the composition unfolds. I don’t have any rational method; it’s a much more intuitive process based on the measure I hear in my head. I find the formal openness yet technical precision required of “free verse” as mysterious and unpredictable as to how the poem’s images are imagined—usually by sonic association more than conscious choice. At best, I feel like a medium or an amanuensis to the muses, just taking dictation.

Do you know when the words are good?

Usually—but not how. Sometimes in real-time as they’re set down; at other times only later, from a more detached perspective. In some ways, it’s easier to know when they’re not so good when they’re clunky or prosaic or just “off” in some way. When the good ones are coming, I’m too caught in the flow to really understand what’s happening, and when I see what I’ve done, I can’t figure out how it happened—composition as possession. I’ve learned to surrender to whatever it is that’s got hold of me, usually some kind of rhythmic riff, a few words strung together, a phrase unfolding according to its own melodic logic. And it feels good when the words are good—so I guess that’s how I know.

An appreciation: “Discourse on Distraction” is a disarming piece of rumination, in which you move from the almost Platonic general down to the tangible specific. The last lines are among your finest, in which you speak to the man within the poet:

there is no escaping the script you write with every step,
the strange rhymes ringing amid the dissonance,
the gifts, the great griefs,
the peripheral visions.

Visit stephenkessler.com for ‘Last Call’ and Kessler’s other work.

Covid-19 Outbreak Reported at Santa Cruz Main Jail

GT Staff

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November 17, 2021

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Covid-19 Outbreak Reported at Santa Cruz Main Jail

SANTA CRUZ—Several inmates at Santa Cruz County Main Jail tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday in what jail officials say is the most significant outbreak since the start of the pandemic.

According to Sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Robbins, about 12 inmates have tested positive are under quarantine protocol.

The rash of cases came to light during routine testing, Robbins stated in a press release.

Those who tested positive are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

The inmates who test positive will be isolated and monitored by medical staff, Robbins said.

Approximately 35-40 inmates were exposed as well, and are also under quarantine, he said.

Anyone brought into the jail is given a rapid PCR test, and are quarantined until they receive a negative test result.

Inmates are also offered the Covid-19 vaccine, provided masks, given extra cleaning materials, and encouraged to socially distance themselves.

Jail officials say they are investigating the source of the outbreak.

“We are committed to ensuring the safety of all 279 inmates at the main jail as well as our staff,” Robbins said.

Poetry Event Stopped After ‘Zoombombing’

Todd Guild

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November 17, 2021

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Poetry Event Stopped After ‘Zoombombing’

WATSONVILLE—A virtual event created to highlight writers of color was canceled on Nov. 11 after a group of anonymous attackers logged on to their Zoom meeting, and then shouted racial and homophobic slurs and broadcast pornographic images.

Such an attack is known as a Zoombombing, named after the website that hosts many online meetings.

Several well-known writers were scheduled to read their work during the event, which was sponsored by Pajaro Valley Arts and Writers of Color Santa Cruz County and was part of the former’s ‘Mi Casa es Tu Casa’ annual exhibit.

This included Watsonville native Jaime Cortez, a gay Latino writer whose autobiography has garnered praise in reviews by NPR and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Cortez declined to be interviewed for this story, saying it would give the attackers attention they do not deserve.

Organizer Vivian Vargas, a member of Writers of Color Santa Cruz County, said the incident happened just after the event began, starting with flashing lights and shouts. The heckles eventually escalated to hardcore pornography.

Vargas was one of several participants who were removing the miscreants—she kicked out at least eight—who would quickly log back in again, in what she described as a game of “whack-a-mole.”

“It was just impossible to continue with the event,” she said.

The incident was not reported to the police, Vargas said, and the motive behind the attack remains unclear.

But the fact that the event was hosted by Writers of Color Santa Cruz County was not lost on Vargas.

“We had Latinx, we had Black, we had Asian, we had Native American writers who were going to participate and none of them got the opportunity to read,” she said. “This was more than annoying, this was vicious, and I wondered if this had been European writers reading poetry, would that have been an event they would have chosen to Zoom bomb?”

Investigating such an attack can be difficult for law enforcement, says Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido, because it is so hard to track down the perpetrators.

Because WPD lacks a computer forensics team, police here would turn to the FBI or the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office for serious cases, Pulido says.

In an emailed statement, Zoom spokesman Matt Nagel said that the company “strongly condemns” such behavior.

“We are committed to maintaining an equal, respectful and inclusive online environment for all our users,” Nagel wrote. “We take meeting disruptions extremely seriously and, where appropriate, we work closely with law enforcement authorities.”

Nagel says that anyone experiencing a similar attack should report it to Zoom and contact law enforcement authorities.

Zoom recommends that users avoid sharing private meeting links and passwords publicly on websites, social media or other public forums.

The attack was not the first of its kind that occurred locally.

Micah Perks, a UCSC professor who runs the creative writing program there, said that a nearly identical attack occurred in Spring 2021 in a “Living Writers” series in which a Black female poet was scheduled to speak.

Organizers quickly kicked out the bombers from the UCSC event, but the attack has changed the way the college hosts some virtual meetings, Perks said. The remaining “Living Writers” workshops were hosted under increased security that removed some of the intimacy of the events by requiring attendees to be on an audio-only function.

“It was really an alienating experience, with consequences for us,” she said. “It was no longer a community-building experience.”

Despite the fact that the attack cast a pall over the event, Vargas says that organizers will not back down from hosting the event, although they will impose added security measures when it is rescheduled.

“We will have our stories told,” she said.

Sups Approve Redistricting Map that will ‘Reunify’ Scotts Valley

Todd Guild

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November 17, 2021

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Sups Approve Redistricting Map that will ‘Reunify’ Scotts Valley

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a plan to redistribute some 3,400 residents—the majority in the northern reaches of the county—as part of the county’s decennial redistricting process.

Under the plan, 491 people in Watsonville’s Apple Hill District will shift from the 2nd to the 4th District, and 613 people will move from the 3rd to the 1st District in the area of Brommer Street and East Harbor.

The city of Scotts Valley, which was split along Highway 17 during the previous redistricting one decade ago, will be “reunified,” shifting 2,300 people from the 1st to the 5th District.

Under state law, jurisdictions must redraw supervisorial boundaries every 10 years using data from the recent census to make the populations equal in each district. When doing so, jurisdictions must, when possible, keep “communities of interest” together, and typically use boundaries such as rivers, streets and highways.

A community of interest is a group of residents with a common set of concerns that may be affected by legislation. That includes ethnic, racial, and economic groups, among others.

The county this year was tasked with redistributing its 271,350 residents.

While the shifts in Watsonville and Santa Cruz garnered little discussion during public comment, the proposal to reunify Scotts Valley did. That proposal came forth during the previous board of supervisors meeting on Nov. 9 in a letter from Scotts Valley Mayor Derek Timm that was forwarded by 2nd District Supervisor Zach Friend.

Timm says the split was confusing for the small city of roughly 11,000 people, which had its own police and fire department boundaries, as well as water and school districts, but shared two supervisors.

“We were split and we felt disenfranchised,” he told the supervisors Tuesday. “What happened 10 years ago can be corrected.”

The new map passed 3-2, with Supervisors Ryan Coonerty of the 3rd district and Bruce McPherson of the 5th district dissenting.

That decision largely rebuked several months of public meetings, research and deliberation conducted by the Santa Cruz County Redistricting Commission that began in earnest in September.

McPherson, who made a failed motion to support a plan that included the changes in Santa Cruz and Watsonville but not in Scotts Valley, said that all the unincorporated parts of the cities in the county are currently represented by two supervisors.

“The commission is recommending continuing that structure, which has always worked well in my opinion,” he said.

Coonerty said that Timm’s proposal was done properly and reflected his desire to support the city, but said he wanted to follow the commission’s recommendation.

“At this point, in order to have a smooth process, and continuity and fair treatment as all the cities have in our community, I’m supportive of the commission’s recommendations,” he said.

McPherson also said he wanted to support the recommendation of the commission.

“I think the commission’s process of analyzing the census data and considering the public’s input and reviewing the various options really needs to be respected,” McPherson said.

Timm was slammed during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting for presenting the issue at the “last minute” of the redistricting process.

“What happened last week was blatant politicking,” said Coco Walter, a Ben Lomond business owner. “Mayor Timm jumped straight to the front of the line … that just reeks of entitlement.”

Ben Lomond resident Jayme Ackemann said that, while redistricting, the city of Scotts Valley should not be viewed as a community of interest, and added that a petition opposing the reunification garnered 229 signatures in San Lorenzo Valley. That petition claimed that Timm’s proposal was politically motivated and would further weaken the San Lorenzo Valley’s say in county decisions.

Danny Reber, a Scotts Valley resident and the executive director of that city’s chamber of commerce, said that the split a decade ago came despite public outcry from the city.

“In my opinion, it was a travesty and an injustice when our community was split,” he said.

After the vote, McPherson said that he hoped “Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley can find a better way than in the past to get together.”

Sexually Violent Predator to Move to Bonny Doon Per Judge’s Order

Drew Penner

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November 17, 2021

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Sexually Violent Predator to Move to Bonny Doon Per Judge’s Order

The gasps and cries of “oh my God” and “sick” were so loud, as it became clear Judge Syda Cogliati was about to approve the placement of sexually violent predator Michael Cheek in Bonny Doon, the Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge had to warn the public about decorum.

“Anyone who is talking can leave the courtroom now,” she said through her facemask reading YOUR HONOR.

One woman exited promptly. Another began convulsing as if she were about to throw up.

“Be quiet in here or step outside,” a bailiff admonished.

She brought herself under control, choosing to remain.

Monday’s result was not the end hoped for by Santa Cruz Mountains residents in the battle of whether or not a man who raped multiple people in the 1980s, including a teen, could take up residence on Wild Iris Lane.

“It appears the placement is appropriate,” Cogliati said, as she ordered a series of beefed-up security measures to counteract the poor telecommunications services and less-than-desirable law enforcement response times in the area.

Those included a generator that fires up automatically during power blackouts, a satellite phone for the property, a GPS signal booster, a 150-foot-diameter virtual perimeter “dome,” additional physical fencing, a four-camera video surveillance system, bright lighting and a one-on-one, around-the-clock security worker until the court says otherwise.

Joe Brennan, a 41-year-old father of six who lives next door, was hunched forward with his left hand rubbing his temples, his glasses pushed upon his forehead.

“S***, now I have to move,” he says he was thinking at that moment. “This is a nightmare … Who’s going to want to live in my house?”

He said he wondered about how he would break the news to his wife.

In the hallway, afterward, Assistant District Attorney Alex Byers tried to explain to Bonny Doon residents why the court might have paved the way for an officially-designated violent sex criminal to become the newest addition to the neighborhood.

“I’m as frustrated as you are,” he told one distraught local.

Byers said the judge agreed to let the DA’s office try to get the 6^th District Court of Appeal to take up the case.

Mike Geluardi, the president of the Bonny Doon School Board who lives near the site, was deflated.

“The court set an incredibly low bar by saying the alternative is releasing him as a transient,” he said, referring to offenders’ rights case law brought up during the hearing by the judge. “There’s got to be some other type of solution, like a halfway house, that respects Mr. Cheek’s rights.”

And, he said, the company that organized his placement stands to benefit significantly by getting the patient out of the state hospital and into the community.

A $12 million contract between the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) and Liberty Healthcare of California, Inc., obtained by the Press Banner, suggests just how valuable moving someone like Cheek to outpatient status might be for the private company.

According to the agreement, effective July 2018-June 2020, pre-placement patients cost the state $2,154.21 monthly, or $25,850.52 for the year.

However, for an outpatient assigned a single employee providing enhanced supervision, Liberty charged $40,571.71 a month in “add on” costs, or $486,860.52 if this monitoring continued for the entire year.

It’s unclear how contract terms may have changed under the most recent agreement, or how Cheek’s highly-curated treatment plan would compare.

What is clear, however, is just how vigorously the company has been working to pressure the state on the issue of releasing sex offenders.

According to the California State Lobbying Search database, Liberty Healthcare Corp. has spent $79,022.90 lobbying in Sacramento in 2021—so far—via Capitol Advocacy, LLC, and Kate Bell Strategies.

The most recent disclosure, filed Oct. 26, 2021, reveals a $15,750 payment for influence work that included lobbying the DSH and the Legislature about the Conditional Release Program—the very one through which Cheek is to be (partially) freed.

While Santa Cruz County had already been verified as an appropriate place for Cheek to live, and his release had been approved, too, the District Attorney’s office contended Wild Iris Lane was rife with a whole host of problems that should rule it out as an option.

Chief among these was the ability to effectively monitor the 78-year-old in the face of frequent and lengthy PG&E outages, wildfire and landslide-related evacuation orders and the presence of children in the area.

Public defender Stephen J. Prekoski said the gambit of filing official paperwork with state authorities to set up a homeschool near the proposed residence—at the 11th hour—wasn’t a good enough reason to deny the move.

“I think it’s obvious what’s going on here,” he said. “You get this NIMBY attitude.”

In fact, Prekoski argued, since all of Cheek’s victims were adults, except for one, the buffer requirement between a predator’s conditional release home and a nearby school shouldn’t even apply.

Cogliati disagreed, but ultimately rejected the validity of the school anyway, finding it was formalized as a tactic to keep Cheek out. And a play structure in the area shouldn’t count as a park, she decided.

“Evidence establishes there was no school or park,” she said.

The judge credited the fact she even considered these objections to the vast outpouring of public comment provided in recent months.

That outcry was largely spearheaded by Geluardi, who successfully urged the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to symbolically oppose any future placements of Sexually Violent Predators in the county.

Geluardi says Liberty has seen three owners of proposed conditional release sites withdraw from leases, and four Liberty patient-placement applications have been rejected by courts.

“I don’t know what their accounting sheet looks like, but it doesn’t seem to be going well,” he said, adding the community is being forced to trust Cheek will stick with the program. “What Liberty Healthcare is calling ‘supervision’ is going to be a GPS ankle bracelet that does not work off of the property where he’s housed.”

Byers says he’s planning to ask the 6^th District to extend the judgment-stay beyond two weeks, as he continues to fight the efforts of Liberty to move Cheek to Bonny Doon.

“They’re a business,” he said. “They’ve been hired to place people.”

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: Nov. 17-23

GT Staff

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November 17, 2021

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A weekly guide to what’s happening.

ARTS AND MUSIC

CELTIC TEEN BAND PROGRAM Teenage musicians ages 12-19 play in an ensemble, developing musicianship, flexibility, and musical creativity. Participants work on music from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Norway, Sweden, and the United States, in addition to modern and more quirky pieces. Instruments welcomed include fiddle, viola, flute, tin whistle, pipes, cello, upright bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, dulcimer, autoharp, ukulele, Celtic harp, accordion and percussion. Students must have at least two years of experience on their instrument and must be able to read sheet music and chord symbols. The group meets twice a month Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-5pm at the London Nelson Center with fiddle teacher John Weed. Cost is free-$10 per session on a sliding scale. Potential students are welcome to come for a session and see if they like it—no obligation! More information and registration at CommunityMusicSchool.org/teenband. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 3:30pm. London Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz.

COMMUNITY DRUMMING WITH JIM GREINER IN PERSON Percussionist/Educator Jim Greiner will conduct the next in his monthly Third Friday series of community drumming sessions at the Inner Light Center in Soquel in person from 7-8:30pm; doors open at 6:45pm. The cost is $10. Masks and social distancing requirements will be honored. Jim makes it fun and easy for people from all walks of life to play drums and hand percussion to release stress, to uplift and energize yourself, and to reinforce positive life rhythms through percussion playing. Friday, Nov. 19, 7-8:30pm. Inner Light Center, 5630 Soquel Drive, Soquel.

FORTUNATE YOUTH PERFORMING LIVE WITH ARTIKAL SOUND SYSTEM The So Cal powerhouse reggae-rock band Fortunate Youth has released their fifth full-length studio album Good Times (Roll On) on Controlled Substance Sound Labs. Bringing a fresh sound dotted with influences of blues, ska, rock, world, and soul, while they reunite once again with their fans on tour. The new album is out now and available everywhere you stream music. Friday, Nov. 19, 9pm. The Catalyst Club, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz.

GLOW: COMMUNITY ART PROJECT RECEPTION A reception and celebration of community art contemplating gratitude, engaging in creative expression, and connecting to the community. Art is available on a donation basis. Donations will fund local art programs and will be collected by the Felton Library Friends. For details please join us at the reception at Felton Branch Library Community Room from 1-4pm. Sunday, Nov. 21, 1pm. Felton Branch Library, 6121 Gushee St., Felton.

LATE NIGHT At THE MAH Don’t miss the launch of our new series, Late Night at the MAH! The museum will be open from 7-10pm featuring a mash-up of current exhibits, The Art of the Santa Cruz Speed Wheel & Ocean of Light: Submergence, plus live music from local punk rock legends Seized Up and a NHS screening of Speed Freaks, a 1989 skate movie by Tony Roberts. The screening of Speed Freaks will begin at 7:30pm then Seized Up will perform at 8:45pm! This masked event has limited capacity. Bring your friends, check out amazing art, buy NHS Speed Wheel merch, and enjoy the show! Thursday, Nov. 18, 7-10pm. Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH), 705 Front St., Santa Cruz.

MORTON MARCUS POETRY READING WITH GARY YOUNG Please join us for the 12th annual Morton Marcus Poetry Reading, featuring honored guest Gary Young. Poet Danusha Laméris will host the program, and the evening will include an announcement of the winner of the Morton Marcus Poetry Contest (recipient receives a $1,000 prize). Gary Young is the author of several collections of poetry. His most recent books are That’s What I Thought, winner of the Lexi Rudnitsky Editor’s Choice Award from Persea Books, and Precious Mirror, translations from Japanese. His other books include Even So: New and Selected Poems; Pleasure; No Other Life, winner of the William Carlos Williams Award; Braver Deeds, winner of the Peregrine Smith Poetry Prize; Days; The Dream of a Moral Life, which won the James D. Phelan Award; and Hands. He has received a Pushcart Prize, and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, and the Vogelstein Foundation, among others. In 2009 he received the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America. Young was the first Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County, and in 2012 he was named Santa Cruz County Artist of the Year. Since 1975 he has designed, illustrated, and printed limited edition letterpress books and broadsides at his Greenhouse Review Press. His fine print work is represented in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Getty Museum, and special collection libraries throughout the U.S. and Europe. He teaches creative writing and directs the Cowell Press at UCSC. Register online at thi.ucsc.edu/event/gary-young-morton-marcus-poetry-reading. Thursday, Nov. 18, 5:30pm.

PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES Filled with an exuberant mixture of country/pop/rock and musical theatre tunes, Pump Boys is a slice-of-life show about some down-home folks who run the local gas station and diner in a rural southern town. This cast of characters and their straightforward take on life, love and music will leave you tapping your foot and smiling from ear to ear. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 7:30pm. Thursday, Nov. 18, 7:30pm. Friday, Nov. 19, 8pm. Saturday, Nov. 20, 8pm. Sunday, Nov. 21, 2pm. The Colligan Theater, 1010 River St., Santa Cruz.

COMMUNITY

A CALL TO ACTION: INSPIRED BY ‘NOT IN OUR TOWN’ FILMS This is a bilingual program with live, simultaneous Spanish interpretation. As part of the national United Against Hate Week movement, SCPL has partnered with Santa Cruz County United for Safe and Inclusive Communities to bring community members together through films, conversations and actionable opportunities to prevent hate violence and to build safe, inclusive environments where everyone can participate in public life. Join community leaders as they discuss the topics raised in ‘Not in Our Town’ short films and share their perspectives on addressing and preventing hate/bias incidents that occur in Santa Cruz County. Hear differing community approaches to supporting policies and system changes that contribute to a safe and more inclusive community. We invite people from all walks of life to discover how every community member can play a part charting a better future. Films will be made available for free viewing during United Against Week on the Watsonville Film Festival virtual platform. Link will be provided Nov. 14-20, 2021. Watching the selection of Not In Our Town Films is recommended, but not required to participate and learn. Our facilitator for this event is Rabbi Paula Marcus. Registration is required for this virtual event, please visit santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/8478954. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 6:30pm.

BEAUTIFUL GOWNS FOR SALE AT BARGAIN PRICES The Daisy Store has recently acquired over 200 high-quality gowns and would like to pass on this opportunity to the public at discount prices. The sale will feature 80% off brand new gowns, originally priced at $80-$800. The gowns range from glitzy to subdued and are available in sizes 4-20. They are perfect for any occasion where a bit of glamour is needed—mothers of the bride, quinceaneras, proms, New Year’s Eve, or whatever, wherever, and whenever your heart desires. All proceeds support Family Service Agency programs. Sunday, Nov. 21, 1-4pm. The Daisy Store, 1601 41st Ave., King’s Plaza Shopping Center, Capitola.

CUÉNTAME UN CUENTO Acompáñanos para una hora de cuentos, actividades y canciones en español. Este programa es para niños de 0-8 y sus familias. La hora será miércoles a las 4:30pm. Nos reuniremos en el porche exterior. Cuéntame un Cuento se llevará a cabo en Capitola durante el período de construcción de Live Oak. En caso de mal clima, se cancelará la hora de cuentos. Join us for Spanish Storytime, activities, and music! This program is best suited for kids ages 0-8 and their families. Storytime takes place on Wednesday at 4:30pm. We will meet on the outside porch. Storytime will take place at Capitola during Live Oak’s construction period. In the event of bad weather, storytime will be cancelled. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 4:30pm. Capitola Library A Santa Cruz City County Public Library Branch, 2005 Wharf Road, Capitola.

DOWNTOWN SANTA CRUZ MAKERS MARKET Come on out and support local makers and artists at the Downtown Santa Cruz Makers Market every third Sunday of the month. We are now on the 1100 block of Pacific Ave. between Cathcart and Lincoln Streets near New Leaf and alongside so many amazing downtown restaurants. Support local and shop small with over 30 Santa Cruz County artists and makers! Don’t forget to stop in and visit the downtown merchants and grab a bite to eat from the downtown restaurants. Remember to social distance as you shop and wear your mask. If you’re not feeling well, please stay home. There will be hand sanitizing stations at the market and signs to remind you about all these things! Free event, friendly leashed pups are welcome! Sunday, Nov. 21, 10am-5pm. Downtown Santa Cruz Makers Market, Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz.

FELTON TODDLER TIME Join Librarian Julie on our beautiful Felton patio for Toddler Time. Toddler Time is a weekly early literacy program for families with children ages 0-3 years old. Music, movement, stories, fingerplays, rhymes, and songs are a fun way for your child to learn. Let’s play and learn together! Make sure to bring something to sit on. We ask that adults please wear a mask. Repeats weekly. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 11am. Felton Branch Library (NEW), 6121 Gushee St., Felton.

GREY BEARS BROWN BAG LINE Grey Bears are looking for help with their brown bag production line on Thursday and Friday mornings. Volunteers will receive breakfast and a bag of food if wanted. Be at the warehouse with a mask and gloves at 7am. Call ahead for more information: 831-479-1055, greybears.org. Thursday, Nov. 18, 7am. California Grey Bears, 2710 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz.

INTERFAITH MEMORIAL SERVICE AND CANDLE LIGHTING Honor Your Loved One in a Special Holiday Memorial Service. Join us in-person (masks required) or online on November 17th via Resurrection Catholic Community Church’s live stream. A cherished annual tradition, our Interfaith Memorial Service and Candle Lighting is an invitation to pause during the busy holiday season and tune into what counts: remembering a beloved family member, or dear friend, who has died. Whether your loved one recently passed or is someone who you have carried in your heart for many years, this memorial service nourishes tender hearts by honoring both the sadness and joy that comes with remembrance. Our community gathers for words of support, candle lighting, and a remembrance table, for which you are welcome to bring a photograph or object of your loved one. Children and families are welcome. Watch the live stream at youtube.com/channel/UC-OOaTsxzpSPs60Qlt0CIKQ. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 6:30pm. Resurrection Church, 7600 Soquel Drive Aptos, Aptos.

KNITTING AT THE FELTON LIBRARY Join us every Monday afternoon at the Felton Branch for a knitting party. All you need to do is bring some yarn and knitting needles. All ages are welcome. Monday, Nov. 22, 12:30pm. Felton Branch Library, 6121 Gushee St., Felton.

LA SELVA BEACH PRESCHOOL STORYTIME Join us for a fun interactive storytime. We’ll read books, sing songs and use rhythm and movement. This event is suitable for children ages 3-6 years. There will be an arts and crafts project to take home. This event will be held outside on the back patio. Please bring something to sit on and dress for the weather. Masks will be required. Repeats weekly. Tuesday, Nov. 23, 11am. La Selva Beach Branch Library, 316 Estrella Ave., La Selva Beach.

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME IN THE SECRET GARDEN Join us in the Secret Garden in Abbott Square at the MAH for storytime! We’ll share stories, songs and rhymes in a safe environment! This 30-40 minute program is intended for children aged 2-6. Do it yourself craft kits will be provided every week. Every other week we will feature STEM-related stories and concepts. Tuesday, Nov. 23, 11am. Abbott Square, 118 Cooper St., Santa Cruz.

R.E.A.D.: REACH EVERY AMAZING DETAIL CAPITOLA R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for readers second-12th grade. Instructors are California credentialed teachers. Sessions are 25 minutes long. By appointment only. Contact SCPL Telephone Information if you have any questions: 831-427-7713. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 3pm. Capitola Library A Santa Cruz Public Library Branch, 2005 Wharf Road, Capitola.

R.E.A.D.: REACH EVERY AMAZING DETAIL @ DOWNTOWN R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for readers second-12th grade. Instructors are California credentialed teachers. Sessions are 25 minutes long. By appointment only. Contact SCPL Telephone Information if you have any questions: 831-427-7713. Thursday, Nov. 18, 3pm. Santa Cruz Public Libraries – downtown, 240 Church St., Santa Cruz.

R.E.A.D.: REACH EVERY AMAZING DETAIL @ LA SELVA BEACH R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for readers second-12th grade. Instructors are California credentialed teachers. Sessions are 25 minutes long. By appointment only. Contact SCPL Telephone Information if you have any questions: 831-427-7713. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 3pm. La Selva Beach Branch Library, 316 Estrella Ave., La Selva Beach.

COMMUNITY PILATES MAT CLASS Come build strength with us. This very popular in-person community Pilates Mat Class in the big auditorium at Temple Beth El in Aptos is in session once again. Please bring your own mat, small Pilates ball and theraband if you have one. You must be vaccinated for this indoor class. Suggested donation of $10/class. Thursday, Nov. 18, 10am. Tuesday, Nov. 23, 10am. Temple Beth El, 3055 Porter Gulch Road, Aptos.

GROUPS

ENTRE NOSOTRAS GRUPO DE APOYO Entre Nosotras support group for Spanish speaking women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets twice monthly. Registration required, please call Entre Nosotras 831-761-3973. Friday, Nov. 19, 6pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.

S+LAA MENS’ MEETING Having trouble with compulsive sexual or emotional behavior? Recovery is possible. Our small 12-step group meets Saturday evenings. Enter through the front entrance, go straight down the hallway to the last door on the right. Thursday, Nov. 18, 6pm. Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center, 2900 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz.

WOMENCARE ARM-IN-ARM WomenCARE Arm-in-Arm Cancer support group for women with advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cancer. Meets every Monday, currently on Zoom. Registration is required, call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. All services are free. For more information visit womencaresantacruz.org. Monday, Nov. 22, 12:30pm.

WOMENCARE MINDFULNESS MEDITATION Mindfulness Meditation for women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets the 1st and 3rd Friday, currently on Zoom. Registration Required: WomenCARE 831 457-2273. Friday, Nov. 19, 11am-noon.

WOMENCARE TUESDAY SUPPORT GROUP WomenCARE Tuesday Cancer support group for women newly diagnosed and through their treatment. Meets every Tuesday currently on Zoom. Registration required, call WomenCARE 831-457-2273. Tuesday, Nov. 23, 12:30-2pm.

WOMENCARE: LAUGHTER YOGA Laughter yoga for women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets every Wednesday, currently via Zoom. Registration is required, please call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 3:30-4:30pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.

OUTDOOR

CASFS FARMSTAND Organic vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers are sold weekly at the CASFS Farmstand, starting June 15 and continuing through Nov. 23. Proceeds support experiential education programs at the UCSC Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems. Friday, Nov. 19, Noon-6pm. Tuesday, Nov. 23, Noon-6pm. Cowell Ranch Historic Hay Barn, Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz.

ENVIRONMENT VS. ECOLOGY: DECODING THE DECLINE OF A KELP FOREST ECOSYSTEM IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Bull kelp forests experienced unprecedented losses along 220 miles of coastline in Northern California beginning in 2014 after the onset of a large marine heatwave and the local extinction of sunflower sea stars (sea urchins primary predator). These losses have had devastating consequences to the region’s communities, economies, and fisheries. Similar to the nature versus nurture debate in psychology, it can be equally challenging to tease apart environmental and ecological drivers (also known as “top down versus bottom up”) in ecosystem dynamics. Using a suite of diver and satellite-derived data, join Meredith McPherson, Ph.D. Department of Ocean Sciences, UCSC, as she describes historical patterns of kelp canopy coverage in Northern California, decodes how and why this event occurred, and provides perspective on the future of these iconic marine ecosystems. Register in advance for the online Science Sunday webinar (required). seymourcenter.science.ucsc.edu/calendar_event/november-science-sunday/ Please register at least one hour prior to event start time. Sunday, Nov. 21, 1:30-2:30pm. Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz.

HISTORIC RANCH GROUND TOUR Discover what life was like a century ago on this innovative dairy ranch. This hour-long tour includes the 1896 water-powered machine shop, barns and other historic buildings. The vehicle day-use fee is $10. For more information, call 831-426-0505. Spaces are limited and early pre-registration is recommended. Attendees are required to self-screen for Covid-19 symptoms when pre-registering. Masks and social distancing are also required at all programs. Saturday, Nov. 20, 1-2pm. Sunday, Nov. 21, 1-2pm. Wilder Ranch State Park, 1401 Coast Road, Santa Cruz.

SUNSET BEACH BOWLS Experience the tranquility, peace and calmness as the ocean waves harmonize with the sound of crystal bowls raising vibration and energy levels. Every Tuesday one hour before sunset at Moran Lake Beach. Call 831-333-6736 for more details. Tuesday, Nov. 23, 6:30-7:30pm. Moran Lake Park & Beach, East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz.

4 Years After Disbanding, Santa Cruz Garage Rockers Redlight District Reunite

Music

Aaron Carnes

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November 17, 2021

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4 Years After Disbanding, Santa Cruz Garage Rockers Redlight District Reunite

Things looked good in 2017 for local garage-psych-rock band the Redlight District. They had relentlessly toured up and down the West Coast, and even headlined the local stage at the Santa Cruz Music Festival. Then, in September, after a string of EPs, they put out their excellent debut full-length Blackmail.

They booked a few shows after its release, but weren’t prepared to call any of them their official Blackmail release show. One was at the Church House. It was packed. During the show, lead singer Stephan Sams climbed the walls, stood on the top of a fridge and dove into the crowd.

“It was a chaotic show. We were known for that generally,” Sams says. “I remember going off on a tangent in the middle of a song. I would be somewhat incoherent in those days. And just people shouting that they agreed and were ‘the son of a black hole and apocalypse’ or something.”

Not long after, the group unceremoniously broke up. But four years later, the Redlight District is preparing to play again. Though the members currently live in Oregon, Hawaii, Santa Cruz and Salinas, they see this show at Moe’s on Nov. 24 as a new beginning for the group. They hope many more Redlight District shows follow.

Things were not easy for Sams when he initially broke up the band. During that time period, he recalls becoming manic and delusional. He would lash out at band members. He attempted suicide, but was fortunately found by a housemate in time.

“I was unpredictable to most around me,” Sams says. “I think to some degree I received positive reinforcement for my negative attributes as people thought I should be privately as I was onstage. I can’t blame that all on everyone else. I had ignored my own agency over my reality. Years of reading philosophy books, dropping acid, they all kind of just gave me more questions.”

For a while, Sams stopped playing music, and then started playing solo shows. He got medication and therapy for anxiety and depression, and made amends with people he’d hurt.

“I began to realize just how much I contributed to my toxic environment,” Sams says.

He got involved in some other projects, like a blues rock duo with Kage O’ Malley called Oedipus & the Motherfuckers, an experimental band called Microclouds, and he even got back into musical theater, landing his dream role of Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Even with different projects going on, Sams felt something was missing without Redlight District. People cared about the group, and the band’s songs had something to say. Over the past four years, he thought a lot about the lyrics on Blackmail. A lot of the songs had started as apocalyptic visions from his dreams, which terrified him. He talked about a rise in riots, protests, manipulations by the media and misinformation.

“I think it was obvious where the country was heading,” Sams says. “I wrote a lot of the songs, strangely, when Barack Obama was president, the end of his first term or the beginning of the second term. I remember thinking, ‘The cultural pendulum is going to swing really hard the other way. People are not going to take this lying down, you know, that we have our first president of color.’ I knew it was coming.”

Last year, he met up with keyboardist Dan Leitner at the Red Room and discussed putting the band back together. Leitner agreed, and the other members were on board, too.

Sams’ attitude about music and Redlight District has changed. He wants the group to contribute something positive to the world, bring joy and have people think constructively about how to fix society—not wallow in doom and gloom. Also, they still haven’t officially held their Blackmail release show, which is long overdue. Sams says it will hopefully come sometime soon.

“I just wanted to contribute to awareness, to contribute to healing, as opposed to contribute to destruction, because I was very mad. I wrote a lot about destruction. But at this point, I want it to be constructive,” Sams says, adding that he is very grateful to be able to be doing Redlight District again. “I cried when I saw Bohemian Rhapsody at the thought of having another chance. And now it’s here.”

Redlight District will play at 8:30pm on Wednesday, Nov. 24, at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $12/adv, $15/door. (831) 479-1854.

Letter to the Editor: Not a Pretty Picture

Letters to the Editor

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November 17, 2021

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Letter to the Editor: Not a Pretty Picture

Re: “Stroll Models” (GT, 11/3): Thanks to Jacob Pierce for his article and background on the Gibbs report. I moved to this area recently after retiring, so I missed the original report, but it all sounds painfully familiar because I grew up and went to school in Kalamazoo, Michigan, whose story is probably well known to Gibbs even though he wasn’t yet born when most of the drama went down. There were a lot of similarities that Santa Cruzans would do well to consider. A quick summary for local readers:

In the late 1950s, Kalamazoo was looking at a decaying downtown as major local businesses fled to the suburbs, so the city hired Victor Gruen Associates to do a study and propose a modernization plan. Some elements included: a mall on one of the town’s main streets, a “belt way” to route auto traffic around the central business district with several parking structures along it to provide free/cheap parking within walking distance of shops (an idea that Santa Cruz has a lot of trouble with), and which would have surrounded a central public park. It all went down in flames in a 1960 election, when voters failed to approve a 30-year municipal bond to finance initial construction. The mall was built, but it lasted barely a decade before most of the businesses it was intended to save left town. They never returned, and the mall was ripped out. One irony is that if bonds had been issued in 1960, they would have been paid off by 1990, and the downtown would be in much better shape than it is today.

As far as I can tell, Santa Cruz’s downtown is dying, like Kalamazoo’s did. It’s dominated by bars, restaurants, head shops, and tawdry young-women’s clothing boutiques, which appeal mainly to tourists and UCSC students. The department stores and other family-supporting businesses that Gibbs discussed went to 41st Avenue and Capitola Mall long ago. Other businesses went to the sadly neglected Eastside, while still others are fleeing to Aptos, turning Soquel Drive into our own little El Camino Real. Unless local residents can come together on a plan to resuscitate the downtown business district that includes dealing sensibly with housing, automobiles and parking, and light-rail transit, some of us have a pretty clear idea of what Santa Cruz is apt to look like in 20 years, and it’s not a pretty picture. Instead of incessantly squabbling with each other, you folks could have helped to fix this.

Scott B. Marovich

Soquel

This letter does not necessarily reflect the views of Good Times.

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Opinion: Another Santa Cruz Gives Surprise

GT Staff

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November 17, 2021

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Opinion: Another Santa Cruz Gives Surprise

EDITOR’S NOTE

This week we’re kicking off our seventh Santa Cruz Gives holiday fundraising drive, and once again I’m stunned at how quickly this idea of a “new way” to support our local nonprofits continues to grow faster than we ever thought possible. Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, total donations to Santa Cruz Gives groups totaled $709,617—an increase of 73% over 2019. Our goal for this year is to cross the million mark.

But that’s not even the biggest news about this year’s campaign. Even more exciting is that we’ve doubled the number of groups accepted into Gives this year. That means there are so many incredible causes to give to—you will find organizations focused on youth, seniors, animals, the environment, education, health and wellness, food and nutrition, housing and homelessness, the arts, veterans, families, the disabled and more.

It also means that our cover story this week—in which we have attempted to give you a sense of the “big idea” project that you can fund for all 80 of these organizations—is one of the longest I can ever remember us running. Santa Cruz Gives co-founder and organizer Jeanne Howard spent weeks working with all of these groups on how to best present their projects to you in this issue, and my only regret is that we only have room to run a small portion of what these incredible people want to tell you about their work. These pages will give you the basics, but I strongly encourage you to go to santacruzgives.org to read more about each participant; when you find your favorites, you can donate to them right there on the site. As always, Santa Cruz Gives runs until midnight on Dec. 31, and each week in GT we’ll be spotlighting how these organizations are supporting and transforming our community.

Finally, on behalf of Good Times, the Pajaronian and Press Banner, I want to thank our Santa Cruz Gives co-sponsors, who have played such a huge role in the success and growth of this program: the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County, our presenting co-sponsor; Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, which provides essential support through three of its funds—the Applewood Fund, the Joe Collins Fund and the Bud & Rebecca Colligan Fund; Driscoll’s; Santa Cruz County Bank; Wynn Capital Management and Oswald. OK, enough talk, let’s start giving!

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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GOOD IDEA

HEART FELT

Need an excuse to order takeout this week? Pizza My Heart will be donating 30% of its sales to Community Action Board (CAB), a nonprofit that works to end poverty and provides social services for all of Santa Cruz County, this Thursday. Order a slice or a whole pizza from Pizza My Heart’s downtown Santa Cruz location between 11am and 4pm, and a portion of your money will be reinvested into the community through CAB. Learn more at cabinc.org.

GOOD WORK

BRACE YOURSELF

If you are a homeowner, you might qualify for a grant to make your home safer during earthquakes. California’s Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) grant program is offering homeowners up to $3,000, money that can go to strengthening a home’s foundation, known as seismic retrofitting. EBB is also offering supplemental grants for lower-income homeowners, which could cover the entire cost of the retrofit. Apply and learn more at EarthquakeBraceBolt.com.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving.”
-Henry Rosso

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