For the third time in less than a year, the federal government is sending stimulus payments to millions of Americans, no small logistical feat. But that doesn’t mean it will go smoothly for everyone.
Some 90 million payments — totaling about $242.2 billion — are landing in bank accounts via direct deposit Wednesday, the Treasury Department said. An additional 150,000 payments should also arrive shortly, in the form of paper checks. And still more will go out in the coming weeks.
The payments — a maximum of $1,400 — are the largest issued to date, and eligibility has been expanded to dependent adults, including college students. As with previous rounds of pandemic stimulus, many banks are making the full amount of the payments available to customers, even if the money went into overdrawn accounts.
But there could still be bumps ahead for some recipients. The fast phase-outs of payments mean people might receive less than they would have under prior rounds, or no payment at all. The legislative process that Congress used to pass the bill has left payments vulnerable to private debt collectors. Your payment could arrive in a different form this time. And the eligibility rules mean you may (or may not) be allowed to keep a payment issued for a now-deceased spouse.
There’s even been confusion in recent days about the timing of the payments, after some financial institutions chose to make the money available before the government actually began delivering it Wednesday.
After President Joe Biden signed the stimulus bill last week, the IRS, which is pushing out the payments for the Treasury, began sending notices that the relief payments would arrive March 17. But a handful of online institutions, including Current and Chime, credited their customers in advance of the payments’ arrival.
Some customers of traditional banks took notice — or at least hoped the money would arrive over the weekend — and complained on social media that their institutions hadn’t made the money available sooner.
But nine banking and credit union industry groups said in a statement this week that the IRS had determined the details of the deposits and their handling.
“It is up to the sender, in this case the IRS, to decide when it wants the money to be made available and the IRS chose March 17,” they said.
Demand for information hardly slowed Wednesday: Wells Fargo said heavy traffic had temporarily caused problems for its online banking service. “This does not affect stimulus payments with March 17 effective date, which were credited to accounts today,” the company said in a statement.
For this round, payments top out at $1,400 per person, including children and adult dependents. To qualify for the full amount, a single person must have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or below. For heads of household, adjusted gross income must be $112,500 or less, and for married couples filing jointly that number has to be $150,000 or below.
Partial payments are available to people who earn more, but they fall quickly to zero. For single filers, the checks stop at $80,000. For heads of household, the cutoff is $120,000. And for joint filers, it’s $160,000.
The payment amounts depend on the most recent information on file with the IRS, which could be from your 2019 tax return if you haven’t yet filed for 2020. (If you’re newly eligible for a payment based on your 2020 income but haven’t yet filed your return, the IRS will be able to continue making payments until September. And if you still don’t end up with a payment by then, you can make a claim when you file your 2021 taxes.)
You can find information on the status of your payment by using the IRS’s Get My Payment tool. If the agency has your bank account information, the money should show up automatically if you’re eligible. If you receive veterans’ benefits or Social Security payments, whether for retirement or disability, the IRS will generally send payments the same way you normally get that money. The agency said it planned to announce a payment date for these groups “shortly.”
People who don’t regularly file a tax return that includes any bank account information should keep an eye on the mail for a paper check or a debit card. But just because your previous two payments arrived one way doesn’t mean this one will arrive the same way, according to the IRS, which may send debit cards to ensure that payments are available to recipients more quickly. (If you received a payment on a debit card before, the IRS has already said that it would issue new cards for this payment instead of adding money to the old one.)
In prior stimulus rounds, some recipients have been confused to see their payments destined for unfamiliar accounts — often because they used tax-preparation services that created temporary accounts to receive their refunds. Both H&R Block and Intuit’s TurboTax have posted messages attempting to reassure customers who previously experienced glitches or delays.
Another problem some people encountered in prior rounds: payments addressed to deceased relatives.
If your spouse or dependent died this year, even before Biden signed the bill, you can keep the payment that arrives for them, according to an IRS spokesman. But if they died in 2020, they are not supposed to be eligible. For instructions on how to return any payment that nevertheless arrives for them, visit the IRS website on the page with the phrase “Returning the Economic Impact Payment.”
The bill that authorized this round of payments shields them from government-ordered seizure — for example, if you’re in default on your federal student loans or late with child support payments, according to a Senate Finance Committee spokeswoman.
But private debt collectors can still make a run at the money, which wasn’t the case with the first two rounds of payments. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Finance Committee, said Senate rules had prevented the inclusion of such a provision in the bill. On Wednesday, several senators introduced stand-alone legislation to fix the problem.
Even so, some entities that might otherwise take a piece of your payment could give you a break, at least temporarily. Bank of America, Capital One, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo all said that their customers would have full and immediate access to the payments once they hit their accounts, even if their balances are below zero.
The city of Watsonville is requesting proposals from an artist, or a group of artists, to design, fabricate and install a temporary or permanent memorial to commemorate and honor Watsonville residents who died after falling ill with Covid-19.
The request for proposals (RFP), which closes on April 2, is open to all working artists above the age of 18 that have “demonstrated mastery in the execution of art pieces using proposed materials.”
“The memorial art piece will give the residents of Watsonville, as well as visitors, a place at which to reflect on this significant time in our country’s history,” the RFP reads.
The proposal went live as Santa Cruz County approached the 200-death mark and reached the one-year anniversary of the countywide shutdown that sought to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Since then, more than 15,000 county residents have tested positive for Covid-19 and 455 have been hospitalized with the disease. The majority of the county’s Covid-19 cases have been in Watsonville residents.
“Covid hit our community the hardest,” Watsonville Assistant City Manager Tamara Vides said. “There were many lives, unfortunately, that were lost in this historical event.”
It is unclear how many Watsonville residents have died with Covid-19 as a contributing factor, as the county has not yet publicly released data on deaths by zip code or city despite multiple requests from this publication. According to the county’s most recent data, 196 county residents have died with Covid-19.
The majority of deaths (102) have come in skilled nursing and residential care facilities. That includes the 18 deaths recorded at Watsonville Post Acute Center in an outbreak last year. Other local facilities that saw a resident die with Covid-19 include: Watsonville Nursing Center (4), Valley Convalescent (4), Montecito Manor (3), Rachelle’s Home (3) and De Un Amor (2).
A total of 94 Covid-19-related deaths were not linked to skilled nursing or residential care facilities.
But conditions have improved recently, as intensive care unit bed capacity across the county has stabilized. Watsonville Community Hospital (WCH) told the Pajaronian Tuesday that it did not have a Covid-19 patient in its intensive care unit (ICU) for the first time in several months. The 106-bed, general acute care hospital has treated more than 1,100 Covid-19 patients since the start of the pandemic.
“It’s a great sign,” Vides said of WCH’s ICU not having any Covid-19 patients. “Our numbers are going down, we see that as a trend, not just here but around the state.”
Mayor Jimmy Dutra brought the idea of the memorial forward in a City Council meeting earlier this year, saying that a family member asked if the city could honor those that have died in the last 12 months.
“We’ve lost a lot of people due to Covid in Watsonville,” Dutra said.
If all goes according to plan, the city will conduct interviews with prospective artists the week of April 12 and the proposed project will go before the Parks & Recreation Commission the first week of May. The city could approve a contract with the artist(s) as early as May 11, according to the RFP.
There has been no site selected for the project, and there are no budget limitations included in the RFP—the city is leaving that decision up to the prospective artist(s). The RFP, however, does say that applicants should consider requesting to locate the memorial at City-owned property such as a local park or government building.
The high school football season is back on track, for now, as Santa Cruz County superintendents released updated guidance for outdoor high-contact sports that won’t require teams to test for Covid-19 moving forward.
Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Michelle Rodriguez was notified on March 15 that there are no Covid-19 testing requirements for outdoor high-contact sports as long as the county remains in the red tier of the state’s reopening plan, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
The superintendents met on March 15 and were told by CDPH that athletes don’t have to test prior to a game so long as the county has an adjusted case rate of less than 7 cases per 100,000 residents. That means the six Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League (SCCAL) football games slated for this weekend are ready to go.
“We are now back on track,” Rodriguez said.
Last week, five of the six league games were postponed until April 17, starting with the Belgard Kup between Watsonville and Pajaro Valley high schools.
Rodriguez was informed by the county public health department that their testing plan did not qualify or align with CDPH requirements. She said daily testing had to be implemented and they had to start with a baseline PCR testing.
“That occurred on Friday and we were not able to within hours be able to make a shift. One thing that we want to do is make sure and not put the future of the entire season in jeopardy by not following health guidelines,” she said.
In February, CDPH updated its guidance for outdoor and indoor youth sports. The state announced that outdoor high-contact sports previously only allowed in the “moderate” orange tier, were allowed to be played in the most-restrictive “widespread” purple tier or “substantial” red tier if the county has an adjusted case rate equal to or less than 14 per 100,000.
The state further updated that guidance on March 4, stating that teams can return to competition only if they adhere to the stricter requirements in place for college teams. The terms include rigorous testing requirements around each competition, following contact tracing protocols and coordination with local health authorities.
County spokesman Jason Hoppin confirmed that they are responsible for implementing the guidance in the school districts. But, he said the county public health department doesn’t have any orders related to testing, competition, practice or spectators for high school sports.
“They do not need approval from us, they just have to follow the state guidelines,” he said. “We’re just not involved in this process.”
Rodriguez was originally told by CDPH that the district only needed to conduct weekly PCR testing. But as of Monday night, the superintendents were told that the schools no longer need to test as long as the county has an adjusted case rate of less than 7 per 100,000.
To clear up the confusion, Rodriguez teamed up with San Lorenzo Valley Unified Superintendent Laurie Bruton, Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent Kris Munro, Scotts Valley Unified Superintendent Tanya Krause and Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah to come up with a county-issued Guideline for High-Contact Sports, which is the same guidelines provided by CDPH.
“We were all working together to get our student-athletes back on the field,” she said. “We all understand the importance of athletics.”
That’s good news for athletic directors across the county such as Aptos High Athletic Director Travis Fox, who at one point thought the football team was going to play for the first time in more than a year.
The Mariners’ game against Santa Cruz High last week fell through when SCCAL officials notified him that the games were being pushed back because of confusion with testing protocols. The two teams instead decided to hold a scrimmage on Saturday afternoon, but that too was eventually canceled.
Instead, the Mariners held a competitive practice on their newly-renovated field at Trevin Dilfer Memorial Stadium.
“I can tell you that the test results did not impact this decision at all,” he said. “It’s just based on the conflicting information regarding frequency of testing.”
According to the California Guidance for Higher Education, both periodic PCR testing as well as daily antigen testing were acceptable. The guidance had also stated that teams can compete without spectators if the schools can provide coronavirus testing and results within a 48 hour period before a game.
St. Francis High, which is not part of the PVUSD, was cleared and approved by its administrators to play last week’s game against Scotts Valley High.
Athletic director Adam Hazel made sure they followed all of the guidelines given to him, starting with one test on March 2 and another two days prior to their game.
They had nearly 100 tests performed on both the varsity and JV teams, cheerleaders, drumline and the entire coaching staff, according to Hazel. The students were given a PCR test, or nose swab test, which is considered to be the most accurate and reliable test for diagnosing Covid.
“The first time we did the testing it went very smoothly, the company was awesome and coach [John] Ausman, our cheer coach and our band director did a great job directing our kids,” he said.
But things quickly changed on March 12 as the schools were notified that they had to look further into the testing procedures before any more competition could take place.
Hazel said he was notified by SCCAL Commissioner Bob Kittle that the JV team had their game on March 13 postponed, adding to the ongoing frustration felt by him and other athletic directors in the area.
“We’re hoping that everything gets set because we’ve been following all the state guidelines and every guideline put in front of us,” he said.
Kittle told the Pajaronian that he was told the situation was taken care of by the districts’ superintendents and the games are going to resume this weekend.
“We should be back in place with some clear directions this week,” he said. “We’re going as scheduled and that’s our plan.”
Kava is a nonintoxicant drink celebrated for its social nature and euphoric effects. However, things at the MeloMelo Kava Bar are anything but chill.
As for every business during the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s been an arduous year of financial struggles and changing regulations steeped in uncertainty for the downtown Santa Cruz establishment.
Now, the city has slapped a red tag on their outdoor dining structure on Pacific Avenue with an original removal notification slated for March 17, extended for now to March 22. If the business does not comply, it will be fined $2,500 for every day the structure remains, along with any extra fees the city incurs during the process.
“It’s been an exhausting year of trying to navigate this and begging the government for money,” says MeloMelo Kava Bar owner Rami Kayali. “Then to come home and have your own city try to bury you.”
The disputed structure in question is an 8-by-30 foot wooden, covered awning also known as a parklet. Like most Santa Cruz restaurants and bars, MeloMelo began outdoor seating in June as soon as it was allowed while the county was in the purple tier of the state’s reopening plan. The city’s Temporary Outdoor Expansion Area Program, which allows businesses to use outdoor space within certain guidelines, currently has 80 participating establishments.
With the onset of the rainy season earlier this year, MeloMelo General Manager Amira Fangary says they wanted to ensure customers had a dry area to commune and drink their beverages.
“It’s hard to have consistent business hours when the weather dictates when we can be open,” she says.
Temporary emergency codes only allow for open air or tent covered seating, not structured coverings. However, when the MeloMelo bar looked into the tents, Fangary says the two businesses that rent them don’t have anything small enough for their space, which is significantly smaller than areas at other establishments like 515 Kitchen and Cocktails or The Asti.
According to Kayali, he reached out to the Downtown Association on Feb. 9 to ask about permitting. By Feb. 16 he had not received a response and decided to build the structure anyway, citing economic hardship and an opening in his contractor’s schedule, with the next opening at least another six weeks away.
“It was ‘now or never,’” Kayali recalls. “Every time it rained my business went to zero.”
He says the structure was built with pressure-treated wood. It took the contractor roughly six hours to build and cost around $4,000 for materials and labor.
“The guy who built this has built them throughout the Bay Area,” says Kayali, who also owns kava bar locations in Oakland and Berkeley, both of which have wooden parklets.
MeloMelo Kava Bar’s outdoor dining structure was red tagged by the city of Santa Cruz. PHOTO: MAT WEIR
The day it was built, the Downtown Association directed Kayali to speak with Rebecca Unitt, business liaison for the Santa Cruz Economic Development Office. Kayali says not only did Unitt tell him the structure was unsanctioned and needed to be immediately removed, MeloMelo also didn’t have a permit for outdoor dining, despite operating outdoor seating with no issue from the city. He says the latter was an “oversight,” as the establishment had applied for outdoor dining insurance and thought the certificate was their permit.
Kayali tells GT that between Feb. 17 and March 10, he and Unitt discussed the best way to proceed with the situation, including filing the proper permits, submitting designs and making sure the parklet was properly anchored, a chief concern of the city. He says he was happy to make the necessary changes assuming it would greenlight the structure. He even offered to pay for structural inspection out of pocket and offered to sign an affidavit agreeing to remove the parklet in October, when the city’s Temporary Outdoor Expansion Area Program is currently slated to end. Emails obtained by GT confirm these claims, although nowhere in the correspondence was approval guaranteed by the city.
After spending another $800 on concrete buckets for anchoring and filing the paperwork, city inspectors assessed the structure, and on March 11 it was red tagged for removal.
“It goes back to it being an unpermitted structure,” says Unitt, adding that under current building codes it is considered a permanent structure, and permanent structures must have anchoring drilled into the ground in some manner. However, as this is on public property, drilling is not permitted.
She says the city is committed to working with businesses, especially during these hard Covid times, but the MeloMelo parklet controversy boils down to safety concerns.
“The structure wasn’t presented to us with any plans to be reviewed, how it was constructed, the materials that went into it, and whether or not it was constructed safely enough to withstand an earthquake,” Unitt says. “Since we didn’t have the plans ahead of time, we were not able to verify any of that.”
She says the city is willing to work with Kayali on a future, temporary, outdoor dining area once the wooden structure has been properly removed.
However, Kayali says that he has already spent most of his money building the parklet and making the necessary guideline changes expressed in the emails. He believes that the cost in tearing it down and having to wait for the proper permitting—on top of spending even more money on new materials—will put him and his employees out of business.
Even with the county now allowing for 25% capacity indoor dining under the red tier of the state’s reopening plan, Kayali says the nature of his business—people gathering for conversation and drinks—does not allow for a high volume turnover as some guests might stay an hour or longer. He also wants to provide open air seating for patrons who might not be comfortable drinking indoors.
Kayali’s attorney and city attorneys are currently discussing the possibility of removing the aluminum roof in exchange for a canvas one to meet current guidelines. However, Unitt tells GT any changes moving forward must be first approved by the city. Kayali says if an agreement is not reached by March 22 he will be pursuing legal action.
“There’s no way I’m taking it down without a logical, sensible reason that’s not something as pedantic as anchoring,” he says. “I’m not really a fighter in that sense, but this is not something I really want to back down [from].”
BACH AND MORE FOR ONE AND TWO VIOLINS Concert three of Santa Cruz Baroque Festival Season 48, “Bach and More for One and Two Violins,” is a brilliant performance by two expert performers on the Baroque violin. Edwin Huizinga and Grijda Spiri are scholars of the instrument, both with a deep understanding of how the instrument was played in the Baroque era. They both appreciate the way that Baroque violins differ from modern ones: the gut strings, lower tuning, etc. Though a little bit quieter and less bright than their modern counterparts, the Baroque violin feels more intimate, allowing the moment-to-moment expression of the performer to come through with greater immediacy. You can hear the immediacy in this performance at r.blitzer gallery, with musical phrases sensitively imbued with attitude and emotion, and an understanding of this complex music communicated with great clarity. Playing with the supreme sensitivity that is enabled by the baroque instrument, Huizinga and Spiri transformed the art gallery into a concert hall, enthralling the few engineers and stagehands that were privileged to be at the recording. On March 20, we are sharing their marvelous musical expression with the community at large. scbaroque.org. Saturday, March 20, 7:30pm.
BANFF CENTRE MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL VIRTUAL FESTIVAL All the programs? All the programs! If you’ve been too busy getting after it outdoors, or just haven’t made the time yet, now’s your chance to catch all the Banff Virtual World Tour programs, including the grand prize winner: “Piano to Zanskar.” This year, bring the adventure home! Fluff up your couch cushions, grab a snack of choice, and make sure you have a good internet connection because the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour is virtual. Travel to the most remote corners of the world, dive into daring expeditions, and celebrate some of the most remarkable outdoor achievements, all from the comfort of your living room. Films can be purchased individually or as a bundle. Visit riotheatre.com for more information about the online programs and how you can support your local screening. You may also go directly to the Banff affiliate link for the Rio at filmfest.banffcentre.ca/?campaign=WT-163945.
DOWNTOWN SANTA CRUZ MAKERS MARKET Come on out and support local makers and artists at the Downtown Santa Cruz Makers Market every third Sunday of the month on Pacific Avenue at Lincoln Street. We are now on the 1100 block of Pacific Avenue between Cathcart and Lincoln streets near New Leaf and alongside many amazing downtown restaurants. Support local and shop small with over 30 Santa Cruz County artists and makers. And don’t forget to stop in and visit the downtown merchants and grab a bite to eat from the downtown restaurants. Remember to socially distance as you shop and wear your mask. If you’re not feeling well, please stay home. There will be hand sanitizing stations at the market and signs to remind you about all these things. Friendly, leashed pups are welcome at this free event. Sunday, March 21, 10am-5pm.
MEET ARTIST MARC SHARGEL Meet Marc Shargel at the Radius Gallery on Friday, March 19. Marc is featured in a multi-artist show, “450 Pieces,” a tri-gallery exhibition of the Santa Cruz Visual Arts Network. The show runs through March 28. Covid-safety protocol will be in effect. Questions? Email bo***@*************es.com. Friday, March 19, 2:30-5pm. Radius, Gallery, 1050 River St., #127, Santa Cruz.
COMMUNITY
DREAM INN SANTA CRUZ TO CELEBRATE ST. PATRICK’S DAY WITH VERTICAL CONCERT FEATURING THE BLACK IRISH BAND It’s time to bring back live music! Dream Inn Santa Cruz will feature its second live vertical concert with incredible Celtic and Americana music from The Black Irish Band—perfect for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. An opening DJ and The Black Irish Band will offer a safe, socially distanced, open-air concert live from Dream Inn’s pool deck, with incredible views of the Monterey Bay. Ticket holders will enjoy the concert from their private guest room balconies overlooking the pool deck. Each room offers aerial views over the concert floor and is perfectly equipped for social distancing with private household viewing. Throughout the evening, food and beverage service will be available at Jack’s Patio at Dream Inn Santa Cruz. Room service will also be available. The concert takes place on Wednesday, March 17. Opening DJ begins at 5:30pm and The Black Irish Band begins at 7pm. All ticket packages come with overnight accommodations in a Deluxe Ocean View room, and a private balcony or patio overlooking the pool deck/stage. The package includes all hotel room conveniences. Package rates begin at $519 plus tax; visit dreaminnsantacruz.com/st-patricks-day to book. Dream Inn Santa Cruz, 175 W Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. Wednesday, March 17, 5:30pm.
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, March 18, 7pm.
TENANTS’ RIGHTS HELP Tenant Sanctuary is open to renters living in the city of Santa Cruz with questions about their tenants’ rights. Volunteer counselors staff the telephones on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 10am-2pm. Tenant Sanctuary works to empower tenants by educating them on their rights and providing the tools to pursue those rights. Tenant Sanctuary and their program attorney host free legal clinics for tenants in the city of Santa Cruz. Due to Covid-19 concerns, all services are currently by telephone, email or Zoom. For more information visit tenantsanctuary.org or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/tenantsanctuary. 831-200-0740. Thursday, March 18, 10am-2pm. Sunday, March 21, 10am-2pm. Tuesday, March 23, 10am-2pm.
GROUPS
CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP 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. Meeting via Zoom and phone. Who may benefit from participating in the support group? Family caregivers who care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, those would like to talk to others in a similar situation, and those who need more information, additional support and caregiving strategies. To register or for questions please call 800-272-3900. Wednesday, March 17, 5:30pm.
ENTRE NOSOTRAS GRUPO DE APOYO Entre Nosotras support group for Spanish-speaking women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets twice monthly. Registration required, call 831-761-3973. Friday, March 19, 6pm.
WOMENCARE ARM-IN-ARM Cancer support group for women with advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cancer. Meets every Monday at 12:30pm via Zoom. All services are free. Registration required. Contact WomenCARE at 831-457-2273 or online at womencaresantacruz.org. Monday, March 22, 12:30pm.
WOMENCARE MINDFULNESS MEDITATION Mindfulness Meditation for women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets the first and third Friday, currently on Zoom. Registration required, call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Friday, March 19, 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. Contact WomenCARE at 831-457-2273 or online at womencaresantacruz.org. Tuesday, March 23, 12:30-2pm.
WOMENCARE: LAUGHTER YOGA Laughter yoga for women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets every Wednesday at 3:30 via Zoom. Registration required by contacting 831-457-2273. Wednesday, March 17, 3:30-4:30pm.
OUTDOOR
SATURDAYS IN THE SOIL It’s time to get your hands dirty! The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History is excited to relaunch Saturdays in the Soil, a monthly volunteer program in our native plant garden. Learn about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while coming together as a community (in a physically distanced manner) to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. Space is limited and RSVPs are required. Email vo*******@*************um.org to express interest. This native plant garden requires general landscaping, occasional watering, weeding, and replanting. All ages are welcome; children under 14 require adult supervision. Masks are required at all times. You are encouraged to bring your own gloves (though this is not required). Limited to 12 volunteers. Check-in at the amphitheater. Upon arrival, staff will provide an orientation, temperature check, waiver, and social distancing overview. Saturday, March 20, 10am-noon. Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, 1305 E Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz.
VIRTUAL SCIENCE SUNDAY—WATER MANAGEMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND SALMON HEALTH: THE STORY OF THE SACRAMENTO RIVER Perhaps nowhere else in the world is a water resource management and fisheries management so connected as in California. A vast array of dams and reservoirs in the state provide fresh water for public use, but also impact the health of salmon. For example, in the Sacramento River, the spawning grounds for the endangered winter-run Chinook salmon are solely reliant on the cold water released from Shasta Reservoir upstream. How climate change will impact the ability of upstream reservoirs to sustain water resources for fish and public use remains an important question in California, with implications for drought-prone regions around the world. Join Miles Daniels as he discusses his research exploring the connections between water management, climate change, and salmon health. UCSC March Science Sunday is free for everyone to attend. This is made possible through a generous sponsorship by the UCSC Fisheries Collaborative Program in partnership with the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Register in advance for the online Science Sunday webinar here: seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/ongoing-education/science-sundays. Registration closes an hour prior to the event. Sunday, March 21, 1:30-2:30pm.
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, March 21, 10:30am.
In 2019, local musician and Cabrillo art student Zuzu West wrote a song called “You” that was so personal, she almost didn’t release it.
It was a response to her boyfriend, who was certain he was more into her than she was him. She disagreed. The lyrics speak plainly:“I want you/I want you baby.” Several friends told her it was awesome and that she should release it. One friend, Sitsa LaTour (from Sacramento band LaTour), even added a super funky bassline to it, giving the song a smooth, jazzy, infectiously-funky pop vibe. West uploaded “You” to her Soundcloud eight months ago.
“I’ve always been a little low on self-esteem when it comes to releasing anything I’ve produced,” she says. “Sitsa was so excited about the song, and it made me realize how valuable it was: That we had created something together, and it was everything we had hoped for.”
Quentin Shaeffer, a fellow Cabrillo student and local musician, met West in late 2019, and hung out with her only once before the pandemic hit and stopped in-person gatherings. When West released “You” on her Soundcloud last year, Shaeffer immediately obsessed over it and wanted to remix it. They released their collaborative version of “You” last month, billed as Quentin Shaeffer and Zuzu West.
The new version is much slicker and electronic-oriented. Shaeffer’s light, airy, electro-pop beats mix seamlessly with West’s breezy vocals and LaTour’s Bootsy Collins-level funky bass line.
Finishing the song was a long process, and the effects of the pandemic altered much of West and Shaeffer’s lives. Before the pandemic, Shaeffer was working in politics as a field strategist. He was knocking on doors, hanging out at farmers markets, and talking face to face with local voters. After the pandemic began, his job turned into managing social media accounts. By mid-August, he moved to Reno to live with his mom to save money amid all the uncertainty.
“I do not recommend staring at Facebook for a living,” Shaeffer says. “My job destroyed my mental health.”
West’s life changed as well. No longer able to take babysitting gigs to make money, she moved back to her parent’s house in Sacramento near the beginning of the pandemic and continued to attend school at Cabrillo online.
“I was going back and forth because my boyfriend’s dad lives in Santa Cruz. We were living with him for a while,” West says. “After a couple months, when school obviously wasn’t going back into session, we both were like, ‘Well, we’ve got to move back home. We’re broke.’”
During the late summer, West was excited that Shaeffer wanted to remix “You.” But the stress of isolation and social media overload made it so Shaeffer couldn’t put meaningful time into working on it. It wasn’t until his job contract ended in November and he took a trip to San Diego to unwind that he had the mental bandwidth to make progress on the song.
“Part of what helped me was letting go of that initial intention and accepting that I didn’t need to add the kitchen sink just to justify it being a full electronic remix when we could just release the track as a collaboration and let it be the pop song/party song it is.”
The two have both made music independently for roughly two years. Shaeffer typically produces instrumental electronic music, while West writes singer-songwriter pop songs with an R&B twist. “You” is a special song, one that blends both of their worlds and makes a catchy dance floor anthem at a time when dance floors are all closed.
“Quentin’s a little bit more electronic vibe, dubstep-esque, indie. And I really like to write songs on my guitar and put it all together,” West says. “We have similar vibes, but different in the best way.”
The two still live in Sacramento and Reno. West takes classes at Cabrillo; Shaeffer is taking a semester off. Before the pandemic, both planned to stay in town a while and were considering eventually transferring to UCSC. Now they feel much more uncertain about their futures. But they continue working together—hopefully one day in person.
“I would love to work with Quentin more,” West says. “I think we’re a great pair.”
Re: “Beyond the Bust” (GT, 3/3): Regarding the presence of George Washington in Watsonville, I think of him as a window into the past. There is a beginning to every story.
Discussing how democracy began is an opportunity of learning from the past, as part of creating a better future. There are new heroes yet to be immortalized—Dolores Huerta, Leon Panetta and many other contemporaries leading us toward “a more perfect Union.”
What the Plaza in Watsonville needs is more art to inspire us all on this epic journey to freedom, and our community has the artistic talent to make that a reality. Shout out to the creative spirit: Let’s not dwell on division.
Laurie Hennig | Boulder Creek
This letter does not necessarily reflect the views of Good Times.
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More than a year has passed since the pandemic was officially declared (though its seriousness had been known to the U.S. president not just for weeks, but for months).
Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on Stephen Colbert’s “Quaranniversary Show” on March 13—the first time he hasn’t been blocked by that president from doing so. In an answer to Colbert’s question, he sums up what’s changed since January 20: “Everything!” Then we see his wide smile, the one he’d had to suppress in all those deadly “news briefings” in all those deadly months.
Even as Dr. Fauci speaks of the progress made, he also warns that great risks remain, and precautions are crucial, for “normalcy” is still far in the future. Yet folks here in Santa Cruz crowd downtown sidewalks, and the many unmasked sprawl on beaches, stroll down oceanside walkways, even step without permission into stores from time to time.
It wasn’t even a month ago that 500,000 U.S. deaths were marked, our losses at last mourned publicly and presidentially, with somber speeches, half-mast flags and memorial moments of silence. Only three weeks later, another 30,000 have died—a mournful number equally unfathomable, but less often mentioned.
As our town ricochets from one tier to another and reopenings abound, a sense of celebration circles the air (despite the new variants of the virus that also do). The stress is on all the things we now can do, especially those of us who are already vaccinated.
But I am wary. And weary. Even now, a year along, there are few things I am sure of. First among them: extraordinary measures are still needed. Together with this: I must balance my great gratitude for the progress being rightfully described, even celebrated, with something else that weighs as much—that weighs, in truth, far more: There is still so much we do not know. And I need to attend to (also gratefully, for I am still here to attend to things at all) those far less welcome facts, those far less reassuring, far more daunting truths that are still so much with us.
Wendy Martyna | Santa Cruz
This letter does not necessarily reflect the views of Good Times.
To submit a letter to the editor of Good Times: Letters should be originals—not copies of letters sent to other publications. Please include your name and email address to help us verify your submission (email address will not be published). Please be brief. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and to correct factual inaccuracies known to us. Send letters to le*****@*******es.sc.
I’ve been thinking lately about the disappearing art of the classic alternative-press first-person story. It may seem ridiculous to worry about the loss of the first-person perspective in a world where there’s more of it than ever, especially online. But I’m not talking about opinion essays, or the thousands of blogs that package editorializing on someone else’s reporting as original work. I’m talking about truly personal journalism, the kind pioneered by “New Journalists” like Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, Hunter S. Thompson and Gloria Steinem; the “participatory journalism” of George Plimpton, who would actually join and play with everything from pro sports teams to orchestras in order to get the most insightful story possible.
I got a hit of Plimpton from Liza Monroy’s cover story this week; it’s ostensibly a profile of maverick Santa Cruz surfboard shaper Carl Gooding. And it is that, don’t get me wrong—Gooding is a fascinating subject. But Monroy’s story is just as much about her own journey, and the challenges she faces as a woman surfer—some of which she wasn’t aware of until she started taking a deeper look at exactly how the design and shape of a surfboard works—and eventually, designed and shaped one herself. I think it’s a great surfing story, profile and example of how participatory journalism continues today.
This whole idea is a complete waste of time and money. Everyone knows that Scotts Valley is going to develop more with the Town Center and more high-density housing. And absolutely nothing to build more water production and storage infrastructure. Soquel Creek Water District is spending $100 million to use less than 15% of the wastewater, when they could have used 100% of it for the same amount of money, contingent on if they could use the rail corridor for a larger pipeline. Said pipeline could be extended to Deep Water Desal. Now you have plenty of water to eternity. But, no, we need the brilliant Rail + Trail billion-dollar project. Morons control the infrastructure decisions in California. Let’s build a section of High Speed Rail, or don’t fix a $10 million repair job on Oroville Dam. Everyone in SLVWD is going to oppose this, and they already started sending in their protests today.
— Bill Smallman
PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
Environmental Volunteers’ After-School Nature Walks program for 2020/2021 is designed to help students and their families get to know our local city parks and open space areas. Small, individual, family groups will be guided by a knowledgeable environmental educator during a 90-minute (covid-safe) exploration of a local park. These small groups will be introduced to fun nature-based activities, and a chance to learn more about the plants and animals all around us. Offered twice a week (Tu/Th), the location will change to a new park each month, and families are welcome to sign up for as many as they like. Cost is $8/child for each session. The field trips are intended for children ages 6-11.
Submit to ph****@*******es.sc. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250dpi.
GOOD IDEA
THINK OF THEM
The Family Service Agency of the Central Coast’s I-You Venture is helping alleviate some of the increased loneliness and isolation seniors in care facilities have been facing during the pandemic. Community members can send “Thinking of You” cards, or donate items such as crossword puzzles, word search books, adult coloring books and art supplies. Items can be mailed to: FSA/I-You Venture, 104 Walnut Ave., #208, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, or dropped off at the Santa Cruz Volunteer Center,1740 17th Ave., Santa Cruz, CA (marked “Attn: I-You Venture”). Office hours are Monday-Thursday, 10am-noon and 1-4pm. They then deliver the items to local care facilities. For more information, call 831-459-8917, ext. 205.
GOOD WORK
SHOW TIME
While the rest of us talk about when live music might come back, Michael’s on Main has been dipping music lovers’ toes back into the live experience this month with their “Dinner and a Show” series—very limited capacity shows on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays, with seating at socially distanced tables. Table reservations are available for two or more, and face masks are required. Upcoming shows include Sambada on Saturday, March 20, and Anthony Arya with Life is a Cabaret on Saturday, April 3, Grateful Dead covers every Sunday, and more. Call 831-479-9777, ext. 2, for tickets.
I’ve loved surfing for years, but before the pandemic, I couldn’t regularly go. When lockdown began, though—with my husband’s dawn commute over the hill on pause and our kids out of preschool—I regularly forced myself out of bed at 5:30am and biked to a nearby spot.
A couple months into quarantine, water days outnumbered my under-wetsuit swimwear supply. So I paid a visit to Aylana Zanville, former pro surfer and proprietress of local surf-y clothing line Ola Chica. As she laid out bikinis on her lawn, I admired a blue surfboard leaning against her shed.
“The shaper does these single fin, flowy boards,” she said. “I’ve gotten a lot of custom boards over the years, and I’ve never had a board like that.” She paused, considering. “You know, you should call Carl.”
She gave me the number of Carl Gooding, a board shaper who works out of a nondescript local garage, but I was skeptical. Zanville was an expert. Why would an intermediate-ish recreational surf mom need a custom board?
In a world where most boards are shaped for men, “Carl has a keen understanding of shaping women’s boards,” Zanville told me. From shoulders to hips, he designs for each particular client’s body type and abilities.
I’d been riding the same board for four years without a thought as to who it had been shaped for. So not long after, on a sunny, socially distanced afternoon in Gooding’s airy living room, I found myself listening to him talk about his quest to create a more inclusive, sustainable surf world—for women, BIPOC, and Mother Earth herself. The timing was apt, as spring seems to be the time when all of Gooding’s concerns come together: March, April and May contain International Women’s Day, Earth Day and Mother’s Day, respectively.
With his teenage daughter’s noserider leaning by the door, Gooding said that in an industry still permeated by racism and sexism, he strives to differ from the stereotype of the “old privileged white guy making surfboards,” with a focus on inclusion and sustainability. “There are not nearly enough people of color in the water,” he says. “How do you change that?”
An affable, soft-spoken fellow with a shiny gray mane and eyes that are pools of blue sincerity, Gooding has lived many lives—he’s worked for MTV, been a professional NBA photographer, and a craftsman building off-road race cars, bike frames, and model airplanes. In his 60s now, he brings his waste-not maker’s ethos to his Dawn Patrol Surfboards business. Though he’s run it for a decade, it remains a hidden gem, hiding in plain sight. Gooding started Dawn Patrol when his daughters, then 8 and 10, joined what was the Shoreline surf team (now the Pleasure Point Surf Club). In looking for boards, nothing he found was quite the right fit.
“That’s how shaping started,” he says. “I have an analytic mind. I thought, ‘I can do better.’” Ever since, he’s been on a mission to craft custom boards “with soul,” and he takes pride in shaping for girls, women and all body types and abilities.
Surfing Through Quarantine
When I moved to Santa Cruz in 2012, a friend lent me a board and took me out at beginner-friendly Cowells. Catching my first waves sparked an obsession. I bought a dinged piece of junk for $60 off Craigslist that’s probably in a landfill right now. In 2016, for my first Mother’s Day as a mom, I received a “real” board: a tri-fin 9’0 former rental from a name-brand surf shop.
When I met Gooding, he was getting back to work after a non-Covid bout with pneumonia threatened his future as a shaper. When the illness finally subsided, Gooding was especially glad to be back because “Covid happened, and we got really busy.”
Indeed, while many industries continue to suffer during the pandemic, surfing has boomed, as is evident from the crowded lineups along the coast and internationally. During quarantine, surfing became synonymous with sanity and self-care—a safe, socially distanced way to get outdoors, exercise, and momentarily forget doomscrolling.
Gooding requested I bring my surfboard to show him. He looked it over like a doctor examining a patient and said, “The board isn’t helping you. It’s for a big dude riding big waves.” I was the opposite. How long had I been surfing? Seven years, with two pregnancy breaks. “You’re at a point in your life to stop surfing the old rental board you bought when you didn’t know what you were doing,” Gooding diagnosed.
He opened the garage door, revealing his soundproof shaping room. Racks held boards-in-progress and blanks, pieces of foam “marble” that become—with the shaper’s craft that blends art, engineering, mathematics, and creativity—surfboards as specific as a fingerprint.
Gooding calls all surfboards a compromise. “Most people are on the wrong board. People can be embarrassed to tell the guy at the surf shop how they truly surf, whatever it happens to be,” he told me.
I could relate. I felt impostor syndrome describing my so-so skills to a professional shaper, but Gooding put me at ease. He launched a CIA-worthy interrogation of my surfing: where did I go, what spots, what conditions? What kinds of waves did I surf now, and what did I aspire to? I presented a virtual vision board of graceful women cross-stepping and noseriding, admitting I wasn’t near that yet. He went into a detailed explanation of surfboard mechanics—what helped and hindered.
Marisol Godinez, designer, surfer, surf-club mother, and a co-organizer of Women on Waves, an inclusive women’s event to which Gooding donated a board for a contest prize, describes Gooding as a Renaissance man who understood what she, who was “not aspiring to be a big, fast wave surfer,” wanted to accomplish.
“He’s never patronizing,” Godinez says. “He is a great shaper. He spends a lot of time getting to know the person, their style and the types of waves they like to ride. He took time to ask all these questions. Each board is a thumbprint for a person, very specific, unique. He’s always asking me, ‘How do you like [the boards]?’ He always wants to know.”
Michael Allen, head coach of Pleasure Point Surf Club and author of Tao of Surfing, met Gooding and Godinez when their children enrolled. “Because he started shaping boards just for his daughters,” Allen says, “he carries that caring, thoughtful, meticulous style into shaping each customer’s board. He wants to make sure that the person he is shaping for is not only going to enjoy riding it, but that the board will take them into a higher level of surfing.”
Godinez has a prime example: an 8’5 board outfitted with a colorful, retro fabric inlay on the deck. Gooding’s mother bought the fabric in the ’60s at a Redwood City fabric store. Talk about reuse and recycle.
When Freeline Surf shop did a remodel six years ago, Gooding wound up with the old curtains from the dressing rooms. “I did a board from that as well,” he says. “At some point perhaps I’ll do another with what I have.”
Form and Function
My old rental board was too wide, impacting my paddling. I’d never considered what Gooding termed my “wingspan,” or my narrow shoulders and hips.
We would stick with a 9’0, Gooding advised, but with thicker rails—and narrower, made not for “a big dude riding big waves,” but a small person of mellow surf. The single-fin longboard would make paddling more efficient and meet me where I was now, but also allow for evolution as I learned how to cross-step. With Gooding’s supportive, encouraging manner, any nerves I felt about working with him faded as we got down to the design.
He probed into my background and identity. Writer—some typewriter keys? Mom to a five- and two-year old—how about their handprints on the deck in blue and purple paint, my favorite colors?
That design would grow more meaningful over the years. “With respect to all the great shapers in town, that’s an idea I don’t think any other shaper would have thought of,” Allen says. “He’s very artistic with years of professional photography behind him, so he has his eye on the visual element.”
First Wave
A few weeks later, I caught my first wave on my Dawn Patrol board. As soon as I stood and made my first turn on it, I had the feeling of meeting a soulmate: This is how it’s supposed to be! I turned, trimmed, and rode more smoothly. The board enhanced my performance and enjoyment.
Price-wise, Gooding’s custom longboard was $750, while the old brand-name rental was $900. I’d seen certain foamies for sale in surf shops for $500. Dawn Patrol surfboards rarely exceed $1,000. “It doesn’t need to be that expensive,” Gooding says. “’What market will bear’ doesn’t make it fair. You can get a reasonably priced board that’s not made in Taiwan. People should go out and get the stoke as soon as they can and be able to afford it.”
The author on her first time out with her Dawn Patrol board. PHOTO: MICHAEL ALLEN
Sustainable Surf
“Carl definitely lives close to the earth,” says Allen, now a surfboard tester for Dawn Patrol in addition to his job as a technical writer for companies in Silicon Valley and volunteer work with the surf club—where, as a certified first responder, he teacheswilderness and surfing first-aid. “You have to in order to be a shaper. With so many disposable soft-top boards showing up in landfills, getting a custom board eliminates this waste. You’re more likely to keep it. The board stays in family homes. Carl is always mindful of this.”
The popularity of surfing during Covid lockdowns has meant producers of surfboards and wetsuits had trouble keeping supply in stock. Many beginners seek out something cheap off the racks at places like Costco. But Gooding aims to change disposable surf-consumer culture with boards families will enjoy and keep for a lifetime. “Ultimately, how much faster will a Wavestorm end up in the garbage than a hand-shaped board?” he points out.
Gooding saves dust and wood chips from shaping, and uses it as compost. “There are a handful of people making boards sustainably,” he says. “Out of wood, trying to use bioresins, hemp cloth, flax cloth. No one has that whole thing sorted yet. It will be really cool when we get there.”
Lately, he’s been working on projects like the Alaia board, made of redwood that he can turn into furniture if it breaks or is out of commission. “The Alaia is all wood,” he says. If it’s out of commission “you can burn it as firewood, put bricks under and make a table… you can put it outside and it won’t rot. It’s biodegradable, sustainable, and nontoxic—if not an easy thing to surf.”
Making of a Maker
Gooding contextualizes his work not within the world of other shapers, but as part of a larger, loose community of makers—consummate DIY anti-consumers who would rather teach themselves to build something than buy it from a store. He has friends who are shoemakers, glass blowers, woodworkers, and home brewers.
In Redwood City in the ’60s as a young child, Gooding took apart his tricycle and made it into a big wheel. At 10, he saved money from mowing lawns to buy bicycles at an auction, “got them to work with a mishmashing of parts,” and sold them.
An entrepreneur was born. “I was always building and making stuff. I got in trouble with my dad,” he says. “He was too concerned about his tools.”
He started shaping surfboards at 50, after a variety of other careers: fixing and building cars, studying engineering at Cabrillo, followed by a photography and film production degree at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He worked for the NBA, NHL, MLB, and WNBA, photographing athletes and lighting arenas. He built competitive airplanes and became a general contractor. Then, after moving around the country for years, he settled with his family in Santa Cruz and his daughters joined the surf club. When he made the first boards for them, people noticed. “Another kid’s mom wanted a board. She rode my daughter’s and asked me to make one, [asking] ‘How much?’ I had no idea what the hell I was doing, but I had a template and that board,” he says. “I floated Dawn Patrol by doing repairs. I bought boards, made them work, and sold them.”
Hull of a Surprise
Six months into my new surf life with my Dawn Patrol longboard—now the only board I was sure I’d ride forever—I was driving to a break when Gooding called. Would I want to shape a new board with him, as a holiday special? I didn’t need another surfboard, but was curious. “A true noserider?” I asked. Was he steering me further toward my stated goal?
“No,” he said. “Something completely different.”
Once again I wasn’t sure what was ahead, but I already trusted him.
“A displacement hull,” he said.
Displacement hulls push through water rather than riding on top of it. I was surprised he thought I was ready to step down from a 9’0 to a 7’2 midsize. Does he think I’m a better surfer than I am?
Over two half-days in the garage-based shaping bay came a crash course in the process of shaping a blank into a surfboard. We used power tools and a sander, made calculations (well, Gooding did, as I wracked my brain for rusty math), extracting a board from the proverbial marble.
As we worked, 18-year-old surfer and part-time Dawn Patrol apprentice Dane Luckscheider came to take a board. I recognized Luckscheider from his impressive cross-stepping and noseriding at a nearby spot.
“Carl is a mentor for my surfing and shaping,” Luckscheider says. “Working and shaping with him helps you envision every part of what the board he’s making will do, how it will turn, trim, and everything else. When you talk to him about a board he’s created, you can tell he has a deep understanding of what he made. He’s an awesome and interesting guy with a ton of knowledge and stories.”
While this wave wunderkind doesn’t foresee becoming a full-time shaper himself, he says, “I do plan on only riding Dawn Patrol surfboards or boards I shape.”
There is a calm serenity to crafting a surfboard, a flow state much like surfing or writing, when it’s going well. After sculpting the blank into what would become the 7’2 single-fin, filing away and going over it with the planer to smooth out rough edges and irregularities, Gooding loaded his truck and drove it to the glasser in Morro Bay.
Gooding warned me it would take a few sessions to get the shiny new purple-blue little surfboard dialed, but once I did, it would be the most fun. Another accurate prediction.
Ironically, the challenge of riding the hull was what finally got me cross-stepping on my longboard. After the hull, the longboard felt simple. And the hull itself fit me in a way I couldn’t articulate.
“It’s a more old-school way of riding,” Zanville says. “Less aggressive, more flowy.”
She could have been describing … me. The hull now lives in my bedroom, matching the color scheme and decor.
“There’s definitely other people shaping out of their garages,” Zanville says, “but Carl’s boards are all unique. The whole thing is a signature. I don’t think it’s very common, what he’s doing. He’s open to working with people. The whole thing he did with helping you shape a custom board and take you through the process, that’s amazing.”
Gooding prides himself on accessibility. “I’m not a guy behind a curtain,” he says. “People can talk to me, figure out what they need and want.”
These days, when I spot other Dawn Patrol boards in the water, I paddle over to ask how they know Gooding. Because, despite his expertise and focus on environmental and social justice, Gooding has managed to keep DP on the DL. You can’t find him profiled on Surfline. With customers who find him through personal connections or online, he has plenty of work and is always busy, but isn’t yet among the ranks of local celebrity shapers. Perhaps it’s intentional for the crafty iconoclast. “I’d rather be someone’s shot of whiskey than everyone’s cup of tea,” he says. “I’m just a guy making stuff.”
Allen would disagree. “Santa Cruz is famous worldwide for its surfing history,” he says. “We have some of the best shapers here who have been significant for decades. I honestly have never met anyone as knowledgeable of every intricate design aspect in a surfboard as Carl.”
Gooding tells me it’s his love of shaping boards that are as one-of-a-kind as the individuals who ride them that keeps him motivated, as does the question of “how you make money and keep the integrity of what you’re making,” he says. “How do you sell soul?”
Then he heads back to the garage, a slew of new orders on deck. “Time to go make dust.”
