Page 545 | Good Times

Why a New Transit Plan Supports Santa Cruz Commuter Train

Jacob Pierce

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November 17, 2020

Why a New Transit Plan Supports Santa Cruz Commuter Train

A new report on the future of passenger transit in Santa Cruz County looks at the future of transportation options for the Santa Cruz’s coastal rail corridor in more detail than previous studies.

The Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line is a valuable infrastructure asset—as it lies within one mile of 92 parks, 42 schools and approximately half of the county’s residents, according to the new Transit Corridor Alternatives Analysis and Rail Network Integration Study.

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) purchased the corridor at the beginning of the previous decade. The commission first approved the purchase in 2010 and finalized it in 2012. Over the intervening years, it became the county’s most contested piece of real estate. The plan has always been to build a bike and pedestrian trail down the mostly abandoned rail line. RTC commissioners and staff have also wanted to introduce passenger rail transit alongside that proposed trail, a plan commonly known as the “rail trail.”

The analysis gave a favorable rating to the possibility of rail passenger rail transit on the corridor—news that the Santa Cruz County Friends of the Rail and Trail celebrated on Facebook.

Ginger Dykaar, a senior transportation planner, helped spearhead the Alternatives Analysis and the Unified Corridor Study that preceded it. She encourages county residents to visit the RTC’s website and check out the public online open house for the project through Nov. 27.

“There’s a rare opportunity here to utilize this right of way as a dedicated transit facility,” she says. “We don’t have a dedicated transit facility in our community right now, and we’re working toward the bus on the shoulders on the highway, but having this [rail corridor] as a dedicated transit facility would really provide another service to people to travel through Santa Cruz County without being stuck in congestion. And it’ll provide an option for people of all ages and abilities to travel that that they may not have right now—people who don’t own a vehicle, people who are younger than the driving age, seniors.”

WHAT ABOUT BUS?

Activists from groups like Trail Now and Santa Cruz County Greenway have long raised concerns about the rail transit idea—such as cost, low projected ridership and the perceived narrowness of the corridor and various potential operational constraints. They argue that a new commuter train would squeeze out the proposed trail, which may be the most popular part of the plan.

But the concept of a trail-only corridor isn’t before the RTC at the moment. When the commission approved the corridor study in January 2019, it voted to pursue plans for some kind of transit on the corridor alongside the trail. That kicked off the new Alternatives Analysis to study what form of transit the RTC should introduce.

One of the frontrunners was passenger rail. But another was bus rapid transit, which would let county residents ride speedy buses up and down the corridor, unimpeded by traffic lights.

Trail-only and anti-train groups have also shown some openness to the bus rapid transit concept.

The RTC slowly narrowed down its options, cutting out a number of proposals, such as one for a podcar-type personal rapid transit system. The newly released Alternatives Analysis looks at four options: bus rapid transit, two types of rail transit and an “autonomous road train” that would run like a bus down the railroad tracks.

The good news for bus rapid transit is that it has the lowest projected cost and one of the highest projected ridership numbers out of any of the options studied. But it still didn’t end up the preferred option.

The report, which is in draft form, lists commuter rail transit and light rail transit as the top two preferred options. In total, each of those two options showed a higher number of benefits and fewer drawbacks, compared with bus rapid transit.

For instance, the report’s projections indicate that the two rail transit options have faster, more reliable travel times, and they would have fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

The bus concept has garnered significant interest, though.

It was the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District that pushed the RTC to begin an Alternatives Analysis in the first place. Metro CEO Alex Clifford warned two years ago that introducing passenger rail service along the mostly rail corridor could be a drain on Metro’s resources, including its funding. Among his concerns, Clifford worried that a new train would basically force the bus agency to reorient all its routes—cutting back on existing routes to instead start shuttling riders to and from the rail line instead, all while competing with the new train for valuable transportation dollars.

John Urgo, Metro’s planning and development director, says his colleagues still share some of those concerns. Although Metro enjoyed collaborating with RTC staff on the report, he feels that the report’s architects at the RTC looked at the major issues more narrowly than they otherwise could have. He worries the report, which is still in draft form, may be asking the wrong questions. He suggests that RTC staff may have been too busy studying what’s best for the corridor itself, when it could have looked at the bigger questions, like what’s best for the future of transportation in Santa Cruz County as a whole.

“We as a region have limited transportation dollars to work with,” he says. “And we should always be asking, ‘What is the best investment for those dollars, whether it’s on the rail corridor or not?”

TALL ORDER

The report also considers it a plus that new rail stations would support transit-oriented development, i.e. greater housing density near train stops.

To many policy makers, allowing for taller apartment buildings near transit stops is a no-brainer. Increased density is one way of meeting two goals at once—building more affordable housing and also making new growth more sustainable. However, many of the neighborhoods near the rail line are currently in single-family residential zoning. That means no one would be allowed to build other types of buildings there without either some type of rezoning effort at the local level or zoning reform at the state level.

Even in the midst of the state’s housing shortage, zoning changes of all shapes and sizes can be a political hot potato in Santa Cruz County.

Andy Schiffrin, an RTC alternate serving on behalf of county Supervisor Ryan Coonerty, chaired an ad-hoc committee to help steer the Alternatives Analysis process. He doesn’t want to share too many of his feelings about the report before the public weighs in, but he’s generally supported studies of passenger rail feasibility.

At the same time, Schiffrin has shown misgivings about increasing density on transit corridors, due to quality-of-life concerns. As a Santa Cruz planning commissioner, he pushed the city to reverse course on its previous plans that could have allowed for taller buildings along some of the city’s busiest bus routes. Still, he says there are plenty of unknowns when it comes to future transportation and land-use decisions in the county.

“I’m always a little nervous about what the future holds. The preferred alternative doesn’t finalize anything,” Schiffrin says. “It’s a next step. Do we want to move in this direction? And there will be next steps in terms of developing a business plan and studying financing. There are all sorts of issues that need to be resolved.”

TRAILER PACKAGE

Bud Colligan, a founder of the anti-train group Greenway, sent a list of 14 questions about the Alternatives Analysis to RTC Executive Director Guy Preston—mostly about details he believes were left out. Colligan says he’s watched as the concerns he raised about the rail trail played out in real time.

He notes that cost estimates for the rail trail have been going up, and the rail line’s freight operator, Progressive Rail, has shown interest in pulling out of their controversial agreement with the RTC—a 2018 agreement that Greenway criticized at the time. RTC spokesperson Shannon Munz says the RTC is working to address the company’s concerns.

Colligan—a venture capitalist who was involved in the early days of Apple—says government agencies lack the accountability that he’s used to seeing in the business world. “Steve Jobs would come in and fire this whole commission and start from scratch,” he says.

Colligan is fresh off a campaign victory. His chosen candidate Manu Koenig, Greenway’s former executive director, unseated Supervisor John Leopold, an RTC commissioner, in this fall’s election. He says he and his supporters may look to run more candidates in the future.

At this point, RTC staff is focused on the Alternatives Analysis. Munz says they would like to get as much feedback as possible.

“We want to get as input as we can on these draft results before we take this to our commission,” she says. “That online open house is open until Nov. 27. People can go at any time, at their leisure and look around and provide input.”

There will be an online chat session about the Alternatives Analysis Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 6-7:30pm. For the information on the Alternatives Analysis and how to offer feedback, visit sccrtc.org/transitcorridoraa.

O’Neill Sea Odyssey Offers Free Virtual Event for Students

Johanna Miller

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November 17, 2020

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O’Neill Sea Odyssey Offers Free Virtual Event for Students

O’Neill Sea Odyssey, a local nonprofit that usually hosts hundreds of schoolchildren per year on its 65-foot catamaran on the Monterey Bay, has switched gears to bring education into people’s homes.

On Nov. 19, the organization will co-host a virtual event along with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, focusing on the science and beauty of bioluminescent waves.

Marine biologist Dr. Steve Haddock and seascape photographer Johnny Chien will lead the program. They will explore the “glowing waves” phenomenon, which is caused by algae blooms of sea plankton being churned up, usually in warmer waters.

Rachel Kippen, O’Neill Sea Odyssey’s executive director, said they were inspired to do the event after watching people’s reactions to the recent bioluminescent blooms that occurred along Santa Cruz County beaches this summer.

“People were flocking to the beaches in droves to see it,” Kippen said.

The family-friendly event will include presentations by Haddock, a senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and Chien, whose images of the recent plankton displays went viral online. The two will also talk about how their fields of science and art intersect. There will be a Q&A session near the end of the presentation.

As for O’Neill Sea Odyssey, Kippen said they are struggling, but holding fast. The organization has received support via a Paycheck Protection Program loan and various donations that have helped make its virtual programming possible.

“It’s been tough. The phrase ‘hands-on’ is literally in our mission statement,” Kippen said. “We want to be out on the water, teaching kids. But we’re doing OK. We’re powering through.”

For information on O’Neill Sea Odyssey visit: oneillseaodyssey.org. To register for the event, visit: bit.ly/2Uo85ky.

What Prop. 15’s Defeat Means for California Schools

GT Staff

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November 16, 2020

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What Prop. 15’s Defeat Means for California Schools

Voters narrowly defeated Proposition 15, the tax measure that aimed to eliminate decades-long protections for commercial properties—dashing hopes of billions of dollars flowing into California’s cash-strapped public schools and community colleges in the coming years.

In the second-most expensive ballot fight this election, Prop. 15 supporters said the measure would help right what they viewed as a fundamental wrong in the state’s school funding system by increasing the share of property-tax revenues going toward schools. Opponents characterized Prop. 15 as harmful to small businesses and the state’s economy at a time when the pandemic has already strained or shuttered several local businesses.

“We’re the fifth-largest economy in the world,” said E. Toby Boyd, president of the California Teachers Association, the top benefactor for the Yes on 15 campaign, “and big corporations should be paying their fair share to invest in our students, our public schools, our families and our communities.”

The measure backed by labor unions, community organizations and several of the state’s progressive leaders challenged the state’s still-popular 1978 constitutional amendment, Prop. 13, and had been slightly trailing in the vote count since election night before the Associated Press called its defeat by a 51.8% No to 48.2% Yes margin.

What happens now?

Legislative analysts projected Prop. 15 would have drawn between $6.5 billion and $11.5 billion in commercial property tax revenues, with 40% of the take going to K-12 schools and community colleges beginning in 2022-23.

So while the measure would have been a boon in the long term, any financial fruits borne out of a Prop. 15 win would not have arrived soon enough to address the immediate twin financial crises facing the state’s public schools: Tense efforts to physically reopen campuses and the state education budget’s looming cliff.

California K-12 schools and community colleges, almost a decade removed from the steep Great Recession-era cuts that resulted in more than 30,000 teacher layoffs, were slated to receive a record $84 billion in state funding this year—up from $81.6 billion—before the pandemic cratered the state’s budget forecast.

Faced with a potential 10% cut to the state’s main school finance artery, the Local Control Funding Formula, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature protected school budgets this year by deferring $11 billion in state funding for schools. That move held schools’ funding flat by delaying payments to schools into the next fiscal year—some installments coming as late as seven months—but also means the state will have to confront a potentially taller school finance cliff starting next year.

“Yes, Prop. 15 would’ve helped in the long run, but it wouldn’t have fixed this short-term problem that the Legislature’s going to face in the coming spring,” said Bruce Fuller, a professor at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education.

As state education funding increased over the latter part of the decade, so too have fixed costs such as employee pension contributions and support services for growing populations of students in the state who have special needs or are English learners.

Several communities across California with the state’s permission to reopen campuses are engaged in fraught debates among school leaders, teachers, parents and employee unions over when and how to do so. Among the sticking points has been whether schools have the resources to implement and sustain safety measures, such as surveillance coronavirus testing for employees. At a recent legislative hearing, state lawmakers acknowledged schools’ dearth of testing capacity was prolonging potential campus reopenings while noting that the state had little room in its budget to assist with local efforts.

State officials have suggested on several occasions schools tap into $5.3 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds allocated for schools this summer to purchase laptops and technology for remote learning, personal protective equipment and expand their coronavirus testing bandwidth.

“(This) is not magical money that can be stretched forever,” Troy Flint, spokesman for the California School Boards Association, said of the CARES Act funding, adding that schools are “in a very perilous position” financially.

“Anytime there’s a new expectation or the state imposes a new requirement, it keeps pointing to that same pot of money,” Flint said.

Prop. 15 is the second education-related statewide measure to face defeat this year, in part, due to the tall shadow of the landmark measure commonly referred to as the third rail of state politics.

Voters also rejected in the March primary a $15 billion state bond for school construction that, because of the state’s sequential numbering requirements for ballot measures, shared the same name as the 1978 property-tax cut: Prop. 13. Though some political observers pointed to the measure’s confusing name as a reason for its defeat, others also noted that its supporters failed to adequately communicate to voters the bond’s importance.

Despite Prop. 15’s defeat, supporters were optimistic late election night when initial returns came in, saying that the closeness of the vote suggested an appetite from voters to invest more money in public services such as K-12 education.

At the local level, school measures across the state continued to receive broad support—another sign of voters’ support for education funding, according to advocates. About 80% of the 60 K-12 and community college bonds on local ballots, including a $7 billion bond in Los Angeles Unified, appeared headed toward approval at press time, according to results gathered by Michael Coleman, publisher of the California Local Government Finance Almanac. Nine out of 13 parcel taxes, which require two-thirds voter approval, appeared to pass, though the votes remained too close to call in two communities.

Another attempt at an education-related tax measure in the near future seems likely, though it’s too soon to predict how a future measure would be structured. Also unclear at the moment is whether education and community advocates would again mount their own effort, similar to Prop. 15, or if the governor and Legislature would get involved.

Before the state’s budget crunch, researchers affiliated with Stanford University had calculated it would take an additional $25 billion in school funding for all of the state’s 6.1 million public-school students to meet its learning standards. In recent years, some state lawmakers have wanted to go even further. The pandemic has increased those needs, according to advocates.

Newsom endorsed Prop. 15 in September, though did not campaign for the measure. The governor also said recently that he would not support legislation calling for higher income taxes.

Whatever the course, the road to more schools funding will likely require broad support among state leaders, education unions, advocacy groups as well as a unified message, said Carrie Hahnel, an independent education researcher and fellow with the Berkeley-based Opportunity Institute.

Without federal or state intervention, Hahnel wrote in a recent Policy Analysis for California Education brief, schools are likely to face a downturn like the one they experienced nearly a decade ago. Because California’s public schools are heavily reliant on state income taxes, it makes them more susceptible to volatility amid the peaks and valleys of the state’s economy, Hahnel wrote.

In 2012, at the tail end of the recession as the state neared a similar school funding cliff, then-Gov. Jerry Brown campaigned aggressively for Proposition 30, a quarter-cent sales tax that aimed to prop up school funding. The message then was clear: Vote yes or schools stood to lose $6 billion in cuts. It passed, 55.4% to 44.6%. That kind of support from the governor might be what it takes to put a future ballot measure over the top.

“I think we need to start from scratch and get everybody together and say what we are trying to do and how we can build this thing even if it means some compromises, some shared pain,” Hahnel said. “It’s very hard to hit the business community alone.”

Ricardo covers California education for CalMatters, a nonprofit nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Covid-19 Restrictions Increased Again for Santa Cruz County

Todd Guild

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November 16, 2020

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Covid-19 Restrictions Increased Again for Santa Cruz County

Santa Cruz County has moved to the “Widespread” or Purple Tier of the state’s Covid-19 reopening plan, which carries with it the most serious restrictions on businesses and services, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a press conference Monday.

The increased restrictions mean that Pajaro Valley Unified School District will likely sideline plans to return to modified in-person learning until at least February, district spokeswoman Alicia Jimenez said.

The move also means that retail businesses must reduce the amount of customers they allow inside to 25%, churches and other places of worship must move their services outdoors, and movie theaters can only show outdoor movies. Restaurants also can only serve outdoors.

Live audience sports are forbidden, and amusement parks must close.

In addition, masks are now required for anyone leaving their residence, a mandate with very few exceptions.

Santa Cruz joins 40 other counties throughout the state that are now in the Purple Tier, after health officials reported a nearly 5% positivity rate and a 48% increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations, Newsom said.

The state is averaging about 7,000 new cases daily, with 9,890 reported Monday.

The grim news came with a bit of good news, with the recent announcement that two companies have developed a vaccine for the disease. The pharmaceutical company Moderna said Monday that its new vaccine is 94.5% effective, and drugmaker Pfizer announced its own vaccine on Nov. 9, which they said is 90% effective.

It is not yet clear when the drugs will be available to the public. It will first go to first responders, healthcare workers and residents of facilities such as nursing homes, health officials have said.

“We’ve moved from a race to a sprint,” Newsom said of the coming vaccines.

Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary, said that the increased measures in counties including Santa Cruz are largely in place to protect healthcare from being overburdened, which is especially important as flu season approaches.

Ghaly urged everyone to continue wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing. He also said that families should limit indoor gatherings and restrict travel to essential only.

“We must keep transmission low,” he said. “That’s to keep from flooding the healthcare system.”

The move comes a week after Santa Cruz County moved back from the Orange “Moderate” Tier to the Red “Substantial” Tier following a spike in coronavirus cases.

According to the Santa Cruz County dashboard, there were nearly 600 active cases of Covid-19 in the county as of Monday.

Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Offers Holiday Lights Drive-Thru Event

Tarmo Hannula

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November 16, 2020

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Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Offers Holiday Lights Drive-Thru Event

Two local organizations are hoping to shine a brilliant holiday light during troubling times.

The Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Foundation and the Agricultural History Project (AHP) are in the midst of crafting the first-ever Holiday Lights Drive-Thru event as an alternative celebration for the holiday season during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The half-mile drive-thru will feature 84 large lighted holiday icons such as reindeer, snowmen and wrapped gifts, in addition to twinkling Christmas trees, Santa Claus and glowing lighted tunnels. A row of light-wrapped historic tractors, including a rare 1922 Federal water truck, will also punctuate the displays.

“Stay in your warm car and drive through this holiday experience,” Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Foundation spokesman Ron Haedicke said in a press release. “Tune your radio to the Holiday Lights station and enjoy the experience. After your magical journey through the lights, stop at the holiday food stands and pick up your favorites for the drive home.”

The event, which begins the day after Thanksgiving, will serve as a fundraiser for the AHP and the Fairgrounds Foundation, according to Jeannie Kegebein, CEO of the Fairgrounds Foundation.

“There has been such a great outpouring of help from our community to put this event on from volunteers and sponsors,” Kegebein said.

Kegebein said there are still openings for a total of 16 sponsors to run a booth at the event.

There will also be “holiday food” for purchase at the end of the colorful tour.

“It’s incredible watching this all come together,” Haedicke said. “We’re still open to new ‘Wrap Stars,’ people who wish to create one of the Christmas light-wrapped structures. What I’m seeing every day are adults with kid’s eyes getting wider.”

The event will run 14 evenings total (weather permitting) onFriday, Saturday and Sunday for five weeks, Nov. 27 through Dec. 27 (except Christmas Day). Vehicles can cruise through from 5:30-9:30pm.

For more information, visit fairgrounds-foundation.org.

Election 2020: Live Updates from Across Santa Cruz County

GT Staff

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November 13, 2020

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Election 2020: Live Updates from Across Santa Cruz County

Check back here for the latest news on the 2020 election results from across Santa Cruz County. The most recent updates are added at the top.

Click here to see all of our ongoing in-depth 2020 election coverage.

Nov. 13, 4pm: Sonja Brunner shares incredible story; Gail Pellerin Signals Next Move

There have been no changes to Santa Cruz County’s major election races.

In the race for four Santa Cruz City Council seats, Sonja Brunner remains the top vote getter, followed by Councilmember Martine Watkins, Councilmember Sandy Brown and grant writer Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson. Brunner opened up to GT about her recovery from a harrowing collision with a drunk driver three years ago that she thought would kill her. The experience changed everything for her. “That accident really shifted my mindset. If you’re thinking about doing something, go for it. Give it your all,” she says.

Ballot counting is nearing its end, with more than 85% of registered voters casting a ballot, according to an update posted this afternoon.

Ballots had to be postmarked by Nov. 3 in order to be counted. Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin remarked on Twitter that it broke her heart to see ballots come in that got placed in the mail one day too late.

I’m officially an elections geek. Seeing 66 ballots with a Nov. 4 postmark makes me feel like I’m going to cry. #TooLateToCount pic.twitter.com/WHKKpTi6IS
— Gail Pellerin for Assembly (@gailforassembly) November 6, 2020

Handling such matters will soon be someone else’s responsibility.

After nearly three decades running the county’s elections department, Pellerin has announced that she will retire at the end of the year. The county clerk has been suggested as a potential candidate for the California state Assembly in the year 2024, after Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Scotts Valley) terms out.

Pellerin won’t specifically say whether she’s considering a run for that seat. But she pointed out that a woman in an elected position from Santa Cruz County has never been elected to a state office. “I want to be a part of that movement,” she says.

In the United States presidential race, several news outlets called the state of Georgia for former Vice President Joe Biden, the race’s Democratic nominee, on Friday. President Donald Trump has won North Carolina. The results give Biden a commanding 306-232 lead in the electoral college. Biden flipped four states—Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—that Trump won in 2016. Biden leads Trump by 3.5 percentage points in the popular vote.

In Santa Cruz County, 78.5% of voters supported Biden; 18.5% supported Trump, according to the latest returns.

Nov. 4, 3pm: Supervisor John Leopold concedes race to transportation activist Manu Koenig

The local election results are mostly unchanged from last night.

But transportation activist Manu Koenig has widened his lead over Supervisor John Leopold, who conceded the race to Koenig. In a Facebook post, Leopold said he was humbled by the support from volunteers and voters in his reelection bid, and he extended gratitude to his supporters.

“Although I wanted a different result, I accept the will of the voters,” he wrote. “I have contacted Manu Koenig and offered my assistance in his transition to help meet the needs of residents of the 1st District and the people of Santa Cruz County. I am proud of the work that we have accomplished together and I will look for new ways in the future to contribute to the community.”

This electoral event marks the first time in 10 years that a challenger has successfully unseated an incumbent county supervisor. (The last time was when Supervisor Greg Caput defeated then-incumbent Tony Campos in 2010.)

At 35, Koenig will be the youngest member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.

In the city of Santa Cruz, Sonja Brunner, Councilmember Martine Watkins, Councilmember Sandy Brown and Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson remain at the front of the pack in the City Council race.

Turnout was extraordinarily high in the county. The totals counted so far show that 74% of registered voters cast a ballot. That number will only continue to go up, as results roll in. Of those who voted, more than 90% voted by mail.

The overwhelming turnout blew away Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin.

“This is really unprecedented,” Pellerin said yesterday afternoon. “I’ve been doing this job since 1993, and I have never seen so many voters engaged and participating and getting out to vote.”

In the presidential race, former Vice President Joe Biden looks poised to narrowly win the electoral college, by carrying the swing states of Arizona, Minnesota and Michigan. He is also ahead in the popular vote.

We’ll offer one clarification to some information we shared last night, when we reported results for the state legislative races. We neglected to include results from the other counties. After you factor in those areas, the leads of the Democratic frontrunners narrowly slightly, but they’re still quite significant. Senate candidate John Laird has 68% voter support so far, Assemblymember Robert Rivas has 70% voter support, Assemblymember Mark Stone has 61%, and Congressmember Panetta is at 78%.

Nov. 3, 10:50pm: SONJA BRUNNER NOW LEADS SANTA CRUZ CITY COUNCIL RACE

Sonja Brunner, the Downtown Association’s operations director, has edged into first place in the race for Santa Cruz City Council, according to results updated after 10pm.

City Councilmember and former Mayor Martine Watkins is now second. Councilmember Sandy Brown is in third. Grant writer Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson is fourth.

It’s anyone’s guess when we’ll have clarity on the outcome. In 2018, it wasn’t clear who would prevail in that year’s Santa Cruz County City Council race until three weeks after the election.

Former Santa Cruz County Greenway director Manu Koenig’s lead over incumbent District 1 Santa Cruz County Supervisor stands at 11 points. Koenig raised his profile in the last two years for his work with Greenway, which opposes passenger rail in Santa Cruz County, and for his criticism of Leopold, whom Koenig viewed as too supportive of the concept.

Nov. 3, 9pm: WATKINS AND KOENIG UP, BUT IT’S STILL VERY EARLY

It is too early to know much of anything in the local elections, but District 1 Santa Cruz County supervisor candidate Manu Koenig leads incumbent Supervisor John Leopold by 2,872 votes.

Koenig is ahead with 55% of vote totals so far, compared to Leopold’s 44%, according to early returns from the Santa Cruz County Elections Department.

Only 111,805 votes have been counted in Santa Cruz County. That’s almost as many total votes as there were two years ago, but turnout this year is widely expected to surpass 2018 levels, given the excitement around the presidential contest between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

In the Santa Cruz City Council race, Councilmember and former Mayor Martine Watkins is in first place with 15% of the vote. But the race for four seats is currently rather tight from first place through seventh.

Meanwhile, Democratic California Senate candidate John Laird is beating Republican Vicki Nohrden by a huge margin, 80% to 20%. Incumbent assemblymembers Mark Stone and Robert Rivas are cruising to reelection by similar margins.

In the race for superior court judge, attorney Nancy De La Peña is winning in a landslide of her own. She has 72% of the vote over her opponent Annrae Angel, who announced that she had dropped out of the race, even though her name still appeared on the ballot.

In Capitola, candidates Kristen Petersen and Margaux Keiser lead the Council City race there.

In Scotts Valley, incumbent city councilmembers Donna Lind, Randy Johnson and Jack Dilles all appear to be coasting toward reelection. In Watsonville, City Councilmember Aurelio Gonzalez and former Councilmember Jimmy Dutra have big leads in each of their respective district races.

Nationally, Trump is leading in the electoral college over Biden, the Democratic nominee. But poll workers are still counting votes. Later returns may favor Biden, because many Democratic voters indicated they were more likely to vote by mail, and those ballots take longer to count.

Second Harvest’s Annual Holiday Food Drive Goes Virtual

Johanna Miller

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November 13, 2020

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Second Harvest’s Annual Holiday Food Drive Goes Virtual

Second Harvest Food Bank volunteer Paul Garcia knows the importance of giving back to his community.

“I was a heroin addict for many years …. I tore this town up,” he said. “So now I’m giving back.”

Garcia has been a volunteer for Second Harvest for 11 years. He started as a truck driver, then moved on to the warehouse, working even as he was battling lung cancer and other health problems.

Gradually, staff at the food bank recognized his enthusiasm and began giving him more responsibility. He is now the head supervisor of warehouse volunteers.

The Covid-19 pandemic initially put a wrench into operations at the food bank—after the initial outbreak in March, volunteers including Garcia were sent home, and National Guard members were called in to help instead.

Garcia says he was “going crazy” not being able to volunteer for those months.

“It feels so good to be back here,” he said. “It feels right.”

Suzanne Willis, Second Harvest’s chief development officer, said staff at the food bank was “thrilled” to have him back, too.

“Paul has been an integral part of our warehouse operations for many years, so having him back is helping us tremendously,” she said.

Second Harvest’s annual Holiday Food Drive will be virtual this year to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. Monetary donations will be accepted through its website. All of the funds will provide food to distribute via the organization’s partners agencies.

“You’re not going to be seeing donation barrels out in the community like you’re used to seeing,” Willis said. “[But] people still need that support and we need those funds to provide it to all of those people.”

Willis explained that monetary donations have always been more impactful in the long run. For every $1 donated to the organization, they can purchase about $9 worth of groceries.

This extra support is vital, as the food bank is currently averaging about 1.2 million pounds per month in distribution—almost double the amount before the pandemic. This means needing more staff and volunteers to meet the demand.

“Not only are we having twice as much need, now we have to pre-bag everything, make sure it’s ready so it can be grab-and-go,” Willis explained. “That is why our labor force is so important to us, especially now.”

Garcia said that his time at the food bank has been “amazing.”

“I want people to know … it’s fun. You meet all kinds of people, and make friends,” he said. “It’s a great environment, and you are helping out your community. I know I don’t have plans to go anywhere.”

Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County is currently hiring and looking for more volunteers to work on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Visit thefoodbank.org for information.

More holiday giving

Toys for Tots

Santa Cruz County Toys for Tots will be accepting toy donations by mail (Amazon and Target registries available), as well as monetary donations via its crowdfunding campaign. For information, visit the organization’s Facebook page. You can also make a financial donation to the Toys for Tots organization at bit.ly/2JVDM2V.

Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes

Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes is accepting donations of frozen turkeys and other items for their special Thanksgiving meals, as well as monetary assistance through the holidays. Gift cards to grocery stores can also be donated. For information on the upcoming holiday meals and to make a donation, visit: pvloavesandfishes.org.

The Christmas Project

The Christmas Project, which provides gift certificates for migrant and needy families, will be accepting gift cards and monetary donations this year. Together with Second Harvest, they aim to provide grocery gift cards for families to purchase food. In addition, they will hand out Target cards for families to pick out a present for their children. Contact Gladys Anderson at 831-426-2264 for information.

Casa de la Cultura

Casa de la Cultura will be holding a drive-thru version of its annual Christmas giveaway on Dec. 21. Local families can pick up food, toys and coats at Casa de la Cultura, 225 Salinas Road in Pajaro. Volunteers are needed to help direct traffic and organize gifts. For information on how to donate items and support the organization financially, visit casadelaculturacenter.org.

Turkey Giveaway

Local 7-Eleven owners Sherry Dang and Kirk di Cicco will once again hold their annual Turkey Giveaway—albeit in a smaller capacity—on Nov. 23. This year the giveaway will be held by appointment only, in order to protect customers and staff. Sign up forms will be available at 261 East Lake Ave. and 1461 Main St. Staff will call when people’s turkeys are ready for pickup.

Watsonville Apologizes to Filipino Community for 1930 Race Riots

Johanna Miller

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November 13, 2020

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Watsonville Apologizes to Filipino Community for 1930 Race Riots

In a historic move at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the city of Watsonville officially apologized to the local Filipino community for the 1930 anti-Filipino race riots, which ended in the death of one man and ignited unrest across California.

It did so in a resolution brought forth by Mayor Rebecca J. Garcia.

For five days in January 1930, hundreds of armed white men took to the streets of Watsonville, targeting and beating Filipino-American workers who they claimed were stealing their jobs and women, according to multiple reports.

The riots reached a head on the night of Jan. 20, when 22-year-old Fermin Tobera died after being shot on San Juan Road. The incident was a catalyst for more riots, instigated by white men around the state.

It has been 90 years since the riots occurred. In 2011, Assemblyman Luis Alejo authored a landmark bill to apologize for California’s discrimination toward Filipinos and Filipino-Americans, which was passed by the State Senate.

But no official apology by the city of Watsonville had been made until now.

Manuel Quintero Bersamin, a former city council member who was also Watsonville’s first Filipino-American mayor, expressed his thanks to current members for moving forward with the resolution. He pointed out all of the different people in attendance at the virtual meeting.

“There are a lot of old-time Watsonville names here,” he said. “Filipino-American names, but also white names, Latino names. It’s a wonderful thing. I want to thank the council for taking this on.”

Recently, a group from Watsonville led by third generation Filipino-American Roy Recio has been working on the Tobera Project, which chronicles pivotal moments in local Filipino history. A special exhibition to go with the project, “Watsonville is in the Heart,” is currently on display at the Watsonville Public Library.

Recio said it was important to remember not only the riots, but the many contributions of the Filipino community.

“[They] came here in the 1920s and ‘30s to work the land … they were brought here as cheap labor,” he said. “They did the jobs that no one else wanted to do … 10 hours a day, hauling irrigation pipes, picking strawberries, making people rich. They sacrificed, they struggled and persevered to bring us here today.”

Recio’s recent work shined a spotlight on the fact that no formal apology had been made. Many people—Filipino and otherwise—had not heard of the riots. At Tuesday’s meeting, local resident Edgar Ibarra Gutierrez admitted that he had not learned of it until his late 20s. He thanked the city for its proclamation, but urged them to make sure that future generations were taught the history.

“Encourage your schools to teach this in their public education system,” he said. “We need to know what happened in our own community.”

Gutierrez was one of many speakers who also called for physical recognition, such as a statue in the City Plaza, a mural or a school renamed in honor of a local Filipino figure. Newly appointed Cabrillo College board member Steve Trujillo pitched the idea of a Filipino student center at the community college’s Watsonville campus.

Katelyn Cortez, who grew up in Watsonville and now attends UC Berkeley, thanked the council but added that she hopes for more in the future, such as the city helping fund the Filipino community’s scholarship program.

“Yes, it is appreciated if we receive a plaque, or a school or street is named after one of our own … but it’s not enough,” she said. “We need lasting impacts that will continue to benefit the Filipino community for years to come.”

As the meeting progressed, more and more people joined in to tell personal family stories, give their own perspectives and thank the council for the overdue resolution.

This included California State Assemblymember Rob Bonta, who was the first Filipino-American state legislator in the history of California.

“I appreciate your willingness to issue this apology,” Bonta said. “It’s deeply meaningful. It expresses an intention of inclusion and forward-thinking. It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.”

To read the city of Watsonville’s full proclamation, visit: cityofwatsonville.org. To learn more about the Tobera Project and “Watsonville is in the Heart” visit toberaproject.com

What a Vice President Kamala Harris Means for California

GT Staff

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November 12, 2020

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What a Vice President Kamala Harris Means for California

Goodbye, state of resistance. Hello, state of influence.

California’s status has shifted dramatically with the election of Joe Biden as the next president. The reasons are both political — deep blue California will have more inroads to a White House controlled by Democrats — and personal: For just the second time in American history, a Californian will serve as vice president.

Kamala Harris — California’s junior senator and former state attorney general — made history this month when American voters chose Biden to replace Republican President Donald Trump. She’ll become the first vice president who is a woman, a woman of color and a California Democrat.

It’s a significant boost for a state that in recent years has held a high profile in Congress, but little sway at the White House. Congressional leaders from both parties, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, hail from the Golden State. But the last Californian president was Ronald Reagan more than 30 years ago. And the last Californian vice president was Richard Nixon — 60 years ago.

California has changed radically since then. Once the home of a thriving conservative movement that propelled Republicans Nixon and Reagan to national prominence, it’s now a state where Democrats hold all the political power and a diverse electorate elevated Harris — the child of immigrants from India and Jamaica — to the United States Senate. She emphasized her California roots when she launched her short-lived campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, calling herself a “proud daughter of Oakland” as she stood before its city hall, not far from the hospital where she was born.

Her deep ties to California include a friendship with Gov. Gavin Newsom that goes back decades. She was sworn in as San Francisco district attorney on the same day in 2004 that he became the city’s mayor. They rose through the ranks of California politics sharing a circle of wealthy benefactors and political consultants. They’ve even vacationed together.

After the last four years of California’s tumultuous relationship with the Trump administration — the state sued it more than 100 times while Trump frequently threatened to yank federal funding — the friendship between Newsom and Harris positions California for a vastly different dynamic.

“With Kamala Harris as vice president, we won’t have to feel like we’re walking on landmines all the time, because we know she’s not looking for ways to harm California,” said Daniel Zingale, Newsom’s strategy and communications director until retiring early this year.

“Quite the opposite — she is going to take the interests of our nearly 40 million people to heart.”

Harris could become an influential vice president in part because the office itself is more powerful than in earlier periods of American history, said Joel K. Goldstein, a Saint Louis University law school professor and scholar of the vice presidency.

Beginning with Jimmy Carter’s inclusion of Vice President Walter Mondale in the 1970s, he said, presidents started giving their VPs an office in the West Wing, an open invitation to attend meetings and lots of access to confer privately with the president. That was how Biden experienced being Barack Obama’s second-in-command, Goldstein said, and the way he expects Biden to treat Harris.

When Biden announced picking Harris as his running mate, he envisioned her holding a significant role, saying he wanted Harris “to be the last one in the room” as he weighed big decisions.

“The fact that she’s going to be in the room — in a lot of rooms — and that some of what she cares about are things that are important in California, that means that California will have influence,” Goldstein said.

“There’s likely to be responsiveness to problems that California has in a way that give it some benefit.”

Here are three ways Harris could make a difference:

California could attract more attention from the federal government

Behind the scenes, President Trump has issued disaster declarations to help California recover from brutal fire seasons. But in front of the cameras, he has ridiculed the state while it suffered, scolding California for neglecting forests and dismissing concerns about climate change.

Recent wildfires, along with the coronavirus pandemic, have shown how much California relies on the federal government, said state Senate leader Toni Atkins, a San Diego Democrat.

“Whether it’s funding or broad policy changes,” Atkins said, “a Vice President Harris would absolutely help California cut through red tape.”

In Indiana, a close relationship between the governor and Vice President Mike Pence, himself a former governor of Indiana, has helped the state navigate the coronavirus pandemic, the Indianapolis Star reported this spring. GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb described contacting Pence when the state needed more test kits and federal funding to staff testing sites.

Delaware had a similar inside track during Biden’s vice presidency. Delaware Democratic House Speaker Peter Schwarzkopf told CalMatters he recalled Biden paying a visit to his home state in 2009.

“I said, ‘I see they just put you in charge of the stimulus program. I have a project that’s shovel-ready,’” Schwarzkopf recalled telling the new vice president.

The boardwalk at a popular tourist beach had been damaged in a storm, and the state needed $7 million to repair it. Two days later, Schwarzkopf said, he was told Delaware would get the money.

“If we needed anything or we had a situation, we didn’t have to explain it to Joe. He just understood,” Schwarzkopf said.

“We had access to him and that’s how it will be with Kamala too. You won’t have to explain things to her, she’ll know what you need… Your state will now have a front row seat to the administration.”

That will likely ameliorate the common feeling in California that the federal government and national media are disproportionately focused on the East Coast.

“California is often under-appreciated, because we’re 3,000 miles away and the folks on the East are up for three hours before we get going,” Democratic former Gov. Jerry Brown said in an interview with CalMatters. “We’re often left behind. So having a vice president will be good for the state.”

California’s progressive policies could become more dominant nationwide

Curb greenhouse gas emissions. Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Give workers paid family leave. Those are policies Biden and Harris say they want to see across the nation — and that California has already approved.

“California in many ways is a laboratory for policy change. That is a huge asset that a vice president from California will bring to the nation,” said Karen Skelton, a Democratic strategist who was Al Gore’s political director when he was vice president.

Vice presidents are typically charged with specific policy initiatives. Given Harris’ career as a prosecutor and California’s climate policy leadership, Skelton said, Biden may want her to helm criminal justice reform or environmental protection.

“Kamala will be given assignments and will find her sweet spots in the important administration priorities. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of that is influenced by the profoundly complicated policy work that has come out of California,” she said.

“The west will lead the east in terms of the incubation of ideas.”

That’s exactly why California Republicans aren’t excited by Biden’s win. They’ve largely voted against state policies that may now gain steam nationwide.

“The United States of San Francisco is what both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sold to the nation,” state Sen. Shannon Grove, leader of the Senate’s GOP caucus, said by email.

“California’s liberal experiment has created the largest homelessness in the nation, highest gas taxes, widening income inequality, near bottom rates in K-12 reading and math scores, eliminating parental choice for education, and a criminal justice system where the human trafficking of a child is not considered a violent crime. Enough is enough.”

The last time a Democrat was in the White House, California’s plan to cut greenhouse gases and smog-forming pollution from cars became a model for a national standard. Obama hosted California legislator Fran Pavely at the White House as he announced new nationwide rules mirroring those she wrote into state law.

Trump has had the opposite effect on California’s effort to combat climate change. He’s yanked California’s authority to set its own standards and rolled back federal fuel economy rules, setting off a legal battle that may sputter when Democrats are back in the White House.

More Californians could wind up running the federal government

Vice presidents historically have brought people from their home states to Washington to help them run their own offices and other government agencies, said Goldstein, the vice presidential scholar.

“Mondale brought in a bunch of people from Minnesota, Bush brought people from Texas, and Pence has brought in a lot of people from Indiana,” he said.

Pence has been especially influential in shaping the Department of Health and Human Services, a reflection of his longtime interest in cutting funding for Planned Parenthood, Politico reported last year. The article cited numerous high-level department officials with ties to Pence and Indiana, including cabinet secretary Alex Azar, who was an executive at an Indiana-based drug company when Pence was governor; Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who was an Indiana public health official; Medicaid leader Seema Verma, who advised Pence on health policy when he was governor; and Verma’s deputy chief of staff, who was Pence’s legislative director when he was governor.

Californians expect Harris will also tap her home state network.

“She’s got a pretty big rolodex,” said Brian Brokaw, a Democratic strategist who managed Harris’ campaigns for attorney general. “I’m sure she would want to have many of her longtime trusted staff and others join the administration.”

John Peschong, a GOP supervisor in San Luis Obispo County, worked in the White House under President Reagan. He recalled numerous Californians Reagan brought with him to Washington.

“The influence from the state comes with the people brought on board to run the various federal government departments,” Peschong said. “There’s a lot of folks (Harris) would probably try to move into the administration that are not public names right now.”

CalMatters reporter Rachel Becker contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to describe Harris as the first woman of color elected vice president. Vice President Charles Curtis, who served in the Hoover administration in the 1930s, was part Native American.

Laurel covers California politics for CalMatters, a nonprofit nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

County Supervisors Make Public Defender Office a Public Body

Todd Guild

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November 12, 2020

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County Supervisors Make Public Defender Office a Public Body

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a plan to move the county’s public defender services from a private law firm to one run by the county.

The plan has garnered support from the current public defenders, as well as law enforcement and other justice partners, since it was introduced to the public last month.

The county’s contract with Biggam, Christensen and Minslof (BCM)—which has provided indigent criminal defense for 45 years—is set to expire in 2022. Contracts for two other law firms also appointed to provide indigent criminal defense—Page, Salisbury & Dudley, and Wallraff & Associates—expire at the same time.

Under the plan, the supervisors will appoint a chief public defender to oversee public defender attorneys, all of whom would be county employees. The county would hire private attorneys to handle conflicts, criminal appeals and post-conviction issues.

County officials say that creating the public office will cut costs, and allow the county to hire 15% more attorneys. They also say that it would give public defenders access to agencies that can help clients, such as the Health Services Agency, Human Services Department and Probation Department.

When the plan was introduced on Oct. 6, however, Public Defender Larry Biggam expressed concern that the county did not include his office in talks about the transition. Two Santa Cruz County Superior Court judges also said they were not included.

He was also worried about whether his current team of 26 attorneys would be hired. That is a key piece of the puzzle, Biggam said, because each attorney handles about 100 clients at a time.

The supervisors then tabled the item until those discussions occurred.

Since then, county officials have held four meetings with the Superior Court, as well as the BCM, Page and Wallraff firms, interim county Administrative Officer Nicole Coburn said.

“We feel like we’ve had really productive conversations so far,” Coburn said. “We’ve been able to hear their concerns and I feel that we have ways to address them and come up with a consensus.”

The county budgets a total of $13 million for public defender services, which is doled out in monthly installments, Coburn said.

BCM is currently invoicing $631,753.16 per month for a total of just over $7.5 million. It also receives about $222,800 annually to run the Clean Slate Program.

In a statement to the board, Biggam warned that making the transition during the Covid-19 pandemic could be tumultuous, and asked that the decision be delayed at least one year.

Most jury trials have been delayed, he said, and added that the court’s recent decision to slowly resume them by holding one per week “won’t cut it.”

“The courts are dealing with an avalanche of unresolved cases that keeps building every day, and there is no exit ramp through jury trials,” he said. “There is a lot of chaos in the system, and a lot of moving parts, and a lot of clients are getting lost in the shuffle. If you start changing lawyers in this context, I’m afraid the clients are going to be lost.”

A detailed transition plan, which will include a way to hire the current public defense attorneys, will be brought before the board by February.

In other action, the supervisors heard the first reading of the county’s draft three-year roadmap to address homelessness, which has the ambitious goal of reducing ‘unsheltered residents’ by 50%, and all homelessness by 30%.

The plan, titled, “Housing for a Healthy Santa Cruz: A Strategic Framework for Addressing Homelessness in Santa Cruz County,” was guided in part by Focus Strategies, a Walnut, Calif.-based organization that focuses on ending homelessness by studying data.

“The county and our partners are working on an integrated approach to addressing homelessness that leverages existing strengths while addressing gaps,” Assistant County Administrative Officer Elissa Benson stated in a press release. “Over the next three years, if our community meets the specific objectives set forth in this plan, we should see significant improvements in the lives of our homeless residents and reduced homelessness throughout the county.”

The plan includes adding 160 year-round emergency shelter beds, 350 new “rapid rehousing” slots and 100 new permanent housing “slots” with supportive services for homeless adults, county spokesman Jason Hoppin said.

In the coming weeks, the county will make several public presentations about the roadmap and will seek input from homeless residents.

The plan will come back to the board for final adoption in February.

Good TimesGood Times

Good TimesGood Times

WHAT ABOUT BUS?

TALL ORDER

TRAILER PACKAGE

What happens now?

Nov. 13, 4pm: Sonja Brunner shares incredible story; Gail Pellerin Signals Next Move

Nov. 4, 3pm: Supervisor John Leopold concedes race to transportation activist Manu Koenig

Nov. 3, 10:50pm: SONJA BRUNNER NOW LEADS SANTA CRUZ CITY COUNCIL RACE

Nov. 3, 9pm: WATKINS AND KOENIG UP, BUT IT’S STILL VERY EARLY

More holiday giving

Toys for Tots

Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes

The Christmas Project

Casa de la Cultura

Turkey Giveaway

California could attract more attention from the federal government

California’s progressive policies could become more dominant nationwide

More Californians could wind up running the federal government