The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to hire an independent auditor for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office who would investigate such issues as citizen complaints and use of force.
The move followed a report by the Santa Cruz County Criminal Justice Council, which was released in December but heard publicly by the supervisors on Tuesday. At the time, the report was considered the first of its kind in the U.S.
It shows broad alignment among the county’s police agencies in use of force and release of information to the public.
But the only agency that has its own independent auditor, the report shows, is Santa Cruz Police Department.
In making the request, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said he was aligning with President Barack Obama’s 21st Century Policing Platform, which the Sheriff’s Office adopted in 2016. The move would also bring the county into compliance with Assembly Bill 1185—also known as the Sheriff’s Oversight Bill—which allows county boards of supervisors to create independent auditors. That bill became law in 2020 and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.
But Hart said he believes his department faces existing significant oversight, which includes the California Board of State and Community Corrections—which oversees jails—and the Santa Cruz County Grand Jury, which inspects the jail system every year. Hart also said he reports directly to the supervisors, and, as an elected official, to the voters.
“I disagree that there is no oversight,” he said. “I think there is significant oversight.”
The position is expected to begin in 2023.
It is unclear how much the program will cost, but County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios estimated between $50,000 and $100,000 annually.
That would be less expensive than a citizen’s oversight committee, he said, since it would require hiring someone to run meetings and investigators.
That didn’t sit well with several people who spoke during the meeting. They said that a panel of citizens would provide better representation.
“A sheriff oversight board would give voice and transparency for both assurance of quality services and additional perspectives for innovative improvements for equity and representation of our community,” said Serge Cagno, who sits on the Santa Cruz County Mental Health Advisory Board.
In other action, the supervisors approved a plan to allow the Santa Cruz County Human Services Department to apply for a grant through California’s Project Homekey. If successful, the grant would bring $4 million for a housing project at 801 River St., a seven-unit apartment complex with two studios and 5 one-bedroom units.
A project of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, Project Homekey is providing $1.45 billion to expand the inventory of housing for homeless people statewide.
Last fall, Cabrillo Gallery opened its doors to the public for the first time in 17 months. The annual “12×12: An Open Invitational” exhibit was a return to in-person viewing after a string of virtual shows.
But with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 surging and Cabrillo College classes switching to online for at least the first two weeks of the semester, gallery staff decided to return to a virtual format for its first exhibit of 2022.
“We had to make the call,” said Gallery Director Beverly Rayner. “We had to let the artists know what was happening. It was hard, but we knew we needed to protect ourselves and our community.”
“Natural Habitats” will feature 38 artists from the U.S., with pieces that range from painting and sculpture to video and even taxidermy. It will officially launch via the gallery’s website on Jan. 24.
“There’s always a benefit to online shows,” said Gallery Program Coordinator Victoria May. “People can see it from anywhere. If we’d opened, with the school closed … who knows how many people would’ve come into the gallery?”
Rayner agreed.
“[Online exhibits] are great in the way that there’s not a big expectation of having the show in a gallery, with a reception,” Rayner said. “And it’s a great way for people who are holed up and can’t go anywhere to show their art. Having said that, we were fully expecting to have this show in the gallery. There is definitely a lot of work that would’ve really benefited from being seen in person.”
The exhibit explores the concept of what a “natural” habitat really is—going beyond the obvious idea that they are only places that occur in the wild, for animals. Pieces represent everything from human-built, physical locations to more abstract, metaphysical spaces.
“We wanted a theme that was broad, that a lot of people could respond to,” Rayner said. “We wanted to bring in the perspective of human habitats, and how we build our own. How they’re not necessarily ‘natural,’ but they feel natural to us. That opened it up to a lot of interpretation.”
Rayner and May brought on a team of jurors from the Seager Gray Gallery in Mill Valley, Calif. to put together the show. Owners Suzanne Gray and Donna Seager were tasked with selecting work.
“From what I’ve seen of their gallery, it seemed like a good match as far as the theme,” Rayner said. “It’s always a surprising situation, seeing what jurors choose and what the show ends up being like. It’s always educational for me to see that process.”
The “Natural Habitats” exhibit is partially an effort to raise money for the gallery’s ongoing track lighting replacement project. They received a grant in 2019 to replace the current, 21-year-old lighting, but things slowed during the pandemic.
“We were hoping to finish it in 2021,” Rayner said. “But when we finally got the estimate, it was much higher than anyone had anticipated.”
A generous donor, wanting to support Cabrillo’s art department, has also offered them a matching grant.
“That’s what we’ll be working on this month,” Rayner said. “Hopefully it will help us raise the rest of the funds we need.”
“Natural Habitats” will be open Jan. 24-Feb. 25. Three participating artists will have the chance to receive Juror’s Pick awards during the show’s run.
Going virtual again after getting “a taste” of normalcy has been frustrating sometimes, May said.
“We have an artist who has this huge piece,” she said. “They sent multiple photographs to us, trying to offer different options, to see the work from a different angle. And I was thinking, ‘Wow, this one would’ve been really nice to see in person.”
May and Rayner hope to return to in-person shows starting in the spring.
“We will go back into the gallery as soon as we can,” Rayner said. “As soon as it’s responsible to do so.”
For information visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. A virtual juror’s talk will be held Feb. 5 at 4pm on Zoom. Click here to register.
Some 80 people gathered in the Watsonville Civic Plaza Monday evening to welcome in Jorge Zamora as Watsonville Police Department’s new chief.
A homegrown officer who started with the department as a cadet at the age of 15, Zamora said in a speech before being sworn into his new role that his promotion from acting assistant chief to the city’s top cop was a result of the support system he had around him.
That included some two dozen family members sitting front row at Monday’s ceremony, and another dozen officers from various agencies across California, including Daly City, Salinas, Scotts Valley and Capitola.
Zamora is the city’s 16th chief, and the first, first-generation Mexican-American to hold the role.
As a 26-year veteran of the force, Zamora brings invaluable experience from his time with gang and narcotics enforcement and SWAT. He has also served as a detective, a field training officer and a hostage negotiator, and spent time as a Regional Occupational Program instructor and youth mentor.
Another big asset, Assistant Chief Tom Sims said while introducing Zamora Monday, was his connection to the community and his lifelong commitment to the force.
“Honestly, I don’t know what you guys were doing when you were 15, but I know that I was not thinking about police work,” said Sims, who served as interim chief over the last six months. “[Zamora] was, and that’s why he’s here today.”
Zamora says that he grew up just down the street from Watsonville’s city hall. Before that, he and his family lived in a labor camp on the Central Coast as his mother, Margarita Fernandez, worked the agricultural fields.
“[My family] worked the fields, we were poor,” Zamora said. “If you would’ve seen me as a kid, you would’ve never thought ‘that guy is going to be a police chief one day.’ It didn’t seem like it was in the cards for me—even to be a police officer. That’s why I keep telling people that if they’ve been touched by [hardship], ‘I am you’ because I went through that. And it’s OK to say it and talk about it because that’s what makes you stronger.”
Fernandez in an interview after the ceremony said that she still remembers the day her son told her he wanted to sign up for the cadet program. She was worried for his safety but saw that he had a passion for protecting people.
“I would bless him whenever he left the house,” she said in Spanish. “I was happy he was happy, but I was worried about him.”
When Zamora told her he had been appointed chief, she said she was overcome with emotion as she reflected on his journey to success.
“I was overjoyed,” she said. “He grew up with gangs around him, he grew up with drugs being dealt around him. He lived and grew up in a very tough area. It must have been hard for him to say no to all of that. It makes me so happy to see him now. I always told him that if he wanted anything in life that he needed to go to school. All I wanted for him is for him to not have to work in the fields as I did … This is a sweet moment.”
Zamora attended local schools and graduated from Radcliff Adult School. He holds a bachelor’s in criminal justice management from Union Institute & University and a master’s in leadership studies from Saint Mary’s College of California.
His appointment follows the retirement of Chief of Police David Honda, who served Watsonville from 2016 through 2021, and fills one of the city’s high-level vacancies.
Watsonville just last month welcomed in a new city attorney after the retirement of longtime legal counsel Alan Smith. In the near future, it will have to replace City Clerk Beatriz Vasquez Flores and former City Manager Matt Huffaker, who is now the chief executive for the city of Santa Cruz.
Mayor Ari Parker said that she likes the direction the city is heading in and is excited to see Zamora use both his experience as a police officer and passion as a Watsonville native to try to solve some of the city’s big issues.
“The goal of the process was to find the best person, and it turned out the best person was born and raised here and came up through the ranks and really knows this town and is passionate about it,” Parker said. “There are challenges to communication but he recognizes what a great community this is. We’re diverse. We have diverse opinions about equity, engagement and accountability and how to do it. But he’s willing to listen.”
Zamora said the role of police chief has undoubtedly changed in the past few years because of compounding societal issues that have been hoisted upon officers’ growing list of responsibilities.
But Zamora also said that because of advancements in technology, access to higher learning and partnerships with vital area nonprofits that there has never been a better time to be a police officer. In addition, efforts such as the city’s recent policing and social equity committee and the consistent support the department receives from numerous residents give him hope that WPD can help solve some of the city’s toughest challenges.
“I’m a big believer that we can solve these issues but some of these issues take time,” Zamora said. “I’m not being naive here. I know that there’s challenges. I know that there’s people that don’t want to engage with us. That’s fine. My position: let’s engage, let’s continue to try to do that. And if they don’t want to, OK, I’m still here. I’m here with open arms.”
Vanessa Quiroz-Carter was sworn in as the new representative for the Watsonville City Council’s 2nd District at Tuesday night’s virtual meeting.
Quiroz-Carter, a Watsonville native who most recently served on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, said she was excited to continue the work of former councilman Aurelio Gonzalez, celebrate Watsonville’s diversity and help guide the community through the ongoing pandemic.
Her mother, Sandra Quiroz-Carter, administered the oath of office from their Watsonville home.
“We are not a city divided,” Quiroz-Carter said during her first remarks in office. “Diversity of opinions and views is not a symptom of division. It is the cornerstone of our democracy. It is our responsibility and our pleasure to welcome those voices. To seek out that diversity and build a thriving community of engaged community members.”
Quiroz-Carter, 35, was elected to the city council in last month’s special election triggered by Gonzalez’s abrupt resignation in September—he stepped down from office because of a family health emergency. The relative political newcomer beat Frank Barba for the right to represent the neighborhoods east of Main Street through Beck Street, including the communities surrounding Watsonville High School. The district also contains portions of California Street and Palm and Hill avenues.
She will remain in office through 2024, and serve as mayor in her final year in office.
She serves as an adjunct professor at Hartnell College, and holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from UC Berkeley and a master’s in communication from Cal State East Bay.
Along with her time on the Parks Commission, Quiroz-Carter has also been a part of the Santa Cruz County Women’s Commission and is the vice-president of the board for nonprofit Families In Transition.
December’s special election was her second time running for public office. She first ran unsuccessfully against Gonzalez in 2020.
Quiroz-Carter was endorsed by the majority of the Watsonville City Council—Mayor Ari Parker was the lone elected leader to side with Barba—and numerous community leaders such as County Office of Education Superintendent Faris Sabbah, retired Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin and former Watsonville City Councilman and vice-mayor Ramon Gomez.
She also received endorsements from several democratic clubs and organizations throughout the county, including the Pajaro Valley Cesar Chavez Democratic Club and the Santa Cruz County Democratic Party.
Several people congratulated her during public comment at Tuesday’s meeting. That included a person who said she was her former pupil at Ceiba College Prep, Zurya Rodriguez.
“She was such an amazing teacher, and I can only imagine the things she’ll do as a councilwoman,” Rodriguez said. “Y’all are so lucky to have her.”
CELTIC TEEN BAND PROGRAM Teenage musicians ages 12-19 play in an ensemble, developing musicianship, flexibility and musical creativity. Participants work on music from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Norway, Sweden and the United States, in addition to modern and more quirky pieces. Instruments welcomed: fiddle, viola, flute, tin whistle, pipes, cello, upright bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, dulcimer, autoharp, ukulele, Celtic harp, accordion and percussion. Students must have at least two years of experience on their instrument and must be able to read sheet music and chord symbols. The group meets with fiddle teacher John Weed twice per month on Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-5pm at the London Nelson Center. $10 per session (or free, based on a sliding scale). Potential students are welcome to try it out and see if they like it—there’s no obligation. For more information, visit communitymusicschool.org/teenband. Wednesday, Jan. 12, 3:30pm. London Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz.
THE RUNAWAY GROOMS LIVE AT MOE’S ALLEY Jam, funk, psych-rock hot shots from Colorado join San Francisco funk-rock favorites at Moe’s Alley for a truly unforgettable night! Born from the rich culture of the Colorado mountains, the Runaway Grooms are advancing the musical sounds of the high country into a diverse blend of Americana tones melded with a refreshing take on contemporary jam band music. With pocket grooves, expansive tones and syncopated rhythms, the Runaway Grooms capture elements of funk and psychedelic rock while still celebrating the traditional songwriting roots of Americana. Dueling guitar solos, the fullness and raw power of a screaming lap steel guitar and three-part harmonies combine to create a soundscape that offers audiences an unforgettable experience. Tuesday, Jan. 18, 9pm. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz.
THE STINKFOOT ORCHESTRA FEATURING NAPOLEON MURPHY BROCK This 15-piece tribute to Zappa pulls no punches, delivering Frank’s music with power, authenticity and musical prowess. Founded by a 35-year veteran of the South Bay music scene, Nick Chargin, the Stinkfoot Orchestra has spent the last two and a half years honing their craft and are finally taking their long-awaited show to the stage to rave reviews. Friday, Jan. 14, 8pm. Felton Music Hall, 6275 CA-9, Felton.
COMMUNITY
VIRTUAL FUNGUS FAIR The Fungus Fair is going virtual this year. There will also be two-hour local forays; two per day at 9am and 1pm on Jan. 8, 9, 15 and 16 ($5; free for children under 12 accompanied by a paying adult). 30-person limit/foray. Mushroom identification and culinary events follow each foray. The exact location will be emailed to registered participants. There will also be free discussions on Zoom led by mushroom experts at 7pm, Jan. 10-14. Visit ffsc.us for Zoom meeting links and more information.
VIRTUAL MUSIC MEDITATION AND RELAXATION FOR CAREGIVERS Does a 30-minute music meditation to lift your spirits and provide relaxation sound good? This experiential session features the musical stylings of board certified music therapist Anya Ismail, who weaves together poetry, singing, spoken word and unique instruments, like the shruti box, to create a beautiful and calming experience. Open to all individuals caring for a loved one. Hosted by Hospice of Santa Cruz County. For more information, visit hospicesantacruz.org or call 831-430-3000. Wednesday, Jan. 12, 10-10:30am.
GROUPS
COMMUNITY PILATES MAT CLASS Come build strength with the popular in-person community Pilates Mat Class in the big auditorium at Temple Beth El in Aptos. Please bring your own mat, small Pilates ball and theraband if you have one. You must be vaccinated to attend the indoor class. Suggested donation: $10. Thursday, Jan. 13, 10am. Tuesday, Jan. 18, 10am. Temple Beth El, 3055 Porter Gulch Road, Aptos.
ENTRE NOSOTRAS GRUPO DE APOYO Entre Nosotras support group for Spanish speaking women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets twice monthly. Registration is required, please call Entre Nosotras at 831-761-3973. Friday, Jan. 14, 6pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.
WOMENCARE ARM-IN-ARM WomenCARE Arm-in-Arm Cancer support group for women with advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cancer. Meets every Monday, currently on Zoom. Registration is required, call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Monday, Jan. 17, 12:30pm.
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, Jan. 18, 12:30-2pm.
Even if you don’t know Joan Osborne’s name, there’s a good chance you’ve heard “One of Us.” On a ranking of the most popular songs of 1995, that tune would surely be close to the top.
However, Osborne is far from a one-and-done “one-hit wonder.” Blessed with mountain-moving pipes, a deep knowledge of all musical genres and an ability to leap from frontwoman pop star to a touring vocalist with the post-Jerry Garcia Grateful Dead to a singer with the Motown house band the Funk Brothers, she’s a rare breed of musician who doesn’t let ego motivate her career.
The road Osborne’s traveled might have been full of twists and turns, and she might have had occasional curveballs come her way, but after 25 years and a versatile slew of records, she’s learned how to hit anything thrown over the plate—with power.
Osborne’s September 2020 release Trouble and Strife jumps into the signs of the times before you drop the needle on the record: The cover art, a collage created by the musician, encapsulates the horror going on in the world around us: a little boy points a handgun, visual representations of the pushback against Black Lives Matter, global warming and violence towards Asian Americans. An image of Osborne, sporting a vintage astronaut suit and helmet, is plastered in the middle of the chaos, smiling and holding a mic; she’s offering a talisman, in the form of her music, as protection from a minefield of hatred.
“These are all things we’ve been struggling with for decades, but they’ve reached a fever pitch recently,” Osborne says. “I try to bring a magic wand to this crazy situation, which is my microphone, which is music—songs aren’t going to change the world, but songs change human beings and attitudes.”
“What’s That You Say” is driven by an R&B backbone drenched in the Meters’ can’t-stop-listening brand of funk, courtesy of Osborne’s longtime studio band; her soulful alto vocals blow through the instrumentals like El Nino whipping through the Santa Anas. The muffled sound of a woman’s voice speaking in Spanish glides into the background every so often.
Osborne describes the song as a response to the ongoing horrendous situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I grew up thinking people came to America from different lands and brought their dreams and their talents and their desires to succeed in a place where they can be free,” Osborne explains. “It seems like a lot of the discussion in recent years has turned that idea on its head—telling us these are people we should be afraid of. When I see someone who comes here from another country, I see someone who’s working their ass off to survive.”
Osborne reached out to Raices (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services)—a nonprofit that provides free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families and refugees—and they connected her with Ana Maria Rea. She came to America from Mexico City after her father had been kidnapped and held for ransom. Though he was eventually let go, Rea’s family no longer felt safe living in Mexico.
“[Rea] is a beacon of light which brings all this energy and positivity,” Osborne says. “We need that—so much of what’s being said is not being said by the immigrants themselves. I thought, ‘Here’s my chance to pass the microphone to somebody to tell their story.’ [Rea] is a pillar of our society.”
Osborne approached Rea as if she was a journalist, covering the woman’s arduous voyage to the safety she eventually found in Texas after fleeing Mexico.
“It was intense,” Osborne reveals. “We were both crying.”
The story Rea tells in Spanish throughout “What’s That You Say” is about escaping to the U.S. as a child and growing up feeling like an outsider. It took time, but Rea was accepted into the Texas community that she calls home. She speaks the final line of the tune: No tengo miedo (“I’m not afraid.”)
Meanwhile, Osborne doesn’t try to hide that David Bowie was a major inspiration behind “Boy Dontcha Know,” both in sound and message. It would fit in alongside “Changes” on Bowie’s Hunky Dory. When Osborne first heard the British rocker on the radio, she felt like she was tasting a new, vibrant flavor of ice cream. She admits it was sometimes frightening, but she realized that music could be a sweet catalyst for change and self-expression. It didn’t matter whether it was cold or lacking definitive sexual identity.
“And when she’s lookin’ good, so good, mighty good, she feels a target on her back/ And if she doesn’t try to soothe your ego, she stands accused of a mood so black, so black,” croons Osborne. “She’d rather be a boy, dontcha know.”
In addition to releasing Trouble and Strife during her Covid-related time away from touring, Osborne spent time with her teenage daughter.
“When you’re touring, it means being away from your family unless you can bring them with you,” she says. “But once your kids are school-age, it’s much harder to bring them with you. Covid has allowed me to spend more consistent time with [my teenage daughter] because I’m stuck at home—though she might not think that’s a good thing. This time has been very precious to me since she’ll be going off to college in a couple years.”
Osborne seems to have a knack for finding pockets of brightness even under a dark sky.
“Covid has forced us to push the pause button on our normal lives, has allowed us to get off of these treadmills that we put ourselves on—gotta make money, gotta do this, gotta accomplish that,” she says. “We’re always going and going and going, and we don’t have time for self-reflection or to stop and take a breath and just exist.”
She acknowledges the tragedy, too; the sickness and death, as well as the way the pandemic hit so many musicians financially.
“Covid halted all live music,” Osborne says. “So, income sources completely dried up for many artists, many of whom are my friends.”
Osborne is adamant about the importance of music, not just for performers but for audiences. And the extended absence of live music has profoundly impacted the world.
“There’s something very unique and special that happens within an audience in a community when you have live music,” she says. “Music is more important than ever nowadays, living in a world so divided.”
On Feb. 22, Osborne will release Radio Waves, a collection of unreleased, live in-studio performances. The 13 covers, spanning back to 1995, feature deep cuts from Sly and the Family Stone, Bob Dylan, Bill Withers and 10 other greats.
“People seem very alienated from each other, and music has this ability to overcome that and allow people to get together and be in the same physical space and enjoy the experience without involving politics, or opinion, but just as fellow human beings,” Osborne says.
Joan Osborne plays Friday, Jan. 21, at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. 8pm; $36.75-47.25. Proof of vaccination or negative Covid test (within 72 hours of the show) required. folkyeah.com.
In 2009, Jenny Don’t formed the unhinged punk rock band Don’t, backed by members of veteran Portland punk groups like The Wipers, Poison Idea, Pierced Arrows and P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. Together, everyone wrote raging punk rock songs, with Jenny contributing cathartic, powerful vocals.
But then a few years later, Jenny set out to write some songs on her own, but they were much different: in the vein of Patsy Cline and Hank Williams. It’s just how they came out.
“I love writing country songs. I don’t know where it comes from necessarily,” Jenny says. “I grew up in rural Washington, but my mom’s side of the family all lives in New Mexico. I love the desert imagery. I like singing songs about the desert more than I like being in it.”
For a while, this Jenny Don’t and the Spurs project was something she did on the side. It even featured many of the same punk musicians. But then the cowboy-hat-wearing, good-time country side project was getting better and more frequent offers than Don’t. The music makes people feel good. And Jenny even makes her own outfits for the band.
“The Spurs can play breweries. We can play restaurants and venues,” Jenny says. “We can play a mellow set, or like we played with the Flesheaters. For that one, we’re like, ‘We’re going to play more of our faster punk rock country songs.’ It was a lot easier to book that band.”
Old country and western is quite popular currently in the Americana scene, but a lot of bands are pulling from the ’70s era, with Gram Parsons being a primary influence. The Spurs go back a little further to the up-tempo sounds from the ’50s and ’60s, which to some might seem more lighthearted. Jenny likes how the music gets people dancing, and that if you dig back in it, it’s sort of strange.
“’70s country is good, but it doesn’t knock my socks off. It’s okay, but it doesn’t make me want to party. Unless we’re talking about Johnny Paycheck, but his songs are just funny because he’s such a weirdo,” Jenny says.
Jenny Don’t and the Spurs take influence from some of the oddball country artists from back in the day that were less known, and who highlight some of the stranger elements of the Americana culture. Jenny cites Oregonian Buzz Martin, who penned several songs about logging, as well as fellow Pacific Northwesterner Bonnie Guitar. She also loves artists like Johnny Bond, who wrote several truck driving songs, and Johnny Western, who wrote a song called “Light the Fuse,” about miners getting blown up while they were working.
“It’s so easy to be like, ‘Here’s another song about whiskey.’ Well, okay, sure. But this guy is writing about getting blown up in a mine. That’s weird,” Jenny says. “It’s just super rocking. We start going down that wormhole, like, Johnny Western and Johnny Bond. I like pulling from that well.”
“Light the Fuse” inspired Jenny to write the song “Fire on the Ridge,” her own song about miners getting trapped by a fire. It’s the title track on the Spurs latest album, which was released in June 2021 after much delay. This record was the product of the Spurs becoming a more serious outfit. In 2018, a year after the Spurs released Call of the Road, she noticed that it was becoming harder to sing. Two bands were too many for her vocal cords, so she chose the Spurs because the songs felt more special to her.
In 2019, it got to be so bad that when they tried to record Fire On The Ridge, it sounded terrible.
“I wasn’t able to hit any notes. It sounded like a 100-year-old mummy was trying to sing,” Jenny says.
In September of that year, she got vocal cord surgery. After healing up, she was able to sing like normal again, and re-recorded her vocals. Now (and after also enduring a global pandemic) the group is back in full form.
“It was a great feeling. I think we did it in two days for all the vocals,” Jenny says. “It’s so nice to feel like how I always felt.”
Jenny Don’t and the Spurs will play at 9pm on Saturday, Jan. 15 at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $15/adv, $20/door. (831) 479-1854.
I am writing this in response to the “Brain Supplements” section of your article “Ask Science” (GT, 1/5), which I feel is not accurate, and is misleading to your readers.
I am a Ph.D Nutritional Scientist and researcher with over 45 years experience and author of several hundred published articles, and was previously a columnist for the Press Banner.
The article has a quote from a neurologist who I am sure is very competent in her field, but lacks credibility in her comment: “There really isn’t evidence to suggest that any particular vitamin or supplement can help improve or reverse cognitive changes.”
I am very sorry Dr. Hellmuth, but you seem to have missed hundreds of scientific studies that disprove your statement.
I have included several studies in this letter, but I am prepared to provide additional scientific studies to prove my point.
The following findings were presented at the 14th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) on November 10, 2021, in Boston. The placebo-controlled study included 2,262 adults aged 65 and over without dementia who underwent cognitive tests at baseline and annually for 3 years. The average age at baseline was 73 years, and 40.4% were men.
“Daily multivitamin-mineral supplementation appears to slow cognitive aging by 60%, or by 1.8 years,” said study researcher Laura D. Baker, PhD, professor, Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She continues “Our study provides new evidence that daily multivitamin supplementation may benefit cognitive function in older women and men.”
In a Feb 2017 study published in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, researchers analyzed 5,269 men and women, and compared to non-supplementers, those who supplemented with vitamin C and/or vitamin E had a 38% lower adjusted risk of all-cause dementia and a 40% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. They also had a 23% lower risk of developing cognitive impairment.
In a 2020 randomized controlled trial published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, researchers concluded: “Vitamin D supplementation for 12 months appears to improve cognitive function through reducing oxidative stress … Vitamin D may be a promising public health strategy to prevent cognitive decline.”
Researchers in a randomized controlled trial published in a 2021 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease reported: “Folic acid and DHA [from Omega 3 fish oil] improve cognitive function.”
Research findings in Evidence Based Complementary Alternative Medicine (2011) indicate that Lion’s Mane (a nutritional mushroom) may have potential in stimulation of neurons to regrow in the treatment of senility, Alzheimer’s disease, repairing neurological trauma from strokes, improving muscle or motor response pathways and cognitive function.
I appreciate the honest and accurate information your paper usually provides; however, your article on brain supplements has more holes than swiss cheese.
I would hope you would provide your readers with accurate information on how nutritional supplements can benefit their lives and improve their brains.
Thank you for the opportunity to express my opinion.
Richard Goldberg
Felton
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I have to admit it felt like March of 2020 all over again when Jana Marcus of Actors’ Theatre told me last week that the company’s famed 8 Tens @ 8 festival would be going virtual this year due to the highly transmissible Covid variant Omicron. We had already planned a cover story on the big changes at Actors’ Theatre to run this week, in advance of the festival, and combined with all the live music events that have been cancelled in the last couple of weeks, the news about 8 Tens definitely gave me flashbacks to the beginning of the pandemic, when weeks worth of stories had to be scrapped, and for a while we seemed to need a cover story every other week just to write about all the sectors that were affected by the shutdown.
I think what’s different this time is very interesting, though. This time, Actors’ Theatre’s new Executive and Artistic Director Andrew Ceglio was prepared, as he had already arranged for a crew to film the performances for virtual viewing. The group’s plan could be a map for how stage companies deal with pandemic productions—and really, even post-pandemic productions—in the future, and Christina Waters did a great job of pivoting on this cover story to explain the significance of how this played out.
Last week, I promised an article wrapping up Santa Cruz Gives, and Johanna Miller has a story on the final total and why it matters in this issue.
Also, just a reminder to go to goodtimes.sc and vote for your favorite people and businesses in the Best of Santa Cruz County balloting!
Many of us wouldn’t have even survived without the help. Frankly, the impact of the pandemic is still being felt. Thank you for bringing light to this.
— Mandy Fard
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GOOD IDEA
KIDS NEED A BOOST
In this issue, you’ll find multiple stories about the Omicron variant. Here’s one more reminder: the Pfizer Covid-19 booster shot has been approved for 12-to-15 year olds. Be sure to schedule an appointment to protect your children. A third dose is also available for certain immunocompromised children between the ages 5 and 11. For a list of local Covid-19 vaccine providers, visit www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirusvaccine.
GOOD WORK
DIY LAWMAKING
If you’ve ever thought “there ought to be a law for that,” now is your chance to make that law happen. In fact, Assemblymember Robert Rivas’ new program is called There Ought to Be a Law, and he’s currently accepting entries for new laws. Rivas represents California’s 30th Assembly District, which includes parts of Watsonville. Learn more at a30.asmdc.org.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Creativity is always a leap of faith. You’re faced with a blank page, blank easel, or an empty stage.”
Actor Willem Dafoe once said, “With theater, you have to be ready for anything.” Nobody knows that better than the intrepid producers of Santa Cruz’s Actors’ Theatre, who were poised to plunge into a season of live theater this week with the celebrated 8 Tens @ Eight festival.
Alas, reality—in the form of the Covid-19 Omicron variant—brought down the house. In a heartbreaking, yet not entirely unexpected development, the 8 Tens @ Eight festival has been canceled for 2022.
“Actors’ Theatre has worked so incredibly hard to get to the point of finally opening,” says new Executive and Artistic Director Andrew Ceglio. “But with the Omicron data, and if things continue on their present course, our run of the 8 Tens would fall right at the peak of this current Covid surge.”
Luckily, Actors’ Theatre had already been looking ahead, and used grant funds to hire a film crew to document the entire suite of plays. The crew was in place over the weekend to capture live performances for future on-demand viewing. So while the live theater experience must wait a while longer, the enjoyment of savoring the work—the dramatic tension and comic surprise of these plays—will still be available. It’s a clever and forward-looking way of snatching theatrical victory from the mouth of defeat.
“This is the way of the future,” Marketing Director Jana Marcus told me shortly after the tough decision was made. “At Actors’ Theatre, we are so fortunate to produce original content that is not beholden to large licensing houses. With the on-demand platform, Actors’ Theatre will be able to reach a wider audience for what is the longest-running short play festival in America.”
8 Tens founder and longtime Actors’ Theatre director, Wilma Marcus, believes in the company “that is deeply a part of the Santa Cruz artistic community, supported over the decades by many, many writers, theatre lovers and theatre professionals.”
Marcus is pleased with the hiring of Ceglio to inherit the helm of the iconic local company. “I’m happy to have handed the baton to Andrew Ceglio. He is multi-talented, very dedicated to Actors’ Theatre and has come on board at just the right moment to bring new energy, new enthusiasm and lots of hands-on experience with the many aspects of theatre arts,” she says. “We are in good hands with this transition.”
Andrew Ceglio singing with the Cabrillo Jazz Band in 2012. First known to local audiences as a performer, Ceglio recently took over as Executive and Artistic Director for Actors’ Theatre. PHOTO: JANA MARCUS
Holding Patterns
During the unpredictable pandemic, performance venues and organizations have been stuck on hold, hoping for a thaw that would allow for live audiences and actors on stage once again. Actors’ Theatre leaders went to great lengths to try to ensure that a live theater season would be possible this year, including selling only half the seats for each performance, allowing more space between patrons and installing a new HEPA filtration system that circulates fresh air every seven minutes and meets current CDC regulations. They also required that all actors, staff and audience require proof of full vaccination.
At the center of things, holding the moving parts together, has been Managing Director Jana Marcus.
“During the two years of the pandemic, we lost Bonnie Ronzio, who as producer ran everything, but we also gained the lease to the Center Stage Theater, which had previously been with Jewel Theatre. Both those events involved unraveling the past and rebuilding the future,” says Marcus. “Preparing a show after two years involved mundane things like just trying to figure out what was in our storage unit for props, to really huge things like Wilma stepping down and handing the reins to Andrew to run the company as Executive and Artist Director. It has been a round-the-clock experience since late October, with donor drives, season announcements, building new procedures and protocols, receiving grants and allocating for them, website updates, hiring staff, buying equipment, etc.”
The company’s backup plan—filming to preserve the performances—predicted the future and offered a salvage strategy.
“Ticket holders of the canceled sold-out run of the 8 Tens festival will have options,” a disappointed but determined Marcus told me last week. “Actors’ Theatre will be contacting patrons shortly with options of either a refund or to seamlessly move their purchase to the on-demand platform to view the film in February.”
Ceglio in Cabrillo Stage’s 2019 production of ‘Into the Woods.’ PHOTO: JANA MARCUS
New Direction
“I am the type of person who has backup plans for my backup plans,” admits Ceglio. “The pandemic has in many ways provided all companies with the opportunity to reinvent themselves.” Well-known to local theatergoers for his acting chops, Ceglio came on board last year when 8 Tens founder Wilma Marcus announced her intention to retire. After years of working in almost every possible nook and cranny of acting—producing and directing in the Santa Cruz area as well as film production work in Los Angeles between 2014 and 2018—Ceglio was hungry to get back into live theater.
“I did some minor directing here and there in the Santa Cruz area—Company at Cabrillo Stage, as well as directing one play for 8 Tens in 2016,” he says, “but my work with Actors’ Theatre had been minimal. Then Wilma Marcus called me last January. Bonnie [Ronzio] had just died and Wilma wanted some new person in place so she could retire.”
Ceglio’s immediate response was, “Absolutely, 100 percent yes!” It’s a phrase he pulls out of his repertoire in the blink of an eye. And it’s an attitude that bodes well for the future of the 26-year-old theater company.
Ceglio had his eye on the future when he came on board last year, first as Associate Art Director, “essentially shadowing Wilma, and learning the ropes,” then more recently as Artistic Director. “One of my big pushes for this coming year will be to establish a strong online and social media presence for Santa Cruz Actors’ Theatre. As much as I would love for things to be the old-school way of networking and connecting in person, this is the age we live in now, and there are some strong benefits to developing this aspect of the company.”
Ceglio originally suggested the filming of the 2022 8 Tens performances, because “it will help audience expansion, and would be a guarantee that should things get bad, Covid-wise, we would have a high-quality video.” Ceglio reasoned that “the company would still have a revenue stream, should performances need to be abridged due to pandemic considerations.” A crystal ball couldn’t have done better.
“Regardless of what happens with the pandemic or when it may subside, being able to offer our productions through an on-demand or livestream format is something that I plan to make a permanent fixture of the company,” he says. “Actors’ Theatre is fortunate to have a long history of fostering and collaborating with new artists and new works, many which are unlicensed properties. This provides many benefits: it allows us more flexibility when it comes to on-demand or livestreaming contracts, and it makes it possible for playwrights to have more freedom and be more involved with the negotiation process of how their work is presented.”
Ceglio was intimately involved in programming the rest of the current season. All three of the post-8 Tens plays are by emerging playwrights, including The Milkcrate Monologues, written by Ron Johnson, a local hip-hop artist who lives half the year in L.A.
“The piece fuses theater, married with hip hop,” Ceglio says. That’s where his longtime L.A. contacts came in handy. “Absolutely 100%. And I have already scouted a 2023 season as well,” he says, adding that during the off-season he plans outreach with the community, “looking for more local artists here in Santa Cruz.”
Known to locals for his work as an actor with Cabrillo Stage, Ceglio admits that for the last eight years he’s been more focused on directing and producing.
“I’m being selective about on-stage roles. But the stage is always my first home,” he says. “It’s so seductive.”
Space-Time Compression
The ten-minute lifespan of the season-opening 8 Tens is what makes them so appealing. “The challenge here is telling a satisfyingly complete story—with a beginning, middle, and end—in such a short span of time,” explains Santa Cruz playwright Kathryn Chetkovich. “It’s not just a situation or an evocation of a mood, but a full narrative arc, with characters who want things and risk things and find themselves saying things we suspect they’ve never said before, and where something ultimately happens that you didn’t expect—but that nevertheless feels inevitable when it does.”
Local theater veteran Gail Borkowski was deep into rehearsal when I caught up with her last week, just before the filming of the 8 Tens play she directs, “Are You One of Those Robots?” I was in the audience several years ago for Borkowski’s playwriting debut at Actors’ Theatre, Waking Up, about a white couple that goes to bed one night and wakes up the next morning as African-Americans. The play was a vivid, funny and wildly surprising wake-up call to everyone watching. It did, in a mere ten minutes, exactly what good theater should do.
“The 10-minute play is 10 pages long,” Borkowski says. “Telling a complete story in such a short time, it’s pretty phenomenal.”
She likes the 8 Tens format “because it’s short, not as many rehearsals, not as many schedules to coordinate. It is part of what excites me. The magic from rehearsing in a living room to moving into working with lighting and props, then finally to the stage.”
The pandemic has changed much about bringing a play to life. “As theatre people, we’re passionate. We’re huggers—I’m a hugger,” Borkowski says with a laugh. “And even though that has been compromised, I’m so thrilled being in this community. The journey is as exciting as the arrival.”
When the lights go down and actors appear live onstage, we in the audience are plunged into another world, a world of the imagination. Our daily lives melt away and a place and time we’ve never experienced before materializes before our eyes. Complete magic. The challenge for us now is to watch the short plays on our screens and suspend disbelief, fall under the spell of actors, words and movement, and let the magic emerge.
“Where many people just see roadblocks and the departure from the old ways,” says Ceglio, “I see opportunities and possibilities for us to become even more creative with how and where we can provide enriching theater experiences.”
Actors’ Theatre ‘8 Tens @ 8’ Short Play Festival
“A” NIGHT
WONDER PEOPLE by Madeline Puccioni. Directed by Hannah Eckstein.
ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE ROBOTS? by Dierdre Gerard. Directed by Gail Borkowski.
ME AND HIM by Michael John McGoldrick. Directed by Andrew Davids.
NOBODY’S HERO by Charles Anderson. Directed by Evan Hunt.
FREE HUGS by L. H. Grant. Directed by Marcus Cato.
OLD AQUATICS by Steven Kobar. Directed by Gerry Gerringer.
TOGETHER AT LAST by Stella Pfefferkorn (YoungPlaywrights Festival Winner). Directed by Kathie Kratochvil.
KEW GARDENS by James Armstrong. Directed by Bill Peters.
GOD ON THE COUCH by Dan O’Day. Directed by Peter Gelblum.
“B” NIGHT
STRESS FOR SUCCESS by Terrence Patrick Hughes. Directed by Kathie Kratochvil.
GONE by AJ Davey Ouse (Young Playwrights Festival Winner). Directed by Andrew Ceglio.
ROSA & LEO by Adam Szudrich. Directed by Jim Schultz.
THE MALTESE WALTER by John Minigan. Directed by Cathy Warner.
DITMAS by Glenn Alterman. Directed by Helene Simkin Jara.
THE CORIOLUS EFFECT by Robert Lynn. Directed by Anita Natale,
SLOW DATING by Adam Szudrich. Directed by Buff McKinley.
UNHEARD by Glenn Alterman. Directed by Sarah Albertson.
DRESS BLUES by Donald J. Loftus. Directed by Karin Babbitt.
Live performances have been cancelled, but the performances will be available on-demand virtually. Go to santacruzactorstheatre.org for streaming options. Send email inquiries to AT****************@***il.com
