Page 448 – Good Times

Whack and Stack: PG&E’s Toppling of Trees Creates New Hazards

-

December 21, 2020

Whack and Stack: PG&E’s Toppling of Trees Creates New Hazards

Lea este artículo en español.

Kristi and Brian Anderson have some thoughts about how the first year of California’s “get-tough-on-utilities” approach to preventing wildfires is going: Badly. Very badly.

The Andersons, who live in Bonny Doon, nestled in the mountains near Santa Cruz, lost their home four months ago in the CZU Lightning Complex fires.

But their plight only got worse after the fires were out. They returned to their property to find that Pacific Gas and Electric crews had felled 20 trees on their two-acre lot, toppling hundred-foot Douglas firs and leaving them where they fell.

In an attempt to clear vegetation from around power lines, the workers cut down old-growth redwoods, and in some cases simply sawed off the tops of the beloved giants, creating a “horrid Dr. Seuss kind of tree,” Kristi Anderson said. “It makes us sick to our stomachs.”

Worse, after spending weeks clearing away the remains of their incinerated home, Brian Anderson arrived at his property to find a massive pile of trees atop a new trailer pad where he and his family were planning to live while their new home was being built.

Facing a potential bill for tens of thousands of dollars, the couple is wondering who is going to pay for the cleanup after PG&E left the piles of timber and woody debris that are themselves fire hazards.

Utility companies are carrying out numerous tasks to prevent wildfires, from ramping up line inspections to replacing antiquated equipment. But critics say that PG&E and other electric providers should be focusing less on the cheap stuff, like cutting trees, and more on upgrading its thousands of miles of old lines and aging equipment.

“It’s been a longstanding problem with PG&E, instead of doing the responsible thing and investing in their infrastructure, they want to just do vegetation management,” said Assemblymember Mark Stone, a Monterey Bay Democrat whose district includes Santa Cruz.

“This is just a shortcut. It’s part of their approach, taking the easiest path possible by cutting a bunch of trees and looking like they are doing something, while avoiding the bigger issue of infrastructure improvement.”

PG&E this year managed vegetation along 1,861 line-miles at a cost of almost $500 million, the company says. More than half of PG&E’s area is in high fire-threat zones, with 5,500 line-miles of electric transmission and 25,500 line-miles of distribution equipment.

PG&E also this year added 43 safety devices along transmission lines, upgraded 62 substations and replaced poles or covered lines along 370 miles, according to the company. That leaves no documented plans for upgrading thousands of miles of lines, poles and other equipment in the coverage area, although some projects will be completed over the next 40 years.

The company’s combined fire mitigation costs this year are an estimated $2.5 billion.

Upgrading equipment, such as burying power lines, is significantly more costly for companies, so vegetation management is an appealing alternative. Burying lines costs more than $2 million a mile.

In previous years, the crews removed downed trees. But now contractors working for PG&E tell homeowners they have to leave larger trees on the ground because the timber is the resident’s property and may have commercial value.

“You just don’t see someone doing a project and leave all the logs on a site. That’s just not normal,” said Angela Bernheisel, a Cal Fire division chief in the Santa Cruz area.

The Andersons said they were still putting out small flareups from the wildfire’s hot spots during the time that the trees were left on their property.

A PG&E spokeswoman said that U.S. Forest Service research categorizes log stacks as posing a low fire risk.

But the practice, known as Whack and Stack, contributed to the 2007 Angora Fire around Lake Tahoe, according to research by Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of the Oregon-based group Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology.

“They are little fire bombs waiting to ignite. They can burn for hours,” said Ingalsbee, a former federal firefighter and wildland fire ecologist.

Cheaper, but is it better?

The plight of the Santa Cruz County residents is not the outcome that the legislature envisioned last year when it created the Wildfire Safety Division within the Public Utilities Commission to review and approve the fire-mitigation plans of California electric providers.

With one in ten wildfires caused by utility equipment, it was clear that companies needed to do more to prevent fires.

The new division is trying to hold utilities accountable, but herding large, powerful companies that cling to old practices is daunting. The Wildfire Safety Division approved most of the utilities’ plans this summer with some modifications. And, like a long-suffering teacher attempting to soften the blow, the agency sent along this report card: “Most utilities demonstrate a need for improvement.”

Caroline Thomas Jacobs, director of the new Wildfire Safety Division, is overseeing a department that did not exist before 2019.

“The reality is it was a massive task to undertake. There’s been lots of opportunity to trip up. The proof will be in the pudding,” she said.

Thomas Jacobs said it was clear that most companies’ plans leaned heavily on vegetation management, but the utilities haven’t fully explained why.

“We told them, ‘You guys have to get together and develop a study, and tell us why enhanced vegetation management is the way to go here.’ They need to better articulate how they think through all the alternatives before they decide on a specific mitigation activity. They have to think it through and not just pick the easy button and the cheapest approach,” she said.

In other words, for the first time, the state will require utilities not only to perform more robust fire mitigation work, but also to document what benefit each project would bring.

Because the companies’ plans lack clear metrics for determining their chances of success, the PUC on Thursday extended the companies’ deadline to June for providing the information.

PG&E officials declined to comment about the concerns that they are relying too heavily on cutting trees and delaying the more expensive equipment upgrades.

Other companies also are focusing heavily on fuel reduction projects around their equipment.

Southern California Edison’s plan, for example, set a 2020 goal to inspect 75,000 hazardous trees for possible removal, check vegetation growing along 3,000 circuit-miles, clear brush from around 200,000 poles and expand buffer zones around some equipment in high fire-risk areas.

“Made the fire hazard worse”

Santa Cruz County officials call the PG&E crews’ tree-removal work “reckless,” worrying that it increases the risk of erosion and mudslides when winter rains begin.

“We are in the midst of serious debris flow preparation. There is high potential for people whose homes didn’t burn to now be in a danger zone. The water supply for Santa Cruz County is at risk,” said County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty. “If they had worked with the county, Cal Fire and property owners, we could have done this in a safe and effective way. But they have made the fire hazard worse.”

As residents called to complain, Santa Cruz County reached out to the state for help. Cal Fire sent letters to PG&E, noting hundreds of violations of the state Forestry Practices Act, which could lead to millions of dollars in fines.

And in late November, the California Coastal Commission sent the company a notice of violation for unpermitted work clearing about six miles of trees in the coastal zone. The agency is working with PG&E so it can obtain the proper permission to construct erosion control measures and stabilize roads damaged by its heavy equipment.

The utility maintains it does not need permits to remove vegetation for fire mitigation work that is mandated by state law.

“PG&E disagrees with the characterization that our tree removal work is illegal. We understand the County, agencies and community concerns regarding this emergency hazard tree removal work and are committed to continuing to address these items with all stakeholders while prioritizing public safety, prompt restoration of electric service and environmental stewardship,” PG&E spokeswoman Mayra Tostado said in an emailed statement.

The company is not alone in running afoul of state agencies while performing fire mitigation work. In November the Coastal Commission fined the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power $1.9 million for similar transgressions.

“PG&E is mucking it up and making things worse,” said Pat Veesart, an enforcement supervisor with the Coastal Commission, which regulates activities in the coastal zone. “Historically they have cleared 65 to 75 feet (from power lines). In this case they have cleared as much as 200 feet, exceeding what would be considered normal power line maintenance. We are very concerned about damage to creeks and erosion.”

Much about firefighting is harsh on a landscape. Apart from the fire’s annihilation, bulldozers and other heavy equipment used to combat fire can reshape and scrape soils and clog waterways, often leaving lasting impacts. Post-fire work also can leave a trail of damage.

“Some of these guys on the powerlines are going for overkill, with minimum supervision and no ecology,” former firefighter Ingelsbee said.

The companies are allowed to pass on the costs of equipment upgrades to ratepayers.

“There is little evidence that clearing vegetation is the most cost-effective approach. They are charging Cadillac prices for a jalopy,” said Loretta Lynch, former president of the Public Utilities Commission.

“It’s not just PG&E — all the wildfire mitigation plans are about their bottom line, not what will mitigate wildfires. The record is really clear: It’s an environmental catastrophe.”

Adding to heartbreak and stress

Lad Wallace thought himself lucky: There were 51 homes in his Bonny Doon neighborhood before the fire, and his was one of only 13 that survived. But the privately maintained road leading to his property was destroyed by trucks operated by PG&E’s tree crews, the same crews that came on his property without his permission and left his land strewn with felled trees.

“A couple of years ago PG&E did some tree removal,” Wallace said. “In those cases, they removed everything they cut. This time they cut it and left it where it lay. Getting rid of trees is not an insignificant cost.”

Crews told the Andersons that their trees had commercial value, but no local buyers want Douglas fir, especially since the company “short cut” the logs. The old-growth redwoods they cut were “dropped and left in a messy stack,” said Brian Anderson.

Meanwhile, the couple’s misery mounts. They were grinding their teeth at night and now wear mouth guards. Their doctor prescribed medication for sleep and stress.

“This whole tree issue comes on top of heartbreak and stress from the fire,” Kristi Anderson said. “It’s fighting and bureaucracy all the time, it takes a lot of energy. There is no pocket in anybody’s insurance policy that covers tree debris removal. We can’t afford to move. We have a mortgage. I’m a public school teacher — how do I feel right now? Not great.”

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Santa Cruz County Homeless Memorial Honors 77 Who Died

Jacob Pierce

-

December 18, 2020

0

Santa Cruz County Homeless Memorial Honors 77 Who Died

Several hours after a new stay-at-home order took effect Friday, Housing Matters Executive Director Phil Kramer opened up a Homeless Memorial Zoom call by reflecting on a difficult year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and devastating wildfires.

Kramer, the event’s host, said that—for all the hardship 2020 has entailed—the year also showcased many reasons for hope, optimism and inspiration. Kramer invoked the generosity that so many showed during the summer’s wildfires, and he called on Santa Cruz County community members to remember that and to channel a similar sense of compassion into other crises, including ones that have been going on much longer.

“We opened our bedrooms and our parking spaces. We treated it like the crisis it was. We have not always responded the same way to homelessness,” he said.

Although many homeless services improved during the year 2020, Kramer believes that everyone can step up to do even more.

During the 90-minute ceremony, organizers read the names of the 77 individuals who died this year, one by one, along with their ages. They also listed the names of housed community members who had previously been homeless and who died this year.

David Davis, a Homeless Persons’ Health Project (HPHP) administrative aide, compiles the annual report. He said Santa Cruz’s homeless residents died at a rate 5.4 times higher than housed residents. If homeless people passed away at the same rate as those who were housed, the county would have lost 15 of 2,109 local homeless residents, instead of 77, Davis explained.

The numbers may not be completely precise, as members of the homeless community can be difficult to track numerically. The official total of homeless residents is based on a Point-in-Time Homeless Census that involves volunteers driving around Santa Cruz County early one morning every other January and counting as many presumed homeless people as they can find. Due to that, the results of such efforts are widely regarded as an undercount. Davis estimated to GT earlier this year that his list of homeless deaths may also represent an undercount—by about 10%.

And so, by the only numbers available, Davis says that if housed people had passed away at the same rate as homeless people, 9,874 housed people in the county would have died this past year, instead of 1,882. And according to this year’s report, homeless residents died 23 years earlier than housed residents on average.

“These are shocking statistics,” he said.

The local Homeless Memorial is part of a larger tradition of mourning, and Monday, Dec. 21, will mark the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. Activists from around the United States mark it as Homeless Memorial Day.

Toward the end of Friday’s Zoom event, Kramer opened up the memorial to guests who wished to share memories and poems in honor of those who had passed, prompting many to speak up.

Sherry Brown reflected on her love for her twin brother Perry Brown, who died April 25. Sherry said she was grateful to HPHP for its work organizing the memorial and for taking good care of Perry, whom she says many remember for his excellent southern manners.

“He was always very polite to everyone he came into contact with,” she said.

Jennifer Roscher, a Santa Cruz County employee who used to work for the Downtown Streets Team, chimed in about her friend Shane Rojo. She said she’ll always remember Rojo as a joyous nature lover, a passionate foodie and a good hugger.

“He would wrap you up in his arms and squeeze you so tight, and I just wanted to leave you with that memory of Shane, because I feel confident, Shane Rojo, if you’re listening, I will see you again. And I expect one of those hugs,” Roscher said.

Kramer reminded those in attendance that Housing Matters is working on installing a new memorial at Evergreen Cemetery, and two artists have been selected for the project, which is in the fundraising stage. For more information, including how to donate, anyone interested may visit evergreenmemorialsc.org.

Stacey Pratt, grief support manager for Hospice of Santa Cruz County, told everyone that her organization offers free grief counseling. Those interested may visit hospicesantacruz.org or call 831-430-3000 and ask for grief support.

PARK CLOSURE

Meanwhile, the state of homeless services and management remain in flux—including in matters wholly unrelated to Friday’s memorial.

In an executive order, the city of Santa Cruz announced Thursday that San Lorenzo Park will be closing, due to the impacts of homelessness.

In an executive order signed by City Manager Martín Bernal and Parks Director Tony Elliot, the @CityofSantaCruz has announced it will close San Lorenzo Park Jan. 6-Jan. 31, citing homeless impacts https://t.co/6Ik9AQLRku
— Good Times (@GoodTimesSC) December 18, 2020

The order, signed by Santa Cruz City Manager Martín Bernal and Parks Director Tony Elliot, states that the closure will begin by Wednesday, Jan. 6 and last through the end of January, unless extended. City workers or contractors will likely erect some fencing. Among the reasons listed, the order explains that city facilities have been vandalized, the area has fire safety issues and that people have been violating social distancing guidelines for public health during the pandemic.

Eight nonprofits participating in this year’s Santa Cruz Gives holiday giving campaign work on issues of homelessness. For more information, visit santacruzgives.org/nonprofits/housing-and-homelessness.

Rare White Wagtail Makes Surprise Visit to Santa Cruz

Tarmo Hannula

-

December 18, 2020

2

Rare White Wagtail Makes Surprise Visit to Santa Cruz

A rare winged visitor has landed in Santa Cruz County. A small white wagtail, which typically breeds in Alaska and Asia, including Eastern Russia, was somehow blown off course or is on an exploratory mission to our county, including the San Lorenzo river mouth at Main Beach in Santa Cruz.

About three weeks ago, area birders started reporting the black and white bird, slightly smaller than a robin, sifting through the shores of Corcoran Lagoon in Live Oak at 21st Avenue. Indeed, groups of birders equipped with spotting scopes and binoculars, bird books, notepads and even folding chairs gathered at times along the lagoon’s edge and then at the San Lorenzo river mouth in hopes of claiming a glimpse or a photograph of the extraordinary bird.

“Wagtails are extremely rare anywhere in the U.S.,” said local birder Clay Kemph, one of the founders of the Monterey Bay Birding Festival. “There have probably been less than five of any species of Wagtail anywhere in Santa Cruz County that have ever been seen. This particular bird has been very cooperative and hundreds of people have seen it now, which is great.” Kemph said he has spotted the white wagtail a few times.

According to the Audubon Society, the wagtail is “one of the most common birds of open country across Europe and Asia” but enters “North America only as a scarce and local summer resident of western Alaska.”

Besides its striking black and white plumage, another sure giveaway for recognizing the bird is in its name, wagtail: It commonly wags its 6-7 inch thin tail up and down (not back and forth, like a dog).

“For some reason, there have been more wagtails than ever before in the state this year, with something like seven birds reported,” Kemph said. “Typically, what happens is these Asiatic vagrants get lost, often while flying the Asian Peninsula. They can get disorientated—maybe a storm blew them off course—while they’re trying to fly south for winter.”

Kemph compared birding to treasure hunting.

“Anybody can spot a rare bird,” he said. “Anytime I go out birding I tell myself that I’m happy to just be able to be out in nature and to enjoy a walk, a river or the sea. But once in a while you come upon a rarity, which is certainly a treasure.”

New Book Chronicles the Near-Industrialization of Monterey Bay

Johanna Miller

-

December 18, 2020

0

New Book Chronicles the Near-Industrialization of Monterey Bay

He was only 6 years old, but Glenn Church vaguely remembers the construction of the power plant in Moss Landing, which was being built not far from where he grew up.

“I recall seeing those stacks go up … it was a big deal,” he said. “And now they’ve become almost like a symbol of the area.”

But the stacks also serve as a reminder of a time when big industry nearly transformed the landscape of Monterey Bay.

In 1965, Texas-based Humble Oil intended on developing 60 square miles of Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough, with an oil refinery that could pump out 50,000 barrels a day.

A new book by Church and his wife, Kathryn McKenzie, chronicles the complicated fight between Humble Oil, local governments and the burgeoning environmental movement. “Humbled: How California’s Monterey Bay Escaped Industrial Ruin” is now available at local bookstores, including Kelly’s Books in Watsonville and Bookshop Santa Cruz.

Church and McKenzie were inspired to write the book after Church’s father, Warren Church, died in 2017, and they were sifting through his old files. Warren was on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors at the time of the Humble project.

“I was coming across all of this stuff and realized, ‘This is a really interesting story. There’s something here,’” Church said.

Church and McKenzie went to work researching for the book, digging through archives at local libraries, working with the Elkhorn Slough Foundation and getting first-hand accounts from former Monterey Herald and Salinas Californian reporters. They came up with a list of chapters, divided up the work and edited each other’s sections.

“You don’t know how that’s going to go, being a married couple and all,” McKenzie laughed. “We definitely had some interesting conversations and arguments.”

McKenzie grew up in Watsonville and Santa Cruz and attended Harbor High, where she began writing for the school newspaper. She was a journalist for many years, but “Humbled” is her (and Church’s) first major work.

“I’ve been writing my whole life, but nothing of this scope,” she said. “We had lots of rewriting to do.”

The pushback against and subsequent exit of Humble Oil from Monterey Bay had long-lasting effects, not only in stopping the refinery but on agriculture, tourism and nature, as well as air pollution laws.

“This was one of the first big battles of the modern environmental era,” Church said. “Just imagine, would the [Monterey Bay] Aquarium have been built if that had happened? Would the National Marine Sanctuary have been protected?”

Still, Church wanted to show all sides of the issue. After all, his environmentalist father initially supported the Humble project—in fact, a lot of people in the area did at the time.

“You look back and think, ‘Why would we ever do that?’” he said. “But you’ve got to understand what was happening at the time. The area was growing at a tremendous rate. Need was great. Taxes were going up. It’d be natural for them to see an untapped area and look at it to bring jobs. I get what they were probably feeling.”

McKenzie said she hopes “Humbled” will not only be informative but also inspiring for readers.

“I hope … it makes them realize how important it is to fight for what you believe in, don’t take things for granted,” she said. “When you feel something is going in the wrong direction … take a stand and fight for a goal.”

Covid-19 Closes Santa Cruz County Businesses; ICUs Ready for Surge

Jacob Pierce

-

December 17, 2020

0

Covid-19 Closes Santa Cruz County Businesses; ICUs Ready for Surge

Businesses all over Santa Cruz County are getting ready to close down or reduce their operations as a new stay-at-home order takes effect.

The order goes live at 11:59pm Thursday, now that the Bay Area region hit a threshold wherein less than 15% of its intensive care unit (ICU) beds are available.

In a press conference Thursday, Public Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel acknowledged that the restrictions mean hardship not just for businesses, but for everyone in the holiday season. “It’s a really hard time not to be with the people that we love,” she said.

Under the state-mandated Covid-19 restrictions, all in-person dining must stop, and retail businesses must not operate above 20% capacity. Vacationing in hotels, motels and short-term rentals are forbidden. Everyone is supposed to stay home, except to take essential trips like outdoor exercise and trips to the grocery store, although people may drive around to look at Christmas lights or go to drive-in movies, Newel said.

Indoor dining has already been closed for weeks. Now, Patrice Boyle, who owns Soif and La Posta restaurants, says she and her team are prepared to savor one last night of patio dining Thursday evening. Both restaurants will remain open for pickup orders, but she hopes the new restrictions don’t last much longer than three weeks.

“We aren’t structured to survive on takeout. No dine-in dinner house is,” she says.

Boyle adds that some Soif and La Posta servers will be transitioning into being delivery drivers.

“Restaurants have been taking it on the chin from a closure standpoint and from an economic standpoint,” she says. “We’ve had a lot of support from the community, and we need continued support. I encourage everyone to order dinner out at least two or three times a week from a local restaurant. If we want to have that part of our social network continue, they need support.”

In a statement to Good Times, Economic Recovery Council Chair Kris Reyes says he fully understands that the community and the country are in a state of crisis and that it’s important to get a handle on the pandemic in order to save lives. Still, he worries that the new restrictions unfairly punish small business owners, restaurants in particular.

“The evidence demonstrates that the spread of Covid-19 is happening most frequently from close contact, mixed household gatherings such as parties,” writes Reyes, who is also a spokesperson for the Santa Cruz Seaside Company, which owns the Beach Boardwalk, which was barely open this year at all. “Given the evidence, I’m not sure how it makes sense that it’s OK to go inside a Best Buy to purchase a TV but we can’t support local restaurants by sitting outside while masked and properly spaced. I hope Gov. [Gavin] Newsom knows what he’s doing with these new restrictions on small businesses. So far, I think that’s debatable, and local businesses may be running out of time.”

SHOT IN THE ARM

Covid-19 is surging nationally, across California and in Santa Cruz County, right in the middle of the winter holiday season that’s normally marked by shopping and gathering with family.

There have been a few bright spots, however—some of which Newel highlighted Thursday. Three weeks ago, the county doubled the capacity of the OptumServe testing site in Watsonville. A new free walk-in OptumServe site will open Monday, Dec. 21 in North County, although Newel said it was too early to offer any specifics, including the location. “We’re in the final phases of finishing up that contract,” she said.

Also, some eligible health care workers got their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine Wednesday. The county has begun part one of the first phase of vaccine distribution. The second phase will include other critical workers, like police officers.

Deputy County Health Officer David Ghilarducci said in Thursday’s press conference that he expects the vaccine to be ready for widespread distribution by the spring or summer months.

“That will really, I think, be the turning point for this vaccine,” he said.

There have been 6,455 known Covid-19 cases in Santa Cruz County, of which 1,724 are known active cases, according to information last updated Wednesday night by county health officials. Sixty-four people in the county have died from Covid-19, 270 have required hospitalization, and 4,668 have recovered.

Statewide as of Wednesday, there have been 1,723,362 Covid-19 cases and 21,860 deaths, according to the California Department of Public Health.

LITTLE WIGGLE ROOM

The official count for state-licensed ICU beds in the county is 22, Newel said—with 16 at Dominican Hospital and six at Watsonville Community Hospital.

Those are the figures that the state uses as part of calculating the regional trigger for the new stay-at-home order. The county’s actual surge capacity to create more ICUs on an emergency basis could be much larger—although it’s unclear just how much larger. “There’s lots of ways to measure this,” Ghillarducci said.

Newel said she can count four ways to measure ICU availability:

The first is the state-licensed ICU capacity which is 22 beds—16 at Dominican Hospital and six at Watsonville Community Hospital.
The second is what’s called “flex capacity,” which is the amount of beds that the state has licensed the county’s hospitals to grow to; that number is 26 countywide, including 20 at Dominican.
Beyond that, hospitals have a larger “surge capacity” that they may expand to—provided they have adequate staff and also on ventilators, beds, cardiac monitors and other equipment.
There’s also a maximum capacity, which is closer to 60, a number that the county provided earlier in the year, based only on the supply of equipment, not staff.

Health Services Agency Director Mimi Hall said, however, that it’s really staff that’s the limiting factor at this point.

“You can have beds and ventilators. The limiting factor we’re experiencing is not enough staff,” she said, “because ICUs require a different kind of proportion of staff to patients. As Covid spreads in the community, it’s also spreading to healthcare workers. So that really is the limiting factor, more so than the number of beds or space or ventilators.”

Hall said that, as the size of the pandemic grows, it becomes increasingly likely that hospital staff will come down with Covid-19 themselves and be unable to take care of others.

Ghillarducci says hospitals already experienced staffing problems over the summer due to summer wildfires that displaced many county residents and put a strain on resources. Now, he worries about workers who may have to miss work to take care of loved ones if they should fall ill with Covid-19.

As the tough year draws to a close, Newel says some workers may want time off for the holidays. Others may be less likely to accept overtime assignments.

Meanwhile, the pandemic is surging, all while hospitals feel these other staffing pressures —a complicating factor that Ghillarducci, Hall and Newel have all spent a lot of time thinking about. Under these circumstances, one mistake could be incredibly costly.

When asked about a possible outbreak among Dominican Hospital nurses stemming from a trip out of the country taken by employees, Newel confirmed to reporters that she had heard a rumor about such an incident, but she could not confirm its veracity.

“Like any other essential workers or any other members of our community, health care workers have some lapses in judgment or make decisions that aren’t in line with the legal guidance—it happens to everyone,” Newel said. “We just need to move on from there.”

Claire Henry, a Dominican Hospital spokesperson, did not confirm or deny any information this week, citing health privacy guidelines. She did not respond to an email seeking clarification by deadline Thursday.

A new law, Assembly Bill 685, will require California employers to release information to their employees and local health agencies when they encounter a positive case in the workplace. The new law takes effect in January.

The county already saw one high-profile outbreak recently—at the Santa Cruz Main Jail.

Newel said after Thursday’s press conference that contact tracing has shown the recent cluster of Covid-19 cases among Santa Cruz County correctional officers stemmed from three separate gatherings, not one event.

“So we can’t pin the positives even on one event,” she said. “It was three separate exposure events.”

Sheriff Jim Hart has said his office will do its own investigation following the contact tracing process. No Santa Cruz County inmates have tested positive for Covid-19 since the pandemic began.

Local Nurses Call for Safe Patient Ratios Amid Covid-19 Pandemic

Todd Guild

-

December 17, 2020

0

Local Nurses Call for Safe Patient Ratios Amid Covid-19 Pandemic

A group of about 30 nurses at Watsonville Community Hospital held a demonstration Wednesday asking that management keep nurse-to-patient ratios at their present level.

The demonstration came five days after the California Department of Public Health sent a memo to the state’s general acute care hospitals, allowing them to increase the ratios in response to the influx of patients from the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to nurse Roseann Farris, the memo would allow hospitals to increase each nurse’s patient load by two, which she said is a concern in a time when many patients need critical care.

“Our ratios are the cornerstone and the heart of safe patient care,” Farris said. “If you disregard that, especially in regard to how sick these patients are, it’s going to be very dangerous.”

Farris says that Watsonville Community Hospital management has not yet said whether it plans to increase the ratios. Dan Brothman, CEO of Halsen Healthcare, which owns the hospital, declined to comment.

Farris said Wednesday’s action was a way to publicize the issue.

“We are tired from working this pandemic for the last nine months,” she said. “But we are always going to come out to the streets and so whatever we have to do to make sure that our patients are safe and our community is safe.”

In a prepared statement, Dominican Hospital said that “the health and wellness of both our patients and our employees is our number one priority.”

“Dominican Hospital does not plan on exercising any change to our nursing ratios unless we are in crisis mode and have exhausted all other options.” the statement said.

The California Nurses Association (CNA) in a statement accused hospitals of “exploiting the pandemic” as a way to roll back nurse-patient ratios and cut costs.

CNA President Zenei Cortez says the increases will lead to more hospital-acquired infections, and to more nurse, healthcare worker and patient deaths.

“Larger patient assignments sharply cut the time nurses can provide individualized patient care, properly monitor a patient’s condition, and increase the likelihood of mistakes, as studies have documented for years,” Cortez stated in a press release. “In a pandemic, that’s an open invitation to increase the risk of spreading the virus to other patients and other staff.”

Law Enforcement Prioritizing Education With Stay-At-Home Order

Todd Guild

-

December 17, 2020

0

Law Enforcement Prioritizing Education With Stay-At-Home Order

Most counties throughout California have now imposed some version of stay-at-home orders, which consist of a series of requests and requirements by local leaders and are designed to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Dec. 3 said that new orders keeping residents at home would be enacted when intensive care unit (ICU) capacity in any of the five state-designated regions dropped below 15%.

Monterey County preemptively enacted its own orders on Dec. 9.

Monterey County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno cited government codes 26602 and 41601, and Health and Safety code 101029, which give local law enforcement the authority to enforce the orders of health officers.

Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni announced Monday that her office will enforce the order in that county, where hospital leaders say their capacity is “well beyond” 100%.

Santa Cruz County and the rest of the Bay Area region will fall under the state’s stricter stay-at-home order starting at 11:59pm Thursday, Dec. 17, after ICU capacity hit 12.9%.

Violations in both Santa Cruz and Monterey counties are punishable by a $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail.

But just how far will law enforcement officials go to enforce the orders? Most simply want to inform residents what the rules are.

“We’ve taken an educational stance for a majority of the eight or nine months this has been going on,” Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said.

Most of the time, Keehn added, people have been willing to comply, and many have said they were unaware of the restrictions.

Keehn said that no citations have been handed out recently.

“If enforcement action is needed to be taken, we’ll take it,” she said. “But we’re not going out and automatically giving citations to anyone. There has to be a good solid reason for it.”

Monterey County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy John Thornberg says that the majority of enforcement from that agency has been unpermitted gatherings such as large parties.

When that happens, he says, deputies inform the revelers of the restrictions, and ask that they break it up.

Repeat offenders could face arrest and prosecution, Thornberg said.

California Highway Patrol Officer Sam Courtney says that the mission for the officers patrolling the state’s highways remains unchanged.

“We will continue to patrol throughout California,” he said. “The hope is that people will self-regulate and adhere to the requirements.”

Enforcement will likely not include stopping people suspected of violating travel restrictions, Courtney, Keehn and Thornberg all said.

“Are we going to pull someone over just because we think they violated the stay-at-home order?” Courtney asked. “The answer is ‘no.’”

But travelers should be aware that, in counties with stay-at-home orders in place, most hotels and other lodgings cannot accept out-of-town visitors.

In Watsonville, calls to the police department reporting violations of the various orders put in place to curb the spread of the virus have waned over the past few months, said Watsonville Police Department (WPD) spokeswoman Michelle Pulido.

According to Pulido, there have been 36 total calls related to violations of the stay-at-home and masking orders since the beginning of the pandemic. Most of them came during the first few months after the orders were put in place in March.

There was a more recent “spike” of 13 calls over August and September, said WPD Assistant Chief Tom Sims, but every month since then has seen only “one or two” calls.

Sims said the low number of calls was a sign that most Watsonville residents were respecting the orders.

“I think our community is great, and I think they’re, for the most part, complying with what is asked of them,” he said. “Even though it’s difficult, they’re complying to the best of their ability and when they don’t we address it.”

WPD has yet to hand out a citation for order violations, Pulido said. The department’s policy for violations has been education over enforcement, Sims said.

“However, there are always those exceptions when that education falls on deaf ears and we have to make a second and sometimes a third visit,” Sims said. “At that point, we just issue a citation. We’re done talking. Sometimes money makes a difference when it’s coming out of their pocket.”

Sims said that most calls concerning order violations are low priority, as the department prioritizes dispatches from the 911 center and other serious crimes over the violations. He did, however, say that WPD officers do respond to every call for service.

“Everybody is just frustrated and tired with going through this,” Sims said. “But I also think that there is some light at the end of the tunnel, there is some hope that’s been pushed out these last couple of weeks with the vaccine coming soon.”

Pajaronian Managing Editor Tony Nuñez contributed to this story.

Farmworkers Worked Despite Positive Covid-19 Tests for Fear of Job Loss

Tony Nuñez

-

December 17, 2020

0

Farmworkers Worked Despite Positive Covid-19 Tests for Fear of Job Loss

Many Monterey County farmworkers are going to work despite testing positive for Covid-19, and some of those laborers are doing so because they are concerned about losing their job, their pay or because their employer told them to.

That’s according to the preliminary findings of a study led by researchers at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and Dr. Maximiliano Cuevas, CEO of the Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas (CSVS).

The study, titled “Prevalence and Predictors of SARS-Cov-2 infection among Farmworkers in Monterey County,” found that more than half (58%) of farmworkers were going to work when they had tested positive and showed symptoms because they felt well enough to work. A quarter of those respondents, however, did not quarantine themselves because they feared financial loss.

“These findings validate concerns from researchers, public health professionals and community advocates that farmworkers would suffer from the Covid-19 pandemic in California,” Joseph Lewnard, assistant professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeley and a member of the study team, told Berkeley News. “We have failed to protect this population, while they have continued to engage in essential work through the pandemic.”

The study from mid-July to November asked hundreds of farmworkers that visited CSVS’s network of clinics for a Covid-19 test—and a few dozen others found through community outreach—several questions about their household demographics, including main language spoken at home, employment information and their Covid-19 risk factors and safety practices at home, in the community and in the workplace, among other things.

Roughly 20% of those surveyed by the end of October had tested positive for the antibodies to Covid-19, meaning they had previously been infected. In addition, 24% of respondents said the virus had an “extremely negative” impact on their life.

The goal of the study, Cuevas said, was to find out why and how so many farmworkers in the Salinas and Pajaro valleys were testing positive for Covid-19 and what could be done to slow the spread. The data collected, he said, paints a picture of where the spread is happening, and the next steps needed to be taken.

Where is the disconnect?

The study found some employers (45%) are not properly screening farmworkers for Covid-19 symptoms or high temperatures before they began their shift. However, it also found that the vast majority of employers were doing well in keeping farmworkers safe in the workplace.

Nearly all (99%) of farmworkers reported that their employer provided handwashing stations and liquid soap and paper towels. In addition, most employers provided hand sanitizer (91%), frequently cleaned surfaces (86%) and provided face coverings (85%). They also reported that the majority of employers have educated them about how to protect themselves at work (97%), been told to social distance (96%) and been informed of the importance of staying at home when sick (93%).

The trouble, Cuevas says, is that some farmworkers were not aware that they can qualify for replacement income and emergency housing in order to quarantine when they have tested positive. About 72% of respondents said their employer told them about where they can get a Covid-19 test, and 69% said their employers had explained how to access sick leave.

That education and information gap, paired with cramped housing situations that have plagued low-income farmworkers living on the pricey Central Coast for years, has exacerbated the pandemic in those communities, Cuevas said.

“Overcrowded living conditions is a huge factor here,” he said.

What is being done?

Monterey County, which has a population of roughly 435,000, has conducted more than 150,000 Covid-19 tests. But Cuevas says that is not enough to understand the true scope of the outbreak and what areas of the county need more attention and resources.

“In reality, we should be closer to half a million tests for a county our size,” he said.

CSVS has tried to close that gap by offering testing at its 11 clinics throughout Monterey County, and the organization is also hosting pop-up testing sites throughout the week in King City (Monday), Soledad (Tuesday), Salinas (Thursday and Friday) and Las Lomas (Saturday). All of them are located at community markets, bringing testing directly to those communities.

In Monterey County, there are four community testing sites run by the state and OptumServe where anyone can get a test for free, even those without insurance. Most Doctors On Duty locations, CVS pharmacies, county hospitals and several clinics are also offering testing, but with various restrictions—some charge around $140 for a test while others require insurance and for a person to be showing symptoms.

“We need a broad testing program,” Cuevas said. “It needs to be expanded big time.”

And on top of providing more access to testing, Cuevas and the research team at UC Berkeley recommend that a comprehensive education campaign be developed that goes “beyond educating about the virus and ways to protect oneself at work, in the community, and in the home.”

“It should educate workers and their employers about farmworker benefits and their ability to remain at home awaiting test results or if sick and receive replacement income,” the study’s white paper reads.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta in a letter to national lawmakers urged them to include more funding for such education programs in future Covid-19 relief packages, citing the results of the UC Berkeley and CSVS study. The funding, the letter read, would be used to provide personal protective equipment, more widespread Covid-19 testing and additional education resources.

“Since the beginning of this bruising pandemic, I’ve continued to push my colleagues in Congress to play our part to help reduce the impact of Covid-19 in farmworker communities,” Panetta said in a press release. “My California colleagues and I know that more needs to be done to keep farmworkers safe, especially as these essential frontline workers continue to suffer from this virus at a disproportionate rate. As we work to get through this pandemic and get on to the road to recovery, we’re trying to ensure that our congressional leadership continues to consider the urgent needs of our agricultural workers.”

What Santa Cruz Westsiders Think of New Rail Trail Segment

Tarmo Hannula

-

December 17, 2020

9

What Santa Cruz Westsiders Think of New Rail Trail Segment

A segment of the Coastal Rail Trail, a planned bike/pedestrian path that could one day connect Watsonville to Davenport, officially opened last week.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Dec. 10 ribbon-cutting for the rail trail Segment 7/Phase 1 was streamed online.

This new 1.2-mile section of asphalt trail, which is 12- to 16-feet wide, runs from Natural Bridges Drive to Bay Street and California Street on Santa Cruz’s Westside. Graniterock built the trail segment, which features 10 bright green bicycle crossings, several new pedestrian crosswalks, signage, and new fencing. One goal of the trail is to provide a safe connection between schools, activity centers, parks and businesses.

“This is my very first day to walk on the trail,” said Sara Walsh, who lives nearby, as she strolled Segment 7. “I love it. I try to do walks two times a day, so this will be perfect because this area is in my regular loop. It feels safe, and I think it will make the neighborhood feel more comfortable.”

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) has been handling high-level planning for the trail, which is part of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network. For years, the RTC has been studying the possibility of introducing transit, like a commuter train, alongside the trail, an idea that’s been met with mixed reception over its feasibility, projected ridership and its possible costs.

The rail trail project is divided into 20 segments—one and a half of which have now been built. The city of Santa Cruz is wrapping up the design phase of the second phase of Segment 7.

The first completed section of rail trail, Segment 9, includes the bike lane outside the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and an extension of a bridge over the San Lorenzo River that opened in January of 2019.

At the ribbon-cutting, Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty, an RTC commissioner, praised the $9 million Westside trail project.

“It’s an incredible way to get across town,” he said. “Soon we will have a 32-mile bike and pedestrian path across Santa Cruz County.”

The new section of trail called for 600 tons of asphalt, mostly made up of asphalt grinding from recent road projects.

Kevin Winch, who’s lived near the adjoining railroad tracks for the past 20 years, welcomed the addition as he toured it by bike.

“Yes, I will definitely use it,” he said. “I used to ride along the tracks on the dirt all the time so this is nice; I like it. Graniterock did a nice job. As you can see, it’s certainly getting used.”

After cutting the ribbon, Mayor Cummings ran through a long list of thank yous for making the project happen, including for the RTC, Pacific Crest Engineering of Watsonville, former Congressmember Sam Farr, county supervisors, the Coastal Conservancy, Ecology Action, and Bike Santa Cruz County.

The trail is designed to welcome people with disabilities, walkers, bikers, and parents with small children.

In South County, work is moving ahead on the south section of the trail off of Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville. There the trail will tie into the more than six miles of slough trails.

Watsonville Hospital Workers Among First to Receive Covid-19 Vaccine

Todd Guild

-

December 17, 2020

0

Watsonville Hospital Workers Among First to Receive Covid-19 Vaccine

Working as an environmental services aide at Watsonville Community Hospital, Benjamin Lamsen cleans rooms in the Emergency Department and the intensive care unit. That work has been challenging, he says, since the Covid-19 pandemic began its spread across the globe.

In addition to increased numbers of patients needing care, he and his colleagues must constantly worry about contracting the virus.

On Wednesday, Lamsen became one of the first people in Santa Cruz County to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I want to be protected, as well as my family.”

Lamsen was among the frontline workers across the U.S.—a group that includes doctors, nurses and other medical professionals—who are receiving the first doses of the vaccine from Pfizer drug company.

Several employees at Dominican Hospital also received a vaccine.

Out of the 656 employees at Watsonville Community Hospital, about 400 are considered frontline. They will be given their vaccines over the coming weeks, says Assistant Administrator Matko Vranjes.

Receiving the vaccine is voluntary, but most employees are signing up for theirs, he said.

“Our staff is taking this very seriously,” he said. “They are excited that the vaccine is available.”

Respiratory Therapist Travis Stevens, who has worked at Watsonville Community Hospital for 20 years, says the influx of patients has been a challenge.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said. “Now, I’m happy in a way that I can protect myself a little bit.”

Emergency room doctor David Claypool, who was also receiving a vaccine, says that he sees patients every day who have the virus. While some have mild symptoms, those considered medically vulnerable are at much greater risk.

“It ravages the body,” he said.

Claypool says the vaccine is 90% effective, a significant number compared to the influenza vaccine, which is 40-60% effective.

“This is a very effective vaccine,” he said.

As the vaccine began to be delivered the California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday introduced the “Vaccinate all 58” campaign, to assure the vaccine is fairly distributed across the state’s 58 counties.

Even with the vaccines likely going to the general public sometime next year, Claypool says that everyone should still wear masks, practice social distancing and comply with other measures created to slow the spread of Covid-19.

“This is not going to stop the surge,” he said. “But hopefully this will prevent future surges as we get more and more vaccinations out there into the community.”

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

Cheaper, but is it better?

“Made the fire hazard worse”

Adding to heartbreak and stress

PARK CLOSURE

SHOT IN THE ARM

LITTLE WIGGLE ROOM

Where is the disconnect?

What is being done?