In 2018, local dancer and artist Makana was working on some songs, including a Caribbean-infused hip-hop tune called “Women.”
She intended it to exalt the beauty of the feminine, but as she worked on it, the song became so much more. It was such a powerful, personal expression that the first time she performed it, in 2018, she got a standing ovation.
“It was going to be a totally heterosexual song,” Makana says. “It turned into me revealing my true story—I basically came out of the closet in front of my community in Santa Cruz, as someone who’s definitely not straight.”
“Women” is one of the four songs she released last month as part of her debut EP My People. Before this, she’d been a dancer and did burlesque for a while. More recently, she did solo dance performances, including with local Congolese dance company Bitezo Bia Kongo, and was also rapping/performing/dancing with a local Afro-fusion band called Native Trance. This EP of experimental hip-hop represents the first songs for which she not only wrote all the lyrics, but also produced all the music herself.
“I’m kind of obsessed. I found happiness through making music. I’m blissed out. I don’t really need to do much else. I am all about music right now,” Makana says.
Back in 2018, at that first show, she rapped her lyrics for “Women” and other words she wrote over beats she found online. In March, when everything shut down, being a dancer wasn’t much of an option, so creating music moved to the top of her priority list. That included producing the music for her lyrics.
“Before Covid, I was a little unfocused, just trying to take any gig,” Makana says. “Coronavirus hit and I was left to my own devices. I pulled my resources together and set up a studio in my home, and taught myself how to use a digital audio workstation and a bunch of other technical aspects of making music. I’m not a trained musician in any sense of the word, but I’m a dancer. I know rhythm. I understand the intricacies of music in a kinesthetic way.”
The four songs—all hip-hop—are eclectic in their influences, including trip-hop, R&B, reggae and spoken word, and produced in a way that makes them very intimate and emotive, yet also exploratory and at times avant-garde productions. Not just that, but she methodically created unique and individualized music beds for each of these songs that she’d written.
“The words were already there,” Makana says. “It was me trying to create the fullest expression of those words instrumentally, and just to create a full, comprehensive world around the lyrics. I didn’t want them to be all in the same world, because they’re not.”
The lyrics are poetic, spiritual and stirring—sometimes straightforward, other times abstract and expressionist. She devoted a long time to crafting them.
“I’m a word nerd,” Makana says. “I’m obsessed with words, to the point where if I’m in a conversation, and I blurt out like a word like ‘oxymoron’ and I didn’t use it correctly, I have to use self-control not to pull out my phone at a restaurant and look up the word. For me, it’s a love affair with words.”
The four songs on My People is only a sampling of what’s to come. She’s hoping next year she’ll release a full-length. She’s also excited to find out what else she uncovers about herself in the process.
“I’ve had a pretty crazy journey, coming into myself as a human, basically feeling alien, and now feeling whole,” Makana says. “It’s a yearning to unearth all that and heal and share it with other people through exposing myself. It goes even beyond anything I can control.”
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Back in 1974, poet Allen Ginsberg and his “spirit wife,” Aries poet Anne Waldman, were roommates at the newly established Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. The school’s founder asked these two luminaries to create a poetics program, and thus was born the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Waldman described its ruling principle to be the “outrider” tradition, with a mandate to explore all that was iconoclastic, freethinking and irreverent. The goal of teachers and students alike was to avoid safe and predictable work so as to commune with wild spiritual powers, “keep the energies dancing,” and court eternal surprise. I think that would be a healthy approach for you to flirt with during the next few weeks.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Any legal actions you take are more likely to be successful if you initiate them between now and the solstice than if you begin them at other times. The same is true for any contracts you sign or agreements you make: They have a better chance to thrive than they would at other times. Other activities with more kismet than usual during the coming weeks: efforts to cultivate synergy and symbiosis; attempts to turn power struggles into more cooperative ventures; a push to foster greater equality in hierarchical situations; and ethical moves to get access to and benefit from other people’s resources.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Never follow an expert off a precipice. Nor a teacher. Nor an attractive invitation. Nor a symbol of truth nor a vibrant ideal nor a tempting gift. In fact, never follow anything off a precipice, no matter how authoritative or sexy or appealing it might be. On the other hand, if any of those influences are headed in the direction of a beautiful bridge that can enable you to get to the other side of a precipice, you should definitely consider following them. Be on the alert for such lucky opportunities in the coming weeks.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Malidoma Patrice Somé was born into the Dagara tribe of Burkina Faso. After being initiated into the Dagara’s spiritual mysteries, he emigrated to America, where he has taught a unique blend of modern and traditional ideas. One of his key themes is the hardship that Westerners’ souls endure because of the destructive impact of the machine world upon the spiritual world. He says there is “an indigenous person within each of us” that longs to cultivate the awareness and understanding enjoyed by indigenous people: a reverence for nature, a vital relationship with ancestors and a receptivity to learn from the intelligence of animals. How’s your inner indigenous person doing? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to enhance your ability to commune with and nurture that vital source.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Psychologists have identified a quality they call NFD: “need for drama.” Those who possess it may be inclined to seek or even instigate turmoil out of a quest for excitement. After all, bringing a dose of chaos into one’s life can cure feelings of boredom or powerlessness. “I’m important enough to rouse a big mess!” may be the subconscious battle cry. I’ll urge you Leos to studiously and diligently avoid fostering NFD in the coming weeks. In my astrological opinion, you will have a blessed series of interesting experiences if and only if you shed any attraction you might have to histrionic craziness.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Give up the notion that you must be sure of what you are doing,” wrote philosopher Baruch Spinoza. “Instead, surrender to what is real within you, for that alone is sure.” Spinoza’s thoughts will be a great meditation for you in the coming weeks. If you go chasing phantom hopes, longing for absolute certainty and iron confidence, you’ll waste your energy. But if you identify what is most genuine and true and essential about you, and you rely on it to guide you, you can’t possibly fail.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “A little bad taste is like a nice splash of paprika,” said Libran fashion writer Diana Vreeland. “We all need a splash of bad taste,” she continued. “It’s hearty, it’s healthy, it’s physical. I think we could use more of it. Having no taste is what I’m against.” I understand that her perspective might be hard to sell to you refined Librans. But I think it’s good advice right now. Whatever’s lacking in your world, whatever might be off-kilter, can be cured by a dash of good, funky earthiness. Dare to be a bit messy and unruly.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): To convey the spirit of the coming weeks, I’m offering you wisdom from two women who were wise about the art of slow and steady progress. First, here’s author Iris Murdoch: “One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats, and if some of these can be inexpensive and quickly procured so much the better.” Your second piece of insight about the wonders of prudent, piecemeal triumph comes from activist and author Helen Keller: “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian statesman Winston Churchill said that he was always ready to learn—even though there were times when he didn’t enjoy being taught. That might be a useful motto for you to adopt in the coming months. By my estimates, 2021 could turn out to bring a rather spectacular learning spurt—and a key boost to your lifelong education. If you choose to take advantage of the cosmic potentials, you could make dramatic enhancements to your knowledge and skill set. As Churchill’s message suggests, not all of your new repertoire will come easily and pleasantly. But I bet that at least 80% of it will. Start planning!
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In accordance with upcoming astrological indicators, I’ve got some good advice for you courtesy of your fellow Capricorn David Bowie. You’ll be well-served to keep it in mind between now and January 1, 2021. “Go a little bit out of your depth,” counseled Bowie. “And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.” For extra inspiration, I’ll add another prompt from the creator of Ziggy Stardust: “Once you lose that sense of wonder at being alive, you’re pretty much on the way out.” In that spirit, my dear Capricorn, please take measures to expand your sense of wonder during the next six weeks. Make sure you’re on your way in.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Most of us aren’t brilliant virtuosos like, say, Leonardo da Vinci or Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie. On the other hand, every one of us has a singular amalgam of potentials that is unique in the history of the world—an exceptional flair or an idiosyncratic mastery or a distinctive blend of talents. In my astrological opinion, you Aquarians will have unprecedented opportunities to develop and ripen this golden and glorious aspect of yourself in 2021. And now is a good time to begin making plans. I encourage you to launch your year-long Festival of Becoming by writing down a description of your special genius.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In 1969, humans flew a spaceship to the moon and landed on it for the first time. In 1970, the state of Alabama finally made it legal for interracial couples to get married. That’s a dramatic example of how we humans may be mature and strong in some ways even as we remain backward and undeveloped in other ways. According to my astrological analysis, the coming months will be a highly favorable time for the immature and unseasoned parts of you to ripen. I encourage you to get started!
Homework: Name something you feel like begging for. Then visualize in great detail that this something is already yours. Report results to freewillastrology.com.
In a community graced with very fine pumpkin pie bakers, those from Companion Bakeshop stand out.
I asked Companion baker and founder Erin Lampel about her delicious holiday pies. Cooks, restaurateurs, and bakers like Lampel are heroes in this current difficult climate. They deserve our thanks, admiration, and patronage.
Do you keep the same recipe from year to year? (If it’s not broke, why fix it?)
ERIN LAMPEL: Yes, we keep the basic recipe the same. It is classic, simple and creates a delicious pie. What we are constantly changing is the process and method of how we follow the recipe. For example, what temperature and how long to bake, rotate or not rotate the pies. We are always tweaking and learning from these methods.
What do you think makes your pumpkin pie so incredible?
The combination of the local, organic squash and the local organic flour, both from Pie Ranch, make our pies really unique to the many other delicious options out there. Both the squash and local flour have intense and bright flavors you can’t find anywhere else. Super deep colored pasture raised eggs from Glaum really add to the deep orange color of the final pie. It’s such a nice feeling to know that purchasing our pies—especially this year—supports a local, small business/bakeshop that encompasses ethical management and employment practices. We strive to support the best ingredients and companies around that have like-minded practices.
Do you mind having it known that you use squash rather than pumpkin?
We use Kabocha squash, grown by Pie Ranch and Brisa Ano Ranch. It is a lengthy process to cut the squash and roast them and then scoop out seeds and mush them to become our pumpkin puree.
Your crust is delicious. I think it’s a big part of the success of your product.
We work really hard to incorporate the Pie Ranch flour and try to keep the layers flaky and light in texture. Sometimes it can be hard due to the milling. We do take a lot of pride in making sure our crust is spot on. I’m glad you have noticed!
Tasting Notes: Companion’s pumpkin pie has it all: not too sweet, great spice balance (the allspice does not overwhelm!), rich densely creamy texture, thin crust that is tasty but not crumbly. In a word, “exceptional.” Order your Companion Bakeshop Thanksgiving pies—pumpkin, pecan, and apple streusel—by Saturday, Nov. 21, for pick up at their Westside or Aptos locations on Nov. 24-25. companionbakeshop.com.
All the Sides from Barceloneta
A brilliant idea: You do the turkey, and let the amazing staff of Barceloneta supply the side dishes. From roasted brussels sprouts with pickled currants, fried capers and mint, to winter squash, stuffing with Spanish Chorizo, traditional gravy, cranberry sauce with ginger and orange, plus chicory salad with goat cheese, almonds and pomegranates. Plus an apple tart with salted caramel ice cream. Feeds four to five people. $150-180. Pick up Wednesday, Nov. 25, 1-5pm. eatbarceloneta.com.
Ser Charge
Winemaker Nicole Walsh never sleeps. The tireless entrepreneur of Ser Winery has finessed yet another win-win opportunity for us (maybe that should be wine-wine?). Now that former La Posta chef Katherine Stern is expanding her freelance culinary options, Walsh has invited the popular chef to showcase some of her expert pop-up meals at Ser’s Aptos Village Tasting Room. These should be on the Ser menu very soon, and will give us a chance to taste Stern’s distinctive dishes paired with Walsh’s distinctive Ser wines. Stay tuned!
Bad Animal is Back!
Bookshop only (for the moment) open at reduced capacity, 4-8pm Friday-Saturday, and 2-6pm on Sunday, plus private appointments on the off days. Small snack menu and wine will be coming soon!. How exciting. Stop by and welcome them back.
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 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, 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.”
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
— 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 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.
