Former San Jose City Council candidate and Bay Area Women’s March founder Jenny Higgins Bradanini has been charged with felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence after she fatally struck a pedestrian with her SUV in December.
Authorities say she was under the influence of a benzodiazepine, which came with a warning that users should not drive or operate heavy machinery because side effects include sedation, weakness, dizziness and unsteadiness.
At around 11:40am on Dec. 16, Higgins Bradanini was driving to a doctor’s appointment in Los Gatos when she hit 66-year-old Timothy Starkey on the 900 block of Blossom Hill Road in Los Gatos, according to police reports obtained by San Jose Inside.
Per an incident report appended to charging documents, a witness said Higgins Bradanini was “swerving and unable to maintain her lane both to the left and to the right.” The crash reportedly happened on the north shoulder of Blossom Hill Road, which had a five-foot bike lane separating the lane and shoulder.
Police say Higgins Bradanini seemed unable to recall why she veered out of her lane.
“Bradanini did not display any objective symptoms of alcohol intoxication, but was unable to clearly describe her actions just prior to the collision, had trouble focusing and articulating her thoughts or answering simple questions with slowed thinking, and apparent memory loss,” police wrote in a summary of the incident.
“I hit the car and was like oh my god, where is the guy, so l knew there was a guy there,” Higgins Bradanini reportedly told police. “Then I freaked out and these ladies called 911. I wanted to put something over him, I wanted to cover [Starkey] up and I was thinking please don’t die, please don’t die.”
Higgins Bradanini also told officers at the scene that she had taken a prescription drug prior to the collision and provided them with a blood sample. While the name of the medication was redacted in the report, it was noted that the prescription was a benzo, a Schedule IV controlled substance.
Immediately following the crash, police interviewed Higgins Bradanini at the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department building. Once in the interview room, officers report that she “spontaneously stated ‘I killed somebody.’”
She reportedly told cops that the events leading up to the crash were “blurry” to her, but she recalled seeing Starkey 30 to 40 feet before she struck him. She wondered whether she was in the process of taking off her jacket, but didn’t have a “clear recognition,” police state in their summary of the interview.
During an interview break, cops reportedly discussed evaluating Higgins Bradanini for a mental health hold “because she had mentioned to another officer about wanting to die.”
When asked if she was suicidal, Higgins Bradanini said “I just don’t want to be here. I killed somebody.” Police say she continued by asking, “How do I ever face his family? I took somebody’s life by accident, and I don’t know how you ever get past that.”
Based on speed calculations, officers determined that Higgins Bradanini was driving between 30 mph and 37 mph in the 35 mph zone.
The maximum sentence for vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence is six years in prison, according to a District Attorney’s office spokesperson.
Higgins Bradanini did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The South San Jose resident was running for Councilman Johnny Khamis’ open District 10 seat, but took third in the March 3 primary election behind Brigade-founder Matt Mahan and businesswoman Helen Wang.
Pandemic-related losses to California farms, ranches and agricultural businesses will range between $5.9 billion and $8.6 billion this year, according to an economic study released June 23.
The analysis says the state’s $50 billion agricultural sector has already suffered $2 billion in losses so far, from disrupted markets and rising production costs related to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Financial impacts of the pandemic vary widely in the agricultural economy, the study says, depending in part on how much a particular crop or commodity relies on sales to food service and how much it has been affected by shifts in retail demand and changes in costs of production and processing.
The pandemic was an “abrupt disruption” to the agricultural supply chain in the state and around the world, the study says. When the food-service industry temporarily shuttered because of California’s stay-at-home order, farmers were left with hundreds of pounds of unclaimed crops (mostly fruits and vegetables, according to the report) that they were forced to throw out.
The closure of schools and office buildings was another blow for farmers, especially those in the dairy industry that sell bulk orders of milk and other products to school districts. That industry saw the largest dollar-loss impact: $1.4-2.3 billion. Grapes ($1.5-1.7 billion) and flowers and nurseries ($660-740 million) were second and third, respectively, in dollar-loss impact, according to the study.
“Milk producers are dealing with oversupply as both demand from food service businesses and exports have fallen,” the study says. “Some producers have reported throttling back production by adjusting feed rations, though agencies have yet to report any major changes in quantities of milk coming off the farm.”
With the schools throughout the Central Coast starting the 2020-21 school year online, Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo said the country’s so-called “salad bowl” will have to work quickly to adjust to the new wholesale landscape, lowering demand and hygiene rules.
“That’s definitely going to have an impact,” Hidalgo said. “Even if kids are allowed to go back to school I think the schools are going to be in a place where they have to change how they provide meals to kids. Having an open cafeteria, an open salad bar, per say, I don’t think it’s something that schools are going to be doing because of this situation. I think from that standpoint, it will have an impact on our growers as well.”
At the same time, the widespread panic shopping at local markets proved to be a boon for shelf-stable items such as rice, processed tomato products and canned fruit. But in aggregate, the study says, “the losses far outweigh the isolated benefits.”
Produced by Davis-based ERA Economics, the study was commissioned by a coalition led by the California Farm Bureau Federation and including UnitedAg, Ag Association Management Services Inc., the California Fresh Fruit Association, California Strawberry Commission, California Tomato Growers Association and Western Plant Health Association.
California Farm Bureau Federation President Jamie Johansson said the study illustrates the scope of the pandemic’s impact.
“California farmers, ranchers and their employees have continued the essential work needed to keep American families fed, but that work has come with sacrifice,” Johansson said. “The impact is being felt in rural communities throughout the state that rely on agriculture for their residents’ livelihoods. We want legislators and regulators to bear that in mind and avoid making farming even more costly and difficult in California.”
Analysts looked specifically at 15 different agricultural sectors, using data on production, exports and prices through early May, plus interviews and surveys of people and businesses.
In addition, the report says farms, ranches and related businesses have incurred higher operating costs for measures intended to increase employee health and safety, and in the logistics required to move crops and commodities to market.
“Along with the loss of key markets due to food service disappearing overnight or flower shops and garden centers not being allowed to operate in certain areas, we now are adapting to significant increased operational costs that many California farmers will never recoup,” said Chris Zanobini, president and CEO of Ag Association Management Services.
Abrupt shifts in purchasing patterns in export and domestic markets—prompted by the constriction in restaurant and other food-service sales and a swing to retail purchases for at-home use—have affected farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses at various points in the supply chain, the study says, ultimately resulting in farm-gate crop price impacts.
The Central Coast Section, the local governing body for schools stretching from San Francisco along the coast to King City, this week unveiled its plans for the fall sports season and beyond.
The governing board on Tuesday announced in a press release that mid-December is the targeted date that any type of high school athletic activity can take place.
The first season will feature fall sports: cross country, field hockey, football, water polo and volleyball and teams can start practicing on Dec. 14. They can play their first game Dec. 28 with the exception of football, which begins on Jan. 8.
The second season kicks off Feb. 22 with badminton, soccer and tennis taking place, followed by swimming and diving scheduled to begin March 8. Wrestling, basketball, baseball, golf, lacrosse, softball and track and field are slated to begin March 15.
Aptos High School athletic director Travis Fox said he believes the decision gives the schools some hope and direction. He said the news wasn’t a shock, especially with the current climate of Covid-19 cases throughout the world and locally.
“It also brings up many questions about the details but I think it gives us something to now start playing for,” he said.
Fox said the entire plan is logistically realistic, and he thinks the athletic community could come together to make sports happen for the kids.
The move from the CCS came a day after the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) announced that the start of the high school sports fall season was pushed back to December or January.
A combination of factors led to the CIF’s decision, including a spike in Covid-19 numbers in recent weeks and the fact that most school districts are starting the upcoming academic year with distance learning. If most campuses are closed for in-classroom teaching, it made little sense to open up campuses each afternoon for sports-only activities.
“The writing was on the wall of where this was headed,” Central Coast Section Commissioner Dave Grissom said. “I’m not surprised at all. (CIF) Executive Director Ron Nocetti was very open with us (each of the state’s 10 section commissioners), and we had long conversations on plans going forward for the new school year. With what we’ve seen recently (with a surge in coronavirus infections), it doesn’t come as a surprise at all.”
Even though the CIF is the de facto governing body for high school athletics, none of the 10 section executive committees that comprise the state have to go along with the updated CIF calendar.
However, should any section choose to go in a different direction, their schools wouldn’t be eligible to compete in a regional or state playoff tournament.
Based on the assumption that conditions improve over the next several months—and given the fluid nature of the coronavirus, that is hardly a given—most fall sports teams will start official practice in December or January.
The last day for section playoff competition in football is April 10, with one week for regional bowl games to be concluded by April 17.
The last volleyball and water polo section match—for both boys and girls—would be March 13, followed by a March 20 date to conclude regional/state competition.
For cross country, the last day of section competition is March 20 with the state meet likely to be held on March 27. Field hockey, traditional competitive cheer and gymnastics do not have regional/state playoff ties, so each section will determine the end date for the last day of section playoff competition.
Spring sports such as baseball, softball and track and field would end their regional and state championships on June 26.
The CIF also made another major ruling Monday, with the temporary suspension of bylaws 600 to 605, which forbade student-athletes from competing in the same sport during the same season for two different organizations.
The CIF will allow individuals to compete for an outside team at the same time they participate on their high school team for the 2020-21 calendar year only.
“I really applaud the CIF for what they did for this year because things are so fluid right now,” Grissom said. “Clubs are scrambling in how they’re going to build a season, so suspending rule 600 is a great idea.”
Watsonville High boys soccer coach Roland Hedgpeth said there’s the chance of students trying to play for their high school and club teams at the same time but he doesn’t seem too concerned.
“I’m not really worried about it because it’s happened with [Santa Cruz] Breakers Academy and everywhere else,” he said. “If they want to play with us, they’ll play with us. If they don’t that’s their choice and they can play where they want.”
Hedgpeth said it’s going to be tough because they might have to limit their squad, especially with trying to schedule practice and the season being cut by three to four weeks. He said his biggest concern is having three to four different sports teams attempting to use the same facilities at the same time.
Hedgpeth said he hopes that things will start to clear up by February to get a better feel of the situation. He said they might have to cut the freshman team, leaving just the JV and varsity teams so that everybody can get in some practice time.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do yet,” he said.
Fox said adding winter sports into the “second season” is going to be a community-building moment as far as scheduling practices, facility use, games, finding officials and coordinating. He said splitting all the sports into two seasons is something he hasn’t seen before but it makes sense.
Fox said multi-sports seniors will face the largest challenge: choosing between two sports.
“Some students are going to have to make some decisions, but I know our coaches are going to do everything just to support those kids,” he said.
Fox said there have been some cases where students have done multiple sports at the same time before. But he said he believes the best route is to participate in a team sport and an individual event.
“We want to do what’s best for these seniors who may have to make a decision for the first time but also be fair to the game, fair to everyone else,” he said.
Editor’s note:Hollister Free Lance Sports Editor Emanuel Lee contributed to this report.
The Covid-19 pandemic fuels a particular fear in David Molina—a father and also the son of elderly parents, whom he often finds himself reminding to be careful when they leave the house.
But during this time, Molina, who serves as chair for the Santa Cruz County Commission on Disabilities, has also spent a lot of time thinking about members of the nation’s disabled community. He notes that, whenever there’s a shortage of life-saving technologies or drugs, doctors start making calculations about who will get which treatment.
Those calculations, he says, take into account quality of life, and they often favor younger and non-disabled Americans.
“When there’s a disabled person and a non-disabled person, if a doctor only has one drug, who does he give it to?” Molina asks. “No one thinks about this level of terror.”
With the country celebrating 30 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) this week, some Americans are reflecting on three decades of legislation aimed at tearing down barriers. But due to the pandemic, they are doing so privately. The anniversary of the bill being signed into law by President George H. W. Bush came on Sunday, July 26. At one point, members of the local Commission on Disabilities considered putting together a showing of the new Netflix documentary Crip Camp, which chronicles a summer camp for teens with disabilities and their fight for civil rights, but the commissioners ultimately decided against it.
The ADA, which was largely modeled after civil rights legislation of the 1950s and ’60s, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability—including physical, medical and mental conditions.
Andy Imparato, executive director for Disability Rights California, says the ADA was a landmark piece of legislation, and an update in 2008 issued important clarifications, expanding the number of people the law protects, he says. Nonetheless, the issues are a work in progress.
“We still have work to do in creating the kind of liberty and justice we deserve,” he says.
RAMPING UP ACCESS
For the past 12 years, Veronica Elsea has put accessibility at the center of her time serving on the Regional Transportation Commission’s Elderly and Disabled Transportation Committee.
An avid bus rider, Elsea, who was born blind, says planners often failed to design sidewalks and transportation systems with members of the disabled community in mind. Many, she says, simply assumed that disabled residents would just use Lift Line-type services to get around the county. One problem with that is that, as boomers age, there will be more and more disabled pedestrians, Elsea says.
“There’s a level of disability where you’re still out running around, and I thought it was important that we really start getting Santa Cruz thinking about those people, so that they don’t become in need of the specialized services,” she explains.
Elsea pushed the RTC and its staff to create an online feature for reporting hazards to pedestrians. However, when the Hazard Report page launched, it was incompatible with her text-to-voice software, so she gave commission staff feedback on how to improve it and make it accessible to people like her.
Elsea has first-hand experience with a lot of obstacles. For example, she says that, for years, she was denied the right of a private ballot each Election Day. Instead, when she showed up to a polling place to vote, she had to tell someone else whom she wanted to vote for, and they cast the vote for her.
In one election in Iowa in 1976, she determined that a poll worker was intentionally casting her vote for the wrong party. Elsea says she ended up getting the matter heard before a judge that same day. The issue got resolved, her vote got counted, and the poll worker was banned from working elections, she says.
In a different election in Santa Cruz in 2004, Elsea wanted to vote for a write-in candidate, and she says the poll worker refused to write the name, repeatedly saying that the candidate wasn’t on the ballot. Elsea—who credits the local elections department with doing a great job over the years—complained and quickly got matched with a different poll worker. The second poll worker helped Elsea cast the vote she wanted. “I get to be a rebel if I want to,” Elsea says.
Two years later, the county unveiled accessible voting machines as part of the Help America Vote Act. Elsea got to cast a private ballot for the first time in her life. She was so happy she cried.
When it comes to the ADA, it’s often lawsuits that grab a lot of attention, but Elsea says it would never be her intention—or that of the activists she knows—to start out by assuming an issue will turn into a lawsuit. Rather, the law provides a framework that helps advocates raise concerns and tells institutions how to make their systems more accessible.
“We have a backing. It’s like saying, ‘Here’s the rule, so I don’t have to be the bad guy,” she explains.
The issues around disability are personal for many advocates.
Commission on Disabilities Chair Molina first got involved around disability issues after his son, who’s now 6, was diagnosed with autism. Molina learned that drowning is one of the leading causes of death among autistic children. He didn’t see any leadership in Santa Cruz County to prevent autistic children from drowning.
“We’re a county that has tons of water. And so it surprised me, in a county that’s so affluent and with so much water and with such a beautiful, giant pool, that we didn’t have a program to teach autistic children to swim,” Molina says.
Fellow Commissioner John Daugherty says he believes many people misunderstand the ADA. He feels that Americans pretend the act is a special law that applies to a small subset of people. Daugherty—who has cerebral palsy and works as accessible services coordinator for the Metropolitan Transit District—wishes people would view it as a broader piece of civil rights legislation.
For example, when a business adds ramps to its entrance, and makes the building accessible to people in wheelchairs, that also helps parents with strollers.
Daugherty says he gets frustrated when businesses act like they’re being blindsided by 30-year-old law, mandating relatively small accommodations in the name of crafting a more equal society.
“One doesn’t have to take a sledgehammer to a business layout to make it accessible,” he says.
FULL EMBRACE
Rick Gubash, the director of UCSC’s Disability Resource Center, says that, with classes going online, the era of pandemic-related distance learning has shaken up education and created changes—including in the disabled community—some of them more positive than others.
Students with physical disabilities, on the one hand, no longer have to contend with the university’s rugged terrain as they traverse the campus. Similarly, those with chronic conditions, who aren’t always able to attend class in person, don’t have to worry about missing instruction. Everyone’s situation is different, however. Those with organizational difficulties may now have an especially challenging time establishing routines, says Gubash, who has both ADHD and a learning disability.
Although his conditions have presented challenges in his life and career, Gubash says he’s learned how to manage them, and he wouldn’t trade them away for anything. “That’s part of me now, and it’s an important part of me. I embrace my disability,” he says.
Gubash says he’s fortunate to have a great partner and a loving family around to support him, and that makes a difference.
Imparato, the Disability Rights California executive director, has bipolar disorder. Similar to Gubash, he credits his family with providing an immensely valuable support system. For Imparato, every year is split roughly in half, into two modes—his “high-energy” mode and his “low-energy” one, he calls them. Each of his two annual shifts in mood can happen rather suddenly. When he feels a change, he gives his loved ones a heads-up, usually working it into a conversation with his wife, who he says never reacts too strongly.
Imparato pays careful attention not to let bipolar get in the way of being a caring person or a conscientious boss, he says. He doesn’t prefer one mode over the other. Each has its challenges, he says.
“Both modes, for me, have pros and cons,” he says. “When I have more energy, my brain is moving faster, and I’m less patient. Sometimes I can say something and it comes across stronger than I mean it to. I try to be open with my colleagues about the way my brain operates and tell them, ‘Call me on it if you think I’m being unfair or something doesn’t sound right to you.’ I try to be good at apologizing. ”
ACCESS POTENTIAL
Gubash says the number of students who use UCSC’s DRC has grown dramatically over the last decade and a half.
I was a DRC student myself during my time at UCSC from 2006-2010—before Gubash’s arrived at the school—due to learning disabilities I was diagnosed with when I was in middle school. (In my time at college, I qualified for services, like extra time on tests and for note taking.) Gubash estimates that the center served 600-700 students back in 2006. He says it serves close to 3,000 now.
I still grapple with attention problems, and I’ve never been a quick reader or a great listener. Whenever possible, I try to record my interviews and carve out time to transcribe them later. I ask follow-up questions whenever I get confused.
Molina, the chair of the local Commission on Disabilities, is severely learning disabled, and he says learning disabilities never go away. Molina says he often has to read a passage five or more times before he understands it, and he has difficulty retaining information. But he never let any of that stop him from getting his PhD in clinical psychology.
Molina says those with disabilities have role models for sources of inspiration. He looks to 17-year-old Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, who is on the autism spectrum. Molina says Thunberg has the potential to change the world, and he believes nobody—disabled or otherwise—should ever think they’re capable of anything less.
“In order to do what they want to do, those with disabilities have to work that much harder than everyone else,” Molina says. “Having a disability is no excuse to not reach your full potential.”
The documentary Crip Camp is available to watch via subscription to Netflix and for free on YouTube.
Searching for joy in the ongoing pandemic calls for a certain focus amid the cascade of negative numbers such as death tolls, cases and recoveries.
Such is the case for Watsonville artist Sefla Joseph, who has had to reinvent her studio art classes and take them to the computer screen.
Now, from her Watsonville home, Joseph has welcomed about a half-dozen students for one hour sessions to share her skills with brushes, oils and canvas.
“I was teaching classes in abstract figurative painting to groups in my studio,” she says. “Since Covid, I now work one-on-one for one hour sessions on Zoom. For some of these classes, I collaborate with artist Evelyn Markasky. She brings the wonderful art of contour drawing to these sessions.”
The online classes, “Deliberately Irrational,” operate through the online painting group art73.org.
“Working with painters on Zoom has held surprises for me,” Joseph says. “The first was: I discovered I love teaching private sessions online. I think it is the intimate nature of the painting and drawing experience between myself as a mentor/teacher and the painter that is supported in a most unexpected way on Zoom. I certainly could not explain why this works, but this is how it feels to me.”
Joseph says Zoom classes are a near-perfect fit for “intimate contact” with her students.
“I believe in the process of creativity,” she says. “While in the process of creating a piece of art, one steps out of time, and there is only the moment. This moment is so rich because it is full of possibilities, and the painter and I enter into this process of ‘What if?’: ‘What if I tried this? What if I let something go?’ There is an intimacy happening with another human being that feeds the soul through this act of creation.”
Joseph, 78, whose work has been displayed in countless exhibits around the county, from the R. Blitzer Gallery on the Westside of Santa Cruz to Pajaro Valley Arts in Watsonville, says she has been an artist “all my life.” She has shown her work in the annual Open Studios Art Tour for 20 years and has taught classes and workshops locally, in the Bay Area and internationally. Her exhibits have also spanned the globe.
“My passion is teaching and helping my students to find their authentic voice,” she says. “The silver lining of these times has been that I am having opportunities to know my students in a different way, and as a result, I can also support their work in a deeper way.”
Joseph, who was born in Montréal, says she is hoping to have a virtual show with completed works by students online in the near future.
“This time of Covid has put me into a state of gestation, and many ideas are percolating,” she says. “I began to work with contour drawing, thanks to Evelyn’s inspiration. I find the contours relaxing, fun, and interesting in unexpected ways. Now I am finally painting again, and the work is definitely reflecting how I am feeling at this time. My palette has changed: It is full of many shades of grays, blacks, and umbers, and juxtaposed with brushstrokes of unexpected colors. Even the layering process that I use is expressing itself in a deeper way. It feels authentic and holds a truth for me.”
Joseph says she feels that creativity, like her painting, helps people build coping skills and resilience in a trying time.
“I believe we are bearing witness to an extraordinary moment in the world, and our challenge is to find our footing in this process,” she says. “It is our individual and collective creativity that will see us through these times. This is our time to ripen, as Buffy St. Marie says.”
Through her classes, Joseph she hopes her students will “learn to imagine possibilities and create in the face of ambiguity … and perhaps see the world in a different way.”
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday voted to permanently end its School Resource Officer program at Watsonville, Pajaro Valley and Aptos high schools, and to redirect the funds to socio-emotional counselors.
The district will also look into creating wellness centers and cultural sensitivity programs.
The motion passed 5-2, with Trustees Daniel Dodge, Jr. and Georgia Acosta dissenting.
About 40 people emailed comments to the board before the vote, most of whom advocated for removing the officers.
Elias Gonzalez said that there is no evidence SROs prevent violence.
“And in some cases, there is evidence they contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline,” he said, adding that having police on campus can make students more fearful.
The program cost PVUSD $405,265 annually for one Watsonville Police officer at Watsonville High and one at Pajaro Valley High, and one Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputy at Aptos High School.
The trustees were set to vote on removing the school officers for only the 2020-21 school year, and to use the funds for socio-emotional counselors, but Trustee Maria Orozco made the motion to make the decision permanent.
Orozco also called for the creation of a “robust” ethnic studies program along with student wellness centers equipped to help students. She also asked for an anti-bullying program.
“Our students deserve better,” she said. “We need to invest money in programs we know actually work.”
Trustee Jennifer Schacher said that the 40 hours of training SROs receive is not enough to handle the problems facing young people.
“More than ever,” she said, “the district needs socio-emotional counselors”
Trustees Acosta and Dodge expressed concern that the move would make it difficult for the district to work with county law enforcement officials in the future.
“Violence on campus is still an issue,” Acosta said, and asked the board to remove the officers for only the 2020-21 year, since all students will be off-campus and engaged in distance learning for the year. That motion was voted down 5-2, with trustees Dodge and Acosta in support.
SROs receive special training to work on school campuses, including implicit bias and de-escalation. They conduct welfare checks and home visits and connect at-risk students to diversion programs. They also work with attendance specialists and parents in trying to keep kids in school.
But many people who commented—and several trustees—worried that police presence on campus criminalizes behavior that can be better addressed by counselors and other programs.
Pajaro Valley High athletic director Joe Manfre said that he wanted the district to keep the program.
“I believe they have treated students fairly and have made good relationships with the students on our campuses,” he said. “I think it would be a shame to get rid of them. I would hope some of the students’ lives that have been changed by our SROs would speak during this time, so some good things can be heard about this program.”
In removing the officers, PVUSD joins districts throughout the nation that are questioning the programs. The Oakland Unified School District Board of Trustees in June eliminated that district’s program, which placed 10 officers on campuses.
The program began in 1994 at Watsonville High School to address school threats such as gang violence, drug use and other criminal acts, said Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Kristen Shouse.
Aptos and Pajaro Valley high schools followed suit with the program in 2004.
Shouse pointed out that the district still used WPD’s Caminos Program and the department’s Police Activities League, both of which are designed to keep kids out of trouble and in school.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the issue.
Watsonville Assistant Police Chief Tom Sims said he was not surprised by the decision, as both PVUSD and WPD are facing budget shortfalls.
Sims stressed that the relationship between the district and police department remains strong.
“At the end of the day it’s a difficult decision for them to make, because there is value in having SROs on campus,” Sims said.
But the decision could have fallout, Sims said, as there will no longer be a law enforcement official on hand for an immediate response.
This means that, for lower priority calls, officers may take longer to respond, Sims said.
“We are generally in close proximity, but also as much as we support our schools they will be on a triage basis,” he said.
In addition, having a patrol officer respond to an on-campus incident could mean a higher likelihood that a student could be taken to Juvenile Hall, as opposed to a response from an SRO who is familiar with the student, Sims said.
“The SROs provide a service you really can’t put a number on,” Sims said. “They are priceless. You get the best of both worlds. You get the red carpet service from the police department.”
Due to exponential growth in the rate of Covid-19 cases locally, Santa Cruz County health leaders expect many businesses to cease indoor operations as early as next week.
According to the most recent data entered by county officials Wednesday, the county has had 878 confirmed Covid-19 cases. Of those, 531 are currently active—well above the 343 patients who have recovered from the disease.
“That is a dramatic change for the county of Santa Cruz,” Public Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said in a press conference Thursday.
Four months into the pandemic, 65 patients locally have required hospitalization. The county announced Thursday that a fourth patient had died with the virus being a contributing factor to his death. The man was in his 70s, and he was hospitalized with cardiac issues. He tested positive for Covid-19 upon admission. Newel said investigators presume that the patient contracted the coronavirus from someone in his household, as members of his household have tested positive for Covid-19.
The California Department of Public Health has now flagged Santa Cruz County, due its growing case count.
The details of what happens following that are complicated—involving various state and local triggers, two concurrent multi-day waiting periods, and a collaborative process to draft new health orders. The upshot, however, is that many businesses will likely have to shift their operations to being outdoors in the next two weeks or else close down again. That list of operations includes gyms, offices for non-essential sectors, nail salons, body waxing studios, tattoo parlors, hair salons, barbershops, malls, and religious and cultural ceremonies, like weddings and funeral services.
Mimi Hall, director of the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency, said testing has confirmed Covid-19 cases among the elderly or staff at five of the county’s seven skilled-nursing facilities, but none of those facilities have seen any deaths from the disease.
WITHOUT A TRACE?
For a variety of reasons, contact tracers are having a difficult time keeping up with the burgeoning caseload.
On Thursday, Hall announced a new part of the HSA’s website to help companies expedite the contact tracing process. Oftentimes, the first person a patient will tell about their positive test result is their boss. As a result, employers often find out about a new Covid-19 case well before the county does. Now, companies will be able to take action immediately by implementing the proper protocols and notifying the county health officials.
Two months after the county laid out its contact tracing plan, Hall also outlined reasons behind some of the delays the county has experienced in onboarding new contact tracers.
Each contact tracer needs to go through a 20-hour state training that typically takes a full week to complete, she said. Additionally, contact tracers are learning a new platform called Cal Connect, where they have to input their data, Hall said.
“And contact tracers don’t work on their own,” she added.
They work as a team with investigators and nurses. Hall noted that the countywide mandatory furloughs—cutting employee pay between 7.5-10%—do apply to HSA staff.
“We’re not exempt as public health workers,” she said. “So we’ve been trying to balance, how do we do coverage and furloughs and work on a skeleton crew? There are a lot of pressures on the staffing complexities that impact us.”
The county has also seen delays in testing, with results coming back very slowly—often due to a shortage of testing reagents, some of the chemicals needed to run tests. The delay makes it difficult for contact tracers to act on new cases in a timely manner.
Partly as an effort to remedy that, the county is partnering with UCSC and infusing the school with $1 million in local Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in order to boost researchers’ testing capacity there, Hall said. UCSC does have enough of those testing reagents right now, Newel said.
Deputy Health Officer Dr. David Ghilarducci said one of the biggest bottlenecks the county is currently experiencing is with remdesivir, a drug used to treat Covid-19. Santa Cruz County officials have been buying the maximum amount they are allowed to purchase and distributing it to hospitals, he said.
Supplies of personal protective equipment are relatively strong right now, Ghilarducci added.
OUT OF THE QUESTION
Last week, Newel told reporters she thought that, given the rise of cases among young adults, it was possible that the protests in June and July contributed to the surge in disease rates. Thursday, Newel said that doesn’t appear to be the case, according to the contact tracing her colleagues have been doing.
“That seems to not be playing out in our case investigations,” she said, elaborating that more informal gatherings are often the culprit behind the spread. “It continues to seem to be gatherings over a long period of time with close contacts, gatherings with friends in backyards. Not so much the outdoor marching, movement activities.”
One takeaway, as pointed out by county spokesperson Jason Hoppin, is that outdoor activities are apparently much safer than indoor ones.
Newel said she and other HSA officials were worried when they saw how crowded last month’s memorial for a slain sheriff’s sergeant was—with many deputies in attendance not wearing face coverings.
“We have not identified a single case, at this point, related to the memorial,” Newel said.
Watsonville High School graduate Kayla Cabrera will be attending virtual classes at UC Berkeley when the fall semester begins on Oct. 1, where she will double major in legal and ethnic studies for a pre-law track.
Inspired by social justice issues she encountered while growing up, and buoyed by her experience with mock trial, Cabrera hopes to return to her hometown with a law degree.
“I think it would be amazing to go to law school and give back to this community,” she said. “I really like the law, and I think being an attorney would be interesting.”
Citlaly Felix, also a WHS graduate, will study biology at UC Davis and plans eventually to become a doctor. She will be the first in her family to graduate school and to attend college.
She says her parents are worried about the cost, but they simply want her to go.
Felix and Cabrera are among 28,662 Latinx people who will be attending schools in the UC system in the fall, which is a record number.
For the first time in its history, the University of California system has admitted more Latinx students for the upcoming fall semester than any other group, according to a study released June 23 by the UC Office of the President.
The number is compared to 27,771 Asian American people and 16,438 white people. In all, a record 80,000 freshmen will be attending the system’s nine campuses.
Former Watsonville Mayor and State Assemblyman Luis Alejo, who currently sits on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, said the UC system has made “great strides” and progress toward allowing more Latinx and other students of color.
“After Proposition 209 that eliminated affirmative action in 1996, we witnessed significant declines and over two decades later, we are finally seeing a rebound,” he said. “This is a good signal for the future of California and our economy. But with nearly 76% of students in California public schools being children of color. It only makes sense to now see that reflected in UC admission rates.”
UC President Janet Napolitano said in a statement that UC continues to see increased admissions of underrepresented students.
“The incoming class will be one of our most talented and diverse yet, and UC is proud to invite them to join us,” she said.
UCSC announced on July 16 that it has this year significantly increased the number of students admitted from low-income families, underrepresented groups, and those who will be the first in their family to earn a four-year degree.
The data also shows the UC system has admitted more than 12,000 first-generation college students.
Like other University of California campuses, UCSC is planning to offer most of its fall courses through remote instruction, with a small number of in-person learning opportunities when fall classes start.
While Cabrera said she is happy about the news of the high numbers of Latinx students admitted to UC schools, she worries that many will be thrust into a world without the academic support structures they need to succeed.
“It doesn’t mean much for these students to be admitted if they aren’t going to provide the resources for them to succeed,” she said.
In the not-too-distant future, Cabrillo College could bear a different name.
Before that happens, however, a subcommittee of three of the college’s governing board will explore the issue in-depth, for a process that is likely to last far into the future and involve numerous people throughout Santa Cruz County.
The Cabrillo Board of Trustees met Monday to discuss the issue, which included public comments from numerous people, the majority of whom advocated for renaming the college.
The discussion came as communities nationwide are removing monuments honoring dark periods in American history, such as statues of Confederate leaders. NASCAR and the U.S. military have banned the Confederate flag.
The college’s namesake is Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, known for exploring the West Coast of the Americas around 1542, as well as for being a murderous conqueror who enslaved and brutalized the Amah Mutsun people who lived here.
“We have our own monument, and it’s where I work,” said Cabrillo digital media instructor John Govsky. “Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo is not the type of person our college should be named after.”
Govsky said that efforts to rename the college have been ongoing for years, with several student-led efforts fizzling as they graduated.
“Now, the timing seems right given all the antiracist sentiment in the county,” he said.
Govsky acknowledged that renaming will likely stretch the college’s budget, but pointed out that it will not be an immediate expenditure, as the decision is likely months if not years in the future.
“There is never a good time to spend money, and the budget is always tight, but I think this is an overriding issue,” he said. “The identity of the college is so important.”
Several other buildings and roadways bear Cabrillo’s name as well, including the Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma in San Diego, several high schools and middle schools throughout the state, various beaches, and stretches of highway along the coast.
Cabrillo computer science instructor Jeffrey Bergamini agreed that Cabrillo’s name conveys “powerful and dehumanizing messages,” but added that a name change should be supported by evidence that would justify the cost and effort.
“I would ask how a symbolic change like this is supposed to advance anything in terms of material improvements,” he said. “And I especially would ask how it would be paid for, given that it would require changing virtually all materials, both tangible and digital officially affiliated with the college.”
Former Cabrillo College student trustee Madison Raasch said she supports the renaming efforts.
“We exist on a stolen, colonized land of the Amah Mutsun tribal band,” she said. “The college needs to acknowledge how deeply inappropriate keeping the name of the institution is, given the history of the college’s namesake, which includes his profiting off the genocide, oppression and sexual exploitation of the native people.”
Trustee Ed Banks said that he studied the issue deeply, which included consulting local historian Sandy Lydon. What he learned, he said, left him with even more questions.
“I don’t discount anything that anybody said, but I am still very conflicted over a name change at this point,” he said.
Trustee Christina Cuevas said she wants to involve as many community members as possible.
“I think we need to respect the voices from outside that help support our college,” she said. “To have a really inclusive process as we all learn about this process.”
Likely months if not years in the future, the move, if approved, would come with a steep price, said Cabrillo President Matt Wetstein.
This includes signs throughout the Aptos and Watsonville campuses, as well as road signs, all of which are estimated to cost $1 million.
In addition, the college would have to change the college’s website, logo, letterhead and marketing materials, as well as the legal issues that come with a name change.
The last time I went to Big Basin Vineyards for a tasting was in November. I took a guest from England who was bowled over with the drive up there.
Wending our way on Route 236 through redwoods the size of skyscrapers (the winery is close to Big Basin Redwoods State Park), an offshoot winding road to the right called Memory Lane ends at the verdant estate of winemaker and owner Bradley Brown.
The drive alone is worth the time and effort—and awaiting you are the most wonderful wines to taste, including a splendid 2019 Rosé ($27). A blend of Grenache (47%), Carignane (32%), Syrah (13%), and Mourvedre (8%), all the grapes are whole cluster pressed, resulting in a splendid mélange of aromas and flavors.
“The nose is floral with hints of peach and apricot,” Brown says. “On the palate, the minerality comes through as crushed rocks with hints of stone fruit and just enough mouthwatering acidity to power a clean, but long, finish.”
This pale pink-peach beauty of a wine is ideal for summer days and picnics. Try it and Brown’s other wines at his Saratoga tasting room, or on his gorgeous property in Boulder Creek.
Big Basin Vineyards, 830 Memory Lane, Boulder Creek. 831-621-8028. bigbasinvineyards.com.
Gourmet To Go Culinary Services
Gourmet To Go Culinary Services is a local company owned by longtime chef Elizabeth Bourget. Now is a good time to treat yourselves to some delicious healthy food that is all carefully prepared according to your culinary needs and delivered right to your door. Chef Bourget uses local food sources such as Fogline Farms, Companion Bakery, Malabar Tea Company, and Belle Farms Olive Oil. Having prepared food for the likes of Debbie Reynolds and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Bourget is very much in demand as a personal chef and caterer. She is a chef-coach too, and even demos appliances. This busy chef is also president of the Bay Area Chapter of the United States Personal Chef Organization. Visit their website at bayareapersonalchefs.com for information.
Gourmet To Go Culinary Services, 40 Carneros Road, Aromas. 831-818-7532. gourmettogoculinary.com.
