Anti-Asian Sentiment Not a Novel Issue, Community Advocates Say

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Anti-Asian Sentiment Not a Novel Issue, Community Advocates Say

Victor Kimura was just 6 months old when his family moved back to Freedom after being imprisoned in Arizona’s Poston Camp during World War II. 

His mother and father, born in Watsonville and Petaluma, respectively, told him very little about the days prior to the family’s return to California’s Central Coast in 1945. Kimura says they did not need to say much for him to understand that “something was very, very wrong.”

“I would be at home talking to my parents in the front living room and somebody would throw a rock with a paper wrapped around saying ‘Japs go home’ through our front window,” he said while holding a Watsonville-Santa Cruz Japanese American Citizens League banner during a recent rally in support of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in downtown Watsonville. 

He added: “I was ready for anything.”

Kimura was one of roughly 100 people who showed up to Watsonville’s City Plaza on April 17 for the city’s second rally in support of the AAPI community. Dozens of Japanese-Americans who call Santa Cruz County home were in attendance with signs reading “Stop Asian Hate.”

The same group that organized that gathering helped organize a vigil at the Santa Cruz County Offices in late March that honored the victims of the recent mass shooting in Georgia. That collective, called Asian Americans Pacific Islanders of Santa Cruz County, came together in response to the recent uptick in attacks against the AAPI community, says Lucien Kubo, a Santa Cruz artist and activist.

Kubo helped put together the vigil in Santa Cruz, and brought it over to Watsonville for the April rally. She added two new names to the most-recent vigil: Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo. Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, and Toledo, a 13-year-old Latinx male, were recently fatally shot by police in incidents that have gained national attention. Kubo, who is Japanese-American, said it was important to show solidarity with other minority communities because in the past the AAPI community, and its quiet, “nose-to-the-grindstone” characterization, has been used as a tool to divide minorities.

“People say other minorities should be quiet and hard-working like the Japanese. It’s a divide-and-conquer type of thing,” she says. “It divides us, instead of showing that we really have a lot in common …. This is kind of special that Asians are speaking up, and organizing like this.”

According to a national report from Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based organization that tracks hate incidents against that community, there were nearly 3,800 reported accounts of discrimination, violence or verbal harassment across the country from March 19, 2020 through Feb. 28, 2021 against the AAPI community.

That report was released on March 16, the same day as the shootings in Georgia in which eight people, including six Asian-American women, were killed by a white man while working at three separate massage spas.

Kimura says that hate toward the AAPI community has always been present in the U.S. below the surface, but recent political leaders, including former President Donald Trump, who pushed the terms “China Virus” and “Kung Flu,” have pushed those beliefs into the mainstream and made them socially acceptable. Kimura says he once believed the displays of racism against the AAPI community would end before he died. Now, he says he’s not sure if the country will ever regain the foothold it once had before the pandemic was weaponized against the AAPI community.

He believes that his two sons, who are Japanese-American and Latinx, will at one point in their lives have to fight similar bouts with racism that he did.

“I don’t want them to deal with the same s*** I’ve had to deal with my whole life,” he said. “You always want things to be better for your kids.”

The city of Watsonville on April 13 showed solidarity by passing a resolution denouncing hate crimes and bigotry against the AAPI community. 

Along with the resolution, city leaders have tried to make amends with the AAPI community. Late last year then-Mayor Rebecca J. Garcia put forth a resolution to officially apologize for the 1930 Watsonville Riots in which hundreds of armed white men over five days took to the streets, targeting and beating Filipino-American workers who they claimed were stealing their jobs and women, according to multiple reports.

Mayor Jimmy Dutra, who assumed the role in December 2020, highlighted Watsonville’s Sister City ties to Kawakami-Mura in Japan and Pinghu, Zhejiang Province in China as a way the city has uplifted its AAPI community, and said that he plans to honor longtime Watsonville businesses next month for AAPI Heritage Month.

“Your actions say a lot,” said Dutra, who attended the rally. “When you’re standing up and you’re saying things that are positive about a community, it rubs off. We’ve seen what happens when someone from the top says something negative. That also rubs off.”


San Lorenzo Valley Teachers Lawyer up as Misconduct Claims Grow

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San Lorenzo Valley Teachers Lawyer up as Misconduct Claims Grow

Leann Anderson was still four months away from her 18th birthday when she proudly accepted her high school diploma. The Bonny Doon girl had struggled to overcome dyslexia. But in the end, she’d triumphed. 

“You f****** did it! Congratulations!” came the supportive, if profane, message—allegedly from Eric Kahl, the teacher who, she says, first showed an interest in her back when she was a freshman, increasing that attention through her senior year. “Damn f****** right and I looked hot while doing it,” she replied. “Duh,” he messaged back, according to the allegations.

His next comments, shared with the Press Banner by Anderson in the form of screenshots of the conversation, set off a wave of confusion that would later lead her to look back on special attention she says Kahl gave her over her high school career, and moments she says he touched students, including her, inappropriately. Anderson says she’s concerned for the wellbeing of current pupils, as other current and former students come forward with disturbing stories of what they say they endured at San Lorenzo Valley schools in recent years.

At least three current or former teachers are now being represented by Joe Cisneros of the Monterey-based Biegel Law Firm, who says Kahl didn’t groom, touch or use social media to inappropriately communicate with any students. According to interviews conducted by the Press Banner after reviewing social media posts and screenshots of conversations between her and Kahl provided by Anderson, at least seven current or former San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District employees have been accused of inappropriate behavior in recent years. Two defendants already face charges in the courts.

In the reported graduation day exchange between Kahl and Anderson, the social studies teacher inquires about the illegal drugs he expected one of Anderson’s friends would likely ingest for the occasion. The message shared with the Press Banner contained three smiley faces, saying, “hope she didn’t take too much Molly,” to which Anderson said not to worry. Then the sender transmitted at least five psychedelic ‘.gif’ photos, including an Alice in Wonderland-style meme that said: “EAT ME.” After she left school, the private Instagram messages kept rolling in. The district forbids teachers to use social media to communicate with students (except for specific school projects) as well as former students who are not yet of age.

After she turned 18, Anderson began to dabble—alongside perhaps a million other like-minded entrepreneurs during the pandemic—with paid-content site OnlyFans. Kahl followed her there, too, she says. She started to think about how strange it was that their relationship had gone, so quickly, from an authority figure working with a teen struggling with a language-based learning disability to an older man paying her for risqué photos. And she couldn’t help but think back to all the times during her senior year where, she says, he would accidentally-on-purpose graze private parts of her body in passing. 

Kahl’s lawyer, Cisneros, denied he did anything of the sort.

“He’s going to defend himself if it comes to that point, which I’m not sure if it will,” said Cisneros, adding even if the post-grad contact might come across as “unseemly,” that doesn’t necessarily make it a policy violation.

Anderson’s experience is one of the many stories being submitted to the @santacruzsurvivorsspeak Instagram page, and while most of the commenters are anonymous, some have put their names or phone numbers with their statements for admins to verify or to pass on to authorities.

In an email to the Press Banner, the founders of the social media account, who asked to remain anonymous, said they were San Lorenzo Valley High School alumni who sought to spread “awareness and support for the survivors of sexual assault and abuse,” and that they encouraged other sexual assault survivors to reach out.

“We are here to change the course of our community and push for a better system, ie: consent classes for students, new faculty at slv (sic), better faculty training,” the email read. “We have realized for a while now that the culture at SLV in particular has many issues, and we’ve been wanting to do something about it, but never had the platform before now.”

It wasn’t just Kahl’s inappropriate touching that Anderson says she’s been grappling with, but also situations where she says he would sit close to her and help her cheat, instead of attempting to teach her techniques to overcome dyslexia. 

“He should have been actually helping me, and helping me get an education,” she said. 

After Anderson accused Kahl in a March letter to the district, she inspired more people to talk about what they say happened to them with educators in the Felton area. The stories range from being sexualized while in class to touches that lingered too long to shoulder rubs that never should’ve happened—and even to several more serious sexual abuse claims.

Some of the most disturbing allegations were about William Winkler, a teacher who’s taught in the district for more than 30 years. Both Kahl and Winkler have been sent home on leave while school officials consider the evidence. Cisneros, who also represents Winkler, denied the sexual assault allegations against his client. 

“He denies that he did anything,” he said. “There’s no reason for him to be on paid administrative leave.” 

Critics say Winkler should not have been allowed around students after being arrested for domestic abuse in 2010, at which time the District Attorney’s office decided not to file charges. The school district declined to say whether or not it conducted its own internal investigation at that time.

District Superintendent Laurie Bruton says the district is trying to gain a better understanding of first-hand accounts and formal complaints they’ve received. 

“As with most investigations, we have to sort through anonymous and unnamed allegations to guide actions,” she said in an email interview. “Once we get that initial information, we immediately look into it further. This triggers our mandated reporting obligation to law enforcement agencies. We continue to cooperate with them as they further investigate. Once we have determined someone has violated district policy, the individual will receive appropriate disciplinary action up to and including termination.”

Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn said investigators are working with the school district to determine if any crimes have been committed related to the Santa Cruz Survivors Speak allegations. She said that no charges have been filed, and no arrests have been made. 

“We do take all reports of sexual assault or misconduct seriously and investigate them to the fullest,” she said. “We also encourage anyone who has endured sexual violence to contact us.”

This week, Michael Henderson, a former San Lorenzo Valley middle and high school tech teacher, flew in from his new home in Washington state for his Santa Cruz County Superior Court dates. He was held to answer by the judge on four counts of lewd acts with a minor under the age of 14. His case is now proceeding to trial, and he remains out on a $150,000 bond.

During the first day of the preliminary hearing, April 19, the lead sex-crimes investigator on the case testified that it wasn’t a disclosure by the girl in one of her elective classes that prompted the Sheriff’s Office to get involved. They began investigating, Sgt. Socorro Luna said, after the girl developed an eating disorder and her mom was trying to figure out what was wrong.

Luna testified the girl said that during private tutoring and music lessons after school, Henderson would instruct her to go upstairs and tell anyone else to leave before turning off the lights and proceeding to touch her inappropriately. That included weird hugs and touching her buttocks at least once during a massage-like activity called “Moving the Woodchips,” Luna said. “Oh, you have woodchips on your bottom,” Henderson said, right before that inappropriate contact, the girl recalled, the court heard. The girl also said Henderson touched her breast on as many as three occasions and committed other illegal sexual acts, Luna testified. Defense lawyer George Gigarjian tried to poke holes in the accounts, managing to get the judge to exclude one piece of potential evidence, and getting Luna to confirm law enforcement never actually went to the site—right across from San Lorenzo Valley Middle School/High School—where the offenses reportedly occurred.

In a phone call recording—entered into evidence at the preliminary hearing—of the girl speaking with Henderson, he admitted to isolating her upstairs during private lessons, asking her to lie down, and placing his hand on her back, but he denied inappropriate contact. During this call used to bring charges, he apologized several times and agreed he would call children “pretty” and “beautiful,” Luna said. When he was hauled in for questioning, Henderson was asked about hugging children. “Sometimes children just need to be hugged,” Luna recalled him saying, adding he mentioned children would sometimes run up to him with their arms open, but that, other times, “he just knew” they needed an embrace, even though they gave no such overt indication.

On the third day of the preliminary hearing, April 21, District Attorney’s office inspector Kelli Freitas testified that one teacher had expressed regret about not reporting the girl’s allegations. She also said she spoke with three other witnesses who told her about other incidents where Henderson had given shoulder rubs to other girls—or otherwise made them feel uncomfortable—while he was teaching at the middle school. At one point the principal was notified but no action was taken, two of the witnesses said, Freitas testified.

Henderson’s next court date is June 9.

When asked about the case, Bruton emphasized the reported incidents are said to have occurred off district property, that Henderson was immediately taken out of school when the accusations came to light, and that he was fired after his arrest. 

“The district has also conducted training sessions related to professional conduct on social media, at extracurricular activities, and during community events for school staff,” Bruton said. “There are codes of conduct for staff that are absolutely expected and will be enforced.”

Reward Offered for Help in Finding Watsonville Cat Shooter

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Reward Offered for Help in Finding Watsonville Cat Shooter

Mary Hall was working the afternoon shift on Jan. 6 when Horchata strolled into the office. The cat was a frequent and beloved visitor of the residential facility in Watsonville, where there was always someone to give him food and love. 

As Hall was combing him, however, she noticed what she thought at first was a scab. Horchata took off after being combed, but at around 6pm came limping back. For only being 2 years old, Hall remembers how weak and slow he looked.

“He’s usually very energetic, spicy and playful,” Hall said. “I knew something was really wrong.”

Hall called Horchata’s owner, who for safety reasons has asked not to be named. The owner drove him to the emergency animal hospital, where an ultrasound revealed half a liter of fluid building in his lungs. An X-ray later discovered the culprit. Horchata had three pellets lodged in him—one in his elbow, another in his forearm and fragments of a third in his chest cavity.

Horchata, a 2-year-old male cat from Watsonville, was shot with a pellet gun. COURTESY PHOTO

A few months later, a second cat was shot on March 14. Another cat was shot a few days later. And now, over the past weekend, two more cats have been shot. All of the shootings took place at the same apartment complex between 327 and 331 E. Beach St. in Watsonville.

For one of the cats, the injuries were fatal.

The case is under investigation, but the shooter remains unidentified. Now, PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 in hopes of finding the culprit before more cats are harmed. Tipsters should call the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter at 831-454-7200.

“The unfortunate thing is, there are people out there that don’t like cats,” said Todd Stosuy, field services manager for the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter.

Because there is no leash law in the county, cats are allowed to roam, and they may wander onto or defecate on others’ properties.

“Sometimes when that happens, people take the law into their own hands,” Stosuy said.

Horchata’s owner says that they used to see a lot of stray cats around the neighborhood, but now there are hardly any left. The owner worried that this may have to do with the shooting.

“If you have pets and they are outside, try and monitor them as much as you can,” the owner warned. “You never know what could happen.”

UCSC Climate Conference Will Address Food Security

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UCSC Climate Conference Will Address Food Security

UCSC’s seventh annual Confronting Climate Change Conference will focus on the complex problems and solutions relating to the consequences of climate change for food security. This free public event, to be held virtually this year, will take place April 28-29. 

The first day will feature a panel discussion of two short films by the university’s Social Documentation MFA program. The films, El Cacao and Open Line, both focus on food security and Indigenous cultures and will be available for on-demand viewing before the conference.

The following day will bring together panelists from diverse backgrounds—academics, nonprofit workers, climate scientists and sociologists alike—to discuss their expertise related to the pressing environmental challenge of adapting food systems in the face of climate change. They include UCSC Economics Professor Galina Hale and UCSC Assistant Professor of Sociology Naya Jones. 

As a result of climate change, scientists predict widespread and concerning impacts. These include changing global temperatures and precipitation, as well as increased extreme weather events like floods and wildfires. Because many agricultural crops are sensitive to variations in climate, these changes will dramatically impact food production. 

“We all eat!” says UCSC Professor of Environmental Studies and moderator of the panel discussion Stacy Philpott when asked about the event’s importance. “Climate change is our largest impending environmental problem. This conference will let us hear from people discussing not just the problems, but also the creative solutions.”

Philpott hopes that the conference will provide an educational space to talk about what can sometimes be a controversial subject in the media.

“Even though climate change is among the top things in [President] Biden’s agenda, a lot of what we hear about on the news is, ‘Is climate change real?” says Philpott. “For our panel, our goal is to move far beyond that and get into thinking about how climate change is going to impact society, food production and food security so that we can better prepare to confront these impending challenges.”

She looks forward to listening to what the speakers have to say as they each focus on the issue from slightly different angles. 

The conference requires separate advanced registrations for the April 28 and 29 programs.  Attendees can register for the sustainability film program here and the food security panel discussion here. 


New Seasonal Farmers Market Opens at Ramsay Park

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New Seasonal Farmers Market Opens at Ramsay Park

The Pajaro Valley is a thriving agricultural hub, surrounded by farms and fields growing food for people all over the world.

But according to the Community Health Trust (CHT) of Pajaro Valley, certain areas of the region are still considered “food deserts,” where people have limited access to healthy and affordable food. 

This is despite the fact many live within a few yards of a farm, or work at one.

“We live in a very abundant area, surrounded by fresh, healthy produce,” said DeAndre James, executive director for CHT, “but the truth is, many residents and families do not have easy access to these.”

This is why the CHT, along with numerous sponsors and partners, decided to open a new farmers market in Watsonville. Located in the front parking lot of Ramsay Park, adjacent to the Family Center and across from Sotomayor Soccer Field, the El Mercado Farmers Market offers fresh produce, healthy prepared food and drinks, community resources and more. It will be open every Tuesday, 2-6pm, through Oct. 26.

Program Manager for El Mercado Annie Puckett said that the idea for the market came from talks between CHT and Second Harvest Food Bank in 2018. A joint council of the two organizations, called the Food, Farming and Health Policy Council, were looking for ways to improve the local food system and more easily provide healthy food to the community.

Puckett said that they originally planned to open the market last year but things were halted due to the pandemic. However, the delay did allow them to prepare better and make the weekly event as accessible and health-conscious as possible.

“It gave us more time to think carefully, work things out,” Puckett said. “We are super excited to finally be opening things up.”

The market will not only provide produce, but also make available health screenings and resources, and act as a redemption site for CHT’s prescription food program, Veggie Rx. The program offers residents $20 vouchers to redeem at the market.

Once more Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, organizers hope to also hold live cooking demonstrations, giving people recipes and a chance to buy ingredients at nearby booths.

“We are a health and wellness organization, so it’s imperative that we make sure the market is a safe, positive space for people to enjoy,” said Nelly B. Otsu, marketing and communication manager for CHT. “Not only are they getting healthy food here, it’s also giving them a place to be social in a safe way.” 

Watsonville City Councilman Francisco Estrada, who is also part of the development department at CHT, said that trying to identify a location for the market had at first been a challenge. They initially were looking to hold it in a parking lot across from the Watsonville Community Hospital. Then the city suggested Ramsay Park.

“After a few discussions, we realized this would be a perfect place,” Estrada said.

To put the market together, CHT and the city worked with Jesus Madrigal, manager of the Watsonville Farmers Market (held downtown every Friday). They also received a two-year grant from the Central California Alliance for Health (CCAH) to help support basic operations. Live Earth Farm and the Farm Discovery Program came on board as sponsors to supply produce for Veggie Rx.

As the market came alive Tuesday, residents wandered over and began purchasing produce from Rodriguez Farms and lining up for a baked potato at Ivan’s Potatoes. Vendors like Monterey Bay Murals opened for business. CCAH offered guests health information, and a handful of nonprofits were also present.

Watsonville Wetlands Watch was one such organization, selling small potted plants and also offering free fruit and shade trees, which executive director Jonathan Pilch says is part of a new phase of the city’s Urban Forest Revitalization Project.

Additional sponsors of El Mercado Farmers Market include Kaiser Permanente, Granite Construction Company, Lakeside Organic Gardens, Salud Para La Gente, Santa Cruz County Bank, California Giant Berry Company, Driscoll’s and 99.9FM KDUB.

Estrada said as the Covid-19 situation improves, he hopes more and more people will come check out the market.

“It’s pretty exciting. We really hope the community enjoys it,” Estrada said.

For more information visit pvhealthtrust.org/elmercado.


Watsonville Farm, Biotech Company Receive Major Grant from USDA

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Watsonville Farm, Biotech Company Receive Major Grant from USDA

Since 2009, Blume Industries and Whiskey Hill Farms have jointly operated a research and development incubator in Watsonville, aiming to find regenerative solutions for food, fuel and waste management.

And now they will have the opportunity to expand their reach, sharing what they do and helping farmers become more efficient and sustainable.

In March, Blume Industries and Whiskey Hill Farms announced they were recipients of a major grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Western Division of Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).

The Farmer Rancher Grant is one of seven grant programs from SARE. In order to apply for the grant, researchers must partner and work with producers and prove that the need for the research comes from the community.

“[This grant] is a validation of the work we’ve been doing for the last several years,” said Tom Harvey, vice president of Blume Industries. “The USDA choosing us is really flattering. This is a really important first step for us in partnering with them.”

Blume Industries is a biotechnology company designing and manufacturing biorefinery systems and equipment. They convert food waste, unmarketable produce and other crops into cost-effective fuels under the Blume Distillation label.

Blume Industries is headquartered at the 14-acre Whiskey Hill Farms, a certified organic farm which uses both open fields and greenhouses for regenerative soil science and ecological design.

According to Blume Industries CEO David Blume, during prohibition, Whiskey Hill was home to a distillery where they made moonshine, selling it at nearby Corralitos Creek. As such, the land was gradually degraded, it’s redwoods cut down, topsoil washing away.

“Now it’s our job to regenerate this soil,” Blume said. “We’ve taken the soil from an organic matter content of below 2%, which is considered dead, and now it’s up to 15%. And we’re not buying anything. We’re intercepting wastes, surpluses … things that would normally be dumped into a landfill, and converting those into soil.”

That type of regenerative thinking was a major factor of why Blume Industries and Whiskey Hill Farms were chosen for the Farmer Rancher Grant, Blume said. Another was their focus on education and serving small, local farms.

“We can use the grant so that others can duplicate what we do here,” he said.

Added Harvey: “Dave comes up with all these ideas, designs …. Now we’ll have the budget to actually make them and share them with the community. Which will benefit everyone at the end of the day.”

Before Covid-19, thousands of farmers and researchers, school groups and more came to visit the facility for tours and workshops. One such group was the Sustainable Systems Research Foundation (SSRF), a nonprofit “think tank” in Santa Cruz that addresses environmental and sustainability issues.

Ronnie Lipschutz, co-director of SSRF, said he was amazed when he went on a tour of the facility.

“It’s the sort of thing we’re really interested in,” he said. “Small-scale urban farming and gardening.”

SSRF began working with Blume Industries and Whiskey Hill Farms last year, and played a major role in writing and submitting the grant proposal to SARE.

According to Stacie Clary, communications manager for Western SARE, the process of selecting recipients is long and thorough. After putting out an offer for proposals, SARE outlines the criteria and what they’re looking for. Technical review panels go through, score and rank proposals. The final applicants are given to SARE’s board of directors, who make the final decision.

According to Lipschutz, 45-50% of farms in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties are less than 50 acres. Around 45% of them have sales of less than $10,000 per year, and quite a significant number of those are minority-owned.

These are the types of farms Blume Industries and Whiskey Hill Farms want to help serve with this grant, Harvey said.

“At the end of the day, we’re all about this community,” Harvey said. “We really want to be an integral part of local farming.”

To learn more visit blumedistillation.com and whiskeyhillfarms.com. For information about potential funding opportunities and other resources visit western.sare.org.

UPDATED May 4, 2021: This story was updated to remove a source’s misstatement about SARE.

Bill Bolstering Wildfire Protections for Farmworkers Advances

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Bill Bolstering Wildfire Protections for Farmworkers Advances

A bill that would increase protections for California’s farmworkers during hazardous smoky conditions created by seasonal wildfires is making its way through the state legislature.

Assembly Bill 73, also known as the Farmworker Wildfire Smoke Protections Act, recently passed the Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment with unanimous (7-0) bipartisan support, and has now been referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Authored by Assemblymember Robert Rivas, AB 73, would, among other things, require the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) to create a stockpile of N95 masks that can be easily distributed to farmers during a wildfire. It would also mandate each Cal/OSHA regional office to dispatch specialized “strike teams” to ensure that farmers are keeping their employees safe during major unhealthy air quality events, including wildfires.

The California Latino Legislative Caucus in an announcement earlier this month included AB 73 as one of its priority pieces of legislation for the 2021 session.

“We can’t stand for our farmworkers, these essential workers, to risk their health and wellbeing every time they go out into the fields to harvest the food that we all eat,” Rivas said during the announcement.

Rivas is the representative for the state’s 30th Assembly District, which encompasses the Pajaro and Salinas valleys, and also serves as vice-chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus.

The bill comes on the heels of the worst wildfire season in California’s history. Last year, roughly 4.2 million acres were lost in nearly 10,000 fire incidents, according to Cal Fire. Thirty-three people died and more than 10,000 structures were damaged or destroyed.

The Central Coast and South Santa Clara County were particularly devastated last year by a quartet of fires (CZU Lightning Complex, SCU Complex, River Fire and Carmel Fire) that filled the skies with smoke for weeks as firefighters struggled to contain the flames.

Many farmworkers worked through the hazardous conditions, and although employers are required by Cal/OSHA to provide an N95 mask for voluntary use when the air quality index for particulate matter 2.5 exceeds 151—a level deemed unsafe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—some employees reported that they never received a mask.

Locally, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties distributed tens of thousands of masks to local farmers thanks to a shipment of at least 1.4 million masks to 35 counties from the California Office of Emergency Services.

“Despite the fact that here in California we have this first-in-the-nation emergency standard requiring employers to protect farmworkers from wildfire smoke, many farm and agriculture workers in our state did not get the workplace protections that they needed last year,” Rivas said.

Assemblymember Ash Kalra, whose 27th District covers sections of eastern San Jose, in a press release said that the bill was a vital “piece of legislation that will help provide critical protective equipment to our farmworkers.”

“California agricultural workers are the backbone of our state’s health and wellbeing, and we cannot wait to act on protecting these essential workers during an extraordinarily vulnerable time,” he said.

AB 73 is joint-authored by Assembly Members Kalra, Lorena Gonzalez and Eduardo Garcia.

As it stands now, the bill would also require Cal/OSHA to develop and distribute information on wildfire safety to agricultural employees in Spanish and English and also via pictograms.

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Dives into New Ship Plans

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Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Dives into New Ship Plans

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) will soon have a new, custom-built ship for ocean exploration. The R/V David Packard will replace the institute’s largest vessel, the R/V Western Flyer, in 2023.

David Packard, the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard (HP), funded the creation of the Monterey Bay Aquarium in 1984 and MBARI in 1987. In the decades since, the institution has mapped and explored portions of the Monterey Bay and its underwater canyon in minute detail. 

MBARI’s scientists and engineers pay particular attention to the deep sea. They use underwater robots called remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)—which researchers control through a long cable that connects the robot to the ship—and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)—which operate independently of ships on batteries—to study life below the surface.

A sea of possibilities

The Western Flyer has served as the home base and control center for MBARI’s largest ROV for over 25 years. The 117-foot ship has twin hulls that make it exceptionally stable. But that stability comes with tradeoffs.

“It doesn’t have a lot of deck space,” says Michael Kelly, MBARI’s director of marine operations. “It’s really good at being an ROV platform, but it’s not very good at doing other science missions.”

The R/V Western Flyer, MBARI’s flagship research vessel, will be retired in the fall of 2022. Photo: Todd Walsh © 2013 MBARI

In contrast, the David Packard will have a single hull and be 164 feet long. The more spacious deck will make room for new research capabilities.

“We’re doing a lot more work with autonomous platforms, whether they be undersea vehicles, surface vehicles, aerial vehicles,” says Kelly. AUVs, he explains, can cover large swaths of ocean for long periods of time relatively cheaply.

“The autonomous vehicle frees up the human from doing routine work and really lets them focus on true exploration and discovery,” he says. 

MBARI spent the past three decades focusing on the Monterey Bay with occasional ventures into other areas. The David Packard will expand the institute’s reach.

“It ushers in a new age for MBARI,” says Kelly. “This new platform is going to enable us to not only collaborate with other people at other institutions, but actually go to other areas of the ocean that we haven’t gone to before.”

The ship will take shape at Freire Shipyard in Spain before sailing to its new home in Moss Landing.

Kelly expects that the public will eventually have opportunities to tour the vessel—if not physically, certainly virtually.

O’Neill Sea Odyssey Hosting Virtual Earth Day Event

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O’Neill Sea Odyssey Hosting Virtual Earth Day Event

On Thursday, April 22, O’Neill Sea Odyssey and its partners will celebrate the 51st anniversary of Earth Day with a free, virtual event from 6-7pm. 

The evening will begin with a presentation by Taylor Lane and Ben Judkins, founders of The Cigarette Surfboard. Lane and Judkins will talk about their experience as artists, designers, filmmakers, surfers, and ocean activists who aim to keep marine environments free of harmful plastic pollution, especially the most littered item on Earth: the cigarette butt. 

The two have traveled across the globe, collaborating with musicians such as Jack Johnson and professional surfers like Cliff Kapono, raising awareness about the tobacco industry through their surfboards made of tens of thousands of retrieved cigarette butts, according to a press release from O’Neill Sea Odyssey.

“A lot of times, people think we are too far gone to save our planet from destruction,” Lane said in the press release. “What the Ciggy Boards symbolize to me is that we, as humans, have designed these problems for ourselves, and we can redesign our way out of this. We just need some inspiration to take us there. The future is what we make of it.”

A panel of experts will then join Lane and Judkins in conversation about public health and tobacco during Covid-19, updates on local tobacco waste policymaking, and other ocean advocacy issues. 

Experts include Santa Cruz Councilwoman Martine Watkins and Santa Cruz County public health educator Tara Leonard.

Watkins, who also serves as the Santa Cruz County Office of Education’s Tobacco Use Prevention Education Program coordinator, said she appreciated Lane and Judkins’ activism.  

“Their ability to engage the public on this issue is inspiring,” Watkins said in the press release. “Our program hopes to instill an ethic against toxic waste while promoting health, especially for our youth, and Taylor and Ben are role models in their advocacy against the tobacco industry.” 

The evening will conclude with a question and answer session followed by ways to get involved. The event is free and family-friendly. 

To register, visit: bit.ly/3g4RAWI.

This program is a partnership between O’Neill Sea Odyssey, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education’s Tobacco Use Prevention Education Program, the Santa Cruz County Tobacco Education Coalition, and The Cigarette Surfboard. 

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: April 21-27

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Things To Do in Santa Cruz: April 21-27

A weekly guide to what’s happening.

ARTS AND MUSIC

CABRILLO VAPA CROSSTALKS NO. 3 Please join us for the third of Cabrillo VAPA’s CrossTalks, a Zoom storytelling series about careers in creative arts and design. Our third speaker is Dr. David Cutler, director of Music Entrepreneurship at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Cutler is a pianist and composer equally comfortable with classical, jazz, popular, folk and world music. Stretching what it means to be a performer, events regularly involve extreme eclecticism, choreography, humor, interdisciplinary collaboration, superhero costumes, character ushers, celebrity cameos, kazoo playing marching bands—you name it. In his varied roles as educator, arranger, conductor, collaborator, concert producer, author, blogger, consultant, speaker, advocate and entrepreneur, he works to push boundaries while connecting with new audiences. Tuesday, April 27, 5-6pm. Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos.

EDGE OF THE WEST “DINNER AND A SHOW” Edge Of The West returns to Michael’s on Main to play a “Dinner and a Show” performance. The cosmic country jam band looks forward to their first local public appearance in over a year! Doors at 5pm, dinner at 6:30pm, music at 8pm. Call 831-479-9777 for tickets. Outdoor seating, great atmosphere. Saturday, April 24. Michael’s on Main, 2591 S Main St., Soquel.

SPRING SESSION Community Music School of Santa Cruz presents “Spring Session,” a two-day series of online Celtic music classes on April 24 and 25. This event is for players of guitar, fiddle, harp, whistle, Irish tenor banjo, and bodhran; there’s also a session on singing in Irish, a Happy Hour and Pub Quiz, and a group jam session. Saturday, April 24, 9am and Sunday April 25, 9am. community-music-school-of-santa-cruz.square.site/shop/spring-session/4. Monte Toyon Camp and Conference Center, 220 Cloister Lane, Aptos.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE UCSC theater arts professor Danny Scheie is bringing the old gang back together for one more show. Professor Scheie is retiring from teaching, but luckily not from the stage! The Arts Division at UCSC is thrilled to present a live streaming reading of Scheie’s signature piece, “Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors,” to raise money for the newly established Danny Scheie Scholarship Fund and honor Danny’s incredible impact on so many. Featuring Scheie as the Dromio twins, along with an impressive cast drawn from his hilarious 1988 production with Shakespeare Santa Cruz, this enthralling presentation will also include talented student and professional actors he’s worked with across his storied career. All proceeds will benefit the Danny Scheie Scholarship Fund which will provide an annual grant to selected UCSC theater students to help launch their performing arts careers. Ticket prices start at $10. Friday, April 23, 5:30pm. Visit arts.ucsc.edu/news_events/live-reading-comedy-errors for more information and Zoom information.

COMMUNITY

AFFORDABLE EVS: HOW TO QUALIFY FOR A FREE OR LOW-COST EV Join this webinar to find out just how affordable EVs really are. We’ll do the cost breakdown on how income-qualified individuals are getting money put back in their pockets or leasing for as low as $35/month. We’ll also discuss electric vehicle basics: charging, battery range, new vs. used, federal, state and regional rebates/incentives that make buying an EV super affordable. Saturday, April 24, 10-11:30am. Ecology Action, 877 Cedar St., Suite 240, Santa Cruz.

ASK ME ANYTHING: CONVERSATIONS FROM THE FRONT LINE OF HOMELESSNESS Join Housing Matters’ programs staff in their newest webinar: “Ask Me Anything: Conversations from the Front Line Of Homelessness.” This is your opportunity to hear what is going on every single day to solve homelessness and ask all the questions you have about working to solve homelessness in our community. Monday, April 26, 10am. Housing Matters, 115 Coral St., Santa Cruz.

CUÉNTAME UN CUENTO – DÍA DEL NIÑO ¡Acompáñanos para una presentación especial donde celebraremos el Día del Niño con cuentos y música con nuestro invitado especiál, MusicalMe! Le animamos a traer una maraca u otro instrumento musical. Una manualidad para crear un librito para los niños estará disponible en su biblioteca más cercana. Este programa es para niños de 0-8 y sus familias. Será una reunión virtual en vivo de Zoom. Es necesario registrarse para este evento. Los registrantes recibirán un correo electrónico 24 horas y 1 hora antes del programa con un enlace Zoom e instrucciones para iniciar sesión. Join us for a special Spanish Storytime, as we celebrate Día del Niño with stories and music with our special guest, MusicalMe. We encourage you to bring a noisemaker or other musical instrument. A mini book craft will be available at your closest library branch. It’s going to be a live Zoom meeting. Registration is required for this event; register at santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/7432108.  Registrants will receive an email 24 hours and one hour prior to the program with a Zoom link and instructions for logging in. Saturday, April 24, 11am-noon. 

GREY BEARS BROWN BAG LINE If you are able-bodied and love to work fast, this is for you! Grey Bears could use more help with their brown bag production line on Thursday and Friday mornings. As a token of our thanks, we make you breakfast and give you a bag of food, if wanted. Be at the warehouse with a mask and gloves at 7am, and we will put you to work until at least 9am. Call ahead if you would like to know more. greybears.org. 831-479-1055. Thursday, April 22, 7am. California Grey Bears, 2710 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz.

OMEGA NU’S 31ST ANNUAL DUCKY DERBY Duck adoptions, sponsorships, and donations are now being accepted for the Virtual 31st Annual Omega Nu Ducky Derby. Due to county Covid-19 restrictions, Ducky Derby will be held virtually this year. There will be multiple virtual races and lots of amazing prizes! Adopt a duck and cheer it on as you watch the races online. Please help Omega Nu continue our long-standing tradition of supporting vitally needed community programs, charities, college scholarships, and teacher grants for classroom materials. Please visit duckyderbysantacruz.org and join in the fun of our 2021 virtual event where you can adopt ducks for a chance to win prizes while supporting your local community. Saturday, April 24. 

PUPPYLOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS What if the Three Bears were really Teddy Bears? What if Goldilocks was not a little girl at all, but a golden, mischievous little dog? That is exactly the case in this very funny retelling of the traditional fairy tale. Watch this impish little dog do everything wrong in the bears’ house while the bears are off to the Teddybear Circus! Puppylocks is presented with traditional Bohemian-style marionettes on a tabletop stage. It runs for about 40 minutes and is recommended for ages 3 and up. For more information contact Julie Soto at 831-427-7713. Saturday, April 24, 11am-noon. Santa Cruz Public Libraries, 117 Union St., Santa Cruz.

SALSA SUELTA FREE ZOOM SESSION Keep in shape! Weekly online session in Cuban-style Salsa Suelta for experienced beginners and up. May include mambo, chachacha, Afro-Cuban rumba, orisha, son montuno. No partner required, ages 14 and older. Contact to get the link. salsagente.com. Thursday, April 22, 7pm. 

TENANTS’ RIGHTS HELP Tenant Sanctuary is open to renters living in the city of Santa Cruz with questions about their tenants’ rights. Volunteer counselors staff the telephones on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 10am-2pm. Tenant Sanctuary works to empower tenants by educating them on their rights and providing the tools to pursue those rights. Tenant Sanctuary and their program attorney host free legal clinics for tenants in the city of Santa Cruz. Due to Covid-19 concerns, all services are currently by telephone, email or Zoom. For more information visit tenantsanctuary.org or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/tenantsanctuary. 831-200-0740. Thursday, April 22, 10am-2pm. Sunday, April 25, 10am-2pm. Tuesday, April 27, 10am-2pm. 

TRINITY FOURTH TUESDAY SANTA CRUZ HISTORY PROGRAM VIA ZOOM Frank Perry, curator of the Capitola Historical Museum, will be speaking on The Cowell Family in Santa Cruz County History. Cowell is a familiar name to most Santa Cruzans. There is Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Cowell College at UCSC, and Cowell Beach near the wharf. So who was Henry Cowell and why is the Cowell name in so many places? How did the Cowell family influence Santa Cruz history? Why are there no descendants of the family? Frank will explore the curious history of the family and the important ways it shaped the course of local history. Zoom link available at trinitypressc.org under news and events. Tuesday, April 27, noon. 

GROUPS

COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENT FORUM Complementary Treatment Forum is an educational group, a safe place to learn, for women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets every fourth Saturday, currently on Zoom. Registration required; contact WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Saturday, April 24, 10:30am-12:30pm. 

CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP – VIA TELEPHONE Support groups create a safe, confidential, supportive environment or community and a chance for family caregivers to develop informal mutual support and social relationships as well as discover more effective ways to cope with and care for your loved one. To register or for more information please call 800-272-3900. Wednesday, April 21, 5:30pm. 

ENTRE NOSOTRAS GRUPO DE APOYO Entre Nosotras support group for Spanish speaking women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets twice monthly. Registration required, call Entre Nosotras 831-761-3973. Friday, April 23, 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 at WomenCARE’s office. Currently on Zoom. Registration required, contact WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. All services are free. For more information visit womencaresantacruz.org. Monday, April 26, 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, contact WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Tuesday, April 27, 12:30-2pm. 

OUTDOOR

EARTH DAY CELEBRATION Come celebrate Earth Day with Downtown Commons Advocates and Santa Cruz Climate Action Network in the parking lot on the corner of Cedar and Cathcart Streets in downtown Santa Cruz. There will be musical performances by Russell Brutsche, Anthony Arya, Michael Levy and Peter Weiss, Elie Mabanza and Gina Rene. Learn about the work of community groups, see entries in the Earth Day photo contest, the artwork of Russell Brutsche and participate in a hands-on art activity. This event is free. Please bring your own chairs and drinks, and bike to the event if you can! Saturday, April 24, 1-5pm. Parking lot 4, 616 Cedar St., Santa Cruz.

GROWING A MOVEMENT: AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY AND FOOD POLICY AS TOOLS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE An often overlooked factor in the climate crisis is the role of agriculture, now done at vast commercial scales, with hidden costs (“externalities”—your economics terms of the day). How can we reimagine our agriculture practices for a sustainable future? This talk will focus on some of the key environmental and social externalities of traditional agriculture and how advances in agriculture technology and more robust food policy can address some of these issues. Zoom link: middlebury.zoom.us/s/92687052609?pwd=bThYMGVVV3cyUk1yUzNxdTV3UUQ0QT09#success. Password: IdeasHeal. For questions visit centerfortheblueeconomy.org or call 831-647-4183 (must leave a message and receive a call back). See this lecture and full speaker series: middlebury.edu/institute/academics/degree-programs/international-environmental-policy/overview/speaker-series. Thursday, April 22, 12:30-1:30pm. 

OUT AND ABOUT: BIRDING AT NEARY LAGOON Out and About is a monthly series by the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History of family-friendly, small group get-togethers exploring Santa Cruz’s diverse natural spaces through guided activities. Let’s get out and about! This month we’ll be looking for birds at Neary Lagoon Wildlife Refuge, a wonderful oasis for local wildlife in the heart of Santa Cruz. We’ll bring along binoculars for everyone to use and share tips for identifying birds during this one-mile walk. This program is based on the Museum’s Wetland Walk field trip for third-grade students where we explore concepts of seasonal change, migration, and human impacts by exploring this important wetland habitat and recording observations. Registration is required, visit santacruzmuseum.org for more information. Saturday, April 24, 10am-noon. Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, 1305 E Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz.

THE WORK THAT RECONNECTS: COURAGE FOR THE HEALING OF OUR WORLD Join us for a transformational group process that builds motivation, connection, solidarity and vision, renewing the courage to act for the healing of our world. In these times of climate chaos, rampant inequality, systemic racism, and other daily catastrophes, there is a tension between our desire to take urgent action and our need to process reality on a deeper level. The workshop tuition is for both days, and there is not an option for partial participation. We will be adhering to the latest Covid-19 recommendations and precautions. The exact address will be shared after registering. You are welcome to camp on-site, and there are many hotels nearby. All meals are on your own. There are many natural food stores and restaurants nearby. Please bring a bowl (for a ritual), notebook, something to write with, and clothing layers. Learn more and register at santacruzpermaculture.com/wtr. April 24-25. $150-$200. 

VIRTUAL YOUNGER LAGOON RESERVE TOURS Younger Lagoon Reserve is now offering a virtual tour in both English and Spanish. This virtual tour follows the same stops as the Seymour Marine Discovery Center’s docent-led, in-person hiking tour, and is led by a UCSC student. Virtual Younger Lagoon Reserve tours are free and open to the public. Part of the University of California Natural Reserve System, Younger Lagoon Reserve contains diverse coastal habitats and is home to birds of prey, migrating sea birds, bobcats, and other wildlife. See what scientists are doing to track local mammals, restore native habitat, and learn about the workings of one of California’s rare coastal lagoons. Access the tours at seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/visit/behind-the-scenes-tours/#youngerlagoon. Sunday, April 25, 10:30am. Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz.

ZOOM SPEAKER SERIES: PLANKTON MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND Join Save Our Shores and local expert panelists from Cabrillo College, UCSC, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, One People One Reef, and OceansMicro as we dive into and explore the unseen world of plankton! Together we will learn how plankton help sustain our planet and support the incredible diversity of life we are fortunate enough to witness in our ocean backyard. We’ll zoom in on these tiny organisms live through the eye of a microscope as we peer into a water sample discovering all that our local Monterey Bay holds within. Lastly, we’ll hear how each of us can continue to learn about and be amazed by plankton while contributing to the valuable data collection and community science efforts that help to better understand our oceans. You won’t want to miss this informative, exciting, and even perhaps emotional discussion. Register online for this Zoom event at saveourshores.salsalabs.org/planktonmaketheworldgoround/index.html. Wednesday, April 21, 6pm. 

Anti-Asian Sentiment Not a Novel Issue, Community Advocates Say

Local group comes together in response to uptick in attacks against AAPI community
Read more

San Lorenzo Valley Teachers Lawyer up as Misconduct Claims Grow

At least three current or former teachers now have legal representation
Read more

Reward Offered for Help in Finding Watsonville Cat Shooter

Several cats injured, one dead
Read more

UCSC Climate Conference Will Address Food Security

Panelists will discuss adapting food systems in the face of climate change
Read more

New Seasonal Farmers Market Opens at Ramsay Park

El Mercado Farmers Market offers fresh produce, prepared food and drinks, community resources and more
Read more

Watsonville Farm, Biotech Company Receive Major Grant from USDA

Two local companies focus on education and serving small, local farms
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Bill Bolstering Wildfire Protections for Farmworkers Advances

Bill comes on the heels of the worst wildfire season in California’s history.
Read more

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Dives into New Ship Plans

A new research vessel will encourage ocean exploration
Read more

O’Neill Sea Odyssey Hosting Virtual Earth Day Event

Event to focus on solutions to help end tobacco waste
Read more

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: April 21-27

Take music classes, learn about affordable EVs and find more things to do
Read more
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