Six Women Candidates Line Up for Santa Cruz City Council

With the November election approaching, the Santa Cruz City Council race now has six confirmed candidates, all of them women.

Santa Cruz City Councilmember Martine Watkins, who served last year as mayor, and Councilmember Sandy Brown are among those running for reelection. There are also four relative newcomers competing so far in the race for four seats.

Maria Cadenas, the executive director for Santa Cruz Community Ventures, formally announced her candidacy Tuesday.

Under her leadership, Community Ventures launched programs like Santa Cruz SEEDS, a college savings account program for newborns. She says the most central issues in Santa Cruz over the next couple years will revolve around the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. “This is a key moment for us as a community. We’re looking at this moment, and we’re thinking, ‘Where are we?’ We’re all struggling. As hard as it’s going to be, we have to think about equity,” says Cadenas, who recently finished third in a California Senate primary behind John Laird and Vicki Nohrden

Sonja Brunner, director of operations for the Santa Cruz Downtown Association, is also running. With the country in the grips of the pandemic and a potentially very deep recession, Brunner says the political moment will steer many of the city’ s top priorities. She would like to bring some positivity to the process. “I am very committed to this community, and a lot of my work over the past 20 years has been serving in different ways, and I want to serve in this capacity, and I think I offer a good perspective,” she says. 

Another candidate, Kayla Kumar, the development director for FoodWhat?!, says the pandemic has created a turning point and opened up deep discussions about injustice. “We need leaders in our community who are running toward that turning point, and that’s what I’m doing alongside our community,” says Kumar, who serves on the boards for Salud Para La Gente, Santa Cruz Community Ventures and Santa Cruz County Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission.

Kelsey Hill, who works at the Romero Institute, a law and public policy nonprofit, is running because she says Santa Cruz has been very generous to her, and she wants to give back. “I can be a part of that fight to build a better world,” says Hill, who hopes to focus on housing affordability, an equitable recovery from the pandemic, climate sustainability and reimagining public safety.

Councilmember Brown says the dueling crises of health and housing affordability put the city at a significant crossroads. That’s part of why she’s running again. “We need to think about how we can protect renters. Mortgage holders and landlords are also suffering. So we need to talk about how we can leverage resources to support them,” she says.

Councilmember Watkins, who made Health in All Policies a focus during her term as mayor, says navigating the challenges that lie ahead will take collaboration. She hopes to be a part of that work.

“It’s a time when our city depends on leadership,” she says, “and so as we enter this next stage, I’m hopeful we can have a good council to do that.”

Armitage’s Classic 2018 Heart O’ The Mountain Estate Pinot Noir

Brandon Armitage is one of our best winemakers in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He has a huge following for his wines, particularly his estate Pinot Noirs.

Armitage tends his vines on the old Alfred Hitchcock estate in Scotts Valley, called Heart O’ The Mountain, where he keeps a daily watchful eye on them.

Armitage’s 2018 Heart O’ The Mountain Estate Pinot Noir ($48) is a classic, earthy wine. Enticing aromas of brown sugar, cherries, and tobacco lead to full-on flavors of rich, red fruit with some vanilla and spice. Silky and round with well-balanced tannins and a lingering finish, it’s perfect to enjoy just by itself. For pairing with food, Armitage suggests salmon, chicken, vegetables and cheese. Armitage also makes gorgeous Chardonnay and a delightfully refreshing Rosé of Pinot Noir—one of my favorites.

Armitage has a welcoming tasting room in Aptos Village—nestled between Starbucks and Akira Sushi—with outdoor seating. Check the website for rules and regs before you visit.

Private wine tastings are being held at noon every Saturday on the historic Hitchcock estate vineyard for groups of up to 10 people. Stunning views greet the guest as you begin with a flight of current releases at the outdoor tasting bar. Then visit the cellar for barrel tastings, followed by hors d’oeuvres on the patio. You are welcome to bring your own picnic, too. Cost is $50. Contact Armitage or visit the website for more info and reservations.

Artist Aspen Moon created the intricate artwork labels for many of Armitage’s wines, including the Tiger Element Series of Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, and Earth. The 2018 Estate Pinot depicts the Wood Tiger; the 2018 Estate Reserve Pinot is the Water Tiger.

There will be a total of five tiger labels, each representing one of the five elements—with the last two, Fire and Earth, yet to be finished. Sacred geometry with the Seed of Life is present on all of Armitage’s labels; and the Chinese zodiac sign of the Tiger reflects the year of Brandon Armitage’s birth.

Armitage Tasting Room, 105C Post Office Drive, Aptos. 831-708-2874. armitagewines.com.

Opinion: July 15, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE

When the Women’s Marches sprung up around the country after the election of Donald Trump, it was remarkable how many of the organizers of these events that were drawing tens of thousands of people had no real experience in putting together direct actions. The circumstances of the times had made them instant activists, and social media had given them the tools to do it successfully.

Nobody knew back in 2016 if the sudden engagement of new activists on a massive scale would be a historical blip or a new model. But here we are four years later, and circumstances again have created a need for someone to step up to channel the community’s calls for social justice. As the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the police sparked protests around the country, a new generation of activists here in Santa Cruz have done just that.

Even in the ever-evolving world of political protest, people sometimes get used to a certain establishment, the “usual suspects” who have been organizing around many different causes for years. So it’s no wonder that one of the questions we get asked most about the Black Lives Matter movement locally is “Who’s organizing these protests?” In Susan Landry’s cover story this week, you’ll meet three of these young activists: Ayo Banjo, Esabella Bonner and Thairie Ritchie. I hope you’ll take the time to read what they have to say about their inspirations, the continuity of political action from generation to generation, and their visions for a movement.

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

SO MUCH FOR SAFETY

Re: “The Science of Safety” (GT, 7/8): Wallace Baine’s interesting report on compliance with anti-Covid regulations describes how the county is shrugging off local non-use of masks and carefree meetings of friends. I have seen this in action in daily walks down 30th Avenue to Pleasure Point. Of the 12-15 fellow walkers I meet, at most three or four will have masks, and casual crowds are frequent around the surfer’s beach-entry point. From my conversations with some of them, many people are unaware that masks are required out of doors.

What surprised me most is county health officer Dr. Gail Newel’s breathtaking remark that “people are not willing to be governed anymore in that regard, and we want to recognize that by removing that restriction.” Wow. Equally provocative is the response of Mr. A. Marm Kilpatrick, who argues cogently for masks and social distancing and then observes that, it being summer, “let’s just acknowledge [noncompliance] is going to happen anyway and direct people to do it in a safe way.”

So much for safety. This double message has a far greater effect on compliance than a dim memory of those halcyon March days when we were told not to wear masks. The result of this attitude has been a local spike in coronavirus infections.

If local officials would put less effort into encouraging noncompliance and a little more into broadcasting the need for masks and social distancing via stories in the local press and radio, ads on buses, and freeway warnings—like Arizona’s—insisting on the need for concerted action against the virus, keeping it up day by day, we might see some real progress. Newel and Marm are apparently willing to give up without a fight. You don’t have to cite people—just tell them, over and over, until they get it.

Cliff Barney | Santa Cruz 

Pollution is Not on Hold

Re: “Trashed By Covid” (GT, 7/8): Plastics are everywhere—at your home, workplace, favorite take out place, and the deepest depths of our ocean. But did you know it’s also in you? A study done for WWF in the last year found that we ingest an average of a credit card’s worth of plastic each week. Can you imagine being forced to eat a credit card a week? The reality is that we already are, and have been for some time. Instead of breaking down, plastic eventually breaks into tiny microplastics that pollute our ocean, food, water, and even air. The most common plastics found in our ocean are bottle caps, straws, food/drink containers, and single use plastic bags. Pollution is not going anywhere. It will still be here when Covid-19 is long gone, so we need to reduce our use or find non-plastic alternatives like glass or metal straws, reusable bags, and refillable bottles.

Anika Shorr | Santa Cruz

Reality vs. RTC

The RTC (Regional Transportation Commission) is eating lots of crow lately, now that the third train operator on the rail corridor is backing out of their contract to run freight trains, tourist trains and eventually passenger trains on the Santa Cruz Branch line. Hiring Progressive was a mistake from the start. Blinded by an obsession with archaic rail transport, a majority of RTC commissioners voted to sign a 10-year contract, hoping to lock their plan in place for the next decade, essentially preventing any real public use of the corridor in a quest for an infeasible train. Reality has now caught up with bad policy.

Between 2010 and 2021 the RTC will have spent $25 million “maintaining the rail corridor,”

while our roads deteriorate, Hwy 1 is overly congested and METRO is failing. And what’s ahead?

You guessed it—another expensive study that is presented with a bias towards trains.

We need a change in leadership on the RTC.

Buzz Anderson | Santa Cruz


PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

Come join the paint party from the comfort of your own home! For this event you will need:

A canvas or sturdy piece of paper to paint on

A variety of paint brushes from large to small

Paint in the following colors: red, yellow, blue, black and white

A cup of water to wash brushes in

A paper towel or napkin

(10256687)

Grab the kids and unleash your inner artist at the Original Paint Nite. You’ll all go from a blank canvas to a masterpiece of your own, with plenty of laughs along the way.

You’ll be guided by a talented and entertaining artist, who will:

  • bring all the supplies and set you and your group up with canvases, paints, and brushes
  • lead you through step-by-step process to paint “Milky way at the Pines”
  • entertain and delight your group and make it a memorable experience!

You and the kids will love what your create, and how much fun you have doing it. No experience needed. Come early and grab some snacks!

Please Note:

  • This event is for children ages 6 and up
  • Each child must be accompanied by an adult
  • Every attendee(child and adult) need a ticket

Looking for something besides Plant? At Yaymaker, we do a lot more than Plant Nite and Family Events. Check out some of our other experiences like Paint Nite and Candle Making. For all of our events check out: www.yaymaker.com

Submit to ph****@go*******.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

WHEEL GET TOGETHER

Organizers are holding the season’s first of three West Cliff Food Truck Summer Series events Friday, July 17, at 3pm at the Abbott Lighthouse located at 700 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. According to the city’s website, trucks will include Union Foodie, PANA, Drunk Monkeys, Nomad Momos, Rogue Pye, Scrumptious Fish and Chips, and Penny Ice Creamery. Guests should socially distance and wear masks—at least until you start shoveling pie in your mouth, anyway. Then, you may take your mask off, but put it back on once you’re finished.


GOOD WORK

CHICKENS OUT

The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter (SCCAS) worked with rescue partner, Animal Place of Grass Valley, to take in 96 Lohmann Brown Hens to be adopted out in Santa Cruz County. These hens were living on an organic farm in Redding. The farm is depopulating 13,000 hens, and its management contacted Animal Place. Hens will be available for adoption through SCCAS and interested adopters should call 831-454-7200 to join the adoption waitlist.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The young, free to act on their initiative, can lead their elders in the direction of the unknown.”

-Margaret Mead

Things To Do (Virtually) in Santa Cruz: July 15-21

Because many in-person events across Santa Cruz County have been canceled or postponed during the pandemic, Good Times is compiling a weekly list of virtual events hosted by local nonprofits, artists, fitness instructors and businesses. To submit your virtual event, send an email to ca******@go*******.sc

ARTS AND MUSIC

MAGICAL MOONSHINE THEATRE PRESENTS: PUPPYLOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS What if the Three Bears were really Teddy Bears! And what if Goldilocks was not a little girl at all, but a golden, mischievous little dog? That is exactly the case in this very funny retelling of the traditional fairytale. Watch this impish little dog do everything wrong in the Bear’s house while the bears are off to the Teddy Bear Circus! Puppylocks is presented with traditional Bohemian style marionettes on a tabletop stage. Free all ages library Summer Reading Program: santacruzpl.org/pages/srp. Register online: santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/6780147. Saturday, July 18, 3pm. 

MAGICAL MOONSHINE THEATRE PRESENTS THE THREE LITTLE PIGS Three pigs set out to seek their fortunes with a bit of house building. Things don’t go as planned in this creative retelling of the traditional story: houses collapse, pigs and wolves play together, and audience members help the story along with lots of live music, singing, construction and laughter. Presented with traditional Bohemian style marionettes on a tabletop stage. Saturday, July 18, 11am. For more info visit santacruzpl.org

CONNECTIONS: A VIRTUAL PRINTMAKING EXHIBIT View the virtual Resource Center for Nonviolence “CONNECTIONS” Printmaking Exhibit online through July 31 at rcnv.org/programs/rcnv-exhibits-the-art-of-nonviolence. In this time of the coronavirus and sheltering at home, we yearn for connection. These prints link us to the healing power of nature, our history and our memories. They provide a window of hope for the current moment. The art helps us to remember the past and to face the future. Features eleven artists: Jody Bare, Molly Brown, Marcus Cota, Esmeralda DeGiovanni, Emma Formato, Jane Gregorius, Anita Heckman, Bridget Henry, Glenn Joy, Stephanie Martin and Melissa West. The exhibit has moved online due to Covid-19, since RCNV is temporarily closed to the public. For more information: an***@rc**.org

SPEED SKETCHING Come with paper and pencil and try your hand at speed sketching: All artistic experience is welcome. Prior to beginning the program, please select an object in your home and place it in view of your computer’s camera, and let’s have fun together and see who can draw the silliest, stylish, true to life, or abstract interpretation of it. Every Tuesday afternoon at 2pm, take a break out of your day for some fun! Register for Zoom at: santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/6780189

CLASSES

SALSA SUELTA IN PLACE: Free weekly online session in Cuban-style Salsa Suelta for experienced beginners and up. Contact to get a Zoom link. Thursdays at 7pm. salsagente.com.

COMMUNITY

MONTH LONG HISTORY SCAVENGER HUNT The MAH has teamed up with Ecology Action and local bike shops to bring you an around-the-town scavenger hunt in honor of Santa Cruz bike month, and our current exhibition, “Trailblazers.” In this epic around-the-town scavenger hunt, whiz through local history, solve riddles, and plan your route. Participants will have all month to complete the scavenger hunt and visit as many clues as possible. The top five players will receive epic prizes: more to come. For more info visit santacruzmah.org/events/race-through-time.

LUMA BOOK CLUB This is a time of seismic shift, and yet also one of opportunity. Luma Yoga is a community center operating on principles of inclusion, compassion, and, yes, reflection, but make no mistake—also of action. The first step in effective action is gaining knowledge. To this end, Luma is hosting a book club on the topic of racism and social justice issues. The reading groups will be held remotely (for now) over Zoom Thursday nights 7-8:15pm, starting Thursday, July 16, covering chapters 1-5 of “So you Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo. The purpose of the groups is to learn the endless shapes oppression can take in the world, to recognize our own biases within ourselves, and to move from discomfort to action in support of Black and non-white POC. The groups will be facilitated by Steven Macramalla, a professor of Psychology at SJSU. The Club will work on a 3- to 4-week cycle, reading one book per cycle, with several chapters covered each week. For more info visit lumayoga.com. Thursdays at 7pm. 

2020 SUMMER LUNCH PROGRAM Children and youth aged 18 and under can get free lunches this summer at 12 sites throughout Santa Cruz County! The annual Summer Lunch program, sponsored by La Manzana Community Resources, a program of Community Bridges, combats food insecurity and supports good nutritional habits. The Summer Lunch program begins June 8 and serves lunch Monday through Friday from 12-1pm. Free meals will be provided to all children, without eligibility documentation, who are 18 years of age and younger. For more info visit communitybridges.org/lmcr

KIDS CREATE STEAM PROJECT SERIES Series of STEAM programs through the summer for kids of all ages, presented via Facebook and our YouTube channel. Look for new videos on Tuesdays at 3:30pm and Fridays at 10am through July. Check out our Facebook (facebook.com/santacruzpl) and Youtube channel (youtube.com/user/SantaCruzPL). 

LEGO BUILDING CHALLENGE Join our eight-week summer Lego Building Challenge. You will only need common Lego pieces to complete these challenges. To join the fun, register each week via our online calendar, through July 29. On Wednesday, you will receive an email with the weekly challenge. If you would like to share your creation, post a photo on our Facebook SCPL Lego Building Challenge webpage. Bonus building challenges will be posted there for intermediate-level Lego fans. Learn more at santacruzpl.org

TALES TO TAILS GOES VIRTUAL Tales to Tails goes virtual to create a comfortable, neutral, and fun reading experience. Bring some books, a stuffed animal or your own pet, and come read with us! This is a YouTube livestream event so you might be reading to up to six animals at once. Woo hoo! Caregivers, you can post your child’s first name and city in the comments section, along with the book they are reading, and we’ll read off as many of those names as we can, live, during the break we need to give the dogs. Each week you register we’ll send you your dog bone “punch cards.” These will be dated dog bones your child can color and email to us. The following week, we’ll display them live on the feed. This will also be recorded so if you can’t make it live, the dogs will still be there for you. Every Wednesday, 10-11am.  Learn more at santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/6764929.

PEOPLE AND STORIES: READING DEEPLY IN COMMUNITY People and Stories is dedicated to opening doors to literature for new audiences. Through oral readings and rigorous discussions of enduring short stories, we invite participants to find fresh understandings of themselves, of others, and of the world. Please note that some stories contain themes and language of an adult nature. Santa Cruz Public Libraries offers People and Stories regularly in our county jails. We invite you to our special eight-week session on Zoom! Drop in for one or attend all eight People and Stories sessions! Wednesdays through July 29, 1:30pm. Learn more at santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/6760931.

GROUPS 

SUNSET BEACH BOWLS Experience the tranquility, peace and calmness as the ocean waves harmonize with the sound of Crystal Bowls. Every Tuesday at 7:45pm. Moran Lake Park. 

VIRTUAL YOUNG ADULT (18-30) TRANSGENDER SUPPORT GROUP A weekly peer support group for young adults aged 18-25 who identify as transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, agender, or any other non-cisgender identity. This is a social group where we meet and chat among ourselves, sharing our experiences and thoughts in a warm, welcoming setting. Our meetings will be held on Discord during the shelter-in-place order. For more info, contact Ezra Bowen at tr***@di*************.org.

LGBTQNBI+ SUPPORT GROUP FOR CORONAVIRUS STRESS This weekly LGBTQNBI+ support group is being offered to help us all deal with stress during the shelter-in-place situation that we are experiencing from the coronavirus. Feel free to bring your lunch and chat together to get support. This group is offered at no cost and will be facilitated by licensed therapists Shane Hill, Ph.D., and Melissa Bernstein, LMFT #52524. Learn how to join the Zoom support group at diversitycenter.org/community-calendar

OUTDOOR

OUTDOOR CIRCLE DANCING We have found the way to come together in a Sacred Circle, 6 feet apart, without holding hands, and dance our Circle Dances! Barbara Thomas invites you: Sunday, August 9, 3-5pm led by Maureen Atkins; Sunday, Sept. 13, 3-5pm led by Maureen Atkins. Each Dance is first taught. By donation. Please bring water, a 4pm little snack for yourself, also your own food to eat together afterwards at 5pm, instead of a potluck. (Sanitizing lotion will be available). Important to RSVP so we can keep count of numbers. Outdoors in the Amphitheater, Ben Lomond Redwoods. 11737 Alba Road, Ben Lomond. For further information and to keep count of our list of attendees, please reply to: Barbara Thomas at ba*****@ba***********.info or 831-336-2673, or Juliet Goldstein at sh*********@gm***.com or 831-662-0186. 

AMAZING TIDEPOOL ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS Local California State Parks in Santa Cruz County are offering virtual junior ranger programs for 7- to 12-year-old children during the Covid-19 pandemic. These fun, free Zoom webinars are scheduled on Mondays and Fridays at 10am each week in July. Children receive a digital stamp for each program they attend; after receiving a certain number of stamps, they can earn prizes! How is it possible to live in the difficult environment of a tidepool? Discover the superheroes of the intertidal zone with a state park interpreter! This interactive program will be broadcast as a Zoom webinar. Registration is required. To register, visit tinyurl.com/SantaCruzJuniorRangers. Free event. Friday, July 17, 10am. 

A MOST UNIQUE AMUSEMENT ENTERPRISE Local California State Parks in Santa Cruz County are offering virtual junior ranger programs for 7- to 12-year-old children during the Covid-19 pandemic. These fun, free Zoom webinars are scheduled on Mondays and Fridays at 10am each week in July. Children receive a digital stamp for each program they attend; after receiving a certain number of stamps, they can earn prizes! Why do we have a sunken concrete ship at the end of a pier on our beach? Travel back in time to uncover the answers. This interactive program will be broadcast as a Zoom webinar. Registration is required. To register, visit tinyurl.com/SantaCruzJuniorRangers. Free event. Monday, July 20, 10am. 

MYSTERIES OF THE MARBLED MURRELET Join us as we investigate one of the park’s most secretive and elusive residents. Like our Facebook page to receive a notification when this pre-recorded program is premiered: facebook.com/PortolaRedwoodsStatePark. Viewers will be able to post questions and comments during the premiere for a state park interpreter to answer. The program will also be available for later viewing. Free event. Friday, July 17, 7pm. 

CONSERVATION, CAMPFIRE, AND COOKIES Join the interpreters of Seacliff and New Brighton State Beaches with songs and games focusing on environmental conservation and a special campfire cookie! Like our Facebook page to receive a notification when this pre-recorded program is premiered: facebook.com/SeacliffStateBeach. Viewers will be able to post questions and comments during the premiere for a state park interpreter to answer. The program will also be available for later viewing. Free event. Saturday, July 18, 7pm. 

SEYMOUR CENTER’S OCEAN EXPLORERS VIRTUAL SUMMER CAMP Ocean Explorers experience the thrill of scientific discovery at a working marine lab. Join the Seymour Marine Discovery Center for behind-the-scenes virtual visits, live streaming interactions with scientists and animal trainers, and much more! Children actively learn in a distance learning format. Enjoy a week of fun this summer learning about ocean science. Investigate the incredible creatures that inhabit Monterey Bay. Discover how ocean scientists work with marine animals at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center and Long Marine Lab to help conserve animals in the wild. Space is limited–APPLY NOW! Masterful Marine Mammals, ages 9-11, July 13-17, and August 3-7. Masterful Marine Mammals, ages 12-14, July 20-24. Marine Science for Girls, ages 9-11, (waitlist only), July 27-31. Programs run 10:30am to 2:30pm (1-hour lunch break from 12-1pm): varied activities and mini-breaks. Fees: Members $250 (was $610); General Public $300 (was $650). Learn more at seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/youth-teen-programs/ocean-explorers-summer-camp.

Black Lives Matter Movement Inspires New Generation of Black Activists

In recent months, Black Lives Matter protests have erupted across Santa Cruz as thousands of citizens demand an end to systemic racism and police violence. Part of what’s remarkable about these protests is that by and large, it’s Santa Cruz youth activists on the forefront of organizing actions to demand change. 

“I think young organizers, what we understand is time. But not in the sense that we want to wait, in the sense that we can’t wait. Because if we don’t do it, which part of society will?” says 21-year-old Ayo Banjo, president of UCSC’s NAACP chapter. 

Even as activists like Banjo capture their moment to fight for racial justice, they do so with a bedrock of respect and admiration for those who came before them. 

“I believe that we’re building on the backs of giants like Malcom X, like Martin Luthur King, like Fannie Lou Hamer, like Rosa Parks. And that’s why I’m so committed to the work that we do,” says Banjo. “The potential—with the right imagination—to build a version of society, or a community that our ancestors dreamed about, is tangible, is right at our footsteps.”

This reverence for elder activists is a common thread among Santa Cruz’s contemporary organizers, who say it is their duty to pick up the torch.  

“I think it’s our responsibility as the youth to pick up where our elders left off. They have done the work and they have been marching for years and years and years, and I understand how, naturally, that’s exhausting,” says Esabella Bonner, 24, who has organized two Black Lives Matter protests locally. “A lot of them have been silenced throughout the years through policies, through procedures, through just the system in itself.” 

We spoke with Banjo, Bonner and local organizer Thairie Ritchie to find out what changes they’re fighting for and how they’re making it happen. 

Esabella Bonner: ‘This is a Moment to Listen’

Esabella Bonner. PHOTO: TARMO HANNULA

For Esabella Bonner, protesting is nothing new. “As far as activism goes, I’ve always been very vocal,” says the Soquel High and San Jose State graduate. “I’ve definitely attended a wide range of protests throughout the years.” Still, Santa Cruz’s May 30 action for George Floyd, organized by local Joy Flynn, struck a specific chord. 

“Seeing this beautiful Black woman hold so much space for everyone was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I had never felt so represented being in Santa Cruz,” says Bonner, who is biracial. “It was silent and powerful and I just started sobbing in my car. I felt like, ‘Wow. These people do see me.’” 

A downtown protest the following day hit a more sour note for Bonner when many white attendees used the open mic portion of the event to express their own thoughts on racism and police violence. 

“I was so disappointed by how many allies felt that it was their moment to speak to the community, how many people who weren’t Black, experiencing the Black experience in Santa Cruz, felt that we needed to hear their song in that moment. It really bothered me,” she says. “This is the moment to listen. How often do we all have the opportunity to hear from such a diverse range of Black and brown voices in our community?” 

These two experiences, coupled with the momentum of the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement, created a “perfect storm” for Bonner to organize her own action for the very first time. 

Since then, she’s successfully curated two protests—on West Cliff Drive and through Capitola Village—where the microphone was reserved exclusively for BIPOC speakers.

“A lot of people, even inadvertently, will use the momentum of something else to get their message across. So for me, it’s about ensuring that we are putting Black voices at the forefront of this conversation and continuing to do so,” says Bonner, “making sure the narrative does stay on the Black Lives Matter movement and the peace, love and equality that we’re fighting for.” 

Bonner’s choice of wealthy, tourist-centric locations for the events—which collectively drew thousands of attendees—was equally intentional. 

“There are a lot of pockets in Santa Cruz that Black and brown people straight up avoid, Capitola being a huge one of those. It was really important to me to give that space to folks there—disrupting West Cliff, disrupting these beaches and really allowing us to take over some of the spaces we avoid,” she says. 

In addition to organizing marches, Bonner is meeting weekly with the Santa Cruz Police Department Chief Andy Mills and Black leaders in the community. “It started with voicing our concerns, but now we’re really getting to those actionable steps of, ‘Where can you show up for us? Where can the Santa Cruz Police Department make improvements that start here and actually, maybe, hopefully, spark that change nationwide?”  

Right now, she says, she and other organizers are working through the “nitty gritty” of what these changes would look like and “locking in what we want collectively as a community.” While this process takes time, Bonner says she’s hopeful for the future and does feel like the leadership is listening

Until those details are worked out, Bonner is hesitant to speak on specific policy changes, but in general is calling for a shifting of police culture and increased accountability. “There’s no police review board,” she says. “That used to be overseen by the community.”

In the early 2000s, SCPD’s seven-member citizen review board was replaced by a single police auditor who handles all citizen complaint investigations and reviews the department’s own internal affairs investigations.  

Bonner is also calling for a reallocation of police funds—which currently comprise about 28% of the city’s total general fund expenditures—toward alternative community services like mental health support and social workers to respond to community needs 24-7, along with increased education funding. 

“Ultimately, it’s about figuring out where we can invest our dollars to best support our Black community,” she says.  

Going forward, Bonner says she will continue to organize, march and fight for the Black Lives Matter movement, including planning another protest—likely on August 5. So far, she says she’s grateful for the community support she’s received from attendees.  

“I just want to say thank you for continuing to show up, and I hope that that momentum continues until every single person in this community feels valued and heard and safe,” she says. “It’s been so empowering how many people go to a march and are now inspired to organize their own. It’s the perfect chain reaction and it’s been beautiful to see.”

Thairie Ritchie: ‘It’s a Very Unbelievable Feeling’

Thairie Ritchie. PHOTO: TARMO HANNULA

One of the people motivated by this chain reaction was Thairie Ritchie, who after attending the march on West Cliff got inspired to plan his own. For Ritchie, what started as an idea he posted to Instagram turned into organizing a protest with a dozen speakers, attended by hundreds of locals, all in a span of just over a week. 

“Honestly it’s a very unbelievable feeling,” says Ritchie, 24, who describes himself as a natural introvert. “It’s still a lot to take in, but I’m taking more ownership and pride over what I was able to accomplish.” 

At the June 19 protest called “Juneteenth to Allegiance,” attendees marched from the Louden Nelson Community Center to the steps of Santa Cruz City Hall, where speakers shared personal accounts of racism they’ve experienced locally and called for an end to police violence and racial injustice. 

Both the day of the Juneteenth march and the event’s location were deeply purposeful, Ritchie explained. “I really wanted to pay homage to the legacy of Louden Nelson,” says Ritchie. “A lot of people in the Santa Cruz community, even though they walk past the community center and see his name, have no idea about the man who’s behind that name.” 

Nelson, a former slave, moved to Santa Cruz in 1856 and purchased a plot of land in town. Upon falling ill, he established a will donating the entirety of his estate to the Santa Cruz School District, “for the use and benefit of said School District forever.” His donation allowed Santa Cruz to open the first permanent schoolhouse in its history. 

In addition to spreading community education, Ritchie hoped to inspire Santa Cruz youth like himself to get more politically involved. 

“With the protest, I really wanted to reach out to the younger generation, the 18-to-24 folks, to help them realize that their influence can make a difference if they use their powers of voting and activism,” he says. “Every aspect of our society has become more and more divisive. I feel it’s crucial going into the (election) year to come together and vote for changes to uplift our community moving forward.” 

Outside of the protest sphere, Ritchie penned a petition called the Bad Apple Bill, which has already garnered more than 600 signatures. Via the petition, he is calling for decreasing mass incarceration, eliminating police brutality and methods of excessive force, eliminating the police quota system and establishing protections for whistleblowers within law enforcement. 

“I feel that police training needs to be totally revamped … providing them with more societal-based education like sociology, African American studies and Latino American studies,” says Ritchie. “A lot of our law enforcement are going into communities they’ve never been in, dealing with a lot of societal situations they’ve never seen.” 

He also echoes Bonner’s call for a reallocation of police funds to other avenues. “As far as defunding, I feel that the term should be referred to as community funding,” says Ritchie. “Especially in the downtown Santa Cruz community, a lot of mentally ill patients who are homeless deal with policing as a result of their illness. I feel there should be alternative services to benefit those most vulnerable in our community.” 

When it comes to local changes already taking place—like the banning of the chokehold restraint and predictive policing technology—Ritchie gives leadership credit, but says they’re moving too slow. 

“I feel like it’s baby steps toward what the ultimate goal should be,” he says. “Given these very divisive times we’re living in and given the times of Covid, people are not guaranteed to see these changes that they’re proposing. I feel they should really be more urgent.” 

In addition to addressing policing, Ritchie says he wants to shine a light on racism within Santa Cruz’s local business scene. 

“They should focus more on the internal issues they have, because growing up as a Black male in Santa Cruz, I felt uncomfortable going into a lot of businesses, you know, being stared at or looked at suspiciously,” says the Natural Bridges High School and Cabrillo College graduate. “I always felt I needed to conduct myself in a certain way to not look suspicious or be mindful of how I’m going about things in the store. That’s definitely an issue.” 

Furthermore, Ritchie says he wants businesses to better support their employees of color in Santa Cruz. “There’s definitely been a lot of systemic racism within the workplace in Santa Cruz,” he says, citing an increase in racist incidents and hate crimes as the Black Lives Matter movement gains momentum nationwide. “I feel it’s always kind of been there but I’ve definitely seen it happening more and more.” 

For Ritchie, education is one of the best ways to address these issues. “The people who are in the dark, who might feel these racist sentiments, aren’t as educated or informed about the issues,” he says. “That’s why with the protest I was really urging the community to educate themselves: What are the issues behind systemic racism? Why are our communities of color feeling the way they are?” 

Ayo Banjo: ‘I Call This a New Dawn’

Ayo Banjo. PHOTO: TARMO HANNULA

As a college freshman, Ayo Banjo became the youngest person in the UC system ever elected to be student body president, and the first Black man at UCSC to hold the post. 

During his tenure, Banjo secured $500,000 to support housing justice for students facing eviction, helped push for campus police reforms including the use of body cameras, and bolstered access to safe parking for students sleeping in cars on campus. 

Now entering his senior year, Banjo serves as president of the NAACP’s UCSC chapter, and says these changes are just the beginning. 

“I feel that we could really utilize what’s going on right now in the entire country to give life to a completely new model of public safety, of community support, of everything,” he says of the nationwide momentum behind the Black Lives Matter movement. “I think this moment calls for a new formula for what it looks like to ensure Black success, ensure Black development and foster diversity in different cities. So I want to really take this moment in and also appreciate the community that has continued to support us in the work that we do.” 

In the short term, Banjo is calling for the disarming of police on campus, increased community oversight and additional research—led and facilitated by Black youth organizers—on how the current status of police budgets, response calls and arrests actually correlate, or do not correlate, with increased community safety. 

Doing this research, he says, will help highlight where police are failing to protect the whole community and what other services, like mental health or housing support, could be more effective in achieving that goal.  

“I call this a new dawn for data-driven Black youth organizing,” says Banjo. “We can’t just completely wipe out an institution: We have to provide an alternative. If you want to have a longer conversation about alternatives to policing, we have to be able to provide that model, which means we have to have the research. So the process of getting there is what we’re working on right now.” 

The process of scouting effective alternatives to policing is the beginning of what Banjo and the UCSC NAACP are calling a “community refund.”

“The community refund is an ideology; it’s an idea. It’s a commitment to really looking at what is going to make our community safer,” Banjo explains. “We want to focus on the community being the priority. If one of our community members is hurting, like the Black community, or our displaced, our at risk, our vulnerable, then we need to be able to invest in what they need.” 

While reallocating funds away from policing and toward community services is one way to make this happen, it’s not the only way. Banjo also wants to see changes within economic development institutions like the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Association and the Santa Cruz County Business Council. 

“I think it’s really important that we look at the economic development institutions that are supposed to already be playing this role for Black people and ask ourselves the question: Why are they failing so badly? Who are they really here to serve?” asks Banjo. “We’re looking at them to see what they do to respond to this moment where people are demanding justice for the Black community, for reparations for the fostering Black businesses and fostering the growth of wealth for our Black communities.”

Going forward, Banjo would like to see these institutions diversify their boards, push for policies that directly benefit Black wealth, Black-owned businesses, and bring Black leaders into their planning and development conversations in a holistic, inviting way.

“When we talk about reparations, when we talk about being able to bring more Black folks into the community, it’s not about helping somebody and giving free handouts, just to be clear. It’s about giving what was given to all the white families in the past. Now we’re just applying justice in real time,” says Banjo. “Once we support the most hurt group in our economic system, we support everyone.” 

For those looking to assist this work, Banjo and the UCSC NAACP created a Community Action Network—which already has 200 plus members—to help Santa Cruzans get organized in pushing for change. 

“It is inspiring to see the cross-racial coalition building that we’re doing at the NAACP UCSC branch,” says Banjo of the diverse network developed so far. “We’re appealing to ideals, to people’s values that are larger than just giving justice to one group, but the fact that we believe in justice, the fact that we believe in each other is what the movement is about.” 

After graduation, Banjo plans to pursue a master’s in public policy and maybe even run for office one day. “I feel very lucky because I do feel like I found my passion at such a young age,” says Banjo, who is a politics major. “Ultimately, I’m committed to fighting for equity, equality and justice for all.” 

Report: Santa Cruz County Unprepared for Alarming Fire Risk

While the risk of wildfires in this area has increased dramatically over the last few years, Santa Cruz County is mired in a bureaucratic mess—a dizzyingly long list of separate fire districts, little to no accountability and other hazardous problems, a watchdog analysis has found.

For starters, many California counties are served by a single, highly structured fire district—as laid out in a 2019-20 Grand Jury report—with a single set of policies, procedures and priorities. But despite its small size of just 280,000 residents, Santa Cruz County’s fire-response organization is made up of 10 independent fire districts, two city and one large university fire departments, and also Cal Fire, which is supported by five independent community volunteer battalions. That volume of agencies has created a confusing patchwork of emergency preparedness and response, the report argues. A separate local Grand Jury report, also released this year, found almost all departments falling short on their required inspections.

“All the agencies, including county fire, have some shortcomings, especially when it comes to the prevention side,” Ian Larkin, Santa Cruz County fire chief and the chief for the Cal Fire San Mateo Santa Cruz Unit, tells GT. Larkin, who is still reviewing the reports, adds that they are working to improve them.

SMOKE DETECTOR

Santa Cruz County has particular vulnerabilities to wildfire.

That’s partly because of the size of the Wildfire Urban Interface (WUI) zone, which is considered the highest risk area of wildfire due to the abundance of both fuel and ignition sources. A majority of residents—62,000 homes—live in the county’s WUI zone, according to the Grand Jury report, citing data from the U.S. Forest Service.

The authors also believe that a high level of apathy to the risks of fire persists among county residents, even though reporting in recent years has shone a light on just how serious the dangers of such a disaster could be. Some swaths of the county, like Prospect Heights and the San Lorenzo Valley, are at risk to the same types of devastating wildfires that struck semi-rural areas of Santa Barbara County and Santa Rosa in recent years—as GT reported in 2018. And according to an analysis by USA Today, Santa Cruz County has six communities with a higher wildfire risk than Paradise, California, which suffered a devastating blaze in November of 2018. Those local communities include Boulder Creek, Lompico, Zayante, Scotts Valley, Brookdale and portions of rural Aptos, as Santa Cruz Local reported last year.

What’s more, fire season is just picking up on the West Coast. After a dry winter and a warm spring, a climate scientist recently told CalMatters that California is “probably going to be in for a long and difficult fire season.”

Gine Johnson, an analyst for 5th District County Supervisor Bruce McPherson, says wildfire hazards are a top concern for McPherson, who was traveling this week and could not be reached for comment by deadline. McPherson’s district includes the entire San Lorenzo Valley.

Johnson notes that the county’s rural property owners recently agreed to a tax increase in order to increase firefighter operations, and she says the county is competing for a grant to sign a contract for the program Zonehaven, which assists with fire response and evacuations. She says she and McPherson are mindful of the constraints that narrow roads would pose in the event of a disaster.

“That’s a challenge,” she says.

BURNING QUESTIONS

Meanwhile, a new partnership—called the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network—is aiming to better understand parts of the county’s wild spaces and how to make them safer.

The network brings together 22 land-owning groups, including public agencies, land trusts, universities, and logging companies. Among their various efforts, those partners are working on mapping out the vegetation of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The information should help inform fire crews how best to trim back overgrown fuel sources and provide valuable data to help fight fires in real time, while also assisting in overall stewardship.

“We knew from the beginning that it would be good for fire, that it would be good for restoration projects, that it would be good for any kind of management in the region,” the network’s manager Dylan Skybrook says of the collaboration.

But the county still faces other challenges when it comes to disaster risk. Santa Cruz County Fire, for instance, has about 25% fewer paid firefighters on staff today than it did 10 years ago, and it has seen a 45% reduction of volunteer firefighters.

Many of the issues in the Grand Jury report also have to do with communication.

Jurors found that, unlike other organizations around the state, Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation Commission has not released Insurance Services Office scores for fire risk—information that could help homeowners learn more about the risk their homes are in and about what they can do to offset it.

The jury found a maze of government plans and paperwork aimed at mitigating fire risk, but they were seldom integrated with one another, and often out of date. The Hazard Mitigation Plan apparently gets updated once every five years, the FEMA minimum.

The report states that the county has no integrated mutual aid plan, and it describes confusion as to whether local departments were meeting response time benchmarks or not.

Additionally, in an era when aging California power lines have been sparking fires, county authorities are unaware of where high-risk PG&E equipment is located, and they are therefore unable to conduct inspections, supervise vegetation removal, or even notify nearby residents of possible risks, the report states.

The document makes 25 recommendations, including that the county’s fire departments be better integrated with one another and that the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors increase its scrutiny and oversight of its contract with Cal Fire. The Grand Jury is asking for responses from 16 government bodies and agencies by Oct. 1.

Among its many findings, the report also makes note of the lack of local cameras available to monitor the wild lands for fires. Larkin, the Santa Cruz County fire chief, says efforts to get more cameras are currently in the works.

“We’re working with some partners to try and get those cameras in place as soon as we possibly can because we know we’re underserved here in the county,” he says, “and we know how much of an asset those cameras could be in at least confirming that we have a fire and then also assisting with the long-term effects of what that fire looks like.”

For more information on the Santa Cruz County Grand Jury, including how to apply, visit co.santa-cruz.ca.us/Departments/GrandJury.aspx. The deadline to apply and serve on this upcoming year’s Grand Jury has been extended through Aug. 14.

Are Governments Protecting Renters During the Pandemic?

Tenant advocates saw a modest increase in eviction notices in June, the month immediately following the Watsonville City Council’s decision to allow its citywide eviction moratorium to expire.

At its May 26 meeting, the council voted 5-2—with Mayor Rebecca Garcia and Councilmember Francisco Estrada dissenting—not to extend the moratorium past its May 31 expiration date, and instead defer to tenant protections put in place by California’s Judicial Council. Those state-level protections do not halt evictions from being filed, but they do stop the filings from being processed until 90 days after Gov. Gavin Newsom lifts the state of emergency related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sandra Silva, the directing attorney of California Rural Legal Assistance’s Watsonville office, says local filings began to pile up in the days after the city’s ban expired, and will come due when the state’s Judicial Council’s protections are lifted. None of Silva’s clients were served notices during the moratorium, she says.

“Even though they can’t go forward [with the eviction] right now and get into court, having an unlawful detainer filed against you and being served with court papers is extremely stressful during this time,” Silva says.

In early June, the Judicial Council planned to vote on possibly ending them on Aug. 3 but suspended its vote after talking with Newsom, state legislators and residents. Southern California landlords, who say the council is overreaching with its decision, have challenged the Judicial Council’s decision in court.

Silva says the rise in eviction notices resulted directly from the moratorium’s expiration and adds that some landlords have brazenly tried to evict renters that were hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and do not understand their rights.

“Landlords are saying things like, ‘You need to be out tomorrow,’ or ‘You need to be out at the end of the month,’” Silva says. “None of that is legal in the best-case scenario, let alone in the moratorium …. Some of our clients, sadly, say, ‘OK, fine, I’ll just go’ when they don’t have to, and there is nowhere to go.”

In March, the Watsonville City Council approved its moratorium to protect renters that had fallen into financial or medical instability because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was not a rent forgiveness plan. Renters still have to pay what they can and are expected to pay back their outstanding rent within six months after the order’s expiration.

SANTA CRUZ EXTENSION

Although the Santa Cruz City Council extended the moratorium last month, housing activist Josh Brahinsky isn’t sure how effective the law has been.  

Renters, he says, don’t always have the resources or information to fully advocate for themselves, and Santa Cruz hasn’t created a process for tenants to learn their rights or stick up for themselves if their landlord tries to kick them out. And, even though there isn’t currently a method for landlords to legally force out tenants, missed rent payments will keep adding up. It isn’t clear how any struggling renter should negotiate with their landlord or weigh competing concerns like their grocery bills with their housing costs. That can lead to a tense situation, he explains. 

“By continuing to expect people to pay rent when they cannot afford it, we’ve created a baffling system that breeds antagonism, and we’ve created a problem where this doesn’t make it clear how the tenant pays the rent back,” says Brahinsky, an organizer with the Santa Cruz Organizing Circle, which is getting ready to launch an ice cream tricycle that will give away free ice cream, along with information on how to get help during the pandemic.

In Watsonville, Silva says she refers displaced and struggling renters to nonprofits like Community Bridges, Families In Transition and the Community Action Board (CAB) of Santa Cruz County.

CAB spearheaded the city’s Emergency Housing Assistance Program, which distributed $85,000 of federal funds from the city’s Community Development Block Grant to help Watsonville renters. The assistance was quickly claimed by 66 local families negatively affected by the pandemic and ongoing shutdowns, according to City Manager Matt Huffaker. CAB recently launched a similar partnership with the city of Santa Cruz.

EXPIRE POWER

The Watsonville City Council allowed its eviction moratorium to expire on recommendation from the Eviction Moratorium Housing Taskforce, which said the Judicial Council’s protections made the city’s ban redundant. The taskforce, which included developers, property managers, nonprofit leaders, banks and tenant advocates, said the majority of Watsonville renters were able to pay rent through the first three months of the pandemic and that only a small number of landlords were serving tenants with eviction notices.

Some members of the taskforce disagreed with the group’s recommendations and said the moratorium should have been extended through June—at the very least.

The Watsonville Law Center (WLC) was one such member. Adriana Melgoza, chief programs officer for the nonprofit legal assistance organization, says the expiration of the moratorium was premature and that the true effects of the pandemic—and the economic stagnation that came with it—are not yet known.

More than half of WLC clients are still unemployed and have not been able to pay rent in the past two months, Melgoza says. Most landlords have been understanding of—and sticking to—the six-month payback period, but some have not.

“It’s too early to determine what the effects are going to be for our community,” Melgoza says. “We have to figure out what’s the best way to work together—not only with legal aid but with the city, with landlords, with tenants—to best handle the situation. After all, no one is to blame for this situation and we want to make sure that we’re all working together to have a healthy community. It’s not healthy for community members to be evicted at this time.”

Low-income community members may contact the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Inc. Rental Assistance Program at 831-457-1741 for information and initial screening to determine eligibility for assistance. For additional forms of support via United Way of Santa Cruz County, visit 211santacruzcounty.org or text “COVID19” to 211-211.

Additional reporting by Jacob Pierce.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology: July 15-21

Free will astrology for the week of July 15  

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “If the time is not ripe, we have to ripen the time,” wrote Aries educator and activist Dorothy Height. This approach worked well during her 98 years on the planet. Her pioneering advocacy for African American women generated a number of practical improvements in their employment opportunities and civil rights. In accordance with the current astrological omens, Aries, I highly recommend her guiding principle for your use. You now have the power to ripen the time, even if no one else believes the time is ripe.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous ‘I don’t know.’” A wise and talented woman said that: Nobel Prize-winning poet Wisława Szymborska. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it’s excellent advice for you to embrace during the coming weeks. You’re close to finding and accessing a mother lode of inspiration, and one of the best ways to ensure that happens in an optimal way is to make “I don’t know” your mantra. In other words, be cheerfully devoted to shedding your certainties. Lose your attachment to the beliefs and theories you tend to overly rely on. Make yourself as empty and clear and spacious as you possibly can.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini-born author Djuna Barnes (1892–1982) was a world traveler who wrote in several different genres, ranging from lesbian fiction to essays on boxing to plays that used poetic language. She was experimental and empirical and experiential. On one occasion, she voluntarily submitted to the force-feeding endured by hunger-striking suffragists so she could write about what it was like to be tortured. Another fun fact about Djuna: Every morning, she did up her hair and put her make-up on, then climbed into bed and wrote for many hours. In the coming weeks, Gemini, I recommend you draw inspiration from every aspect of her life—except the torture part, of course. The coming weeks will be a fine time to be versatile, exploratory and committed to expressing yourself purely in whatever ways make you comfortably excited.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): As a Cancerian, you have a natural propensity to study and understand what author Margaret Atwood describes as “echoes and emptiness and shadow.” I believe this aspect of your repertoire will be especially active and available to you in the coming weeks. For best results, regard your attunement to these echoes and emptiness and shadow as an asset, even a precious talent. Use it to discern what’s missing or lost but could be recovered. Invoke it to help you navigate your way through murky or confusing situations. Call on it to help you see important things that are invisible to others.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Time can turn a scab into a beauty mark,” said actor and screenwriter Nia Vardalos. That’s a rousingly poetic speculation—and more metaphorically true than literally. But I suspect that if it ever might have a useful and meaningful application to an actual human struggle, it will be yours in the coming months. In my view, you are in fact capable of harnessing the magic necessary to transform a wound into a lovely asset. Be bold and imaginative as you carry out this seemingly improbable feat—which is actually not improbable.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Would you like to boost your mental and physical health in the coming weeks? Try this: Immerse yourself in the understanding that you’re interconnected with everything in the world. Tell yourself stories about how the atoms that compose your body have previously been part of many other things. This isn’t just a poetic metaphor; it’s scientific fact. Now study this passage by science-writer Ella Frances Sanders: “The carbon inside you could have existed in any number of creatures or natural disasters before finding you. That particular atom residing somewhere above your left eyebrow? It could well have been a smooth riverbed pebble before deciding to call you home. You are rock and wave and the peeling bark of trees, you are ladybirds and the smell of a garden after the rain.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): It’s a favorable time to celebrate the fantastic privilege of being alive. Are you willing to believe that? Will you cooperate with my intention to nudge you in the direction of elation and exaltation? Are you open to the possibility that miracles and epiphanies may be at hand for you personally? To help get yourself in the proper mood, read this passage by Libran author Diane Ackerman: “The great affair, the love affair with life, is to live as variously as possible, to groom one’s curiosity like a high-spirited thoroughbred, climb aboard, and gallop over the thick, sunstruck hills every day.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Deciding to remember, and what to remember, is how we decide who we are,” writes poet Robert Pinsky. That’s useful counsel for you right now, Scorpio. You’re entering a phase when you can substantially reframe your life story so that it serves you better. And one of the smartest ways to do that is to take an inventory of the memories you want to emphasize versus the memories you’d like to minimize. Another good trick is to reinterpret challenging past events so that you can focus on how they strengthened you and mobilized your determination to be true to yourself.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “A person must dream a long time in order to act with grandeur,” wrote Sagittarian author and activist Jean Genet. “And dreaming is nursed in darkness.” According to my analysis of your astrological omens, this is an apt description of what has been unfolding for you, Sagittarius—and will continue to play out for you in the next two weeks. If you’re aligned with cosmic rhythms, you have been nursing your dreams in darkness—exploring and cultivating and learning from the raw creative energy that is simmering and ripening in your inner depths. Keep doing this important work, even if there are not yet any productive results. Eventually, it will enable you to “act with grandeur,” as Genet said.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau said, “There are truths that one can only say after having won the right to say them.” In my estimation, you have recently earned the right to express a fresh batch of scintillating and useful truths. Please do us all a favor and unveil them—preferably with both candor and tact. On behalf of everyone who will benefit from your insights, I’m sending you congratulations for the work you’ve had to do on yourself so as to win them.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “After you make a fool of yourself a few hundred times, you learn what works,” testifies musician and singer Gwen Stefani. In my own life, I’ve had to make a fool of myself more than a few hundred times to learn what works. My number is closer to a thousand—and I’m still adding new examples on a regular basis. In the coming weeks, Aquarius, I highly recommend that you try what has served me and Gwen Stefani so well. You’re entering a phase when your foolishness will generate especially useful lessons. Being innocent and wildly open-minded will also be very useful.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “It is better to err on the side of daring than the side of caution,” wrote author and futurist Alvin Toffler. While I hesitate to declare that idea to be absolutely and always true, I do recommend it to you in the coming weeks. Given the fact that you have recently been expanding possibilities and cultivating breakthroughs, I’d love to see you keep on pushing forward until you climax your momentum. To boost your courage, try to think of a crazy cry of exhilaration you might exclaim as you make your leaps, like “YAHOO!” or “HELL YES!” or “HERE I COME!”

Homework: What’s the best change you’ve experienced since the beginning of the pandemic? freewillastrology.com.

Restaurants and Wineries Embrace Sidewalk Cafe Culture

Wading bravely into the new reality, many of our wine tasting rooms and dining spots have embraced the together-but-separate outdoor dining phenomenon.

The by-appointment-only tasting terrace at Alfaro Family Vineyards in sunny Corralitos has been hosting at 40% or more capacity with outside tables spaced 8-12 feet apart. It is working just fine for the reservation-holders. 

At Birichino in downtown Santa Cruz, winemakers Alex Krause and John Locke have just started up Friday-Sunday socially-distanced tastings on the new sidewalk venue in front of the Church Street tasting room. The Birichino tasting experience requires a mask—to be worn except when seated at the table—and an appointment, bookable online. Birichino continues to offer curbside pickup of wine orders on Thursdays.

Birichino, 204 Church St., Santa Cruz. Open 1-8pm Friday, 1-6pm Saturday-Sunday. Make a reservation at birichino.com.

Sidewalk Strategies

For outdoor dining with provocative variety, Abbott Square Market’s spacious terrace next to the Octagon has it all. Most of the eclectic food court purveyors are serving dishes you can pickup and/or consume on the patio between noon-9pm, Wednesday-Sunday. And that includes the full bar of Front and Cooper. The possibilities—from sushi to burgers—are tempting. 

Ditto the new Capitola Esplanade outdoor cafe scene that lets patrons cruise the beachfront food purveyors and enjoy their meals at appropriately distanced tables out front. The possibilities include The Sand Bar, English Ales, Capitola Wine Bar, Zelda’s, Pizza My Heart, Tacos Moreno, and Caruso’s, among others. There’s nothing like the sound of the ocean to take the edge off.

Pro-Tips

How to get through this thing.

  • Be good to yourselves. That means getting your favorite dishes from your favorite restaurants for curbside pickup. For dining at home, include a few luxury items on your grocery list, if your budget allows, for when the Covid-19 blues strike. We keep Wagyu filet mignon and thin-cut pastured pork chops in our freezer, and Shiitake mushrooms and Little Gem lettuces in the fridge.
  • Order enough for a second meal when getting curbside pickup. This reduces points of contact and gives you another night off from cooking. A recent dinner from Laili yielded a terrific extra meal of grilled chicken kabobs, roast potatoes and chutneys. Just get something extra every time you go out.
  • When you shop, make sure you load up on staples such as jars of pasta sauce, pasta, beans, chicken stock, tuna, and eggs. Lots of eggs. Hard boil a half dozen for “emergency” dinners. Nothing is easier than pasta with a decent marinara. Add Italian sausage, which you’ve already got waiting in your freezer. Open red wine.
  • Tuna plus hard boiled eggs on a bed of baby spinach equals a wonderful protein-intensive meal.
  • Buy local wines, beers and spirits. Shop the farmers markets. Order fresh fish from our local people: Ocean2Table, H&H Fresh Fish Co. are good choices. Don’t eat crap! This is not the time for donuts and ice cream therapy. According to the CDC, the folks most likely to be hit hard by Covid-19 include those with preexisting conditions and those who are obese, i.e. those with a body mass index of 30 or higher, which includes 42% of the U.S. population. Mind-boggling! Don’t be part of that demographic. Get moving!
  • Take a 45-minute walk every day (if you can physically manage it). It is good for your mental health and crucial to keep your body strong.
  • Listen to the sounds of summer wildlife—coyotes, baby hawks, songbirds, coveys of quail. Be grateful.

Santa Cruz in Photos: Highway 1 Improvement Work Continues

Work continues on a seven-mile project to resurface Highway 1 from the fish hook to north Aptos.

The night work also includes upgrades to Americans with Disabilities (ADA) ramps, bridge rail replacement at the fish hook and Ocean Street bridges, improvements to electrical systems, bridge deck treatments, and the replacement of concrete barriers.

Caltrans spokesperson Colin Jones said 46 curb ramp locations throughout the Santa Cruz area are being reconstructed to meet the current ADA standard. These curb ramps are being installed to provide safe mobility for people with disabilities.

Additionally, the project will install 32 Accessible Pedestrian Signals, or audible signals to help people who are visually impaired. These are going in at Morrissey Avenue, Soquel Drive, Bay Avenue and Porter Street, Park Avenue, and State Park Drive—six overcrossings on Highway 1 have ADA improvements.

Construction is primarily overnight from Sunday night through Friday morning, weather dependent.  The contractor for the $23 million project is Granite Construction of Watsonville. It is more than 75% complete and scheduled to be done by fall.


See more from the Santa Cruz in Photos series.

Six Women Candidates Line Up for Santa Cruz City Council

Santa Cruz city hall
Brown and Watkins both seek re-election this November

Armitage’s Classic 2018 Heart O’ The Mountain Estate Pinot Noir

Winemaker Brandon Armitage has a huge following for his estate Pinot Noirs

Opinion: July 15, 2020

Plus letters to the editor

Things To Do (Virtually) in Santa Cruz: July 15-21

See marionette theatre, join a scavenger hunt, and find more to do virtually

Black Lives Matter Movement Inspires New Generation of Black Activists

Meet the local organizers working to create change

Report: Santa Cruz County Unprepared for Alarming Fire Risk

Grand Jury cites organizational problems across multiple agencies

Are Governments Protecting Renters During the Pandemic?

Watsonville lets evictions resume, while Santa Cruz stands pat

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology: July 15-21

Astrology, Horoscope, Stars, Zodiac Signs
Free will astrology for the week of July 15

Restaurants and Wineries Embrace Sidewalk Cafe Culture

Capitola outdoor dining
Plus, a few food tips for getting through the pandemic

Santa Cruz in Photos: Highway 1 Improvement Work Continues

Highway 1 project scheduled to be done by fall
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