Page 570 | Good Times

County Delays Budget Approval As It Assesses Economic Damage

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June 26, 2020

County Delays Budget Approval As It Assesses Economic Damage

Santa Cruz County Chief Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios told the Board of Supervisors Monday that they should spend $20 million in reserves to fill a deficit for the 2019-20 fiscal year caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

That move will be a sizable slice of the county’s $56 million reserve, which it has built since the 2008 Great Recession, Palacios said.

“Using one-third of our reserves is a very serious action,” he said. “It will put us at our minimum reserves of approximately 7%, which is an amount we would not recommend going below.”

To do so, he said, would harm the county’s credit rating and put it at risk in the event of another natural disaster such as a wildfire.

Palacios’ recommendation was part of annual budget talks that normally occur before the statutory deadline of June 30, a date by which most jurisdictions and school districts must file a balanced budget.

But the county’s budget was created before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, taking the county’s finances from a healthy surplus to a gaping deficit within the next two years.

“This pandemic hit so quickly, and we are still trying to understand the impacts on our revenues,” Palacios said.

So the supervisors passed a “pro-forma” budget to satisfy the legal requirements and will reconvene in August to approve what is likely to be a grim financial picture. This includes a deficit which by next year is estimated to be between $30 million and $40 million, Palacios said.

“This is an amount that is very serious, double what we experienced in the great recession,” he said.

Palacios said that upcoming budget talks in August will likely involve asking for 20% reductions by most departments, and 10% in the public safety and health and human services departments.

“Given the unique nature of this pandemic, we are hoping that once we get through this time period and a vaccine is developed, that the economy will recover over the next few years, and so for that reason, it’s probably OK to use some one-time funds to get through the next fiscal year,” Palacios said.

“Right now because of the pandemic, we are in a position where we are just trying to hold the gains that we have made,” he said. “But hopefully we will recover soon and we will be able to get back on track with our strategic plan.”

Santa Cruz in Photos: Summer Cruisin’ at the Wharf

Tarmo Hannula

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June 25, 2020

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Santa Cruz in Photos: Summer Cruisin’ at the Wharf

The owners of this convertible 1941 Pontiac cruise onto the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf.

The city is maintaining these rules on the wharf: Wharf parking is now back to summer rates of $3 per hour. Parking from the gates to boat rentals will be allowed on both the east and west sides.

Face masks are needed on the wharf unless exercising: no mask, no service at all businesses. Social distancing is necessary. Picnics, setting up tables, pop-ups, umbrellas, chairs, etc. are not allowed in open parking spaces.

The wharf is open from 6am to 8pm daily. There are 11 hand sanitizing stations for the public to use along the wharf.

See more from the Santa Cruz in Photos series.

Beaches in Santa Cruz County to Reopen on Friday

Wallace Baine

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June 25, 2020

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Beaches in Santa Cruz County to Reopen on Friday

For those eager to break out the volleyballs and bathing suits, the news is good: The beach is back.

Restrictions on visiting the beaches of Santa Cruz County will be lifted on Friday, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel announced on Thursday, acknowledging that the move is a surrender to public will.

“We had hoped to continue the beach closure until after the Fourth of July weekend,” Newel said at a Thursday press conference, “but it’s become impossible for law enforcement to continue to enforce that closure. People are not willing to be governed anymore in that regard, and we want to recognize that by removing that restriction.”

The county’s beaches were closed starting in May from 11am to 5pm daily except for certain water-based activities like surfing and swimming. Lounging on the beach was prohibited at all times.

Newel also announced that the county’s shelter-in-place orders will be extended through July 6. She said once that order expires, the county does not intend to extend it any further. From that point, shelter-in-place orders will come from the state of California. Face-covering orders and restrictions on skilled-nursing facilities will remain in place.

Face-covering mandates have also now been extended to all children over the age of 2. “This may seem stringent and difficult, but it has proven to be manageable in countries around the world,” Newel said.

Strawberry Growers Bouncing Back After Production Shortage

Johanna Miller

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June 25, 2020

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Strawberry Growers Bouncing Back After Production Shortage

Strawberry season in the Pajaro Valley is in full swing, and experts are reporting that demand has steadily increased despite a difficult kickoff.

As the Covid-19 pandemic hit the California region in mid-March, strawberry producers initially saw a spike in sales. But it was soon followed by an alarming drop in production as the food supply chain began to break down.

“We were backlogged,” said Soren Bjorn, President of Driscoll’s of the Americas. “We sat on extra berries for days. At one point in April … we [lost] about 15 trucks to processing. That was devastating.”

Bjorn said it was likely due to the fact that berries are highly perishable, and during the first month or so of the shelter-in-place order, consumers were more inclined to buy longer-lasting foods. In addition, lucrative places that once sourced Driscoll’s berries—theme parks, airlines, cruise ships—could no longer operate.

Carolyn O’Donnell, communications director for the California Strawberry Commission, said that about 15-20% of California’s strawberries are purchased by food-service industries, which also took a hit during shelter-in-place.

“It was a pretty hectic first couple of months,” O’Donnell said. “There was a significant drop. Schools and restaurants were closed. For some growers … especially smaller [growers], losing that was a major hit.”

Bjorn said that Driscoll’s found themselves having to make up for the losses through grocery stores and online sales.

“We are still having a hard time with that recovery,” he said.

However, O’Donnell said that things are leveling out, and demand is once again high. This has been helped out by the fact that the crops themselves are doing well—especially for current crops in the Pajaro Valley.

“The fruit has been great,” O’Donnell said. “We are right in the zone for production.”

Added Bjorn: “There have been no major [weather] interruptions like last year’s late rain storms. The strawberries [in the Pajaro Valley] are healthy … we’re having ideal weather, with cool mornings and sunny afternoons.”

Looking ahead, Bjorn said that labor is one factor that will be challenging in the coming months. While many have joined the agriculture industry in light of losing other jobs, workers’ situations remain uncertain.

“Our biggest challenge right now is the future of schools,” Bjorn said. “If distance learning is going to be a full school year … that will be a big burden for our working parents.”

Safety is also a concern, said O’Donnell, who listed the ways in which the Strawberry Commission has been reaching out to growers with information on how to stop the spread of Covid-19.

“Things are changing all the time,” she said. “There is new information to report every day. We are trying to find ways to train our growers and our crews for these issues.”

For information visit calstrawberry.com/en-us.

Santa Cruz in Photos: New Mural in Watsonville’s Ramsay Park

A&E
Art

Tarmo Hannula

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June 24, 2020

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Santa Cruz in Photos: New Mural in Watsonville’s Ramsay Park

A new mosaic mural is shown above the entrance to the Community Center in Ramsay Park in Watsonville.

It was designed by local artist Jaime Sanchez and brought to life by Watsonville artist and Mission Hill Middle School teacher Kathleen Crocetti.

Last year, Crocetti opened the Muzzio Mosaic Arts Center, an after-school arts program for youth in Watsonville, and welcomed area kids to help construct the mosaic that features a flock of birds in the shape of a heart.

Sanchez’s work was selected in February by the Watsonville Parks and Recreation Commission, along with three other pieces by local middle and high school students.

The Community Center is now being used as a makeshift Covid-19 testing site.

See more from the Santa Cruz in Photos series.

Santa Cruz County Fair Cancelled Amid Coronavirus Concerns

Todd Guild

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June 24, 2020

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Santa Cruz County Fair Cancelled Amid Coronavirus Concerns

Every year on the outskirts of Watsonville, late summer brings the intoxicating aroma of fried food, along with the sweet summer cacophony of carnival rides, livestock and giant, jubilant crowds.

But those voices will fall silent this year at the Santa Cruz County Fair, after fair manager Dave Kegebein announced Wednesday that this year’s event has been cancelled.

The much-anticipated fair—which was slated to run from Sept. 16-20—is the latest casualty in the growing battle to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The announcement came after weeks of deliberation by fair management and the Board of Directors, all of whom were hoping that the threat from Covid-19 would abate in time to allow the fair to proceed.

Kegebein said he was trying to plan a drive-thru fair, a model that organizers could not make work.

“Obviously this has been a conversation for some time,” he said. “And we thoroughly explored a drive-thru fair option. But between security concerns and volume, we just couldn’t really figure out how to make the numbers work.”

The news likely comes as a blow to dozens of nonprofits which depend on proceeds from the fair to fund their activities throughout the year.

“It’s going to hurt us—there is no doubt about it,” said Roland Hedgepeth, who serves as treasurer for Corralitos Padres. That organization raises as much as $11,000 selling Corralitos sausage meals, Gizdich pies and Martinelli juice. Proceeds from those sales go to scholarships, youth clubs such as the Boy Scouts and local sports.

“It’s sad for the community,” he said. “We put all our money back into the youth.”

The Padres’ booth typically draws long lines of hungry fair attendees.

“It’s more than just making money,” he said. “It’s a community event. I’ve been going for 60 years.”

“We’re looking forward to next year, that’s all we can do,” he added.

Pajaro Valley High School Athletic Director Joe Manfre said the fair pays students to work during the event which raises about $7,500 that is used to purchase uniforms, repair old and buy new equipment.

Now, Manfre said he will now have to turn to different sources for financial help.

“I know people in the community are very generous and understanding of the importance of sports programs,” he said.

Watsonville High School agriculture teacher and Future Farmers of America advisor Paulina Correia said that the live auctions during the fair allow young members to recoup their out-of-pocket expenses from raising their animals.

Purchasing pigs and sheep ranges from $300 to $1,000, Correia said, and steer cost about $1,200. Feed can cost as much as $1,000, she added.

What also must be considered is the twice-a-day work that goes into raising their animals.

“We still have students with animals ready to go to the fair,” she said.

The fairgrounds is now planning on a live auction, Correia said, a first-of-its-kind, which could be the answer.

“Hopefully our students will at least break even on their projects,” she said.

Kegebein said that the loss of this year’s fair—and the possibility of future changes to similar events wrought by the virus—will likely take a “slow road to recovery.”

“Anyone running an entertainment mass gathering venue will have a long ride before we are able conduct economically viable activities,” he said. “We just have to accept the situation we’re in. It’s brutal.”

Mayor Justin Cummings on Pandemic, Budget Cuts and Black Lives Matter

Jacob Pierce

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June 24, 2020

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Mayor Justin Cummings on Pandemic, Budget Cuts and Black Lives Matter

Santa Cruz Mayor Justin Cummings has had a busy term so far this year.

He took office a few months before the Covid-19 pandemic began, shutting down most parts of public life. And this past spring, activists and politicians from Santa Cruz and other communities around the globe began taking a serious look at issues of law enforcement and systemic racism, and Cummings has been involved in those discussions.

Cummings is Santa Cruz’s first Black male mayor, and his term immediately followed that of former Mayor Martine Watkins—who identifies as mixed race and served as the city’s first-ever mayor of African American heritage. After nationwide protests broke out last month in the wake of the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police, Cummings took a knee next to Police Chief Andy Mills at a May 30 protest on Pacific Avenue. Santa Cruz Sentinel photographer Shmuel Thaler snapped a couple pictures, and images of the pair were shared widely, garnering attention from outlets and television programs around the country, including the Los Angeles Times and Real Time with Bill Maher. The political moment has provided an impetus for both Cummings and Mills to move forward with proposed policing reforms.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Santa Cruz City Council also voted unanimously to install a Black Lives Matter Mural and to display Pan-African and Black Lives Matter flags in the front of City Hall during the month of July every year.

Good Times caught up with Cummings last week to discuss the novel coronavirus pandemic, homeless services, budget cuts and more.

What’s it like leading a city during a pandemic?

It’s had its challenges. Santa Cruz has been doing such a phenomenal job sheltering in place and following the county health officer’s orders. The most challenging thing has been the fact that you have a community that’s in compliance, and then, as the weather’s getting nicer—we’re starting to get people from other communities coming through and people feeling like ‘We’re doing everything we’re supposed to; what gives with all these people coming in?’ And a big part is that, as we’re opening up—law enforcement’s had a really difficult job as it is—and now, how do we enforce all of these orders? It’s something that is a bit overwhelming, but we’re doing our best, and the people of Santa Cruz have been doing everything they can to really ensure the health and safety of their communities.

The state of homeless services has changed so much since March—with a big increase in the numbers of bathrooms and hand-washing stations and places for people to sleep. Is this a temporary fix to get us through the pandemic? Or is Santa Cruz piloting a more permanent path forward?

I hope so. I really hope we can learn from this. The one thing that’s really great that’s going to come out of this is our ability to demonstrate that we are able to put things up that don’t have these massive impacts on the communities surrounding them. We have the camp over on Coral Street, the camp in the Benchlands. We have parking in different lots. We have more bathrooms and hand-washing stations. And we haven’t been receiving complaints.

The mayor is technically a part-time job, so you have an additional career. How are you able to stay on top of everything?

I don’t sleep much. But my other job currently is ecological monitoring, which is using drones to do aerial surveys at different UC natural reserves, and it’s only about a day a week, and I’ve been able to fit it in on Fridays.

You and two fellow councilmembers decided that this fall wouldn’t be the right time to try and pass a transient-occupancy-tax increase. What went into that decision?

Given the impacts of Covid-19, we had to pretty much shut all the hotels down, and they’re somewhat operating at this moment. But especially at that time, given Gavin Newsom’s timeline for reopening, it didn’t seem like hotels would be reopening for a very long time. With that in mind, it didn’t make sense to increase the tax on an industry that’s already so negatively impacted by Covid-19. What we’re really hoping is that we can allow the hotels—as the orders are coming in—to reestablish themselves before impacting them with an additional tax.

Due to shortfalls as a result of the shutdowns, many governments are seeing budget cuts to the programs that benefit their most vulnerable residents. How will the city of Santa Cruz balance this year’s deficit?

We have been in negotiations with the different sectors of our workforce to get 10% furloughs across the board. We’re going to be adopting a status quo budget, but the budget subcommittee is going to be meeting throughout the summer and into the early fall to really take a good look at where those cuts will need to be made—what’s the trajectory in terms of reopening?—so that we can do a good assessment in terms of where those cuts are going to come from. And it’s going to be difficult. And given everything that’s been happening with George Floyd and a lot of interest in social services, I hope that some of that burden can be picked up through philanthropic means.

Speaking of George Floyd, in the past month Santa Cruz County has seen overwhelmingly positive protests about the struggle for racial injustice and about issues in law enforcement. You also twice went to the police station to calm heated situations, where you saw white protesters shouting over you and tagging messages in support of Black Lives Matter on the station. Are those people allies for the cause?

If there are white people who are trying to hijack a movement that should be sitting on the voices of Black people—I don’t think of someone who wants to hijack a movement as an ally, no.

Wednesday night [June 3], when I went out, we had a meeting with the police chief and members of the Black community before the protest had come to the police station. And many of the people who came [to the station] were carrying fencing from the clock tower and started barricading the doors. And when looking at all the people who were doing that, the majority of them were white. At one point, this guy was trying to walk past me. He had a Black Lives Matter T-shirt, and he was carrying fencing, and I grabbed the fence, and I pushed back. And he was like, ‘What’re you doing?’ I said, ‘You’re wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt. I’m Black. I don’t think what you’re doing is right. Please put this down.’ And then as we looked around, the majority of guys barricading the doors were white. The guy who was on the megaphone was white. And I grabbed the megaphone and said, ‘If you really care about the lives of Black people, then you need to listen to them.’

And many of the people just calmed down. When I asked people who I was, three or four people in the crowd knew I was the mayor of Santa Cruz. It’s one of these things, where ‘Most of you don’t even know your mayor is Black, and he’s the first Black male mayor of the city of Santa Cruz. I’m deeply committed to this because it impacts my life, and I try to make meaningful change, and here’s a group of Black people and African Americans who were just meeting with the police chief to talk about change.’ So we’re doing the work. We’re a community that’s been moving forward and has been proactive about this. We haven’t been sitting back and saying, ‘Eh, we’ll just wait for the protest to calm down.’ We’ve been speaking out, and I know that’s different than what people maybe were expecting, but that’s what governments should be doing, and that’s what governments across the country should be doing—acknowledging this was wrong and looking internally at their own departments and then working with the community to say, ‘How’re you treated? How can we do better?’

I’m totally OK with people protesting as long as they don’t vandalize anything, because that doesn’t help anyone. It just builds tensions and resentment and anger within a community. But if people want to help, they should figure out how to get involved, how they can support movements led by people of color and look within their own institutions to check people within their community as well. We need allies that are going to check and hold institutions that are predominantly white accountable.

Equinox Wine’s Celebration-Worthy Fiano Cuvée 2017

Josie Cowden

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June 24, 2020

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Equinox Wine’s Celebration-Worthy Fiano Cuvée 2017

What would the Fourth of July be without a drop of celebratory bubbly! Equinox on the Westside makes some of the best sparkling wines this side of Champagne in France. It’s definitely a good time to treat yourselves to something special—and that would be Equinox’s 2017 Fiano Cuvée ($45), a sparkling wine par excellence.

Winemaker Barry Jackson, who runs Equinox Wines with his wife Jennifer Jackson, is a whiz when it comes to making delicious bubbly. The couple launched Equinox in 1989 and have never looked back—their business and customer base growing every year.

Fiano is a high-quality white Italian wine-grape, and Mann Vineyard on the western slopes of the Diablo Range grows this aromatic fruit. “Only a handful of acres in California are growing Fiano,” says Barry Jackson, who also makes a Fiano wine under his Bartolo label.

Small amounts of Riesling and Chardonnay are added to the Fiano sparkling wine, and, after ageing en tirage for 30 months, a crisp, exotic sparkler with delicious notes of “Asian pear, grapefruit peel, tight mousse, and green melon” is ours for the drinking. Cheers!

Equinox Wines, 334 Ingalls St., Unit C, Santa Cruz. 831-471-8608. equinoxwine.com.

Harley Farms Goat Dairy

If you love goats, then Harley Farms is the place for you. My husband and I visited recently and spent ages watching frisky goats, donkeys, a couple of dogs, a few cats, an alpaca, and a pig—which all live on this pastoral piece of land in Pescadero. Dee Harley hails from Yorkshire in England (as I do), a place known for its down-to-earth friendly folk, and runs the farm with her staff.

Goats are milked regularly, and products from the milk include great-tasting cheeses. And piled high on shelves are gorgeous goat-milk soaps and lotions—all handmade by Harley Farms employee Eilis Burke, who comes from Limerick in Ireland. Harley Farms is now doing weekend picnic baskets: a Ploughwoman’s Spread and First of the Day. Enjoy fresh eggs, homemade scones, goat cheese and more as you look out on a lovely pond and friendly goats. Visit harleyfarms.com for more info.

Opinion: June 24, 2020

Steve Palopoli

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June 24, 2020

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Having last written about the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter in the fall when they were part of our Santa Cruz Gives campaign, I found myself wondering recently how the organization was coping with the Covid-19 pandemic, and how it was affecting its ability to help local animals. In this week’s Pet Issue, I got a chance to check in, and what I found about the work the SCCAS has been doing during the quarantine—and what the community has done to help them with it—made me feel a little better about life. The story is in this week’s cover package, and I encourage you to read it for yourself.

Among our other cover stories, Wallace Baine looks into how our family pets may be affected by quarantine, and what we can do to help them de-stress. (Is there any kind of creature, human or otherwise, who isn’t stressed right now?) Also, Hugh McCormick writes about the precarious but rewarding process of raising his dog as an emotional support animal, in a relationship where the emotional support clearly goes both ways.

Admittedly, this Pet Issue got rather dog-heavy, though it wasn’t entirely planned that way. My promise to other cat people out there is that our favorite furballs will get more room to shine next time.

Also in these pages is a story on last week’s Juneteenth march in Santa Cruz from Susan Landry, and moving tributes to two members of the Santa Cruz community whose losses hit hard, Sara Wilbourne and Allison Endert. Stay safe, everyone.

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

Right Call on Library

I am president of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries (FSCPL). I also served as a member of the Santa Cruz Downtown Library Advisory Committee (DLAC).

Next week, the Santa Cruz City Council will consider a recommendation from the Council’s Library Subcommittee about the future of the Downtown Branch Library. The Friends urge the City Council to approve the DLAC recommendation to build a new Downtown Library as part of the proposed multi-use facility.

Opponents of DLAC’s recommendation have often used inaccurate information as part of their argument. A recent article in the local paper by Ross Eric Gibson inaccurately states that DLAC recommended the elimination of research collections and a “play yard for children to run and scream out back.” Totally wrong.

DLAC’s recommendation came after months of study and community input that included over 2,000 individual responses to a survey about a vision for a post Measure S Downtown library.

In order to keep up with the changing reading environment, meet the challenges of information literacy for students in the age of social media, and fulfill community expectations for safe places for public gatherings, traditional library design has to change with the times.

DLAC made the right call: relocating the library was not only the most cost-efficient solution, it was also a way for the city to have a library that we can be proud of.

Martín J. Gómez, President | Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries

Stay Safe, Stay Home

Before the COVID-19 spread was a pandemic, people everywhere were struggling to have their basic needs met. Now, more than ever, food and housing insecurity looms over many, especially students who do not have additional support outside of their campus. Amidst shelter-in-place orders and university shutdowns, access to a stable food resource has become more difficult.

That is one reason why governments and officials are asking everyone who can to stay home. Not only to protect the health of yourself and others, but so those who now struggle even more can access resources safely and securely. There is hardship in this situation for everyone across the globe, but there are neighbors nearby that might have to work and expose themselves to the virus just to afford basic needs. We can fight for workers rights, food justice, and equitable solutions. But right now the most we can do is stay home.

Thanks for your time and consideration! Stay safe!

Julia Hyatt | Santa Cruz

Cost of Newsom’s Cuts

Governor Newsom’s proposed May budget revision sent chills throughout California with the elimination of Community Based Adult Services (CBAS) like Elderday, a program of Community Bridges. He posed a similar fate for Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) programs, which also help seniors remain in their homes and out of skilled nursing facilities (SNF) and respite care homes. I urge you to reach out to our local representatives in Sacramento and ensure they not only show support for these programs, but that they roll up their sleeves and actively advocate for their existence. These proposed cuts will only serve to increase costs to taxpayers with SNF costing three times more per person than CBAS, and result in displacement of Santa Cruz seniors who cannot find an appropriate care facility in their home county. Balancing the budget is not just about a financial cost, but contains a human cost that is too great to bear.

Raymon Cancino | Chief Executive Officer, Community Bridges

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

Participants will develop skills in person-centered thinking through a series of discussions, applied stories, and guided exercises.

Submit to ph****@*******es.sc. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250dpi.

GOOD IDEA

GAVEL ROAD

The Superior Court of Santa Cruz County has extended application deadlines for the 2020-21 Civil Grand Jury.The new deadline is Aug. 14. This past year’s county Grand Jury is in the process of releasing its latest reports. So far, the reports have covered an investigation of outdated information on government websites, the finances of DeLaveaga Golf Course, government fiscal resiliency issues, the jail system, voter registration data, and a follow-up on previous reports. Two more reports will drop Thursday. For more information, visit santacruzcounty.us/Departments/GrandJury.aspx.

GOOD WORK

INN THE MIX

The local developer Barry Swenson Builder has completed construction of Live Oak Crossing, a new mixed-use community on 17th Avenue. The 15,000-square-foot mixed-use community is now open for 13 one- and two-bedroom units—ranging from 598 to 1,718 square feet—as well as seven commercial units. The retail spaces are designed with small businesses in mind, according to a Swenson press release, and the corner spot could be ideal for a café or a deli doing takeout.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”
-James Herriot

Things To Do (Virtually) in Santa Cruz: June 24-30

GT Staff

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June 23, 2020

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Things To Do (Virtually) in Santa Cruz: June 24-30

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

ARTS AND MUSIC

ANTHONY ARYA: LIVE AT MICHAEL’S ON MAIN On Saturday, June 27, Michael’s on Main is presenting a seated, very limited capacity show at 8:30pm. Seating will be at socially distanced tables. Due to very limited capacity, tickets will only be sold that include “Dinner and A Show” together for one price. Table reservations are for two or more. Dinners start at 6:30pm and showtime is at 8:30pm. You can make your reservations, which will be secured by a credit card, by calling 831-479-9777 (ext. 2). If you call during off hours, please leave name, number of tickets and phone number and you will get a call back Tuesday through Saturday.

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

JOURNEY TO HOKUSAI: VIRTUAL FILM SCREENING Catch a screening of Journey to Hokusai with Tom Killion and Chikara Motomura. This film, created by Chikara Motomura, follows local artist Tom Killion as he journeys to Japan to learn traditional printing from Kenji Takenaka—a fifth generation printer in Kyoto. All current MAH Members are invited to a private Q&A with Chikara Motomura and Tom Killion following the screening. Members will be sent a link upon RSVPing. This event is limited to the first 300 people who log in to the Zoom meeting. Please email us at in**@**********ah.org with any questions. Thursday, June 25, 6pm.

EBB AND FLOW RIVER ARTS FESTIVAL 2020 Starting Friday, June 5, the community is invited to celebrate the San Lorenzo River through public art installations, virtual performance, and activities as part of the Ebb and Flow River Arts Festival. In its sixth year, Ebb and Flow 2020 will continue to deepen and inform the Santa Cruz community’s relationship with the San Lorenzo River and the Tannery Arts Center through creative educational activities and storytelling. Permanent and temporary public art will be at the center of this year’s celebration. Local artists are designing works that will elevate water literacy, connect us to the land and its history, cultivate our sense of belonging, and inspire curiosity about the impact we have on the river system. Learn more at ebbandflowfest.org.

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

MIKE THE MAGICIAN Magician Mike Della Penna creates wonder and laughter with family magic performances that are equal parts playful and astonishing! He is a favorite at preschools, libraries and family venues and is known for captivating the 3-to-7-year-old crowd with his fun-filled, participatory magic shows. Wednesday, June 24, 11am; Tuesday, July 7, 1pm. Visit santacruzpl.org for more information.

CLASSES

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

VIRTUAL CHEESE TASTING WITH STAFF OF LIFE AND ESSEX CHEESE A lesson and guided tasting traversing five different European countries and experienced through the lens of five distinct producers. The iconic cheeses represented in this online seminar have rich histories whose traditional methods of production have seen a resurgence in popularity in modern consumer markets in part because of the efforts of the team at Essex Street Cheese. Essex Cheese is an importer of cheese focusing on a handful of cheeses. To tell you about how the cheeses are selected for the Essex brand as well go over production and producer specifics we have Rachel Juhl, chief educator and trainer for Essex. Join us for this rare opportunity to take a course from an industry professional like Rachel. Cost is $45 per person and includes a personal cheese tasting package. Tickets and more info: eventbrite.com/e/staff-of-life-and-essex-cheese-virtual-cheese-tasting-class-tickets-109377250300. Saturday, June 27, 6:30pm.

COMMUNITY

STERLING THE BUBBLESMITH The artist Sterling Johnson has performed versions of his remarkable hand-blown bubbles for over 45 years. He is the only person to ever put a bubble inside a bubble inside a bubble on stage without any tubes or straws, and the first person to walk completely through a bubble film! Come join us for this exciting and popular show. This program is part of our Summer Reading Program, Imagine Your Story. Register online: santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/6741389. Thursday, June 25, 11am.

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

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

LEGO BUILDING CHALLENGE Join our eight-week summer Lego Building Challenge. You will only need common Lego pieces to complete these challenges. To join the fun, register each week via our online calendar, June 10 through July 29. On Wednesday, you will receive an email with the weekly challenge. If you would like to share your creation, post a photo on our Facebook SCPL Lego Building Challenge webpage. Bonus building challenges will be posted there for intermediate-level Lego fans. Learn more at santacruzpl.org.

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

PEOPLE AND STORIES: READING DEEPLY IN COMMUNITY People and Stories is dedicated to opening doors to literature for new audiences. Through oral readings and rigorous discussions of enduring short stories, we invite participants to find fresh understandings of themselves, of others, and of the world. Please note that some stories contain themes and language of an adult nature. Santa Cruz Public Libraries offers People and Stories regularly in our county jails. We invite you to our special eight-week session on Zoom! Drop in for one or attend all eight People and Stories sessions! Wednesdays, June 10-July 29, 1:30pm. Learn more at santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/6760931.

THE BIG NIGHT IN REPLACES BOWL FOR KIDS’ SAKE 2020 For the first time in our history, we’ve had to cancel all live events including our signature Bowl for Kids’ Sake, which represents a significant portion of our annual budget. This change has the potential to disrupt services to the youth we serve. We find ourselves in an urgent situation that we hope can be remedied by a temporary campaign asking many to give a little. Since we are not able to join together to bowl this year as planned, we want to offer a way for the community to support our work as well as provide fun ways for people to have community during this unique period of sheltering in place and social distancing. Instead of having a Big Night Out like we used to and will again, we are inviting you to have a Big Night In. This campaign will run May 15-June 30. It is a virtual fundraiser that is all about having fun and supporting a great cause, 1:1 youth mentoring. To encourage and promote your participation, fun and fundraising, we will be holding Weekly Drawings throughout the campaign window. A variety of gift certificates will be awarded each week. One week we will even be raffling off exclusive California wines for those that are over 21. We will also be offering Grand Prizes to the top individual(s) and team fundraiser(s). The organization is also seeking larger donations that can be used to match campaign donations and that info can also be found on our campaign website. Learn more at amplify.netdonor.net/13981/bfks2020.

GROUPS

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

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

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

OUTDOOR

A TALE OF TWO PARKS – VIRTUAL Join us for a joint exploration of two beloved state parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains: Henry Cowell Redwoods and Castle Rock! We’ll share stories, music, and trivia with you as we dive into the differences and similarities between these local hot spots. Unfortunately Zoom does not yet have a food sharing option, so this campfire is BYOS: Bring Your Own S’mores! This interactive program will be simultaneously broadcast as a Zoom webinar and a Facebook Live. Registration is required for the Zoom webinar. To register, visit tinyurl.com/SantaCruzCampfire. Like our Facebook page to receive a notification when we go live! facebook.com/HenryCowellRSP. If you are unable to join us live, this program will be recorded for later viewing. Free event. Saturday, June 27, 7pm.

LABSIDE CHATS: A CONVERSATION WITH A SCIENTIST Tune in for the next Labside Chat with Eric Palkovacs, director of the UCSC-NOAA Cooperative Institute and associate professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, on Thursday, June 25, at 11am, to explore the unique characteristics of freshwater and coastal watershed ecosystems. Submit your questions in advance for Eric, then watch the conversation to hear the answers during the live chat. Visit the Seymour Center’s website to submit your questions in advance and to access the livestream at: seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/ongoing-education/labside-chats. Virtual Labside Chats are offered at no charge. Please support the Seymour Center by becoming a member or making a donation today: seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/get-involved/join.

SEYMOUR CENTER’S OCEAN EXPLORERS VIRTUAL SUMMER CAMP Ocean Explorers experience the thrill of scientific discovery at a working marine lab. Join the Seymour Marine Discovery Center for behind-the-scenes virtual visits, live streaming interactions with scientists and animal trainers, and much more! Children actively learn in a distance learning format. Enjoy a week of fun this summer learning about ocean science. Investigate the incredible creatures that inhabit Monterey Bay. Discover how ocean scientists work with marine animals at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center and Long Marine Lab to help conserve animals in the wild. Space is limited–APPLY NOW! Masterful Marine Mammals, ages 9-11, June 22-26, July 13-17, and August 3-7. Masterful Marine Mammals, ages 12-14, June 15-19, June 29-July 3, and July 20-24. Something’s Fishy, ages 7-9 (waitlist only), July 6-10. Marine Science for Girls, ages 9-11, (waitlist only), July 27-31. Programs run 10:30am to 2:30pm (1-hour lunch break from 12-1pm): varied activities and mini-breaks. Fees: Members $250 (was $610); General Public $300 (was $650). Learn more at seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/youth-teen-programs/ocean-explorers-summer-camp.

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Good TimesGood Times

Harley Farms Goat Dairy

EDITOR’S NOTE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

GOOD IDEA

GOOD WORK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

ARTS AND MUSIC

CLASSES

COMMUNITY

GROUPS

OUTDOOR