Regarding your recent article about our water future (“Great Wet Hope,” GT, 9/15), at a minimum, we should be asking why a program has not been developed that would offer financial incentives to homeowners willing to install grey water catchment or “laundry to landscape” systems to reuse household water. We should also be asking why a program has not been developed that would offer residents inexpensive and space-practical rainwater catchment barrels of 250 gallons or more.
The future of our water supply is perhaps the single most challenging issue that faces our community today. Tomorrow may hold the promise of large-scale wastewater recycling, which would create millions of gallons of new, potable water. But for today, we need to ask the important questions in order to meaningfully push the baseline of water security models past the present limited thinking.
Steve Pleich
Santa Cruz
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I just read a review of Akira in the 9/8/21 edition, written by Andrew Steingrube. In it, he referred to one of Akira’s locations as “Midtown.” The apparent movement to change what I (and all of my long standing “Eastside” friends, some born and raised in “Eastside” Santa Cruz) have always known as “Eastside Santa Cruz.” I have lived in the Seabright neighborhood for 45 years. I live in/on the Eastside, and it’s maddening to me that some force is trying to change the name of our community! Why is there a determined effort to change this neighborhood to “Midtown?” What is behind this, what is the reason, and who benefits? I have never known any reference to “Midtown” in this area until the past few years, only “Eastside.” What is up with this, and show me the evidence that supports this change?
Ron Locey
Santa Cruz
Oh Ron, you are so two-thousand-late to this debate. The best thing I’ve ever seen written about it was by Jacob Pierce in GT’s 2017 “Best of Santa Cruz” issue (find it in the archives at goodtimes.sc, it’s the first editor’s pick), entitled “Best Argument We’re Dying to See Settled: Where’s the Eastside?” In it, he points to the Midtown debate first popping up in about 2012. In my mind, it really started raging after the Midtown Café opened on Soquel Avenue in 2014, more or less planting a flag for the movement. A lot of longtime locals still hate it, but that ship has pretty much sailed. Midtown Café is long gone, but on that same stretch that is home to Akira you can now find Midtown Surf Shop, Midtown Hair, Midtown Optometry, Lulus Midtown and Midtown Guitar Company. You might try taking it up with them? By the way, city leaders, we’re still waiting for the task force that will settle this debate once and for all. — Editor
This letter does not necessarily reflect the views of Good Times.To submit a letter to the editor of Good Times: Letters should be originals—not copies of letters sent to other publications. Please include your name and email address to help us verify your submission (email address will not be published). Please be brief. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and to correct factual inaccuracies known to us. Send letters to let****@go*******.sc.
I am a total nerd, so it’s not hard to convince me to run a story in GT about a new mini-comic-con in Santa Cruz County. In fact, this story wasn’t even planned as a cover story, I was thinking of it more as a longish inside feature to preview the first Nerdville event on Sunday, Sept. 26 in Watsonville.
But when I read what Tony Nuñez had done with this story, I knew it had to be on the cover. Nerdville and the people who are making it happen are an essential part of the piece, yes, but it’s about so much more. It’s about the wave of violence that has hit Watsonville over the last year and a half. It’s about finding creative ways to support the passions of local young people. It’s even about bringing greater acceptance of nerd and nerd-adjacent behavior to Latinx culture. And for all those very important and very serious topics, it’s also populated with some very fun and engaging characters. In short, it’s a fantastic story, I hope you’ll give it a read, and—if you’ve got at least a touch of nerd in you, too—that you’ll check out Nerdville this weekend.
[“Great Wet Hope”] mentions residential gallons per person per day water usage, and how low it is, but fails to broach what I’d have to guess is the real culprit with regards to the dire straits of our water reserves: commercial drains, especially the tourist industry’s constantly expanding number hotel beds, and watering holes. What are the facts of that situation please? Do the city’s residents have any recourse?
I have known these guys since ’76. I took a girl to see them and married her a couple of years later. We were together 40 years, ’til she passed. I later ran sound for them, and really got to know them all. Jimmy Norris (drums) and Jack Register (bass) were the rhythm section on the first album. Ron Fillmore, the original drummer, is alive and well living in Angels Camp. Donny is in Murphys, Brett is in the Chicago area, Jack is in Arkansas, Larry passed in 2016. Craig and I have worked together several times. I run into Ken and Bob from time to time. Roger Buffalo Krone and I chat through Facebook, as well as Ed Leslie. These guys were Santa Cruz music for many years, and if you never got to see them, that’s a shame. I remember I had a bumper sticker that read, “I met my girlfriend at a Snail concert.” A nice story is always good to hear about them. Lots of good memories with these guys.
— Ken C.
PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
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GOOD IDEA
SAFE SPACE
Dominican Hospital will be expanding some of its women’s health programs, thanks to funding from the hospital’s Women of Wellness council. Funds were awarded to the hospital’s Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) Program, which resumed in 2020 after a three-year hiatus. The only program of its kind in the county, the SAFE program provides medical examinations and tests to survivors who have been sexually assaulted. Learn more about women’s health programs the hospital offers, including free cardiac risk screenings, at supportdominican.org/women-of-wellness-council.
GOOD WORK
HUB GETS LOVE
Digital NEST, the organization helping bridge tech equity for students in Watsonville and Salinas, was awarded $9,500 from the Santa Cruz Rotary Club. In rural, agricultural Watsonville and Salinas, Digital NEST is creating a hub for technology and innovation for students. After touring Digital NEST in Watsonville and hearing about the organization’s mission, the Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary Club donated $9,500 to the center on the spot. The club raises money to support organizations doing admirable work for youth and community across Santa Cruz County.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I think that if the world were a bit more like comic-con, it would be a better place.”
Watsonville City Councilman Francisco “Paco” Estrada can say that with confidence. The former mayor isn’t one of those people that claimed their nerdom after Captain America, Iron Man and Batman started bumping shoulders with LeBron James, Justin Bieber and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in popular culture. No, Estrada has been carrying his nerd card since he was a kid scrounging through the second-hand comics at Country Cousin Liquors in Watsonville with his older brother.
“Now, it feels like everyone loves this,” he says. “I have arguments with my nieces who are 6 and 7 about this stuff, and that’s great.”
Estrada’s love for all things superhero has never wavered, and he hopes to share that passion at the inaugural Nerdville, Watsonville’s first-ever comic-con-style event. Friends of Watsonville Parks and Community Services (Friends), a small nonprofit that supports the City’s recreation programs, is organizing the event, with help from the city, Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) and the Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley. Nerdville is set for Sept. 26 at the Gene Hoularis and Waldo Rodriguez Youth Center in downtown Watsonville.
Bringing an event centered around comics, art, fantasy and the collectibles that those realms inspire was something Estrada pitched to Friends shortly after he was elected in 2018. His goal, he says, was to give kids—and adults—a safe space to “nerd out,” connect with like-minded people and create communities of collectors, something that he says he wishes he had as a child growing up in Watsonville.
“When I was young, I would’ve loved to have someone tell me, ‘Hey, you’re not weird. That’s cool.’ Sometimes you need that. That feeling like you’re not alone,” he says.
Francisco “Paco” Estrada. PHOTO: TARMO HANNULA
There Was An Idea
As a kid, collecting was a way for Estrada to spend time with his older brother, who, unlike his dad, an immigrant from Mexico, understood why a pricey Spider-Man comic book or action figure wasn’t “garbage.” Eventually, his passion for comic books and action figures blossomed into lifelong friendships at school, and an obsession with collecting them. The last time he took inventory of his action figures and memorabilia a few years ago, Estrada counted more than 1,100 items. That includes replicas of Captain America’s shield and mint-condition action figures still enclosed in their packaging.
His collection has undoubtedly grown since then, Estrada says, as he’s nabbed other items off the web and at comic-cons over the years. Attending those events and others, he says, inspired him to bring something similar to Watsonville’s kids who may have always wanted to go, but never had the opportunity.
“I think of it as the Disneyland experience. I didn’t go as a kid, but I wish I did. Same thing here,” he says. “I don’t want kids to feel like they can’t have things like this in their town. They can. It just felt like somebody had to take up that crusade.”
Enter Friends and the city of Watsonville, which is waiving several fees and helping the nonprofit hold the event at the community center. Friends founding board member Maria Orozco says that although she is not clued into comic books, Pokemon or other hallmarks of nerdom, she sees a strong need to support this slice of Watsonville’s young people, the majority of whom are of Latinx descent.
Although blockbuster comic book movies have largely become part of the vernacular, other groups that might be interested in anime, for instance, still face some ridicule at school, says Orozco, who is also a PVUSD Trustee. It’s important, she says, to not only show those kids that they have a place where they belong but to also give them an opportunity to share their passion with their parents—or whoever they choose to bring with them to the event.
“I look at this as a family event,” she says. “It’s a chance for young people to connect with the rest of their community, yes, but also with their family.”
A big challenge that some of Watsonville’s young people face, Orozco says, is getting their parents to understand that there are career paths in comics, action figures and other similar fields. Many times parents, Orozco says, discourage their kids from studying art in college because there is no money in it. But that’s a misconception, she says.
“There is [money in the field] because art isn’t just sitting down and painting,” she says. “It’s graphic design. It’s website design. It’s that whole communication realm. I think exposing those types of career tracks to kids in the community is important.”
To do this, Friends is bringing in local artists who will have sketch workshops throughout the day and will speak to attendees about the opportunities in the field. The hope is, Orozco says, that young people will be inspired to pursue their passion.
“We need some positivity in the community right now, and I think that this is an opportunity to provide something like that,” Orozco says. “I think we’re all in agreement that we need more youth-centered activities, family-centered activities.”
PHOTO: TARMO HANNULA
Healing Factor
After taking the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic in Santa Cruz County, Community Action Board (CAB) Executive Director Maria Elena De La Garza says Watsonville and the greater South County community are now dealing with the residual impacts of the last 18 months: violence that first started with a handful of deadly shootings some 10 months ago, and sent further shockwaves in an unprecedented fatal stabbing at Aptos High School last month.
De La Garza was one of a dozen people who spoke at a vigil for the slain 17-year-old Aptos senior in downtown Watsonville on Sept. 5, where more than 200 people showed up to pay their respects and call for the violence to halt. Many questions still remain unanswered about the attack, but Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart has said that the two suspects—aged 14 and 17—are “gang-involved.”
The death, De La Garza points out, came in the same month that a 15-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in Watsonville. There have also been several recent drug and gun arrests involving teens in Watsonville, including an incident the day after the Aptos stabbing in which a 13-year-old girl at a middle school pulled out a knife on a classmate.
De La Garza says that the recent violence has come at a time in which many families are still struggling to find jobs after being laid off or having their hours slashed during the pandemic-related shutdowns. For many families that were already struggling to make ends meet living on the pricey Central Coast, De La Garza says, their circumstances have only progressively worsened since Covid-19 arrived.
“People are dealing with poverty. People are dealing with being hungry. People are dealing with housing insecurity. And violence is a symptom of those root causes,” she says. “If you ask me how do we move forward, we have to come together … we need to embrace, acknowledge and support our young people in ways we’ve never done before to respond to their needs and to understand that it’s not just the young person, it’s the family.”
CAB, for its part, has multiple programs that support both young people and their families. That includes ALCANCE—an initiative that, among other things, provides a youth leadership development program called El Joven Noble taught by the National Compadres Network. That program guides kids through “rites of passage” while focusing on the prevention of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, relationship violence, gang violence and school failure.
Jaime Molina, a regional coordinator with the Compadres Network and a longtime counselor with the County of Santa Cruz, says El Joven Noble “plants the seed of consciousness” in young people by teaching them an awareness of their actions and the lifelong repercussions that they might face because of them. It also teaches them the concept of the “true self,” or an acceptance of who they are and the life they have ahead of them.
“So many of our youth think that ‘I got to be this,’ or ‘I got to be that,’ and, really, they don’t even know who they are,” Molina says.
Parent participation, Molina adds, is an important aspect of these teachings. Through his work, he talks to families that have been impacted by gang violence and other traumatic events. Many parents he works with, he says, have a lack of awareness of what their child is doing—and if they’re doing something wrong—because they do not make the effort to spend time with them. Even a few minutes a day, he says, can change a child’s outcome.
“And we’re not really teaching [the parents],” he says. “They already know how to do this. All we’re doing is we’re helping them remember how powerful spending time with your kids is—for the entire family.”
The Right Path
Watsonville Police Department has made 68 arrests involving a minor this year, according to spokeswoman Michelle Pulido. In 2020, the department made 137 arrests of people 17 and younger, a decrease from the previous year when it saw 190 similar arrests. The drop over the past two years, says WPD Capt. David Rodriguez, could be because people were forced to stay home during the pandemic.
“It could be that there was more of that direct supervision throughout the day, as opposed to parents having to go to work and sometimes not be able to supervise their kids throughout the day,” he says. “Mistakes could be happening in that time period.”
Rodriguez was once a gang detective with WPD, and during that time he interacted with hundreds of gang members. Many, he says, joined gangs because their parents had to work long hours and they were left to spend much of their youth unsupervised while growing up in neighborhoods that have strong gang ties.
“They see that on a daily basis, they interact with some of those people that are already in that life and sometimes they’re just drawn to it because that’s where they’re getting their attention from and they see it as a familial scenario,” he says. “That happens quite a bit.”
For Rodriguez, who was born and raised in Watsonville, it was sports and his parents’ interest and involvement in his childhood that helped him stay on the right track. “It was the rule of the house: you’re going to go to school and you’re either going to work, or you’re going to do some kind of extracurricular activities,” Rodriguez says. “You’re not going to just come home, and watch TV or run around. You’re going to have something to do.”
But he says that others close to him did choose to get involved in gangs, and says that he knows firsthand how it impacts a family.
“Like we say, it takes a village to raise a kid. And for us, especially in my family, the family beyond my immediate unit were huge influences for us … when siblings or cousins go down the wrong path it really has a great impact on the family at large—the aunts, grandparents, uncles, everyone,” Rodriguez says.
WPD has had success with its youth diversion initiatives, particularly with its Caminos Hacia el Exito program, which gives first-time youth offenders a chance to stay out of the system if they agree to undergo, among other things, counseling, participate in pro-social activities and perform community service. Roughly 91% of the 428 kids that have completed the program since its inception in 2012 have not gone on to re-offend.
But Rodriguez says that there is no better time to steer kids away from gangs than before they are ever approached to join one.
“That’s why we value programs like [the Police Activities League] where we can interact with our kids in the community on a daily basis and not through police enforcement actions, but more like relationship building, trust-building and pro-social activities and events,” he says.
Closing The Gap
Estrada says Nerdville is the start of a greater effort from the city to meet the demand of residents who have long asked the municipality to help organize more weekend events for—and bring more resources to—young people. That push from city leadership also includes a roughly $22 million investment in a complete renovation of Watsonville’s largest park and the use of American Rescue Plan Act funding in youth-serving programs like a youth job training and mentoring initiative.
“At least we can say that we tried to address the issue, and do something positive for the youth,” Estrada says. “It’s incumbent on us to do something because if we don’t do something nobody is going to do it.”
It’s not lost on Trustee Orozco that, as CAB’s De La Garza says, the underlying issue of the recent violence is poverty—the median household income in Watsonville is nearly $30,000 below the countywide median of $82,234. With that in mind, Friends is trying to make Nerdville as affordable as possible. It will be $7 to get in the door, but that fee will be waived for those that show up in cosplay, or if they are a member of local nerd-related groups. They will also waive the entrance fee for PVUSD students with proof of ID.
In addition, Estrada says, they’re encouraging their vendors to have items at all price ranges. He wants everyone who attends to have the chance of feeling what it’s like to collect. They will also have various raffle prizes.
“Maybe I only have $5, and I can only buy one thing,” Estrada says. “But we want to make sure that everyone that goes can leave with at least one thing. We want to make sure that everyone can get the special feeling of going home with something.”
The event will also feature panelists that have a strong connection to Watsonville. After all, Estrada says, although the event is indeed inspired by comic-cons, Nerdville hopes to be unique in the way that it meshes collecting and the Watsonville community. Yes, the collectibles will be Nerdville’s main attraction, but the connections and acceptance created from the gathering, Estrada hopes, will be the event’s true superpowers.
“I don’t want ours to copy the mold. I want ours to be about community. The community should be the theme … I want to hear stories from somebody like me, or somebody that loves collecting as much as I do,” he says. “To me, it’s come as you are. You’re accepted here. You’re not weird. Your love for this is awesome and we’re going to celebrate it—together.”
The first Nerdville mini-comic-con will take place on Sunday, Sept. 26, from 10am-5pm at the Gene Hoularis and Waldo Rodriguez Youth Center, 30 Maple Ave, Watsonville. Tickets are available on Eventbrite or at the door. Event-goers can also cash in their ticket for a $5 pizza and soda deal at nearby Slice Project. For information about the event, visit friendsofwatsonvillepcs.org. For information about ALCANCE, visit cabinc.org.
On a Saturday in 1989, Rebecca Garcia and others of Latinx descent stood on the steps of Watsonville’s city hall building. The council was holding a closed meeting about appealing the court ruling that at-large elections in Watsonville were illegally diluting the Latinx vote—a claim that, decades later, the city of Santa Cruz now faces.
“Basically, we were almost set up for failure as far as a Latino running a successful campaign in at-large elections,” says Garcia, who is now a city councilwoman serving the fifth district in Watsonville.
At-large elections allow all residents to vote for every representative running in a city, and elected officials, in turn, represent the whole community. Prior to the Voting Rights Act in 1965, at-large elections were the most common form of representation across the U.S.
But when the Voting Rights Act passed, cities with at-large elections became susceptible to lawsuits if it was found that votes from minority populations were being diluted.
Because of that, cities across the country began moving to district elections, a system where residents choose a representative for their area of the city. Proponents of district elections say that this type of system helps localize democracy and elect more diverse representatives, or at least representatives more attune to minority interests.
“Watsonville had a nearly all-white city council. The one Latino on the council was a wealthy realtor and didn’t advocate for our interests,” says Garcia. “Prior to district elections, Latinos were totally ignored. We were not part of the political process—and that’s what the lawsuit proved.”
The lawsuit in Watsonville set the stage for cities across California. It went all the way to the Supreme Court, and after the city was found guilty of diluting Latinx votes, cities across the state, including Salinas and Pajaro Valley Unified School District, transitioned to district elections rather than be hit with a similar lawsuit.
Now, the city of Santa Cruz is faced with a civil complaint that says voting in Santa Cruz is racially polarized, and that the city’s at-large elections weaken the Latinx community’s chance at equal representation.
As the city council decides whether to transition to district elections or fight the lawsuit, residents and council members wonder if district elections will be an effective way to further diversify the council and address the lack of Latinx representation.
A Case Study
“We blamed ourselves because we weren’t able to succeed in the campaigns that we worked on,” says Celia Organista, the former president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). LULAC is the largest and oldest Latinx civil rights organization in the country.
Organista had watched with initial hope and then dismay as nine people of Latinx descent ran for seats between 1970 and 1985 and lost. According to the 1980 census, people of Latinx descent made up 36% of the population. In reality, Rebecca Garcia estimates Latinx residents made up a larger portion of the population, likely closer to half of all Watsonville residents, given the large number of undocumented residents living in the town. Still, the city council had never had a person of Latinx descent elected in its 120-year history.
In the mid-80s, Joaquin Avila, who was the president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), came to Watsonville and spoke with LULAC.
He told Organista and the rest of the group about a lawsuit in Texas, where people of Latinx descent constituted a large portion of the population—but despite running, never seemed to be elected. Part of the problem, the lawsuit claimed, was at-large elections, which worked to decentralize the Latinx vote.
“A light bulb went on, and you kind of go like, ‘Oh, well, maybe we eliminate these things, then our chances would be better,’” Organista says. Avila illuminated what Organista had brushed up against but couldn’t name: a systematic disadvantage.
Under Organista’s leadership, LULAC became friends of the court during Dolores Cruz Gomez v. the City of Watsonville, and the court ruled in their favor.
In 1989, Watsonville had district elections for the first time. Four Latinx candidates ran for city council, but only one, Oscar Rios, was elected. Despite the three defeats, Garcia was encouraged by the results.
“Only one Latino was elected, but the majority of those elected were strong advocates for the Latino community. And they did advocate for Latinos,” Garcia says.
Even now, as a city councilwoman, Garcia credits district elections with more responsive representatives and a more representative council.
“By having district elections, I feel I’m able to connect better with those that I represented,” she says.
But Organista has a different perspective. Yes, the council is more diverse (four out of the six current councilmembers in Watsonville are of Latinx descent), but she wonders if district elections ultimately hindered the city’s progress. It’s a challenge critics point to with district elections: representatives are beholden to their district’s needs, which might create more division as representatives fight for their constituents’ priorities.
“There’s days when I don’t think there’s been any change,” says Organista.
Organista also says a transition to district elections should come with a clear goal and serve a purpose. She points to Watsonville’s apparent exclusion of people of Latinx descent from city council seats in the ’80s, and wonders if that parallel can be drawn in Santa Cruz.
“What is the basis? Our basis was very clear. We had tried and tried and tried and tried to get Latinos to be elected. But they were overpowered because there was a much higher white community voting,” says Organista. “Is Santa Cruz being sued just because the state wants them to be in districts, or is there a pattern of [Latinos being] disenfranchised?”
Status in Santa Cruz
“I’ve lived in Santa Cruz for 23 years now and I have never heard anyone complain about the at-large system. That kind of makes you think, ‘Is a problem that doesn’t exist sort of being foisted upon us’?” asks Rory O’Brien, head of the Political Science department at Cabrillo College.
Every year, cities across California that are using at-large systems are hit with civil complaints and lawsuits for intentionally or unintentionally using voting systems that discriminate against minorities, thereby violating the 2001 California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). In the past seven years, more than 150 cities have transitioned to district elections rather than spend upwards of a million dollars to challenge the lawsuit.
The Santa Cruz lawsuit was brought by Fargely Law, a law firm in Santa Barbara, on behalf of Travis Roderick, an area resident who also brought a similar claim to Santa Cruz City Schools, which consequently shifted to district elections.
The civil complaint claims that Santa Cruz’s at-large system is impairing the ability of Latinx residents to elect candidates of their choice to city council—a charge city officials deny. Only two people of Latinx descent have been elected from 2000 to 2018, despite Latinos representing around 30% of Santa Cruz’s population. Currently, no people of Latinx descent sit on the city council.
But whether district elections will be the remedy is up for debate. Maria Cadenas, who ran for city council in 2020, thinks that narrowing the underrepresentation of Latinx people to a matter of electoral systems simplifies the issue. But, she says, district elections have the potential to make running more accessible.
“In at-large, it will cost more money to run. It makes it hard for somebody who’s not engaged in established circles to be heard or valued or lifted,” says Cadenas. “In order to win, you need to compete, both in dollars and reach to the entire city. And that in itself, for any candidate, limits accessibility.”
Yet council members wonder if moving to at-large elections will actually pose a risk to the diversity of the council. Currently, the city council has a higher representation of Black people in proportion to their demographics in Santa Cruz.
“It’s a pretty diverse council, in terms of race and ethnicity. So there’s the concern that moving to district elections won’t allow for this type of diversity,” says councilwoman Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson.
But geographically speaking, the council is pretty homogenous: all seven council members are living in the center of Santa Cruz. There are no city council members who are from outlying areas, including Prospect Heights, Santa Cruz Gardens and parts of the Eastside. That would have to change if the city moves to district elections, which mandates that council members must be living in the district which they represent.
Cadenas emphasizes the importance of drawing those districts with demographics in mind.
“If you create a district that covers the downtown area through the wharf, for example, you have a very heavily business district,” says Cadenas. “And yet within that district, you have predominantly low-income communities of color. For a person of color to run against business interest will be extremely difficult.”
It’s a concern the public and city council members echo as well. Will the way the districts are drawn negatively impact the chances for minority candidates or success? Is the city at risk of gerrymandering, the practice of drawing districts to favor a group or party?
Kalantari-Johnson says these are important questions, and that there are steps the city and state require to address these concerns—such as public workshops, a third-party redistricting commission and hiring an expert demographer to draw districts based on census data.
“It’s not going to be done in a vacuum,” Kalantari-Johnson says.
The city is set to review draft maps in November and December, and will make the decision of whether or not to implement district elections in March of 2022. At the council meeting in August, council member Justin Cummings asked about challenging the lawsuit—but the legal fees are daunting, and to date no jurisdiction has successfully prevailed in challenging a CVRA violation lawsuit.
Either way, the city will have to pay. Even without taking the lawsuit to court, the city will pay a maximum of $30,000 in legal fees, money that comes from the city’s legal fund.
Kalantari-Johnson says it’s likely the council will move to adopt district elections, which the city was already considering back in 2018.
“There’s an opportunity for growth here. We can really work on developing the pipeline to leadership in our community,” Kalantari-Johnson says.
To contribute ideas about how the districts should be drawn, email: Rd********@ci*************.com
During a closed session meeting on Sept. 14, the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District agreed to let one of the educators being investigated for sexual misconduct—known as “Teacher 178”—resign.
Mark Becker, the SLVUSD Board Clerk, made a motion that was seconded by Trustee Grace Pollak to accept high school social studies teacher Eric Kahl’s resignation. It passed unanimously, 5-0.
“This was a mutually acceptable separation agreement,” SLVUSD Superintendent Chris Schiermeyer told GT in a statement. “We look forward to getting this resolved and moving forward.”
Schiermeyer declined to say which of the two teachers who’d been placed on leave, Kahl or William Winkler, had resigned. However, through the freedom-of-information process, GT discovered that under the Resignation and General Release Agreement, Kahl promised not to sue the district in exchange for being allowed to quit of his own accord.
His employment term ends Oct. 15 and his health benefits are to be paid through Oct. 31.
The district, under previous superintendent Laurie Bruton, confirmed in an April 1 letter that both Winkler and Kahl were removed from teaching and placed on administrative leave.
“The parties’ desire to avoid the time, expense and risk involved with any administrative proceedings and potential litigation, and further desire to settle, once and forever, all disputes arising out of, related to, or in any manner connected with Kahl’s employment with the district,” states the agreement, which was signed Sept. 14 by Kahl, Schiermeyer and Joe Cisneros, the lawyer for Monterey-based Biegel Law Firm representing both teachers who’ve been under investigation, as well as Brian Bock of Southern California firm Bock Law Group.
SLVUSD also specified that if it’s ever asked for a work reference, it must say its policy is to disclose only Kahl’s dates of employment, salary and positions held.
In May, the board voted to part ways with former high school principal and administrator Ned Hearn, who is currently a defendant in a Solano County childhood sex abuse lawsuit involving a former student.
In July, a former middle and high school teacher in the district, Michael Henderson, received six months of home confinement for abusing a 10-year-old girl during private after-school lessons in Felton. Under the terms of a deal, he pled guilty to assault with great bodily injury, but won’t have to register as a sex offender. He is still a free man until Sept. 30, when he must report to start his sentence at home in Washington State.
Accusations of sexual abuse and harassment against several current and past SLVUSD teachers were shared through anonymous social media posts, and in reports made directly to the district.
Investigators have been working over the past several months to get to the bottom of the stories.
When informed by GT of Kahl’s voluntary departure, Anderson said it would take her some time to process its significance.
“The fact that he quit made it more confusing,” she said. “I’m more shocked that it took him this long to step down.”
SLVUSD Board President Gail Levine declined to comment on the teacher’s resignation.
In an interview, Schiermeyer said when they got the results of the investigation into Kahl, they decided the “mutual agreement” was the best option.
“You do an investigation, and at the completion of the investigation you have things that are either proven substantiated or unsubstantiated,” he says. “You work with your team to find out what the best resolution would be.”
The district’s investigation into Winkler is still ongoing.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn confirmed the agency still has multiple “open investigations” into current or former SLVUSD employees, although no charges have been filed.
Anderson’s questions were answered in a Sept. 17 complaint closure letter sent to her from the district, which sustained three separate allegations she’d made: that Kahl was negligent as a teacher; that he sexually harassed pupils; and that he “engaged in predatory grooming” of current and former students.
“Now, you can’t say that I was wrong,” she says, adding she still worries Kahl could get a teaching job elsewhere. “Hopefully in the future SLV will have a less predatory, gross environment.”
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Steve Maraboli says, “The best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” If that strategy appeals to you, the next eight weeks will be an excellent time to put it to maximum use. You’re entering a phase when you can have an especially beneficial effect on people you care for. You’ll be at peak power to help them unleash dormant potentials and access untapped resources.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It’s a good time to ruminate about things you wish could be part of your life but aren’t. You will be wise to develop a more conscious relationship with wistful fantasies about impossible dreams. Here’s one reason why this is true: You might realize that some seemingly impossible dreams aren’t so impossible. To get in the mood for this fun exercise, meditate on a sample reverie: “I wish I could spend a whole day discovering new music to love. I wish I owned a horse and a boat and a vintage brown and orange striped bohemian cardigan sweater from the 1970s. I wish I knew the names of all the flowers. I wish I felt more at ease about revealing my hidden beauty. I wish I could figure out how to eliminate unnecessary stress from my life.”
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Poet, essayist, and translator Anne Carson calls her husband Robert Currie the “Randomizer.” His role in her life as a creative artist is to make quirky recommendations that help her avoid being too predictable. He sends her off in directions she wouldn’t have imagined by herself. Here’s an example: At one point in her career, Carson confessed she was bored with her writing. The Randomizer suggested, “Let’s put dancers into it.” In response, she repurposed the sonnets she had been working on into a live theatrical performance featuring many dancers. I think you would benefit from having a Randomizer in your life during the coming weeks. Know anyone who could serve? If not, look for one. Or be your own Randomizer.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): If you so desired, you could travel to Munich, Germany and eat beer-flavored ice cream. Or you could go to Rehoboth, Delaware and get bacon-flavored ice cream. If you were in Taiwan, you could enjoy pineapple shrimp ice cream, and if you were in London, you could sample haggis-flavored ice cream, made from sheep innards. But my advice right now is to stick with old reliables like chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream—which are still delicious even if they’re not exotic. What’s my reasoning? In general, the astrological aspects suggest that during the coming weeks, you’re most likely to thrive on trustworthy standbys and experiences you know and trust.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Celebrated novelist Jane Austen (1775–1817) wrote, “Sometimes I have kept my feelings to myself, because I could find no language to describe them in.” People who aren’t as articulate as Austen experience that problem even more often than she did. But the good news, Leo, is that in the coming weeks, you’ll be extra skillful at expressing your feelings and thoughts—even those that in the past have been difficult to put into words. I invite you to take maximum advantage of this grace period. Communicate with hearty poise and gleeful abandon.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “When you know what’s important, it’s a lot easier to ignore what’s not,” writes author and life coach Marie Forleo. Let’s make her thought the basis of your work and play in the coming weeks. Get vibrantly clear on what is of supreme value to you, which influences bring out the best in you, and which people make it easy for you to be yourself. Then compose a second list of trivial situations that are of minor interest, influences that make you feel numb, and people who don’t fully appreciate you. Next, Virgo, formulate long-term plans to phase out the things in the second list as you increasingly emphasize your involvement in the pleasures named in the first list.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Happy Birthday sometime soon, Libra! As gifts, I have collected six useful mini-oracles for you to meditate on during the rest of 2021. They’re all authored by Libran aphorist Yahia Lababidi. 1. Hope is more patient than despair and so outlasts it. 2. Miracles are proud creatures; they will not reveal themselves to those who do not believe. 3. A good listener is one who helps us overhear ourselves. 4. One definition of success might be refining our appetites, while deepening our hunger. 5. With enigmatic clarity, life gives us a different answer each time we ask her the same question. 6. Temptation: seeds we are forbidden to water, that are showered with rain.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Pioneering psychologist Carl Jung wrote, “I must also have a dark side if I am to be whole.” But it’s important to add that some dark sides tend to be destructive and demoralizing, while other dark sides are fertile and interesting. Most of us have a share of each. My reading of the planetary omens suggests that you Scorpios now have extra power to upgrade your relationship with the fertile and interesting aspects of your dark side. I hope you will take advantage! You have a ripe opportunity to deepen and expand your wholeness.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian poet Rainer Maria Rilke was a complicated person with many mysterious emotions and convoluted thoughts. And yet, he once wrote that life occasionally brought him “boundless simplicity and joy.” I find it amazing he could ever welcome such a state. Kudos to him! How about you, dear Sagittarius? Are you capable of recognizing when boundless simplicity and joy are hovering in your vicinity, ready for you to seize them? If so, be extra alert in the next two weeks. I expect there’ll be a visitation or two. Maybe even three or four.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Baltasar Gracián was not a 21st-century New Age self-help teacher. He was a 17th-century Jesuit philosopher born under the sign of serious, diligent Capricorn. I hope you will be extra receptive to his advice in the coming weeks. He wrote, “Know your key qualities, your outstanding gifts. Cultivate them. Redouble their use.” Among the key qualities he gave as examples were disciplined discernment and resilient courage. I bring his thoughts to your attention because the coming weeks will be a rousing time to heed his counsel. It’s time for you to identify and celebrate and give abundant expression to your key qualities.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): After studying the genes that create feathers in birds, scientists found that humans have all the necessary genes to grow feathers. (I read about it in National Geographic magazine.) So why don’t we grow feathers, then? Well, it’s complicated. Basically, the feather-making genes are not fully activated. Who knows? Maybe someday, there’ll be technology that enables us to switch on those genes and sprout plumage. I bet my Aquarian friend Jessie, whose body has 30 tattoos and 17 piercings, would take advantage. In the coming weeks, it might be fun for you to imagine having bird-like qualities. You’re entering a high-flying phase—a time for ascension, expansion, soaring, and seeing the big picture from lofty vantage points.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Are there sensual and erotic acts you’ve never tried and are curious about? Are there experimental approaches on the frontier of your desires that would be intriguing to consider? Might there be lusty experiences you’ve barely imagined or don’t know about—but that could be fun to play with? According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the coming weeks will be a favorable time to explore such possibilities. Be safe and prudent, of course. Don’t be irresponsible or careless. But also be willing to expand your notions of your sexuality.
Although winemaker Jerold O’Brien’s dog Oscar is long gone, he is memorialized on every Oscar’s Wild Red label with Kathleen Bertrand’s loving and poignant illustration. O’Brien’s 2012 Oscar’s Wild Red ($34) is a Merlot-dominant Bordeaux-style blend with an intense, peppery tang. While cooking dinner, I opened up a bottle and was immediately smitten with its robust flavors of black currant, spice, tobacco, herbs and red fruits. This mouthwatering mélange with a superb mouthfeel will set your tongue atingle. So, don’t go barking up the wrong tree buying an inferior vino, head to Silver Mountain’s tasting room (actually, there are two locations!), and try Oscar’s Wild Red. As O’Brien says, “It’s a doggone good wine.”
At 2,100 feet, the tasting room at Silver Mountain’s winery up Old San Jose Road offers a panoramic view of its certified organic vineyards and extends out to Monterey Bay. Tasting is $15, but you can take a picnic and watch the hawks swoop by.
Silver Mountain Vineyards, 328D Ingalls St., Santa Cruz; Silver Mountain Drive, Los Gatos. 408-353-2278. silvermtn.com.
Beckmann’s Bread We are so fortunate to have good bread in our area. And Beckmann’s Old World Bakery makes some of the best. Peter Beckmann, who hails from Germany, had hands-on experience as a baker’s apprentice in his home country before opening his bread company in Santa Cruz in 1985. He honors the German commitment to traditional bread-making—simple, natural, healthy, delicious—and the ingredients he uses attest to that. One of my favorites is the German Farm Bread made from unbleached wheat flour, whole wheat flour, dark rye flour, water, fresh yeast and sea salt. And I love the Home-Bake Francese Rolls, hand-shaped Italian rolls which are ready in under 10 minutes from your own oven. I usually have some handy in the freezer. It says on Beckmann’s bags, “Eat Good Bread.” And, yes, we will. Visit beckmannsbakery.com for a list of products, including delicious fruit pies. Beckmann’s bread is available in several stores and 40 farmers markets throughout the Bay Area.
The Tyrolean Inn gives guests the experience of traveling 90 years back in time and halfway across the world. Since 1975, the mom-and-pop restaurant has served traditional German and Bavarian cuisine in an Alps-like setting in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Betti Phillips was hired three years ago and recently became GM. The Tyrolean Inn is open for indoor/outdoor dining and take-out Thursday 5-9pm, Friday and Saturday 5-10pm and Sunday noon-9pm. Phillips spoke with GT about Tyrolean’s old-school menu, its traditional décor and the authentic uniforms that transport diners to another era.
How does the Tyrolean Inn embody German/Bavarian customs and culture?
BETTI PHILLIPS: Through its music, atmosphere, employees and setting. The atmosphere features original wrought iron fireplaces, kitchen utensils, drinking ware and decorations from the Austrian Alps of the 1930s. The music we always play is Polka Oktoberfest, also from the same period. The employees embody the spirit of the restaurant as well; the women wear dirndls and the men wear lederhosen, traditional 1930s German garb.
What are some flagship dishes (and can you please help with the spelling)?
The most traditional item we serve is the gulasch, a thick Hungarian beef stew served with spӓtzle (twice baked German noodles) and traditional red cabbage boiled in red wine vinegar. Our most popular dish is the Wienerschnitzel, a breaded pork cutlet deep-fried and served with French fries tossed in our house seasoning. My personal favorite when dining with a companion is the Bayrische schlachtplatte. The Bavarian plate for two comes with two slices of smoked pork loin, two nürnbergers—German white sausage—a Polish and a Bockwurst sausage, sauerkraut, red cabbage, bread dumplings and mashed potatoes. Our most exotic dish, and one that you almost don’t find anywhere else, is the Schweinshaxen. The slow-roasted pork shank is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, so you get the best of both worlds, texturally. Our signature dessert is our apfelstrudel; the traditional Bavarian dessert is made in-house with green apples, cinnamon, puff pastry and almonds. It is served warm or cold and bastes up into a flaky buttery crust with a juicy and spicy apple filling.
9600 Highway 9, Ben Lomond, 831-709-0001; tyroleaninn.com.
Now is the time to wander in the farmers markets. Late harvests yield unexpected richness and ripeness, as if June were only a warm-up act. Last week’s Westside Farmer’s Market was practically levitating with inquiring foragers, combing the brilliant patches of purple cabbage, scarlet peppers, and huge embankments of sunflowers. I ran into people I hadn’t seen for a long time. Terrific, especially since I got a good place in line for Adorable French Bakery wares, where I was almost dizzy from the overload of possibilities. In the end, I purchased a glistening slice of almond apple tart and a classic Kouign Amann, so large it required two hands to lift. But oh, the many quiches! I visited a few slices of nectarine at the Kashiwase Farms display of stone fruit, and picked up a bag of microgreens—sunflower, arugula, pea sprouts—from New Natives. At the Fogline Farms stand, I admired marinated chicken and hand cured guanciale. At the Amazake counter, people were going nuts over handmade miso and other choice probiotics.
Sea to Sky Farm squashes were piled high in huge mounds of orange, red, and yellow. Lots of action at Holey Roller bagels, and at the endless row of fragrant strawberries from JCG Farms. I purchased dark maroon baby gems and petite red peppers at Happy Boy before lingering at the specialty apples from Watsonville’s Billy Bob Apples. Braeburn, Cameo, Orrin, Sonata, and the greatest apple alive…the Mutsu! I bought one for 75 cents and will have it today with my lunch. Farmers markets, all of them, are part of the reason we live here. Watch the seasons arrive as the fresh harvests offer endless ideas for your next meal, picnic, or parking lot snack, and don’t forget to mask up! Westside Farmers Market Saturday 9am-1pm. Swift & Hwy 1, SC
Lobster in the Redwoods
The Mountain Parks Foundation will present its annual Lobster Feed Saturday October 9th from 4:30pm—8 pm at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park Picnic Area 1. Can you believe this is the 26th year of such happy outdoor feasting? The dinner features a 1.5-pound fresh Maine lobster served with hot and steamy corn-on-the-cob, toasted garlic bread, a fresh green salad, drinks and dessert. Two servings of wine or beer, plus non-alcoholic drinks, included. General admission tickets are $100. A lobster feast to enjoy while the sun sets and the stars come out, serenaded by local band Wild & Blue. Proceeds directly support our local redwoods state parks, Big Basin and Henry Cowell. Tickets must be purchased in advance and can be purchased at mountainparks.org.
Stern Warning
Katherine Stern and her luscious Midway culinary designs are now cooking at Bad Animal, home of enlightened books and a piquant natural wine program. The seasons rule Stern’s evolving cuisine of small plates, creative salads and a small selection of entrees. Stern is a talented and always inventive chef who won local hearts during her 10 years at La Posta. Bad Animal is back serving food and drink from 5-9pm Wednesday-Sunday, with the bookshop opening at noon. Bad Animal, 1011 Cedar St., SC badanimalbooks.com
Gayle’s to the Rescue
I was late, in a hurry and there was the Bay Street exit. Grabbing dinner to go at Gayle’s was easy as pie. I grabbed a small quinoa power salad with almonds, lemon, and carrots ($4.95). And yes to a Chicken Marbella dinner ($20.95) ready to heat, with two large tender chicken thighs slathered in red wine vinegar, capers, prunes and green olives (incredible!), with buttered basmati rice and roast broccolini. Thank you, Gayles, once again.
