Page 375 – Good Times

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Deputies Avoid Criminal Charges in Suspect Shooting

-

September 3, 2021

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Deputies Avoid Criminal Charges in Suspect Shooting

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell announced Thursday that no criminal charges will be filed against three county sheriff deputies for shooting a suspect who first shot at them during an incident in April.

Eli James Burry, 40, has been held without bail in Santa Cruz County Jail since April 23.

“The use of force was justified based on the totality of the circumstances,” Rosell stated in a press release.

Deputies were investigating a suspicious vehicle at 7960 Soquel Drive at the rear of Aptos Village Square around 10:50pm on April 6 when they saw that one of the people inside had a handgun.

When the deputies tried to detain Burry, he fired one shot, and one of the deputies returned fire, striking Burry.

The incident was not Burry’s first encounter with law enforcement.

On March 5, 2020, he was arrested on several charges at his home on the 2700 block of Main Street in Soquel. During that search deputies found 444 grams of methamphetamine, packaging and scales, 17 firearms—including two that were unregistered assault weapons—two shotguns, several handguns and more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition.

Santa Cruz County Fair Preps for Return

Local News

Tarmo Hannula

-

September 3, 2021

0

WATSONVILLE—Teams of volunteers are working to set the stage for the Santa Cruz County Fair, which returns from a one-year hiatus later this month.

From flower plantings to applying fresh coats of paint, volunteers and staff are readying the fairgrounds for a full schedule of events this year following the 2020 pandemic cancelation.

Visitors can expect the standard varied list of displays, demonstrations, activities, shows, food and competitions when the fair runs this year from Sept. 15-19.

Opening day, as usual, will feature a Seniors Day, ($10.00 admission for seniors, 62 and over), Veterans Day (free admission for active duty military with ID) and a Kids Day (free admission for kids 12 and under).

Live bands, monster trucks and two tractor parades a day will punctuate the fair on top of the standard hobby and collection displays, including quilts, bonsai and floriculture. The pumpkin growing contest and the apple pie baking contest, among others, will also return.

Last week Mary Bannister and John Kegebein sharpened their skills in putting the power of a Clydesdale horse to work by pulling an early day, hand-guided cultivator to aerate and weed a corn patch at the Agricultural History Project. Their efforts will be shown off at several demonstrations throughout the fair to teach visitors how such work was done in the late 1800s up to around 1920.

“These tools were very popular around the country,” said Kegebein, the CEO of the Agricultural History Project. “It was a lot of work. It will be an exciting part of the fair this year, to show people how these things worked with the help of a 2,000-pound horse.”

The cultivator they were practicing on was eventually replaced by a riding horse-drawn cultivator in the 1920s, which Kegebein said he used in Illinois as a young man.

Visitors can also expect a nearly full range of livestock competitors, 4H entries and various equestrian competitions.

“There will be a few adjustments and changes this year,” said fair manager Dave Kegebein. “We won’t be able to do the kiddie carnival this year. But for the most part, we are aiming to repeat the 2019 fair as best as we can.”

For information, visit santacruzcountyfair.com.

‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated’

The New York Times

-

September 2, 2021

2

By Sarah Mervosh, The New York Times

President Joe Biden has declared the current coronavirus surge a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

But as the United States confronts its worst moment of the pandemic since the winter, there is a group of 48 million people who do not have the option of getting a vaccine: children younger than 12.

Because a vaccine is not yet authorized for young children and may not be for some time, their families are left in a particularly difficult position heading into this school year.

“Waiting for a vaccine for the under-12 set has started to feel like waiting for Godot,” said Dana Gilbert, 49, of Minneapolis.

Her 11-year-old son was born prematurely and has special needs, and a family doctor advised that he not return to school in person until a vaccine is available.

She had hoped that might happen by now. Instead, she is scrambling to find a tutor.

Her plan is to wait out the clock: Keep him at home until a vaccine is authorized for emergency use or until he turns 12 next year, whichever comes first.

Polls show that a considerable number of parents do not intend to get their children vaccinated even when shots become available. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that 25%-30% of parents with younger children would “definitely not” get them vaccinated. A Gallup poll found that 46% do not plan to do so.

But millions of other families are in anxious limbo, waiting for a vaccine as the delta variant leads to a swell of new cases, including in children.

The timeline for a vaccine for children younger than 12 — initially expected by this fall — appears to have slowed as officials consider safety, effectiveness and dosage. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, recently indicated that a vaccine could become available to young children “hopefully by the mid, late fall and early winter.” Shots for children ages 5-11 are expected first; children as young as 6 months may have to wait longer.

In interviews, many parents of children younger than 12 described feeling increasingly desperate, angry and backed into a corner as they reluctantly send their children into the classroom this fall — or resort to drastic actions to keep them safe.

Others are less worried but equally frustrated as they head into another school year marked by pandemic rules. In some cases, mandates are being applied most stringently to young children not eligible for a vaccine.

“It doesn’t feel like there are any good options at this point,” said Adina Ellis, 45, who tossed and turned in bed for hours the night before school started this week in Washington, D.C., racked with indecision about whether to send her 6-year-old son, Cassius.

Ellis lost her father to COVID-19 last year and had been among a group of parents calling for the mayor to allow remote learning. But like some other large cities, Washington is requiring nearly all students to attend in person this year.

On the first day of school, Ellis rose before dawn, sat on her front porch with her husband and made a “game-time decision,” she said, to drop her son off at school. Watching him walk up the steps, carrying a Hot Wheels backpack, some part of her became resigned to the possibility that he may get infected.

“That thought will haunt me for as long as he’s going to school unvaccinated,” she said.

The data on coronavirus cases in children is imperfect, but by most accounts, serious illness has been rare.

Throughout the pandemic, fewer than 2 in 100 COVID-19 cases in children have resulted in hospitalization, and fewer than 3 in 10,000 cases have resulted in death, according to state-level data analyzed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Because many asymptomatic cases in children may go undetected, the risk could be lower.

But the delta variant has added a new wrinkle that is not yet fully understood.

More children are now getting seriously sick as hospitals fill up with coronavirus patients, by and large unvaccinated. Delta is roughly twice as infectious as the original virus, leading to more overall infections, and researchers are seeking to understand whether it is also more severe. One recent study found that delta is more likely to cause hospitalizations. Some children have also developed debilitating long-term cases of COVID, even after initially mild or asymptomatic infections.

That uncertainty has left parents to make their own risk calculations, often coming to vastly different conclusions.

Mike Mulder, 41, is more worried about his children’s risk from a vaccine than from COVID-19 itself.

“A lot of people like to paint people like us as anti-vax, but we’re not,” said Mulder, who lives in San Luis Obispo County, California, and is part of a parent group that pushed for in-person learning and mask freedom during the pandemic.

He said he had vaccinated his six children for other diseases but was not yet ready to do so for the coronavirus because of the lack of long-term studies.

“We are just concerned, like so many other people, that it’s so new,” he said.

(BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM.)

Todd Newlin, 40, of Ramsey, Minnesota, near Minneapolis, said that he and his wife were vaccinated and planned to vaccinate their children, ages 4, 9 and 11, when a shot became available. He is open to the vaccines, in part, because he wants his family to be able to travel, go unmasked and live life as normally as possible.

But with cases rising, his district enacted a mask requirement for kindergarten through sixth grade. Older students — who have the option to be vaccinated — do not have the same requirement.

He said he would reluctantly follow the local mandate, although he views the health risks for children who get the coronavirus as relatively low.

“I’m not going to teach my kids to live in fear,” he said.

(END OPTIONAL TRIM.)

At least 450 children have died from COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, out of more than 640,000 people who have died in the United States.

Alexandra Simbaña looks at the same risks and is gripped with fear.

“When people say, ‘Oh, a small percentage of children will get fatally sick,’ that is not comforting when you have been to the dark side of the moon,” said Simbaña, 42, of Washington, D.C., who was hospitalized for COVID-19 last year and is still suffering from health problems.

She kept her 9-year-old daughter home this week rather than send her into a classroom.

“No,” she said, “that 1% could be my child.”

And then there is a simple practicality that often cuts through it all: child care.

“If I had an option and I could keep them at home and keep the lights on and feed them, it would be a no-brainer,” said Isis Spann, 32, of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, an education coach who works with families to teach elementary-age children at home. “But it just doesn’t work out for our family dynamic that way.”

She is cautiously sending her four children to school in person this fall.

The lack of a vaccine for young children has also helped fuel anxiety over masking.

In Texas, where school mask mandates are banned, Jason Helms, 39, of Fort Worth said he became alarmed on the first day of school when his 6-year-old daughter’s teacher was not wearing a mask.

“We went home, and we laid on the floor, and we cried,” Helms said.

He was particularly concerned about exposing his 3-year-old daughter, who is vulnerable to respiratory problems.

His family felt they had little choice but to move.

His wife, Meaghan Helms, took the children to live with her parents in North Carolina, where the family believed they would have more access to children’s hospital beds and where their 6-year-old is attending a school that requires masks. Jason Helms has remained in Fort Worth for work.

Federal officials are facing intensifying pressure to accelerate emergency use authorization for a vaccine, including from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which has urged authorization “as soon as possible.”

Tera Long, 39, of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, was so worried about her state’s ban on mask mandates that on the second day of school, she signed up her daughter, 10, for a clinical trial for a vaccine.

“I’m ready,” she said.

Two coronavirus vaccine makers, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, recently expanded the size of their studies in children ages 5-11, a precautionary measure intended to detect rare side effects, including heart inflammation problems.

Pfizer has said it may be able to submit data to the Food and Drug Administration this month, but any timetable for authorization is uncertain.

(STORY CAN END HERE. OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS.)

For the time being, many parents are just trying to get by.

Juliet Muller, 46, sent her 9-year-old daughter back to school in Chicago this week, hoping for the best. If her daughter stays healthy, she said, the benefits of learning in person and being around other children will be worth it. Still, she cannot help thinking about worst-case scenarios.

“You are just juggling chain saws,” she said. “And you are hoping to catch it right.”

Lake Tahoe Fire Lines

The New York Times

-

September 2, 2021

0

By Thomas Fuller, The New York Times

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The day feels toxic: all those tiny pieces of ash combining to shroud Lake Tahoe, a gray miasma that warns of the megafire just 8 miles from the shore.

But the night: the night feels treacherous. Well after dark the Caldor fire engulfs pine trees with a crackling sound that crescendos into a roar. The flames don’t burn boughs laden with needles so much as they make them disappear with a blinding flash.

On Tuesday and into the early hours of Wednesday, fire trucks and their bleary-eyed crews careened around hairpin turns, their headlights slicing through the murky gray smoke like the beam of a lighthouse on a foggy morning.

To traverse the front tendrils of the Caldor fire in the dead of night was to wonder what flames might shoot up onto the road, what bush might suddenly ignite, what carbonized towering evergreen might smash to the ground.

“Sometimes you hear trees falling every five minutes,” said Jason Allen, a firefighter who was hacking at a patch of ash-covered soil to reveal marble-size embers that a colleague extinguished with a hose.

Working by the light of his truck, Allen was in a wooded residential neighborhood a 10-minute drive from the shores of Lake Tahoe. This was the forward edge of the Caldor fire, although there were so many small spot fires that the landscape resembled more a series of large camp fires than a singular front.

On Monday, embers had leapt down the steep slopes of the Tahoe basin, igniting the spot fires that now needed to be laboriously extinguished to prevent the fire from advancing toward the lake.

One of those embers had set alight a tree a few hundred feet from where Allen hacked the soil. Without warning the burning tree produced a shower of sparks, a bright Milky Way of fire.

“There’s a little bit of beauty in all this destruction,” Allen said.

The potential for destruction is clear. The fire is menacing tens of thousands of what fire statisticians dryly call structures — wooden vacation cabins, Thai restaurants, churches, cheap motels and five-star resorts. Since the fire landed in the Tahoe basin on Monday, everything has seemed vulnerable, all the places that crowd the lake.

On Tuesday night, the fire ravaged stands of trees but did not seem to move in any consistent direction. A 40-minute drive from Lake Tahoe — in the hills across from the Kirkwood ski resort — one leg of the Caldor fire aggressively burned entire hillsides, casting a reddish glow into the night sky.

Closer to the lake, the fire was more sedate in the early hours of Wednesday, burning more gently than it had the night before, when it forced its way into the basin.

The fire has a ways to travel before it reaches the lakeshore. A golf course, an airstrip, a timber merchant’s roadside lot crowded with neatly stacked logs and, perhaps more ominously, a propane storage facility — all separating the flames from the boundary line of South Lake Tahoe, the most populous city on the lake.

Given the erratic — and often terrifying — behavior of California’s megafires in recent years, it seems anyone’s guess when and whether the fire will reach the lake.

Firefighters on Tuesday night were making a stand, calculating that they might be able to stop the flames at a creek along Highway 50, the road that wends down from the mountains toward South Lake Tahoe.

Minutes before midnight, hand crews were clearing brush by the lights of their headlamps. A cacophony of chain saws, generators and pickaxes striking the soil competed with the rumbling of diesel engines of fire trucks lined up along the side of the road.

An engineer with a firefighting unit from Tuolumne County was drawing water from the creek and redirecting it through 2,000 feet of fire hose to extinguish burning trees.

A few minutes away, a crew from Clovis, a city in California’s Central Valley, went to investigate a brightly lit spot fire burning in the woods. The unit’s captain, Rob Wright, decided to leave it alone.

“There’s too many of these to put them all out,” he said.

Watsonville’s Diamond Technology Institute Honored

Local News

Johanna Miller

-

September 2, 2021

0

Watsonville’s Diamond Technology Institute Honored

Diamond Technology Institute in Watsonville was recently honored for its programming promoting college and career readiness.

The school is the recipient of a Gold Medal for its work with the Career Choices Series curriculum and My10yearPlan.com, created by Academic Innovations, an award-winning educational publisher.

The Career Choices program aims to help students, starting in their ninth-grade year, to create 10-year plans for their future education and career goals.

Mindy Bingham, founder, and president of Academic Innovations who authored the curriculum said that the program takes students through a comprehensive guidance process, working with counselors and instructors. The aim is to prepare them for more than just getting into college.

“It’s about asking, ‘What is the endgame?’ Not just whether you can get into a top school,” Bingham said. “Research shows that students who have these plans are much more likely to get to where they want to be. And colleges … are choosing students who know what they want to do after graduation.”

Diamond Tech is a Career Technical Education (CTE) school under the purview of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, blending academic education and career training. All students graduate with pathways into digital media arts, engineering, business design or agricultural science.

Career Choices and My10yearPlan.com are “fundamental” to Diamond Tech’s vision, said instructor Ryan Richards.

“We’ve asked kids to give honest feedback the last couple of years … and over 90% answer positively when asked if they feel ready for college and careers,” he said. “That’s way above most high schools. Students feel empowered here. They have answers.”

Alumnus Angel Ortiz, who graduated from Diamond Tech in 2019, said the school helped them prepare for many of the courses at UC Merced.

“Most of the classes I have right now are a review of what I had [at Diamond Tech],” Ortiz said. “I will forever thank them for preparing me for college.”

Richards said that 70% of Diamond Tech students last year applied to colleges and universities and that the career planning they’ve adopted has been a big factor.

“Some of my favorite moments as a teacher are seeing these kids get their admission letters,” he said. “I’ve worked with many students who are first-generation going to college. This program has given them the potential to have that experience.”

Diamond Tech is among 22 schools across the nation that have been awarded a Career Choices Medal for the 2020–2021 school year, which brought many unprecedented challenges to the education sector, including the shift to remote learning and the need to attend to students’ social-emotional health.

Bingham said that being awarded a Gold Medal means that a school is using the program with “fidelity.” Diamond Tech has done this and more, she said, during a very challenging time.

“Diamond Tech is doing it right—they’re very serious about this,” she said. “They have done a lot of unique and creative things with the program.”

This includes a series of videos, which students record and create to discuss their time at the school and working with Career Choices. Each student explains their own 10-year plan, which includes everything from budget planning to college selection.

Senior Adriana Jimenez said she appreciates Diamond Tech offering so many different kinds of classes. Not only are students expected to take basic courses, but they can also sign up for electives.

“You get to explore a lot of options,” Jimenez said. “My time here … I realized I want to go into nursing. Diamond Tech helped me create a timeline for that. They help you prepare for your future.”

Fellow Senior Gordon Xiao had a similar experience.

“I really like that this school gives you diverse pathways you can take,” he said. “They really go into detail about your future, like what your goals are and how your future budget fits into that. After being here, I have a plan … I want to become a pharmacist.”

Richards said that the school receiving the Gold Medal is a “really big honor.”

“Everyone, my colleagues and the students have been working so hard,” he said. “It means a lot to get this recognition.”

Santa Cruz Businesses Show Appreciation to Farmworkers

Johanna Miller

-

September 2, 2021

0

Santa Cruz Businesses Show Appreciation to Farmworkers

About two dozen farmworkers settled in on picnic tables at a Lakeside Organic Gardens field Wednesday for a fresh, healthy lunch featuring the very crops they harvest.

The meal was prepared by Charlie Hong Kong, a Santa Cruz Asian fusion restaurant that was Lakeside’s first restaurant partner more than 20 years ago. For the past six years or so, the two have teamed up to offer the free lunch.

“It’s just so awesome,” said Lakeside’s Operations Manager Juan Gonzales. “It’s a great way to show these people where their hard work is going, and thank them for what they do.”

Carolyn Rudolph, who owns Charlie Hong Kong with her husband Rudy Rudolph, said that the event is special because it draws attention to the importance of Pajaro Valley’s agricultural lands and workers.

“The field, this land … I really feel that it’s sacred,” she said. “We’re feeding the rest of the United States from right here. It’s a privilege and an honor. That’s why I want to highlight it like this.”

Workers were treated to some of Charlie Hong Kong’s signature dishes, including its bestseller, Spicy Dan’s Peanut Delight—featuring eggless wheat noodles, spicy coconut sauce, peanuts, pickled carrots and daikon, and of course a medley of Lakeside produce. They also served up pork rice and kung pao. For dessert, cookies were donated by local bakery Kerri Kreations.

“I thought the meal was perfect,” said Rigoberto Hernandez of Salinas. “I’ve only had food like this once before. It was really good. I am thankful for this lunch.”

The meal was held at Pajaro Ranch, which features 20 acres of chard and kale, as well as iceberg lettuce, broccoli, mixed greens, and more that are all grown organically in rotation throughout the year.

Rudolph said that she admired Lakeside owner and farmer Dick Peixoto for his attention to soil health at his fields.

“The soil fields the crop. A lot of people don’t know that the soil is where all the nutrition comes from,” she said. “Especially now with Covid, we know more than ever how important it is to eat healthy.”

Dick Peixoto chops up about 100 pounds of organic veggies every morning, and about a ton of chard alone is used per month. Rudolph said that this is why Lakeside has been an ideal partner.

“They’re the only ones who grow enough to supply us,” she said. “Plus, they deliver, which is a big help.”

Charlie Hong Kong is in the midst of a rebranding. They soon plan to create a new logo and change their name to Charlie’s Healthy Kitchen, which Rudolph said is to lessen confusion. Many customers think that the business is solely a Chinese restaurant, she said.

Meanwhile, Lakeside is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Peixoto said that in addition to the annual lunch, the company has established a free, year-round “farmers market” at their plant, where workers and their families can pick up organic produce that they harvest to bring home.

“Any way we can support the community, we’re happy to help out,” Peixoto said, “and also say thanks to these hard workers … We hope it inspires them to eat healthier food; it gives them an option.”

Aptos High Student Dies In Campus Stabbing

Todd Guild and Tarmo Hannula

-

September 2, 2021

1

Aptos High Student Dies In Campus Stabbing

LIVE OAK—A 17-year-old Aptos High School student died Tuesday after he was stabbed multiple times, and two other students—14 and 17—are facing murder charges for the attack, which occurred on the school’s campus.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart made the announcement during a press conference Tuesday night.

The 2:30pm incident drew about 15 patrol cars from the Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol who raced to establish a crime scene and shut down the entrance and exit from the campus at Freedom Boulevard. Hart said deputies found a boy suffering from multiple stab wounds near the campus’ swimming pool and that a deputy performed CPR until paramedics arrived. The school was put on lockdown as search teams combed the campus with guns drawn and a K9.

Central Fire set up a landing zone at the school baseball field where a CALSTAR rescue helicopter flew over the campus before landing in the outfield of the diamond. The victim was taken from the crime scene to the field by paramedics from American Medical Response and loaded into the helicopter before being taken to a trauma center outside of the county.

Aptos High remained on lockdown until about 5:30pm.

A huge logjam of traffic, mostly parents trying to pick up their children, lined up along Freedom Boulevard back to Highway 1 where a CHP officer grappled with traffic control. Near the entrance to the campus, a clutch of parents hugged one another, some in tears, as they yearned for information about the unfolding events. They took turns making frantic phone calls while trying to comfort one another.

It is unclear whether the suspects or the victim were involved in criminal street gangs. Hart declined to comment on the matter Tuesday, citing the ongoing investigation.

“It’s something we will be looking into in the next few days,” he said.

Hart said the incident was the first on-campus homicide he has seen in his 33-year law enforcement career in Santa Cruz County.

About 25 people are assigned to the case, Hart said. He added that witnesses may have recorded the attack on their cell phones, and asked them to come forward. Witnesses, Hart said, would not face criminal charges.

“Please come forward and provide us with that evidence,” Hart said. “It could be critical to this case.”

Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez said PVUSD would offer grief counselors on Wednesday and Thursday at Cabrillo College’s Aptos campus in Building 100, and the Watsonville campus in Building A.

The district also held a community forum about the stabbing Thursday night.

“Our hearts are heavy tonight as we mourn the death of our Aptos High student,” Rodriguez said. “This senseless tragedy is a loss for all of us who knew the student, his parents, his friends and our community but most importantly his family.”

Grief counselors will be at Aptos High Friday when the campus reopens from a two-day closure. So too will Sheriff’s deputies, Rodriguez said in a letter Wednesday.

“We have received an outpouring of concern around campus safety and will continue to listen and seek a model of staffing and support that is responsive to the needs of our community,” she wrote.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family of the victim defray funeral costs. The creator of the page wrote that she gained the family’s permission to “grieve their loss and have them not to worry about how they’re going to pay for upcoming bills and expenses.” The author described the student as “a kind-hearted and respectful young man” by neighbors and family.

More than 720 people had donated roughly $37,500 as of Thursday afternoon.

Another PVUSD student was arrested Wednesday after she pulled out a knife during an altercation at Cesar Chavez Middle School, Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said.

School staff detained the 13-year-old and held her until WPD officers arrived to arrest her shortly after 8:40am.

Barrios Unidos and the Community Action Board are planning to hold a vigil at Romo Park in downtown Watsonville—across the street from the City Plaza—on Sunday from 10am-noon for the youth and their families.

Anyone with information about the Aptos High stabbing is asked to call Sgt. Billy Burnett at 454-7702.

Anyone who needs additional counseling or support can call Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance at 728-6445, or Santa Cruz County mental health services at 454-4170.

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: Sept. 1-Sept. 7

Things To Do This Week

GT Staff

-

September 1, 2021

0

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: Sept. 1-Sept. 7

A weekly guide to what’s happening.

ARTS AND MUSIC

BANFF CENTRE MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL VIRTUAL FESTIVAL Fluff up your couch cushions, grab a snack and connect to stellar outdoor adventures. This year, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour is virtual, so you will be able to travel to the most remote corners of the world, go on daring dive expeditions and celebrate remarkable outdoor achievements without having to leave your home. The monthly online film series features a mixed program of award winners from the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festivals. Additionally, the “Encore Classic Films” from the past 10 years—audience favorites—are available for purchase, individually, or as a bundle. Screenings go through Oct. 24. For more information, visit riotheatre.com or filmfest.banffcentre.ca. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz.

CABRILLO YOUTH STRINGS FALL SEMESTER IN PERSON Cabrillo Youth Strings begins the Fall Semester in person. Registration for this nine-week string orchestra session is underway. Classes held in the Music Building, VAPA5000 in Aptos. Beginning Strings (4th-6th Grade violin/viola/cello) 4-5:15pm. Auditions for Festival Strings (Beg.-Int.) and Cabrillo Strings (Int.-Adv.) held 3:45-4:15pm before the first rehearsal Friday, Sept. 3. Festival Strings meets 4:15-5:45pm and Cabrillo Strings, 4:15-5:55pm on consecutive Fridays until Oct. 29. Safety protocols followed. Players 7-18 years old are welcome. For more information or registration, call 831-479-6101 or visit cabrillo.edu/cabrillo-youth-strings. Before the first class, call 831-479-6331. Friday, Sept. 3, 4pm. Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos.

MOTIV SUNDAY NIGHT FOR ‘SHEDM: THE FEMALE CREATORS OF DANCE MUSIC’ On Sundays, DJs mix the darkest BASS beats from some of the best female and LGBT producers around. Don’t miss out. Guest DJs every week. For more information, visit facebook.com/events/3008160246139834. Sunday, Sept. 5, 9pm. Motiv, 1209 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz.

COMMUNITY

BRUNO’S BACON AND BLOODY FEST Celebrate Bruno’s Fourth Anniversary with two days of fun and games! Bruno’s was voted Best Restaurant in Scotts Valley two years in a row by Santa Cruz Sentinel readers—the burgers and Bloody Marys have won Best in the County awards four times. Drink up those award-winning cocktails and burgers along with additional bacon-filled dishes; live music, a giant inflatable axe throwing game, corn hole, face painting and much more. Free. Well-behaved pets are welcome. Saturday, Sept. 4, Noon-8pm. Sunday, Sept. 5, Noon-8pm. Bruno’s Bar and Grill, 230G Mount Hermon Road, Scotts Valley.

COMMUNITY PILATES MAT CLASS Build strength! Please bring your own mat, a small Pilates ball and Theraband, if you have one. You must be vaccinated. $10 suggested donation. Thursday, Sept. 2, 10am. Tuesday, Sept. 7, 10am. Temple Beth El, 3055 Porter Gulch Road, Aptos.

GREY BEARS BROWN BAG LINE Grey Bears are looking for help with their Brown Bag Production Line on Thursday and Friday mornings. Volunteers receive breakfast and a bag of food (if wanted). Masks required. For more information, visit greybears.org or call 831-479-1055. Thursday, Sept. 2, 7am. California Grey Bears, 2710 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz.

POETS’ CIRCLE POETRY READING SERIES Join featured reader, Mark Loring, author of The Soul’s Collection: An Intimate Awakening and the forthcoming They Whispered to Stay Alive: Bring Us Home. Open mic for all levels. Sponsored by the Friends of the Watsonville Public Library. Hosted by Magdalena Montagne. Access the Zoom link for the virtual event at cityofwatsonville.org/348/Poets-Circle. Thursday, Sept. 2, 5-7pm. Watsonville Public Library, 275 Main St., Suite 100, Watsonville.

WESTSIDE MARKETPLACE First Sundays at the old Wrigley parking lot feature local art, handmade and vintage shopping, food trucks and live music. For more details visit scmmakersmarket.com or foodtrucksagogo.com. Sunday, Sept. 5, 11am-5pm. The Old Wrigley Building, 2801 Mission St., Santa Cruz.

YOUNG LADIES INSTITUTE RUMMAGE SALE Help raise money for local charities. The $5 buys a bag of rummage! Sunday, Sept. 5, 8:30am-1pm. Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, 515 Frederick St., Santa Cruz.

GROUPS

ENTRE NOSOTRAS GRUPO DE APOYO The Entre Nosotras support group for Spanish-speaking women with a cancer diagnosis meets twice monthly. Please call Entre Nosotras at 831-761-3973 to register. Friday, Sept. 3, 6pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.

FAMILY SANGHA MONTHLY MEDITATION Come help create a family meditation cooperative community. Parents meet in the main room for about 40 minutes of silent meditation followed by 10-15 minutes of discussion about life and mindful parenting. In a separate volunteer-led room, kids play and explore mindfulness through games and stories. Parents may need to help with the kids for a portion of the hour, depending on volunteer turnout. Children of all ages are welcome—quiet babies are welcome in the parents room. Please bring toys to share. Donations encouraged. Sunday, Sept. 5, 10:30am-noon. Insight Santa Cruz, 740 Front St. #240, Santa Cruz.

S+LAA MENS’ MEETING Having trouble with compulsive sexual or emotional behavior? Recovery is possible. The small 12-step group meets Saturday evenings. Enter through the front, go straight down the hallway to the last door on the right. Thursday, Sept. 2, 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 at the WomenCARE’s office. Currently, the groups are held on Zoom. All services are free. Call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273 to register. For more information, visit womencaresantacruz.org. Monday, Sept. 6, 12:30pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.

WOMENCARE MEDITATION GROUP WomenCARE’s meditation group for women with a cancer diagnosis meets the first and third Friday from 11am-noon. For more information and location: 831-457-2273. Monday, Sept. 6, 11am-noon. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.

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, Sept. 7, 12:30-2pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.

WOMENCARE: LAUGHTER YOGA Laughter yoga for women with cancer meets every Wednesday on Zoom. Please call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273 to register. Wednesday, Sept. 1, 3:30-4:30pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.

OUTDOOR

BEE SMARTS! LEARN ALL ABOUT BEES WITH GIRL NEXT DOOR HONEY Sponsored by the Felton Library Friends, learn all about bees and their important role in our ecosystem with Hilary Kearney of Girl Next Door Honey. Grab & Go Kits containing bee-friendly flower seed packets and a honey stick are available at the Felton Branch (supplies limited). Hilary Kearney, author of two books on bees, Queenspotting and The Little Book of Bees, founded Girl Next Door Honey in 2012 in her hometown of San Diego after graduating from UCSC with a degree in Fine Art. Girl Next Door Honey focuses on bee-centric programs such as natural beekeeping classes, apiary management, classroom presentations, beehive tours, live bee removal and more. For more information, visit santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/8167104. Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1pm.

CASFS FARMSTAND Organic vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers are sold weekly at the CASFS Farmstand through Nov. 23. Proceeds support experiential education programs at the UCSC Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems. Friday, Aug. 27, Noon-6pm. Friday, Sept. 3, Noon-6pm. Tuesday, Sept. 7, Noon-6pm. Cowell Ranch Historic Hay Barn, Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz.

FREE TUESDAY AT UCSC ARBORETUM Explore the biodiversity of the gardens, great birdwatching or relax on a bench in the shade. Tuesday, Sept. 7, 9am. UCSC Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 1156 High St., Santa Cruz.

GUIDED HIKE: CASTLE ROCK FALLS AND GOAT ROCK Hike one of the most exciting and scenic trails in the Bay Area. This moderate 5.15-mile loop has 1,190 feet elevation gain and amazing panoramic views. This hike is rated “moderate” because hikers need to step onto rocks, balance and scramble over rocks. Hikers should be comfortable with their sense of balance. Bring at least one liter of water, lunch, snacks and appropriate clothing. Rain cancels. Meet at the Kirkwood Entrance and parking lot, near the office. Vehicle day-use fee is $10. Register at santacruzstateparks.as.me/schedule.php. Sunday, Sept. 5, 10am-3pm. Castle Rock State Park, 1500 Skyline Blvd., Los Gatos.

HISTORIC RANCH GROUND TOUR Discover what life was like a century ago on this innovative dairy ranch. The hour-long tour includes the 1896 water-powered machine shop, barns and other historic buildings. $10 for vehicle day-use. Space is limited and early pre-registration is recommended. Attendees are required to self-screen for Covid symptoms when pre-registering. Masks and social distancing required during all programs. For more information, call 831-426-0505. To register, visit santacruzstateparks.as.me/schedule.php. Saturday, Sept. 4, 1pm. Sunday, Sept. 5, 1pm. Wilder Ranch State Park, 1401 Coast Road, Santa Cruz.

NATURAL BRIDGES LITTLE RANGERS Participants are invited to play games, listen to stories and songs, and learn about nature! Activities and games vary from week to week but always cover a topic relevant to Natural Bridges. Meet at the side porch of the Visitor Center. Parents or caregivers are required to stay and encouraged to help facilitate the fun and games. The day-use fee for vehicles is $10. For more information, call 831-423-0871. Masks and social distancing are also required at all programs. Although no pre-registration is required, this program has a class capacity and operates on a first come first serve basis, so make sure to arrive early, we can’t wait to see you again! Monday, Sept. 6, 10-10:30am. Natural Bridges State Beach, Swanton Blvd. & W Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz.

NEW BRIGHTON JUNIOR RANGERS This fun one-hour program offers kids, ages 7-12, an opportunity to earn prizes while learning about birds, sea life, and local park animals, playing games, and doing arts and crafts. Meet at the campground Ramada. Spaces are limited, and early pre-registration is recommended. Attendees are required to self-screen for Covid symptoms when pre-registering. Masks and social distancing are required. For more information, call 831-685-6444. To register, visit santacruzstateparks.as.me/schedule.php. Friday, Sept. 3, 3pm. Saturday, Sept. 4, 3pm. New Brighton Beach, 1500 Park Ave., Capitola.

OUT AND ABOUT: BIRDING AT NEARY LAGOON Neary Lagoon Wildlife Refuge is an oasis for local wildlife in the heart of Santa Cruz. Binoculars provided for each participant and shared tips for identifying birds during the one-mile walk. Based on the museum’s Wetland Walk field trip for third-grade students, concepts of seasonal change, migration and human impact are explored by recording observations. All ages are welcome. Saturday, Sept. 4, 10am-noon. Neary Lagoon, Bay St. and California St., Santa Cruz.

SEYMOUR CENTER OUTDOORS Hone your observation skills and watch animals, such as sea stars, sea urchins and hermit crabs, gracefully move during tide pool investigating. Explore the pathway of giants and find nine outdoor objects hidden around the Seymour Center during an outdoor scavenger hunt. Why do baby fish look so different from adults? What kinds of strategies do fish use for raising their young? And what kind of fish live in Monterey Bay? Find the answers to these questions in five secret containers located throughout the Coastal Science Campus. Grab a selfie with one of our life-sized wooden marine animals at the Marine Animal Selfie Station. $10 suggested donation per household. Purchase a membership, and become a sustaining supporter of the Seymour Center. To learn more, visit seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/visit. Saturday, Sept. 4, 11am-2pm. Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz.

SUNSET BEACH BOWLS Experience tranquility, peace, and calmness as the ocean waves harmonize with the sound of crystal bowls raising vibration and energy levels. Every Tuesday, an hour before sunset at Moran Lake Beach. For more details, call 831-333-6736. Tuesday, Sept. 7, 7:15-8:15pm. Moran Lake Park & Beach, East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz.

YOU PICK ROSES Get out of the house and enjoy cutting a bucket of deeply fragrant, lush and multi-colored roses to share with family and friends. Visit birdsongorchards.com for reservations and directions to the Watsonville farm. Once you purchase, you will receive a calendar link to select a time. Friday, Sept. 3, 11am. Sunday, Sept. 5, 11am.

Joel Goulet’s ‘The Golden Bouzouki’ has the Cinematic Makings of a Cult Classic

Aaron Carnes

-

September 1, 2021

0

Joel Goulet’s ‘The Golden Bouzouki’ has the Cinematic Makings of a Cult Classic

Elvis did everything in his movies: he went into the army, found employment with a struggling carnival and sang in a rodeo. Though he never starred in a Hollywood epic like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad or Hercules in the Haunted World—what a tragedy—it’s easy to imagine his homespun southern charm and rockabilly swagger as he fights off gigantic mythical beasts or discusses political coups of the Roman Empire.

Santa Cruz native Joel Goulet spent more than 10 years making a feature-length film that shows what could’ve been if Elvis had starred in an action-adventure-fantasy of the ’50s and ’60s.

Showing at the Rio on Sept. 2, The Golden Bouzouki stars the Elvis-esque Johnny Diamonds as Johnny Orpheus, who sets out on a heroic, rock n’ roll filled quest through ancient Greece. The weird melding of worlds comes naturally for Goulet. The result is gloriously campy, bizarre, low-budget fun; it’s humorous and has a surprisingly good soundtrack.

“I watched every Hercules movie and every Sinbad movie,” Goulet says. “Elvis and

Hercules movies were happening at the same time. I wanted to see them cross over. Part of what I like to do is make movies that I would want to watch.”

The film was shot primarily in the Santa Cruz area at various beaches up Highway 1, and the green screen shots, which make up a lot of the movie, were filmed in local musician Hod Hulphers’ backyard. Hulphers plays Machiste in the movie—he’s also a member of the Golden Bouzouki Band, which provides an eclectic musical backdrop with often hilarious lyrics.

“We swam deep into the tradition of the unintentionally campy stylings of Elvis Presley

and his movie career,” Hulphers says. “Vivid and sometimes insensitive and selfish lyrics with straightforward alterations that hopefully come across as condescending to audiences as a movie voiceover might.”

The film leans into its low-budget constraints, using green-screen technology, monsters—obviously homemade puppets—and overdubbed dialogue. It’s silly at times, and a tribute to multiple film genres mashed together.

Even with the film’s blatant reference to Elvis, the soundtrack offers more diversity than classic Elvis might. A majority of the cast are lifelong musicians. Goulet plays in the Sacramento-based garage rock group The Four Eyes; Hulphers is a well-known Santa Cruz-based musician with influences in folk, lounge and indie rock. Additionally, many other cast members are from the Golden Bouzouki Band.

“Ninety percent of the people in the movie, I know from playing music,” Goulet explains.

Before The Golden Bouzouki, Goulet made two short films that starred Johnny

Diamonds, Bachelor Blues and Snow Buddies. The second was shot in the snow in Grass Valley, which made for a miserable experience. So, Goulet carefully considered the location for The Golden Bouzouki shoot; the Santa Cruz beaches were the obvious choice. He and some friends conceived and wrote the script and shot the principal photography in 2011. A lot of film takes place in a boat, which they built themselves.

Meanwhile, Goulet took on editing, special effects, sound design and music editing. The most challenging part was the puppets and costumes. But Goulet enlisted the talent of his wife and friends to assist.

“I think I put six thousand hours into it,” he says. “It took a long time. Normally, you’d have

a lot of people. I just kind of did it all as far as the post-production stuff.”

Even if the film is tongue-in-cheek and campy, it comes with a dark message that becomes clear by the end of the movie. Without spoiling it, let’s just say that it is unexpected and not the ending Goulet’s kid wanted it to have.

“We wanted to make a statement about the end of the age of myth,” Goulet says. “And the beginning of the age of history. I have a son now; I didn’t when I started this movie. He’s like, ‘I don’t want to see this ending ever again! You have to change the ending for me.’”

The Golden Bouzouki plays one night only at 7:30pm on Thursday, Sept. 2 at Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, $12. 831-423-8209.

Letter to the Editor: Hold Cyclists Responsible

Letters to the Editor

-

September 1, 2021

0

Letter to the Editor: Hold Cyclists Responsible

Re: “Wild Ride” (GT, 8/25): I hope the organizers and sponsors of the Santa Cruz Ride Out are held financially responsible for all law enforcement, municipal waste cleanup and any other damages this “family friendly” event causes in our county. I witnessed the last “ride out” about this time of year in 2019 when this group rode into Jose Avenue Park. It was great to see this group of young people having fun on their ride. The number of riders was impressive! I can only imagine, though, what kind of traffic nightmares were happening on the roadways. But the most disturbing part of this event, as I’m sure the neighborhoods on the Westside experienced, was the sheer amount of trash that was left on the streets, parking lots and anywhere else these people traveled through. It was horrible. This group (as any) needs to be sanctioned by the appropriate county departments. They should have to put down a substantial deposit for any cleanup or damages incurred. Or just tell them to ride somewhere else.

Linda Sutherland

Santa Cruz

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 le*****@go*******.sc.

Good TimesGood Times

Good TimesGood Times

LATEST ARTICLES

Landmark Park

Roundabout Coming to Capitola

LATEST ARTICLES

Jam at the Grange

Guiding ‘Lighthouse’

LATEST ARTICLES

Free Will Astrology

Classy Pass

LATEST ARTICLES

Tapped In

Otter Fodder

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Deputies Avoid Criminal Charges in Suspect Shooting

Santa Cruz County Fair Preps for Return

‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated’

Lake Tahoe Fire Lines

Watsonville’s Diamond Technology Institute Honored

Santa Cruz Businesses Show Appreciation to Farmworkers

Aptos High Student Dies In Campus Stabbing

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: Sept. 1-Sept. 7

ARTS AND MUSIC

COMMUNITY

GROUPS

OUTDOOR

Joel Goulet’s ‘The Golden Bouzouki’ has the Cinematic Makings of a Cult Classic

Letter to the Editor: Hold Cyclists Responsible

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Deputies Avoid Criminal Charges in Suspect Shooting

Santa Cruz County Fair Preps for Return

‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated’

Lake Tahoe Fire Lines

Watsonville’s Diamond Technology Institute Honored

Santa Cruz Businesses Show Appreciation to Farmworkers

Aptos High Student Dies In Campus Stabbing

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: Sept. 1-Sept. 7

Joel Goulet’s ‘The Golden Bouzouki’ has the Cinematic Makings of a Cult Classic

Letter to the Editor: Hold Cyclists Responsible