Page 427 – Good Times

Drought-Like Conditions Keep Water Use Restrictions in Place

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May 20, 2021

Drought-Like Conditions Keep Water Use Restrictions in Place

The May 6 meeting of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District Board of Directors brought some important issues to light, including District Manager Rick Rogers’ recommendation on the Water Contingency Plan, the appointment of Director Jayme Ackemann, a delay on further reporting of the proposed merger with Scotts Valley Water District, and a surprise mention of pending litigation between the Water District and Santa Cruz County.

Rogers suggested that the SLVWD continue with the 2015 Urban Water Management Plan based on drought-like conditions. In 2018, the district’s board and staff reaffirmed Stage 2 of the District’s Emergency Plan, which, among other things, asks SLVWD customers and businesses to limit their water use by 10-20%. Having only received 56% of total rainfall for that year, Stage 2 was held over into 2020, and the effects of decreased precipitation in the Valley are becoming more apparent.

As reported by Rogers during the online meeting, the area is only at 46% of average rainfall, with a total of 17 inches of rain this season. Given that it is mid-May, and Santa Cruz County has an extreme drought rating, chances are slim that the Valley can recover any of that lost water, Rogers said.

In addition to the lack of rainfall, water supplies were negatively impacted by the CZU Lightning Complex fire, resulting in decreased surface water availability.

July through November are typically the most critical production months for the region, but Rogers’ recommendation was for the district to remain married to the Stage 2 water restrictions for the time being, with reevaluation happening in 2022.

One factor that may affect that determination is the state’s potential Declaration of Emergency for drought conditions. More information is expected as the severe lack of rainfall impacts water usage and availability, but one impact will be a reduction of outdoor water usage.

MERGER TALKS

The board had originally asked Rogers to provide a list of pros and cons for the potential SLVWD-SVWD merger by the May 6 meeting.

But there was some discrepancy amongst the board on the date of deliverables. The initial request had specified that feedback from Rogers needed to be delivered by the first meeting in May, but Rogers demurred, and assured the board that his report would be presented at the May 20 meeting.

TO THE COURTS

Santa Cruz County is suing the district for a number of items, including negligence, trespass, public nuisance, dangerous condition of public property and waste after a washout early this year at the bottom of Bear Creek Road in Boulder Creek created months-long traffic delays, as the road was rebuilt and the earth fortified against future failures.

In the complaint (Case 21CV00188) filed on Jan. 26 the county alleges that SLVWD had been provided a blanket encroachment permit back in 2001 “for the installation of service connections and ordinary maintenance of facilities.” Under the auspices of the permit, SLVWD had installed isolation valving and performed other work as it related to an 8-inch water main that was tucked beneath the pavement.

The county alleges that the main was leaking, and thereby created the earth failure around the lower section of Bear Creek Road. As a result, the district is being sued for $1,125,598.

District legal counsel Gina Nicholls submitted an immediate response to the county, alleging that since Bear Creek Road is maintained by the county, it was their responsibility to take notice of its “failing condition” prior to the road’s collapse. Since SLVWD had not been forewarned of the impending legal action, there was no way for the district to “resolve the matter in an amicable manner.”

In fact, Nicholls had filed a claim on behalf of the district against the county following the collapse of the roadway, alleging that the pavement had been inadequately maintained by the county, thereby causing at least $147,000 in damage to the district’s infrastructure.

The lawsuit and the district’s response may be found at portal.santacruzcourt.org/Portal.

Man Drowns at Main Beach in Santa Cruz; Two Children Rescued

GT Staff

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May 19, 2021

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Man Drowns at Main Beach in Santa Cruz; Two Children Rescued

A San Jose man died Sunday afternoon after being swept into the sea by waves at the San Lorenzo River mouth.

Hai Pham, 50, died shortly after being pulled from the surf at Santa Cruz Main Beach around 6pm on Sunday, May 16, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokesperson Ashley Keehn.

The Santa Cruz Fire Department, Santa Cruz Police Department and Harbor Patrol responded to a report of a man and two children, ages 6 and 12, who were swept into the ocean and were approximately 200 hundred yards offshore.

Battalion Chief Daniel Kline said the fire department sent a rescue swimmer/paramedic into the water. A Harbor Patrol boat then arrived and found Pham unconscious in the water.

Harbor Patrol members pulled Pham and the two children from the water, Kline said.

Paramedics began life-saving measures as the Harbor Patrol boat made its way to the Santa Cruz Harbor, where additional crews took over life-saving care. All three victims were taken to the hospital for continued resuscitation efforts.

Pham died a short while later from his injuries, Kline said.

The children were last known to be at the hospital, in good condition and undergoing an evaluation.

A fire department rescue swimmer/paramedic was treated at the hospital, then admitted overnight for an extended observation period.

“With summer months ahead and Memorial Day fast approaching, the Santa Cruz Fire Department wants to remind everyone of the dangers the ocean can present,” Kline warned. “Please proceed with caution and contact a lifeguard if you have questions regarding ocean conditions.”

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: May 19-25

GT Staff

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May 19, 2021

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A weekly guide to what’s happening.

ARTS AND MUSIC

COMMUNITY DRUMMING WITH JIM GREINER IN PERSON Percussionist and educator Jim Greiner will conduct the next in his monthly Third Friday series of community drumming sessions at the Inner Light Center in Soquel in person. Doors open at 5:45pm. The cost is $10. Masks and social distancing requirements will be honored. Jim makes it fun and easy for people from all walks of life to play drums and hand percussion to release stress, to uplift and energize yourself, and to reinforce positive life rhythms through percussion playing. Friday, May 21, 6-7:30pm. Inner Light Center, 5630 Soquel Drive, Soquel.

KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ Powered by Tandy Beal and Company and a lot of great friends, this event presents exceptional artists in free 15-minute mini-shows on a flatbed truck outside. Knowing that everyone is a bit stressed, we are offering this taste of music and circus to uplift our neighborhoods. Keep each other safe, wear your masks and keep your distances social—otherwise, the truck will need to move on. Each stop on our Truckin’ Tour will be a 20-minute performance: 11am at Garfield Part (199 Seaside St.); 11:45am at University Terrace Park (369 Meder St.); 12:30pm at Westlake Park (Bradley Drive and Majors St.); 2:15pm at Ocean View Park (102 Ocean View Ave.); 3pm at Frederick St. Park (168 Frederick St.). More information at tandybeal.com. Saturday, May 22, 11am-3pm. Sunday, May 23, 11am-3pm.

T BONE MOJO BAND INSIDE DAVENPORT ROADHOUSE Veterans of the 1960s San Francisco and East Coast music scenes present a fun and groovin’ up-energy group, often featuring special guests geared to getting the party going, folks tapping their feet, and on the dance floor! Saturday, May 22, 5-8pm. Davenport Roadhouse Restaurant and Inn, 1 Davenport Ave., Davenport.

VIRTUAL TWO-ACT PLAY BY HIROSHI KASHIWAGI The two-act play is a love story about a young Nisei couple who meet at Tule Lake and fall in love but are torn apart by two controversial, government-issued “loyalty” questions. Forty years later, they meet again and discover their answers to these questions had consequences that affected them for the rest of their lives. The controversial questions 27 and 28 tore the community apart and sent shockwaves of resentment, fear and division in the American concentration camps. Families were divided and no one was certain how the questionnaire would be used by the government. The stigma of answering “No” to both of these loaded questions would last for decades. “The Betrayed” illustrates how the questions led to divisiveness and disruption in the Japanese American community. The author Hiroshi Kashiwagi wished that an open and honest portrayal of the complex issue would bring about reconciliation and healing. During the post-screening discussion, supporters will have a chance to meet cast members Helen Ota and Michael Palma, and discuss the long-term effects of the loyalty controversy with Dr. Satsuki Ina and Soji Kashiwagi, executive director of Grateful Crane and son of Hiroshi Kashiwag. Benefit screening for the Watsonville Buddhist Temple. Donation: $25 per person/$50 per household. Tickets available at eventbrite.com; search “The Betrayed”. Ticket holders will receive an email with the link to the virtual play 48 hours prior to the showing. As a courtesy to those who may not be able to view the play at the scheduled time, ticket holders can view the taped play for 36 hours after the live performance. Saturday, May 22, 4:30pm. Watsonville Buddhist Temple, 423 Bridge St., Watsonville.

TOP DOG FILM FESTIVAL We will have a limited capacity, opening night, live audience screening. We will be following local Covid protocols. Celebrate the canine connection through this carefully curated collection of heartwarming stories about dogs and their people at the 2021 Top Dog Film Festival. The 2021 Top Dog Film Festival presents a two-hour cinematic celebration honoring the bond between dogs and their people. Filled with delightfully doggy moments of joy and celebration of our beloved canine companions. This program of short canine-themed films is comprised of the most inspirational, heart-warming and entertaining stories about dogs and their human companions, from independent filmmakers around the globe. Get your tickets before they all sell out —you’d be barking mad to miss it! If you aren’t ready for an in-person theatre experience, there is also a virtual screening held at 7pm from May 14-24. Visit riotheatre.com for more information.

COMMUNITY

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES WEBINAR Communication is more than just talking and listening—it’s also about sending and receiving messages through attitude, tone of voice, facial expressions and body language. As people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias progress in their journey and the ability to use words is lost, families need new ways to connect. Join us to explore how communication takes place when someone has Alzheimer’s, learn to decode the verbal and behavioral messages delivered by someone with dementia, and identify strategies to help you connect and communicate at each stage of the disease. The Effective Communication Strategies program of the Alzheimer’s Association was designed to provide practical information and resources to help dementia caregivers learn to decode verbal and behavioral messages from people with dementia. For more information and to register call 800-272-3900. Thursday, May 20, 10-11:30am.

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: 831-479-1055, greybears.org. Thursday, May 20, 7am. California Grey Bears, 2710 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz.

HISTORIAN ROSS GIBSON SHOWS “HOW SANTA CRUZ AVOIDED LA-STYLE POST-WWII DEVELOPMENT” Trinity Presbyterian fourth Tuesday Zoom program will feature Santa Cruz historian Ross Gibson’s slide show presentation, “How Santa Cruz Didn’t Become LA.” It explores the post-WWII development pressures of suburban sprawl, freeways, industrial expansion, and its impact on agriculture and tourist areas of Santa Cruz and San Jose. The Zoom link for the program can be found under “News and Events” on the Trinity Presbyterian Church website at trinitypressc.org. Tuesday, May 25, noon.

SALSA SUELTA FREE ZOOM SESSION 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, May 20, 7pm. Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz.

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, May 20, 10am-2pm. Sunday, May 23, 10am-2pm. Tuesday, May 25, 10am-2pm.

GROUPS

CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP VIA ZOOM 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. Who may benefit from participating in the support group? Family caregivers who: care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, those who would like to talk to others in similar situations, those who need more information, additional support and caregiving strategies. This meeting is via Zoom and telephone. To register or for more information, call 800-272-3900. Wednesday, May 19, 5:30pm.

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: Call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Saturday, May 22, 10:30am-12:30pm.

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 at 831-761-3973. Friday, May 21, 6pm.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS All our meetings have switched to being online due to sheltering in place. Please call 831-429-7906 for meeting information. Do you have a problem with food? Drop into a free, friendly Overeaters Anonymous 12-Step meeting. All are welcome! Saturday, May 22, 11am-noon.

WOMENCARE ARM-IN-ARM WomenCARE ARM-IN-ARM cancer support group is for women with advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cancer. Meets every Monday at WomenCARE’s office. Currently on Zoom. Registration required: Call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. All services are free. For more information visit womencaresantacruz.org. Monday, May 24, 12:30pm.

WOMENCARE MINDFULNESS MEDITATION Meets the first and third Friday of the month, currently on Zoom. Registration required: Call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Friday, May 21, 11am-noon.

WOMENCARE TUESDAY SUPPORT GROUP WomenCARE Tuesday cancer support group for women newly diagnosed and through their treatment. Meets every Tuesday, currently on Zoom. Registration required: Call WomenCARE 831-457-2273. Tuesday, May 25, 12:30-2pm.

WOMENCARE: LAUGHTER YOGA Laughter yoga for women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets every Wednesday, currently via Zoom. Registration required: Call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Wednesday, May 19, 3:30-4:30pm.

OUTDOOR

OUT AND ABOUT: NATURE JOURNALING AT THE MUSEUM Out and About is a monthly series hosted 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 nature journaling in the museum’s Garden Learning Center. Museum staff—seasoned youth environmental educators and artists—will guide you through nature journaling exercises and making observations of native plants and wildlife in our Garden Learning Center. Materials will be provided. This program is family-friendly and all ages are welcome. Please review the following details prior to registering: Wear a mask at all times; if you feel sick, stay home; and maintain at least six feet of distance from others when possible. Registration prior to the event is required. We are limiting this to 15 individuals. Saturday, May 22, 10-11:30am. Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, 1305 E Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz.

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, May 23, 10:30am. Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz.

YOU PICK ROSES We are growing over 300 roses, deeply fragrant, lush and in every color, and we want to share them with you! Get out of the house and enjoy cutting a bucket of roses for your own pleasure or to share with family and friends. Once you have made a purchase, you will be sent a calendar link to pick a time for your reservation and directions to our farm in Watsonville. Visit birdsongorchards.com/store/you-pick-roses for more information. Friday, May 21, 11am. Sunday, May 23, 11am.

Local Metalhead Diversifies with Dylan Rose Band

Aaron Carnes

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May 19, 2021

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Local Metalhead Diversifies with Dylan Rose Band

Dylan Rose hasn’t played a lot of acoustic shows. The couple he does recall happened when he toured with James Durbin years back and would do the occasional unplugged radio station promotional event.

For most of the past decade, he’s been rocking out hard with his metal band, Archer Nation. In particular, they’ve become road dogs in the past five years, gigging as much as possible, slowly growing their international audience.

“Super loud Marshalls, ridiculously thrashy drums and a huge wall of sound,” lead singer and guitarist Rose explains. “I’ve developed a vocal style that caters to that. I can sing like Megadeth or whatever, but singing Beatles stuff is a lot different than screaming in a thrash band.”

When the pandemic hit, Archer Nation shows were no longer an option. It was a particularly tough moment for Rose since his band had finished their most successful tour to date in late 2019, a European tour with Annihilator. They were ready to hit the road again in 2020 and build on that momentum.

When shows started to come back this year, Rose jumped in eagerly but had to do so as an acoustic duo with Alisha Ripatti, which he called Ripatti and Rose. It’s been a unique, but fun, challenge for him.

“Obviously I could never bring Archer into a wine bar. So, let’s play some of these other places I’ve never been to before,” Rose says. “There was a palpable excitement that people had to actually see live music and see one another, even if you are sitting in tables spaced out.”

The duo has been gigging as much as they can, and now that restrictions are continuing to ease, Rose is bringing a full band to play at Felton Music Hall. But it’s not Archer Nation. It’s his new band, Dylan Rose Band, a five-piece group. Ripatti is a member. They play a lot of genres, and metal isn’t one of them.

“Archer Nation is very much a metal entity. We’re not going to throw in blues-rock or a folk tune into the set anytime soon, but I love playing different music,” Rose says. “The most satisfying part of this whole thing is challenging myself in ways that I haven’t had the time to do in a long time.”

The project didn’t start as a proper band. With nothing to do and no creative outlet, Rose started getting together with a group of friends to have weekly Friday jams. These were people in his bubble, so it made perfect sense. Since there was no end goal to the process, they all jammed out on songs they didn’t normally play.

“I grew up on the Allman Brothers and Led Zeppelin. I wanted to tap into more of that other stuff I enjoyed playing,” Rose says. “Make use of the time that we had last year not being able to do anything.”

But it did become something. The group made its public debut on April 20, a livestream event at Santa Cruz Boardroom. On May 20, they will play live and in person at Felton Music Hall, their first official non-livestream concert.

The Dylan Rose Band and Ripatti and Rose are closely connected because they share much of the same material.

“It’ll be this symbiotic thing. If Ripatti and Rose play somewhere, some people are already coming up to us in the last couple of months, and they’re saying, ‘I’d love to hear you guys backed by a full band.’ That conversation segues nicely into ‘Well, we do have a full band.’ I’m trying to play both off each other and cover all the bases and see if we can cross-promote.”

Coming out of the pandemic, Rose now has essentially three projects. So it’ll be more of a challenge of juggling his different outlets than anything else since he’s excited about all of them.

“I’ve been on the Archer Nation touring grind. It got really busy in 2015 and hasn’t relented since,” Rose says. “I haven’t had time to sit down and be like, ‘I like that solo in “Comfortably Numb,” let’s play that song real quick.’ So it was a really cool opportunity. We can play music from anybody. It could be a country tune, a blues standard, an Etta James song, or anything. We just let everybody spread their wings and learn and grow as musicians together.”

The Dylan Rose Band performs at 6pm on Thursday, May 20, at Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. Free. 831-704-7113.

Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead’ is the Ultimate Zombie-Pastiche Flick

Steve Palopoli

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May 19, 2021

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Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead’ is the Ultimate Zombie-Pastiche Flick

Before he was known for ridiculously self-important superhero movies and even more ridiculously self-important fans, director Zack Snyder made a hell of a fun first movie back in 2004, a remake of George Romero’s 1978 undead classic Dawn of the Dead.

Snyder’s version wasn’t as epic or convincingly built-out as the original, but it wasn’t trying to be. Instead, he took the most basic elements of Romero’s movie—a zombie outbreak, a group of survivors and a shopping mall—stripped them down and spun them into a wild, funny alternate take.

The best part of Snyder’s Dawn was a montage set to lounge singer Richard Cheese’s hilarious cover of Disturbed’s “Down With the Sickness.” There was more energy and excitement in those two-and-a-half minutes then in the entire two-and-a-half hours of Snyder’s Batman vs. Superman.

And for as hard as he fought to release his “Snyder cut” of Justice League—at four hours long, easily the most extreme example of his relentlessly square-jawed superhero aesthetic—there must be something in the star director that knew he’d been on to something way back then, because in 2019 he took a break from all the superhero stuff to film a decade-and-a-half-late zombie follow-up, Army of the Dead. It has finally arrived, and guess what its best sequence is? If you said another crazy montage set to a Richard Cheese cover (this time “Viva Las Vegas”), you win all the brains!

Truth be told, a lot of what’s most fun about Army of the Dead—and it’s pretty damn fun—is lifted from Snyder’s first zombie movie. The bright pop-art colors, horror camp and fast-talking characters have finally returned, replacing the grim palettes and stoic poses of his last three superhero movies.

This time, though, Snyder goes all-in on the horror pastiche, stealing from everyone and everywhere to tell this fairly basic story of a group of highly skilled thieves who try to rob a casino after Las Vegas has been walled off from the rest of the country—and is set to be nuked—following a zombie outbreak there. There’s even more Romero tribute here than Snyder was able to stuff into Dawn of the Dead, which is amazing considering that was a literal Romero remake. It had fast zombies in an era when Danny Boyle’s 21 Days Later had made those fashionable.

Here, though, Snyder has some slow zombies more in the original Romero mold, referred to by the characters as “shamblers.” He keeps some fast ones, too, and in an homage to Romero’s way-underappreciated Land of the Dead, introduces the idea that certain “alpha” zombies are smarter and more agile (some of these high-performing zombies also pose and preen like they’re auditioning for a Broadway production of Cats, I’m not sure what that’s about). There’s also a notion that the military wants these zombies for its own army, a la Romero’s Day of the Dead, although that never really gets explored.

Snyder doesn’t just borrow from the originator of undead cinema—he throws everything in here. From Aliens, the elite team tiptoeing through cramped passageways; from Ocean’s 11, the heist amid retro Vegas cool; from every monster movie ever, the notion that the humans are the real monsters, after all.

The weirdest echoes come from the fact that last year’s Train to Busan sequel Peninsula had literally this exact plot, but since Army of the Dead has been kicking around in development hell since 2007, that’s not as damning as it seems. They both steal a lot from John Carpenter’s Escape From New York, and are better for doing so.

The cast, especially Dave Bautista as the guy who puts the team together and Tig Notaro playing against type in every way as a cigar-chomping helicopter pilot (and stealing all the best lines, like “Was that a zombie in a goddamned cape?”), are good, and there are some genuine surprises in terms of who lives and who becomes zombie chow. The only real misfire is a terrible attempt at injecting some relationship drama into the proceedings that will make you think “Why tho?” every time the movie feels the need to check in on it.

So I guess that settles it: From now on, all Zack Snyder movies must include the ironic lounge stylings of Richard Cheese, and the only capes in them should be worn by zombies.

‘Army of the Dead’ debuts on Netflix on May 21.

Letter to the Editor: You Had One Job

Letters to the Editor

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May 19, 2021

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Re: “Rail Fail” (GT, 5/12): To the Regional Transportation Commissioners: Disappointed is the least I can say, damn it!

I was shamed and desolated when six of you irresponsibly stalemated the due and proper vote of your peers to accept your staff’s planning document and refused to authorize a $17 million Caltrans grant for design, engineering, and environmental review.

You had one job on April Fool’s Day. You failed. You six renegades voted in collusion against the plain and simple public interest, the public good, and the public institution for which you are responsible.

You, Commissioners McPherson, Mulhearn, and Petersen up and flipped the votes you had cast just weeks before to accept your staff’s work toward a future electric passenger rail transit system.

Why? Tell us the truth. We’ve heard all your perfidiously coordinated talking points. We’re not impressed. Your obstinacy is spectacularly selfish, short-sighted, and contrary to our public policy framework. It sure looks like there are hidden agendas and ulterior motives at work.

What did it take for the privateering Greenway Godfather to turn you against the public? Was it promises, or threats? Bribery, or extortion?

Reason is not involved. None of you tergiversators have articulated any compelling rationale not to proceed with your professional staff’s work. The results of that work would answer many of the objections anti-rail transit partisans have raised. And the State of California would have paid for it, not local taxpayers.

You should be supporting your staff in planning for a public rail transit system and its companion pedestrian/bicycle pathway, and Metro bus connections. This will be nothing but good for all of us. It will enhance local commerce, and local tax revenues. It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will reduce neighborhood traffic. It will reduce parking demands.

It is plainly false to say, “We can’t afford it!” We haven’t even designed it yet. We know that most of the cost will be externalized by state and federal funding. If a 1/2-cent or less countywide sales tax increase is required to fund part of the cost, say in 2030, then the project will not proceed without a vote to approve it.

Whatever offer you couldn’t refuse the Greenway Godfather may have made, I hope you three vote-flippers will consider the very distinct appearance of political corruption, and stop trying to subvert the long-term public interest in developing new passenger rail transit systems.

Get back on track, people, do the right thing!

Jim Weller | Capitola

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

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Letter to the Editor: Welcome Back

Letters to the Editor

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May 19, 2021

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What a joy to discover Lisa Jensen’s insightful film reviews return to the pages of Good Times where they belong. If only Lisa had the power to bring back our beloved Del Mar and the Nick to offer the off-beat, foreign, and challenging films that we miss so much.

Exciting seeing the GT calendar finally expanding to three entire pages, and happy to see Tandy Beal’s Keep on Truckin’ series included this week. In a gift to our community, Tandy has been offering free, professional quality live shows in the parks for over two months now, and the series will continue until the end of June. Let the Good Times roll!

Judy Slattum | Capitola

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

To submit a letter to the editor of Good Times: Letters should be originals—not copies of letters sent to other publications. Please include your name and email address to help us verify your submission (email address will not be published). Please be brief. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and to correct factual inaccuracies known to us. Send letters to le*****@*******es.sc.

Opinion: Don Letts’ Role in Iconic Culture of the Last 40 years

Steve Palopoli

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May 19, 2021

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Opinion: Don Letts’ Role in Iconic Culture of the Last 40 years

EDITOR’S NOTE

For a few years now, the alarm I use to wake myself up on my phone has been set to play Big Audio Dynamite’s “The Globe.” This drives my family crazy, because the beginning of that song is a totally bananas cacophony of sound that comes out of nowhere and grabs you by the ears, and they’ve been woken up by it way too early, way too many times. But that’s why it’s a great alarm. And a great song! I’ve always felt that way about BAD in general—you never knew what they were going to do at any moment, and it’s why their work elevated both rock ’n’ roll and DJ culture back in the ’80s and ’90s.

Don Letts was instrumental to their sound, and as Santa Cruz expat Jennifer Otter Bickerdike notes in her cover story this week, he’s also found himself involved with some of the most iconic culture of the last 40 years, from filming videos for the Clash to hanging with avant-garde artists. Bickerdike’s interview with him this week, as he releases his memoir There and Black Again, is a great read for any music fan.

I also have big news this week, as Good Times has won first place in General Excellence in the California Journalism Awards for the second consecutive year! All the details are on page 12, and I just want to say I’m so proud of our team for all eight of our wins this year, but especially for pulling out a back-to-back win in General Excellence in what was the most difficult year ever. It’s an award that recognizes every aspect of our paper, so it belongs to every staff member and contributor who helps make GT what it is every week. Thank you, everyone!

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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Kitayama Brothers Farms is resuming its annual Gerbera Festival on June 19 from 10am-2pm. This year’s event, Gerbera-N-Go, will be a drive-through flower sale at Kitayama Brothers Farms, located at 481 San Andreas Road in Watsonville. Crates of five plants can be preordered online through June 15, and there will be a limited number of crates available for purchase the day of the event for $15. All proceeds will go to Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks and the Santa Cruz Farm Bureau Agricultural Worker Program.

GOOD WORK

MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTHS ARE

Central California Alliance for Health has invested a total of $6 million with Santa Cruz Community Health, Dientes Community Dental Care and MidPen Housing. The investment will contribute to the costs of a new medical clinic, dental clinic, affordable housing and a family-friendly public plaza in Live Oak. The Alliance’s contribution will help make affordable housing and health services more accessible to families and senior citizens in the community.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We aren’t particularly talented. We try harder.”
-Joe Strummer, about the Clash

Nonprofits Renew Pitch for Small, Affordable Housing

Jacob Pierce

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May 18, 2021

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Nonprofits Renew Pitch for Small, Affordable Housing

Rachel Ginis says small housing units built in people’s backyards can achieve a whole range of goals.

She explains that these accessory dwelling units (ADUs), as they’re known, can combat gentrification and create an investment opportunity for low-income homeowners, all while helping the environment. If it sounds like she’s overpromising, policy wonks like Ginis—an advisor to the housing advocacy group Hello Housing—are happy to break down the benefits of these units, which often amount to garage conversions. She explains that building new units helps meet housing demand (thereby slowing down steadily climbing rents) and lets a homeowner add value to their house and grow their income (by building a new housing unit and getting a new tenant). Lastly, it lets workers live closer to their jobs (reducing commutes, thereby cutting emissions).

But on a recent Zoom call to discuss the role of ADUs in housing policy, longtime county employee Dave Reid asked about a more immediate need. Reid—who works for the Office of Response, Resilience and Recovery, managing the rebuild from recent fires—asked if ADUs could play a role in coming back from a natural disaster.

As it happens, Ginis, who was on the call, played a role in helping her home county of Sonoma with the rebuild after the devastating fires of 2017, as a senior project manager. As part of the recovery, she helped rebuild several homes, and five of them included ADUs. “It’s a huge opportunity,” she told GT after the call ended. “Savvy people are thinking about this.”

Ginis explains that, when a homeowner has an extra housing unit on site, that can allow them to downsize without having to move anywhere. Ginis has an ADU on her Sonoma County property. She rents it out to a man who works in the community and is going to school to be a physician’s assistant.

Sustainable Research Systems Foundation, a Santa Cruz-based nonprofit, organized last week’s ADU call. The foundation has launched a campaign to encourage policy changes and allow for more ADU construction across Monterey Bay.

Architect Mark Primack, a former Santa Cruz city councilmember, says that the city of Santa Cruz used to be a leader in the ADU space, paving the way for residents to convert their garages into living spaces.

But over the past decade, progress has lagged, Primack explains. That happened, mind you, despite California’s housing reforms—aimed at stemming the state’s housing affordability crisis by making local governments approve more ADUs, sometimes colloquially known as granny flats or in-law units. In recent years, Los Angeles Times housing journalist Liam Dillon has pushed the term “casita” as an alternative moniker for the small housing units. (A new grassroots group lobbying for more ADUs has dubbed itself Casita Coalition, in a nod to Dillon’s prodding.)

According to numbers requested by GT, Santa Cruz has approved more ADUs in the past five years than any of the county’s four other local governments, and the number of permits issued has trended upward over the past five years. But over that span, even Santa Cruz saw a peak last year when it granted a total of only 64 ADU permits for construction.

Primack says Santa Cruz should do everything it can to bring down permitting costs and to make the building codes for ADUs less restrictive. The last ADU he designed was a few years ago; it cost the property owner $400,000 to build, he says. The cost makes them more expensive to live in as well. Although state law has streamlined parts of the process and eliminated many parking requirements, local planners still have a lot of discretion in what they allow to move forward and what they don’t, Primack says.

“It’s just not worth it for people to build ADUs,” he says.

ZOOM WANTED

The recent Zoom call also drew attention from Santa Cruz city planners.

In it, Santa Cruz city planner Sarah Neuse asked Ginis and another presenter if they’ve had any success in bringing down construction costs, as that is one of the barriers to building ADUs.

Ginis said she has not. Construction costs are going up in Sonoma County as well. What she and Hello Housing have been doing is advocating for legislative reforms and creating new ways of financing to make these small homes easier to build.

She knows that outside investors would be interested in partnering with single-family homeowners to build units on their properties. That is a route Ginis wants to avoid. Ginis wants to see small-town homeowners retain some of their independence.

“I do not want this to be an investors’ opportunity to just get investors and industry into the single-family housing space. To me, that’s game over—like the end of the game of Monopoly,” she says.

Some California cities do offer financing options to homeowners who want to build ADUs. Just last week, the city of San Jose unveiled a pilot program to provide a 0% interest loan to finance 100% of the costs associated with permitting and building an ADU.

ADUS IT OR LOSE IT

As part of its advocacy, the environmental nonprofit Sustainable Systems Research Foundation is pushing for a variety of local environmental reforms.

They include plans for increasing the availability of solar energy, growing urban gardens, cutting down on plastic waste and improving environmental education. The foundation also has a big housing idea, built around ADUs. Emeritus environmental professor Ronnie Lipschutz, the nonprofit’s founder, says it may be worthwhile to create a new organization to advocate specifically for the construction of ADUs in Monterey Bay.

The momentum around ADU construction continues to build across the state. Californians may now actually build two ADUs on their properties, including junior ADUs. These junior ADUs don’t have to be standalone structures. They usually involve cordoning off one part of the house—like a master bedroom, for instance—and building an additional kitchen.

Meanwhile, other large possible housing changes are afoot. The state legislature is weighing a proposal to end single-family zoning by allowing residents to build duplexes and quadruplexes throughout single-family zoned areas. The city of Berkeley, the inventor of single-family housing, has already taken steps to eliminate the zoning area in its city limits. Journalists, activists and city leaders there have cited the institution’s racist and exclusionary history as a tool to keep out low-income Californians and people of color.

Lipschutz says one reason that incentivizing ADUs makes for smart policy is that they generate less community opposition than larger multi-family developments do.

There’s an irony to the conclusion that fascinates me. Lipschutz isn’t wrong. I’ve watched enough government meetings to know that—in the eyes of neighborhood organizers—a multi-story development looks overbearing, whereas increased ADU construction sounds interesting and quaint. I’m not suggesting their inherent potential is nothing to sneeze at. If local governments began quadrupling the number of ADUs approved, that would create more housing.

Still, absent some creative financing programs, ADUs would not create deeply affordable units designed to house Santa Cruz’s most vulnerable struggling renters. That’s the kind of housing that’s most difficult to fund. It is also the kind that the state of California requires of local governments to hit targets for a given amount of affordable housing units. This is a role normally filled by multi-family housing developments.

It’s a given that small ADUs spread throughout a residential area will have very few impacts—e.g. traffic or parking—on a neighborhood. But the impact from the conversion of a strip mall into an apartment complex might be even smaller. After all, such a project may be near homes, but it’s literally in a different zone on the city’s zoning map, outside of residential neighborhoods altogether.

The point here is not to pretend that Santa Cruz should—or would—prioritize one housing supply tool over another.

But I ask Lipschutz why he thinks ADUs generate less opposition than multifamily housing does.

“If you’re building something that’s mixed-income, people start to complain, and the plan gets opposition,” he says. “It’s hard to know exactly what to make of those complaints and how real they are, but it’s there. ADUs are lower-profile. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be opposition, but it does mean they have a smaller footprint, and eventually, they basically just become invisible.”

For more information about Sustainable SystemsResearch Foundation, visit sustainablesystemsfoundation.org. Also, May is Affordable Housing Month. For more information, visit housingsantacruzcounty.com.

Good Times Wins Top Journalism Prize for Second Year

GT Staff

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May 18, 2021

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For the second year in a row, Good Times has won first place for General Excellence in the 2021 California Journalism Awards, the California Newspaper Publishers Association announced on Friday.

In awarding GT its top prize for largest-circulation weekly newspapers (25,000 and above), the CNPA’s judges noted the paper is “distinguished by its enterprise reporting.” Good Times also won the award in 2020, and previously in 2006 (when the awards were called the Better Newspapers Contest).

GT’s covers by Kara Brown were recognized with a second-place win in the Front Page Layout and Design category. The judges noted “excellent high-impact covers with true local focus and appeal.”

Alisha Green won second place in the Feature Story category for her story “Shooting For Change,” on conservationist nature photographers, with the judges calling it a “well-written story on an important topic. A different kind of Covid story.”

Jacob Pierce won second place in the Coverage of Local Government category for his article “Blue Shift” on the failure of predictive policing; judges said it was “a fascinating read.” He also won fourth place in Wildfire News Coverage for “Burned After Reading,” his analysis of missed wildfire warnings, and fifth place in Wildfire Feature Coverage for “Heroes or Hindrance?,” about the controversy over citizen brigades.

Steve Palopoli won third place in the Feature Story category for his article “Wild Things,” on the strange challenges faced by the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter during the pandemic, with a judge citing, “Lively writing that made me laugh out loud.” He also won third place in the Profile Story category for his profile of Santa Cruz musician Keith Greeninger, “Music Without Borders.”

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